Matt woke up, for the second time that day.
He checked out his surroundings. He was still in the cockpit of the Arcadia ship. He watched stormy clouds fly past the plexiglass windows, disappearing as quickly as they came into view. From the color of the sky around the ship, he guessed that night had descended on the planet, meaning it'd been a few hours since he and Seraph had taken off in flight from the Cosmodrome.
"About time you woke up," he heard the familiar feminine voice say from somewhere above his head. Looking upwards, he saw her materialize in the air and stare back down at him. "I thought that it wouldn't take too long to reach the city," he said, trying to avoid a tone of accusation.
"Originally, I thought so," she replied, "but then I realized this ship doesn't have any warp drive. We've been having to fly at normal speed for a while. Though with the condition this old hunk of junk is in, I'd imagine it wouldn't have been a good idea for us to warp anyway." Her eye tracked around the interior, as though it was repulsed by the ship's poor condition. Then she focused back on him.
"Speaking of this ship, how did you know it was an Arcadia class?" She zoomed down in front of his face, her polygonal segments twitching slightly. "Arcadia class Jumpships haven't been around since the very beginning of the Golden Age. After that, all records show they were replaced with better, more technologically advanced vessels." She seemed curious about something. "How old are you?"
Matt thought about the question seriously. "Well, I know I was alive in the time of the Mars discovery. I was young, maybe eight or nine? Anyway, the year then was 2037." He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to focus on his memories. "It was the biggest event in humanity's history, finding not just simple alien life, but the being that we dubbed the Traveler. It followed the expedition team back to Earth, and sparked a wealth of technological advances. Medical science came up with new cures every day, our estimated lifespan tripled from the Traveler exposing us to some pure form of energy and preserving our physical bodies, I remember people calling it-" "Light," Seraph interrupted, "it is called light." He stared at her for a moment, and then shrugged and continued on with his story.
"Anyway, that's about it. All of our technology became incredibly advanced from studying the Traveler, but that's all I know. It was in my lifetime over a decade before I bit the dust to those car-jackers." He studied his body, still marveling at how the young Ghost beside him had managed to regenerate his entire body. "That would make me around nineteen or twenty years old." Seraph's eye flashed. "You don't know how old you are?" "Well I've got most of my big memories, the obvious ones. But specifics are a bit fuzzy. I can't remember my exact birthdate, but I can do basic math from the amount of years that passed in my life."
Seraph began to fly around the cabin of the ship. "I can't believe…from before the Golden Age…! It's a miracle that I was even able to revive you, so much time has passed." "Wait," he started, "how much time has passed, exactly?" Seraph looked at him, and though he couldn't accurately read emotions from her, she seemed sympathetic in her voice. "You'd have to ask the Speaker for a more accurate answer, but it's been at least a few centuries. The Golden Age lasted for around three centuries according to our records, but you were from right before the Golden Age, and after the Golden Age came the Collapse, an extremely long period of darkness and despair, we still don't have proper records of it. I guess I'm trying to tell you that, it's been a very long time."
He felt as though he'd been punched in the gut. Three centuries at least, plus a period of time that Seraph didn't even know how long it had existed for. He breathed in and out a few times, a calming technique he'd learned from- somewhere, he couldn't remember exactly. After his breathing became regular again, he sat up in his chair, and gazed over at Seraph.
"Obviously, I'm not getting any part of my old life back. That's a given. So I guess my only option is to become a Guardian, like you said. That's still an option, right?" Seraph nodded vigorously in the air. "Oh yes. With the amount of light you have within you, it'd be foolish of the Vanguards not to make a Guardian out of you." He smiled. "And you'll be my partner?" "More or less," she replied. "I will assist you on all of your journey. It would be my honor to be your Ghost." "Great, it'd be fun to have you around," he said, turning back to the viewing glass, "so long as you're not messing up and triggering alarms and whatnot."
Without warning, the clouds cleared. Though the night made the sky a dark indigo all around, there were spots of light, all clustered together that he could see on the ground. And they illuminated something…
"Welcome to the Last City, Matt." Seraph piloted the ship closer towards the group of lights, and Matt saw clearly that it was a city, of massive scale. It stretched for a few miles at least, and all of the lights from the city shone up at the sky, and illuminated the underside of the pearl white orb that hovered over it all. "The Traveler's still around?" he asked incredulously, believing the large sphere would have moved on by now. "Yes, surprisingly." He could see long black marks and scars along the bottom, evidence of a brutal attack. It looked like a predator had clawed the underside away, ripping away large chunk and pieces, and leaving it scratched up. It made him wonder what had happened to it. He didn't remember any kind of attack on the Traveler in his time, so it must have happened during the Collapse that Seraph had talked about. He'd have to ask the person she'd mentioned before, the Speaker, about it.
