Author's note:

This is John Biles, who has not, in fact, left the FFML, despite someone
in the recent thread thinking I had left.

And for those who care, SMZ 23 is currently with my pre-readers, and will
likely hit the FFML soon, since all of my Pre-readers appear to have
dropped dead or something.  ^^;;;

Wheel of Anime:  Book 2 - The Hunt Is On
Chapter 1:  The Fal Dara Blues

By John Biles

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


**********


Excerpt from the Prophecies of the Ronin, written by Moemi Sedai in AB
200.

By Seven Signs Shall the Ronin be Known
By Seven Deeds Will She Proclaim Her Glory
By Seven Deeds Will He Destroy His Foes
By Seven Signs, She Will Be Marked

The Staff Which Is a Key Waits For Him, On the Day the Stone Falls
The Key Unlocks Treasures Long Forgotten
He Will Play Snakes and Foxes and Win the Secret of Salvation
Twin Rulers Open The Door That Cannot Be Opened
The Unstained Tower Kneels to the Ancient Sign
The Eye of God Opens at His Command
The Horn Sounds in Illian to Call Her Hosts
Then He Rides Forth to the Last Battle


Excerpt from Commentaries on the Prophecies of the Ronin, written by
Kirsten Sedai, of the Brown Ajah in 456 NE.

 	The White Tower kneels to no one, especially not to a man, ever!
The Stone has never fallen, not even to treachery.  Nor can any living
being touch the Key-Staff, let alone use it.  The Eye of God is lost, as
is the Horn of Valere.  It is impossible to win at Snakes and Foxes.  All
the wisdom of the Tower has been unable to open the Door Which Cannot Be
Opened.   This seems a listing of impossibilities, as if the Ronin would
do five impossible things before breakfast, like Elsbet, the Queen of All.
Another sign of Moemi Sedai's tendency to drink and prophesy.


**********

	"You will need to choose before we arrive back at Fal Dara,"
Setsuna said to Ranma.

	"Why?" he asked stubbornly.

	"If you wish to go to the Tower, then you will need to start
getting used to living as a woman," Setsuna said.  "If you do not, then
you can return as a man."

	Ranma frowned.  "I don't want to go to the Tower, but I need
training, if I want to live and...dammit."

 	Setsuna nodded.  "You need not decide immediately," Setsuna said.
"But you'll need to decide very soon.  We will reach the Shienarian border
soon."

	Ranma sighed.  "I know, I know.  I'll think about it."

**********

	"I'd rather have you as a boy, Ranchan," Ukyou said.  "But I think
it's safer for you to be a girl.  You need to learn to channel the right
way so you don't die.  And you can't...do that as a man."

	"I hate it," he said.  "I don't want to channel at all.  Or turn
into a woman.  Stupid springs."

	"Well, being a woman isn't all bad," she said.

	"Name something good about it."

	She frowned at him.  "Superior pain resistance."

	"Hey, I can handle..."

	She whacked him upside the head with her spatula.

	"Owww!"

	"See?"

	"Hrmph."  He kicked a rock.  "I wouldn't have to do this if Pop
hadn't been such an idiot."

	"You'd be stuck channeling as a man, doomed to go mad," Ukyou said
softly.  "Just give it a chance.  I bet being Aes Sedai will be lots of
fun."

	"I call dibs on Ryouga as a warder."

	"You are NOT sticking me with Kurz," Ukyou said.  "He'd probably
gamble our horses away and blow us both up playing with fireworks."

	"Hah!  I called dibs.  TOO LATE," Ranma gloated.

	"On the other hand, Kurz outsmarted Balthamel."  Ukyou shuddered.
"I can't believe two of the Forsaken are free."

	"I've got a theory, see," Ranma said.  "Remember how the Red Man
said one of the seals broke that morning?"

	"Uh huh?" Ukyou asked.

	"See, I bet each seal trapped two of them.  And I got out of
Setsuna that there were seven of them.  So I bet two Forsaken escape with
each seal.  The last seal lets out the last one and the Dark One.  So,
until the rest of them break, we're fine."

	Ukyou gave a sigh of relief.  "That makes sense."  Then she
paused.  "Wait, if they all have to break for the Dark One to get
free...what did we fight?  And who was that woman, anyway?"

	Ranma frowned.  "I'm not sure," he said.  "I suppose we should ask
Setsuna Sedai."

********

	"Graendal, it sounds like," Setsuna said.  "As for her
companion...a tricky question."

	"What makes it tricky?"

	"A man answering to that name appeared during the Fanboy Wars,
leading the Grateful Deadlords, then vanished around the same time that
Prince Dios vanished.  Many thought he and Dios slew each other.  He
claimed to be the Dark One, and was killed many times, always returning to
life.  Until he stopped showing up.  Perhaps he may be a mask for someone
else.  Graendal was known to sometimes work with Demandred or Sammael, so
perhaps they disguised themselves."

	Ukyou frowned.  "Do you think the Forsaken are free?"

	"Perhaps.  They were not bound so deeply as the Dark One.  But
only one seal is broken, so far as is known, so perhaps only a few are
free."

	Ranma looked around nervously.

	"But we must cross that bridge when we come to it," Setsuna said.
"For now, we will go to the Tower, and the Horn will be taken to Illian,
until it can be used to sound the call for the Last Battle."

	"I will go to the Tower," Ranma said softly.  "I don't want to,
but I don't see a way around it."

	"Alright," Setsuna said.  "Your training will begin tomorrow, when
we pass into Shienar."

	He nodded.  "Alright."  Doom begins tomorrow, he thought.

*******

	The party on their return to Shienar dwarfed anything the Two
Rivers folk had ever seen.  It went on for days.  Ryouga was not too happy
about the roast boar on the second day, but he largely had a good time, as
did Kurz, who found some women willing to do more with him than kick him
in the groin.  Ranma-chan tended to alternate between being subdued and
getting into the spirit of the festivities.  Even Soun smiled more than
usual.

	After several days of relaxation, things settled down into a
steady routine.  (Somewhat to Ranma's surprise, as she wasn't sure why
they hadn't left yet, but didn't want to remind Setsuna of it.)
Ranma-chan spent half her time with Setsuna studying channeling and the
other half with Soun, practicing with the sword.  She wanted to be worthy
of her father's blade.

	Soun was relentless, pressing her hard, and she struggled to keep
up.  Trying to memorize the sword forms was incredibly hard, and some
days, she got very frustrated.  And no matter how many she learned, there
were always more.

	It didn't help that Umino, Kurz, and Ryouga liked to hang out and
watch her, making 'helpful' comments.  Well, Umino never mocked her, but
the other two got pretty annoying at times.  A lot of other people came
and stared at her; Shienarian women usually had some sword skill, but they
typically practiced with other women, not with men.

	It was easier when Ukyou came and sparred with her.  Soun would
teach them both, and Ukyou didn't always whip him like a red-headed
stepchild.  Which, possibly, he was, given what her father had said so
long ago, the night they'd fled their farm.

	Delirious, Genma had babbled about finding a baby at some sort of
battlefield and adopting him.  Ranma-chan had almost forgotten about it
all, until now.  Now she had time to think, more than she wanted.

	Ranma-chan tried to execute Acorn Falls On Their Head, but Ukyou
dodged left and brought her spatula up in Got Your Chin and parried it,
then while Ranma-chan was trying to fall back into a defensive stance, she
twirled it around to strike Ranma-chan's left side with Uncle Urkel Falls
Down the Stairs.  Ranma-chan went sprawling.

	Kurz began to laugh.  "Good thing you're not going to be a Warder,
Ranma.  You may have to ask Ukyou to be YOUR warder."

	"Hah!  You think you're tough?  Let's see you take me!" Ranma-chan
said.

	Kurz got his staff and ambled over.  "Let's throw down."

	Ranma-chan moved into Ready For Whoopass and awaited Kurz's
assault.  He moved in, aiming a blow for her legs.  She jumped over the
blow, kicked him in the chest, then brought her wooden practice sword
around to strike him in the right arm, using Chopping A Tree With a
Herring.

	Kurz staggered, then got serious with her.

	Serious wasn't enough, as he found her parrying his every blow
with tremendous strength, the same unnatural strength Ukyou had long had.
He was driven back across the courtyard, and finally, his staff went
flying out of his hands.  "Well, damn," he said.

	"Hah!" Ranma-chan said, then paused.  "Man, I've gotten stronger."
He paused again.  "Hmm, why am I getting stronger?"

	"It could be a Channeling Talent," Soun said.  "Warders become
much stronger when bonded, and some Aes Sedai develop great strength,
which only works if they are free to channel.  If you enter a stedding or
travel to Far Madding, you will lose that strength.  Most Aes Sedai do not
develop that strength; I am not sure why."

	"Avenge me, Ryouga," Kurz said from the ground.

	"No thanks, I don't like beatings," Ryouga said.  "Though I might
spar with you a bit if you want, Kurz.  We could probably both use some
lessons."

	"Yes, you could," Soun said flatly.

	"Alright, alright, teach us already," Kurz said.

******

	A few days later, as they were having morning practice in the
courtyard, the trumpets sounded and sounded and sounded some more.  Then,
for variety, drums and flutes played very loudly, and then there were more
trumpets.

	Soun's head lifted.  "The Amyrlin Seat."

	"You haven't taught us that one yet," Kurz said.

	"The Amyrlin Seat is the leader of the Aes Sedai, Nabiki Sanche,
formerly of the Silver Ajah.  She has come to Fal Dara."

	"..."

	Ranma-chan stared.  "She has?  Why would she come all the way
here?"

	"She did not think to send me a message explaining her logic,
sheepherder," Soun said.  "It seems likely, however, that Shienar's plea
for help reached her and she came as soon as she could."

	"Too late," Ryouga said.

	"Only because there was victory," Soun said.  "Aes Sedai cannot
travel across the world in an instant.  I know she would not leave Shienar
to be destroyed without giving it aid."

	"Let's go see her," Kurz said.

	They soon found themselves up on the battlements, looking down at
the procession as it marched through the city.   Dozens of women formed a
rainbow of color, riding in two lines behind a short, dark-haired woman
who wore a rainbow-striped shawl.  Soun pointed at her.  "That is Nabiki
Sanche, the Amyrlin Seat."

	"She doesn't look very impressive," Ranma-chan said.

	"I dunno, I'd say she's got a good figure, though the haircut is
kind of ugly," Kurz said.

	"Wow, she glows," Ukyou said softly.

	"Who's the woman riding with her?" Ryouga asked.

	"Kasumi, her Keeper of the Chronicles," Soun said.  "She is the
Amyrlin's chief lieutenant."

	"I never realized there were so many Aes Sedai," Ryouga said.

	"This is only perhaps a tenth of their numbers," Soun said.

	"Wow," Ryouga said, staring and obviously trying to count them all
now.

	"Why are so many of them here?" Ranma-chan asked.

	"They probably have come to investigate the reports about the Eye
of God."

	Ranma-chan's eyes widened.  "That could be..."  She frowned.

	"We shall have to see,"  Soun said.  "And we will, soon."

*********

	The feast was huge; the Two Rivers folks found they'd been moved
down from guests of honor to 'those people who sit in the back and like
it'.  The Amyrlin Seat, her Keeper, and nine other Aes Sedai sat at the
table of honor with Lord Parn and Lady Deedlit.  Fifteen more tables were
full of Aes Sedai and Warders, pushing everyone else out to the edges of
the room or even to the courtyard.  Ukyou noticed that each of the tables
of Aes Sedai, all of the women wore the same colored shawl, leading her to
guess that they had grouped themselves by Ajah, although there seemed to
be one from each Ajah at the high table.  She also noticed there were more
Reds than any other single Ajah present, although a lot of Greens and
Silvers had come as well.

	Umino sat with Ranma-chan, Hinako, Kurz, Ryouga, and Ukyou, along
with several people they didn't know, though they did recognize Sasame at
least.  Umino was scribbling notes with one hand and eating with the
other.  Kurz asked, "What are you writing about?"

	"I'm listening for names," Umino said.  "So I will have a record
of who was present."

	"But there's dozens of them," Ranma-chan said.

	"My hearing and memory are good," Umino said.  "Maybe too good."

	"Eh?" Ryouga asked.

	"I can hear various discussions that they probably don't realize
can be overheard," he said.  "The Reds are discussing the hunt for Gendo
Taim, the False Ronin in Saldea.  And many of them are arguing over how
the Eye of God was activated and if that was really the Eye of God."

	Ranma-chan shivered.  "They're here to hunt for men who channel?"

	"They do that job well," Sasame said.  "Few escape them."

	Nanami rubbed her eyes.  "That's strange."

