Blood on the Snow (Destiny story)

A World of Heroes

"The reason we are called guardians is the fact that we are meant to guard this city, this world, but there are a great many of us who do that not by staying in the city as guards but looking outside for knowledge and resources that will, in fact, help the races of this earth survive in this future, those are the guardians that will do anything for freedom and protection and the funny thing is, you can't convince them to believe otherwise."
-Eris Morn

Light peered through the window, Nieva had fallen asleep and sitting in the chair across the messy room was Cayde, flipping a card around, his bright gloing blue eyes looking at Nieva. She got up lazily, groaning as she did, she put her shirt on and invited Cayde for a drink, he patientely waied for her at the table as she made the drinks.

"I heard you were looking for me" Cayde said, his cocky smile as always shining through, "What is it that you need kid?"

"I need you to train me in the ways of the Nightstalker." Cayde's smile disappeared, his eyes looked concerned, "And with that look you just told me you can't, first: why? and second: could Andal train me or somebody else?"

Cayde cleared his throat, "I've never been able to harness the void, it was always too hard for me, not to mention the fact that making something out of nowhere is very hard." he paused for a second, "Andal can't help you either, he's out in a mission but I might know someone who could teach you, his name is Tevis, he's one of the best Nightstalkers around and besides he owes me a favor or two and a whole lot of glimmer."

They went out to look for Tevis, as they walked around for a long time they finally found him at a small bar near the marketplace in the souther end, he was a human, tall with white skin, hazelnut eyes and no hair whatsoever. He looked like he was a war veteran and clearly experienced. Cayde and Tavis greeted each other with the warmth of old friends.

"So, who's the girl? Your new conquest?" He said teasingly, he appeared to have an attitude similar to Cayde's explaining how they got along so well.

"I'm no conquest!" said Nieva with a stern voice, she was still expecting to see how strong was Tevis, "but I need you to teach me how to be a Nightstalker because there are little and you are the only one I've heard of."

"Well, it seems I don't have anything to say just that I've got to ask you to help her with this." Cayde said with a simple smirk, Travis turned to watch Nieva curiously from head to toe not deviously like other men would but to examine her in her skills as only a trained eye would watch another person.

"Well, not the most promising of candidates but I'll see what I can do." He then waved at Nieva to accompany him, they left towards the south training grounds as they began their training then and there.

...

A month had passed and Nieva was barely able to call the void but not able to form it into a bow and arrow, much less tethering her enemies as she got exhausted too quickly while trying to make a bow of pure energy. "Just concentrate there's not much of a catch to it," Travis told Nieva putting a hand on her shoulder, "just feel the bow in your hands and make an arrow, you don't have to do that much."

"You keep saying that but I still can't do it, I feel it but every time I'm near I block myself from it," Nieva complained  while panting, "I just can't do it!" She then stepped away from Tavis heading towards her home in defeat. When she arrived she changed to a bit of more comfortable clothes and headed towards her little study where she sat in front of a large wooden table filled with weapon parts, she had been working on new weapons, one of these weapons was a simple design as it was currently a small hand cannon with a black grip and hammer and a red barrel, she hadn't given a name yet to that prototype.

She carefully put the prototype away in a box, she then grabbed a new set of weapon parts, she was going to start experimenting with new weapon types and she wanted to start with an auto rifle, she had in mind to reconstruct the y legendary red spectre that was currently known as the guardian killer, The Red Death. She began putting up until she had the weapon frame, she then heard a knocking on the door.

Nieva walked up to the door and opened carefully peeking to see who was on the other side, it was Praedyth, they had met up multiple times after they met talking about the weapons they could have and about what awaited Nieva past the safe walls of the City, thanks to Praedyth she learnt that there were not only Fallen and Hive.

Praedyth told her a lot of stories, some about the dark mystical power of the Hive, others about the tactical prowess of the Caba, an odd race wich glorified itself as the best tactitians and the most powerful Empire of the universe but according to some guardians and the intel they had gathered the Cabal were escaping from something but noone knew what. But the ones he loved the most were the tales of the power and intelligence of the Vex, machines like the EXO but they were half-organic half-machine, the Vex reveered the Darkness as a god, Nieva found it interesting that they thought that it could bring them to their own Golden Age much like humanity reveered the Traveler itself. 

Nieva herself loved the stories about the Fallen, even though they killed her friends and family, she found out that they were once a proud race like humanity with a Golden Age of their own and a Colapse, known to them as the Whirlwind. She now felt pity for them, they lost everything, their pride, their strenght, and now sought the one thing that could bring back those golden days, The Traveler. There were yet another couple of stories of the heroes of the City, guardians, who fascinated Nieva, the ones she particularly fancied were the stories of Anna Bray one of the heroes of the "Battle of the Twilight Gap", the tale of Osiris, a mad Warlock obsessed with the Vex, and the tale of the two greatest rivals the greatest hunters that ever existed, Shin Malfur (who is thought to still be alive and protecting the last of the human settlements, not Nieva's though) and his Last Word against Dregden Yor the fallen hero and his dark and deathly Thorn.

"Say, are you ready for our date?" Praedyth said not noticing the use of his words, he held out his hand towards his friend.

"So that's how highly you think of me?" Nieva answered with a giggle. Praedyth laughed too. Nieva smiled as best as she could since her face wasn't really made up to show emotions and gently put her hand in his cheek .

They went to a nice café in the border of the City with a perfect view of the Traveler as well as the woods and mountains outside the Tower, inside it was comfortable with a fireplace at the end. The people in were just enjoying a simple drink and biscuits. Nieva came in with a simple white t-shirt and blue pants with a dark red hoodie, Praedyth came a bit more elegant with an elegant shirt, boots and pants while he also wore a beautiful black coat with a barely noticable decoration due to the fact that it was almost as dark as the coat itself.

They took a coffee each, as they did Nieva looked upon the Traveler wondering about her own power and how she could use it to protect evreyone she loved Praedyth, Eris, Cayde,  Andal, Tevis she could never stand to see anymore of her friends gone. With this she regretted her unability to harness the power of the Void, if she didn't get it in time her friends might die again.

"What's wrong?" Praedyth asked, Nieva was startled and looked at him with her eyes widened.

"I..." She stuttered then sighted, "It's just, I don't want to see anyone die, I don't ant to feel powerless anymore," she looked down on the table her face filled with grief, "and I can't even master the last bit of strength that I can."

"The Void, huh?" Praedyth said, "I could try and teach you that, even if I'm not a hunter like you I'd do my best." He said his eyes filled with kindness, not pity.

Nieva looked at him questioningly and he just smiled. She could just mutter two simple words "Thank you..."