"God bless us, everyone." -- Pre-Golden Age Proverb. Source: Unknown. Ringer-7 walked slowly down an ally in the Last City. Above him hung a dozen lanterns of bright blue, white, and gold. It was Dawning once again, a time of joy and peace. Or at least that was what it was supposed to be. He was just returning from the Tower, from Zavala to be exact. Zavala had strictly warned him not to return to the Cosmodrome; if he did there would be more severe consequences. As it was he was he was grounded for the day. The tall, concrete sides of the city's skyscrapers loomed high and bright in the lantern's light. As he walked couldn't help but feel the weight of all world on his shoulders, and this world was getting heavy with the bodies of the slain. Giant has been captured by Fallen from what he'd heard. Cayde was dead... Nothing much worse than that, he thought. Beyond that, two of his friends, Shadow and Variks, were forced to live in hiding from all. Even one time "allies". At least [i]they[/i] had each other... He and Stedi were alone for a while. Erica was taking some time with her family. The Vanguard couldn't be expected for a party, not after Cayde. And the whole tower seemed to be filled with stressed faces as the common folk fretted over what to give each other. At least they could give. [i]Jolder, Saint, Cayde, Caliban, Vienna, Biocatarus-2[/i]. All had been recalled by their maker or worse. Peace on Earth? He thought for a moment. Hardly. [i] A bell rolled around the corner[/i]. With nothing better to do, Ringer went to see where the bell's sound had originated from. As he turned the corner, a large and beautiful Church rose before him. He had never seen a church outside the ruins of Earth before. He had no idea that Churches were even still around after the collapse. He should've realized, faith is unseen, unkillable and untameable. And so it endures. The exo walked into the doorway to see the goings on inside. A tall man stood at a wooden pulpit. A great, green tree lay just behind, its boughs decorated with tinsel and lights. It was a beautiful sight seeing the high walls of the Church strung with lights and the lights reflected in the congregation's faces. The people seemed to be happy, they seemed to joy in the simple pleasure of season, of the love they shared. As the people began to sing, Ringer felt an odd sense of peace and chaos at once. He was happy with the world yet why did he feel moved to tears. He shook his head. Exos can't cry anyway, he told himself, no sense in trying to. He continued to watch the service to its conclusion, leaning against the building's wall. As the masses filed out of the church, Ringer took notice of a young couple and their child looking at the Christmas tree. The child's young eyes were filled with wonder at the majesty of the great tannenbaum. The tree's lights shone into the boy's face, illuminating the innocent amazement of youth. The child's mother stared down at her boy, a smile on her face. The love on her face was as bright as the tree's glow of light. She hugged the boy close as they viewed the display. The father's face was something you had to be there to explain. His eyes were overflowing with pride for his boy and a deep love for his wife. He could care less for the decorations on the pine, the smiles on their faces were all the display he needed. As the family regretfully leaves the altar and its tree, the boy turned to his mother and asked, "Momma, can we have a Christmas Tree at our house? Pwease?" The mom smiled a comforting smile , "Oh, I wish we could, honey. But we couldn't afford one right now. How about I get you a great big toy instead?" She said the last words with excitement "Okay Momma!" The boy replied. The father whispered to his wife as they passed Ringer in the doorway, "One of these years, love, I'm going to leave the city and chop down a tree mysel, for Benny. I promise." Ringer watched as they walked down the street and entered an apartment nearby. He looked at the Christmas tree in the church and back to the family's home. He looked down at the sword at his side. It was named after his mentor, Jolder. It was as fast as her smile. *** [i]Whack! Whack![/i] The sound echoed throughout the old Russian forest as wood met metal again and again. A long, slow creaking sound issues from the Fir tree as it began to give way. Finally, with a loud [i]thud![/i], the tree fell into the hands of its executioner and was dragged away back to their ship. *** A small boy was playing with a toy guardian in his blue painted bedroom. The plastic guardian was locked in mortal combat with Teddy, the Shade of Bedtime. Pretend laser noises came out of the boy's lips as he heard a single, loud knock on their front door. He stood up, toy in hand, and went to the door. He reached honor the doorknob high above his head and opened the house to the cold winter's air. In front of him loomed a pointy, green, and grand tree! A squeal of delight burst out of the boy's mouth. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" The father ran into the front room and beheld the wonderful image there: his son hopping and squirming in happiness in front of the greenest little tree he had ever seen. Just behind the dad was the mother, her hands clasped over her mouth and tears flowing down her face. In the archway of the church a Titan watched, a smile fixed on his iron face. He watched as the family took the tree inside their humble home and closed the door. He turned and started walking away, the sword on his back still full from the wood cutting. [i]This[/i] was a why he fought what he fought. Why he was who he was: A Guardian of the Last of Humanity. [spoiler]Happy Dawning and Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did conceiving it! This holiday season I have a couple presents for some very good friends of mine. Most of these "gifts" are in the form of short stories. I have one completed as of right now and I will be posting a link here as soon as it's done. Think of this as a Dawning Masterpost, a Christmas list, if you will. [i]To the residents of 221B Baker Street: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/250196642 [/i] [i]To two friends on the run: https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/250290138?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=0 [/i] [/spoiler] [spoiler] /Dive Into The Trenches?/ https://www.bungie.net/en/Groups/Post?groupId=3422633&postId=249426639&sort=0&page=0 [/spoiler]