Path of Life
Book One: Finding a Path
By: Jammin-2099
Preface: A Character Guide
Welcome again back to my story, Here I will detail a few of the characters that will appear more regularly for the moment....
#: -Name- -Title-: -Description- "-Race-"
1: Ranma Saotome: A Martial Arts Child Prodigy, He has learned and mastered the Saotome-ryuu of "Anything Goes Martial Arts", After a strange encounter with a kindly yet seemingly senile Old Woman, He was transported to another plane, and has lost most of his memories. The only thing he has remembered so far is his name, the rest a clouded haze, only known in his nightmares. "Breton"
2: Captain Woldrus Malfred Kremanian: A kindly old seadog, and Captain of the "Holdrins Eye", He and his crew discovered the young Ranma as a castaway on the vast sea, and brought him aboard. Don't let his kindly nature fool you, when Capt. Krem gets pushed the wrong way, he pushes back, and he has the strength to back it up! "Nord"
3: Arrinya, Tribunal Temple Adept: Currently the Healer for the Voyage Kremanian was on when he discovered Ranma as a castaway. Healed Ranma of his wounds and malnutrition from being lost at sea. "Dark Elf/Dunmer"
4: Syorin Stormlight, First Mate of the "Holdrins Eye": This fine young man is Capt. Kremanians closest friend, and has been Krem's right hand man since he first set out across the sea, two years ago, that was when Kremanian found him at the docks of Daggerfall and brought him aboard. Excellent fighter and an astounding navigator and seaman, he seems to have been borne to the sea. "Redguard"
Chapter Two
Sailing and Battle: The Arts of the Sailor!
"Well, m'boy." Krem said as he heard the door to the crew quarters opening, "'ad enough time 'a think about it then, eh?" He said, as Ranma walked out into the fresh air out on the deck.
"I...I can't really do anything to repay you for this," Ranma began a bit hesitantly, "But I will do anything you ask to repay my debt to you for saving me. Though, I might need a little help on some things..." He said sheepishly as his hand idly scratched the back of his head.
At this, the Capt. burst into laughter, and slapped Ranma heartily on the back, "Of course ye will lad!" He said as he continued to laugh heartily, "And we'll be the one's'll teach it to ye. Welcome aboard the "Holdrins Eye", The finest ship this side of Mournhold!" He said with yet another hearty laugh. "Come with me boy, there's someone ye should meet!" He said to Ranma as he dragged the Saotome youth across the deck to the helm.
"Syorin!" Krem called up to the helm platform, "Syorin me lad, get yeself down here and meet our castaway!" Krem hollered again, waiting for a reply of some kind.
The reply came in the form of a tall dark-skinned man, only a few years older than Ranma, that hopped over the rail of the helmsmans deck and dropped gently to the deck in front of Krem, before standing up with an "Aye, Captain!" Smiling now that the formalities were out of the way, he turned to the capt. and Ranma, "So who is this lad you've taken aboard then Capt.?" He said, looking Ranma over with a critical eye.
"Syorin, This 'eres Ranma, he can't really remember much right now, but he's goin' to 'elp out with the duties to make 'is way for Seyda Neen, and we're going to teach 'im a few things about the sea while we're at it." He said, pounding a good natured palm into Ranmas back and making him stumble forward a bit.
"Hi..." Ranma gritted out as he regained his balance. "Saotome Ranma, pleased ta meet'cha." He continued as he stood up.
"Well then..." Syorin said, grabbing a dagger from his belt. He spun and threw the long knife up and into the wood of the tallest mast, severing a short line connected to the main sail. "Get up there and secure that line. I'll tell you what to do from there." With that he turned and walked back towards the helmsman's deck, with Capt. Krem following slightly behind him.
"D'ye think that's appropriate, Syorin?" Krem said, as they walked towards the helm. "I mean, he only woke up a little while ago."
"So? You're the one who asked me to teach him." Syorin explained, offhandedly. "If he can do it, he'll be fine. If not, he'll learn the hard way." Gathering a few nearby sailors, he began to explain to them. "Get up the mast, and test the boy. Don't hurt him, but try to slow him down."
"Aye-Aye!" The men said, and leapt for the ropes climbing towards the now climbing Ranma.
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"Well, this don't seem so bad," Ranma said to himself as he climbed, reaching the first cross post of the mast. "Though for some reason, that water down there makes me nervous." Saying this, He stopped for a moment to stare a bit distractedly down at the rolling waves, then shook himself out of it. "Better not to think about it." He said as he walked across the post.
As he reached the center of the post, he saw the first of the sailors leap up off the rope and land on the post in front of him. "Well then," The sailor began, "You're 'a one tha's going to be travelin wif us then? 'ow bout a lil' match then?"
"A match? I'm not sure what you mean...." Ranma said unsteadily. "What kind of match did you have in mind?" he asked, noting as he spoke the strangely easy way he found his balance on the stout but still rather thin post.(1)
"Aw, nuffin' 'at complicated, jus' a lilt' scrap 'ere then." The sailor said amicably. "You juts' 'ave to knock me off the rail to get by, 'eats all..." The sea man said, with a crafty glint in his eye.
"Eh." Ranma smirked, "Just have to knock you off then is it?" his form became slightly more graceful as he slipped unconsciously into a fighting stance. His mind was distracted a moment as he wondered how he knew what to do, but then his instincts took over and he was focused back in on the fight. "Well, come on then. I'll meet your challenge."
"'ere it comes!" The sailor said as he charged towards the boy with a fist raised back, ready to strike. "Be ready!" He yelled as he suddenly lashed out with his feet, kicking towards Ran ma's legs.
