#oryx only knew what his father said

[thefirstknife]

The God-Wave and the Witness

I've recently been seeing an increase in confusion in regards to the new lore from The Witch Queen about the Hive siblings, the God Wave and the new reveals that all of it was orchestrated by the Witness.

Some even go as far as to say that this was a retcon from how it was described in the Books of Sorrow. That is incorrect. The accusation of retcons comes from a misunderstanding of both old and new lore. I want to clarify this for people who might be genuinely confused. People were confused at the time of release as well, but I thought that with time, this would become clearer? Apparently it didn't and there's still confusion about it.

The new reveal in the cutscene with Ikora and the worm is here. The same dialogue is repeated in Resonant Fury Plate lore, but with additions that I will highlight:

—-It delays our desires so that it may seek its own. These frail siblings… will soon be claimed by the Light. Unless we claim them first. Our whispers were fed to a weak mind. But we have watched these siblings. These children of the king. They are brave minds. Clever minds. Ambitious minds. Yet unsullied by the weakness of aging that plagues their kind.—-

"Then what compels them to hear our whispers?"

—-Desperation. We will tell the most cunning sibling of a cataclysm. A prophecy… of great loss. We will feed her fear. Her pride. We will say… Young Sathona. The end is coming. A great cataclysm. A God-Wave. In the Sky… there is only death. But salvation… lies in the Deep. Lead your sisters down. Your cunning will spare their short lives. And you… will be reborn. The Witch Queen… Savathûn.—-

People seem to be interpreting this as if there was a retcon about which of the siblings first spoke of the Syzygy, aka the incoming apocalyptic event on the Fundament. In Books of Sorrow:

My father died afraid. Not of vile Taox or the Helium Drinkers, but of his orrery. He screamed to me —

“Aurash, my first daughter! The moons are different! The laws are bent!”

And he made the sign of a syzygy.

Imagine the fifty-two moons of Fundament lining up in the sky. (It wouldn’t take all fifty-two, of course: just a few massive moons. But this is my deepest fear.) Imagine their gravity pulling on the Fundament sea, lifting it into a swollen bulge…

Imagine that bulge collapsing as the syzygy passed. A wave big enough to swallow civilizations. A God-Wave.

In Books of Sorrow, the Osmium King learned of the syzygy from the worm familiar and then told Aurash, the eldest sibling, about it. Aurash became obsessed with it almost as much as the Osmium King, but didn't know when the syzygy would come:

I have to find a way to stop it. Before the God-Wave annihilates my species. If I could only get back into my father’s orrery, I could learn exactly when!

This is important. At this point, nobody knew when the syzygy would strike. Osmium King was later assassinated and his children had to flee. These bits are important.

You see, the Witness acknowledges that the whispers were first fed to a "weak mind." Aka the Osmium King. The worm familiar was first his and he was not able to fully understand the whispers of the worm and he never fulfilled what the Witness wanted. The knowledge of the syzygy is still coming from the Witness, via the worm familiar, first to the Osmium King. The Witness also acknowledges that it watched his children and that they are brave, clever and ambitious, but also desperate. The Witness shifted its words to them now.

The same Books of Sorrow chapter also has Aurash acknowledging that Sathona always has a clever plan and "mad ideas" that get them out of trouble. Weeks into their travel away from home, Aurash says:

But more and more we have come to rely on Sathona’s wit. She will go off to be alone (she insists she must be alone) and return with some mad idea — steer into the storm, throw down a net, eat that strange beast, explore that menacing wreck.

Somehow Sathona seems to manufacture good luck by sheer will.

Aurash doesn't know it at this point, and the readers don't know it either, but Sathona has taken the worm familiar. She is getting these "mad ideas" from the worm. She is not manufacturing good luck by sheer will, she is being led, by the whispers of the worm. Sathona reveals this in her own chapter in the Books of Sorrow, immediately following the previous one:

1. It was my father’s familiar. I ripped it from him as we fled. It is a dead white thing, segmented, washed up from the deep sea. 2. It’s dead, but it still speaks to me. It says: listen closely, oh vengeance mine…

She also specifies that everything she told her sisters to do was directed by the worm: she says that she "knows where to find secrets," "knows where vast slow things with long memories live," "knew it [the needle ship] would be there," and that she "knows its purpose" and "what happened to the crew." She also lies to her siblings and contradicts Xi Ro who wants to sell the ship. Instead, Sathona insists that they should use it to dive into the Fundament. This is in agreement with Aurash who wants to get into the ship and command it. Sathona says:

Aurash wants to open the ship and see if we can take command of it. I know this is the right thing to do. I know because I asked the worm…

Another important part is at the start of this chapter where Sathona specifies that at the point of her writing her chapter, they've been traveling for a YEAR:

This year of wild voyaging, these lightning nights and golden days, these forays into ancient wrecks and windblown flights from monsters: these are the happiest times of my life.

Next chapter of the Books of Sorrow also states the following (Sathona speaking):

“We three will die here, in exile. Taox will outlive us. And Aurash, brilliant-eyed Aurash, you will die of old age long before you have proof of your God-Wave, or any way to stop it.”

Why does this matter? Well, a full year after the death of the Osmium King and after a full year of traveling, Aurash still doesn't have either proof of the God-Wave or a plan to stop it. Yes, Aurash first heard of the God-Wave from the Osmium King, but didn't have proof, had no clue when it would happen and had no idea how to stop it or escape it.

For a full year of voyaging, it was Sathona who was talking to the worm. The worm was telling her all sorts of things, things that Aurash believed were just good luck that Sathona was manufacturing by "sheer will." For a year, the Witness was speaking to Sathona, giving her directions, telling her how to survive, where to find the needle ship, where the Worm gods live and to dive into the Fundament.

Obviously, in Books of Sorrow we didn't know that it was the Witness speaking through the proxy of the worm familiar. But we knew, from the Books of Sorrow, that Sathona, aka Savathun, was being given instructions on the syzygy, the God-Wave, where to find the Worm gods and how to reach them in order to escape both the God-Wave and their own mortality through that worm familiar.

It's really confusing to me why people think this is a retcon. Yes, Aurash, aka Oryx, was the first sibling to hear about the syzygy from the Osmium King. But Oryx didn't engage with the syzygy or the God-Wave further; he wanted to go back to their father's orrery to learn more and for a full year still had no new information about the God-Wave or how to stop it. Savathun did. It's directly explained in the Books of Sorrow that she spent a full year being fed whispers telling her where to go.

This was further clarified in The Witch Queen, but not changed. Nothing was changed, it was just expanded that in the year of Savathun being given instructions, the Witness was feeding her fear and her pride and telling her more and more about the syzygy. The Witness also fully mentions that it tried the same with the Osmium King and that it didn't work.

Simplified order of events from the Books of Sorrow: Osmium King acquires the worm -> Osmium King learns about the syzygy from the worm -> Osmium King tells Aurash about the syzygy -> Osmium King dies -> Sathona takes the worm -> Sathona keeps the worm a secret for a year while it feeds her information the siblings need to survive -> Sathona uses the knowledge gained from the worm to lead her siblings to meet the Worm gods

Simplified order of events from the POV of the Witness: Osmium King acquires the worm -> Osmium King learns about the syzygy from the worm -> Osmium King dies and fails to fulfil the worm's purpose -> Sathona takes the worm -> The Witness uses a year of Sathona's time to feed her information and additional knowledge about the syzygy because she's smarter than her father -> Sathona fulfils the worm's purpose

Had Oryx thought to take the worm from the Osmium King, then the Witness would've told him all of this. But he didn't take the worm. Oryx simply heard about the syzygy from the Osmium King, didn't have time to learn more before his death and then Savathun secretly took the worm for herself.

Oryx still spent time trying to understand the syzygy and the God-Wave and tried coming up with a plan to stop it, but he didn't have access to the primary source of information about it; the worm. Savathun had it secretly. Oryx even noted that Savathun was often going off alone and insisted on being alone and then returned with "mad ideas." Meaning, she was off alone to secretly commune with the worm.

This is communicated fairly clearly as a sort of an early mystery in the Books of Sorrow and then explained by Savathun herself in her own chapter (which she also starts with "My secrets").

I feel like this bit in the Books of Sorrow about Savathun secretly communing with the worm alone for a year is often ignored or missed or misremembered. It's very direct in how it's told, specifically about how she suddenly appears with knowledge about the needle ship and the Worm gods and insists that they should dive, while in the meantime, Oryx is despairing about not even having proof that the God-Wave is happening. So yeah, Oryx was first of the siblings to be told about the syzygy by their father, but he had no connection to any of the actual important information about it because Savathun stole the worm and kept it secret. As she does.

Also note that the Witness' speech never says anything about Savathun being the first to ever find out about the syzygy. In the extended version from the lore tab, it states that the first to learn was the Osmium King, who failed, and then the Witness moved on to influence his children. Due to Savathun stealing the worm in secrecy for herself, the Witness couldn't reach Oryx so Oryx was left with only what his father said, which wasn't enough. Books of Sorrow specify that it wasn't even enough to know the basics, such as proof that it's happening at all. Savathun was always the sibling with the most information on the God-Wave.

Another point that's vaguely adjacent that I want to address as well is that this reveal... didn't feel like a true reveal to me. I loved the cutscene and all, but the point of the cutscene ("The Hive were lied to") was an obvious reading of the Books of Sorrow. I didn't expect that to be contentious, even in-universe. Yes, obviously, Books of Sorrow saying that the Traveler is causing the syzygy is bonkers. Traveler doesn't destroy entire planets. The Darkness does.

Furthermore, the Darkness has been consistently depicted as having gravity powers. Where there's gravitational anomalies, there's Darkness. The connection between Darkness, gravity and the Fundament has become exceptionally clear once Last Days on Kraken Mare released which went into out first proper view of what the Collapse was like and what exactly happened. Specifically, it details how the Darkness warped the moon Titan, then released it, causing it to undergo a devastating tidal wave that destroyed the Arcology. My post from 10 months before WQ released that mentions the Fundament as the first recorded instance of Darkness using gravity to destroy.

Like, that is a direct parallel to the Fundament. When this released, it was the final nail in the coffin for what really happened with the God-Wave. I genuinely didn't think that this would be treated as a huge reveal for The Witch Queen. Like, obviously, yes, the Darkness did that to the Fundament and blamed the Traveler to galvanise the Hive into destroying it.

I still loved the whole full official reveal with an absolutely incredible cutscene that still gives me chills. I think revealing things plainly and in an accessible way for everyone is the best course of action for something so important, instead of leaving it to connections between lore books that not everybody will read. I really loved that this was finally fully explained, unambiguously, as was the whole story of how the Hive were tricked. It also curbed all the edgelord theories about how the Traveler is actually evil and the Traveler did that to the Hive.

This confuses me even fruther then when people are saying there's a retcon or that it's a contradiction. The lore around the Books of Sorrow, the Fundament, the Hive and their connection to the Darkness' lies (as directed by the Witness) is one of the most solid pieces of writing in the entire game.

It's the type of lore that has always been written so well and so clearly in line with other lore that it was really easy to take hints from it and understand where the narrators were deceived. Yes, the siblings were told by the Worm gods that the Traveler is causing the destruction of their home and they forced the siblings into an eternal pact in order to make them go hunt down the Traveler for all eternity.

Meanwhile, every other lore ever is showing that the Traveler is not the type to destroy anything and clearly the Darkness it the bad guy here so obviously, the Worm gods lied to the Hive. It's what made reading Books of Sorrow so tragic and ultimately, well, sorrowful. You're kinda expected to conclude that the Hive were the victims of their circumstances who were tricked by malicious forces into doing the bidding of someone else.

I'm glad The Witch Queen fully confirmed that and explained it so beautifully and tragically. It's a fascinating piece of Destiny universe history that ties the power and intent of Darkness across time and space, from the Hive to humans and beyond.

#destiny 2 #hive #witness #darkness #lore vibing #long post #every so often i genuinely see this take #and often it's just people being confused. which is normal! there's a lot of stuff here #and books of sorrow are big and also old #but they're still relevant! and they help us fill in the blanks with this specific event #the new reveal worked directly with the books of sorrow. it didn't contradict them #i'm baffled to see people claim otherwise #you're fine if you just didn't know. that's expected and i hope anyone who didn't know understands things better! #my confusion is with people who claim to be experts and say this. especially books of sorrow enthusiasts #like i've seen self-proclaimed lore experts saying that this is contradicting books of sorrow #and no? it clearly isn't? like. it's right there in the chapters. savathun was always in charge of the worm familiar #oryx only knew what his father said #my guy didn't even have proof that it's real. meanwhile savathun was having secret zoom meetings with the worm for a year #it's actually adorable that he believed his sister is so smart that she was just manufacturing information and good luck for them #oryx vc: 'yeah my sister goes off alone and then comes back with strange instructions that make no sense. she is so smart :)' #savathun: 'get a load of this guy. i am talking to a worm bro. our father's worm! i took it! it's telling me things!' #honestly if they just listened to xivu arath none of this would've happened. absolute dumbasses (complimentary)

[ahungeringknife]

365: May 17

Crota's Throne World was decadent as far as abodes were concerned. The light of his own Oversoul illuminated everything within it, an unflinching eye that gazed upon all who dared enter it. Great towers pierced the Ascendant Realm and moths and crystal decorated every nook and cranny.

Normally the Prince of the Hive dealt with matters of his greater swarm in his antichamber but tonight was... a bit more personal. It wasn't every century one of his precious daughters proclaimed to have found someone worthy of her attention.

Crota was not amused by the thing Kinox brought before him and Omnigul. Kinox was not the youngest of her sisters but stuck in the middle she was always eager to please, vying for favor from her perfect elders or her cherished younger. Besurith was the only other to take a consort and Crota knew Kinox looked up to her immensely, always trying to emulate her.

But this was a poor imitation of Besurith's ability.

Omnigul hung off his arm like a perching bird, her searing blue-white eyes boring down onto their daughter and the unflinching worm she had brought before them. He knew given the chance she'd cut the thing off at the throat. He could feel her discontentment in the way her claws scraped against the chitin of his arm, the restless rasping of her breathing.

It wasn't even uncharitable. Crota expected much of his children as Oryx did of him. So to say he felt great... disappointment when his beloved Kinox presented an acolyte was no small choice of words. An acolyte? For his daughter? It meant he was barely even grown.

"Daughter, what is the meaning of this?" Crota asked.

"A meaning of my heart, father," Kinox said clearly. "This is Noornoon," she indicated with a held out claw. He kept his eyes down out of respect, dutifully not meeting the eyes of the Prince and his consort. "And I am to take him as mine."

"Absolutely not," Omnigul hissed, raising herself up some.

"I do not ask for permission," Kinox growled right back.

"And you will find his head on your lap by night's end," Omnigul floated down from his arm.

"Then you will have one less daughter," Kinox said proudly, sternly, meeting her mother's gaze with her own eye-less visage. "I will take him or have no other and may my brood lay barren eternal."

Omnigul snatched their daughter by the throat. "Watch the words you speak, darling child," she said. He understood her wrath. Omnigul had scarified endless opportunities to be by Crota's side in the end to only become a mother. Omnigul was no mother either. She'd earned her teeth and her eyes in battle and her claws were soaked in blood enough to satisfy her worm long before she claimed a sizable tribute. To have one of their daughters throw it away for an Acolyte. It enraged her.

"Omnigul," Crota said, distracting her. "Release her."

"Crota-" but she did, furious, at Crota's level stare. She glared at him and then flew off to go be enraged elsewhere. He had a feeling he'd have Ir Yût's claws in his spine for this later.

Kinox rubbed her neck where her mother had almost strangled her. She did not begrudge her either. She knew her anger was only out of love, of wanting the best for her. "Kinox," Crota said in a more measured way than his consort, "this is an Acolyte."

"Yes," she said.

"Explain to me, my daughter."

She flew up to be eye level with him. "You know Besurith's consort," she said, he nodded slowly. "Yes, of course. So does everyone else. Zoken cannot make a move without anyone important within the swarm knowing what he does. His blade is dangerous and his power substantial. Zoken is a great warrior who draws the eyes of all who behold him as is fitting of Besurith who wishes to emulate Xivu Arath in all her great victories for the Hive." Crota made an agreeable noise. Yes Besurith did try to emulate her great aunt Xivu Arath and Zoken was indeed a mighty warrior. Loss of his tithe would not go unnoticed if something were to happen to Zoken even before he became joined with Besurith. "I am no warrior and I do not seek to emulate Xivu Arath. Rather my worm seeks satisfaction in knowing more and seeks to emulate Savathun. Knowing the secrets of my sisters and brothers keep my worm well fed but soon it will not. I need to know what I don't know. I need to be unseen, to find all the empty spaces in the swarm and learn their secrets as well. But how will I do such a thing when I am your child?"

"Get to your point, daughter," Crota said but not unkindly.

"Noornoon has not taken a morph by my desire," she said simply which surprised him. "Because an Acolyte may move unseen through the swarm and be my eyes and hands and ears. His tithe and knowledge more than sustains me. Perhaps you may feel it as well," she said.

