It came without warning. 

The Traveler appeared, saving what was left of the human race from The Collapse, thus ending the long peaceful and prosper period that was known as the Golden Age. Colonies were scattered across the solar system, with almost no other way to reach them due to the ever awesome power of the Darkness. 

But thanks to the Traveler, man kind was saved from complete extinction. 

It gifted many with the power called Light, granting however wield it unspeakable abilities. That day on they were called Guardians, sworn protectors of The Last City and the Traveler. 

Maddie remembers the day she was revived by a lonely ghost. Her body and soul presumably demolished during the Collapse over 700 years ago, but not forgotten. The Traveller found her soul and the Ghost which she named, Shadow, seek'd her out and brought her back to life once more. 

She awoke in what was now known as the EDZ, or the European Dead Zone. Rescued from The Fallen, Shadow escorted Maddie to a ship where it brought her to The Last City. She met with the Vanguard and the Speaker, who warned her of the coming Darkness. It was there she honed her skills and trained to become a Guardian herself, choosing to not sit idly by and waste her second chance at life. For that, she would be forever thankful to the Traveler. 

She helped mankind with reconstructing efforts to rebuild from the collapse, evaporating the darkness who granted the Fallen, the Vex, the Hive, the Cabal, and the Taken.  and reuniting with the old colonies, including The Awoken. It was decided she would train under Vanguard Ikora Rey's apprenticeship and become a Warlock, harnessing the power of mythical space magic.  

Manuel first met Maddie when she and Shadow seek'd audience with Queen Mara Sov and her brother Uldren. He took a great interest in the Guardians, but due to the Awokens disinterest in taking part in the war of light against darkness, he was forced to observe from a far. But fate smiled upon him that day. After Maddie proved herself worthy of the Awoken's trust by bringing them the head of a Vex Gate Lord, Manuel was tasked with assisting Maddie in locating the Black Garden on Mars. 

They become the first to penetrate the Exclusion Zone and make it to the heart of the Black Garden. The pair grow close in their travels, and after saving his life from the Eschaton Mind, Imminent Mind, and Primeval Mind of Vex and helping her kill Sol Progeny, Manuel repays his dept by enlisting in the guardians. He is blessed by the Traveler's Light and granted his own powers, joining the Hunter Vanguard and becoming quick friends with Cayde-6, training to become the Vanguard's deadliest, yet also the most sassiest and humerus assassin. 

After lifting the shroud of Darkness from the Traveler back on Earth, the Solar System was once again at peace. 

C.O.L.E. - 2 became the newest member of their fire team shortly after. There wasn't much to tell about the EXO at first. It was as if he appeared out of nowhere and became an immediate star over night. After showing off his skills in many rounds of the crucible, Commander Zavala assigned the three Guardians into their own fire team and sent them out on their first strike mission, code name: The Dark Below. Their mission, to hunt and kill the Hive deity known as Crota, Son of Oryx.

After that mission, the trio formed an instant bond, patrolling various missions across the Solar System such as House of Wolves and The Taken King. 

Over the course of their adventures, Maddie couldn't help but feel some sort of connection to C.O.L.E. It was as if they knew each other from another life. Guardians are forbidden to look into their past lives from the Golden Age before being reawaken by the Traveler's light. As it turns out, C.O.L.E. was actually Maddie's younger brother. He had a recollection of her when he was first revived but had no idea she had been revived herself and before he got the chance to try and confront her, he was killed in action during a previous mission gone wrong and his ghost nearly destroyed. When he was revived as C.O.L.E. - 2, his memory had been wiped completely of his past life and he had forgotten about her. 

It wasn't until the pair reunited as their newer selves and bonded that they realized their connection was intensely deeper than they realized. 

Years passed and the fire team's bond grew deeper. Maddie and Manuel had even started to develop romantic feelings for each other, and figuring out when either one would pop the question and confess their feelings was a popular gossip topic at all the spicy ramen shops, especially with Cayde around who liked to place bets. 

After the Cabal invasion and the destruction of the Tower and the The Last City, the fire teams friendship and combatant skills were put to the ultimate test. With the loss of the Speaker and the Traveler in the hands of Ghaul, the trio worked tirelessly to reunite their Vanguard commanders and stop the Cabal from blowing up Earth's sun. Patience weighed thin, lines were drawn and crossed, and sacrifices made. Ghaul was defeated in the end, the Light he worked so hard to obtain and control for himself became his undoing. 

With the Traveler safe and the new Tower reconstructed, the Guardians new goal was to rebuild what was left of the city and start a new, sailing the ocean of deep space in order to reignite the spark that the Guardian's light wouldn't be snuffed out so easily. 

That is where our long list of stories begin.