	"What's strange?" Umino asked.

	"One of the serving women is blue-skinned."

	Sasame's eyes widened and he turned and looked.  "Blue-skinned?
Where?"

	She pointed at someone.  Ranma-chan looked and the woman looked
perfectly normal to her.  "Looks normal to me," Ranma-chan said.

	"And she's got some guys dressed all in black with her," Nanami
said.  "Hiding their features."

	"I don't see nothin'," Ranma-chan said.  "You sure you haven't had
too much wine?"

	Umino's ears twitched.  "Kabuki men!  And the woman must be
Phantom Tribe!"

	"Phantom Tribe?" Nanami asked, worried.

	"They can disguise themselves with illusions and have other
illusion powers as well.  And Kabuki men are assassins who you can't see
until they attack."  Umino blinked.  "How are you seeing them?"

	"If we leap up, we'll alert them," Sasame said.  "And possibly
cause a panic."

	Nanami wondered why Lady Deedlit couldn't see them, then realized
she had her back to them.  "Kurz, if I tell you where to throw a knife, do
you think you can hit it?"

	"I can try, but if I throw a knife in here..."

	"We'll have to sound the alarm and take our chances," Hinako said.

	Nanami stood up in her chair and pointed.  "Lord Parn!  Lady
Deedlit!  There's a Phantom Tribeswoman and three Kabuki Men behind you!
Kurz, right there!"

	As everyone began to turn, Kurz jumped up in his chair, whipped
out a knife and threw it where Nanami pointed.  One of the Kabuki men took
a knife in his right shoulder and yelped in pain.

	And then Ranma-chan felt a massive surge of the Power as a hundred
Aes Sedai all seized the Source at once.  She did so herself, fumblingly,
and felt Ukyou do it as well.  Hinako was charging across the room,
slipping easily between crowded tables in child form.

	The Kabuki Men and the Phantom Tribeswoman lunged forward.  Parn
drew his sword and knocked the Phantom's blade aside, while fire and
lightning now rained down on the Kabuki Men, leaving only smoldering boots
behind.  Parn quickly disarmed his foe, who the Aes Sedai then bound with
flows of Air.

	The entire room then turned and stared at Nanami and Kurz.  Kurz
grinned and flashed a V-sign, while Nanami blushed a little and sat down.

	Hinako sighed and came back to the table, and order was soon
restored.

*********

	Ukyou sat nervously, waiting in the room Setsuna had told them to
go to.  "Shouldn't she be here already?" she asked.

	Hinako said, "Aes Sedai seem to think everyone else should wait on
them."  She didn't sound happy about it.  "Are you alright, Ranma?  You're
vibrating."

	Ranma-chan tried to stop her twitching.  "Dammit."

	The doors opened, and Nabiki Sedai walked in, followed by Kasumi,
Setsuna, and several women that Ukyou didn't know by name, though she
could tell by shawl colors that one was a Brown, two were Green, one was
Yellow, and one was of the White Ajah.

	For a moment, seven Aes Sedai swept cool gazes across the three
waiting women.  The eighth woman, a Brown, was too busy reading a book to
sweep her gaze across anything.  In fact, she walked into one of the
Greens from behind, then dropped her book.  The red-haired green turned
and glared at her.  "Yomiko, PAY ATTENTION," she shouted.

	Yomiko Sedai wilted under the gaze.  "Sorry, Shayla.  Are we there
yet?"

	"Yes!" Shayla snapped, folding her arms under her breasts.

	"Calm, daughters," Nabiki said coolly.  "Save it for when the
accounting is done."

	"Your assessment was correct, Setsuna," the White, a thin woman in
blue with short wavy black hair said.  "To think, three wilders of such
surpassing strength, all from a single small town.  And one of them so
surpassing young."

	"I am the eldest," Hinako said stiffly.  "I am twenty six years of
age, thank you."

	"I know we take on an ageless look as we channel, but this is
ridiculous," Shayla said.  "You cannot possibly be twenty six."

	"She is, Sedai," Ukyou said.

	Ranma-chan nodded.

	"Her child-body cannot channel," Setsuna said.  "She must absorb
life force or the Power in order to grow to an adult and channel."

	"Is that possible?" the black-haired Yellow sister asked, leaning
on her staff.  "To change age like this?"

	"Yes, it is, Hotaru," Setsuna said.  "Strange and hard to
believe."

	"I'd have to see it to believe it," the White said.

	Hinako stood up and fished out a coin.  "I'll show you!"  She
paused and looked at Nabiki.  "With your permission," she said
reluctantly.

	"Best we see with our own eyes," Nabiki said, perhaps smiling just
a tiny bit.  "Afura, brace yourself."

	"DELINQUENT PUNISHING ATTACK!" Hinako shouted and sucked the chi
right out of Afura, who collapsed.  She now grew to adult size and
pocketed the coin as various Aes Sedai stared.

	"Hinako is especially talented at healing and making people need
healing," Setsuna said.

	Hinako snorted.

	"Fascinating," Yomiko Sedai said.  "How long does a charge last?"

	"The less channeling, the longer," Hinako said.  "We haven't timed
it precisely."

	Hotaru Sedai knelt by Afura and wiped her fatigue away with the
Power, enabling her to stand up.  "An interesting Wilder block.  What
about the others?"

	"I have begun Ranma and Ukyou's training in time so that they have
not developed a block," Setsuna said.

	"Where are their companions?," asked a Green, clad in blue.  Her
light purple hair was short and very wavy.

	"The boys?" Setsuna asked.  "They and Nanami are off with Lord
Parn, I believe, Miz."

	Miz nodded thoughtfully.  "Well, they should make fine Kohai, even
if Hinako is a little..."  She paused.  "A little old for it."

	Hinako preened just a little bit at that.

	"If she can satisfy me with her ability to channel when adult, I
will make her a Sempai as soon as she can be put through the testing
ter'angreal," Nabiki said.  "Hotaru and Setsuna, if you will come with
Hinako and Kasumi and I, we can see about testing her immediately."

	They nodded and followed her out of the room, leaving her with
Afura, Shayla, Miz, and Yomiko.  "I suppose Setsuna has told you all about
the Ajahs?" Yomiko asked.

	Ranma-chan nodded.  "Yes, she did.  The Purples sound kind of
interesting, and I've done so much fighting lately, that I can see some
appeal in the Green Ajah too."  The two Greens present preened.  "Being
able to blow things up really well would have been handy a lot of times."

	"Just keep the oaths in mind," Miz said.  "We only use the power
as a weapon against Shadowspawn and Darkfriends, or in defense of
ourselves, our warders, and our fellow Aes Sedai.  It is best not to get
into the habit of using it too much."

	"That's why I've been sword training," Ranma-chan said.  "For
times when I can't channel."

	They all seemed a little surprised by that.

	Ukyou said, "I've been training too.  I'm not sure which Ajah
would be best for me, since none of them have that much to do with
cooking."

	"Hmm, a few of the Silvers get into cooking, I think," Yomiko
said.  "And the Browns have the best recipe collection in the world."

	"Well, there is no immediate rush," Afura said.  "Most people
spend years as a Kohai, more years as a Sempai.  You only choose an Ajah
when you become a full sister, although most people know which way they
will choose by the time they become a Sempai."

	"Years?" Ranma-chan asked.  "No one said _years_!"

	"Perhaps not quite so long for you two, since you already can
touch the Source reliably, Setsuna tells us," Afura said.  "But yes, you
are in for the long haul."

	Ranma-chan frowned.  Ukyou put a hand on her shoulder.  "We'll
have everyone with us, Ranma.  It'll be just like home."

	"I guess," she said, sighing.

	"It is not easy to be Aes Sedai," Afura said.  "We will make you
work, and work hard.  But the rewards are great, and we will make you
something greater than you are.

	Miz nodded.  "You two and your friend have the potential to be
among the greatest Aes Sedai in hundreds of years.  It will not be easy,
but hard work is rewarded in the Tower."

	"Sometimes with more hard work," Yomiko pointed out.

	"True.  Just work hard and be patient and you'll do fine," Miz
said.

	"And we'll kick your ass when you don't," Shayla said.

	Ukyou did not find that tremendously reassuring.

********

	"But for me to heal someone, that would require me to have someone
injured," Hinako said.  She was charged up, and ready to use the Power, at
least.

	"Easily fixed," Hotaru said, taking out a knife and stabbing her
left hand.

	Hinako's eyes widened.  "You could get an infection like that!"
She immediately took Hotaru's hand and began concentrating as Setsuna had
taught her.  The Power flowed into Hotaru's hand and wiped away the cut as
if it had never been.

	"Impressive," Hotaru said.  "You seem to be able to easily channel
as an adult."

	"Yes.  But not at all when I'm stuck a child," Hinako said.

	"Her ability to channel is quite adequate," Hotaru said.  "Except
normally, we require the breaking of your block before you become a
Sempai."

	"This is not a normal block," Setsuna said.  "She could be stuck
waiting years, maybe decades, to find some sort of cure for this."

	Kasumi nodded.  "I think making her a Sempai is reasonable."

	Hotaru frowned, then nodded.  "Yes, I can see that.  This isn't a
behavioral block, more of a physical condition."  She frowned
thoughtfully.  "Alright, I'll approve it."

	"You will still need to pass the ter'angreal test," Nabiki said to
Hinako.  "But I will approve you trying it, if you feel ready, once we
return to the Tower."

	"Alright," Hinako said.  "What is it?"

	"You must face your fears and hopes and overcome them," Nabiki
said.  "Only when you have mastered yourself can you learn to be in
authority over others."  She turned to Kasumi.  "Please enter her in the
list of candidates.  Hotaru, please take Hinako back to her friends."

	They both nodded and left.

	Once they were gone, Nabiki wove a ward against eavesdropping and
locked the doors.  "Setsuna."

	"Yes, Mother?"

	"You need to remind me why I am not beating you to death."

	"Mother?"  Setsuna's voice was cool, with a hint of surprise.

	Nabiki began to pace around the room.  "You have been sloppy.
Someone is going to be asking themselves why you went into the Blight with
two women who could channel and three boys and returned with three women
who could channel and two boys."

	Setsuna frowned, leaning on her staff.  "I did not realize it
would become an issue so quickly."

	"You should have been more careful.  Fortunately, no one SEEMS to
have noticed.  But if they do, we will become a liability and will likely
be liquidated.  If the Hall realizes we have the Ronin in the Tower, in
female form, and haven't told them..."

	"We can't tell them," Setsuna said.  "They would never understand.
They would crush him, make a puppet of him, render him useless."

	"I know," Nabiki said.  "But if he's left to run wild, he may well
put himself too far into the red to ever balance his account."

	"I think some time spent in the Tower training as an Aes Sedai
will help with that," Setsuna said.

	"And risk discovery.  If he is found...we will go so far into the
red, our ancestors will be in debt."

	Setsuna sighed.  "Do you see another course of action?"

	"No.  So long as those wards last and are not detected...let us
pray they will not be.  How much time do we have?"

	"The first seal is broken," Setsuna said, passing the remains to
Nabiki.  "At least a few Forsaken escaped, though we killed two of them.
We have months, maybe a few years, at best."

	"Well, sit down, and tell me everything, and we'll decide how we
can avoid disaster."

	Setsuna sat down and began her tale.

******

	"Kurz, where is Ryouga?" Nanami asked.

	"He was right behind me," Kurz said, frowning.  "He's lost again."

	"Well, you two are the ones I most needed to speak with," Lord
Parn said.  "I've decided the best reward I can give you for helping to
save myself and my wife and the Amyrlin Seat is to knight you both."

	Kurz's eyes widened.  "Cool."

	"That's a great honor," Nanami said.  "Does it come with a
salary?"

	Lord Parn laughed.  "I'm afraid not, though you will always be
welcome here.  We will knight you tomorrow."

	Nanami said, "Wow, my aunts will be amazed when I write them about
this."

	"Pa's going to think I made it all up," Kurz said.

	"We will have the ceremony tomorrow, and then you will be on your
way, I think.  Peace favor you on your journey."

	"And you as well," Kurz said.

	"We shall have as close to peace as we ever come for a time.
Whatever exactly happened, we have won a great victory," Lord Parn said.
"You have given us new hope."

	Kurz smiled.  "All in all, things have been looking up for me
since getting out of Caemlyn."

	"Well, I expect Nuriko will be at the Tower by the time we get
there," Nanami said.

	"What?"

	"Nuriko's going to the Tower with Usagi and Sousuke, I'm pretty
sure."

	"AAAAAAHHH!!!!!!"

