Destiny 2 Lore - The Origins of Rhulk, The First Disciple of The Witness & Lubrae's Ruin! 

It's gotta sting for Rhulk, or any similarly devoted darkness-advocate, to get killed by Guardians, a group who not only don't listen to anything you have to say about your ideology, but then will literally dance on your grave and run off without giving you so much as a second thought

Bascially: Rhulk: " Where is my family? Are they safe? Are they alright?" Darkness: "It seems in your anger... You killed them."

I think Lubrae's name itself is significant. I think that it is a combination of latin, Lumin/Lux (light) and Tenebrae (darkness). So the two suns make sense. Light and Dark.

One the best destiny villains I think we’ve gotten both design and lore wise for sure.

I am almost completely convinced now that when we first realy met with the Darkness or the Witness at the end of Shadowkeep, when it spoke almost the same line to Rhulk as they did to us "We are your Salvation" they ment it directly to US, not Humanity, The last City or Guardians, no at Us: Hivebane, Wolf-slayer, Slayer of Oryx, and Young Wolf. We are intended to be the next Desciple of the Witness.

The Traveler has so many exes, it has a real commitment problem

I get the impression that Rhulk's devotion and fanaticism to The Witness is more "you're all I have, and I won't be alone/cast aside again" rather than a genuine shift of philosophy and perspective absolutism.

I think Lubrae's second sun could have been a Brown Dwarf rather than a star corrupted or created by Darkness. Its light output would peak in the infrared but make nighttime brighter than our full moon.

I think it was a huge missed opportunity to not make Rhulk’s glaive the raid exotic, I believe it’s the first time we have gotten a bosses’ weapon as our own and it feels a little weird that it’s a legendary. Especially with the disappointment that came with the exotic class glaives, I really think they could have made Lubrae’s Ruin a super cool exotic.

I'm just leaving it here more as a fun fact then a nitpick as it won't change the overall story. The "Black Sun" doesn't have to be a black hole and to be honest it propably isn't as it would cause all sorts of problems. It could be a red dwarf and be refferd as black thanks to its sister star. Blue stars are ridiculously bright, we're talking even milion times brighter than our Sun. Compare it to a red dwarf which are usually hundreds of times dimmer than our Sun and we get our black sun. Additionally, red dwarfs are much more unstable, thus much more harmful to life in general. Another evidence for the red dwarf theory is the mural inside one of the rooms of the first encounter in the raid. There we can see a blue star and a red one. Ok enough rambling, I'm going back to watching :D

8:09 cool little detail, if you separate every 2nd word in the 3rd line then it forms the sentence “How did it come to this. Forgive me” It also leaves “Fear mothers sadness fathers hate children sorrow displeasure.” No idea what that could mean but maybe that’s what rhulk saw as the planet was dying? The mothers, fathers and children, their fear and hatred of him

Rhulk watching Oryx fail to genocide his first enemy species: Pathetic...

Watching any other lore video on Rhulk: NO Waiting till Byf uploads a massive video: YES

"How Did It Come To This. Forgive Me." Fear mothers sadness. Fathers hate. Children sorrow displeasure.

What’s an interesting perspective is the Witness’s view on suffering. It’s like almost a prescient sympathy. The Witness can feel, or is at least is greatly discomforted by the suffering of others. And can’t solve it any other way than eliminating the source of suffering (life living to suffer) all together. It’s a very non human view. But i think it’s a sympathy never the less. The same way the hive viewed love as war, in order to condition their siblings to better defend themselves. Edit : I propose a question since this comment is getting traction. Would you think that a balance of the darknesses tough love, and the lights peace and prosperity is the best compared to either extreme?

Its crazy how Witness is all about making one remember while the Traveller wants you to forget everything and become reforged in light. Honestly i dont know the bigger meaning behind this but i final it fasinating.

I always wondered if all the civilizations touched by the Traveler ended up in a good way. This was an example of a civilization that went the other way, and ultimately destroyed their world. It kinda makes it seem the Traveler is just going around, blessing civilizations without any forthought, like a god giving their blessing Willy nilly without considering the consequences.

The reason people love this so much I think is because his character design and raid mechanics are pretty unique to the destiny universe. It’s not just another fallen captain, mechanical boss, or a hive wizard or knight.

