{"id":120653,"date":"2020-11-13T17:54:37","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T17:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/BungieNet_ContentItem_49746"},"modified":"2020-11-13T17:54:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T17:54:37","slug":"immolant-pt-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/11\/13\/immolant-pt-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Immolant Pt. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

WOUNDS
<\/u><\/b>I<\/h2>\n

Commander Zavala stands behind his desk riddled with documents to greet Osiris. Through a cloud-covered shroud, the reforged Traveler fills the office with a delicate glow. \u201cOsiris. I am glad to see you safe and with us again. Please, sit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stress draws trenches in Zavala\u2019s face: battle lines between worry and hope, duty and friendship; between survival and annihilation. Osiris meets Zavala\u2019s eyes. They do not scream traitor, exile, heretic . Instead, they seek wisdom\u2014to confide in another who knows burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis won\u2019t take long,\u201d Osiris states, remaining on his feet. \u201cSomething is communicating across the forces of the Darkness. Do not let Eramis blind you to other threats on our borders.\u201d  His disquieting voice prickles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can provide operational support for you, but that is all. The Vanguard\u2019s focus is on Europa. We won\u2019t abandon immediate threats to chase cryptic omens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris scoffs in disbelief. \u201cSince when has the Vanguard been capable of only one task?\u201d He steps toward Zavala, thrusting a finger at him like a spear. \u201cHow do you not see the tactical advantage of tapping into their communications?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know me better than that. We don\u2019t have resources to launch a system-wide investigation. I put my trust in Eris…\u201d Zavala inhales deeply. \u201cFifty-seven Guardians did not return to the City. Dead, or otherwise unaccounted for. The Consensus factions have their own agendas in light of our losses. And frankly, I didn\u2019t expect to see you answer the call either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI came, and now you tell me there is no plan. Perhaps it would have served me better to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t be hounded by absentee Guardians and armchair tacticians.\u201d Zavala slowly places his hands on his desk, as if restraining himself from destroying it. \u201cThe information you\u2019ve brought me is worth investigating. If you want to help, I will give you full authority to pursue this loose end. The City\u2019s archives and support systems are at your disposal, but I cannot allocate additional ships or manpower to your cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris nods, realizing he had no right to demand action. \u201cI apologize. Thank you.\u201d He motions toward the windows\u2019 reinforced glass. \u201cThe Traveler\u2019s reforging was  a sight to behold.\u201d His words have a faint reverence to them. <\/p>\n

Zavala turns away from the Traveler\u2019s pale light, his face dimmed. \u201cIndeed. I wish it was more than just that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese events were beyond us all, Zavala. I should have seen it\u2026 I just want to correct my error.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll help you where I can, Osiris. Remain in contact, and if it is dire, I will point every gun at whatever fiend you uncover.\u201d<\/p>\n

II<\/h2>\n

Horticulture<\/i><\/p>\n

A siren has long wept over Io, mourning the death of a once-lively world. <\/i><\/p>\n

The life left sleeping lay deep in the Cradle, awaiting a wish to waken the grove. <\/i><\/p>\n

On wings of flame and golden skein, the Phoenix settled to deliver,<\/i><\/p>\n

buried deep with flaming beak a seed to blossom and draw Watchers hither.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s pretty good. I mean\u2026 it could be a little less narcissistic, but you\u2019ve only had decades to practice,\u201d Sagira pokes.<\/p>\n

 \u201cIt isn\u2019t finished,\u201d Osiris grumbles. \u201cStop reading my private drive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fractals of color scintillate and split across Osiris\u2019s jumpship as it slips through space toward Io.<\/p>\n

His mind is still taxed from his last visit. He remembers\u2014camouflaged against the rushing atmospheric bands of Jupiter\u2014how he drifted alongside its evergreen moon. He remembers the deep wedge that sunk between the two bodies, dividing them. <\/p>\n

The Pyramid before him, lascivious tendrils of wildfire hue flowed from it like a grasping hand across the Cradle. The image as clear as relived trauma. Io had been dwarfed against the black angular pit seated in its atmosphere. His eyes could not leave it then; even now, he feels himself falling into its gravity as they approach again.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you sent it  to Saint yet?\u201d Sagira flitters into view. She brings him back to the present, soaring across space.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I told you, it isn\u2019t finished.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHave you told him you\u2019re writing poetry again? He\u2019s going to have so much to say about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough. You don\u2019t need to be involved. He badgers me enough as it is,\u201d Osiris barks half-heartedly, his face softening as the words leave him. \u201cWe have work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

They lurch out of their jump. Jupiter\u2019s depth fills the canopy with pyrographic incandescence. Dozens of moons arc around the giant in careful, patient grooves\u2014cut into space over millennia of gravitational friction. Io is not among them. Osiris checks and rechecks coordinates. Sagira assures him they are correct. They stare at the disparity together.  <\/p>\n

The orbital readings of Sol\u2019s bodies are intact, gravity unaltered. But the system is gutted, four globes plucked from the skies. His eyes sink into the maw of eternal depth lurking in Io\u2019s place. An anomaly of Darkness. Osiris stares as if looking into the pyre-flames of a funeral; the corpse\u2019s uncanny familiarity. A stranger you half-remember. <\/p>\n

