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Morik sat on a Vex stone construct, looking out over the colorful acid lake. He was, for the moment, alone.
"I wish you could see," he said to no one in particular, "how far I've come."
"Your loss pained me far more greatly than I could ever imagine, and yet I had no time to mourn you. House of Light exists as it is because of you. I was cold, starved, and alone… And you came to my aid. To your eyes, an enemy, and one whose kind must have been the cause of so much pain to you already. And still you came to me."
Morik paused, thinking.
"I know many Guardians would have done what you did. I hold no illusions that you two alone would have shown me goodwill. I know you did only what you could. Perhaps, to others, you were not special. You were not noteworthy. But they do not know my story. They do not know how you taught me, sparingly at first, out of caution and respect, and more directly later. They do not know of our hunts together, nor our final quarry. They do not know how the thought of you and your kindness changed me. To others, perhaps, you were nothing. But to me, and perhaps me alone, your lives were brilliantly shining, a guiding light to me every moment."
Another pause.
"I suppose I am here, at this place the Tower calls The Shores of Time, because a part of me wishes my words could still reach you. Reach back, through time, to show my appreciation while I could. But I know that cannot be…"
He looked down at the cut on his left hand, still there, still appearing to leak ether.
"… Even if there are many wonderful and terrifying things no one can explain."
Morik stood, a faint wind causing his Mark to flutter. He still hadn't removed the black Warlock Bond from his arm, for Viksis. He looked at the Bond.
"Those who see me think I mourn only Viksis, I know. But I lost Enki as well… A side of him, at least. But they don't know that I still mourn you. I cannot be seen harkening back to-…"
He stopped himself.
"So far am I from my roots that even a word such as 'harken' escapes my mouth…"
He began again.
"I cannot be seen harkening back to your teachings or your words. I can tell your stories, certainly, for the times that call for them. But a Kell must be above certain things, including the constant squawking of dead ones' words. I use what you taught me, still, but no one knows what comes from you and what does not. Even so, unwittingly, House of Light will carry on thanks to your tolerance of an ineloquent, alien newcomer. Even now, indirectly, your deeds have opened the way for House of Light to bring new teachings to the Guardians."
He clenched a fist, Arc Light flashing over it.
"I have become the vessel of wonders of my own. Because you helped me, I helped Ramiks. And we helped Viksis. And they trained others as I trained Gravian. And together we built a House. With that House we defended our home. And with my Archons, I faced the howling Darkness."
Morik held up his cut hand, seeing his ship hovering high overhead between his fingers.
"And with you, and our seniors in Enki, Kaara, and Soren, and my Archons, Ramiks, Viksis, and Gravian, and all of House Light to drive me, I survived."
He closed his fist.
"And so I will carry on. I will bring the Light to those who wish to see it. I will clear the vision of those who must see it with new eyes. And I will smite-!" Lightning cracked as he spoke. "-Any weapon the Darkness raises against me!"
He relaxed, letting his arm fall to his side.
"This will be my first - and last - time to revisit you. So, please… Watch over me."
A/N: It has come to my attention that despite the popularity of this story (as compared ONLY to my own other submissions), the banner for this story has seen little extra traffic. If you enjoyed the story, PLEASE, head over to BrokenNoah's page on deviantArt and leave a comment or a favorite on the banner (named "Destiny - Fallen Captain"). He was generous enough to let me use the image, and it inspired Morik's early days at the Captain level.
That being said, this is probably the last you'll see of this story until whatever Bungie has planned for Fall emerges. I haven't played in months, to be honest, and I likely won't until the next expansion. If the new expansion is something I can work with, I'll try to plan another arc of the story to close it out and break 100k words. Again, a bit worried that no one's flamed me for this story yet, but I'm not complaining. I can only hope that means I've done well. The OTHER stats certainly point to that. If there IS a next time, I'll see you guys then. But, in case there ISN'T, I want to thank you for all your time, your support, and say that I hope you enjoyed your journey through one of my worlds.