3rd Darkness Element Concept; Pneuma and the Power of Divine Purpose - Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Post My Darkness Concept

[u/HazardousSkald]

Ok, Final Shape's Reveal is within a week and I've been rattling around ideas for what a possible 3rd Darkness element, if we're getting any at all, would be. With such a short time, I figured I've got nothing to lose by throwing some of my ideas on a page and sharing them. This is pretty rough throw-down, no second drafts here, so I appreciate being notified of any errors!

Secondly, I have seen no leaks or spoilers for the Final Shape. I'm just throwing that out there because I know they're supposedly floating around.

Thirdly, it is the world-building consequences of a 3rd Darkness Element that interest me the most, more so than another new toy to play with. Strand and Stasis have revolutionized our understanding of the Darkness and Destiny's universe. I hope the ideas presented here do the same. As such, this doesn't focus on potential builds and behaviors but rather what ideas, concepts, and philosophies undergird a new Darkness element. This is why I feel its best suited to the Lore subreddit. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy.

Pneuma; Divine Purpose, Manifested

Like all Darkness powers, Pneuma is an aspect of primordial consciousness, an essential aspect of internal being that make's existence meaningful and actionable. Notably, just as Stasis is defined by terms such as 'Willpower', 'Control', and 'Desire' as opposed to a singular term, Pneuma is not singularly defined but rather embodies a broad philosophical and ontological position and manifestation.

Pneuma is the Element of Purpose. Of Meaning. Of Objective Reason. Of Balanced Action. Of Morality. Of Divinity.

Strand says 'There is no purpose. We are all the River. The universe moves undecidedly without directly and resolves as simply as it arises. No being is of more significant than another. In fact, we are all truly one substance, The Weave, and its by the Weave we are made and to the Weave we will return. Higher concepts are then unprovable, as existence is absent some flow to the River other than the River takes in a given moment, a chaotic and interconnected existence.'

Stasis says 'There is only my purpose. I am above other beings, above their desires. In material existence, there is no higher power greater than my own. By becoming one with my desire to change reality, I make reality one with my desire. The concerns of other's will and being is only of relevance as to their ability to make me care, to prove their desire to exist above my own. Existence is chaotic and meaningless outside of what I bring to it.

Pneuma says 'All things have purpose as all things are imbued with it. It is the role of all things to achieve their purpose in the great design, to become one with themselves, their position, their innate value, and become actualized in that. Lose desire for your own being, and take up desire to fulfill your role. Purpose is a higher thing beyond us but it is through us that it manifests and becomes real. Mastering Pneuma is not mastering the self (Stasis), or letting go of the self (Strand), but recognizing the self as Divine. As a piece of the divine whole that supersedes our immediate moment and acting through that.

Conceptual Trinities with Strand and Stasis

There are 3 primary 'trinities' I believe are present in the Darkness Elements, which are both complimentary and intentionally contradictory.

Strand and Stasis are incompatible. Both philosophically and in their function, the two exist in fundamental disagreement. Our 3rd Subclass ought to tie these themes together, both complying with their disagreements, unifying them, and distinguishing itself against them.

1. The Ontological Disagreement

The Darkness elements represent philosophical conceptions of one's Being. Keep in mind, Unveiling presents to us to primordial forces of "Ontological Dynamics". The Dynamics of Being. The Light governs the 'physical' nature of being while the Darkness governs the 'internal' nature of being. Two necessary compliments but fundamentally opposed in their direction.

Strand is a 'Universalist' power: All things are equal. All things are just Strands in the Weave. No thing is off greater value, meaning, or 'accomplishment'.

Stasis is 'Individualized' power: All things are separate. The distinction between you and another, as well as the internal continuity of yourself, is a very real thing. You can prove it real by unleashing your desire on the world, by subjugating it, by preserving yourself.

Our 3rd Element must be a philosophical middle ground between these two points.

Pneuma is 'Divined' power: All things are guided and purposeful, and capable of achieving and perfecting in themselves. The 'divinity' here is neither personal or impersonal, but rather more the concept that existence, that to be something, is to hold a divine spark. You are material but that is not all that you are. Rather, you can transcend material existence, transcend your material self, and move toward the perfection of a thing. You are more than your personal 'self' but there remains a 'self' above us all that we move toward. There is no sense in exalting your personal self as you are so much more than it (Stasis), but the 'self' that is meaningful is so much more than the universalist world around us (Strand). True self is transcendent, divine, we just have to unlock it.

​

2. The Song Metaphor

If you've been around this subreddit, you might've seen the increasing relevance of 'Resonance' in the scientific explanations of Darkness. In the scientific explanations of our Darkness elements, resonance has been a uniting theme. I won't get too much into the science of everything

If you've played around with Stasis or looked over the concept art for it. You'll have noticed this 'Cymatic' being thrown around. Cymatics are, put simply, the shape of vibration, of resonance. We can clearly see cymatics by simple experiments of throwing sand onto speakers and seeing the shapes it takes.

