They walked in silence for a while. Uldren trailed behind, muttering to his ghost as he tried to figure out how to use his Light. By the time they reached the gardens of Esila, he still hadn't managed it.

"Sorry," Uldren said. "I'm so hungry, I can't focus. Either of you have anything to eat?"

Jayesh had one ration pack left. He pulled it out of his travel pack and tossed it to the new Guardian.

"Thanks!" Uldren retreated to a bench in the shade. Being resurrected left a Guardian hungry at the best of times. Uldren hadn't eaten since his death, a year and a half earlier.

Jayesh and Madrid patrolled the gardens, waving tiny blights out of the air. No Taken had yet appeared.

"I should kill him," Madrid muttered, once they were out of earshot. "He's trouble, Jayesh. Trouble for us, for the Awoken, for the Vanguard."

"The Light chose him," Jayesh said in an undertone. "I don't get it, either, but who are we to disagree? The Light chose us, too."

Madrid grunted his displeasure. He pulled his hood a little further over his head to shade his face. "He's decent, for now. But who can say what he'll become? Can you imagine what a monster he'd have been had he been a Lightbearer, too?"

"He deserves a choice, Madrid," Jayesh replied. "Sure, he might choose wrong. If he sides with the Darkness, we'll kill him. But what if he sides with the Light? Or neither? We don't know what his future holds. And our numbers are still so thin after the Red War. There's actually a Titan out protecting ghosts as they hunt their Guardians. That's how bad off we are. We can't kill newbies just because they were bad people in their past lives."

"Spare me the sermon," Madrid snapped. "You train him. I can't stand the sight of him." He whirled and stalked toward the garden gate.

Jayesh watched him go, crestfallen. "Phoenix, what did I say wrong?"

"Nothing," his ghost replied. "Let him have his space. It's his problem, not yours."

Jayesh circled the pond and stopped to finger the paper-thin petals of an orange flower the size of his hand. He still felt winded, off-balance. Part of him wanted to send Cayde-6 a message. "You'll never guess who just got resurrected out here." And Cayde would laugh. "That swaggering peacock? A Guardian? Bring him in, I'll spring him on Zavala. Make sure to get a video of his face."

But Cayde lay entombed in the crypt where heroes of the Light were laid to rest, shot through the heart by his own hand cannon, his ghost destroyed.

"Light, I miss Cayde," Jayesh whispered. "He would have laughed so much."

"I know," Phoenix whispered. "His ghost would have teased Pulled Pork unmercifully. 'What, only a prince was good enough for you?'"

Jayesh smiled sadly. "I wonder what Kari will think. Last night I wrote to tell her, sorry, I just inflicted an Ahamkara wish on you. Tonight, hey babe, remember that insane, Taken prince who murdered the Hunter Vanguard? He's a Guardian now."

"And you like him," Phoenix added.

Jayesh leaned against a stone planter and rubbed his forehead. "That's the hardest thing. I like the guy, Phoenix. If he wasn't Uldren, I'd invite him onto our fireteam and run missions when Nell can't make it. But ... he's Uldren. Just keeping him alive is going to be a chore."

Phoenix flew among the flowers, weaving between their stalks like an oversized bee. When he returned to Jayesh, his red shell was dusted with pollen. "Uh oh. Look who just showed up."

Limerick sauntered toward them from the other end of the garden, his mismatched armor giving him a clownish look. His orange eyes were fixed on Uldren.

Jayesh hurried back to the new Guardian and reached him as Limerick did.

"Hello!" Limerick said, his pale face breaking into a smile. "Who might you be?"

"My name's Uldren," the Guardian replied, setting aside the empty ration pack. "Just got resurrected."

Limerick's smile vanished. "You're Uldren?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

The dragon's eyes narrowed, calculating. Jayesh watched his every move, ready to summon his Dawnblade if Limerick tried anything.

Limerick's expression changed to a grin. "Well then. Call me Limerick. And you - A Guardian or a prince, his importance so immense, he impressed the Reef, now more than a thief, and we've talked of nothing else since."

Uldren laughed. "Flattery in rhyme, now? That will get you everywhere. You a Guardian?"

"No," Limerick replied.

"He's an Ahamkara," Jayesh muttered. "Watch what you say."

"Once burned, twice shy, eh, Jayesh?" Limerick said. "I granted his wish yesterday. He didn't like it."

Uldren rose to his feet. "You grant wishes?"

Limerick spread his arms in a grand flourish. "I have no Light to create weapons, and no Darkness to take souls captive. I can only bend reality to suit desire. Since you're new here, O Prince mine, I'll grant you one wish."

A horrible chill ripped through Jayesh at those words. He raised a cautionary hand. "Don't."

"I want to see him do it," Uldren said. "Can he really?"

"Yes," Jayesh said. "But he twists the wish."

