For those arguing over whether The Leviathan is a ship or space beast: yes. It's both, apparently. The exiled Emperor Calus--after being deposed by Ghaul--has transformed it into massive ship from which he commands an entire "Golden Fleet."
His charge to Guardians? Kill those who betrayed him, pass a series of tests, and receive rewards beyond your wildest dreams.
The following information comes from the Collector's Edition of Destiny 2, with images courtesy of Imgur user "CaNANDian." View his full album here:
In short, the Raid may take two different forms.
First, Calus may need you to kill all 8 targets, which take the form of Raid bosses. This would mean multiple locations, which fits with previous footage of fireteams of six in multiple locations: The Tower, EDZ and Cabal ship/building. So you'd kill those eight, solve puzzles in-between.
The second possible form is that the eight bosses are just the end of questlines that unlock the Raid. While less likely, the Raid is titled "The Leviathan," and Calus specifically mentions "specimens" and "tests" you must pass aboard the Leviathan, before claiming your prizes. This may be the Raid itself, and since we know nothing of the story, races and threads culminating in the Raid, there's no reason to believe this represents a Raid that's at all disconnected from the events of the story.
For all we know, Calus may be the true villain himself.
So here's the possible Raid bosses, if we assume the first supposition to be correct. They represent eight figures who betrayed Calus in some way.
To summarize, the Cabal Empire traditionally split its government between the Emperor and a Praetorian Council, made up of the military aristocracy. This was fitting for such a large, expanding military empire. Emperor Calus, however, believed this endless expansion to be folly. He disbanded the Praetorian Council and declared an imperial pax, focusing on improving the lives of citizens, with a focus on culture, art and food.
However, many viewed him as a traitor to the Cabal culture, or else too weak to be allowed to rule. With the Praetorian Council behind them, eight individuals, some trusted by Calus himself, orchestrated the midnight coup that left Calus in exil, and Ghaul as the new Dominus. (Once in power, Ghaul ended the line of Emperors, declaring himself the military ruler of the empire.)
These are the eight:
Lictor Shayotet, the Emporer's Protector
Shayotet was Calus' loyal bodyguard, repeatedly risking his life for him. He's described as a wanderer and adventurer who loves guns. Over time, though, Shayotet felt that Calus had become weak, corrupt and decadent. In the rebellion, he led solider to plunder his former ward's home and to kill his followers.
Freeborn Orzot, the Psion Servant
She was a brilliant Psion scientist who rebelled against the Cabal by creating a "clairvoyant" machine that could see across space and time. Impressed by her skill, Calus stopped the planned destruction of their planet and made her the "Imperial Dreamer," with full control over what was dubbed the "OXA machine.
In time, though, she joined the conspiracy against Calus, putting her skills as an assassin to use in aiding the Praetorians.
Moli the Everjoy, Chief of Festivals
In Calus' peaceful, new kingdom, Moli was the chief entertainer, creating new holidays for the people. He brought joy and excitement to the Empire. But at his heart, he was a soldier, one who had served with the Praetorian. And when the time came, Moli was instrumental in soothing an Empire in shock--when Calus was overthrown.
He employed his talents as an entertainer to sway the populace to Ghaul's side and his talents as a soldier to gather and slaughter the remaining citizens loyal to their fallen Emperor.
Umun'arath, Primus of all the Legions
Formerly of the Praetorians, she was made Primus of all the Legions by Calus himself. But, starved of war, she turned on him the quickest.
Iska'al of Fantor
He was nothing but a poor merchant who sold Calus tea. Now he sells tea to Ghaul's officer's just the same. What a disloyal tool.
Daughter of Calus: Caitatl, the princess Imperial
There's no doubt Calus' loved his heir. But her addiction to war began at a young age. And when her youthful rebellion matured into her natural desire for war, even the Emperor's beloved daughter turned to the Praetorian Council for guidance. In exchange for her father, she received a seat at the table of the Empire's greatest war to come.
The Consul
The source of Calus' pain and torment, the Consul raised Ghaul and lead the Praetorian to retake the throne. But Calus' words say it best.
"How small a man must be to seek greatness in the shadow of others. How pitiful the man who raises up a great soul and cowers behind it
"I will not dignify this leech with a name. think of him as a roach, a roach who scurried out from the ruin of the old Praetorate. He'd grown fat on the scraps they fed him, the wealth and influence and favor. And when I took his scraps away to enrich my throne and inspire my people, he wanted them back.
"Like any roach, this Consul has a low cunning. He found the perfect vessel to carry his poison: a lonely, crippled orphan child. Into that child, he poured his jealousy, his cruelty and his desire to see the great brought low.
"Imagine his venomous whispers --'look how happy they are! Look at how they revel and thrive! While we crack our hides in the filth and pine for days of fear and gunfire…'
"Had the child only escaped him, had little Ghaul only crawled off the heap where he was found, so much might have been saved.
"How horrible the man who sees an orphan as a hollow weapon and who loads that orphan with munitions of his revenge. How pathetic the man who wishes only to be a fat parasite again.
"The vile Consul must die. I sentence him to death by his own weapons."
Ghaul
After saving the Psions' lives, Emperor Calus looked into the OXA machine. In horror and awe, he was granted clairvoyance. And his saw, in the distance of space and time--The Hive. He saw their birth, their rise, and their eventual slavery to eternal war.
In Ghaul, he sees that same slavery to war; the same he tried to break his Empire of. Even the Praetorian Council have lost control over their puppet, as Ghaul developed a deeper, unsatable hunger for war. But above all, he remains the traitor himself, the usurper, and the end of the Empire's peace.
SHOULD YOU SUCCEED, Calus promises both trials and treasures:
"May I never head those names again. Not until the day when you, oh brave supplicant, come to claim your reward. And such reward! I promise that your name will be envied even in in the bright heart of the galaxy, where the stars are thick as honey.
"Upon my ship I have prepared a welcome befitting an emperor's champion! I have baths and gardens, arenas and halls, arsenals of arms and armor, libraries of legends and documents, specimens, treasures, beasts to slay, games to quicken the heart or stimulate the circuitry or whatever you please. But most of all, I have prepared tests.
"For I offer to the worthy a place at my side.
"I say this to you, oh champion mine, and I say it from my heart: there are those who would bargain away their souls just to live a little longer. I am not one of them. Life must be worth living, Life must be lovely and delicious and enviably sweet! Nothing has ever lived that will not die, so what matters is how we use our time.
"I will gather the mighty to protect my empire, an empire of hard-working scientists and clever engineers. Where there is war, legions of my citizen-soldiers will bring peace. Where there is hurt, my armada of golden ships will bring hope. And when the greater powers intrude on my domain, I will greet them as their sovereign.
"In my exile, I have plundered the secret places of the cosmos. Even my grand Cabal is only a single tooth in the great jaws of time. The universe is strange beyond reckoning and dangerous beyond courage. I have voyaged beyond the edge of reason, into the dominion of cold screams. I have seen our future written in the ruins of ancient fortress worlds. I have gathered up the moon sized bones that tumble on the precipice of ancient singularities, and I have tossed them to scry our fate.
"When everything has been taken from you, nothing remains to you. And when you roar into nothing, nothing sometimes answers.
"So when you succeed, I invited you to walk in my gardens, and to wash yourself in my pools and to test your might in my arenas. At the end of the game I may just await you with treasure and with opportunity.
"For our work is not yet done. No, my champion, my work is not yet done."
-Emperor Calus
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