Destiny, Episode XII: The Sword of Crota

Previous Episode: Side Episode V, Beckenstein
Next Episode: Side Episode VI, Discord

The Tower, the Last City, Earth
Day 030

            “What do you know of the Hive God named Crota?” Ikora asked, her voice steady. The Guardians of Fireteam Paladin shifted in their feet uncomfortably at the word. Lisset was the first to answer.

            “The Hive summoned him long ago, and took Luna.” She answered, grimacing in sympathy with her Ghost. “Many Guardians died at his blade.” Ikora nodded, pleased with the summary.

            “And thus we reach the heart of the matter. While Crota is gone, His Blade is not.” Koga subtly raised an eyebrow-the moment Ikora had said the word “blade,” her face had shifted ever so slightly. It was a break in her stoic, scholarly mask that she worked so hard to maintain, and that was worth special attention. There was something missing from the picture, but Koga couldn’t say what. “My Hidden believe that the weapon is guarded by three Hive Princes in one of the upper levels of the Hellmouth. Your mission is to destroy it.”

            “We can do that, but…” Basilisk trailed off, sounding vaguely incredulous. “Is there a strategic reason that makes this Blade a target? Why is it here if Crota is not?” Why Crota was gone at all was a question in of itself, but the Exo wasn’t wondering about that at the moment. If Crota was out of play according to the Vanguard, then he was out of play. Ikora didn’t answer as swiftly as she usually did, and her response was voiced slightly sharper than normal.

            “The Hive worship Crota. Destroying his sword is desecration, an act that will test their morale.” She countered. “I would hope you understand the value of this kind of victory.” Basilisk stayed quiet, but it wasn’t hard to see his jaw clench tighter. It was a dressing-down of sorts, right in front of Zavala and the rest of the Vanguard, meant to silence him. It worked.

            “We’ll be on our way, Madam Ikora. Please, send the details to our Ghosts.” Koga interrupted, his voice calm. With that, he did a soft bow, turned, and left, the others slowly joining him. It had been such a quick exchange, but it had revealed a secret that Ikora had managed to hide before, and staying there would have only made things worse. He frowned as his Warlock mind raced, trying to grasp the new information: Ikora was lying to them about something, and she met a confrontation over it with aggression. Why she would do that, and what she was covering over, Koga did not know, but it had to have been important enough to spur her behavior.

            It was a thought that consumed him as he boarded his Arcadia and set a course for the Moon as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky.

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            Embarrassment gave way to concern in Basilisk’s mind as he focused himself on the task ahead. While it was hard for the Exo not to feel a little sore about being chastised in public, he had asked a rather impertinent question just before. He shook his head, shaking the thoughts away as his jumpship activated its NLS drive. The data that had been transferred to the Guardians’ Ghosts pinpointed the likely location of both the Blade of Crota and the Princes guarding it, which was preferable to the hunt in the dark that had been the search for the World’s Grave, but it still came with its own set of problems.

            To be precise, there were actually two locations to search through. The first was an unmarked ritual circle, and the second was several feet underground. Both were located near the edge of the gaping pit that made up the center of the Hellmouth, and both were going to be defended fiercely by the Hive. It was the former point that alleviated the headache to a degree-their proximity meant that a successful mission would likely be a quick one.

            The sudden kick of his ship dropping out of NLS shook Basilisk back to reality, but his mind was already set on a plan. A small dirt path just beyond Archer’s Line would circumvent the House of Exile’s positions in the Ocean of Storms, and lead them straight to the edge of the Hellmouth itself. They would stage their assault there, and strike fast enough to make Cayde’s head spin. The Exo smirked about as well as an Exo could before gripping the control stick and corralling the jumpship towards the satellite.

            When all three Guardians made landfall minutes later, they took a moment to gather their bearings. By now, the low rise up to the accelerator on the mesa was as familiar as the snow-covered rocks and crags of the Steppes back in the Cosmodrome. Koga felt a faint pang of nostalgia-there was something safely familiar about the location that was utterly absent from the Moon, silly as that was. Both places had things trying to kill them infesting every nook and cranny, after all. “So, what’s the plan?” Lisset asked, scout rifle resting against the crook of her arm.

