Blood on the Snow (Destiny story)

Prologue. Cold Winter

Artemis-6 woke up, it was just another day in town and she would be spending her day with her two friends: Nieva Evans a human around her twenties and a guardian, more specifically a Hunter the assassin type with a long hooded cloak and and affinity with hand cannons and knives, she was tasked with keeping their little town safe from the dark forces of the Fallen, alien scavengers. Artemis' other friend was Mara Rain a young awoken named after the queen Mara Sov, she was seventeen and liked to spend her time with Artemis and Nieva. Artemis herself was the youngest of the three although she looked as old as Nieva because she had been made just two years before that, she was the curious, loyal and driven mostly because she had learned it from both Nieva and Mara.

She dressed, she didn't need to brush her teeth or comb her hair because she didn't have any but she did have to check her parts to ensure nothing was wrong. The three already had a meeting point near the edge of town were they would accompany Nieva on her patrols on the town and in the outskirts. Artemis was the first to arrive, she usually was, so while she waited she began thinking that they weren't like the other girls, they had a larger interest on guns, sparrows and adventures, Mara and Artemis had already helped Nieva upgrading her ship and her sparrow and they also made a hand cannon for Nieva for her birthday, Nieva congratulated them it was the best hand cannon she had ever seen and tough Mara and Artemis thought that she was just complementing them Nieva meant that and she had a vast knowledge of hand cannons.

Then she remembered, it was Mara's birthday and she left the gift in her home. Artemis made a run for it and got the present quickly but as she returned to the meeting point she saw both her friends waiting for her. "Arty! Did you get lost or what?" Mara asked in a playful manner.

"I was on my way here when I remembered I had left something at home." Artemis tried to explain.

"And what might this thing be?" Nieva asked smiling.

"Just something!" Artemis said.

"Well we're late so let's hurry up." Nieva urged.

They walked around town and walked the outskirts, it was peaceful as always. Then they stopped for a small picnic right after they had patrolled the whole area. Mara and Nieva ate sandwiches made by Artemis who they claimed made the best food in town and both Mara and Artemis asked for news from the City.

"There's nothing important now, just a few guardians found something weird on Venus." Nieva answered in a bored manner.

"What could it be? A Vex vault?" Mara asked excited.

Nieva just shrugged it off. After they had finished their sandwiches Nieva got out of the picnic basket a cake, unlike Artemis' cakes this was a bit flat and uneven.

"I made it myself!" Nieva said pridefully.

"This is nicer than I would've thought it would be a cake of yours!" Mara said with a wide grin on her face.

"Oh shush! I made it with all the skill I had." Nieva said.

"Let's hope it tastes better than it looks." Artemis said with a wink towards Nieva.

After the cake was eaten Artemis showed her gift. It was a fire red cloak with a dragon's crest, Mara was amazed and thanked Artemis for it, as she put it on a smoke column started to rise from the town. Nieva grabbed her helmet and told Mara and Artemis to stay were they were. After Nieva was almost near the town Mara ran towards the town, she wanted to see if her family was alright. This took Artemis by surprise and when Mara was several meters away Artemis started running towards her. When Artemis arrived to the town she saw various fallen shooting everyone in sight but more specifically the Hive that had appeared moments earlier. Artemis was puzzled, she had never heard of two races meeting on Earth, much less fighting.

Artemis then turned around to find Mara and saw her in front of the ruins that were once her home. As Artemis tried to call her a blast of light shot Mara on the chest. As Artemis got to her and saw the wound it was clear that she had been shot by a wire riffle, Artemis then dragged Mara behind the burning home.

"I've got a favor to ask you." Mara said weakly, Artemis leaned to her an listened, "Take care of this." Mara then ripped the cloak she was given earlier and gave it to Artemis.

"No, you can't give up yet!" Artemis yelled.

"I'm just accepting the facts, I'd never survive this." Mara whispered, barely able to speak "Being with you and Nieva was the greatest time of my life, goodbye and... take care of yourself." Mara said with her last breath.

If Artemis had been human her face would have been wet with tears. Artemis then laid her dead friend down and walked looking for Nieva. While she was searching she was knocked out by a piece of wood that hit her head from high above.

Artemis then woke up a few hours later. The battle had died down and she got up too look for anyone that had survived. After a few minutes she heard a cough from under a fallen wall, she ran towards the cough with a bit of hope and her eyes brightened when she saw Nieva, and although she tried to lift the heavy wall there wasn't anything she could do. Nieva then started to whisper something and found strength to say it out loud.

"We both know that this won't budge." Nieva said looking at Artemis' eyes with sadness, "Do me a favor and take this." "Nieva handed her hand cannon, the one Artemis and Mara made for her.

"No, no, no, NO! You are not going to die here!" Artemis yelled desperate for a bit of hope.

"I am," Nieva said, "and you'll go, go to the City, to the Tower and find Ikora Ray, she'll help you." Nieva then summoned her Ghost, a small machine made by the Traveler in its dying breath to seek guardians and help them, and turned to it "You know what to do, I'm no longer your guardian, she is.". With this Nieva closed her eyes and gave one last breath.

Artemis was devastated, her best friends were dead and she had been the lone survivor of the town. The Ghost then spoke to her "We should go, this isn't a good place to be right now." Artemis knew this as she put the hand cannon away and put on the torn fire red cloak that now was half its original length and with a torn hood, they then set towards Nieva's safe house at the town outskirts.