Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or Sacrifice™ or any related characters, terms or concepts.
Author's Notes: wow, four chapters and not one flame or even slightly discouraging remark yet. And to think I thought this would be a disaster! By the way, back in chapter one I mentioned that this is strictly anime continuity; that means no failed wedding, no Saffron, no Musk (though they may make cameos when Ranma gets back to Nerima in the next chapter) and no Yamasenken or Umisenken (by the way, can anyone tell me what the techniques for each of those are, and details for each technique?). I was planning on using something similar to Yamasenken's Vacuum Blade as a Mana Technique (like a Ki Technique Moko Takabisha, Hiryu Shoten Ha but using mana instead of ki) though. And following a reviewer's advice, thoughts are in italics.
Part Three: Growing Up Magical
2 Months Later…Ranma was definitely becoming more acclimatised to his new life. Though a part of him still, and probably always would, recoil at the ideas of killing or initiating attacks on others, he had very little problem now leading raids or defending his demesne from raiders now. In fact, his raids were probably the reason why he had only progressed to 4th-level, which meant he now surpassed Yuki and Yiku (who were somewhat amazed; it had taken them 8 years to get to 3rd-level), in the two months since his first raid.
His second raid had taken place about a week after the first; it was a retaliatory raid against a group of slavers from Petroglodyte, who had massacred the fishing village of Icebramble. Ranma had converted the souls they'd left behind, then chased after them and wiped them out, converting the souls of all who fell.
As well as getting practical experience, Ranma was also building upon his knowledge of tactics, as well as a special project: Ranma was attempting to utilise the same process he used for his Ki Attacks, the Hiryu Shoten Ha and the Moko Takabisha, but drawing upon his mana reserves instead of his ki reserves. This would truly blend his old skill with martial arts with his new skill with magic.
So far though, the process had been difficult. Mana and ki were two very different substances after all, and the process was long and frustrating. Had Ranma been anything like his father, Genma, or his would-be father-in-law, Soun, he probably would have given up on the project. But he wasn't (and all his fiancées praised Kami-sama for that) so he didn't. So far, the best he'd gotten was the ability to "bleed" small (but increasing) traces of mana into some of his pre-learned ki techniques in ways that complimented them. For instance, the Hiryu Shoten Ha was one of his more potent techniques, but was limited by the fact it needed both "cold" ki and "hot" ki, which meant that the "hotter" an opponent was, the more potent the blast. However, if they weren't emotionally burning, the blast was near harmless.
What Ranma had learned to do was infuse frost magic into his Soul of Ice. By reducing the temperature so drastically (sub-zero temperatures were easily within his reach now) it magnified the contrast to whatever heat his opponent was giving off, thus magnifying its potence. That was the only mana-boosted ki technique he'd really mastered so far. He'd had some results infusing lightning magic into his Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken though. What he was working on now was a way to utilise wind magic, and also to utilise his most basic of ki techniques, the Moko Takabisha, as the basis for a true Mana Technique. That wasn't working out so well.
He stood up, brushed down his saka, shook some water off his hiru and slid into a stance, ready to try again.
"Okay, here we go… Moko Takabisha!"
He reached, not into his ki reserves, but into his mana reserves, but to no effect; he just couldn't "channel" the way he wanted. He scowled in frustration; he could see the patterns, see the similarities, all that remained was to make them align. Some might have asked why he was using "Moko Takabisha" as a name for this new technique, had they done so he would have replied he wasn't, it was just the Moko Takabisha was the closest equivalent to what he wanted to do; siphon raw energy from his reserves and then project it through the air as a missile attack.
That was another similarity magic and martial arts shared; both functioned by channelling energy through the body in specific "patterns" or "programs". Any vocals involved in either primarily served to aid in focusing the mind on the desired pattern. That knowledge wasn't helping Ranma any though.
"MOKO TAKABISHA!"
As he went through the stance, he could feel the mana flowing from his reserves into his body, though it still failed to manifest. Revitalised by this first glimpse of success Ranma tried again.
"MOKO TAKABISHA!"
Finally, success! Ranma could feel the mana flowing from his reserves through his ki channels, manifesting as a glowing orb of blue-silver energy suspended between his palms.
"I- I did it. I did it! I-"
A thunderous rumble distracted him from his success, the energy dissipated as he turned his attention towards the source of the sound; the volume from his last invocation had shaken the mountains around him, which meant that the ledge above was collapsing in an avalanche.
