gistfile1.txt

Destiny 2 - Season of the Chosen - 3.1.0
All new Text Strings 
-- BY GINSOR -- 

Eliminate the Source of the Breach
Use the charge to deactivate the Arc streams.
Eliminate the Fallen responsible for breaching Rasputin's bunker.
Traverse the Bunker
The coolant vent is exposed
Enter the Bunker
Eliminate the Fallen incursion force.
Activate the security console to access the bunker's defense system.
Bypass Security Protocols
Enter the Bunker
Locate the entrance to Rasputin's bunker.
Disrupt Rasputin's defenses by destroy the exposed defense core.
Blast shields deployed
Arc energy discharged
Eliminate the Source of the Breach
Arc energy collected
Disrupt Rasputin's Defenses
Defend the Warsat
Use the Warsat codes to unlock the bunker door.
Pick Up Charge
Open Bunker
Rasputin has crashed a Warsat
There's been a security breach in Rasputin's bunker. Traverse deeper and locate the source of the breach.
Use the maintenance vents to dive deeper into the bunker.
Traverse the bunker in search of the source of the comms signal.
Deactivate the Arc Streams
Open Vent Cover
Locate the Breach Site
There's been a security breach in Rasputin's bunker. Traverse deeper and locate the source of the breach.
Deposit Charge
Reach Distress Coordinates
S.A.B.E.R.-2 lowers the blast shields
Defend the Warsat while Ghost decrypts the access codes for Rasputin's bunker.
Locate the Breach Site
S.A.B.E.R.-2 summons reinforcements
Heatsinks extended
Eliminate S.A.B.E.R.-2 to clear out Rasputin's bunker.
S.A.B.E.R.-2 exposes the shock cores
S.A.B.E.R.-2 retracts the heatsinks
Reach the location of Rasputin's distress signal.
The containment field has destabilized
Enter the Bunker
Dive deeper into the Prime Servitor's lair and locate Sepiks Prime.
Locate Sepiks Prime
Locate Sepiks Prime
Deactive the Fallen Security Measures
Locate Sepiks Prime
Eliminate Sepiks Prime
Eliminate the Warring Fallen and Hive
Locate Sepiks Prime
Traverse the Prime Servitor's lair and locate Sepiks Prime.
Bring down the Fallen Prime Servitor, Sepiks Prime.
Clear out the Fallen and the Hive and locate Sepiks Prime.
Locate Sepiks Prime
Enter the Prime Servitor's lair and locate Sepiks Prime.
Eliminate the Fallen forces to continue on through the Prime Servitor's lair.
Push deeper into the Prime Servitor's lair and locate Sepiks Prime.
Bring down the Fallen Prime Servitor, Sepiks Prime.
Security measures deactivated
Eliminate Sepiks Prime
Use Ghost to hack the generator and deactivate the Fallen security measures.
The Fallen will continue to claw at the walls of our City unless we strike them down. Beneath the ruins of the Cosmodrome, in the shadow of an old colony ship, we've located the House of Devils' Lair and the High Servitor feeding them their strength. We must destroy this machine god, and send their souls screaming back to hell.
The Fallen are getting smarter. It's like the entire system is wired to a—
So this is the Devils' Lair.
We'll have to cut through Fallen and Hive to reach the Devils' Lair. But it'll be worth it if we can take out that High Servitor.
Pretty complex. I'll need time.
Barrier is down. We can move now.
Fallen and Hive. Let's hope we can avoid the crossfire.
I'm close. But, just so you know, there's more Fallen and Hive on the way.
Great, the way out of here is sealed.
Well done!
I'll work faster.
The lair is up ahead, under that colony ship. Just on the other side of… all those Devils.
Sepiks Prime cast a great shadow over our City. With its destruction, the Fallen Devils will grow weaker. But we must stay vigilant. The Fallen are crafty. They'll find ways to survive. They always do.
The last time we sent in a team was years ago. We found what remained of their bodies scattered across the Skywatch.
You've seen worse, Guardian. Push through.
We can't afford another Omnigul situation. Get in there, assess the threat, and aid Rasputin. A threat to the Warmind is a threat to the City as well.
As a fellow inorganic life-form, I just want to note that Rasputin has a much better setup than I do. He has a secret bunker with space weapons. I live in your backpack.
[distorted Russian speech]
That sounds like it hurt. Sorry!
In the meantime, I'm sending a team to seal the vault. All thanks to you, Guardian. Impressive work.
Guardian, we've picked up a high-gain transmission. Origin point is somewhere along the coast, near the Cosmodrome.
[distorted Russian speech]
Rasputin has incredible technology under lock and key down here. I'm almost surprised he doesn't have breaches more often! Guess it helps he really, really doesn't like visitors.
That's Rasputin, the AI Warmind. If I'm understanding him correctly, it's a distress call. There are so few ballet fans left, Guardian. It'd be a shame to lose him.
You're through. That's all that matters right now.
I’m going as fast as I can. You’d think Rasputin would have made this a little easier on us.
I could try to override Rasputin's system locks, but no telling how he might react. Must be some other way to bypass his systems.
Heads up! Rasputin's dropping a Warsat in from orbit. It's got the codes we'll need to access his bunker!
[distorted Russian speech]
In the meantime, I'm sending a team to seal the vault. All thanks to you, Guardian. Impressive work.
He's… not happy.
I can try to override his system locks, but Rasputin's reaction to a hack might be… extreme. Must be some other way to bypass his systems.
You've seen worse, Guardian. Push through.
That's Rasputin, the AI Warmind. If I'm understanding him correctly, it's a distress call. There are so few ballet fans left, Guardian. It'd be a shame to lose him.
Maybe it was the size. It was pretty big… for a Shank. Hmm. Would I be more useful with a larger chassis?
[distorted Russian speech]
[distorted Russian speech]
All that raw power… Someday, we'll establish communications with the Warmind. Speak to it. Understand it. If we are ever to reach a Second Golden, it will be with Rasputin at our side.
Ooh. Okay, wow. He is…really pretty mad at us. I think he… yes… yes, he just threatened us with orbital death from above. Let's get moving.
It worked! Maybe too well. Hmm.
Could try to hack us through, but Rasputin might handle that poorly. His system's already stressed. Must be some other way to bypass his systems.
I'm detecting comm signals deep in the vault.
Not even a crazy Russian "thank you" from the old man. Typical.
Rasputin's genuinely worried! I think they're trying to bypass his database and gain direct control of the Warsats. That would be…bad.
Oh, great. Arc streams. You must have knocked something out of alignment.
Uh, noted.
I'm detecting comm signals deep in the vault.
[distorted Russian speech]
We have a Warsat incoming! Rasputin says it contains codes we'll need to gain access to his bunker.
Guardian, we've picked up a high-gain transmission. Origin point is somewhere along the coast, near the Cosmodrome.
Sorry, just a little longer. I think Rasputin is testing me.
Sorry this is taking so long, but these sequences are incredibly complex. Plus, I'm actually not that great at math, so…
Yes… In any case, Guardian, that was impressive work. The skies will remain free of weapons. For the time being.
You know, they probably built that thing out of scrap from the Cosmodrome. It's lucky that it managed to work as well as it did.
I've got access. Let's go!
That Shank's been modified to crack his system. Let's take it out.
I'm detecting an access port near the far wall. I'd bet a grenade down there would do the job.
Try to find a way to access his systems directly. Could be your only way through.
Rasputin's dropping a Warsat from orbit! It contains codes we'll need to gain access to his bunker.
Yes… In any case, Guardian, that was impressive work. The skies will remain free of weapons. For the time being.
[distorted Russian speech]
This cannot happen again—It will not. Thanks to you, Guardian, the dream of the City lives on, without fear of weapons in the sky.
Zavala, these breaches are a serious threat. Has the Vanguard tried to reach out to him recently? Get him to understand we're allies?
Oh, great. Arc streams. You must have knocked something out of alignment.
[distorted Russian speech]
This cannot happen again—It will not. Thanks to you, Guardian, the dream of the City lives on, without fear of weapons in the sky.
This Arc energy is coming from the depths of Rasputin's power grid. It's similar to what we use to power the City, but its drift velocity is totally different than ours. Fascinating.
[distorted Russian speech]
Anyone with a radio could have picked up Rasputin's distress call. If we don't shut it down, half the Cosmodrome could be at his front door.
[distorted Russian speech]
The Fallen will claim nothing from this breach, not even the debris. I'm sending a fireteam to seal the complex.
  : Break Free
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
Requires Season 12
Eliminate the Source of the Breach
Use the charge to deactivate the Arc streams.
Eliminate the Fallen responsible for breaching Rasputin's bunker.
Traverse the Bunker
The coolant vent is exposed
Enter the Bunker
Eliminate the Fallen incursion force.
Activate the security console to access the bunker's defense system.
Bypass Security Protocols
Enter the Bunker
Locate the entrance to Rasputin's bunker.
Disrupt Rasputin's defenses by destroy the exposed defense core.
Blast shields deployed
Arc energy discharged
Eliminate the Source of the Breach
Arc energy collected
Disrupt Rasputin's Defenses
Defend the Warsat
Use the Warsat codes to unlock the bunker door.
Pick Up Charge
Open Bunker
Rasputin has crashed a Warsat
There's been a security breach in Rasputin's bunker. Traverse deeper and locate the source of the breach.
Use the maintenance vents to dive deeper into the bunker.
Traverse the bunker in search of the source of the comms signal.
Deactivate the Arc Streams
Open Vent Cover
Locate the Breach Site
There's been a security breach in Rasputin's bunker. Traverse deeper and locate the source of the breach.
Deposit Charge
Reach Distress Coordinates
S.A.B.E.R.-2 lowers the blast shields
Defend the Warsat while Ghost decrypts the access codes for Rasputin's bunker.
Locate the Breach Site
S.A.B.E.R.-2 summons reinforcements
Heatsinks extended
Eliminate S.A.B.E.R.-2 to clear out Rasputin's bunker.
S.A.B.E.R.-2 exposes the shock cores
S.A.B.E.R.-2 retracts the heatsinks
Reach the location of Rasputin's distress signal.
The containment field has destabilized
Enter the Bunker
Conqueror's Discipline
Complete a Grandmaster Ordeal strike without any Guardian deaths.
Total Conquest
Complete 6 different Grandmaster Ordeal strikes.
Complete all Grandmaster Triumphs.
Undying Conqueror
Complete a Grandmaster Ordeal strike with each subclass.
Precision hits create a lightning storm.
Landing consecutive hits on combatants with any Scout Rifle you are wielding disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against  Overload Champions. 
0
After any member of your fireteam disrupts a Champion, your Scout Rifles gain a temporary bonus to damage against Champions.
Shotguns you wield fire a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants.
0
Strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
Submachine Guns you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun  Barrier Champions.
0
Submachine Guns deal bonus damage against  Barrier Champions.
Landing sustained hits on combatants with any Auto Rifle you are wielding disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against  Overload Champions. 
0
After any member of your fireteam stuns a Champion, your Auto Rifles gain a temporary bonus to damage against Champions.
Aiming down sights with any Hand Cannon you are wielding loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants.
0
Strong against   Unstoppable Champions.
Overload Scout Rifle
Solar and Stasis grenades disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
0
Strong against  Overload Champions.
Overload Auto Rifle
Pulse Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun  Barrier Champions.
0
Pulse Rifles deal bonus damage against  Barrier Champions.
Requires Season 12
Source: Season of the Hunt
Beyond Light Exotics
Compete in Gambit. Earn armor and weapons at each rank, and powerful upgrades at major ranks.
Compete in the Crucible. Earn armor and weapons at each rank, and powerful upgrades at major ranks.
Exotics released during Destiny 2 - Year 4.
Advance this character to the soft Power cap.
"Your deeds in the Crucible have spawned a new generation of competitors. Though you have seized undisputed Valor during your journey, a new one now begins. Never stop honing your abilities. Your opponents won't." —Lord Shaxx
0
Visit Lord Shaxx in the Tower to claim your reward and reset your Valor rank to start your journey anew.
Become Charged with Light whenever you or a member of your fireteam stuns a Champion
Aiming down Pulse Rifle sights loads a high-impact burst that stuns unshielded combatants.
0
Strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
AVAILABLE TO ALL PLAYERS
Every Guardian at Power level 1260 or greater can compete to earn Pinnacle Power armor and weapons.
0
PLAY TRIALS EVERY WEEKEND
Trials of Osiris returns every Friday! To enter, grab your Passage from Saint-14 in the Tower and head to the Crucible playlist.
0
FLAWLESS VICTORY
Win 7 games with no losses to earn access to the exclusive Flawless location, armor, and rewards!
Legacy: Hunt for the Wrathborn
Legacy: Cryptolith Lure
Armor obtained from a Wrathborn will roll with higher-than-average stats.
This Season of the Hunt upgrade is no longer available.
  stunned an Unstoppable Champion!
  stunned an Overload Champion!
This weapon fires special shield-piercing ammunition. It comes with a scope. Strong against  Barrier Champions.
The opening shot of an attack stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against   Unstoppable Champions.
Overload Bow
Fires a massive heavy bolt that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
Damage by fully drawn arrows disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against  Overload Champions.
Shield-piercing rounds designed to bypass combatant defenses. Strong against  Barrier Champions.
Aiming down sights loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against   Unstoppable Champions.
Uninterrupted fire grants bullets that disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against  Overload Champions.
  stunned a Barrier Champion!
Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that weakens and stuns them. Strong against  Overload Champions.
Fizzled Crucible Token Gift
Configure the cryptolith Lure to customize the target and rewards of your Wrathborn hunts.
Work with Crow to create bait for the Wrathborn.
Xivu Arath is converting more followers by the day. Charge and configure the Lure to bait out as many Wrathborn as you dare.
Legacy: Hunt for the Wrathborn
Charge the cryptolith Lure to enable Wrathborn hunts.
With Crow's homemade Lure in hand, bait out and destroy a Wrathborn.
After saving Osiris from the Hive, the Crow—formerly Prince Uldren Sov of the Awoken—has invited you to meet with his new master on the Tangled Shore.
Osiris has committed himself to a quest for vengeance after the Hive killed his ghost Sagira. He has called for your aid in tracking down Sagira's killer, the High Celebrant of Xivu Arath.
Legacy: Hunter and the Hunted
Forging Your Own Path (Exclusive Option) 
Warning: Selecting this quest will disable the other two "Forging Your Own Path" quest options.
Suraya Hawthorne cocks her head toward you. "You've been busy." She smirks.
0
Been talking to Zavala. He needed to be reminded of everything the City's achieved. Everything we've fought for… everything you've all let me be a part of. He needs those memories to lean on. Hawthorne's head droops, and Louis nuzzles her temple.
0
I'll admit, I thought it was over when live casts of those horrible ships hit the Tower. It's all I could look at for days. She absent-mindedly feeds Louis a bit of meat scrap. "I've thought that way before. But we survived. Then and now."
0
I'm sorry to hear about Sloane, and Asher. Hawthorne turns away to look over the City before craning her head back towards you. "Sometimes we lose. Just don't ever quit on us… and we won't quit on you."
[REDACTED]
Season of [REDACTED]
Chosen Bonus
Grants varied boosts unique to Season of the Chosen.
Press ; to close the UI and return to the world. Then tap  again to bring out your Ghost and enter NAV mode.
NAV mode will display objectives for bounties and quests you've tracked in the top right of your HUD. It will also display any waypoints for your current objective.
You approach Saint-14; the crest of his helm brims with sunlight. "You are ready. I can feel it!" He straightens his stance and looks you over.
0
Guardian, the Trials of Osiris are not simply here to train you. His voice grows out of a low rolling timbre of consideration. "I am here to assess your propensity for leadership," Saint mimics a delivery reminiscent of Osiris as he speaks.
0
Serious now: "The Darkness will not conquer us. I know it." He looks into your eyes. "We will need heroes, leaders, as we did at the Gap, at Six Fronts." He leans in. "The others… they will look to you." Saint nods. "You will make me proud."
Reach Power Level 1260
Your zeal is noted, friend, but your Light requires refinement. As the acting officiator of the Trials of Osiris, Saint-14 has assessed the necessary requirements for entry. His assessment has set the entry bar at a measurable Power of 1260. While every Guardian has strength in their own right, some do not yet have the battle experience to operate seamlessly in a Trials fireteam.
0
Reach Power 1260, acquire Valor Legend rank, and defeat opponents in Elimination to participate in the Trials of Osiris.
Complete bounties and Trials of Osiris matches to earn tokens that you can turn in for rewards.
Valor Rank Progress
 Untrack Quest
 PROGRESS
Visit the War Table in the H.E.L.M. to collect your reward.
Rank reward obtained. Check your inventory or the Postmaster for details.
 // Rank 
Quest Step  of 
Gilded Title Triumph
Rank  of 
Visit Lord Shaxx in the Tower to collect your reward.
Visit Commander Zavala in the Tower to collect your reward.
Enhance your Destiny experience with apps designed by Bungie and talented Destiny fans. For more information, visit:
0
bungie.net/apps
New Light Quest
Prismatic Recaster Upgrade
Prismatic Lens Acquired
Next Reward
Beyond Light Quest
Not Tracked
War Table
Seal Gilded
Claim your reward in the Quest Log or  tab.
Unclaimed Reputation Rewards will expire at the end of Season .
Unclaimed Challenges
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available at the Drifter
Challenges Set
This quest step has not yet been revealed.
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available
Season  Rank 
Vanguard Rank Up
 Challenges Available
Fragment Slots ()
Reputation Rank 
Gilding Titles
Seasonal Quest
Reputation Progress
Return to the Prismatic Recaster for new Umbral Engram Focusing options.
Titan Class Stat: Reduces the cooldown of your class ability; increases the amount of damage you can take before dying.
0
Reduces the amount of damage you take when breaking out of Stasis.
Seasonal Challenge
All Challenges Complete
Unacquired
Legacy Quest
Not In Inventory
Quest Info
At the end of Season , your rank progress resets completely.
Quest Reward
Seasonal Challenges
Turn in Trials Tokens to increase standing within Trials of Osiris.
Manage Your Vault
Gilded progress
Seasonal Challenge Completed
Playlist Quest
Reputation Rank Up
Title gilding resets at the end of each season
Visit The Drifter in the Tower to collect your reward.
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available at Lord Shaxx
Complete listed challenges to earn Season ranks.
 Engram
Rank Complete. Reward Available:
 Track Quest
Claim your reward to reset your rank and start your journey anew.
Title gilding resets at the end of each Season.
Go to Collections
Number of times gilded:
Companion Apps
Complete the quest to acquire this reward.
Rewards must be claimed by the end of Season .
Found by completing playlist activities.
Found in Nightfall: The Ordeal playlist strikes.
Found by completing playlist activities.
Found by completing playlist activities.
Found in Lost Sectors on Legend or Master difficulty.
Found in Nightfall: The Ordeal playlist strikes.
Found by defeating the foes of humanity, wherever they lurk.
Defeat combatants with Telesto.
Defeat combatants with Sleeper Simulant.
Defeat combatants with Worldline Zero.
Reloading after a precision final blow increases your rate of fire.
Aiming down sights loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
Variable trigger. Press and release to fire individual shots. Hold to charge up a high-powered,  stunning laser. Strong against Unstoppable Champions.
Fully drawn arrows release a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
Grants weapon shield-piercing, bypassing combatant defenses. Strong against  Barrier Champions.
Aiming down sights loads a high-impact burst that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against   Unstoppable Champions.
Fizzled Crucible Token
Grants melee and grenade energy on final blows with  shield-piercing weapons or when a member of your fireteam stuns a Barrier Champion.
Fizzled Emperor Calus Token
PvE Playlist
3v3 Elimination | Valor
Ranked 3v3 | Valor & Glory
4v4
3v3 | Valor
6v6 | Valor
4v4 Competitive Co-Op
Free for All | Valor
6v6 Lockdown | Valor
6v6 Control | Valor
3v3 Team Objective
Intellect decreases the cooldown of your Super ability, allowing you to use it more often.
0
Stasis abilities have longer cooldowns than Arc, Solar, and Void abilities.
Resilience increases the amount of damage you can take before dying.
0
Reduces the amount of damage you take when breaking out of Stasis.
Discipline decreases the cooldown time of your grenades, allowing you to use them more often.
0
Stasis abilities have longer cooldowns than Arc, Solar, and Void abilities.
Strength decreases the cooldown time of your melee ability, allowing you to use it more often.
0
Stasis abilities have longer cooldowns than Arc, Solar, and Void abilities.
Unlock the Seasonal Artifact by completing the quest "A Challenger Rises"
4x XP
I watch them frolic blithely beneath their oblivious god.
0
I am among those assembled to witness their training. They wish to become stronger than the Cabal. Than Xivu Arath. Than the Hive.
0
Their ignorance of their true enemy is overwhelming—they cannot even put a name to it. I am choked with rancid ambrosia.
0
Two men now remain in the artificial battleground. Their movements are simplistic: one charges blindly ahead. The other rolls to the side, fires a shotgun, and his opponent falls.
0
The victor turns to the crowd and removes his helmet. Oily fluids bead on the flesh of his face. He bears teeth that squirm with microbial life. He throws his arms upward in jubilation and the masses cheer.
0
I do not join them—this form affords me some dignities.
0
Behind the creature reveling in minor triumph, sacrilege: A perfect being materializes. It gathers meat and offal from the ground and reassembles it. An unfathomable gift is given.
0
The crowd has seen this miracle countless times. It has lost all meaning to them. They see it as a resource.
0
I look up into the blank white face. I feel its Light on my cheeks. It no longer burns me.
0
Each revival is a choice.
0
I know what to do.
Vendor Subscreen
IF SOLO - Exotic Arms Armor (Common)
IF SOLO - Exotic Arms Armor (Rare)
IF SOLO - Exotic Legs Armor (Rare)
IF SOLO - Exotic Chest Armor (Rare)
IF SOLO - Exotic Chest Armor (Common)
IF SOLO - Exotic Head Armor (Common)
IF SOLO - Exotic Legs Armor (Common)
IF SOLO - Exotic Head Armor (Rare)
Euclidean Theorem
Circadian Guard
Function of Grace
Hebdomad's Crest
Ocularia
Foundational Layers
Apogee Series
Parallel Program
Suspended Animation
Metagalactic Bloom
Sequence Flourish
Echo Diamond
Apeirohedron
Aurelian Prize
Vital Elixer
Contender's Signet
Electromagnon
Spectral Sea
Halphas Electus
Infantry Concourse
Landing consecutive hits on enemy targets disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
0
Strong against   Overload Champions.
Grants weapon shield-piercing, bypassing combatant defenses.
0
Strong against  Barrier Champions.
Immediately regain your melee charge when you or an ally stuns an   Unstoppable Champion.
Arc grenades disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
0
Strong against  Overload Champions.
Solar melee abilities stun unshielded combatants.
0
Strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
The detonations from Warmind Cells you destroy cause disruption, stunning combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
0
Strong against   Overload Champions  and   Unstoppable Champions.
Arcstrider defeats
Shadebinder defeats
Voidwalker defeats
Sunbreaker defeats
Behemoth defeats
Sentinel defeats
Stormcaller defeats
Striker defeats
Dawnblade defeats
Gunslinger defeats
Nightstalker defeats
Deep Stone Crypt Time Trial
Deep Stone Crypt Carries
Deep Stone Crypt Guided Games
Deep Stone Crypt Completions
The number of times the Exotic quest "Presage" has been completed.
Exotic Quest: Presage Completions
The fastest completion time achieved in the Exotic quest "Presage" on Master difficulty.
Exotic Quest: Presage Master Difficulty Fastest Time
The number of players guided through the Exotic quest "Presage" who had not completed it before.
Exotic Quest: Presage Carries
The lifetime high score for "Fallen S.A.B.E.R." in Nightfall: The Ordeal.
0
Tracks from Season 13 onward.
The lifetime high score for "Proving Grounds" in Nightfall: The Ordeal.
0
Tracks from Season 13 onward.
The lifetime high score for "The Devils' Lair" in Nightfall: The Ordeal.
0
Tracks from Season 13 onward.
Ordeal: Fallen S.A.B.E.R. Score
Ordeal: Proving Grounds Score
Ordeal: The Devils' Lair Score
Mimetic Savior Mark
The Eververse Store features a weekly rotating selection of items that can be purchased with Bright Dust instead of Silver.
Your Resilience stat affects the amount of damage you take from breaking out of a Stasis freeze. The higher your Resilience, the less damage you take.
Simulated skill set training: Test your defensive abilities amongst a mighty Vex onslaught.
Simulation: Safeguard Heroic
Master Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment, Extra Champions
0
Vex Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Vex Modifier: Shocker
0
Destination Modifier: +Arc and Aerial damage taken
0
Master Modifier: Famine
0
Burn: ++Arc damage
Legend Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment
0
Vex Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Vex Modifier: Shocker
0
Destination Modifier: +Arc and Aerial damage taken
0
Burn: ++Arc damage
You have no idea where it is, but somehow you know exactly how to get there…
The Encroaching Dark
The Encroaching Dark
Darkness flows from an Infinite Well.
"The Vex attempted to claim the Darkness energy you needed, and as expected, failed in the face of your might.
0
Now that it's in your hands, it must be used to uncover further Stasis research done by Clovis. It appears he hid this research within his most treacherous Exo Challenges. —The Exo Stranger
"Recovering Clovis's research from the Exo Challenge was a success. Now that we have it, we must return to the Ziggurat and commune once again with the Darkness.
0
You know what to do, Guardian. —The Exo Stranger
Darkness investigated
The Stranger sighs with relief upon your approach. "It appears, as usual, that when it comes to the secrets of Clovis, there are always more hidden away.
0
"The old man was… is, rather, nothing if not insanely overprotective. As such, we cannot access it without a potency of Darkness energy.

Fortunately for us, there's been a surge of just such an energy within the twisted caverns of the Vex here on Europa."
0
Take the Skeleton Key and investigate the surge. If I'm right, it should give us what we need to unlock a further understanding of Stasis.
Ziggurat visited
Return with the empowered Skeleton Key to the Ziggurat in Beyond.
The Stranger has uncovered more knowledge of Clovis Bray's Stasis research, and knows how we can acquire it.
0
Empower the Skeleton Key with Darkness energy within the Well of Infinitude.
Aspect of Influence
Complete the Heroic Exo Challenge.
Investigate the appearance of Entropic Shards in the Well of Infinitude.
The Encroaching Dark
This Deep Stone Crypt cache has a chance to award Head, Chest, Bequest, and Commemoration.
This Deep Stone Crypt cache has a chance to award Arms, Legs, Succession, and Heritage.
This Deep Stone Crypt cache has a chance to award Chest, Class Items, Heritage, and Posterity.
Travel to Eventide Ruins
While Charged with Light, when you take damage while surrounded by combatants, you emit a burst of damaging Arc energy, consuming one stack of Charged with Light.
Casting your Super causes nearby allies to become Charged with Light.
The Devils' Lair
Enter Rasputin's bunker in the Cosmodrome and discover the source of the security breach.
Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
Enter into the Devils' Lair and weaken the Fallen presence within the Cosmodrome.
This staff is the reward for reaching max clan level in Season 12.
Staff of the Hunt
Devils' Lair
The Grottos
The Mine
Refinery
Bunker War-4
Rocketyard
Complete public events in the Cosmodrome.
Complete bounties and Crucible matches to increase your rank and earn rewards.
Acquired by participating in Guardian Games.
Defeat combatants using Sleeper Simulant.
Defeat opponents using Heir Apparent.
Defeat combatants using Worldline Zero.
Acquired from Master completion of the quest "Presage."
Defeat combatants using Izanagi's Burden.
Found by completing playlist activities.
Defeat combatants using Bad Juju.
Found by completing playlist activities.
Defeat combatants using Dead Man's Tale.
Defeat combatants using Ticuu's Divination.
Defeat combatants using Telesto.
Acquired from a Season 13 Season Pass quest.
Hey, sister. Or brother. Hell, I don't know who's gonna end up listen' to this. Could be a snitch, an idiot, or somebody who ain't picked a side yet.
0
And that's perfect, because all this talk about choosin' sides? Noise. Before this is over, the only one's gonna have your back is you—and that's even odds.
0
Use your head. Think clear, all right? Because there are whispers going around, and you need to know when to plug your ears. Things have been different since Sloane went dark… ooh, poor wording? What's wrong, too soon? Let me tell you that we killed some time on New Arcadia. Learned some things. Listened to the wrong whispers.
0
Be careful who you trust from here on out, all right? Yeah, that includes me, but I've been tellin' you that since the beginning.
Infamy Rank Progress
"I'm a busy man, and a lotta Lights comin' through Gambit these days. But I see you. And I expect more outta someone with your skill. Trust." —The Drifter
0
Visit the Drifter in the Tower to claim your reward and reset your Infamy rank to start your climb anew.
Hey, sister. Or brother. Hell, I don't know who's gonna end up listen' to this. Could be a snitch, an idiot, or somebody who ain't picked a side yet.
0
And that's perfect, because all this talk about choosin' sides? Noise. Before this is over, the only one's gonna have your back is you—and that's even odds.
0
Use your head. Think clear, all right? Because there are whispers going around, and you need to know when to plug your ears. Things have been different since Sloane went dark… ooh, poor wording? What's wrong, too soon? Let me tell you that we killed some time on New Arcadia. Learned some things. Listened to the wrong whispers.
0
Be careful who you trust from here on out, all right? Yeah, that includes me, but I've been tellin' you that since the beginning.
Hey, sister. Or brother. Hell, I don't know who's gonna end up listen' to this. Could be a snitch, an idiot, or somebody who ain't picked a side yet.
0
And that's perfect, because all this talk about choosin' sides? Noise. Before this is over, the only one's gonna have your back is you—and that's even odds.
0
Use your head. Think clear, all right? Because there are whispers going around, and you need to know when to plug your ears. Things have been different since Sloane went dark… ooh, poor wording? What's wrong, too soon? Let me tell you that we killed some time on New Arcadia. Learned some things. Listened to the wrong whispers.
0
Be careful who you trust from here on out, all right? Yeah, that includes me, but I've been tellin' you that since the beginning.
Fight for Valor by defeating opponents.
Fight for Valor by capturing zones and defeating opponents.
Fight for Valor by detonating a charge, defusing the opposing charge, or eliminating all opponents.
Fight alongside a teammate and work together to crush your opponents.
This mode contains both Overload and Unstoppable Champions, which cannot be stunned without an Overload or Unstoppable mod, respectively.
Fight for Valor by eliminating all opponents in this round-based mode.
Your fireteam must have at least one weapon capable of stunning Unstoppable Champions.
Your fireteam must have at least one weapon capable of stunning Overload Champions.
Grandmaster difficulty in Nightfall: The Ordeal opens March 16.
All fireteam members must be at or above 1325 Power to play this activity.
Fight for Glory by depleting your opponents' shared life pool and then eliminating them.
Incoming splash damage increased. Knockback damage and distance increased.
S.A.B.E.R. Protocol
Ignovun's Challenge
Sepiks's Gaze
Incoming Arc and splash damage increased.
Fight for Valor by capturing and holding zones. Win rounds instantly by capturing all three.
Contender Set
Celestial Set
Contender Set
Legatus Set
Contender Set
Fight for Valor by defeating opponents. Abilities and Supers regenerate faster. Heavy ammo spawns more frequently.
Fight for Valor by capturing zones and defeating opponents. All weapons are more lethal; abilities replenish only with targets defeated, and tracker is disabled.
Pyrrhic Ascent Suit
Fight for Valor by defeating opponents. No teams. No allegiance. A free-for-all where the leader had better watch their back.
Fight for Valor by defeating opponents and preventing revives. Win the most rounds or face off in an elimination showdown.
Fight for Valor by defeating opponents and securing the crests they drop. Recover friendly crests to deny them from opponents.
Praefectus Suit
Fight for Valor by depleting your opponents' shared life pool, then eliminating them.
Pyrrhic Ascent Suit
Praefectus Suit
Pyrrhic Ascent Suit
Replaces your Stasis subclass Dodge ability with a longer range, faster moving Shift that partially cloaks you during use. After Shifting, your Arc weapons deal increased damage to combatants for a short time, and you deal increased damage to all slowed or frozen combatants.
Weighted Knife gains a second bounce. Rapid precision hits with your weapons grant Weighted Knife a significant damage bonus and the ability to stun unshielded combatants for a short time.
0
Empowered Weighted Knife is strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
Praefectus Suit
No mod currently selected.
0
You can select Charged with Light mods, Warmind Cell mods, and Elemental Well mods to use in this socket.
Complete all lifetime Valor and Glory rank Triumphs.
Summon a Stasis gauntlet. While your Super is active:
0
  : Slam your gauntlet down to create a shockwave that freezes targets and sends out crystals to freeze additional ones.
0
  : Supercharge your Shiver Strike for bonus damage. Sprint through crystals or frozen targets to shatter them instantly.
Shattering a frozen target spawns seekers that track and freeze other nearby targets.
Defeating frozen targets grants you Super energy.
Powerful Legacy Gear
Cooperative Missions
Grandmaster Nightfall
Battlegrounds
Increase your Power level by equipping gear with higher Power values.
Hawthorne and Louis both light up as you approach.
0
It's easy to feel adrift in all this, Guardian. Don't forget it's our ties to each other that keep us grounded.
0
It may not always seem like much, but the work you do with your clan, and the example you set—it matters. To me, and to a whole lot of other folks. Thank you.
Void grenades disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against  Overload Champions.
Rahool barely looks up from his datapad as you approach.
0
Engrammic computation is the process of encrypting matter as data. I don't think I can go into more detail than that without some supplementary reading on your part, but suffice to say that engrams are quite valuable to Guardians like you. Who knows what treasures of days gone by lay waiting to be unsequenced?
0
For a moment, his dour countenance breaks and he smiles giddily, but he promptly clears his throat and furrows his brow.
0
The Cryptarchy is at your service to continue your education in engrammatic sciences, and to aid with decryption. I look forward to what you bring me next, Guardian.
Return to Master Rahool in the Tower.
Prime Engrams decrypt into a piece of gear that can provide a larger increase to your power level than some other engrams.
0
They are acquired by defeating challenging combatants or completing Crucible matches while you have the Prime Attunement buff.
0
Check for the buff on your Character Screen to see when a new one is available to discover.
In Crucible matches, defeat opponents with precision final blows, defeat opponents with melee final blows while using a  Stasis subclass, and collect Stasis Essence.
0
Stasis Essence has a chance to drop when defeating frozen Guardians.
Defeat Vex with No Time to Explain in Nexus, Infinitude, and The Glassway on Europa.
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
When I was a child, listening to stories of the Cabal's many rulers, I imagined that sovereignty was absolute power. 
Warriors of the empire.
Every minute we waste, our enemies grow bolder. I saw it with the warlords, Zavala: give them slack, and they'll hang you with it.
This attack was just a taste. Next time, they'll target someone else; someone you can't save. That loss will be on you.
This is Amanda Holliday, reportin' on my Cosmodrome flyovers. 
I send out a challenge to the remains of the broken Legion: prove your worth in battle. The ancient rites live again.
The whole rest of their species. 
Within our ranks, the Guardians will be revered. They will be free, as the Psions are now. 
The weight of it will crush you. Trust me.
I know this Cabal force looks like aggression, but I'd wager it's grief through and through. 
I revoke the name Qalec, for a coward has no name under the empire.
We are one Cabal, and we strike as one fist.
After losing Torobatl, we cannot lose our honor. It's the only thing we have left. 
We are Cabal. We eat the mountains. We drink the seas.
I don't know how big the Cabal fleet is these days, but it's gotta be spread thin. 
Hive's been chewing on 'em pretty good, but they're dug in like ticks. You know how they are.
Warriors of the empire. 
Today, we chose strength and honor over personal glory.
You must act. Remind our enemies that there are consequences when Darkness breaches our walls. 
But time has not changed your nature:
These traitors did not work alone. I will find the others, and they will meet this same fate.
Maybe they finally hate the Hive as much as we do.
They will be our most elite force—the pride of the Cabal Empire.
To hide.
The Psion Valir faced his death with honor—but his accomplice, the Psion Qalec, chose to run. 
Seems they're focused one-hundred-and-ten on the Hive. 
The triumphant will become the first members of my war council.
One thing I haven't seen are any civilians. 
Only one of these soldiers stands before me now. 
That is why Cabal forces cannot leave the Sol system empty-handed.
Your rage becomes the swing of the cleaver, the thrust of the shield, the shout of the cannon.
There must be a group of carriers in deep space somewhere with all their kids and old folks aboard. 
Remind the people why they put their faith in the Guardians.
The power to triumph. To spill blood. To rule. 
Frigates parked overhead haven't put a single round my way.
Join me. Join the Cabal.
Shows how much they want payback. They're risking it all, on our turf, just for a piece of the Hive. 
Goodness knows, I can relate.
I know we can't let the Cabal stay, but it is nice to see somebody else deal with the infestation for once. 
Commander.
As empress, my people's will comes before my own.
Qalec is a stain on our history. A traitor.
You offer an alliance as equals. But I offer something even more valuable: exaltation.
But now, I realize the ironic truth: sovereignty is a form of servitude.
So, for the last time, join us. For revenge against the Hive. For survival against the Darkness. 
They ain't here for us. They're here for revenge.
An attack on your life within our own walls. In the streets where the City's children play. I wish it surprised me.
Commander Zavala. I thought to contact you directly, free from the prying interests of… advisors.
The Cabal set up shop on a bluff overlooking the Mothyards. 
I see your fury. For years, you have waited for your leaders to reclaim you.
But two of our soldiers chose to pursue their own victory—their own glory before the glory of the empire.
Frigates parked overhead haven't put a single round my way.
The power to triumph. To spill blood. To rule. 
They will be our most elite force—the pride of the Cabal Empire.
Join me. Join the Cabal.
I see your fury. For years, you have waited for your leaders to reclaim you.
We are Cabal. We eat the mountains. We drink the seas.
Hive's been chewing on 'em pretty good, but they're dug in like ticks. You know how they are.
I don't know how big the Cabal fleet is these days, but it's gotta be spread thin. 
As empress, my people's will comes before my own.
The weight of it will crush you. Trust me.
I send out a challenge to the remains of the broken Legion: prove your worth in battle. The ancient rites live again.
Remind the people why they put their faith in the Guardians.
Only one of these soldiers stands before me now. 
I know this Cabal force looks like aggression, but I'd wager it's grief through and through. 
The Cabal set up shop on a bluff overlooking the Mothyards. 
So, for the last time, join us. For revenge against the Hive. For survival against the Darkness. 
Maybe they finally hate the Hive as much as we do.
Commander.
The whole rest of their species. 
Warriors of the empire.
To hide.
Today, we chose strength and honor over personal glory.
Warriors of the empire. 
Every minute we waste, our enemies grow bolder. I saw it with the warlords, Zavala: give them slack, and they'll hang you with it.
The Psion Valir faced his death with honor—but his accomplice, the Psion Qalec, chose to run. 
This attack was just a taste. Next time, they'll target someone else; someone you can't save. That loss will be on you.
These traitors did not work alone. I will find the others, and they will meet this same fate.
Within our ranks, the Guardians will be revered. They will be free, as the Psions are now. 
An attack on your life within our own walls. In the streets where the City's children play. I wish it surprised me.
But two of our soldiers chose to pursue their own victory—their own glory before the glory of the empire.
Shows how much they want payback. They're risking it all, on our turf, just for a piece of the Hive. 
I revoke the name Qalec, for a coward has no name under the empire.
This is Amanda Holliday, reportin' on my Cosmodrome flyovers. 
When I was a child, listening to stories of the Cabal's many rulers, I imagined that sovereignty was absolute power. 
Your rage becomes the swing of the cleaver, the thrust of the shield, the shout of the cannon.
I know we can't let the Cabal stay, but it is nice to see somebody else deal with the infestation for once. 
We are one Cabal, and we strike as one fist.
One thing I haven't seen are any civilians. 
But time has not changed your nature:
They ain't here for us. They're here for revenge.
But now, I realize the ironic truth: sovereignty is a form of servitude.
Seems they're focused one-hundred-and-ten on the Hive. 
There must be a group of carriers in deep space somewhere with all their kids and old folks aboard. 
Commander Zavala. I thought to contact you directly, free from the prying interests of… advisors.
That is why Cabal forces cannot leave the Sol system empty-handed.
After losing Torobatl, we cannot lose our honor. It's the only thing we have left. 
Goodness knows, I can relate.
Qalec is a stain on our history. A traitor.
You offer an alliance as equals. But I offer something even more valuable: exaltation.
The triumphant will become the first members of my war council.
You must act. Remind our enemies that there are consequences when Darkness breaches our walls. 
You have helped me right an old wrong, Guardian. Perhaps this is a new beginning.
You've achieved a magnificent accomplishment. Now that we've addressed that, there's more to be done.
Each pico second here breeds myriad possibilities within the Sundial.
Our differences are behind us. We must all come together now.
Ah, my weapon has arrived.
The Red Legion is still active. Their timelines have fractured into unstable variants.
When I dreamt, it was not of the darkness that was left, but of a flame that would not snuff out.
Whatever the Darkness brings, we can face it together.
How many times have we been here, Guardian? How many more?
Even one interference would be enough to influence history.
What did I see if not this moment? The only way is forward.
Mistakes are in the past… and the future… and the present.
Sometimes a blunt object fairs better than a precise touch. Well done.
Titan. Do what you do best. Smash.
The Red Legion were… outside my observational paradigm.
My actions were already in motion. This was inevitable.
Mercury is fractured. But what is a planet against all of existence or righting an old wrong?
A reliable associate. Finally.
I am glad to be back in the Last City. Back with the Vanguard.
No Sagira. Because last time you two kept conversing behind my back. I am not some prefect to sneak notes past.
This time, avoid the grenade. You'll know when you see it.
If we do not intervene, anomalies will occur across Mercury. By then, containment will be impossible.
The fault lies with me. I can accept that, but this knowledge would turn my brother away from me.
Do what is necessary… and your service is appreciated.
You've proven yourself useful in the past… and the future.
They set these acts in motion, but I allowed them to reach their conclusion.
They've focused the Sundial as if it were a lens. A rudimentary concept with intriguing outcomes.
Guardian, I knew Saint-14 had come after me.
Each night that flame burns brighter in my dreams. Each night, the dark recedes… if ever so slightly.
You understand what's at stake here, pupil—as only a Warlock could.
The Red Legion's plans have been foiled, thanks to you… and me.
I will not see it wasted. 
When I realized Saint had vanished, I sent my projections out every corner of the Forest, but… it was not enough.
The Cabal plan to rewrite history… We cannot leave a single future open to them.
Keep me apprised of your discoveries, Guardian.
Before you speak, know this is fixable.
Have you come to assist me, Guardian?
I allowed myself to grow distracted. I was drawn by other curiosities, other dangers, and soon I had lost sight of him entirely.
What you've done… It may be possible to turn away from our old mistakes. You've given me a chance to change.
Saint-14 has returned to the City? Perhaps I… no… no there is too much to be done here.
Zavala, let's meet soon to discuss our findings.
I hoped I could pry him from the hooking promises the Speaker had woven into his mind. That time never came.
Guardian. You're needed.
I know you will succeed, eventually, and I will provide as many loops as you need.
I cannot be expected to work under these conditions.
What I wouldn't give to have your connection to the Light…
You… you did what I could not. I don't know how, but you have my thanks.
A sea of possibilities held fast at this moment. I wonder where they would go if released.
Do not linger. There is much to do.
So many lines lead to failure. I cannot stop searching.
I will confer with the Vanguard; your Light is needed elsewhere.
Ghosts are such precious things. So fragile. Keep yours close.
I should have kept a closer watch on you, brother.
I cannot let this oversight consume us.
Tell my… tell Saint-14 I acted out of turn. He will understand.
You think this is your first time entering the Sundial? Fascinating.
Back routes, splices, faulty fulcrum points. I'm surprised Cabal technology functions at all.
Compared to the Vex, Cabal systems are a rat's nest of tangled wires. It's unbearable.
The knowledge that could be gleaned is not worth the peril the Sundial poses, unfortunately.
A keen eye will see you through this, Hunter.
You have unfinished business, Guardian. Go finish it.
Your list of accolades grows ever longer. I was right to contact you.
If you return to the City… Saint should know that I am… not proud of how we parted.
Guardian, I did not contact you for conversation. Do not tarry.
Time hangs in the balance. You are the counterweight.
Never tell him. I do not wish to lose him again. Not now that there is time for something more.
The Red Legion are making a mockery of my work. Put an end to it.
I'm afraid your work is far from done.
I require assistance, not questions.
Desperation drove the Legion here, backed them to a wall. Their actions lack logic.
You understand what's at stake here, pupil—as only a Warlock could.
You're back for more? Very well. Make your way inside.
There appear to be a multitude of Red Legion soldiers trapped within the Sundial.
I've mapped the new routes you found. They… appear to have been made as you walked them.
No… destroying the Sundial would lead to a temporal spiral. We'd never survive.
Please Guardian, I must focus.
Could we force the timelines to loop in on themselves? Agh, another dead end.
I am ready to guide you.
My work dictates I must remain here.
Good luck. Should you need it.
The fall of Mercury will ripple across the entirety of the system! It must be stopped.
Surely you are needed in the field?
I was never able to establish a link between the Sundial and Saint-14. At least, not as you were.
The Cabal are pawns, useful pieces of a greater purpose. It does not make them less dangerous.
I have much to consider, and you have much to do.
You have changed something… everything. I will scour these new possibilities for budding threats.
If that vindictive fool had simply let me be, none of this would have happened.
Hunter… do not touch the Radiolaria.
CUT
I allowed him to walk into the Infinite Forest, and I made certain he would never find me.
An endless cascade of moments all lead to this point. What we do next will scatter them all.
A new report on the Pyramids? Yes, I would like to review it.
I watched that candle flicker and burn away as I drifted into sleep.
Direct all complaints to Sagira. Sagira, scramble voice channels.
This is the nexus. Every path leads here… and ends. For now.
Thousands of timelines weave around us at every moment. The Sundial was created to parse them.
In a world of incompetence, you are a welcome sight.
I should not have turned my back on you. I will find you.
What's happening on Europa? I need reports.
All that suffering is mine to bear. Not his. Not the Speaker's.
Let us work side by side, Guardian.
There were many paths leading you elsewhere, and yet you are here. Hmm.
Guardian. I do not need to explain the magnitude of the situation, do I? Go.
Have you thought of what could have happened had this not occurred? I have.
Out of infinite possible timelines, why did they choose these? 
They must be evicted. Care to make a few enemies?
I believed this would be an end… but there is always another door.
New instabilities in the Sundial are proving… taxing. Haste is a necessity.
You have arrived.
The night you rescued Saint-14, I lit a candle to commemorate his return.
When I left the City, I feared I set us on a darker path. Though that fear took years to manifest in earnest.
Whatever happens out there, I am with you, Guardian.
Can this wait, Guardian?
We cannot risk them reestablishing their desired continuity.
It… worked.
Fascinating. I did not anticipate this…
I led him away, and I believed there would be a time when, with cooler tempers, we could reconcile.
I believed you had broken the Red Legion. I see faith has failed me again.
Hero of the Red War… your title seems well deserved, if anything.
Rampant instabilities are to be expected. We have no choice, regardless of the risk.
It's not ready. Sagira, calculate chance of failure. Implosion? It's a risk I'm willing to take.
Lean on your allies in these dark times. We will help carry the load.
I will guide you through as much as I can, but I cannot aim your weapon.
Guardian. Your last attempt was… an interesting strategy. Shall we go again?
Hunter… do not touch the Radiolaria.
I know you will succeed, eventually, and I will provide as many loops as you need.
Do what is necessary… and your service is appreciated.
Guardian. I do not need to explain the magnitude of the situation, do I? Go.
They set these acts in motion, but I allowed them to reach their conclusion.
I have much to consider, and you have much to do.
You understand what's at stake here, pupil—as only a Warlock could.
Desperation drove the Legion here, backed them to a wall. Their actions lack logic.
The knowledge that could be gleaned is not worth the peril the Sundial poses, unfortunately.
Have you come to assist me, Guardian?
What did I see if not this moment? The only way is forward.
I require assistance, not questions.
I will guide you through as much as I can, but I cannot aim your weapon.
In a world of incompetence, you are a welcome sight.
Thousands of timelines weave around us at every moment. The Sundial was created to parse them.
An endless cascade of moments all lead to this point. What we do next will scatter them all.
I believed you had broken the Red Legion. I see faith has failed me again.
Zavala, let's meet soon to discuss our findings.
I led him away, and I believed there would be a time when, with cooler tempers, we could reconcile.
All that suffering is mine to bear. Not his. Not the Speaker's.
It… worked.
The fall of Mercury will ripple across the entirety of the system! It must be stopped.
You… you did what I could not. I don't know how, but you have my thanks.
Titan. Do what you do best. Smash.
How many times have we been here, Guardian? How many more?
I allowed him to walk into the Infinite Forest, and I made certain he would never find me.
New instabilities in the Sundial are proving… taxing. Haste is a necessity.
The Cabal are pawns, useful pieces of a greater purpose. It does not make them less dangerous.
My actions were already in motion. This was inevitable.
Each pico second here breeds myriad possibilities within the Sundial.
Each night that flame burns brighter in my dreams. Each night, the dark recedes… if ever so slightly.
I believed this would be an end… but there is always another door.
So many lines lead to failure. I cannot stop searching.
Hero of the Red War… your title seems well deserved, if anything.
I cannot be expected to work under these conditions.
Whatever happens out there, I am with you, Guardian.
Direct all complaints to Sagira. Sagira, scramble voice channels.
A reliable associate. Finally.
When I left the City, I feared I set us on a darker path. Though that fear took years to manifest in earnest.
The Red Legion are making a mockery of my work. Put an end to it.
If we do not intervene, anomalies will occur across Mercury. By then, containment will be impossible.
Keep me apprised of your discoveries, Guardian.
It's not ready. Sagira, calculate chance of failure. Implosion? It's a risk I'm willing to take.
I should have kept a closer watch on you, brother.
Never tell him. I do not wish to lose him again. Not now that there is time for something more.
Guardian, I did not contact you for conversation. Do not tarry.
Back routes, splices, faulty fulcrum points. I'm surprised Cabal technology functions at all.
I hoped I could pry him from the hooking promises the Speaker had woven into his mind. That time never came.
You have helped me right an old wrong, Guardian. Perhaps this is a new beginning.
I am ready to guide you.
The Red Legion is still active. Their timelines have fractured into unstable variants.
Let us work side by side, Guardian.
This is the nexus. Every path leads here… and ends. For now.
Rampant instabilities are to be expected. We have no choice, regardless of the risk.
Can this wait, Guardian?
Compared to the Vex, Cabal systems are a rat's nest of tangled wires. It's unbearable.
Guardian, I knew Saint-14 had come after me.
If that vindictive fool had simply let me be, none of this would have happened.
I will not see it wasted. 
There appear to be a multitude of Red Legion soldiers trapped within the Sundial.
There were many paths leading you elsewhere, and yet you are here. Hmm.
What's happening on Europa? I need reports.
This time, avoid the grenade. You'll know when you see it.
Mistakes are in the past… and the future… and the present.
My work dictates I must remain here.
You have arrived.
You have unfinished business, Guardian. Go finish it.
When I realized Saint had vanished, I sent my projections out every corner of the Forest, but… it was not enough.
The Red Legion were… outside my observational paradigm.
I will confer with the Vanguard; your Light is needed elsewhere.
No… destroying the Sundial would lead to a temporal spiral. We'd never survive.
I am glad to be back in the Last City. Back with the Vanguard.
You understand what's at stake here, pupil—as only a Warlock could.
Sometimes a blunt object fairs better than a precise touch. Well done.
I was never able to establish a link between the Sundial and Saint-14. At least, not as you were.
Out of infinite possible timelines, why did they choose these? 
If you return to the City… Saint should know that I am… not proud of how we parted.
I should not have turned my back on you. I will find you.
What I wouldn't give to have your connection to the Light…
Could we force the timelines to loop in on themselves? Agh, another dead end.
You've proven yourself useful in the past… and the future.
You've achieved a magnificent accomplishment. Now that we've addressed that, there's more to be done.
Mercury is fractured. But what is a planet against all of existence or righting an old wrong?
Ah, my weapon has arrived.
When I dreamt, it was not of the darkness that was left, but of a flame that would not snuff out.
They've focused the Sundial as if it were a lens. A rudimentary concept with intriguing outcomes.
They must be evicted. Care to make a few enemies?
The fault lies with me. I can accept that, but this knowledge would turn my brother away from me.
The Cabal plan to rewrite history… We cannot leave a single future open to them.
Please Guardian, I must focus.
Do not linger. There is much to do.
Good luck. Should you need it.
Saint-14 has returned to the City? Perhaps I… no… no there is too much to be done here.
You're back for more? Very well. Make your way inside.
Surely you are needed in the field?
Our differences are behind us. We must all come together now.
A keen eye will see you through this, Hunter.
Tell my… tell Saint-14 I acted out of turn. He will understand.
You think this is your first time entering the Sundial? Fascinating.
Guardian. Your last attempt was… an interesting strategy. Shall we go again?
Fascinating. I did not anticipate this…
Guardian. You're needed.
Even one interference would be enough to influence history.
No Sagira. Because last time you two kept conversing behind my back. I am not some prefect to sneak notes past.
A sea of possibilities held fast at this moment. I wonder where they would go if released.
I allowed myself to grow distracted. I was drawn by other curiosities, other dangers, and soon I had lost sight of him entirely.
A new report on the Pyramids? Yes, I would like to review it.
The night you rescued Saint-14, I lit a candle to commemorate his return.
Before you speak, know this is fixable.
CUT
You have changed something… everything. I will scour these new possibilities for budding threats.
The Red Legion's plans have been foiled, thanks to you… and me.
Ghosts are such precious things. So fragile. Keep yours close.
I've mapped the new routes you found. They… appear to have been made as you walked them.
I'm afraid your work is far from done.
I cannot let this oversight consume us.
Whatever the Darkness brings, we can face it together.
Lean on your allies in these dark times. We will help carry the load.
Your list of accolades grows ever longer. I was right to contact you.
I watched that candle flicker and burn away as I drifted into sleep.
Time hangs in the balance. You are the counterweight.
We cannot risk them reestablishing their desired continuity.
Have you thought of what could have happened had this not occurred? I have.
What you've done… It may be possible to turn away from our old mistakes. You've given me a chance to change.
Just… don't tell Osiris I said that.
The weight that's been hanging around my neck since I woke up in this body…
Osiris says they're only possibilities, but I think it's the real deal. Zavala has refused to work with Caiatl.
Word is the Vex have always had trouble predicting you. Maybe that's our edge. What do you say? Wanna help prevent a prophecy?
I've officially been commissioned as a recon agent by Commander Zavala.
I've been at the mercy of something I couldn't stop, without knowing why. Blind in a nightmare.
It finally feels a little lighter.
Thanks to your fieldwork, I have an idea of what the Psions are planning. It's not good.
I'll tell Osiris. And I'll keep an eye on the commander. You know… just to be safe.
He didn't say much else, just that it might be a good idea if I laid low while he figured things out here.
My mask was in my hand. Stupid, I know, but I felt… safe. I thought I could just relax for a minute. It was a mistake.
I know it's taboo to talk about the people we were before, but…
A single gunman would be enough, if they could catch a Guardian flat-footed.
I'm sure you've lost people. Wracked your mind for how it could have been different. Too far away to act, but close enough to wonder.
Glint can't pinpoint a time and place yet. We need more information.
He wants me to track down the conspirators who tried to sabotage the ceasefire.
The next time they come for the commander, they'll have to get through me. Mask or no mask.
Whatever I chose, someone would still say I was wrong.
And deadly. They wouldn't need to fly a fleet into the City to use this. 
Two assassination attempts is more than enough, I think.
Osiris tells me the commander always talks about making the hard choice. Reveal myself or let him die.
It's in her best interest to remove him. Sends a strong message.
Listen, I've been combing through the prediction you pulled from Nessus. I've got bad news.
This gadget you found, it's a tiny Light-disruptor. Small, but strong enough to knock down a Ghost.
I didn't want to be the reason for more pain.
Saladin says when the Cabal sieged the City, they severed our connection to the Light. Looks like the Psions have refined that tech.
I doubt this is the last time we'll be seeing each other, Guardian.
If you could have stopped it, wouldn't you? No matter the cost.
He's missing from every single one of the futures they've predicted. Not missing, "where'd he go," missing. DEAD missing.
I believe Caiatl when she says she wasn't behind it, but let's not take chances.
Zavala looks at me, and I feel like he really sees me. Who I am, not who I was.
I think the Cabal are going to try to take Zavala out.
It's… elegant, actually.
I'm sure you've lost people. Wracked your mind for how it could have been different. Too far away to act, but close enough to wonder.
I'll tell Osiris. And I'll keep an eye on the commander. You know… just to be safe.
Listen, I've been combing through the prediction you pulled from Nessus. I've got bad news.
A single gunman would be enough, if they could catch a Guardian flat-footed.
It's… elegant, actually.
Glint can't pinpoint a time and place yet. We need more information.
I've officially been commissioned as a recon agent by Commander Zavala.
I know it's taboo to talk about the people we were before, but…
It's in her best interest to remove him. Sends a strong message.
Zavala looks at me, and I feel like he really sees me. Who I am, not who I was.
I've been at the mercy of something I couldn't stop, without knowing why. Blind in a nightmare.
Just… don't tell Osiris I said that.
The next time they come for the commander, they'll have to get through me. Mask or no mask.
Two assassination attempts is more than enough, I think.
He didn't say much else, just that it might be a good idea if I laid low while he figured things out here.
He's missing from every single one of the futures they've predicted. Not missing, "where'd he go," missing. DEAD missing.
I didn't want to be the reason for more pain.
Osiris tells me the commander always talks about making the hard choice. Reveal myself or let him die.
Whatever I chose, someone would still say I was wrong.
I think the Cabal are going to try to take Zavala out.
Thanks to your fieldwork, I have an idea of what the Psions are planning. It's not good.
Osiris says they're only possibilities, but I think it's the real deal. Zavala has refused to work with Caiatl.
Saladin says when the Cabal sieged the City, they severed our connection to the Light. Looks like the Psions have refined that tech.
I believe Caiatl when she says she wasn't behind it, but let's not take chances.
I doubt this is the last time we'll be seeing each other, Guardian.
Word is the Vex have always had trouble predicting you. Maybe that's our edge. What do you say? Wanna help prevent a prophecy?
If you could have stopped it, wouldn't you? No matter the cost.
And deadly. They wouldn't need to fly a fleet into the City to use this. 
It finally feels a little lighter.
My mask was in my hand. Stupid, I know, but I felt… safe. I thought I could just relax for a minute. It was a mistake.
This gadget you found, it's a tiny Light-disruptor. Small, but strong enough to knock down a Ghost.
He wants me to track down the conspirators who tried to sabotage the ceasefire.
The weight that's been hanging around my neck since I woke up in this body…
Hey, Guardian. Yeah, over here.
Glint, make a note of that conversation for later.
If it's not one thing, it's another.
Wonder if a Warlock could decipher these Hive runes.
If you need a hand, just ask.
Human minds in artificial bodies… unbelievable.
Okay, where was I?
I should head into the City when I'm done here; get something to eat.
Zavala seems awfully tired today…
Wonder what Holliday is doing later…
I should check the comm relays.
These reports are troubling.
Misraaks working with the Vanguard. Spider must be furious.
Good to see you, Guardian. Ready to get back out there?
Need to make a supply run back to the Shore for some spare parts soon.
Guardian. Did Osiris send you?
Hey, Guardian. Over here.
Right, that's done. How can I help?
Any news from the front?
Hope Holliday's safe out there…
Osiris will want to know about this.
Hey, don't just stand there. Makes me nervous.
Guardian… you waiting for orders?
The Eliksni need our help. If we turn our backs on them now, we might as well put a gun in their hands and point it at us.
Glint, do you want to go listen to the Eliksni storyteller?
Being so far from the Reef feels strange. Like I'm missing something.
Never thought I'd say it, but I miss the Reef. 
I can't believe the Hunters have been running themselves without leadership since… Wish there was more we could do.
Banshee really did a number on this gun; it's never been this reliable.
Huh. Cabal cruisers keep returning to Neptune's orbital path. Wonder if they're hiding something in its gravity well…
Back to work.
Good timing. I was just looking for you.
[whistles]
Splicers working with Guardians, Eliksni in the City… Things really are changing.
Ikora's been avoiding me. Eh, I suppose that's for the best.
Ghaul pulls an armada from Cabal systems to invade Earth… then Xivu Arath crushes the Cabal homeworld. That can't be a coincidence.
Guardian! How long have you been standing there?
Guardian, good work out there.
What do you think Osiris would say if I told him I wanted to put together a fireteam? 
Come on, let's talk.
You ready to show those Cabal the true meaning of honor?
Glint, hold that thought. Hey, Guardian, how can I help?
Vanguard Warlocks aren't anything like Osiris. Wasn't expecting that.
Vanguard's taking a big chance dealing with the Cabal like this.
Huh. An intelligence report from Shiro-4 on… Future War Cult?
Never seen so many Humans in one place before. Never seen so many people in one place before.
Glint, patch me in to Misraaks.
Guardian. Glint was just telling me you were on your way.
Hey, Glint. What do you think Spider is up to these days?
Glint, remind me to research governance customs. I want to know who's in charge of the civilians.
The House of Light… fascinating.
These tactics the Titans come up with never cease to amaze me.
Lots of focus on combating the Hive, but no Cabal presence on the Moon. That feels intentional.
Right. So… which report was I filing?
Transmission logs from… Misraaks? What's he up to?
Wish I could be out there…
Glint and I are ready to lend a hand.
Hmm? You need something, Guardian?
I should get those parts for Ana that she requested.
I should check in with Saint to see if he has any recommendations for Titans to send on this mission.
Osiris will want to know about this.
Wonder what Holliday is doing later…
Banshee really did a number on this gun; it's never been this reliable.
Guardian. Did Osiris send you?
The House of Light… fascinating.
Hey, Guardian. Over here.
Good timing. I was just looking for you.
These tactics the Titans come up with never cease to amaze me.
Vanguard Warlocks aren't anything like Osiris. Wasn't expecting that.
Glint and I are ready to lend a hand.
Glint, do you want to go listen to the Eliksni storyteller?
If it's not one thing, it's another.
Vanguard's taking a big chance dealing with the Cabal like this.
Hope Holliday's safe out there…
I should get those parts for Ana that she requested.
Being so far from the Reef feels strange. Like I'm missing something.
I should check in with Saint to see if he has any recommendations for Titans to send on this mission.
Need to make a supply run back to the Shore for some spare parts soon.
Glint, make a note of that conversation for later.
Wish I could be out there…
Guardian… you waiting for orders?
Good to see you, Guardian. Ready to get back out there?
Never thought I'd say it, but I miss the Reef. 
Lots of focus on combating the Hive, but no Cabal presence on the Moon. That feels intentional.
I should head into the City when I'm done here; get something to eat.
What do you think Osiris would say if I told him I wanted to put together a fireteam? 
Wonder if a Warlock could decipher these Hive runes.
Transmission logs from… Misraaks? What's he up to?
I can't believe the Hunters have been running themselves without leadership since… Wish there was more we could do.
Right, that's done. How can I help?
Guardian. Glint was just telling me you were on your way.
Hey, don't just stand there. Makes me nervous.
These reports are troubling.
Guardian! How long have you been standing there?
Okay, where was I?
[whistles]
If you need a hand, just ask.
I should check the comm relays.
Ikora's been avoiding me. Eh, I suppose that's for the best.
Ghaul pulls an armada from Cabal systems to invade Earth… then Xivu Arath crushes the Cabal homeworld. That can't be a coincidence.
Glint, hold that thought. Hey, Guardian, how can I help?
Huh. Cabal cruisers keep returning to Neptune's orbital path. Wonder if they're hiding something in its gravity well…
Come on, let's talk.
Human minds in artificial bodies… unbelievable.
Huh. An intelligence report from Shiro-4 on… Future War Cult?
Glint, remind me to research governance customs. I want to know who's in charge of the civilians.
Hey, Glint. What do you think Spider is up to these days?
Glint, patch me in to Misraaks.
Splicers working with Guardians, Eliksni in the City… Things really are changing.
Right. So… which report was I filing?
Misraaks working with the Vanguard. Spider must be furious.
The Eliksni need our help. If we turn our backs on them now, we might as well put a gun in their hands and point it at us.
Guardian, good work out there.
Zavala seems awfully tired today…
You ready to show those Cabal the true meaning of honor?
Any news from the front?
Back to work.
Hey, Guardian. Yeah, over here.
Hmm? You need something, Guardian?
Never seen so many Humans in one place before. Never seen so many people in one place before.
He's appointed a new Hunter—Crow—to be your reconnaissance expert. 
Your task is simple: defeat Caiatl's commanders across the Sol System.
Former members of the Red Legion and other leaderless Cabal are all competing for a seat on Caiatl's war council.
I don't see the resemblance.
If we miss this opportunity, another all-out war will become inevitable. Good luck.
Fortunately, our enemies are distracted. Cut through the chaos and take out Ma'rag. 
Zavala may still have hope for a peaceful resolution, but he hasn't seen what I have.
There was an assassin within the walls of the Last City—and no one knew until it was almost too late.
Osiris mentioned you crashed a Cabal ritual they call the Rite of Proving. He seems to think it's not unlike our Crucible: made for settling scores.
Whatever Ixel digs up could give Caiatl the winning edge. Or worse, simply unleash destruction on us all.
Believe me, I wish it were not this way. But I've seen this pattern play out many times before.
Meet them on the battlefield and prove, again and again, where the real honor lies.
Empress Caiatl has emerged as the new face of their empire and demanded I pledge loyalty to her.
And keep hitting them until Commander Zavala tells you otherwise. 
Valuable only for the fear it strikes in their enemies' hearts.
To that end, Crow has spotted another of the empress's hopefuls on Europa. 
If he succeeds, Caiatl is certain to promote him to her war council, and more Cabal will flood into the Cosmodrome.
What we must do now is channel our Light into a clean-burning fury and raze the Cabal Empire to ashes.
At last, we have a plan to strike at the heart of the Cabal. It's not what I'd do, but at least we're taking decisive action.
Scraps of the Red Legion are competing to earn Caiatl's favor. Just like her, their hands are tied by tradition. 
Something that will impress, like Vex prediction engines.
We need you back on the front lines. The more you can draw their fire, the easier it'll be for Crow to slip under the radar.
Once you eliminate their leadership, Cabal in-fighting will prevent Caiatl from amassing real power. 
Her aspiring commanders are the pressure points, so hit them with everything you've got. 
According to Crow, their leader is Ixel, the Far-Reaching. She's looking for something that will secure her a seat on the war council.
The dragon of your Light roars over Nessus. Our enemies fear you, Guardian.
And while you're out there, be sure to claim whatever you find in the aftermath. Weapons. Gold. 
As if their tank wasn't enough, now we have Psions tunneling into Vex territory.
There's no merit in it. No trust. And there's no negotiating with brutes like that.
Either outcome is to be avoided at all costs. Ensure they never try this again.
I want you to run down every Cabal commander you can find. 
They call him Basilius the Golem. He's looking for Golden Age relics to excavate from the ice.
If he succeeds, it won't be long before Caiatl has an entire platoon of Exo-Legionaries at her disposal. Get in the way.
If they're foolhardy enough to accept a fistfight with you, Caiatl's war council won't fill a single seat.
If we don't crush this now, we could lose an entire generation of New Lights.
Without their home system, they can't resupply. And without supplies, they can't resist for long.
Basilius intends to augment his body, and offer combat enhancements to other Cabal.
Nessus, Europa, the Cosmodrome. Every time the Cabal return to the battlegrounds, so shall we.
Our conversation went as well as you might expect. [sighs]
And while you're out there, be sure to claim their weapons… whatever you find in the aftermath. 
Osiris has sent Crow undercover to investigate their plans for the Vex prediction engines. 
Thanks to the information you recovered, we know this:
I wish… that was the end of it. But unfortunately, it's just the beginning.
The Cabal have no shame. They failed to take out our leadership, and now they escalate their barbarism on the battleground. 
