Another roll of thunder cascaded across the sky as heavy rainclouds gathered, casting a menacing shadow upon the farmland below. On the outskirts of the tilled fields, a small village rested comfortably at the base of the sprawling hillcountry that eventually turned into jagged snowcapped mountains in the distant horizon. As the mounting storm approached, the meager settlement grew silent with fearful anticipation. From the front porch of one of the many makeshift log houses, a lean, weathered man stood defiantly against the growing winds as the rain finally began to pelt his roof with an aggressive rhythm. He glared up at the storm as a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, bathing the village in a flash of white light and igniting the man’s fierce golden eyes. He grunted as more thunder resounded from above. Something was different about this particular storm. With its arrival, the air had become thick with a malicious presence. Light from nearby homes could hardly pierce the veil of rain and darkness that now covered them. The man scratched his messy blonde hair nervously. Something dangerous was on the way. He shifted his weight, getting ready to head back inside his home, when something caught his ear. From within the roar of rain and thunder, the faint sound of small boots dashing through slick mud drew near. He turned to look up the road and was surprised to see a little girl running desperately towards him. She slid to a stop before his porch, eyes filled with fear beneath her dripping brown hair. “Ria! What are you doing out in this storm?!” The girl trembled in her heavy raincoat and pointed back up the road. The man did not understand, but quickly jumped out into the rain to pick her up. “Come inside, Ria. You’ll catch a cold out here!” Ria began to struggle against his grasp, but her efforts were in vain. “Calm down, Ria. Uncle Eran is here now. Relax.” Eran continued to comfort her as he carried her into his home and shut the door behind him, turning the torrential rain outside into nothing more than a distant hum. He set the soaked, shivering girl down in front of the fire that now burned in his homely hearth. Like clockwork, he expertly removed the raincoat and soggy shoes from his niece as she relaxed in the warmth of the fire. “Now,” said Eran, kneeling next to her. “Tell your uncle what happened. Where is your father?” Ria gazed up at her uncle with tears in her eyes as she willed her voice to work. “Daddy isn’t back yet,” she whispered. “Back from where, Ria? Where did he go?” “He went to work,” she said, eyes wide. “He hasn’t come back yet.” Eran cursed beneath his breath. His brother was admittedly a little dense, but the guy knew better than to stay out in the fields during a storm. Something must have happened. “Ria, dear, Uncle Eran is going to go look for your daddy. I want you to stay here where it’s safe.” The girl furiously shook her head. “No! I want to help you find Daddy!” “It’s not safe out there, little one,” he soothingly explained. “You sit right here, and I promise I’ll be right back with your daddy. Deal?” The girl reluctantly nodded. “Good girl. Kito!” he called, pulling a flashlight from a nearby shelf. From a doorway in the back of the room, a rusted red frame emerged in response to its name. “At your service, Master Eran.” “Watch the girl while I’m gone,” Eran commanded, slipping on his raincoat and pulling a thick leather hood over his head. “She is not to leave this house under any circumstances.” Kito bowed his metallic head. “Understood.” With that Eran flipped on his flashlight as he leapt out into the torrential rain, slamming the wooden door behind him, and sprinted out into the muddy road. He kept his head down in a vain effort to keep his face from getting pelted with rain as he quickly made his way outside the village edge. Beyond the organized array of homes, a vast spread of wheat fields and gardens sprawled miles across an open plain. There was one field in particular Eran ran towards with mad haste. His brother was responsible for the wheat on the southern perimeter of their land. If he was still out in the storm, that was the best place to look. Eran cursed as his boots began to sink further into the mud and the weight of his drenched coat became burdensome. He had no choice but to slow to a consistent trudge, inhaling as much oxygen as could from the oppressively humid air. If he didn’t find his brother soon, he would likely find himself in trouble too. Luckily, he didn’t have to look much longer. The beam of his flashlight enveloped the form of a man just a short distance down the road. “John!” he called through the rain. “Eran?!” his brother yelled back. “Thank the Traveler!” At last Eran reached him and clasped his shoulder firmly. “What happened?! Are you alright?!” John struggled to hear his brother’s words through the storm, but nodded in understanding. “Yes, I’m fine,” he said, clinging to his soaked hood, “but these folks need your help!” It was then that Eran noticed a hooded figure, taller than his brother, approaching slowly from behind. His eyes widened as he realized the man was missing an arm, and yet still carried an armored female body over his shoulder. Eran recognized the two immediately. He had seen their kind once or twice before. They were Guardians of the Last City. Finally the hooded man planted his feet in the mud behind John, and raised his head, revealing a pair of intensely glowing blue eyes against silver plating. The exo shifted the weight of his unconscious comrade across his shoulder as he peered up at the now baffled Eran. “Please,” Delta rasped, “help us.” [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/248490520]Chapter 1[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224417423]Delta: Book 1[/url] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/224417569?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=1]The Hub[/url]