A new trailer was released for Destiny 2’s next seasonal content, Season of Dawn, revealing that many of the predictions of what was to come in Season 9 were quite accurate. One recent rumor was that the fabled character Saint-14 from Destiny’s lore was set to return as part of the season, which was confirmed as well. In addition to the return of the Curse of Osiris’ titular character, Osiris, Saint-14 looks to be a major focus of the story for the upcoming season.
But who exactly is Saint-14? And what makes him such a popular character despite this being his first actual in-game appearance? At least, this is his first appearance in Destiny 2 when he has been alive (more on that later). For veteran fans of the franchise, mentions of Saint-14 date back to the first game with focus being put back on the legendary character of the game’s lore in Curse of Osiris.
And, now with the upcoming release of Season of Dawn, it looks like fans will pursue the continuing story of Saint-14, a story whose breadcrumbs have been laid down in the lore for quite some time now.
In the lore, Saint-14 was one of the earliest Guardians to rise to notoriety. He was the first Titan Vanguard, the position now held by Zavala. Saint-14 was appointed to the position by the Speaker, who loved the Exo Saint-14 and adopted him as a son, calling Saint-14 “the right hand of the Speaker.” Saint-14’s fellow Warlock Vanguard was Osiris. Saint-14 is famous for leading crusades against the Fallen and defeating many of them. Saint-14 took part in many of the legendary battles of the Last City told of in the lore including the Battle of Twilight Gap and the Battle of Six Fronts.
After the Battle of Twilight Gap, Saint-14 hunted a powerful Fallen leader known as Solkis, Kell of the House of Devils. The two fought a vicious battle, and just when it seemed that Saint-14 was defeated, he gathered his Light into a powerful headbutt that pierced Solkis’s head, giving Saint-14 the victory. It appears that the premium/paid path of Season 9’s seasonal rank rewards will include a headbutt finishing move that mimics this, unlocking at rank 10.
Saint-14 met his demise when he was sent on a mission by the Speaker to bring his good friend Osiris back to the Last City after Osiris fled to Mercury in his obsession to study and understand the Vex, fearing that Osiris would awaken the Vex and destroy the peace that the Guardians had just earned in the great battles against the Last City. While tracking Osiris, Saint-14 got lost in the Infinite Forest where the Vex finally simulated a Vex Mind specifically tuned to drain his Light and to kill him. Despite killing the Vex Mind and a ton of Vex in the process, the Vex Mind was successful and Saint-14 died in the Infinite Forest, where he was laid to rest.
Back in Curse of Osiris, in a quest to earn Saint-14’s weapon, Perfect Paradox, players found Saint-14 entombed in the Infinite Forest, confirming the story that had been somewhat of a rumor in the lore up until then. In the lore tab for Perfect Paradox, it explains that Saint-14 got his shotgun from a Guardian whom Saint-14 believed would be the ultimate Guardian and who would expel all of the Last City’s enemies. Saint-14 says he lived his life living in the example of what he believed was a “Guardian savior.”
This may be leading to a time loop storyline to be revealed in Season of Dawn, where it is actually the player who is this Guardian who gifted the Saint-14 of the past with Perfect Paradox only to have him die in what players know as the past to then resurrect him again (or for the first time?) in Season of Dawn after their actions in the Final Assualt of this season’s Vex Offensive. With time travel being such a big part of the stories of Saint-14, Osiris, Mercury, the Infinite Forest, and the Vex, it is not hard to see all this connecting in the narrative of next season. There are certainly strong hints that this Guardian who inspired Saint-14 is, in fact, the player, including the lore attached to The Helm of Saint-14 containing a conversation between Cayde-6 and Shaxx who say that Saint-14 believed this great Guardian would one day purge the Moon from Crota, which players did in Destiny 1’s Crota’s End raid.
After what many fans believed was a mishandling of Osiris’s character in the Curse of Osiris expansion as well as a generally negative response to Mercury as a destination, the Season of Dawn definitely feels like an opportunity to revisit this story, location, and another legendary character to deliver on fan expectation. It won’t be long before players can judge for themselves—Season of Dawn begins December 10, 2019.
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
Source: Lore gathered from Ishtar Collective
