I waited, and wondered what this was all about. Who the hell this was this... person? Power radiated from him/her. When I stopped to examine her/him. I still could not tell which sex this old, old person was.
I heard the elderly person in front of me chuckle.
"Most amusing. I am a male, although I am very ancient by your standards. Actually, I am ancient by my own people's standards, as well," I heard him musingly say in response to my unspoken question.
"You heard my thoughts?" I was embarrassed.
"Oh, yes. It is a talent that you too can master, after a while. Let me tell you a little about myself, and my brothers and sisters. I am the last who remains here," he said and paused.
I could feel a sadness rolling off of him, but also a sense of... impending relief and joy?
"My time is almost complete. A new entity must be appointed. I am a guardian. I am the last of the guardians first empowered by the GREAT ONE," he paused, and I walked right into it.
"Great One?" I asked foolishly.
"The GREAT ONE has had many names throughout the ages, and many guises. Still, to my brothers and sisters, he was always the Great One. You would call him God. Some call him The Great Spirit, or The Creator, or Allah. Others have different names. It is a great foolishness, as they all mean the same thing. All the names refer to the same being.
"It is the interpretations of what he has tried to communicate to mankind that has caused problems in your world, not the message he delivered. The message is simple, but the simplest message is twisted to cause the most consternation in the peoples of this world," he said, and then paused.
"You're saying that God made you a guardian?" I asked incredulously.
Great! I had an elderly nut case in front of me, who was extremely powerful, and had delusions of talking to God. 'Oy vey', as the saying goes.
He started laughing. I frowned, then I actually blushed. Damn, I forgot that he had said he could read thoughts. Although, if he thought God had made him a guardian, then it could be that he was just very good at reading peoples expressions and body language, and could interpret them quite accurately.
He started laughing harder.
"Ahh! Oh my! Thank you!" he finally got out, "I have not laughed so long or so hard in more years than you can imagine.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"Your thoughts are funny. You can't believe I can read your thoughts, nor can you believe that I received my abilities from the Entity whom you call God. You also consider me delusional. Well! I shall convince you otherwise, young man, one way or the other. Now let me tell you what I need to say, and stop making me laugh... although I do appreciate the humor," he said.
'Oh boy, ' I thought, 'he's "bang on", and I'm starting to get spooked.'
"'Spooked!' I like that word. You are such a funny person! I will enjoy my time with you, I think," he said chuckling. Then he fully laughed again.
That was definitely a specific thought he had read. Damn! Could it be true?
"I am not quite as you see me. Oh, I am old. That much is very true. But I am not actually human. I am of the race that preceded humans. The others of my race have since moved on. They are now on another plane of life. I am the last of my race to remain here. I was designated, specifically, to give certain instructions when your race advanced to the next level.
"Your race once knew of us. However, we left this world for you, when we were given our new place. Long ago, the magic you are now using from that 'other world' as you are so fond of naming it, was prevalent in this world, too.
"The earliest humans had a few powerful connections to it, but they abused their powers, consistently. That is why the GREAT ONE asked a specific number of my people to take up the mantle of guardianship, for a time.
"Those few of us who were chosen, were changed. We were given access to greater power than the most powerful human mages. We were instructed to seal the three major places where magic emanated. We gathered together, and did this. We lost three of our number while accomplishing this task, as a part of their essence was needed to complete this spell of sealing.
"Those three of us volunteered to place themselves into the spell, one at each site and they were... changed. Their bodies were converted directly into energy, and they actually became the spell. Those three are still in place, to this day. They will remain, until the end of this world.
"Thusly have we sealed the places of magic. The Creator then made a different sort of magic. He changed the physical rules of your world a bit. Humans have the ability to tap this magic, but not many seek it, anymore. They seem to have chosen to study science instead.
"Over the years, the few others of my race that were remaining here have either died doing their jobs, or have wearied and have moved on. They have gone to where the others of our race went. Thus it is, that I am the last surviving 'Guardian'. I, too, am tired. I wish to go home," he said and sighed sadly.
"Let's see... you people were given great power, but you die?" I asked, a bit confused.
It seemed to me that part of what had happened was a conferring of long life, and I would assume you became very hard to kill off, or so it seemed to me.
"Your thoughts do not become you. Of course we can be killed, but it is much harder to kill one of us than you would believe. The last of us to physically die, died on location while redirecting the eruption of a place called Mt. Vesuvius. She accidentally got caught in an explosive side blast from the mountain. That is why so many died on that day. She was not able to control the explosion. I have been on my own ever since. All my brethren passed on long before. I was the designated exception," he sad sadly.
I felt a great sadness/loneliness roll off of this guy. I had to choke back a cry, which still escaped as a whimper. He damped down his emotion, quickly, but it gave me another insight into his being.
"Uh, so what does this have to do with me? Are you asking me to stop making the gates I can create?" I asked, unsure of why I was there.
