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Lore:Gifts and Bargains: Difference between revisions
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'''Gifts and Bargains''' is a [[Lore]] book introduced in ''[[Season of the Wish]]''. Entries are unlocked by completing the Shooting Stars triumph. The entries contain messages from [[Taranis]] to the eggs the Guardian recovers throughout the ''Season of the Wish'' narrative in the dashed paragraphs while the remaining paragraphs explores an in-depth relationship between him and [[Riven]]. | '''Gifts and Bargains''' is a [[Lore]] book introduced in ''[[Season of the Wish]]''. Entries are unlocked by completing the Shooting Stars triumph. The entries contain messages from [[Taranis]] to the eggs the Guardian recovers throughout the ''Season of the Wish'' narrative in the dashed paragraphs while the remaining paragraphs explores an in-depth relationship between him and [[Riven]]. | ||
__TOC__ | __TOC__ | ||
==First Gift== | ==First Gift== | ||
{{Quote|O listeners, open your ears! There are choices ahead that you must make for yourselves. I will not act for you. I can only help by giving what I have left: my voice.|Taranis}} | |||
Taranis hatches bathed in the light of the heliopause. | Taranis hatches bathed in the light of the heliopause. | ||
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Taranis grows his first sensory organs. He uses them to look for more life. | Taranis grows his first sensory organs. He uses them to look for more life. | ||
The universe contracts and expands with the force of will, the | The universe contracts and expands with the force of will, the tension between what exists and what is wanted. Taranis learns to scent his way across these lines of tension, to navigate around other Ahamkara with no benign wishes for a little whim<ref>Whims are the given name for neonatal Ahamkara</ref> like Taranis. | ||
An Ahamkara's life and power are bound in their voice. Taranis sneaks silently in to listen to his elders at their feeding, the twists of their tongue, their multiplicity of meanings. He tracks other Ahamkara by the strength of their power, watches them hunt, slips past them to their catch. Their meals are bitter: Taranis can't swallow his stolen bites. | An Ahamkara's life and power are bound in their voice. Taranis sneaks silently in to listen to his elders at their feeding, the twists of their tongue, their multiplicity of meanings. He tracks other Ahamkara by the strength of their power, watches them hunt, slips past them to their catch. Their meals are bitter: Taranis can't swallow his stolen bites. | ||
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Taranis learns he is plainspoken for an Ahamkara. What pleases his tongue is not what pleases others. | Taranis learns he is plainspoken for an Ahamkara. What pleases his tongue is not what pleases others. | ||
The first wish Taranis grants is to a [[Cabal]] soldier patrolling her firebase in honor of | The first wish Taranis grants is to a [[Cabal]] soldier patrolling her firebase in honor of [[Torobatl|Empire]] and [[Emperor Calus|Emperor]]. Hot sand blows in [[Mars]]'s winds, whipping against her pressure suit, scratching the enamel on her greaves. She wishes for respite. To put down her equipment for a single day. To rest without being derelict in her duty. | ||
With a wish that broad, an Ahamkara could eat her whole. | With a wish that broad, an Ahamkara could eat her whole. | ||
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Taranis grows more slowly than his age-mates. The sustenance he finds doesn't fill his belly like their hunts fill them. They grow in strength; tongues long, teeth fierce. They lose patience for a runt with overly delicate sensibilities. Taranis finds himself in need of a retreat. | Taranis grows more slowly than his age-mates. The sustenance he finds doesn't fill his belly like their hunts fill them. They grow in strength; tongues long, teeth fierce. They lose patience for a runt with overly delicate sensibilities. Taranis finds himself in need of a retreat. | ||
Taranis doggedly follows a faint | Taranis doggedly follows a faint trail— A hint of secrets in the air— All the way to pinch in space. He makes his own door and enters. It is a place of life, lush with [[Asphodelia|crimson flowers]] and trees speckled with water, trunks dripping sap. It is a place of potential, of possibility: a nursery for life itself. A [[Black Garden|garden]], a grove. | ||
A fine place for a nest. A fine place for Taranis to teach himself who he is. | A fine place for a nest. A fine place for Taranis to teach himself who he is. | ||
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Taranis drifts through [[Venus]]'s atmosphere on albatross wings. The [[Vex]] are a dull prickle, a flat endless weight. Taranis will make no bargains with them. | Taranis drifts through [[Venus]]'s atmosphere on albatross wings. The [[Vex]] are a dull prickle, a flat endless weight. Taranis will make no bargains with them. | ||
