Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Wild Stallion and the Drow ❯ Chapter 9 (I ran out of witty titles for the moment) ( Chapter 9 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Maj_Scooter 
Anime/Manga: Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 09.05.2005 | Updated On: 10.25.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Crossover With Non-anime Series Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Adventure / Action | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 09.05.2005 | Updated On: 10.25.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 1.7K | Status: Completed
AN: All references to the Knights of Solamnia are based off of the 2nd Edition AD&D "Dragonlance" sourcebook and Tales of Krynn anthologies, that unfortunately I don't have with me at the moment. So that includes racial and gender bias, that I recall. After all I am in the big Sandbox in the Middle East.
**********
The trio of teens walked up the path from the bus stop to the shrine. They were escorted, sight unseen, by a squad of infantry. Both Ranma and Eilistraee knew they were there, just by whispers of ki that they felt. Almost unconsciously, their hands slipped together, as they followed the path. Nabiki, a couple of meters behind them, smiled when she saw that gesture. To her, the pigtailed storm of Chaos that entered her life a year and a half ago was showing significant promise in growing up.
As they approached the house, there were the beginnings of a fortified wall going up. A tent city had sprung up, and was being formalized. All told, the Shrine was beginning to look almost like a fortified Roman camp. "Looks like they're getting ready for a siege," Ranma remarked. The house was getting its own additions.
"Or a war at the very least," Eilistraee commented back. "I wonder what prompted all this construction."
"Maybe it was the attack the other night?" Nabiki asked. "Perhaps Crystina doesn't want us to be ambushed like we were."
"Hail, and well met Lady Eilistraee, Lady Nabiki, Lord Ranma," the aforementioned almost-Solamnic Knight said, riding up. She nodded, having caught Nabiki's last statement. "She speaks the truth, milady. I would rather have palisades and towers at the very least around the house. While you were in town, we captured a few survivors from the raiding party the other night, so it seemed prudent to begin fortifications, in case your mother decided to stage another attack. And I don't know if we have the luxury of reinforcement from either my father or Evermeet, so I need to be able to protect our small force here."
Ranma nodded in assent. Already his mind, well trained in martial arts, was beginning to apply what he'd learned in history class to the defenses of the shrine. "I like it. ‘The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy,'" he quoted one of his favorite authors. "As long as we have adequate provisions to last a long siege, then we'll let your mother's forces defeat themselves." He looked around at the surrounding hills. "I assume you're going to place observation posts in the hills?"
"I had thought about it, Lord Ranma, but when fighting the drow, observation posts could prove to be a hindrance as well as a benefit. My father has almost three-score years of combat under his belt. He taught me well in the art of warfare. And I've noted that the high ground around is insufficient for channeling the drow."
"And if we have to fall back?"
"I have boats being built for that eventuality, m'Lord," Crystina replied. "There is the possibility of failure in any operation. That was another thing my father taught me."
Eilistraee nodded. "Very well, then. Lady Crystina, we shan't keep you any longer from your preparations." The trio headed into the house, leaving the half-elf to oversee the defenses of the shrine.
************
With their homework out of the way, Ranma, Eilistraee and Nabiki went their separate ways before dinner. Ranma was at the training grounds, sparring with Crystina. The two were battling with training swords, their bundled wooden lathes cracking against the other's. Training and work had stopped as the elves and humans watched Eilistraee's consort and the commander of the garrison spar.
Ranma was all over the place, utilizing his unrecognized status as Master of Musabetsu Kakutou, his skills far outshining his father's or even the Perverted Master. Crystina, for her part, had never faced such an unconventional warrior before. Leading the patrols around her father's manor outside Waterdeep, she'd fought brigands or the occasional orc or goblin band. Once, there was drow raid that had to be fought off, and that was as close to exceptionally trained as she came. But Crystina recognized that Ranma was an exceptional warrior, one worthy of being called a warrior, even though he was hiding his remorse at killing the other night. She'd seen it as well, when newly trained fighters made their first kill.
Ducking under the half-elven Knight's high slash, Ranma followed through with a leg sweep. Crystina went down, and, as the pigtailed fighter placed the tip of his training sword against her throat, she conceded. "Well fought, m'Lord," she said, accepting Ranma's offered hand.
He bowed to his opponent. "Well fought, Lady Crystina," he said. She had managed to score a couple of hits against him, but none that would have been killing or disabling. It was the best thing he could do, was to train with the various soldiers on the Shrine. The companies from Evermeet fought with tactics he was familiar with, and had been trained in by Eilistraee. The companies that Crystina brought with her all had similar skills, but each soldier fought his own particular way. So it was refreshing to the young pigtailed warrior that each sparring partner had their own variations on styles. At least, for him it wasn't P-chan's constant attacks, or Kuno's staid technique with a katana, or even Akane's lack of skill in anything, including trust.
Crystina smirked at her opponent. "Perhaps m'Lord would like to try his skill on horseback?"
