The last word yours not mine

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For the Year 2 hand cannon, see The Last Word (Year 2).

The Last Word is an exotic hand cannon. In Year 1, it could be purchased from Xûr or obtained as a random completion reward. It can currently still be obtained as a random drop from Year 1 activities and legacy engrams.

Sources[]

The Last Word can be retrieved from one of the following activities/vendors:

	Crota’s End
This item can drop during the Crota’s End Raid.

This item was also previously obtainable from one of the following sources:

	Unknown
This item can drop in situationally dependent ways.

	Nightfall
This item can drop from Nightfall activities.

	Strike
This item can drop as a Strike reward. Exotic items can only drop from the most challenging Strike playlist.

	Crucible
This item can drop as a Crucible match reward.

Upgrades[]

The Last Word can be upgraded with the following perks:

Column 0[]

		Kinetic Damage
This weapon causes kinetic damage.

		Fan Fire
The weapon can be fired quickly and continuously.

		Ascend
Increases the Attack value of this weapon to the highest available in Year 1.

Column 1[]

		Soft Ballistics
Less recoil. Penalty to Impact.

		Smart Drift Control
Predictable and controllable recoil. Penalty to range.

		Aggressive Ballistics
More predictable recoil. Enhanced Impact. Shorter range and more recoil.

Column 2[]

		Hip Fire
This weapon has bonus accuracy while firing from the hip.

Column 3[]

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

Column 4[]

		Single Point Sling
Switch weapons faster. Move quicker while aiming.

		High Caliber Rounds
Oversize rounds built to stagger targets and leave them reeling. Their mass makes a weapon harder to handle.

		Perfect Balance
This weapon has extremely low recoil.

Column 5[]

		Last Word
Improved stability and target acquisition when firing from the hip.

Column 6[]

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

Column 7[]

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

		Upgrade Damage
Increases Attack Power, allowing this weapon to cause more damage.

Trivia[]

• During a Bungie podcast, The Last Word was labeled as the «yang» to its «yin» in the Destiny universe.^[1]
• When a player readies The Last Word, the character twirls the gun on their finger.
• While shooting this gun, the character fans the hammer.
• «Yours…not mine» was also said by Jaren Ward to Magistrate Loken.^[2]
• The Last Word from Year 1 had Blue Lights, and The Last Word from Year 2 has Green Lights. However now both versions have the Green Lights.

Gallery[]

References[]

1. ↑ (2013-09-24) Bungie.net: The Bungie Podcast, September 24, 2013 22:40. Retrieved 30 Sep. 2013.
   
2. ↑ Bungie (2014) Destiny, Grimoire: Ghost Fragment: The Dark Age 2 Activision.
   

The Last Word is one of Destiny’s most infamous weapons, both from a game play standpoint to a lore standpoint. Now it’s finally in Destiny 2 as a quest for anyone who owns the Annual Pass. This gun requires some hefty requirements that may tax some players. However we hope this guide will make it a little easier to swallow. Most of the steps explain what to do as you get to them. However, we have a few tips and tricks to speed up the process a bit. This weapon will help you become more of a Legend inside and outside of Destiny.

However, this is the first time this weapon will appear in Destiny 2. To prepare for its arrival, I’d like to not only look at the past of this glorious weapon but also to its future. This is the legendary Last Word.

---

Destiny 2: The Last Word quest line

Step Two: The Cleansing

• Defeat Hive 0%
• Hive tables collected 0/75
• Hive bosses defeated 0/3

All of three of these steps can be completed at the same time. I’ve found activating Escalation Protocol on Mars to be the quickest solution. Although Lost Sectors on Titan would work as well.

Step Three: A Cleansed Artifact

• Return to the Drifter

Step Four: The Temptation

• Defeat Guardians in the Crucible

This step is a doozy. From what I can gather this is step depends on both single kills and K/D. I was lucky enough to have Mayhem active the week I completed this. You may not be as lucky. When I defeated a Guardian, I earned 1%. When I died,lost 1%. However, the longer my kill streak accumulated, the more my percentage increased. That makes sense. However, the values seemed to vary between 1 and 2%. My suggested strategy is to just play it safe. Don’t try for high kill counts but for good K/D. If you end a match 8/1, you benefit more than if you end a game at 16/8.

Step Five: The Damnation

• On Titan, find a blue quest marker, named “The Draw.”

The boss requires you to kill two wizards to take down its shield. This has multiple phases.

Step Six: A New Jagged Purpose

• Speak with The Drifter

Step Seven: Sullied Light

• Collect Crystals 0/15
• Crucible Metals Collected 0/25
• Hive Larva Collected 0/50
• Heroic Hive Rituals Completed 0/3

The crystals and larvae can be completed in tandem. All three Lost Sectors on Titan reward you these crystals. Also, Core Terminus on Mars grant these objectives. However, there are only two locations that are host to the Hive Ritual Public Event. Below are maps for both Mars and Titan. It’s best to jump between both worlds as the correct Public Event spawns.

