<Welcome to another rambling by yours truly. This time, I will fully detail my theory on Shadowkeep's main-campaign story. Keep in mind that it IS just that, and that my word is not law, just in case anyone needed to hear it. [b]Part 1 - "This isn't just about the Hive anymore"[/b] The quote above is from Ben Wommack on Shadowkeep. Well, how can that be when the main poster shows a gigantic scarlet Citadel made with Hive chitin as well as the second poster (ft. Eris) has a shit ton of Thrall hands on it? How can that be when the main enemies seen in every trailer are Hive? This points back to the Nightmares (or Phantasms if you prefer) and Eris Morn. Eris isn't evil, but somehow she's responsible for releasing these things onto the Moon. This is shown briefly in a snippet of the first cutscene of the DLC, which shows Eris touching something in the dark lunar caves and awakening it. The only info I can gather on what that might be is a solid dark grey panel that's only visible in the version without lighting. Whatever Eris awakened released the Nightmares, it wasn't Eris herself. Something I've noticed recently is the comparison between the Sol Progeny (the three Minotaurs at the end of the D1 vanilla campaign) and the Nightmare bosses. This is false, but not for the reason you may think. There is a connection between the Nightmares and Sol Progeny, but it's not about the Progeny, but the Heart that inhabited them. The weird shadowy effect that the Nightmares have are new, but the veins are shared with the Heart. The Progeny merely had Darkness strands, more akin to the Taken than the Nightmares. In case you need it spelled out, this is almost confirms a direct link between the Nightmares and Darkness. It's mentioned in the ViDoc when one of the devs say that the Nightmares were resurrected by the Darkness, and more and more it seems like they aren't just speaking about the power, but the entity or entities behind it. [b]Part 2 - Why the Hive Seem LESS Likely to be the Enemies of Shadowkeep's Main Campaign[/b] As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/252829961?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]"The Enemies of Shadowkeep"[/url], I pointed out that the Nightmares went back to the races they were apart of before they died, instead of serving the Hive or Vex, the two proposed main enemies of Shadowkeep. I pose this question: Why would the Hive or Vex, if responsible, let the Nightmares be under ANYONE'S control other than theirs? This especially goes for the Hive, who subjugate and kill because they must. The Nightmares allying and actively cooperating with the enemies of the Hive would break even Xivu or Savathun's rules, as the former is like Oryx and the latter isn't at the stage to alter her tribute-gathering methods. Whatever the Hive are doing is all based on the construction of that Scarlet Fortress. If it was built before the events of Shadowkeep, they almost certainly aren't the main enemies of Shadowkeep. If it was built after Eris awakened the Nightmares, then their chances of being an actual threat on the Moon is increased. [b]Part 3 - Hive and Vex Architecture/The Hallway[/b] The picture linked to the post is a pic of Nightmare Ghaul standing in a hallway. Nothing interesting, right? Well, if you payed attention to any of my previous posts, you'd know what I'm about to say. For those who didn't, here's what that is. The architecture doesn't match any known build we've seen. It's not blocky or technical enough to be Vex. It's not sharp or jagged like the Hive. But the Hive seem more likely because shots from the minute-long Moon video show much smoother Hive structures, almost pristine. They also appear more grey the further underground they are, and have a weird marble texture from what I can tell. Even then, it still doesn't match the characteristics of The Hallway. The Hallway has gold parts, which we've never seen in any Hive structure. It also has EXTREMELY smooth and well-built walls, walls that go up at an angle resembling a tall-ass triangle. Finally, the markings in the walls and floor don't match anything Vex or Hive. Even the smooth, grey Hive structures in Shadowkeep do not match The Hallway. The Hallway is by far my biggest question about Shadowkeep so far, as it is totally different and raises many questions on its own. However, user IceApfel (directly or indirectly, can't remember) gave me the idea that there's a derelict Darkness ship under the Moon's surface. This would explain the Hallway and the Nightmares easily. [b]Part 4 - The Dead[/b] Many people pointed out the slumped over, pitch black bodies that just kinda float near important places. The big question then is, what are they? The common theory is that these are the dead Guardians that died during the Great Disaster, explaining their great numbers and armored appearance, as well as the little differences between what looks like a Hunter Shadow, a Titan Shadow, and a Warlock Shadow. Their purpose is unknown, so I'll leave them out of the main conclusion. After all, my only options are "scare tactic" or "harsh reminder" which are similar on their own. [b]Part 5 - The Vex Gate Under the Moon[/b] People may have noticed numerous shots of Nightmare Zydron standing in front of a Vex gate inside a lunar cavern. Those same people may have noticed that it looks REALLY similar to the Black Garden gate on Mars. Considering the Garden's returning in the raid, I think it's safe to say this is our entry point, and Zydron's guarding it... a true Gate Lord in its second life. Though it raises the question of, "why"? Why are there Vex on the Moon? I have thoughts on that, but my main one is that Zydron takes control and the Vex start invading the Moon via the Black Garden. It was Zydron's eye that got us into the Garden in the first place. [b]Part 6 - Seeds[/b] "Uldren's Thesis" as I call it is the idea that the Heart of the Black Garden is meant to be bait, meant to measure the strength of the Traveler. Notice how the Traveler wasn't being harmed by the Heart, it just wasn't able to heal its wounds. Its death would mean that the Traveler is getting stronger. The Black Garden being a raid raises questions, one of which being "is the Heart coming back"? My answer to that is "maybe". The more I think about it, the more likely it seems. Especially when you consider something that I didn't think about until watching Byf's video speculating on the bodies. It's uncharacteristic for the Darkness to resurrect things like that. So if it is the Darkness pulling the strings, why would it do this? Perhaps it's the same reason why the Heart didn't HARM the Traveler, bait. The Nightmares and souls are something that would draw us RIGHT to the Moon, and thus the gate. The gate to the Garden is built, opens up, and the Heart comes back. The Nightmares are the bait that lead to the Garden, but the Heart is the bait that tells its masters the strength of the Traveler now that it's awake. [b]Part 7 - Tying Shit Together and My Actual Theory[/b] I believe the Hive built the Fortress to extract shit from the ship, which leads to the black fragments found on Thrall around the Hellmouth (Stolen Intelligence) but also the fragments seen in the Moon Destination Reveal video. Eris ventured down there on her quest against the Hive and accidentally activated the ship, causing massive cracks on the surface and allowing the Darkness to reach in and do some long-distance manipulation, creating the Nightmares. The Nightmares spread throughout the Moon as the champions of the Deep, even if they are just bait for us. Nightmare Zydron gets the Vex to build a gate to the Garden and start invading the system, which leads to the Annual Pass storyline about Vex invasions. This gate allows the Garden to be easily accessible to the Darkness, allowing the Heart to be recreated. As the Nightmares fall, we see the source and shut it down, deactivating the ship. However, the Heart still exists, so we venture to the Garden to destroy it. The ship activating interrupted the Hive's processes and the presence of the Darkness and the increased presence of the Vex lead to everything going sideways. Consider that we also go beyond LL 950 in Shadowkeep, possibly even reaching 1000. That means we'll get to see if Truth to Power was telling the truth about the ending of the Dreaming City. Also take into account how many times I mentioned that the Darkness could've harmed the Traveler with the Heart, but didn't. It raises questions on why. Are they upping their destructive power to out-match the Traveler's? Do they plan on messing with the Light? TL:DR - Pyramid Ship underneath moon gets activated, everything goes to shit, Hive ain't shit, Vex played into the Deep's hands, the Nightmares are bait> [spoiler]<Forgive me if I sound like I rant on, I'm -blam!-in' tired.>[/spoiler]