#Osteo Striga

[torddik]

Osteo Striga

My Favorite

мяу

[wreckedregent7]

Regent’s Ramblings - The Osteo Striga is Overpowered

Holy fucking shit Regent’s yammering about something that isn’t League of Legends! Is it a blue moon out tonight? Obviously if it were I’d have a positive winrate, but here we are.

Destiny 2 is a weird game for me to talk about, especially right now with the current story shenanigans, but I wanna talk about balance real quick, and something that isn’t really balanced. A weapon given pretty prominently in the Witch Queen expansion, the Osteo Striga is a really cool, unique SMG that is just, really hard to avoid running, and even harder to consider Vaulting for any length of time.

So, why is this weapon “overpowered”? Well, to put it simply, the only thing it doesn’t do well is crack shields with Match Game. But, keeping it to shorthand when I could go into excruciating detail isn’t my style, so, let’s talk weapon archetypes and encounter design.

Guardians have a pretty expansive arsenal of weapons, each with their own unique perks - depending on if you need precision, spread, crowd control, long range, short range, midrange, etc.; there is a weapon for your unique need.

Bundling weapon categories (not counting weapon archetypes, that’s its own can of worms) into simple paradigms, you kinda get something like this;

Short Range - Sidearms, SMGs, Shotguns, Swords, Fusion Rifles

Mid Range - Auto Rifles, Hand Cannons, Special Grenade Launchers, Heavy Grenade Launchers, Glaives, Machine Guns

Long Range - Rocket Launchers, Combat Bows, Scout Rifles, Pulse Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Linear Fusion Rifles

Precision - Sidearms, Hand Cannons, Combat Bows, Sniper Rifles, Scout Rifles, Pulse Rifles, Linear Fusion Rifles

Crowd Control - Special Grenade Launchers, Heavy Grenade Launchers, Machine Guns, Rocket Launchers

Sustained Damage - Machine Guns, SMGs, Auto Rifles, Scout Rifles, Hand Cannons

Burst Damage - Rocket Launchers, Sidearms, Special Grenade Launchers, Heavy Grenade Launchers, Glaives, Combat Bows, Pulse Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Linear Fusion Rifles

And these are just rough paradigms for each weapon type - but the general idea is that each weapon has a pretty solid niche. Auto Rifles are good for extended fights, HMGs and explosive weapons are good for clearing large groups of enemies, snipers and 4FRs are good for bursting down big targets, etc.

Now, to take a moment to talk about encounter design; a lot of encounters in most activities (aspirational or otherwise) tends to orient around a basic principle; flood an arena with chaff enemies (either melees, basic infantry, or a mix of the two), perch snipers or other pesky long-range attackers on the periphery, and maybe toss in a heavy unit or two to distract the Guardian from their main task.

Some encounters don’t require that much in the way of chaff enemies (look at any encounter in the Duality Dungeon; Cabal basic infantry are tanky enough that just 6 of them can be tough to chew through), but nevertheless, the problem isn’t typically with the quantity, but persistence. More adds will spawn in to keep you under pressure, and the more bodies you have shooting at you at a time, the more difficult any single task is going to become - god forbid you have a boss to dodge as well.

In this regard, you often have to kit yourself out very carefully; you want synergies within your subclass build, but you also want to be able to perform in the specific content. Cabal Commanders have Solar shields, better pack a Solar Weapon; War Hounds flood the room, I should bring an SMG or a crowd control weapon. I wanna do damage to the boss, gotta bring my 4FR.

But what if one weapon tackled multiple problems at a time, all without any real effort required? What if you had good sustained damage, crowd control, and damage mitigation rolled into one weapon?

Osteo Striga does exactly that.

Its bullets track targets roughly within your aim, and multiple consecutive hits on a target poison it. Deal multiple Precision Hits or kill something with it, and it does a small burst that poisons nearby enemies. If an enemy dies to the poison...You refill ammo from your reserves, and even overflow to quite a substantial amount.

