This was originally published by me under the name Anduril at Anime Addventures, with the only changes being a few corrections in spelling and punctuation and occasional word choice. If you like the beginning of my story but think I've gone off the rails, or have your own ideas for a great branch-off, or think I'm taking too long to update and want to continue the story yourself, come to Anime Addventures and join in the fun!

I claim no ownership rights to any of the works of Rumiko Takahashi, or anything I've borrowed and modified from the Banestorm setting published by Steve Jackson Games.


Nodoka sighed to herself as she set out the last dishes of the meal on the large table in the crude ... 'hovel' wasn't really appropriate, the building was too large and sturdy for that, but it certainly wasn't a proper home. The Saotome matriarch didn't consider dirt floors and log walls with mud chinking a proper house, even if it had separate bedrooms for the men and women.

Still, she couldn't really complain — it was better than the true hovels the rest of the refugees from Japan were living in, the result of being the first arrivals and having a skill to teach that the locals wanted, badly. She chuckled to herself as she thought of the way Akane had demolished the best fighter the Keldara had had to offer, and their expressions when they were informed that the youngest Tendo was the least skilled of the warriors in their little group. Yes, there had been no problem negotiating a house and enough food for everyone in return for training in the Anything Goes school.

Not that that had stopped Nodoka from insisting that everyone pitch in and help, of course, a couple days a week in the fields for the men, and more than that helping with the fields, cooking, and watching the overabundance of children for the women (not having the excuse of spending time training the Keldara men).

Glancing at Akane sitting to one side of Ranma and competing with Ukyo, seated on Ranma's other side, for her fiancé's attention, Nodoka smiled as she remembered everyone's reaction to Akane's cooking — why they seemed so relieved at the quality of the plain, simple dishes that were all they were able to prepare with the materials available had confused her until her son had taken her aside and privately explained the usual results of Akane's occasional attempts to prove she could cook. I suppose if you take away all the confusing options, it's easier to deal with what's left, she mused as she stepped back and looked around to make sure everyone was there. Ranma and the girls were back from their training (and Ranma once again male), Nabiki was back from the keep, everyone but Miyo was there, but Miyo's absence was no surprise. Satisfied, Nodoka moved around to her own seat.

"Itadakimasu!" echoed through the room, then everyone dug into the food that had been hastily sent to them when they'd abruptly found themselves extremely apologetically disinvited from the feast prepared to welcome the visitor from Caithness — something about other surprise visitors that had to take precedence, Nodoka's Anglish was still rudimentary and she wasn't sure she'd understood the servant that had delivered the news along with the slightly cold food.

/oOo\

Just as they were finishing the meal (most of them, anyway — Nodoka had succeeded in getting her husband and son to slow down, but 'slower' was not the same as 'slow'), the front door opened and Miyo stepped into the large common room. Nodoka glanced over at the teenage girl with a welcoming smile only to feel that smile stiffen at the sight of the girl's face. Something had changed. She had the same calm expression she'd maintained in public since their arrival, but the desperate pain that had lurked behind the façade was gone. No, the pain was still there but the desperation was gone, replaced with a calm acceptance that seemed to add years to her age without changing a feature.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nodoka caught Elder Ku Lon as she stiffened, eyes widening in shock. "Incredible!" the ancient matriarch murmured, then rising to stand on her chair, she gently asked, "Child ... Miyo ... you have received an answer to your questions?"

"Yes," Miyo replied, then to Nodoka's surprise the teenager blushed. "But the answer came with a price."

"They usually do, child, the more important the question the costlier the answer. Tell us what happened."

/\

Miyo finished her story of the vision she'd received, looking around at the stunned expressions surrounding her, staring at her — except for Elder Ku Lon, who simply sat thoughtfully. After a long moment, the wrinkled old woman nodded. "Quite a tale, young lady, and quite a task you have been set. I'm almost sorry I'll miss it."

Miyo blushed again. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Come on, Miyo, suck it up — you're going to be a true leader, not just a figurehead, and it has to start with the people in this room. Opening her eyes to gaze at the matriarch, she started to speak, and everyone exchanged confused glances — except for the three Amazons, who straightened abruptly as they realized the young seer was speaking in their native language. "About that ... I didn't tell of all of the — the briefing — I received, to prepare me for this. Elder Ku Lon, your village is safe. And between its isolation, relatively primitive technology, and the fighting skills of your warriors, it will almost certainly prosper. The truth is that neither you, nor Xian Pu or Mu Tse, are really needed at home.

