Destcember Day 29: Curse

Destcember Day 13: Enemies of Humanity

Humanity has more enemies than it should. If at all possible, we should try to negotiate with them. This isn't an option for all of our enemies, of course. The Vex have no place for us in their Pattern. To the Hive and Taken, the very idea of peace would be blasphemous. The Scorn have been corrupted by the Darkness, and even if they hadn't been, killing all of their leaders in a quest for revenge has probably made us permanent enemies. Some of our enemies, though, I think that we can reason with. Under Calus, we would be able to join the Cabal in their empire, or, since I doubt most of humanity would be on board for that, at least ally with them against the Darkness. The Eliksni are our best bet for an alliance. Everything they they want is reasonable. They want a new home on Earth and their Great Machine back, both of which we could share. We even have an alliance with some of them already, such as Veriks and the Spider. They are quite good people once you get to know them and they hate the Darkness as much as us. If we could have any of our enemies as a friend, I think it would be them.

Destcember Day 12: Last Man Standing

A warlock stands in his friend's apartment, dreading having to ask for his advice. Although his friend is less academically inclined, he is no less passionate in his work. Asking him for advice will inevitably lead to a two hour lecture including several charts, but what must be done must be done. Apparently, these thoughts dragged out long enough for the silence to become awkward, so the titan takes the initiative and breaks the ice.

"So Ash, what brings you here? Usually you just call when you want to chat, so it must be important."

"Well, you know that I never got a Recluse."

"Really, I could have sworn you had one by now."

"Nope. Furthermore, no amount of bribery will get anyone with one to give me theirs. I can hold my own in the Crucible, but not well enough to convince Shaxx that I deserve his ultimate weapon. So Buloke, what I'm asking is can you give me some tips on the Crucible."

With this the Striker's eyes literally spark with excitement. He sprints out of the room only to return several seconds later with a corkboard covered in in pictures, thumbtacks, and enough red yarn to knit a sweater.

"I'm so glad that you finally asked! The current meta is quite complicated, so I'll start with the basics. You are going to want to bring a shotgun. There are a couple choices, but I prefer the Last Man Standing for its perks. You see..."

As Buloke begins his rant, Ash finally starts to realize what it is like to be on the other end of one of his manic speeches about his research. Although he is grateful to his friend, both for so easily agreeing to help him and for so frequently listening when he got in a similar state, as the lesson just finishes with the shotgun tips at around the half hour mark, a part of him begins to regret every decision that he has ever made.

"That gun had better be as good as they say it is," he mutters internally.

Destcember Day 9: They See Me Rolling

"Hey, Yew."

"What is it?"

"I bet I could jump that canyon on my sparrow."

"You said that last time."

"Yeah, I can definitely do it."

"You said that last time, too."

"I fail to see your point."

"Last time, you didn't even make it halfway. You fell 1000 feet and died."

"Eh, I'm sure I can do it this time, though."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

...

"See, I told you I could do it."

"Yes, but after you landed, your sparrow rolled 15 times and then exploded, breaking both your legs and an arm and leaving you in the middle of a group of hive, under the feet of an unusually large ogre."

"But I did it, didn't I."

"Yes."

You have Ghost Shells, but now introducing Ghost Armor. Sure, Ghost Shells are fine for the Crucible or your days off, but when you go into the field, you need more protection. Made with three inches of solid titanium and bulletproof glass over the eye. Worry no more that a bullet or punch will take out your little friend. Also available in bulletproof glass or laser-reflecting plates.*

*Warning: Additional weight may impair Ghost flight, movement, and/or speed.

Destcember Day 19: Worthy Weapon

One of the hardest parts of being a guardian is finding a worthy weapon to use. Personally, there are only three sources that I trust for consistent quality. The first is Ikelos and Rasputin. They consistently produce high quality weapons with devastating power, but at the cost of being a massive pain to obtain. Among my favorite of their work are the Sleeper Stimulant and the IKELOS_SG_v1.0.1. The second source that I trust is the Drifter and his old, possibly Darkness infused guns. His ancient Dark Age weapons have a brutality that the Vanguard just isn't willing to produce. It took me a long time to get him to hand over his best stock, especially the Breakneck and Malfeasance. The final source is a new addition to my list, Ada-1 and her Black Armory. I haven't managed to get much from her yet, but everything that I have convinced her to give me has been a piece of art, beautiful and deadly. So, if you're in the market for a new weapon, go with one of these three. You won't regret it.

Destcember Day 21: High Stakes

"Hey Ash."

"Yes?"

"I've been meaning to ask you. Where did you get that Fallen mantle that you're always wearing?"

"Oh, I got it from a high stakes on a Fallen Captain."

"Come on, you can't leave me with that. Tell me the whole story."

"Fine, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about this, alright?"

"I promise."

"So do you remember a while back when I helped an Eliksni Captain named Mithrax fight of a Hive Knight and he left me the reactor he was going after as thanks?"

"I do."

"I felt bad about taking the reactor that he needed so badly, so I search around and managed to find an alternative one. It wasn't nearly as good, but it was enough to get myself in his good graces. Since then, whenever I have fought any Eliksni and found extra either on them, I take it to Mithrax and his crew. I have managed to bring quite a lot. He has grown somewhat since we first met, probably from that extra either, and as thanks for my help, he gave me this mantle that he outgrew."

" ...You know that if the Vanguard found out about this, they would probably call it treason, right?"

"I do. That's why I said it is a gamble."