"Hmm," he looked down at the Acolyte Noornoon knelt at his feet, hands up prostrate. "Rise, Noornoon," he rumbled and he did and looked up at Crota unflinchingly. He didn't move an inch when Crota reached down with his great hand and curled it around Noornoon's entire torso. His thumb pressed against the Acolyte's chest and he could feel the thrum of the worm inside Noornoon and the tithe it gave to Crota. He was... surprised. It was not insignificant. Not the most. Not as much as Zoken or even Kinox but it was not nothing. Certainly more than some of his great warriors. "Where do you draw your tithe?"

"Those who do my bidding. I command many eyes and swords for the benefit of the swarm, for you, my Prince," Noornoon said gravely.

"And yet you are an acolyte," Crota said roughly though with the size of his tithe Crota could tell he could easily maintain the morph and violence of a Knight.

"Kinox demands it and so I obey. Her desires are mine." Next to him Kinox shivered in delight. Crota had to admit, his daughter had it bad for this acolyte.

"And you are loyal?"

"I would give her my third eye so she may have one more," Noornoon said without hesitation. "I have an extra."

Crota paused and then he laughed and released him. "Very well," Crota said.

"You approve?" Kinox asked him.

"I am willing to let him prove himself to be worth a consort to my daughter," Crota said specifically. He grunted when she hugged him, her spindly form like a brush of cloth against him.

"And what about mother?" Kinox asked nervously.

"I will stay her hand from using your Noornoon's entrails to paint the walls of our home," Crota said.

"He will prove himself," Kinox said. "And will make me proud."

"I expect nothing less than perfection," Crota said. He looked down at Noornoon. "Right?"

"I know no other way, my liege," he said.

"Very well. Begone," Crota waved his daughter away.

She immediately flew down to Noornoon's height and grasped his hand, pulling him away. When she thought Crota could no longer see them she draped herself over Noornoon's wide shoulders and he easily held her aloft. It would do for now.

#365 #writeblr #writblr #fanfiction #destiny #destiny 2 #destiny the game #Hive #destiny Hive #Crota #Omnigul #Kinox #Noornoon #hey what's up here are my Hive blorbos I love them a lot

[bedbellyandbeyond]

Wolfman’s Dilemma

(Story Post)

Dax was still at work when Wano called him, so he called the doctor’s office to ask if someone could check on his partner before he could get home. Reid volunteered to make a house call as soon as he heard about Nathan's incident. Nathan was still shaken by his partial transformation. He had gone to lie down after a shower like Wano had suggested, but he couldn't rest well. When Reid did arrive, he sat with him in his bedroom and Nathan had a hard time explaining to the doctor exactly what happened because he didn't want to try to remember. “Well, this all sounds like it would be pretty upsetting, so I understand this isn't easy for you,” Reid comforted, after receiving all the details he could. “But if you think about it, this could be a sign of progress.” “No, I know…” Nathan mumbled, wrapped up in a blanket. “I just don’t like the connotations. If my anger is what made that happen, then that could mean I'm very dangerous. More so than ever.”

“We don't know that,” Reid stated, rubbing Nathan's arm. “We don't truly know what caused any of this to happen and unfortunately, yourself and Wano were the only ones witness to it.” “So, then what? Am I supposed to try to make it happen again?” Nathan asked. “Well, not if you don't want to,” Reid explained. “But, it might be best to keep an eye on you for a week or two in case it does occur again involuntarily.” “So, you mean staying at APID,” Nathan sighed. “Even when I'm off wolf cycle…” “I consulted with Dr. Aias before coming here and that was their suggestion, yes,” Reid admitted. Nathan rubbed his forehead. “I guess it's not really a cycle if I start turning into a wolf thing in the middle of the day on off days…” “Again, it's your choice, Nathan,” Reid insisted. “Camilo's coming by as well to talk to you as this pertains to your case. He might make other suggestions for you.” Nathan nodded. His phone went off and he checked it. “Dax just got off work and he's coming straight home…” “That's great,” Reid commented. “And your language suggests the relationship is pretty serious. I'm glad it's working out.” “My language?” “Aye, you said he's coming home,” Reid said. “You have separate residences, don't you?” “Yeah, well… I can't handle the twins on my own, it's too much, and I don’t know what I was thinking when I offered for Wano to stay here,” Nathan said. “Dax has been…the glue keeping this hell house together and keeping me from going insane. I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't around.” Reid smiled and shook Nathan's shoulder enthusiastically. “See? I knew you two would be good for each other. Aren't you glad you went for it?” Nathan chuckled lightly. “I suppose I am… I guess I just didn't feel like I deserved someone new yet… And I feel bad dragging him into this whirlwind of a life I have right now.” “Nathan, you're a bit too selfless,” Reid commented. “Dax wouldn't be with you if he didn't want to be. The people around you are around you because they like and care about you.” “I know, I know… I just...” Nathan sighed. “No, you're right.” “Anyhow, I can stay until Dax or Camilo arrives, however long you'd like,” Reid said. “Wano seems to be doing well with the twins. Is he a good babysitter?” “Yeah, they love him,” Nathan said. “I think it might be maybe the depth of his voice? I don't know. He follows instruction well enough and he loves to play with them. Maybe he'll be a good dad… Did he explain why we got into an argument?” Reid nodded slowly. “Aye… Trying to make a wee one before he's gone. I can understand your frustration. Wouldn't want that happening under my roof, if I had one.” “Right? I get that he's an adult and he can do what he wants, but also I'm partially responsible for him because I'm letting him stay here,” Nathan said. “If Jeffrey gets pregnant, I have no idea how that'll complicate Wano's case to stay here.” “Well, at the end of the day, these really are things that should concern Wano himself more than you,” Reid reminded. “You’re doing a really nice thing, letting him stay here with you but you don't have to shoulder all his problems. They're not yours and you're not his father.” “I know, you're right,” Nathan sighed again. “I just want to see him get to stay here. He's worked hard to stay. He's improved a lot.” Reid smirked as he observed Nathan. “You know, the wolf might have something to do with this. Sometimes animals who've just given birth will adopt newborns of other species, even if they're an animal they'd usually pray on, like a lioness adopting an oryx, or vice versa, a chicken adopting a kitten. Only for you, your adopted newborn is a full-grown adult alien from another planet.” “I can't help it if he has the emotional intelligence of a twelve-year-old,” Nathan said. “But it's even more reason he shouldn't be having a kid!” “You can't make that decision for him, though,” Reid said. “And you can't make that decision for Jeffrey either. At the very least, one of them has experience as a parent…” “From what I've heard though, his cousin does most of the caregiving…” Nathan mumbled. “Och, you need to stop concerning yourself with them,” Reid said. “You can put your foot down about what goes on in your house, but outside of that, you can't be meddling in their business.” Nathan nodded. “…I bet Jeffrey’s pregnant already anyway…” Reid rubbed his back. “Come downstairs for when Camilo arrives. Eat something. I’d like to see the wee twins again. How're they holding up?” “They're alright…” Nathan said getting up. “I probably should feed them, but Grace refuses to nurse unless she's a pup, but she bites me…” Reid followed him. “Do you pump?” “I do, but they refuse to take bottles from me,” Nathan said. “Dax? Wano? No problem because they have no other choice. But me, all they want is tit. Am I going to have breasts my whole life now?” “We can worry about that later, and you can take my word from personal experience that breast tissue can be dealt with,” Reid assured, chuckling a bit. “Ah, right… Yeah, I guess,” Nathan considered. “Anyway, Wano should be playing with the twins right now… He lets them bite his arms and legs and stuff because he thinks it'll toughen them up but I'd rather he didn't normalise it… I'll show you.” “Aye. Please.” They got downstairs and Nathan broke up the playfighting so Reid could take a look at the twins. They both turned to human for him which he was a bit unhappy about because he really liked to study their animal sides, but he acknowledged that it was good training that they remain human in the presence of strangers. Camilo arrived a little later and they talked in the kitchen while Wano showed off the twins to Reid in the living room. Nathan explained everything he could to Camilo about what had happened. “That is a very new development indeed,” Camilo commented as he took notes into a tablet. “We haven't seen any kind of half transformation like this… Have you asked Nari yet if he knows of werewolves like that?” “He's away on a vacation right now,” Nathan said. “I don't want to bother him with this at all until he's back…” Camilo nodded. “I understand… Well, right now since this is a one-time incident, I don't know that there's much we can do. But, now that we know it's possible, I'd ask you and those around you to video document this type of transformation if it should happen again.” “So, you don't think I should be watched?” Nathan asked. “Well, I don’t know that it's absolutely necessary, but if that's what you want, you could stay a few nights at APID,” Camilo considered. “It's up to you.” Nathan shook his head. “I want to stay home... But only if you really think it's safe.” Camilo patted Nathan's arm. “You didn't hurt anyone, you just transformed. Since having your wolf cycle nights at APID, we haven't observed any violent behaviour at all, only a bit of protective behaviour towards your kids.” “Dax said the wolf bit Dr. Aias once,” Nathan said. “Ah, well yes, but that was just because they needed to draw blood,” Camilo acknowledged. “Wasn’t that the night of Wano’s incident?” “Yes, it was…” Nathan sighed, not enjoying the thought. “Right, it’s possible you could tell your friend was in trouble that night and you were restless. Wolves have exceptional sense of smell. You might’ve smelled blood,” Camilo hypothesised. “You're really okay. Seems as long as the wolf is well fed, they don't hunt.” Nathan exhaled. “Okay… Yeah… Thanks.” “Don't worry,” Camilo assured him. “Your support system is great, and we aren't afraid of you. Everyone is here to help you.” “I get it, I just wish I knew someone else who was going through all this like me,” Nathan said. “I at least had Kent for a hot second, but now I have no one… My kids aren't even the same as me They just transform whenever they please.” Camilo pursed his lips. “Well, maybe you're not alone…” Nathan perked up. “Is there someone else? With APID? Another werewolf? Or were-anything?” “Well, no… I just meant, um…” Camilo waved a hand. “Well, you know, there's the wolf we caught on your bodycam that night.” “Oh." Nathan frowned. “But they attacked me. I still have the scars.” “Yes, but if we tracked them down, we might have answers for you,” Camilo suggested. “Well, maybe… I don't, know. I feel like we tried that lead and it got me nowhere. And pregnant.” “Yeah…” Camilo folded his hands. “But if we could find someone with a similar affliction as you willing to talk with you, you would want that, right?” “Yes, if it's possible, yes,” Nathan said. “The only person I know that's as close to my condition as me is Dax but his thunderbird situation is still very different.” Camilo nodded. “Okay. Can you come in for a meeting tomorrow? I want us to talk more about your options, but I also want to consult with Korsgaard about some stuff beforehand.” “Yeah, for sure,” Nathan said nodding. “Honestly, I talk to you so much, I forget Korsgaard’s my actual case worker…” “Yeah, he does do a lot of work behind the scenes, but he's looking into potentially retiring soon,” Camilo admitted. “I think he's holding out until Maya's grown.” “I get it,” Nathan said. “Do you think you'll take his place?” “Honestly, I don't really know,” Camilo said. “I mean, I like it, and it's been great work while I've been in school, but once I finish my PhD, I might look around… I want to stay at APID though.” Nathan smirked. “PhD classes, a job like this, and a baby at home? Are you sure you're only human?” Camilo smiled sheepishly and rubbed his neck. “I'm just trying my best…” “I could never…” He motioned to the living room where Wano was flexing with the animal twins gnawing on his arms. Reid was just sitting by, taking notes of his observations. “I can't imagine trying to get through my masters when I was your age if I had these two on my hip…” “Should we do something?” Camilo asked worriedly. “No, Wano likes it,” Nathan said. “He calls it ‘warrior play’. It's been really difficult trying to train bite inhibition and I’m so tired all the time, it's easier to just let them do whatever exhausts them…” “I see. It'll take time,” Camilo said. “Have you talked to Yori about it? They might not be exactly the same, but there's likely some issues he's had with the triplets.” “Yes, trust me, Dax has learned a lot from having the triplets in his class,” Nathan recounted. “The very first day of school, Skylar bit a kid that touched her granola bar and later Marco ate his own homework. We've been in contact with Yori's partners, because the kids just seem to fall in line for Yori without much trouble.” “Oh, I see…” At that time, the front door opened, and Dax came inside looking worried. “Nathan, I’m sorry I couldn't leave sooner!” Nathan got up from his seat and went over to hug Dax around the waist. “It's okay. Reid and Camilo have been here to talk to me.” “Ah, good! Are you alright?” Dax looked over his partner for traces of the transformation described to him over the phone. “You look okay, but are you?” “Yeah, I'm fine now,” Nathan said. “Talking to these guys has calmed my nerves a lot and the transformation didn't last more than a minute.” Dax nodded. “Good.” He kissed his forehead. “I’m glad you're okay. And the twins are alright?” “Yep, they're still their usual selves,” Nathan said, motioning to the pair now climbing onto Wano's back and jumping off like goat kids. “I think if anything, my transformation made them excitable.” “That probably makes sense, I think,” Dax said. “Reacting to your transformation I mean.” Reid got up and came over. “Nathan, if you don't need me any longer, I should probably head out.” Nathan nodded and shook Reid’s hand. “Yes, thank you for coming over on such short notice.” “Don't mention it,” Reid insisted. He patted Dax's arm. “Good to see you too, Dax.” “Likewise,” Dax said politely. “Drive safe.” “Aye.” Reid headed out the door. “I should probably get going too,” Camilo said. “Nathan, can we get you in for a meeting first thing at ten?” “Yeah, sounds good,” Nathan confirmed. “I'll see you there.” “Alright, see you,” Camilo said going to the door. “You take care of him, Dax. We're trusting you.” “Don't you worry, I'll be here,” Dax assured. Camilo smiled and waved. “Bye!” “See you tomorrow,” Nathan said as the assistant left. Dax went to see them off and then made sure the door was locked properly before going back to his partner. “Tomorrow, would you like me to join you?” Nathan looked at Dax and contemplated it. “Usually I'd say no, but if you can spare the time, I would appreciate it…” Dax smiled and kissed Nathan's forehead again. “I'll be there, don't worry.” “Thank you,” Nathan said. He took Dax's hand and squeezed it gently. “I appreciate you so much.” “Also on the phone,” Dax recalled. “Wano said you got upset because he’s trying to make a ‘legacy’ with Jeffrey.” He motioned the air quotes. “Do you want me to talk to him about that?” Nathan sighed, glancing over to Wano, now rubbing both twins’ bellies. “No… At least not tonight… Just let him be. It’s not our business at the end of the day. I made it clear though that he can’t have guests here without permission.” Dax nodded and gave Nathan a proper kiss this time. “You’re going to be alright.” “Thanks. I hope so…”

#lore #Nathan #Reid #Camilo #Dax #Wano #Grace #Gabriel #implied mpreg #werewolf #alien #werebear

[fireteam-dauntless]

A Tale of Two Guardians XXII

Chapter 22 : Lost to Light Part 1 of the Destined Series masterlist

word count : 2.7k tag list : @mail-me-a-snail @basically-nacl @shins-wife @speed-boop 

We returned to the Tower later that night.  I had invited Maverick to my place for a cup of coffee.  He declined, saying he wanted to check on Skinner.  I nodded and let him go, and went home to my apartment to crash for a couple hours.  Zavala wanted to meet with us for our next mission.  The next morning, Skinner, Maverick, and I stood before Zavala, Cayde-6, Ikora, and Eris.

“So Guardians, I would like to speak to you before you leave for the Hellmouth. To retrieve a shard of Crota’s soul crystal.” Eris said.

“Sure, Eris, what is it?” Maverick asked.

“This is more for the Warlock as she doesn’t know who Crota is. It began with Crota. But Crota was only a servant of his father, sent to extinguish the last of the Light. The great battle fought for the soul of our world ended in slaughter. The son was dead. And we invited the wrath of Oryx, destroyer of light. Taker of will. Only Ascendent Hive move between Ruptures. To reach Oryx, you must walk in the dying footsteps of his son. You must become Ascendent.” 

What did she mean that Crota was dead?

“Alright if you're done Eris we should get going.” Maverick said. 

She nodded and walked away.  We left the Hall of Guardians and walked toward our ships.

“Alright so I hate that place so let’s get in and get out as soon as possible,” Maverick grunted once we got into orbit.

“I agree Mav, that place unsettles me.” Skinner added.

“But it’s not like we’re going down into the Pit right?” I asked.

“Yes, but still, I just hate the Hive and the Taken don’t help.  Now fall into slip space formation you two.”

It was a very short jump from Earth to the Moon.  Maverick decided to have us transmat onto a ledge, a little bit down inside the Hellmouth. As we dropped in, Eris’s voice came quietly over comms.

“Hold fast to Toland’s journal. It saw me through my time in the Dark.”

“Hold fast to your gun, Guardians.” Cayde interjected. “You’re headed back to the chamber where they held Crota’s soul.”

‘Back to his chamber?’ Maverick and Skinner have been here before?

“What does he mean by ‘back to his chamber’ Mav?” I asked.

