All right!  Here's chapter 2 of the story.  It has probably been scrapped and rewritten more times than any other piece in history.

   Hope you enjoy!  :)

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   Differing Powers - Chapter 2

   A Ranma/Wheel Of Time Crossover

   By Louis-Philippe Giroux
   <Dragon@anime.sobhrach.com>

   Let me know what you think of this!
   C&C welcome!!!

   The Wheel Of Time is a series created by Robert Jordan.  Read it at any cost (or you won't understand a lot of this)!  Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.  Suing me would be pointless, as I have no money whatsoever.  I do this for fun, not profit!

   The latest versions of the previous chapters are always the ones on my WWW page at http://www.anime.sobhrach.com/~dragon/lines/lines.html

   The Wheel Of Time - 8 books so far and still going! (Published by Tor Books)


 1 - The Eye of the World
 2 - The Great Hunt
 3 - The Dragon Reborn
 4 - The Shadow Rising
 5 - The Fires Of Heaven
 6 - The Lord Of Chaos
 7 - A Crown Of Swords
 8 - The Path Of Daggers
 9 - [The Return Of The Horn - tentative title] Summer 2000


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   What has happened so far:

   Ranma, Ryouga, Ukyou and Akane have been accidentally transported to Randland through the misuse of a Fox Gate.  They end up in Emond's Field the evening before the attack (where they manage to attract a lot of attention, especially from Moiraine) and they end up protecting the village when the Trollocs attack during Bel Tine. However, Ranma and Ryouga are forced to kill the Trollocs, revealing their unusual abilities.

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   As they were walking back to where they had left Akane and Ukyou before going on their little rampage, Ranma and Ryouga barely noticed the wide berth and the scared looks some of the Emond's Fielders were giving them.
   Moving through the village, they saw that several houses had been burned down, some of their owners staring resignedly at the remains. Some were crying, most were not.  There were even some who were already clearing the rubble, determination in their eyes, hardly showing any sign that the village had been invaded less than an hour ago.
   Suddenly, Ranma spoke up.  "Ryouga?"
   A grunt was his answer.
   Ranma stopped and looked at Ryouga in the eye.  "Let's make a deal."
   Ryouga stopped, blinking.  "A deal?" he said, frowning.  "What kind of deal?"
   "To protect Akane and Ucchan," replied Ranma calmly.  "We're in a weird world where they have seven-foot tall killer mutant goats roaming around.  If we keep fighting like we usually do, one of those things might get'em one day when we aren't watching out for them.  We can't afford to beat up on each other as often as we do back in Nerima."  He watched Ryouga frown thoughtfully and and waited a few moments.  "Well?"
   "All right," said Ryouga slowly.  "A deal to protect Akane-san for - long as we're not back home..." he left the rest hanging.
   Ranma frowned.  "What about Ucchan?"
   It was Ryouga's turn to frown.  "Fine," he grumbled.  "Ukyou, too."
   "What's with you?"
   Ryouga shrugged uncomfortably.  "She's good enough to take care of herself," he mumbled.
   Ranma looked at him silently for a few moments, the shook his head.  "Both of them, then."  He spread his hands.  "Once we're back in Nerima, we can go back to challenging each other."  He held his hand out.  "That sound okay for you?"
   Ryouga looked at Ranma's hand uncomfortably.  The rivalry he had with Ranma might not be as intense as it was before, but the multiple times Ranma had played him for a fool resulted in that he almost automatically resented almost anything Ranma said or did.  But still...  they _were_ talking about Akane.  He sighed and reluctantly shook it.  "Deal."  He paused.  "I'll still beat you up if you do something *really* stupid, though."
   It was Ranma's turn to sigh.

   They located Akane and Ukyou talking to a few adults, mostly women, and children.
   "Akane!  Ukyou!" shouted Ranma as they got close enough.  He saw both of them turn around in recognition.
   "What happened to you, Ranchan?" asked Ukyou, breaking off conversation and looking over Ranma's now sooty clothes.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Had to get some kids out of a burning house." He paused and looked at both girls.  "Are you two okay?" he asked, worry creasing his features when he saw the dented state of Ukyou's spatula.  None save Ranma noticed the wary, even frightened looks that the children's parents were giving both of them.  He frowned internally.  What was wrong with these people?
   "Yeah, we're fine.  Tired, a bit bruised, but fine," answered Ukyou.  "We were just discussing all sorts of things with these children's parents," she said, indicating the group of women near them.
   "That Moiraine woman said she healed the kid that got slashed.  Is it true?" asked Ranma.
   Twin nods came from the smiling faces of Akane and Ukyou.
   Ranma blinked.  "Um, well...  where _is_ the kid, anyway?" he asked, looking around.
   "With her parents," said Ukyou.  "They picked her up a while ago."
   Ranma glanced at Ryouga.  "Well, at least she didn't lie, then," he said.
   "What do you mean, Ranchan?"
   Ryouga shrugged.  "After Ranma saved the two kids, that Moiraine woman came up and started acting as if she owned the place.  She practically ordered us to go help her dispose of the Trolloc bodies." He frowned.  "Her attitude's even worse than Ranma's."
   "Hey!" came the indignant reply.
   "It's true," Ryouga countered.  "You may be an ass, but even you wouldn't speak so lightly of a little girl's life."
   Ranma seriously considered punching Ryouga for the ass comment, but managed to refrain himself.  It just wouldn't do to smack him just now, especially when he'd just made a deal and also because Akane was looking at him.  Not right away.  Besides, there were plenty of other ways he could needle Ryouga later.
   "Are you coming with us?" finally asked Ranma.
   The two girls looked more than a bit nauseated at the request.
   "What kind of question is that?" came the angry tones of one of the women Akane and Ukyou had been talking with.  "Have you no wits about you to ask a question like that?"
   Ranma unwittingly took a step back in surprise.  "What?  What'd I say?"
   The woman put her hands on her hips and glared at him, which made Ranma feel more than slightly nervous.  "Disposing of...  of Trolloc bodies is a man's job, not a woman's!" she replied, making it sound like Ranma was an idiot for not knowing the answer.
   "All right, all right!" he said to the woman.  "No need to bite my head off," he muttered to the side, lowering his head slightly. "We'll help Moiraine clear the bodies, then.  We'll be back in a little while."
   The two girls nodded.
   As the two young men left, Akane and Ukyou turned back to the knot of women around them, only to be met by panicked or angry gazes.
   "What?" asked Akane, curious about the women's reactions.
   "Have you two girls lost all your wits?" hissed one of the angry-looking women.
   Akane frowned in confusion.  "What are you talking about?"
   "We saw what those two did during the battle!"
   "They did lots of things," said Ukyou, also frowning now.  What was it with these people?  "What's got you so ticked off?  They didn't do anything bad!"  She looked around.  Maybe they were angry about the damage.  "Okay, maybe they wrecked a few things, but the Trollocs did most of it."
   "They channeled!" retorted another woman.  "They're _male_ channelers!"
   "And they're in the village!" added another woman with a frown.
   "What's with all this channeling business, anyway?" groused Akane. "You people seem obsessed by it."
   "You saw what Moiraine Sedai did, didn't you?"
   Akane blinked.  "You mean the lightning bolts, the fireballs and the healing?"
   "Yes!" said yet another woman.  "That's channeling, and your friends can do it also.  We _saw_ them throwing fireballs around during the battle!"  Several other adults nodded assent.
   "Those weren't fireballs!" protested Akane.  "Those were Ki-blasts!"
   "Ki-blasts?" came the uncertain reply.
   "Yeah," said Ukyou, joining the fray.  "Ranma and Ryouga can control their Ki."  She paused.  "Like this," she added, her facial features straining.  A faint blue glow suddenly appeared around Ukyou.
   The adults and the children all backed away a few steps, eyes wide.
   Ukyou relaxed and the glow vanished.  She had forgotten just how difficult it was to make an aura appear on command - Ranma and Ryouga made it look like the easiest thing in the world.  "What?" she asked, curious about the women's reaction.  "I wasn't going to hurt you with it."
   "But...  that was channeling!" protested one woman.
   "Not channeling, just Ki.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't the same thing as what Moiraine did," replied Ukyou.
   "How can you be so sure it's different?"
   Ukyou shrugged.  "I just am.  Aside from increasing my reflexes and my strength, I can't do much else with my Ki.  I can't heal someone with it and I've never seen anyone make real lightning bolts with their Ki."
   "Look," interrupted Akane, "why does it matter anyway if it's channeling or not?  What's that got to do with Ryouga and Ranma?"
   The crowd gave her incredulous looks.  Then, after an uncomfortable silence, one of the women shook her head.  "Marin was right.  You really do know nothing of the One Power."
   "Why don't you explain it to us, then?"
   The woman looked uncomfortable and fidgeted slightly before settling down.  She took a deep breath and began:  "The One Power is what drives the Wheel of Time..."
   Akane and Ukyou listened intently.

* * *

   As Ranma left, he began noticing more and more of the odd and sometimes scared looks people were giving him and Ryouga.  "Yo, Ryouga," he began, speaking in a low voice.
   "What?"
   "Do you see the looks people are giving us?"
   Ryouga blinked and surreptitiously looked around him.  "They look like they're scared of us," he realized incredulously.  "Why?  We helped them, didn't we?"
  "Something's ain't right," muttered Ranma, "and I wanna know what."
   The two martial artists finally reached the spot where Ryouga had impaled a Trolloc with the Spring Pole.  Two men were obviously trying to move the fir trunk so that they could cart the Trolloc away, but they did not seem to be very successful.
   Ryouga tapped one of the two men on the shoulder.  "Excuse me?"
   The man turned around and blinked.  "Oh, you're one of the young outlanders, yes?" he asked, not seeming very intimidated by either of them.  Ranma and Ryouga noticed and were silently grateful for it. He looked closely at Ranma.  "You look like you got singed all right. You okay?"
   "Sure," said Ranma nonchalantly.
   "Are you trying to get the Trolloc out?" asked Ryouga.
   "What do you think?" said the man, rolling his eyes.  "I don't know what happened here.  Bloody messy, though.  I wonder why the Aes Sedai didn't just... burn it like the others instead of sticking the Pole through it."
   The other man agreed.  "Yeah.  We didn't think the pole would be _buried_, though.  We're going to have to cut the through the trunk to move it."
   Ranma and Ryouga shared an unreadable look.  "We'll take care of it," said Ryouga.  The two men blinked, but didn't move.   Ryouga sighed and pushed his way past them and put one foot on the Trolloc's back.  Straining slightly, he began pulling the Pole out the Trolloc's body, vainly trying to ignore the disgusting slurping sounds and the stench emanating from the corpse.
   The two men just stared at the show of strength.  "Blood and ashes," the first one muttered.  "How strong is he?"
  "Jeez, stinks like hell," commented Ranma, waving a hand in front of his face.  "No wonder Moiraine wants to get rid of 'em."
   Ryouga suddenly cleared the trunk out of the body and let it fall to the side with a loud thump.  He looked at the fatal wound and turned a bit green.  "I don't want to be disgusting, but I don't think we should drag that one all over the ground unless everyone wants to see and smell Trolloc guts all over the place."
    Ranma frowned.  "You're the one who impaled it, you get rid of it."
    Ryouga scowled at Ranma and looked around, missing the slack-jawed expressions of the farmers' faces.  There was no way in hell he was going to lug that thing on his shoulders, especially not with it dripping its guts all over like that.  Looking around, he brightened slightly when he saw a cart hauling the carcasses of two other Trollocs pass near them.  He walked over to the man who was leading it away.
    "Excuse me, do you have any place for another Trolloc on that cart?" he asked.
    The man blinked.  "Lots of place, yes, but old Bonnie here," he said, patting the draft horse's neck, "won't be able to pull the cart then.  You'll just have to wait until I come back or until another cart comes by."
    Ryouga glanced at the cart.  It look very solidly built and had a thick layer of straw at the bottom to help absorb the blood.  It could undoubtedly handle more than two Trollocs.  "Not a problem," he said finally.  He began untying the horse's harness.
    "What are you doing, boy?" demanded the first man, moving towards Ryouga.
    The Lost Boy sighed, not pausing in his work.  "Sparing your horse some trouble is what I'm doing."  When the horse was finally loose from its harness, Ryouga began pulling the cart by himself towards the gutted Trolloc, ignoring the farmer's astonished expression.  He brought the cart around and looked at Ranma.  "C'mon, help me load it in."
    Ranma hesitated for a fraction of a second, then nodded.  They both took an extremity and swung the corpse in the cart, atop the two other bodies and promptly began moving the cart towards the edge of the forest, past the bridges, pausing to pick up yet another Trolloc along the way.
   The three gawking farmers were left behind, one of them holding Bonnie's reins.  They looked at each other and began moving to catch up to the two boys when they heard someone call them from behind.
   "Darl Coplin," the first farmer muttered slowly.  "What does he want now?"
   "Bloody fool didn't even realize the village was burning when he came in," snorted the second.
   "Where did you think you two were going?" Darl hissed, coming closer to the three men.
   "What are you talking about, Darl?" asked the first one in a weary tone.
   "You were about to follow them!" he accused, pointing at the departing forms of Ranma and Ryouga.
   "What about it?  We want to know how they can do that!  I mean, the kid with the yellow headband seems to be stronger than Haral!" the first one protested.
   "Didn't you hear?" asked Darl disbelievingly.  "Half the village saw them channel along with the Moiraine woman during the fight! They're _channelers_!  All of them!"
   The farmers' eyes widened.

