The New Light woke up in a toga of ruffled sheets, pillows strewn this way and that as he wiped the sleep from his eyes and his awareness came back to him. A window to the outdoors was open. Cold morning air entered the room. He sat up.
His Ghost appeared before him. "Morning… You sleep good?" She asks with a twirl of her shell.
The New Light pulls his hair up, caressing his own scalp as he thinks. "Yeah… I Think so…"
"Good… I think Mithra's downstairs… You should go say hi." His Ghost proposed with a cheerful demeanor.
"Yeah… I may as well, right? I'll thank her for allowing me to stay..."
The New Light sighs as he picks himself up, unraveling the fabric wrapped around him, picking up his poncho from where he last set it, and standing up.
"If I want to understand more about our Universe… Best to learn from those who came before me…"
The New Light looks over at a void to his right, on the floor right next to the wall. Strewn cushions and blankets indicate it was where someone slept before they departed.
"Caravel, huh?" The New Light inquires, curious at everything about her.
"Yeah.. strange… Wonder why she stared at you back then…"
"Who knows… maybe my eyes were just that appealing…" The New Light shrugs, feeling confident from the energy gained from his heavy sleep.
"Just as I thought I could escape your attitude… You bring it right back…"
"Hey! I got a good night's rest, alright… at least I'm not reeling from sensory overload like last night…"
The New Light shivers as he closes the open window. The chill dies down as he makes his way to the staircase, stumbling down its carpeted steps.
Mithra stood with her back to the New Light. The smell of frying meat and boiling rice wafts throughout the main floor of the two-story-brick she and her clan called home. Sensing the New Light's presence, she turns and smiles at the New Light standing at the base of the stairs. The New Light smiles weakly at her. He approaches the kitchen, noticing the strewn utensils and appliances. Eggs steam in a bowl of water and ice. Meat bubbles with oil inside a frying pan.
"Just in time! Sera told me you like boiled eggs…" Picking up one of the shelled roundels, she squeezes it. The thing cracks this way and that. Then, a swirling energy tears the shell from its smooth squishy surface. The energy was the color of indigo.
"Want one?" She offers the cleaned remains.
"Sure…" The New Light picks up the Egg, trying to think of where he remembers it. The memories are distant, the instinct so close. He tries but fails to remember. He sighs as he bites down on the protein ball, savoring its conflicting taste.
The New Light continues feasting on the protein offered, making his way to a small table set against the wall to the right of the kitchen. Mithra offers him a bowl of rice with fried strips of fatty meat layered across. "Bacon" he thinks to himself. With a steel spoon, he eagerly fills his stomach. Mithra only watches on. Her stare unnerves the New light, despite knowing her good intentions.
"We have a lot to do Today…" Mithra sits across from the New Light, eyeing him curiously. Her calm blue eyes scanning his face as he eats. It's too uncomfortable but he ignores it, preferring the certainty and heat of his bacon, eggs, and rice. Mithra frowns a little as the New Light ignores her attempts of interaction. It's clear that though she's ecstatic to be teaching him, she doesn't know how and/or isn't exactly experienced enough to do so.
"How do you feel about Libraries?" Mithra Starts.
"I can handle a few books…" The New Light looks up from his breakfast, his gaze meeting hers for a split second before looking back down at his food.
"Okay… Later, we can go for a walk, and… introduce you to the rest of what the City has to offer?"
"My Ghost says that I'm not ready for 'Inter-bearer' interactions yet…" The New Light looks at his Ghost with a gentle, teasing glare. His Ghost only shifts in response.
Mithra chuckles, a soft rhythmic hum. "We don't have to talk to other Lightbearers just yet… We can just… Walk the streets! See the Culture and the Life the City has to offer!"
"I understand it's only been a few days since your resurrection, right?" Mithra looks at the New Light's Ghost.
"Yeah… Four to be precise…" The New Light's Ghost chirps, floating beside the New Light's bowl of Rice and goodness.