            “There’s an old path that you can access if you go straight past the accelerator.” Basilisk explained, his helmet bobbing as he spoke. “It goes right around every Fallen position we’ve located so far, and leads straight to the Hellmouth itself. That’ll be our infiltration point.”

            “The data has two objectives listed.” Koga noted, frowning under his robes. “How will we approach them?”

            “We’ll work from top to bottom, starting with the ritual site on the surface. We’ll move from there into the Hellmouth itself, clear out that area, and then get out of Dodge before the Hive can scramble for help. Questions?” There were none. The Titan nodded, and outstretched his hand. His Sparrow materialized before him, his extended arm resting on the handlebars. Vaulting on top, he kicked the thing to life, the engine silently blowing debris as it rose off the ground. The others fetched theirs, and soon all three were properly mounted.

“Lisset, take point.” Basilisk ordered. The Hunter smiled, and revved her Sparrow’s engine. Even though she couldn’t hear the thing purr, she could imagine it as clear as day.

“Gladly.” She replied, and then shot off like a bullet, the other two hurrying to stay with her.

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            Basilisk’s plan went off without a hitch. A few Fallen had stood around the accelerator, guarding the facility, but the most they had managed to do was fire errant shots that were far from the mark as the Paladins flew past. Leaving Archer’s Line to the House of Exiles wasn’t ideal for Koga, but the Vanguard was still unwilling to commit forces to the Moon, and for good reason. The few strike teams that moved through the area would have to do the job of pushing the Fallen away before they could crack the Golden Age facility’s cryptosystems, and unlock the secrets hidden away inside.

On they went, twisting and turning as they followed the rough track. The ground had been broken up with what looked like tank tracks, but the only things that Koga could see that might have done that were abandoned vehicles left behind by the Taikonauts, unused since the Collapse. Even the ground itself was a monument to what had once been, the Warlock mused. It didn’t take long for the narrow pass to open up to reveal a startling vista.

There before them was a massive circular pit, green gas streaming from some unknown source below like smoke from a fire. The edge of the cliff had not been crudely cut out from rock, but ornately design, Hive buttresses and arches supporting the entire unnatural canyon. The Paladins came to a stop at the edge, pausing for a moment, and all took a chance to look down into the pit to see if anything looked back up at them. All they saw was the green mist, and if they strained their eyes to their limits, an oppressive darkness beyond. Lisset shuddered despite herself, and looked away. Basilisk waved his arm in a rallying motion. “C’mon, we’re close.” The Titan took the lead, his Sparrow shooting ahead of the rest.

When the trio stopped, they had circled a good half of the pit’s perimeter. Up a hill, looking over the low ground and the dotted Golden Age facilities that had been built long before Luna had been scarred and claimed by the Hive, were a series of strange stone obelisks, with an ornamental pillar in the center. Basilisk let his foot rest on the grey lunar dust and pointed at the Stonehenge-esque place. “That must be our ritual site.” Koga nodded.

“I assume that our presence should attract the attention of the Prince?” He asked.

“Or Princes.” Kita added quietly.

“Or Princes. My Ghost is right-we do not know what kind of resistance we will meet.” Basilisk shrugged, dismounting his Sparrow and grasping his pulse rifle as it materialized in his hands.

“There’s only one way to find out.” The Exo muttered. Koga shot a glance at Lisset, who returned the gesture. As much as they hated it, sometimes the only way to find out if something is a trap is to walk right into it. The Paladins moved carefully towards the ritual site, their weapons aimed for any sudden movement. They weren’t disappointed.

Acolytes streamed out from black caves etched into the rocks, their shredders spitting purple death in the direction of the Guardians. The void energy splashed against Basilisk’s Light, dissipating uselessly. Under a sustained barrage, it would be only a matter of time until his shield failed, but the Titan was not about to let them get that chance. His pulse rifle kicked against his shoulder over and over again as he emptied the weapon’s magazine into the targets laid out before him. By the time the Paladins had reached the center of the ritual site, all that was left of the Acolytes was their ashes.