Limerick coughed loudly. "Never mind him! Come now, sir. Tell me your desire."

"I wish ..." Uldren gazed around the garden, as if seeking ideas. "I wish I knew how to use the Light."

Limerick's smile faded. "That's beyond my power to grant. Come on, wish for something else. Piles of glimmer? The latest in armor?"

"Armor," Uldren said, lighting up. "A new set of Hunter gear."

Reality wavered, as if Taken were crossing through realities. Instead, out of thin air, a series of items swirled into being - a vest, leather boots, a cloak, and a helmet. They dropped to the grass in front of Uldren.

"Excellent!" Uldren exclaimed, picking up the vest and examining it.

Jayesh watched Limerick. "What's the catch?"

Limerick inhaled slowly, his orange eyes waxing golden. Color surged into his pale cheeks. "Catch? There is no catch. Well. Maybe one small thing I forgot to mention." He laughed. "But I'll let you figure it out." He walked away toward the gate, somehow bigger than he had been when he arrived.

Jayesh watched him go, then eyed the gear. "What's he done to it, I wonder?"

Uldren scooped up the cloak and put it on. "Feels all right. No spiders or explosives."

"He's sneaker than that." Jayesh sent Phoenix to scan the items.

The ghost played his beam over each piece of gear. "I'm not detecting anything out of the ordinary. It looks like good material. Similar to what the Corsairs wear."

"Good enough for me," Uldren said. He collected it into a bundle and tucked it under his arm. "So, Jayesh. Tell me about this Ahamkara. Where did he come from?"

Jayesh told him the little he knew as they strolled about the gardens, waiting for the Taken to show up. Uldren was much refreshed after his meal, and laughed often. He summoned his ghost and began practicing slight of hand tricks with him, which delighted Pulled Pork.

After a while, the Taken arrived, but the woman wasn't among them. The two Guardians dispatched them and made their way to the shores of the misty lake. When the woman didn't appear there, either, they went on to Harbringer's Seclude.

"I know this place," Uldren said, halting on the threshold. He gazed at the crystalline pillars and the statues of women holding spheres in their hands. "I used to go ... this way." He entered and took a left turn, looking about as if moving through a dream. Jayesh followed him, curious.

Uldren halted at a cross passage, pointed left and right, as if debating with himself, then turned right. He walked halfway up the hall and stopped before another statue, this one the same as the others, but only the size of a person. Uldren touched the ball in the statue's hands and spun it.

A panel in the wall behind the statue silently swung open.

Uldren turned to Jayesh with a triumphant laugh. "See? I remembered!"

"What's in there?" Jayesh asked, peering through the dark doorway.

"No idea!" Uldren stepped inside. "Let's find out."

Jayesh followed him inside. They advanced down a short, unlit passage. Their ghosts helpfully ignited their headlights, lighting the way. After a short distance, they came to a secret room. Uldren stood in the middle, turning around and around, studying everything.

There was certainly a lot to study. A desk and chair occupied one corner of the room, but it was nearly buried under stacks of open books and papers. Papers littered the floor or were tacked to the walls. Colored string had been stretched between them, marking dozens of points. A series of maps covered one wall: maps of the Reef, Earth, and the inner planets, as well as many moons of Saturn and Jupiter. Each one was covered in colored pins. The room smelled of musty paper and dust.

"This was mine," Uldren said, touching one of the maps. "But ... somehow ... I expected it to look different." He went to the desk and shuffled through the papers and books.

"Weren't you in charge of the intelligence network?" Jayesh asked.

"Was I?" Uldren said absently. "This is about as unintelligent as it gets. Look." He handed Jayesh a sheet of paper. On it was scribbled lines of what looked like poetry, but the handwriting was unreadable.

"These books are all about paracausal theory," Uldren said, lifting one and examining the spine. "Why was I so interested in that?"

Jayesh didn't answer. He gazed at the Venus map and recognized spots where the Vex had opened their gates. All were marked with a red pin. "Looks like you were researching the Vex."

"I was?" Uldren examined the maps, too, and scratched his head. "Before I died ... was I somewhat imbalanced?"

"A little," Jayesh admitted.

Uldren held up a sheaf of paper, all covered in scribbled poetry lines. "This talks about how the Awoken people are a means to an end, and their sacrifice is necessary. If I wrote this, I was mad. Stark, raving mad."

"Is that what happens when you're Taken?"

Uldren drummed the paper against his chin, taking in the maps, the pins and strings. "I've never met a Taken who was mentally stable. So, maybe. Was I ... all black and burning and such?"

"No, actually," Jayesh replied. "That's what was so frightening. You looked like a normal person, except for your eyes. And you could kind of dart around."

"What about my eyes?" Uldren asked, turning to him.