"Mmm… We can take a stroll around the City Streets… get used to the layout of the place, the various attractions and resources you can find… Maybe say hi to some of the Mortals while we do… Maybe even talk to the Speaker?" Mithra rambles through various ideas, trying to appear attentive and to encourage the New Light sitting across from her to speak up.
The New Light freezes for a second, lowering a spoonful of yolk-mixed rice before speaking. "We were actually planning on seeing the Speaker Last Night… My Ghost said he was dealing with a… Consensus Meeting?"
"Oh yeah… Once every month the leaders of the City go to the Central Tower… wherein they debate and debate… Usually going nowhere since the City really isn't at any sort of necessary strength to act on its needs… I think most of the focus is going to rebuilding… after the madness that was Six Fronts…"
"I've been hearing much about that battle… Mazdam told me about it Yesterday…"
"He's not wrong… Mazdam and our Titan friend Jalus both fought under the leadership of Lord Shaxx after they were rallied to fight by Tallulah Fairwind… They really didn't want to fight… but both Fairwind and Shaxx promised them Fallen spoils if they did…" Mithra summons a ball of Blue Sparkle at her fingertips, fidgeting with the Energetic Strings flickering about her fingertips.
The New Light eats a spoonful of Breakfast before asking another question. "Who's Lord Shaxx?"
"Lord Shaxx is an Advisor to the vanguard… frequently commanding Battalions to Strikes when the Vanguard Magistrates are away… But he's also the handler of the Crucible.. the 'Pseudo-Arena' in which Lightbearers can beat the shit out of each other with no repercussions…" Mithra encloses a grip on the floating Blue Orb in her hand, silencing the spark.
"Shaxx wants to eventually turn it into something more… something akin to Training Grounds… but most of the Consensus thinks it's a waste of time and Glimmer… especially now that most of the City is under reconstruction…"
"Training… I could use that…" The New Light mumbles.
"Mmm… Best to train you mentally first. We can do more physical training later when your mind's already adjusted to the rules of this Universe…" Mithra leans back, placing her hands on her lap.
The New Light mumbles, taking in another spoonful of rice and bacon. "Where should we begin?" He asks after swallowing, turning to his Ghost and then to Mithra, sitting comfortably across from him.
"Why don't we go for a walk?"
—
After having finished his breakfast, Mithra dumps the bowl and utensils into the sink, drowning them in water before instructing the New Light to follow her. They walk out the cozy farmer's homestead Mithra and her Clan calls home, heading out into the Streets of the City. They walk through fields of grain, the ominous shadow of the Traveler bathing them in a calm, temperate shadow.
As the rural fields of grain and maize give way to the familiar limestone and murals of the City-Proper. The paved roads are increasingly filled with Lightbearers and mortal Humans alike. They sell and converse in many languages. The New Light watches as Glimmer changes hands. Guardians walking in shining armor and Gold-leaf are barraged by appraisal by children. Those who were more modest remain walking, uncaring. Trucks rove down the streets at a modest pace as aerial constructors and dropships ferry men and material.
"How many people live here?" The New Light asks, looking up at the Traveler, basking in the cool air within the Traveler's Shadow.
"Mm… Approximately 60 to 75 Million people… Though I'm sure the actual number is going to be on the lower side due to Six Fronts…" Mithra answers, barely looking away from their path as they continue walking.
"Where are we going?"
"A library… I think that's the best place to start for you." Mithra looks over at the New light as he falls into step beside her. "The buildings' construction was forwarded by Osiris, the Warlock Vanguard and current Vanguard Commander."
The New Light looks at his Ghost who has been silently floating beside him the whole time. He then looks back at Mithra before speaking once more. "I've heard he's not exactly popular…"
"Well… not like the previous Commander, Saint-14. He's much more reserved… and more focused on Research than actually…" Mithra pauses, deep in thought. "He's just… not into all the Activism… he'd rather we focus on learning than to commit to actions we cannot possibly fathom the consequences of so… He's fairly relaxed in his 'governance' of the City."
"Mm… I've been told he's studying the Vex and… Darkness?"
