Disclaimer: Characters not mine, situations not mine, yada yada yada. Go read the prologue's disclaimer it still applys.
Time and a half Chapter 4, Choices
Meren was standing in the stable yard of the Queens Blessing with Ranma. The others had just gone inside although Ranma seemed reluctant to go in; she kept muttering something about cats. An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Meren broke it first.
"Um… I'm sorry… about earlier and all. I shouldn't have hit you regardless of how I was feeling at the time."
The depressed look on Meren's face broke Ranma's heart. "It's alright really. You've hit me harder in our matches."
"No it isn't alright. What you said hurt but you had no way of knowing that at the time. My actions were inexcusable."
Geez she's more upset about this than I am Ranma thought. Ranma wasn't sure how to help her friend. As far as she was concerned there wasn't any point in holding a grudge, it wasn't as if it hurt for more than a few minutes. "Do you want to talk about why you were so upset? It was a memory wasn't it?"
Meren nodded suppressing a sniffle. "Yes, a painful one."
Ranma congratulated herself on being so perceptive. Yep talking is a good safe bet when a girl is upset. I may figure them out after all. "So who died?" She stepped back when Meren's head came up suddenly with a glare on her face. Or not. Ranma could swear she heard another voice in her head say smooth, real smooth.
After a moment Meren shook her head with a sigh. "You have the tact of a Ragnoll and are about as subtle…" she turned away looking out into the ally. "It was my father."
Ranma wasn't sure what a ragnoll was but understood loosing her father could be rough. "I'm sorry, about your father and sticking my foot in my mouth again."
"You like making flippant remarks to break the ice when you don't know what to say. Normally I find them amusing but that one just struck a little too close to home."
"I'm sorry." Ranma said again.
Meren laughed gently. "Stop apologizing. I'm the one apologizing to you." She turned to her friend with a silly grin on her face even though her eyes were red. "You wait your turn." She then stuck out her tongue.
Both of them started laughing at the absurdity of that statement. "Still friends?" Meren asked. Ranma nodded, "Still friends." She replied with a smile. She was a bit surprised when Meren suddenly hugged her. What surprised her more was she actually liked being hugged a bit.
"So what was that about cats?" Meren asked. "You were mumbling about them earlier."
"Oh that? Haha." She laughed a bit manically scratching the back of her head. "I just sorta have a problem with c c cats. Nothing to be afraid of."
Meren cocked her head as she observed her friends odd behavior. "Ailurophobic?" she asked.
"Ailurowhatsis?" Ranma replied in a confused voice.
Meren smirked "sorry I meant are you afraid of cats."
"Oh no nothing like that… I mean who would be…" her head drooped as she sighed "yes."
Meren smiled and put her arm around Ranma's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Cats aren't all that hard to deal with if you just- something's wrong! Moiraine is channeling" she said looking up and to the right. She suddenly dashed into the Inn. As Ranma followed she could hear her friend making a hissing noise that sounded disturbingly like a cat. Ranma also noticed that the only sign she saw of the several cats in the inn were their tails retreating around corners away from them.
The reached the doorway to Mat's room and Meren hissed as she drew her knife. Lan was holding Mat's wrist preventing from slashing Moiraine with a ruby hilted dagger. "What's going on?" Ranma whispered to Meren.
"Mashadar." Meren whispered back not taking her eyes off Mat. Her knife was beginning to glow.
"That thing from Shadar Logoth? It's in Mat?"
"Not quite but his aura is now almost identical to what I saw throughout that city." Meren said grimly.
"All of you out." Moiraine commanded as she pulled out the angrel. "I will do what I can, I hope for the sake of the world I'm not too late."
The others filed out of the room but Meren lingered. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Just leave me in peace. Copying what I do without knowledge could make maters worse. Watch over the others." Moiraine said.
Meren nodded and backed out of the room.
Ranma and Meren joined the others in the library but remained apart. They both liked the others well enough but they shared a closer bond of friendship with each other. They spoke quietly while the two rivers folk caught up.
"Meren, I've been wondering what's that thing your wearing on your head?"
"What?" she asked raising a hand to her head. When she felt the coronet from before she drew her knife and examined her reflection. "I almost forgot about that. It just appeared when I had the confrontation with Elaida. It looks different than I thought it would."
"Who's Elaida?"
"Oh she's the Aes Sedai advisor to the queen. I don't like her at all and the feelings mutual. She tried to shield me and tie me up with the power but I… oops." She said covering her mouth to suppress a giggle.
"Ok give, what's so funny?" Ranma asked crossing her arms.
Meren smiled broadly. "Well I mimicked her weaves and she ended up shielded and bound. The problem is I've been maintaining my power all this time.
Ranma started to snicker. "You mean…?"
"Yep she's been standing there like a statue for hours." Both laughed at that.
"She's soooo going to hate you for that."
Meren just brushed that aside. "I'm not too worried about it. She couldn't hurt me physically and anything she does with the power I'll just throw strait back at her. I better let her go though." The Triforce marks faded as she cut off the flow of energy. The coronet broke up into motes of light before fading as well. "Hrm that must be tied to my powers. I'll have to play with it later and find out what it's for."
Meren suddenly sagged and Ranma griped her arm to keep her from falling. "Are you alright?"
Meren nodded. "Just a little tired. Maintaining that didn't require all that much energy but I've been holding it for hours now. I don't feel the fatigue as much while I'm holding my power but when I release it…"
Both girls sat down in some padded chairs in the corner as they waited for Moiraine to finish upstairs.
"What's a ragnoll?"
"Huh? Where'd you hear about those?" Meren replied quizzically.
"You mentioned them outside. Said I had the tact of one."
"Ahh I guess I did," she muttered while leaning back. "Nothing to worry about, just a monster from back home. Big and strong but not overly bright, similar to a Trolloc I guess. N'mer used them for shock troops back on Nekota."
"Oh about trollocs, we found traces of a whole bunch of them around the city."
"What? I didn't…" Meren trailed off with a sigh. "I guess I wasn't in much of a condition to notice something like that last night. If they are after the boys still I don't see what we can do aside from fighting our way out and keep fighting them on our way to Tar Valon. Trollocs aren't all that much of a threat to the two of us but if they send enough they'll wear us down."
Ranma shrugged. "Its not like we have a better choice unless Moiraine comes up with something."
Before long Mat arrived followed by Moiraine. After a few assurances that Mat was well enough for the time being talk shifted to the situation they faced. The trollocs surrounding the city remained hidden for the time being but eventually they would attack to find the boys. In addition to this a new threat was revealed to the Eye of the World. One by one the two rivers folk made their decision to go with Moiraine through the ways.
"And what of you two? Moiraine asked turning to Meren and Ranma. "I know you intend to go to Tar Valon and you have the option of doing so after we leave. The trollocs may not bother you and I suspect you wouldn't care if they did. You are a part of the pattern as well. The timing of your arrival suggests that you may have a role to play in this battle. The choice however is yours."
