Eris Morn's Queen

[LoreLad]

We all, I’m sure, remember our three-eyed, green-eyed, friend, Eris Morn. The one with the glowing green ball. Obviously, Her most prevalent story appearance was in the Taken King, helping us to kill Oryx. But what has always perked mine, and many other’s, interests, is the final cutscene in the campaign. She approaches Oryx’s sword on the dreadnought and says “My Queen. You were right. The guardian was the key. For the first time, the whispers are silent. It is done. I have accepted my fate. I will not fail.” She then touches Oryx’s sword, and it disintegrates, revealing the crystal that will become Dark Drinker.

In this cutscene, she says “My Queen.” Who is she addressing? Was she wreaking vengeance on Oryx for the Queen’s destruction in the Reef? If so, what was her purpose? After playing Warmind, I decided to play Taken King again, for pleasure, and for a refresher on Oryx and his story. In doing so, I came across a startling realisation and theory.

But it is the dialogue in this scene and the question of Eris Morn’s motives that have bothered me for a while. Finally, I feel like I have an answer.

Taken King. King as in denoting a male. We know that Oryx has two sisters. Savathun, and Xivu Arath. The last we heard of Xivu Arath, she fled into the deep nothingness of space. Savathun also went away. We have noticed activity in Destiny 2 on Titan, where the Hive have been trying in some way to bring Savathun back into our world. Eris Morn was with the First Crota fireteam. No one knows what happened to her between her time on the First Crota Fireteam and when she showed up in the tower. What if, during the time that she was stranded in the netherealm of the Hive, she became influenced by Savathun? To me, this makes lots of sense. She became a servant of Savathun, a vessel by which to carry out means of bringing her back to the world. She aided us in killing Oryx, so that Savathun could take power in his place. Then, once she had accomplished her goal, she went to Titan. “I have accepted my fate. I will not fail,” in my mind pertains to this new goal of bringing Savathun back. Therefore I believe that Eris has been the one leading the Hive to summoning back Savathun.

[erin]

Leading up to TTK, it was heavily implied that this “Queen” was Mara Sov, as opposed to Savathûn.

In GF: The Queen 2, there is a meeting between the Queen and two others, assumed to be Osiris and Eris Morn. If the Hunter in the card is Eris, as it’s implied, then there’s strong evidence that she was working with Sov to kill Oryx:

“Before we begin,” spoke out the Hunter. “I will say this.” She paused, her head tilted up to the throne. The Queen waved her hand in assent.

The Hunter’s pale lips tightened slightly, then resumed their usual stony mien. “Your Grace,” she said. Shuro and Sedia shifted, a sudden rustling and whispering. The Queen raised one finger to silence them. Uldren’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. “I am not here for you.”

The Queen stared at the Hunter, her expression studiously unchanged.

“I have no wish to play politics. I have no grievance with the City, not anymore. I have no grand hopes to end the war, for long have I known I will not see its end. I am here for one battle, and one alone, because it is a battle we must all fight, together or separately. So I will warn the defenders, together or separately. I will do anything—” her low voice shook with passion— “to end Oryx.”

This meeting took place during the HOW era, so there was significant build-up between this meeting and the actual events of TTK. I think it’s more reasonable to assume that the Queen Eris addresses during TTK is Mara as a result. Furthering this is what Mara says at the end of The Coming War:

Mara Sov: The Awoken have played their part. This was all part of the plan. Guide them, my Hidden friend. It is all up to you now.

This is significant because, of course, Eris is part of Ikora’s Hidden. This points to Mara addressing Eris directly.

Additionally, what Eris says at the end of Regicide is almost exactly the same as what she writes to Osiris during The Road to King’s Fall, except in one she directly names Mara:

Eris Morn: My Queen. You were right. The Guardian was the key. For the first time the whispers are silent. It is done.

"She was right, scholar. Queen Mara was right. It is all down to the Guardians now. Let us hope they are up to the tasks ahead of them.” - Eris Morn, undisclosed report to Osiris

Given all of this, I think it’s more reasonable to think Eris was allied with Mara Sov.

Regarding Eris’ motives, I’ve personally never thought that Eris has been “influenced by Savathûn,” given what we know of her motivations and character. We know that Eris was working to destroy Crota from the time she emerged from the Pit, given her return to the Tower during TDB. As of AOT, she was still actively working to defeat the Hive:

“I must find a new path through the night. The Hive are vast, and ancient. A power from far beyond our realm. If we are ever truly to face them, ever truly to put an end to their hate, I must step beyond the safety of the City.”

Given that Eris was basically alone in a room, talking to an unconscious Asher, it seems odd that she’d be lying about her intentions here, as there’s no one to know. There’s also the fact that Eris was actively hunting Nokris, as opposed to finding or assisting Savathûn. Eris seems intent on destroying the Hive completely, as opposed to helping Savathûn gain the Throne (and, considering some of the events of D2, Savathûn may have already gained the power to Take).