Moments laterLlanlorian’s cat, Rat Catcher appeared and shape changed into thesmall female yellow scaled little person that he recognised as hisguardian.
‘HelloAquitain, I was sent here to save you but it looks like you havecoped quite well without me. I haven’t got a body yet so I hitcheda ride with Rat Catcher.’
‘Okay guardianit’s time we had a heart to heart talk! said Aquitainforcefully.
‘How did youmanage to hide in my body all my life without me knowing?’
‘I thought itwas rather obvious.’ she replied.
‘Our spiritswere glued together as one. We had separate minds but we shared thesame body and each had control of it. We were separated duringLlanlorian’s ritual.’
Aquitain wasstunned with the implications of what she had said.
‘So I waspossessed by you?’.
‘No more than Iwas possessed by you.’ replied the guardian.
‘How long wereyou there?’
‘Since the dayof your creation.’
‘Was it anaccident or planned?’ asked Aquitain.
‘It wasintentional. I was to be your guardian until you were able toadequately protect yourself.’
‘Who plannedthis?’ asked Aquitain.
‘You know theanswer Aquitain. It was your father.’
‘Why did youhide from me all the time?’ he asked.
‘It was anagreement reached with your grandfather that has expired. Webelieved that you must learn from your own mistakes. I have chosento remain silent until now. I was only to help you under direcircumstances.’
‘Then why didyou let me die twice!’ asked Aquitain.
‘You are stillalive and talking are you not.’ replied the guardian.
‘Are yousuggesting that my deaths and reincarnations were planned?’
‘Your wholelife was planned until you reached Mudrun. In Mudrun you weretested and you survived. I must admit that I was worried at times.However, you’ve proved more cunning, resourceful and resilient thanI could have hoped. Your father has accepted you and you are nowusefully employed as an Agent of Chaos. My job is over.’
‘I missed thepart where I was asked whether I wanted to be an Agent of Chaos.’replied Aquitain.
‘Aquitain yourmother told you frequently that you were no ordinary person. Shesaid you had a destiny. You said as much to Miranda and you evensaid this to Allalanllea just days ago. You know that you aredifferent from others.’
‘That may betrue but I don’t want to destroy things and bring about people’sdeaths. It’s not what I imagined I’d be doing’ repliedAquitain.
‘Order iscreated from chaos by change and similarly order is destroyed bychange thereby creating a balance between the two. People tendtowards creating order and fear and resist change even though it isnecessary. Agents of Chaos are perhaps more aptly called Agents ofChange that try to reset a balance where there is animbalance.’
‘Miranda is apreserver whose job is also to maintain the balance. She derivespowers and protection from the Lady but at a cost. She must live byrules imposed by the Lady. Your power is derived from your ownability and you are not governed by rules. You can deal with thechampions or villains of order and chaos on equal terms. The costis that you are only tolerated if one side or the other thinks theycan use you to their advantage.’
‘So as soon asI act against the Lady’s interests then I lose Miranda.’ suggestedAquitain.
‘That is rathera pessimistic view of the situation. I suspect that you will onlylose Miranda if you drive her away as she loves you with greatpassion.’ replied the guardian.
‘So you thinkthat she would turn her back on the Lady for me?’ suggestedAquitain.
‘To be honest Idon’t know. I have never been in love. I have observed it but neverbeen a part of it. In is not in my nature to love or be loved.’replied the guardian.
‘It is not inyour best interest for you to love or be loved. It will make youvulnerable.’
Aquitain waslost for words.
‘Wait … I’mreceiving a message from your father.’
‘Your fathersends his congratulations. It seems that the Lady has noticed thedestruction of the Agent of Chaos known as Schlum.’
‘You mean thatspirit was another Agent of Chaos. By the Powers that will haverepercussions!’ stated Aquitain.
‘That’s trueand part of the reason I have revealed myself to you. You have justgraduated into the game of the gods a little earlier than I hadhoped. You are no longer a squire but a knight. You now have a nameand a reputation. More powerful creatures or groups will beinterested in using you to further their own ends. You will beoffered rewards and enticements to help with their problems but youwill always be expendable.’
‘Guardian, Ihave been a Newman, a Logicon, a bear, a Llanllean and now acrystal construct. I feel at home in all of these bodies. Is thatmy destiny, to be a spirit without a true body? What kind ofcreature am I?’ asked Aquitain.
There was longsilence and the guardian spoke.
‘You areAquitain. There are no others like you.’
‘So Miranda’stattoo is to protect her from me.’
‘Possibly, butthat is not necessarily the case, I suspect only the Lady andMiranda know what the tattoo is hiding. We will have to wait untilyou are allowed to remove it.’
‘What is yourname guardian?’ asked Aquitain.
‘You may callme Terrin.’
‘Tell me aboutyourself. You know everything about me. I know nothing about you.’said Aquitain.
‘No. I’m sorrythat is not possible at the moment. Perhaps one day in the future.’replied Terrin.
‘Are you anAgent of Chaos? Am I just a clone of you!’ asked Aquitainsuddenly.
‘I am an agentof your father. You are neither a clone of me nor your father. Yourspirit is partly that of your father and partly that of yourmother. To that extent you are partly Newman. You have been broughtup with the culture and values of the Newman society which seems tobe controlled by emotions more than logic but taught to think morelogically and analytically than most.’
‘You havespecial skills and abilities that Newmans do not. You have a senseof duty and a great empathy for others, but can think and actunemotionally in a crisis. There are no rules for an Agent ofChaos. If you can cause change and bring balance without death anddestruction then you will have succeeded in your mission.’
‘I think thatis enough questions for now. Think on what I have said and thenwhen your body cools down go and find Miranda and come
