Bending the Light - A Tale of Three Guardians

by hmunkh

A two part story consisting of an explanation of the events before the story of Destiny (based on Grimore Cards) , and then the adventures of a Fireteam and their fight against the Darkness. Includes the Vault of Glass and Crota's End raids.

Bending the Light:
A Tale of Three Guardians

A sort of true fanfiction novella
by hmunkh

Part One

The Rise of Guardians

I

Before I tell you the story I know you really want to hear, the story of the legendary fireteam you all call The Dream Team, you need to hear what led to their creation. For we can only appreciate the Light, when we know from which Darkness it emerged.

Let me tell you the story of our universe, the solar system we call home. It is a tale of man and machine, Light and Darkness, fate, and destiny. Let us begin at the beginning and end at what is hopefully not the end.

II

Many centuries ago, humanity existed and thrived on the Cosmodrome, known then simply as Earth. It was the beginning of the third millennium, according to their time keeping, and technological advancement was at an all-time high. Billions of humans lived scattered across around the Earth, but they never succeeded in settling anywhere else in the solar system.

However, this all changed with the Traveller's arrival. You see, before the Traveller appeared to the humans, they had sensed the Light, but could neither understand it or agree on who or what created it. Once the true creator, the Traveller, was right in front of them, humanity stopped fighting devastating wars over there supposed "gods". These wars had plagued life on Earth for millennia and hindered human in their potential, but suddenly an entire world of opportunities arose. Under the guidance of the Traveller and the help of his Light, humankind thrived.

Finally utilizing the powers so abundant around us all, the people of Earth became the people of an entire solar system, this very solar system. Colonies sprang up on the Moon, Mars, Venus, and beyond.

A name we must never forget, even if he has been dead for centuries, is that of Commander Jacob Hardy. It was he and the rest of the crew on Ares One, who first encountered the Traveller. Humans had at this time detected changes in the solar system, but first when the Traveller reached Mars did they make contact.

Hardy and the rest were in for more than just a greeting with an alien lifeform, however. They witnessed one of the Traveller's wonders; they saw how Mars was terraformed by the Light and realised how little they knew of the universe they believed to be alone in.

III

Over the next few centuries, the world changed into what we have since called The Golden Age. The first colony on the Moon were soon followed by the city of Freehold on Mars, and the Ishtar research facilities on Venus. Technologies never before imagined were developed: the Warminds, the Exos, and SIVA. Today we know, as do you, that not all of these advancements were for the best. Still, humanity carried on exploring. These explorations led to the discovery of the first Vex on Venus, and the Hive deep under the surface of the Moon. Although finding a Vex specimen eventually led to the creation of the entire Exo race, it also drove the researchers mad; humans are not meant to comprehend the true nature of the Vex.

Be sure not to mention that I told you this in front of Cayde-6 and Ikora Rey from the Vanguard. As you ought to know, Cayde is and Exo, as well as being a never-ending annoyance to Ikora, who, as a Warlock, has a special relationship to the Ishtar facilities. Cayde seems to find the fact that his "great grandfather" drove Ikora's ancestors crazy more than just a hilarious coincidence (his words, I might add). The discovery of the Hive does not have similar "funny" stories, but I would not mention it to Eris Morn either, you know how she gets when the Hive are brought up.

Shortly after these discoveries, the world changed completely again. Some believe the timing is coincidental, others (Eris Morn among them) believe we brought the Darkness on ourselves. No matter what you believe, the Darkness came.

IV

It became apparent that the Traveller was not the only mighty being in the universe. A Darkness of unprecedented proportions engulfed our solar system and no one but the Traveller could stop it. Even through the best of its abilities, the Traveller had no chance of saving the massive population spread out throughout the system.

In the very last moments before the Collapse, humans flooded any means of transportation in an attempt to avoid the grasp of the Darkness. Sadly, very few succeeded. To this day, Guardians train on the transit station on Venus known now as Last Exit, as a reminder of what is at stake if the Darkness is allowed to grow strong. Even though they were lost centuries ago, some say you can still hear the final screams of the settlers who never left the station.

As far as we know, only a lucky few on Earth and a handful of ships made it through the Collapse with their lives intact. The ships that made it to the edge of safety of the Asteroid Belt did not go untouched, however. The humans aboard changed; their skin turned pale and blue, and their eyes shined with a clarity never seen in humans. Thus, the Collapse created the proud race of Awoken. Whether the contact with the Darkness or the Traveller's final defence is was caused this change, we can only guess.

What happened in those crucial decisive moments, we might never know. We can only see what was left afterwards; the Traveller became greatly wounded as was forced into the stasis we see now, hanging silently over the city build by the people that survived. Humankind was saved from extinction, the Darkness had receded from this system, and the Traveller was left a mysterious shadow of constant reminder of the sacrifice it took to save us.