Ranma braced himself for the incoming punch, but caught the quick shift in weight as the man moved for his kick. -A feint!- he thought as he instantly shifted his own center and leapt over the kick, rolling off the sailors back and flipping off to land on the other side. -apparently I'm a bit faster than I thought.- was Ran ma's next thought as he leapt forward to lash out with his own kick at the man's head.
It was effortlessly blocked as the sailor put up an arm to deflect the blow, which Ranma immediately threw himself away from, escaping being caught by the ankle. The sailor leapt up and flipped several times down the rail towards Ranma, until when he was right in Ran ma's face he vanished! Ranma looked behind him, and above him, when he saw the sailor swing back around from swinging under the post. His reflexes almost had him leap out of the way when he suddenly had a flash in his mind.
--------Flashback--------
A strange silhouette of a rather portly man swung up from under a tree branch, clocking a boy across the chin with a vicious uppercut. "Boy! You're much too gullible! You'll have to train harder!" He said as the boy fell to the forest floor below.
------End flashback-----
The distraction was just long enough for the sailor to land a solid kick to Ran ma's midsection, sending him flying back to smash into the main mast, and then fall down to land face first on the post. "Something's not right..." Ranma said quietly to himself, as he struggled to regain his footing. "I'm...I'm relying too much on my reflexes..."
---FOCUS, BOY!--- A voice in Ranma's mind yelled as his vision cleared to see the sailor closing in on him with a haymaker. Suddenly, something in Ranma's mind clicked, and he sank a bit lower in his stance, his hands thrusting out in front of him, one at an upwards angle, and the other opposite. As the Man's punch closed in on him, Ranma quickly took hold of the man's wrist with his upper hand and pulled the fist past him, and then rolled towards the man, bringing the other arm down across the larger man's back. As the man's eyes grew wide with shock, Ranma completed the spin, spinning the sailor around in a whirl of cloth as he fell from the post and landed in the safety net rigged just below the sails.
Ranma stood, leaning against the post a moment, his eyes wide as he thought about what had just happened. -How?...- He thought for a moment as he looked first at the man, and then at the post, where he had been standing. Then he looked up at the rope, that had been cut loose and saw the sail near it jerk a bit as the line next to it came loose. Realizing his task, he gathered himself a moment, and then leapt, clearing his way to the next crosspost, Another sailor jumped off a rope, but Ranma landed lightly and spun into a spin kick, nailing the man across the jaw, and sending him tumbling to the net.
Below, Syorin and Capt. Krem watched as Ranma began to climb faster. Syorin's eyes narrowed and a small grin cracked his face. -Ah, so he's realized the meaning of the test... Good.- He thought, as he turned back to the helm. Capt. Krem was watching amazedly as Ranma leapt from post to post, leaping much too high for a normal person.
Soon, after dealing with the final sailor, and securing the lines that had come loose, Ranma made his way back down to the deck. He heard the capt. calling up from below. "Ranma! Ranma, me lad! 'ow are ye doin' that?"
"Doing what?" Ranma said, looking up as he landed on the deck.
"Leapin' about like that? Ye never told me ye could be usin' magicka." The capt. said, shaking Ranma as he spoke.
"Magicka? What's that?" Ranma said as he disengaged himself from the excited Capt. "I was just jumping. I didn't really think about it, I just did it."
"Ye truly dinna know what magicka be?" Krem said, "But, nobody can leap like that naturally!" He finished, his face showing his astonishment.
"Apparently, Capt." Came Syorin's voice from behind him, "This young man can." With that, Syorin held out his hand to Ranma, and shook his hand as the young Saotome took it. "Welcome Aboard, Ensign Ranma. Next destination, Seyda Neen. Now get over there and watch the helmsman. And look bright about it, man!" He said, his tone taking on the officious nature of the second in command. "And you three! Back to work! You can take a little knock from a scab like him can't you?" Syorin yelled as he walked off towards the three, then pulled them aside as Ranma ran to take his place. "And for your troubles, get an extra ration in the galley on your next trip below decks. Good work, men."
"Aye-Aye, First Mate, Sir!" The three said as they also ran to take up their positions.
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End Chapter 2
Well, It's taken a while for me to get this one out, But here it is. I've really been getting some good feedback on this one. Hopefully the good reviewers will be returning when I post this chapter.
As for the Reviews I could not answer, I have gotten suggestions about who I should bring over and who I should leave behind, and at the moment, The three that have been most prominent, are Kasumi, Ryouga and Nodoka. For these reasons I have begun considering what I must do to bring characters over.
So Today I submit to you, a Contest. Yes! I have come up with a contest! This will be for anyone who wants to enter. The rules are, You must submit a review of the story. (reviews like "this stroyis aw350m3!1!!1" will be disregarded.) you must tell me who you are supporting for being brought over in the review. (At the end preferably.)
After this, please send me an Email at my Email address, -zerotraveler at yahoo dot com- (It won't leave it the way I had it before and the quick edit isn't working anymore.) and in the email, tell me which character you will support, and give me an example of the class they would be, Whether or not they would lose their memory like Ranma did, etc etc etc.
The person whose Idea gets used will be credited in the chapter I bring in the said character, and you will be helping to write a better story.
As for Ranma, The whole concept of the story is that he has been sent to another dimension through a wish made as a joke, but taken seriously. He remembers nothing but his Name and his Martial Arts skills. The wish entailed him not having to worry about any of his problems he was currently having in his home dimension, and part of that was him losing his memories of home. Please keep this in mind when submitting your entries. Ryouga is kinda riding the line here, as he could be used if I can do him right. But for the other end of the spectrum on that note, As an Example, we can't bring Kuno over, ditto for Akane. Sorry KotTF No so called "True Fiancee" in this one. Ranma has been released from all vows, being officially dead, and having lost his memory of the engagements anyway.
Thanks for everyone who Enters!
Ja, ne?
Always Stay Close To Your Path.