Chapter 3: House Light
Aurora stepped outside of the tent and put her hands on her hips. "Well then. What now?"
Aksiis crawled out next to her and stood up straight. "Captain is busy with news. You will stay with Aksiis until better arrangements can be found." He gave her a glance before heading to one of the outer huts. "Also Aksiis is the only Eliksni here that can speak your tongue."
Aurora shrugged. "Fine with me. Lead on buddy!"
The Vandal just shook his head as walked. Aurora was able to get a better look at the settlement and its inhabitants as they moved through. Even through the two-feet deep snow the place looked rough. The huts where dirty and patched here and there, all the banners where torn and frayed, and even though there was a distinct lack of trash laying around, large clusters of broken technology still lay in corners, covered in snow. Aurora could only imagine what the place must look like in the springtime when the snows melted.
Aksiis disappeared into one of the smaller huts in the camp. The Awoken could hear multiple Fallen voices echo from inside, of all different tones and depths. The door opened on its own as she approached and stepped inside, descending a good two stories underground before entering the main room of the… bunker, she guessed she could call it.
First thing she noticed was that it was clean, cleaner than she would have thought, given the state of the rest of the camp. The room was decently large, obviously something like a living room, with assorted seating, weapon racks, charge bays for some sorts of floating drones, and tables with alien games on them.
The second thing she noticed was the array of Fallen in the room. All were adults wearing some combo of armor, but the size and exact color pattern varied wildly. There were tall ones, short ones, massive ones, slender ones, shifty ones, wearing a bewildering combo of colors with their House Light white.
The entire room fell silent upon her entering. Some of the Eliksni were hissing in surprise, while others just stared. She had the odd feeling that even though these Fallen were supposedly allies, she didn't think many of them had actually seen a Guardian in a friendly way before.
She gave them an awkward smile and a wave, which didn't elicit a response from any of them. Aksiis grumbled and moved next to her, beginning a short tirade in Eliksni, arms moving animatedly- she assumed he was telling them that she was a Guardian and not to stab her in her sleep. At least she hoped that was what he was saying. After finishing, he stomped off to one of the many side doors, waving Aurora after him.
It led to a cozy little side room, similar to the main one, just with more permanent looking pod-like beds and less other furniture. Besides each pod was open cabinet of sorts for weapons, clothing, and those strange cans that all of the adults had attached to their masks. Half along one wall, half along the other.
Three of the six beds where occupied, the Fallen within all staring with blank expressions as she entered. Akriis gestured to an empty pod and went over to what looked like his. "You will sleep here, with Aksiis' skraal. Or squad, it is in your language." He threw one of his thumbs over his shoulder at the other three Eliksni in the room, all of them seemingly four-armed.
"They are Rivviks, Pyrrja, and Turax. Kokraks should be here soon."
Aurora gave them another small wave and a smile, which was once again answered with only stares. One of them, a hooded female by the looks of it (Pyrrja maybe? It sounded feminine enough…) hissed and slumped back into her pod. The other two eventually went back to whatever they were doing and ignored her.
Aurora plopped down into her new pod and began twiddling her thumbs, trying to memorize the room and not bother Aksiis with another question. She mostly did that by trying to figure out which question she should ask first. When was food served? What was that giant black orb-machine-thingy back with the captain? Why was Akriis rooming in a barracks-like environment if he had a family elsewhere in the camp? What where they supposed to do now?
The door leading to the main room opened and the same Vandal that escorted her to Captain Siriks blundered in and skittered to the last unclaimed bed, chittering nervously. She looked at him strangely, trying to figure out why he was so jumpy.
He clearly did not like that the Guardian was watching him. The poor guy kept fumbling with the assorted machinery piled by his pod until the female and one of the other males popped their heads up and yelled at him. Aurora decided that however interesting the skittish one was, she should probably focus on something else.
"So… that one is Kokraks?"
Akriis nodded, shaking his head at the sound of yet another metal thing being dropped from behind Aurora at the sound of his name. "Yesss, Vandal Kokraks is his name. Former House Exile." He pointed at one of the other males, a pissed-off looking one with red highlights on his mask. "Turax. Former Devil." Aksiis almost spit that last word out. Aurora made a mental note to ask about that. Then the Vandal pointed to the female, who's back was firmly facing them. "Marauder Pyrrja, House Winter. She is one of the few that escaped her Houses' extinction at the hands of the Vex." He ended with a short gesture to the final male, a scarred one that seemingly ignored everyone else in the room. "Rivviks, House Kings. He hunts Scorn."