Ranma looked sheepishly at the Knight. "Ah...that's okay. I, ah, never had much luck riding horses."
"Well then, m'Lord, we'll just have to get you used to riding first. After all, even the great samurai of this country were also skilled horsemen."
Ranma was about to refute, when his stomach made its presence known. "Ah...it must be dinner time." Saved by the growl, he thought, as he headed back to the house.
Crystina smiled. "So, the Wild Horse is afraid of horses," she said mirthfully in Japanese.
************
Sitting in the old shrine office, Eilistraee was meditating on life. And as she was doing so, she allowed part of her consciousness to seep into the ground surrounding the shrine, creating the wards that would protect against scrying and sound the alarm in the event of an attack.
On a higher plane, more specifically in Toltiir's Well, part of Eilistraee's consciousness sent a message to Paladine, the Platinum Dragon and patron of the Solamnic Knights. It wasn't too long that an elderly wizard in mousy grey robes appeared. Eilistraee sipped from a mug of evermead, as the disguised deity walked over to her. "Hail and well met, Lord Paladine," she said.
"And to you, Lady Eilistraee," he replied, accepting a glass of Chianti from the Elder God of Chaos and bartender. "To what do I have the honor of the company of the Patroness of Good Drow this evening?"
"I have a favor to ask of you. There is currently in my service, the daughter of a Solamnic Knight..."
"Ah, yes; the Al'Ralgha girl. I've heard her father's prayers many times, wishing that she could be granted full knighthood." Paladine smiled into his wine. "I remember a story of a half-kender who tried to be a knight sometime after the Cataclysm. It was my desire that the Council allow any worthy of Knighthood, but I never explained it explicitly to them. Something I'll have to rectify. And let it be known that on this day, Lady Crystina Al'Ralgha has all the privileges, duties and responsibilities as a Knight of the Rose.
"Your father told me about the battle outside your new shrine the other day. He was most impressed in your consort's performance. Corellon said something about young Ranma living up to his expectations."
Eilistraee sipped her evermead, in quiet contemplation. "I thank you, Paladine. Your blessing on Crystina will be a relief on the young half-elfmaid. And on her father, as well."
"You're most welcome, Eilistraee. And I thank you for the glass of wine. I shall let her father know that his legacy is secure during his evening prayers." With a cloud of smoke, Paladine still sat there, coughing. "I should have known better than to try pyrotechnics and teleporting out of here." With a chuckle, and a smile on Eilistraee's face, the old mage walked out of the bar.
************
Nabiki sat in her room, her cell phone almost plastered to one ear. She was busy checking her messages, and listening to what her crew had to report at Furinkan. She was surprised by her sister's message, but she knew she shouldn't be. Ever since her mother died and her father slowly lost what students he had, Nabiki had been managing the Dojo's books. She'd taken the insurance settlement and placed it into stock and bonds, but with the collapse and devaluation of the yen during the mid-Nineties, what she'd set aside for comfortable maintenance was lost.
Forced to find other ways to make up the difference, Nabiki had been forced to resort to blackmail, loansharking and borderline child pornography to make ends meet. And when the Saotomes and their appetites showed up at their door eighteen months ago, Nabiki had to add Ranma to her list of acceptable customers.
And as they became more comfortable, with the exception of Akane, Nabiki almost realized that Ranma, a world-class martial artist, was allowing her to take the provocative photos of his girl side for Kuno and the rest of the Horde o' Hentai at Furinkan. But the formerly mercenary Tendo never really had the courage to ask her former potential brother-in-law about it, even when they were engaged.
Nabiki dialed her home, and prayed to Eilistraee that her older sister picked up. "Moshe, moshe Tendo-ke," Kasumi answered.
"Kasumi, it's me Nabiki."
"Nabiki! How are you? Where are you?" Kasumi exclaimed, quietly.
"We're fine. We've purchased an old Shinto shrine outside of Okayama that had fallen to ruin with the death of the priest."
"Nabiki, I need to get out of here. Daddy and Uncle Panda are plotting to kidnap Ranma and bring him back and force him to marry Akane. They can't see reality for what it is."
"Sounds like they're still caught up in their dreams of Ranma running the Dojo. I seriously have doubts that they'll be able to do what they want. We've...ah, we've got some friends here that are charged by Eilistraee's father to defend the Shrine."
"Oh my. I hope everything is alright." Nabiki smirked. She knew Kasumi wasn't a vapid airhead, but there were times she slipped back into that role.
"Everything's fine. I doubt Lady Eilistraee will have a problem with you coming down for a visit. I'll let you know what they say, ok?"
