#taniks talks

[taniks-the-final-shape]

@keviriksiskellofhearts! I have discovered another video of a cat! I knew I must share it with you!

[ahamkara-apologist]

Fuck it. Big Taniks headcanon dump go

-One of the last remaining pureblood Eliksni from House Scar.

-As a result, he sports the phenotype from Scar: a dark red-brown striped carapace with a boxy, viper-like muzzle and heavy jowls, yellow eyes, very thick, blood-red setae with hooked barbs on each strand (where its still present), large mandibular teeth, and prominent chitin spikes on his carapace. If he was born on Riis, he would have had horns like a horny toad- many short, sharply triangular chitin spikes ringing his jaws, cranial crest, and eye spikes. As is, the remnants of those can still somewhat be seen in the way his carapace overlaps each other, but not to the extent it should. Body type is more on the burly side, but he grew up malnourished so he's thinner than he should be, even after getting as much ether as he could ever want after the fall of his house. Has 8 eyes, which his mother took to auspiciously mean he was born lucky (as he was lucky to be born at all): really this luck is more of a curse at this point, but Taniks doesn't like to think about that all too much

-However, it should be noted that most of these features have mostly been completely lost to scarring/mechanization. He's kind of like the Anakin Skywalker of the Destiny 2 universe: handsome to scarred mess, minus the fascism

-While he broke his House, the culture he was reared in still informed some of his behavior: Scar used to be full of honourable, ritualistic fighters and healers in the old days of Riis, known for their strict adherence to moral code and their technological advancements, but devolved into brutal violence post-Whirlwind. (By 'ritualistic fighters', I mean that they used to do elaborate swordplay dances to settle debates that House Judgement alone could not appease, and that this ability with blades was secondary to the fact that they were doctors first and foremost. The idea was that a healer would willingly do less harm than another Eliksni, hence why they were often chosen to be fighters as well)

-Post-Whirlwind, particularly brutish rituals arose to desensitize their members to violence, which got worse and worse as Scar sought to subvert their old healer ways and lean hard into being warriors. By the time he hatched, the only remnants of House Scar's culture as healers was that they were better at patching up their wounded than the other Houses

-How is this relevant to Taniks? Well...in Taniks's case, he was born to a drekh that was too low-ranking to be allowed the luxury of reproduction. He was allowed to live after he was found out, but when he grew old enough to fight, he was dragged before the Kell and told that had to prove his right to be survive through two trials: one, to be docked and fight as a wretch, or two, to kill his own mother and become Captain immediately- the choice his mother begged him to take. So he honoured her wishes, and killed her

-His kell double-docked him anyways.

-This prompted Taniks to go into the frenzied rage he was known for, where he made himself new arms and killed the kell, breaking House Scar. His disdain for the brutish ways of the House system + his hatred of kells continues to modern day, with the exception being Eramis, whom he fought beside, and who earned his trust by never trying to lord over him or demanded a house oath to keep him in line

-Unfortunately, breaking his house pretty much sent him into exile and marked him as an unstable traitor for the rest of his life, leading to social ostracization. Taniks didn't care personally, but since this happened while he was still very young (+ the fact that eliksni are deeply social beings, perhaps even moreso than humans), it did permanently fuck up his mental and social development. He's only half-socialized at best, and struggles intensely with navigating Eliksni society outside of dominance plays and combat rules. Granted, he doesn't particularly care about any of that stuff, but when he does, his own ineptitude can send him into a rage

-It also affected his physical development as well. Because the Eliksni function like lobsters in that they only grow more fertile as they age, and bc I hc them to be sequential hermaphrodites (ie, able to change sex as needed, bc traditionally the kells were the most fit breeding adults so being able to change sex to maximize compatibility was key), eliksni puberty is a long, drawn-out event that's heavily influenced by social and environmental cues. Taniks's isolation during his early teenage years ended up with him stuck as a simultaneous hermaphrodite, which is not really how Eliksni are supposed to work (they can live relatively normally, but their fecundity is drastically reduced in both egg and sperm production, and they suffer from health conditions as a result). Again, he doesn't really care bc he's used to it, but the hormone imbalances certainly didn't help with his mood or chronic pain problems

-Bc oh yeah, he's essentially got Eliksni PCOS. He's spayed himself at least twice to try to alleviate the symptoms + sterilize himself, but since he's not a doctor, he missed tissue both times, and he grew them back both times- the second, entirely without his knowing

-His identified gender is also a clusterfuck to match, though that's entirely a Taniks thing, and isn't necessarily tied to his physical sex organs. Most Eliksni just default to their equivilant of masculine pronouns for him bc that's what he had when he killed his kell, and Taniks never really cared enough to bother correcting them. The only Eliksni who knew he was genderfluid was Eramis (who likely explained genderfuckery to him to begin with) and maybe Atraks, who was also genderfuckery in her own special way. He never revealed this to others because with the Eliksni, I imagine being trans is seen as more of a soul-state that the body doesn't need to mimic, and the last thing that Taniks wants is for random people to know his soul-state.

-Because of his sex alignment and his attempts at spaying himself, he is entirely convinced that he's infertile. He Is Not.

-Part of the reason he wants to believe this is is because he's terrified of children, and is terrified at the thought of making any children. Kids are a wildcard, and and they trigger nurturing instincts in him that he has no frame of reference for dealing with. Pair that with the fact that his mother had him in secret, hid him away from the rest of the House, and often told him how dangerous his conception was to her, and you get Taniks

-Intense distrust/fear of doctors. You will not voluntarily see him in someone else's medbay if it kills him. The one he has on his own ketch is specifically set up to be fully automated, and whatever the machines don't do, he does himself. It's impressive given his lack of official training, but still very crude and slapdash, and his houseless, suspicious nature means that there's not many painkillers on board

-Intensely intelligent with a very keen eye for detail: would have been an amazing scribe in another life. Writes poetry in his free time that's actually really damn good, though nobody else gets to read it. Most of his prosthetics were engineered by himself, building off of dataplans he picked up himself, and are genuinely innovative and high-tier tech even though they're made of scrap metal

-(On a related note, I don't think he actually lost his legs when he fused himself to a shank- I think he was already missing most of his legs bar his thighs to begin with, and what he did was just hotwire his prosthetic connections into the guts of the shank to control it. It would have been quicker and easier than the alternative)

-Became a mercenary because the puzzle + thrill of a hunt gives him an adrenaline high like nothing else, and because if there's one thing he's good at, it's killing. Guardians are his favorite prize because they're the most dangerous game, forcing him to use all of his skills and all of his strength- though the fact that he still hasn't killed the Young Wolf off for good is something that pisses him off immensely

-Despite having the same level of socialization as a rabid racoon, he's still able to navigate the Eliksni honour system pretty well, based off of his knowledge of it alone. He also has a strong sense of honour and opinions about what constitutes as a fun/fair fight- he just doesn't stick to them if they're a hindrance, and thinks that the old ways of the Houses are bullshit. He's cunning and practical above emotional...in most cases

-Has sensory issues. He thinks he grew out of it, but the reality of the situation is just that he's reached a point of chronic pain that's so bad that he just doesn't notice it anymore. Unfortunately it is hereditary

-Deeply suspicious and hateful of most Eliksni, *extremely* loyal when/if he's won over. Very few have managed that: Eramis, Phylaks, and Kridis are some of the few who did. Everyone else he either ignores or tries to goad into a fight/toy with their pride, because he thinks most of his species is full of uptight pricks. Dude would make waves with the anarchist movement on Earth

-Not religious in the slightest. Get that Great Machine bullshit outta here

-Very chatty when his emotions are running high, near-silent and broody when not. If you're talking to him and he's just grunting back, that's a good indicator that his patience is rapidly dwindling and he's going to snap-roar at you soon. In that case, it's best to back off quickly, because he tends to not fuck around with warning signals very much, and he does not have any degree of bite inhibition

-Has a VERY strong Drift + Scar accent that is essentially the equivalent to Space Texas, but he masks it as much as possible when he can because lots of the old kells tend to look down at that sort of thing, and it pisses him off when people do. And, again, it's a part of himself that he doesn't want others to know about

-Probably would have been a hopeless romantic if his upbringing wasn't so harsh. As it is, he's a very bitter fuck who scoffs at the notion of love, and doesn't think that he's capable of it or that anyone would ever be interested in him (while he's shared a nest with Eramis during some of his seasons, that was entirely a platonic endeavor based on mutual trust + a need to be with someone who both of them knew they WOULDN'T ever fall in love with). While he claims this is just him being realistic, asking about it is a good way of getting him to grow violent real quick

-Paranoia? YES. He's cocky, but he's not stupid. He's got all sorts of traps rigged on his ketch, and all sorts of backup plans for every different scenario you can think of out there. He's cunning and clever and a nightmare to try to get the drop on

-That being said he is the type of person who will deny things until he can no longer afford to if they're something he doesn't want to acknowledge, so there's a fatal flaw of his right there

-Rules the few crews he keeps with fear and is comfortable with that. He likes the smell of it, and it means that nobody is going to look down their noses at him

-Cannot cook. Do not ask him to cook. Do not eat what he offers you. He prefers his meat raw, but he's not at all picky from years growing up chronically hungry, and will eat anything and everything, including stuff that's rotten or not technically edible. His teeth are really fucked up and lots of them grow in snaggled now after he's repeatedly broken and regrown them trying to eat things he really shouldn't. If it fills his belly and enables him to survive, that's good enough for Taniks

-His molts are no longer true molts, as the amount of scarring and prosthetics he has going on makes it impossible for him to go through a full, proper molt. He's usually got old carapace flaking off of him in bits, and that just adds to the whole 'old machinery/rot/death/pain' stink he has going on at all times. He's eternally itchy on top of everything else, and that does not improve his mood one bit

-Has been forcefully bathed and groomed by Eramis at least once. Hates to admit how much he likes it