Let me remind you, none of us were there during the Collapse, so the facts of what happened are mostly stories and theories.

The most powerful Warmind at the time, Rasputin, is mentioned in some scattered command logs, so we know he was there and had some part in how the Collapse played out. Many wonder at what cost of human lives that enabled him to survive; yet others credit him with the few lives that were in fact saved. Until either the Traveller or Rasputin himself can tell us what occurred, I urge you not to make assumption. Quiet though he seems, we cannot deny that Rasputin still holds more power than anyone would like to admit. Rasputin is another name you ought not ask Cayde about. Someone once thought he might be the embodiment of the Warmind, and I would hate to see it go to his head.

V

After the Collapse came what we appropriately call The Dark Age. Although humans survived, our humanity was broken. The survivors gathered in small settlements for protection against the wilderness and the newly arrived aliens called the Fallen, but often fell into despair and internal warfare. In an attempt to safeguard the surviving few until he was ready to fully return, the Traveller created the Ghosts and tasked them with finding and reviving the remains of those who could control the Light in his absence. And thus, the first Guardians came into being.

However, as history shows time and time again, not all who have the abilities to yield power have moral fibre needed. Humans, as well as Exos and Awoken created in their image, are prone to corruption. Some of the select few deemed to be Guardians did nothing to guard humanity against Darkness, but sought only to guard their own positions as warlords. Terror and war raged for years, until eventually a Guardian tried to end the warlords for good. Radegast, a mighty Titan, gathered likeminded warlords, all willing to give up their personal gain for the greater good, for peace to humankind.

Thusly, Radegast, Saladin, Perun, and Jodler began to fight the corrupt warlords, at first in hiding due to fear of retribution. Quickly, however, other Guardians joined them. The Iron Lords were created and consisted of legendary names we still cheer to this day: Felwinter, Gheleon, Silimar, Skorri, and Timur. We celebrate their bravery with the monthly Iron Banner, organised by the only two Iron Lords remaining from The Dark Age: Lady Efrideet and Lord Saladin. The many tales of the Iron Lords can I not rightly tell you. Lord Saladin holds many stories of their fearsome years, but he is notoriously secretive. I would advise you to ask Lady Efrideet instead; she is much more talkative, but be sure not to disturb her, when she is busy handing out bounties and rewards to the Guardians that take on the challenge of Iron Banner.

The fall of the Iron Lords is a tale I do not enjoy telling, but I cannot let Saladin go through it again; it still haunts him that he was the only one to survive, when Lady Jodler and the others sacrificed themselves to spare Earth of a great threat.

Under the Iron Lord's protection, the surviving population of Earth gathered underneath the Tower and started to rebuild The Last City, which is right where we stand now. In attempt to secure the city and the people within it from the ongoing threat of Fallen raiders, the Iron Lords began searching for Golden Age technology and discovered project SIVA. Originally developed to create colony bases quickly and effectively, including the finished Site 6 on the Cosmodrome, SIVA was the answer to their prayers.

Once they started exploring he last known location of the technology, they inadvertently awoke its protector, Rasputin. Reactivating for the first time since the Collapse, he immediately started all defence protocols, including SIVA. Without any means of communicating with Rasputin, the Iron Lords were attacked by the very technology they had come in search of. SIVA began what is was created for, consuming, enhancing, and replicating, corrupting the Guardian's bodies and their minds and turning them against each other. As a desperate attempt at contain the corruption, Lady Jodler sealed the entrance to Site 6 from within, with only Saladin left as the sole survivor.

Since then, he has guarded the site, as well as the Iron Temple, in order to prevent a tragedy as horrible to happen ever again. The safety of the City is naturally most important to him, but I have always suspected that his insistence on being the sole protector is his attempt at atonement, as well as the last connection to Lady Jodler, who I have only heard him speak of as "the widest smile with the wildest swings". Since the SIVA Crisis, Lord Saladin has opened up to some degree, more out of necessity than anything else, but I doubt that time will heal that particular wound.

VI

The Iron Lords ushered in a new age in our history: The City Age. Most people now lived safely right here under the Traveller's protection. Sadly, or kind's tendency to internal conflict emerged once again. With such a large number of people living together, working together, and surviving together, politics were suddenly a part of City life, and politics breeds power struggles. Several factions formed during these years, and all sought control over the City. Luckily, the Guardians kept insisting on peacekeeping as our most important directive, and to keep corrupting politics at bay, they created the system of government we now know.

The worst offenders, The Concordat, were banished from the City for trying to stage a coup. This left us with the three factions present today: New Monarchy, Dead Orbit, and Future War Cult. Although disagreeing on many aspects of the Guardians' duties, they have since kept matters civil through their cooperation dubbed the Consensus.

