Wheel of Anime:  Book 1 - The Eye of God
Chapter Seven:  The Eye Of God Opens

By John Biles

http://www.thekeep.org/~wombat/Jordan/


********

	Fal Dara rose up before them, wind whipping around them, blowing
the thin crust of snow on the ground all about.  The city walls were high,
towering over the landscape, and very well made, though not up to the
level of Ogier work.  The gates were half open as they approached, the
guards watching them warily, until they seemed to recognize Soun.  A
whisper went through them.

	Soun looked slightly embarrassed for a moment, and became more so
as crowds began to gather in the street to gawk at them as they moved
through the city.  It was very well laid out, with straight streets and
well-built houses, not a maze like Caemlyn or Whitebridge or Baerlon.

	Kurz waved cheerfully to the crowds, acting like they'd all come
to stare at him.  Nanami went over to Setsuna and asked, "Why is everyone
staring at us?"

	"We have an Ogier, an Aes Sedai, and a very well-known man,"
Setsuna said.  "And Hinako currently looks like one of the Sea Folk."

	Nanami glanced over at Hinako, who was watching the crowd warily,
as if searching for someone.  She whispered, "Is she dangerous?"

	"I hope it will wear off soon," Setsuna said softly.  "Just try
not to make her angry."

	Nanami nodded nervously.

	They reached the castle at the heart of the city.  "Welcome, Dai
Shain!" a man shouted down from one of the towers.  Others began to chant
'Golden Crane' for some reason.  Soun looked more embarrassed, though he
tried to look calm and impassive.

	They passed through the gates into the castle courtyard, where
servants in livery came and took the horses and their baggage.  A handsome
man with short black hair, clad in plate armor, came out to meet them, a
pale blonde woman on his arm.  Her ears were strange, seeming to stick out
almost horizontal to the ground, and her features were quite angular.  Her
gaze swept across the group and she whispered in the man's ear.  When her
gaze reached that of Nanami, she stared in surprise.

	Nanami stared back at them.  There was an image, of him leading a
thin line of troops against a seemingly endless parade of Fanboys and
Lagmen, but she could not see how the battle ended, knowing only that he
would earn much glory.  And around the woman...She would face one of the
Forsaken, Nanami suddenly realized, feeling her heart sink down into her
feet.  This could only happen if they somehow were free, unless she was
crazy enough to go to Streamline Mountain.

	"I am Lord Parn," the man said, striding forward.  "And this is my
wife, Lady Deedlit.  I welcome you, Dai Shain.  I welcome you, Setsuna
Sedai.  I welcome you, Builder."  The last was to Umino.  "And I welcome
the rest of you as well."  He turned to Nanami.  "What is your name?" he
asked.

	"I am Nanami Farshaw," she said.  "You...Lady Deedlit.  You're
going to..."  She couldn't bring herself to say it.

	"Say it, child," Deedlit said softly.

	"One of the Forsaken is going to come for you.  Not today or
tomorrow, but...while you still look much as you do now.  I don't know the
exact date.  I know it's hard to believe me, but..."

	"Takab d'laina," Deedlit said softly.  "You have the Second Sight.
As do I.  I believe you.  Would you know your future?"

	"I..."  Nanami hesitated.  "Yes, tell me.  Best I know."

	"You will be healed," Deedlit said.  "But there will be changes.
You will know love, but never all to yourself.  You must see, when he
cannot.  And you will have to expose the Woman Who Is Not."

	Kurz made a strangling noise.  Ranma elbowed him.

	"Thank you," Nanami said softly.  "For being honest."

	"I am always honest," Deedlit said, "though I often remain
silent."  She turned to her husband.  "Come, husband, our guests must be
weary from the journey."

	Parn nodded.  "Come and feast with us.  Your company gladdens us."

	They followed him into the great hall, where dinner was being laid
out.  They were all seated at the head table, drawing many stares.  The
food was magnificent, and the Two Rivers folk stuffed themselves.

	As they ate, Lord Parn asked, "We will be glad to have your help
in the battle to come, Sedai.  We have sent to the Tower for help, but so
have all the Borderlands.  The Fanboys are coming.  Every nation fears
they will be the target, but our scouts have seen their legions massing to
come through Fallintothe Gap.  Every lance is massing here, to prepare to
ride to fight them, though we fear it will not be enough."

	Setsuna Sedai winced, then said, "I fear we will not be able to
aid you yet.  We have come to stop a bigger threat."

	"A bigger threat?" Lord Parn asked in disbelief.  "If our records
are true, a Fanboy army of this size has not been seen since the Fanboy
Wars."

	"The Dark One seeks to gain the Eye of God," Setsuna Sedai said.

	Lord Parn paled.  Lady Deedlit would have paled, but couldn't get
much paler.  Hinako said, "We're on our way to kick him in the balls
before he can."

	"The Eye of God?  Does it even still exists for sure?" Lord Parn
asked.  "It has not been seen since the Breaking of the World.  Few things
have survived three thousand years."

	"The Red Man has," Setsuna said.  "He guards many artifacts, and I
believe the Eye of God is among them."

	"How will you find the Springs?" Lord Parn asked.  "Many have
sought them, but few ever succeed.   Perhaps Lupin Farstealer found them,
but he never returned."

	"Those who need to find the Springs find them," Setsuna Sedai
said.  "And our need is great."