-Has a propensity for hoarding/collecting things, both as trophies and also just as oddities. He's got an entire trophy room, an armoury that can put some Houses to shame, and a whole load of human-based odds and curios that he's hoarded over the years scavenging. Among them is a whole bunch of shiny old car parts and stained glass, among...other things. He is one of the very few Eliksni who know how to do taxidermy, self-taught from old records he hoarded, and has a collection of stuffed Sol animals tucked away in the corner somewhere. Other Eliksni and humans have been off the table...so far

NSFW:

-Externally he has the hemipenes (kind of) of a male, internally he has a very reduced broodpouch (male) + the sperm storage tubules and ovarian ducts of a female. His sperm is barely viable, and he cannot take or produce many eggs without causing himself severe pain during the duration of the experience. His huge size has mitigated a lot of this, as now most Eliksni cannot stuff him full enough to cause such pain NOR do they want to fuck him long enough to induce him to ovulate, but that's also unlucky bc that means he can (technically) still reproduce, even if he himself doesn't believe anything that comes out of him is viable

-He's proportionate to his size, maybe a little bit more on the thick side, which ofc means that he's fucking huge

-His right hemipene has been cut off halfway down the shaft, while his left has been scarred, and is pulled into an odd sideways bend towards the middle as a result. The right is still semi-functional in that it can get erect and isn't blocked off from the scar tissue, but the muscle is still damaged enough to not have much control over it so it just oozes relentlessly whenever he gets aroused. He's a leaky boi

-The left hemipenis also functions as an ovipositor (which, in females, is just a fused hemipenis with a wider passage to allow eggs through). The wider passage further increases his drippy factor. Don't mate with Taniks if you don't like it sloppy and wet...and rough. Taniks goes hard, fast, and has no real inhibitions outside of what his partners have to beat into him. Anything goes, and he likes sex to be a fight just like he likes everything else in his life. He's also very very bitey, though he at least has the sense to not make any marks that last...most of the time

-That doesn't mean he always has to dominate or top, though; he's actually a size queen who likes to be forced to obey when the mood hits him. The issue is that Eliksni who are big enough to actually give him that that are vanishingly few and far between, so the poor guy doesn't always get the same rough treatment that he doles out even though he's into it

-Very chatty during sex. Has a bad habit of running his mouth saying all kinds of dirty talk, with most of it being degrading for the purpose of goading his partner into snapping at him. If you're not into that sort of thing, it's best to just tune him out, bc he's mostly just doing it for himself and/or on autopilot than actually trying to get you off with it. The only time he goes quiet is if he's got to deposit eggs, and that's out of a mixture of instinct and because it's often paired with a non- fun sort of pain for him

-(Oviposition should not hurt either party, as it is an essential part of the mating process for Eliksni, but again- this is Taniks. His body never works as it should. That doesn't mean that he doesn't derive pleasure from it, but it's a weird mix of sensations for him, and he doesn't like it one bit)

-Remember the hoarding thing? He has a Bad Dragon collection. As well as a fuckload of other monster dildos; he just happened to find one of their factories to raid once. He's both very amused by them and also a big fan of using them liberally when he's in heat...though he skips out on the ovipositor models

-Probably would do sex work if it would give him glimmer, as he figures that he's already selling his body through mercenary work to begin with. As it stands, nobody is interested, so Taniks's OnlyFans is still off the table for now, alas

[thefirstknife]

Kell's Vengeance is out, which is a sort of an epilogue/tying a loose end with Skolas. It's a special mode of Contest of Elders, with only three arenas and you fight Skolas at the end. Really cool mission, though a little tough. Can't be done solo at all, as in you cannot load in alone, you need at least two people, but absolutely recommended to go in with all three. Has a really interesting mechanic for the boss fight!

Either way, I'll post the dialogues from the mission because they're intriguing. When you load in:

Interesting! Fikrul left him in the Prison because it appears to have been difficult to work with him. Needless to say, he does answer to the challenge, so there does appear to be something of him left.

When you start the first encounter:

He's calling us slurs <3 Love that for him. "Dream of Mars" I presume refers to the stuff from D1 where after his rebellion failed, remaining House of Wolves tried continuing on Mars. I'm not sure if there's anything else about him personally being interested in Mars.

When you finish the second encounter:

Outside of Skolas desperately trying to insult us, we've got grandpa warcrimes hyping us up. I do wonder if Skolas is specifically talking to us, as in the Young Wolf, or if it's just generic anti-Guardian stuff. Obviously we can't know since Variks doesn't translate, but interesting to think about.

After you finish the mission, aka after you kill Skolas:

Strange! Keeping him actually still alive and telling us as well (so it's not like Taniks laughing at the end of DSC as an easter egg, this is way more direct) is very intriguing. I wonder if this is how they'll keep the Eliksni/Scorn threats around canonically now that Eramis is leaving and Fikrul is gone. Or if there will be some other reason for keeping him.

[eosofspades]

Something always confused me about the messages Cayde left to his 'killers'. Like, while he could be annoying at times, I just don't see, say, Ikora or the Guardian killing him. Could you clear it up for me?

not sure what prompted this ask, but i would LOVE to talk about Cayde let's go

to me, the thing about Cayde that a shockingly small amount of people seem to understand is that this guy is deeply self-loathing. the best way i've ever seen it summed up is "he was a terrified man who was mostly terrified of himself." (you can read that post here btw.)

Cayde blames and guilts himself for so much. Andal becoming the Vanguard, Andal dying, Taniks not staying dead, making up Ace and his Queen, not remembering Ace and his Queen, probably the Red Legion attack on the Last City (i think it might have been written somewhere that satellites/security was his job, but don't quote me on that) - he's constantly running away from his problems and responsibilities, and when he isn't, he's doing everything he can to try and fix them himself (e.g., one-man suicide mission plan to kill Ghaul.)

moreover, his entire jokester persona is so deeply ingrained into his identity that he genuinely doesn't know if anyone even knows him. in his message to Ikora he says he wasn't even sure if she ever liked him, and Ikora confides to the Guardian that she considered him one of her closest friends.

as such, i think it's completely reasonable within his character for him to assume, somehow, that there could be a reason for Ikora or the Guardian to kill him. he doesn't consider himself integral to the Vanguard "team," and, by extension, to the City. he would like them to like him, of course, but even if they like the lax, aloof, jokester persona he puts on - he doesn't know if they like him. he doesn't even seem confident that anyone would like the real him.

so, if they had to kill him for whatever reason - "the good of the City," because he messed something up, because he did something terrible, some kind of Darkness-corruption (him or them), maybe even if he was just that insufferable and they'd finally had enough - he thinks of himself so lowly that he wouldn't really be able to blame them. (in most of his audios he even sort of has a reason planned - he pissed off Eris badly enough, Zavala had to kill him for the good of the City, the Guardian saved him on Nessus so he "owed it to them anyway" - i think that he carries so much guilt and exhaustion, especially with regards to everything that happened to Andal, that, on some level, he feels like he deserves it.)

so, in regards to your question, sure, WE can't imagine Ikora or the Guardian killing him, but we are the audience, and Cayde doesn't have any idea as to how anyone else might feel about him when the chips are down.

(in fact, life on the line, if someone had to die, i doubt Cayde would even let it be anyone in the City but him. i have a whole post planned about Forsaken + themes of sacrifice, but his whole "Not if I get there first," followed by personally sailing down into a deadly explosion (even with a Ghost) is very indicative of this and a much broader sort of self-sacrificial-ness, but that's... a much longer post.)

[taniks-the-final-shape]

I just know that my muse would constantly be posting small day-to-day things that he finds fascinating. “I have discovered another ‘cat’ creature!” Stuff like that

on this episode of If Destiny Characters Had Twitter

here's the original

[crispy0nion]

hello it is now time for me to inflict YOU with the explaining lore to a new player curse. Essentially, this is an invitation to infodump about your favorite guy.

I've been hearing/reading a lot about Cayde-6 throughout the game (and Ikora made me watch his death), but who is he? What's his deal?

Oh this is fantastic. Get ready for a full essay (under the cut so I don't clog up people's dashes). I tried to link some relevant lore tabs, but still i recommend reading at least The Man They Called Cayde, or to just skim through the Cayde-6 section of the Ishtar Collective website.

Cayde-6 was the sixth Hunter Vanguard, a position widely considered to be cursed as all previous Hunter Vanguards have either died or gone MIA (Tallulah Fairwind, killed by an Ahamkara; Caliban-8, MIA; Aparajita-4, MIA; Kauko Swiftriver, went MIA and was later declared dead; Andal Brask, killed by Taniks The Scarred; Cayde-6, killed by Uldren Sov). The position is currently empty, but it is heavily implied that Crow will step up as the new Hunter Vanguard soon.

Now, let's try to go in order of events. Like all Exos, Cayde used to be a human during the Golden Age. He was a soldier, and it is likely that he had a gambling problem (a habit he retained in his Guardian life): simply put, he had a big debt hanging over his head. That's when Clovis Bray, the creator of Exos, approached him with a job offer. The reason Clovis approached him is because people like Cayde were exactly what BrayTech needed for the Exo Project: disposable and with their backs to the wall. Cayde accepted to essentially give his body to the Project in exchange for his debts to be cleared. The job offer itself was never explicited, but Cayde recounts being kidnapped and brought to Europa. This was around the time the Collapse happened.

We don't know everything that happened in his lives from 1 to 6. We know that for most of his lives before becoming a Guardian, he worked for BrayTech, first as a generic worker and later as a guard. This is where he had his first (and only, probably) interaction with Micah Abram, who at the time was a chid. Micah is a lore-only Exo Hunter, now known as Micah-10, known for her role as the 'mother-hen of Ghosts' - she protects upaired Ghosts from the Ghost Hunter, Cyrell. But why is Micah relevant to Cayde's story? Well, Cayde-6 would often mention how he used to have a son when he was human, as well as a wife. He refers to the kid as 'Ace', and to the woman as simply the Queen of Hearts. He talks about her in a TTK mission to retrieve his stash, and some of his journal entries are written as letters for his son - he also worked with Banshee-44 to craft a gun inspired by him, his Ace of Spades.

