Work Text:
The Burial of Eris Morn
there was no body at Eris Morn's funeral
no one questioned it
not even Ikora
it was not unusual
after all
the one person who knew
was asked not to speak of it
and they agreed out of respect
for the extreme grief
of the one who asked
while others gathered in Eris Morn's apartment to mourn her
the man with no name flew to the moon
his ghost obtained the coordinates for him
from the hidden archives
it had never been returned to her
because it had shattered
and the pieces were too small
the man with no name left the body of Eris Morn
tucked under the covers in his bed
she looked like she was sleeping
he stopped at her sanctuary
to obtain a well worn map
drawn and annotated in her spidery hand
before slinking down into hell
retracing her steps from long ago
he kept to the shadows
suppressing his light
hiding in places
she had hidden
following paths
her feet had wandered
he found the place his ghost had marked
and sunk to his knees, feeling
first with his fingertips
and then pulling out a small brush
carefully sweeping out cracks in stone
the pitted surface of barnacles
the cracked egg petals of fungal tulips
strands of silk
paper thin leaves of dead moth wings
meticulous
despite the danger
(which was considerable
grand total ended up being
one knight, one ogre
two wizards, four acolytes
and seventeen thralls)
he ordered his ghost
to shine bright in the darkness
and found six metal pieces
smaller than pomegranate seeds
distinctively shaped
the only metal in the area
he brought the remnants
of this sacrificial fruit
up from the underworld
and reverently gathered
the body of Eris Morn
into his arms once more
in a flimsy kitbashed jump ship
the man with no name
broke vanguard protocol
slipping unnoticed past the blockade
into the pale heart of the traveler
he found the brightest deepest crack he could locate
where the traveler's light spilled out
brilliant and blinding
he brought her there
laid her down gently
and knelt beside her
placing the remnants of her dead ghost
into her unmoving hands
and then, without having discussed it
his own ghost floated down to lie among the shards
adding itself to the offering
willingly
and here the man with no name
who rejected dogma
who chose the darkness
who was told the correct path
and ran the opposite way
who had always insisted the traveler
was anything but a god
prayed
offering anything
any bargain
any deal
any favour
any act of service
any price
his own ghost
his own life
you let cayde sacrifice himself to bring back a ghost
surely you can bring back one guardian
just one
just her
just once more
she always fought so hard
she never gave up
she never turned away
she was there when it mattered
she defended you
she was hope
she was everything
surely if anyone, anyone at all
was worthy
it was her
surely if he had been wrong this entire time
this would be the way to show it
please
please I need her
not just me, the world
the world needs a beam of moonlight to survive the dark
it's too dark without her
please
he begged
he cried
he held her
he reached out to the one entity
he had always steadfastly refused to ask for help
because it hadn't asked him if he wanted its gifts
but now
he begged for a gift
an act of grace
his hands and heart open
in desperate supplication
willing and wanting to believe
there are no days or nights in the pale heart
but time passed as he pleaded
beseeched
tried everything he possibly could
with no limits
to negotiate a deal
with a silent god
who did not respond
the thing that brought his attempted negotiations to a close
was when he realized her cheeks were bare
the black tears no longer flowed from her eyes
that detail was what convinced him
that there was no coming back
that she was truly gone
and that this was not a bargain he could make
his own tears likewise no longer able to flow
his own voice cracked and dry and raspy
he whispered to her all the things he wished he'd said
all the things he'd wanted them to do together
he told her everything
and then he gathered her up
one last time in his arms
straightened her charms
made certain her mementos of her fireteam were all with her
and slowly lowered her
into the brilliant white
immersing her in the light she always said she missed
and wanted to feel close to again
her stiff hands pressed tight around the salvaged pieces of the ghost
who told her 'don't look back'
he waited
kneeling there, beside the opening
and then
instead of praying to the traveler
the man with no name began to pray
to a different god
he prayed to her
come on, Moondust, he said
come back out
this is where you come back
this is where you crawl out snarling
and tell me you have no time for this bullshit
that there's work to do
you told me to carry a beam of moonlight into the future
there's still more to go
don't make me do it alone, Three-Eyes
please
take what you need and come back
if it won't give it to you, you take it
take it and come back
Eris
Moonlight
Moonlight, I need you.
I need you
and for the second time
the god he prayed to
did not answer
there
by the widest crack of light in the traveler
the man with no name cried himself to sleep
whispering her name
he woke hours later
(his ghost having perforated
punctured and run-through
several dread in defense of his sleeping form)
it took him a long time to move again
and when he did
his body felt thinner than the wings
of the moths on the moon
empty, hollow
and he did not know
how to go on