“I’m picking up something powerful headed our way.” Dal interrupted, his voice in everyone’s ear. Sure enough, the Guardians’ motion trackers filled with red as the impossible sound of a Knight’s roar echoed across the broken plains. From one of the caves stepped a hulking Hive warrior, its chitin armor painted red and its three green eyes burning with hate. In its hand was a long gnarled sword that hummed with dark purpose and power.

“That must be a Prince!” Koga shouted into comms before opening fire with his hand cannon. He wasn’t altogether surprised when all the heavy rounds did was chip away at the thing’s coating.

“Stay away from that sword!” Lisset shouted, bounding back and throwing a grenade. She had managed to coax the Gunsmith into upgrading her from the standard bomb she had been using to one that could stick to targets and deliver directed force, and she was using it for the first time now. The magnetic grenade clamped onto the Sword Prince’s chest and flashed blue. The Hive noble looked down at the ordinance in confusion, but no one could tell what it was thinking when it detonated. Surrounded in blinding blue light, the Prince disintegrated under the explosive power of the bomb, leaving only scattered remains.

“What was that?” Basilisk asked, surprised. Lisset grinned under her helmet as she caught her breath. The sword had come more than a little too close for comfort, but the end result suited her just fine.

“Something new from the Vanguard.” She replied cheerfully. “I have to say, Banshee knows what he’s doing.”

“I’d hope so.” Kita noted dryly. “If he didn’t, the Tower would be a smoking crater by now.” The Hunter rolled her eyes at that, but smiled all the same. Basilisk looked around, searching for new targets, but none appeared. For now, the area was clear.

“One down.” The Titan muttered, slapping a new magazine into his rifle. “Two to go.” The Prince had gone down hard, but it still had gone down all the same. It was still comforting to know that their weapons could make a real impact, but it was becoming rapidly apparent that trying to punch through a Knight’s heavy chest plate was an exercise in futility. They would need to start thinking clever if they were to take one of the Hive warriors down.

As the Guardians walked out of the ritual site, all eyes were turned towards the entrance to the Hellmouth not far beyond. It was an ornate entrance, though not quite as grandiose as the archway entrance to the Temple of Crota. More interestingly, a series of meter-high walls were placed strategically around the door, perfect cover for any defending Hive force. It would be annoying, though not overly difficult, for the Paladins to push through it.

Basilisk readied his pulse rifle as he advanced on the doorway, looking for a target. Koga trailed to his left, while Lisset had decided to bound across a small ridgeline just right of them both, her feet kicking up grey dust with every movement she made. They start to take fire just before they reached the low walls, Acolytes firing Shredders and Boomers at the approaching fireteam. The latter’s shots exploded uselessly into the ground, the Guardians far too close for the weapon’s arc to actually them. The Shredders posed a more direct threat, but the Acolytes were poorly armored and being pressured for space. They were gunned down without a second thought as the trio continued on, past the doors and into the Hellmouth itself.

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            The graceful but intimidating architecture of the Hive was a marvel, ornate columns and arches looming over those who walked beneath it. The stones and alloys used to construct it all glimmered in the pale white light of Hive crystals. It was strangely beautiful, Lisset thought to herself, something that she hadn’t thought the Hive were capable of creating. Impressive and terrifying was their MO to the letter, but beauty was something she had a hard time connecting with the horrors the warriors of the Darkness brought to the battlefield.

            The Hive were still scrambling to respond to the death of a Prince, or so it seemed, because several packs of Thralls, overseen by Acolytes, were rushing towards the doors the Guardians had just passed through. There was a surprising air of disorganization about them as they realized that their target was just a few meters in front of them, weapons to bear. The Guardians’ weapons flashed brilliantly in the hallways of the Hellmouth, the Thrall being turned to ash as round after round passed through them. Of course the Hive didn’t stop coming, but it meant little. Grenades, shotguns, and Light put them down quickly enough.