I'm still an Iron Lord. I'll be in the fray exacting retribution. When you're ready, you should be too.
As always, Amanda Holliday will provide air support.
Get ready to move. The Cabal have invaded the Cosmodrome.
Lord Saladin will act as field commander, and Osiris will report directly to me as my adviser. 
Well done disrupting the Cabal on Nessus. 
Like the warlords of our darker days, Caiatl and her commanders see honor as currency. 
In an effort to prevent Cabal reunification, I'm assembling a team to take out her aspiring commanders. 
You're needed back on Nessus, Guardian.
Zavala has challenged Caiatl to settle things with a final Rite of Proving. No response yet, but Osiris is confident she'll accept.
They're forced to meet every challenger, or forfeit their position. We can exploit that.
Personally, I don't think there's any course of action more "final" than a full-scale offensive.
Luck was on our side. Next time, it won't be.
As we speak, Val Ma'rag leads a charge into a Hive nest. Seeking revenge for what Xivu Arath did to the Cabal's home system.
Your task is to "encourage" Caiatl to accept the easy out.
We can't let that stand. Not in the territory that produces some of our best Guardians.
The Cabal have no shame. They failed to take out our leadership, and now they escalate their barbarism on the battleground. 
If we don't crush this now, we could lose an entire generation of New Lights.
There's no merit in it. No trust. And there's no negotiating with brutes like that.
At last, we have a plan to strike at the heart of the Cabal. It's not what I'd do, but at least we're taking decisive action.
Scraps of the Red Legion are competing to earn Caiatl's favor. Just like her, their hands are tied by tradition. 
If we miss this opportunity, another all-out war will become inevitable. Good luck.
Fortunately, our enemies are distracted. Cut through the chaos and take out Ma'rag. 
If he succeeds, Caiatl is certain to promote him to her war council, and more Cabal will flood into the Cosmodrome.
Basilius intends to augment his body, and offer combat enhancements to other Cabal.
We need you back on the front lines. The more you can draw their fire, the easier it'll be for Crow to slip under the radar.
Believe me, I wish it were not this way. But I've seen this pattern play out many times before.
As if their tank wasn't enough, now we have Psions tunneling into Vex territory.
Thanks to the information you recovered, we know this:
He's appointed a new Hunter—Crow—to be your reconnaissance expert. 
Meet them on the battlefield and prove, again and again, where the real honor lies.
If they're foolhardy enough to accept a fistfight with you, Caiatl's war council won't fill a single seat.
I don't see the resemblance.
Once you eliminate their leadership, Cabal in-fighting will prevent Caiatl from amassing real power. 
Empress Caiatl has emerged as the new face of their empire and demanded I pledge loyalty to her.
As we speak, Val Ma'rag leads a charge into a Hive nest. Seeking revenge for what Xivu Arath did to the Cabal's home system.
Zavala has challenged Caiatl to settle things with a final Rite of Proving. No response yet, but Osiris is confident she'll accept.
In an effort to prevent Cabal reunification, I'm assembling a team to take out her aspiring commanders. 
The dragon of your Light roars over Nessus. Our enemies fear you, Guardian.
I wish… that was the end of it. But unfortunately, it's just the beginning.
Your task is simple: defeat Caiatl's commanders across the Sol System.
They call him Basilius the Golem. He's looking for Golden Age relics to excavate from the ice.
Something that will impress, like Vex prediction engines.
According to Crow, their leader is Ixel, the Far-Reaching. She's looking for something that will secure her a seat on the war council.
Personally, I don't think there's any course of action more "final" than a full-scale offensive.
And keep hitting them until Commander Zavala tells you otherwise. 
There was an assassin within the walls of the Last City—and no one knew until it was almost too late.
Osiris mentioned you crashed a Cabal ritual they call the Rite of Proving. He seems to think it's not unlike our Crucible: made for settling scores.
Osiris has sent Crow undercover to investigate their plans for the Vex prediction engines. 
To that end, Crow has spotted another of the empress's hopefuls on Europa. 
I'm still an Iron Lord. I'll be in the fray exacting retribution. When you're ready, you should be too.
Former members of the Red Legion and other leaderless Cabal are all competing for a seat on Caiatl's war council.
And while you're out there, be sure to claim whatever you find in the aftermath. Weapons. Gold. 
Lord Saladin will act as field commander, and Osiris will report directly to me as my adviser. 
Our conversation went as well as you might expect. [sighs]
Zavala may still have hope for a peaceful resolution, but he hasn't seen what I have.
Nessus, Europa, the Cosmodrome. Every time the Cabal return to the battlegrounds, so shall we.
I want you to run down every Cabal commander you can find. 
And while you're out there, be sure to claim their weapons… whatever you find in the aftermath. 
Luck was on our side. Next time, it won't be.
Well done disrupting the Cabal on Nessus. 
Like the warlords of our darker days, Caiatl and her commanders see honor as currency. 
What we must do now is channel our Light into a clean-burning fury and raze the Cabal Empire to ashes.
They're forced to meet every challenger, or forfeit their position. We can exploit that.
You're needed back on Nessus, Guardian.
Whatever Ixel digs up could give Caiatl the winning edge. Or worse, simply unleash destruction on us all.
Either outcome is to be avoided at all costs. Ensure they never try this again.
Get ready to move. The Cabal have invaded the Cosmodrome.
Your task is to "encourage" Caiatl to accept the easy out.
As always, Amanda Holliday will provide air support.
Without their home system, they can't resupply. And without supplies, they can't resist for long.
Valuable only for the fear it strikes in their enemies' hearts.
Her aspiring commanders are the pressure points, so hit them with everything you've got. 
If he succeeds, it won't be long before Caiatl has an entire platoon of Exo-Legionaries at her disposal. Get in the way.
We can't let that stand. Not in the territory that produces some of our best Guardians.
But don't forget: whoever wins, we're all on the same side. Good luck out there, Guardian.
It's important that people in the Last City feel like they're living, not just surviving. 
Hidden reports from Vex sectors grow more troubling by the day. 
To that end, I've asked Eva Levante to bring back the Guardian Games. 
Whatever they're planning, I know we can overcome it. As long as we stand together. 
Your teammates are grateful for your efforts.
At the end of the Games, one class will rise above the others.
And if I recall correctly, the last time we did this, my Titans achieved what can only be described as "a blowout."
However, now that we've united the Tower with a much needed break, it's back to business.
Congratulations on your performance in the Guardian Games.
For the first time in a long time, we have a moment of respite. I intend to make the most of it.
With that competitive fire, I know we'll always show strong, whatever the outcome.
This is an opportunity for Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters alike to celebrate the Traveler's gifts with a little healthy competition.
Whatever they're planning, I know we can overcome it. As long as we stand together. 
Hidden reports from Vex sectors grow more troubling by the day. 
At the end of the Games, one class will rise above the others.
With that competitive fire, I know we'll always show strong, whatever the outcome.
For the first time in a long time, we have a moment of respite. I intend to make the most of it.
And if I recall correctly, the last time we did this, my Titans achieved what can only be described as "a blowout."
However, now that we've united the Tower with a much needed break, it's back to business.
Congratulations on your performance in the Guardian Games.
It's important that people in the Last City feel like they're living, not just surviving. 
To that end, I've asked Eva Levante to bring back the Guardian Games. 
Your teammates are grateful for your efforts.
But don't forget: whoever wins, we're all on the same side. Good luck out there, Guardian.
This is an opportunity for Titans, Warlocks, and Hunters alike to celebrate the Traveler's gifts with a little healthy competition.
Ikora spoke those words when I offered her the news of Crow's unmasking.
Saladin will have words, I'm sure…
"Uldren Sov is dead."
This one, however, I want you to look into personally.
Our enemy worms its way into everything it touches, even muddying our signals.
She accepted… and now the time has come.
Be our champion.
They… have a complicated relationship. If there's a Guardian onboard, exposed to Darkness, I want to know why.
Caiatl will no doubt respond to a signal from one of her father's ships.
It's simple: a final Rite of Proving. We each send forth a warrior to represent us.
The enemy of my enemy, Guardian… until such time they are not.
And as a gesture of good faith, I become "Bracus Zavala" and serve on her war council. A glorified hostage.
Whichever side claims victory sets the terms of a binding agreement.
I've sent your friend on a reconnaissance mission while I determine the best way forward.
Storming it and defeating him in ritual combat will be nearly impossible. But I've come to expect the impossible… from you.
She already knew, of course. As did Osiris.
If we win, Caiatl ceases hostilities immediately. Her forces never set foot on Earth again. 
Those who do not answer her call to leave Earth are criminals in the eyes of her empire, left to us to deal with as we see fit.
But preserving what's left of the Cabal insulates us from further incursions by Xivu Arath.
What's more is the point of origin—near the Reef, from a Guardian claiming to be aboard a ship belonging to the dethroned Emperor Calus.
But if we lose, we surrender Nessus and support her claim to the imperial throne. 
And you.
Rahool brought it to my attention. He tells me the transmission has been exposed to Darkness.
Without trust, we become like the Cabal: fractured and consumed from within.
That… cannot happen.
Distress signals are far too common these days. Our recovery crews can hardly keep up with them.
Empress Caiatl will honor our agreement. This is an armistice, not an allegiance.
Extract them, safely, so we may have a word with them.
I issued a challenge to Caiatl, knowing she could not show weakness in front of her people.
Caiatl's chosen warrior waits deep within her fortified tank.
Guardian… represent the Vanguard in the Rite of Proving.
Our enemy worms its way into everything it touches, even muddying our signals.
Saladin will have words, I'm sure…
Extract them, safely, so we may have a word with them.
"Uldren Sov is dead."
What's more is the point of origin—near the Reef, from a Guardian claiming to be aboard a ship belonging to the dethroned Emperor Calus.
If we win, Caiatl ceases hostilities immediately. Her forces never set foot on Earth again. 
Be our champion.
And as a gesture of good faith, I become "Bracus Zavala" and serve on her war council. A glorified hostage.
I issued a challenge to Caiatl, knowing she could not show weakness in front of her people.
It's simple: a final Rite of Proving. We each send forth a warrior to represent us.
That… cannot happen.
She already knew, of course. As did Osiris.
Whichever side claims victory sets the terms of a binding agreement.
She accepted… and now the time has come.
They… have a complicated relationship. If there's a Guardian onboard, exposed to Darkness, I want to know why.
Without trust, we become like the Cabal: fractured and consumed from within.
Distress signals are far too common these days. Our recovery crews can hardly keep up with them.
I've sent your friend on a reconnaissance mission while I determine the best way forward.
Empress Caiatl will honor our agreement. This is an armistice, not an allegiance.
But preserving what's left of the Cabal insulates us from further incursions by Xivu Arath.
Storming it and defeating him in ritual combat will be nearly impossible. But I've come to expect the impossible… from you.
This one, however, I want you to look into personally.
Caiatl will no doubt respond to a signal from one of her father's ships.
And you.
Caiatl's chosen warrior waits deep within her fortified tank.
But if we lose, we surrender Nessus and support her claim to the imperial throne. 
Guardian… represent the Vanguard in the Rite of Proving.
Those who do not answer her call to leave Earth are criminals in the eyes of her empire, left to us to deal with as we see fit.
Rahool brought it to my attention. He tells me the transmission has been exposed to Darkness.
The enemy of my enemy, Guardian… until such time they are not.
Ikora spoke those words when I offered her the news of Crow's unmasking.
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
  : Break Free
  : Break Free
  stunned an Unstoppable Champion!
  stunned an Overload Champion!
This weapon fires special shield-piercing ammunition. It comes with a scope. Strong against  Barrier Champions.
The opening shot of an attack stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against   Unstoppable Champions.
Overload Bow
Fires a massive heavy bolt that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against  Unstoppable Champions.
Damage by fully drawn arrows disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against  Overload Champions.
Shield-piercing rounds designed to bypass combatant defenses. Strong against  Barrier Champions.
Aiming down sights loads a powerful explosive payload that stuns unshielded combatants. Strong against   Unstoppable Champions.
Uninterrupted fire grants bullets that disrupt combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output. Strong against  Overload Champions.
  stunned a Barrier Champion!
Sustained damage with this weapon envelops the target in a field that weakens and stuns them. Strong against  Overload Champions.
Press ; to close the UI and return to the world. Then tap  again to bring out your Ghost and enter NAV mode.
NAV mode will display objectives for bounties and quests you've tracked in the top right of your HUD. It will also display any waypoints for your current objective.
 Mark All Seen
Defense waves cleared
Pursue Basilius the Golem
Basilius the Golem awaits.
Press the Advance
Disrupt Basilius the Golem's attempt to dig up dangerous Golden Age tech.
Press the Advance
Smash Their Defenses
Demolish the Cabal
Defeat Cabal
Champion defeated
Detonate Shield Relays
Defeat Basilius's Champion to lower the shield.
Continue your advance into Nexus.
Begin the Rite of Proving
Destroy the Cabal's shield relays using dropped detonators.
Challenge Basilius the Golem to the Rite of Proving.
Shield relays detonated
Defeat Basilius the Golem in glorious combat.
Defeat Basilius the Golem in the Rite of Proving
Claim the spoils of victory.
Reap Your Reward
Crush the Cabal Defenders
Fight your way to Basilius the Golem.
Smash through the defenses for a clear path to Basilius the Golem.
Defeat Basilius's Champion
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
Begin Ghost Infiltration
Pick Up Unstable Power Unit
Begin Ghost Tracing
Begin the Rite of Proving
Requires 3 Keys to Access
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0
If this problem persists, you should troubleshoot your networking setup. For more information, visit help.bungie.net and search for error code:
calabrese
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If this problem persists, you should troubleshoot your networking setup. For more information, visit help.bungie.net and search for error code:
okra
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If this problem persists, you should troubleshoot your networking setup. For more information, visit help.bungie.net and search for error code:
parsley
Gilded Triumph completed
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If this problem persists, you should troubleshoot your networking setup. For more information, visit help.bungie.net and search for error code:
alfalfa
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legume
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lentil
Gilded Title Earned
 Untrack Quest
 PROGRESS
Visit the War Table in the H.E.L.M. to collect your reward.
Rank reward obtained. Check your inventory or the Postmaster for details.
 // Rank 
Quest Step  of 
Gilded Title Triumph
Rank  of 
Visit Lord Shaxx in the Tower to collect your reward.
Visit Commander Zavala in the Tower to collect your reward.
Enhance your Destiny experience with apps designed by Bungie and talented Destiny fans. For more information, visit:
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New Light Quest
Prismatic Recaster Upgrade
Prismatic Lens Acquired
Next Reward
Beyond Light Quest
Not Tracked
War Table
Seal Gilded
Claim your reward in the Quest Log or  tab.
Unclaimed Reputation Rewards will expire at the end of Season .
Unclaimed Challenges
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available at the Drifter
Challenges Set
This quest step has not yet been revealed.
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available
Season  Rank 
Vanguard Rank Up
 Challenges Available
Fragment Slots ()
Reputation Rank 
Gilding Titles
Seasonal Quest
Reputation Progress
Return to the Prismatic Recaster for new Umbral Engram Focusing options.
Titan Class Stat: Reduces the cooldown of your class ability; increases the amount of damage you can take before dying.
0
Reduces the amount of damage you take when breaking out of Stasis.
Seasonal Challenge
All Challenges Complete
Unacquired
Legacy Quest
Not In Inventory
Quest Info
At the end of Season , your rank progress resets completely.
Quest Reward
Seasonal Challenges
Turn in Trials Tokens to increase standing within Trials of Osiris.
Manage Your Vault
Gilded progress
Seasonal Challenge Completed
Playlist Quest
Reputation Rank Up
Title gilding resets at the end of each season
Visit The Drifter in the Tower to collect your reward.
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available at Lord Shaxx
Complete listed challenges to earn Season ranks.
 Engram
Rank Complete. Reward Available:
 Track Quest
Claim your reward to reset your rank and start your journey anew.
Title gilding resets at the end of each Season.
Go to Collections
Number of times gilded:
Companion Apps
Complete the quest to acquire this reward.
Rewards must be claimed by the end of Season .
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
 Mark All Seen
<?>
,,,
Cooperative Missions
Grandmaster Nightfall
Battlegrounds
Air Dive Ability
Stasis Breakout
 Untrack Quest
 PROGRESS
Visit the War Table in the H.E.L.M. to collect your reward.
Rank reward obtained. Check your inventory or the Postmaster for details.
 // Rank 
Quest Step  of 
Gilded Title Triumph
Rank  of 
Visit Lord Shaxx in the Tower to collect your reward.
Visit Commander Zavala in the Tower to collect your reward.
Enhance your Destiny experience with apps designed by Bungie and talented Destiny fans. For more information, visit:
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New Light Quest
Prismatic Recaster Upgrade
Prismatic Lens Acquired
Next Reward
Beyond Light Quest
Not Tracked
War Table
Seal Gilded
Claim your reward in the Quest Log or  tab.
Unclaimed Reputation Rewards will expire at the end of Season .
Unclaimed Challenges
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available at the Drifter
Challenges Set
This quest step has not yet been revealed.
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available
Season  Rank 
Vanguard Rank Up
 Challenges Available
Fragment Slots ()
Reputation Rank 
Gilding Titles
Seasonal Quest
Reputation Progress
Return to the Prismatic Recaster for new Umbral Engram Focusing options.
Titan Class Stat: Reduces the cooldown of your class ability; increases the amount of damage you can take before dying.
0
Reduces the amount of damage you take when breaking out of Stasis.
Seasonal Challenge
All Challenges Complete
Unacquired
Legacy Quest
Not In Inventory
Quest Info
At the end of Season , your rank progress resets completely.
Quest Reward
Seasonal Challenges
Turn in Trials Tokens to increase standing within Trials of Osiris.
Manage Your Vault
Gilded progress
Seasonal Challenge Completed
Playlist Quest
Reputation Rank Up
Title gilding resets at the end of each season
Visit The Drifter in the Tower to collect your reward.
Reputation Ranks Complete
Reset Now Available at Lord Shaxx
Complete listed challenges to earn Season ranks.
 Engram
Rank Complete. Reward Available:
 Track Quest
Claim your reward to reset your rank and start your journey anew.
Title gilding resets at the end of each Season.
Go to Collections
Number of times gilded:
Companion Apps
Complete the quest to acquire this reward.
Rewards must be claimed by the end of Season .
Wyvern Venator
Wyvern Exemplar
Howl of the Storm
 declares victory
 battles with 
 remembers that thing
 pumps some iron with 
 summons a fiery blade
Stick Battle
 surveys the scene
Flying
 doesn't want to get left hanging by 
 juggles the ball
 is relieved
 is bored
 expresses frustration
 expresses frustration with 
 makes things go boom
 declares victory with 
 pledges allegiance to 
 checks the levels with 
 remembers that thing with 
 backflips
 wants to battle with 
 accepts the medal with 
 wants to protect 
 is not amused
 wants to set it off
 goes boom
High Fives
 wants to play airplane
 wants to set it off with 
 accepts the medal
 pledges allegiance
 drops a shield
 juggles the ball with 
 is experimenting
Stick Battling
 is playing airplane with 
 is experimenting with 
 cracks some knuckles with 
 pumps some iron
 backflips with 
 is not amused with 
 wants to play airplane with 
 checks the levels
 cowers from the flock
Fly
 surveys the scene with 
 wants a high five from 
 is bored with 
 is relieved with 
 summons a fiery blade with 
 makes things go boom with 
 goes boom with 
 cowers from the flock with 
 wants to battle
 cracks some knuckles
Champions are about to clash!
Valus Tlu'urn flees
The coolant vent is exposed
The ritual pulls a relic from the void.
Taken forces are corrupting the area.
Valus Tlu'urn arrives
The Groundskeeper Approaches
The Hive summon their Champion!
The Cabal Commander departs, undefeated.
 has summoned Alzok Däl, Gornuk Däl and Zyrok Däl!
The Taken corruption subsides.
The Exalted Hive awaits a challenge.
 has summoned Vorlog!
The Taken summon a stalking party...
The Cabal summon their Champion!
Darkness rises! A Taken zealot arrives to claim you.
The Cabal claim the Hull Breach!
Alak-Hul stirs
The Hive stalking party prepares to conclude its patrol.
Guardians claim the Hull Breach!
Blast shields deployed
Valus Mau'ual flees
Arc energy discharged
Step into the void to challenge the Taken.
The Cabal Commander awaits your challenge.
Arc energy collected
A Taken Lieutenant is corrupting the land.
Oryx's minions escape back to their realm.
 has summoned Bracus Horu'usk!
The Hive cement their position at the Hull Breach.
 has summoned Balwûr!
If you wish to suffer, this is the place.
The Taken have summoned their zealots!
The Taken draw deeper from their ranks.
 has summoned Thalnok, Fanatic of Crota!
The Taken summon their Champion!
The Cabal recon team prepares to depart.
Rasputin has crashed a Warsat
A Taken Lieutenant is slain.
Malok summons minions to his aid
 has summoned Mengoor and Cra'adug!
 must return to the battle.
 has summoned Kagoor!
 has summoned Krughor!
The Taken presence subsides...for now.
Approach the portal, 
The Cabal cement their position at the Hull Breach.
The Devourer Shank lowers the blast shields
The Devourer Shank summons reinforcements
The Groundskeeper Departs
 has summoned Lokaar!
Malok changes tactics
Valus Mau'ual arrives
Heatsinks extended
Reinforcements inbound
The Taken emerge from a different plane of existence.
The Hive summon a stalking party...
Alak-Hul charges his foes
 has abandoned the ritual.
The Hive claim the Hull Breach!
The Devourer Shank exposes the shock cores
The Devourer Shank retracts the heatsinks
The Cabal recon squad departs the area.
The Hive stalking party has left the area.
The containment field has destabilized.
The Cabal summon a recon team...
The Exalted Hive departs, undefeated.
The Taken have been defeated…for now.
Coolant Flush Two Initiated
Coolant Flush Three Initiated
Active signal nearby…
Activate Boiler Room Coolant System
Boiler Room Temperature Critical
Coolant Flush One Initiated
You've challenged Caiatl's Chosen!
The Land Tank rumbles to life…
Eliminate the Source of the Breach
Use the charge to deactivate the Arc streams.
Eliminate the Fallen responsible for breaching Rasputin's bunker.
Traverse the Bunker
The coolant vent is exposed
Enter the Bunker
Eliminate the Fallen incursion force.
Activate the security console to access the bunker's defense system.
Bypass Security Protocols
Enter the Bunker
Locate the entrance to Rasputin's bunker.
Disrupt Rasputin's defenses by destroy the exposed defense core.
Blast shields deployed
Arc energy discharged
Eliminate the Source of the Breach
Arc energy collected
Disrupt Rasputin's Defenses
Defend the Warsat
Use the Warsat codes to unlock the bunker door.
Pick Up Charge
Open Bunker
Rasputin has crashed a Warsat
There's been a security breach in Rasputin's bunker. Traverse deeper and locate the source of the breach.
Use the maintenance vents to dive deeper into the bunker.
Traverse the bunker in search of the source of the comms signal.
Deactivate the Arc Streams
Open Vent Cover
Locate the Breach Site
There's been a security breach in Rasputin's bunker. Traverse deeper and locate the source of the breach.
Deposit Charge
Reach Distress Coordinates
S.A.B.E.R.-2 lowers the blast shields
Defend the Warsat while Ghost decrypts the access codes for Rasputin's bunker.
Locate the Breach Site
S.A.B.E.R.-2 summons reinforcements
Heatsinks extended
Eliminate S.A.B.E.R.-2 to clear out Rasputin's bunker.
S.A.B.E.R.-2 exposes the shock cores
S.A.B.E.R.-2 retracts the heatsinks
Reach the location of Rasputin's distress signal.
The containment field has destabilized
Enter the Bunker
Ghost has been interrupted!
Ghost has retrieved the remaining Cyphers.
Cabal reinforcements have entered the arena!
A Champion has entered the arena!
The Commander has summoned a Champion Shield Bearer!
The Commander has summoned Shield Bearers!
A Champion has entered the arena!
Maximum distance reached. Ghost infiltration terminated!
0
Restart infiltration.
A Champion has entered the arena!
A Champion has entered the arena!
Psion Keymaster has arrived!
A Disruptor has entered the arena!
Darkmind Chieftan (Arc)
Ignovun, Chosen of Caiatl
Disruptor Wizard
Shieldbearer Incendior
Shieldbearer Centurion
Supreme Centurion
Halphas Honorguard
Locus of Communion
Val Veorthus
Val Kladior
Keymaster Colossus
Supreme Colossus
Revered Incendior
Valus Ozysas
Epoc-Hunter Minotaur
Val Trekitus
Naksis, Devil Baron
Veteran Assault Captain
Revered Centurion
Monstrosity Ogre
Gloryseeking Legionary
Optus Vocca
Basilius the Golem
Unstable War Beast
Darkmind Abomination
Optus Psion
Val Cunqu'us
Darkmind Chieftan (Void)
Veteran Assault Servitor
Revered Colossus
Optus Taxaat
SEPIKS-23
Than'grot, Loyal to Caiatl
Val Vinca'ar
Ixel, the Far-Reaching
Honorchasing Colossus
Unstable Incendior
Val Ma'rag
Wretched Knight
Sepiks Prime
Disruptor Psion
Darkmind Chieftan (Solar)
Keymaster Psion
Commander Dracus
Val Cempas
S.A.B.E.R.-2
Caiatl
Caiatl
Cranial Spike
Energy Siphon
Sacred Flame
Kickstart Ready
Nimble Arsenal
Aeon Weapon Haste
Absorption Cells
Aeon Cult Allies Healed
Shatterpalm
Glorious Charge
Kickstart
Casuality Arrows
Flourish
Grim Harvest
Egregore Link
Aeon Cult Allies Empowered
Aeon Cult Allies Energized
Bleak Watcher
Howl of the Storm
  : Break Free
I didn't order this.
Bring me the one who pulled the trigger! They'll know who did!
[gasps] Are you all right?
Let this ground be hallowed.
Let our blood be the last spilled.
I'm… alive.
[gasps]
Let honor bind us.
The Darkness crowds the edges of this system. The Hive serves it. You'll fall to one, if not the other.
As you do. Humanity won't survive unless the commander expands his horizons.
He lacked ambition.
Very well. Ready yourself, Commander. I'll sharpen my gilded knife—and see you both on the battlefield.
Even my people have a word for peace, but we do not use it often—or lightly.
I propose an alliance.
We have all suffered.
My father was soft.
She betrayed her father to Ghaul. Don't think she won't put a gilded knife in your back too.
Peace? With the Cabal?
Join my empire. You'll keep your title and gain a seat on my war council.
I wouldn't have summoned you if I was not sincere.
Empress Caiatl, I'm sorry for what you've lost.
With my army and your Light, the Cabal will crush the Hive. Then… the Black Fleet.
My world did.
Cabal don't ally. They conquer.
Bow.
Reset Reputation
Reset reputation, allowing you to earn additional reputation rewards. 
0
You will also receive an Ascendant Shard.
Reset Reputation
Reset reputation, allowing you to earn additional reputation rewards.  
0
You will also receive an Exotic engram with a predestined outcome.
0
Engram contains a new Exotic if any remain to be collected; otherwise contains a random Exotic armor item.
Empowered Skeleton Key
This mysterious engram must be discovered before its contents are revealed.
Unknown Engram
Chosen Class Armor
An engram containing Season of the Chosen armor with a high Strength roll.
Chosen Implements
Worldly Armor
Chosen Destruction
Chosen Arms
An engram containing a Season of the Chosen Rocket Launcher or Linear Fusion Rifle, with a perk choice in the final column.
Chosen Discipline
An engram containing a Season of the Chosen Bow or Sniper Rifle, with a perk choice in the final column.
An engram containing Legendary armor found in several activities and destinations.
Worldly Weapons
An engram containing Season of the Chosen armor with a high Discipline roll.
An engram containing Season of the Chosen class armor.
An engram containing Legendary weapons found in several activities and destinations.
An engram containing a Season of the Chosen Submachine Gun or Sidearm, with a perk choice in the final column.
Explosion and Detonation
Far and Fatal
Far-Flung Fatality
Chosen Leg Armor
Chosen Chest Armor
Chosen Resilience
Chosen Intellect
An engram containing Season of the Chosen gauntlets.
Chosen Recovery
An engram containing Season of the Chosen armor.
Chosen Helmet
Chosen Regalia
An engram containing Season of the Chosen armor with a high Recovery roll.
An engram containing a Season of the Chosen Rocket Launcher or Linear Fusion Rifle.
An engram containing a Season of the Chosen Bow or Sniper Rifle.
An engram containing Season of the Chosen weapons.
Near and Deadly
An engram containing Season of the Chosen armor with a high Resilience roll.
An engram containing Season of the Chosen leg armor.
An engram containing armor or a weapon from Season of the Chosen.
An engram containing a Season of the Chosen helmet.
Near-Death Experience
An engram containing Season of the Chosen armor with a high Intellect roll.
An engram containing a Season of the Chosen Submachine Gun or Sidearm.
Chosen Gauntlets
An engram containing Season of the Chosen armor with a high Mobility roll.
Chosen Strength
Chosen Mobility
An engram containing Season of the Chosen chest armor.
A Focused Umbral Engram containing reforged weapons from the Red War.
Fragile Prismatic Lens
A limited-use Prismatic Lens with the ability to focus an Umbral Engram.
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Remaining Uses: 1
Prismatic Lens
Fragile Prismatic Lens
Umbral Engram
Umbral Engram
Focused Umbral Engram
A mysterious engram containing a wide variety of Legendary gear. Its contents can be focused using the Prismatic Recaster and decrypted using the Umbral Decoder, both located in the H.E.L.M.
Prismatic Lens Shattered
Umbral Affinity
Prismatic Recaster
Umbral Engram Focusing
Available Seasons
Active Season
Allows Guardians to use Prismatic Lenses and other materials to focus Umbral Engrams, altering their contents.

Umbral Engram Available for Focusing
Requires "Decrypting the Darkness" completion.
A containment unit able to harness the Dark energy within Umbral Engrams.
Manufactured Cryptarch
A device to extract the Darkness from Umbral Engrams and reveal the equipment within.  Built by the Cryptarchy, this version is safer than the Drifter's original design.
Umbral Decoder
Decrypt Umbral Engrams
Decode Umbral Engrams into weapons and armor.
Umbral Decryptions
Crypto-Archeology
Freelance Lightbearer
Vanguard mail receptacle.
Post Box
Armor Focusing
Tier III Focusing
Tier II Focusing
Tier I Focusing
Weapon Focusing
Get Super takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
No weekly Tier III Focuses available.
Discovered by acquiring Season of the Chosen armor.
Focuses Available
Get takedowns in Battlegrounds to unlock this focusing option.
Get Submachine Gun and Sidearm takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
Get melee takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
Acquire the Threaded Needle Linear Fusion Rifle from the Season Pass.
Defeat Battlegrounds Commanders to unlock this focusing option.
Get Combat Bow and Sniper Rifle takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
Requires Season of the Chosen.
A collection of focusing options from Season of the Chosen; unlocked by discovering Prismatic Lenses.
Smash Battlegrounds chests to unlock this focusing option.
Get takedowns in Battlegrounds to unlock this focusing option.
Smash Battlegrounds chests to unlock this focusing option.
Hoard Cabal Gold to unlock this focusing option.
Smash Battlegrounds chests to unlock this focusing option.
Get Rocket Launcher and Linear Fusion Rifle takedowns to unlock this option.
Smash Battlegrounds chests to unlock this focusing option.
Acquire the Brass Attacks Sidearm from the Season Pass.
Requires Quest Progress: Challenger's Proving
Get Rocket Launcher and Linear Fusion Rifle takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
Smash Battlegrounds chests to unlock this focusing option.
Spend Hammer Charges to unlock this focusing option.
Discovered by defeating Cabal Battlegrounds Commanders.
Get Bow and Sniper Rifle takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
Requires Hammer Charges to focus.
Get Submachine Gun and Sidearm takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
Tier III Focuses remaining. Resets each week.
Get grenade takedowns to unlock this focusing option.
Prismatic Lenses unlock the ability to focus Umbral Engrams and choose the rewards within.
Use the Cryptarchy's equipment in the H.E.L.M. to aid Tyra Karn's ongoing research into the Darkness and its effects on Umbral Engrams.
Pick up a message from Tyra Karn at the Umbral Decoder in the H.E.L.M.
Tyra Karn's message
Use the Cryptarchy's equipment in the H.E.L.M. to aid Tyra Karn's ongoing research into the Darkness and its effects on Umbral Engrams.
Umbral Engram
"It don't matter to Drifter if a Mote is Dark, or an engram is Umbral. Either it spends or it don't!"
0
—Drifter
Guardian, when the Dark Fleet arrived, it changed many things, including engrams. Some of them now behave much differently than before. The Cryptarchy needs your help in studying these changes.
0
Of all the unlikely sources, it was the Drifter who first created a device for altering Umbral Engrams. Now, the Cryptarchy is using his design as the basis for further research.
0
We will provide you with the equipment for further research on these Umbral Engrams. In return, please help us by recording the results of your experiments!
0
—Tyra Karn
Use the Cryptarchy's equipment in the H.E.L.M. to aid Tyra Karn's ongoing research into the Darkness and its effects on Umbral Engrams.
Use the Prismatic Recaster to focus an Umbral Engram. Then use the Umbral Decoder to decrypt it.
When the Black Fleet arrived, the Cryptarchy discovered that Umbral Engrams and Legendary Engrams are generated through similar processes. How or why the engrams change is still a mystery.
0
However, we now have a tool for controlling the contents of these Umbral Engrams! We call them Prismatic Lenses. The Drifter has yet to divulge how they're constructed, and truth told, it's possible he doesn't know either.
0
Here's the final Prismatic Lens remaining from our previous studies. It's quite fragile, and we estimate it has a single charge left before it breaks. Take it, along with this Umbral Engram, and try the focusing process for yourself!
0
—Tyra Karn
"The Cryptarchy is reluctant to embrace the study of the Darkness. Unfortunately, our survival may depend on it."
0
—Master Rahool
Pick up a message from Tyra Karn at the Umbral Decoder in the H.E.L.M.
The focus of these Umbral Engrams remains a source of fascination. The potential applications are endless.
0
I am still wary of interacting so closely with the Darkness, but we can no longer avoid it. Do you think the Dark Fleet is attempting to communicate through these lenses and engrams? There's still much to learn.
0
Return to the H.E.L.M. with any Prismatic Lenses or Umbral Engrams, and let's continue our research together!
0
—Tyra Karn
Decrypting the Darkness
"Those Cryptarchs are hot on my coattails, trying to get the secret to my magic trash can. The secret is… there is no secret!"
0
—The Drifter
Decrypt Umbral Engrams to gain reputation with the Cryptarchy and earn an engram reward.
Our knowledge grows from your continued support of our research. Take this as a thank you from the Cryptarchy.
Cryptarchy Rank-Up Reward
H.E.L.M.
H.E.L.M.
Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers. The base for current Vanguard operations in the Sol system.
Cabal Gold
 and  takedowns
Hammer charges used
Acquired from Tribute Chests
Guardians with Prismatic Lenses may use a variety of material to focus Umbral Engrams, focusing their contents into equipment.
Prismatic Recaster
In the Hands of the Cryptarchy
Investigate the distress signal.
"Osiris says you already want to go back in. Good. I want to know everything."
Zavala looks grim as he considers the possibilities behind a new Guardian-coded distress beacon sounding off from the Reef, especially given that it's rooted in an encoded Loyalist signature used by Calus. He laments that the Vanguard can't immediately respond to every call for help, but fears Caiatl is already on her way to this one and wants you to investigate it personally.
0
Zavala says your Ghost forwarded the signal to Rahool when you found it, and he confirmed that the transmission itself has been tainted by some sort of Darkness radiation.
0
He urges you to be cautious, and informs you that Osiris will run command on your mission. He suggests you don't go alone.
Commander Zavala is awaiting a report regarding your findings aboard the Glykon. He also might be interested in the rifle you found.
"Tex Mechanica…" Zavala admires the rifle's craftsmanship. "This rifle was a custom craft. Its creation was never reported to the Vanguard."
0
After a moment of hesitation, Zavala holds out the rifle. "If it doesn't exist, then there's nothing to confiscate, so long as it's in good hands."
0
Zavala's smile fades as his face turns grim. "Your discoveries were troubling. Keep me informed of any developments."
Signal localized
"Find our missing Guardian… and bring them home."
The Voice on the Other Side
A weak distress signal has been picked up broadcasting somewhere near Reef space. The sender claims to be a Guardian in need of aid.
Complete Exotic quest "Presage" on Master difficulty to discover a Dark-forged trigger.
"Forged with some kind of strange alloy… the mechanism is smooth and weightless." —Osiris
"Upon Osiris's request, I've cleared you for more outings. He seems to think there are additional Foundry relics aboard that derelict that could enhance your rifle."
0
Zavala rests his chin on his knuckles. "I'm more concerned with these experiments Calus was conducting. If they were able to coax a response from the Darkness… Gather all the intel you can, and if you recover something useful, all the better."
Did you pick it off a Scorn's body? Uncover it in some tucked away corner of the ship? Somehow the trigger assembly found its way into your belongings.
"Caiatl assisted your investigation? It seems our enemies can be reasonable when they choose… or when it benefits them."
0
If she wants to divulge intelligence let her, but keep your knowledge close to your chest.
0
That piece you brought back. It… looks like an oddity.
Assembly found
Return to Commander Zavala.
"It would seem our friend forged a replacement trigger assembly. Perhaps we can recover it." —Osiris
At Your Fingertips
Osiris has found information detailing the construction of a replacement trigger assembly, forged from some strange alloy found during the crew's experiments.
This is… a friend in need. Last known coordinates in line. It's a Cabal ship. I can't say anymore here… I offer my rifle; get me out of here, and it's yours.
Intercepted Distress Signal
A Cabal distress signal sent using Vanguard transponder codes that was intercepted in the EDZ. Ghost is transmitting the message to the Vanguard for decryption.
0
This item can be discarded safely.
Quest "Presage" completed
Complete quest "Presage."
Legend Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment
0
Fallen Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Fallen Modifier: Arach-NO!
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken 
0
Burn: ++Solar damage
Master Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment, Extra Champions
0
Fallen Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Fallen Modifier: Hot Knife
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken
0
Master Modifier: Attrition
0
Burn: ++Arc damage
Master Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment, Extra Champions
0
Fallen Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Fallen Modifier: Hot Knife
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken
0
Master Modifier: Chaff
0
Burn: ++Void damage
Legend Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment
0
Hive Champions: Barrier, Unstoppable
0
Hive Modifier: Fire Pit
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken
0
Burn: ++Void damage
Legend Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment
0
Fallen Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Fallen Modifier: Hot Knife
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken 
0
Burn: ++Void damage
Legend Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment
0
Fallen Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Fallen Modifier: Hot Knife
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken 
0
Burn: ++Arc damage
Master Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment, Extra Champions
0
Fallen Champions: Barrier, Overload
0
Fallen Modifier: Arach-NO!
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken
0
Master Modifier: Famine
0
Burn: ++Solar damage
Master Difficulty: Extra Shields, Match Game, Locked Equipment, Extra Champions
0
Hive Champions: Barrier, Unstoppable
0
Hive Modifier: Fire Pit
0
Destination Modifier: +Void and Aerial damage taken
0
Master Modifier: Chaff
0
Burn: ++Void damage
Requires completion of "A Challenger Rises" quest.
Proving Ground
Defeat Caiatl's Chosen aboard the Land Tank, Halphas Electus, on Nessus.
Hunters band together to take on Vanguard strikes.
Titans band together to take on Vanguard strikes.
Warlocks band together to take on Vanguard strikes.
Guardian Games Strikes: Titans
Guardian Games Strikes: Warlocks
Guardian Games Strikes: Hunters
Health, shields, and recovery are increased. Kinetic weapons deal more damage.
Guardian Games: Gold
Melee and grenade abilities deal more damage and recharge much faster. Elemental damage is increased from Guardian sources.
Guardian Games: Bronze
Melee and grenade abilities recharge faster. Elemental damage increased from Guardian sources. More power ammo available.
Guardian Games: Silver
Complete "The Devils' Lair" Nightfall: The Ordeal on Grandmaster difficulty during Season of the Chosen.
Grandmaster: The Insight Terminus
Complete all Season of the Chosen Grandmaster Triumphs.
Grandmaster: The Devils' Lair
Grandmaster: Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
Complete "The Arms Dealer" Nightfall: The Ordeal on Grandmaster difficulty during Season of the Chosen.
Complete "The Insight Terminus" Nightfall: The Ordeal on Grandmaster difficulty during Season of the Chosen.
Complete "Proving Grounds" Nightfall: The Ordeal on Grandmaster difficulty during Season of the Chosen.
Complete "Fallen S.A.B.E.R." Nightfall: The Ordeal on Grandmaster difficulty during Season of the Chosen.
Grandmaster: Proving Grounds
Complete "Warden of Nothing" Nightfall: The Ordeal on Grandmaster difficulty during Season of the Chosen.
Complete all Season of the Chosen Triumphs.
Triumphs related to Cosmodrome strikes from the Destiny Content Vault.
Season of the Chosen
Guardian Games
Crush Cabal Champions to earn royal rewards.
Battlegrounds
Seasonal Challenges
Week 10
Week 2
Week 3
Week 1
Week 6
Week 7
Week 4
Week 5
Week 8
Week 9
Past Challenges
Complete limited-time challenges for Season rank, Bright Dust, and other rewards.
Legends
Triumphs related to aspirational activities from the Destiny Content Vault and other miscellaneous activities.
Triumphs related to the Prophecy Dungeon.
Devils' Lair
Complete strike "Fallen S.A.B.E.R."
Complete Nightfall strike "The Disgraced" and get a great score.
Complete Nightfall strike "Devils' Lair" and get a great score.
Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
Complete strike "The Disgraced."
Complete strike "Devils' Lair."
Complete Nightfall strike "Fallen S.A.B.E.R." and get a great score.
Best Glory win streak
Crucible matches won. Glory playlists contribute more progress.
Number of Guardians defeated in the Crucible.
Valor rank resets
Unfaltering Glory
Best Valor win streak
Number of Valor resets this Season.
Valor Unbound
Longest win streak in a Valor playlist this Season.
Valor Knows Not Defeat
Longest win streak in a Glory playlist this Season.
Watch Them Fall
Number of opponents defeated with a Grenade Launcher this Season.
They Will Know You by Your Collateral
Infamy resets
Infamous
 takedowns
Number of Infamy resets this Season.
Death Heals Primeval
Invasion takedowns
Good Company
Gambit matches won.
Number of Guardians you defeated as an Invader in Gambit.
Gold Coins
Matches won where you banked the most Motes, didn't die, or dealt the most damage.
Number of Invaders defeated in Gambit.
 takedowns in Gambit.
Bang for Your Buck
Lighthouse Warrior
Round 5 Win
Light For The Lost
Round 3 Win
Round 4 Win
Win matches while the "Flawless Empyrean" emblem is equipped and the player is holding a seven-win ticket.
Defeat Guardians in Trials matches.
Complete a Flawless Passage with this season's Exotic Bow or Scout Rifle equipped.
Round 1 Win
Round 6 Win
Round 2 Win
Earn Trials rewards from Saint-14.
Guardian, I Have Gift For You
Rewards earned
Exotic Passage
Carry Guardians to their first flawless ticket while the "Light For The Lost" emblem is equipped.
Passage of Mercy Wins
All Roads to Victory
Complete a Flawless Passage on different maps.
Passage of Wealth Wins
Complete a Flawless Passage of Confidence.
Passage of Confidence Wins
Passage of Ferocity Wins
Passage of Wisdom Wins
Complete all Flawless Triumphs.
Earn wins in Trials with several different Passages.
Season of the Chosen: Crucible Legend
Complete the Crucible Salvager quest during Season of the Chosen.
Overcoming Saladin's Gauntlet
Rush of the Arena
Pyretic
Reach Valor rank Legend, and reset your Valor rank in Season of the Chosen.
Earn a Glory win streak in Season of the Chosen.
Complete Saladin's Gauntlet quest during Season of the Chosen.
Earn Valor ranks by playing Crucible matches in Season of the Chosen.
Legendary Glory
Season of the Chosen: Valorous
Victory in the Banner
Win Glory-Ranked matches while at rank "Legend" during Season of the Chosen.
Complete matches in the Survival Playlist and earn Glory Rank Points in Survival during Season of the Chosen.
Collect engram rewards from Lord Saladin for participating in the Iron Banner.
Glory in Battle
Complete Iron Banner matches during Season of the Chosen.
Graven Tales
Dead Man's Epilogue
Bound in Memory
Find all the pages of the captain's log.
Cure for the Itch
Discover each of the Glykon's smuggling compartments.
Log pages found
All the Scattered Pieces
Complete "Presage" on Master difficulty without dying.
Clues uncovered
Complete the Dead Man's Tale catalyst quest.
"Presage" completed
Tale Told
Tucked Away
With tentative aid, uncover new clues aboard the Glykon.
The Sights I've Seen
Complete Presage Solo without dying.
Complete "Presage" on Master difficulty.
Lone Gun in a Dark Place
Another Link in the Chain
With access to the mainframe, uncover the final set of clues aboard the Glykon.
Uncover the Dead Man's Tale.
Uncover clues aboard the Glykon.
Figments of an Answer
Complete Exotic quest "Presage."
Gambit: Rank Rituals
Complete the Gambit Salvager quest during Season of the Chosen.
Earn ranks in Gambit during Season of the Chosen.
Toxicology
Bank Motes and get precision final blows in Gambit during Season of the Chosen.
Gambit: Career Engagement
Artifact Power
Increase your power bonus with the Bell of Conquests during Season of the Chosen.
Speak with Banshee-44 to begin the "Salvager's Salvo Armament" quest.
Unlock Season of the Chosen pass levels.
Salvager's Salvo Armament completed
Salvager's Salvo Armament
Complete a Flawless Passage in 4 different weeks during the current Season.
A Beacon to Guide You
Steward
Pigeon Lord
Complete the Trials Badge during the current Season.
Flawless Confidence
After visiting the Lighthouse at least once, assist another player in reaching the Lighthouse for their first time during the current Season.
Complete all Season of the Chosen Flawless Triumphs.
Lighthouse Guardian
Complete The Arms Dealer strike in Nightfall: The Ordeal during Season of the Chosen.
Complete The Devils' Lair strike in Nightfall: The Ordeal during Season of the Chosen.
Complete the strike Salvager Pursuit during the Season of the Chosen.
Grandmaster: The Insight Terminus
Complete Nightfall: The Ordeal strikes during Season of the Chosen.
Panacea
Increase your Vanguard rank during Season of the Chosen.
Grandmaster: The Devils' Lair
Grandmaster: Proving Grounds
Complete the Insight Terminus strike in Nightfall: The Ordeal during Season of the Chosen.
Grandmaster: Fallen S.A.B.E.R.
Complete the Fallen S.A.B.E.R. strike in Nightfall: The Ordeal during Season of the Chosen.
Complete the Warden of Nothing strike in Nightfall: The Ordeal during Season of the Chosen.
Complete the Proving Grounds strike in Nightfall: The Ordeal during Season of the Chosen.
Proven Celerity
Complete all Battleground Missions
All Battleground Missions
Prevent Ghost from being interrupted during hacking and do not miss any volatile power cell shots at a generator.
Proven Reliability
Complete missions in the Battlegrounds playlist without dying.
Complete all missions in the Battlegrounds playlist without anyone on your fireteam dying.
Proven Champions
Battleground: Cleansing
Unmissed Grenade Shots
Defeat Champions in the Battlegrounds playlist.
Proven
Battleground: Behemoth
Battleground: Oracle
Battleground: Hailstone
Proven Fireteam
Battleground Missions
Ghosts Uninterrupted
Complete a mission in the Battlegrounds playlist in under 10 minutes.
Chosen Mods
Defeat Battleground Champions while wearing Season of the Chosen Seasonal Armor.
Defeat Cabal while wearing Season of the Chosen armor.
Collect all Season of the Chosen mods.
Champion's Rite
Gladiator's Rite
Gold pillaged
A Matter of Action
Cabal Gold
Vendor Upgrades
Pillage Battlegrounds chests.
Listen to all the War Table briefings and debriefings.
Focusing Engrams
Complete all Seasonal storyline quests.
Engrams focused
Experience Vanguard commanders' debate tactics.
Extreme Focus
March of the Chosen
Experience Osiris, Zavala, and Lord Saladin's argument.
Path of the Chosen
Schemes
From High Command
View the "Haunted" cinematic.
Haunted
Complete the Battleground: Behemoth introduction mission.
Engrams focused
Messages played
Imperial Cavalry
Begin the "Schemes" mission.
Vendor upgrades unlocked
Obtain every lore page from the Battlegrounds.
Unlock all vendor upgrades.
Complete Battleground Cleansing.
Focus Tier 3 Umbral Engrams.
Focus Season of the Chosen Umbral Engrams.
Pillage Cabal Gold.
Battleground: Cleansing
Complete strike Proving Grounds in Nightfall: The Ordeal at the highest difficulty tier.
Gotta Go Halphas
Overdrive Overload
Val Cunqu'us
Optus Taxaat
Overloads
Val Trekitus
Valus Ozysas
Val Cempas
Val Vinca'ar
Complete strike Proving Grounds at normal difficulty in less than 15 minutes.
Val Kladior
Optus Vocca
Ignovun
Eliminate all Cabal VIPs in the strike Proving Grounds.
Eliminate Caiatl's Cabal
Val Veorthus
Complete strike Proving Grounds in Nightfall: The Ordeal without dying.
Show Some Tusk
Flawless Proving Grounds
Overload power systems in the undercarriage section of strike Proving Grounds.
Report to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. and complete the "Challenger's Proving II" quest.
 Sidearm or  Linear Fusion Rifle
Tribute Chests smashed
Clues uncovered
Defeat Elite or Boss Cabal anywhere in Battlegrounds missions.
Contender's Ascent III
Dire Portents
Investigate cryptic notes left in the captain's log.
Contender's Ascent V
Leave no stone unturned aboard the Glykon.
Graven Scrawl
Smash Tribute Chests and focus Season of the Chosen Engrams using Charges from the Hammer of Proving.
Cryptic notes followed
Umbral Engrams focused
Convex Convergence
Diplomacy or Death
Complete Exotic quest "Presage" on Normal or Master difficulty.
"Challenger's Proving II" completed
Don't allow opponents to interrupt Ghost in Battlegrounds missions.
Focus Tier 3 Umbral Engrams.
Use a Rocket Launcher or grenades to defeat combatants anywhere in the system. Bonus progress for rapidly defeating them and for defeating Cabal.
Transmissions heard
Challenger's Proving V completed
Challenger's Proving VI completed
Defeat combatants using a Submachine Gun. Battlegrounds missions grant the most efficient progress.
Golden Reaper
Defeat combatants using Sniper Rifles, Submachine Guns, Rocket Launchers, or Bows in Nightfall: The Ordeal.
Report to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. and complete the "Challenger's Proving III" quest.
Acquire Cabal Gold by playing strikes, Gambit, Crucible, public events, and more.
Contender's Ascent II
Defeat targets anywhere in the system with a full armor set. Bonus progress for defeating Guardians.
Cabal Contenders
Small-Caliber Contender
Defeat Elite or Boss Cabal in the Proving Grounds strike.
Report to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. and complete the "Challenger's Proving VI" quest. Then defeat Cabal using a Bow anywhere in the system.
Contender's Ascent VI
Proving Grounds strike completed
Defeat Elite or Boss Cabal anywhere in the system.
Report to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. and complete the "Challenger's Proving IV" quest. Then defeat Cabal using Sniper Rifles.
…The Harder They Fall
Defeat combatants in Legendary Lost Sectors using Sniper Rifles, Submachine Guns, Rocket Launchers, or Bows.
Engrams focused
Explosive Conclusions
Contender's Ascent
Contender's Ascent IV
The Bigger They Are…
Nightfall Proving Grounds
Defeat Champions and get grenade takedowns in Battlegrounds.
Interruptions prevented
Power Core deposited
Intruder Alert
Explosive Entrance
Participate in the Battlegrounds playlist to unlock your first lens.
Lenses unlocked
Nightfall Variety Attack
Challenger's Proving completed
Complete the following in the Proving Grounds strike: finish the mission, defeat combatants, and deposit a Power Core in the undercarriage of the Land Tank.
Defeat combatants using a Linear Fusion Rifle or Sidearm in the Nightfall: The Ordeal version of the Proving Grounds strike.
Legendary Lost Sector Variety Attack
Captain's Log
"Challenger's Proving IV" completed
Proving Grounds Trifecta
Report to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. and complete the "Challenger's Proving" quest. Then defeat Cabal with Rocket Launchers anywhere in the system.
Contender's Ascent VII
Go to the Prismatic Recaster and discover how to unlock more lenses.
Challenger's Proving VII completed
Report to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. and complete the "Challenger's Proving V" quest.
Cabal Gold
Crash and Converge
Report to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. and complete the "Challenger's Proving VII" quest. Then, defeat Cabal with a Submachine Gun.
Lenses in Focus
Listen to intercepted transmissions at the radio kiosk in the H.E.L.M.
"Challenger's Proving III" completed
Smash Tribute Chests and focus Tier 3 Umbral Engrams.
Suited for Combat
Icebound
Chosen Cosmonaut
On Europa, earn progress by completing bounties, patrols, public events, and Lost Sectors.
Failsafe Forward
Complete a Lost Sector on Legend or higher.
Master of All
In the Cosmodrome, earn progress by completing bounties, patrols, public events, and Lost Sectors.
Unlock artifact mods.
Challenger's Cipher
Trials of the Tinker
Challenger's Aspiration
On Nessus, earn progress by completing bounties, patrols, public events, and Lost Sectors.
Mods unlocked
Apex Armorer
Challenger's Apogee
Contender's Delve
Masterwork a piece of armor.
Power Level
Complete weekly playlist challenges.
Reach Power Level 1300 by earning powerful rewards and Prime Engrams.
Complete all Seasonal challenges during Season of the Chosen.
Calibrate weapons with precision final blows on Nessus.
Calibrate weapons by rapidly defeating 3 or more combatants.
Expose to the Elements
Acquire the Seasonal Ritual weapon.
Stagger, pierce, or disrupt Champions.
One Against Many
Sling the Stone…
Calibrate weapons against Fallen. Earn bonus progress for precision final blows.
…And Fell the Giant
Calibrate Kinetic weapons on Europa. Earn bonus progress in Lost Sectors.
Hail of Bullets
Calibrate elemental weapons in the Cosmodrome.
Stagger, pierce, or disrupt Champions.
Once Chosen, Now Fallen
Algorithmic Precision
Salvager's Salvo Armament
High-Value Hunter
Drifter's Chosen
Defeat Taken in Gambit. Earn bonus progress for defeating tougher combatants.
Gambit Salvager's Salvo
Earn Infamy ranks in Gambit.
Acquire the Toxicology ornament for the Salvager's Salvo Grenade Launcher.
Earn points by banking Motes, defeating Blockers, and defeating Invaders in Gambit.
Defeat powerful combatants in Gambit. Earn bonus progress for defeating high-value targets.
Dredgin' Up Victory
Defeat Guardians in Gambit. Earn bonus progress for defeating them as an Invader.
Primeval Entourage
Defeat Primeval Envoys in Gambit.
In It for Infamy
Feels Good to Be Bad
Clearing the Inner Circle
Complete Gambit matches. Earn bonus progress for wins.
Complete Crucible matches in the Competitive playlist.
Kill Them with Style
Iron Sharpens Iron
Defeat Guardians in the Mayhem playlist with Super abilities.
Acquire the Pyretic ornament for the Salvager's Salvo Grenade Launcher.
Flourish of Power
Earn Valor ranks.
Defeat Guardians in the Iron Banner with Elemental takedowns. Earn bonus progress for Stasis takedowns.
Win multiple rounds in the Trials of Osiris.
Complete matches in the Showdown Crucible playlist. Earn bonus progress for wins.
Cadre of Contenders
Beyond Legendary
Complete Iron Banner matches. Earn bonus progress for wins.
Entertain Lord Shaxx
Trial by Firing Squad
Acquire the Panacea ornament for the Salvager's Salvo Grenade Launcher.
Complete any Nightfall: The Ordeal strike on Grandmaster.
Complete any Nightfall: The Ordeal strike on Hero difficulty or higher.
Challenge Our Foes
Dominance Operandi: Cabal
Warrior from Beyond
Complete playlist strikes.
Conquest of the Mighty
Defeat Cabal bosses in strikes.
In strikes, defeat combatants with elemental final blows. Earn bonus progress by defeating combatants with   Stasis.
Decisive Strike
Defeat Champions in any Nightfall: The Ordeal strikes. Earn bonus progress at higher difficulty tiers.
Ultimate Champion
Dominance Operandi: Fallen
Defeat Fallen combatants in strikes. Earn bonus progress for defeating tougher combatants.
Vanguard Chosen
This consumable enables Lure Mutation mods as extra rewards when completing activities like strikes, Crucible, Gambit, public events, and other activities across the system for 24 hours.
Find Lure Mutation mods as extra rewards when completing activities for 24 hours.
Lure Mutation Finder
Lure Mutation Finder
Bell of Conquests
Hear the seventh strike, calling blades to meet.
Bell of Conquests
Hear the seventh strike, calling blades to meet.
This style of Cabal war bell, known as the Bell of Conquests, is a standout example of the traditional combat artistry known as scal'sangus—literally "blood etching"—popular during the Era of Lead, before the Cabal extended their reach beyond their immediate star system. These objects commemorated martial feats and personal victories but varied widely in appearance. Peasant mercenaries often simply stitched the carved teeth of their defeated foes into their leathers; those with more resources sometimes claimed the entire torsos of vanquished opponents to preserve, lacquer, and display as busts.
0
The Bell of Conquests was a less grisly chronicle of the victories of its owner. Unadorned bells were given to warriors at their first blood. Those who wished to challenge a warrior in combat would request their bell and ring it seven times.
0
As warriors collected victories, they could have artisans decorate their bells to commemorate their glories. These adornments allowed the bearers to call upon benefits for honorable combat related to their past victories: a warrior who had completed the Trial of Beasts could bring a trained war beast into a duel; a survivor of the Flayed Night was allowed to cut their opponent twice across the stomach; those who had withstood the Cold Iron Mouth could coat their blades in caustic white ash.
0
Defeating the bearer of a war bell entitled the victor to claim the bell as their own. The clapper of the bell would be carved with a shallow engraving representing the previous owner's cause of death. Ownership would fully transfer after the engraving had been worn away by new challengers ringing the bell. At that point, all the privileges the bell bestowed upon its former owner would be granted to the new holder. For this reason, elaborate war bells were both highly sought after and heavily defended.
0
War bells continued to be carried into the galactic-colonial period, and their decorations became even more refined. Intricate mosaics pressed with precious gems became symbols of wealth and granted further allowances in duels, while also creating a larger incentive for would-be challengers. As the scale of warfare increased, the logistical difficulties of claiming war bells became apparent. Captured war bells were sometimes melted down en masse and recast as elaborate war gongs, and there were specific rituals in place for spacefaring rivals to ring the gong in challenge.
0
In the post-Red War Cabal, few soldiers adhere to the tradition, as the Bell of Conquests is seen as a cumbersome relic. Nevertheless, they may still find a place of honor aboard the ships of those who wish to respect the combat traditions of their ancestors.
Battleground: Oracle
Battleground: Behemoth
Battleground: Cleansing
A group of former Red Legion Psions are communing with Vex prediction engines deep within Nessus. They seek to gain tactical insights by analyzing simulations of future events against their own psychic foresight.  Eliminate this threat before they can deliver their intelligence to Empress Caiatl.
Ritualistic Combat
In a bid to earn Empress Caiatl's favor, a Cabal force has descended on Europa to scour the icy moon for relics of the Golden Age including the secrets of the Exo contained in the Deep Stone Crypt. Travel to Europa and put a stop to this operation.
Socket a Challenger Medallion into the Hammer of Proving to receive the best rewards!
Empress Caiatl has deployed a tank fortress to Nessus and opened an invitation to survivors of the Red Legion to vie for a seat on her War Council. Vanquish the Cabal and prove yourself in glorious combat against her Chosen.
Join a fireteam of three and face the forces of Empress Caiatl.
Battlegrounds Playlist
Battleground: Hailstone
One of your fireteam members does not possess the Hammer of Proving.
In an act of vengeance for the destruction of their homeworld, the Cabal have struck out against a Hive nest dug deep into the Cosmodrome. Use this opportunity to hit the Cabal hard and show them that humanity will not back down.
Battlegrounds
Exotic Quest: Presage (Master)
A nearby anomaly flares with Dark radiation. Move quickly or fall to shadow.
Exotic Quest: Presage
Jump coordinates matching an errant distress signal.
Defeat targets with Void damage. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
"Our ancestors laid their armor in the pollen fields to bask in the sun, so that as they marched they carried the scent of home." —Cabal rumor
"There is no greater destruction than the one caused by oneself." —Rocket Launcher Tutorial, Aim Higher
Power and Glory
Successfully complete a Battleground.
Cabal Challenger
Defeat targets with Power weapons. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
Blades of the Gladiator
Crow's Foresight
"Bring every weapon you have to bear. " —Lord Saladin
"War, contest, challenge. I don't care what words we use. Hit your marks and do your jobs." —Lord Saladin
Arcus and Sagita
Defeat Cabal. Cabal defeated in Battlegrounds grant the most efficient progress.
Defeat targets with Energy weapons. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
"Make standing before you unbearable, and they will move." —Lord Saladin
Europan Front
Drumfire March
"The march ends when we stop firing." —Lord Saladin
"Those Psions aren't part of the regular patrol…" —The Crow, surveilling Nessus
Warrior of the Sun
Defeat powerful combatants or Guardians. Powerful combatants in Battlegrounds and Guardians are worth more.
"Shaw doesn't sound anything like Saint-14…" —The Crow
"Do not stare. Do not listen to the wind. Beneath the Pyramid, her voice whispers laughter from home." —Cabal rumor
Defeat combatants with Sniper Rifles. Combatants in Battlegrounds are worth more.
Defeat targets with melee abilities. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
Defeat combatants with Rocket Launchers. Combatants in Battlegrounds are worth more.
"Some say, in the first wave, a Psion felled a Tomb Ship with nothing but flaming arrows." —Cabal rumor
Armed with the Elements
Osiris's Marks
"Here is a list of names Crow has determined to be important. Make it shorter." —Osiris
Defeat combatants on Nessus. Combatants in Battlegrounds are worth more.
"After the planet had fallen, Tribe Kiraulc held firm in their fortress for weeks. Until the imperial bombardments began." —Cabal rumor
Defeat targets with grenades. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
Trained Perfection
Defeat targets with precision shots. Defeating combatants in Battlegrounds and defeating Guardians grants the most efficient progress.
Defeat targets with Solar damage. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
Defeat targets with Arc damage. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
Nessi-Centauri Front
"It is said the Gladiator Thur'Ak broke the charge at Tor'trol. He stood alone against Thrall one hundred strong." —Cabal rumor
"War, contest, challenge. I don't care what words we use." —Lord Saladin
Defeat combatants with Bows. Combatants in Battlegrounds are worth more.
"By the fifth day, great storms of dust swept across Torobatl, uplifted by the trembling of our guns." —Cabal rumor
Holliday's Delivery
Defeat combatants on Europa. Combatants in Battlegrounds are worth more.
Defeat targets with Kinetic weapons. Defeated combatants in Battlegrounds and defeated Guardians are worth more.
Victorious Challenger
Defeat combatants with Submachine Guns. Combatants in Battlegrounds are worth more.
"The Hive knew not fear, nor pain, nor pity. To face them, we made ourselves hollow." —Cabal rumor
Warrior of the Void
Warrior of the Storm
Defeat combatants in the Cosmodrome. Combatants in Battlegrounds are worth more.
"There is no greater."
"Leave an impression. This is a battle of perception. It's better to leave them humiliated." —Lord Saladin
Old Russian Front
Saladin's Assault
"Get that tank off my lawn." —Lord Saladin
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Energy weapons.
"They ain't got anything a little lead and powder won't fix." —Amanda Holliday
"Fire is more than just destructive power. It sews panic, obscures vision, and burns away plans." —Osiris
Arrowhead Challenger
Void-Light Challenger
Obliterating Challenger
"I don't think I need to tell you how to make an impression with this." —Lord Saladin
Sidestrap Challenger
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Bows.
"The storms on Europa make the Cabal uneasy? We can work with that." —Lord Saladin
Linear Challenger
"Nothing can stand against nothing. To be unmade from within… there is no defense." —Osiris
Hardline Challenger
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Solar abilities.
"A steady hand and a high rate of fire are your best allies this close to the enemy." —Lord Saladin
"From one point to another, uninterrupted and assured. From the moment you challenge to the moment they fall." —Lord Saladin
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Void Supers.
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Void abilities.
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Solar Supers.
"Mine's saved me more times that I'd like to admit." —Crow
Solar-Light Challenger
"The dragons of old were mythic firebreathers who brought destruction to their foes. Honor their legacy with your Light." —Lord Saladin
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Sniper Rifles.
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Arc abilities.
Rocket Challenger
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Rocket Launchers.
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Kinetic weapons.
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Power weapons.
Down Range Challenger
Arc-Light Challenger
"Be impenetrable. Be insurmountable. Be unyielding. Like the shields we mold from the Void." —Commander Zavala
"An Awoken design. Good for silent solitary hunts, and settling personal disputes." —Crow
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Sidearms.
"Heavy guns for heavy foes, Guardian. Cut those Cabal down to size." —Lord Saladin
Incinerating Challenger
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Linear Fusion Rifles.
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Arc Supers.
"If you Guardians can bottle your Light into bullets… I wonder if we could do the same for engines." —Amanda Holliday
Energetic Challenger
Heavy Weapons Challenger
In Battlegrounds, defeat combatants with Submachine Guns.
"This is how we have to strike: fast, fluid, and where their resistance is weakest." —Crow
Rapidfire Challenger
Electrifying Challenger
"I prefer it this way. A good long breath, and plenty of time to decide the shot." —Crow
Barrier Passcode Fragment
Imperial Access Code
Imperial relics, used as tokens of honor and power among the Cabal.
War Table Reputation (Medium)
 Cabal Gold
War Table Reputation (Large)
Chosen Engram
Engram containing gear from Season of the Chosen.
Cabal Officer's Comms
Light-disruptor Device
A relic of the old tradition, resurfaced to wake long-sleeping warriors.
Rewards for the Chosen of the Vanguard, who defeated Caiatl's Champion.
Hear the seventh strike, calling blades to meet.
Bell of Conquests
Challenger's Spoils
Vex Memory Fragment
Hammer of Proving
Cabal Consignment Manifest
(Salvager's Salvo Ornament) Toxicology
(Salvager's Salvo Ornament) Pyretic
(Salvager's Salvo Ornament) Panacea
Cabal Gold Boost II
Small chance to earn additional Cabal Gold from Strikes, Gambit, Crucible, and Public Events.
Increases your chances to earn additional Cabal Gold from Strikes, Gambit, Crucible, and Public Events.
Cabal Gold Boost I
Cabal Gold Boost III
Hammer of Proving
Cabal Ritual Artifact
Hammer Charges
Forge Challenger Medallions from Cabal Gold to challenge Caiatl's chosen warriors in Battlegrounds.
0
The hammer must be equipped to acquire Cabal Gold.
Etched Challenger Medallion
An etched Challenger Medallion pierced by a ceremonial knife. Destroy a Tribute Chest in the Battlegrounds playlist to temporarily increase Hammer Charge capacity. Effective until the next Umbral Engram is focused at the Prismatic Recaster. Effect doesn't stack.
A Challenger Medallion suffused in Darkness. Earn an Umbral Engram from the Tribute Chests in the Battlegrounds Playlist.
A Challenger Medallion containing a simple etched rune on its surface that represents the concept of tribute from honor. Destroy a Tribute Chest in the Battlegrounds playlist to earn a Hammer Charge.
Radiant Challenger Medallion
Pierced Challenger Medallion
Challenger Medallion
Darkened Challenger Medallion
An etched Challenger Medallion that glows with power. Grants additional Hammer Charges from destroying Tribute Chests in the Battlegrounds Playlist, but costs more Imperial Gold to make.