Jayesh looked at Uldren's glowing yellow irises. "The white parts were black. Sometimes the black would cover the irises, too. It was like ... maybe it only hijacked your free will sometimes?"

Uldren tossed the papers on the desk and frowned at the maps. After a moment, he said, "There must be degrees of Taken. Instead of eating my body, it ate my mind." He shrugged and shook his head. "Let's go. I'm not a fan of my past life."

They left the strange, messy little room and closed the secret door behind them. Uldren was deep in thought, and said nothing as Jayesh led them back to the hall where the Taken appeared. They loitered there, among the carved arches and glimmering crystal lights. Jayesh ran a hand along a polished column, gazing into the faceted depths of the crystal that composed it. Uldren was similar to this column - there was more and more to him the closer they looked. By contrast, Jayesh felt like the marble bench nearby. There was no depth to its streaked white surface - only a shallow pattern that pleased the eye at first glance, but was quickly ignored in favor of the surrounding grandeur.

But then, Awoken were like that, and Jayesh was only human. At least his past didn't conceal a madman and a murderer - hopefully. He'd rather not find out, either.

Taken boiled out of the wall, shrieking and burning. Uldren and Jayesh scanned them for humans - none - then killed them.

As the last Taken swirled into nothing, Uldren blurted, "Is that why I can't use my Light? Because of the things I did?"

Jayesh walked with him back outside. "I doubt it. It takes training, and you only just resurrected. You'll get it."

Uldren held out a hand and summoned his ghost. "Pork, you should have left me dead."

The dark pink ghost looked up at him. "Don't say that, Guardian. No one is perfect. All people have Darkness in their pasts of some kind or other. But you have been chosen by the Light."

Uldren nodded and patted his ghost. "So you've told me." He lifted him into position at his shoulder. "No wonder Madrid hates my guts. He must have watched me kill people."

Like Cayde, Jayesh thought, but didn't say it.

The sun was nearing the western horizon as they stepped back outside. Jayesh waved away a few black motes that swirled around his face. "I spend the nights in the Dasa compound in Reefedge. Want to come?"

"Better than sleeping on the ground," Uldren replied. "The Dasa clan actually let you in? How did you manage that?"

Jayesh explained about how the head Dasa was a Guardian.

Uldren listened with growing astonishment. "No kidding! I remember the Dasas as a crime family. You didn't mess with them or their money, and they owned everything. Served them right, being Taken."

"Does anyone truly deserve that?" Jayesh asked.

Uldren opened his mouth, then exhaled and shook his head. "I don't know. I'm the last person to ask. But I remember Lord Dasa, and he was a snake. Smooth, oily, and incredibly venomous."

"The new Lord Dasa is a Hunter named Ferral," Jayesh said. "And he's a fish out of water."

Uldren laughed. "All the animal metaphors. I get it, though. Is he one of the Guardians who remember my past life and so on?"

"I don't know. Keep your hood up, just in case."


Madrid had had enough of the Dreaming City. He had returned to Reefedge, himself, and treated himself to a hot dinner in the Dasa compound's mess hall.

It wasn't as big as the Tower's cafeteria, but it was a decent-sized room, black marble floor, white walls, with tall windows admitting the sunset light. Other Guardians were scattered here and there about the tables, talking, consulting ghosts, or reading tablets. It was such a tame scene after the weirdness and stress of the Dreaming City, Madrid let himself relax. He could almost ignore the first of the four lights glowing on his arm band.

"Rose?" he thought.

"There's people in here," she whispered. "They might see me."

"Rosie, nobody is looking at us. They won't notice."

After a moment, his ghost appeared in a fizzle of Light, her rose petal shell gleaming. She looked around nervously, then up at him. "Hello, love."

Her simple, familiar greeting poked his heart. It had been so long since he had given her basic maintenance, let alone built her a new shell. He'd make sure to polish her up tonight, so she'd be the beautiful ghost she deserved to be.

"Hello, Rose," he said softly. "Are you all right?"

She twirled her shell segments. "I've been worse. Jayesh has a way of bringing out your humanity."

"Jayesh does that to everyone around him," Madrid replied with a wry smile.

Neither of them mentioned Uldren. They never did.

Madrid's smile vanished, and he sighed. "Another week, then I can see Wren again."

"What will you do when the curse breaks?" Rose said. "She'll be dead forever."

"The curse had better break before she dies," Madrid said. "That's all."

Rose looked into his eyes. "I'd save her for you, if I could."

He smiled. "You would?"

"Yes. She would be so good for you. But the voices always whisper things. When Jayesh was trying to heal her, they laughed. I don't like them."

Madrid sobered. "You still hear them?"

She turned in a slow circle, scanning the mess hall. "Not now. Only inside the Dreaming City. It's the voices that hurt you. But they don't seem to care about you anymore. Or me. Or anyone. They talk to each other, not me. I overhear them."

