I know that as a guardian, and especially as a Titan, it is not my place to question why we fight, but rather to fight for there is little other option. That being said, in my spare time while not defending the city (for even Exo need some respite) I have been reviewing the information I have garnered in my travels, most notably, the Hive Book of Sorrows. In reading it, I have no question that there will never be peace between us and those we fight. However, I have come to realize that our fight is not as black and white as it seems. Each of our foes has their own reasons for why they fight beyond just to extinguish the light. Let's start with the Fallen, or the Eliksni, easily the most sympathetic of our foes. They were once a proud people whom, much like we are now, were blessed with the Traveler's light. They had a complex civilization spanning many systems, whose technology was likely more advanced than our own. Then, disaster struck with the Whirlwind, stripping them of the Traveler, and by all evidence, their home. They were thrown into space with little supplies and, through time and desperation, have become what we know today. However, they only fight us so that they can once again bathe in the Traveler's light and regain what they lost long ago. They do not serve the darkness, but are more than likely running from it. Next, let us speak of the Vex, that which I believe is the greatest threat to the city. However, if the Vex truly wanted us gone, there would be little we could do to stop their infinite and timeless army from wiping us out. Which begs the question, if they actually wanted us gone, why haven't they done so already? I believe it is because their goal is not to conquer the universe, or eradicate all life, but rather to understand all. To become omniscient and be able to prevail and survive in all situations. They only "warship" the black heart because when Crota first brought them into this world, they recognized the Hive's warship of the Worm Gods as the source of their power, and tried to emulate it. However, unlike the Hive, they never fused with the worms, never became beings of the darkness. I believe that they fight us not in hopes of defeating us, but in hopes of understanding the Traveler. Now, let us look at the Cabal. Out of all the enemies we face, their apparent motives are the most straightforward, conquest. What we fight is just the vanguard of a much larger fleet that is likely on it's way. I will not dance around the fact that their goal is to either subjugate or kill us all, however, I doubt that it has anything to do with the Traveler or the darkness. They would have made their way to the Sol system regardless, and with the same goals in mind. And while I will not argue that they are not the enemy, we would have done exactly the same thing in their place. Look at all of human history and you will find that we have been military empires bent on conquest many times in the past. Finally, we come to the Hive, a society of such cold, basic logic that we all understand it, but reject it still. Their only goal is survival. They are Darwinism in its purest form. They rule through strength and power alone. However, unlike us who were gifted technology and power by the Traveler, they took theirs of their own volition, and this is the difference that makes them persue the Traveler. Their belief is that the only truth is existence, and the power to keep existing. If you are strong enough to take what you need to survive, you continue existing, but if you are too weak, you are destroyed. They view the Traveler as an entity that makes civilizations lazy and weak, so it's lies must be destroyed so that the universe can be free. I do hope that, at the very least, found my findings interesting, and that I have brought you a better understanding of what we fight. The next time you take sights on some enemy of the city, do not stay your hand, for they are still the enemy. However, I do hope that you will think, even a little, before solving a problem with an excess of bullets, and that maybe, just maybe, we can regain some of that thirst for knowledge and understanding that made our civilization so great. Signed, Epesolon, Titan Archivist