A [[Dreg|drekh]] on patrol in water up to their knees wishes for growth, stumps itching under docking caps. They picture themself with a hundred arms, a thousand eyes, a spine like a tree. Tall enough to lift themself out of water, to take their | A [[Dreg|drekh]] on patrol in water up to their knees wishes for growth, stumps itching under docking caps. They picture themself with a hundred arms, a thousand eyes, a spine like a tree. Tall enough to lift themself out of water, to take their House by [[Skiff]] and [[Ketch]] back to their [[Riis|first home]], a hero crowned in honor like [[Chelchis, Kell of Stone|Chelchis]]. | ||
Taranis circles far overhead, riding on the thermal of their desire, till a brighter spark on the horizon pulls his attention away. | Taranis circles far overhead, riding on the thermal of their desire, till a brighter spark on the horizon pulls his attention away. | ||
He follows the spark and finds [[Lightbearer]]s. He has seen their kind before: [[Earth]]'s Lightbearers get into every corner of Sol. They poke around for mysteries to solve. They pick fights with [[Psion]]s. They peel Vex structures for prizes to wear on their belts. A Lightbearer makes a strong partner, with a firm will and steady belief in their own importance. A Lightbearer creates ripples through the world with the weight of their concentrated potential. A dozen walk alone or in small groups on Venus now, unbothered by decay and the threat of death around every corner. | He follows the spark and finds [[Lightbearer]]s. He has seen their kind before: [[Earth]]'s Lightbearers get into every corner of [[Sol System|Sol]]. They poke around for mysteries to solve. They pick fights with [[Psion]]s. They peel Vex structures for prizes to wear on their belts. A Lightbearer makes a strong partner, with a firm will and steady belief in their own importance. A Lightbearer creates ripples through the world with the weight of their concentrated potential. A dozen walk alone or in small groups on Venus now, unbothered by decay and the threat of death around every corner. | ||
Eleven Lightbearers dig through archives, battle Vex, and skim lightly over deep water, their desires shifting with circumstance. The twelfth Lightbearer sits unmoving under the spilling branches of a willow. His desires are faint, despite the firmness of his will. His presence is a cool taste in the back of Taranis's throat, pale as the light from the Lightbearer's lantern. | Eleven Lightbearers dig through archives, battle Vex, and skim lightly over deep water, their desires shifting with circumstance. The twelfth Lightbearer sits unmoving under the spilling branches of a willow. His desires are faint, despite the firmness of his will. His presence is a cool taste in the back of Taranis's throat, pale as the light from the Lightbearer's lantern. | ||
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"What do you think you're doing in my territory?" multiple voices inquire. The laugh emerges into the foreground. Leathery frills frame a massive head. An uncertain number of eyes glow bright with curiosity and malice. | "What do you think you're doing in my territory?" multiple voices inquire. The laugh emerges into the foreground. Leathery frills frame a massive head. An uncertain number of eyes glow bright with curiosity and malice. | ||
This Ahamkara has gravity like a black hole. Taranis feels her grip on the warp and weft of desire encircling them and knows he can do nothing to stop himself from being drawn in. | [[Riven|This Ahamkara]] has gravity like a black hole. Taranis feels her grip on the warp and weft of desire encircling them and knows he can do nothing to stop himself from being drawn in. | ||
==Second Gift== | ==Second Gift== | ||
{{Quote|O my eggs! O my whims, more precious than my eyes, dearer than my tongue! Eat my story, take it into your bodies. Grow your egg-teeth. Crack your shells. Choose.|Taranis}} | |||
Two forms move above the Dreaming City, curving between the pressures of gravity and desire. | Two forms move above the Dreaming City, curving between the pressures of gravity and desire. | ||
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He twists around Riven, neck on neck for a moment, before he slips ahead through the [[Divalian Mists|mists of Divalia]]. | He twists around Riven, neck on neck for a moment, before he slips ahead through the [[Divalian Mists|mists of Divalia]]. | ||
There's a wish on the wind. A mind far below, dreaming of a change to the world. Taranis noses | There's a wish on the wind. A mind far below, dreaming of a change to the world. Taranis noses toward it. | ||
One of [[Mara Sov|Mara]]'s Awoken sits under the vault of a broken geode. He dreams, looking over the shifting mists. Ambition is woven through his thoughts, a wish for a more comfortable home. One shaped like a memory, with a parent in the [[Distributary]] making sesame pastries soaked in honey. Too sweet, too sticky, but beloved. | One of [[Mara Sov|Mara]]'s Awoken sits under the vault of a broken geode. He dreams, looking over the shifting mists. Ambition is woven through his thoughts, a wish for a more comfortable home. One shaped like a memory, with a parent in the [[Distributary]] making sesame pastries soaked in honey. Too sweet, too sticky, but beloved. | ||
