AN: This is a new series of one-offs about just different little things I think about in the Destiny Universe. You know, Origin of the Fallen, why our guns are rated with Light, stuff like that. I'm planning on the Fallen rant next, and after that I will just upload something if I think of it, unless you guys like this series. If you do like it enough for me to keep going regularly, let me know by commenting and messaging me your ideas for rants. You can say "what about this" or tell me something you have been wondering about. Seriously, the Title of this story is really accurate.
Enjoy.
Curious Ramblings from the Logs of a Lonely Fireteam
GUARDIAN: WARLOCK 2798 – TAYLOR FARYANG – LEADER FIRETEAM 814
DAILY ENTRY: 143
Hey guys, Taylor here for…shit, I don't even know…the thousandth time? Gah, I feel bad for the poor Ghost whose job it is to process all these logs. I mean, I'm sure he has seen my recommendation to allow verbally recorded logs more than once. Seriously, we have got to have precise dictation software by now. But, I digress.
Actually, I don't digress; it would sound a whole lot cooler (and give poor Squad Eight-One-Four something to do) to give awesome speeches into a recorder for whoever might hear them than to type away reports from the frozen wilderness that no one wants to read.
Anyways, at least we've come up with something useful to do with our spare time: argue. Or rather, debate. Yeah, yeah, I know that studying these artifacts is important and that they should be guarded like the city itself, but if that was really true then we would have enough guardians to make a city around this thing. But arguing: yea, that's one term. Really, we've just been discussing different theories we have or trying to make sense of things we just wonder about. There are a lot of the last one there. Occasionally they inspire some of our theories.
Stuff like this is what I really want to be doing as a Guardian—a Warlock no less—researching both our enemy and how our world works. The Traveler's light has changed so much that our ancient knowledge might as well have been thrown out the window by now; humanity has basically had to relearn everything (I'm disregarding the fact that neither of my Fireteam members are actually human).
Recently, we've taken to discussing weapons, and why they work. Not "why does the bullet come out" but rather "why does this gun's bullet hurt them more than this gun's?" I'll admit, it isn't something we normally think about. We find a gun with a higher rating, and we use it. No questions are asked. No questions are needed. It is something simple and easy that all new Guardians pick up because, frankly, everything else is complicated enough. We don't have the time nor the spare energy to wonder why different guns hurt more.
But when you are guarding a pointless rock in the middle of the snow, you start asking these questions. Because you literally have nothing better to do than sit around an actual campfire with your Fireteam and say "You know, why does my gun do more damage than yours?"
But in all seriousness, why do different guns do more damage? They all shoot bullets, with exception to Fusion Rifles, Rocket Launchers, and a few Exotic weapons. Why does, say, a SUROS Regime do more damage than, say, any other SUROS Auto Rifle? For that matter, why does the Light Rating mean more damage? They all shoot bullets, right?
Or…is it something more? Sure, they shoot the same bullets, and sure, some do more damage than others. Is that why they rate guns with Light? Do our weapons somehow infuse Light into each bullet, thereby meaning higher Light guns do more Light damage? That seems impractical, like we would risk running out of Light at some point, and our enemies wouldn't have Light Ammo falling from their bodies. Surely the SUROS or Omolon factories don't just syphon light from the Traveler and case it inside a 9mm.
So what is the purpose of the Light ratings? That is where my Fireteam has really been stumped for the past few hours. None of us can agree yet: the Hunter thinks that Light correlates to penetration, and the Titan thinks that we are overthinking things.
I do have a theory. One that, the more I think on it, really starts to explain things.
The Light ratings don't mean that the gun fires Light bullets, per say. It shows us how well it amplifies the wielder's Light. Think about it; as Guardians, we are trained to wield our Light against the Darkness. This is where our grenades, charged melees, and Super Abilities stem from. Light is the basis of a Guardian's abilities. So why wouldn't we have created weapons to harness this?
Why is a 310 Exotic SUROS Regime better than a run of the mill SUROS assault rifle? Perhaps it's because, aside from the alternating patterns of fire on the SUROS Regime, one is better at wielding Light against the Darkness. Some weapons can make this obvious, such as the Exotic Hard Light that literally fires light beams. Others, like the SUROS, just pose as normal guns that do an extremely good job of fitting their Guardian.
Perhaps that's how our weapons work. Light-Channeling could be what separates the Midha Multitool from a Swiss Army Knife. As a Sunsinger Warlock, I am in love with my baby, the Tlaloc, a gun that gets better when the wielder's Super is charged. Was this ability a subtle hint that a gun is just another tool to wield Light? Hell, Hunters' have a Super where they summon a flaming handcannon they call the Golden Gun that decimates enemies by firing what appears to be pure Solar Light.