"Oh sh…"
Whatever Ranma was about say was lost as several tons of ice, snow and rock hit him in the face, carrying him down the sheer drop into the jagged, rocky valley so far below. After several long seconds, all was silent again. One would have been forgiven for thinking that such an accident would have been the end of Ranma Saotome when he emerged spitting and cursing from the snowdrift. Of course, they would also be excused for feeling confused/faint when they realised that A: Ranma had literally passed through the snow without so much as a trace and B: Ranma was now semi-transparent and floating about a foot off the ground. He looked at his now see-through limbs and hissed in disgust.
"Man, I hate when this happens. Ah well, best get back to Sliverspine."
Ranma turned and floated towards his "base-camp", where he could restore himself to flesh and blood. One of the best parts about being an Otherworld Mage, as far as Ranma was concerned, was the quasi-immortality granted by having an Altar. Lethal trauma simply transmuted the Mage into an ethereal ghost-like entity of raw magical energy, at the cost of badly draining the Mage's mana reserves. Simply absorbing more mana would restore him to normal. Being no longer bound by the frailties (relatively speaking- this is Ranma Saotome we're talking about) of a physical form, Ranma sped towards his destination at incredible speed, passing through every physical barrier in his way, his mind turning back to the first time this had happened.
He had been forced to lead a small force of warriors to Petroglodyte because a Sorcerer was coming close to reconstructing a long-lost doomsday weapon; a Pyrodraulic Dynamo, a bizarre machine that could convert the ore under the ground's crust into magma, initiating violent volcanic eruptions. After smashing a way through its armour, Ranma had personally led his warriors into the machine to liberate the slaves. Unfortunately, somehow the self-destruct mechanism got activated. Ranma had managed to get all of his warriors and the slaves themselves out, but had been caught inside when the Dynamo detonated.
There had been a blinding flash, and a single moment of intense agony, like when he took a swallow of Akane's cooking, or her mallet hit him in the head. When his vision had cleared, he'd been floating above a deep, still bubbling, pit of molten lava. When he'd realised that he was actually dead, he'd gotten (much to his embarrassment) somewhat hysterical before Yuki and Yiku had shown him how to reconstitute himself. Since that day, he'd died a few times; he might be effectively invincible in combat, but carefully planned spells could still hit and injure him. As always, he could never be beaten the same way twice. Ranma shook the thoughts out of his head as Sliverspine appeared in his vision.
2 Weeks Later…Despite the rather disparaging events of his first success, Ranma was quite elated with the way things had progressed from there; he now had three true Mana Techniques- the Heaven's Wrath Streamer, a continuous stream of lightning that blasted from the user's palm, the Wind Blade, which allowed him to manipulate the wind to produce barely visible discs and spears that either bludgeoned, pierced or slashed the target, and the Frost Nova, an unstable globe of frigid mana that burst outwards as a freezing explosion when it hit its target. He was currently working on a fourth technique, which was why he'd climbed all the way to the top of Dalara Peaks this morning.
His Mana Techniques weren't the only things he was progressing with though; Ranma was now a 5th-level Elementalist, which meant that there was a celebratory party planned for him Castle de'Cuckoo. It wasn't anything especially noteworthy; it happened for all Otherworld Mages and was sign of recognition and congratulations that they were halfway there on the path to Archmage. Speaking of which…
Oh crud, the party! I'd almost forgotten about it! I'll never make it there on foot… wait… this looks like an ideal time to test my new technique…
Ranma turned towards the ledge, beyond which he could dimly see the island of Castle de'Cuckoo looming through the mist and fog.
Here goes nothing…Without a single hesitation, Ranma jogged towards the ledge and dived off. An instant later he rose back upwards and then flew off towards Castle de'Cuckoo, his triumphant exultation echoing through the air.
"Yahoo! It works! It actually works! Yes!"
Ranma was no stranger to auras; they were, in a way, his speciality. But the aura he was currently wrapped in was very different to what he considered "normal". Its colour was rich and silvery, far different to the intense blue of a battle aura or the deep red-tinged black of a rage aura and, rather than surging outwards like a cloud or billowing flame, it was tightly cropped and held closely to his body. Or so it seemed at first glance; a second, deeper look would have revealed that, from his shoulders, the aura flared out as a pair of massive wings, which Ranma was currently using to fly.
In shape, they were mostly formless, reminiscent of the wings of a Cloud-Manta, but Ranma was confident that, as he perfected the technique, they would become much more distinct. This was his first real success at truly blending mana and ki; though he had been able to infuse trace elements of mana into his ki attacks, and to use his ki attacks as basis for new "spells", he hadn't been able to truly merge the two into a single coherent energy source before.