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Riven shutters her eyes with great plates of bone. "That mode of speech is unworthy, O foolish companion mine." | Riven shutters her eyes with great plates of bone. "That mode of speech is unworthy, O foolish companion mine." | ||
But naming without claim suits Taranis. It's an argument he and Riven will never settle. He will call her O beloved, O master artisan, without ever appending the "mine," and she will forever call him her fool. | But naming without claim suits Taranis. It's an argument he and Riven will never settle. [[Anthem Anatheme|He will call her O beloved, O master artisan, without ever appending the "mine,"]] <ref>[[Lore:Truth to Power]] As speculated by [[Medusa]], only by enclosing a target within the "O'" activator and the possessive "mine", may a user of the Anthem Anatheme act upon its power.</ref> and she will forever call him her fool. | ||
"Riven, then. I'd show you my grove as you showed me your city." | "Riven, then. I'd show you my grove as you showed me your city." | ||
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"His ambitions didn't suit my palate." | "His ambitions didn't suit my palate." | ||
The prince and [[Jolyon Till|his partner]] hadn't approached Taranis's nest on their journey. Taranis had made sure of it. | The prince and [[Jolyon Till|his partner]] hadn't approached Taranis's nest on [[Lore:The Forsaken Prince|their journey]]. Taranis had made sure of it. | ||
Riven's will causes eddies in the fabric of Taranis's home. It begins to grow around her into more of a place of mystery, a place of dangers for the unwary. Taranis rests his jaws on his forelimbs, watching, nudging her will with his own when the changes grow too vast. He wants this. His home is still his own. | Riven's will causes eddies in the fabric of Taranis's home. It begins to grow around her into more of a place of mystery, a place of dangers for the unwary. Taranis rests his jaws on his forelimbs, watching, nudging her will with his own when the changes grow too vast. He wants this. His home is still his own. | ||
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Instead, he gives himself as a gift, and Riven gives herself to him in return. Together, they make something new. | Instead, he gives himself as a gift, and Riven gives herself to him in return. Together, they make something new. | ||
Taranis unspools his own cells into embryos, pulling from his lungs and heart and blood, taking the initiator's role, that of the dam. In response, Riven kindles them, feeding Taranis a sire's strength for the task. Together, they spin will and memory into shells to house the embryos, their future whims. | Taranis unspools his own cells into embryos, pulling from his lungs and heart and blood, taking the initiator's role, that of the dam. In response, Riven kindles them, feeding Taranis a sire's strength for the task. Together, they spin will and memory into shells to house the embryos, their future whims. <ref>In animal husbandry, the male is referred to as the sire, the female the dam.</ref> | ||
A great gamble. And a solidified future. | A great gamble. And a solidified future. | ||
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==Third Gift== | ==Third Gift== | ||
{{Quote|O eggs, O little cells! If nothing else, if you let this memory pass with no exegesis, learn this: you were loved.|Taranis}} | |||
Taranis and Riven scatter their eggs across spacetime, giving them life to look on and grow near. From his grove, a nursery once more, Taranis broods on them. He takes on avian characteristics, letting feathers grow along a snake-like body. He fluffs himself up in his nest to spin new dreams for their clutch. He hums with pride, and his eggs chime along with him. | Taranis and Riven scatter their eggs across spacetime, giving them life to look on and grow near. From his grove, a nursery once more, Taranis broods on them. He takes on avian characteristics, letting feathers grow along a snake-like body. He fluffs himself up in his nest to spin new dreams for their clutch. He hums with pride, and his eggs chime along with him. | ||
When he was born, Taranis had hatched out in the cold, nothing but his shell to sustain him. But their eggs, he vows, will have more. They will have a surfeit. They will know the names of their forebears, dam and sire both. | When he was born, Taranis had hatched out in the cold, nothing but his shell to sustain him. But their eggs, he vows, will have more. They will have a surfeit <ref>An excess of food and drink</ref>. They will know the names of their forebears, dam and sire both. | ||
