Hi! Welcome to my side blog for all the things I post or reblog that are Destiny related. I am mostly a Titan main, but dabble in the other two subclasses from time to time. Much of my original posts will be thoughts on the current season, lore, or about my OCs. Posting for my OCs will be slow, but as they are posted I will be sure to link them here for easy reading.
I love it when Destiny takes time to show the smaller moments of the universe.
Eido nerding out over preserving culture, people celebrating the Festival of the Lost, baking cookies when the temperature drops, Zavala knitting, Osiris and Saint being tender, random guardians and their friends that we might never get another lore entry on, guardians who we get a handful of lore entries for their shenanigans, conversations about beliefs between characters we know and love, and so, so much more.
In the face of tremendous loss and pain, there are always moments of unconquerable joy and love, even if they are brief. Love can be found in every tale, every crevice, and every event in Destiny despite despairing circumstances and it wins. Maybe not immediately, maybe long after the lovers have perished to their situations, but it always triumphs. It’s seeds always burst through an inhospitable soil to grow into the shade others will lay under, resting their heads upon a person they would propagate a whole forest for.
It is the small moments like finding unlikely companions, enjoying a deeply brewed tea, or collecting candy on holidays that keeps people fighting for the ability to experience such delights.
Destiny is about a universe of people who will choose to survive and endure no matter the cost. It is the assuring sight of different species of children playing in the streets of the Last City that people will suffer time and time again to protect. It is the thought that there will always be a precious experience in life awaiting in the future that makes people want to even keep the very POSSIBILITY of suffering.
Eris has saved the universe to bring justice to her fireteam, protect humanity, and save the ones she loves like Ikora, Mara, and Drifter. That is enough.
Misraaks has helped us in our endeavors to protect Sol for his people and Eido, to see them prosper and grow. That is enough.
Some guardians may fight just to bring in enough glimmer to enjoy a drink at a tavern. That is enough.
Some people right after the Collapse may have continued on because they didn’t know what else to do, they didn’t know why they had it in their spirit to continue on upon a charred Earth. That is enough.
These are all enough to warrant the continuation of a universe that allows for these possibilities. These are enough and more to fight for with bleeding callouses and busted knuckles.
It is moments so fleeting and small that leave such an impression on us that we will fight against odds so enduring and large. We fight for justice, for hope, for good food, for the smell of blossoms in Spring.
We will do it over and over again for it is our right to determine our fates, no matter the indifference we receive from the universe itself and no matter the wants of those who equate the small to be inconsequential.
Just drawing up my headcannon that Mara put asside her Queenly cool demeanor for 30 seconds to hug the life outta Crow the second he set foot on the bridge of the HELM at the end of the Final Shape campaign. As much as the fate of everything was at stake, you can't convince me wanting to make sure Crow was safe wasn't one of the main reasons she wanted to punch into the Heart pronto.
"And Guardian... I admit, this training was mostly about giving you a look from my point of view. Weapons come easy. People, though... the real training is reckoning with potential loss."
"I hope you took the opportunity to look in on those you care about. If not? That's all right. Only some of them can die forever."
Bungie ... BUNGIE!? Why must we train for 'potential loss'?
File Compiled by Snow-9 (SNO-358)
Species: Awoken
Gender: Female
Class: Titan
Ghost: Chrysalis (Chrys)
Resurrection: 2715 - Earth, Outside of Old Chicago
Known Affiliations: Vanguard, Dead Orbit (formerly), Iron Lord, Drifter
Preferred Subclass: Striker, Sentinel, Behemoth
Clan: Forgotten Fallen Stars
Known Information
-Resurrection-
Ghost Chrysalis reported that they found the Awoken on the outskirts of Old Chicago (41.871220, -87.787830). Her body was found hidden under a dome shaped jungle gym in a playground that had been reclaimed by nature with intense overgrowth. They said that the inside showed signs of it being used as a hidden camp sight. As for Guardian Vahl, her Ghost said that initial scans before resurrection showed that she had likely met her mortal death in the form of being poisoned. This knowledge and the information about the swamps in that area, I feel that it is safe to assume this was not done out of malice, but instead an accident from ingesting something she should not have. Ghost Chrysalis states that after her resurrection, Guardian Vahl was disorientated and groggy for a few days before making a full recovery. Perhaps the last of the lingering poison in what remained of her body working its way out thanks to her new regenerative state thanks to the Light.