So you can fire it haphazardly into a crowd of enemies, and the bullets will reliably hit. You’ll poison a few, maybe get in those precision hits, the whole group is poisoned now, and hey, you’ve got 110~ rounds in the magazine now, and have breathing room to assess your plan.

And because the poison deals damage over time, you can weave Osteo into your damage rotation on a boss - trigger poison, swap off to your main damage weapon, swap back, poison, swap off...And your damage becomes much more consistent.

And add onto that the general ubiquity of Overload Rounds on Auto Rifles and SMGs through the Artifact Mods - I don’t think I’ve seen a single season where Overload SMG/Auto wasn’t on the table - and you now have consistent damage, reliable add clear, AND the ability to lower an enemy’s damage output with casual spray-and-pray.

In the context of PVE content, the only reason you’d opt not to take Osteo Striga is if Overloading Champions aren’t on the table for the activity you jump into - and even then, unless you’re going solo (or have some other means to deal with multiple Champions at once), Osteo might still be your best general tool.

And it’s pretty telling that the only thing that can come close to competing with Osteo Striga in terms of damage and crowd control effectiveness is Witherhoard with Breach/Weakened Clear. And between the two, seeker bullets are much more broadly reliable than a puddle of Taken gunk, which leaves Witherhoard only capable of reliably competing for boss damage, as it’s even easier to work into a damage rotation thanks to its innate auto-loading holster, and that you can just plunk a target with it and resume your damage.

And the big problem is, I really don’t know what could be done about Osteo Striga to make it less egregious. Making it an Energy Weapon only risks exacerbating the problem, since a lot of Subclass builds involve synergy with same-element weapons. Similarly, adding Anti-Barrier or Unstoppable traits would only remove one facet of the problem.

I think the only thing that can really be done is to change something about the poison burst (either remove the on-death effect or the Precision hit effect; I think on-death would be better to prune) and also place a bit more of a strict cap on how many bullets you can stockpile from getting poison kills. Just something to tone down the extreme versatility of the weapon.

If you happen to play Destiny 2 and read this (I pray god you play D2 anyway, dunno who would want to read a bunch of nonsense about a game they don’t play), I am curious if any of y’all agree. Osteo Striga, to me, just feels way too powerful in any PVE context to ever not use.

[ahungeringknife]

365: May 15

When Shin woke up the ship was empty. Didn't really surprise him. He just laid on Wolf's lounge, eyes half closed. Outside it was night on Mars so the only light came from the dim always on lights on how to operate the emergency release on the door. He heard the sound of a Ghost transmat onto the ship but when he opened one eye Wolf wasn't with him.

"Are you awake?" Ghost asked him.

"Yeah?" Shin yawned and stretched before sitting up.

"I told Wolf to wait," he said.

"What's the matter?" Shin asked tiredly.

"Something came out of the Enclave," he said. Shin squinted at Ghost. What? "Will you come look?"

"Sure? What does that-- mean," he finished when he landed on Mars just outside the Enclave itself. The LZ was empty and dark, even Ikora and her Hidden had to sleep sometimes. He looked at Ghost. "Seriously?" he wasn't even wearing shoes! Or a shirt. He was more worried about the shoes.

"Sorry," he said.

"For someone who's Guardian is a problem you really do stress out too much," Magpie said and dressed him.

"Yeah well-

"Save it," Shin waved a hand at Ghost and went down into the Enclave. Magpie didn't protest this time but he did press up against Shin's neck nervously.

Wolf was standing at the Enclave, the pendulum swaying back and forth in its slow methodical way. She looked over her shoulder as he walked towards her, her helmet hiding whatever her face looked like then. Ghost zipped over to her, "Did you touch it?" he asked. Wolf shook her head.

Shin came up next to her, covering his mouth and yawn with a hand. "What has Ghost all riled up, huh?" he asked.

"This came out of the Enclave," Ghost said and floated down to a gun nestled in its own pattern in front of Wolf.

