Marigold-4

Marigold-4 - She/They - 5’4” - Dec.14th

Theme: Grasp of Avarice

Normally an Exo, has a Dark Age Human design too.

Origins.

Marigold was a young, rogue exo, not much is known about her past, her real name, nothing. She had no Ghost, no home, no one to fall back on, she was alone, and lost.

One day, in the Tangled Shore, she slaughtered a group of Fallen and their Servitors for supplies. It was a massacre. In the shadows, a small, helpless Servitor accidentally drew attention to himself, causing Maria to notice him and go after him. After realizing how small, yet sentient it was, Marigold gave him two options. Come with her, be given whatever Light Maria had in her to become her Ghost, and travel alongside her until the end of her life, or die, a quick and painful death right then and there.

He chose to accompany her, becoming her ghost, being given the name Nikolas. 

Unlike other guardians who get their ghosts after they're revived, Maria did the opposite, giving life and purpose to a Servitor.

The Red War.

During the preparations of the Red War, Marigold was captured by the Cabal. Instead of being killed, they found a better use for her. Maria was forced to be tied up and thrown in a jail cell for most of the time she was with the Cabal, rarely taken care of, while Nikolas was locked away with their new Light restricting tools. Other times, she was sent into the field to infiltrate the Tower, The Last City, along side fireteams of Guardians both new and veteran. She would go on missions with them, form bonds with them, and when the time was right, she would kill their ghosts and then the guardians themselves, over and over again. At other times, she would spy and tattle on whatever the Cabal needed info on. 

This is where she first met Duke-11, who despite his efforts, and being the most important, legendary Guardian, could not capture her, despite his efforts.

At one time, he even caught her stealing from his camp, but chose to observe nd allow it, not making himself known to her. She warmed up by the fire, exhausted, for the Cabal had thrown her out of their outposts to fend for herself, in the cold of the night. He felt pity on her, watched her steal supplies, and she ran off into the darkness. This came at a cost, him knowing he could have possibly recruited and saved her from her unfortunate life.

After many encounters, Duke-11 finally caught her, throwing her into the Prison of Elders, in a cryo-pod for what was to be expected, many, many years, for her alliance to the Cabal and the many, many lives she claimed while working for them.

Forsaken.

During the starting mission of Forsaken, the Prison of Elders has a riot and is ultimately thrown into total Chaos, many outlaws escaping during Cayde-6's dumbass move (which gets himself killed). During the Riot, many cryo-pods are opened and outlaws flee into the universe. This includes Marigold-4, who escapes as Duke-11 consoles his dead friend's body. 

She finds a ship and uses it to escape, with almost no energy left in her body from being frozen for so long. She successfully makes it to the Cosmodrome, exiting the ship, and collapses. She rolls down a hill, into a field of flowers and scrap metal, and presumably dies.

She doesn't actually die, actually retaining her memories, due to comatose. She is left to rot in the cold of Old Russia, with Nikolas locked inside of her.

Season Of The Lost (Beyond Light - Season 15)

First Meeting

From Forsaken to the last year of Beyond Light, Maria was lost to time, all alone in the cold. Years passed, her body taking heavy damage due to the Russian Winters... But after many cold nights...

Duke-11 received a very weak distress signal from a Ghost in the Cosmodrome, so he flew down to investigate. After all this time, Duke-11 suffered from severe memory loss being an Exo on his 11th reset... pulled away the debris, and saw an Orange haired, injured Exo... small, female, but breathing, in a field of marigolds. She was alive, just barely. He woke her up, asking her name, her story, anything, but she had no answers.

He brought her to the ship, giving her the name Marigold, and was rather cold and silent, until his Ghost, Ark, convinced him to at least check up on her. They talked a bit, as Duke-11 gave Marigold-4 a blanket, reassuring her she could sleep on the way to the Last City.

