[quote]Hi all, I have pondered about writing a fan (short) novel of the Destiny game. I set out first to write the prologue below, what I would have put in the opening cinematic. Hopefully you will find it worth your time reading. If there is a good enough response, I may continue to write more. Either way, thanks for taking the time to read what follows, and I hope you enjoy it.[/quote] Prologue: Humanity was always meant to explore. Ever since the dawn of our kind, we have set out to discover new places and new ideas. Discovery is the thread that weaves the fabric of our future. It is the essence of who we are, and what we will be. It is the need to understand, and the need to know what is truly out there that drives us forward. A millennia ago, humans wondered if there was anything beyond the continent once known as Europe. They imagined finding new places and new riches. Never once did they expect to find life beyond what was their home. When we first looked to the stars, and the infinite expanse of a universe filled with untold amounts of worlds, we never thought something would be waiting out there to find us. We just had to get there. In the early twenty-first century, what we call the Age of Discovery, humanity took its first step venturing beyond Earth's solitary orbit. A new ship design, the Aries shuttle, was developed so that we might reach Mars, and discover if any life were there. What we found changed everything. The cosmonauts who set foot on the dust world of Mars trekked towards Meridian Bay, and there found a great orb of magnificient size, and of also great power. It shone in its white glory that emanated a divine aura. They called it, the Traveler. The Traveler terraformed the worlds in our system, and great cities were built on Venus and Mars. Mercury, once an inhospitable and devilish world, became a garden of life. Human lifespan tripled. Technology accelerated at an exponential rate. Just decades after the Traveler arrived, humanity was no longer confined to its home world, Earth. We were truly explorers. With this power, came great responsibility. We now knew we were no longer alone in our universe. It was inevitable that someday, some other race might seek out our solar system. We had to prepare in the case that their intentions might be hostile. It was decided that a warning and defense system, connected throughout our worlds, would need to be developed. Whatever it was, it had to be a system that would not hesitate to do what was necessary, and fulfill its one goal it would be charged with: the defense of humanity. And so, the Warminds were formed. Not much is known of their creation. We only know that nine separate units were created, each imbued with an artificial intelligence capable of sentience, and growth. The Golden Age we experienced was lost to the dark corners of time when the Darkness arrived, the Traveler's ancient enemy. The first Guardians could not drive out the Darkness alone. Planet after planet fell, and the invasion of other races, the armies of the Darkness, greatly accelerated this fall. We called it, the Collapse. We lost nearly everything. Some humans fled, trying to escape this devastation. They did not make it past the Reef, their legacy buried in the rubble of the asteroid belt. Some say that not all was lost in the Collapse. It is said the Jovians somehow survived the Darkness. But no ship has ever ventured a journey beyond the asteroid belt since the Collapse. We know not what waits beyond. The rest of humanity fell back to Earth, and the Traveler sacrificed itself to push out the Darkness. The Last City was built under the protective aura of the Traveler. The Guardians who built the Wall around the Cosmodrome are legends, and many fell during its construction. But now, centuries later, the Darkness is returning, and the Traveler still sleeps. The story of humanity did not end with the Collapse. The Guardians are needed now more than ever. The Traveler's Ghosts decide who will be the pillars of humanity's future. But, there is always one who will rise above the rest. Humanity's story will not be written by our enemies. Guardians make their own fate.