This is the backdrop story of vanilla D2. The story of the previous Cabal Emperor Calus, and the rise of Ghaul to power. Some of this information is fact (direct lore reference) and some is speculation. I’ll do my best to clarify. I’ll put a tl;dr in the spoiler [spoiler] 1. Identifies the names and roles of all the conspirators who overthrew Emperor Calus (Fact) 2. Discusses Calus encountering the Darkness during his exile on the Leviathan (Fact) 3. Ghaul may have been in contact with the worm parasite, and could be in part driving his behavior (speculation) 4. Calus himself appears to have been influenced by the Ahamkara (speculation). [/spoiler] NOTE: Most of the source for this post is contained in the Cabal Booklet or Cabal notes as I call them that came with the legendary edition of the game (like Caydes Treasure Island book with the TTK) which can be read here: https://www.destinypedia.com/Cabal_Booklet Emperor Calus is shown in the lore entries as an extravagant and decadent leader. During his rule, he made some significant changes to the Cabal culture, which in time those closest to him would resent and ultimately betray him over. The Emperor himself had a different vision for the Cabal. As much as we see the Cabal as a militant force in the game, the Cabal under Calus was quite different. [spoiler] “When I took the throne, my people bled to feed a corrupt military elite. I vowed to celebrate our existence in the highest luxury, to set an example for my empire – no privileged few, but decadence for all!”[/spoiler] To this end, Calus eliminated the Praetorate, the military elite and redistributed the Praetorate’s wealth to the people. A robin hood style Emperor. NOTE: Now before declaring Calus as an altruistic leader or a good guy, note that all the lore entries are from Calus’ point of view and there are hints that Calus may have been mad himself. He is not a good guy at all in my opinion, but one who felt his actions were in the right. Overtime, the factions within the Cabal wished to return to the ways before Calus, and re-establish their military rule as the Praetorate. Below is a list of the conspirators or those Calus holds resentment towards: [spoiler] Shayotet – Calus’ closet companion and friend. Shayotet lead the soldiers into Calus’ house to arrest him. Otzot – A female Psion who had extreme clairvoyant abilities. She used her powers to transmit the messages in secret for the betrayal among the conspirators without Calus’ knowledge. Moli – The Chief of Festivals. Calus relied on Moli to spread his decadence across the people via mass celebrations and festivals. Moli himself did not betray Calus but Calus resents Moli because Moli sided with those that betrayed Calus and kept the festivals going as if nothing was wrong, to keep the people from knowing their Emperor was removed. Umun’arath – She was the Primus of all legions, and put in the position of Calus’ lead military advisor when the Praetorate was disbanded. She appears to have never agreed with the Emperor and assisted the Consul and Ghaul in the overthrowing Calus. Iska’al - A merchant in the capital of Torobatl, the Emperor would visit his merchant booth which sold tea during the Emperor’s daily parade in the market to share his wealth. He would visit Iska-al’s shop last, and pay extravagant prices above necessary for his tea. Calus felt he was helping Iska-al, but when Calus was overthrown, Iska-al acted as though nothing had happened, and became wealthy selling his tea to those who overthrew Calus. Iska-al showed no gratitude as far as Calus is concerned. Caiatl – Calus’ daughter, and pilot. She aligned herself with Umun’arath and when Calus tried to retreat to his throne when they came to arrest him, she prevented Calus from activating a signal for help. Consul – We see the Consul via in game cinematics, and now know he was an old product of the Praetorate that the Consul disbanded, and one who in order to restore his position of power that he lost, influenced a young Cabal orphan into hatred for the Emperor and his elaborate life style. Ghaul – From an orphaned child, he was raised by the Consul to hate the Emperor and influenced him to overthrow Calus. Yet Ghaul proved stronger than the now re-established Praetorate expected, and he now leads them forward in the ways of war. [/spoiler] Once betrayed, Calus was put into exile aboard a ship called the Leviathan [spoiler] “They would have killed me, but I was too beloved and too glorious. So they sent me away into resplendent exile upon this Grand Leviathan.” [/spoiler] While in exile aboard the Leviathan, Calus encountered something new. [spoiler] “At the edge of the universe, I stared into the infinite deep. It stared back, and was pleased. The Leviathan came to a halt before a wall of infinite void. The course that the conspirators had set crossed a space that simply did not exist. From my seat of my observation chamber, I stared into the perfect void. Only I, a god, could understand that what I witnessed. It was a thing greater than myself. And if such a thing exists, then I too, can be become more.” http://www.ishtar-collective.net/entries/it-stared-back [/spoiler] Calus appears to have encountered the darkness directly, the same deep that Oryx communes with in the Book of Sorrows. While Ghaul has been our enemy of focus in the D2 vanilla story line, it appears Calus is set to return to the story armed with knowledge from the deep itself. Now to the more speculative parts. In the “Conspirator” lore entry, Calus says the following about Ghaul: [spoiler] “What terrible [b]worm[/b] burrowed into his heart that he would betray my love and plot against me?” http://www.ishtar-collective.net/entries/conspirator [/spoiler] And on the Ghaul entry in the Cabal notes, Calus discusses Oryx and the Worms: [spoiler] Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, a small people lived on a dangerous world. Unto these people came a King, who said “We are surrounded by enemies, we are weak and frail. But I have an answer. Eat these larvae, my people, and with their strength we will rise up.” Thus the King led the great people into slavery to their fear. Ghaul will do the same.” [/spoiler] Now this is circumstantial, but Calus specifically mentioning similarities between Oryx (King) and the Ghaul, while also using the key word “worm” in describing Ghaul’s change, leads me to believe that Ghaul’s rise might be more than just influence from the Consul. Nothing in game I am have seen corroborates this yet though. Additionally, the Emperor himself appears to be under the influence. For him, the Ahamkara. Those familiar with ahamkara know the key words to look for Oh bearer mine, and Calus does not disappoint. In his final notes in the Cabal notes, Calus says: [spoiler] I say this to you, [b] oh champion mine[/b], and I say it from my heart: there are those who would bargain away their souls (ie: Ghaul to the worms perhaps?) just to live a little longer. I am not them. [/spoiler] And again, those familiar with Ahamkara lore, know the form they currently take as they whisper: bones (mostly in the form of in game armor). In the entry for Calus’ daughter Caiatl in the Cable notes, Calus appears to have had an escape plan in place should anyone try to overthrow him. One his daughter knew about and sabotages to prevent Calus from getting away. [spoiler] “I could have stopped the coup. You alone knew of my special arrangement. But when I raced to my throne to give the signal, you were there… You sat on my throne with the signal in your fist. And when I reached out to beg, you crushed the [b]bone[/b] in your gauntlet.” [/spoiler] So this bone was apparently the signal device. With Emperor using the Ahamkara words (oh champion mine) and his escape device conveniently being a bone which is highly associated with deceased ahamkara, it would appear that Calus himself had succumbed to the whispers of the ahamakara. In fact, I think this would fit the narrative of the elaborate decadent lifestyle he lead. Much like the Taox considered the Osmium King to be a mad man, the former Cabal elite see Calus as similarly extreme, deviating from the ways of old, and overthrow him. Unfortunately, none of this elaborates on the nature of the worms or ahamkara, but does subtly suggest that both Ghaul and Calus are being influenced by outside parties, whether they know it or not. As more lore becomes available, hopefully more of this will be supported or refuted. But based on the limited amount known to date, I believe this to be conclusive speculations.