Greetings, Guardians, here's part one of my latest fan fiction, Doom of the Dragons! Man, it feels good to be back! As usual, if you like it, give it a bump, and I'll have more out soon. Stay classy, Guardians! Lysander settled into his seat at the Consensus table. He gripped the metal chair, and spared a look at the banner behind him. It was the simple of the Concordat - a green fist on a black background. On either side of it were two additional banners - one displayed the white triangle of the New Monarchy, whereas the other displayed the white and black skull of Dead Orbit. Sitting to Lysander’s left, under the New Monarchy banner, was Executor Quail, a man of wide girth and dull wit. On his right sat Arach Henri, who was a man of diminutive stature, but whose eyes shone with razor-sharp intelligence. His brown hair was neat and trim, and his clothes were freshly pressed. Lysander himself was adorned in a green and white robe, the Concordat Fist centered squarely on his heart. His hair was black, and fell down over his shoulders. Though he looked for all the world like he was completely disinterested in his surroundings, his blue eyes never stopped searching, always on the lookout for some new opportunity, or an unforeseen threat. Across from him, the titan and warlock Vanguards - Osiris and Saint-14 - were seated. Despite his robotic features, Saint-14 had a hardened gaze and strong features. His skin was chrome-colored, and his eyes shown blue. His famous helmet, metal hairs sticking up from it’s crest, sat on the table by his side. The titan was still in full battle gear - in fact, Lysander couldn’t recall seeing him without it on. Titans. Osiris was a different breed entirely. His head was clean shaven, but a black goatee ringed his chin and lips. His robes were black and yellow, with his personal symbol - a sun - embroidered on the front. His brown eyes displayed a ruthless cunning, and one could practically feel him thinking behind that iron gaze. He did not like either of them, Lysander decided. Quail was his docile ally, and he could manipulate Dead Orbit if he needed to - but the Vanguard were incorruptible, and Lysander did not trust anything that he could not control. Besides, Osiris unnerved him. He felt like he was constantly looking over his shoulder to see if the warlock was watching him, and he always seemed a good eight steps ahead of everybody else. Saint-14, on the other hand, well. . . he was a member of the Firebreak Titans - the most extreme Titan order. To incur the wrath of a firebreak Titan was madness on the best of occasions. And with regards to Saint-14, it was pure suicide. Lysander just tried to stay out of the Titan’s way. Notably absent was the third member of the Vanguard. Lysander gritted his teeth. “May we start now?” he asked. “We cannot start until all members of the Vanguard are present,” Saint-14 said. “You know, this, Lysander.” Lysander did his best to suppress a growl. “Maybe you can afford to wait forever, but I cannot, titan,” he said. “If your hunter friend cannot arrive on time to meetings, then -“ Suddenly, the doors swung open, and a young man entered. His skin was dark, and his eyes were a soft shade of brown. A thin beard coated his face, disappearing under his black hood. He was tall - about six foot two - and he had a long, catlike stride. He sauntered into the room, and took his seat beside Saint-14. He smiled. “Sorry I’m late,” he said. Lysander pursed his lips. “Welcome, Andal,” he said. Andal Brask smiled again. It infuriated Lysander like few other things. Saint-14 and Osiris frightened him. But Andal Brask merely annoyed him. He shook his head. There would be a time for this later. “Now,” he said. “On to the problem at hand.” “Which is?” Saint-14 asked. Lysander took a breath, and dressed the Consensus. “I trust you are aware of a small explosion in the Tower this morning?” “I am,” Saint-14 said. “I am told it was some sort of a weapons experiment gone wrong?” Lysander snorted. “In a manner of speaking.” He looked over at Osiris. “One of your warlocks staged an experiment,” he said. “I believe it had something to do with resurrection - minus the aide of a ghost.” Osiris nodded. “Thanatonautics,” he said. He stroked his chin. “A promising area of study to be sure. Although,” he said, catching Saint-14’s glare, “the study is in its infancy to say the least. Though technically feasible, the particulars are not well understood.” “Hence the explosion,” Lysander said dryly. Osiris nodded. “Tell me,” he said, “who was it? I’ll give them a stern reprimand.” “A young Awoken man named Arryn,” Lysander said, “but I’m afraid that that’s impossible.” Osiris frowned. “How do you mean?” Lysander reached down to the floor, and picked up a charred, broken helmet off the ground. “This,” he said, “was all that was left.” He tossed the helm across the table, and it landed right in front of Osiris. The warlock picked the helmet up. He examined it, and brushed some of the ash off. Then, he shook his head. “The ghost too?” Lysander nodded. Osiris shook his head. He carefully put the helmet down. Lysander felt a set of eyes boring into him. He turned, and caught Andal’s piercing gaze. “Yes?” he asked. Andal continued staring at him. “There’s something you’re not telling us,” he said. Lysander blinked, but nodded. The hunter was more perceptive than he’d thought. “Yes,” he said. “We found some notes in his quarters.” He looked around the room. “Some of the knowledge for his experiment was gained from the Ahamkara.” The Vanguard members glanced at each other nervously. Henri frowned, and looked over at him. Even the normally docile Quail raised an eyebrow. Henri shook his head. “I should have known,” he said. “They seem to have their hands in everything these days.” Lysander nodded. The so-called “Wish Dragons” gave the promise of unlimited knowledge - but for a price. Though the Vanguard had gained valuable information from them over the years - such as the workings of Golden Age technology, as well as key lessons about the nature of the Light and the Traveler itself - there was a distinct dark side to them. And as of late, every half-baked Guardian scheme seemed to have an Ahamkara behind it. “Agreed,” Lysander said. “Which is why new measures must be implemented to stop this madness!” “What do you propose?” Quail asked. Lysander nodded. “We must limit access to the Ahamkara,” he said. “Guardians are asking dangerous questions. We cannot have them going to the Ahamkara whenever they choose!” He drummed his fingers against the table. “Therefore, I propose that all attempts to contact the Ahamkara be pre-approved by this council.” Andal chuckled. Lysander stared at the hunter. “Something funny, Hunter?” he asked. Andal smiled. “You think that they’ll go along with it?” he asked. “We can barely control them ourselves!” Lysander frowned. “But -“ he began. “I tell a Guardian to go across the System and shoot something, they’ll do it,” Andal said, suddenly growing serious. “I tell them not to, say, try to infiltrate the Exclusion Zone, and you can bet that that’s where I’ll find them next.” “Your point?” “If we forbid Guardians from consulting with the Ahamkara, there will be Guardians who do it just to spite us,” Andal said. “Besides, how would we punish dissenters? We’re continually short of manpower - we need all our Guardians at the ready at all times.” Saint-14 nodded. “Andal makes a valid point,” he said. “Lysander, I share your concerns, but forbidding access to the Ahamkara is ineffective at best.” He looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling. “Perhaps, however, a general advisory is in order; let Guardians know that such visits are frowned upon by this council.” He looked back down at the faction Representatives. “If you wish, you may each make your own resolutions regarding those Guardians who follow your cause. Just be prepared that some may then forget their allegiances.” “But -“ “This discussion is over,” Saint-14 said firmly. “I’ll issue the advisory later today.” He shook his head. “Now. On to other matters.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=1371758&postId=236325224&sort=0&page=0]Part Two: On the Count of Three[/url]