As for the Crucible metals, any mode you feel most confident in will be best. Deaths don’t yield any negative effects. However ,you need Blood for Blood medals or Best Served Cold medals. Blood for Blood is awarded after you kill a Guardian who just took out an ally. Best Served Cold is seared for defeating the Guardian that killed you last. This may take time to get, since it’s hard to set up. So, the best strategy is to just play until you get it. Mayhem is also a good mode when it’s available. Provided below are two maps with locations for these Public Events:

Step Eight: Sorrow’s Road

• Speak with The Drifter

Step Nine: The Conversation

• Defeat Enkaar

This mission is pretty straight forward. You are unable to heal or gain Super energy unless you pick up random orbs of Light that fall from defeated enemies. As you arrive to the final fight, you have to duel Enkaar with The Last Word. There are three sets of duels, each duel adding another image of Enkaar. You have very little time to shoot him before he shoots you. They will shoot in order they appear in, so be cognizant of their order.

**Beware of possible glitch**

Two of us on-staff have experienced this particular glitch. It occurs during the final fight. The quest would not complete, even after we won all three duels.

Here’s what to look for: If you jump into the last section, after destroying a giant crystal, the game should activate a Respawn Restricted notification. If it doesn’t then this quest will not complete for you. We both heard the noise associated with the notification, but no screen prompt of “Restricted Respawn” appeared. If this happens to you, abandon the quest and restart.

Step Ten: A Dark Path

• Speak with The Drifter

Congratulations!!!! The Last Word is “Yours…Not Mine”.

---

Destiny 2 The Last Word Guide

The story of The Last Word, like any good story, is two-sided. One of good vs evil, dark vs. light, or Last Word vs. Thorn. The battle of Shin Malphur and Dregen Yör was more of a conclusion to the legend of The Last Word. To truly appreciate this hand cannon, we must venture to the beginning.

This is before the Guardians were even called Guardians. They were known as the Risen. A man named Rezyl Azzir, one of the first to bare the class Titan, was regarded as a Noble Man and a beacon of light and hope. This Noble Man thrived in this regard, often searching out the darkness to vanquish it. Rezyl, like any respected Guardian, had a weapon of choice. A hand cannon he affectingly called Rose because of its resemblance to budding petals.

However, to quote one of the greatest films of all time, “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain.” And this is exactly what became of Rezyl. He had feelings and visions of darkness growing on the moon. However, the moon was forbidden to venture to. Rezyl couldn’t ignore a growing threat, so to the moon he went.

This would prove to be his downfall. There, he was met with nightmare creatures that he had never seen. Grotesque human shaped bugs that would later be known as The Hive had overrun the moon and soon Rezyl. He was taken hostage by a Hive Wizard, named Xyor, the Betrothed. This Wizard used Rezyl’s light against him, turning his thirst for hope into a hunger. Xyor corrupted Rezyl and his beloved Rose, turning him into a cursed Guardian, named Dredgen Yor, and his Rose into the infamous Thorn.

Jaren Ward, Wielder of The Last Word

This story may seem like it has nothing to do with The Last Word, however without this backstory The Last Word will fall on deaf ears. In order to see how the two are connected, we must jump to another Guardian: a Hunter named Jaren Ward. This Hunter discovered a small town called Palamon on the outskirts of The Last City.

This town sustained itself under a ruler named Magistrate Loken. The two were often at odds. Jaren often went out to protect the town against roaming transports of Fallen in the surrounding mountains. Jaren had a reason to protect this town. Shortly after Jaren arrived, a young boy that lived there took to him.

The boy was the first non-Guardian to treat Jaren as a person rather than a threat or as a God. The boy was mesmerized by Jaren’s hand cannon: a steel black revolver with gold inlay and a wooden grip. This gun was The Last Word. This boy’s name was Shin Malphur, and he would go on to be one of the greatest Hunters that we know of. But that’s later in the story.

Jaren soon became the leader of Palamon. Not officially, since Loken held the actual title. The people of Palamon would look to Jaren to solve problems or tell them what to do, and this didn’t sit well with the Magistrates pride. Soon Loken became a ruthless leader with no heart, desperate to get back any and all power. Every time Jaren left town, Loken took the opportunity to regain power and induce fear.

Eventually, a boiling point peaked between Jaren and Loken. Loken had his militia wait for the Hunter’s return. Jaren arrived, not to his normal warm welcome, but to nine guns aimed at him. Loken no longer welcomed Jaren to Palamon. Over the past few months, Loken had become ruthless, tightening his grip on Palamon. It was something Jaren couldn’t let happen, not after growing so close to the young boy.

Shin Malphur

While this took place, Shin second father restrained him in the crowd that had gathered. His second father tightened his grip on Shin’s shoulder as if to say “don’t react.” Shin listened. Shin’s parents died that day by the Fallen. Shin’s second father had raised him, and he didn’t want to disrespect his wishes. However, Jaren too had become like a father to Shin, and he could not watch as Loken gunned him down in the street.

“This is my town,” Loken screamed across the courtyard. As Loken spoke, the gunmen steadied their rifles. Jaren did not waver. “Not anymore,” Jaren said, just loud enough for Loken to hear. “Those are going to be your last words then?” Loken asked, not understanding the irony. Jaren moved so fast that it seemed only Shin kept up. In one motion, Jaren shifted from a standing position to that of a gunslinger. His Last Word almost manifested in his hand from his holster. As he moved, he proclaimed, “Yours, not mine.”