"Yes. The Vex are small, microorganisms with the simple aim of conversion. To turn the worlds of the Universe into Clocks and Glass…"
"And the Darkness?" The New Light asks.
Mithra sighs. "We don't know much about the Darkness… really we don't know much about the Universe at all… We only know that Humanity is facing Extinction from a force equal to that of the Traveler and…"
Mithra looks up at the Circular Deity hanging in the Sky above the City, leaving all within its shadow. Mithra stops walking, moving to the side of the street and leaning on a wall so as to not block the flow of people. The New Light follows her lead.
"That they wanted to hurt us… The memories of the people that survived… the stories that were passed down… They talked of a Malevolent Force that attempted to…"
Mithra looks at the new Light.
"Drown us… Make us see how worthless we are… how insignificant we are…"
"Then why…" The New Light adds his voice to Mithra's exposition. "Why do we still live?.. Why are we alive? Why is Humanity… still alive.."
Mithra looks at the Traveler again.
"It stopped it…"
"The Traveler?"
"Yes…"
"How?"
"We don't know…"
—
The Lightbearers continue walking down the bustling streets of the City, basking in the crisp, cold wind under the shadow of Humanity's God, turning corners, smelling the various street foods and gazing upon works of art and reconstruction.
They find their library, nestled into a brick wall. A warm Blue glow emanates from the windows. The inside of the library is dark but well lit, somehow. Shelves upon shelves of books and screens stacked high with terminals and ladders and other assisting resources. Lamps glowed in gentle Oranges on the small, personal cubicles and blue lights lit the big, circular tables strewn with books and screens.
Lightbearers and Mortals wandered quietly, conversing in hushed tones. The Lightbearers standing by the center table conversed quickly and quietly, talking with bated breaths. The New Light could only glimpse at their work, seeing weird images of Dragon Skulls, Geometric Shapes, and a strange Obsidian colored Pyramid. A literal can of worms was held in the hands of another Lightbearer as he whispered.
Something about Worm Gods?
Following Mithra, she walks up to a Terminal guarded by a Frame carrying a rifle. A Lightbearer sitting nearby glances at both Mithra and the New light. The stocky Exo glances with purple eyes before returning to her book. Mithra dials a single word into the console.
BLUEBERRY
"Here… this should be a good resource for you…" Mithra pulls a fairly thick book from one of the shelves.
"Blueberry Pie… A Book for New Lights?" The New light in question stares at her and the book quizzically, analyzing its frosted cover and the pie shaped patterns splattered haphazardly across its surface.
"Yes! I think it would serve you well and I think it would help teach you of what we know so far about the System and…" Mithra smiles.
"You just look like the type to read a book…" Mithra opens her eyes. Her gaze is strange. It's not one of admiration or comfort. It's knowing. As though the New Light she was staring at was like a Book she was overqualified to read.
The New Light stares at her in confusion and a hint of Fear. He begins flipping through the pages.
There was a page for each of the Lightbearer Disciplines, The Hunters, Warlocks, and Titans. Pages after that described the Elements, Solar, Arc, and Void. Several more after that described in length the Currency, the Logistics, and History of the Last Safe City. How it began as a camp formed from starving masses around the Fireside, to a bustling Megalopolis, the Last Hope of Humanity.
The New Light smiled at the information present. This pleased Mithra.
"Give me, I'll check it out and you can read it when we return." Mithra outstretches her hand. The New Light closes the book and gives it to her.
They leave the Library after checking in with the Librarian.
—
The pair make their way to one of Saint-14's Charity Stations, finding a vacant seat outside the building.
The Book was everything the new Light could ask for. Descriptive, concise, filled to the brim with useful information. It even had a guide for how Lightbearers may train themselves to use the Light. The New Light smiled as he devoured page after page of information. Everything from History to Logistics to the various Foundries and branches of the Vanguard, he devoured everything with ruthless vigor.
It was apparent, however, that the book wasn't complete. There were comments printed about missing subjects, missing information, even missing names. Words like "Lightbearer" or "Guardian" were used to define those who have done great deeds but remained anonymous. There was even a whole page dedicated to Theories about the Darkness.