   On the other side of the bridge, Moiraine and Lan were staring at a pile of burning Trolloc bodies, ignoring the sharp stench that resulted from their combustion.
   "What will you do about the outlanders?" asked Lan quietly.
   Moiraine heard the question, but did not answer right away.  What to do indeed?  The two young men seemed to possess a power that was akin to saidar, yet was not.  Could it be an effect of the taint on saidin?  Unlikely, since the two boys looked too young to be able to channel, even if they had the spark within them.  Even the girls' reactions discredited that theory.  They had not seemed the least bit ruffled about the boys' displays.  That meant they were used to it, and since they had previously stated that they had no knowledge of the Power, something she found hard to believe, considering the Ukyou girl's condition.  So it implied something else.  All she had to do was figure out exactly what.
   She was tempted to sigh.  A mere week ago, she would never have imagined anything like those outlanders.  The three boys she had found in Emond's Field, that was to be expected.  Among those three was the one she had dedicated her adult life to finding.  But those outlander children confused her.  If this was the will of the Pattern, then she had a hard road ahead of her.
   Moiraine felt Lan tense and turned around, only to meet Ranma, pulling a cart packed with four dead Trollocs by himself.  Moiraine raised an eyebrow in surprise.  *How strong _are_ these children?* she wondered.
   "I've got a few more for ya," said Ranma, pointing at the cart. "Where do you want'em?"
   Moiraine blinked.  "Us?" she asked curiously.  She assumed that Ranma was referring to the other boy, Ryouga, but she could not see him anywhere nearby.
   It was Ranma's turn to blink.  He twisted around and looked behind the cart.  "Awww man!... Of all the times it had to happen!" he complained loudly.
   The Aes Sedai was curious about the reaction.  "Is there something wrong?"
   Ranma turned to her with a disgusted look on his face.  "It's Ryouga.  The stupid moron got himself lost again.  I _knew_ I should've put him in front of me..." he muttered.
   "Lost?  Perhaps he just stayed in the village," commented Moiraine.  Ranma just looked at her as if she had just said something mildly stupid.  It wasn't a look she was used to see directed at her.
   "You don't know him," said the pigtailed martial artist while shaking his head.  "Ryouga can get lost _anywhere_.  It ain't natural, I tell ya."
   Moiraine was almost amused at Ranma's dejected tone.  Almost. "Are you not exaggerating a bit much?"
   Ranma gave her a flat look.  "It can take him days to get out of a house if he isn't led by the hand."  He sighed.  "Well, the only thing to do now is wait.  Even here, he'll probably follow his usual pattern."
   Moiraine assumed Ranma was exaggerating about Ryouga's sense of direction.  No one could possibly be that bad.  "What usual pattern?" she inquired.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Get lost, wander for a while and then find his way back to me."
   "Back to you?" the Aes Sedai asked.  "Why you?"
   "I don't know.  He _always_ manages to find me, somehow.  Maybe because he used to want to kill me," the pigtailed martial artist deadpanned.
   Moiraine blinked.
   Lan narrowed his eyes.
   "Don't worry about it," Ranma said calmly. "He's calmed down a lot since then and we made a deal to try and be civil to each other while we're trapped on this world."
   *This world?* thought Moiraine absently.  She had to mask her surprise, though, when Ranma turned around and simply began tossing the Trolloc bodies that were on the cart on top of the fires that were already crackling in the cool night air.
   Once the last Trolloc was out of the cart, Ranma turned towards Moiraine.  "So what did you _really_ wanna talk about?" he asked bluntly.
   Moiraine gathered herself and began readying weaves of Spirit.  It would be fairly easy to determine if he was channeling or not.  "I wanted to ask you about the way you fought in the battle tonight. More specifically, those... fireballs you threw.  What were they made of?"  She tried to slide the shields in place while he was distracted and was unpleasantly surprised to realize that there was nothing to shield.  Usually, even if the channeler, whether male or female, was not touching the True Source, you could still shield him or her and feel the shield slide in place.  With him, though, the shields rolled off the exact same way they did as if she had tried to shield a non-channeler.  This both comforted and alarmed her.
   Ranma looked around him, frowning.  *Weird,* he thought.  *I feel as if someone's gonna attack me...*  He then heard Moiraine's question and blinked.  "Fireballs?  No... not really.  What Ryouga and I use are called Ki-blasts.  They weren't _real_ fireballs like yours."
   "Ki-blasts?"  asked Moiraine, puzzled.
   "Blasts, strikes, whatever you wanna call them, they're basically all the same thing: a projection of your Ki."
   Moiraine looked thoughtful.  "A projection?  Is Ki that colored... glow that surrounded Ryouga and yourself?"
   Ranma nodded.  "Partly.  What you saw was a battle aura, it's a side effect.  Ki is...  it's your life force, the power of your life, of your soul.  Ryouga and I use emotions to power the techniques we used back there."
   Moiraine frowned, not clearly understanding.  "You mean to tell me that the power you used earlier this evening is... life?  That is not possible."
   "Really?" Ranma said blandly, raising an eyebrow.  "And why would that be?  Just because you ain't never seen something done a certain way, it doesn't mean it _can't_ be done that way."
   Moiraine stood silent for a moment.  The child was _very_ arrogant.  "All right, I will grant you that.  I do not claim to know everything, but if this power truly exists as you say it does, then why has no one ever heard of it before?"
   Ranma shrugged.  "Every living thing has Ki, but very few have the skill, knowledge or the determination to manipulate it."
   Moiraine's left eye twitched.  Visions of an entire people who could channel like the boy fleeted in the back of her mind.  "And how _do_ you manipulate it?"
   Ranma shrugged slightly.  "You have to train your body in a way that would make most people quit after a few weeks.  Only if you persevere, sometimes for years, can you ever hope to be able to gain conscious control over your Ki.  Some people train for decades before being able to control it.  Others like me and Ryouga are exceptionally strong and I started training before I was even five years old."
   Moiraine blinked.  *Before he was five?* she thought incredulously.  "And it is the same for women and men?"
   "Yes and no" Ranma hedged.  "Yes - both guys and girls can do it because every one has Ki.  No - it's not exactly the same for each person because the Ki of every living thing is different.  It's like a fingerprint, no two people, not even twins, have the same Ki.  It's unique to everyone.  For two people to have the same Ki, they'd have to share the same life energy, the same soul and experiences, and that just ain't possible."
   Moiraine thought about the last sentence, but decided to stay silent on that subject for now.  She glanced at her fingers. *Fingerprints?*  She gave herself a mental shake.  "Is this why Ryouga and yourself were... glowing different colors?"
   Ranma nodded.  "Partly.  The colors are sometimes related to an emotion you use to channel your Ki.  Mine was bright blue because I used confidence for the Mouko Takabisha and Ryouga's aura was dark green because he uses depression to fuel his Shishi Houkoudan.  The colors don't always mean something, though."
   Lan watched silently as Moiraine began questioning the boy about his power.  He knew she was nervous and so was he in a small way, but he did not let any trace of it leak out.  He noticed that his Aes Sedai's nervousness was dwarfed, however by the puzzle the boy represented.  He shrugged mentally and resumed guard.  If the boy truly _was_ a channeler, which he was beginning to doubt, they would have a lot more work ahead of them.
   "How exactly do you draw this power?" Moiraine queried, becoming interested.
   Ranma sighed.  This might just be harder to explain than he thought.  "Well, like I said, you have to train for it, first.  The more in tune you become with your body, the more the Ki develops. Eventually, a stronger Ki helps develop all your senses, especially the sixth.  Now if you..."
   "Sixth?" Moiraine asked curiously.  "How do you classify them?"
   Ranma looked mildly annoyed at being interrupted.  "There are five basic senses," he explained.  "Sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.  The sixth one has no real name because it can manifest differently in people.  Some develop an excellent sense of intuition while others, like me, develop a danger sense.  The sixth sense is..." the martial artist trailed off, scratching his hair in thought,  "It's an awareness to things that can't be felt with your other senses," he concluded.  Looking at the Aes Sedai's expression, Ranma saw Moiraine's next question coming.  "What _my_ danger sense does is warn me if someone is gonna attack me, unless the other guy is extremely good at hiding his presence."
   "I don't understand _how_ this... danger sense works, however," continued Moiraine.  The Aes Sedai was slowly getting more and more interested in the subject.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Usually, I can tell if I'm going to be attacked because my danger sense reacts to the enemy's own Ki."
   "So you can sense intent?" Moiraine continued relentlessly.
   Ranma made so-so gestures.  "Under very specific circumstances, yes," he allowed.  "I can't read people's minds or anything like that..."  He sighed.  "Anyway, like I was saying before you got me off-track, someone who trains extensively usually reaches a plateau at some point.  What Ki does is help you overcome that plateau, so your skills can keep increasing.  That's why Ryouga and I can do what we do.  Once you get past that limit, you can do lots of things with your Ki," Ranma finished.  *Whew!* he mentally sighed.  *I hope I didn't mess that up too much.*
   "This... plateau," the Aes Sedai said after a while, "How do you get past it?"
   Ranma shrugged.  "_That_ depends on each individual person.  You have to complete the harmony between your mind and your body.  Once you really manage to tap your Ki that way, it gets easier over time." Inside, Ranma was beginning to think that the Aes Sedai would never stop with the questions.
   The Aes Sedai nodded thoughtfully.  It _would_ explain why her shield had been insufficient - the power apparently came from inside the body, not outside.  She would have to be careful if he truly _was_ that aware of things around him.  "So what exactly _can_ you do with it aside from being more aware of things?"
   "Well, the most basic uses are enhanced endurance, speed, strength and Ki-blasts," Ranma said.  "The more you work in manipulating your Ki, practicing with it, the better your control over it becomes, and ultimately, you can do more things with it.  Right now, Ryoga and I know only a few special techniques.  You saw a couple of them in the fight.  I fought a guy named Herb who could do _really_ fancy moves with his Ki.  There are lots of legends about what might be possible to do with the stuff, but I haven't been able to try them so far."
   Moiraine looked at Ranma for a few seconds while staying silent. It was odd how his behavior, even his vocabulary could change at a moment's notice, depending on what he was talking about.  "Can you heal with it?" she then added.
   Ranma blinked.  "Well, I've been tapping my Ki for so long that I naturally heal faster than normal people do, but I can't do anything instantaneous."
   Moiraine tilted her head slightly.  "But can you heal others with it?"
   Ranma frowned in thought.  "I suppose you can share your chi with someone else, but _I've_ never done it.  There's a... healer back home, his name is Tofu, he probably does along with his shiatsu."
   "Shiatsu?" Moiraine asked, intrigued.  "What is that?"
   "Pressure point techniques," Ranma explained.  "Healers use 'em to make their patients feel better for the most part, but there are some other ones that can be used for combat too.  Very useful, but I don't know too many of 'em."
   The Aes Sedai nodded thoughtfully.  *So, this... Ki also appears to be less flexible than the Power in its external uses.  It also seems to center more on the user than on a target.*  She thought a bit more about it and looked Ranma in the eye.  "Can you raise your aura again?  I would like to look at something."
   Ranma looked at her for a moment, expressionless, then shrugged. A vibrant sky-blue glow began to surround him like some sort of blue smoke, curling up at his sides and twisting around his body.  She observed him intently.  He was not flinching, nor was he showing any sign of discomfort.  Odd.  That blue glow was almost mesmerizing, actually.  She gave herself a slight mental shake.
   Upon feeling the weak buzz she had experienced earlier, Moiraine tried to shield him again, but the attempt met with the same lack of results as the previous one, save for Ranma looking over his shoulder at something.  Trying again, she noticed that the flows were... slipping, for lack of a better word.  It was like trying to do needlework with greasy hands:  the flows simply did not focus correctly and she could clearly tell that the effect was confined to the aura's range.  This both puzzled and worried her greatly.  She could feel that Lan was holding back, but not by much.  This meant that there was one other thing she had to confirm, something that had slipped her mind until now.
   "Lan?" she asked mildly.  "What do you see?"
   The Warder replied in a flat voice, not a single trace of the nervousness he felt making it through.  "I see a blue glow around the boy."
   *So,* the Aes Sedai thought, *Lan can see it as well.*  That was a small point in the boy's favor, as Lan was incapable of seeing someone touch the Source, whether male or female, although it was inconclusive.  It could have been a visual effect, after all.  The failed shield meant it was not saidar or saidin.  But what about that echo she felt, then?  It certainly wasn't the tingling she got when another woman channeled saidar, but it was _something_.
   Ranma snorted, breaking her concentration.  "Why wouldn't he see it?  Anyone will see it if I put up an aura like this." He paused, his aura winking out.  "And the name's Ranma."
   Moiraine cocked her head slightly, ignoring the last protest. "Anyone?  You do not need any training whatsoever to see it?"
   The pig-tailed martial artist shook his head.  "Not when you flare it like I just did.  You only need your eyes.  A really good martial artist would be able to tell my Ki level just by looking at me.  I wouldn't even need to flare it.  A variant on the danger sense if you will."  He indicated Lan with a shake of his head.  "I can tell he's got more Ki than a normal person, for example."  He looked at Moiraine, cocking his head.  "So do you, actually."  He blinked in confusion.  "Just how old _are_ you, anyway?"
   Moiraine glared at him and he flinched back slightly.  "What'd I say?"
   Moiraine shook her head.  *Tactless boy,* thought the Aes Sedai. She grimaced.  This 'Ki' power was quickly becoming more irritating than fascinating.
   "Any living thing has Ki," Ranma said. "People, trees, bugs... Heck, the planet itself has a Ki field.  Everyone and a lot of things have it, but you need a strong will and a lot of skill to consciously use it."   He stopped and remembered something.  "What's so bad about being able to tap your Ki, anyway?  You sound worried about it and most of the villagers wouldn't look at us in the eye after we began using it."
   Moiraine almost frowned.  Her Aes Sedai mask must have slipped further than she thought if the boy had realized she had been worried.  She thought about what to answer the boy.  "The villagers fear you for a simple reason.  They think you and Ryouga are channelers."
   "You mentioned that word before.  What _is_ a channeler?"
   Moiraine was forcibly reminded that none of these children seemed to know anything about the One Power.  Another strange fact.  "A channeler is an individual who can touch the True Source and channel the One Power, as I can."
   "You mean those fireballs and the lightning, that was the...  One Power?" said Ranma curiously.
   Moiraine nodded.  "And the Healing as well."
   If anything, that seemed to puzzle Ranma even more.  "So why are they scared of _us_?  I mean, you did worse stuff than we did, so why?"
   "You truly know nothing, do you?" the Aes Sedai murmured, looking at him intently.
   Ranma was a bit disturbed by the gaze.  "I already told you, we ain't from around here!"
   "I can see that now," she said dryly.  She continued before Ranma could interrupt again.  "I will try to make this brief, so listen carefully.  The One Power is what drives the Wheel of Time.  Its is divided in two different parts: saidar, which can only be used by women, and saidin, which can only be used by men.  In the Age of Legends, which ended over 3,000 years ago, men and women could use their respective sides of the Power without any problems and perform great wonders with it.  But then came the War of Power when men accidentally released the Dark One from where he had been bound by the Creator.  In short, the war ended when Lews Therin Telamon led a hundred male channelers on an assault on Shayol Ghul, in an effort to reseal the Dark One."
   Ranma listened intently.  "What's that got to do with people being afraid of us?"
   "I am not finished," Moiraine calmly replied.  "Lews Therin, then called the Dragon, and the Hundred Companions succeeded, but at a cost.  Before being resealed, the Dark One's counterstroke tainted saidin, forever dooming any man who could channel to go mad with no hope of a cure."  She paused.  "That is why they fear you.  They are persuaded you will go mad as every man has since the Breaking of the World."
   "But that's stupid," protested Ranma.  *Breaking of the World?* he thought briefly.  *I wonder if that's what Master al'Dai was talking about.*  Aloud, he said: "No one I know has ever gone _mad_ from using Ki, it'd be like going mad because you drink water!"  He tried to ignore the sudden image of Happosai on a panty raid that surfaced in his mind.  No sense giving the Aes Sedai ammunition, however flawed, for her theory, he reasoned.
   "Perhaps it is so," the Aes Sedai said, "but you are going to have a hard time to convince _them_ of it."  She paused for a moment, looking at the pile of burning Trollocs.  "Come, we must return to the village."  As the group walked back, Moiraine turned her head slightly towards Ranma.  "I have another question.  When we met for the first time, you talked about curses.  What did you mean?"
   Ranma's mouth curved in a grimace.  "They're exactly that. Curses.  I'm not going to say more about it, so you can forget asking me."
   "Don't talk to her that way, boy!" Lan growled.
   Ranma looked at the Warder and frowned.  "Who asked you?" he said belligerently.
   The Warder's frown deepened and he began fingering his sword.
   "Lan," Moiraine said mildly.  "Do not bother.  He did not insult me."  That was true.  Ranma had not _insulted_ her, but it _was_ annoying to realize that the boy showed absolutely no fear whatsoever of Aes Sedai.  He did not seem to know much about respect either.
   Ranma looked at Moiraine oddly, then mentally shrugged.  "So what _can_ you do with this One Power everyone is so scared of?  And just what _is_ it?"
   Moiraine almost sighed.  The tables had turned, it seemed.  This could take a while.

   A bit earlier in the evening in a completely different part of the woods, Rand al'Thor had been carrying his feverish father on a litter when he heard someone shouting at the top of his lungs: "WHERE ON EARTH AM I NOW?!?"
   At the moment he head the great cry, Rand's heart almost stopped completely.  *What is that bloody fool doing?!  There might still be Trollocs around!* he thought frantically.  He peered in the darkness in an effort to find the source of the noise and quickly found it.  A young man, wearing outlandish clothes and a some kind of club in his left hand was wandering aimlessly towards the Westwood.  Rand stared in confusion for a few moments before he realized that the outlander was about to shout again.
   "Be quiet!!!" he hissed as loud as he could without shouting.  He sighed with relief when the outlander blinked and looked around him. "Over here!" he hissed again, blinking internally at the same time. *Why am I doing this?" he thought in confusion.  *I should be getting away from him, not attracting his attention!*  Another part of his mind idly wondered what yet _another_ outlander was doing this close to Westwood at this time of night.
   Ryouga wandered over to where a tall youth was crouching in the bushes, obviously trying to conceal himself.  He approached him, walking unconcernedly through the dry bushes.  After his bellow, a few broken twigs would not make much of a difference in the noise level.  As he got closer, he noticed that the youth was wearing a sword.  *Strange,* Ryouga thought.  *He doesn't look like a swordsman.*
   Rand did not share that particular feeling at the moment.  As soon as Ryouga got near enough, Rand got up and glared at him, the expression visible even in the moonlight.  "Look, I don't know who you are, but there are Trollocs not far from here!  Do you mean to bring them all on our heads?"  As soon as he said the words left his mouth, he wished he could get them back.  He could not expect an outlander to believe in Trollocs so easily.
   "Here too?" Ryouga wondered out loud.  "Damn.  Those things are everywhere."
   Rand stared at Ryouga.  "What do you mean, 'here too'?"  He frowned.  "And just who _are_ you?  You're definitely not from Emond's Field."  And he was also obviously younger and shorter than him, Rand realized with surprise.  The early morning darkness hid much of the details, but he could make that much out.
   Ryouga paused only a moment before answering.  "My name is Ryouga Hibiki and I said that because several dozen of those creatures just attacked the village near here."
   "They attacked Emond's Field, too?" said Rand, horrified.  "Is everyone all right?" he asked quickly, thinking of Egwene.
   Ryouga nodded.  "I think so.  We... killed most of the Trollocs. I was helping to dispose of them when I got lost..."
   Rand shook his head.  he had many questions for the outlander, but too little time.  Tam was running a very severe fever, but he was still alive and he would have to be brought to the village as fast as possible if he was going to stay that way.  "You can follow me.  I have to get my father back to Emond's Field before the fever kills him."
   Ryouga blinked and looked over Rand's shoulder to see a litter with a man laying on it.  "Is he wounded?" he asked.
   Rand looked miserable.  "A Trolloc wounded him.  It isn't very serious, but the fever seems to be burning him up anyway."
   Ryouga leaned over Tam.  "Maybe the weapon was poisoned," he said after a moment.
   That was not something Rand wished to hear.  "It just means I have to move even more quickly," he said in a determined voice.
   Ryouga looked Rand over for a moment.  The youth was obviously getting tired, although he tried not to show it.  "I'll carry your father.  You just lead the way so I don't lose sight of you."
   Rand blinked.  "What?  But you won't be able to..." he trailed off when he saw Ryouga lifting the litter in his arms with no more seeming effort than he would if he was carrying a log.  He stared for a moment before he looked around and pointed in a specific direction. "This way," he said, and promptly began walking at a quick pace in that direction, occasionally glancing behind him to make sure Ryouga was keeping up.  A part of him wondered how someone that much smaller than him could possibly be so strong, while another told him not to question his good fortune and make the most of it.
   Eventually, Rand found the silence oppressive and began making conversation with Ryouga.  "So when did you get to Emond's Field?  I don't recall seeing you before.  Did you come for Bel Tine?"
   "We came to your village because we were lost," answered Ryouga truthfully.  He did not elaborate further, not wanting to repeat everything about their arrival once again.
   Rand found the answer to be missing... something, but did not inquire further.  "You said Trollocs attacked Emond's Field.  What happened exactly?"
   "I'm not too sure," said Ryouga, frowning.  "Everyone was talking and having a good time when the Moiraine woman and her bodyguard burst into the village, yelling about Trollocs.  Next thing I know, it was complete chaos in the village.  We managed to kill most of them and drive the rest out after a while."
   "You took part in the fighting?" Rand asked incredulously.  "How old _are_ you, anyway?"
   Ryouga's reply sounded offended.  "Of course I fought!  I'm a martial artist!"  The was a short pause.  "And I've just turned seventeen years old."
   *Two years younger than me?*  Even more questions began piling up in Rand's mind.  "What's a martial artist?"
   Ryouga shrugged, though Rand did not see it because of his position.  "Don't you people know anything?  A martial artist is a warrior, above all.  We helped your village because it was our duty. That's what we do."
   Rand looked at Ryouga over his shoulder, unsure of how to react to the statement.  A warrior?  This Hibiki fellow seemed awfully young to be a warrior or soldier, or even a merchant's guard.  His musings ended when he saw that they were now at the outskirts of the village. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized that he had been running the last of the distance and that Ryouga had kept up with him, not showing much in the way of exhaustion, even though he had been carrying someone who was obviously heavier than him.  He gave himself a mental shake.  That didn't matter right now.  "Come on, we have to see the Wisdom," he said in a rush.
   "Lead the way," was all Ryouga said.

   On the other side of the village, Ranma, Moiraine and Lan were coming back into the village, most of the villagers making way for them.  Ranma, now understanding a part of why they were scared of him, tried to look as harmless as possible, or at least until he, Ryouga and the girls could leave the village without provoking a riot.  *If Ryouga can be found,* a part of his mind amended.
   He quickly made his way towards Ukyou and Akane, who were apparently still talking with a few women in front of the inn, amidst a knot of people.  As he approached, Moiraine still following behind him, he noticed that the women who were talking with the girls were looking at him oddly and others were fingering their braids and scowling at him, but most of them did not look quite as fearful as before.  Some of the men on the other hand were staring at him _and_ the Aes Sedai, and he could read a myriad of feelings on their faces. Incredulity, fascination, fear, hate and more.  *Nothing I can do about that yet,* Ranma thought glumly.
   Akane saw him approach first.  "Ranma!" she said, moving towards him, closely followed by Ukyou.  "We've got some things to tell you..." she suddenly trailed off.  "Where's Ryouga-kun?  I thought he was with you."
   Ranma affected an annoyed look, which wasn't very hard when Ryouga was the subject of discussion.  "The baka got lost again.  One minute he was behind me, the next one he was lost."
   Ukyou frowned.  "The idiot.  How could he get lost at a time like this!"
   Akane scowled at Ukyou.  "It's not Ryouga-kun's fault he has a few problems with directions!"
   "A few?" said Ranma disbelievingly.  "The guy gets lost in a straight corridor!"
   "I DO NOT!!!" thundered a voice behind them.
   The crowd around the inn suddenly parted to reveal a flustered Rand and a somewhat angry Ryouga making their way towards the inn. Ryouga was carrying someone in a litter, the other Nerimans noticed.
   "Where the hell were you, Ryouga?" asked Ranma.  "This ain't the time to explore the countryside!"
   Ryouga steamed.  "I. Was. Not. Exploring. The. Countryside," he said, biting off each word.  "I'd just stopped to redo my laces and when I got back up, you were gone!"
   Rand decided to intervene before things could escalate.  The outlanders could kill each other if they wanted to, but he wanted the Wisdom to see to Tam before things got worse.  "Excuse me, has anyone seen the Wisdom?"
   Ukyou pointed at the inn with a finger.  "I saw her go in a minute or two ago."
   Rand blinked at Ukyou's attire, then shook his head.  No time for that right now - he could goggle later.  "Thank you," he said.  He then motioned Ryouga to follow him.
   The other Nerimians, having nothing better to do, followed Rand and Ryouga towards the inn.
   "So what did she want to talk about?" asked Ukyou.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Basically, she wanted to make sure that Ryouga and I weren't channeling that One Power thing.  She asked me a lot of questions, that's for sure."
   "Yes, about that..." began Akane.
   Ranma raised his hand.  "I managed to get some explanations out of her on the way back.  I know about the Taint and all that.  She did some tests and she said she was satisfied on the way back.  Back in the woods, I ended up giving her the mother of all lectures on Ki.  I think I managed to convince her that we aren't an immediate threat." He frowned.  "Apparently, it's the villagers we have to convince, now."

