Ranma Pov
Ranma sighed as she walked home contemplating the current situation. The fiancé mess was still ongoing but mostly resolved. His mother Nodoka had one meeting with the Kuno family and Kodachi and immediately stated that she would never marry Ranma while then shouting and threatening Genma with her Katana for accepting money that made Kodachi an official fiancé instead of a self-proclaimed one and had the dowry returned (He had to work hard at several construction jobs for a week as Genma spent the money on sake but well worth the effort in his opinion to ensure that Kodachi would no longer be a fiancé). Although she still ran around proclaiming the contrary and attempting to seduce or kidnap him (read poison him).
Shampoo was knocked out of the running when Ranma finally shouted out in anger at her about how the Kiss of Marriage was given. Luckily Cologne was nearby and immediately began tearing a new one into Shampoo. It turns out that assaulting someone else for no reason, especially when you were a guest in their house, was a cultural taboo and that someone defending the owners of the house by disarming them doesn't constitute a defeat as the Kiss of Marriage was only supposed to be used after a proper one on one fight or duel. In fact, Cologne shouted that Shampoo should marry her Chui rather than me as that was what knocked her out. Once Cologne finished with Shampoo leaving her both metaphorically and physically as small as a cat, she turned to me and informed me that the Amazons and her in particular as head of the family Shampoo was part of owed me compensation. I asked for two things, one that Shampoo can't challenge or fight me so she can apply the Kiss of Marriage properly and two that Cologne train me in everything she could without breaking Amazon laws, martial arts techniques, potions and magic. Cologne laughed and said that the first request was more than reasonable, and she would have forbidden Shampoo anyway, the second request was what she expected from him. She stated she would be able to teach him more if he was a member or ally of the Amazons. Before he could protest the membership bit, she quickly cut him off saying she knew that there was more of a chance of Kuno becoming sane than there was in getting him to join the tribe and that she knew that becoming an ally of the Amazons would create some problems unless the Alliance terms were tailored for him and his sense of honor. She then stated the pact between them would be a defensive one, if the Amazons were attacked without sufficient justification, then he would help protect them on the other hand if the Amazons were the ones who picked a fight or provoked an attack then he was not honor bound to defend them. He agreed and became Cologne's apprentice and, in response, Happosia started training him as his heir instead of merely stating it, adding his techniques and magic to Ranma's arsenal.
Ukyo was more difficult to deal with as she was unquestionably a legitimate fiancé and someone, he did care about, but he saw her more as a sister than a potential marriage partner. Nodoka offered to adopt her as becoming a Saotome would satisfy the honor of the agreement. Ukyo had the choice between continuing to chase after Ranma or guaranteeing the restorations of her honor. The decision was solidified when she contacted her father to explain this idea and he immediately began to rant and rave, when it was pointed out that he already knew about Ranma's previous engagement with the Tendo Family and expected the man who immediately broke that engagement the moment food was mentioned to keep his word regarding the engagement with his family, he went ballistic. It was very obvious that he didn't care about honor or his daughter Ukyo, he only cared about the fact he was tricked and made a fool of by Genma and wanted revenge, but he was either too weak (say what you will about Genma and most of it would be true, but he is still one of the best martial artists in the world) or to cowardly to do the deed himself. Instead, like Genma, he pushed all the responsibility onto his child and refused to acknowledge his failings and actions. Ukyo was now his adopted sister.
The Tendo's were a different matter, as the first engagement and the only one Genma intended to honor this agreement had a bit more weight, however it was effectively put on hold due to a multitude of reasons. First off by making more than one agreement Genma had made all agreements null and void. Secondly Genma and Soun gave the power to choose which of the Tendo sisters he would marry on the very first day they met, so it was not an engagement between him and Akane but one between him and one of the sisters. Three the Tendo's effectively declared that their honor and word regarding arranged marriages was nothing as they actively sabotaged and got out of the agreement between the Tendo's and Chardin family. Four the intention of the arranged marriage was to unite the schools, however Akane the supposed heir of the Tendo branch wasn't sufficiently trained to even be considered a student of Anything Goes let alone an heir or potential master thus it was impossible to unite something that didn't exist. So, it was decided for the engagement to be put on hold and that Ranma should get to know the Tendo sisters as just friends and see if there could be a connection (that didn't stop Soun or Genma, but Nodoka did manage to stop most of their schemes before they started and teach them the error of their ways if they went ahead with whatever hair-brained scheme they came up with).
With him now being effectively fiancéeless the amount of his rivals dropped considerably with Mousse being one of the more prominent ones and the only one of the idiot trio to stop attacking him. With both Ryoga and Kuno still randomly assaulting him, but they usually weren't a threat to him. Even before the training under the Old Mummies (Cologne and Happosia) he was easily able to beat them, as him defeating Herb and Saffron proved. Now after his training with them? The best they could do was irritate him, something that Ryoga seems to slowly understand although Kuno didn't (go figure).
Now he was walking home from training with Cologne which was the reason why he was in female form as Cologne (and Happosia) insisted that he train in his female form. Taking a canister, he poured hot water over himself transforming himself back to his male form.
"HALT KNAVE!" a voice shouted as the Blue Thunder (read True Blunder) Kuno came hurtling around the corner holding not his usual kendo bamboo sword but an old scroll that he could sense a great deal of magic coming from.
"Today is the day when I the glorious samurai will return the evil sorcerer Saotome to the depths of hell" he yelled before turning the scroll in my direction and suddenly I was engulfed in light that blinded and I felt my body distort a bit and get pulled before blackness and unconscious claimed me.
End Pov
2326 Imperial Calendar (IC), Ulthuan, Saphery, White Tower of Hoeth
Teclis High Loremaster of Hoeth and Warden of the White Tower Pov
Teclis sighed, he was the most powerful sorcerer in Ulthuan and possessed one of the highest and most prestigious positions in the High Elf realms but no matter what he seemed to get done there always seemed to be ten things that took its place.
But those problems were a back thought compared to trying to solve the inevitable victory of Chaos. Even if no one would admit it, the Chaos Gods victory was only a matter of time. The High Elves, Wood Elves, Dwarves and the Children of the Old Ones (Lizardmen) were dwindling in numbers and power for years. The only people aligned against the Chaos Gods that wasn't weakening but growing stronger was man, but their growth was tiny compared to the Skaven, Beastmen, Vampires, Greenskins, Ogres and the various forces of Chaos. In the Great Chaos War, the Forces of Chaos outnumbered the human soldiers at least five to one and maybe as much as ten to one. He knew in his heart the forces of Chaos would likely outnumber them twenty to one when the next Everchosen emerged. It didn't help that man was surrounded by enemies. To the East were Ogres, Greenskins and Vampires. To the South there were more Greenskins and the Undead, to the North there was Chaos. To the west were various pirate fleets, Undead and Dark Elf raiders and Slavers. Internally there were Beastmen, Greenskins and Chaos Cultists and under them were the Skaven.
