I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to do. It’s like eting a celebrity and they say they’ve heard about you, not the other way around. The Shield’s chiming laughter sounds, and I wonder how long I’ve just been staring at it.
“Sorry. I’m… still pretty new to all this,” I admit, and the Shield bobs in the air in understanding.
“It is no problem. I think most dungeon cores would have difficulty adjusting to divinity. Though I also think you are not like most dungeon cores.”
I snort at that. “That’s what I hear, heh. I know I run things a lot differently than others.”
The shield bobs in a nod. “Yes, I hear of your strangeness from many of my believers in Fourdock. I also hear it from Order and the Raven, on the occasions we get to et. From them, I get the feeling that, as the mortals say, you are not from around here, yes?”
I give it a wary look, though I don’t know if that actually translates with my weird void self. I’d like to keep my origins a secret, just because it’s the kind of thing that could set off disastrous change if not done right. I probably shouldn’t be surprised Order and the Raven know at least the basics. From what I can tell, the Raven is supposed to know where souls belong, so he’s gotta know my belonging here is temporary. Order, too, is basically in charge of the system, and it has to have so kind of flag noting I’m an anomaly of so flavor.
After a few more mont’s thought, I decide to trust the Shield. Even if we’ve only technically just t, we’ve basically been working together for a while now. “Yeah, pretty much. The details are more than what I wanna get into right now, though.”
The Shield glows in excitent. “Yes, I knew it! Are you from Beyond?” it eagerly asks, and I’m not sure how to answer that.
“I… maybe? I have a few guesses for where the Beyond leads, and back ho is one of them, but I don’t know for certain. I wasn’t exactly party to the secrets of reality there.”
“Ah, but you are! Or at least sowhat. I have heard Freddie’s prayers for Rhonda’s safety with her class, so I know you are doing wondrous things with magic. I even suggested to Laermali that she send an acolyte instead of her High Priest!” The Shield glows in happiness at that as I chew on that fact.
“You sent her to ?” I ask, wondering why it would do sothing like that.
“She was coming, so I worked to Protect the peace of your eting. She heads a pantheon, if you did not know, so she is used to being heeded. Even Order and the Raven suggested she listen to my advice, and I am glad it has been working out!”
“What, did you guys have a eting about ?”
“eting?” asks the Shield, the glow dimming for a mont as it processes the term, before the glow returns. “Yes! A eting is accurate! Order wished to speak with the three of us about you after your ascension.”
I sigh at that. “I really have been drawing the gaze of so big eyes…”
“And you will draw more, I am sure! Change is such a tantalizing domain, tempting and yet dangerous. And you are aware of it!” The Shield’s bright glow softens as a quiet chi of happiness cos from it, tinged with bittersweet. “I was not very aware of what Protection entailed when I ascended.”
“How did you, if you don’t mind asking? I’ve heard a few snippets in passing, but the Shield followers… er, your followers are usually more concerned with training against my undead than in discussing theology where I can hear.”
The Shield bobs again in a nod and conjures a crystalline rack to rest on, even as we both float among the stars that are the people of Fourdock. “I sotis think the mortals know more of it than I do, even if they embellish. I think it is fitting, perhaps they get to Protect so of my own beginnings. I don’t rember much of my early ti with Jayna. I am told mortals do not rember their birth and early years, either. I started as an artifact created by a long forgotten dungeon. So of my believers think I was forged from a dungeon core, but Order has repeatedly said that is not possible.”
The Shield pauses, glowing warmly at so mory before it continues. “My earliest mory is of her face, quietly singing a hymn as she polished . I think she knew I was intelligent even before I did, and she did her best to instill in her beliefs as a paladin. She did not have a deity at the ti, and simply devoted herself to Protection, at least at first. Through many battles, I was her bulwark. I do not know when it happened, but her devotion slowly anchored to . I knew so little at the ti, and I did not understand what that ant. I still do not know why…”
It trails off, dimming for a few monts before shaking itself and continuing. “From there, the legends detail what she did in my na. It took a long ti to accept that…” it trails off for a mont, and I get the distinct feeling it’s giving a knowing smirk before it continues. “When she got old, she told her ti was limited, and the Raven would co for her. I did not want that, so when I saw the Raven co for her, I tried to Protect her. I encased her in crystal, and accidentally transford the gathered people’s clothes to crystal, too. I saw the Raven fly in and perch on the encasent, then reach through like it was not there. And then he gave her to .”
Stolen novel; please report.
Its glow dims for a while, and I wonder if it’s done talking. I don’t know what to say to sothing like that, even after my own experience with my fallen dwellers. We float there for a ti, before it finally resus speaking.
“She’s Beyond, now. She said she had done everything here she could, and she knew I would keep everyone Protected.” It snorts with a sound like breaking glass. “It took a long ti to realize how many people everyone is. I can not get them all… but I try. And my believers do the sa.”
