[quote]Entry #5 – The Tower, Earth. --- Rendaus, Aaron. ENTRY READS: It’s been a long while since I last looked down at our city from the Tower during sunset. I had forgotten how beautiful it looked in the amber glow of the setting sun, how gorgeous the sky seemed when it was beautifully lit with orange and red clouds that inhaled the sunlight, and how magnificent the Traveler appeared during the final hours of the day. It had all seemed so distant since I had been set out on my own to patrol our system seeking threats, but now I had returned to my new home. Temporarily, at least. It has been about a week since the events that took place in my last entry. Shortly after my unnerving encounter the Titan back in the Seattle ruins I returned to the Tower to report what had occurred. I met with the Vanguard and the Speaker who were shocked to hear the message the mysterious woman had left with Ghost. She left, with us, seven words: “The Garden will soon blossom once again.” After this, my leaders sent me to my quarters so they could discuss the message in private. What happens now I’m unsure of, but I know it’s all been a very strange experience for me. Sure, I can handle dealing with Fallen, Cabal, some Vex, and even the Hive but dealing with these strange events in the Black Garden, the Titan I encountered, and these dreams I’m having are starting to get to me mentally. I don’t know what’s going on, but maybe somehow I was asking for this to happen to me. I started a journal to record the events that transpired on my patrol missions and sure enough there has been plenty of things to write about. A ghost-less Hunter throwing himself into darkness, Caval’s brutal fighting, visions in the Garden, and I even ran into the Warlock prodigy. Yet, through it all I’ve collected all of these stories from Guardians who recalled their past lives and yet I haven’t been able to recover my own. I know who all these individuals used to be and yet I know nothing of myself…and for some reason that wounds me deeply. Maybe I’m not meant to know. ENTRY ENDS[/quote] “Aaron, are you sure this is where you want to stop?” Ghost asked. Aaron simply looked blankly into Ghost’s lens. “Ghost,” he said “I think that’s it for the journal. With the exception of this last entry, send the others to the Vanguard and Speaker as they requested. After that, delete them all from your files please. I’m going to try and get some rest.” Ghost then began his work and Aaron laid in his cot, his mind filled with restless thoughts. He was nervous to learn the identity of the Titan he’d met in the Seattle ruins and what her words meant for him and although the Vanguard and Speaker informed Aaron they had no information on the woman, he knew in his gut that there was something they weren’t telling him. They knew who this woman was. The Traveler fell to the ground in a ball of fame, below it the city fell from the shockwaves followed by the plunge. The Tower also illuminated the sky with flame spewing out of its damaged exterior. Inside, blood painted the walls and corpses littered the ground. Shaxx, the vanguard, vendors, everyone laid there lifeless flowers penetrating their flesh. The scent of pollen and death intertwined. In the plaza, the guardians of the light were replaced with dark, armored figures; the Titan Aaron had encountered front-and-center. Aaron was bound in front of them by a force of darkness, unable to move and forced to watch the carnage. His armor cracked with gunfire, burnt from dark energy, blood seeping through the breaches. Ghost crushed in front of him and the Speaker forced onto his knees before Aaron. The Titan spoke to Aaron then. “The Traveler who once protected your city has now decimated it, the Tower who housed the Guardians of the light now acts as their grave, the Travel’s speaker will soon have no breathe to speak with, and you, Lord Rendaus, will have your light consumed by our darkness. Goodbye, Speaker”. She said as she drove a dagger through his throat, his body spasming blood flowing like water from a fountain and finally hitting the ground. His face revealed, he looked directly into Aaron’s eyes and let out a tear that met with the blood gathering around his body. Tears built up in Aaron’s eyes, but he had not the energy to let out a scream. “Cry not, my fair lord, your turn is next. Do you see this, Aaron? Look all around you. Your Traveler is fallen and has crushed your last city, all the Guardians at the tower are dead and the rest will be hunted down, your Ghost and Speaker are gone, and now you are left alone with us to watch everything you know burn to ashes and become the gateway leading to the Garden. You could have joined us, you could have been on the side of the victorious but you allowed your virtues to consume your thoughts rather than reason. So now, Aaron, we part.” She kissed his check, and drove the dagger straight into his chest, twisting the blade until finally Aaron was no more. “Your light is will not save you….this is your fate.” Aaron awoke in a cold sweat, tears dreaming down his face he burst out of his corridor and into the plaza. The Traveler still hung above the city, and the wall still intact. Tower workers starred at him as we fell to his knees in relief. “What the -blam!