Destiny 2: Who The Vow Of Disciple Worm God Is

The Vow of the Disciple Raid has introduced Guardians to a few key details regarding the expanded lore in Destiny 2, specifically, information about the Worm Gods and the Hive. The Hive species have long been a key antagonist of both Destiny and Destiny 2, and they’re among one of the oldest documented species in the game. For roughly five billion years, the Hive have conquered planet after planet and system after system to feed the hunger tribute of their Worms. According to The Taken King expansion from Destiny, all Hive are symbiotically bound by a Worm larva from one of five Worm Gods, but the Worm God that can be seen in the Vow of the Disciple Raid isn’t one of the five.

The five Worm Gods that The Taken King expansion refers to are Ur, Yul, Xol, Akka, and Eir, but the Worm God that Guardians have stumbled upon in the Vow of the Disciple Raid is known as Xita, the Nurturing Worm and mother of the Worm Gods. Much like the Krill, the species that the Hive evolved from, the homeworld of the Worms Gods is a planet called Fundament. Though Fundament is considered their homeworld, however, the Worm Gods’ actual origins remain a mystery. According to the Darkness, the paracausal force that is the main antagonist of the Destiny series at large, certain entities existed before time or the universe began. This is revealed in the Unveiling lore book from the Shadowkeep expansion, and it’s possible that the Worm Gods are among such entities.

Regardless of their origins, however, the Vow of the Disciple Raid in Destiny 2 is the first time that Guardians and humanity are introduced to Xita, though it isn’t directly. Although Xita and the other Worm Gods have always been aligned with the Darkness, Xita’s actual history has been rather tragic from her days on Fundament to her eternal slumber in Rhulk’s Pyramid. When the Guardians traversed through the Pyramid sunken in Throne World, they unknowingly were helping free Rhulk from his imprisonment at the hands of Savathûn. Though his plans were to eliminate the Guardians when they reached him, Rhulk was ultimately defeated, and this put the captive Xita into her eternal slumber.

Xita’s Origins In Destiny: Rhulk, The Hive, & The Witness

Billions of years ago in the oceans of Fundament, before the Krill became the Hive, the Worm Gods were prisoners of the Leviathan, a large and intelligent creature that was a disciple of the Traveler. One day, Rhulk, Disciple of the Witness in Destiny 2, traveled to Fundament and descended into its oceans in search of the Worm Gods. Though the Leviathan attempted to stop him, it ultimately proved to be a futile attempt as Rhulk ripped one of its ribs out. According to the lore documented in the Resonant Fury Gauntlets, Rhulk lifted the Leviathan’s head with its own rib and said:

“You would not look upon the one who bested you, beast? Lift your eyes and meet mine. What lies beyond belongs not to you. Nor to your false god hiding amongst the many moons. It belongs to that which witnesses all. You would do best not to forget it, regardless of your misplaced loyalties.”

The Resonant Fury Gauntlets are a reward in Destiny 2’s Vow of the Disciple Raid, and their lore concludes with Xita recalling the Leviathan’s rib falling to the ocean floor, and that Rhulk was to be their fate. All five pieces of the Titan reward armor continue to depict Xita’s experiences with Rhulk, the Witness, and even the Witch Queen herself. The Resonant Fury Helmet, for example, details that the Witness wanted the Worm Gods’ power to create an army bound by captivity. In exchange for their power, however, Rhulk promised Xita that no harm would come to her children. Grasping the Leviathan’s rib as Rhulk held it out to her, Xita was brought out from the oceans of Fundament and aboard his Pyramid.

With Xita’s reluctant agreement, the story of Destiny 2’s Witch Queen would officially be underway. Through worm familiars born from pieces of Xita, Rhulk returned to Fundament to cast them in the ocean. A worm familiar would eventually be carried to the shores of the Osmium Kingdom, where its king, Sathona’s father, would descend into madness upon hearing the Witness’s whispers of an impending cataclysm. The king’s madness prompted a coup and assassination attempt for him and his three daughters, Xi Ro, Sathona, and Aurash. Over the course of three Fundament years, the three daughters escaped and sailed the oceans of Fundament with their father’s worm familiar in hand.

How Xita Served The Witness & Rhulk In Destiny

As the Guardians learned during The Witch Queen expansion story in Destiny 2, Sathona would hear the whispers of the worm as well. This prompted her and her sisters to dive into the oceans of Fundament to reach The Deep where the remaining Worm Gods lived. As they dove deeper and deeper into the ocean, the three sisters were greeted by the Leviathan. Though it urged them to turn back and choose the Light and reject the Darkness below, the sisters continued onward.

When Sathona, Xi Ro, and Aurash reached Ur, Yul, Xol, Akka, and Eir, the Worms Gods offered the sisters immortality as symbiotes with their worm larvae. The sisters agreed willingly, and so Xi Ro was reborn into Xivu Arath, Sathona into Savathûn, and Aurash into Auryx (and later Oryx). Together, they spread more larvae to the Krill to create the warmongering conquerors known as the Hive, detailed in The Taken King expansion lore in Destiny as well.

For billions of years, Xita would continue producing larvae in her imprisonment aboard Rhulk’s Pyramid as the Hive conquered system after system. Though she willingly went with Rhulk, Xita was never treated as anything more than a tool or a means to the end. In fact, as detailed in the Resonant Fury Mark armor, Xita explains that Savathûn knew what she was and that the Witch Queen never really cared for her because of the decision Xita made that affected her, and the Hive.

Nonetheless, Xita observed everything that transpired aboard the Pyramid, such as conversations between Rhulk and the Witness, Rhulk and the Witch Queen, and Rhulk’s growing desire for more power. Guardians can get this armor piece as a reward for completing the Caretaker encounter in Vow of the Disciple, as well as the Rhulk encounter, to read more of Xita’s direct thoughts.

Xita’s Final Thoughts & Interactions In Destiny 2

Specifically, the last bit of internal dialogue in the Resonant Fury Mark armor from Xita is worth noting, because even though the Worm Gods and Hive are antagonists in the Destiny universe it explains that their position with Rhulk and the Disciple is forced.

“In the Deep, my children pay a price in servitude, for survival. In ascendance, the Hive pay a price in servitude, for power. And in the dark, I pay a price in servitude, so that others may be nutured. It must not be in vain.“

Though Xita is currently in a vegetative state inside the Pyramid, Guardians can bring the Parasite Exotic Grenade Launcher containing Savathûn’s Worm to meet the Worm Mother for a brief reunion during the Preservation mission. The Worm Familiar recalls the Pyramid as the home of the Worm Mother and Worm Father, namely Rhulk, and explains that it is good to be back. After clearing out the Scorn, Guardians can bring the Worm Familiar to one of the pedestals and activate the dialogue to hear its final words to Xita in Destiny 2.

“Worm Mother… though you sleep eternal, your role grand symphony persists. Legacy will be carried best I can.“

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