The Last City

On the Moon, there exists the Hellmouth, a pit and a fortress for the Hive and one of their princes, Crota. Crota is the Son of Oryx, one of the three Hive Gods at the very top of their caste system. As part of Oryx's plan to reap the Earth of all life, Crota swiftly established the Earth's only moon as his Spawn's base of operations, and the gateway between the Main Dimension and his own Ascendant Realm. It was in this Realm where an attempt on his life was made, by 6 Guardians, no less. The assassination went poorly, and out of the 6 Guardians, only one literally crawled out with her life. Everything that belonged to her was lost: her weapons, her knife, her armor, her Ghost, her Light, even her Awoken eyes. All that remained were herself, a shard from a Hive cleaver, and 3 glowing green eyes arranged in a triangle above her nose, protected by a brown bandana. "I must get out of here! I, Eris Morn, need to warn the City!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Watch it!" shouted the Ghost, "You almost got us killed from that thunderstorm!"

Max was at the helm, struggling with the controls, "I've just been resurrected and you expect me to be an expert in flying a Jumpship!?" The ship began to dive straight into a mountain.

The Ghost 'rolled its eye' and said, "Then let me drive if you're just going to complain about it!" He took over and raised the ship just in time to avoid the mountain and take to the skies once more, navigating past a few more mountains and ranges, before finally arriving at The City. "Ah," he said at last, "our home."

The Last Safe City on Earth was beautiful, even if humanity was slowly declining inside. Most of the City didn't have slums, and even with the 'poorer' areas of the city, the denizens of these areas weren't entirely suffering from poverty. The architecture was so advanced and futuristic, yet it had an ancient feel to it, as if it were a part of a society millennia before the City. Above it all floated a dormant Traveler, protecting the City from the outside world, aside from the city walls, and the Tower.

As a rule, the City's Tower was the headquarters of its Guardians, the protectors of humanity, and the divine soldiers of The Traveler. The Tower was the most renovated structure out of the entire City, thanks to Speaker Hedge's propositions. However, Hedge was replaced at the end of his second term by Speaker Alamo, the first Awoken Speaker in the history of the City. As part of his new policies, Alamo slowly shifted the center of economics away from the rich and into the middle class, by taxing the billionaires more heavily than the workers, then raising the minimum wage. The theory was that the working class would spend more cash than the rich simply because they are the ones in need of food and other goods. This worked 30 years before, and would've worked today had it not been for a Consensus dominated by New Monarchy. As such, Speaker Alamo barely got his policies off the ground, and the City didn't change much across his 4 years in office.

When Max touched down in the Tower Plaza, he looked around and admired the view. His Ghost said, "Welcome to The Last Safe City on Earth, our home and Humanity's only asylum away from the Darkness. And this is the Tower, the home and headquarters of the Guardians." Max was still admiring the scenery when his Ghost said, "AHEM! Don't you need new robes?"

"Ok ok! I'm moving!" They walked through the center of the Plaza, past the Vaults that looked like triangular pillars on his right, past the triangular post office on his left, descended down a staircase in the center of another staircase rising to another part of the Plaza, the gunsmith's shop on the right and a garden with a futuristic fountain in its center straight ahead. However, it was the rooms below that mattered most to the Guardians, for just the small descending staircase was attached to a lit tunnel, the first part was dedicated to the Crucible and its handler, Lord Shaxx, while the end resulted in another room, but with an overlooking window into the mountains surrounding the City. This room was dedicated to the Vanguard, decorated with battle trophies, war medals, and symbolic banners, and in the center was a long table, and the floor was designed so that this table sank into the ground like a star distorting a solar system's plane, causing everything to revolve around its gravity. As such, this table appeared to hold more weight than anything else in the room, and thus the trophies, medals, and banners revolved around its gravity. Surrounding the table were three figures: one was a scholarly female Warlock, robed in purple as a symbol of her connection to the Void; another was a hooded robotic humanoid figure, with light armor and all the details any man would ask for, muscular abs, chiseled face, and a handsome voice that most people envy; and at the far end of the table stood a bald blue-skinned soldier, as strong and thick-headed as most Titans can be.

Max walked up to the table slowly, but as he did, he felt something in his bones that he never felt before. 'What is this feeling?' He shook it off and walked to the table and said, "Um, hi. I'm looking for Ikora Rey."

The female Warlock raised her hand, "Right here. What do you need?"

Max paused, "um...well..." then he looked at himself, tattered clothes and all, and asked her, "How did you get robes like that!?"

Ikora chuckled, "I used to be just like you, and then someone took me in and taught me all there was to be a Warlock. Experience got me here, and it will carry you along a similar path. But for now, take these robes," and she handed him a pair of pants, combat boots, gauntlets, robes, and a helmet, all basic white. "One more thing," she said, "Since your rifle is in such bad shape, I'd recommend going to the gunsmith, just outside, and take a sharp left."

