Destcember Day 19: Worthy Weapon

Destcember Day 17: Past Days

People often long for past days. The days before the Collapse, back in the Golden Age. And it makes sense, considering how hectic things have been recently. But for me, past days have never been what I longed for. I can't remember my past, so all I have to long for is the future. And I do believe that the future will be better than the past, even better than the Golden Age. Though we have lost much since then, we have gained much too. We are more diverse than we were, having gained the Awoken, the Ghosts, and hopefully someday the Fallen too. We are more unified than ever before, being joined into one by tragedy. We know we are not alone, that there are others besides ourselves and the Traveller. If we fight for it, the future will be better than the past. So long not for past days and instead work towards future days. May our second Golden Age far outshine our first.

Me, Before the Allegiance Quest:

"Well, I don't quite trust the Drifter, but I agree with him more than the Vanguard, so I'll side with him."

Me, after the Drifter says that he trusts you and considers you one of his only friends:

Attention those of you invading in Gambit:

Please use Roaming Supers more often. I have played at least 50 matches without getting a single kill for Light vs Light progress. I still need 7 more and at this rate I will never be a Dredgen.

Destcember Day 25: Gift

It took me all year, but I've managed to find the perfect Dawning gift for everyone and today is the day I give them all out. I start in the Tower and work outward. For Ikora, I got a new bond. I had an amazing tailor in the City modify one of Cayde's old capes that I found in one of his caches. For Amanda, I got a new set of wrenches and engine that I salvaged from a Fallen skiff. For Banshee, I got a new gun repair kit and several interesting Dark Age guns from the Drifter. I gave the Drifter a few pieces of the Vex's Black Heart that I have been saving to research, since he is so interested in the Darkness, and a few cookies. I just met Ada recently, so all I could think to get her was as many of the pages from her book as I could reclaim from the Scourge Syndicate. I had gotten Eris a new wrap for eyes, but I guess that it will have to wait until I find her.

From there, I went out into the rest of the system. For Devrim, I got an assortment of rare teas from the City and the Reef. For Asher, I got him a sleeve for his human arm and metal polish mixed with a slight anaesthetic for his Vex arm. I also got him the core of Panoptes, which I managed to take before the simulation collapsed. Hopefully it will help with his research on a cure for his corruption. For the Spider, I found a number of the most ancient and interesting human artifacts that I could find and an intact ghost shell that I bought off the black market in the City. For Mithrax, I got the mantle of a Kell, in hopes that he will grow into it. I got Petra a fance eyepatch, a brand new knife, and panoramic picture of Mara's throne world. For Mara, and as a favor to Lord Shaxx, I brought her the bow that Shaxx bought her and his note, I found her several books of Shakespeare, including a new copy of the Tempest, and gave her my personal promise to do everything within my power to protect her reborn brother.

Finally, and most importantly, I made a brand new shell for Yew. That one was probably the most difficult one of all. To make sure that it would be a surprise, I convinced her to go on several tedious errands, taking messages for me all across the City and Tower. While she was gone, I payed Ada a small fortune in Glimmer, Shards, and favors in order to forge a nearly indistructable shell shielded by fine Black Armory metal. Then, I convinced Tess to help me make the shell aesthetically perfect and suited to Yew's tastes. It was more than worth all of the effort and cost to see her expression and happiness when I gave it to her.

I love the Dawning.

Destcember Day #10: The Big Bag Theory

"What is taking so long? I just asked you to get me a gun out of my bag and it's been like five minutes" asks a warlock as he rounds to face his friend. The friend in question sits waist deep in a pile of guns, synths, and assorted items, looking both annoyed and confused as they begin to speak.

"How are you doing this? I have been shaking this bag for the last four minutes straight and it never stops spitting out garbage. Is it bottomless or something? Does it contain a portal to the guns and garbage dimension?"

"Oh yeah, it's that bag. Well I have two theories. The first I like to call the Big Bag Theory. I think that I have used so much magic around that bag that some has seeped into its very being over time. It just kept concentrating until it created a pocket dimension with everything I have ever put in contained. No matter how much you take out, there will always be more. Haven't you noticed that some of the things you have pulled out are duplicates of things that you already took out? It must be locked in a quantum state where everything inside both exists and doesn't until you take it out, making it technically limitless."