"Thank you Nabiki. Don't worry. I'll make sure that Daddy and Uncle Baka Panda don't follow me. Ja!" Kasumi hung up and Nabiki shuddered. "I'd better give Ranma and Eilistraee the
heads up," she muttered, as tantalizing aromas filtered through the house from the kitchen. She headed downstairs, and towards the dining room. Elven and human cooks were busy preparing the evening meals. The smells of roast venison, roasting fowl and a fish stew filled every corner of the first floor of the house. Nabiki's stomach did an embarrassing impersonation of a Saotome's, by making it's presence known. The Japanese drow looked sheepishly around, before grabbing a plate and helping herself to dinner.
Ranma came in and also grabbed a plate and began piling it high with food. He settled down at the dining room table, and began to eat at a rapid, if restrained rate. Eilistraee came in, and settled down with her fiancé and priestess, also with a plate of food. "Ranma," she said, "I thought we were going to work on your table manners. Your panda of a father isn't here to steal your food."
"I know, Eil-chan. I'm slowing down," he replied with all sincerity. Eilistraee just rolled her eyes.
Nabiki looked at her plate. "Eilistraee, Ranma, I have some news from home. Kasumi would like to come down, probably to visit, more likely to get away from Nerima. Of course, the fathers are still stuck in their own little world, and may try to kidnap you, Ranma, and force you to marry Akane."
"Crap," was all that the pigtailed martial artist said.
"As long as the rest of the, what was it you called them? Ah, yes Wrecking Crew, aren't following, I have no problem with..." Eilistraee was interrupted by the wall of the house erupting into smoke and debris. A rather annoyed purple-haired Amazon was standing there, bonbori in hand. Behind her was an amused 3' goblin on a stick. "Can I help you," Eilistraee asked, patiently.
Shampoo advanced menacingly towards the table. "YOU OBSTACLE! YOU I KILL," she shouted. Several elves and humans in the house, getting dinner, dropped their plates and drew all sorts of sharp, pointy instruments of death.
"Ranma," the Drow goddess asked her fiancé, "what is it with you and lunatics?" Ranma gave his one, true love a sheepish grin, and a shrug of his shoulders.
The table exploded into a cloud of splinters, courtesy of one of the Chinese maces. "Hey! Pay attention to me!"
Eilistraee stood, and looked at the Amazon standing there. "Little girl, you dare to challenge me?"
"Ranma Shampoo's airen. You obstacle. You I kill."
"Shampoo," Ranma said, "don't do it. Eilistraee would just as soon kill you as make you an offer you can't refuse. You can't win this fight."
"Shampoo Amazon. Amazons don't fear death."
"Amazon, there was only one person who ever defeated me. And you're a few millennia too young to even try it." Shampoo's response was to try to take the Drow goddess's head off. Eilistraee evaded with a grace that Ranma usually showed. "If you want to try, Amazon, then let us take this outside. I'd rather not damage the house any more." Shampoo nodded, and left through the hole she made. Eilistraee followed, her bastard sword drawn.
Ranma walked over to Cologne. "Elder, try to talk some sense into your granddaughter. If she loses at the best, Eilistraee may take her soul. At the worst, you'll lose an heir."
"It's her fight, Son- Ranma. She is an Amazon warrior, and understands the risks."
"Would it matter if I said that Eilistraee is a goddess?"
"Then it would be an interesting fight to see."
"You don't realize that you're going to lose Shampoo, do you, Elder?" Cologne didn't say anything as the two fighters neared each other.
"Here are my conditions, child," Eilistraee said. "If you lose, then you renounce any claim to my fiancé. And through some fluke, if you should win, I will give up my claim to Ranma." Already, Eilistraee's blade was spinning, moaning dirge-like.
"She's that confident, that she'll win? Impressive. That stance she's in isn't a fencing stance."
"Cologne, she taught me the sword," Ranma said, as he adjusted his scabbard. "And she is a goddess."
"I don't detect anything out of the ordinary about her, Son- Ranma. Three hundred years of experience would tell me something about her. If she were a supernatural being, I'd be able to tell."
Ranma just shrugged, and prepared to have another handmaiden living at the Shrine. He watched as Shampoo pulled out a Chinese broadsword, and assume her stance. "Obstacle," she shouted again, "you die now." She charged Eilistraee, with no control, her emotions ruling her fighting style. For her part, Eilistraee blocked and parried the attacks made by the Amazon, letting Shampoo tire herself out. For the goddess, she wasn't taking the challenge seriously. But after all, she was the elven Goddess of the Sword, so what mortal could defeat her. But all it took was one moment, and Shampoo's sword caught a seam on Eilistraee's blouse, opening up a sleeve.
Eilistraee disengaged, and fingered the cut in her shirt. "Impressive child. Play time is over." It was Shampoo's turn to be on the defensive as the drow goddess pressed her attacks, forcing the Amazon back. Add a little sand kicked into the face of her challenger, and the tip of Eilistraee's blade penetrated right where the shoulder socket was, disabling Shampoo. It wasn't a fatal blow, but her dominant arm suffered severe muscle and nerve damage, that even with care from a competent cleric, it would never be the strong enough to do anything more than write or eat with it. The sword dropped from Shampoo's limp hand, and clattered on the ground.
