We have been wandering through the desert for three damn days... our strength diminishing quickly. My fire team had crash landed on an unexplored area of mars. We had been flying to the buried city when unexpectedly our ships stopped... Just -blam!-ing stopped and plummeted towards the ground below. The hunter sustained a bad head injury and the warlock can barely walk from numerous leg injuries. I myself was not injured as badly because of my thick armor, but I have a dislocated shoulder. The constant sandstorms only make matters worse. We have to stay very close to ensure that we do not get separated. Hours go by, without and end suddenly the hunter stops and looks through his damaged rifle scope. "The Buried City," he says. It's our only chance. We might find meds and a place to rest. We press forward. Soon the warlocks legs give out and the hunter and I help support his weight. Painstakingly we reach the outskirts of the city. My fireteam can't go on. We need to stop in one of the buildings. The hunter offers to go look for meds. I stay behind with the warlock. Hours pass, and the hunter doesn't return. The warlock is getting worse. I leave him with his gun. A risk, but there is no choice. It doesn't take long to find the hunter. He is impaled to a wall in the center of the city. I stare in horror at his body. My friend and ally... Dead... I don't know what killed him, but I need to return to the warlock! I run as fast as my damaged body can. I rush into the building and see the warlock resting. I tell him the news... He stands shakily and grabs his gun. We come to an agreement and I grab mine... Then the wall caves in... I am thrown against the wall and covered by debris. I see the warlock being lifted by a tall figure... But it isn't Cabal... Or fallen... Or hive... It's something else... Something much worse. I see the warlock pulled away and my consciousness fails. I awake in a dark room. Stuck to a wall with a dark sticky substance. Next to me I see the warlock. Then comes a slithering noise, and the [i]thing[/i] appears right in front of me. It then grabs my shoulder with its foul limbs and wrenches it! I scream in agony. The wail gives the thing a sense of satisfaction. It then goes to the warlock. I know what is coming... The thing watches me then rips the warlock from the wall. He watches me sadly as the is stabbed through the heart by the beasts barbed tail. In my helmet I shed a single tear. I know my time is coming now... No one will ever know how we died here, or how much danger they are in from this horrific demon. This is my last thought as my life is ended.

It's going to be difficult to keep this under 300 words. I'll try, at least... Alright, here goes: [quote][/quote]The Buried City was but a dot resting above the horizon through the eye of the lone Guardian. It would have gone unnoticed were it not viewed by a hunter, as the piercing glow of the sun behind it cast a blinding white shadow over the ground below. Unsure of whether the visual anomaly was simply some of nature’s architecture, she zoomed in on her 49 megapixel retina display and examined the silhouette in greater detail. Certain now that this was not a natural formation, she mounted her pike and sped off towards a new adventure. It was half an hour before the Guardian arrived at her destination. The sun had set, and she was thankful for something to shield her from the cold Martian winds. Not quite tired, the wanderer decided to do some explorative research. Removing a recording device from her belt, she began taking notes: “I’m inside a skyscraper, amidst a remote buried city. The architecture looks early-golden age. Turning on thermal vision... No signs of - Wait, I see something. Two contacts, possibly human.” With that, the hunter holstered her recorder and drew her Viper Pulse Rifle, silently making her way towards her prey. Close enough to hear their footsteps, she switched to night vision and rounded a corner to meet the heat signatures. She was disappointed to find two fellow Guardians; a titan and a warlock. The hunter would be the first to introduce herself, “Jessica, Vanguard H719.” “A bureaucrat, eh?” chimed the titan, “No need for formalities, missy. I’m John, that over there’s Charlie. What are you doing out here?” Their conversation was cut short by the thud of a Cabal shield against the cement floor. Jessica raised her weapon and grinned beneath her mask. “I see you brought friends.” [quote][/quote]

[DATA EXPUNGED]

As a guardian of the city and perhaps more more as a warlock I use my time traveling through the void from one mission another to reflect on my past travels one in particular seems to constantly come to mind during an assignment in my earlier days I was send out alone for the first time I allowed myself to stray from my route and down a ally in the remnants of Madrid a little part of me wanted to find the answer to what brought us to this point the traveler the golden age and most of all the fall but there was a part me that feared finding the truth it was this part of me that wondered if the traveler had come dormant and in learning its secrets in our golden age we unleashed it on ourselves when I came to my senses I had wandered to an overlook where I saw my objective with the "rust snakes" in all directions the nickname the trails of rusted cars that were unable to escape the fall the colony ships in old Russia had no information but the trail led me here hopefully Madrid would prove more fruitful.

