"Solar Light is a power of both life and death. It is the warmth of the sun that gives us strength and nourishment. It is also the devouring fire that burns and consumes everything in its path. As a Guardian of the Solar, you are neither and both at once."
Linvana stood still on the rusty rooftop, eyes closed in concentration as she listened to the Warlock speak. She wore no armor, only a training leggings and an exercise bra, letting the sunlight warm her bare shoulders.
"Each element is part of the same whole," Elva continued, "A single wavelength of a greater force. To channel an element to its fullest potential, you must understand that your source is a bridge that allows the element to freely flow through you. A Void source is like a tear in reality. An Arc source is a conduit for the storm.
"We, on the other hand, we act as a lens. The Solar power shines through us and we give it focus. We provide shape and structure with our will. When you shape the Solar Light, you must clearly visualize what you wish to create. Otherwise, you release too much power, and you will burn everything around you. Do you understand?"
Linvana squeezed her eyes tighter. She remained motionless atop the abandoned structure. Images of her previous attempts flashed through her mind. Failures that ended in destruction. Not this time, she resolved. She focused on the center point in her mind, the balance between fury and calm.
"I understand," Linvana said.
"Good," Elva replied. "Now form the circle."
Linvana thrust out her hand and called upon the Light. Warmth ignited in her chest and swelled to fill her body. Two tendrils of golden light formed around her hand and twisted into the outline of a handle. They flickered for moment, then snapped into the shape of a hammer with a pure, metallic note.
As she summoned the Hammer of Sol, she let the flames flow through the rest of her. They poured into the ground around her, igniting a burning sunspot. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, not from the extreme heat, but from the intense concentration of controlling the raging flames. They wanted to snap away from her grasp, to be unleashed and allowed to burn freely across the metal roof.
"Ready?" Elva asked
Linvana nodded.
The bronze skinned Exo snapped into motion. She threw a pair of grenades at Linvana, one from each hand. Linvana raised her hammer. The Light of the sunspot reacted to her motion and formed a film to block the explosive globs of Light.
Elva was already on the move. She leapt over Linvana and ignited her Radiance as she landed. Linvana spun to face her as she threw a fresh salvo of grenades. Linvana's overshield flared as the grenades deflected and landed inside her sunspot. They exploded and sent spots across her vision.
Elva came at her fast. The Exo lashed out at the Titan. Linvana braced herself as a pulse of Solar flames slammed into her. The attack pushed her back and threw her off balance. She scrambled to correct her stance. Too late. Another strike burned through her overshield. Blistering pain flared all across her upper body.
She growled in frustration, and her own flames surged in response. She lowered her hammer and threw herself forward. As she charged Elva, she swung in a wide arc. Her blow landed with a satisfying crunch. The Warlock yelped and jumped back, cradling her shattered forearm.
Linvana prepared for another attack when her foot sank into the floor. Pain stabbed at her ankle. The entire section of the platform was glowing white hot, consumed by her flames. It sagged as the heat liquefied the metal. Too late, she realized had lost control in her anger.
She just had enough time to say "Crap," before the metal gave way and she fell to the ground hundreds of feet bellow, surrounded by a rain of molten metal.
Linvana gasped as icy sensation shot through her veins. Polaris, her Ghost, hovered overhead. He scanned her body to make sure everything was working properly and disappeared a moment later.
She rolled her shoulders to work the knots out and stood up. Polaris had brought her back on top of the abandoned wall, as instructed. The rusting fortification was one of several structures dotting the surrounding forest. The buildings were vestiges of the old City perimeter, before the wall proper was pulled back to its current position along the Tower. They were useless as defenses now, but they were perfect practice grounds for Guardians' rather destructive abilities.
Elva sat on a box a short distance away. The green overcoat of her robes sat folded on the ground beside her, and she was reading a thick book bound between metal covers. Her Ghost had already repaired her arm
"Well, you're definitely improving," Elva noted.
Linvana glanced skeptically at the hole she had melted through the roof of the buildings, which was still smoldering in some places. A line of similar punctures dotted the rest of the roof.