>What do you think?> Meren asked Ranma. >this could delay us but it may also help. Examining the Ways may give me a clue to getting home but it's a long shot at best.>
>I'm not sure I like the sound of these Ways. Don't I have enough risk of madness without going in there?>
>I don't like the idea of going mad either but there are other things to consider as well. This threat sounds like it could be the end of this world if not dealt with. I don't know if it could affect our worlds but it will defiantly affect us if we are still here when that happens.>
>I know that, I would go anyway because I don't abandon friends in need. That doesn't mean I have to like what we need to do.>
>Then I guess like the others we have no choice> Meren said with a touch of finality in her voice. Ranma nodded her agreement.
"Well go with you and help you however we can. This may not be our world but while we are here we are bound to its fate. We also wouldn't let friends face this alone." Meren said to the rest of the room.
Moiraine nodded. "Our choices are made, then," She said. "And now that they are made, we must decide what to do about them and how." The planning went well into the night. Ranma and Meren offered their input at times but mostly left the planning to Moiraine, she knew what they would be facing after all.
"Sometimes I wonder if well ever get home." Meren said as she sat down on the end of her bed. "I feel like I'm being led along with a carrot on a string. There is always a hint of a way home but the goal never gets any closer."
"Don't say things like that. Well never get home if you give up." Ranma said sitting on her own bed. She was a bit leery about sleeping in the same room with Meren. True they had been sleeping back to back more often than not while traveling but it just felt different with a roof over their head.
Meren sighed. "I know, I won't give up but I'm just feeling a little depressed right now. A lot has happened today and it doesn't help that I haven't slept in two days."
Ranma only understood a little of the emotional wringer Meren had been through today. There had been aspects of her day Meren refused to talk about. "At least your memories are coming back slowly. Any luck on remembering how you got us here?"
Meren nodded. "That actually came back last night when… well anyway. When my father was… killed by N'mer I went a little nuts. I used a massive spell on him. I have a feeling that the spell was already my most powerful attack and I caused it to overload. The recoil was enough to send me ripping through dimensions and I just happened to run into you."
"Can this help you get us home? You did mention that knowing how you got us here could help. Can you do it backwards?"
Meren laughed. "Still think performing that spell backwards would work eh? I don't think it would work anyway. I was so mad that the spell was completely out of control. I doubt I could put that much energy into that spell under normal circumstances. Even if I could there is no way to be sure it would throw me through dimensions again let alone bring you with me. There would also be no way to know where we'd land."
"Oh… you think we could land somewhere worse." Ranma could understand not wanting to try that. This world really wasn't all that bad when you got used to it.
Meren nodded. "That and I'm worried about the collateral damage."
Ranma glanced over at her. "What do you mean?"
Meren didn't answer for a while. "That spell is powerful… Very powerful…" she said hesitantly.
Ranma was concerned for her friend. She knew Meren had strong powers and shuddered to think what could cause her pause. "How bad is it?"
Meren sighed. "At full power it could probably transform most of this city into a smoking crater. And that's without causing it to go wild."
Ranma was stunned. She and Ryoga could cause a fair amount of damage. A few of their fights had leveled buildings but a whole city? "You're sure about this?" she asked slowly.
Meren nodded, she seemed on the verge of tears. "I have vague memories of a time I was ordered to test fire this spell. The target was an enemy army that was invading. I thought it would kill some but cause enough mayhem to make the remainder retreat. In the end I expected the show of force would save lives over a slugging match between their army and mine…" he voice trailed off as she choked up a bit.
Ranma gave her a few moments before prompting her. "What happened?"
"A crater over a mile across and an entire army wiped off the face of the planet." She said dully.
An entire army? Ranma wasn't even sure she wanted to think about that many men dieing all at once. How much blood did her friend have on her young hands? "How many?"
"Too many. I don't know if we ever had an accurate count. Needless to say even though they were an enemy and I saved the lives of my men and my people it still hurts."
Ranma looked at her softly sobbing friend. She had never had to kill an opponent before aside from maybe a few trollocs in Shadar Logoth. She didn't like that and couldn't even come close to fathoming what Meren now felt. Are you going to sit here all night or are you going to help her? Asked a voice in Ranma's head. Huh?
Just go put your arm around her shoulder. Trust me.
Who are you? She asked but received no response. She had heard this voice a few times before since becoming cursed but it never tried to tell her what to do before. Taking a chance she moved over and sat down next to Meren and put an arm around her shoulder.
Meren almost immediately turned and began crying into her friends shoulder. Every awful memory that has surfaced over the last two days came to the fore as she was wracked by sobs. Ranma just held her as she cried. She had no experience with this situation and hoped that instinct would be enough to help her friend.
It was sometime later that Meren finally fell quiet. Looking down Ranma found that she had fallen asleep. Picking the blond fighter up she gently laid her down on her bed. Looking down on the Meren's sleeping form she pondered her feelings for the girl. Both of them had seen and done things that none their age should have been exposed too. It had made both of them stronger and gave them common ground for a strong bond to form between them. However Ranma feared that Meren had seen far more pain and suffering than she had.
Ranma wondered if it would be so bad being stuck on this world if Meren was there with her. She missed her friends and family. However in the short time that they had known each other Meren had become a better friend to Ranma than anybody back home despite the occasional problem. She asked nothing for her friendship except that it be returned in kind. All her friends back home wanted something from her.
Honor demanded that she return home to marry Akane or one of the other girls that her pop had engaged her too. She also had to one day face her mother as well. There was also the fact that any hope of a cure for her curse lay back home as well. But if we were stuck here forever… she wondered what she would do if that happened. Nobody would expect her to hold to the agreements made by her father if there was no way she could return to fulfill them. Wouldn't she be able to live her own life?
Could I make a life here with Meren? Ranma immediately shook herself trying to clear that thought away. I have enough girl troubles She thought she's just a friend. Besides well get home, best not to think about things like that. She wondered why she felt a sense of regret as she lay down on her own bed to catch a few hours of sleep.
Ranma found himself in a huge stone chamber filled with people. A great many of the people in the center of the room were dancing to the music of a waltz. Ranma thought it looked like a royal ballroom scene strait out of a movie. Then he spotted Meren.
She was wearing a long blue and white dress that looked stunning as she swirled across the dance floor. The expression on her face told Ranma that she was greatly enjoying herself. "Wow she looks good in that." Ranma said to himself as he watched. He noticed that Meren's dance partner looked like he would rather be anywhere else.
"I always liked dancing." The ghostly Meren said from his left. "The nobles that attended these balls were afraid of me though. They couldn't shun me outright but at best none of the men would dance more than once." She looked sadden by the memory.
"But why would you be here anyway? Why would a solider be coming to a dance with nobles and royalty?" Ranma asked hoping to get a response.
"Oh they were more than happy to have the youngest captain in the history of the knights protect their kingdom but one dance was as much as they could stand." She shook her head in frustration. "A dangerous weapon, that's how they saw me. Point me at their enemies and watch them crumble but they wouldn't want to get near me if they could avoid it. Except for those that wanted use me to gain power."