********

	Ryouga frowned, trying to figure out where he was.  There were a
lot of pigs nearby, he could tell that, anyway.  He wasn't quite sure how
he could tell, but it seemed like he was sensing all sorts of things he
couldn't sense before.  One of them was pigs.  He could talk to them too,
even at a distance.  'Where am I?' he asked.

	'On a ridge', one of them replied.

	'Nearby.'

	'Over there.'

	He'd also learned that being able to talk to pigs didn't mean they
had much to say.

	'Are there any humans nearby?' he asked.

	'Riding us,' one of them replied.

	He hoofed it up the ridge he was on the lee side of, and reaching
the top, he saw several dozen men and women (mostly men) riding war-pigs
down a road in the next valley.  He waved to one of them, and one of them
shouted something he couldn't hear.

	He ran down the ridge, shouting, "What was that?"

	"Have you seen Princess Himeko?" one of them shouted.

	"I'm afraid not.  Is she missing?" he shouted back.

	"She seems to have run away from home, so we're looking for her,"
the man shouted back.

	"Sorry, I'm lost myself," Ryouga shouted.  "Where am I?"

	"You're in Saldea," the man shouted.

	"Which way to Shienar?"

	"That way," the man pointed.

	"Thank you!"  Ryouga took off.

*********

	"When do we leave?" Hinako asked Soun.

	"When the Amyrlin is ready to leave.  I expect it will take a few
days to finish interviewing witnesses, to ride out to Fallintothe Gap and
study the residues, and so on.  So we have a while, I expect," Soun said.

	"Good," she said.  "We can go to see Lodoss, now that the Blight
has retreated."

	He stiffened.  "You want to what?"

	"I already cleared it with Setsuna," she said.  "I want to see the
Seven Towers with you, close up, and I want to know what happened."

	"It is not something I easily speak of," he said softly.

	"Well, I could try to get it out of other people, but they'd
probably tell me how you destroyed entire armies of Fanboys with the fire
from your eyes while still in the cradle.  Again."

	Soun winced.  "Alright, you win."

	She grinned.  "I always win."

	"Then let me find out how long we have, and then we will ride."

********

	"I'm afraid I must say no," Nabiki said to Shayla.

	"But it would be the perfect training opportunity for them!"

	"'Blowing shit up in the Blight' is best reserved for full
sisters, not something you take novices to," Nabiki said.

	"This is the perfect chance to show them what Green Sisters do!"
Shayla protested.

	"I will not put novices in danger unless it is unavoidable,"
Nabiki said firmly.  "I would be happy to see you begin their instruction,
but you will not take them to the Blight."

	"Damn."

**********

	Ranma-chan and Ukyou sat expectantly, watching Yomiko read.  Her
warder, a tall, short-haired blond named Drake, had set himself up a
pottery wheel and was busy working on making a vase, while she sat in a
chair and read.  Given she was supposed to be giving them today's lessons,
they weren't sure what they were supposed to be doing.

	"Yomiko," Drake finally said as he was finishing off his vase.

	"Hmm, what?" Yomiko asked.

	"Aren't you supposed to be teaching them?"

	Yomiko started, blinked, put her book down, saw Ranma-chan and
Ukyou, then started again.  "When did you get here?" she asked.

	"..."

	"They've been patiently watching you read for an hour," Drake
said.

	"Oh, well, patience is good," Yomiko said.  She carefully
bookmarked her book and tucked it into a jacket pocket.  "We need some
paper, Drake."

	"Left bottom pocket," Drake said.

	Yomiko reached into her left bottom pocket and extracted a sheaf
of paper.  "That's convenient."

	"Yes," Drake said, with the tone of a man used to dealing with
children.  "You put it there this morning for the lesson."

	"Oh, right."  She passed sheets of paper to Ranma-chan and Ukyou.
"Alright.  You both know how to write, right?"

	"Yes," Ranma-chan said.

	"We're literate," Ukyou said, a little offended she'd asked.

	"Good, good.  Today, we're going to learn how to write and erase
using the Power.  And possibly how to bind paper together if we get that
far.  And maybe copying books if you're really lucky."

	"Why not just use pen and ink to write?" Ukyou asked.

	"Because trying to carry pen and ink everywhere tends to stain
your jacket pockets," Yomiko said.  "Alright, open yourself to the
Source."

	They did so.

	"Now, watch this," she said, weaving Fire and Water and Earth
together, then lightly touching a piece of paper with it.

	Ranma and Ukyou nodded and tried to do the same thing.  It was
easy for Ukyou, while Ranma-chan fumbled with it.  Ukyou looked over at
Ranma-chan's paper.  "Your magical handwriting is even worse than your
REAL handwriting."

	"Hmph," she said.

	"Well, the fact that you got it at all on the first time is very
good," Yomiko said.  "Now, let's try the erasing weave."

	She carefully wove Fire, Water, and Earth together, applying it to
the paper she held, wiping away the ink.  "Now, you two try it."

	Ukyou wove the weave, then erased the writing on her paper,
although a few smears were left behind.  Ranma-chan frowned and
concentrated on putting more power into her weave this time.
Unfortunately, she put too much power into it, and the paper ripped apart
into shreds under the impact of the weave.

	Yomiko shook her head.  "Let's try again."

	Ranma-chan finally managed to master erasing things.  They then
worked their way through a set of weaves for copying the contents of
sheets of paper.  She then put them to work doing it over and over and
over, until finally they ran out of paper.  She then demonstrated weaves
for binding loose sheets into books.  Exhausted, they finally stumbled off
to sleep.

	Drake looked over from etching a picture into one of his vases.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to get around to copying those
books for Nene Sedai."

	Yomiko said, "I almost forgot."  She smiled.  "They did a very
good job, those two."

	Drake said, "They've got a lot of potential."

	"I think they'll go far."

	"Possibly flung by an explosion."

	"Quite possible."

**********

	The procession moved through the streets of Tar Valon, crowds
cheering the Aes Sedai and hissing at the False Ronin, Mamoru.  The twenty
seven Aes Sedai marching with him preened just a little; it was rare for
them to get such public adulation, so they took it when they could.  While
not theoretically in charge, Kanrinin Sedai led the pack, riding her
strange metal ter'angreal steed which had not been seen in Tar Valon in
many years.  It drew as many stares at the False Dragon did.

	Shortly behind her rode Nephrenia Sedai, one of the three Sitters
for the Red, who frowned, probably because Kanrinin Sedai was showboating
again.  Fatora and Allielle Sedai both rode just behind her, and the
remaining sisters were fanned out along the line of soldiers, though it
was obvious to any with eyes to see that the bulk of the sisters were Red.
Surrounded by guards, Usagi and Sousuke and Nuriko rode near the rear of
the long line, staring at everything, for Tar Valon dwarfed even Caemlyn,
their home.

	The Tower rose before them, a great stone spire reaching high into
the sky, perhaps the tallest building in the world, although the Stone
competed for that honor at its highest.  Gleaming white marble shone
brightly, unstained and spotless despite the passage of millennia, carved
with all the art which the Ogier and the One Power could muster.  A great
wall surrounded the grounds, and the long line made for the gates.

	Nine women stood at the gates to meet them, though dozens more Aes
Sedai lurked a little further back.  One Sitter from each Ajah, from the
short, flamboyant Sitter for the Blues, Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon, to the
tall and elegant Sakura, Sitter for the Yellows.  Several women they would
have expected to see were quite absent, however, especially the Amyrlin
Seat.

	Nephrenia stared in disbelief.  Why would the Amyrlin not come
forth for such an event as this?  Nabiki Sanche had put her, a Sitter for
the Reds, in charge of this expedition precisely because it was a grave
crisis, grave enough to even allow a political enemy to take command,
simply to see that things be done correctly.  Mamoru hadn't proven another
Belegcu or Turin Turambar, but he was the most potent False Ronin in
living memory.  And this...it had to be a snub.  Nephrenia had to restrain
the urge to growl at the thought.

	Asuka Langely, Sitter for the Reds, stepped forward and offered
the formal welcome which would normally have fallen to the Keeper of the
Chronicles.  She stood proudly and gave Nephrenia a warm smile.  While
they were not close, the two of them had always been friendly.  Nephrenia
found Asuka to be hopelessly naive, but she hoped it might be possible to
remedy that before it was too late.  She had potential.

	Nephrenia mouthed formalities back at her, and then the nine
Sitters lead the group into the courtyard.  As the eldest White present,
Maya, Sitter for the White, stepped forward and took custody of Mamoru.
Nephrenia detailed a circle of Reds to go with Mamoru and keep him
shielded in the dungeons.  As she did so, she could see Fatora looking
about angrily.  Nephrenia sighed.  No patience at all, she thought.  Save
your anger for your foes when it is time to destroy them, Nephrenia
thought.  Too many Reds never learned this.

	Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon ambled off with Maya to take Mamoru to
the dungeons, rambling on about justice in her usual inane manner.
Nephrenia dismissed her, then looked around to see what sort of stupidity
Kanrinin Sedai was getting up to, but she seemed content to talk quietly
with Mahoro, Sitter for the Green, a short woman with long dark hair who
looked very innocent, but who Nephrenia knew had a great capacity and
talent for violence.  Potentially useful if channeled correctly, Nephrenia
was sure.  Unfortunately, it looked like Kanrinin Sedai was going to be
doing the channeling.

	As the various Sitters directed the expedition off to various
parts of the Tower and the sisters began to scatter to talk to their
friends, she noticed Fatora now going to take the new novice, Usagi, to
Belldandy, the Mistress of Novices.  That girl had a lot of potential as
well, and she was still young enough to be shaped.  It looked as if Fatora
had completely botched the job of shaping that potential; Usagi was
powerful, but Nephrenia had concluded she was a giggly idiot.  Her sister
and brother bore watching, though.  Neither of them looked very bright,
but they could fight and they had an ironclad loyalty to their sister over
anything else, maybe even over Andor itself.  Such people could be
dangerous.  Or useful pawns.

	Nephrenia shook her head, then asked Asuka, "Where is the
Amyrlin?"

	"She's taken a hundred Sisters to the Borderlands to
investigate..."  Asuka looked around, then said softly, "Channeling we
could feel HERE.  From there.  Possibly male and female."

	The Great Lord comes, Nephrenia thought.  The Day of Return must
finally be at hand.  "That sounds dangerous," she said.

	"It is," Asuka said.  "Now that you're here, we should call a
meeting of the Reds."

	"That is Althena's prerogative," Nephrenia said softly, very
softly.

	"She and Misato have gone north.  It falls to us in their
absence."

	Nephrenia nodded.  "Best we be prepared, just in case."

	Asuka watched Usagi be lead off by Belldandy.  "So what do you
make of her?"

	"She inherited neither her mother's strength nor her mother's
intellect.  Sousuke got all of the former and Nuriko all of the latter, I
think.  But she has great power, unlike her mother."  Nephrenia
contemplated whether to be diplomatic.  "She may eventually make something
of herself, but I expect it will take a lot of work."

	"Any hope she will join us?" Asuka asked.

	"It is not impossible.  I may also discover how to fly using my
hair, too," Nephrenia said.

	Asuka sighed.  "Who will take her, then?"

	"Probably the Greens.  She is used to men fawning over her."

	"We have to try."

	"We will try.  Better you than me, I fear I would flay her alive
again."

	Asuka raised an eyebrow.

	"With my tongue.  You know what I mean."

	"Just making sure," Asuka said, slightly teasingly.  "I will see
you this evening then."

	Time to check in with Ryoko, Nephrenia thought.  There will be
more than one meeting tonight.

*********

	Kurz stared at his cards.  The Aes Sedai of Stones, the Six,
Seven, and Eight of Flames, and the King of Stones.  He could discard the
three Flames or the two Stones...but which?  He looked warily at Nanami,
who was staring off into space.  She'd better not be predicting what hand
I have again, he thought.

	Nanami just grinned at him with that smile of hers, the one which
usually meant she knew everyone's hands and was about to destroy everyone.

	Time to take a risk, he thought.  He discarded the three Flames.
"Three, please."

	Woodchuck, a somewhat handsome and roguish Shienarian, passed him
three cards, since he was currently dealer.  Kurz studied what he'd
gotten: the Queen, Warder, and Ten of Stones.  Not quite the best possible
hand, but very close.  She can't possibly beat this, he thought.  "I bet
eight crowns."

	Sasame looked at his hand.  "Three cards."  Once he got them, he
frowned.  "Fold.  I can't possibly win with this."

	"Give me three cards," Nanami said.  She got three, then grinned.
"See your eight crowns and raise you ten."

	"Two cards," Etoh said.  He took the cards, then looked
thoughtfully at Kurz and Nanami.  "I match and raise by one."  He was
another Shienarian, short and chubby and dark haired.