   They followed the others as they entered the inn.  The main room of the establishment was packed with people.  The innkeeper and his family, the Wisdom and the gleeman were among those present in the room.  The others were mostly coming and going.  Ranma leaned on a wall, masking his presence as much as he could as to be unobtrusive. He saw, more than he heard over the din, the Wisdom and Rand talking. The Wisdom stood over Tam, checked his fever, Ranma guessed, then sadly shook her head.
   Ranma sighed sadly when he heard Rand blabber excuses about how he had tried his best to get to the village as fast as possible. He had seen the look on Rand's face elsewhere before when he had wandered the world with his father.  A refusal to accept fate.
   When the Wisdom signaled the innkeeper's daughter and made their way towards the exit, Rand tried to go after them, but Ryouga grabbed his shoulder and shook his head when Rand told him to let go.  Ranma thought about something and silently moved towards the pair.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mistress al'Vere hustling Akane and Ukyou upstairs, talking about something.  Since the two were obviously not fighting it, Ranma chose to ignore it for the moment.
   "What happened to him?" asked Ranma when he got close enough to Rand and Ryouga.
   Rand gave a start and whirled around. "Where did you?..." he stammered.  "I didn't even see you!"  Rand took a second to look at Ranma's rather disheveled and sooty figure.
   "A trick," Ranma answered.  "Can't the Wisdom do anything?" he asked, nodding towards Tam.
   Rand's expression turned from puzzlement to anguish.  "I got here as fast as I could!" he whispered, obviously trying to convince himself.  "I got here even faster with his help," he said in a stronger voice, pointing at Ryouga.
   Ranma blinked and looked at Ryouga, who glared back at him.
   "I told you I hadn't been wandering around," Ryouga grumbled.
   Ranma looked at the man who was still laid out on the litter. "What about the Aes Sedai?" he said out loud.  "She was able to heal pretty serious injuries tonight."
   "Aes Sedai?" asked Rand, his eyes wide.  "There's an Aes Sedai in the village?!"
   Master al'Vere, who had been watching both Ryouga and Ranma warily until now, shook his head in surprise.  "Of course!" he said loudly. He turned to the gleeman, who had been observing the whole thing until then.  "Why didn't you say anything, gleeman?  The stories are full of them!"
   The gleeman shrugged, lighting his pipe.  "I am an outsider.  Such a suggestion might have sounded suspicious coming from me, as most reasonable people know the cost of an Aes Sedai's help."
   "Would you have left him there to die then?" asked Ranma, slightly annoyed.  He ignored Rand's quick discussion with Master al'Vere. "Master al'Dai told us that an Aes Sedai's gift always has a hook in it, but what do you think is best?  A hook, or slow death?"
   The gleeman looked at him cynically.  "When Aes Sedai are concerned, some people would consider that as being much the same, boy."
   Ranma stared at the gleeman for a moment, then shook his head, chuckling.
   The gleeman raised a white, bushy eyebrow in surprise.  "Did I say something amusing, boy?"
   It was Ranma's turn to look at the gleeman with a cynical expression.  "Nothing.  I just realized that you're one of the few people aside from the Aes Sedai and brick-face who's spoken to me or Ryouga without looking as if I was going to kill them, ne Ryouga?" he said, turning towards the other martial artist.
   He wasn't there.
   Ranma cursed under his breath.  "If the baka's gotten lost again, we're leavin' without him!"
   Master al'Vere looked at Ranma uneasily.  "If you're looking for the other lad, he helped Rand get Tam upstairs.  The Aes Sedai is upstairs as well."
   Ranma nodded, then looked inquisitively at the innkeeper who seemed to be, unlike the gleeman, fairly nervous.  "Do you think I channel, Master al'Vere?" asked Ranma, honestly curious.
   "I'm...  I'm not sure," the stout man shook his head.  "You probably saved my life and my daughter's but I also saw what you did afterwards, and..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say.
   "For what it's worth, Master innkeeper," said the gleeman suddenly, "I saw what he did and I am not inclined to believe that what he did was true channeling."
   Ranma looked back at the gleeman in surprise.  "Not that I mind the opinion, but what makes you think that?"
   The gleeman smiled tightly.  "I watched, boy.  I watched.  You protected people you could have left to die.  That at least shows you have some character and that aren't mad yet, but you also left with the Aes Sedai and her Warder at the end of the battle.  A while later, you come back none the worse for wear.  If you _were_ a channeler, I don't think that Moiraine Sedai would have left you wandering around  freely, no matter what her motives might be."
   Ranma blinked.  "If I had been a channeler, what would have changed?  Moiraine told me about the taint that strikes male channelers, but what does that have to do with... " he trailed off. "You mean she would have tried to attack me?" he said incredulously.
   Thom nodded.  "Or shield you, at the very least."
   "She did try to shield me," Ranma said, shaking his head.  "She said it didn't work, that I had no channeling ability at all that she could tell."
   Thom's eyes widened in surprise.  "She told you?  Were those her exact words?"
   Ranma nodded.
   The gleeman looked at his pipe pensively, then looked at Ranma once more.  "Does that mean that you are a normal person?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.
   Ranma barked a laugh.  "Normal?  I suppose that depends on your definition of the word.  The power I use is called Ki and the only way she could stop me from using it would be to kill me."  He sobered and grinned nastily.  "And I would be _very_ hard to kill."
   "Ki?" Thom said inquisitively.
   Ranma nodded and briefly flared his aura.  As he was looking at Thom, he didn't see the innkeeper back away slightly.  He did notice the tightening of the gleeman's features, though.  He relaxed the aura and smiled at the gleeman.  "Yup, Ki," Ranma confirmed with a smirk.  "It comes from inside me, not from an outside source.  That's why her shields didn't work."  He was about to say more when he heard someone come down the staircase.  He turned around, expecting Ryouga, and his eyes widened.
   When he saw Akane and Ukyou come down.  The reason for their absence was now obvious in that Mistress al'Vere had lent them a change of clothes.  Akane was now wearing a dark gray wool skirt with a white blouse, a colored scarf wrapped around her neck.  Instead of downplaying her looks, though, her outfit seemed to emphasize her natural beauty.  Ukyou was wearing the same, except that her skirt was dark green.  Her combat spatula was now a marked contrast to her mode of dress, which Ranma found a bit disturbing.  Ukyou in a dress was not something he was used to seeing.  Ryouga and Mistress al'Vere followed them down the stairs.
   Ranma blinked a couple of times.  He didn't know why, but seeing Akane dressed like that...  *Kawaii* the thought flitted in the back of his mind.
   "Ranma?" a slightly blushing Akane said, waving her hand in front of the pig-tailed martial artist's vacant face.  She had seen Ranma look at her from the moment she had come down the stairs.  Mistress al'Vere had been quite adamant about getting her and Ukyou out of their torn and slightly bloody clothes and into what she termed "proper wear for young girls."  Ukyou had protested far more than she had, but it had all been in vain in the end.  The okonomiyaki chef had, however, drawn the line at leaving her "giant shovel" (as Marin had called the object) behind.
   Ranma suddenly came back to life.  "Oh...  Err...  Hi, Akane... You look...  um..." he fumbled for the correct words, his own face slightly reddening.
   Akane blushed a bit more.  *Is he going to say it?* she wondered excitedly.
   "I knew they were attracted to each other," Marin's satisfied voice said from behind them.
   Ranma and Akane's red faces both snapped towards the innkeeper's wife.  While Akane was trying to get something out of her mouth, Ranma was quicker.  "I'm not attracted to that clumsy tomboy!" he said instinctively, only to regret it as the common room suddenly became quiet.  *Ooops.*
   The silence was broken by the sound of strong blow from Ukyou's combat spatula impacting Ranma's head.
   Ukyou, who had been frowning at the whole thing, blinked when she saw her spatula in Akane's hands.  She reached behind her and realized that her weapon had been snitched.  "Give that back!" she snapped, grabbing the giant cooking utensil back.  She quickly kneeled down to Ranma's level, who was just now picking himself off the floor.  "Ranchan!?  Are you all right?"
   "Yeah," Ranma groaned, rubbing his head.  "I'm used to it.  Tomboy hits like a sledgehammer."  As he was about to get up, Scratch, the Winespring Inn's resident feline, chose that time to examine the floor's newest addition.
   Ranma froze, making small, whimpering noises.
   Scratch took this as a sign to lick his face.
   Ryouga was about to try and choke Ranma as an object lesson when the target of his anger suddenly screamed as if all the hordes of Hell were after him.
   Ranma did the only thing he could:  he backflipped to his feet, sending Ukyou tumbling back, and ran for the door, only to fall into oblivion's sudden embrace.
   Everyone in the inn was staring at Ryouga, who had clotheslined Ranma, almost reflexively, before he could flee the inn.  Well, all except Akane who had realized the source of Ranma's scream and quickly grabbed Scratch, only to unceremoniously toss him out of the inn through one of the windows, ignoring the cat's irritated yowl.
   She sighed in relief once the feline was outside.  *Kami-sama protect us,* she thought.  *I don't know what would have happened if that stupid cat had activated the Neko-ken.*  As she turned back towards the crowd, she noticed that Mistress al'Vere was scowling at her.  The others in the room were just looking at her oddly.  Between Ranma's scream and her behavior, she guessed they had a right to.
   No one took notice of Mat and Perrin bursting in through the inn's door, both looking fairly frazzled.
   "What happened?" Mat said breathlessly, "We heard a scream and Perrin got Scratch thrown at him!"
   Perrin merely scowled.  His nerves had been shot to hell for the evening.  First the Trolloc attacks on the forge, then all that talk about outsider channelers (he had put that off as Coplin talk, though), and then, just as he and Mat were coming alongside the Winespring Inn, that horrible scream.  They had only had time to stare at the inn in shock when the blacksmith apprentice had received a face full of angry cat thrown at him from one of the windows. Scratch had taken the time to properly express his displeasure on his face before leaving.  Perrin now bore several bright red scratches on his cheeks and forehead.
   Both young men, however, stopped when they realized no one was paying any attention to them.
   "Akane!" the older woman said in a clipped tone.  "Please explain why you just threw our cat out the window like a bucket of wash water?"
   Perrin frowned.  _She_ was the one who had thrown Scratch?
   Akane was about to answer when they heard people stampeding down the stairs.  Everyone turned in time to see Lan jump the last few steps, Rand closely behind him and both with their swords drawn.  The effect was much dramatic on Lan, of course.
   Lan immediately scanned the common room and frowned, the only thing he could find amiss being Ranma laid out on the ground at the Hibiki boy's feet.  "Who screamed and what just happened?" he asked roughly.
   Everyone turned to look at Akane, who felt just a tiny little bit intimidated by all the attention directed towards her.  "Um..  It's a long story..." she hedged.
   "Tell it anyway!" snapped Ukyou, who was being helped to her feet by Bran.  "Since when does Ranchan freak out like that?"
   Akane sighed.  "It's all his stupid father's fault.  You see, when Ranma was around ten years old..."  And so Akane went on, describing the Neko-ken training in all its glory, keeping the attention of everyone in the room, until the very end.  "And since then, any time he sees a cat, he completely freaks out.  He can't do anything about it since the fear is too deep inside him."  She chose not to add the part about Ranma acting like a cat when he entered the Neko-ken.  It was too humiliating.
   The room was silent.
   Until Ukyou spoke.
   "I...  will... KILL GENMA SAOTOME!!!" she screamed in anger.  "Why did that stupid bastard do that to Ranchan when he knew it was going to turn him insane?"
   Akane winced.  "Actually, he noticed the warning after the first time he tossed Ranma to the cats, but he thought he could cure Ranma of his fear by repeating the process.  Needless to say, it didn't really help."
   Ukyou was now livid.  Ryouga, on the other hand, was wincing and looking at Ranma with something that was abnormally close to pity. He he already knew of Ranam's ailurophobia, but even then...
   "Light!" Mat said faintly, looking at Ranma.  "Ten years old?"
   Perrin looked sick.  "His father passed that off as... training? More like torture if you ask me..."
   Marin was staring at Ranma's unconscious form.  "Why did they let that... that torturer do such a thing?...  Wouldn't anyone step up and stop this nonsense?  What about his mother?  Where was she?"
   Akane looked a bit sad, perhaps because she was reminded of her own mother.  "Uncle Genma signed a pact that stated that if Ranma did not return to Nodoka as a man among men, he and Ranma would perform seppuku."
   Ukyou blanched, realizing what that meant with the curse.  Ryouga winced again, absently rubbing his neck this time.  _This_ little tidbit was a new one.
   "Seppuku?  What is that?" inquired Lan.  The Warder had resheathed his sword and was now looking at Ranma curiously.  Or at least as far as curiosity could show itself on his stony features.
   "Honorable suicide," answered Akane uneasily. "It would be the only way for his family to keep its honor."  She chose to omit the description, as the native audience seemed shocked enough.  *Well, maybe except for that Lan guy,* she thought.  *He looks about as emotional as a dead rock.*
   Rand was the first to come to his senses.  "Are you telling us Ranma would have to kill himself based on a promise he made when he was younger than five?  But that's...  that's mad!  What kind of mother would allow that?"
   Akane shrugged uncomfortably.  "His, I guess.  Nodoka, that's her name, came to our house once to look for Ranma and Uncle Genma, since our fathers trained together when they were younger.  I thought she looked pretty serious when she said she'd kill Ranma if he didn't meet up to her standards."
   This time, it was Thom who spoke up.  "Are cats very common where you come from?" he asked curiously.
   Akane blinked at the non-sequitur.  "Not anymore so than here I suppose, why?"
   "Would it be too hard simply to keep cats out of sight?  I mean, aside from that... fear, he seemed pretty much normal before."  He paused.  "That is, if you discount his other peculiar abilities."
   "He got that strong because of his training," Ukyou shot back. "His Ki abilities have _nothing_ to do with that One Power you people fear so much!"
   "I am no Aes Sedai, child," answered Thom calmly, "but I do know enough of the One Power to agree with you on that."
   "I came to the very same conclusion, Master Merrilin, but I am curious and would like to hear how _you_ came to it," came a tired voice from the stairs.
   Rand whipped around and saw Moiraine slowly coming down the steps. Lan was already going to her.  "Moiraine Sedai!  My father...  Is he...?"
   The Aes Sedai gave a tired smile.  "He will live without any problems.  I removed the taint from his body.  It was a close thing, though.  He will need rest for the next week," she said, looking at Marin when she said so.  The woman nodded, almost eagerly.  Moiraine turned back towards Thom Merrilin, darting a quick glance at Mat and Perrin.  She took a slow, deep breath.  "I await your answer, Master Merrilin."
   The gleeman shrugged, his multicolored patched cloak sliding over his shoulders as he did so.  "I was outside when the fighting happened.  I saw the two boys glow with power, this 'Ki' they call it, before they saved these two girls," he said, pointing his pipe at Akane and Ukyou.  He gave a wary glance to Moiraine.  "As I said, I make no pretense to know as much about the Power as you do, Moiraine Sedai, but I do seem to recall for a fact that if the two boys truly _had_ been channeling the Power, or at least saidin, I, nor anyone else, would have seen nothing, save for the effects."  He paused, then smiled thinly.  "That and the fact that he says you tried to shield him and failed.  That would be proof for any but the Red Ajah, I suppose."
   Moiraine looked at him for a moment, then smiled faintly.  "Mostly correct.  If it had been saidin, only another male channeler could have sensed, or seen it.  And since we all _saw_ it at the very least...  Well, I repeatedly tried to shield the boy without success and while I am no Red, I can perform a shield as well as anyone and all my tests indicate that he cannot draw saidin anymore than Lan could.  Besides, the boy is too young to channel, even if he had the spark inside him.  I believe his explanations.  I am not particularly happy to know about this 'Ki' power, but I do believe that it is a separate entity from the One Power."
   Mat and Perrin suddenly became nervous, watching Ryouga warily.
   "It's not _that_  mysterious," groused Ryouga.  "Just because you people haven't learned how to fully tap your Ki doesn't make it evil..." he trailed off when he heard Ranma groaning. Everyone else also paused as they watched the young man rise.
   "Oww..." he said, rubbing his head.  "What the hell happened?"  He looked up to see that there were a whole lot of people watching him, some warily, some with... pity?
   "Ranchan, what's the last thing you remember?" asked Ukyou, helping him to his feet.
   "Akane belting me, and then..." he bowed his head upon remembrance.  "The c-c... the thing,"  He sighed disgustedly.  "I guess everybody knows now, huh?"
   "Well," Mat hedged, "We won't hold it against you."  He paused. "Although from what Akane told us, your father sounds like he's a Light-blinded fool though."
   "Matrim Cauthon!" snapped Marin.  "Mind your language!  They may be young, but they are still guests!"
   Ranma chuckled, waving Marin's concerns away.  "It wasn't an insult, Mistress al'Vere.  I personally think he's a fat, stupid idiot most of the time."
    An embarrassed silence pervaded the room for a while.
   "I think you all need to get some sleep if you four are going to leave for Tar Valon tomorrow," suddenly announced Marin.
   Rand started as if he had just been reminded of something and quietly went upstairs.  Mat and Perrin both took that as their cue to leave the inn, which they did, but not without casting worried looks at the Nerimians.
   The Nerimians all looked at one another and shrugged.
   "I'll show you the rooms where you can stay for the night," said Bran, already walking upstairs.
   "Master al'Vere," called out Ranma.  "Not that I mind the hospitality, but why are you doing all this?  I was under the impression that most people in the village would want us gone as soon as possible."
   Bran stopped in the stairs and looked at Ranma.  "Whoever you may be and whatever you may be able to do, you did save several lives tonight, mine and my daughter Egwene's among them.  It would be downright insulting of me to toss you out after all that."
   "What will you do if the villagers become restless during the day?" asked Ryouga, who had been oddly silent until now.
   Bran's features hardened.  "I'm the mayor, boy.  If they get upset, I'll... _talk_ some sense into them."  He paused, as if considering something.  "Of course, a man can only hope that the Women's Circle will stay out of this whole affair," he murmured.
   As everyone shuffled upstairs, Moiraine looked at Lan through tired eyes.  "Come, my old friend.  We have new plans to make."

   Ranma was rudely awakened by Lan later that evening.
   "Get moving, boy!" the Warder said gruffly.  He moved away from the young martial artist and immediately began waking the other Nerimians up
   "What's wrong?" Ranma asked, quickly coming to his senses.
   "The villagers are getting restless," Lan said.  "Moiraine managed to stall most of the troublemakers during the day with the help of the villagers who are on your side, but it's all becoming undone. Best we leave as soon as possible."
   As everyone was getting ready, Ranma noticed a pile of clothes which had been left near his pack.  "What are those?" he asked the Warder.
   "Your new clothes," Lan said gruffly.  "Your clothes, or what's left of them, attract too much attention and that's precisely what we want to avoid."
   Ranma frowned.  True, his favorite red silk shirt looked like an enthusiastic five-year-old had taken a pair of scissors to it, not to mention the soot and blood stains, but still...  He gave a mental shrug.  *Oh well, I still have a spare in my pack.*  Years on the road had taught him to appreciate gifts when they were given freely.
   Soon, he was dressed in dark brown breeches and pale shirt, complete with dark cloak.  He had almost passed over the boots, but realized that his slippers would not be adequate if he was going to be walking for the next few days or even weeks and while he was used to walking barefoot, it would probably draw too much attention.