“Well, you see, we got sent to destroy his crystal. Which was his physical form in our world,” Maverick replied.

“Oh, okay…”  Something… something isn’t adding up.

The Hive seemed to know immediately that they had intruders.  Mostly Thrall and Acolytes, so we cut through them with ease.  Cayde came back over comms before I could ask any more questions when the fighting was done..

“Alright. Here’s what needs to happen. We have to steal a Hive crystal that still has a trace of Crota’s soul so you can pass through a dimensional portal on the Dreadnaught and kill Oryx. I leave anything out Eris?”

“It must be done before Oryx turns his scrying eye to this realm.”

“Good luck fireteam.”

We fight through some Hive and reach the door leading deeper into the dark halls.  Deep down in my gut, this unsettling sense of dread started grip my stomach.

“Come on this way,” Mav said, pointing down the hall, deeper into the dark.

“It’s a little dark, let me light the way,” Skinner’s Ghost suggested before illuminating the dark hall.

“Toland’s journal contains an impressive amount of data,” My Ghost said.  “I should probably read it… Done.  Some of this stuff is fascinating!”  She exclaimed before playing an excerpt from the journal.

“A Dreadnaught shields the Hive from the Traveler’s Light.  Were we to pass through its deepest layers, our Light would be as a dying sun.”

“I don’t think Toland was much fun at parties,” Skinner groaned.

As we started to leave the darkened hallway, we saw a lot of Thrall feeding.  Skinner began to raise his weapon and I followed suit, but Mav stopped us.  The two of us looked at him accusingly.

“Don’t shoot,” he whispered.  “I don’t want to be chased by Thrall right now.”

“Ugh fine Mav,” Skinner whispered back.

“If the Thrall still feed, Crota’s essence must endure,” Eris said.

We reached the crystal without incident, but the moment we approached it an Ogre climbed out of a cave and began to engage.

“Shit, I knew this was too easy,” Maverick cursed.

“It’s just an Ogre Mav.  Let’s kill the damn thing, get the shard and get out of here,” Skinner butt in, already clearing his holster.

We began to fight the Ogre, but it was constantly charging at us and it’s Eye Blast it was tough to dodge it at times.  As the battle raged on, I lost count of the amount of bullets we shot at it.  It seemed to go on forever.  The Ogre began to fumble and trip on itself, but before we could land a killing blow on it, a Taken rift formed above and sucked in the Ogre.

“It’s gone!” Maverick exclaimed.  “I think Oryx just took an Ogre…”

Eris responded over the Vanguard Channel.  “Not even Oryx can control an Ogre. Unless it’s Taken. Now quickly, I need a shard of that crystal.”

“Skinner, cut a chunk out of that crystal.” Mav said.  It was an order, and the edge in his voice unsettled me.  I get that he didn’t like being down here, but I’d never seen him so on alert before.

“You got it, Metal Man,” After a bit of cutting with a heated blade, he held up the shard triumphantly.

“We’ve got it.” Maverick said to Eris.

“I knew it could be done. And does it still hold the whisper of Crota’s soul?”

“According to my Ghost’s analysis it’s empty.”

“No matter. Return to me, Guardians, and we will destroy—” Static started to flood the feed from some kind of interference.  I opened my palm and pulled out my Ghost to examine the feed.  Something was trying to completely cut us off from the Vanguard.

“Maverick, this interference…”

“[static] Fireteam? We’re losing you. Fireteam can you hear…?” [static] As the channel cut out, an Echo of Oryx appeared.  We all backed away from the crystal and held fast to our weapons.  I felt Maverick’s hand placed on my arm as he dragged me behind himself and Skinner.

“Was killing Crota not enough for you?!”  The Echo bellowed.  “Your Light dies here!”

I felt my heart sink and my blood run cold.  They… they killed Crota?  They lied to me?  Before I could question Maverick, Taken began to appear from blights left and right. And then the Ogre came out of the central blight.  In five seconds, we were overwhelmed.

“There’s too many of them!  Run!”  Maverick shouted.  We all turned on our heels and ran fast out of the chamber, Taken thrall on our heels and the Taken Ogre was shooting at our backs.  Simultaneously, the three of us tossed our grenades behind us to slow them down.

We began to run out of the room dodging weapons fire the best we could as we ran. We returned to the darkened hallway in which we came. We all tried calling out to Eris and Cayde but got no response.  That Echo must have been what was interfering with the signal.  I held up my hand for them to stop now that the Taken weren't chasing us.  I need answers.  I grabbed Maverick’s arm and made him look at me.

"Maverick, what did he mean by ‘was killing Crota not enough for you’?  What did you do?  What are you hiding from me!"  I could feel my hands shaking with the combination of anger and betrayal.

"Storm now's not the time to…"  He began to try and end this conversation, but I wasn’t having it.  I cut him off before he could continue.

"I think now's the perfect time, seeing that Oryx just said what I've been thinking.  Tell me the truth for once, damn it.  Did.  You.  Kill.  Crota."  I demanded.

"I don't know Storm!"  He began to raise his voice at me, "All Skinner, Vision, and I did was destroy his crystal.  Like I said before it was his physical form in our world."

“You expect me to believe that?!”  My voice cracked as it raised in anger.  “What happened in the Pit, Maverick, tell me!”

“Storm,  I can’t tell you more than I already have!  I don’t have the answers you want!”

I wanted to challenge him again, but Skinner knocked us both upside the head and cut me off before I could even open my mouth.  “Guys, now is not the time!"  He pointed behind us and the Taken Thrall that were closing in again.

"Great, let’s work on getting out of here."  Maverick sounded relieved.  He was quick to change the subject and we headed back to the room to get out of there.  But I saw Skinner give Maverick a look, one I couldn’t quite read, but it resembled something like frustration.

When we came into the next room after gunning down the Thrall behind us, the Taken were there ready to make us fight to escape.  We ran in to quickly take down the Taken in the room, I still had the creeping feeling that the Taken from the grave were behind us.  Even though we were fighting among ourselves, we still worked as an effective team.  Slaughtering any Taken that dared to oppose us.  Maverick went back to the door we came in but it was shut, then I found the other door sealed with some kind of lock.

“The Taken locked us in with this… Lock?  I guess it's what this is.  Peu de lumière, can you see if Toland's journal has anything on this?”  I asked.

“Yeah, give me a second,” she said before playing an excerpt from the journal.

“It's long been my belief that the binds which hold the greatest Hive terror could be lifted by releasing the energy stored within their tomb husks.”

"What the hell does it look like?"  Maverick muttered in bewilderment.

"I think it looks like this," Skinner said from behind us, holding some sort of Hive relic.

"Ok,” Maverick said, “shove into that lock I guess."

"No shit," He spat back to Mav as he pushed into the lock. 

It glowed for a second before the lock broke and faded away.

"Remind me to make copies of this journal when we get back," My Ghost said.

We began to fight through the Taken that appeared after we opened the door, and we began to follow the stream of Taken to the next open room.  This time there were more of them but they didn't stand much of a chance against a pissed off fireteam that was angry with their leader.  We approached the next door.

“Really?!  Two locks!”  Mav groaned in frustration.

I rolled my eyes.  “Come on, Mav, the husks should be around somewhere.”

“Yeah I see one,” Skinner said before running off to go get it.

“I'll go look for the second one,” Mav said.  “Storm, guard the door.  Make sure nothing gets close.”  Then he walked away from me, and I shot down anything that tried to get close.  Skinner came back to me first and pushed his relic into the lock.

“What took so long, Titan?”  Skinner taunted once Maverick got over to us.

“Well if you must know I got ambushed by a Knight but don't worry I killed it, now let's go.”  Mav said as he shoved the second husk into the other lock.

The Vanguard's channel came through, but only for enough time for Eris to say, "[static] we're going to lose them, just like Eriana!"

“Come on guys!  The connection’s getting stronger!”  Maverick yelled back to us.  I rolled my eyes, that much was obvious.  The clock was ticking, but the further we advanced, the more likely we were to get out alive.

“Yeah like my connection to throw knives at your head again,” Skinner muttered.

We followed the path to another room.  Bigger than the last two.  And there were a small number of Taken here.  Considering the size of the room it was surprising that there weren't more of them.  The two of them started to rush inside, but I caught sight of a tomb husk and picked it up.

“You dumbasses almost ran by this husk,” I said and held it up when I caught up to them.

“Well I guess it's better to have a tomb husk then not need it than to need a tomb husk and not have it,” Maverick stated as we advanced in the room.  We made short work of the small Taken defence force.

“Three locks,” I said and pushed my husk into the lock. “Well you can't say they’re not trying.”

As the lock faded, blights began to form and produce Taken and Thrall started to fall out of the walls.  We stood in a triangle, and readied our weapons. 

"Kill the Taken first.  Then search for the other husks." Mav commanded.

We cut down the second wave of Taken defenders and started searching for the husks.  Maverick found one close but behind a wall and grabbed it, then made his way back to me at the door.  Skinner ran back holding the other husk and they put them in at the same time.  The door began to open and Taken began to appear behind us as we ran out the door.

“[Static] fireteam?  Get out of that Pit!  We need that crystal or we'll never reach Oryx!”  Eris said in a moment the Vanguard channel came in and out again.

"We're close guys. Just follow me!" Maverick said to Skinner and I, we both nodded and followed in tight formation behind him.

We ran past most of the Taken and reached the room before the outside being guarded by a Taken Wizard.  Maverick didn’t hesitate and he pulled out his Gjallarhorn, taking down the Wizard in two shots.  With it's death the doors opened to the outside and we rushed towards it as more Taken blights began to form behind us.

The Vanguard channel began to come in clear as day with Cayde on the other end beginning to speak.

“[Fading static] Fireteam, is that you?”

“Yeah, we made it out Cayde,” Maverick replied as we stood outside the Temple of Crota.

“Then the Taken King will fall, now bring me his dead son's crystal,”  Eris said.

“That's how Eris says she appreciates your sacrifice.  Glad you guys are safe,” Cayde said before cutting the channel.

We all got into our ships and returned to the Tower.  Our trip back home was mostly in silence.  When we landed in the Hanger, I tried to get Maverick’s attention, but he was gone and away from me before I could ask any more questions.  I watched his back and clenched my hands in fists.  I punched the side of my ship, leaving a Scorch mark on the paint.

“Storm…” I looked up at Skinner as he approached me, his hands in his pockets.  He looked around, as if checking that no one was watching us.  He pulled a thin card made out of Glimmer and handed it to me.  “That… has the code to our Fireteam’s mission reports and archives.  There’s a lot of sensitive information in there, but it should have the answers you’re looking for.”

I looked up at Skinner with wide eyes.  “Skinner…”

“Don’t.  I’ve wanted to tell you the truth, but there’s a reason why our records are locked.  Only the original fireteam and the Vanguard knows what really happened.”  He turned and started to walk away from me, but paused and looked back over his shoulder.  “Oh, yeah, and don’t tell Maverick.  He doesn’t want me to do this, but… you deserve to know.”

I watched him leave and looked down at the card in my hands.  I tapped it thoughtfully against my opposite hand and chewed on the inside of my cheek.

“What are you going to do?”  My Ghost asked.

“Get ready to copy a lot of information, Ghost,” I uttered coldly, and started walking out of the Hanger and towards the Hall of Guardians.  “I’ve got answers to find.”

#a tale of two guardians fic #destined pt 1 #destiny #destiny fic #destiny fanfiction #destiny the taken king

[alxx-lee]

part 2 of that entire destiny oc post.

While Maria was out of comission, The House of Wolves started to act up. Sabine and Alrin wanted to take care of this immediately and wanted to go. Maria wanted Sabine to rest and Michael told Alrin to calm down but nothing was going to be holding back these awoken from taking care of Fallen. Darrus-5 and Michael were extremely worried for the two and didn’t want them to face this alone so the two decided to go with them to keep an eye on them. For the Duration of this, Sabine and Alrin start airing out their baggage with one another until it comes to an explosive conclusion that reveals more of Sabine and Alrin’s shared past.

It turns out that Sabine and Alrin used to live in the Reef a long time ago, they were once a family with Alrin’s wife, Mishka. they were fine and dandy until one day his wife started to act weird and stopped coming home all together. This hurt Alrin and remaining on the station made it worse, not thinking about Sabine or her emotional state, he tore her away from the only place she knew and took off. They landed on earth by accident and how they became stranded there when Alrin could not find fuel and were shortly attacked which forced them to flee their ship.

Alrin decided that they could not do much about their predicament but survive. He did not consider how Sabine felt about this, she was scared and confused as to why her father took her away from her home and forced her to live on earth where the two did nothing but fight for the right to live. Their time on earth changed them both, Sabine became more cold, distant and emotionally stunned while Alrin became overly protective of his daughter, obsessively kept her close to him and drove away anyone who would come close to her. Alrin was projecting his fears of losing Sabine onto her when he did not properly deal with his wife leaving him. Sabine was isolated and stunned because of her overly attached father.

When this came out, it was a surprise to both of them as they didn’t know how deep-seated these issues were and just how unhealthy their relationship has been until now. Michael and Darrus-5 didn’t do anything but be the emotional rock that kept the two hunters grounded. The two hunters decided that these issues needed to be talked about but now was not the time, they both had a job to deal with but with the fact that their issues were aired out the both seemed calmer and more focused as they beat down Skolas. When it was over, the two finally sat down and started to talk. The other teammates left them alone but what was said cleared the air between the two hunters.

Sabine told her father what he put her through horribly stunned her and made her so emotionally unavailable that she could not properly hold a relationship and it was lucky that she managed to hold onto her friendship. She told him that what he did was unforgivable but she understood it. He needed to work through his own issues and not project it unto her. She was a grown women that did not need her father looking after her, he need to sit down and figure his own shit out. She was working through hers with her friends, he needed to do the same.

Sabine would not talk or interact with her father until he had dealt with his issues, Alrin understood and knew that if he wanted to become close to Sabine again then he needed to deal with own issues.

The interlude  of Return of the Vex was where Alrin started to work through his issues, slowly finding out why he’s so overly protective of Sabine and why he has a drinking problem. The easier of the two to get rid of was his drinking problem. It was a process but he slowly got over it until he no longer wanted to touch the stuff again. It was a step but it was one that marked his progress. It was also where Michael started to help him work through the issues somewhat and where something between the Titan and Hunter started to spark.

When Oryx became a problem, Alrin’s feelings for Michael started to manifest and he couldn’t hide it well. The two, while exploring the dreadnought found themselves indulging in eachother’s company far too much. The two became close but Alrin was maybe more invested in the relationship. When fighting Oryx with Fireteam SolarFlare, nearly losing Michael sent Alrin over the edge where he damn near almost killed himself trying to protect Michael. After Oryx’s defeat, Michael was a little disturbed at Alrin’s actions.

He and Alrin sat down and talked about it, how many them getting close might have regressed Alrin’s progress in dealing with his issues. Alrin tried to deny it but Michael made him see reason that maybe instead of dealing with the issues, Alrin simply shifted his focus onto a new victim. Alrin and Michael paused their relationship until Alrin could work through it properly. It almost upset Alrin but he had to tell himself that it was a mistake and that maybe it was for the best.

It took a better part of the taken war before Alrin worked through his issues properly enough for him and Michael to comfortably get together properly.

#txt #oc ramblings #destiny #destiny ocs

[netraptor]

Blessing of Light, Curse of Darkness

A new fanfic is going up! This follows my warlock Jayesh. Still somewhat battered after the events of Forsaken as detailed in Fireteam Vengeance, he’s assigned to visit the Dreaming City and try to redeem a Taken with the Light. This means teaming up with his ex-friend Madrid, a powerful Hunter who succumbed to the whispers of Riven and tried to feed Jayesh to the Chimera. But Madrid is sane again, and lives each time loop cycle in deep regret. Jayesh is the last person he ever wanted to work with again.

As they unwillingly work together to track down their target, they run across a newly-resurrected Guardian. Prince Uldren, who retains only old memories, has no idea that Madrid killed him, or why all Guardians hate him so much. Jayesh and Madrid, barely allies, are now faced with another hard question: to shelter Uldren, or let him become prey for the other Guardians, who still crave revenge for the death of Cayde-6.

Jayesh was blissfully, deeply grateful.

He lay in bed, his arms around his sleeping wife, Kari. His nose was buried in her hair, and his heart felt ready to burst with happiness and contentment. He'd just returned from a month-long assignment on Venus, where he'd missed his little family with a powerful ache.

Kari couldn't go with him on missions anymore, since she had to stay home to raise their son, Connor. This was hard on them both, especially since Kari was the better fighter. But Jayesh sucked it up and worked with other Guardians, improving his skills, and told nobody but his ghost how much he missed his wife.

But he was home in the Tower, and all was well. Jayesh's gratitude overflowed, and before he knew it, he was thanking the Traveler - for choosing him, for making him a Guardian, for making beautiful Kari a Guardian, for granting them a child of the Light, for everything it did for them. The bliss poured out of him, lying there in silence, yet singing in his heart.