Ranma swallowed the flush of triumph as the multitude of illogically twisting spires that composed Castle de'Cuckoo came into view. His mind now firmly on other matters, he soared towards the appropriate- yard? Window? He was unsure what to call it, but any concerns vanished at the sight of the party laid out in his honour- the first and only one of its kind he had ever experienced.
"I call a toast to our new brother-in-magic! To Sanma Raotome! No, to Rantome Saoma! No, uh, to, uh, ah, forget it, I need another drink."
The drunken head of the 5th-levels forgot what she was trying to say and grabbed for another tankard of the various rich alcohols imported from Elysium. Or raided from Elysium at least; Ranma had stolen these kegs himself, which was really aiding his popularity with the other 5th-levels. Ranma himself barely touched the alcohols; he'd seen the effects of drinking on his father, Soun and Happosai too often before to ever want to get truly drunk. Instead, he directed most of his attention towards the various Empyrean delicacies on the table; Phlog sashimi, Fall-Clams in piquant sauce, venison, game birds and a variety of other foods.
The party progressed quite amiably, with Ranma feeling like every single member of the 5th-levels had congratulated him on his prowess. Eventually, the party began to die down as most of the guests either fell asleep, passed out in drunken stupors, or stumbled away into suitably dark places for some "fun time" with their chosen partners. Ranma didn't even bother looking after those who left; it wasn't exactly uncommon in Otherworld Mage Schools, and amongst the other education Ranma had gained was actual sex education, rather than the childhood nonsense Genma had fed to him. Of course, seeing them stumbling away in couples brought his own fiancées to mind, and he remained lost in thought, idly picking at the remnants of the feast, until two of his fellows stumbled towards him.
Ranma had once had an extremely vivid nightmare, brought on by some of Akane's more deceptively tasteful food, where his girl-side and Ryoga had a baby together. Chano looked exactly like that fictitious child (and Ranma would ensure it stayed fictitious, he'd given Ryoga a particularly vicious thrashing in retaliation for that dream the next time he'd been attacked by him), though with the addition of bat-like wings, a second pair of arms and with green eyes. His girlfriend, Syra, was even stranger; black-skinned humanoid from the waist up, from the waist down she resembled some sort of crossbreed between a spider and a scorpion, with numerous glowing yellow jewel-like growths scattered across her body. Ranma had seen the two before, and talked to them on occasion; they were two of the Elementalists who'd been studying his curse.
"We've found it! We've got it figured out at last! We just need to use the paradoxical overload system!"
"What are you talking about?"
Ranma asked in confusion.
"Your curse, we've figured out the cure!"
"You've what!"
"It's so obvious we should have seen it right from the start! Now, the curse is a triggered spell, right? Cold water activates, hot water deactivates, like flipping a switch. Well, theoretically, if we subject you to both at one, the resultant logic paradox would causes the spell to burn up its energy, thus dispelling the curse and restoring you to normal! Well, relatively speaking anyway."
Ranma was speechless; after all this time, after all the pain and embarrassment, crushed hopes and broken dreams, could it be that his cure was finally at hand? Chano and Syra grinned at him.
"Well, what are you waiting for? To the baths!"
At a speed even Ranma had to admit was impressive, they lunged forward, seized him by the arms and raced away half-carrying and half-dragging him to one of the many hot-spring baths in Castle de'Cuckoo.
Hot springs aren't too common naturally in Empyrea; minimal volcanic activity and primarily vertical terrain meant that most natural sources of heated water couldn't get to the surface. Most hot-springs are thus artificial, created by Geomancers and Sorcerers hired specifically for that purpose. It's expensive and somewhat problematic, but most Empyreans consider it well worth the difficulties; the only major alternatives are swimming in icy rivers or a particularly unpleasant method consisting of stripping naked then rolling around in the snow.
All of this passed through Ranma's head as Chano and Syra burst through the doors and then bodily hurled him into the steaming water. Ranma's martial arts training saved him from any potential injuries that might have occurred, but a sudden dunking isn't exactly pleasant. Ranma surfaced, spitting out the water he'd accidentally sucked into his lungs, but was prevented from saying anything to the pair as Syra grabbed a bucket of cold water and dumped it over his head.
Ranma stifled a scream as the normal tingle resulting from the curse's activation was replaced instead by a tremendous pressure inside his head and savage surges of pain through his body. The pressure grew, the pain intensifying, until Ranma thought his head was about to burst like a rotten egg. Then, suddenly, it faded away. Chano and Syra smiled at him.
