Chapter III: Tenno

Absolution Arc


"…That name died out a long time ago," retorted Lightning, grinding her teeth and gripping the handle of her katana, Dawneater, angrily. The other sword, Dusk Repulsor, kept its edge pointed at the floor with a faint trace of the dark mist encasing the blade. A burning glow resonated in the symbols along the blades of the swords and energy that looked like sparks emerged from them. A result of Lightning channeling her frustration and anger into the swords.

"Impossible. The Tenno are─"

"Forgive me for asking, but who are the Tenno?" Silver asked, stepping up from the sidelines that he and his partners in the rescue of Spectre were. The three Vanguards looked at the Exo, taking in his confusion as well Rez and Reaper's. Zavala and Ikora looked at each other and then at the Speaker. As for the Speaker, he acknowledged their looks and nodded.

"Silver, there has been something we, as the Vanguard, have hidden from the Guardians for a long time." Ikora solemnly started, already feeling sorry for hiding a big secret to one of her best pupils.

"What are you saying, Ikora?"

Before Ikora could even formulate words, the Speaker spoke. "For seventy-three years, we hid something from the knowledge of the Guardians and kept it between Zavala, Ikora, and I. Cayde knows little of this, since he was only the Vanguard for the Hunters for four years. And it has involved what stands before us today."

"Have you looked at the shield and asked yourself, 'Were there always three classes? Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks?'?" Zavala added, glancing towards the shield. The shield that had the three classes' emblems emblazed on it into four equal sections. At the bottom right hand side of the shield, it was completely blank.

"Many would assume that there was only three, but there are others that think otherwise. And truthfully, they're right," explained Ikora, noting the emblem printed on her side of the table. Then she glanced over at the leader of the Ancient Vanguard's side, where there was the emblem of a dragon in front of an inferno and its wings spread towards the heavens. "There never was only three. A fourth was with us."

"And this is where Lightning, her friends, and her brother come in," said the Speaker, standing in Spectre's place at the table and examining the emblem. "I think it's time to let the Guardians know. Secrets cannot be hidden forever, Zavala; in time, they will be exposed."

"You are right, sir," Commander Zavala lifted his hand from the pistol grip of Fabian Strategy. "Rez, Silver-79, and Reaper. You three will be the first of the Guardians to know of this secret. Listen closely, because once this has been told to the other Guardians, who knows what will become of Spectre."

The three looked at each other, completely surprised of the Vanguards and the Speaker hiding something from the Guardians. This only peaked the Huntress's curiosity further, and intrigued the Exo the same way. Rez gulped at being involved in a conspiracy that was too dangerous to be in, and started to walk away. But not before Silver caught him by the cloak and pulled him back into line. The Nightstalker let out a defeated whine but that quickly changed when the Warlock's hand sparked with Arc energy. The majority of the trio nodded an affirmative. As if on cue, the room darkened like when the Vanguards were briefing about the Taken.

"Around the time of the Collapse, when we were all still trying to harness the powers from the Traveler to create our subclasses, us Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks were powerless to defend the City. All we had were our weapons. No Supers, no grenades, nothing," began Zavala grimly, the secrecy leaking out on his every word. "As the Titans were defending the Wall, Hunters going out into the wilderness of our worlds, and Warlocks in the Archives and on the battlefield when needed, who was there to defend the Traveler and the City when we all failed?"

"This is where the fourth class came into play. Among the three classes, there was a class that made their presence known no matter where they were. They were masters of the sword before all weapons, and the first to utilize the Light as a weapon," Ikora added in, and a holographic image appeared at the center of the desk. An emblem appeared before them, this one of a phoenix rising from an inferno and two swords that strongly resemble Spectre's Raze-Lighter crossing each other in an 'X' formation behind the immortal bird. "This class…became known as the Tenno. They made their name known across the system by everything they've done. Not just because they were the first to use the Light as a weapon, but also of many reasons. They fought unlike us and showed no mercy to the Darkness, as well as having more than three Subclasses. However, the Tenno never utilized firearms like us. They used weapons that would seem impractical in combat use, such as bows and arrows, bo staffs, tonfa, and kunai."