At least he managed to patch things up with his twin brother Tyrion at their father's funeral. It was ironic a moment of such sadness also brought them together and made both feel great joy as their bond as siblings was restored.
Even the most reluctant and xenophobic Elves had to agree that he made the right choice in going to the Empire when he described the power and size of the Chaos Host and its Everchosen Asavar Kul (After all what was the point of liberating Ulthuan from the Dark Elves if the world fell to Chaos?). Many Elves, although most would not admit it, were struck dumb about the idea of an Everchosen and the forces of Chaos uniting into a grand host. This led to a scramble to find information regarding this position as this was the first time the Elves fought and heard of that position. Luckily, he did a study of it as the Empire had a lot of experience dealing with Everchosen as they and Kislev were often the first target. The Kingdoms of Man and Dwarves recorded a dozen Everchosen's including the first, Morkar the Uniter who was slain by Sigmar himself, an average of one every two centuries, although most didn't leave the Chaos Waste as they were slain before they had a chance to march South such as Khaardun the Gloried who died when he was possessed by the Daemon Prince Be'lakor, his body crumbled, unable to contain the Daemon Princes power.
He walked into the courtyard watching various loremasters and acolytes practicing magic and combat skills, knowing despite all their knowledge, training and probably inevitable sacrifices it would probably be for nothing.
Then he froze as he felt something, everyone else stopped what they were doing as they felt it to. He tried to see if he could pinpoint what it was. It was magic but magic he was unfamiliar with, it wasn't High Elven, Chaos, Dwarven, Human or anything else, in fact that magic seemed to not be part of the Winds of Magic at all! Which was supposed to be impossible, then a portal opened up above the courtyard. He only had enough time to see a general shape of a body come through it before two things happened. One the portal vanished, secondly there was a crash and a lot of dust thrown up obscuring his view of where the body landed.
The various Elves reacted swiftly drawing weapons and pointing their staffs at the dust. Once it cleared, they saw a reasonable sized crater (Teclis saw bigger both in the recent war against the Dark Elves and in the Great Chaos War) and a human wearing clothing that was unfamiliar to him but the magical sight he and many other of the loremasters possessed saw more. They could sense magic coming from the young human, but it was different from any known, it wasn't part of the Winds of Magic, if he would describe this magic as anything he would describe it as chaotic. Not Chaos as in the Evil Gods but chaos as in it seemed uncontrollable, changing and shifting in unpredictable ways with no discernable pattern. He could also sense other powers coming from the human similar to magic yet not magic like a sibling or relative to magic.
He noticed that many of the Elves were looking at him awaiting his orders, he thought for a moment and then gave his orders.
"I don't sense any Chaos, Dark Elf or any other form of evil or corruption from him but I want him scanned more thoroughly and kept in a secure room under guard till we question him" he commanded.
When some gave him questioning looks, he elaborated "He is as far as we can tell not an enemy and we need to at least figure out how he bypassed the magical defenses of the White Tower and the quickest and easiest way to figure that out is to question him" seeing comprehension in some of their eyes and faces and a few nods as they understood that the White Tower the repository of High Elf knowledge must have no holes in its defense as some of the knowledge kept there was potentially world ending.
"Secondly, he seems to use a system of magic that is unknown to us, which doesn't rely on the Winds of Magic, if we could somehow learn and use it, think of the potential it may give us" causing a few more of the more inquisitive loremasters to show eagerness at this revelation.
Several Elves went into the crater and began to pick the young man up and while watching them take him away he thought to himself was this the potential answer to his problem given by the Gods or something else? At the very least he would probably be busy for the foreseeable future, later when he looked back on this time he would chuckle as he would be very busy for a lot longer than just the foreseeable future.
Pov end.
Ranma Pov
"UUggghhh" he groaned as he began to return to conscious. What happened, did Akane hit him with her mallet again? Slowly the memories began to filter back, and he remembered Kuno coming at him with some magical artifact.
Slowly he began to open up his and his eyesight began to focus slowly clearing up the blurry images he was seeing. He was in a white walled room with fairly intricate decorations in blue, white and red all over the room. He slowly lifted the blanket off himself and began to sit up from his very comfortable bed. The room had no windows and had a very heavy wooden door at the other side of the room but what surprised him was that magic and unfamiliar magic that was interwoven in the structure and even permeated the air.
He looked at the door, clearly there was reinforcing magic on the door to make it stronger, but it wouldn't stop him. He could easily bust down the door if he wanted to, but he decided not to. One they didn't try and kill him in his sleep, two they actually put him in a very nice room despite obviously magically teleporting to this place and presumably causing a panic because of breached security, three he had no idea where he was and if the building itself was escapable or where he could go if he did escape. As far as he knew he could be in a secret magical community in Antartica. So, I decided to let my hosts know I was up by knocking on the door.
The response was very quick, there was a moment of silence and then various words in an unknown language were spoken before he could hear footsteps of one of them running, probably to get the person in charge of this place. The door opened and in walked five silver very heavily armored guards with blue plumes coming out from the top of their helmets carrying two handed great swords (he would later learn they were the Swordmasters of Hoeth) that absolutely reeked of magic. He could sense through his ki that the guards weren't hostile to him but still alert and wary, which is understandable as an unknown person suddenly appeared in their midst.
Trying to start a conversation he says, "Hello my name is Ranma where are am I?". The guards looked at each other than me in confusion before saying something in a language I didn't understand and using the universal gesture of shaking my head and shrugging my shoulders to try and tell them I couldn't understand them. That seemed to get the message across, and they nodded keeping the neutral expression they had since coming into the room. Seeing that there wasn't much else I could do I returned to the other side of the room and sat upon the bed, the guards' eyes following me, but they did internally relax although their bodies showed no hint of it.
However, I understood that "where" I was, was more complicated than I first thought as I could sense that the Guards were not human, what they were I didn't know but they certainly weren't human which meant I was probably in some hidden place in the world far away from civilization like the various people of Jusenkyo.
Soon enough what I presume was the head honcho entered, covered in blue, white and gold armor and cloth that made a beautiful and impressive sight but what made me wary and on guard was the sheer amount of magical power he was exerting, everything from his clothes to his equipment and even himself was exuding an ocean worth of magic. Even Cologne and Happosia together wouldn't even equal a fraction of this being's magical power. Yet the magic he had seemed different, thick, heavier and more external? Would that be the best way to describe it?
One of the Guards stepped forward and began to converse with this newcomer, probably telling him I couldn't understand him, and they couldn't understand me. Shifting his eyes towards me I felt him gathering magic, but I felt no hostile or ill intent, so I allowed him to finish casting the spell. A blue light came from his staff and enveloped me.
"Can you understand us now?" he asked, his voice quiet and soft but elegant and commanding.
"Yes, I can. So, hello I am Ranma Saotome, and I have no idea where I am" he replied giving a lopsided grin.
He could tell that some of the guards were offended but the being in front of him was amused and slightly pleased, perhaps all the stuffy formal stuff he received as the boss wore him down and he was happy that somebody was speaking to him so casually.