In time, all three faction heads will undoubtedly try to recruit you to their side. I have no interest in politics, but I will say that the colour scheme of Future War Cult is far more interesting that New Monarchy's red and white, or Dead Orbit's black and white. Blue, red, and yellow is just a refreshing combination, though I must admit that their leader, Lakshmi-22 creeps me out.

VII

I know I have said Guardian many times, and I must correct this now. It was not until the first major orchestrated attack from the Fallen that "Guardian" meant anything. Until that point, those resurrected light-benders we call Guardians were known as "The Risen". When they were united by a great leader known then as Rezyl Azzir, that is when Guardians as we know now began. This man, Rezyl Azzir, incidentally laid the foundation for your heroes, the Dream Team, and yet, we rarely speak of him.

You have probably heard one of the gunsmith's stories about how the legendary gun The Last Word defeated the gruesome Thorn at Dwindler's Ridge, right? Well, once Thorn was a Rose, a Rose that belonged to Rezyl Azzir. However, the man dying with Thorn in hand was Dredgen Yor. How a Rose become a Thorn, and how a hero became a villain is a terrible example of the corrupting nature of the Darkness.

On an expedition to the Moon to find the root of a serious of strange dreams, Rezyl Azzir encountered a Hive Wizard, who foretold his descend into Darkness. Foolishly, he kept a piece of the accompanying Hive Knight's chitin, after killing them both, and adorned, in actuality tainted, his Rose with it. Slowly, but steadily, the Darkness had corrupted his light and the honourable Rezyl Azzir had dwindles away in favour of the feared Dredgen Yor. Even his own Ghost had to abandon him after a gruesome attack on civilians. Eventually Shin Malphur the adopted son of one of his former victims, ended his Light, or lack thereof, with The Last Word.

There are other examples of powerful Guardians succumbing to the Darkness, most notably Toland and Osiris. Toland, later named The Shattered, was one of Eris Morn's fellow fireteam members. Being a Warlock, he was naturally intrigued by the history of Light and Darkness. In his quest to fully understand the power possessed by both Guardians and the Hive, he eventually lost sight of his connection to the Light and came to think of Darkness as a natural and necessary part of the universe.

Eriana-3, the leader of his and Eris' fireteam, led an assault on the Moon in search of the Hive Prince Crota after The Great Disaster (I'll get to that in a minute). Not yet fully emerged by the Darkness, Toland helped destroying Crota's physical form in a mighty battle. However, the remaining Hive did not give up after the fall of their master and killed the Guardians one by one. Only Eris made it out alive, living in the Hive catacombs for years before eventually escaping and returning to Earth. The only death she did not witness was Toland's, which has left many to believe that some part of him still lives, perhaps fully integrated in the Hives ascendant realm.
Just as Toland became obsessed with the Hive, Osiris was with the Vex. Always searching for the Truth, Osiris became the apprentice of the Speaker. This, however, was not enough to satisfy his hunger for knowledge. Blinded by this, he kept on investigating the Vex at the expense of the Vanguard. Eventually the Speaker had to send him away in exile, and his whereabouts have since been unknown. Some Guardians, known as the Cult of Osiris, never left his beliefs and to this day carry on in his name. The Trials of Osiris tournament attracts many Vanguard loyal Guardians at the great annoyance of Lord Shaxx, who has never allowed the tournament to be organised in the Tower, hence the cult's location in the Reef.

IIX

The Great Disaster was, well, a disaster. At some point the Vanguard became aware of the gravity of the Hive's invasion of the Moon and it was decided that a full-scale assault was necessary. 500 or more Guardians prepared to overthrow the Hive, but the mission preparation was not without complications. While the Consensus had no doubt that the attack was in order, Lord Shaxx was more hesitant. He had studied the Hive's swords, the so called ascendant swords wielded only by the most powerful Hive Knights, and he was sure they were more dangerous to the Light than anyone anticipated. Pleading the Consensus to delay the attack until they had a better understanding of what they were up against, Shaxx was ultimately ignored and the assault was set in motion. History would show that he was right. The Guardian army was slayed on the battlefields, many by Crota himself. Very few survived, and the Vanguard consequently declared the Moon off limits to all Guardians. The Darkness was simply too dense. Not everyone followed orders, however, chiefly Eriana-3, who assembled a team to avenge the Guardians she had seen fall beside her by the hundreds.

IX

The last 150 years or so of our history have seen many battles, and I would be robbing you of all the stories that I know can be told better by others here in the Tower, if I tried to keep them all to myself. I am sure that they all are more than willing to enlighten you. A word of caution: Eris Morn has more first-hand accounts than anyone else, but unless you want nightmares the next fortnight, I would ask Master Rahool, the Cryptarch instead. Zavala, the Vanguard Commander, has amazing accounts of the largest battles of our time: Twilight Gap and Six Fronts. For stories about The Great Ahamkara Hunt, where the mighty dragons were made extinct, you should go to Ikora Rey, and while you are there, ask her about her legendary days as a Crucible champion.