Upon becoming more clear minded, Guardian Vahl searched the small campsite for any information for the serious gap in her memory. Despite her Ghost's protests, what follows is a short recording shared by Chrysalis.
C: "Guardian, you really should not waste your time with this. I must get you back to the Last City. And the Vanguard has prohibited those who bear the Light to go digging into their past."
N: "Is this, Vanguard, here with us?"
C: "Guardian, there is no need for sarcasm. But to answer your question, no they are not."
N: "Exactly. Until I get to meet this Vanguard, what they don't know won't hurt them.
The only thing Guardian Vahl found was a worn out journal, most of it unreadable thanks to taking on quite a bit of moisture. But the leather like cover did have the name Nessa Vahl imprinted into it. She took the name and the journal, then as promised, finally left to find a ship and head back to the Last City.
The ship itself was a Ceres Galliot style ship of the Awoken from the Reef. It was not in the best state and to quote Amanda Holliday upon seeing it, she was "plum flabbergasted" that it got Guardian Vahl back in one piece. According to the Queen's Wrath, Guardian Vahl was likely one of the many Awoken who left Distributary for the Reef with Queen Mara.
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Known Skills and Attributes
Since her arrival, Guardian Vahl, like many other lightbarers, has shown significant aptitude in various skills. Not just in combat, but mundane as well.
Light: When it comes to powers of the light, Vahl has shown that she has a handle on the three powers that come naturally to Guardians. Though Arc and Solar are seem to be her favorites. Other Guardians who have gone on missions and played against her in the Crucible have all noted that when she uses her Super abilities in those particular classes, it comes with a distinct amount of laughter. Ikora has confirmed that there seems to be no need to worry about his behavior, as it is likely just the thrill that can sometimes come with tapping into our stronger abilities.
Darkness: Guardian Vahl is one of many other Guardians who easily found their connection with powers connected to the Darkness. However, her use of them lacks the same refinement that she has gained with the powers of the Light. Some who have referenced seeing her use Statis or Strand would call her clumsy, though never to her face.
Physical: Being a Titan, it is no surprise that they have been blessed by the Traveler with above average strength. She has been observed easily punching foes as strong as Hive Knights to death, without the power of the light to back them up. What tends to be a surprise is how fast she is for a Titan, even when she is not using a subclass like Arc. When asked about it, she often says something about needing to keep up with the rest of her Clan and Fire teams within. As Fallen Forgotten Stars is majority Hunters and Warlocks.
Non-Combat: Outside of combat, Vahl has some interesting skills. Most of which it is uncertain if she learned them before or after her resurrection.
Needlework: Vahl upon arrival in the city was invited by Commander Zavala to the knitting circle he hosts. However, despite a lot of practice, knitting never got easier, but she stayed for the company. When Eva Levante saw her stitching a pocket into one of her Hunter clan mate's cloaks so it could hold a warming rock during the colder months. She shared with the Commander the information, and the next time Vahl came to the knitting circle he gave her a Dawning present of tools meant for embroidery and other needle work. And since then she uses it as a meditative practice.
Poison Detection: This skill was likely born from how she had died the first time. She can easily point out plants and even animals that are poisonous. And even when she does not know, she is often willing to take the risk of testing it first before anyone else. Be it her resilience as a Titan or the luck of the Traveler, any poison that has passed her lips has not killed he. Only weapons such as Thorn or Le Monarch, likely due to the amount it puts into a body based on how many times one has been shot by them.
Speech: The Awoken language, upon hearing it once more spoken in the Dreaming City, seemed to naturally come back to Guardian Vahl. Both in being able to read and speak it with near fluency. Which in the last few years has been a boon when dealing with things in the Dreaming City.
