Guardians and the Light

The Celestials

General Tropes

Five Sky-dwelling beings who lead the forces of Light in the universe-wide war against the Darkness. Their names are Xelantos, Miydaine, Vohamnkadah, Ophantius, and Almaral.

Big Good: They collectively serve as this to the entire story.

Traveler

Almaral, the Traveler

A mysterious alien entity that first appeared orbiting Mars, the Traveler's intent is to uplift humanity and allow them to expand beyond Earth and the solar system by means of the paracausal Light she commands, communicating through the Ghosts and chosen representatives.

However, this is only part of the true story: as one of the Celestials, the main purpose behind her arrival is to grant humanity the tools and power to defend themselves from the approaching Darkness.

Big Good: All Celestials are this, but she's the most prominent one in the story.
Good Is Not Soft: She is a believer in the notions of idealism and loyalty, and her desire is a universe where tyranny and cruelty cannot triumph. All the same, she is keenly aware of how the universe operates, and fighting a war against an enemy like the Darkness means she cannot afford to be naive in pursuit of her goals.
- Sure enough, she chooses Osiris - an avowed enemy of the Triumvirate - as one of her first representatives among humanity, and when the Triumvirate inevitably begin using her gifts for their own ends, she makes no move to stop the Resistance from striking at them when needed; the Guardians even end up aiding them, with her blessing.
- After the Collapse, Mara Sov believes that the Vanguard's creation of a Guardian order using the Sword Logic is happening with her explicit consent, even in her current state.

The First Chosen

Valentin

Valentin Kozhukov, Speaker of the Traveler

An ordinary cosmonaut of the Soviet Space Marines who participates in the Ares One mission to Mars, and ends up being chosen by the Traveler as one of her first representatives. As the story advances, however, it becomes clear that the Traveler's plan for Valentin is much greater than anticipated, as he soon becomes the first of humanity's Guardians, their leader, and her Speaker.

His Ghost is Vigil.

The Everyman: Valentin hails from a working class family, and is the most ordinary of the main characters. That likely played a role in the Traveler choosing him to fulfill the role of Speaker.
Good Is Not Soft: Like the Traveler, he's idealistic and always seeks a peaceful resolution when up against the Triumvirate's soldiers. That being said, he will not hesitate to end the lives of those in whom he cannot see hope for redemption.

Fang

Fang Sov

Taikonaut, friend of Valentin, and a fellow crew member of Ares One. Fang hails from the Sovs - one of the more influential families within the Chinese Communist Party - but has grown disillusioned with the Party's form of governance. He finds himself able to begin enacting change after the Traveler chooses him to be among her representatives.

His Ghost is Shadow.

Power of the Void: The Nine deemed him worthy of acquiring the ability to wield the Void. He succeeds, and wields it to great effect against the Triumvirate.

Osiris

Isaiah Kane/Osiris

The commander of the Resistance's Dead Cell and one of its most dangerous soldiers, selected as one of the Traveler's representatives after infiltrating the Ares One crew in order to attempt contact.

His Ghost is Sagira.

Milya

Milya Mihaylova

An Indian linguist assigned to the Ares One, and one of the Traveler's first chosen representatives. Timid but well-intentioned, she initially keeps quiet, in contrast to most of her fellow chosen, but India's deployment of their most infamous "pacifier", Arjun Gala, forces her to adopt a more active role in her nation's activities.

Her Ghost is Sara, named in honor of the goddess Saraswati.

Liana

Liana Collens

Friend to both Valentin and Fang, Liana is an astronaut with the American Space Force, selected to join the Ares One mission, and soon after, selected by the Traveler. Like Milya, she's not as active as the rest of the Traveler's chosen, but she's also the one who's most receptive to her nation's actions.

Her Ghost is Mike.

Triumvirate-Era Guardians

Fox

Hayden Fox

The cunning director of the Triumvirate Intelligence Service, Hayden is possessed of a deep loyalty to the ideal of the Triumvirate, which ironically sets him on a path of opposition to Clovis Bray and his plans for the Triumvirate's institution as a whole, aided by the Traveler.

His Ghost is Watcher-7.

Heel–Face Turn: While initially loyal to the Triumirate as a whole, his conversations with Watcher-7 open his eyes to Clovis's megalomania, leading him to reach out to Valentin.
Kill and Replace: Proves to be frighteningly adept at this as a Guardian, doing it to his KGB executioner after his first resurrection, and later to Luka as well.
The Spymaster: As Director of the TIS, until Clovis has him executed.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: One of his abilities as a Guardian, which he uses to impersonate select figures when required. As of Triumvirate, he is currently impersonating Luka.

