Chapter 28: Eye of the Gate Lord

You see history hidden between the barren rocks and within the high acid clouds. You see the ruin ready to claim its birthright. Sunlight starves. The fierceness chills and thins and runs sweet. A new ocean emerges, thick and salty and hot, from springs and geysers that drench the dead ground. You wonder: will this world's second birth be its finest?

You're still planning on doing this, aren't you? I can't talk you out of it? Blabber bobbed nervously in the hot, humid air of Venus.

"Probably not," replied Whisper as he scanned the misty path ahead, ducking beneath trees.

I'll admit, the more we learn about the Vex, the more I understand why that weird Exo Stranger is so worried about them. During the Collapse, the Vex transformed the planet Mercury into a machine in days. They would have spread to every planet if the Traveler hadn't stopped them. But the Traveler did—are you sure it's a good idea to go poking around this Black Garden or taking on a Gate Lord?

Whisper shrugged. "You've been around longer than me. So, you tell me. Do you think the Vanguard will investigate this? Send a strike team all the way out here to track this down, make a deal with the Awoken queen?"

Blabber fell silent.

"That's what I thought. They fight a lot, defend the City, but not even Ikora's Hidden have actually learned much about what's happened since the Dark Ages or even what's going on right now."

So that's our job?

"No… it's not like we're taking responsibility for the whole City. I just want to know, want to learn."

Blabber emulated one of her sighs, then spoke resignedly. Well, if you're sure, then the first thing we're going to have to do is get me into a Vex network so I can lure out a Gate Lord.

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?"

Cayde-6 shrugged. "Like I said, she left. You want my guess, I think she went back to Venus. That's the frontier now, and a good hunter can't stay away from the frontier for long."

Alice turned to look at Vistrek. "I'll find her and deliver our gift."

The titan nodded his thanks, and Alice turned to find Amanda Holliday to get her ship looked over before the long flight.

Whisper looked up at the strange architecture of the Citadel. Vex harpies swirled around the upper spires.

Here's what we have on Gate Lords: three stories tall, and protect the realms the Vex keep locked out of time. Wait, time? That can't be right… oh, this entry in the database was made by Osiris. That explains it.

Whisper paused. "What do you mean?"

Cryptic, weird, possibly very important but also useless? That has Osiris written all over it.

"Well, his records on the Hive shrines turned out to be right. We should at least consider it."

Fair point.

"Well then, let's go find out." Blabber transmatted away and Whisper cautiously pressed forward into the Citadel once more in the shadow of massive stone pillars where Vex goblins and minotaurs wandered seemingly at random through the area. Whisper snuck past them, heading deeper inside.

I'm picking up a heavy conflux nearby. I can use it to get inside their network. Blabber dropped an icon into her HUD. She worked her way towards it and found a large, glowing white pillar. It was strange-looking and difficult to describe, like innumerable tiny strands of glowing white metal that was almost liquid, as if it was flowing.

Blabber appeared and began scanning it. Wow, that's… a lot. And I thought you had the hard job. Hmm… Okay, we've got to head for a place called the Endless Steps. That's what the Vex call it, anyway. It's near Research Site 6. That's where we'll find the Gate Lord… for better or worse.

Whisper moved forward cautiously beyond the research station. The sky was overcast and dark, letting loose a heavy rain while lightning cracked above. The area was dangerous, the stone pillars giving way to fully transformed Vex superstructure that glowed as it powered incomprehensible computations.

Vex gates littered the area, through which Vex appeared and disappeared. The limited teleportation the Fallen had developed was a pale imitation of the gates the vex casually strewn about.

She followed a small, muddy trail and kept out of sight of the rest of the Vex winding slowly upwards from platform to platform towards a massive stone structure deeply inscribed with Vex tech. No wonder it was called the endless steps. Beams of coherent light pulsed to it from the surrounding structures, and at its heart stood the biggest Vex gate she'd ever seen. Just in front of the gate lay a ring on the ground made of the Vex's typical golden inscrutable material.

I guess you're going to have to step inside the ring.

"And if it works, a giant Vex machine will show up, and then all the other Vex we snuck past will hit us from behind. I have a better idea." She held out a hand and transmatted in her rocket launcher, then stripped out the first warhead.