Becoming Partners

Marigold had nowhere to go, so alas, she became partners with Duke-11, living with him in his apartment, sleeping on his couch. All and all, she was rather lazy and rowdy, even stealing Duke-11's Bottom Dollar from him, but proved to be a valuable ally to Duke-11. She meets Duke-11's main fireteam partner, Northstar-2. Maria struggles to gain an identity, unsure on who she is or what is happening. Nikolas remembers most of what happened, but keeps to himself, both out of shyness, and for Marigold's own safety.

Marigold-4 eventually gains her own loadout she sticks with for many months, featuring an Exotic Helmet known as the Knucklehead Radar, a Legendary Handcannon collection featuring the Bottom Dollar, The Palindrome, and Judgement. But her most iconic weapon, The Trinity Ghoul, would stick with her up to present day and possibly longer.

Return to the Prison Of Elders

Investigating the Prison once more, Duke-11, Northstar-2 and Marigold-4 are tasked with heading into it, to cull some numbers. Marigold-4 gets nervous, not knowing why she's so terrified of the Prison. Due to her small size, Marigold-4 is put into a vent and asked to crawl around by herself, to get to inaccessible areas. After a while of fighting for their lives, Duke and Northstar enter the center arena, with a large drop. Across the arena, upon some bridges, Marigold could be seen being overwhelmed by Scorn, having her right arm ripped off, causing her to retreat. Eventually, running across the bridges, she is cornered. Her only option outside of being flanked is to jump across to another bridge, atop a 30ft fall to a solid, cold floor. She is deathly afraid of heights, but would rather take the risk to avoid being killed.

She leaps.

And she grabs onto the edge of the bridge, desperately trying to hold on, but the one arm she has left wouldn't be enough.

She falls.

Duke-11 would witness this, having a deep connection with his partner, all sounds of chaos blocking out, just the sound of their heartbeats as they lock eyes, Maria falls into the darkness, out of view.

Seconds pass. 

Thud.

Duke-11 would blank out, wiping all enemy forces as Northstar-2 would watch.  

While the dust settles... The duo run down to console Marigold, praying she survived... As Duke-11 held Marigold-4 close, as he did with Cayde all those years ago, she laughed, reassuring him that she was okay. Nikolas came out, panicking, afraid she wouldn't survive. 

Thankfully, Marigold-4 was fine, and was exempt from any and all work until she was ready to bring her arm back. During a game of Gambit, her arm restored so she could take down an invader.

The Truth, Europa, and Savathun.

Savathun offered Marigold-4 the truth, her past, and any answers she would need. Duke-11 and Marigold-4 agreed to head to Europa, in hopes to find her information along side his own. 

It took nearly a week, to travel across Europa, almost leading to the two Exos dying due to their weakness to the cold. They got separated from one another due to Europa's blizzards. As if using it as an SOS, Maria would pop her super, Golden Gun, shooting into the air in an act of desperation, hoping Duke-11 would find her. He does, saving her from the cold, by escaping into an abandoned building, and using Sunspots to keep eachother warm. They both hold one another close, falling asleep, regaining their energy for the journey ahead. They eventually make it to the facility, and its revealed that Duke-11 became an Exo to escape dying from an incurable cancer, and later died alone, as a nobody, before becoming the most beloved, well known Guardian in history. Marigold-4 unfortunately, had no information available for her in the facility. In a fit of anger, she broke down, exploding.

Later on, she visits Savathun, being given the truth about her past. She is reminded of her evil past, the fight for survival, the red war and the murders she committed. In a fit of terror, she falls back, screaming. Duke-11 goes to console her, but Marigold-4 shouts at him to get away, as she runs away. 

During the night, Duke-11 finds her alone in the Cosmodrome, and after some consoling, brings her back home. 

The Dawning

To no one's surprise, love was in the air, and Duke-11 planned on confessing his love on The Dawning, Destiny's version of Christmas. He did so, in the Cosmodrome, where he found Marigold-4, and she felt the same! They now live happily as a couple, hoping to stay this way until the end of time <3

id add more but i typed this all up in one go without proofreading and im tired XP

The Witch Queen

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