So glad you covered Rhulk's backstory in a video! I haven't played the raid but I'm absolutely fascinated by Rhulk's story. The writers at Bungie have outdone themselves once again. What a heartbreaking story. The parts where the Witness made Rhulk relive his past and Rhulk wanted it to stop kind of made me feel pity for him, because under his ruthless spirit and his rage there was a remnant of regret. I felt the same way for Savathûn in her cutscene with the Traveler. These are ruthless beings that have done terrible things, but the way they're written make me feel a tiny bit of sympathy for them. Savathûn was lied to and felt abandoned. Rhulk felt confused by his father and felt betrayed by his own family. This doesn't excuse their actions, but it explains them. There was darkness in them from the beginning, but the Witness gave them the final push that set them "free", the final push that made them succumb to that darkness. Savathûn and Rhulk are tragic characters, and I think that's exactly what makes them such good villains. Your video made me appreciate even more this lore and Rhulk as a character. Bloody well done. Thank you

Keep em coming Byf. You fuel my day with your uploads

All I can think during his story. Either reading it myself, or watching others videos on it. My one thought is always, “rise Lord Vader!”

The contrast between Oryx’s lore and Rhulk’s is amazing. You can definitely see the underlying workings of the witness

It’s interesting how The Witness “freed” Rhulk by showing him his past, which allowed him to let go of who he was altogether. Severing his only attachment to his old life, allowing him to become a Disciple Makes me think that by completing Duality, and killing the Nightmare of Caital, who’s labeled as “Calus’ greatest shame”, we inadvertently helped give him over to the witness to become what he is now

"Relief" what a way to end it, so cold and menacing. I do wonder what the witness feels toward his disciples though. Rhulks admiration and devotion to the witness is not unlike how a son views his father or a hero. But from the witness perspective what does it feel. It's been doing this for who knows how long being apart of this game. Is it proud , does it feel something after rhulks loss.

Wow, this may be one of my favorite Lore of all Destiny. The suffering The betrayal The ending Rhulk breaking into his feet. 10/10

-Eliminates his entire species -Doesn't elaborate Truly the most based villian

Anyone else getting some serious "Sith Lord origin story" from Rhulk's backstory. Destiny has always shared the Fantastical Space Opera blood Star Wars thrives on but I am really getting that vibe in his book. Not to mention the obvious comparison of "Fear, Anger, Hate, Suffering" in how the witness spurred Rhulk on

Byf I just wanna point out how much I appreciate your narration. It always add so much life to these lore cards. Always read them in your voice and cadence. As always great video!

Any object could potentially end up in a stable orbit around any black hole. They are like any other gravitational mass. You're only in danger once you approach the event horizon. Most galaxies, including our own, orbit black holes.

40:10 cool to see that the deeds, by proxy, of the witness and traveller are the exact opposite of eachother. The witness saves one to kill billions. The mercy cutscene of lord Saladin shows that you shouldn't save one life if wil cost more lives.

I just wanna say how awesome byf's narration is, and how incredible these stories are, props to Bungie

I could be wrong, but I think the implication for the two suns of Lubrae is that one sun is made of concentrated light and the other concentrated darkness, playing in the idea that they are fundamental forces such as gravity or the nuclear force or matter

As with all of lore readings, this one was a master piece. Every line, every word, pronunciated with extreme precision and great care. When I hear you read, I feel the story manifest itself in my mind. I felt what Rhulk felt, I saw what Rhulk saw, I heard his voice through yours. You truly have an amazing talent, being able bring a story to life in this way. I thank you dearly for putting this together, for taking the time to read us this story. I now only wish I could find a way to play the raid.

I can’t help but notice the similarity between Lubrae society and Guardians on earth. A single prosperous city, surrounded by defenses, sending out warriors to wreak havoc on anyone they consider a threat

I know you are probably swamped with Destiny 2 lore to cover, but at some point, I think it would be super cool to get a video on Risk of Rain 2. There is a lot of stuff to read from items, and monsters, as well as the recent Void DLC that came out for it. There is quite a bit to get into for the small game that it is, and I think it could be interesting for a short video or a short series of videos. Always love the destiny videos, super good to listen to, always interested and always interesting.

I could honestly listen to Rhulks musings all day, he really is a interesting character

I have a request-I am retired & will not be able to do the raid. Is there anyway to do a curated tour of Rhulk’s pyramid? There are so many artifacts and stunning visuals that go by in a blur with watching all the game play. This is a visually stunning raid and needs to be fully appreciated. Thanks for your consideration-

This story was both heartbreaking and fascinating not just because of the view into Rhluk's past but how we got to see another civilization that the traveler uplifted Also I think that second sun could have been a Brown Dwarf? Maybe?

