A Legend’s Gambit
I handed him the weapon core. He turned around and began fiddling with it and put something together that I had never come across in my time as a Guardian. Malfeasance he called it. A watered down copycat of Weapon of Sorrow Thorn. “Your part of my crew now!” he said when he handed it to me, attempting a hard mean look.
“How do you know I won’t kill you where you stand?” I said to the rogue light bearer, "Because you believe in it’s cause. You’re gonna need to choose a name soon… Dredgen!
My Ghost instigated Our Light is an affront to everything you and your crew are!"
“It’s alright!” I said.
I walked away telling my Ghost trans-mat us back to our ship which was in a drift like orbit around the planet. My Ghost: Kuro, Spoke;
“Should we trust him?”
“No.”
“Will you fight against them?”
“No.”
“Then WHAT will you do!?”
“I will become a Shadow… a Dredgen.”
“But he fights against them-”
“May be I can do as he does just in a more covert manner. And use this new weapon to defend The City.”
“You may be a Guardian of Earth but your Awoken.”
“Awoken were human once. They are both Light and Dark… we all must become Awoken. If my Light is to be snuffed out as that of the darkest Shadows then so be it.”
“Have you chosen a name?”
“Sköll… Dredgen Sköll.”
~SILENCE~
“Hey…TMGG has sent you a message. I’m decrypting it now.”
~SILENCE~
He turned on the message.
So, now… the truth.
You’ve earned it.
My name is Shin Malphur.
My name is Zyre Orsa.
My name is Dredgen Vale.
And all who fall to Darkness will answer to my steel.
The Shadows. The Drifter’s Gambit. The seeding of fear, that the infamous “Man with the Golden Gun” was on the hunt, blinded by allegiance to the Light and gunning for all who tempt the Darkness. A necessary deception. Offering two paths in order to draw out those eager for power beyond their means.
Malfeasance was a gift, a sample to gauge the true hearts of those who reveled in the Drifter’s games.
Those sated by its wicked power were kin enough to know their limits. Those hungry for more? A danger worth tracking. In some cases, a danger in need of confrontation.
But the game has only just begun, and I risk much like this here, me offering you the olive branch of truth and trust. Yes, I have led you to believe I was your friend and the Shadows my enemy and yours. If all I have just revealed calls that into question, know that it shouldn’t. The Shadows are a danger. We are guided by the evolved and controlled methods of Dredgen Yor, except instead of death and destruction, I am offering the mysteries and powers of the Darkness as bait for those who would otherwise go freely into the abyss.
I have built the perfect trap with which to cull the weak-willed.
And it is working.
—S.
An Invitation
The Vanguard and I are not enemies. We simply have different methods. But to their credit, they have… “allowed” my actions, as they have a wide array of concerns to fill their attention. Not that they haven’t helped in small ways. Snippets of conversations to plant the Shadows as a threat. Feigned ignorance of the Drifter’s game and its consequences. Zavala prefers more straightforward tactics, but even he agrees that as Guardian numbers grow it is vital to test the true mettle of those trusted with the safeguarding of our fragile survival.
But others, the Guardians who have joined me—Teben, Braga, Jonah, —they are all believers in our cause. And Callum, the truest hero who made the purest sacrifice. His death was noble, and by my hand. But not a hateful thing. His part was—and remains—key to sealing the temptation of any who would give themselves to sorrow’s road. All who take up arms in his name will be enemies of all he held dear, and they will be punished. You have my word.
I am burdening you with the full reality of the gambit at play because I believe in you. My earlier words. My gifting of the Last Word. That was earned. And all true. You are the future of this war. You, and a few like you, are the warriors who can walk the line between Light and Dark.
And so, I ask you, are you up to the task?
Or have I risked all I have struggled to build on a hero who is not yet ready to become a legend?
—S.
That… That’s difficult to… I just can’t believe it. Shin, The Man, contacted you directly, he’s a Shadow, and the Vanguard is- I just can’t… this is difficult to process."
“I wonder if he expected me to this road… oh well we’ll never know.”
"This doesn’t surprise you?
"With everything we’ve seen together it shouldn’t surprise you too.
I suppose your right."
~SILENCE~
Eyes up Guardian!
“What is it Kuro?”
“There’s a Fallen ship headed directly for us! Guess it’s time to test this thing out… lets go kick ass.”