Just like that, Loken vanished. The riflemen lowered their weapons. The town was free from Loken’s tyranny, and no one seemed to be upset. If this had happened years prior, Loken would have been mourned. However, he grew hard and ruthless in the few years leading to his death. No one missed him now.

Years passed as Jaren took over Palamon. People were happy and safe. Fallen raids have all but stopped. For the first time since Shin could remember, he felt at home. However, the world has a way of making these feelings fleeting. Jaren left for a few weeks. This was normal behavior for him.

However, this time Palamon had a visitor during Jaren’s absent. Another Guardian came to Palamon’s doorstep, and without hesitation, the town took this stranger in. Shin remembered feeling the same sense of awe he felt with Jaren with this stranger, however, this was more fear than respect. The stranger took Palamon’s hospitality and kindness but left despair and death. The stranger was fallen Guardian Rezyl Azzir, now known as Dredgen Yör. By the time Jaren returned, it was too late.

The Last Word vs. The Thorn

Shin was one of a few to survive. His surrogate father was not as lucky. The few who remained craved vengeance, and Jaren blamed himself for not saving the town. So, they packed up and followed the trail to hunt and kill Dredgen. Shin was older now, and Jaren took him under his wing, not as an apprentice, but a warrior. Shin was a warrior now. The months were long, and at times the group felt they should just turn back. Jaren kept them together, ever-forward, until one night.

He left in the middle of the night, the group must have been closer than they realized. Jaren left to confront Dredgen. There were no words between the two, just the sound of gunfire from Jaren and one festering shot from the cursed Thorn. Dredgen won, and Jaren’s Ghost fell. Jaren died from something his Ghost couldn’t revive him from: pure Darkness. Dredgen picked up The Last Word, commenting to the Ghost how beautiful.

The Last Word was. Jared had his trust in the wrong weapon, motioning to his Thorn. Dredgen tells Ghost to take the gun and give it to Shin as a gift. The Ghost refuses, realizing that Dredgen only wanted to egg the boy on so he too would meet the same fate as Jaren. Dredgen told his Ghost it’s not to antagonize but rather give the boy hope. Hope is what Dredgen Yör feeds on, after all.

The group awoke to the sounds of gunshots, then an evil sound, a sound they all recognized but didn’t want to believe. They all knew what had happened, but no one moved until morning. Once the sun rose, the group felt safe enough to disband. After all, if Jaren couldn’t do it, then they certainly couldn’t. Jaren was the only thing holding this group together. With him gone, fear replaced duty. Except for Shin. Shin remained there, waiting. For what he couldn’t say, but he couldn’t leave. Until he saw it, Jaren’s Ghost floating toward the boy. It stopped a few feet in from of him as a warm light flooded around him. For the first time, he heard the Ghost talk.

Dredgen Yör was waiting for Shin at the edge of Dwindlier’s Ridge. As Shin walked to him, a rage burned inside him. Dredgen taunted the boy “Been Awhile”. Shin stayed silent. “The gunslinger’s sword, his cannon. That was a gift. An offering from me…to you”. Shin still gave no reply as anger erupted into flames in his chest. Dredgen proceed. “Nothing to say? I’ve been waiting for you. For this day. Many times I thought you faltered. Given up, but here you are. This is truly an end…”

It was at this moment that the fire in Shin’s chest burst through his body. The flames ran down his arm and around The Last Word. He was over this, over the talking. In one motion he fired The Last Word before Dredgen could say anything else. The lifeless body of Dregen Yör was now motionless on the ground. As Shin walked to the body he unloaded two more rounds into the helm of the fallen Guardian. “Yours, not mine,” he said.

The Last Word, the First Gunslinger

This was the infamous story of The Last Word, and the first documented case of the Hunters Gold Gun super. In the original Destiny, any time a Hunter activated a Gold Gun super, the hand cannon portrayed was The Last Word for this reason. It is unclear if that will come back when The Last Word quest released for Destiny 2. As a Hunter main, I hope it does.

Now for fans of the lore, this story is full of questions. How did Shin become a Guardian? How did Shin keep his memories after becoming a Guardian? And finally, why did both Dredgen Yör and Jaren Ward seem so interested in this boy? I hope more questions find answered in The Draw quest for The Last Word. For now, we wait and see. I want to thank Jon Goff and Bungie for writing this story in the Destiny Grimoire back in the original Destiny. All of the quotes came directly from the grimoire.

This was the story of The Last Word, but it’s not where the story ends. When the mission drops we will have a complete rundown on what each step requires for you to obtain this gun in Destiny 2. We hope you’re as excited as we are for this quest, not only to find out more of the story but to use what was probably the most popular Handcannon of the original Destiny. We will see you again when the quest drops on January 29th, but until then “Yours, not mine”.

People always forget about the other one. The first one. They remember its twin, the Last Word, because that’s an easier story to tell. But it’s not the whole story.

Truth is, there were two of ’em, back then in the lawless days before the City was anything more than a rumor. There are thousands of tales of the fate of The First Curse, which one will you tell? 

For this lore segment to really make a story. Lets start with the villain. A man by the name of Dredgen Yor. He was a Guardian who fell from lights grace and became something else, something tortured and dark. Here is the introduction from one of Destiny’s Grimoire Cards from the website.