When Jayesh had been a brand new Guardian, he had climbed up into the Traveler and been locked inside when the Red Legion caged it. He'd talked to the Traveler - or rather, he had argued and yelled at it. But by the time the war ended, he had forged a friendly connection with the paracausal entity that few others dared try. Indeed, many Guardians looked at him askance and whispered that he was a fanatic.

Jayesh never denied this. How to explain his relationship with a god?

So as he lay there, pouring out his gratitude to the Traveler, he felt its Light touch him. It acknowledged the praise, and it was pleased.

"I'm not kissing up," he told it inside his head. "I really am thankful. I don't say thank you enough, so - thank you."

While they often communicated, the Traveler didn't always use words. Mostly it touched his Light, strengthening him. Sometimes it gave him mental images or visions. But tonight, he heard it laugh with the voices of many Guardians. "Guardian Jayesh. My faithful servant."

It portrayed itself as male to Jayesh because that was how he best communicated with it. The voice that spoke to him was like a loving father's. "I am sending you to the Reef. There is a task you must do there."

Jayesh lifted his head, gazing at the ceiling. "The Reef, Traveler? But ... last time I was there ..." Fear flashed through him, leaving cold sweat in its wake. He showed the Traveler his nightmare memories of Taken, and the horrifying chimera, the Voice of Riven, its jaws open.

The Traveler's Light embraced him. "Yes, my Guardian. You suffered greatly for my sake. But this time I have a different task for you - a task that only great Light can accomplish."

Jayesh lay there, silent, unwilling to ask more. He didn't want to go to the Reef again. He'd freeze in the cold wind that ripped through the barely-habitable asteroid field and the derelict spaceships that linked them. And the awful chimera had haunted his nightmares for months. Sometimes he dreamed he was back in its jaws, screaming in agony as the teeth pierced him.

And the Traveler wanted him to go back.

"I don't want to," he told it. "I'm afraid of what might happen."

He'd learned that the Traveler wanted him to be brutally honest with it. It more or less knew everything he was thinking, anyway. Not being human, it overlooked many nuances that would have offended a lesser being.

Its Light touched him like a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You are my Guardian. I will empower you for this task. And the task is this."

It showed him a clear vision of an Awoken woman, with pale blue skin like starlight, long white hair, and glittering silver eyes.

"She has been Taken," the Traveler said.

The woman changed to a black shadow outlined in burning white. A blob of white on her forehead nearly obscured her features, but her jaw hung slack, her eyes gone dead and black, her fingers curled into claws.

Jayesh cringed. Taken were his particular terror.

"What do you expect me to do?" he thought. "You told me once that you didn't know if Taken people could ever be saved."

"That's what I want you to discover," the Traveler replied. "She was a servant of the Light, although not a Guardian. I will equip you with a transcendent blessing. Use it to free her from the power that indwells her."

Jayesh thought about this, tense and unwilling. He wanted to serve the Traveler, but it was asking him to face his greatest fear and attempt what, until now, had been considered impossible.

"Why now?" he asked. "Why do I have to do this now? Couldn't you try to save Taken people before this?"

"Consider the timeline," the Traveler replied. "Taken are a relatively recent invention by the Hive god Oryx. I have only lately awakened from my dormant state. It has taken time for me to study the Taken through my Guardians and ghosts. I have developed possible solutions to the problem. But my Guardians are my hands and feet in this matter. You are a healer. I am asking you to attempt to heal the gravest wound of all."

Put this way, Jayesh understood. A warm glow pervaded his being - the Traveler valued him enough to share its plans. He had always looked down on himself for preferring to heal. The Vanguard valued warriors, granting rewards and status according to who killed how much of what. The guy who stayed behind his fireteam, shielding, healing wounds that occurred faster than their ghosts could mend, or energizing his team - that sort of work didn't receive as much recognition. Of course, his fireteam praised him, but they were the only ones.

But restoring a person who had been Taken ...

His thoughts crawled back to one of his biggest failures - when a woman he had been trying to save had torn free of his grasp and thrown herself into a Maw. She had been Taken of her own free will. It still haunted him, usually late at night, when his treacherous mind called up all his failings and paraded them through his mind's eye.

Maybe Natasha could be saved, too.

Slowly he gathered his resolve. "I'll try, Traveler."

In response, extra Light trickled into him. But this was like another Seed of Light - a mote like the sun that he held in his heart. With it came words - a benediction - that would bestow the Light upon someone.

Imagining speaking a benediction over a Taken who was trying to rip his face off made him turn cold all over.

"My Light will be with you," the Traveler assured him. "Fear not."

Jayesh tried to respond that he wasn't afraid, that he'd be the first Guardian ever to pull a Taken back from the jaws of Darkness. But it would have been a lie. So he cuddled closer to Kari and tried not to shiver too much.

A week later, Jayesh received his next assignment from Ikora.

"Surprise," he told Kari, reading the message from his tablet. "She's sending me to the Reef. I get to mess around in the Dreaming City time loop. Go me."

"Oh, Jay." Kari put an arm around him. "It'll be all right. Guardians can get in and out of the time loop with minimal distortion. And hey, Madrid is there. Maybe he can help you out."

Jayesh gave her a sharp look.

Kari winced. "Or not."

Madrid had been the third member of their fire team, an expert Awoken Hunter, and a steadfast friend to them both. But witnessing the death of Cayde-6 had changed him. He had listened to the whispers of the Ahamkara, Riven, and had tried to feed Jayesh to a foul monster from the Ascendant Realm. He had also murdered the Awoken Prince, Uldren, in cold blood. He was serving a sentence of forced labor in the Dreaming City, a Guardian made to fight the same enemies every time the time loop reset. Nobody knew how long it would last.

Jayesh hoped he never laid eyes on Madrid again.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone," Jayesh said, closing his tablet and looking glum. "I'll be hunting for one particular Taken out of hordes of Taken. I have no guarantee the Darkness will even drop her into our reality. And then I have to identify her long enough to not kill her in self-defense. I don't know if I can do this. The Traveler's asking the impossible."

"Maybe for anyone else," Kari said, rubbing his back. "But I believe you can do it. Why else would the Traveler ask you?"

He leaned his head against hers and sighed deeply. "Kari ... I'm scared out of my mind."

She kept stroking him and said nothing.

Connor toddled up to them, holding up a toy car. "Da!" he exclaimed.

Jayesh picked him up. "Daddy's going on another trip, Con. Be good for your mama."

Connor sucked his thumb and regarded his father soberly. His ghost floated nearby, wearing a waterproof shell smeared with baby food, her expression one of constant longsuffering.

Jayesh hugged his son and his wife. "When I get back, I'm taking a month off. I miss you both too much." He didn't voice the tiny, nagging fear that maybe this time, he wouldn't come back - that somewhere out in the savage, lawless Reef, his Light would finally be quenched. That was one of the risks of being a Guardian and didn't bear mentioning.

"You'll do great, Jay," Kari told him. "Keep in touch while you're out there."

"I'll write you every day." He let Connor slide to the floor. Then he wrapped his arms around Kari and kissed her slowly and deeply. "I married you so we wouldn't have to be separated," he whispered. "And here we are, separated. It's not fair."

"I know," she whispered back. "I wish I could go. But Connor ..."

"I know." He held her for another moment, then released her with a sigh. "I'd better get going."

"Hey." Kari held out her hands. Her ghost transmatted her graviton lance into them. She held it out. "Take this. It'll remind you of me when you use it."

It was her favorite rifle, and it fired black holes. Jayesh was fond of it, too. He accepted it reverently. "I'll take perfect care of it, lovelight."

"I guess it's just you and me, Phoenix," he said to his ghost as he walked to the hanger.

"Just like the good old days," Phoenix replied, twirling his red and yellow shell. "Alone. Scared. People trying to kill us."

"Playing with Taken," Jayesh said. "Listening to the Traveler. The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Jayesh entered his ship, stashed his gear, then waited for takeoff clearance from Tower Control.

As he did, he thought about his conversation with Ikora, the Warlock Vanguard.

"I've had word from the Traveler," she had told him quietly. They had been alone in her office. Other Guardians still tended to treat Jayesh like a pariah for his claims about meeting the Traveler - and the following media campaign against him. But it spoke to Ikora, too, and she understood.

"It's sending you to the Reef to study Taken," Ikora went on, watching his face. "But I see that you already know."

"It told me," Jayesh replied. "I was just waiting for you to send me, officially."

Ikora had smiled. "This won't be an easy task, but I'm not throwing you to the wolves just yet. Rendezvous at the Dasa compound in Reefedge City. It's our only Guardian foothold in the Reef. The Dasas have years of experience with Taken and will help you. If you need a fireteam, they'll assign you one. But this may be a solo mission."

His dread must have shown on his face, because Ikora looked compassionate. "Don't underestimate yourself, Guardian. You've faced far worse things than a single Taken."

"There's no such thing as a single Taken," Jayesh had replied. "They run in packs."

"I know. And I still think you can handle it. I'm prepared to award triple the usual bounty for this mission. If we Guardians can steal the Taken from the Darkness, itself? That is a devastating weapon against our enemies."

While he was grateful for her confidence in him, and the extra bounty, Jayesh sat in his ship's cockpit, waiting for permission to take off, and didn't feel like he could handle this mission. Why was it that no matter how much he accomplished, or how much success he had, inside, he was still the same frightened young Guardian?

Phoenix floated beside him, ready to operate the ghost controls. Without a word being spoken, he turned and examined Jayesh's face. Then he flew up and leaned his shell against Jayesh's cheek in a silent expression of companionship. Jayesh cupped a hand around him and held him for a moment.

"I'm here, Jay," the ghost whispered to his mind through their bond.

"Thanks," Jayesh thought.

It was all that needed to be said. Ghost and Guardian trusted each other implicitly.

fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13237621/1/Blessing-of-Light-Curse-of-Darkness

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18155048/chapters/42931655

#fanfiction #destiny2

[deitiesofduat]

I was wondering if u can do a bunch of random facts/headcannons for the main cast?

Oh man, I mean, I’m happy to try, but I’m not sure where to start for the entire cast of 10… well, now 11 gods. I know have some that are scattered around the blog’s tags, and also in places other than tumblr, but It’ll take me a bit to find them or think of new ones without revealing spoilers, hmm…

So here’s what I’ll try that’s similar to the 1 Like 1 Fact meme I did on twitter a while ago: for every note this post receives, I’ll add a DEITIES-related headcanon or fact about the main cast. The main cast includes Set, Horus, Anubis, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Bastet, Sekhmet, Thoth, Ra, and nowwwww Sobek – and maybe the Set Spawn and the big bad serpent too, if relevant. You can add a note by +liking this post, and if you’re interested in learning about a particular deity, you can mention their name in a comment (and it’s not necessary to reblog this, unless you want to!).

This should help give me a bit more focus and time to think of some decent non-spoiler headcanons/facts to share. I’ll come back to this post in a few hours and add any many as I can, depending on the amount of notes it receives, and I’ll bump and place them under the cut for easy access. So yeah, go for it /o/!!

[1] Been playing with a headcanon where Horus’s Eye can see an object’s or person’s weak spots – though only for like, a moment once it’s activated, cuz I’ve wanted to avoid him being OP (but then again… he’s a literal god… so >>)

Also a related-headcanon where he can see a person’s past injuries thru his Eye too, including the hidden ones that have long-ago healed and left no visible scar. I’d like to draw the ones he “sees” on others one day if I keep it…

[2] Set is the only one of his siblings that doesn’t have an avian sacred animal, and for a while I wanted to keep it that way and literally keep him “grounded” compared to his family (sans Anubis). But I found that he’s sometimes also associated with crows (and falcons??? interestingly enough), and even though I haven’t found solid evidence of this yet, I also like the idea of him being associated with bats even before I read about it in Kane Chronicles I swear– So those 2-3 animals are probably some alternate animal form that he has but just rarely takes.

[3] Actually while I’m at it– aside from the Sha Animal, here’s a list of 30-ish animals that I keep as Set’s canon forms in DEITIES verse (based on a combination of historical speculation, recorded myths, and personal headcanons), and would love to eventually draw him as one day:

Aardvark, African Wild Ass (and Donkey), Giant Anteater, Baboon, Bat, Boar/Pig, Bull, Camel, Crocodile, Crow/Raven, Dog (some sort of sighthound?), Fennec Fox, Fish (Eel?), Gazelle/Antelope, Giraffe, Goat, Goose, Hare/Rabbit, Hippopotamus, [Spotted] Hyena, Jackal, Jerboa, Okapi, Oryx, Panther, Rat, Scorpion, Shark, Snake (Viper), and Zebra/Quagga.

[4] RELATEDLY… I REALLY REALLY like the idea of Set somehow acquiring a Thylacine form even tho it’s in no realistic way in the current timeline because thylacines weren’t native to Africa let alone Egypt. BUT… I JUST… THEY REMIND ME OF SHA ANIMALS SO MUCH o)——–

[5] When I was considering the color schemes for the main cast, I once briefly envisioned a purple/violet scheme for Nephthys, but decided to scrap it because (1) I wanted her colors to contrast with her sister’s and match a bit more with her husband’s and son’s and (2) I found that purple was nigh impossible to find in AE wall art and admittedly worried “maybe it won’t look authentic if I use those colors;;;”

Even though I’m happy with her orange/black/red scheme now, I’ve recently found that purple is a common association / kemetic UPG (or doxa?) with her?? SO THAT WAS INTERESTING… I don’t think I’ll change her color scheme for DEITIES, but maybe I’ll draw her in an alternate purple outfit one day to see how it looks on her >>

[6] One of the reasons why I like Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as their own casual friend group in DEITIES verse is that, because they’re all relatively young gods, they all share the experience/pressure of being measured up against their older royal relatives – Horus being seen as both his father and mother’s legacy and feeling the pressure to restore his family’s throne; Anubis being know for his infamous father, and even having his paternity questioned (via rumors and “myths”); and Bastet being the youngest of Ra’s daughter, sometimes being compared to her sister’s roles and achievements.

They’re all really good at masking any pressure they feel, but they also probably confide in each other about it more than with others, cuz they’ve all “been there.”

[7] Relatedly, one of the earliest version of DEITIES Project, before it was known as “Deities Project,” had Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as the main trio. That’s been changed “for reasons” since then, and their characters were quite different back then, but it might be fun to explore a story that focused on the 3 of them someday.

[8] Okay ya’ll know the part during The Contendings where Horus and Set are racing in stone boats and Horus “wins” by painting his wooden boat to look like stone? I have ideas for how that entire race happens in DEITIES verse that would be fun to explore as a side story, but in order for me to give Horus a “legit” way to win without outright cheating, he covers his boat with stone casing/accents, and after he wins and is confronted about it… well…

HORUS: “The rules we agreed on were to sail a boat made with stone. They said nothing about it needing to be made entirely out of stone.”SET: “…”HORUS: “ :)c ”SET: “…” *Internally raging*

[9] I’ve headcanon’d that Nephthys has her own set of ~7 Shabti who act as her personal assistants while she’s conducting her nightly duties, or working around her home, but I haven’t decided much more past that (still debating on how she acquired them, and if she more-than-likely named them…).

The concept and number were loosely based on how many of the other goddesses had their own sets of 7 as extensions of their power and/or control (7 Ribbons of Hathor, 7 Arrows of Sekhmet, Isis’s 7 Scorpions), and I thought it’d be neat if the Goddess of Service had her own Shabti that exemplified that part of her domain.

[10] Thoth is an avid lover of puzzles, trivia, and strategy games, and he’s also exceptionally skilled at games of chance. He doesn’t gamble or make bets often because he understands the risks, but when he does he tries to be calculative about it… and also has a natural knack for luck going his way (EX: That one game of senet that he won to help assist Nut with having her children… which is another story for another day)

[11] Ummmmm Isis is the only one of the main cast who I haven’t drawn a ref of her sacred animal form yet… or at least, not digitally. Her animal is the kite, but I’ve been debating on a while for what species to base her design on. I like the idea of her kite form looking like the Black-winged Kite, although those species aren’t native to Egypt… but some are native to Africa… and they’re so fricken pretty and they fit her colors so well so I might cave on this ffffffffffff–

[12] While we’re on the subject of sacred animals (and to help me get somewhat closer to the note count lmao I’m trying guys–), Horus’s falcon form is based on both the Peregrine falcon and the Lanner falcon, with more simplified markings for my own sanity when I draw him in dozens of panels.

At one point, I considered making his falcon form leucistic to contrast more with Anubis and Set, buuuuuut I also liked the brown colors on the falcons’ normal coloration, so I kept it. (That and more leucistic birds of prey are hawks, so… maybe for Khonsu tho if I don’t change him to an owl, hmmmm…)

[13] Okay continuing thoughts on animal forms, Bastet is able to shift her cat form into nearly any coloration or breed she desires (aside from her eyes, which remain green), but for the purposes of DEITIES I draw her as a brown cat with light gradation markings. I knew of the Egyptian Mau but also realized the spots would take a lot of effort to redraw in the panels where she appears as a cat (much like the spots on falcons for Horus). I also personally really like solid-colored coats on cats, and in particular I liked the coloration of the Havana Brown, so it may be a little less authentic but it did factor into her colors as well.

