It’s been four months since the release ofDestiny 2 Beyond Light, the fifth expansion for Bungie’s sci-fi looter shooter.Beyond Lightbrought a huge number changes to the game, as well as introducing a new story and missions set around Jupiter’s moon of Europa. One new addition was the Deep Stone Crypt Raid, the first inDestiny 2Beyond Light.
The Deep Stone Crypt Raid takes place in the eponymous facility, which is found on the surface of Europa. As with a lot ofDestiny 2’s Raids, there’s a huge amount of lore behind the guardians' attack on the Deep Stone Crypt. To help new players and veterans alike understand the stakes of the encounter, here’s our breakdown of the lore behindBeyond Light’s first Raid.
The Deep Stone Crypt
While there have been rumors about theDeep Stone Crypt in the lore since the originalDestiny, very little was known about it. All players knew for certain about the Crypt was that it was the origin of all Exos, Destiny’s self-aware machine race. The mysterious nature of the Deep Stone Crypt made many players assume that it wasn’t a physical location at all, but rather a name for the piece of code that first granted the Exos sentience.
In fact, it’s both. The Deep Stone Crypt is not only the subroutine by which the Exos were created, but it’s also the location in which they were first made during humanity’s Golden Age. It was at the Deep Stone Crypt, on the surface of Europa, thatscientist Clovis Bray I’s studies of the Vex allowed him to finally crack the problems of early Exominds.
Clovis Bray, Scientist and Patriarch
Clovis Bray was a scientist fromDestiny’s Golden Age of humanity, and founder of the Clovis Bray company. Many of humankind’s greatest technological advancements in Destiny came from Bray’s genius. Bray was fascinated by the idea of immortality, and came to Europa to find a way to achieve it. It was there he discovered Clarity Control, an artifact/entity from another dimension. Clarity Control is associated with the Darkness, the ultimate antagonist of theDestinyseries, which Bray referred to as Clarity.
By exposing the microscopic creatures that make up the biological parts of Vex constructs to this Clarity, Bray discovered a mysterious new substance. He named it Alkahest, in honor of the substance produced by the Philosopher’s Stone in ancient legend. This Alkahest had unique properties which allowed it, when applied to the physical components of anExomindinDestiny 2’s universe, to prevent the deterioration that his previous experiments had suffered. Bray eventually fell prey to Vex corruption, and was forced to upload himself into a Exomind. He became Clovis-I, the artificial intelligence of the Deep Stone Crypt.
Taniks, The Scarred
The mission that sends the guardians to the Deep Stone Crypt begins with the Exo Stranger, who is in factElisabeth Bray, granddaughter of Clovis Bray I. Elizabeth has learned that Eramis of the Fallen House of Salvation, the main antagonist ofBeyond Light, has sent her agent Atraks-1 to secure the Deep Stone Crypt. Atraks-1, also known as the Fallen Exo, is there to use the Clarity Control to revive Taniks the Scarred, the infamous Fallen mercenary.
Having twice been defeated by the guardians in the past, Taniks is eager to take his revenge. It’s up to the players to defeat Atraks-1, after which the Clovis-I AI triggers the nuclear descent protocol. This is the Deep Stone Crypt’s ultimate defense system, and involves dropping the nuclear-armed Morning Star station onto the facility from orbit.
After preventing the total destruction of Europa by disabling the nuclear cores, the Guardians must face Taniks once again in a new form. The Fallen mercenary emerges from the debris asTaniks, the Abomination, having used the power of the Clarity Control to fuse himself with a Heavy Shank vehicle.
The Aftermath
Although Taniks is once again destroyed at the end of the Raid, the consequences of theFallen’s attack on the Deep Stone Cryptlook dire. The Guardian team may have managed to prevent the Morning Star from destroying Europa, but it still completely eradicated the Crypt’s defenses.
As the Clovis-I AI warns toward the end of the mission, this means that the Crypt is open to anyone who wants to claim it. The powerful technologies inside are quite a draw for both allies and enemies of humanity. Ultimately, this means that the Guardians may once again be called upon to defend the Deep Stone Crypt in the future. This could take the form of anotherRaid in a future expansion, or some other kind of mission. WhileDestiny 2 Beyond Lightmay have revealed some of the mysteries of Clovis Bray I’s work, it’s clear that there’s more to be discovered in the future.
Destiny 2is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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