Continued from 'Tracing the Stars I'. [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kKJyVHMSW0]Tracing the Stars II | | A Hollow Coronation: "The Storm Is Singing to Us" | Season of the Lost[/url] [Note: The method prescribed... a clue in that this VO indicates for multiple perspectives to be examined as there is slightly different dialog depending on your character - given in the link that began the preamble to this post... the above is the same VO without those additions. The class/race specific lines directly proceed Mara's quote below. Those additions immaterial to the substance but still a clue in determining truth from lies/secrets. Should you wish to know those slight variations, it's represented in the clip I put in the preamble for emphasis or [url=https://www.ishtar-collective.net/transcripts/tracing-the-stars-ii-a-hollow-coronation]here[/url] ]. Credit: DLV [i]"[u]Uldren Sov: [/u] The twin kestrels darted through the gaps between branches. The leaves formed verdant pathways. Predictably, Rega first, with Ager close behind. In those pathways, they traded secrets. Secrets Rega whispered to the flock, hoping to push them beyond the Hollow. Beyond the forest. Most nights, Rega and Ager sat beneath the stars to dream, twin hearts sounding a duet of beats... like ours, Mara. I still feel yours, still distant. In this story, Ager fixated on the dark clouded pocks that marred the night above the canopy. He pointed to the starry spaces between them and asked his sister to name them. Rega never spoke a word. She already knew all their names, and didn't want to crush his spirit. How charitable... One night, Ager grew impatient of her silence and pointed to one of the dark spots as it roared with thunder. "The storm is singing to us," said Ager, "We should sing back to show it we are not afraid." Rega wove her voice with his, and the thunder resounded. She did not sing with him again after that night. Rare to see stars in the Ascendant Plane. I wish we were doing this together. Why hide the scepter if it weren't a test? [u]Queen Mara Sov: [/u] When the Awoken people came into being after the Collapse, I was the first. As first, my chosen form defined what an Awoken could be. Thousands followed my example, willing themselves into existence within the Distributary. Some, like Uldren, required help. His mind was like an unsteady fawn. No surprise, he was unable to do it on his own. So I guided him. Filled the gaps in his memory. I gave him a star to follow. He was bonded to me, and his devotion spiraled into pathetic recklessness. Even through death, he hasn't outgrown that dependency. I see it in him, as he looks longingly to his Ghost for answers. To you..."[/i] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URHCk4NBO_8]Tracing the Stars III | A Hollow Coronation: "Ager Saw a Great Storm Building" | Season of the Lost[/url] Credit: DLV [i]"[u]Uldren Sov: [/u] Rega worried their song had attracted the storm's attention, and made plans for the flock to leave the Hollow. She locked herself away to study. The separation pained Ager. Like you know it does. Unable to bear the loneliness, Ager finally took to the sky. High above, the open air cradled him like starcloth ribbonettes. He felt peace in the deafening rush of wind across his feathers. Once he found them a new home, Rega would love him as he loved her. She would offer him the scepter their mother had crafted for him. The scepter that Rega selfishly kept. But as he approached the forest's edge, night fell and thunder shook his heart. Ager saw a great storm building on the horizon. Had he the scepter, he could have fought. Instead, he listened, straining through the thunder for the faint secondary beat of Rega's twin heart. Through lightning and chaos, he followed it home. Ager told Rega of the storm, the forest's edge, and gleaming bulbs of starlight clashing overhead. She didn't scold him, or tell Mother Kestrel. She listened, and heard the possibility in his tale. Gratitude... imagine that. [u]Queen Mara Sov: [/u] In another life, I'd have appointed Uldren dominion of the Reef's borderlands. To expand and connect the kingdom under my reign, Ager's scepter in hand. He would have used it to open doors and challenge foes best left alone. He was not unlike a Guardian already. And he would have died before his time. Uldren's fall was a predetermined point. So I hid the scepter away and gave him something safe to chase. He often strayed from that path".[/i] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK3B4uwWAu8]Tracing the Stars IV | A Hollow Coronation: "The Twins Led the Flock Away" | Season of the Lost[/url] Credit: DLV [i]"[u]Uldren Sov: [/u] Ager — much loved by the flock — convinced a great many to fly with the twins when they left the Hollow. He knelt before Rega and presented the crown of feathers their mother had crafted for her, and waited for her to respond in kind. She rose as queen, but did not gift Ager the scepter. His scepter. Despite everything, she still said he wasn't ready. It was a test of his will. Right? His devotion. One he would not fail. For he was patient. So patient. Together, the twins led the flock away from the oak's hollow, to carve new nests in distant boughs beyond the forest's edge. Ager flew far and wide at Rega's behest, always thinking of her test, and returned home with tales of all that he had seen. Dark clouds surrounded them. Fires burned within trees split by thunderous bolts. His twin kept his words close. Rega scattered prophetic bones and traced their curvature like weathered oaken bends. In them, the signs were clear: a great storm did indeed approach. They, in its path. And so they prepared themselves... for war. I wish... I wish you'd just give it to me. I could use it to help us face what we both know is coming. It doesn't even belong to you. [u]Queen Mara Sov: [/u] This coming storm he speaks of was the flashpoint. The Battle of Saturn against the Taken King. It was the shift from stability into dissonance. I failed to shape Uldren in accordance with my goals. But if I were to take all that he was and reveal that past to him now... Would he be my brother? Or is it only his echoes that remain? I see many of those same beginnings leading now to different ends. Tell me, would you be so forgiving if Crow carried more of Uldren with him? Would you still accept him"?[/i] [b]••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[/b] I'm trying something with this lore post. A task for anyone who may read this in good faith. Anyone who wishes... but I'd like to give some shoutouts to a few whom this might interest them... Jmann, Architect, Barstool, ErisXDrifter, Guardian,Archon Of Light... but anyone can participate. Here's the task: Compare the above fable of Ager and Rega in 'Tracing the Stars'... the script, with [url=https://www.destinypedia.com/Lore:Marasenna]Marasenna...[/url] tell me the moments that are different like the "First" example I gave. I promise you there are more "secrets" to be discovered... more truth, therein, to be discovered in comparing the two accounts of the events around Mara's origin and the Awoken's history. At least one other huge discrepancy comes to mind. If no one wants to do it, btw... I will break it down eventually. 😇👍💠 I'll give a hint. The first hint is... [url=https://www.destinypedia.com/Presage]"The Voice on the Other Side".[/url] [Side Note: My 3rd favorite mission of all-time]. I'll give a second hint later tonight.