[14] I'm still debating on Sekhmet's main hairstyle and want to play with it a bit more -- not the arrangement per se but whether to keep it as locks or to make them more obvious twists -- or perhaps a combination -- since I can see her with both style at certain points in time. Either way, at full length Sekhmet's hair is very long: if she were to loosen her tie and let it fall, her longest locks would reach past her hips.

[15] I initially gave Set yellow eyes because even though he's often depicted with red eyes, I didn't want to over saturate his design with just... well, red -- especially in his animal form where his entire body is covered in red fur (red eyes + red sclera would have been, a lot). I like how his yellow eyes provide some contrast, and I've since found some story-related reasons where his eyes might play some role in the plot… but anything further might be spoilery 8')c

[16] It took me a while to settle on Osiris's "resurrected" skin tone because there were a lot of sources that describe his skin as being green, or blue, or black in coloration. I even tried them out in an earlier color test that I shared on patreon, but I eventually went with black since the color has had various meanings in Ancient Egypt that include both life and death. (It also gave me some opportunity to give green skin to Ptah and blue skin to Hapi to help vary the designs for each of those gods).

[17] Relatedly, Osiris's mortal form is a naturally dark skin tone, but following this death he can no longer appear in that form. He is also unable to travel to the overworld / realm of the living, though I'm still debating on how restrictive this is (if it's limited to his physical body or if he can split his soul under special circumstances, or with assistance). Regardless, most of his correspondence with other deities have to be arranged within Duat for this reason.

[18] I haven't made any plans to designate a spouse or romantic partner for Ra. I understand that there were a number of goddesses that were associated with him in the myths and often said to be his wife, but for that reason it was hard to settle on choosing one -- or multiple, and I realized that for the purpose of the main story it might not be necessary. I also kinda like exploring the idea of this high king and powerful creator deity who's also a happily single father, and where it's not for tragic reasons like the separation from or death of his spouse (not to knock that trope at all tho sdjfdsf). I'm not opposed to him being shipped with anyone though, I just don't think I've been inclined to do it myself lmAO;;

[19] RELATEDLY, while Ra's daughters (Sekhmet, Mafdet, Hathor, Serqet, Bastet) don't have a biological mother, I like to think that they were raised in an environment with a lot of parental figures and mentors to go around, aside from just their father. I haven't quite settled on how it was organized though, but I know that the daughters regard Thoth as something of an uncle/secondary dad (tho their dynamic with Thoth is can vary a lot from the one the have with Ra), as well as their teacher and mentor. I can also see where other gods like Khnum, Khepri, and Bes, and goddesses like Neith, Seshat, Taweret, Ma'at, and Mut, might also have played some direct mentor role in the daughters' upbringing and sense of self.

[20] (squick + implied nsfw) I uh… have this minor gag headcanon where Horus, Isis, and Osiris just don't eat fish. They just… don't. And it's entirely based on that one part of the myths after Osiris's death, where a certain part of Osiris's desecrated body ended up in the river and was swallowed by a fish 8')c (should be noted that I'm not saying that event did happened in DEITIES canon, but I'm also not disputing it either >>).

Apparently that was considered a bad omen, and I still find conflicting information on whether consumption of fish was taboo for some or all in Ancient Egypt (I think "for some" makes better sense, cuz why would an entire society that resides near the Nile river pass up on a perfectly available food source?? But I digress, I might need to review this again so take my thoughts with a grain of salt--). I also admit that I've seen it mentioned that fish are not ideal food offerings for Isis and Osiris?? and I can imagine that maybe Horus adopts the distaste for them as well. Either way, I go with the DEITIES canon that while most people and deities happily consume fish, Horus and his parents will not, and they don't enjoy it as offerings either.

I’MMMMMM gonna end it here for now cuz my headcanons have run dry for the time being, thank you guys!!

#// I'M SRSLY JUST blanking on new facts right now o)-----< but I wanna give this a try later after I make dinner in a bit #// I will… also see if I can make a tag for the headcanon-type replies since it seems that people are interested in them! #DEITIES asks #general asks #meme #Horus #Set #Anubis #Bastet #Nephthys #Ra #Thoth #Isis #Osiris #Sekhmet #headcanons

[empress-imperia]

CHP VI: IN WHICH FINNICK GETS A NEW RIDE

"... Are you sure?"

Bruce Wood listened to the speaker on the other end of the call as he chewed loudly on some wood flavored gum. "Four vehicles..." He started to write down the information on the speaker's recommendation. "Two headed to the Canal District... the other two crossed the bridge... a van with two canines on it... driven by a fennec fox wearing a black and red t-shirt... and a Hopps farm truck, driven by three rabbits, two old, one really old... you're sure they're all heading for the same place?" The speaker raised their voice. "Hey, watch it! Remember who's in charge here! So if they're all heading for where you think the money is hidden, then the two cars going by road would have to pass through the skinny end of Deerbrooke County."

The wide woodchuck tapped a red highlighter on the map before him. On the map, Deerbrooke looked like a fallen bottle, with the narrow neck end located right between Bunnyburrow and the county where Zootopia lay. Bruce had already drawn a red line down the quickest road from A to B.

"Don't worry, if they show up we'll take care of it." Bruce said. "I'll keep you posted... Bye." He hung up.

The longer he stared at the map, his eyes focusing on the black mark that was Bunnyburrow, the wider his grin grew. This might just be the break the Zootopia Freedom Party needed to get off the ground. If they managed to get the money's exact location from the chomper or the bunnies, then they wouldn't have to operate from a rickety abandoned farmhouse in Podunk anymore. They could move their headquarters to a nicer place closer to Zootopia, or more preferably in it. They could attract more followers and finally make a difference in that city.

He went to the bathroom of the motel room that should have been fumigated decades ago, and dialed the number for the other two members of the group, who should still be in the supposed dining room of their headquarters playing canasta. According to the map, the town he was currently in, Tall Oaks, would be the second town the two vehicles would pass through if they wished to get to Bunnyburrow in the fastest time. With a little help from his friend in the city, Bruce might just be able to pull this off.

Right now, the best the Zootopia Freedom Party could do was to accumulate leaflets and scout for potential, likeminded recruits. With six million and five hundred thousand dollars and possibly more, there was no limit to what they were capable of.

"Mr. Big sent us. We need to use his boat." Raymond said the second they found Melvin the Stoat at the end of the dock where the boat was being kept. It was short and to the point, for time was of the essence.

Melvin, a burly little mammal in a baggy sweater and stained cap, eyed the two polar bears. "Names?"

"I'm Raymond and this is Kevin."

Melvin relaxed. "Koslov called and told me to expect you. Wait here while I get the boat ready for boarding." He started to walk quickly down the dock, but stopped and turned. "You do know how to drive this boat, don't you?"

"My family's been into boats for five generations, and I've transported goods for the boss before." Kevin said.

Melvin looked at the boat, then back at the bears. "Good enough. Did they tell you what sort of boat this is?"

The bears looked at the boat. It was your typical three deck luxury yacht, with a pure white hull and glossy black windows. Bigger than most yachts in the canals, but also small enough to build up a fair amount of speed in open water. It's name was the Marlon Brando, and it was their best chance of getting to Bunnyburrow first.

"Just your run of the mill luxury yacht, right?" Kevin asked.

"If you can spare a few minutes, I'll explain..." Melvin trailed off at the sound of screeching tires. Raymond and Kevin spun round, and grimaced equally when they saw the Oryx-Antlersons' car come to a halt on the road that stretched parallel to the docks. Bucky and Pronk leapt out, and without shutting the doors sprinted over.

"Hey! Do you work here? Is there a boat for hire?!" Bucky spouted off the round of questions breathlessly, while Pronk realised they'd left their car vulnerable and rushed back to lock it.

"Yes and no." Melvin said, expertly putting on the facade of an honest sailor. "Not in this part of the docks, anyway. You'll have to talk to Boris. He's a boar down at the other end. He might have something you could use."

Bucky pointed at the yacht. "What about that? D'you know who owns that ferry?"

"Yacht, sir. It's called a yacht." Melvin said evenly. "And it belongs to the employer of these two gentlemen. They've just been given permission to use it for the day."

Pronk had returned at that moment. "Is that true? Are they using that big fancy thing?"

"Yep, and like I said, it's called a yacht. Now if you'll excuse me I need to make sure the yacht is at full fuel."

As Melvin left, Raymond folded his arms with a smirk. "That's right. We're using the big fancy speedy thing. So run off and go find a dinghy to paddle with."

Bucky glared. "Know this, beefcake. It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings!"

"Then you'd better keep your pointy little ears open." Kevin said. "Now push off and shut up."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Pronk's roar of outrage could be heard across the docks.

"You heard me." Kevin replied smugly. "Shut. U-"

"NO-ONE TELLS HIM TO SHUT UP EXCEPT FOR ME SO SHUT UP!"

"YEAH, VICE VERSA SO SHUT UP!" Bucky hollered at equal volume.

Raymond stepped forward. "Watch it, bread sti-"

"SHUT UP!"

"YEAH, SHUT UP!"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"

"SHUT UP YOU BIG PALOOKA!"

"You..."

"SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPAHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP..." The tremendous duet of the two ballistic belters was too much for the two polar bears. Ears ringing and hearts pounding, they retreated under the pretense of asking Melvin if the boat was ready for sailing. By the time they reached the stoat, the screaming had stopped and the Oryx-Antlersons were returning to their car, high fiving each other once they reached it.

Raymond wondered if he should call Mr. Big about possibly recruiting them once this was over. Any rivals they needed to intimidate in future wouldn't last two minutes.

Judy took a long, hard look at the interior of the police car engine before sighing and leaping to grab the hood, allowing her weight to pull it shut. "Un-cotton picking-believable."

"What's wrong? Your car will still run, and don't cars get wrecked in collisions all the time?" Bonnie said, deliberately leaving out that it was their farm truck that caused said collision in the first place.

Judy's mouth was very small, and her ears were pointing straight down. "In case you haven't noticed, mother, this is a police car. It is specially designed to withstand more damage than a normal car." Judy strode over to the Hopps truck, where Pop-Pop was still sitting in the driver's seat and shooting dirty looks at the pine tree that Nick was hiding behind. He was utilising a water bottle to clean out the awkwardly placed coffee stain as best as he could. Judy popped open the hood of the truck, unleashing a cloud of white smoke. "So, mother dearest... do you have any idea how lucky you are that the truck was the only thing that was totaled?!"

Bonnie cringed at the look of sheer outrage and disbelief on her daughter's face. She lifted her leg up a little and rolled her ankle. "Lucky rabbit's feet, I suppose."

"Har, har, mom."

Bonnie put a paw on Judy's vested shoulder. "Honestly, we are so sorry about this, sweetheart."

Judy sighed again. "At least you guys aren't hurt."

Bonnie glanced at Nick's pine tree, where the only part of him sticking out was his bushy red and brown tail. "Speaking of guys... that coffee hadn't been hot when he spilled it on his little boy parts was it?"

"Mom!" Judy gasped, glancing at the tree herself to see if Nick had heard. The bushy red and brown tail had gone very still. "Oh crackers, he heard."

Bonnie cleared her throat. "I suppose you'll be wanting an explanation for your family's behavior."

Judy crossed her arms. "As officers of the law, we'll have to charge you with reckless driving, regardless of relation. I hope you have a darned good reason for this." "As a matter of fact, I do." Bonnie proceeded to jerk her thumb at her approaching husband. He'd just finished spending a penny behind a bush on the other side of the road "But I'm going to let him explain. Stu?"

Stu stopped in the middle of pulling up his overall straps. He looked nervously to his daughter. "Do I have to, dear?"

Bonnie and Judy sported equally steely gazes. "Yes, dear. Unless you want your own daughter to book you for withholding information."

By the time Stu had finished telling Judy everything the late Jerry Mousekewitz had told him, Nick had run out of bottled water and joined them.

"Nick, why are your pants completely soaked?" Judy asked bluntly.

Nick scowled. "So I won't have to constantly explain that I did not pee my pants because I didn't, to quote you, my dear Carrots, 'take it easy with the coffee.'"

Speaking of coffee, the pants still smelled of it.

"Never mind that!" Judy snapped, her ears turning pink at the tips. "Did you hear what my father just told me?!"

Bonnie and Stu's shoulders slumped. They knew Judy wouldn't take it well. Pop-Pop kept sulking in the truck.

"I did, one hundred percent." Nick said. "Ninety-five percent, actually. What was that about my buddy attacking your Pop-Pop with a snowball?"

"Nick! That! Is not! Important!" Judy was rigid as a board on fire. "How could you lie to me about this, dad? Me?!"

Stu looked absolutely mortified.

"Bogo needs to know about this. Nick, call him right now while I have a few more words with my lovely parents." By this point, Judy had become sinisterly calm.

Nick did not like the look on her face. "Shall... I'll just call him over there, shall I?"

"Fine, just make sure you tell him everything!"

Nick started walking down the road, and didn't stop until he was a red and blue speck on the concrete and their rabbits ears couldn't hear the ensuing phone call, especially once Judy exploded.

Finnick was fifteen miles from Zootopia when his luck ran out.

Being one of the smallest mammals in the city that was too big to live in Little Rodentia, his view of the road tended to be partially obscured by the dashboard, so he didn't see the fallen tree until it was too late.

One minute he was gunning it at fifty miles an hour, the next he hit the thick trunk head on. His entire body jerked forward, the seatbelt keeping him from completely leaving the seat. Leafy branches slapped the windshield as the trunk rolled slightly, and white smoke began pouring out from beneath the hood.

Finnick quickly got over the shock and proceeded to explode into a myriad of French curses inspired by the rap music he'd been listening to before the crash. The curses faded as he heard the sound of shattering glass coming from the back of the van. It was a cluster of wet crashes, like someone was dropping an armful of full wine bottles one by one. The melted jumbo pop jars, Finnick realised with a sinking feeling, squeezing the steering wheel and wincing with each shatter.

When all was quiet, Finnick undid his seatbelt and climbed out of his car. He felt no pain when he leapt to the hard ground, confirming that he'd escaped without injury. His relief was short lived as he rushed to the back of the van and saw red liquid dripping from beneath the doors like fake blood in a horror movie. Letting out one last French curse, he opened one of the doors.

Just as he expected, the big glass jars had not been so lucky. Glass shards poured out the van along with their entire red liquid contents. It was the Great Flood of Noah all over again, this time in the form of strawberry flavoured melted ice. Finnick watched silently as two hundred bucks worth of juice emptied out onto the road along with sixty bucks worth of glass.

Finnick did the only thing he could do in this situation.

He raised his fists, tilted his face to the sky, and said the M word.

Very, very, very loudly.

Then he looked inside the smoking engine and saw there was nothing he could do. Calling for help would take too long. It could even lead to his arrest if the mess of glass and juice aroused their suspicion. There was no way he was losing the money to that crotchety old jerk.

So that left one option.

Internally screaming all the way, Finnick climbed into the dripping, soaking, sticky van. He came out holding something he hadn't used since the Savanna Park hustles.

It was covered in juice. It was coloured pink and had rainbow tassels dangling from the handles. But the plastic tricycle was all he had. At least until he got to the next town and acquired another vehicle.

Hoping to all the gods in the animal kingdom that no-one he knew saw him, he wiped the tricycle with his gym towel and started trundling down the road.

He felt silly. He felt really silly. Please, God, don't let anyone see him.

Nick only stopped walking when he couldn't hear Judy's Armageddon-level ranting. He felt very sorry for the rabbit's parents, even if they did bring it on themselves for lying to her.

He dialed Bogo's number and waited. The phone rang four times before Buffalo Butt picked up, and he sounded either ticked beyond all reason or undergoing immense suffering. Maybe both.

"What?" The Chief asked sharply.

"Sir, you're either going to love or hate this.' Nick paused. "Maybe both."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know how that mouse, the aptly named Jerry Mousekewitz, kicked the bucket earlier this morning?"

"Get to the point or shut your mouth!"

Nick got to the point. His nose wrinkled as it detected the strong scent of coffee still emanating from his pants.

"... We didn't find out about the race until we bumped into Clawhauser, who saw two of them pass him. We've driven a little out the city in the hopes of catching one of them before they got too far, and that was when we found the Hopps truck on the side of the road with a busted tire. Seems they trying to get at least one or two license plates before going to us." The lie, as usual, came easily. It wasn't entirely a lie, but the least he could do for Judy's family was to twist the truth just enough to get her parents a lighter sentence. There was nothing he could do about the inevitable reckless driving charges, but he could still save them from charges of withholding information. "Sir, I can tell you're about to flip your horns but this isn't bad news. We know where the heist money is, and we might still have a chance to get it back. If you let us go right now, we can still find the Blue Goliath before the others do."

He could almost hear the chief grinding his teeth.

"This is insane. I don't mean sending you two out the city. This was supposed to be a simple investigation into a casino heist, not a race across two states! It's like the animal world has gone mad!"

"No, just you." Nick quipped.

"Wilde, I am not in the mood for... what's that screeching?"

Nick's ears went flat. Judy's shouting had increased in volume while he was explaining what Stu Hopps had just told them. "... Duck."