[b]The Cabal's Gift[/b] The gold sand seems to be in some ancient union with the city, an echo across ruins and rust, dust carried off by dull winds, like a cold breath that tastes of salt and rock. The hunter puts on her mask and looks down at the earth, and saw the disturbance in the sand, the large familiar tracks of the cabal headed in the direction inside the facility. Looking up, whispers of sand blot out the sun in mute transparency. The hunter sighs, takes the rifle from her back, and moves forward. At the entrance, the Cabal’s rumble echoes from the far reaches, lazily bubbling from the black corridors. The hunter takes each step cautiously, her ghost lighting the path forward. She hadn’t seen a patrol of Cabal on her way here. The dunes were empty. This one had to be a straggler, lost from the rest, and using this place for shelter for a time before moving on. But its call was weak, like a wounded animal on a cold verge of collapse. Even in her suit, she feels the partial cold trying to creep under her skin. She passes the broken windows that appear as jagged teeth, broken walls with patches of black and brown. The Cabal’s voice becomes louder and louder. And there it was. She saw the legionnaire stooping in an awkward position befitting its size, its armor partially covered with sand, red fluid seeping from under the chin of its helmet, and there was a large wound on its leg keeping it from moving. The hunter made herself visible, her rifle lowered, and behind the solid mute grey of her mask, her green eyes show pity, even concern, much to her surprise, that the legionnaire couldn’t see. The cabal growled sleepily, and the hunter understood its meaning. “Are you sure?” The hunter asked. A slight nod. It could understand her? Maybe not. The bulky creature dropped its weapon, a gift to end its pain. A rifle shot echoes across the facility and remains, and fades into nothing. The hunter accepted the Cabal’s gift gratefully. One last thankful look at the legionnaire, and then she turns away and explores deeper into the facility. There’s more to find inside.

Started a new topic: The Cabal's Gift

Through the Unknown Martian Sea lies a lost city tormented by the red sands. The Vanguard tells us what little we know of this once great city. This city was renown during the Golden Age as a city of prosperity, now it lies hidden and under enemy occupation. They pervert the broken streets and trample on the graves of the ones that came before us. The duty has fallen to you as a Guardian to take back our lost territory and stomp out the foreign invaders. Now it's time to make yourself legend. Get out there and show them just what we are made of!

The Balance by: Kaguya Orbit The Guardian looked around and saw no trace of life anywhere. The strange flower he had eaten had clouded his mind as well as ease the pain of a hard battle fought. He almost regretted walking off alone after fending off a slew of Fallen beside his fellow comrades. Surrounded by silence, the Guardian spotted a book at the base of an abandoned building. He turned the decrepit notebook over in his hands. The cover was free of writing and looked as if it were about to fall apart. He flipped carefully through the pages, some of them turning to dust. He froze when he read the words “you will find them all in the wall. no more no less”. ‘’Could this be the Lost notebook I had heard of during my sojourn across the Dark Side of the Moon?’’ he thought. Just then he heard a voice call out in a foreign tongue. The voice seemed to come from all directions and the Guardian’s mind began to race. “I have been in the Wall many a time, but never without a Brother to watch my blind side” he said aloud. The inside of the Wall was dimly lit and shadows played and danced around the room. The pipes lining the ceiling were rusted and breaking apart at the seams. He was sure he was hearing the cries of what sounded like one thousand Fallen. He was sure there were bullets coming from all directions. His heart raced as he slid on his side for cover. He readied his rifle and waited. The bullets stopped and the air was still. He took a deep breath, sprang from his cover and fired at his target. He stopped and gasped, for a white transparent figure stood just feet before him. “Be Brave”