There is only the gouge of Io\u2019s absence. A reckoning whispered and left.<\/p>\n

III<\/h2>\n

Saturn grieves the loss of Titan. The cerulean jewel that once was had sunken into the gullet of the abyss. In its place, an anomaly , dark and rimmed in gravitational lensing. Osiris tears his eyes away and fixates on its sibling cavity: a swath cut through Saturn\u2019s rings by Oryx\u2019s blade during the Taken War. Within the rings, the Dreadnaught sails in solidarity with the anomaly\u2019s orbit, whispering back in harmony.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you hear that?\u201d Osiris asks, turning to Sagira. He turns the ship\u2019s scanning array toward the anomaly. \u201cLike the tones Vance described. From the spires, and then the Pyramids. It was coming from the anomaly that replaced Io as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t hear anything, but I can feel it.\u201d Sagira cringes and constricts her shell flaps. \u201cLike a shiver down my metaphorical spine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris lowers his gaze. He does not want to see their failure or believe the Cradle\u2019s Tree, the Forest, all the Golden Age treasures so many had died to preserve\u2014were gone. All their victories: usurped and meaningless in the face of the enemy.<\/p>\n

For all their power, all their heroism, they had invited this fate. And when it came, they were not prepared.<\/p>\n

Phobos and Deimos orbit the grave of Mars where a roiling depth festers, hungry and reaching out to the little moons caught within its influence. The Warmind buckled, and yet somehow, it ekes out existence in hiding, a survivor again. <\/p>\n

Ana still holds on to a dead hope. She should be out in the field as a paragon of the old age. Charging forward to lead unsteady neophytes. Like he has. Instead, she retreats to the City and lays her worries on Zavala\u2019s brow, promising a Rasputin perfected to rebuke the assailing horrors of the night. But the Warmind did not stop the Pyramids, and unkept promises make Osiris weary. At least Sloane and Asher confronted the onslaught themselves, one last time. How he longs for that assured aplomb. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo know the way forward, one must bear the torch,\u201d he murmurs.<\/p>\n

Sagira is silent. Osiris can feel the weight of each lost world shackle her hope to a blistering reality. There is no reason to linger here.<\/p>\n

The ship drops into Sol\u2019s mighty star-wind , the brilliant flames of the Sun at their backs. Osiris\u2019s hope tells him he could find a subdued Mercury here, laboring under the angular shadow of a Pyramid. But he knows his hope is a lie. The wound is all he can see. A pit ringed in flame. He remembers the vast nothingness he had witnessed in the Infinite Forest. He laments the loss of his clairvoyance within its coded halls. Perhaps there, he would have had the answer to the question he wants to ask Sagira, \u201cHave I led us down this path?\u201d<\/p>\n

He tells himself that his last visit was driven by anger. Sagira had chided him for storming the Lighthouse and ransacking Vance\u2019s possessions. \u201cThey\u2019re my relics,\u201d he said to silence her protests. In truth, what drove Osiris to Mercury then is the same as what drives him now: fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell Zavala about the Lighthouses? About the Tree?\u201d Sagira asks. Osiris is silent. \u201cThere are people that will help. This isn\u2019t the Dark Ages. You don\u2019t have to do this alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I have something to show them, I will. Right now, all we have are questions.\u201d Osiris watches analytical data stream up his monitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo where does that leave us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMara began this escapade with her message, and I did as she asked. I can only hope the Awoken can provide more answers.\u201d<\/p>\n

FOND DISTANCE<\/h2>\n

Rain falls in the Dreaming City. From within a hollow amethyst cavern, Osiris watches the amber droplets pepper the ground and burst into misty vapor. Their subtle impacts echo off crystalline walls and meld together in escalating, chaotic resonance that rings through the cavern. He could feel the sting of momentum dragging him to an unforeseen end. A million possibilities, and only a single chance to move through them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful. I\u2019ve never seen it rain here before.\u201d Sagira\u2019s words pluck Osiris from his stupor.<\/p>\n

