[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/151116496/0/0]Contents page[/url] (Click here for other chapters) (PS: There is a prologue before chapter one) [b]Chapter one: A host of thousands[/b] [url=https://youtu.be/EvwDiV2K_0g?t=7m7s]Optional music[/url] (7:07 to 11:30) There was a distinct silence throughout the ship, the nervous kind, the kind only heard before a great battle where many knew they would not return. Wei glanced around the surprisingly spacious hangar. Individual jumpships were too rare and precious to be risked in such great numbers so the vanguard had organised large transport vessels to take the guardians to their destination. [i]Luna[/i], the mere thought sent shivers down her spine. The greatest army of guardians ever assembled, all united by a common purpose, to take back the moon from the monsters that had made it their home. The hive. Wei searched back through her memory. She had fought them before on earth, though they were always raiding parties, never in great numbers. There was something unnatural about them, something enough to put any guardian on edge. Their sinister connection to the darkness was not fully understood and few dared to delve too deeply into the shadows, searching for answers. She remembered Toland, the one who had come so close to understanding the darkness before breaking, the shattered one they called him. She recalled him standing before the consensus to answer for his crimes, as he argued the light was not enough, that more was needed to defeat the darkness. They did not accept his argument, they could not accept it. For if the light was not enough then what hope did the city have? Should they simply bow down and await their destruction? Then his unspeakable reply, that darkness must be fought with darkness. He was exiled from the city, banished for his transgressions against the light. Decades passed and many presumed him dead but whispers still came in from the beyond, a guardian who wields the power of the darkness, who speaks in riddles of ancient queens and dead hive kings. Wei pushed the thoughts from her mind, now was not the time for doubt. She was a titan, she lived for the fight, leave the thinking to the warlocks. She lifted her head and looked round the hangar again. Hunters sharpened their knives, warlocks sitting deep in thought, titans scrupulously checked their weapons again and again. The tension was unbearable and Wei looked to her sides. To her left sat Eriana, her hands lighting ablaze before quickly going out as she practised techniques taught to her by the warlocks of the praxic fire. To her right sat a hunter. She was hooded and slumped, as if trying to hide herself from the world. Wei could feel the nerves radiating off her and put her hand upon the hunter's shoulder, who turned to look at her. “What is your name guardian?” Wei spoke softly but the noise felt like nails down a chalkboard as she broke the intense silence that filled the ship. “Eris.” Replied the hunter. “Eris Morn.” She turned her head away towards the floor, her shyness blindingly apparent.“Eris.” Said Wei, her voice unnaturally soothing. “You seem frightened.” There was no hint of mockery in her words, she was asking a question. “Not scared no.” Eris said quickly, a sheepish smile briefly marking her face. “It's just I hear stories, stories about the Hive. They are not like the fallen or cabal, they draw their power from the darkness itself. We have never faced an enemy such as this.” Guardians turned their heads towards the conversation, their own fears reflected in Eris's words. Wei smiled, as a mother would smile at her child. “My name is Wei Ning, you may have heard of me.” Eris's eyes lit up in surprise as she turned towards the titan, she knew who she was. “I have fought the hive, seen their remains crumble to ash before my very eyes. Their power can be broken, we have nothing to fear from them.” Eris smiled nervously, she understood. Wei was trying to comfort her, re-assure her that everything would be fine. “Scouting parties that have crashed into earth, we know nothing of their fortress on the moon.” She knew she was only fuelling the concerns of others but she couldn't help it, the words came pouring out like water through a broken dam. “Guardians have tried to uncover its secrets many times and none have returned, who knows what dark powers they hide from us, waiting to unleash.” Wei nodded gently in understanding. “That is true, we do not know the full extent of the Hive's potential. But that is no reason to lose hope.” Eris tried to glean some comfort from her words, to take courage as Wei clearly had, but she could not. “Let me tell you a story Eris.” Wei's voice was louder now, more upbeat. Eris tilted her