It shakes itself and absorbs the stand before resuming floating. “I did not think I would talk to you of that. I wanted to talk of now and the future, not the past.”
“Well, the past is a good foundation to build on. I’m still building mine here, and I don’t know how much of before I should talk about. Or how much I even can talk about.”
“Yes, you have a lot of mystery as well. I can see there is a you inside that glow, but even here, I can not perceive it. I think it is sothing to do with the frawork upon which Order’s system is hung, but I do not know very much about it. He knows the most, but he says he knows almost nothing. Most of us simply accept when he says that is just how it works. Except, I think, you.”
“Like the affinities,” I offer, and the Shield bobs in a nod.
“Like those, yes. Laermali herself says they should be more intertwined, but never could figure out how. It seems you have.”
“More like Rocky has,” I try to deflect, before continuing. “Yeah, I know, he gets it from . I know a lot of stuff from before. A lot of the rules of existence are understood there, but magic basically doesn’t exist. So I guess I’m a fresh pair of eyes, coming at it from a whole new perspective and seeing things that most people here… just haven’t discovered, I suppose?”
The Shield chis in happiness once more. “Like with the Legionnaire Paladin! I had been hoping to forge a class like that for so ti now, but had been lacking so keystone concept for it. And then you were able to cultivate it in Freddie.” The Shield beams in happiness, and I give a bashful smile.
“I’m glad it worked out like that. I just wanted to help him and Rhonda be the best they could be, give them the tools to craft their futures.”
The shield chis louder. “A Change to their best, a welco one indeed! While I can not speak for Rhonda, Freddie is thankful every night for how much his life has improved. A little Change can prepare soone to Protect themselves where they thought that to be impossible.”
“Heh, yeah, I guess we work pretty well together like that,” I admit.
“Perhaps we should work closer, then?”
“Like a pantheon? I think I should try to stay out of that, for a lot of reasons…”
The Shield bobs in understanding. “Yes. Not all of us join a pantheon. There are obligations involved.” It tilts itself in what is definitely a smirk. “Including politics. I am told you try to avoid that as much as possible.”
I nod at that, not even trying to deny it. “I try, but I think at this point, I’ve already stepped in it. I can either pretend otherwise and track it everywhere I go, or I can actually prepare and try to deal with it. I’m actually just getting an information network off the ground to keep inford of whatever I need to keep inford on.”
“It is a good thing to get ahead of. Fewer inquisitions that way. Order and I had to learn that the hard way, as the mortals put it. It is good to learn from other’s mistakes. Perhaps you can learn from another of ours, too.”
“Oh? I’m always up to learn sothing, especially if it’ll help not ss sothing up.” I lean forward, interested to hear what advice it has to give.
“Order and I are not in a pantheon. It gives us more ability to deal with problems ourselves, but it also ans we have to deal with them ourselves.”
“I… don’t think I’m going to be joining a pantheon any ti soon. I’m pretty good at dealing with problems, at least when I’m not pretending they don’t exist. I’m happy to unofficially work together on things sotis, but anything official is… dodgy.”
“Dodgy?” asks the Shield, chewing on the word more than asking why working closer would be described as so. “Perhaps. But I had an idea, and Order was not opposed to it. Instead of you joining a pantheon, you should form one. Order and I would be interested in joining.”
I stare at it for a while, trying to wrap my head around the words that ca out of its not-mouth. “Is that… what?!”
It chis in laughter, and I relax, thinking it’s a joke before it continues. “You do not have to do it right now! Consider it for a few centuries, or even millenia. Just know that the help you have given the two of us already is beyond what so pantheon mates would do for each other. The Legionnaire Paladin rges the camaraderie and Protection that I have been striving to spread for a long ti now, and your sending of the Harbinger to Order for investigation has made him aware of a weakness in his system to fix.”
The Shield’s warmth softens before it continues. “Just consider it, and consider your domain. It would be a very big Change to how things are done. I think you would know best if it would be a positive or a negative one. Take all the ti you need to think it over. Ti is much less limited for you, now.”
It floats a bit sideways, kinda like how soone going through a shortcut looks, and I can only assu it’s headed to its own territory, maybe its afterlife to look over the people there? Maybe it’s off to talk to its High priest or sothing. Either way, I’m here, floating among the projections of the people of Fourdock, thinking about what the Shield had to say.
It was nice to get to know it a bit more, and I get the feeling we’ll beco friends, if we aren’t already. The talk of making a pantheon sounds crazy, but there’s a certain amount of sense to it, and makes wonder the implications if the others are supposed to answer to . I only intend to answer to Him, but what happens if others answer to ? I think I really will need those couple centuries to think it over, though that brings to the last thing it said.
Actually having all the ti in the world is another one of those things I was trying not to think too hard about.
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