Max smiled, "Thanks, Ikora." As he walked away, he could hear the soldier being addressed as 'Commander Zavala', and the robot Hunter as 'Cayde-6'.

Just as he exited the tunnel, an Exo Titan and an Awoken Hunter bumped into him from either side. "WATCH IT!" they shouted.

"Sorry, new here." Max dashed quickly to the Exo Gunsmith, who was similar to Cayde and the Titan, except that the gunsmith had a scratchy 'southern American' accent. "So, you're the gunsmith?" asked the Warlock.

The Exo known as Banshee growled, "Ya think these guns on the wall say otherwise?"

Max stumbled back, "n-n-no, s-s-sir."

"Hmph. Let's take a look at that gun." As Max gave the rifle to Banshee, the gunsmith remarked, "I haven't seen this gun since... since..." The gunsmith paused, then shook his head, "Nah, thought I recognized it."

Max tried to speak, "S-so, c-can you-"

Before the Warlock could finish, Banshee-44 calmly barked, "No!"

"How come?"

Banshee held up the Khvostov, "This gun has seen better days. The scope's cracked, magazine battered, and the recoil," he fired a few bullets into the wall, "Too unstable. It's a miracle that this thing still works, let alone helped a new ghoul get to the City!"

Max felt offended, "What did you just call me?"

"Ghoul. That's the technical term for Guardians like you. Now, if you were to give this to me, I might give you a good gun to play with."

Max was a little uneasy at that aspect, "Play with!?"

Banshee laughed, "I'm teasing ya, kid! Don't ever play with guns, but you will need one for the outside world. Now, what do you want?"

Max asked for a precision rifle, so Banshee supplied him with a Scout Rifle; semiautomatic and made for longer distance assassinations. "Thanks, sir."

"Name's Banshee, by the way, so stop calling me sir."

Max nodded, "Of course, sir," and he ran off again, this time stumbling into the same Titan and Hunter as before knocking them down to the ground. "So sorry!" he said again, "I'm so so sorry!"

The Titan tossed him aside, "GET OFF OF ME, NEWBIE!"

The Hunter shouted at her partner, "Leviathan! Stop being so rude!" She offered a hand to Max and lifted him up, "Apologies for my friend, he can be...problematic."

Leviathan scoffed, "Says the Hunter who refused to assassinate a Fallen target!"

"HEY!" she shouted, "Sepiks Prime was just providing Ether to his people!"

"'Its MONSTERS,' Lilli!" barked the Titan, "Or do you forget that it was the Fallen who attacked our City and nearly destroyed Twilight Gap!?"

Lilli sighed, "Leviathan, I told you before that was Skolas who ordered the attack, not Sepiks or the Devils."

"Yeah, but if given the chance, Sepiks Prime would lead the Fallen to our destruction! We must remain strong and fight off the Fallen, drive them back into their holes like the rats they are!"

"Guys!" Max shouted, "What's going on? What happened to this city, who's Sepiks, and why are we fighting?"

Lilli pulled Max aside, "This doesn't concern you, all you need to know is that we're falling on hard times as a city, and guys like Leviathan are arguing about a stronger military."

Max's eyes bulged, "Yeah, that would definitely be a problem."

Leviathan butted in, "WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"

"N-n-nothing," stuttered the new Warlock, "My ship is in rough shape, and I need it fixed! That's the problem!"

Leviathan glared at Max and Lilli for a second, then sighed, "Oh, alright..." He led them to the Tower hanger, the shelter for all of Guardians' ships, and introduced them to the shipwright. "Warlock, this is Amanda Holliday, she can assist you with your ships and sparrows."

"Howdy, Warlock!" she said, "Heard you need a ship."

"Actually," the Warlock nervously said, "I have one already, but it needs repairing...so yeah."

Amanda nodded, "Not a problem. Come down here with me, and I'll show you what we're missing." She led the three guardians to an adjacent elevator, which descended down to the Jumpship parking garage and repair zones. The Garage itself is below the floor, and ships can be stored into or taken out of the Garage at any time. The repair zone is not only a place where ships can be repaired and modified, it also doubles as a launchpad, sending ships carrying Guardians out into the Solar system to fight back the Darkness. Max followed Amanda to his ship, an ancient Arcadia-class Jumpship that neither the Fallen nor time were kind to. "That's one helluva ship, Guardian. How'd you get it to work?"

Max was speechless, "I-I-I... I don't know. It just did."

Amanda looked behind her back at the ship, "Yeah well, now it's inert." Her heart sank as she said it.

Max was shocked, "Inert!? It's not working anymore!? Why!?"

"One of the engines was running on fumes when you landed, the other fell off the ship when we opened 'er up, and NLS warp drive was scrapped."

"Um, what?"

Leviathan spoke up, "It means your ship is falling apart and beyond repair, idiot." He turned to Lilli and said, "I thought Warlocks were supposed to be smart and nerdy."

Max gritted his teeth. Lilli slapped the Titan across the face, "He just got resurrected! Give him some slack!"

