Author's note: This is more a teaser than anything else.

Prologue

A seeming eternity ago, when he was about six, Ryouga's father told him that
during those times when it seemed the world made no sense regardless of how
diligently one tried to sort things out, it was best to look to the heavens
above for answers. "From matters of the heart to the injustices of life,
turn to the skies and ask your questions there, and the answers will come to
you, and you'll be made to understand your place in things." Ryouga had been
incredulous, as most would be, but now he found himself embroiled in such a
situation and, try as he might, it seemed the only avenue that remained open
to him. So he stared upward to a clear blue sky devoid of anything other
than air and the celestial body of the sun. He had never done this before,
never felt so confused that he needed to, but no matter how hard and hard he
thought, answers were not forthcoming. So now it fell to this last desperate
act.

He remained looking skyward as he said, "I've got a question for you. It's
silly, really. I kind of feel embarrassed asking, but I really don't have
anywhere else to turn. Now, I hope I don't seem stupid in asking what might
be obvious to anyone else if they were in my situation, but I'd really,
really like to know exactly how is it that I can be standing in the middle
of an American desert one moment, and then a flash of light later the next
thing I know I'm waking up in the middle of China wearing nothing but a pair
of torn purple pants?  I've never owned a pair of purple pants in my entire
life! Purple pants look stupid! SO WHY AM I IN THEM NOW?!"

The cries startled Lin Mei, the eight-year old girl that was helping lead
Ryouga, whom she had discovered in her grandfather's crops, up the road. She
looked fearfully over her shoulder towards him, an action that had been
repeated before. "<Grandfather, he's yelling again. This time at the sun.>"

The old man, Yun Lo, said, "<I know. He's obviously unbalanced, but
powerful. You saw what he did to that wild boar that tried to attack him.
That beast could have overpowered any ten men in the village, but he managed
to knock it out in one blow.>"

"And why am I carrying all of these sunflowers?! I don't even like
sunflowers! Their pollen is making me itchy!"

The girl shuddered at the display. "<We'd better get him to the master
quickly.>"

"<Yes. Quickly.>" There was a touch of hesitation in old man's voice. While
it was true Yun had no love of strangers --especially half-naked foreign
ones with bad taste in clothing that appeared overnight in a crater that had
somehow been mysteriously formed in the middle of their crops-- he still
wondered if even this belligerent youth deserved to meet what was probably
going to be his end at the area's new sovereign lord. The stories Yun had
heard of those that dared to defy the master... well, if even one tenth of
them were true, he would be showing fealty with a smile on his face from now
until the end of his days.

It had not always been like this. Things were peaceful until three years ago
when the new lord appeared out of nowhere and announced his takeover of the
region. All attempts at resistance to his absolute rule proved ridiculously
futile in the face of he and his minions raw power. The repercussions to
opposition were most severe, and ended very quickly. Still, in spite of the
Yun's misgivings, life was not unbearably bad. Aside from using the youths
of the village as slave labor, forcing them to build a huge fortress in the
mountains nearby, and providing a small amount of their crops to feed him
and his handful of close lackeys, the lord made little in the way of
demands. He kept to himself, though there were frequently strange lights and
sounds coming from around the mountain where the newly built fortress stood.
The bizarre displays gave no regard to the time and would appear during both
days and nights, but Yun was too sensible to allow curiosity get the better
of him. The affairs of those more powerful than he were beyond his concerns.
The credo to his life was to keep his head down and be obedient and all
would be well, or at least as well as could be expected. He was no
revolutionary. No hero. He was just a pitiful farmer his entire life, and he
intended to die as one as well, but not for some time, if he had any say in
the matter.

The only reason he was daring to venture to the lord's fortress now was that
there was a standing order that had been handed down about reporting
anything unusual directly to the lord. For whatever reason, the lord seemed
fiercely territorial about his claims, and had dealt with intruders most
harshly. Well, the boy was certainly unusual, and the old man would be
damned if he would risk his life for some overly loud stranger by warning
him of the dangers he might face and send him away. If such disobedience was
discovered, Yun shuddered to think of what would happen to him and his
family. No, there was no doubt about what he would do. He would lead the
youth to what was most likely the boy's doom and not look back.
Recriminations were for those who could afford them, and the old man had
been poor since his birth, though even if he possessed a thousand times the
money he had now it would still not be enough to afford the lord's anger.

"I know somehow this is all your fault, Ranma! Thanks to you, I'm going
through hell once again!"

Yes, Yun thought, he would be poor until the end of his days, which would
hopefully be more than the ones this boy had remaining.


xxxxxxxxxxxx

Coming relatively soon:

Avenging
Chapter 8
Ten Rings to Rule Them All
Part 1

xxxxxxxxxxx

Wow! I actually did another chapter of this within six months of the last
one ^_^. Just wanted to show that I am indeed alive and writing. Been
difficult finding the time to write with the holidays and such. Damn chapter
turned into something way bigger than I originally thought (even by my usual
growth standards). I originally had it pegged at about 120k or so total, but
it hit that when I got just over the halfway point, so the whole 'Ten Rings'
story is most likely going to be 3-4 chapters in length. Might even rename
this chapter and start 'Ten Rings' with the next one. As to the rest of
chapter 8, on the bright side, the first version of the rough draft is done.
I need to look it over and revise it at least twice before sending it to
prereaders. And more likely than not, due to the size, I'll be sending it to
both prereaders and the list in two roughly 60k increments spread apart by
about a week or so, depending on how long it takes me to revise the halves
and when they get returned by the prereaders.

Just thought I'd let everyone know.

D.B. Sommer





















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