"Just... on its own?" Shin asked. He was pretty sure the Enclave couldn't do that? But also he didn't know enough about the Light or the Dark to make that sort of judgment call.

"Yes," Ghost said.

Shin leaned over and looked at it. It was a SMG and looked like it was made of filigreed pieces of Hive chitin with a barrel ringed in burnished golden spines. He'd seen this gun before. Even just sitting there he could hear it. It whispered like the Thorn, which Shin had learned to just block out, but spoke in a different rhythm. He couldn't quite hear what it said but he knew what it was saying. It was the same words Thorn always whispered if he bothered to pay attention to it. But Thorn was old, tamed, broken. This was a wild eager thing.

Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.

"You hear that?" Shin asked them.

"I hear something," Wolf admitted.

She reached out to take it. He grabbed her wrist. "Don't touch it," he said.

She shot him a look. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"It's a Weapon of Sorrow," he said.

"I've used those-

"Not like this you haven't," he said seriously.

"If an idiot like Toland or Drifter could make one they can't be that bad," she huffed. He didn't let go of her wrist.

"Those aren't like this," Shin said seriously. "The only thing like the Striga is the Thorn."

"You recognize it?" Ghost asked.

"Yeah. Long time ago I let some Vanguard researchers study Thorn. It corrupted them. I took it back. I couldn't trust them," he frowned. He'd been reluctant to do that honestly but it'd been a good mask. Kept people from thinking he had anything to do with the Shadows. "One of them, Jana-14, became obsessed. She... acquired the Osteo Striga and then vanished into the wind."

"How?" Ghost asked nervously.

"No idea. Vanguard's had a bounty on her head since then. I hunted her for a little while, on and off. She's crazy. She listens to the Striga," Shin said. "Trail went cold few years ago. Maybe she died during the Red War."

"What's it do?" Wolf asked.

"The Striga? Same thing the Thorn does; consumes, corrupts, destroys," he said seriously. Wolf's hand flexed, testing his grip. "You're not taking it." He saw what she was doing.

"It was offered to me," she said.

"No," he said firmly. "It's a Hungry thing. You don't need it." He let go of her wrist and in the same motion picked up the gun. A chill went down his spine. Yeah. He felt that. His Hunger reached out and before he could even think it the Darkness settled into the gun the same way it had settled in Thorn when he'd used it in Rhulk's Pyramid.

"Shin," she was surprised, shocked even.

"Huh," he said, looking it over.

"Didn't you just say it corrupts?" Ghost demanded.

"Can't corrupt what's already corrupted," Shin said, pushing the loader open and pulling out the charge canister. Because of course it didn't shoot actual bullets. Neither did Thorn. At least the Thorn fired something physical. This thing fired... Hunger. That was all he could describe it as as he held the ammo casing in his hand. The whispers were incessant. Hungry, hungry, hungry.

"You're not corrupted," Wolf sighed at him. He formed a mote of Light in his hand and shoved it into the gun. The whispers quieted, the Striga's hunger sated for the moment.

"Still better me than you, darlin'," Shin said casually. "Was this where you've been all night?" He put the gun down at his side. Magpie came over and scanned it and also Shin a few times.

"Uh-

"Yes," Ghost said.

"I was adjusting my guns in the Enclave and it popped out," she said.

"All night?" Shin clarified.

"I have a lot of guns, okay?" she said and folded her arms.

He sighed. "Okay," he allowed. Maybe this was what had woken him up. He'd felt but not understood a Weapon of Sorrow's appearance in the world. "I'm tired. I could sleep some more." She hesitated. "You should sleep. Ikora and the Hidden aren't even around right now."

She huffed, "I know," and sagged dramatically.

Shin chuckled. "Trust me, if the world's about to end you'll be the first to know," he reminded her.

"I guess," she allowed. Then she perked up when Shin leaned over to tap his forehead against her helmet face.