	"Then I will go with you," Lord Parn said.  "You'll never reach
the Springs, not with only Soun and some farmchildren to protect you."

	"I am not a child," Hinako said very firmly.

	"My pardon," he said.  "But my statement remains.  I can gather my
best men, and we will carve you a path through the Blight to the Springs.
The absence of just a few of us will not make much of a difference."

	"Lord Parn, there are only five Great Captains," Soun said softly.
"One of them is you.  If you go, who will lead Shienar's armies?"

	He frowned.  "I cannot let Setsuna Sedai go without more help."

	"This will be enough," Setsuna said.  "The boys may not look like
much."  This drew irritated looks from the boys.  "But they are ta'veren,
three from one village.  And Ukyou and Hinako can both channel, though
they are only beginning their studies.  And Nanami's Sight will guide us,
with Umino's lore.  The Pattern has drawn us together and drawn us here.
We must rise to the ocassion, or perish."

	"I noticed..."  He paused.  "You did not speak of Soun.  If you
could... I hesitate to ask, but if he stayed with us, men would come to
serve under him.  The other nations of the Borderlands fear to send us
aid, for Gendo rampages in Saldea and the other nations fear the Fanboys
aim for their hearts, but men would come.  To march under the Golden
Crane, the sign of fallen Lodoss."

	"I am not a King," Soun said.  "I am a Warder now, and I go where
Setsuna Sedai leads.  I cannot stay.  Lodoss is gone, and I will not lead
others to follow my doom."

	Lord Parn sighed.  "I had to ask.  You will, at least, rest with
us a while, I hope."

	"Tonight," she said.  "We will rest.  Tomorrow, we must press into
the Blight."

	He sighed.  "Then, for tonight, be welcome in Fal Dara.  And may
the Creator guide you tomorrow."

	"And you, Lord Parn."

**********

	"Why did you want to see me in private?" Ranma asked Setsuna
Sedai.  He was afraid he knew the answer.

	"Read this," Setsuna said, handing a book to him.

	The book was titled, 'Prophecies of the Ronin'.  He read aloud
from the passage which began the page she had it open to. "And the Ronin
shall walk the edge between two halves, wielding fire and earth with one
half, air and water with the other.   He shall be born where he died, and
be raised in a land not his own that he shall make his. A mark of shame
shall he make a mark of pride once more.  Both paths must he master, else
she shall die and the world die with him, for her life is the hope of the
world."  He stared at it.  "That makes it sound like..."

 	"Like you," Setsuna Sedai said softly.  "I believe you are the
Ronin Reborn."

	"I can't be!" he said, throwing the book down.  "I won't break the
world!  I don't want to channel!"

	"You cannot help it, and only you can wield both sides of the
Power," Setsuna Sedai said.  "I do not know how we can arrange for you to
master Dubin, but I can ensure you are able to attend the Tower and master
Subin.  The rest will be up to you."

	"If they knew...they'd...they'd do whatever they do to men who can
channel."

	"They will know you only as a woman," Setsuna said.  "I can ensure
that."

	"What, do I have to avoid hot water for months... years?  How will
I bathe?" Ranma asked.

	Setsuna called upon the Power and cold water rained down on Ranma.
He transformed.  Then she dumped hot water on Ranma-chan, who stayed
female.  Ranma-chan shivered.  "You turned the water cold."

	"Exactly," Setsuna said.  "Once you learn more of channeling, you
will be able to do the weave yourself.  Until then, I will prepare you a
ward."  She concentrated again, and the water on Ranma-chan turned hot,
transforming her back.  "Once we go to the Tower.  I will not deprive you
of your manhood until then."

	"I don't want to go to the Tower!"

	"You will likely kill yourself, and eventually go mad from
channeling as a man," Setsuna said.  "Whereas, this way you can live.  You
cannot afford to run from your destiny."

	"I don't WANT a destiny," Ranma said stubbornly.

	"It is too late for that," Setsuna said.  "I am sorry."

	"How am I supposed to, I mean..."

	"I will teach you what you need to know to live as a woman.  I am
sure Nanami and Ukyou will help you.  At least this means you and Ukyou
need not be separated."

	"But we...I mean...I'll be a girl."

	"For a time.  Who knows what the future will bring?"

	"Alright, I'll go the Tower," Ranma said.  "But I am not the Ronin
Reborn, and I won't let you push me into it."

	Setsuna smiled faintly.  "Good enough for now.  Just do what must
be done."

	"I will," Ranma said.  "But I won't like it."

	Setsuna nodded.  "I understand."  She rose.  "Sleep well, Ranma."

	"G'nite."

**********

	Hinako slid through the night.  It was time, she'd decided.  To
stake her claim to Soun, once and for all.  Before her charge up wore off.
While she still had the courage.  When he wouldn't be sleeping within
sight of Setsuna for once.

	To her surprise, as she crept up to the door to knock three times,
she heard the sound of tears.  Ever so gently, she pushed on the door,
which was ajar, and peeked in.  Soun was seated at the small table in the
foyer of his room; they had given him an entire suite despite his
protests.  He was crying, crying hard enough that the table was starting
to become covered with his tears.