The interaction that Cayde-1 had with Micah - who, being a trans woman, was at the time a little boy - caused him to retain fragmented memories of a child in his current Guardian life. I recommend reading the lore tabs about their encounter (both Micah's POV and Cayde's POV). The following letter from Micah's POV also mentions how immediately after Cayde picked her up, he was deactivated.

So, the fragmented memories he retained from this interaction where what he based off this delusion of having a son, because yes, both his wife and son never existed, and Cayde himself admits to making them up as a coping mechanism in the last entry of his journal.

But if Micah Abram was his Ace, who was his Queen? Easy: Maya Sundaresh.

Maya Sundaresh was a Golden Age scientist who worked for the Ishtar Collective on Venus, and collaborated with Clovis on an occasion. She's also the founder of Neomuna, on Neptune. Cayde (between 2 and 6) was part of the batch of Exos who Clovis assigned to work as guards for Dr. Sundaresh during their collaboration. That's when Cayde first met her, and to say he was down bad would be an understatement. Unfortunately for him, Dr. Sundaresh was not only a psycho, but also a married lesbian. She never even acknowledged him, but still he fell in love with her. The memory of this feeling stayed with him through the resets and his death, and he contructed the memory of the Queen of Hearts over that.

As far as I know, we don't have any information regarding Cayde's death, other that he was resurrected near a cliff. After freaking out, running off the cliff and being revived again, he found on his person a journal, potentially the same one he keeps using in his Guardian life. Cayde believes his past self (specifially, Cayde-5) wrote and left this journal to guide him, to prevent him from taking the wrong path and becoming Cayde-7 - something he seemed to be absolutely against. Side note, but I find that to be an extremely interesting detail since Bungie's own signature is the number 7.

Regarding his years before becoming Vanguard, we know Cayde has been around for at least 126 years, probably more. He used to run with a group of Hunters, his 'crew': Andal Brask, Shiro-4 and Tevis Larsen. A fifth member, Lush, would also join them sometimes, being Shiro's protégé. Of these five members of the Hunter crew, Shiro is the only one currently alive. Andal was killed by Taniks before the game events, Tevis died at the hands of the Vex during TTK, and Lush lost his Ghost the first time the crew ran into Taniks, then died on a solo mission later on.

Cayde was especially close with Andal, referring to him as his best friend and brother. If you recall, Andal was also the Hunter Vanguard before Cayde; this actually is something that happened because of the Exo. Hunters have this thing called 'The Dare'; every Hunter Vanguard needs to have their own, since the Dare is what estabilishes how the next Vanguard has to be chosen. The Vanguard that came before Andal, Kauko Swiftriver, went missing for two years, later being declared dead, and his Dare was never found. For this reason, The Speaker - who created the first Dare together with Tallulah Fairwind - told the Hunters to figure it out and find a new Vanguard.

One evening, after the crew had already had their first run in with Taniks - an Eliksni mercenary, who claimed many Guardian lives - Andal and Cayde got drinking, and in the heat of the moment they made a bet, their own Dare: if one of them found and killed Taniks, the other had to step up and become Vanguard. They didn't think much of it, until Cayde actually killed Taniks first (side note: 'killed' isn't completely right. Taniks keeps coming back, and even after we killed him in the DSC raid there is a chance he is still alive). Andal, being a man of his word, became Vanguard; and Cayde wasn't happy about it, because it's a time consuming job, so Andal now spent significantly less time with the crew.

Now Taniks, after somehow escaping death, finds and kills Andal. Because of this, Cayde feels obliged to take the role of Hunter Vanguard. He also goes on a rampage, and quite violently kills Taniks again. He begins wearing Andal's cloak, and officially becomes the Hunter Vanguard we all know and love.

Cayde had always been one to constantly crack jokes and use humor to cover up all the ugly things, and Andal's death, followed some time later by Tevis's, only reinforced that. In addition to that, the job of Vanguard comes with a price: you can rarely leave the Tower. This was especially true for Cayde, considering he was both a known troublemaker and potentially in danger for filling the Hunter Vanguard position (after five consecutive deaths, anyone would get a bit paranoid), and it was something that bothered him deeply.

During the events of D1 and D2 up to Forsaken, he does... many things. Like blowing up Eris's ship in order to get the Guardian on the Dreadnaught during TTK. Overall, none of these are worth mentioning, considering this post is already very long.

What I want to talk about next are the events of Forsaken, starting from about one in-game year before the game events. The comicbook 'Cayde's Six' is a good starting point: Cayde was tasked by Petra Venj with hunting the Fallen Barons, who under the command of a corrupted Uldren Sov had been causing chaos on The Reef. His task was to find them and bring them to the Prison of Elders. To do this he assembles a small team (Suraya Hawthorne, Banshee-44, Jin, Nadiya and Petra Venj); they eventually succeed in their goal, even imprisoning the Forsaken Prince himself. Fast-forward to a year later, the events of Forsaken unfold: Uldren Sov and his Barons, now Scorn, escape the Prison of Elders, leaving behind a dead Cayde, who only died because he happened to stand in their way (it's unlikely that Uldren held any resentment as he was... very out of it, probably too much to care about anything but Mara).

This later caused the Young Wolf to go on a rampage, finding and killing all the Barons and Uldren himself (a very nice parallel to the Taniks-Andal situation). Forsaken also brought a new exotic hand cannon: the Ace of Spades, Cayde's beloved weapon. The quest to obtain this weapon, Ace in the Hole, is quite interesting: the YW has to travel across the system to find Cayde's secret stashes, that he specifically left for when he would die. These chests, other than parts to repair Ace, also contain recorded messages, each adressed to a different character. Eris, Taniks, Drifter, Petra, 'the minds behind the DSC', Hawthorne, 'any hunter who kills him' (which he speculates could be Marcus Ren), Zavala, Ikora, and the Young Wolf. Ten messages for ten meaningful people, in all senses. He left them with the intention of having these people listen to them in case they were the ones to kill him. They are very interesting, I recommend looking them up (here's Byf's video, where he also does a bit of analysis).

Many things emerge from these messages, but there's only three that i wanna talk about: Petra's, the voices's and Ikora's messages.

Petra's message is highlighted by the presence of an encrypted message Cayde asks Petra to relay to someone called 'Paladin Oran'. This 'Paladin Oran' is actually an Awoken code to indicate that the next thing he will say is a secret message. The message essentially boils down to the sentence 'It's on Enceladus'. To this day, we still don't know what is on Enceladus. The most popular theory is that Cayde thought the DSC was there, since it was only rediscovered on Europa after his death.

The message he adresses to 'the minds behind the Deep Stone Crypt' introduces us to the Long Slow Whisper, something all Exos seem to be affected by as a side-effect of, well... being an Exo. Long story short, it's the voice of the Darkness: the reason Exos hear it almost constantly is because Clovis used Clarity, a power born from Darkness, to create them. We discover much more about Exos, the LSW, Clarity and the DSC during Beyond Light.

Lastly, Ikora's message. Not much to say, other than how heart shattering it is. In most messages, Cayde still maintained his humorous personality, however this one is the only one adressed to an ally in which Cayde unmasks. He knows Ikora sees through his facade anyways, and since he's dead, he might as well be honest. Here, he admits to thinking most people dislike him; he is convinced Ikora hates him, and makes sure to specify how 'it wasn't mutual'.

Once you find all 10 caches, you unlock the Ace of Spades, and Cayde's story ends there. He says in the message adressed to the YW that every story has it's end, and this is his. He instructs us to burn his journal and move on. And that's all. At least it was until a year ago, when Bungie released the TFS Teaser Trailer, officially bringing back Cayde for this last stand against Darkness.

As we recently discovered from the Unforseen Consequences Ship's lore tab, it is very likely that he was actually brought back because of a wish Crow accidentally made to an unnamed Ahamkara (likely Riven), disguised as Mara. This means that the chances of Cayde fading away at the end of the TFS campaign are very high, but I guess we'll find out on the 4th!

This is all I got. Anyone who reached the end, feel free to add to this if you noticed I missed something.

[thrawns-backrest]

My thoughts on Treason but just the funny bits. I'll do a more serious review but here's some crack for now (CONTAINS SPOILERS BEWARE):

Pik and Waffle, lovable evil jocks with the silliest little names. No, I will not elaborate.

Savit is the embodiment of the 'he's out of line but he's right' meme. He was literally right. No actually he was wrong, he gave Stardust a few years when in reality it only lasted a day (Fs in the chat but also lmao, get rekt).

I'm still not supposed to root for the Empire like this but here we are.

Someone give Ronan a 'Krennic's top simp' shirt that he can wear with his goofy little cape. Which I'm happy to say the book read to filth, as it should.

The fact that Eli is still so genuine and likeable that even barbed-stick-up-my-ass Ronan felt bad for leaving him down at the space port... only for Eli to then get back to his shuttle with literal thoughts of slaughter on his mind. Like damn it takes some skill to make Eli this mad.

In recent news, Thrawn is still an absolute riot.

My heart goes out to Faro, every time she thinks she's catching up to Thrawn he just comes up with an even more insane plan and she ages ten years on the spot. Like 'we're going to fight Savit now but I'm not even gonna be here, also I left you some instructions on your Ipad :)' '???? Sir????'

My sympathies to the poor stormtroopers who had to watch Thrawn and literally thought he was joking when he said he was going to the bridge. They literally went 'yeah sure you will buddy- wait where did he go?!?'

Cue Savit having an aneurism when he finds him there. (You cannot tell me this man isn't having the time of his life in that moment. Huge 'little shit' energy right there. And I respect that.)