"No, that is not why you are here, but it would be beneficial if you did. At least, until you gain a better understanding, and a better grasp of the situation. Already, the one you know as Mathew, has informed several of the older wizards and mages who are still living. They plot to force you to do as they wish," he said as if he were talking about the weather.
"What? How do you know this?" I asked, extremely agitated.
"I am the last Guardian. My powers and abilities are great. There is yet time for you to resolve this problem, before I have to intervene. You must learn to use the power that the Creator has allowed to exist in this world.
"The mages have seen one of their own returned to a greater power than any amount of power that they have tasted in hundreds of years. They want a return to the old days. Those days were not good for the average person, Franklin. If I have to step in, I will need to take an action you and they would not wish to happen. Therefore, it falls to you to resolve this problem, before I must intervene. Consider this a test, of sorts," he said with an amused look in his eyes.
"Test? What are you talking about?" I asked, still confused.
"You have not guessed, yet? No, I see you have not. I have waited ages beyond your imagining, for my replacement. You are that replacement. I have felt this from the moment of your birth. I have watched you grow, and I have nurtured you. I have opened your power a bit, and I touched it a little. But already you are diverging from what was meant to be. This is not the way to go.
"I will now readjust you, so that you can feel the local magic field as it is. You may, of course, use your 'items'. Your rings, amulet, and staff will operate as you were told... The young very often need the crutches... learning aides... 'training wheels', when they begin," he said.
I was about to ask him what he meant exactly, when I felt a pressure in my head. Pain flashed through my body. It felt as if a fire was running through me, from my head to my toes. It seemed to go on, forever.
I screamed in agony!
and then...
nothing.
The relief was instant! I felt as if I had fallen into unconsciousness. When I awoke, I was free of pain.
"Welcome back, Young One. I am sorry that you suffered so much, but you needed corrections to your body. That is always a painful process. It is over. You will not feel such pain again," I was told after I opened my eyes and sat up.
"Don't do that to me again," I told him and shivered.
"I am sorry you suffered. I will not need to repeat the treatment. The establishment of the proper nerve endings is a bit painful when forced so quickly, but you had diverged from the proper growth some time ago."
Great, it was my fault somehow. Stupid me.
"No. It was not your 'fault'. It is what it is. Now I will inform you as to how to use your new connections, and how to tap the magic field as it exists, here. Once you see that, it is only a matter of practice, and growing in strength," he told me.
He looked intently at me, and I felt him brush my mind for a moment. Ideas I had never considered flashed into my consciousness. The new pathways were energized. I FELT the gentle power of the magic all around me, which I had never known existed, before.
I was stunned at the amount power that was here for anyone to use! And we totally ignored it!
"Not 'ignore'. There are those few that know of it, and have learned to use it, to some extent. But no one other than myself, and now you, have these connections and abilities. I have spliced my abilities onto you. It is done. Now all you need do, is to grow in knowledge and power," he told me with a smile.
The next thing I knew, I was sitting at a table in the room I had seen as I had stepped through the doorway. Somehow, he had sent me back, and I had not even caught on to how he had done it.
I heard a soundless chuckle in my head.
(Pay attention, next time! Then you will know!) I 'heard' his voice say in my head.
This was damned weird, to hear someone in my head. I definitely couldn't tell anyone, or they would think I was nuts!
The door I had come through opened, and someone else whom I had never seen before, stood there.
"Your time with the old one is now over. Feel free to return whenever you wish. Make use of this shop as you desire," he said and bowed.
He left me alone, and the door opened.
I waited a moment, still processing all the new information. I could SEE things and I KNEW how to do things I had never before considered possible. I looked around. I was still seeing the magic field. It overlaid, everywhere. It actually took a lot of effort to ignore it. I guessed this was something I was going to have to practice.
I finally got up. I went into the main store area. It had taken me a while to get myself under control. I was still a bit shaky. Of course, the first person I ran into, was that young lady I had met in the way in.
"Well, I see you are finished. I still don't know why you were chosen," she said with a sniff.
"Uh, perhaps I'm not quite the snob you are?" I responded.
She grinned at me.
"Oh, it's not snobbery, just confusion. I would have been happy to volunteer for what just happened to you, as would any of the others. You were chosen, instead," she said shaking her head at me and walking off.
Well, she seemed to be taking this well. I just hoped no one would get angry over this. Here I was, a 'Johnny Come Lately'. I seemed to have been granted a lot of power. And at least these people knew all about it!
Well, I had marching orders, of sorts.
I left the store and headed for my car. I needed to get home, and call Mathew, as he had some tall explaining to do. Even as I was driving, when I thought about Mathew, I got a mental picture of him, and he was meeting with two people in his home! I knew this was a true vision... or connection.
I also knew what they were talking about.
Damn! This was definitely going to take some getting used to!
Edited by TeNderLoin
Volentrin