	"Two for me," the short and muscular Gim said.  He got two cards
and frowned at them.  "Fold."

	"And three cards for me," Woodchuck said, then frowned at his
cards.  "I fold."

	Going to have to try to bluff her out, Kurz thought, studying his
cards.  "I raise you by twelve crowns," he said, throwing the coins in.

	"You're bluffing," Sasame said.  "Or foolish, to go against an
oracle like that."

	"I control my own future," Kurz said.

	"Nothing escapes the weave and weft of the Pattern," Etoh said
solemnly.  He was a religious man, even more so than many in the
Borderlands.  "Even a ta'veren such as yourself can only move the threads
if you move with the flow of the Pattern."

	"All I know is that my visions always come true," Nanami said.
"Always.  Which is why I see you and raise you eight more."  She dropped
her coins in the middle.

	Etoh frowned.  "I must regretfully fold."

	Gim studied his cards, looked at Kurz, then at Nanami, stroked his
beard.  "In my own experience, it's best not to worry about what the
Pattern does or doesn't want, and just do the right thing.  But then, I've
never been very important to it."  He sighed.  "And I think the right
thing is for me to fold."

	Nanami grinned at Kurz.  "So, what's it going to be?"

	"I think you're bluffing," Kurz said.  "Because most hands, you
don't get a vision of the cards.  So I'm going to raise you six."

	"I see and raise you four," she said.

	He frowned thoughtfully.  "I see and raise you three."

	They continued to raise each other's bids by small amounts for
another four iterations.  Finally, Nanami said, "Call."

	"Royal Flush of Stones," he said, grinning.

	"Royal Flush of Flames," she said, grinning, then paused.  "Wait,
who wins if we both have a Royal Flush?  I remember Winds beat Stones and
Waves beat Flames, but..."

	"Souls beats Winds beats Stones beats Waves beats Flames," Etoh
said.  "So Kurz wins."

	Kurz raked in his winnings.  My luck has been hot lately, he
thought.  "So much for predicting the future."

	"I was bluffing," she said, sighing.  "Your luck is just too
good."

	"So how long are you staying here?" Gim asked.

	"I don't know," Kurz said.  "However long it takes the Amyrlin to
complete her investigation, I guess.  I can use some time to kick back and
relax after all the danger we've been in."

	"Ahh, there you are," Lady Deedlit said.  "Since you two have been
knighted, it's time for your etiquette lessons."

	"Etiquette lessons?"

	"Knights must learn to behave with proper manners, of course," she
said, taking each of them by the arm.  "Instead of cavorting about,
gambling."

	"Hey, Tairen nobles gamble all the time, I hear!"   Kurz
protested.

	"Good thing we're not nobles," Woodchuck said.  "Another hand,
anyway?"

	"Bye!" Etoh waved to them as Deedlit dragged Kurz and Nanami away.

**********

	Ryouga trudged up over the hill.  I'm ready to find myself back at
the castle, he told himself.  Instead, he spotted a pleasant two-story
house with a nice garden and some extensive fields for cultivation being
worked by two old men who looked like pretty tough customers to Ryouga.

	He patted the haft of his umbrella nervously for a moment, then
approached the house.  "Excuse me!" he said.  "I'm lost!"

	One of the two men, a short, muscular man with black hair turning
gray, looked up.  "Hello, there.  You're in western Shienar, near Gal
Haran.  It's about five miles southwest of us."

	The other man, a still handsome blond with also graying hair
nodded.  "Just follow that stream over there."  He pointed across the
fields.

	"Thank you," Ryouga said, heading towards a nearby clump of trees.

	"THAT way," the blond repeated.

	"Right, right."  Ryouga managed to force himself down the right
path.

	"Are you okay?" the dark-haired man asked.  "You keep zigzagging."

	Ryouga frowned.  "I get lost easily.  Very easily."

	"Hmm," the dark-haired man said.  "Why don't you come inside and
have some tea, and perhaps Misaki or Negiri can take a look at you."

	"Even Setsuna Sedai couldn't help me," Ryouga said, "But I could
do with some tea."

	The dark-haired man blinked.  "You know Setsuna Sedai?"

	"I've traveled with her some, recently," Ryouga said.

	He started to the house, the paused as he heard flapping noises.
"Do you hear that?" he asked.

	"Hear what?" the blond asked.

	"This really loud..."  He homed in on it in the sky.  "There it
is."

	"There wha..."  The warder looked at the approaching creature.
"Damnation," he said, running for the house.  "Inside!  Get inside."  He
shouted.  "THERE'S A MIKADO COMING!"

	"A what?" Ryouga asked as he started running.

	He could see the creature more clearly.  It didn't look dangerous;
as it resembled a very handsome man with large white fluffy wings.  But he
was willing to take their word for it as to the danger.

	As they reached the porch, two old women and Setsuna Sedai came
out.  One of the women had black hair which had mostly turned gray; the
other had obviously dyed blonde hair.  Despite the agelessness of their
features, the rest of their bodies made it obvious they had lived a very
long time.  Both wore Great Serpent rings.

	"Plug your ears," the blonde said.  Everyone stuck their fingers
in their ears as the approaching being began to sing.  Ryouga couldn't
quite make out the song, but it sounded really nice.  Until a lance of
fire from the blonde's outstretched finger set the flying creature on
fire.  It rained down in flaming bits onto one of the fields.  "Very
sloppy," she said.  "Staging a Mikado attack in full daylight.  What a
waste of resources.  No wonder the Dark One's never broken out of his
prison in an infinite number of attempts."

	"Well, technically speaking, it only approaches infinity," the
dark-haired woman said.

	"We can split hairs and discuss how many Heroes of the Horn can
dance on the head of a pin later," the blonde said.  "Either we're just
unlucky today, or that was supposed to distract us from something."

	"Ryouga, what are you doing here?" Setsuna asked.

	"I got lost," he said.

	She sighed.  "Ryouga, this is Misaki Sedai of the Brown Ajah," she
pointed to the brunette, "and Negiri Sedai of the Silver Ajah," now
pointing to the blonde.  "And their Warders, Futaba and Futana Shimeru."

	"Two sets of siblings," Futana said, grinning.

	"And this is Ryouga Ayabara, everyone," Setsuna continued.  "He
has been a travelling companion of mine of late, though I thought he was
still in Fal Dara."

	"I was, I got lost," Ryouga said, sighing.

	"Well, we'd best take a look around," Negiri said.  "Someone's
probably boobytrapped the stables again."

	Futaba sighed.  "Not more dead horses."

	"Maybe I should just blow up the stable just to save time," Misaki
said.

	"I can blow it up better than you can," Negiri said.

	"Does this happen often?" Ryouga asked.

	"Often enough," Futana said.  "How about if Misaki whistles out
the horses, then we blow up the stable?"

	Setsuna concentrated.  "I'm not sensing any Shadowspawn inside the
stable."

	"That's what they WANT us to think," Negiri insisted.  "Whistle
the horses, then I'll blow it up."

	Misaki began to whistle and all the horses came out of the stable.
Then Negiri set it on fire and used Air to whip it up into a miniature
firestorm.

	"Are you sure this is necessary?" Ryouga asked.

	"We needed a new stable anyway," Negiri said.  "And we can use the
remains to cook dinner tonight."

	"We probably should make the next stable out of glass, so we can
just look inside and see if anything evil is lurking inside to kill
someone," Futaba said.

	"Would anyone like some cookies?" Misaki asked.  "I think they
should be ready."

	"Sure," Ryouga said.

	The cookies turned out to taste horrible; Ryouga noticed that
Futaba and Futana carefully palmed and concealed theirs instead of
actually eating them, while Negiri stared at hers very intently before
eating it.  The tea was quite good, however.

	"Well, to return to our previous conversation," Misaki said, "I
finally managed to figure out how to reconcile the various prophecies
relating to the Stone."

	Setsuna's eyes widened slightly.  "You did?"

	She nodded.  "Obvious, really.  The prophecies, in brief state
that the Stone cannot fall until someone takes the Key-Staff.  And that
the Stone will fall to whoever holds the Key-Staff.  Yet, no one can touch
the Key-Staff and it is inside an invulnerable fortress, so how could the
Ronin take it, anyway?  The key was in Hallani's interpretations of the
Prophecies, published in Jaramide around 670 AB.  I finally got a copy
from this delightful little book shop.  I could hardly believe my luck."

	"Misaki, you are beginning to ramble," Negiri said.

	"Anyway, Hallani pointed out something which should have been
obvious.  While the Stone has always repelled armies, it has not always
repelled thieves.  There's nothing stopping the Ronin sneaking into the
Stone and laying his hands on the Key-Staff while not yet in control of
the fortress.  If the Key-Staff is as potent as the records indicate, he
likely could take control of the Stone using it once he has it.  None of
the prophecies definitively say there's any external assault at all."

	"But how can he touch it?" Setsuna asked.  "Even the Amyrlin
Serenity III couldn't manage to break the wards on it, and she had a full
circle of the strongest Aes Sedai the Tower had on her side, along with
multiple sa'angreals."

	"Obviously, it's a keyed ward," Misaki said.  "If you'll pardon my
pun.  Keyed to the Ronin."

	Setsuna frowned.  "Is that even possible?  I suppose it must be,
but..."

	"The Ronin is unique in being a specific soul prophesied to be
reborn at a specific time.  If our understanding of how keyed wards work
is correct, reborn souls should still unlock wards keyed to their previous
lives.  It seems obvious to me now that the wards on the Key-Staff are
tied into the Key-Staff itself, which is why they are so potent."

	"And the Door That Cannot Be Opened?" Setsuna asked.

	"Another keyed ward, though trickier, as the prophecies seem clear
that it probably is not keyed to the Ronin."

	Ryouga listened quietly, trying to follow the conversation, but
not understanding a lot of it.

	"Any idea what the Key-Staff unlocks?"

	"I had long thought it must unlock the Door That Cannot Be Opened,
but it hardly counts as a 'Twin Ruler'."

	Ryouga felt himself slowly sliding off into sleep as he listened
to them argue abstruse points of prophecy.  Finally, deep, restful sleep
took him.

*********

	 "Now, you drink tea with this hand stance," Lady Deedlit said,
demonstrating.

	"What if you're left-handed?" Kurz asked.

	"Then you use it in reverse with the other hand," she said.

	"Like this?" he asked, picking up the cup with his other hand,
just so.

	"Yes, exactly," she said.  "Are you left handed?"

	"No, but it's best to train to do things with both hands, if you
can," Kurz said.

	"You're just trying to show off in front of a woman," Nanami said.

	"Hey, I know she's married!" he protested.

	Lady Deedlit laughed.  "Very happily so.  It's a little
flattering, though.  Just watch my hands, not my breasts."

	"Right."

***********

	Ukyou groaned.  "Do we have to?  I'm pretty worn out from Althena
working us so hard today."

	"My nerves are really jangling; I was afraid she'd catch me,"
Ranma-chan said.  "I could really use a good workout, Ucchan."

	Ukyou sighed.  "Okay, okay.  This would be more interesting if we
actually had someone to teach us something new, though."

	"Man, something about that woman just gives me the creeps,"
Ranma-chan said as they headed to one of the courtyards.  She twirled her
panda blade about in a warm-up exercise as they walked.

	"Althena Sedai is just doing her job as one of the Red Ajah.  And
I think she likes you," Ukyou said.  "Chloe Sedai's the one who makes me
nervous."

	"Really?  She seemed nice and polite and kind of cheerful to me,"
Ranma-chan said.  "And daaamn, she was slick with those knives."

	Ukyou sighed.  "I dunno.  Just something about her.  I guess lots
of Greens do learn to fight, but..."

	"Like me," Ranma-chan said.  "I think I will probably go Green,
although the Purples sound kind of cool too."

	"I don't know," Ukyou said.  "No rush to decide, though, I
suppose."

	They reached the courtyard, then began to spar.  Gradually, they
attracted an audience, as usual, a mixture of soldiers, knights, ladies,
servants, and guests.  Ranma-chan unleashed Cat Sprints Across the Room,
but Ukyou parried with Spinning Windmill, then counterattacked with Throw
Grandma From the Train.

	Ranma-chan took a solid whack to the knees from that, but managed
to get Ukyou on the shoulder with Kill the Pinata.  She bounced back,
letting Ukyou work up into a frenzy, then ducked under the blow and swept
her feet.

	Ukyou tumbled across the ground, then got to her feet.  She sprung
up to a second story balcony, then unleashed Death From Above.
Unfortunately for her, Ranma-chan used Cat Sprints Across the Room as a
defensive move to get out of the way.

