[Ishtar Sink, Venus]
Gently gliding over the turbulent muddled sulfuric clouds, three Jumpships sailed the horizon, jittering mist and frost spewing on their tails. An instant later, engines fired up. The jet nozzles sputtered, evaporating the remaining sleet clogging the channel.
"Eyes on target, lowering altitude ceiling. Breach on command." Kabr coordinated his radar, aligning it with an old academy beacon.
Praedyth rolled his ship, wings faintly piercing the sea of clouds as they cracked the lower atmosphere atlitude. Pahanin followed suit, his ship surfing gently along a crevice beneath the horizon.
Kabr nodded, "Affirmative for breach."
The axis of each ship immediately shifted, splitting forks through the horizon, instant use of their thrusters helped cleave through the thick layer of atmospheric dust.
Shooting towards the ground, the ships burst past dried craters, carved through centuries of erosion. The advent of the Traveler had profoundly changed Venus, during the golden age, Venus was terraformed to a tropical paradise with lush jungles.
Yet this period didn't last for long. Through the collapse, Venus was thrust back into a hazardous climate. Humanity watched as the seas boiled away leaving behind torrid and dry wastelands. Acid rains ate away their utopia.
The gas giant now merely a rotten husk of its former self, noxious fumes lingered on its surface, its skies ruled by bellowing thunder and fierce winds.
As the ships drew closer to the surface, the trio crossed golden age ruins, deserted outposts that had stood the test of time. Yet a strange overgrowth had claimed these remnants.
What came next were odd constructions of stone, golden age colonies sheltered within their fortresses. But at a closer glance, time or rather something else, had ravaged them all.
"Fallen in sight, we've been spotted." Praedyth glanced over as a few skiffs branded with azure banners tailed their flight from the ground.
Just like them, the ruins and treasures on Venus had lured many wanderers from the universe. The Fallen were one such faction. Settling down near golden age ruins and Vex citadels, aiming to loot both sides.
"House of Winter." Kabr recognized their insignia as he led the aerial formation. A second of contemplation later, he commanded to raise their ships higher.
"Ignore them, we'll pass over the academy ruins soon. The Vex won't be kind to scavengers."
Praedyth immediately followed, "Noted." Yet Kabr's actions had struck an odd chord in his heart.
'Fear'
A tense jolt jittered through his veins. The warlock frowned. He'd known Kabr for centuries and the titan had never once avoided confrontation. His pride had never allowed it. Always choosing to face the enemy head on.
Kabr, The Warrior, that's what they called him. The titan that could carry the world on his shoulders. An indominable will to succeed matched with his indestructible body. He was among the best.
Yet when they wished to explore the Vault, Kabr's pride was chipped away decade by decade. His obsession grew. At one point, it was no longer about the Vault.
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Though Kabr had hid it well for years, Praedyth knew. The titan felt his calling. It wasn't a matter of choice. Something beneath Venus beckoned him. It urged Kabr, taunted him and challenged him for years on end.
Perhaps it was his fate, perhaps it was his destiny.
Praedyth felt the same, he too could hear it. Deep within his bones, he knew. The Vault called to him, and he wished to answer.
Only one among them had no desire to visit the vault. Pahanin was a peculiar man. The riches of Venus meant nothing to him. Yet he couldn't bear to see his team venture forth alone.
Neither rhyme nor reason compelled the hunter. It was simply about his team. The one's he held dear were risking their all. Could he not do the same?
"Vex legion ahead, they've got eyes on the fallen, our cloaking runs out in five minutes." Pahanin cautioned, his instincts implored him to steer clear.
"Initiate spatial warp, stick close, the dilator's range is 20 meters." Kabr chimed in.
"Setting target for Shattered Coast, Academy entrance, steer clear of Vex detections. Initiating warp." Praedyth responded swiftly.
Moments later, a spherical mechanism triggered. Mounted to the top of one ship, it released a pulse of energy. The next instant, the world flashed white.
The Jumpships had disappeared.
Pahanin deftly steered towards clear ground, "We've lost Vex detection. They're fully focused on the Fallen."
"Affirmative, initiate ground sequence. Send ships to orbit, we can't afford to lose them." Praedyth's voice cut out as his transmat triggered, a clutter of particles gathered on the jagged hills of Venus.
Shortly after, Kabr and Pahanin appeared beside him.
"Ishtar Academy. I remember the days the city dreamed of taking it all back. Yearned for the knowledge hidden inside." Praedyth mused.
"Home of the brightest minds in the golden age." Kabr peered at the hollow city, pillaged by time. A strange lush jungle enveloped the place.
Tall enamored skyscrapers, in a city that had carved its history onto the planet. At its doors, stood its marbled guard. An angel brandishing the symbol of knowledge, once sacred to its people.
Now, it merely served as a reminder of all that had been lost. Praedyth felt his heart ache. As if he'd lost something he wasn't meant to find.
Titans demanded glory, hunters chased after loot. But what did warlocks want? The nature of a warlock aligned with their deep rooted curiosity. An endless thirst for knowledge of any kind. To Praedyth, the Ishtar Academy represented the end goal.
A society capable of unraveling the very fabric of the world. But the collapse had consumed it all, leaving them with more questions than answers.
What had the academy been searching for? What had they found? Why had humans built a city surrounding the strange ancient ruins of Venus?
All answers had forever been lost to time. Yet what remained at the heart of the tumultuous ruins was the Vault. Constructed by the Vex using unknown means. It was a beacon, beckoning those willing to unravel its secrets.
"Vex are occupied, we need to move." Kabr brought the warlock out of his trance.
The trio made their way through the desolate ruins of the Ishtar Collective, wading through the infected Jungle, they finally reached the waking ruins.
A circular door situated at its center, the ruins were guarded by strange spires and jenga towers erected of marbled stone.
Vex architecture that carried knowledge, their machinations were imperceivable to biological beings. As the trio crept towards the spire, a sudden pulse of energy spread through the Vault.
Whatever was within, had sensed their presence.
Kabr's frown tightened. The fireteam prepared to open the door. For now, the House of Winter faced off against the Hezen Corrective, a legion of Vex tasked with the Vault's protection.
"Pahanin" Praedyth's voice echoed, he readied a spell in his hands, one that masked their presence entirely.
The silent hunter seemed to listen, his figure split into three apparitions as each headed towards the circular plates connected to the spires. The Vex were attentive, yet they couldn't possibly 'perceive' threats while the Fallen attacked.
Minutes later, the spire erected, strange vex fluid gathered in its carvings, forcing its laser towards the door. The Vault seal shook, becoming undone, the brass disc covering the opening seemed to reveal a single door.
The trio stepped inside, yet all they saw was a tunnel bore leading thousands of feet deep under Venus.
The Vault seemed to stir awake, Kabr, Pahanin and Praedyth faced the perilous descent. Their eyes reflecting an azure hue, eerily similar to veins etched into the walls.
And so it began. The forgotten Odyssey of Venus. A treacherous fate hung upon those that dared to face the inheritor of the Glass throne.
Yet instead of despair, their lingered a peculiar promise of hope. Fate's machinations were unpredictable. But one thing was certain, with the Vault finally unsealed, the world was no longer the same.
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