Truly enjoy the way you tell the story. The research and the energy with which you present it. Thanks.

In my entire time of being a guardian from 2017 all the way up to when I decided to hang up my gun for ever because of some bad experiences that ruined my love for the game I have not missed a single freaking upload! And my time on watching different types of content creators vtubers to just normal people no one is better in my eyes than this man I really do appreciate everything you do byf I may not play the game right now but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna support you!

Hey Byf, after this I listened to the Dark Future lore video you posted last year and noticed some tie ins with Witch Queen. Savathuun is mentioned to have attacked the city 'alongside' other forces. The bray siblings mention they "Know what she did" in reference to Savathuun. Could this mean that in the Dark future, Savathuun succeeded in weaving the traveler away from Earth? Thus sealing away the light?

48 minutes!? Thank you! These videos make work go by so quickly. Going to wait until Monday to watch this. Just beat the raid last night too!

Absolute KILLER video. You and the team do an amazing job telling these stories in a way that really shows the impact these events have on the characters in this universe and how it all ties in to the greater overarching storyline. Well done 👌

Rhulk: latest meme icon, Giga chad, unstoppable force, immovable object, and god of soccer (football depending where your from) and finally one of the most powerful dark beings we’ve met so far

Yknow, I always knew destiny lore was dark, but something about him shedding his entire home planet of all life and the detail going into his mind is straight up terrifying. Fantastic lore. It's amazing that a character we only first meet just to kill in the raid has so much depth and character

Sweet was not expecting one this long, thank you!!

YES! another banger lore vid. Can't get enough on this topic - I was fascinated by the Worms Gods but this is even better. Cant wait for the next one and hopefully find out his history with and where he ranks among The Hive Gods. Great job.

Thank you so much for this Byf, your dramatic reading gives me goosebumps. This is so good!

Initially I was taken aback by his appearance, but dang. The more I see and hear of Rhulk the more I believe he is one of the most interesting raid bosses in destiny right now. What a journey.

For the entire story after it first came up, the witnesses power was “your“ (being the witness‘s) luster but after Rhulk emerges from his memories its “his“ (Rhulk‘s) luster. Does that mean that rhulk has become one, or at least a part of the witness?

Always enjoy your lore vids byf, they make the breadcrumbs of bungies story telling make much more sense.

This is the first of your videos that I've come across and honestly I could hear you talk for days on end, your pronunciation is flawless and tone is soothing to the point that it can be ominous. Looking forward to your new content as well as the old

i just wanna thank you for all the effort you put into these videos. me and everybody else were waiting for this video and i just think your a great content creator, keep it up man

The Witness is many. [ Voices screaming to the end ] The Traveller left civilizations as soon as it deemed them capable of surviving on their own. Those whom the Traveller left behind, lightless and confused [ drowning in Dark ] fell into disarray, into collapse. Some chased the Traveller...at first [foolishly] to regain it's favour. But as they witnessed the Traveller's path [ a trail of blood and suffering it smears across the universe ], they saw that it's light was no gift [ RUIN ], that those blinded by overwhelming light could only see overwhelming darkness everfter. So taken this new insight, the Witness embraced the Dark, became [ finality ] saviours . Whenever blinding Light overfed a civilization and left them [starving] in the cold Void [ RUIN R U I N R U I N U R A N U R U N ], the Witness came to deliver a quick merciful death. Ending untold suffering, saving countless lives. The Witness are mercy for the weak, purpose for the strong, judge and jury for the sins of [cosmic disturbance] the Traveller. They are [END] our Salvation.

Yes! A long video on a sunday. Thank you Byf

43:50 I dont know if it was on purpose or not, but the pyramid song comming while you said "witness" was a nice touch.

Very interesting stuff. I don’t think it was Rhulks father or family who threw him into the abyss but Rhulk himself. My guess is whatever they said must’ve made him realize how wrong he was and that he’d allowed himself to become what he wanted to destroy. The betrayal he speaks of but can’t remember was the realization of he he’d betrayed himself, which led him to try and end his own life. At the same time, some part of his mind still tried to rationalize what he’d done and repress what happened as a coping mechanism to ward off the guilt. This is why he expresses sorrow and remorse after destroying his world, yet still tries to justify his anger towards everyone. He knows what he did is wrong, but is trying to tell himself otherwise and repressing the memories that prove it.

Loving the raid lore videos!

Well im currently in quarantine and you’re videos help me to pass the time I have to wait + you’re voice is so special and so calming that I could instantly fall asleep (that’s a compliment)

Byf's really taking the voice acting to another level. Great line reading.