	Ranma-chan prepared to unleash a counterattack when she realized
that Nanami was circulating in the crowd, taking bets on who would win.
And giving Ukyou better odds.  She frowned and decided it was time for
something really impressive.  She charged all out at Ukyou, beginning one
of Soun's really fancy moves, Mountain of Whoopass.  She realized too late
that she'd spun the wrong way on the fourth step and got a spatula to her
butt which knocked her up into the air.

	Twisting in the air, she managed to come down feet first, so that
Ukyou's follow up attack only struck the soles of her feet, enabling her
to leap clear of Ukyou.  She landed in a horse trough, and emerged
dripping wet.  The laughter of the crowd made her very angry.

	Althena and Chloe Sedai were both watching the fight now,
Ranma-chan realized.  I have to show off, she thought.  She unleashed a
powerful charge, then dodged left around Ukyou's first attack, then used
Reaping the Wheat to nail Ukyou in the side.  Ukyou staggered.  As
Ranma-chan prepared to attack, she noticed the Amyrlin talking to Nanami,
who didn't seem too happy.

	I wonder what's going on, Ranma-chan thought.  Ukyou brought her
spatula around in Chopping Down The Tree, and Ranma-chan went sprawling
again.

	"If you don't pay attention to your fighting, you'll get clobbered
in a real one," Drake said, stepping out of the crowd.  "If you two insist
on training in things Warders do, then you're going to have to get one of
us to teach you, so you don't just die."

	"Hi, Drake," Ukyou said.  "I was just going to clobber Ranma too
easily anyway, but I'm ready to learn new things."

	"Hrmph," Ranma-chan said, but then continued, "Alright, I'm
willing to learn."

	"Alright, people, show's over, go home," Drake said to the crowd.

	Once it dispersed, he set about training them.

********

	"So, what do you think of them as fighters?" Nabiki asked Drake.

	"They've got a lot to learn, but it looks like their first few
years of training weren't completely wasted."  This was high praise from
Drake, Nabiki knew.  Drake frowned.  "They tend to go for the flashy moves
over the simple things which work too much, though."

	Nabiki nodded.  "So, how much money was Yomiko going to lose if
Ukyou won?"

	"Not half as much as I was," Drake said.

	Nabiki grinned.  "You think like a Silver."

	"You flatter me, Mother," he said.  "But those two would likely
make good Warders one day.  If, for some reason, things don't work out
with their Aes Sedai training."

	"They will be Aes Sedai who make the world shake, I think," Nabiki
said.  "Once they have been properly trained and gotten over the idiocy
inherent in teenagers."

	"Was Soun the one who trained them?"

	"Yes," Nabiki said.

	"I thought so.  Mr. 'Look At How Tragic I Am'," Drake said,
shaking his head.  "Can't even make a decent pot."  Nabiki had a few of
Drake's pieces of work; they were quite good.

	"Still bitter he beat you last time?" Nabiki asked.

	"Damn straight."

********

	"C'mon, Ranma, let's go take a bath," Nanami said.

	"Right now?" Ranma-chan said.  "The baths will be full of people."

	"And the water will be piping hot and the wine will be nicely
chilled and the snacks will be fresh," Nanami said.  "Besides, I need a
guinea pig to practice my bathing etiquette on."

	"But it'll be full of naked women," Ranma-chan said.

	"What kind of guy doesn't want to see lots of naked women?" Nanami
asked.

	Ranma-chan just stared at her for a minute, then said, "One who is
worried the weave will somehow break and he'll turn male in the middle of
the women's baths and then everyone in Shienar will kill him.  Over and
over."  Ranma-chan shuddered at the thought.  "That's why I bathe late at
night."

	Ukyou sighed.  "You've got to get used to it."  She took
Ranma-chan's arm.  "Let's go, Ranchan."

	The baths were chock full of Aes Sedai, including at least seven
Reds who Ranma-chan recognized by face, if not by name.  She could feel
her nerves going jingle-jangle-jingle.

 	Especially when she saw one of the Reds was getting well and
thoroughly hammered.  "Another brandy!" she shouted.  The woman was on the
taller side with long black hair.  Mostly naked, she still wore a silver
necklace with a pendant which was a giant version of the Great Serpent
ring she wore on her right hand.  "And a handsome, naked, muscular man or
two if you have any!"

	Ranma-chan stared in surprise.  "I thought the Reds all hated
men," she mumbled.  She began stripping off her clothing, as did Ukyou and
Nanami.

	"That is a common misconception," Chloe Sedai said, as she worked
on scrubbing her back.  She looked quite young for an Aes Sedai to
Ranma-chan.  "Some Reds hate men, and most Aes Sedai foolishly
underestimate anyone who cannot channel," Chloe Sedai continued.  "And
those who hate men more than they like anything else usually choose Red.
But just because Reds do not take warders, it does not mean they hate men.
Rather, it means they are not so stupid as to take men into situations
they cannot survive.  A warder is not much use against a male channeler
who is rampaging madly.  It would only pointlessly get the men killed."

She somehow produced a knife, despite being mostly naked, and began to use
it to scrape grime off her arms.    "Misato Sedai is rather more lustful
than is sensible for any Aes Sedai, but she is a good woman and an
effective Aes Sedai despite that.  That's why she's one of the Sitters for
the Red Ajah."

	Ukyou stared at Misato, who was chugging brandy like water, then
shook her head.  "Hey, Ran-chan, scrub my back."

	Ranma-chan began nervously to scrub Ukyou's back, praying nothing
would go horribly wrong.

	Nanami asked, "Has she caught a lot of male channelers?"  She
looked over at Ranma-chan, obviously not happy about something.

	"Not recently, as she's a Sitter now, but before that, she's
caught sixteen male channelers, I think," Chloe Sedai said, taking a
moment to wash the grime off her blade and put it back wherever it came
from exactly.  She now began to lather up her hair.

	"Seventeen," Misato said, looking across the baths at them,
suddenly seeming much more sober.  "Four more died in the process of us
trying to take them alive, one more was mysteriously stabbed by a Kabuki
Man just before we got him, and one killed himself at the last minute.
Another seven turned out to have been falsely accused, and an eighth one
was using cunning tricks and fireworks to fake it."

	"How long have you been hunting for them?" Ranma asked nervously.
She finished Ukyou's back and turned around to let Ukyou scrub hers.  She
was glad that there was no way for the others to tell that she was
starting to get excited in ways which weren't wise in this context.

	"Since I was raised in 866 NE, so that would be...a hundred and
thirty two years.  There's been an increase of late in the number of male
channelers, but yes, before you ask, they are not hugely common, thank the
Creator.  Luckily, only the wilders are in danger."  Misato put down her
brandy glass and took some cheese off a plate and started munching on it
very loudly.

	Althena Sedai, who was mostly submerged in the hot water pool,
shuddered.  "I hesitate to imagine the chaos if someone went around and
began teaching all the men who could learn with training."

	"Who could learn with training?" Ranma-chan asked.  She squirmed a
little as Ukyou now dumped a bucket of water over her head and undid her
braid so she could wash it.

	"As with women, the vast majority of men who could channel will
never ever channel unless they are trained.  Wilders are rare," Althena
Sedai said.  "But since no one is stupid enough to train men, only male
wilders ever start channeling and have to be gentled.  Unfortunately,
since wilders tend to be stronger than those who need training, it means
the ones who do begin to channel are the really dangerous ones, the sorts
who Broke the World."  She glanced over at Chloe, who tossed her a knife.
She gestured to a servant, who brought her some bread, which she adeptly
sliced with the knife.

	"Do you think..." Ranma-chan asked hesitantly, "that there might
be some way to cleanse the Taint?  So male channelers don't go mad?"  She
shook slightly as Ukyou's fingers went through her hair, smoothing out
snarls, which meant she got yanked every so often.

	Nearby, Nanami was quickly scrubbing her own hair and looking a
little glum.  She whistled to a servant, who brought her a glass of
brandy.

	"Greater Aes Sedai than us tried and failed," Althena said.  "I
think that while it may, in theory be possible, we lack the strength to do
it."  She looked around and Miz Sedai held up a hand, so she tossed a
slice of bread to Miz.

	"It all depends on if it is the will of the Pattern or not," Chloe
said.  She dumped a bucket of water over her hair and then refilled it and
did it again.  Once that was done, she climbed into the hot water.

	"No one's even found a way to heal those who have been gentled so
that they become sane again, let alone fix the Taint," Misato Sedai said.
"The problem, see, is that probably men would have to do it.  But no man
can keep his sanity long enough to become good enough at channeling to
figure out how to do it.  Especially not a big enough group to do the
job."  She shook her head, then took another slug of Brandy.

	Ranma-chan shivered as Ukyou dumped a bucket of water over her,
and then she turned around and began scrubbing Ukyou's hair.  "Couldn't
the Tower, like, teach men the abstract theory stuff first, before they
actually start channeling?" Ranma-chan asked.  "That way, they..."

	Althena shook her head.  "Men and women channel differently.  I've
talked to many gentled men, and tried to duplicate their weaves, but it
leads to disaster.  Men and women channel with the same five elements, but
in different ways."

	"Eventually, the Taint will be removed," Yomiko said, putting
aside the book she was reading.  "It has to be.  But that may well not
happen until some very future age.  Possibly, the Great Rain of Fire may
have something to do with it."

 	"Great Rain of Fire?" Ukyou asked, then started as Ranma-chan
undid one of the snarls in her hair.

	Yomiko turned to Ukyou.  "The Seventh Age ends with the Great Rain
of Fire.  It is unclear what exactly that was, but it seems to have been a
hugely catastrophic event, like the Breaking of the World, and it seems
likely channeling was forgotten either during or before it.  Then later
rediscovered at the start of the Second Age.  With no Taint, so something
must have gotten rid of it."

	"There is some reason to believe it may be slowly wearing away,
that Dubin will eventually cleanse itself," Miz Sedai said.

	Althena shook her head.  "Darla Sedai's conclusions are flawed
because she fails to take into account that the Red Ajah catches almost
all male channelers before the rotting disease and total madness can take
them."

	"Rotting disease?" Ranma-chan asked nervously.  She now dumped
water over Ukyou; it took two buckets for her long hair to get all the
soap out.

	"Yes," Althena Sedai said.  "Male channelers begin to rot,
eventually.  The Taint finally kills them if nothing else does."

	Ranma-chan shivered.  "That's awful."

	Nanami looked over at Ranma-chan and gestured for her to come
over.  "Can you do my back?"

	"Sure," Ranma-chan said.  Much as she didn't like the topic of
discussing men dying of channeling, it was somewhat helpful in that she
couldn't really think about all of the naked, beautiful women around her
while discussing it.  She hardly noticed she was now scrubbing the back of
another such woman.

	Ukyou slid into the hot water, half-closing her eyes and smiling.

	"That's why it's best we catch them swiftly and gentle them,"
Althena said.  "It is for their own good.  They may think they can resist
the madness, but it's better they live without channeling, healthy and
sane, than that they have power for a few months, then go mad, kill
thousands, and then rot to death."

She took a sip of wine, then shook her head.  "A pity the N'klom project
never worked out."

	"N'klom project?" Nanami asked.  She seemed to be perking up a
bit, Ranma-chan noticed.

	"N'klom was one of our sisters from the Sea Folk centuries ago,"
Althena said.

	"Around 153 to 326 NE," Yomiko pointed out.

	"She tried to duplicate one of the legendary Springs of Jyusenkyo,
which turned men into women, as a way to help male channelers," Althena
continued.  "Unfortunately, on the third test, it exploded violently,
taking three men, six warders and twelve Sisters with it.  The results
turned out to be unstable enough when reproduced without explosion that
the experiment was abandoned when Martha Sewer became Amyrlin Seat from
the Silver and proceeded to cut everyone's budget."

	"And spend the money on obsessively cleaning the White Tower until
it was spotless," Yomiko added.

	"Wasn't she deposed after five years?" Miz asked.

	"Yes," Althena said.  "She's the only Silver Amyrlin ever to be
deposed.  As I understand it, when she started trying to scrub behind the
ears of the Sitters during Hall meetings, they finally deposed her for
insanity."  Possibly unconsciously, she began to scrub behind her own
ears.

	"Do Amyrlins get deposed very often?" Ukyou asked.

	"It's not easy," Althena said.  "The Lesser Consensus can set an
impeachment in motion, but it takes the Greater Consensus to actually
depose an Amyrlin, and the Greater Consensus is very difficult to get."

	"What's the difference?" Ranma-chan asked.  She finished off
Nanami's back, then got up and went over and got into the hot water after
getting a glass of wine for herself.

