BOOK 1 - Destiny (Shonen Anime Style)

Chapter 11: The Speaker

Classes had already started, Leah was there paying attention and taking notes, and yet... Ravi was somewhere else in the Tower enjoying a delicious tea along with the Speaker.

"Thanks... a lot" the boy muttered as the man in the mask handed him a cup.

"Don't mention it" the Speaker replied and then took a seat right next to Ravi. "It's not normal for a trainee to come here. It's usually only Ikora or Commander Zavala the ones who visit me"

"Commander Zavala?"

"You don't know him? He's one of the Vanguard's 3 main commanders, along with Ikora Rey and Cayde-6. And he's also the one with the highest rank. He's basically the leader of all guardians in the city"

"Woah! I didn't know that. I hope I can meet him soon" Ravi claimed with excitement.

"I'm sure you will, eventually"

They both drank a bit of tea. "So, what did you wanna talk about, sir?"

"I don't know" the mysterious man bluntly replied. "Whatever you wanna talk about. Anything is good. You can tell me about yourself if you want, or about any problem you have in your mind"

The presence of the Speaker was so... pacific. And for some reason, Ravi felt like telling him about his life and himself without any kind of shame or fear. "My name... is Ravi Azarov" the blue-haired boy finally muttered, calmly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ravi"

"Th-thanks" Ravi stopped for a moment, and then continued. "You know? I'm not from the Last City"

"Really? And where are you from then?"

"I lived my whole life surviving in a wasteland, and for as long as I can remember, I only cared about myself" he added while facing downwards.

"So... you are a guardian trainee who comes from outside of the walls... and only cares about himself. Is that correct?"

"I'm trying my best to change that" the bluenette then claimed with a serious expression. "Fun and selfishness were the only things I could think of, but then..."

"Then, something happened, right? Something that changed your life forever"

Ravi raised his head in surprise. "How... How did you know?"

"Everyone experiences that at least once in their whole life" the Speaker added while stepping forward and watching directly at the Traveller. "It can be something good, something bad, something unexpected. What matters is how that thing changes us" He then turned around to face Ravi again. "So, tell me... What happened to you? And how did it change you?"

Ravi stayed quiet for a few seconds, until he finally found the appropriate answer for such questions. "I... I met this girl... The first person I ever met in my entire life. And she showed me... just how big the world really was. I wanted to explore it... Learn more about it" he stared directly at the Speaker with determination. "But more importantly... She taught me that life wasn't just fun and survival, but also hardships, feelings, and responsibilities"

The Speaker remained silent at the fact of not knowing how to react.

"I saved her life" Ravi then continued with a grin. "Can you imagine that? Someone that used to care only about himself, risked his life to save a girl he barely knew for a couple of days. But... even though I suffered a lot and almost died while protecting her, I just felt so... happy and relieved... when I woke up and saw her, safe and fine, right next to me"

"That's good" the speaker finally muttered in a soft voice.

"Huh?"

"I said that's good, because that means YOU... are human"

Ravi remained pensive at such set of words coming from the speaker. "I've been living in the city for a little more than a week, but I already like it a lot. The people, the places, especially the food... hehehe... And I wanna protect it. I wanna... do my part... in keeping this place and its people safe. BUT I also gotta admit that... the feeling of wanting to learn new stuff, have fun and explore hasn't completely disappeared from inside me... It's as if..."

...

...

...

"...both sides were in conflict inside of me"

The Speaker was left out of words. "You are... a good person, Ravi. I knew there was a reason why you mysteriously ended up here today. After all, you have very great virtues"

"V-virtues? Like what?" the bluenette asked a bit puzzled, only to startle slightly at the Speaker's answer.

"Responsibility, honesty, kindness... and of course... ambition"

"Ambition?"

"That's right. Contrary to what people may think, ambition is a really good virtue, IF... it stays under control" the masked man finally claimed while taking a seat. "You wanna get stronger in order to protect the people. You also wanna learn new things and explore more. Those are your ambitions, and that's amazing! BUT don't go over the top with them, because too much ambition... can turn into obsession. And that's something that can hurt, not only yourself, but also those closer to you"

Ravi was speechless. "You are... saying it almost as if..."

"As if I know it? Well, of course I know it! It happened to me after all"

"You mean you... lost something or... SOMEONE?"

The speaker remained silent for some seconds. "Yes... I did lose someone... And I know saying it is not the same as experiencing it, so you must be prepared if it ever happens to you"

Ravi didn't know what else to say after such out of place conversation, except maybe ask for a reason behind it. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

"That's a really good question" the speaker bluntly replied. "Like I said, it may be fate... Ravi Azarov"

And so, both the man in the mask and the bluenette trainee kept on talking for a few more minutes before finally parting ways. The Speaker told Ravi not to worry about the punishment for being absent from his classes, because he would tell the academy he urgently needed help with something very important... and that the boy ended up aiding him with it.

At any rate, when Leah finally found his dear friend after being absent for more than an hour, she immediately asked him where he had been that whole time, after which she inevitably startled in shock at what the bluenette replied with.

"You... you met the Speaker?!" Leah asked Ravi with extreme surprise.

"Yeah" Ravi bluntly replied. "Why? Is it something bad?"

"N-no... Of course not. It's only that, it's not common for a trainee to meet the Speaker at all"

"Really? And who is him anyway?"

"He is like... the bridge... that exists between humanity and the Traveller"

"The bridge?"

"Yeah.... He basically speaks in behalf of it"

"So, that's why he's called the Speaker?" Ravi asked with soft smile. "People certainly have no imagination these days"

Leah giggled a bit. "Yeah... hehehe..."

After this, they just went home.

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...

...

The next day was Sunday, and they had actually planned to do some patrol quest missions together. However, they didn't know that something else was going to happen... Something unexpected and very dangerous that would soon turn one of their easy patrol missions... into a big fight.