‘Destiny 2’: Who Is Ghaul?

Tom Regan
Games
Games

If there’s anything Destiny’s been lacking, it’s a really good villain. While raids set players up against mysterious goliaths like Oryx, we never really get to know anything about them before blasting them into tiny pieces and hungrily devouring their engrams. In Destiny 2, however, players now have a villain they’ll love to hate.

What’s a Ghaul?!

After single-handedly defeating all the bad guys in the last game, things were going pretty well during your tenure as Guardian. Unfortunately, someone noticed how awesome you were. To make matters worse, that someone was Dominus Ghaul, the ruler of the Cabal Empire.

After receiving a distress call from his fleet of Skyburners during The Taken War, Ghaul gathered up the upper echelons of the cabal forces – The Red Legion – and made his way towards the Last City.

Why Is He A Threat?

Ghaul is a villain to be reckoned with.

Landing in The Tower after a routine mission, Destiny 2’s opening level shows just the kind of destruction that Ghaul is capable of unleashing. Sending his forces to exact a surprise attack on The Last City, Ghaul managed to destroy The Tower, capture The Speaker, and completely prevent Guardians from connecting to the light. In other words, he’s the most serious threat that the Guardians have ever faced.

With the Traveler trapped under a huge cage, The Red Legion slowly began to extract light from it, siphoning the energy into their own ships. With Ghaul believing that The Cabal are the most worthy of The Traveler’s light, this brutal attack was how Ghaul hoped to show that humanity was the wrong choice.

Where Did He Come From?

Ghaul's tragic upbringing and warped obsession with The Traveler makes him determined to succeed.

Like most power-hungry villains, Ghaul has a bit of a tragic upbringing. Growing up as an orphan, his albino white skin and small stature made him an easy target for the other Cabal.

Following their brutal Machiavellian customs, The Cabal left who they saw as a worthless runt to die. Chucking him into the Coliseum, Ghaul was made to fight for their amusement. Despite being the Cabal’s runt, however, Ghaul’s surprising skill meant that he soon managed to make a name for himself, winning him the attention of the Emperor’s advisor The Consul.

How Did He Become Leader Of The Red Legion?

The Red Legion are the Cabal's most fearsome troops.

With The Consul desperate to overthrow Emperor Calus and claim his throne, The Consul soon moulded Ghaul into a well-trained and utterly merciless warlord. Despite Calus growing fond of Ghaul, The Consul managed to convince the powerful runt that he needed to claim the power of The Traveler. With the Emperor not wanting to waste Ghaul’s obvious skill, he gave the warrior the respected position of Primus of the Red Legion.

Unfortunately for poor old Calus, The Consul had already managed to turn Ghaul against the Emperor. Sneaking into the Emperor’s quarters late at night, Ghaul, The Consul and their allies arrested Calus, sealing them within the Emperor’s prize ship The Leviathan, and banishing him deep into space.

Ghaul is a well-written and relatable villain;  just the thing that Destiny 2 was crying out for. While we won’t spoil how the final showdown plays out, Ghaul certainly gets a send-off worthy of his sinister status.

Tom Regan
Having written for everyone from Trusted Reviews to The Guardian, Tom is a London based writer who can't stop talking about games.