Shampoo dropped to her knees and looked up at the drow goddess. "I renounce Airen," she said with tears in her eyes.
Eilistraee knelt down next to the Amazon warrior. "Child," she said, "I know what it is like to lose a loved one. I lost Ranma for twelve years." Showing that she was not a sore winner, the goddess placed her hands on the wound she gave Shampoo. Violence was met with violence, and now it was time to aid a former enemy. Chanting a prayer, she healed the wound she'd caused, reversing the damage. "I have talked with Ranma, and he would be glad to have you as a friend, Xian Pu. You realize that the Wild Horse needs to be free, not confined."
"I...I see that now."
Cologne pogo'd up to where the two former combatants were. She was...mildly (read extremely) impressed by the way that the wound was new skin, and her great granddaughter had full control over her injured arm. "Xian Pu, you lost your airen. Do you have anything to say about that?"
"Yes, Great Grandmother. Amazon laws are outdated. We need to change the way we are with the outside world."
"Elder..." Eilistraee started to say.
"Kuh Lon, child," Cologne replied. Eilistraee smirked at that.
"Elder Kuh Lon, may I walk and talk with you?"
"Of course, child. What would you like to talk about?"
"I overheard your conversation earlier with Ranma. He is quite correct, by the way." Eilistraee revealed just a fraction of the power that she was holding on within her. Cologne's eyes bugged out. "Like my fiancé, I don't like to reveal everything at once.
"And before you even think about trying to force me to join your tribe, to make you the most powerful in the world, that kind of thinking is exactly the same thing my mother's followers believe in. And I have been fighting my mother for millennia." Eilistraee's eyes grew hard. "Don't force me to put your tribe in that same category, Elder. I don't think you'd survive."
Cologne sweat dropped as she realized what she was thinking, and it was almost as if the dark goddess in front of her could read the Elder's thoughts. "Perhaps we can talk about an alliance, then? Something mutually beneficial to both of us?"
"I would appreciate that, Elder Cologne," Eilistraee said, leading the Amazon elder back into the house.
Shampoo knelt on ground, tears streaming down her face. She was crying, not that she'd admit it; after all she is an Amazon warrior. She'd lost, not just a fight or sparring match in the village, but her Amazon law husband—the reason for her leaving the village and coming to Japan. To return to the village now would mean dishonor and death. She'd already suffered the consequences for her first failure to bring Ranma back with her. Now losing him a second time, and to one he obviously loved. From what Kasumi had told her, it wouldn't have been so bad if it had been Akane or Ukyo, those two she'd gotten along with in a friendly sort of rivalry for Ranma's affections.
Ranma, for his part, couldn't stand the sight of Shampoo kneeling there, crying. The sight of a woman crying was his one fatal weakness, one he'd never admit to or defeat; it was something that was buried deep in his genetic makeup, and had nothing to do with his upbringing. He knelt down next to her, and pulled the lavender haired Amazon into a friendly embrace. "Shampoo, as much as a pain in the ass you've been for me, as much as if I married you it would be my death sentence, I've always thought of you as a friend." He smiled. "A perky, and bubbly friend, but a friend nonetheless."
"Is true?"
"Very true," he said.
Shampoo stood up, and hugged Ranma. It wasn't a glomp or anything overly romantic. It was just a friendly hug, like she would have given a fellow Amazon. "Shampoo glad I no lose your friendship."
After the Amazons were bedded down for the night, Eilistraee retired upstairs. Nabiki was down by the lake, in prayers, and Ranma was having a quick snack out of the leftovers. "Hello daughter," a familiar voice said from under a cloak.
Eilistraee spun around in the furo. "Father? What are you doing here?"
Corellon lowered the hood, and sat on a convenient stool. "I've been wondering why it's taking my daughter so long to marry her fiancé. So I thought I'd drop in and visit."
Ranma came running into the bathroom, sword in hand, at that moment. "Eil-chan, I thought I felt..." His voice trailed off when he saw the visitor. "Corellon-sama. Forgive my intrusion."
The Father of the Elves smiled. "No, Ranma, it is I who should be forgiving you and my daughter for the intrusion. I see you still carry the sword. I'm surprised that your father hadn't sold it yet."
Ranma chuckled. "He never knew I had it. Heck, I never knew I had it until Eilistraee showed up. Would you two like to be alone while you talk?" Corellon nodded. "I'll see you in bed, a'mael," the pigtailed warrior said, as he withdrew from the bathroom.
"So, Father, what did you want to talk about?"
"You've only been on this plane a few days, and already you've redeemed two lost souls, three if you count Ranma, created a haven for your drow worshippers, and ensured for the continued security of your shrine. I'm very impressed, Daughter."
"I very much doubt you came all this way just to praise me, Father," Eilistraee said, as she leaned against the wall of the tub.