	"Ahh, you see," Misato said.  "Each of the Nine Ajahs chooses
three Sitters for the Hall, which runs the Tower in conjunction with the
Amyrlin.  Some measures require the Lesser Consensus, which is a
two-thirds majority, or 18 Sitters.  The Greater Consensus requires the
support of all the Sitters.  It can even override virtually any decision
by an Amyrlin, but it's very hard to get.  In three thousand years, two
Amyrlins have been overthrown due to being giant failures, another three
were deposed for being so tyrannical that they alienated absolutely
everyone, and five more had to be removed due to insanity.  Many more were
reduced basically to puppets and figureheads, but could not be removed for
various reasons."  Misato took a slug of brandy.

	"And some Amyrlins have turned the Hall into their dancing
puppets," Yomiko pointed out.

	"True, true," Misato said.  "Most are like Nabiki, somewhere in
between.  She's made a lot of enemies in the Hall, but she's also got a
lot of support and she is a good politician.  I expect Nephrenia is going
to be pissed, though."

	"She is?" Ranma-chan asked nervously.  "Why?"  Unconsciously, she
slid a little further away from Misato, bumping into Nanami.

	"Because Nephrenia and the Amyrlin have never gotten along, and
having been named to lead the expedition to capture Chiba, she's going to
be mad to return triumphantly, only to have to sit around and wait, since
with no Amyrlin present, we can't try and gentle Chiba.   Nephrenia will
probably think Nabiki rigged this whole situation JUST to snub her."
Misato rolled her eyes and shook her head dismissively.

	Ranma-chan asked warily, "Try?"

	"Hasn't anyone explained anything to you about how False Ronins
are dealt with?  And other male channelers?" Misato asked.  She sounded
very surprised

	"No, Sedai, not really," Ranma-chan said.

	"Well...hey, someone bring the kids some good brandy!" Misato
shouted at the servants.  "If you three are going to be Aes Sedai, you
need to know about that."

	"I'm just a friend," Nanami said.  "I'm training to be a
noblewoman."  She glanced at Ranma-chan.  "And maybe a Warder too."  She
sounded hopeful.

	Ranma-chan blinked.  Nanami?  A Warder?  Well, she was pretty good
with knives, and those visions of hers could be pretty handy.

	"Oh, right, you're the Oracle girl," Misato said.  "Where's that
brandy?"

	The servants brought Ukyou, Ranma-chan, and Nanami each a cup of
brandy and refilled Misato's.

	"Much better," Misato said.  "Basically, every male channeler has
to be brought back to the Tower alive, sane, and still able to channel if
possible.  We then perform tests to determine if he is the Ronin Reborn,
as we know that gentling the Ronin would be disastrous."

	"What...what sort of tests?" Ranma-chan asked.

	"Well, first we use the Testing Crystal to make sure we have an
actual channeler.  You'd think it would be obvious, but there's been a few
very embarrassing moments when some clever soul brought in a leper or some
young, naive Red was tricked into taking a man who can't channel due to
someone else's vendetta against the man."  Misato shook her head ruefully.
"Then we use the Birth Map to determine where he was born.  If he wasn't
born on Roninmount, then he can't be the Ronin."

	Ranma-chan nodded.

	"The third step is to determine if he's fulfilled any of the
prophecies of the Ronin, any of the signs," Misato said.  "If not, he is
gentled.  If so, then he must be the Ronin."

	"What...would you do if he was the Ronin?" Ranma-chan asked.

	"Study him," Yomiko said.

	"Train him to be ready to fight the Dark One at the Last Battle,"
Miz said.  "While making sure he can't cause too much damage if he starts
to go mad.  So we'd have to keep him shielded most of the time."

	"He would have to be taken around to fulfill any remaining
prophecies under proper Tower supervision," Althena said, sipping her
wine.  "And directed properly at the Last Battle so he can't screw things
up like he did last time."

	Shayla shuddered.  "Let's hope he's not reborn in our lifetime."

	"We would take good care of him; he has to be protected and
guided," Misato said.  "So that he can win the Last Battle less
destructively in this age.  But then, all men who are gentled, we treat
them well as well.  It's not their fault, after all."

	"They could not escape their fate," Chloe Sedai said.  "They are
no more to be blamed, even the most insane ones, than a knife can be
blamed if used to stab someone.  The Pattern makes and unmakes them as it
wills."  Her voice was quite cool and steady.

	"But what if you caught him before he fulfilled any of the
Prophecies?" Ranma-chan asked.

	"The Prophecies must come true," Chloe said.  "Therefore, he must
fulfil at least one before we find him so that we do not gentle him before
he can fulfil any, as that would render him unable to do the Will of the
Pattern.  It is simply impossible to prevent a true prophecy coming to
pass."

	"What if the Ronin tried to run off and hide in a cave or
something?" Nanami asked, putting down her glass and getting some cheese
to snack on.

	"The Pattern would force him back to the true path," Yomiko said.
"Or at least, it would try.  I suspect the Ronin is likely a ta'veren of
great strength, and he might well be able to successfully defy the Pattern
if he really set his mind to doing it.  But to do so, he would destroy
himself and the world."

	"That is why he will need our guidance," Althena said.  "It is
quite likely the Ronin will look at the prophecies and try to reject his
destiny, having been raised to fear himself.  But he will be unable to
avoid channeling, and so we will find him and bring him, and under our
guidance, he will fulfil the prophecies."

	"So the true Ronin has nothing to fear from the Tower," Nanami
said.  Her voice was very calm and controlled, except when it was
wobbling.

	"Of course not, so long as he doesn't do stupid things," Althena
said.  "I expect it will take him a while to understand, since he will
likely be afraid we're going to kill him or something, but he'll come to
understand the true path after we've had him a while."

	Ranma-chan could feel her nerves unjangle a little, but she had
the feeling there was some sort of something she wasn't getting.  It all
sounded so reasonable, but she was still afraid to admit that she was the
Ronin.  If she was.  I need to learn more about the prophecies, she
thought.  "I suppose the Reds must have studied a lot about the Ronin."

	"And the Browns," Yomiko said.  "And certain Whites view
prophesies as the ultimate logic problem."

	"Some are obvious, but many are only obvious in hindsight," Afura
said.  "Unfortunately."

	"I have studied the Prophecies of the Ronin extensively," Althena
said to Ranma-chan.  "If you have an interest in them, I can see about
arranging to be one of your instructors in whatever spare time you have in
your general course of novice studies."

	"Thank you," Ranma-chan said.  Why does she make me nervous?  It
must just be that she's Red, Ranma-chan thought.  She seems nice enough.

	"I expect you'll be too busy to worry about such things,
although..."  She paused.  "I understand you two have already learned to
channel."

	"We're wilders," Ukyou said.  "We had to start, so we could avoid
dying."

	"Isn't there a third one of you as well?"  Misato said.  "Three
wilders of such potency, all from the Three Rivers.  Amazing, really."

	"Two Rivers," Ukyou said.

	"Nigh unbelievable," Yomiko said.  "Undoubtedly the result of
those two ta'veren boys both coming out of the Two Rivers.  The Pattern
must have something great in mind for the five of you."

	"It may well be proof of Alielle's thesis," Yomiko said
thoughtfully.

	"What, the culling theory?" Miz asked.

	Yomiko nodded.  "Yes."

	"Culling theory?" Ranma-chan asked.  "She thinks someone's been
culling Aes Sedai from the population?"

	"Well, you see," Yomiko began.  "There are two prevailing theories
with regard to why some people can channel.  One theory argues it is
linked to the soul.  Those who can channel do so because it is a quality
of their soul, and every time they are reborn, they will channel.  The
other theory argues it is genetic, and by controlled breeding, the number
of channelers could be increased or decreased."

	She took a moment to stretch, then held out her hands.  "This
group," she opened her left hand, "believe that male and female channeling
is independent, that the trait descends exclusively through that sex."
She closed her hand and opened the other one.  "And this group believes
that it is independent of sex and that your sex only determines whether
you channel Dubin or Subin.  Therefore, if a male and female channeler had
children, they would be more likely to produce both sons and daughters who
channel than either would be to produce channeling children of their own
sex if they had children by someone who can't channel."

	"Well, that's just common sense," Ranma-chan said.  "If you want
sheep with thicker wool, you find the sheep with the thickest wool and you
keep breeding them to each other, then breed the descendents to each
other."

	"Well, you see, there's two problems.  One applies either way.
Women who become Aes Sedai rarely marry and have children and thus we're
gradually breeding the trait out of population," Yomiko said.  "Secondly,
we hunt down male channelers and effectively take them out of the breeding
pool."

	"Yes, but they're so rare it couldn't have that much effect, could
it?" Nanami asked.  "As you're only getting the wilders."

	Ranma-chan paused.  "Is this Allielle proposing that Aes Sedai
should have children by the male channelers the Reds bring in?"

	Yomiko nodded.  "Yes, she thinks it is important to renewing the
Tower's strength."

	Ranma-chan made a face.  "Ugh."

	"My thoughts exactly," Miz said.  "Who wants to have sex with some
broken-down depressed man who is likely somewhat insane?  And who among us
has time for children?"

	"My problem with it is that it means more male channelers as
well," Althena said.  "Imagine if you had to gentle your own child."  She
sounded horrified by the concept.

	"How does that relate to us exactly, though?" Ukyou asked.

	"Because the Two Rivers hasn't been culled.  No woman ever goes to
the Tower and I can't remember any time there's been a man who Aes Sedai
had to take to the Tower," Ranma-chan said.  "Which means that the
channeling blood is stronger in the Two Rivers.  Which is why three of us
showed up at once."  She sat back, grinning as she felt smarter than usual
for figuring this out.

	"Oh," Ukyou said.  "Hmm, that makes sense."  She stared off
thoughtfully.

	Nanami took another sip of brandy and leaned over on Ranma-chan.
"I think I'm starting to feel a little woozy."

	"Let's get you to bed, then," Ukyou said, getting up.  "Come on,
Ranchan."

	They got out and dried off and hauled Nanami down the hallway to
her room.  Nanami flopped down on her bed.  "They expect to turn the Ronin
into their little dancing boy," she said.

	"I think they want to help him," Ukyou said.  "They weren't half
as hostile, even the Reds, as I thought they would be."

	"Aes Sedai do like to make people dance," Ranma-chan said.
"That's why I didn't confess anything."  She sighed.  "I dunno if this is
such a good idea.  I need the training, but when they find out I've been
in the middle of them, all along..."

	"Well, they may treat a Sister better than a stranger," Nanami
said.  "And I think if you ran now, they'd track you down.  No way out.
Just be careful about it, Ranma."

	"I'll be watching your back," Ukyou said.  "We all will, Ranchan."

	"Man, Aes Sedai look pretty good naked, I have to say," Nanami
said.

	The other two stared at her.

	"What?  They do.  So do you two," Nanami said.

	"You're not bad looking naked either," Ranma-chan said, after a
moment's hesitation.

	"Ranchan, you shouldn't go staring at women naked," Ukyou said,
hands on her hips.

	"Excuse me, I tried to avoid going there and being exposed to
them!" Ranma-chan said.  She sighed.  "This sort of thing alone is going
to get me killed when the truth comes out."

	"I don't see a better solution," Nanami said.  "Did you know that
Miz is going to sleep with a teacher?"

	"Did you see that in a vision?" Ukyou asked.

	"Yep.  And I got something that might be good news or maybe not."

	"What?" Ukyou asked.

	"I think Basara has to be alive."

	Ranma-chan said, "That would be good news, right?"

	"Yeah, well, I saw him in a knife-fight with Chloe Sedai, so that
may be bad."

	Ranma-chan frowned.  "That can't be good."

	"I know," Nanami said.  "And Althena Sedai is going to take us
into the Ways at some point."

	"Where to?"

	"No clue," Nanami said, rubbing her forehead.  "And...you're not
going to believe this."

	"What?" Ukyou asked.

	"Shayla is going to fall in love with...a male channeler."  She
paused.  "Not you."

	Ranma-chan stared.  "She is?  But what about...him having to
channel?"

	"I don't know," she said.  "I don't even know if he'll love her."
She sighed.  "But I do know he's Kandoran."

	"Well, that narrows it down, sort of," Ukyou said.  "Any other
interesting visions?"

	"Some really skanky woman in black leather is in Yomiko's future,"
Nanami said.

	"..."

	"Damn, she looks so innocent," Ranma-chan said.

	"I think she's an Aes Sedai," Nanami said.

	"Skanky Aes Sedai in Black Leather.  Sounds like a book Kurz would
write."