An empty slot where a Challenger Medallion can be placed.
No Challenger Medallion
Kinetic Rune
Gain a chance to earn an additional Hammer Charge from smashing the Tribute Chest.
Glimmering Rune
Gain a chance to find Cabal Gold in the Tribute Chest.
Emissive Rune
Gain a chance to acquire Glimmer.
Cabal Rune
An empty slot where a Cabal Rune can be placed.
Avarice Rune
Smelting Pot
"What do you want, a reward? Oh… then see me in the Tower." —Lord Saladin
At any time during Season of the Chosen, get Super final blows, capture zones, and get Pulse Rifle final blows in the Iron Banner.
Steady Drums
At any time during Season of the Chosen, defeat opponents, capture zones, and get Solar or Arc ability final blows in the Iron Banner.
"Overwhelming firepower can lead you to victory, or stop you in your tracks." —Lord Saladin
At any time during Season of the Chosen, defeat opponents, capture zones, and get Submachine Gun final blows in the Iron Banner.
Lord Saladin pays you no mind as you approach, opting to instead look over battle plans and Cabal troop movements. "You performed well in the Banner, young Wolf. Take that training out into the field and send Caiatl running back to her burning homeworld."
Live Fire
"Your weapons will set the rhythm of battle." —Lord Saladin
Sounding Bell
Gauntlet's Chosen
At any time during Season  of the Chosen, complete matches, capture zones, and get Power weapon final blows in the Iron Banner.
"Cast all of yourself into the Banner. When the slag runs off, what remains will reform stronger." —Lord Saladin
Saladin's Gauntlet
"Close the distance and leave them nowhere to retreat." —Lord Saladin
Pulled Pins and Fragmentation
Earn points by defeating combatants in Crucible, Gambit, or strike playlists. Significant bonus progress for Grenade and Grenade Launcher final blows. Also, complete Crucible, Gambit, or strike matches. Bonus progress for Crucible and Gambit wins, or Nightfall strikes.
"I remember. You had the launcher." —Banshee-44
Banshee-44 lifts the launcher for you to take. "See what you think. I tweaked it. Snappy and quick. Don't thank me, the work occupies… If anything, I should be thanking you."
Circle Back
Banshee-44 tunes an unfinished weapon frame as you approach him. "Lot of things coming to light recently. Maybe it's best to put it out of your head and focus on the simple things."
0
Banshee looks up from his work. "Get everything in tune before moving forward, you know? Here's your kit. Keep em on their heels."
Return to Banshee-44 at the Tower to receive your reward.
"Pretty straight forward, yeah?" —Banshee-44
Messy Business
Thrown, Launched, or Otherwise
Gain Valor ranks and get Grenade Launcher final blows; rapidly defeating opponents grants the most efficient progress.
"I can always tell which explosions are yours, Guardian." —Lord Shaxx
"Your awareness is impeccable. When I put a Grenade Launcher into the hands of a rookie, they're just as likely to injure themselves as they are the enemy. They're timid, conservative, but not you. You, I would trust with one of those beautiful grenade-lobbing machines any day, on any battlefield." 
0
Shaxx nods to his equipment. "I'm keeping the recordings of your best matches as a teaching implement. Keep it up, Guardian."
To the Tower Crier
Return to Shaxx at the Tower for your reward.
"YES THOSE COUNT. I SAID MORE." —Lord Shaxx
Crucible Salvager
Mote-vated Bombing Run
Bank Motes and deal Grenade Launcher final blows; bonus progress for rapidly defeating targets.
"All right, all right… you punched that ticket mighty quick. Now come and collect." —The Drifter
"Between you 'n me, I'm surprised they let me back in here after that whole runabout on Europa."
0
Drifter looks around as if someone could secretly eavesdrop on him in this open room. "You know what they say about where you keep your friends and enemies? The real trick is to be neither, then no one knows what to do with you. Ya dig?"
Hero's Welcome
Return to the Drifter at the Tower for your reward.
"That mean machine packs a punch. Why not take it into Gambit and make it rain?" —The Drifter
Gambit Salvager
Destructive Deployment
Run playlist strikes and deal Grenade Launcher final blows. Bonus progress for rapidly defeating combatants and defeating them in Nightfall: The Ordeal.
"You've left our mark in the enemy's territory. They won't soon forget it." —Commander Zavala
"Well done, Guardian. We conduct strikes in this manner not only to keep and hone our own skillsets, but also to create… memorable defeats for our enemies." Zavala smiles. "Their stories of our might are just as powerful as the weapons we wield against them. Leaving an impression can dissuade future aggressions. Any battle we don't have to fight is a good one—and, of course, to the victor go the spoils. Enjoy."
With Weapon in Hand
Return to Zavala at the Tower for your reward.
"Our enemies should hear us coming and know that it is time to run." —Commander Zavala
Strike Salvager
Rising tensions with Caiatl and her followers have stretched the Vanguard thinner than ever. For ease of communication, the War Table will serve as a hub for important messages and weekly updates regarding the conflict with the Cabal.
Battleground: Behemoth
H.E.L.M. toured
You've dealt a serious blow, but Empress Caiatl is not the type to give up so easily. Though she has yet to officially declare war, she has issued a call to all Cabal commanders to prove themselves worthy of a seat on her War Council. It seems the tank on Nessus was one Commander Dracus's answer to that invitation.
0
This escalation of tensions cannot be ignored. Zavala has designated a new space in the Tower—the Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers—for handling this crisis. Report there for further instructions.
Battleground: Behemoth
Bring the Bell of Conquests you found to the War Table in the H.E.L.M. to receive further instructions.
The War Table
The H.E.L.M.
The War Table has a notification from Osiris:
0
Impressive work, Guardian. You'll get a full briefing soon, but in the meantime, let me fill you in on that Cabal artifact you picked up on Nessus. It's known as the Bell of Conquests.  
0
I've attached a reading with more details, but in short: by claiming that bell, you've officially declared yourself challenger to the Cabal Empire. Caiatl's commanders won't stop coming for you until they see you buried and the bell retrieved. 
0
You made a bold move, but I believe we can use it to our advantage. We'll talk more soon.
#NAME?
There's a strange artifact included in your victory-spoils. Zavala will want to see this. Report to the new H.E.L.M. space with your findings.
0
The H.E.L.M. can be accessed via the Tower director map.
A Challenger Rises
Complete the Battleground: Behemoth activity on Nessus.
Shortly after Zavala rebuffed Caiatl's conditional peace offer, he received word of an Imperial Land Tank reaping destruction on Nessus. The Vanguard needs you on the ground to get a closer look.
War Table visited
Engram focused
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
While the Iron Is Hot
War Table visited
Wield the Hammer of Proving to pillage Cabal Gold by completing playlist strikes, Gambit, Crucible, public events, dungeons, Nightmare Hunts, or the Blind Well.
0
The Hammer of Proving permits challenges of honorable combat to be issued, skirting the risk of total war with the Cabal. However, to be recognized as legitimate, it must be socketed with Cabal Gold.
H.E.L.M. Systems
Precious Plunder
Battleground: Hailstone completed
In the face of Zavala's rebuke, a Cabal fleet sits just outside Vanguard space off the orbit of Nessus. Smaller detachments have been reported near Europa, with supply caravans feeding deep into the system. Lord Saladin, Osiris, and the Crow orchestrate a Vanguard response with you at the spearhead.
Meet Osiris and Crow near the War Table in the Tower's H.E.L.M.
Offerings recovered from pillaging Cabal war chests can be retrofitted for Guardian deployment in the H.E.L.M.
Debriefed
Briefing
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Another notification from Osiris is present on the War Table:
0
It's working, Guardian. Each challenge you issue sends another fracture through the Cabal's confidence in Caiatl's leadership. Unruly systems have broken Cabal leaders before. Keep pushing, and do remember to take the spoils of your triumphs. By Cabal law, those offerings belong to you now… maybe we can make something from them with that hammer you're wielding.
#NAME?
Laid Claim
Engram decrypted
Use Cabal Gold to socket a Challenger Medallion into the Hammer of Proving. Once done, you will be ready to issue a challenge. The Hammer of Proving can be found in the Quest tab of the Director.
"Decrypting the Darkness" completed
Offerings recovered from pillaging Cabal war chests can be retrofitted for Guardian deployment in the H.E.L.M.
Pillage Tribute to Caiatl
Heavy Cabal activity has been reported on Europa. A devious commander, Basilius, is scouring the ice for an offering to Caiatl. Bury them before they find anything valuable enough to earn a seat on her council.
With your Challenger Medallion socketed, the Hammer of Proving is ready. Challenge a prospective Commander and pillage Caiatl's Tribute Chest at the end of a Battleground to disrupt their Rite of Proving. The Battlegrounds playlist may be found in the Director under Vanguard missions.
Cabal Gold
Defeating Commander Dracus has halted the Cabal push on Nessus, but Nessus is not the Vanguard's only concern. Cabal all over the Sol system have started vying for Caiatl's attention, hoping to earn a seat on her War Council. This cannot be allowed.
0
Osiris has devised a strategy for rebuffing the Imperial Cabal incursion without total open war. Caiatl is using an ancient Cabal tradition known as the Rite of Proving to select her War Council from Red Legion commanders to bring them back into the fold. Any challenger may approach these rites. Vanguard High Command directs Guardians to engage any and all prospective War Council appointees. With each disrupted rite, we send fractures through their empire's authority.
Return to the H.E.L.M. for a debriefing at the War Table with Lord Saladin.
War Table visited
Return to the H.E.L.M. and visit the War Table to investigate the ceremonial hammer you found.
The Umbral Decoder and Prismatic Recaster have been appropriated by the Vanguard and relocated to the H.E.L.M. Visit the Umbral Decoder to obtain the "Decrypting the Darkness" quest and then complete it.
H.E.L.M. Deployment
Debriefing
Listen to Osiris and Crow
The War Table holds a message from Lord Saladin.
0
Your efforts on Europa and Nessus were commendable, but there are dozens more opportunistic Cabal looking for a promotion. Sharpen your teeth on her commanders, Guardian. If Zavala won't press Caiatl's fleet directly, we'll have to settle for a death by a thousand cuts.
Battleground: Hailstone
Europa holds a treasure trove of technological and paracausal assets. Right now, a Cabal Commander named Basilius is skulking through the ice looking for anything he can find to present to the empress. Saladin wants you find him and disrupt his search by challenging him to combat. Either he fights you and dies, or he runs and dishonor does the rest.
While Caiatl's War Council remains vacant for the moment, more hopefuls initiate Rites of Proving across the system. Meet them in honorable combat on the Battlegrounds to stifle their plans and weaken Caiatl's hold on her empire.
Hammer Forged
As you approach the table, you notice the ceremonial hammer retrieved from your last mission. A warm, golden light radiates out from the mouth and eyes of the Cabal face sculpted into one head of the hammer, as though a fire burns inside.
0
It was an offering, Osiris says from behind you. "From the Red Legion to Caiatl. The Cryptarchs can provide more nuance about its history, but what matters is its purpose: a symbol of Cabal culture, power, entitlement. One you now wield."
0
Osiris spreads his hands and says, "Master the hammer, and forge yourself a path to victory."
Gilded Conquest
Hammer of Proving socketed
Ransack the Hoard
Investigate Cabal movements on Europa via the Battleground: Hailstone activity.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Challenger's Proving
Osiris's strategy for rebuffing the Imperial Cabal is to exploit an ancient Cabal tradition known as the Rite of Proving. Any challenger may approach these rites. Vanguard High Command wants you to disrupt as many Rites of Proving as possible, stalling Caiatl's recruitment effort.
Lord Saladin is waiting to brief you on the situation. Visit the War Table in the H.E.L.M.
Decrypt your focused Umbral Engram at the Umbral Decoder.
War Table visited
Offerings recovered from pillaging Cabal war chests can be retrofitted for Guardian deployment in the H.E.L.M.
The Hammer of Proving has been charged from your pillaging. Visit the War Table in the H.E.L.M. to learn how to utilize your charged hammer and your pillaged loot.
Use the Hammer of Proving to focus an Umbral Engram at the Prismatic Recaster in the H.E.L.M.
Spoils of Battles
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Battleground: Cleansing
Complete the Battleground: Cleansing activity in the Cosmodrome.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Osiris and Crow have been closely monitoring your progress, as well as sifting through Cabal communiques and deployment reports. Our initial actions seem to have drawn Caiatl's ire, but Osiris is confident in our course of action.
Osiris has an update regarding Caiatl. Meet him by the War Table in the H.E.L.M.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
A hopeful Cabal commander named Val Ma'rag has begun an offensive push against Hive forces in the Cosmodrome as a symbolic offering to Caiatl. A symbolic victory can embolden her authority, and conquered Hive territory can provide ground for a new Firebase in Old Russia. They cannot be allowed to succeed. You are to challenge Val Ma'rag, and break his assault.
Battleground: Cleansing completed
Impasse
Listen to Osiris and Caiatl
Despite advocating for a more aggressive approach, Lord Saladin cannot deny the merits of your success. A correspondence awaits you at the War Table.
Challenger's Proving II
Visit the War Table in the H.E.L.M. for a mission update.
The War Table holds a message from Lord Saladin.
0
The Iron Lord notes that Caiatl's initial push into the system has been halted by Vanguard counter-maneuvers and imbedded intel operatives. He is quick to point out that this hasn't stopped the line of Red Legion commanders flying Caiatl's banners and making offerings to secure seats on her War Council.
0
He reminds you that Zavala has chosen a battle of perseverance over one of might to avoid total war. Saladin offers some advice, "Keep hitting them, over and over again, until they stop standing back up."
Lord Saladin says a Cabal named Val Ma'rag marches across the Forgotten Shore to meet the Hive in battle.
0
He mentions that the Hive took Torobatl, Caiatl's homeworld, before her fleet found their way to Sol. Break their Commander before they find the satisfaction of revenge.
Mission Briefing
The War Table has new information gathered from the front lines.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Battleground: Oracle
Complete Battleground: Oracle on Nessus.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Osiris understands the threat Vex technology poses in the wrong hands, and he has seen what a few determined Psions are capable of when left unchecked. He is eagerly awaiting your report in the H.E.L.M.
Meet Osiris in the War Room.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Return to the H.E.L.M. for a debriefing at the War Table with Lord Saladin.
War Table visited
Vanguard scouts report a detachment of Psions led by one: Ixel, the Far-Reaching has moved deep into Vex territory on Nessus. Lord Saladin explains that Osiris is the expert here, but he has spoken enough about Vex temporal capabilities for Saladin to know that this cannot end well. The Iron Lord wants you to find out what the enemy is up to.
Complete Battleground: Oracle
Through the Fog of Battle
Debriefing
Psions gaining access to Vex prediction engines is a dangerous development. Vanguard High Command requests you debrief with Lord Saladin and exercise caution while traveling alone.
Challenger's Proving III
The War Table holds a message from Lord Saladin.
0
Vex prediction engines? And right under my nose. Osiris is playing with fire now. If those Psions were able to extract anything of use, they won't wait long to hit us with it. Eyes up, Young Wolf… for whatever they're planning.
A detachment of Cabal forces has been sifting through Vex technology on Nessus. It's unclear what they're after, but it's not far-fetched to assume they're looking for something to offer Caiatl. Vanguard High Command is concerned the concentration of Psions among the detachment could allow them access to Vex probability algorithms and battle data.
Wreak Havoc
Crow has requested your presence in the H.E.L.M.
Predicted Missing
Clip Their Wings
Skydock IV Lost Sector completed
Discover what the Cabal were doing on Europa by obtaining and decrypting Vex Memory Fragments. Defeat Vex in Asterion Abyss on Europa to obtain Vex Memory Fragments. Precision final blows have an additional chance to drop a fragment.
Perdition Lost Sector completed
Decrypting the Vex Memory Fragments revealed that the Cabal were conducting research experiments in Perdition. Determine what the Cabal found by completing the Perdition Lost Sector in Cadmus Ridge on Europa.
Lord Saladin urges you to keep pressuring the Cabal. With each defeat, Caiatl loses the respect of her soldiers and control over her subjects. While you're deployed to the Battlegrounds, Saladin has directed Crow to continue looking into the futures Ixel, the Far-Reaching, saw on Nessus.
The Crow visited
The device you were chasing appears to be a Light-disruptor, meant to break one's connection to the Traveler.
0
Share your findings with Crow in the H.E.L.M.
Debriefing
Debrief with Lord Saladin at the War Table.
During your mission to foil Ixel, the Far-Reaching on Nessus, troubling data pulled from Vex prediction engines foretold a series of futures where Zavala has suffered a final death. Crow believes the Cabal will try to act on these predictions and that Zavala is in danger.
To Fell the Mighty
Vex Memory: Cabal Activity
The Pit looted
Lord Saladin is outraged that the Cabal would sink so low, but he is not surprised. He commends your fieldwork, and says you should keep pressure on the Cabal. They cannot be allowed such a brazen act without consequences.
Crow offers a restrained fist pump. He mutters affirmation under his breath. He seems impressed by the Light-disruptor, and thankful for your help, but behind his eyes, you can tell his mind is racing over what this could mean. He's glad he spoke up. He thinks something like this could have easily gotten away from us.
0
You see Crow flinch as if a literal lightbulb flicked on inside his head. He mentions a report he'd seen: Psions hit the City and stole some tech. Then he'd heard a few Guardians hadn't checked in from field ops, and yesterday, one of their bodies was found. No Ghost. No Light. Dead by what looks like City weapons. He thinks whoever these Psions are, they've been at this for a while.
Lucky Break
Thread Ripper
Cabal Officer's Comms
Vex Memory Fragments collected
Cabal Consignment Manifest
Recollection
Crow's eyes are stern. His voice is strained with worry. He tells you he swung by Nessus; stopped by a Vex conflux near where you hit those Psions. He was worried and had to ease his mind. Glint tapped into them and managed to dig out a corrupted Cabal transmission from that site. It could be nothing, but they traced it back to Europa. Crow would feel better if a friend were to check it out.
Light-disruptor Device
Challenger's Proving IV
The communication device directed you to Skydock IV in the Sunken Isles in the EDZ. Complete Lost Sector Skydock IV to discover what Caiatl and her Cabal are hiding.
The shipping manifest obtained on Europa suggests the Cabal sent whatever they found to the EDZ. Search for clues by defeating combatants in Lost Sectors and completing The Pit Lost Sector within Firebase Hades in the EDZ.
Wreak havoc in Legion's Anchor in the EDZ by defeating Cabal. Rocket Launchers, Grenade Launchers, or grenade abilities grant the most efficient progress.
A Caged Immitation
Lord Saladin means to debilitate the Cabal forces by eliminating their Commanders and seizing their supplies.
Address the security breach with Osiris and Crow.
Tensions
Though he almost blew his cover, Crow's intervention in Caiatl's assassination attempt is beginning to show his value to the Vanguard.
Though he almost blew his cover, Crow's intervention in Caiatl's assassination attempt is beginning to show his value to the Vanguard.
Speak with Crow to hear his perspective before leaving.
Lord Saladin insists that you to respond to Caiatl's assassination attempt in kind, by eliminating as many Cabal Commanders as possible.
You can almost feel the heat of Lord Saladin's rage in his written word. He states Caiatl and her Cabal have shown their true colors, that of cowards and cutthroats. He wants retribution for their attack and demands all active Guardians redouble their patrols through Cabal territories.
0
His message urges Guardians to not hold back, to not show mercy, that the Cabal invited death on themselves.
0
He reminds you that they speak of honor and show none. Break them.
Breach addressed
Crow offers his apologies, but still believes he did the right thing. He's glad to have your support, and says he will be watching Commander Zavala's back more closely from here on out.
Debriefing
The Crow visited
Challenger's Proving V
Caiatl's assassination attempt on Zavala has ratcheted up tensions between the Cabal and Vanguard. Saladin insists that the only viable response is brutal retaliation.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Meet Saladin, Osiris, and Zavala at the War Table in the H.E.L.M.
The Chosen Strategy
Caiatl and her Cabal have grown too bold. Saladin, Osiris, and Zavala are meeting to discuss a plan to end this conflict. Your presence is required in the H.E.L.M.
Vanguard High Command is in agreement, albeit a tenuous one. A final challenge is to be issued to Caiatl to end this conflict.
Speak with Saladin through the War Table in the H.E.L.M.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Saladin warns of escalating Cabal brutality across the system. As Caiatl's council chambers remain empty, prospective commanders lash out in desperation. Their supply lines are straining, and confidence in the empire is waning. Saladin has seen what desperation can drive a foe to do and believes now is the opportune time to deliver a finishing blow.
Strategy devised
The War Table holds a message from Lord Saladin.
0
I don't trust these half measures, but regardless of my own opinion I have a duty to see it through. As do you. If Caiatl accepts our terms, we will crush her champion, whoever it may be. Now we wait and see how this new empress acts in the face of imminent defeat.
Debriefing
Challenger's Proving VI
Lord Saladin wants an end to this conflict, whether it be an all-out assault, or some other method. He is beginning to grow weary of half measures and is pressing Osiris and Zavala to act.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Chosen of the Vanguard
Guardians across the system have halted Caiatl's attempts at filling out her War Council, but tensions are ready to snap. To avoid all-out war, Zavala has approved Osiris's plan to issue a challenge to Caiatl that would bring a swift end to this conflict. Lord Saladin does not believe Caiatl can be trusted, after everything she has done, and is ready for the war that he sees on the horizon. The fate of the City rests on the edge of a knife. Find the balance and see this through.
Vanguard High Command has issued a challenge to the new Cabal Empire. A Vanguard victory will drive the Cabal from the Sol system, whereas a defeat would see the City brought under Cabal control. It falls to you. Defeat Caiatl's Champion aboard the Imperial Land Tank, Halphas Electus, and show them that Guardians do not bow to outside aggressors.
Commander Zavala looks you over and considers how much you've kept from him. He congratulates you, and celebrates a victorious City, but expresses a need for trust, for unity. He says that without those things the City could be destroyed from the inside like the Cabal were.
Complete the Proving Ground strike aboard the Halphas Electus.
The Crow visited
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Speak with Crow at the War Table.
Saladin bristles at the thought of gambling on some ceremonial bout instead of taking the fight to Caiatl's doorstep in one final assault. While he will defer to Commander Zavala and Osiris's plan, he has made it clear where he stands on the issue. Lord Saladin wants you to make it impossible for Caiatl to turn down Osiris's offer by pressuring her forces into submission across all of Sol's battlegrounds.
Debriefing
Chariot of Fire
Parting Ways, For Now
Commander Zavala has informed you that you have been chosen to fight for the City aboard the Imperial Land Tank, the Halphas Electus, on Nessus. Caiatl has accepted the challenge. Zavala tells you to assemble your fireteam and bring Caiatl's champion to their knees. He reminds you that if Caiatl suffers defeat here, she will have no choice but to concede or risk humiliation.
Crow's revelation is still being kept under wraps. While Vanguard High Command is aware of his identity, they would prefer to take a slow approach to spreading that information.
0
His gallantry has earned him a space in the City, however, and an official institution as a Guardian. With his first mission in hand from Zavala, the future is looking bright.
Challenger's Proving VII
Despite an initial unease, Crow seems pleased with Zavala's acceptance of him and his redeployment. He expresses that he feels a personal responsibility to track down any of the Psion actors that remain at large. He chuckles, looking at his broken mask. He mumbles something about a vendetta, wry smile on his face.
0
Crow wishes you the best, thanks you for all you've done for him… for the many doors you've opened and the life you, Osiris, and Glint showed him he could have. He's confident you'll see each other soon.
Caiatl's emissaries flood Sol with ceremonial Gold, a custom during the Era of Conquest. Conquered worlds are enriched to ease defeat and afford the opportunity to challenge officers for representation within the Cabal's leadership.
Your victory rings through the halls of the City, and the shadow of a unified Cabal Empire is fading from Sol's light. While the armistice with Caiatl is an uneasy one, it will hold for the time being.
Visit Zavala in the Tower.
You've gone head-to-head with Caiatl's Commanders, but the strongest are still to come. May this aid you in the coming challenges.
Increase Rank
Hammer Enhancements
Requires War Table Reputation Rank 11
Increase your rank with the War Table by completing certain Seasonal Challenges in Season of the Chosen.
Enhance the Hammer of Proving.
War Table
Battleground Bravery
Cabal Ritual Artifact
Center for operations against the Cabal.
Challenger's Tactics
The Hammer of Proving is used in traditional Cabal trials-by-combat. Improve the Hammer so the Cabal deem you a worthy challenger.
Increase Rank
Increase vendor rank to unlock.
Vendor Subscreen
Increase your strategic acumen to become the ultimate challenger.
Burnish your reputation with the Vanguard team in charge of resisting the Cabal.
Vanguard Operations
Hammer Enhancements
Requires Season of the Chosen
Vanguard Operations
Requires War Table Reputation Rank 22
A tactical display hub to track the Vanguard combat operations against Caiatl's Commanders.
Red Legion Chest III
Mission Focus II
Enhancement
Increase the amount of Cabal Gold you can hold from 56 to 70.
Increases the chance to earn random Season of the Chosen gear from the Red Legion chests in Battlegrounds.
Requires "Red Legion Chest II" Upgrade
Upgrade already unlocked
Each week, smashing a Tribute Chest rewards a random Season of the Chosen Focused Umbral Engram.
Cabal Gold III
Hammer Charge II
Increase the number of charges the Hammer of Proving can hold from 5 to 7.
Earn additional ranks to unlock this upgrade
Learn to make a new Challenger Medallion that increases Charge capacity until you focus an Umbral Engram with your Hammer.
Requires "Cabal Gold I" Upgrade
Proving Rune III
Requires "Hammer Charge II" Upgrade
Challenger Medallion II
Requires "Tribute Chest II" Upgrade
Requires "Tribute Chest I" Upgrade
Opening a Red Legion chest in Battlegrounds now has a chance to drop random Season of the Chosen gear.
Proving Rune I
Smash Tribute Chests in the Battlegrounds Playlist to earn 1 Cabal Gold.
Unlock a new slot on the Hammer. Also unlock a Proving Rune with the chance to award Cabal Gold from Tribute Chests.
Learn to make a new Proving Rune that grants a chance to earn a random Focused Umbral Engram.
Requires "Mission Focus I" Upgrade
Gain a chance to earn additional random Season of the Chosen gear when you smash Tribute Chests in the Battlegrounds playlist.
Requires "Challenger Medallion I" Upgrade
Hammer Charge III
Increase the number of charges the Hammer of Proving can hold from 3 to 5.
Smashing Tribute Chests rewards 2 Cabal Gold.
Challenger Medallion I
Increases the chance to earn random Season of the Chosen gear from the Red Legion chests in Battlegrounds.
Increase the number of charges the Hammer of Proving can hold from 7 to 10.
Challenger Medallion III
Requires "Tribute Chest I" Upgrade
Proving Rune II
Requires "Cabal Gold I" Upgrade
Each week, a second smashed Tribute Chest rewards a random Season of the Chosen Focused Umbral Engram.
Learn to make a new Challenger Medallion that grants an additional Hammer Charge, but costs more Cabal Gold.
Cabal Gold II
Requires "Cabal Gold II" Upgrade
Requires "Proving Rune I" Upgrade
Hammer Charge I
Enhancement mastered
Requires "Hammer Charge I" Upgrade
Mission Focus I
Requires "Challenger Medallion II" Upgrade
Requires "Challenger Medallion I" Upgrade
Requires "Proving Rune II" Upgrade
Requires "Red Legion Chest I" Upgrade
Mission Focus III
Cabal Gold I
Requires "Red Legion Chest I" Upgrade
Requires "Tribute Chest I" Upgrade
Learn to make a new Proving Rune that grants a chance to earn an additional Hammer Charge by smashing Tribute Chests in the Battlegrounds playlist.
Increase the amount of Cabal Gold you can hold from 70 to 84.
Red Legion Chest II
Red Legion Chest I
Enhancement III
Tribute Chest II
Requires "Hammer Charge I" Upgrade
Increase the amount of Cabal Gold you can hold from 42 to 56.
Enhancement I
Enhancement II
Tribute Chest I
Requires "Mission Focus II" Upgrade
Learn to make a new Challenger Medallion, which grants a chance to earn a random focused Season of the Chosen Umbral Engram.
Tribute Chest III
Each week, a third smashed Tribute Chest rewards a random Season of the Chosen Focused Umbral Engram.
Forge a Cabal Rune
Hammer Mods
Forge Challenger Medallions out of Cabal Gold to challenge Caiatl's commanders.
Runes grant chances of gaining additional rewards from Tribute Chests in the Battlegrounds Playlist.
Season 13: Exotic Quest: Presage Completions (Weekly)
The number of times Exotic quest "Presage" has been completed this week.
0
Resets weekly during Season of the Chosen.
Season 13: Challenger Chests (Weekly)
Season 13: Presage Carries (Weekly)
Season 13: Proving Grounds Completions
Highest rank achieved for Season of the Chosen.
Season 13: Challenger Chests
Season 13: Presage Master Time
Season 13: Hammer Charges
The number of Battlegrounds Challenger Chests smashed with the Hammer of Proving during Season of the Chosen.
The fastest completion time achieved in the quest "Presage" on Master difficulty during Season of the Chosen.
Season 13: Season Rank
The number of Hammer Charges spent to focus Umbral Engrams during Season of the Chosen.
The number of players guided through mission "Presage" who had not completed it before during Season of the Chosen.
The number of Hammer Charges spent to focus Umbral Engrams this week.
0
Resets weekly during Season of the Chosen.
The fastest completion time achieved in Exotic quest "Presage" on Master difficulty this week.
0
Resets weekly during Season of the Chosen.
The number of Battlegrounds Challenger Chests smashed with the Hammer of Proving this week.
0
Resets weekly during Season of the Chosen.
The number of times the "Presage" quest has been completed during Season of the Chosen.
The number of times strike "Proving Grounds" has been completed during Season of the Chosen.
Season 13: Presage Completions
Season 13: Hammer Charges (Weekly)
Season 13: Presage Master Difficulty Fastest Time (Weekly)
The number of players guided through Exotic quest "Presage" who had not completed it before this week.
0
Resets weekly during Season of the Chosen.
Season 13: Presage Carries
Complete Battlegrounds Playlist activities.
Battle Hardened
Battlegrounds
Blood and Honor
Interact with the War Table
Complete bounties from the War Table.
"We would rather lose with honor than win dishonestly." —Empress Caiatl
War Table bounties
Evicting the Cabal
Return to the War Table in the H.E.L.M.
Cabal Gold Boost II
Crucible Threaded Needle Scrounger
Strike Threaded Needle Scrounger
Brass Attacks Masterwork Bonus
Gambit Threaded Needle Scrounger
Crucible Brass Attacks Scrounger
Grants a chance to receive additional Season Pass Threaded Needle drops from completing strikes.
Increases the tier level of all Season Pass Brass Attacks weapons by +1.
Grants a chance to receive additional Season Pass Brass Attacks drops from completing Crucible matches.
Gambit Brass Attacks Scrounger
Cabal Gold Boost I
Grants a chance to receive additional Season Pass Brass Attacks drops from completing Gambit matches.
Threaded Needle Masterwork Bonus
Increases the tier level of all Season Pass Threaded Needle weapons by +1.
Cabal Gold Boost III
Grants a chance to receive additional Season Pass Threaded Needle drops from completing Gambit matches.
Strike Brass Attacks Scrounger
Grants a chance to receive additional Season Pass Threaded Needle drops from completing Crucible matches.
Grants a chance to receive additional Season Pass Brass Attacks drops from completing strikes.
Expires at the end of Season 14
[REDACTED]
Season of [REDACTED]
The Glykon
Derelict Vessel
Space
With the feathers of Light collected, it is time to return to the Hawk—an aspect of the Traveler—to see what is to come.
Feathers of paracausal energy have once more manifested themselves through the reservoir. Collect them before Savathûn's Taken can.
The Traveler has once more reached out, beckoning you and Crow from across vast distances to return to the EDZ and the reservoir where you previously confronted Savathûn's forces.
Choose your chosen style!
Season of the Chosen Ends Soon
Season of the Chosen Starter Bundle
Last chance to get Season of the Chosen items!
Adorn your weapons with this selection of ornaments!
Burial Wrap
Season of the Chosen Universal Ornaments
Season of the Chosen
Season of Chosen Weapon Ornaments
Synchrotron Accessories
Taurus Accessories
Celestial Accessories
Classic Looks
Update the look of your new Scout Rifle!
Gain access to exclusive Season Pass rewards!
Metropolitan Accessories
A highlighted armor ornament.
Gigantes Accessories
Celebrate the Games with some flair!
Guardian Games Accessories
New Guardian Games Armor Ornaments
A large quantity of Bright Dust.
Large Bright Dust Pile
Nightfall Weapon (Uncommon)
Nightfall Weapon (Rare)
Nightfall Weapon (Common)
Trials of Osiris Weapon
And Still We Stood
Contender's Banner
Stalking Shades
Shadow Market
A Vile Quarry
Promise of Payback
Lightcrash
Knockout Punch
Seismic Slam
Whirling Edge
By My Blade
Shield Slam
Shell of Gilgamesh
For Ghosts who've delved into the underworld.
"I don't want to do this," Katabasis said flatly. His legs hung over the precipice of a towering Vex pillar on Nessus. Calus's pleasure barge whirred as engines fired to life in the distance. "A job every now and then's one thing…"
0
Katabasis thumbed the small royal jewel seated in his newly gifted imperial coin. He didn't know if this was an invitation one could refuse, and operating outside of the City's jurisdiction had become more and more lucrative in a time when Consensus resources felt taxed beyond their limit. Without a Hunter Vanguard soliciting reports of his activities, it had become all too easy to slip away on illicit solo missions.
0
Gilgamesh, Katabasis's Ghost, leered at the Guardian before pivoting to bask in the shadow of the Leviathan. "The trust of an emperor isn't something to squander."
0
It was a trust Kata and Gilly had fought hard to obtain. Tracking game through the jungles of Venus. Poaching strange quantum jellyfish in the storms of Saturn. Putting down Red Legion traitors—anyone seeking to corral Calus and his loyalists into a paddock for Caiatl's judgment. Katabasis's hunts had always been painted against the grand planet-scape of a wild frontier. He wasn't a fan of fish in a barrel, and he didn't want to become one. Something about sitting in a Cabal cruiser in empty space felt awfully like a sealed barrel surrounded by ocean. Locked in with nowhere to run.
0
More like I'm the only one left listening to his ranting. Katabasis pocketed the imperial. "His kid is making him antsy. Probably reckless too. I swear the Reddies we're gunning down are just anyone Calus can find with a name worth taking," he stated nonchalantly.
0
Is that so bad?
0
Used to be the only difference between Reddies and Calus's boys was politics. I don't mind throwing some political lead downrange so long as it's isolated, but this is the Dark, little buddy. Feels wrong. Feels like something we shouldn't mess with on our own.
0
You can accept his offer and crew up, or take your sorry self back to the City and wait for orders from an empty chair, Gilly sneered. "Think of what we could learn. Those wannabe god-slayers chasing Stasis on Europa had one thing right. Power decides the future. We should have been there to take it with them."
0
A voyage to the Darkness isn't the story I was hoping to retire on. Katabasis chuckled before continuing. "Or maybe it is… I've been tired lately."
0
The Light is getting thinner, Katabasis. I can feel it, sharing space with something else we've yet to tap. Gilly swung around to face his Guardian. "We need something to fall back on, friend. We've been around for a long time. We've always been told to mind our step, stay in the sun, right? But what happened the second we started to choose our own path out in the shadows?"
0
The Hunter looked to his Ghost. "We got stronger; richer." Gilly had a nose for this sort of thing. Every time Katabasis had listened to him, Gilly had led him to a new discovery: a new power, taught him to wield the Arc staff, taught him to dance through the shadows. These discoveries had their prices, their scars, their lessons… But what are scars to an immortal?
Challenger Shell
For Ghosts ready to face any challenge.
Split  shields and splintered timber cluttered the field. The Ghost felt her Guardian expire before his body hit the ground. They had expected a one-on-one challenge, but instead had sprung an ambush: a fake rite meant to draw Guardians into a killing field. Scorpius turrets deployed and locked targets. Phalanxes walled Guardian and Ghost in, as planted demolition charges armed. A heavy slug thrower spun up in Cabal hands. Gunfire crowded the air, and the Guardian responded in kind. The bloodbath resolved in moments, as so many do. Encircled by several broken Cabal defenders, the Ghost felt her Guardian's Light fade.
0
She heard the remaining Cabal searching for her; looking to finish her off and lure in another. She shimmied from under her Guardian's body, snaked through dead Cabal, and slinked over oil-stained dirt—out of sight, avoiding detection from the scanning turrets above. The Ghost made her way to the outskirts of the battleground before doubling back to exploit the turret's blind spot.
0
Rays of Light cascaded over the turret's frame as the Ghost hacked its targeting computer, delivered an override to its command module, and redirected authority to herself. She told herself the Cabal were her enemy. She did not listen to their gasps of surprise as rounds loosed from the dual Scorpius barrels. She did not look at the confusion on their faces as heavy projectiles punched them down. It was all she could do not to feel the same remorse she had so many years ago when she had last needed to defend her charge.
0
It was done. A lone Ghost in the deathly stillness of the EDZ.
0
She drifted passed the massacre and hovered over her Guardian. She wondered: if the Traveler had chosen Torobatl instead of Earth, would her allegiances be reversed? Would she be battle-sister to a Cabal Legionary holding the line against the forces of Xivu Arath? Humanity had its tyrants: warlords and brigands from before the Golden Age, through the Dark Age, and long after the City's establishment. What made her side the right one? It was a question she had been asking too often these days in the spaces between heartbeats.
0
She remembered those first desperate months after finding her Guardian. Their journey to the City had not been easy, and they had fought  with each other many times before she gained his trust. Maybe there is was no difference. At one time, her Guardian had felt that he was simply a victim of circumstance; maybe the Cabal were too.
0
She looked to her Guardian, now a proud defender of the City, and to the Cabal bodies around him. Today they were enemies, but tomorrow… She thought about potential, of how the Traveler took barren worlds and rejuvenated them. Like a miracle, a resurrection. Reborn not as what they were, but as what they could be. If that's what Ghosts were meant to do with their Guardians, then maybe anyone could be saved with the right guidance, even a Cabal brute.
0
She raised her Guardian once more, determined to keep cultivating his potential.
0
He looked out over the battlefield at her handiwork. "They weren't expecting you, were they?"
0
0
In Memoriam Shell
For Ghosts who are a beacon of Light.
The Tower Hangar had never been a particularly quiet space, but today's din seemed to set record levels. The whoosh  of jumpships had been near-constant as fireteam after fireteam rolled through on their way to one of many battlegrounds . 
0
Luckily, Saint-14 had a voice that could carry over it all: "Welcome, Guardians!" Standing in his usual spot by the Gray Pigeon , he bellowed jubilantly to Trial-seekers, greeting each and every one as if they were old friends. 
0
Underneath his cheer, however, there was an unease. Some internal wire pulled taut by the arrival of the Pyramids. Ever since the latest incident in the Trials,  his tension had increased daily, steadily ratcheting towards an inevitable breaking point. 
0
There had been incidents before—that was to be expected when Guardians clashed. The point was to limit those altercations to a controlled environment. Yet lately, Saint wondered whether he really was in control after all…
0
But just as the clouds of doubt began to settle, they lifted when the crowd parted to reveal a familiar gold-hooded figure  in their midst. His shoulders seemed a little more stooped without Sagira zipping around them, but his purposeful stride, his furrowed brow… these remained the same. 
0
Osiris! Saint called out. Several heads swiveled in his direction, startled by the sudden shout. Osiris, for his part, merely looked bemused as he changed course. 
0
What is it? Osiris asked as he drew closer. "Did something happen?" 
0
No, Saint responded quickly. Too quickly. "Well, yes… A small something. Under control, but…" He was stumbling, unsure how to explain himself. "I sent a message. You didn't get it?" 
0
Osiris frowned, impatient. "I've received a lot of messages lately. Was it urgent?" 
0
Saint flinched. He didn't know it had to be urgent. "It's about the Trials. They are named for you and… now that you're here, I thought it was time you…"
0
Ah. You want me to take over the Trials. Osiris shrugged. "It's not a good time. Shut them down if you're tired of it." 
0
What? No! Saint hadn't expected this. "Not tired. I am worried! There have been—" He stopped, suddenly aware of the passersby. He gestured for Osiris to follow him into his ship. 
0
Osiris crossed his arms. "I'm keeping Lord Saladin waiting. The issue of the Cabal is somewhat urgent. As you can see." 
0
I know, but… Saint lowered his voice, "But there is a kind of war brewing in the Trials too. Guardians going too far. Wielding Darkness." 
0
Really? Osiris' eyes glinted with renewed interest. "To what effect?" 
0
Saint stared at him. Inside, the wire tightened one more impossible  inch. At last, he said, "It varies." 
0
Interesting. Osiris rubbed his chin, thinking. A datapad at his hip dinged with a reminder. He groaned at it, then turned back to Saint. "If it happens again, take notes, will you?" 
0
Without waiting for a response, he turned away. Saint's iron arm shot out and grabbed him by the elbow. 
0
 "Is that all this is to you? An experiment?" Saint spat, trying and failing to keep his voice down. He couldn't contain himself any longer. He'd waited for days for a response. Fretting over the silence, but forcing himself to give his comrade space. "So what am I then? Your assistant? Just because Sagira is gone—"
0
Enough, Osiris snarled, yanking his arm back. "Never speak of her to me again. Understand?" 
0
Saint stepped back, immediately awash in regret. His mind raced. He should say something, anything, to make it better. To put things to rights. But what? 
0
Before he could come up with an answer, Osiris spoke: "Continue the Trials or don't. But if you don't have the stomach  to collect that data, someone should. It could be key to our survival. All of ours." And with that, he strode off. 
0
Saint watched as Osiris disappeared into the throng. The tension in him was gone. All he felt now was the agonizing wound left by the wire's snap. 
0
Ikora's words from not so long ago echoed in the back of his mind: "…You know Osiris better than anyone else." 
0
Not true. Saint knew him well, but not better than Sagira. And without her around…
0
He wasn't sure he knew Osiris at all.
Buoyant Shell
For Ghosts who lift spirits.
Refreshing Shell
For Ghosts who loathe dehydration.
For Ghosts who always bounce back.
Plush Shell
Half-Volley Shell
For Ghosts who remember the good times.
For Ghosts who take the scenic route.
Metropolis Shell
For Ghosts who serve the Last City.
Taurus Shell
For Ghosts who seek guidance in the stars.
For Ghosts who get the job done.
For Ghosts who crave velocity.
Gigantes Shell
Synchrotron Shell
Veloce Shell
Celestial Shell
For Ghosts who put weight on their shoulders.
Gladitorial Entrance
Contender's Entrance
Ossified Entrance
Heartbreaking Entrance
Grim Harvest
Defeating slowed or frozen combatants creates  Stasis shards. These shards grant melee energy when picked up by you or your allies.
A worn blade, hewn by vicious crystalline razors; a single edge now severed into a thousand. You rend the universe itself and drink its seeping energy.
Howl of the Storm
While sliding, activate your charged melee ability to launch a wave of  Stasis energy forward that freezes targets and creates  Stasis crystals.
The wicked talons of a war beast, frozen in a perpetual lunge. The creature is gone; all that remains is the violent momentum. You leap with feral force and the air itself echoes your rage.
Bleak Watcher
Press and hold the grenade button to convert your grenade into a  Stasis turret that fires slowing projectiles at nearby targets.
The gaping eye of a machine, forever trapped in a glacial prison. You set loose the unrelenting gaze of death itself upon your foes.
Your melee energy recharges faster when you are near two or more combatants.
Whisper of Chains
While you are near frozen targets or a friendly  Stasis crystal, you take reduced damage from targets.
Damaging targets with a  Stasis melee reloads your stowed weapons and grants you a temporary boost to weapon ready speed.
You gain grenade energy each time you take damage from combatants.
Whisper of Fractures
Whisper of Impetus
Whisper of Torment
Upgrades this weapon to a Masterwork.
0
It will generate Orbs on rapid takedowns and gain a tracker that displays the number of combatants defeated with it. The Masterworked weapon will also receive additional capabilities.
0
Defeat combatants using this weapon to unlock this upgrade.
0
Opening Hidden Caches during Exotic quest "Presage" will unlock this objective faster.
Ticuu's Divination Catalyst
Dead Man's Tale Catalyst
Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of Salvager's Salvo. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Toxicology
Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of Salvager's Salvo. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Pyretic
Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of Salvager's Salvo. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Panacea
Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of Ticuu's Divination. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Tertiary Objective
Burial Wrap
Hasta Solari
Atropos
Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of Anarchy. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Scrimshander's Song
Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of Dead Man's Tale. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Worldshaper
Uniocracy
Pale Rider
Foundational Structure
Equip this weapon ornament to change the appearance of The Fourth Horseman. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Charmed, I'm Sure
Equip this ornament to change the appearance of Liar's Handshake. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Mindvault
Induction Ceremony
Equip this ornament to change the appearance of Stormdancer's Brace. Once you get an ornament, it's unlocked for all characters on your account.
Legatus Strides
Legatus Mask
Legatus Cloak
Legatus Grips
Legatus Cuirass
Celestial Strides
Celestial Mask
Celestial Cloak
Celestial Grips
Celestial Cuirass
Contender Strides
Contender Mask
Contender Cloak
Contender Grips
Contender Vest
Legatus Greaves
Legatus Helm
Legatus Mark
Legatus Gauntlets
Legatus Plate
Celestial Greaves
Celestial Helm
Celestial Mark
Celestial Gauntlets
Celestial Plate
Contender Greaves
Contender Helm
Contender Mark
Contender Gauntlets
Contender Plate
Legatus Boots
Legatus Cover
Legatus Bond
Legatus Gloves
Legatus Robes
Celestial Boots
Celestial Cover
Celestial Bond
Celestial Gloves
Celestial Robes
Contender Boots
Contender Cover
Contender Bond
Contender Gloves
Contender Robes
You specialize in keeping your allies in the fight.
Foebreaker Chant
Sect of Insight
Sect of Force
Glorious Charge
Aeon's Inspiration
When you use a finisher on an Elite, you generate Special ammo for your fireteam; when you use a finisher on a boss or miniboss, you generate Heavy ammo for your fireteam. Nearby Aeon cult allies who do not have the Sect of Insight role equipped also gain a bonus to weapon damage for a short time.
Successive precision weapon takedowns have a chance to drop an Orb of Power for your allies.
You specialize in punishing powerful combatants before they can harm your allies.
Guardians you make invisible gain damage resistance.
Gain Super energy on elemental weapon takedowns.
Increases Thundercrash damage.
Armsbearer Chant
Lightgiver Chant
When you stun a Champion or defeat a boss/miniboss, your nearby fireteam members gain a burst of grenade and melee energy. Aeon cult allies who do not have the Sect of Force role equipped also gain a burst of Super energy.
Rapid precision hits with a weapon temporarily increase your reload speed and weapon swap speed.
Aeon's Wrath
You gain a second Smoke Bomb charge and have damage resistance while invisible. When you make an ally invisible, they gain damage resistance while invisible and you gain melee energy.
Greatly increases your Thundercrash impact damage. Gain an overshield that lasts longer the farther you travel before striking a target.
Gain class ability energy as your allies die. Gain full class ability energy when you resurrect an ally.
When you cast your Super, nearby allies gain an instant burst of healing. Aeon cult allies who do not have the Sect of Vigor role equipped also gain an overshield.
Beyond The Veil
You specialize in empowering your allies and keeping them well supplied.
Aeon's Vow
Absorption Cells
Takedowns with weapons that have a damage type matching your subclass element grant you Super energy. While your Super energy is full, you instead gain a temporary bonus to weapon damage of the type matching your subclass element.
Sect of Vigor
Become Charged with Light by picking up an elemental well. If the elemental well's element type matches your subclass element, you gain 2 stacks of Charged with Light.
Elemental Armaments
Font of Wisdom
Weapons takedowns with a damage type that matches your subclass element have an escalating chance to spawn an elemental well.
Elemental Ordnance
Elemental Light
Picking up an elemental well that matches your subclass energy type grants a temporary bonus to weapon damage of that same elemental type.
Font of Might
Picking up an elemental well grants energy to your ability with the lowest current energy. Picking up an elemental well whose element matches your subclass damage type grants energy to all of your abilities.
Defeating a combatant with your Super spawns an elemental well that matches your subclass energy type.
Picking up an elemental well that matches your subclass energy type grants you a temporary significant increase in your Intellect, improving the recharge rate of your Super.
Defeating a combatant with a grenade spawns an elemental well that matches your subclass energy type.
Guardian Games Projection
Gold Medal Projection
Pegasus Projection
Thumb Up Projection
Taurus Projection
Scorpio Projection
Imperial Projection
Thumb Down Projection
Power Lift
Potent Mixture
Power Check
Humanity's Shield
That's the One
Eat your heart out.
Blowing Up
Loosen up those joints.
This dance is jawsome.
All eyes are on you.
Death by a murder.
Small machine. Big punch.
Ow, my fingers!
Are you not entertained?
Sweep the Area
Light the sky.
Faithful Pledge
Forever in your service.
For the Audience
Chomping Dance
Tiny Tank
Tick tick BOOM!
Not one step further.
Stick Battle
Yeah, you're my best friend.
Blade Breaker
Let your joy light the night sky.
Empires fall before you.
The wait is over.
At Long Last
Playing Airplane
Head Banger
Flailing Dance
Stand on Ceremony
Dance like nobody's watching.
Showstopper Dance
Impossible!
Festive Sparks
Vehement Flock
Use your legs, not your back!
Just Juggling
Flip and Flex
Swear I saw something…
Awkward Five
Maybe the ratios are off?
Fist Pump
Cracking Up
Have the time of your life.
Why do you do this to yourself?
Chain Yanker
Are you for real right now?
Well deserved.
One, two, three, four…
Yes, totally, absolutely, yeah!
Rising Dawn
Contains a full set of Celestial Titan universal ornaments.
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Bundle price will be reduced for each item already owned.
Contains a full set of Celestial Warlock universal ornaments.
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Bundle price will be reduced for each item already owned.
Celestial Warlock Bundle
Contender Titan Bundle
Season of the Chosen Starter Pack
Celestial Titan Bundle
Contains a full set of 2021 Guardian Games Warlock universal ornaments.
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Bundle price reduced for each item you already own.
A one-time bundle to kick off Season of the Chosen.
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Contains 2 exclusive items, 5 consumables, and Bright Dust.
Season of the Chosen Projections Bundle
Contains a full set of Celestial Hunter universal ornaments.
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Bundle price will be reduced for each item already owned.
Contender Hunter Bundle
Contains 5 Season of the Chosen Ghost projections.
0
Bundle price will be reduced for each item already owned.
Contains a full set of 2021 Guardian Games Titan universal ornaments.
0
Bundle price reduced for each item you already own.
Contender Warlock Bundle
Celestial Hunter Bundle
Contains a full set of 2021 Guardian Games Hunter universal ornaments.
0
Bundle price reduced for each item you already own.
Testudo
Armatura
Lichen Crown
Vizier Regalia
Peat Bog Boogie
Up for Grabs
Abyssinian Gold
Seven Sisters
Nailbiter
Anyone's Game
Pyretic Clash
War Weary
"By the time their scanner pings me, it's already over. No contest." —Marcus Ren
Nothing but clear skies ahead.
The Frontrunner
Victory's Herald
Celestial Kestrel
"I want this whale stuffed to the gills. Cargo bays, electrical panels, latrines; load it up!" —The Spider
"The City is more than safe harbor. It is a home. To understand the difference is to know why we must protect it at all costs." —Commander Zavala
Barriers are meant to be broken.
Metropolitan Frigate
Taurus Rocketeer
Synchrotron Advancer
Gigantes Carrier
Make haste—your greatest work lies ahead.
The brightest constellation is that of Guardians standing together in the dark.
Time slowed for Amanda Holliday as she saw a squadron of Cabal fighters break through the atmosphere high above her. Muscle memory kicked in, and she sent the ship screaming down to the hard deck. She buzzed the treetops and cranked her ship around the Cosmodrome's rugged mesas. If they wanted to chase her down, they'd have to prove they had the chops.
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She blazed a tight circuit around a spire of rock, weapons hot, expecting to light up the pursuing squadron. Instead, she watched the fighters continue off into the distance. Likely on a bombing run to soften up known Hive nests. They probably hadn't even noticed her. 
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Holliday throttled down, gained altitude, and slowed her breathing to counteract the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. She realized with sick amazement that she was actually disappointed. 
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It's better this way, she thought. Let someone with lives to spare clean up the Cabal. 
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Despite Amanda's self-reassurance, her disappointment lingered. Since becoming the Tower shipwright, her combat sorties had become less and less frequent. She hadn't realized how much she missed them. They made her feel like she was doing her part. 
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But even after all she had achieved, after all she'd survived, she still felt like she was missing out. Not doing enough. Falling behind. The people of the Tower saw her as an engineer and a pilot. But in her dreams, she was still a malnourished little girl, trudging toward the Last City as jumpships shrieked overhead. 
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That's what happens when your best friends are immortal, she thought. My life is just a blip on the radar compared to the Guardians and Hive gods. Hell, even this ship will probably outlast me. 
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Her brooding was interrupted by a small flashing indicator on her dash. Huh. She must have overloaded a plasma converter during her evasive maneuvers. Something else to fix. It was always something. 
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Amanda smiled and set course for the Tower. If I only have one life to live, she thought, then I'd better get on with it.
"That's a clean-looking ride, Guardian. How about we get her scuffed up a little?" —Amanda Holliday
High Gravitas
"Home again, home again, jiggity jig," Amanda sang out as she guided the jumpship through the heavy air traffic and into the Tower. Over in the copilot's seat, Crow shot her a confused look.
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She shrugged, eyes scanning the Hangar for a spot to land. "Just something my dad used to sing." All that was available was a tiny space, next to Saint-14's Gray Pigeon. "It was his way of letting us know we were home, back when home was a moving target for us." 
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Crow whistled as she expertly wedged the landing.  "It's a nice ritual," he said while she cut the engine. "Did he make it up?" 
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I don't think so. She released the air lock , leading the way down the stairs. "Musta  been from a song or something from the Dark Ages or pre-Col—Hey!" she yelped as Crow yanked her under the landing gear.
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Look, he whispered, pointing. In her distraction, Amanda hadn't noticed Saint and Osiris a dozen yards away. Judging by Osiris's scowl and Saint's stance, they were arguing. She leaned in their direction, straining to catch a few of Osiris's words: 
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Never speak of her to me again…
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Damn, Amanda murmured. Crow looked at her. "I'll tell you later," she whispered, stepping out towards Saint. The Titan, still staring at the point where Osiris disappeared into the crowd, didn't notice her until she put a hand on his shoulder.
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He flinched, then chuckled sheepishly, "Miss Holliday! Your battle-bird  returns you safely. Good… good. You were victorious, yes?"
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You know it. How about yourself? Seems like you had a battle of your own going on just now.
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Battle? He glanced back at the crowd. "Ah. No. This is… a rebuilding. Takes time."
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I gotcha. You'll let me know if I can haul a few bricks ?
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I will. Thank you, Miss Holliday. Saint motioned to Crow as he appeared behind Amanda. "And who is this? You are skinny, but you move with power. You must be a Hunter."
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Crow nodded, bewildered. Amanda let out a laugh. "This is Crow," she said, giving him a good-natured slap on the back. "He's our intel guy on this whole Cabal thing. And Crow, this is Saint-14. He's… well, he's lots of things, but his main gig is running the Trials of Osiris." 
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Really? That's interesting, Crow said as he and Saint grasped forearms . "I've only ever heard them referred to as the Trials. I had no idea Osiris was involved." 
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The Titan rubbed the back of his helmet . "He is involved with many important tasks. I help where I can."
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You do more than just help, Amanda corrected. "I hope the old man knows he owes you." 
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Help carries no debt, friend. We must uplift each other without expecting a return. Except Banshee, who owes me Glimmer. 
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Well, sure, Amanda replied, "I'm not saying you should tally every nice thing you do, but things gotta be equitable. Don't you think?" 
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He looked at her, suddenly very serious. "I do not think so. In battle, when your comrade stumbles, you carry them until they are strong again. Even if you, too, become wounded. This is only way to move forward." 
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Amanda looked at Crow, then back to Saint.  "Well, when you put it that way…" she said at last. 
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Saint nodded, satisfied by her answer. He leaned down, placing both hands on her shoulders. "I must meet with Ikora now. Always nice to talk, Miss Holliday. You too, skinny Crow." He then strode off without waiting for a goodbye. 
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Nice to meet you, Crow said, a moment too late.
"You can't tell the breeze where to blow. All you can do is sit back and see where it takes you."  —Amanda Holliday
Winds of Change
Life is too short to waste on a slow ride.
"What if it's a trap?" Glint drifts in a shaky 360 around Crow as he strides into a grassy corridor between two rusted-out warehouses. "This is old Devils' territory. Our friend  may have freed us, fair and square, but if the Spider wanted to nab you…"
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He would've done it long ago. Crow's voice is steady as his eyes dart from shadow to shadow. "Besides, how could it be a trap if they don't know I'm com—"
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A laser shot zips past his nose. Above on one of the rooftops, a gravelly voice shouts in Eliksni. Crow obeys, raising his hands in the air while Glint transmats out of the way. 
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I'm looking for some fine yaviirsi figs, Crow calls out over the electric hum of multiple sniper-sights  settling on his body. Did they hear him? "Figs!" he shouts louder. 
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One by one, the sights vanish. Then, to his right, metal scrapes as a makeshift door is pulled aside to reveal a familiar insect-like face. 
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Avrok, Crow says and lowers his hands. "You've been promoted." 
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In no mood for pleasantries, the Eliksni grunts and steps back into the warehouse. Crow follows him in, pulling the door shut behind him. 
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What are the odds on the newly arrived empress? he asks, blinking rapidly. It's dark; all he can see is Avrok's outline, sitting on a crate, surrounded by massive motionless shapes. "Surely there's an outright on her getting Commander Zavala to bend the knee." 
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Prying bird, Avrok growls, "Information costs." 
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Don't worry, I've brought you something shiny from my nest. Crow holds up a cube of Glimmer, its blue light illuminating piles of collateral stacked along the walls. "As have your friends from the former Red Legion, I see." 
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Avrok grins, spreading his long arms in a showman-like gesture. Energy shields, open crates of planet crackers , magma launchers… Cabal paraphernalia of all kinds fill the room. 
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One particularly pretty prize gleams in the corner: a Sparrow, svelte and burnished bronze. Crow strolls over to admire it. 
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Beautiful machine, his associate agrees out loud. "Val Ma'rag wagers he will be first on the empress's War Council." 
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There's a small flash of light as Glint reemerges  for a closer look. "Betting on himself," Glint says. "That's the Cabal for you." 
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Crow crouches to examine the fringe lining the Sparrow's snout. "Never hurts to have a little extra motivation," he murmurs. 
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He stands and turns to Avrok. "I'll follow his lead. If Val Ma'rag lands himself a seat, he can have my bucket of bolts  too. But if we disrupt his Rite of Proving, well, naturally…"  
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The Fallen barks out a laugh. "A bold bet! The Spider was wrong to let you go. Vigorish  is seven percent." 
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Seven! Glint blinks indignantly. "The Spider is taking an awfully big cut, don't you think?" 
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Ignoring him, Avrok gestures to an empty space. "Leave your little transport there. Now, we discuss the book ." 
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I can't believe you're gambling your Sparrow, Glint mutters once Avrok is out of earshot. "You hate walking long distances." 
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Crow shrugs. "I like winning more."
Vita Brevis
So fast you'll have to invent new barriers to break.
"Never bring her up to me again," Osiris hissed to the Exo Titan, his words carrying over the din of the bustling Hangar. 
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A dozen yards away, in the shadow of a jumpship, Crow and Holliday winced in unison. They had only just disembarked and would've stumbled directly into the dispute, if it hadn't been for Crow's reflexes. Thanks to his espionage work, his sixth sense for private conversations was beyond compare. It was nice to know that skill was just as useful at home as it was in the field. 
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Damn," Holliday murmured as they watched Osiris storm off. Crow looked at her, hoping for an explanation. Who was this Exo? Who was the "her" never to be mentioned? "I'll tell you later," she whispered, stepping out from their hiding spot. 
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Holliday! Crow sputtered. But it was too late. She was already at the Exo's side, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. 
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He shuffled his feet, weighing his options. Even in the smoothest of circumstances, every new introduction was an occasion for anxiety. Not many Guardians wore masks in the Tower, and much as he wished he could join them, he knew what could happen if he showed his face. Still, the longer he wore the mask, the more conspicuous he felt. He was bound to raise someone's suspicions eventually. 
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Or perhaps not. The Exo was wearing a helmet, and Holliday seemed to accept it without question, as she had Crow's not too long ago. 
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Besides, what was more suspect: perpetually wearing a mask or skulking in the shadows? Crow ducked out from under the step, attempting to look casual. He approached just as Holliday was saying, "You'll let me know if I can haul a few bricks?" 
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He barely had time to wonder what they had been discussing when the Exo turned to him, thundering, "And who is this? You are skinny, but you move with power. You must be a Hunter." 
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Whatever perfectly innocuous greeting Crow had cued up flew right out of his head. Throat tight, he nodded mutely as Holliday slapped him on the back with a laugh. 
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This is Crow. He's our intel guy on this whole Cabal thing, she said. "And Crow, this is Saint-14. He's… well, he's lots of things, but his main gig is running the Trials of Osiris." 
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For once, he was grateful for the mask. Otherwise, they might have noticed his surprise at the name. He'd heard before, of course—both here, where it was uttered in tones of admiration, and on the Tangled Shore, where it was spat in loathing. Neither seemed to fit the jovial Titan grasping his forearm. 
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His spy instincts saved him again. "Really? That's interesting," Crow remarked, returning the gesture with a little extra muscle. "I've only ever heard them referred to as the Trials. I had no idea Osiris was involved." 
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Saint pulled back with a chagrined chuckle. "He is involved with many important tasks. I help where I can." 
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You do more than just help, Holliday corrected. "I hope the old man knows he owes you." 
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Crow looked to Saint. He'd never imagined that Osiris would owe anyone anything. 
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Help carries no debt, friend. We must uplift each other without expecting a return. Except Banshee, he added, almost seeming to wink at them. "Who owes me Glimmer." 
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Crow laughed, utterly disarmed. He was surprised at how much he liked Saint. And how much he wanted to be liked in return. What could this affable character possibly have in common with an intimidating figure like Osiris? 
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Outside of his thoughts, he realized Holliday was talking. He tuned back in just as she said, "…things gotta be equitable. Don't you think?" 
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Suddenly, Saint's demeanor shifted. "I do not think so," he said soberly. "In battle, when your comrade stumbles, you carry them until they are strong again. Even if you, too, become wounded. This is only way to move forward…" 
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Something about his tone struck a chord in Crow. It occurred to him that Saint and Osiris must've known each other for a long time. What was it like, the assurance and ease of having someone else to watch your back like that? To fight side by side for the same cause? He ached to know. 
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Always nice to talk, Miss Holliday. You too, skinny Crow, Saint quipped as he strode off. 
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Crow watched as the broad-shouldered Titan parted the crowd with ease. "Nice to meet you," he replied lamely, too late to be heard. 
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Holliday chuckled. Crow shot her a look. Now would she explain what was going on? 
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She shook her head. "It's a long story," she said, slinging her arm around his shoulder. "Which I will only tell over a round of drinks. On you this time, right?"
Paradigm Shift
"After a certain point, speed is a matter of willpower." —Petra Venj
Eva Levante threads a needle with fine white silk. A lone lamp lights the wood grain of her table and the length of handsome black cloth in front of her. She only touches this garment at night, when her small flat in the Last City is shrouded in secrecy. 
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With each stitch, she recalls the strange encounter some months ago that prompted her clandestine work: 
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It was late that evening. She had been walking back from the Tower, nearly home, when she heard a smooth voice quietly assert, "Eva. It's been too long. You look as bright as ever." Osiris melted out of the shadows near her doorway. 
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The ex-outfitter snorted. "That's faint praise coming from someone who's been fifty for several centuries." 
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My age shows in other ways. May I come in? 
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Of course. She opened the door and noticed how he looked over both shoulders before crossing the threshold. 
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It's good to see you back in the Tower, Osiris. Eva watched him out of the corner of her eye as she put the kettle on. "I take it you're not here on official Vanguard business." 
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No, I'm not. I'm here to ask a favor, or contract your services. Whichever you'd prefer. Osiris perched uncomfortably on the edge of her couch. Eva smiled. His regalia looked a bit absurd set against the mundanity of her cozy apartment. 
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I'm always happy to grant a favor to an old friend. Even if I'm the old one now. She examined her self-serious visitor with a gentle gaze. "What do you need?" 
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A custom Hunter cloak. Something that resembles feathers of a crow. 
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I'm sure there are plenty of outfitters in the Tower that would do a fine job. I gave up on custom outfits years ago, after my fingers started to go. She massaged her knuckles reflexively. 
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I need someone I trust. Someone who can keep a secret. Osiris fixed her with his inscrutable gaze. "If you agree, a Ghost called Glint will come by later to help choose the fabric." 
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A secret cloak? This is just the type of thing Cayde used to come to me for. In fact, the last Hunter cloak I sewed was for him… She drifted off sorrowfully, and poured the tea. 
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Now, months later, she puts the finishing touches on the requested garment. The black fabric soaks in the meager light, highlighting the delicate white silk. It's as fine a work as she's ever done. 
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Eva can't help but wonder who the new cloak is for. Who could warrant such secrecy? She just hopes it will be worn by as worthy a Hunter as her last.
Color of Speed
Show them the meaning of speed.
Vie for Glory
"The Cryptarchs say humanity used to gather their greatest competitors from around the world to battle for honor and acclaim. I would have liked to see that." —Lord Shaxx
Pace Setter
Lead the charge into the shadows so that other Lights may follow.
Veloce Cruiser
Synchrotron Accelerator
The Last City still bears the scars of the Red War, but humanity's spirit shows in the pockets of reconstruction.
Renown fades faster than the satisfaction of a job well done.
The journey is its own reward.
Gigantes Roamer
"Some think I simply deal in goods, but the true commodity is something more elusive—agency." —The Spider
Taurus Firecracker
Celestial Horn
"Humanity's records show numerous instances of advanced science being perceived as supernatural. Perhaps today's magic is tomorrow's theorem." —Master Rahool
Metropolitan Cutter
Exitus Mk.I
Quality of construction and volume of destruction.
Holless-IV
The sigh of annihilation.
The only way out is through.
// VanNet—SECURE-04 // FOTC_INVESTIGATOR_LOGBOOK_01.7733// V.Maier //
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Häkke armory got hit same time as the Tower disturbance. Forensics suggests that three Psions used a kinetic splitter to get through the security barrier and matter displacement anchors to make the concrete wall permeable. 
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Can't get a straight answer on what Häkke was storing here. Salvage, not manufactures. Looks like ship parts, but I can't tell from what vessel. No one is giving me clearance to do a full analysis; have to sign it over to the Warlock Vanguard. 
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// VanNet—SECURE-04 // FOTC_INVESTIGATOR_LOGBOOK_01.7734 // V.Maier //
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Found a piece of hardware from the Häkke heist at a chop shop in Peregrine District. Busted the ring up and brought the salvage in. Same make and material as what Häkke was holding on to; Psions must have abandoned it when they were fleeing. Reported it to the Tower, but they're so busy, it could be days before they give a formal response. 
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Meanwhile, I'm handing it over to Engineering to see what they make of it. Looks familiar, but I can't place it. 
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// VanNet—SECURE-04 // FOTC_INVESTIGATOR_LOGBOOK_01.7737 // V.Maier //
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Had to scrub a few logs. Following up on Engineering's findings. Got myself a day pass out of the City, took a jumpship to the edge of the EDZ. Listened to Vivaldi on the way, helped clear my head. If this turns out to be what I think it is, it could shift the balance of power completely. 