"You're correct," Corellon answered with a stoicism that would make a Vulcan proud.
"So why are you here?"
"I'm here because I'd like to know when you and your fiancé are going to finally settle down and make me some grandchildren." He looked at his black sheep daughter, her face buried in the floor of the tub. "Ouch, that had to hurt."
**********
The trio of teens walked up the path from the bus stop to the shrine. They were escorted, sight unseen, by a squad of infantry. Both Ranma and Eilistraee knew they were there, just by whispers of ki that they felt. Almost unconsciously, their hands slipped together, as they followed the path. Nabiki, a couple of meters behind them, smiled when she saw that gesture. To her, the pigtailed storm of Chaos that entered her life a year and a half ago was showing significant promise in growing up.
As they approached the house, there were the beginnings of a fortified wall going up. A tent city had sprung up, and was being formalized. All told, the Shrine was beginning to look almost like a fortified Roman camp. "Looks like they're getting ready for a siege," Ranma remarked. The house was getting its own additions.
"Or a war at the very least," Eilistraee commented back. "I wonder what prompted all this construction."
"Maybe it was the attack the other night?" Nabiki asked. "Perhaps Crystina doesn't want us to be ambushed like we were."
"Hail, and well met Lady Eilistraee, Lady Nabiki, Lord Ranma," the aforementioned almost-Solamnic Knight said, riding up. She nodded, having caught Nabiki's last statement. "She speaks the truth, milady. I would rather have palisades and towers at the very least around the house. While you were in town, we captured a few survivors from the raiding party the other night, so it seemed prudent to begin fortifications, in case your mother decided to stage another attack. And I don't know if we have the luxury of reinforcement from either my father or Evermeet, so I need to be able to protect our small force here."
Ranma nodded in assent. Already his mind, well trained in martial arts, was beginning to apply what he'd learned in history class to the defenses of the shrine. "I like it. ‘The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy,'" he quoted one of his favorite authors. "As long as we have adequate provisions to last a long siege, then we'll let your mother's forces defeat themselves." He looked around at the surrounding hills. "I assume you're going to place observation posts in the hills?"
"I had thought about it, Lord Ranma, but when fighting the drow, observation posts could prove to be a hindrance as well as a benefit. My father has almost three-score years of combat under his belt. He taught me well in the art of warfare. And I've noted that the high ground around is insufficient for channeling the drow."
"And if we have to fall back?"
"I have boats being built for that eventuality, m'Lord," Crystina replied. "There is the possibility of failure in any operation. That was another thing my father taught me."
Eilistraee nodded. "Very well, then. Lady Crystina, we shan't keep you any longer from your preparations." The trio headed into the house, leaving the half-elf to oversee the defenses of the shrine.
************
With their homework out of the way, Ranma, Eilistraee and Nabiki went their separate ways before dinner. Ranma was at the training grounds, sparring with Crystina. The two were battling with training swords, their bundled wooden lathes cracking against the other's. Training and work had stopped as the elves and humans watched Eilistraee's consort and the commander of the garrison spar.
Ranma was all over the place, utilizing his unrecognized status as Master of Musabetsu Kakutou, his skills far outshining his father's or even the Perverted Master. Crystina, for her part, had never faced such an unconventional warrior before. Leading the patrols around her father's manor outside Waterdeep, she'd fought brigands or the occasional orc or goblin band. Once, there was drow raid that had to be fought off, and that was as close to exceptionally trained as she came. But Crystina recognized that Ranma was an exceptional warrior, one worthy of being called a warrior, even though he was hiding his remorse at killing the other night. She'd seen it as well, when newly trained fighters made their first kill.
Ducking under the half-elven Knight's high slash, Ranma followed through with a leg sweep. Crystina went down, and, as the pigtailed fighter placed the tip of his training sword against her throat, she conceded. "Well fought, m'Lord," she said, accepting Ranma's offered hand.
He bowed to his opponent. "Well fought, Lady Crystina," he said. She had managed to score a couple of hits against him, but none that would have been killing or disabling. It was the best thing he could do, was to train with the various soldiers on the Shrine. The companies from Evermeet fought with tactics he was familiar with, and had been trained in by Eilistraee. The companies that Crystina brought with her all had similar skills, but each soldier fought his own particular way. So it was refreshing to the young pigtailed warrior that each sparring partner had their own variations on styles. At least, for him it wasn't P-chan's constant attacks, or Kuno's staid technique with a katana, or even Akane's lack of skill in anything, including trust.
Crystina smirked at her opponent. "Perhaps m'Lord would like to try his skill on horseback?"
Ranma looked sheepishly at the Knight. "Ah...that's okay. I, ah, never had much luck riding horses."
"Well then, m'Lord, we'll just have to get you used to riding first. After all, even the great samurai of this country were also skilled horsemen."
