The Vagabond Returns

((This story takes place before the creation of The Vagabond Knight [Shield/Fire tank].))

It was a perfect spring day. A cool breeze barely ruffled the tall grass and rustled the leaves of the nearby trees. If one listened carefully, it almost sounded like whispered conversation. In the middle of a field, not far from a patch of wildflowers and a lone cherry tree, a man reclined on the grass, his head and shoulders against the tawny side of an enormous lion. A piece of sweet grass between his teeth, the man wore a simple shirt that used to be white and a pair of simple brown pants. Dangling from one of the branches of the nearby tree was a heavy gray traveling cloak, dusty and care-worn, but hung neatly. The lion looked out toward the horizon, placid and calm. The man's gray eyes regarded the clouds hovering slowly by.

"Vagabond," the lion said suddenly, his voice deep and soothing, "you have lingered here for more than five years now. It is time for you to move on."

The man frowned, chewing the blade of grass. "I'm not ready to go," he replied. "It still hurts. Five years is not so very long."

"Wanderer," the lion began patiently, "you had nearly sixty good years with Miranda. You will treasure them always. And so will she in whatever afterlife she has gone to. But she has been gone at least twenty years now."

"And time heals all wounds, hm?" the man asked, almost sarcastically.

"In some ways, it is harder for immortals to deal with loss," the lion explained, showing no sign of recognizing the sarcasm. "You have a big heart and have continued to choose not to ignore it. You have loved a woman very deeply. And you will again."

Silence fell between the two again for several minutes.

"How do you manage it?" the man asked quietly, his eyes still on the clouds. "How do you let them go?"

"I love each and every one that passes through Narnia," the great lion purred. "And I miss each one that leaves, never to return. It is part of the circle of life. They will not learn and grow as people otherwise. I take comfort that I have done everything I can for them. And they for me."

Silence fell again as the man swiped the back of his hand across his eyes.

"But in the end," the man started again, his voice thick with emotion, "I could not save her."

Splitting the air like a peal of thunder, the great lion roared, startling the man into sitting up. "You did save her," he growled, his voice slowly calming once more. "She lived a long and happy life, and you lived it with her. She was happy, safe, and loved. It was her time to go. She was ready to go."

The man blinked at the lion, rubbing his eyes again. "And what about me? I don't suppose you can tell me..."

"It is not your time, vagabond. There are still a great many things left for you to do."

"So what do I do? Where do I go?"

"Back, wanderer. Paragon still has need of you. Your unique abilities, your knowledge, and your capacity to care."

"But it's been nigh on to a century," the man protested. "How can I go back? I'll have to start over again."

"Then start over," the lion said simply. He set a heavy paw against the man's chest. "Take up the shield. Be the knight that she saw in you. Protect your friends and the helpless."

The man looked down to see a silver pendant shaped like a shield, a red lion rampant, dangling from a silver chain around his neck. He looked back up again, a slight smile on his face. "Thank you, Aslan. You're right. 'Tis time for me to return. I will go."

The man pushed himself to his feet, walked over to the tree, and took down his cloak, swinging it back around his shoulders. He turned back to the lion... then strode over and hugged the great beast. The lion put a paw around him, returning the hug. Then they parted company, walking off in opposite directions.

**************

The air at the foot of the steps up to the enormous statue of Atlas distorted like heat waves, shimmering as a man stepped out of thin air. Although dressed much the same, mystic runes now rested on his clothing, almost hovering above the material if one were to look closely. The vagabond looked around, frowning to himself, obviously not seeing what he'd expected.

"Excuse me, sir," he said to the nearest pedestrian. "What year is this?"

"What year?" the man started, turning slowly around. "Are you trying... to be... funny..." The man trailed off as he took in the wanderer's traveling cloak and the runes marking his clothing. "Oh. It's, uh... 2008."

The planeswalker's jaw dropped. "Two thousand eight? But that's... I've been gone... How can...?" He sighed. "Thank you, sir."

Walking up the steps toward City Hall, he muttered darkly under his breath. "Sometimes I really hate that lion."

Double XP - Aftermath

Vagabond Magus (Fire/FF Controller): 40 --> 41
Vagabond Knight (Shield/Fire Tank): 36 --> 40
Captain Peterson (AR/Energy Blaster): 37 --> 39
Retrieval (Radiation/Pain Corruptor): 14 --> 18
Capt. Peterson (Shield/Energy Tank): 2 --> 21

That's right, folks. I got 30 levels out of Double XP Weekend this time around. Granted, most of them were low levels, but still: I'm pretty impressed and very happy. Especially since that puts every version of Vagz at 40+, 3 in the low 40s and 2 at 50. I'm also very happy to have basically skipped the low levels with TankWill. Low level tanks are very frustrating. Having Stamina makes things much easier.

A huge thank you to Fyre, especially for helping with TankWill. It was a fun weekend all around, though, and Fyre was an important part of what made it fun. :)

Optimouse Prime

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January 18th

I won't be around for Altitis Sunday this weekend. It's my birthday, and Disney has this promotion this year where you can go to any of their parks for free on your birthday. I'll be going to Disneyland. :)