Hello, Guardians! It's been a while since I discussed theory here. I've had this theory for a long time and wanted to finally share some thoughts before the new expansion. I am theorizing that the true Identity of Dredgen Yor is Pahanin. I typed a ton of material about this theory but stopped half way through knowing it would be way too long to fit on the forum, so I will simply break down some of the main points that lead me to believe this theory. To be honest, there's so much to say about this, I kind of don't know where to start and I have trouble breaking the points down into simple snippets but I will do my best. In my mind, I believe that IF Dredgen Yor is a Guardian we know about through the lore, it has to be Pahanin. There are too many connections for it to be any other way. It is either Pahanin or someone we've never heard of, but what would be the point of that? I believe they will use the reveal of Yor's real name as not only a surprise and a story-twist, but to continue the story of the Vault, which many of us feel is far from complete. They were both Hunters. Proud Hunters. Some of the few times we see the Hunter symbol on actual in game items are on The Pahanin Errata and the Cloak of Dredgen Yor. Also both the Errata and Dredgen's Rose are Hunter artifacts, and it's all but officially confirmed that legendary guardians' class items and artifacts belong to either Hunter, Warlock or Titans because that's the class the Guardian was. They are Hunters. Also the way both of them speak has the demeanor of a Hunter, kind of sarcastic and light use of slang, cowboy-ish. Dredgen Yor was a hero and well known as the man he was previously. He had been legendary in his journeys and as being one who had stood against the darkness and gave hope that if he could, anybody could. Pahanin had survived the Vault of Glass and had delivered Kabr's final message, leading Guardians to one day finally conquer the Vault. Also he was well known and a prolific writer in the world of Destiny that many Guardians took advice from and looked up to. Pahanin is arguably the most well known Hunter, having his words live on in multiple class items and his legend living on through what many consider to be the best raid in the game. Pahanin was a man who wanted to be remembered. During the conversation with his ghost - which I believe is the single most revealing grimoir card about who Dredgen Yor was - Yor makes it clear to his Ghost that he wants the man who he was to be remembered. Ghost remarks that if he still cares, that there is still hope. Interestingly, it says there is still time for Corrective Measures. From what I've seen, the only time this phrase is used is in this conversation and in the Vault of Glass heavy Machine Gun, Corrective Measures. Coincidence? I tend not to believe in coincidence, especially when it comes to Destiny's Lore. Either way it's an interesting fact. Also this conversation takes place on Mars where we find the frame of Pahanin's Machine Gun, Super Good Advice. The gun tells us "I won't be used and discarded like a common cannon! I need the hands of an honest laborer to reassure me." I believe it says this because it wasn't simply left to rot when Pahanin was "killed" but that he abandoned it when he made his transformation. As we know he created SGA to calm his fears of being alone, but I believe when he gave into the Darkness and found a new strength, he know longer needed it and abandoned it on Mars. Speaking of this, the noble man that would become Yor is described as having a secret fear. I believe this was the fear Pahanin had after the vault. His greatest fear was being alone, and being forgotten. Some of the last words his Ghost leaves him with is "You will die alone." I believe it said this because it was speaking to the man he hopes is still in Yor, Pahanin. Why would Yor care? He wouldn't, and for that matter - didn't. But Pahanin would care. Yor is most notable for Thorn. A weapon forged with Hive arcana. If Yor is Pahanin and the beginning of his transformation was due to the vault and the fear of the vex, where does the Hive come into play? While this is probably the least concrete theory in this article, and while at first glance the Hive seem to have no connection the Vex seeing as they are never seen on the same planet, there IS a connection. Crota cut a wound into reality and accidently let the Vex into the Hive kingdom. Perhaps Pahanin caught a glimpse of this? I don't know but there may be a connection here. Just something I wanted to point out. So Pahanin would have to be corrupted to become Yor. Is there any evidence for this? I believe there is. In the Paradox mission where we finally hear Praedyth, he says something very interesting. "Kabr was intense sometimes. And Pahanin was always talking to ...[static]" If you listen closely with headphones you can clearly hear him say "talking to himself". I believe this an incredibly important piece of information, and the reason there is static over this is because this is so relevant to the secret. Talking to himself... Where have we seen this behaviour in the lore before? We see this when a guardian is under the influence of the Ahamkara. I will quote The Rose grimoire card: "He had been a hero for so long, but pride had led him down sorrow's road. Slowly the shadows' whisper became a voice, a dark call, offering glories enough to make even the brightest Light wander. He knew he was fading, yet he still yearned." To me, this is clearly referencing the Ahamkara. And we see evidence of Pahanin infected with this. I believe it was the Ahamkara's call that led him to the Vault, to further his transformation. And as the call became stronger, led him the Moon where he would "create" his prize: Thorn. A gift from the Ahamkara. Lastly, I want to touch on the most well-known connection between these two men. That Pahanin met his end at the hands of Yor. "Before he took Pahanin's Light, Dredgen Yor ruled the Crucible, the notorious Thorn at his side." Some of us older Guardians remember this flavor text as being "before he murdered Pahanin". It's unclear why this was changed, maybe to make it more PC? The flavor text of Bad JuJu had a similar change. it went from "If you believe your gun wants to Murder all existance" to "end all existance" or something like that. Either way, it seems to me that we have been led to believe that Pahanin is dead, that Yor killed him. A redditer I once read made the analogy to Star Wars. Where Obi Wan says that Darth Vader killed Anakin Skywalker, to hide the truth from Luke. But the truth was that Vader simply "killed" the man he once was, that he and Anakin were the same man. I believe this is exactly what happened with Yor. To complete his transformation by "killing" off his former self. When speaking with his Ghost, Ghost says "[REDACTED] is truly dead...". It is clear the man Yor once was is simply believed to be dead. Besides Jaren Ward, there are only two Guardians who we are told were killed by Yor, Thalor the Invincible and Pahanin. It has to be a man we are led to believe is dead and the best fit is Pahanin. Somehow this is an extremely cropped version of everything I actually wrote and only some of my thoughts on the matter and it STILL came out pretty long. I appreciate you reading through what may be just the disjointed ramblings of a mad man. This theory and more importantly the lore goes very deep and is very hard to capture the full essence of briefly. Oh well, perhaps I will post again and further flesh out the points, and discuss more of the connections if anyone cares to hear, but I believe this theory will one day be confirmed. TL;DR Dredgen Yor was Pahanin(I promise(probably)).