   Akane and Ukyou were waiting for him in the common room.  Their eyes widened at his new rugged look
   "Wow, Ranchan, you look..." Ukyou began, but was interrupted when the blacksmith, Haral Luhhan, burst inside the inn, looking slightly anxious.
   "Bran," he said, "You'd better get yourself outside quickly. There are a bunch of Coplins stirring up trouble in your yard."
   Indeed, those present inside the inn could hear rallying cries that were steadily picking up strength.
   "Get those channelers out of here!"
   "No Aes Sedai in Emond's Fields!"
   "It's their fault the Trollocs attacked!"
   Bran forgot all about the crowd inside the inn as he remembered what he had been about to do before Ranma woke up.  "I'll go settle this nonsense," he grumbled, heading outside, pausing along the way to pick up a wooden maul leaning against a wall.
   Moiraine looked at Rand, who was just now coming down the stairs, at Mat and Perrin and frowned slightly.  They would have to move fast.  She motioned Lan to instruct the boys into making last minute preparations.  When the Warder moved away, she looked at the Nerimians.  "We will have to leave tonight.  Gather your things and meet us at the stable.  Lan will find horses for you."  And almost immediately afterwards, she moved towards the door through which Bran had left.
   The four Nerimians just looked at one another.
   "Damn she's bossy," commented Ranma, shaking his head.
   "Yeah," said Ryouga, nodding.
   "Oh well, maybe we can ditch her once we're well on our way to Tar Valon," Ranma said with more hope than he really felt.  He turned to the two girls.  "You didn't happen to bring anything valuable when we went through that portal, did you?"
   They both shook their heads.  "No," they chorused.
   "Then go ask Mistress al'Vere if she could spare some food for the road.  Ryouga and I will go get our packs."
   As they moved towards the kitchen, the Nerimians heard a commotion outside.
   "Is that Moiraine shouting?" asked Akane uncertainly.
   Ranma blinked.  "If it is, I wanna know why.  She doesn't seem to be the type to lose her cool."  The four moved towards the inn yard entrance where Moiraine caught their attention with her story of Manetheren.  They stood bespelled, just like the other villagers who were present.  All four found themselves rather impressed by ancient kingdom's history.  Later, when the story ended, the villagers were about to leave when a Coplin saw Ranma near the door.
   "Hey!  No matter what we were before, it doesn't matter if there are male channelers like _him_ and the other one in the village!" he cried, pointing at Ranma.
   "Get rid of 'em!" another cry came up.
   "False Dragons!" another cry was heard.
   Instead of going back inside, Ranma came outside and stood on the porch, looking at the mob with a curious expression.  He looked straight at the person who had started all this.  "First of all," he said in a perfectly level tone, "I don't even look remotely like a dragon."  This received a couple of confused stares, but no more than that as he plowed on.  "Second, what I do, what we all do, isn't channeling, it's Ki."  This received an even greater of confused stares, but the crowd still didn't seem any more swayed than when he had begun.  Ranma threw up his arms in frustration, "Ah, screw it." He turned to Moraine, lowering his voice.  "They look like they believe things when you say them.  Why don't you tell'em I ain't no channeler, and neither is Ryouga."
   "Don't lie to us!" came a shout from the crowd, before Moiraine could reply.  "We all saw you throw fire around the village during the battle!  You were probably helping the Trollocs!"
   Before Ranma could respond to the accusation, another voice piped up from behind the mob.  "Don't be any more stupid than you already are, Hari!"
   The villagers in front looked at each other curiously and parted to reveal Teven al'Dai, his wife and his children, all scowling at Hari.
   "What are you talking about, Teven?" demanded Hari.  "He's a channeler - a... a Darkfriend!  If he stays, he'll destroy us all!"
   Teven snorted.  "You're a bloody fool, Hari.  Like I told almost everyone during the day, _I_ don't care if he channels or not, because if it hadn't been for his help, my two children would be dead!  He went inside my house while it was burning and found my Nel and Daysa.  Does that sound like something a Darkfriend would do?" Teven accused the other man.  "Well does it?"
   Hari was momentarily quiet, but Teven did not stop there.
   "Besides, from what I heard, both of them only fought to protect others or kill Trollocs.  They didn't hurt anyone from the village! Even the Aes Sedai flatly said that what they did wasn't channeling. She can't twist _that_ around, no matter how good she is."
   Hari spluttered for a moment.  "But Teven, you know as well as anyone that all male channelers go mad!  They broke the world!" he insisted.
   "But that's just it," Ranma interrupted in a slightly irritated tone of voice.  He was grateful for Teven's intervention, but things were back to him now.  "What we did isn't related to your fancy One Power at all!"
   Cenn Buie, who was standing at the edge of the crowd, waved a fist.  "I still think you channel the Power!  I saw you glow with it. We all did!"
   "Really?" interrupted Moiraine loudly.  "Do you really believe he channels the Power?" she asked, staring straight at Cenn.
   Cenn, now under the spotlight, could only manage a feeble nod.
   The Aes Sedai put on a thoughtful expression.  "Were you aware that no channeler from one gender can tell with their eyes when one from the other gender is channeling?  A woman can tell if another woman is channeling, but only a man can tell if another man is channeling."
    The crowd was now mostly silent.
   "That," the Aes Sedai continued, "would imply that all of you who saw him glow are channelers as well."
   _That_ produced a reaction.  Indeed, several people were now leaving the crowd, while Cenn was futilely trying to pull back inside the mass of people.
   "If you can't tell they use he Power, how do you shield False Dragons, then?" someone shouted.
   Moiarine raised an eyebrow.  "Just because we cannot tell if men can channel does _not_ mean that we do not know how to shield them when they _do_," she cooly replied.  After a pause, she continued: "What Ranma says is accurate.  Neither of the two boys uses the One Power.  I tried several tests and they all failed.  Shields do not work and they are both too young to channel even if they _had_ the spark.  They wield _a_ power but it is not _the_ Power."  She paused to let that sink in.  "And any of you who think I would let just any male channeler run loose are fools indeed."
   There were some angry mutters, but Cenn directed one last question at Ranma, who was looking fairly annoyed by now.  "All right boy," he said, "let's suppose what you say is true.  I have one last question. Why did you come to Emond's Field?  There are only four of you and you all look too young to be traveling alone, not to mention that despite everything, your arrival still coincides with that of the Trollocs."
   Ranma sounded tired.  "We... misused an artifact back where we come from and next thing we knew, we'd woken up in the forest about an hour away from here.  If we could have gotten back the same way we came, we never would have bothered you.  That's why we're going to Tar Valon.  We're hoping they'll know how to send us back home.  As for the Trollocs..." he shrugged.  "_That_ was complete coincidence, no matter what you may think.  Hell, they don't even exist where we come from.  We helped your village because that's what we martial artists do: we protect those who cannot protect themselves."  He paused then glared at Cenn.  "Even if they're old, cranky bakas like you!"
   Bran decided it was a good time to stop before any more questions could arise, not that he knew what a 'baka' was, anyway.  Most probably an insult.  "Well, that's good enough an explanation for me," he said, looking sternly at Cenn.  He then turned to Ranma. "Besides, you helped save me and my daughter, so I owe you for that at the least."
   Ranma nodded and went back inside the inn to get his pack, Ryouga behind him.  Apparently, the Lost Boy had already retrieved his own huge pack.  When they got inside, the Aes Sedai followed them almost immediately.
   Moiraine looked at Ranma for a moment, then at the three Emond's Fielders who were being herded into the stable by Lan. *Coincidence?* she thought speculatively.  She was beginning to have doubts.  She had repeatedly told villagers the same thing as often as she could when she had not been sleeping, but they had only pulled back after Ranma himself had made an appearance.  *Fools,* she thought.  *They know what a male channeler can do and they were aggravating someone who they believed to be one.  No sense at all.*
   Further musings were interrupted when Master al'Dai entered the inn.  Walking to Ranma and Ryouga, he smiled slightly.  "I'm sorry about Cenn and the others outside.  There are a lot of us in the village who believe you aren't channelers, considering all the help you gave when the Trollocs attacked.  Of course, the fact that if Moiraine Sedai is willing to back you like this helps, too," he said, knuckling his forehead at Moiraine in passing.  He looked at his hands, flexed them and chuckled.  "A power that isn't the Power, eh? The land you come from must be strange indeed."
   Ranma smiled.  "Stranger than you might think, sometimes."
   Teven smiled.  "I can imagine."  He paused, as if choosing his words, then looked at Ranma in the eye.  "How will you make your way to Tar Valon?  You do not have any horses."
   Ranma shook his head.  "We haven't covered that yet."
   The farmer took a deep breath.  "Maybe I can help.  I thought about it during the day and I have two horses I'm willing to give for repayment..."
   "Whoa...  Wait!" protested Ranma, a bit embarrassed.  "Are you really sure you wanna do that?"
   "You and your friend saved my children's lives," answered Master al'Dai simply.
   "Don't you need those horses for something?  I don't know..."
   "In that case," the Aes Sedai's smooth voice interrupted them, "I have the perfect solution."
   Ranma and Teven just looked at Moiraine curiously.
   The Aes Sedai turned to the farmer.  "Are they good, fast horses?"
   Teven nodded.  "Of course, they're among the best stock in the village.  I use them to go to Watch Hill sometimes and they never even tire from that."
   Moiraine nodded.  She took a pouch from her belt and removed a gold coin and a silver one.  "Will this be sufficient?" she asked, holding the two coins in her hand.
   Teven goggled.  "More than enough!  This is too much..."
   Moiraine shrugged.  "Then use the rest to help you rebuild your house.  Or if you need another reason, consider the rest a payment for helping to convince the crowd."
   Teven blinked and numbly took the coins.  He looked at Ranma, who gave a helpless shrug.
   "They're _your_ horses," the martial artist replied.
   Moiraine left no more time for further discussion.  "Come, Ranma, we have other things to do," she said, dragging Ranma towards the stables.
   "The Light shine on you!" Teven called out.
   "On you too!" Ranma called back.

   Moiraine and Ranma made their way to the stable where they met up with the rest of the group.  The other Nerimians, Ranma understood, but he didn't know why there were all these others present as well.
   "What are _they_ doing here?" he asked Ryouga, pointing at the others.  Mat and Perrin were saddling horses and all looked ready to leave while the innkeeper's daughter was alternating between arguing with Rand about her right to come as well and talking animatedly with Akane and Ukyou.  The gleeman was looking at the two in amusement and the Warder looked pretty irritated with the whole lot of them.
   "Apparently," Ryouga said, "they're all coming."  They watched the Aes Sedai give the Warder a few orders which ended with him leaving the stable in a hurry.  "Apparently, Moiraine insists on the three guys coming along for some reason and the girl, Egwene, I think her name is, wants to come along.  The gleeman decided to tag along because his job here is over and he doesn't want to travel alone."
   Ranma shrugged.  "Their problem, I guess."  He walked over to Akane and Ukyou.  "Did you get packs or provisions?"
   Akane nodded, pointing at two traveling packs sitting against the barn door.  "The only thing we don't have are horses, though," she said.
   Ranma shook his head.  "Won't be a problem."
   Ukyou blinked.  "What do you mean, Ranchan?"
   The barn doors suddenly swung open to reveal Lan with two fine-looking horses in tow, saddled and all.  He approached the Nerimians and handed Ranma and Ryouga the reins to one each.  "Here. These are your horses now.  Take care of them."  He frowned slightly and looked at Moiraine.  "If they have to ride two on each horse, that will slow us down considerably."
   "Not a problem," interrupted Ranma.  "Ryouga and I won't need them - we can keep up with the horses on foot."  Ryouga frowned at the statement, but did not reply.  Akane and Ukyou looked a bit worried.
   Perrin turned his horse around, looking at them.  "You really think you can outrun a horse on foot?" he asked incredulously.
   "Outrun?  Maybe.  Run down?  Hell yes!" Ranma laughed.  "You wouldn't believe how easy that can be when you're in proper shape. Horses don't have as much stamina as a _really_ fit person.  Besides, Ryouga wanders on foot all the time and I'm sure a little run is nothing to him, ne, Ryouga?" he said jovially, elbowing the other martial artist.
   Ryouga merely frowned at Ranma.  "I can keep up with horses, I've done it before," he said slowly.  He suddenly smirked.  "Ranma's a lot weaker than me, though.  He'll probably get tired after the first mile or so."
   Ranma frowned.  "I swam the whole way between Japan and China, piggy.  Don't underestimate me."  He grinned.  "Besides, I'm the wild horse in this group, remember?"
   Akane and Ukyou giggled at that.
   "What's so funny?" Mat asked curiously.  He was still very wary of the two, even if he had heard some of the explanations and Moiraine's statement about none of them being channelers.  He didn't really believe either of the two could run down a horse, though.
   "It's just that in our language, 'Ranma' more or less translates as 'wild horse'," Ukyou explained.
   Mat nodded uncertainly.  "Ah, I see..."  He didn't, of course, but Mat had a certain talent for faking things like that.
   "Do the girls have any previous riding experience?" Lan asked quickly.  He was sitting on top of his own horse, a large, black stallion.
   Akane and Ukyou both shifted uncomfortably while Ranma and Ryouga tied the girls' packs to their horses' saddles.
   "I rode a horse a couple of times when I was younger," Akane offered.  Actually, most of those times had been pony rides, but she didn't want to lose face in front of Ranma or Ukyou.
   Ukyou winced.  "I rode twice before."  She didn't add that she had been thrown off one of those times and that she wasn't all that happy at the prospect of riding another horse.
   The Aes Sedai spoke swiftly: "Then you will have learn again quickly."  She turned to Ranma and Ryouga.  "Can you really keep up? We will be moving at a gallop at times."  Behind her, Akane and Ukyou winced.
   Ranma smirked.  "We'll see, won't we?"
   Moiraine nodded.  "We shall."
   Surprisingly, both Akane and Ukyou managed to get on their horses without falling or otherwise attract undue attention to them, though Ukyou had to attach the spatula on her horse's side harness, since it would not fit right on her back.  A few minutes later, the whole group was well on its way out of Emond's Field and into the waiting darkness.

   The ride out of the village was at full gallop, pressing Ranma and Ryouga hard.  After making sure that Ukyou and Akane were all right and could ride without falling, the two martial artists sped up and were soon running at full speed in order to keep up with the lead horses.  Ranma was hanging just behind Ryouga to make sure that the Lost Boy did not live up to his name.
   Moiraine in particular was impressed.  Ranma and Ryouga were both wearing packs, and yet were able to keep up with horses at full gallop.  At this distance, she could still feel that annoying echo-like buzz which accompanied their increase in Ki levels.  A thought suddenly came to her.  "Ranma!" she called out.
   "Yeah?" asked Ranma, adjusting his speed so that he would be running at the same speed as Aldieb.
   "You must remember to be very discreet in your use of Ki.  Most people will not be nearly as understanding as those villagers were and we cannot afford for you or your friends to attract too much attention," she said warningly.
   Ranma almost shrugged.  *She calls what happened back there 'understanding?* he wondered.  "If you say so...  Now if you don't mind, _I've_ got a couple of questions."
   Moiraine looked at him.  "Which are?"
   "Why are we running off like this?  And why did you bring those other villagers with us?  I thought they just wanted to come, but the way they're all grumbling, I don't think they wanted to come in the first place."
   Moiraine looked at him for a moment.  *He will find out from the other boys anyway,* she thought.  "We are running away because I do not want to give the Shadowspawn that are probably following us a chance to catch us," she said carefully.  "And I brought the boys because _they_ were the true targets of the Trolloc attacks.  I am bringing them to Tar Valon for their own safety."
   Ranma frowned.  "As much as I hate killing, if there are more Trollocs, why don't we just stop and take care of them?  Between me, Ryouga, you and your Warder, we could probably take care of the whole lot."
   "It is not that simple," Moiraine countered.  "There are types of Shadowspawn other than Trollocs, each far more dangerous than Trollocs in its own way."
   "And those are...?" asked Ranma.
   "There are at least one Myrddraal and one Draghkar following us, along with more Trollocs."
   "Yeah, but what do they look like?" Ranma insisted.  "If they're that dangerous, I wanna know what I might end up fighting."
   "I'm not sure even _you_ would be able to take on a Myrddraal or a Draghkar barehanded," said Lan suddenly from his saddle.  "They are powerful opponents."
   Ranma sped up until he was running alongside Mandarb.  "Whaddya mean?  What's so special about them?"  He remembered Thom's comments about 'Halfman' meaning the same thing as Myrddraal.  What?  Did those things change sex or something?
   "Even though Halfmen have no eyes, they see better than most men and their eyeless gaze can strike fear in the bravest man's heart if you look at them.  If you're not prepared, a Myrddraal can take your life in an instant - they are quick as a viper and a hundred times more dangerous.  Their swords can cause death from a single scratch if the wound is not healed quickly enough."
   Ranma blinked and shook his head.  "You got damn weird monsters around here.  Thanks for the info, though.  What about the Draghkar? What's it do?"
   Lan frowned.  "Draghkars are flying creatures, but unlike Myrddraal, they won't attack you directly.  At least, not the way Trollocs or Myrddraal would."
   "What do they do, then?" asked Ranma, puzzled.
   "They croon," answered the Warder.  "They put you into a trance and then devour your soul."
   Ranma stared at Lan, nearly tripping over his own two feet.  "They _what?_"
   "You heard me, boy.  Draghkars drink the souls of their victims before they kill them.  Even if the attack is only partially successful, the victim is never the same afterwards, so watch out and stay as far away from them as you can."
   "Why doesn't Moiraine simply fry them with a fireball from a distance?"
   "Because," came the voice from the Aes Sedai behind them, "I cannot channel precisely enough while sitting on a galloping horse. Especially not that far away."
   "I could go into the trees and Ki-blast it from a distance," offered Ranma.
   Moiraine shook her head.  "It would not work.  You told me your Ki strikes are like great fists of air, did you not?"
   "Well, most of them are.  Why?"
   *_Most_ of them?* wondered Moiraine.  "The Draghkar would have to be killed instantly.  If not, you will lose your life.  Draghkar do not give second chances."
   Ranma's expression darkened.  "I like this world better and better all the time," he said sarcastically.  "Maybe I could get rid of it with a Hiryuu Shouten Ha," he mused.
   Moiraine glanced at him curiously.  "A what?" she asked.
   "Another one of my techniques," Ranma said.  Before the Aes Sedai could ask anymore questions, Ranma slowed down just a bit until he was level with Akane and Ukyou's horses.  The only ones behind them were the gleeman and Rand.
   "Are you two okay?" he asked them.
   "Sure," said Akane, muttering through clenched teeth.  She would not admit that she barely had any control over the horse.  This was definitely different than with a pony.  The only thing that did not make her annoyed was that the horse was very well-behaved, a fact she was tremendously happy about.
   Ukyou was not really having an easier time, but she seemed to be learning quite fast.  Aside from a tendency to hug the reins a bit too much, that is.
   The group crested the top of a hill and suddenly found themselves near another village. Lan motioned for everyone to stop, something for which Ranma and Ryouga were silently grateful for.
   "Are we stopping here?" asked Ranma, suddenly noticing the cold aroundthem.
   "No," answered Moiraine.  "We will be leaving again in a few moments."
   "But what about the horses, Moiraine Sedai?" protested Rand. "We'll run them to death if we keep going like this!"
   "What about us?" muttered Ryouga from behind Perrin.
   "I will do something about that," answered Moiraine, moving from horse to horse.
    While Moiraine was tending to the horses, Ranma turned to Mat, smirking.  "Told you we could keep up."
   Mat looked uncomfortable.  "Well, you did, but..." he trailed off.
   "But you still think I channel, don't you?" said Ranma, shaking his head.  He tried to ignore the sweat that was freezing on his skin.  He suddenly stiffened.  Sweat?  Cold air?  *Oh, man!  I hope it doesn't trigger the curse!* he thought frantically.  The tingle that accompanied the curse did not make its presence known, so Ranma calmed down.
   All of a sudden, Moiraine was besides him, putting her hands on his shoulders.  "Hey!  What are you doing!" he protested.
   "Be quiet," the Aes Sedai said softly.
   Ranma felt all his tiredness and aches drain out of him like water out of faucet.  His eyes widened.  "What... did you just do?" he asked uncertainly, flexing his hands.  It was as if he'd just woken up, all rested and fine.
   "I took what little weariness you had away, just as I took the horses'.  We still have hard riding ahead," she said, sounding a bit tired herself.  *Both of the boys have amazing endurance,* she thought.  *They very nearly did not need my touch.*  Moiraine then looked at Akane, who seemed to be in a bit of daze and muttered to herself softly.  Ranma only heard a small bit: "...not right at all..."
   Ranma was about to ask something else when his danger sense flared.  "Something's approaching!" he hissed loudly.
   His warning was too late as a scream that could have frozen molten lava ripped the silent night apart.  All the horses, save Lan's and Moiraine's, buckled and tried to throw their riders.  Ranma took a step back as a bat-winged _something_ flew down to their level, coming far too close for comfort.  A soon as 'it' had passed overhead, Ranma and Ryouga cursed in unison, spun around, each with a rock in his hand.  They threw it in the darkness and were rewarded by a pained shriek.
   Lan raised an eyebrow.
   "What the HELL was that?!" snarled Ranma.
   "_That_ was the Draghkar," said Moiraine, her composure a bit less sure.  "It has probably already reported our position to the Myrddraal.  We must reach the Taren quickly now!  We must go!"
   After making sure that both Akane and Ukyou were all right, Ranma went to see Ryouga.
   "Hey, man, you okay?" Ranma asked his fellow martial artist.
   Ryouga' eyes were tight.  "Akane-san is all right, yes?"
   Ranma nodded affirmatively.  "They both managed to hold onto their horses.  She and Ucchan were a bit scared and rattled, but then again, everyone was... except maybe Moiraine and Lan.  And me, of course," he finished with a smirk.
   Ryouga didn't smile.  "Next time I see the thing, I'm taking it apart," he growled.
   Ranma sighed.  "You might wanna know some details about it first..."