"Something hit us. Killed our Golden Age. Nearly wiped us out. Only the Traveler saved us, and at a shattering cost."
The New Light flipped through the Theories.
The Thanatonautic Warlock Pujari defines it as the Manifestation of Evil itself, born from the Decadence of Humanity's Golden Age.
The Titan Hero Saint-14 theorizes it as an invading Armada, tangible in power and cause. He speculates it may be those the Traveler has abandoned, suspiciously similar to what the New Light has learned about the Fallen.
The Monists call it a technological Singularity while the Acataleptics call it an inherently unknowable force.
Two entries stood out to the New Light.
One was made by the Warlock Ulan-Tan and the other made by an anonymous member of the Trinary Star Cult.
The New Light mentions both of their names to Mithra. She rolls her eyes and smiles.
"Why am I not surprised that you'll find those two the most interesting…"
"What do you mean?" The New Light asks in innocence.
"Two of the most controversial, polarizing groups of people to ever grace this City… The Symmetrists and the Trinary Star Cult… You want to know more about them?"
"Why not… Why are their teachings so… Unfavorable?"
Mithra chuckles for a few moments before speaking.
"They talk about the Darkness as some Force that isn't necessarily Evil and that the Light isn't necessarily Good or… that somehow the Traveler itself is Evil… Some people get really antsy about that… You know… because we're underneath that 'very evil' God right now?" Mithra chuckles some more.
"Are their views that… hilarious?"
"No… not really… I've spoken to some members of the Binary Star Cult and some of them really have a way with words and can debate… Mainly because we really don't know much so anybody trying to come up with a rebuttal for their claims gets stumped at the first argument…" Mithra raises a hand, flicking her wrist in a waving motion as she continues.
"But man… the more fanatical of those Binaries? Haha! You should go to one of their meetings just to watch them rave. They bring up these crazy conspiracies about how a Golden Age Supercomputer on Mars was supposedly able to damage the Traveler! Haha… Absurd…"
"Is it really that big of an impossibility?" The New Light looks up at the Gash on the underside of the Traveler's otherwise perfect spherical shape.
Mithra looks up with him. "For something made by Humans… maybe…"
"It was said that the scar on the underside of the Traveler was gained during its Sacrifice… When the Traveler pushed the Darkness back, the stress was too great and thus… it shed a piece of itself."
"What happened to the piece that broke off?"
"There were many pieces… Some fell to Earth and are currently being studied… some fell to the Moon to which he Hive are probably testing… God knows what… The largest piece fell in Europe… but that's off limits to the Vanguard… mostly due to the effects it has on wildlife and surrounding animals…"
The New Light tilts his head curiously, silently imploring Mithra to continue talking.
"But that's about as much as I know…"
"Oh…" The New Light cannot really comment on anything… except…
"God?"
"Hm?"
"You just said… God knows what…"
"Oh yeah.. That's just… a saying… I think it's something my past self had gotten used to saying. Though our deep memories are wiped, the instincts that make us us are still here… Though I agree it's very confusing not knowing the context to the things we say… I guess I know a little more about how you're feeling…"
"Strange…"
"Indeed…"
—
The Day's end ushered in a cultural curfew for many people. As the Sun's Light fades and Darkness sets in, the streets clear out, making it easier for Mithra and the New Light to return to Mithra's Clan's small farmstead. The New Light holds the Blueberry Pie book nestled in his left arm.
"What's with the silence?" The New light asks.
"Ever since the founding of this City as a refugee campsite, it was always customary for the people to hide in their tents or whatever shelter they could find… They were afraid then of monsters lurking in the Dark… The rumors and whispers scared the children… then they grow up and use it to scare their own children…"
The pair continued walking until the concrete and mosaics of the City-Proper became grassy as the Wheat and Maize returned to view. Following dirt paths, they return to their home.
There was a woman sitting by the stairs leading to the entrance. The falling Sun made her features harder to discern but recognition soon flowed back to the New Light.
