The Nether - Heresy

TRENCHWAY, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian enters the Nether.

Drifter: Hit back, killer. Run 'em down.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

Sloane: The Taken and Dread think this ship belongs to them. They want a new base of operations in Sol. Rip them out of the hull, every inch of it.

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian explores the Nether after defeating the first boss.

Sloane: Eris' killer in somewhere on the Dreadnaught. A Taken subjugator... I don't know who's doing the Taking now, but that's a problem for another mission. Let's hit this first. We left this place to rot, like a bad memory tarnishing Saturn's rings. Not a smart call, and it cost us too much.

THE FOUNTS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian enters the Nether.

Sloane: Taken power is pulsing through this place. It's... alive. Breathing.

The Guardian defeats the final boss.

Sloane: Transmatting you out, Guardian. You fought hard, but the Dreadnaught fought back. If we're going to do this, then we need to change our tactics. We need to adapt.

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian explores the Nether after defeating the first boss.

Sloane: When Ikora heard what happened… Rage. It was rage. But she couldn’t just abandon the Tower. So Ikora sent us as her rage, Guardian. Let’s do her justice.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian explores the Nether after defeating the second boss.

Sloane: The Dreadnaught’s always been dangerous. Any fireteam we send in takes on tremendous risk. The Vanguard kept it monitored, but bringing Oryx’s flagship under our control? We’d never hold it for long enough to matter. Well… sometimes, you do the impossible. You just have to cinch up your armor straps and get to work.

The Guardian defeats the final boss.

Sloane: Eris always did whatever she set her mind to, regardless of the risk. And regardless of who told her no. I can respect that, but that risk gets an edge when you encounter something you’re not ready for. We can’t let ourselves be caught off guard again. We’re going to peel this place apart until there’s nowhere to hide another ambush.

The Guardian explores the Nether after defeating the first boss.

Sloane: Drifter. You and Eris were close.

Drifter: Not anymore. She’s dead.

Sloane: That’s all you have to say?

Drifter: That’s all.

Sloane: This was hard on all of us. You know you aren’t alone, right?

Drifter: See, that’s the thing, Thunderguns. We try to distract ourselves from it, but… we’re all alone.

THE ASCENDANT PLANE

The Guardian explores the Nether after defeating the second boss.

Sloane: I don’t believe we’re all alone, and neither do you. We’ve built a community in the City.

Drifter: Not my community. There’s no use putting my life on the line for it.

Sloane: Stop throwing chaff. You choose that community, every day. It’s why the loss hurts. Why it demands justice. So we take it and put that justice between us and our enemies.

Drifter: I’d envy you… if you weren’t so damn gullible. Justice! Does justice keep your heart from collapsing? No! Never does.

Sloane: You finish, and she’s still just gone.

TRENCHWAY, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats the final boss.

Sloane: This isn’t what she would have wanted. You know that.

Drifter: What do you want? Some kinda sappy confession? I don’t do those! I’m not gonna say she made me a better person! That wasn’t on her. I am who I am! And I sure as hell ain’t gonna say, “She’s in a better place.” She fought to live! I saw it, in her eyes! She trusted me, and I failed her. That’s it! She’s dead! And I’m done talkin’.

The Guardian explores the Nether after defeating the first boss.

Drifter: Whenever you dust a Taken, they get sent back to the Ascendant Plane; then they come right back to fight again. Only good thing is, they couldn't Take anymoe. Now they can, and no one here knows why.

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian explores the Nether after defeating the second boss.

Drifter: Here's something big about the Taken: they need someone to tell them what to do. Oryx, the Witness... bet Mara could grab 'em, too, if she wanted. Hell, even I can get ahold of 'em for Gambit. So, I got a question for you, killer: Who told them to murder Eris?

The Guardian defeats the final boss.

