Vadam Legacies: The Fallen

Previous Story: Breaking the Covenant

Prologue
The room was dark, with the only source of light being the fiery suns casting rays through the holes in the ceilings. The silence was almost as thick as the darkness.

Light flooded the room as a Sangheili dashed in. Atsu 'Hidal, waiting at the other end, turned to face the newcomer. "What news?"

"The protests have grown stronger, Excellency," the Sangheili said. "The military cannot hold them down, and chaos is descending upon the planet."

Atsu's mandibles parted in a smile. "The Fleet of Homogenous Clarity did not make the glorious return they had anticipated. And neither would any expect them to, what with their unwise decisions."

"They claim the Prophets had betrayed them, and they thought the Great Journey was a lie."

"They have only themselves to blame for their stupidity," the Sangheili said. "Why we should feel shame from their mistakes is beyond me. The Covenant had been troubled since the Jiralhanae had joined us. They have ambition, but they lacked brains and were too nearsighted to bring it out. Which is why we should never ally with the humans. We are making the same mistake twice, and this time, I will ensure we do not fall into it." He stepped closer to the second Sangheili. "Seek out those whom will listen. They will take great interest in what I have to say."

The alien bowed his head, and walked out of the building, closing the doors behind him.

Atsu paced the room, thinking. He didn't have much right now, but everything he needed would come soon. And it would be amusing to watch Thel 'Vadam, that so-called Arbiter, try and keep things under control. The erstwhile Supreme Commander could revel in the wasted remains of the Covenant once he was done with it, but Sanghelios would be under Atsu's reign in a few months. And then, the humans would all die.

'The Age of Amendment'...The Sangheili laughed to himself. The only thing that would require amending was their relationship with those pathetic humans. And Atsu would do everything in his power to make it so.

Chapter 1
Autel 'Vadam walked up the winding path that led to the Keep. Although the Shadow of Intent returned to Sanghelios five months ago, there had been issues to sort out and Thel had wanted him to remain until it was completed. It was his first time returning since he had gone to Stoic Courier. The events that had occurred felt like a lifetime ago.

Elder Lak 'Vadam was waiting at the top for him. "Autel, you have come back." The former warrior placed his fist over his chest by way of greeting. Autel returned the gesture.

"Everything is changing so quickly," Lak said quietly, staring down the misty mountains. "The things I have heard...the breaking of the Covenant, the alliance with the humans, and you, child. You have done much for one so young."

"Thank you, elder," the young Sangheili said. "I am honoured by your words."

The silence stretched, the only sounds being the birds squawking in the distance. "Is something on your mind?" Lak asked.

"Yes..." Autel said, turning to him. "Elder, my first impressions of the Covenant were that of betrayal and deception. I had intended to bring glory to our beliefs and values, yet all I did was fight against those whom we were meant to follow and stand beside."

The older Sangheili sighed, and said, "Glory is not merely about what you mean to do, and neither is destiny, young one. And what honour is there in fighting for one who has tricked you for so long? I have long looked onto my accomplishments with pride, but I now see that it counts for nothing. But I know I had conviction in what I have done, so I do not feel regret. And neither should you, Autel. For only ourselves know truly what it means to us, even if others do not."

Autel contemplated Lak's words, and nodded. "You are right, elder. Thank you for your wise counsel." He walked with him to the Keep's entrance, and followed the older Sangheili inside.

As Autel bade goodbye to Lak, and walked up the winding stairs to his room, he sank into a chair, and was silent.

Things hadn't been going well recently. Many Sangheili took offense to the fact that his father, Thel 'Vadam, had decided to ally with the humans to win the war. Although it had been clear that the Prophets had turned against them, and that the Jiralhanae had taken their place, the Arbiter was still trying to convince everyone that the Great Journey had been a lie all along. Autel looked down at a shattered ring he still wore. It used to generate an energy stasis field holding compressed plasma, which he had used to break out of a cell in High Charity after the Prophet of Regret had locked him and his allies up. If only they knew what we knew...

Autel had not kept the ring for its value. He held onto it because it was the last possession his mother, the Seer of Sanghelios, had given him before her death. When she had been killed by the Brute Captain Othreus, he had felt such rage and a lust for vengeance, that he had cast off her warnings. Now those feelings made him feel almost shameful. After fighting in the Covenant war, he knew that revenge was naught but a two-edged blade, hurting the victim not nearly as much as those whom were foolish enough to bask in it.

Autel wondered if Othreus had been killed during the Battle of the Ark. The thought of it gave him no real joy.