The ship flew closer and closer until it came to an immensely large structure, a tower that stood high above the rest of the city. "What is that?" "That's the Tower," came the reply. "It's where the Guardians live." "Couldn't have come up with a more artistic name than 'tower'?" he muttered. The Jumpship flew past the tower, and then began to turn in a 180 degree maneuver. It hovered closer to the tower until it floated around thirty feet above the tiled roof. Suddenly he saw the same blue gird lights flash around his body as Seraph began to teleport him. The next thing he felt was his feet hitting the marble ground, and as the lights cleared and Jumpship flew off, he saw a courtyard of sorts. Other people wandered around the area, some with strange armor, some with robes. Some had their helmets off and he saw even stranger sights, human like people with blue or purple skin, and vibrant, colorful glowing eyes. Robotic beings walking and talking as people did. They almost seemed like something similar from his past, but he delayed trying to remember. He wanted to enjoy what he was seeing. "Like what you see?" Seraph had materialized just above and forward of his right shoulder. "It's incredible," he breathed, in awe and appreciation of the architectural miracle before him.
"Come on," she said. She flew a few feet towards a staircase on the left, that led up to a a balcony with several doorways leading into the side of the tower. "You can rest a few hours in a spare room here. There's always a few empty dorms in the case of new Guardians without any living quarters. Tomorrow morning, we'll talk to the Vanguards." He followed behind her at a leisurely pace. "Why do we need to talk to these… Vanguard people?" "Well, believe it or not, you're the first person, human or awoken wise, that's been revived in nearly nine years. Many thought that all revivable souls had either been brought back already, or had deteriorated to the point of being unrevivable with time wasting away the souls' light." She spun around to face him, still floating backwards as she did so. "But here you are! I had hoped I'd be the one to perform the next revival. Most Ghosts do, and they usually have a trip or two of attempting to find someone before returning to the city and choosing from amongst the city's volunteers." He walked up the stairs as she spoke, and arrived on top of the balcony. "In addition to that, you're from before the Golden Age, meaning that perhaps you can shed some knowledge of what happened before the Collapse to the Vanguards and the Speaker. They're always trying to find out more information, and you are a very valuable source."
Entering a doorway on the balcony, Matt walked down a hallway until Seraph selected a room at random. He gripped the handle, and pushed the door open. The interior of the room was simple, almost spartan like. There was no real decor, just plain white walls, two separate beds, and a bathroom. He supposed they were attempting to fashion basic quarters, and cut down on storage. "Sorry, about the living space," his Ghost friend apologized, "but I figured that you just needed a quick rest. After we talk to the Vanguards, you can find a permanent living space on one of the tower's lower floors." "Don't worry about it," he said, "this is fine. I just need a good nap…" He repeated the statement in his mind, and chuckled a moment. "Funny, you'd think I wouldn't sleep again after having slept a few centuries." Without another word, he walked over to the far bed, and sat down on the blankets. He removed his helmet, and set it on the ground next to the bed. He moved into a lying down position, and passed out as soon as his eyes closed.
Seraph watched him as he slept, and felt happy. Not only had she had the best luck in finding a Guardian partner to revive, but he could be an amazing potential bank of knowledge for the city to more know about their ancestors. She felt happy, and considered her day a success. She settled down on a nightstand next to the bed, and prepared to deactivate for the night, eager to get to work tomorrow.
-X-
"Okay, how about Blue?" "For what? How does that make any sense?" "Your eyes, they're blue. I'm just shooting off suggestions here."
The Exo rolled her aforementioned eyes to the best of her capability. The Ghost's conversation with her for the last fifteen miles to the Tower in the City had consisted of him attempting to come up with a name for her. She was secretly thinking of what she would eventually call him, but at least she didn't voice every suggestion aloud. She now stood in an elevator that had been ascending the tower for nearly five minutes, with her Ghost zipping about the enclosed space. She hoped the journey was worth it.
