[i]Hey guys, I'm happy to present to you the first episode of a new series based on Toland the Shattered. My story starts when Toland has already taken an interest in Hive arcana, discomforting those in the City who would no doubt like him gone. If you like this beginning, like, bump, and follow![/i] [b]Episode One:[/b] “Are you satisfied,” asked Toland, “or should I open an artery?” The Wizard, a floating figure of rag and bone, continued to circle Toland, scraping her claws against the dimpled wall, probably in order to unnerve him. She went by the name of Raxyl. She was by all accounts a lower-ranked creature down in this pit, and so far, he'd been trying to convince her of his innocence. He was lying, of course, but she needn't know that. Toland struggled against the manacles that bound him. “I’m only here to study—what do they call them? Weapons of Sorrow, if I’m not mistaken,” he said. “I’ve been trying to devise my own weapon, a pulse rifle styled after black-magical objects from ancient Africa. I even found an incredibly rare avian skull to function as the center talisman. You see, I believe I can make it so that it [i]desires[/i] to feed off of life.” He took a breath. “It’s similar to Hive weaponry, so much so that I can replicate a Weapon of Sorrow myself, if you can believe that. I call it Bad Juju. Do you fancy the name?” Raxyl stared for a second, almost confused, then continued trying to speak to him using the Hive's four-toned speech. Of course, the wench couldn't understand Toland. He had forgotten that for a moment. However, he did know fragments of their own language. The Wizard gestured to her many bladed instruments set upon an altar of stone. The Wizard shrieked at him, like parchment shredding. She said something along the lines of experiment and disembowelment. Unfortunately, Toland couldn't stay for her macabre examination, though he truly wished he could witness the torture techniques she would no doubt utilize. He shrieked an apology back at Raxyl. She rasped out a papery giggle, not seeming to understand. [i]I don't think you used the correct tone[/i], said his Ghost. Toland frowned. [i]Damn me and my foreign, irregular larynx. [/i] Raxyl turned her back on him and reached out for a strange, curved device made from a mixture of bone and metal. It had to be a scalpel. The atom-thin blade looked like it could flense away his skin, with little to no pressure, like parting curtains. He couldn't give her the chance to perform a vivisection. Toland let Light leak from the pond from which the Traveler's power pooled within him and filtered it into the power of the Void. He let the violet energy rise around him in a fog. It ate through the manacles, even chipped the rock where he stood. He sent the molecular substances into the vast corners of the universe—into the abyss. A simmering sphere formed in the cup of his palm. Raxyl spun around and he shoved the sphere into her face. The Void ate her ribbed crown of chitinous flesh and only her headless corpse remained as it drifted to the ground. Toland sighed. Getting caught on purpose hadn’t helped him much, it seemed. The Wizard had little information to offer. Now, he had to return to the City. He was an important figure of the Crypto-Archeological Society and he could not be gone another day. Master Rahool could only suffer his absence for so long. Toland walked out of Raxyl’s torture chamber, taking back Shadow Price, his own auto rifle that had been confiscated, and found two figures standing guard in the dark corridor. Hallowed Knights. They had their backs to him, which would soon prove very unhealthy for them. He sprinted and grabbed the back of their necks, draining them of their life and body. The Knights’ physical matter disintegrated into dust and fell like sand through his fingers. [i]Well done[/i], said the Ghost. [i]You’re approximately two minutes to the entrance of the Hellmouth. I’ve done minor scans of the area. There’s a packet of Thralls to your immediate South, and thirty Acolytes guarding the entrance. [/i] [i]Thanks, little thing.[/i] Grateful that Raxyl was of such a low rank that her lair was only minutes away from the entrance of the Hive refuge, Toland started towards the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Just like his Ghost said, a horde of Thralls burst from a small cave dug into the rock. Good thing he was prepared. He tossed a set of scatter grenades he’d been forming in his hands and they landed within their scrambling midst. They exploded like fireworks. Violet light crackled and flashed, leaving nothing but black limbs and abdomens poked with holes. Toland hummed a series of random notes as he waded through bolts of Voidfire, shot from the weapons of the Acolytes before him. He raised his assault rifle. One after the other, the Hive minions fell from his shower of bullets. This went on for some time until he reached the lip of the entrance and lunar light fell over his black and green robes. The last Acolyte dropped to the ground. Shrieks and howling filled the corridor. Was he just hearing this now? Toland cut his music short and listened—suffering the sounds of the Hive and the utter sense of dread that suddenly pierced his very soul. There was something lurking in the black chasm. No, the Wizards screeched of a being located in a dark netherworld. He could feel the distorted cosmos attempt to pull him back into the folds of the demonic city. Toland knew who it was. He heard the shivering name in the storm of words. It was Crota, Son of Oryx. [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/98889624/0/0/1]EPISODE TWO[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99463401/0/0/1]EPISODE THREE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/99974909/0/0/1]EPISODE FOUR[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100582279/0/0/1]EPISODE FIVE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/101705656/0/0/1]EPILOGUE[/url][/b] [i][b]DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THIS SERIES HAS SOME BASIS IN LORE, THIS IS A WORK OF PURE FAN FICTION, ONLY TO BE TAKEN WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. I WRITE THESE SERIES FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO READ, SO IF YOU ARE SOMEHOW OFFENDED BY WORDS, DON'T READ MY STORIES[/b][/i] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/100362914]DESTINY FAN FICTION ARCHIVE[/url][/b] [b][url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Clan/Forum/823422]JOIN CLAN FOR FAN FICTION UPDATES[/url][/b]