Chapter 25: Interlude
"I will admit to a very personal satisfaction at the death of Draksis. He hurt my City and he hurt my friends. Few guardians have ever assaulted a Kell in the throne room of his own Ketch. The entire Tower is abuzz at the chance to explore this downed Winter ship, but more important, we've removed another Fallen nightmare from our worlds. We thank you, Fireteam Guardian." -Commander Zavala
For long moments the only sound was meaty tearing as the nameless hunter drove her knife over and over into Draksis, the now-dead Winter Kell.
Alice finally spoke up sharply. "Hunter, enough."
The hunter in question startled out of her reverie and looked up with a snarl. "You don't' know what he did to my fireteam, to me. He deserves worse."
"I do not know your past," responded Alice, her voice gentle. "But your foe is dead. He cannot hurt you or anyone else any longer."
A battered ghost appeared over the hunter. "If you won't listen to me, listen to them. Please… let's go home."
She stared at the dead kell, easily twice her size, silently shaking while she did battle with her demons. Then, finally, she whispered "Okay."
"Good," cut in Vistrek urgently, "because there are a hell of a lot of Fallen on this ship, and a lot of them are headed this way. As in, hundreds of them."
"Then let's go," said Whisper. "Blabber, get whatever data you can from this ship's computers. Vistrek, you take point." Whisper reloaded her sniper rifle and traded it out for the SMG, favoring mobility over stopping power. "Let's move."
…
Taniks the Scarred gripped his oversized scorch cannon tightly and considered the layout of the Prison of Elders as he thought through the plan once more. It was an impressive feat of engineering – six separate prison blocks, each sixty floor deep, built into an asteroid. Each block held different Houses and different factions, from the remnants of his own people to Hive and the Cabal and even Vex. His mechanical eyes zoomed in on Block-E, where Aksor was held in cryogenic stasis.
The main entrance was at the top, forcing intruders to fight all the way down before locating the prisoner, then commandeering one of the trains to transport the bulky cryopod, and then fighting all the way back out again.
It was impossible—which was why he had no intention of doing it. He was far more interested in the secret landing dock on one of the lower levels. All he needed was a sufficient distraction. He looked up at the promising young House of Winter captain provided by Draksis for the purpose. "You will lead the assault on Block-A to free more soldiers. With those reinforcements, you will…" The captain nodded intently, determined not to embarrass his kell in front of the outsider, and Taniks smiled.
…
Shiro-4 settled himself down into his small hide dug into the snow in the shadow of a centuries-old piece of destroyed aircraft. It was… part of the fuselage? It was hard to tell. But that wasn't important now – what was important was out in front of him.
At first glance it was just another ruin in the Cosmodrome, its hardened concrete towers crumbling and rusted-out hulks of ancient aircraft and tanks littering the rocky terrain.
The exo frowned as he observed the area, his experienced eye picking out details. Because this wasn't just another ancient ruin. It had been destroyed alright – but within the last few days. This wasn't good. Cayde sent him out here to check out reports from a flyover that the place had lit up again. He didn't know much about the place, but it was obvious from the half of a giant dish that remained and the still-smoking ruins of weapons emplacements that this was one of the Warmind Rasputin's interplanetary defense installations. Humanity had forgotten how to fight during the golden age, so they'd given all their toys to Rasputin to hold for them.
And he'd set this place back up, only to see it knocked down again.
He slowly turned his head, keeping movement to a minimum, to look out over the lake. Large black-and-green stone poked out of the water in five separate places. What they were was no secret – one of them had landed right in the center of the facility, blowing out half of a building. They were Hive Seeder Pods, launched from Luna and filled to the brim with Hive.
Well Cayde, you were right to send me out here. It looks like Rasputin's battle with the Hive is still going and has reached Earth.
The Vanguard scout kept his eyes scanning. He'd send an initial report, then give it another few days of watching to see if anything changed.
…
Ikora Rey tried not to wonder exactly what chaos was about to break out as Lord Shaxx approached her with his trademark unstoppable enthusiasm. "Welcome, Lord Shaxx. What can I do for you?"
"I am opening two more crucible locations on the moon," he announced emphatically.
Ikora cocked an eyebrow. "Two? Where?"
"I have designated the first Anomaly, which will be located at the heart of the First Light Lunar Installation."
