“Destroy mines, yessss?”
Long-time Destiny players have those words and other morsels of dry sarcasm etched into their brains from spending dozens upon dozens of hours fighting enemy mobs in the first game’s Prison of Elders. Now, that jail’s warden, Fallen scholar Variks, The Loyal, appears set to make a fresh appearance in the game based on a new story trailer for Destiny 2’s upcoming Beyond Light expansion.
The video gives us our first good look at Europa, the newest location being added to the game, along with a voiceover from Variks himself, a fan favorite players haven’t heard from in a long time. “Europa is a place of many mysteries,” the mischievous Fallen croaks. “Do not lose your way.”
In addition to Variks, the trailer sports a number of clues to what’s coming when the expansion goes live on November 10. There’s a brief shot of an Exo and a Vex on opposite sides of a test chamber, implying a deeper connection between the two mechanical races. We also get a look at a fancy new tech factory, as well as a ending shot marking the return of the mysterious exo stranger from the first game.
The last time we heard from Variks he had just been tricked into releasing everyone held in the Prison of Elders by prince Uldren during the Forsaken expansion. Those events led to the death of Cayde-6, and ultimately to the execution of Uldren. More recent lore revealed that the Awoken prince has come back to life as a Guardian though, and it appears Varik is now returning to the picture as well, and not just in lore books either.
After the Prison of Elders debacle, Variks announced his intention to try to rally together the warring factions of Fallen. It seems likely that’s what he’s doing on Europa, and so whether he’s returning as friend or foe remains to be seen.