   A few moments later, everyone was once again riding towards Taren Ferry.  They finally reached it without encountering the Draghkar again.  Ranma hoped it had given up after being injured, but did not want to bet any money on that.  When they reached the ferry itself, Ranma noticed that Lan was signing the other ones to show their weapons, but not to be too obvious about it.
   Ranma smirked.  Intimidation?  When he saw Master Hightower's shifty attitude, Ranma decided that the Warder had judged the man's attitude accurately - he didn't trust the man either.  Ranma then decided to try something.  He used the cloak to cover his entire body, leaving only the head uncovered.  When Hightower looked at him, he merely smirked and tried to radiate as much confidence as he could without showing an aura.  He smirked mentally when he saw Hightower hesitate when he looked at him.  When Hightower had left to rouse his helpers, Ranma turned to Ryouga.
   "We'll have to try and put ourselves in the middle of the ferry," he whispered to Ryouga.  "I don't think you're any more eager than I am to show your curse, uh?"
   Ryouga only scowled at him.
   Ranma shook his head.

   A while later, the gang was on the other side of the river, staring at the spot where the Aes Sedai had unofficially admitted to sinking the ferry.  The rope that was used to guide the ferry across was still intact, however.  As a surprise twist of fate, both Jusenkyou victims had made it across without getting wet.
   Looking one last time at the river, Ranma shook his head. *Geez...  Moiraine must be damn worried if she's willing to go that far.*  He looked in the direction Hightower and his men had fled and shook his head again.  Suddenly, just as they were about to resume their ride, the Draghkar and its agonizing cry made their presence known.
   "We must leave before the Draghkar finds us!" Moiraine urged.
   Ranma only scowled.  "Not happening," he said curtly.
   "Ranma!"
   "Ranchan!"
   Moiraine looked at him coolly.  "Are you so eager to see how deadly a Draghkar really is?"
   "Why don't we just get rid of it instead of lettin' it follow us around like this?  I'm surprised you haven't tried to kill it yourself yet."
   "Eager to kill again, boy?" asked Lan dryly.
   Ranma shot him a venomous look.  "Shut up!  That thing definitely _ain't_ human and it's already tried to kill us.  I'm willing to make a deal with my conscience this time," he finished sarcastically. *Especially if it means protecting Akane and Ucchan!*
   "Disposing of a Draghkar is considerably more dangerous than you believe.  I will not confront it directly if I can help it," Moiraine replied evenly.  "Besides," she added, "the fog I created over the river will fool it long enough for us to leave it behind.  It will think we have escaped downriver"
   The Draghkar's cry was heard again, almost as if to contradict the Aes Sedai.
   Moiraine's eyes widened in surprise.  "It's coming back this way?  Why?"
   *Probably coming after for me for revenge, just like everyone else in my life,* thought Ranma morosely.
   "We must leave, now!" the Warder said warningly.
   As the others began to line up their horses, Ranma frowned, thinking about what Moiraine had told him about the Draghkar.  *What if...?* he wondered, then it hit him.  "I'm staying here to get rid of it," he announced.  "It's going to follow us to hell and back and I think I know why, now."
   Moiraine looked at him angrily.  "Your Ki projectiles are not sufficient and killing it on this side of the river will only serve to lead the Myrddraal to us!"
   Ranma looked at the rope which hung over the river.  "Then we get rid of it _over_ the river," he said flatly.  "The current'll take care of the body."
   "Ah, Ranma, the ferry's... gone," said Rand, worry in his voice. "We can't go back across the river."
   Ranma raised an eyebrow.  "Who said anything about needing the ferry?"  He then picked up a few large rocks, and despite the protests, headed towards the river.
   "Ranma!" Akane protested.  "You'll get killed!"
   "Ranchan!" Ukyou pleaded.  "Don't do anything stupid!  Let's just go!"
   Ranma turned to both girls.  "Don't you get it?  I'm doing this to protect _you_!"
   Both girls blushed a little, each thinking that the comment had been meant for her alone.
   Ranma used the time to jump on the the ferry's rope.  He ignored the gasps of surprise that came from the small group when he began running until he was in the middle of the river.  *Have to be careful!* he thought.  *Stupid rope's so damp it's getting slippery and these damn boots I'm wearing aren't helping either.*  The last thing he wanted to do was take a swim in the river right now...
   He looked at the sky, trying to find the Draghkar and couldn't. But if his theory was right, however...  He let his Ki aura flare brightly, making him easily visible even from the shore.  The Draghkar's shrill cry pierced the night almost immediately.  Ranma smiled.  *I was right!* he thought triumphantly, trying not to make the rope he was standing on wiggle so much.  Soon, Ranma could hear the sound of wings flapping in the dark.  Ranma steadied himself and took one of the rocks he was carrying.  He wasn't about to try and wrestle the thing into submission.  If its cry was that bad at a distance, he didn't want to hear it at point-blank range.  A wandering part of his mind wondered why the Warder called that inhuman shriek 'crooning'...
   As soon as felt that the Draghkar was under a hundred paces away, Ranma threw one of the rocks at it as fast as he could.  Nothing. *Must've missed,* he mused.  He was about to throw a second rock when the Draghkar shrieked again.  Ranma nearly lost his balance from the shock.  That had frozen the blood in his veins.  He shook it off and snarled in defiance, throwing a second rock in the direction of the shriek at full strength.  This time, there was a faint popping sound and the faint moonlight was enough for him to see the Draghkar's body jerk and fall into the river like... a rock.
   Ranma shuddered in disgust when he realized just what he had done and his aura winked out.  *Well, that's over, at least.* he thought. He was walking back to the edge of the river when he heard a splintering sound coming from the other side of the river and felt the rope under him slacken.  He shot a quick look behind him and confirmed the origin of the sound.  For some reason, the wooden post that held the rope on the other side was splintering apart.  Ranma's reaction was almost instantaneous.  He looked up and saw some branches overlooking the river and jumped for them, barely making it before the rope fell in the river.  Looking at the raging waters below, he sighed in relief.  *Almost took a dip,* he thought.  He took a breath and swung himself back up on the branch, which began cracking.  Ranma's eyes widened in shock and he barely managed to jump back to the shore before the branch fell in the river.
   Ranma stared at the river.  *I don't get it,* he wondered, puzzled.  *In Nerima, I would have fallen in the river...  Hell, I would have been splashed a dozen times by now, but I haven't gotten wet a single time since we got here.*  He smiled to himself.  *Might as well enjoy this while it lasts.  I don't wanna have to explain the curse to these people.*

   A few minutes before that, everyone except the Nerimans on the river bank had watched in slack-jawed surprise as Ranma simply jumped on the rope and nearly ran until he was halfway across the river, his cloak flapping behind him.
   "Light!" exclaimed Perrin.  "How can he possibly _run_ on that rope?"
   "Burn me!" whispered Mat.
   Rand and Egwene just stared.
   Thom was thinking that with an acrobat like that boy, he wouldn't have to work nearly so hard to make his way... then promptly berated himself for thinking so.
   Moiraine sniffed in vexation.  The boy was going to give them all to the Draghkar.  She thought about just burning the rope, let the boy fall into the river and allow him to drown (she did not believe he could swim back with this current), but she remembered how the two boys and the girls had fought in the village.  They might resent her actions and prove to be dangerous.
   When Ranma began glowing, Moiraine felt the faint "echo" of saidar return.  "What is he doing?!" she nearly hissed.  "He will lead the Draghkar right to us!"
   "I think I know _why_ he's doing it, but I'm not absolutely sure," said Ryouga from where he was standing.  He wanted a piece of that thing, but there was no way he was going to try and fight on a tightrope over a river in the dark.  Let Ranma take the risks for that one.
   Moiraine turned to him.  "What do you mean?" she demanded, missing Ranma's first throw.  Besides her, the Two Rivers boys were discussing the sight with rare intensity.
   Ryouga was about to reply when the Draghkar shrieked again, this time very close.
   Moiraine's eyes snapped back to Ranma instantly.  She saw him wobble on the rope, almost losing his footing, only to get it back and throw a rock at the approaching shape.  *Does he think he can slay a Draghkar that way?  Fool boy!*
   She hid her surprise when she saw the Draghkar's broken body fall into the river.  And the boy hadn't used his Ki for projectiles, either.  He had only raised his aura.  *So that is what he meant by increased strength.  It would appear that the boy is more resourceful than I thought.  I underestimated him,* she thought self-recriminatingly.  *I must not make the mistake again.*  She was not too surprised when she saw the boy grab the branch with a jump that should be impossible for most people and then jump back to shore.
  "Now that we are finished here," she announced calmly, "let us see what Lan has for us."

   Soon, the group was riding again, but at a much milder pace this time, Ranma easily keeping up with Moiraine's mare, with Ryouga on the other side.  Ranma tried to read Moiraine's intentions, but discovered that the Aes Sedai had one of the best poker faces he had ever seen.  He could, however, sense the stares of all the others behind him.  Oddly enough, it was only a few short minutes before Lan made a stopping gesture.
   The were now at the base of group of tall trees, some of them collapsed, which made for an excellent natural shelter for the night. Moiraine waited until Lan checked if everything was safe, then motioned Ranma and Ryouga to enter the shelter.  There was already a small fire burning inside.  As Moiraine settled herself, Ranma heard the voices outside pick up strength, only for the Warder to tell them to settle the horses and go inside the shelter. Egwene was the first to enter, followed by Akane and Ukyou, who made sure that everyone knew they were so sore that they would never ride a horse again if their lives depended on it.  Lan almost cracked a smile when he told them it would get easier after a month or so, to which Akane and Ukyou groaned defeatedly.  Once everyone was inside the shelter, they found Ranma having a staring match with the Aes Sedai while Ryouga was warming himself to the fire.  When everyone settled down inside, Ranma broke the silence.
   "You're good," he said, smirking.
   The Aes Sedai raised an eyebrow.  "If you are willing to make jokes, then perhaps you would not mind explaining why you felt the need to confront the Draghkar the way you did?"
   Ranma grimaced.  "I got rid of it because it would have followed us no matter what you did."
   "Oh?  And how do you know that?" the Aes Sedai asked coolly.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Simple.  You and Lan gave me the answer."
   Moiraine's eyes tightened slightly.  "What do you mean?"
   "You said Draghkars eat people's souls, right?" asked Ranma.  When he received a nod from the Aes Sedai, he continued: "So what if they can, I dunno, 'smell' souls?  Remember what I said about Ki?  It's an extension of the soul.  I'd bet almost anything that the Draghkar was homing on either me or Ryouga, because our Ki is so much greater than any of the others'.  When I flared my aura at the river, the Draghkar homed in on me almost instantly."
   "Why did you choose to use rocks instead of using your Ki?" inquired the Aes Sedai.
   "You said there were more of them pursuing us, right?  If I miss with a rock, it doesn't attract quite as much attention as a missed Ki-blast can."
   There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, after which Lan began making tea.  After a few more quiet moments, Moiraine shook her head.  "Just don't do it again."
   Ranma looked a bit annoyed, but Moiraine forestalled any further protests by turning towards Akane, Egwene and Ukyou.  "You three come with me.  We have some things to discuss."
   "Like what?" asked Ukyou, frowning a bit as they moved to the side of the shelter.
   Moiraine looked at her silently for a moment.  "You said there are no channelers where you come from, did you not?"
   Ukyou shrugged uncomfortably.  "If there are, we've never seen or heard of them.  What's that got to do with anything?"
   "Do you know of people who who have lived very long?" asked the Aes Sedai.
   Ukyou glanced at Akane, who gave a slight shrug.  "Well, I suppose there's Cologne and Happosai who are pretty old."
   "Assuming she didn't lie to Ranma, Cologne would probably be over a hundred years old at the very least," supplied Akane.  "And she's still a better fighter than Ranma."
   "She is a physical fighter?" asked Moiraine curiously.
   Akane nodded.  "She's the matriarch of the Joketsuzoku, a tribe of warriors."
   "So what's this all have to do with channeling?" asked Ukyou impatiently.
   Moiraine looked at the three girls, then focused on Ukyou.  "Both you and Egwene have the spark inside you."  Ukyou blinked in confusion and Egwene's eyes widened in surprise.
   "What spark?" asked the okonomiyaki chef.
   "The channeling spark.  You are one of the few people will eventually channel whether you want to or not.  I will not let you take the risk of..."
   "Whoa! Hold it!" Ukyou interrupted.  "How can I channel?  The One Power doesn't exist back home!"
   Moiraine smiled condescendingly.  "Just because you do not see it in action does not mean it is not there," she chided.  "Though I am beginning to understand why you think so.  You see, some people can learn to channel the One Power while others have the spark inside them.  They eventually channel whether they want to or not.  The problem is that only one out of four women who have the spark can can achieve some sort of control without killing herself.  This is probably what happens on... your world.  Since there is no one to teach the younger ones, the mortality rate among young channelers must be very high."
   Ukyou's eyes were fairly wide at that point.  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
   "But what about those who survive?" asked Akane.  "Why haven't we heard of them?"
   Moiraine shrugged.  "Wilders often do not realize what they're doing," she said.  "They probably do not know that they are using the Power."
   "So what's that have to do with me?" asked Akane, taking advantage of the pause in the conversation.  "Can I channel too?"
   Moiraine looked at Akane and shook her head.  "You do not have the spark, but there is something truly odd about you."
   Akane blinked while Ukyou and Egwene looked at her oddly.  "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.
   Moiraine kept looking at her, unruffled by her outburst.  "Strange things sometimes happen when I touch you with the Power.  The worst time was when I rid you of your fatigue a while ago.  As soon as my weaves touched you,  they grew much stronger, almost like when I use my angreal," she said, indicating the pouch where the little statue rested at her waist.  "There were other times when nothing at all happened as well.  I want you here because listening to the explanation might help in some way."
   Akane frowned.  "Is that why I felt almost drunk for a few minutes that time with the horses?"
   Moiraine nodded.  "Probably."
   "So why did that happen?" asked Ukyou.
   The Aes Sedai shook her head.  "I do not know.  That is why I am wary of your condition: I have never heard of anything like this happening before."
    Akane suddenly became nervous.  "Am I sick or something?"
   Moiraine shook her head.  "Not as far as I can tell, though a Yellow sister would have to examine you to be sure, as my Talent in healing is somewhat limited."
   "A Yellow sister?" the three girls chorused questioningly.
   Had she not been Aes Sedai, Moiraine would have sighed.  This was going to take a while.

   Meanwhile, on the other side of the shelter, Ranma was about to try and pump Lan more information about the land in general when Perrin asked the martial artist a question that had been on the blacksmith apprentice's mind from some time now.
   "You said that anyone can use this 'Ki', right?" the stocky youth asked.
   Ranma nodded, bored.
   "So why doesn't anyone do it?" Perrin asked simply.
   Ranma thought about it.  *How can I explain that?...*  He thought a bit more and nodded to himself.  He pointed to the Warder.  "Take him, for example.  He doesn't throw Ki around because he doesn't know _how_," Ranma explained.  "Physical exercise ain't enough.  It's part of it, but not all.  There's a balance that has to be reached.  The body and the mind must be in complete harmony to be able to truly tap your Ki.  That's a _lot_ harder to do than you might think.  Lan's probably about as near as you can get without specially training for it.  He's got more Ki than most people here, but it's just sittin' there, so to speak.  All he needs is the final push and he'd be able to enhance his current techniques with Ki.  Ki-blasts, though, are on a whole other level, so that'd take even _more_ time."  Ranma paused for a second.  "Unfortunately, everyone has to find their _own_ trigger for that final push.  Anyone can do it if they work at it hard enough."  He paused to think a bit and shook his head.
   "That's why it's stupid to think Ryouga and I are gonna go mad from usin' our Ki.  Think of Ki as the physical manifestation of your soul, of your life-force.  When you use Ki, you use your life.  You can't go mad from that - it'd be like going mad because you breathe air or drink water.  Ki is a part of you: the only way to not use it at all would be to kill yourself."   When he saw he had the group's attention, he added:  "In a way, the problem here is that knowledge of Ki techniques doesn't exist, so people don't realize it's possible.  There might even be some people who accidentally became able of doing what Ryouga and I can do and were run off or killed because others thought it was channeling.  Which it ain't."
   Perrin and Rand found themselves nodding, but Mat frowned.
  "Wouldn't you...  err...  run out of life after a while?"  Mat asked confusedly.
   Ranma sighed.  *This is gonna be a loooong night.*  He thought a bit about it.  "Ki's a lot like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the bigger it becomes.  If you happen to drain too much of your Ki, it's like a muscle strain.  It hurts for a while, but the muscle eventually recovers.  With Ki, you'll usually faint if you drain it too much, but you'll recover."
   Mat nodded slowly.
   Seeing that he had answered the question satisfactorily, Ranma turned back to Lan, but the Warder asked his question first.
   "So you're telling me that you could teach anyone how to use their Ki?" Lan asked curiously.
   Ranma half-nodded.  "Almost anyone.  You _do_ need to be in decently good shape after all..."
   The Warder nodded imperceptibly.
   Ranma looked at Lan curiously.  "Actually, I'm a bit surprised you don't show a battle aura when you fight.  You certainly have the discipline and enough Ki for it."
   Lan seemed unfazed by Ranma's statement.  "A battle aura is this... glow that surrounds you?"
   Ranma nodded.  "Yeah.  I wonder why..." he trailed off, creasing his eyebrows.  The way the Warder moved indicated that Lan obviously knew his body well and discipline did not seem to be something he lacked.  That left emotions.  A thought came to him.  "Do you have a mental discipline when you fight?"
 "Do you have a mental discipline when you fight?"
   Lan cocked his head slightly, raising an eyebrow.  "Mental discipline?" he said blandly.
  Ranma winced.  "What I mean is do you use emotions in battle, or do you shut them out?"
   Lan paused for a few seconds before telling him about the Void and how he used it to concentrate in battle.
   Ranma smiled when the Warder finished his explanation.  "So, basically, you're emotionless when you fight, right?"
   Lan nodded.  "Yes.  I feed all my emotions into a flame and surround myself in a core of emptiness."
   Ranma nodded slowly.  *Sounds like the Soul of Ice,* he thought. "Interesting technique...  Is it very widespread?"
   Lan thought about it.  "Most of the better swordsmen I know use this technique," he said after a while.
   Ranma nodded again.  "That technique is probably also why you've never shown an aura."
   "What do you mean?" the Warder asked curiously.
   "That Void technique sounds a lot like a technique I use sometimes, the Soul of Ice.  I use it in a few of my moves, but most of my style is done _without_ the Soul of Ice.  Heh, now I think I know what the problem is, here.  Techniques like the Void work at hiding Ki, not on enhancing it."
   "Hiding it?"
   Ranma nodded.  "Sure," he said.  Seeing the Warder's doubting expression, he tried another track.  "Look, are you any good at sneaking on people?"
   The Warder smiled thinly, but said nothing.
    Ranma rolled his eyes.  "Okay, I'll take that as a yes.  Didn't you ever wonder how you can sometimes sneak around without being noticed even though you're so big and anyone with half a brain who takes a good look at you can tell you're damn dangerous?"
   Lan looked intrigued, but motioned for Ranma to continue.
   "You're hiding your Ki," Ranma explained.  "When you try to sneak around, you unconsciously try to hide your Ki.  That Void technique helps you reach that state."
   Lan nodded slowly.  "You said Ki is a measure of your... life-force.  If you hide it, you hide your presence, yes?" he asked.
   Ranma nodded happily.  "Exactly!  You understand!"
   Lan indicated his cloak.  "What about this, then?"
   Ranma dismissed the fancloth cloak with a wave.  "It's a crutch. A useful one, yes, but still a crutch.  If you were a _true_ master at hiding your Ki, you could hide in plain sight, literally.  You could stand in front of someone and they wouldn't notice you."
   The last statement caused Lan to frown.  *That sounds a lot like a Gray Man's method of attack.*  He thought more about it, then realized that with Ranma's earlier explanations, an idea behind a Gray Man's abilities suddenly became that much clearer.  *They must hide their Ki,* the Warder thought.  *That must be why we can't notice them - no soul, no will.  They may not even _have_ to work at hiding it...  Hide your Ki and no one notices your presence!*  He paused.  Maybe he _would_ get something useful out if the boy after all.  "Tell me then, how _do_ you notice someone who is a master at that technique?" he asked curiously.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Train so that you're better than he is.  The more you use your Ki, the more you'll be aware of it and the easier it'll be for you to sense people trying to hide their Ki."
   Lan nodded.  So, there was at least one reason why he could try to train his Ki awareness, no to mention that the increased combat skills _would_ be a very welcome bonus, too.  "So how does one train to... enhance their Ki?"
   Ranma shrugged.  "There are a couple of meditation exercises I could show you and some other things, but ideally, I'd have to spar with you first.  I'd need to know just how far along  you are right now."
   Lan nodded.  If the boy knew what he was doing, well he wouldn't mind playing student for a while.  He gestured with a hand around him.  "Not here, not tonight, though."
   Ranma shrugged.  "I don't mind.  It's too cramped in here for sparring anyway.  If you _do_ want to spar, tell me when you're ready."  He paused.  "So what else should I be aware of around here?" Ranma asked.
   Lan almost sighed.  He didn't, of course, but the look he gave Ranma said it all.  This was going to take a while.

