If you missed the last chapter of REEF MOB, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/222260054/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous chapter, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/218618986?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]. Please give a bump or leave a comment if you enjoy this and any other chapter! ***  Listen – can you hear the whispers? Out here, so close to the divide between the Light and the Dark, one can hear the voices of the lost, the quiet moans of the forgotten, all calling for us to to listen, to heed their words, to learn from them. But few can hear them, and even fewer listen. Except for those of us who’ve lost the distraction of other senses. Micro-vibrations reverberate across the deck of the Queen’s ketch, marking the positions of the patrolling Guards. Shocks through the metal pinpoint the course forward, and I confidently move ahead, robes whispering over the deck behind me. Many believe that the loss of sight is the ultimate handicap, that without our eyes we lose the ability to do the majority of things that make us who we are – but our eyes often lie to us, and distract us from truly understanding all that is. I do not miss them, and have certainly achieved far more without them than with. I feel the vibrations in the deck ending ahead at the door to the Queen’s chamber – I have not been invited, but this is an urgent matter. In all the time I’ve been here, the Queen and I have had a….unique arrangement, but one cannot say it hasn’t been fruitful. The Reef has reestablished good relations with the Guardians in the Tower, and I have been free to pursue and cultivate more Disciples from their ranks. I nod to the Guards posted next to her chamber door, but before I can push past, they block me, their muscles tensing – “Her Grace has not summoned you,” one of them tells me. “I have an urgent matter to discuss with the Queen,” I tell them cooly. “Please let her know I am here.” “The Queen is indisposed – “ “This matter concerns our recent guest, whom she is currently deciding what to do with. I have a proposition to present her.” The Guards seem confused, as do most who converse with me. Their hesitation works to be benefit, though, and I press my case. “Please, it is an urgent matter.” One of the Guards nods finally, and slips quickly inside, leaving the other to stand guard. I wait calmly, facing the Guard and feeling her turn her face side to side to avoid looking at me directly. It’s a reaction I’ve grown used to during my time here, but I still always feel a thrill of curiosity when it’s done – [i]Do they think they’re doing so for my benefit? To be polite? Do they even know why they’re really looking away?[/i] The other Guard returns and beckons me forward – I follow silently, entering the Queen’s chamber. Inside, I can feel Mara reclining across her throne as is her custom. Her brother, Uldren, lingers closely, his hyper vigilance overcompensating for his utter uselessness here. I feel him sneering as he sees me, but I ignore him, speaking only to Mara. “Your Grace,” I intone, bowing my head. “You told my Guard you bring an urgent proposition,” she replies, calm and contained as ever. “Present.” “I know our new guest,” I launch right in. I can feel Mara and Uldren share a quick, furtive look, but I push forward. “He was once a Disciple here, with us, but vanished after he began to question his training.” “Do you not instruct them to question what they’ve been taught?” “What the Tower has taught them,” I correct her respectfully. “What the Speaker has ingrained in them.” I can feel the sardonic smile on Mara’s lips. “It is unfortunate when such lessons prove to be so effective.” “Regardless,” I push forward. “He’s neither a Guardian nor a Disciple any longer.” “All the more reason to keep him under Variks’ care.” I shake my head. “This is something that we’ve never dealt with before. Trained as a Guardian and a Disciple, but infused with powers of the Darkness. This adversary [i]cannot[/i] be underestimated.” “You’re suggesting the Prison of Elders is not strong enough to contain him?” the Queen asks, leaning forward, her curiosity piqued. “Not only that,” I tell her seriously. “I do not know if there are champions from the Tower strong enough to fight him. And if they fall, they’ll only be used to form more soldiers for him.” “And how do you know about his soldiers?” she asks shrewdly. “The walls whisper, your Grace,” I tell her, bowing my head. “If one has ears to listen.” Mara leans back, contemplating my proposition. Uldren steps forward haughtily, hungry to interject himself into the proceedings. “And what exactly can you offer, heretic?” he sneers. “Strategy,” I respond with a smirk. “Something it seems the Queen’s inner circle has been lacking lately.” I can feel Uldren apoplectically sucking