Out, Out, Brief Candle
GHOST MEMORY LOG 1-1 (Attatchments: 1)
ORIGIN POINT: UNKNOWN [>10000 LIGHT YEARS OUTSIDE SOLAR SYSTEM]
RETRIEVED [DATA CORRUPTED]
ENTRY FOLLOWS, GUARDIAN ATTENTION REQUESTED:
I certainly hope this program is running correctly. The information held within is far too important for any technical errors. I've scanned my matrix a thousand times over and everything seems to be in relative operational order. Well, as close as I can manage, given the somewhat unusual circumstances.
Where do I begin? I could tell you about my birth within the heavenly sanctum of the Traveler. I could tell you about my journey to find my Guardian. I could even tell you about the time I attempted to consume cheese. For the sake of time and memory space, however, I will refrain from such data and tell you, Guardian, of the most recent developments far outside our solar system, perhaps our galaxy. Heck, for all I know, I may as well be outside the regular plane of existence. I may be far beyond the clutches of time and space itself, in some nether world of-[IRRELEVANT DATA EXPUNGED].
What? Irrelevant data expunged? Is what I have to say about the time-space continuum and cheese irrelevant, me?
I'm just going to go ahead and start logging. I'll start with my Guardian.
For the sake of privacy, I will leave her name anonymous. I will disclaim her race, however, for the Library's sake. Warlock, human.
She was a reserved and humble individual. While most Guardians were eager to, "become legend", or whatever the Lords of Iron called it, my Guardian was more than content to perform her duties both effectively and quietly. Whenever the Vanguard invited her to be showered in gear or praise or both, she hardly spoke a word beyond common courtesy. Most would assume that her personality was limited to that surface facade. However, my experience with her revealed that meekness is thousands of times stronger than pride.
She was kind even unto a fault. Most Guardians retained a slightly-above-business relationship with the Cryptarch, Quartermasters, Vanguards, etc. This is simply the natural order of things in a world torn apart by devils. Someone higher ranking asks a passerby Guardian to go on some "vital" mission, or go fetch some "vital" artifact, or scout some smouldering rock for "vital" reasons in return for "vital" gear. Neither party interacted with one another for any reasons beyond this transaction. My Guardian broke this mold.
She understood that the people of the Tower were more than a means to an end. She viewed them as tormented souls needing comforting, and likewise bestowed it generously upon every single one she met through means unknown to most. Actual conversation. She exhumed the rare ability to ascertain one's mood just by sensing, and used this gift to provide kindness. That is surely something far longer lasting than the most valuable artifact one could ever hope to discover.
I'm quite certain most would find it difficult to understand the importance of a word in passing, but she did.
That omnipresent kindness wasn't limited to other Guardians. I have collected millions of strings of data thousands of times over in the Library's databases and discovered a truth both startling and comforting. According to my research, my Guardian was the first to genuinely care for the emotional well being of their Ghosts.
Most assume that us Ghosts are little more than convenient door-opening companions begotten from a convenient all-powerful ball floating in the sky. We perform the technical duties that the average Guardian has neither the time nor the patience to complete, say a quirky remark to lift their spirits, and fade into the shadows until the Guardian has use for us again. This cycle has its benefits: it is efficient, which is a necessary attribute when defending the last bastion of Light in the universe. The Library had little to say beyond this relationship between Ghosts and Guardians, which is why, I assume, that no Ghost has ever questioned their position as trinkets.
I have often hovered awake in the twilight, gazing into the ethereal heavens, allowing the millions of bars of code translated as thought to operate within my conscience. I see the stars, twinkling so brightly against the black darkness of space. I see them and wonder why those little lights dance so proudly, even when the only thing they were able to perceive was the midnight around them.
I see them and realize that those bastions of light dance for more than themselves, even though they are the only ones they ever knew. They glow for the possibility that their light may reach another, that their tiny speck of power may influence a lost soul in a way they could not imagine.
I see them and realize that I glowed for my Guardian because my little light may have allowed hers to shine a little brighter.
I-[ERROR, SYSTEM FAILURE...ERROR CODE _nul_]
[REBOOTING MAIN CONSCIOUS DRIVE.......]
[RETRIEVING ERROR REPORT...]
>>>drive malfunction detected...
>>>light drives compromised...
>>>initiating fail-safe program......
[CONSCIOUS DRIVE REBOOT...SUCCESSFUL]
[MEMORY STATUS...2% CORRUPTED]
[OPERATING POWER...15%]
[RESTARTING......]
My processors...what was that? Ah, I see the error report. Things aren't looking so good. I may only have a short time until my Light drives are compromised entirely, so I'll abbreviate the rest of the log.
My Guardian and I were operating in the Vault of Glass, Venus. It was a routine strike. The mission was simple: investigate the energy anomaly deep within the heart of a previously undiscovered Vex machine.