	Ukyou began to laugh.  "In which a young, innocent warder is
corrupted 'against his will' by the Black Leather Ajah."

	Ranma-chan began to laugh as well.  "So how are those etiquette
lessons coming?  Has Kurz gotten himself beaten up yet?"

	"Lady Deedlit is very non-violent," Nanami said.  "Luckily for
Kurz.  Although he actually is starting to pick up on things pretty
quickly."

	"Where is Ryouga, anyway?" Ranma-chan asked, frowning.  "He
usually isn't lost this long."

	"I know.  I just hope he's okay," Ukyou said.  "I hope he didn't
end up in the Seanchan Empire again."

	"He's probably asking directions at Streamline Mountain," Nanami
said.

	"Probably."  Ranma-chan yawned.  "I'd better go get some sleep
myself."

	"Well, you're welcome to stay with me," Nanami said, patting the
bed.

	Ukyou frowned.

	Ranma-chan laughed.  "I can't afford to pay bed rent.  See you in
the morning, Nanami."

	Nanami sighed.  "See you, Ranma."

	"Bye!"  She skipped out, leaving Ukyou there, looking warily at
Nanami.  Ukyou then followed her out.

	Nanami stared at the ceiling.  Am I just drunk or...  She thought
about what Deedlit told her and her visions and sighed.  The only thing
that could make this worse would be if my brother showed up.

***********

	"Well, what do you think, Lina?" Nabiki asked her as Aes Sedai
swarmed all around the site of the battle of Fallintothe Gap.

	"Damn, I wish I could have seen this," she said, tugging her
purple headband back into place as it tried to slump down.  "This is even
bigger than the time I blew up half of the Blue Springs Delving."

	Nabiki restrained her urge to slap Lina around.  Mauling one of
the Sitters for the Purple Ajah would not help her handle the Hall, but it
was oh, so tempting.  "Yes, but does it seem likely..."

	"That the Eye of God caused this?  Yes," Lina said.  "Even with
the Spiral Moon Heart Rod, I don't think I could make a mess this big."

	"Lina, tower law forbids you even to come within a hundred feet of
the Spiral Moon Heart Rod."

	Lina sighed.  "Make one TINY mistake, and the Hall never lets you
forget it.  But I was speaking in theoretical terms.  Anyway, I think that
even if you, I, Miz, Shayla, Fatora, Belldandy, Urd, Kasumi, Yomiko,
Kanrinin, Afura, Hotaru, and Setsuna all linked together and used the
Spiral Moon Heart Rod, we still couldn't do all this.  Well, not so
quickly, anyway.  Though I'd be willing to try."

	"Yes, of course you would," Nabiki said.  It was generally rumored
that Lina had sworn a fourth oath on the oath rod, an oath to blow up
something every day.

	"Anyway, this was definitely done by a woman," Lina said.

	"Are you sure you didn't do this, Lina?" Gourry asked.  The
somewhat dimwitted blond was Lina's loyal warder.

	"No, I didn't do this," Lina said.  "It's not my fault."

	"And by a man," Misato said.  "There's male residues as well."

	"It wasn't me!" Gourry said, just to be reassuring.

	"Are you sure?" Nabiki asked.

	"Yes.  I've hunted enough men in my time to recognize the mess
they leave behind."

	"As compared to the mess you leave behind in their bedrooms," Lina
said.

	"Exac...hey!"

	Lina snickered

	Yomiko looked up from her book, "Well, it seems likely to me that
either the Eye was used or else the Choedan Kal have been found and used.
The problem, in either case, is who used them?"

	"The what?" Misato asked.

	"Someone slept through her history classes, I see," Yomiko said.

	Misato laughed nervously.

	"Well, the Choedan Kal may or may not even still exist.  During
the last days of the War of Power, the side of Light created two gigantic
sa'angreal, the most powerful ever made, one for men and one for women.
They were so powerful that they could not be tapped directly, but instead,
you had to use special ter'angreal, the Choedan Kal, to tap into the
power.  They were to be used to seal the Bore, but the forces of the
Shadow overran the places where the Choedan Kal were being held in
preparation for use.  Before they could be recovered, the Ronin panicked
and led a force to try to seal the Bore without them.  Their current
location is unknown."

	Nabiki frowned.  "Is it possible the Key-Staff is one of them?"

	"Maybe.  It was made at about the same time.  But I would think we
would have heard if anyone had drawn it forth from the Stone."  Yomiko
looked around, frowning.  "It's very strange.  Even if this is a sign of
the Ronin, the Eye coming to his service is supposed to be one of the last
signs.  It's pretty clear from the Prophecies that claiming the Key-Staff
will be the first thing he does.  That's why Chiba's armies headed towards
Tear after he declared himself."

	"The Guide may well have done this, if the rumors that he guards
the Eye of God are true," Misato said.  "Someone probably should go
looking for him and see if he knows anything."

	"That's a good idea," Nabiki said.  "I will detail some of those
who came with us to seek the Guide and see if they can learn more."  She
looked around the blasted mountains.  "Time to do some climbing, I think."

***********

	"Alright, now count the bottles," Misato Sedai said to Ranma-chan
and Ukyou.

	"How are we supposed to count them with our eyes closed?"
Ranma-chan asked.

	"You have to feel them out with the Power," Misato said, then sat
down on a stool next to the table she'd stacked bottles of beer on.

	Ranma-chan decided to try using flows of Earth.  She gradually
extended them towards the table, trying to use them to sense the presence
of something solid ahead of her.  The flows struck something fairly solid,
but somewhat yielding.  She scratched her head trying to feel out what
she'd found.

	Then Misato said, "Fondling my breasts is not part of this
lesson."

	"Ack!  I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ranma-chan said frantically.  She
redirected her flows.

	Ukyou sent flows of Air dancing across the floor, then explored
with them until they found a table leg, then climbed up the table leg to
the table top.  Gently they moved across the table until she found the
stack and began to feel her way around it.

	Unfortunately, Ranma-chan's flows now got up onto the table and
collided with hers, getting tangled together.  The more they tried to
untangle them, the more they became tangled up together.

	"Careful!  You'll break the beer!" Misato said frantically.

	And then Ryouga walked in the door.  "We're back!" he said.

	Ukyou started, her threads of Power convulsed, and the beer began
to fly into the air.  Misato screamed in horror.  Ryouga blinked, ran, and
leaped up, securing the beer.

	Misato's eyes glittered.  "The beer.  You saved it!"

	Ryouga looked around the room.  "What exactly is going on?"

	"A very delicate test of their skills with the Power," Misato
said.  "Which they failed."  She took one of the bottles Ryouga held and
opened it.  "Hmm, you're not too bad looking.  What's your name?"

	"Uh, Ryouga Ayabara," he said, a little nervously.

	"Oh, one of the boys Setsuna found?"

	"Yes."

	Misato smiled.  "Hmmm.  Yes, I think you'll be suitable."

	Ryouga sweated slightly.  "Suitable?"

	"Hey, Ryouga, you okay?" Ukyou asked.  "You were gone for days."

	"I sort of ended up in Saldea," Ryouga said.  "Then I found
Setsuna Sedai and she got me back."

	"Saldea?" Misato asked.  "Did you hear any news of the False Ronin
there?"

	"No, but I heard that Princess Himeko ran away from home," Ryouga
said.  "They're searching for her."

	Misato sighed.  "Saldean daughters are like that.  Saldeans are
just generally insane anyway, and the teenage women are the biggest
lunatics ever, except for male Cairhienin, who are just even more insane."
She shook her head.  "Anyway, you can juggle, right?"

	"Uh, not very well, but I can try.  I'm a blacksmith, not a
gleeman," Ryouga said.

	"Oooh, you're good at metalworking?" Misato said.

	"Yes," Ryouga said.

	Misato rubbed her hands.  "Excellent."

	Oh boy, Ryouga thought.

*********

	"So, then I leaped onto the tree branch and hurled myself down
from above, impaling the Fanboy and nailing him to the tree," Kurz said
excitedly.

	Umino scribbled frantically, saying, "Amazing, I didn't think it
possible to impale someone with a quarterstaff."

	"I used his own spear to do that," Kurz said.

	"Hmm, are we talking a short, stabbing spear in the Aiel style or
a massed infantry longspear?"

	"Umm...short, stabbing spear?"

	"Right.  So these were skirmisher Fanboys."

	"I could hardly have leaped out of a tree down at him if they were
massed in the style of a Tovan Phalanx," Kurz said.

	"The forest might have broken up their formation," Umino pointed
out.

	"Fanboys lack the discipline for that style of fighting," Kurz
said.

	"Kurz?  Where are you?  We have a lesson in five minutes!" Nanami
shouted from far away.

	Umino got up from under the tree.  "I'd better not keep you
waiting."

	"Ugh, I hate etiquette lessons," Kurz mumbled.  "Boring, boring,
boring."

	"Hmm, I should come observe this, so I can add it to my..."
Umino's ears twitched and he stared off across the courtyard.

	Kurz turned and saw two things.  The first was Nanami looking
rather uncomfortable in a fancy dress in the Shienarian style, which hid
virtually all of her skin, except for her face and hands.  The second was
Misato and Ryouga walking into the courtyard, facing each other as Misato
walked backwards.  They were juggling a dozen or so beer bottles between
each other, while Ranma and Ukyou tried to follow them with their eyes
shut, shouting out numbers.

	"Hey, Ryouga!" Kurz said.  "You haven't been shacked up with
Misato Sedai this whole time, have you?"

	Ryouga turned red and almost dropped a bottle.  "I was in Saldea!"

	"Hi, Ryouga!" Nanami shouted, coming closer.  "Hey, that looks
fun, can I try?"

	"Me too!" Kurz said.

	They soon had twenty four bottles in the air.  Ranma-chan and
Ukyou were starting to look a little dizzy as they tried to count them
all.

	And then Lady Deedlit came storming out into the courtyard.  "You
are both late...ooh, that looks fun."

	They eventually got all the way up to two hundred and ten bottles
with two dozen bottle tossers, before finally, they all got too tired to
go on.  Dinner had to be delayed.

*********

	"My arms ache," Kurz grumbled as he worked on his mashed potatoes.

	"Definite ta'veren effect," Umino said, writing in his notebook
with one hand and slicing his beef with the other.

	"My arms hurt because I'm ta'veren?" Kurz asked.

	"Hey, my arms hurt too," Nanami said.  "Does that make me
ta'veren?"

	"No, I mean the way several dozen people ended up tossing beer
bottles around the courtyard for an hour," Umino said.  "Can you really
imagine Lady Deedlit throwing beer bottles and singing drinking songs like
that?"

	"I suppose not," Kurz said.  "So, Ranma, why were you guys doing
that anyway?"

	"I have NO clue," Ranma-chan said.  "Other than it was supposed to
help us learn to count beer bottles we can't see."

	"Maybe the Reds drink a lot," Kurz speculated.

	"Where's Wisdom Hinako and Soun?" Ryouga asked.

	"Still gone," Nanami said.

	"I think they've eloped," Kurz said.  "They're probably shagging
each other's brains out right now."

	"But she's..." Ranma-chan began.

	"Really hot in her adult form," Kurz said.  "I'd do her."

	Ryouga stared at him.  "You're crazy."

	"Don't tell me you wouldn't," Kurz said to Ryouga.  "If she came
on to you like that, you wouldn't say no, would you, Ranma?"

	"Hey, I'm a girl right now," Ranma-chan said.  "She wouldn't be
interested."

	"And if she was?" Kurz said.  "Or are you now lusting after men?"

	"I'm not lusting after men!" Ranma-chan shouted.

	Half the heads in the place turned to stare at her, and she shrank
in on herself.  "I'm not," Ranma-chan said firmly.  "I'm still a boy on
the inside."

	"Well, then.  What if you were in boy form and she did it?"

	"Well, she is kind of hot in her adult form," Ranma-chan said,
then noticed Ukyou and Nanami were both watching her very intently.  "But
she likes Soun, so it's not like it's going to happen."

	"At all," Ukyou said.  "Don't make me wash your mouth out with
soap, Kurz."

	"That's SIR Kurz, thank you," Kurz said.

	"Hah!  I'll be an Aes Sedai soon!  And an Aes Sedai outranks a
petty little knight!" Ukyou said.

	"Soon isn't right now," Kurz said.

	Everyone started when Misato Sedai draped herself over Ryouga from
behind.  "Don't forget, you're meeting me at the forges after dinner, you
strong man, you."

	Ryouga's eyes widened.  "Yes, Sedai."

	"Good."  She tickled his chin.  "Looking forward to getting hot
and sweaty with you."  And then she went back to her table.