"Okay, I can see you don't like that… hmmm." The single-eyed machine floated in the air, as though pondering. "Well, you were brought back from the dead. How about Phoenix? They're mythical birds that were reborn from their ashes every time that they died." She just stared at him, with a metallic eyebrow cocked. "Really? I'm not going to take the name of a magic chicken." She looked away, until she had an idea. "But hey, reborn from the ashes… Ash doesn't sound too bad." She turned to gaze back at the Ghost. "How's that? You think that's any good?" The Ghost bobbed up and down in the air, the equivalent of a nod. "Oh yes, I like that a lot. I knew I was bound to help you come up with something. Smart as a whip, they call me." "Really?" She grinned at her enthusiastic savior. "Well then that's what I will name you. Whip. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" He spun in a circular loop, obviously excited about the progress. She laughed. "Alright then, Ash and Whip it is. An Exo and a Ghost, ready to take on the world."
As if on cue, the elevator stopped, and opened its doors. In front of them was a hallway. Turning to the left, she could see a glass door that led outside, to a balcony. She walked over and pushed the door outward.
After she'd stepped into the night's breeze, she began to take in the sight around her. Other people, ones that she presumed to be Guardians, bustled around the tower. Some laughed in the courtyard, enjoying small talk and reliving past experiences. She saw one woman raise her arms up and make a face, imitating an enemy she had fought. Turning her gaze she saw that there were quite a few serious Guardians as well, people who walked from mission to mission, their features stony and hard. She didn't yet understand what could change the laughing ones so drastically into the solemn faces she saw, but she guessed that being a Guardian wasn't all fun and exploration as her Ghost had made it out to be.
Whip hovered over her shoulder as she looked at a staircase that descended into a lower level. "That's the Hall of Guardians. It's where the Vanguards usually reside, planning every move of this war." She looked at him curiously. "Who are the Vanguards?" He emitted a soft beep, as though he were embarrassed. "That's right, I forgot to tell you! Well see, there are three classes of Guardians, Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans."
This was all new information to her. "Really? What's the difference?" "Quite large, actually," said her robot companion. She could tell he was trying to not sound condescending or frustrated. "Hunters are kind of rogue-like individuals. They track down their enemies and kill without mercy. Not to say all Hunters are heartless…" Whip looked down at the courtyard. "…But all of them are scary for sure."
"Warlocks are scholars first, soldiers second. They study the light's properties for years, and are able to harness and channel the light through their bodies with their mind. It's quite complicated to explain, but they are, in layman's terms, wizards. They conjure the power of the Traveler as though they were spells."
"And the last?" she asked. "Titans are kind of like the official soldiers of the Traveler, its defenders of the light. They watch over the city and its people, defiant to the end. If Hunters cut through enemies like scalpels, then it could be said that Titans bash through theirs like a hammer." Ash liked the sound of that, demolishing enemies with pure force.
"In any matter, we'll talk with the Vanguards tomorrow morning. It's getting late, and though you may not need sleep the way a human would, deactivating for the night would definitely help with your awareness tomorrow. You've had an eventful day." Nodding her head, Ash followed Whip back into the doorway, and down the corridor. He stopped next to a room, and she held onto the handle, swinging it open.
The first thing she noticed when she entered were the two beds, and one of them was already occupied. A human male was lying down on the far bed, wearing a skintight black undersuit, with basic padded armor on his torso, arms, and legs. His hair was somewhat short, darkish brown, and his skin was a very light, tannish color. She looked down at her own body, made of metal and circuitry. The Ghost had done a good job of getting rid of most of the rust, but she would still need a cleaning tomorrow, assuming they were available in the tower. She walked around the closer bed, and felt her foot hit something. Looking down, she saw that she'd bumped the guy's helmet. She stepped around it, careful not to make any noise, and laid down on the unoccupied bed. Turning her head to the left, she saw Whip fly onto the nightstand, next to another Ghost, presumably the guy's. She watched Whip's light fade out from its usual blue glow, and a small automatic window closed over the eye, much like an eyelid shutting. Pulling the blankets over her form, she began to go into standby mode. She shut down her optic receptors, and waited for her mechanical mind to cease its thought process. Slowly, she felt herself slip away into peaceful darkness.
-X-
Aria slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight shining through her window and onto her face where she lay on her bed was blinding, and she resisted the urge to shut her eyes again. Turning her head away from the window, her vision adjusted to the bright environment. What time was it? There was something she needed to do…
With a gasp, she sat up in bed. She looked over at her alarm clock which should have gone off-
Her alarm clock was missing.
Swearing, she made the connection that her mother must have taken the damn thing in order to make her late for her evaluation. Luckily she still had her wrist interface. Raising it up to her face, she saw that it was nearly ten in the morning. With another expletive, she flew out of her bed and pulled her clothing off, hurrying to dress properly for the test. After she'd found suitable garments in her dresser, a pair of black pants and a short blue coat, she quickly pulled them over her nude form. She was dressed in record time, eager to make sure that she made it to the tower entrance before her scheduled appointment at ten thirty.