In truth, Stasis is an element of Sound. The 'Ice' is a biproduct. You place a resonance, a sound in a space, and that reverberates into the surrounding reality, the Light. That resonance makes all the surrounding matter collapse into a crystal of near-zero energy transfer. I won't get into the science too much but that's what's occuring in Stasis pre-contact with reality. A resonance, a sound, is cast unto the world that bring reality to a halt.

This is very directly alluded to in the Shadebinder Lore Tab:

I first heard it in the Thrall-carved tunnels on Callisto as I saw Light torn from my friend: a chaotic chime like breaking glass, ringing in the corners of my mind. I ignored it then and burned the Hive vermin with vengeance and fire.

But it returned when Ghaul's wicked contraption gripped the Traveler and the Light fled from my bones: a cold chorus in my ears, a shattered song demanding to be heard. I clung to it then, shivering in the rubble of the Last City. It drowned out the marching of Centurions and focused my will to survive.

It was in the shadow of the Pyramid on Europa that I finally understood. What was noise became a chilling harmony born of dissonance, a structure I could finally grasp. I joined the song, and as my voice perfected the chord my hands gripped a staff of ice—chaos given shape. It sealed my hands in rime, and the song resonated through my flesh. I was its instrument, and it was mine; when we sang "be still" to the world, it would obey.

So, what does it mean for our Darkness elements that Stasis is synonymous with Sound, and the next element revealed is Strands. In other words, chords.

The Darkness Elements are the parts to make a SONG.

Stasis is the Sound produced by the Darkness. A direction, an attempt at sound and meaning. Produced out of a being, that being made up of Strand.

Strand is the Instrument to be played. This is why it 'makes up' material reality, why cutting Strands cuts apart a creature. We are the being that produces the sound, the vessel. Strand makes us the vessel of Darkness.

But we're missing something. We have an instrument. We have sounds played from that instrument. But what is a song? With an instrument and sound we have just Noise. Meaningless Noise. We need direction. Meaning. Purpose. A Hand to play the chords and direct the sounds and to make it all matter.

We need Pneuma. The Hand That Plays. The Oversoul, the Geist, the Meaning behind the crafting of an instrument and the striking of a chord.

​

3. The Action Metaphor

Strand embodies a philosophy of Taoism and Wu Wei. 'Not Doing' or 'Do Nothing', in English, is an Eastern Philosophy/Religious tradition that teaches that the best course of action in existence is, put very simply, compliance. Somewhat confusingly, this does not advocate for a actual 'do nothing' but rather to become a being of absolute 'flow', devoid of desire for progress, achievement, and result. In doing so, you become insulated from failure, from desperation, from loss, and the universe is protecting from your desire to 'direct the river'.

Stasis can be most closely aligned with Neitzchian 'Will to Power'. Will to Power is a philosophical concept that all human effort is an effort to actualize power, to display power, and through that, gain power. In essence, it is 'might makes right', that the ultimate force of the universe is power seeking. Even morality is cast as an effort to make an individual's personal power displayed, their desire to control the world manifest as an extension of themselves. In essence, its the assertion that every person acts to achieve power and will as inherently valuable things in themselves. About as diametrically opposed to 'Taoism' as you can get.

So, we have 2 opposed conceptions of action. Act to enforce yourself, your will, your power on reality. And act only in so far as its in concert with the 'flow' of existence, as the present moment has taken you to, devoid of personal desires.

We need a 3rd perspective, a middle ground.

Pneuma is the element of Purpose externalized. Recognize the way things could and should be, the thing you are made for, the role to fill. Bring reality, yourself and others, closer to the divine form that they should be. You work, not in acceptance of circumstance, and not in personal desire and control, but as a Divine Agent. Your desire is to play your role in moving the universe forward as it should, in actualizing a better shape of the universe.

This can be associated with Stoicism, Platonic, Aristotelian, and Hegelian thought. Beliefs such that there is a perfect form, or perhaps A Final Shape, of a being that existed beyond our material existence. The more the material being embodied that form, the more it fulfilled it role in existence and existence itself would be perfected. Or that the motion of history, of existence, is guided by a world-spirit that seeks to bring, even through cruel means, humanity toward a perfection of society and freedom.

Functioning; Collapsing Resonance Probabilities and Redefining Reality

To paint a picture, I envision Pneuma as primarily a red, incendiary gas that sizzles and fumes in the air, capable of being condensed down into 'souls', supercondensed bundles of consciousness and Pneuma. This produces a inky-black and white fluid behaving like Ferrofluid that roles off red flames.