Ghost Fragment: Thorn

The noble man stood. And the people looked to him. For he was a beacon – hope given form, yet still only a man. And within that truth there was great promise. If one man could stand against the night, then so too could anyone – everyone.

In his strong hand the man held a Rose. And his aura burned bright.

When the man journeyed on, the people remembered. In his wake hope spread. But the man had a secret fear. His thoughts were dark. A sadness crept from the depths of his being. He had been a hero for so long, but pride had led him down sorrow’s road.

Slowly the shadows’ whisper became a voice, a dark call, offering glories enough to make even the brightest Light wander. He knew he was fading, yet he still yearned.

On his last day he sat and watched the sun fall. His final thoughts, pure of mind, if not body, held to a fleeting hope – though they would suffer for the man he would become, the people would remember him as he had been.

And so the noble man hid himself beneath a darkness no flesh should touch, and gave up his mortal self to claim a new birthright. Whether this was choice, or destiny, is a truth known only to fate.

In that cool evening air, as dusk was devoured by night, the noble man ceased to exist. In his place another stood.

Same meat. Same bone. But so very different.

The first and only of his family. The sole forbearer and last descendent of the name Yor.

In his first moments as a new being, he looked down at his Rose and realized for the first time that it held no petals: only the jagged purpose of angry thorns.

Now that we have an idea of who or what the villain of the story is. Lets delve a little deeper into the setting, area and overall feeling of the story’s set up. Think – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly mixed with Mad Max’s post apocalyptic world, slam that into the dynamic of Destiny’s lore. A Grimoire Card about the Last Word  begins with Shin Malphur describing his childhood living in Palamon, a settlement some distance away from the relative safety and civility of The Last City:

Ghost Fragment: The Last Word. 

I’m writing this from memory – some mine, but not all. The facts won’t sync with the reality, but they’ll be close, and there’s no one to say otherwise, so for all intents and purposes, this will be the history of a settlement we called Palamon and the horrors that followed an all too brief peace.

I remember home, and stories of a paradise we’d all get to see some day – of a City, “shining even in the night.” Palamon didn’t shine, but it was sanctuary, of a sort. 

We’d settled in the heart of a range that stretched the horizon. Wooded mountains that shot with purpose toward the sky. Winters were harsh, but the trees and peaks hid us from the world. We talked about moving on, sometimes, striking out for the City. But it was just a longing.

Drifters came and went. On occasion they would stay, but rarely. 
We had no real government, but there was rule of law. Basic tenets agreed upon by all and eventually overseen by Magistrate Loken.

And there you have it…no government, until there was. I was young, so I barely understood. I remember Loken as a hardworking man who just became broken. Mostly I think he was sad. Sad and frightened. As his fingers tightened on Palamon, people left. Those who stayed saw our days became grey. Loken’s protection – from the Fallen, from ourselves – became dictatorial. 

Looking back, I think maybe Loken had just lost too much – of himself, his family. But everyone lost something. And some of us had nothing to begin with. My only memory of my parents is a haze, like a daydream, and a small light, like the spark of their souls. It’s not anything I dwell on. They left me early, taken by Dregs.

Palamon raised me from there. The family I call my own – called my own – cared for me as if I was their natural born son. And life was good. Being the only life I knew, my judgment is skewed, and it wasn’t easy – pocked by loss as it was – but I would call it good.

Until, of course, it wasn’t.

Until two men entered my world. One a light. The other the darkest shadow I would ever know.

Imagine being in the harsh wilds of a decimated Earth. Where humans are no longer the dominate species and alien forces have taken over all but one bastion of human civilization. Reading this over I find myself reminiscing over my long hours of Red Dead Redemption. Terrible childhood, Government corruption, and a badass hero. What more do you need. The Grimoire below is when the stranger comes to town. The Hero, the god, the light. Everything the town of Palamon is looking for personified.

Ghost Fragment: The Last Word 2

The man I would come to know as Jaren Ward, my third father and quite possibly my closest friend, came to Palamon from the south.

I was just a boy, but I’ll never forget his silhouette on the empty trail as he made his slow walk into town.

I’d never seen anything like him. Maybe none of us had. He’d said he was only passing through, and I believed him – still do, but life can get in the way of intent, and often does.

I can picture that day with near perfect clarity. Of all the details though – every nuance, every moment – the memory that sticks in my mind is the iron on Jaren’s hip. A cannon that looked both pristine and lived in. Like a relic of every battle he’d ever fought, hung low at his waist – a trophy and a warning.

This man was dangerous, but there was a light about him – a pureness to his weight – that seemed to hint that his ire was something earned, not carelessly given.

I’d been the first to see him as he approached, but soon most of Palamon had turned out to greet him. My father held me back as everyone stood in silence.

Jaren didn’t make a sound behind his sleek racer’s helmet. He looked just like the heroes in the stories, and to this day I’m not sure one way or the other if the silence between the town’s people and the adventurer was born of fear or respect. I like to think the latter, but any truth I try to place on the moment would be of my own making.