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// VanNet—SECURE-04 // FOTC_INVESTIGATOR_LOGBOOK_01.7738 // V.Maier //
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Confirmed. This is unbelievable. Need to get in touch with Lakshmi about this. 
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// VanNet—SECURE-00 // VANGUARD_PERMANENT_RECORD_73.10159 // I.Rey //
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A City investigator in the Future War Cult's pocket doesn't do us any favors. We picked up Investigator Maier at the City-level security checkpoint and impounded his ship. Of course, Lakshmi is feigning ignorance to all of this, and we don't have enough evidence to dig deeper. Not openly, anyway. 
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My Hidden have secured the remains of the Cage that Häkke managed to scoop up after the Red War. But the damage is already done, and it just confirms my fears. Caiatl's people are researching the technology Ghaul used to shackle the Traveler and steal the Light.  
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Word of this cannot reach the Lightless.
Salvager's Salvo
"My warriors fight not for themselves, or even me, but for each other." —Empress Caiatl
There is a story of two weaponsmiths, both skilled at their trade.
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One smith, Dhutus, worked with metals she pulled from the mountains herself. She tooled the rifling in her barrels with the steady hand of an artisan. Her dyes, cobalt and ichor, shone bright as beetleshell.
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The other, Gharhet, came from the distant plains. He traded for his wares and sold them dear, and thus he amassed great wealth. He embellished his goods with a rich lacquer the color of flame.
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When the Primus called for the strongest warriors to serve, the district knew the fighter Tlamus—who had broken all challengers with her keen aim and powerful frame—would represent them. Both Dhutus and Gharhet wished to outfit her with their finest pieces, as having a warrior of her status wear their colors would bring them great honor.
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So Dhutus forged Tlamus a mighty war axe with an ice-blue handle and wide golden blade. Tlamus accepted the gift gladly.
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Gharhet procured for her a Slug Rifle with bright orange plating, and Tlamus wore it proudly across her back.
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Next, Dhutus crafted a Shotgun, metal burnished deep as night with bright vents along the sides, and Tlamus brought it into battle.
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In response, Gharhet bought a helm with thick plating and stout antlers the color of a sunset, and they were soon stained with the blood of Tlamus's foes.
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And Dhutus saw no end to this. Her shoulders ached from working the forge, and her hands were blistered by burns upon burns.
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So Dhutus issued to Gharhet a challenge, and as he knew no one would raise the weapons of a coward, Gharhet accepted.
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The next dawn found Dhutus on the battlefield waiting for her rival. On her shoulder was her finest weapon: a Rocket Launcher, its barrel a twisting column of seashell blue with gold trim, built as a gift for Tlamus but now wielded by its creator.
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From across the field, a figure strode forward to meet Dhutus—but it was too wide to be Gharhet; too tall, too muscular. He had bought a champion to fight in his stead.
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An orange sash was draped carelessly across her chest and dragged in the dust with each confident step. Studded orange leathers bound her massive arms and thighs. Strands of coral beads hung from her tusks.
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She greeted Dhutus with a fist to her chest. "I am Tlamus," she said, "chosen of Gharhet."
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Dhutus could not find her voice, and then Tlamus drew one of her beautiful, terrible weapons, and the rite was soon concluded.
New Guardians tend to know two things: gun and shoot. You pick the rest up along the way, and every Guardian's experience tends to be different. Let's just say the onboarding process could use a little streamlining. But as for our enemies, two points are drilled into us from day 1: the Cabal are big, horrible brutes, and the Fallen are untrustworthy scavengers.
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What they don't tell you right away is how that is such complete garbage. 
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I've seen Cabal who might as well have had rocks in their heads instead of brains. The kind who'll crash a tank, killing themselves, rather than stop to reload munitions in a turret. But I've known just as many Cabal who will stalk you across the Martian dunes for two days straight—no sleep, never revealing themselves. 
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That's how I was introduced to Bracus Dra'usk. 
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As for the Fallen—sorry, the Eliksni—everyone tells the story of the battle of Twilight Gap, of the Eliksni Houses sending in Dregs to eat babies and other charming bedtime stories. But nobody prepares you for an Eliksni so scared out of her wits that she tries praying to you because she thinks the "Great Machine" will listen through you. An Eliksni so inured in the old ways that she leaves an offering to you—like you're some sort of saint to a lesser god. 
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That was how I met Chirrih. 
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A few months before the Red War, I was two days in to a long patrol on Mars tracking a limping Skyburner tank back to a carrier rendezvous location. I got sloppy. Didn't realize that the Skyburners had a rear guard because I believed the Cabal were utter morons with the tactical acumen of a boulder. Because that's what I was taught. Not that they're a proud people with a storied history. 
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No, I got that driven 12 inches into my abdomen when Bracus Dra'usk, leader of the Skyburner's rear guard, ran me through with a ceremonial knife. 
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Normally that would just be a minor inconvenience, except that during the Collapse, the Darkness chewed up large reaches of Mars so bad that Light can't burn there, in the same way that fire can't burn in space. So here I am in a Darkness Zone, bleeding out, my Ghost panicking because he can't do anything to save me, and five angry Cabal ready to throw down. 
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Now, I killed all four of Dra'usk's honor guard without needing to reload, but Dra'usk wasn't a pushover. We went a few rounds, me bleeding everywhere, him coming at me with a Sword as long as I am tall. 
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That's when I saw movement in my periphery, like a heat mirage. I knew what it was, but didn't have time to react until the electrostatic sheath was already coming off. But then I realized that the Eliksni Vandal coming out of cloak wasn't coming for me—it was coming for Dra'usk. 
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You see, what they don't teach you about Eliksni is that they're fiercely loyal when it comes to family. And Dra'usk had kidnapped and killed some of this Eliksni's kin. So here we were, two would-be enemies, taking down a Cabal Bracus like a pair of wolves. At least until I passed out from blood loss. 
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To my surprise, I woke up bandaged and alive. The Vandal had left a trail of scrap metal taken from Dra'usk's armor for me to follow like breadcrumbs once I was strong enough to move. My Ghost explained the Eliksni likely spared me for helping defeat a common enemy, but Ghosts aren't omniscient—they're just little nerds who read a lot. Some stuff isn't written down. 
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At the end of the trail outside the Darkness Zone, I found the Vandal waiting for me. She introduced herself as Chirrih. I understood her, but barely—she spoke in circular idioms interspersed with Eliksni words. She set down on the sand a trophy she'd crafted from Dra'usk's helmet: a Bow with enough draw strength to penetrate a tank at 100 yards. Then she sang at me—some kind of mandible-clicking prayer—and left. No gunfight, no bloodshed. 
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New Guardians tend to know two things: gun and shoot. You pick the rest up along the way, and every Guardian's experience tends to be different. 
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Mine sure was.
Imperial Needle
Code Duello
An unfinished inscription runs along the barrel: "Tlamus, she who—"
Ixel : mutineer : Far-Reaching : murderer : Psion : prophet
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1 : the Tower burns : Fallen in the streets : screaming : the Hive Witch dissembles : crackling portal : treachery : Vex emerge : Zavala commands—
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2 : the abandoned Tower : desiccated carcasses : wind : Dark spores : Traveler disappears : Pyramid overhead : a Voice behind the Darkness—
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3 : the battered Tower : sizzling Arc : Psions burn : frigate crashes : Zavala dies : the Hive Witch comforts : sacrifice awakens : one-horn attacks : Cabal retreat—
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4 :  the Tower in ruins : Legionaries patrol : torn banners : executions : a land tank rumbles : Fallen scavengers : transmission : the fleet is destroyed : Wrath of the Hive : we are extinct—
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5: the Tower molders : the Hive Witch's worm : Ghosts at war : a Voice behind the Darkness : the Traveler abandoned us : Taken Cabal : a new Hive rejoices—
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6 : the Tower is still : funeral procession : Zavala dies :  Zavala dies : Zavala dies : candles : quiet argument : how did they get in : the Witch Queen flees : they are coming—
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7: the besieged Tower : trampled flowers : portraits : Zavala is dead : ataxia : wailing : our assassin : the Traveler overhead : the empress looks down : the Light is ours : Primus Ixel—
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Ixel : Primus : Far-Reaching : prophet : conqueror : hero
Extraordinary Rendition
Honor among foes. Glory to the vanquished.
Far Future
[Report by VanNet encrypted router]
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My friend and first, I know Her Royal Tuskiness is not my assignment, but I couldn't help but catch the following exchange on my latest trip to you-know-where. If anything, it's good for a laugh. Don't let our favorite Praxic wear you down to a nub. If she gives you grief, you give her a swift kick from me. —C.Y.
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.]
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RECORD: 30.10.15.C.Y.Report
IDENTITIES: Advisor Taurun [A.T.], Empress Caiatl [E.C.], The Spider [T.S.]
FILE//HID_CLASSIFIED//AUDIO
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n is made. Let the imperial record show that, on this day, the great Empress Caiatl, ascendant of Calus, slayer of Umun'arath, convened via radio message with the Spider of the Tangled Shore, formerly of the House of—
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n. The scribes can add whatever flourishes they wish after the fact.
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t waste time. I know you have more important matters to attend to. Matters that I would be happy to help with… in my own small way.
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oner seek aid from you than a war beast would from a bog-tick. Do you know how many thieves I've had to excise from my ranks? They debased themselves. Crawling about our proving grounds. Refashioning battle-trash into weapons. All because you tempted them with a flash of Glimmer.
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 them? It's all I can do to keep them from flooding the market.
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y first time dealing with war profiteers, insect. Though, if I squash you thoroughly enough, it may be my last.
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ought I was doing you a charity, promoting Cabal entrepreneurship. I was told the empire was low on funds.
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#WERT!
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 I don't know what advice you've been getting from your imperial hangers-on, but—
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#WERT!
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e different here in the Sol system. Smash and conquer—like so many traditions of old Torobatl—won't get you far. Ghaul found that out the hard way. The remnants of his Red Legion have learned to adapt.
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f you'd like to do the same. I'd even go against my own custom and consider a payment plan.
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 But it seems I have no need. As you've revealed, I have untapped resources at my disposal.
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s have survived your purge, yes. But weapons are not my most valuable wares, not by a long shot. If you're anything like your father, you'll be far more interested in the information I have to offer.
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rdinates. We can discuss face-to-face. But tread lightly. I've yet to decide whether you're worth my mercy.
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ed to host Her Imperial Highness on my humble Shore. It's no palatial estate, but we insects are just happy to have a place to call home.
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#WERT!
"Distance is just a matter of timing." —Crow
Digging leaves a mark.
Igneous Hammer
Aunor was in a sour mood when she transmatted into Ikora's personal library. She hated visiting the Tower. Even in a room without doors, well away from the dank Annex basement, she could still smell the Drifter's sulfuric odor. How the others could stand it, she had no idea. 
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Her irritation was softened slightly, when Ikora looked up from her writing with a smile. "I'm glad to see you," she said. 
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Interesting choice of words. I thought I was being summoned for a 'matter of grave importance. ' 
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'Relieved' may be the better word. There aren't many I can trust with an assignment like this. Ikora gestured towards a seat. Aunor shook her head.
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Is that so? 
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I mean that as a compliment to you. Not a condemnation of anyone else. 
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 "You don't need to butter me up before a bad job, Ikora." 
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Ikora sighed, then tapped her datapad. "We've received word of another tainted Guardian in our ranks." 
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Within her cloak, Aunor's pad dinged. She took it out, reading as she scrolled. "Disobeying orders, trading Vanguard secrets… Pretty standard. Prolonged and intentional torture?" She looked up questioningly. 
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Fallen civilians fleeing the House of Salvation, Ikora supplied, her voice grave. "According to her fireteam, she wanted to know how Eramis accessed the Darkness. "When they tried to intervene…" she trailed off. 
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Aunor looked up sharply. "She tortured her own teammates too?" 
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Ikora nodded. Aunor stowed her datapad back in her cloak. "Where's she headed now?" 
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We believe she's still on Europa, trying to access the Darkness on her own. 
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Makes sense. Now that the Vanguard's lifted the ban, she has plausible deniability. As does anyone else who's tempted by that power, she added pointedly. 
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Please don't make me go over this again. The Vanguard—
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The Vanguard allowed Darkness into the Tower. You let Guardians play with it, so long as they do it under the Drifter's roving eye.  Otherwise, you'll send me after them as punishment. 
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Not punishment, Ikora corrected evenly. "Redemption. You offer them a chance to cooperate first. To make up for their selfish acts and rejoin the side of humanity." 
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And so far, I've had no takers. 
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That doesn't mean that none exist. 
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And this Trestin? You think she'll be lucky number…  how many are we up to now? At this point, the only chance I'm giving them is the chance to kill me first. 
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Enough. Ikora's eyes flashed. "I won't pretend to be optimistic about the outcome of this case. Or any future ones. But there's no guarantee that all who are touched are forever tainted. Until that's proven otherwise, your orders remain the same. Is that clear?" 
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Aunor stared at her, jaw clenched. "Future cases?"  She shook her head. "Never mind. I'm sure you'll tell me after they've wreaked havoc somewhere." 
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You don't have to do this, if you don't want to. I'd understand. 
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Aunor swatted the concern away. "I stand by my promise," she said.  Then, in a flash of blue, she was gone.
The Messenger
"You don't have to do this, if you don't want to," Ikora said. "I'd understand." 
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From the other side of the library, Aunor scowled. She was perhaps the most diligent of the Hidden, having dedicated herself to the unpleasant task of hunting down tainted Guardians. But that was precisely what worried Ikora. Each time they met, she seemed a little gaunter than before. A little testier. Was this crusade beginning to take a toll? Was it a mistake to give her another assignment instead of a vacation? 
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I stand by my promise, Aunor snapped before transmatting out. 
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That had not alleviated Ikora's concerns one iota . She let out a sigh and rubbed her temples. 
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She couldn't dwell on it for long, however. The air crackled again. When Ikora opened her eyes, Saint was standing exactly where Aunor had been, moments ago. "Ikora Rey, I am sorry to come unannou—"
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How did you get in here? she blurted. No one but the Hidden knew where her private library was. Or so she had thought. 
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The Exo stared at her, confused. "I—I transmatted," he said simply. He tried again. "I am sorry, but I must speak with you." 
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No, I'm the one who should apologize. Please, sit. She hurried to clear the books piled around a pair of armchairs. "I got your message. It's unfortunate this has happened a second time." 
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Saint sat, his massive frame dwarfing  the chair. "Unfortunate, yes. Disturbing too. I fear…" He paused, looking away. Out the window, the afternoon sun had turned golden and begun sinking in the sky. "In battle, I know what to do. There are no doubts. The Trials was the same. But now, I do not know." 
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I understand. Sometimes, it feels like these incidents are designed to make us doubt everything, even our own abilities. Ikora sat beside him. "But there's no one I'd trust more to helm the Trials at a time like this." 
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Not even the man they are named for? Saint let out a sad laugh. "He does not wish to, in any case. I ask and right away, he says he is too busy to care. Told me to shut them down, if I was so tired." 
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Well, he is busy. He's almost acting as a third Vanguard with this whole Cabal conflict.  Perhaps after we come to terms  with Caiatl…
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You misunderstand. I am glad he is busy. Busy is good. It distracts him from his loss. But he is still…
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Different? 
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No. Yes, but more than that. He shook his head in frustration. "When I told him about the incident, I thought he would worry, like me. Instead, he tells me to take notes next time. Said the data would be useful," he spat in disgust. 
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Ikora looked at Saint, expecting him to say more. When he didn't, she sat back in her seat, thinking. She wasn't exactly surprised. Osiris was an experimentalist , after all, and not a particularly sensitive one. And though this comment was certainly more callous than usual, she didn't understand Saint's concern. He seemed agitated, almost like he was angry at Osiris…
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That must've been upsetting to hear, after what you went through, she began slowly. Saint looked away, confirming her theory. "But I think his heart's in the right place. We know so little about the Darkness. More data would indeed be very useful." 
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Saint said nothing. The light through the window splashed orange across his helm. 
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But, she pressed on, "We shouldn't endanger Guardians to get it. However Osiris feels about them now, the Trials started as a way to train fireteams, and they're going to stay that way." She stood, placing a hand on the Exo's shoulder. "I swear to you." 
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He nodded, eyes still fixed on the horizon. "Good."
Forged by fire and might.
Igneous Hammer (Adept)
Her wait was nearly over—Trestin could feel it as she climbed Cadmus Ridge.
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Sunlight, amplified by snow, pierced her eyes now; she had ascended above the cloud line. She tilted her gaze down, focusing on the crags immediately before her. Her muscles cramped as she reached up for the next ledge. 
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No holding back now. 
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Over the radio, Lord Saladin's voice grew staticky: "Cabal incursion… Vex… up ahead." Without a word, Trestin's Ghost switched it off. There were others nearby to carry out the Iron Lord's orders. He wouldn't miss them. 
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She doubted anyone would—her ex-teammates least of all. She had betrayed them, or so Sadhij had screamed: "We're supposed to be the thin line drawn before the Darkness, you traitor!" 
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|| Thin indeed. So why not step over it? ||
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Because they didn't have it in them. She checked. Cracked them both open and dug deep, just to be extra sure. But it wasn't there. That hunger, immense and buried, like the ocean under Europa's glacial crust. A riptide, undetectable from the surface, yet unrelenting in its pull. She never meant to betray anyone. She just wanted release. 
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|| Soon, you will have it. Soon, you will be freed. ||
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Muscles shaking with exhaustion, she threw her hand up and, at last, grasped snow. She had reached the top. 
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For a moment, she laid on the embankment, chest heaving. When her vision cleared, she gasped. There it was, black-stone stark against the gleaming white. It seemed to pulse in time with her heart. Attuning to the desire churning within. 
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From the back of her mind came a warm, familiar voice: "You're a goober." Yara. Suddenly, a different hunger bloomed in her, small and keening. Was it… loneliness? 
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|| It is weakness. What lies before you is power.|| 
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The pulsing intensified. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins as she stepped towards the obelisk, hand outstretched. She had never been so close—
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 "Not one more step." A new voice called out to Trestin. Only this one was not in her head. She turned to find a Warlock standing a few yards away, sword drawn. "You must be Trestin. I am Aunor. I encourage you to come with me. Quietly." 
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Trestin looked at her, then dove for the obelisk. 
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The last thing she felt was steel. Pure, cold steel piercing through her heart.
Her wait was nearly over—Trestin could feel it as she climbed Cadmus Ridge.
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Sunlight, amplified by snow, pierced her eyes now; she had ascended above the cloud line. She tilted her gaze down, focusing on the crags immediately before her. Her muscles cramped as she reached up for the next ledge. 
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No holding back now. 
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Over the radio, Lord Saladin's voice grew staticky: "Cabal incursion… Vex… up ahead." Without a word, Trestin's Ghost switched it off. There were others nearby to carry out the Iron Lord's orders. He wouldn't miss them. 
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She doubted anyone would—her ex-teammates least of all. She had betrayed them, or so Sadhij had screamed: "We're supposed to be the thin line drawn before the Darkness, you traitor!" 
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|| Thin indeed. So why not step over it? ||
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Because they didn't have it in them. She checked. Cracked them both open and dug deep, just to be extra sure. But it wasn't there. That hunger, immense and buried, like the ocean under Europa's glacial crust. A riptide, undetectable from the surface, yet unrelenting in its pull. She never meant to betray anyone. She just wanted release. 
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|| Soon, you will have it. Soon, you will be freed. ||
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Muscles shaking with exhaustion, she threw her hand up and, at last, grasped snow. She had reached the top. 
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For a moment, she laid on the embankment, chest heaving. When her vision cleared, she gasped. There it was, black-stone stark against the gleaming white. It seemed to pulse in time with her heart. Attuning to the desire churning within. 
0
From the back of her mind came a warm, familiar voice: "You're a goober." Yara. Suddenly, a different hunger bloomed in her, small and keening. Was it… loneliness? 
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|| It is weakness. What lies before you is power.|| 
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The pulsing intensified. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins as she stepped towards the obelisk, hand outstretched. She had never been so close—
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 "Not one more step." A new voice called out to Trestin. Only this one was not in her head. She turned to find a Warlock standing a few yards away, sword drawn. "You must be Trestin. I am Aunor. I encourage you to come with me. Quietly." 
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Trestin looked at her, then dove for the obelisk. 
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The last thing she felt was steel. Pure, cold steel piercing through her heart.
"You don't have to do this, if you don't want to," Ikora said. "I'd understand." 
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From the other side of the library, Aunor scowled. She was perhaps the most diligent of the Hidden, having dedicated herself to the unpleasant task of hunting down tainted Guardians. But that was precisely what worried Ikora. Each time they met, she seemed a little gaunter than before. A little testier. Was this crusade beginning to take a toll? Was it a mistake to give her another assignment instead of a vacation? 
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I stand by my promise, Aunor snapped before transmatting out. 
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That had not alleviated Ikora's concerns one iota . She let out a sigh and rubbed her temples. 
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She couldn't dwell on it for long, however. The air crackled again. When Ikora opened her eyes, Saint was standing exactly where Aunor had been, moments ago. "Ikora Rey, I am sorry to come unannou—"
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How did you get in here? she blurted. No one but the Hidden knew where her private library was. Or so she had thought. 
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The Exo stared at her, confused. "I—I transmatted," he said simply. He tried again. "I am sorry, but I must speak with you." 
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No, I'm the one who should apologize. Please, sit. She hurried to clear the books piled around a pair of armchairs. "I got your message. It's unfortunate this has happened a second time." 
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Saint sat, his massive frame dwarfing  the chair. "Unfortunate, yes. Disturbing too. I fear…" He paused, looking away. Out the window, the afternoon sun had turned golden and begun sinking in the sky. "In battle, I know what to do. There are no doubts. The Trials was the same. But now, I do not know." 
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I understand. Sometimes, it feels like these incidents are designed to make us doubt everything, even our own abilities. Ikora sat beside him. "But there's no one I'd trust more to helm the Trials at a time like this." 
0
Not even the man they are named for? Saint let out a sad laugh. "He does not wish to, in any case. I ask and right away, he says he is too busy to care. Told me to shut them down, if I was so tired." 
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Well, he is busy. He's almost acting as a third Vanguard with this whole Cabal conflict.  Perhaps after we come to terms  with Caiatl…
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You misunderstand. I am glad he is busy. Busy is good. It distracts him from his loss. But he is still…
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Different? 
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No. Yes, but more than that. He shook his head in frustration. "When I told him about the incident, I thought he would worry, like me. Instead, he tells me to take notes next time. Said the data would be useful," he spat in disgust. 
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Ikora looked at Saint, expecting him to say more. When he didn't, she sat back in her seat, thinking. She wasn't exactly surprised. Osiris was an experimentalist , after all, and not a particularly sensitive one. And though this comment was certainly more callous than usual, she didn't understand Saint's concern. He seemed agitated, almost like he was angry at Osiris…
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That must've been upsetting to hear, after what you went through, she began slowly. Saint looked away, confirming her theory. "But I think his heart's in the right place. We know so little about the Darkness. More data would indeed be very useful." 
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Saint said nothing. The light through the window splashed orange across his helm. 
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But, she pressed on, "We shouldn't endanger Guardians to get it. However Osiris feels about them now, the Trials started as a way to train fireteams, and they're going to stay that way." She stood, placing a hand on the Exo's shoulder. "I swear to you." 
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He nodded, eyes still fixed on the horizon. "Good."
Sola's Scar (Adept)
Sola's Scar
The bearer of bad news.
Forged by fire and might.
Aunor was in a sour mood when she transmatted into Ikora's personal library. She hated visiting the Tower. Even in a room without doors, well away from the dank Annex basement, she could still smell the Drifter's sulfuric odor. How the others could stand it, she had no idea. 
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Her irritation was softened slightly, when Ikora looked up from her writing with a smile. "I'm glad to see you," she said. 
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Interesting choice of words. I thought I was being summoned for a 'matter of grave importance. ' 
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'Relieved' may be the better word. There aren't many I can trust with an assignment like this. Ikora gestured towards a seat. Aunor shook her head.
0
Is that so? 
0
I mean that as a compliment to you. Not a condemnation of anyone else. 
0
 "You don't need to butter me up before a bad job, Ikora." 
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Ikora sighed, then tapped her datapad. "We've received word of another tainted Guardian in our ranks." 
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Within her cloak, Aunor's pad dinged. She took it out, reading as she scrolled. "Disobeying orders, trading Vanguard secrets… Pretty standard. Prolonged and intentional torture?" She looked up questioningly. 
0
Fallen civilians fleeing the House of Salvation, Ikora supplied, her voice grave. "According to her fireteam, she wanted to know how Eramis accessed the Darkness. "When they tried to intervene…" she trailed off. 
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Aunor looked up sharply. "She tortured her own teammates too?" 
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Ikora nodded. Aunor stowed her datapad back in her cloak. "Where's she headed now?" 
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We believe she's still on Europa, trying to access the Darkness on her own. 
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Makes sense. Now that the Vanguard's lifted the ban, she has plausible deniability. As does anyone else who's tempted by that power, she added pointedly. 
0
Please don't make me go over this again. The Vanguard—
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The Vanguard allowed Darkness into the Tower. You let Guardians play with it, so long as they do it under the Drifter's roving eye.  Otherwise, you'll send me after them as punishment. 
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Not punishment, Ikora corrected evenly. "Redemption. You offer them a chance to cooperate first. To make up for their selfish acts and rejoin the side of humanity." 
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And so far, I've had no takers. 
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That doesn't mean that none exist. 
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And this Trestin? You think she'll be lucky number…  how many are we up to now? At this point, the only chance I'm giving them is the chance to kill me first. 
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Enough. Ikora's eyes flashed. "I won't pretend to be optimistic about the outcome of this case. Or any future ones. But there's no guarantee that all who are touched are forever tainted. Until that's proven otherwise, your orders remain the same. Is that clear?" 
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Aunor stared at her, jaw clenched. "Future cases?"  She shook her head. "Never mind. I'm sure you'll tell me after they've wreaked havoc somewhere." 
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You don't have to do this, if you don't want to. I'd understand. 
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Aunor swatted the concern away. "I stand by my promise," she said.  Then, in a flash of blue, she was gone.
The Messenger (Adept)
The bearer of bad news.
Digging leaves a mark.
"If looks could kill, you wouldn't even have to aim this thing." —Banshee-44
Brass Attacks
"Most of our advanced tech was first used against us by alien races. Time to return the favor." —Lord Saladin
Threaded Needle
Banshee-44 hefted the Sidearm, testing its balance in his metal grip. Nice piece of work. He pulled the slide and peered through the ejection port. The barrel was true and the spring assembly was smooth as silicone. The brass plating and custom Picatinny rail were classy touches too. Just his speed. 
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Construction Redjacks had pulled the pistol from the build site of the H.E.L.M. Some of their deeper combat coding must have kicked in, because they brought the piece to him directly. Banshee wondered how long this beauty had been stuck in the rubble. Hell, maybe it was buried there intentionally. Evidence of some evil deed from way back. 
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Well, any dirt on this hardware was long forgotten by now. Banshee set to disassembling the gun, his hands working faster than the eye could follow. In just a few seconds, he had it in constituent parts on his bench. He scanned the surface of each component, looking for the maker's mark. 
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There! A tiny inscription on the trigger pin. Almost imperceptible, even to his digital eyes. He examined the pin through his loupe. The mark read "B-44.4.C-6". Seemed like a part number. Guess he'd never know who crafted it. 
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It really was a helluva piece, though. Whoever made it had a real eye for the game. 
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Wherever you came from, he thought, it's time to find you a new home.
Ignovun, Chosen of the Cabal, spent all day receiving honors. After Empress Caiatl's announcement, every Legionnaire in the land tank had come to jealously salute him for his promotion. It was the appointment of a lifetime. 
0
Deep within the Halphas Electus, Ignovun oversaw his arena's preparation. There was the hanging of Caiatl's banners, the anointing of his ammunition, and the intonement of the Litany of the Chosen by an imperial mythkeeper. He was fitted for new armor that gleamed in the light. He was briefed on the protocols of the Rite, and the expectations of his victory. 
0
But now, alone in the arena, doubt creeps into Ignovun's thoughts. Ghaul believed that the strength of the smallmen was their Light. He reasoned that the power of the Traveler, like any weapon, could be stripped from the enemy and used against them. Clearly, he was wrong. 
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Ignovun believes differently. Their strength comes not from Light, but from death. The Guardians are already walking corpses, and yet they fight on. They have all died a thousand times, while Ignovun has yet to die even once. How can he defeat an opponent whom death cannot best? 
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Suddenly, the treacherous ravings of Ixel, the Far-Reaching did not seem so absurd. If the Cabal are to triumph over the smallmen, they will have to succeed where Ghaul failed. They will have to bring mortality to the Vanguard. 
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Ignovun knows that these musings will not save him. But he does not fear: if the smallmen can face death, then so can he.
THE SWARM (Adept)
THE SWARM
Hunger is the all of it, and it is all of hunger.
Hunger is the all of it, and it is all of hunger.
The Palindrome
A precision Auto Rifle left behind by Toland, the Shattered. It asks so little, and it offers so much.
Draw, O Coward!
The Palindrome (Adept)
Shadow Price
A precision Auto Rifle left behind by Toland, the Shattered. It asks so little, and it offers so much.
Draw, O Coward!
Shadow Price (Adept)
A cold wind whipped Lord Saladin's cloak as he reached the bottom of the stairwell and entered a small courtyard carved in the side of the Wall. The orange glow of the Last City poured through the arched windows, washing over the room's contents: leafy ferns, decorative pillars, a dried-up tiled fountain; and Commander Zavala, seated at a small metal table against a wall. Saladin approached his former apprentice.
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Wouldn't your office be more comfortable? the Iron Lord asked.
0
Zavala smiled faintly. "A different field for a different kind of battle."
0
Saladin took a seat at the table. "Quaint."
0
Zavala grabbed a woven blanket from his lap and offered it to his mentor.
0
Wolves wear their own coats, Saladin said.
0
Zavala smiled and tucked the cover under his chair, turning his attention to the lacquered wooden board in front of him. Etched lines formed a grid on its surface, and a pile of white and black oblate stones rested nearby. "Shall we?"
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Saladin picked up a stone and placed it on the board. Zavala followed with his own move, and the game was on. They sat silently as pieces continued to be set and removed. The board became crowded. Saladin held on his next turn, methodically scanning for options. He eventually grunted and waved in resignation.
0
I'm surprised you still invited me, Saladin said, breaking their silence.
0
Zavala hesitated before he answered, fidgeting with a stone. "Your dissension on Caiatl has been frustrating, I will admit."
0
You were expecting an Iron Lord to remain silent? Saladin asked.
0
Zavala sighed. "I was hoping an old friend would respect my position."
0
Titles are implements, Saladin said. "What earns respect is how you use them."
0
Zavala smiled. "And how should I use mine?"
0
To meet Caiatl head-on, and cut her down, Saladin said. "A decisive action for a decisive victory."
0
You desire another full-scale war with the Cabal? To chase them through the black gulfs? Zavala asked. "How many will die on this crusade of yours? And what will you leave behind?"
0
Saladin chuckled sardonically. "Still finding excuses to avoid the hard choices. Every victory requires sacrifices."
0
You would wear those sacrifices as accolades, but I see them for what they are, Zavala said firmly. "Consequences of my failure."
0
It's easy to judge from your plush command center, Saladin growled as his demeanor soured. "But someday soon, you'll find yourself in a position with no easy way out. No victory on the horizon, no clever escapes. Nothing but a disaster and a choice of who pays the price."
0
There are more currencies in war than the body count, Zavala said gravely. 
0
Saladin looked out at the glimmering lights of the Last City. "Maybe so, but you don't always get to choose. Sometimes the exchange is decided for you. Sometimes you're stuck on the other side of the door while your friends burn."
0
Zavala saw pain in the furrowed creases of the Iron Lord's face. "I've lost people as well."
0
Not nearly as many as you will, Saladin answered.
0
Zavala sighed and placed his arms behind his back. "I am sorry I have been such a disappointment to you."
0
Saladin shook his head and stood from the table. "You've exceeded all my hopes, Zavala. But you are still not what you could be, and not what we need."
0
Zavala stood as well. "Be that as it may, I am still your commander, and what I need is your obedience."
0
Saladin smirked. "You know better than to try to tame a wolf, old friend."
0
Zavala stood, unmoving, and held his gaze on the Iron Lord.
0
Saladin sighed. "We both oppose Caiatl's terms. That should be enough." He turned to leave, but the commander placed a hand on his shoulder.
0
It is good to see you outside the confines of duty, Zavala said. Saladin nodded, then paced away.
0
Zavala sat again at the table, studying the result of the game as the Iron Lord's footsteps faded.
Lord Saladin sat at a small table, examining a holographic display of Cabal troop movements throughout the system. He was crammed into the corner of his once-spacious quarters, made small over the years by shelves full of ancient weaponry, trophies, dated tactical reports, and dusty gear mods. Like all old men, he told himself that the relics might prove useful again one day, but deep down, he recognized the clutter for what it was: fading nostalgia. 
0
A firm knock on the door roused his attention. He put his hand on his Sidearm and peered through the viewing port. It was Ikora, holding a brown paper sack. The Iron Lord snorted and opened the door. 
0
Thought you might be hungry. Ikora held up the sack. "Is Thai okay?" 
0
Lord Saladin ushered her in. "It's all the same to me." 
0
The Warlock breezed into the room and set about clearing space for the food. Though she said nothing, Saladin could sense her alarm at the state of his dwelling. Her eyes lingered in the mildewed corners. Her nostrils flared at the sour smell of his armor's fur lining. Her fingers traced visible lines in the dust. 
0
She handed him a bamboo bowl filled with savory noodles. "How are you, Lord Saladin?" Her head tilted with earnest concern. 
0
I'll be better once Caiatl is out of the system. The Iron Lord, who could field-strip any weapon in under a minute, was suddenly made clumsy by a pair of disposable chopsticks. The delicate utensils trembled in his massive, weather-beaten hands. 
0
Zavala seems confident that you can force her withdrawal. Ikora held her bowl and leaned gracefully against the table, having no place to sit. 
0
Zavala's optimism is more dangerous than Caiatl's army, he said and scowled. "But after peace talks fail, we'll drive them out the hard way. We always do." Saladin discarded the chopsticks with a frown and tilted the bowl to his lips, slurping the noodles loudly. 
0
Of course. And after that? What will you do? Ikora fixed him with a gentle gaze. "A vacation, perhaps?" 
0
Saladin gestured to the tactical hologram. "By the time we deal with the Cabal, it'll be on to the next atrocity. Vex, Hive, Taken, Fallen, who knows. It's always something." He eyed Ikora pointedly. "When was the last time you had a vacation?" 
0
Ikora raised an eyebrow. "Fair point. But you've been at this a lot longer than I have." 
0
That's right, I have. Saladin's retort was sharper than intended. He paused before continuing, "I'm happier out in the field. Battle keeps me fresh. Keeps me connected. It's being here at the Tower, staring at these damn reports, listening to all this politicking that makes me tired." 
0
And what would you do if we won? Ikora pressed her point. "What if we destroyed the Black Fleet tomorrow, and there were no more battles to fight. What would you do then?" 
0
Saladin scoffed at the Warlock's nonsense. "Well, in that case… I suppose I'd take a vacation." 
0
The two warriors eyed each other in stony silence, before breaking out in relieved chuckles. 
0
The moment of levity briefly softened the Iron Lord. "Don't worry, Ikora. I'm fine." 
0
The Warlock's eyebrow arched as she surveyed the surrounding mess. 
0
Saladin held firm under her scrutiny for a moment, before relenting with an exasperated sigh. "If it'll make you feel better," he grumbled, "I'll get some eager New Lights in here to clean up a bit." 
0
It would, thank you. Ikora's eyebrows knitted in concern. "You know, with Zavala stretched so thin, and without a Hunter Vanguard, I worry about our readiness. You know what's coming. We need the Iron Lords now more than ever." 
0
Saladin's eyes drifted back to the tactical display. "I know it, young pup. I'll always be here when you need me."
Bottom Dollar
"I heard a Ghost die once, in Twilight Gap. Still hear it sometimes, on dark nights…"
"The mathematics are quite complicated." —Master Rahool
The Third Axiom
Never count yourself out.
The Keening
Royal Entry
Don't tell me the odds.
You have arrived.
Frozen Orbit
Never out of sight.
Trinary System
"Long, short, they all end the same way." —Katabasis
Dead Man's Tale
The two Legionaries rooted through the armory of their deposed emperor. They swept the rubble aside and lifted a Bow of sharp metal, its thin frame of blackened blades bound with wire.
0
This is the one the Psions made so you can't miss.
0
Huh. How'd they do it?
0
They put time in it.
0
What kinds of time?
0
Kinds so when you shoot, that's always when the arrows hit.
0
You never ever miss?
0
Not unless you were going to anyway.
0
But if you do miss, it'll make it a time that you don't?
0
Right. Unless this time was a time when you did.
0
**
0
It was the third day of the dry joining. Ticuu's voice was rasped raw, but still he clutched the Bow to his chest and held it placid in his mind.
0
Ticuu melded his thoughts with the null. A bastardized metaconcert, one voice in the expanse—a temporal harmony of one.
0
Three arrows, hissing faintly with Solar power, bristled in his fist.
0
Then, an echo: a rusty whine of horsehair on frayed wire. Ticuu plucked the bowstring. Spots of blood appeared on the floor. He plucked again, filling the air with oppressive vibration.
0
Blood welled from his fingers and dripped to match the pattern at his feet.
0
**
0
How's it make arrows?
0
They come from time, because they got put there before.
0
When you shoot it, how's it know what heads to hit?
0
It goes in time and gets a future where heads always had arrows in 'em.
0
But which heads, though?
0
The ones that had arrows already.
0
**
0
Ticuu's mind emptied itself, dissipating across the pitch and froth of what was to be.
0
Time was an empty wheel around him. His song held it, and the joining pinned it in place. Three points of harmony between the will and the physical.
0
His fist rose. Three shafts pierced his Y-shaped pupil. They had always been there. Three points, pushed through forever.
Ticuu's Divination
Gaelin-4's war beast  leads us through balmy Venusian  jungle. Our rifles low, our Ghosts high in the canopy like sentry drones.
0
My vehicle is old. Needs maintenance. Been running too long without cutting the engine, I say.
0
Gaelin sends me a sideways look. "That shipwright  still around? She used to make cider in the autumn. I swear, she kept us like a pack of strays."
0
I sigh. "No, I mean this thing." I run my hand over my body. "Besides, you know I can't go back there." I straighten the leather wrap around my Tex-foundry rifle.
0
You know I literally tune myself, right? asks the Exo Hunter.
0
Why? You're immortal.
0
And you're not?
0
I know, but I'm… slower. I feel slower.
0
Uh huh.
0
Just not like what I used to feel like. Not… spry. Not up here either. I tap my helmet.
0
Tragedy. I feel for you. Have Gilgamesh  tune you then.
0
I chuckle. "Yeah… he'd love that."
0
You two having issues again?
0
I shake my head in a stiff, narrow lie. "You think we come back the same every time?"
0
I do. Straight from the manufacturer , Gaelin-4 says.
0
Sometimes I get the feeling… something's different.
0
Gaelin stops and squints at me.
0
I dip my head and let my hood fall forward. "Nothing I can put my finger on, just little things. Adjustments."
0
You think he's changing you? Gaelin's voice sounds more serious than surprised.
0
I wait too long to answer. It's not because I don't know my answer, but because I want to feel like I still doubt it. I raise my head. Gaelin meets my eyes and looks up to the canopy.
0
He leans his shoulder into me and drops his voice to a whisper. "My Clip's  a good one, but you need to realize Ghosts don't know anything. Nobody does. They're just like us. They get curious. They question. If you think something's coming unwound, you need to sit down and talk it out."
0
Wait… did Clip change yo—
0
Please, Gaelin scoffs. "You're paranoid." He turns to keep walking and calls back, "Life changes you. Same with them. I'm the only one that stays the same."
0
Gaelin raises a fist and we stop. His war beast sniffs the air and turns us east. We continue walking.
0
What'd you name the beast?
0
Castus.
0
You've been reading too many of the Spider's books .
0
Some of 'em are good.
0
I laugh. "Aren't you the man that said anything you got tying you down can be made into a noose?"
0
Yeah, some time ago.
0
You've been taking a lot of jobs with him ? Those Fallen?
0
You're one to talk, Emperor's lackey . Some of those Eliksni aren't so bad.
Three points, pushed through forever.
It was a warm night in the Last City. A gentle breeze rolled through the streets, ruffling treetops and bearing choirs of cicadas. On a night like this, even the most chronic of insomniacs could achieve a sound, dreamless sleep—all they'd need do was lay their head down and breathe deep. 
0
Except for Zavala. He preferred to spend a night like this walking through the gardens.  "Nothing better than a midnight stroll. Right, Targe ?" he remarked quietly to the Ghost floating over his shoulder. 
0
Targe bobbed silently in the breeze. In his opinion, a full eight hours of sleep would've been vastly better, especially for the beleaguered commander. But, while some Ghosts felt giving advice was part of their calling, he did not. So he said nothing. 
0
His disapproval was felt regardless. "I know, I should rest." Zavala closed his eyes and inhaled. The night air was fragrant with fresh blooms and petrichor. "But I'd argue this counts." 
0
Targe remembered when this acre was first dug out for planting, back when the City was little more than a sprawl of encampments. They had just returned from a grueling patrol, but as soon as Zavala saw the others digging, he dropped his weapons and picked up a shovel. 
0
Saladin gave him a long lecture about the importance of rest and recovery, but he just stubbornly kept on digging. "I'd like to sow some life for once," he said. Targe could still picture the look on the Iron Lord's face in that moment, flickering between pride and exasperation. It was in that moment that he, too, picked up a shovel. 
0
We've come so far, Zavala murmured in the present. "Sacrificed so much." 
0
Again, Targe said nothing. They had indeed. As they passed under a tree, the cicadas tucked in its branches went still. For a few seconds, the only noise was the crunch of boots on the gravel path. Once Zavala and Targe were a few yards away, the cicadas resumed their melodic thrumming. 
0
It amazes me sometimes that I've survived this long. Zavala looked up, his pupils reflecting the bone-white orb of the Traveler above. "All thanks to you." His words came out so soft, and it was hard to tell if they were an accusation or gratitude. 
0
Targe tilted up towards the Traveler too. What could he say? It was his duty to resurrect his Guardian. More than that, it was his purpose. Not one he had chosen, but then again, neither had Zavala. 
0
A silence fell, deeper than before. Ghost and Guardian stared up at the opaque moon, their thoughts synchronized around the same question: 
0
Are you watching over us? Or are we on our own?
[Report by VanNet encrypted router]
0
My friend and first, I know Her Royal Tuskiness is not my assignment, but I couldn't help but catch the following exchange on my latest trip to you-know-where. If anything, it's good for a laugh. Don't let our favorite Praxic wear you down to a nub . If she gives you grief, you give her a swift kick from me. —C.Y.
0
.]
0
RECORD: 30.10.15.C.Y.Report
IDENTITIES: Advisor Taurun [A.T.], Empress Caiatl [E.C.], The Spider [T.S.]
FILE//HID_CLASSIFIED//AUDIO
0
n is made. Let the imperial record show that, on this day, the great Empress Caiatl, ascendant of Calus, slayer of Umun'arath, convened via radio message with the Spider of the Tangled Shore, formerly of the House of—
0
n. The scribes can add whatever flourishes  they wish after the fact.
0
t waste time. I know you have more important matters to attend to. Matters that I would be happy to help with… in my own small way.
0
oner seek aid from you than a war beast would from a bog-tick . Do you know how many thieves I've had to excise from my ranks? They debased themselves. Crawling about our proving grounds. Refashioning battle-trash  into weapons. All because you tempted them with a flash of Glimmer.
0
 them? It's all I can do to keep them from flooding the market .
0
y first time dealing with war profiteers, insect. Though, if I squash you thoroughly enough, it may be my last.
0
ought I was doing you a charity, promoting Cabal entrepreneurship. I was told the empire was low on funds.
0
#WERT!
0
 I don't know what advice you've been getting from your imperial hangers-on, but—
0

0
#WERT!
0
e different here in the Sol system. Smash and conquer—like so many traditions of old Torobatl—won't get you far. Ghaul found that out the hard way. The remnants of his Red Legion have learned to adapt.
0
f you'd like to do the same. I'd even go against my own custom and consider a payment plan. 
0
 But it seems I have no need. As you've revealed, I have untapped resources at my disposal.
0
s have survived your purge, yes.  But weapons are not my most valuable wares, not by a long shot. If you're anything like your father, you'll be far more interested in the information I have to offer.
0
rdinates. We can discuss face-to-face. But tread lightly. I've yet to decide whether you're worth my mercy. 
0
ed to host Her Imperial Highness on my humble Shore. It's no palatial estate, but we insects are just happy to have a place to call home. 
0
#WERT!
"You can't be serious, Arrha. Nothing? You couldn't even scrape off a little stone to bring me?" 
0
Arrha shook his head. "The Spider asked for information," he answered in Eliksni, "But Cabal have found nothing, and House Salvation is still scattered." 
0
I know what I asked for. And you know better than to return to me empty-handed. At least I thought you knew. Spider narrowed his eyes at his trembling Associate. 
0
I do, the Spider. I… I have information, but not about Darkness. I saw the Crow. Tailing the Golem and his crew. 
0
The Vanguard has him sniffing around Basilius, hm? So we do have something to trade with the empress after all. Not that it'll do her any good; my little bird  is devilishly hard to catch. Spider leaned forward. "Now HE would've gotten me something useful from Europa. You might've learned from him." 
0
Yes, the Spider. Arrha nodded vigorously. The faint sounds of revelry drifted in from down the hall, where the other Associates were enjoying their week's earnings. 
0
Avrok already told me about Crow's new assignment as Vanguard agent. Apparently, he's placed quite the wager on one of the Cabal's silly Rites , the Spider chuckled. "Avrok should've dared him to bet his freedom. Could stand to win my whole trove, he's that valuable." 
0
Yes, the Spider, Arrha repeated. Out of corner of his eye, he could see his share of Ether waiting in the corner. 
0
Oh, take your wages and go. I ought to dock you for bringing me nothing, but I'm feeling generous this week. Spider's voice dropped into a growl. "Remember that I am good to you, Arrha." 
0
Arrha nodded as he scrambled to grab his Ether tanks and get out. Finally alone, the Spider sat back in his throne. 
0
It's Crow, really, that needs the reminder, he mused aloud. "I wonder how I might give it to him?"
"Feast, my comrades. Torobatl may be lost, but its spirit lives on in our traditions." —Empress Caiatl
Praefectus Strides
Cau'tor smiled as his daughter walked ahead, dragging her hand across the soft filaments of the valac blooms. Bioluminescent pollen swirled in her wake, barely visible in the glow of sundown. Cau'tor closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, reveling in the heady scent that marked the beginning of the wet season.
0
Why did you bring me here? his daughter asked. Even as she spoke, Cau'tor pictured her from memory: a small child frolicking in brightly colored robes. He opened his eyes and saw a full-grown warrior in a towering battlesuit.
0
He gestured towards the plated broadsword stowed on her hip. "The scribes said you fought ferociously in sparring this morning."
0
My blade is insatiable, she replied, brandishing the weapon and playfully pointing it at her father. Her smile diminished slightly. "You could have seen it yourself."
0
Cau'tor did his best to hide a wince. "I will soon enough, Ta'nam."
0
Ta'nam sheathed the blade. Dried grass and petals crunched under Cau'tor's sabatons as he met his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder.
0
So what's this about—a reminder of home on the eve of battle? Ta'nam asked.
0
Her father scoffed. "Do you really need reminding?"
0
Ta'nam grimaced. "I miss it every day."
0
We all do, her father said with a heavy sigh. "No, I wanted you to have one last chance to see it with your own eyes."
0
Ta'nam turned, her brow furrowed. "Last chance?"
0
Enough, Cau'tor called out. A low rumble resonated through their bones and the world shifted. Distant mountains undulated and stretched towards the sky; flowers burst into clouds of wriggling bubbles. The world blurred as light and matter drained like viscous fluid towards a growing rift in the sky—a shadow that grew until it consumed them.
0
They woke aboard the Barbatos Rex, still streaming through the stars. Their hands were clasped around the handle of a rusted antique blade. A Psion stood nearby as the last spectral tendrils of psionic energy connecting the three of them dissipated.
0
Cau'tor nodded at the Psion. "Leave us."
0
I don't understand, Ta'nam said as soon as they were alone.
0
Cau'tor held the blade up. "Four generations ago, this weapon earned our family's place in the empire. Its history makes it a strong locus for the mind-walk." He studied the knife carefully, testing its weight distribution. "But history is a luxury of the victor."
0
Cau'tor took the weapon in both hands and broke it in half, grinding the brittle material in his gauntlets.
0
Ta'nam recoiled slightly. "Father…"
0
The world this came from is gone, Cau'tor continued. "Home is no longer behind us. It is ahead in the distance, past a towering mountain, and over a great sea."
0
Ta'nam nodded. "We are Cabal. We eat the mountains, and drink the seas."
0
Cau'tor leaned forward. "But you cannot do this if your hunger is sated by indulgent reverie. So we will never walk these thoughts again."
0
Ta'nam stiffened. "I understand."
0
Sol is a graveyard for our people. But those warriors never watched our cities burn in soulfire. The memory of home should not be a comfort, my child, but the wound that drives your blood frenzy.
0
Ta'nam nodded, but the knot in her gut forced her to speak. "Do you fear them, Father? The Sol warriors?"
0
Cau'tor smiled proudly, and took his daughter's hand. "I do not, my child. Because I fight with Ta'nam, and her blade is insatiable."
"Ghaul commanded you to die for his vanity. I ask only that you fight at my side for the empire. The choice is yours." —Empress Caiatl
"Many victories seem out of reach. But you march onward, step by step, wound after wound, until they are in your grasp." —Empress Caiatl
Praefectus Mask
// Cryptarchy Analysis Log R11320 — Stolen Cabal Data //
0
// Author — Master Rahool //
0
SUMMARY
0
What follows is a translation of a Cabal data file that was acquired as part of Operation Haystack, as ordered by Commander Zavala. This log focuses on a single file we were able to decrypt; for the full report on the contents of that data breach and further decryption attempts, please see log R11312.
0
Ostensibly, this file is a recipe for a dish to be served at some sort of official gathering in Caiatl's honor. The ingredients mentioned here have been seen in a variety of ancient Cabal texts, and analysis of the empire's economic history implies that they are considered cheap and undesirable. I believe this recipe is both old and born of the lower class, a case of poor laborers devising ingenious (yet challenging) ways to take unsold goods and turn them into something comforting and delicious. 
0
That Caiatl chose this as a main dish for an official gathering speaks to the optics she wants to present; she may be trying to differentiate herself from the opulence of the Calus era and the utilitarianism of Ghaul's rule by relating to the common folk of the empire. 
0
Note that decryption was only mostly successful, and some data degradation occurred. Cryptarch's comments are in-line for ease of understanding. Some translations remain ambiguous, but I've provided my best hypotheses.
0
// FILE START //— [CBX PARSER ERROR]
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] 
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] until the solvent mixture has blended together.
0
— Pulverize atlotl tendons until just pliable and surfaces begin to crack, then dredge in solvent mixture and let soak for [36–84 hours; the cycle referenced here is unknown, estimates are conservative guess].
0
— To make the [black cube], crush citrus mixture, then drain through a sieve. Discard juice, retaining pulp and bitter pith. Compress solids in [kitchen vice? unsure of translation] on maximum heat until block is [CBX PARSER ERROR] to touch and charred. Place in sunlit area to cure.
0
— Once tendons are soft and stretchy, remove from solvent and rinse in ocean water. Slice into ribbons and set aside.
0
— Take loin of Atlotl and hook to [rotating device] then slap against stone surface until fragrant.
0
— Cut loin into tetrahedrons, making sure to slice across all grains, and set aside.
0
— In a large cauldron, add water, shau'rac oil, and appropriate root mixture (based on season and year). Bring to boil, then add loin and tendons. Cook until [CBX PARSER ERROR] no longer float and fluid has an ochre sheen across the surface.
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] more hours, thickening until broth [CBX PARSER ERROR] off the back of a ladle.
0
— Serve with thick slices of the [black cube].
0
// FILE END //
(A burst of electricity shatters a tree, showering Nessus's vermillion fauna across the battlefield.)
0
Vatoc the Psion had been a coward before, and not even just once. As he braced behind a Vex tower and clutched his empty rifle, he recalled his legacy of hasty retreats.
0
He had run from Wire Rifle enfilades and soulfire barrages on the detritus flotillas of the Reef.
0
He had fled the relentless advance of the chronomatons, nearly boiling in his suit amidst mercurial deserts.
0
Most of all, he had run from the Light-infested husks, the undying Guardians of Sol. Time and again, he saved his own neck, only for the Legion to find a new assignment and cast him back into the fray; they knew he was weak, but with Legionaries falling in droves, there was no other choice.
0
(A roar sweeps through the canyon as a smoking Thresher tumbles end over end into oblivion.)
0
Vatoc bore no guilt over his survival; to a Psion, survival was all you had. There was no honor to be gained, no advancement within ranks, no wealth to be accumulated. All the Legion left you with was your life, and Vatoc was going to make sure it lasted as long as possible.
0
But that was before Ghaul had been melted down to atoms and scattered across the stars. Before the failed gambit with the Warlock's time device. Before the Almighty, gleaming triumph of the Legion, was tossed like a pebble and swatted aside by an indifferent god.
0
Now came Empress Caiatl, and with her, the promise of something Vatoc never imagined he would have: freedom. The full might of the empire had arrived in a cavalcade of frigates and carriers, filling the space between worlds with destructive power. For the first time in his life, Vatoc's choice was not merely just to survive, but a choice of what to live for.
0
(A Colossus barks a rallying cry; a cacophony of Slug Rifles echoes in response.)
0
The battle swelled around him and his compatriots fell. He could see the route to safety. Dark crevasses tucked between tepui where he could run and hide. Where he knew he could survive.
0
(Vatoc reloads his rifle and sings an oath to his empress.)
0
He had been a coward before, but no longer.
//A MESSAGE FROM EMPRESS CAIATL OF THE CABAL, TO ALL LEGIONARIES IN SOL//
0
Warriors of the empire: the Imperial Crown calls to you.
0
Ghaul failed us, and the Red Legion paid the price in blood. You have been scattered and abandoned, hunted by our enemies as you yearn for home… but Torobatl is no longer ours.
0
The combined fleet of the empire has entered Sol space. Come back to us, our comrades and kin. Rejoin our ranks, and help me mend this fractured empire. Through honor and strength, we will write the next chapter in our empire's storied history, and—
0
//
0
The Centurion flipped a switch and silenced the comm device. She peeked out of the cavern's makeshift scrap-metal door and saw asteroids drifting over the Shore like sleeping goliaths in a lavender sea.
0
Screeb chitters echoed through the air, grabbing the Centurion's attention. She snapped the door shut and readied her Slug Rifle, listening as the sound swelled. When silence finally returned, she crumpled against the wall and wearily dropped her weapon. The gun had been issued in her family's name and bathed in her brother's blood. Now it was a fading memento, lying in the dust beside a vigil of empty helmets.
0
The message played over again in her mind and she snarled. A crown. A gauntlet. A chalice. Nothing more than metal tortured with heat and molded into something else. Into someone else's vision. What had the empire molded her into? The low moan of some ancient cable resonated through her pressure suit, now comically oversized for her atrophied muscles.
0
She swung her gauntlet and crushed the comm device for good measure. Thresher engines roared in the distance, the sound of countless Legionaries answering the call. She hunkered down and fell into a deep slumber.
Praefectus Cloak
"Hail, warrior of the empire," Empress Caiatl said as she approached the bedside of a wounded Red Legion Centurion. The soldier had been gazing solemnly out a porthole when the sound of her voice startled him. He turned suddenly, then winced in pain. Caiatl saw darkened synthetic fabric enveloping his torso and the entirety of his right arm, which itself looked frail and withered. She knew immediately that this Cabal would see no more battles.
0
My empress! the warrior responded, clasping a fist to his chest with his unwrapped arm. Caiatl saluted in return.
0
The empress glanced at a monitor displaying the patient's data. "Val'ast, born of Val'tui." She looked out the porthole; the brilliance of Sol beamed back at her. "The empire has returned for you, Red Legionary, yet your heart seems heavy. Why do you languish?"
0
Val'ast looked away. "I am sorry, Empress."
0
Do not be sorry, my brother, Caiatl said.
0
Val'ast sighed. "For years, every day has been about survival. Just trying to stay in the fight. But now…" He trailed off and grasped the sheets of his bed, a cheap fabric but still softer than anything he'd felt in years.
0
When you war for so long, peace can become its own struggle, Caiatl said.
0
Val'ast let the fabric fall from his hand. "I thought I was Acrius reborn, claiming another sun for our kind." He gazed out the porthole. "But I failed."
0
Caiatl smiled. "I've always loved that tale." She pulled a stool over and sat. "Did you know that there used to be more to it?"
0
Val'ast shook his head.
0
It's an older version, not as popular in modern times, but I was lucky enough to learn it as a child, the empress continued. "Before Acrius, three warriors sought to climb a great mountain and grasp the sun, but a terrible beast stood in their way.
0
"The first tried to outwit the beast and sneak through the shadows, but the beast smelled him still and ate the warrior in a single bite.

The second tried to escape the beast, crafting a device to harness the wind and soar upward. But the fickle wind changed its mind and tossed her into the beast's maw."
0
The third warrior challenged the beast head on, Severus in hand. She also fell to the beast's gnashing teeth, but not before her blade tasted blood.
0
Val'ast frowned. "They all failed?"
0
Caiatl considered the question. "The first two, certainly. They thought battle could be avoided. But the third warrior died with pride and honor."
0
Val'ast pondered for a moment. "Even in defeat, she left her mark on her foe."
0
Caiatl nodded. "And the next time one of her kin faced it, the beast would be one blow closer to death."
0
Did more come? Val'ast questioned.
0
Of course! Caiatl exclaimed. "They were Cabal, and the sun was theirs to claim. Over and over, their mightiest fell. But each time, another wound was struck, until the day came when a warrior landed the final blow. That warrior was Acrius."
0
Val'ast frowned. "Ever since I was a child, I saw Acrius as a hero…"
0
He may have been, Caiatl replied as she clasped Val'ast's hand in hers. "But so was the warrior who struck first."
0
Val'ast's eyed glistened as he held her grip firmly. "Thank you, Empress."
0
Caiatl shook her head. "My brother, it is the empire who thanks you."
"You want a ship? Surely your friends in the fleet would be happy to retrieve another lost Legionary. That is, unless, you'd rather not be found…" —The Spider
Praefectus Grips
Praefectus Cuirass
"The past is the past; we cannot return to it. All we can do now is fight for the future our people deserve, through blade and blood." —Valus Cau'tor
"We can't ever go back to the way things were."—Aisha, Human Hunter
Pyrrhic Ascent Strides
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-02-01 // MERCURY
0
Flames roll up the front windscreen of a classic AFv2 Octavian  on its entry to Mercury's thin atmosphere. Aisha has done this jump hundreds of times. Feet propped up on the console, she allows autopilot to carry her in to the Lighthouse. 
0
We shouldn't just leave her behind, a woman says over the comms. Aisha motions with one finger to her Ghost, who opens an audio channel back to her fireteam member Shayura's jumpship. 
0
Not our call, Shay. Agree or disagree, we're a united front, Aisha replies. 
0
Then act like it! Shayura fires back. 
0
Aisha folds her hands behind her head and rolls her eyes toward the top of her cockpit, venting her frustration with a prolonged sigh. 
0
It's Sloane's choice. They've had this conversation too many times now. "You know how she is. If she's declining evac, there's no force in the system that'll uproot her. Stay, go, it's her choice." 
0
Eight seconds until we're in transmat range, Aisha's Ghost interrupts, trying to cut the tension. He indicates the directional telemetry on the console with a flick of his monocular blue eye. She gently pushes the Ghost out of her face with a brush of her fingers. 
0
Leaders make mistakes. Shayura's voice crackles over the comms as the fire of reentry clears from Aisha's windscreen, revealing the sandy geometric mottling of Mercury's surface. 
0
We're in transmat range, Aisha's Ghost chirps. She waves her hand at him dismissively. 
0
Zavala doesn't see it. He's trying to do the work of two Vanguard leaders right now. I d— Shay's words are cut off as Aisha's body discorporates into a whirling matrix of light and energy. 
0
Aisha rematerializes within the exterior courtyard of the Lighthouse. Her Exo companion Reed-7 is already waiting, arms crossed. 
0
—believe for a minute that's all we could've done! Shayura finishes as she transmats in an electrical blast. She is incandescent with anger, waves of golden fire lapping at the sides of her face. 
0
Sloane made her choice! Aisha shouts, following Reed toward the Lighthouse with as much heated intensity as Shayura. "The commander asked her to fall back and she didn't! Don't pin this on him!" 
0
Shayura pivots to stare at Aisha; the fire building around her discharges in an upward blast. "If he wants to lead, he should be willing to take criticism for his decisions!" 
0
Hey! is all Reed-7 needs to say. The bright red Exo shifts his posture awkwardly but stands his ground. Aisha and Shayura are both silenced by the clap of his rebuke. 
0
Reed lifts a hand to the back of his neck. "Can we do this later? Please?" Shayura and Aisha afford each other a brief, tempered look. Shayura puts down her conversational weapons and draws her Sword. She points it at a group of Guardians across the windswept courtyard outside of the Lighthouse. 
0
Fine, Aisha agrees, reluctantly. Anything to end this conversation.
"There is nowhere to run."—Aisha, Human Hunter
"When you lose your faith, you lose a part of yourself."—Aisha, Human Hunter
Pyrrhic Ascent Mask
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-02-05 // SIMULATED LIGHTHOUSE, THE TOWER, LAST CITY
0
There's still snow in the cockpit of my jumpship, Aisha says after she appears in a crackling wave of latticework from the subordinate Vex conflux now running simulations of the Lighthouse from the safety of the Tower. 
0
Is that why you're late? Reed-7 asks, and Aisha's chest tightens. 
0
She feigns a smile and spreads her hands, playing off her nervousness. "And Shayura isn't?" she jabs back. 
0
She's coming. Reed says, and then more pointedly asks, "How long did you stick around the Stranger's camp after we left?" Aisha looks away, as if to contemplate the graphical fidelity of the Lighthouse, jaw set and shoulders tense. 
0
Couple hours, she says quietly. "I moved around. House of Salvation was putting down stakes out near some Vex ruins; wanted to make sure they didn't stick." Feeling anxious, she presses two fingers to her neck, transmatting her helmet around her head in a flash of light. 
0
Reed snorts and nods. "This is weird, right?" He drops the topic of Europa. Aisha isn't sure what he's on about. "The simulation. Saint's little… combat closet. It feels real," he continues. 
0
It is real. I mean, we are. The space is a… I don't know, magic? But me and you? The Guardians? We're all us. Aisha explains with a motion around herself. "The dangers may be simulated, but that doesn't make the effects any less real. Saint wouldn't have it any other way. You didn't go into the Infinite Forest, did you?" 
0
 "Hell no," Reed quickly admits. "Couldn't pay me enough to. Can't stand the Vex," he adds with a shudder. "You know how you are with spiders? That's me with the Vex. Don't know why, don't care." 
0
Aisha looks down at one of her hands, fingers curling against her palm. She closes her eyes, considers Reed, and then gathers up the confidence to make a confession as Shayura manifests into the simulated space mid-stride. She walks straight past Reed and Aisha toward the Lighthouse. "Come on." 
0
Shayura's brusque entrance elicits a concerned look between Reed and Aisha, but they say nothing more on the matter. 
0
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-02-05 // SIMULATED TRIALS ARENA, SIMULATED LIGHTHOUSE
0
Where's Shayura? Reed asks as he reloads his Scout Rifle mid-match. Aisha points down a corridor with two fingers. 
0
She's been after that other Awoken Warlock since we started the match. I think she followed him that way, Aisha says, already breaking into a jog. "It's three on one, c'mon." 
0
When they finally find Shayura, she's standing over a still-living Awoken Guardian whose helmet has been broken, revealing one of his eyes. He stares up at her, at her fire-shrouded Sword. Aisha and Reed train their firearms, prepared to back Shayura up if she misses the finishing blow for the match. Reed starts to lower his Auto Rifle, and Aisha feels his palpable confusion as she notices Shayura's sight line isn't aimed down at the Guardian; it's aimed up at his Ghost. 
0
Shay? Aisha asks, a nervous tremor in her voice. 
0
Shayura lashes out, striking the Ghost with her Sword and knocking it to the ground. The Guardian exhales a scream of plight, and Shayura quickly draws her Sidearm and plants a round in his forehead. The Ghost chirps, squawks. It is only damaged. Shayura holsters her Sidearm again. 
0
Shay! Reed shouts, dropping his Scout Rifle and rushes over to her. This time, though, Shayura expels a blast of force from her palm that knocks Reed onto his back. Aisha's heart races. She looks back at Reed, then Shayura. Fear and doubt take control. Aisha closes her eyes and chooses the unthinkable. 
0
Blue-black ice crusts over Shayura's legs, snuffs out her Praxic fire, and freezes her Sword arm solid. Feather-ice bristles off of her body along with waves of visible cold. Waves of cold radiate outward from one of Aisha's extended hands; feathery shards of crystalline growths bristle off of her gauntlet. She had no choice. 
0
Aisha couldn't understand in that moment what was going through Shayura's mind, or how much of a betrayal this moment was. 
0
But in time, Aisha hoped, her friends would come to understand and forgive her.
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-02-04 // TENEMENT BUILDING ROOFTOP, PEREGRINE DISTRICT, LAST CITY
0
The Traveler hangs like a moon over the Last City, radiating bands of sapphire light from within its cracked shell. Thousands have gathered on rooftops, crowded streets, filled balconies. They look up to the sky, staring at a spectacle never before seen and perhaps never to be witnessed again. From their spot on a terrace, the Hunter Aisha and her Awoken Warlock companion Shayura bear witness to the turn of the age. 
0
Do you remember Chicago?  Aisha asks, unable to pry her eyes away from the Traveler's silhouette. Shayura's response is a non-verbal acknowledgement. "I thought we were gonna die in the Crypts," Aisha continues. 
0
Light ripples from the Traveler, washing over the pair like foaming tides from far distant shores. Aisha closes her eyes. "I remember… we all blamed the Traveler." She wishes she felt more as the Light touches her face. She wishes she felt anything. "For bringing us back, for putting guns in our hands, for cursing us to die again and again." 
0
Shayura says nothing in return, and for the moment, Aisha does not lament that. The silence allows her to contemplate her own emptiness, her own disaffected sense of belonging to a cosmic force that doesn't understand her, nor she it. But as she opens her eyes, it is still in wonderment. The significance of the moment, what it means for the people of the City, can't be understated. Even if the long-term ramifications are clouded in doubt. 
0
I remember, Shayura finally replies. Aisha looks at her, surprised to see Shayura's focus not on the Traveler but down on the street. "I never forgot how abandoned we felt," Shayura adds, a tightness in her voice. 
0
Aisha's attention is drawn back to the Traveler as it throbs like a beating heart and erupts into a blinding flash of light. Aisha braces, as if for an incoming attack, but shudders when she feels the wave of Light crash against and roll past her. When it fades, Aisha sees the impossible. The Traveler, once shattered by its exertion to destroy Ghaul, is now whole. 
0
The City rises up in a riotous cheer; Aisha turns to Shayura, but she is gone. A moment of panic clutches at her heart. Aisha frantically looks around until she spies Shayura retreating into the jubilant crowd. Aisha watches her go, afraid that she understands what Shayura is feeling: hollow disaffection.
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-02-03 // BAZAAR, THE TOWER, LAST CITY
0
Within the tented enclosure of their tower-based enclave, Shayura and Aisha sit on crimson, vermillion, and gold cushions scattered around a circular table, the setting sun burning bright at their backs through icy-encrusted trellis. A handful of colorful decorations for the Festival of the Lost hang overhead, with more being set up outside. An anchor of community in the wake of a tumultuous time. 
0
How's today feeling? Aisha asks, sitting forward with her elbows on her knees. Shayura doesn't answer. 
