Fist Of The North Star Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ The Dragon is Reborn ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 4 )

The day came, two weeks had passed since he had been brought to the Seekers Keep on Sarakh Nor. They would be returning to Balee, as the planet had been called in the Age of Legends. Home. Though after spending a this past week at the Keep, he wasn't sure that he wanted to go back to that world anymore. There was so much to learn here that he and the Aes Sedai of his age had not imagined. Grandfather, or Master Ranma as he preferred to be called, had given him permission to stay if he wished, if he was willing to give up time on Balee. He had refused, saying that he was needed. Fortunately, there had been no objection. Master Ranma wanted his descendents to achieve their maximum potential. But with resurrection as easy as it was for the Seekers, it didn't matter if he started a few hundred years later. Provided that the Dark One didn't destroy his soul as he had threatened. Master Ranma was adamant that it was impossible. But then the Dark One's power was different from any of the powers that the Seekers used, the limits of the Dark One's powers were uncharted. Perhaps he could do what even the Seekers thought impossible. 'Do not think just because something is the most fearful you can imagine, that it will most likely come to pass. Focus on knowledge not dreams.' A good attitude he thought. He walked to the Traveling chamber. He had yet to see this weave made in front of him. The last time he had been unconscious. A gateway across not only worlds but dimensions, and yet still somehow capable of coming out at the exact spot the channeler required. And without any Ter'angreal. Something he had learned here. Neither the Seekers nor the Warriors approved of the use of tools to achieve their objectives. You worked to increase your own abilities, not to create crutches for yourself. Unlike the weak Aes Sedai, or so he had been told. For some reason though the other teachers and apprentices at the Keep, had not considered him as one of those weak Aes Sedai. Something to do with his ta'veren abilities and their potential or so he gathered, though they did not approve of his avoiding training, but they did not particularly mind either. Strange.

Now that everyone was gathered, Master Ranma, Master Bremin, Master… uh… he might as well get used to it… Master… "It's Raoh boy", he heard a powerful voice speak in his mind, and he knew where it had come from, as he looked at the big man. The man seemed to be smiling. Ilyena who was standing next to him, seemed to be working at keeping a straight face. Obviously she knew what he was thinking. Not that she could read minds yet. That could be a serious problem with a wife. But she knew him well, and she knew about his uh… encounter with the Dark Master. He shuddered remembering the experience, anyway, two of his sons, Josh, and Alim were standing next to Ilyena, and his daughter Selene was with them. He looked at them, they had all grown up well. His daughter was as beautiful as her mother, maybe more so. Sulin and Tumad stood ready to jump through the gateway as soon as it opened. More for returning home, and getting away from this place, then to protect him he suspected. They had had a very hard time here. All of their fighting prowess and abilities had counted for nothing here. It was like being changed back to a helpless baby. Nobody liked that feeling. He knew, he had felt something similar. Especially in his meeting with… uh… the Seekers. And there was Taim, though he looked subdued from what Lews Therin, or Rand in this case, remembered of him.

He felt his grandfather seize Saidin. Taking in more than eleven times what Rand could manage, without showing any signs of strain at all. This was most likely one of the reason that the Seekers looked down on tools. They really could do without them. He saw the beginnings of the weave. It had some similarity to a normal gateway, but it seemed to be mingled with complex wards of some sort, and there were eaves in there that were too fine to make out. From what he could gather from what he had been told… and had not fully believed until now, having seen few examples… it was a probe of some sort, being used to correctly locate their destination, and make sure that the gate would be stable, and that there were no traps nearby or people likely to be caught in the weave, and then he saw, what looked like the weave for another gateway within the gateway, and then suddenly there was a swirling vortex, the air shifted moving towards it, and then it opened. He could feel a breeze coming through it, though the gateway was compensating for most of the pressure difference. His grandfather… Master Ranma had told him that in older times people had not been adapted to such quick pressure changes, and would have suffered badly from the sudden change in air pressure. But over the millennia, the human race had adapted to it, so that they could handle it with minimal annoyance.

Sulin and Tumad jumped through. Bashere and some of the Aiel were waiting on the other side, along with a few Saldaeans, he could tell that they had just arrived by their attitude, which meant that Bashere had indeed been aware of when exactly they would return. And he had chosen to keep the number of people he brought as small as possible.

They all crossed back into the courtyard. And this time it seemed that even the non-channelers could feel the sheer power that emanated from the three masters. They had been suppressing it when they first came. This time they were not. They all seemed to be backing away from the group. The Wise Ones standing there with their more acute channeling senses simply fainted. Which did not exactly inspire confidence in the rest. He moved quickly to forestall any unfortunate incidents, by introducing the people he had brought with him. The few maidens there were shocked to hear that Master Ranma was Shaiel's father, though they could respect the power that he seemed to give off. He introduced Bremen. And then… uh… he felt a sharp pain in his head, followed by a 'fool, you are no longer Rand al'Thor, it is time you grew up' running through his mind. Then suddenly he could no longer remember why he had been afraid of Master Raoh. So he moved on with the introductions. Everyone seemed surprised when he introduced his old wife and children, although he didn't mention the children part. The maidens were obviously not pleased and maiden hand-talk flashed, but a stare from Sulin stopped any foolish action on their part.

Master Ranma nodded his head towards Master Raoh, who nodded back. Then Master Ranma looked towards him. "Expect some of your Aiel, and perhaps others to vanish today." He said, then he looked towards Master Bremen. "You know what we'll be doing. Expect us in three months or so. We'll be on Sarak-five if you need us."

"Very well, I will handle things here. I assume you want Taim and the children to start their project?" said Master Bremen

"Yes, brief them on the particulars, and help them set it up. Then get on with your own work. I hear that Sarak-two is a beautiful place." Master Ranma replied.

He didn't really understand what that was all about, or why Master Bremen would seem displeased, except that he was.

"Lews Therin, you are also going to be teaching. Eight or ten should suffice for you though, especially considering the other work that you will have to be doing. But you must have channelers around you. Until you do however, keep one of your sons nearby." Master Ranma said to Lews Therin, and then Masters Ranma and Raoh vanished in a flash of… he couldn't say. Yes, there was definitely much more to learn. But for now he had work of his own, so he would see that his party were found some living quarters in the palace, and then he'd have to find out what had happened in his absence. And then get around to fixing Rand al'Thor's blunders. Maybe Ilyena would have a few ideas. And then he had to work on improving his mental control so he could perfect his defence against the taint on Saidin. Yes, this was going to be a long day.

[Authors Notes: yes I know it feels overdone. But I don't feel like reviewing it, or I'll never get to the interesting parts]