The Hawkmoon, Thorn, and Last Word are all extremely unique Exotic Handcannons wielded by famous (and infamous) Guardians. Surely those weapons bent Light to their will; that's the only way it makes sense that Handcannons once ruled the Crucible. The Zhalo Supercell literally fires Arc Bullets, and Arc energy is the basis of one of every Guardians' subclasses. Hell, even the banned Red Death is said to give life back to its wielder with every kill. Go find a gun that heals you and tell me that Light isn't involved.
This could even somewhat explain why fallen foes give us ammo. We aren't replenishing just bullets. We have extinguished Darkness. Our Light should grow from this. It seems fitting that examining the handiwork of the Light we wield would embolden us and cause our Light to grow. It's like watering a flower with the blood of our enemies (I'm told that Titans actually do this, but then again my Titan buddy here isn't always honest).
But if this crackpot theory of ours is true, why isn't it common knowledge. Obviously, SUROS, Omolon, or someone would have figured this out and modified their process to maximize Light Wielding capabilities. Unless…it isn't something you can control. Unless Light ratings aren't determined by the design, or manufacturer, but by the aura of the gun itself. Perhaps the SUROS Regime IS the main line of SUROS Auto Rifle, and we only ever hear of the handful of Regimes that became Exotic. Perhaps finding a Gjallahorn isn't hard, just finding an Exotic Gjallahorn that wields Light like no other is.
But if this is all true—if weapons simply wield the light of the user—then what of weapons built by non-Guardians? The Telesto is another popular Exotic among Warlocks, and I am proud to say that I have one tucked away at the Tower. The Telesto was built by the Awoken for their own use, yet Guardians have no issue wielding it. Surely, the Awoken, who waver between Dark and Light, would not build a weapon that only harnesses Light. Is it possible that an Awoken using this weapon would yield different results? No one has ever engaged an Awoken in 1v1 combat—at least not for a long time—and the Telesto is rare enough as it is that there is no record of this being tried.
More importantly, what about the weapons taken from Oryx? (Get it? Taken? God I'm so sick of this snow). I've gotten my hands on a few sweet weapons from the Dreadnaught, and they kill like few weapons I've ever used. But if I am firing my Light, why does it work so well from a weapon of the Darkness? Are these weapons designed for the Hive's enemies to use, or would they be infinitely more powerful if someone wielding the Darkness fired them?
Damn…where is Eris Morn when you need her?
Actually, some of Oryx's loot has me thinking of another theory that I may write up in a report sometime soon. Well, actually, Titan Isaac-43 knows more about that particular theory, so I'll let him have it. Let's just say that the inscription on the Doom of Chelchis Scout Rifle is…intriguing.
Lastly, in what most confused me yet somehow makes the most sense in light of my theory (I'm so lonely, please send help. The puns no longer stave off insanity), I considered the implications of the Touch of Malice. A weapon so dangerous and hyped across the system that even typing it gives me goose bumps…or maybe that's frostbite finally setting in. That fearsome weapon (the ToM, not frostbite) acts like I theorize any other weapon to: it wields light against enemies.
Until it doesn't. As we all know, that last shot is…different. Strange. The gun was crafted by Eris, who is no stranger to Darkness nor the Hive, and the gun is her way of paying back to the Hive all her suffering. And it hurts you to fire it. Yes, firing this weapons physically hurts you.
The last round does significantly extra damage—to the point where it is the preferred weapon against Oryx himself—but hurts you. Could it be, that this weapon forged by Eris, wields pure Darkness for its last round? It would make sense that Eris would make it and, being acquainted with the Darkness as she is, wouldn't notice a small sting of Darkness as it fired without running out of ammo. But normal Guardians, still basking in the full glory of the Traveler's Light, are hurt by this Darkness we are now channeling.
It would make sense. The Darkness has always been mysterious and powerful. Firing it in a way specifically designed to hurt the Hive but also in a way that it hurts the Guardian wielding it…that's unheard of. Rare. Strange. Exotic. A gun that fires Light until the Light runs out, then turns to an unlimited supply of Darkness ammo at the expense of its wielder?
Well, that gun sounds like it should be banned. Or standard issue, if you ask Cayde-6.
But hey, that's just a theory…a theory from three very cold Guardians bored out of our minds.
Oh, and the relic we are guarding still has not changed or responded to our experiments in any way. Probably should include that in the official report.
Till my next rant,
Taylor Faryang – Sunsinger Smothered in Snow