   Meanwhile, the other group, composed of Thom, Rand, Mat and Perrin, had seemingly gotten over their reluctance to be near the other boys and were now asking Ryouga for tales of the Nerimian's homeland, in exchange for the same favour, courtesy of Thom's vast repertoire of stories.
   "Are you telling the truth?" Rand asked dubiously when Ryouga tried to describe the vastness and the technological level of Tokyo.
   Ryouga looked offended.  "Of course I am!  Why wouldn't I be?"
   "You know," the gleeman said after a while, "if what you say is true, then your homeland sounds a lot like what the Age of Legends was supposed to be."
   Ryouga blinked.  *Age of Legends?*
   "Well," Perrin said slowly, "Do you have anything with you that you could show us?"
   Ryouga thought about it, then began digging in his backpack. Thom's eyes widened when he saw Ryouga remove a long tube with a fuse from his pack and put it besides him.
   "What is this?" Thom asked with narrowed eyes, picking up the object.  He already had a sneaking suspicion, but better be safe than sorry.
   Ryouga blinked, pausing in his search.  He looked at what Thom was holding.  "That's just a firework."
   This time, Mat, Rand Perrin _and_ Thom all blinked in surprise.
   "A firework?  Let me see!" Mat said excitedly, reaching for the object.
   Thom pulled it out of Mat's immediate range.  "And let a mudfooted farmer like you kill us all because you manhandled it?  I think not." Thom began inspecting the firework more closely, ignoring Mat's sullen expression.  "Where did you get it?" he asked Ryouga, eying the colorful tube warily.  "It doesn't look like a firework the Illuminators make."
   Ryouga paused in his search.  "What's an Illuminator?"
   Thom frowned.  "They're the guild that makes fireworks.  They are supposedly the only ones to have the secret and it is a secret they guard _very_ well."  He glanced at the firework.  "Though I've never seen a firework quite like this one."
   Ryouga looked at him blankly.  "I wouldn't know about that," he finally said.  "Back home, I bought that one and a couple of others in a bargain sale."
   Thom looked shocked.  "Can just about anyone buy fireworks where you come from?  Aren't they expensive?"
   Ryouga shrugged.  "That one didn't cost much.  You can buy fireworks almost anywhere back home."
   Thom looked again at the firework and sighed.  *He has no idea how much this is worth, here.  Sad, that.*  An idea came to him.  "If they are that easy to come by, would you let me have this one?" he asked.
   Ryouga frowned and took the firework back.  "No," he said.  "It may've been cheap, but I don't have that much money."
   Thom sighed.  *Oh well, at least I tried.*
   Rand lifted a strange object that was also lying besides Ryouga. "What's this?"
   Ryouga's eyes widened slightly when he saw Rand playing with his portable stove.  "That's not important," he said, snatching the device.  *No way in hell I'm gonna try and explain that thing to them!* he thought quickly.
   Before the natives could do anything else, Ryouga found what he was looking for.  He took out a couple a postcards, and began thumbing through them.  "Here," he said, giving one to Perrin, who took it slowly.  It was one of his older and less fancy postcards of Kyoto he had never gotten around to send to anyone.  At least Ryouga _thought_ it was Kyoto.  Cities all looked alike to him.  The postcard showed a part of the city, namely a small park surrounded by skyscrapers.
   Perrin ignored the others crowding over his shoulder.  *What kind of paper is this?* he wondered, fingering the postcard.  He turned it around and there were suddenly a chorus of gasps.
   "What kind of picture _is_ this?" Rand blurted out loud, ignoring the 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' coming from around him.  It was unlike anything he had ever seen before - the details were astounding!
   "It's a postcard," said Ryouga slowly, having not quite expected such an... enthusiastic reaction.  "Look at the picture specifically."
   Mat spoke up.  "What are those grey things in the background?
   "They're office buildings."
   Thom frowned.  "What are those?" he said, pointing on the card.
   Ryouga looked.  "Those are people," he said, confused.
   Thom was the first to react.  "That can't be right!" the gleeman protested.  "If I'm interpreting the scale correctly, then those... buildings would be at _least_ several hundred feet tall!"
   Ryouga shrugged.  "I told you so. You're the ones who didn't believe me."
   Perrin rubbed a finger against the glossy finish of the postcard. "How could they draw this so precisely?  This... paper doesn't even feel like you can write on it."
   Ryouga sighed.  This was going to take a while.

   Eventually, it was Moiraine who broke the groups and told everyone to go to sleep.  Rand, Mat and Perrin protested, but the Aes Sedai countered by raising an eyebrow, which quickly reduced the number of protests to zero, by way of splutters.
   Ukyou and Akane joined Ryouga and Ranma, who were spreading their thin bedrolls on the ground.
   "So what did you guys talk about?" asked Akane.
   "This and that," Ranma said, shrugging.  "Found out a lot of useful things about this place.  It'll be handy if we want to leave these guys and go to Tar Valon on our own."
   "About that, Ranchan..." Ukyou smiled uneasily.  "You know that power Moiraine has?  Channeling?"
   "Yeah, what about it?"
   Ukyou took a deep breath.  "Apparently, I can do it too."
   Ranma blinked.  "What?" he asked dumbly.
   "She says I've got the spark for it," Ukyou explained quickly. "She also said that... um..." she halted uneasily, "that I've... got three out of four chances of dying if I'm not properly trained."
   Ranma gaped.  "What?" he hissed.
   Seeing that Ukyou was still a bit flustered, Akane took over. "Moiraine says that it's for Ukyou's own safety.  She said that women who have the spark often die if they're not trained properly.  Some sort of incurable wasting sickness that happens when the spark begins to manifest," she explained.
   "But that's impossible!" Ranma protested.  "The True Source doesn't exist back home!"
   "Moiraine is fairly sure it does," said Ukyou.  "She says that the problem is that we're simply not aware of it since there's no equivalent of the White Tower to train young channelers."  She paused.  "Egwene managed to tap into it tonight, but I couldn't." She sounded disappointed.  "Stupid concentration exercises.  All they do is help me tap my Ki, not the One Power..."
   Ranma stared at her.  After a few moments, he shook his head and turned to Akane.  "What about you?  Can you do that too?"
   Annoyance flittered through Akane's features.  "Apparently, Moiraine thinks I'm some sort of mutant, as far as the One Power is concerned."
   "Whaddya mean, 'mutant'?  Tomboy, I understand, but...  Ow!" he stopped when Akane's fist met with his face.
   "Baka," Akane said, slightly annoyed.  "She says that I react strangely to the One Power, and I believe her.  Either I disrupt the weaves or I amplify them.  Last time that happened was at the ferry when she washed the fatigue away..."
   "Are you okay?" suddenly chorused Ranma in Ryouga in concern.
   Akane blinked, then colored slightly.  "Yeah, I am, really!"
   Ukyou was about to say something, but Lan passed by them and told them to be quiet so everyone could get some sleep.
   "We'll talk tomorrow," Ranma said quickly.

   And talk they did, the following morning.  Everyone talked to each other.  Ukyou and Akane explained things further to Ranma and Ryouga, who then angrily spoke to Moiraine, who coolly deflected them. Moiraine then talked to Lan, who told the Emond's Fielders to get the horses ready.  Rand and Egwene had a shouting match, which Mat and Perrin wisely stayed out of.
   Once on the road Mat, Perrin, Rand and Thom kept badgering Ryouga about details of his homeland while Ranma kept company with Akane and Ukyou, much to Ryouga's annoyance.  When Ranma switched his attentions to Lan and Moiraine (or was it them who ordered him to run besides them?), Ukyou and Akane began talking to Egwene, to Ryouga's further annoyance.
  In short, everyone spent the day finding out what the others knew. The consequences of all this made themselves known later that day when the group stopped for the evening: the Emond's Fielders were even less intimidated by the Nerimians anymore, which pleased Moiraine somewhat, while Ranma and Ryouga now knew almost everything that Akane and Ukyou knew about the One Power, to Moiraine's slight annoyance.
   The fun began when Lan tested the Emond's Fielders' skills.  Ranma and Ryouga, having nothing better to do, watched Mat, Perrin and Rand put arrows in a tree.  After Rand finished putting his arrows in the tree, the two martial artists stepped up to them.
   "Not bad at all," said Ranma approvingly.
   Rand was mildly irritated by the younger man's words.  "Not bad?" he said, annoyed.  "I'd like to see you try to do better."
   Ranma smirked.  "Since you ask so nicely," he drawled, "I will." He took an arrow in his hands, flipped it around like the world's most disproportionate throwing dart, and, to the Emond's Fielders' surprise, threw it at the tree.
   Lan raised an eyebrow when Ranma's arrow thunked right in the middle of Rand's tight grouping.  Mat, Rand and Perrin just stared.
   Mat was the first to react:  "How could you...?"  He stopped, frowning.  "You cheated!  You were using your... your Ki!  You guided the arrow there!"
   Ranma gave him a disgusted look.  "What?  I couldn't guide that arrow there with my Ki if I wanted to!  It doesn't work like that! *Not _yet_ anyway...*  It makes me stronger and faster, but the rest is pure skill."
   Mat was still frowning when Ryouga stepped up.  "I guess it's my turn, now," he said smugly.
   Ranma instantly became suspicious.  Ryouga never spoke like that unless...
   Ryouga smirked triumphantly, and threw his arrow the same way Ranma had thrown his.
   This time, Lan's eyes widened, along with the others'.  "A shaft shot.  With your bare hands," he said, keeping his voice flat despite the surprise his eyes displayed.
   Ranma frowned at Ryouga's arrow, which had imbedded itself in the very middle of his, splitting it apart.  "When the hell did you get so good, P-chan?"
   "You seem to forget that I'm very good at throwing things," Ryouga said, fingering his bandanna.  "Too bad, isn't it... little girl," he added, his smirk intensifying.
   Ranma's frown deepened.   *If bacon-butt wants a fight...*  "I suddenly feel the need to...  ah... stretch out, P-chan.  Care for a sparring match?"
   Ryouga slowly cracked his knuckles.  "I thought you'd never ask," he said, smiling widely.
   Lan warily watched the two boys as they made their way about a dozen feet away and took ready stances, Ranma barehanded and Ryouga wielding that... umbrella of his.
   "No Ki techniques, okay?  Don't want to attract any blackspawn or anything..." said Ranma.
   Ryouga nodded.  "Agreed."
   Then the fun began...

   Moiraine was sitting behind a rock, teaching theories about the One Power to the girls when she began hearing sounds of people fighting.  She ignored the sounds at first, but gave up when she began hearing some of the others cheering.
   "_What_ are they doing?" she asked in a peeved tone.  Akane and Ukyou sighed in unison. Egwene just looked worried.  Moiraine frowned and rose up, circling the boulder.
   Egwene used the opportunity to lean towards the other two girls. "I've been watching both of you stare at Ranma when you thought no one was looking."  Akane blushed a bit, but Ukyou smiled unabashedly. "Don't you think both of you could do better than Ranma?  He's a lout who doesn't seem to show respect to anyone, not even to Moiraine Sedai and he seems to think that beating problems with his fists is the only way to solve things."
   Akane and Ukyou stared at one another.
    <Do you want to try and explain the engagements to her?  'Cause I certainly don't if she's uptight about that...> asked Ukyou in Japanese.
    Akane shook her head quickly.
   Ukyou smirked.  She turned back towards Egwene, who seemed confused at Ukyou's use of the Nerimians' native language.  "He's got other qualities, you know," said the okonomiyaki chef.
   "Like what?" Egwene asked incredulously.  "And why does he wear a braid, at that?  Half the women in the village kept staring at him because of that."  She shook her head.  "He shouldn't be off his mother's apron strings."
   Akane looked puzzled.  "Wait, what about his braid?  What does his hairstyle have anything to do with anything?"
   Egwene looked at them oddly for a moment.  "Of course!" she realized.  "It's probably not the custom where you come from."
   It was Ukyou's turn to look uncertain.  "Custom?"
   "In the Two Rivers," Egwene explained, "when the Women's Council decides that a girl is old enough to become a woman, they let her braid her hair.  Only women braid their hair."
   Ukyou thought about Ranma's curse and couldn't help giggling a bit at that.
   Akane pointed at Egwene's unbound hair.  "Why did you undo _your_ braid yesterday, then?"
   Egwene blushed.  "I'm going to become Aes Sedai and Aes Sedai don't braid their hair if they don't want to."
   The other two girls raised an eyebrow each.

   While this discussion was taking place, Moiraine had been treated to an odd sight:  Ranma and Ryouga were fighting... but it didn't look like any fighting she had ever seen before.  Since there were no Trollocs around this time, she was able to appreciate what was going on.  Ranma had told her that his fighting was an art, but she had not truly understood until now.
   It was like watching the elements fight.  Ranma was moving, twisting around like water, or maybe wind, while Ryouga was a mountain: slower (relatively speaking, of course), but far more enduring.  Ranma... was dancing, she decided.  He was dancing around Ryouga, who was no slouch himself.  Kicks, punches, blocks and feints followed each other in a flurry of acrobatic flips and twists she would not have believed possible in one so young.  She stood, watching, until Ryouga scored a solid blow that sent Ranma reeling on the forest floor.  She was about to step in to intervene when Ranma sprang back to his feet, none the worse for wear.

