Before the Red War, I would never have dreamt that I would see a Guardian up close. As I crawled out of our falling City, I thought I'd never see one again. But here I am, working with them in one of their most prestigious fields of study.

Since the City was reclaimed and the Traveler was awakened, Guardians have been ever more inclusive towards regular people. The everyday citizens - the folk beyond the cultists or the monarchists or the nihilists - have access to the Towers and their remaining libraries. We may join Guardian colleges and arm ourselves to aid them in the City's defense. It truly feels like a new era.

Though, I would be remiss to admit many Guardians still have high expectations of new, unpowered recruits. The Cryptarchy itself has been scrambling to train new blood in their ways to aid in recovering as many artifacts and data as possible in the wake of the war. It's been a rocky start, but while my teachers often scold me about my work, they just as often praise me for my attention to detail.

I feel like this position was made for me. I uncover the secrets of humanity's past, tell of legends and people throughout the City and the solar system! It's humbling, really. Knowing I'm just a small part of a much larger world.

That's not to say there hasn't been it's more horrifying realizations. Reading up on the Hive's Books of Sorrow, the failed raids on the Vault of Glass, the fall of the Iron Lords… For every miracle I discover, there is always some terrible truth out there. Some monstrosity waiting in the darkness to be uncovered. I guess in a way, it's also humbling. And for a while, it made me more and more thankful for the Guardians that protect us as I continued to learn from them.

For the longest time, I like everyone else still saw Guardians as something greater. Like they were angels sent from the Traveler to protect us and guide us. That they could do no wrong.

That all changed one day. Months after the Traveler awakening, and around the time there were rumors of the great Osiris being spotted on Mercury. When I learned of Nezarec.