We Meet at Last

*I can't believe it,* a voice spoke up, *It's actually a Shaman. We haven't seen one of them in a long time. I wonder if she wants to try to become a worthy candidate to wield us.*


*Quiet Moor Gault. You know that Invoking four or more Guardians at once is dangerous. Do you want to kill the girl? Besides, her companions need Guardians too,* another voice quipped.

Is this what the Ark Scepter is doing to me? Will I hear the voices of the Guardians now, just like my ancestors? I'm just hoping that no one else is listening to what they are saying. Else one of them, most likely the silver haired youth who goes by the name of Jet, will probably try to kill me.

Chapananga seems to be with me today, in spirit if not in reality. None of them seemed to be able to pick up on the words of the Guardians. They were probably trying to get my attention, that's why I heard them. Else, the young priest named Gallows would have picked up on it.

We go to the north first, and fight the Water Guardian, Schturdark. This was the false Medium that Gallows had Invoked before, he'll probably want to use it. I ran at the Guardian with all of my might, shooting my ARMS, and silently cursing the fact that I can't use my Crest Sorcery in front of people.

When we finally manage to defeat the Guardian, he turns into a Medium. I could see Gallows grab for it, so he could get his powers back. But what he couldn't foresee was that the Guardian wanted me to wield him, as I'm a Shaman, and he flew right out of the Baskar's hands.

Gallows asked me, "What happened? Why didn't Schturdark want me to use him in battle?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, maybe because I'm the fastest, and can get his healing powers off before our enemies are able to hurt us even more." Luckily, he bought that excuse.

*No fair,* whined the voice of Moor Gault, *I wanted to be the one to protect the Shaman.*


*Snooze you loose, brother. Listen, you shouldn't make it look like you all like her best, or else the others might get suspicious. Grudiev, you go to the Baskar, Raftina knows he'll need plenty of defense for all the trouble he's always getting into. Fengalon, take the Sniper, he's slow as molasses, and'll need an extra boost in speed. And Moor Gault, I want you to stay with the boy Drifter, he's going to need a Guardian to protect him as well. That should keep things strait* Schturdark ordered.

Moor Gault muttered, *Who made you boss after the High Guardians turned to stone?* He did, however, do as he was told and go to Jet after we'd acquired his Medium. I saw Fengalon descend towards the Sniper named Clive, and Grudiev choose Gallows as his wielder. Then, we left the shrine.

* * *

Later on, I was sitting alone in the Baskar's temple. For once, no one was here on any business, official or otherwise. High Priestess Halle was having another bout with Gallows about Guardians knows what, and the others were off somewhere in town. I wanted to speak with Schturdark alone, without anyone overhearing me. He was the only one who could answer the questions I had.

I held the Medium in my hands. "Schturdark, about what happened at the Fallen Sanctuary. I could hear all of you as you discussed me. So why is it that the others didn't seem to figure out what was going on? Were you all just talking to me, or were they not paying attention to the conversation?"


*You heard us?!* exclaimed the Water Guardian, *Good, you do have enough focus towards your powers. I was worried that you would be unable to hear our words. I guess even at a time when their blood has spread so thin, and our powers are so weak, Shamans have even better focus than the Baskar. Well, the fact that this Baskar doesn't pay attention counts for something, but still.*

"Focus? What do you mean by that? My mother died before she could teach me about how to focus my powers towards communication with the Guardians. I don't know what to do," I admitted.

Schturdark told me, *Focus comes natural for you. You've lived such a sad and depressing life, that your mind has a natural ability towards making contact with the Guardians. Even other Shamans can't hold a candle to you when it comes to your Focus. But because we're so weak, we can't make contact with you without the Ark Scepter, just like with the Baskar. Though if you were to Invoke a Medium without the use of an Ark Scepter, who knows if you would be able to hear that Guardian or not.*

I thought for a moment. "Schturdark, do you think I can call other Guardians, those I don't have Invoked? I mean, if I heard your voices, I must be able to hear all of the Guardians as well."

*You can,* Moor Gault's voice echoed, *Sorry to interrupt you brother, but I just had to add this in. There's just one thing though. You've got a small range on the area that this ability can reach. It goes about as far as your range for sensing a Guardian's presence. So unless you know one of us is nearby you, there's no way you can call out to them. Any reason you want to talk to the others?*

"No, no special reason. I was just curious, that's all," I told them.

That was and was not true. Since I had no idea how powerful my abilities actually were, and which ones had come natural to me, I was curious as to how strong I really was. But it would have been really fun to speak with the different Guardians around the world. Guess I'll just have to wait until we meet them in person. But all this waiting is getting kind of boring if you ask me.

I left the temple, and headed back to Gallows's house as the sun was setting. It was getting close to dinner time, and I wanted something to eat. Mother always said that you get hungry much faster when you're using your powers or communicating with the Guardians.

Over dinner, we talked about what was next on the agenda. No one had any ideas of where to go. So we decided to sleep on it, and head on out for the next destination in the morning.

As I lay on my cot, I began to think. About how I was going to go on a journey to embrace a lost heritage, the one my ancestors had protected a thousand years. The whole concept about finding myself in the Wasteland was getting even more exciting, as I was not only going to find exactly what I was made of, but also what kind of Shaman I would turn out to be.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

Yeah, I explain how I Invoke my Mediums in the story. I'm not doing every scene from the game. Only the ones that I can make a conversation out of. Mostly, they will be after each Guardian is acquired, but several happen at other times. Oh, and the words between asterisks are telepathy, whether it be the Guardians or a telepathinc conversation between two characters. Not like anyone here knows telepathy, but maybe if I get a conversation between Virginia and another Shaman in another story.