'a weapon?' Ranma thought, 'from what she said about taking out the army I can see how they could think that but still. It isn't right to treat someone like that.' He watched as the dance ended. Meren's partner made a courteous bow and then was gone so fast he must have teleported away.
Meren sighed and looked around for another dance partner but every likely candidate was otherwise engaged. With a sigh she sat down in an ornate chair near the throne. "Must be a place of honor for their military leader to be so near the throne." Ranma mused to himself.
"You should ask her to dance."
Ranma turned to stare at the ghostly form of Meren. "You mean you can see me? How can I ask her to dance I'm not really here." He waved his arm through a man standing nearby to prove his point.
The phantom wasn't even looking at him. She smiled, "yes someone should cheer her/me up." She faded from view.
"What the?" Ranma looked around but ghostly Meren was gone. He found himself looking back to the real Meren when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Well are you going to ask her to dance or not?" said a large man with short sandy blond hair. "She doesn't bite young officers that hard."
"but I-"
the man chuckled gave him a shove "Oh get going. Otherwise well come up with something else for you to do to pay back that wager you lost."
Ranma staggered a bit but started making his way towards Meren. 'what's going on? I've never been able to interact with these dreams before.' He looked down to find his clothing had changed. He was wearing shiny black shoes, pressed gray slacks and a sky blue dress shirt. Over the shirt he was wearing a dark coat, the sleeves were embroidered with a fiery pattern that wound its way up the arm terminating in what looked like a birds head made of fire. He could swear some of the flames looked like feathers as well.
He didn't have much time to contemplate the sudden change of wardrobe as he found himself standing in front of Meren. She was resting her chin in her palm as she leaned on the armrest with a bored expression on her face. She looked up as he approached. "Did you need something?" she asked.
"I… uh… I mean…" Ranma stammered before deciding he might as well do as he was told. "I was wondering if I could have this dance."
Meren looked at him with a thoughtful expression for a moment before smiling. "Lieutenant Ranar right? Did Dan put you up to this?"
Ranma scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um… sorta I guess." 'Come to think of it that guy did look like the officer the other Meren called Dan.'
Meren smiled and shook her head. "It's a sweet gesture but you don't have to do this if you don't want to. Dan would offer himself I'm sure, but he's such a bad dancer that everybody in the room would have broken feet from him stepping on them." She looked over to where Dan was standing. He smiled and raised a glass as if toasting to her. Meren chuckled as she turned back to Ranma. "Go on I'm sure you'd rather be doing something else. You don't have to suck up to your commander like that."
'Hey I don't suck up to anybody' Ranma thought indignantly as he straitened. "No I really would like to dance with you."
Meren appraised him a moment longer before offering her hand to him. "Very well it would be a pleasure to dance with you." She said with a smile as he helped her to her feet.
A space cleared around them as Ranma led Meren out onto the dance floor. A new song was struck up and the couple began to dance. Ranma shocked himself as they twirled around the dance floor. He had never danced like this before and yet they moved together as if they had been practicing for years. He found it strangely enjoyable as he held Meren close through some of the turns.
Meren laughed merrily as they danced. The couple was the center of attention as the other dancers made room for them. Ranma found that he was sorry to have it end when the song finished.
"You're a wonderful dancer my young knight." Meren smiled at him. "I'm sure that will satisfy whatever bet you lost with the others."
Ranma gaped at her. "How..?"
"Please. You don't think this is the first time Dan has tried this now do you?" she laughed. "He and a few of the others still see me as a kid sister of sorts. They are always trying to set "Their Captain" up with some new young officer." Meren smirked as if remembering past attempts. "I put up with their antics but I get them back too. Go on your off the hook." She turned to head back to her seat.
Ranma watched her go as his emotions warred within him. Part of him was telling him to ask for another dance while part of him was saying to avoid girls at all costs. In the end the phantoms last words echoing in his mind tipped the scales. He boldly strode across the room and stopped in front of Meren.
"I would be honored if you would consent to dance with me again my fair lady." 'Yuck I think I just sounded like Kuno.' The pleased look on Meren's face made spouting that drivel worth it. She was positively beaming.
Meren offered her hand once more. "It would be a pleasure my shining knight."
"The pleasure is mine my lovely princess." He bowed and kissed the offered hand. Had he not he would have seen her expression waver for a moment at his words. "Shall we dance?" he asked leading her gently back to the dance floor. The danced for several more enjoyable songs before the world faded away.
The girls were woken by Moiraine a few hours later. Meren could have used much more sleep but years in the army had trained her body to wake fully regardless of how little sleep she had. "Thanks," she said to Ranma as they filed downstairs with the others.
"For what?" Ranma asked. Does she remember dancing in the dream last night?
"For giving me a shoulder to cry on last night. Believe it or not that helped more than you know." She gave Ranma a small smile and squeezed her friend's hand.
"Oh well… it just seemed like it was the right thing to do." She said a touch nervously. Normally Meren was friendly and energetic but otherwise unshakeable. Last night she had been distraught and now she was acting almost sweet. Ranma wasn't sure what to make of these mood swings. She really did wonder if perhaps Meren remembered something about the dream.
>you know for not having much experience as a girl you catch on quick.> Meren chuckled as Ranma started to splutter a denial. >Don't worry your still a guy to me even when you're in this form.>
I'll never understand girls. Ranma thought as she followed along. But you do so well when you just relax, a small voice in her had commented. I guess… she thought. A girlish giggle echoed in her mind
The Ways were a disappointment to the pair. Meren could see what she could only describe as a folding in the various energy patterns of the room where the Waygate sat. If anything the Waygate itself reminded Meren of what her pouch did to make so much fit inside. The inside of the ways had been even less helpful. Phantom signatures drifted everywhere making the Trimirida almost useless. Nothing about their trip through the Ways lead the pair any closer to a way home. And then there was that little incident getting out of the ways.
Ok maybe that wasn't such a bright idea. Meren thought as she looked up at the blue sky overhead. The joy she felt at seeing blue sky instead of the oppressive darkness of the ways was tempered by the position she was in now. Laying flat on your back on a stone slab while aching all over is not a good position to enjoy anything.
"Meren! Are you all right?" yelled Ranma running towards her from where the Waygate's entrance was.
"Why is it that people always ask that question when the answer is obvious?" Meren growled in response. "Of course I'm alright. It's perfectly natural for my arm to have an extra joint there." She howled in pain as she remembered that shaking a broken arm for effect was a worse idea than breaking it in the first place.
Ranma knelt next Meren glad that her friend was still alive. "Well your sense of humor is ok still. What the heck did you just do?"
"The Avendesora leaf is not here!" Moiraine said in shock. "The key is gone!"
Just great what are we going to do now? Ranma thought in desperation. Cant run but I'm not going down without a fight. She turned back the way they had come and prepared herself to fight for her life. She didn't know what she could do against something like the black wind but she wouldn't give up. Maybe a Moko Takabisha… wait what's Meren doing back there?
