[b][u]Vance:[/u][/b] [url=https://www.destinypedia.com/Grimoire:Allies/Osiris#Vision_47]Vision 47[/url] [i]"The first comes in a shadow. A window becomes a door. An ebb becomes a gulf. The second comes in bones. Tithes offering feasts, carrying laws. A path torn, minds shattered. The third does not come alone. It cannot. Our truths woven into their being, desires beyond our own. The first needs the second to fail, the third needs the first to succeed. The second will never cease, yet the first always prevails. The third is born of all outcomes. Unless, all ends flow from the same pit".[/i] [b][u]Marasenna, excerpt:[/u][/b] [url=https://www.destinypedia.com/Lore:Marasenna#Ecstasiate_II]Ecstasiate II[/url] [i]"She was nothingness. If she existed before, she existed only as possibility stretched across the aether. Once, there might have been a body that was an anticipation of the body not yet formed, and a soul that was an anticipation of the soul not yet encrypted, but they were not yet real. Then the universe began, and she was free to be born. First there is a mandala, and upon the rings of that mandala are star-bright gems. M A R A R A M the closed symmetry, secret within itself: and she cuts it off center so that it is imperfect, open at one end, not cycling back to its own beginning but subliming away into future possibility. M A R A the permutation of one relationship into another, MA become RA, RA become what may yet come. Two points suggest a line. With that amputation, around that scar, she incarnates. Awakens with a gasp. Cold stone under her shoulders and back and a face above her, radiant. "Mara?" the face says. "What am I?" Mara whispers. "The second," the woman says".[/i] [b][u]Vance:[/u][/b] [url=https://www.destinypedia.com/Lore:Trials_and_Tribulations#Chapter_6_.E2.80.93_Beguiled]Chapter 6 Beguiled[/url] [i]"The condensation from the air vent dripped in a near-perfect 4/4 time signature, a slow metronome, behind Brother Vance's shoulder. He nodded to the rhythm while he waited. "She'll see you now." He felt more like a prisoner than an esteemed guest, but he also considered how rare the audience he'd garnered was. Vance expected the red carpet, or whatever the Awoken equivalent of that is, to be rolled out for him. The information he'd amassed would surely warrant such pomp and circumstance. Perhaps after their conversation the tone would shift. How could it not? The Queen's Paladins escorted Brother Vance through the Reef's interconnected tunnels. It was musky and due for a cleaning as far as his nose could observe. He always took note of the paths he'd traveled, a useful device in case of a need of escape. Two rights, a left, a doorway, a long hallway, six stairs, and another doorway. The air here was much clearer than Mercury; probably filtered, he assumed. "The Queen of the Reef, Her Majesty, Mara Sov." Announced one of the Paladins in a rather boisterous manner. There were others in the room, Vance noted. "My lady." Vance said, paying her the obeisance he felt she deserved, genuflecting before her grace. "Speak," she commanded. Was he a dog to her? "I was hoping this would be more of a conversation than a presentation." Vance replied. He felt this was already off on the wrong foot. "I do not have time to converse. Do you have something for me or not?" "I have a great many things. Truths that must be acknowledged with ramifications reaching far beyond these walls. It requires your extraordinary insight." "Then speak." Vance curled his lip and let out a low sigh. "You seek something in return?" Queen Mara, perceptive as always. "I do. The information I have is extremely sensitive and I ask the room be cleared until we've spoken." Queen Mara considered this, put her hand up, and locked eyes with Petra for a second. The room cleared out. "We are alone. Say what you came to say." "I've discovered something quite disturbing, yet wholly revelatory. As you know, we've been running the Trials for some time now. On Mercury there exists a spire, one of many, that we've called the Lighthouse. Inside, a two-toned note resonates whenever Guardian death occurs. It's a strange and almost imperceptible sound, but I hear it as clearly as I hear your voice today. The tone tells me…" "…that Guardians have dangerous potential within them." "My Queen…" "Why do you think I allow you to stay here? You believe you have occupied my Reef without my knowledge of the studies you conduct?" "How did you…" Vance was awestruck. "We know this truth. We are Awoken. We are balance. Brother Vance, I would advise you to finish up your Trials with a defter hand and to destroy all records of your findings. You've stumbled onto something too grand in scale for your comprehension. Keep this to yourself." Brother Vance's head hung low, and his shoulders slumped. "You know everything, and yet I have learned nothing beyond what I came here with. I would like some clarity." Queen Mara looked over Vance. While she didn't feel compassion toward him, his situation was unfortunate. "Come closer." Vance's head slowly returned upright. Did he hear her correctly? "Closer, I said." Vance took several steps up to her throne. The air around Mara seemed to shift—it was more elegant, crisp upon his tongue. Her words carried more cleanly through it, somehow. "I cannot offer you any clarity. The Universe will reveal all when the time comes. There is, however, something you can do for me." "Yes, anything." Vance was desperate to get back in her good graces. She leaned in, whispering near his ear. "When you see our friend…"".[/i] [url=https://www.destinypedia.com/Lore:Trials_and_Tribulations#Chapter_7_-_Nyctalopia]Chapter 7 Nyctalopia[/url] [i]"Entry 58 I am blessed. While I have chosen to ignore her… suggestion… to cease my research, the Queen has revitalized me with purpose. To know my charge with such clarity is a divine offering. I alone have been receiving communications from the affectionately named Lighthouse. Not a single man, woman, or Guardian can interpret the complexity and nuance of the hums. The music of death. I always make sure to be near, so as not to miss a note. Each one brings a new revelation, answering a question, raising another. I am recognized within our congregation as well. "Speaker of the Lighthouse" they call me. A lofty and somewhat ironic title given the contemptuous feelings toward the heretic, but I'm honored nonetheless. Finally, I have chosen to decommission the frame Ch3-5ka. Its exhaustive knowledge could have compromised my standing in this matter. Queen Mara was correct in her assertion of the sensitivity of my work. Now, it is between me, the Queen, Osiris, and the Light and Dark itself. No more loose ends. Entry 63 The inevitable has occurred. For all their hubris and self-righteousness, they couldn't withstand the onslaught of the Red Legion. The Traveler's Light has been suppressed by Dominus Ghaul and his insurrection of the Tower. The timing was impeccable and offered me an insight I hadn't previously considered viable. Many lives were lost today in a barbarous skirmish across the Last City, but none as important as the life lost in our Trial. I believe Guardians have adopted the term "final death" for these such instances. A competitor was defeated at the precise moment the Light was stripped from him; his Ghost destroyed in the concussive blast from a pulse grenade. Then, the most marvelous phenomenon occurred: The Lighthouse spoke to me but changed its key. A D-sharp minor, if I'm not mistaken. Previously, I had been presented with only a harmonious two-toned note; the implications, as I made clear to Queen Mara Sov, could not be overlooked. Today, I am presented with a defining note that substantiates my theory and validates everything our founder stood for. When I speak now, everyone should listen, for I alone hold the truth. As it stands, I have no further use for the Trials and will be discontinuing the tournament indefinitely. I have what I came for. All I need now is council".[/i] [b][u]Continue to Chapter 8...[/u][/b]