"If I'd known eggs would have settled you down so much, I'd have proposed it myself long ago," says Riven, their sire. Her voice is distant and comes to him with the energy of her city, moving like cold water over gleaming stone. A sure sign that she is at work with her queen | "If I'd known eggs would have settled you down so much, I'd have proposed it myself long ago," says Riven, their sire. Her voice is distant and comes to him with the energy of her city, moving like cold water over gleaming stone. A sure sign that she is at work with her queen | ||
"Between life and death, you chose life." Taranis, his voice plain as it is, makes sure his smugness carries all the way to the Dreaming City. | "Between life and death, you chose life." Taranis, his voice plain as it is, makes sure his smugness carries all the way to the Dreaming City. | ||
"I could still kill you." | "I could still kill you." | ||
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Riven's laugh is that of a pride of lions. | Riven's laugh is that of a pride of lions. | ||
--- | |||
Riven's voice faintly reaches across space to Taranis. | Riven's voice faintly reaches across space to Taranis. | ||
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Taranis rouses. "Too busy at your work today?" | Taranis rouses. "Too busy at your work today?" | ||
"Lightbearers are hunting Ahamkara. The Awoken are helping." | [[Great Ahamkara Hunt|"Lightbearers are hunting Ahamkara. The Awoken are helping."]] | ||
Taranis stands. "They won't hurt me. Maybe I can talk sense into them." He lets the strands bringing their minds together fall from his grasp. | Taranis stands. "They won't hurt me. Maybe I can talk sense into them." He lets the strands bringing their minds together fall from his grasp. | ||
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Taranis does not leave. | Taranis does not leave. | ||
The | The Queen of the City stands in a hall. She is surrounded by her people and crates of weapons ready to be distributed to allies outside the Reef. Taranis avoids them all, tracking the scent of other Ahamkara. | ||
He finds [[Azirim]] alone in a glade of luminous reeds, worrying at a piece of quartz. | He finds [[Azirim]] alone in a glade of luminous reeds, worrying at a piece of quartz. | ||
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Taranis scuttles along the wainscotting, a swift mouse-shape. Boots thump past him, tracking mud and urgency along the tiles. Wishes push at Taranis, for success, for safety, for the thrill of the hunt. | Taranis scuttles along the wainscotting, a swift mouse-shape. Boots thump past him, tracking mud and urgency along the tiles. Wishes push at Taranis, for success, for safety, for the thrill of the hunt. | ||
Taranis searches for an | Taranis searches for an Awoken he knows. A partner once dealt with in fairness. | ||
Gwilym is in his room tying back his long hair, bright silver against the deep blue of his hands. There is a bag on a hook by the door, a knife tucked inside, its edge whetted. | Gwilym is in his room tying back his long hair, bright silver against the deep blue of his hands. There is a bag on a hook by the door, a knife tucked inside, its edge whetted. | ||
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"I shouldn't visit a partner?" Taranis's long tail twitches. | "I shouldn't visit a partner?" Taranis's long tail twitches. | ||
"Azirim killed the last partner I had. Walked her and the rest of her [[Corsair]] squad right off a cliff. The Dreaming City can't afford more losses to the Ahamkara." | "Azirim killed the last partner I had. Walked her and the rest of her [[Corsair]] squad right off a cliff. The Dreaming City can't afford more losses to the Ahamkara." <ref>[[Lore:The_Dreaming_City#Azirim]]</ref> | ||
Gwilym's voice is that of a man convincing himself. | Gwilym's voice is that of a man convincing himself. | ||
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"I'm always right." | "I'm always right." | ||
"If all we are is teeth and they are is claws, what world are we dreaming into existence together?" Taranis' | "If all we are is teeth and all they are is claws, what world are we dreaming into existence together?" Taranis' wings cover his face. The soft breezes of the grove don't touch him. | ||
"A world of teeth and claws." Many of Riven's voices are bitter, but none are surprised. | "A world of teeth and claws." Many of Riven's voices are bitter, but none are surprised. | ||
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"We'll build ourselves, and even when we're bones, we'll sing to our children." | "We'll build ourselves, and even when we're bones, we'll sing to our children." | ||
Riven reaches out with a thread of thought. A secret overheard in the palace between Uldren, Mara's brother, and Jolyon Till, his Rachis. It feels like raspberries and quartz. It smells like the Divalian Mists. A fine secret to share and never speak out loud. Taranis unfolds himself from under his wings, and they weave it together into something grander. | Riven reaches out with a thread of thought. A secret overheard in the palace between Uldren, Mara's brother, and Jolyon Till, his [[Rachis]]. It feels like raspberries and quartz. It smells like the Divalian Mists. A fine secret to share and never speak out loud. Taranis unfolds himself from under his wings, and they weave it together into something grander. | ||