"That's it, the curse is broken… you're cured."
Ranma just stared at them silently, then got out of the bath, picked up another pail of cold water and dumped it over himself. When a look in a mirror confirmed he was still himself, he burst out laughing in pure, harmonious joy.
6 Weeks Later…"Their defences are broken! Smash the wall!"
Ranma cried. At his orders, his "strike team", consisting of 6 Storm Giants and 3 Yetis, charged forward and, in unison, smashed into the solid stonewall that encircled the castle of Yasman, a Geomancer of Decennia. It was a testament to both Yasman's magical prowess and to the construction skill of the Glebe that the wall withstood the impact of close to a dozen tons of solid muscle, though massive cracks split the unyielding rock. It also managed to withstand a second barrage before the third blow finally smashed a gaping hole through the solid rock, the wall collapsing behind them as Ranma's strike team surged into the courtyard.
Ranma, now a 7th-level Elementalist, and his Manahoars (he now had eight of the little creatures) charged over the rubble, his army eagerly racing behind him. Within the fortress, the fighting took on a particularly bloody turn. Frostwolves and Troggs savagely hacked and bashed each other; Storm Giants grappled with Taurocks and Seraphs ensnared Flummoxes in their webs and dragged them into the sky before dropping them to their doom.
Ranma grinned savagely when a cluster of boulders suddenly transformed themselves into Earthflings; he quickly called up a spell. Something resembling a large snowflake materialised in his right hand, which he threw at the Earthflings. It embedded itself into the ground within their ranks then erupted into a swirling vortex of large and jagged chunks of ice, savagely slashing and bludgeoning them to death.
Ranma's martial artist sixth sense suddenly screamed a warning at him. As Yasman gestured, conjuring impaling stalagmites that surged from the ground in a line from him to Ranma, Ranma himself effortlessly leapt over them. He easily landed on his feet in front of Yasman and grinned at him. Yasman angrily babbled at him in some tongue Ranma didn't recognize, then drew a spiked club and attacked.
Ranma decided to toy with the furious Geomancer; he couldn't hit Ranma and whilst he was trying he wasn't supporting his own minions with his Geomancy. Yasman roared in rage as Ranma effortlessly dodged or blocked his every attack whilst never making an attack of his own. When his sixth sense suddenly screamed at him to get out of their, Ranma instantly fell upon his instincts; he smashed Yasman's club into splinters and then backflipped away from him, landing some 30 metres away as a Flurry's Storm Crystal landed directly on top of Yasman. Yasman was badly injured by the implosion but survived, whilst his Manahoars were crushed into gravel.
Yasman roared in rage and fury as he realised his forces were losing, desperately he reclaimed the souls of his Manahoars and retreated, Ranma's forces pursuing him, knowing that he would be heading for the most precious and powerful object an Otherworld Mage had; his Altar. To win this little brush-war, Ranma had to desecrate Yasman's Altar. It wouldn't kill him- James would simply resurrect him elsewhere- but it would banish him from Decennia long enough for Ranma to accomplish his business.
As Yasman tried desperately to rally his forces in a last-ditch defense, Ranma's strike team suddenly reappeared, most likely having crushed, maimed or gutted every other defender elsewhere. Yasman unleashed a shower of razor-sharp rock shards at Gorehorn, the first summoned (and apparently nastiest) of Ranma's Yetis. Though the spell inflicted numerous vicious gashes and cuts, all they seemed to do was worsen the already nasty temperament of the notoriously savage and brutal beast. As Gorehorn did his best to rip Yasman's head off and eat it, Ranma summoned a Sac-Doctor with the Conversion spell.
The Sac-Doctor grabbed a mortally wounded Storm Giant and carried it over to Yasman's Altar, where it floated to the position above the flume of purified mana spewing from the center of the Altar. An intense storm of magical energy burst into existence around the Altar, a beam of crackling energy arcing from the spasmodically jerking body of the Storm Giant to impact with Yasman, who screamed once in defiance before Gorehorn seized the advantage of his momentary distraction to gut him with a tusk. Yasman's body slumped to the ground and disappeared in a surge of mana as the Storm Giant's corpse exploded in a shower of blood, its essence pouring into Ranma as the Altar disintegrated into nothing. Ranma and his followers raised their voice in a roar of triumph as Yasman's surviving forces either fled or surrendered.