"Duck?" Bogo stopped sounding angry for a few seconds.

"Yes. A duck."

"There are no birds in Zootopia."

"Immigration, am I right?"

"Never mind the duck, or whatever that really was. I don't like the idea of you two taking your police car out of the city, but the loot of three casinos is on the line here and we have to get it back. So fine. You have my authorization to join the chase, but the Blue Goliath is your top priority. Do not engage the others unless you have to. We will deal with them once we have the money back in safe hands."

"Hooves or paws?"

"WILDE, FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

Nick jerked his head from the phone. "Wow, that actually hurt! Is everything okay on your end, chief?"

"... Nothing I can't handle. Don't bother coming back here for more resources, there's no time for that."

Nick put a smirk back on his face. "Speaking of resources, what's the big idea lending Clawhauser a Ferrari in the first place while me and Judy get lemons? We're the best in the force!"

"Yes, but he's the cutest in the force." Bogo retorted.

Nick's smirk widened. "The cutest, huh? I knew it."

"... Goodbye, fox."

#zootopia fanfiction #Zootopia #zootopia finnick

[mosquitgo]

Random Lore Ramble #2 (Because I hate you all and want you to suffer through reading this): Corrupted Guardians

Woop woop, here we are another day, another post nobody gives a shit about except for me.

So a topic I briefly mentioned in Lore Ramble #1 was Corrupted, or Dark, Guardians.

What interests me is less about what these rare Guardians did, and more about their motives. I’ve personally been fascinated for years about the psychological differences between classes, so I’m going with one example per class to talk about. Eris Morn for the Hunters, Rezyl Azzir for Titans, and Toland the Shattered for Warlocks.

*NOTE: I don’t intend to mention the following people in this list because they aren’t 100% good or bad, more like somewhere in the middle: Kabr the Legionless, Osiris the Exiled, Praedyth. You could argue that those being my exceptions, Eris shouldn’t qualify, but I don’t have a surplus of examples for Hunters, so I’ll take whatever I can get.*

We may as well start with Eris Morn’s story, and my opinion on rogue Hunters in general.

Eris Morn was a member of the few Guardians to survive the Great Disaster, when hundreds of Guardians were given the second death by the hand of Crota on the Moon. Along with one of her friends, the Warlock Eriana-3, she was particularly spiteful about the death of Wei Ning, a Defender Titan known for her strength and power. As such, when Eriana began assembling the doomed First Crota Fireteam, Eris was among them. Joined by Vell Tarlowe, Omar Agah, Sai Mota, and the infamous Toland, they launched a quiet assault on Crota’s chambers, relying on the vast Hive-Lore knowledge from Toland to guide them through. I won’t go into specifics, but it was a terrible failure, to say the least. Eris was stranded kilometres down in the heart of the Hive domain, with Eriana, Tarlowe, Agah and Mota dead because of Toland, who was missing and probably gone the same way, and to top it all, her Ghost was long-dead, and her Light slowly draining out. So she does what Hunters do best. She adapts. She survives. Lightless and alone, she wanders the caves, killing anything in her way and staying away from Crota. Now this is where it really gets disturbing.

Somewhere along the line, Eris has her eyes ripped out by a Hive Knight, so, being more than a little too close for comfort to the line of sanity by now, she proceeds to rip out the knight’s eyes, and implant all three in her forehead. Now, after this we honestly don’t know what happened. She emerges, decades later, from the catacombs, not a Guardian, not a mortal either, but not quite Hive. Not quite anything, really. She is almost insanely angry at the Hive, at Toland, and most of all at Crota. Eris returns to the City and the Guardians, who for the most part disgusted by the strange half-Dark half-Light creature that she has become. Without Ikora Rey, she would have certainly been exiled, or ignored. But the Warlock Vanguard saw the knowledge and skills Eris had picked up from her years in the Lunar Catacombs, and not only allowed her to stay, at the Tower, but actually let her join the Vanguard in the War Room several times. As usual, Ikora was proven right, as Eris became a valuable asset in the defeat of Crota, and later his father Oryx, by our Guardian. When Towerfall occurred, Eris Morn had actually left the Tower, for unknown reasons, and may not even know about the events of the Red War with Ghaul.

So Eris may not be a “bad guy” by definition, but there is a definite inhuman side to her nature. She has Hive eyes, which appear to bleed or cry liquid Darkness. She has that strange green rock which has been suggested to be a Hive worm (fuck I’m not even going through that right now). Her Strike dialogue suggests that she may even KNOW some Hive. When Oryx is killed, she can control that infamous sword with her mind. I could go on for hours, but you get the point: Eris Morn is not human.

But I digress, my point is about Hunters. Taking it as a fact that she has taken in a worm, the story emerges. When her Ghost is taken, as I said, she adapts. Worms really aren’t entirely different in purpose to Ghosts, if you look at it bluntly. They effectively render the bearer immortal, plus they heal, give abilities and a whole other bunch of goodies too. So basically, the method of healing and survival is taken away, find the next best thing, which could well be a hive-worm. As well as this, swapping eyes with a Knight isn’t some strange experiment, or an attempt to become stronger, again, it��s a way to live. Eris has her eyes gouged out, and some part of her mind is still rational enough to make a few connections.

If she can’t see, she can’t use her knives, can’t shoot.

If she can’t shoot or knife-fight, she can’t kill Hive.

If she can’t kill Hive, she will die.

So of course, she does the rational thing, at least in the moment. She finds the dead Knight, gouges its eyes out, and somehow puts him in her head. This does have further ramifications, but in the moment, it’s do or die.

Now, one term in particular comes up constantly in this story. Survival. Everything Eris Morn does, good or bad, is to keep going. Nothing else.

So; when it comes to Hunters, we can reasonably safely say that their sole reason for “corrupting” is to stay alive. Simple as. They live on Light, when that isn’t enough, they look elsewhere. Anything that comes after is a byproduct, not considered or planned by the Hunter.

Next up we have the Warlocks, and I’m using Toland the Shattered as the example. There are quite a few Dark Warlocks down through the years, named and unnamed, but he is our most detailed one out there.

So Toland, aka the Mad Warlock, aka the guy who gave Voidwalkers a bad reputation forever.

Unfortunately, we don’t have much of an account of Toland pre-going-Dark, but we do have the rare treasure of a first person account through Toland’s Journals, which give us an insight into his mind, so here’s what we can piece together.

Toland does not have a Tragic Backstory™, like Eris Morn or Rezyl Azzir. He was just a Warlock, who was interested in Hive, had genius-level intelligence, didn’t get his answers from the Vanguard, and went too deep. As he started drifting further from the Light, creating strange, unnatural artifacts, and abandoning his Ghost entirely, the Vanguard took notice. Toland the Shattered was exiled, not that he really gave two shits. He hadn’t really been a Guardian for years anyway. So leaving behind the weapon Shadow Price (one of the artifacts I mentioned), Toland leaves the Tower behind. He disappears off somewhere doing some weird stuff, and slowly learning more about, and becoming more like, the Hive.

Then we have a wide blank space, in which Six Fronts, Osiris, and Twilight Gap occur, and everyone’s favourite psychopathic insane Voidwalker isn’t seen for years.

Then, when things settle down after the worst of the Fallen Wars have passed, Commander Zavala launches that ill-fated attack on Crota, who has held the moon for decades, and our story picks up.

Eris Morn and Eriana-3 assemble the First Crota fireteam. While looking for the sixth and final member, they realise that their team is comprised of fighters, and as any decent player knows, you need a tactician to head it up for any success. The only Warlock on the team is Eriana, but she is Praxic Warlock, so ultimately, another fighter. So against explicit Vanguard orders, they seek out Toland, in whatever dark corner of the universe he was hidden away in. Their reasons are pretty simple: The team needs a strategist desperately, and when it comes to Hive, you can’t get a better one than the Mad Warlock.

So Vell Tarlowe, Sai Mota, Omar Agah, Eriana-3, Eris Morn and Toland the Shattered descend into the Hellmouth. I’ve told you what comes next. Here’s the details.

So Toland’s agenda wasn’t 100% true to what Eris and Eriana had thought. To him, this wasn’t an honourable mission. It was the research opportunity of a lifetime. He’d been trying to get down into the Hellmouth for years now, and here was the chance to do so with an armed fucking guard!

Now, of course, Toland knew from the moment they came to him that it was suicide. Wading down into an unsecured area crawling with Hive, with a mildly insane mutant space wizard to guide you is not going to end well.

But then again, this is the greatest field study opportunity he’ll ever get. So, he agrees. He says yes, of course I can get you there, of course I know how, of course you’ll survive. (*Note: I’m about to go knee-deep in Hivelore here).

What really made it worth the risk to Toland was the slim chance of finding Îr Yût, the Deathsinger. Îr Yût was an extremely powerful Hive Wizard, capable of killing instantly with her voice. Being as excessively morbid as his Voidwalker peers, Toland was obsessed. How did the song work? Was it the song itself, or the one singing it? Could it be that the Deathsinger’s song was death itself? He reckoned, in a pretty logical fashion, that he could actually recreate the Deathsong himself, completely identical.

Now that in itself is an indication of how much Toland had strayed from humanity. I mean, have you heard the Hive screeching? It’s unnatural, it’s inhuman, and it’s downright terrifying at times. No human should be able to recreate that.

Anyway, so Toland agrees to lead the team to Crota, all the while planning for a meeting with the Deathsinger.

They go in, are swarmed with Hive. Mota is killed almost immediately, and then, miraculously, it stops. The tide of Hive falters, and stands still, and slowly but surely turns. Other than Toland, nobody understands this: Because the Hive don’t relent. They don’t retreat, pause or stop. Everyone knows that. But for some reason, they have now.

Unbeknownst to all but Toland, the Hive, after killing Mota, knew what was happening. Five veteran, powerful Guardians (plus one…thing) had entered their ground. This was good. Very good. The Hive live their lives by the Sword Logic, their philosophy, their religion, the way of life that even affects their physical makeup and biology. Right at the root of this is one fact: The Hive gain power from death. They are immortal, unless killed, as long as they feed their worm with a stream of death. The energy gained from a kill is paid in part to the rank above the killer. Now, all kills will create some power, but if the conditions are right, they will create more. I assume the conditions are certain symbols, locations etc. So that means that when Crota kills hundreds in combat with his sword, it actually isn’t that much of a power source. But even three or four Guardians, in the right conditions…. different story entirely.

The Hive begin to pull back, luring the Guardians in to where they can be sacrificed to maximum effect. Knowing this, the logical move is to retreat, or flat out run like hell. But Toland assures the other four survivors that this is normal, that the Hive are spread thin after the battle, that the best thing is to press forward, because despite knowing the increasing danger they’re in, he wants to find Îr Yût.

Shortly after this the fireteam is separated in two: Eris with Eriana and Agah, Tarlowe with Toland. By the time they find each other, Tarlowe is, as Toland says, “spectacularly dead”. Toland claims that the Hive got him, a Thrall got under his guard, nothing more, but who knows what he was capable of.

Eventually, they reach the chamber where the the Deathsinger resides, but with Agah dead.

Eriana-3 is killed. As the Deathsong begins, Eris realises why their passage was allowed. Enraged, she turns on Toland, only to see that the impossible is happening. The Deathsong is focused on Toland, but the Mad Warlock stands on his feet, unafraid. Eris Morn runs, angry and scared, assuming Toland is dead.

Now this is the moment Toland has waited for years for. He hears the Song of Death, and sings right back. Somewhere in those few seconds, something happens. His theory was incorrect. Nobody can recreate the Deathsong, but something he hadn’t predicted happens: instead of dying painfully, Toland the Shattered is sent to the Hive’s Ascendant Throne-World, the hellish alternate dimension created and ruled by Oryx, the Taken King. In this instant, he is changed somehow, so arriving in the Ascendant Realm, instead of being hunted and killed like most intruders, v he is ignored.

Being a Warlock, Toland does the only thing better than doing something impossible: He does another impossible thing. Years later, when Oryx hears of his son’s death and sets the Dreadnaught on course to Earth, who warns us? Who sends fragments of journal, torn paper, the knowledge we need to defeat the Taken and their Lord? It’s Toland the Shattered, of course. Obviously, there is no way he can physically propel items through to the real world, but, as you can see, impossibility isn’t really something that bothers the Mad Warlock.

So there it is. Looking at Toland’s story, just as with Eris, patterns start to emerge. Toland was exiled because he started going against Vanguard orders. He did this because he wanted, maybe needed, answers. Knowledge. I honestly believe that if he had been given permission and a research team, he wouldn’t have gone rogue, and if he did, it wouldn’t have been as severe or early as it was.

Perhaps his worst crime, effectively causing the deaths of four Guardians, was all for one reason. He wanted to know more about Îr Yût, and the Deathsong, and the Hive.

Just as the story of Eris comes back to survival, the story of Toland comes back to knowledge. I can draw parallels here to Osiris here, too. The stories go pretty similarly:

Warlock wants knowledge.

Warlock cannot access said knowledge, for some reason or other.

All hell breaks loose, caused by Warlock.

Warlock is exiled, disappears, and leaves everyone confused and afraid.

So; Warlocks go dark to know more, to learn, to understand other forms of power. Some side affects are deliberate, some are byproducts.

Two thirds of the way guys, hang in. Only Titans to go now.

Rezyl Azzir, later Dredgen Yor, is quite possibly the most infamous rogue Guardian in the Destiny Universe, and he is certainly the first of them. Killer of Pahanin, Jaren Ward, and dozens of others. Creator and first holder of Thorn.

Azzir was a Guardian before Guardians, resurrected in a time of chaos, shortly after the Collapse, before the Faction Wars, before the raising of the City Walls. He was a Titan by nature, but this was at the point where Guardians were called Risen, and Warlord Risen still dominated what little land hadn’t been taken by Fallen on Earth. So while the most famous group of Risen at this point were the Iron Lords, Azzir was the best outside their ranks.

He was, essentially, an early Saint-14, he was strong, powerful, kind, loyal, basically what a Titan should be.

*NOTE: In the grimoire, Azzir is referred to as the “First Guardian”. This can be interpreted a lot of ways, including that he was actually the first to be resurrected by a Ghost, but my personal favourite is that while other Risen existed, Rezyl Azzir was the first of them to operate similarly to the modern Guardians.*

He was probably the most effective in his field (which was Fallen-killing) for years, but even before the whole Dredgen Yor saga began, he started showing signs of going downhill. He became more and more reckless, once even letting himself die, hiding his Ghost, allowing himself to be brought to a Devil Baron’s throne room, only for his Ghost to revive him. Shortly after, he killed the Baron and fought his way out. The risk involved there is insane. He literally let his Ghost materialise in plain view. If a Vandal or Dreg had been quick enough to get it, Azzir was dead.

Years later, and hundreds of near-suicidal missions, Azzir finds a Hive pit, and, reckless as ever, goes straight down, no hesitation.

Now, something I should mention here is that in the Destiny Universe, weapons can mean a lot more to their owners than just a gun, or just a sword, or whatever they are. We see it with Amanda Holliday and the Chaperone, Cayde-6 with Ace of Spades, Lord Shaxx with his Razelighter, and of course, Rezyl Azzir with Rose. Rose was a hand cannon, and a pretty normal one, but it served him well, and he got really protective of it.

But before going down, he makes the questionable decision to leave his Ghost on the surface. His reasons are unknown. It could be as simple as that he didn’t want his Ghost killed, but I do think he knew that one way of another, there was little chance of him escaping unscathed, and he wanted to spare his Ghost. So Azzir goes down, finds a Hive Wizard, and after attacking her, is confronted by a Hive Prince. Being led further and further down, we have absolutely no clue as to what happens next. All we know is that when he emerges from the caverns, he is no longer Rezyl Azzir.

The man that leaves that place is Dredgen Yor.

Even his beloved Rose has changed, it has become the now famous Thorn, a poisonous, twisted thing. The physical changes to Azzir (I’ll refer to him as Yor from now) are unspecified, but we know they were gradual, as later, when the Crucible was up and running, shortly after Six Fronts, Yor participated. He did extremely well that day, but then something was noticed.

Among the Guardians he killed that day, some did not get up. The most well-known of these was the Hunter Pahanin, only survivor of Kabr’s Vault of Glass fireteam.

In order to tell the rest of Yor’s story, I need to switch to the perspective of a young orphaned boy called Shin Malphur. Malphur lived in one of the many towns and villages in the European Dead Zone who ignored the call to the City, preferring to take their chances in the wilds as they had done for years.

This village was ruled by a single man, and he was cruel, and a terrible leader. He threatened and beat members of his village if they opposed him. One day, along comes a Hunter called Jaren Ward, on patrol to find survivors like these, and mark their locations. Before leaving, Ward is informed about the village leader’s cruelty. He confronts him publicly, and when the man attempts to kill him, Ward, being a Gunslinger Hunter, draws a gun and shoots him and the few loyal to him, in a few seconds.