She ran down the staircase, her feet moving as fast as she could get them to. Her father, cleaning up the dining table downstair, gave her a bewildered look. "Where've you been? I thought you had your Guardian evaluation today-" 'Well," she interrupted as she made it to the bottom step and began to pass him on her way to the door, "I wouldn't be late if someone hadn't stolen my alarm to sabotage me!" She saw him quickly glare at her mother, who was now trying very hard to not look into her husband's gaze, and avoid looking suspicious simultaneously. Aria ran out the door before the argument could happen, and sprinted down the cobbled street towards the tower.
A morning mist was creeping its way through the alleyways, creating a beautiful scene between sun and fog, and she noticed how she would have taken better appreciation of it had she not been in such a rush. The narrow urban pathways and roads along with the compact buildings adorning the sides reminded her of several places she'd read about in history books, notably of ancient cities with names like Israel, and Jerusalem. Makeshift roofs made of cloth and fabric were strung from rooftops across the street, to provide moderate cover from the weather for pedestrians. She loved the look of it in her own way, and she had spent many days as a child running through the alleyways, navigating around the environment as she'd climbed walls, and buildings to reach her destinations. Today was a day for speed, however, and she was forced to take the straightforward street of cobblestone. It ran directly to the tower in the case that some kind of hazard were to become harmful to those living in the city, and a safe haven needed to be established.
Even at her fast pace, she made it to to the Tower with only three minutes left until her meeting. She stopped at the entryway and began to gasp for air, trying to force oxygen into her lungs. She was still panting and attempting not to retch, when she heard a synthetic voice to her right exclaim, "Oh! Are you alright?" Ceasing her recover for a moment, she looked up to see a Ghost hovering above her, looking down at her embarrassing situation. Trying not to blanch, she stood straight up into a professional stance, and fixed her hair back behind her and to the side. "Yes, I'm quite alright thank you." "Well I'm glad to hear that," said the Ghost, "wouldn't want you getting sick right here at the entrance would we?" It flew around her head a moment, and then stopped in front of her, facing her once more. "I'm looking for a possible Guardian recruit, named Aria Sorentine? Are you her?" At the Ghost's question, Aria realized that the Ghost was the one she was supposed to be meeting with for her light evaluation, and her cheeks grew pink from the thought of the one in charge of her potential career seeing her in such a bad shape. "Y- yes, that's me. I apologize for nearly being late, but I had a, umm…" She searched for the proper word. "…domestic dispute."
The Ghost rotated both of its four pointed segments, twirling in the air, as though it were analyzing her, deeming whether or not she was a worthy candidate.
"It's no trouble at all, really. Protocol stated you needed to be here by ten thirty, and you are here, are you not?" She assumed this was the Ghost's way of giving her an out. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She gave the Ghost a smile of humility, and waited to see what it would do. It continued to rotate and twitch until it said, "Come, let's head up to the roof of the Tower. The Vanguards prefer to see the assessments firsthand." Aria almost let her jaw drop out of shock, she'd had no idea that she'd be meeting with the Vanguards! Quickly, she could feel her confidence slipping away. Who was she to be judged amonst them, the mightiest Guardians shone upon by the Traveler's light?
The Ghost looked at her curiously. "Are you sure you're alright? You look a bit off balance, if I may say." Though she now felt unprepared, Aria wasn't going to give up her chance to become a Guardian. "Yes, I said I'm fine. Shall we go?"
Her evaluator gave her an odd look, and then floated towards the entrance, waiting for her to enter one of several doors. She selected one, pulled it ajar, and entered the lobby, the Ghost trailing behind her.
The lobby of the tower was not a foreign place to her, as she had accompanied her father her many times as a child when he had business endeavors to attend to. Her father worked with several groups of the city's militia, constantly looking for cracks in the security around the city. It wasn't terribly dangerous, but she did remember becoming frightened as a child that some Fallen Vandal would find them as they worked in the city boundaries, and end him. In any matter, her father had always reported here to the tower when he found something undesirable in the city's defenses. She spied a Frame, one of the many robotic assistants in the City, working as a receptionist at the main counter in the back of the lobby. Frames were robotic and metal-made, like Exos, but unlike Exos they weren't really people. Frames were more like droids, with programmed personalities and behaviors, versus the Exos who had souls, and could actually feel emotion. How anyone had created living machines that could experience emotion, Aria had no clue, but those were the Traveler's miracles she supposed.