"Greetings Ranma, I am Teclis High Loremaster of Hoeth and Warden of the White Tower which we are currently in and of the race Asur or more commonly known as the High Elves" he responded a gentle smile on his face.
Asur? High Elves? That was his species' name?
"Sorry I have never heard of the Asur or the High Elves" I said.
That made a few blinks in surprise, but they recovered their composure so quickly that an ordinary human would never be able to catch the small quick break in their composure.
"You've never heard of the High Elves of Ulthuan in the middle of the Great Ocean, one of the oldest and greatest civilizations of the world?" Teclis asked, leaning forward slightly.
"No" I confirmed, then an uncomfortable thought wormed itself into my head. I now had a sneaking suspicion where Kuno sent me. Slowly as not to make an aggressive movement I put a hand into my sleeve and removed a book.
"How did you do that; I didn't sense any magic and what is that book?" Teclis asked.
"I used the Hidden Weapons Technique which creates a space in a fold or pocket which is far bigger on the inside compared to the outside entrance, where you can stuff anything, weapons, books, supplies and whatever else you can think of and the more power you put into the space the bigger it is, and it preserves whatever is put in it like time has stopped. As for the power, you are correct it is not magic but ki" I answered.
"As for the book it is an Atlas (Never know when one could come in handy with the crazy adventures I had been on) a book that contains maps of the world" I said opening the book.
"Now please tell me you recognize this map" a hint of desperation in my voice.
Teclis looked at the map then at me then the map again and then for a brief instant the look of realization appeared on his face before disappearing.
"The two Southern continents are vaguely similar to our own, but the rest of the world is of completely different shape, and you're missing an entire continent between these two continents, the one we are on at the moment Ulthuan, and you have an extra one to the south of here (Australia)" Teclis informed me, pointing where the continents should and shouldn't be and any hopes I had were dashed.
Pov end
Teclis Pov
The moment I informed this being from another world that he wasn't in his world any longer his shoulders slumped and there was a look of a certain amount of despair on Ranma's face yet also resignation like he half expected it somehow. I was intrigued by the mention of this ki a power that was similar to magic but obviously wasn't, however the more immediate problem was to make sure his new guest didn't fall into depression.
"Maybe there is a way you can return home, after all if there is a way to a place then there is usually an exit or return way as well" he said which was in his experience true. For every spell there was usually a counter spell.
Ranma then looked at him and slightly spat a reply with some venom that wasn't directed at him but rather at the situation he found himself in. "Oh, I have a way home, but I can't aim the bloody thing!".
"Aim the thing" Teclis questioned.
"I have a magical artifact that allows me to travel anywhere" Ranma said reluctantly "however while I know how to turn it on and use it, I haven't discovered how to direct it to the place I want to go, it just seems to send me randomly anywhere every time I use it. Luckily when I first accidentally activated it, I also found out how to reverse it to send me back to the place where I activated it".
Hmmm certainly a powerful and dangerous artifact if one discovers how to correctly use it, I thought before Ranma cut off his thoughts.
"Before you even ask to see it or examine it my answer is no. You are a stranger, I have no idea how trustworthy or honorable you are. So, I won't entrust you with a magical artifact that could potentially be my only way home, just as you wouldn't entrust me a complete stranger with those magical swords those guards possess or those magical items, you're carrying around with you" Ranma stated with a challenging glint in his eyes like he was daring them to try and take it.
Most Elves would be insulted since the statement could be construed as an insult or attack to their honor and indeed the guards behind him were somewhat offended, but they were members of the White Tower they understood more than most the necessity of keeping things secret and safe and only revealing them to those who proved themselves worthy of the knowledge.
"I understand" Teclis responded, not surprised that Ranma could sense magic since that was a fairly common ability among all magic users "I hope that one day you will trust us with studying it but for now we need to discuss your situation" saying the last part carefully.
Ranma's eyes and full attention was now on him.
"It's very clear that you coming here was very unintentional, especially since you didn't even know it existed, that said you still managed to magically break into one of the most secure places in the world. A place covered with so many magical protections that such a feat was considered impossible" he said explaining the situation to Ranma that he found himself in.
"Since your break in was unintentional I am prepared to offer you a deal that would benefit us both" Ranma gave a guarded but interested look that seemed to say go on "This is the White Tower the center of learning and knowledge for our race, and you seem to possess a system of magic and other abilities that are unknown to us along with knowledge of a different world. You on the other hand are trapped in a world you know nothing about. You need to learn about the world, and you need to make a living and earn an income until you discover a reliable way to return home" he explained.
"So, what I propose in exchange for lodging, coin and access to non-restricted information regarding this world you teach us your knowledge and powers" Teclis finished.
Ranma was silent but his eyes and expressions were clearly telling that he was thinking about it.
"There are some things I refuse to teach to someone unless they prove themselves trustworthy as some of my techniques are very dangerous and some of them are family techniques otherwise, I think we have an agreement" Ranma said sticking his hand out.
Deciding to accept this compromise Teclis shook Ranma's hand confirming the agreement they just made, if only either of them knew it was an agreement that would change the world.
Ch2
Ranma Pov
I followed Teclis out of the room and along the corridor. I was certainly awed and impressed with all the beautiful artwork and design, it looked like Roman or Greek (Kasumi and Nabiki tried to teach me culture and art appreciation, to make me a bit less of a "barbarian" blueh) mixed with European medieval and a hundred times more impressive. The guards moving very silently behind me and if it wasn't for my superhuman senses I wouldn't realize they were even there, they moved that silently despite being covered in what looked like very heavy armor which should have clanked with each movement.
During the walk I decided to ask some questions (it would clear up some of my confusion, plus take my mind off the fact that this is a different world and that there are armed guards surrounding me).
"If I am really in a different world, I am surprised you haven't asked me what species I am?" I asked.
Teclis seemed to smile slightly although it was so slightly it was hard to tell "You mean human?" he said to my surprise.
The surprise was very clear on my face, and he quickly elaborated "The Asur are far from the only intelligent or semi-intelligent species on the planet. Including the Asur and Humans there are Dwarves or Dawi in their own tongue, their fallen kin the Chaos Dwarves, Skaven, Ogres, our fallen kin the Druchii and our estranged kin the Asrai. The Children of the Old Ones or the Lizardmen as they are more commonly referred to, the Greenskins which contain various kinds of Orcs and Goblins, the Undead consisting of Vampires and Tomb Kings. Beastmen, Giants, Dragons, Dragon Ogres, Trolls, Pheonix's and many other species and sub species.
My eyes widened with every race and subspecies added to the list, they must have looked like they were about to pop out as I tried to wrap my head around the thought of that many intelligent creatures running around, I was especially surprised by several mythical creatures from my world although I only knew two of those species exist.
"Your world obviously has less intelligent species than ours" Teclis said, and I could sense he was amused.