The woman held an Old-Earth rifle in her hands. It was long, braced with Steel and Gunmetal. She fiddled with its bolt, opening it and closing it, taking pleasure in the sounds of the friction caused by the sliding bolt.
Her hair is Hickory Brown, raised to a messy bun coalescing around the edge between her head and neck. She looks up, letting purple eyes scan both Mithra and the New Light beside her. Mithra chuckles.
"Back so soon?" Mithra says with an air of humorous astonishment, approaching the familiar woman and sitting beside her
"Y-yeah… Night was Falling and I… didn't want to get caught out in the Dark…" The familiar woman stutters with a sweet, accented voice. Not as accented as Sera's and a different accent at that, but her voice was melodious as it flowed through The New Light's ears. She puts the rifle down.
The New Light approaches shyly. Her piercing Purple Eyes land on his own.
"Hi…" The New Light smiles weakly as he approaches.
"H-Hallo…" The woman speaks. Her voice is strained, like she's putting on an accent not native to her.
"Was… W-wie geht's… Du…" The New Light was confused as the words that come out of her mouth don't register as words to him.
"He's not like Sera, Carey… you don't have to speak German to him.." Mithra chuckles as she stands up.
"This is Sera's New light. Her name's Caravel" Mithra introduces the Two New Lights to each other.
"Hi…" Mithra's New Light whispers shyly.
"Hey…" Caravel whispers shyly as well.
The atmosphere grows awkward as the two New Lights do nothing but stare at each other and chuckle lightly, not knowing what to say to each other. Caravel bites her lip in awkward tension. Mithra's New Light leans on a nearby fence. Mithra has the bright idea to give them space, deciding to enter her Clan's Homestead to cook.
"You Two Kinders have fun! I'll cook something for us to eat!" Mithra smiles as she closes the door of the Home's entrance, thus leaving Caravel and Mithra's New light alone at the front of the Homestead.
Surprisingly, it was Mithra's New Light who decided to be the Icebreaker.
"How's life?" Smooth…
Caravel chuckles. "This life or my past life?" humorous…
"Mmm… either or?" Mithra's New Light chuckles back, getting comfortable with the building cadence of their conversation.
"Mmm… one side says it's going very badly… but the other side is saying I'm doing quite well for myself…" Caravel reclines back, propping herself up with her arms as she relaxes on the wooden floor. "Nice Poncho by the way…"
"What.. oh! Yeah… My Ghost knew a vendor in the Tower... the Eastern Tower... and she gave this to me… apparently the owner was going to get it but didn't return in a couple years so… it's mine now." Mithra's New Light smiles at her, startled at how easily she changed the topic.
They laugh. It wasn't boisterous or hearty. It was quiet and sweet.
"Do you speak just English or… what else?" Caravel asks.
"You first… You have a nice accent…" The New light fires back.
"Ah… Thank You!" Caravel blushes, smiling from ear to ear.
"Anyways… I speak Portuguese… But Sera's also teaching me German too… What about you?"
"Mmm… let me think… maybe… Ti... Yinetai… me ta... Ellinika?" The New Light speaks slowly, trying to think of the words he's going to say. The memory-no instinct, of speaking the language returns.
"Oh ho… Okay!" Caravel stares up at the New Light with a teasing gaze. "Mm… Greek?"
"Yes…" The New Light confirms both to himself and Caravel the name of the language he just spoke. "I actually didn't realize I could speak it… I must not have spoken it much in my past life… How'd you know?"
"Retracted S… I read about it in an old book I found in Europe... either you were Spanish, Finnish, or Greek… You certainly didn't look Spanish or Finnish so…"
"Oh.." The New Light looks to the side, intimidated slightly by that random piece of information she knew. The New Light changes the topic.
"now that you remind me… I actually don't know what I look like… I haven't seen a mirror yet so…"
"Oh, really?" Caravel looks up at the New light, astonished. "Well… here's a hint…"
"You have… very blue eyes… Almost like Mithra…"
"Really…"
"Yeah… What about me?" Caravel asks innocently.