Drifter: Eris wouldn't have wanted you to quit. And she didn't want me to quit, either. Probably why she said what she said. Keep us strong. I dunno if I... coulda been stronger. I died too. I... Only difference is that... I could wake up. To this. You know... you're the closest thing I got to a friend. Ain't that the saddest thing you ever heard?

THE FOUNTS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

Nether Mortem - Objective- Destroy Hostile forces or WIPE

Sloane: Stay focused, Guardian. Don't let your fear overwhelm you.

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

Nether Mortem - Objective- Destroy Hostile forces or WIPE

Sloane: Taken suffocation. Control your fear, and find the source.

TRENCHWAY, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian readies to fight Lezrel, Eversion Channeler

Objective- Disrupt Eversion Ritual

Drifter: That Eversion Anchor is readying up! It's gonna spit out Taken all across the system!

Sloane: More Eversion Anchors. Shut it down, Guardian.

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian readies to fight Herald of the Weapon

Objective- Defeat the Subjugator

Sloane: Sterile neutrinos. The Dreadnaught's weapon systems are engaging.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

Objective- Defeat the Taken Cluster Keeper

The Guardian readies to fight Kelrosh, Spawn Keeper

Sloane: The Hive have established a breeding ground. Clear it out, fireteam.

Sloane: You riled up the nest's caretaker. Put it in the ground.

THE FOUNTS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

Objective- Banish the Taken entity

The Guardian readies to fight Hashon of Endless Horrors

Sloane: A Taken Chimera. Send this thing back to the Ascendant Plane.

Sloane: Taken converging on your position, Guardian. Be ready.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats Kelrosh, Spawn Keeper

Drifter: Taken, Hive, Dread... don't matter to you, does it? Ha!

Sloane: Every enemy you put in the ground secures our hold on the Dreadnaught. Keep pushing.

Sloane: We've got this area cleared. Resume operations.

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats Herald of the Weapon

Sloane: Done and done. Keep moving, fireteam.

TRENCHWAY, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats Lezrel, Eversion Channeler

Sloane: We have this sector locked down. Keep digging, fireteam. This place is a maze.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian enters the Nether (Act I, Week 3)

Echo of Navigation: Heir presumptive. You have returned to my throne.

Echo of Navigation: My Dreadnaught tests you, heir-presumptive. Show me your sharpness.

Echo of Navigation: Heir-presumptive, I make you sharp so that you may continue my logic and uphold my law. You will take up my mantle and become me. You will remove everything that can be removed. And you will bring extinction to your enemies, as I brought extinction to mine.

Echo of Navigation: I am told that in my last life, I had a son. Crota, my sister tells me, came to your only moon and hollowed it with his throne. When you destroyed him, I brought my Dreadnaught to bear my High War upon this system. Is that what drove me here? Sentimental revenge? A waste of my logic. The dead deserve extinction.

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats the final boss (Act I, Week 3)

Echo of Navigation: What other heresies did I entertain as the years unfolded? What else, besides my death? Xivu Arath fails to test her strength out of fear of her own mortality. She wants me to turn away from our logic out of liar’s love. In my resurrection, I only see her failure. Hers, and mine. In you, I see the strength I had that can endure forever.

The Guardian defeats the first boss and enters the next area (Act I, Week 3)

Xivu Arath: WHY DOES OUR BROTHER REFUSE TO PICK UP HIS SWORD ONCE MORE, IN FLESH AND BONE?

Echo of Navigation: I spoke to the Deep. If I truly died, then I am dead. Aiat. You followed a charlatan into heresy and lost your edge. What truth can you offer?

Xivu Arath: AN UNWORTHY SPEAKER, PUNISHED. A FALSE IDOL, UNSEATED. AND I WAS DETHRONED. AND YOU WERE DEAD. WHAT IS BEHIND IS TAINTED. WHAT IS FORWARD IS TRUTH. TITHES, AND SWORDS, AND ORYX, OUR KING.