The Vanguard seemed more concerned than usual regarding the massive energy outputs. They swiftly released a sizable bounty to any Guardian willing to enter into the catacombs and scan the area close to what they believed to be a new piece of Vex technology. My Guardian readily took up the challenge.
For the first few levels within the Vault, everything went quite smoothly. In fact, as I consider it, everything went too smoothly. In retrospect, I should have realized that the Vex were laying a trap. Perhaps I was too distracted on the mission, on protecting my Guardian from what I could see. My needless folly came with a price I will never be able to repay.
The Darkness surrounded us, a black void of all-consuming terror. Deeper within the Vault than I ever thought possible, encircled by impossibly floating rocks and metallic structures made of death, we found the machine.
How do I describe it? Perhaps in a more stable state my processors would be able to come up with an explanation which agreed with Euclidean geometry, but at the moment, all I can say is that the structure did not follow the normal rules of the universe. Physically speaking, the machine resembled any large Vex religious spire that might be used in portal opening or worship rituals. It also didn't. Therein lies the ruse.
To say that the device shifted in and out of the physical plane of reality would be like saying that a bubble is a circle. It isn't a complete explanation, but for our intents and purposes I hope it will suffice.
The machine certainly warped reality around its zenith; similarly to how a Taken tear in reality might, only with further reaching consequences. Our visuals and sensors became distorted with swirling white light as we approached the structure, with the degradation becoming more acute the nearer we became (attached to this log is an encrypted version of more precise data collected).
I was too distracted with the unknown contraption to realize that thousands of Vex soldiers of Darkness were quickly and quietly converging on our position. Just inches away from the device, where the distortion in reality was the fiercest, my Guardian reached out an armored hand to summon me. I materialized instantly, beginning to scan the device with my blue hard-light proboscis. The data was fascinating, for the few short moments I was able to read it. Without warning, the Vex unleashed hell.
Following standard Vex battle strategy, Goblins with inflamed crimson eye drives instantaneously warped upon our position. Shocked out of her trance with the odd machine, my Guardian had little time to react before the minions of cold, black steel fired red bolts of evil power in a continuous volley.
She selected her choice weapon, the only Exotic to her name, the infamous Thorn. Created by the darkest weapon smiths of the Hive, the intricate and powerful device was perhaps the only thing of any true value to another Guardian she owned. Without hesitation, she unleashed vine green bolts of devastation into one Goblin at a time, either instantly causing the demons to either collapse instantly into a rusted heap or suffer lingering torment due to the unique properties of the hand cannon.
The Vex swiftly reinforced the assault crew with precise and deadly Hobgoblins situated on floating precipices hundreds of yards away. In order to evade the incoming Line Rifle fire, my Guardian sacrificed accuracy for mobility, propelling herself with Glide from one smoothly cut stone to the next and hurling explosive Solar grenades into the evil slaves of the Vex hive-minds.
A stray Line Rifle bolt caught her left shoulder. She fell, colliding with the hard stone ground dozens of feet below her position with a sickening crunch.
What could I do but fade into nothing while my Guardian fought for her everything?
The Vex pressed the advantage, never ceasing fire as the warped closer and closer. I felt my Light grow stiff and cold as the Darkness encroached, omnipresent.
The Guardian drew her broken frame up with all of her strengths, resting her shattered body on her knees as she hefted the Matador 64 shotgun to firing position. An explosive shot eviscerates the closest Goblin. It fells the next giant Minotaur. It is silenced by another crimson bolt of lightning erupting from the Hobgoblin's black scepter.
I watched her body die, but I felt her Light still within. It burned like an all-consuming flame. It burned with the power and passion of the Sunsinger she was.
A flash of golden light temporarily disabled my sensors, leaving me in a confused and startled daze. I realize swiftly that all hope was not yet lost. My Guardian was not so easily consumed by the omnipotent Darkness constantly pursuing her demise.
After my visuals returned, I was awestruck by her majesty as she commanded the Darkness begone. She returned death, no longer a feeble flame but a burning bonfire.
With a voice amplified by her unleashed power, she spoke to me in resonating tones,
"Ghost, get out of here! I'll do my best to destroy the device."
"Not a chance. Your fate is the same as mine."
Incoming blaster fire from dozens of Goblins cut our conversation short.
The raging power of Radiance from beyond the grave infused within her armor and weaponry, vastly improving their power and efficiency. Two well placed rounds from the Thorn fell a giant Minotaur, the bipedal monster of cold metal reeling backwards as it spewed creme hued hazardous liquid from the wounds. A stream of crimson beams from the Hobgoblins' rifles were as pebbles to a brick wall to both my Guardian's physical stature and her inner Light.