"Their methods and coordination among themselves and ourselves helped us defend the City and obtain our birthrights as Titans, Hunters, and Warlocks. In fact, the Tenno could be seen as the Traveler's true Guardians because of their ability to channel the Light to its fullest potential, despite the jealousy and hate they received from the other Guardian classes. At the time, they could be considered too powerful for their own good because of the immense potential they all had," Zavala stopped in his side of the tale, remembering everything. "…But that all changed one day. And thus, the reason why their emblem no longer resides in the shield."

The emblem at the center of the table started to morph, turning from the Tenno's emblem to a face of a human. Upon its appearance, Lightning had immediately recognized the face.

"The Vanguard for the Tenno, Trionus, had done the unthinkable. With some of his fellow Tenno, he ventured out into the abyss that was far from the Traveler's Light. And when they came back…"


"Trionus, just what were you thinking?!" A younger Zavala demanded, eyes burning with anger at the Tenno Vanguard.

The Tenno, well recognizable by their silver-white and gold coloring and armor modeled after ones used by Japanese samurai, had been respected─and hated─for a long time. And now, the leader of the Tenno and some of his disciples came back from a year-long expedition.

But something was obviously wrong.

For one, Trionus's armor had changed from a noble samurai's armor to one resembling a knight corrupted by the Darkness. Instead of the signature sode-jirushi on his right shoulder with the Tenno's emblem, a menacing cape that was torn and tattered replaced the sigil with a newer design. His katana, Dawnwaker, was no longer at his side and another one was sheathed across his back. Even his once proud steel-blue eyes had been replaced with gold, and so did his disciples' own.

"The Darkness is growing stronger, feeding off the Light…" calmly said the Tenno Vanguard, reaching for his new blade and resting a hand on the handle. He drew the blade slightly, exposing a black and red mist emerging from within the sheath. "The Guardians are next. So what choice do we have left?"

"No…"

"If we are to take on the Darkness, we Tenno must fight from within the Darkness. Embracing the Darkness is our only option. So forgive me, my old friend. The elite Tenno are no more, for we have disowned our birthright for a curse. No longer are my disciples and I Tenno, but we are from this day forth Dark Knights."


Zavala looked back at Lightning, who still harbored the same gold eyes his friend had when he returned from his expedition. It continued to bring memories, both bad and good, to the Titan Vanguard. "They created a new power from their year-long endeavor, an endeavor that was both an asset and a liability. Trionus and his disciples, the Eximus, they became Dark Knights; warriors of the Darkness that swore their allegiance to the Traveler. Soon enough, the Dark Knights' numbers grew, eventually evening out with the Tenno's. The Dark Knights may be considered as a fifth class, but they are only powerful Tenno."

"But, that doesn't explain why their emblem no longer resides on the shield. Nor are they no longer among the Tower."

"It wasn't long after Trionus's return to the Tower that things were starting to change," explained the Speaker, producing a knife from his robes and setting it down on the table. The blade was black and looked like a survival knife crossed with a folding knife's folding function, with red linings along the blade's edges and the same crimson emblem on Lightning's sword printed in the middle of the blade. Scattered across its surface was the familiar splatter of blood. In fact, it looked extremely similar to Spectre's own knife.

"Only three months into their return, and we've gotten reports of many Guardians being murdered on the battlefront and the Tower. Instantly, we pinned the blame on Trionus and his Dark Knights," Ikora added, crossing her arms and glancing at her disciple. "Even some eyewitness reports said that their murders were caused by the Dark Knights. This predates Dredgen Yor's betrayal and when he was killing other Guardians, and they had a reason. Dredgen didn't."

"When Trionus testified their actions, he said that he sensed that the Guardians he and his Dark Knights killed were going to turn against the Tower and the Traveler as a whole. In a way, they prevented a civil war. A civil war that could've divided the Guardians. However, we were foolish back then. Afraid, even."


"You cannot do this to us!" Trionus slammed his fist on the testimonial podium, anger flaring like a wildfire. "After everything we've done, from thinning the numbers during the Battle at Twilight Gap and helping our fellow Guardians unlock their potential, and this is how you repay us?!"

"I am sorry, Trionus. But you are posing too much of a threat to us. Your uncalled-for murders of over several hundred Guardians, including the Titan and Hunter Vanguards, is both a violation of the Consensus and as a Vanguard of both the Tenno and the Dark Knights!" the Speaker announced, standing in the judge's stand. "I know that you helped your fellow Guardians receive their birthrights from the Traveler's Light, but this chain of events starting from your disciples' ramblings of harnessing the Darkness to your expedition that created the Dark Knights proves how mad you are! Ever since you came back from your expedition, you and your Dark Knights showed signs of corruption and giving in to your 'curse'. We warned you that trying to accept the Darkness came with a price, yet you failed to listen."