"Yes, other than Humans I only know of one intelligent species and that is the Pheonix People, a race of winged humans led by Saffron the Pheonix King" I replied and that did get a reaction, our entire procession stopped or more liked stumbled to a stop, and I couldn't just sense surprise I could see it on their faces.
"Pheonix King, his title is Pheonix King?!" Teclis said with some emotion in his voice, and he was leaning towards me slightly.
"Yeah" backing away slightly my hands raised in front of me like a surrender position and in slight worry, "Is there a problem?" I asked wanting to know why the words Pheonix King set him and the others off like that when an alien (me) didn't.
Teclis seemed to calm down and start regaining his composure "The monarch of our race is called the Pheonix King" oh that's why I got such a reaction "Finubar the Seafarer the eleventh Pheonix King of the Asur and Ulthuan is our current monarch".
"Well, if I do ever meet your Pheonix King I hope it goes better than meeting the last one" I said dryly. That prompted a raised eyebrow from Teclis who made a clear explain look to me.
"My meeting with Saffron didn't happen or end in the best of circumstances" I said rubbing the back of my head having a sheepish look on my face. "His servant Kiima leader of his royal guard kidnapped a friend of mine in order to get a map and magical artifact from me in order to accomplish some magical ritual for Saffron. I immediately went after them, successfully breaking into the palace, wreaking some of it, beat up the royal guard, disrupted the ritual, rescued my friend and then fought and temporarily killed Saffron destroying an entire valley and a few mountains in the process" finishing a very short version of that adventure, with my sheepish look increasing as I listed the damage done. Even for me it was an impressive amount of damage and a big mess that could have been avoided if the arrogant chicken people (my nickname for them) decided to talk and explain what they wanted and were doing instead of immediately going for the violent and extreme options that ensured misunderstandings and a violent response.
My entire procession looked a bit stupefied by what I said before Teclis began laughing, he clutched his staff and began laughing.
Eventually Teclis began to calm down, wiping a few tears from his eyes "Oh, that is definitely something my brother would do, if you two meet you would either kill each other or become comrades" a few of the guards nodded at that as they knew Tyrion's reputation as a very hot-headed warrior who would destroy anything between him and his goal and if a friend of his or the Gods forbid the Everqueen was kidnapped he would level mountains and fight armies to ensure their safe return.
"You said you only temporarily killed Saffron" Teclis asked after he had recovered enough.
I sighed "He was not called the Pheonix King for just for his orange and red color wings and hair but his powers. He was fire incarnate, he could summon gigantic flames and use them to attack his enemies by creating columns of fire or launching giant fireballs. He could create an area around him so hot that armies and cities would be destroyed by just being close to him. Then combined that with him being immortal and nearly immune to all damage. During the fight with him I cut off his arms and cut him in half, but he instantly regenerated any and all damage I could cause, it was only when I created an ice tornado that pulverized his body all at once did, he finally "die". Then he changed into a giant egg, and I was told he would hatch, go through childhood and regrow to full adulthood. So only a temporary death" I finished.
They managed to regain their composure, but I could still sense some surprise but not at his regenerating or fire abilities although they seemed somewhat impressed by perhaps the scale of them, so I could only presume that regeneration and people controlling fire were not that uncommon, but Saffron's version was a step up, but they seemed to be surprised by his ability to be reborn or at least his version of it.
"Well as fascinating as this is we should get moving again" Teclis said and so we did, eventually we reached our destination, as I saw a large door with two more guards outside it their giant swords drawn but their tips were on the floor.
"To continue our conversation about the humans of this world they are one of the most numerous and widespread species in the world. With various civilizations and cultures from the large and powerful nations of the Empire, Kislev and Bretonnia to our west, while to the south there are smaller city states in Tilea, Estelia, the Border Princes and Araby. And in some place's tribes of primitive humans and cannibals roam around in places like the Southlands. So, there is a vast difference between the technological and civilized level of various humans" Teclis explained.
That seemed slightly strange to me, in my world there was a difference in technological level and standard of living even in the same country let alone the entire planet but overall, it was fairly small technological difference, as most countries had access to electricity, guns, phones, planes etc. Maybe they couldn't afford all of it or want it but at least they had access to it if they had enough money. Yet judging by the technology displayed by the Asur this world was at least European Medieval (it's the best comparison not pre-gunpowder Japan) level yet according to Teclis there are cannibals and stone age level humans wandering about, a several thousand years difference. When a greater technological power meets a weaker one, especially when there is such a difference, the greater power conquers the weaker one. That's what happened in America, the more technologically advanced Europeans found America and conquered it from the natives who were isolated from the rest of the world, so they had no gunpowder, horsemen, armor, big battleships etc. to resist the Europeans and were eventually defeated. Yet despite being known those tribes still exist.
"I guess information about them would be part of the non-restricted part of your library" I asked.
Teclis nodded at that "I can even tell you something about them as I have spent several years in Kislev and the Empire and have only recently returned which makes me uniquely suited to dealing with humans as the majority of my race hasn't even seen a human let alone interacted with one for an extended period of time. Also, the majority of my race whether they have met humans or not look down on them as uncultured barbarians who are inferior to the Elves in every way "he looked apological at me with that statement, but I just shrugged after the arrogance of the Pheonix People, Musk, Amazons, Kuno's and many others I was used to puffed up balls of hot air who looked down on everyone including me. Plus, with my own arrogance? I didn't really have a leg to stand on when it came to that, thank the Gods Kasumi, Nabiki and Mum helped curb it and make me realize how insufferable I could be (no wonder Ryoga chased me for a decade).
"No problem I have dealt with a lot of arrogant people who look down on others, especially me, even I'm arrogant although I have proven that I can back up my arrogance as the most powerful person in my generation and one of the most powerful beings in my world" I stated which was true I was the most powerful person in my generation and there were only a handful people in the world that could rival me when I go all out. Happosia, Cologne and their other three-hundred-year-old friends, Herb, Herb's Father, Saffron, Kirin and Orochi. Even among them the only ones I couldn't say I could confidently defeat are Cologne (we've never had an all-out fight), Herb's Father (I have no idea what the Musk Emperor is capable of) and Orochi (that thing is as large and tough as a mountain) as I have beaten the rest, or they were easily tricked or distracted like with panties for most of the oldies (the perverts).
"You can back that up?" Teclis asked.
"Yeah, I have fought and defeated kings, princes, nobles, magic users, evil spirits, demons, dragons, phoenix's, some of the greatest warriors my world has to offer and a variety of other monsters and supernatural creatures" I boasted "before I was even an adult" I added.
Teclis was smiling again and seemed to be trying to fight back a laugh "You and my brother would definitely get along right after you have a fight to the near death to prove who is the stronger warrior as I can tell that you are just as stubborn as my brother and I'm not sure even death would stop him".
I gave him a sheepish look "I've been accused of the same thing, being too stubborn to die and surviving or winning against impossible odds or opponents".