	Everyone stared at Ryouga.

	"She just has some forgework she wants me to do for her!" Ryouga
protested.

	"Uh huh," Kurz said.  "I think she wants to feel your hammer in
action."

	Nanami snickered and Ranma-chan laughed loudly.  Ukyou said,
"Wouldn't that be danger...oh."

	"Just tell us if she was good afterwards," Kurz said.

	"You've got it all wrong!" Ryouga said frantically.

	"Uh huh."

	"You do!"

	"Riiiight."

*********

	Hinako stared up the Tower; it was largely undamaged, though years
of vine growth had begun to tear away a few bits of rock.  Now it
resembled a great mass of plants rising into the sky, so covered with
greenery as it was.  At the very top, a few tattered bits of cloth flapped
from the spire.

	"The Tower of Wisdom," Soun said softly.  "I think.  Here were
kept the books of lore and ancient wisdom and philosophy and other ways of
knowledge.  I fear to think what the Fanboys may have done to it all."

	"We have to get to the top," Hinako said.

	"Alright," Soun said.  With some effort, he cleared the vines off
the front door, which turned out to be locked.  He had to break it down to
get them in.  The interior turned out to be a giant multi-leveled library.
Much to Soun's amazement, it seemed to be completely intact.

	"I would have thought they would destroy this all."

	"Perhaps they couldn't get the door open," Hinako said.

	"If I could, they could," he said, frowning and drawing his sword.
"Keep behind me."

	She nodded and followed along after him, up the spiral staircase
past floor after floor.  They finally reached the highest door, which let
them out onto the top of the tower, where a slender spire reached upwards.
>From it hung the crimson remains of a flag.  Hinako reached into her pack
and pulled out what she had brought, unfurling it to flap in the wind, a
crimson banner with a golden crane painstakingly embroidered onto it.

	Soun's eyes widened for a moment, and then he came and took it.
Carefully, he lowered the damaged banner and raised this new one, then
stood and watched it flap.  Hinako came over and quietly took his hand,
wishing she had something handy to drain so she could assume her adult
form.

	Finally, he began to cry, and she hugged his legs with frustration
and compassion intermingled.  He sank down to his knees and hugged her
back, pulling her in tightly.  She was not sure how long he cried, but
finally, his sobs died away and he stood again, then said, "I should have
thought to ask you to bring more flags."

	"Maybe we can find some cloth somewhere and I can quickly sew
some," she said.

	He watched the sun setting in the distance.  "We'd best find the
librarian quarters.  We can sleep there."

	"And make some food," she said.

	There was a corpse in the librarian quarters.  She had been dead
for decades, though the dress she wore was still in good shape, and she
wore a Great Serpent ring.  "Dalia Sedai of the Brown," Soun said softly.
"She was thought to have perished here; I suppose she must have sealed
herself in the library and warded it to keep the Shadowspawn out."

	"We should bury her," Hinako said.

	"We can do it before it gets too dark, I think."

	As they lowered her into the ground, Hinako whispered a prayer
over her, though her soul had likely gone to the Light and been reborn
long ago.  "Poor woman," she said softly.

	"She had the courage to die for something she considered important
to protect.  That's as good a death as anyone can hope for," Soun said.
"Let's get inside; it will be cold soon."

	Hinako nodded and followed him back into the tower.

*********

	"Hello, Nanami," Etoh said softly.

	She started and nearly fell off the wall.  "Oh, hi," she said.

	"You seem troubled," he said, sitting down next to her.

	"Have you ever been in love?" she asked.

	"I have had my share of hope and heartbreak," he said.

	She nodded.  "Have you ever met any Aiel?"

	"I am too young to remember the Aiel War, and my talents make me
unsuited for warfare."

	"Talents?" Nanami asked.

	"I am what is called in the North a 'sniffer'.  I can smell strong
emotions which have been displayed in a place, and I can track those
connected to them.  I use these talents to track down thieves and
murderers, as Lord Parn commands."

	"Hmm, useful talent."

	"Yes and no," he said, sighing.  "It can be very useful, but it
also makes me completely unsuitable for warfare or even for being around
heated arguments.  The odors of the emotions tend to overwhelm me."

	She leaned against the battlement, dangling her feet over the drop
to the courtyard below.  "Is there anyone you could recommend I talk to
about Aiel?"

	"The Dai Shain.  He knows as much about Aiel as anyone.  Gim
fought them in the Aiel War, but he only really knows how to kill them."
He paused.  "Why do you need to know about Aiel?"

	"Some of my visions," she said.

	He could smell a faint odor of deceit.  She must be in love with
one, he concluded.  "Afura Sedai might be able to help you; she's a
scholar of some note, though more the philosopher."

	Nanami nodded.  "I'll see about talking to her."

********

	"Well, not very much is really known about the Aiel at all," Afura
said.  "They seem to be divided into many different guilds or
associations, from the warrior associations who form their armies to the
craft guilds to various scholarly groups.  They live their lives according
to a complex web of laws known as Tic-Tac-Toe.  This translates roughly as
'Merits and Demerits'.  You gain Merit by great deeds according to the
standards of your guild and suffer Demerits for breaking the rules.  The
Guild of Wisdom stands outside this system; they are all female and they
act as arbitrators of the system, determining the assignment of Merits and
Demerits, of Tic and Tac."

	Afura paused to sip her tea, then delicately eat one of the
cookies she'd had brought in.  Nanami sat back and waited for her to
continue, also sipping tea.

	"The Guild of Wisdom also chooses who rules, by submitting
would-be chiefs to a set of tests at a place called Rhuidean.  When a
chief dies, any man in the tribe may put himself forward, but the Guild
decides who qualifies.  They do not directly rule."

	"They just control things from the shadows," Nanami said.

	Afura nodded.  "This seems likely.  Chiefs come and go, but the
Guild of Wisdom survives."

	"Do female Aiel really fight?" Nanami asked.

	"Some do.  There's one, maybe several female warrior associations.
Several such women warriors nearly killed Miso, the current King of
Cairhien, during the Aiel War.  A pity they didn't succeed, though
probably anyone who would succeed him would be just as bad."  Afura shook
her head and sighed, then sipped more tea and refilled her glass.

	"Was there something specific you wanted to know about?" Afura
asked.  "I could ramble all day, but that might not help you."

	Nanami sighed.  "I expect to be meeting Aiel soon, and wanted to
know more about them."

	"Because of your visions?" Afura asked.

	Nanami nodded.  "Yes."

	"The Aiel are not a friendly people, unless you are a Tinker or a
peddler.  They are proud and their laws are strange.  I wish you luck."

	"I expect I'll need it," Nanami said, sighing.

**********

	Hinako lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.  She didn't trust the
Aes Sedai, but unless she became one, mastered the Power well enough to
stay an adult all the time, she couldn't be with Soun, couldn't protect
the children.

	There had to be another way out.  But she couldn't see it.  She
sighed.  I will get Soun free of that woman, she swore to herself.  And
I'll make sure Ranma is safe in the Tower.  Even if it means he may have
to stay a woman the rest of his life.

	She strained her ears to see if she could hear Soun in the next
room, but she heard nothing.  He's probably pacing around being
melancholy, she thought.  She wanted to go to him, but not as a child.

	I hate this, she thought. I hate it.  Stupid child-body.  She
began to quietly cry in the darkness.

*********

	"What's the dummy for?" Ranma-chan asked Chloe Sedai.

	There were a lot of dummies, in fact, several dozen, ranging from
ones that were basically multiple connected pillows with a flimsy wooden
spine to hold them up to several which might pass as human from a
distance.

	"I think Lord Parn would take it amiss if we practiced on his
servants, not to mention the oaths."  Chloe produced knife after knife
from locations inside her clothing, passing half to Ranma-chan and half to
Ukyou.  "Still, if one is fighting Darkfriends, one must know how to best
stop them quickly and efficiently, either to disable or slay as is
necessary and wise."

	"Mind if I use my mini-spatulas?" Ukyou asked.  "I have more
practice with them."

	"That's fine," Chloe said.  "This is more about targeting and
using the Power in conjunction with weapons than it is about what weapons
are specifically used."

	The door opened and Hinako walked in with Soun.  "Hi, everyone,"
she said, a little subdued.  "We're back."

	"Good timing," Ranma-chan said.  "I think everyone's close to
ready to leave."

	Chloe looked at Hinako with interest.  "Ahh, you are the Wilder
Hinako al'Meara, right?"

	"Yes, I am," Hinako said.  "And you are?"

	"Chloe Sedai of the Green Ajah.  Good, you can join in this
exercise."  She paused.  "You have to charge up in order to channel,
correct?"

	Hinako nodded.  "Yes."

	"Dai Shain, can you secure us someone suitable?" Chloe asked Soun.

	"I will see about finding a delinquent."  Soun headed for the
door.

	"Kurz is in trouble," Ranma-chan and Ukyou said in unison, then
laughed.

	"Actually, his manners seem somewhat improved," Chloe Sedai said.
"Perhaps due to regular beatings by Lady Deedlit."  She smiled.  "Are you
good with knives, Hinako?"

	"I'm better with a bow," Hinako said.

	"See about getting her a bow too, please," Chloe said to Soun as
he headed out the door.

	"I will," he said.

	I can pretend I'm shooting Setsuna, Hinako thought.

*******

	"Stupid Aes Sedai," Woodchuck grumbled as he stared at his cards.

	Kurz tried to decide what to do with his hand.  He had an Aes
Sedai of Souls, the three and five of Flames, the eight of Stones and the
ten of Winds.  "What did they do this time?"

	"That little kid Sedai kept using me as dinner."

	"Dinner?" Nanami asked.  She paused.  "Oh, did you do something
delinquent?"

	"She had to do channeling stuff and she kept draining me to do
it."  He grumbled and threw three cards over to Gim, who was dealer.  Once
Gim tossed him fresh cards, he grinned.  "Much better."

	Nanami looked up at Kurz, then frowned.  "Fold."

	Everyone else carefully examined their cards a second time.  She
might have folded because she foresaw he had an unbeatable hand, or maybe
it was just because she saw she'd get worse than him.

	As for Kurz, he discarded all but the Aes Sedai, and hoped his
luck was in.  "Man, I've never had her drain me more than once."

	"Except when you ate all the baked duck," Nanami said.

	"Except for...hey, how did you know about that?" Kurz asked.  Gim
now passed him four cards.  The Aes Sedai of Flames and Stones, the Nine
of Winds and Flames.  Alright, full house, he thought.

	"Two cards," Etoh said.  He got them, studied them, then sighed.
"Fold."

	"Just saw it," Nanami said.

	"What, you can see past things too?"

	"Sometimes."

	"You didn't see the..."

	"Yes."

	"Blood and ashes," he grumbled.  "Got any good visions?"

	"You're going to have sex with an Aiel, eventually," Nanami said.
"And marry her."

	"..."

	"I think.  It's some weird thing with Tic-tac-toe, their law
code."

	"Is she hot?"

	"She's pretty hot," Nanami said.

	"Well, I guess that's not too bad," he said.  "Though I don't want
to get married any time soon."

	"Not until you finish making your way through the serving maids,"
Gim said.

	"Exact...hey!"

	Gim laughed and dealt himself three new cards.  "Hmm.  Fo...no, I
think I'll wait and see.  Well, a man's got to learn how to deal with
women somewhere.  Just treat them right, and their brothers won't hunt you
to the ends of the world and kill you."

	Kurz twitched a bit at that.

	Woodchuck, Gim, and Kurz went around the betting mulberry bush
several times.  Finally, Gim said, "Call."  He had three of a kind, Kings.
Kurz had a full house, Aes Sedai high.  And Woodchuck had a straight, Ten
high.

	"YES," Woodchuck said.

	"Now you can pay those debts," Gim said.

	"Exact...dammit."

	Gim smiled, then said, "Better go pay them before you run out of
money to do it with, lad.  Best to settle up before we all leave."

	"You're leaving?" Kurz asked.

	"Lord Parn's sending some of us as an honor guard for the Horn.  I
think myself, Slayn, Woodchuck, Etoh, Sasame, and maybe some others," Gim
said.  "In fact, I think he's been talking himself in and out of coming
along with us."

	"That'll be fun," Kurz said.  "We can continue our poker games."

	"I just hope we won't have any trouble on the way there," Nanami
said.

	"Trouble?" Kurz said.  "Who would be crazy enough to attack a
hundred Aes Sedai?"

	"True, true," Nanami said.  "Probably there won't be any trouble
at all."

	"Let's hope not," Gim said.  "But best to expect the worst so that
the best surprises you pleasantly."


End Chapter One, Book Two






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