Every guardian has heard about Ikora Rey’s personal library but only the highest order of warlocks was typically welcome to it. Today her library laid host to a single titan, his helmet, which he was carrying under his arm, was damaged on the left-hand side and one of his horns were snapped halfway up. He stood in the entryway with his ghost drifting through the air above his shoulder. Both in awe of the volumes of knowledge surrounding them and the priceless collection of artifacts in glass cases that dotted the room.
“Ms. Rey will be with you shortly. Please wait here and make yourselves comfortable.” A docent frame in a simple robe instructed the duo.
“Uhmm… thank you.” The titan stammered uncomfortably. He stepped forward and took a seat in a velvet high backed chair that could well have been hundreds of years old. His ghost quickly scanned the room as his titan tried his best not to damage the chair.
“There are thousands of years of history and books in here. It’s.. it’s incredible. I wonder if Ikora has read them all.”
“I have.” A voice announced from the spiral stairwell on the far side of the room. Ikora stepped through a sudden portal of void light from the top of the stairs and began descending them gracefully. Two books gently floated around her torso, their pages slowly turned through the air as if invisible readers were eagerly devouring their words. “Several times in fact.”
The duo was starstruck. They’d met Ikora before, but not like this. Not on her turf. Out on the wall with the vanguard she was a commander. In here, she was a god.
The titan stood at attention and spoke rigidly “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Rey and thank you for agreeing to meet with us in person.”
“I’m pleased to finally meet you as well, Titan. Please, sit. Continue to make yourself at ease.” Ikora gestured to the ancient chair the titan had just stood from. Sheepishly, he lowered back down onto it. It was comfortable at least. Ikora walked over to an adjacent chair about 5 feet away from his. A small ornate end table rested between the two of them and had what the titan assumed was a tea kettle, though not like any he had ever seen before. It was made of white stone and bore blue stylized ideograms of winged snake-like creatures he did not immediately recognize and rows of symbols that looked like very intricate hive runes.
“It’s from the Yuan Dynasty. A pre-golden age ancient civilization.” Ikora explained with a knowing look. “It’s a tea kettle. It’s Oolong. Would you like some?”
The two sat in pregnant silence with their tea for a few minutes until Ghost cautiously broke into the looming conversation. “So Ikora, have you ever heard of … uhh.. mirror, or… uhm… evil Guardians?”
The statuesque warlock did not blink as she sipped her tea. Her gaze was sharp but compassionate. “An evil mirror guardian. Can’t say I have. Why do you ask?”
Ghost proceeded to recount the previous week’s event in the garden and the creature that spoke with a grinding metallic voice and resembled his guardian with terrifying detail.
“…and as soon the redjacks showed up everything was back to normal.” The ghost finished. “We sent you the request for a meeting the next morning and now here we are.”
Ikora set her tea down on the table and replied simply. “I see.”
She took a long slow breath and followed up with “My first reaction is that this was a hallucination, but you wouldn’t have come to me and asked for a private meeting if that were so.”
The titan responded, “Ms Rey, I am aware of how strange it sounds but I swear on my life that this felt real.”
“That is concerning then.” The warlock stood and approached a window overlooking the mountains as she spoke. “There are stories of dark guardians. Legends of guardians being corrupted and turned into something of the darkness, severed irreparably from the Traveler. We all know the tale of Dredgen Yor. But this… this is something else. No hive magic, no taken corruption. It almost sounds like a dark reflection of you.” Her eyes met her own faded reflection in the glass of the window. “Did it say or do anything else? Did anything else stand out to you?”
The titan pondered for a moment and then replied, “Yes I think so. At the end, when I was most afraid and threatening it, it seemed to almost, straighten up? And its speech seemed to be at its clearest just before it vanished. Almost like-“
“Like the less control you had, the more control it had… that is.. very, very interesting.” Ikora’s brow had furrowed completely by now. Zavala’s voice interrupted through her coms but she cut it off almost immediately. She approached the titan and said with a frightful tone, “I think I need to discuss this with the rest of vanguard command in private and you have given me lot of research to do on this subject. Thank you, Titan, for bringing this to my attention. Is there anything else I can help you with before you head on your way?”
The Ghost spoke for his guardian, “No we are okay. Thank you for your time and please let us know if you’d like to meet again.”
“I will certainly do that. Be well, Guardian.”
The duo began to head for the door when a thought struck the titan. “Oh Ms. Rey, on a side note, Mars seemed dim that night. I’m unsure if that’s related at all but I just remembered and thought I should let you know.”
Ikora’s face grew pale for a moment before she quietly returned with the statement, “I know.. There will be an announcement about what’s happened to Mars, Mercury, and Io tomorrow.”
As the Titan and his Ghost exited the library they heard Zavala’s voice crackle through Ikora’s communication system for just a moment before the door closed.
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