"You'll have to tell me stories of your adventures sometime" I winced a bit at that as my adventures were mostly not noble quests but things that started because of accidents and misunderstandings that would have never happened if everyone just sat down and talked. They were amusing in hindsight and retelling them, and the shenanigans we caused during it made people laugh but worthwhile noble quests? The majority of them no "were here" Teclis said. As I saw a fairly large open door with several guards outside it.
We entered a fairly large circular room with what looked like marble stadium chairs circling around the room, with four step chairs which had various elves sitting on them. There seemed to be a discussion as I could hear talking but when the door to the room opened and my procession walked in the talk immediately died down.
I looked at the assembled Elves, similar to Teclis and the guards they wore a mix of blue, silver, red, white and gold, some wearing full armor, while others wore part armor and others wore cloth with some metal mixed in. They were a mix of male and females, many with staffs and some with swords and other weapons holstered on their belts (mostly daggers). Combined with the statue like faces they wore that betrayed no emotions or thoughts made an imposing and impressive sight.
As I stood in the center of the room, as the doors closed, surrounded by skilled warriors and powerful magic users, I was unsure whether I was trapped with them or were they trapped with me. Usually, I would be absolutely sure of myself and my ability to defeat everyone in the room and escape but there were several reasons why I was unsure. One they weren't human, I didn't know the limit of their physical abilities, although just from a scan it seemed that they were far faster and somewhat stronger than the average human, but they were slower and weaker than me. Two they were blooded warriors, I could tell, you could see it in their eyes, they have taken many lives. I knew if I even made an aggressive movement let alone attacked them, they wouldn't hesitate to kill me. Three the magic they used and this world or at least this place was different, unusual which made magic as unpredictable as it is even more unpredictable, so I didn't know what the magic users in this room are capable of, did they have to cast a lengthy incantation, or did they just need to think for a fireball to launch itself at me? Cause usually I could use my physical speed and power to overwhelm a magic user before they start or complete the spell like with Hikaru Gosunkugi, when he didn't botch his spell (19/20 times) or demon summoning (he paid for that). I wasn't sure I would get similar results if I tried that with them.
The assembled people then turned towards Teclis who had an oddly dressed person beside him with a very golden ornamental staff in his hand. This person banged his staff against the ground "May the 22nd meeting of the Loremasters in the year 163 of the reign of Pheonix King Finubar now commence" he said in a very formal bureaucratic (boring) tone.
Agh the usual formal nonsense of important people (self-described like Kuno and otherwise) and officials, he understood that sometimes it was necessary but mostly it was a waste of time with a very roundabout way of saying something.
"This meeting is to discuss the breach of security of the White Tower (expected) and other matters regarding our" the speaker seemed to pause a moment as he tried to find the right or perhaps polite word "guest", a hint of either what he thought of the guest (me) after all Teclis did say most of his race looked down on Humans or maybe he disliked the fact that they had a "guest" seeped into his speech.
Pov End
Belennaer the Wise, Loremaster and teacher of Teclis and oldest living Loremaster Pov
I looked at my former pupil then back at our "guest" as Iontyras put it. While my colleagues and myself wore expressions more fit for a statue than living beings, while the human expression was as clear as day, a little excitement and maybe apprehension, certainly the human didn't look nervous and a somewhat calculating look in his eyes, like he was sizing us up, trying to determine how much of a threat we are to him.
While my pupil's face was stone solid to everyone else, I could see cracks, he looked amused as if he heard a good joke and also had a look of...anticipation? Hhhmmm he would have to see what Teclis learned from this guest in the short time he was awake to make him so amused, all he knew was that this wasn't going to be a normal or boring meeting like usual.
Teclis stood up from his seat at the end of the chamber opposite the door as High Loremaster "Fellow Loremasters, I have discussed somethings with our new arrival, and he has identified himself as Ranma Saotome" Ranma Saotome heh? That didn't sound like a name from any of the human nations near Ulthuan although it doesn't sound out of place for Cathay or Nippon but still slightly different.
"While I haven't discussed how he managed to penetrate the White Tower's defenses as I felt that was best revealed to all of us at once" smart, Belannaer thought, while the Loremasters were less involved in political intrigue than the average noble or the Pheonix Court they still had their factions, biases and internal politics. If Teclis discussed such an important matter with Ranma and decided on an action before discussing it with the Council of Loremasters, sidelining them? Well, while the Loremasters couldn't remove Teclis from his position as High Loremaster unless he died, goes mad, turns traitor or gets corrupted, they could still make his life very difficult and act passive aggressive to any instructions or policies Teclis sets for the Order.
"I have determined his point of origination, he is not from our world, he has magically been transported from another planet" Teclis stated.
There was a moment of shocked silence and then there was chaos (Not evil Chaos with a capital C) but chaos as in a teacher just left a class of five-year old's unsupervised and expected them to behave. Many of the statuesque faces broke and a number of them were shouting denials, stating that it was impossible or demanding an explanation, some even standing up waving their arms as louder and louder voices emerged to talk over the others.
I admit I was shocked but unlike most of my colleagues I kept my composure, and I didn't immediately discount the possibility. I had seen many impossible things during the course of my long life, and I knew that magic only had one limit, the caster. As long as the caster was strong enough and had enough imagination, then anything was possible with magic. Another reason why I didn't discount the possibility is because it wasn't impossible, is it really wrong to believe that other worlds existed? If our world exists then it is certainly possible for others to exist and we had proof in the form of the Old Ones, a race of magical and technologically superior beings who travelled from their world to this one. If there was at least one other world capable of supporting life, it stands to reason there are others and if the Old Ones could travel to other worlds, it's certainly possible for other intelligent species to accomplish such a feat.
I banged my staff against the ground silencing the room and all heads turned towards me "If you are done acting like a bunch of children and let the High Loremaster explain he will answer all your questions by revealing what information he has learned and what proof Ranma" my staff now pointing at the grinning human who was looking amused in the center of the room "has that made him conclude such a thing" I finished.
As many of the Loremasters had their ears and checks turn red in embarrassment as they realized that they were acting like a bunch of children and in front of a human no less.
"Thank you Loremaster Belennaer" Teclis replied, I gave a pointed look towards my former apprentice as while he kept his composure, I could see that he was highly amused in getting the usually stuffy and high strung Loremasters react in such a way, so that was what the anticipation was for.
"As for the evidence, the first was when we examined him while he was unconscious" Teclis gave an apologetic look towards Ranma who shrugged although he looked annoyed and understanding at the same time "when he was more thoroughly scanned to see if he had any taint or corruption, we discovered that he had no hint of the Winds of Magic in him".
That declaration was met with stunned silence, after all that statement should be impossible, the Winds of Magic permeated the entire world from its roots to the highest mountains and every creature from the plants to the elves were affected by it. Even those who couldn't use it or were resistant to its effects like the Dwarves still had it infused with their very beings, for Ranma to not have any hint of it? That alone was a big enough argument for the statement that Ranma didn't come from their world.
