Notes

The Tower glittered effortlessly above the dying city lights. Tonight was a night for rejoicing, for celebration. Oryx had been defeated, and the whole community had turned out for a truly brilliant gathering. The Vanguard, the Titans, the Hunters and Warlocks all convened, forgetting the burdens of the day to celebrate. Zavala entertained newly wakened guardians with tales of seemingly impossible strikes, Cayde oversaw Hunters competing in friendly Gunslinger duels, and Ikora made sure that food and drink were plentiful for all. It was a happy night for the Traveler and it's inhabitants.

One spectator had slipped away from the chaotic scene, and had stole up to the balcony overlooking Tower North. Eris Morn surveyed the happy scene below and frowned. Although the defeat of Oryx had come as welcome news, she knew he was not yet dead. This secret she had kept from the Vanguard, as she did not want to spoil their joy. She had only confided in the Guardian who had combated Oryx and won, Zora. The Titan had took the news gravely, and assured Eris that the Taken King would eventually die by her hand. But Eris still felt the doubt creeping into her heart, tendrils of fear whispering around the edges of her mind. Crota, the monster who had took her home and murdered her people had been disposed of; yet Eris' longing for vengeance had paid off in the return of Crota's father, Oryx. The Taken King was a thousand times more deadly than his son, bloodthirsty and angry.
Voices clouded her judgement, chanting the ever present message of doom in her mind. Death had destroyed every aspect of Eris' life. Death had murdered her comrades in arms, her family, her people. Death had consumed many of the people she respected and looked up to, and although some considered her obsession with death to be morbid, she knew it was only justice raging in her heart.

Nimbly leaping over the safeguard of the railing, she crouched on the end of the metal beam, precariously close to the edge. She sat down here, folding her legs and assuming a thoughtful position before closing her eyes. The third glowing green eye placed on her forehead was not for sight, but for foreshadowing, for meditation, for power. It glowed eternally, staring out across the reaches of space and time and absorbing, gleaning mystical power. There she quieted her thoughts, painting her mind as a blank canvas. The next thoughts that entered would be ones her subconscious dwelled upon, and she would address each problem. Her thoughts quieted, her eye reaching out to the universe to grasp it's wisdom and thoughts.

'Traveler is not home. Do not belong there. Belong to the Moon. Return, seek your people. Make the Moon yours and your people's once again.'

Eris's eyes snapped open. This was a thought she had never dreamed possible. Return to the Moon? Impossible. Others, alive? Absurd. Yet Eris knew that not a single one of her prophecies were ever proven wrong. Doubtfully she examined the statement. The Traveler was not her home, this she knew to be true. No matter how kindly the Vanguard treated her, she did not belong. She valued Zavala's includance of her in battle plans, the way Ikora had showed her how to hone her powers with focus and meditation rather than blind anger. And no matter how annoying Cayde-6 could be, even he would occasionally surprise her with small gifts of strange things Guardians would find patrolling the Moon. She could not say she loved any of them, but they were the closest thing to a family she could remember.

'Return, seek your people.'

Others of her kind? Alive? Why had she not sensed it before, where were they when she had sccumbed to the agony, pounding her chest and asking for the gods to show her someone, anyone besides her lived? A flash of anger permeated her thoughts, and she subdued it yet again. She had to go to the moon. She had to find if any others remained. But reality set in. How would she go to the Moon? She had no funds, no ship, no weapons. She was alone.

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"Maybe next time buddy. Keep your chin up!" Cayde-6 slapped the young Guardian's back heartily as the Hunter flinched and dropped his head in defeat. Cayde clapped his hands together as the next two Hunters stepped into the Crucible for the next Gunslinger match. "I'll oversee this one," boomed Zavala from behind Cayde, clapping a hand on his shoulder. Cayde squinted at Zavala. It was unlike the Titan to offer to do anything for Cayde, until he realized that one of Zavala's favorites was in the ring. "Betting on him, are we?" Zavala didn't reply but instead stepped between the two Hunters, beginning the instructions. Cayde chose not to argue for the sake of peace, looking around at the open and friendly faces around him. He made his way out of the crowd of cheering people and made his way over to the snack table, glancing over the heads again. He registered that a certain person was missing, a person who had a very dreary persona, someome he enjoyed teasing to no end. Eris was nowhere in sight. In a way he had expected her to draw away, but he was still surprised. Oryx was dead. How could even Eris not celebrate that? At this point, Cayde had two options. He could ignore the fact that Eris Morn was missing, and continue on with the festivities and flirting with numerous amount of attractive Guardians; or he could go look for Eris and effectively kill any chance of having fun that night.

Cayde-6 was no quitter.

"Pardon me Guardian." Cayde slipped through until he had come to the Tower square, a few citizens milling around and preferring not to be in company with the rowdy Guardians. Cayde swung his head around, optical sensors whirring before spotting a shadowy figure sitting on a overhanging beam over Tower North. No one else on the Traveler had such an air of darkness and despair around them as Eris. Leaping silently up the steps, he approached the balcony where the Guardian was sitting. He relaxed his elbows on the rail, cocking an eye up toward the sky. "Beautiful night, isn't it? As beautiful as those glowing green eyes of yours." An audible grunt came from Eris, her eyes remaining closed. "What, I didn't surprise you?" asked Cayde, offended. "I smelled you the moment you set foot on the square," Eris fired back. "Oh really? You smelled roses and the scent of a heartbreakingly gorgeous man?" Eris didn't miss a beat. "Annoyance. I smelled an annoyance." Cayde-6 refrained from pushing Eris off of the balcony. She sensed he had become annoyed, and sighed. "My apologies, Cayde. I was only in jest." "Next time I'll jest you," muttered Cayde half-heartedly. "Mind if I come sit next to you-" "Do not."

Silence ensued. Eris finally opened her eyes, fixing them both on Cayde. Her third eye seemingly stared at him as well, making him distinctly uncomfortable. "So....What are you thinking about up here all by yourself? Oryx is dead, thought you'd be glad. Thought you'd be proud of Zora." Cayde knew that the Titan also had a mysterious bond with Eris, and upon hearing the Guardian's name she physically flinched, opening her mouth as if to speak before closing it and turning her head, staring at the Traveler. Her shoulders sagged as she spoke with a weary authority. "I am proud of Zora, she has done what most found impossible. I am thankful as well, that the despised King and his son are defeated. But more monsters shall rise. A power vaccum has been created, many will seek the Taken King's throne. Lord Saladin has confirmed a SIVA outbreak in the Plaguelands." Eris sounded older, more tired. "And I must return to the Moon. I have sensed others, my people. They are few, yet they are there. I feel it in my very bones." Cayde was completely shocked, and the Hunter hated being surprised, now twice in one day. Never mind that Eris had once again out-thought the Vanguard in terms of what would happen next, she even knew about Lord Saladin and the Iron Lords. But her last sentence had left him flabbergasted. He knew, everyone knew of Eris's love of the Moon. But return? To the base of the terrible Hive? "How would you even begin to go to the Moon?" At his comment, the smaller Guardian's shoulders slumped. "That is what I do not know. For I do not have a ship, nor weapons, nor map. My fireteam is long gone, and I wold not dare to ask any Guardian to put their life on the line to help me."