"But the Light only fuels the Darkness's hunger!"

"And you are feeding the Darkness with the Guardians' Light! We know that their Light is gone, and your Dark Knights know how to take it. And as punishment for your crimes against the Guardians and the Traveler, you, Tenno and Dark Knight Vanguard Trionus, are hereby sentenced to exile from both the City and the Tower along with the Tenno and the Dark Knights. This court is now adjourned." The Speaker slammed the mallet, nailing the coffin for the Tenno Vanguard and his class.

Trionus dared to lash out at the Speaker, but two Titans restrained the Vanguard and held him down by the arms. He thrashed about to free himself, but their grip was too much for the Vanguard. The two Titans started to drag him out of the courtroom.

"This isn't over, Speaker! Mark my words; we will return! The Tenno and Dark Knights will return, and you will pay for this! The Tower will pay for this!"


"After that, they were all exiled from the Tower. Yet, his last words still haunt us. We don't even know if the Tenno and Dark Knights exist to this day. And thus, Trionus became known as the Disgraced One because of that."

"Until now. Because of Spectre and his sister. They still exist."

"…But not everything is true. The Tenno are no more," explained Lightning before a sphere of Darkness enveloped around her. A bright light emitted from the sphere, forcing the ones within proximity to the 'Titaness' to shield their eyes.

Once the light subsided, the Guardians of the Light lowered their arms. Instead of her Trials of Osiris gear, Lightning was in an evil knight's armor that reminded both Zavala and the Speaker of Trionus. From the tattered cape to the overall menacing armor, it bore the striking resemblance. Her swords were sheathed in an 'X' pattern, below the cape but with an easy access to draw and sheath. As if she had authority over everyone in the room, she crossed her arms and allowed her wolf spirit, Athena, to manifest. It howled towards the heavens, its call of longing and pain.

After Athena had finished howling, it lowered its head and allowing its master to pet it. "I will introduce myself. I am Lightning, twin sister of Spectre, Royal Knight of Her Grace Mara Sov, and Dark Knight classified under the Nova subclass. And my father is the Disgraced One, Trionus."

As soon as Lightning completed her introduction, the two veteran Vanguards were stunned at the revelation.

"No…!"

"But that's impossible! He was confirmed dead sixty years ago!"

Like her brother, Lightning only scoffed at the false information. "My father died seventy-three years ago. Everything you heard about his death after our exile was fabricated, to throw any sympathizers off us," Athena, still being petted by its master, growled contently and scaring the Nightstalker straight out of his skin once its deathly gaze glanced at the three. "You had your share of secrets. It's only fair if I did the same."

"Not long after our exile, a feeling of distrust and hatred sparked between the Tenno and the Dark Knights. It wasn't long until war broke out between us. Light versus Darkness, samurai versus knights, primitive weapons versus the efficient. Of course, we kept our war below the radar and out of the Tower's attention. Unlike the Tenno, the Dark Knights abandoned the Tenno's beliefs of using primitive weapons and focused on energy-based weaponry whilst keeping the tradition of using melee weapons. As Dark Knights, we predated Omolon in energy weapons but didn't stop with firearms. Soon enough, some of our melee weapons were integrated with the technology."

"And the Dark Knights didn't stop with the weapons." Artemis said, hovering over Lightning's shoulder. "I'm not really a Ghost myself." And to prove herself, the main orb of the Ghost opened up to reveal Lightning's crystal inside. However, it was glowing in a black and red shine. Soon enough, a holographic cube projected itself in front of the shell with red radio-like waves at the center of the cube. "I am an artificial intelligence, designated as Dark Knight Artificial Intelligence, model 'CIA'. You may call me Artemis if you wish."

"I'm the same as CIA. My designation is Dark Knight Artificial Intelligence, model 'MI6'. As you can already tell, Artemis and I are named after the intelligence agencies of the American and British empires prior to humanity discovering the Traveler." Primus added, revealing the same crystal within his shell and his true form. Unlike Artemis, Primus had navy blue radio wave lengths in his holographic cube. "We used the shells of dead Ghosts as our own to blend in with you Guardians. And with the Animas Crystal, a crystal that revives fallen Dark Knights from the brink of death, we AIs made sure that our partners didn't die in the field."