Meren was standing on the path from the last island facing away from the Waygate the party was gathered around. She held both arms out in front of her pointing her fists off into the darkness. Golden energy coruscated along her arms and Ranma could feel the power building even from where she stood. She watched as Meren opened her hands cupped towards her unseen foe, the energy coalescing into a glowing ball between her palms. Light above why is she using that? Screamed the voice in her mind
Then Ranma heard Meren shout and a beam of pure golden light lanced out into the darkness detonating some distance away. The Black Wind's chorus of voices howled in pain as the blast struck home. As the beam lanced out Meren suddenly rocketed backwards. "Look out!" Ranma yelled as Lan barely pulled Moiraine out of the way. A massive crash was heard as Meren careened into the locked Waygate.
Where once there had been a carved stone door now stood what looked like a smoky window to a desolate landscape.
"Everybody out! Hurry!" Moiraine commanded as the party piled through the gate as quickly as possible.
The ground outside was scored as if a large stone block had been plowed through the earth in a perfectly strait line. Some distance away, at the end of the scored line of earth, they could just make out the remains of the gates doors, and something lying on top. Ranma broke into a run.
"Don't argue just do it" Meren said through clenched teeth.
"Alright but this is going to hurt." Ranma said and then gave Meren's left arm a sharp tug setting the broken bone. "Well need to get something to splint it."
"No kidding that hurt." Meren muttered. The mark on her forehead flared to life and a blue glow formed around her right hand.
"What are you doing?" Ranma asked as Meren slowly swept her glowing hand back and forth along the break in her arm. As she watched the cuts and scrapes on that arm faded away.
Meren looked puzzled. "I don't know. I'm just doing this on reflex." The blue glow faded and she experimentally tested her arm. After a few seconds she pushed herself up using the now healed arm. "I guess I can heal myself."
"I guess so but how did you survive that in the first place? At the speed you were going you should have broken every bone in your body not just your arm. Look." Ranma pointed to the door of the Waygate that Meren had been lying on. It was sheared off cleanly along the edges of the gate. The only other damage was the scored line where Moiraine had been attempting to burn her way through. "You hit that thing hard enough to blow it clean off its hinges and drag it over five hundred yards along the ground."
"That attack expends a lot of energy. The backlash probably absorbed most of the impact." Meren explained and then winced as she moved. She had only healed the arm but the rest of her felt like a giant bruise. "But not all of it."
"Was that… attack… you know?" Ranma asked hesitantly.
"The one that landed us here? Yes although much weaker. That was about half power." Meren started rubbing a kink out of her neck. "So how'd that shot do aside from the unintended door opening aspect?"
"Well I don't think you killed it but I don't think the black wind liked what you did." Ranma said. "When I left it sounded like it was in pain."
"You ran it off." Both girls turned to see Moiraine approaching. "Machin Shin was retreating when we exited the ways. It seems you are full of surprises."
"Ya a blast that's almost as dangerous to me as to my target. Real fun surprise there." Meren muttered dryly, still massaging her sore muscles. "That heal spell could be useful if I can figure out exactly what I just did though."
Moiraine nodded. "Useful, not even Aes Sedai can heal themselves with the power, only others." She turned and pointed to the north where tall towers could be seen over the tops of the barren trees. "We must hurry. To Fal Dara."
I hate waiting for something to happen, Ranma thought as she paced back and forth. They were waiting in the study of Agelmar, Lord of Fal Dara, for Moiraine to finish questioning Padan Fain, the darkfriend peddler that had apparently followed them here. Everyone had their own way of passing the time, for Ranma it was a pacing contest between her and Rand. Stupid thing to compete over she thought as she realized what she was doing. Rand wasn't even aware of the silent contest. Looking around she found Meren deep in thought with a troubled look on her face.
"What's wrong Meren?" she asked sitting down next to her friend.
"Hmm? Oh it's nothing Ranko, just thinking." The blond warrior replied not even looking up.
Ranma looked at her friend, it was obvious something was deeply troubling her. "Must be some battle going on in there, are you winning or losing?"
Meren blinked at her friend in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Well that's the same expression you have on your face when you fight a battle. If you're just thinking it must be a pretty serious fight in your head." Ranma had a silly grin on her face as she spoke.
Stared dumbfounded at her friend for a few moments and then a smile crept across her face. "You're trying to cheer me up aren't you?"
Ranma nodded "How'm I doing?"
"Pretty good actually, I'm surprised you noticed, maybe I'm rubbing off on you." She teased.
Ranma glanced down at herself. "I don't see any of you on me."
Meren snorted as she tried to suppress a laugh. "It's a figure of speech."
"Oh."
Meren smiled and shook her head at how clueless her friend could be at times. "I suppose you want to know what I was thinking about."
"Only if you want to tell me," Ranma said.
Meren shrugged, "it might help to talk about it. I was trying to figure out if I was making a mistake."
"A mistake? About what?"
"About this quest. I want to go to the eye to help the others but since I heard about the plight these soldiers will face… I feel like something inside is pulling me towards their fight not Moiraine's." Meren shook her head as if clearing stray thoughts. "I just don't know what to do, which path is the correct one."
"I apologize for eavesdropping but I couldn't help but overhear." Both girls looked up to find Agelmar standing next to them. "Unless you are an Aes Sedai in disguise one more sword will not make a difference at Tarwin's Gap. If you are half as good with that," he pointed to the hilt of Meren's sword. "As you appear to be you could make a difference in the blight though. There is no man better than Lan to lead you safely through the blight but even he can not face everything in the blight alone."
Meren chuckled "You are probably right, I am not an Aes Sedai, the potential yes but I am untrained. I wouldn't however discount my sword in your battle either. Not two months past Ranko and I faced a band of fifty trollocs and an Eyeless with nothing but my sword and her fists and we won."
Agelmar looked them up and down as he tried to determine if the girl before him was serious or boasting. "If true you could be strong allies in the fight but not enough to turn the tide. Moiraine Sedai will need all the help she will accept in the Blight, you can make a difference there."
Meren nodded and began contemplating her boots again. Ranma found the silence uncomfortable and tried to break it. "So, is Lan really a king?"
Agelmar chuckled. "You overheard my tale did you? Yes, Malkier may have fallen to the blight but Lan is the uncrowned king of Malkier. He refuses to lead but if he raised the banner of the golden crane men from across the borderlands would follow him into battle."
"So he's a king but doesn't want to be?" Ranma asked.
"He has his own private war with the shadow. He is too late to save his land but not too late for vengeance. I do not believe he will accept a crown until the shadow is defeated." Agelmar bowed out and returned to talking with Egwene and Nynaeve.
"I think it would be fun to be a king as long as I could still fight. Lan seems to have no problem with that at least." Ranma turned to her friend. "What about you Meren? Wouldn't you like to be a Warrior queen?"
Meren suddenly choked and coughed for a moment before muttering "Not really."
That was an odd reaction, I wonder what that was all about. Ranma thought.