[b]Dayonis Station[/b] The fetid maw of a Legionnaire loomed out of the darkness. Before it could make a sound or draw its shield, the Titan thrust his knife between its four spiked “teeth” and silenced it. For the hundredth time, he cursed whatever had beaten humanity into submission and allowed their colonies to fall to these alien scum. Above all, he cursed the overwhelming Cabal presence that necessitated stealth. How was he supposed to locate some defensive artifact from Mars without firing a gun? This should have been a Hunter’s job. With that thought the Titan emerged from the rusted industrial structure and was greeted by orange dunes littered with decomposing structures and encroaching shrub life. As he crept into the open expanse, the unmistakable bellow of a Centurion split the air. Through a shimmering heat wave, the Titan could see the colossal behemoth backed by several Legionnaires. He ran. A dilapidated structure materialized ahead of the sprinting Titan. DAYONIS STATION. That was good. He knew stations, and this one might offer weapons, a ship, and a place to hide. A heavily-armored squad of Cabal in hot pursuit, the Titan sprinted down a walkway. Just as he reached the innards of the building, it lit up with an ethereal aqua glow and a droning hum rocked the structure. He knew he was screwed – a Cabal dropship carried enough firepower to level the entire station. Suddenly a metallic tube screamed towards the Titan. He hurled himself sideways as the contraption launched itself out the entrance and toward the alien troop, pulverizing them. A melodic voice announced, “Train A has docked at Dayonis Station. Enjoy your stay.” The Traveler must be with him today. The Titan realized he’d discovered some relic of human travel, a potential gain for the Guardians of the Last City.

..

[u]The Buriers[/u] The two soldiers cautiously made their way down the streets of a broken city. Their objective was to recover lost technology from the Golden Age. They scoured the city for hours on end. Eventually, they grew weary and decided to take a break. After resting for a minute, the younger one burst out in frustration, “What are we even doing here? This is a waste of time! This place is way too old to have anything even remotely useful!” Just as the older one attempted to quiet him, the wall behind them exploded, showering them with rubble. The two reflexively leapt to their feet and whipped out their rifles in one fluid motion. Four Cabal charged out of the dust. The men frantically looked around for cover, but spotted something else; a massive, hulking Cabal wielding what appeared to be a colossal chaingun. The soldiers exchanged glances of fear and bolted to the nearest building. They aimlessly tore through the complex until the burst of adrenaline wore off. They stopped to get their bearings, and noticed that one of the walls in the room was covered in television screens. “Try to bring up a map of this place on one of those monitors,” the older man told his companion. “I’ll see what I can do,” answered the younger one. He began pressing buttons and flipping switches, trying to turn on the power. One of the monitors came online and started playing a video. The screen showed a dark figure standing atop a desecrated building, giving what seemed to be a victory speech to gathering troops. In the distance, onyx pyramids loomed in the sky above. Suddenly, a thunderous crash shook the entire building; there was no time to analyze further. The older one glanced at the doorway, “Grab that file and let’s get outta' here. They’ll wanna see this back at the City."

Jake stepped out of the shuttle and made his way to the busy station. He took in a deep breath; he new he was late. This was the second time this week that he was late. Jake crossed his fingers and hoped his boss wouldn’t notice that he wasn’t there, knowing the whole time that he was going to get a write up. People were everywhere. Streams of them were pouring in and out of the station at a constant flow. Jake looked around at the tall skyscrapers that surrounded the station. They stood out in sharp contrast against the bright blue sky. When Jake had first moved out to Mars he had been a little nervous, unsure of what to expect. He found out however that Mars was green, water was abundant, and the imported wildlife thrived there. All of that was about to change. A shadow started to creep across the courtyard. Jake turned around and shielded his eyes as he looked up at the sky. The object was big, irregular shaped, and had a flaming tail trailing behind it. It was in the sky only for a moment and then it passed as if it had never been there. Most of the people around him had also stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the object in the sky. No one moved. No one talked. The shock wave hit first throwing Jake into the air. Glass came raining down from the skyscrapers. People where screaming and shouting, the last thing Jake saw was a great flash of light as his life was extinguished. Deep above Mars’ orbit Cabal ships were towing in asteroids and launching them at the surface of the planet. Their asteroid campaign lasted a week. When it was over not much was left but the ruins of a buried city.