Imagine the Firedrake crew just minding their own business and Grand Fucking Admiral Thrawn walks by without any escort whatsoever like 'Hello :)' '???? Can I help you, sir????' 'No, I know my way around :)) Thank you :)'

TIE Defender supremacy. Stardust sucks.

Half of this book was big ships yeeting smaller ships at other big ships. No, I will not elaborate.

The other half was Thrawn and Ar'alani going back and forth like 'Thrawn no!! >:((' 'Thrawn yes! :))' 'sigh... fine.'

Also, can we talk about how hilariously petty the Chiss are?? ...I am so on board with that.

Knowing how bad Thrawn is at these political games, it's no wonder he's cool chilling with the Empire for now. I mean, the Empire is bad but the Chiss sound even worse. My man just wants to solve space mysteries, let him be.

Savit having another aneurysm while waiting for Ronan to catch up to him and Thrawn in the beginning of the book. Meanwhile Ronan living his best life walking down the runway with his stupid little cape

Chiss are genetically predisposed to being little shits, I'm not joking that's just facts.

"Have you found the target? If not, I suggest you put thoughts of entertainment out of your mind and concentrate on the task at hand." "Yes, sir." Tanik straightened in his chair. "Oh, wait, sir," he said with exaggerated brightness. "I stand corrected. Admiral, we have them." (SEE? SEE WHAT I MEAN??)

Tanik literally smiling at his station because he's gonna spill the tea about Khresh having a little tantrum to all his besties at home, what a legend.

Eli: Man, I want some one-on-one time with Thrawn. Also Eli when he gets some one-on-one time with Thrawn: Oh fuck, am I in trouble-

"Perhaps. But I believe you were suggesting a shift to turbolaser fire?" "A shift to-? Oh. No, actually, I was being facetious." "Ah." PFFFFFT

Okay I'm done. For now.

[tigerspite]

I've been creatively bankrupt but this finally crawled out of my WIPs after sitting there for like. Six months or more. Bon appetit.

Read the rest of The Devil's Claw here

-

CHAPTER ?? / The Disgraced

“What have I done to deserve you gracing my presence?” Eramis drawls, her head cocked to an angle that speaks more of measuring her visitors than a genuine question. 

“We noticed you had some gaps in your crew records from the recent…incident,” Solkis says, eyes flicking to the Captain - Reviks, her last surviving son - hovering behind her. Although shrouded by a large cloak and hood, he averts his gaze from the Hunter, choosing instead to study an incoming Skiff on the opposite runway with an intensity that Scribes would find admirable. 

Wethraks grimaces, braced for retaliation. Being forced to ground her Ketch at Heathrow Spaceport for repairs due to the actions of her son, who should have known better than to lead a raiding party without her permission, has been the talk of the city. Her communications with the Lair are more terse than usual, and he has not dared to intrude on her time. Giving her time to grieve for not only the loss of her crew, but the loss of her son's common sense and lower arms, seemed the only polite course of action. 

Solkis does not fear her. And he guesses that is why he receives a click of mandibles from the Shipstealer that suggests he continue, rather than a derisive statement and a retreat back up the loading ramp of her Ketch. 

While held hostage and dragged across the city with as much dignity as could be mustered, shackles keep him from endangering anyone. The longer he looks, the longer Wethraks wonders if they would be enough to stop him should he turn, or whether he could shatter them with a flex of his wrist. 

“I brought a replacement for one of them.” He steps aside to reveal his gift. A Dreg with a ruddy brown-orange exoskeleton, clothed in scraps of leather and cloth between a cobble of mismatched armor. More disturbing are the lower arms he should not have, flesh bound to metal through a thick layer of uneven scarring gouged deep into the shell of his torso. The prosthetics are little more than steel bars and exposed wiring formed into the crude shape of limbs, built for function over form. 

“Devils nominate themselves to join my crew. You bring a mutilated Scar Eliksni in handcuffs,” she counters. “Why should I take someone who has to be forced to work, and who rejects our banners?”

“He lived on the same Ketch as us during the Drift, he knows about work.” Solkis lets out a dark laugh, nudging their guest forwards. “And his name is Taniks. His House-pledge still isn’t confirmed, but Ursaviks has a use for him.”

Her eyes narrow. “You miss my point.”

As the two launch into debate, Wethraks remains still and tries to fade into the background. The ‘Dreg’ standing hunched between them glowers up at Eramis, lower arms twitching and steel claws flexing. An aura of rage as strong as a thousand suns emanates from him. Given the chance of freedom, it feels as if he would eviscerate every Eliksni on the runway there and then, and realising that he would be the first and closest target makes him shuffle a few inches away. 

"Look at him. He's harmless," Solkis’s voice cuts through her concerns, giving Taniks another shove so that he might be pulled into her Ketch by proximity alone. It earns him a warning growl and a glare over his shoulder, hackles raised. 

“Then release him.”

Taniks’s growl only rises as Solkis fishes in a belt pouch to produce the key without a moment of hesitation, tensing and leaning away from him. As soon as his arms are freed, he pushes him away and hisses, wild-eyed. Straightening up to his full height, he sets his shoulders back, like posturing and challenging will make him run. 

Eramis raises her head, watching his display with careful, guarded interest. When Taniks turns his ire back to her, she looks down her muzzle and gives an amused snort. 

Like a match set to tinder, Taniks lets loose an enraged snarl and lunges forwards, teeth bared. 

She steps back, just out of his range, and his swipe lands short. He takes another step to attack again before Solkis snatches him backwards, locking and twisting one of his upper arms behind his back to force him into retreat. 

A deliberate, and failed test. 

The look of contempt and disgust exchanged between the two Barons, for what Wethraks senses are entirely separate reasons individually, could have triggered a lightning storm.

“A ‘harmless’ liability,” Eramis grates. “Ursaviks must think I'm a fool to accept this offer.”

Solkis jerks Taniks back again to fit the cuffs around his wrists, straining to contain him. “You’re the best Baroness to teach him some manners." 

“He is capable, in the right hands-” Wethraks adds, left hanging as she interrupts.

‘Of what? We left him alone on the Drift for a reason,” she gestures out with one arm, encompassing the time since she last laid eyes on him, and that spent on the Long Drift. “My crew needs shipwrights and skilled workers. Not an animal who would murder myself or others for a perceived slight.”

“The placement is on Ursavikskel’s orders. You take him, whether you want to or not.”

Before she can reject the demand, Reviks finally speaks up, “I can take him,” 

“No!” Eramis snaps, spinning so fast to stop him that Wethraks flinches. She hisses something under her breath about his authority on her ship, all falling on deaf ears as he moves past her to join the negotiation.

“It is my fault that he's here, so he is my responsibility.” Reviks says, stepping forward with his arms spread and head low in apology. "Let me take him. I can keep him under control, and away from the others."

“As long as someone does,” Solkis chirrups with delight, holding out the keys to the new crewmate. 

Wethraks casts a sidelong glance at Eramis, chittering in quiet apology for what has been caused. Through her ferocious scowl, he watches the gears turning in her mind as she weighs up the decision, and whether she could argue and defy her way out of all duty to the charge thrust upon her. While docked and in disrepute, she has the right to overrule Reviks, but that would burn a bridge he needs to cross. Something useful may come of Taniks, and of burdening her family with him. 

Eventually, she concedes, her arms and shoulders drooping. She turns her back on them, beckoning the two towards the loading ramp. "Do not make me regret this.”

"I promise you won't. And if you do, it won't be my fault.” Solkis calls after them, chittering with laughter at his own remark.  

“She will still blame you.” Wethraks mutters.

He chuffs. A given, and not one that concerns him. Eramis has found her reasons with others when required, and his treatment won't differ. Starting to walk away from the Ketch, he replies, “I’m an emissary. She should know to blame the Kell.”

Dithering, Wethraks remains fixed on the three as they depart. Although Reviks has a tight grip of his charge, Taniks writhes in his hold. He thrashes, twisting his head to stare back over his shoulder at where his captor and assistant were meant to be. 

In that last look, his eyes lock with Wethraks, burning with malice and sharp as knives. 

Even when he disappears into the depths of the Devilship’s hangar and is long out of sight, Wethraks swears he feels the sensation of his talons around his throat.

[taniks-the-final-shape]

Hey look it’s me

No matter what, he will return, not because of the light, but because he wants to live.

[baede-6]

Zavala about Taniks:"He can TALK!?"

Me,an intellectual:"Well yeah, he's a sentient being..."

[jate-kara]

Unrepentant | On AO3

"I'm told you've already heard."

Shiro didn't look up from the pieces of Trespasser he'd spread out across the workshop table. It had been too long since he'd taken it all the way apart and put it back together again - not since he'd shown the Young Wolf how to build their own. But he still knew every component by heart. They were solid weight in his hands. Familiar. Immutable.

He heard more than saw Saladin move from the doorway. His cloak rustled softly as he eased himself onto the bench at Shiro's side. "Bad news travels fast," Shiro bit out, to appease him. The half-assembled weapon trembled in his grip, and he hissed a curse under his breath. If he wasn't careful, he'd have to recalibrate the whole damn thing again.

Saladin's hand landed on his wrist and held tightly. "What are you going to do?"

An acrid retort burned in Shiro's throat. "Nothing," he muttered, and that tasted just as bitter as the scathing return he didn't say. "The Young Wolf has already made a vow of vengeance. I won't interfere. Wouldn't be right."

It turned in his chest: a truth he'd known and hadn't spoken aloud. The Young Wolf had been there, at the Prison of Elders, where the Barons had shot Sundance, and Uldren had executed Cayde. The Young Wolf had watched Cayde die. Of course they'd torn off to set the Shore ablaze. It was what any good Guardian - what any good friend - would do. Wouldn't be honorable to disrespect that Vow, but it felt like betrayal anyway.

Saladin was quiet for a long beat. "I don't believe you," he said at last. "He was too important to you for that."

"Cayde was important to everyone."