"Isn't that where the top-secret K1 project took place? And right next to your Last Light arena? And why do I remember making that area off-limits to guardians while we studied the project."
Shaxx waived a hand dismissively. "We could hardly keep the location a secret. There are intense electromagnetic fluctuations coming from the Anomaly we can detect here from Earth. What better way to control access, and learn if the Anomaly does anything, then having highly trained guardians nearby?"
Ikora frowned. "There is a certain amount of logic to that. But what makes you think the combatants won't just blow up the Anomaly and release whatever is inside it?"
Shaxx paused. "They will not. Your marking the place off limits has not prevented some guardians from exploring it. One was a titan who I will not name who tried to punch it until it opened."
Ikora stood abruptly. "They what?"
Shaxx held up both hands placatingly. "Bold, yes, but foolish. She did not succeed. The next day, to the second, the Warmind dropped a WarSat on her head from low orbit. Word has spread. No guardian wants to make an enemy of Rasputin – they will not attack the Anomaly."
The warlock rubbed her forehead and sat back down. "Traveler have mercy. I'm almost afraid to ask about your second location."
"This one I call The Cauldron. It is on the dark side of the moon at a Hive ritual site. The warlocks tell me the Hive performed sacrifices there and forms of life were given an audience before the reigning monarch and were judged before the power of the Darkness. A perfect place for study, with crucible guardians to protect it."
Ikora sighed.
…
Master Rahool sat down at his office desk with a sigh, for once leaving the work of decrypting engrams brought in by guardians to others. This was a special occasion. He slowly traced his fingertips along the cover of a freshly bound book, the very first copy to be run. It was an accomplishment, the work of years of research and effort, finally come to fruition now that the moon was available for research purposes once again.
The gold filigree along the binding glinted in the light, reading The Great Disaster: From Burning Lack to the Hellmouth. He smiled, placed the book up on his bookshelf, and started thinking about his next work. Collaboration with Master Reinhart on his work on ecological changes on Mars, perhaps?
…
The man known as Dredgen Vale stirred in the darkness. He had heard the reports, but there were always reports. No, this was real – he could feel it. The quiet of the hundred years since the battle of Twilight Gap was ending. The Darkness was on the move, creeping back into the system. And the Darkness offered certain… opportunities.
He considered the weapon lying on the stone in front of him, twisted and gnarled, and looked then looked up at the other figures hidden in the shadows and spoke in a raspy voice. "It is time we claim our reward. Have you heard the whispers, brothers? Sister? The shadow speaks. All we have to do is listen. Its secrets are a gift. It's gift? Our evolution. The others misunderstand. We are the Weapons of Sorrow – living and free. The hated heroes of this broken age. The time has come again to let our names be known, to spread the word of the Shadows of Yor."
…
Whisper stood on the Tower overlooking the City with Ikora, finishing her report Draksis for Ikora to review and submit to the Vanguard, and then the Consensus, when Whisper decided to voice something she'd been thinking about for the last while.
"Ikora, I've been thinking. The Vanguard could really use a better system of bringing in and introducing new guardians to the City and their new role. I'm still brand new myself, and I run into questions all the time on things that turn out to be common knowledge to guardians. No disrespect to Chester; if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have the slightest idea of what was happening beyond 'gun' and 'shoot,' but we could really—"
"Who's Chester?"
Whisper jerked to a stop. "You don't know who Chester… you mean there's no explanation at all when a new guardian shows up? Just go shoot everything that moves beyond the wall?" Whisper's irritation was quickly escalating to anger. "That's just irresponsible! You're churning out new guardians with horrific trauma from death after death that is completely avoidable! This is unbelievable! This is…"
It went downhill from there.
…
Commander Zavala stood in the courtyard of the Tower looking down at three titans. They were not much to look at, these new lights. Part of him wanted to send them on their way and get back to his many pressing duties, but he quashed the temptation as he remembered Whisper's almost caustic comments about their abysmal efforts to teach new guardians. He wasn't accustomed to taking abuse from guardians that were weeks old, but Whisper showed a lot of promise, and her words had rung true. Thought it was hard to admit it, after centuries of experience sometimes it was hard to remember what it was like in those first days of chaos and fear, and that just because that was the way it was for him, didn't mean that was the best way. Her comments had goaded him to agree with Ikora and Cayde-6 to do something about it.
