Adieu: Difference between revisions

''Suddenly they fall into the abyss, vanquished, as the scene shifts yet again to a brief vision of The Leviathan, crowned with a  pair of suns, devouring a planetoid, possibly [[Nessus]].''

''A spear of arc. A sword of flame. And a shield of the void. Powers of the Light. The spirit soaring past it all, breaking from luridity to lucidity as with sudden focus we find ourselves above the sea of time, looking towards a distant shore and the Shard of the Traveler. The music soars on the wings of the spirit, the sun shines.''

''You are invited.''

''Two days after the attack: the Guardian wakes in a crater after having been thrown off ''[[The Immortal]]''. The [[City]] is destroyed. Everything is grey with smoke. In the distance [[Cabal]] soldiers patrol, flanked by [[Goliath Tank]]s. The Guardian gets up out of the crater, badly wounded, unable to heal or be revived, and stumbles forward aimlessly, trying to find a way out. The player follows along a drain, ducking behind a crashed ship as a [[Thresher]] passes slowly overhead, searching for survivors. On the boulevard where the Cabal and their tanks are marching through the City, [[Thumos the Unbroken]] can be seen briefly as he marches behind the troops in his distinctive golden armour and wings.''

*'''Ghost''': Guardian!!!

''The player moves towards the sound of their Ghost.''

*'''Ghost''': This is awful – awful!

''The exertion has been too much and the Guardian collapses, unable to continue.''

*'''Ghost''': This can’t be happening…

''Ghost notices the Guardian, rushing up to them and healing them.''

*'''Ghost''': Guardian…? You’re alive… I thought I’d lost you. I can heal you, but I can’t resurrect you. Not since… Guardian… the Light is gone. They’ve taken the City, the Traveler, everything… The Red Legion is killing powerless Guardians. We have to get out of here.

''Able to walk again the player gets moving, trying to evacuate the ruined city. The player makes their way over the rubble and through a gap in the Wall towards the world beyond.''

*'''Ghost''': I’m picking up an emergency broadcast. Rendezvous coordinates. They’re evacuating the planet.  

*'''Ghost''': We’re on our own…

''The player starts walking.''

'''''{City Outskirts}'''''

''Four days after the attack. A falcon sits on a rock, watching the player as they make their way slowly through the mountains. It flies off as they approach. In the distance a group of seven [[Thresher]]s roar through the skies, their engines booming down the mountain passes. A banner flutters in the breeze. A sign. A beacon. Hope. Other Guardians! Dead... Their camp still smouldering from the attack. Bodies strewn everywhere.''

*'''Ghost''': These Guardians… They had no chance without their powers. That could be us… Guardian – if you die… I can’t resurrect you. We need to be very careful.

''The player searches the camp for anything useful. A radio antenna plays the following message on repeat:''

*'''[Voice on the radio]''': If anyone’s out there…. whatever the Red Legion did, it was like they flipped a switch. Every Guardian and their Ghost’s connection to the Traveler just, vanished… I’m gathering survivors at the North-Western Passage. They took our Light! They’re - they’re killing us! [Message repeats]

''The player finds the [[Sorrow MG2]] and ammunition for their handcanon, a damaged [[Traveler's Chosen]]. Outside the camp the Guardian is ambushed by Cabal [[War Beast]]s, introducing the player to this enemy type. Follow your vision. Track the falcon through the mountains. The War Beasts defeated, the player heads off again.''

'''''{Twilight Gap}'''''

''One week after the attack''

*'''Ghost''': It’s that falcon again. Is it following us…? Or are we following it?

''The player makes their way through the mountain passes. As they move along a precarious ledge, the [[City]] comes into view, and as the music hammers home the sadness of this destruction a Cabal warship passes low overhead. The player continues on, gaining a brief view of the lands outside the City's encircling mountains before being confronted by more Cabal and War Beasts. The player defeats these and continues on along more narrow paths, jumping from cliff face to cliff face as they procede until finally seeing the falcon again, sitting on a ledge opposite the player. The Guardian jumps, reaching out, their grip slipping as they fall short and plummet off the cliff, landing unconscious with a thud as the scene fades to black.''

====<center>Cutscene - Meeting Hawthorne</center>====

''The Guardian wakes to find [[Hawthorne]] looking down on him as she extends a hand and helps them get back on their feet.''

*'''[[Hawthorne]]''': Oh look, somebody left a perfectly good Guardian lying around. Things must be worse than I thought.

''A loud explosive noise is heard, possibly a flare or a warning shot.''

*'''Hawthorne''': And that’s our cue. Time to go, people!

*'''Ghost''': Ah, but… Wait! Where… where are you all going?

*'''Hawthorne''': As far away from here as possible.

''The falcon screeches as it flies in, landing on Hawthorne’s outstretched arm''

*'''Ghost''': That falcon… it belongs to you?

*'''Hawthorne''': The name’s Hawthorne. And this is [[Louis]]. Best pilot we got. What about you? Fit to fly?

''The Guardian nods a yes''

*'''Hawthorne''': Probably gonna need one of these, too.

''Hawthorne throws the Guardian a [[Shotgun]], the [[Stubborn Oak]].''

*'''Hawthorne''': Time to make yourself useful. "Guardian."

''Hawthorne turns to the group behind her, gesturing to leave.''

*'''Hawthorne''': All right people, spin ‘em up! Got a long flight ahead of us!

''The camera turns and zooms out, showing Hawthorne and the Guardian running after her, moving towards a fleet of ships preparing to take off.''

*'''Consul''': All that remains is the completion of the cage around this great machine. Then we may begin the extraction of its power and put it to its rightful use.

''Ghaul returns to staring intently at the Traveler''

*'''Ghaul''': They call it the Traveler.

''Unmoved, the Consul ignores Ghaul's reverence.''

*'''Consul''': I would contend that other civilizations may be more precise in their naming. Its functions can be controlled and exploited… as we have so clearly proven.

''Quietly, as if to himself Ghaul says''

*'''Ghaul''': Yet they believe it to be a god.

''The Consul looks at his protegee, concerned that he is getting distracted of his mission''

*'''Consul''': Dominus –  

''Then more softly''

*'''Consul''': Ghaul.

''Ghaul looks at his mentor, listening.''

*'''Consul''': We have spent our lives, you and I, working to reshape out society… reforge our people… rebuild an empire nearly destroyed by [[Emperor Calus|Calus’s]] greed and corruption. Nothing in this universe greater than you! The Red Legion will have that machine’s power. You will be called [[Emperor]]!

''The Consul finishes triumphantly''

*'''Consul''': What more would the [[Dominus]] have?

*'''Ghaul''': I would have words with my guest.

''Ghaul turns away from the window as an X shaped torture rack, with the [[Speaker]] strapped to it, descends from the ceiling. Ghaul approaches the Speaker, face to face, staring at him.''

*'''Ghaul''': So, you’re the one who speaks for the Traveler.

====<center>Cutscene - Farm Introduction</center>====

''The squadron of spacecraft seen earlier is in center view as they fly in to The Farm, the Shard of the Traveler and the European Dead Zone is visible in the background as the camera shifts to follow them.''

*'''Hawthorne''': Coming up on the [[European Dead Zone]]. Gonna be our new home for a while.

*'''Ghost''': Look! Do you recognize it? That’s where we’re supposed to go.

*'''Hawthorne''': That thing? They call it the [[Shard of the Traveler]]. I call it: “Not a place you want to go poking around.”

''The Guardian transmats into the Farm as the camera swings around slowly panning out to show the new location, before focusing with the distant Shard fixed in the center of the scene.''