- is going on…” he thought to himself. As he sat there, the Speaker and Vanguard ran to his side and lifted him to his feet. “Rendaus!” Zavala exclaimed “What the hell has gotten into y-“ “Zavala, Cayde, Ikora. Return to the hall, I must speak with Aaron alone.” The Speaker interrupted. The two then returned to Aaron’s room and the Speaker rested him onto his cot. “Aaron…you had the vision, didn’t you?” he said to Aaron. Shocked, Aaron simply nodded and starred into the Speaker’s mask. “I’m sorry, Aaron, but as it is now this is your fate, as it is mine. The Titan you encountered back in the Seattle ruins was previously a member of Fireteam Claymore tasked with exploring the Black Garden and setting up base there. The team was wiped out by an, until recently, unknown enemy and we never recovered the bodies or Ghosts. Aaron, this data you have brought to us confirms her identity: Catherine the Unbroken. Catherine was one of the most powerful Titans ever trained under Shaxx and now she has been consumed by the Darkness. The messaged she had left for me is a sign, Aaron. By infiltrating the Garden we have merely angered the Darkness and now they come for our light. The Traveler has long acted as a barrier between the Darkness and our city, but Catherine once held the power of light and as such she is able to travel to Earth. This could have dire consequences, Aaron. Incarnate is coming for the Traveler.” Aaron had hoped that when the Traveler had exposed this Titan’s identity it would open his eyes and explain to him what was happening, but now he was merely left with more questions. He knew who Catherine was; she was a legend in the crucible and the bane of the Cabal, well known for her brutality on the battlefield. But the other person, or thing, was. “Speaker…what or who is Incarnate?” He asked. “Incarnate…is the physical manifestation of the Darkness, Aaron. It has existed as long as the Traveler and is the sole cause behind the collapse. Incarnate is the nemesis of the Traveler and just as powerful. Catherine is just one of many Dark Guardians; they are coming for us now, Aaron, and if we aren’t prepared we will perish.” Aaron then stood up, eye-to-eye with the Speaker. “No.” he said “We will not fall prey to the Darkness. We have all fought too hard to succumb to it now, and I will fight till my last breath.” “Well, Aaron, I’m glad to hear it because your city, your fellow guardians, your traveler, and I all need you to be strong. You are special, Aaron, and you have power different from the other Guardians. Tomorrow you will begin training with Lord Saladin and Shaxx to become greater than Catherine, or any other Titan, ever was. But first, there is something we must do…follow me.” The Speaker led Aaron to his study and had him face the Traveler. “Aaron, during your patrols you have encountered a few Guardians whom have had recollections of their past. While sometimes it happens accidentally, as is the case with Riley, but for the most part the Travel bestows memories to Guardians capable of handling their past. Until now, you would have been unable to handle your past but now you may have the strength. When select Guardians are given their past memories it is to give fuel to their power. Being able to see your loved ones slaughtered in front of you, being offered redemption after a life of crime, or getting a second chance to do something meaningful can give significant power to select guardians at the cost of living with these memories. Aaron, I can bestow this power unto you but know by doing this you will have the burden of remembering the ones you loved and knowing you will never see them again. Do you wish for me to proceed?” he asked Aaron. “I do, Speaker.” Aaron replied. “I need to do this for me, and for you all. Been craving to know my past for a while now, anyways.” Placing one hand on Aaron’s head and one facing the Traveler, the Speaker announced the process has begun. “Aaron, I wish you luck. This may hurt a litt-“ [continued below]