Risen from the Whirlwind

Chapter 1: Into the Light

   Drifting through the ether, a pinhole in the curtain of black, slowly yet at the same time suddenly and rapidly, I felt my entire being flooded with a new sensation. Strength, vigor, light, before I even realized I was on my feet looking around, and I heard a voice. It was small, almost mechanical, but polite, and yet sounded concerned. "Um, oh, hello, this may be new or strange to you, it certainly is for me, but I've been looking for you a very long time." Staring at this purple scarred orb, reaching out and touching it with my hands, I pondered, the light blurry and shining, like it was the first time I had stepped into the sunlight. "Hehe, that tickles." The tiny machine spoke. A loud bang in the distance, I felt myself flung back, and then I woke up, similar to the first time, but less disoriented.

   "Oh, right, about that! We need to hurry and get you out of here, at least into the safety of a ruin where there aren't other Fallen, Hive, or... misunderstandings." I felt the earth rumble, heard bangs and whizzing, as the dirt the was thrown up around me. I woke up again, stared in confusion. "RUN NOW!" I ran, as fast as this body could move, feeling the earth beneath my boots, lungs heavy, yet light with every breath, we arrived at a location. "Okay, this is a lost sector, it was recently cleared out and emptied for investigation, in time the teams will be chased out and we, err, you, or rather the Vanguard will have someone make it safe agai-" "Who am I? I asked out lout. Why am I running? Why do you look like those giant husks outside we had ran past?" I interrupted, all the information I had been amassing swirling within my mind, completely flashing and overflowing with all I had glinted. "This shell, I cobbled together out of remains as you awoke, from the very same dead Servitors we ran past. I'm a ghost, and you're my guardian... I think. I figured it would feel more familiar to you. You're running because there's going to be a lot of confusion, since... you're you." Staring down at my four hands, I blinked heavily and looked up to the tiny servitor, inhaled deeply and shouted "And who is that?!" "I don't know, nobody knows, only you will know, or records if you existed after the collapse, if you were alive before, then sheer luck. But it's very rare for a Risen to have knowledge or memories of their past, you're fresh slate, chosen by the Traveler." I pondered for a moment, and looked and as my mind was filled with some knowledge I had gained from, from somewhere, sitting against the cave wall, this little light came into my view, blinking. "Then at least, what am I? Risen? Guardians? What did I do to have bullets tossed at me?" 

   It's shell twisted and shifted and it turned as if to tilt in confusion and said "But bullets aren't tossed, they're fired. From guns, big guns at the wall, or what's known as Twilight Gap. You, you're a lightbearer, they have centuries of history, originally they were just Risen, people brought back with the Travelers light, through us, Ghosts, the Traveler made us. Then... there were Warlords, ruthless conquerors of the land, defending and fighting over territory, most of their Ghosts didn't agree with what they were doing, some intentionally never revived their charges, while a few reveled in it. Then there came the Iron Lords, defender of all under the might of the Traveler, after they passed, the Vanguard took up their mantle, and Guardians work to defend the last bastion of humanity, The Last City. You're one of them, well, sort of." "What do you mean, sort of, you've been hesitant it came to this part." It shuffled it's shell and looked down, almost seeming forlorn and somber, "Normally, our charges are people, well Humans, they have two arms and two legs, but you, you're what's commonly called Fallen, or Eliksni, in their old tongue, your old tongue. This is all just so strange and new to me, we need to get to Zavala, or Ikora, they should have some answers or understanding, but the problem is the cities defenses, which are set up to," it sighed heavily "Shoot at you." 

   Staring at this orb, who was just as confused as I was, I asked "Well, what do they look like compared to what I look like?" It's shell expanded as it's glowing purple eye lit up in a surprised look of realization. "They are more ape-like where you are more, what they would call insectoid... kind of with a hint of reptilian features. Oh, this is a terrible comparison. Hmm... They're shaped like you, kind of, except with two arms, instead of four, and their skin is more light peach or brown, some pale blue with radiant energy, those are Awoken. Then there are the Exo's, they look like a human, but they're very much machines, metallic, robotic, with glowing eyes and mouths. You'd have to see them to understand. But for now, we should head to the Cosmodrome, where there will be plenty to salvage and reconfigure to help you on your journey." It paused and started drifting out of the cave, "Follow me. I'll help guide you." So we began walking, I paused believing to have heard chittering from the cave, but it seemed to have been nothing, maybe the ringing in my ears from the cannon fire earlier. 