"Scorn?"
"Dead Fallen whose Ether has been tainted. They consumed Kings not long ago."
"And what House are you from?"
The large Vandal paused for just a second before answering. "Mraskilaasan. House Wolves."
"Oh."
Aurora couldn't pay attention anymore. Polaris' panic was steadily growing in the back of her mind as Aksiis was introducing the oddball group of roommates she was stuck with, all of the way to the point where his alarm was like red flashes interfering with her vision. It made her head hurt, honestly. She tried to comfort him via their neural link, but he was too distracted trying to organize the flood of information he had for her that he didn't notice.
Since the Fallen in the room looked like they were busy with whatever and Aksiis didn't look very talkative at the moment, Aurora settled down in her… pod and closed her eyes, concentrating on her ghost.
Polaris popped into her hands with a quite tinkle, eye small in terror. "Guardian!"
She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile. "Hi Polaris! You look a bit frazzled."
The little thing was trying to whisper and yell at her at the same time. "Do you have any idea how much danger we're in? Did you not hear what houses those Fallen are from!?"
"You mean Eliksni?"
He shook his core vigorously. "Fallen. They are Fallen. Pirates. You can't trust them! I didn't know House Light was so full of other Houses! Winter, Kings, Wolves, Exile, even a Devil for crying out loud!"
Aurora leaned back into her pod and pulled her legs up. "So? Akriis said that they're all refugees. And if they got accepted into House Light, they must be good guys now, right?"
Polaris was shaking his orb so fast it blurred. "Nononononono, that's not how the Fallen work. I have to explain this to you. Where do I start? Kings. House Kings was the brains behind the Battle of Twilight Gap, you know, that battle that almost ended the Last City? Killed half of the Guardians that were left? They are cunning, secretive, and dangerous, even among the Fallen. Winter? Same battle. Brutal. Merciless. Their blades ended hundreds of Guardians. Stabbed them all in the back. Master Rahool even speculates that they took an active hand in the Collapse."
He paused just long enough to catch his breath and continue.
"And the Exiles are Kell-less, crazy. All they are are renegades. They used to live among the moon, with the HIVE! But that one-" he jerked himself in the direction of the pissed-looking one. "He's a Devil! They were the only ones that fought in the Battle of Six Fronts. They were the ones that started the Battle of Twilight Gap by rallying the other major houses for the assault! They were the ones that enhanced themselves with Siva and tried to use dead Iron Lords as puppets! They would do anything for power, or to hurt Guardians! And your 'translator'?"
His voice lowered a bit.
"The House of Wolves are known for the greatest betrayal and slaughter in Awoken History, as well as the bloodiest war the Reef has ever known. He's old enough to have fought in that war himself! Guardian, please, I really think we should leave. We can't trust these aliens! Just because they say they are our allies doesn't mean they won't do something to a Guardian and Ghost that they know the Tower doesn't know exists. If they kill us, no one will ever know!"
Aurora just stared at him.
The little ghost softened, floating up to her head to nudge her cheek in a little kiss. "Look, I'm sorry Guardian. It's just, I'm scared. I was at the City when Twilight Gap happened. I've seen a side of these aliens that I don't think I will ever overcome. You might trust them, but I don't. I don't think I ever will. And I'm trying to take care of you too."
The Awoken woman blinked. "I… that was a lot of information. Can i… process all of that?"
Polaris nodded and quietly phased away, letting her lay back and stare at the ceiling. She was feeling much less sure about her decision now. But what was she supposed to do? She couldn't go back on her word. She really didn't think that would go over well with the captain.
So she ate a little bit more pemmican and turned over to nap, mind slowly processing her situation. And marveling over the fact that she was in this situation only two weeks into her second life.
Behind her the Vandal Akriis sighed and glanced down at the shock pistol he was cleaning, eyes tracing the Wolves crest engraved on the handle. He had heard that entire conversation between the Awoken and its Guide- he could almost smell the Guide's panic through his ether tubes. And while the distrust the Guide was sowing within the hearts of the Great Machine's Chosen made him angry… he couldn't help but understand. For the Guide was right, on all points. If only he knew the personal stories of the other Eliksni of his skraal. It would destroy any hope of co-existence.
It was sad really. This was the first Chosen he had ever met that didn't shoot on sight or distrust his kind due to history or reputation- the innocence and trust was… beautiful, in a way. But he should have figured it wouldn't last. The two species had been at war for centuries, hadn't they? What would one Chosen change?
