Chapter 1 - A Fateful Meeting – Destiny Fanfiction
A/N: Hi guys! I hope you all are doing well! Wanted to write this prequel fanfiction to A vow of true love. For reference the setting of this store is pre-Red War in the old tower. If I had to give my ghost a voice actor, it would probably have to be George Clooney.
The tower stood over the last city, a while pillar standing tall over the morning mist that had enveloped the metropolitan cityscape below. I liked getting up early in the morning, it optimized my productivity around the tower before I went off to my patrols. It felt like it was only yesterday that we had stood in the shadow of the Black Gardens Heart and fought tooth and nail to silence it. Like it was only yesterday we had said our goodbyes to the Exo Stranger and received her enigmatic pulse rifle. Like it was only yesterday that my ghost had found me in the rubble of the Cosmodrome and used the light to give me my first full breath in how many centuries. While that was a load off, I knew it was only a matter of time before the next big bad guy made an appearance. I had taken to always reading wherever I went and whenever I could, learning as much as I could to prepare. Vigilance, as Ikora taught, was not a luxury but a necessity as a warlock. I did try to have a variety in my reading material though. It wasn't always about the science about the Light or the dreary writings about the Hive or Vex, I wanted to know more about the Last City and the Collapse. I had a lot of questions about my past. Not many guardians remember their past. I can't say I can clearly remember it, but I have some faint figments and glimpses that are on the brink of fading away. I decided to pen them to paper before they left my memory for good, but I knew that looking into the Collapse was a start.
"Well, that's depressing." I closed the book I was reading on my walk from the Warlock hall on my way to the Vangaurd.
"That was truth about the Collapse. What did you expect? Sunshine and rainbows?" My ghost Logan had been peering over my shoulder as I finished reading.
"So now you see why you and the other guardians are so important." He reiterated, his chirping stable and stated.
"First of all, I was never gonna doubt that. And second, if that's the truth about the collapse, there's certainly a lot that we don't know." I stuffed the book back into my bag, unfortunately I wasn't looking where I was going in my clumsiness and walked full force into another larger guardian, the impact sending me down on my bum. I had some sort of retort and apology ready. It hadn't been the first time I had bumped into an unlucky guardian on my way to the vanguard and while I had promised myself it'd be the last time, inevitably I would return to the same experience. This time however, I was met with the towering figure of an orange and white titan, the handler of the crucible.
"What on Earth are you doing Warlock?" His voice rough like sandstone, his rage was contained but I could feel the warmth radiating off of his form in spades. I quickly stood up, my body almost standing at attention.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." I said, hoping to not cause a scene. It seems my apology failed to calm the crucible handler, only to fuel his anger.
"Excuse me?! You weren't watching where you were going?" His voice mocking, he grabbed my hand and dragged me aside from the flow of the guardians to the Vanguard.
"Ow, hey let go of me. You're hurting me." I finally wrestled free from his vice grip, a purple bruise forming on my wrist.
"I swear, you rookie guardians are not going to last out there if you rely only on your ghost to revive you!" He shouted. I wanted to tell him I wasn't a rookie, that I had seen action. But as soon as I stared to meet his gaze, all of those thoughts died in my head.
"Not watching where you were going? Excuses! Ha! If you were back at the founding of the Last City, you wouldn't last a week. You would be dead and your ghost among the fallen." His words bleak and sobering.
He continued his lecture for what seemed like another hour, his jabs about my agility and my balance were a bit jarring. It wasn't until Ikora emerged from the Vanguard headquarters that Lord Shaxx paused.
"Warlock, there you are. I was awaiting your arrival. What are you doing here?" Her inquisitive gaze moved between me and Lord Shaxx.
"This rookie wasn't paying attention where they were going! I was giving them a lesson on being quick on your feet. I think you could give them a review. You were one of my best students." Lord Shaxx booming voice calmed only slightly in respect to Ikora's presence.
"I see. Well, if you're done, I really need the Guardian in the Vanguard." Ikora said and turned back toward Vanguard HQ. Her indifference caused a gruff to come out of Lord Shaxx. Before I could leave, an arm trapped me against the wall.
"Guardian! I have a proposition for you. Join my crucible. Show me some improvement and maybe I'll take back some of my words to you." His rough voice goading, it was a tempting offer, I could feel my light humming in excitement at the prospect of gloating my abilities in his face.
