[b][i]Prologue – The Story Begins [/b][/i] [b]“Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.” – Rabindranath Tagore[/b] Stepping across the threshold, I embraced the aging woman tightly. The Singer was an incredible woman; she had to be to live to her age. In fact, I’d recently helped her celebrate her two-hundredth birthday. Smiling, she returned the embrace, her grip still strong as ever. “Oh, it’s nice to see you again,” she told me. I smiled, not saying anything. She was like the grandmother I had never gotten to meet.” Please, come this way. Can I get you anything to drink or eat?” “No, thank you, I just had lunch,” I replied.” My mom’s barbeque is pretty good.” The Singer laughed, her silvery, sing-song voice like music to my ears. That being said, she was soft-spoken, and almost never raised her voice. I very much appreciated that, because I had a nasty habit of getting into trouble. As we walked through her relatively small house, I looked around at the walls, which were decorated with maps and trinkets she had collected over her long lifespan. There were so many. A new map seemed to be every couple of feet, and five-foot-long shelves were covered in various items; little rocks or fossils, items from slain enemies, small things she’d picked up along the way. Sometimes, I’d come in and simply look at it all; her collection was impressive. After about thirty seconds or so of walking, we found our way to her living room. I took a seat on the couch while she sat in the chair across from it. “So…why exactly did you ask me to come today?” I asked curiously. The Singer thought for a moment and sighed, then looked me in the eye, her icy blue eyes piercing straight through to my soul. “There’s no easy way to put this, but…..I’m not going to be around much longer,” she answered slowly.” Now, this doesn’t mean I’m going to keel over tomorrow – I’ve still got a few more years left in me – but there’s a few things I wanted to take care of before I go. Well, scratch that, a lot of things.” “Like what?” “You know that things used to be different, correct? Far in the past?” I nodded, and she continued.” If you know about that, then you must know of The Forging.” “Yes, but….I’m still confused,” I replied. Why would she want to know if I knew these? What was she getting at? Before she moved on, she stretched her legs out, laced her fingers together, and put them behind her head, looking up at the ceiling. “Do you remember all those stories I would tell when you were young?” I smiled and said,” How could I forget? I used to love those!” The Singer smiled fondly; I had followed her everywhere for close to eight years before I began my training when I was fifteen. “Well, I’ve got one more for you. It’s probably the most important one I’ll ever tell you,” she began.” You see, I was there, during The Forging. During the Trying Times and the Invasion.” She paused for a moment, thinking, before she went on,” It seems like it was just yesterday, but at the time, I was actually the same age as you.” “You were twenty-four?” I exclaimed.” I don’t think I realized how old you are.” “Be quiet, child, or that mouth may get you in trouble,” she scolded, wagging her finger. She was smiling the entire time, however – a few years ago, she might have even laughed.” But yes, I was twenty-four. Over the years, a lot of stories and legends have been told about those events. All of the ones I’ve heard have been wrong. That’s why, over the past one hundred and fifty years, I’ve picked a single person to carry on the story to somewhere else. So at least a few people remember it the way it happened.” “And I’m one of those people?” I asked. She nodded, and I sat back, astounded. It was an honor, sure, but....” Why me?” “Why you?” the Singer asked, almost incredulous.” Why wouldn’t I pick you? You became a Reaver at just eighteen. That’s the youngest anyone has gotten the rank since The Forging, and the requirements changed. There’s no reason to not pick you.” “Well….alright then, I guess,” I replied. “Good, now pay attention, because this story is long, complicated, and one of the greatest things you’ll ever here,” she began, her eyes twinkling. I sat, enraptured, as she launched into her tale. [b]Good afternoon everybody! Welcome to this little gem of a story. I will warn you, I will be taking some serious liberties with Destiny lore, mainly to make some things you will see in this story make a little more sense. And before you guys start, yes, I realize that this is short, that it's very mysterious. A little off, you could say. That's intentional. I promise you, the next chapter will be much more normal. It's a little tradition I have to do prologues like this. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, and that you stick around for more. Please let me know what you think below in the comments; it helps me get better as a writer so you get to have a more enjoyable story. So, it's a win-win. Alright, I think that's long enough, wouldn't you agree? Until next time, Auf Wiedersehen![/b]