"Even if you don't want to sleep at least come back up to the ship so you can give me a goodnight kiss?" he asked. She flailed at him in annoyance and he chuckled. "Use your words, darlin'."

'Fuck you,' she signed in low hand and that made him laugh louder.

Magpie transmatted the gun and the ammo canister out of his hands. "I mean, if you want," he smirked. He laughed to himself and followed after her as she stormed out, flustered. Well that was one way to keep an evil gun away from his girlfriend.

[blakistan]

Bungie should update Crucible so that if there's only one person in the match using Thorn, there's a 1% chance that for the entire match kills with thorn immediately kick the target out to orbit without sending a "left the match" message. Just kills em. And of course Bungie must deny that this actually happens, if their hand is forced they pretend its a bug that can happen with any weapon

[paracawsal]

since everyone else is doing it lol

[colorfulnickellandgarden]

i’m never going to be normal about how d2 guns and armor are named. they’re so fucking COOL even when i don’t know 100% what the guns are named after. they’re just so goddamn cool sounding in name and when fired like. if you asked for a list of cool d2 weapon names i would simply open the collections tab of all of them.

[rookfern]

more of my destiny 2 main cause I'm love them

Pharos-7, an Arcstrider Hunter who's canonically been through the whole shebang from the beginning of d2. When they were fresh out of the grave, they were almost-exclusively selectively mute, relying on their Ghost and sign language to communicate. As they've grown more comfortable with their companions, they've begun to speak more but if they get stressed, begrieved, or very excited, they find it difficult to get words out and will resort to signing. Dumb of heart and pure of ass

[saprophetic]

i got reaper btw. if you even care.

[misalignedorbit]

I started playing Destiny 2 recently and fell in love with the Osteo Striga.

[thefirstknife]

Is Deathbringer, Bad Juju or Touch of Malice a Weapon of Sorrow or Depression? Since like their all Hive magic fueled.

Touch of Malice is a Weapon of Sorrow! It works with Necrotic Grip and is also mentioned alongside Thorn and Necrochasm by Calus here (Calus isn't always our best source, but Necrotic Grips interaction confirms him here). This would make Thorn, Touch of Malice, Osteo Striga and Necrochasm confirmed Weapons of Sorrow (Necrochasm isn't in D2 (yet...)).

Deathbringer and Bad Juju aren't, mostly because they've been made to avoid any type of Hive corruption. In case of Bad Juju, it's basically an attempt to make a Weapon of Sorrow but it wasn't entirely successful (not in a way a Weapon of Sorrow would be). Deathbringer also had Toland (and Eris) making it together, using some of the Hive's powers (specifically the Deathsong) but modified to fit Guardians.

The definition of a Weapon of Sorrow isn't entirely clear cut, but so far from those that are confirmed we know that is must involve a human-made weapon being somehow modified or corrupted with Hive technology in a way that makes the weapon itself what holds power, regardless of who wields it (and often features some aspect of being dangerous to the wielder). Bad Juju and Deathbringer are powerful weapons but only as long as their wielder is; they don't seem to hold any specific power on their own, nor are they capable of further corruption. Basically, they're using Hive components, but are distinctly for human use.

There's a lot of debate on this topic, btw. You'll probably see a lot of conflicting information online. There really isn't, so far, any specific line of lore that will confirm or deny any other ideas outside of the Necrotic Grip interaction which is a gameplay feature that ties with lore. That's really the only basis to confirm those that are 100% classified as Weapons of Sorrow (+ Necrochasm which, if added to D2, should work with Necrotic Grip too).

Everything else that sometimes gets classified as Weapons of Sorrow by the fans don't work with Necrotic Grip which means that as of now that is our only confirmation that they aren't. However, the reason why those others aren't is up to anyone's interpretation. There's a lot comments everywhere online about how technically some other stuff should possibly also be considered Weapons of Sorrow, but there's just no clear line to prove or disprove it.