Ranma was about to refute, when his stomach made its presence known. "Ah...it must be dinner time." Saved by the growl, he thought, as he headed back to the house.
Crystina smiled. "So, the Wild Horse is afraid of horses," she said mirthfully in Japanese.
************
Sitting in the old shrine office, Eilistraee was meditating on life. And as she was doing so, she allowed part of her consciousness to seep into the ground surrounding the shrine, creating the wards that would protect against scrying and sound the alarm in the event of an attack.
On a higher plane, more specifically in Toltiir's Well, part of Eilistraee's consciousness sent a message to Paladine, the Platinum Dragon and patron of the Solamnic Knights. It wasn't too long that an elderly wizard in mousy grey robes appeared. Eilistraee sipped from a mug of evermead, as the disguised deity walked over to her. "Hail and well met, Lord Paladine," she said.
"And to you, Lady Eilistraee," he replied, accepting a glass of Chianti from the Elder God of Chaos and bartender. "To what do I have the honor of the company of the Patroness of Good Drow this evening?"
"I have a favor to ask of you. There is currently in my service, the daughter of a Solamnic Knight..."
"Ah, yes; the Al'Ralgha girl. I've heard her father's prayers many times, wishing that she could be granted full knighthood." Paladine smiled into his wine. "I remember a story of a half-kender who tried to be a knight sometime after the Cataclysm. It was my desire that the Council allow any worthy of Knighthood, but I never explained it explicitly to them. Something I'll have to rectify. And let it be known that on this day, Lady Crystina Al'Ralgha has all the privileges, duties and responsibilities as a Knight of the Rose.
"Your father told me about the battle outside your new shrine the other day. He was most impressed in your consort's performance. Corellon said something about young Ranma living up to his expectations."
Eilistraee sipped her evermead, in quiet contemplation. "I thank you, Paladine. Your blessing on Crystina will be a relief on the young half-elfmaid. And on her father, as well."
"You're most welcome, Eilistraee. And I thank you for the glass of wine. I shall let her father know that his legacy is secure during his evening prayers." With a cloud of smoke, Paladine still sat there, coughing. "I should have known better than to try pyrotechnics and teleporting out of here." With a chuckle, and a smile on Eilistraee's face, the old mage walked out of the bar.
************
Nabiki sat in her room, her cell phone almost plastered to one ear. She was busy checking her messages, and listening to what her crew had to report at Furinkan. She was surprised by her sister's message, but she knew she shouldn't be. Ever since her mother died and her father slowly lost what students he had, Nabiki had been managing the Dojo's books. She'd taken the insurance settlement and placed it into stock and bonds, but with the collapse and devaluation of the yen during the mid-Nineties, what she'd set aside for comfortable maintenance was lost.
Forced to find other ways to make up the difference, Nabiki had been forced to resort to blackmail, loansharking and borderline child pornography to make ends meet. And when the Saotomes and their appetites showed up at their door eighteen months ago, Nabiki had to add Ranma to her list of acceptable customers.
And as they became more comfortable, with the exception of Akane, Nabiki almost realized that Ranma, a world-class martial artist, was allowing her to take the provocative photos of his girl side for Kuno and the rest of the Horde o' Hentai at Furinkan. But the formerly mercenary Tendo never really had the courage to ask her former potential brother-in-law about it, even when they were engaged.
Nabiki dialed her home, and prayed to Eilistraee that her older sister picked up. "Moshe, moshe Tendo-ke," Kasumi answered.
"Kasumi, it's me Nabiki."
"Nabiki! How are you? Where are you?" Kasumi exclaimed, quietly.
"We're fine. We've purchased an old Shinto shrine outside of Okayama that had fallen to ruin with the death of the priest."
"Nabiki, I need to get out of here. Daddy and Uncle Panda are plotting to kidnap Ranma and bring him back and force him to marry Akane. They can't see reality for what it is."
"Sounds like they're still caught up in their dreams of Ranma running the Dojo. I seriously have doubts that they'll be able to do what they want. We've...ah, we've got some friends here that are charged by Eilistraee's father to defend the Shrine."
"Oh my. I hope everything is alright." Nabiki smirked. She knew Kasumi wasn't a vapid airhead, but there were times she slipped back into that role.
"Everything's fine. I doubt Lady Eilistraee will have a problem with you coming down for a visit. I'll let you know what they say, ok?"
"Thank you Nabiki. Don't worry. I'll make sure that Daddy and Uncle Baka Panda don't follow me. Ja!" Kasumi hung up and Nabiki shuddered. "I'd better give Ranma and Eilistraee the
heads up," she muttered, as tantalizing aromas filtered through the house from the kitchen. She headed downstairs, and towards the dining room. Elven and human cooks were busy preparing the evening meals. The smells of roast venison, roasting fowl and a fish stew filled every corner of the first floor of the house. Nabiki's stomach did an embarrassing impersonation of a Saotome's, by making it's presence known. The Japanese drow looked sheepishly around, before grabbing a plate and helping herself to dinner.