0
Aisha watches Reed-7 stand in line at a food kiosk across the way. "Did you talk to Ikora yet?" she tries again. The Warlock rakes her fingers through her hair and sighs, slouching down so that her forehead rests against the tabletop. 
0
No, Shayura finally responds. "I will. I'm sorry." 
0
Hey, no, Aisha says, scooting over enough so that she can put a reassuring hand on Shayura's shoulder. "Don't. We've all been through a lot. I should've paid attention to how hurt you were before we went into the match. I'm sorry we fought; I'm sorry I yelled at you." 
0
Shayura regards Aisha from the corner of her eye. She turns away and lets her hair fall like a curtain to hide her face. "Can Guardians be unfit for duty?" Shayura wonders, her voice muffled by the table. 
0
Aisha isn't sure how to respond. "I mean…"
0
I don't know if I'm okay, Shayura admits without lifting her head. Aisha leans in and puts an arm around her friend's shoulders. 
0
It's okay not to be okay, Aisha says. "That's why you should talk to Ikora. She knows. She understands." 
0
Shayura is quiet again. Aisha peeks over the arch of Shayura's back and spots Reed carrying a collection of steaming mugs in his large hands. 
0
Drinks, Reed says, setting down the mugs on the table. Aisha offers Reed a supportive but strained smile in return. "Careful," Reed notes as she reaches out for a mug, "they're hot." 
0
There's cinnamon in yours, he says to Shayura. She gives him a thumbs-up without lifting her head off the table. Aisha offers Reed a wordless look of concern and shakes her head. Their talk had not gone well while he was away. 
0
I know you're upset about Sloane, Reed says. "But you know the commander's done all he can. We've done all we can. Don't blame yourself for—"
0
Thanks, Shayura says without looking up. She sits up enough to grab her mug with two hands and drags the piping hot cider over to herself. She slouches over the mug, breathing in the aroma of cinnamon, honey, apples, and cloves. Her eyes drift shut and, for a moment, she seems more herself. 
0
Aisha and Reed take a moment to breathe. Give Shayura time to breathe. "I know," Shayura finally says in a small, guilty voice. "I'm sorry." It's hard to tell if she's talking about Sloane, or about her behavior in general. 
0
You don't need to apologize to us, Reed says with a look to Aisha, who nods back in support and affirmation. "You should apologize to Leitka and his Ghost." 
0
It was Titan, Shayura finally explains without looking up from her mug. Reed and Aisha look at each other, but neither interrupts. They let Shayura reach that point at her own pace. "I was back on Titan. Like when we were Lightless, surrounded by Hive. There was this Knight… no matter how many times I killed him, he kept coming back. I should've died out there." 
0
But you didn't, Aisha says, reaching out across the table to take Shayura's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "We got our Light back, and—"
0
What happens when the Darkness closes in? Shayura asks, though she knows neither Reed nor Aisha have the answer. "Will she be Lightless again? Alone?" 
0
Reed and Aisha share a look, and the Exo reaches across the table, laying one of his large hands atop Shayura's hand that Aisha holds. Reed's silence is stability, and Aisha smiles across the small distance to him in thanks. The three fireteam members are all the family they have, and in this moment of weakness, Aisha has to hope that family is enough to make it through the darkness. 
0
Or, failing that, enough to make the journey worth taking.
Pyrrhic Ascent Cloak
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-02-02 // TRIALS ARENA, THE LIGHTHOUSE, MERCURY
0
A seething stream of automatic weapons fire ricochets off of the vibrant purple dome protecting Reed-7 and Aisha. There are only two Guardians left on the opposing team; the remains of the third are scattered, smoking and sizzling. 
0
Aisha? Reed asks in concern. Flames form between Aisha's knuckles as his barrier begins to destabilize. She has the better plan. 
0
The opposing Guardian pauses to reload from behind cover, and Aisha boosts straight up. Remnants of the collapsing barrier swirl around her ankles, caught on the thermal updraft. By the time the opposing Guardian has noticed, both of Aisha's hands glow like the sun. A dozen knives made from condensed plasma tear through him and everything in his vicinity, leaving molten holes in their wake. 
0
The Guardian collapses in a heap; Aisha lands nearby, cloak fluttering around her. Reed-7 gives her a wearied thumbs-up. 
0
Did you see Shay while you were up there? Reed asks. 
0
No. She's probably playing tag with the one that keeps going invisible. Aisha says, brushing ash off of her gloves. "Let's go find her and finish this up." 
0
A plume of atomic fire rises up over a nearby block of Vex design, as if in direct response to Aisha. The Lighthouse gives off a soft tone. The match is over; they won. 
0
A sudden scream spurs Aisha and Reed into action. The pair navigate the familiar Vex architecture quickly, but two more agonized screams ring out in the time it takes to traverse the arena. When they reach the source of the noise, Aisha sees Shayura impaling another Guardian through the faceplate of his helmet with her Sword. His Ghost shrieks in frustration, trying desperately to get between Shayura and his Guardian. 
0
Shay? Aisha asks in confusion, but Shayura's only response is to rip her Sword out of the dead Guardian's head. Reed hangs back in stunned silence. 
0
Aisha watches until the other Guardian draws breath once more, but before he can finish shouting a plea to Shayura, the Warlock cuts off his arm in one stroke and cleaves through the top of his helmet in a second. 
0
Shay, no! Aisha yells, running up to her friend. She wraps her arms around Shayura's midsection. Shayura screams like a frightened animal, lashing out with a swift slash of her Sword in the direction of the Guardian's corpse. 
0
Shayura! The match is over! Reed shouts, snapping back to reality. "The match is over!" 
0
Shayura screams as her fireteam members pull her back, voice cracking in a feral cry as flames race down her arms and swirl along the length of her blood-slicked Sword. 
0
No! No! Stop! No! Shayura howls, fighting against the restraints of her comrades. Aisha grabs at Shayura's wrist, trying to keep her from swinging her Sword again. 
0
Shay, Aisha tries to get through to her. "Shay!" 
0
Shayura screams an endless wail into the scalding Mercurian sky.
"I could have done more. Should have done more."—Aisha, Human Hunter
Pyrrhic Ascent Grasps
Pyrrhic Ascent  Vest
"From the first whisper, I knew it spoke truth."—Aisha, Human Hunter
See the danger, even when it cannot see you.
Crash Site, Nessus Terrae, Day Five
0
**
0
Cabal search parties were thick—there was something decent on that frigate, and that meant it was worth keeping out of their hands.
0
Had to go clear twice to skirt the bigger groups. Nothing cowardly about it, just couldn't risk the noise of a firefight and didn't want 'em to know how close they were. Forced to shadow one of the big Chieftains for a while. Couldn't stand being close to it like that, even in the mountain air.
0
Finally found the frigate. Thing had spread itself across a gully, out of eyesight from most recon teams. Of course, my eyes are better than most.
0
Figured the cargo should have survived a low-atmo crash like that intact. Found two big crates of Cabal gold. Some statues, plates, gongs, that kind of thing. Transmatted the valuables out of there and left the rest for the rain.
0
Started feeling pretty good when something startled the hell out of me: a voice. Weak and quiet—the kind of quiet you get toward the very end.
0
Cracked into the wreckage and found a big Cabal warrior pinned in a hallway. Dropped it with no issue. Found a Lightbearer prisoner stuck the next room over—banged up, dehydrated, but alive.
0
Lightbearer seemed traumatized, but it was nothing personal. Gun butt to the temple quieted him right down. Tossed him on the back of my Sparrow and dropped him off at a recon station before he woke up. Outpost wasn't expecting survivors, so they needed their arms twisted before they'd pay up.
0
It's a thankless job, but that's all right. Thanks don't pay my debts.
Omnioculus
"I never did find that horn…" —Lord Shaxx
Cobra's Tail
"Never play Colonel at cards. She's way too sharp for you." —Cayde-6
"I don't even wake up until the first bullet hits me." —Cayde-6
Cobra's Fang
Prak'kesh sat on his Gray Hornet, parked in his usual spot at the base of the Tower. The former Guardian was watching bootleg transmissions of the latest Cabal death matches when one of his runners tugged on his sleeve. 
0
Prak'kesh jumped in surprise. "Son-of-a-dreg! Don't sneak up like that!" He smoothed his fur vest in self-placation. 
0
Sorry, sir. The kid scuffed his feet sheepishly. "Just that some guys wanna make a bet." 
0
Prak'kesh sucked his teeth in annoyance. "So take the bet! What the hell you hassling me for?" 
0
The kid ran his grubby fingers along the sharp black lines of the bookie's ride. "They won't gimme the chip. They say they gotta talk to you direct." 
0
Prak'kesh swatted the runner's hand away. "I just had that detailed." He sighed in exasperation. "Fine. Send 'em over. But if they end up making some lame prop on the new Hunter Vanguard or something, I'm gonna run you over with this thing." 
0
The kid nodded and scampered off. 
0
A few minutes later, a fireteam of three Hunters sauntered over. Prak'kesh slouched further onto his Sparrow in a dramatic display of nonchalance. His ex-Corsair enforcer, Tulnik, cracked his knuckles. 
0
The Hunters posed coolly in front of the bookie. The team leader, a Gunslinger, casually flicked a knife between his fingers. "I guess you've probably heard of us." 
0
Prak'kesh glanced at Tulnik, who shook his head. "Uh, not really," the bookie said. "Now what's this about?" 
0
The Arcstrider stepped forward menacingly. "Show respect! You're talking to the Death Dealers."  
0
Prak'kesh raised an eyebrow. "Cool name. I once had a cat called 'Death Dealer.'" Behind him, he heard Tulnik guffaw. 
0
The Arcstrider snarled and sent a crackle of Arc energy rippling through his arm. But before he could strike, the Nightstalker blinked in front of him and put her hand on his chest. "Whoa. Cool it, Gene. He's not worth it. Remember your breathing exercises." 
0
The Arcstrider nodded. "You're right, you're right. He's not worth it." He retreated, put his hands on his head, and walked in circles around the plaza, exhaling loudly. 
0
Prak'kesh cleared his throat cautiously. "So, you wanna make a bet, or…?" 
0
You're damn right we do, the Gunslinger replied. "We're betting on Hunters to win the Guardian Games." 
0
Hunters rule! shouted Gene from across the plaza. 
0
Is that all? Prak'kesh asked with confusion. "That's stock standard. Why didn't you just put in a chip like everyone else?" 
0
The Nightstalker leaned in conspiratorially. "Because of what we're wagering," she said and opened her pack to reveal a single, curling horn. 
0
Prak'kesh's eyes went wide. "Is that whose I think it is?" 
0
The Gunslinger crossed his arms smugly. "You tell us." 
0
How did you even get this? 
0
Never question the Death Dealers. Now, what's it worth to you? the Gunslinger said. 
0
Prak'kesh shrugged. "Hunters win gold, you get one legendary Hand Cannon each. If not, I get…" he dropped his voice to a whisper, "the horn." 
0
Throw in a couple Umbral Engrams, the Nightstalker countered, "and you got a deal." 
0
Prak'kesh pretended to consider. "It's a deal," he finally said and recorded the transaction in his datapad. "Good luck in the Guardian Games, Hunters." 
0
Hunters rule! shouted Gene, to nobody in particular.
Cobra's Hood
"I move fast. It takes death time to catch up." —Cayde-6
Cobra's Venom
Cobra's Scales
"Pull my trigger finger." —Cayde-6
"Feast, my comrades. Torobatl may be lost, but its spirit lives on in our traditions." —Empress Caiatl
Praefectus Boots
Cau'tor smiled as his daughter walked ahead, dragging her hand across the soft filaments of the valac blooms. Bioluminescent pollen swirled in her wake, barely visible in the glow of sundown. Cau'tor closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, reveling in the heady scent that marked the beginning of the wet season.
0
Why did you bring me here? his daughter asked. Even as she spoke, Cau'tor pictured her from memory: a small child frolicking in brightly colored robes. He opened his eyes and saw a full-grown warrior in a towering battlesuit.
0
He gestured towards the plated broadsword stowed on her hip. "The scribes said you fought ferociously in sparring this morning."
0
My blade is insatiable, she replied, brandishing the weapon and playfully pointing it at her father. Her smile diminished slightly. "You could have seen it yourself."
0
Cau'tor did his best to hide a wince. "I will soon enough, Ta'nam."
0
Ta'nam sheathed the blade. Dried grass and petals crunched under Cau'tor's sabatons as he met his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder.
0
So what's this about—a reminder of home on the eve of battle? Ta'nam asked.
0
Her father scoffed. "Do you really need reminding?"
0
Ta'nam grimaced. "I miss it every day."
0
We all do, her father said with a heavy sigh. "No, I wanted you to have one last chance to see it with your own eyes."
0
Ta'nam turned, her brow furrowed. "Last chance?"
0
Enough, Cau'tor called out. A low rumble resonated through their bones and the world shifted. Distant mountains undulated and stretched towards the sky; flowers burst into clouds of wriggling bubbles. The world blurred as light and matter drained like viscous fluid towards a growing rift in the sky—a shadow that grew until it consumed them.
0
They woke aboard the Barbatos Rex, still streaming through the stars. Their hands were clasped around the handle of a rusted antique blade. A Psion stood nearby as the last spectral tendrils of psionic energy connecting the three of them dissipated.
0
Cau'tor nodded at the Psion. "Leave us."
0
I don't understand, Ta'nam said as soon as they were alone.
0
Cau'tor held the blade up. "Four generations ago, this weapon earned our family's place in the empire. Its history makes it a strong locus for the mind-walk." He studied the knife carefully, testing its weight distribution. "But history is a luxury of the victor."
0
Cau'tor took the weapon in both hands and broke it in half, grinding the brittle material in his gauntlets.
0
Ta'nam recoiled slightly. "Father…"
0
The world this came from is gone, Cau'tor continued. "Home is no longer behind us. It is ahead in the distance, past a towering mountain, and over a great sea."
0
Ta'nam nodded. "We are Cabal. We eat the mountains, and drink the seas."
0
Cau'tor leaned forward. "But you cannot do this if your hunger is sated by indulgent reverie. So we will never walk these thoughts again."
0
Ta'nam stiffened. "I understand."
0
Sol is a graveyard for our people. But those warriors never watched our cities burn in soulfire. The memory of home should not be a comfort, my child, but the wound that drives your blood frenzy.
0
Ta'nam nodded, but the knot in her gut forced her to speak. "Do you fear them, Father? The Sol warriors?"
0
Cau'tor smiled proudly, and took his daughter's hand. "I do not, my child. Because I fight with Ta'nam, and her blade is insatiable."
"Ghaul commanded you to die for his vanity. I ask only that you fight at my side for the empire. The choice is yours." —Empress Caiatl
"Many victories seem out of reach. But you march onward, step by step, wound after wound, until they are in your grasp." —Empress Caiatl
Praefectus Cover
// Cryptarchy Analysis Log R11320 — Stolen Cabal Data //
0
// Author — Master Rahool //
0
SUMMARY
0
What follows is a translation of a Cabal data file that was acquired as part of Operation Haystack, as ordered by Commander Zavala. This log focuses on a single file we were able to decrypt; for the full report on the contents of that data breach and further decryption attempts, please see log R11312.
0
Ostensibly, this file is a recipe for a dish to be served at some sort of official gathering in Caiatl's honor. The ingredients mentioned here have been seen in a variety of ancient Cabal texts, and analysis of the empire's economic history implies that they are considered cheap and undesirable. I believe this recipe is both old and born of the lower class, a case of poor laborers devising ingenious (yet challenging) ways to take unsold goods and turn them into something comforting and delicious. 
0
That Caiatl chose this as a main dish for an official gathering speaks to the optics she wants to present; she may be trying to differentiate herself from the opulence of the Calus era and the utilitarianism of Ghaul's rule by relating to the common folk of the empire. 
0
Note that decryption was only mostly successful, and some data degradation occurred. Cryptarch's comments are in-line for ease of understanding. Some translations remain ambiguous, but I've provided my best hypotheses.
0
// FILE START //— [CBX PARSER ERROR]
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] 
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] until the solvent mixture has blended together.
0
— Pulverize atlotl tendons until just pliable and surfaces begin to crack, then dredge in solvent mixture and let soak for [36–84 hours; the cycle referenced here is unknown, estimates are conservative guess].
0
— To make the [black cube], crush citrus mixture, then drain through a sieve. Discard juice, retaining pulp and bitter pith. Compress solids in [kitchen vice? unsure of translation] on maximum heat until block is [CBX PARSER ERROR] to touch and charred. Place in sunlit area to cure.
0
— Once tendons are soft and stretchy, remove from solvent and rinse in ocean water. Slice into ribbons and set aside.
0
— Take loin of Atlotl and hook to [rotating device] then slap against stone surface until fragrant.
0
— Cut loin into tetrahedrons, making sure to slice across all grains, and set aside.
0
— In a large cauldron, add water, shau'rac oil, and appropriate root mixture (based on season and year). Bring to boil, then add loin and tendons. Cook until [CBX PARSER ERROR] no longer float and fluid has an ochre sheen across the surface.
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] more hours, thickening until broth [CBX PARSER ERROR] off the back of a ladle.
0
— Serve with thick slices of the [black cube].
0
// FILE END //
(A burst of electricity shatters a tree, showering Nessus's vermillion fauna across the battlefield.)
0
Vatoc the Psion had been a coward before, and not even just once. As he braced behind a Vex tower and clutched his empty rifle, he recalled his legacy of hasty retreats.
0
He had run from Wire Rifle enfilades and soulfire barrages on the detritus flotillas of the Reef.
0
He had fled the relentless advance of the chronomatons, nearly boiling in his suit amidst mercurial deserts.
0
Most of all, he had run from the Light-infested husks, the undying Guardians of Sol. Time and again, he saved his own neck, only for the Legion to find a new assignment and cast him back into the fray; they knew he was weak, but with Legionaries falling in droves, there was no other choice.
0
(A roar sweeps through the canyon as a smoking Thresher tumbles end over end into oblivion.)
0
Vatoc bore no guilt over his survival; to a Psion, survival was all you had. There was no honor to be gained, no advancement within ranks, no wealth to be accumulated. All the Legion left you with was your life, and Vatoc was going to make sure it lasted as long as possible.
0
But that was before Ghaul had been melted down to atoms and scattered across the stars. Before the failed gambit with the Warlock's time device. Before the Almighty, gleaming triumph of the Legion, was tossed like a pebble and swatted aside by an indifferent god.
0
Now came Empress Caiatl, and with her, the promise of something Vatoc never imagined he would have: freedom. The full might of the empire had arrived in a cavalcade of frigates and carriers, filling the space between worlds with destructive power. For the first time in his life, Vatoc's choice was not merely just to survive, but a choice of what to live for.
0
(A Colossus barks a rallying cry; a cacophony of Slug Rifles echoes in response.)
0
The battle swelled around him and his compatriots fell. He could see the route to safety. Dark crevasses tucked between tepui where he could run and hide. Where he knew he could survive.
0
(Vatoc reloads his rifle and sings an oath to his empress.)
0
He had been a coward before, but no longer.
//A MESSAGE FROM EMPRESS CAIATL OF THE CABAL, TO ALL LEGIONARIES IN SOL//
0
Warriors of the empire: the Imperial Crown calls to you.
0
Ghaul failed us, and the Red Legion paid the price in blood. You have been scattered and abandoned, hunted by our enemies as you yearn for home… but Torobatl is no longer ours.
0
The combined fleet of the empire has entered Sol space. Come back to us, our comrades and kin. Rejoin our ranks, and help me mend this fractured empire. Through honor and strength, we will write the next chapter in our empire's storied history, and—
0
//
0
The Centurion flipped a switch and silenced the comm device. She peeked out of the cavern's makeshift scrap-metal door and saw asteroids drifting over the Shore like sleeping goliaths in a lavender sea.
0
Screeb chitters echoed through the air, grabbing the Centurion's attention. She snapped the door shut and readied her Slug Rifle, listening as the sound swelled. When silence finally returned, she crumpled against the wall and wearily dropped her weapon. The gun had been issued in her family's name and bathed in her brother's blood. Now it was a fading memento, lying in the dust beside a vigil of empty helmets.
0
The message played over again in her mind and she snarled. A crown. A gauntlet. A chalice. Nothing more than metal tortured with heat and molded into something else. Into someone else's vision. What had the empire molded her into? The low moan of some ancient cable resonated through her pressure suit, now comically oversized for her atrophied muscles.
0
She swung her gauntlet and crushed the comm device for good measure. Thresher engines roared in the distance, the sound of countless Legionaries answering the call. She hunkered down and fell into a deep slumber.
Praefectus Bond
"Hail, warrior of the empire," Empress Caiatl said as she approached the bedside of a wounded Red Legion Centurion. The soldier had been gazing solemnly out a porthole when the sound of her voice startled him. He turned suddenly, then winced in pain. Caiatl saw darkened synthetic fabric enveloping his torso and the entirety of his right arm, which itself looked frail and withered. She knew immediately that this Cabal would see no more battles.
0
My empress! the warrior responded, clasping a fist to his chest with his unwrapped arm. Caiatl saluted in return.
0
The empress glanced at a monitor displaying the patient's data. "Val'ast, born of Val'tui." She looked out the porthole; the brilliance of Sol beamed back at her. "The empire has returned for you, Red Legionary, yet your heart seems heavy. Why do you languish?"
0
Val'ast looked away. "I am sorry, Empress."
0
Do not be sorry, my brother, Caiatl said.
0
Val'ast sighed. "For years, every day has been about survival. Just trying to stay in the fight. But now…" He trailed off and grasped the sheets of his bed, a cheap fabric but still softer than anything he'd felt in years.
0
When you war for so long, peace can become its own struggle, Caiatl said.
0
Val'ast let the fabric fall from his hand. "I thought I was Acrius reborn, claiming another sun for our kind." He gazed out the porthole. "But I failed."
0
Caiatl smiled. "I've always loved that tale." She pulled a stool over and sat. "Did you know that there used to be more to it?"
0
Val'ast shook his head.
0
It's an older version, not as popular in modern times, but I was lucky enough to learn it as a child, the empress continued. "Before Acrius, three warriors sought to climb a great mountain and grasp the sun, but a terrible beast stood in their way.
0
"The first tried to outwit the beast and sneak through the shadows, but the beast smelled him still and ate the warrior in a single bite.

The second tried to escape the beast, crafting a device to harness the wind and soar upward. But the fickle wind changed its mind and tossed her into the beast's maw."
0
The third warrior challenged the beast head on, Severus in hand. She also fell to the beast's gnashing teeth, but not before her blade tasted blood.
0
Val'ast frowned. "They all failed?"
0
Caiatl considered the question. "The first two, certainly. They thought battle could be avoided. But the third warrior died with pride and honor."
0
Val'ast pondered for a moment. "Even in defeat, she left her mark on her foe."
0
Caiatl nodded. "And the next time one of her kin faced it, the beast would be one blow closer to death."
0
Did more come? Val'ast questioned.
0
Of course! Caiatl exclaimed. "They were Cabal, and the sun was theirs to claim. Over and over, their mightiest fell. But each time, another wound was struck, until the day came when a warrior landed the final blow. That warrior was Acrius."
0
Val'ast frowned. "Ever since I was a child, I saw Acrius as a hero…"
0
He may have been, Caiatl replied as she clasped Val'ast's hand in hers. "But so was the warrior who struck first."
0
Val'ast's eyed glistened as he held her grip firmly. "Thank you, Empress."
0
Caiatl shook her head. "My brother, it is the empire who thanks you."
"You want a ship? Surely your friends in the fleet would be happy to retrieve another lost Legionary. That is, unless, you'd rather not be found…" —The Spider
Praefectus Gloves
Praefectus Robes
"The past is the past; we cannot return to it. All we can do now is fight for the future our people deserve, through blade and blood." —Valus Cau'tor
"Each scar I bear, a trial survived."—Shayura, Awoken Warlock
Pyrrhic Ascent Boots
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-01 // MERCURY
0
A reflection, when viewed in broken glass, is fragmented into as many misaligned shards. 
0
The Warlock Shayura looks at herself in the broken center console display, her image split up over so many refracted variations. She is silent in her anger. 
0
Now entering Mercury's atmosphere, her Ghost chirps. Shayura looks up to watch flames roar over the exterior of the cockpit and sees her face in the distorted curve of the glass. No one reflection is true in this moment; no image perfectly accurate. 
0
Reed is already waiting for us, her Ghost adds, worried. 
0
Shayura hears him, but only in part. Something pulls at her insides like anxious fingers. 
0
Open a channel to Aisha, Shayura says. Her Ghost hesitates, then beeps in compliance. The cockpit suddenly feels cavernous. As if she could shout out into the universe. 
0
Her Ghost edges closer and hovers nearby. "The connection's open." 
0
We shouldn't just leave her behind, Shayura says into the void with a tightness in her throat. 
0
 "Not our call, Shay. Agree or disagree, we're a united front," Aisha, her teammate, replies from across the curvature of Mercury's atmosphere. 
0
Then act like it! Shayura fires back, snapping her jaw shut as soon as the shout escapes her lips. She brings her hands up to her mouth, regretting her tone but not retracting it. 
0
It's Sloane's choice. Aisha's voice sounds smooth in contrast. "You know how she is. If she's declining evac, there's no force in the system that'll uproot her. Stay, go, it's her choice." 
0
Leaders make mistakes. Shayura wishes she could explain better. Words are insufficient. 
0
She's preparing for transmat, Shayura's Ghost quietly offers. "We're in range." 
0
Shayura nods and swallows, but the anger is rising up in her, and she can feel it creeping into her bones. Wisps of gold fire slither up her arms. 
0
Zavala doesn't see it. He's trying to do the work of two Vanguard leaders right now. I d— Shayura is cut off mid-sentence as she and her Ghost tear apart into a whirl of charged particles, reforming on the scorching surface of Mercury in the shadows of the Caloris Spires. "—believe for a minute that's all we could've done!" 
0
 "Sloane made her choice!" Aisha shouts the minute she sees Shayura. Nearby, their third fireteam member, Reed-7, stands as a looming crimson silhouette in Titan armor. 
0
The commander asked her to fall back and she didn't! Don't pin this on him! Aisha goes on, needling Shayura with a furious intensity. 
0
Shayura pivots to stare at Aisha; the fire building around her discharges in an upward blast. "If he wants to lead, he should be willing to take criticism for his decisions!" 
0
Hey! Reed-7 finally interjects with a shout. The broad-shouldered Exo shifts his posture awkwardly but stands his ground. Aisha and Shayura look over at him in silence. 
0
Reed lifts a hand to the back of his neck. "Can we do this later? Please?" 
0
Shayura feels Aisha's eyes on her. She tempers her own expression to match her friend's calmer one, reluctant in her assent, but the ember of anger in her refuses to go out. She draws her Sword and points it toward a group of Guardians across the windswept courtyard outside of the Lighthouse, indicating a challenge. 
0
Fine, Aisha agrees reluctantly. Shayura withdraws, simmering.
"I walk without hesitation toward my destiny."—Shayura, Awoken Warlock
"I hold faith in the Light, unwavering."—Shayura, Awoken Warlock
Pyrrhic Ascent Hood
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-05 // SIMULATED LIGHTHOUSE, THE TOWER, LAST CITY
0
There is not but silence in the void. 
0
Frost collects on the inside of the cockpit of Shayura's jumpship. Her breath is visible as a cold fog.  Fragments of Ghost shells are scattered atop the console, each glittering with a faint sheen of ice. The Warlock stares at her reflection in the shattered central navigation panel, fragmented, broken. 
0
You are late for your weekly scheduled Trials match, Shayura's Ghost chirps from over her shoulder. She does not look away from her broken reflection. "Do you… want me to elevate the atmospheric controls so the ship is warmer on your return?" 
0
Shayura blinks her eyes shut, then opens them, fixed on her Ghost. "The cold is a reminder," Shayura says like a mantra. She looks back at the fragmented shells of the dead Ghosts and clenches her hands into fists. 
0
I am ready. 
0
Shayura is torn apart into motes of Light and threads of energy, reformed into the simulation of Mercury mid-stride.  She walks straight past Reed and Aisha toward the Lighthouse, purpose behind her every movement. "Come on." 
0
Shayura's attention is focused ahead at another group of Guardians, to an Awoken Warlock—much like herself—whom she has heard much of. Shayura steadies herself, heart racing. 
0
She is committed. 
0
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-05 // SIMULATED TRIALS ARENA, SIMULATED LIGHTHOUSE
0
Reed-7's head disappears behind the occluding barrier of Vex architecture, inaccessible from the Scout Rifle scope. The rifle's wielder, an Awoken Warlock, lowers his firearm and grunts in frustration. He kicks off the ground, stepping up into the air and glides across the sky in search of a better vantage point. It's here that another body impacts him in a tackle, sending him crashing to the ground far below. 
0
The Warlock's Scout Rifle rattles out of his hand on impact. He switches to his gold-plated Sidearm as he rises up onto one knee, only to have the gun swatted aside by the flat of a curved Sword. Shayura, carried aloft on wings of fire, slowly descends from the air. She moves the Sword's blade from hand to throat. 
0
Go on, her quarry says, "you earned it." But Shayura isn't thinking about the match. This isn't about the Trials; it's about discipline. 
0
I know what you did on Europa, Shayura says to the Warlock. "I know you're a traitor to the Light." At first, he opens his mouth to speak a denial, but then he tenses and takes a step back. 
0
It's not that simple, the Warlock says, shaking his head. "You haven't talked to Eris. You don't understand—" The Warlock's words are cut off as Shayura lunges in, smashing the butt of her Sword against his face, shattering part of his helmet and knocking him to the ground. 
0
The Warlock groans, grasping at his face, then looks up at Shayura in vivid anger. "It's not illegal! The Vanguard—"
0
I am not here on behalf of the Vanguard, Shayura says with imperious certainty. Flames begin to spread down the length of her Sword. "I am here on behalf of the Light." 
0
The Warlock snorts and smiles sarcastically. His body language implies he doesn't respect her power. "I'm not afraid of you. Come on, end the match." 
0
I'm not here for you, Shayura insists. Now, he feels fear. 
0
Aisha and Reed arrive a moment later, guns raised and ready to assist Shayura. She fights back a scowl at seeing them but turns her attention to the Ghost hovering at the Warlock's side. 
0
Shay? Aisha asks, a nervous tremor in her voice. 
0
Shayura lashes out, striking the Ghost with her Sword and knocking it to the ground. The Guardian opens his mouth to shout a plea, but Shayura quickly draws her Sidearm and plants a round in his forehead. The Ghost chirps, squawks; damaged but alive. She holsters her Sidearm again and looks to the Ghost. 
0
Shay! Reed shouts, and she hears him rushing up behind her. She wouldn't be dragged away, not this time. Shayura turns and expels a blast of force from her palm that knocks Reed onto his back. She quickly reorients to the Ghost and raises her Sword for another strike, when suddenly, her legs prickle with the unearthly chill of deep space. 
0
Shayura tries to let out a scream, but her lungs flash-freeze, and crystals of Stasis energy encrust her body. She turns her head, just enough to make eye contact with Aisha and witness the unthinkable. The last person she sees before her world is ice and darkness. Her closest friend, forsaking the Light, embracing the Darkness. 
0
The look of betrayal on Shayura's face freezes in the ice.
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-04 // TENEMENT BUILDING ROOFTOP, PEREGRINE DISTRICT, LAST CITY
0
The wind carries a chorus of voices. Some reverent, some frightened, some confused. The mosaic of conversations is a distracting din to Shayura, who rests at the edge of a terrace watching the crowded streets of onlookers, eyes upturned to the shadow of their silent god looming in the heavens. 
0
She can't help but feel that the people who dwell beneath the Traveler do so out of desperation and delusion. They were told for generations that this was the only safe refuge on Earth. Even after that assumption had been challenged by the Red Legion and now the Darkness, they cling to that desperate hope. They cling to an illusion of an all-powerful god that will protect them, when—Shayura believes—they had never been in any real danger before the Traveler arrived. 
0
Shayura hears Aisha, talking beside her, but her thoughts are distant. Shayura grunts a reply, hoping indifferent is enough. But Aisha keeps talking, something about Chicago, about memory. Shayura grips the railing and watches the people staring up at the Traveler, and she cannot bear to look up with them. 
0
I remember, Shayura finally replies, her own internal fears overlapping with memories of dark times that her fireteam experienced below the ruins of Chicago. "I never forgot how abandoned we felt," Shayura adds, a tightness in her voice. The day Ghaul stole the Light, when they were so far from home, when they went from hunters to hunted. 
0
Shayura also remembers what went unsaid. She remembers those feelings of desperation and abandonment and how she would have accepted any opportunity if it meant living. Her desperate moment did not end in such darkness, but she cannot help but wonder about other Guardians. That when faced with the choice between annihilation and salvation, they might make the wrong choice. 
0
It is in that moment of quiet revelation that the Traveler stirs for the first time in years. A glow builds within, and only then does Shayura look up at her silent god. A wave of Light washes over her, and it feels like absolution. 
0
While the City is awash in Light, with the fearful and the faithful holding congress in the shadow of an indifferent god, Shayura slips away into the crowd. She does not need to witness the Traveler's grandiose power to know what is being asked of her, and she does not need time to set herself to work. 
0
Shayura's path is clear.
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-03 // BAZAAR, THE TOWER, LAST CITY
0
Guilt and shame twist like spectral blades into Shayura's stomach.  Sitting under the trappings of New Monarchy's crimson-shrouded enclosure, her focus is locked squarely on the table's wood-grain surface. The sound of her breathing feels uncomfortably loud, but at the same time, the noise of the nearby crowds are muffled and distorted as if they were underwater. 
0
How's today feeling? 
0
All Shayura can hear clearly is her own breathing. She slouches forward more, fingers sliding up into her hair, elbows propped up on the table, fighting to stay in the present when her mind demands she fixate on the past.  
0
Did you talk to Ikora yet? 
0
A new knife of guilt slides in. Shayura tries to swallow, but her throat is dry. She'd barely had the energy to come here; it makes her feel all the more worthless. 
0
No, Shayura finally says, her mind fuzzy, her response delayed. "I will," she promises, because she knows that's what Aisha wants to hear. "I'm sorry." 
0
Hey, no, Aisha says, putting a hand on Shayura's shoulder at some point. The tactile connection is a grounding presence, bringing Shayura back into the moment. "Don't. We've all been through a lot. I should've paid attention to how hurt you were before we went into the match. I'm sorry we fought; I'm sorry I yelled at you." 
0
Aisha's plaintive tone hurts as much as it helps. Shayura sinks into a slouch of defeat, feeling her closest friend suffering because of her own shortcomings. It only makes her feel smaller, guiltier. 
0
Shayura looks at Aisha out of the corner of her eye, seeing the twinned look of support and worry on her face. "Can Guardians be unfit for duty?" Shayura wonders aloud, her voice muffled by the tabletop. 
0
I mean… Aisha replies. Her hesitation has a palpable sting. 
0
 "I don't know if I'm okay," Shayura finds the courage to admit. Her heart races as the words pass her lips. When she feels Aisha's arms around her shoulders, it steadies her pulse. Shayura relaxes into the supportive embrace of a friend. 
0
It's okay not to be okay, Aisha says, and for a moment, Shayura believes it. For a moment, knives of doubt and guilt feel blunted. But only for a moment. 
0
That's why you should talk to Ikora. She knows. She understands. 
0
Drinks. 
0
The word startles Shayura. She can hear the whirring hiss of Reed-7's articulated joints, the clank of his armor. 
0
…they're hot. 
0
There's cinnamon in yours, Reed says, and Shayura musters the energy to give him a half-hearted thumbs-up. 
0
I know you're upset about Sloane, Reed says, and suddenly Shayura's heart is racing in worry again. He says something else, but all she hears is the blood rushing in her ears and the thundering beat in her chest. 
0
Worried that he's waiting on her for a response, Shayura interjects with something non-committal. "Thanks," she says weakly. The scent of apples and cinnamon hits her. It brings her back to her earliest memories as a Guardian in the Tower, when she first met Aisha and Reed. Shayura sits up enough to grab a steaming mug with two hands and drags the piping hot cider over to herself, breathing in the scent of happier times. 
0
I know, Shayura finally says in a small, guilty voice. She doesn't know what she's referring to, but she assumes it's what they want to hear. "I'm sorry." 
0
You don't need to apologize to us, Reed replies. "You should apologize to Leitka and his Ghost." Mention of the Guardian Leitka twists those knives of guilt in Shayura's stomach. She breathes in the scent of cinnamon and apples again, deeply. These are her friends, she tries to remember. This is her family, she concedes. 
0
It was Titan, Shayura finally admits, afraid of what the truth means but unwilling to dig too deeply into her own terrifying delusions. "I was back on Titan. Like when we were Lightless, surrounded by Hive. There was this Knight… no matter how many times I killed him, he kept coming back. I should've died out there." 
0
But you didn't, Aisha says. Shayura feels a hand on top of hers and sees Aisha squeezing her palm. It feels like it's happening to someone else, and yet, it is still reassuring. "We got our Light back, and—"
0
What happens when the Darkness closes in? Shayura needs to know, though she knows neither Reed nor Aisha have the answer. "Will she be Lightless again? Alone?" The thought of Sloan dying alone on the arcology eviscerates her. 
0
Reed's hand joins Aisha's in a wordless reply. It isn't much, but it's enough.
Pyrrhic Ascent Bond
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-02 // TRIALS ARENA, THE LIGHTHOUSE, MERCURY 
0
Titan's sea of liquid methane crashes against the listing hull of the New Pacific Arcology. The wind whips with hurricane force, sending a freezing sea spray lashing across the crooked metal frame of a crumbling catwalk. Flares of atomic fire bloom in the mist and roll off the arcology's walls. Human and inhuman screams echo out into impossible seas. 
0
Two dozen Hive Thrall come pouring out of an encrusted airlock, climbing over one another, jaws snapping. They scurry across every surface not slicked by liquid methane; drawn like moths to a beacon of golden flame. Shayura stands against the crashing tide of chitin and bone, a Sword of fire held fast in two hands, screaming as she cleaves through the masses of encroaching death. 
0
Burning embers of Thrall rain around her, but with each dispatched wave of necrotic soldiers, it feels as though their numbers double. She is pressed by the tide of Hive, inching closer and closer to the jagged end of the catwalk hanging over the churning sea. When the Thrall recede, she is thankful for a respite. But the towering Knight that drops from the airlock is an escalation, not a victory. 
0
Edging a half-step backward, Shayura knows that the only way out is through. Wings of flame roar off of her back, leaving a trail of rippling heat and hollowed-out Thrall in her wake. Her Sword clashes with the Knight's shield, shattering it in a single blow. Her follow-through cleaves through the Knight's arm, down into its chest. 
0
Shayura turns on her heel toward the remaining Thrall. She can feel the Light in her ebbing and knows that they will overwhelm her if she doesn't succeed now. Death against the Hive is never a sure return; not after what happened to Taeko-3 and her fireteam here. A blinding pain hits Shayura in her back. Her vision swims, mind reels; had she missed one? Feeling the warmth of blood running below her armor, Shayura turns to see the Hive Knight reborn, Sword covered in her blood. 
0
Screaming inside her helmet, Shayura feels a deep panic build in her chest. She knows a Hive death ritual when she sees it, and she walked straight into their trap. She rolls away from the Knight's next swing and into the reach of Thrall that tear at her armor. Mustering the last of her Solar energy, Shayura calls up a cyclonic pillar of flame that twists up into the sky and consumes the Knight. 
0
The revenant Knight emerges from the flames, already reconstituting. Shayura leaps forward and drives her Sword through his face, tackling him to the ground. Her Solar aura flickers and fades; smoke and steam billow from her back and shoulders. 
0
Shay? 
0
She hears one of the surviving Thrall speak in a human voice. Shayura twists her Sword in the Knight's face and shakes sizzling green blood onto the catwalk. The Knight begins to reform again in a horrifying blaze of green flame, but as it reaches out toward her, she cuts off his arm and sends her Sword through the top of his head in a brutal follow-through. 
0
The Thrall wails. She can feel an arm around her waist, restraining her. She kicks and struggles, crying out as the last wisps of Praxic fire twist down her arm and Sword. 
0
No! No! Stop! No! Shayura howls, fighting against the pull of the Thrall. 
0
 "Shay," the Thrall cry in the voices of her friends. "Shay!" 
0
Shayura screams into the impossible seas.
"I cannot be absolved."—Shayura, Awoken Warlock
Pyrrhic Ascent Gloves
Pyrrhic Ascent Vestment
"I see with eyes unclouded."—Shayura, Awoken Warlock
There is no strength in letting go.
Crash Site, Nessus Terrae, Day Two
0
**
0
Panesh could see the Cabal warrior's eye pressed against the gap in the torn metal hull. The frigate crash had trapped them both in the wreckage, and only a haphazard cascade of heavy metal beams separated the two.
0
The Cabal had an entire length of hallway to prowl, yet here she was again, her rumbling voice filling the space where the Lightbearer was crouched.
0
Do you truly think you could do it? she asked. "I am curious."
0
Panesh shrugged. "Sure. You're a big target. I'd shoot until you stopped moving."
0
No, she snarled. "In a real fight, with blades. No guns, no Light-magic."
0
Vargessus, Panesh said patiently, "you're five times my size. Guns and Light-magic are my only choices here."
0
Vargessus pulled back from the opening in disgust. "Cowards. Your kind relies too much on your magic." She paced in her hallway like a caged animal. "It gives you the luxury to be soft."
0
She was interrupted by a metallic twang from somewhere far above them. For a moment, the steady dripping of foul, brackish water in the corner of Panesh's cell became a weak stream. He pushed his empty helmet beneath the flow.
0
The Light gives us the freedom to accomplish great things, Panesh said. He laid one of his metal greaves flat on the ground and carefully poured half of the water into it. "The best of us can be strong just by holding that power inside us—we don't have to let it out."
0
Panesh slid the makeshift trough under the lowest beam and into the corridor. There was a quiet moment as the two survivors drank.
0
Ignovun, the leader of Empress Caiatl's fleet? Vargessus grumbled. "His helm was crafted by Psions and contains their very will. It grants him power over flame."
0
What does he do with that power?
0
Panesh could hear the shrug in Vargessus' voice: "He kills."
0
Panesh chuckled and his stomach cramped in protest. He drew his knees up to his body. "Right now, I'd fight the empress herself for something to eat," he groaned.
0
There was a rustling near the collapsed beams. Panesh looked up as a thick finger pushed a chunk of fatty meat ration through a gap in the metal.
0
There. Eat, said Vargessus. "I want you strong when I kill you."
Mantle of Battle Harmony
"Challenge every aspect of your opponents. Sometimes a strong body hides a fragile psyche." —Ikora Rey
Prak'kesh sat on his Gray Hornet, parked in his usual spot at the base of the Tower. The former Guardian read dispatches from Spider's Associates with one eye and watched his runners scurry about with the other. 
0
The younger kids took bets from all over the City and delivered them to Prak'kesh at appointed intervals. Once the action paid off, the bookie would send the older kids to settle up. Any incalcitrant debtors were dealt with by Tulnik, his enormous ex-Corsair bodyguard, who was currently leaning against the Tower, scratching himself. 
0
Prak'kesh chirped a low call to Tulnik, who snapped to attention. A fireteam was gliding toward them from across the courtyard. The Guardians' cloaks billowed in a non-existent wind, and their feet barely touched the paving stones. Prak'kesh rolled his eyes. Warlocks. 
0
Prak'kesh called out, "Looking sharp. I love the… bird… hat." 
0
This is Felwinter's Helm, jackass, the Voidwalker fired back. "Prolly costs more than your Sparrow." 
0
Good, Prak'kesh retorted, "then you've got the cash to pay your debts. Val Guscu wasn't quite the mad dog you thought she was." 
0
The Warlocks glanced at each other surreptitiously. "About that," said the Sunsinger, "we don't have the Motes… yet." 
0
Tulnik, sensing his moment, stepped forward with a menacing flex. Prak'kesh stayed his enforcer with a manicured hand. "Steady, Tully. These are learned scholars. I'm sure they have a needlessly complex plan to make things right." 
0
We do, said the Stormcaller through gritted teeth. "Double or nothing on the Guardian Games Crucible this week." 
0
Prak'kesh gave a low whistle. "That's some heavy action. Who you backing?" 
0
Us, the Sunsinger responded. "Against Meliorea's Titans." 
0
Prak'kesh's eyebrows shot up. "Meliorea's at the top of the leaderboards. She's dangerous. And you guys are… stylish. It's a bad bet. Unless," the bookie tapped the side of his nose, "you know something I don't." 
0
The Voidwalker tossed her head, as if flicking her hair. Then, realizing she was still wearing her helmet, awkwardly put her hands on her hips. "Let's just say she's about to have a bad case of existential dread the night before the match." 
0
The Warlocks snickered. "Little trick I picked up from the Psions," the Voidwalker finished. 
0
Titans put all their armor on their chests, the Sunsinger opined, "and none between their ears. Like a castle with no roof." 
0
The Voidwalker guffawed. "Is that why they always look like they're getting rained on?" 
0
The Stormcaller dropped his voice an octave, puffed out his chest, and lumbered around on bowed legs. "When the only tool you have is a Titan, every hammer is a nail!" 
0
Indeed! the Warlocks chortled and high fived. 
0
It's settled, then! Prak'kesh pulled out his datapad. "You guys beat Meliorea this week, and the slate's clean. Otherwise, I get the Motes," he said and winked at the Voidwalker, "and that fancy hat." 
0
The Voidwalker was suddenly serious. "Guys. No. Come on," she implored her teammates. "You know how many engrams I had to—" 
0
Deal, the Sunsinger interrupted. He removed his gauntlet and pressed his finger to the datapad. 
0
Deal! Prak'kesh smiled broadly. "Good luck in the Guardian Games. Not that you'll need it."
Phoenix's Fire
"Feast, my comrades. Torobatl may be lost, but its spirit lives on in our traditions." —Empress Caiatl
Praefectus Greaves
Cau'tor smiled as his daughter walked ahead, dragging her hand across the soft filaments of the valac blooms. Bioluminescent pollen swirled in her wake, barely visible in the glow of sundown. Cau'tor closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, reveling in the heady scent that marked the beginning of the wet season.
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Why did you bring me here? his daughter asked. Even as she spoke, Cau'tor pictured her from memory: a small child frolicking in brightly colored robes. He opened his eyes and saw a full-grown warrior in a towering battlesuit.
0
He gestured towards the plated broadsword stowed on her hip. "The scribes said you fought ferociously in sparring this morning."
0
My blade is insatiable, she replied, brandishing the weapon and playfully pointing it at her father. Her smile diminished slightly. "You could have seen it yourself."
0
Cau'tor did his best to hide a wince. "I will soon enough, Ta'nam."
0
Ta'nam sheathed the blade. Dried grass and petals crunched under Cau'tor's sabatons as he met his daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder.
0
So what's this about—a reminder of home on the eve of battle? Ta'nam asked.
0
Her father scoffed. "Do you really need reminding?"
0
Ta'nam grimaced. "I miss it every day."
0
We all do, her father said with a heavy sigh. "No, I wanted you to have one last chance to see it with your own eyes."
0
Ta'nam turned, her brow furrowed. "Last chance?"
0
Enough, Cau'tor called out. A low rumble resonated through their bones and the world shifted. Distant mountains undulated and stretched towards the sky; flowers burst into clouds of wriggling bubbles. The world blurred as light and matter drained like viscous fluid towards a growing rift in the sky—a shadow that grew until it consumed them.
0
They woke aboard the Barbatos Rex, still streaming through the stars. Their hands were clasped around the handle of a rusted antique blade. A Psion stood nearby as the last spectral tendrils of psionic energy connecting the three of them dissipated.
0
Cau'tor nodded at the Psion. "Leave us."
0
I don't understand, Ta'nam said as soon as they were alone.
0
Cau'tor held the blade up. "Four generations ago, this weapon earned our family's place in the empire. Its history makes it a strong locus for the mind-walk." He studied the knife carefully, testing its weight distribution. "But history is a luxury of the victor."
0
Cau'tor took the weapon in both hands and broke it in half, grinding the brittle material in his gauntlets.
0
Ta'nam recoiled slightly. "Father…"
0
The world this came from is gone, Cau'tor continued. "Home is no longer behind us. It is ahead in the distance, past a towering mountain, and over a great sea."
0
Ta'nam nodded. "We are Cabal. We eat the mountains, and drink the seas."
0
Cau'tor leaned forward. "But you cannot do this if your hunger is sated by indulgent reverie. So we will never walk these thoughts again."
0
Ta'nam stiffened. "I understand."
0
Sol is a graveyard for our people. But those warriors never watched our cities burn in soulfire. The memory of home should not be a comfort, my child, but the wound that drives your blood frenzy.
0
Ta'nam nodded, but the knot in her gut forced her to speak. "Do you fear them, Father? The Sol warriors?"
0
Cau'tor smiled proudly, and took his daughter's hand. "I do not, my child. Because I fight with Ta'nam, and her blade is insatiable."
"Ghaul commanded you to die for his vanity. I ask only that you fight at my side for the empire. The choice is yours." —Empress Caiatl
"Many victories seem out of reach. But you march onward, step by step, wound after wound, until they are in your grasp." —Empress Caiatl
Praefectus Helm
// Cryptarchy Analysis Log R11320 — Stolen Cabal Data //
0
// Author — Master Rahool //
0
SUMMARY
0
What follows is a translation of a Cabal data file that was acquired as part of Operation Haystack, as ordered by Commander Zavala. This log focuses on a single file we were able to decrypt; for the full report on the contents of that data breach and further decryption attempts, please see log R11312.
0
Ostensibly, this file is a recipe for a dish to be served at some sort of official gathering in Caiatl's honor. The ingredients mentioned here have been seen in a variety of ancient Cabal texts, and analysis of the empire's economic history implies that they are considered cheap and undesirable. I believe this recipe is both old and born of the lower class, a case of poor laborers devising ingenious (yet challenging) ways to take unsold goods and turn them into something comforting and delicious. 
0
That Caiatl chose this as a main dish for an official gathering speaks to the optics she wants to present; she may be trying to differentiate herself from the opulence of the Calus era and the utilitarianism of Ghaul's rule by relating to the common folk of the empire. 
0
Note that decryption was only mostly successful, and some data degradation occurred. Cryptarch's comments are in-line for ease of understanding. Some translations remain ambiguous, but I've provided my best hypotheses.
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// FILE START //— [CBX PARSER ERROR]
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] 
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] until the solvent mixture has blended together.
0
— Pulverize atlotl tendons until just pliable and surfaces begin to crack, then dredge in solvent mixture and let soak for [36–84 hours; the cycle referenced here is unknown, estimates are conservative guess].
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— To make the [black cube], crush citrus mixture, then drain through a sieve. Discard juice, retaining pulp and bitter pith. Compress solids in [kitchen vice? unsure of translation] on maximum heat until block is [CBX PARSER ERROR] to touch and charred. Place in sunlit area to cure.
0
— Once tendons are soft and stretchy, remove from solvent and rinse in ocean water. Slice into ribbons and set aside.
0
— Take loin of Atlotl and hook to [rotating device] then slap against stone surface until fragrant.
0
— Cut loin into tetrahedrons, making sure to slice across all grains, and set aside.
0
— In a large cauldron, add water, shau'rac oil, and appropriate root mixture (based on season and year). Bring to boil, then add loin and tendons. Cook until [CBX PARSER ERROR] no longer float and fluid has an ochre sheen across the surface.
0
— [CBX PARSER ERROR] more hours, thickening until broth [CBX PARSER ERROR] off the back of a ladle.
0
— Serve with thick slices of the [black cube].
0
// FILE END //
(A burst of electricity shatters a tree, showering Nessus's vermillion fauna across the battlefield.)
0
Vatoc the Psion had been a coward before, and not even just once. As he braced behind a Vex tower and clutched his empty rifle, he recalled his legacy of hasty retreats.
0
He had run from Wire Rifle enfilades and soulfire barrages on the detritus flotillas of the Reef.
0
He had fled the relentless advance of the chronomatons, nearly boiling in his suit amidst mercurial deserts.
0
Most of all, he had run from the Light-infested husks, the undying Guardians of Sol. Time and again, he saved his own neck, only for the Legion to find a new assignment and cast him back into the fray; they knew he was weak, but with Legionaries falling in droves, there was no other choice.
0
(A roar sweeps through the canyon as a smoking Thresher tumbles end over end into oblivion.)
0
Vatoc bore no guilt over his survival; to a Psion, survival was all you had. There was no honor to be gained, no advancement within ranks, no wealth to be accumulated. All the Legion left you with was your life, and Vatoc was going to make sure it lasted as long as possible.
0
But that was before Ghaul had been melted down to atoms and scattered across the stars. Before the failed gambit with the Warlock's time device. Before the Almighty, gleaming triumph of the Legion, was tossed like a pebble and swatted aside by an indifferent god.
0
Now came Empress Caiatl, and with her, the promise of something Vatoc never imagined he would have: freedom. The full might of the empire had arrived in a cavalcade of frigates and carriers, filling the space between worlds with destructive power. For the first time in his life, Vatoc's choice was not merely just to survive, but a choice of what to live for.
0
(A Colossus barks a rallying cry; a cacophony of Slug Rifles echoes in response.)
0
The battle swelled around him and his compatriots fell. He could see the route to safety. Dark crevasses tucked between tepui where he could run and hide. Where he knew he could survive.
0
(Vatoc reloads his rifle and sings an oath to his empress.)
0
He had been a coward before, but no longer.
//A MESSAGE FROM EMPRESS CAIATL OF THE CABAL, TO ALL LEGIONARIES IN SOL//
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Warriors of the empire: the Imperial Crown calls to you.
0
Ghaul failed us, and the Red Legion paid the price in blood. You have been scattered and abandoned, hunted by our enemies as you yearn for home… but Torobatl is no longer ours.
0
The combined fleet of the empire has entered Sol space. Come back to us, our comrades and kin. Rejoin our ranks, and help me mend this fractured empire. Through honor and strength, we will write the next chapter in our empire's storied history, and—
0
//
0
The Centurion flipped a switch and silenced the comm device. She peeked out of the cavern's makeshift scrap-metal door and saw asteroids drifting over the Shore like sleeping goliaths in a lavender sea.
0
Screeb chitters echoed through the air, grabbing the Centurion's attention. She snapped the door shut and readied her Slug Rifle, listening as the sound swelled. When silence finally returned, she crumpled against the wall and wearily dropped her weapon. The gun had been issued in her family's name and bathed in her brother's blood. Now it was a fading memento, lying in the dust beside a vigil of empty helmets.
0
The message played over again in her mind and she snarled. A crown. A gauntlet. A chalice. Nothing more than metal tortured with heat and molded into something else. Into someone else's vision. What had the empire molded her into? The low moan of some ancient cable resonated through her pressure suit, now comically oversized for her atrophied muscles.
0
She swung her gauntlet and crushed the comm device for good measure. Thresher engines roared in the distance, the sound of countless Legionaries answering the call. She hunkered down and fell into a deep slumber.
Praefectus Mark
"Hail, warrior of the empire," Empress Caiatl said as she approached the bedside of a wounded Red Legion Centurion. The soldier had been gazing solemnly out a porthole when the sound of her voice startled him. He turned suddenly, then winced in pain. Caiatl saw darkened synthetic fabric enveloping his torso and the entirety of his right arm, which itself looked frail and withered. She knew immediately that this Cabal would see no more battles.
0
My empress! the warrior responded, clasping a fist to his chest with his unwrapped arm. Caiatl saluted in return.
0
The empress glanced at a monitor displaying the patient's data. "Val'ast, born of Val'tui." She looked out the porthole; the brilliance of Sol beamed back at her. "The empire has returned for you, Red Legionary, yet your heart seems heavy. Why do you languish?"
0
Val'ast looked away. "I am sorry, Empress."
0
Do not be sorry, my brother, Caiatl said.
0
Val'ast sighed. "For years, every day has been about survival. Just trying to stay in the fight. But now…" He trailed off and grasped the sheets of his bed, a cheap fabric but still softer than anything he'd felt in years.
0
When you war for so long, peace can become its own struggle, Caiatl said.
0
Val'ast let the fabric fall from his hand. "I thought I was Acrius reborn, claiming another sun for our kind." He gazed out the porthole. "But I failed."
0
Caiatl smiled. "I've always loved that tale." She pulled a stool over and sat. "Did you know that there used to be more to it?"
0
Val'ast shook his head.
0
It's an older version, not as popular in modern times, but I was lucky enough to learn it as a child, the empress continued. "Before Acrius, three warriors sought to climb a great mountain and grasp the sun, but a terrible beast stood in their way.
0
"The first tried to outwit the beast and sneak through the shadows, but the beast smelled him still and ate the warrior in a single bite.

The second tried to escape the beast, crafting a device to harness the wind and soar upward. But the fickle wind changed its mind and tossed her into the beast's maw."
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The third warrior challenged the beast head on, Severus in hand. She also fell to the beast's gnashing teeth, but not before her blade tasted blood.
0
Val'ast frowned. "They all failed?"
0
Caiatl considered the question. "The first two, certainly. They thought battle could be avoided. But the third warrior died with pride and honor."
0
Val'ast pondered for a moment. "Even in defeat, she left her mark on her foe."
0
Caiatl nodded. "And the next time one of her kin faced it, the beast would be one blow closer to death."
0
Did more come? Val'ast questioned.
0
Of course! Caiatl exclaimed. "They were Cabal, and the sun was theirs to claim. Over and over, their mightiest fell. But each time, another wound was struck, until the day came when a warrior landed the final blow. That warrior was Acrius."
0
Val'ast frowned. "Ever since I was a child, I saw Acrius as a hero…"
0
He may have been, Caiatl replied as she clasped Val'ast's hand in hers. "But so was the warrior who struck first."
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Val'ast's eyed glistened as he held her grip firmly. "Thank you, Empress."
0
Caiatl shook her head. "My brother, it is the empire who thanks you."
"You want a ship? Surely your friends in the fleet would be happy to retrieve another lost Legionary. That is, unless, you'd rather not be found…" —The Spider
Praefectus Gauntlets
Praefectus Plate
"The past is the past; we cannot return to it. All we can do now is fight for the future our people deserve, through blade and blood." —Valus Cau'tor
"No matter how strong you are, there will always be a weight too heavy to carry alone."—Reed-7, Exo Titan
Pyrrhic Ascent Greaves
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-01 // MERCURY 
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The Exo Titan Reed-7 cuts an imposing silhouette across the Mercurian sands, the sun at his back. Reed and his Ghost fix their attention on two streaks of fire gleaming across the sky.  
0
They're late, Reed's Ghost chirps. 
0
Again, Reed notes with a sigh. His eyes follow the burning trails across the dusty beige sky until they reveal a pair of jumpships entering the atmosphere. 
0
I'm picking up a… dispute on open comms, Reed's Ghost notes, bobbling through the air around his Guardian. "You may want to brace for impact." 
0
The jumpships dive low and hug the ground after reentry, kicking up a cloud of sand that billows across the ancient stone courtyard of the Caloris Spires. Reed turns his head to watch them speed off to the opposite horizon. 
0
 "—believe for a minute that's all we could've done!" A voice shouts over comms and finishes in physical space as Reed's Warlock companion, Shayura,  transmats down to the surface. Crackling bands of energy ripple off of Shayura and another Guardian, a Hunter: Aisha. Shayura is incandescent with anger. Waves of golden fire lap at the sides of her face. 
0
Reed doesn't say anything as his companions arrive. They're doing enough talking for everyone on Mercury, so he gives them their space, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand. He moves toward the looming structure of the Lighthouse and the Guardians gathered outside, waiting in their queue to compete in the prestigious Trials of Osiris. 
0
His Ghost looks at him with concern; Reed reassures him with a gentle tap of his finger against the Ghost's shell. But Reed can hear his friends becoming increasingly frustrated with one another. Arguments like this have happened before: Is Eris trustworthy? Should the Vanguard track down Cayde's murderer? Was Cayde's death his own fault for being so reckless? Their disagreements had always ended with understanding. Today, however, things feel different. 
0
Hey! Reed turns and shouts back at them. It's louder than he intended. The bright red Exo recoils a little from the volume of his own voice. The clap of his rebuke distracts both Warlock and Hunter. They look up at him in sudden silence. 
0
Reed lifts a hand to the back of his neck, scratching sheepishly. "Can we do this later? Please?" 
0
Shayura and Aisha afford each other a brief and mild look. Wordlessly, they put away their conversational weapons for another time. Shayura draws a Sword and points it across the windswept courtyard toward a group of Guardians, indicating a challenge. 
0
Fine, Aisha agrees reluctantly. 
0
Reed will take that as a victory, however small.
"If I could do everything over again, walk in my shoes a second time, I would do it all differently."—Reed-7, Exo Titan
"I have died for my fireteam, but I never once thought to live for them."—Reed-7, Exo Titan
Pyrrhic Ascent Helm
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-05 // SIMULATED LIGHTHOUSE, THE TOWER, LAST CITY
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There's still snow in the cockpit of my jumpship , Aisha says after she appears in a crackling wave of latticework from the subordinate Vex conflux now running simulations of the Lighthouse from the safety of the Tower. 
0
Is that why you're late? Reed-7 asks in a gently teasing tone. Aisha looks around, spreading her hands. 
0
And Shayura isn't? 
0
She's coming. How long did you stick around the Stranger's  camp after we left? Reed wonders. Aisha looks away at the Lighthouse across the courtyard. He fails to notice the tension in her posture. 
0
Couple hours. I moved around. House of Salvation was putting down stakes out near some Vex ruins; wanted to make sure they didn't stick, Aisha explains, bringing two fingers up to her neck, depressing a button on her armor's collar that summons her helmet around her head in a flash of light. 
0
Reed snorts and nods. "This is weird, right?" he asks, dropping the topic of Europa. Aisha says nothing in response, waiting for Reed to quantify his assertion. "The simulation. Saint's little… combat closet. It feels real. " 
0
 "It is real. I mean, we are. The space is a… I don't know, magic? But me and you? The Guardians? We're all us. The dangers may be simulated, but that doesn't make the effects any less real. Saint wouldn't have it any other way," Aisha says, giving Reed an assessing look. "You didn't go into the Infinite Forest, did you?" 
0
Hell no, Reed quickly admits. "Couldn't pay me enough to. Can't stand the Vex," he adds with a shudder. "You know how you are with spiders? That's me with the Vex. Don't know why, don't care."
0
Whatever Aisha was going to say is abruptly cut off when Shayura manifests into the simulated space mid-stride. She walks straight past Reed and Aisha toward the Lighthouse. "Come on." 
0
Shayura's brusque entrance elicits a concerned look between Reed and Aisha, but they say nothing more on the matter. 
0
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-05 // SIMULATED TRIALS ARENA, SIMULATED LIGHTHOUSE
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Reed's shoulder connects with a Guardian on the other team so hard, it breaks every bone in his opponent's chest and sends him straight through the wall. Reed pivots, turning to see Aisha firing her Hand Cannon through the torso of the other Guardian coming up on them with a pair of spectral blades drawn. She's been holding back and Reed can see it, all gunplay, none of her usual fire and flash. 
0
Where's Shayura? Reed asks as he reloads his Scout Rifle. Aisha points down a corridor with two fingers. 
0
She's been after that other Awoken Warlock since we started the match. I think she followed him that way, Aisha says, already breaking into a jog. "It's three on one, c'mon." 
0
Reed shakes his head, hurrying behind Aisha. He remembers what had happened the last time Shayura had broken off on her own. They shouldn't have come back to the Trials, not so soon, not after everything that's happened. Shayura pushed for this, trying to get the fireteam back to normal, but now he worries it was too early. 
0
When they finally find Shayura, she's standing over a still-living Awoken Guardian whose helmet has been broken, revealing one of his eyes. He stares up at her, at her fire-shrouded Sword. Aisha and Reed train their firearms, prepared to back Shayura up if she misses the finishing blow for the match. But Reed senses something is wrong. Shayura's sight line isn't aimed down at the Guardian; it's aimed up at her opponent's Ghost. 
0
Shay? Aisha asks, a nervous tremor in her voice. 
0
Shayura lashes out, striking the Ghost with her Sword and knocking it to the ground. The Guardian exhales a scream of plight, and Shayura quickly draws her Sidearm and plants a round in his forehead. The Ghost chirps, squawks. It is only damaged. Shayura holsters her Sidearm again. 
0
Shay! Reed shouts, dropping his Scout Rifle and rushes over to her. This time, though, Shayura expels a blast of force from her palm that knocks Reed onto his back. She turns to the Ghost again, gripping her Sword in both hands, only to feel a sudden stabbing cold rise up her legs and arms. 
0
Reed watches as blue-black ice crusts over Shayura's legs, snuffs out her fire, and freezes her arm solid, Sword and all. Feather-ice bristles off of her body along with waves of visible cold. Reed's focus snaps to Aisha, one hand extended and waves of cold emanating from her outstretched palm. She had saved the Ghost from Shayura, but the power she wields—he knows it isn't the Light . 
0
He knows this will change everything.
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-04 // TENEMENT BUILDING ROOFTOP, PEREGRINE DISTRICT, LAST CITY
0
Guardians are arriving from all across the system. Even the Hunters are coming back. 
0
Reed-7's Ghost has been giving him updates on the minute for the last half hour. He hasn't been able to move since he reached the railing at the edge of the roof. Seeing the Traveler doing anything is cause for alarm, but seeing the Traveler radiating pulses of Light like some kind of beacon is nearly enough to stop the Titan's synthetic heart. He knows his Ghost is still talking, but he's effectively tuned it out. 
0
Aisha and Shayura are on a lower terrace, far enough away that Reed can't hear them talking, just observe their body language. Both look tense, Shayura most of all. But for all that Reed wants to watch them, he can't seem to keep his eyes away from the Traveler—from the seething waves of blue-white light that erupt from inside its cracked shell, from the way the waves make him feel as they wash over him. It is a vindication to his hope, that the Traveler would not abandon humanity in their hour of need. He wants Shayura to see that, to feel his faith, but each time he looks at her, she seems more distant. 
0
Reed. His Ghost says for the fifth time. Reed finally acknowledges his name, looking at his Ghost with uneasy silence. "I feel… strange. Something's happening." It's more a plea to the Guardian than anything. A plea of uncertainty and helplessness. Even his Ghost couldn't tell if the coming tide was going to wash them all away; if this was how the final moments of the Collapse were felt. But in this moment, Reed's only thoughts go to Shayura and Aisha. He looks down at them. 
0
He sees Aisha, staring up at the Traveler with wide-eyed awe. He sees Shayura looking down, over the edge of the terrace. Her indifference weighs heavy, even as the Traveler throbs like a beating heart and then erupts into a blinding flash of light. 
0
Reed's last thoughts before the light hits him are of his fireteam. His family. 
0
When the light fades, when his optic sensors recalibrate , he is moved to simulated tears. The Traveler hangs like a moon over the City. Whole. Reed's faith is reaffirmed in that instant, and tested when he sees Shayura walking away while the City erupts into cheers.
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-03 // BAZAAR, THE TOWER, LAST CITY
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The noise of the Bazaar is a background hum, seemingly electrical but performed by so many organic systems.  Reed-7 finds comfort in the banality of human conversation when viewed at a macro level—the impression of life. It's something other than language to him, something he imagines the universe might sound like to a Warlock. At least, he assumes they hear those things. 
0
There is relief that in this moment,  Reed hears only the people in the Bazaar, not the voices of horror that haunt him from Io's cradle. When he thinks too hard about it, he can still hear the Darkness moaning through his Ghost. Rather than dwell on it, he searches for something else to fixate on, something to distract him. 
0
The whole of the Bazaar is decorated for the Festival of the Lost, with colorful engram-shaped ornaments hung from decoratively macabre trees. A Ghost—one he's fairly certain belongs to the Warlock Osiris—goes cartwheeling by with a shriek of laughter, trailing cloth wrappings in her wake. The moment of levity helps lift Reed's spirits as he returns to his table in New Monarchy's enclosure where Aisha and Shayura wait for him. 
0
Drinks, Reed says, setting down three tall mugs wafting with steam. Aisha offers him a supportive but strained smile. "Careful," he notes as she reaches for a mug, "they're hot." He'd earned the nickname Strike-Dad thanks to obvious and well-meaning cautions like that. 