"I'll think about it." I calmly removed his arm as I left the Crucible behind along with Lord Shaxx. This time he made no attempt to stop me from leaving. I'll have to ask Ikora how she did that. While he had a good point, I couldn't stand his guts. Who does he think he is?
When I entered the Vanguard HQ I strode to Ikora, who was meeting with a few other warlocks.
"Understand your assignments? Good, dismissed." After she dismissed the other warlocks I joined her at the desk. We discussed tactical assignments and a few investigative missions that I could do to look further into the Black Guardian. While light was returning to the Traveler, it hadn't awakened yet and there were a few questions surrounding the damage the Traveler had sustained that we also discussed.
"The Speaker might have more information on the Traveler." Ikora finished.
"Good, I'll pay him a visit before I head out." Ikora placed an arm on my shoulder before I could leave.
"What happened between you and Lord Shaxx this morning?" She asked, concern filling her voice. I sighed, I really was embarrassed about the whole incident.
"I bumped into him. I wasn't watching where I was going because I was reading and walking again." I admitted.
She sighed too and shook her head a small grin on her face.
"Well now I see why he was upset. But he really must admire you a lot. Not many guardians ever get a full-fledged lecture from him." She mused.
"Admire me? After all that, I get the feeling he thinks I'm not ever worthy of being a guardian." I say frankly.
"What's his deal anyways? It's not like we're not allowed to make mistakes." I said. I stop myself short of ranting, sensing I could wander into hot water if I wasn't careful noting Ikora's quirked brows.
"You'll have to ask him that. Listen, I know the Crucible isn't for everyone. You've told me before that all you wanted to focus on are missions, but I could see that the Crucible could do you some good." She stated, her tone objective yet still retaining a bit of that gentle demeanor.
"Oh great, not you too." I almost moaned.
"Just think about it, I won't force you into anything. Just a recommendation from a mentor to their student." Ikora said holding her hands up.
-The ties that bind us-
I left the Speakers chambers with mixed feelings. There was still no hard update on the Traveler and the Speaker didn't have a solid conclusion on what the new fluctuations of light inside the Traveler meant. I closed the door to my flat inside the tower. It wasn't a tremendously big apartment but it was cozy. I was able to convert one of the spare rooms into a study, which was my favorite place to collect my thoughts after a tough day. I made myself a cup of tea and closed myself in my study.
"It's not like the Speaker would tell you the ins and outs of all those readings, it's his sole duty to monitor and study the Traveler." Logan chirped as I flattened out on a fluffy red arm chair.
"I suppose." I admitted defeatedly. I stared up at the plain white ceiling recollecting all of the information we had gone over.
"Besides, it's not like our job's done when the Traveler wakes up." My ghost continued.
"The fallen, the Vex, the Hive, and the Cabal aren't going to go poof just because the Light of the Traveler awakens. We still need guardians to protect the people."
I knew my ghost was right. This adventure was far from over and I could relish in that, revel in it even.
"I know that Logan. I just thought we'd have more progress. I was expecting some grand light show and then bam, we're back in the Golden Age." I said, bringing my hands up to cover my face and closing my eyes. I held my breath as I massaged my temples, alleviating the oncoming headache.
"We'll never have another Golden Age again Guardian. That's the thing about Golden Ages, they come and they go. I recommend you read up on some pre-Golden Age history. You'll see what I'm talking about." Logan mused. I laughed at receiving more homework from Logan. I couldn't have asked for a more thoughtful and sometimes trolling ghost.
"Alright Logan, catalog some books and I'll swing by the Library later to pick them up." I said, dropping my hands and emerging from my personal shelter. A few hums and beeps later and Logan had a book list ready for me to go.
"But next time you get some books to read, I recommend you stay put instead of multi-tasking." Logan joked.
"Are you talking about what happened earlier? I can't help being clumsy." I said defensively.
"But Lord Shaxx does have a point, I have to revive you more times from you falling into gaps and slipping on a jump than kills from enemy fire." Logan spoke truthfully.
"Give me the breakdown as a percentage." I said confidently, not truly expecting what Logan said to be true.
"I've revived you 35% of the time from enemy kills, the other 65% was from you being a clumsy warlock." Logan concluded his deduction, his chiding voice filled with a hint of mirth. I was shocked, too shocked to speak at first. I hadn't expected to be truly a clumsy guardian. Most of the time when I did come back from a failed jump I tried my best to get my head back on the mission and try to improve on my next maneuver.