Walking towards the counter, she flagged the attention of the Frame. "Hello!" It turned to face her, and greeted her. "Greetings, I am Reed-103. How may I serve you today?" It's voice was thick with electronic filters, but it sounded helpful enough. "I've got an appointment for a light evaluation, this Ghost says I need to find the Vanguards. Do you know where I need to go?"
"Why yes," replied the Frame, "Just down the main hall behind the counter here, there should be a series of elevators. Select one and take it to the roof. The Vanguards will be located in the Hall of Guardians." Finished helping Aria, Reed-103 turned back to the paperwork that he'd been attending to before she'd called his attention. Happy that she knew where she needed to go, she looked to the side of the counter's back wall, to see an opening, around the size of a doorway. Walking through, she saw that it opened into another lobby, filled with elevators down the sides. She guessed that since the tower was so tall, it probably took a while to reach floors, hence the need for many elevators, so that people weren't constantly waiting for one. These elevators looked sturdy, with glass doors on the front. Since the shafts they used were transparent for the most parts, there were patches of the shaft that you could see out of, and gaze at the landscape, when other floors and various structure wasn't blocking the view. Choosing the first open one on her left, she hopped into the mechanism, and pressed a large button labeled "Top Floor". Apparently, people needed to go there often, and couldn't be bothered with looking for the specific floor amongst all the other possible levels.
The elevator doors shut, and the box began its ascent. It was much faster than other elevators, though that was to be expected with a structure of this height. Aria leaned against the side of the glass, and waited to reach the roof.
-X-
"Matt! Matt!" He heard Seraph's voice whispering to him from the depths of sleep. Groggily, he opened his eyes.
She was hovering over him, and had obviously been waiting for him to wake up. "I think we should go, we're not exactly alone in this room." Wondering what she was talking about, he turned to look at the other bed. The aforementioned bed, which had been perfectly unoccupied the night before, now contained one of the metallic humanoids he'd seen on the Tower when he first arrived. "What are those things, Seraph?" She turned to look at him. "Those things are Exos, and they have feelings. Just as much as any other living being." He felt his heart pound in his chest. "That's an Exo?!" he asked incredulously. Seraph stared at him curiously. "Well, yes. Do you know what they are?" "I know about the early prototypes," he replied, "the Exo project was one of the first things that humanity attempted to create when we were presented with the Traveler's technological advances. We'd always dreamed of creating an AI in our image, artificial beings that could think and feel, but until the Traveler came, we'd never dreamed of having the proper capability. I had no idea that they'd succeeded in making them, I guess I died before it happened." He sat up in his bed, and looked back to Seraph. "So they can think for themselves, and can feel emotion? They live?" "Yes," she replied, "and this one is attempting to get some rest. We need to go."
"Just hang on a minute," he said. "I need to see the machinery, seriously it's a work of art!" Before Seraph could protest, Matt had walked to the other bed and pulled the covers off of the Exo's body. The first thing he noticed was the slight rusty color of the metal, but he didn't know where this thing had been, so he ignored it. He looked at the torso and its silver and white color scheme covering the mechanical components inside. Though it was obviously forged from metal, he couldn't help but think that it was an incredible blend of life and machine, and looked very human like. That's when he noticed the second thing, that it was very obviously female. The robotic limbs of the Exo widened at the hips like a woman, and there was more emphasis on the breast area in terms of metal sheeting.
"Uh, Matt…?" came Seraph's voice. He finally noticed the third thing; that the Exo's blue eyes were open and staring at him wide eyed.
"Jeez!" he yelled, and stepped away from the Exo. She in turn yelped a little and pulled the covers back onto herself. "What are you, some kind of pervert? I'm nude!" she exclaimed. Matt just stared at her face blankly, not comprehending. "But… you're made of metal! You don't have anything to hide!" She looked down at the covers hiding her body, then back up at him. "So? I can't have a little privacy? Please leave so that I can change in peace and not have some stranger gawking at me!"
"Alright, I'm going! For God's sake…" With an exasperated sigh, he bent down to pick up his helmet, and left the room.
Closing the door behind him, he stepped out into the hallway and- WHAM!
He felt himself falling to the side, having been hit by something on his right. After he pushed himself up onto his elbows, he saw that one of the light-blue skinned humans had run into him, and had been rushing down the hallway at a speedy pace. He heard the sound of elevator doors shutting, and looked at the young girl's face as she stared back at him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" The poor girl looked so embarrassed, he felt bad for her. "Ah, don't worry. Bad days happen to us all, kid." After standing, he helped her up from her kneeling position. He held out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Matt."