"I'm not quite sure that's what improvement looks like," she said dryly.
Elva shook her head. "You don't give yourself enough credit. It takes years to master an element, and you've only held your Solar source for less than two. According to this-" She held up the book "-summoning an overshield is a skill only the most experienced Sunbreakers could manage. They were given the title of Firekeeper. The rank took decades of training to obtain. The fact that you're even attempting it so soon is nothing short of incredible."
"Huh," Linvana said, unimpressed. She and Elva had been training for nearly a month now, but it still felt like they had made barely any progress. The sense of stagnation was starting to wear at her nerves.
Elva's Ghost, appeared next to the Warlock. "Ikora is summoning you. She wants you in the Hall of Guardians."
Elva snapped the book shut and stood up. "Well, I guess she wants her book back. Borrowing from her personal library tends to make her pretty impatient."
"That's fine, I need a break anyway. We can pick it back up tomorrow," Linvana said. One could only fall through a roof so many times in a row.
Polaris appeared beside her. "Actually, Zavala is requesting you back in the Tower as well," he added.
"Both of us?" Linvana said, "They must have an assignment then." She grabbed her own jacket from beside Elva's crate and threw it on.
The two Guardians set off along the wall, back towards the City.
"Thanks for helping me with this," Linvana said as they walked, "I know you're eager to get back to Venus, but…with all records of the Sunbreakers expunged, I thought I would have to figure this out on my own."
Elva chuckled. "My research can wait I suppose. The Vex aren't going anywhere. When I think about it, I should be the one thanking you."
"Really? What for?" Linvana asked.
"Well, I couldn't believe it when I heard you had become a Sunbreaker. Picking up a second element is something only the Guardians of legend do. Wei Ning, Toland. The fact that the leader of my own fireteam did it is nothing short of amazing. To be honest, I'm a little bit jealous."
"Maybe you should try picking up a new element then," Linvana replied, "Anything is possible with the Light if you try hard enough. If you listen to Saladin, that is."
"There's that Titan mentality," Elva said, "Just keep pushing it until it works. Picking up a second element isn't as simple as waking up and deciding I'm going to be a Voidwalker. I need to generate a connection to the Void, like the Solar source you found in the Sunbreakers' shrine."
"Huh," Linvana grunted. Elva seemed to think that was the end of the subject, so she let the conversation lapse. They continued the walk back to the wall in silence.
"So, today is Wednesday, right?" Elva asked as they approached the Tower proper.
"Um, yeah," Linvana said.
"Which means yesterday was Tuesday."
"What about it?"
"Well, if I recall correctly, Tuesday is date night for you and Telysa. And yet, when I passed the firing range yesterday evening, you were practicing there alone."
Linvana bit her lip. "Well, I guess we just missed it," she said. Please let it drop, she prayed.
"Lin, in the two and a half years you and Telysa have been dating, the only time you missed a date is the week Oryx showed up."
Damnit.
"Rain or shine," Elva continued, "you've spent every Tuesday together, even if that meant trudging through the Venusian swamps to claim a bounty on a Fallen captain. Every week, without fail, until yesterday. Is something going on with you two?"
The Titan sighed. She had hoped to avoid this, to have more time to think things through. "Kind of," she said, "It's…complicated."
"I'm no expert on relationships, but 'it's complicated' isn't usually a good thing, right?" Elva asked.
Linvana shook her head.
"Did you want to talk about it?"
Elva paused at the entrance to the main Tower. She opened the door and let Linvana enter. They began moving towards the lifts.
Linvana mulled as they walked. Elva was her friend, so she'd have to tell her eventually. She wanted time to sort through her feelings on her own but…the secret was out now. Might as well get it over with.
"Telysa asked me to move in with her," Linvana blurted, "and I didn't say yes."
"…Oh," Elva said.
"I panicked. She asked me out of the blue yesterday, and I just wasn't prepared. I said I would think about it. And now…" Linvana shrugged.
"Have you tried talking to her?"
Linvana lowered her eyes. "No. I haven't."
"Why not?"
