Starcrossed

Starcrossed is an Exotic Mission introduced in Season of the Wish that was originally accessed from the H.E.L.M. Completing this activity on Normal difficulty rewards the Guardian with the Wish-Keeper Exotic Bow.

After an Ahamkara egg of Riven's clutch is stolen by Sol Divisive Vex, Guardians must venture into the deep ontology of the Black Garden to retrieve the egg. After harnessing pockets of paracausality left by the Ahamkara to their advantage, they locate the egg and learn that the area they have progressed through is the lair of Taranis, the mate of Riven.

Objectives

• Traverse the Black Garden
• Approach the Structure
• Open the Way — Use paracausal sparks to find a way forward
• Traverse the Garden
• Access the Transmit Mechanism
• Eliminate the Vex — Defeat the Vex guarding the transit mechanism
• Enter Transit Mechanism
• Traverse the Garden
• Deactivate the Barrier — Neutralize all hostiles and traverse the Garden
• Defeat All Hostiles — With the barrier lowered, the Vex Mind is open to attack

Transcript

Location: Overland, The Black Garden

The Crow: Riven, you never mentioned you had a personal route to the Black Garden.

Riven: And I never would have. But these are desperate times.

The Crow: The Last City and the Awoken have history here. What's your connection to it?

Riven: Currently? It's an inconvenience.

Riven: My child is lost in this ontology. And our enemies are hunting.

The Guardian defeats Vex and finds the entrance out of the cave.

The Crow: Eyes up, Guardian. I've heard whispers like this before. Riven was playing me… into a grave.

Riven: Those whispers aren't mine.

The Guardian defeats Taken and discovers sparks of paracausality, gaining Sire's Obligation. The Guardian harnesses the sparks, revealing a symbol, and defeating an Obdurate Phalanx unlocks a mechanism. The entrance opens, the Guardian enters.

Location: Darkness Zone. Respawning Restricted

Three Obdurate Phalanxes and Taken appear.

Riven: Guardian, the barrier ahead will not yield.

Riven: But I've left latent sparks of paracausality you can harness. Break through.

The Crow: So you HAVE been here before.

A paracausal spark forms. The Guardian harnesses the sparks, revealing three symbols around each Obdurate Phalanx. The Guardian defeats the Obdurate Phalanxes in the right order. Paracausal energies gather. (If the incorrect Phalanx is defeated: Paracausal energies dissipate. The lock resets.) The Guardian traverses further through the structure.

The Crow: Riven, what is this place?

Riven: An Ahamkara lair.

The Crow: Hidden in the Black Garden? Is it yours?

Riven: You've seen mine.

The Guardian discovers sparks of paracausality, different from Riven's.

Location: Roost, The Black Garden

The Crow: That whispering again…

Riven: I assure you: that's not my voice.

The Crow: (grunts) It's… it's getting louder.

The Guardian harnesses the sparks of paracausality, gaining Dam's Gift and allowing them to traverse further through the Lair. The Guardian arrives at a new room.

Location: Darkness Zone. Respawning Restricted

Vex appear.

Riven: You'll find that the way is locked. But paracausal energy is your key.

The Crow: These sparks seem different.

Riven: Because… they're not mine.

The Guardian harnesses the sparks of paracausality, allowing them to traverse further through the Lair. The Guardian defeats three Gatekeeper Wyverns, allowing them to imbue the Vex technology with paracausal energy. Their spark weakens the barrier. Vex led by Ixion, Covetous Mind appear. The way to the transit mechanism is blocked. The Guardian defeats Ixion and the Vex, opening the transit mechanism.

The Crow: What aren't you telling us, Riven? The Vex couldn't have created all of this. They can't simulate paracausality.

Riven: You truly wish to know?

The Crow: Watch yourself, Guardian.

The Guardian enters the transit mechanism and traverses further through the Lair.

Riven: The way forward lies in solving the paracausality of this place.

The Crow: What did you protect here?