In the silence that follows, the only one brave enough to thank Ward is the young Shin Malphur. Impressed by this, Ward leaves Shin his gun, the hand cannon The Last Word. While talking to him, the Hunter mentions that he’s on his way to Dwindler’s Ridge, the last known location of a dangerous rogue Guardian. Guess who that rogue Guardian is?

So Jaren Ward leaves the village, and goes towards Yor. Yor ambushes and kills him with Thorn. Ward’s Ghost flees, finding its way to Shin Malphur months later. It informs him what has happened, and what happens next is unique in three ways. The first is that Shin Malphur becomes the first person to become a Guardian while still alive. The second is that he is almost certainly the youngest Guardian ever Risen, somewhere in his teens. The third is that this is the only confirmed case of a Ghost leaving a dead Guardian and grafting to a regular person to make them a Guardian.

So Shin Malphur, now a Gunslinger Hunter like his hero Jaren Ward, leaves his village, killing Fallen and practising with his weapons and abilities, but always out for Dredgen Yor’s blood. It takes him years, as Dredgen Yor has years of training and leaves almost no trace, but Malphur finds Yor. Ironically, the showdown takes place again at Dwindler’s Ridge. They face off, guns not drawn. Yor smiles, recognising Ward’s gun, and says its name: “The Last Word.”

Shin Malphur draws and fires, lightning-fast, killing Dredgen Yor, and utters the infamous words, known to every Gunslinger: “Yours. Not mine.”

And that’s where the story of Rezyl Azzir and Dredgen Yor ends. We don’t know where Malphur goes or does. Interestingly though, he’s referred to as a “renegade Hunter”, so seeking out Yor was probably illegal because of the danger involved.

When he was known as Rezyl Azzir, Yor was a living legend, a beacon of Light for every Risen. As Dredgen Yor, he was a monster, feared by all. Even in the centuries after his death, wielders of weapons like Thorn, Shadow Price and Bad Juju (Toland the Shattered’s weapons) are watched closely to avoid the scenario of “another Dredgen Yor”.

Of all the Dark Guardians, he leaves the greatest and most terrible legacy. Dead Guardians. Broken people. Cursed weapons. A strange group of followers of his ways, calling themselves the Shadows of Yor, had to be extinguished quietly by Ikora Rey’s spy network, the Hidden.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell you what caused the final change from Rezyl Azzir, heroic Titan, to Dredgen Yor, Hive Abomination. But I can tell you what led up to it, the foreshadowing to this event. Azzir’s fall from grace began a long time before that day in the Hive tunnels. He had been reckless, arrogant, and blinded by anger for years. But we can trace back his arrogance to around the time the City Walls went up. Now it’s time for another unfounded theory: Rezyl Azzir started doing the insane things because he wasn’t needed anymore.

I said before that Azzir was the first Guardian. When he was at his best, other Risen started following him in spirit, acting like him, by his code. Those same Guardians were the ones who created the City. Although Lord Shaxx, Commander Zavala, and Lord Saladin created and upheld the Walls, they’re really Rezyl Azzir’s legacy. After this, they followed their own ways, or the ways of the newly formed Consensus, the officials behind City Defence. Nobody really learned from him anymore.

To exacerbate this situation, Azzir was once the greatest Titan, looked up to by pretty much every other one, but after the Battle of Six Fronts, Saint-14 is probably more deserving of that title. Shortly after, the Battle of Twilight Gap was won by the aforementioned Shaxx, Saladin, and Zavala. That put Azzir even further down the line of Titans. So assuming he wasn’t needed, Rezyl Azzir put himself in more and more dangerous situations, because he thought that if he did die the second death, it wouldn’t make a difference, in the grand scheme of things.

Now this reaction, a Titan losing faith in themselves, isn’t unique to him. Titans seemingly need to have a constant goal. Saladin was never himself after SIVA was contained and the Iron Lords disbanded. He only came into his own during the Second SIVA Crisis, and training Guardians in Iron Banner. When we found Zavala on Titan, he honestly didn’t know what he was doing, or why. He was nothing without the Vanguard, and the City.

All in all, big conclusions are:

Titans go Dark because there’s nothing left to fight for.

Hunters go Dark to survive for another day.

Warlocks go Dark because they want knowledge at any cost.

Well, that must about concludes this post, finally. Felt like I’d never get the end of it.

That’s about it.

#destiny 2 lore #destiny (game) #destiny lore

[thetakenpokemon]

The Visions of Sorrow [Part Four]

His tale is nearing its end, Zen’Ro.

...

...

...

...

Witness.

[PoV: Zen’Ro]

The Vex.

From what I’ve gathered from these visions, the Vex is a collective of machines that all share one mind.

Yet these minds are...separated into sub-minds, each with a purpose to follow a particular task. The goal of the Vex is to spread their structure and guarantee their existence, through construction and conversion.

Certain minds are given a greater task to direct the sub-minds, these minds are called Axis Minds.

...

They simulate every scenario, their minds so vast that they can create simulations of perfect fidelity and predictive ability...thus able to replicate every scenario and know how to end victorious before it even occurred.

This is the Vex.

They are spread across time, embedding themselves into both reality and time itself.

They are builders.

Yet...something changed them.

...

...

...

...

...

The Vex initially did not understand the space they had entered. Oryx’s Throne World was defined by the physics of Sword Logic, therefore it left all of the Vex’s constructions and efforts twisted and deranged. This confused the Vex.

Crota vowed to cut down all of the Vex, to exterminate them from this world.

Yet before he could cut away the invaders, the Vex summoned an Axis Mind. The name of the Axis Mind was Quria, Blade Transform.

Quria quickly deduced the Sword Logic. ‘I have to kill everything.’ Quria resolved. ‘Then I will be powerful.’

From the gate many warrior Vex were summoned and were set upon Oryx’s spawn, both Ascendant and not.

Quria and the Vex had killed two thousand of Oryx’s Acolytes and ten thousand Thrall, thus in the ways of Sword Logic they had established themselves as powers in this world, by right of slaughter.

Ir Anûk ordered Crota to close the wound, to prevent the Vex from reinforcing themselves. Before Crota could seal the gate, Quria teleported to the other side and built a holdfast to keep the gate open. Quria’s objective was to exploit the paracasual physics of Oryx’s Throne World and become divine, and thus it organized a series of test invasions.

For a hundred years within the Throne World the siblings fought the Vex. When the Vex came to the sword world, they were inevitably annihilated. But when the Hive went to the Vex World, they lost too much of their power to win.

No side was nearing victory, for it was a standstill.

‘Father’s going to eat our souls.’ Ir Halak sighed to Ir Anûk, she knew that he will not be pleased to find his Throne desecrated by these machines.

Quria captured some worm larvae and began to experiment with them. Soon Quria, Blade Transform manifested religious tactics. By directing worship at the worms, Quria learned it could alter reality with mild ontopathogenic effects. Being an efficient machine, Quria manufactured a priesthood and ordered all of its subminds to believe in worship. Then it set itself about, abducting and killing dangerous organisms so it could bootstrap itself to godhood.

For some Vex reason, Quria never attempted to introduce worm larvae into their mind fluid - their core that which is filled with a white liquid that is the source of their intelligence.

Savathûn was laughing, for she had tricked Crota. Before he had cut the wound that summoned the Vex he had communed with his sisters, and the cunning Savathûn subtly gave him a push toward this direction that brought these invaders.

All this chaos within the Throne World, it drew the attention of the Worm God known as Eir.

‘ORYX!’ It called. ‘SET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER!’

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...

Oryx rushed back to his Throne, by reading the Tablets of Ruin he Took many of the Vex within it, thus pitting them against one another. Quria attempted to fight against Oryx using a wide array of strategies, but was unable to fend off the Taken King, thus meaning that the Vex were dispelled.

With the task done Oryx thought that he should study geometry, like the Vex. It was the map of perfect shapes. But first he had to punish imperfection.

‘My son,’ Oryx said. ‘this is your punishment. Come home glorious, or die forgotten!’

With that Oryx grabbed Crota by the legs and threw him into the Vex Gate Network.

Left to his fate, Crota battled through history, becoming a legendary demon. In his early centuries he often spared a few victims to hear oaths and protests against his father. Later, he came to understand Oryx, and he made temples and monuments wherever he went.

Meanwhile, Oryx brooded on the Vex. ‘I’ve met a worthy rival,’ He said. “They want to exist forever, just as I do. But I don’t understand them.’ At this his worm chewed on him, for he was bound to understand.

So he made a decision, and thus called Savathûn to meet in the material world.

She told him that the Vex worked tirelessly to understand everything, so that they could build a victory condition for every possible end state of the universe.

‘Then I must be a better king,’ Oryx mulled. ‘if they want to build an emperor for all outcomes, then I will be the king of only one. I will follow the Deep wherever it goes, and document its power. Let us create a catalog of the grave of worlds, which will be our map to victory.’

Oryx knew that all life could be described as cellular automata, except for that life which understood the Deep or the Sky, and thus escaped causality.

Out of love for her brother, which was the same as the desire to kill him, Savathûn leaked a secret to Xivu Arath.

‘Listen, Xivu, Oryx’s Throne World has been compromised.’ She whispered. ‘You can cut your way in from here.’

Xivu Arath used this to plan an ambush.

But Oryx was too canny. The Taken King said to his Court, the High War, ‘My Throne World is vulnerable. I am going to move it.’

‘Where?’ Asked Kagoor, World Render.

‘Into a mighty Dreadnaught,’ Answered Oryx. ‘I shall keep my glorious mind cosmos inside a titanic warship.’

Using the remains of the Worm God Akka, the Hammer of Xivu Arath in which he stole, and the Scalpel of Savathûn in which he took, Oryx crafted his Dreadnaught. With the power of the Tablets of Ruin and the combined strength of his Court, he pushed his Throne World inside out till it bled into the material space of the Dreadnaught.

They were coterminous and allied, his ship and his sin. The Dreadnaught was within the Throne of Oryx, but the Throne of Oryx was the Dreadnaught.

This required a verse from the Tablets of Ruin. This was a day of joyous violence, and all of Oryx’s broods marked this holiday as Eversion Day, which is celebrated by turning things inside out.

Oryx made a declaration to his followers, he christened his ship and called for tribute to be brought to him.

He did this for his Throne was safe from incursion, because it moved so nimbly.

...

With his Dreadnaught he sought out the Nicha Thought-Ship, guarded by the powerful fleet known as the Harmonia Flotilla Invincible, which belonged to the alien race Harmony.

When the Flotilla surrounded his Dreadnaught, Oryx put his sword into the hull, channeling the power of the Deep - as well as the power of the Oversoul that his daughters developed - to push his Throne World into mere reality.

By wrath and confidence he filled the space with an egg of his Throne, it swelled like a ghost star that smashed the Harmonia Flotilla Invincible.

With his power, Oryx broke the last word off their name.

The enemy fleet broken, Oryx boarded the Thought-Ship, for he believed that it contained knowledge on the location of the Gift Mast. The Gift Mast was a contraption left by the Traveler, to grant the Harmony sustainable Light for them to thrive. Oryx wanted to eat it.

But little did he realize that the Thought-Ship was a trap.

When Oryx expelled the Vex from his Throne, Quria survived.

And so Quria, Blade Transform had set an ambush for Oryx within the Thought-Ship.

...

Quria attempted to observe, analyze, simulate, and mimic Oryx. It attempted to do so, to give it knowledge on how to defeat him.

Yet it couldn’t do so.

It realized that Oryx was beyond its ability to comprehend, even to a machine connected to minds the size of planets. Because of this it recognized that it couldn’t stand against Oryx’s divine might.

At last, Quria properly accepted that it cannot fully understand the Dreadnaught or Oryx even on religious grounds. As the king cut away all of its subminds, the Axis Mind attempted one last simulation.

It attempted a version of Oryx it knew was wrong, missing his morph, Worm, and powers; A version that it is able to construct. As Oryx moved to finish it, Quria, out of options, fired its weapons on Oryx as a last minute gamble.

 While shooting, the voice of Aurash came out of it, causing Oryx to stop.

‘What are you?’ The not-Oryx asked, its voice having manifested terror and awe.

Oryx’s eyes blazed with a curiosity that is entirely isomorphic with hate, with voracious hunger. ‘Aurash.’ He said. ‘You’ve made me as I was, you’ve made a tiny Aurash!’

Oryx laughed, and so Quria updated the simulation’s name. Aurash is curious: ‘You’re me? You’re me as I become?’ She asked.

Oryx kneeled, his sword, Willbreaker resting on his shoulder. Quria was firing all of its weapons at him, but the king’s wards don’t break. He looks into Quria’s sensors through the onslaught of fire and said: ‘Child, I have everything you wanted. I am immortal. I know the great secrets of the universe. I have scouted the edges of the Darkness and I have chased the lying god down galactic arms in a howling pack of moons. In my fist I carry the secret power that will rule eternity. In my worm I bear the tribute of my Court and my children, the Hope Eater, the Weaver, and the Unraveler; and with this tribute I smash my foes. I am Oryx, the Taken King. I am almighty.’

Quria sampled the Taox intelligence retrieved from the Ecumene gate. There are useful names among then. It feeds them to the simulation.

‘What about my sisters?” Aurash asked her future self. “Sathona? Xi Ro? Are they with you?’

The Taken King’s fangs glinted, his response being that of a laugh.

Quria shut down its weapons, pouring all of its resources into sending a telemetry to the greater Vex. There will be points in space and time where this data is vital. There will be great projects undertaken in the study of this ontological power, this throne-space.

‘Where are my sisters?!’ Aurash shouted at Oryx. ‘Where are my people?! What have you done?!’

But Oryx’s fist was full of black fire. The last Quria saw in its vision before it was Taken was a ‘light like stars’.

...

...

Oryx visited Savathûn, bringing Quria as a gift. The two had prepared for an assault on the Gift Mast, and the Witch-Queen Savathûn’s own fleet had assembled.

Savathûn was skeptical of Oryx’s gift, but Oryx assured her that it’s not a trap. He told her of Quria’s simulations of himself, how it might attempt to simulate her or Xivu Arath. He said that she would find interest in studying it, however he also mentioned that he left some will of its own, so that it might surprise her.

Savathûn jested that it might blow up on her, that it might wreck her realm and summon more Vex, to turn her Throne World into ‘clocks and glass’.

Oryx laughed, telling her that she would deserve her fate if she were to die to Quria.

The discussion between the two veers to their crusade.

“I don’t have a strict proof yet, you know.” Savathûn said, stroking the void with one long claw and space-time groaned beneath her touch. “This thing we believe - that we’re liberating the universe by devouring it, that we’re cutting out the rot, that we’re on course to join the final shape - I haven’t found a strict, eternal proof. We might yet be wrong.”

Oryx looked at her and for a moment, just a moment, he was nostalgic.

He was sentimental.

‘Imagine the years behind us,’ He thought to himself. ‘the things we’ve done. And yet being old doesn’t feel like a scar, does it? It hasn’t left me dull. I feel alive, alive with you, and every time I step back into this world from my throne I feel like I’m two years old again, at the bottom of the universe, looking up.’

But instead he said to her: ‘Sister, it’s us. We’re the proof, we the Hive: if we last forever, we prove it, and if something more ruthless conquers us, then the proof is sealed.’

She looked back at him with eyes like hot needles. ‘I like that,’ She said. “That’s elegant.” Although of course, she had this very thought before.

...

...

The Hive began their attack on the Gift Mast.

Xivu Arath began with a full-scale assault, waging war with the Harmony for fifty years. The Harmony turned to ‘dragon-wishes’ and ‘wishful-bishops’, to directly fight back Xivu Arath in her Throne World, forcing a stalemate.

...

Dragon-Wishes?

There is a name for them...

Yet something...is preventing me from obtaining this name.

An active force behind a sort of...veil...

...

...

Savathûn arrived next, using guile and deception she and her covens infiltrated the Harmony, with the goal of vivisecting the ‘dragon-gods’. For one hundred years, she stayed rooted deep within the Harmony worlds.

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Dragon-Gods?

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...

Meanwhile, as the main battles raged, Oryx grew broods in hidden areas of the Harmony worlds, safe from detection. Aiding his sisters, and to advance his own forces, he sent meteors raining down on the Harmony worlds in distraction, some containing his own brood among them to see the worlds. At this point war had become routine and efficient

Xivu Arath killed the bishops, and Savathûn achieved her goals, discovering in the process something she did not share with her siblings. The Court of Oryx captured the Gift Mast, driving the surviving people of the Harmony to commit suicide for all hope was lost.

Victory was assured. 

Of the Mast Oryx himself took two out of every five pieces. Each piece was made of the Light and the taste was ecstasy, it gave each partaker renewed sense of purpose.

At the end, Savathûn declared she was leaving, she said they must spend time apart to grow. She flew her fleet into a wound, vanishing. 

Xivu Arath also departed, she said she needed to leave as well, as Oryx overshadowed her. She took her fleet and left.

With his sisters gone, Oryx was left alone.

Left alone with his thoughts.

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Oryx mused to himself on his current state.

Crota and his Court fed him large amounts of tribute, which gave him time to steal way and further study the Deep. He continued to grow stronger, and strengthen his connection to the Deep as he did. As Oryx reflected, with each gain in power he would use it to learn more secrets; and with each secret mastered comes more power. A circular, self-sustaining loop.