A well placed Solar Grenade incinerates a small group of Goblins until they are nothing but crackling heaps of broken metal. Afterwards, with her mobility increased, my Guardian straddled a floating rock, leaping from that precipice forwards to the next in an attempt to reach the light a few hundred feet above that signified the way out of that deathtrap. She moved with such precision and speed that most of the hundreds of energy blasts erupting from the army of Vex soldiers below either missed entirely or landed harmlessly on the floating rocks nearby.
The more elevated we became, the more elated my spirits grew. I may have been entirely helpless to avert the fate of my Guardian; however, my chance to rectify my horrible mistake rested on that little speck of light above.
The physical world all around appeared in slow motion as my Guardian's final fate was sealed. She leaped from yet another stone, reaching her outstretched hand upwards to grab hold of one of the last ledges to freedom. Without warning, that rock exploded violently, chunks of tan rock fragments tearing through my Guardian's armor. My visuals filled with static due to the sudden shift in velocity, but I firmly remember a robotic tentacle piercing the stone, seeking us.
We spiraled downwards. With nothing but air separating our fall, our descent increased velocity rapidly. My Guardian's now unconscious state was unable to react as we collided with the Vex machine a hundred feet below. The Vex halted their barrage of fire as her limp body slid down across the spire, finally landing on the hard, cold stone terrace below with a sickening crunch.
The piercing feeling of dread and helplessness once again crept into my soul. It was swiftly replaced by rage as I have never before felt as the surrounding minions of Darkness began to fire upon her void frame in victory. What could I do but remain hidden in shadows? I was, am, a trinket, good for little more than opening a door. My Guardian died that day, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to prevent it.
I have often considered how my Guardian may perish. I imagined the process to be filled with grandeur; perhaps she would fall while saving countless lives defending the Traveler, or perhaps she may trade her Light for that of another's. No, there were no famous last words. There was no great sacrifice made for the City. My Guardian succumbed to the Darkness as a small candle in a black room, blown out by an evil mastermind.
Still invisible to the minions of Darkness surrounding, I pondered my next course of action. Without my Guardian, the one true source of Light in my life, my entire existence was likely meaningless. Why should I continue to live while the one person in the entire universe who fought for me died?
I was startled out of my pondering as the Vex suddenly halted their stream of mocking fire upon my Guardian and turned as one hive mind to face the strange Vex spire. My curiosity mingled with my grief as the nearby hoard of Goblins raised their mechanical arms in the traditional worshiping stance only used to revere the greatest of their hive minds.
Simultaneously, the night black Vex machine began to radiate with ethereal white light. The sudden contrast overloaded my sensors, temporarily whiting out my visuals.
After a few agonizingly long moments, my visuals reset. I saw before me the entirety of the Vex spire, extending at least a two hundred yards upwards and 50 across. The entire structure was made of smooth black alloys, bulging outwards at certain intervals to give the tower a staggered look. The most defined feature of he device, however, were the thousands of bright, linear white lines adorning its entirety, crossing over one another like the golden strands upon a circuit board.
The white light emanating from the spire spread outwards upon the stone ground like a spiderweb, pursuing in straight lines each of the Goblins prostate in the worshiping position of the Vex. My emotions became a great froth of confusion, horror and disgust as the lines of dark light consumed every Goblin they touched, disintegrating them into basic energy to be used by the powerful device. Within moments, every single one of the hundreds of Vex warriors had given themselves to the machine.
Surging with newfound dark power , the Vex spire focused its evil energy upwards, causing the entire Vault to tremble. The earth below split into chasms and rocks above collided violently with the ground as the Vex machine prepared to unleash its fury.
The world seemed to go completely silent for a moment lost in time. My cerulean eye fixated upon the tower of darkness as it launched its deadly payload out of the tip of the spire.
At once, a perfect sphere of pulsating white light materialized above the spire, roughly one hundred feet in diameter. Within the center of the self-preserving tear in space-time was a void of consuming blackness. I felt my small spark of Light cower at the immense power and forbidden knowledge the Vex acquired to create such a dastardly device. The number of their own the Vex hive-minds must've sacrificed, the overwhelming amount of of life they must've destroyed...it terrifies me to think upon those thoughts.
Although it was supposed to only be possible in short range bursts, the Vex, according to my scanners and the empirical data of my current surroundings, have created a device possible of instantaneous transportation across unfathomable distances. Such technology has only been a wild dream of Dead Orbit, and I assume that most would therefore dismiss it as a possibility upon first discovering it.
Yet here I lay, among a dense bank of green grass and sparkling flowers, under a shimmering moon which does not bear the scars of Hive infection. The air, according to my sensors, is an almost perfect mixture of gaseous nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and other trace elements. The current temperature is approximately 295.4 degrees Kelvin, with a relative humidity of 23 percent.