            The ornate stone turned to rock and stone as the Guardians moved deeper. It seemed as if the area was either unfinished, or the Hive simply hadn’t bothered to decorate it like most of their other chambers. There were still support pillars rowing the left side of the room, through which one could look down into the pit, but that was it apart from a door far in the distance. A Wizard floated through it, shouting commands in its arcane tongue, but it had few allies to call upon. As soon as rounds began to splash against its shield, the Wizard immediately ducked back through the door it had come through, unwilling to face the Guardians head on.

            There was little room for it to run. The Paladins moved through the doorway and down the hallway staircase leading to the final chamber, the Wizard caught out in the open with little cover to duck behind. Under constant volley fire, the ritual shield faded before it broke, and the Wizard behind it burned until it was naught but ashes. The Guardians took a moment to catch their breath, reloading and checking their equipment.

            “Okay, this next room is it.” Basilisk said, slotting shells into his shotgun. “There’ll be two we have to deal with, as well as the sword itself.”

            “What do we know about that blade?” Koga asked.

            “All I can say is that its power is dark.” Kita answered, his voice unusually grave. “Very dark. It’s in the room right now.”

            “How could you know that?” Lisset probed, surprised.

            “I’ve been tracking it by the Light of the Guardians it has killed.” Kita replied. “Like I said-its power is dark.”

            “It needs to be destroyed.” Dal said.

            “It’s what we’re here for, Dal.” Basilisk replied, pumping his shotgun. “Let’s do this, Paladins.”

The Titan rounded the corner first, entering the grey and deep blue chamber. There was a large sealed door, probably leading even deeper into the Hellmouth, but for now the passageway was closed. The center of the room had a great chain extending from ceiling to floor, but more importantly there were two balconies on both sides. Floating impossibly by the great chain was a chitin sword, ornate and jagged, crude and unmistakably evil in purpose and design.

“The Sword of Crota.” Dal whispered in a horrified, almost reverent tone. He paused, considering something. “It’s… smaller than I remember.” Lisset cautiously paced towards the sword, wary of a trap.

“It looks big enough to me.” The Hunter muttered.

“Crota was two stories tall.” Dal noted. “He had a sword to match his size. This looks like the sword of a Hallowed Knight, only more ornate.”

“Kita, is it possible you made a mistake?” Koga asked, frowning.

“Impossible.” Kita replied. “This thing is putting out energy I can’t even begin to describe. I could pinpoint it in a fortress full of Darkness. Trust me-it’s what we’re looking for.”

“So, how do we destroy it?” Basilisk asked, cutting to the chase. There was an awkward pause. “Does no one know?”

“It’s not like we’ve ever run into this before.” Dal retorted. The Ghost flashed out into existence and began to scan the sword with a blue field of light. “I’m seeing some kind of connection between this thing and the Hive Princes we have been fighting. If we destroy the other two, we might be able to destroy it through some kind of feedback effect.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Lisset said as her Ghost flashed back into her armor. “So, how do we get the Princes to come out?”

“Desecration.” Boudica interrupted. “Take up the sword, and that should trigger a response from the Hive.” Lisset glanced back at Basilisk, but no objections were given. The Hunter braced herself for the worst as she wrapped her hands around the hilt of the blade. The sword ceased hovering and fell into her hands, surprising her. It was far lighter than she expected, but there was a terrible gnawing at her stomach she couldn’t ignore. The thing was a scratch in reality, and she could feel it in her bones. Howls of rage echoed in the chamber, and doors slid open silently to reveal packs of Hive.

“Get ready!” Basilisk shouted. Lisset gripped the Hive sword tighter, her heart pounding. It wanted to kill, it needed to kill, and it didn’t particularly seem to care whose life it would take. It suited the Hunter just fine-the Hive would have a taste of their own medicine. As the first Thrall rushed forward, she started swinging, the sword humming like a live wire as it cut through them without any resistance. Thrall decomposed into ash at the touch, and Acolytes crumpled into pieces with every whack delivered.