The entire story behind the Reef, including the devastating Reef Wars, is not something I have picked up much about over the years. What I can tell you for sure is this: The Awoken, who survived the Collapse out in the Asteroid Belt, most chose to stay there, whether out of fear or pride, I do not know.

Contact between the City and the Awoken in the Reef has been extremely limited, so I have not been able to overhear many conversations about them. Even in the years that Petra Venj, one of the Awoken Queen's delegates, were stationed here, she did not disclose much. In recent years, after the arrival of the Dream Team, corporation between the Queen and the Vanguard has greatly increased. After their emergence, I have come to learn a few more things about the history of the Reef.

Around the same time, perhaps sooner, that the Fallen started pestering the Cosmodrome, way back in The Dark Age, they turned their ships, their Skiffs in their language I believe, in the direction of the Reef. From what I can gather, the Fallen were driven from their own system by the Darkness as well. Driven to scavenging and piracy, they have long lost their civilized ways some claim they used to have. The Fallen's lack of morality was especially hard on the Reef. For many years they were tormented by the Fallen Houses, until the Queen, Mara Sov, and her second in command, her brother Uldron Sov, launch a counter-attack. Defeating and even capturing some of their leaders, named Kells I have heard, they forced most Houses on to other scavenging grounds, such as the Moon, Mars, Venus, as well as Earth. One House, the House of Wolves, came under the Queens command, earning her the title of Kell of Wolves.

X

T his is all you need to know, or at least this is all I know, and now we can get to the story I know you have been waiting for. A story that begins right outside of these walls almost three years ago.

Part Two
The Dream Team

XI

Even though it has been many years since the Ghosts were created, some have only recently found their Guardian, and a few are still searching. In Guardian history, the three members of the Dream Team are fairly young, yet they have accomplished more than most of the Vanguard ever dream to do. Only three years ago did their Ghost revive them from their centuries long slumber, right outside the City walls. It is quite unusual for Guardians to be revived so closely in both space and time; it would appear that their destiny was to be united. Since no one remembers anything of their former lives before the Collapse, they do not have any recollection of each other before meeting in the Tower, but one has to wonder, if they might have known each other back in The Golden Age. Their timely revival might also have foretold their significant importance for the restoration of Light, as it was the very same night that the Speaker sensed the return of the Darkness.

All three were revived by their respective Ghosts and only had time for a brief explanation of what was going on, before having to face their first enemies, some Fallen scavengers, in order to find a ship. Despite having no training and no allies accept their Ghosts, they all made it safely to the Tower, where they first laid eyes on each other. I happened to be returning from Tower North after a quick chat with the shipwright, Amanda Holiday, and was lucky enough to see them, just standing in awe over finding their perfect fireteam, without even having learned what a fireteam was yet.

But there they stood, the male Exo Hunter and two female Awoken Titans. Many fireteams consist of one of each class, but the Dream Team has no need of a Warlock. The Exo, named Pandaen83, is older and mysterious, having lived 83 lives, a true leader. He had his red eyes fixed on one of the Titans, hmunkh, and her lilac skin, radiant turquoise eyes, and amethyst hair; there was no denying that the connection between the two were more than just tactical. We know that today of course, since they tied the knot just before the SIVA Crisis set in last year. Panda and Helle, that is their pet names (yes, I know them well enough to use their pet names) have since been a walking advertisement for the Crimson Days, the romantic holiday in February.

Last, but not least, there was Minnidanni11. Although she has the name of an Exo, she is in fact Awoken, though labels of race or gender never mattered much to her. If I had not heard her voice one time she came to buy a shader from me, I am not sure I would have known she was even female; she never seems to take of her helmet. Some might have felt like a third-wheel being the third member of a couple's fireteam, but not Danni (oh yes, I am friends with her as well). Somehow it just makes sense. And that is the story of how the Dream Team came to be a fireteam. Of course, there is much more to the story, their adventures have been constant ever since.

XII

The very first mission they headed out to together was to get a spare part for their ship; Amanda had informed them that any interplanetary travel was impossible in those piles of rust they had managed to find abandoned on the Cosmodrome. This was no challenge for the team, even though a few Fallen tried to stand in their way. The Dream Team had to quickly get used to enemies standing in their way, as the Speaker already told them the importance of their corporation in fighting the Darkness. Immediately, they were sent by the Vanguard to find and kill Fallen and stop them from breaking into the Warmind Rasputin (I told you, that you would need to know about him!). It would be disaster if the Fallen got their many hands onto Rasputin's arsenal, but the team averted that crisis before it even began. Another crisis arose, however; the team found Hive on the Cosmodrome, which always is a sure sign of terrible things coming.

