The newly Risen took a breath. He will not be the first one to let down his only friend. "Happy Dawing Ghost," he said plainly. The ghost, PulledPork as he calls himself, rotated his shell in joy. "Happy Dawing, Guardian," he replied back.

The man looked to the entrance to the cargo container he was in. It seemed as though it will rain soon. It would be best if he started a fire.

—ж—

The man crouched in the bushes as the four-armed creatures chittered to each other. "Please, we don't have anything. W-we only have dusk shards. Please just lets us go." a man pleaded as three creatures held him and two others, a younger man and a small girl, to the ground. There were six of them, three restraining the people, One large one, and two rummaging through a camp that the man stumbled upon while searching for supplies.

"Do we help?" Pulled Pork inquired. "Not yet." the risen replied coolly.

"Digo sloat" the biggest four-armed creature growled as it turned and walked away. "W-what did he say?" the captured man questioned. The two smaller creatures searching the camp chittered to themselves and drew large blades while walking to the group. "N-no p-please." the man pleaded "Dad!" the younger man called as he struggled to free himself.

"Now?" Pork asked once again. "Now." the risen affirmed, drawing his own dagger from his side.

Moving swiftly, he threw his blade into the head of the creature holding the younger man. Keeping his momentum, he came up behind the creature that was preparing to kill the older man. Grabbing one of its arms, he leveraged it to force the creature down. Using it as a platform, the Risen rolled over it back and grabbed one of the creature's blades.

Finishing his roll, he slashed the neck of the creature holding the older man and then threw the blade into the head of the creature holding the girl. The final creature, now realizing what's happening, began to draw its pistol. The risen kicked it out of its hand before the creature could fully bring it up.

Enraged, the creature swung at the risen, who calmly ducked under it, grabbed its dagger, and embedded it deep into the creature's neck and cut outwards.

The risen walked to grab his personal dagger from one of the dead creatures. Looking over to the group, he saw them looking over at the body if a dead woman.

Suddenly he heard a roar behind him. The risen grabbed one of the large blades the creatures wielded. "Run!" he called to the people and then charged the Large creature.

"BA SU'DIS!" it roared as it swatted the risen into a sparrow-like vehicle the creatures used. Groaning in pain, the risen stood back up quickly. "Sorry, but I don't speak Beast," he stated harshly. The creature brought up a large canon with a flaming barrel and began firing at him. Dodging to the side away from the group, he moved from tree to tree, avoiding fire from the creature. There was a moment where he stopped firing, presumably to reload. Taking this moment, he charged.

The creature saw this and attempted to hit him, but the risen slid underneath it, using both the dagger and long blade to slash its legs. Roaring in pain, the creature turned and fired at the risen. Attempting to dodge, he dove into a roll but a round caught his leg. He felt it burn his armor and flesh. Grimacing in pain he got up and moved back to the trees.

"Damned thing, can't you just run off like the pathetic beast you are?" he spoke to himself.

"Use your Light." Pulled Pork's voice said. "My Light?" the risen question. "You can call upon the strength of the Traveler to help you." "And how do I do that?" he said irritatedly

"Just focus on your light and it will manifest." The risen rolled his eyes. "That doesn't help Ghost." "I'm sure you'll get it," it replied in his ever-optimistic tone.

'Focus on my light?' he thought to himself as he dashed to another tree. He readied his blades when he heard the sound of gunfire. He peaked around the tree to see the younger man shooting at the creature from the other side of the trees. "Damn it, kid, I said to run." he cursed.

The risen took this opening to charge the creature again. Throwing his dagger, the creature's shields dropped and it spun around to see what caused it. Moving swiftly, the risen dashed to the side and swung hard as he sliced off one of its arms. Roaring in pain, the creature hit him with speed and strength he was not expecting. Flying through the air, he heard the gunfire continue. The risen hit a tree hard and heard a yell of pain as he hit. Groaning in pain and feeling a tinge of anger, he grabbed his blade and charged full force at the creature. It was focused on shooting at the other man.

