Review
Destiny 2 just kicked off a massive new arc for its story in the Fate Saga, taking Guardians to the edge of the Solar System in search of The Nine. With The Final Shape and its episodes wrapping up the previous grand narrative, Destiny 2 is charting a fresh course into unknown territory once again, and it’s bound to be a slow burn.
The Nine has remained a relatively mysterious entity throughout Destiny’s history, cropping up occasionally to remind players that there’s more to the world than Light and Dark. But now that the enigmatic faction is central to the game’s story for years to come, there are bound to be plenty more mysteries to unravel. It took more than ten years to resolve the Light and Darkness Saga, and while Bungie hasn’t put a date on it, it could take just as long to plumb the deep secrets of The Nine.
There Is a Lot More to Learn About The Nine in Destiny 2
Introduced way back in Destiny’s earliest days, The Nine are one of the game’s most mysterious factions. When Xur sold Gjallarhorn in week two, few could have guessed all the way back in 2014 that he would represent the next stage in Destiny’s long-running story. It’s unlikely that Bungie had grand plans for The Nine back then, but it’s certainly possible that they kept them around as something to lean on should Light and Darkness ever be resolved.
Since then, The Nine have been relatively quiet. Occasionally, they would pop up to send cryptic warnings to Guardians, or host bizarre game shows like Dares of Eternity. For the longest time, it wasn’t clear what or who The Nine were, but over time, Bungie began to hint at them being more than just a collective hive mind. This was first made obvious during The Red War, when some elements of The Nine assisted Ghaul’s invasion of Earth, using their presence to block out the Vanguard’s sensors.
Clearly then, there is some conflict in this group of cosmic entities, and the coming years may pull back the curtains on exactly who these personalities are. Some of them appear to be friendly, speaking through the infinitely neighing Starhorse, but some could be adversaries to humanity. Parts of The Nine even want to take physical form, and a few lore entries have hinted at the hideous methods they are willing to use to get what they want. Even Xur, a favorite among Guardians for his gifts, may represent some ulterior motives to study Lightbearers in preparation for a future conflict.
The Mystery of The Nine Will Likely Take Many Years, and That’s a Good Thing
Bungie has proven itself to be one of the most adaptable storytellers in the industry, with the last few years of Destiny 2 showing that even the earliest scrapped concepts can be turned into something captivating. Crow, for example, was a character who was supposed to be part of Destiny 1’s original campaign, but was scrapped for Prince Uldren, yet Bungie still found a way to tell both stories, tying them together to form a long-running, deeply personal narrative.
If this kind of storytelling can be repeated over the coming years with The Nine, it’s a good thing. It takes time to establish nuance and break down previously understood concepts. The Witness being different to the Darkness was not Bungie’s original plan, but they managed to make it work by building it slowly, and now the studio can take what it learned from that saga and apply it to the Year of Prophecy and beyond. Details will take a while to crystallize, but Bungie is at its best when a story can take time to cook, and the developers may even start seeding ideas for the next grand narrative before players are aware of it.