Shaxx

Jormund Shaxx

A former soldier of the American Space Force, Shaxx is one of the first Guardians awakened by the Traveler, who proves himself an extremely capable wielder of the Light, finding himself among the upper ranks of the early Guardians, and their main combat instructor.

Boisterous Bruiser: One of the friendliest among the first of the human Guardians. Also capable of beating the shit out of most people, other Guardians included.
Boring, but Practical: Sure, the ability to alter reality is cool, but Shaxx was the one to suggest training the Guardians in using the Light in more conventional combat, noting that not everyone is inherently as skilled in manipulating the Light as him or Osiris.
Curb-Stomp Battle: Delivered one to several Guardian trainees at once during a combat drill, so brutal that he accidentally killed one of them by crushing their heart. To his credit, he did apologize once they were rezzed. Profusely, at that.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: Immediately takes to training the first Guardians, and with their new powers, he is very willing to push them as far as they can go.
Four-Star Badass: As the military commander of the early Guardians, he more than qualifies.
Super-Speed: One of his first noted specialties as a Lightbearer.
Voluntary Shapeshifting: Is capable of adopting different forms as well; when he has to intercept an American fleet sent to Africa, he takes on the visage of a dragon to intimidate them into surrendering.

Alexandra

Alexandra II

The current Queen of England, notoriously at odds with the Triumvirate for ruling over one of the last independent nations of the world. She finds herself given a Ghost, and the power to match, in order to defend her country from the Triumvirate.

An Ice Person: Alexandra quickly develops an affinity for ice after becoming a Guardian, crafting an ice dagger for practice and later calling down a snowstorm against the Red Army at Portsmouth.
Royals Who Actually Do Something: When she says she will fight by her countrymen's side, she means it: not long after the Soviets finally begin their invasion of the United Kingdom, she single-handedly repels the ground offensive at Portsmouth with nothing but her Light.

Ernesto

Ernesto Guevara

One of the first resurrected Guardians on Earth, acting as a leader for the newly unified South American resistance movement. In life, he was a notorious revolutionary against the early Triumvirate, until the Soviet Union orchestrated his death. He has lost all memory of who he was upon being resurrected, but his dedication to striking against the ruling powers of the world remains.

The Gunslinger: He has the honor of being the first user of the Golden Gun in this story.
Historical Domain Character: He's Che Guevara.
Loss of Identity: Being dead for decades prior to his resurrection, he's lost all memory of his former life. Still didn't stop him from using it to inspire rebellions across South America.

Radegast

The man now known as Radegast was once a subject in the infamous experiments of the Piteşti prison, until the day he committed suicide. Now, he has been chosen by the Traveler to liberate Romania, as well as the rest of Eastern Europe.

Playing with Fire: Made liberal use of fire during his liberation of Bucharest.
Red Baron: He was named the "Man of Fire" by the Romanians who participated in the Bucharest Uprising.

Amanda

Amanda Holliday

One of the youngest Admirals in the Confederation's Space Force, who has a Ghost assigned to her shortly after the Ares One mission.

Adaptational Backstory Change: While canon Amanda was born after the Collapse, this version is not only born a few decades before the Traveler's arrival, but is also an Admiral of the Space Force.
Adaptational Badass: Amanda was never one to shy away from fighting if necessary in canon, but this story has her become an actual Guardian.

Shaheed

Shaheed al-Najar

Khojin

Khojin Khongordzol

Aunor

Aunor Mahal

Prior to becoming a Guardian, Aunor was a resistance commander operating out of Southeast Asia. Now, she is one of the more gifted Guardians when it comes to understanding the new paracausal powers she wields.

Awesomeness by Analysis: In the Neptune raid, she deduces a means to counteract the Antiphon's effects by introducing a countering Song, even if she's unable to enact much change just by herself.
Dark and Troubled Past: Implied; even taking her time as a guerrilla commander, she's noted to have the eyes of someone who's seen too much, while she's in her early thirties; no doubt a product of the Triumvirate's occupation.
The Smart Guy: She fills this role for Fang's team in the Neptune raid, as she demonstrates greater awareness and knowledge of the paracausal than her teammates; notably, she's the one who notes that the Resonance fields present in Xilong targets both the Light and the Darkness's corruption to some extent, and she's also the only one in the team who can directly manipulate and counter the Antiphon.