He nodded. Inside, sudden fear gripped him. He hadn't realized how sensitive Rose had become to the ascendant beings in the other dimension. His brush with Riven had left its mark upon his gentle, caring ghost.

"Do you think I could save Wren from them?"

"Not like this," Rose said thoughtfully. "Not healing. That's the obvious thing, and they do things underhanded and tricky. Secrets. Always secrets. If we want to save her, it has to be a bigger secret than their secrets." She turned suddenly and gazed toward the doors. "Look who's here."

Madrid glanced over his shoulder. Jayesh and Uldren had just walked in, Uldren safely anonymous under a black cloak.

"Where did he get that, I wonder," Madrid muttered.

"That cloak has something wrong with it," Rose remarked, turning to watch the two Guardians cross the hall. "I'm not sure what it is."

"Something wrong with it?" Madrid turned the other way to keep an eye on them.

As the two passed the tables, other Guardians looked up and went still and quiet. Uldren's face was concealed, but his royal armor was not. Guardians began to whisper to each other. Ghosts scanned him from a distance. They picked up his ghost's ID tag and reported excitedly to their Guardians.

"Better hide, Rose," Madrid said. "This might get ugly."

She disappeared, but said in his head, "He should have had his ghost mask his tag. New Guardians never think of that."

"Too late, now."

Other Guardians were getting up, gesturing to each other, forming a group. Seven Guardians followed Uldren and Jayesh, catching up to them at the far end of the room.

"Send an alert to Ferral," Madrid said, slowly drawing his scout rifle from its strap across his back. He slid out of his chair and stood watching, relaxed, cradling his rifle.

"Who are you?" one of the Guardians demanded.

Jayesh turned with a grin. "Oh, hello. I'm Guardian Jayesh."

"Not you. Him."

Uldren stood with his head bowed, hidden beneath his cloak's hood. He didn't answer.

Another Guardian said, "My ghost identified him as Uldren. How can that be? Are you really?"

Jayesh stepped forward, putting himself between the Guardians and his companion. "Come on, we're all friends, here. Does it matter who a Guardian was in their past life?"

"Yes," several of them said.

"No," Jayesh said. "This is a new Guardian with no memory. Understand? No memory."

"Hey you," another Guardian called. "Take off the hood. Show us who you are."

Uldren stirred, but Jayesh gestured for him not to respond. "Come on, guys," he said to the other Guardians. "It's a common name out here in the Reef, right? Probably every third kid is named after the prince."

"If he's not Uldren," said a Hunter, "then he's wearing his clothes. Come on, show your face."

"Wait-" Jayesh began.

Uldren straightened and threw back his hood.

There was a long silence. The gang of Guardians tensed, hands seeking weapons. Jayesh sighed and rolled his eyes skyward.

"My name is Uldren," the prince said to them. "If you have a problem with me, let's have it out."

At once, the Guardians drew their weapons. Whether by chance or design, all of them produced replicas of the Ace of Spades, Cayde-6's personal hand cannon. There had been a rapid trade in mods and replicas in the months following the Hunter Vanguard's fall, and not only Hunters carried the weapon.

Uldren drew his borrowed sidearm. But Jayesh summoned his Dawnblade, fire licking at his clothes, the outlines of wings appearing at his shoulders. "Don't," he said, brandishing his blade.

"Cayde wasn't your Vanguard, Warlock!" the Hunter yelled. "He was mine! And this sick bastard killed him! How dare you protect him?"

"Because he's a Guardian now," Jayesh said, his voice quiet and even. "He doesn't remember Cayde. Let's not fight each other over this."

"It's a bit late for that," Uldren said, aiming his sidearm through Jayesh's left wing.

Madrid raised his rifle, but he was too late. Hand cannons boomed. Jayesh's sword flashed, a wave of flame engulfing the nearest Hunter. People yelled.

The fight ended as quickly as it had begun. Every Guardian was down. For a moment, Madrid stood speechless, unable to tell what had happened.

Then Ferral stalked into the room, dressed in a black suit trimmed in scarlet. Three shimmering purple Void knives floated in the air before him. Three more had found their marks in the heads of the attacking Guardians.

Ferral surveyed the bodies for a moment. No ghosts had appeared - they were all hiding, afraid of what might happen next. Then Ferral rounded on Madrid. His knives whirled to aim at Madrid's face, tracking their master's focus. "What happened?"

Madrid tried not to stare at the knives. "Apparently Prince Uldren had a favorable interview with a ghost."

"A g-" Ferral scrutinized the bodies. He walked up and stood gazing down at them. Then he snapped his fingers. The knives vanished. "Uldren's ghost, get him up. Jayesh, too. The rest of you, don't raise your Guardians until those two are out of here. Understand?"

The frightened blue eyes of nine ghosts peeked out from under cloaks and backpacks. They all nodded.