	She was torn between the part of her which wanted to comfort him
and the part of her which knew that men hated to be seen crying.  Setsuna
must have done something horrible to make a man as strong as him to cry,
Hinako thought.  Best to not give him a chance to put up a front, she
thought.  He needs me, but if I let him, he'll try to avoid getting what
he needs.

	She walked in, coming over to him with what she hoped was a sultry
manner.  "Soun, what's wrong?" she asked softly.

	He looked up at her in surprise.  "Hinako, people will get the
wrong idea if they see you here this late.  People will whisper."  He
tried to pull himself together, but had little luck.

	"I don't care what they think," she said.  "I just care about you.
What's wrong?"

	He stared at her, and she began to worry she'd been too bold, that
he was going to throw her out so he wouldn't have to talk about it.  And
then he said softly, "They think too much of me."

	"What?" she asked.

	"They regard me with more respect than I deserve," he said softly.
"And I cannot bear to break their hearts by letting them know the truth,
that in all these years, I have accomplished nothing, but to kill a few
Shadowspawn.  But I could kill those until I collapsed from exhaustion,
and it would do nothing to undo the fall of Lodoss.  My people are
scattered, our homeland devoured by the Blight.  And what have I
accomplished to undo this?  Nothing."  His tears slowed, but still he
cried.  "That is why I am a Warder.  At least in this way, I can be part
of great deeds."

	"Don't be so harsh on yourself.  No one can defeat the Dark One
alone," Hinako said  "But I don't care.  I love you, whether you think
yourself a great success or not."

	He froze up for a moment, as if he had been hit with a hammer,
then said, "And I love you, but I can offer you nothing, not even the
illusion of my greatness, for you know the truth now.  I have only my
sword.  And even if I had something else, I am sworn to another woman's
service."

	"Then I will get her to release you," Hinako said.

	"That will not be easy," he said.

	"Nothing worth the having comes easy," she said, taking his hand.
"But I will have you.  If I must come to the Tower and become an Aes Sedai
to do it, I will.  You are the man I want."

	His tears faded and he looked into her eyes.  "You are a stubborn
woman."

	"And you are a stubborn man," she said, then pulled him to his
feet.  "I know what you need."

	His eyes widened slightly.

	"Ice cream.  It makes everything better."  She dragged him out the
door.  "Let's go get some."

	As she pulled him down the hallway, he smiled a little.  "The
cooks will not be happy if we steal ice cream in the middle of the night."

	"That's where you come in, Mr. Warrior Supreme.  Steal us both
some ice cream, and don't get caught."

	"As you command, lady," he said, then vanished off into the
hallways.

**********

	Nanami looked over at Ukyou.  "You okay?" she asked.

	"Thinking about the future," Ukyou said.

	"Me too," Nanami said.  "Don't worry, I think we'll all survive
this.  I've seen lots of things for everyone which haven't come true yet."

	Ukyou sat up on the bed she was lying on.  "Anything for me?"

	"You walking through arches, naked.  A bunch of women beating you
for lying to them.  Some demented woman with a ponytail chasing you,
laughing like this."  Nanami did her best to convey, "HOHOHOHOHO."

	"None of those sound very good," Ukyou said, sighing.  "Have you
seen anything with..."

	"He's going to wear a crown one day," Nanami said.  "But..."  She
paused.  "I don't know for sure what will happen with you and Ranma.
Other than that you'll have a really big fight at some point."

	"I don't need an oracle to predict that.  He can be a complete
idiot sometimes," she said.  "Is he...is he going to go mad?" she asked
hesitantly.

	"I'm not sure," Nanami said.  "I just..."

	"Just...?"

	"I've seen him, surrounded by men in black coats who are cheering
wildly.  I think he's just done something which makes them very, very
happy, in the vision," Nanami said. "Maybe, because he can use both sides,
he'll find some way...to cleanse Dubin."

	Ukyou stared.  "Is that even possible?"

	"It has to be," Nanami said.  "Time is a wheel.  In the past,
Dubin was not tainted.  Therefore, at some point in our future, it stops
being tainted."

	"Yes, but it doesn't have to get untainted until the Second Age
comes round again," Ukyou said, sighing.  "Which doesn't help me now."

	"I think Ranma will survive," Nanami said.  "Even if he only does
so as a woman for part of it."

	Ukyou frowned.  "What a mess."

	"I know," Nanami said.  You don't know the half of it, she
thought.  Imagine meeting someone and realizing you're going to fall in
love with them, and have to share him with other women.  And I think one
of them may be an Aiel.  LIGHT!

**********

	"Why are we going to Rhuidean?" Shampoo asked suspiciously.
People normally went to Rhuidean for only two things, to become a Wise One
or else to become a  Chief.  Kyousuke already was a Chief, Madoka was
already a Wise One, Shampoo didn't want to become a Wise One, and no one
else with them seemed likely to become a Chief or a Wise One.  Unless Naru
or Mutsumi or Keitaro or Motoko or one of the others was hiding some
secret ambition.  Which Shampoo supposed was possible, but didn't seem
likely.

	"All those who are to be sent across the Dragonwall to find the
Car'a'carn are going to Rhuidean to begin the trip.  No one travelling to
or from Rhuidean will be attacked, so it means we can reach the Dragonwall
in peace," Kyousuke said patiently.

	"You and Motoko will be going to Rhuidean to become Wise Ones,
LATER," Madoka said.  "I wouldn't bother to trick you into going, I'd just
have Kyousuke take each of you in a headlock and drag you there."