"The same is not true here. For Xian Pu and Mu Tse, we will be fighting almost yearly for years to come. For yourself — the form of ceremonial magic of which you are a mistress is known only in a primitive form, practiced by barbarians and peasant wisewomen. Your knowledge would be a great help in my ... my quest in this world, of great help to our sisters. Would you consider staying to help?"

Ku Lon gazed at Miyo for a long moment, face inscrutable, and the two younger Amazons turned to look at their Elder. Finally, she quietly said, "I will have to ponder this. You will have your answer tomorrow."

Miyo hesitated, then reluctantly nodded. "That's reasonable, I can't ask for more. Thank you for considering it."

Turning to Genma and switching back to Japanese, she continued in the calm tone from before, "Genma-san, all your life you have been playing — playing hard and very seriously, but playing nonetheless — mastering the ancient warrior arts in a world that no longer needed them. Here, now, those arts are needed very much — both for scouting, precision strikes, and on the battlefield. Will you join my cause, and put your training to its ancient use? In repayment for the aid our people have received here?"

Genma had opened his mouth when Miyo began her speech, but paused, suddenly thoughtful. "I ... I ..." he started, then stopped. That's ... an interesting way to put it. To put my training to the use it was intended, not simply for its own sake ... After a long moment, he straightened, even as a new light seemed to flicker in his eyes. Putting on a solemn expression, he said, "Of course! I have always said that it is the duty of a martial artist to protect the weak and innocent." Ignoring Ranma's snort, he continued, "From what you've said, our hosts are both in the right and helpless before their foes. I will be happy to do my part."

"And I!" Soun spoke up from his seat between his two older daughters.

Carefully not laughing, Miyo turned to Ranma. "Ranma, while your father and Soun-san will be invaluable when the actual fighting starts, neither has experience as leaders. Neither do you, but you have the natural qualities. The Keldara have the warrior spirit, but will need to be trained as soldiers, and our own Japanese men with them will need to find that spirit in their hearts. Would you consider taking a part in that training, becoming their leader in the ranks?"

Ranma broke off smirking at his father to stare at his classmate. "Me? Why me? What do I know of bein' a soldier?"

Before Miyo could speak up, Genma broke in. "No, son, Miyo-san is right. Only the most highly trained warriors will defeat soldiers en masse, and our opponents —" Turning to Miyo, he asked, "They will be soldiers?"

"Most likely, not at first. We will have to deal with the rebels first, at least in part, and those will be like ... like from our feudal age — feudal levies called up for a campaign, stiffened with professionals hired from wherever they can be found. Of course, our own side will be the same."

Genma nodded thoughtfully. "So, mainly levies made up of peasants with a minimum of training, with some that are personally skilled but not drilled to act together."

"Yes," Miyo agreed, "though many of those trained to fight will be cavalry — sort of like the armored knights in those movies about King Arthur."

"But later, we will be facing true soldiers?" Genma questioned.

Miyo nodded. "Yes, when Megalos, the empire to the east, comes in on the side of the rebels."

Genma was grinning, now. "Oh, yes, that's perfect! Soldiers may beat warriors in mass combat, but put them up against men with a warrior's spirit and a soldier's training ... and first the fights against the rebels to give our men some experience to go with their training and spirit ..." Turning to Ranma, the Saotome patriarch said sternly, "She is right, it is your duty to do as she asks. I cannot; I don't understand why, but people have trouble trusting me." Again ignoring the snorts and snickers from around the room, he continued, "But for some reason, people trust you. You, they will follow."

The pigtailed boy stared expressionlessly at his father for a long moment, then turned his gaze to Miyo. "Is Pop right?" he asked quietly.

Miyo, hesitated, but finally nodded. "Yes," she said. "That is essentially it."

"A lot a' people are goin' ta die."

"True," Miyo replied. "But a lot of people are going to die, whatever we do. This way, they have a chance of preserving their homes and way of life. Or at least," she added wryly, "have their way of life changed in a way that allows them to make their own decisions.

"And you would be perfect for leading our united people from the line. You're a skilled warrior, so the Keldara will be willing to follow you. You're Japanese and a skilled warrior, so our ... the refugees will be willing to follow you — eager, in fact; the Keldara have been generous, but have looked down on them as weaklings and cowards. The men know it, and will welcome a chance to prove them wrong and regain their self-respect. And both sides will recognize that you care about all of them, not just one group or the other. And as your father has recognized, this will give you a chance to put your training to use."

"But what about home?" Ranma asked. "I mean, yeah, Japan's gonna be hard hit, but we're tough, always have been — we'll be recoverin' from the wreckage."

