[b]The Taken[/b] The Taken are an army of darkness-corrupted soldiers. They stop at nothing to serve their master, and have no will of their own unless purposely left with some (See: Quria, Malok, Riven). In addition to being completely mind controlled, many Taken gain new abilities. [b]History[/b] You remember Oryx? His worm, Akka, was keeping the secrets of the deep from him. The philosophy of the Deep was to take, so he cut Akka into a million pieces. He used some of Akka’s corpse to build the Dreadnaught, which is as metal as metal gets. More importantly, he learned how to take, and he recorded said power on the [u]Tablets of Ruin.[/u] (one of which are in Golgoroth’s cellar.) After Oryx fell, the Taken were aimless without a leader. Recently though, it seems that some certain characters have been able to control and even take themselves. There’s the drifter, with his motes of dark, and the whole Savathun/Quria situation. Quria is a taken vex mind. It simulates Oryx, and learns to take. Savathun seems to grant it enough power to take, and control the Taken. Riven, who was left with some will of her own, was able to command an army of Taken herself. [b]Tooketh[/b] How do Taken get... took? They’re first transported into another dimension, face to face with the deep/darkness. This process has been described as “being swallowed by a maw.” While in their acid trip, they’re presented with a “knife” that contains their desires. A changing blade. They’re enticed by the darkness’ offer to fulfill their deepest desires. This is also why you don’t see certain Taken, for example, Dregs. Dregs want their honor back, so they come back as Vandals, with all four arms. From the Taken captain card: [i]If you cannot hide yourself, you must make them blind. There is a knife for you. It is shaped like [you cannot find me]. Take up the knife. Breathe the blade. Take your new shape.[/i] [b]Blight[/b] The taken leave blight everywhere, like, everywhere. You see the dreaming city? The Blight bleeds into our world, corrupting it, spreading. It’s a nuisance that unfortunately will be here as long as the Taken exist. [b]The Dreaming City[/b] So, besides the whole time loop going on, what’s the deal with the dreaming city? Well, when Riven was killed, her last wish (hint hint) was to release onto the city a taken curse. Savathun then moves in, starting the time loop and sending her daughter into the Shattered Throne. The blight, along with the presence of the Taken, strengthens every week until Dul Incaru, the Eternal Return, is killed. Basically, Riven WANTED to be killed, so she could screw over the awoken with Savathun. The time loop is a whole nother topic, though.