Max sighed and asked Amanda, "So, what kind of parts am I looking for?"

The shipwright took one good look at the house of cards that was a ship and said, "Parts? Parts!? You need more than a few parts if you want to fix this scrap pile! And you'll need a ton of Glimmer!"

The Warlock looked at Amanda, then at Lilli and Leviathan, and asked, "What's Glimmer?"

"It's the currency that we use," answered the Hunter, "and it's very useful for binding broken parts together."

"Yeah, but not as effective as getting a new ship," finished Holliday.

"And how much does that cost?" asked Max.

"Oh, about...5000 to 10000 Glimmer."

Max's eyes bulged, "WHAT!?"

"Hey, I spend most of my time working here, building ships and sparrows that newbies can drive. But the Traveler hasn't been giving us too many Guardians as of late, the Darkness is growing stronger every day, and the politicians aren't making our mortal lives any easier! I had to sell my home to keep my business going! Besides, repairing this ship isn't going to be easy or cheap either. You're just better off buying another ship."

Max placed his hands in his pockets, looking for any glimmer. "Ummm, I don't have any Glimmer..."

Amanda shook her head, "Then I can't do anything for ya, Guardian. Unless you wanna let me take this Arcadia off your hands."

Max sighed, "I still don't have-"

Amanda laughed, "You won't owe me a thing! Instead, you'd be getting 200 Glimmer for this deal."

Max's eyes lit up, "Oh! That's different!" Amanda handed him the 200 Glimmer, then told the robotic Frames to take the Arcadia away for salvage, scrap, and smelting.

As the three Guardians took the elevator back up to the main floor, Leviathan grabbed Max by the shoulder firmly, "What do you think you're doing!? Huh!?"

Max felt nervousness creeping down his spine, "I-I-I don't know!"

"Of course you don't, newbie! You just sold your only ship!"

"She said it was falling apart!" Max yelled back, "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm a little short on Glimmer!"

"Any ship or gun is worth more than 200 Glimmer! Even one that was in parts!"

"Oh, really?" The Hunter scoffed, "Then how much was that Arcadia worth?"

Leviathan paused, if he could sweat, he would do so in bullets. "Well... 400, maybe 500 Glimmer" then he raised his voice a little, "But it doesn't matter! He's lost his ship now, so he can't go on missions!"

"Who says he can't?"

"I do! We already have a Warlock, and she-"

"-is taking a break from our missions and is spending time with her new girlfriend," Lilli finished, "Besides, this guy needs our help."

Leviathan sighed, "fine...fine...we'll help him, but just this once. Then he's on his own."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

25 years ago...

Inside the Hellmouth's dark fortress was a Hunter, laying on a Hive ritual table, his cloak in tatters and his armor shattered and removed. When he woke up, he realized that he was chained to the green crystalline table by the hands and feet. "Where am I!? What's going on!?"

Three Hive wizards floated up to the table, approaching The Hunter's head, their bone dry hands touched themselves at the fingers, almost like a prayer. One wizard was plainly decorated, except for a small satchel on her side, filled with devious runes and objects worthy of a ritual; her name was Xyor the Unwed. Another wizard was a little more decorative, but with the bones of her enemies strung in necklaces and bracelets, some were even sewn into her clothing; this wizard was Omnigul, Crota's wife and Will, and the chief general of his Spawn. The third wizard, Ir Yut, was a Deathsinger, and as such, she could harness the powers of Death and send them reeling at even the most deadly of foes. She wore a cloak similar to Omnigul's, except they were studded with soul crystals instead of bones, amplifying her connection to her brother, Crota.

The wizards' hands parted as they were inches away from the Hunter. "Here is a worthy specimen," Ir Yut cackled in the language of the Hive, "This little one shall serve as his Vessel!"

The Hunter violently squirmed, "LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU SADISTIC CREATURES!"

"Aww, look at him," squealed Xyor, "He's just BEGGING to be possessed!"

"Then do it already!" Omnigul growled, "Our master won't be happy if we stall!"

Xyor did as she was told and pulled a few runes out of her satchel. She floated closely to his head and waved her right hand over his face, "Urzgol. [Sleep.]" The Hunter did as she commanded and his body went limp. Xyor then placed a small rune on his face, 2 for his arms, 2 for his legs, and 4 runes running down his chest. The three wizards formed a triangle around the Hunter, put their hands together, joining at the fingertips and nowhere else, one more time. Then they chanted with scratchy sing-song voices, and as they did so, the runes lit up with an ominous shade of green.

The rocky plates that carried the runes began to crack, causing the runes to sink into the Hunter. He immediately convulsed and screamed with pain, the Wizards chanted louder and louder, his body was branded and burned by the runes, the chanting flooding his ears, tearing out his eyes, and dissecting his brain, his once Light-filled brain. His head emitted a poisonous green and the Hunter screamed his last.

The chanting stopped. Omnigul commanded, "Rise, Dredgen Yor, Vessel of Crota!"