"Not like he was to you."

Shiro yanked his arm free and turned his attention back to Trespasser. Saladin didn't stop him, though he didn't leave either. They sat in tense silence while Shiro slowly assembled, tested, calibrated, and recalibrated the weapon. Once it was done, he cradled it gently in both of his hands. Same steady hum. Always reliable. His one irrevocable constant.

"Why are you here?" Shiro asked, more roughly than he'd meant to.

Saladin gave a heavy sigh. "You really have to ask?"

"I don't want to talk."

"Neither did I, after Rasputin raised the bodies of the Iron Lords. And I seem to remember telling you the same thing. Maybe you can remind me how well that went."

Shiro avoided his gaze. "I don't want to talk," he said again, as if it would be any more convincing the second time when it hadn't even dented the steel of Saladin's resolve the first.

Saladin's hand fell on his shoulder and squeezed. "I know what it's like to be the last survivor. That grief. That pain. It will destroy you if you let it. You have borne the loss of your entire pack, and now I find you here, alone, with your sidearm in hand. You tell me that you aren't going to pursue Uldren. I'll accept that. Now tell me that whatever it is that you are planning to do won't end with your final death."

The ache sitting heavy in his chest surged and swelled until it exploded in a blinding burst of agony. Shiro snapped to face him, but for all of the fire burning in the heart of his frame, he couldn't break the strangled silence between them. Andal had suffered and died, and Shiro had stayed back and let Cayde swear vengeance against Taniks, because Andal had been the other half of Cayde’s soul, and Taniks was supposed to be dead already. Then Tevis had gone off to the Black Garden on his own without a damn word to Shiro about it - not a warning, and not a goodbye. And he hadn't come back, and Shiro had listened when Cayde had begged him to leave it alone, because they were the last of their fireteam, and because Cayde hadn't sounded so broken since they'd lost Andal. Now Cayde was dead, too, and the Young Wolf was on the trail of his killer while Shiro sat safely in the Iron Temple, drowning in the same useless grief.

He shrugged out of Saladin's grasp and pushed himself to stand. "I've assigned my patrols to a few reliable fireteams. Give my room to whoever wants it. Maybe Marcus Ren. He's sent in more than one request to test Sparrows on the mountain. You should consider it. He's a good Hunter, and he might liven things up around here."

"No," Saladin returned immediately. "The room is yours, and so it will remain vacant until you return."

"I don't know if I'll ever be back."

Saladin's stare was unwavering. "Then it will stay vacant forever."

"Is this about me leaving, or about not wanting Ren in here?"

A ghost of a grimace twisted Saladin's mouth. "Where Marcus Ren goes, Enoch Bast always follows. If I let them in, Felwinter Peak will never know peace again."

A suffocating silence fell over them like a veil. The Iron Temple had been his sanctuary for a long time; it was the first place that had brought him any measure of peace since his fireteam had fractured. Now Shiro breathed and felt the truth settle in his chest: Cayde was dead, he was the last one left, and this wasn't home anymore. It was just another end.

Saladin made the first move to break the deathly quiet. He stood, too, and clapped a hand on Shiro's shoulder. "You'll be back," he said, with a certainty that didn't reach his eyes. "A long time ago, you swore to compete in the Iron Banner. I intend to hold you to that promise."

"I said once things had settled down. They haven't."

"Then you'll have to stay alive until they do."

Shiro waited too long to answer. Every line of Saladin's body was strung through with sudden tension. His jaw twitched. A storm raged in his eyes, first defiant fury, then fear, then grief, and finally, quiet resignation. He stayed there for a beat more, like he was burning the moment into the back of his mind, and then he was gone. The heavy iron door slammed shut behind him.

Suzume shimmered to life. She bobbed once, like she was studying him, then floated gently to eye level. "Shiro," she started, "you promised."

Trespasser fit perfectly in his grasp. The core pulsed a steady beat. "The person I made that promise to is dead."

"Cayde still wouldn't want you to take this kind of risk."

What Cayde had wanted didn't matter anymore. "You don't have to come with me. Stay here, where it's safe."

Suzume gave an exasperated huff. "I go where you go," she said. "Always."

"This once, I wish you wouldn't."

"Always," she repeated, as if he hadn't said anything. "To the very end."

Trespasser slipped smoothly into its holster. Shiro took one last look at the workshop, then hoisted his survival pack and turned away. He knew the route to the hangar so well he could walk it in his sleep. He felt every step. He felt nothing at all. He'd done this a thousand times. He might only ever do it once more.

"Suzume, do me a favor and scan the ship for trackers."

"You don't think Lord Saladin would do that."

"You and I both know he would."

Suzume muttered something so quietly Shiro couldn't make it out, and not for the first time, he felt a pang of distant regret, somewhere beyond the numb haze. "All trackers neutralized," she reported softly, hovering over his shoulder as he started the ship's ignition sequence. Right about now is when she'd usually call Cayde for him, and they'd talk until the screaming void in Shiro's head was finally quiet. But there was no more Cayde. There was no more fireteam. There had only ever been a few other people in the entire universe who knew how to pull him back from the gaping maw, and Suzume was the only one left. He should listen to Suzume more. He should care about that strained note in her voice. The broken desperation bleeding from every word. It should be killing him. Why wasn't it killing him?

The jumpship roared to life, carrying them out of the Temple and high into the atmosphere. They'd barely reached its edge when the holo blared to life. Saladin's expression was somewhere between disbelief and agony.

"You can't pursue Uldren," he said, volume rising with every word, "and Taniks is finally dead. But the Black Garden isn't an answer. It's suicide. Whatever you destroy, the Vex will just rebuild. On your corpse."

Shiro heard the words as if Saladin had shouted them from across a chasm. "I'm not going to try to destroy it. I just need to see it for myself."

"You're lying. To me, and to yourself. You don't want to see where Tevis Larsen died. You want to set the world on fire because he's gone. Because they're all gone, and this is the only vengeance you can reach."

Shiro didn't answer. Couldn't answer. Saladin stopped long enough to take a measured inhale. "Come back to the Temple, Shiro. Don't waste your life. Don't waste Suzume's life. She'll never abandon you. If you die in there, so will she."

"Suzume makes her own choices."

Saladin's face twisted painfully. "Was Cayde really all that was holding you back from this?"

There had been too many late nights, putting in coordinates and clearing them out and putting them back in. Too many times he'd curled up in his jumpship while Cayde chattered in his ear: You were always making up stories for us, Shiro. Lemme give it a try. I call this one Tevis Finally Learns How To Smile. Shiro had watched the sun rise from the pilot's seat. Had met the dawn with cool engines and a quiet heart. Had always murmured Thank you and every time, without fail, Cayde had returned Any time, Shiro. You call me any time you need me, you got that? I'm not goin' anywhere. That's a promise.

"Doesn't matter," Shiro forced, past the swelling grief. "Goodbye, Lord Saladin."

"Shiro-"

The comm cut out with a sickening buzz of static. Shiro slumped in his seat, barely conscious of Suzume's disapproving hum. "So," he muttered, "'all trackers neutralized', huh?"

Suzume dipped one half of her shell in her best imitation of a shrug. "I thought he should know where we were, at least."

"You don't think he'll try to stop me?"

"I think he knows you'd never forgive him if he did. But if we disappear, they'll know where to look."

Shiro tugged his hood up. It made sense. He should've thought of that. He should be thinking of a plan now. He'd told himself he'd come up with one, for Suzume's sake, if nothing else. Still, every time he tried, all he could manage was a vague sense of sickness, and a hand on the holster at his hip. There was a wall between him and the urgency he knew he should feel: infinite and insurmountable. He didn't have the strength to strike it. Didn't have the will, either.

They didn't talk the rest of the way to the Moon, or when they touched down, or when the nightmare shrieks split the silence between them. The Lunar Battlegrounds were too close to the Scarlet Keep for him to have landed there comfortably, so he left his ship on the outskirts of Sorrow's Harbor, and slowly made his way to the bridge, and then the Battlegrounds. The Vex gate was tucked into a cavern there, if the latest report was to be believed, and if the Hive hadn't launched some major offensive that had destroyed it in the last few weeks. Should be as simple as sneaking in and waiting for an activation. Could always provoke a Hive attack if it took too long.

Could always throw himself through and hope he survived.

Shiro called on the Light and bent it around him in a cloak, then slipped into the passage. There were no Vex on the route there, and only a few sentries in the cave itself. He took up a position behind one of the pillars closest to the Gate, Trespasser in hand, and settled in for a long wait. Kept a constant count of the hobgoblins. Kept an eye on the time. Kept himself here, with his back pressed to cold stone, and with his focus on the electric pulse of Trespasser's core beneath his palm. Constant. Immutable. Always.

"Shiro," Suzume called, through their internal comm, "are you okay?"

Of course he was okay. As far as waiting went, this was far from the longest he'd had to stay in one spot. One time he and Andal had spent three weeks on the same cliff. And thank the Traveler it had been Andal and not Tevis. Andal would at least talk to you on long stakeouts. Tevis would go dead silent.

"Shiro, you're shaking."

He wasn't. Couldn't be. Trespasser trembled in his hands. When had he started shaking? Shiro managed a shallow breath, and then another. Suzume was tucked away in her pocket dimension, safe from any enemy's sight, but he could still feel the jagged edge of her worry cutting into the back of his mind.

"I'm okay," he sent back. "Keep an eye on the Gate."

Suzume didn't respond. The jagged edge sharpened. He brushed it away. He shouldn't be able to brush it away. Shiro shook his head. He just had to hold out until the gate opened. The Garden was massive, by all accounts. If they made it in, there should be plenty of ways to skirt the Vex sentries, at least long enough to make it to the site.

At least long enough to see where Tev had died.

"What are you going to do after?" Suzume asked.

Shiro gave her the mental equivalent of a shrug. Suzume hesitated. "Are you sure it won't be…too much?"

