Destiny: Lore

Chapter 8: Puppets on the String

Osiris was presented the question of how to defend the City, as he was the Warlock Vanguard. He had drawn up a statement that none had ever dared think of: that the Fallen, Hive, Vex, and Cabal weren't our true enemies, but puppets controlled by a darker force on the solar system's edge, growing in power slowly. No, the hive mind of the Vex and the military prowess of the Cabal weren't the true enemies, neither was the Hive's sheer numbers, and the Fallen's ferocity. It was the Darkness.

Osiris seen that the only true way to defeat the Darkness was to understand it. Because of this insight, he strayed further from his duties as a Vanguard. It eventually came to the point of which he was exiled from the City. But he found his way around, by understanding and manipulating Vex time gates, with the help of his ghost, Sagira.

Saint-14 studied on the old Titan orders, and found that the best course of defense was an offensive attack of retribution against those who harmed all dwelling in the City's walls. He began crusades against the Fallen houses, decimating their forces, and victory came swift for him. After, all was left, the final house was the House of Devils. Saint-14 and the Devil Kell, Solkis. Saint-14 had come to realize that he had finally met his match. With Solkis strangling him with one of his four great arms, Saint-14 mustered all of his light, gaining all of his strength, and ended the Kell. The Kell's face was busted through, no more than blood and ether. In the victory of Saint-14's Crusades, and his victory over Solkis, the Speaker decided to light the last flare with the city Devil Red. This stood as the landmark of victory for Saint-14 and the City.

But, in light of the Victory, a dark shadow was cast. Osiris had been sighted on Mercury, and in knowing of what dangers he posed to the City, the Speaker sent Saint-14 to hunt for his old friend. In doing so, Saint-14 and Osiris went missing, and to this day have never been seen. But, Osiris' presence was still felt amongst the Guardians, most notably of so was Kabir the Legionless. He was a maverick, much like Osiris. Kabir took it upon himself to begin a monumental task. He will enter the Vex stronghold underneath Venus's surface, the Vault of Glass, and purge every last Vex inside it. For this task, he enlisted help from other Guardians. A hunter, Pahanin, a quipster at heart, but serious at times when needed. Kabir also enlisted a Warlock, Praedyth, a member of the Future War Cult, obsessed with time, of which the Vex were most interested.

But, only one of the three survived entering the Vault of Glass. Pahanin ran from the battle, after witnessing the Vex rip his fireteam members from space and time itself. He would forever be haunted by what he witnessed, and even went so far as to install an AI to his very favorite weapon, Super Good Advice. To be erased by the Vex simply isn't death, but to never exist. To have all memory of your name rewritten. Praedyth was lost in the halls of time, a captive to the Vex manipulation of space and time. Kabir's fate was the worst of his fireteam. He drank from the Oracles, great Vex machines that solve unfathomable algorithms that no human could begin to comprehend. The radiolarian fluid from within the Oracles touched him, Kabir began transformation to a Vex. He lost all memories from before, except for his light, which he stored in a shield, in hopes of other Guardians to finish what he started.

Time passed, and the Vanguard set their sights to not defense of the City, but expansion to the Solar System. It was at this time that Guardians started hunting the Ahamkara, space-dragons that are rumored to grant great wishes to all who had confronted them. This had allowed the City to gain immense strides in power. But they needed much greater power, desperately so that no one thought of a great price it would come at. The bargain that the Ahamkara asked would need to be repaid in time, and so they were deemed too dangerous to coexist with the City and were hunted to extinction. The only physical representation of Ahamkara are bones, which are grafted into bones and armor, like the Skull of Dire Ahamkara, and the Young Ahamkara's Spine. It was said that the Young Ahamkara's Spine would whisper to the wielder using it and would sometimes lead them to Glory, and sometimes Ruin. There are rumors that, within the Jovian Moons, the Ahamkara dwell still, clinging to the last bits of life that they hold.

But they are far removed from the care of the City, which has grown greatly in strength and success, becoming a thriving metropolis. With many towers lining its walls and its many defenders at the ready, willing to hold against any aggressor that may cross their paths. But with the new strength, it also became much less wise. Hubris was waiting with open arms for humanity's last bastion to become overconfident and bold. They began to expand their reach into the wilds, further and further. It was a perfect time for yet another calamity. Eventually it was decided that a time of great reclamation should begin, and so the City's consensus set its sights to the first jump that would lead Humanity closer to the Traveler, closer to space.