INTRODUCTION
This story is based on the Destiny series by Bungie
This story is an alternate universe, and will not follow canon established in the games
This story may contain material, themes, and characters some may find disturbing
Please note that content within this story does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of myself or those who have assisted in its creation
I do not own anything explicitly mentioned or presented in any Destiny media
Please note that reviews may contain spoilers
Beta Readers: Edumesh, Sevoris and Aberron
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
[Please note that not all characters are listed)
Clovis Bray | General Secretary of the Central Committee
Hayden Fox | Director of the Triumvirate Intelligence Service
Isaiah Kane | Commander of the Dead Cell
Valentin Kozhukhov | Soviet Cosmonaut
Fang Sov | Chinese Taikonaut
Hamaza el-Hussein | Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in Exile
FORWARD
I have very complicated opinions towards Destiny to put it lightly. There are many things I love about it, and a lot I really, really don't. The art direction, music, some of the lore, and most of what comprises the actual game ranges from good to brilliant. It's a fun game to play, and that is why many people do. Bungie can make a good game, I doubt that's necessarily in dispute.
Where the problems arise from me personally is the story of the game. There are many problems with it on a fundamental level that as of Shadowkeep, have not been addressed. Everything from glaring plot holes, inconsistent rules, absurd amounts of plot armor, unintimidating villains, and mentally challenged characters come together as something that seems cohesive on the surface, but begins to fall apart when you start to dissect it just below the surface.
Despite much of the lore being well-written, it ultimately fails in fixing the fundamental problems with Destiny. I remain unsure if this is due to the constraints of the type of game Destiny is, or because they really don't know how to fix it. I know there are a good many people (Edumesh in particular), who don't necessarily agree with this, but it's important to understand the perspective I'm writing this story from.
I don't want to say that this is 'fixing' Destiny, because that's not what the goal of the story is, not really. Readers of my work know that I tend to take the pieces of what already exists and make something different, and that is what I'm doing here, hence my defining this as an alternate universe. While it will be a bit more consistent and logical across the board, please don't go into this expecting a slightly different, transcribed, or 'fixed' version of canon.
Every single aspect of Destiny I've either reworked, expanded, or removed. To reiterate, this is not the same universe as the games. Fundamental aspects of the universe, especially as it relates to Paracausality, have been changed to be consistent and reflective of their actual capabilities.
Major players and factions have been expanded and reworked. The Traveler is not the only one of her kind. The armies of the Darkness number in the trillions, faced by Guardian Orders of thousands of species. The conflict between Light and Darkness wages far beyond our Solar System. Rasputin is not the only Warmind. There are more changes, but those will come out later.
It's important to set expectations, especially for people not as familiar with my work. Consistency, intrigue, and politics will be driving the story; there will be takes on events and characters that you may not like. There will be characters and factions that may make you uncomfortable. Not everyone is going to like my take on this series, and that's fine. I am far from the only Destiny writer out there.
As far as adaption goes, many events in the games will simply not happen at all or the context will likely be different. The overall tone won't be as light as the games, but I don't really intend to go too far in the opposite direction either. It won't always be straightforward, clean, or comfortable, but in the end, I hope that it is impactful.
Destiny is a setting that has significant potential; it's why I'm writing about this at all. Despite significant flaws, it has captured my imagination in a way that few pieces of media have, and if nothing else, it should be commended for at least trying to do something ambitious. The games may not overcome these narrative hurdles, but there are signs that it could happen. But if not, I hope to, if not at least reach this potential, create something interesting that people will enjoy.
To speak some more on the story you are about to read, my plans with it are the following: this first trilogy will cover the events from the arrival of the Traveler, through the First War of the Darkness, to the waning days of the Collapse (Books I, II, and III respectively), ending just around the time Destiny 1 would start. There may be supplementary material that also comes with it, but likely not until after the first book.
After that, there will be a series that spans the time of the games, though only generalities have been worked out so far. There will be an end, and by the time we get to that, hopefully Bungie will have concluded the series properly, but we'll see.
As far as how often this will be updated, I can't make any promises on that. I'm mostly writing this now so I don't have to wait 6 years until other projects are done. As of the time of writing this, XCOM: The Advent Directive is still ongoing and that will remain my priority. I'll be writing for this intermittently, as something of a side project. I wouldn't expect it to go months without an update, but it probably won't be as frequent, nor the chapters quite as long…which may end up improving my output.
Ah well, I guess we'll see.
A final thing to say is that effectively everything here has been developed with Edumesh, who introduced me to Destiny in the first place. He is to thank for why I'm writing this now, and little if anything at all would be like it is now without his input. He's likely going to be making some direct contributions in the future too, so look forward to that.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy it and look forward to any thoughts you have on it.
- Xabiar