As we waited for Magistrate Loken to arrive and make an official greeting, my patience got the best of me. I shook free of my father’s heavy hand and made the short sprint across the court, stopping a few paces from where this new curiosity stood – a man unlike any other.

I stared up at him and he lowered his attention to me, his eyes hidden behind the thick tinted visor of his headgear. My sight quickly fell to his sidearm. I was transfixed by it. I imagined all the places that weapon had been. All of the wonders it had seen. The horrors it had endured. My imagination darted from one heroic act to the next.

I barely registered when he began to kneel, holding out the iron as if an offering. But my eyes locked onto the piece, mesmerized.

I recall turning back to my father and seeing the looks on the faces of everyone I knew. There was worry there – my father slowly shaking his head as if pleading with me to ignore the gift.

I turned back to the man I would come to know as Jaren Ward, the finest Hunter this system may ever know and one of the greatest Guardians to ever defend the Traveler’s Light…

And I took the weapon in my hand. Carefully. Gently.

Not to use. But to observe. To imagine. To feel its weight and know its truth.

That was the first time I held “Last Word,” but, unfortunately, not the last.

There’s no information of what Jaren Ward actually did in town. He gained the peoples trust and evidently stayed longer to help them then he originally intended. With any dominant political figure of any great story, Palamon’s Magistrate Lokan didn’t like Jaren and like any great western a showdown of epic proportions ensued. For this we look to another Grimoire Card.

Ghost Fragment: The Dark Age 2

Loken’s men found Jaren Ward in the courtyard where this had all began.

Nine guns trained on him. Nine cold hearts awaiting the order. Magistrate Loken, standing behind them, looked pleased with himself.

Jaren Ward stood in silence. His Ghost peeked out over his shoulder.

Loken took in the crowd before stepping forward, as if to claim the ground – his ground. “You question me?” There was venom in his words. “This is not your home.”

I remember Loken’s gestures here. Making a show of it all.

Everyone else was still. Quiet.

I tugged at my father’s sleeve, but he just tightened his grip on my shoulder to the point of pain. His way of letting me know that this was not the time.

I’d watched Jaren’s every move over the past months, mapping his effortless gestures and slight, earned mannerisms. I’d never seen anything like him. He was something I couldn’t comprehend, and yet I felt I understood all I needed the moment I’d seen him. He was more than us. Not better. Not superior. Just more.

I wanted father to stop what was happening. Looking back now, I realize that he didn’t want to stop it. No one did.

As Loken belittled Jaren Ward, taunted him, enumerated his crimes and sins, my eyes were stuck on Jaren’s pistol, fixed to his hip. His steady hand resting calmly on his belt.

I remembered the pistol’s weight. Effortless. And my concern faded. I understood.

“This is our town! My town!” Loken was shouting now. He was going to make a show of Jaren – teach the people of Palamon a lesson in obedience.

Jaren spoke: clear, calm. “Not anymore.”

Loken laughed dismissively. He had nine guns on his side. “Those gonna be your last words then, boy?”

The movement was a flash: quick as chain lightning. Jaren Ward spoke as he moved. “Yours. Not mine.”

Smoke trailed from Jaren’s revolver.

Loken hit the ground. A dark hole in his forehead. Eyes staring into eternity.

Jaren stared down the nine guns trained on him. One by one, they lowered their aim. And the rest of my life began – where, in a few short years, so many others would be ended.

Such a badass. After reading this Grimoire for the first time, I went directly back into Destiny, pulled my Last Word from the Vault and made every player in the Crucible my Loken. What happens between the time of Loken’s death and this next Grimoire Card is unclear, we can only assume there was some civil unrest as they’ve just lost their leader, a tyrant he may have been, but their leader none the less. Whatever happened, a great tragedy struck the people of Palamon, and Palamon was destroyed with only a few survivors making it out with their lives. With no Magistrate, no town, and everything they knew lost to the spoils of the Darkness. Jaren started leading them back to the last bastion of human civilization. Unfortunately, one early morning Jaren Ward leaves the rag tag survivors to investigate what he feels to be a danger, alone. this Card’s heart wrenching story is what took place early that morning.

Ghost Fragment: The Last Word 3.

It was the fourth night of the seventh moon.

Nine rises since any sign.

Trail wasn’t cold, but lukewarm would’ve been an exaggeration.

Jaren had us hold by a ravine.

The heavy wood along the cliffs’ edge caught the wind, holding back the cold and the rush of water muffled our conversation.

We’d seen dual Skiffs hanging low as they cut through the valley.

Wasn’t known Fallen territory, but that’s a dangerous assumption.

There were six of us then.

Three less than two moons prior, but still, one more than when we’d first turned our backs to Palamon’s ash.

We took a rotation for watch during the night.

Movement was kept to a minimum and communication was down to hand signals and simple gestures.

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.

The Skiffs had spooked Kressler and Nada, and, in truth, me as well. But, looking back, I think we were all just grasping for any good reason to turn back.

Not because we would—turn back—but because it seemed to be our only real hope, and I think we all knew it.

Forward. Where we were headed—into the unknown. And following the footsteps we were. It all just started to feel like a never-ending dead end after a while.

Jaren never wavered though. Not once.

At least not to any noticeable degree.

It was his drive, his conviction, that kept us going.

