Sword and Sorcery Chapter 3 by D.Fire phongb9@idt.net Sifting through the remains of the house was not the most pleasant task Ranma had ever done. After she had carried old Master Hariule's body into a cleared area, she steeled herself to the horrific task ahead. It did not help that everywhere she turned, an object would show up, making her recall memories of happier times. 'None of this stuff is really salvageable,' she thought with regret. 'It's probably best to let the dead rest with the dead.' She scrambled through piles of debris to pick out whatever momentos she could. 'Master Hariule never gave me much in the way of worldly possessions. All my clothes are well hidden in a dimensional pocket. The only other thing he gave me was his knowledge, which I will always have.' Sighing, she wondered, 'Who did this? Who killed you, Poppa?' Fortunately, Master Hariule kept his important works and tomes down in the basement lab. When the rest of the house was trashed, his legacy along with herself were kept safe and sound underground by magical wards and protection spells. Walking over to entrance of the basement, Ranma called down, "Azure! I need to close up the basement for a little bit. So don't worry." An answering yowl of acknowledgment came back from below. Stepping back from the entrance, Ranma intoned, "Ubina Saphaerus" and made a sweeping gesture against the remains of the doorway. There was no visible effect. Continuing, she spoke the words, "Lairun Sirus". The effect this time was very apparent as a great wind rushed down from the heavens forming into a miniature tornado. The tornado sucked the doorway and the surrounding debris into the upper part of its funnel, leaving bare ground around a perfectly rectangular hole. Gently gesturing, she directed the funnel away, and after designating a spot as a final dumping ground, she released the spell gently, lowering the debris to the ground. Stepping over to the hole, she summoned a paintbrush to her right hand and a can of red paint to her left. Using the paintbrush, she dabbed paint around the perimeter of the hole, and after stepping back, she began her spell. "Door of magic, Door of light, Dimensions across ether beyond. Appear to seal, MARUS VIENE!" The hole began glowing in an unnatural light as the ambient light rushed together. In a glow too bright to look at, a door formed over the hole. The door revealed by the dying light shined with a metallic sheen. A key stuck out of the lock by the handle. 'Now to test it,' Ranma thought. She bent over the closed door and twisted the key, locking the door. Removing the key, she waited. At first nothing happened, but then the door and the hole it covered faded away, leaving bare, non-descript ground. 'Yup, still got it!' she gleefully thought, but then she sobered. 'Now to deal with the rest of the mess.' She walked sonorously away from the house environs, and when she was far enough away, she began her final spell. "Restore from the heavens, Restore from nature's life, Let all be as before man, Hirus Viene Ioli Nar." She stood there rock-still with eyes closed as she waited. No light accompanied her spell this time, but shortly a gentle breeze blew throughout the area. Gradually, all traces of the house and the battle that took place faded away, to be replaced with grass, trees, and flowers. The crater that was once a lake refilled itself with water. Soon after, all that remained of the house site was a densely overgrown wood. In the silence of the woods, she could hear no birds and no animals, but that was expected. In was within her power to restore the land, but not to restore the animal life lost. But soon enough, she knew, life would come back this place. Ranma, weakened, fell to her knees. 'Oops, overextended myself. What would Poppa think?' This brought home the fact that Poppa was no longer around and would never be again. With tears brimming, she willed herself, 'No! I will not cry anymore. Guys don't cry!' Clasping her knees to her chest, she gave in to her sorrow as she rocked back and forth, weeping silently. Eventually, she could cry no more. *** Azure crouched within the magic circle of chalk as the door to above finally creaked open. Perking up his ears, he heard the measured steps of Raeni as she came down the stairwell. But something was different about her. She walked unlike before. The rhythm was the same, but he found it hard to actually hear her footsteps. Where before, she had the light tread of a graceful young girl, she now had the grace of, well, a cat. Something had changed. As Raeni entered the room with a tray laden with food, she said with false cheer, "Here ya go, Azure. Here's the little snack I promised you." Ignoring the slight discrepancy over the more immediate need of hunger, Azure leapt to his feet and ravenously attacked the meal before him. he replied. As he wolfed down the fish before him, Raeni came over to his side. "You are beautiful, Azure," she softly said, as she stroked his fur. "You were just cute before, but now you're beautiful. Ironic though. I could never before appreciate feline grace. I can't believe my familiar is a big cat." She paused in a silence broken only by the sounds of Azure feasting. Then she continued, "Let me tell you a story, Azure. I'm sure you'll appreciate the irony." "There once lived a boy in a world very much different ours. He was born to a horrible father. His father of course loved him, but he didn't have a single clue how to raise a child. This father was a strong fighter, and when the boy was five years old, his father took him on a ten-year-long training trip. "On this trip, the boy learned many fighting techniques. One of the earliest he learned had to do with cats. The father foolishly trained his son with some lame instructions found in an old manuscript. The directions told the father to wrap his son in meat sausages and fish and throw him into a pit of hungry cats. "Not knowing any better, or knowing but not caring, the father did as the instructions bid. He threw his son, laden with sausages, into the pit over a dozen times. Each time, the boy would come out the pit crying, scratched, and bleeding, and each time the father wrapped the child again and threw him back in. "Is it any surprise that the child eventually grew up with an extreme fear of cats? Then the boy eventually came to this world, where he met an old man. "The old man had a cat for a friend, and for a time, the little boy was afraid without reason, because he could not remember his old world. Without past memory, he and the cat could become friends, although it took much time and patience. Then one day, the old man died. Raeni paused in her telling as her throat threatened to