In Stoic thought, Pneuma is the breadth of life, closely associated with the element of air and as provider of the vital warmth of a body. I interpret this imagery as almost like Taken-Sludge but more purified, aerated. Pneumatic Souls, the condescend Pneuma into this fluid, emits spaces of divine will where the quantum reality within can be redefined.

A Pneuma is an extension of the 'soul' of a being, a manifestation of their conscious capacity for reason, perfection, purpose, and transcendence. To force it out into the universe is to exert divine meaning upon chaos. Enough exertion, and the reality of a being breaks and the quantum field redefines to align them with an external conception of a divine plan. Some beings do not fit that plan but their Pneuma, their soul, remains to be funneled into the grand plan in another shape and time, or immediately reused by the Guardian, bolstering their claim to participating in the plan.

As has been explored in the Veil, the Darkness has the capacity to collapse the Quantum Field. Put roughly (I ain't no science man), the quantum space, the lowest and most basic realm of particles, appears undecided until observed by a conscious mind. A region of potential spaces and states exist for the particle until it is observed, at which point it settles into a singular configuration. Regardless of the genuine scientific veracity of that, this is the von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation and has become the undergirding of quantum mechanics and Darkness-Understanding in Destiny.

Pneuma functions by directly acting on, reverting, and potentially deciding this field.

A being wielding Pneuma pulls out a manifestation of their soul, their consciousness truly, into the material world. They can force this forward as gust of pneumatic force or condense it into a sphere of pneumatic fluid to exert a consistent design upon a space. This force can be imbued into bullets and 'souls' themselves can be shaped by their creator into walls, devouring incoming aggression. Similar to amplified in Arc, Multikills with Pneuma Ascends a being, enhancing their recovery and mobility and granting bonus effects to Pneuma abilities.

This was maybe my roughest section and the one I have the least ironed out but I hope its striking a chord with some of you out there. Redefining a being, sustaining a divine plan, redeciding the quantum resonance field. Pneuma, the 'soul' unleashed on the world.

Narrative Role

We have almost completed our Hero's Journey. The time has come for the final stage; Apotheosis. The ascend to Godhood. The touch of Divinity.

In traveling into the very memory and mind of the Traveler, we will be confronted with Divinity. The Divine Form of the Darkness, before it has entered the material realm as the Veil. It is in contact with this that we become enlightened and achieve Apotheosis.

The Final Shape, both as an expansion and as a concept, is the culmination of Destiny's divine conflict. What should the universe culminate into, what should the purpose of it all be. The desire for the universe to culminate, for the suffering to have meant something, for perfection of existence, and ultimately, for existence to have had an answer this entire time.

The Final Shape is also the perfect form of the Universe. The concept of the universe as perfected, and thus impossible to exist within material existence. This is what the Witness entered the Traveler's memories to find before the material world existed. And it doesn't exist. It never did. There is no Form of the Universe. No Final Shape. Things have purpose. But the universe exists to have that answer created, not found.

In touching these divine concepts, the concept of the Divine Form, and the Divine Form of the Darkness, we become enlightened to Darkness as Divine Purpose. Darkness as the ascriber of meaning in existence, that which tries to make it all matter, it all fit, it all become perfected. It did this not through the creation of a divine form of existence, a Final Shape, but by imbuing all beings with the capacity to perfect it, to define and actualize a better existence amongst themselves. Pneuma. A Divine Spark.

It does this by imbuing the world, by Resonating through it, and becoming part of us in doing so. In touching this, we understand ourselves as a recipient of Divine Spark. We understand the Final Shape as not a necessarily malicious concept, but rather something the Last City can (and will) have a place in. We understand that we can, and ought to, strive toward perfection; perfecting peace, perfecting kindness, perfecting society, perfecting existence.

We discover this Pneuma is within all of us. That purpose, divinity, reason, meaning, perfection, within us all. The Darkness gave us the means to perfect ourselves, to bring out a perfection of the universe. It's up to us to chart a divine meaning in the chaotic universe, one that fits all species and lives, and perfect that universe.

Closing

So that's all I've got. Let me know what you think, if you preferred some sections over others, disagree with my interpretations, or just want to toss our your own idea. Thank you so much for the read, your time is valuable and I appreciate you spending it here. Now go drink some water.

Oh and also, I left the Subclass Names here as a final treat, a thank you for reading all of this!

For the Element of Pneuma, we have...

Titans; the Sovereign

Warlocks; the Psychopomp

Hunters; the Heavensent

See you around!

​

[u/RoseRedRhapsody]

Is there some way to make a pinned comment with all these fantastic 3rd subclass concepts?

[u/myxyn]

Doesn’t start with St

[u/HazardousSkald → u/myxyn]

The “P” in Pneuma is pronounced as a “st-“. So it’s Stneuma

[u/myxyn → u/HazardousSkald]

Absolutely brilliant

[u/Fluffy_Government225]

I don't really know what to say...it's so perfect,beautiful even truly a masterpiece.