In search for answers about a possible Hive invasion, the team headed for the Moon. Here they first faced the reality of Guardian immortality; suddenly their work was of even greater importance. Following another Guardians trail, they eventually found him dead, in front of the Temple of Crota. I am lucky to have never been there, because the accounts I have heard have been terrifying. Hundreds of Thralls swarming you from every direction, Ogres blasting their deadly gaze at you, and Wizards poisoning you and corrupting your light. Alas, the team fought through, only to find the reason why the first Guardian had failed, his Ghost had not been able to revive him, as it was dead as well.

The team were successful in their objective; they found proof of an oncoming Hive invasion. Let me just say, this appears to be a common theme for our existence. The Hive are always trying to invade, the Fallen are always trying to steal our resources, the Vex are always trying to make the universe one giant machine (or whatever their objective is), and the Cabal are just ... angry, I think. The amount of threats to our being that the Dream Team has warded off is too many to count, but I will try to tell you the big ones.

XIV

The biggest victories of the Dream Team were not accomplished by themselves; even the best of fireteams will need to join forces with other Guardians, when attempting to defeat the most ominous threats to the Light. The Dream Team has done this to take on the 4 biggest challenges of their time: Atheon, Crota, Oryx, and Axis. The fireteam they usually collaborated with consist of a Hunter, a Warlock, and a Titan. Even though the Dream Team themselves did not include a Warlock, as is standard, did not mean the Warlock's ability to become Fireborn was lost on them. Having a Guardian return from death without the use of their Ghost can be a literal lifesaver in a dire situation. I do not know this fireteam personally, but I think they call themselves the Delta Team.

XV

The first task the team had to duel was Atheon, the Vex primary of the mythical Vault of Glass. The Speaker had sensed the Traveller's Light was fading and tasked the Guardians with stopping it, before it was too late. The Dream Team joined forces with the Delta Team and set out for Venus.

The entrance to the Vault of Glass lies in the Waking Ruins, although the Vault itself cannot be placed on a map so easily. Due to the nature of the Vex and their existence, the Vault of Glass drifts through space and time seamlessly. This makes entering it much more complex than simply breaking down a door. However, it had been done before. We have legends of Guardians entering, but never leaving the Vault. How many survived and are trapped or are simply dead, we have knowledge of. The most information we have is derived from the tragic fates of Kabr and Praedyth. They, along with four others whose names (except the Hunter Pahanin's) have been lost in time, tried to take on the Vault, but failed. Kabr, a Titan, was the last to succumb to the Vault, surviving by equipping himself with Vex enhanced armour. Before his mind were completely lost to the Vex mysteries that the armour had infected him with, he created the Aegis, and artefact the Dream Team would find to be invaluable. As an homage to Kabr's last deeds, Helle has since chosen to return his armour to the Vanguard, though hesitant to wear it often. I suspect it is out of fear, warranted fear I might add.

Praedyth, a Warlock, was lost to the Darkness of the Vault, but survived long enough to transcend into the Vex system as a Ghost. Or you know, something like that … the Vex are complicated. I heard Ikora say something about "his existence in other timelines persisted beyond those in the margins of a text". I am not sure even she understands the reality in which the Vex exists. There are rumours, which the Dream Team seem to confirm, of a female Exo Hunter who coexists in the Vex timelines and who must consequently have some understanding of the time conflux. Yet she has never reached out to the Vanguard; I wonder if it is because she suspects that the organic mind cannot fathom the realities she has faced.

XVI

Where was I? Oh yeah, opening the Vault. Through a serious of rituals involving some Vex sync plates, the six Guardians were granted entrance. The Vault, being both out of time and out of space, pose more threats than Vex trying to erase you from existence. It is a giant maze consisting of dreadful drops and endless dead ends. This the first task after entering was to find their way down without being defeated by gravity.

Panda, being a Hunter, had the easiest way down, simply using his class' natural light jumps to navigate the narrow passageways and rocks that shifted in and out of time. Danni, being a Titan, had not the natural agility of Hunters, but had always put all of her effort into making up for that fact. Helle had the hardest time. She had always prioritised armour instead, as many Titans do. Through the support of her team, she made it down. I think it might have helped that the Warlock from the Delta Team had an equally challenging time.

Having faced the environmental challenges, it had become time to face the first Vex head on. The Inner Vault, which even Kabr never reached, is guarded by the Templar: an enormous Vex Hydra, who is not constricted by time and impervious to attacks, due to its massive shield. The most dangerous feat of the Templar are his Oracles. By summoning them and letting them perform their ritual, the Templar can effectively erase anyone or anything. Ikora and the Speaker suspect that is what happened to the rest of Kabr's fireteam. Due to the sacrifice of Kabr and a good deal of both skill and luck from the Delta and Dream team, they did not suffer the same fate.