Actually that was the most normal reaction I've seen from her yet, laughed a voice in her head.
What do you mean? She thought back but got no response. She muttered under her breath about annoying mental voices and their cryptic messages. And why is it so talkative all of a sudden? She'd heard it more times in the last few days than she'd heard it since becoming cursed.
The question you should be asking is why are you suddenly listening. Ranma ground her teeth in frustration. It wasn't bad enough to be going nuts and hearing voices but the damn thing was taunting her. Moiraine's return to the room drove such thoughts from her mind.
This trip keeps getting better and better, Ranma thought disgustedly. First she and Meren had been told they had to ride. Meren wasn't happy about it but at least she knew how to ride. Ranma not knowing the first thing about riding a horse had received a crash course in riding from Meren.
First riding a horse, then having to tromp through this discussing forsaken pit they call the blight, and now were running from worms. That last bothered her the most, sure they were big enough to eat a man whole but they were still worms. They raced across the blight up into the foothills of the Mountains of Dhoom. The only consolation Ranma could pull from the situation was that whatever lay ahead was bad enough to scare the worms.
"Were not going to make it." Lan announced drawing his sword. "Watch yourself in the high passes Moiraine."
"Lan even you can not stop a Worm pack, I will not have it. I will need you for the Eye." Moiraine said.
Meren road up alongside Ranma and tied her reigns to Ranma's saddle. "Maybe he can't but I can."
"What do you think your doing?" Ranma asked, similar exclamations echoed from the others.
Meren just looked at Ranma with a grim look on her face. "Go with them, keep them safe. I will buy you the time to reach safety and join you if I can." Meren leapt off her horse.
"Meren!" Ranma tried to stop her horse but it decided it was smarter than its rider. The voice in her head made an exasperated sound. That hasn't changed either. Oh it's a threat lets blow it up.
"Shut up you!" Ranma growled under her breath still trying to stop the horse.
"Don't stop RUN!" Meren yelled and braced herself to fight. Wait a minute what do I need the stupid horse for anyway? Just when she resolved to jump off and follow Meren there was a bright flash from behind and the blight was suddenly gone. Wildflowers sprang up through lush green grasses and birds sang from the branches of trees covered in new spring leaves. Ranma was finally able to stop her horse when the others stopped.
"We have reached Safety," Moiraine said. "This is the Green man's place and the eye of the world is here. Nothing of the blight can enter here."
Ranma turned to look behind them, Meren did not follow. "We have to go back and help Meren. It's not that far."
"If you leave you will not be able to find your way back." Said a deep voice from among the trees. "This place was made so that any who found it could only do so once."
Ranma looked to the source of the voice. "A walking plant?" she was looking at a man that towered even over Loial and appeared to be made of vines and other plants.
"He is the Green Man," Moiraine said. "As to Meren, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. If she does not follow it means she has a different path before her." She turned to the Green Man. "We have come to see the Eye."
The Green Man nodded. "So it has come again." He rumbled "The dark one stirs once again. The need of the world is why you have found this place again Moiraine Aes Sedai."
"If you can come here twice so can I. I'm going back for Meren." Ranma said turning around.
"Do not be a fool girl. She can take care of herself. The fact that you are here and she is not is proof that your path lies here and hers lies elsewhere." Moiraine admonished.
"Are you saying we should abandon her?" Ranma yelled back.
"No I'm saying we must do what we came to do. She will do what she must."
If anything Ranma found Moiraine's calm insufferable. She's right you know. Besides if she did what I think she did there's no knowing where she landed. The voice was really beginning to piss Ranma off. Shut up and get out of my head.
She continued to fume as the party was lead by the Green Man to the Eye. She didn't even notice when the he placed flowers in her hair along with the other women as they walked. Bright blue and white blossoms were woven into her pigtail and adorning the rest of her hair by the time they reached the Eye.
Ranma's curiosity finally overwhelmed her sense of concern over Meren as they moved underground and eventually into the Chamber of the Eye. Those crystals almost look like Light bulbs. She thought looking at the facetted gems that lit the chamber. In the center of the massive room was a large pool that actually did resemble an eye. The pool was filled with what looked like impossibly clear water, water that didn't move or ripple at all even when Mat kicked a stone into it.
"What the heck is that stuff?" Ranma asked as the stone seemed to expand and disintegrate as it fell through the liquid.
"You could call it the essence of Saidin" Moiraine said calmly.
Saidin! The male half of the power. If I changed back could I? Ranma shuddered, she didn't want to think of that possibility. If she could channel Saidin it meant she could also go mad. Of course I already have that stupid voice in my head. The party shortly returned to the surface. Nynaeve was beginning to argue with Moiraine once again when two men interrupted them.
"I have found you at last."
Ranma appraised the two new arrivals. One was wrapped in a dark green cloak the other a dark gray, both had the hoods hiding their faces. "Who are you? How did you come here?" she heard Lan ask cautiously. Ranma tensed when the man in green pointed to Mat. She didn't listen to what he said; she was fixated on the hand. Old and shriveled like the ghouls or the old goat's, these two could be trouble. The thought that these two could be ancient martial arts masters concerned and excited her. This would be a good fight.
Ranma was even more sure when they pulled back their hoods. The one in green was even more ancient looking than either Happosi or Cologne. The other wore what looked like a hard leather mask shaped and painted to look like a laughing young man. What's he hiding under there?
"The Forsaken, are bound…" Mat hoarsely croaked causing Ranma to start. Those evil Aes Sedai from three thousand years ago Moiraine told us about. Ranma now was fully alert. These two were dangerous.
Lan launched himself at the two men but was bated out of the air by nothing slamming into the entrance to the Eye. Ranma entered the Umisen-Ken fading from sight as Nynaeve threw herself at the men. Damn she thought as the wisdom was caught by the man in the leather mask and began to scream. Ranma struck the arm holding Nynaeve in the air breaking it. The man released a wordless scream of pain and rage as he dropped the girl. Ranma picked up Nynaeve and dashed off to safety before either of the men could react.
Depositing Nynaeve behind the structure that made up the entrance to the eye she turned to reenter the fight. She should be safe here for now, she thought. When she reached the others the masked man was grappled with the Green man. What the hell? She watched in shock as flames burst out of the green man and plants started sprouting out of the masked Forsaken. Both collapsed, the forsaken looking more like the green man once had, the Green man was mostly char. As she watched a huge oak sprouted and grew at an impossible speed complexly covering the place where the Green man had fallen.
"Enough it is past time to end this!" The other Forsaken yelled.
"Yes, past time." Moiraine said with icy calm as the ground beneath the man opened into a chasm and flames poured forth from beneath.
What is he? The man just stood there in mid air and smiled. He began to take slow ponderous steps through midair towards the Aes Sedai. "Run! All of you Run!" Moiraine commanded. Ranma once again used the Umisen-Ken to vanish as she waited for a moment to strike. She moved closer as the others ran.