   We reached some old buildings, the air was thick, heavy, wet-feeling. You could almost smell the earth without bullets and explosives launching it all over you. That was the first time I saw them, others who looked like me, "Careful, Fallen ahead." "I thought you said we...they were Eliksni?" I said to him as we watched them scurry back and forth, patrolling and tearing remains apart, like insects around bread crumbs. "Oh yes, well they are, they're both. Oh this is going to be so interesting. I know, I'll hide, you should try talking to them!" I furled one side of my brow under the tattered helmet I wore. "Talk... to them? Like I have a clue about anything? Who they are and what they are doing?" It slowly drifted into nothing and out of the visible world "Do you have any better ideas?" I inhaled deeply and grumbled, walking to them with very upright posture. "This is a terrible idea," I thought to myself.

   "How goes the operation?" I asked after eavesdropping and gaining a semblance of their sentence structure and what they were doing, salvaging old tech to reprogram for their machines. The room went silent, they all turned, stared, I think one of the smaller ones dropped their knives, and then they all drew weapons and knives and started coming my direction. "Hails, Eliksni brethren, we do not need to do this... right?" That was the first time I heard it, the whimpering whistle of the vehicles humans rode. I looked over my shoulder, the other eye on the room of Fallen, and saw my first three humans. Maybe proper guardians were the right way to describe it, one was towering, the size of a house, covered in scarred but thick plates of metal, and cloth around his waist, another in long flowing robes, their fingers cracking with lightning, and the third seemingly vanished as soon as they arrived, I barely glimpsed a flowing cloak. My tiny friend whispered "Guardians! They'll be able to help!" He exclaimed as he floated back into physical view, he hovered up to them. They barely acknowledged him as they charged in, the metal man on fire, the other surging with arc energy. I ran, deeper into the building, past the other Eliksni, up to the second floor, "What are they doing? Who am I supposed to help? Where can I get me a weapon?" I shouted to my little friend over the bangs and rumbling. "Well, I think you're supposed to be helping the Guardians who arrived and fought the Fallen, Eiksni, on the first floor. We do need to get you better equipment to defend yourself, fortunately, I come with an entire array of internal machinery that allows me to transmat and change items sealed in engrams and other programmable matter." I looked out the window, and barely saw it, a flash, a loud bang from the cloaked person in the distance, my head was launched back, and the I was back in the black.

  Dying isn't so bad, the third or fifth time around. You're weightless, drifting inside the black, and yet somehow you can almost see so many stars. This time was different, maybe it was the conditions, maybe it was everything I asked before my skull was launched, but I felt close to something here, close to an answer, it felt like, the truth. I awoke, bodies of Eliksni on the ground, the smell of ether and wet metal permeated the air, and more Eliksni patrolling. Seemingly stripping the scene of the equipment and dead Eliksni below. "You brought me back, is it you who returns me every time? Do you even have a name?" It floated over my shoulder, watching the scavengers below. "A name? I haven't even thought of that yet, I've just been busy, helping the Vanguard, and looking for you. But yes, every time you are killed or die, the light flows through me into you, and brings you back into the most pristine version of you it has access to." I brought one of my right hands to my chin as I thought, realizing enough time had passed while I was dead for the sky to darken. "How do you feel about them? About me? Do you see yourself in a better position than them? Do you look down on them? Who's side am I supposed to be on? When they are, were my people, but the light chose me?" It's purple eye half closed as it looked at me, almost displaying sorrowful thought. "Well, you being who the light chose does make our situation unique. I see them, and they seem to be angry scavengers, they want the traveler, but they attack in anger, giving into despair, I think that's why they're called Fallen." "You see them as angry, I look at them and see something else. I see a once proud people, they didn't abandon hope, hope abandoned them, and now they just survive. I want to know more. To discover more. Maybe, I can help them." Staring as they grouped up and vanished into their ship group by group, I snuck around buildings and ruins, "Hey, little being, lets go into that ship, and find answers." It floated by me, "If this is what you want to do, I can't stop you, but at least try this." I watched it hover over the bodies of the dead behind and within the building I was watching the skiff from, as he floated, beams of light projected on the bodies and dissolved their weapons and armor, and floated into his eye. "Lets try these on." His eye bathed me in light. "I've taken their armaments and armor, and fitted it to you, that cloak is for the House of Devils, that was the banner they had, and your size makes you perfect for captains armor. Lets just hope they don't ask questions." The tiny light hid, and I walked, proudly towards the humming engines, and into the skiffs loading zone. "All abooooard." the tiny light whispered out of sight as we entered the ship.