XVII

Before the team could take down the Templar, they had to get the Aegis, created by Kabr, to appear, which meant they had to stall the Templar for a while. As the team hid from its deadly stare, the Templar summoned other Vex units to either swarm the Guardians or to sacrifice themselves to the Conflux. The team could not let this happen, as it would empower the Templar enough to immediately erase the Guardians from reality. They managed to keep the Confluxes clear, but in a desperate attempt to stop one of the Templar's poisonous Fanatics, Panda had to use his knife. This did kill the Fanatic, but caused it to explode and leave Panda with the Mark of Negation. From the accounts of previous Guardians lost to the Templar's Ritual of Negation, the team were sure they would join Kabr in oblivion.

Just as they thought all was lost, Kabr's sacrifice proved to be even greater. A pool of Light, Kabr's Light, appeared in the Vault, and Panda was cleansed. With renewed strength, the team carried on. Most of the Guardians were at some point Marked for Negation as well, but Kabr's Light saved them. The Templar did not manage to gain energy from the other Vex units now laying shattered in pieces around it.

However, the Templar did not give up so easily and the Aegis had not yet appeared. Its next attempt at defeating the Guardians were through the use of his Oracles. In a hypnotic melody, the Oracles appeared, preparing to remove the team from time. They had to act quickly or their fate was sealed. Refusing to be killed by a few glowing spheres, they shot the down as quickly as the Templar could summon them and kept on bombarding them with Vex minions to distract them from the Oracles. Alas, the Templar changed tactics and the Aegis appeared. Danni quickly grabbed the relic, which scared the Templar into attacking the Guardians itself. Vex units and Oracles threatening the Guardians from every angle, but the team refused to give in. Every Vex and Oracle in sight was shot down until the Aegis finally had charged its shield breaking attack. A Danni fired the beam of Light, the rest of the team used every bullet in their arsenal until the Templar fell.

They had done what no one had done before, they had breached the Inner Vault.

XIX

Although the Dream Team were happy and relieved, they had no time to celebrate. The Templar was only the first challenge they had to face.

The Inner Vault was guarded by the Gorgons, who are rumoured to be able to wipe you from existence with a single gaze. Luckily the Dream Team has not had the chance to confirm this. No matter the outcome, they avoided any confrontation with the Gorgons. Through a combination of careful planning and a few uses of the Hunter's vanishing abilities (yes, the Bladedancer has its merits outside of the Crucible arena, contrary to common belief), and he team had made it past the Gorgons. Vanguard protocol would usually dictate that all encountered Vex should be eliminated, but the Dream Team could not risk facing them, when they had a much more dangerous enemy on their agenda: Atheon.

Whether Atheon created the Vault of Glass or the Vault of Glass created Atheon, no one seems to know. Yet again, we are reminded that the Vex does not conform to our idea of causality; when time is not linear, the chicken or the egg dilemma makes no sense. The Future War Cult speculate that Atheon's name, at least in our tongue, actually means "one who does not believe in time", but this is all speculation. What we do know for sure, especially after its demise, it that a blow to Atheon was a blow to all of the Vex race.

Atheon resided in the inner most part of the Vault, on the so-called Glass Throne, ruling over the entire Vex reality. It appeared to be Atheon who drained so much Light from the Traveller, and was what the Dream Team was sent out to put an end to in the first place.

XX

There was only one problem, Atheon was nowhere to be seen on its throne. Not to say that the room was empty, far from it in fact. A variety of Vex units, including a Gatekeeper, fired upon the team as they entered. Naturally, they fired back. The death of the Gatekeeper caused the Vex to increase their attack and the reason was clear: two sync plates were activated at the death of the Gatekeeper. Immediately the six Guardians split up, each group protecting a sync plate. Just as they were about to be overrun by Vex units, the plates activated, which in turn activated a transfer gate.

While Helle and the Delta Titan guarded the sync plates, the rest of the team entered the Gate. Through there, more Vex awaited, including yet another Gatekeeper. Instinctively, the Guardians shot them all, but the Vex had a failsafe: they were all Marked by the Void, surely, they were doomed. However, the Light prevailed, as Kabr's sacrifice proved invaluable once again; the Ages had reappeared. Through the remnants of Kabr's Light, they were cleansed and could return to the Titans awaiting outside, letting them into the gate in turn. Finally, when all six Guardians were both marked and cleansed and innumerable Vex units had failed at sacrificing themselves to the conflux outside, Atheon awoke and the Dream Team could charge the Glass Throne.

XXI

Atheon's weapon of choice was a Torch Hammer, yielding devastating blows towards the Guardians. All of a sudden, Panda, Danni, and Helle were no longer taking cover from the Hammer, but were instead standing in a distant space filled with a barren sand landscape and, you guessed it, more Vex. Just as Panda shot the last Minotaur standing, they heard the familiar key of an Oracle being summoned. Atheon's plan was clear: to divide and weaken the team in order to eradicate them from time. Immediately after Helle shot the Oracle, another appeared only to be fired on by Danni. As Panda shot down the last of the Oracles, he was grated the Aegis, which they were immensely grateful for, being Marked by the Void yet again.