Whisper leaped out of cover, SMG spraying down the handful of goblins that wandered nearby. Once clear, Blabber leaped into action, transmatting packages into place while Whisper covered him, picking off the Vex units coming to investigate.

Done!

The Ghost disappeared again and Whisper leaped into the Vex ring. It hummed with energy in quickening frequency. Then, with a crackle of unfathomable power, the gate rumbled to life with a thrum that reverberated in her metal bones.

Lightning crackled and out of nothing stepped an enormous Vex construct. It emerged in parts as if being built rather than teleported. It was humanoid in shape, though oddly proportioned and black as midnight, with a single giant red eye in the center of its head. Arms emerged and attached to the torso, then legs. It hit the ground with enough force to shake the ground.

Whisper craned back her neck to look up at the incredible machine as it leveled an enormous cannon bigger than she was. She backed away slowly, peripherally aware of the Vex units teleporting in nearby.

The Gate Lord took one enormous step forward, covering half the distance between them… and Whisper sent the signal. The ground beneath the Vex Gate Lord erupted as seven rockets, jury-rigged to detonators fabricated by Blabber, detonated in less than a second. The shockwave slammed into Whisper, throwing her backwards like a ragdoll. She curled in her limbs, bounced twice, then slammed into a rock pillar with a sharp crack.

For long moments her audio receptors were completely overwhelmed, then with a reassuring hum Blabber was there, pumping Light into her. Fractured metal knit together, cracked tubing resealed, and she was back on her feet.

Vex were moving in quickly now from all directions. "Quickly!" She rushed into the crater. Bits of vex were strewn everywhere, but it had to be around here somewhere… there!"

Blabber flashed with Light and Whisper took off running.

Whisper was ushered into the throne room of Mara Sov once more, where the queen lounged with studied artfulness on her oversized throne, her face lying back in the shadows so only her glowing eyes could be seen. At her side Prince Uldren stood conversing quietly with a Fallen guard, back contemptuously to her, showing only his frayed cloak with a white stripe along the border and large red circle design on the center of his back like a taunting target.

Mara spoke quietly, while the carefully shaped acoustics of the room made her voice carry as if she were speaking directly into Whisper's ears on both sides.

"It is alive… and it still has its ball."

Uldren turned to face her as she walked along the elevated pathway, holding his belt and sneering. Seeing her return apparently empty-handed, he spoke with faux sympathy in his tone, and venom in his words. "There is no shame in running away, guardian. Apart from the cowardice and failure of it, it's an excellent strategy."

Whisper came to a stop ten paces from the throne while the Fallen watched warily. Idiot… or is it possible they don't know that ghosts can transmat? They must not, or they would be worried some guardian could stroll on in with an explosive and have their ghost rebuild them after the explosion.For a moment she considered not revealing the capability but decided against it. The relationship with the Reef was too fragile, and if the Speaker was right about the Darkness gathering, then it was more important than ever to strengthen these ties. Even if it did let the Queen feel like she pulled one over on her.

She kept her voice neutral. "We didn't run."

Mara Sov glanced between them, allowing a hint of interest to enter her words. "Was no Gate Lord slain, brother?"

Whisper nodded to Blabber, who transmatted the Gate Lord's head back into normal space, where it clattered to the floor, spitting sparks and leaking lubricant onto the red carpet.

The Fallen leveled their blades, chattering to each other in their strange language. Even Uldren looked taken aback, half-stepping in front of Mara and putting a hand on what must be a concealed weapon at his back.

Mara didn't even bat an eyelash. She must have known already… and not told the others about it.

"We've done as you asked. Now we need to find the Black Garden."

Uldren slowly relaxed. "Huh," he said, somewhere between amused and genuinely surprised. "They don't even know where it is."

"Then let us tell them," said Mara in her aloof way. "Search the Gate Lord for that which gains them entrance."

Uldren whirled, anger flashing in his eyes as his ever-volatile temper flared. "Why!? If you wish them certain death, just kill them here!"

Mara stared into his eyes, the two communicating silently with long shared history, meaning imbued in the tiniest flicker of expression. After a moment she spoke in a different tone, clearly saying more to Uldren than the words alone conveyed. "Often, when we guess at others' motives, we reveal only our own."

