Table of Contents
https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/229522482/0/0
Banners snap in the wind atop the Tower, proudly displayed in the light of the late afternoon. The courtyard is packed with spectators. They are workers, residents, soldiers and more, and Avery and Noel stand in front of them. They watch the members of the Consensus, who are aligned on the platform above them, and all listen as one of them steps before the rest.
"For centuries we feared the forces of Darkness moving against us," he begins, and his proud oration fills the otherwise silent air to be heard throughout the Tower, "We sought to hide and cower among the pieces of a broken god. No more. These brave warriors, human and Eliksni alike, show us what we are, what we have always been and what we will be again. We are what remains of the Light... and we have survived all that has happened. We will continue to survive. We will not be stamped out."
• • •
The Hangar is uncharacteristically still. All the shipwrights are in the courtyard, attending the ceremony, and no one remains. The eulogy can be heard clearly from here, bouncing off the steel walls and between the jumpships.
One hooded figure lingers at the edge of the Hangar, staring out at the City. A breeze blows in and the Stranger's cloak flutters slightly.
She is joined by three new arrivals. Keis, Sinekis, and Huss. She keeps her gaze on the City, showing no sign of noticing them. She doesn't speak until the echo of the councilman's last words fade to nothing.
"It's a day for pretty speeches and medals," she says, then turns her head to look at them and continues wistfully, "But the real fight takes place out there. There is so much more. I've seen terrible things born out in the Darkness. Every moment brings them closer."
Her eyes move back to the sky above the City as she finishes, "All ends are beginnings... Our fight is far from over."
She steps forward and dissolves into a haze of blue light. The particles drift out into the open air outside the Hangar until they too vanish, leaving no sign of the Stranger. The three stay where they are for a moment, left in silence, then turn as one and walk back the way they had come.
"She's gone, Commander," Huss informs, "Disappeared the same as before."
"Did she have anything to say?" Avery's voice asks on the comms.
"A congratulation and a warning that the war's not done yet," Huss replies.
"Very well," Avery acknowledges, "Report back to me. Keis, Sinekis, get some rest. You've earned it."
Huss glances over his shoulder and through the open Hangar. The City stands triumphantly in the light of the Sun, sprawling across the terrain and reaching up to touch the sky. The Wall stretches around it, strong and promising safety from the forces that move against their home. And the remains of the Traveler lay scattered, its shell that once shone a brilliant white now dull, weathered, and broken.
___________________________
[b]Hey everyone! This chapter concludes Vanilla Destiny 1 and will be the last part of Survivors. To find out what comes next, follow this link to the[/b] [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624008/0/0]Remnants announcement (Survivors extension)[/url]
-
Shameless self bump