Light: Exploits, Book II.

Part 17. The Sword Rises.

Priest and Farah scouted ahead while Rei and I continued to discuss why I thought she must return to tower.
In the end however, I reluctantly agreed that, since she has experience with these powerful Hiven magics, if they were indeed capable of producing what Rei referred to as "Taken", she would be best here with us.
We sat down next to the fire, silently anticipating Priest to send us the all-clear.
I had my arms crossed and tapped my finger on my forearm, the taut muscle tight underneath my coat.
Are you nervous? Rei asks softly.
Very, I say as my foot begins to tap on the ground.
Why? She asks, kicking in the dirt.
I'm not even going to dignify that with a response, I say sharply as my Ghost starts to beep.
Priest has found something, it said in my ear.
I stand up quickly, and kick out the fire as Rei's Ghost shines its light in the dark.
What've you got Priest? I ask.
I hear quiet shuffling on the other end; either he's got no way to describe what he's seeing, or he's scared.
After a few steps and still no answer, I, silently agitated, decide to give up on his answer.
I'd find out when I saw it.
Rei's Ghost illuminated the feet before me so my own didn't have to. But after a minute or so, there was a soft light, and a soft hum, just beyond a small wall of rock.
I slowed down, putting out my hand, and stopping Rei with a start.
Before she can snap a response at my too-quick gesture, I raise my hand, signaling her to remain silent.
The hum, now I could hear clearly.
It made no semblance to any music I had ever heard.
And yet, it sounded as though it was singing in song.
It was as curious as it was frightening.
I peeled my feet from the ground, and made painstakingly sure I felt every muscle in my leg respond as I walked forward.
I came round a corner, hearing Rei's armor bump and make dull thuds in the wall.
Jeez, tight fit, Rei grimaces.
I hear Priest laugh from over the wall, obviously at Rei's remark.
I sighed softly in relief that he was still with us.
Finally, I found the source of the hum.
It was a hole, about 8 feet wide.
And, hovering just above the cusp where the dark met the floor we stood on, was a sword.
It looked like no sword of Hiven make.
Nor any sword I had ever seen before.
I'd heard stories of Guardians with swords. And that Lord Shaxx was their forger.
I'd never seen such a sword, or a Guardian with one.
Ghost, I said calmly, what do we have here?
It appeared before me and began to shoot its light upon the blade.
It seemed to be alive; glittering and glimmering.
There was a small handle, above the hilt, that bled purple light. Something told me that was no handle to hold, but that purple light fueled the swords power.
The hilt looked old, wrapped and rugged. But smooth, and pristine.
Matches no known Guardian signature, but it's registered as a... Guardian's weapon. Ghost says slowly.
Wonder who was lucky enough to wield this, Rei awes softly.
No; no one touch it, I say sharply, like reason in the madness. I don't know what Guardian could wield such a sword; and I don't want to. That sword is most definitely Hiven make.
Priest crosses his arms, how do you know? He asks.
That looks like an Executioner's Sword. I say confidently.
But... A Guardian signature is on it? I ask my Ghost.
Yes; but it doesn't match any known tags or signals. Some Guardians leave codes for those who find their corpses, my Ghost chirps, then buzzes over to the sword again.
Perhaps this is some kind of puzzle, left behind by the now Unknown Guardian.
My spine tingled coldly as my Ghost said that.
"Unknown Guardian".
Lost for so long, now they're forgotten.
A sad phenomena, and one that I found too frequent.
How old is it? I ask my Ghost.
It scans the handle, and we all wait in the soft hum, vibrating softly in the quiet.
100 years; this sword is, approximately, 1 century old. Ghost replies.
It returns to its scan, but the sword turns, and the tip of the blade is pointed toward us.
Ghost! Get back! Now! I demand, reaching down my hip for my sidearm.
Priest and Farah each draw hand cannons, and Rei brings up orange fists.
The sword begins to hum, almost sounding like its vibrating.
Then, we see a hand reach up from the pit. A hand small enough to wield the sword.
It lingers above the dark veil, until it claws and wraps itself around the sword handle.
We looked, dumbstruck, as a dark, writhing figure melted up out of the dark.
It looked more humanoid than Hive, which filled me with dread.
