"Welcome to Seeker 101," Harry, the former Organisation officer began. "I will be your instructor, Revolver Eagle."

"You do realise that you don't get to make up your own codename," Snake checked.

"It was chosen entirely legitimately," Eagle protested.

"Eagle, we don't have 'Revolver' in the name generator."

"I saw it pulled out of the hat myself. Ocelot was there, and he couldn't believe it either. Anyway, congratulations to you both on Awakening as Seekers. The main thing to set us apart from the rest of the population is our ability to call Titans forth from amulets, but there is more to it than that."

"Like how amulets lock to one user?"

"Exactly," Eagle agreed. "Amulets must bond with a Seeker before they can call out the Titan. Now supposedly this wizard guy crafted the amulets to summon Titans from another universe or something to save the world from evil Titans or something, but that's not really something you need to know to be a Seeker."

"We're on one side of a war for the planet due to 'Awakening' or whatever, and you don't think that's relevant?"

"Hey, we won whenever this was, if it even happened, the nulls or whatever they were aren't around any more."

"Nulls," Snake had to ask.

Eagle shrugged. "Eh, they aren't around, I didn't feel the need to listen when they explained it. So anyway, how easy it is to bond with an amulet depends on how similar, personality wise, you are to the previous Seeker, and on what Titan it is. So yours for example," he indicated Snake before making certain his hands were empty, "Freelancer will bond easily with anyone. In many ways a good recommendation for a starting Titan. It can also be made easier to bond with an amulet if the current Seeker passes it on to you. Now, the three main ways the bond can be broken; the Seeker dies, they pass the amulet on or someone uses a very specific power to break the connection."

"Except the Redcap came from one of the suits we have prisoner," Snake pointed out. "They aren't dead, they didn't pass the amulet on and we haven't used any 'power' on them."

"Maybe it's because the suits bond with amulets while brainwashed by the Professor, or something the Organisation does to the amulets so they can be reassigned easily, it's not my area. Now, someone with the potential to be a Seeker but who has yet to Awaken will automatically start to bond with the first amulet they find, unless they are seriously unsuited. After that, it starts to take an act of will on the Seekers part to bond. I mean, if it didn't I wouldn't have been able to work independent, finding amulets to sell on."

"What do you mean by an act of will?"

Eagle hesitated.

"It's, well, you just… it's easier to guide you through than explain, when you get a second amulet to bond with I'll run you through it. Anyway, once you've bonded with an amulet, you can invoke the Titan simply by holding the amulet and calling their name. Usually you can find something with the name of the Titan with the amulet, so that isn't too much of a problem, and the Organisation issued these 'Technonomicon' things that could scan an amulet and identify the Titan, but you can also learn the name by… sensing it within the amulet? Sorry, English isn't designed for this sort of explanation."

"So another thing you'll get round to when we get a second amulet?"

"Sure, let's go with that. Now, the main focus of the Organisation seems to have been on combat focused Titans, but I wouldn't go on an expedition without a trap or puzzle suited Titan, and there are other types of support focused Titan. I think I saw someone using one that worked like a jetpack, for instance. It really depends on the ability the Titan has."

"What do you mean by ability?"

"A lot of Titans have unique things they can do. You tend to figure them out sooner or later. While you have a Titan invoked, they will follow your orders, even if you end up dropping the amulet. An amulet can't be forced to bond with someone new while the Titan is invoked, of course, but most have their own personalities that define how they'll act without orders or when you're unconscious. Now, that's the main details you need to know about Titans and their amulets."

"That's all? You've barely touched on anything, it's mostly been 'we'll cover this later'!"

"Well, it isn't easy to describe with words. Now, the other side of being a Seeker is our powers, more easily thought of as 'magic'. For example, the basic Boltflare!"

He aimed his hand at the wall, a ball of energy shooting into it to no visible effect.

"Now normally a Boltflare would do a bit more damage, but the thing about powers is that you get to choose how much energy you put into them, unlike Titans. A Titan is invoked at full strength or not at all."

"What do you mean by energy?"

"Oh right, you don't get anything for free. Titans and powers both need energy from the Seeker. The stronger the Titan, the greater the cost. You could invoke two or three weak Titans, like Strix, without exhausting yourself more than if you invoked a particularly strong Titan, like one of the golems."

Eagle paused, staring into the middle distance.

"Those golems, some of the strongest Titans around, if you don't believe in the supposed 'legendary Titans' at least. What I couldn't charge if I found one of them…"

"Sorry, legendary Titans?"