She gripped his hand with hers, and looked him in the eye. "Aria, Aria Sorentine. It's a pleasure to meet you Matt, and I do apologize, but I have an urgent meeting in a few minutes, and I have to be there on time." She walked past Matt and out the door to the balcony, obviously not rushing anymore in an attempt to avoid tripping into anyone else. A Ghost followed behind her, and zipped through the crack between the door and the wall before it closed.
Seraph followed his gaze, then turned back to him. "Well, that could have gone better for your first morning back. First you were accused of being a pervert, and next you ran into some poor girl who was running late." "Hey, she ran into me!" he cried indignantly. "That wasn't my fault." Seraph stared at the ground and turned her body left and right, as though she were shaking her head. "In any matter, what's done is done. Come on, I talked to the Vanguards early this morning. They're awaiting your presence."
"What did you say about me?"
"Nothing much," she replied. "Just that you were a potential Guardian. I wanted to save the big secrets for when you were actually there, and we talked to them together." Nodding his head, he took the helmet he had dropped after running into Aria, and placed it on his head. It fit in perfectly with the seal around his neck, and he was fully armored. "Alright then, let's go."
-X-
"You didn't have to scream at him, you know." Whip hovered around the room, berating Ash. He'd awoken to her yelling at the man who'd been sleeping in the other bed last night. "Well he didn't have to peek underneath the covers!" she replied with heat in her voice. "Well considering we're both made of metal, it's not as though he did any harm. I mean, if that were the case then I'd be considered nude and I would need to fashion tiny garments for myself." Ash smirked at the thought of the Ghost in a small polyhedron shaped shirt. Still, there was something that made her uncomfortable about it, despite the logic of both the guy's and Whip's arguments. "If at all possible, would you mind fashioning me something similar to what he wore? That black undersuit?" "One black undersuit, coming right up." She saw a blue criss cross of lines surround her form, like a grid of sorts. In a moment, a black garment that was made to fit her feminine form materialized around her. With her artificial nerve-like sensors, she could feel its softness and comfort. "Perfect. Thanks, Whip." The Ghost gave a small wink of his blue light, to acknowledge her gratitude.
Now she could roam around the Tower without feeling naked. She supposed she had been too worn out the night before to fully feel ashamed when she'd arrived in the Tower. She couldn't explain her feelings, they were just there. Did humans think like this? Naturally made to feel uncomfortable without clothing? What a dumb evolutionary trait on their part. She felt bad that she'd yelled at the poor guy for practically nothing, but she also felt to a degree that it was his fault for trying to investigate her personal body as though it was just an object.
Her body clothed and concealed, she opened the door to the room. The guy wasn't anywhere to be found, which was a relief. She didn't want to have to look him in the eye at any other point in the future, knowing the awkward scene they'd shared. "Where are the Vanguards? You said we needed to talk to them last night?" Whip flew over to the balcony door. "They're in the Hall of Guardians, a room in the sub-level of the roof. The stairs in the middle of the courtyard lead to it." Heading towards the balcony door, she gave herself a mission; to find out what was going on in this unfamiliar world, and to learn what her purpose could be. She wanted answers, and these Vanguards were going to give them to her.
-X-
Aria descended the last steps of the staircase in a hurry. After she'd run into the man back there, Matt his name was, she had tried not to rush because she didn't want to trip into any more people. But her sense of anxiety had gotten the best of her, and as soon as she'd left the staircase of the balcony, she'd run across the courtyard towards the Hall of Guardians, her Ghost evaluator trailing close behind her. Now she ran through a large corridor with a powerful looking Titan on the right, surrounded by lights and trophies behind him, and a Frame on the left, sitting behind a weapon exchange counter.
Passing them, she reached the end of the hallway which opened up of a large corridor, with holographic screens on the left and right sides, Frames analyzing them for data. And in the center of it all was a shallow pit with a long table in the center. There stood three people positioned around the table, talking with one another and pointing at various maps that were sprawled across the surface of the large piece of furniture. The Vanguards. She didn't feel significant in the slightest while standing in their presence. She felt even less so when she realized they had become silent and were staring at her.