Byf don’t got his ghorn catalyst done 😭😭😭

So basically Rhulk killed his family and clan and destroyed his own race because the Darkness is lit fam

Great video as always! You passion for the lore and for storytelling is without equal!

Incredible lore. Thank you for covering it and I can’t wait to hear more. :)

What an epic story. Easily one of my favorite characters destiny has introduced. Really hope he is not truly dead. I don’t want to be done with him just yet.

I think there is one crucial detail that the Witness/Darkness has never given any verbal mention to, the thing that we forced Savathun to realize with the death of Oryx. We as guardians have time and time again overpowered and slain the greatest followers of the Darkness (Rhulk now included). By the Darkness' own principals, we whether knowing or not have proven thus far by right of slaughter that we are the most deserving of existence. Who then is the worthiest of fitting with the final shape?

Really loved the video Byf, it truly feels like destiny story is unfolding

Just got out of the grocery store and this popped up on my feed. Rest of the day off, a welcome sight Byf!

I hope some Lubre people survive and we will see them in light fall on travelers side. Сhances of that are small, but still possible

Love it BYf. Wondering if you could talk on a potential possibility here as well. Based on the pattern with the pyramid ships and their involvement with us or Eramus or Eris or Elizebeth bray or Clovis bray or calus etc….. between these individuals and planets there is a constant interaction with the darkness/pyramid ships in some form or another. Course there’s also timeline references here as well. But I’m curious your thoughts on the potential of there also being a pyramid ship that was sunk in under the waters of titan! I’m reminded of the instance when we are on the campaign and going underwater through the rig to fight Xol , And along the way we can see a creature swing by that is gigantic in size but the details are very vague. It’s more of just like a shadow going by the underwater window. However after looking at the stone/amber crystallization of the larvae in rhulks pyramid ship and understanding the experimentation going on there, it makes me wonder if the creature we saw on titan going by that window, was actually a mature version of one of these larvae worm somehow. Obviously The experimentation process with the larvae and these worms has to do with having a host or whatever. But the unofficial pattern that we seem to see with all of these destinations has been a subtle or secret involvement with the darkness being at that location as well typically through a pyramid ship hidden somewhere. And it beckons two different individuals including us. So it would stand to reason I would think that there would also be a pyramid ship that was on Titan and that may be through some of the experimentation going on there possibly, that these worms were able to live or have some type of lifespan in a more mature state in the waters of the deep there. The worms did originally exist in a pathetic state with no host originally on fundament so it doesn’t seem too far-fetched. But the aesthetics and designs of the crystallized larvae in the disciples pyramid ship with the little antennas and spindles and shape… They instantly reminded me of that large creature swimming by the window underwater on Titan. Just a much larger and more mature size. Just curious.

Wow, that is one HELL of a backstory. Thanks for making this!

Still watching the video. Had to pause to say your Narration is fantastic. Im new to the Lore side of the game but im absolutely hooked. Bravo.

Something interesting is that the witness in custscenes seems to have 2 voices and in this book refers to itself as we, so does that mean the witness is multiple entities?

Scientifically speaking a “black sun” could be a black hole. This could also explain the Blue Sun because the gravitational pull of the black hole would change the light coming from the sun’s wavelength to undergo a blue-shift effect. A doppler effect for light so to speak

I literally can't watch any lore channel except for byf his is always amazing and just can't get enough

YESSS i was anticipating rhulk's background so much. Ive had a bunch of tests and stuff and yea ill het to doing the missions eventually but byf says it just so well.

I am almost completely convinced there is more to Rhulks past than we have seen. Just like the lies that predated the book of sorrows, I can't help but feel Rhulks father's 'betrayals' are not what we think, that Rhulks perception of events were twisted by the Witness when he went searching for a disciple.

The sword logic is for tyrants, and destiny gives us a great representation of this. Only a cruel heart and a vile leader would destroy those who are too weak to fight and win. Sick. Cruel. Is this portrayal, but this is ( without the sword logic) is also the way of our world right now.

Exactly the lunch break listen I needed, great job keeping up with the new content

letss goo I was waiting on this video ! Another banger in the books, great job byf !!

