Preface: Last year, during Destiny 2: Shadowkeep, in the lead up to the Season of Dawn, Bungie posted a lore story on their website called The Accolade, detailing some of the acts of heroism that Saint-14 performed during his life, for which the people he rescued gifted him ribbons and strips of cloth for remembrance. This year, during Beyond Light's Season of the Splicer, we saw more of Saint, as he learned to grow past his old hatred of the Fallen, culminating in his defending the Eliksni Quarter during the Vex Invasion. This follows up on that, and should be read as being concurrent with the lore book Ripples, "II - The Pigeon and the Splicer."
Eido stepped out of her father's workshop, pausing as she saw the hatchling outside. There was no sign of their parents, but there was a little drone-- repurposed from some of the automata scavenged from House Salvation during the flight from Europa-- floating nearby to chaperone them. The youngling was in the awkward stance of a hatchling who has only just learned to stand upright, and wasn't looking at her, but up at the purple ward painted on the wall.
The scribe looked from the ward to the youngling, then gently clapped her lower hands together, making the hatchling jump a bit. "Velask, kelekh," she greeted them with a smile. "What's your name?"
The hatchling looked up at her and smiled in kind. "Itxa! Velask, Eido!"
Eido nodded to the wall. "I saw you looking at the ward, Itxa. Do you know the story of what it means?"
Itxa nodded, looking up at it again. "Yes! It keeps the monsters away!" She looked over, then pointed excitedly. Eido turned to see the imposing form of Saint-14 transmat into the square, causing a brief commotion from a pair of the Eliksni there, but he raised his empty hands, then bowed to them. They bowed back warily, but then left him to his business, as he began to make his way to Mithrax's workshop.
Itxa watched him approach, staring up at the towering Titan with wide eyes. Eido moved to be ready to shelter her in case the youngling fled, but she was surprised when Itxa ran forward instead to look up at him. Saint paused, looking down at her. "Vell-ahsk, little one," he offered.
The child just stared at him for a moment, then lifted a hand, pointing a dactyl at his armor. "What are the fabric strips for?" she asked, in Eliksni. Saint, inasmuch as his mohawked helmet would allow, looked blankly from her to Eido.
The scribe smiled faintly. "Itxa wants to know what the ribbons on your armor are for, The Saint."
He glanced briefly at the child, then back up. "The little one's name is Itxa?" When Eido nodded, Saint returned the nod and then crouched down so the ribbons artistically tied to his armor could be seen more easily by the youngling. He raised a hand to touch them. "These are accolades," he told her, enunciating the word carefully for her. "They have been given to me by people I have saved over my life in the Light. I wear them to remember them all." He paused, then added, sadly, "I regret that so many came because I killed your own people."
Itxa reached up to touch one of the ribbons curiously, but then she looked to Eido, as she had not learned the human language. The scribe hesitated, then explained, "The Saint has saved many people since the Light raised him. Some of the people who he saved, gave him these accolades in gratitude. He wears them to remember the people he's saved."
The child looked back at Saint, then down at the ribbons woven together over one side of his armor. Itxa's face seemed settle into a determined, thoughtful expression as the Guardian lifted his gaze to see Mithrax watching them from his workshop. The Saint gestured to the doorway, and received a nod in return. Saint looked back to the child. "I must go to speak to your Kell, Itxa. It was good to meet you." She nodded, still thoughtful, and he rose, walking into Mithrax's workshop, the door soon closing behind him.
Itxa watched him go, then chattered to her little attendant drone, before she started to waddle off in the direction of another shop. The scribe saw which one-- the empty weaver's. Eido frowned slightly, but followed after them, watching the elder warily as the child spoke quickly to him. Namrask blinked a bit quizzically at Itxa. "You want a ... ribbon?" he asked, and then looked up at Eido. The scribe nodded and explained the brief interaction with the Saint. Namrask blinked his primary eyes, looking wary, but then nodded, his hands working quickly with a verdant House Light banner.
It didn't take long for the empty weaver to finish trimming a strip of fabric off the banner, and then, after a moment's thought, to stitch the House Light sigil to one end of the ribbon. He flicked it a few times, then folded it carefully before handing it to Itxa. "No payment needed, kelekh," he told the youngling.
"Thank you, Namrask!" Itxa chirped, taking the ribbon. She waddled off again, back toward the Kell's workshop. Eido followed her again, seeing the door opening and the Saint stepping out alongside her father. The scribe greeted them both, receiving a greeting in kind, before both looked down at the youngling as she came up to the Titan. "This is for you," Itxa said, offering up the green ribbon. Saint-14 took it quietly as she added, "It's an accolade," pronouncing the word carefully.
Kell and Saint both stared at her in surprise, before the Titan nodded toward the symbol on the wall opposite them. "Little one, you know the stories they tell of this symbol?"
Eido translated for the child, who just nodded. "It's to protect us from the monsters," Itxa said. "Like the brass-spawn that came for us. You saved us from them, along with our Misraakskel!"
Saint stared again as Eido translated. He crouched down to the child's level again, grasping the ribbon tightly in his fist. When he spoke, there was a softness in his voice. "Thank you, Itxa. I will wear this accolade with great pride."
Rising, he turned to Mithrax. "I must prepare for our journey, friend Kell. I will return." He exchanged nods and clasps of forearms with the Kell, then bowed to the youngling. "Be well, my little friend." He transmatted away in a shimmer of particles.
Mithrax looked down at the youngling with pride in his stance. "That was a very kind thing you did for The Saint," he told her. "This was the first time one of our people has done this thing."
"He protects us from the monsters," Itxa chirped. "We should do kind things for him."
The Kell was quiet for a few moments, before he rumbled, "I believe that this will be so, kelekh. I believe it will be."
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