Destcember Day #6:

For Every Rose A Thorn

While I can appreciate the work that they do to protect the Last City, I honestly cannot stand the Praxic Order. At their best, they are warriors of the Light that honestly do what they think will stop the Darkness, even if they go about it like zealots. At their worst, they can act like thugs, going out of their way to intimidate anyone who tries to study the Darkness into abandoning their work and threatening to kill them otherwise. Most of them are better than that and there are a few who I even respect, but the sight of them gives me a headache. While their goal seems noble, they fail to see the subtleties.

Take their stance on guardians using the Thorn. They heavily discourage its use and sometimes go as far as to trail users in case they are Shadows of Yor. At the same time, the promote the use of Lumina and its reproduction. One is decried as a tool of Darkness and the other hailed as a weapon of the Light. As a proud owner of both, I can tell you that they are practically the same weapon. Sure, one is white and the other a dark black, but they both steal the life energy of their victims to empower themselves. The only difference is in how the stolen essence is redistributed. Do they honestly think that the health it restores comes from nowhere?

Of course, that is just a microcosm of my issue with their ideals. If we are to save ourselves, we need all of the power we can get, even if the source is impure. Attempting to ban the use of Darkness in service of the Light holds us back. I've seen Fallen squadrons break and flee from watching one of their comrades break into ashes as a single bullet wound eats them from the inside out. Sure, a bullet from a Thorn kills worse, but because of it I've had to kill less. It is a display of danger, unlike the Lumina, which displays beauty before function. No one avoids a rosebush because of its beauty. They are careful because behind every delicate rose is a thorn to keep it safe. As guardians, we cannot afford to be the innocent roses, free of guilt or pain. That we leave to the civilians of the city so that we may one day join them. For now, we must bear the burden of the thorns, inflicting harm on any threats, no matter how we must do it and no matter how it may leave us broken. When we succeed, then there will be time to heal. But for now, we must be thorns.

Destcember Day 1: Guardian and Ghost

I don't know what I'd do without her. Well, I'd die obviously. But it's not just that. Ever since she revived me, she has been my constant companion and friend. When I woke up, terrified and without even a memory to call my own, Yew was there to reassure me and explain what was happening. Every time a well placed shot or an ill timed jump sends me to my death, she is there to bring me back. Whenever the whispers of worms or dragons get too loud, she is there, telling me that they have no power if I don't give it to them. Even as I fight and die to protect those I care for, both in the City and in the Reef, she is the one who protects me. And I will do my best to protect to protect her, for as long as my Light still shines and I still have a single thread of life left in me.

Destcember Day 5: Black and White

So many guardians see our fight against our enemies in black and white. We are the heroes, dauntless knights fighting endlessly against the forces of evil, who long only to destroy us solely for the furtherment of evil. But things are never that simple. Every one of our enemies has their own stories and reasons to take up arms against us. The Cabal who so recently destroyed us are merely foot soldiers in a vast empire, knowing not why they attack, just following the orders that were passed down to them from a chain of command that they have no authority to even question. The Vex are fighting against the inevitable, for ever trying to stave of the heat death of the universe, warping time, space, and causality in service to their salvation, their "Pattern". The Fallen are lost nomads, with no home to call their own, their homeworld destroyed by the Darkness that we fight so hard against. Now they chase after their Great Machine, hoping, just like us, for the chance to reclaim their golden age. The Scorn have been corrupted by a force greater than them, using the Darkness in an attempt to free themselves from their dependence on Either and Servitors and to bring back those they lose to the deaths that we so often inflict upon them. The Hive and Taken, servants of the very Darkness itself, have their reasons as well. The Hive are slaves of their own free will, eternally killing and destroying to feed their worms, lest they be consumed themselves. They only chose this path for themselves after being in dire straits, with their choices being to take the worms into themselves and serve the Worm Gods, or have their species wiped out by an approaching disaster. Now they fight to survive, to bring the universe to its "final shape" and live forever by becoming death. The Taken, perhaps most pitiful of all, have no will of their own, being puppets to a will greater than their own, often being forced to fight against their former allies and kill those they once called friend. Even the Darkness may have a reason for their actions, though even I doubt that. To each of them we are the boogeymen, immortal monsters that can slaughter their way through hundreds of valiant warriors, with terrible powers of scorching light and weapons that have been known to kill even gods, before dying, only to return seconds later as if nothing ever happened. So, next time you begin to think in black and white, consider what I have said today and what your enemies think of you.

Destcember Day 10: What Is Worth Fighting For

I admire Petra and her Corsiars greatly, probably more than anyone else, in the Reef or the City. Unlike us guardians, they don't have the luxury of returning after death, and yet they fight just as bravely as any of us to protect what is worth fighting for. Even though they are caught in a time loop by Riven's last curse, I have let to see a single on give up or try to run. Perhaps the best example I have seen of this is Amrita Vae. When Petra called for her Corsairs to return and protect the Dreaming City, without a hint of hesitation, she abandoned the home she had made for herself on Earth and risked her life to help reclaim the Reef. Every three weeks, I find her gravely injured, having failed to protect the relics she was assigned to guard. And yet, the next time the cycle repeats, she is there again, having stayed to fight, despite knowing what would happen to her and that she would fail again. That is why I always come when Petra calls for our help, despite so many other guardians having abandoned their eternal conflict. Because if the Corsairs refuse to give up on on their home and what they believe is worth fighting for, then who am I to give up on them.