Ah, so you want to hear a legend from some veteran Hunter, eh? Well, I suppose I have three. Technically I have six, but I'm sure everyone else has already told you about the Loot Cave, Ascendant Materials, and the reign of the Autorifle Empire by its vile dictator Suros Regime and its subsequent death by plagues of Thorns and the Red Death. So I'll skip those three. The other three legends under my belt are a bit more...unconventional. Very little-known tales of comparably small-time Guardians who sort of "carved their own stories" for lack of a better term. You've probably heard it said that "Guardians make their own fate", well it turns out that slogan goes beyond shooting an artificial Vex god in the face after escaping a metaphorical black hole of time...or something found on a kitten poster. We only have enough time for one legend. But I might share the other two, if this one pleases you enough. Long ago, before there was even a Vault of Glass, at the dawn of the First Year of the Destiny Age, there was an Awoken Hunter named Maz. His origin story is pretty much the same as every other Guardian; he got awoken (heh) from apparently being dead by a little floating Dinklebot--I mean Ghost outside the Cosmodrome. He had no memories of what he once was, where he was, or how he got there, but he somehow felt compelled to follow the Ghost's lead. Some weapons were picked up, some Fallen shot in the face, a ship salvaged, a shard of the Traveler saved from being eaten by the Hive, the basics. Where Maz's path strays slightly is the events of the Black Garden. While most Guardians would see the Awoken Queen Mara Sov and Prince Uldren and initially think "Wow, what ass-headed jerks", Maz was intrigued. Every other person who had spoken to him since he "woke up" either sounded hollow or "bored", spoken with a false authority as if they thought their words had some hidden cryptic meaning, or nagged him about going into the field and wishing they could come along. Or sounded like ten-year-olds talking into mics. But the Queen...the Queen's few words carried her further into Maz's realm of respect than the Speaker's many monologues. Her and Prince Uldren actually sounded...real. Their words had weight and depth, even if their motives were not crystal clear, and it became apparent through their first conversation that Maz was missing a few pieces of the puzzle of his quest for the Black Garden. "You wish to turn it into a battleground? How unimaginative." Maz did not retort at the time, but those words stuck into his brain. The Prince was right, it was VERY unimaginative. He realized then that such has been the only thing he's done since coming back to life; going places and killing things seemed to be the only chore that the Traveler--or at least the Tower--felt Guardians were capable of. Is that all it means to serve the Light? To blindly shoot anything that claims allegiance to the Dark? These thoughts haunted him as he tracked down and slew the Gate Lord at the request of the Prince, as he was told that he now owed the Queen a favor, and as he journeyed across Mars to track down and ultimately destroy the Black Garden...but only because his Ghost refused to let him do anything else. A few weeks dragged on before the first opportunity was presented to pay back the Queen's favor. A representative of Her Grace appeared at the Tower, directing Guardians to essentially relive previous adventures with certain disadvantages/advantages. As payment for this, Guardians could receive armor marked with the sigil of the Queen's Guard. An invitation of good faith, Maz assumed. However the helmet only had Light +27, so its efficiency quickly died off. The helmet was stowed in the Vault, a constant reminder of the Queen's first gift. Several month of silence from the Queen followed. Maz faded into obscurity. When that Crota thing kicked off he re-emerged for a time, but he could never really commit to the cause. It seemed too...black and white. Thoughts swam in his mind if this cause was really worth fighting, if this life of just being a gun-toting tool for the Tower and a psycho-lady was a life he wanted to live. Once more he faded into obscurity...then the Queen called again. When this second opportunity presented itself, when the Queen requested Guardians join the Reef in hunting the traitorous House of Wolves, Maz did not hesitate. The pay was good, the targets were unique, and even though he was still doing more running around and shooting things, the Queen's cause was much more realistic, much more noticeable, and had much more purpose. He decided that whatever the Queen is doing out here in the Reef, clearly they have a better idea of the situation than the Speaker or the Vanguard. With that choice made, he upgraded that old Queen's Guard Helmet to the highest value of that time, placed it over his head, and swore full allegiance to Her Grace to act as assassin and informant. He still visits the tower from time to time, he may drop by for an Iron Banner (even though he hates the crucible), but it is rare for him to ever pick up a bounty from the Tower nowadays, or go on a Daily Heroic mission. But every week, without fail, Maz will be at the Reef, pick up the Queen's Hit-List, and travel the solar system to track down her targets. It is said that he is a Gunslinger, yet through the power of an ancient, living gauntlet acquired from an Agent of the Nine he can become invisible, which makes him equal parts an effective medic from the shadows and and a knife in the dark. It is said that a single strike from behind while invisible can fell even the strongest of guardians, and deal massive damage to the toughest minions of darkness as well as poisoning them. From long distances, he rains bullets upon his foes' heads with the mighty Gheleon's Demise Scout Rifle, able to fire bullets rapidly with a full-auto mechanism as well as sense his foes approaching with the Third Eye radar. Be ever-watchful if you find him at such distances, though, for chances are a well-placed Tripmine is nearby. From closer distances he prefers to wield the mighty Pocket Infinity, the Bane of the Darknesses' strongest agents, though in recent times he has proven flexible with other less powerful fusion rifles. Any foes that do not fall to the first burst, or foes that do not take much to fall in the first place, are met with a throwing knife in the skull. In fact, when a horde of Thrall charge him, one could swear a never ending series of knives cut them down before any can get within arm's reach. And if absolutely necessary, if ammo is on hand, he can draw the powerful BTRD Machine Gun. It is, indeed, "better than the rest." But perhaps not better than Thunderlord, whose barrel the enemy will stare down if they are particularly unfortunate enough to catch Maz without a Pocket Infinity only for him to have Heavy Ammo on hand. ...So, uh...well I assume by now you've noticed the unique Queen's Guard sigil on my helmet (I've yet to meet anyone else wearing such a helmet) and seen the Gheleon's Demise and the Pocket Infinity/Thunderlord in my inventory...so, yeah. Ello. I'm Maz. Nice to meet you. Sorry, I tend to ramble when I'm not interrupted.