	Shampoo looked at Kyousuke dubiously.  "I think Kyousuke's too old
to...AIYAH!"  Somehow, she found herself in a headlock, having her
forehead noogied.  "You cheated!"

	Kyousuke grinned.  "I'm not clan chief for nothing."

	Mutsumi giggled.  "You look really funny, Shampoo."

	"Funny?  Shampoo will show you funny!" Shampoo said, struggling to
get free.  "Later."

	"MUCH later," Madoka said firmly.

***********

	"This is Sasame," Lord Parn said.  "He will guide you to the
Blight."

	Sasame, a tall thin man, clad in white and wearing glasses, bowed
to them.  "A pleasure to meet you," he said.  He looked young, despite his
white hair.

	"A pleasure to meet you, as well," Setsuna replied.  "Lead and we
shall follow."

 	They rode out across the countryside, past various farms.  Sasame
was pleasant company, though Kurz  noticed he avoided discussing the
battle to come.  Finally, Kurz asked, "So how do you think the battle will
go?"

	"Fal Dara is almost certainly doomed, but it is possible that
Shienar will survive, if help from Arafel comes in time.  We will die, but
this will at least prove we are where the hammer of the Fanboys is going
to fall."  He shook his head.  "All things perish in time, but we will
make the best account of ourselves that we can."

	Kurz winced.  "Well, I hope things go better for you than that."

	"So do I, but often one must prepare for the worst," Sasame said.

	"I know that Shienar will do its best," Soun said.

	Sasame seemed to perk up a little at that.  "Thank you, Dai Shain.
We will do what we can."

	"That is all that can be expected of anyone," Setsuna Sedai said.
"Do what you can and what you must."

*********

	"This is the border," Sasame said.  A large stone carved with the
sigil of Shienar stood in a lonely field.  There was little to show any
boundary beyond that; the fields stretched north, snow covering grass
half-dead from the cold.

	"I always thought the Blight was scary looking," Kurz said.

	"The true Blight starts miles north of here," Sasame said.  "Not
all of Lodoss has yet fallen under the Blight, though it creeps south
across Lodoss, year by year.  The Seven Towers have vanished into the
Blight and the lakes as well, but for now, these lands are clean.  If not
forever."  He sighed.  "Farewell, Sedai, Dai Shain.  Peace on your sword."
And then he turned and rode away.

	"The Seven Towers?" Kurz asked.

	"Among the most ancient dwellings of men since the Breaking," Soun
said.  "Ogier-crafted, they fell to the Shadow during the Trolloc Wars,
but were cleansed and reoccupied after the wars ended.  They were the
capital of Lodoss."  His face hardened slightly.  "They are still
beautiful, beneath the taint of the Blight.  We may pass near them."

	It took days to reach the Blight; it was hard to say exactly when
it began.  The changes were only little things first, like the N'sync
posters on trees, or discarded Rush Limbaugh plushies fallen between
bushes.  Slowly, it grew worse, with unnatural looking plants everywhere
and the distant beat of the Spice Girls echoing across the landscape.

	The first attack was a small yellow creature that looked rather
like a yellow pillow with big pointed ears and stubby limbs.  The black
stripes on its chest resembled the lightning bolts it threw at Kurz when
he tried to pet it.  "PIKA!"

	Soun's sword came around before Ranma could even draw his Panda
Blade.  Snicker-snack.  And then the little yellow beast was dead.

	Worse things came.  Turtles with plants growing out of their
backs.  Psychic ducks.  Tiny lizards that spat fire.  Strangely groomed
poodles.  Snakes swallowing their own tail.  Sometimes there were waves of
assaults, and sometimes hours would go by with only a single suicide
monster attack.

	They all fought as best they could.  Setsuna tried to avoid using
the Power when she could, for fear of attracting unwanted attention, but
at times the assault grew so fierce that she had no choice.

	The nights were horrible, with strange noises in the dark and the
sounds of distant screams.  Ranma found himself plagued by nightmares in
which the Dark One found the Eye before they did, and used it to destroy
the world.  Tanned and muscular, but with long pale hair, the Dark One
came with black flames in his eyes, and fire from his fingertips.

	And then came the worst dream.  Nerima's Field was under attack.
Legions of Fanboys driven by Lagmen, endless hordes of Mikados and
Hellhounds.  The Pokemon.  Heavens alive, the Pokemon.  Endless tides of
them rushed forward.  Against them was only a handful of farmers with
pitchforks.  And Ranma.  It was hardly a fair fight.  For the Shadowspawn.

	Ranma wove flows of Air and rose into the skies on a pillar of
Air, then rained down Fire upon the Shadowspawn, called upon Earth to rip
the ground and swallow them, upon Water to drown them, upon Spirit to bind
them to his service.  They scattered in terror, but his power was
relentless, moving from foe to foe, until each perished.  Finally, he
closed in on their fortified camp and leveled it to where nothing stood
more than an inch high.

	Then, and only then, was there silence, the silence of the grave.
The Shadowspawn were crushed, and the people of Nerima's Field cheered.

	And then the fit of madness passed, and he saw what he had truly
done, mowing down farmers in their fields and their sheep and cattle.
Nerima's Field was laid waste.  Bodies were scattered everywhere, twisted,
mangled, barely recognizable corpses.