Ranma came in and also grabbed a plate and began piling it high with food. He settled down at the dining room table, and began to eat at a rapid, if restrained rate. Eilistraee came in, and settled down with her fiancé and priestess, also with a plate of food. "Ranma," she said, "I thought we were going to work on your table manners. Your panda of a father isn't here to steal your food."
"I know, Eil-chan. I'm slowing down," he replied with all sincerity. Eilistraee just rolled her eyes.
Nabiki looked at her plate. "Eilistraee, Ranma, I have some news from home. Kasumi would like to come down, probably to visit, more likely to get away from Nerima. Of course, the fathers are still stuck in their own little world, and may try to kidnap you, Ranma, and force you to marry Akane."
"Crap," was all that the pigtailed martial artist said.
"As long as the rest of the, what was it you called them? Ah, yes Wrecking Crew, aren't following, I have no problem with..." Eilistraee was interrupted by the wall of the house erupting into smoke and debris. A rather annoyed purple-haired Amazon was standing there, bonbori in hand. Behind her was an amused 3' goblin on a stick. "Can I help you," Eilistraee asked, patiently.
Shampoo advanced menacingly towards the table. "YOU OBSTACLE! YOU I KILL," she shouted. Several elves and humans in the house, getting dinner, dropped their plates and drew all sorts of sharp, pointy instruments of death.
"Ranma," the Drow goddess asked her fiancé, "what is it with you and lunatics?" Ranma gave his one, true love a sheepish grin, and a shrug of his shoulders.
The table exploded into a cloud of splinters, courtesy of one of the Chinese maces. "Hey! Pay attention to me!"
Eilistraee stood, and looked at the Amazon standing there. "Little girl, you dare to challenge me?"
"Ranma Shampoo's airen. You obstacle. You I kill."
"Shampoo," Ranma said, "don't do it. Eilistraee would just as soon kill you as make you an offer you can't refuse. You can't win this fight."
"Shampoo Amazon. Amazons don't fear death."
"Amazon, there was only one person who ever defeated me. And you're a few millennia too young to even try it." Shampoo's response was to try to take the Drow goddess's head off. Eilistraee evaded with a grace that Ranma usually showed. "If you want to try, Amazon, then let us take this outside. I'd rather not damage the house any more." Shampoo nodded, and left through the hole she made. Eilistraee followed, her bastard sword drawn.
Ranma walked over to Cologne. "Elder, try to talk some sense into your granddaughter. If she loses at the best, Eilistraee may take her soul. At the worst, you'll lose an heir."
"It's her fight, Son- Ranma. She is an Amazon warrior, and understands the risks."
"Would it matter if I said that Eilistraee is a goddess?"
"Then it would be an interesting fight to see."
"You don't realize that you're going to lose Shampoo, do you, Elder?" Cologne didn't say anything as the two fighters neared each other.
"Here are my conditions, child," Eilistraee said. "If you lose, then you renounce any claim to my fiancé. And through some fluke, if you should win, I will give up my claim to Ranma." Already, Eilistraee's blade was spinning, moaning dirge-like.
"She's that confident, that she'll win? Impressive. That stance she's in isn't a fencing stance."
"Cologne, she taught me the sword," Ranma said, as he adjusted his scabbard. "And she is a goddess."
"I don't detect anything out of the ordinary about her, Son- Ranma. Three hundred years of experience would tell me something about her. If she were a supernatural being, I'd be able to tell."
Ranma just shrugged, and prepared to have another handmaiden living at the Shrine. He watched as Shampoo pulled out a Chinese broadsword, and assume her stance. "Obstacle," she shouted again, "you die now." She charged Eilistraee, with no control, her emotions ruling her fighting style. For her part, Eilistraee blocked and parried the attacks made by the Amazon, letting Shampoo tire herself out. For the goddess, she wasn't taking the challenge seriously. But after all, she was the elven Goddess of the Sword, so what mortal could defeat her. But all it took was one moment, and Shampoo's sword caught a seam on Eilistraee's blouse, opening up a sleeve.
Eilistraee disengaged, and fingered the cut in her shirt. "Impressive child. Play time is over." It was Shampoo's turn to be on the defensive as the drow goddess pressed her attacks, forcing the Amazon back. Add a little sand kicked into the face of her challenger, and the tip of Eilistraee's blade penetrated right where the shoulder socket was, disabling Shampoo. It wasn't a fatal blow, but her dominant arm suffered severe muscle and nerve damage, that even with care from a competent cleric, it would never be the strong enough to do anything more than write or eat with it. The sword dropped from Shampoo's limp hand, and clattered on the ground.
Shampoo dropped to her knees and looked up at the drow goddess. "I renounce Airen," she said with tears in her eyes.