Wacky theory: Lubrae was one of the games played between The Traveler/Gardener and the Darkness/Winnower. They created a planet orbiting a neutron star being (very very) slowly absorbed by a black hole. That gives them a "board" upon which to play, with a set time limit, and as a bonus it cleans itself up when they're done. All they need at this point is a Referee ("The Witness") and game pieces (The Lubraens). The Lubraens don't seem to be an extremely advanced species (No space travel, a bunch of them are hunter-gatherers) so I don't think they could have created the artificial crack in their planet, I think that is what served as the middle of the board. Team Darkness on one side, where only the strong survive, and Team Light on the other with a relatively complex and technological city siphoning energy off of their handy neutron star. Things went all authoritarian/dystopian in the city, so the Traveler took the loss, and both it and the Darkness moved on to new a new game, leaving Lubrae, The Lubraens, and The Witness (located inside the "planet" they had made, some kind of black super-computer goo) to get squashed neatly into a singularity. The Witness didn't love that plan clearly, and found a way to get out of it's planet/shell. Rhulk just happened to be convenient to help do that. I don't buy the whole "Rhulk destroyed the planet" bit, I think it was likely due to The Witness leaving the planet, and The Witness is just letting him think that as leverage. Rhulk is pretty clearly Lubraen Dexter, even down to the killing neighborhood pets. The Witness saw in him a useful Lieutenant and brought him in to It's mission to end the Traveler/Darkness game once and for all. TLDR: Lubrae is a super-computer wrapped in a planet orbiting a black hole created by The Traveler and The Darkness as a temporary game board. "The Witness" was the neutral arbiter of that game. Planet went boom. Witness is pissed. Rhulk is a pawn.

The parallels of Rhulks story to the trajectory of our own is interesting to say the least. The only memories we have our of the current regime... who teters closely on the line of brutality in the name of light

Another great video! Love your work Byf!

you know, reading the lore book by myself versus listening to Byf interpret it and read it are two different things. fantastic video

Here is a theoretical explanation of the black sun, sorry if this gets a bit technical :D. 🔵☀️🕳️ In fact, in our world stable system with black holes are possible without everything being sucked in, for the same reason as why we don’t fall into the sun. The light is a bit trickier, but in fact black holes are often quite bright, only unfortunately no light that we can see. They radiate X-Rays. Even if there are no living beings on earth that can see them, it is not impossible that their race can see them. This light would be dim (dark light?), however which would fit the deadly night. One scarcely enough to see more than contours. This would give all living beings on the planet a slight evolutionary advantage why this could evolved there.

Stars that burn very hot tend to be blue. Also there are brown stars which radiate heat but not much light. Maybe bungie is using this for the story…. Thanks for listening to my Ted talk

I've seen multiple rhulk lore videos atleast 3. But none are as in depth as yours and there was still so much I'm just now learning from your video. Good shi my guy💪🏾🔥

I've been checking your channel every day waiting on this I'm so excited 😁

The Dark Sun is an implication of sun that has collapsed previously and turned into a small black hole which is normal for a binary system as one sun slowly orbits the black hole.

I have a theory that Oryx was planned to be another Disciple. He also slew a Work God and spoke directly to the True Darkness, not just the Witness. I think Oryx, Eris and ourselves are the only one to communicate with the True Darkness, besides the Witness himself

"'We are your ... salvation." The Witness tried to get us with the same pickup line

You know that outro is so good, when it makes you wanna cry every time :Dd

There are stars ( hypotetical ) that are black, called black dwarf suns. There are also "dark" suns called brown stars, both are stars at the end of their "life" that spent their "fuel". A black dwarf sun would have a lore implication as it would date destiny universe much older than ours as it would take a quadrillion years for a sun to become a black dwarf sun.

I wonder if the light was ever out of control. Like there were multiple travelers at one point, and the darkness and pyramid ships were the constant losers. And now the darkness gained advantage at some point and is just trying to keep the light from getting out of control or overpowered again. I know it sounds stupid, it's just one theory.

Man the glaive gameplay on the scorn walker in the background while Byf is explaining the lore is very amusing to me!

Rhulk was quite literally so close to fighting for a different side, it's kind of one of those things where whoever he ran into first was the side he joined.

The quality content you people get For free At least leave the man a like on his video

I personally think that Lubrae’s dark sun may have been a planet that was taken over by a pyramid ship. Our planets were also described as leaving a black void of where they once were, when overtaken by the pyramid ships. Also we already know that Rhulk met the Witness on Lubrae which would mean that the Witness would have been in their star system.

That feeling when you've eradicated worlds, shattered suns and torn bones from living gods and some dudes with names like "Mara Sov's Thigh Gap" And "Calus' Bathwater" dance after finishing you off and complain you didn't drop some weird gun.

Great vid, as always. Thank you for your time and efforts