	But he could make out a few.  Ukyou.  Hinako.  Ryouga.  Kurz.  His
father.

	And above him, the Dark One laughed.  "Fool, you have slain all
that you loved, as you always do, in your madness.  You cannot hope to
defeat me, Godai."

	"I can!  I will defeat you!" Ranma shouted, and he hurled the
Power at the Dark One in a great torrent.  The Dark One exploded into tiny
bits.

	And then he reformed from the ashes.  "I am the Lord of the Grave!
You cannot kill me, Godai!  But I...can kill you."

	Ranma felt his body ignite, the Taint on the Power finally
overcoming it as he burned from the inside out.

	"I could save you, but you must serve me.  Serve me and I will
give you back all I have slain," the Dark One said.

	"I will never serve you, Sch'neider!" Ranma screamed.  "NEVER!"

	"Then you will fail and you will DIE."  Black flames erupted from
his hands, consuming Ranma, who screamed in agony.

	Ranma woke up, howling fit to wake the dead.  Kurz was whimpering
about chains, and Ryouga kept screaming, 'Pork is Murder!' over and over.
Ukyou was still tossing and turning, and the same could be said of Hinako.
Nanami was curled up in a ball.

	Soun rushed over.  "Stop screaming!  You'll draw down the entire
Blight on us."

	Ranma gave a deep sigh of relief.  "Just a dream.  Just a dream."

	"No, I can't!  I can't!  Not to him!" Ukyou shouted, and then
began to glow in her sleep.

	Setsuna Sedai sat up, saw the glow, and cursed.  She leaped across
the camp, half-naked and uncaring, her arms waving wildly.  The glow
guttered and went out, and while Ukyou continued to flail, nothing could
be seen of her.

	Kurz said softly, "That was the worst dream of my life."

	"Me too," Ryouga said.

	"I...it was horrible.  I saw...I saw Sch'neider," Ranma said
softly.

	"Do not say that name in the Blight," Setsuna Sedai said sharply.
"We cannot afford to attract his attention."

	"This woman...she lured me in and then tied me up with chains and
then she...and she was...she was really..."  Kurz yanked his own hair.
"It was awful."

	"Did she kick you in the groin?" Ranma asked, preferring teasing
Kurz to thinking about his own dream.

	"It was awful," Ryouga said.  "It was a cooking class and they
were all making pork dishes!"

	"Oh, yeah, how terrible," Kurz said flatly.

	Nanami sat up and said, "I thought that you could protect our
dreams, Setsuna Sedai."

	She sighed.  "I thought I could, but I think there are too many of
you and we draw too close to Streamline Mountain.  And I fear the Dark One
is beginning to touch the world more strongly.  I will strengthen my
wards.  Go back to sleep."

	They slept as best they could, and the next morning, pressed on
further into the Blight.  Kurz jumped at every shadow, while Ryouga had to
borrow a clothespin from Nanami for his nose.  Ranma walked along
somberly, welcoming attacks as a distraction from his thoughts.

	"You okay?" Nanami asked softly at one point.

	"No," he said.

	"Wanna talk about it?" she asked.

	"No."

	"The Dark One wants to trick us," Nanami said softly.  "Don't let
his lies get to you.  I know you won't fail us."

	Ranma said, "I wish I could be so certain."

	"You're so tightly wound, I think you're going to explode, if
you're not careful," Nanami said.

	"I've got reason," he said stiffly.

	"I know," she said.  "You're not alone."

	He saw Ukyou staring at them, and winced a little.  "I know."

	Nanami sighed and walked along in silence for a while.  "So...what
do you think of Princess Usagi?"

	"Eh?  Why are you asking about her?" Ranma said.

	"Just wondering," she replied.

	"She's okay," Ranma said.  "I can't pretend I know her all that
well, but she's kind of sweet and kind.  And cute."

	Nanami frowned slightly.  "Do you think I'm cute?"

	"Yeah, you're kinda cute when you're not grubbing for money."

	"I am NOT a money-grubber," she said, hands on her hips.

	"I caught you charging yourself to do your own laundry,"
Ranma-chan said.

	"I wasn't exactly firing with all cylinders at that point!"

	Soun turned around.  "Be quiet.  You're going to attract more
monsters."

	Nanami sank into a grumpy silence.

*********

	The transition was sudden when it came.  One moment, they were
climbing a ridge, the next they were inside a peaceful mountain valley,
free of the oppressive heat and humidity of the Blight.  Dozens of pools
spread out before them, each with a sign stuck into them, labelled in the
Old Tongue.  At the far end of the Valley, there were two pools, one of
pure black liquid, the other pure white.  The first was turbulent, the
second tranquil.

	A short man, clad in a grey jacket and pants with a grey cap
festooned with a red star, began to approach them.  "Welcome to the
Springs of Jyusenkyo," he said.  "I am Lu Tze, or as some call me, the
Guide or the Red Man."

	Ranma looked around.  "So these pools turn you into different
things if you get splashed by them?"

	The Guide nodded.  "Yes.  Very tragic stories of animals drowned
by Aes Sedai to create transforming springs."

	"Which one turns you into a man?"

	"No such pool," the Guide said.

	"There's one to turn you into a woman, but not into a man???"
Ranma asked.

	"All male Aes Sedai used pool after work was done to avoid going
mad."