And—it’s hard to think on—but if I’m honest, it was his death that rekindled my own fire. A fire that was all but exhausted on that cold night.

He seemed confident we were close.

But more than confident—sure. He seemed sure.

No one else felt it—our own confidence, and any enthusiasm we’d had was set to wither soon as Brevin, Trenn and Mel were gunned down.

The Ghost—Jaren’s Ghost—never said a word to any of us. Just hung there. Always alert. Always judging. Not us, per se, but the moment. Any moment.

I never got the sense it thought of us as lesser. More that it was guarded, wary.

We knew it could speak. We’d overheard them a few times. Just brief words, and no one ever pressed the subject.

From time to time I caught its gaze lingering on me, but always assumed the attention was a result of the bond Jaren and I had. He was a father to me. At the time I didn’t know why he’d singled me out as someone to care for. Someone to protect. After all the loss, I welcomed it, but looking back—taking in the arm’s length at which he kept the others—I guess I should’ve known, or at least suspected there was more to it.

We all woke that night, closer to morning than the previous day.

A crack of gunfire split through the wood. Then more.

Far off, but near enough to pump the blood.

A familiar ring. “Last Word.” Jaren’s sidearm. His best friend.
Then another. A single shot, an unmistakable echo calling through the night. Hushed, cutting.

One shot, dark and infernal. Followed by silence.

We crouched low and quiet. Listening. Hoping.

Jaren was gone. Off on his own.

Maybe we were closer than we’d allowed ourselves to believe.

Too close.

He’d gone to face death alone.

I couldn’t admit it—not at the time—but he thought he was
protecting us.

After such a long road—years on its heels, a trail littered with suffering and fire—maybe he just couldn’t take the thought of anymore dead “kids,” as he called us.

The echoes faded and we all held still. No way to track the direction. No sense in rushing blind.

What was done was done.

The cadence of the shots fired told a story none of us cared to hear.

“Last Word” it hadn’t been. And somewhere in the world, close enough for us to bear absent witness but far enough to be a dream, Jaren Ward lay dead or dying. And there was nothing to be done.

Hours passed. An eternity.

We held our spot, but as the sun rose the others began to fade back into the world. Without Jaren there was nothing holding us together. No driving force. Vengeance had grown stale as a motivator. Fear and a longing to see more suns rise drove a wedge between duty and desire.

By midday I was alone. I couldn’t leave. Wouldn’t.

Either I would find Jaren and set him at ease, or the other would find me and that would be a fitting end.

Death marching on.

But then, a motion. Quick and darting. My muscles tensed and my hand shot to the grip of my leadslinger.

Then a confirmation of the horrible truth I had already accepted, as Jaren’s Ghost came to a halt a few paces in front of me.

I exhaled and slumped forward. Still standing, but broken.
The tiny Light looked me over with a curious tilt to its axis, then shot a beam of light over my body. Scanning me as it had done the very first time we met.

I looked up. Staring into its singular glowing eye.

And it spoke…

Jaren left the group of survivors to confront a shadow. An evil, and he would not return from that encounter. Either by mistake or fate, the story of the Last Word Doesn’t end here. In fact, the flavour text on the exotic itself comes from one of the next Cards. Before we get to that – How about a conversation between Jaren Ward’s Ghost and Jaren’s murderer shortly after he was gun down in cold blood.

For this conversation, I’ve added who is talking as the original text gets a little diluted and confusing while reading a set of numbers for who is talking.

Ghost Fragment: Thorn 4

[Jaren’s Ghost] Such Darkness.
[Dredgen Yor] Impressed?
[Jaren’s Ghost] Far from it.
[Dredgen Yor] To each their own.
[Jaren’s Ghost] His Light is faded.
[Dredgen Yor] His Light is gone.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You are an infection.
[Dredgen Yor] I am that which will cleanse.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You are a monster.
[Dredgen Yor] Heh. An old friend once saw me as the same. He was right, and, had we met earlier, so too would you be.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You’d dare defend yourself – all you’ve done – as anything but monstrous?
[Dredgen Yor] No more than a hurricane.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Then you’re a force of nature?
[Dredgen Yor] I am all that is right. You may not see it – for lack of looking, or blind ignorance – but I am all that is good.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You’ve just murdered a good man.
[Dredgen Yor] He shot first.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Yet you stand.
[Dredgen Yor] Guess he missed.
[Jaren’s Ghost] He never misses.
[Dredgen Yor] First time for everything.