tighten up. "But... but... the old man's cat still had life. The cat now became the boy's pet, even though the boy now remembered his past fears. It turns out that he had a cat's soul after all. For all this time, he had been afraid of himself. For a while, the two sat there in silence, master and familiar, but then Azure asked, "Not quite, Azure. That little boy was named Ranma." She paused as she struggled to impart emotion in her next words. "Ranma is a part of me. Raeni is a part of me as well. But Ranma is not Raeni." "It's been hard, dealing with all these old memories. Half of me is disgusted with what I've become. Half of me is disgusted at what I was. Poppa was so different from what Pops was." Raeni got to her feet, as she brushed the cat hair from her dress. "Are you done yet, Azure? We have business upstairs. Come." Turning away, she headed towards the stairs. Then she turned back, saying in her cutest voice, "Or does widdle baby want mommy to carry you?" Azure mock-growled in reply as he chased Raeni up the stairs. *** The body of old Master Hariule lay on top of a bier of wood in a small clearing in the woods. A white sheet covered most of his body, leaving only his face uncovered. Although a soft breeze whistled through the forest, not a hair on head moved, nor did the sheet rustle. Raeni and Azure stood before the body, with heads bowed in silent prayer. They remained this way until Raeni broke the silence. "Are you ready, Azure?" At an almost imperceptible nod of his head, Raeni brought forth her hand with palm faced toward the funeral pyre. "Know this, beloved Master. Your soul shall rest in peace. I will seek out thy murderer and bring justice to the deserving." Pausing, she concentrated and ... came Azure's voice in her head. Broken out of her concentration, Raeni scowled at Azure, "What is it? Why did you stop me?" "Of course you do. Whatever killed Master Hariule really did a number on him at close-quarters." Leaving Raeni's side, Azure stalked up to the body and closely sniffed around it. Zooming in on the right hand, he said, Raeni walked over to Master Hariule and picked up his left hand. "Oops." Correcting her mistake, she brought up the old sorcerer's right hand and inspected it closely. There, imbedded in the palm. Something small and white protruded from the skin. Taking out a silk handkerchief, she gently pried out the offending item. "You're right, there was something there." It was small and triangular in shape. "It looks like a ... tooth? Eww, gross. Something was eating Master Hariule?! Well, hopefully, this will enough. Smell anything else?" Going once more around Master Hariule, Azure came back to Raeni. He shook his head saying, Gently petting Azure's head, Raeni said, "Now let's send poor Master Hariule to his rest." The two went back to their previous positions. Raeni closed her eyes and concentrated, speaking the word, "Oru". Nothing happened. Raeni's eyes popped open as she looked incredulously at her hand. Aiming once more at the funeral pyre, she once again said, "ORU!". Still nothing happened. Azure worriedly asked. "I ... I don't know." Raeni fell to her knees in shock. Shaking her head, she went into a trance. A moment later, her eyes opened with a dead quality to them. "I'm out," she said hoarsely. "I'm all tapped out. This is so unfair! I can't even send Master Hariule off to his eternal rest!" Azure said soothingly. "But what am I going to do?" she cried, throwing her arms around Azure's neck. "I need a magical fire to light the logs." Azure contemplated for a moment, and then he said, Raeni opened her eyes to see what he was talking about. Tiny lights of many different colors surrounded the two of them. "Ah, elementals. Thank you for calling them, Azure." She stood up, not hearing his return thought, "Please," she begged of the glowing lights, "I need a little fire so that I may send my master to his afterlife. I can't give you anything now, but I promise to make it up to you." The lights continued to swirl in contemplation. Suddenly, a group of them, predominantly red and orange in color, broke away from the rest and sped over to the funeral pyre. A moment later, smoke rose from the logs, and soon after, a magnificent bonfire raged. Solemnly, Raeni said with gratitude, "Thank you, my friends." The lights continued to dance around the two of them and in and around the funeral flame, as night slowly fell. OMAKE A chibi-Raeni-chan chases a chibi-Ranma-kun on the stage with mallet in hand. We can tell it's chibi-Raeni-chan because she is female, wears a dress, and has loose flowing hair. Chibi-Ranma-kun is seen to have many lumps on his head as he tries to fend off the mallet. CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: Puff. Puff. Stay still you. CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: No way! Do you think I like getting hit? Besides we BOTH have to do this omake. CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: Oh, very well. [Puts down mallet.] CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: Today, we saw that Raeni here does have a limit to her power. CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: [Picks up mallet and whacks Ranma.] Ahem, that's not what this omake is about. What we really saw is a new form of magic, namely that of elementals. As you recall, I had to promise them something for them to work for me. CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: [sotto voice] Yeah, right. I saw you begging them to work. CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: [Whacks Ranma again.] Anyway, this system of magic is called Barter Magic. In essence, an equal exchange of services. CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: And what are you going to do for them anyway. Kill them and set them aflame. CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: Shut! UP! [Once again whacks Ranma.] CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: Will you cut that out? [Grabs mallet out of Raeni's hands and whacks Raeni.] CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: HEY! I thought you didn't hit girls [Grabs back mallet and whams Ranma]. CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: Ha, technical loophole. You're me, so you're really a guy! [Grabs mallet again and whacks Raeni]. CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: Why, you!! [Wham] CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: You hit like a girl [Boom] CHIBI-RAENI-CHAN: Sukebe Hentai! [Crash] CHIBI-RANMA-KUN: Kawaikunee! [Crack] Scene pans out as sound effects continue. Words appear on the screen. "WE'RE SORRY. WE ARE UNABLE TO CONTINUE DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES."