Chapter I: A Man Named King
I awoke, breathless and gasping for air. My lungs heaved, and I could feel my heart beating a million miles a minute. I was trapped. Stone surrounded me. I pushed my arms against it and heaved the slab off the box. I sat up, coughing as stale air filled my lungs. I looked around. A very dim room surrounded me. I was in the center on a raised pedestal in a... coffin.
“That’s the word, coffin! Wait, coffins are meant for dead people, then why-” A bright light shone in front of my face, and a small blue thing sat in the air, hovering.
“Who are you?! Where am I?” I raised my hands almost instinctively. A weight stalled them for the briefest of moments until I realized I was holding a sword.
I stared at the thing. It was rusted, and the blade had snapped in half. The other half lay at my feet. I then glanced down at my chest. Adorned on me was a tabard in a full steel dress with a torn chainmail under suit. I could feel a cloth shirt beneath that, too.
“Who...am I?” I croaked with lungs not used for many years.
“You are a Risen, also known as a Guardian. Can you move your legs?” I stared blankly at the thing hanging in the air.
“Who...what are you?” I asked in confusion. It wiggled a little with what could be described as excitement.
“I am your ghost. I can heal you when you get injured and bring you back from death, as I did.” It said. My mind was racing with emotions, primarily confusion.
“You didn’t answer my question. Who am I?” I asked again. The ghost seemed to deflate.
“I...do not know. For some reason, all Guardians' memories are lost the first time they are revived. It’s generally considered a rule that they don’t look for their past. Most don’t, but some do.” I tilted my head and felt something shift. I reached my arm up and felt around the top of my head. I pulled it off, and it revealed itself to be a crown. It was rusted gold with faded gemstones socketed in. Each gem had a studded silver liner holding it in place. I placed it back on my head and moved out of my stone coffin. As soon as I moved, a cacophony of bone cracking sounded as every bone in my body adjusted.
“I don’t want to go through that again,” I say, involuntarily shivering for a moment before recovering, “Well, let's move on.” I took a step and stumbled to the ground. I caught myself and stood back up. “New legs, got to get used to that,” I say, exasperated.
My ghost fell beside me, “Hey, so... how long have I been dead?” I said as I ducked underneath a hanging root. Water drops fell onto my head. My ghost dipped a little and was silent for a moment.
“Before I brought you back, I carbon-dated your body and this tomb. You died your first death around 2500 years ago.” I stopped dead in my tracks. I was searching my memory but was coming up blank on everything.
“So, technology has progressed some if I can be brought back from the dead. Otherwise, if they had that kind of power from my time, they would have done so already.”
My ghost bobbed up and down with excitement, “Excellent! At least you are intelligent or just mildly clever.”
As I approached a staircase leading up, I noticed that it was a female voice talking to me.
“You have a woman’s voice. How peculiar. Do others of your kind all have the same voice?” She looked confused for a second. Then answered.
“We are all individuals. No more the same than two humans.” I nodded and ascended the stairs. I walked out into a light rain. Fresh air filled my lungs, and the smell of wet earth filled my nose. I lifted my face to the clouds and stared into the grey, cloudy sky as droplets bounced and dripped off my face. I looked around and saw debris littered around the area. Rock chunks and dirt marked the landscape of a lengthy excavation job.
“Did you dig me out?” I looked around at the lengthy moors and vast fields.
“Yes. It took me a while, but I got to you. You're welcome.” I nodded toward her and looked down at the sword in my hands.
“I must have been someone of importance when I was alive. Or else I would have been in a much less elegant grave.” My ghost glided over to me and sat on my shoulder.
“We aren’t supposed to look into your past. Not actively, anyway. I have learned that you were a king or lord of this land at some point. Who you were, I still don’t know.”
“I don’t have a name. It has been lost to me; now all I have is this sword and you. I think I’ll call myself...King.”
“Seems fitting.” My ghost laughed, and I laughed along with her.
I sat down on a boulder and stabbed my sword into the ground. I reached my hand up and undid one of the straps holding my chest plate on. Then I undid the final strap, lifted the rusted metal off my body, and placed it onto the ground. Undoing the last armor straps and removing the chainmail, I lay the armor in the ground, now only in the padding.
“I don't suppose you could make me some new clothes? These are kind of… rotten.” I say.
My ghost sent a light over my removed armor and tabard, then disappeared in a blue dissolution. Then the clothes on me disappeared, and I was naked. I covered myself, and my ghost laughed.
“Please don’t be so coy. I’ve already seen it all.” She says playfully.
I felt clothing appear on me, and then it was dark.
“Hey! What happened-” Then I could see. It had a blue tint to the outside, and there was data. Then, my vision was clear.
“What did you do to me?” A window appeared in my vision, giving me a view from not me. Then I realized it was me, from the third person. I was wearing a blue and white armor set with a gold helmet. Well, a sort of gold visor with a blue helmet. The insignia on my tabard was now emblazoned on my left pectoral.
“So, this is modern-day protection. It barely feels like I’m wearing anything. I assume you used my armor to make this. What about the crown?” My ghost nodded.
“No, I saved that. As well as your sword. I don’t have the material to make weapons, so you’ll have to find some yourself. I need to get you to the city pronto. Maybe we’ll find a ship here somewhere.” A chilling howl came over the wind, and I could feel the hair on my neck rise. I kneeled down, facing the direction of the sound, and retrieved my broken blade from the ground. I wiped the mud from its rusted surface and gripped it tightly.
“Don’t suppose you could make a scabbard?” My ghost shook a little, and I felt a weight on my hip. I looked down and saw a scabbard attached to a belt.
“Stylish. I like it.” I slid it into the sheath, and it fit perfectly. “Well, better start walking then, aye?” I took a step, then another, and kept going into the fields.
I sat down on the craggy rock surface of the cave and removed my helmet. My hair fell out and covered the front of my face. I brushed it aside and looked into the fire. My ghost hovered opposite of me. I positioned my sword against the wall and leaned back.
“I haven’t asked you your name yet. That’s very rude of me; I’m sorry.”
She chuckled and hovered close to my face.
“My name is Winter. Nice to meet you.” She floated closer and tapped me on the nose.
I closed my eyes. The howl came over the wind again, and I bolted up. It was closer now. I grabbed the hilt of my sword and moved into a crouching position. The wind stopped. No sound but the crackling of the fire. I reached around for my helmet and slid it onto my head. The sound of the seal clicking let me know I could move my other hand to my sword.
“Winter, can you hide somewhere?” Winter nodded at me, and she disappeared.
“Where’d you go?” A voice came over my helmet speakers.
Winter tried explaining technological advances, but I had difficulty grasping them.
“I’m in a little pocket dimension I made in your backpack.”
“A what?” Winter scoffed.
“I’ll try to explain later. Movement, 30 meters, 37 degrees to the left. Putting a motion tracker on our display now.” A tiny circle appeared on my visor and was sending out pulses.
I saw a red dot move closer every time the pulse went over it. I grabbed a log from the fire and held it in my other hand. My eyes shifted to focus on the dots encroaching on my position. 10 meters. Seven meters away, they were outside the cave entrance now. I put myself in a ready stance and waited. There were six dots, three on either side of the cave entrance.
“Winter, do you know what’s out there?” I say quietly.
Winter's soothing voice came over my helmet speakers, “Most Likely, they’re Fallen. Semi-bipedal spider aliens who can see in the dark.” I took a deep breath and chuckled nervously.
“First day up and already putting this body to the test.” Something elongated and cone-shaped flew into the cave with me. A red warning and an alarm told me it was something called a shock grenade. I jumped back and ducked behind a wall, but my leg was caught in the blast, and I lost all feeling.
“Bloody hell, that hurts! Where’s-”
A stocky figure dashed from around the corner and into view. A dagger in its hand signaled death, but unknown reflexes blocked the offending weapon with my broken blade. I brought my leg up and delivered a powerful kick into the side of the thing. It flew into the opposite wall with a thunderous crash and sulked, lifeless.
I took a breath and dashed around the corner. Three more fallen, like the one I just killed, stood there, prepared to attack. I drove the jagged end of my sword into the chest of one of the monsters and, gripping it tightly, tore off a sizable chunk of its side. With my torch, I slammed it into the second creature with enough force to cause the log to splinter and explode, covering everything in burning wood. The last one was trying to run out of the cave, so I threw my sword at it with all of my strength, and it buried itself into the back of the fallen creature.
Walking forward, I moved to retrieve my blade when a searing bolt of something blue impacted my chest. It felt like my heart was beating three times faster than it should. I looked up to see two more fallen. These ones were clad in armor with masks. They also had four arms, unlike the other four I had just slaughtered.
'I forgot about those two. I need a weapon-'
More bolts of blue, something impacted me. I felt weak, tired, and drained. Then, something else. Like overwhelming anger building up in my core and threatening to take over at any second. Then it did.
Coarse blue lightning exploded from within me, sending the two creatures flying backward. I looked down at my hands and body. Brilliant blue lightning arced across me in a tingling sensation. I looked up and, in an instant, covered twenty feet. I brought my knee into the chest of one of them and ripped it in half with my blow. I then grabbed the next and threw it like a javelin into the cliff face where I had made camp. Rocks showered down on me, but I didn’t react. I could feel the lightning extinguish, and my body roared with pain. I fell to one knee and gasped for breath. I removed my helmet and tossed it aside. Cool rain still poured, and I let myself be enveloped in it.
Pain radiated from my chest as I involuntarily rose from the ground. I screamed out in pain and saw two blades protruding from my armored stomach. They retracted, and I fell to the ground. I used what strength I had left and rolled onto my back. My vision began to blur as I saw my assailant loom over me. It was twice the size of the armored ones I killed and had four arms. A bandolier hung from its chest, and it held two sabers. It roared in my face. My vision darkened, and the last thing I saw was some strange ship flying away into the sky.
My eyes shot open, and my lungs once again filled with air. I felt my chest and moved my hands over the torn holes in my hardened leather armor. I lay back in the damp grass and saw the familiar shape of Winter floating in my vision.
“So, how was dying?” I laughed lightly and sat back up.
“I loathe to repeat it again. What happened? I killed all of them, didn't I?” Winter bobbed her head toward the camp, and I looked around. I looked up and saw another one like it’s bottom half protruding from the cliff face. Inside were the gored remains of the other four. I walked over, pulled my sword out of the one near the exit, and went to retrieve my helmet. I socketed it back on and was welcomed with the sealing click.
“Winter, you can repair my armor, right?” She nodded her shell, and I looked around, “Well, better get back to walking then.” I sheathed my sword, and we made our way through more fields with Winter gliding alongside me.
It was a bright sunny day, and steam emanated from the countryside. I removed my helmet, attached it to my belt, and let my face be warmed by the sun. I crested a hill and stopped. Looming towers faced me. They looked like a stone from this distance, but I knew they weren’t.
“Winter, what is this place?” Winter looked in the direction I was facing.
“That is the London dead zone. It’s a city. A very old one. It’s probably best to stay out of there. The Fallen love places like that.” I turned and faced her.
“So, The Fallen. How does their rank structure work?” Winter’s one eye faced me.
“At the bottom, there are Dregs. Lowest of the low. They have their arms docked and have to regain their honor through combat. Vandals are next above dregs. They can lead their own bands but have to be under a captain. Captains are the main dogs in charge of crews. One of them killed you last night. Worshipped by them are Servitors. They are reminiscent of the traveler and provide the Fallen with their food source: Ether. Finally, Shanks are autonomous killer bots that fly around and fire plasma bolts. Not too hard to kill, but are dangerous in numbers.” King nodded his head and walked towards the city.
I ducked around a corner and held my breath reflexively. I didn’t need to because of my helmet sealing, but it felt right. Three vandals walked past and disappeared into an adjacent building. I sprinted across the street and ducked into another building. I glanced at my motion tracker, which said nothing was in sight. I released my breath and leaned against the wall behind me.
“Winter, found any likely spots for weapons? I like my sword, but…” I glanced down at my sheathed broken blade, “having some more, “firepower” you called it, would be preferable.” Winter materialized and floated next to me.
“I found something. A military bunker nearby. It’s still sealed and doesn’t look like the fallen have raided it yet. That’s your best shot. Uploading the destination to your HUD. The data is old, so they may already have found it. Best be on your guard.” A waypoint appeared in my vision with a marked route for me.
I unsheathed my sword and left my safe place.
“Two dregs dead ahead.” I sprinted forward and impaled one of the dregs with my sword full force. I withdrew the blade with a wet sucking sound and punched the other. Its jaw flew across the courtyard, and it fell dead.
I wiped the blade clean on one of the felled dregs and moved on. The entrance to the bunker was in the next building, and fallen patrols had been increasing. I ran under a shielded area around the courtyard and through the door into the target building.
“Winter, where’s the entrance?” I looked around, and Winter came floating up next to me.
A highlighted spot appeared in my vision, and I jogged over to it. My boots echoed off of the empty hall. I stopped in front of the metal door and went to open it, but it was locked.
“Winter, this isn’t opening.” She hovered in front of a panel and scanned it.
“This thing is locked up tight. Give me a minute to get this door open.” I sighed and drew my sword again, positioning myself in front of Winter. Chittering echoed around the hall as I crouched into a ready stance. Skittering and chittering grew louder as four vandals dropped from the ceiling.
“Ballocks..” I roared and charged toward my assailants.
Blue arcs of lightning screamed toward me. I ducked and rolled and made it to my first victim. I brought my fist into its abdomen, stunning it momentarily, enough time to impale it with my sword. I grabbed the rifle from its hands and used the vandal as a body shield. I fired off two shots, and one struck a vandal in the arm, causing it to drop its rifle on the floor. I threw the vandal's corpse at the other three and ducked behind a pillar.
Arc lightning bolts sent chunks of pillar scattering around the floor. As Winter called it, I shot out of cover and threw an arc grenade. It impacted the chest of one of the vandals and evaporated into electrical energy. Another vandal got tossed from the blast and lay dazed on the floor. I dashed behind my pillar and squeezed ten more shots out of the charge rifle. Three shots impacted the vandal on the floor, and lay dead. The other hurt vandal drew a saber and charged me. I went to fire another round, but a pathetic whine told me the rifle was empty. I grabbed the barrel of the rifle and ran at the creature. It jumped at me at full speed. Good thing I was faster. I slammed the rifle into the side of the spider-like creature and sent it sailing across the hall and into a wall. It didn’t move after that.
“Home run!” Winter screamed with excitement.
“What's a home run?” I tilted my head, confused. Winter shook her shell and went back to splicing.
“I’ll tell you later. Almost...done...got it!” A horrible squeal and grinding echoed out of the hall as the door opened. I ducked reflexively and looked around.
“The fallen must have heard that. Come, let's move on!” Winter flew into the stairwell, and I ran after her. Before going in, I doubled back, grabbed two charge rifles left abandoned on the floor, and ran after her.
I clicked with my eyes the flashlight button, and a light began emanating from my helmet. I walked through the old bunker. Thick layers of dust covered everything in sight. I ran my hand over a case and brought my hand into view. My usual black and grey glove was now just a light grey. I smacked my hands together and wiped the dust away. A dull red light illuminated the whole bunker area. Winter floated around lazily, scanning and rescanning.
“Anything interesting, Winter?” I yawned and leaned against a concrete pillar.
“Lots, actually, but nothing you can use. A lot of this is meant for old golden-age ships. Munitions and bombs and the like. I think what we’ll need is behind the door.” I walked over to Winter and looked at the “door.”
“That door is more of a fortress than this bunker is.” Winter sighed and flew over to an array of computers on the wall.
“This will take a bit. Go ahead and explore if you want.” I slung one of the rifles over my shoulder and gripped the other charge rifle with both hands.
The bunker was large. I walked down a hallway of decaying wood crates. I gripped the side of one, but the wood disintegrated in my hand. I clawed away the wood and looked inside. Rusted metal rifles sat in rotted hay. I picked one up and pulled back the charging handle. It broke off in my grip. I tossed it aside and kept moving down the hall. I came to some rusted metal shelves with similarly rusted metal crates. I pulled one off the shelf and pried it open with my new Titanic strength. Inside sat three glowing blue geometric shapes. I picked one up and moved it around in my hands. It was glossy and perfectly smooth. It had layers inside that held another, smaller version of the same shape. I placed it back in its box and closed it. I picked it up and carried it back to Winter.
“Hey, I was looking around, and I found these. I have no idea what they are.” Winter glided over and looked excited.
“Those are called engrams! They are data made into physical form. Each engram contains tools, armor, weapons, clothes, or materials. But this being a military base, it’s most likely the latter. These are blues. That means these are rare engrams. They have something not many have seen. Here, I’m uploading a list of all known items within all engram types.” A long list of names with correlating pictures flashed across my visor.
“Whoa, hey, there’s more rarities? Common, uncommon, rare, legendary, and...exotic? What are they?” Winter didn’t stop her work but spoke anyway.
“Exotics are extraordinary pieces of equipment. Not many exist, and even fewer copies of each were made. One of the most infamous, the Red Death, was a crucible killer. It healed you as you killed. It was a dark weapon. The titan vanguard banned it from the crucible, but Shaxx, the crucible head, didn’t care and didn't stop anyone who used it. Another is-” Chittering sounded from behind us. I turned on my heels and brought the charge rifle up.
“How long until that door is open.” Shadows began to dance along the stairwell wall.
“Forty seconds. That’s all I need.” I ducked behind a crate and balanced my rifle on the edge of it. I saw a dreg poke its head out from around the side of the stairwell. I held down the trigger. A brilliant blue beam lanced from the barrel and straightened through the dregs head. A vandal dashed from the corner, and a hole in its chest stopped it dead. Then, a torrent of dregs and vandals crashed through the stairwell.
“Shit! Hey, how much longer?!” I started firing, aiming for the dregs first.
“Fifteen seconds, get ready to run!” I fired again, and a dreg fell from the ceiling, crashing into another.
I fired repeatedly, and then the same pathetic whine from earlier came from the rifle. I threw it overhead at a vandal and clocked it right in the head. It fell from the banister it was perched on. I grabbed the second rifle from my back and brought it up to my shoulder. I fired into the crowd of fallen, but they were firing back now. I ducked behind a crate and could feel the sizzling burns of the arc plasma impacting the other side of my cover. I checked the battery; Half left, damn. Winter's voice called out to me.
“Doors open, come on!” I shot out from my cover, firing behind me with the rifle.
I dove into the next room, and the massive door slammed behind me. I saw huge bolts lock into place and gears turn tight. Soon, all that was left was silence.
“So, could they get in here?” I asked nervously.
Winter floated over to a crate and began scanning.
“No. Well, maybe if they wanted to devote the next ten years to splicing my code. I rewrote the whole thing. Come, let’s find you a weapon.” I looked down at the rifle in my hands and tossed it aside. I activated my flashlight and looked around.
“All of these cases have preserved golden age technology! If we make it out of this, we have to tell the city. The cryptarchy are going to be rabid when they see this!” I chuckled at Winter's glee and punched a lock off a box. I opened it and peered inside. Lines of rifles in mint condition lay perfectly ordered. I picked one up and inspected it. It was black and grey with a simple design. I heard Winter call me over to her. I set the weapon down and walked over to her.
“What? I found some guns already.” Winter bonked me on the helmet and motioned toward the case before us.
“Open it.” She said. Winter couldn’t smile, but I swore she was.
I gave her a speculative glance and clicked the locking hinges open. I had to push the lid up as it was pressurized. The case opened, and a large, black gun sat before me.
“What is this?” I gaped at the monstrous gun before me, gingerly picking it up.
“This is the M487 minigun. One of the best weapons developed during the Golden Age. I’ve only read technical documents about them, but you need this.” Winter explained.
I looked around the case. A backpack with a tube leading to the gun sat with it. I picked up the pack and attached it to my suit. The gun felt good, adjusting to and conforming to my hand's grip.
“Open this crate here!” I walked over and punched the lock off of the crate. Inside sat tens of white rectangular things.
“What are these?” I picked one up and moved it in my hand. It had a symbol of a bullet on it with a yellow streak on top of it.
“These are called primary ammo synthesis. They are kind of like ammo engrams. Pop one open, and you’ll have refilled your light-arms weapons. I looked down at my gun and held it up.
“This counts as light arms?” I shook it and made a face under my helmet she couldn’t see.
“Well, it doesn’t fire rockets, grenades, shotgun rounds, lasers, or high-velocity long rifle rounds, so ya, it’s light arms.” I shrugged and walked toward the door.
I nodded toward her, and she shot a data beam at the door control pad. The door began to creak open. I moved aside to let the door open past me. Tens of fallen turned to face the door and stared at me. The closest was a captain, a very familiar captain. I looked around the cavern, and only silence met me.
The Captain looked me up and down, roared, and drew its blades. The barrel of my new toy began to wind and spat hellfire. Too many rounds to count tore through the shields of my previous killer. The Captain's ruined corpse fell to the ground, and I moved on to the rest. My bullets were sprayed with wild abandon. The roar of the beast was deafening as it poured metal death. I started to laugh maniacally, not able to control myself. Dregs ran, and Vandals charged, but they fell all the same. After twenty seconds of continuous fire, I let the beast rest. I looked around the bunker. Nothing moved. I swung the gun around and clipped it to my back. Winter poked her shell out from behind the fortress door.
“Well, I certainly don’t detect any life signs. Good work.” I took a deep breath and walked forward, my heavy steps crushing and scattering countless bullet shells. I looked around and saw the case I found on the shelf. I picked it up in one hand and moved to leave the bunker.
“Hey, King! Shouldn’t we pick this area clean first? Maybe more fallen will be here soon, so we should get first dibs.” Winter looked like she was putting her non-existent hands on her non-existent hips. How does she do that? I snapped out of it and removed my helmet, regretting it immediately. Stale air mixed with mutilated bodies didn’t mix well. I shoved my helmet back on and walked back toward her.
“It’s gonna take hours, maybe days, to sort through all of this. I just don't see the point.” Winter scoffed at my remark.
“Imagine a new guardian, presenting before the city vanguard a variable fortune of guns, armor, weapons, and designs not seen since the golden age. Don’t you think that will help you work more toward earning that name of yours, hmm?”
Damn, she has a point.
“Fine,” I said, “we’ll stay here and catalog. Let’s hurry, though. Don't wanna stay here for too long.” I said.
Winter nodded and flew off into the bunker. I sighed and cracked my neck.
“Let’s get to work.”