With the Oracles gone, the Dream Team could safely return to the Delta Team, who had fought bravely against the growing number of Vex units. Once on the outside, the Aegis in Panda's hands had disappeared, but instead he was surrounded by a glowing aura, granting him the buff of Time's Vengeance. If this was another of Kabr's creations or a way the universe tried to undo all of the Vex's meddling with the very fabric of reality, the Dream Team could not answer me. In the moment, they had more urgent matters to attend to. The time to strike Atheon directly had come. Supported by a Ward of Dawn placed by Danni, granting them all Weapons of Light, all six Guardians huddled together around Panda's protection and shot everything they had at the stunned Atheon. Unfortunately, the buff vanished before Atheon was defeated.

The team had no intentions of giving up, as they could tell that Atheon was weakened and desperate. It seemed like it would repeat the ritual, with even more force. This time, Panda, Danni, and the Delta Warlock were teleported, but not to the same place as last time. This place was far from barren, but was instead dominated by Vex architecture, much like Venus. At the time, the Guardians figured that the two places they visited were merely Mars and Venus. After consulting the Speaker, they now believe to have been to the past and the future, and actually having gone through the Vex's timestream, which connect the Vault of Glass to time itself.

The task at hand was fortunately more tangible than understanding the nature of their location, as the same Vex and Oracles appeared again. Only moments after disappearing into the future, the Guardians returned to the Glass Throne, buffed by Time's Vengeance. The six Guardians fired everything they had at Atheon, landing sniper shots between its eyes, rockets in its abdomen and Golden Gun shots as fast as the two Hunters could charge them.

With only a few rounds left in their magazines, they had done it. A sigh of relief swept the team as they all sat down on the giant Glass Throne, exhausted, but relieved. Praedyth, Kabr, and all the other Guardians who can been lost in the Vault of Glass were avenged, and more importantly, Atheon could no longer drain the Traveller of its precious Light. The six Guardians returned victoriously to the Tower, where they were celebrated as heroes and awarded a few months of rest, right until the Darkness came knocking on our door once again.

XXII

Things were quiet for a while. Sure, the Fallen were still causing their usual amount of trouble, and the Guardians were not exactly twiddling their thumbs here in the Tower. The relative peace was disrupted, as the Dream Team was yet again called on to end an immediate threat, this time it was the Hive that disturbed the Light.

Eris Morn had returned from the Moon, where everyone believed she had died. Besides being generally creepy, she was afraid. Very afraid, and rightly so. Her and Toland's fireteam had not fully succeeded in eliminating the Hive Prince Crota, and she could sense that he was about to be resurrected. Naturally, the Dream Team was assigned the tasking out exactly what was going on in the Hive catacombs. After stopping a resurrection ritual on the Moon and killing off Crota's second in command, the horrible wizard Omnigul, it was clear: Crota was coming back, and the only way to stop it was to kill him once and for all.

The stakes were high, and the risk even higher; the Vanguard had tried to take on the Hive buried deep inside the Moon twice, with disastrous results. The Dream Team could not repeat neither The Great Disaster or Eris' and the other's attempt of redemption. Especially the latter, as Helle told me "the prospect of living off of Hive worms for years would make her throw up and drown in her own sick trapped inside her helmet". Thank the Light, that did not happen!

XXIV

Panda, Helle, and Danni, joined by the Delta Team, set out for the Moon. The target was the Hellmouth, the deepest darkest pit infected by the Hive, for herein resided Crota on his throne.

A sync plate, a phenomenon all to well-known to the Guardians awaited them and allowed them entrance by summoning a bridge, seemingly leading nowhere, and the six Guardians walked slowly but confidently to the end. No directions were needed, it was obvious that they had to jump. The team looked at each other, Danni shrugged, Panda and Helle joined hands, and they leapt into the Darkness.

It seemed like hours before they hit the ground, but eventually they did. Their armour did not shield them from the damage of the fall, but no one was fatally hurt. It was dark, much too dark for the team's liking. Yet, the Guardians knew that the Traveller's Light could brighten even the darkest of places, their job was to let that Light in.

The team started running towards what little Light they could see, but that was easier said than done. The Darkness weighed them down, and they could not run, no matter how hard they tried. After some time, it even began to be difficult to walk. They never seemed to be completely grounded, but their steps were heavy, and the lamp ahead of them was not getting much closer. Danni, leading the way, suddenly called the group to a halt. In the darkness, a hole left by the Hive was hiding, one wrong step and they would end up in the hollow bottomless centre of the Moon. They edged their way around it, but could hear the desperate shrieks of Hive Thralls from within it. A lone Thrall climbed out of the pit with its bony little body, which fell lifelessly back, as Panda put it out of its misery with a bullet clean between its eyes, or where its eyes should have been.

