Suggested changes: {before : after}
On Thu, 13 Jun 2002 14:19:08 -0400 "J. B-Wagner" <jbw@wpi.edu> wrote:
(Note that this is the first time I've tried sending something as a non-txt
file)
It doesn't help. FFML converts them to text and sometimes damages the
words in the process. In this case it seems to have added some format
information digits between some of the paragraphs, but no other harm.
(Oh yeah. That website was: http://www.wpi.edu/~jbw )
Thank you for including that.
Herb's burnt and {turn : torn} cape fluttered out behind him in the cold night
air. Beams of light and energy crisscrossed his vision, his enemy's
lifeless body a still darkness behind him. Ki blazed, a ferocious red
and yellow, all about him, in and out of the green orbs he had for
eyes, tearing at his soul for release. He was a living maelstrom of
energy and fury and death, every desire, every thought, every whim
echoed a thousand fold into a terrible chorus that seemed to shake the
very earth.
It began with a man... and a monster. Back when the world was old, but
mankind was young. His name was Sho Amaun Ma'at, or as the Musk were
to call him: 'The Grand Father.' One hundred and forty centuries ago,
he was born, though exactly where had long since been lost to time. It
was an age of night and fear, for dark things, creatures of myth and
legend, {: who} roamed freely in man's infancy, and greatest and darkest of
them all was the Great Serpent. The tempter. The corrupter. The Great
Serpent was old, even among ancients, but had been growing feeble and
dependant on sacrifice and servitude over the ages. It came and it
consumed, subverting and corrupting those it came across into doing
it's bidding.
Some say Amaun shared blood with the creature, which was known to take
human form. Yet Amaun shared nothing with the Great Serpent, save its
rage and its power, for among men, Sho Amaun Ma'at was the most
powerful to live. He hunted the Great Serpent as only a man possessed,
tracking it across sea and desert, untiring, unyielding. When it flew,
he chased. When it hid among men, he rooted it out. When it corrupted
and sent those he loved to oppose him, Amaun slew them.
I would prefer 'as a man possessed' or 'as only a man possessed could'.
The most vulnerable point was the kitchen, and would {obtain : provide : receive} the
optimal effect if an explosion were triggered. The family room was a
poor target, primarily because of was off to the upper left of the
house, and because if was directly under the living quarters of three
non-combatants who were only tertiary targets at best. Or worst.
Intelligence revealed it likely that the main targets would move into
the Dojo, which was fine with Adams, though it complicated their
initial strike plans somewhat. He was accustomed to observing and
studying the house from afar, listening or watching through one of
several clandestine bugs that had been smuggled into the place. They
had none in the Dojo, however, hence the official reason for his
visit. Truthfully, he was curious.
He saw film, in slow motion, sometimes one eighths speed, sometimes
frame by digital frame. He saw a high school boy, Ranma Saotome, punch
so fast that even the Society high-speed digital cameras couldn't
totally follow his attacks. He saw a 'low level threat,' one Tatewaki
Kuno, slice cleaning through a solid rock with a {wooden bokken
practice sword : bokken : wooden practice sword}. He had seen another subject (one of the Ranma boy's
contemporaries) throw a bloody car over twenty feet, without even any
sign of effort, and then uproot a concrete telephone pole with one
hand. They all seemed to routinely jump thirty or more feet in a
single bound, defying physics and a rational world with effortless
ease and aplomb. These not men and women, these were monsters of
terrible power hidden beneath human skin.
The island at the Heart of the Sea did flourish, in this, the Golden
Age of the Musk, and Sho Amaun Ma'at ruled for thousands of years. His
Golden City raised temples to the heavens, moved mountains, and worked
great wonders of which mankind would never compare. His followers
scoured the world, and brought to their Lord only the best of man, the
wisest of man, and the strongest of man. And, in time, did Amaun come
unto what was his, and the Three Women birthed him Three Sons. For
{them, : them} did he Rest and Sleep, so that the world would be passed onto
his noble progeny, whom he had raised and loved and brought into the
light and instilled with honor.
The Guide was anxious, and when he got anxious{, :} the back of his hands
got itchy. He resisted the urge to scratch them, and looked around his
home, ensuring that everything was in place and where it was expected
to be. In the kitchen, he heard water running, and Rouge's soft
humming. Upstairs, he could just barely hear his adopted daughter Plum
running around, making last minute checks of the second floor in
preparation for their guest.
"No," Hsing said, softly. "No, {daughter : Daughter}. I shall get it."
Slowly opening the door, already knowing {whom : who} it was, Hsing came face
to face with a man and a presence he could never forget. Stepping
aside, and inclining his head, the Jyusenkyou Guide welcomed him in.
Apparently, two villages there had been overrun, and surrendered to
the Musk, while a third had been burnt to the ground when the Amazon
garrison there made a stand. They spoke of that with particular fear,
for one of the Musk armies had acquired a reputation for ruthlessness.
Supposedly, the Dragon Prince himself rode with one of the armies, at
its head. However, this tiny hamlet was {: far} from that conflagration, and
Shampoo assured the woman that the Amazons would not be caught
unprepared for them again, and would give no more ground to the foul
Musk.
"Look!" Cheery yelled, and pointed to something around the corner of
the broken face of the rock wall. Shampoo quickly jumped over, and
{hasped : gasped} at what she saw.
"Like a daughter to you..." Hsing trailed off. "Like that Lychee girl
you adopted?"
Bishop eats his young, doesn't he?
Looking over to his left, Taro saw an open area. Loud rallying cries,
boastful cheers, and howls of approval resounded from where, on a
dusty circle surrounded by their fellows, two Musk warriors {wee : were}
locked, hand in hand. Finally, after a few tense seconds, the slightly
shorter of the two got in and under, his superior position allowing
him to flip his opponent onto the ground with a hard thud. The crowd
of Musk roared like animals, and the one on the ground scrambled back
to his feet, slammed his palms together with a loud thunderclap, and
jumped back into the fight. Behind the assembly, a formation of Musk
Assault Troops, decked in their heavy lead plate and chain armor,
armed with massive lead mauls and shields, marched in perfect
synchrony, shaking the earth at their feet.
Herb let out a deep breath. "The exercises are just to get {toy : you}
accustomed to developing perfect control. An ordered set of thoughts.
In time, you'll adapt a method all your own, and when you do, and when
the order is unbreakable and inviolable, you'll be able to wield your
ki with far greater skill and power."
He knew a new approach was in order. Lai Zhol was at least as {faster : fast}
as he was, despite dumping vast amounts of his energy into increasing
his speed. Additionally, she was shorter than he was, and had a
smaller target profile. He had walked right into the Amazon's trap,
without realizing just how well they had drawn him in unaware. His
mind raced as his body blurred.
He bullied.
Perhaps 'bulled'?