The Dark Before Dawn

by Matteoarts

A mysterious Guardian has arrived, claiming to be the sole survivor of a fireteam that ventured further into the moon than any dared before. With her help, the Heroes and Seekers learn of an ancient evil that now stirs in its depths; Crota. All six must band together to prevent his soul from ever escaping into our world again, or all will be lost.

1. Prologue

The flames from the wreckage stood out against the night background, a beacon to anything or anyone curious enough to venture too close. Oddly enough, they were a bright orange, but mixed in with green tinges of flame that apparently was of some different chemical makeup than standard.

The two Hunters that now approached it took caution. The ship itself looked to be a fellow Guardian's, but miscellaneous items scattered the surrounding area of the impact such as skulls, several bones, and lots of ash. A mysterious green orb with a shard of crystalline rock stood stationary upon the ground. The first scout looked over to the second and shrugged.

"What the hell do you make of this?" Before the second could answer, they both heard an audible groan from within more of the wreckage. They leapt into action, and began pulling away rubble and debris to reach the individual trapped inside. With one last pull of a particularly large and jagged chunk of metal, a woman tumbled out of a makeshift hole in the side of the cockpit.

"Are you alright? You seem to have-" The second scout's question died in his throat as the survivor looked up at him and the extent of her face was exposed. She was pale white like bone, but not even the ghastly coloration of her skin could compare to the freakish appearance of her face; instead of the usual limit of two eyes that normal human possessed, a third eye was positioned in the central region between the other two, and slightly above them. All three glowed with a bright greenish aura. If the scout hadn't known better, he would have claimed that she was part Hive.

Her hands shot up from the ground to grasp his shoulders, and she shook him heavily. "I have seen our destruction firsthand! His green fire will spread throughout our strongholds, purging us from our homes and smoking us out to be skewered on the blade of his sword!"

The scout tried to brush her hands off of him hurriedly. "Hold on a minute lady, what are you talking about? Who's coming after you?"

"Not I, but us!" she said emphatically. "Humankind as a whole, we are all equally hated by him, and his wrath will not cease until he has scoured all of us from reality!"

"Who?" asked the first scout, repeating his partner's question. Her head snapped toward the sound of his voice, and he could see clearly the nature of her face, as well as the black liquid substance that flowed from each eye.

"Crota."