The man stepped fully out of the fire on to hard ground. His clothing was singed in a few patches but otherwise none the worse for ware. "Impressive for a half-trained whelp. Let me show you how its done." With a gesture Moiraine was lifted into the air, she threw back her head and screamed. Ranma moved.
Dashing in unseen by those still present she charged the forsaken. Have to drop him fast she thought as she closed the distance in an instant. Just before reaching him she smashed into an invisible barrier that felt harder than a brick wall. She fell back stunned as her invisibility faded.
"Not this time," he said with a smirk. "That is a cute trick but I will not let you use it twice." With a casual flick of his wrist something hard struck the side of Ranma's head sending her flying through the air. That felt like one of Ryoga's punches was all that came to the dazed girls mind as she crashed into the wall and collapsed down onto the unconscious Lan. The blow wasn't enough to knock her out although it came close.
"I do not have time for this." The forsaken said allowing Moiraine to collapse in a heap. "The boy is more important than you insects." He turned and left far more quickly than a man of his age should have been capable of.
Ranma staggered to her feet and started to follow as best she could. She noticed a water flask that had fallen near the chasm. An experimental touch proved that it was quite warm. After a quick look around to ensure that nobody could see she dumped the flask over her head. Dropping the skin to the ground he set out in pursuit of the last Forsaken.
He found the man facing Rand who he had cornered on the edge of a cliff. Ranma knew he had to act quickly or the man would kill Rand but what could he do. The man had proven that he would not let Ranma close. Ranma's only option was the Moko Takabisha but that would sweep the man off the cliff to his death if it did not kill him outright. Can I kill him? Ranma thought as everything Meren had said to him flashed through his mind.
'I don't like to kill but sometimes there is no choice.' 'if I must kill to protect my friends and those I care for so be it!' 'I will not leave an enemy bent on my destruction alive to try again!' Ranma could almost hear his friend speak the words in his mind. This forsaken by all accounts was pure evil and wouldn't hesitate to kill them all on a whim. More importantly he was threatening a friend and Ranma had no alternative. I've got to do it, there's no choice. Ranma thought in grim determination at what he must do.
"Moko Takabisha!" he yelled as he thrust his arms forward launching the Ki blast. The forsaken had just enough time to turn in surprise and watch the blue-white ball crash into his chest sweeping him off the cliff. Rand suddenly vanishing into thin air barely registered as the weight of what he had just done crashed into Ranma. I killed. It was the only way but oh god I killed a man! Ranma sank to his knees as he tried to come to terms with what he had just done.
"Meren!"
Don't be noble you idiot. "Don't stop RUN!" Meren hoped the horse would keep running from the worms and Ranma wouldn't think of jumping off. She raised her arms charging her spell as quickly as possible.
Jump a small voice in her head compelled her. Meren thought it was a good idea, there was a hill behind her and smashing through it would be painful, that and she wouldn't clear the radius of the blast if it stopped her. She held her ground pouring more power into her spell as the Worm pack came into view. Ugly buggers she thought as the creatures bore down on her.
The front of the Worms were as big around as a man and comprised almost entirely of a large mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Their shape was similar to that of an ordinary worm, long and roughly cylindrical but they had tentacles growing along the length of their bodies. Each tentacle ended in a large hooked claw that even from where Meren stood looked extremely sharp. Jump the voice insisted. Not yet, a little bit more. She had already committed the full flow from Courage and the spell was beginning to siphon energy from Power.
Meren counted at least a dozen of the creatures coming out of the decaying muck of the blight bound forest. Defiantly want to get them all, I only have one shot. Just as she determined the size of the blast would completely encompass all the worms the voice sounded again. Jump NOW!
Meren leapt strait up over twenty-five feet in the air. "Kedrak Havik Ril!" she yelled firing her blast down into the approaching worm pack. The golden energy beam lanced out and impacted in the middle of the pack expanding in a huge explosion vaporizing everything within five hundred yards. Meren was propelled high into the air by the recoil of her spell.
Suddenly the beacon winked out from her senses. What? She could still see the point of impact rapidly fading into the distance. The area of destruction wasn't large enough to have hit her friends but they were gone none the same. She looked around in panic as she tumbled through the air. She couldn't even locate Ranma's aura which she could pick out from a ridiculous range. Meren hoped that it was something Moiraine had done because she had no way to go back and look for them until she landed.
She spread her arms and legs and managed to bring her flight into some semblance of control. Where the heck am I going? She thought looking ahead. The ground was quickly approaching. A seething mass of trollocs was engaged in a pitched battle with an army of men in a wide mountain pass. Meren's trajectory would land her square in the middle of the trollocs.
Acting quickly she prepared and fired another weaker Havik Ril strait into the Trolloc horde. It wasn't enough to send her airborne again but it did slow her fall to a less painful velocity and altered the direction so she would land on a rocky outcrop just above the battleground. Deftly landing on the outcropping she surveyed the battle.
The men were holding their own but were vastly outnumbered. Her blast had killed quite a few trollocs and caused a good deal of confusion in their ranks but did nothing to stem the tide. Looking over the ranks of mounted men she picked out a pair of banners bearing a black hawk and three foxes. Recognizing those banners from Fal Dara Meren noted in surprise that her previous shot had thrown her all the way to Tarwin's gap.
Well Meren, you wanted a fight and now you've got one. She thought to herself. She was a short distance behind the Trolloc lines and a few had noticed her but she was unconcerned. The ones trying to reach her were having a great deal of trouble finding a way up. She drew her sword as she felt her powers surge around her.
A wave of energy flashed across her body leaving armor in its wake. A deep blue cuirass with gold scroll work covered her upper body. At first glance it appeared to be steel but it had a crystalline quality that put that assessment into doubt. Her leather boots were replaced by a pair that matched the body armor and a pair of fingerless leather gauntlets backed by the same blue metal covered her hands and forearms. The coronet of twisted blue and gold bands bracketing the mark on her forehead also appeared.
Meren glanced down at her combat armor only vaguely recalling times she had used it in the past. I guess I'll take all the help I can get she thought with a smile. She leapt off the outcrop into the waiting hoard of trollocs charging her sword as she fell. Three quick slashes of her blade killed dozens of trollocs and cleared the area around her. More trollocs quickly rushed to great her.
"Hotan Striker Barrage!" she unleashed her attack straight across the back of the trollocs front lines slaying dozens of trollocs in its path. She charged strait ahead continuing to throw the energy slashes into the hoard. Those that were not cut down by her attacks were no longer trying to reach her but to flee. In moments she reached the center of the pass.
From this vantage point she could fling the attack nearly to each wall of the canyon effectively cutting off the trollocs front line from the reinforcements behind. Trapped between the destructive force Meren was unleashing and the men, the trollocs front line quickly collapsed and perished. The rest of the Trolloc force pulled back to regroup giving the Shienarians a much needed respite.
Taking the opportunity to rest Meren turned to see Lord Agelmar ride through the line of mounted soldiers. "Meren? Peace it is you, what are you doing here?" he said extending an arm to her.
