I've always been a fan of the Jaren Ward/Dredgen Yor theory. However, there are several inconsistencies with this theory that leave gaping holes. So, if not Jaren, then who? Unfortunately, I broke the Bekenstein Limit with this post, so will just quote which Grimoire has the information. The best site I've found to read Destiny Grimoire is here at the Ishtar Collective http://www.ishtar-collective.net For the most part, this is pretty much speculation, however, I've attempted to piece together some lore in order to re-create the story of the rise and fall of Dredgen Yor. Pujari is Dredgen Yor. Everybody knows of Pujari. He is the Warlock that first made us aware that perhaps there is a dark side to Guardians and of the corruption of the golden age. Pujari on the Darkness: [spoiler]Ghost Fragment: The Darkness The Pujari Position describes the Darkness as a force with both physical and moral presence, an actualization of evil. Pujari art depicts the Darkness as a great storm, or as a change in conduct, a corruption that emerged from within and poisoned the Golden Age.[/spoiler] And lets not forget the infamous Legend: The Black Garden grimoire featuring Pujari. Some key phrases exist in both of these grimoire that are very relevant to this theory, but it is all quite relevant: "a corruption that emerged from within and poisoned the Golden Age." "The red flowers bloom forever." "I reached out to pluck it and it cut me with a thorn." "You are a dead thing made by a dead power in the shape of the dead. All you will ever do is kill." Pujari was a great researcher, and wrote a great amount of texts known as the Transcripts: [spoiler]"You cannot control the enemy. You can control yourself. The real victory lies within." - Pujari, Transcript VII "Your Light drives your armor. Do not speak of yourself as separate from the plate." - Pujari, Transcript XV "The mark's just pretty cloth. What matters is what it stands for." - Pujari, Transcript IX "Consider the word: bond. Remember, as you wield this power, that you are not alone." - Pujari, The Transcripts "To ignore the City's peril is to sequester oneself from truth." - Pujari, The Transcripts "All Light has a source: a fire, a filament, a star. Battle is how we seek that origin." - Pujari, The Transcripts[/spoiler] Following the events that transpired, the Transcripts wouldn't be the only text that Pujari would work on: [spoiler]"To rend one's enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects - hollow of spirit and meaning." - 13th Understanding, 7th Book of Sorrow[/spoiler] So, in order to understand Dredgen Yor, I asked the question: Why? What was his motivations. In reading Pujari's grimoires, he talked about Corruption, Flowers, Blooms and Thorns, the Darkness. This was was all stuff that was on his mind prior to his transition into Dredgen. But we need a scenario as well to put some weight on this theory. Okay, let's create a scenario: The Great Disaster. We know that Dredgen was on the Moon at some stage. So let's give him a fireteam: Pujari, Wei Ning, Pahanin Errata, Thalor, Jaren Ward and a 6th member (possibly Toland). Below are a couple items that link at least 3 of these Guardians: [spoiler]Spearhead Type 0 - PUJARI-WEI RATIO: colloquial. Amount of time Warlocks spend planning battles versus time Titans spend winning them. Molniya Type 0 - "So I ask Wei Ning: what about the Darkness itself? What then? And she says: I'll punch it too." - Pahanin Errata[/spoiler] Based on a lot of other items mentioning Wei Ning, it looks like she was a very likable and popular Guardian: [spoiler]"Yes, we've achieved the objective. And the next. And the…were we supposed to stop attacking?" —Wei Ning "To conserve ammo, we disrupted the enemy command structure with several sharp blows to the skull." —Wei Ning "Evade the Cabal counterattack? My friend, they're finally sending us something worth killing." —Wei Ning "This burn's from a slug rifle. That one's a shock blade. This one...ah, yes. Wei Ning gave me a hug."[/spoiler] So why does all this matter about Wei Ning? Because of the following excerpt from Ghost Fragment: Warlock 2, set during the Great Disaster on the moon: [spoiler]"It showed me the battle. It showed me Wei Ning dead on Crota's blade. It showed me how Crota killed a Guardian with a screaming knife hammered out of his own Ghost."[/spoiler] We know a lot of awful things occured on the moon during the Great Disaster. What I suspect happened to this particular fireteam, is that Pahanin, Jaren and Thalor deserted the rest of the fireteam in their time of need, or in the very least, Pujari blames those 3 on the death of wei Ning. But, if indeed they were deserted, this would have required Wei Ning, Pujari and 3rd unknown member (again, possibly Toland) to fend for themselves. We know that Wei Ning was then killed by Crota, leaving Pujari and Toland (I'm just going to name him now) alone. The 2 remaining go through trials of survival, both learning a great deal about the Hive, but something happened that led them both to madness. Was it at this point that Toland learned how to survive the Hive, as per item Emerald Light - "They'll believe you are one of their own. And that is the only way." - Toland, the Shattered. Did this survival have something to do with the Hive wizard, Xyor the Unwed. Xyor, and Yor, they're the same name, excluding the X indicating an X chromosome making Xyor female..... haha, I'm joking.... but seriously though, they're practically the same. Regardless of what bargains or sacrifices they made, Pujari and Toland made it out alive, their bodies intact, their minds not so much. Pujari, back on earth, no longer the Heroic Warlock he used to be, takes some time to reflect: [spoiler]Ghost Fragment: Thorn[/spoiler] Revenge. Plain and simple revenge. First Dredgen would hunt the first Guardian to betray him, Jaren Ward. To Palamon: [spoiler]Ghost Fragment: Thorn 2[/spoiler] Simply killing Ward is too simple though, Yor was going to take everything he cared about from him first. Palamon was next, we don't yet know exactly what went down there, but we know only Ash was left. Jaren then attempted to escort the small amount of Palamon's survivors to the safety of the city: [spoiler]Ghost Fragment: The Last Word 3[/spoiler] I don't believe that Jaren and co were hunting Dredgen in this grimoire, they weren't hunting, they were fleeing - "We could hold our own in a fight, but only the dead went looking for one—a hard truth that cut in direct opposition to our reasons for being so far from anything resembling civilization, much less our safety." Thalor would follow, as said in the description for Mark of Contention, for what is contention if not a heated disagreement: [spoiler]Mark of Contention The mighty Thalor was invincible in the Crucible - until Dredgen Yor, and his Thorn.[/spoiler] And finally, to Mars, for Pahanin Errata: [spoiler]Cloak of Dredgen Yor Before he took Pahanin's Light, Dredgen Yor ruled the Crucible, the notorious Thorn at his side.[/spoiler] Why Mars? Super Good Advice is initially found on Mars, which was Pahanin's gun, plus: [spoiler]Ghost Fragment: Thorn 3[/spoiler] The following lines tell me Mars, "I will not abandon you." "You will. Or I will carve the Light from your shell and leave the carcass of my first and last friend in the dirt of this dull, red world for no one to find." Finally, Revenge is Revenge, and the end of Dredgen yor: [spoiler]The Last Word "Yours...not mine." - Renegade Hunter Shin Malphur to Dredgen Yor during the showdown at Dwindler's Ridge[/spoiler] Did any of this happen? Unlikely. But at least I've now got it all out of my head. I'd like to hear other's more thought out theories on Dredgen Yor. The lore is openly left to interpretation, and it's fun trying to connect the dots, solve the mysteries. Sorry, no TL;DR, Destiny has enough activities not really requiring your full attention, let's not add to them.