[spoiler]ANNOUNCEMENT: Era Drakka is now written from multiple persons' perspective, as I believe that this is not only Echo's mission. This will become clear in the future. Small adjustements have been made to previous chapters, but it's not worth it to read them all again. Be sure to give some feedback about this decision WARNING: mild descriptions of gore DISCLAIMER: I do not support the CSA or any of its standpoints. I only thought Lee would be an interesting character [/spoiler] ERA DRAKKA [i]Validus[/i] [b]Venice, Italy, European Dead Zone - 22 hours remaining[/b] Validus and Echo were standing in the middle of what used to be the San Marco plaza, once the heart of Venice, the most tourist-visited city ever to have existed in the history of mankind, located in northeastern Italy. Now, however, the ancient palazzo's were crumbling, and what once was the mighty clock tower of the San Marco cathedral, only an old ruin remained, a hollow shell of the grandeur of the old times, plundered and sacked by Fallen and other kinds of pirate scum. The moonlight reflected in a thin layer of water, which had flooded the city, formerly famous for its canal network. Echo, who clearly knew where he was going, walked in the direction of a small street, followed by Validus. The Titan constantly had to slow himself down, as Echo wasn't walking fast, on the contrary, he was even limping. Not that it was his fault. It was a miracle that the Exo could even stand on his feet, considering what had happened to his left leg. Validus shivered when he thought back at what he had seen from the observation window in Firebase Argus, one month ago. Alzer, a member of his Fireteam to make it even worse, had betrayed Echo at the most crucial moment, using the Thorn to cripple the poor Warlock forever. Not even Light had been able to cure the oozing wound in his thigh. While Validus was thinking of the past, he mindlessly followed Echo, who was leading them through narrow streets, between plant-covered buildings. They passed an old restaurant, remains of the guests still sitting at their tables, forever waiting for the bill. It was a gruesome sight, but also a reminder of what once must have been a busy three-star restaurant. The two could only imagine how it would've looked like in the Golden Age. Caesar would've liked it here, probably constantly talking about how 'beautiful this place must've been', Echo thought, thinking back to his old Ghost. They arrived at a stone bridge, the left railing gone, cracks in the ground. One might deem it too dangerous to cross, but all of Venice's bridges were now like this, barely still standing, and Echo and Validus crossed anyways. Suddenly, in the middle of the bridge, Echo fell on his knees, grabbing his leg. Barely understandable, he said, as if through clenched teeth: "Left side pocket. Replace bandage" The simple orders were quickly followed by Validus, who was glad he had followed the Vanguard first aid course. These lessons were often deemed unnecessary by Guardians, because their Light solved any health problem they knew of. In a world without Light however, they were vital. Validus quickly unwrapped the bandage, uncovering Echo's wound. He almost threw up at the sight of it, as he saw it, almost like a large mushroom, slowly pulsating inside the Exo's leg. His simple first aid course hadn't prepared him for this, so he looked up to Echo, waiting for instructions. In the same troubled voice, the Warlock said: "Pull it out" He saw Validus hesitating, to his frustration. "Do it!" As much as he didn't want to, Validus realized this was the best solution for now, so he slowly stuck his hand in, grabbing the cause of Echo's pain. In one quick move, he pulled it out, making Echo groan in pain, and threw the diseaseful thing into the canal. Validus heard that it was making the water boil below them, but he didn't want to know how it looked. Instead, he concentrated on cleaning Echo's wound. As he was applying new bandage, Validus tried to start a conversation with Echo, to prevent the Exo from fainting. "So, is it gone now?" Echo grinned painfully. "I wish it was. But it always comes back. I doubt I'll ever get rid of it" He tried to stand up, but was immediately pushed down by Validus, who said: "Take some rest, we can afford it" The Warlock nodded, and sat down, but didn't say anything, so Validus continued talking. "Now that we've got some time, I'd like to ask: why did you really not inform the Vanguard?" "We needed the Guardians to stay in the City, to defend it when the Red Legion comes. Ava-3 told them about it,but they won't believe us, so we lied to make sure that they wouldn't send any reinforcements to us" Validus was clearly surprised. "I thought you guys were supposed to be some kind of cruel organisation that hates the Vanguard. Why would you care about the City?" "Because if the City falls, we're next on the enemy's list" With those words, Echo stood up and started walking again, his leg still slightly limping. Validus didn't know what to say, and decided to just follow the Warlock again. About an hour later, they arrived at a narrow alley, a voice, which seemed to come from nowhere, echoed through the abandoned street. "If value your head being on your shoulders, I'd stop right there" Soon after that, a shady figure in a black jumpsuit landed on the ground in front of them. Although the jumpsuit didn't reveal much, womanly shapes could still be recognized. At the sight of Echo in his Syndicate armor, the mysterious woman took off her mask, revealing a beautiful, tanned face, framed by slightly curling raven-colored hair. "Long time no see, Ech-", she started, but when she noticed Validus, standing there in his grey Ashen armor, she dove towards the Titan, and in barely two seconds, she was holding a knife against Validus' throat, on the weak spot between his helmet and his armor. The only reason that the Ashen member wasn't dead yet, was Echo, holding the attacker back with his hand. "Who's he?", the woman said, a slight Italian accent giving away her roots. All the while, the knife stayed in place, and she kept staring at Validus' faceless helmet. He pulled her away, and she reluctantly put the knife away. "He's with us. Just ignore the Ashen colors, Ghetti" "Easier said than done, but I'll try. You better give me a reason for all this nonsense" Echo stared at his feet. "I'm afraid that there's not really time to explain. Just be at the HQ tomorrow evening, Alaskan time. The Syndicate is gathering, and you must answer the call" She was already running away when she shouted over her shoulder: "Will do" As 'Ghetti' dissapeared into the night again, Echo turned towards Validus. "You understand why I needed you here" Validus nodded. "She would've killed me, if you hadn't been here. And you can't protect me forever. It was better to confront her now" "Exactly. Anyways, we're done here. You can go to your Ashen friends now. Gather some friends for the expedition. Remember, no Guardians" Validus looked surprised, and Echo had to encourage him to leave. "Come on! I've got better things to do!" And gone was Echo, transmatted to his ship. Soon, Validus transmatted away as well. CONTINUED IN COMMENTS [spoiler]More stories will be added onto the main page, which I will link here. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/226647634?sort=0[/spoiler]