"The civil war between Tenno and Dark Knight raged on for the next twenty-seven years after our exile until a surprise attack was used on the Tenno when their guard was down. Ultimately, the Dark Knights won and the Tenno perished by a mass slaughtering. However, it was then that our father was executed by his own elite and disciples. They wanted to ensure that his power was never to be used in an act of blind vengeance against the Tower. And he agreed that he needed to be put down. Not out of his loss of purpose, but of the terrible power he carried as the first Dark Knight. But what they didn't know was that father had a wife bearing his children. And thus, was the origin of my brother and I."

"But I sense the Tenno within you, daughter of Trionus. They are not completely gone," said the Speaker. He rested a hand on the Dark Knight's shoulder. "I suppose it may be because of your mother. Lotus was a fine Warlock, until she gave up the path for a Tenno's."

"How did you know who my mother was?"

The Voice of the Traveler smiled. "You take more after your mother. Her strength, sense of doing the right thing, and her love for her friends and family. No one else has those exact same qualities but your mother. But above all else, she dedicated herself for what really matters to her. You should be proud of having such a wonderful mother and a brother that cares for his allies─both friends and trainees─and family," he picked up the knife that belonged to Trionus and gently handed it to her like an old man handing their grandchildren a treasured belonging. "Take this. So that you may remember your father and help carry on his legacy with your brother and friends. I knew Trionus well, and he would never do such terrible acts like what he and his Dark Knights did to us that caused so much despair."

Inside, the daughter of the Disgraced One started to tear up. For all of her life, training under the Cyphers to carry out the Absolution Directive, she was never praised like this. Memories of the years she shared with her brother and mother sparked in her mind, and their mother praising them at a good job made her feel nostalgic and happy. When her mother praised her, she was given a kiss on the forehead and her hair stroked lovingly. She wanted to toughen up, but the fact that she was much like her mother prevented her from it. Her eyes watered, but like before, the tears never fell from her eyes.

"So you are saying…?"

The Speaker shook his head, and looked at Lightning. "Only time will tell if your people can return home, so that their anger will be quelled for good. But for now, you, your brother, and your friends are welcome to stay here among us in the Tower. I know your brother has good intentions, and that proves that you too can be trusted. That was why I allowed him to start the Ancient Vanguard and his spot here in the Hall of Guardians. His desire to change everything kept him going, even in the grimmest of situations."

"Thank you, Speaker. And thank you too, Zavala," Lightning said, turning her head to face Zavala. The Titan Vanguard faintly smiled before nodding in respect. Ikora did the same, but her lips produced a more warming smile than her Awoken Vanguard counterpart.

"Zavala, Ikora, activate all communication channels in thirty minutes. It's time to let all of the Guardians across the Solar System know of our secret."

"Sir."

"Sir."

-Destiny-

"How is he, 20?" Lightning stood at the Traveler's Walk, arms on the railing and letting the morning breeze run through her flaxen and crimson colored hair. Artemis hovered over her side, showing a hologram of the Exo medic from Fireteam Dragon. He couldn't see her in her Dark Knight form, but she can see him normally. She was allowed to leave the Hall of Guardians after that ordeal, and truthfully, it wasn't as bad as she thought.

"…I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, Lightning. Spectre's constantly in a stable-critical state. One minute he's stable, the next he's starting to enter cardiac arrest," responded 20/20, the look grim on his damaged face. The Dark Knight felt sorry for the Exo, especially after what he went through from being thrown around. "His wounds and injuries are life-threatening. He has a broken collar bone, multiple stab wounds all over his body, fractured and broken bones…the list goes on. He lost a lot of blood, so who knows if he'll make it."

"Is that all?"

"No. There's some kind of poison in his bloodstream and it's preventing him from healing. It's not lethal at all; just slowing down the process. His healing factor's impressive, but the poison's brought it to a crawling slow. I can estimate that his stab wounds will recover in two weeks or so with the poison in his bloodstream, but his bones are gonna take longer. Most likely months."

Lightning glanced at the rising sun, taking in the warmth of the light. Calmly, she took a deep breath. She knew where the poison came from. Her mentors and fellow Dark Knights extracted it from a plant that grew in their territory, and it provided the same effect of slowing any healing process or factor significantly. Spectre's knife contained the poison and was constantly coated in it due to the sheath for it carrying the poison.