She reached out and clasped his arm. "I got separated from the others. I stopped to deal with a Worm pack that was chasing us. My way of dealing with them accidentally landed me here." Meren looked around at the fallen trollocs and men littering the field of battle. "From the looks of it you could use my help."
The lord of Fal Dara nodded. "Ay that we could. I thought you said you were untrained as an Aes Sedai. That looked like the power to me." A number of the soldiers in the line nodded in agreement.
Meren laughed. "That was A power but not the One Power the Aes Sedai use." A wordless roar came from the Trolloc host as they once again charged. "Let's see if we cant pull a victory out of this mess."
In response Agelmar raised his sword and cried out "Shienar!" The battle cry echoed up and down the line of men. Meren drew her dagger and began slaying any Trolloc that came too close. She had been drawing on the Triforce of Courage too much and her ability to touch it was becoming fatigued. The Kedrak Havik Ril fatigued her in general and both it and the Hotan striker were fueled primarily by Courage. An occasional striker was about all she could squeeze out of that aspect at this point.
Instead she primarily fought in the style she knew best, Sword Dagger and Tail. Ducking a sword she disemboweled the Trolloc holding it as she turned and cut the legs out from another. A third Trolloc caught a dagger thrown by her tail directly between the eyes; moments after it fell the dagger flickered out of existence reappearing in its sheath on her back. A Myrddraal got too close and fell to a Hotan Striker along with a dozen trollocs behind it.
In this fashion she moved up and down the line of battle. Wherever she went the men rallied and pressed their attack and the trollocs fell before the onslaught. Despite the effect Meren had on the battle the outlook was still grim. Meren said as much when she found herself next to Agelmar again.
"Peace. But we shall not give up!" he exclaimed as he hew down a Trolloc with his huge two-handed sword. He had been unhorsed a short time before and had not yet found a replacement.
Meren nodded grimly bleeding from numorous small wounds. The shear numbers were beginning to take their toll. "We need a break soon or the men will start collapsing from exhaustion." She forced her way forward clearing an open space in the trollocs just in front of the men's line. The Trollocs backed away from her wearily; they had come to fear the blond, blue armored warrior.
Meren had a malicious grin on her face as she checked her line of fire to ensure she would only hit trollocs. She had been casting about in her fragmented memories for an attack not based off Courage, and had finally found one. She remembered her fight with the Sorcerer, she had finally figured out how to work one of the attacks she had used.
Meren raised her left fist as the mark there flared brilliantly. "INFERNO" she called out in a strange echoing voice and then inhaled deeply. She breathed out a jet of flame more potent than dragon's fire that reached out fifty yards into the trollocs. The Beast men screamed in pain as she swept the flame back and forth across their ranks. Trollocs burst into flames, some succumbing instantly others ran screaming lighting their brethren on fire. When the attack ended the front ranks of the trollocs were once again decimated and in retreat.
Meren fell to one knee using her sword to support herself as she gasped for air. That attack had been potent and it had strained her already fatigued reserves of energy. A cheer went up behind her from the Shienarians, to them victory seemed assured. Agelmar helped Meren to her feet.
"Peace, are you sure you're not an Aes Sedai in disguise? With your help we can win this yet!" he exclaimed, those near him cheered all the harder.
Meren shook her head still panting heavily. "I'm getting tired. I'm not even sure if I can do that again." Murmurs in the crowd drew her attention to the end of the pass.
Down the canyon between the rallying forces of darkness and the men of Shienar stood a tall man. He was too far away for any but Meren and her enhanced eyesight to make him out clearly. Rand? It can't be. To her eyes he was glowing brighter than the sun and had a thick white strand of the same white light leading from him off to the west somewhere. How did he get here? Was all she had time to think before lightning arched across the sky.
The chard forms of Draghkar who had been circling the battlefield fell out of the sky as lightning struck again and again clearing the sky of them. Meren had been unable to do much to the winged creatures as they learned quickly to stay well away from her. Meren stared in shock as she saw the flows generating the lightning. May the goddesses have mercy! He can channel!
She watched as he fell to his knees and a wall of fire sprang up racing towards the trollocs incinerating them by the hundreds. He beat the ground with his fists and the earth rippled like water in a pond as a stone was dropped in. Waves of earth enveloped the Trollocs and Myrddraal in a crushing tidal wave of destruction. Suddenly all was quiet.
For a few brief moments the men and trollocs stared at each other through the dust in the pass. Meren saw what she could only describe as a door to nowhere open and Rand stepped through before it vanished. She didn't have time to contemplate what had just happened, the army charged. The men were still outnumbered two to one but they had a chance now. The trollocs demoralized by the destruction inflicted on their number looked about ready to flee as the horsemen bore down on them.
Meren smiled, she could give the men better than a chance at victory. Rand had given her the perfect ammunition though it would take everything she had left. All three marks flared to full brilliance as did the Trimirida. "Mimic!" A wall of fire sprang to life leading the cavalry charge. Their moral breaking the remaining trollocs fled in terror only to be burned alive. The wall burned itself out revealing a pitiful force of trollocs and a few Myrddraal all fleeing for their lives. They would soon be overrun by the mounted Soldiers.
Meren smiled as the armor and coronet faded along with her power. She felt herself falling and then strong hands catching her as she lost consciousness.
On a high cliff overlooking the battlefield a shadowy figure watched as the battle advanced towards its final conclusion. The man smiled from deep within the hood of his dark cloak. "So this is where you went Star-Child. You can not escape your fate by hiding from me. Your beloved Phoenix is trapped on that flea speck world, imprisoned beyond your reach for all time. Without her power even your strength is useless to stop what is to come. The dragon will fall and the wheel broken. Soon… very soon…" he laughed evilly as he faded from view.
The city was in the midst of a massive victory celebration but Ranma felt no joy as she followed the others through the city. Her tendency to attract water turned out to be useful for once drenching her before she had run into any of the others after killing Aginor. Even with that small crisis averted she was still deeply depressed about what she had been forced to do. A fact made worse when they could find no sign of Meren on their way out of the blight.
They had found a large crater near the place they had seen her last but aside from that she had vanished completely. No reassurances from the others could lift her spirits. She looked at Rand with a bit of pity and envy. She had heard the tale of his adventures along with Moiraine and the other girls. She felt sorry for him because he could channel, the envy was the fact that he knew for sure and she did not. Having the possibility of channeling as a man a looming but uncertain threat was maddening. In a way knowing for sure would be a relief even if it turned out she could channel as a man.
She didn't even look up when they were led into Agelmar's study. She ignored the conversation until she saw a familiar pair of brown boots right in front of her. Her eyes traveled upwards finding a pair of green pants connected to the boots. Further still revealed a red jerkin and finally a blond girl grinning from ear to ear at her. Ranma's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, "Meren?"
In response Meren engulfed the redhead in a huge hug that was quickly returned. Meren quickly made excuses for the two of them and departed to catch up with her friend. The two yammered back and forth relating what happened to each after they were separated.