"Autel 'Vadam!"

The albino looked up and spotted Taszar 'Vadam. The younger elite was Autel's own half-brother, although Taszar didn't know it.

"Yes, Taszar?"

"Have you heard the news?" There was a strange glint in the young Sangheili's eye. "There are many groups leaving the Keeps. Rebels, so I hear!"

Autel couldn't believe what he was hearing. Rebels? So soon after his race had just finished one large war? "Surely you jest."

"I do not." Taszar said, moving to sit down at an angle to Autel. "I saw, with my own eyes, seven score of Sangheili walking out of one of the Keeps! They fled to the deep mountains."

Autel played with the ring around his finger, twisting it to and fro.

"I doubt it will be of any consequence. No Sangheili would dare declare war so soon after the one we just won."

Taszar bowed his head, then snapped it around as there was a shuffling. Autel followed his gaze, and they spotted the Arbiter, Thel 'Vadam, standing in the doorway.

"You two young ones ought to be down at the celebration." He said warmly, turning to go. His mandibles were parted in a smile, but Autel could tell it was strained.

The two young Sangheili curled their fists over their first hearts and followed the Arbiter.

"We'll speak again." Autel said to Taszar. Taszar nodded, and walked away, in to a crowd of young initiates just like him.

Autel watched him go. He remembered being an initiate, still innocent to the ways of war, not knowing of what it meant to kill.

Well, he thought with a slight feeling of unease. That's likely to change in the future.

Atsu 'Hidal walked slowly into the room. Thirteen of his best Sangheili warriors were arrayed around a circular stone table, each one from a different family.

Atsu was not clad in his usual golden armor, but one that was blood-red.

"Welcome, my loyal warriors. Today we mark the formation of a resistance." Here Atsu took the blade of his energy sword out and laid it on the table, so that it would, if activated, point to the center. The other thirteen Sangheili followed suit.

"We pledge to keep our line sacred." Each line was echoed by the rest.

"We swear to uphold all the bonds of family."

"We swear to cleanse the human filth from the galaxy, and end the blight that our fathers fought against for so long!" Atsu finished, then looked at each of the others in turn.

"We will be cast from the very society we swear to protect. We must become what no Sangheili has been for millenia: spies, thieves, cutthroats in the night. All our sacred traditions must be swept aside to protect them. We are the Fallen, the last of the honorable. Let it be known that we have but one rule!"

"Honor above all else!" Atsu roared to the ceiling.

"Honor above all else!" The thirteen roared in unison, all fourteen Sangheili holding up their arms and roaring with primal bloodlust.

Atsu allowed himself a small smile. Now he could begin to reclaim his race's honour.

Chapter 2
Thel 'Vadam left the council chamber much more morose than when he had entered.

"Is there anything wrong, Kaidon?" Autel asked as he and Taszar took up positions on either side of the Arbiter.

"It is these rebel groups, the Fallen in particular." Thel said, picking up the pace slightly. "They gain more and more support each day. Atsu 'Hidal is a crafty individual, skilled in the art of persuasion."

"Atsu 'Hidal?" Taszar muttered questioningly.

"A Zealot who fought near the end of the Great War." Thel responded, stopping by one of the many mosaics that decorated the hallways. He point to one symbol in particular, that of the Hidal family.

"He was Kaidon of Hidal Keep, and hated humans with an unmatched passion. He is a mighty warrior, as strong as he is cunning. To put it another way: if he and I had both fallen out of favor with the Prophets on the same day, he would be the one wearing this armor."

This was a most humbling statement. It was not often that any great Sangheili leader admitted inferiority in favor of another, much less so for an enemy.

Thel turned and began walking away. "The Fallen are the suspects in all the recent crime sprees across Sanghelios, but we can't find anything to prove it. They seem to be experts of espionage and trickery. Envoys have been sent to find them, but we cannot even establish communications yet. It is a most frustrating position."

Autel and Taszar could only nod somberly.

"Now, leave me, please." the Arbiter said. "I need to think."

The two young Sangheili curled their fists over their first hearts and marched off.

As Autel walked out of the Keep with Taszar, and looked out into the fiery sunrises casting over the mountains, he looked across the State.

"This is a dark time," Autel said, gazing across the peaceful forests and the stillness in the early hours of the day.

"The restlessness is heavy in the air," Taszar said. "Tension is mounting, and the Fallen prove as elusive as ever."

Autel sighed. "It seems there is no end to this feeling for me. Ever since the Jiralhanae first betrayed us at Stoic Courier, I am constantly expecting someone to make an attempt on my life."