Wei Ning

Toland

Matthew Toland

Rezyl

Rezyl Azzir

Jaren

Jaren Ward

One of the Guardians called to Neptune by the Speaker, once an Union soldier during the American Civil War.

Post-Collapse Guardians

Patriot-3

An Exo from the time of the Triumvirate, risen long after the Collapse. Amnesiac, she's found her way to Sanctuary with the help of her Ghost, Little Psycho, where the Speaker takes an interest in her surprising appearance.

Eating Machine: Averted; as one of the early Triumvirate Exos, she lacks her contemporaries' ability to eat food like humans and Awoken. Cayde forgets this when inviting her to join him during dinner, much to his exasperation.
Loss of Identity: She is one of the Guardians who has no memory of her past life. The events of Triumvirate are recounted by the Speaker in an attempt to help her remember anything.
Mecha-Mooks: She realizes she's an Exo built for combat soon after waking up, by virtue of all her built-in weaponry as well as her knowledge of weaponry and human anatomy.

The following tropes apply to Little Psycho:

Ax-Crazy: Apparently this particular Ghost enjoys hunting Eliksni as a pastime, being bold enough to face a Kell.
Cold-Blooded Torture: Prior to repairing Patriot, he's been noted to have removed an unfortunate Eliksni's skin. He claims he wanted to know if it would kill them. Patriot is unsure how to feel about his proclivities.

Eris Morn

A Sanctuary-born Guardian serving with the Vanguard.

The Vanguard of Sanctuary

Cayde-6

A jovial Exo, and the current Hunter Vanguard of Sanctuary.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: As he reveals to Patriot-3, the Vanguard is usually drawn from distinguished and powerful Guardians, or their protégés. He made it just by starting from the bottom and making his way up the ranks.
The Gadfly: Very much so, if his joke about the Vanguard Dare is any indication.

Zavala

The current Titan Vanguard of Sanctuary.

The Ghost: Has yet to appear in the story proper.
Loss of Identity: He is one of the Guardians who lack any memory of their past lives. Cayde thinks he might have been a highly-placed Awoken official in his first life.

Ikora Rey

Osiris's protégé, and successor as Warlock Vanguard of Sanctuary.

The Ghost: As of Triumvirate's second interlude, she hasn't made an appearance yet. Justified by the fact that she's currently on Mercury, leading a Vanguard expedition to search for Osiris.

Other Guardians

Saint-14

An Exo Titan serving under the Vanguard, and one of the leaders of the Vanguard expedition to Mercury.

The Ghost: Has yet to appear in the main story, by virtue of his current duties on Mercury.

Marwaan el-Yassin

Felwinter

Emperor Felwinter

An Exo believed to be connected to Rasputin in some way. After the events of the Collapse, he is currently ruler of a massive empire spanning old Russia.

Adaptational Badass: While just one of many Iron Lords in canon (although one with a very personal connection to Rasputin), Felwinter is now an emperor, and possibly the leader of the Iron Lords (a position filled by Radegast in canon).
The Ghost: Not a physical presence in the story as of yet, but the post-Collapse story is definitely building up to his involvement, as the Spider may have given Mithrax information on him and his empire.

Triumvirate-Era Humanity

The Triumvirate

Clovis Bray

As ambitious as he is intelligent, the industrialist known as Clovis Bray is the first non-Russian to be elected General Secretary of the Soviet Union. He is a man with a vision of an united Triumvirate under the guidance of the Soviet Union, and intends to bring it to fruition by any means necessary.

Big Bad: Of Triumvirate.
Brain Uploading: He willingly undergoes the process to become an Exo in Act III of Triumvirate.
Enemy Mine: Ends up having to pull this with Valentin in order to push back the Darkness on Neptune.
Godhood Seeker: He ultimately intends to subvert and usurp the Traveler to bootstrap humanity's rise to power across the cosmos.
Smug Snake: Downplayed, but it's there; he wouldn't go against the Traveler if he didn't think he stood a favorable chance at coming out on top. If the present-day (post-Collapse) segments are any indication, clearly he won't fare too well.
Visionary Villain: All of Clovis's actions are motivated by his dream of the Triumvirate galvanized and united under the hand of the Soviet Union. Or, more accurately, his hand.

President Quinn

Jamie Quinn

The sitting president of the Confederation of American States.

President Li

Yun Li

The party leader and President of the Chinese Communist Empire.

President Kusari

Gopal Kusari

The sitting president of India during Clovis's election.

