Lore:Between Stolen Stars: Difference between revisions

'''Between Stolen Stars''' is a [[Lore]] book that was added in ''[[Season of Plunder]]''. Entries can be unlocked by progressing the Semaphore Signals seasonal [[Triumphs|Triumph]].

[[Eramis, Kell of Darkness|Eramis]]'s world was a choking smother of darkness and pain. She could not move. She was only vaguely aware of the voice.

"It would," Zavala frowned. "But even if we evict him, I'm reluctant to send him back to the Reef."

"True," Ikora shrugged, "but [[Spider]]'s very presence in the City is a provocation. You saw what happened when the [[House of Light]] arrived. All the unjustified hatred."

"Two reasons," he replied. "First, Spider is something of a… cultural liaison between the Eliksni and humanity. He was welcoming to [[Guardians]] when most of the [[Tangled Shore|Shore]] was still a war zone."

"Undoubtedly, the [[Eido, Daughter of Misraaks|Scribe of House Light]] has examined these," Eris said. "Why bring one to me?"

"The [[Fallen|Eliksni]] need a win," he said, looking away from her. "After all that—the [[Vex]], Salvation, everything—[[House of Light|House Light]] needs a win."

"And defeating [[Eramis, Kell of Darkness|Eramis]] will be 'a win'?"

Drifter leaned back on his heels and grinned. "Plus, always nice to be owed a favor. Don't know if Spider'll make good on his… But I bet [[Mithrax, Kell of Light|Captain Kell]] would."

Spider sat on his makeshift throne at the back of [[The Ether Tank]], surveying his tiny fiefdom. He beckoned [[Mithrax, Kell of Light|Mithrax]] to approach.

"I wish to make clear the rules of the [[Eliksni Quarter]]," Mithrax said, "so that there are no… misunderstandings."

Mithrax attached the Ether canister to his rebreather and took a sharp pull. He was pleasantly surprised by the sensation. It was at once filling and effervescent. The [[House of Light]] had been living on the most basic Ether for so long that he forgot how delightful such concoctions were. Spider noticed the Kell's appreciation and scoffed.

"What!" Spider exclaimed. "That's preposterous! [[Fallen|Eliksni]] have been docking Dregs since the Whirlwind—it's tradition!" The crowd murmured restlessly at the prospect of confrontation.

[[Uldren Sov|Crow]] leaned against a wooden stool in the dark interior of [[The Ether Tank]], listening to [[Spider]]'s wet snores as he dozed fitfully in his chair.

It was the small hours of the morning and the [[Eliksni Quarter]] was quiet aside from the low chattering of the scattered Eliksni guards and the electric hum of Spider's gaudy signage. Crow had slipped easily into the empty bar.

Spider coughed softly. Crow looked at the big [[Fallen|Eliksni]], took a measured breath, and saw him plainly: as someone sleeping alone in a city of enemies.

He looked around the tawdry interior of the bar, decorated with what scraps Spider had managed to bring as he fled the [[Tangled Shore|Shore]] for the safety of the [[Last City]], where he now survived on the charity of Drifter and Mithrax alone.

​***

[[Saint-14]] and [[Shaxx|Lord Shaxx]] stood shoulder to shoulder outside [[The Ether Tank]], [[Spider]]'s establishment in the [[Eliksni Quarter]]. They were kitted out with full armor and a close-quarters arsenal. Shaxx unholstered his sidearm and confirmed that the clip was full. Saint stared at the bar's entrance and slowly spun the cylinder on his hand cannon with a methodical click, click, click.

When the [[Titan (class)|Titan]]s stepped through the saloon doors, the whole crowd froze. The [[Guardian]]s towered above the seated patrons, their helmeted heads the blank visages of death. They slowly stalked the perimeter of the room, moving in opposite directions, optimizing their fields of fire, prioritizing their targets.

The [[Human]]s in the room slowly crept toward the exit and, once clear of the doorway, bolted into the night. The [[Fallen|Eliksni]] edged their many hands toward [[Wire Rifle|wire rifles]] and [[Arc Spear|arc spear]]s.

[[Halsiks]], a [[Vandal]] in service to [[The Guardian|the Guardian]], leapt into the arms of the Wretches, and the four of them bounced up and down in jubilation. An Eliksni lying on the floor feebly lifted their upper arms in celebration.

The datapad hit the tiled floor with a sharp crack as it slipped from [[Eido, Daughter of Misraaks|Eido]]'s shaking hands. Jumping to her feet, she scrambled to pick it up, inspecting hurriedly for damage. Her shoulders slumped slightly as her eyes landed on the thin fracture across its face.

Eido took a breath, [[Ether]] hissing through her rebreather. It didn't calm her.

She stood within one of the half-ruined rooms of the [[Eliksni Quarter]]. Privacy was a luxury in this place, and Eido took it where she could. Now, staring at her datapad, she was even more grateful for the quiet.

[[Eramis, Kell of Darkness|Eramis]] had heard Eido recording her [[Scribe]]'s logs. What else had Eramis intercepted? All of [[House Light]]'s communications? The petitions to the [[City]] for supplies, the transactions for [[The Ether Tank]], her [[Mithrax, Kell of Light|father]]'s instructions to his people?

She took another breath. Eido had reached out to Eramis before, calling for [[Fallen|Eliksni]] unity, and did not think she would receive a reply. But now she knew that Eramis had listened. The Kell had reached out in turn. When Eramis interrupted her Scribe's log, there had been pain in her voice. A pain Eido had never known—a pain she realized her father had tried to keep from her.

"[[The Guardian]] has returned," he said, eyes averted. "We have collected another relic."

"A relic of [[Nezarec]]," she finished flatly for him. He had known since the beginning. He had known and he had lied, while Eramis had not turned away from the truth.

The console went dark. The message had ended. [[Eramis, Kell of Darkness|Eramis]] knew there would not be another.

Eramis closed her eyes. The words settled into the Kell's thoughts. They were heavy. Sharp. She felt herself bleed with them. She had begged for death in the moment that [[Mithrax, Kell of Light|Misraaks]]'s blades were at her throat, and his mercy was a deeper wound than any. It was reopened, now, by the kindness of a child.

She would give her [[House of Salvation|House]] to see those eyes again. But the brightness she had seen in [[Eido, Daughter of Misraaks|Eido]]'s eyes was a wide, blinding terror. Not only of the [[Hive]]. Of her.

Eramis lived—she lived, and knew what the [[Fallen|Eliksni]] had lost.