We all looked at it; silently taking in our options.
It stood about 6 feet tall, and wore a helmet of unknown make. It cocked its head slightly, and looked at us, the sword hanging lazily in its hand.
I blossomed a Nova Bomb, and boldly strode forward, pointing my sidearm at the thing with my other hand.
What are you. I demand.
The thing hops back on solid ground, and takes a defensive stance. It leans back, planting its feet on the floor, and pointing the tip of the blade toward me subtly.
I maintain my resolve, keeping my pistol pointed to it. My other hand, twitching around the Nova Bomb.
Then suddenly, there was a large roar as the thing leapt over the pit. I leapt also, and popped a few shots off, aiming for its head.
It raises its sword, and a shield curves around it, blocking the bullets. It lands, and lowers the sword to its hip, and runs at us.
I run for it also, putting out my hand to launch my Nova Bomb.
I miss, and immediately, see the blindingly fast cut from the thing. I see as my hand, lopped clean off, falls to the floor, blood leaking from the wound.
I roar, as the thing flips me, cutting off a leg. I'm still in the air, as it kicks me to a wall. I slump as my Ghost immediately goes to work.
Priest, Farah and Rei were all dumbstruck by the sheer speed of what just happened. Priest was the first to break from the stupor, drawing a shotgun and striding to the thing with anger and Light deep in his boot stomps.
I heard the sword clang off of his weapon, causing him to fire off a deafening shot in the silence.
Rei came up behind the thing, but in a blinding motion, it swung behind itself, cutting a swath through Rei's armor and soft flesh.
Her blood splattered along the floor patternless as she fell to her knees.
I was still on the floor, my Ghost almost finished with my leg.
I see the thing raise its sword, silently, readying to execute Rei.
Farah fires from her hand cannon, coming from behind Rei, intent on not letting what happened to me, happen to her.
Unfortunately, it cuts up, slicing her hand cannon in two, before chopping into her ribs.
I storm to my feet and charge it. I slam into it, and we tumble to the hole.
We wrestle until I gain the advantage. I sit atop its chest and raise my fists, roaring. It raised its hands, and silently motioned something to come from beneath us.
As I'm about to bring my fists down, I see the sword shoot up from the ground; stabbing the thing before I myself am stabbed.
I wince, my hands still balled over my head as the sword pokes out my shoulder.
The thing reaches up, clasps my coat and, after the sword tears itself from me, it yanks me down and we both plummet down the pit it had spawned from.
*         *        *
Rei was already on her feet by the time she saw the figure pull Dylan down in the dark after it.
She was burning with silent determination as she dove in after them.
The wind rushed and whipped by, sounding like screams and roars.
She crashed as she hit bottom, her heavy boots and thick armor sounding like a quake more than a break.
She stood up, her Ghost close, as she brought up a fusion rifle.
It was gold, dotted and adorned with orange lights.
The Vex Mythoclast.
One of the most sought after prizes from The Vault of Glass.
She held it tight in her hands; regretting she had to use this tool.
But drastic times.
Her helmet shimmered in the dim stone lights on the walls, making its pattern glimmer softly.
She twitched her finger on the makeshift trigger, pressing on despite the new weight at her feet.
Dylan! She finally called.
Dylan where are you?!
The response she received was worse than she could have ever imagined.
It wasn't silence, or a scream.
There was a soft, almost too quiet to hear laugh, coming from farther down this cave.
Rei's eyes widened, and she picked up her pace.
She isn't walking long before she sees a massive Hiven door.
Before she can burst it open, the doors swing open wide, showing the scene inside.
In an almost gold light chamber, Acolytes, Knights and Wizards are all kneeling, bowing their heads in prayer.
Rei is fast to raise her rifle, but something stops her.
More accurately, it scares her.
Terrifies every fiber of her being.
In the center of the room, kneels The Crusader.
Kneeling before a towering Half-Knight, with wicked wings cutting away from him.
It's eyes glow yellow, and it's face cracks into a smile.
It held a broad, curved sword. Light was being eaten away from it, and replacing it was writhing, screaming shadows.
Rei recognized this creature, and she was deaf to the sound of her dropping her weapon in pure shock.
It was Him. Who she saw. What scared her.
All... Will fall... Before The Taken King!