-History-
Like many Guardians, Nessa Vahl has gone through quite a bit in the last decade, and the stories are easily found. Compiled below are things that have stood as interesting points of note among the last decade.
After she met with Queen Mara and by extension Prince Uldren for the first time when seeking aid for entering the Black Garden. She spent a week playing in the Crucible, working off her anger. They were some of her most ruthless matches, according to Lord Shaxx. A number of Hunters lost their knives to her in that week, should they have tried to use them against her. She then proceeded to take out the Gate Lord with no fireteam. And upon retrieval and returning to the Reef, she approached Mara's throne with it in her hand like it weighed nothing before dropping it at Prince Uldren's feet. At his clear shock that she had beaten it, it is rumored that she batted her eyes at him and said, "What? Like its hard?"
Guardian Valh is oddly claustrophobic and has never been known to enjoy going down into the Hive tunnels on the Moon. When Eris returned and the Guardians were tasked with dealing with the Crota situation. She has always carried a rocket launcher into the tunnels. Preferring to take out the Hive from as much distance as she can. This did prove especially fruitful upon going with her Fireteam to take out Crota himself. So she had continued it as a sort of lucky charm.
During the time the Fallen betrayed Queen Mara and getting to come to the Reef freely, seemed to be hard on her. She felt a connection to the Awoken there, but their tendency to be very begrudging of any Guardian's presence was off-putting. So she was known for making her trips brief as possible, unless Petra was around, and then she was happy to talk for a while.
After taking down Alak-Hul, the Darkblade in the Sunless Cell, it is rumored that Valh did some adjustments to her Chrysalis' light so that it was far brighter than the standard build. It was also about the same time she started to prefer auto rifles as her main weapons.
During the SIVA Crisis, Guardian Valh was rather proactive about seeing to the mission at hand. However, she took a long break after the fallout from going down into Site 6 and seeing how SIVA had twisted the Iron Lords that had become trapped down there with it. Staying at the Iron Temple on Felwinter's Peak to learn more from Lord Saladin.
After losing her Light during the Red War, Nessa did what she could to help other Guardians who found the Farm in the same state she was in. Helping to keep them together as well as pushing them to pull their weight around the Farm.
When she did come across the Shard of the Traveler and gained her light back, Valh proceeded to sleep there just so she could feel fully recharged. Her ghost says that she seemed to have a vivid dream that evening, but the Guardian has never divulged what it was of.
Due to her already being untrustworthy of Prince Uldren, Vahl had no issue hunting him down for the death of Cayde-6. Many say that it was the coldest they had ever seen the normally cheerful Guardian in the days leading up to the Prince's death at her hands. Though, despite everything that had transgressed between the two, she still helped Petra to take his body back to the Dreaming City and prepare things for his funeral that the Awoken held. A Corsair says that when questioned about it she answered, "He may have been an ass and a murderer. But he was manipulated into being such, and I cannot fault him for that. My long forgotten memory presses me to try and remember that how he acted before this or during this was not the Prince I knew long ago. His blood is on my hands, yes, but he is still our Prince as much as Mara is our Queen. And I will show him that respect in death, even if he never showed me any in my new life."
Over the course of the year that followed Cayde's death, Guardian Valh became somewhat withdrawn. Often found deep in various archives, perhaps looking for answers to the many revelations that were starting to occur. An activity that only grew after seeking out Eris on the moon and finding the buried Pyramid ship.
When it came to the Nightmares that now haunt the Moon, it took Guardian Vahl some time to find any kind of ease on the planet. The cries of the dead almost made the Titan jump out of her armor at the time. And still does on occasions even now that she has visted the planet often since.
During Crimson Days, Guardian Valh threw herself into the competition along side a Hunter in her fireteam. The two were quite the pair and quickly rose up through the rankings. The Vow is one of the Titan's most beloved weapons and she keeps it hanging up on her wall rather than in her vault. When visiting Shaxx, she frequently will greet him with open arms while delcaring him Husband which Lord Shaxx accepts jovialy each time.
(More to be transcribed at a later date)