The Hive continued throwing troops at the Guardians, and as more and more Thrall began to rush into the chamber, it was becoming increasingly more difficult to actually hold them back. It only got worse when a gauntleted hand rose from a pool of black tar in the back of the room. “A Prince is here!” Koga shouted as he lobbed a grenade into the center of a pack. Lisset turned to face the new arrival, a hulking Knight with a blade in its hand. The thing growled at her, its voice impossibly ringing in her ears. The Hunter roared back, and for a moment she could almost swear that the thing took an uneasy step backwards as if it could hear her.

Lisset didn’t let it swing its sword first, raising the sword and rushing forward. The Prince lowered its in return, blocking the move a millisecond before the blade hit. The Hunter reversed her cut, swinging again from a different direction in an attempt to catch it off guard. Again, the beast blocked, but it was being pushed further and further back into the room. Lisset smiled a toothy grin as the Prince pressed its back against the wall. It tried to swing its sword in a desperate attempt to hit the Guardian, but she easily ducked underneath and swung her blade. It cut through the Prince’s armor as if it wasn’t even there, the Knight disintegrating into ash with a horribly pained moan.

“That’s another!” Kita announced into comms as the others kept firing into the horde of Thrall still coming.

“What?” Basilisk exclaimed, surprised. He didn’t turn his neck to look back, his focus undivided from the never-ending swarms.

“Don’t worry, keep it up!” Dal shouted in encouragement as another hand clawed its way out of the goop. The last Prince got to its feet, its sword in its hand ready to tear Light from life. Lisset readied her blade, bracing herself for the first blow, but it didn’t come. The massive Knight stared at the Hunter, appraising her with cautious eyes. Whether it was fear or curiosity, she couldn’t tell, but the warrior simply paced in a lazy circle around her, sizing her up. This one was smarter than its brethren, Lisset realized with a start. It knew that she had killed the other two Princes, and it wasn’t about to throw its life away and break the sword in her hands.

When it did strike, its sword moved faster than she could have believed. For a moment, Lisset could swear she saw space split in the path of the Prince’s blade, ripped asunder in the wake of the swing. She barely dodged out of the way, hopping backward to get out of the way. Gritting her teeth, Lisset charged forward, readying to strike back. The Prince anticipated her move, and readied its sword to block. Lisset’s strike bounced uselessly off against the ancient chitin weapon the Knight carried in its hand, and as the Hunter backed off to try again, the Prince began to laugh.

Revulsion and fear turned to anger, then to rage. The Hunter didn’t even bother to scream as she sprinted forward. The Prince readied his blade to block again, and Lisset could see that it was bracing to deliver a fatal counter-blow. She didn’t give it the opportunity-just before she swung, Lisset suddenly changed the direction of the strike into a brutal overhead slam, the sword humming with violent energy as she brought it into the ground. Energy arced from the tip of the sword into the ground, rushing forward like a wave right into the awaiting Prince. There was no way the thing could block it, and it had been preparing for an entirely different move meaning it couldn’t dodge. It took the arcane energy wave full-force, and flashed out existence in blinding blue arc light.

There was a scream echoed throughout the chamber, and the rushing hordes of Hive suddenly exploded into dust, caking the floor and the Guardians’ armor. The sword in Lisset’s hand began to vibrate until it suddenly vanished, disintegrating as well into the grey Hive dust.

“What just happened?” Basilisk asked, looking around in confusion. “Did we do it?” Koga glanced at Lisset, who stood slightly dumbfounded in the center of the chamber. The anger that had coursed through her veins had vanished, and had left her exhausted.

“The sword is gone.” Koga responded, holstering his hand cannon. “I believe our mission here is done.” Lisset slowly nodded, her stamina returning. She shuddered slightly, suddenly strangely cold. The Hunter paced back to her comrades, an unease on her mind.

“Let’s get out of here.” She muttered. The others didn’t need to be asked twice. Within seconds, they were gone, leaving the Hellmouth far behind, the Light of the Traveler awaiting them at home.