Not every god is built equal, not all are legend, and not all succeed. Cyper, a Hunter, and his fireteam, Vela and Nal-5, both Titans, had been around since before the Red War. They weren't old by any stretch of the imagination, but they weren't new lights either. Cyper had lost count of the years he'd spent being risen himself, though he was sure it was less than forty. Despite this he was often over shadowed, Cayde even forgetting his name a few times, some of the other tower vendors even more so. But this was fine with him. He knew that not every Guardian was risen equal. He knew that not every Guardian could gather a team and stroll into the lairs of gods and machines so powerful that they rivalled the very Light that fueled them. He was content with simply being a cog in the machine that was humanites survival and his fireteam felt similarly. They knew at the time that their work, no matter how small, would be essential to rebuilding humanity and that they would be remembered, at least in some small part, when humanity had once again risen to its peaks and freed itself from the Darkness. But then the Cabal invaded. Cyper and his fireteam did what they could to defend the city, but their power was simply not enough to stand against the hordes of Cabal by themsleves. They quickly abandoned attempts to push them back and instead focused on evacuating civilians. Working together with other fireteams they were able to get around 150 civilians out by Nal's count, and died about 50 times by Vela's. That was before the light left them. Cyper watched as some of the frontliners fell, barely having enough time to register what was happening before he felt a pain he could only describe as having his soul ripped from his body. His vision darkened and he stumbled, almost to his knees. Glancing around he saw his Titan compatriots hadn't had as much luck and had both fallen to their knees, Nal's head almost touching the ground and Vela frantically removing her helmet before vomiting. Around them they could hear the Cabal crying in victory as they once again surged foward. Cyper steadied himself as best he could and rushed to his compatriots, getting them to their feet as quickly as possible. At that moment he was morbidly thankful that he and his team had been near the back lines as the Cabal would need to kill many Guardians before they could reach him and his team, giving them enough time to escape. Days passed. Cyper and his fireteam had initially started moving with a group 20 or so civilians and two other Guardians, but their numbers dwindled quickly. One of the other Guardians, a Warlock, succumbed to his wounds two days after leaving the city, his ghost having been crushed underneath a Centurions boot as he lost his light. The civilians were easy pickings for the Cabal War Beasts, grabbing one almost everyday. By the time 2 weeks had passed the group was down to nine civilians and the four Guardians. By day 17 they were down to seven civilians and only Cyper and his fireteam, the other Guardian, a Titan, having sacrificed himself a day prior to give them time to flee. By day 22 it was down to three and three. Despite all this Cyper had hope. He hoped that the legends he had heard of in the city would find a way to bring back his light, to save everyone. On the 30th day the last of the civilians was lost and so was Nal. He had been injured two days prior fighting a War Beast and his Ghost had been crushed beneath anothers jaws. He sacrificed himself so that Cyper and Vela could get away. Not two days later Vela was killed, shot in the head by a Psion. And a day later they had Cyper. But instead of simply killing him, they toyed with him, kicking him around and cutting him with his own knife. The leader, a Centurion, held his Ghost in his hands, pulling at the ends of it, stopping just before it would break. This went on for hours before the finally stood him upright and grippes his neck. The Centurion walked up and held his Ghost up by its ends and started pulling. Cyper screamed numerous expletives, though it mostly came out as blood from his broken mouth. But then he felt it. He felt the Light return! He grinned and started the motion to summon his Golden Gun to his hand. He thought he was saved. But in that same moment Cyper heard the most agonizing sound in his life as his Ghost was finally shattered, the pieces dropping to the ground. And then, before he could scream, before he could pull the trigger on his solar gun, Cyper's neck was snapped, his now lifeless body being dumped on the ground and left.