The history of Alak-Hul in Destiny 2 shows how resilient he is, and why Eris Morn’s fireteam struggled to defeat him before he was Lightblade.
In The Witch Queen expansion for Destiny 2, players are introduced to a plethora of new characters. Fynch, Immaru, and Savathun’s Worm are only a few of the new voices and faces Guardians become familiar with throughout Savathun’s throne world. Alongside these new characters are also returning cast, many of them revived by the Light. One of the most pertinent to resurface in Destiny 2 is Alak-Hul. The Hive Knight is the first Darkblade that was introduced back in The Taken King expansion for the first Destiny game, and was slain by Guardians. Following his death, Alak-Hul’s fate was unknown, but The Witch Queen makes it clear that he’s eventually discovered by one of the Hive Ghosts.
This leads to players engaging Alak-Hul during the Lightblade strike that was released with The Witch Queen expansion. While many veteran players likely understand the significance of Alak-Hul already, for new Lights this experience was something different entirely. Alak-Hul might not be the first Lightbearer Hive that players encounter, but he is the first Lightblade and a substantially large Hive Knight in general. This stature is nothing new for Alak-Hul, but despite his monumental size, his story up through The Witch Queen is very surface level with how it’s conveyed through gameplay.
As a character, Alak-Hul was first mentioned when Eris Morn and her fireteam attempted a raid against Crota, Son of Oryx. The first forces the team met were Alak-Hul and his spawn pushing against the Guardians from the Last City. The strength of Alak-Hul was able to outmatch the fireteam considerably, and the Hive Knight himself is responsible for the death of Eris’ fireteam member Vel Tarlowe. Though he was successful in his defense of Crota, Alak-Hul craved more, and eventually turned against Crota’s father Oryx, the Taken King. Given his goal to take the throne, there was a time that it was thought Alak-Hul would be a successor to Oryx’s throne in Destiny.
While his might against the Taken King was formidable, he was partly motivated by impressing his mate. After capturing Alak-Hul, Oryx decided not to kill his attempted usurper, and instead imprisoned the Darkblade aboard the Dreadnaught in a pitch-black cell. It’s here that players are introduced to Alak-Hul for the first time in The Taken King expansion. Eris Morn is aware of the Darkblade’s capture, and fully intends on preventing him from escaping. With Oryx no longer in the physical world, she worried that he could arise as a new King of the Hive, and instructed a fireteam to kill Alak-Hul both as a precautionary measure, as well as revenge for the murder of Vel Tarlowe.
After this, the fate of Alak-Hul, the Darkblade goes unknown. While it’s easy to presume he was dead, there was the possibility of him being an Ascendant Hive, given his position and strength in the Sword Logic. The evidence for this is minimal but not zero, as there is a growing list of Ascendant Hive that players encounter throughout Destiny 2, each of them proving more and more difficult to kill. However, given his newfound status in Destiny 2, this doesn't seem likely.
The once strong and indomitable Darkblade faced a final death, most likely at the hands of the Guardian during the Sunless Cell strike in The Taken King, and has since been revived as a member of the Lucent Hive. This sect of Savathun’s Hive differs from any other that players have encountered so far, with many of them receiving the gift of Light from the Traveler. With this new gift Alak-Hul, the Darkblade is transformed into the first Lightblade that players meet in Destiny 2, and once again faces off against the player’s Guardian.
In the new Lightblade strike introduced with The Witch Queen's campaign, he’s the guard to a monument of Oryx that also houses a piece of the Tablets of Ruin. The circumstance is a strong break away from what players experienced in the first Destiny game. Now, instead of being locked in a dark cell hidden away from the universe, Alak-Hul guards a monument to the dead king he once tried to overthrow. To add insult to injury, Alak-Hul is also no longer limited by the Hive’s archaic Sword Logic and wields the power of the Light as a Lightblade, continuing his legacy despite Oryx himself no longer having anyone to do the same for him.
As Alak-Hul, the Lightblade, he also continues to differ from the other Lightbearer Hive Knights that players encounter throughout The Witch Queen. Each of the Lightbearer Hive tends to use a subclass element based on their perceived class. Wizards reflect Warlocks and use Arc energy, Acolytes are Hunters with Solar energy, and Knights are Titans imbued with powers from the Void. While fighting against Alak-Hul with powers from the Void 3.0 rework would have been terrifying, his strength continues to stand out as he wields Arc energy. This separates him from other Hive Knights even further and cements Alak-Hul as a formidable opponent.
Despite this, Alak-Hul is once again defeated by the player, but this time his circumstances are different. With a Hive Ghost to revive Alak-Hul, the Lightblade has another chance at life. His Hive Ghost could easily return to Alak-Hul’s body to retrieve its Lightbearer, and an endless circle of violence that the Lightblade would be more than familiar with could continue on. In some ways, this reasserts that Destiny 2’s Traveler is not all-knowing, or at least lacks awareness of the atrocities that each of its revived Lightbearers may have committed.
This in itself is a difficult thought to stomach, but with the possibility of Alak-Hul’s endless return thanks to his Light, it’s important. Alak-Hul the Darkblade’s transformation doesn't absolve him of his past. Much like Savathun, he has inflicted incredible pain and loss on humanity and the Vanguard. His struggle against humanity also continues, denoting that even though both the Vanguard and the new Lucent Hive can wield the Light, they aren’t allies, and Alak-Hul's story will likely continue with him fighting the Guardian once again.
Destiny 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Malachi jumped into video games with the family consoles he played on as a kid. Classic cartridges like Super Mario Bros 3, Aladdin, and Mortal Kombat were almost always loaded in. He continued his gaming journey on Nintendo systems with the Gameboy Advance where he spent countless hours waiting for streetlights on nighttime car rides. The GBA helped to introduce Malachi to games that he loved like the Pokemon Trading Card Game, Pokemon Crystal, and Pokemon Emerald, as well as the Power Rangers. As he got older Malachi’s love for games and storytelling grew with series like Halo. While he enjoys the mechanics and gameplay of newer titles like Destiny 2, The Witcher 3, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, the experiences are what keep him engaged. Malachi looks forward to the rich worlds and deep stories that can be told in the ever-growing games industry and is excited to see how unique ideas translate as hardware gets better.