"Other than those wounds he suffered from his torture, he's in a stable condition in the medical bay right now. Wish I could say his consciousness was."

"Why? What's happened?"

"Spectre's…in a comatose state. Been like that since you found him on the Dreadnaught. Wish I knew when he'll snap out of it," Lightning heard someone calling his name, followed by a roar that sounded eerily like a dragon. "I'll give you the full medical details soon. My team needs me."

"I'll talk with you later." Artemis cut the comms line between the two, and Lightning resumed watching the sun rising in the distance. Her cape fluttered about gracefully in the wind, the emblem that her mother wore emblazed on the back in a red coloring shining in the dim light of day.

A soft growl was next to her, and the Dark Knight turned her head. Athena was at her side, head against her armored leg and letting out a low growl. Smiling, she knelt down and started scratching the back of the ghostly familiar's ears with her gauntleted hand. Once again, the wolf familiar let out a content whine and looking at its master's eyes.

"I know, Athena. We're probably gonna get an earful from the Cyphers if we get back. But you want to know something?" the familiar perked its ears up and started to pant, whining in a curious tone as well as tilting its head to the side. "I don't give a damn. The Cyphers might as well exile me from my people for all I care, but all that matters is Nero. I just pray to the Traveler he'll make it through and get back into the fight."


'Your time is coming, my child. The preparations must be done, so that you may join the fight.'

Many shards were scattered across the plain in all directions. Some were just hovering above the ground, and others were suspended midair.

The millions of shards moved towards the center shard like water in a funnel. When two or more shards were close to each other, a faint spark of light would emerge from them and combine as one. It wasn't long until all the shards and pieces to become one. A sphere of Light and Darkness.

"I will be fine," the sphere said, its young voice confident and afraid. "You spent time with me to prepare myself. So that I can help them when the Taken surround them. I swear I will not let that training be in vain." As the sphere spoke, it started to stretch and expand into a cocoon-like form, the form having no signs of struggling to hold together.

'Even if my training prepared you, you must remember that survival is your only option. If you find yourself in a situation you can't handle, don't be ashamed to run.'

The cocoon started to faintly shine with Light, its glow like a heartbeat.

"I understand. I will not let them lay a hand on them."

'…You are ready. But for now, wait. You may be ready in combat, but your form is not yet. Rest, my child.'

Even in the dark abyss, the pulsing Light continued to shine on the cocoon. A tiny form was inside in a fetal position, and a symbol on the cocoon revealed itself. A symbol of the Fourth Class emblazoned on the black cocoon.


AN─ Damn, this one just took a long time to write up.

Prophet: You got that right. I was getting impatient.

Me: So there we have it. The Fourth Class was revealed, and the secrets kept between Zavala, Ikora, and the Speaker are here. See? I told you to have patience, Little Light.

Prophet: You're just trying to push your luck with that nickname, aren't you?

Me: Not really. Besides, I rarely call you that, Prophet. As for the concept for the Tenno and Dark Knight, it came to my attention when I saw the shield containing the Titan, Hunter, and Warlock emblems but a quarter of it is blank in the game. And that little detail is what made me create the class that Spectre, Cloud, Leon, Vesper, Aqua, and Lightning belong to. In fact, I pondered on the concept in November before I wrote Destiny: Skyfall. I didn't have an official name for it until I stuck with 'Tenno', in homage to the Tenno from the game Warframe.

Prophet: Yeah, and that was before you decided to have a twist on the new class of Guardians.

Me: Hence the Dark Knights using the Darkness as their power instead of the Light. So I don't know when I'll have II-IV posted, but it'll come when it comes to me (praying that no more distractions happen, of course). When it comes to the Tenno and Dark Knights, their armor is modeled after the samurai and evil knight armors respectively, but given a Destiny feeling and their class armors are sode-jirushi (basically a cloth with an emblem or sigil sewn on it and worn on the arm much like a Warlock's Bond) and for Dark Knights, they wear a cape (condition of cape from clean to torn and tattered signifies their rank) with an emblem or sigil printed on the side facing outward. Also, to clarify the chronological history of the Tenno, they were exiled a hundred years prior to Year 2, and the following twenty-seven years went to the Tenno-Dark Knight War, which ended in the Tenno's extinction, Trionus's execution, and both Spectre/Nero and Lightning to be born. Until then, stay strong and keep up the fight, Guardians!