"What was it like, to train at Stoic Courier?" Taszar asked after a while.

The pale-skinned Sangheili looked to the stars. "You can see your home from the shuttle bay, but you are very far away from it. Your fellow recruits are your family."

"I have felt such a connection with them too, Autel," Taszar said. "Until the day's lessons are over and I return to the Keep. It's not the same."

Autel was silent for a moment. "Then it is something. When this is over, I'm hoping that the Sangheili all feel that same connection to each other. Unfortunately, it seems the opposite is happening."

The latter looked towards the suns. "It is almost daybreak. I must go and begin my training." He bid his half-brother goodbye, walked down the mountain path, and vanished into the trees. With a sigh, Autel headed away from the Keep as well in a separate direction. As he walked through the dirt path he was now so familiar with, the young Sangheili remembered the time he had gone with his father to begin his training at Stoic Courier. They had stopped at the Seer's house...

He stopped, seeing the abandoned hut. He thought for a moment, then pushed the door open, deciding to enter. He didn't know why he wanted to go inside his mother's house, but there was just a sense of...something.

Autel slowly closed the door behind him, and looked around. The single room was as cramped and windowless as ever. It seemed completely the same as it had been six years ago. He looked around the silent cabin, and sat down on the unused bed. He remembered when the Seer had told him of his future. There has been so much done, and so much left to be done...

He spotted an array of objects laid on a table, and looked down at his ring. Standing up, he walked towards it. There were many objects he didn't recognize, but what caught his eye was a series of carvings made from the bark of a fireproof tree. He remembered when he was younger his mother making them by hand, her eyes closed and intoning something. Although the images were far from perfect, they were easily discernible.

There was a group of bulky figures standing in a row, and they looked vaguely like humans. Their form reminded Autel of the deadly Spartans he fought alongside during the Schism. Looking carefully, he realized that the image was cleverly done so that they would look like merely five Spartans at first, but were really formation after formation of them, standing in perfect columns, becoming smaller and smaller. Some had the same look of power, but held an indiscernible grotesqueness about them, as if to suggest some had broken away into corruption or conflict. More than one were not standing, but the centremost one at the front looked the most out of place, yet seemed to be a sign of hope to the others. Intimidating, eccentric...but with the air of a leader.

Then Autel noticed that above the Spartans, hovering above the leader, was a massive, fiery bird. The Spartans all seemed to be looking at it.

He turned as he heard the door quietly open. Another Sangheili entered the small hut, stooping so as not to hit his head on the frame. The albino Sangheili recognized the newcomer at once.

"Uncle," Autel said, clenching his fist over his heart respectfully. Although Stel 'Vadam was slightly shorter than he was, he still held an air of authority that was often admired in Thel. The Seer's brothers had all died out when Autel was young (although she had nothing to do with it, it was something that had caused a lot of Sangheili to fear her), so it was left to Stel to train him. But it wasn't until after the Covenant Schism that the former found out that the formidable warrior was Thel's brother.

"Why are you here, Autel?" Stel asked, not unkindly. "I saw you enter as I made my way down the Keep."

"I do not know...there was something that drew me here..."

"Hmm. Your mother has always been known to be mysterious." The Zealot looked thoughtful. "What is that you hold?"

Autel showed him the wooden carving. Stel's eyes widened.

"This is...most unusual."

"Do you know what they are, uncle?"

"Spartans. I have met their kind before..."

Autel knew that Stel had encountered the deadly human warriors on the planet Reach prior to the Sangheili's alliance with them. There were very few others he knew that survived a battle against them in direct combat. Stel was one of them. Another was Fira 'Demal's cousin, Sona, although the rest of their lineage had not been so fortunate at the time. However, while Sona managed to survive unharmed, Stel was given a bloody fate: he had received thousands of scars all over his body. Another thing Autel had not seen before was Stel's prosthetic arm, which he made himself after his arm was ripped off clean from his body by a Spartan.

Stel closed his eyes wearily. "After serving in the military for so long, it is difficult to forget the bitter past. It is not what has happened to me that remains in my memories, but everything that has happened. Watching your lifelong friends die beside you in the blink of an eye, while fearlessly looking death in the face over and over again. The injuries I have sustained are carried with me, but I choose not to dwell on them. The things that do keep coming back to me is what bothers me the most." Stel felt the row of scars over his green eye. A strange medical condition caused his left eye to turn green instead of yellow. Like Autel, he was often cast out from others for this. "I must leave. I have business to attend." Stel gave a Sangheili salute, and left.