The Red Death may be a formidable foe in crucible, but it does have backstory. Today I am here to discuss the lore and origins of this weapon. [b]Sources: Red Death Grimiore Red Spectre Flavor Text (Slightly) Edgar Allen Poe's Masque of The Red Death[/b] [quote]"Vanguard policy urges guardians to destroy this weapon on sight. It is a guardian killer."[/quote] Rumors tell of a mad guardian who wielded this weapon for malevolent purposes, but today I will put those Rumors to rest. The Red Death is a unique weapon. It is a pulse rifle, that bears the model of an auto rifle, Here's why. One of the main weapon foundries, which could be anyone of them until we have more lore on the subject, created an auto rifle schematic. They most likely did this to combat Suros's massive auto rifle industry, which includes the Regime. You can notice this because of the Red Spectre, it's flavor text detailing it to be a sort of prototype of the Red Death. This plan must have horribly failed, since we can see many prototypes of this auto rifle scattered around the crucible, worn with rust. But, this is not the end of the Red Death's story. To my belief, a guardian, most likely an underling of the gunsmith, found one of these prototypes in the crucible. Using his skill of weaponry, he began to tweak the model. Over time, he became obsessed with it. This is the point where I started to use Edgar Allen Poe's famous short story, Masque of The Red Death, as a reference. I know, I know, it seems kind of strange, but this is how I've used it to interpret the lore. In the Masque of The Red Death, the main antagonist was a pure embodiment of The Plague. He infiltrated the prince's masquerade and murdered every single inhabitant. This is what I am relating Destiny's Red Death to. I believe once he finished the prototype of the Red Death, making it the one we know and hate, he reached a point of pure obsession. He became the embodiment of The Red Death, well, in his mind. What I think next is pure speculation, but it fits. He started to murder people, becoming infamous. He then, most likely, murdered a famous or important guardian, forcing the vanguard to exile him. But still, this is not the end. He took the Red Death, and went back in the crucible to quench his blood lust. There, in the crucible, someone of high talent most likely ended him. They took the Red Death as a trophy, and began to use it. Then came a vigorous cycle of death, which usually happens in the crucible, or Destiny in general, and that is how you obtained The Red Death. [b]Thank you for reading, and have a nice day, guardians. [/b]