Petra Venj was more nervous than she'd ever been in her life. She'd forgotten what it was like to be afraid, in the years she had been happy, but she had never forgotten the years of leadership that had taught her how to stay brave, how to make quick decisions, and how to install confidence in those who followed her. She only had three little followers now, but they were relying on her. The guards lead her into Mara's throne room. Petra had come in all her ceremonial armor from her time as Queen's Wrath, and she walked straight and tall to show the Queen she had not forgotten her old ways. She dropped to one knee at the foot of the throne and waited for permission to speak. "Petra." Mara's cold voice betrayed no emotion. "You were banished from the Reef eleven years ago because you refused to break your ties with a guardian, and now you dare come back asking for protection? With three helpless children?" "My Queen, I made a mistake in leaving," Petra said, keeping her voice clear and strong. "But my children are innocent. I ask you to allow me to return to my home, and to your service. It was wrong of me to break my vow. I won't do it again." "You are no longer under such a vow, and you won't be, until I can trust you again. But rise," Mara commanded. Petra did so and saw that she was smiling. "In these years I have come to see that you broke your vow only because I forced you to choose between your heart and your duty, when there was no need. It is I who did wrong, I who should never have banished you. I am glad of your return." "Thank you, my lady," Petra whispered, suddenly unable to talk over a lump in her throat. She swallowed hard. "There is another matter I wish to speak with you about. My eldest daughter has strange powers. She has dreams of things that will happen in the future and it is because of her that we are here and not dead. She claims to have a voice in her head telling her of these things, and she now says the voice is yours." "Riven." Mara frowned. "The Ahamkara has broken free from Savathun's hold and is working against her in revenge. Riven always used my voice." That made sense. It seemed to be Savathun who had wanted to capture poor Thora, and if Riven working against her, then it was Riven who had warned her of it. How strange. "The Techeuns can help her. You may bring her here tomorrow." "Thank you, my Queen." _________________________________________ [i] Thora looks up to the Leviathan and the Traveler, aglow in a phosphorescent haze. He's doing it. The man- Mama called him Zavala- is overcharging himself with Light, siphoning from the Traveler. The black-haired woman and the Queen, Mara, fight through the Hive mercilessly as the Dark Guardians approach. Thora finds the black-haired woman and signal toward yet another woman, a pale awoken with black robes and a cloth covering her eyes. She's the one they all came here to kill. In lockstep, they carry out their assault. The black-haired woman opens fire on a Hunter while Thora covers her, blasting a flanking Ogre with Stasis. The black-haired woman drops a grenade under its massive feet, and a second later, it's dust. The creepy woman spots them, and Thora swears she's smiling. From behind the Keep, a full brigade of the Awoken armada rises, perverted with Hive thorns and insignia. As the Awoken defectors fire onto the battlefield, they're blasted out of the sky by satellite arrays in a dazzling display. Thora can feel the creepy woman's frustration at this. Then she sees her, shrouded in Darkness, performing a summoning ritual. A singular beam of blinding Light tears through the black sky with the velocity of a shooting star, headed straight for the Scarlett Keep. He collides with the structure so precisely that he only creates a small fissure. After a moment, an explosion, bright and disastrous, completely levels the Keep to rubble. They hear a deafening scream throughout the field that could only be Savathûn. Mara races to them. "The Witch is weakened. We strike now!" The creepy woman is regaining her footing as they close in. "All of my detractors in one place. Thank you for bringing them to me, Ana," she says and smiles. Thora turns to Ana, the black-haired woman, confused. She pulls out a knife and readies it toward Mara. Thora makes a move to stop her, but she can't. She's frozen in place… by Ana. Ana stabs Mara Sov in front of them. "You're welcome, my Queen." Stasis and blood drip from her hands. "We are all Dark, eventually," the creepy woman says with glee. [/i]