What is an Ahamkara in Destiny 2? (Lore)

The Destiny series has, in my opinion, some of the best lore of any franchise. However, the bulk of it is only hinted at during the actual game. It's the video game equivalent of a La Croix, with each expansion being extremely diluted story beats.

Such is the fate of the Ahamkara, a literal species of wish-granting dragons that were hunted into supposed extinction. Nine years after the launch of Destiny, Bungie is finally seeing fit to bring Ahamkara front and center.

Are there dragons in Destiny 2?

Ahamkara are extremely powerful, incomprehensibly old, beings that feed themselves by granting the wishes of others. Despite their ability to appear however they so desire, Ahamkara typically take on the guise of large, dragon-like creatures. This has led many to dubbing them "wish-dragons."

It is theorized that the Ahamkara and Hive Worm Gods came into existence at the same time long before the creation of anything else. By using the Anthem Anatheme, and existing in a paracausal state, they fed themselves on the difference between "what was and what might be."

By using structured phrases like "O (subject) mine", it is believed that the invoker is placing a curse of ownership on the wisher. Due to their existence between what is and what could be, Ahamkara are able to grant wishes. They feed on this invoked power and according to Ikora Rey, seek to use it in order to transcend their current plane of existence.

This theory is supported by the in-game lore attached to the Warlock Exotic helm, Skull of Dire Ahamkara.

"O BEARER MINE."

What kind of talking skull would address its host that way? A stiff, stuck-up fossil, not me. Ahamkara: the illusion that one's ego depends on an object, or an idea, or a body. Some people say you should have no ahamkara. Some people say you need to have the right ahamkara. All I know is that YOU are not an illusion. Understand? This world around you, the people you meet - they're a little thin, right? Cardboard and drywall. Cheap theater. Come on, try it out! Say: "I am more real than this." Feels good, doesn't it? "I am the only real person here." Isn't it like their insults and their bullets just went a little...soft?

I came to find you, only you, because you're special. You're from somewhere real. And together we can burn our way back there. Can't we, o player mine?

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The distant past and arrival in the Sol system

The first recorded instance of the Ahamkara is in the Hive's Books of Sorrow. The Harmony was the first civilization destroyed by the three Hive Gods: Oryx, Savathun, and Xivu Arath. Prior to their destruction, The Harmony were visited by the Traveler, which aligned their 10 planet system around a black hole.

This was one of the first great wars in the Light and Dark saga. Where the Harmony were aligned with the Traveler and benefitted from its Light, the Hive had been deceived by the Witness and drew their power from the Worm Gods. Conversely, the Harmony made use of the opposite Anthem Anatheme power, the Ahamkara. Despite the Hive wiping out the Harmony, an Ahamkara bone would make it out and fall into the hands of the Cabal Emperor Calus.

When the Traveler made its way into the Sol system, the Ahamkara followed. Once the various races in the Sol system came in contact with them, rumors abounded regarding their origins. Some thought they were created by the Traveler as it terraformed planets. During the Golden Age, the Ishtar Collective began studying them. The Awoken claim to have discovered them first following the Collapse with Shuro Chi believing they were sent by the Nine.

The Awoken worked closely with the Ahamkara to build their Dreaming City. Mara Sov, aware of the Ahamkara's inherently untrustworthy nature, constructed the Wish Wall for safer interaction with the wish-dragon, while also keeping her brother away as he was likely to be corrupted by it. These countermeasures were significant but didn't stop Riven from putting flaws in the Dreaming City.

Due to many of the Awoken's interests being aligned with their Queen, Mara Sov, they weren't as likely to be preyed upon by the Ahamkara. However, some were used by Ahamkara, with one case resulting in many Awoken walking off a cliff at the behest of Azirim, a particularly sadistic Ahamkara.

To help mitigate their trickery, many geodes polished to a mirror sheen were placed around the Dreaming City. Despite the Ahamkara's ability to manifest wishes into reality, their lies and illusions wouldn't appear in mirrors. Upon the completion of the Dreaming City, Mara Sov wished for Riven to be trapped inside the keep.

The Great Hunt

Following the Collapse and the Dark Ages, Guardians worked together to build the Last City. During this time, many made bargains with Ahamkara, which seemed to have unintended consequences. Additionally, the Ahamkara were gathering on Venus and doing something monumental. However, when dispatched to investigate, no two Guardians could agree on what they saw or when. Additionally, some of those observing became suicidal.

The Vanguard ordered that all Ahamkara in the system be hunted down. Through great effort, the Guardians banded together and drove the Ahamkara to supposed extinction. During her hunt of Madhir, Ikora Rey wished to be someone who couldn't be tempted. This permanently changed the Warlock with her commenting "I laugh much less since that day. But I am more content."

While the Vanguard believed themselves to have wiped out the Ahamkara, the Nine secretly hid some away as did the Awoken's Mara Sov with Riven of a Thousand Voices. Following the arrival of Oryx in the Sol system, the Nine slaughtered their Ahamkara out of fear they would be corrupted by the Taken King.

Related: All Destiny 2 DLCs and Expansions

Riven of a Thousand Voices

While Riven had been loyal to Mara Sov and was instrumental in the creation of the Awoken City, she was ultimately Taken by Oryx. Both Oryx and Riven were aware of each other's deceit, but agreed to help one another regardless. After Oryx's defeat by Guardians, she was further corrupted by Savathun as Riven was a puppet without a master and desperately wanted someone to pull her strings.

Riven would go on to corrupt Mara Sov's brother, Prince Uldren. By preying on his love for his sister, Riven created the Scorn, which would aid in the fallen Prince's escape from prison. It was this same prison break that Uldren killed Cayde-6 during.

Uldren would continue to be manipulated by Riven into unsealing the Dreaming City. It was then that Mara Sov and her right hand, Petra Venj, asked the Vanguard to slay Riven. Despite killing her physical form, Riven's consciousness lived on and granted a final wish to the Witch Queen, a Taken corruption of the Dreaming City, locking it in a perpetual three-week time loop.

The 15th Wish

Part of the Last Wish raid where Guardians made their assault on Riven was interacting with the Wish Wall. Like in the lore, players could use the wall to input "wishes." These would do various things like award emblems, spawn chests, or do fun things like have Drifter and Failsafe commentary.

Bungie, well-known for its secrets and puzzles, hid the patterns required for wishes all over different locations in-game. This put players on an in-game hunt while others began mining Destiny 2's data. There were in-game Triumphs for 14 wishes, but the API said there was a 15th Wish. While this data doesn't always mean something is in the game, in several instances, it has been added long before the content it is meant for is made active.

After five years, Bungie finally revealed the 15th Wish. Upon completing Savathun's Imbaru Engine, the Guardian discovered an unhatched Ahamkara egg. In the cutscene that follows, the player's Guardian is shown analyzing an instantly recognizable pattern on Savathun's wing.

It's looking likely that Season 23, Season of the Wish, is finally going to resolve the Dreaming City saga while making way for the assault on the Witness inside the Traveler. Odds are the forces of Light use this new Ahamkara to make a wish allowing entry into the Traveler.

However, as the egg was in the care of Savathun for who knows how long, odds are there are some significant strings tied to it. Not only are Ahamkara deals risky to begin with, but the literal God of Cunning and Lies has had it in her care and revealed it in a plan that's probably been brewing for a super long time.

We'll find out more when Season of the Wish launches on November 28, 2023. No matter what happens, I'm keen on getting more Ahamkara lore.

For more Destiny 2 content, check out All Destiny 2 Season start and end dates on Pro Game Guides!