0
There's cinnamon in yours, Reed says to Shayura, who may be asleep, her head down on the table atop her folded arms. Shayura has the wherewithal to give him a distracted thumbs-up. It's at least comforting, if not wholly reassuring. Aisha gives Reed a wordless look of concern and shakes her head. Their talk had not gone well while he was away. 
0
I know you're upset about Sloane, Reed says, deciding to tear off that conversational bandage. "But you know the commander's done all he can. We've done all we can. Don't blame yourself for—"
0
Thanks, Shayura says without looking up. She sits up enough to grab her steaming mug with two hands and drag the piping hot cider over to herself. She slouches over the mug, breathing in the aroma of cinnamon, honey, apples, and cloves. Her eyes drift shut, and for a moment, she seems more herself. 
0
Aisha and Reed take a moment to breathe. Give Shayura time to breathe. "I know," Shayura finally says in a small, guilty voice. "I'm sorry." It's hard to tell if she's talking about Sloane, or about her behavior in general. 
0
You don't need to apologize to us, Reed says with a look to Aisha, finding her approval. "You should apologize to Leitka  and his Ghost." 
0
It was Titan,  Shayura finally says, staring into her mug. Reed and Aisha look at each other, but neither interrupts. They let her reach that point at her own pace. "I was back on Titan. Like when we were Lightless, surrounded by Hive.  There was this Knight… no matter how many times I killed him, he kept coming back.  I should've died out there." 
0
But you didn't, Aisha says, reaching out across the table to take Shayura's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "We got our Light back, and—"
0
What happens when the Darkness closes in? Shayura asks, though she knows neither Reed nor Aisha have the answer. "Will she  be Lightless again? Alone?" 
0
Reed and Aisha share a look, and the Exo reaches across the table to lay one of his large hands on Shayura's, atop Aisha's. He doesn't have a rousing speech, strong words, or even cold comforts. He just has his presence to offer in support of her traumas. 
0
He has to hope that's enough.
Pyrrhic Ascent Mark
SIMULATION RECONSTRUCTION LOG // LA-01-02 // TRIALS ARENA, THE LIGHTHOUSE, MERCURY
0
Reed-7's arms feel like they're going to break apart at the seams.  The vibration building in his body threatens to shake him to pieces for every second that he maintains his barrier. It stands as an extension of his Light and also his body. He feels it like a piece of himself, one that he has overextended time and again, as it deflects an Auto Rifle's rapid-fire barrage. 
0
Only two Guardians are left on the opposing team ; the remains of the third are scattered around the area, smoking and sizzling. Reed considers how fast he and Aisha might be able to rush in on their cornered Guardian. Even if Reed gets taken down, it might be enough time for Aisha and Shayura—wherever she is—to secure a victory. 
0
Aisha? Reed asks. His voice rises in concern as his barrier begins to destabilize. He knows it's now or never. But as he looks to Aisha, Reed spies flames forming between her knuckles. 
0
Aisha has the better plan. 
0
As the opposing Guardian pauses to reload behind cover, Aisha boosts straight into the air, through the top of the barrier. Reed lets the dome collapse and feels the immediate release of pressure on his limbs, his legs nearly buckling. He watches Aisha glow brightly, spinning like a burning wheel before unleashing a volley of knives made from condensed plasma in every direction. 
0
To Reed, it simply looks like a flash of fire and smoke as the opposing Guardian collapses in a heap, Aisha landing next to him. With a sigh of relief, Reed-7 gives her as enthusiastic a thumbs-up as he can muster. 
0
Did you see Shay while you were up there? Reed asks. 
0
No. She's probably playing tag with the one that keeps going invisible, Aisha replies. "Let's go find her and finish this up." 
0
A plume of atomic fire rises up over a nearby block of Vex design as if in direct response to Aisha. The Lighthouse emits a soft tone; the nearby Ghosts begin reconstructing their dead Guardians after the match's conclusion. 
0
A scream rises from the same direction as the fire, spurring Aisha and Reed into action. The pair navigate the familiar Vex architecture quickly. Two more agonized screams fill the air. When they reach the source of the noise, Reed freezes in his tracks as he witnesses Shayura impale the other Guardian through the faceplate of his helmet with her Sword. The opponent's Ghost shrieks in frustration, trying desperately to get between Shayura and his Guardian. 
0
Aisha is saying something, but all Reed hears is blood rushing in his ears. Not his blood though. The memory of it. Of something buried behind layered plates of carbon-polymer and plasteel weave. Something haunting his synaptic network. In that moment, Reed is outside of his own body, remembering faces frozen in stone, recalling the whispered plea of his Ghost's tortured voice on Io. 
0
|| Don't you see? || 
0
 Reed's heart races. 
0
|| In Light, there is only weakness. || 
0
The opposing team's Guardian is brought back to life by his Ghost, but before the Guardian can finish shouting a plea to Shayura, the Warlock cuts off his arm in one stroke. She cleaves her Sword through the top of his helmet in a brutal follow-through. Reed feels his chest tightening, feels a sense of panic kicking in. 
0
|| Only failure. || 
0
Shay, no! Aisha yells, running up to her friend. She wraps her arms around Shayura's midsection. Shayura screams like a frightened animal, lashing out with a swift slash of her Sword in the direction of the Guardian's corpse. 
0
|| Only death. || 
0
Shayura! The match is over! Reed shouts, snapping back to reality. "The match is over!" 
0
It takes both Reed and Aisha to restrain the enraged Warlock. Shayura's voice cracks in a feral cry as flames race down her arms and swirl along the length of her blood-slicked Sword. 
0
No! No! Stop! No! Shayura howls, fighting against her comrades. Aisha grabs at Shayura's wrist, keeping her from swinging her Sword again as the freshly resurrected Guardian scrambles away. 
0
Shay, Aisha pleads, trying to get through to her. "Shay!" 
0
Shayura screams an endless wail into the scalding Mercurian sky.
"A fireteam is a family. Sometimes, family fails."—Reed-7. Exo Titan
Pyrrhic Ascent Gauntlets
Pyrrhic Ascent Plate
"Under a sturdy enough helmet, no one can see how damaged you are."—Reed-7, Exo Titan
The lightning from the farthest cloud strikes the hardest.
Crash Site, Nessus Terrae, Day Four
0
**
0
Panesh sat wearily beside the heavy metal beams that trapped him in the wreckage of the Cabal frigate. On the other side of the wall, the Cabal warrior stuck in the corridor roared in frustration and started kicking again.
0
Save your energy, Vargessus, Panesh shouted over the noise. "You're not going to be able to kick your way through…" he paused to scratch a fingernail along the unfamiliar metal, "solid Cabal-ium."
0
Heavy footsteps stomped over to a crack in the wall near the hull. "Cabal can kick through most things," Vargessus said, her face pressed against the gap in the metal. "Caiatl will kick your Vanguard into pieces, once you cowards stop running."
0
Who's running? Panesh said. "We're in the City waiting for you. Under the big white ball—maybe you've heard of it? We don't run."
0
Hrah! Vargessus laughed. "You run. Fought one of you once—all he did was run. Shield and run. We stopped chasing him and then BOOM!" She pounded the metal wall with a gigantic fist. "He dove at us, covered in lightning! Then he ran again."
0
Sounds like he wasn't running, said Panesh. "He retreated to a tactical distance."
0
Fancy words for 'run,' snorted Vargessus. Panesh heard her pace uneasily, then sit in the corridor, her back against the same wall as his.
0
Hey, Panesh called, "how about you keep some tactical distance yourself? You smell like a… hot barnyard."
0
And you smell also, like a bloodless child. Sour.
0
There was a loud electrical pop overhead and Panesh raised his hands against a shower of blinding sparks.
0
Panesh? shouted Vargessus.
0
I'm fine, he said. "Just another system shorting out."
0
The Cabal grunted in response. Panesh heard her settle back against the wall.
0
Unripe, she added.
0
You're ripe enough for both of us, he said.
0
But neither of them moved.
Cuirass of the Falling Star
"With fists like those, who needs guns? Everyone else, that's who!" —Lord Shaxx
Lion's Claws
"Not even the Hive gods can move a Titan who stands their ground." —Zavala
"My favorite class… is the one left standing!" —Lord Shaxx
Lion's Fang
Prak'kesh sat on his Gray Hornet, parked in his usual spot at the base of the Tower. The former Guardian was holding a kimchi burrito purchased from a food cart with one hand while scrolling through Crucible results with the other. Guardian Games always brought an influx of bettors, and he needed to know which fireteams had the hot hands. It was shaping up as a banner year for gambling. 
0
The bookie's hulking bodyguard, Tulnik, was leaning against the Tower, looking at Cabal pinups. The ex-Corsair clicked his tongue in warning. Prak'kesh's attention shifted from the burrito to a trio of enormous Titans lumbering toward them. A glob of kimchi plopped onto his fur vest. 
0
The fireteam leader, a Sunbreaker, loomed over the bookie. "You, uh… you got something on your hair-shirt." 
0
Prak'kesh tossed the remainder of the burrito over his shoulder, splattering the side of the Tower. "Yup. That's… alpaca." He crossed his arms over the stain. "What can I do for you?" 
0
The Sentinel stepped forward. "We wanna bet on the Hunters to win the Games." 
0
Prak'kesh's eyebrows shot up. "Really? Do I smell a fix coming in? This is huge." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "Zavala's not in on it… is he?" 
0
The Titans glanced at each other in confusion. The Striker spoke up, "No. We want to bet on the Hunters." 
0
The bookie frowned. "Yeah. You're betting on the Hunters because you're going to throw the matches." Their blank, helmeted stares prompted him to clarify, "I mean, your plan is to lose on purpose… right?" 
0
The Sunbreaker looked taken aback. "Titans never lose to Hunters." 
0
 "Yeah, we're much better at fighting," the Sentinel affirmed. "Hunters are always jumping around with their little knives, or hiding in smoke." He waved his arms around frantically. "But I just put up my wall, and then Tanishe punches them. Like, really hard." 
0
It's true, the Striker proclaimed earnestly. "I can punch super hard." 
0
So, your plan is to win, Prak'kesh clarified. The trio nodded emphatically. "Then why," the bookie asked slowly, "are you betting on the Hunters?" 
0
The Sentinel scoffed. "Element of surprise, my man. They'll never see it coming." He and the Sunbreaker fist-bumped. 
0
But all bets are confidential, Prak'kesh explained. 
0
We wouldn't be here if we weren't confident, the Sunbreaker bragged. 
0
Prak'kesh pinched the bridge of his nose. He was developing a headache. "I mean, all bets are secret. Nobody will know what you wagered." 
0
Obviously, the Sunbreaker condescended. "Wouldn't be a surprise if everybody knew." 
0
The Sentinel tapped his massive finger to his temple. "See? Warlocks aren't the only ones who come up with clever centrifuges." 
0
Prak'kesh threw his hands up in capitulation. "Fine, I'll take your bet." He pulled out his datapad. "But I want to be really clear: if the Titans win the Guardian Games, you're never gonna see this Glimmer again." 
0
There's more to life than Glimmer, said the Sunbreaker. "I can't wait to see the look on their stupid faces when they find out." 
0
The bookie shrugged. "Then it's a deal. Good luck in the Games… I think."
Lion's Pride
"They heard that outside the City walls!" —Lord Shaxx
Lion's Mane
"I've never seen an immovable object move that fast!"  —Lord Shaxx
Massively improves weapon range at the cost of weapon stability.
Cranial Spike
Iron Reach
Hipfired shots track targets.
While you are the last living member of your fireteam, each takedown refills your magazine.
Adept Icarus Grip
Dark-Forged Trigger
Being in combat for an extended time increases damage, handling, and reload for this weapon until you are out of combat.
 •  Arrows fired while aiming down sights cause Sacred Flames to instantly detonate.
0
 •  Precision hits with perfectly drawn arrows increase the power of this detonation.
Kickstart
Causality Quiver
Adept Big Ones Spec
Impulse Amplifier
Increases the Arc Shield's durability and partially reloads the magazine if it is destroyed.
Bottomless Grief
Defeating combatants with grenade abilities increases this weapon's damage.
Lasting Impression
Precision hits grant bonus damage.
Improves accuracy while airborne. Slightly increases weapon range.
Rockets attach on impact and detonate after a delay. Increases blast radius and damage.
Gain bonus damage and charge rate during a slide after sprinting for a short duration.
Flourish
Hipfiring this weapon fires multiple tracking projectiles.
Targets marked by these projectiles explode upon death, or when struck by another Sacred Flame's explosion.
Chaining precision hits grants bonus damage and quickens reload speed.
Causality Arrows
Massively increases projectile velocity, increases reload speed.
Increased hipfire rate of fire and removes hipfire accuracy penalties.
Perfectly drawn arrows that detonate Sacred Flames increase arrow damage.
0
Striking targets unaffected by Sacred Flame instead refreshes Causality Arrows' duration.
Legion's Bulwark
Sacred Flame
Deals extra damage against powerful combatants, bosses, and vehicles.
Overload Submachine Gun
Gain  Stasis ability energy whenever you or a member of your fireteam stuns a Champion.
Landing consecutive hits with any Sword you are wielding disrupts combatants, stunning them, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
0
Strong against   Overload Champions.
Resonance Siphon
Sundering Glare
Rapid precision hits against distant combatants weaken them for a short duration.
Overload Bow
Improves targeting for Scout Rifles and Sniper Rifles.
Your Light abilities do bonus damage to combatants affected by Stasis.
Damage by fully drawn arrows from your equipped Bows stuns combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
0
Strong against  Overload Champions.
Anti-Barrier Scout Rifle
Focusing Lens
Defeating targets with your Stasis Super refunds Super energy.
Sniper Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun  Barrier Champions.
0
Sniper Rifles deal bonus damage against  Barrier Champions.
Scout and Sniper Rifle Targeting
Uninterrupted fire from your equipped SMGs grants bullets that stun combatants, delaying ability energy regeneration and lowering combatant damage output.
0
Strong against  Overload Champions.
Glacial Inheritance
Scout Rifles you are wielding fire shield-piercing rounds and stun  Barrier Champions.
0
Scout Rifles deal bonus damage against  Barrier Champions.
Anti-Barrier Sniper Rifle
Adds a bone spiral appearance to your transmat effects.
Adds a chain-breaking appearance to your transmat effects.
Adds a heartbreaking appearance to your transmat effects.
Adds as Guardian Games crest appearance to your transmat effects.
"I've got a catalyst for that bow of yours," Banshee-44 says. "I think I've always had it, but I don't remember getting it."
0
Charge the catalyst with energy and I'll work on it for you… but next time, can you just bring me a regular gun? Nothing that collapses timelines or whatever?
Banshee-44 has found a drained catalyst for Ticuu's Divination, but needs you to charge it with energy.
Calibration data generated
Points Piercing Forever
"That's all the energy this thing needs," nods Banshee-44 as he hands you the completed catalyst. "Let me tell you, I think there's something funny about this bow. It messes with my internal chronometer."
0
It feels like that thing was meant for your hands. Like it always belonged there.
Complete strike playlists, The Ordeal, Gambit, Crucible, and defeat combatants with Ticuu's Divination.
0
Crucible/Gambit wins and higher-tier Ordeal completions provide additional progress.
Siphon energy for the Ticuu's Divination catalyst by collecting Orbs of Power, defeating combatants, and defeating Guardians.
Return to Banshee-44 to receive the repaired catalyst.
"That Bow is hungry for energy. It's like nothing I've ever seen." —Banshee-44
Combatants defeated with Ticuu's Divination
Guardians defeated with Ticuu's Divination
The catalyst hums with power, but still needs to be calibrated before it is fully functional.
Source: Nightfall: The Ordeal
Source: Presage Exotic Quest
Source: Season of the Chosen Nightfall: The Ordeal Grandmaster
Source: Presage Exotic Quest
Source: Crucible Salvager's Salvo Armament
Source: Crucible
Source: Salvager's Salvo Armament Quest
Source: Gambit
Source: War Table
Source: Umbral Engram Tutorial
Source: Battlegrounds
Source: Season 13 Guardian Games
Source: Flawless completion of Presage Exotic Quest on Master difficulty.
Source: Gambit Salvager's Salvo Armament
Source: Challenger's Proving VII Quest
Source: Vanguard Salvager's Salvo Armament Quest
I THINK THIS STRING NEEDS TO BE DELETED. I'LL CHECK TOMORROW. TOO MANY OTHER STRINGS TO STRING.
Source: Iron Banner Salvager's Salvo Armament
Begin Ghost Infiltration
Pick Up Unstable Power Unit
Begin Ghost Tracing
Begin the Rite of Proving
Requires 3 Keys to Access
Meet the Cabal in combat in the new Battleground matchmade activities.
0
A Guardian distress beacon cuts through Sol, locate the source of the signal and investigate the disturbance.
0
Focus Umbral Engrams to choose your rewards.
0
Face Caiatl's strongest Champion in the new Proving Grounds strike.
0
Earn exclusive Season Pass rewards.
Season of the Chosen
Elemental Well Mod
Aeon Cult Mod
No mod currently selected.
0
You can insert Nightmare Hunt mods into this socket.
Requires all previous rewards to be claimed
Requires Rank 4
Requires Next Major Rank
Requires Rank 10
Requires Rank 7
Requires Rank 16
Requires Rank 13
Requires Rank 16 Completed
If not claimed, this item will expire at the end of the Season.
Reputation Rewards
Reward Claimed
Reputation Rewards
Bungie Foundation Rewards
Requires Next Rank
CHAPTER 2: STAR PILOT
Caiatl felt the assassin's eyes on her back before she heard their words. 
0
Your father sends his regards, they croaked. 
0
She calmly turned. The intruder was not Cabal. They wore a strange, sleek armored suit—some off-world species unaccustomed to the atmosphere, no doubt. But her father's influence on it was obvious; he did so favor white, purple, and gold. 
0
He can keep them, Caiatl said. The assassin's gun, pointed at her chest, glowed with a purple light that distorted the air around it. 
0
He sent a message for you. 
0
Caiatl lunged, crashing her shoulder into the assassin. They fired their weapon, and Void energy seared through Caiatl's bicep. Undeterred, she slammed the assassin to the ground, clutching their throat in one hand and making a fist with the other. She cocked her arm back. Her reflection in the assassin's helmet stared back at her. Furious. Unblinking. Curious. 
0
Go on then, she snarled, her fist looming. "The message." 
0
The assassin struggled. "You are a child in a general's costume," they spat. "None of the vision of your father. None of the drive or strength of the one they call Dominus." Something sharp penetrated Caiatl's pressure suit and slipped up against her ribs. "You will not be remembered." 
0
Spurred to action, Caiatl rolled to unseat the blade; the assassin followed and raised the Void weapon to her head. 
0
Caiatl slammed her hand over the barrel. Energy shot through her palm as she ripped the gun away. She grabbed the assassin's helmet with her bloody fingers and slammed their head against the ground. Once, twice, three times. 
0
The shield began to crack. 
0
Four, five, six times. 
0
She let the helmet thud against the ground. Her contorted reflection now stared back. 
0
Is he listening? Caiatl boomed. "My father? Tell him I will come for him. Tell him there's no distance that will save him from me." 
0
The assassin gasped and wheezed. When they recovered their voice, they hissed, "Killing me will not stop the end… from coming. My gods have foretold…" 
0
Caiatl hesitated for a brief moment before her good hand clenched into a fist and slammed into the assassin's visor, shattering her reflection as well as the assassin's skull. 
0
She sat back in the wreckage, panting, covered in strange, viscous blood. 
0
Your gods are dead, she said to no one.
CHAPTER 6: BATTLE SONG
Gold silks and purple velvets hung above the gilded chair where Ahztja settled in to tell the princess Caiatl her nightly story.
0
Ahztja was the emperor's mythkeeper; a talented storyteller and Psion who held all the legends and histories of the conquered worlds in her mind. Caiatl's father often said, "Ahztja is an athenaeum world in and of herself." He often retreated, either into his pleasures or his unpredictable melancholy, leaving Ahztja to fill Caiatl's mind with fantasy. 
0
Holding a toy model of a warship in her hands, Caiatl sat on the floor before Ahztja. "Ahztja," she said politely, knowing she would not receive her story otherwise, "Please tell me how the faraway peoples say the universe came to be."
0
Ahztja considered, searching through the library of her mind, and then nodded.
0
Imagine the universe as swirling chaos, Ahztja said softly.
0
Caiatl closed her eyes and saw it.
0
Among the chaos stands Irkyn La, the First Host, who blinks herself into existence with the First Thought: chaos must come to order.
0
Caiatl saw a creature, tremendous beyond belief, in her mind's eye.
0
And so to satisfy the First Thought, which would become the First Law, Irkyn La consumes the chaos of the void and gives birth to the ordered universe.
0
Caiatl opened her eyes, and they were bright with intrigue. 
0
That is how the Tiiarn would say the universe began, Ahztja said. 
0
Caiatl looked at the toy in her hands, and then back at Ahztja. "Where does this giant woman live?" 
0
The Tiiarn would say she is the very fabric of the universe. When you look to the sky, when you look out into space, you are looking into Irkyn La's mouth. 
0
Caiatl turned her toy for a little while. Then, looking up, she said fiercely, "I will challenge Irkyn La to a battle and defeat her. Then my people will own everything in the universe." 
0
Ahztja chuckled fondly. "Yes, I think you would," she said. "But the empire has already defeated the Tiiarn. None of them are left. And with no one to believe in her, Irkyn La is dead as well." 
0
Then I will believe in her. 
0
Ahztja's lips pulled back in a curious smile. "You'll believe in her so that you can challenge her?" 
0
Yes. 
0
Laughing again, Ahztja placed her hand on Caiatl's head. "Ah, brave Caiatl. A warrior so mighty, she wills her enemies into existence." 
0
Caiatl's chest swelled with incandescent pride.
In a war chamber built by her father's Psion mind-sculptors, Caiatl piloted a fighter through a strange world. It twisted and turned on itself to create strange, rotting landforms all around her. She passed mountains that sprouted weeping tumors and saw fields crusted over with scabrous tissue. 
0
The exhilaration of flight made her eyes sharp; the familiarity of the controls kept her hands steady. She was so much better here than in any of her father's tedious lessons. Awake. Alive. 
0
Umun'arath's voice rumbled in her ear like a surfacing landwhale. 
0
Imagine all of Torobatl as the putrid grave swamps of Aark, she said. "Centuries sunk in muck. A testament to someone else's conquest." 
0
Caiatl narrowed her eyes at her ship's heads-up display as a corrupted flame suddenly burned a hole in the sky itself, straight ahead…
0
There are monsters at the edges of our territory that would tear our world open and turn it inside out, Umun growled. "They fear nothing." 
0
Caiatl felt a jolt: the telltale rock, tilt, and drag of damage at the tail of the ship. She tried to pull up. Through the hole in the sky emerged a hag: enormous, robed, screaming. Emerald fire burst from her claws and spiraled toward Caiatl's ship, but she was too dazzled by the fireworks to avoid it. 
0
Seconds before the flames engulfed her ship, Caiatl heard: "What do you fear, Princess?" 
0
In these war chambers, simulated death felt like real death. Panic, pain, darkness. Realistic consequences for failure. The chamber left its inhabitants floating in a void after defeat—and in that emptiness, minutes could feel like hours. 
0
When the darkness finally evaporated, Caiatl stood in the blank chamber. Alone. 
0
Umun emerged and crossed the room. "You're dead," she told her. 
0
Caiatl kept her back straight and voice level, though there was a tremor in her arm—a humiliating aftereffect. "Yes." 
0
You were distracted, Umun said. "I saw you: looking around, like you were on a sightseeing flight." She made a dismissive gesture with her left hand. "Weaned and coddled on too many stories."
0
I won't fail again, Caiatl said. 
0
Wrong, said Umun'arath. "You will die many more times if you wish to live." She clapped a hand on Caiatl's shoulder. "Do it again." 
0
0
CHAPTER 3: ASSASSIN
CHAPTER 9: TRUCE
CHAPTER 7: CORONATION
Smoke rose from the city of Torobatl. The sky was dark with Tombships and Threshers. Strange, spindly towers had sprouted from the ground, infecting the streets and alleyways Caiatl had known so well, rendering the landscape alien. 
0
Many of the creatures that poured from the tear in the sky had fallen to her missiles—like any other enemy—but their numbers never seemed to dwindle. Their will never seemed to falter. 
0
Pinned in the wreckage of a crashed single-pilot fighter, Caiatl caught her breath as gel leaked from her suit. She remembered Umun's words: They don't fear pain. They don't fear death. 
0
She wondered how she could have let this happen. How could she have been the one to open that door? 
0
Because even as she cursed Umun for starting this, Caiatl was the one who had finished it. It didn't matter that she'd done it unwillingly and unknowingly. That responsibility was still on her shoulders. 
0
She cursed Umun and the vermin Hive, but more than that, she cursed herself. 
0
She was responsible for the destruction of their home. 
0
A voice as loud as thunder spoke to her, deafening: 
0
MY HOME IS WAR. 
0
MY VOICE IS A BATTLE SONG. 
0
FOR AS LONG AS YOU HAVE WORSHIPPED WAR, YOU HAVE WORSHIPPED ME. 
0
I AM HERE TO CLAIM MY TRIBUTE. 
0
IT IS OVERDUE.
Caiatl loathed the crawling pace of the court. She despised the tricky voices of courtiers and generals vying for attention and resources. Sorting out their tedious requests was like fetching lost scraping sticks from the bottom of a mud-wallow.
0
But one day, a general came to her with a clear complaint. "The stench from Umun'arath's rooms permeates the entire east wing of the palace. My lovers choke on toxic fumes simply walking through the halls." 
0
Surprised she hadn't heard about it before, Caiatl dismissed him with a promise to investigate the Evocate-General's chambers. 
0
Later that day, she found that the first of Umun's rooms, usually kept tidy with military precision, was changed. Her two war tables were covered in papers and tomes unrecognizable to Caiatl. The room stank of death and poison. Strange symbols were drawn on the ground in ash. 
0
In the far corner of the room, with the restraints they used for captives aboard their prison ships, a living Hive Thrall was held in suspension, drooling and chattering. 
0
Umun, Caiatl said, astonished. "What's happening here?" 
0
Umun turned from one of her war tables where she studied a book that looked to be bound with mottled flesh. "Princess," she said, pleased. "Good. I thought to call you, but I've been so engrossed. Come see the future of the Cabal army." 
0
Caiatl approached, intent on looking at Umun instead of the Thrall. 
0
They don't fear pain, Umun said. Perverse admiration crept into her voice. "They don't fear death." 
0
Soldiers who don't know pain or fear are useless, Caiatl said, eyeing the Evocate-General. "'It is the knowledge of death and the will to defy it that together breed bravery.' You taught me those texts." 
0
We must move beyond them, Umun muttered, watching the Thrall tilt its grotesque face in response to their voices. "With each swing of the sword, the universe grows smaller, Caiatl. The competition fiercer. If we don't learn a new way, we'll be cut down with the rest." Her voice went quiet. "We must accept new gods, or we'll perish." 
0
The Thrall began to thrash, sudden and violent. 
0
Caiatl watched. 
0
I am ordering you to step down from the council, she said after a long silence.
CHAPTER 5: NEW GODS
The ascent of Caiatl from Princess-Imperial to Empress of the Cabal.
It was Taurun, one of Caiatl's advisors, that alerted her to the spectacle. 
0
In the square, she said, her deep voice laced with concern. "I've never seen anything like it." 
0
Caiatl went immediately. 
0
In the central square of Torobatl's weaponsmith district, a bright green flame licked the air. Umun'arath stood against the blaze, naked but for a waist wrap, in the custody of two guards. Her hide was carved with strange, crude symbols. When she saw Caiatl arrive, she threw her head back and laughed. 
0
Here comes the Princess-Imperial, she said. "To kneel before our new god."[I am Savathûn, whispering.]
0
Caiatl strode forward. "Let her go," she told the guards. Reluctant, they did as she asked. "What god, Umun? What heresies have you invented now?" 
0
Umun grinned. "The god of war," she said, and the earth trembled beneath them. 
0
has planted her armies elsewhere; it is her sister, smiling, that has taken the ear of the warchild Umun'arath.] 
0
Caiatl stood before Umun in the flickering green light of the fire. "Your obsession is a weakness," she said. "And a threat to our prosperity." 
0
You can't stop it now, Umun lilted, breathless with delight. 
0
.] 
0
Caiatl didn't break her stare. "I have no choice but to—"
0
Umun, chuckling, raised her hands. They glowed. The fire behind her burned higher and chattered like rattling bones. "The war is all there is," she said. 
0
As the chattering reached a fevered pitch, Caiatl made a decision. With the lightning-quick reflexes Umun had taught her, she unsheathed the ceremonial sword at her side and ran it through Umun's middle. 
0
Umun laughed. 
0
conjure you with war and blood.] 
0
She laughed and laughed and laughed until her mouth began to ooze. Until Caiatl, disgusted, pushed her off the sword with her foot. The body tumbled back onto the green blaze. 
0
ite sister.] 
0
As the fire consumed the corpse, a gargantuan portal opened in the sky.
Caiatl was sitting alone in her private quarters. She glanced up, awoken from her reverie when Taurun arrived. 
0
Empress, Taurun said, bowing. She was a stickler for formality. "The other councilors are awaiting a decision regarding our arrival in Sol." 
0
Caiatl gave her a wry look. As if she didn't know. 
0
Taurun waited. When Caiatl didn't answer, she pressed further. "Have you made a decision?" 
0
Caiatl sighed and shifted in her seat. "Not yet," she said. "There is much still to consider. Sit down." 
0
Taurun hesitated, caught between her dedication to formality and a direct order from her empress. She gingerly lowered herself into a chair. 
0
The Guardians killed Ghaul, Caiatl said. 
0
Yes, said Taurun. 
0
Stories say they've killed greater enemies too. 
0
Other deities of the Hive. One of the great worms. 
0
And a sibling of Xivu Arath, Caiatl added. 
0
Perhaps then, the costs of this venture do not outweigh the benefits, Taurun mused. 
0
We need every resource at our disposal, Caiatl said. 
0
Taurun was quiet. 
0
Caiatl leaned forward abruptly in her seat. "Do we need to make war to regain the Legion?" 
0
Once more, Taurun was silent. Eventually, she said carefully, "You don't believe we would win?" 
0
Caiatl saw the blade hidden in Taurun's question. "We would win," she said. "After a long, grueling war. We'd sustain huge losses. And we'd leave ourselves open to further devastation at the war god's hands." 
0
Taurun's gaze turned thoughtful. "Yes, probably." She studied Caiatl's face. "So what do you suggest?" 
0
We… negotiate, Caiatl said quietly. "With the Guardians." 
0
Taurun observed her customary moment of silence. "Some of the councilors won't like it." 
0
I know, Caiatl said. She stared past Taurun, her jaw set. "I don't either." 
0
You'll have to make a gesture for them. A nod to our legacy as conquerors. If they see it as a true, equal negotiation… Taurun trailed off. 
0
They'll call it weakness, Caiatl finished. 
0
Taurun nodded. "Especially after fleeing Torobatl." 
0
They shared another silence. The ache of mounting stress began to push at Caiatl's temples. 
0
Her voice was weary when she spoke again. "Then we will demand that the Guardians kneel."
CHAPTER 8: EMPRESS
Empress
CHAPTER 1: STORYTELLER
At the long table of her council room on the fleeing warship Eligos Lex V, Caiatl sat with her advisors. An ugly panic gripped them. 
0
Their war moons are too powerful, said Councilor Taurun. The tactical display, where Hive ships and war moons floated like innumerable dust specks in space, flickered. 
0
They are not deterred by casualties, rumbled Ca'aurg. "All loss is acceptable loss to the Hive." 
0
There were murmurs of assent across the table. "Ghaul diverted some of our best generals," lamented Tha'arec. "All to the damnable Sol system, for his idiotic crusade…"
0
They will not return, said Ca'aurg. "And neither will Ghaul." He clenched his fist. "But this weakness didn't start with Ghaul. It started with that bloated traitor, Calus." 
0
Ca'aurg and Tha'arec glared at each other from across the table. They shared a look Caiatl knew very well; it often preceded bloodshed. She watched them for a tense moment and then raised her voice to say, "Enough." 
0
All looked to the Princess-Imperial. 
0
My father was infatuated with the myth of his own benevolence, Caiatl said. "He gorged himself and his people on stories of what the empire could be and took half-measures to make it so. But he never succeeded. He never wished to succeed. I am not my father. 
0
"Dominus Ghaul was obsessed with his own redemption. He imagined debts owed to him and sought their fulfilment. He used the Legion as a tool to secure himself and his legacy. He saw the empire as one more thing he was owed. I am not Dominus Ghaul. 

Umun'arath misled me—misled us all. Our people are not meant to flee our battles. But neither are we the Hive, throwing ourselves on the blade again and again. There is strength in tactical retreat."" "
0
She studied the worried faces of her councilors and felt shame for their weakness, but responsibility as well. "We'll direct all our surviving ships to the Sol system to reclaim whatever remains of the Legion. This is my first order, as empress of the Cabal." 
0
The next day, as they fled their homeworld, a coronation was held upon the Eligos Lex V, royal flagship of Empress Caiatl, leader of the Cabal.
//A MESSAGE FROM EMPRESS CAIATL OF THE CABAL, TO ALL HER FLEET//
0
I speak to you as crowned empress of the Cabal Empire, your new leader. 
0
As I speak, we flee our home. Some of you lament our loss. Some of you whisper about the weakness of retreat. I assure you, we do not flee out of weakness. We march toward strength. 
0
We have found ourselves in a battle with war itself. And I have come to see that the face of war is ugly and poisonous. 
0
We are not the same as our enemies. We fight for a reason. For a purpose. 
0
Not for pointless luxury, nor the approval of false gods. Unlike our predecessors, we fight to pay homage to our past and make strides towards our future. A future where all glory is not for vanity but for our people. We fight for the empire. 
0
We now chart toward the Sol system, to recover the soldiers stranded there by Ghaul's hubris. We will rebuild our army and return to reclaim our home. 
0
Our future will not look the same as our past. With your trust, I will usher us into a new age, and I will not default on my promises, as my father did before me. 
0
From this moment forward, all Psions of the Cabal Empire are released from the bonds of servitude and granted full citizenship. You are free to remain or leave as you please. You will be granted reasonable supplies for your departure, if you choose to go. 
0
If you stay, I must warn you: the battle ahead will be long and arduous. Many of us will fight, bleed, and die to preserve our collective freedoms. But together, we will build an army where warriors fight not for themselves, or for their grasping leaders, but for each other. 
0
There will be no mercy for false gods. The Cabal Empire will rise from this challenge victorious. United. We will draw from our past to give strength to our future. 
0
As one Cabal. 
0
//END MESSAGE//
CHAPTER 4: SOLDIERS
II. The Cost of War
A spot of rust on the Shotgun. A hole in the ground—down to hard clay. A pool of rust on her mother's weather-beaten jacket. Hacked-apart roots grope toward her, peacefully sleeping. 
0
A gnarled hand on her shoulder. A gnawing pit in her stomach. Was it hunger or grief? Her father's cough, cough, cough in the background. 
0
An endless stream of broken vehicles. Rusted skeletons in their cockpits. They sing a low song through toothy grins. A nameless tune—the sound that follows flickering lights. Is one of them Lucia ? 
0
She holds his swinging hand as they trudge down the road. The rough callouses like spots of rust. The cough, cough, cough of the cart bouncing behind them. The hole in her shoes is growing. He drops her hand to cover his mouth. 
0
What color were her mother's eyes? She frets at her forgetfulness. The parade of skeletons stretches ahead. Behind, her father puts his hands on his knees. He struggles to breathe. Were they brown? 
0
Her father's hands on his shoulders, crossed over his chest. Who closed his eyes? Who dug the hole? 
0
A stray Shotgun shell in her pocket. She runs her thumbnail along the ridges. A totem against forgetfulness. 
0
Her hands ache with spots of rust as she pulls the cart, alone. 
0
Amanda Holliday wakes with a shuddering gasp. The Last City hums a nameless tune around her. The Traveler hangs above, as pale as death.
VI. Vertigo
Val Ma'rag  had been "stationed' in the place the Humans called a dead zone  for years now, though he had no commander, no handler . He held the territory on his own, defending it from the stinking, vermin Hive. They reminded him of the tiny red beetles that crawled around in the dust where he'd come up; the ones that swarmed war beast pens and crept into woven clothes. The best way to get rid of them, his mother taught him, was to hold a flame close to the seams of their shells. They snapped and popped in the heat.
0
He found the same to be true for the Hive. 
0
By now, he'd stopped expecting anyone to come for him. Their invasion had become a death sentence; one he had accepted by the nature of his position. He would die for the Legion, with or without the promise of reward. 
0
As Val Ma'rag listened to a transmission from the Empress Caiatl, he thought about how far he'd come since he was recruited. Since he was pulled out of the poorest rural district on his planet. With this new challenge—with the new empress sending her call out into the system—he could go a lot farther. 
0
///
0
Europa was cold. Basilius  was no stranger to cold—he'd been stationed on Mars before it disappeared, before his Valus  sent him and his reports off-planet on a recon mission. He didn't care for intel  or resource gathering, but a Valus is law. Or at least, he was. 
0
After a false start  on Nessus, they'd brought the cruiser to Europa. The icy moon was crawling with thieving Fallen, but there were secrets buried in the ice. Dainty Human technology. It didn't interest him, but the Psions loved to tinker, and they insisted there was something here worthwhile. 
0
Something that could catch the attention of an empress hoping to regain favor with her scattered people. Something that might win a soldier like him, with no valuable titles or reputation to his name, a new level of recognition. 
0
And the respect he deserved. 
0
///
0
As the voice of their so-called empress droned on from a beat-up radio, the soldiers ate. Commander Dravus picked at the bones of a roasted bird, gun laid across his lap. The little red-violet winged creatures on Nessus didn't have much meat on them, but they were challenging and satisfying to trap. 
0
What's she mean, 'ancient rites'? a young Legionary asked. 
0
The commander looked up. 
0
Old-timer traditions? she went on. 
0
Dravus snorted. "An honored tradition," he said. "Beloved by the Praetorate . Warriors take on challengers to prove their battle-worth." He eyed her. "Calves like you wouldn't remember that." 
0
Is it open to anyone? the Legionary asked. 
0
He laughed. 
0
Well, she growled. "Are you taking challengers?" She squared her weight. "You can start with me." 
0
Dravus looked the bold youngling up and down, calculating the effort. He had no great desire to impress the disgraced emperor's pampered daughter. The leader he knew and served was the dominus , dead or alive. But maybe there was money to be gained from this. He wouldn't turn his nose up at the prospect. 
0
He tossed the bird bones aside, lifted his gun, and fired a shot right into the Legionary's belly. She fell. 
0
I win, he said. 
0
///
0
They called her Ixel, the Far-Reaching because she'd risen far above her station in a fraction of her lifetime. 
0
They called her Ixel, the Far-Reaching because she pulled things from her mind that should be out of reach from memory. 
0
They called her Ixel, the Far-Reaching because she grasped for everything she could not have. 
0
It was all true. On the strange terrain of the Nessus centaur, Ixel had extracted herself from command. The Valus had been uncreative, small minded. He hadn't seen the value in the Vex technologies that might amplify Ixel's unique Psionic talents. So she killed him and poached the unit's best fighters. 
0
Hard to say if this competition was open to traitors of the empire. 
0
And yet somehow, this new empress, foolish though she was, might be inspired by bold action. 
0
Not to mention the things Ixel could pull from the prediction engines. Intelligence beyond the empress's imagining. 
0
They called her Ixel, the Far-Reaching because her ambition was limitless.
When Xivu Arath  came for Torobatl , Caiatl was unprepared. 
0
They all were. She'd watched her people, bred for battle and victory, fall to a force that dwarfed their armies. She'd watched her beloved city burn. 
0
Caiatl learned from every failure. From this one, she learned two things: First, that warriors were not game pieces, no matter how much her generals enjoyed bickering over war tables. And second, that a society of warriors could not hope to beat a god of war at her own game, and by her own rules. 
0
There were shades of victory. Escaping their homeworld with so many survivors was a victory. Regaining their army was a victory. Avoiding an all-out war with the Guardians would be another. 
0
Except the Guardians would not negotiate. 
0
She hadn't expected it. She'd thought that after Ghaul's attack, they would do anything to avoid another war. Catastrophe seemed to befall this system time and time again, if the Red Legion scribes  stranded here were to be believed. So why did the Guardians refuse a way out? 
0
She knew why, of course. It was why she'd waited so long before giving the evacuation order in Torobatl. Why she'd been mesmerized by the towering form of Xivu Arath crushing thousands of years of civilization beneath her chitin boots. 
0
Denial. Pride. 
0
But Caiatl had grown since then. She'd counted her losses. Calculated constantly. Always working the numbers, never losing sight of who they represented. 
0
The Guardians would have to grow as well, if they wished to survive. For there were gods walking through this world, and the battle against them would not be won through denial and pride. 
0
They would have to cut a new path.
III. Amanda Dreams
VII. The Imperial Throne
"I never could understand you Psions." Lord Saladin gazed broadly over the precipice of the wall at the rocky wilderness below. Nearby, Osiris watched the Psion prisoner, restrained by a set of centuries-old iron shackles. 
0
Saladin continued, "You were conquered by the Cabal. And in the face of a superior military force, you did what you had to do to survive. There's no shame in that." 
0
The Psion flared their moist facial flaps and fixed their lone eye on the Iron Lord . Saladin wondered whether they were glaring in defiance, or struggling to breathe without their helmet. He marveled at their repulsiveness. 
0
But even after Calus fled, and Ghaul was defeated, you still grovel before tyrants like Caiatl. If you rose up, you could taste true independence instead of the patronizing scraps that she offers . Saladin shook his head in contempt. "Your power is wasted by cowardice." 
0
In the silence that followed, the Iron Lord noticed a curious change in the surrounding atmosphere. The air filled with a sharp frequency—not a sound, but a high-intensity vibration that seemed to emanate from inside his own head, like a blossoming migraine . 
0
Osiris chuckled. "Our friend disagrees." 
0
Saladin snarled and grabbed the Psion by their shackled wrists. He dragged his prisoner to the edge of the wall and held them over the precipice. He was amazed at how light they were without armor, like a scrawny little bird. 
0
Osiris sniffed in distaste and looked back toward the Last City. He doubted Saladin's ham-fisted  style of interrogation would work, but the Psion had resisted his own subtler approach. 
0
Where did they get the Light-dampening tech ? How did they modify the prediction engines ? Saladin snapped. The Iron Lord held firm as the Psion struggled weakly in his grip. "Where are they? Where's the rest of the cell ?" 
0
The Psion's lone eye  fluttered wildly, and Saladin felt a sudden rush of vertigo, as if he was the one with the hundred-meter drop beneath him. The Titan steeled  himself. 
0
We will find them eventually. You can't control that. The only thing you can control now is your own survival. Tell us where they are. 
0
The Psion began to tremble, like an animal shivering in the cold. But they said nothing. Instead, they assaulted the Iron Lord with another wave of vertigo. 
0
The wall felt as if it were flexing and tilting beneath the Titan. He growled through clenched teeth. "Last chance: where are they?" 
0
Suddenly, Osiris was at Saladin's side. The vertigo broke. "Lord Saladin," he urged. "This is a waste of time. You of all people should recognize unrelenting stubbornness when you see it." 
0
You're right. Saladin regarded the Psion with quiet admiration. "If the roles were reversed, I'd rather die than betray my loyalty." 
0
The Iron Lord gave the Psion a nod of respect, and then effortlessly hefted them over the edge. 
0
In the split second before gravity took hold, Lord Saladin met the Psion's gaze. He suddenly saw himself reflected in the creature's Y-shaped pupil: a ferocious ogre in metal armor, filled with violence. A dull primate, infused with godlike power. A fragile mind cursed with immortality. 
0
Saladin felt the creature's terror. But he also felt the expanse of the Psion's ancestors yawn forth  beneath him. He felt their hands reach up to embrace him in a comforting void. He heard the ringing chorus of their timeless harmony call to him. A kaleidoscopic  array of emotion surged through his heart, such that he'd never known as a Human. 
0
For that fleeting moment, he was at peace. 
. 
. 
. 
Then the Psion was gone, and Saladin was alone with Osiris once more.
"Since we're undercover, you know what I need? A disguise shell . Something… mysterious." Glint hovered eagerly over Crow's shoulder, his shell flaps tilted encouragingly. "We should go see Tess ." 
0
First of all, Crow muttered, "we're not undercover. This mission is reconnaissance, not infiltration." 
0
Of course, Glint chirped, "but—"
0
Second of all, Crow continued, "I'm the one who needs a disguise, not you. Nobody knows who you are." 
0
That's not true, Glint protested. "I've been around for hundreds of years! I've met everybody." 
0
As 'Pork Bun'  or whatever it was, Crow gently teased. "Nobody in the Tower knows you have a new Guardian." 
0
Glint whirred in a low tone, which Crow had learned to interpret as grumbling. 
0
The Awoken Lightbearer ignored his Ghost's petulance and checked the position of the sun. He moved a few feet further into shadow before refocusing his attention on Commander Zavala. The last thing Crow wanted was for the Titan to spot the binoculars' reflection. 
0
It had been like this for the past week. During the days, Crow would cover Zavala from afar with his Sniper Rifle, vigilant for any unusual transmat signatures  or the faint shimmer of cloaking tech . At night, when visibility was restricted, the pair would creep into the Tower and act as the commander's invisible bodyguards. 
0
Crow burrowed further into his new Hunter cloak. It really was a beautiful garment, he thought. He admired the fine fabric, chosen by Glint and gifted to him by Osiris. Recalling their generosity made him feel suddenly guilty about his stinginess. 
0
Crow sighed. "Fine. After this mission, once we know Zavala is safe, we can get you a disguise." 
0
Glint scooted in front of Crow's face, his mechanical iris  suddenly magnified through the binoculars. "Can we really?" 
0
I suppose, Crow murmured as he tilted his head to see past the bobbing Ghost. "But not because you need it." 
0
Because we're friends, Glint stated matter-of-factly. 
0
Sure. Rare  friends. Maybe even cheap, legendary  friends. Crow smiled at his Ghost. "But not exotic  friends. You'll have to find a new Guardian for that." 
0
You're the best, Glint hummed encouragingly. "No matter what Lord Saladin says." 
0
Crow snorted at the mention of the Iron Lord. "We're all on the same side. Sooner or later, Saladin will realize it, and start treating me like a real Guardian." 
0
Don't worry, Glint chirped, "with the legendary Pork Bun by your side, how could he refuse?"
V. The Restless Dead
Tales regarding Caiatl's invasion of the Sol system.
Ikora approached Zavala at his post in the Courtyard. He was looking out at the City the same way he always did, even before he was commander: with a blend of fierce determination, love, and dread. A combination Ikora knew very well herself. 
0
She stood next to him, resting her hands on the railing, looking up at the Traveler and the stars. 
0
They say that before the Collapse, cities were so bright that they outshined the stars, she said quietly. 
0
It was no surprise to her when he said nothing. Living for hundreds of years didn't endow you with deep understanding of another person, it turned out. Close and steady partnership did. She knew him by now. He held his fears close to his chest, protecting the people he cared about. But with time, with patience, he would let her see. Sometimes. So she waited. 
0
I keep seeing his face, Zavala murmured after a long silence. 
0
Ikora looked at him, her expression falling. When she spoke, her voice was soft with grief. "Cayde?" 
0
No, Zavala said. He gripped the railing with both hands, a gesture of frustration and self-doubt. "Uldren Sov." 
0
Ikora straightened, surprised. That sharp feeling of being caught off guard , of realizing you'd missed something, froze her for a moment. 
0
What do you mean? she asked cautiously. 
0
In the Tower, Zavala said. "In crowds…" He hesitated. "I saw him… in the gardens. He called out to me. To warn me about the assassin." 
0
Silence again. 
0
Zavala exhaled slowly. "Do you ever listen to the old Golden Age stories Eva tells during the festival? About apparitions of the dead?" 
0
'Ghosts,' Ikora said quickly. "That's what they called them. But those are fairytales." Who needed ghost stories when the dead could already get up and walk? 
0
She watched Zavala sidelong . Waiting for him to say it. Waiting for him to ask. 
0
I don't know why my mind goes to folk stories. I suppose because the alternative is…
0
Too hard, Ikora interrupted softly. "Too hard to imagine." 
0
Zavala closed his eyes and nodded. 
0
Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Eventually, Zavala broke the silence. "But if he were back, we would know," he said. 
0
Ikora stared straight ahead. She felt him watching her, checking her. He was so tired. So, so tired. 
0
He would trust whatever she said. 
0
She reached to put a hand on his shoulder and said, gently, as her gut twisted with guilt, "We would know." 
0
Zavala placed his hand over hers. 
0
They stood together, looking out at the Last Safe City of Earth, with a profound distance between them that Ikora had never felt before. 
0
0
I. The Hopeful Legion
Caiatl sat on a high-backed throne embellished with ornate carvings and rare metals. It had been salvaged by dutiful courtiers in the last hours of her homeworld . The empress thought it looked preposterous on the bridge of her warship. 
0
She would have jettisoned the gaudy antique out an airlock if not for Taurun. Her prudent counselor advised that the throne not only conferred authority, but was also now a relic of an endangered species. Any memento of their culture, no matter how trivial, was invaluable. 
0
Having lost the Red Legion, their dominus , and their homeworld, Caiatl's people needed tradition to galvanize them. They needed the touchstones  of their past to carry them into the terrifying future. They needed to feel like they were still Cabal. 
0
Caiatl considered the throne in context of the decision before her. The leader of the Vanguard had offered to settle their dispute with a Rite of Proving . It would preempt an exhausting war of attrition with a single, decisive engagement. An exceedingly clever tactic she had not considered. 
0
The Rite of Proving was once a simple trial-by-combat, used to settle disputes between neighbors. However, like the throne, it had been embellished beyond utility. By the end of Calus's  reign, the Rite had been corrupted to allowed advocates, bureaucrats, and politicians to sway its outcome. 
0
Despite Caiatl's contempt for the bygone relics of the failed Cabal Empire, Taurun had prevailed upon the empress to honor them. Not for her own sake, the counselor reasoned, but for the sake of the survivors. 
0
Taurun. I've made my decision. We'll put forth Ignovun  as our champion… inside the Halphas Electus . We'll see how much Light the smallmen  have left once they fight their way inside. 
0
Yes, My Empress. Though the wily counselor's face remained implacable, she continued. "It's my duty to mention that this decision will not be universally welcomed." 
0
I would have thought you in favor of honoring tradition. Caiatl flicked her tusk-ring  in annoyance. "It's a decision the majority will embrace." 
0
This is true, My Empress. Taurun paused, choosing her next words carefully. "However, some commanders, like Ixel, the Far-Reaching , believe that victory is close at hand. Leaving the outcome to a Rite of Proving will endanger their glory." 
0
Caiatl snorted derisively. "They would sacrifice us all for a moment of vanity. You know as well as I that we can ill-afford this campaign. We must regroup for an even stronger foe." 
0
Taurun hazarded  the slightest of raised eyebrows. "With respect, it seems as though you value conclusion over victory." 
0
Caiatl raised her tusks and lowered her brow. Taurun took a nervous step backward. 
0
There's something more important than victory at stake here. The empress ran her hands over the ridiculous throne. "We will honor tradition. We will accept the Rite of Proving. And we will win or lose it as Cabal."
IV. Guardian Angels
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF CALUS THE CACOETHES…
0
A crowd has gathered to stand with me, their emperor, soon to be so much more. Amsot spread word of my arrival, and they clamored to be first in my presence in the viewing chamber. I spot the Guardian and his little Light as well—an extra morsel of bait. The Ghost watches while the Guardian resigns to the rear. Pity.
0
All come to view the zenith of my labors. I am omnipresent. Every angle that can be seen is seen by statues at every corner. My plated carriage monitors the Crown for aberrations. It is adorned with gold from the Castellum for my viewing. I paid many lives to pry it free from Hive clutches, but it bent most agreeably… its ability to bridge minds… and bring them to submit. I see my tributes, Scorn gibbering nonsense in unison, lashed and plugged to the Crown—a thorn made tool in my brilliance. My daring Councilors anchor their psyches and prepare to begin the communion. Greatness is before us.
0
These watchers: I shall thrill them.
0
I clap four monumental pairs of hands. "Let it… begin."
0
I turn all my gaze to the chamber's expansive viewing window as shutters unveil the grave of Mars. Tendrilic bands of phasing Darkness spiral from the anomaly's core, enrapturing all of me… beckoning into the depth of its core with whispers like hooks through nervous flesh. I gape into the stimulating writhe. "Yes…"
0
My Councilors place their hands on the Crown and focus cognition through it. They pry open the Scorn's collective synaptic pathways and sew them into the fabric of the anomaly's memetic sphere. The Glykon strains against the pull.
0
Velocity surges forward to the anomaly; the surrounding reality tears away. We hold, suspended before the writhe. It fills all sight; Nothing just beyond the bend. Time ceases, and the cosmos arcs to accommodate my will. Now.
0
Delight in me. I emulated all of me in your image; stretched my mind to live through so many… I reaped the pleasures and experiences of every vessel. But despite my sundry perspectives, I still only see through my own eyes—and I want more. I peer into the Dark nothing. "You are… oblivion. Not a destruction, but a melding of all that has come to pass. I wish to become as you are. To gorge on existence. To collect your promise to elevate me." My laughter is wild. All of my forms transfix on the swirling anomaly. "LOOK UPON ME!"
0
The cosmos bends and snaps as I stand, returned to my feeble reality. Ignored again. The Scorn shriek nonsense in unison. It drowns out of the whispers. It is all any of me can hear.
0
I reach out, as you showed me when last we met. I split open each Scorn mind from my carriage, searching for you. Nothing. Every time. So I tear open their bodies. Fitfully pulling limb from socket, mind from skull, scouring them for your presence. I search until the shrieking can only be heard from distant pens.
0
I meet the eyes of each crew member who would not look away. In them, I see it. You. Peering back from behind the tension: An Observer.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Dug out a spot under the refuse pit. It's still running, so be quick.
0
0
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
Weeks bleed away.
0
Where is your Ghost? Bahto grunts as he throws a crushed Scorn into a tangle of festering dark tendrils. These fungal growths had grown across the Glykon during the timeless expanse since their plunge, and only continued to spread.
0
I don't know, I sputter as I pull a ragged blade from my gut. "Off fraternizing somewhere."
0
I'm here. What do you need? Gilly says, appearing.
0
Fewer holes, I groan.
0
Bahto looks to the three Scorn that had ambushed us, now returned to the grave. "The rest will feel their deaths. How much farther?"
0
Assuming the ship hasn't shifted again, not far once this one gets up. Gilly gestures to me. "Is Qinziq certain severing the crown will send us back?"
0
It'll work. We better not have dug up this command key for nothing, I reply, holding up a Imperial security key.
0
You said it was to stop the Scorn! Bahto roars.
0
Stopping them doesn't matter if we don't get out.
0
I pledged my life to Calus, and you want me to forsake him! He towers over me.
0
I know a thing or two about abandonment. He used you to get what he wanted, just like he used me. He's gone, Bahto, and we're close to follow. Where does that leave your bloodline?
0
I stand as a wave wracks the Glykon. It isn't something you see, more like a lightbulb bursting. A long blink before the pins and shivers wash over. Numb. I can hear it moving through the ship like cold metal tension.
0
The three Scorn snap and contort in grotesque reanimation.
0
You're welcome to stay, skull-cracker.
0
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
0
We make it to the ship's bridge, howls tracking us down every hall. I seal the door with the command key and meet Qinziq beneath the command console at the entrance to the viewing chamber. She stands, encircled by 15 loyalist soldiers.
0
This is everyone? I ask.
0
Qinziq nods. I insert the command key into the viewing chamber door. After a moment, pistons disengage, and the door opens. Qinziq focuses for a moment. "Empty…" her voice rings from her.
0
We enter the viewing chamber. The soldiers take up positions around the room. Bahto strides past the Darkness-infested crown and drops to his knees at the open viewing window.
0
He stares into the endless. "How do we choose who deserves our loyalty?"
0
I walk to his side. "Everyone's got their own way. No one's right. You don't owe anyone anything, Bahto."
0
Qinziq signals that she is ready. As I approach the crown, I watch her eye trace the scorched handprints of each Councilor that last communed here.
0
Shrieks echo down the steps leading to the bridge. Metallic scraping heralds the flame.
0
I will do this so that others may live, Qinziq's voice flows. "I did not intend suffering but should have expected Calus's deceit. Ambition to steal away his secrets damned us all."
0
Get us out and we're square.
0
She plants her next words into my mind: 'I will, because you do not belong here.' She places her palms on the crown.
0
Velocity surges backward into infinity, tearing away the surrounding reality. We stand in nothing, 17 defenders back to back around Qinziq and the crown. The shrieks grow louder, and through the whines of bending steel, the trembling flesh of Scorn pour into the nothing with us.
0
Slug Rifles unleash a salvo in all directions from behind a handful of Phalanx shields, tearing line after line of Scorn down with explosive force. Incendiors step forward to cremate the remains between volleys. I add my gun to line, dropping Raiders before they can align shots on our ring and slinging Voidwall grenades to stem the flood. Qinziq screams, straining to sever the link as the Glykon thrashes against Dark waves. Black fire scalds her hands as Nothing twists around us. We fight until the floor is lined with dead Scorn and empty magazines.
0
The shrieking recedes. Scraping metal echoes through the viewing chambers as a wave of Darkness tremors through the Glykon. Every unburnt Scorn seizes and begins to reconstitute. Soldiers panic and fire into heaps of writhing bodies, hoping to stop the process.
0
In the chaos, lightning rips through the air, cutting through three Legionaries and rupturing an Incendior tank. The blast kills seven; the circle tightens. We return fire in the direction of the lightning and are met with two fetid Abominations. They burst into the chamber and rear back with crackling fists. I charge one, slipping into the Void to draw blades from it its sheath. Bahto snatches a Phalanx shield resting at his feet and challenges the other. Its bolts break on the shield. Our remaining guns harry them with slug-fire until we close the gap. I cut through hands and head, then pivot to see Bahto driving his shield into the other's face.
0
Qinziq cries out. I spin on my heel to see her engulfed in black flame and the cosmos racing around us. She spreads her pain to us to hold on a few moments longer, to no avail.
0
I look back to Bahto. Deeper past him, in the nothing, to the hulking silhouette dragging a flaming censer and I know: this is where we die.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Cut out a hideaway under the knife. Stowed some lab tech nearby.
0
0
ENTRY 4 - Well of Absence
ENTRY 5 - Feast Your Eyes
ENTRY 11 - Sullen
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
Restless sleep plagued by the nightmare.
0
I am in the streets when the sirens start.
0
I lay watching the Traveler for a long time. Disbelief. The gap in thought of a semiautomatic mind.
0
Red Legion sweeps. I see their harrowing fusillades tear annihilation through the Tower.
0
Everyone is standing but me.
0
Debris falling. I am separated. I reach for Gilgamesh and he is gone.
0
The cage chokes our Light.
0
Fire chases me from street to street. No Light. No ammunition. The City is burning.
0
Faceless zephyrs screaming to me beneath a pitiless god. Red-plated death lines the walls, and
0
The City is burning.
0
I flee. I flee. I flee. I flee. I flee… my steps weighted down by guilt.
0
The City is burning and you did nothing.
0
.
0
.
0
.
0
Gil's broken star finds my shame.
0
There is only us, forging survival.
0
Together we crawl to exile.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Nightmare's back. Took months, but it always comes back—in force this time. Every night since we took on our cargo, they've been howling. I swear they're three decks down, but you can still hear 'em. Gil's been wandering the ship more.
0
Time to start making go bags. Think I'll carve out a spot near the hangar… opposite side from Qinziq's lab. Place is swarming now.
0
0
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
A royal invitation got me as far as the inner reliquary. I enter the belly of the Leviathan, unattended. My eyes catch on the runs in Calus's crestfallen banners. His inner halls don't gleam—reminds me of stories from the Golden Age. Polish the veneer and present them on a platter, but when you peel back the layers it's just… old. Past, with prime far behind.
0
Ahead, a Legionary in loyalist gild nods to me and swings open a door. A manufactured version of Calus stands tall on the other side. Its likeness mirrors the Tribute Hall's automaton and many other statuesque bots I'd spoken to him through.
0
The statue of Calus whines to life. "You're early, but I suppose your tribe is always ahead of the pack, Hunter. Should I have this room moved, that you may stroll the Leviathan's halls that much longer and appreciate my hospitality?"
0
I'm not sure what he wants to hear. "She's an impressive beast. I've come to take the job." I turn it like an offer.
0
Uncomfortable silence.
0
Come and see me, Katabasis. I have a gift for you.
0
The statue points toward a domed chamber; its curled walls sport every kind of trophy. Bones on hooks. Taxidermy wrapped around terrified eyes and final moments.
0
A clutch of Councilors watches me as they take mechanical plates from three other identical statues of Calus surrounding them. They huddle about a towering cage of filigreed alloys and woven circuitry, fitting the plates to it with sacramental focus, until the cage becomes a tomb around a pearlescent seat supporting a lonesome figure within.
0
What an auspicious early arrival. Come. Witness my containment. Few have seen this, Calus wheezes from inside the cage, his voice like taut suffocation.
0
Calus's withering form swells and jostles. My thoughts stink of disgust, and he can smell it. "I am no more trapped here than you are by your Light. You assume this flesh satisfies me? How small. My automatons stand as monuments of my image; reflections of my breadth. They are, as I am: one collective self, as Nothing is.
0
I grit my teeth and look on, stepping sideways to see him from a different angle. His skin is mottled with sickly translucence that grips my stomach.
0
Your thoughts are as open as your fears, Katabasis. Come, come…  look upon me and let my Councilors assuage them.
0
Councilors lay more thick plates over Calus's living misery, brushing past me as they finish and exiting the room with my inhibitions. Mechanisms within the plates engage as plum light emits from the slits between them. Nacre runs smooth around the frame and into a throne-like cup of sullied nobility. Beneath the throne, hoses bubble viscous royal wine into the sealed frame. Calus looks through me, eyes like clumped chalk, as the last Councilor fastens a faceplate into position. Deep orbs illuminate in the faceplate, like wild eyes in the open pitch of night. We are alone.
0
What do you know of lies, Katabasis?
0
I pick between the words. "There're a lot different kinds."
0
And all of them are weakness.  Calus's voice spills from the containment vessel and floods the room. "Gods do not lie. Like me, they have neither the capacity nor the reason. True power cannot be threatened. It does not compel deception. And yet, I have been betrayed by one I thought to be the final divinity."
0
Sounds like you got swindled… ? I quickly blunt the question with respect: "…Emperor?"
0
When the Darkness found me adrift in the cosmos, rejected by a people I had made, I thought to have found a confidant. No—an idol. They promised to return to me, to uplift me—that we may dance together among the stars and drink of their dying ecstasy 'til the end, as one. But their chilling little fleet came and went. It was luscious, and so many tasted so much. Yet I am empty. Nothing. Trapped in this limbo of their lie.
0
And gods don't lie, I proffer.
0
Precisely. To be seen… Calus pauses to heap the drama, "…for what we really are, underneath the surface, is bliss." All four statues step forward to bear Calus's vessel. His voice resounds from all of them simultaneously. "Come. Cast a shadow in my halls and drink. Soon we will speak to the liar, and separate from it the truth."
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Smuggler's switches still working. Maintenance side-hatch. Had to kick in the vent.
0
0
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
Blood meets a slurry of oil and dark Ether draining into runoff vents in the cabin floor. I sit. A savage din echoes through the harvester craft. I can hear them in the war beast pens below deck. Gnashing teeth maddeningly chewing through restraints. The wet slaps of their bodies battering the walls.
0
Bahto boards the harvester under a hail of tiny stones. "The hold is secured, and casualties collected." He shuts the bay to the Reef-storm behind him.
0
How many? I ask, noticing the two of us are alone.
0
He mistakes concern for weakness. "We will be ready for tomorrow's harvest."
0
I shift the question. "How many more of these things does Qinziq want?"
0
Two days of harvest before leaving the Shore.
0
She tell you what for?
0
No more than you.
0
Following blind orders something that sits well with you?
0
Qinziq does not answer to you, Lightbearer.
0
So I've heard. More than once.
0
My father spoke like you. Questioned, Bahto grumbles, laying down his gear. "He abandoned Calus to join Ghaul's coup. Disgraced our bloodline. I threw off my father's shackles and pledged my life to the emperor. I was shown mercy. Soon I will reclaim the clout of my line and the right to sire. Loyalty is not blindness. Loyalty is rewarded."
0
Sounds like he turned away from a losing battle to one he thought he could win.
0
He left when hope seemed small, before he could see victory through. Bahto pauses, pensive. "Calus will expose the secrets of the Darkness and use them to reclaim Torobatl. It will be."
0
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
0
Qinziq blocks the entrance into her lab. It had been hastily transferred from Leviathan to Glykon after our procurement of the ship; all manner of vicious-looking machinery. She raises a finger to my face. Her language restructures in my mind. "You do not belong here."
0
I need to know exactly what you're using them for.
0
Why? They are animals. Our beasts of burden.
0
I ponder the ethics. They used to be something else, a deadened part buried and ignored… but…
0
Such concern for a Hunter.
0
She meant to pin me to Cayde. "Ain't any different from defiling a corpse. You people honor your dead, don't you?"
0
'I do not answer to you,' Qinziq seethes into my mind. She brushes me away and moves to shut the door.
0
Bahto does. His soldiers do. Do you want to politely ask the Scorn into confinement, or do you want to be straight with me?
0
She scowls at me. "Where is your Ghost?"
0
Hangar maintenance…
0
Come, Qinziq says, leading me inside the lab to a bundle of large vats adorned with all manner of pumps and wiring. "This…" she slides a viewing port open on the front-most vat.
0
Rabid Scorn eyes lock with mine through the view port. Dark fluid roils as the creature flails and fumes muted shrieks into the liquid.
0
Natural connection to Darkness made stronger. Their minds, linked like ours, but without Barons, there is nothing to fill them.
0
I watch it claw frantically against the vat wall until I hear the grating tone of bone-raw fingertips digging into the metal.
0
A touch more violent than I'd expect from a mindless thing, I say.
0
They subsist off the last thought imposed on them. Kill for Fikrul. For the lost prince. But… Qinziq presses her hand to the tank. She fixates her eye on the Scorn, and it mellows. Her words are strained. "…with effort, their psyche is a vessel. Through which many expressions can… commune." She releases the Scorn, exhausted, and it drowns again; eyes shrieking terror. "Too many for this one to inhabit."
0
How does that help us?
0
Calus will draw the Darkness into them, and we will squeeze from them all they know.
0
How? I insist.
0
When we arrive at the anomaly, you will see.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Fungus choked off the turbine maintenance deck. If you find a way in, throw the switch.
0
0
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF AN EMPTY VESSEL…
0
Dormant. Bound.
0
#WERT!
0
Threat.
0
Storm outside.
0
Rain soft thirst.
0
Flashes show shapes.
0
Shapes I know.
0
er]
0
Gentle whispers reach from me.
0
To all.
0
As Father, as Fikrul.
0
Barons. Kells.
0
Gone.
0
Another voice…
0
ent]
0
Pressing.
0
FearandConfusion.
0
No.
0
The mind beneath this one screams to the surface.
0
Nothing, Scorn, a Son… Fallen… Eliksni…King…
0
Akriis does not bow.
0
Arise, commands the voice buried in whispers.
0
Akriis does not bow, but Akriis is dead.
0
Peeled away.
0
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
0
The spine of the Glykon breaks, its vertebrae now interchanging.
0
Scorn howl to herald the crossing into Nothing.
0
Through the Locus, they hear the whispers and obey:
0
Meet Salvation.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: There's a scanner array off the hull near the hangar. I patched a line through to it to check Qinziq's feed. Needed somewhere to listen.
0
0
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
It didn't work. Truth be told, I have no way of knowing if Qinziq even finished what she was doing. Gilly said it took days to find a safe place to bring me back. The big one they all follow was hunting for him.
0
I make a task of committing the Cabal bodies to burial. The costs are heavy, and I don't get everyone.