"Well…" Linvana sighed. "Honestly, I don't think I can talk to her right now. Telysa…she's the woman I love, and when she gave me the chance to commit to her, I didn't take it. What does that mean for me? For us? What if talking just makes things worse"
"That's true…but maybe you're overthinking it? I mean, dreg's advocate here, if there's really something going between you two, you need to sort it out sooner rather than later. It wouldn't be a good idea to start an argument while our team is on a mission."
Linvana bit her lip and fell silent. They reached the lifts and began ascending to the top of the Tower.
"I'm scared," Linvana said quietly, "I've killed Archons and Kells, faced down armies of Cabal, fought my way through a Vex netherworld. Hell, I've killed two Hive gods. But as many monsters I've put down, I've come close to dying myself twice over. Going out there, fighting, it's dangerous. Any mission could be my last. I can't help but think that I'll lose Telysa, or worse, she'll lose me. And that idea absolutely scares the hell out of me."
Elva glanced at the Titan. "It sounds to me like you already know what the problem is."
Linvana shook her head. "I guess I do. I just don't know the answer."
The lift came to a stop and deposited them in the Tower plaza. The midday sun shone bright overhead, and the banners flapped in the breeze. The two Guardians crossed the space and descended the stairs in the middle.
They passed the alcove at the bottom of the stairs, which remained strangely empty. As unsettling as Eris Morn had been, Linvana had grown used to her presence in the Tower. She couldn't help but wonder what would motivate Crota's Bane to leave the City without any warning at all.
Shaxx was gone from his post as well, and when they entered the hall of Guardians, only two of the Vanguard stood near their table. Cayde's usual spot was empty. Was something happening to the Tower staff?
"Ah, Captain, Scribe," Zavala said as they approached the table.
"Commander," Linvana acknowledged, "Where is everyone? I heard about Eris, but did we lose Cayde and Shaxx too?"
"Unfortunately not," Ikora replied, "The two of them had some sort of bet earlier, and Cayde won. Apparently, Shaxx's payment involves doing whatever Cayde wants him too for a day."
It suddenly clicked for Linvana. "Let me guess," she said, "Cayde dragged Shaxx down to the fields to supervise the monthly dodge ball tournament. Yeah, I fell for that once. Never again."
"Crucible antics aside," Zavala interjected, "There is a reason both of you are here. We received an unusual transmission a short time ago."
"You will both want to hear it, especially you Elva," Ikora added. She motioned for her Ghost to begin.
The message began with a sharp burst of static. A few garbled words followed, and then a single phrase, spoken by a sharp voice: "...the incendiary revision…" The voice dissolved into static. Linvana caught a few more syllables, and then the transmission ended.
Beside Linvana, Elva stiffened. "I recognize that voice - it's Praedyth."
"That would appear to be the case," Ikora said, "It bears the same Vanguard signature embedded in the message we retrieved last year from the Vault of Glass."
"The last time the Vex used Praedyth's voice," Elva said, "they lured me into the Vault to destroy a Taken blight…Are they trying to get our attention again?"
"That's a question we would very much like to answer," Ikora replied, "This message is much more distorted. I suspect circumstances might be different this time."
"Hold on a minute," Linvana said, confused, "I remember you telling me about the Vault. Didn't you find Praedyth's body at the bottom?"
"Yes and no," Elva replied, "I found the remains of the Guardian that we think is Praedyth, but when I went deeper into the Vault, his voice spoke directly to me. The Vex control reality entirely within the Vault…I suspect that it's wholly possible for Praedyth to be both dead and trapped within their networks at the same time."
"So what's our plan then? Send a team in to the Vault again and see what the problem is? Try to rescue Praedyth while we're at it?" Linvana asked.
"Actually," Zavala interjected, "This transmission did not originate from Venus. It came from Mercury. Specifically, it appears to have come from the former location of the Sunbreakers' Forge."
"The Sunbreakers' Forge," Linvana said, "You mean the shrine I tracked them do during the Taken War? The shrine where they gave me my Solar powers?"
"One and the same," Zavala confirmed.