His thoughts moved to his sisters. He wondered what new strength they might have found in their time apart, and questioned if he might have to kill them permanently if they had grown too powerful. He believed the only real relationship that mattered is the attempt to destroy, and commended it. Oryx then thought of his Taken. Against Savathûn's unspoken accusations, Oryx believed Taking brought his victims closer to the Deep, and that it is the will of the Deep to have strong life free of restraints: ‘Existence and uniqueness is the only right, and that nonexistence and sameness is the only wrong, in the end.’

 He affirmed himself as Oryx, the Taken King, and to be anything else would mean his doom and betray his oath.

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Oryx's thoughts turned back to Fundament. 

He spoke of how he considered returning, to see what had become of his home. 

He then realized he did not need to return because he now embodied it, its hardness and unforgiving scourge, and that is all he needed to know of his home. Questions he once had about the universe he now had the answers to, and he wrote those answers onto books.

He confessed he did not know the true nature of the Darkness or the Light, of who the Traveler is, but he will one day learn. That is his goal and it is his to rule. Forever.

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Oryx questioned what would happen if he died permanently.

A valid question, he knew, since his path is to be synonymous with death and run alongside it. He knew it's possible if all of his avatars were killed, he himself pushed into his Throne World, and killed there, and that would prove to be the end of his work.

Every time he used his power he is welcoming death. Only his strength and force of will allowed him to be strong enough to wield the power and keep him from dying. He also noted that he now depended far too much on his children, and if they fell he would be in trouble. If that happened however, he accepted it would be his own fault for having such weak and unprepared children, that his undoing would be of his own making.

He said the only path one could follow is the one that is made by its maker.

And if he were to fail on his path...

...then he would welcome death.

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#zenroscizor #??? #act 3 #plot

[gwimulchorom]

It would start with a reformed Asura and a greedy fly thief. 

Driven to desperation by rejection and destruction, the man had convinced the ethereal woman that he was a victim of the system, and needed immense wealth to pull himself from this state. What he was unaware of was that the woman before him was a demoness and not any old wish granter, and while she promised him what he wanted, she also had a catch. “If I grant you whatever you want- including a son,” she had warned, her voice warm and almost too inviting to even the experienced trickster, “You will join me on his 18th birthday, no questions asked. Will that be amenable?” 

The man agreed, and thus, a single, squalling boy with skin onyx dark like his own and tiny horn nubs was delivered to his house several days later, but there was no sign of the wealth he had been promised. Good things came to those who waited, he convinced himself, taking in the boy in and naming him Veḷiyāḷ- an outsider, one who would stand outside the norm. Veḷiyāḷ s/o Zemeros, the boy who grew at a ridiculous pace compared to his peers, soon became a young man that seemed almost a carbon copy of his father: beyond the long, red oryx horns that sprouted from his head and a small pair of feathered wings that often left a mess whenever he laid down. His striking red eyes seemed to reflect a bloodlust unlike any other, but he was kind, kinder than any other, if not socially inept and cruelly aware of the stares he received. 

Unlike his conniving, jaded father, Veḷiyāḷ was curious and driven of his world. Having lived in the slums with his father and a group of like-minded thieves who were fiercely protective of their leader’s son, he was taught the ways of a criminal as well as how to use small weapons like a light crossbow gifted to him by one of the members or daggers bestowed on him by his father the moment he felt he was ready. Veḷiyāḷ had been a rogue for as long as he could remember, operating under the cover of darkness and organising heists to treat his uncles from the coffers of the rich. It was all he knew, anyway, his father’s boisterous and often over the top affection for him and adoration by the great band of thieves who trusted the leadership of Zemeros the first. 

Eventually, his father touched his face on the eve of his 18th birthday and finally explained- his heritage and the fact that he was about to meet Veḷiyāḷ’s mother ‘now’. That night, he watched from his hiding place his father’s breathing seem to stop as though suffocated during the night, before a blue-skinned demoness with large crow wings that mirrored his own stopped by to retrieve his corpse. He made no motion to stop her advances, watching her smile enigmatically at his spot as if she was fond of how far he had come before she dove into the inky darkness, no doubt having fulfilled her purpose. It was almost as if everything fell in place for him at that moment, and his birthday was instead spent handling the final parts of his father’s affairs and disbanding the thieves that had followed his father so faithfully for more than twenty years. 

Veḷiyāḷ would take a boat and leave home after everything had been said and done, the only thing he had of his father being the coat on his back (specially cut for him to fit his wings, and the best thing they could afford) and minimal possessions. Word soon spread of a strange rogue who only called himself ‘Crow’ who was searching for a way to enter the Forgotten Realms, and the laughter this elicited for how insane this goal could possibly be. Whoever managed to leave the Forgotten Realms unscathed, anyway? 

#you are the pursuit; i will be stubborn for | zemeros #character stories

[muinaru-novel-blog]

Chapter Four - Hobbies & Crafts Kingdom

Erik awoke to the sight of an impatient dog sitting by the door. As soon as Erik pushed himself out of bed and the dog began fidgeting and scraping at the door as it whined with anticipation. “Alright,” Erik croaked in his morning voice, “I’m letting you out.”

To Erik’s surprise, when he opened the door, the dog fled back to the room of the mirror, instead of down the stairs. Erik tried to grab her but she was too swift for his fingers and quickly she disappeared down the hall and into the room.

When he arrived in the room, he found her sitting in front of the mirror, wagging her tail slowly whilst gazing at her reflection. He moved inside slowly and walked up to the mirror. Its golden sheen was even more dazzling under the intense morning light, which bled through the slits of the boards that covered the windows. He raised an eyebrow, squinted and contorted his lip with a smirk of suspicion.

Carefully, Erik scrutinised the pane of the mirror but saw nothing more than the reflection of the room, himself and the dog. He placed his hand flat on the glass; it was cold. He gripped the frame and turned the mirror around, searching for wires, batteries, a removable panel, or any indication of deception, but there was nothing. Still, Erik looked at the mirror with mistrust as he pushed it back into position.

He huffed in defeat and reverted his gaze back to the dog, “I guess I should put you back outside.”

Erik reached for the scruff of the dog’s neck but quickly she slipped away from his hand and ran behind the mirror, where she whined in protest. Erik lunged for the dog but repeatedly she darted away from his hand, circling around the mirror until eventually the boy was forced to give up his pursuit.

Erik punctuated his annoyance with loud huff and explained to the dog, “You can’t stay in here girl, you have to go out, this isn’t your home.” But resiliently, the dog guarded herself behind the mirror, staring at Erik with sympathetic expression.

Suddenly, Erik’s father called, “Erik, breakfast is ready.” The dog began sniffing the alluring bacon flavour running through the air. Erik smirked as he watched the dog and conspired, just before leaving the room, “I know what’ll get you out.”

Erik rushed into the kitchen where he found his father slowly stirring his tea at the breakfast table. He broke with a smile as soon as he saw Erik and elated, “The electricity is now on. Hope you’re hungry.” He nodded towards a full breakfast on table. Erik thanked his father and picked up the plate, but before he could leave his father quickly hailed, “Where’re you going?”

Erik nonchalantly replied, “Just upstairs … I was … reading.”

His father smiled, “Reading?” he waited for further explanation but Erik didn’t give any and simply stared blankly until eventually his father shook his head and muttered, “Okay.” However, just as Erik was about to leave, his father again hailed, “Hold up …” he cleared his throat and continued, “I’m going to the hospital today with your mother. It’s nothing to worry about, just going for a check-up. Anyway, Sophie, your aunt, is going to look after you today.”

Erik muttered, “I can look after myself,” and quickly added, “Why can’t I go with you?’

“It’s just a consultation; you’d be incredibly bored,” Erik’s father explained.

Erik frowned and exhaled loudly through his nostrils as he left the kitchen.

Upstairs, Erik found the dog once again gnawing at her nether regions but quickly her nose snapped up into the air as the smell of bacon entered the room.

The dog began whimpering with desire, licking her lips and fidgeting her paws excessively as Erik teased her with a piece of bacon. Slowly she crept forward and Erik tossed down a piece to gain her trust. Immediately she jolted forward and ravenously gobbled the morsel of bacon. The savoury, salty flavour took hold of her and she jumped forward, loitering around Erik with her tongue now dangling out of her mouth; drooling excessively.

Erik continued to bait her with the bacon, luring her down the stairs towards the front door. Once at the front door, he threw a whole ration outside, which the dog slavishly sprinted after, and quickly he closed the door. He whispered as the lock clicked shut, “Stupid dog.”

 The minute-hand ticked twenty minutes to ten when Erik’s aunt, Sophie, arrived at the door. She knocked with a rhythmic tune and waited with a bounce in her heels.

Erik opened the door and instantly squeezed Erik up into her arms, hoisting him up into the air. As she placed Erik down she asked with a very sympathetic voice, “Where’s Henry; your dad?”

“He was in ─”, but, before Erik could finish, his father walked into the entrance hall, holding the keys to his car. He hugged Sophie, ruffled his son’s hair and said his goodbyes as he quickly rushed out of the door.

Once Henry had disappeared down the drive, Sophie chirpily announced, whilst swinging her own car keys around her finger, “Erik, do you fancy going out to a hobbies store? I just remembered I had something to collect.” Erik shrugged, glancing back into at the gloomy dark house, and agreed with a nod.

“Great,” she exclaimed, holding out her hand for a high-five. Erik smirked at his aunt and shook his head slowly, but he reciprocated the high-five and walked on through the front door, grabbing up his raincoat as he went.

As Sophie had started the car, Erik asked with a gentle jitter in his voice, “Do you …” he paused and visibly swallowed, “know what’s wrong with my mother?”

Sophie’s eyebrows moved up her forehead and she stressed, “You don’t know!?”

Erik rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I know… I mean … didn’t it go away?”

“Well …” she paused, looking for an appropriate answer, and replied, “bodies are complicated things; sometimes people will be cured and never need to worry again, for others their cancer can come back. But …” she hummed and continued, “I’m sure you mother won’t have to go through it again.”

Erik responded with a simple and reserved, “Oh … good.”

Sophie ruffled his hair and consoled, ‘Don’t worry too much. She’s making good progress I hear.”

Erik frowned, “You said that last time and she wasn’t ─”

Sophie sighed loudly, “I don’t think I want to talk about it Erik.”

“Just, I’m not a kid anymore.” Erik protested, “You can be honest.”

Sophie nodded, “Sorry, just … to me you’re still my little nephew.” She smiled glancing at him for a second before reverting her eyes back towards the road and asserting, “But look at you now. You’re growing up fast; soon be a man.” Erik cringed at the comment. “Seriously, you’ve shot up.” Sophie beamed with a wry smile and asked in a sly tone, “I bet the girls now notice you.” Erik bashfully shook his head. Sophie continued, “Do you have a girlfriend yet?”

“No.”

Sophie nudged his shoulder and remarked, “I’m your cool aunt; you can tell me this stuff.”

“Calling yourself a ‘cool aunt’ kind of makes you uncool.”

“Well … I bet you’ll be dating soon.”

“I’m 14.”

“So, in a year’s time, maybe?”

“Yeah, and I’ll have a kid, work for a dodgy scrap dealer, be on the dole and live in a council flat … like a real chav.”

Sophie chuckled, “Hah, you sound like your father.”

Erik smirked and desultorily changed the subjected, “So, who owned the old manor house before?”

Sophie hummed for a few seconds and explained, “Well, the house went to auction because the owner had disappeared. Frankly, no one knew the owner was missing until it sold. When the hotel company bought it was quite a surprise.” She drove down a quaint road made of cobblestones and continued, “I bet it’s cool to stay in that old manor.”

Erik nodded but added, “It’s a bit dilapidated.”

“Oh.”

“And I found a dog wandering around upstairs.”

“Hah! A dog?”

“Yeah.”

“What’cha do with it?”

“I put it back outside. She didn’t seem to want to leave though.”

“What did your father say?”

“Didn’t tell him.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’d throw her out even though it was raining. I found her yesterday before you came round; I’d left her upstairs in my room.”

“Hah!” Sophie exclaimed, “Well, don’t worry. I won’t say anything.” Suddenly she rose her finger, “I remember. It belonged to some guy called Kingdom. He was a multimillionaire, I think, who owned a lot of the high street.” She smirked, “He was so rich that he could pay someone to do every job in his business to the point he wasn’t even needed; he’d gone missing and none of them noticed.”

Erik carped, “Kind of sad really; the only thing he had was his business and they didn’t even need him.”

Sophie shrugged then announced as they slowed to a stop, “Here we are the Hobbies & Crafts Kingdom shop.” They were parked opposite a building with a magnificent medieval façade. The stone was not the typical red brick but huge grey stone blocks, which were laced with rivers of violet-coloured veins. Positioned on either side of each window were two dragonesque grotesques and, arranged along the gutters, similar looking gargoyles protruded out over the pathway. The door equally matched the grandiose masonry and was constructed out of long pieces of thick wood, held up and together with solid iron struts and hinges.

Inside, hanging above the entrance was an exquisitely carved and painted crest, which was broken up into five equal segments arranged around a large lime-coloured glass-bead. In each segment of the crest held an animal: it began with an eagle owl, followed by a leopard, a cobra, an Oryx, and large Bison. Below the cress read the name of the shop: Hobbies & Craft Kingdom, with a complementing notation: Master of Hobbies and Crafts, est. 1894.

Sophie headed the way, moving towards the counter, but, just before she disappeared through one of the aisles, she told Erik to go explore. Erik was obliged and wandered away to the back of the store, gravitating towards the model boats, particularly the self-builds.

As he perused the selection, he noticed a large glass case containing a large model airship. The balloon was Zeppelin-like in appearance, which was painted with a wide menacing grin and two scornful eyes, however the passenger hold looked like an old wooden sail-ship, but without any masts.

There was a caption on the glass case, which read, “Mr Kingdom’s original creation is available to be won in a raffle for customers who spend over …” and stuck at the end of the sentence was the sticker that read, “£40”. Just below that was the disclaimer, “One ticket per a customer for a sale which is equal to or more than £40. Tickets have a cash value of 0.001 pence, which will be rounded to one decimal point, therefore giving it a total cash value of nothing. A non-functioning ship - display only - DOES NOT FLOAT OR FLY.”

Whilst examining the side of the wooden ship, Erik noticed something odd through the small window of the captain’s quarters. It was flat and gleamed like silver, such as a locket or a pocket watch. It appeared to be lying upon a scrap of paper, which was rough at the edges, possibly torn from a book.

“Erik,” Sophie called from down one of the aisles.

Erik quickly turned away from the strange airship and revealed his location to his aunt with a gentle call.

Sophie walked over briskly, carrying a small bag, and asked, “Found anything you want?”

“Urm …” Erik paused before pointing to a motorised model kit on one of the shelves. I wouldn’t mind that model kit.”

Sophie looked at the price and read, “£54.99 …” she paused for a moment and continued, “Well, it’ll keep you busy, won’t it?”

As Sophie paid at the till, the elderly cashier explained with delight that they qualified for the raffle. Sophie’s reaction was unenthused, “Oh, right.”

The cashier moved over to a nearby raffle tumbler and explained, “Pick four numbers and if you match all four balls you win a one-hundred-pound voucher, three balls will get you a ten-pound voucher, and if you get two you will get a five-pound voucher.’

Slowly, the elderly cashier turned the crank and one by one the balls fell out of the tumbler. One fell out and Sophie smiled, “We have one.” The second fell out and Sophie smiled again, “Cool, we get a fiver.” Then the third dropped out and Sophie grinned, “Ooooo, a tenner.” The last ball rolled out and lodged into the row, but the number was obscured. As the elderly cashier turned it Sophie bounced with anticipation.

“Well, I never …” The elderly cashier exclaimed, “That’s a one-hundred-pound voucher.”

Sophie nearly jumped with joy but managed to keep her excitement down to a mere short bob from her knees. However, her joy stalled when Erik quickly enquired, “What about that airship in the glass box?”

Sophie’s brow crumpled and she sneered, “Airship?”

“Yeah,” Erik replied.

“Oh, yes,” the elderly cashier recalled and asked, “You want that?”

Erik nodded, “Could I, it said it was part of the raffle.”

“Of course you can,” the cashier looked at Sophie for approval, who nodded with a compressed smile.

Once the cashier had left, Sophie asked, “Why’d you want that ship?”

Erik shrugged and added, “It looks … cool.”

The elderly cashier returned with the airship all packed firmly inside a cardboard box, carried over by a fellow shop assistant. But, before Sophie could even lift it, a torrent of heavy rain began to bombard the windows of the shop.

The pair hastily jogged outside to the car. As they secure their seat belts, Sophie sighed, ‘Well, it really is co─’ then suddenly an abrupt flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed quickly by a roll of thunder, which reverberated through the car.

Sophie squealed and her limbs convulsed. She huffed, whilst holding her heart, and asserted, “I better get you home before the roads flood.”

#muinaru #fantasy #Adventure #Novel