The reason why Necrotic Grip is the best way to tell, outside of gameplay stuff, is because Necrotic Grip was made through the study of the original Thorn. Necrotic Grip is literally made from a tissue sample of a person who died to a Thorn discharge aka from the original corruptive material. Since Thorn is the original Weapon of Sorrow, anything derived from it (like the gauntlets) is the best and closest link to them. The person who made Necrotic Grip, Jana-14, got severely corrupted by this and later went on to create Osteo Striga so that's the link between Weapons of Sorrow and Osteo (severe corruption that spreads from object to person and vice versa). Jana-14 is, as of now, still unaccounted for.

This might also show the staggering difference between how Thorn functions and how Bad Juju or Deathbringer function, namely in terms with corruption. The original Thorn is highly lethal to this day and can effortlessly kill and corrupt more people. Even in death, that corruption sticks and continues to spread. In a way, Thorn is truly the basic essence for Weapons of Sorrow in its purest sense, completely unfiltered corruption.

[phthalology]

Lightfall positivity: 

Fighting alongside Caiatl!

MAYA SUNDARESH MENTION 

The Guardian having to make the decision between the fate of the universe and their own Ghost! The Ghost-Guardian bond is one of the most effective character beats in Destiny that works no matter what you think your personal character does imo, and putting it at that high point really hit for me. There are so many angles people could take with this in fic and that’s fun 

Strand itself is cool and I look forward to trying it out in different places and different missions. The threadlings are adorable 

My Guardian in particular slots right into this story of a Warlock lineage passed, through difficulty, down from Osiris to Ikora to the Young Wolf

The idea that Light and Darkness are in fact about material and immaterial power is interesting

I like that the Guardian struggled and failed, losing Rohan not because of any outside influence but simply because of their own weakness and inexperience 

The Witness still looks good, still looks like it belongs in D2 despite being so strange, and the hole it cut in the Traveler is disturbing and beautiful all at once. I won’t mind looking at that for the next year 

Season of Defiance seems pretty fun so far. I’m ready to like Mara more than I ever have in the past, simply because we’ve seen her have such a range of experiences with Crow by now and because she seems to finally need us 

This expansion also didn’t cut holes in any of my headcanons and, you know, small mercies 

With Witch Queen being such a high high and Season of Plunder such a low low, it’s almost nice to get back to the zone of “D2 is just a fun appointment game, not a barometer for my emotions” 

Last night I stood looking at the hole in the Traveler through the green-fire-and-bone sights of Osteo Striga and that is what Destiny is about 

[synnthamonsugar]

Do you consider Bad JuJu and Malfeasance to be weapons of sorrow? Weapon of Sorrow adjacent?

"Weapon of Sorrows" is one of those Destiny terms that it feels like everyone has a slightly different definition of. Based on the Necrochasm lore tab and the histories of the Thorn and Osteo Striga, I'm inclined to support the theory that it's any human-made weapon tainted with hive corruption.

The Weapons of Sorrow were believed to be nothing more than a myth. But even the darkest myths are born of some truths, and whispers of the Necrochasm have long filled the Light with dread. It is said the Necrochasm was born in the twilight after Crota’s sword first cracked the Moon. That a lost Guardian’s weapon was altered by the Hive in an attempt to fuse their own dark understanding with humanity’s mastery of war.

To that end I don't think Malfeasance counts. Even if it's supposed to fill a niche similar to Thorn, the Guardian built it from the ground up with Drifter, and it seems to be related to taken energy rather than hive magic.

Bad Juju is a trickier call since we don't know how Toland built it, if it draws power from hive or ahamkara sources or something else. We only really have its bones to go on, and those aren't identifiable as any species we've seen before. (Someone, maybe @eri-223, once mentioned a headcanon that the skull is Taishibethi and I think about that a lot.)

However, its trait - increased damage with kills - is not dissimilar to Touch of Malice feeding from its wielder's life force, or Necrochasm, which is described as

. . . a weapon that would feed on its owner’s aggression—reaching further when angry eyes drew focus, its hunger rising as it tore through bone and flesh.