She gulped. Taking a deep breath, she tried to talk to them. "Hello, I'm uh… my name is Aria Sorentine. I'm here for my li- light evaluation? I believe I'd scheduled an ap- appointment here, and the Ghost here said y- you wanted to see it for yourself?" The Exo in the center of the table turned to the other two and whispered, "She's a real confident one, isn't she?" Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard, sarcastic and funny at times from what she'd heard about him, but no less deadly than any other Hunter, if not more so. A black woman turned to face her, and replied to her previous speech, "Are those statements, or questions, young one?" Ikora Rey, the Warlock Vanguard. Having traveled the wilderness for decades with nobody but her Ghost for company, her learned knowledge had earned her the respect of most Guardians, notably Warlocks. Aria began again, this time with renewed confidence.
"My name is Aria Sorentine. I am here for my light evaluation which I scheduled on this day nearly half a year ago. Though I had no idea that I would be in the presence of you three, it is my honor to have my test overseen by the Vanguards." The Awoken Titan at the rear of the table nodded in approval. "Well spoken. It is always our pleasure to guide the young sparks of light on their path so that they may become fully fledged Guardians." Commander Zavala, the Titan Vaguard. He was a legendary warrior, and had helped lead and fight in the Battle of Twilight Gap, the single bloodiest conflict that had ever happened in the war with the Darkness. His reputation was known throughout all of the city, and it commanded respect from all those who saw him.
Rey turned to look at the Ghost hovering in front of Aria. "You may proceed." Giving a small nod, the Ghost turned back to Aria, and began to assess her. As the Ghost analyzed her potential light, she began to physically feel it flowing through her, as though the Ghost had exposed something from within her. It felt like molten lead flowing through her veins, though not in pain; but in power. At some point, the Ghost ceased his assessment, and she felt her awareness of her light dim and fade. She felt normal again. She took a few steps to the right to allow the Ghost to make its report to the Vanguards.
"This candidate has only just turned of age, and already I can see that she has more light within her than most average aged recruits that we process." The Ghost blinked in her direction, letting her know he was happy to put in a good word for her. Rey caught her attention, as she gazed into Aria's face. "Indeed. Aria, you said? Do you study often, perhaps practice channeling the light through yourself at times?" Aria grinned, grateful that her favorite Vanguard had noticed. "Yes, lots and lots. Sometimes I feel most at home while lost in the world of a book." Rey gave a brief smile, and turned slightly to her fellow Vanguards. "She's got the makings of a good Warlock." Cayde-6 and Zavala nodded their agreement. Aria felt her heart pounding, she was so excited. Not only was it possible that she'd be a Guardian, but she might get the chance to use her skills as her preferred class. "Thank you ma'am, I appreciate the praise." Aria gave a slight bow to Rey, trying to do anything to keep the Warlock's preference.
"It's no trouble at all, young one. But I'm afraid that we'll have to attend to something else before coming to a final decision on your Guardianship." Aria's spirits sank. What had she done wrong? "But…" "It's nothing to do with you," said Rey, as though she'd read Aria's mind. "It's just an important matter that's come up concerning- well, there they are now." Aria turned to follow the gaze of the Vanguards as someone entered the chamber, and descended the steps. She gasped in recognition.
"Uh, hi! I'm not really sure who you people are, but from what my Ghost tells me, you're very important. So you have my respect." Matt bowed in recognition of the Vanguards' status, and remained there. He waited for someone to say something like, 'at ease', but nothing came, and he stood straight again, recovering from the awkward moment.
"You!" he heard someone exclaim. He turned to his right to see the young girl he'd nearly been trampled on by, Aria. Seraph had told him that she and the other bluish skinned humans belonged to a subspecies of humans called the Awoken, and had been transformed by a clash between the powers of the light and the dark out near the Jovian planets. She had a look of surprise on her face, perhaps she hadn't been expecting him to be here. To be fair, he hadn't been expecting to see her again either. He gave a small wave and slight smile to show that he recognized her. She kept the same shocked expression, but raised her hand up as well in response to his wave.
"You two know each other?" One of the Vanguards, an Exo wearing a cloak and hood, shifted his gaze from Aria to Matt and back. "Well, not really," explained Matt. "We just met in the hallway near the elevators. She was quite eager to get here I guess, so she just bumped into me by accident." Aria appreciated Matt dumbing down the story to a less embarrassing level, and avoiding the retelling of how she'd completely tripped both of them.
"What is your name?" asked an Awoken man in the back, his gaze focused purely on Matt, as though attempting to penetrate his soul and learn what secrets he held within. He shifted uncomfortably in his current stance. "My name is Matt. I was revived yesterday by Seraph here, and have since been told by her that I needed to see you three, the Vanguards." "Seraph?" inquired the woman in front of him and to his right. "My Ghost," Matt explained. "That's the name I gave her. I didn't want to just call her 'Ghost', that would have gotten old." Seraph gave a small twirl in the air in confirmation of what Matt had said. The woman nodded in understanding. "It's quite rare for a Guardian to name their Ghost, but not completely unheard of. Please, continue."
