Everyone felt the loss of Cayde-6, none more than the Vanguard. I think most people are discounting the power of loss and the way it has altered Ikora and Zavala's relationship forever. And it has driven a rift between the two remaining members of the Vanguard. This development in their dynamic as a team, has exciting potential for future developments to our story. The community either despises Zavala for his inaction or praises him for his duty to the city. It is my opinion that Zavala is one of the bravest and most devoted Guardians of the Traveler, but he is not without flaws in his character, and outright cowardice is not one of them. Before I continue, I love this expansion. The fact that player created lore exists means we are helping shape the universe through our actions; the rift between Ikora and Zavala created a rift in the community, We being part of the story could once again impact the future progression of this narrative because of opinions contrary and parallel to mine, and THAT is why I love this series. This moment down the road 'could' color our interactions and the Vanguards interactions. As far as classes go in my opinion, duty and devotion aside; Titans and Warlocks could not be further apart. Warlocks seek knowledge to expand our reach and create the next golden age, and Titans fiercely protect what remains of the last. Warlocks delve deep into the world searching for lost technology and stories from the Golden age, while Titans are deployed in a military fashion to tactically strike at enemies. One could say that a Titan, typically, does not choose where to go on his/her own; the Vanguard chooses the target and the Titan unleashes chaos on the target, where as Warlocks are more independent; following leads and clues wherever they may point to the conclusion of their quest. It was Cayde that held these two Vanguard components together, with his jokes, his wisecracks and his nature. When news of their teammates death was delivered both were stricken with grief. Watching the cutscene; you see Ikora; she is visibly upset. She has passed one stage of grief which is denial, she is in the second stage which is anger; at Uldren, and that she wasn't there to stop it. This is further supported by the fact that she turns on Zavala for what she calls "cowardice" and an unwillingness to seek justice for a friend. We leave the Tower when Ikora is entering the bargaining phase of her grief, when she enlists our help to find Uldren and bring him to Justice; I would hazard to postulate; She is looking for closure and solace at the prospective death of Caydes murderer... Zavala is a different story, and like most battle-hardened soldiers; postpones processing his grief (whether it is necessary or not should be the question) in the interest of maintaining his duty and upholding his vow as a Titan to be a wall on top of the wall, and protect the Last City; not an easy or smooth Job. It is easy to draw a conclusion that based on his spoken reaction, Zavala is afraid, guilty of the cowardice Ikora accuses him of. I would state with every degree of confidence that this is only true in the most marginal way. *Hold on- I know, I said that Zavala is not a coward. yet I contradicted myself by saying there is marginal truth to his cowardice. I say margin because a coward would have abandoned his duties long ago, even when he was doubtful during his exile when the Red Legion attacked he still organized a resistance on Titan and led the charge, after we returned with our light, to reclaim our home and the Traveler from Ghaul. The roar he unleashed, as he faced his death at the end of a Centurians pulse rifle, should only cement the evidence that Zavala is anything but a coward, yet when the death of his friend came he could barely face it. It is my opinion that Zavala has barely finished processing his denial in the face Caydes death. By Denial; I mean his unwillingness to face the overwhelming sense of anger he feels at the murder of his friend, in the interest of maintaining an even keel, his authority, and his station as a figurehead of the Titan Orders. Zavala's fear of his own feelings and what they 'could' do to his ability to execute his office, is the only side of Zavala that you could even begin to stretch the definition of a Coward. Furthermore, Zavala is resisting the grieving process, which is not only unhealthy but very common. One could argue that after seeing Caydes body, His denial passed in private, and he is now [u]angry[/u] (stage 2 of the process) at [b]us[/b] for leaving on a Quest to bring Uldren to justice, an act he characterizes as revenge, something that is offensive to him if it puts the city at risk. His anger could stem from a resentment of his duty; which prevents him from doing it himself. Perhaps he feels if things were different, he would be hunting down Uldren in our place. I am no lore scholar, but i understand the grieving process having lost two close family members. And the lore item for Abide the Return supports the theory that Zavala is still procesing the grief of Caydes death even after we have left on our Revenge/Justice quest. When Kamala Rior asked for the Guardians help in defending the Dreaming, Zavala did not respond the same way he did to Caydes death. [quote]"The Vanguard stands with the Reef," Zavala calls, strong and true. Kamala turns to look at him, shocked, and he smiles: apologetic, genuine, honorable.[/quote] It is in this moment, I believe, that Zavala finally processes the final stage of grievance; acceptance; Of Caydes death, of his role in the universe, and of the fact that we must fight for our friends; hardly, the response of a coward. Like Ikora asked, if we don't fight for our friends who are we fighting for? Like Ikora, Zavala shares these values, and while Ikora whose wisdom is sound, if not challenged at times, was able to process these emotions with the goal of maintaining the illusion of a unified Vanguard. While arguably healthy, in her grief she was prepared to lead a full scale invasion of the reef. Think about that a moment, a full-scale operation may have destroyed the reef, countless lives could have been lost especially if the [b]enemy[/b] took advantage of our weakened and extended state. Alternatively, a grieving Zavala would have counseled doing nothing. Allowing the corruption to go unnoticed, possibly leading to our demise. My point is that both ways of thinking are wrong because they are motivated by the emotions associated with grief. Ikora would risk it all for the sake of revenge; and yes, revenge IS what she wanted, even though she insisted it was Justice. Her venom was motivated by the anger of her grief, and if you seek peace from anger in the demise of the one who wronged you, you are out for revenge.Opposite Ikora, Zavala's fear of losing the city again motivates him to dig in, repair, reinforce and prepare for the worst. His denial of the developing situation in the reef, is heavily tied to his denial of his feelings on Caydes death, As is his decision not to aid us. The continued insinuation that he is a coward is both ignorant, and the response of a pugnacious majority, to a multifaceted and complicated character; and the insinuation that Ikora had it right is patently incorrect. In the end, we, the enigma of the Traveler, "The Guardian" had it right, we went alone, and we took care of it. Now that new developments in the Dreaming city have come to light, Zavala is back on board, all because he grieved in his way and in his time. It is unclear to me at least whether Ikora truly believes that she was wrong. It stands to reason that she would see the necessity in Zavala's choice, but her streak of brashness could negate that. If anyone knows a lore entry that confirms or debunks this, please share. TL;DR: Ikora is still impulsive in her grief over Cayde and would risk everything for the sake of revenge, and Zavala would postpone his grief over fear of being unable to execute his office of Titan Vanguard if he faced it The question should be, did either character process their grief correctly, and what is the right way to deal with death? The question I pose to Guardians is: At what point do you finish processing grief? do you ever?