Initial scans indicate the presence of an astonishing amount of nearby organic life unlike any seen since well before the Collapse. I would investigate this astonishing find further if my movement were not inhibited by the critical damage received between the jump to...heaven? That makes me wonder...is there a place for sentient machines in whatever glory supposedly awaits?
In retrospect, the intense pain I feel across the entirety of my being probably debunks that being a possibility.
I likely don't have long until my Light drives go dry, so let me leave you with a warning, Guardian. That Vex machine was able to warp me to an undiscovered planet however many light-years away from Earth. Therefore, I'm sure you can infer the massive threat such a device poses to the city. If you are reading this, your first priority, above whatever Vanguard Strike you might be currently embarked on, is to inform the Council immediately. An action plan to destroy that Vex spire is the City's only chance for survival.
I'll have to cut this log short, Guardian. Scanners indicate an approaching organism of unknown bodily composition and unidentifiable typing through phylogeny. Should I still be around after the likely ensuing encounter, I'll relay any information regarding my current status.
Traveler's Light, Guardian.
END LOG
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7638078
Thanks bro! Glad you like it!
7638096
A moment of silence
7638100
She earned it.
Great story by the way.
7638103
Glad you found it interesting! Good to see some Destiny fans out there... or maybe we're all just a bunch a nerds
Rest in peace, Guardian of the Light.
*reads story description*
YES
Well done, my friend. Dinklebot gets some love, finally.
May I declare a moment of silence for our fallen comrade? May the Light guide you.
7638110
Speaking of being a Destiny nerd fan, I feel the need to inform you of a small mistake you made in this chapter. A Vex Hobgoblin's weapon of choice is called a Line Rifle, not a Wire Rifle. Those belong to the Fallen, specifically Fallen Vandals. Just thought you should know.
*inhales deeply*
YYYYEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS~!
I love how you described everything here. The heartfelt words of praise, the feeling of despair, the spark of hope, and subsequent shattering of it shortly after.
And then the revelation of travel to the unknown.
Very intriguing so far, definitely looking forward to more!
7639014
Wow, thank you so much for the comment! I'm so glad that you guys have been liking this story; it's been stewing in my mind for some time now. Next chapter comin' right up!!
7638656
Thanks for pointing that out bro, I'm fixing it now!
I just....I feel so bad for His Guardian right now.....
Keep up to good work!
Are the ponies humanized in this before I read it? Or are there pony guardians?
7639238
Humans live on an entirely different world as ponies, so the two are separated and are different species.
As for pony Guardians... We'll just have to see...
We shall sing her song of Fire within the halls of the Iron Lords. May her memory never be forgotten.
Titans! Tonight we honor a fallen Guardian! A damn Warlock has fallen to the Darkness! A moment of silence for those arrogant bastards who are going to die for this! Not everyone of you may have liked the sight of a Warlock on the battlefield, but we must set aside our differences to unite as one and punish the dimwits who thought it a good idea to take a Guardian.
P.S. Thorns are pure cancer in any game mode. That's all.
I believe I speak for all full blooded Titans....
This is what happens when you send a warlock/hunter to do a Titans job...
7639289 What about Anthro Ponies?
And well, I kinda expect Fluttershy to become a Guardian. Hunter is fairly close so what I'd expect, but Titan is another Class I'd expect her to be.
Warlock, is a bit of a stretch since they're supposed to be the type who research the Void to get where they are, which is more Twilight's deal.
7640698
Hey, one of us Hunters might be able to do it! We'd probably need to be a Nightstalker, but we could do it! Also, this Warlock made the mistake of taking Thorn and not the good ol' Gjallarhorn.
7641005 ...lol, true. I've seen hunters cream titans before time and time again.
And the Thorn really is just poison. Heh
7641124
Titans and Golden Gun don't mix well.
7648907 Oh I hate that cheating gun! That and the electric hands...
7649312
Says the class that has a weapon (hammers) that's not supposed to throw any kind of projectile naturally. I think I'll stick to my golden fun, thanks.
7649588 At least you can dodge my hammer of fiery doom! xD
This why it pays to have a Hunter on the team the can and will save the fire team by going invisible.
7650472 eh, I'd rather have a Titan, being a Hunter myself I love the self preservation of invisibility but as a team player? A Titan bubble is much more helpful.
Attachments
Uh, this sentence could use a rewrite. "either/instantly" used too much in such an interval.
Watch your tenses! Usually a narrative is done completely in past tense, and switching around in mid paragraph doesn't help the reader follow. 'Specially since this is a ghost's log, and they're usually pretty good at this stuff...
Anyhoo, I'm sure I'll enjoy this one...
This is interesting. I might like this
I don’t even know much of the lore behind Destiny, but you’re filling it in very well and very naturally. I have no trouble at all following it, and I don’t feel like you’ve given me an awkward expository dump either.
Who's thinking Fluttershy when reading this?