Letting out a cry of fury, the risen jumped high. Hearing the cry, the creature turned and saw a blade enter its skull.

Landing in a roll, the risen stood and caught his breath.

"Carthen!"

A cry caught the risen's attention.

"Carthen! Come on, don't close your eyes. Stay with me!" the older man cried

The risen walked over to the man. "Stay awake, come on!" he continued. The little girl had tears rolling down her dirt-covered face. "Carth, d-don't leave." she whimpered.

The risen knelt down and pulled out his ghost. "Is there anything you can do?" the Risen asked. An orange-yellow beam came out or its eye as Pork scanned the young man. Switching to a blue beam, the ghost focused on the wound. "I can heal his body, but he will have to fight to stay alive, I cannot do anymore."

"Come on! Son! You can do it."

"D-Dad." the young man said softly

"Yes!" he said excitedly "I'm Here, you'll be okay." as said as tears welled in his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry." the young man said as his face twisted in pain.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"I-I…." his voice trailed off as his body slumped in the old man's arms.

"Carthen! Carthen!" the man cried as he buried his face into his son's chest.

The risen watched silently as the two people cried. He looked over to his side and saw the dead body of the woman. He turned to his ghost, whose shell was angled down solemnly "I'm sorry." the risen said quietly. "It's not your-" the man stopped mid-sentence when he looked up.

"YOU!" he spat "What? Killing one of your own wasn't enough? Now you just watch families get slaughtered?" The man yelled in anger. The risen bit his tongue from responding, many people had said the same thing for all the time he can remember, ever since he woke up in that place where his Ghost found him.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" the man yelled. The risen let out a resigned sigh and stood up. Walking to the dead creature, he pulled out his dagger and cleaned off the blood on it. He sheathed it and began walking away when he felt a pull on his cloak. Turing, he saw the little girl standing there. "Thank you for saving me and daddy," she said while looking down. She knelt down and picked up a small flower growing in the grass. "I'm sorry he yelled." Giving him the flower

"ASLEN GET AWAY FROM HIM!" the man yelled. She looked at him then ran back to her father.

The risen adjusted his cloak and headed back into the forest.

—ж—

Night had fallen, and he sat in a cave he found a few days ago, alone as always. The fire kept him warm and provided good light to check his weapon. Its been jamming more often lately and cleaning it doesn't seem to be helping anymore. He could hear sparrows zooming somewhere in the distance. He sat back against the wall as Pork looked out the cave towards what he calls the Traveler.

The risen wonders if the ghost felt the isolation he felt. Being shunned for reasons he'll never know. He shifted his focus back to his rifle when he heard footsteps.

He snuffed out the fire quickly and moved into a crevice in the cave wall. He drew his dagger and stared intently at the entrance, waiting.

The silhouette of a person with a glowing green visor filled the cave entrance. "You don't have to hide." He said stepping into the cave.

He stood over where the fire once was and tossed a flaming blade into the pit, rekindling it. The Man wore armor shimmering in green and accented with reflective gold. Adorned with a cloak as dark as the night. "You can come out if you want, I'm not looking to fight," he said as he sat down in front of the fire.

The risen stayed in his crevice, as the fire cast shadows onto the cave, covering him in dark. Pork, however, willingly floated out to meet this stranger. Communicating briefly with the stranger's ghost, pork came back to the risen. "Don't worry," he said, "They just want to talk."

"You're a hard man to track down." the stranger said pointedly.

"Who are you?" the risen questioned, remaining in the shadows of his hiding place.

"You can call me Gaudian for now," he replied

"What do you want with me?"

"As I said, I just want to talk."

The risen stared at the Guardian. This is the first person to ever seek him out in the three months since he was reborn. Cautiously, the risen came out of the shadows and into the light of the fire. He could hear a silent but noticeable breath from the Guardian and watched as his fists clenched. The risen narrowed his eyes.

