The Drifter (Character)

For the Destiny Crucible map, see The Drifter (Map).

The Drifter Rogue Lightbearer
Species	Human
Age	nearly 1,000 years old
Gender	Male
Status	Alive
Vendor?	Yes
Actor	Todd Haberkorn
Appearance(s)	Destiny 2 Forsaken Season of the Drifter Season of Arrivals Beyond Light

The name says it all.

― In-game description

The Drifter is a rogue Guardian and the host of Gambit. He serves as a vendor in the Tower. During Gambit matches, he appears in his ship, the Derelict, to spectate and determine the horde of enemies the Guardians must face.

Biography

Dark Ages

The Drifter was resurrected by a Ghost during the Dark Ages. He starved to death at least once out in the wild. It appears that his first chosen name was Germaine, which he went by while living in a village called Eaton. While living there, he hid his Light and secretly helped the village to be kept fed. He would send out his Ghost to search for food up to 100 leagues away. Occasionally he would also babysit a child in the village, Yu, when Judson, her family's neighbor, was being a little too aggressive and hostile.

Judson was a friend of the Drifter, and was a very good huntsman. Eventually while the Drifter lived in Eaton, a group of Iron Lords, led by Lord Dryden, payed the people of the village several months worth of food and supplies so that they could stay a week to stake out a War Lord named the Red Man. The village accepted the bargain, and Judson who highly disagreed, decided to leave the village that night.

The Red Man assumed that a lone Ghost he had seen was Judson's, when it actually was the Drifter's Ghost. The Red Man and five other War Lords brought Judson back to Eaton a week later at midday, the Red Man questioning the villagers, asking where the Iron Lord's were, now assuming the Ghost belonged to one of them. The Drifter responded, saying that the villagers payed the Iron Lords for food and supplies, and then the Iron Lords left. The Red Man, not believing, shot Yu's father. Shortly after, Judson grabbed a Fallen shock blade and attacked the War Lords, until one of them grabbed the spear, stabbed him in the side with a blade and flung him.

The Iron Lord's finally came out of hiding and began to attack the War Lords. A battle ensued in the village, with civilians in the cross-fire. Above the madness the Drifter's Ghost watched, and it saw a man, the Drifter, find shelter behind a shack holding an injured child, Yu. He held her up to his ear as she tried to speak.

After the battle had ended, Drifter was brought back by his Ghost, having died with the villagers. He told his Ghost to get him a shovel so that he could bury the bones of the dead villagers. His Ghost mentioned that it saw Drifter talking with Yu as she was dying, and it asked what the child had said to him, which the Drifter would answer lifetimes later. The Ghost also blamed the Drifter, saying that he could have saved the people. After he had finished digging a grave, he heard a voice call out. He ran towards it and found Judson on the ground, wounded and holding a gun. The Drifter no longer hid his Light or his Ghost, and he used his solar to cauterize Judson's wound. Judson had already lost too much blood though, and he died a moment later.

The Ghost called Drifter pathetic, saying that he could be so much more. Then Drifter brought Judson's body to the town center and began digging the grave again. He then saluted the Traveler which hung above the village.

There is not much lore on the Drifter when he went as the name Eli.

He ran a bar called End of the World, at the foot of Felwinter Peak, going by the name Wu Ming, and pretending to be Lightless. He had asked both Lady Efrideet and Lord Felwinter to com to the bar that night, and said he had a job that payed. Three War Lord's walked into the bar. One of them, Citan, demanded that the Drifter give them all the food he had. Lady Efrideet then challenged the War Lords, and they fought, with Lady Efrideet winning the battle and killing all three War Lords quiet quickly. She let the three Ghosts leave the bar, tellling them they'd get their Lightbearers back in time if they followed the Iron Decree. The Drifter then payed Lady Efrideet, and commented on her not bringing Felwinter, who only came down from the mountain's peak for official Iron Lord business. The Drifter changed the subject. Before Lady Efrideet had left, he tried to trick her into dancing with him, which ended unsuccessfully.

The Drifter then climbed up Felwinter's peak, meeting Felwinter at the top. Once inside Felwinter's castle, the Drifter showed that he had a Ghost, and asked that Felwinter hunt down and kill Lord Dryden, the last remaining Lightbearer other than the Drifter to live through what had happened to Eaton. The Drifter wished for vengeance for the villagers of Eaton against Dryden, who had also killed the War Lords he had defeated at the village of Eaton. Dryden kept this secret, and became famous among the Iron Lords. The Drifter showed Felwinter proof of what happened in Eaton, afterwards Felwinter motioned for Drifter to leave. After the Drifter had gone, Felwinter told his Ghost to prepare his Iron Banner arsenal and to call Dryden.

At some point while going by the name Wu Ming, he met Orin who was grieving the loss of Namqi, who she had loved. The Drifter comforted Orin, and they had become close. Until Orin found out that the Drifter had been running with the Dredgens of Yor, the Drifter attempted to get her to stay, but she ended their friendship and left to find The Nine.

City Age

The Drifter set up shop in the Last City, where he invited guardians to participate in Gambit, a game created by the Drifter himself. During the Drifter's time in the city, he has become more open and willing to help where he can. He has also become quiet close to Eris Morn and has worked with her in the past.

Season of the Drifter

The Drifter set out different tapes for the Guardian to find. The Drifter's last tape details his feelings about the Guardian, and the Drifter offers them a place in the pocket realm he is building in the realm of the Nine.

Personality

The Drifter has also been known as Dredgen Hope, Eli, Wu Ming and Germaine. He tries to conceal who he truly is by using the persona of the Drifter, he attempts to hide that he cares for others. But lately he has began to open up and to trust others, especially Eris Morn.

Quotes

• "Nothing kills a Guardian faster than another Guardian."
• "They don't make Dark Age tech like this anymore. Lucky for you I kept all mine."
• "Cayde's dead, and I need more guns. One step forward, one step back."
• "You know about those, huh? You the one causin' them? Tell you right now, I don't appreciate what they got to say." 
• "WOO! The best gunfights happen on the frontier!"
• "Portal's up! Go take 'em out!"
• "You're invading! Make a mess."
• "Hahaha! I'm sorry, were they sayin' somethin'? Cuz' they're dead now!"
• "Keep your Taken pants on. I ain't never seen a ritual our walking tank couldn't smash."
• "Oh, I'm always genuine. People just ain't always payin' attention. For real, though? Moondust might've given me a push. Thought it'd help."
• "I thought to myself… "You know who might like something strange and unsettling? Eris Morn.""

Gameplay

Merchandise

The Drifter sells various items to Guardians, including weapons, shaders, and emblems with some of these items requiring a certain number of Gambit rank resets before purchasing.

In addition, he also sells 5 bounties that award Infamy Rank Points and one weekly bounty that awards 150 Infamy Rank Points and Powerful Gear. 

Dialogue

Main article: The Drifter/Dialogue