Miyo paused for a minute, gaze seeming focused inward and a drawn, tight look across her face. Finally, two tears rolling down her cheeks, she said, "You are right, Ranma, but not as much as you think. Yes, the Japanese are tough, but the problem with the Dying isn't a matter of toughness, but of too many people on a few islands without enough food to support even a tithe of them for long. The Emperor's people got him and his family out to one of the smaller islands with enough food to last them through the dying time and long enough to get crops in and harvested, but ... even for the survivors on the smaller islands and in the few places up in the mountains fortified well enough to hold off the starving hordes and with enough food to last long enough to get a crop in — monasteries, mostly — how many know how to grow those crops, without machines? And of those that do know, how many will survive the chaos? With the total deaths and loss of knowledge, for generations Japan is going to be reduced to the scattered fishing villages we first grew out of, united only by wandering tellers of tales and loyalty to a distant and never seen emperor. No, while there will be the occasional bandits, Japan won't really need warriors of your capacity for generations, until the population has again grown large enough to make true unity a possibility. Meanwhile, the people here that have taken in as many refugees as they could — more, really; if the king in Caithness hadn't responded by sending supplies we'd be facing starvation here as well — do need your skills, and will for many years."

"An' what about my curse?"

Miyo shrugged even as she wiped at her tear-tracks. "What about it? You've been helping train the Keldara for weeks, now. Has it caused any problems?"

"Nooo," Ranma said slowly. "They were pretty weirded out when they first saw it, but most don't have a problem now — other than feelin' sorry for me," he added with a grimace.

"And do they follow your orders?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, they know I got what they want."

"So there you go," Miyo said. "And your curse might even be a help when we start training the girls."

Ranma nodded thoughtfully, and Miyo looked to the side at Akane, then Ukyo on Ranma's other side with Konatsu beside her (in men's clothing, as he had been dressing since their arrival). "And speaking of the girls, they, too, could use exemplars to test them, show them what women are capable of as they exercise to grow stronger, train with them when we teach them to use crossbows, knives and shortswords. Will you help?"

Ukyo and Akane glanced at each other across a suddenly sweating Ranma, then looked back at their former schoolmate. "Wherever Ranma goes, I go," Ukyo said firmly. "If this is the best way I can help while staying with Ranma, I'm in."

"But why do we have to be with the girls? Why can't we join the men?" Akane growled. "I'm as good as any of them!"

"Yes, you are — better, actually," Miyo agreed. "But they wouldn't be comfortable with you in their ranks, not now, maybe not ever. And the girls will need inspiration — leadership — in the tasks they can accomplish, not in the tasks they will likely never do."

Akane leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms and muttering to herself, and Miyo turned to Konatsu. "I don't suppose I have to ask if you'll join?" she said with an impish smile.

The seeming-girl, even in men's clothes, chuckled lightly and shook his head. "No. Where Ukyo-sama goes, I go."

Miyo nodded, and turned to look at Nodoka, then across at Kasumi. "An army needs more than soldiers to function — you could be a big help in supporting us, seeing to it that we have enough supplies, that meals are prepared, clothes tended to, whatever needs doing while freeing up the warriors to train. I know that neither of you could handle all that right now, not on this scale, but you can help — and learn."

Glancing again at Tofu, she added, "As well, we will need people to see to the sick and wounded. It won't be pleasant, but it is vital." Looking back at the two women, Miyo continued, "Understand, this will be dangerous. Just because noncombatants don't fight doesn't mean they won't be attacked — especially if things go wrong for the army they're supporting, but sometimes not even then. Kasumi, did Taniguchi-san teach Shakespeare's 'Henry the 5th' when you took his class?"

"Yes, he did," Kasumi said.

"Remember the killing of the boys with the luggage?"

Kasumi nodded, then looked across the table at Nodoka. Nodoka gazed back for a long moment, then nodded. "Where my husband goes, I'll go," she said firmly, then shot a hard look at Genma when he stiffened. "I am not staying behind while you march away for months or years, not this time!" she asserted firmly, and Genma froze, mouth open.

After a moment, he slumped back in his chair. "Of course, dear," he said. "A Saotome goes where he — or she — is needed!"

More chuckles echoed around the room, as Kasumi looked over at Tofu. "Tofu?" she asked softly.

He looked back for a long moment. "I will be joining, of course, even though I will have to find someone to teach me about the herbal remedies for our new home," he said at last. "As a kampo, I will go where I'm needed. But do you really wish to join, Kasumi? It is going to be ugly, and as Miyo said, possibly dangerous."

"Yes, it is what I wish," Kasumi said calmly.

"Then, please come," he replied. "I'll continue to teach you what I know, though I'll need to find someone that can teach me about the local herbs," he added with a grimace.

Kasumi's smile lit up the room.

