The City we know today has not always been this way. Long before the City and the Vanguard existed in unity, the remainder of Humanity lived in peril and turmoil. During this time of weakness and vulnerability, many battles took place, testing the Vanguard and their ranks. One of these battles is known as, The Twilight Gap. 940838d5805ee8b4bf066ca91b02e53e342bdc4e As very briefly mentioned in past lore articles, many parts of Humanity once lived in various villages and smaller settlements scattered around Earth. But all knew the legend of the City—a sanctuary to repel all evil and protect those underneath the Traveler’s shadow. This was a time not too long before the Vanguard came into existence; rather an early beginning for the City Age. During this time the first Titan creed, The Iron Lords, erected the first Wall around the City to protect from invaders as well as every single Wall after that. Eventually the Tower was built to watch over the entirety of the City—a beacon of hope for those struggling to survive. The City was built as a sanctuary and those living in it carried on many of our Golden Age ways. However, that is not to say the City did not struggle. Many factions vied for control over the City’s inner walls and soon the Faction Wars began. We will go into the Faction Wars in a later lore article, but long story short, the Consensus and Vanguard were created after the Wars ended. The only other factions remaining would be the FWC, Dead Orbit, Osiris, and New Monarchy. The Vanguard were in charge of keeping the peace within and outside of the City and united the Guardians for the first time. FWC, Dead Orbit, and Osiris were left to go about their business, whilst New Monarchy was tasked with keeping an eye over the Consensus, the new political government that still rules over the City and Tower to this very day. art13 The Vanguard were still to be tested however. The Vanguard participated in many various battles with Fallen, Hive, and even other Guardians. However, as the title states, we want to delve into the battle of The Twilight Gap, also known simply as, The Gap. The battle was the third major battle of importance to happen around the City and marked a significant shift in Vanguard behavior. During the battle, the various Fallen Houses of Earth united together to march upon the Walls of the City. Throughout the battle, various gun positions fought against the onslaught of the Walker tanks, Titans took down armies of Vandals, and Warlocks helped to shatter their defenses with magic energy. The one who led the Vanguard defense was none other than Lord Saladin Forge, master of the Iron Banner, and his apprentices, Zavala and Shaxx (whom you may know from the Destiny story). The defense was a brutal one. While Saladin and Zavala ordered the Vanguard to stand their ground, Shaxx broke off and led a small offense to counterattack the Fallen. However, this disobedience will forever taint the relationship between Saladin and Shaxx. 300px-Lord_Shaxx The battle brought utter change throughout the City. Many outposts and sections within the Walls were abandoned and forgotten, but still remain fortified in the event of another similar horrific attack. The Crucible location with the same name as the battle, The Twilight Gap, is an example of this. It is a gun placement that was utilized in the battle that now doubles as both a Crucible training ground and a Guardian outpost. Zavala became the new commander of the Vanguard, whilst Shaxx and his Battle Frame, Arcite 99-40, became mentors of the Crucible in order to train newly revived Guardians as a countermeasure to another attack. The Speaker made it perfectly clear to the Vanguard and the City: we need to be prepared if the Fallen were to ever attack once more. And we are assured that if the Fallen, or any other adversary, were to attack us, we’d be prepared to fight for our salvation once more. The Gjallarhorn is an infamously well-known Exotic rocket launcher and was gifted to the surviving Guardians of the battle of the Twilight Gap. Feizel Crux, gunsmith and founder of weapons manufacturer Crux/Lomar, was the one who created the Gjallarhorn as a commemorative gift to the remaining Guardians of this bloody battle—and to honor those who had perished. He had thought of building a weapon that radiated beauty, honor, and captured the essence of survival. Feizel knew that there was beauty within chaos and wanted to present a weapon that fused beauty and chaos together as one. He had demanded the Vanguard give him the armor of the fallen Guardians whose Light had not given out completely. He spent days, weeks, carefully crafting the various pieces of armor together and created a weapon of pure divine beauty. The look of the weapon alone was the definition of perfection in Feizel’s career as a gunsmith. However, he wanted the weapon to be utilized as well. He fused the last of the Light within the pieces of armor, and his own, to put a soul into the weapon itself. May the weapon not be fired by a single man, but rather a “wolfpack” of Light—the power of the fallen Guardians all at once. When choosing a name for the weapon, Feizel chose “Gjallarhorn”, which stems from the old-Norse term, “yelling horn”. The Gjallarhorn is the name of the horn used by Norse God Heimdall to warn the City of Gods, Asgard, of an incoming threat to the city. Warriors of Asgard would answer the call of the Gjallarhorn, brace themselves, and stand ready to defend their city to their dying breath. This draws a parallel to the Guardians of the Last City—our city. We Guardians will stand the call of duty and honor and defend humanity from the Darkness until our dying breath. The Gjallarhorn is a symbol of hope, and continues to stand as one. Feizel truly created a unique and memorable weapon to honor and commemorate those who had fallen, and those continuing to stand. “May the strength of the pack be with you, Guardians.” go to these links and credit the people who made them http://www.destinyfollower.com/?p=322 and http://www.destinyfollower.com/?p=285