'Well, I don't really know the specifics of it, it'd be better for Seraph here to explain." Seraph flew forward a few feet, eager to get her report out. "Well firstly, I didn't just revive him. This is the first time he's been revived." Each of the Vanguards inhaled sharply. It was the hooded Exo who broke the silence. "The first time… this is the first revive from the Golden Age in, what, eight years?" "Nine," Seraph corrected, "but that's also technically incorrect. You see, Matt is from before the Golden Age, from the first few years that the Traveler had made Earth its home."
At this, Aria looked flabbergasted, and completely shocked at what Seraph had to say. But the Vanguards showed signs of frustration and disbelief. "Now, I've heard everything," stated the woman. "I'm not sure what games you're playing here Ghost, but rest assured that-" "It's no lie, I assure you!" Seraph defended, "I was quite shocked myself when I realized the possibility, but he has shown signs. He's given accurate memories of events in his lifetime, he recognized an Arcadia class Jumpship, and frankly, I believe he tells the truth." Matt looked at the little Ghost with newfound gratitude, appreciating her stand against the Vanguards in his defense.
At the young Ghost's speech, the Vanguards looked troubled. "Well-" began Zavala, his hand gripping his chin in thought, "-if what you say is true… then you could potentially be a source of data, of knowledge that we have long since forgotten." Neither of the other two Vanguards acknowledged his statement, they only stared at Matt in stunned silence and awe. Aria thought that Matt looked a bit uncomfortable, but was attempting to wear a mask of confidence. Zavala tried again. "Until we've reached a final consensus-"
The sound of footsteps rapidly approaching the chamber attracted the attention of all the room's occupants. Turning to the entrance, Aria saw yet another person interrupt the events taking place in the room. This one was a female Exo, one who had donned a black jumpsuit, with alternating patterns of scratched white and silver adorning her body. She took a few steps forward, and placed herself to the left of Matt, a mirrored version of Aria's current position. "Greetings, Vanguards. My name is-" The Exo suddenly stopped, and turned to stare at Matt at her side. "You?! What are you doing here?" Cayde-6 leaned his head against the palm of his arm with his elbow propping himself up against the table. "You know him too? Why is this guy so popular? How did you two get acquainted?"
The Exo stared accusingly at Matt. "I woke up to him looking under the covers of my blankets, staring at my body."
None of the room's occupants had a response to this. Cayde-6 merely had a facial expression that looked like he was saying, "Well."
"I would like to point out," Matt started, before anyone could turn against him, "that I was merely curious about how she worked. I didn't realize it was offensive in any way. Back in my old life, the Exo project had only just started with the discovery of the Traveler, and I was a bit excited to see the successful results of it." Still nobody spoke, but he could at least see the expressions of the Vanguard loosen up a bit.
The Exo tried again. "In any matter, my name is Ash." Cayde-6 looked sharply at her, and asked, "Ash? Ash what?" "Just Ash," she replied. Cayde-6 turned back to the table, muttering, "No number designation, what kind of proper Exo is she…?" Ash continued her story. "My Ghost told me I needed to speak with you. He revived me yesterday from the outskirts of the City, and I am grateful to him. However, I have no memory, no recollection of my past or why I was found so far from the City walls. I don't even know what exactly the Traveler is yet, other than a large floating rock. I'm sure that's not the answer though, and I'd sure appreciate if you could give me some insight." She looked desperate, probably hoping to find a solution amongst the Vanguards. No such luck.
"While we do sympathize with your situation, we cannot simply siphon knowledge from anywhere." Ikora Rey looked apologetic, but remained firm in her speech. "We have no knowledge of who you are, or what your previous life consisted of. However, if you'd like to wait until we finish this discussion with Aria and… Matt?" He nodded in confirmation, and Ikora continued. "Then we can talk about your current living situation, and perhaps set you up with a proper establishment until you're back on your feet-"
"There will be no need for that, Ikora." A new voice had sounded from behind Matt, and he parted to allow a clear line of sight. Unlike with Matt and Ash, no footsteps had been heard. This man had entered like a shadow, silent but present, with a feeling as though he'd always been there. Aria saw the unique white robes and helmet he adorned, and if she'd felt small in contrast with the Vanguards, it was nothing compared to her feeling of insignificance at this moment.
It was the Speaker, the voice of the Traveler. And he was staring at all three of the potential Guardians before him.