[b]-Please excuse any misspellings or errors-[/b] [b]"The Fight Against Taniks" by: Mungnum[/b] We faced Taniks the Scarred, a fallen mercenary. The murderer of Andal Brask and the freer of Aksor, the Archon Priest. It was only a matter of time until his spree would continue, with the murder of three more guardians, us. We were pinned down by his gunfire, and the thought of failure and death danced in our minds.. The light we cast was dimming, and shadows crept across our minds. My helm had lost one of it’s proud golden wings. My hand-cannon had a faulty trigger and the power it delivered had become weaker. My sniper’s scope had been broken off by a mine set out by the Wolf Walker. But these bruises were nothing compared to the gashes of my friends. I saw my friend, Anthony Freelance, a warlock who studied under Toland the Shattered, the great warlock who lost his mind. Many find Toland’s teachings evil and anti-light. Because of this, Anthony often hides his research and flies into uncharted locations. I often find him in the jungles of Venus, practicing Toland’s teachings. He keeps his writings and studies in a satchel which never leaves his side. He knows more about the darkness than even The Speaker can ponder. His helmet was cracked and dented. Rather than obsidian, it appeared almost Ruby, as it was painted with fallen blood. His gun, the sacred Bad Juju: a relic of Toland, had dimmed and it’s green glow had faded into dusk. His satchel was torn and I could see scribblings about forbidden magic. Across from him sat The Knight of Sorin. Nobody in the world knows his name, not even him. His parents died before he could speak. He sits in silence day and night, out of reverence. His mother died in a raid against Crota and his minions alongside Eris Morn. Eris won’t talk much about his mother, only that her name was Natalie. Without his mother, his father began to drink and died of alcohol poisoning when Knight was only 6 months. After that, he became a child of war, he was taken in by the military and trained to serve the Queen. By the age of eight, he learned how to protect, how to serve, and sadly how to kill. He named his Scout rifle, Natalie, after his mother. This laid at his side, next to his torn Praxic robes. Anthony was the first to speak, “Taniks, the scarred” he laughed “The great apprentice of Toland the Shattered, is cut down by a mercenary. I really live out his legacy.” He sunk his head into his knees and the blood from his helmet slowly dripped on the floor. From around the corner I heard Taniks say something is his Fallen tongue. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes, waiting for death to stop teasing my demise and snuff my light out. Then a dreg came from around a corner and stabbed Anthony in the arm. Knight picked up shot quickly and with impeccable accuracy, knowing that if he missed, he’d hit his friend. I rushed to him and wrapped the dreg’s scarf across the Warlock’s open wound. He rolled over in pain and the tear in his satchel burst open. Papers spilled out onto the ground and showed techniques of powerful black magic. Anthony tried to pick them up, but I was already intrigued. We needed any help we could scavenge for, even if it clashes with my light. “What are these writings, they seem to be the makings of a new magic type!” Knight exclaimed. Anthony looked down and sighed, “I knew you would find out eventually” he said grimly “I’ve discovered a new, more efficient method of dealing with the darkness. I ask my colleagues in magic, how do you light a room? Do you cleanse the shadows with the void? Do you burn it with fire? Both methods light the room, but they also destroy it. My method is the idea of simply taking the shadows and destroying only it. I believe that rather than darkness replacing light, it merely covers it. By learning what darkness is, and what it is made of, you can simply consume it with itself. Gentleman, I give you the way of the DarkStrider.” I then looked at him and saw a beacon of hope. “Well let’s f***ing see it” I said. We picked him up and handed him his satchel. Then the mysterious apprentice put his finger to his lips and let out a faint “shhhhh”. As the word rang out his body slowly darkened and faded into the shadows cast by the wall. “You take out the snipers, I’ll clear out the playground.” I ordered. Knight ran out into the battlefield and slid under the electrical beam from the wire rifle. He shot Natalie strait into the head of the vandal, and I saw it’s faint soul escape to hell. I ran out and stuck Taniks with a fusion grenade, to get his attention. I dodged his Scorch cannon and hit a shank with my palm. I could feel a pulsating wave of fire engulf my body and protect me with the hearth. I shot and killed dreg after dreg, and started to give up hope of Anthony showing up again. Then the flames around me stopped, but too early, I had been hit. By the time I turned around, an array of flaming rounds pushed my back against the wall. I was at the end of a scorch cannon and one trigger pull away from my demise. Suddenly, Knight came up behind Taniks and shoved him to the side. When he got up, he slammed against the ground, sending the brave guardian across the room and into a pile of barrels with fallen writing. Anthony had not only given us false hope, but led us astray. The Fallen mercenary looked at me once more. But as it peered, the six lights on his helmet began to darken. Taniks stopped moving altogether. He was then lifted into the air, still alive - but immobile. Then dark chains latched onto him and began to turn to light, ring by ring. Dark runes began to circle him and many shot out and lifted the other dregs and vandals into the air. When the chains that were holding him became light entirely, they exploded. All of the shadows in the room were just washed away, as if they were writing on a whiteboard. Then all minions of the dark (including Taniks) dropped to the floor. All except Taniks were killed, but he was still left lifeless. Anthony reformed and waltzed right up to the rag-doll vandal. He lifted up his head with his left hand. With his right had, Anthony placed his gun, the famed Bad JuJu into Tanik’s mouth. I heard a pulse out come out of the barrel but I couldn't see the spread. Suddenly, the mag refilled itself.