He gave the new Guardian behind him a sad look before stepping outside and disappearing into the crowd of Eliksni in the main room.
/
Aurora awoke the next morning to a completely quiet room, all of the other five beds neatly made and noticeably vacant. Feeling a little subconscious, she tried to make her own pod/bed/thing herself… and failed miserably at it. She finally gave up and headed toward the passageway that led to the main central room.
It was much less crowded than the day before. A few Fallen lounged about here and there, but other than that it was clear, the door leading to the outside cracked open to let in fresh air into the bunker.
Movement to her right caught her eye. She turned to see Akriis stand up from a nearby chair and walk up, giving her a small nod in greeting.
His voice sounded a bit raspy this morning. "Guardian."
She muscled a cheery face on and gave him a small wave. "Hi Akriis! Were you uh… waiting on me?"
The tall Vandal nodded. "Aye. I have been assigned as your personal translator… and bodyguard. Wherever you go, I will as well."
Despite the whispered misgivings last night's information bombardment had given her, the Awoken woman was glad of the news. "Great! That means I'll actually be able to talk to someone whenever I want! Can we go outside?"
Akriis gave a loud sigh of resignation and a nod, so dramatic Aurora almost started laughing.
It was clear he was not happy about the talking part. "Lead on, Chosen."
So Aurora walked up the stairway that lead to the surface and stepped outside. Then she realized she had no idea what to do.
Polaris answered her mind's question with his own soft nudge.
"What was that Polaris?"
Akriis stepped out and glanced at her queerly. "What?"
Again a soft nudge, a bit more forceful this time. "Polaris, I don't know what that means. Come out and say your idea."
This time she felt a burst of fear from her ghost. The little guy obviously didn't want to reveal himself when surrounded by a bunch of alien cutthroats, but she was sure he knew that she couldn't understand pure emotion like that sometimes.
The ghost flashed into her clothes pocket. "I was trying to say let's go do some training!"
She lifted her arm and glanced down at her side. She almost missed the little jump Akriis did at the voice that was sounding like it was coming from the air next to him.
"What do you mean training? Who here wants to teach me stuff?"
Polaris sounded offended. "I do! Aurora, Guardians have Light. But you need to learn how to use it, it's really not as easy as it looks. Not that you've ever seen another Guardian, let alone one use their Light, but still… Let's go find a sunny field or something and we'll begin with the basics!"
The Awoken glanced that the Vandal next to her. He had his head tilted curiously to the side, almost as if he was just as interested about this idea that she was. "Akriis? You know any good empty fields nearby?"
He nodded and grabbed a nearby rifle. "Of course Akriis does. I know every inch of the surrounding ground- I and my skraal patrol this area often. Follow, Chosen."
Aurora's eyebrows rose at the new name but did as she was asked, pulling her borrowed poncho-like garb closer to her spinmetal bodysuit as the trekked out of the town and into the trackless snow.
They walked for a good thirty minutes through a venerable maze of frozen forests and creeks before Akriis finally stopped and gestured forward.
"This is clear of any of our normal foraging routes, and far enough out so that you make as much noise as you want without attracting unwanted attention. Blast away, Lightbearer."
He then sat down on a rock, took out a pair of shock blades, and preceded to start whittling with all four arms. His eyes tracked her expectantly as she walked a few dozen feet into the spotless snowfield and held out her hand for Polaris.
"Well buddy. What now?"
The ghost did a little 360 spin as he surveyed the area and bobbed approvingly. "This'll work. Ok Guardian! Time to discover the Traveler's gift! What do you know of the Light?"
Aurora shrugged. "It brings me back every time I die. That's pretty much it." Her eyes narrowed teasingly. "We're not going to be practicing that, right?"
Polaris chuckled, his shell squinching up. "Noo, we've practiced that enough in the past two weeks. The Light can be used for many more things. Like, a LOT more than revives. But first we gotta figure out what class you are!" He gave an irrepressibly cute spin in the air. "OH I've been waiting for this! Ok, Aurora, close your eyes."
She did, trying to ignore how dumb she must look at that moment. But that warm ball of excitement was growing in her belly as the thought of new knowledge just within her reach. She noted how her ghost's voice floated both in her ears and in her subconscious as he gave her the next set of instructions.
"Ok, now calm yourself. Reach for your spark. It should be like a bright ball in your core. Kinda… like imagine holding it and drawing out its power into your hands. Depending upon what your Light is naturally attuned to, it'll feel different."