My mission was simple. Go to the buried ruins on mars and investigate an active distress beacon. As my ship resends into the atmosphere alarms go off all around my small vessel. “Missile Alert… Missile Alert. ” looking at the radar I see three red blips gaining fast. “Man why do I have the worst of luck?” I say aloud as I veer off course. The missiles streak past and then turn around. I swear, Homing Missiles? I start to veer again as two came on screen. Apparently someone doesn't like me. I feel the ship rock when the wings were hit. I start to spiral down into the lower atmosphere and pull the ejection cable. With a hiss and screeching of metal on metal I flew out of the ship and started to fall towards the sands of Mars. I could feel the ship being torn apart before I heard it; the missile's found their mark. I twist in air and upright myself. I position my hands to use my new found ability. I slowly glid down; with a soft thump I land safely. I notice a bunch of ruins encompassing a lone building. I hear the howling of a sandstorm coming. My only choice is to take shelter in the lone building. I wonder what treasures await me here? Is this the resting place of Charlemagne’s vault? I walked forward as my boots echoed off the walls. I was blinded until my visor finally adjusted and realized in front of me was two tank like creatures. Are they friend or foe? The creatures looked at me and roared. I readied my magic as they started to charge. I released the sun into them vaporizing one as the other continued to charge me. Is this the end of Lilyanna?

A Warlock stood amidst an abandoned city on Mars, his helmet and armour protecting him from the wind that sent streaks of red sand flying through the air. Even abandoned and crumbling, the city still stood, temporarily embarrassed but unbowed and unbroken. “We were once gods.” The Warlock whispered as he stared at the still towering skyline. Humanity had reached out to the stars, and found within its reach seven other planets, all of them dead. Humanity had not let those planets stay dead. The Warlock looked around the city, a city still not yet cowed despite the blasting sand and howling wind. Humanity had taken a barren, rocky world and built on it, facing the challenges head on, and carved out a city that still inspired awe with its strength and resiliency, its stubbornness in the face of the elements still an embodiment of what humanity was. The Warlock grinned. Humanity, at its core, was a race of stubborn and tenacious creatures. They never planned on giving up, never planned on defeat. Something once had tried to humble Humanity, tried to stop them, tried to end them. The ruins were a reminder of that. That Humanity had once been brought to its knees. The Warlock clenched his fist and willed the power that he had studied, the power that he had learned, to flow into his hands, and he felt a surge of energy gather into a brightly shining sphere, thrumming with power. They might have once brought Humanity to its knees, but now they were beginning to stand again. The grandeur still evident in the buildings around him and the energy humming in his hand made the message clear. They had been gods before, and they would be gods again.

[i]Sands of Time[/i] It's easy to forget how long ago The Collapse was sometimes. Historians can ascribe dates to that dark time, but those are just numbers. Old stories made threadbare by the generations give us faint visions of what life was like before, but those are just words. It's only when you stand in a ghost city that's been flooded with red sand that you understand how long it's been. Old towers that had once touched the skies are now in tatters, their metal skeletons exposed to the elements. Wrecks of old vehicles abandoned in the panic of the Collapse litter the landscape. The rusted remains of this place were picked clean by the Cabal years ago, and now the dunes have come for their share. Sand fills the city in puddles, in waves and in mountain peaks, and with every gust of wind more comes to bury the remnants of this once towering utopia. The wind, like a howling pack of wolves, rushes through the streets. My crunching footsteps and the occasional creak of rusted metal are the only other sounds. After tapping the holster of my .44 reassuringly, I continue deeper into the ruins, back towards the camp that my squad has made in the shelter of an old station. So many of my fellow Guardians believe that the time where even the Traveler will be unable to protect us is fast approaching, but I know better. Our alien enemies will not be the ones to land the killing blow. It is only when the last of our cities have been crushed under the sands of time that we will be truly gone. I can at least be thankful that, should that day come, none of us will be alive to see it.

The orange dust blew over my rusted boots, the creaking buildings reminded me of what we had lost and what we were fighting for. I clenched my rifle with fearful anticipation and silent dread. I remembered the story's my father told me about mars, the fierce cabal's thundering foot steps and booming machine guns. I shook the fear off and continued on through the damned city. Then all of the legends became truths when I saw it! I was larger then life and legend, its eyes pierced through my soul, and it raised its war hammer! It was a cabal class 300 and it wanted nothing but to strike me down! I shot my rifle full auto into its armor but to no avail, it seemed like it only made the monster more angry! Then I heard a loud cracking boom of 100 cal. rounds, and the beast fell dropping its magnificent loot! I slowly turned around to see my old friend Thomas from so long ago, he simply said "Get up you fool! There are more on the horizon." I picked my self up and remembered the most important law of the jungle, the pack! And it seems the rest was history! Me and him formed a fire team and repelled the cabal forces! "Ah son those where the good old days, ah one day you will see what I'm talk-en about" He says as he tucks his child in "Good night."