"Ok, fine. Maybe you both have a point. But he could have said it nicer. I'm not some newbie you know." Lord Shaxx's booming voice was still ringing in my head, I couldn't help but even try to cover my ears to get some peace.
"Lord Shaxx be nice? Good luck with that. I'm sure if he told you off, it was something you needed to hear." Logan mused and joked.
"He's a war hero you know. Saved the Last City many times before I found you. You know the battle of the Twilight Gap? That's one of Lord Shaxx's greatest feats." Logan continued.
"But the Crucible? I'm not a competitive person and I don't like the idea of using my powers against other guardians." I said begrudingly. While Logan could be right about Lord Shaxx, I wasn't ready to be bossed around.
"You heard what Ikora said, he wouldn't have told you off unless he really respected you." Logan reminded me. That did count for something and I wouldn't be lying if I didn't respect him as well for taking time to mentor me, even if it was a bit barbed. Truth be told, my I could feel my Light humming in anticipation at a chance to prove myself.
"Fine. I'll go sign up for the Crucible tomorrow after patrols." I sigh almost a resigned moan about my fate. Logan chirps happily at this and I give him a small smile.
"How about we get you something to eat then Guardian? How does ramen sound?" I knew that Logan was trying to butter me up, but I didn't mind it. A warm bowl of ramen would do some good right now anyway. Logan beeped and clicked at an incoming message.
"By the way it looks like Razuu and Kristoph got back from their patrols, want me to send an invite?" My fireteam was an interesting bunch, but never the less I thought of them as family. Razuu is a human hunter and a good shot with a scout rifle. He's also amazingly fast and has gained a reputation amongst the hunters as being as swift as the wind. He must have been an archer in his past life since he is currently invested with trying to get bows into the arsenal of the tower. He's been in several discussions with a new foundry, Veist, to get some new bow prototypes ready. Kristoph is an awoken warlock whose abilities with the void were admired and feared. He was formidable on the field and to top that off he was an avid collector of folklore, history, and legends, and for that he was widely respected as a lore scholar between the warlock orders. We've been through a lot as a fireteam, but each challenge, each time we've faced something together, it has made our bonds stronger.
"Sure! Send them an invite." I said, eager to chat about how their patrols went. My tea will just have to wait till later.
-The ties that bind us-
The ramen restaurant was bustling with guardians as expected. The Tower Bazaar boasted a variety of restaurants and shops for both guardians and civilian workers to browse and shop in our spare time. Ramen had become a favorite past time not only because of the flavor but also because it could be consumed quickly and so many guardians would drop by to get a meal before heading out on patrol. I never minded the crowd, if anything it was a welcome site to see the diversity the guardians and their respective orders. I caught Razuu and Kristoph waiving from a both in a corner near the front of the restaurant.
"Hi guys! I don't know about you but I'm starving for some ramen." I said as I plopped donw next to Razuu and grabbed a menu from the back of the table.
"Ramen was a great choice." Kristoph said taking a drink.
"I feel like it's been ages since we had a bowl." Razuu said stretching his hands above his head.
"You'll have to thank Logan, it was his recommendation." I said, peering over the options.
"How were your patrols?" I said after deciding what I wanted to order.
"The usual, I took on a whole squadron of legionnaires on Mars and then scavenged for some materials for Amanda and Zavala." Razuu said proudly.
"Mine weren't too bad either. I was investigating a Vex disturbance near the Isthar collective. The Vex activity there has spiked lately. I conferred with some of the warlocks and it looks like there are energy fluctuations coming from the Vault of Glass. Might be something worth looking into later." Kristoph said. Razuu and I both hummed in thought.
"I think it'd be fun to scout the area sometime." Razuu said. "If you think it'd be a good place to look, I could go and check it out?" Razuu offered.
"I think that wouldn't be a bad idea. I'll bring it up with Ikora later and maybe we could all go check it out together." Kristoph offered.
"Sounds good." Razuu cheered. I smiled at them, we had gotten pretty busy doing our own thing after we took down the Heart of the Black Garden. It'd be good to something again as a fireteam. The waiter soon arrived and took our orders. We decided to order some gyoza and wontons for appetizers.
"How goes your research? You took the week off to work on a paper right?" Razuu asked.
"Well today could have gone better." I began, taking another drink of water and averting my gaze. Kristoph's brow quipped a bit and he and Razuu both shared and look and then smiled.
"Let me guess, did you end up messing up while multitasking again?" Kristoph asked, his voice sickingly sweet.