"The second was his clothes, they were clearly not hand weaved and yet I know of no machine in the Empire or the Karak Ankor capable creating it, meaning that the place Ranma came from is clearly technologically superior in at least creating clothes than the most technologically advanced nations that we know of" Teclis stated, while a weaker proof than the lack of the Winds of Magic in Ranma's body, it at least highlighted the fact that Ranma came from a place unknown to them.
"Third when he woke up, he spoke in a language unknown to his guards, and we didn't just assign them to guard him because of their combat skills but also because of their language skills and between them they have all the major languages and most of the minor languages learned" again while weak proof it showed that Ranma's civilization is one they have not encountered. As while no Loremasters would be arrogant enough to state that they have all languages in their archives, they have most of them and the ones they don't have belong to primitive cultures that still use flint. The Asur were the most travelled species on the planet, and they were in contact with or had contacted every culture that was worthy of being referred to as a civilization, so the odds of an unknown advanced civilization they didn't know of while possible were still unlikely.
"Fourth when questioned he had no idea where he was and stated quite equivocality that he has never heard of the High Elves or Ulthuan and I detected no falsehood with his statements. While this is not entirely uncommon for humans to not know about us" this got some nods " yet he is clearly not an ignorant Bretonnian peasant who has no idea of the world outside of his village", this was perhaps the weakest proof of them all "but it does show that he was not purposely trying to break into the White Tower, after all how could you purposely break into something you don't know exists?" this caused a sense of relief as that meant it was likely a case of accidental magic that sent Ranma here, still worrying as it could potentially be repeatable, but they shouldn't expect an army or thieves to appear in the middle of the White Tower anytime soon.
"Fifth Ranma has a book he has referred to as an Atlas, a book containing maps of his world, Ranma" Teclis said gaining the attention of named person "could you show them your book" Ranma nodded and then put his right arm up his left sleeve.
I placed all my senses on this movement, yet I couldn't sense any magic even when he brought a book that was obviously too large to be in his sleeve.
"Before anyone asks, what Ranma is using is something that is called Hidden Weapons Technique and it isn't magic, it's an energy he has called Ki" Teclis said stalling the inevitable question of what in the name of the Gods did Ranma do as they didn't sense any magic. He then levitated the book out of Ranma's hand getting a squawk of surprise and brought it before the various members, who began to flick through the pages.
When it was my turn to look through the book, I was amazed. The first thing I noticed was the language, a completely unknown language, the second was the pictures. He could see an entire world fairly similar yet different from his own, as he flicked through the pages, he could see the world divided into what he presumes to be countries (as lack of knowledge of the language the book is written in makes that uncertain), as he continued to flick through the pages seeing this new world and its various nations and climates as he could clearly see where Ocean's, Deserts, Frozen lands, forests, rivers, lakes and mountains were. He could see all the individual nations and what they consisted of.
As he allowed the book to be passed to the Loremaster next to him, he began to think, if this was an attempt to deceive them, well they went pretty far to convince them and created an impossible spy. Create a new language, culture and life and have someone learn it then remove all knowledge of their true past? Possible but difficult. Having objects such as clothes or that book created by unknown machines (as it was obvious that those maps were not hand drawn and the paper it was on was much finer than even their own paper), again not impossible but extremely unlikely. Then there was the level of detail in the book, an entire world, hundreds of nations, flags and what he presumes figures and facts of the countries on their individual pages, all completely unnecessary, all they would need to do is create a handful of maps with place names not hundreds of pages of highly detailed maps with other information. Then there was the final point that effectively proved that Ranma couldn't have been born or lived in our world for any length of time and that was the lack of the Winds of Magic, oh Ranma unquestionably has magic, only an incompetent or fake mage would not sense it and deny it, but it wasn't the Winds of Magic it was something... different.
Once everyone looked through the book which was then refloated back to Ranma who stuffed it back up his sleeve, Teclis got their attention by banging his staff.
"I think you can agree that my hypothesis regarding Ranma coming from another world is a likely scenario if not the most likely" an added I am not mad like some of you may have thought was unsaid but clearly heard, even the human seems to have understand that with the way he was smirking.
This got reluctant nods and verbal affirmations from the various Asur. While most were still somewhat skeptical and suspicious, they agreed to give Ranma the benefit of the doubt while they keep a very close eye on him, after all they were the Loremasters of Hoeth and it was their job to find and remove Dark Elf spies and other traitors, so if there was something suspicious, they would investigate. If they found something, well most didn't live long enough to regret their choice.
"Now Ranma" Ranma was now paying attention to Teclis "can you tell us how you traveled from your world to the White Tower".
"It's thanks to that idiot Kuno, an insane rich noble with delusions of grandeur and an ego the size of a planet, unfortunately he has some sort of talent in finding or getting his hands on magical artifacts. This time he managed to get his hand on a scroll, what is on the scroll I have no idea, but Kuno completely misunderstood what it is supposed to do as he was yelling about sending me to hell and instead whatever spell that was on it sent me here" Ranma explained, clear annoyance and anger at this Kuno person.
The various Loremasters looked at each other and had a silent conversation through the use of facial expressions and various ticks that would be unnoticeable to most people and races. Indeed, the Asur had developed what could almost be called a language by just using such things, it has helped in many political intrigues and negotiations with the other races.
It also helps them see through the masks of less experienced or trained people, allowing them to see the true emotions and intentions of another person. Thus, it was jarring seeing someone with such an open face, as nearly all Asur controlled their emotions and faces to the point people could and have called them living statues, they could tell he was angry and annoyed at Kuno and the situation he found himself in, but they could also tell he was speaking the truth.
However, there was another implication, while the user of the magical scroll clearly didn't have any idea on how to properly use it, the fact was it sent someone to the White Tower meaning there was a hole in the defenses and without the scroll there was no way for them to find and close it.
"Are you sure you didn't see anything on the scroll? Even a few symbols would be helpful" Teclis pressed.
Ranma could clearly be seen trying to concentrate and try to remember those few moments.
"Yeah, there were a few symbols I could see before losing conscious" Ranma said after a few seconds of thinking.
"Describe them" Teclis said.
"One was like a head of a lizard, except squarer and fangs. A circle which has with another circle and three other oddly shaped parts making it up and a zig zag with a with a square like snake head" Ranma finished.
Those symbols Belennaer thought, could they be?
Teclis raised an eyebrow and many of the Loremaster immediately recognized those descriptions, a language that only one race currently uses day to day but one that was once the most important and perhaps only language in the world when their ancestors were still barbarians, more animal than what they are now.
"Are these the symbols?" Teclis asked conjuring three symbols looking very like what Ranma described.
"Yeah" Ranma said surprise clearly on his face.
"This language is used by one of the oldest races in our world the Lizardmen and they in turn learned it from a race that created them, The Old Ones, a mysterious people that possessed much greater technology and magical capacity than any race since. They were a species that travelled from their world to this one and advanced many of the races they found on this then primitive world, including our own" Teclis explained.
