#regulus' lore

[cephalon-artaise]

B I T T E R S W E E T

The first thing Regulus hears is a familiar, taunting laugh. He opens his eyes, and knows immediately this is a dream. Yet, he doesn’t wake from it. Something stands before him, blocking out the light. It is... his Warframe. Harrow. A jolt goes through him - something is off about it; a red glow illuminates its otherwise shadowed form.

Hey, kiddo.

The voice sets his heart pounding. He is tempted to let his eyes dart across the room, but something tells him he will not find a copy of himself there. The voice comes from the Warframe. The Man in the Wall, speaking through his Warframe. A mixture of dread and anger seeps into his bones.

“What do you want,” Regulus snaps.

You don’t know? Come on, kid. You were just here.

Regulus shifts his weight from one foot to another anxiously. That was three days ago. He remembers the visit well enough, but it was not at though it was very eventful. With every moment spent puzzling over it, he feels it laughing at him.

“I investigated this place, looking for... survivors.” It’s what Regulus does. It’s what he has been doing for years now. It’s how he met Seginus, and Pleiades. How he found Grus again. It isn’t exactly out of the ordinary.

Oh, yes; that’s right. Seems you arrived just a bit too late.

This sets Regulus off. He strides forward, anger in his blood, but as he reaches the Warframe, the sanguine hue tempers his fury into fear. He stops, breathless.

“Maybe for most of them. But I believe-”

Always so full of hope, aren’t you, Regulus?

The Man in the Wall sneers, and the sheer force of its will sends Regulus to his knees. His eyes drop the floor, no longer able to meet the sightless gaze. 

Bittersweet ending? You make me laugh. We both know what really happened. And you were too late.

[cephalon-artaise]

A B A N D O N E D

Regulus feels a shiver run through him at the sight of the draping white tendrils. This is a familiar place, but it is also a mournful one. The scattered somatic links hold no life in them now. However, he can hardly think much of them at this time. Strange echoes from an age long gone reach him, eerily intact, and take him back to that place. The death of his second mother haunts him still.

The shimmering strand of light and sound takes him down into a dark pit. At the very bottom, the scenery changes. Lua’s Orokin influence is gone, the grey stone and gilded white replaced with architecture astoundingly... Tenno. He draws a breath - no, not quite. His heart quickens, and he moves along the platform towards an open space beyond.

Tangles of wires and tubes hang down from the high ceiling, and a calm purple haze suffuses the space around him. Something just past the edge of the platform rises, and begins to shift in shape. Regulus continues to creep forward, not so much cautious as anticipatory. Something in his heart tells him not to be afraid.

His heart is wrong. The flower opens, the Lotus revealed at its center, and for a brief moment, Regulus believes she speaks to him, and he smiles. The smiles fades as soon as Ballas steps forward, responding to her as though she had spoken to him instead. Maybe she had. What follows makes no sense to Regulus; Ballas addresses the Lotus with the name of a ghost, and she; she sheds her crown and takes his hand. Together with Ballas, she turns... and disappears.

Another mother, gone. Regulus rushes to her discarded mask, and clutches it to his chest, all joy and fearlessness gone with her. Memories of the Zariman race back to him, but not the ones awakened by the Grineer Queens. The echoes in his head come from a time long before Margulis. His first mother. His real mother. She is gone, Margulis is gone, the Lotus is gone; gone, gone, gone; they have all left him in one form or another.

Tears soak his cheeks, running down his chin and neck, flooding him. No answers lie here, in this place, abandoned. He grips the crown tighter, drops to his knees, and wails aloud, filling the empty space with his grief. He feels more alone than ever before.

Gone, gone, gone.

[cephalon-artaise]

F A T E D

We know your name, Tenno.

The Warframe remains still, seemingly unphased by this statement. Regulus is personally unsurprised, for his reputation for merciless retribution has long preceded him. The Veil likely holds much interest in his endeavors, he muses. Their aligned ideology is why he has come to them today.

“I come to offer my services, to become the blade and fire that will set the world free. I understand my journey here has not gone unmarked-”

You are mistaken. Your past and present does not concern us, Regulus.

For the first time, the Nova Prime’s head tilts up just slightly. Her glossy face reveals nothing, but the mind within stirs with light confusion. Still, Regulus does not pause for long. Of course history would be of little consequence - just ashes to be scattered by wind.

“I understand. Tell me - how might I seal the bond? What must this vessel of mine do to prove its worth?”

You have already proven yourself, Tenno. We see your bond made in blood and tears, yet to be spilt. We know of the sacrifice, yet to be made. Join us, brother. Swear your allegiance today, and shed the iron and salt required of you when the time comes.

That was two years ago. Regulus never did ask any more questions, not up until the day came where the iron and salt flowed readily...