Eilistraee knelt down next to the Amazon warrior. "Child," she said, "I know what it is like to lose a loved one. I lost Ranma for twelve years." Showing that she was not a sore winner, the goddess placed her hands on the wound she gave Shampoo. Violence was met with violence, and now it was time to aid a former enemy. Chanting a prayer, she healed the wound she'd caused, reversing the damage. "I have talked with Ranma, and he would be glad to have you as a friend, Xian Pu. You realize that the Wild Horse needs to be free, not confined."
"I...I see that now."
Cologne pogo'd up to where the two former combatants were. She was...mildly (read extremely) impressed by the way that the wound was new skin, and her great granddaughter had full control over her injured arm. "Xian Pu, you lost your airen. Do you have anything to say about that?"
"Yes, Great Grandmother. Amazon laws are outdated. We need to change the way we are with the outside world."
"Elder..." Eilistraee started to say.
"Kuh Lon, child," Cologne replied. Eilistraee smirked at that.
"Elder Kuh Lon, may I walk and talk with you?"
"Of course, child. What would you like to talk about?"
"I overheard your conversation earlier with Ranma. He is quite correct, by the way." Eilistraee revealed just a fraction of the power that she was holding on within her. Cologne's eyes bugged out. "Like my fiancé, I don't like to reveal everything at once.
"And before you even think about trying to force me to join your tribe, to make you the most powerful in the world, that kind of thinking is exactly the same thing my mother's followers believe in. And I have been fighting my mother for millennia." Eilistraee's eyes grew hard. "Don't force me to put your tribe in that same category, Elder. I don't think you'd survive."
Cologne sweat dropped as she realized what she was thinking, and it was almost as if the dark goddess in front of her could read the Elder's thoughts. "Perhaps we can talk about an alliance, then? Something mutually beneficial to both of us?"
"I would appreciate that, Elder Cologne," Eilistraee said, leading the Amazon elder back into the house.
Shampoo knelt on ground, tears streaming down her face. She was crying, not that she'd admit it; after all she is an Amazon warrior. She'd lost, not just a fight or sparring match in the village, but her Amazon law husband—the reason for her leaving the village and coming to Japan. To return to the village now would mean dishonor and death. She'd already suffered the consequences for her first failure to bring Ranma back with her. Now losing him a second time, and to one he obviously loved. From what Kasumi had told her, it wouldn't have been so bad if it had been Akane or Ukyo, those two she'd gotten along with in a friendly sort of rivalry for Ranma's affections.
Ranma, for his part, couldn't stand the sight of Shampoo kneeling there, crying. The sight of a woman crying was his one fatal weakness, one he'd never admit to or defeat; it was something that was buried deep in his genetic makeup, and had nothing to do with his upbringing. He knelt down next to her, and pulled the lavender haired Amazon into a friendly embrace. "Shampoo, as much as a pain in the ass you've been for me, as much as if I married you it would be my death sentence, I've always thought of you as a friend." He smiled. "A perky, and bubbly friend, but a friend nonetheless."
"Is true?"
"Very true," he said.
Shampoo stood up, and hugged Ranma. It wasn't a glomp or anything overly romantic. It was just a friendly hug, like she would have given a fellow Amazon. "Shampoo glad I no lose your friendship."
After the Amazons were bedded down for the night, Eilistraee retired upstairs. Nabiki was down by the lake, in prayers, and Ranma was having a quick snack out of the leftovers. "Hello daughter," a familiar voice said from under a cloak.
Eilistraee spun around in the furo. "Father? What are you doing here?"
Corellon lowered the hood, and sat on a convenient stool. "I've been wondering why it's taking my daughter so long to marry her fiancé. So I thought I'd drop in and visit."
Ranma came running into the bathroom, sword in hand, at that moment. "Eil-chan, I thought I felt..." His voice trailed off when he saw the visitor. "Corellon-sama. Forgive my intrusion."
The Father of the Elves smiled. "No, Ranma, it is I who should be forgiving you and my daughter for the intrusion. I see you still carry the sword. I'm surprised that your father hadn't sold it yet."
Ranma chuckled. "He never knew I had it. Heck, I never knew I had it until Eilistraee showed up. Would you two like to be alone while you talk?" Corellon nodded. "I'll see you in bed, a'mael," the pigtailed warrior said, as he withdrew from the bathroom.
"So, Father, what did you want to talk about?"
"You've only been on this plane a few days, and already you've redeemed two lost souls, three if you count Ranma, created a haven for your drow worshippers, and ensured for the continued security of your shrine. I'm very impressed, Daughter."
"I very much doubt you came all this way just to praise me, Father," Eilistraee said, as she leaned against the wall of the tub.
"You're correct," Corellon answered with a stoicism that would make a Vulcan proud.
"So why are you here?"
"I'm here because I'd like to know when you and your fiancé are going to finally settle down and make me some grandchildren." He looked at his black sheep daughter, her face buried in the floor of the tub. "Ouch, that had to hurt."