You know, there's a cut song from 'Fiddler on the Roof' it's called 'When Messiah Comes.' It has a nice chorus.
Since the first days, many men said, get thee out
Kings they were, they're all gone...
We're still here...
I'm(Sage) still here...I think I'll always be here. I went into the woods. Just like I did the other places. I was so so tired. I don't dream any more, and the smell has faded, but there's...nothing there. I envy Shaun and Jay...they're gone. I know it. At least they're free. That much I know for sure, others are His, in Other Side, on the Trees...in the Whispers...still afraid. Shaun and Jay are (Free), gone to a better place, or returned again, or beyond pain or whatever your soul knows to be right.
I(Sage) stood there in the woods, in my suit. I finally realized the picture I made. It's so so funny. I'm a little pissed that the (Shaman) didn't tell me that my role as the Sage had shifted. But it was more important that I figure it out on my own.
I(Sage) have the Weapon. It's such a simple little thing really. It came from a -Triumph.-
I(Sage) watched it...maybe I was lured into the woods to see it...maybe there's a Higher Power helping...or at least giving us the chance to help ourselves.
It was a boy and a girl, a girl scout and her very annoyed brother (I assumed brother, I don't know, but it feels right.) doing some kind of badge work or something. The /Construct/ appeared before them, I could see it slowly stalk and then emerge. The boy saw him first and screamed. I tried to step in, but I tripped on a root and fell, black leather shoes are designed for business jungles, not woodland jungles.
The girl, oh I wish you all could have seen her, dirty faced and dark haired, glasses and braces, a Valkyrie in Girl Scout Brown. She takes out a whistle, and a swiss army knife. She blows on that whistle and the woods seem to shudder, then she stabs Him with that little knife.
/Construct/ lets out that sound of pain, a thousand times louder, and wraps a limb around the girl's arms. I'm still prone on the ground, but the brother returns, a Knight in a Clone Wars t-shirt, and pulls her free. She's still blowing on that whistle, and then they run. They run and run. They didn't know what they had faced. They
I(Sage) laughed. I got to my feet and pointed at the Slender Man, yes no longer a Construct, not for that moment, and I laugh and laugh. The Jedi joke alone is just too funny, add in a routine about cookies and 20 dollars and you have to agree that -Something- has a sense of humor.
The Devil truly cannot abide to be mocked. It was literally right infront of my face...I spat in His blank visage. He just left. Off for other victims, off like the smoke that He prides himself on being, He was gone. And I understood.
Because the Swiss Army knife was left behind.
It's coated with Substance tinged with something black. I can't open it, of course, I'm not the one who's supposed to open it.
I will keep it safe, and I know where to keep it safe. Where its power will stay static and nebulous like the Construct. The Shaman knew I would find it, but the moment I find it, it stops being the Weapon...unless it's on Other Side.
If the Weapon is on Other Side, then He can find it and remove it...unless there is a part of Other Side that keeps it safe...like someone dumb enough to drink Substance.
There will be Three New Sages...actually they're already here, the titles are there for them to take, and all the power and danger that goes with them. Gather intel, find armor, shield, other weapons, passages, or the Champions...or at the least keep spreading the message to fight. Of all duties, that last one is the most vital. Remember us though, and how we went out, kicking, screaming, terrified, but not afraid. That is our legacy, and it has to be yours as well. Wear the title with pride, should you take it, and I weep for your suffering.
He cannot touch me now, I am just as part of Other Side as he is, and if he tried I would Attach him to one side or the other, so that he could be killed or would never be able to reach This Side again. He's a coward at heart really.
It is my new duty. I'll keep the Weapon safe, and when the Champion comes to claim it, it will be theirs to take. I'm going to walk into the Shed Door, dressed in my business suit, and this hideous pink and yellow striped tie my grandmother gave me. I also have this little hand powered safety flashlight with me, a small green light. Look for it, when you need to look for it, me, and what I have.
Goodbye.
Robert (Guardian)