Together, Riven and Taranis weave more secrets; for their children, for the joys of creation, for outwitting any future seekers. | Together, Riven and Taranis weave more secrets; for their children, for the joys of creation, for outwitting any future seekers. | ||
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==Last Bargain== | ==Last Bargain== | ||
{{Quote|O my eggs, we meant to have eternity! To think our voices could be silenced forever! Sharpen your sight for unintended clauses. Step carefully around the waiting snare. Beware the bargain that makes you less than what you were!|Taranis}} | |||
Taranis crawls small and silent through [[Gardens of Esila|Esila's gardens]]. Power drips through the Dreaming City, corrupting its air, cracking its shining facets. | Taranis crawls small and silent through [[Gardens of Esila|Esila's gardens]]. Power drips through the Dreaming City, corrupting its air, cracking its shining facets.<ref>[[Taken_War#Battle_of_Saturn]]</ref> | ||
Creatures lurch through the grass on the strings of their master's desire, their own wills gone to rot. | [[Taken|Creatures]] lurch through the grass on the strings of their master's desire, their own wills gone to rot. | ||
Corruption spreads from the center of the Dreaming City. The grit at the pearl's heart poisons the city, poisons Riven, and poisons their eggs from the inside out. | Corruption spreads from the center of the Dreaming City. The grit at the pearl's heart poisons the city, poisons Riven, and poisons their eggs from the inside out.<ref> Refers to wishes made by [[Oryx, the Taken King]] following the taking of Riven.</ref> | ||
There's a murmur. Taranis slithers towards it to listen. | There's a murmur. Taranis slithers towards it to listen. | ||
What speaks is not Riven, not as Taranis knows her.<ref> Refers to Riven after being Taken by Oryx</ref> | |||
Taranis knows her every voice, the way her claws tug at reality. There is no shape Riven could take in which he would not know her. And there should be no shape Taranis could take in which Riven would not know him. | Taranis knows her every voice, the way her claws tug at reality. There is no shape Riven could take in which he would not know her. And there should be no shape Taranis could take in which Riven would not know him. | ||
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Taranis shuts himself off from it, retreating to his hoard of secrets. Stone grows up his sides. Moss and vines follow, tracing words on his sides. | Taranis shuts himself off from it, retreating to his hoard of secrets. Stone grows up his sides. Moss and vines follow, tracing words on his sides. | ||
While dormant, Taranis listens to this new Riven's | While dormant, Taranis listens to this new Riven's voice— The voice of a king, uninterested in magnanimity. A strong and unyielding voice that tastes of iron. | ||
Only faint chimes of his Riven are left in the wish-born shells of their remaining eggs. And there are so few left. | Only faint chimes of his Riven are left in the wish-born shells of their remaining eggs. And there are so few left. | ||
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There is one last bargain he can make. One last gift he can give them. One last use for his tongue. | There is one last bargain he can make. One last gift he can give them. One last use for his tongue. | ||
Taranis reaches out to his eggs. He gathers up his power, his life, his voice. His own wish for the sake of his children, a snare for a future [[The Guardian|Wish-Keeper]]. | Taranis reaches out to his eggs. He gathers up his power, his life, his voice. His own wish for the sake of his children, a [[Wish-Keeper|snare]] for a future [[The Guardian|Wish-Keeper]]. | ||
For the final time, Taranis opens his throat to speak. | For the final time, Taranis opens his throat to speak. | ||
"O' my eggs! O' my children! O' future whims, O' dreams of your own devising! I am dead, and Riven, your sire, is caged." | |||
Remember that the easy meal, the little joy, passes soon. What fills your belly forever is satisfaction. Grow well! Eat life to sate your belly's hunger and return it as a gift to sate your heart's. | Remember that the easy meal, the little joy, passes soon. What fills your belly forever is satisfaction. Grow well! Eat life to sate your belly's hunger and return it as a gift to sate your heart's. | ||
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Choose with care who you will be. Promise me only that you will live. | Choose with care who you will be. Promise me only that you will live. | ||
O Wish-Keeper, my | O Wish-Keeper, my death is in your hands. Bear it well. | ||
Remember me. Remember I was Taranis Rivensmate till the end. | Remember me. Remember I was Taranis, Rivensmate till the end. | ||
==Footnotes== | |||
<references/> | |||
[[Category:Lore]] | [[Category:Lore]] | ||