Another stranger, a "Guardian" angry at just the sight of them. 'Was it because they thought they were better?" he thought to himself. Seemingly knowing his thoughts, the man unclenched his fists and let out a breath. Straightening, he looked at the risen. "Sit down." he motioned for the risen to sit by the fire. Slowly, the risen walked towards the man, eyeing him cautiously. Keeping his hand on his blade, he sat down in front of the Guardian.

There was a moment when neither of them spoke and they just stared at each other from across the fire. An unflinching scowl from the risen and an unmoving helmet of the guardian.

"Who are you?" the guardian asked, breaking the silence.

"You're the one who tracked me down." the risen responded flatly.

The man shifted slightly. "I'd still like your answer."

The risen eyed the stranger then glanced at Pork. "The ghost calls me 'Guardian' but I don't know of what."

The man nodded slightly. "Do you remember anything?" the stranger asked

"No, just awakening in a place much nicer than here and the ghost telling me that I should come here"

"Guardians," the stranger began "Is the title given to those who are reborn in the light and will use their powers to defend the Last City of Humanity," he paused as he stoked the fire.

"You are not a Guardian." the man finished

"Yet" the stranger's ghost added

The man's head shifted focus to his ghost with this addition. "We are all reborn from past lives that we don't remember. Chosen for a high calling beyond ourselves. Chosen to fight the Darkness and its minions."

"But then you shun your own?" the risen question intensely, recalling all the anger and vitriol directed to him over the months he spent in this forest.

The Guardian turned his head directly to the risen.

"We don't shun any who seek refuge in the city" The stranger's ghost replied

"Why am I hated for stepping on this rock?" the risen question with months of isolation, frustration, and anger built up.

Once again a moment of silence passed between the two as the risen stared down the Guardian awaiting a response.

"Would you like to know who you were in the past?" the man finally asked

"Does it answer as to why I'm hated by guardians and those 'Awoken'?"

"Yes" the ghost answered

The risen was unsure how to respond as he thought he would never know the answer.

"You are Uldren Sov," the guardian began in a solemn voice "A Forsaken Prince of the Awoken people." "Forsaken?" the risen question. "Yes," the man continued, "You had fought and defended your people for years until three years ago when your people and your queen were defeated at the hands of a hive god in a battle within the ring of Saturn."

The risen's eyes shifted their focus off the Guardian and onto Pork

"With the loss of your queen, you became aimless and slowly lost yourself." The man shifted and stoked the fire again. He grabbed some twigs and broke them in half before throwing them in to fuel it.

"Uldren Sov committed many atrocities during this time." the Guardian said "He betrayed his title as the prince and claimed leadership of a fallen house. He then organized and led a bloody campaign against his former people, the Awoken. From what I heard, over a quarter of your people were killed during this time." The risen looked to his ghost who merely rotated its shell and looked back at him.

The Guardian continued speaking, "This all culminated in a massive prison break where Uldren and seven others killed a leader of the City Hunters Cayde-6. A member of the Vanguard. My mentor. My friend." the Guardian's voice dropped "With his own hand cannon and he had the audacity to wave at me as he left."

"But that was not me." the risen interjected hotly.

"I know." The Guardian replied, "I killed Uldren Sov myself."

The risen was taken aback at this information. The Guardian stoked the fire again as the light from outside began to show.

"I hunted you for months. Killing your officers and companions until I finally tracked you down in the depths of Awoken territory with the help of the Defacto-leader Petra Venj." The Guardian shifted his focus to the risen. "There was no trial, no jury, your judgment was decided. There was no hesitation when I looked at you down the barrel of Cayde's cannon. Uldren Sov died by my hands."

There was silence once more as the Guardian let the words hang in the air.

"And now you sit in front of me, a literally changed man with no connection to your past. It is possible for ghosts to choose wrong and I hope that yours didn't. Your future is your own now. You can choose who you want to be, a Guardian for the city or wanderer. You can choose your own name and make it known through your acts. You can choose to reclaim your old name of Uldren and claim his acts of greatness, but also his sins."

The Guardian stood up and held out a hand.

"So tell me Risen, what do you choose?"

The man stared at the stranger basking in the light of the outside and grabbed his hand.