"It seems that this world wasn't the only one they travelled to" Teclis finished, clearly in deep thought.
He wasn't the only one, many of the Loremasters were also in deep thought. This changed the scale of the war against Chaos significantly. Many Loremasters, scholars, mages and other wise people from all races have all thought the same thing. Why are the Chaos Gods trying to win? A stalemate would be better for them. After all they and their Daemon servants eat souls and need belief to survive, without them they will fade from lack of food, yet they are still trying to destroy the world, wipe out all mortals, to destroy their own food supply but if there are other worlds from which they could feed, then the loss of this world maybe wouldn't affect the Chaos Gods and wouldn't doom them to death by hunger.
That still brought up the question of why the Chaos Gods were trying to destroy this world, after all it is still a source of food, and it was always better to have more food than less, and that question would be something the Loremasters would probably be discussing for centuries but first they had to deal with this situation.
"Is it likely that anyone will try and follow you?" Loremaster Molal asked. That set off another round of tension as while they won't have to deal with invaders trying to destroy the Tower of Hoeth, they may still have to deal with intruders.
"Maybe, how long was I out for?" Ranma asked after a few seconds of thinking.
"About three days" Teclis answered.
Ranma sighed "Then it's likely that there won't be anybody coming after me" that got an explain look from most of the Asur "Kuno as I said is egotistical to the extreme, within five seconds in using that scroll to teleport me here he would be boasting about finally defeating the evil sorcerer Saotome with his great martial skill and magnificent presence as I flee from his righteous and divine wrath" you could hear the sarcasm very clearly and more than one Loremaster actually felt like they should snort, like someone just told them that Caledor the Second was a humble, peaceful and wise elf.
"Within ten minutes probably all of Nerima (likely his hometown/city Belennaer thought) would know of Kuno's claims, my various rivals and" he slightly hesitated at this as they were no longer his fiancés, so he was trying to find the right word "other people who are interested in me would then hunt him down and clobber the truth out of him. Which will ultimately lead to a big fight in order to get the scroll to either stop me returning or to ensure that I return by their hands so I would feel grateful and "fall in love with them"" you could hear the quotation marks "or follow their orders to pay the debt I would owe them for returning me home that would likely end up with the scroll destroyed and any chance of me returning home from their end destroyed as well" Ranma finished, his voice very bland.
"It sounds like it has happened before?" I asked.
"It's practically routine, every few weeks a magical artifact ends up in Nerima whether it be some power up item, a prison item with some evil spirit or demon sealed in it or some love or mind control item. Everyone usually ends up fighting either wanting the item for themselves or stopping someone else from using it or trying to defeat or reseal the mystical monster of the week that always ends up with the item destroyed or resealed" Ranma said shrugging his shoulders, his life was weird he understood that much at least.
The council was somewhat stunned by this, magical items in their world were fairly plentiful especially for the Asur, but random magical items just showing up every several weeks and causing big fights and problems? That didn't happen, every several decades, at random distant places across the world there was a great battle for some magical object or place but a single place every few weeks? No.
"Are magical objects really that common in your world?" Loremaster Thulion asked.
"No" Ranma responded "magic in my world is nearly dead and the majority of surviving magical creatures, people and artifacts are usually far away from civilization, often in abandoned and forgotten sites and temples or other removed corners of the world. It's just that I "Ranma paused as he tried to think of the right way to say it" somehow attract such things, nearly every magical creature, user and artifact in 3000 kilometers has paid a visit to me or Nerima since I set foot in that place and in less than four years at that!
Another stunned silence, whether that be from his statement that magic in his world is near dead or how many magical mishaps he is indicating that he was involved in.
"What do you mean magic is near dead?!" Loremaster Annes exclaimed.
"How to explain" Ranma mumbled and then his face instantly brightened, and one could almost see the torch above his head as an idea hit him.
"Teclis said you have Dragons in this world, how many are their?" Ranma asked.
Teclis answered "At most there are only a few hundred worldwide who are awake of various subspecies but if you include hibernating dragons there are probably tens of thousands of them."
"There are only two Dragons both different subspecies as you put it that I know are currently alive" Ranma informed them.
Now that did get a reaction out of them, Dragons were a well-respected and admired race that have long been their friends and allies and it's commonly believed that their two species were intertwined and if one faded then the other would as well. So, the information that they were on the verge of extinction even if it was on a different world, made more than one gasp and pale.
"It isn't just Dragons, Teclis mentioned a variety of species most of which we have myths and legends of but no longer exist, Giants, Trolls, Ogres and goblins for example are probably all extinct, while I have seen just one phoenix" Ranma continued "magic and magical creatures in my world are all extinct or in hiding far away from civilization which believe that magic is a myth, that it doesn't exist".
The Asur were having trouble wrapping their heads around the concept of a non-magical civilization since every civilization used or at least believed in magic on their world and the Asur's civilization depended on magic, for there to be a world without magic just registered with them as does not compute, yet they could tell Ranma was telling the truth and they had little choice but to accept it.
"Surely there are some magical civilization or community in your world?!" exclaimed Iontyras.
"There is one place where magic is still part of everyday life, the Valley of Jusenkyo, The Valley of cursed springs, that place is divided by three tribes which still use magic, the Amazons a tribe of warrior woman and mages. The Musk Empire a tribe of part human and part animal and the Pheonix people a race of winged humanoids. It's the largest gathering of magic I know of in the world, it is also the place where was first introduced to magic when I gained my curse" Ranma said.
"Curse?" that question was on more than one lip, but Teclis beat them to it.
"As I said Jusenkyo is known as the Valley of Cursed Springs. There are hundreds of magical springs that allow someone to take the form of what drowned there when they are splashed with cold water and return to normal when they are splashed with warm water" Ranma explained.
"I fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl, now whenever I get splashed with cold water I transform into girl, it was a ….. difficult introduction to the existence of magic" Ranma said but before someone could say anything he quickly added "you can just conjure some water and test it".
Loremaster Elize decided to take Ranma up on his offer and conjured up some water which she launched at Ranma. The moment the water hit Ranma two things happened, one their magical sense could sense the explosion of the chaotic energy they could feel go through Ranma's body as whatever it was activated. Second Ranma changed, his hair changed color to bright red, he shrunk, and his chest expanded as hi... I mean her impressive assets made themselves known.
The Loremasters stared as a small but well-endowed female stood where a well-muscled man once was.
"I might as well get the usual bunch of questions out of the way" Ranma muttered "Yes, it is a complete change, I get the monthly visitor and everything, no I don't get attracted to men, I still like females, it's still me up in the head and if anyone starts poking my breasts to see if they are real or asks me out, they are going to get a clobbering. Understand" you could hear the clear emphasize in the Understand and the Loremaster quickly nodded as they felt that not agreeing would be bad for their health.
"Interesting" I murmured. Ranma looked at me along with several other Loremaster and I decided to explain.