"You haven't seen yourself?"
"óbvio, né? Why do you think I asked?" Caravel teasingly responds.
"Okay... you got me... Your's is… Purple… Like… the Void…"
"Oh… Really? Maybe Mazdam or Sera can teach me to use Void one day… and maybe Mithra can teach you to use Arc!"
"Yeah… So…" The conversation dies down slightly. The New Light tries to pick it back up again.
"How long have you been alive?" The New Light whispers as he sits on Caravel's Left, setting the book nestled in her arms on the floorboards to his Left.
Caravel's Ghost appears beside her. Its Shell is Orange, contrasting with its pale blue eye.
"She's only been around for, I don't know… two days? She was wanderin' helpless through the European Forests before meeting up with Sera…" Caravel's Ghost speaks with a Masculine, drawling tone.
"Huh… I didn't realize our Chosen's resurrections were so close!" The New Light's own Ghost appears. Its voice is remarkably Lighter, more feminine and proper than Caravel's.
"Yeah…"
"Has she died yet?"
"Nope. Yours?'
"No!"
"Impressive…"
As their Ghosts conversed, the two Lightbearers grow uncomfortable as their Ghosts describe more and more about their Lightbearers' lives.
"So… Caravel here gave me the name 'Muhlif' Apparently it means… Oathtaker or something like that in some ancient desert language… Has he given you a name yet?"
"No… Nothing yet… but I'm sure he'll give me and himself a name soon enough…"
"What's that?" Caravel asks suddenly as the other New Light moves to sit to the left of her on the wooden patio of Mithra's Clan-House. She's looking over at the book the nameless New Light holds in his left arm."
"It's just a book Mithra recommended me to read…" The New Light picks it up, showing its pie-covered front to her. He passes the book to her. "It has a lot of… much needed information. Mithra was right to check it out for me."
"I bet…" Caravel flips through many pages, analyzing its contents, impressed at the volume of the information present. "Unfortunately… Sera is more of the… teach-by-action-not-by-information type so I wasn't exactly encouraged to read…" She smiles weakly at him.
"Sera's gone right?"
"Yeah… she said she had to go to a… Hunt? She'll be back within a week she said though... she shouldn't be gone too long..."
"You could go with us?" The New Light suggests. Caravel stays quiet for a few moments.
"Maybe… but I probably won't be much help to you and I may end up just burdening Mithra!" Caravel runs her hand along the back of her neck sheepishly.
"Nonsense!" A voice emanates from behind the pair. Standing in the doorway of that gentle Farmstead is Mithra, smiling at the two Kinderguardians with joy. "I'd love to show both of you around! Don't call yourself a burden! You New Lights are no such thing to me!"
Mithra sidles up behind both of them, embracing them both in a deceptively strong embrace.
"Sera won't be back for at least a week so for now, I'll be your guide, for both of you…" Mithra loosens her embrace though her arms still grips the two New Lights' shoulders. "Once Sera returns, she'll be yours, Carey…" Mithra smiles at Caravel.
"Thank you… Mithra…" Caravel smiles at both Mithra and her New Light. The New Light in question only smiles at the tenderness of the situation, filling his heart with a new Emotion.
Joy.
He likes it.
"Let's go inside… I made Ramen…" Mithra stands up with a sing-song voice.
Mithra's New light chuckles, light and joyous, as he stands up. He outstretches his hand to Caravel.
"Let's go…"
Caravel laughs quietly in response. "Lead the Way~". Their hearts beat slightly quicker as they grab each other's arms.
They enter the house and eat. With Joy in their hearts. The Sun Sets.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hello Again! I apologize for the late update. I couldn't find the strength to actually do this Fanfic. But I powered Through! Don't expect any updates within the next 2 weeks though because I have vacation and driving stuff I need to finish. I have sooo many things planned for this, I cannot wait to actually get back into this.
Hope you enjoyed! Criticism Encouraged! Per Aspera ad Astra, Per Ardua ad Astra!
SECOND NOTE (10/21/24):
Made a few more changes but nothing too major.