"Yes." I almost whispered and returned to meet their gazes again.
"Only this time I messed up and ended up causing trouble." I said meekly.
"Ok so who did you bump into today? You couldn't have caused a chemical spill like last time right?" Razuu asked and mused.
"Nothing like that. I ended up bumping into Lord Shaxx while I was reading." I said, the embarrassment coming back in full force as both Razuu and Kristoph burst into laughter.
"Oh man, I bet he let you have it." Kristoph said after calming down.
"He was pretty mean. No, I take it back. He was definitely mean." I said, getting more laughs again from both of my friends.
"The thing is, he wants to join his Crucible. He thinks it'll be a good way for me to train and improve." I said, not enjoying reliving that morning's lecture.
"Well, are you going to?" Razuu asked.
"I don't like the idea of fighting other guardians. I really only wanted to focus on my missions from day 1." I said.
"Yeah, I wonder if Lord Shaxx knows how anti-competitive you really are." Kristoph commented as our appetizers arrived.
"But I think he is right about the training. Guardians are more formidable than your average fallen or vex. It might do you some good." Kristoph said as we were dividing up our food.
"I think it could also do you some good too. I mean there's only so much we can do to teach you to improve your mobility." Razuu commented. That kind of hurt, especially since it came from a hunter.
"I decided I'm joining anyway. If anything, just to show that brute of a titan that I'm a capable guardian." I said as I stuffed a couple of dumplings into my mouth.
"He really must've ruffled your feathers huh? You're really digging into those dumplings." Razuu laughed. I slowed down considerably, stress eating was not a good coping mechanism but it seems like Razuu and Kristoph both picked up on it.
"He did get to me a little bit." I said, taking a big gulp of water.
"You must really like him then. You wouldn't be this upset if some other guardian had given you that kind of talk." Kristoph said thoughtfully.
"Wait?! You think I like him?" I asked, offended at the thought at first but something about it wasn't bad, like it could be natural almost familiar. I decided to end that line of thinking before my brain took me down a dark road of imagination and impossibilities.
"Believe it or not, attraction doesn't have to start as affection." Kristoph smiled. I knew he was enjoying his playful torture of my sanity. Razuu curiously eyed me as Kristoph awaited my reply with crossed arms.
"Well…it doesn't mean I have to like the guy back!" I clumsily defended.
"I saw how you eye'd him up and down a few times when we headed to the Vangaurd." Razuu cheerily chimed in. I wanted to deny that, but I don't think I had the willpower. I was hoping Razuu wouldn't bring that up. Kristoph smiled widely as I fidgeted in my seat.
"Ok, can we move onto another topic now?" I said, exasperation dripping off my voice like melted chocolate. Just because I thought he was remotely attractive didn't mean that I had any intention of entertaining those feelings, much more giving in and asking said rude titan out to lunch.
"I'm going to join his Crucible to train. That's it. That way I'll never have to bump into him again when I'm trying to read during my spare time." I said defiantly. It'll be a thousand years before I end up dating Lord Shaxx, or maybe it'd be the other way around, no way I'm his type. Right?
"If that's all, then it's fine. It is what you and him make out to be, just don't forget about that." Razuu said.
"Besides, just because we're guardians doesn't mean we're not allowed to have feelings." Kristoph said, taking a wonton from the center plate.
"Yeah and right now I'm allowed to be annoyed at him." I smiled back at the both of them taking their points but not letting down my walls.
"Well regardless, good luck. Better you than us stepping into the Crucible. I don't mind it, but I definitely get a bit too competitive." Kristoph said. I remember the few times Kristoph emerged from the Crucible were not sunshine and rainbows. He was skilled and deadly, but he was visibly irked at the low blow kills and the number of shotguns he lost the round at. He almost through a nova bomb in frustration until Razuu and I reminded him that we were in the Tower.
"Yeah, you'll do great. You're a good shot and you're good with your void abilities. Maybe not as good as Kristoph here…" Razuu joked.
"Gee, thanks for the confidence." We all shared a laugh as the ramen arrived. We each grabbed a chopstick from the dispenser and dug in. The sun was setting now, painting the tower in gold and orange hues. I wanted to remember moments like this with my friends. Sure, we're on the front lines and we're trying to pull a miracle to save the rest of humanity and restore Earth, but we can still have moments where we can enjoy time with the people who are important in our lives now. I'll always savor that.