	"..."

	"Project was finished too late to save most males," the Guide said
sadly.  "It was hidden away here until it was needed."

	Ryouga paused, then looked across the pools very suspiciously.
"Needed?"

	"If anyone tries to throw me in, I will kill them so dead their
ancestors will die," Kurz said firmly.

	Ranma slumped.  "So, I'm stuck."

	"Better you be woman than crazy, right?" the Guide asked.  He
turned to Kurz and Ryouga.  "You sure you don't want to try the pools?"

	"No way," Kurz said.  "I like being a man.  Who looks like a man."
He paused.  "You know what I mean."

	"I don't suppose you have any pools for not getting lost?" Ryouga
asked.

	"Hmm."  The guide looked thoughtful.  "How about pool of Drowned
Cat?  There is potent legend of cat who tracked his owners all the way
across a continent."

	A tiny bell ringed in Hinako's head.  "Wait, there's a pool that
turns you into a woman?"

	"You not need to turn into woman," the Guide said.  "Unless you
very clever cross-dresser."

	"It doesn't make you an adult woman, by any chance?" Hinako asked
hopefully.

	The Guide scratched his head.  "Don't know.  Suppose it wouldn't
hurt for you to try it."

	"Show me!  Show me!" Hinako said.  The Guide started to lead her
through the pools.

	Ranma stared at the ground.  Ukyou came over to him, putting a
hand on his shoulder.  "Buck up, Ranchan.  We'll figure something out."

	"Guide, we've come to warn you that there's a threat to the
Springs," Setsuna said, following Hinako.

	"I know.  First seal broke this morning, which is why I came
looking for you," the Guide said.  He pointed to a pool.  "Here you go,
Sedai."

	Hinako squealed happily and threw herself into the pool, sinking
out of sight.

	Setsuna said, "One of the Seals on the Dark One's prison has
broken?"

	"Hey, didn't Basara say that pin the ship captain was wearing
looked like one of the seals?" Kurz asked Ranma.

	"Yeah, I think he did."

	"A ship captain is wearing one of the Seals on the Dark One's
prison?" Setsuna Sedai asked in shock.  "As a pin???"

	"Yeah," Ranma said.

	Soun frowned.  "Shouldn't Hinako be coming up by now?"

	There was an awful moment of silence.

	Then everyone rushed towards the pool at once.  The result was a
multi-person pileup as they all collided at the edge of the pool.  Setsuna
managed to extend her staff into the pool, and felt hands grab it.  She
then pulled Hinako to the surface.  "Can't you swim?"

	"Never been swimming as an adult," Hinako gasped.  She had assumed
her adult form, and her clothing clung wetly to her body.  She seemed to
almost glow, she was so full of the Power.

	"Well, now that we've had our lack of dignity for the day,"
Setsuna began.

	"You all can die," a man said.  A sort of man, anyway.  He rather
resembled a withered corpse, shriveled and charred, barely able to speak,
though his whispers conveyed great menace.  "The Eye of God will be OURS
TO COMMAND!"

	A second man stood near him, silent, equally charred and withered,
perhaps even more so, except for strange symbols etched into his hide and
clothing and his face, which resembled a laughing mask.  He might have
been long-haired once, but his hair was mostly gone.  He seemed to have
difficulty moving very quickly.

	The Guide shook his head.  "The Eye of God will not serve you."

 	"You cannot stop us!  None of you can!  We are unstoppable!  I am
Aginor, insignificant flyspecks!  Bow down before me!"

	The second man grunted, as he could not speak.

	"No, I mean, you cannot operate the Eye of God without a woman,
also," the Guide said.  "And I _think_ your companion is male.  Or am I
wrong?"

 	"No one mention the pool we're next to turns people into women,"
Kurz whispered to those piled around him.

 	"Hah!  I heard that!  In you go, Balthamel!"  Aginor shouted,
using the Power to heft Balthamel, who mumbled something incoherent which
might have been a 'no'.

	Balthamel hit the water and sank like a rock.  For a moment, there
was silence, and then the pool churned wildly.  "Get back from pool!" the
Guide shouted.  "It's going to..."

	And then there was silence, even as they all stared.  The pool
stopped churning and settled down calmly.

	"Hmm, looks like Balthamel's brittle body couldn't handle the
change.  Pool now pool of drowned Balthamel."  The Guide shook his head.
"Very tragic story."

	Aginor stared angrily at the pool.

	"dead scream," Setsuna whispered, and a huge surge of purple
energy flew from her staff, striking Aginor and sending him toppling
backwards into a pool.

	Ryouga got up.  "Well, that was easy.  Nice thinking, Kurz."

	"I guess being ta'veren counts for something," Kurz said,
grinning.  "Do I get a memorial statue?"

	"What pool did he fall in?" Nanami asked the Guide.

	Setsuna and Soun were already warily approaching the pool.

	Umino studied the sign and said, just as the Guide did, "Pool of
Drowned Fire Lizard."

	Lizard-Aginor emerged from the pool and immediately breathed fire
onto Setsuna and Soun, slicing apart Setsuna's defensive weaves, as,
unfortunately, he still had access to the One Power.  Then he began
hurling fire and high winds everywhere.