I am not sure the Hive sense the same way that we do. They do use their sense of smell, but I think that the eternal Darkness, they thrive in, might have rendered them blind. No matter how, the other Hive found them. As they reached the lamp ahead, they were almost surrounded. The little gleam of Light that the lamp emitted was enough to replenish their energy, and the fireteam could now move more freely, allowing them to slay the remaining Hive. As the weight of the Darkness lifted, the lamp turned red, which they interpreted correctly; as they ventured out into the Darkness again, the lamp exploded, leaving an even heavier Darkness in its wake.

The plan was clear, despite being without Light; they had to keep following the treacherous path and gather strength at the intermittently placed lamps. Thralls kept creeping up on them, and Knights kept booming, but the team never wavered. Lamp after lamp exploded behind them, and seemingly endless Hive fell to their weapons.

At last, they saw the Light, yet they knew the Hive Prince Crota would never make it that easy for them; they were proven right. As Danni stepped on a sync plate, hoping it would reveal a bridge to the distant Light ahead of them, Hive were upon them yet again. Knight too many to count, Thrall hordes the size of an army, and worst of all two massive Ogres, whose single giant eyes emitted a deathly eye blast. The team knew too well the dangers of an Ogre left unchecked, and were forced to deal with those first. All six sniper scopes were aimed at their haunting eyes; the first Ogre fell, and they turned their weapons on the second one. With a shriek of panic, the Warlock fell. A Knight had focused his Boomer at her, and once she caught sight of it, it was too late. Luckily, she was an expert of the Sunsinger abilities, and could use return Fireborn; not even her Ghost could bring her back from the Darkness of the Hellmouth.

However, the few second where there were only five Guardians keeping the Hive at bay was enough to take down Helle as well. One of the horrendous Cursed Thrall exploded as she desperately punched it with her forceful Titan fist.

The Warlock re-emerged from death surrounded by a radiance of burning Light, and covered the Thralls surrounding them in Solar Grenades, long enough for the rest of the team to take down the second Ogre. As the last few Knights tried their best at stopping the Guardians, the sync plate finally responded and a bridge started to form. Eager to progress, Danni jumped out onto the bridge, only to realize it was not yet fully formed, and she fell into the bottomless Darkness below. Enjoying a classic Danni fail, the surviving four Guardians smirked and strolled casually onto the secured bridge. Their joy was temporary though; Thralls were climbing unto the bridge, and before they realise what was going on, the Delta Hunter had been pulled down into the Darkness. With no time to gloat, Panda, the Warlock, and the Delta Titan ran for it, and reached the precious Light they had been craving since they entered the Hellmouth.

XXV

Their respective Ghosts were relieved, when they finally were able to revive the fallen Guardians, in the few moments the Light reached them. It was not long before the Darkness were upon them again, and the Ghosts had to stand idle by, while their Guardians risked the Light they had given them.

The relationship between a Guardian and their Ghost is quite remarkable really. Since it was the Ghost, who resurrected the Guardian in the first place, they can revive them endlessly, theoretically at least. The problem is that Ghosts live of the Light of both the Traveller and the Guardian, which means that a Guardian who dies beyond the reach of the Traveller, is … well, dead. I cannot even begin to imagine what a Ghost goes through, if they cannot save their Guardian. Someone once found the logfiles of Rezyl Azzir's Ghost, it is heart-breaking to say the least, and he did not even die literally, only shed himself of his old identity.

XXVI

I am sorry, but I might have to finish their stories another time. I think I just heard Commander Zavala call out a Code Red over the Tower intercom. It is usually just a drill, so I promise I will continue this another time.

Oh, I almost forgot, they also had a blast in the Crucible! Panda in the Sparrow Racing League (Amanda was so proud), Helle in Mayhem Clash (Shaxx always admired her fusion grenades), and Danni in … well most Crucible. She is also the only one in the team to have gone flawless in Trials of Osiris and seen the Lighthouse. Oh yes, she went with another team. She is awfully mysterious about her experiences at The Lighthouse, which is rumoured to be located on Mercury. Some say the Guardians who return from there are changed, somehow by meeting Osiris himself and listening to his story. While Helle and Panda are still unconvinced, yet sceptic of the Speaker's explanation of what really happened between himself and Osiris, Danni is wholeheartedly convinced of his innocence, and believes that the Speaker has ulterior motives. She never really explains much, but neither does the Speaker in fact. Who am I to judge, really? I am not even a Guardian, and as my position here in the Tower is granted by the Vanguard, I chose to trust their judgement.

Zavala just called the code again, I had better see what is going on, before he gives me another lesson in "proper Vanguard security measures".

Be sure to wear your colours proudly!

Your friendly Guardian outfitter,

Eva Levante