Who Shall Guard the Guardians Themselves

Fanfiction
Title:	Who Shall Guard the Guardians Themselves
Author(s):	K. Ryn
Date(s):
Length:
Genre(s):	gen
Fandom(s):	The Sentinel
Relationship(s):
External Links:	online here and here
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Who Shall Guard the Guardians Themselves is a Sentinel story by K. Ryn.

Author's summary: "A frantic search for a busload of missing children pits the Sentinel and his Guide against an adversary with a deadly agenda of his own."

Author's Notes: Online Version

The following version of Guardians contains some minor revisions -- cleanup mostly -- but it is essentially the same story which was originally posted in serial to the Senfic list and archived atMajik's Eclectica site. Like many of my stories, this one started out as just a simple tale and grew to a much more complicated adventure. The Muse knew where she wanted to go and took me along for the ride.

Per the show's time frame, this would fall during the third season, after Warriors. It is a stand-alone story, although it was originally designed to be the second of a three-story arc. I still intend to write the prequel and the sequel, but I'm not making any promises as to when that's going to happen -- the Muse seems content to wait, filling my head with lots of other story ideas for the moment.

My thanks to everyone who wrote with encouragement on this story when it was first posted in serial and since the 'final' version was archived. I'm particularly grateful to Majik for archiving this story on her site while it was still a work in progress, and for hosting it there after it was finished. A big nod of thanks to Night Owl for maintaining a superb site filled with all sorts of lovely reference material and links from which I borrowed for inspiration. Final hugs go out to Chris, Linda and Carolyn -- who encourage, cajole and threaten on a regular basis.

Reactions and Reviews

Though the story may sound a touch confusing at first, keep reading and you'll discover one of the most intriguing, mystical stories I've read. Well worth the time it takes to read -- and reread -- this multi-part story.

On the surface The Sentinel is a gritty crime drama with a scifi edge, but it contains many elements for fan fiction writers to explore. One thing a lot of fans wanted to see was more equality between Jim, the Sentinel, with his enhanced senses, and Blair. Blair said the Sentinel typically had a companion who watched his back though he didn't seem to think it required any special abilities. Lee Brackett, the rogue agent who figured out Jim's secret, called Blair Jim's guide. Incacha passed the Chopec way of the Shaman on to Blair. Perhaps these hints would have been explored further had the show lasted longer but many, if not most, fan fic authors have developed them into fanon that makes the Guide as unique and necessary to the partnership as the Sentinel.

Blair's role as Shaman, often with an exploration of the difficulty he has in coming to terms with this role, has been a rich source of inspiration for many authors. I wanted to rec a Blair as Shaman story. Several of the best are by K. Ryn who reaches into the spiritual aspects of the Sentinel while telling compelling, plot-driven stories in powerful prose.

In 'Who Shall Guard the Guardians Themselves', Jim and Blair are just coming off a very difficult assignment, weary, and sick at heart. Blair is experiencing his own version of zones and a demanding internal voice that terrifies him. But instead of getting the downtime they so badly need, they are requested for an urgent Search and Rescue mission to find a busload of children missing in the wilderness.

Good. Well set up (on many levels).

Addendum: this story won the 2000 Cascade Times Awards in the Dramatic category.

Another addendum: (22/7/2000) re-reading this, there was one thing that bothered me; the bad guy being so omnipotently Machiavellian in the sense of how far back he'd started planning things. It was too unbelievable to me. He made Brackett look like Mr. Bean. But it was cool to see the guys in action, working together like they did, picking up the clues, besting the bad guys.

Wow. Just...wow. I've loved everything by this author that I've read so far, but this just might be my favorite. I'm such a sucker for the whole Sentinel-Guide mythos, and that's here in abundance. Plus, just the concept of what happens, and how they deal, and everything! Read this. Now.