head and a confused expression emerged on her face. Wei smiled and breathed in deeply as she prepared to talk. “Once upon a time there was a great warrior of light, whose name was the traveller. But the traveller had an enemy, the darkness, an entity so powerful the traveller could not hope to stop it on her own. So she searched the highest peaks and deepest oceans of every planet under every star in the sky, searching for the greatest warriors to aid her in the battle against her mortal enemy.” Wei noticed the other guardians turning to listen and she stood to address them. “One day she came across a tiny planet called earth, hidden in the orbit of a small yellow sun. There she found humanity and in them she saw not just greatness, but the future of all light. So she lifted them up from their dull existence and nurtured them, thinking at last the darkness would be defeated! But it was too soon, the darkness found them and threatened to destroy them all. But the traveller cried defiant, refused to give in, sending the darkness back to the black from whence it came! And with her dying breath, she gave her light to us, a final gift so that when the darkness returned, we would be ready.” The entire ship was focused on her now, even Eriana was speechless as her friend's voice filled the hangar, radiating hope. “The traveller gave her life for us! And now we, champions of light, stand together where she once stood. And when the long dark closes in around us, we will be the last light. But we will not stumble, we will not falter! We are the wall against which the darkness breaks! The flames no shadow can ever extinguish!” She was shouting now, her voice brimming with passion, her eyes ablaze with a fierce determination. “When we take back our moon from these creatures of darkness let them run! Let the Hive scurry back to their master and take with them a warning. A warning of warriors who can light up even the darkest shadow, who fall only to rise again. Let them bring word the of the guardians and watch as the darkness, gripped by fear retreats back into the void, never to return! Today, we take our first steps into that fight, today we are taking Luna back!” Guardians roared triumphantly, rising with their fists and weapons in the air, all doubts and worries gone from their minds. The ship was filled with a chorus of cheers as titans, hunters and even warlocks found their courage renewed. Wei Ning fell back onto her seat, exhausted. Eris and Eriana were staring at her in wild disbelief, the warlock couldn't believe what she had heard her friend saying, it was as if she had been possessed by the light itself. “What in the traveller's light was that!?” Asked Eriana with a mixture of surprise and excitement. “I have no idea.” Said Wei, who was still catching her breath. “But don't ever let me do it again, I think it almost killed me.” She let out a light-hearted chuckle between breaths and turned to Eris, who was at a loss for words. “Eris, this is my friend Eriana of the praxic warlocks.” Eris looked across to the exo and bowed her head in respect. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Eriana, the reputation of the praxic warlocks precedes you.” Eriana brushed off the compliment and took Eris's hand in a firm grip. “Any friend of Wei's is a friend of mine, you are welcome among us any time.” She forced a smile as she shook the hunter's hand, she didn't want to appear rude, she had a low tolerance for inexperienced guardians but the seemingly novice hunter appeared to have taken Wei's interest. “Say” Wei interrupted the awkward handshake. “We're down a member on our fire-team. You don't seem to be with anyone so fancy buddying up?” The titan's normal cheery attitude had returned and she was sporting a beaming smile. Eriana quickly cut in. “Actually Wei, I was hoping one of my associates from the praxic warlocks would join us.” “Them?” Wei chortled as she spoke. “But Eri, they're so uptight and boring, I want a partner who's carefree and lives in the moment. That's what hunters are all about right Eris?” She turned to the hunter, who was taken aback and fumbling with her words. “It would, it would be an honour to fight the darkness alongside you.” She said at last, desperately trying to regain some dignity. “Sweet!” Cried Wei as Eriana rolled her eyes, another newbie to babysit while Wei ran off to kill things. “A titan a hunter and a warlock!” Wei continued, hardly able to restrain herself. “We're gonna be a kickass team!” The ship was alive with guardian chatter as it neared its destination. But as the sunlight fell behind the bleak lunar surface, shadows rose from the darkness. Glowing green eyes blinked in succession and turned hungrily towards the approaching light.