	The group scattered, running for cover.  Of which there was very
little in the springs.  Ryouga got lifted high into the air and plummeted
into one of the pools.  Kurz tried to flee the area of the pools entirely.
Ranma threw himself flat at first, then saw Ukyou running for the black
and white pools.  He got up and ran after her as best he could.  Soun,
despite being charred, lunged at Aginor-Lizard, only to be flung out of
the pool area entirely with a flick of the Power.  Setsuna played dead.
Umino picked up Nanami and ran with her.

	The Guide ran for a shack near the two pools.  Aginor-Lizard
spotted him and set him on fire.  On his way to the shack, the Guide
reached Ranma and Ukyou, who were now near the black and white pools.
Ranma could feel the black water pulsing with power, roiling more and more
as he drew close.  The white water seemed to glow as Ukyou approached.  As
he burned, the Guide pushed each of them into one of the pools, then
turned and ran into his shack.  There was a sound of water running inside,
now.

	Hinako gave a great shout of anger as she saw Soun go flying.
"DELINQUENT PUNISHING ATTACK!" she shouted, and opened up on Aginor with
everything she had.

	He tried to shield her, but to his horror, it somehow didn't work.
Power flowed from inside her, instead of from the Source, and a great
blast engulfed him.  He screamed in agony as he was blasted.  Seizing the
distraction, Setsuna now sliced at his connection to the Source, while
Hinako continued to fry him.

	He tried to fight both, but he could not, burning away inch by
inch.

	Around them, the entire valley shuddered and began to rise into
the air, starting to fold in on itself.

	Nanami stared.  "It's...the whole valley is the Eye of God!"

	As it began to fold in on itself, Umino said, "The shack!  Make
for the shack!"

	They all began to run for it, including one little black pig, as
the world continued to fold and twist and bend.

*********

	Dubin tried to destroy Ranma, to unmake him entirely.  It was all
around him, literally, seeping into his lungs and engulfing and assaulting
him.  It burned into his flesh.

	Flame and the Void, he thought desperately, concentrating and
feeding the energies into it.  It raged and he calmed himself to a
perfect, icy calm, mastering it, subduing it to his will.

	Then he reached out with his senses to the island of serenity and
peace which floated nearby, extending a hand of Dubin towards it.  It
flowed up to meet his hand, and Subin joined with Dubin, interwining and
flowing around each other.  He could sense Ukyou's presence, and then his
eyes opened.

	They flew high above the Blight, which seemed to almost cower
beneath them.  He could see for dozens, hundreds of miles.  Far away, he
could see Fallintothe Gap, and he turned to fly towards it.

	The landscape blurred beneath them as they closed in on the pass,
where they could see a thin line of knights and pikemen doing desperate
battle against a seemingly endless ocean of Fanboys and Lagmen and Mikados
and other horrors.

	Ranma and Ukyou looked at each other, then Ukyou said, "Destroy
them, Ranchan."

	Ranma nodded and the Eye flared to life all around them.  Great
lances of flame and lightning poured forth from its unblinking pupil,
vaporizing Shadowspawn wherever it touched.  Power laced from it to strike
the mountainsides, and the very Gap fell in upon itself to bury the
servants of the Dark and to seal the Gap against such invasion forever.

	Ranma laughed, for Dubin bowed to his will, and though it
struggled against him, it could not master him.  Ukyou floated in a serene
ocean of peace.  He reached out and began to level the Blight, wiping
chunks of it away and replacing it with verdant green and healthy growth.
With this much power, he could do anything, he knew.  He could...he could
level Streamline Mountain and kill the Dark One himself!

	He looked over at Ukyou, who said, "I agree.  Let's get him,
Ranchan."

	They turned the Eye of God and began to move towards Streamline
Mountain.  As they cruised forward, Ranma became aware that the Power was
not battering him as fiercely as it had earlier.  Briefly, he convinced
himself this meant that it had obviously been beaten into submission and
was giving up fighting him, but it soon became apparent that instead, what
this meant, was that the Eye was starting to use up its power supply.  The
pools of Drowned Dubin and Subin did not have infinite strength.

	And then two figures appeared, streaking towards them through the
sky, over the Blight.  Dark Sch'neider himself in all his half-naked,
blonde-haired, arrogant smiling, black-flaming eyed glory, and a woman,
dark-skinned, dark-haired and scantily clad with pointed ears.

	For a moment, Ranma wondered who the woman was.  And then he
turned the main eye beam onto Dark Sch'neider, desperate to finish him
while he still could, while the Eye still held power.

	Dark Sch'neider exploded into tiny bits.

	The tiny bits reformed into an unhurt Dark Sch'neider.  "HAH!
YOUR POWER IS NOTHING BEFORE MINE!  HALLOWEEN!!!!"  He hurled a flaming
pumpkin at the Eye;  in his soul, Ranma knew it would explode powerfully
enough to level a city.  So he wove the power of the Eye into a shield.

	Dark Sch'neider hurled blast after blast, but the Eye was able to
block the attacks.  But Ranma couldn't get enough of a break to try to
mount a counter-attack, for the woman began to fire blasts of flame and
ice and lightning all at once at the Eye.

	"I am the Lord of the Grave!"  Dark Sch'neider shouted.  "You
cannot slay me, but eventually, the Eye will lose all power and then I
will kill you and turn you into my undead slave!  But if you kneel to me,
I will let your friends, who are now trapped inside the Eye with you,
live!"

