My Queen,

Loyalty to the highest bidder is no loyalty at all. The Fallen mercenary, Taniks, the Scarred has appeared. It is… a Nightmare, I believe, though it is hard to say with Taniks. He was assumed defeated by Guardians during the SIVA conflict, although he has come back from the dead so many times that I feel somewhat uncertain.

All I am sure of is that the Nightmares are growing stronger. They challenge my fortitude in a way I haven't experienced since my time in the Hellmouth.

Taniks has changed in many respects over the years. He has enlisted the technology of the Fallen, Vex, and Humans to alter himself, out of necessity. He's a survivor, much like myself. Never in all my years did I think I would waver in my opinion of him, yet here I stand, sympathetic to a being who doesn't understand the meaning of the word.

I sometimes question what kept me in the Hellmouth. Was I truly trapped there, or was I keeping myself there? Was it a self-imposed exile for the disastrous attempt at assassinating Crota? Was I a prisoner of my own making, doing penance for my mistakes? No. This can't be right.

Taniks is a lawless murderer, with no moral code or ethics. There was that period, I am sure you recall, where it was assumed Cayde-6 had slain him, yet he returned—only to bring down Andal Brask in cold blood. Despicable.

This is not me; I'm no murderer. I fight for something better alongside all the Guardians of Light. This mission becomes more arduous by the day, but I am resolute in my cause.