"Wow, really?"

"Alternatively, I could have told Yew to hide in there and keep transmatting random junk from my vault in as you emptied it out. You know, just to fuck with you. But isn't the magic bag theory more fun?"

The titan glowers at their friend as muffled laughter can be heard from the inside of the very much mundane bag.

Destcember Day 3: Living Without the Light

I was asleep in my appartment when the when the Red Legion sealed the Traveler's Light. The change was so stark that it immediately jolted me into conciousness. It was like the constant, soothing fire of the Void Light in my chest had been extinguished, leaving me cold and weak. I tried to rouse Yew, but the most she could produce was a flicker of light or the occasional distorted word. I was going to be on my own for a long while.

Then, I heard the screaming. Cabal drop pods were falling from the sky, smashing buildings and people unlucky enough to be caught in their path. From them poured hundreds of legionaries, psions, and ever other kind of soldier at their disposal. I saw squads of legionaries rounding up everyone that they found fleeing and executing them, while incendiors and war beasts flushed out anyone who had managed to hide. Even without my Light or a chance of being brought back if I died, I had to do something to help.

Luckily, I had prepared to have to flee the City, as with all of the enemies of humanity in the system, I figured that an attack on the City was inevitable. All the weapons that I had stored in the vault were gone, but I always keep a few hidden away in my home and on my person. I took every weapon I could carry and the books and artifacts that I could not afford to let burn with my home. I gently placed Yew in bag and then abandoned the soon to be ruins of my home. As I fled the City, I gathered any survivors I could find, leading them down the burning back alleys and through a series of tunnels that ended outside the Wall. Once we were clear, I brought my bedraggled group to a pack of Eliksni that I had managed to befriend, having brought them any either tanks that I had found while patrolling the system, and called in every favor I had. And with that, I turned back to the burning city. I didn't have the light or my ghost, but I had allies and preparation, and that would have to do.

Destcember Day #9: Nine

The topic of the Nine can be a touchy subject for some guardians. I mean, they are invisible magical planets that have an unknown amount of power and goals alien to our own. At least with the Hive gods we know we can kill them with enough concentrated firepower. We can't even hurt the Nine unless we are willing to remove all life from the solar system then blow up a few planets.

This especially annoys the Vanguard, the control freaks that they are. If the strategy of "throw teams of six at a problem until it stops breathing" followed by "steal everything shiny that's not nailed down" fails to resolve the issue, then they try to use bureaucracy. They try to keep us from associating too much with them. "Don't talk about classified information around Xur or the Emissary" this and "Don't trust trust the Drifter" that. I'm pretty sure they are the ones who got the Trials shut down too, but that's a conspiracy theory at best. Not that it matters anyway, considering they're probably omniscient.

Personally, I think that having them around is in our best interest. Aside from the fact that I support peace and friendship with anyone not actively trying to murder us at this point, from a utilitarian perspective, they need us more than we need them. If we die, they die. If they die, nothing happens to us. Of course, they are working on that and I wish them the best of luck, but for now our interests are required to align. And considering every other species that we've encountered has actively tried to murder us all upon first contact, that makes us practically best friends.

If Guardians still play baseball, I guarantee you that someone has accidentally thrown their Ghost instead of the ball. I'm not sure how or why it happened, but I am completely that it has.

Destcember Day 27: Voices In My Head

There are a quite a few voices in my head. Most of them are my fault and can be suppressed. The whispers of worms, ahamkara, my conscience. All have easy solutions, but there is one that I can hardly hear. It whispers, quietly but insistently, in the very back part of my mind. I can almost never hear it, like a fly in another room. It gets quiter the further away from the City I get, but I know it's still there. But sometimes, when I die or am in the very center of the City, I can just make out the voice. It whisper so many things. PROTECT THEM. FIGHT FOR ME. GROW STRONGER. DON'T QUESTION. FORGET. OBEY. It isn't like the other voices either. They all seem to come from without, but this one emanates from within. Is it why I can't remember my past? I don't think that I should ask anyone about this.

Million glimmer idea:

Carve Ahamkara bones into bullets. Will they grant the target they get lodged in cursed wishes? Will they drive them insane with whispers? Who knows! But it will be interesting, whatever happens.