The title of this post is from the old description of Ruin Wings in Destiny 1. These spoke of a mysterious Garden, a Tree with silver leaves and rotting bark. Lately this description could’ve been a reference to the Black Garden. But lately, something else has come around to disprove this theory slightly. Im of course, referring Whisper of the Worm. Back in Curse of Osiris, Bungie added Mark 44 stand asides, and while the Flavor text has nothing to offer to this theory, the Lore Tab did. Mark 44 Stand-Asides Lore Tab: [spoiler] [quote] The tree in the Garden with silver wings. The air around it is oppressive and inspires violence in those who even breathe a little in. Shards of the disastrous bark peel from it and litter the ground, and nothing grows in its shadow. It scintillates faintly at dusk. It has achieved its entelechy with every body falling, every civilization laid to waste, every leaf forged into instruments of ruin. The Gardener is hard to bother; she is constantly amidst her weeds, kneeling in the tangent dust, gloves covered in a mix of distant soils and metallic saps. She is listening to the music of the insects amidst the flowers, the unguent as it begins to drip from the ferns, the slight scratch of the Worm beneath, and not to you, and certainly not to your cries for help [/quote] [/spoiler] Before Warmind, it all seemed like a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Then we we’re introduced to Xol, the Will of the Thousands, and then killed him. It’s like a John Wick meeting. “Hi I’m John! BANG! You’re dead now.” But then came along the Whisper of the Worm. For weeks everyone was exploring, wondering where this “Black Spindle” was. We found it, obviously now, on Io. Xol the Will of Thousands had found his way to the Taken, and within who knows how long, he was soon getting tons of precious food. But how does this relate to the Garden or ruin wings? Glad you asked Archival! Near the Grove of Ulan Tan, or on this map I found on the internet, number 3, off to the right and going towards the Wraith mines, take a left, lies a tree within yet another tree, with silver leaves, feeding on the rotting bark, encased in an angry red light from Red Legion Technology. The place where the Traveler, the “Gardener of Worlds”, had left unfinished work. This tree is also somehow, above the chasm that takes us into hell itself, where we battle the Taken Aspects of Hate, Darkness, and... what was the last one? Dave Matthews? Anyhoo, this tree seems to be a signal, and shows similar signs as the lore tab of Stand-Asides describes. As for the “Worm” I believe it to be referencing Xol, and the Whisper of the Worm exotic sniper. What remains now, is but a old decrepit tree. Waiting for the right time when the Gardener returns to finish her work. Now, obviously I could be wrong and these could easily relate to the Black Garden, but the parallels are too coincidental to be ignored. Hope you enjoyed reading this!