Eagle waved a hand vaguely.

"Supposedly the wizard who made the amulets had three unique Titans, impossibly strong ones. Stronger than any other Titan, even. So while there are multiple of every other Titan somewhere out there, some more common than others, there are three Titans of which there is one amulet, no more."

"You don't believe they exist?"

"Everyone needs something to believe in right? Just because we Seekers have some mystical powers doesn't set us apart from that, and it gives us another reason to search all the ancient sites for their amulets. But anyway, powers. Everyone who has awakened as a Seeker can learn powers like Boltflare. The Foundation Seekers I've run into claim that we become capable of casting magic due to our bonded Titans, but that doesn't sound right to me. I mean, they also say that it was some wizard who crafted the amulets right? How did he have the magic to make them if magic comes from the Titans? There's something wrong there…"

"Fascinating mythological history and all, but is there a point to this?"

"Right," Eagle answered, clapping his hands. "The most straightforward power for any Seeker to learn is Boltflare, no matter what the Professor seems to believe, so by the time you walk out the door, both of you will be capable of casting Boltflare. Now, this is how it works…"

]

"You have your amulets picked out? Good, I recognise both of them. Though I must admit I didn't think the Organisation had any of them… anyway, it's time to bond deliberately. Try to feel the Titan, ask their name. I'll tell you if needed, so we can be sure whether you bond or not, but I want you to do this properly."

]

"There we go, you both have your second Titan! And better yet, you know how to invoke a Titan if their amulet isn't conveniently labeled. Let us take this time to see how well you can figure out their abilities…"

]

"With Boltflare you have a versatile, but mainly offensive, spell. The next I will teach you is defensive, Earthband. Used correctly, it will deflect an enemies spell. And once you have that down, we can move on to Doublecast…"

]

"And now we'll demonstrate how hard a prolonged encounter can be. Summon both your Titans, both of you."

Snake and Wasp shared a look, before Wasp stepped forward, holding her amulets.

"Redcap! Strix!"

The two, now somewhat familiar, Titans appeared, and Wasp stumbled slightly.

"She's fine," Eagle assured Snake before he could check on her. "Just the exhaustion. Huh, I'd have thought a mercenary would have better stamina…"

"I'm a lab girl, not a fighter," Wasp complained. "I'm used to having a supply of coffee to keep my energy up."

"Still, this proves my point. Two Titans, one just a Strix, and you're wiped out."

"What do you mean, 'just a Strix'?"

"Well, they're something like a spell in an amulet, they consume themselves in their attack. But, er, Snake, you go."

Snake nodded.

"Freelancer! Heirospecter!"

The familiar figure of his first Titan formed, joined by the Titan whose amulet had been among the suits possession.

There was something of an Egyptian look to the Titan, what of it was truly visible.

Which mainly came down to a sand-coloured breastplate.

The rest of Heirospecter was more implied than seen, what could have been near invisible wrappings from a mummy taking the form of hands and a head.

Snake felt the toll the dual invocation took on him, but remained upright.

Eagle shivered at the sight of Heirospecter.

"Yeah, those things always freak me out, the sand snakes. But still, you felt the drain there, right? A bit more apparent than when it's just one Titan isn't it."

"Yeah," Snake agreed.

"Right, now try a Doublecast."

Snake followed Eagles direction, producing a pair of Boltflares.

The spells impacted the walls without inflicting damage, thanks to the reinforcement added to the room after Ocelot learned how Eagle was training them.

"And was that more or less exhausting than invoking two Titans?"

"Less," Snake acknowledged.

"Exactly! Spells are instant, but less exhausting than Titans. It doesn't feel like a lot of energy at first, but invoking too many Titans will wear you out quickly. And now you have graduated my course!"

Snake blinked.

"That's it?"

"Well, I'm kinda self taught, so there's a lot I don't know. I mean, most powers are written down on old scrolls or in old books, and I never got round to learning to read that language. So yeah, there are some gaps in my knowledge, but I've done pretty well for myself, all things considered."

Snake shook his head slowly.

"Well, at least it was only a few days. Wasp, we're building a new platform for everything Seeker related and you're going to be in charge."

"Why?"

"Because Eagle isn't a permanent member and I have contracts to complete. Once you have a replacement trained, you can rejoin RD or switch to combat."

"And me?"

Snake considered.

"The archaeologists have been very cautious at their site, how do you feel about taking the lead there?"

Eagle laughed.

"As long as you can make my price!"