The Taken are an odd case. They are simultaneously from and not from this dimension. Before we discuss how they work, let's look at how they get Taken. After slaying Akka, the Worm of Secrets, Auryx had a conversation with the Deep. He was then known as Oryx, the Taken King. He had the power to Take. Being Taken means being ripped out of this dimension by a portal and corrupted by the Darkness itself. It speaks to you and appeals to your desire. "nothing will enslave you anymore" "nobody will force you to do anything" "you can rest now" It gives the host a "knife". Once the host takes it, their will gets forced out of their bodies and replaced with the will of the wielder of the power. Them being forced out makes the Taken shiver, as their will tries to get back in. Their bodies undergo physical changes and mental changes after the Taking happens. Physically, their bodies turn black and white with a single glowing eye in front, presumably allowing the wielder to see. Their deaths leave a white "sand" in place. They supposedly smell of ozone, which is the smell present after and sometimes before a storm. Tendrils of Darkness seep from their bodies and sprout up like black fire. Possibly the biggest physical change is their ability to use powers. Species not able to use paracausal abilities, like the Fallen, are able to pop bubble shields and throw blinding orbs. Wizard arc bolts will change to solar, meaning their hands will now glow orange. Funnily enough, their powers are in direct contrast to their lifestyle. While a Vandal spends his life running and trying to get through, the bubble makes a temporary home. Psions are few, so their abilities allow them to make another. Taken Powers: Psion - Mitosis, opposes their status as a species Phalanx - Shield Blast, opposes their nature of hiding behind their shields Centurion - Axion Dart, finds targets Thralls - Matrix-dodge, helps them be elusive, moving away from their charge attitude Acolyte - Eye Turret, gives it the help it needs Knights - Fire Breath, no more hiding Wizards - Tracking Solar Bolts and Shadow Thrall, no more loneliness Vandal - Bubble Shield, make your home Captain - Blinding Orb, hide from your enemies, make sure they won't find you Goblin - Friendly Shield, re-purposed for improving allies Hobgoblin - Retaliation Orbs, re-purposed for defense against those thinking it's a priority target Minotaur - Invisibility, re-purposed for stealth Those aren't the only abilities. Grask, the Consumed, a Red Legion Bloodguard Phalanx, has the ability to create a "Dark Tether". It acts like a Nightstalker Bow. Baxx was able to experience moments of pure joy, unlike his nature as an Ogre, making him charge his foes. Also, Sylok was able to wipe the minds of two Awoken scientists. It is unknown how he did this, though. They also go into a mental change. They forget their life before being Taken, they just know they had one. Keksis, the Betrayed is an example. Taken leaders also have some will intact, as Noru'usk shows after Oryx's demise, calling the latter out on his flaws. Oryx can control this, as he made sure Quria, Blade Transform, had enough will left in order to surprise Savathun. The Taken can leave and create blight, which is a black substance capable of being on any surface. It serves as a portal and a source of Darkness. When the Ghost scans it in The Coming War, he says it's an inter-dimensional portal. It's apparently poisonous, as Devrim Kay revealed when the Taken tried to infect the water supply in the Lake of Shadows. Despite every enemy suffering Oryx's wrath, humans were never taken. This may be because of the Traveler's shadow, but Guardians are out and about all the time. Perhaps the Light makes them immune to being Taken. It also may just be because all Guardians are space zombies. The Light might also be why we never got the ability to Take after Oryx's death. The Taken follow the will of whoever controls them. In The Taken King, they followed the will of Oryx. After Oryx died, they were scrambled until Malok rose. Once that ended, they became scrambled once more. Since then, the Taken became attracted to the Traveler's Light. They swarm the Shard in the EDZ and they are crawling all over Io. The latter happened thanks to a Cabal experiment shortly before the fight to take back the Last City. In fact, they almost destroyed the moon trying to summon everyone to it. Rumors and whispers say that Savathun, the Witch Queen and Oryx's sister, has taken the throne. Since then, the Taken have doubled their efforts. Taking the Red Legion, taking the Outer System Vex, etc. Taking the Vex, according to Asher Mir, is suicidal because the Vex cells can replicate. This opens up an interesting theory about how Savathun may be beaten. The Taken are probably the closest thing to the Darkness we've seen. Destructive, dangerous, fighting dirty. Their attraction to the Light mirrors the Tetrahedral Fleet seen in the end-credits scene. The Taken will most certainly be joining the Darkness when it arrives. Whether it will still be friendly with the Hive after their constant failure is unknown. After all of this, it makes sense why the Ecumene labeled them as "physically illegal". But there's one more thing to say... When Taken die, they get sucked back up into a portal. This raises a question, do they truly die? We're led to believe so, but our knowledge of the Deep is limited. Comment below if I got anything wrong and sorry this wasn't as organized... I'm not feeling as well as I'd like... also it's really late here. Master Post: [url]https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/234171689[/url]