Shayura

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Shayura
Biographical information
Species:	Awoken
Gender:	Female
Political and military information
Affiliation:	Vanguard Praxic Order
Rank:	Guardian
Class:	Warlock

Shayura is a Warlock Guardian who participated in a mission to Old Chicago in pursuit of an unknown entity. They were one of the few survivors of the mission alongside Aisha and Reed-7. While being debriefed about the mission, Shayura noted that in all of their studies of the enemies of the Light they had never read about anything like the creature which had hunted them.

Biography

During the Red War, when Ghaul caged the Traveler's Light, Shayura and her fireteam were currently hunting an unknown creature in the catacombs of Old Chicago. Later, she was stationed on Titan, and faced the Hive there. Shayura fought a Knight that continuously resurrected itself. Being lightless, the experience left her deeply traumatized.

During the Pyramids Arrival, Shayura came under heavy stress, mostly in relation to Deputy Commander Sloane's refusal to leave Titan and a fear of losing her Light again. Consequently, she frequently came into conflict with her friend Aisha. This came to a head when Shayura experienced a traumatic flashback during the Trials of Osiris, resulting in her repeatedly killing an opponent, Leitka. She became wracked by guilt and began to question her worth as a Guardian. This anxiety turned into conviction with the Reformation of the Traveler, where she decided to hunt those who would turn away from the Light.

She would soon have many targets as the use of Stasis became more widespread. At a later point, she had seemingly caused multiple final deaths, and during a Trials match with her fireteam, she tried to do so again to an opponent who used Stasis. She was, however, stopped by Aisha, who was using Stasis as well. Shayura was then imprisoned by the Vanguard.

During the Endless Night, Shayura apparently escaped containment. Disillusioned by the Vanguard's willingness to make peace with enemies, and seeing her old fireteam as traitors, she began to work alone, hunting anyone she deemed an agent of the Darkness. On Venus, in one of her attacks, she killed a Hunter, his Ghost and an Eliksni non-combatant of the House of Light.

Following the end of the Endless Night, Shayura would later face the Hive of Savathûn, the Witch Queen's Lucent Brood. She faced them as she had with other Hive before but to her shock and panic, she would encounter a Knight that was accompanied by a Ghost. The Ghost would resurrect the Knight like a Guardian, forcing Shayura to battle the Hive again. After slaying it, Shayura lunged after the Ghost before it could resurrect the Knight, destroying it, but the deed shattered her perception of all that she knew. Shayura would end up in the shadow of the Traveler in the Last City, surrendering herself, but would be surrounded by City security and her former teammates, Reed-7 and Aisha, however she couldn't acknowledge them due to her traumatic experience with the Lucent Brood. Aisha attempts to comfort her friend, swearing to get her the help she needs.

While Shayura was taken into custody once more, Vanguard operatives searched her ship, finding it to be full of dead Ghost shells, morbid trophies from all the Guardians she has murdered. The operatives note that due to the sheer number of Ghost remains, it is going to take a while to sort through, find out which Guardian was paired with each Ghost and to inform all friends and life-partners of those the disgraced Warlock has murdered.

Since her arrest, Shayura had been confined to the Last City Detention Facility, under careful watch but as she stayed in her cell, she constantly prayed, stating the things she exalted but would ultimately be reduced to tears as she becomes haunted by Nightmares, her guilt consuming her. During a session with her Doctor, Syeda Uzair, Shayura largely remained depressed, with her contemplating that the Traveler may be ashamed of humanity with Doctor Syeda merely replying that hope is in short supply and that he wanted to bring in some guests: her old fireteam. With tears in her eyes, Shayura finally realized she there is one thing she can still have faith in: her family.

Personality and traits

"Each scar I bear, a trial survived."

— Shayura

Shayura is a very troubled individual, having suffered a traumatic experience when she lost her Light during the Red War, nearly lost her life to the Hive and took the disappearance of Sloane, whom she looked up to greatly, pretty hard. Her trauma caused her to have flashbacks or delusions of those fearful moments, leading to periods of violence which was apparent during her matches in the Trials of Osiris where she repeatedly murdered her opponents, even when the match was over. Her behavior has caused a great deal of concern in her teammates, especially her closest friend, Aisha. Though they tried to help her, Shayura slowly grew disillusioned with the world around her, believing that the people seek shelter underneath the Traveler out of delusion and desperation. Despite believing that the Traveler was indifferent towards Humanity, its reformation drove Shayura to defend the Light, whatever the cost. However, this dedication would enter into dangerous extremism.

Shayura would then begin to hunt down Guardians who wielded the power of Stasis, finding them to be "traitors" to the Light. This would prove to be the last straw for her teammates, as they tried to stop her from executing a Guardian who wielded Stasis during a Trials match. Their attempts to stop her and Aisha revealing that she too wields Stasis brought feelings of deep betrayal within Shayura. The only one to stay by her side would be her Ghost, but even he began to be unnerved and saddened by his Guardian's darkened and extreme behavior.

Following her imprisonment and eventual escape, Shayura lost all faith in what she once knew, feeling that all her friends either abandoned or betrayed her. She would continue with her mission to hunt down Guardians who wielded Stasis. Further, she refused to accept peace with former enemies, as the Vanguard had with their armistice with the Cabal and their alliance with the Eliksni House of Light. She would even murder such individuals, including non-combatants, much to the disgust of a Hunter she was pursuing, who went as far as to compare her to Dredgen Yor himself and Shin Malphur.

Ultimately, her encounters with the Lightbearing Hive of the Lucent Brood would completely shatter all perceptions she once had, especially with what she understood about the Light and Darkness. Seeing the Hive, the greatest enemy of humanity, bearing the Light against the Guardians left a traumatizing impact on Shayura's psyche, leaving her in a defeated, nearly cationic state. Feeling that she had nothing left, Shayura surrendered herself to her teammates and the Last City, with her teammates deeply saddened at her state.

During her re-imprisonment within the Last City, Shayura managed to overcome the near catatonic state she had been in since her encounter with the Lightbearing Hive. However, due to that encounter and subsequent shattering of her previous worldview in which those who used the Light were good and those who used the Darkness were evil, Shayura suffered from immense guilt from the murders she committed on what she now realised were truly good people despite their use of Stasis. Her PTSD is now so severe to the point where she can no longer pray or close her eyes without seeing the faces of all the people she murdered and hearing them beg her for their lives, causing her to be reduced to tears. Like everyone else, Shayura's faith in the Traveler has also been deeply shaken by the Lightbearing Hive and she starts to wonder who judges paracausal entities like the Traveler and the Pyramids. The disgraced Warlock has also become fearful of others due to the immense guilt she feels, as when she heard that her psychiatrist, Doctor Syeda, wanted to bring in some guests for their next session, Shayura immediately became defensive, fearing who these guests might be, out of shame for her actions.

List of appearances

• Destiny 2
  • Beyond Light (First mentioned)
    • Season of the Hunt (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Chosen (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Splicer (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Lost (Mentioned only)
  • The Witch Queen (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Haunted (Mentioned only)
    • Season of the Seraph (Mentioned only)