THE FOUNTS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats the second boss and enters the next area (Act I, Week 3)

Xivu Arath: YOU ARE HERE, WITH ME. WE MAY RETURN TO OUR PATH. WE MAY REJOIN OUR CONQUEST.

Echo of Navigation: Then test me, sister. Destroy me. Are you afraid that you will fail? Or are you afraid you will succeed?

THE FOUNTS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats the final boss (Act I, Week 3)

Xivu Arath: BROTHER! YOU WOULD LAY DOWN YOUR EXISTENCE FOR AN UNWORTHY SUCCESSOR! YOU WOULD MANTLE A LIAR. WHY? I WILL NOT LET YOU!

Echo of Navigation: We agreed: if something greater comes to destroy us, then we do not deserve existence. I must be what I am, and I am defeated. My logic is true. This is proof eternal. And yet you deny it. That, sister, is heresy.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats the first boss and enters the next area (Act I, Week 3)

Echo of Navigation: Knife of My Slaying, you walk these halls as heir-presumptive. Answer.

Sloane: The Guardian doesn’t want it. Doesn’t NEED it.

Echo of Navigation: This is what they are. There is nothing else they can become. The ruthless will drag them down to die, unless they become so. Unless they become free.

THE FOUNTS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats the second boss and enters the next area (Act I, Week 3)

Echo of Navigation: Taken, yet you retain your will. Sword-bearer, Knight of the Deep. You defy your king.

Sloane: I’m no Taken, and you’re no king. The universe is more complicated than you think. That’s why you failed, and your legacy died with you. I barely remember your name.

Echo of Navigation: Hm. So you say. Yet here you are, vying for the remnants of my kingdom.

The Guardian defeats the final boss (Act I, Week 3)

Echo of Navigation: The halls of my Dreadnaught are filled with the gleeful exploration of knives. They descend as I descended, carving their names into the Deep, where dead worms speak sharp truths.

Sloane: Is that some sort of challenge? The Guardians killed you once, Oryx. They’ll kill you again.

Echo of Navigation: Let us discover that end together, then. Aiat.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian explores the Nether. (Act I, Week 3)

Sloane: Guardian. I mentioned that there's a new influence on the Taken. Like feedback over a comms channel. It's been getting stronger, and gaining clarity. Like a radio signal gradually tuning in. I didn't want to mention this until I was sure but... it has a familiar rhythm to it. A cadence. I'm not sure how, but I'm afraid a Dread commander gained access to the Taken. Keep this between us for now. I don't want to raise alarm unnecessarily. Just... keep your eyes open.

TRENCHWAY, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian explores the Nether. (Act 2)

Eris Morn: The Dreadnaught is filled with terrors. Do not be afraid; staunch them at their source!

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian readies to fight Herald of the Weapon (Act II)

Objective: Defeat the Subjugator

Eris Morn: Guardian! You must disempower the Dreadnaught's systems before its weapon can be readied.

THE MAUSOLEUM, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

Objective: Defeat the Taken Cluster Keeper

The Guardian readies to fight Kelrosh, Spawn Keeper (Act II)

Eris Morn: The Taken corruption spreads to the Hive's spawn! Remove the infection and destroy its caretaker!

HALL OF SOULS, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian defeats the final boss (Act II)

Eris Morn: Well done, Guardian. Each blow dealt to the Dreadnaught holds the line against our enemies.

TRENCHWAY, THE DREADNAUGHT, RINGS OF SATURN

The Guardian explores the Nether (Act II, Week 2)

Eris Morn: Oryx’s return instigated a grand schism in the Hive. They are shaken. They entertain the first doubt, the oldest doubt. They call it the “Entaoxuanna.” The doubt that will destroy them. The doubt that will undermine their core philosophy. Whatever happens must be so, but what must be so, is poison.

Their king was slain, but his mantle went unassumed. Now he returns as a sword: wormless, resurrected, and without the strength of his brood. There is no greater heresy than this. His sisters know it. He knows it. And so, in this, Oryx wishes to begin again.

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