For the shared similarities and probable hive magic, I'm inclined to think it's at least Weapon of Sorrow adjacent.

[sinswithpleasure]

Would sex with Karina be addictive. Karina prob ideally wants few rds a day but would she be down to have sex all day. Would she eventually become addicted to having sex with her husband if he gave her so many vaginal orgasms.

Look my dude i get being horny but i dont think thats how it works.

Also, my dude i don't really like this stuff—like yeah hypocritical literal smut writer literally haha sex idol but i dont wanna think about whatever they may or may not be like in their private life when I'm not literally involved in it. I just put sex word on paper and then dance like a manic clown when I'm not writing. I don't know. I don't speculate. I only put sex word on paper and play Destiny. So, like that, i'm gonna give you a pretty good build then.

Exotic: Osteo Striga, Necrotic Grips.

Power Weapon: Retrofit Escapade.

Subclass: Strand

Aspects: Weaver's Call, Mindspun Invocation

Fragments: Thread of Mind / Fury / Generation / Continuity

Seasonal Mods: Volatile Flow, for Retrofit Escapade's Volatile Rounds.

Gameplay Loop:

Comsume Suspension Grenade for Weaver's Trance

Kill everything with Osteo Striga and poison + suspend mobs with every kill

Get grenade back with every tick of damage from any source

Rinse and repeat

Enjoy.

[snowberry-pie]

nobody ever wants to talk about the thematic implications of the guardian’s slow descent into darkness post forsaken and their eventual recovery in lightfall brought about not through defeat but through acceptance it’s always raids and crucible and osteo striga with you people

[mantleoflight]

//OK! SO! I'm doing a lot better and am coming off Hiatus to Semi-hiatus and will be putting asks and threads in the queue. I'm in a much better head space and have been absolutely buzzing on ideas inspired by this season's content.

//Namely extensions of Echo's Hive!AU in which she tries to talk terms with Savathun and ends up as one of her Oubliette experiments instead.

1. Weapon of Sorrow

//The first is "Weapon of Sorrow" au in which Echo is discovered/revealed after being defeated by a trio of guardians and is brought back for examination. It runs on the idea that Hive Magic is meant for infecting and transforming living biological beings, not inorganic life forms like Exos and Ghosts. Yet it still affects inorganic materials, as seen in the Weapons of Sorrow. //This also runs on my HC that all Exos have Alkahest running in their bodies, maintaining their minds and humanity while also adding a biological component to their beings, albeit minimally. //Thus, when Echo is retrieved and her chitin (courtesy of @bandit-prince's hive OC, Taûryx) is removed, her main body is revealed to have been heavily modified by the terraforming ability of the hivified Alkahest (modified/refined radiolaria, IE the exo's blood/only biological component). Where once was the sleek, human-like model of Clovis Bray's exo design, now lay something looking like it was made of knives and bone, much like the Necrochasm and Osteo Striga. //Naturally, Echo's ghost, Whisper, beseeches the Vanguard for help in bringing Echo back as a guardian and cleansing her of the Hive magic Savathun and Taûryx used on her. With some help, they are eventually successful in cleansing and restoring Echo, yet she still feels some effects of being an exo acolyte. This AU actually extends to another AU, a "Bad Timeline" au that combines "Weapon of Sorrow" and "Ties of Binding" which will be detailed in a section below.

