Survivors Ch.2: Structure

Table of Contents https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229522482/0/0 "I need a ride to the Tower," I tell the Captain overseeing this section of the Wall. He nods and walks past me to the comm unit. I wait patiently, taking in the City below me. When I first came here, it was nothing but a few tents under the shadow of one of the Traveler's shards. More people came as time went on and we became a village, like many others that sprung up in the wilderness. But our town kept growing. The Traveler had saved us from the Darkness in its dying breath, and the area was a better shelter than most. People were drawn to it. We began calling it the City, once it was clearly too big to be compared to the other villages. Rumors spread of its existence, and travelers came in increasing amounts. The Factions came to power over time, groups of people coming together to support and comfort, and their collective views helped us see a bigger picture. Then their differences became points of conflict. People were killed. The City descended into chaos and power struggles. Thus began an unnecessary war, made necessary by greed, ambition, and fear. We called it the Faction Wars. During all this, the Eliksni arrived. They saw us surrounded by the remains of their dead god, and we were scared that the Darkness had returned with the arrival of these aliens. Both sides forgot whatever petty quarrels and infighting had been plaguing them, striking out in fear and rage. There were bloody battles, even sieges, but the Eliksni quickly realized what had happened to the Traveler. Peace was made. Our races worked to communicate, teaching languages, and we mourned the death of the Great Machine together. All Eliksni learned to speak, read, and write in English. The humans and Exos learned to read, write, and understand the Eliksni's spoken language. We aren't capable of speaking in their tongue, but communication is still easy. The Factions lost their power, and we created a more or less proper government. The Council was made, consisting of two groups. The first is the Eliksni's Kells and the representatives for the Houses that don't have Kells. The second is the Consensus, formed by six humans and six Exos who are chosen by the citizens, as well as the representatives of three Factions selected by the Consensus. The Kells bring a few of their most trusted warriors and tacticians as advisors. Multiple members of the Kells' Guards, along with the City Guard, made up of some of the City's best and most experienced soldiers, are tasked with protecting the Council when they meet. I look out to the opposite side of the City, at the Tower, standing tall above all else. We built it and the Wall with the Eliksni as the City expanded. Now it truly is a city. The Captain returns and tells me a ship is coming, then carries on with his business. I nod, then look back down at our home. I barely remember anything before the Dark Age. Not the Golden Age or the Collapse. The mind wipes erased all but flashes. They were supposed to get rid of the post traumatic stress, but every surviving Exo agrees that they didn't help. Now we can't remember what it is that haunts us, and our minds are in pieces. The humans can't remember for us. The ones that survived the Collapse with us are long dead. Their descendants know as much as the Exos. Nonetheless, we've built ourselves up out of the Dark Age and into the City Age. A Skiff glides down and stops, hovering over the Wall. I walk to it and climb in. With a lurch, the craft turns and heads to the Tower. There are thousands of humans and Exos living in the City, the bulk of the world's population, and more are scattered across Earth. There are at least a few million Eliksni, too many to properly count. A few live in the City, but most are spread out in outposts and Ketches around the planet. They helped us search the inner planets, to see what was out there. The Hive on the Moon. The Vex everywhere else. On Mars, they found a new enemy. An empire called the Cabal. The Asteroid Belt was nothing but rocks and a ship graveyard. We didn't dare to look farther than that. The most interesting discovery was a Warmind in the Cosmodrome that had survived the Collapse, named Rasputin. We tried to communicate with him, but he made it clear he didn't want to work together. After he attacked us with Frames and shot a warhead at some Splicers and scientists, we gave up. The Skiff slows to a halt and the circular hatch next to me opens. I climb out and drop a few feet into the Tower's courtyard. Columns behind me line the edge, looking out to the City. Some have banners from the Eliksni Houses. The others have symbols from the current three Factions that the Consensus has selected (Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, and New Monarchy) and the symbol for the Consensus. To the right and left, short staircases lead to giant hallways that connect to the other main areas of the Tower, like the Hangar and Faction representatives' lobbies. The doors, rooms, and halls in the Tower are all large enough to accommodate the massive Kells and members of Eliksni leadership. In front of me, a stairwell leads down to a massive closed door with two dozen guards of all three species waiting outside. More stairs ascend around and above the door, ending at a higher portion of the courtyard that sits over the Council Hall and stretches to the far end of the Tower. I take quick strides to the Council Hall door. The guards see the symbol of the City Guard on my chest plate and shuffle out of the way. "You took your time, Keis," one of my fellow City Guard members jests. One of the Eliksni chuckles at that, but I don't slow down. Two Eliksni open the door a crack and I slip through. The door closes behind me as I traverse the Council Hall. More guards are sitting with their backs against the walls, some nod silent greetings as I pass. At the end of the Hall stands another door. Two more guards, a Captain and a man, push it open. I step into the Council Room and stop as the doors slide shut behind me. The far wall is made entirely of glass, looking out to the mountains. A massive table dominates the center of the room. Around it sit the Kells of Kings, Devils, Wolves, and Winter. Taniks the Scarred, the representative of House Scar, and Variks, the representative of House Judgment, sit next to them. Taniks and Variks are the last living members of their respective Houses, though Taniks has made it obvious that he doesn't care about his. Aksor the Archon Priest, Riksis the Devil Archon, and Vekis the King Baron are also present. The Consensus shares the table with them, and all are looking at me. I take off my helmet, revealing my silver plated face, red-lit eyes, and a gold streak under my left eye. Bending at the waist, I bow to the Council. "Keis-53," one of the Consensus members addresses, "Anything to report?" "Nothing, sir," I reply. A few Councilmen nod, and another Consensus member raises a directing hand, "Your peers will fill you in." As the Councilmen return to their discussion, I move to the side of the room, where two other Guard members and four Eliksni stand. Each Eliksni wears a different House flag. Kings, Devils, Wolves, and Winter. During Council meetings, one member of each Kell's Guard and the top three City Guard members are permitted to stay in the room while the others wait outside. Donning my helmet, I take my place at the end of the line, next to the other City Guard members. The one next to me, a man, nudges me with an elbow and whispers, "You're lucky, Keis. You missed six days of meetings." "Very funny, Noel," mutters the other, a female Exo, pushing around Noel to get next to me, "Move over." "Commander Avery-20. Noel Lanson," I greet, "Always a pleasure." "Are you ever gonna stop calling us by our full names?" Noel sighs, letting Avery pass him. "You heard about the Hive in the Cosmodrome?" Avery asks. I nod. "We've got everything on lockdown," Avery explains, "Nothing in or out of the Cosmodrome. The Warlords there agreed to come to the City. The Council's deciding what we'll do next." I nod again and turn my attention to the Council. "It's good to have you back, Keis," Avery adds, "Noel was whining about how much he missed you." "Hey!" Noel gripes playfully, keeping his voice low, "That was only 'cause we were lifting a beam the size of a Pike!" They both chuckle and we return to listening to the Council's planning.