It started in darkness, an empty pit on a desolate mountainside. The night sky glittered with the light of a thousand stars as Jean searched the land for the one. A guardian, his guardian. There were several dead to pick from, their bodies no more than faint wisps of ashen remains. But only one was calling out to him. As the ghost flew closer to the center of the pit the feeling grew stronger. He was close, so close. He had been searching for so long and finally, here, near the edge of the galaxy on a previously undiscovered centaur. He could feel his guardian was near. They would have to be awoken. No humans had made it this far out but there had been ruins of civilization. Architecture similar to that of the reef and yet different. Perhaps a yet unknown group had survived here for a time after the collapse. They were long gone now though. Jean was pulled from his thoughts when he felt it. The pull of the light. He stopped where the pull was strongest and scanned the ground. His shell shivered with anticipation as he prepared to resurrect his guardian. Then, with a flash, he pulled them back from the grips of death.

There was a flash, a blinding light, a feeling of being ripped from a peaceful rest and then… life. The awoken woman opened her eyes and found herself standing alone in a hole. Confused, she looked around before something started speaking to her.

"It worked! You're alive!" The voice said.

There was something floating in front of her. A bug? No, it was too large. As her vision cleared the little object came into focus but it made no difference. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. She narrowed her eyes, studying the thing as it floated closer, its outer shell shifting as its center moved around as if looking her over.

"Sorry, this must all be confusing to you. My name is Jean. I'm a ghost. Well, now I'm your ghost. You've been dead for a long time, so you're going to see a lot of things you probably won't understand." The thing, this Jean, told her.

But she didn't understand. She had been dead? If she had been dead then, how was she standing here now? She looked down at her hands, they felt stiff but as she willed them to move, she felt her muscles loosen and relax. She flexed her fingers, watching as the movements became more natural once again. So, she was alive. Again, apparently. But that left her with another major question. Who was she? She looked back at the ghost once more and he seemed to understand her concern.

"You're a guardian now. Chosen by the traveler to fight against the darkness alongside others who wield the light." His shell spun around his center as he explained.

She listened, but she did not understand. She could feel something inside her, a power that was unfamiliar to her. Could that be the light he spoke of? She looked at her surroundings but all she saw was an empty landscape. If there were others like her then… where were they? Finally, she found her voice.

"Where are we?" The question was simple but one she needed answered.

Jean seemed to perk up at this and his shell spun once more as he floated over to hover above her shoulder.

"We're on what's called a centaur near the edge of the galaxy. They're usually uninhabited rocks but it seems some awoken had made a home on this one for a time." He told her.

The guardian nodded slowly, her thoughts beginning to clear and become more focused. Satisfied with the response he'd given her she moved on to the next thing she couldn't remember.

"My name… What's my name?" She felt like she should know. Everyone should know their own name and yet even that escaped her.

Jean was silent for a moment as he considered his answer before he turned back toward his guardian.

"Well, you can pick any name you want. I… can't tell you who you were before I brought you back. I don't even know that." He suddenly perked up once more. "Oh! But there was an inscription near the rim of the pit with some names on it though! Maybe one of those will help you?"

The guardian looked to her ghost and nodded once more. He responded by floating a little higher before taking off toward a fairly good-sized monolith not far from them. She followed, her steps unsure at first but soon her stride was strong and confident. The light inside her easing any fears she had at the time. Reaching the rim she climbed out of the pit from which she had been risen and stepped around to view the inscription on the monument. In the white light of a nearby moon she could make out three names, all women. But only one seemed to spark something in her. Reaching out she brushed her fingers lightly over the carved letters as she made her choice.

"Aurora." As the name left her lips she felt her confidence grow. As if the last of the missing pieces had fallen into place. She turned her attention back to Jean as he moved around to hover just above her hand, reading the name himself before turning to face her.

"I like that name." He said, his shell shifting as he then moved higher so he was eye level with his guardian. "Now, I need to get you back to the city." He turned and looked back toward the ruins he had come through earlier as he began scanning for any sign of a jump ship. He moved toward the crumbling buildings and Aurora stepped up beside him.

"There's a ship not far from here, but I'm detecting a strong hive presence." He looked back at her. "We'll need to find you a weapon." He then moved closer before disappearing completely as he attached himself to her.

Aurora looked around confused when he vanished, but Jean soon spoke to her again.

"Don't worry I'm still with you. But we need to move." He said. She still seemed a bit unsure but even that feeling soon faded as she faced the ruins once more. Jean felt an opportunity to say the three words he had longed to for so long and he almost couldn't contain the sound of pride in his voice as he finally spoke them.

"Eyes up, guardian."