The Banished One
By: Jay Whitefox
Chapter 6
The sun shone brightly down on Tear and Ran made his way down along the street. He was dressed in tight red pants with black leather boots, a black silk shirt with a red leather vest over it and his gleeman's cloak. His long grey hair tied back into a ponytail as he looked around. With one hand he juggled some dice as he looks for a place to make some money today. Since he had found himself here he has continued to play the part of a gleeman and found he enjoyed it. He had also found he enjoyed his nights with Merriam. After the first few days living with her she had invite him to share her bed and he took up her offer. A grin comes to his lips as he thinks of the fun he had been having. He stops to look at himself in the reflection of a window and his fingertips lightly scratch at the light stubble on his chin.
He knew from his memories he wouldn't have done anything like this before but they seemed more like something he read once or a play he watched. There was no emotion tying him to those memories. He spent the first few days wandering around the city to get a feel for it and stopping in taverns hearing the stories of other gleemen and seeing how they acted. He had found he liked the sound of that kind of life moving where he wished and entertaining others to make coin. He didn't know just what happened to bring him here as the memories he had seemed to stop some time after his failed wedding. One of the things he had discovered was he knew more when it came to his art and his ki control was much better. While his ki well was still low from what ever had happened he had found he could use the ki he had for more controlled effects from using only a tiny amount to boost his speed too forming claws of ki. Another thing he had discovered was a new level of awareness of the world around him. He could see the way the ki of peoples, buildings, plants and even the air reacted to each other and using his own to effect them.
He smirks as he sees inside the window it was a tavern and a dice game was going on. One of the new tricks he had was using his ki to affect dice so he would win when ever he wanted to. He had already made quite a lot in money this way using some of it to pay Merriam for taking him in. He kept most of the winnings in a small ki fold that wasn't very large but would hold small things like coins and some daggers he had bought. He smiles as he walks into the tavern and over towards the dice game at play.
Much later he leaves the tavern a coin purse in one hand as he smiles and walks towards Merriam's home. He had done well today and could look forward to a pleasant night. He then stops with a frown as he see a group of five toughs from the bar, and with them was a skinny fellow dressed in badly made brown tunic and pants with long greasy hair and a pointed chin and nose. Looking at the man made him think of a rat that had crawled up from the sewer. Rat face frowns as he says, "Look here gleeman I want my money back and any other you have on you. I don't like to lose so just give me the money and my men won't have to be rough with you."
Ran smirks looking at them each, his eyes twinkling with delight, as he then stands to his full height and the purse disappears into the shadows of his cloak. He then makes a fist with his left hand the knuckles popping, like an Illuminators fireworks as with his right he waves them on. Rat face growls as he yells to his thugs. "Get the old man, I want my money." One of the men move towards the old man reaching out to grab him but Ran smirks as he flows around the arm and his own hand darts out his fingers held close together as he hits a pressure point causing the arm to lock up in pain an the thug drops to the ground yelling out as the next one comes. Ran eyes dance with humor as he bends backwards under a punch as his left foot streaks up and strikes the man in the chest sending him flying back. The next one holds a wooden club and tries to knock off Ran's head as he leaps over the strike and kicks out hitting the man's chin making his body spin as he falls. The last two try to rush him together but he just smirks and dances around their punches and then ducks as he slams his fists into each of their stomachs causing both men to gasp in pain as he then slowly stands up letting them drop to the road. His blue grey eyes then look at Rat face and he says. "I have to thank you for this minor entertainment my friend I had started to wonder if I would get into a fight at all while here in Tear. But now you have helped me test my skills even if they made a poor showing of it against me."
Rat face looks at him and then his toughs an then back at the old gleeman and then takes off running as fast as he could go. Ran laughs as he searches the thugs taking any money they had and also finds on one and silver flute most likely stolen. Putting it to his lips he starts to play a light and airy tune as he makes his way back to Merriam's home. As he moves along the street some people stop to watch him pass by and listen to him play, and a few children laugh as they come and dance along behind him for a ways. He smiles as he plays and thinks it was a fine thing to do since a lot of the people had been nervous of late with news of a false Dragon causing war down in Ghealdan, Altara, and Murandy. He then comes to a stop to watch a group of women as they walked pass him they were dressed like nobles and their faces had an ageless quality to them. But it wasn't their looks that had stopped him but the feeling of power he got from each other them. He could see there were linked to something an it made their auras burn like flames one of the women dressed in red was the strongest of them while the other two were near in strength.
"So those are Aes Sedai." Ran says to himself as he watches them walk pass. He had noticed that the power they drew on was one of the two he had sensed since coming here. One that seemed to draw him was coated in a inky darkness that made him very reluctant to touch it an the other while slightly difficult to feel much less tap was clean and pure and felt to him like water the few times he had brushed his senses against it. He had yet to do anything with that power as it wasn't sure of how to use it. From some of what he had learned about the One Power he knew mistakes could be trouble. He frowns as he thinks about some of the things he had heard about them. They reminded him of Nabiki if the stories he had heard were all true. He had also heard they have one of the greatest libraries in the land. It was the stories of that library that made him think perhaps he might be able to find out just what had happened to him there. And while he was there he could watch the Aes Sedai train in the One Power so he could see how they used it.
He strokes his chin as he walks along again towards Merriam's home as he relies this would mean leaving her for a while, but she knew he wouldn't be staying forever and he could come back to visit her after his trip to Tar Valon was done. He nods to himself as he see Merriam's house ahead. He would spend one more night with her and then be off to see what could be learned from the Aes Sedai. Now he just had to think of the right way to tell her this.
AN: Yay me another chapter out and plans for the next almost done. About those who think "Nabiki" is on Pern she isn't she on a world of my own making like I said. The only things Pern and that world have in common were they both had small dragon like creatures but mine can't do that whole teleport thing. But they do have a neat power that will show up later in the story.
To Faoron: It's always good to reread books you like. An Ranko will also be in on the quest for the Orb after spending some time being raised by the twins and spending time with Beldin also.
Materia-Blade: well you asked for more chapters and I gave them to you but I never promised to fix your confusion. Don't worry to much as some parts of this story confuse even me and I'm the one writing it. At lest I think I am as sometimes it feels like someone is writing it through me, but at lest I get the credit for it.
Vampwriter: Thanks and I have no idea where this story is going also..J/K. As for Spring of Stone it's still deadlocked in the middle of Chapter 3.
I still need a proofreader to help fix up my stories and catch what I miss. Well R&R or my Muse will have to send out the flying monkeys after you all. Hmm that gives me a idea where to have the next aspect of Ranma show up.