Nezarec is a character long hidden behind his mythological status in Destiny 2.
Despite his name being in common parlance amongst Destiny 2 players—mostly thanks to the popularity of the Nezarec’s Sin Exotic helmet—very little has actually been known about his origins until his name resurfaced in Season of the Haunted. In Season of Plunder, we’ve finally started to get some real answers about who Nezarec was. Even in death, he plays an integral role in the seasonal narrative.
What is the backstory of Nezarec, Disciple of the Witness?
Nezarec’s presence has been felt in the solar system of the Destiny 2 universe since before humanity’s Golden Age. We know this thanks to the first lore we got about the character on the Nezarec’s Sin Exotic helmet, which includes a passage from a pre-Golden Age text called “Of Hated Nezarec.”
The passage details a creature of mythology more than the Disciple that we know about today, but the descriptions of Nezarec still feel true to the nature of his role by the Witness’ side. He is described as “the final god of pain,” a “fiend, arch and vile in ways unknown.” Upon retrieval of the seventh relic in Season of Plunder’s weekly story quests, we got our first true glimpse into the real impact that this prophecized god of pain had on humanity.
Eido was able to discover that Nezarec was the Disciple of the Witness that led the charge on Earth during the first Collapse that almost wiped humanity and the Traveler from existence. When the Traveler sacrificed itself and repelled the Darkness’ attack, the Pyramid ship under Nezarec’s control crash-landed on the moon. This is where it and Nezarec’s corpse would eventually be found by both the Eliksni and, later, the Guardian during the events of the Shadowkeep campaign.
The reports are fragmented, which leaves very few details to work with when establishing a timeline of events, but we know from Eramis’ retelling of the tale that Nezarec’s body was dissected by the Eliksni that first found his resting place. Those pieces ended up scattered across the system, but still contain a latent Darkness that can corrupt those in possession of them, which at one point was Misraaks during his days as a pirate before becoming the Kell that humanity is allied with today.
What is Nezarec’s connection to The Witness?
Nezarec is the fourth Disciple of the Witness that we know of, besides Rhulk, Savathun, and the recent addition of Calus. From the implications set forth in the lore attached to the Nezarec’s Whisper Legendary Glaive, it was Rhulk—the Disciple that fell at the Guardian’s hand in the Vow of the Disciple raid—that was responsible for Nezarec’s ascension.
Related: Who is the Witness in Destiny 2: The Witch Queen?
The Disciples effectively work as The Witness’ closest confidants, given great power to perform the bidding of the Darkness upon the universe. Each has to prove their worth to The Witness before being granted that power, as seen by Rhulk’s destruction of his home planet Lubrae, which brought about the extinction of his own species. No information exists on Nezarec’s own feats or what species Nezarec is to begin with, but his mythologizing in ancient texts as a reviled fiend paints a blurry but intriguing picture.
It’s unclear what bringing the scattered relics of Nezarec together will do, but the first entry in the Between Stolen Stars lore book makes it clear that The Witness unthawed Eramis on Europa to retrieve these pieces. The ends may be an unknown, but The Witness’ demand for them to be collected and brought together in preparation to bring about humanity’s second Collapse, suggests that it holds a great danger to the Light even if Nezarec himself is long dead.
We also know that The Drifter has been holding onto one of these pieces for a long time. His venture into the “Fourth Tomb of Nezarec” was first documented in the Forsaken-era lore book Artifacts and Old Friends.
With each passing week of Season of Plunder, Destiny 2 players have been gathering more and more of the Nezarec relics aboard the H.E.L.M. But with the history of this Disciple, and the history of the relics themselves in turning Misraaks into one of the most notorious and bloodthirsty pirate captains of the past, completing the set feels like it has dangerous implications even when it’s in the hands of the Guardian instead of Eramis and her crew.