"… was so worried when you didn't follow us in…"
"…the spell killed the worms but the recoil threw me all the way to Tarwin's gap…"
"… then the forsaken showed up and all hell broke loose…"
"… Trollocs and Myrddraal going up like torches everywhere…"
"… then I had to kill Aginor."
That brought Meren up short; she knew exactly what that confession meant for her friend. "I'm sorry you had to do that. How do you feel about what you had to do?"
Ranma hung her head. "I feel awful. I didn't have a choice, he was going to kill Rand and I couldn't get close to him. I know doing nothing would have been worse but that doesn't make me feel any better."
Meren rested a comforting hand on her friends shoulder. "I know it hurts now but you did the right thing. From what I've heard of the forsaken none would hesitate to kill all of us for pleasure. They had to be stopped by whatever means were necessary."
Ranma chuckled darkly. "Necessary choices really stink some times."
"Look at it this way, by killing him you probably saved untold thousands he would have been responsible for killing later." Meren seeing that her friend refused to come out of her depression decided to fight dirty. "Anyway he was one of thirteen of the most powerful Aes Sedai from the age of legends and one of the strongest among them. Taking him down aint too bad… For a girl."
"Hey I was a guy at the time!" Ranma shouted back attracting a few odd stares from some drunken soldiers. They burst out laughing in their drunken stupor thinking it was some grand joke while Ranma glared at them.
Meren just smiled ok plan B time. "Well angry is a step up from depressed at least. Come on cheer up, holding on to depression just hurts you."
Ranma glared at Meren not only for the first comment but because she know she was right. Ranma knew enough from when she had tried to learn Ryoga's Shi Shi Hokodan how bad depression could be for a person.
Meren wrapped one arm around Ranma's shoulder and waved her other towards the reveling soldiers in the courtyard. "Look at this, do you know what this is? It is a celebration of life. These men rode out expecting to die to save their families. Against all odds they survived and returned victorious! This is no time to mope around thinking about could'have should'haves and what might have been. It is a time for drinking and being glad you are still alive to share time with your friends."
Ranma pushed Meren away as she led her over to a stack of kegs and flagons. "Quit joking around this is important-"
"So is this," Meren interrupted thrusting a flagon of ale into Ranma's hands. "These men have all faced the same choices you have just faced and have had to learn to deal with it. Celebrating what you protected is the best way to deal with what you had to do to protect it."
"I don't know…" she said staring down into her ale.
Meren laughed and took a huge gulp from her own flagon. "Trust me in a bit you will forget all about your problems and have a good time in spite yourself. Your doubts and self recriminations can wait. You need to enjoy life again if only for a few hours."
Ranma stared down into the dark amber fluid. I really don't know about this but she's never steered me wrong before. Oh what the hell, she thought as she put the flagon to her lips and drank deeply. Wiping some foam from her mouth she looked up at Meren. "Fine I'll do it your way but tomorrow I want you to be serious about this."
Meren put a hand over her chest with a false hurt look on her face. "Me? I'm always serious. Cheers!" she exclaimed raising her mug.
Ranma sighed as she raised her own to meet Meren's. Might as well at least try to enjoy myself. True to Meren's word she did start relaxing and began to enjoy herself as the two partied far into the night with the other soldiers. She had forgotten all about the problems clouding her mind long before the two stumbled off too drunk to walk straight.
Yep plan Booze always works for un-depressing em. Meren thought drunkenly as they staggered away.
To be continued…
AN: sorry it took longer than I expected, ended up working all weekend and didn't have time to go over this chapter until now, hope I didnt miss anything glairing. It also took me forever to come up with the name Kedrak Havik Ril for that attack. a cookie to whoever guesses where I got those words from :) (and no they aren't just random letters)
In response to the criticisms I'm Sorry that the way some plot threads interact with the WOT story require that I introduce some early and some later. In retrospect I should never have broken this chapter in two but oh well. I understand your concerns and I'm keeping them in mind. I'd be concerned too if not for the fact that I'm not even a tenth of they way through the material planed for this fic at this point.
Sure I could push some of the ways Meren does and will screw up things by trying to hard sooner (plan B is defiantly not the best way she could have handled Ranma but that's next chapter). Sure I could push Ranma to his eventual power level right now if I wanted to. And then I'd be stuck trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the timeline as most of the stages along the path are contingent on WOT events. And no neither of them is going to degenerate into a depressed blob of goo although I reserve the right to give them bouts of it from time to time. the worst of it comes to a head next chapter and then will be gone for a while. No plans on having either sacrifice themselves in a blaze of glory either. Ranma isn't really going nuts either although I suspect the evil monolog was probably a strong enough hint on where several threads will be heading.
And I disagree on the assumption that no mater what unusual attack his opponent comes up with Ranma will always have a counter instantly. There are numerous examples of him getting hit by unexpected new moves. In fact there are numerous examples of him getting quite thoroughly trounced by them at first although he always finds a way to win even if its on the rematch. Ranma will adapt (and soon) to Meren's unusual tricks, she's sneaky but he's getting used to her methods. (and he will succeed in defeating that tail through next time she uses it.) his first major power boost is also very near on the horizon.
On the specific examples on Meren in last chapter, with Bornhald I don't believe I indicated friendship with him. He is intelligent enough to know when fighting would be futile. The innkeeper, that was perfectly within character for him. He would have approved of anybody smacking the guys wearing white around. The perrin thing I flip-flopped on cutting that one. Mostly it was meant to give a hint as to why Meren does certain things but probably was unnecessary and redundant looking back on it. The whole can of worms on the throne room scene, the royal aspect could have waited as it wont really come into play for quite a while but it was the best time to introduce it if I didn't want to jump into it abruptly when its time came. That scene also laid the groundwork for 2 other major plot threads that will cause trouble for both characters and allowed me to weave the royal one in as a part of one of those threads.
fixed the spelling error borg pointed out but my god why are you profreading my author notes too. those are lucky if they even get a spellchecker done on them :p
poly: Ranma is mainly haveing trouble because he didnt try. he sat in on one leason and was turned off by it quick. also figure that sadar you must surender to and embrase. how easy do you think it is for mr I never give up to surender? hell figure it out soon after reaching the tower (slated for chap 6. chap 5 is prety much aftermath of chap 4 and traveling to tower) as to the timelines most of the major WOT events still will happen although some will change slightly due to the presence of either Meren, Ranma or both. wich group of WOT characters they are with at the time will change (they wont always be with the girls for example) and sometimes thell be off away from the rest of the cast for periods of time (and sometimes seperated) lots of chaos planed for the tower, pranks, non channeling abilities, sparing matches geting way out of hand, P-chan
jetmillion: he'll fire the hyro shoten ha eventualy. curently his list of fights are Trollocs, spars with Meren, and aginor. trollocs its overkill, Meren he's holding back and not useing special although thats about to change and aginor there wasnt much of an opertunity, lots of fire but no chance to make the spiral. still havent decided for sure on channeling saidin with ranma. overall it wont effect the core of the plot much one way or another although some subplots will change depending on wich way i go.