"I'll be fine. Tev has been gone for years. This is just - closure."

"There was a funeral," Suzume reminded, though there was no weight to her words. They both knew Hunters took no comfort in formalities. The funeral had been held by some of Tevis's other old - comrades? Friends, maybe. Not close enough to him to know he wouldn't have wanted it. Shiro had helped Cayde lay Tevis to rest, but he hadn't gone to whatever ceremony had been held later. He hadn't cleaned his City apartment after, either - not of Tevis's various trinkets, or Cayde's extra cloaks, or Andal's books. It was still sitting untouched, like a monument to his loss: precious fragments of the people he never thought he'd have to live without.

"Yeah," Shiro said at last. "Tevis would have hated it."

That got him a strained chuckle. He couldn't return it. He didn't even want to. There was a void in his chest where that faint warmth was supposed to be. Trespasser's hum was steady. He focused on it until the tremors in his hands stopped completely. Until it didn't hurt to breathe.

The gate stayed quiet for a few hours. When it finally burst to life, Shiro wasted no time in darting through it. He registered a whirlwind rush and an ear-splitting buzz,  and then he found himself on the other side. There was a lot of green for a Vex outpost; besides some bronze plates and glowing confluxes, the rest was worn stone and open sky. It was enough to stop him dead two steps from the portal.

"Shiro, there are Vex incoming. We need to move," Suzume bit out, and he jolted, casting a glance over his shoulder to make sure she was still there, hovering in the cover of his cloaking field, and not trapped on the other side of the gate. The Vanguard report said Tev's Ghost had gotten separated from him, and that was how they'd both ended up needing burials. Shiro had wondered for a long time after that if it had been bad luck, or if the Vex had done it deliberately: if they'd found a way to sever the lifeline so they could seize some connection to the Light. If they'd known somehow that Tevis had been deeply connected to the Void - that even when the Darkness was so thick you could barely breathe, he could still feel the Call. Shiro still wondered now, as he slipped by the few Vex that were mulling around the gate, and as he climbed until he had a decent vantage, well away from their eyes, where he could pause to orient himself and punch in the coordinates he'd pulled out of the Vanguard's report archives.

"You know, there could have been an army waiting for us on this side," Suzume grumbled. There was no bite to her words, just barely restrained fear. Odd for her. She usually had such total faith in their teamwork.

Shiro spared her a glance. "There wasn't."

"But there could have been. What happened to making a plan? We always make a plan."

Shiro didn't have an answer for that. "We should get moving. No telling how long it'll be before more Vex come through this quadrant."

The Garden was towering and ethereal. It seemed older than even the Vex's eternity, like the stone had been hewn and worn by a force beyond concept and calculation. Shiro felt it in every step: the reverberation of some ancient power, so potent that even now, eons after its genesis, it still suffused the mesas and the ruins. The closer they came to Tevis's final stand, the stronger it was. By the time Shiro caught sight of the first of the old Void tether scarring, it was so thick that it weighed on him with every breath. He followed the trail of the fight through that heavy fog until it led him to the end: a Hunter's helmet painted with the vermillion stripe, surrounded by scoring, and set gently against the stone.

Suzume said something, but Shiro couldn't hear her over the ringing in his head. The arc cloak slipped away in a snap of electric blue. Tevis had stood here, against a horde, with nothing but his bow and the final burst of the Light with which it had been infused. He'd fought, and he'd faltered, and he'd fallen, and the last damn thing he'd seen before he died was the cold glow of a Vex as it buried its rifle in his chest and burned out his heart. Cayde's account had been sparse with the details, but the Young Wolf's report had filled them in. Tevis hadn't been on the comm in his final moments. Interference, they'd said, and maybe it was true.

Or maybe Tevis had wanted to spare Cayde from hearing him scream.

The Light surged around Shiro in a storm. Trespasser was a solid weight in his hand. The core pulsed as it charged to full capacity, faster than the pounding in his chest. The numb haze between him and the rest of the world split wide with a thunderous crack, so sharp and searing that it hit him like an inferno blast. He couldn't breathe for the shattered grief; he couldn't see for the strangled rage. Tevis had died here - cornered, afraid, and alone. He had been beyond Shiro's reach. Just like Andal. Just like Cayde. Too far. Always too late. Shiro's hands shook. A violent tremor wracked his spine. He could release the storm and burn to ashes in his own Light and it wouldn't bring them back. There was nothing and no one left to save. There was only death. There was only another end.

"Breathe, Shiro."

Hands fell on his shoulders, holding tight. The storm surged higher. Shiro opened his mouth to say something - say anything - and all that came out was a broken sob. He tried to raise Trespasser, but it fell from his useless fingers instead. He couldn't fight this. He didn't want to. Real or not - it still looked and moved exactly like Tevis Larsen, down to the strained set of his spine, and the raw fear in his eyes. The only difference was the shimmer around his outline, and the Garden's ethereal glow on his skin.

"Breathe," Tevis said again, and shook him when he didn't respond. "Damn it, Shiro, if you don't get a grip you're gonna bring a whole Garden worth of Vex down on your head."

"Tev," he said, like a prayer, or a plea.

The grip shifted, so it was more gentle strength than sheer desperation. "Yeah," he said. "I'm here. I gotcha."

"You died."

"I am dead. Or whatever passes for dead here."

"But you-"

"Look, I'll explain once you don't look like you're gonna explode." Tevis's tone softened. "Just breathe for me, all right?"

Shiro stared at him for a long beat, then took a shuddering inhale. Another. The storm receded like the tide, and Shiro staggered, steadied only by the ghostly grip on his shoulders. "Easy," Tevis murmured, and guided him carefully to the ground, so he was sitting propped up against the stone wall. Once he seemed satisfied that Shiro wasn't going to spontaneously erupt into a shower of sparks, he crouched in front of him.

"You look like shit," Tevis announced, though there was resignation there rather than his usual dry teasing.

Shiro flinched at it. He'd spent so many nights staring up at the stars and wondering what he'd say, if he could see Andal or Tevis again. Now, the words stopped in his throat. His chest was on fire. He wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth, the best he could manage was a wounded keen.

"Shiro," Tevis called, from somewhere beyond the hurricane in his head. He sounded worried. He shouldn't sound like anything at all. He was dead and gone and this was a trick of the Garden or of Shiro's desperate mind. Tevis had left him behind a long time ago, without even a simple goodbye.

"You're dead," Shiro croaked. "You're not really here."

A cool palm pressed to his cheek. "Yeah," Tevis said, voice strained. "I died. Garden turned me into this, all right? But I'm still me."

"You're not," Shiro forced, through the fresh wave of grief. "If you were, you would've come back."

Tevis seized one of Shiro's hands and held on fiercely. For a moment, he was silent, trembling. "I can't," he said at last, like the words had been punched out of him. "I'm bound to the Garden. From what I can make out, the Vex think I'm some kinda paracausal entity. Anomaly. I tried, Shiro - I swear I tried, more times than I can remember. Goin' near the Gate is like getting torn apart."

Shiro didn't answer. Couldn't. Dimly, he heard Suzume reminding him that Tevis had still been a Guardian when he'd died, and that the Vex had never been able to simulate the Light or its Risen, and that the Black Heart had been born here, before the Young Wolf had destroyed it. That the place was humming with paracausality. That there could be a trapped soul.

That Tevis might not be beyond his reach.

Tevis was still silent, and still holding on. Slowly, Shiro reached out and pressed his palm flat against his chest. Felt it rise and fall with every breath. Felt the rapid pulse pounding beneath. Tevis's thumb stroked a gentle line along the sharp curve of his cheek. "I'm here," he said softly. "Just breathe."

Shiro stayed there, motionless in the quiet, until the hurricane subsided, then let himself slump forward to rest his forehead against Tevis's sternum. "You're cold."

"Side-effect of being a paracausal manifestation," Tevis returned, with a wry smile in his voice. "Can't hold it forever, either. Sometimes I'm just a whisper."

Shiro's next inhale shuddered. When Cayde had sat Shiro down and explained what had happened, he'd taken all of the blame on himself. He'd said he'd asked Tevis to scout a network of Vex gates, and that he had as good as sent him to Mars, and then his death in the Garden. Shiro had known better. Tevis was cautious and paranoid, but he'd also been more of a loner than any of them. He went where he wanted and did what he wanted, with or without support. Andal had, by virtue of being Andal, been better at clocking and then talking Tevis out of the more dangerous exploits, or, failing that, convincing him not to go alone. He'd had a kind, genuine way with his words, and whether he meant to or not, he was always bleeding open concern when he was really worried. It had done Tevis in the same as the rest of them. But while Cayde had been no less important to Tevis, he hadn't had the benefit of that sway. He'd done everything he could to keep Tevis safe; Shiro knew that without having to ask. It had just been a doomed effort from the start.

The pressure building in his chest swelled until it burst. "You just left," Shiro said, and the words exploded out of him in a harsh whisper. "Why in the hell didn't you say something?"

Tevis stiffened, but he didn't push away. He didn't respond, either. His hand slipped around to cradle the back of Shiro's head, then resumed that soothing touch.

"I would have come with you."

"I know. Didn't want you to. Seemed like you'd finally found a place you liked when you moved into the Iron Temple. Wasn't gonna drag you out into the Wilds again when you were happy scouting for Cayde."

"That's a decision you should have left to me."

Tevis blew out a breath. "Then we both might've been trapped here for the rest of eternity."

"You could've at least said goodbye."

Tevis's hold on him tightened. "Didn't think it was gonna be goodbye."

"Well, it was." Shiro moved to lift his head, and while Tevis didn't resist, the tremor in his hands was enough to give Shiro pause.

"I know you're pissed, Shiro. But I'm glad it was just me," Tevis said roughly. "Couldn't live with myself if this happened to you too."

The fire in Shiro's chest flickered and died. "Damn you," he muttered, though there was no bite to it.