Uldren lowered his voice. "My motive is simply loyalty, to a people, a Queen, and a sister." He knelt before her, and she leaned her head towards him. "Then please. Take what is required." Again, her tone said more than her words and Whisper struggled to follow the subtext. Whatever it was, Uldren looked away from Mara for a long moment, yellow eyes glowing, then climbed to his feet and stalked down the throne's steps. He pulled a knife from its sheath at his side and plunged it into the Gate Lord's head, prying it open. He stood again and held up a single red lens the size of his fist. With something almost like relief, he turned to face Whisper. "Dead. How unfortunate." He turned and held it up for Mara to see. "A wasted journey, I'm afraid."

Mara inclined her head the tiniest fraction in acknowledgement. "Perhaps. But I think these ones resourceful. We gift it, in sympathy for their Traveler."

Uldren's face went blank and he turned back slowly. He stared intensely, inscrutably, then spoke flatly, no false airs or pretension. "Mars. Eighty-Four North, Thirty-Two East, Meridian Bay," then tossed the lens to Whisper, who caught it.

Mara Sov stood gracefully, putting her face into the light where she looked down on them. "I have shown you benevolence, guardian Whisper. Should the Awoken ever need an ally, I will call on you. And expect you to answer."

Whisper made no move, and Uldren hissed. "She's saying you owe us."

Whisper spared him a glance. "I understood." Then she turned back to the queen and inclined her head slightly, enough to show respect, but far from a bow. "Your grace." She turned and walked away, her footsteps echoing in the throne room. After a few steps Uldren called out mockingly. "Good luck getting through the Exclusion Zone."

Whisper knew her report would make waves, but she was surprised when the entire Vanguard and the Speaker were waiting for her in the Tower, where she was quickly ushered immediately after landing. She repeated her report for them, answering question after question. At last silence fell, and the Speaker nodded.

"While the defeat of any champion of the Dark is cause for celebration, be leery of the promises of the Queen. The Awoken play both sides of this battle, and a debt to her is potentially ruinous. But if you are able to locate this Black Garden… you will have the City's full support."

Cayde nodded gravely. "What he said. Just be careful when you make deals with the Awoken, would you? The Queen always collects."

"Yes," said Zavala, speaking for the first time. "If the Speaker says we must find this Black Garden, then it must be found… but I am concerned about Mars. We haven't gotten a scout behind it in years."

Cayde-6 punched him playfully on a massive arm, which didn't give in the slightest. "Come on Zavala, it's been a while, but Mars is great for hunters. Lots of dust storms make it easy to move stealthily. Sure it's far enough away it can feel like the Light is crawling across space to get there, but hunters are the best suited to that isolation, they're quick and watchful.

Ikora glanced at Cayde. "The Vex and Cabal Legions have been fighting there for decades now, maybe longer. This may be an opportunity to learn more about what's happening there."

Zavala frowned, glanced at the Speaker, then nodded. "The potential gains outweigh the risks, but be careful out there, Whisper. Any large-scale guardian intervention could tip the balance of power in unpredictable ways. We can't afford a major Cabal offensive, not while we're engaged with the Hive and the Fallen. Your efforts have them back on their heels, but we must keep the pressure on them if we're to prevent them from making up lost ground."

"I understand."

"Then good luck, guardian. From all of us."

The sun had long set when Zavala, Ikora, and Cayde-6 found time to sit down together in their closed meeting room, after Ikora effortlessly headed off Cayde's attempt to slink away. His heart hadn't really been in it, though – at this point it was more habit than anything else, and a little fun with Ikora, besides.

Zavala sighed heavily and looked across the table, comforted by his companions' steady presence. "I called this meeting, but there is no agenda." Cayde perked up at this. "I suppose I just wanted to… get your thoughts. Things have been quiet for a few years, and now, everything seems to be happening at once."

Ikora nodded gravely. "The activation of the array, and reestablishing contact with Rasputin, were just the start."

"Where are we on that, anyway?" asked Cayde. Zavala stared at him, and he shrugged. "Maybe I wasn't paying attention during the Consensus meeting one time."

"Rasputin has not responded to our attempts to reach to it," interjected Ikora smoothly. "We are not clear on whether it is reduced to an automatic response shell, or generally intact. We do not know if its objectives have changed, its attitude towards us, what memories it might retain, or even its physical or computational architecture."

Cayde blinked. "Somehow, I don't think that's what I would have heard in the Consensus meeting."