Riven: Many things. But whoever scattered the clutch is using this lair against me.

Riven: The Queen couldn't have done this…

Riven: …Though an Ahamkara could have.

The Guardian continues to traverse the Lair, defeating Vex and Taken. Obdurate Phalanxes and Taken appear. The Guardian harnesses both types of the paracausal sparks gaining Crowned by Dragons, revealing three symbols. The Guardian defeats the Obdurate Phalanxes in the correct order, deactivating the barrier. The entrance to the room with Akardon, Pitiless Mind opens.

Riven: That Mind is protected with Ahamkara bioenergetics.

Riven: Combine the paracausal energies, and gut that Vex.

The Guardian defeats Akardon, Pitiless Mind. The Guardian enters the room with the egg, discovering Ahamkara bones. The Guardian retrieves the egg and the bow, Wish-Keeper.

The Crow: The voices are… asking to use me as a vessel.

Riven recognizes the bones.

Riven: I… that's Taranis.

The Crow: Who?

Riven: Let him speak… please.

The Crow: I'll try anything twice. (inhales) Let's hear you, whoever you are.

Taranis possesses Crow's body.

The Crow (as Taranis): (gasps, then growls) Riven. How I've missed you.

Riven: (chuckles sadly) Taranis, what have you done?

The Crow (as Taranis): I've made my last wish.

Riven: YOUR wish? You utter fool.

The Crow (as Taranis): It's been fulfilled. Thanks to you… and the Wish-Keeper.

The Crow (as Taranis): I can rest.

Riven: If there were anything left of you, I'd flay it from your bones.

The Crow (as Taranis): It was good to dance with you, O beloved mine. One last time.

Taranis leaves Crow's body.

The Crow: (growls, then gasps) Who was he, Riven?

Riven: Taranis… was my mate.

(Cutscene)

Riven tells of her time in the Dreaming City and with Taranis. The scene shows Riven and Taranis in the Dreaming City.

Riven: I was not always a prisoner in the Dreaming City.

Riven: The Ahamkara were once free to roam its halls.

Riven: That's where I met…

Riven: Taranis.

Riven: And Taranis, unlike others — unlike me —

Riven: cherished those who wished to him.

Riven: Those who bargained with him were safe.

Riven: It must have cost him.

Riven: I found his restraint… intriguing.

Riven: And my art, my dreaming halls, my dance with the queen,

Riven: moved Taranis in turn.

Riven: Together, we became the ebb and flow of the tide.

Riven: Through him, I glimpsed a world without the tireless cycle of bargaining and feeding.

Riven: Of peace.

The scene shows Taranis's lair in the Black Garden.

Riven: Taranis invited me to this lair…

Riven: a place where we couldn't be found,

Riven: in the ontology of the Black Garden.

Riven: My joy of turning desire to woe faded for one rapturous moment.

Together, Riven and Taranis sire a clutch of eggs.

Riven: We made successors together.

Riven: We built secrets together.

The scene shows the Great Ahamkara Hunt. Guardians, including Saladin and Shaxx, stand over the bones of Ahamkara, ever increasing.

Riven: And then came your Great Hunt of the Ahamkara.

Riven: The queen took my freedom, under guise of "protection."

Riven: Taranis and I were forever separated.

Riven: But we could still whisper to one another,

Riven: in the space between…

The scene shows the arrival of Oryx and the Taken War.

Riven: At least until a king arrived and made a bargain I could not refuse.

Riven: I became both king and dragon.

Riven: I spoke with his voice…

Riven: and Taranis knew it.

The scene shows Taranis enacting his own wish.

Riven: So he did the one thing our kind must never do…

Riven: grant his own wish…

Riven: at the cost of his existence.

Riven: A wish to keep the eggs out of harm's reach…

Riven: until someone could protect them.

Riven: Someone like you…

Riven: his Wish-Keeper.

(Cutscene Ends)

{End Mission: Starcrossed}