[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624086/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] [quote][i]Hayden i ran out of paper and theres no time because Avery is coming and you might come back to check on me. i hope i can write everything i need to say. Daddy and Uncle Markos didnt tell people everything about my disease so you dont know that its killing me. Uncle Markos told me how long people like me normally live and i know i will be dead in a few years. My heart will stop or an organ will fail or anything. i didnt want to tell you. i dont want to die like that. i want to die fighting like my parents and Uncle Markos. And me being alive only means more hurt for you because i know you love me but im going to die. i want to marry you and have a bunch of kids but i cant do that. So im going to make Avery kill me. its better for all of us that way. Dont blame Avery its not her fault and i know shes nice and doesnt want to kill me trust me. i wrote a note for her too im leaving you in charge and she wont hurt you please do what she says and stay alive. im sorry for everything i love you Natalia [/i][/quote] Hayden sat down at the foot of Natalia’s throne. He brought his hand up to his mouth, covering his quivering lips as he reread the letter. This was Natalia’s last message to him. He knew her handwriting well. He’d always thought it was cute, the way she wrote like a child scribbling with a crayon, joining thoughts in rambling sentences, forgetting apostrophes, only using lowercase i’s. Now it made his heart ache. Her letter explained it all. Now Hayden understood. When she took up the mantle of a Warlord, every time she charged into battle, all the risks she took, declaring war against Avery and Daedalus, her sullen behavior the last few days, it was all because of her terrible sickness. The whole time she was trying to die. Why hadn’t she told him she was dying? Why had she thought throwing her life away was the answer? He wished he had known. Maybe then he could have stopped her; convinced her to stay with him. “Hayden.” Hayden lifted his gaze to Avery. The Exo stood in front of him, waiting. “You’ve read it?” She asked expectantly. “Yeah,” he mumbled, folding the paper. “She wanted you to take her place.” Hayden’s brow furrowed, “Take her place?” “Her place as Warlord. To rule her territory.” Hayden grimaced, “Aren’t you taking over?” “Not exactly,” Avery said, adjusting her cape, “The plan was to unite and set rules for sharing and protecting our territories, to create order and protect each other. Daedalus joined me, Natalia did not.” “So?” “Now you have a choice,” Avery stated, “Will you join us?” Hayden saw the threat hidden behind the question. If he refused, he would be imprisoned or killed. But if he joined the Warlords, he doubted he would be more than a puppet. Dying seemed preferable to any other option. His eyes slid down to Avery’s hip, where her sidearm rested in its holster. But he remembered Natalia’s message: Stay alive. The letter crinkled as his grip tightened around it. It wasn’t fair. He’d been fighting to survive for years; fighting just to stay at Natalia’s side. Now that Natalia was gone he had no reason to go on, but her last request was that he keep going without her. He already knew his decision. Natalia had asked him to stay alive, so he would, even if it meant being apart from her. He’d do anything for her, no matter how much it hurt. “I will,” he muttered, swallowing his bitterness, “I’ll join you.” • • • Derik shivered, letting out a frosty breath. He crossed his arms over his chest for warmth. He’d been happy to escape the cold when Brenon had announced that it was safe to come into Fairmont’s fortress, but he’d quickly discovered that the castle’s grand entryway wasn’t any warmer than outside. And, to make matters worse, he was starving. They’d all hardly eaten for days, and his stomach was crying out for sustenance. In a pathetic attempt to distract himself from his misery, Derik let his eyes wander over the dozens of firearms mounted on the walls. He couldn’t fathom how all these weapons had been collected, or why they were being used as decorations. His gaze passed over sidearms, rifles, even rocket launchers. There were strange guns he didn’t recognize, too, made of brown and gray metals adorned with leather wrappings. Many banners were draped over the walls, with an array of colors and symbols. There was one that appeared far more frequently than any other. It was the design Derik had noticed during his first visit: the contour of a wicked skull, traced with jagged, white lines over a field of red. Derik didn’t know what the banner was for or what the image was intended to look like, but he was intimidated by it. To him it resembled a devil’s skull in a sea of blood. “Saul. Derik.” Derik tore his eyes away from the banner to see Avery approaching, accompanied by Brenon, Hamin, Vilenye, and an armored man he didn’t recognize. Derik looked over his shoulder to Saul, who was sitting against the wall beside Willis, Ibis and Geralt. “Yes, m’Lady?” Saul responded, straightening attentively. “This is Hayden,” Avery introduced, gesturing to the man, “You and your friends help Brenon keep an eye on him.” “Yes ma’am,” Saul replied, rising to his feet. Willis stood with him, but Ibis and Geralt remained seated. Geralt sighed heavily. “Nice to meet you, Hayden,” Willis greeted with a smile, holding his hand out, “I’m Willis.” Hayden hesitated, then slowly took Willis’ hand and shook it. Now Derik got a good look at Hayden. The man looked like a wreck. His eyes were puffy and red, his hair and beard were untrimmed, his shoulders were slumped forward, and his face seemed to be permanently fixed in a depressed expression. Avery turned to Hayden, “I’m going to gather some of the townsfolk, then I’ll come back for you. You’ll help me tell them how we’re going to run things from now on.” Hayden mumbled under his breath. Whatever he said was incomprehensible, but Avery seemed to accept it. “Hamin, Vilenye,” she ordered, “Come with me.” The trio lurched into motion, leaving Brenon and Hayden with Derik’s band of friends. “Wait,” Derik cut in before they could get far. Avery stopped and sighed, “Yes, Magnate?” “What‘ll we do now?” “Did I not just tell you to watch Hayden?” Avery reminded, clearly annoyed. “No no,” Derik clarified, “I mean now that we’ve beat Natalia.” “Pfft,” Vilenye snickered, nudging Avery with an elbow, “Bet you feel silly n-AH!” Vilenye doubled over, hopping up and down on one foot while clutching the other. Avery subtly retracted her own foot, masking the movement with her cape, then addressed Derik, “We have an alliance and control of the region. That was the first step. Now we do what we can to secure and fortify the sector.” “For what?” Hayden asked. It was the first intelligible thing Derik had heard him say. He sounded even sadder than he looked. Avery raised a hand, pointing to the same crimson banner Derik had been looking at, “For when the Fallen come.” [b]END[/b]