It was the warlock's turn to shrug. "Despite that, and Zavala's concerns, the Consensus has asked that we continue outreach efforts to develop a strategic alliance. And we have, but progress is slow."

"As Ikora said," continued Zavala, "that was just the beginning. The discovery of the Hive digging in on Earth, their counterattack destroying the Cosmodrome Interplanetary Defense Array, returning to Luna and what we found there."

Ikora's mouth set in a grim line. "Yes, the discovery of the Chamber of Night may be the greatest of our time. If the Hive can infect the Traveler through a long-lost shard of its shell, then Ulan-Tan's theory might be true after all that all Light remains connected."

"Let's not get distracted. Right or wrong, Ulan-Tan's theories seriously undermined guardian morale," rumbled Zavala. "But it continues. A possible encounter with the mysterious exo stranger, strikes into the Hellmouth itself, opening Luna to guardian patrols, re-opening communications with the Reef, re-establishing contact with Venus and gaining access to the Ishtar Collective Archives, killing the Kell of the House of Winter, destroying a Vex Gate Lord and now chasing after the Black Garden on Mars… It has me worried. We cannot afford to open unlimited fronts."

"On the other hand," retorted Cayde, I've been saying since long before I joined the Vanguard that if we wait too long cooped up in the City, we will lose everything to pirates and warmongers, lose our past."

Ikora nodded. "I have to agree with Cayde on this one." Cayde's mouth fell open, which she ignored. "After so many years of little change, the warlocks were becoming more insular, turning inwards instead of outwards. The rush of new discoveries and changes has gotten them more engaged. The discovery of the Gate Lord, alone, initiated an impassioned debate about whether the Gate Lord could open a gate to the golden age and allow communication to prevent the Collapse from happening." Zavala glanced at her in alarm, and she held up a hand. "It's a theory, and I won't let them try it. It would be our very, very last option."

Zavala didn't seem entirely assuaged, but continued gamely. "And now I have Lord Shaxx asking to establish crucible zones on Venus. We cannot deny him, but I continue to be concerned at how thin we are spreading ourselves. We have not had a census in years now, but let's assume we still have roughly a million active guardians. That sounds like an enormous number, but we are facing active resistance across the entirety of Earth. We can't hold a single planet with a million guardians, and we can't show weakness or the Hive could make their invasion from Luna. And now we've set up a forward operating base on Venus. How much further can we go?"

Cayde spoke quietly, with a gentleness few ever got to see. "Hey big guy, this isn't all on you, alright? The guardians are going to do what they're going to do. If they're feeling reenergized, excited again, that's got to be better than the bored disinterest we've had going the last fifty years or so."

Zavala nodded slowly. "Thank you. Maybe I just… needed a little reassurance, I suppose."

Cayde and Ikora shared a quiet look.

"It's perfect."

Lord Shaxx stood looking down a non-descript street near a subway stop on the line between Clovis Bray's Venus arcology headquarters and the Ishtar Academy campus. "A grim reminder of the lives, the dreams, and the progress lost when the Darkness came, where guardians can sharpen their blades in the shadow of the Vex, who know no such sentimentality."

The Crucible master hopped off the wreckage of a ground vehicle and stepped down the crumbling stairs into the subway while a Redjack frame trundled along after him. "Hmm. Dark in here…"

The frame piped up bravely. "Engineering protocols dictate frame recharging bays—"

"It's fine. How many of you are there?"

"Including Arcite 99-40, this Redjack fireteam comprises eleven units."

Shaxx considered this. "Your name?"

"This frame's designation is Dahlia 99-40."

Shaxx nodded firmly. "I asked for more guardians, but they only gave me you. No matter. The City needs training grounds. And together, that's what we'll provide."

"I might do that. Or I might explode."

Shaxx smiled beneath his helmet. "That's all I ask."

As usual, here are the bits of lore referenced in this chapter.

Destiny 1 Grimoire:

Ghost Fragment: Venus

Eye of a Gate Lord

Ishtar Collective

Rasputin

Chamber of Night

Asylum

Ghost Fragment: Asylum

Items:

Dustwalker (boots)

Mangala Skin 1.3 (arms)

Mangala Skin 1.3 (boots)

Lore Books:

The Man They Call Cayde: Fold