It earned him a ragged imitation of a laugh. Tevis eased him to sit up, but he didn't let go of his hand. "I deserve that," he said. "And for whatever it's worth, I'm sorry. Tell Cayde for me too, huh? I know he took this on himself."

Shiro flinched so violently that for a half a beat, Tevis looked panicked. At first, he registered it as a reaction to the apology - but even after years away, he still knew Shiro better than anyone else alive. The pieces fell into place, and Tevis's grip on his hand tightened. His shoulders set into a stiff line. He locked his jaw and released it just as quickly, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to say what he was thinking. The intent focus in his eyes shifted to sharp desperation. "Where's Cayde?" he asked, and his voice cracked. "There's no way he would've let you come here alone. Not after I…"

He trailed off. Shiro tried to answer, and the words stuck in his throat. Tevis didn't seem to need him to, though. He bowed his head to his chest and took a slow and measured breath. "How?" he forced, through a mouthful of glass.

"Breakout at the Prison of Elders went bad. The Barons got Sundance. Then Uldren Sov executed Cayde."

Tevis's expression turned murderous. "Tell me you killed that bastard."

"The Young Wolf is going to. They were there for his last words. They swore the Vow before I even heard about it."

Tevis pressed his eyes shut. His grip on Shiro's hand would have been bruising if he was anyone else. His breathing was shallow. He tried to say something else, and all he managed was a ragged exhale. "One shot, straight to the chest," Shiro said quietly, in answer to the question he couldn't ask. "He didn't suffer the way Andal did, Tev."

Tevis's shoulders shook and seized back into that tense line. Shiro waited for him to pull away, to fade into nothing, and to take his grief somewhere no one could ever reach, but while Tevis's arms were trembling, his hold on Shiro didn't waver. "Damn it," he choked, and curled in on himself like he was protecting a wound.

Shiro risked a slight tug on their joined hands. Tevis didn't meet his eyes, but he offered no resistance when Shiro pulled him forward, except to refuse to let go. Once they were settled, Tevis rested his forehead against Shiro's shoulder. The pain cascaded through him in waves. He didn't ask for silence, or for Shiro to wrap an arm around him and cradle him close, but Shiro remembered losing Andal, and the agony after, and all the ways they'd broken apart, and in those moments, he'd always known Tevis better than Tevis knew himself.

"Why'd you come here?" Tevis whispered, once his breathing had evened. "The hell were you doing, trying to get yourself killed?"

"I wasn't-"

"Like hell you weren't. You're still complete shit at lying to me."

Shiro dropped his head back against the wall. It hit with a dull, metallic thud. "Don't."

Tevis was quiet for a long beat. "What was your plan?" he asked. "After you saw where I died."

It wasn't a question - not really. Tevis knew the answer already. Shiro said it anyway. "I didn't have one."

"That's not like you."

"Haven't felt like me in a while, anyway."

Tevis considered him a moment, blew out a breath, then carefully leaned backwards to meet Shiro's gaze. "There was something Andal told me, a long time ago," he said. "I was in a bad headspace. You were on a solo run, wasn't anything you knew about. Cayde did his best to help me out of it. Didn't stick. Lush was still too scared of me to try. Andal, though - he followed me up a damn mountain without a word even after I told him to fuck off seventeen different ways, and we sat there for hours. Wasn't until the stars were out that he said anything. He told me I couldn't earn the right to be alive. That I was here, and that was enough. 'You went through hell and survived,' he said, 'and we're glad you did, so stop trying to repent for it.' Never figured out how he knew. But I've never forgotten what he said."

Shiro's chest ached. "Andal was always good at that kind of thing."

Tevis's smile was sad. "Wish he was here for you now. Instead you get me."

"You're more than enough, Tev."

"I'd settle for just enough." Tevis set his jaw. "I want you to get the hell out of here. Go see the stars. Find the Deep Stone Crypt you're always seeing in your dreams. Write your stories. You remember Cayde, and Andal, and me. But you live. You hear me, Shiro? You stay alive."

Tevis searched his eyes for a reaction. Shiro wasn't sure what he found. Wasn't sure what he wanted him to find. Fire rose in his chest, and died all at once. He wanted to run until he collapsed. He didn't think he could bear to move a single step away. "I can't leave you here," he said hoarsely, and every word felt like a knife.

Tevis sighed. Shiro half braced for a scathing retort before he realized there wouldn't be one. "The Garden will kill you if you stay in it long enough," he said. "And I don't mean the Vex. I mean whatever they did to it. It'll pull your mind apart and put it back together wrong. Can't touch me. But I'm not gonna watch it happen to you. You have to go."

He squeezed Shiro's hand. Maybe to comfort. Maybe to ground himself. Years alone in the Garden, surrounded by Vex and cut off from the rest of the universe and from the Light: Tevis had always tolerated most other people with some degree of begrudging acceptance, but that sounded desperately lonely, even for him.

Shiro took a steadying breath. For the first time since he'd heard about Cayde, there was something beyond the wall. Something on the other side of the numb haze. Something he could reach. "I'm going to find a way to bring you home, Tev. I promise."

"Is talking you out of your death wish really that much of a lost cause?"

"Not a death wish. A recovery mission."

Tevis bowed his head for a second. "Make sure they're not the same damn thing," he muttered. "You better not get killed over me."

"I won't. I promise."

Tevis grimaced. "You better not," he repeated, but this time, underneath the exhaustion and the lingering grief, there was a soft note of relief. He dragged Shiro into a tight hug. The tense line of his shoulders relaxed completely.

"How long do you have?" Shiro asked, muffled against his shoulder. "Before you're gone for a while."

Tevis made a tired, considering noise. "Couple hours, maybe. Long enough to get you back to the Gate. Make sure you don't hit trouble."

"Shouldn't we have run into some by now?"

"Usually, sure. But the Vex have me logged as an anomaly. Pretty sure if they see something weird happening where I am, they just assume I caused it. Doesn't mean I'm eager to test the limits on it, though. You razing a few miles of the place probably would have been more than we could play off."

Shiro let him pull away, even if every fiber of his frame ached to hold on. Through it all, Tevis had kept their hands clasped. He used that connection to pull Shiro to his feet. "C'mon," he said. "Patrols are light near the gate right about now. We should get moving."

Shiro picked up Trespasser and followed him back across the Garden. They moved in comfortable silence until they reached the archway that led to the Gate. There, Tevis stopped so suddenly that Shiro stumbled for the force of the arm pulling him back.

"This is as far as I go," Tevis said. "Be careful coming out the other side."

Shiro held up their joined hands. "Forgetting something here?"

Tevis's jaw trembled. He unwound his grip slowly, like Shiro would disappear if he let go too quickly, then flexed his fingers and waved toward the gate like he was shooing Shiro through. "Get out of here," he muttered. The tension was back in his shoulders. He folded his arms across his chest, maybe to brace, or maybe in an effort to seem more like his old self. He just ended up looking miserable.

Shiro closed the small distance between them and dragged him in close. "Hey," Shiro murmured. "I'll come see you when I can, even if I don't have a way to get you out yet."

Tevis's forehead hit his chestplate with a dull thud. "No," he said. "Too risky."

"I wasn't asking, Tev."

Tevis grumbled something unintelligible under his breath and pushed away. Shiro clasped one of his hands between both of his own and squeezed, once. "You'll be okay here on your own until then?"

"Been fine for years," Tevis returned, but his flinch betrayed him. "Just - say goodbye to Cayde for me."

"I will."

Tevis nodded a voiceless thanks. "Remember what I told you, all right?" he said, and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "About being alive. Don't get so damn caught up in losing us that you forget we're glad you survived. And don't look back when you leave. Makes it harder."

Beyond them, the gate hummed to life. Shiro squeezed Tevis's hand one more time, then let go, and called on the Light. The arc energy bent around him in a rush. He turned and sprinted for the gate before he could think twice about it.

And if he looked back, just once before he stepped through, it wasn't like Tevis would know.

"I owe you an apology."

Suzume didn't answer him. It wasn't clear if she was just absorbed in parsing all of the scrolling data, or if she was ignoring him. The Iron Temple's workshop rung with her silence. "Suzume," Shiro said gently. "Talk to me?"

Suzume whirled around so suddenly he startled; then she hovered there, unmoving, for a long moment. "Never tell me to stay behind," she said. "And never put yourself at risk like that again. We're a team. Always."

Shiro patted her shell carefully. "I can do that," he said. "And I'm sorry."

"Also, I sent a message to Lord Saladin telling him everything."

"You what? "

"If you're going to do this, someone needs to know in case we get in over our heads. Cayde can't any more, so I asked Saladin." Suzume sounded remarkably matter-of-fact. Shiro almost wanted to be annoyed by it. "He should have received the message as soon as we landed, which means-"

The heavy door of the workshop swung open so quickly and with so much force that it slammed into the wall with a thunderous crash; a spiderweb crack formed in the stone behind it. Saladin strode through like a man surveying a battlefield. As soon as he caught sight of Shiro, his posture relaxed - from Commander to friend.

"I saw your ship in the hangar," Saladin said, coming to a stop at Shiro's side. He glanced over the table strewn with various weapon components, traditional books, stacks of datapads, and star chart projections. "You've been busy."

"You got Suzume's message," Shiro corrected, without looking up.

"That too." Saladin gingerly shifted a pile off the bench next to Shiro, then eased himself down. "I thought I'd find you here. Another reconstruction?"

Trespasser hummed steadily in his hands. "I just did a full rebuild. It doesn't need another one for a while. This was for a modification."

Saladin was quiet for a beat. "Did you find the vengeance you were looking for in the Black Garden?"

Shiro set his weapon aside. "No," he said. "But I'm glad I didn't."

"So am I."

Saladin didn't elaborate. Shiro spared him a glance. "Say what you came here to say."

"I came here to say that I'm glad you're still alive."