2 Weeks Later…The ceremony officially decreeing Ranma Saotome a 10th-level Elementalist was jam-packed. Everybody seemed to want to see the guy who'd clawed his way up the ranks from no power to complete master of magic in half a year. It was an unheard of achievement, never before accomplished by any Mage for any God. Stratos himself had materialised to conduct the ceremony, that's how unusual and noteworthy this was.
Ranma himself had barely spoken a word through the ceremony –not that he was really needed to speak at all- and kept his silence through the subsequent meal. He didn't eat much either- primarily because a massive feast was being prepared for him back in Sliverspine, all of his followers trekking from across Dalara Peaks to be there for him before he returned to his home plane.
And that was what was bothering him: when he'd come to Otherworld, Ranma had only wanted to get home again. But now that he'd been here for 6 months, Ranma wasn't so sure he wanted to go back. At the very least, he didn't like the idea of abandoning Dalara Peaks. He shifted slightly as he suddenly heard Stratos' voice inside his head, not for the first time.
"Does something trouble you Ranma? You should be feeling happy; you're going home at last."
"I know, but, I…"
"You don't want to leave Dalara Peaks, do you? You will miss your followers and controlling your territory, won't you?"
"Yes."
"You needn't be so sad. The spell does work both ways; you can return to Otherworld as easily as you leave it. Do not worry; I will leave Dalara Peaks as your demesne until and unless you decide to abandon it permanently. Now go, return to your followers- they will want to say goodbye to you in their own way before you leave."
Ranma nodded silently, in a much less melancholy mood, then excused himself from the party. He called up his wings of mana and ki and softly flew away to Dalara Peaks.
Wow, this is longest chapter to date. Ranma heads home to Nerima at last. But how will the Nerima Wrecking Crew take this new Martial Mage Ranma? Will Ranma ever deign to share his secret of how to cure a Jusenkyo curse? How will Kasumi take to a sudden infestation of Manahoars? Will Kuno change his title or will Ranma electrocute him to death first? Find out in the next chapter! Review please, and remember that I'm always open to suggestions.
These are just things I thought up for this fic, they're not supposed to be based on/named after real things.
Saka: a piece of clothing developed and utilised in Empyrea, almost always enchanted with the Water Repulsion spell. In appearance it vaguely resembles the bastard offspring of a t-shirt and a poncho; an extremely loose, almost blanket-like garb that is pulled on over the head and worn over normal clothing, with wide sleeves that can easily conceal a variety of items, that drapes across the wearer in numerous folds. Its design and material serves to keep heat in and water out, essential in Empyrea's cold, damp climate.
Hiru: an Empyrean hat, noted for its waterproofing and ability to retain warmth and distinguished by its meter-wide (at minimum) flexible brim. This causes the semi-constant rain and snow of Empyrea to simply drop off a safe distance from the wearer's body.
Cloud-Manta: a large air-breathing manta ray that soars through the clouds. A peaceful and gentle creature that feeds by skimming through clouds, sometimes tamed as steeds for couriers or, more rarely, aerial warriors.
Phlog: take an ordinary wild goldfish and pump it up until it's a meter long. Give it the fangs of a barracuda, the tongue of a chameleon, spined fins and powerful frog-like legs that allow it to move about on land (albeit temporarily). Fairly common and quite tasty, though it can be mildly poisonous if prepared improperly.
Fall-Clams: these massive oyster-like shellfish are harvested for both their meat and their pearls. They get their name because they favour growing on the rocks beneath and up salt-waterfalls.
Oh, a just a little side-note describing what the Manahoars and Sac-Doctors of each God look like in this fic.
Stratos:
Manahoar: picture the love child of Ryo-Ohki (from Tenchi Muyo!) and a System Bug (from Oh My Goddess!), basically an eight-legged cabbit wearing a tiara.
Sac-Doctor: a humanoid vortex of lightning, ice chunks and wind.
Charnel:
Manahoar: a repulsive amalgamation of diseased, furless monkey, lizard, rat and some sort of flying insect.
Sac-Doctor: a bloodstained humanoid in a grisly "tribal" mask decked with body parts and carrying a BIG needle.
James:
Manahoar: a vaguely dome-shaped rock the size of a football with four insectile legs on its underside and veins of crystal running through it.
Sac-Doctor: a vaguely humanoid mound of earth and stones.
Persephone:
Manahoar: faceless, winged "angelic" humanoids.
Sac-Doctor: hooded, robed figures.
Pyro:
Manahoar: an insectile mechanoid.
Sac-Doctor: a wheezing, clanking steam or clockwork-powered mechanoid with assorted tools.