He sighed quietly examined these newcomers closely. They were nervous, though they tried to hide it. One wore Gatewatch pattern fieldplate which design dated back to the dark age. The other two wore Lightmail, fashioned from their ghosts by whatever material they could scavenge.
"Titans." They stared up at him with rapt attention. Zavala gestured around them. "Do you see the walls that surround the Last City? Picture them in your mind. They don't just protect our people. They also serve as a reminder – a reminder of what you are. You are a titan. The wall against which evil breaks. The candle in the darkest of these days. The protector of the Traveler's last gifts. This City is your home. Its people are your blood. And its walls are your shields, your weapons, and your temple. Take your place, titan, and know this: when you fight for the Last City, you will never suffer defeat."
The guardians nodded emphatically, excited.
"You will be assigned to a member of the Stoneborn Order, based here in the City, to begin learning what it means to be a titan. And to start you on your journey, I have a gift for each of you." He held up three scraps of cloth in deep burgundy bearing the white lion that symbolized titans everywhere. "These are your first marks, meant to honor the stalwart defenders of the Last City. Take them, and always live worthy of them."
…
Ikora Rey sat in one of the Tower's library with two brand-new warlocks as she, too, mused on Whisper's comments. Their faces were impassive, masking their uncertainty and burning curiosity.
"Look around you. Really look. No matter where you stand, no matter what lies before you, millions of infinite mysteries hide within your view. Think about that. And then know that you will one day know the answers to all of them. You are a warlock. Your armor is wisdom, your weapons wit and ingenuity. You hold the power to draw strength from the places where imagination and possibility collide. The universe is a complex machine. But all machines can be understood, taken apart, modified, improved. All you have to do is look. If you dedicate yourself to the study of the universe, it will always reveal its secrets to you."
The more courageous of the two spoke up. "But what do we do?"
Ikora smiled. "There are symbols in this world – beacons of hope in dark times. We look to them to find inspiration to go on when hope seems lost. We need them now more than ever. In these disconcerting times, uncertainty and speculation have run rampant and grown wild. Burn it down. Raze it to ash. Remind them what warlocks stand for. We are the inextinguishable dawn shining through the midnight Darkness. The people of the City look to us as a lodestar. Show them the way forward. Be the symbol, guardian. Embolden your friends and allies. Together, nothing can stop us."
…
Cayde-6 stretched and basked in the sunlight in the field outside the Last City. They were still well within range of the City's guns, so they weren't exactly in the "wilds," but this was as close is it got for him these days.
After a few moments someone cleared their throat behind him, and he turned around to see six brand-new guardians trampling through the underbrush. "Oh, right. Ok. Here's where I give you this big pep talk about 'what it means to be a hunter' and 'follow these rules' and blah blah blah. So. Here's the one rule to being a hunter." He shrugged.
One of the new lights in the back raised a hand. "Uh, could you repeat that?"
Cayde blinked. "Can you not see me? I'm—I'm shrugging. It's—hard to convey in… Anyway, it's a shrug. Get it? There's no one way to be a hunter. Just… figure it out as you go along. I know you can. Otherwise you wouldn't be a hunter. Okay?"
The hunters looked at each other blankly.
Cayde waived his arms. "So what are you waiting for? Get out of here. Wait, wait—that'll be 1,000 Glimmer. Nah, I'm kidding. Now go make me proud. Or don't. Just make you proud, okay? Wow. Sometimes I inspire even myself."
A/N: A bit of a change of pace. A lot of events happen rapid-fire here in the timeline that aren't directly related to the story yet, so I thought we would do a short interlude to give some of the background action.
Here is the lore referenced in this chapter.
Grimoire:
Scourge of Winter
Skyshock
The Anomaly
Ghost Fragment: The Anomaly
Ghost Fragment: Fallen 6
Ghost Fragment: Thorn 5
The Cauldron
Lore Books:
The Forsaken Prince: Free | Part II
Items:
Centerfire
Imperial Needle
Gatewatch
Lightmail
Brave Titan's Mark
Daring Hunter's Cloak
Wise Warlock's Bond
Promethium Spur
Other:
Cryptarch (weblore)
