Throughout the lore in Destiny 2, the God of War is bestowed upon Xivu Arath to use her power to promote combat, war, and other grand conflicts to enhance her strength and life. Being eons old, Xivu Arath has influenced the destruction of countless civilizations and wars, feeding off the violence and death that each brings. As the forces of Darkness mobilize for a second Collapse in the Sol System under Destiny 2’s The Witness, Xivu Arath steps more out of the shadows.

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Who is Xivu Arath in Destiny 2?

Born as a Krill, a native species to the planet Fundament, Xivu Arath was initially known by her Krill name of Xi Ro billions of years ago. Her father, the Osmium King, was murdered by rivals on his throne, and Xi Ro fled the kingdom with her two sisters, Aurash and Sathona. The siblings desired to avenge their father and save their planet from a cataclysmic event on Fundament that their father’s dead Worm familiar continuously warned them of, particularly Sathona, who could hear the Worm speak.

The siblings soon discovered an advanced derelict ship, perhaps left by Rhulk, Disciple of The Witness. Venturing deep into the ocean depths of Fundament and ignoring the Leviathan, the sisters encountered the Worm Gods - giant Worms who had been turned to the Darkness by Rhulk millennia before. Destiny 2’s Hive Worm Gods promised Sathona and her siblings eternal life and the ability to save their people by taking larvae and forming a symbiotic relationship where the siblings would follow the Sword Logic.

This Sword Logic dictated that those who could not survive were not worthy of survival. Instead, the Worm larvae would be fed with death and destruction from the Sword Logic as the siblings embarked on genocidal missions across galaxies. Xi Ro took the Knight morph and became Xivu Arath, the God of War, an enhancement of her nature involving strength and combat; Sathona took the Mother morph and became Savathun, the Witch Queen, and Aurash took the King, becoming a male called Auryx, King of the Hive - later known as Oryx, the Taken King. As such, there’s an argument to be made that Destiny 2’s Hive Gods fit the pattern of seven deadly sins.

With their Krill form transformed into the Hive, the siblings converted the other Krill and launched their campaigns of destruction. Through these conquests, the siblings continuously killed and resurrected each other in their attempts to sharpen their powers and knowledge, feed their Worms through more death, and help the Darkness attempt to achieve the Final Shape. This shape would be the ultimate entity or pattern capable of surviving any force in the universe.

Xivu Arath in Destiny 2 Seasons

During Season of the Hunt, Xivu Arath sent her High Celebrant to create an army of Wrathborn in the Sol System, which ended up being destroyed by Destiny 2’s legendary Warlock Osiris, with the Celebrant eventually surviving and killing his Ghost, Sagira. After the defeat of Quria in the Season of Splicer, which caused the Endless Night and the alliance between Guardians and Mithrax of House Light, Xivu Arath sent Hive and Taken to pillage the Dreaming City’s Temples for Awoken artifacts.

When Savathun, the Witch Queen, worked with Mara Sov to rid herself of her Worm, Xivu Arath sent her forces in to prevent the exorcism from occurring. Though the ritual was successful, Xivu Arath’s forces nearly won, only beaten back by the help of the Guardians and other parties loyal to Mara Sov and the Reef. Though Xivu Arath did not appear herself, the fact that she nearly stopped such a vital ritual is a testament to her strength and power, spreading across more than just the Sol System.

Recently, in Season of the Seraph, Xivu Arath’s forces are working with The Witness and Eramis of House Salvation to steal and corrupt the subminds of the Warmind Rasputin for unknown purposes. This has led Guardians, Ana Bray, Osiris, and until recently, Clovis Bray to intercept the subminds and rebuild Rasputin to help humanity. As of Week 4, Rasputin is now inhabiting the Exo Frame in the H.E.L.M., working with players to stop Xivu Arath.

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Why Xivu Arath Shouldn’t be a Seasonal Boss

Xivu Arath is sister to Savathun and Oryx, and although she may be the youngest of her siblings, she is the strongest, waging and feeding off all war as the God of War. With such power at her disposal, it would make narrative sense to have a confrontation with the Hive God be more than just limited to a seasonal arc. Each of her siblings received their story expansion in the Destiny universe that required massive action and combat to overthrow. It would be almost disingenuous to reduce her presence to such a form when her arguably less powerful siblings received detailed stories to flesh out their plans and demise.

Furthermore, Xivu Arath has been built up over several Seasons already, making a confrontation in either a Raid, Lightfall (though that seems unlikely with Calus at the forefront), or The Final Shape more in line with expectations. Due to her alliance with the Witness and her being the last of the Hive Gods, Xivu Arath merits an intense fight worthy of her skill. Additionally, the fact that there may be a redemption arc planned for Savathun after discovering The Witness’s lies would make an interesting narrative arc to see the sisters pitted against each other - perhaps with Guardians working with the Witch Queen.

While her appearance as a significant character in Destiny 2’s Lightfall seems unlikely, Xivu Arath could be relegated to a Raid boss. While this has been done before with Rhulk, a Disciple of the Witness, not all players can do Raids, as they require six-member fireteams, and not every Guardian plays with other people. To wrap up her story this way may also feel anti-climatic. The best option may be to place Xivu Arath as another antagonist in The Final Shape before players presumably battle The Witness to end the saga between the Light and the Darkness.

Destiny 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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