in air for a retort, but the Queen silences him with a wave of her hand. “Enough, brother,” she tells him, and he falls back sourly. Turning to me, she continues, “What is your proposition?” “A separate cell to protect the court,” I tell her quickly. “ A chamber encircled with zero-point energy to ensure that the SIVA infection won’t spread any further. And an elite team to fight this apostate, to submit him to the will of the Reef – for you, your Grace.” “You wish to put your Disciples through the Prison,” Mara says, caught slightly off guard. “As we are to do with the Guardians.” “The Guardians can still fight Qodron and Gulrot and any others currently imprisoned,” I counter. “But the Disciples require greater challenges, and I can think of no greater challenge to test their wills than to fight a former Disciple with powers like this.” The Queen contemplates my proposal as I feel Uldren sucking in breath and pursing his lips with contempt. [i]It is truly a great thing that this is the closest the Prince will ever come to power[/i], I think sardonically, taking a little enjoyment from his pompous impotence. [i]For everyone.[/i] Mara finally rises from her throne to stand imperiously as she declares. “Very well. An appropriate cell will be fitted for this creature and your Disciples have my permission to face it in combat.” “Thank you, your Grace,” I say gratefully, bowing my head. “Don’t forget this kindness, heretic – “ Uldren begins, but I raise my hand calmly to silence him. “It will be remembered as the kindnesses of the Disciples are remembered,” I counter quickly, turning to leave before Uldren can respond further. Exiting back through the way I came, I make my way out into the ketch, toward the sanctuary I’ve carved out for myself during my brief time here, thinking all the while of this new challenge. [i]Will the Disciples be prepared? What if I’m overestimating them?[/i] The voice of Sister Faora chastises me within: [i]Have faith.[/i] I miss her often here in the Reef, as much as I miss Sister Lupe, but the will of Osiris needs champions, and there are so few of us… I push the thoughts away as I enter my sanctuary, comforting myself with the belief that wherever Faora and Lupe have wound up, the will of Osiris will guide them, and that we will all see each other again. “That was quick,” the voice greets me as I enter. “Luckily for us, the Queen is more pragmatic than her brother,” I respond, feeling the vibrations through the metal as I approach my friend, clapping him on the shoulder. “And it was her decision?” he asks. “So she believes,” I reply with a small smile. I feel my friend return the gesture. “It’s all happening just as you told me Osiris had foreseen it,” he excitedly whispers as I gesture with my hand for him to lower his voice. [i]The walls whisper, after all.[/i] “Yes, my son, now we must meet the future with faith as well as strength. We face a new adversary, one that the Disciples have never – “ “I don’t fear this thing,” he replies angrily, and I can feel him bowing up at the perceived slight. "I've trained and prepared - " “Do not be a fool,” I chastise him gently as a reminder. “From what I’ve gathered, not even Toland could defeat him.” “But Toland is long dead, how can – “ In response, I gingerly hold a single finger to my lips – [i]the walls whisper…[/i] I feel him nod in understanding. “But he still has his weaknesses – so many, many weaknesses – “ “Not as many as you remember,” I quickly retort. “From what I’ve heard about his encounter with Taniks and his trophies, he still has enough we can exploit.” “Don’t believe everything you hear, my son,” I reply, feeling his arrogance and surety rising just when I need him to be cautious and calculating. “This will be your greatest challenge, and I suggest you prepare for it appropriately.” I hear the whisper of the spinning metal as he idly whips the modified wire rifle from his back, twirling it expertly with practiced ease. “I’ve been preparing for this fight for a long time, Brother,” he answers confidently. “And I have an advantage: he won’t see me coming.” I have to agree. Out of all the Disciples I’ve trained throughout my time here, there has never been one quite like him – a prodigy, some would call him, a natural strategist and warrior who will one day be given the same task as I: to find and cultivate future Disciples. But as I clap him on the shoulder bracingly and nod in agreement, I feel a sense of worry for my friend – [i]Even prodigies can fall to a superior force.[/i] “Don’t forget your training,” I remind him, keeping my hand on his shoulder, wishing I could tell him everything, wishing I could warn him, wishing I could – He claps his hand over my own comfortingly. “Don’t worry,” he tells me. “No matter what he’s become, he’s still Djido deep down. And I have always known how to play Djido.”