The Traveler and the Darkness are not the same. The Travler isnt the Darkness. But they are working together. In the Book of Sorrows, it is said that Oryx and the Hive are not the Deep/Darkness. The sisters of Oryx question his leadership, ask if he is a puppet of the Deep/Darkness. Oryx does not feel that he is. He feels like the Hive are the pinnacle of what the Darkness hopes to achieve. He also seeks to destroy the Traveler, to devour it. He says this is what the Deep and the worm he feeds with death wants, but he is unsure as to why. He believes by the end he will understand all. Meanwhile, we know from another grimoire card about the black garden there is doubt about the Traveler. The flower in the shape of a ghost "you are a dead thing, made from a dead power. All you ever do is kill." We know that the Traveler has been on the run from the Darkness for a while. We also know from the Book of Sorrows that the Traveler will abandon the civilizations it builds up after a time, usually before the Darkness consumes them. We also know the Traveler arms these civilizations with amazing weapons. It helped one species weaponize its own sun, and gave humanity the Guardians, essentially super heroes who cannot die, or are extremely hard to kill consistently. So the Traveler weaponizes species. The Darkness comes, usually with the Hive leading the charge. This leads to massive, century long wars. Billions die. We know this death feeds the Darkness, makes it strong. Yet the Traveler always seems to get away. But Earth was different. Rasputin knew the war was a losing effort. He knew his fighting would be pointless. So he stopped fighting. Shut everything down. Why? Well the Traveler would be forced to defend its self. With the Hive out to destroy it, the Fallen out to reclaim it (more on that in a minute) and the Vex and Cabal at least interested in it, it was forced to do something. It fought back and saved itself. It created the Ghosts to create the Guardians to protect it as it repaired itself. Rasputin knew this would work. Knew the Traveler would fight back for self preservation. And knew the Darkness would not finish it. Knew that the Darkness would simply lurk and wait. The Darkness is a predator that feeds on death. The Traveler is a harbinger of that oncoming death. it makes civilizations strong and populous, so that when the Darkness comes there will be a massive war, so the Darkness can feed. That would explain why the Traveler was near the Fundament as the Hive formed. Why it has helped draw many different species together. For the Deep/Darkness to feed on the unimaginable death and destruction, and the ultimate creation of the Darkness' greatest tool, the Hive. None of the other races are in on this. The Hive are simply tools of the Darkness, barely willing. The Fallen are simply a species broken by the Travelers deception and seeking closure. The Cabal and Vex appear interested only in technology. The Cabal in particular have almost no interest in the Traveler. Yet when brought to this part of the galaxy, these 4 races, plus humanity and the Awoken, are in a state of perpetual war. This all plays into what the Darkness, and the Traveler, want. So what is the Traveler? My guess is this: its a soul ark. It is collecting the souls of different races into itself, to preserve the universe and all of its knowledge. It has a symbiotic relationship with the Darkness. The Darkness is a predator. The Traveler is a parasite.