	Ranma had forgotten about them, about everything except Ukyou, the
Eye, and his mission.  He hesitated.  He was running out of power.
Except...the Source.  He could try to reach the Source and draw on that,
as could Ukyou.  They had to try to do it.

	"Alright, Ranchan, I'll try," Ukyou said.

	He could feel her embrace the Source.  He opened himself to it.
The Power surged again, howling at him and trying to destroy him, and then
it struck him.  This power tasted of filth and sewage, filling his veins,
his nostrils, his lungs with rot.  The Power within the Eye had been
clean.  Clean so that it could flow through the Eye without destroying the
Eye.

	And now he was drawing the Taint through a huge, potent amplifier
of the Power which was never designed to deal with the Taint on Dubin.  It
magnified the Taint as well as the Power, and all over the Eye, circuitry
began to fry and sizzle and burn.

	Ranma would have screamed, but he was safe, sheltered from his
emotions inside the Void.  His instincts took over, reaching with cords of
the Power through the Eye, ripping open holes, holes in reality, through
which he shoved his friends to safety, through which he took Ukyou,
fleeing as the Eye blew itself apart over the Blight.

	The last thing he saw was a wave of fire rushing over Dark
Sch'neider and the woman, vaporizing them both.  And then the portal he
had opened closed behind him, and the Void shattered, and he fell into a
lake.  Exhaustion and pain washed over him, and he lost the Source as he
transformed, and then there was only darkness.

********

	Ranma-chan awoke, lying by the side of a lake, surrounded by
grassy fields and green forest.  In the distance, he could make out seven
towers whose peaks rose above the trees, and from each flew scraps of
cloth, which might once have been flags.  She was wrapped around in a
piece of cloth herself, a golden flag with a black five, the sign of the
Ronin, embroidered on it.

	Ukyou lay nearby, clutching a golden horn to her chest, and her
friends had made camp near them.  Setsuna sat by the fire with Hinako
busily treating her wounds.  In her hands, she held several pieces of a
whitish material, pressing them close together as they had been before
they broke.

	Kurz said, "Yes, that's exactly what it looked like," then saw
Ranma sit up.  "Hey, Ranma.  Are you okay?"

	"I'm fine," Ranma-chan said, feeling beat half to death.

	"Where was he going next?" Setsuna asked Kurz.

	"Uhh, Illian, I think.  That's where the river goes eventually,
right?"

	Ukyou leaned over on Ranma-chan as she sat up.  "Wow, we killed
the Dark One.  You and I, Ranchan.  We did it."

	"The Dark One cannot be slain, only imprisoned," Setsuna said.
"He must be resealed, and only the Ronin Reborn can do it."  She looked
straight at Ranma-chan for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the
seal.  "And the Horn must be taken to Illian.  That is where it will be
needed.  Which is, strangely, where one of the seals has gone.  The
Pattern weaves in subtle ways, its works to create."

	Ranma-chan shivered at the memory of the Taint on the Power, of
how good it had felt even with the Taint.  This isn't over, she thought.
It's only just begun.  She pulled the banner off herself and stared at it.
"What is this?"

	"The Ronin's Banner," Setsuna said.  "Which will be unfurled to
lead the Armies of Light."

	Ranma-chan scrambled away from it.  "I don't want it."

	Soun came over and carefully folded it.  "Soon enough, soon enough
it will be used."

	"The ladies must go to the Tower," Setsuna said.  "And the
gentlemen will go with me to Illian, with the Horn.  But first, we must go
to Fal Dara and rest."

	Umino shook his head with amazement.  "I shall have enough
adventures for five books, maybe even six, at this rate.  If I live to see
them."

	"Best never to pin yourself down on exactly how many you're going
to deliver," Kurz said.  "Da was talking about horses, but I bet it
applies to books too."

	"I suppose so," Umino said.

	"I just...alright, I'll go to the Tower.  But I'm not going to be
the Ronin.  I'm NOT.  That was IT for channeling as a guy," Ranma-chan
said.  "I just...I won't.  I can't.  I want...dammit!"

	Ryouga shuddered a little.  "It's for the best," he said, eying
the lake nervously.  "You'd only go mad, and I don't want you to go mad,
Ranma.  You're my friend."

	"Come on, Ranma," Nanami said.  "Let's get going to Fal Dara, so
we can sleep in real beds and have clean underwear.  I can clean yours for
you.  I'll even do it for free, since you saved the world."

	Setsuna pursed her lips slightly, then said, "Let's go."

	They rode out of the Blight, heading for Fal Dara, right out of
this story and into the next book.



"And the People Cried to the Heavens
For Winter Did Not End
For War Tore The Land
For Hope Was Fading

And the Heavens Answered
For the Ronin Was Reborn
With a Pig to his Left
And a Fool to his Right

They Would Bring Hope
They Would Bring Peace
They Would Bring Despair
They Would Bring War

For In One Hand, Destruction
And In the Other, New Life.
One With the Land
And the Land is Wounded.

By This Sign
Would They Know Him
When the Eye of God
Came to Heal and to Slay.

And the People Wondered
If Crying to Heaven
Had Really Been
Such a Good Idea."


_The Chronicles of the Ronin_,
Written by Harline Sedai,
At the Court of Great Aravalon,
356 FA.


End Book One.








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