[silence]

[Dredgen Yor] His cannon? Nice piece of hardware.
[Dredgen Yor] Well-worn, but clean. Smooth hammer.
[Jaren’s Ghost] It was his prize.
[Dredgen Yor] Guess he put too much faith in the wrong steel.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Is that where you’re faith lies, in steel?
[Dredgen Yor] Not for some time. My steel is only an extension. My faith is in the shadow.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Then my Light is an affront to all you are. I am your truest enemy.
[Dredgen Yor] One of many.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Would you end me?
[Dredgen Yor] Not you. Not now.
[Jaren’s Ghost] The shadow knows mercy.
[Dredgen Yor] The shadow knows no such thing.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Then what?
[Dredgen Yor] The other.
[Jaren’s Ghost] What other?
[Dredgen Yor] The dead man’s charge.
[Jaren’s Ghost] The boy?
[Jaren’s Ghost] You’d end him as well?
[Dredgen Yor] If it comes to that… We’ll see.
[Jaren’s Ghost] I won’t let you have the child.
[Dredgen Yor] Been long enough now, think maybe he’s a man.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You cannot have him.
[Dredgen Yor] Not yet.
[Jaren’s Ghost] I won’t let you.
[Dredgen Yor] That you could stop me is an amusing thought.
[silence]

[Dredgen Yor] Here.
[silence]

[Dredgen Yor] Take it.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Why?
[Dredgen Yor] Give the apprentice his master’s “sword.” It is a gift.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You cannot have him.
[Dredgen Yor] You fear for his Light?
[Jaren’s Ghost] He…
[Dredgen Yor] …is special.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Yes.
[Dredgen Yor] I am aware.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You’re trying to tempt him. You’re feeding his anger.
[Dredgen Yor] The gun is a memento, nothing more.
[Jaren’s Ghost] You claim to be a vessel, a hollow shell where once a man stood, but that is just a lie. The man is still in you.
[Dredgen Yor] There is no man here, I am now, and for the rest of time, only Dredgen Yor.
[Jaren’s Ghost] “The Eternal Abyss?”
[Dredgen Yor] So, not all the forgotten languages are dead.
[Jaren’s Ghost] Hide behind whatever titles you wish, it is all still a façade. No force of nature would play such games.
[Dredgen Yor] Games?
[Jaren’s Ghost] The cannon. You wish to tempt the boy. Too spur him on and fuel his rage. There is intent there. The actions of a man, monstrous, mad or otherwise… you are nothing more.
[Dredgen Yor] And what value does your conclusion bring, flawed as it may be?
[Jaren’s Ghost] That a hurricane can only be weathered, not stopped. Not redirected. A force of nature is uncaring and without intent, but a man…
[Dredgen Yor] Yes?
[Jaren’s Ghost] A man is none of those things.
[silence]

[Jaren’s Ghost] A man can be killed.
[silence]

[Dredgen Yor] And there it is…
[Jaren’s Ghost] There what is…?
[Dredgen Yor] A sliver of hope.

This is one of my favourite Grimoire Cards in this story, Dredgen not only fell into darkness. He chose to take that path. To become something better, to him, he is a necessary evil. He may have started with a purpose, one maybe even greater than himself. That quest has left him in inner turmoil. By the end of this exchange it almost seems like Yor is taunting death. He wants the Ghost to give the The Last Word to Shin Malphur who is only a boy at this point. He wants to fuel a revenge quest against him. It adds another layer to the bad guy I wasn’t honestly expecting. Lets face it, Bungie -Destiny- does a lot of things really well, but telling a story wasn’t one of those things. Sitting down and sifting through the Grimoires was an awesome experience that I so craved to be in game.

Anyway, back to the Last Word and Shin Malphur.  We pick it back up with Shin describing when Yor came into town -pre cataclysmic event then sent them out searching for the last city- while Jaren was out tracking the Fallen. The Card then recounts the meeting of Shin and Dredgen as adults sometime later.  This Grimoire puts the exotics namesake into perspective.

Palamon was ash.

I was only a boy – my face caked in soot, snot and sorrow.

I’d assumed Jaren, my friend, our Guardian, the savior of Palamon, would always protect us – could always save us…

But I was a fool.

Jaren, and the others, only a handful, but still our best hunters, our hardest hearts, had left three suns prior. Tracking Fallen, after the bandits had caused a stir.

The stranger – the other – arrived the following day.

He rarely spoke. Took a room. Took our hospitality.

I was intrigued by him, as I was Jaren when he’d first arrived.

But the stranger was cold. Distant. Damaged, I thought.

But I wasn’t afraid. Not yet.

Only a child, I knew the monsters of our world to walk like men, but they were not. They were something alien. Four-armed and savage.

The stranger was polite, but solemn.

I took him for a sad, broken man, and he was. Though, at the time, I didn’t understand how that could make one dangerous.

As with Jaren, father made an effort to keep me away from the stranger.

It wouldn’t matter.

As the silhouette approached, fear held tight.

The dark figure towered over me. Looking into me – through me.

He smiled. My knees weak. All lost.

Then, he turned and walked away.

Leaving ruin and a heartbroken, terrified boy in his wake without a second glance.

I’ve been chasing that stranger’s shadow ever since.

Now.

We stood silent, the sun high.

Seconds passed, feeling more like hours.

He looked different.

He seemed, now, to be weightless – effortless in an existence that would crush a man burdened by conscience.

My gaze remained locked as I felt a heat rising inside of me.

The other spoke…

“Been awhile.”

I gave no reply.

“The gunslinger’s sword… his cannon. That was a gift.”

My silence held as my thumb caressed the perfectly worn hammer at my hip.

“An offering from me… to you.”

The heat grew. Centered in my chest.

I felt like a coward the day Jaren Ward died and for many cycles after.

But here, I felt only the fire of my Light.

The other probed…

“Nothing to say?”

He let the words hang.

“I’ve been waiting for you. For this day.”