Saladin's tone was carefully neutral. Shiro turned to face him fully. "That's all? Even after Suzume's message?"

"You're going to pursue this regardless. I don't see the point in wasting my breath. However, there is a condition to my assistance."

Shiro cast him a wary look. "When I left the workshop before," Saladin started, "I thought that I was giving you the space you needed. That you would go to the City, or to an old hideout, to clear your head. It was only because Suzume transmitted your intended coordinates that I had any idea what you were planning to do, and by then, it was too late. Do not put me in that position again. Having to explain to the Vanguard why I required extraction from the Moon is not an experience I want to repeat."

Shiro started. "You followed me?"

"Not to stop you. Just to make sure that you came back in one piece. I had the unfortunate luck to run into some newly arrived Hive reinforcements - several Tomb ships' worth. They destroyed my ship, and I was never able to make it to the Battlegrounds."

Guilt curled in Shiro's chest like a vice. "I'm sorry," he said. "Are you all right?"

Saladin's hand fell on his shoulder and held tight. "There's no need for an apology. I'm no worse for wear."

Not this time. Next time, he could end up like Eris's fireteam, or one of the countless other Guardians haunting the Moon as a Nightmare. Shiro curled a hand into a fist. "Thank you for coming after me. It - means a lot."

"There's no need for thanks, either."

Shiro huffed a disbelieving laugh. "Can you be less of a pain in the ass for a minute? I'm trying to make amends."

Saladin's mouth curved into a small smile. "There's no need for amends," he said, and shifted his shoulders so his pauldron was toward Shiro to catch the half-hearted shove. "You will always have a home here in the Iron Temple, Shiro. And you will always have friends here, as well. You need only ask."

Warmth bloomed in Shiro's chest. "That's a relief. I thought I might have to kit my ship out to be a living space again."

Saladin arched an eyebrow. "Again?"

"Back when I was running with the pack, Cayde decided he hated the snow. He wouldn't go out in it unless he had full gear, and he wouldn't make camp with the rest of us if it was cold. All he said was it was bringing up memories he didn't understand and wanted to forget. I was the only one with a ship big enough to modify for it, so I did. We all wound up in there on every cold weather assignment afterwards."

"Do the cold and snow bother you as well?"

Shiro shrugged. "Can't really let it bother me when I live on a mountain."

Saladin tilted his head at him. "That wasn't an answer."

"It wasn't meant to be." Shiro paused. "I don't get whole pictures the way Cayde said he did. Just flashes. It's cold. I wake up. Something's wrong but I never know what. I feel like I have to get out, but there's nothing to run from. Maybe it's got something to do with the Crypt. Maybe it's something some other version of me went through. Maybe deep down, I just hate the way snow feels."

That earned him a soft chuckle. "Come with me," Saladin said, pushing himself to stand. "We'll light a torch in Cayde's honor. And you can tell me more about your pack."

Shiro stood to follow him. Trespasser was a steady weight in his palm. The modified core pulsed its new rhythm. Saladin glanced down at it, then back up at Shiro. "You never told me what you changed."

"I gave it a new charge distribution. It'll make the bursts more powerful."

"Are you going to give it a name?"

Shiro remembered the steady weight of Tevis's hand in own, of Andal's arm slung around his shoulders, of Cayde hanging off his back. He remembered the warmth of their smiles and the sound of their laughter and the simple peace of their presence. "I already did," he said, and the ache in his chest hurt a little less. "Unrepentant."

[ahamkara-apologist]

one day I will draw something more than just disembodied busts, but today is not the day. Since I'm still struggling to get a good grasp on how I want to draw Eliksni faces + facial diversity, however, I will accept this for now

(Important context: this was sparked by a discord discussion about Eido being an accident child from a platonic heat relief fling between Eramis and Taniks. I don't remember how we got on the topic of her being bald, but since I'd drawn the facial hc sheet before Final Shape's ending cutscene disproved my hc that only the adults grew setae crests, I wanted to take a shot at drawing her with one)

((+ messing around w/taniks having 8 eyes after the new Vesper's Host lore talked about them being lucky on eliksni)

[taniks-the-final-shape]

Ah! Eido! One of my favorite House Light Eliksni!

Destiny 2: Eido Gestures, ii

[the-ellia-west]

Conirs - TCOT Worldbuilding

@darkandstormydolls @aestheic-writer18 You two wanted worldbuilding and Class systems, so here ya go :]

The Southern Kingdom of Jeskyin, Feyrama, is ruled by a six-member Oligarchy.

5/6 Members are The Five Noble Houses/Families.

All Families have A Seat Holder/ Conir and their Heir

The Heir is Chosen from one of the collection of the Lowest generation that is old enough to participate. They are all given a test, and the test determines which ones are most eligible. But after that, 5/6 of The Conirs must vote that the heir is suitable to take the position.

The Conir families are all the same rank, but they have been put into an order based on wealth and influence.

Santel - Seat Holder: Miati Santel - Heir: Atlas Santel - Relationship: 3rd cousins once removed

Oliss - Seat Holder: Tanik Oliss - Heir: None at the moment (Spoilers: This will be a big plotpoint)

Rayeli - Seat Holder: Falcon Rayeli - Heir: Shyre Rayeli - Relationship - Father and Daughter

Kanqoa - Seat Holder: Vivian Kanqoa - Heir: Everra Kanqoa - Relationship: 1st cousin Once removed

Rookwood - Seat Holder: Findazi Rookwood - Heir: Vel Rookwood - Uncle and Nephew

Each Family Has a Color Theme, and it is customary for the Conirs and Heirs to hold Bodyguard Contests when the Heirs are getting of eligible age, or they lose one of their previous bodyguards.

Colors:

Rayeli has Red and Gold

Santel has Gold and Blue

Oliss has Black and Green

Kanqoa has Purple and Silver

Rookwood has Burgandy/Maroon and Silver

But after these families, there is one more Conir. This is the Military Conir. This seat is currently held by Orvik Szykean

The Military Conir is a general voted in by the soldiers and has to go through a vote by the Conirs as well 5/6 just like the heirs to be accepted. (Military's colors are generally Black, silver, and white)

Each Conir Seat is in charge of one aspect of the city, and Each has a name.

The Fineuan Seat (Fin-nay-win) - Law enforcement, Military, and Defense - Held by Orvik - Represented by an Amethyst

The Mynxha Seat (Minks-ha) - Welfare of the people, Healthcare, and Trade - Santel House - Represented by Garnets or Rubies

The Venmest Seat (Vehn-mest) - Laws, Finances, and Taxes - Oliss House - Represented by Opals

The Tairan Seat (Tah-ree-inn) - Negotiations, Peace talks, and Archives - Rayeli House - Represented by Aquamarine

The Levonn Seat (Ley-von) - Jobs, Distribution of Supplies, and transportation - Kanqoa House - Represented by Topaz

The Amnivent Seat (Am-nee-vent) - Agriculture and Resources - Rookwood House - Represented by Emerald

Conirs are referred to with the title ‘Your Grace’, and the heirs with the title of ‘My Lord’ or ‘My lady’

Each Conir Family has 3 Secondary Noble Families to help them enforce and Do their jobs, while The Fineuan Seat has the entirety of the military.

The Heir's Job is to be their Conir Seat Holder's right hand and do everything they can to learn and help until it is their turn to take over.

Sometimes they step in with other Conirs to help while a new heir is being chosen, or just for educational purposes.

Conirs must have basic knowledge of their peer's stations, because most major decisions and things require meetings and votes.

So there you have it! Conirs! Feyrama's Leaders!

Oh, then there's also the Cards, But I'm not getting into THAT detail unless someone really wants it

[macgyvertape]

Your destiny shitpost image has sparked intense debate in my clan chat. Thank you.

Thanks that's a very nice compliment, it's a meme format I'd love to see more of, and I gotta credit this post with an Elden Ring version and this post with a Dragon Age version for inspiring me.

I tried to make each seat unappealing in it's own way where there would be someone nearby who would want to talk to you or would be "a yapper" and getting into arguements with people nearby. So I forgot of course Tumblr would love a window seat next to Savathun.

Best response I've seen is someone choosing seat 8 to kick Tanik's chair.

[velbsy]

Say hello to “Fireteam Union!”

Fireteam Union is a fireteam made up of one guardian, one cabal and one eliksni. The idea behind it was to help unify the three factions into a more coordinated team, that way any sort of animosity or tension between the larger groups could be dissolved quicker. INA-3 was initially the one to come up with it, and was shocked when Zavala actually decided it was a great idea, and placed her as the leader. She was ecstatic, as she has always been fascinated with learning about other races and their cultures, as well as their fighting styles. But she was also excited because her previous fire teams didn’t stay very long with her because of her bubbly, eccentric personality. They thought she was kind of annoying-..

Valus Bo’raag was previously a part of the Red Legion, before joining Caiatl’s empire not long after the Legion was brought down. He is a masterful tactician, and enjoys talking about stories that he was a part of, but he has to like you for you to have the privilege to hear these things. His armor is Red Legion armor that he painted over himself. For the symbol on the shoulder pads- he had to have a Psion help him with that. Bo’raag as many weapons and ideas to his disposal, even allowing Avraks to perch on his back when sniping sometimes. With his large arsenal and excellent leadership skills, he makes a big impression on his team, and perhaps can help INA learn how to properly lead.

Avraks was previously a part of House Rain before it was eliminated by Saint-14, soon becoming a part of the house of Wolves as a sniper in “The Silent Fang”. He fought in the Wolf Rebellion, but after Skolas kicked the bucket, he became houseless much like Taniks until he discovered Misraaks’s House of Light, and joined it instead as a sniper. He is lightweight, and quick on his feet, and an expert with a sniper rifle; a clear asset to his fireteam he was assigned to. Avraks is silent, and often only responds with soft clicks and chitters to his friends, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like them. He’s just on the watch most of the time, and also—English isn’t exactly his first language..