*warning: spoiler alert*

if you care at all for the lore in this game then i am warning you, spoilers about the shadows of yor and malphur lie ahead

if you've already read the lore book for every rose, a thorn (you can get the lore entries by getting kills with thorn, its a random drop chance. or just like, look it up) or dont mind spoilers, go ahead and keep going. otherwise, continue at your own risk.

~o:O:o~

She's got golden skin and hair like sunshine. It almost glows in the fading light of the Wastes.

Dredgen Vale didn't recognize her immediately, but something pricked at his memory. He watched through his scope as the new Guardian's Ghost flew about excitedly. He smiled, one devoid of any mirth. A round of the bullets in his pouch would quickly put an end to that Ghost. They weren't meant for it, though, so Vale continued with his observations.

He shaded his scope with his free hand to prevent any unwanted reflections. The sun was beating down on the desert painfully, the air muggy—almost suffocating—due to an apparent lack of wind.

The woman, now Guardian, seemed utterly lost. As most were—Vale didn't blame them, really, being thrust into a new and confusing world. The kind of world he'd imagine a dedicated pre-golden age author would think up. He'd been lucky. He remembered his past life, hard as it might be to pin down which of them was of himself or one of the others. He shied away from that train of thought as memories of ships and the ocean and that place began to fill his mind. Not his.

A flicker of movement caught his eye as he watched. Dark shapes, crawling in the shadows of the dunes and sporadic bush. His scope swung away from Guardian and Ghost, looking towards the silhouettes.

"Fallen," his Ghost whispered."I would be careful if I were you," she said.

Vale nodded quietly and he lifted his sniper away. The new pair had finally noticed the presence of the Fallen, but he doubted they could do much to defend themselves without a gun.

"Wouldn't hurt to help, I suppose," he mumbled before standing upright. Too many to snipe from here; it would be easier to get into close quarters and take them out with a few bullets and a 'nade, caution be damned.

He leapt from the cliffside in something similar to a swan dive, reveling in the sensation of wind passing through his cloak streaming behind him. A boost and a roll later, and he was on his feet, headed towards the pack.

"I don't think that Ghost would be very happy to be saved by a Shadow, Vale."

"True. I got some time—they haven't seen me yet. Think you can pull off a change before then?"

"Is that a challenge?" his Ghost asked with a hint of amusement.

He only grinned from beneath his helmet as his gun spun into action.

~o:O:o~

It took a surprisingly long time to find the newly-rezzed Guardian and her Ghost after the skirmish had ended. Vale had emerged with minimal damage and, hopefully, a new (potential) ally. Of course, there was the small problem with her Ghost, being that they'd probably recognize him in a heartbeat. If not, then they'd put the pieces together.

Which is why he did not approach them as Dredgen Vale, no.

He found them—er, her—holed up underneath the desert scrub. If not for his Ghost, he doubted he would have found her at all. A huntress, he hoped. She would make a fine one.

"You can come out now," he said quietly after he had removed his helmet. She visibly tensed at the sound of his voice. Both a welcome sign and a worry.

He stayed silent, crouched beside that small hollow as he studied her. Slim, not very tall, well-toned and fit. She bore no sign of any sort of physical stress from revival, which was slightly odd. Her golden hair pooled around her shoulders and obscured her face from his view.

"Where's her Ghost?" his own asked after a few moments more. He shrugged.

"Hiding. For good reason—a smart one, that, to make such a decision."

The other Guardian turned towards him after he finished speaking. Her hair fell away as she gave him an intense blue-eyed stare. He held her gaze as she did so, slightly on edge with the sudden action.

"Who are you?" Her words were heavily accented, but recognizable. He watched her for a moment more before replying.

"Not someone who would hurt you, if that's what you mean."

She studied him with a cold, calculating gaze. That felt like a Warlock. Which was she? He was almost itching to know. She did project an aura of authority about her despite her obvious disadvantage in both skill and position.

She said nothing.

"You gonna come out or not?" he asked, a tad impatient.

"A bit hard in our current position, wouldn't you say?" Her face remained passive. He wasn't sure he liked the sudden coolness this particular Guardian exuded. He grunted and moved aside, providing ample room for her to crawl out of her desert hollow.

The sun had set some time ago, and the night air began to grow chilly. The moon shone down brightly, triumphantly, casting the still-warm desert sands with a bluish light. The Guardian was the center of his attentions, though. He would quite like for her to join his merry band of miscreants, but the chances of that event ever taking place was quite slim.

She was pretty though. Not a pristine or tidy sort of beauty, though. A tiger lily, he thought idly. A type of exquisite beauty, and yet ready to pounce at any given moment.

"Do you have a name?" he asked after she remained silent. She said nothing, only continued watching him with the eyes of a hawk. He sighed.

"You never were good with women, you know," his Ghost said teasingly. He shot her a dead-eyed glare.

"Shut up," he grumbled.

"What were they?"

He raised an eyebrow at the woman's sudden question. "They? You mean the Fallen?"

"Fallen?" She seemed...intrigued. Curious.

"Yes, Fallen. They used to be a noble race, but have since, well, fallen from their former glory. Nearly eradicated in this area of Terra, now that I think about it, actually. They're pirates, and they'll slit your throat in your sleep just for your garbage."

She nodded after a moment of contemplation on her end, before she finally rose to her full height. He'd been right—she wasn't the tallest person around. Maybe a bit over five foot.

He was considering bringing her to the Vanguard, because of her Ghost. Where was the little guy, anyways? He would very much like to bring her back to his camp for testing, but...that might not be very well received. City limits, then? He could always find her later with some help, but… What to do?

"What do I call you, then?"

Her question shook him out of his train of thought rather abruptly. He blinked.

"What?"

"Do you have a name?"

Oh. Yes, he did. Several, in fact. Would he give them to her? No. Both she and her Ghost, wherever it was, didn't need to know about either Shin Malphur or Dredgen Vale.

"Call me Jaren," he said, adopting the name of his former mentor and third father. "Jaren Sol."

She nodded warily. She knew, then, that it wasn't his name. "Then you will call me Sarai."

Sarai. He doubted she knew her real name, which would explain this one. It fit her, yes, but only to an extent. She seemed troubled when she spoke it.

Her Ghost finally showed itself after she spoke. Strange.

"You name your Ghost yet?" he asked. She nodded.

"Libra," she replied with a hand outstretched towards it. A suitable name, he decided.

The Ghost—Libra—was silent as it scanned him out of caution. It seemed troubled by something, but did not say anything.

"You guys should get to the City," his own Ghost decided. She tended to assert herself when he himself didn't make a decision.

Sarai cocked her head at the mention of the City. "You say it as if there is only one."

"Because there is only one," he interjected. "The only one that still stands, at least."

She looked to be dumbfounded. He'd need to get in touch with the other Shadows, tell them what he's up to. He had a lot to teach in the coming weeks, apparently.