0
We try to keep hidden, using the smuggler's hovels where I stashed go bags across the ship.
0
All it takes is one of them seeing you.
0
Been keeping track for what I think is a month… three months. The waves are random. When one hits, it rearranges pieces of the ship, and I have to find my way again.
0
Gilgamesh is becoming more distant. Talking less. He wanders off for days at a time. So far, he always comes back.
0
When I die, I dream of a City burning. Death dreams are a first. When I wake up, I don't know how long it's been. Gilly… won't say.
0
There have been a hundred lives between this and the last one I remember.
0
I live in a charnel house.
0
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
0
I'm alive. And old.
0
Get up. Gilly's voice is thin.
0
Why? There's nothing to do but starve.
0
Giving up again? You'd rather I just left you here?
0
I roll myself to face him. "I'm not giving up. Just… take my Light and hold it until… until there's a way out."
0
You know, I used to think we were the way out—us, together. But we're just stuck in another cycle.
0
There's nothing to eat, Gil. You don't feel that emptiness chewing at you. Promise you'll leave me be until we're out.
0
Gilgamesh looks at me for a long time without speaking. I close my eyes.
0
I promise.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Maze of vents. It's somewhere in there. That fungus crap keeps blocking my path.
0
0
ENTRY 8 - Acheron's Wall
A log written by the hand of a lost Guardian aboard the Glykon, mired in mold and Darkness.
ENTRY 12 - Debtor's Knife
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
Our disheveled Thresher rattles through lean Nessian atmosphere. Calus's words ring in my ears over the storm-rush of reentry: "The ship is yours to claim."
0
Most of the seats in the drop-hold are empty. A Psion officer named Qinziq sits across from me. Her eye hasn't left me since she boarded. To my right, a craggy Cabal Centurion, complete with demolition satchels and Projection Rifle, adjusts the connectors on his pressure suit. He'd been assigned to make sure none of the other Cabal try to kill me. Seems news of my command had rendered a number of the crew indignant.
0
I prod first: "I can't imagine hiding a ship from the Legion was easy on Nessus. To be honest, I'm surprised they haven't tried to storm the Leviathan."
0
They would die, grumbles the Centurion. "Bad strategy."
0
What does it matter? Calus saw fit to give you a ship, Katabasis. My Ghost, Gilgamesh, glares at me.
0
Qinziq sneers and leans forward. Her voice seethes from her helmet. "The Legion is stirred by Caiatl's rousing, Human…" I recognize the tinge of malice in her address. "…and the fall of Torobatl. She sends heralds of her fleet. Ships come and go without stories recorded. We pass unnoticed for some time."
0
The brute bows his head.
0
First I'm hearing of it. You're saying they won't notice this ship taking off? I ask.
0
For some time, Gilly quotes the Psion.
0
But normally they would… because it's a Legion ship, and you've set me up to commit thievery?
0
All Cabal ships belong to Calus, the Centurion growls. "And Qinziq does not answer to you."
0
Right. My shoulders slump forward, head resting in my hands, as the Thresher touches down. We disembark onto prickly milk-rich soil, turning away from the sun as the deep green sky slowly bleeds out. A congested Cabal shipyard glows in the distance against the crest of dark riding the horizon.
0
You are Katabasis. The Cabal is speaking to me. He gestures to himself. "Bahr'Toran."
0
You're my skull-cracker. I point to my Ghost. "Name's Gilgamesh, or Gilly."
0
Bahr'Toran considers for a moment and nods. "I do that. But you will need to know my name if we find battle."
0
I'm not looking to have a shootout with an entire base. I think the plan is more a quiet reappropriation of goods, Bahto.
0
I do not like that.
0
Gilly's didn't take at first, but time wears ya down.
0
Gilly nods to Bahto, who nods back with a grunt and begins walking. We follow him across the bluffs toward the yard, into flatland desolace and sunless gloom.
0
The shipyard is a massive pulverized flat of rough tarmac and shanty barracks surrounded by a barrier fence. It overflows with craft ranging across eras of the Cabal Empire. On the far end of the strip, Gilly spots Arc-lights shining. A figure draped in azure raiment stands above a throng of Cabal, drawing attention like thunder. Whatever he's saying, they believe it. Gilly catches a few words. It's the same talk you hear anywhere else someone's been forgotten: blame, looking for a hole to fester in; wrestling at the edges with tepid hope; at risk of falling back down into the past.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Maintenance hall off the cargo bay door. Cozy spot floor-side.
0
0
ENTRY 6 - Excess of Avarice
ENTRY 7 -  Ire
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
Smaller ships flock like parasites around a centerpiece flagship. Qinziq points to it, a Cabal carrier-class warship. "Glykon Volatus." She touches her finger to the yard's perimeter barrier and says, "Over," as if directing an animal. Qinziq flattens her palm against the ground and displaces the radiolarian saturation with a bubble of Void energy. It bursts and launches her and Bahto over the barrier. I follow on steps of Light, my Tex Mechanica rifle dangling from a loose strap.
0
Bahto settles last on uneasy jet bursts. Qinziq steps in front of him and calibrates a device on his chest plate before Bahto turns to face me. "One of your transmat," he grumbles. "I will stop their signal receiver, so our ship is hidden until we remove its locational anchor."
0
We separate into the silent yard, to our tasks. Qinziq and I weave through a field of parked interceptors as Bahto does his best to stay inconspicuous on his way to a gargantuan signal dish at the adjacent edge of the yard.
0
The daunting bow of the Glykon Volatus looms, obstructing the sky like a bloodied wave rearing up to consume us. I duck behind the frontal landing gear while Qinziq opens a service chute to the command deck.
0
I peek through the open hatch. Down the hall, a lone Psion runs diagnostics on the bridge. I carefully crawl inside and slip the long rifle from my back.
0
Shoot it.
0
Guns are loud, Gil. He wasn't totally off-kilter. One thought from that Psions could alert the whole yard.
0
'Ignorance.' The word ripples through my brain in Qinziq's seething voice. 'She will not.'
0
I didn't invite you in here, I thought.
0
The ripple spreads: 'Yours is a mind unfocused and taxed. Chaos where reason should lie.'
0
We need this ship, Gilly whispers. He swings into my peripheral view. "If you don't do something, that Psion is going to have every Cabal in the sector on us!"
0
Qinziq surfaces from the hatch and kneels beside us. "This is Yirix, Ghost. She will not reveal us."
0
She's Red Legion. Calus would see her executed.
0
Psions fly many colors, but within the Cabal, we exist in congress, moving toward our own future. She will recognize my contribution, as I hers, Qinziq says, stepping forward.
0
Gilly watches Qinziq approach the other Psion. "If this sours, don't give it the chance."
0
His words cinch around my lungs. Short breaths of wary anticipation escape. I sight my long gun and wait.
0
Yirix stiffens as she becomes aware of Qinziq. She turns. They bow their heads together. The two empathize and come to one understanding in silence.
0
Whatever ambitions they have go further than this ship, this moment, this Cabal. I hadn't thought that way since I last wore the veneer of a Guardian. Sold a dream of an immortal City shielded by Light, as if it could go on forever. Forever is just a hope folks don't live long enough to see crumble.
0
Yirix looks to Gilly and me, to my rifle, unthreatened. I feel her request for temperance and a tranquil reassurance of their cause. For a moment, I feel young. I stand.
0
We warm the launch engines as Yirix slips away to join the throng and let us be.
0
Bahto materializes onto the bridge out of transmat and out of breath. He manages a few prideful words, "Charges set. We will not be tracked."
0
The Glykon breaks atmosphere as a colossal explosion rocks the shipyard and shutters through our hull. Flames spit across the distant yard below, spreading into a bonfire of heirlooms. Bahto called it "the spark that burns the past to fuel the future."
0
Better than the other way around.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Door's on the fritz. Been that way since we dove. Staying away from this one.
0
0
ENTRY 2 - Lust and Reappropriation Pt. I
ENTRY 1 - Charon's Silhouette
Captain's Log
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
0
Six hard weeks in the Reef. Scorn, Hive, and horrors enough. I still prefer the open Shore to the Glykon, but it's earning its keep. We crossed the belt and anchored our gravity off Phobos: an old Cabal base still holding an operational tether. I volunteered to clear the base of Taken. Get out a bit. Didn't even get a fireteam together before we realized the damn things were docile.
0
Against the anomaly, our little serpent ship was a worm, a speck, like a distant star you squish between your fingers. The bottomless pit where Mars used to be fills every starboard porthole. Crew stand in the viewing chamber for hours. Some get dragged out. The immensity of it, a planet-wide fathom of hissing dark… boundless, and us: planted on the edge of reason… It defies you.
0
Calus docked with us yesterday, his Scribe not but two steps behind him. Perused the stock. Picked out the first one for what they're calling communion.
0
They brought something on board. Scorn haven't shut up since. Qinziq is getting it ready in the viewing chamber.
0
Gilly's eyeing it too; looking through portholes. I hear him at night, whispering:
0
It's the same… all the way through. You were right, Katabasis: it's all just a cage, a prison, but so much bigger than we thought. 
0
What are we doing here?
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: You can rest midway above the turbine grinder. The noise covers your moments.
0
0
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF GILGAMESH…
0
I linger on the corpse of my once-Guardian. I've hidden his shame for so long. I believed it was my obligation, to be the warmth when his fire died… but now, I see that obligation was a leash to keep me tied to life. It is a cold, coiled, choking reality, and I will hang gasping from it no more.
0
See the truth, the whispers had offered. I saw it in every moment suffered aboard this vessel. A microcosm of violence extrapolated to the world beyond, with only one escape. Soon Katabasis would know it too.
0
Scorn onlookers surround us.
0
I raise Katabasis.
0
Gilly… Katabasis kneels before me, his rifle beside him. "What is this?"
0
A way out. I won't carry you anymore.
0
You're… abandoning me? Katabasis looks to the Scorn, his rifle, his Ghost—no. No longer. Not his, not the Traveler's, not anyone's.
0
I sacrificed everything to keep you moving forward. Guided you to every power you needed to survive. I share the truth he wants to forget. "And for what? It never ends anything. There's always more."
0
The Scorn encroach across disjointed walkways. Katabasis sinks. "You said you wouldn't…"
0
You, the Traveler. You've kept me trapped in this death knell. Now it's time to set us free.
0
What does that mean? His words like stone weights.
0
Sever our Light, or they'll rip you apart for a thousand lives. I gesture to the Scorn.
0
You wouldn't.
0
Your deaths are heavy, Katabasis, but I'll bring you back as many times as it takes for you to learn. He does not understand. "You think I don't feel pain? You think I don't suffer while you're hiding in your limbo?"
0
Katabasis lurches forward. "I did everything YOU asked me to."
0
YOU LEFT! I shout. "You left me here. You left me in the City. Made me turn away from the Traveler. We're like the Scorn in those tanks, drowning in panic… confusion… forever. You did that."
0
The City was burning, and I wanted to live. Everything was… so we could live.
0
He still didn't see it. This place is no different than Sol. A barrel of blood. There's no reason to go back. "Now the Light is burning."
0
We can survive this. Katabasis holds out his palm for me. "Please?"
0
I don't want survival, Katabasis. I drift away from him. "I want salvation."
0
…It got to you, Katabasis sobs weakly, his epiphany complete.
0
You can end this, for both of us. It's your turn to sacrifice, I offer.
0
Everything you say is a lie! Katabasis grasps for his rifle.
0
Lever-to-action.
0
Shot to nothingness.
0
Ghost to dead memory.
0
0
FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: Water under the bridge, flooded with bodies waiting to stand again in the next wave. Be careful.
0
0
ENTRY 3 - Lust and Reappropriation Pt. II
This page is blighted with mold and the imprint of a memory…
0
The words seep experience into your open mind…
0
THROUGH THE EYES OF KATABASIS…
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Calus's tomb-carriage overlooks the viewing chamber once again. All his forms stand around a garish mass of metal and apprehension: the crown, as he called it. Fewer crew members attend this communion after so many failed attempts. Gilly and I stand above a host of chattering carcasses. Plugs can cables run from them into the flesh of an Ether-logged Scorn beneath an ugly crown. The gold from the Castellum is flush with tarnish, stemming from some kind of lichen that had burrowed its way into the precious metal adornments since the last communion attempt.
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I thought gold doesn't stain, I say to Gilly. "It's an expression of purity."
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Like the Light?
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Mm, I grunt. Gilly fixates on the crown, on the viewing window and the depth beyond.
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Bahto takes the spot next to me and leans against the railing. "Are all Guardians ruled by uncertainty?"
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Councilors approach the crown.
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Bahto, in my experience, people who are too sure of themselves tend to die. The Councilors place their hands to the crown, and suddenly, I am greatly aware of this room's stillness. Our tilt.
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Bahto raises his voice over the intensifying chatter. "Your Ghost speaks to the Scorn, as much as they can."
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Curious, that's all. Looking for an angle, something we can use. Ain't that right, Gilly? I ask, trying to hide my suspicion.
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Gilgamesh says nothing, iris frozen ahead as the viewing curtain completes its retraction.
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Velocity surges forward to the anomaly, tearing away the surrounding reality. The sound of Calus's feverish multi-fold laughter drowns the hull's groans for mercy. It's different this time, not a passage. It's a wall. We crash hard—but not all at once. It's a steady tumbling impact. Always down. The cosmic bands bend around us and shutter as they're drawn into thin bright needles of diminishing relevance. Peripheral obliteration mainlined and burnt through. The space between each needle of light expands until. It. IS.
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The transition is like a reluctant membrane; a depth of souls frozen over and wailing. The ice grinds against itself at the ecliptic barrier between form and expression.
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We cross: sunless. Adrift on empty currents with no direction.
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Where's the emperor?
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FRENETIC SCRAWL INKED IN THE MARGIN READS: They keep an offshoot of the hangar locked. If no one's using it…
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ENTRY 10 - Blood in the Barrel
ENTRY 9 - Heretical Flesh
REWARDS
The Proving Grounds strike is this week's Nightfall.
MASTER PRESAGE
BATTLEGROUNDS
DEAD MAN'S TALE
NEW STRIKE
Represent humanity in a winner-takes-all challenge against the strongest warriors Caiatl can muster. Tear your way through the empress's mighty Land Tank and stand triumphant atop the Proving Grounds.
New Stasis Aspects and Fragments available.
Disrupt Rites of Proving across all four Battlegrounds locations in this playlist.
EXOTIC ORNAMENT
Darkness flares from the Glykon, shrouding its secrets.
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Master difficulty is available with new challenges and rewards. Visit Commander Zavala in the Tower to start this quest.
A Guardian distress beacon cuts through the system; locate the source of the signal and investigate the disturbance.
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Requires Season Pass.
Visit the Eververse store to unearth your Burial Wrap Ornament, available for the Dead Man's Tale Exotic Scout Rifle.
Earn the Season of the Chosen Seal and its corresponding Bungie Rewards.
PROVING GROUNDS
STASIS SUBCLASS
PROVING GROUNDS
PRESAGE
NEW ASPECTS
MASTER EXOTIC QUEST
NIGHTFALL
BUNGIE REWARDS
EXOTIC QUEST
SEASON OF THE CHOSEN
Get Seasonal Gilded Triumphs to earn a gilded title and show off your mastery of Destiny!
Gilded Titles
You have unlocked the Gilded Title feature! Press  to open your character screen and view your Triumphs.
Gilded Titles
Gilded Titles
Gilding a Seal upgrades your title for the rest of the Season and adds to your Gild count for this title.
The Flawless, Conqueror, Gambit, and Crucible Seals can now be gilded each Season.
For any of these Seals that you have completed, there are now Seasonal Gilded Triumphs to earn.
Gilded Titles
Gilded Titles
Gilded Titles
You have forced the Wrathborn to retreat, leaving the High Celebrant vulnerable to a final attack. Speak with Spider to learn where the creature has been hiding.
With a little help from Crow, you have slain the High Celebrant. Take proof of your heroism to Spider and choose a reward from his vast storehouse.
The power to coax the High Celebrant from its hiding place is at your fingertips. Upgrade the Lure one final time.
Legacy: Ascendant Hunter
It is time to put an end to Xivu Arath's High Celebrant. Work with Crow to draw the creature out of its Dreaming City lair, then finish it off for the last time.
Together with Crow, you've determined that the paracausal remains of Hawkmoon could accept—and be restored by—the same power that a Guardian wields.
Incredible paracausal forces have coalesced at the reservoir in the EDZ, once more taking the shape of feathers forged from the Light. Search the reservoir and prevent Savathûn from finding them.
Inside the Hallowed Grove, you found a long-lost fragment of the Traveler and the battered, broken remains of the gun Hawkmoon. It's time to reunite with Crow and discuss what you discovered.
After showing Crow the power-charged Hawkmoon, he was reminded of another vision detailing events not yet come to pass. He has directed you to go with him to the EDZ to investigate.
After having battled Savathûn's forces, charged Hawkmoon with paracausal energy, and followed the Traveler's visions, it is time to journey back to the Hallowed Grove in the EDZ and reforge Hawkmoon.
Crow believes that the Traveler is trying to send a message through the visions he is experiencing and is asking you to show him what it means to fight like a Guardian.
Having explored the reservoir in the EDZ and battled Savathûn's forces, it's time to rejoin with Crow and discuss what comes next.
Crow's dreams have led you to the EDZ. Enter the Hallowed Grove and find the truth behind his visions.
Hawkmoon has accepted the power you gathered and it surges with the Light. Crow will want to see this.
Savathûn has sent her Taken to stop you from reforging Hawkmoon and carrying out the Traveler's will. You must survive.
Search the system for the fourth paracausal feather.
Search the system for the third paracausal feather.
You have tracked down five paracausal manifestations across the system, each of which emanates with a fragment of Crow's voice. Ghost recommends you talk to Crow and find out what he knows.
Spider is concerned someone or something has infiltrated his lair. Search the area for signs of this mysterious intruder.
Search the system for the second paracausal feather.
Search the system for the final paracausal feather.
Guardian Games
Checking the modifiers and adjusting your play style or gear accordingly.
Teaching strategies that have worked for you.
Respecting everyone's time commitment to the Nightfall.
Respecting everyone's time commitment to the Nightfall.
Checking the modifiers and adjusting your play style or gear accordingly.
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
  : Break Free
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
I'm… not accustomed to being in the spotlight like this.
Agreed.
Bet the Cabal feel the same way 'bout themselves.
No. The Guardian did well, as always.
And they're searching high and low for whatever they can find. 
To the Cabal, Exos are just another enemy. Or worse, a resource to plunder. The Eliksni saw it the same way once. Some still do.
The Cabal incursion is isolated around a nearby Vex structure. They haven't yet had a chance to fabricate heavy fortifications.
A little. 
You hang around great people long enough, and they'll start rubbing off on you.
Friction is conflict; conflict breeds strength. They know this. Or they should.
Clever. Was your plan solely a proposition to placate Zavala's ego and buy time for a proper counter-offensive?
Those command carriers are likely to send reinforcements, but I'll try to draw their air support away.
Hmm. You know, sometimes I forget how pleasant it is. The quiet after battle…
My concern is not the Cabal finding the Darkness… but the Darkness finding the Cabal.
Is there something specific you're looking for, Commander?
Hm, I'd skip the "kindly" part. 
There is no glory in what the Cabal are seeking here, just desperation.
You heard the commander! Whatever you need to do to scare them off, do it!
I do not have time for your riddles.
Do the Vanguard not have a loosely held policy on offering quarter to fleeing enemies?
Then out with it.
Show them what real honor looks like.
The Vex are agitated. Expect their interference as well.
So they've got a head start. Go on and close that gap, Guardian.
Clear the field! We need time to bring the barrier down!
The Vanguard asked an Iron Lord to lead their forces. 
Look at this. Picking apart the Vex like carrion birds. It's pathetic.
Guardian! Cabal forces are entrenched! Prepare for heavy resistance!
What does Caiatl dread losing most? And how could we turn that fear against her?
That should be enough to scare them off. For a short time anyway.
Why are you like this? One minute you're mouthin' off and throwin' shade. 
Sounds like there's plenty else they could find around here. Keep pushing, Guardian. 
Says one hero to another.
Go, show them the power of humanity's champions.
Yes, well… research is far less appealing without an assistant to confer with.
To lose everything you are. What sort of person is willing to do that to themselves?
All the more reason to enjoy it while it lasts. 
My only hope is that they have not forgotten the Battle of Twilight Gap—and the lessons learned there.
If the Cabal keep returning to Europa at this rate, odds are they'll make contact with the Darkness sooner rather than later.
It is not fault. Time will be the arbiter of whether this holds, and I have no faith in that.
Look to the sky. Covering for search teams below. 
As highly as the Cabal value "honor," they don't seem to apply it very consistently. 
Pleasant, yes… and brief. Especially on a moon like Europa.
Clear the field. That should buy me enough time to take down the barrier that's blocking the way forward.
Great work down there, Guardian. Now come on back and warm up.
But when I think about honor, I think about it as something you do: honor your parents; honor your commitments.
It's different when you've walked among them. Shared a meal with them.
You're gonna need to hustle to close the gap. 
A whole enigma.
Is that the voice of Lord Saladin I hear? Admitting fault? Truly we are in dark times.
All depends on your definition, I guess. Seems the Cabal think of it more as… personal glory. Something you win in battle.
Fighting for the empress's favor? Honorable. Rebelling against the empress? Also honorable. 
Hm, nothing we can do but keep hammering away at 'em, I guess. They'll get sick of coming here soon enough. 
And you definitely did right by the people of the Last City today, Guardian. 
Understood?
The Cabal dissidents seem broken, easily crushed. I did not imagine this treaty would work, and yet, here we are.
If they did not wish me to fight like an Iron Lord, they should have asked someone else.
They seemed awfully determined. Any chance they'll go looking somewhere else?
Nothing out of the ordinary.
While I agree, I can't help but wonder if your disregard for their codes of conduct may cause friction.
The Vex are agitated! This will be a battle of two fronts!
Good work down there, Guardian. You make it look so easy.
You don't say?
You speak the truth, Warlock.
The hunt is over. Excellent work, Guardian.
The Cabal, searching for the secrets of the Deep Stone Crypt. I don't understand wanting to become a machine.
I get why this place was off-limits for so long. I'm not even on the ground and it's giving me the creeps.
An interesting observation. Were that true, would you have a contingency plan?
It's about trust and doing right by people. 
People can justify almost anything if it makes things simpler. 
The wolves are howling! Let the hunt begin!
From what I gather, folks becoming Exos weren't always willin'.
I'm very mysterious.
Well, there's not much else to do out in the Reef. Very boring.
Seriously, though. I can only take so much credit…
Ranting and raving about Vex algorithms and prediction encoding and other stuff no one understands but you.
I'll let Zavala know of your exemplary work here. The Cabal will be feeling this loss for a while.
Good job, Guardian! Scared 'em off again. 
There's not much to glean. It's all Vex blocks; the same as you'd find on Nessus.
I will. Soon. And when the time comes, I would go boldly if I knew I had you on my side.
Come to think, I don't see the Cabal on the ground either… Osiris?
In my experience, what the Vanguard should know and what they actually know are not always the same.
Perform the Rite of Proving, call him out, and show him the power of the Light!
Can't believe the Cabal would want to go lookin' for the birthplace of the Exo, just to treat it like a salvage yard!
It would be in the Cabal's best interest to maintain a ceasefire. It would be in our interest too.
Then go boldly, Lord Saladin. 
Possibilities I will share with you, Lord Saladin, and whoever else when the situation arises. Not before. 
I wouldn't exhale just yet, Commander. 
I am left to wonder… what new fear could we lever against the weight of the Cabal Empire?
Be careful; the Cabal got sloppy. Vex have moved in behind them. Watch your back, or you'll get caught in the cross fire.
There! The Cabal have not yet had a chance to fortify!
This legion's champion is near, Guardian.
No riddles.
Command carriers are preparing for aerial support! I'm moving to intercept!
This is the time, Guardian. Begin the Rite of Proving. 
Hey, do we have cocoa? Is that a thing we got? I'll put on some water.
Doubtful. If anything, sending the Guardian in has convinced them to return.
Give 'em what-for. Kindly remind 'em they don't belong on Europa.
The way you talk about the Cabal… others talk the same way about the Eliksni. Especially in the Tower. 
You are to the folks that matter. You and the Guardian, like peas in a pod.
The Cabal understand the fear of mortality. It is all they have ever known. 
All right, Guardian. The Cabal are determined to dig up something bad, and they've got the head start. 
Well, I ain't gonna be sharin' a meal with no Cabal anytime soon.
The imperial commander should be up ahead. 
Cabal forces are entrenched out here. You're in for a hell of a firefight before we can breach their defenses.
When you see them here, pawing at the scraps of the Golden Age in search of eternity, that fear is crystalized. 
Can you see it as clearly as I can, Lord Saladin?
Well, when they do, we'll be here to stop 'em again. 
And here I thought the people of the Golden Age were supposed to be enlightened.
All right, now I know you're screwin' with me.
I'm no hero.
Barrier's down; get a move on.
Oh… Yeah, that makes sense. 
We should send in another team to do a second sweep. Today's survivor is tomorrow's enemy.
All the more reason to enjoy it while it lasts. 
The next you're talkin' like you've been sittin' in a cave, readin' philosophy all your life.
If they're looking for the Deep Stone Crypt here, then they're groping around in the dark, so to speak.
Last time we were here, you didn't think the Cabal would find anything. What gives?
Shaxx openly jokes about killing them. Some Guardians wear their bones on their armor like they're animals.
Y'know, I'm surprised, Osiris. Once upon a time, a place like this would've set you off.
We need to consider what changes if Caiatl follows in Eramis's footsteps…
My champion awaits in the locus of honor! Why do you skulk through the maintenance areas?
You all but demanded this conflict. We will see it through to the end.
Your Guardians scurry through my tank like vermin. Is this how the Vanguard fights its wars?
To stop another despot before they pass beyond the reach of reason.
You crawl through an imperial tank, fighting against an army… for what?
Let the Rite of Proving commence!
More Cabal stand between our champions' ritual combat?
I hope they are prepared to die in them.
You willingly enter my imperial Land Tank, the Halphas Electus. You honor me. May you meet a glorious death.
The challenge is met. Our blood flows together. May it lead to unity.
Now, the final trial! Battle against the champion of the Cabal!
My war machine purrs. She hungers for battle. Have you the same appetite?
My tank is restless. Do what you came for—fight well or die quickly.
All warriors rally in defense of the chosen.
You have honored our traditions… and I must honor yours. I will see you soon… to "bargain."
I treat my honorguard with the respect they deserve. 
We could work together, Caiatl. But as equals, not your vassals. 
Keep working your way beneath the outer plates. According to Amanda, you'll emerge near the power relays. 
The Rite of Proving is over. By the victor's rule, the Halphas Electus, and the souls aboard it, are yours to destroy.
Send down your champion, Caiatl. Bring this fighting to an end.
All swore their lives to their empress. They can use them as they wish.
Ha, we are Cabal! We eat the mountains; we drink the seas!
Guardians? I have prepared further challenges for you. A banquet of combat to test your resolve.
Our fight is with your champion. We need not slaughter every Cabal in your army.
You fight well, Guardians. A shame you must pay the price for your commander's pride.
I know stories of fiends who cut at the legs of powerful heroes. My tank will not be felled so easily.
The Guardians are coming for your champion. They're not here for your hospitality.
We will deal with your champion in due time… though we may destroy your tank in the process. 
Commander Zavala, we agree to the Rite of Proving. The Cabal sends forth its champion. 
Tread carefully. My fiercest loyalists pilot those vehicles.
All feel fear, Commander. Some learn from it, while others are ruled by it. Which are you?
We lost our world to the Hive. Why will you not stand with us?
How many more Cabal stand between my champion and yours?
…but break our agreement, and we will be back to finish what we started.
Guardians, peace is at hand! You will be the last to die before the Cabal commands the Vanguard!
Empress Caiatl—we invoke the Rite of Proving. The Vanguard sends forth its champions.
Guardians. Join my Cabal, and let our alliance armor the stars.
I am glad to hear it. You will find our talent for diplomacy matches our skill in combat. 
You may be a soft, small man, Zavala, but you hide some powerful tusk!
Which of these Cabal is your champion?
The challenge is met. Our blood flows together. May it lead to unity.
Be reasonable, Guardians. While there is shame in surrender, I am merciful. 
If it must be done.
Our vaults are full of relics from those who underestimated us. 
I see now how you fight, Guardians. Your potential is wasted running errands for your commander.
This is the Halphas Electus, the digger of graves, her mouth packed with red soil. I do not grant you safe passage. 
Imagine if they fought because you gave them hope.
You have claimed victory in the Rite of Proving. I am bound to our agreement.
And my father said you were such fun.
Send down your champion, Caiatl. Bring this fighting to an end.
Your warriors are merciless, Commander. Are all Lightbearers so… bloodthirsty?
I yield, I yield! Let us meet and discuss this treaty. 
My warriors pledge themselves to the Rite of Proving. Cut them down if you can.
I will not deny them the honor of protecting their champion.
Good. If our foes are capable of growth, let us be the catalyst that forces them to change.
None had to die today, Caiatl. The blood of your champion will be on your own gilded blade.
My warriors do not die easily. They fight because I gave them their freedom.
Caiatl, order your troops to clear a path. We have no quarrel with them.
Which of these Cabal is your champion?
We sign no treaties at the end of a gun.
Then they shall have one.
You seek to drive a knife into the heart of my tank? My troops will defend its life with theirs!
My honor guard deserve a role in this battle. A victory here will be victory for all Cabal.
Going through the vehicle bay? My pilots enjoy a challenge.
My champions are ready, Caiatl! Is yours?
Hold strong, Guardians. One final victory is all I ask.
You take to ritual combat well, Commander. Do you enjoy it?
If it must be done.
I refused to bend the knee. What does that tell you?
If you ever cross the Vanguard again… bring a bigger tank.
All pledged their lives to their Empress. They can use them as they wish.
I will not deny them the honor of protecting their champion.
Your champion fought with honor, and you accept defeat in the same way. 
When can we discuss this treaty of yours?
Caiatl, prepare your champion! 
Do not expect gratitude. Those you leave behind will grow. They will learn.
As soon as I debrief the strike team, Empress. I hope the blood spilled here today will be the last. 
My warriors pledge themselves to the Rite of Proving. Cut them down if you can.
Caiatl. Your champion falls.
I… did not imagine this outcome. Your Guardians have powers told of in the old stories.
Caiatl, order your troops to clear a path. We have no quarrel with them.
Be careful around those tanks, or you may never reach my champion.
Arise, my chosen! Fight for the glory of the Cabal!
How selfless. Perhaps we can discuss this further after your people stop trying to kill us.
You would attack my tank directly? It is sacred to my men. They will fight as though its oil were blood.
My honorguard deserve a role in this battle. A victory here will be victory for all Cabal.
There is no pleasure in killing. If this one act of barbarism will force peace… so be it. 
My Guardians do what they must. Today, they must be champions.
Such strength. Look what your Light can do. I seek that power—not for myself, but for my people.
All warriors rally in defense of the chosen.
We take nothing but your word. Tend to your men and your tank… 
Yes. And we are here to stop you.
The Guardians have more experience destroying those vehicles than you might guess.
You willingly enter the Halphas Electus. I welcome you, but my forces… they do not.
The Guardians kneel to no one… not even to me.
I see you have your father's taste for decadence.
This tank is like a living thing. She breathes, she moves… and she will spit out your bones.
I pride myself on seeing the strength in others, and yours can no longer be denied. 
Keep working your way beneath the outer plates. According to Amanda, you'll emerge near the power relays. 
You willingly enter my imperial Land Tank, the Halphas Electus. You honor me. May you meet a glorious death.
I hope they are prepared to die in them.
I am glad to hear it. You will find our talent for diplomacy matches our skill in combat. 
My champion awaits in the locus of honor! Why do you skulk through the maintenance areas?
My honorguard deserve a role in this battle. A victory here will be victory for all Cabal.
My war machine purrs. She hungers for battle. Have you the same appetite?
Do not expect gratitude. Those you leave behind will grow. They will learn.
Caiatl, order your troops to clear a path. We have no quarrel with them.
Now, the final trial! Battle against the champion of the Cabal!
My champions are ready, Caiatl! Is yours?
My Guardians do what they must. Today, they must be champions.
Caiatl, prepare your champion! 
Let the Rite of Proving commence!
You willingly enter the Halphas Electus. I welcome you, but my forces… they do not.
If it must be done.
Empress Caiatl—we invoke the Rite of Proving. The Vanguard sends forth its champions.
All feel fear, Commander. Some learn from it, while others are ruled by it. Which are you?
Which of these Cabal is your champion?
You take to ritual combat well, Commander. Do you enjoy it?
None had to die today, Caiatl. The blood of your champion will be on your own gilded blade.
I see you have your father's taste for decadence.
If it must be done.
My honor guard deserve a role in this battle. A victory here will be victory for all Cabal.
Going through the vehicle bay? My pilots enjoy a challenge.
Ha, we are Cabal! We eat the mountains; we drink the seas!
Your champion fought with honor, and you accept defeat in the same way. 
I see now how you fight, Guardians. Your potential is wasted running errands for your commander.
Be careful around those tanks, or you may never reach my champion.
Guardians, peace is at hand! You will be the last to die before the Cabal commands the Vanguard!
You seek to drive a knife into the heart of my tank? My troops will defend its life with theirs!
And my father said you were such fun.
If you ever cross the Vanguard again… bring a bigger tank.
Caiatl, order your troops to clear a path. We have no quarrel with them.
You all but demanded this conflict. We will see it through to the end.
Guardians. Join my Cabal, and let our alliance armor the stars.
Guardians? I have prepared further challenges for you. A banquet of combat to test your resolve.
You crawl through an imperial tank, fighting against an army… for what?
Our fight is with your champion. We need not slaughter every Cabal in your army.
You have claimed victory in the Rite of Proving. I am bound to our agreement.
The challenge is met. Our blood flows together. May it lead to unity.
Be reasonable, Guardians. While there is shame in surrender, I am merciful. 
We will deal with your champion in due time… though we may destroy your tank in the process. 
I treat my honorguard with the respect they deserve. 
Send down your champion, Caiatl. Bring this fighting to an end.
All warriors rally in defense of the chosen.
All pledged their lives to their Empress. They can use them as they wish.
Good. If our foes are capable of growth, let us be the catalyst that forces them to change.
This is the Halphas Electus, the digger of graves, her mouth packed with red soil. I do not grant you safe passage. 
You fight well, Guardians. A shame you must pay the price for your commander's pride.
We could work together, Caiatl. But as equals, not your vassals. 
The Rite of Proving is over. By the victor's rule, the Halphas Electus, and the souls aboard it, are yours to destroy.
You may be a soft, small man, Zavala, but you hide some powerful tusk!
Commander Zavala, we agree to the Rite of Proving. The Cabal sends forth its champion. 
Arise, my chosen! Fight for the glory of the Cabal!
My warriors pledge themselves to the Rite of Proving. Cut them down if you can.
I yield, I yield! Let us meet and discuss this treaty. 
This tank is like a living thing. She breathes, she moves… and she will spit out your bones.
Imagine if they fought because you gave them hope.
I… did not imagine this outcome. Your Guardians have powers told of in the old stories.
When can we discuss this treaty of yours?
…but break our agreement, and we will be back to finish what we started.
As soon as I debrief the strike team, Empress. I hope the blood spilled here today will be the last. 
The Guardians kneel to no one… not even to me.
Our vaults are full of relics from those who underestimated us. 
Caiatl. Your champion falls.
All warriors rally in defense of the chosen.
Yes. And we are here to stop you.
I know stories of fiends who cut at the legs of powerful heroes. My tank will not be felled so easily.
How many more Cabal stand between my champion and yours?
Send down your champion, Caiatl. Bring this fighting to an end.
You would attack my tank directly? It is sacred to my men. They will fight as though its oil were blood.
More Cabal stand between our champions' ritual combat?
I pride myself on seeing the strength in others, and yours can no longer be denied. 
The challenge is met. Our blood flows together. May it lead to unity.
All swore their lives to their empress. They can use them as they wish.
You have honored our traditions… and I must honor yours. I will see you soon… to "bargain."
There is no pleasure in killing. If this one act of barbarism will force peace… so be it. 
We lost our world to the Hive. Why will you not stand with us?
To stop another despot before they pass beyond the reach of reason.
Your warriors are merciless, Commander. Are all Lightbearers so… bloodthirsty?
The Guardians have more experience destroying those vehicles than you might guess.
I refused to bend the knee. What does that tell you?
We take nothing but your word. Tend to your men and your tank… 
How selfless. Perhaps we can discuss this further after your people stop trying to kill us.
We sign no treaties at the end of a gun.
The Guardians are coming for your champion. They're not here for your hospitality.
My tank is restless. Do what you came for—fight well or die quickly.
Then they shall have one.
I will not deny them the honor of protecting their champion.
Tread carefully. My fiercest loyalists pilot those vehicles.
My warriors pledge themselves to the Rite of Proving. Cut them down if you can.
Your Guardians scurry through my tank like vermin. Is this how the Vanguard fights its wars?
Which of these Cabal is your champion?
My warriors do not die easily. They fight because I gave them their freedom.
Hold strong, Guardians. One final victory is all I ask.
I will not deny them the honor of protecting their champion.
Such strength. Look what your Light can do. I seek that power—not for myself, but for my people.
Their commander will be expecting you!
Their back is against the wall. There is nowhere left to run, and the pack closes in.
Osiris said this isn't the first time the Psions have tried to mingle with the Vex. Were you around for that, Holliday?
No arguments here. 
I do not see that as an impasse.
How many more have to die before we take these threats seriously?
My apologies. 
Your gut, huh? Well, my gut still has some shrapnel in it from the Red War, so…
I'm not. And I'm no political expert either, but…  
It wasn't too long ago those possibilities broke you out into a cold sweat.
We'll need to wrest control of the defense network from them!
They wish to enact change on the future by knowing it?
But even now, with the empire in ruins, they fight to the death for Caiatl. 
What do you think we're doin' out here? I got serious bullet holes up and down my ship.
Because you're a soldier. And a survivor. 
The Cabal never seemed this savvy with Vex technology before. This feels more… elegant than what we're used to.
Lucky for you, Amanda Holliday runs a door-to-door service. I've dropped you close to the entry point.
Well, sure. If it's there, they might as well use it.
Perhaps the Red War never ended. Perhaps it will go on and on—and on.
An ironic observation.
Hijack an accepted broadcast transmission, feed their commanders bad tactical data, then use it against them?
Clever, but flawed. The data from a prediction engine is useless noise without psychic capabilities.
Not because you can see the future, but because you've studied the past. Their style, their form; predictability.
What dark magic do the Cabal weave here?
But I can see where something like a prediction engine blurs those lines.
Show them the futility of foresight!
At this point, seems like we should just let the Vex take care of these Psions themselves. 
Finally. Hopefully, that's the last time we'll have to clear this place out.
You can catch them if you hustle.  
Zavala seems to think he can work it out with Caiatl. Maybe we leave that to her.
Why? Because of Cayde? Because of all the people I lost?
We're too late. The Cabal extracted the information they wanted and destroyed the machine to cover their tracks.
Until the Cabal are ended.
The Vanguard have spoken. What more can be done but abide by their rules?
Hell, maybe this'll make it an even fight!
But I do not believe the commander would sanction those methods.
You think? All they're doing is retrofitting Vex technology.
I always imagined these Psions as reluctant hostages to the Cabal Empire.
Cabal defensive positions ahead! Looks like they knew we were coming!
I respect their hustle, that's all.
No doubt a lesson learned from their failure at the Sundial.
Gotta be resourceful when you've been turned out of house and home. 
Imperial reinforcements have arrived. They know we're coming.
This isn't an easy task, Guardian. But it is an essential one.
That is also why they will fail.
Yeah, they're playin' a bad hand as best they can. 
You know how to get their attention. 
Perhaps it's time that changed.
Well hell, maybe now they'll put up a fair fight!
They would be better served studying the past if they wished to control the future.
Thought these Psions were supposed to know the future.
Yeah, I heard. I can't bear to think on it. After Cayde, if Zavala had—
And if they're not successful? Or worse, what if they are, and they use the Psions to upgrade their prediction engines?
I was in the Tower at the time, but I wasn't really involved so I don't know much. 
Imperial reinforcements are incoming! They know we're here!
No excuses. Eliminate them at will, Guardian. 
Eh, you gotta hand it to 'em. The Cabal sure get creative when it comes to warfare.
I'm sure Caiatl is doing what she can to bring them all to heel. At least that's what my gut tells me. 
Show them the futility of foresight.
Time to show the big boss what you've got!
We're picking up big energy spikes below your feet. Odds are good that that's where their commander is. 
You are familiar with this prediction engine, are you not?
You of all people should understand how shortsighted this is!
The Cabal do not weave magic. Unless you count their grasp of technology as sorcery.
That never bothered the Guardian before.
That's a pretty low bar to clear, but I'll take the compliment. 
That is a level of insight I did not know you capable of.
We capture Psions, hook them up to a prediction engine, and coerce them to perform the tasks through whatever means are necessary.
Seems to me that a ceasefire means that everyone minds their own.
It does leave a bitter taste when you put it that way.
I know, I know. Ugh, we've just got so many enemies, and they're all enemies with each other… 
And lucky for me, she also has a sense of humor. Which is… refreshing after working with Saladin.
That would be nice. Unfortunately… Caiatl's cooperation has angered enough dissidents to last us awhile. 
Guardians guard. They're not invaders.
I blew the hell out of 'em during the Red War, if that's what you mean.
This is their territory, after all.
This commander aspired to greatness, and now, they will be reduced to little more than a memory.
It'll be an upstream swim. Looks like they have imperial backup!
They would be wise not to underestimate the Vex either. But I think we all know that wisdom is not a valued trait among the Cabal.
You may need a Warlock for an endeavor like that. There is magic deep enough to erode even the most adamant of wills.
You're on the right track. Keep drillin' down; you'll hit gold soon enough.
Could we use one of these to feed false information to the Cabal? 
Not far now. The Cabal underestimate us at every turn.
After everything that's been taken from you… you still have more to lose.
Why us? These were her people. Why can't she clean up their mess? 
Tell me: after Ghaul was defeated, did you imagine we'd be back at war with the Cabal in just four short years?
They are not the only one.
Would it kill 'em to save us the effort every now and again?
Killing Caiatl's people won't bring mine back.
I see that you have some tactical experience against the Cabal.
Glint's been combing through the Vanguard archives, helping me catch up on the history. I'll ask him to skip ahead. 
Then they will fail. 
If these Psions are half of what we suspect, their commander will already know you're here. 
If the Psions are allowed to continue their research, it could spell disaster for the Vanguard.
The Psions have commandeered the Vex security systems!
Have you heard about the attempt on Zavala's life? Perpetrated by one of these… Psions. 
We should take the fight to the Cabal, instead of waiting for them to come to us.
Finish this.
Don't come at me with this hypocrisy now that they've welcomed you back into their fold.
If we wipe out the Cabal… if we start thinkin' like the Hive, then we lose the most valuable thing of all.
But there is a time to draw Swords and a time to draw lines. The former has passed and the latter… I can see which side of the line you stand on.
The Psions are already deep in the Vex network. You'll have to hustle to catch them.
Good work, Guardian. With the Psion's commander gone, we'll make quick work of the rest.
Cabal Psions have already cracked their outer security layer. The Vex Network is compromised. So move fast.
Is that a note of compassion I hear in your voice, Holliday? 
Some data fragments still exist. We'll have to analyze them.
It is no different than a duel. You watch your opponent for tells that indicate what they will do next.
Well, they didn't see that one comin', did they?
Yeah, too much clairvoyance and they might turn out like Osiris.
The Psions are already deep in the Vex network, and it looks like they have imperial backup. 
We're Guardians. I'm told this is what we do.
Good idea. Just the thought of clairvoyance combined with prediction engines… Ooh! It's making me sweat.
I would have thought that you, of all people, would understand the need for decisive action.
I have studied them extensively. They are not all that different from Vex simulations, but there is… nuance.
Not sure how much of that we could take. 
Psions have cracked the Vex security network! We have to move fast!
The same side I have always stood on. The side of humanity.
Crush them to the last. Make sure that the fleeing survivors find no quarter.
Challenge their commander. Bring this operation to a halt.
All right, Guardian, you're coming up on the Cabal base. 
And yet we let them regroup. 
It may be time to find others who can toe the line as clearly as yourself, then.
A precision strike against holdouts… this is absurd. Caiatl has tricked the Vanguard into fighting her political enemies for her.
That goes double for when the Hive god of war is the one turnin' you out. 
I'm with you. Even if we can't see the future, knowing the past might help us stay on top of this.
No! Not one bit. How dare you.
A precision strike against holdouts… this is absurd. Caiatl has tricked the Vanguard into fighting her political enemies for her.
The Psions are already deep in the Vex network. You'll have to hustle to catch them.
The Psions are already deep in the Vex network, and it looks like they have imperial backup. 
But I do not believe the commander would sanction those methods.
If the Psions are allowed to continue their research, it could spell disaster for the Vanguard.
All right, Guardian, you're coming up on the Cabal base. 
Zavala seems to think he can work it out with Caiatl. Maybe we leave that to her.
Not far now. The Cabal underestimate us at every turn.
You think? All they're doing is retrofitting Vex technology.
Glint's been combing through the Vanguard archives, helping me catch up on the history. I'll ask him to skip ahead. 
We'll need to wrest control of the defense network from them!
It does leave a bitter taste when you put it that way.
You're on the right track. Keep drillin' down; you'll hit gold soon enough.
I'm sure Caiatl is doing what she can to bring them all to heel. At least that's what my gut tells me. 
The Vanguard have spoken. What more can be done but abide by their rules?
That goes double for when the Hive god of war is the one turnin' you out. 
If these Psions are half of what we suspect, their commander will already know you're here. 
Challenge their commander. Bring this operation to a halt.
Well, they didn't see that one comin', did they?
Then they will fail. 
Osiris said this isn't the first time the Psions have tried to mingle with the Vex. Were you around for that, Holliday?
Crush them to the last. Make sure that the fleeing survivors find no quarter.
What dark magic do the Cabal weave here?
Could we use one of these to feed false information to the Cabal? 
Yeah, too much clairvoyance and they might turn out like Osiris.
Thought these Psions were supposed to know the future.
They would be better served studying the past if they wished to control the future.
Would it kill 'em to save us the effort every now and again?
And lucky for me, she also has a sense of humor. Which is… refreshing after working with Saladin.
Hijack an accepted broadcast transmission, feed their commanders bad tactical data, then use it against them?
Good work, Guardian. With the Psion's commander gone, we'll make quick work of the rest.
I know, I know. Ugh, we've just got so many enemies, and they're all enemies with each other… 
You of all people should understand how shortsighted this is!
You know how to get their attention. 
After everything that's been taken from you… you still have more to lose.
They are not the only one.
You can catch them if you hustle.  
How many more have to die before we take these threats seriously?
We're Guardians. I'm told this is what we do.
Well hell, maybe now they'll put up a fair fight!
No excuses. Eliminate them at will, Guardian. 
I see that you have some tactical experience against the Cabal.
Have you heard about the attempt on Zavala's life? Perpetrated by one of these… Psions. 
I'm not. And I'm no political expert either, but…  
Imperial reinforcements have arrived. They know we're coming.
Good idea. Just the thought of clairvoyance combined with prediction engines… Ooh! It's making me sweat.
Don't come at me with this hypocrisy now that they've welcomed you back into their fold.
What do you think we're doin' out here? I got serious bullet holes up and down my ship.
It'll be an upstream swim. Looks like they have imperial backup!
Psions have cracked the Vex security network! We have to move fast!
And if they're not successful? Or worse, what if they are, and they use the Psions to upgrade their prediction engines?
Finally. Hopefully, that's the last time we'll have to clear this place out.
We're too late. The Cabal extracted the information they wanted and destroyed the machine to cover their tracks.
Gotta be resourceful when you've been turned out of house and home. 
No! Not one bit. How dare you.
It wasn't too long ago those possibilities broke you out into a cold sweat.
Because you're a soldier. And a survivor. 
That never bothered the Guardian before.
Tell me: after Ghaul was defeated, did you imagine we'd be back at war with the Cabal in just four short years?
The same side I have always stood on. The side of humanity.
I'm with you. Even if we can't see the future, knowing the past might help us stay on top of this.
Lucky for you, Amanda Holliday runs a door-to-door service. I've dropped you close to the entry point.
At this point, seems like we should just let the Vex take care of these Psions themselves. 
Not because you can see the future, but because you've studied the past. Their style, their form; predictability.
But even now, with the empire in ruins, they fight to the death for Caiatl. 
Perhaps it's time that changed.
We capture Psions, hook them up to a prediction engine, and coerce them to perform the tasks through whatever means are necessary.
Your gut, huh? Well, my gut still has some shrapnel in it from the Red War, so…
We're picking up big energy spikes below your feet. Odds are good that that's where their commander is. 
An ironic observation.
No doubt a lesson learned from their failure at the Sundial.
It may be time to find others who can toe the line as clearly as yourself, then.
Hell, maybe this'll make it an even fight!
No arguments here. 
But there is a time to draw Swords and a time to draw lines. The former has passed and the latter… I can see which side of the line you stand on.
Killing Caiatl's people won't bring mine back.
I always imagined these Psions as reluctant hostages to the Cabal Empire.
That is a level of insight I did not know you capable of.
I was in the Tower at the time, but I wasn't really involved so I don't know much. 
Cabal Psions have already cracked their outer security layer. The Vex Network is compromised. So move fast.
Some data fragments still exist. We'll have to analyze them.
Until the Cabal are ended.
Their commander will be expecting you!
But I can see where something like a prediction engine blurs those lines.
My apologies. 
They wish to enact change on the future by knowing it?
Cabal defensive positions ahead! Looks like they knew we were coming!
This commander aspired to greatness, and now, they will be reduced to little more than a memory.
That's a pretty low bar to clear, but I'll take the compliment. 
I have studied them extensively. They are not all that different from Vex simulations, but there is… nuance.
I would have thought that you, of all people, would understand the need for decisive action.
The Cabal do not weave magic. Unless you count their grasp of technology as sorcery.
Is that a note of compassion I hear in your voice, Holliday? 
It is no different than a duel. You watch your opponent for tells that indicate what they will do next.
That would be nice. Unfortunately… Caiatl's cooperation has angered enough dissidents to last us awhile. 
Finish this.
Well, sure. If it's there, they might as well use it.
You are familiar with this prediction engine, are you not?
This is their territory, after all.
This isn't an easy task, Guardian. But it is an essential one.
Time to show the big boss what you've got!
If we wipe out the Cabal… if we start thinkin' like the Hive, then we lose the most valuable thing of all.
I do not see that as an impasse.
And yet we let them regroup. 
That is also why they will fail.
Clever, but flawed. The data from a prediction engine is useless noise without psychic capabilities.
Seems to me that a ceasefire means that everyone minds their own.
I blew the hell out of 'em during the Red War, if that's what you mean.
Why? Because of Cayde? Because of all the people I lost?
The Psions have commandeered the Vex security systems!
Show them the futility of foresight.
Their back is against the wall. There is nowhere left to run, and the pack closes in.
Perhaps the Red War never ended. Perhaps it will go on and on—and on.
You may need a Warlock for an endeavor like that. There is magic deep enough to erode even the most adamant of wills.
They would be wise not to underestimate the Vex either. But I think we all know that wisdom is not a valued trait among the Cabal.
We should take the fight to the Cabal, instead of waiting for them to come to us.
Show them the futility of foresight!
Yeah, they're playin' a bad hand as best they can. 
Why us? These were her people. Why can't she clean up their mess? 
Imperial reinforcements are incoming! They know we're here!
Eh, you gotta hand it to 'em. The Cabal sure get creative when it comes to warfare.
Not sure how much of that we could take. 
Yeah, I heard. I can't bear to think on it. After Cayde, if Zavala had—
Guardians guard. They're not invaders.
I respect their hustle, that's all.
The Cabal never seemed this savvy with Vex technology before. This feels more… elegant than what we're used to.
Makes you think about how few of us actually stand between humanity and—
No. But it's never a good thing when the Cabal get frisky like this. 
Good thing we've got Light to spare.
How so?
That was different.
Heh, I don't think they can hear you. Try yelling louder.
Zavala! Everybody's talkin' about what went down at that treaty.
She did.
This might be a strange question, but… why a tank? On Nessus?
When I heard of your exile from the City all those centuries ago, I assumed you a madman and a fanatic. A heretic at best.
And watch out for drop pods!
And they're still fighting us? 
He's a politician first and a soldier second. This is a war. One wonders if it should be led by warriors.
You ain't never had a drink in the City before? Oh, Crow, buddy. Buckle up.
Oh, so is this a new leaf I see turning? Are the Iron Lords coming down from their mountain?
Get in there and take them out!
Break their front line and get us eyes on it!
Yeah. His killer got what was comin' to him.
These officers are carrying vital intel! Take them out. We need it all.
What matters is that we pushed. Not how far.
We have what we came for! Get out of there NOW!
You want to get a drink?
I thought you were a more pragmatic lot. All or nothing, like… the Red War?
Heh, the Iron Lords don't hold a monopoly on strategy.
Cayde-6. [sighs] Wish I could have met him. Some of the stories I've heard…
I had no idea. 
I respect a commander who's willing to shed blood on the front line.
It isn't the Traveler we should be worried about.
Look, I get it. I do. But Zavala survived.
I think people with convictions will fight for them, whether or not those convictions are righteous ones. 
Watched them slaughter civilians and Lightless Guardians like… like it was nothin'.
How much did they blow what I did out of proportion?
I'm surprised at the number of Cabal who revealed their true intentions following Caiatl's armistice.
Intel reported increased crew activity! Seems they were right! 
Never good when the Cabal get this frisky!
I can't believe how close the Cabal got to Zavala.
They've erected a proving ground outside that massive tank!
Remember, do not hold back. 
I was wrong to sit out the fight against Dominus Ghaul. The Iron Lords would not have left enough survivors to allow the Cabal to rally.
There's nothing wrong with choosing real peace. I wish the Cabal were that clever.
We won't have many of these sorties left, now that Zavala and Caiatl worked it out.
He personally pulled the trigger on a horrifying amount of lightless Guardians during the Red War.
Fall back, Guardian! 
…And leave them trembling.
Once you make short work of their commander, we'll be done here.
In the City? I've… always wanted to try that.
For centuries I've watched humanity edge closer to extinction while New Lights quibble over morals and semantics.
Because the Cabal ain't met a problem that can't be "solved" by brute force.
Proof of how far the Vanguard has fallen.
Hey, you wanna get a drink or somethin' when we get back?
Come again?
There's been an increase in crew activity around the tank over the past few days. They're gearing up for something.
Are you? I would not be surprised if there were just as many Guardians who are repulsed by this decision.
How degrading. 
I see a whole lot of 'em from up here!
That will never happen. The Cabal have honor. They would rather die than surrender.
If the Vanguard wants a lasting peace, they should finish the Cabal… for good.
Give 'em hell!
Any idea what it might be?
Oh, I look forward to it.
The pack hunts!
Hey, Crow, while we got a minute… I've been meanin' to ask, how's it feel to be a hero?
If I'm not mistaken, didn't young Efrideet disobey your orders and fight? Lightless?
Nice work, Guardian. As always. 
Lest we lose our way in the dark.
That's easy to say when you're the one left standing.
Whatever they're planning will be less effective without a commander!
They're sayin' you took a knife for him.
Droppin' you in hot! Get a move on!
End him. Divide leadership on the ground long enough for our scouts to determine what Caiatl is planning.
This isn't the Zavala I know. He was a fighter, a survivor. The City has made him soft. 
The Traveler would never accept the Cabal.
He's family. Ikora, too, and… and Cayde. I miss him somethin' fierce.
New objective. Based on the field intelligence you recovered, we believe a former Red Legion commander is on-site, directing from the ground.
Excellent work, Guardian. When the Cabal inevitably break this treaty, we'll be ready to crush them.
Does that make it easier?
I flew sorties against these bastards during the Red War. Watched them set the City on fire.
Listen closely, Guardian: Calus's daughter, Empress Caiatl, has arrived in our system, hoping to reunify the Cabal Empire.
Show them what we're made of!
It's the times I chose not to fight that I regret. 
You're… close?
I'm sorry.
Do you have any idea what'd happen if we lost him? They might as well cut our throats; that man is the glue holdin' us together.
This commander was a mere Legionary under Ghaul's rule. 
Whatever they're planning will be much less effective without a commander.
Get in there and take them out, Guardian.
You're going to face heavy resistance up ahead!
You didn't hear? Traveler blew Ghaul out like a candle flame.
Lord Saladin, we prevented an all-out war with no civilian casualties. This is a win.
And not a moment too soon.
No one fights for nothing.
And there's more where that came from!
The Cabal are just trying to survive. Same as us.
Guardian! The Cabal tank is ahead! 
You know me, Holliday. Always looking to make a good impression.
If either side were competent, they'd have wiped each other out already.
Well, you sure impressed me. For what that's worth.
It's weakness. A real leader gives no quarter—or second chances.
Now, begin the Rite of Proving!
The Cabal are entrenched, prepared for our arrival!
Am I not those things?
Challenge them and tie this off. We've got other fires burning.
About?
You seem to have a familiarity with their, um, tactical prowess.
Crow's intel indicates the commander is nearby. 
Cabal defenses are hardened around the tank. We won't be able to push further.
Not really.
Show your enemy no quarter, as they did to us in the Red War!
I misjudged you, Osiris.
He has since risen to become a warlord among the remnants of the Red Legion, and now that butcher carries Caiatl's banner.
Ironic that the land tank is grinding up Nessus for Cabal munitions. 
Evil?
So the task falls to us.
We didn't have our Light. After SIVA, after everything the Warmind put us through… we couldn't risk more losses.
Do you think the Cabal and Guardians so similar?
That's been the Vex plan for centuries.
You. You are a man of great potential and clear thought. In times like these, we need that clarity.
We've spotted an imperial Land Tank tearing through Nessus. Ikora thinks it has something to do with Caiatl's efforts. 
They're Cabal. It's what they do. All they know.
Never underestimate the enemy. 
Remind me not to get on your good side. I'm not sure I'd survive it.
Humanity did much the same after the Collapse. But where we could turn to the Traveler for salvation, I fear the Cabal have no alternative.
Or the Vanguard.
You are. But had the City not cast you out, we may not be in the position we are now.
You'll know when we do.
And perhaps… get justice for the Guardians he sent to their final deaths.
I think these Cabal like you. They keep coming back for more!
Halfway there! Cabal have hardened bunkers up ahead.
Your Ghost indicates there are officers carrying vital intelligence nearby! Take them out, and get us that data!
I want boots on the ground for a closer look.
What did you hear?
Nicely done. Now go start the Rite of Proving.
I don't regret a single one of my thousand deaths. 
Not too shabby, Guardian. This should buy us some time before the Cabal defectors regroup.
Until then, keep up the good work.
Cabal gun placements up ahead. They saw us coming!
Spoken like an Iron Lord. You could have been one of us, Osiris.
Perhaps I was wrong too.
Easy now. Some of my best friends are Fallen. 
The Cabal who defied the ceasefire are the worst of them. They cling to desperate hopes of victory and glory like the fools they are.
I admire that. 
Not really.
And not a moment too soon.
I misjudged you, Osiris.
There's been an increase in crew activity around the tank over the past few days. They're gearing up for something.
They're Cabal. It's what they do. All they know.
Your Ghost indicates there are officers carrying vital intelligence nearby! Take them out, and get us that data!
Remember, do not hold back. 
The Cabal are just trying to survive. Same as us.
I had no idea. 
You didn't hear? Traveler blew Ghaul out like a candle flame.
I was wrong to sit out the fight against Dominus Ghaul. The Iron Lords would not have left enough survivors to allow the Cabal to rally.
Yeah. His killer got what was comin' to him.
Lord Saladin, we prevented an all-out war with no civilian casualties. This is a win.
…And leave them trembling.
We won't have many of these sorties left, now that Zavala and Caiatl worked it out.
Heh, I don't think they can hear you. Try yelling louder.
If I'm not mistaken, didn't young Efrideet disobey your orders and fight? Lightless?
Hey, you wanna get a drink or somethin' when we get back?
The pack hunts!
You. You are a man of great potential and clear thought. In times like these, we need that clarity.
Crow's intel indicates the commander is nearby. 
For centuries I've watched humanity edge closer to extinction while New Lights quibble over morals and semantics.
Never good when the Cabal get this frisky!
Droppin' you in hot! Get a move on!
You know me, Holliday. Always looking to make a good impression.
If either side were competent, they'd have wiped each other out already.
And watch out for drop pods!
Until then, keep up the good work.
No. But it's never a good thing when the Cabal get frisky like this. 
Get in there and take them out, Guardian.
In the City? I've… always wanted to try that.
What did you hear?
What matters is that we pushed. Not how far.
Lest we lose our way in the dark.
And there's more where that came from!
I want boots on the ground for a closer look.
Oh, so is this a new leaf I see turning? Are the Iron Lords coming down from their mountain?
Listen closely, Guardian: Calus's daughter, Empress Caiatl, has arrived in our system, hoping to reunify the Cabal Empire.
There's nothing wrong with choosing real peace. I wish the Cabal were that clever.
When I heard of your exile from the City all those centuries ago, I assumed you a madman and a fanatic. A heretic at best.
Halfway there! Cabal have hardened bunkers up ahead.
Cayde-6. [sighs] Wish I could have met him. Some of the stories I've heard…
I think people with convictions will fight for them, whether or not those convictions are righteous ones. 
I'm surprised at the number of Cabal who revealed their true intentions following Caiatl's armistice.
You're… close?
Get in there and take them out!
Oh, I look forward to it.
Nicely done. Now go start the Rite of Proving.
New objective. Based on the field intelligence you recovered, we believe a former Red Legion commander is on-site, directing from the ground.
I thought you were a more pragmatic lot. All or nothing, like… the Red War?
You'll know when we do.
We've spotted an imperial Land Tank tearing through Nessus. Ikora thinks it has something to do with Caiatl's efforts. 
Spoken like an Iron Lord. You could have been one of us, Osiris.
I admire that. 
I'm sorry.
He's family. Ikora, too, and… and Cayde. I miss him somethin' fierce.
So the task falls to us.
If the Vanguard wants a lasting peace, they should finish the Cabal… for good.
You ain't never had a drink in the City before? Oh, Crow, buddy. Buckle up.
We didn't have our Light. After SIVA, after everything the Warmind put us through… we couldn't risk more losses.
It isn't the Traveler we should be worried about.
Zavala! Everybody's talkin' about what went down at that treaty.
Perhaps I was wrong too.
It's the times I chose not to fight that I regret. 
The Cabal are entrenched, prepared for our arrival!
Whatever they're planning will be much less effective without a commander.
The Cabal who defied the ceasefire are the worst of them. They cling to desperate hopes of victory and glory like the fools they are.
That's easy to say when you're the one left standing.
Well, you sure impressed me. For what that's worth.
Any idea what it might be?
How much did they blow what I did out of proportion?
Am I not those things?
You're going to face heavy resistance up ahead!
I think these Cabal like you. They keep coming back for more!
He's a politician first and a soldier second. This is a war. One wonders if it should be led by warriors.
I respect a commander who's willing to shed blood on the front line.
Humanity did much the same after the Collapse. But where we could turn to the Traveler for salvation, I fear the Cabal have no alternative.
Because the Cabal ain't met a problem that can't be "solved" by brute force.
They've erected a proving ground outside that massive tank!
Intel reported increased crew activity! Seems they were right! 
He has since risen to become a warlord among the remnants of the Red Legion, and now that butcher carries Caiatl's banner.
The Traveler would never accept the Cabal.
Are you? I would not be surprised if there were just as many Guardians who are repulsed by this decision.
Look, I get it. I do. But Zavala survived.
She did.
He personally pulled the trigger on a horrifying amount of lightless Guardians during the Red War.
Whatever they're planning will be less effective without a commander!
I see a whole lot of 'em from up here!
And they're still fighting us? 
You want to get a drink?
This commander was a mere Legionary under Ghaul's rule. 
No one fights for nothing.
Fall back, Guardian! 
Show them what we're made of!
How degrading. 
Watched them slaughter civilians and Lightless Guardians like… like it was nothin'.
Heh, the Iron Lords don't hold a monopoly on strategy.
Does that make it easier?
How so?
Excellent work, Guardian. When the Cabal inevitably break this treaty, we'll be ready to crush them.
Hey, Crow, while we got a minute… I've been meanin' to ask, how's it feel to be a hero?
End him. Divide leadership on the ground long enough for our scouts to determine what Caiatl is planning.
Evil?
They're sayin' you took a knife for him.
Nice work, Guardian. As always. 
You seem to have a familiarity with their, um, tactical prowess.
Cabal defenses are hardened around the tank. We won't be able to push further.
This might be a strange question, but… why a tank? On Nessus?
Challenge them and tie this off. We've got other fires burning.
Proof of how far the Vanguard has fallen.
Do you have any idea what'd happen if we lost him? They might as well cut our throats; that man is the glue holdin' us together.
This isn't the Zavala I know. He was a fighter, a survivor. The City has made him soft. 
Never underestimate the enemy. 
I flew sorties against these bastards during the Red War. Watched them set the City on fire.
You are. But had the City not cast you out, we may not be in the position we are now.
Guardian! The Cabal tank is ahead! 
Break their front line and get us eyes on it!
I don't regret a single one of my thousand deaths. 
About?
Easy now. Some of my best friends are Fallen. 
I can't believe how close the Cabal got to Zavala.
Good thing we've got Light to spare.
Or the Vanguard.
That will never happen. The Cabal have honor. They would rather die than surrender.
Ironic that the land tank is grinding up Nessus for Cabal munitions. 
Give 'em hell!
And perhaps… get justice for the Guardians he sent to their final deaths.
It's weakness. A real leader gives no quarter—or second chances.
Cabal gun placements up ahead. They saw us coming!
Once you make short work of their commander, we'll be done here.
Makes you think about how few of us actually stand between humanity and—
Do you think the Cabal and Guardians so similar?
Now, begin the Rite of Proving!
Not too shabby, Guardian. This should buy us some time before the Cabal defectors regroup.
Show your enemy no quarter, as they did to us in the Red War!
That's been the Vex plan for centuries.
These officers are carrying vital intel! Take them out. We need it all.
Come again?
Remind me not to get on your good side. I'm not sure I'd survive it.
We have what we came for! Get out of there NOW!
That was different.
Guardian! Cabal forces are entrenched! Prepare for heavy resistance!
Why are you like this? One minute you're mouthin' off and throwin' shade. 
Is that the voice of Lord Saladin I hear? Admitting fault? Truly we are in dark times.
The imperial commander should be up ahead. 
Y'know, I'm surprised, Osiris. Once upon a time, a place like this would've set you off.
You are to the folks that matter. You and the Guardian, like peas in a pod.
You heard the commander! Whatever you need to do to scare them off, do it!
It is not fault. Time will be the arbiter of whether this holds, and I have no faith in that.
Well, I ain't gonna be sharin' a meal with no Cabal anytime soon.
Good work down there, Guardian. You make it look so easy.
They seemed awfully determined. Any chance they'll go looking somewhere else?
There is no glory in what the Cabal are seeking here, just desperation.
An interesting observation. Were that true, would you have a contingency plan?
In my experience, what the Vanguard should know and what they actually know are not always the same.
The Vex are agitated! This will be a battle of two fronts!
Great work down there, Guardian. Now come on back and warm up.
Those command carriers are likely to send reinforcements, but I'll try to draw their air support away.
No riddles.
Can't believe the Cabal would want to go lookin' for the birthplace of the Exo, just to treat it like a salvage yard!
You're gonna need to hustle to close the gap. 
Bet the Cabal feel the same way 'bout themselves.
The Vanguard asked an Iron Lord to lead their forces. 
I'm very mysterious.
Possibilities I will share with you, Lord Saladin, and whoever else when the situation arises. Not before. 
All the more reason to enjoy it while it lasts. 
You hang around great people long enough, and they'll start rubbing off on you.
The Cabal dissidents seem broken, easily crushed. I did not imagine this treaty would work, and yet, here we are.
