The True Story of Toland the Shattered: Epilogue

[b]Epilogue[/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/98283573/0/0/1]Episode One[/url][/b] Eriana-3 hung in a frictionless world. The stars surrounding her numbered in the trillions and she could feel every single one pressing against her like mental pinpricks. The joys of being a Sunsinger in the dead of space. Unlike normal beings, she could drift in any direction she desired to in zero-gravity, but there was no use attempting escape. There was nowhere to go. Instead, Eriana opened her mind to the taste of tears and milk, to the smell of petals on the wind, the sound of water that spilled into the sea of skies, wishing she had not been born a Exo. The longing that accompanied her coming death surprised her. She had never lusted for such human trivialities before. Then, in a blink, familiar, lunar gravity pulled her down and all she saw was darkness. "You forget your place," said a disembodied voice. Eriana sat up and raised her palm, generating a sun so microscopic in size that it wouldn't blind or incinerate anyone around her, but gave off just enough light to illuminate her surroundings. Before her stood a tall man, broad-shouldered but gaunt, with skin and hair the pale gray of old bones or nearly pregnant clouds. It was Toland the Shattered. "You forget yours, Voidwalker," growled Eriana, straining to keep the star in her hand from growing in size. If she was human, she'd imagine her anger would not allow her to feel her face. "You could have killed me!" "Yes, and it would have been your fault," he replied, turning away from her. "You trespassed upon my study, and in that reprehensible act, fell victim to one of my Blink nodes. You're fortunate I have the power to reverse such things." Eriana rolled her eyes at his theatrics. It wasn't much of a study. Toland had reconditioned an abandoned military hideout on the Moon, and upon further inspection, looked like he had lost his touch over the long months of solitude. Tomes and books were sprawled about without sense of order, artificially grown food littered the floor, and jars filled with alien anatomical appendages were scattered at random. She would give out harsh words, but those would not find harmony in what she was about to ask the man. Toland leafed through some book scratched with indistinct words, muttering in a foreign tongue all the while. "What is it you want?" asked the man. "I am no longer a Guardian." "As long as you have a Ghost, you will always be a Guardian." Toland didn't respond. "We need you again," said Eriana. "For what?" "To help find and destroy Crota." There was a long silence, until a rasping giggle erupted from Toland. "You know not what you ask. The god resides in his own dimension, of his own creating. It's nothing so simple as navigating the Hellmouth trying to find his bone-littered lair. You must find the keyhole to his world." Eriana sighed. "Then help us." The Warlock slammed his book shut. "Fine! If you insist," he said, grinning wickedly, a measure of vitality coming back into his face. "But I do not do this solely for that woman Ikora who attempts to take advantage of me at every turn…I do this for research." He walked towards her, his easy smile falling away like a cracked mask. "And only if you're okay with dying." Toland walked past her and out of his study. Eriana couldn't place it, but something told her the man was right. It was no matter. Crota would die soon and the City would be ever more the safer. She clenched her hand into a fist and crushed her star. [b]Thanks everyone who finished the series! If you want to find out what happens next, check out my Light and Fury series below, which is Eris Morn's journey into the Helmouth, along with Eriana-3, Toland, Vell, Sai, and Omar. Toland's series was only a prequel. I'll come out with a new story soon, so if you haven't already done so, join my group to get updates! Thank you! [/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/98889624/0/0/1]EPISODE TWO[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99463401/0/0/1]EPISODE THREE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99974909/0/0/1]EPISODE FOUR[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100582279/0/0/1]EPISODE FIVE[/url][/b] [i][b]DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THIS SERIES HAS SOME BASIS IN LORE, THIS IS A WORK OF PURE FAN FICTION, ONLY TO BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I WRITE THESE SERIES FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO READ, SO IF YOU ARE SOMEHOW OFFENDED BY WORDS, DON'T READ MY STORIES[/b][/i] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100362914]DESTINY FAN FICTION ARCHIVE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/823422]JOIN GROUP FOR FAN FICTION UPDATES[/url][/b]