I really hope she doesn't regret that decision, Miyo thought worriedly as she turned to Sayuri and Yuka. The two girls were staring at her, wide-eyed. "Miyo, what happened to you?" Yuka asked in bewilderment. "I mean, I know you had a vision, but you're so ... so ..."

"So calm, mature?" Miyo asked, smiling.

"So take-charge!" Sayuri supplied. "You've never been this outgoing, this ... forceful, before."

Miyo shrugged. "I think I'm still riding the high from my vision," she mused thoughtfully. "I told you all a lot of what I saw, but ... but not the intensity of it."

"True," Ku Lon agreed. "There is no way to describe the impact such visitations can have, it must be experienced." The two girls glanced uncertainly at the Amazon elder, then hastily back to their school friend.

"I don't think you'll want to stay here when the rest of us move down into Caithness," Miyo said. "You could always help Auntie Nodoka and Kasumi with managing our care and feeding, or ... you could join Akane and Ukyo." The two girls were back to staring at her, and Miyo shrugged again. "You don't have to decide right away, but soon. If all goes well when I talk to the Kildar, training will be starting in a few days at most."

As the two girls started whispering to each other, Miyo turned to the middle Teno sister to find Nabiki watching her with a sardonic smile on her face. "So, are you going to call me to battle? Or to be a glorified laundress?" she asked.

Miyo gazed at her for a time, but Nabiki simply stared back, smile unwavering — until Miyo's calm expression vanished into an impish grin. "Actually, considering the number of people that are going to ... object ... to our plans, I thought I could use an advisor. And who better than the Ice Queen?" Nabiki's jaw dropped, and Miyo's grin broadened. "Think about it," she said, and as Nabiki's face lit up with thoughtful excitement she turned to the final couple.

Ryoga and Akari had silently watched and now they waited, a grim expression on the Lost Boy's face while Akari anxiously clutched at his hand.

Miyo studied the pair for a long moment, then sigh. "I'm going to ask something completely different of you two — and harder," she said sadly. "Would you consider returning to Japan, to Akari's farm? It would mean having to clean up the bodies in the area, harvesting crops in the area by hand, finding survivors to build a new community ... and almost certainly never seeing us again, or learning how things work out here."

The room was silent for a moment as everyone digested what she'd said, then echoed to shouted questions and demands until Ku Lon bounced to the table top and shouted for silence. In the restored quiet, she turned to the young seer. "Explain, child. That doesn't seem to match well with what you've been saying."

"I know," Miyo agreed, "but it isn't the same situation. Tell me, Ryoga-kun, have you wondered why you are still here? Why you haven't found yourself wandering the length and breadth of this new world?" she asked, turning to Ranma's rival, and he nodded slowly. "It's because of the nature of magic in this world," she continued. "It works against magic that allows rapid movement — including the way you jump from place to place. So long as you stay here, you will stay here. Or at least, get from place to place the long way. However, that also means you won't be bouncing around the world to where you are needed, and back at home there are many, many places where your help is needed.

"And for you, Akari," she said, turning to the green-haired girl, "there are your pigs. There's no way we can feed them here, Katsunishiki and the few others we brought already eat more than we can really afford, however useful they've been helping haul trees and clear land for more crops. But back home, keeping them fed should be no problem, if enough of the refugees choose to risk returning with you — and enough should. And in time, the cavalry those pigs can become will be invaluable to an emperor working to reunite the islands and rebuild our nation in truth instead of just name — if someone is there to gather them together again, train them in their new task, and present them to the court when it returns to the main island."

She fell silent for a time, giving the couple a chance to consider her request, then added, "You will need to decide soon. The Cave of Worlds changes where it leads to from time to time, and that time will be within weeks, and you will need time to ask around and see which of the refugees will want to join you.

"And now," she said, slumping back in her chair with a sigh of relief with her first task done, "Is there anything left to eat? I'm starving."


Whew, glad that's done. Yes, I know, I finally write a longer episode and it's one massive lump of exposition for one of my less popular stories. Ah, well, if it needs to be done, it's best done quickly.

And yes, I'm going with the "Ryoga goes where he's needed" trope again.

janissasonic. net: I hope this episode allays your worries that the main players of the Ranma cast are getting sidelined — a few, maybe, and different episodes will focus on different cast, or none of them at all, but they'll mostly still be around. As for the reason I came up with for having the power disappear, I personally think that it better fits a fantasy world where religion plays a powerful role. Of course, others may think differently, your mileage may vary.

NatalieEGH: It's going to be an odd kind of crusade for awhile at least, purely defensive to begin with. And when it does go offensive, an act of recovering ground already lost rather than taking new ground. If I take this long enough, it might eventually go to on the general offensive, but I doubt I will.