"I'm not sure how well-developed magical sensing abilities are in your world but anyone with sufficient ability can sense something chaotic in you. There is a magic that is constantly shifting, changing in ways that are nearly impossible to describe let alone properly explain, when the transformation was activated, it exploded for a lack of a better term, it completely overwhelmed our magical sight, yet I can sense a purpose in all that chaos and a sentience that is almost...animalistic" I said the last part carefully.
Ranma nodded at that "Ever since Jusenkyo was discovered by humans three thousand years ago it has been studied, scholars, mages and many others and all agree that it is chaotic. Its magic is impossible to quantify and very difficult to control and there is an intelligence to the magic. Not intelligence that can used to have a conversation or add two plus two but an intelligence to fulfil a purpose. The pools seems to be a punishment for anyone who comes to the valley, if they have a great flaw, it gives them a transformation that reflects the flaw and seems to use it to try and teach them a lesson".
Taking a breath Ranma continued "Take me for instance, when I went to the Valley, I saw all females as beneath me thanks to Pops harping on about females being weak and stupid since birth. A view I no longer possess" he said hurriedly as several of the females looked like they were getting angry "I found myself in the Spring of Drowned Girl, ending that line of thinking. While my father being a lazy greedy man found himself in the Spring of Drowned Panda a lazy and greedy bear. Ryoga one of my rivals, is self-righteous, arrogant, hypocritical man who wants to be the strongest and being absolutely pigheaded he found himself in the Spring of Drowned Pot-Bellied Piglet, making him helpless and at the mercy of others when transformed. Shampoo an Amazon who wants to marry me no matter what she has to do, including murder and potions landed in the Spring of Drowned Cat, an animal that I can't stand to be near ensuring that she could never have me, and I wouldn't fall in love with her" Ranma finished.
Now this was interesting, magic didn't have intelligence, certain items with beings trapped in them such as Daemons did but otherwise, they were objects, tools who had as much intelligence and thinking capacity as an ordinary block of stone. Yet this magic was able to "look" at people and judge whether they have a major flaw that deserved to be punished and then somehow ensured that the judged end up in the correct pool and judging by what happened to this Shampoo woman the magic could somehow see into time. It had been theorized, but there had never been any real proof, only programmed magic such as the magical mists that surround Ulthuan designed so that anyone who wasn't trained would end up hopelessly lost and sink, that wasn't intelligence, there was no thinking or judging required for the magic. Same with other concealing and protection magic, as long as you followed certain steps or had the right key it would allow you to enter.
The closest thing like that was the place they were in the Tower of Hoeth, it was guarded by magical barriers that didn't allow the unworthy to enter but it wasn't the magic judging them it was the ghost of Bel-Korhadris the Seventh Pheonix King who decided, there was a mind controlling the magic, making the judgementsi. It didn't take a genius to figure out the implications of Ranma's information and looking around he could see various other Loremasters understanding what he knows understood.
Even the most "Asur are superior to everyone else" Loremaster would have to agree that Ranma was a treasure trove of knowledge that they couldn't afford to throw away and that was just with this first conversation, he was also intrigued by the mention of this Ki, another power that could at least let Ranma stuff books up his sleeve without a hint of there being a book (now wouldn't that be useful).
"Would someone summon some warm water to change me back to a man?" Ranma asked interrupting more than one thought process.
That was obliged and Ranma was returned to male form.
"While I have accepted that I will have this curse as long as I will live, I do prefer being in my birth form" Ranma said.
Understandable I thought and if that curse was his introduction to the existence of magic, well it was certainly a bad one.
"I believe that we have gotten off the point of our discussion" Teclis said getting their attention.
"First is Ranma a threat to us and the White Tower? I say nay" Teclis finished.
"Nay" I said and with my support this vote was guaranteed as while many viewed Teclis as a skilled and powerful mage they also viewed him as a young upstart who was very inexperienced in the art of magic and statecraft. I, however, was the oldest and most respected Loremaster in Ulthuan and wielded a lot of influence across the entire island and especially among my fellow Loremasters and while Teclis didn't need to hold a vote it helped reaffirm his position and decisions as they could not publicly go against it if they agreed to it in the first place.
"Secondly does Ranma deserve to be punished for entering the White Tower, I say nay again, as his entry was accidental, and he caused no damage (no more than we cause ourselves when training and experimenting with magic, I thought ruefully) and there is no law stopping anyone from entering the White Tower no matter the means" Teclis said and this was true, thanks to the magical protections and the fact that anyone who was judged to be worthy was allowed to enter there was no law limiting or punishing trespassers.
Although this vote was a little slower, all voted nay in the end, after all even the most outraged Asur wouldn't publicly vote to punish someone who didn't commit a crime.
"Third is an agreement between Ranma and myself that would be beneficial for both parties. Ranma seems to possess a system of magic and other abilities that are unknown to us along with knowledge of a different world. On the other hand, he is trapped in a world he knows nothing about. He needs to learn about the world and needs to make a living and earn an income until Ranma discovers a reliable way to return home" he explained.
"So, what I proposed is in exchange for lodging, coin and access to non-restricted information regarding this world Ranma teach us his knowledge and powers. Ranma added his own stipulation that he restricts some of his teachings to people who earn his trust as several of his abilities are dangerous while others are family techniques. An honorable stipulation that I agreed to" Teclis continued. All the Loremasters thought over this agreement, while they were a bit miffed that Teclis hammered out an agreement without their input, they couldn't see an alternative that wouldn't make them look like greedy ambitious Druchii who wanted to milk Ranma for all he was worth and then throw him away. His stipulation was honorable and fair as Teclis said and Teclis protected their secrets and knowledge by limiting what Ranma could access. There wasn't really anything they could complain about.
After a minute Teclis spoke "I say aye to this agreement".
"Aye"
"Aye"
"Aye"
"Aye" I said.
Pov end
One after another this agreement was agreed upon but they weren't the only ones aware of a change in the world. In the Realm of Chaos four beings were "looking" at the world as they sensed something, something that seemed to come from outside this world, something that brought about great change, but Tzeentch a God of Change felt it more and could more accurately see its location. He was also a God of Fate and Destiny and as looked he found it difficult to look in the Well of Eternity in the Impossible Fortress and found the waters shifting like they were in a great storm and the future which was near impossible to perceive before was now truly impossible and he screeched in rage and swore to find the source of this "chaos" but a chaos that was different from the Chaos Gods. He swore to either bend or break the source as he looked over Ulthuan trying to find the source.
For names for the High Elves and likely most of the races I will be using .
It also has names for all most factions, including Ogres, Vampires, Skaven, Lizardmen, Tomb Kings, Goblins, Warrriors of Chaos, Beastmen, Daemons, Bretonnian, Dark Elf, Dwarves, Empire, Orcs and Wood Elves.
i I know this isn't canon Bel-Korhadris ghost being the judge or guardian of the White Tower although it is canon that his ghost is there, but this is fanfiction, if I want, I could have Khorne wearing a tutu doing I'm a little teapot dance if I want.