   Ranma grinned as he got back in a ready stance.  "Good shot, Ryouga.  Nice to see you're not completely incompetent."
   Ryouga snorted.  "Who just decked who, Ranma?"  The Lost Boy tensed when he saw Ranma lean a bit forward.  Anytime now, he would be launching an Amaguriken-speed flurry of punches.  When Ranma dashed forward, Ryouga put his arms up to stop the incoming punches, but got a nasty surprise when he felt the impacts on his shins and legs, and not in the face or arms.
   Ranma watched with satisfaction as Ryouga slowly sunk to the ground, his legs giving way.  "Didn't expect that, did you?" he said, laughing.  Ryouga had obviously expected an Amaguriken, so Ranma had decided to retry the Ryuuseiu Geri instead.  The flurry of kicks had done their job, bringing Ryouga to his knees.  But still, it _had_ been a good sparring match.  He felt a lot better now.
   Ryouga slowly got up again, his features slightly strained. "Okay, you win that one," he said slowly.  "But on the day I become fast enough to match your speed, you'd better watch out..."
   Ranma smirked.  "That means I've got 'till the next Ice Age, then?"
   Ryouga snorted.
   Moiraine came over to them.  "Impressive, but what were you two fighting about?" she asked, disapproval radiating from her voice.
   Ranma and Ryouga looked blankly at her.
   "That was a sparring match," explained Ranma,  "Not a real fight."
   The Aes Sedai raised an eyebrow.  "A sparring match?  Forgive me, but you both looked a bit _too_ enthusiastic for a mere sparring match."
   Ryouga shrugged.  "So what if we _do_ get into it?  If it was a real match, we probably would have torn the entire landscape apart with our techniques by now."
   Ranma nodded.  "Ryouga's right.  Besides, we always fight like this.  Ryouga's the only one I know who's strong enough to give me a decent workout."
   "Too bad I can't say the same about you," added a smirking Ryouga.
   Ranma gave him a red eye.
   Moiraine shook her head and went back to teaching the girls.
   When she was far enough, Lan approached the Nerimians, accompanied by the Emond's Fielders and the gleeman.
   "Impressive fighting style," commented Lan, sounding as if he was discussing the weather.  "Who trained you?"
   Ranma shrugged.  "My father.  He may be a dishonorable, cowardly, fat, lying rat bastard at times, but he's a good teacher."
   The string of epithets made Lan, as well as the other natives, blink.  "You don't seem to respect your father much," the Warder observed.
   Ranma scowled.  "Why should I?  The only thing he _ever_ did right, and even then, only partially, was teach me martial arts.  He sold me to dozens of people, engaged me to Kami-sama knows how many girls, dumped me into a pit of starving cats and gave me a bloody curse to remember it all by.  I _really_ don't have many reasons to like my father."
   "He _sold_ you?" said Perrin incredulously.
   "Engaged to _how_ many girls?" muttered Mat questioningly.
   "Don't ask if you wanna stay healthy," Ranma said warningly.
   Mat made warding gestures and retreated slightly.
   "Why did you stay with him, then?  Don't tell me you never had an opportunity to run away during all that time?" asked Rand.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Because he's my father.  He was the only one I could count on," he replied in a tired voice.  The look in Ranma's eyes prevented Rand from asking further questions.
   Lan turned to Ryouga.  "What about you?  Who taught you?"
   Ryouga shrugged.  "I trained myself, mostly.  I started getting lost when I was six or seven, so I needed to learn to take care of myself.  There were some people who taught me a few things on the road.  I learned the Shishi Houkoudan from a miner, for example."
   The Warder nodded thoughtfully.
   "Why'd you ask?" queried Ranma.  "You wanna learn a few moves after all?"
   The Warder nodded.  "I might.  Your fighting style seems very efficient, even if it's an unarmed style.  I prefer the sword, myself," he said, patting the blade at his side.
   Ranma shrugged.  "Your choice.  To me, a sword is only something that the enemy can take away from me.  I prefer to rely on my hands and feet."
   "There are some other advantages to wearing a sword," Lan added. "Intimidation, for one.  Village bullies are less likely to pick a fight with someone who has a sword and knows how to use it."
   Ranma smirked.  "I haven't needed to worry about village bullies since I was nine years old.  If someone tries to mug me, they'll have a lot of bruises to remember me by."
   Lan looked at Ranma thoughtfully for a moment.  "I don't doubt that you could, boy, but remember this:  we don't want to attract attention and beating someone up with your kind of fighting style definitely will, and I'm not going to guess the riots you could start if you begin using those Ki bursts of yours."
   An annoyed look flashed through Ranma's features.  "I know, I know...  Ryouga and I already agreed that we wouldn't use Ki inside any village or city unless our lives depended on it."
   Lan nodded.  "Good.  Now, the problem is to stop people from trying to rob you or something equally witless.  The other boys have weapons, and while anyone with half a mind would not fight you when they see how you walk, village bullies usually don't have that many wits.  It would be better if you and Ryouga wore a sword or some other weapon, even if you do not know how to use it..."
   "I do know how to use a sword," Ranma interrupted.  "I just choose not to use one."
   Lan raised an eyebrow.  "How good are you?"
   Ranma shrugged.  "Probably good enough to scare any bully off. I've learned the basics of a lot of styles."
   Lan looked pensive for a moment.  "Then how about that sparring session we talked about yesterday?"
   Ranma smiled.  "Sure!  It's been a while since I used a sword, anyway."
   Lan nodded, then turned to Rand, who was talking with Ryouga along with the others.  "Sheepherder, can I borrow your sword for a moment?"
   Rand blinked.  "My sword?  Why?" he asked, unintentionally putting a protective hand on its hilt.
   "I want to see how well Ranma can handle a sword," replied the Warder.
   Rand looked hesitatingly to Ranma, then reluctantly pulled his sword out of its scabbard.  "You'd better not break it or something!" he warned.
   The Warder looked amused at that comment.  "Don't worry, sheepherder, I doubt even Ranma could break your sword."
   Rand frowned at the humor in the always-serious Warder's voice. What was _that_ supposed to mean?  He reluctantly passed the sword to Ranma, who took it.
   "Strange," mused Ranma, looking at the sword.  "I'd never seen katanas with western hilts before we came here."  He shook his head. "I'd like the scabbard and swordbelt too, if possible," he added.
   Rand blinked.  "Why?  You don't need the scabbard to fight with a sword."
   Ranma shrugged.  "The scabbard is an important part of the style I want to use.  Humor me.  I promise I won't wreck it."
   Rand looked at Lan, who nodded.  He slowly undid the swordbelt and gave it to Ranma, who fastened it around his own waist.  He put the sword back in the scabbard, leaving a hand on the hilt.  After backing a few steps, he settled into a stance Lan had never seen before: Ranma's right leg was extended in front, knee slightly flexed, while the left leg was folded with the knee bent slightly towards the ground.  The whole effect was that Ranma looked as if he was on the verge of unsheathing the sword.
   "Well?" said martial artist.
   Lan unsheated his sword and took a position in front of Ranma. "Odd stance," he commented.
   Ranma grinned.  "To you, maybe."
   By now, the Emond's Fielders were all watching Ranma, while Ryouga had a somewhat bored look.
   Lan gave no warning before he dashed towards Ranma, his sword coming up in a sweeping blow, only to meet the other sword sword halfway through, the sound of steel against steel ringing in the night.  Lan wasted no time and began a complicated series of forms which left Ranma very impressed at the Warder's skills.
   *He _does_ use the Soul of Ice in battle,* Ranma thought, excited. This might prove to be more interesting than he had first thought. Lan was executing perfect sword forms while partially hiding his Ki at the same time.  Ranma had to be careful not to let his eyes off the Warder and even then, had to exert some attention to keep all of the Warder's movements accounted for.  Kunou could swing his bokken a lot faster, but never bothered to try and learn stealth and that made him pathetically easy to track.  What the Warder lacked in speed, he made up in style.  The two might just have been sparring, but Ranma was definitely surprised at the skill being displayed.  *It'd be great to see what he could do if I could get him past his block,* thought Ranma, as he flipped his way out of another strike.
   Seeing the Warder come at him again, he flipped over him, resheathing his sword and returning to the starting stance he had used.  Lan was already rushing him again.  He then decided to go on the offense.  He allowed himself to be backed a step, then jumped over Lan, only to use the tree behind the Warder as a springboard.
   Lan almost didn't block the unorthodox attack in time.  His respect for Ranma had gone up another notch.  The boy didn't seem to practice standard sword forms.  Instead, his style seemed to emphasize speed and flexibility.  A fusion of sword forms and his barehanded style.  He soon found himself on the defensive, parrying Ranma's lightning-quick slashes.
   It was when Ranma noticed that Moiraine was again watching him and sending annoyed looks his way.  A silent communication passed between the martial artist and the Warder, and both stopped attacking at the same time.  The boy obviously hadn't trying to kill him, but he had still pressed him hard.
   The Warder nodded.  "Good match.  Very unusual style, though," he said, then blinked when Ranma bowed.
   Ranma grinned when he came back upright.  "You're pretty good yourself.  All you need is more speed and maybe a few unarmed moves and you'd be all set.  I have a couple of exercises in mind for that."
   "What about you, Ranma?" asked Ryouga from the side.  "Are you going to take up kendo?"  The Lost Boy grinned smugly.  "Maybe we ought to call you The Red Crossdresser of Furinkan High?" he gloated, snickering.
   Ranma frowned.  "Since when did you become a comedian, P-Chan?  At least I'd still be human.  They'd have to call _you_ the Lost Pig of Nerima!" he said, pointing the sword at Ryouga, who stopped snickering and glared at Ranma.
   Mat, who had listened to the exchanged, leaned towards Rand and Perrin.  "Did that make any sense to either of you?" he whispered.
   The other two shook their heads.  "Not a thing," they both answered.
   Lan raised an eyebrow at the exchange, but said nothing as Ranma tuned around and gave Rand his sword back.
   Rand stared at the sword, as if suddenly reminded of something. He looked back up at Ranma.  "How can you possibly be that good?" he blurted out.  "I never thought _anyone_ could move like that!  I mean... bouncing off a _tree_?"
   "Training," Ranma replied with a smirk.  "Lots and lots of training."
   "But what kind of training?" insisted Mat.
   Ranma looked at him.  "I can show you.  I could even teach you a few moves that would help if you ever lose your weapons."
   The three Emond's Fielders looked at one another.  "What kind of moves?" cautiously asked Perrin.
   Ranma smiled.  "Basic blocks and punches.  Maybe a throw or two. They're useful against opponents who rush at you.  It wouldn't be _too_ hard because you're all in good shape."
   The Emond's Fielders still looked uncertain.
   "Look," explained Ranma.  "I'm not forcing you.  I won't teach someone who doesn't want to learn, so take your time and think about it."
   They nodded.
   Ranma turned to Moiraine.  "So what's your problem?  Lan and I were just having some fun.  If we'd been fighting for real, things would have gotten real ugly, real fast."
   Moiraine just looked at him.  "I pray you can restrain your exuberance  when we get to Baerlon," she said ominously.  "We do not need to attract so much attention."
   Ranma was tempted to give her the tongue, but something in the Aes Sedai's gaze told him she wouldn't appreciate the gesture.
   Soon, they were all asleep once more.

   Over the following days, the pattern repeated itself.  Someone would speak to someone else, and in return he or she would speak to yet another person.
   There were some changes, like when Ryouga took over Perrin's 'training'.  Ranma had claimed that because of his broad frame, Perrin would have better luck learning elements of Ryouga's style, because his own relied too much on speed, which the apprentice sorely lacked.
   Ranma ended up teaching Mat and Rand.  Surprisingly enough, after both learned to fall correctly (which took a while), Mat seemed to learn faster than Rand.  Ranma said it was because Mat was more flexible and more limber than Rand, to which Rand had replied that Mat was faster because he was used to having people run after him because of his jokes.  Mat had not appreciated the comment and an impromptu sparring session had followed, much to Ranma's approval and Moiraine and Egwene's stern disapproval.
   Lan, of course, kept teaching weapons to the young men, while trying out some meditation exercises Ranma had come up with.  He still doubted he could do as much as Ranma did with his Ki, but he did not mind learning new techniques.
   Moiraine's discussions with Egwene, Ukyou and Akane continued during that time, but it was only on the fourth day that Ukyou managed to touch the Source instead of tapping her Ki.  She had then amazed Moiraine by being able of duplicating almost every exercise Egwene had done so far.  Ukyou had replied that it hadn't been a big deal since she remembered all the theory behind the exercises.  All she had to do was put them into practice.
   Akane was still pretty much a mystery to Moiraine.  The Aes Sedai kept testing Akane, but the youngest Tendo daughter seemed to have little control so far over her ability.  Any weave that touched Akane would either be amplified as with an angreal, or disrupted into basic elements.  Since the results of undoing weaves that way could have serious repercussions, Moiraine's experiments had to be kept on the small scale, lest accidents occur.  She did, however, keep instructing Akane in the ways of the Power, hoping that the lectures might spark some understanding that would later turn to control of the ability.

   It was on the fifth day that the first inevitability occurred.
   "I can't find him anywhere," said Lan, coming back towards the group.  "He must have hidden his tracks well."
   Moiraine frowned.
   "But he said he'd be back in a moment!" protested Mat  "You don't get lost from going twenty paces away from a group!"
   Ranma rolled his eyes.  "It ain't your fault.  He didn't hide his tracks - he simply got lost.  He couldn't have sneaked off, because he's about as subtle as a rampaging boar."
   "Ranma!" said Akane, annoyed.  "You could try to be a bit more concerned about Ryouga-kun!"
   "Why should I, Akane?  Ryouga getting lost is almost as natural as the sun rising in the morning.  He'll find his way back - he always does.  I'll bet you that in less than a month, no matter where we are, Ryouga will bump into us *or more precisely me*."
   Moiraine looked doubtful, but eventually had to concede the point, as she could not afford the time for Ryouga to come back.  The Emond's Fielders were a bit harder to convince.  Apparently, none of them believed Ryouga could have such a bad sense of direction, but Ranma and Ukyou eventually managed to convince them.  Akane merely sniffed at their obvious exaggerations, a habit she had borrowed from Egwene.

   The following day, they arrived at Baerlon.  The Emond's Fielders reaction to the "vastness" of Baerlon provided the Nerimians with a good laugh.  Mat began accusing Ranma of lying when the martial artist tried to explain the sheer size of Tokyo, which prompted said martial artist to threaten Mat with extra sparring sessions, which shut the older boy quickly enough.
   As they were nearing the city, Moiraine gave them all directives about what to do and not to do, especially concerning their names.  A bit later, while Moiraine was talking with the gate guard, Akane looked at Ranma, who did not look all that well.  In fact, he looked pretty tired.
   "Are you okay, Ranma?" asked Akane with concern.
   Ranma waved his hand.  "Yeah, I'm all right.  Just haven't gotten much sleep these last few days, stupid dreams and all and... well, I'm used to eating more when I run all day long, y'know..."
   Akane looked a bit uncomfortable from atop her horse.  She had just been reminded that Ranma (and Ryouga for that matter), had been running almost non-stop for six days now.  She frowned a bit. "Wait...  What do you mean, 'stupid dreams'?"
   Ranma shrugged.  "I keep having dreams that don't make sense."
   Akane became curious.  "Like what?"
   Ranma frowned.  "There's one guy that comes up in almost every one.  _Very_ tall, black hair, beardless, looks like a gaijin. Anyway, there was one where I was standing in the middle of a battlefield.  There was only that guy left and he was covered in blood and he's holding a really weird weapon, looks like a gold boomerang.  There's another one where the guy is teaching sword forms to a bunch of people who're wearing fancy coats that all have the ying-yang sign.  I got other dreams, but I don't remember'em all that well."
   Akane blinked.  "You're right.  They _do_ sound weird."
   Ranma shrugged again, before cracking a yawn.  "The worst is that when I wake up from those, it's as if I hadn't slept at all."
   "Well, you'll probably be able to get a decent meal here at least."
   Ranma brightened considerably.  "I hope so.  I'm gettin' starved here."
   Akane shifted on her horse, grimacing.  "Oh, well...  I don't know if I really _am_  hungry or if it's just my subconscious telling me to get off this horse.  I didn't know riding was so painful."
   The group soon began moving again and Ranma found himself walking between Rand and Mat's horses.  They were passing a house when water suddenly flew out of the window, striking Rand.  Ranma gave a sudden start.
   "Hey!" protested the now-wet redheaded farmer.  "What was _that_ for?" he demanded, only to get the window panes from the window closed on him.  He turned around when he heard Perrin and Mat laughing at his misfortune.
   Besides him, Ranma was trying to get his heartbeat under control. *If it hadn't been for Rand,* the martial artist thought, *I would have gotten splashed for sure!*  Considering the low tolerance for the unusual the general populace of this land had, Ranma had no liking for demonstrating his curse in the middle of a busy street. He still didn't understand why he hadn't gotten splashed during the last week, but he wasn't going to argue.  He was about to relax when it was Mat's turn to get drenched, this time from a window on _his_ side of the street.
   While Rand was ribbing Mat, Ranma's eyes bugged out.  *What is this, a conspiracy?* he wondered.  Two attempted splashings in less than a minute, and yet...  he didn't have single drop of water on him because of the other two guys.  He _was_ getting considerably nervous, though.
   <Akane!  Ucchan!> he called out in Japanese.  He saw the two girls, who were ahead of him, turn back.  <I think my curse wants to make up for lost time!> he said nervously, indicating Rand and Mat's wet figures.
   The girls' eyes widened. Before they could say anything, Moiraine turned around and looked at Ranma in irritation.  "What are you talking... about...?" she trailed off when she saw Rand and Mat's soggy frames.  She frowned.  "What happened to you two?"  Rand and Mat told her, and she shook her head, while Egwene sniffed at their 'childish antics'.  Before anything else could occur, they reached an inn called the Stag and Lion.
   After a brief introduction with the innkeeper, the stablehand led the party's horses away and the group went inside the inn, where Ranma sighed in relief.  He knew he could very well be splashed inside, but the possibilities were lower, now.
   First order of business were baths.  Ranma was trudging after the group when he glanced back and saw Moiraine at the bottom of the stairs with a young man with with curly hair.  Moiraine gestured towards Ranma and the young man's eyes widened when he looked at him. A chill passed through Ranma, who chose to hurry up the stairs.  Once at the top, he shook his head and followed the others in a room where a dozen copper tubs were sitting.  A man, Ara, was pouring hot water into the awaiting basins.
   After making sure the water was sufficiently hot, Ranma allowed himself to relax.  Running for six days had put knots everywhere in him and he thoroughly enjoyed the soak.  <Kami-sama this feels _good_!> he groaned in Japanese.
   Rand, who was in the tub besides him, blinked.  "What was that?"
   Ranma sighed contendedly.  "Are you deaf or something?  I said this feels great.  _You_ haven't been running for six days, you know..."
   On the other side of the room, Ara blinked and stared at Ranma.
   Mat blinked.  "How _can_ you do that, anyway?  You ran me ragged in the evenings with your... training, but I certainly wouldn't be able to run all day long like you did _and_ do all that training in the evening."
   "Training," Ranma replied, eyes closed.  "I've had to do it since I could walk."
   Mat shook his head.  "I bet you could probably beat an Aiel..." he trailed off when Lan entered the room and dismissed Ara.
   Ranma opened his eyes when he felt the Warder approach him after a minute.  "What?"
   Lan put a small leather purse on the stool near Ranma's tub. "Here are some coins.  After you finish your bath, go out and buy a weapon.  It will help you look less like a country boy to those who can't tell from the way you move."  Lan paused.  "I'll see to it that you get a horse, too.  You raised a few eyebrows when you entered without one when all of us did."
   "That ain't _my_ fault," shot back Ranma.
   Lan ignored his retort and began filling his own tub.

   One by one, everyone left the baths until only Rand and Ranma remained.  When the two of them finally stepped out of the bathing room, they ran into the young, curly-haired man Ranma had seen Moiraine talk to.
   "So..." the 'young man' said with a girl's voice mused out loud. "A shepherd with a heron-mark sword and a scruffy boy with a pigtail. You must be Rand and Ranma, then.  My name is Min."
   "You're a girl?" blurted Ranma in surprise.
   Rand stared at Ranma, speechless.  *And I though _I_ was awkward around girls!*
  Min's eyes narrowed.  "Of course I'm a girl, you witless woolhead," she snapped.  *What is he?  Blind?* she thought, annoyed.
   "I ain't no woolhead!" shot back Ranma angrily.
   Min rolled her eyes and turned to look at Rand, ignoring Ranma for the moment: "Moiraine told me you were from the Two Rivers.  Stubborn people there, or so I've heard.  They say you look meek on the outside, but you're as tough as old oak roots inside."  While Rand's eyes widened at the mention of 'Lady Alys'' real name, Min turned to Ranma before the shepherd could stammer an explanation.  "And you..." She frowned as she looked just over his head.  "Just what _are_ you?"
   Ranma became offended.  "What's _that_ supposed to mean!?"
   "_You_ don't make any sense at all!  The images make no sense!" Min shot back, annoyed.
   Both Ranma and Rand frowned.  "What images?" they chorused.
   "I see things when I look at people," Min explained.  "Images, all sorts of things.  'Mistress Alys'" she said, looking at Rand and rolling her eyes, "says I see pieces of the Pattern, but that sounds a bit too grand for me."  She pointed a finger at Rand's chest. "You, for example.  I see a sword that isn't a sword, a golden crown of laurel's leaves, a beggar's staff, you pouring water on sand, a bloody hand with a red-hot iron, three women standing over a funeral bier with you on it, black rock wet with blood..."
   "Stop it!" protested Rand, now more than slightly uneasy now.  "I don't know what you're babbling about!"
   "It's not babbling!" Min retorted.  "Everything _will_ happen.  It always does!  I can't always tell what the images mean, but they all mean _something_..." she trailed off when she saw Ranma trying to edge his way out downstairs.  "Oh no you don't, you witless hay-hair!" she said, rounding on the martial artist.  "The shepherd may have a lot images, but you..." she said, in equal parts of confusion and anger.  "What I see is impossible - no one can be two people at once!"
   Ranma blinked.  "Two people... at once?  What are you talking about?"
   Min's anger faded slightly, only to be replaced by puzzlement. "It's what I see: there's you, and there's a girl who looks like you, but with bright red hair...  and they're both you!"
   Rand stared at Ranma.  Again.
   Ranma's eyes were bugging out.  *The curse?!  She can see the curse?!?*  Sweating, he tried to push past Min.  "I don't know what you're talking about.  I don't think you..."
   Min quickly placed herself back in Ranma's path.  "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?  Well what about these images, then: a small spring, a sword that protects, a blindfolded woman with red and white hair wielding a golden halberd, you running around a wheel, a silver-haired man, an explosion of light, a redstone doorway..." the rest was cut off as Ranma's face suddenly stiffened in shock.
   "Redstone doorway?  Are you sure!?" Ranma asked, grabbing Min by the shoulders.
   Min tried to pull free.  "Let me go!"
   Ranma began to shake her.  "Where is it?  Where's the doorway?"
   "Hey!" Rand intervened.  "Don't shake her like that!"
   "I don't know where it is!" Min snapped.  "All I know is it will play a role in your future!"
   Ranma released her, looking disappointed.  "Chikuso," he murmured. "So close."
   Min kept looking at him strangely while rubbing her shoulders absently.  *He _looks_ young.  How can he be so strong?* she wondered.  "Can you answer one question?  No matter how insane it sounds?" she asked.
   Ranma looked at her, frowning.  "What?"
   "Are you a red-haired girl?"
   Ranma's left eye twitched.  Rand simply gaped at Min.
   "NO I'M NOT!  Do I _look_ like a red-haired girl?" Ranma said ominously.
   Min was curiously unfazed by Ranma's outburst.  "The images say you're a red-haired girl.  I don't know _why_, but they do, and they never lie."
   "Well they do now!" Ranma shot back.  "I am _not_ a _girl_!" Inside, however, he was a nervous wreck.  *Damn!  Is she going to tell everyone about that damn curse?*
   Rand finally made his jaw work again.  "He's not a girl, trust me Min.  We would have noticed by now."
   Ranma used the moment Min turned towards Rand to slip towards the staircase.  Min turned around.  "Hey! Come back!  I'm not finished!"
   "Well _I_ am!" Ranma shot back.
   "If you fight the silver-haired man, you'll die."
   Ranma froze in his steps and looked at Min over his shoulder. "What did you say?"
   Min looked somewhat uncomfortable now.  "I told you.  You'll eventually encounter a silver-haired man.  If you fight him, he will kill you."
   Rand stared once more at Ranma.
   Ranma stared at her, then straightened.  "I am Ranma Saotome of the Saotome school of Musabetsu Kakuto martial arts.  I do _not_ lose."
   Min shook her head.  "You will if you fight him, trust me."
   Ranma frowned, then proceeded to hop down the stairs without glancing back.
   Rand and Min stayed in the corridor, watching Ranma's departure.
   "By the way, farmboy, did you know your friends are about as strange as you?" said Min after a while.
   Rand blinked.  "What?"

