<As some can imagine, Shadowkeep's campaign was a VERY exciting time for me. Many others have experienced similar feelings, and for some of us that had been waiting for over a year for hints as big as this, this was our chance. This was our moment. When I rounded the corner and saw the pyramid for the first time, I freaked out. All of my lore senses converged and we came to the consensus that, holy shit, I was right from the start. But then things got going! I realized that I could finally enter the ship and see with my own eyes what was in that Dark Majesty! Well, I found it and I left the campaign with a huge pit in my stomach. Not only was the piece of concept art above proven to be of the Darkness, but so many old theories came back with new relevancy! It was an amazing time to be me. But then we went FURTHER! The final room of Garden of Salvation, the Unveiling book, ALL of it. So let's stop rambling and dive in. [b]The Observations:[/b] Let's start with the Pyramid's exterior. This design is noticeably different from the ones seen at the end credits scene, lacking any of the patterns seen on those ones. Almost as if this one was before their time? The ship itself dates back billions of years, at least as old as the Moon itself, found when an orb connected to it was found close to the undiscovered ship. The ship itself has no outward damage and is overcharged with Darkness. It can even protect itself with a field that can only be accessed by the truly Dark, whether the Light is disguised as one or those already in Darkness submerge themselves deeper through ritual. Because of the immense Darkness within, not a single person has entered it in a long time, barring the Nightmares. The interior of the ship is the most interesting part. The hallways and rooms are temple-like, and strangely fit for the human form. It only gets worse when you enter the final room. The final room holds this [url=https://i.imgur.com/l8j2g6t.png]statue[/url], which takes the shape of a woman covered in a veil. Some will recognize this as the same statues in the concept art above. These statues most closely resemble a human, with the nose and eyes being somewhat visible through the cloth, and the breasts being in the right place. Some creases on the hand regions reveal a thumb and pointer finger as well. This raises interesting questions. Why human? Why does this ship that is billions of years before humanity's time have a statue that fits us so perfectly? Hold that thought, let's briefly discuss its connection to the Black Garden. In case you didn't know, the Black Garden was NEVER a Vex place, they merely found it. It was maintained by the Darkness, and it even has an ancient structure buried in the central mountain. The Heart of the Black Garden was also made by the Darkness, and was placed as bait for Lightbearers to tell the Pyramid Armada just how powerful we and the Traveler were getting. Likewise, the raid on the Garden was also bait to see how strong we were getting. It also pissed the Vex off and led to the invasions but that's not the point right now. We're not here to talk about the Vex, we're here to talk about the Darkness. Since the raid, Eris has been receiving messages from the orb we collected on the ship. These messages are supposedly from the Deep itself, who goes on to talk about the origins (kind of) and the motives of the Traveler (Gardener) and Darkness (Winnower). Back in a spacetime that is unknown, there were two Gods (big G) who observed the universe, making probabilities and calculations, making life and upending those that don't work. The universe runs on extinction. If life cannot maintain itself, then it will be destroyed, whether it be by gamma ray bursts or supernovae. The Winnower found this pattern beautiful, majestic. The Gardener, however, started to hate it. The latter was tired of predictability, and wanted to instill a new rule. Unfortunately, that's about as far as I got... but I think I can take a gander at what may happen next. [b]The Theory:[/b] The Gardener descended upon a race, much to the Winnower's dismay, and began enriching them. This civilization worshipped the Traveler and began using the technology it was given to spread among the stars. They sent ships far beyond their system(s) to enrich other worlds. These ships had the ability to terraform (see Toland line: [i]"The Moon sits lush with schisms, the result of Eris's curiosity. A pyramid of pure power with the ability to terraform..."[/i]) and did so wherever they landed. One just happened to land on Earth, causing the planet to split and create a Moon from the rocks left behind by the impact. The pyramid, from the Moon, began planting seeds that would lead to an eventuality millions, BILLIONS of years down the road. Meanwhile at home, this race began turning violent and egotistical in fanaticism for the God that gave them power. The Gardener came to them, not anyone else, so they begun exterminating other life. This God gave THEM power, THEY had divine rule, no one else. They furthered the course of the universe by doing this, the corruption of absolute indomitable power. The Gardener, seeing her prized race turn to the pattern she so utterly despised, rejected them for their transgressions. They witnessed her take leave, and were distraught. Then, something else came to them, something Dark and Formless. The Winnower took the scraps that the Gardener left and turned the race against her, and they accepted it. Their technology was empowered by Dark magic, no matter how distant. Their ships housed the God they turned to in their time of crisis. This space-faring race was now on a path motivated by pure hatred for the Gardener and the narcissistic attitude that no other race could dare step in their way, and the reaffirmation that what they're doing was only natural. What they did only fell into the majestic pattern the Winnower was awestruck by. Meanwhile, on Earth, eventuality was reached and humanity became the prominent intelligent life form. And now we look into that pyramid and see a visage of us... built billions of years before we were even recognized as cavemen. The "fifth race" is us. It would explain why they're so egotistical, that attitude being born eons ago from the idea that they were the supreme rulers. The birth of the Moon and the opening stages of life on Earth perfectly line up time-wise, the latter having taken place not long after the former IRL. It would explain why that damn statue is there despite us being billions of years younger. That concept art linked above has banners carrying human labyrinth patterns and human faces and human bodies and man-made hieroglyphics. That concept piece was the answer the whole damn time, as it did indeed do its part by conceptualizing the idea of the Pyramid Armada's true residents. But what about the gooey Dark creatures the Drifter and Cayde saw? Well, those are manifestations of the Darkness, extending out into the world as creatures unknown. I've made this analogy before, but think of the Grimm from RWBY. A race of Darkness-borne entities made of the Darkness itself, and I think the reason they were on that ice planet, roaming freely, was because the Armada wanted to preserve them there, where no one would find them... or so they thought. Then again, no biggie, the Drifter brought a few of them right to our doorstep. In the end, everything's been working out for them, all too well. Side note: Nightmares can only be created from the human psyche, which is strange since Mithrax has a Nightmare version of what I assume is an old foe. ANYWAY, that's all I got, what do ya think?>