2. Bad Timeline AU

//In this second au, "Bad Timeline" mixes the WoS and TtB verses with one of the Bad Timelines where the Exo Stranger came from. In it, Echo becomes her "Weapon of Sorrow" self by design, submitting herself to Hive!Eris Morn as a way to get close to her and Savathun. She does this in order to find the Hive God ritual and use it herself. In this, she would try to become a rival to Eris in the pantheon of hive gods and give the remaining guardians not completely lost to the darkness, a chance at retaking their world with or without the Traveler. //This would be tricky though, since she'd know that she'd need a Worm in the pantheon to do this. So she gets the only one she could find on hand: the one inside the YW's gun. Using different magics, including the Essence Transfer magic utilized in the Scarlet Keep, Echo speak with Xol, contending with him that he was the weakest of his pantheon because he didn't live up to his name. Because up to that point, he hadn't been the Will of thousands, only the will of one. But if he made a deal with her, she would make him the will of thousands, and his tithe would be greater than had ever been for him. //So through this, she becomes Ehkos Ahnan, Hive diety of Ties and Binding, taking strength from bonds between her brood (the guardians who accept her offer). Her first act of binding was binding Xol to his physical form, remaking him and gaining strength from the bonds of love, hate, rivalry, etc. made with and extended to her by other sentient beings. To other's surprise though, she had not relinquished the Light, only hidden it until the time to reveal it came. //Now the Deep and Sky battle within her as she runs against the clock, seeking to become the one Blade willing to carve its place in the universe and allow to shelter beneath her in exchange for obedience to her terms and tithes of Light and violence in defense of their new kingdom.

//We are the ever-grasping hands. Those who accept us are bound to us by our Mercy. We are the ever-shaping truth! Those who reject us are cut down by our blades and bonds! For Mercy can only be given by those Strong enough to carve it from the hands of their enemies! And those whom you gain and bring to me by Mercy are yours by right of Submission. Through this bond, they must tithe and prove themselves worthy of your efforts, your protection, and their place in the world. As well, you must prove yourself worthy to keep them! Carve their place into the chasm that is your domain, claim, and grow! Prove yourselves worthy to be called mine! Aiat!"

3. Ties that Bind

//The second AU is set after her Hive verse in which she isn't made into a Weapon of Sorrow but is still discovered and recovered from being an Acolyte. After providing all the information she has and being aided by Eris in her recovery (specifically during and after Season of the Haunted), Echo goes on as usual during the rest of the year. //However, in hearing the call to aid to help Eris with Immaru, Echo defies strong recommendations of her leaving the situation alone and goes to aid Eris. Ikora has strong reservations about letting Echo continue to aid Eris, but Echo insists that with her experience the previous year in the Hive, she would be the best suited to help Eris in her current endeavors. Ikora's fears prove founded as Echo begins to slip into her old Acolyte patterns as she fights and tithes to Eris. //However, despite their efforts and how fruitful they've been, Echo's discovery of Ahsa's involvement puts a huge damper on her efforts. She knows the corrosive power of hive magic and fears they can't last much longer without hurting, or worse, killing Eris and Ahsa. Thus she begins to prepare a secondary plan, which in reality is a terrible idea but what else can she do when good ideas don’t show themselves? //So she contacts an "old friend", and whether by bonding with him as a Darkness Risen ( @aurea-fide) or raising his essence from the weapon of his own destruction, she calls on the weakest of worms with an assertion that he was weak because he hasn't lived up to his name, and a promise that if he abides this new contract with her, he will become that which he claimed to be: the will of thousands instead of the will of one. //In this line of action, she intends to pick up where Eris left off and join the hive pantheon -- not as villain or antagonist to humanity, but as a paracausal advocate and contender against greater powers. //"If the Traveler is the Gardener then I am its guard, for I know by right, all who are born in this universe have a place in it. If this is a garden, then I will tend it and carve a place for all things in this universe.”

Addendum to Ties that Bind is that it would be a precautionary plan. One that is likely discovered and not acted upon since Eris seems to have things well in hand. Seasonally, this is Eris’s journey and our goth girl deserves some good things. UuU

Echo: “and this is why Eris is doing this. Because she won’t fall to the temptation of the Deep like I would. She’s the Stronger Truth, a true light in the blanketing dark. A friend, a protector, a guardian. aiat.”

[xivu-arath]

"oh noooo I've been suppressed, I am helpless and surrounded by suppressing fields )))):" I say in great and loud misery, pulling out osteo striga -