In Vanilla Destiny, we heard about Ulan-tan, a Warlock who believed that all Light is connected across time and space. His theory covered three points:
- The Light and the Darkness must co-exist. They balance each other out.
- All Light is connected across time and space, which might also apply to the Darkness if they are to be in balance.
- The Traveler sacrificed itself for humanity, and it’s up to us to return the favor by healing the Traveler.
In the story mission “Chamber of Night” in Destiny 1, Hive Wizards were powering a ritual which was draining the Traveler of its Light. They were doing this by using a shard of the Traveler.
Excerpt from the Chamber of Night:
“Ghost: It’s a shard of the Traveler! They were using it against the Traveler, devouring its Light.”
Even though they weren’t connected physically anymore, the fragment was able to take Light from the sphere above the City. This is one example of the Light being connected across space.
Ulan-tan’s theory got more credibility when Destiny 2 started. The Red Legion’s assault on the City focused on trapping the Traveler in a cage, restraining its Light. They were successful in their plan as well. They were able to strip Guardians of their Light just by trapping the Traveler.
Ulan-tan also believed that we could change the Light, which in turn changed us:
Bond of Symmetry:
“The Light alters us, yet all that we do with our Light alters the Light. Thus, there is symmetry." —Ulan-Tan
To show examples of this, Ulan-tan talked about different types of Light. How using this Light gave us abilities a normal person could never achieve.
“Therefore, if Light connects across space and time, what is the Void? What role does the vacuum—the absence—play? What stops the Darkness from entering into the places between the stars? The answer is simple: the Void is just another type of Light.” —Ulan-Tan
“The Sunsinger is proof that the Light is everywhere. The wings of Radiance allow a Guardian to fly beyond the veil. What further proof do you need, Speaker?” —Ulan-Tan
With the Light, we have gained new abilities and powers. Three classes and three subclasses each.
The Darkness, the theory claims that the Light and the Darkness must be in balance. Ulan-tan gave an example of two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one without the other. If this is true, the Traveler can never wipe out the Darkness, just keep it from the civilizations the sphere touches. Ulan-tan explained that there was a truth inside this theory:
Symmetry Flight:
“…truth beyond this truth, the truth which you most dread: if we could destroy darkness, but we had to give up our Light to do so, how many of us would make that trade?”
This would mean to destroy the Darkness, Guardians would have to give up their Light, the source of their immortality. For the City, this decision is impossible. Which is was this theory is so controversial.
Time to look at Ulan-tan’s theory:
Based on this theory, all Light is connected across time and space. When Ghaul trapped the Traveler in the cage, every Guardian across the system lost their power. But our Ghosts were still operational. So, this means that the Ghosts aren’t fully dependent on the Light, which is a good sign for Guardians after the attack.
Later on, the player Guardian traveled to the EDZ where a large shard of the Traveler was located. They found some leftover Light that was changed, and regained their power. So somehow a Guardian was able to use the Light while the Traveler was still trapped in a cage.
Adding to the theory, (speculation) one way to interpret this is that there is a level where a being’s Light becomes independent from its original source. This is could mean if another Guardian, like Cayde, were to find a source of Light they could absorb to regain their powers, then they reached a level where they aren’t dependent on the Traveler for their power. The level isn’t clearly defined, the player Guardian absorbed an unknown amount of Light, there isn’t a level system we could calculate yet.
On the Darkness side of the theory:
If the Darkness can’t exist without the Light and vice versa, then the only way to win this war, would be to sacrifice our powers to erase the Darkness from the universe. Guardians would no longer be immortal, and the Awoken will be affected worse because of their connection to both sides.
This is an impossible decision for the City to make, given that most of the top Guardians gave up after losing their power for mere days. This war against the Darkness will continue as long as we hold on to the Light. As we have lived as a Guardian, Ulan-tan has been proven right more times than wrong on his theory.
As the protectors of the Last City we must make a decision in the future. Should we keep our powers and continue an endless war, or choose to the leave our powers and save ourselves and the distant planets across the universe.