Hello!
This is my first fic. Reviews and constructive criticism are encouraged! I love hearing other's thoughts of my writing, and the story I'm trying to unravel. It's a bit of a mystery to myself in all honesty! I'm no stranger to reading or writing, however I've never dabbled much in prose, and this is my first serious attempt. Hopefully I'll only improve as time goes on.
Due to the vagueness of the Destiny world as we currently know it, I've taken a lot of creative freedom with this story so far. I've done my best to keep things possible within the canon as it currently stands, and I am hoping it will fit nicely into the Destiny story in future games/content without much revisions needed. (So far, so good, D1/DLCs and D2 accounted for...)
Disclaimer: Excerpts from the Grimoire are present here and there; I am not copying those parts to claim as my own fiction, but to compliment this work.
Enjoy!
Content warning: Graphic violence, mild language, some sexuality.
11/3/2017 - Something of an overhaul. Most chapters have been edited, added to, changed around a bit, etc. More consistent. Recommend starting over, if you are a returning reader.
Eyes Up, Guardian
Her head pounded, and her vision was clouded by darkness.
She felt jolts of ice and electricity course through her nerves and body as oxygen entered her lungs for the first time in centuries. She gasped for air, a heaviness and dull pain in her chest as she forced her diaphragm in, and back out. She fought to peel her eyes open. Everything was a washed out blur of orange, brown, and hints of a blue sky. She whimpered as she reached out to the heavens.
Where am I?
She heard a voice. Almost... synthesized. The voice continued on, muffled, distant. She felt some time pass, and the voice was gone. How much time had passed? Her breathing has slowed to a more normal rate, but her vision remained blurred.
Rest. I just need to rest.
She moved her body slightly, positioning her limbs in the most comfortable position she could muster to make the pain go away, or, at least hurt less.
This is just a dream.
In moments, she drifted away. Not even the pain could keep her from sleep
She stirred awake, and found her vision had finally returned.
The sun hung overhead, glowing brightly across a blue sky. With great effort and the subtle creak and crack of bones that hadn't moved in ages, she managed to lift her head, and take in her surroundings. The weather? Hot. Too hot. She found herself sweating, but the wind on her damp skin was a relief. She looked down at herself. She was naked. Looking up, she found herself in the middle of an ancient road, littered with rusted cars. Around her, tall ruins of old skyscrapers and what appeared to have been a shopping center, so long ago.
What happened?
She furrowed her brow and shook her head, the searing headache keeping her from more cohesive thoughts. She couldn't remember anything. She felt vulnerable; terrified.
With a grunt she got up on her feet, her knees buckling slightly before stabilizing as her body remembered how to walk. She brought an arm up to cover her chest as she started walking. She didn't know where to go. Her mouth was dry and she licked her lips as they parted, to speak.
"H-hello?" She says quietly, looking around, desperate for a reply. None came. "Hello?" she calls out louder this time. The only reply was the rustling of a tumbleweed rolling by several meters away. Her arm came down. There was no one here.
She continued walking, eyeing down at the ground, careful where she stepped, as she made her way down the desolate street. She came to a stop at an intersection, looking at a sign arching over the road. Time had taken its toll on the lettering, a strange form of cursive.
SHION SQ AR
"Shion… Sq… ar," she mouthed the words, seeming to be missing a few letters, finding a hint of joy that she seemed to at least be able to read.
She had been walking for hours, and now it was dark, save for the eerie glow of the battered moon and the stars above, made far more evident, and all the more beautiful from a lack of the lights of a city. Her feet were killing her. She already had blisters and scrapes, leaving little prints of blood as she walked. The terrain was unforgiving. She had thought a lot in the last few hours. Her name was gone from her memory. So she picked one. Mara. She couldn't connect it to anything, and wasn't entirely sure how she came up with it, but it made sense, and sounded right.
"Mara she had said to herself several times, comforting her loneliness with the sound of her own voice. She stopped and looked up at the sky again. At the moon, cracked and ruined. She felt a shiver run down her spine. Something terrible had happened. Not just here.
A sound caught her attention, steering her away from her thoughts. Then she heard growls and heavy voices, and ducked into an open door of one of the smaller buildings beside her, peering out into the street from the safety of the darkness. Two large, four-armed creatures dropped from a window across the street, looking around cautiously, making those sounds at each other. They were talking, and held what looked like alien guns of some sort.
"What the..." she whispered, looking out at them.
She yelped as she felt the blow to the back of her head.
Her head hit the ground. She was seeing stars, and her vision blurred again. She relied on her hearing. A series of loud, whizzing cracks, followed by metallic clangs.
She fought the darkness returning to her mind, forcing herself to ignore the pain. She struggled. Something was happening.
Need to stay awake. Need to... Can't...
And then, everything went black.