His attempt at conversation felt mundane when judged against all that had come before.

“Many times I thought you’d faltered. Given up…”

All I’d lost, all who’d suffered, flashed rapid through my mind, intercut with a dark silhouette walking toward a frightened, weak, coward of a boy.

The fire burned in me.

The other continued…

“But here you are. This is truly an end…”

As his tongue slipped between syllables my gun hand moved as if of its own will.

Reflex and purpose merged with anger, clarity and an overwhelming need for just that… an end.

In step with my motion, the fire within burst into focus – through my shoulder, down my arm – as my finger closed on the trigger of my third father’s cannon.

Two shots. Two bullets engulfed in an angry glow.

The other fell.

I walked to his corpse. He never raised his cursed Thorn – the jagged gun with the festering sickness.

I looked down at the dead man who had caused so much death.

My shooter still embraced by the dancing flames of my Light.

A sadness came over me.

I thought back to my earliest days. Of Palamon. Of Jaren.

Leveling my cannon at the dead man’s helm, I paid one final tribute to my mentor, my savior, my father and my friend…

“Yours… Not mine.”

…as I closed my grip, allowing Jaren’s cannon, now my own, to have the last, loud word.

“Si vis pacem, para vellum”  –  Latin, means if you want peace, prepare for war. I’m reminded of this iconic quote from the Punisher and another one of his famous lines of “Vengeance… no, not vengeance. This is punishment” The Last Word story has everything I love about a great revenge story. Knowing the history of this weapon has made me crave to wield it in the Crucible, to take it out and get the Last Word.  

The Last Word is a romantic weapon, a throwback to simpler times when steady aim and large rounds were enough to dispense justice in the wilds of a lawless frontier. Of course, some might say that time has come again.

The Last Word (Year 1)
Information
Type	Hand Cannon
Level	20
Item Level	70
Rarity	Exotic
Damage Type	Kinetic
Attack	302-365
Impact	68
Rate of Fire	32
Range	14
Stability	31
Reload	56
Magazine	8
Zoom	17
Recoil	100
Equip Speed	20
Aim Assist	50
Sights	Soft Ballistics, Smart Drift Control, Aggressive Ballistics
Perk 1	Fan Fire
Perk 2	Hip Fire
Perk 3	Last Word
Optional Perks	Single Point Sling, High Caliber Rounds, Perfect Balance
Acquired by	Purchased from Xur, Randomly dropped from High Level PvE and PvP activities and Legendary Engrams
Vendor	Xur
Cost	23 Strange Coins
Description	«Yours…not mine.» — Renegade Hunter Shin Malphur to Dredgen Yor

See also: The Last Word (Year 2)

The Last Word is a level 20 Exotic Hand Cannon. The Last Word can be purchased from Xur for 23 Strange Coins. It can also be obtained through high level PvE and PvP activities such as Heroic and Nightfall Strikes, Legendary Engrams and Crucible. The drop chance is random and very low.

Unique Perk 1: Last Word — Bonus damage and stability. Extra precision damage when firing from the hip.

Unique Perk 2: Fan Fire — Allows the weapon to be fired quickly and continuously.

Perks

Sights

• Soft Ballistics, Smart Drift Control, Aggressive Ballistics

Special Perks

• Fan Fire
• Hip Fire
• Last Word

Optional Perks

• Single Point Sling, High Caliber Rounds, Perfect Balance

Damage Upgrades

• Upgrade Damage X 5

Tips and Tricks

PvE

In PvE you want to obviously equip gear that is beneficial to hand cannons, and you want to hip fire as much as you can. Bump up your armor and recovery and watch ultras fall like level 4 dregs. The downside of hitting more body shots are easily accounted for in its near 50% damage boost on hipfire headshots, and it expands on what this gun adds to your gameplay. It does take some time to get used to the higher sensitivity of hip fire aim, but it will improve you in more ways than one when you switch back to any other primary weapon. Just remember, this gun can be played in pretty much any way you like and you still won’t have as much trouble as shooting an Unwilling-Soul with no stability/accuracy perks on it. It can act as a very short range scout rifle, and even if the range seems to be nonexistent on this gun, the impact will surprise you. At the same time, it can act as a mini-Invective, so just be open to the powers at your disposal.

PvP

In PvP you rarely want to hip fire, but that does not mean you shouldn’t try. It is much more effective when it is aimed down sights, simply because it whops for 50+ damage at a very decent range, and the stability is surprisingly controllable, as stated above. With TLW, shooting once every half second will net you many more kills than holding the trigger down. This isn’t to say that this gun is limiting, because you very well can net a frag by unloading 6 quick bullets, but unless you’re playing very conservatively, you won’t be netting more multi-kills, which are already near impossible to get with this clip already. Single out targets, use your recovery, and be aggressive! Only the Invective and fusion rifles can challenge this gun, and even then, you are given many more options to counter. Plus, the few times here and there where you do net a 2-shot kill (yes, it is possible) will give you more satisfaction than any number of Exotics weapons and gear can amount to.

History

After the release of The Dark Below, Attack of the weapon was increased from 274-300 to 302-331. Players can upgrade old versions of the weapon into the new one by visiting Xur and paying 1 Exotic Shard and some Glimmer.

Images