Her eyebrows squinted in concentration as she tried to figure out how to reach into herself, her fingers twitching. Polaris floated nearby eagerly; his eye wide in giddy anticipation.
Akriis himself had frozen, all four eyes locked onto the Guardian with warry curiosity. Even though he was a good 4 dozen feet away, his past experience had taught him to stay well clear of any Guardian using the Great Machine's power.
Both Eliksni and Ghost waited with held breath, eyes getting wide as the grass around Aurora started to twitch and stand up straight. The air near her started to slowly swirl as flickers of blue light began to dance around her hands, a taste of a raging stor-
Aurora opened her eyes and shrugged, immediately snuffing out any and all supernatural movement.
"Yeah, I don't think it's working. Something shoulda happened by now."
Polaris started spluttering, shell spinning wildly. "Wha- Aurora! You had it! You were doing it! Why did you stop?"
Aurora looked at her hands in surprise. "I was?"
"Yes! It was going to be so epic!"
She laughed. "Well calm down Pole! You're distracting me. I'll give it another shot, hold on."
The ghost gave an impatient nod and disappeared into phase with a little shower of tinkles. With his bouncy shell gone from sight Aurora took a deep breath and closed her eyes again. She focused on herself, looking for sense of warmth that simmered in her core. Then she could feel it, even see it in her mind's eye: a reservoir of glowing happiness, possibility, growth, and power.
Oh.
OH.
The power stunned her when she dipped her toe in the lake. It was vast. It crackled with energy, burned with power, swirled like a supernova. Questions crowded in her head as she began to really notice the Light within her.
She mentally touched it again, imagining dipping her hand into clear liquid. Her finger broke the surface.
The Light lept up at her in joyful greeting, swirling around her arm and encasing her mind in amazement, blue, purple, and orange swirling around before shifting to energizing, thundering blue.
Aurora's eyes flew open as she gasped. The whole world around her was sharp, bright, alive, overloading her senses, but at the same time making her feel light and free. She started laughing, her mind barely registering the fact that she was now floating, lightning crackling off of her hands and into the ground, boiling the snow around her and scorching the leafless branches of the nearby trees.
She looked over to where Aksiis was sitting to see his reaction and only saw the dim shape of the Vandal desperately sprinting as fast as his six limbs could carry him further into the woods, obviously terrified of getting flash-fried.
The raw energy in her snagged her attention away from her friend. It demanded release, it demanded use, and Aurora didn't know how to follow the Light's bidding. So she did what came instinctively: she held her hands out, and visualized channeling the swirling storm within her out through her hands.
She was only slightly surprised when what she visualized in her head actually happened.
Lighting blasted out of her hands, chaining to every object within 10-15 yards of where she was floating, buzzing like a swarm of angry hornets. She slowly spun in a circle, trying to melt as much snow around her as she could, laughing as she enrobed herself in a massive cloud of steam.
Then the Light calmed as she dropped back down to her feet. The lake in her mind receded, going back to lapping calmly at her consciousness. Aurora was surprised to find she was feeling dizzy and was very out of breath.
"That's because using your Light is like having a sudden spike of adrenaline!"
Polaris phased into being and did a little twirl of delight. "And my Guardian is a Stormcaller! I mean, I knew you were a warlock when I first raised you, I just knew it in my core, but this is amazing! Just as I imagined! You know, why back when I was looking for you, I tried to think of what I wanted my Guardian to be, hunter, titan, warlock, but I always liked warlocks. Mostly because I know they wouldn't do anything stupid and that they were smart, but holy crap! I didn't know you'd naturally be the SAME DISCIPLINE that I always imagined you! It's like we were meant to be! I mean, we are, but I guess it's just now hitting me. Oh by the Light this is amazing! YOU are amazing! I might be amazing! That Light show was amazing! EVERYTHING IS AMAZING!"
Aurora couldn't stop laughing as her ghost babbled on, gushing over her so much she could feel his unbounded excitement and pride radiating in her mind.
Movement caught her eye to her right. She turned to see Akriis, all four eyes bugged out in fear, peak out from behind a tree in the woodline he used to be sitting in. She gave him a cheery wave and trotted over, unable to suppress the massive grin that was plastered to her face as the Light-rush took it's time wearing off.
"All done Akriis! Did you see that? Wasn't that awesome?!"
The Vandal jerked backward a bit, trying to keep some distance between him and her. His eyes squinted at her warily.
"Yeeess… is the Lightbearer… turned off?"
Aurora threw her head back and started laughing again, her ghost joining in.