Dumbass Has a Point: Bigoted and zealous he may be, but even passing knowledge of the Traveler's capabilities is enough to have him calling out Clovis's plan to subdue the Celestial. Unfortunately, Clovis has him killed off soon after the fact.
We Hardly Knew Ye: Features in only two or three scenes prior to his demise.

Calumet

Commander Evie Calumet

Luka

Luka Ulyanin

The chairman of the KGB under Clovis.

Kill and Replace: His ultimate fate, at the hands of Fox.
The Spymaster

The Warminds

The Warminds of the Triumvirate

The Resistance and Allies

Hamaza el-Hussein

Jilla Pitaft

Jomar Liberman

Jomar Libermann

Ryan Mills

Amjah al-Muhammad

Isaiah Kane

Arya Burns

Other Individuals

Rasputin

Out of the first five Warminds built by the Triumvirate, Rasputin was the most important; intended to be the great coordinator of all other Warminds, and one of humanity's chief protectors, a symbol of the Triumvirate (and Clovis)'s achievements.

A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted, though the Triumvirate's leadership believes this to be the case.
Black Speech: Retains his booming electronic voice, though this time it has the bonus attribute of being in a language of its own, though still derived from the Slavic languages (allowing Clovis and Valentin to still understand him for the most part).
The Idealist: With Ana Bray as his chief creator, he fits the trope as much as a hyper-intelligent AI can.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: How Clovis regards him following his activation; unlike with the Traveler, he doesn't see the Warmind as an entity that will underestimate him.
Super-Intelligence: More so than the other Warminds, at that. Fittingly so for their intended coordinator.

The Eliksni

Mithrax

Mithrax, Kell of Light

The Kell of House Light, which comprises the surviving Eliksni Lightbearers.

Adaptational Badass: Already a Kell before the events of the Great Disaster, and an ex-Guardian at that - something which the Eliksni very much do not have in canon.

Spider

The Spider

The Nine

Xûr

Xûll

Another Agent of the Nine, sent to parlay with Clovis Bray.

Undesirable Prize: She offers Clovis the Telesto on behalf of the Nine when he rejects the opportunity to wield the Void. As an aside, the Telesto chooses its own wielders. All of them share the notable trait of being doomed to failure.

The Darkness

The Old King

A primordial entity of Darkness who was active in the distant past.

Blood Knight: If his fight against the Celestials is any indication, he positively reveled in beating them down.
Greater-Scope Villain: Its slaughter of the Queen of the Sky (and the ensuing fight against her Celestials) ruined a considerable portion of reality.
Uncertain Doom: His last appearance in the Traveler's vision saw him being pushed back into the Deep by Xelantos, though not explicitly killed; however, given he hasn't appeared since then, one wonders what became of him.

The Ascendant One

Altis, the Ascendant One

An Ascendant Lord, an exceptionally powerful wielder of Darkness, coordinating the universal war against the forces of the Light.

Big Bad: As the head honcho of all forces of Darkness in the universe, he is this for TITANOMACH as a whole.
Painting the Medium: :.Every time he speaks, his sentences are bolded and surrounded by a semicolon and a period. They are also center-aligned, which serves to highlight the difference in power between him and everyone else.:

The Savior

The Savior, Altis' Right Hand

One of the Ascendant One's chief Disciples.

Adaptational Name Change: By Word of God, the Savior is Titanomach's take on the Witness from canon, even though they lack their canonical title. All of the terms currently known to describe them come from Micah.
Adaptational Wimp: Severely downplayed, as they are still a being of immense power, but they're nonetheless subordinate to Altis, as one of his Disciples.
Affably Evil: Is nothing if not unfailingly polite in their interactions with Micah and Guardians alike.
The Dragon: They appear to be this to Altis.

The Ambassador

Warning: unmarked spoilers past this point.

Micah Abrams, Ambassador of Altis

Adaptational Villainy: Micah in canon is a Guardian in her own right, and one of the Six Coyotes. In this story, she goes down a drastically different path, instead becoming a wielder of Darkness and one of Altis's direct servants.

The Intercessor

The Neptunian Intercessor

Among the many powers and entities at Altis's disposal are the Intercessors, constructs of Darkness employed as forward scouts in the Ascendant Lord's eternal war across the cosmos. One of these Intercessors made its way towards the Sol system, where it was found by a science vessel and transported to Neptune, where it began corrupting its population, starting with a young Micah.

Characters / TITANOMACH

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