   Ranma made his way downstairs and after a bit of asking around, was led to the dining room where everyone was beginning to eat.  He took a seat near Akane and Ukyou and began serving himself.  He looked at the two girls, then at Moiraine.
   <Akane,  Ucchan, did you meet a b... a girl with curly hair who dresses like a boy?> he asked in Japanese.
   Akane and Ukyou both stopped eating and looked at him.  <I saw her,> slowly replied Ukyou in the same language.  <What did she do?> If it was a marriage proposal, she'd kill her.
   Akane merely frowned.
   None of them noticed Moiraine watching them and looking generally annoyed.  Mat, Perrin and the gleeman were looking at them with equally puzzled expressions.
   <She knows about the curse,> said Ranma after a while.
   "Nani!?" burst out the two girls.  <You got splashed?!> asked Ukyou quickly.
   <No, no!> protested Ranma.  <She could see it in my aura.  She said she saw a red-haired girl that was me, but she didn't understand what it meant.>
   The girls relaxed.  <They don't believe in magic here, Ranchan, so I guess you're safe for the moment,> said Ukyou.
   Ranma nodded.  <I hope so.>
   "Why did you talk like that?" asked Mat curiously at the same moment a flustered Rand came into the dining room.
   Ranma shrugged.  "'Cause I felt like it."  He certainly wasn't going to explain the curse to the Aes Sedai if he could help himself. She did not seem the type who would just accept it and go on.
   "What took you so long?" asked Perrin, directing his question at Rand.
   Rand shuddered.  "That Min girl.  She's crazy."
   Ranma raised his cup towards Rand.  "I hear you!"
   Rand just looked at Ranma.  "You know, Ranma, I still don't know how you managed to think she was a boy."
   Mat immediately snarfed his drink, which prompted Perrin to ask him if he was okay.
   Egwene just stared uncomprehendingly at Ranma.
   Akane frowned and Ukyou groaned.
   Moiraine raised an eyebrow, while Lan didn't display any visible reaction.  He just kept eating calmly.
   Ranma blushed.  "She was dressed like a guy, okay?"  He then proceeded to try to bury himself in his food plate.
   Rand blinked.
   "Just when I think you've begun growing up..." Akane said, shaking herhead.
   Rand gave up trying to understand the outlanders.  He took a few servings when he looked at Ranma, who was emptying his plate at a speed he had never considered to be possible.  "How can you eat so fast?" he asked, staring at Ranma.  His question drew the attention of Mat, Perrin and Thom to Ranma's decimation of his food.
   "I'm hungry!" Ranma protested between two bites.  "You guys've been sitting on your horses for the last week.  I _ran_ most of the way here, remember?"
   "Not anymore," said Lan.  "You'll have a horse tomorrow, but remember that you'll also need to find yourself a weapon."
   "A weapon?" asked Ukyou, puzzled.  "Why would Ranchan need one? He fights barehanded."
   "Intimidation, Ucchan," replied Ranma.
   Ukyou nodded thoughtfully.
   The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, except when Lan related what he had heard in the common room to Moiraine.  Ranma listened, trying to fit the concept of False Dragons and Whitecloaks in his mind along with all the other things he had learned from Thom and Lan during the last week.
   Soon, though, everyone became tired from the meal, and withdrew to their rooms, where Ranma found himself bunking with Lan and Rand.

   That night, Ranma dreamed again.   He saw the mysterious black-haired man again, who this time was talking with two other men. What caught Ranma's attention is that one of them had silvery hair. Ranma tried to remember the face, but the scenery abruptly changed once more.  He was now standing in a village, the black-haired man there once more, only this time he was facing another person.  *A duel?* wondered Ranma, when he saw the two men bow to one another.
   The opponent, who had dark green hair, was wielding a huge curved blade, like a massive steel crescent moon with a small bluish orb on one side of the blade.  The black-haired man was wielding... something.  It looked like a giant, golden kusarigama, but when the opponent attacked with a horizontal slash, the kusarigama's chain retracted and the scythe-like blade righted itself on the weapon's looped haft and became a giant halberd blade.  Ranma only had time to see a few thrusts being exchanged before he woke up.
   Ranma stared at the room's ceiling for a few minutes.  *What the hell kinda dreams are those?* he wondered in confusion.  *The more I have them, the more I remember...  I wonder if the guy with the silver hair was the one Min was talking about.*  He soon gave up trying to understand and fell back asleep.
   When he woke up again, Lan had already left the room and Rand was tossing and turning in his sleep.  Ranma quickly got dressed, but looked at Rand before leaving the room.  On a hunch, he went back to Rand's bed and started shaking him.  "Oi!" he said, "Wake up!"
   Rand stopped trashing and opened his eyes, blinking.  "Whaaa?" he said groggily.
   "I think you were having a nightmare or something," explained Ranma.
   Rand's eyes suddenly widened, all traces of sleep disappearing immediately.  He looked around in confusion.  "No rats?..." he mumbled.
   Ranma's expression became slightly concerned.  "Rats?  Are you okay?"
   Rand stared at Ranma for a few moments, then started.  "Um.. Yeah, I'm fine, Ranma."
   Ranma shrugged.  "If you say so.  Well, I gotta go buy some things.  Seeya later!" he waved, while leaving the room.
   Deciding to let the girls have their beauty sleep (Kami-sama knew Akane needed it), Ranma headed out into the streets of Baerlon.
   He spent almost half an hour, browsing through different shops, trying to think about which weapon he could buy, when he approached a smithy where two men, one of them obviously the blacksmith, were arguing about something.  As he approached, he began to see and hear more of the conversation.
   "I won't take it!" said the blacksmith in a deep voice, thrusting what Ranma thought was a long, scabbarded sword at the other person, a lanky old man with almost no hair left who looked like he hadn't eaten in days.
   "But it's all I have left to sell!" the lanky man said.  "You can just fix it, can't you?"
   "I already tried yesterday!" the blacksmith argued.  "No matter how long I left it in the fire, the blade just wouldn't turn red enough for me to work it!  Now, take it out my sight, Darel.  I have work to do."
   "But..." the lanky man, Darel, protested helplessly, trailing off when the blacksmith, who had the shoulders to break him in half without sweating, began glaring at him.
   "What's goin' on?" asked Ranma.
   Darel spun around, took one look at Ranma, or more specifically at his waist, then shoved the scabbard under his nose.  "Do you want to buy a sword?" the old man asked frantically.
   Ranma backed up a step.  "Whoa!  Hang on!"
   The blacksmith snorted.  "Stop trying to pass that... that _thing_ off as a sword, Darel.  No one will ever want to buy it."
   While Darel looked crushed, Ranma took a moment to inspect the object the old man was holding.  It looked like a fairly long sword's scabbard at any rate, maybe three and a half feet in length, with a foot-long handle sticking out the top.  What struck Ranma as unusual was that the handle was longer than that of the other swords he had seen do far since his arrival.  There was a circular tsuba between the hilt and the blade.  "If it's not a sword, then what is it?" Ranma asked curiously.
   The blacksmith snorted.  "Take it out of the scabbard.  You'll see."
   Ranma blinked and pulled on the handle.  What came out looked at first like an ordinary, slightly curved blade, except for one glaring detail Ranma caught on immediately.  "Hey!  The blade is..."
   "Reversed," the blacksmith finished, nodding.
   Ranma stared at the long sword in surprise.  The edge, instead of being on the outside of the blade, was on the inside.  There was a sword just like it in his favorite manga.  "A sakabatou?  How did...?"
   "It's been in our family for generations," said Darel sullenly, "but now I'm the only one left and I have no use for it.  I've been trying to sell it so I can get some money, but..." he trailed off.
   Ranma turned to the blacksmith, who had a disgusted expression. "I don't know who's the blacksmith who forged that, but it can't be called a sword.  The _quality_ of the steel is incomparable, yes, but it's all wrong!  Not only is the blade too long, but who would forge a sword with it's blade the wrong way, too?  No one will buy something like that!"
   Ranma kept the sword in his hand, looking at the blade.  It was as perfect as he could tell.  There wasn't a single scratch on its entire length.  Something nagged at him, though.  He looked at Darel. "The handle looks recent, but you said you'd had the sword for generations.  How come?"
   Darel frowned in rememberance.  "My brother tried to sell it a few years ago before he died and he thought refitting the handle would fetch a better price."
   Ranma nodded and looked back up at the blacksmith, curiousity taking the better of him.  "I'm no expert at making swords...  but why didn't you simply reforge it?"
   The large man snorted.  "I tried.  No matter how long I leave it in the coals, the blade won't soften enough for me to work it.  I've never come across steel that was so hard.  It's a pity it was wasted that way."
   "He was my last chance," muttered Darel in despair.  "No one else will buy the blade."
    The larger man shook his head.  "The blade is too long, it's forged the wrong way and it's too solid to be melted and reforged.  A lost cause."
   Ranma looked at the sakaba sword with growing trepidation.  It was _perfect_!  A weapon he could use without killing the target, yet if he truly needed it, he could flip the blade around and use the sharp edge.  And as long as he didn't unsheathe it, no one would be able to tell the difference, so it was still usable as a means of intimidation.  A thought came to him.  "You say the blade itself is very strong?" he asked, putting it back in its scabbard.
   The blacksmith watched Ranma warily.  "Yes.  I couldn't dent it with any of my hammers no matter how hard I tried.  Why?"
   "Can I test it on one of your anvils?" Ranma asked with a smile.
   Both of the men's eyes widened.  "You want to buy it?" they both blurted out in surprise.
   "I want to test it first," corrected Ranma.
   The old man Darel's eyes were watering in joy by now.
   "_Why_ would you want it?" the blacksmith asked.
   "My reasons are my own," answered Ranma more calmly than he felt. "Let's just say it's the kind of sword that solves all my problems."
   The blacksmith looked worriedly at Ranma, then shook his head. "On your head, boy.  On your head."  He lead Ranma inside and pointed to a ruined anvil on the ground.  "Here, use that.  It broke last week and I've yet to replace it."
   Ranma nodded, and unsheated the sakabatou, once more admiring the flawless steel.  Behind him, Darel was wearing a gleeful expression and praying to the Creator for the sale of the supposedly worthless weapon.  The martial artist raised the sword above high head, then swung down as hard as he could on the anvil.
   The other two men stepped back and covered their faces as the sword made contact and produced a brief flash of light and a ringing sound.  When they uncovered their eyes, they saw that Ranma had managed to shear off a small piece of one of the anvil's edges.
   "How did you...?" the blacksmith asked incredulously.  "With a _blunt_ edge?"
   "It's all in the swing," Ranma said happily, admiring the sword. Not a scratch.  Definitely the perfect sword.  He turned to Darel, who was still looking at the anvil in surprise.  "How much do you want for it?"
   Darel was shaken out of his stupor.  "Two silvers," he said, knowing that he wouldn't get nearly as much, but desperate to bargain for it.
   What he had not taken into account was Ranma's abysmal sense of anything related to finance.
   Ranma dug in the small purse Lan had given him and retrieved two silver pieces, which he promptly shoved in the old man's hand. "Thanks!" he said, flinging the scabbard over his shoulder and running out of the smithy.
   Darel simply stared at the two silver pieces in his hand.
   The blacksmith shook his head.  "Fool boy," he commented, shaking his head.  "Bloody fool boy."

   Ranma was happily walking back to the Stag and Lion with his new sword when he noticed something shiny on the ground near a house. Thinking it might be a coin, he bent down to examine it when he suddenly felt himself get drenched from above.
   The now-female Ranma almost cursed out loud before catching herself.  *What the hell is it with this town?  Don't they ever _watch_ where they toss their damn water?* she thought furiously, as she made sure to put her cloak's hood up to conceal her red hair. She slowly got back up, glancing around her to see if anyone had noticed.  Apparently, she had had that much luck at least.
   She began walking back to the inn, making sure to readjust the scabbard.  She had noticed how big the sword had become on her smaller frame.  She also had to rearrange the clothes she was wearing, not to mention that her boots were now uncomfortably large. She had not gone a block when she turned a corner and bumped into a man wearing a white uniform.
   "Sorry," she said, keeping her head lowered and tried to go past the man, but he grabbed her shoulder and pulled back her hood.
   "How dare you..." the Whitecloak began, then blinked as he looked at Ranma's obviously female face and red hair.  "Lord Bornhald! Look!"
   Ranma cursed when she realized that standing not five feet away from her were Mat and Rand.  She then felt hope as she realized that the two had never seen her female form.  It didn't erase the fact that everyone was now looking at her in surprise, the Whitecloaks, Mat and Rand.
   Bornhald's eyes had switched from Rand to Ranma at his officer's shout.  He looked at the new arrival for a few seconds before regaining his poise.  "Who are you and how dare you interfere in the duty of the Children of the Light!" he demanded.
   "I just bumped into him and I apologized!" replied Ranma indignantly  "What's your problem?"
   Bornhald took a few steps towards her, unsheathing his sword. "Are you threatening the Light?  Only a Darkfriend would do that!" he sneered.
   Ranma gaped at him, not believing what was happening.  "Shut up! I just wanna pass through!" she countered, risking a glance at Rand and Mat.  They were both staring at her far too much for her liking. She tried to walk past Bornhald, but he put his sword in her face, telling her to halt.  She reacted instinctively with a snap-kick that laid Bornhald out cold on the ground, just as the town Watch arrived on scene.  The other two Whitecloaks stared at Ranma in shock, then rushed her with their swords raised.  She threw one in a cart and tripped the other before the Watch surrounded her.
   "Don't move!" they shouted.
   Ranma looked around in anxiety.  Just great.  Everyone was looking at her now!  Not wanting to knock down the entire Watch, she turned around and jumped on one of the roofs of the adjoining buildings, to the crowd's amazement.  Cries of "Aiel!" followed after her.  The Watch gaped for a few seconds and quickly began to circle the building she had jumped on, hoping to cut her off.
   Watching everyone leave, Rand and Mat looked at each other.
   "Did you see her!?" asked Mat excitedly.
   Rand, no longer so flushed from his confrontation with Bornhald, nodded dumbly.  He spied the remaining conscious Whitecloak who was trying to wake up Bornhald.  "Let's go before they remember we're here," he surreptitiously told Mat, who quickly nodded.
    Once they were out of sight, Mat took up the subject again.  "Did you see her hair?  I've never seen bright red hair like that before...  And she was wearing men's clothes, too."
   "Everyone saw her hair," Rand commented dryly.  He frowned.  There was something odd about all that.  "Did you see how she fought?  She had a really long sword on her back, but she didn't use it.  It was almost like watching Ranma in his practice sessions.  And the way she jumped..."  he shook his head.
   Mat nodded slowly, but shrugged after a bit.  "Yeah, well maybe she knows the same tricks as Ranma, but she can't possibly be him - he's a guy!" he joked.
   Rand jumped when Mat said that.  He remembered Min's accusation of Ranma  <You're also a girl!>.  Now that he thought about it, the girl had looked a bit like Ranma.  Oh well...  Probably because she was wearing clothes like his.  He was about to give the matter further thought when they ran across Thom.

   Ranma had, for once, gotten lucky.  Losing the Watch had been fairly easy, since no one in this town seemed to realize that roof-hopping made for excellent evasion techniques, although she had nearly lost her now-oversized boots twice doing it.  She was now jogging back to the Stag and Lion with her hood up and the sword strapped on her back underneath the cloak, hoping to get some hot water before anything _else_ happened.
   She sighed in relief when she saw the inn's entrance.  She quickly got inside, only to slam into someone who was about to come out. They both fell to the floor
   "Sorry 'bout that..." grumbled Ranma, getting back up.  She had not noticed that her hood had come down, but the other person did.
   "You!" exclaimed Min loudly from her sprawled position on the floor, thus getting the attention of nearly every patron in the Stag and Lion.
   Ranma's eyes widened.  "Oh no," she squeaked.  She chose to face this new challenge with the Saotome school's ultimate technique.
   She ran for the staircase.
   "Stop!" shouted Min, getting up and running after her.
   Ranma didn't listen, of course.  Once she made it to the stop of the second staircase, she saw Akane and Ukyou walking into one of the rooms.  *They'll hide me!* thought Ranma, as she ran at full tilt towards the room they had gone in.  She opened the door, spinning on herself and slammed it shut.  "Whew!" she said, her face still leaning on the door.  "At least I'm safe here."
   "Who are you?" came a cool voice from behind her.
   The aquatransexual martial artist's eyes bugged out as she spun around, only to see Akane, Ukyou, Lan, Moiraine, Egwene, Ryouga and the Nynaeve woman from the village.  They were all staring at her, too.  Well, Akane and Ukyou each had a hand on their faces, but still...
   *I hate my life,* Ranma Saotome thought.



Next Episode:  Nynaeve and Ryouga's budding romance!  Braid yanks aplenty!!!  :)


Author's notes:

- Kusarigama: a chain sickle, often used by ninja types, though not exclusively.

- Sakabatou: [reverse blade sword] A sword that has has a blunt edge on the outside of the blade and a sharp one on the inside.  It's the kind of sword that Kenshin uses in Ruroni Kenshin.

- Particular thanks so far on this chapter go to Chris Rijk, Mike Rever, David Johnston, Ranmas, Richard Robinson and Bloodblade for their quick C&C speed...   :)

- Yes, I gimped on some scenes.  Sue me, this part is already a *lot* bigger than I'd originally planned...  I didn't want to recopy *all* the dialogues again...  Read The Eye Of The World for the details.  I *might* expend a few sections, such as the one where Ranma first begins to train the Randlanders, but no promise.  The pace (as well as the story deviations) *will* pick up in chapter 3.  I promise!

- There's no mention in the manga about Ukyou knowing about the Neko-ken or Nodoka's promise by that time in the manga, so I claim author's perogative.  I also gave 17 as the Nerimians' ages, even if they're supposed to be 16.  I needed to adjust a bit, folks...

- Ki vs. Chi...  Don't ask.  Chris Rijk gave me sufficiently good reasons to change it (I updated the first chapter).  It was a looooonnng debate...  I had to go into the really esoteric stuff with him and I'm still not 100% sure I got it right.  Takahashi didn't bother to really detail the mechanics of spirituality in her manga...

- Hope you'll have fun trying to figure out Min's visions about Ranma!  The other Nerimians will have their images too, don't worry. :)

- Yes, the sequence of events with Min changed a bit from the original timeline.  So what?  It's gonna get a lot uglier later on... :)

- Finally: NO, you bakas!  :)    Ryouga and Nynaeve will *NOT* fall in love with each other!  It was a bleedin' joke!  :)

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