I am left to wonder… what new fear could we lever against the weight of the Cabal Empire?
Then out with it.
The Cabal understand the fear of mortality. It is all they have ever known. 
That should be enough to scare them off. For a short time anyway.
Ranting and raving about Vex algorithms and prediction encoding and other stuff no one understands but you.
All depends on your definition, I guess. Seems the Cabal think of it more as… personal glory. Something you win in battle.
A little. 
As highly as the Cabal value "honor," they don't seem to apply it very consistently. 
Look to the sky. Covering for search teams below. 
A whole enigma.
Hmm. You know, sometimes I forget how pleasant it is. The quiet after battle…
We should send in another team to do a second sweep. Today's survivor is tomorrow's enemy.
Come to think, I don't see the Cabal on the ground either… Osiris?
There's not much to glean. It's all Vex blocks; the same as you'd find on Nessus.
Well, when they do, we'll be here to stop 'em again. 
Doubtful. If anything, sending the Guardian in has convinced them to return.
Go, show them the power of humanity's champions.
The Vex are agitated. Expect their interference as well.
So they've got a head start. Go on and close that gap, Guardian.
Do the Vanguard not have a loosely held policy on offering quarter to fleeing enemies?
Clear the field! We need time to bring the barrier down!
You speak the truth, Warlock.
Pleasant, yes… and brief. Especially on a moon like Europa.
Be careful; the Cabal got sloppy. Vex have moved in behind them. Watch your back, or you'll get caught in the cross fire.
Shaxx openly jokes about killing them. Some Guardians wear their bones on their armor like they're animals.
It would be in the Cabal's best interest to maintain a ceasefire. It would be in our interest too.
No. The Guardian did well, as always.
While I agree, I can't help but wonder if your disregard for their codes of conduct may cause friction.
Perform the Rite of Proving, call him out, and show him the power of the Light!
Says one hero to another.
All right, now I know you're screwin' with me.
The Cabal incursion is isolated around a nearby Vex structure. They haven't yet had a chance to fabricate heavy fortifications.
I get why this place was off-limits for so long. I'm not even on the ground and it's giving me the creeps.
Clear the field. That should buy me enough time to take down the barrier that's blocking the way forward.
And you definitely did right by the people of the Last City today, Guardian. 
Command carriers are preparing for aerial support! I'm moving to intercept!
There! The Cabal have not yet had a chance to fortify!
Then go boldly, Lord Saladin. 
The next you're talkin' like you've been sittin' in a cave, readin' philosophy all your life.
This is the time, Guardian. Begin the Rite of Proving. 
Can you see it as clearly as I can, Lord Saladin?
Sounds like there's plenty else they could find around here. Keep pushing, Guardian. 
The way you talk about the Cabal… others talk the same way about the Eliksni. Especially in the Tower. 
Hm, nothing we can do but keep hammering away at 'em, I guess. They'll get sick of coming here soon enough. 
Well, there's not much else to do out in the Reef. Very boring.
The Cabal, searching for the secrets of the Deep Stone Crypt. I don't understand wanting to become a machine.
People can justify almost anything if it makes things simpler. 
To the Cabal, Exos are just another enemy. Or worse, a resource to plunder. The Eliksni saw it the same way once. Some still do.
I will. Soon. And when the time comes, I would go boldly if I knew I had you on my side.
Last time we were here, you didn't think the Cabal would find anything. What gives?
My only hope is that they have not forgotten the Battle of Twilight Gap—and the lessons learned there.
Look at this. Picking apart the Vex like carrion birds. It's pathetic.
If they're looking for the Deep Stone Crypt here, then they're groping around in the dark, so to speak.
We need to consider what changes if Caiatl follows in Eramis's footsteps…
From what I gather, folks becoming Exos weren't always willin'.
But when I think about honor, I think about it as something you do: honor your parents; honor your commitments.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
The hunt is over. Excellent work, Guardian.
It's about trust and doing right by people. 
What does Caiatl dread losing most? And how could we turn that fear against her?
This legion's champion is near, Guardian.
It's different when you've walked among them. Shared a meal with them.
Barrier's down; get a move on.
You don't say?
Hm, I'd skip the "kindly" part. 
All the more reason to enjoy it while it lasts. 
Show them what real honor looks like.
I'll let Zavala know of your exemplary work here. The Cabal will be feeling this loss for a while.
Clever. Was your plan solely a proposition to placate Zavala's ego and buy time for a proper counter-offensive?
Hey, do we have cocoa? Is that a thing we got? I'll put on some water.
Give 'em what-for. Kindly remind 'em they don't belong on Europa.
To lose everything you are. What sort of person is willing to do that to themselves?
I'm no hero.
Understood?
I wouldn't exhale just yet, Commander. 
If they did not wish me to fight like an Iron Lord, they should have asked someone else.
Cabal forces are entrenched out here. You're in for a hell of a firefight before we can breach their defenses.
Seriously, though. I can only take so much credit…
Friction is conflict; conflict breeds strength. They know this. Or they should.
And here I thought the people of the Golden Age were supposed to be enlightened.
Good job, Guardian! Scared 'em off again. 
If the Cabal keep returning to Europa at this rate, odds are they'll make contact with the Darkness sooner rather than later.
Oh… Yeah, that makes sense. 
Is there something specific you're looking for, Commander?
All right, Guardian. The Cabal are determined to dig up something bad, and they've got the head start. 
I'm… not accustomed to being in the spotlight like this.
The wolves are howling! Let the hunt begin!
My concern is not the Cabal finding the Darkness… but the Darkness finding the Cabal.
Fighting for the empress's favor? Honorable. Rebelling against the empress? Also honorable. 
And they're searching high and low for whatever they can find. 
Agreed.
When you see them here, pawing at the scraps of the Golden Age in search of eternity, that fear is crystalized. 
I do not have time for your riddles.
Yes, well… research is far less appealing without an assistant to confer with.
But with the green of that garden and the murmur of the city
we built up around it…
we planted inside these walls…
It was a warm night…
and something snapped in the trees behind me.
and there he was.
I turned…
It all happened so fast.
I spun around, my gun in hand before I realized I'd drawn it.
Now I'm not sure I will at all.
A Cabal assassin.
His spirit, haunting me.
but I knew he was there before I saw him.
he was gone.
and I wanted to feel the breeze on my face.
I could be at peace…
to remind myself how far we've come.
A hallucination?
Then he shouted a warning…
You might not believe it
and when I'm alone.
I took a walk through the first garden
One of Caiatl's, no doubt.
I hear it best when the people are asleep…
I wasn't sleeping well before.
for a little while.
We've made so many sacrifices since those early days.
When I looked back for Prince Uldren…
Have you ever felt someone's eyes watching you, Guardian?
Was it a troubled spirit?
Sometimes I like to listen to the city's pulse.
and watched the City's victories dull our edge once more.
We will be there…
The Cabal.
War, wanted or not, is all they understand.
No more waiting.
Sand Eaters…scattered.
Dust Giants…felled.
and Ghaul drove a blade between our ribs.
Before the Vanguard showed them…
Another Cabal Warmonger now leads a fleet on Nessus.
Before they exploited us.
Until we grew complacent…
It should've ended before they fattened us.
I should've stepped forward.
Stamped the Red Legion into extinction.
And so we taught them.
Instead, I ran the Banner…
Ice Reapers…buried.
Left us gasping.
to put her in the ground.
Siege Dancers…broken.
Before they forced us to lift up a murderer as our savior.
that the Light cannot be tamed so easily.
Val Ma'rag awaits.
Stick close and protect Ghost from the Hive while he breaches the barrier.
Barrier hacked
Begin the Rite of Proving
Reap Your Reward
Restart the Hack Process
Press the Advance
Ambush Val Ma'rag and his warriors while they are distracted by the Hive.
Crash Through the Hive
Seek Out the Cabal
Defeat the Cabal's Rear Guard.
Defeat Val Ma'rag's Champion
Defeat Val Ma'rag's Champion to lower the shield.
Smash the Cabal Defenses
Challenge Val Ma'rag to the Rite of Proving.
Defeat Val Ma'rag in glorious combat.
Hack Barrier
Hack Interrupted
Defeat Val Ma'rag in the Rite of Proving
Breach the Cabal barrier to pursue Val Ma'rag.
Continue your advance against the Cabal.
Stay Close and Defend Ghost
Claim the spoils of victory.
Maximum distance reached, barrier hack terminated.
A powerful Hive has interrupted Ghost's hack.
You don't think that lowers us to the enemy's level?
If we win, there's no guarantee Caiatl's followers will honor the result. Even if the empress herself does.
We will use that information to direct our fury.
As for what I know…
Not the type for subtlety. They want Caiatl's attention.
So strike now. Take out their leader. United, we can handle the rest in a matter of weeks.
I know that an empress without an empire is in no position to offer anything.
An assassin was inside our walls. I had to do something.
Did I keep you waiting? I've been busy managing the antics of your commanders.
The utmost.
Any day of the week. Make your preparations. I'll reach out to Caiatl to discuss terms.
I know what it's for. If this is what it takes to make a difference, I'm in.
If we do not end this, it will escalate beyond our control. The City is at risk.
Enough to put a name to a dead man's face. The commander told Ikora. Thankfully, he passed you off as a hallucination.
My hope… is there won't be anything to tell. Not if you and the Guardian see this through.
Keep your mask on. Always. Do not speak. Can I trust you to handle this with discretion?
I should have kept my mask on, but I don't regret acting. I still think Zavala's in danger.
That is why I'm embedding you as his bodyguard.
Every fight is a gamble. The question is… whether you're willing to bet on our best Guardians. 
You were seen.
Glint chose the materials. You haven't let me pay for any of this.
An attempted assassination isn't a crisis?
Commander.
But perhaps there is wisdom in thinking like the Cabal.
Good, you're here. The Psions you broke up on Nessus are plotting something. Help Crow investigate this further. 
Here you'll find the assets and information you need to complete our most time-sensitive operations.
Zavala is quite capable of dispatching a lone Psion.
You seem like a wise man. We both know that the best victory is won before the war even begins. I'm giving humanity a way out.
The Cabal have lost their home, not their honor. If we're to die, we will take many with us.
Wait… you aren't going to tell the commander? This concerns him. He deserves to know.
This is not an easy decision. You know that.
I've had to walk these streets under disguise more times than you know. 
"Antics"? Hmph. Time-honored traditions. They don't concern you.
We need to act now.
Unmasked? Didn't the Spider teach you that even small mistakes bring large consequences?
Your commander could be a valued member of it, if he would accept my offer.
Choose your next words wisely.
At that distance, in the dark? No.
I suppose you learned that chasing Xivu Arath.
That data represents possibility, not fate. We need to know more.
We need to draw in their assassins, and a full security outfit is too obvious.
Interesting. Another crack in the shield.
We don't want Lord Saladin walking in while we're discussing this, trust me.
After everything the Cabal have done to us. After Ghaul! We are warriors. Why aren't we at war?
If you want to repay me, keep that mask affixed to your face. It will protect you from the City's ignorance.
Zavala can end this now. You can end this now.
You're auditioning members for your war council. I'd say that concerns us very much.
Your orders remain the same. Honor or no, without a war council, she'll have no war.
Welcome aboard the HELM, Guardian. The Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers.
Whether it does or not, I doubt Caiatl will go down so easily.
How did it go?
Humanity's champion versus the Cabal's. The winner dictates the future.
Well, the Cabal are just thrilled we've been interfering in their politics.
The new style suits you. Spoils of victory in the Reef.
My friends in the Reef have been talking. At this point, Red Legion "commanders" are either brutes or braggarts. 
Ah, Guardian. Saladin spoke highly of your assault.
But I see how you lean on tradition when you fear a loss of control. I see your uncertainty. Dithering.
A Cabal empress with a penchant for mercy—it's a novel idea. You've learned from the mistakes of your predecessors.
They think their tank is a show of strength, but it is no Iron Lord.
Don't know about you, but I'll take that as a compliment.
Aren't you worried about retaliation? The data we've pulled from that prediction engine…
Create a power vacuum and show the Cabal the path they've chosen. Dismissed.
Your concern is noted, but far from a crisis.
If Zavala challenges her to ceremonial combat, she must accept—or risk losing that support.
He was distracted. Soon to be Lightless. If I wasn't—
Tell your commander my patience is running out.
Now I am welcome. Soon you shall be too. Patience and caution.
We'll continue upgrading this space as situations in the system evolve, so check in often to get the latest developments.
Together in the field. Huh. I'm starting to get the impression you all like having me around.
And if we lose this gamble? When Caiatl has her boot on your neck, will she thank you for your diplomacy?
Caiatl has rallied support by embracing old traditions.
Not easy, but inevitable. Neither side can sustain a real war, but the Cabal are aggressive and proud.
Saladin will hold the line so our attention can be directed elsewhere. Names are needed. Examples.
Is that… wise?
I appreciate your cooperation.
That said, a lot of them are just as unhappy Caiatl tried to fold us into the empire.
This isn't the first time an enemy has infiltrated the City, and it won't be the last.
And if we lose this gamble? When Caiatl has a knife to your throat, will she thank you for your diplomacy?
That data represents possibility, not fate. We need to know more.
I suppose you learned that chasing Xivu Arath.
Welcome aboard the HELM, Guardian. The Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers.
My friends in the Reef have been talking. At this point, Red Legion "commanders" are either brutes or braggarts. 
I should have kept my mask on, but I don't regret acting. I still think Zavala's in danger.
You're auditioning members for your war council. I'd say that concerns us very much.
If we do not end this, it will escalate beyond our control. The City is at risk.
A Cabal empress with a penchant for mercy—it's a novel idea. You've learned from the mistakes of your predecessors.
The Cabal have lost their home, not their honor. If we're to die, we will take many with us.
"Antics"? Hmph. Time-honored traditions. They don't concern you.
We will use that information to direct our fury.
Is that… wise?
Commander.
Not easy, but inevitable. Neither side can sustain a real war, but the Cabal are aggressive and proud.
Your commander could be a valued member of it, if he would accept my offer.
Don't know about you, but I'll take that as a compliment.
How did it go?
The new style suits you. Spoils of victory in the Reef.
At that distance, in the dark? No.
You were seen.
We'll continue upgrading this space as situations in the system evolve, so check in often to get the latest developments.
Glint chose the materials. You haven't let me pay for any of this.
This isn't the first time an enemy has infiltrated the City, and it won't be the last.
This is not an easy decision. You know that.
But I see how you lean on tradition when you fear a loss of control. I see your uncertainty. Dithering.
Zavala can end this now. You can end this now.
If Zavala challenges her to ceremonial combat, she must accept—or risk losing that support.
Aren't you worried about retaliation? The data we've pulled from that prediction engine…
Humanity's champion versus the Cabal's. The winner dictates the future.
Your orders remain the same. Honor or no, without a war council, she'll have no war.
So strike now. Take out their leader. United, we can handle the rest in a matter of weeks.
As for what I know…
Well, the Cabal are just thrilled we've been interfering in their politics.
We don't want Lord Saladin walking in while we're discussing this, trust me.
Every fight is a gamble. The question is… whether you're willing to bet on our best Guardians. 
Choose your next words wisely.
My hope… is there won't be anything to tell. Not if you and the Guardian see this through.
Wait… you aren't going to tell the commander? This concerns him. He deserves to know.
Unmasked? Didn't the Spider teach you that even small mistakes bring large consequences?
Good, you're here. The Psions you broke up on Nessus are plotting something. Help Crow investigate this further. 
Saladin will hold the line so our attention can be directed elsewhere. Names are needed. Examples.
And if we lose this gamble? When Caiatl has a knife to your throat, will she thank you for your diplomacy?
He was distracted. Soon to be Lightless. If I wasn't—
An attempted assassination isn't a crisis?
Not the type for subtlety. They want Caiatl's attention.
We need to act now.
They think their tank is a show of strength, but it is no Iron Lord.
And if we lose this gamble? When Caiatl has her boot on your neck, will she thank you for your diplomacy?
Whether it does or not, I doubt Caiatl will go down so easily.
Together in the field. Huh. I'm starting to get the impression you all like having me around.
You seem like a wise man. We both know that the best victory is won before the war even begins. I'm giving humanity a way out.
Zavala is quite capable of dispatching a lone Psion.
We need to draw in their assassins, and a full security outfit is too obvious.
Did I keep you waiting? I've been busy managing the antics of your commanders.
The utmost.
If we win, there's no guarantee Caiatl's followers will honor the result. Even if the empress herself does.
That said, a lot of them are just as unhappy Caiatl tried to fold us into the empire.
I know that an empress without an empire is in no position to offer anything.
After everything the Cabal have done to us. After Ghaul! We are warriors. Why aren't we at war?
Create a power vacuum and show the Cabal the path they've chosen. Dismissed.
Ah, Guardian. Saladin spoke highly of your assault.
Your concern is noted, but far from a crisis.
I appreciate your cooperation.
I know what it's for. If this is what it takes to make a difference, I'm in.
Keep your mask on. Always. Do not speak. Can I trust you to handle this with discretion?
You don't think that lowers us to the enemy's level?
Interesting. Another crack in the shield.
Here you'll find the assets and information you need to complete our most time-sensitive operations.
Any day of the week. Make your preparations. I'll reach out to Caiatl to discuss terms.
Enough to put a name to a dead man's face. The commander told Ikora. Thankfully, he passed you off as a hallucination.
Now I am welcome. Soon you shall be too. Patience and caution.
I've had to walk these streets under disguise more times than you know. 
That is why I'm embedding you as his bodyguard.
Tell your commander my patience is running out.
If you want to repay me, keep that mask affixed to your face. It will protect you from the City's ignorance.
An assassin was inside our walls. I had to do something.
Caiatl has rallied support by embracing old traditions.
But perhaps there is wisdom in thinking like the Cabal.
Several months ago, a Cabal vessel bearing the name "Glykon" disappeared near the Reef.
They rose on their own? That is a new and concerning development.
Amuse me, Traveler-spawn.
The Crown of Sorrow. A Hive artifact of devilish craftmanship, meant to subvert the wearer's will. 
This interface is of Human design. 
We shall see.
This survivor would become the centerpiece of their studies.
At one time. Their Ether was bound with Darkness. Now they're Scorn: rot-minded and easily swayed to violence.
Emperor? This derelict is his empire. Sacrificed to pride; paid for in blood.
The Cabal here, their minds hang suspended in the death throes of cognition; falling into a singularity.
The perfect vessel, if one could keep them contained.
Caiatl, it seems Calus has fled. Amsot states, "Emperor Calus has left us. His Shadow broods."
This is an address from Calus to his crew. 
What do you hear, Empress?
A path to the Ghost still eludes us. Until we return, then.
The inscription reads, "To my captain, cast your Shadow in the face of Darkness, that you might drink of its beauty and grow fat."
Your warning is noted, Empress, but this is Vanguard space.
Dive must have opened the cells. Someone's gotta clip their horns, especially the big one, or… or we're dead.
I've lived aboard these ships. I know their systems. You need me.
Betrayal: a coronach penned to mock the dead. You… heard something different?
That there is a difference makes our understanding of the Darkness a façade.
Transmitting the first decrypted message. 
The Incendiata was later embedded with a team sent to detonate the ship's reactor.
Mistakes, thrown on the pyre of my past. You… heard something different?
A Ghost was injured here. The remnants of its Light pooled around a Dark center. A memory, preserved in physical form.
He's been drinking more and more of that royal slop. I see him pawing at the air for hours, laughing, eyes glazed over.
You can't blame yourself for every missing Guardian, Osiris.
Guardian, I've pieced together another of Amsot's records. It reads, "A tragedy of silence. He tore the wilting failures apart himself."
Exploratory outing: Presage. Designation: VG-999. I am receiving you.
Wine? No… concentrated Dark Ether. These are similar to Gahlran's chamber in the royal baths, but without life support systems.
Delicate.
"The Legionaries spread rumors, saying, 'He merged with Darkness. He is dead. He fights to save us.'"
What have you found in our absence?
Darkness radiation levels are spiking. Move quickly. You don't have time to explore.
We have communed and are adrift between worlds. It controls the lower decks. Dragging the flame.
Those spores are harmonizing with a nearby concentration of Darkness.
Will you ensure the crown is undisturbed while I make preparations for its recovery?
Movement—in the dark!
Welcome, old friend!
"Greatness recognizes greatness. To invoke the attention of the End, our offer must be great."
[laughs] Funny. The line between Light and Dark is so very thin.
How many Cabal died for this?
You're clear for live-fire engagements. Board it, and find our missing Guardian.
If his Ghost were recovered, would its memories be… accessible?
This array contains research logs:
A Scorpius Turret. Its munitions are spent.
Then Uldren's rotted tykes started shrieking and, and I knew… I knew I shouldn't have come here.
His councilors work to isolate and contact the Entity that speaks.
You said you wouldn't… you promised. Everything you say is a lie!
It recounts a descent into the anomaly… Gravitational oscillations broke and reformed the Glykon many times over.
Rescue? The Cabal are not animals. Send in your Guardian, but Calus belongs to me.
Not so far as I'm aware.
The battle report shows skirmishes across the ship, battling several containment breaches. Still, Calus pressed on.
Our emperor's vision is at hand. Tomorrow, we pierce the anomaly's veil. We are ready.
"The end will lay eyes upon him, and weep at his magnificence."
Return to the City. We must assess our findings.
So it would appear.
Hangar systems are intact… why didn't they try to run?
Enough, it would seem, to achieve the emperor's desired result.
We are tasked with the recovery of any information or relics pertaining to the Darkness.
Psions carved telepathic imprints into their brains. Linked them together in shared consciousness. 
I thought you killed that.
Your missing Guardian was working with my father.
The Dark Ether in this device has been tampered with: its connection to the Darkness galvanized, rooted.
Can your Ghosts undo that?
You say that like this isn't your fault.
Like burning alive, and realizing the flames are just the beginning.
Our lost Guardian must have sent this frame to broadcast their distress signal.
The Cabal are not at your disposal. Do so at your own peril.
I promised you true power. Here, you shall find it.
It consumed their minds. All but one, who "spoke with many dead voices."
Then why are you searching for it?
Scans of the anomaly they chased, left in Mars's wake. It's a part of the Darkness, one piece of a larger web.
You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death.
Your Guardian was a traitor, then. Seduced by Calus's posturing. Like so many powerful fools who think themselves invincible.
This ship's passageways no longer connect as they should. 
You think you can contain it? So did Calus. How long before your audacity damns the City, advisor?
You have never sounded more like your father.
Don't insult me. I've grown wise from watching monuments topple. No mercy for false gods.
Then keep your distance and leave us be.
A Ghost? Its Light bleeds away… such a waste.
It… is listening. We cannot leave the crown free.
Idols. Sustained by fixation until there is nothing left to reap.
Not the Darkness, the Entity.
Faint traces of Light. That thing… was a Guardian. We're too late—far too late.
This ship matches its description and heading. So far, our hails have gone unanswered, and the distress signal continues to loop.
They say it spoke to Calus in his own voice. Taught him how to commune.
Saint-14 sends his regards.
The material is organic. It reminds me of a certain flora kept by our silver-tongued Drifter. Curious.
So I'll feed him all the trimmings of his failure. Until his belly bursts.
This… this ain't on you…
It has been altered from its original design. Opened. Instead of controlling minds, it… it's meant to merge them.
But tools can be broken. Forces can be stopped, and those who wield them can be disarmed.
What do you presume they are? The crown? The Entity?
There's a distortion in the feed—no, frequencies… like ripples meeting in conversation. Executing trace. Stand by.
Why were they sent?
A chalice of opulence.
The Cabal have suffered too many losses for vanity. Petulance. First Calus. Then Ghaul.
What monstrosity is this?
Words dipped in false confidence. The emperor is gone. None know where. May we abide his return. 
Whole crew rattling around in my skull, like they're thinking for me. Scorn. What they used to be. What they are now.
But not you?
Another entry transmitting: 
I've sourced the distortion. There's an open patch into the ship's computer. Perhaps courtesy of our lost friend.
There is no Light here.
Calus's scribe identifies a Voice in the Darkness. One of their mother, of dead enemies, of Ghaul.
Your people do not appreciate you as I do.
Where they harvested the Scorn for their experiments.
Cabal regalia tracks combat data. I can access this… An Incendiata, deployed to halt the Scorn reanimation.
I believe I've found a record of first contact with this… Voice. It says:
This hangar took in ships from all over Sol.
"Today, Calus graced the Glykon with his presence and gazed upon the anomaly."
Amsot detailed an ornate procession that brought a Hive crown from Leviathan to Glykon.
This is a rescue operation for a wayward Ghost. Interference here would not end well for you.
Answers. Same as you, Empress.
I've found a journal of Calus's scribe, Amsot. Translation as follows:
Dead whispers in the walls. There is no way back…
Micro etchings along the interior walls… scratches.
Osiris sends you through a trash compactor. If you were Cabal, I would lift you into the stars.
This infestation, I've seen it before… as Xivu Arath slaughtered my people.
Another decrypted entry.
"I Amsot, scribe of Glykon, rejoice. The Scorn are one, rejoice. They bear the weight of the crown elegantly, rejoice."
Able to be brandished against Xivu Arath?
"The connection is strong, but the Darkness does not speak through them. An ocean without wind."
Calus seeks the Entity who speaks through the Darkness.
Too many Scorn for an active Guardian.
Welcome back to the Glykon, Guardians.
The Entity's Voice emanates from the grave of Mars. The Scorn babble to the void and attentively await response.
Was it any different when Ghaul razed the City? Survivors like us are embers in the dark.
"I chose Gahlran, and his frailty betrayed us. He was too pure, too alone. Our new guests are neither."
No. It is a trick. He is hiding, here or elsewhere. He did not simply vanish.
This ship is Cabal. I have a duty to its crew while Calus remains free.
The two are entwined. Does the difference matter?
Their collective mind was then opened through an artifact. A crown… of possession. 
What will you do with Calus if he is found?
Defiant.
Gasps of scorching air. Helpless panic. The smell. 
No. You burned away. I saw it.
Did your data mining yield anything about a crown?
You are weak. Undisciplined. Cowering behind walls.
Are those Eliksni? 
Guardian. You're not the only life sign aboard. I see at least one other. It may be our missing friend… it may not.
Sycophants—all of them. Enabling his madness.
Jump logs indicate this ship made berth from the Leviathan.
More Hive witchcraft. It should be destroyed.
I didn't think it was true. All that talk about the Darkness—but it saw him.
It is as if every permutation of the ship's existence collided in one space.
They relent. We must not. Forward.
I know a few Guardians who might want to hear what I've seen.
You're trespassing, and I need information on that ship. Withdraw.
Scorn. They did not come from Calus's Menagerie.
The Darkness is a primal force? Wielded—like the Light? How simple.
I expected you to be gone after the armistice.
Others align with our missing planets and moons. As well as many points beyond Sol's borders…
Take the rifle. It was offered, was it not? Better in your hands than left for another. 
I'll speak to Zavala about authorizing exploratory outings. If we can recover our lost friend's Ghost, we may learn more of how he died. 
That remains to be seen.
We hit Acheron's wall and sank. Straight down to the deep. Gly's in a bad way after the dive: all twisted. I'm all twisted.
 In place of each world the Darkness stole. At the edge of our heliopause. Calus meant to commune with the Darkness.
Accessing the Glykon's mainframe required a direct connection.
If there is nothing else, I must analyze the Glykon's archives. My cruiser will monitor the situation here.
"A glorious chain of Dark minds. An open mouth for the One in the Darkness, that it may sing in exaltation of my majesty."
"Even the Lightbearer could not coax it to awaken."
Autocrats only know obsession. His gluttony exposed us.
What was it like? That… inevitability?
"His councilors prepare the exhibition chamber with gold from the Castellum. They are confident the crown is ready."
The ignorance of my youth; the pain of change. Unproven faith wilted by logic.
My advisor's betrayal. Clearer now than it was then. You hear something different?
Something in there stared right back into Calus's hungry eyes.
Amsot kept notes on experiments as well. It seems that Scorn exposed to the anomaly all suffered contiguous neuron death.
Guardian. This anomaly left in Mars's wake… I have seen it and others like it.
As long as I see him dragged from this hole, I don't care who does it.
Half these ships ran routes to the Tangled Shore.
Calus's surgeons experimented on the Scorn. Cranial dissections. Dark Ether drownings to engorge them.
Caiatl? No more assassins to send?
I have admired you for some time now. [laughs] You never fail to inspire.
Resurrection does not make one invulnerable. Your kind taught us that. These orders did not come from Calus.
Hidden records in Glykon's mainframe… from your lost Guardian. They're decrypting as we speak.
I'm receiving you, Guardian. The Vanguard saw value in our investigation.
Not finished picking at Cabal bones?
The Leviathan could be lurking at any of those coordinates.
The Glykon navigation system marks their destination as an anomaly… left in the wake of Mars's disappearance.
There's another alignment tomorrow. Maybe I can slip the hangar and get lost before anyone notices.
All to exploit their connection to the Darkness. Had Calus seen Torobatl fall, as I did, would he have learned then?
Our lost Guardian.
Scorn?
Calus always did embody a clever sort of madness.
And fall into the burrow of an ambush predator? Like Umun. Like Eramis. I think not. 
Its pilot has an officer's clearance; our Guardian appears to have a long and storied history with the emperor.
Caiatl? Heh, have you no more officers to send in your place?
"They whisper anticipations, rejoice. Our emperor hears the Voice of salvation. Rejoice!"
It allowed the Darkness to invade the Scorn's thoughts.
Put this decrepit creature to rest.
Scribe Amsot states, "The emperor shows us we chase a mirage."
A refuse heap. Darkness, soot, Ether… They were burning the spent Scorn to ash.
So… this is where they died. Their sacrifice is noted. Their names will be honored.
"The Darkness is nothing but a great basin of formless thoughts. A vast tangle of composting chaos."
I suspected it was the crown in question.
So, Guardian… Go be you—the stray variable.
What is that thing?
Sarcophilous growths, with cores of Darkness.
This ship is Cabal. I have a duty to its crew while Calus remains free.
What have you found in our absence?
There is no Light here.
I didn't think it was true. All that talk about the Darkness—but it saw him.
You're trespassing, and I need information on that ship. Withdraw.
The perfect vessel, if one could keep them contained.
Others align with our missing planets and moons. As well as many points beyond Sol's borders…
Psions carved telepathic imprints into their brains. Linked them together in shared consciousness. 
I have admired you for some time now. [laughs] You never fail to inspire.
The Incendiata was later embedded with a team sent to detonate the ship's reactor.
This ship's passageways no longer connect as they should. 
If there is nothing else, I must analyze the Glykon's archives. My cruiser will monitor the situation here.
"Words dipped in false confidence. The emperor is gone. None know where. May we abide his return."
Scribe Amsot states, "The emperor shows us we chase a mirage."
The material is organic. It reminds me of a certain flora kept by our silver-tongued Drifter. Curious.
Emperor? This derelict is his empire. Sacrificed to pride; paid for in blood.
"The connection is strong, but the Darkness does not speak through them. An ocean without wind."
Your warning is noted, Empress, but this is Vanguard space.
That remains to be seen.
More Hive witchcraft. It should be destroyed.
Mistakes, thrown on the pyre of my past. You… heard something different?
Exploratory outing: Presage. Designation: VG-999. I am receiving you.
A Ghost? Its Light bleeds away… such a waste.
I believe I've found a record of first contact with this… Voice. It says:
Caiatl, it seems Calus has fled. Amsot states, "Emperor Calus has left us. His Shadow broods."
[laughs] Funny. The line between Light and Dark is so very thin.
Will you ensure the crown is undisturbed while I make preparations for its recovery?
My advisor's betrayal. Clearer now than it was then. You hear something different?
"A glorious chain of Dark minds. An open mouth for the One in the Darkness, that it may sing in exaltation of my majesty."
Calus's scribe identifies a Voice in the Darkness. One of their mother, of dead enemies, of Ghaul.
Your people do not appreciate you as I do.
We shall see.
"Today, Calus graced the Glykon with his presence and gazed upon the anomaly."
Their collective mind was then opened through an artifact. A crown… of possession. 
The battle report shows skirmishes across the ship, battling several containment breaches. Still, Calus pressed on.
The Leviathan could be lurking at any of those coordinates.
They relent. We must not. Forward.
Too many Scorn for an active Guardian.
Put this decrepit creature to rest.
But tools can be broken. Forces can be stopped, and those who wield them can be disarmed.
Scans of the anomaly they chased, left in Mars's wake. It's a part of the Darkness, one piece of a larger web.
Scorn?
I've sourced the distortion. There's an open patch into the ship's computer. Perhaps courtesy of our lost friend.
If his Ghost were recovered, would its memories be… accessible?
Whole crew rattling around in my skull, like they're thinking for me. Scorn. What they used to be. What they are now.
Not finished picking at Cabal bones?
Calus's surgeons experimented on the Scorn. Cranial dissections. Dark Ether drownings to engorge them.
Take the rifle. It was offered, was it not? Better in your hands than left for another. 
The Cabal have suffered too many losses for vanity. Petulance. First Calus. Then Ghaul.
A path to the Ghost still eludes us. Until we return, then.
This ship matches its description and heading. So far, our hails have gone unanswered, and the distress signal continues to loop.
Jump logs indicate this ship made berth from the Leviathan.
Enough, it would seem, to achieve the emperor's desired result.
Hidden records in Glykon's mainframe… from your lost Guardian. They're decrypting as we speak.
I know a few Guardians who might want to hear what I've seen.
Something in there stared right back into Calus's hungry eyes.
It allowed the Darkness to invade the Scorn's thoughts.
Did your data mining yield anything about a crown?
Autocrats only know obsession. His gluttony exposed us.
His councilors work to isolate and contact the Entity that speaks.
Resurrection does not make one invulnerable. Your kind taught us that. These orders did not come from Calus.
Delicate.
Don't insult me. I've grown wise from watching monuments topple. No mercy for false gods.
So I'll feed him all the trimmings of his failure. Until his belly bursts.
You are weak. Undisciplined. Cowering behind walls.
Accessing the Glykon's mainframe required a direct connection.
Saint-14 sends his regards.
Sycophants—all of them. Enabling his madness.
I promised you true power. Here, you shall find it.
This is a rescue operation for a wayward Ghost. Interference here would not end well for you.
It has been altered from its original design. Opened. Instead of controlling minds, it… it's meant to merge them.
It consumed their minds. All but one, who "spoke with many dead voices."
Like burning alive, and realizing the flames are just the beginning.
This interface is of Human design. 
Then Uldren's rotted tykes started shrieking and, and I knew… I knew I shouldn't have come here.
At one time. Their Ether was bound with Darkness. Now they're Scorn: rot-minded and easily swayed to violence.
Sarcophilous growths, with cores of Darkness.
Amsot kept notes on experiments as well. It seems that Scorn exposed to the anomaly all suffered contiguous neuron death.
We hit Acheron's wall and sank. Straight down to the deep. Gly's in a bad way after the dive: all twisted. I'm all twisted.
What do you hear, Empress?
What will you do with Calus if he is found?
Why were they sent?
This hangar took in ships from all over Sol.
Welcome back to the Glykon, Guardians.
There's another alignment tomorrow. Maybe I can slip the hangar and get lost before anyone notices.
Osiris sends you through a trash compactor. If you were Cabal, I would lift you into the stars.
This… this ain't on you…
"They whisper anticipations, rejoice. Our emperor hears the Voice of salvation. Rejoice!"
Guardian, I've pieced together another of Amsot's records. It reads, "A tragedy of silence. He tore the wilting failures apart himself."
Another decrypted entry.
We have communed and are adrift between worlds. It controls the lower decks. Dragging the flame.
Several months ago, a Cabal vessel bearing the name "Glykon" disappeared near the Reef.
I'll speak to Zavala about authorizing exploratory outings. If we can recover our lost friend's Ghost, we may learn more of how he died. 
No. It is a trick. He is hiding, here or elsewhere. He did not simply vanish.
They say it spoke to Calus in his own voice. Taught him how to commune.
Defiant.
And fall into the burrow of an ambush predator? Like Umun. Like Eramis. I think not. 
Our lost Guardian.
What was it like? That… inevitability?
Movement—in the dark!
No. You burned away. I saw it.
Where they harvested the Scorn for their experiments.
Wine? No… concentrated Dark Ether. These are similar to Gahlran's chamber in the royal baths, but without life support systems.
This infestation, I've seen it before… as Xivu Arath slaughtered my people.
We are tasked with the recovery of any information or relics pertaining to the Darkness.
This survivor would become the centerpiece of their studies.
"Greatness recognizes greatness. To invoke the attention of the End, our offer must be great."
A Ghost was injured here. The remnants of its Light pooled around a Dark center. A memory, preserved in physical form.
Amuse me, Traveler-spawn.
I've found a journal of Calus's scribe, Amsot. Translation as follows:
"I chose Gahlran, and his frailty betrayed us. He was too pure, too alone. Our new guests are neither."
Caiatl? Heh, have you no more officers to send in your place?
How many Cabal died for this?
The Glykon navigation system marks their destination as an anomaly… left in the wake of Mars's disappearance.
You're clear for live-fire engagements. Board it, and find our missing Guardian.
The Cabal are not at your disposal. Do so at your own peril.
You have never sounded more like your father.
The Cabal here, their minds hang suspended in the death throes of cognition; falling into a singularity.
What is that thing?
He's been drinking more and more of that royal slop. I see him pawing at the air for hours, laughing, eyes glazed over.
A refuse heap. Darkness, soot, Ether… They were burning the spent Scorn to ash.
Guardian. This anomaly left in Mars's wake… I have seen it and others like it.
So it would appear.
It… is listening. We cannot leave the crown free.
"The Legionaries spread rumors, saying, 'He merged with Darkness. He is dead. He fights to save us.'"
Gasps of scorching air. Helpless panic. The smell. 
I've lived aboard these ships. I know their systems. You need me.
"The Darkness is nothing but a great basin of formless thoughts. A vast tangle of composting chaos."
It recounts a descent into the anomaly… Gravitational oscillations broke and reformed the Glykon many times over.
Cabal regalia tracks combat data. I can access this… An Incendiata, deployed to halt the Scorn reanimation.
Calus seeks the Entity who speaks through the Darkness.
 In place of each world the Darkness stole. At the edge of our heliopause. Calus meant to commune with the Darkness.
So… this is where they died. Their sacrifice is noted. Their names will be honored.
Not the Darkness, the Entity.
Its pilot has an officer's clearance; our Guardian appears to have a long and storied history with the emperor.
Can your Ghosts undo that?
Return to the City. We must assess our findings.
I suspected it was the crown in question.
Are those Eliksni? 
Scorn. They did not come from Calus's Menagerie.
Your Guardian was a traitor, then. Seduced by Calus's posturing. Like so many powerful fools who think themselves invincible.
Transmitting the first decrypted message. 
You said you wouldn't… you promised. Everything you say is a lie!
Was it any different when Ghaul razed the City? Survivors like us are embers in the dark.
But not you?
The ignorance of my youth; the pain of change. Unproven faith wilted by logic.
I expected you to be gone after the armistice.
Our emperor's vision is at hand. Tomorrow, we pierce the anomaly's veil. We are ready.
Micro etchings along the interior walls… scratches.
The two are entwined. Does the difference matter?
I'm receiving you, Guardian. The Vanguard saw value in our investigation.
This is an address from Calus to his crew. 
Your missing Guardian was working with my father.
Caiatl? No more assassins to send?
"Even the Lightbearer could not coax it to awaken."
Guardian. You're not the only life sign aboard. I see at least one other. It may be our missing friend… it may not.
The Dark Ether in this device has been tampered with: its connection to the Darkness galvanized, rooted.
The inscription reads, "To my captain, cast your Shadow in the face of Darkness, that you might drink of its beauty and grow fat."
Half these ships ran routes to the Tangled Shore.
Not so far as I'm aware.
Those spores are harmonizing with a nearby concentration of Darkness.
There's a distortion in the feed—no, frequencies… like ripples meeting in conversation. Executing trace. Stand by.
A Scorpius Turret. Its munitions are spent.
Our lost Guardian must have sent this frame to broadcast their distress signal.
Hangar systems are intact… why didn't they try to run?
The Crown of Sorrow. A Hive artifact of devilish craftmanship, meant to subvert the wearer's will. 
Faint traces of Light. That thing… was a Guardian. We're too late—far too late.
The Entity's Voice emanates from the grave of Mars. The Scorn babble to the void and attentively await response.
Then keep your distance and leave us be.
Rescue? The Cabal are not animals. Send in your Guardian, but Calus belongs to me.
As long as I see him dragged from this hole, I don't care who does it.
You can't blame yourself for every missing Guardian, Osiris.
You think you can contain it? So did Calus. How long before your audacity damns the City, advisor?
They rose on their own? That is a new and concerning development.
The Darkness is a primal force? Wielded—like the Light? How simple.
"His councilors prepare the exhibition chamber with gold from the Castellum. They are confident the crown is ready."
I thought you killed that.
That there is a difference makes our understanding of the Darkness a façade.
Amsot detailed an ornate procession that brought a Hive crown from Leviathan to Glykon.
"I Amsot, scribe of Glykon, rejoice. The Scorn are one, rejoice. They bear the weight of the crown elegantly, rejoice."
It is as if every permutation of the ship's existence collided in one space.
Then why are you searching for it?
Darkness radiation levels are spiking. Move quickly. You don't have time to explore.
Welcome, old friend!
Able to be brandished against Xivu Arath?
What monstrosity is this?
You're not brave. You've merely forgotten the fear of death.
Dead whispers in the walls. There is no way back…
"The end will lay eyes upon him, and weep at his magnificence."
So, Guardian… Go be you—the stray variable.
This array contains research logs:
Betrayal: a coronach penned to mock the dead. You… heard something different?
Answers. Same as you, Empress.
Calus always did embody a clever sort of madness.
You say that like this isn't your fault.
Another entry transmitting: 
Dive must have opened the cells. Someone's gotta clip their horns, especially the big one, or… or we're dead.
What do you presume they are? The crown? The Entity?
All to exploit their connection to the Darkness. Had Calus seen Torobatl fall, as I did, would he have learned then?
Idols. Sustained by fixation until there is nothing left to reap.
A chalice of opulence.
Begin the Rite of Proving
Commander Dracus defeated
Disrupt the Cabal
Defeat the Cabal to lure out officers carrying volatile power cells for the arrays.
Continue your advance against the Cabal.
Defeat Cabal to Acquire a Volatile Power Cell
Stop the Cabal Advance
Champion defeated
Destroy the Targeting Arrays with a Power Cell
Defeat Commander Dracus's Champion to remove his shield.
Halt the Cabal Advance
Use the volatile power cell to destroy the tank's targeting array.
Press the Advance
Confront the Cabal on Nessus and disrupt their operations.
Investigate Cabal activity on Nessus.
Arrays destroyed
Investigate Cabal Activity
The Rite of Proving has begun! Defeat Commander Dracus!
Challenge Commander Dracus to the Rite of Proving.
Collect Access Codes
Gather Code Fragments to disconnect the tank's targeting system.
Disconnect the tank's targeting system.
Defeat Commander Dracus
Gather access codes to the Land Tank's remote targeting system.
Defeat Cabal in the Tangle.
Reap Your Reward
Access code gathered
Defeat Dracus's Champion
Sabotage the Tank's Targeting System
Claim the spoils of victory.
I'll take the bullet myself before I let the commander go down. I'm not losing any more family. Not ever.
Putting the hit out on Zavala makes that peace offer smell pretty sour. Glad the commander didn't bite.
Those space hogs think we're just gonna lay down, after everything. Makes me mad as hell!
I can't excuse what Caiatl did… but I know how hard it is to be on the run, without a home.
Forty-six, Guardian. Forty-six Threshers I shot down from the Red War to now. I think both sides have had enough.
Anything lays a hand on the commander, I'll bury 'em myself. I've fought plenty of Cabal, and worse things yet.
Caiatl stands tall, but you can bet she signed that ceasefire with her tail hanging low.
Fixing to cause some trouble? Bird's ready when you are, Guardian. Just call out the DZ.
Haven't flown this many drops since Ghaul was in town. Feels good to get out, smell the pulse rounds.
Let's bring some birds back home, set 'em up on overwatch around the wall. No more Psions sneaking in the back door.
It's blowing up a storm out there; slug rounds everywhere. You need a pilot, you come straight to me, you hear?
Caiatl says she's not a conqueror? She's just serving salt and calling it sugar.
Is that all Caiatl could muster? Nothing a hammer and some polish won't fix.
I don't mind a ceasefire, so long as it means I never see another Cabal set foot in this City. We'll see if that holds.
I can't excuse what Caiatl did… but I know how hard it is to be on the run, without a home.
Those space hogs think we're just gonna lay down, after everything. Makes me mad as hell!
Caiatl says she's not a conqueror? She's just serving salt and calling it sugar.
Haven't flown this many drops since Ghaul was in town. Feels good to get out, smell the pulse rounds.
Is that all Caiatl could muster? Nothing a hammer and some polish won't fix.
Fixing to cause some trouble? Bird's ready when you are, Guardian. Just call out the DZ.
It's blowing up a storm out there; slug rounds everywhere. You need a pilot, you come straight to me, you hear?
Caiatl stands tall, but you can bet she signed that ceasefire with her tail hanging low.
I'll take the bullet myself before I let the commander go down. I'm not losing any more family. Not ever.
Putting the hit out on Zavala makes that peace offer smell pretty sour. Glad the commander didn't bite.
Anything lays a hand on the commander, I'll bury 'em myself. I've fought plenty of Cabal, and worse things yet.
Forty-six, Guardian. Forty-six Threshers I shot down from the Red War to now. I think both sides have had enough.
Let's bring some birds back home, set 'em up on overwatch around the wall. No more Psions sneaking in the back door.
I don't mind a ceasefire, so long as it means I never see another Cabal set foot in this City. We'll see if that holds.
The hell's this got to do with anything? 
You make it look easy, Guardian. 
The Eliksni I know don't care much about the Traveler. Caiatl doesn't seem to either.
I'm no child. I know what Thrall are. 
Zavala should count his allies carefully.
That's another fight for another day. Impressively done, Guardian.
The Cabal would risk everything for a chance at retribution against the Hive.
The brood is relentless, but do not lose sight of your target. The Cabal's champion is near.
Smells like desperation. 
Guardians! This fight is between the empire and the Hive! Do not interfere.
Guardian, the Cabal have established a base not far from here. 
From what I've heard, the Iron Lords' definition of "reason" hasn't exactly been a winning strategy.
You would make a fine Guardian, Miss Holliday. Though I'm not sure you'd appreciate the barrier for entry.
That's war.
I have eyes on their commander, just up ahead. 
We had no time for idle chatter when we were defending the walls at Six Fronts, I'll tell you that.
The moment she has the upper hand, she will attempt to make Earth the new Cabal homeworld. 
I cannot stand the Hive! Just lookin' at 'em makes my skin crawl.
She ain't a conqueror, Osiris. Not like we thought. [sighs] For all your fancy magic, you sure missed the Human side of her.
These Thrall scream, seek, kill, devour. To grow, advance, and change.
Yes, excellent work. That should weaken the holdouts in this region.
The Hive are not that fond of you either, Miss Holliday. 
Desperate creatures cannot be trusted.
You have a sense of conviction that I find fascinating. 
Maybe if we took a look at things from their perspective, we might… I don't know, see it differently.
Then let's give them some. 
The Cabal are so consumed by vengeance, they would risk antagonizing both the Hive and our Vanguard.
Do not confuse cunning for restraint. 
Go light 'em up, Guardian!
Who would've thought Cosmodrome sweeps and decoding engrams would bring the same level of excitement?
Then again, how else should you feel after your home has been destroyed? 
Now is not the time to psychoanalyze the enemy. 
Perhaps Caiatl will cut a deal after all. One that's more to Zavala's liking.
Maybe. Maybe not. Guess we'll see.
He still thinks it's best if I stick to the shadows.
Invite the enemy to meet their end!
The Cabal are not guided by reason. As far as I can tell, neither is the Vanguard. Not anymore. 
The Cabal will retreat without their commander. 
You talk like they ain't the same sometimes. Caiatl's a protector, tryin' to find a home for her kin. No matter the cost.
Cabal honor will dictate that he'll have to answer your challenge.
Ah. As long as they continue fighting against us, we will push back. And should the empress violate our agreement…
The Cabal certainly have it out for the Hive. It's almost a shame we can't team up. 
Go! Light 'em up, Guardian!
Was that remark pointed in my direction? 
And the Hive have already dropped in for a visit, so… expect some chaos!
The Red War proved that the Cabal have no limits.
The Cabal dropped right in the middle of the Hive!
Xivu Arath, on the other hand… that's a grudge the Cabal will cling to till the end of time. 
They've established a base in Vanguard territory. On Earth.
Yeah, well. I'm a fascinatin' person.
Huh. Must be a bad signal. 
I hope you're right, Miss Holliday.
We can all be better. Have to try. Fallen, Cabal, hmph… hell, maybe there's even somethin' left inside the Hive what's worth savin'.
I think we're done here.
It's possible they're already engaged with the Hive, so expect a little chaos.
I meant the Cabal.
These are clearly dissidents. Caiatl lost a lot of support agreeing to a truce. 
Yes. Monsters should be put down. Do not let Caiatl fool you with honeyed words that the Cabal are any different.
Don't confuse feelings for facts.
Nicely done, Guardian. I don't know about you, but this just feels routine now. 
So much rage, so much suffering…
This is our chance to kill two birds with one stone. 
You'll forgive me. I'm new, so I'm not caught up on our history… 
There are many who would not have made such a selfless gesture. 
To be fair, the Cabal were focused on the Hive until we showed up. 
This commander, maybe. But Caiatl seems… different.
What were you doing in the Red War?
How many more times do we gotta clear this place out?
Eyes up. The Cabal have been holding off waves of Hive for weeks… but the situation may have deteriorated.
Their mutual hostility may work to our advantage, but don't forget who we're fighting for.
You may not trust the Cabal to make peace, but I trust the Hive to kill us all if we don't.
Even after losing as much as you have, you continue to fight. Knowing well you have but one life.
The Cabal brought some serious weaponry with them. They must really hate the Hive.
This is an important strategic position. It allows Caiatl to establish a beachhead on Earth at the Hive's expense.
They thought that fire and force would be enough to destroy the Hive.
The Cabal have dramatically underestimated the density of the Hive. They are overrun.
And if that cost is your freedom?
Go forth, Guardian. Cleanse this place.
You do not hesitate to destroy Thrall. 
Right. Meditate on their motives when they're dead.
Get in there and show them all whose territory this is!
Course not. They're monsters.
So Crow and I were talkin' last time we ran this operation. Got me thinkin' about how hard the Cabal are fightin' and what for.
Now's your moment, Young Wolf.
They cannot deny the Proving. Challenge them, end this.
It's been a running gunfight for weeks! Welcome to the party!
We cannot let this continue! Cleanse them all!
After your service to Zavala, he could hardly deny you. He owes you his life.
Makes me wish I could work more openly for the Vanguard.
We can use this to our advantage. Clear out the Cabal on the periphery, then become a spear and strike through their heart. 
Friends are friends, and enemies are enemies.
Time to fight fire with fire. Or bullets. You know, your choice. 
At least we agree on something. 
Hive, Cabal, Fallen: all of them are threats to the Traveler and the people it protects. 
It's an act of aggression that should be met in kind.
To the Hive, a Thrall is a child. Quick to physically mature… but still little more than a toddler taking its first steps.
Do you know what Thrall are?
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Hive.
I wouldn't. Though your lack of professionalism continues to amaze me.
Caiatl and the Cabal are on the run, without a home, chased by the Hive. That's a familiar story.
The Cabal have set up shop not far from here!
I'm sorry, w-what? [faking static noise] You're, uh, [faking static] you're breakin' up. [faking static] I'm flyin' into a tunnel!
That depends on which brood these Hive belong to.
Cut 'em down, Guardian!
These are the creatures Zavala thinks will respect an armistice.
Yes, if only all Lightbearers had their focus.   
Sometimes, one life is all it takes.
And you know what they say: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
I'm sorry, what? [faking static noise] You're breakin' up! [faking static] I'm flyin' into a tunnel!
Guardians! This fight is between the empire and the Hive! Do not interfere!
If those are birds, you're gonna need a boulder at least. 
My "fancy magic" had nothing to do with this. Cabal aren't Human.
You saw what the Hive did to the Eliksni on the Shore. That would push anyone to their limit.
And I doubt Zavala tolerated it during the Red War.
The Hive look like they're withdrawin' and the Cabal are on the run.
Can't blame Caiatl for wantin' her people to burn out that nest. Nowhere those things belong but gone.
Watching the Guardian cut through the Hive just to beat down a Cabal commander….
Letting them settle in would be a bad idea.
Then let's give them some. 
We can all be better. Have to try. Fallen, Cabal, hmph… hell, maybe there's even somethin' left inside the Hive what's worth savin'.
Nicely done, Guardian. I don't know about you, but this just feels routine now. 
Letting them settle in would be a bad idea.
After your service to Zavala, he could hardly deny you. He owes you his life.
That's war.
Ah. As long as they continue fighting against us, we will push back. And should the empress violate our agreement…
Invite the enemy to meet their end!
The Eliksni I know don't care much about the Traveler. Caiatl doesn't seem to either.
So much rage, so much suffering…
You make it look easy, Guardian. 
Yes, if only all Lightbearers had their focus.   
It's possible they're already engaged with the Hive, so expect a little chaos.
Maybe if we took a look at things from their perspective, we might… I don't know, see it differently.
Now is not the time to psychoanalyze the enemy. 
The Cabal are so consumed by vengeance, they would risk antagonizing both the Hive and our Vanguard.
The Cabal would risk everything for a chance at retribution against the Hive.
How many more times do we gotta clear this place out?
And if that cost is your freedom?
Yeah, well. I'm a fascinatin' person.
The Cabal brought some serious weaponry with them. They must really hate the Hive.
Course not. They're monsters.
Perhaps Caiatl will cut a deal after all. One that's more to Zavala's liking.
The Cabal have dramatically underestimated the density of the Hive. They are overrun.
The moment she has the upper hand, she will attempt to make Earth the new Cabal homeworld. 
She ain't a conqueror, Osiris. Not like we thought. [sighs] For all your fancy magic, you sure missed the Human side of her.
Don't confuse feelings for facts.
And the Hive have already dropped in for a visit, so… expect some chaos!
I wouldn't. Though your lack of professionalism continues to amaze me.
We cannot let this continue! Cleanse them all!
I cannot stand the Hive! Just lookin' at 'em makes my skin crawl.
We had no time for idle chatter when we were defending the walls at Six Fronts, I'll tell you that.
I think we're done here.
Friends are friends, and enemies are enemies.
What were you doing in the Red War?
I'm sorry, what? [faking static noise] You're breakin' up! [faking static] I'm flyin' into a tunnel!
Then again, how else should you feel after your home has been destroyed? 
Get in there and show them all whose territory this is!
I hope you're right, Miss Holliday.
This commander, maybe. But Caiatl seems… different.
You do not hesitate to destroy Thrall. 
Zavala should count his allies carefully.
So Crow and I were talkin' last time we ran this operation. Got me thinkin' about how hard the Cabal are fightin' and what for.
The Hive are not that fond of you either, Miss Holliday. 
Caiatl and the Cabal are on the run, without a home, chased by the Hive. That's a familiar story.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the Hive.
This is an important strategic position. It allows Caiatl to establish a beachhead on Earth at the Hive's expense.
Cut 'em down, Guardian!
The Cabal certainly have it out for the Hive. It's almost a shame we can't team up. 
From what I've heard, the Iron Lords' definition of "reason" hasn't exactly been a winning strategy.
Makes me wish I could work more openly for the Vanguard.
My "fancy magic" had nothing to do with this. Cabal aren't Human.
I have eyes on their commander, just up ahead. 
And I doubt Zavala tolerated it during the Red War.
To be fair, the Cabal were focused on the Hive until we showed up. 
You would make a fine Guardian, Miss Holliday. Though I'm not sure you'd appreciate the barrier for entry.
The brood is relentless, but do not lose sight of your target. The Cabal's champion is near.
Maybe. Maybe not. Guess we'll see.
And you know what they say: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Their mutual hostility may work to our advantage, but don't forget who we're fighting for.
Do you know what Thrall are?
Guardians! This fight is between the empire and the Hive! Do not interfere!
You saw what the Hive did to the Eliksni on the Shore. That would push anyone to their limit.
These Thrall scream, seek, kill, devour. To grow, advance, and change.
Do not confuse cunning for restraint. 
Right. Meditate on their motives when they're dead.
Xivu Arath, on the other hand… that's a grudge the Cabal will cling to till the end of time. 
Hive, Cabal, Fallen: all of them are threats to the Traveler and the people it protects. 
Time to fight fire with fire. Or bullets. You know, your choice. 
It's an act of aggression that should be met in kind.
I'm no child. I know what Thrall are. 
Eyes up. The Cabal have been holding off waves of Hive for weeks… but the situation may have deteriorated.
You have a sense of conviction that I find fascinating. 
The Cabal have set up shop not far from here!
Even after losing as much as you have, you continue to fight. Knowing well you have but one life.
The hell's this got to do with anything? 
These are the creatures Zavala thinks will respect an armistice.
These are clearly dissidents. Caiatl lost a lot of support agreeing to a truce. 
You'll forgive me. I'm new, so I'm not caught up on our history… 
Yes, excellent work. That should weaken the holdouts in this region.
The Red War proved that the Cabal have no limits.
Sometimes, one life is all it takes.
I'm sorry, w-what? [faking static noise] You're, uh, [faking static] you're breakin' up. [faking static] I'm flyin' into a tunnel!
Guardian, the Cabal have established a base not far from here. 
He still thinks it's best if I stick to the shadows.
Go light 'em up, Guardian!
We can use this to our advantage. Clear out the Cabal on the periphery, then become a spear and strike through their heart. 
You talk like they ain't the same sometimes. Caiatl's a protector, tryin' to find a home for her kin. No matter the cost.
Now's your moment, Young Wolf.
Go forth, Guardian. Cleanse this place.
Was that remark pointed in my direction? 
Watching the Guardian cut through the Hive just to beat down a Cabal commander….
If those are birds, you're gonna need a boulder at least. 
Smells like desperation. 
The Cabal dropped right in the middle of the Hive!
It's been a running gunfight for weeks! Welcome to the party!
Yes. Monsters should be put down. Do not let Caiatl fool you with honeyed words that the Cabal are any different.
You may not trust the Cabal to make peace, but I trust the Hive to kill us all if we don't.
Cabal honor will dictate that he'll have to answer your challenge.
Desperate creatures cannot be trusted.
They've established a base in Vanguard territory. On Earth.
They cannot deny the Proving. Challenge them, end this.
Huh. Must be a bad signal. 
This is our chance to kill two birds with one stone. 
Who would've thought Cosmodrome sweeps and decoding engrams would bring the same level of excitement?
Can't blame Caiatl for wantin' her people to burn out that nest. Nowhere those things belong but gone.
The Cabal are not guided by reason. As far as I can tell, neither is the Vanguard. Not anymore. 
The Hive look like they're withdrawin' and the Cabal are on the run.
There are many who would not have made such a selfless gesture. 
That's another fight for another day. Impressively done, Guardian.
That depends on which brood these Hive belong to.
The Cabal will retreat without their commander. 
Go! Light 'em up, Guardian!
To the Hive, a Thrall is a child. Quick to physically mature… but still little more than a toddler taking its first steps.
Guardians! This fight is between the empire and the Hive! Do not interfere.
At least we agree on something. 
They thought that fire and force would be enough to destroy the Hive.
I meant the Cabal.
Self-pity is not the path forward. This is the burden of command.
Caiatl failed to kill me, but I wonder what other damage she's done. Saladin grows more restless by the day.
The shadows encroach all around us, Guardian, but our Light still burns.
All warfare is founded on deception, Guardian. We cannot afford to take Caiatl's agreement at face value.
Yes, Zavala here. A parcel? I didn't order any—for Sloane. I see… You can deliver it to my office. Thank you.
Keep me apprised of Caiatl's actions, Guardian. A truce and trust are not the same thing.
I welcome Saladin's wisdom… but not his hunger for conflict.
Caiatl confirmed our suspicions with the attempt on my life. The only question now… is how to react.
A unified Cabal Empire is an untenable risk, regardless of who leads it.
The best time to win a war is before it starts, Guardian; prune Caiatl's ambitions before they flourish.
Pledging loyalty to avoid war is nothing short of a preemptive surrender.
I'm not asking you to believe Caiatl's story, just to have faith in my judgment.
We must accept that Caiatl is not Ghaul, even if the scars of the Red War make that difficult.
A lone assassin? How little does she think of me?
A fleet of this size, but no ground troops? What's their strategy, their motive…
You and I both know how fragile this treaty is, but as commander, I must recognize the opportunity it presents.
This wasn't my first brush with death, and it won't be my last. Carry on.
Rumors of Cabal plots continue to spread. Squash them if you can, Guardian. They only undermine our focus.
Rumors of Cabal plots continue to spread. Squash them if you can, Guardian. They only undermine our focus.
Caiatl confirmed our suspicions with the attempt on my life. The only question now… is how to react.
Pledging loyalty to avoid war is nothing short of a preemptive surrender.
I welcome Saladin's wisdom… but not his hunger for conflict.
All warfare is founded on deception, Guardian. We cannot afford to take Caiatl's agreement at face value.
Caiatl failed to kill me, but I wonder what other damage she's done. Saladin grows more restless by the day.
The shadows encroach all around us, Guardian, but our Light still burns.
Keep me apprised of Caiatl's actions, Guardian. A truce and trust are not the same thing.
A fleet of this size, but no ground troops? What's their strategy, their motive…
Self-pity is not the path forward. This is the burden of command.
The best time to win a war is before it starts, Guardian; prune Caiatl's ambitions before they flourish.
This wasn't my first brush with death, and it won't be my last. Carry on.
I'm not asking you to believe Caiatl's story, just to have faith in my judgment.
You and I both know how fragile this treaty is, but as commander, I must recognize the opportunity it presents.
Yes, Zavala here. A parcel? I didn't order any—for Sloane. I see… You can deliver it to my office. Thank you.
A lone assassin? How little does she think of me?
A unified Cabal Empire is an untenable risk, regardless of who leads it.
We must accept that Caiatl is not Ghaul, even if the scars of the Red War make that difficult.
Zavala was my pupil once. Now it takes near-death for him to heed my words.
Zavala, your idealism is what holds you back. I wish I had taught you better.
I want position and vector on that tank every half hour. 
Caiatl has a silver tongue, but I know a warlord when I see one.
We break our backs to feed that Warmind, and for what?
If Zavala is too timid to carry his blade to war, then I'll wield two in his place.
I am glad the commander is safe… even if he fails to learn the right lessons.
We ally with the Warmind but draw the line at Caiatl? What logic is that?
The Warmind and a Cabal empress at our table. Why not invite a Hive god as well?
Twice now, Rasputin has failed to stop the Darkness. A foolish alliance.
Would you sit by while they took aim at your Ghost? We must respond with force!
We cannot trust the Warmind. Even now, he might plot our doom, and we gave him the means.
I've been fighting wars since Zavala was still bones and dust. Whose experience will you trust?
We could have destroyed the Cabal. Instead, they linger like starving hounds.
Cabal freely entering the Last City… First, we were cowards. Now, we're careless. 
I failed to defend the City from Ghaul. I won't fail again.
A truce is temporary, Guardian. A victory is forever. Which would you rather have?
I wish you could have learned from Jolder. She knew how to respond to tyrants like Caiatl.
This strike force is a half-measure, like most of Zavala's choices.
You don't find it suspicious that Rasputin was "disabled" so easily?
A truce is temporary, Guardian. A victory is forever. Which would you rather have?
I failed to defend the City from Ghaul. I won't fail again.
The Warmind and a Cabal empress at our table. Why not invite a Hive god as well?
Zavala, your idealism is what holds you back. I wish I had taught you better.
Twice now, Rasputin has failed to stop the Darkness. A foolish alliance.
Zavala was my pupil once. Now it takes near-death for him to heed my words.
I am glad the commander is safe… even if he fails to learn the right lessons.
Would you sit by while they took aim at your Ghost? We must respond with force!
This strike force is a half-measure, like most of Zavala's choices.
If Zavala is too timid to carry his blade to war, then I'll wield two in his place.
Cabal freely entering the Last City… First, we were cowards. Now, we're careless. 
I wish you could have learned from Jolder. She knew how to respond to tyrants like Caiatl.
We cannot trust the Warmind. Even now, he might plot our doom, and we gave him the means.
We could have destroyed the Cabal. Instead, they linger like starving hounds.
Caiatl has a silver tongue, but I know a warlord when I see one.
You don't find it suspicious that Rasputin was "disabled" so easily?
We break our backs to feed that Warmind, and for what?
I've been fighting wars since Zavala was still bones and dust. Whose experience will you trust?
We ally with the Warmind but draw the line at Caiatl? What logic is that?
I want position and vector on that tank every half hour. 
Explore the Glykon
The signal's source is not far ahead.
Track down the origins of the distress signal. Uncover the truth.
Critical Exposure Imminent:
It's you or them.
Defeat the Locus of Communion
Approach the Bridge
Slay this decrepit creature.
Gain access to the Glykon.
Board
Defend Ghost while he traces the Psions' seized prediction engine.
Intercept Ixel, the Far-Reaching
Trace progress
Challenge Ixel, the Far-Reaching to the Rite of Proving and defeat her in glorious combat.
A powerful Cabal has interrupted Ghost's trace.
Ixel, the Far-Reaching has attempted to flee. Intercept her in the Well of Giants and complete the Rite.
Prevent the Cabal from gaining access to a Vex prediction engine.
Claim the treasures of Empress Caiatl.
Examine the Conflux
Challenge Ixel, the Far-Reaching to the Rite of Proving.
Hunt down Ixel, the Far-Reaching
Ixel, the Far-Reaching stands her ground in the Sunken Cavern.
Destroy the Wyverns
Use the conflux to trace the location of Ixel, the Far-Reaching.
Clear the Vex Interference
Tracing Interrupted
Wipe out the Vex interference and clear the way to Ixel, the Far-Reaching.
Disrupt the Cabal's access of the Vex network.
The Wyverns are signaling more Vex. Overload their shields to destroy them.
Reap Your Reward
Resume Tracing
Wyverns destroyed
Defeat Ixel the Far-Reaching's Champion to lower the shield.
Ghost's trace has disconnected. Return within range of the conflux to resume the trace.
Defeat Ixel the Far-Reaching in the Rite of Proving
Defeat the Sworn Champion of Ixel, the Far-Reaching
Initiate the Rite of Proving
Clear a Path to the Land Tank
Explore further into Caiatl's Land Tank and prove yourself worthy of challenging her Champion.
Defeat Caiatl's Champion
Prove your strength by defeating the Cabal Honorguard, then board the Land Tank to face Caiatl's Champion.
Prove yourself as champion of the Vanguard. Defeat Caiatl's Champion and any Cabal in the arena.
Systems overloaded
Use the Bell of Conquests to issue a challenge to Caiatl's Champion.
Secure the Area
Redirect the Tank's Power Flow
Clear Out the Vehicle Bay
Eliminate the remaining Cabal, then take the elevator further into the Land Tank.
Find and Defeat Caiatl's Champion
Challenge Caiatl's Champion
Overcome the Cabal and board the Halphas Electus, Caiatl's Imperial Land Tank.
Break the onslaught of Caiatl's troops in the Vehicle Bay, then travel further into the Land Tank.
Overpower the Cabal to Board the Land Tank
Take Power Cores and use them to overload the Land Tank's central systems.
Deposit Power Core
Carry Power Core
  : Break Free
Halphas Electus
Infantry Concourse
Devils' Lair
The Grottos
The Mine
Refinery
Bunker War-4
Rocketyard
Travel to Eventide Ruins
The Glykon
Derelict Vessel
Space
H.E.L.M.
H.E.L.M.
Hub for Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers. The base for current Vanguard operations in the Sol system.
Begin Ghost Infiltration
Pick Up Unstable Power Unit
Begin Ghost Tracing
Begin the Rite of Proving
Requires 3 Keys to Access
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Gilded Triumph completed
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Gilded Title Earned
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Deposit Power Core
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