"If something is powerful enough to threaten the Vex, it is a danger to us all," Ikora continued, "And if something else is amiss, it is imperative we monitor the situation closely. Elva, the Vex are your specialty, and has Praedyth reached out to you before. You are the most qualified Guardian we have to evaluate the situation. "
"The Vex consumed Mercury during the collapse," Zavala added, "They've controlled the planet for centuries, and we have neglected it for far too long. Captain Linvana, you're already acquainted with that region of Mercury. I want you to accompany Elva to the Forge."
Linvana nodded. "Yes sir. We'll leave as soon as we're ready."
"One more thing," Zavala added, "You'll be entering enemy territory with no established patrol network and no nearby Crucible perimeters. I strongly encourage you to bring a third Guardian."
"I agree," Linvana said, "A few other members of our team are in town."
Elva smiled. "In fact, I know just the person."
They found Dellander in the Tower practice range. There was nobody else there, a somewhat unusual sight. Even more unusual was the Gunslinger himself, slumped in a corner, nursing a broken nose.
The Hunter looked up as they approached, a line of blood dribbled across his mouth and down this scruffy chin.
Elva groaned. "For the love of the Light. You asked Ulaina out on a date again, didn't you?"
"What?! No, give me some credit Elva," Dellander exclaimed, "She said no the first time I asked her, and the second time too. She clearly ain't interested in me, and I'm not stupid to keep chasing someone who already turned me down. ."
"So who were you flirting with then?" Linvana pressed, crossing her arms.
Dellander shook his head. "Come on, why are you assuming a girl did this to me? It could've been the kick from my rifle, for all you know."
"Okay then," Linvana said, "How did you break your nose?"
"Well, I, uh…might have run into Lakshmi and asked ask her how she was."
Elva cradled her face in her hand. "Lakshmi? Are you insane? You do not ask the leader of the Future War Cult out on a date."
"I didn't!" Dellander insisted, "I was just trying to be polite. Don't even like that tin-headed robot anyways."
"You do realize I'm also a tin-headed robot," Elva noted.
"Yeah, but you're not crazy and spouting off nonsense about endless war and inevitable doom."
Beside Elva, Linvana sighed. "Your disagreement wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you rejected Lakshmi's invitation to the FWC and insulted her very loudly in front of a hundred people last week, would it?"
Dellander stared philosophically at the ceiling for a moment. "Maybe. Silla, go ahead and patch it up."
His Ghost appeared next to him and bathed his face in Light. The swelling around his nose subsided, and red color drained away. The Hunter tapped the end of his nose with his finger.
"How does it look?" he asked, "Is it crooked? I figure it will make me look more ruggedly handsome."
Elva shook her head. "You're insane."
"So..." Dellander stood up, ignoring Elva. "Although I'd like to think you came down here to sympathize with me, there must be a real reason you're looking for me."
"You've been moping around the Tower for the last few weeks," Linvana said, "We have a mission, and we figured you could tag along, stretch your legs." She motioned for Elva to explain.
"Earlier today, we received a transmission from Praedyth. We think he's reaching out to us."
"Praedyth. Isn't that the guy who got lost in the Vault of Glass?"
"He was one of them," Linvana corrected.
"We're going deep into Vex territory on Mercury," Elva continued, "We need a third Guardian. You entered the Black Garden with Brontis and Ulaina. Your Ghost cracked the manifold encryption protecting the Heart. That's supposed to be impossible."
"I didn't actually crack it," his Ghost said, "I just tricked it into thinking we were Gatelords. That's far from the same thing."
"That doesn't make it any less impressive. I've spent my entire life studying the Vex and their technology. Your Ghost knows her way around their networks, and, as you insist on bragging, you're the best shot on our team."
Dellander stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Think about it," Linvana prompted, "We're going to Mercury. That planet has barely been practically untouched since the Golden Age. Think of what could be hidden out there in the sands and the ruins."
"There could be something pretty valuable…" he said, "Okay then! I'll do it. You need a Hunter to get anything done around here anyways. When do we leave?"