I am a Guardian of The City, the last remaining stronghold for humanity. I am tasked with the responsibility of keeping the lives that reside inside our walls safe. My ship the Olympian Eagle a lustrous black craft as dark as the space backdrop she gracefully dances through, departs the Tower in a thundering eruption of rockets. We are thrust out of the atmosphere and plunged into the dark void, as I take a last gaze upon Earth my eyes wander to the Traveler, the unmistakable source of the Guardians power. My destination is Mars a planet once inhabited by humans for an unknown purpose. Intel places and incursion of Cabal, setting up shop in an old forgotten station preparing for a raid on our City. I near Mars as I grab my gear the dark armor I dawn with encrusted ebony tribal wings upon its torso. My armaments and equipment reviewed, I disembark the Olympian Eagle. I swiftly make for the city, ensuring not to alert the Cabal wardens, as I near the city a sharp crackle is heard over my radio. There is Guardians ahead, two of them and they are in distress. Entrenched inside a derelict city center, the sand swamping the old station in the middle where my fellow Guardians reside. They are being punished with vast amounts of fire in front of the building, Cabal give no quarter to let them return fire. They are pushed up the staircases of the entrance, as the Cabal take for them to pursue the two Guardians. I take up position to fire, rounds bark out of my gun, shells silently caress the ground, the Cabal fall. I recede back where I came from, the darkness never to see the Guardians again, silently keeping guard.

I hate Mars, always have, always will, with dust storms raging on the planet and sand always getting in the chinks of my armor. But a job is a job, and this one will help to clear my gambling debts on Venus, and just enough leftover to get some new books. Anyway, this all started a week ago, after my fight (butt-kicking) with that guy down at my favorite watering hole in the slums of old Russia. On my way to my dingy apartment on the outskirts of the City, I decided to check the notice boards to see if I could find a job. Then I saw him, running around like a Fallen platoon who lost their Captain, begging for someone to take his job, and that he would pay well. I wondered why no one had taken the job, but realized why; it was in one of the most treacherous areas on Mars, the Buried city, hunting the infamous Cabal group, the Titanic Ten, known for their brutality, OP weapons, and rumored to have one of the most powerful melee weapons that you can get, legally or illegally. I accepted, because I had been looking for them for years, to settle a “disagreement” I had with them about who cheated who in a game of Tiddlywinks. I cheated horribly of course, but don't tell them that. I went to him and asked him how much it paid. “50,000 Glimmer?!? Accepted!” I rushed home, grabbed my gear, and flew to the Buried city, which brings me to my current position, crouched behind a crumbling pillar while shouting insults about the Titanic Ten’s mothers. They finally ran out of ammo, so I rushed in, spewing space magic, and kicked butt. Retrieved the blue prints, and the OP melee weapon, score!

​Cyphis Feltta sat in the gunshop, waiting for his new pulse rifle. The other customers appeared rather cautious around the Awoken Warlock. But who could blame them? His shaven head and numerous battle scars, matched with his soulless and black eyes, could make anyone fearful. He was strange, but if more people knew of his feats, or his power, perhaps he would have more respect. ​The official walked in, and Cyphis immediately knew why he was here. He scanned the room until his eyes met Cyphis’s. The official swiftly made his way over to him and said, “Cyphis Feltta, you are to report to the tower immediately.” ​Cyphis chuckled. He knew that if the city needed him, they were desperate. ​​At that moment, a voice over the speaker said, “Cyphis Feltta, your rifle is ready.” ​The shuttle dropped them not far from the camp. The Fallen had seen them though. After hopping off the shuttle, the Fallen immediately opened fire. But moving through the camp was easy. For a moment, victory seemed inevitable, until three Devil Walkers appeared. ​The Devil Walkers created a living wall that was impossible to move. While the Devil Walkers were firing on them, Fallen troops slowly moved forward. Reptor was the first to fall, and then Heshla, leaving Cyphis alone. In an act of desperation, Cyphis rushed the Devil Walkers. He barely felt the force of the blast when it happened. ​When he returned to his senses he saw a stump where his arm once was. The mission was a failure. Cyphis shut his eyes to await his sad demise, when an idea appeared. He pulled the bomb out of his pack along with the detonator. Cyphis always felt he had never done enough for the city. At least now he would die in peace.