The rain\u2019s tawny sheen fades from the wet ground. He thinks for a moment to ask her what she was saying but airs his own thoughts instead. \u201cPetra was useless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know you like Mara does,\u201d Sagira says wistfully as she buzzes back into the jumpship. \u201cOh good. Back in the ship. Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw the look on her face when she read our data. She knows something she isn\u2019t telling us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe she\u2019s just being cautious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have time for the Reef\u2019s suspicions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey haven\u2019t seen you in years, Osiris.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same could be said for their queen,\u201d Osiris scoffs and raises himself into the cockpit. \u201cUnruly Hive activity is all the intelligence Petra had to offer. When are they not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can try talking next time. That might help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we return, you\u2019re more than welcome to. For now, we\u2019re Tower-bound.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounds AMAZING. I can finally stretch my shell for a bit.\u201d Sagira flexes. \u201cSpeaking of the Tower, Geppetto keeps asking if you\u2019ve checked under your seat.\u201d She jabs a tiny shell point downward. <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sagira locks her iris on Osiris as he begins preflight checks. \u201cYou\u2019re putting more effort in avoiding it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll do it.\u201d She flutters past his shins and dives under the pilot seat. A muffled \u201cFound it!\u201d sounds beneath him. She emerges with a crumpled note tied in lavender frill and sealed by a crude wax stamp of a flaming bird. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe made us a stamp!\u201d she says, excitedly shaking vibrato into her voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does the letter say, Sagira?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, now you want to know what it says?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSagira.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just didn\u2019t seem interested. I can read it to myself\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will ask when we get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, if you want to know that badly… It says he likes your new poem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSAGIRA!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tower crowd is dense and boisterous at dusk. Outside Zavala\u2019s office, Osiris can hear Ikora\u2019s cool tone clearly pierce through the thick doors. Her words are considerate, crafted. Osiris contemplates interrupting them. But they have enough on their shoulders. To the Hangar.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re headed to see Saint, I\u2019ll tag along. Otherwise, I\u2019ll meet you back at the ship,\u201d Sagira says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst Ana, then Saint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you always see him last?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the most patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been busy.\u201d Osiris takes in Ana\u2019s hastily assembled workshop located within the partition between the Tower and the City. Tools and schematics litter the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking to me or yourself?\u201d Ana asks and rolls out from beneath a disassembled Exo chassis. \u201cHard to tell sometimes,\u201d she says, standing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been too long, Ana.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t visit often.\u201d She glances over her shoulder. \u201cExcept to point fingers.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose we\u2019ve both been busy. I\u2019m glad to see you back in the Tower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana rolls her jaw. \u201cI guess we have to stop running sometime.\u201d <\/p>\n

Osiris looks at the Exo chassis. \u201cDo we?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you here for, Osiris? Looking to make another mess for me to clean up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Warmind was overtaken, did you notice a resonant tone in the Darkness\u2019s attack? Like this?\u201d Osiris asks and plays a waveform recording of the Lighthouse\u2019s song.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little preoccupied. But I didn\u2019t hear any suspicious\u2026 tones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou experienced the Darkness\u2019s assault firsthand. Instead of using that experience, you\u2019re dredging up the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOsiris, content only if he alone can play god.\u201d Ana swipes a welding torch from a nearby workbench. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou should meet up with Calus. You two would get along.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRun the tones through your database. If your pet project has any related information\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll run it.\u201d The words sarcastically fall out of Ana\u2019s mouth as she slides back under the Exo and ignites the torch with a Solar finger-snap. \u201cNext time you want to drop in, use the Ghost-vine instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tower Hangar is still, its ships grounded. Gearheads and pilots alike wait in tense reticence. Scramble speakers buzz with static anticipation of orders from Vanguard High Command. Osiris turns back to a lone point of Light shining through the gloom. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do not understand all of this code. This is Geppetto\u2019s specialty,\u201d Saint-14 says while standing bent over a wide desk covered in data tablets. Holographic images of the Lighthouse shimmer in the Hangar lights. \u201cWe could use the Crucible right now. Your trials. This will be very helpful. You mean to stay, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will. Long enough to show you how to implement the simulation; but tonight, I must disembark,\u201d Osiris says. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo soon?\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris tenses his jaw in forced silence. He twiddles with code. \u201cI\u2019m worried about what Vance found.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saint places a heavy hand on Osiris\u2019s chest. \u201cLet go of your obsession. Do not leave chasing phantoms again.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cPhantoms\u2026 You think the Darkness is satisfied? This is just the first move. I need to know the next before it\u2019s made.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is something you fear, let me help you. We face this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris\u2019s mind drifts to the Dark anomalies. Saint doesn\u2019t need another burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safest place for you is the Tower, Saint. Time… tends to renege on its gifts.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, your mission is dangerous?\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris considers lying. \u201cPotentially.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen do not go. The Vanguard already scouts Europa. The Forest is gone, my fiery bird.\u201d Saint gives an uneasy chuckle and bats Osiris on the shoulder with his palm. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to disappear and go looking for another.\u201d <\/p>\n

Osiris smiles faintly. The Forest is gone, and all the simple pleasures in existence could not replace it. Sagira had told him once that life ebbs and flows. And in that ebb, he is still lost. How long will it last, until purpose rushes forth to find him again?<\/p>\n

\u201cMe, disappear?\u201d He gives Saint a tilted look. \u201cI won’t. I’ll be back, and I will continue to keep Zavala abreast of my travels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd me.\u201d No number of tethers would keep him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, and you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you will answer my letters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris skirts the promise. \u201cIf I am able.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr I will send you with more of this candy corn, and Sagira will make you eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not be ridiculous. It is delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osiris fails to contain a chuckle. Saint embraces him. His mind is starside, but Osiris still feels himself relax. Someday, this will be enough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WOUNDSI Commander Zavala stands behind his desk riddled with documents to greet Osiris. Through a cloud-covered shroud, the reforged Traveler fills the office with a delicate glow. \u201cOsiris. I am glad to see you safe and with us again. Please, sit.\u201d Stress draws trenches in Zavala\u2019s face: battle lines between worry and hope, duty and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":120654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bungie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}