She was a young maiden of good heritage and manner, though the report Nodoka had on her indicated that she could be a bit headstrong and prone to charging into action when taking the time to assess the situation would be better.
Her name was Sakura Shinguichi, and her skill with the sword made Tatewaki Kuno look like a puffed up braggart with delusions of adequacy.
Of course, times being what they were, what with licensed psychics and mages and the like, she was still studying for her certification exam. The certification was national, the license was regional, so she could be certified for Japan and carry a license for Tokyo.
Knowing her family, particularly her mother, had some strange ideas, Sakura was ready for practically anything.
"Excuse me?!"
An arranged marriage, however, had been something sufficiently unlikely that it hadn't crossed her mind.
"Yes," said Nodoka, sliding a photo across the table to the young girl. "This is my son, Ranma."
"Weird camera angle," noted Sakura absently, most of her mind having shut down in mixed panic and confusion.
"My son has two retainers he gained during his adventures. One has styled herself a ninja and seems to enjoy sneaking about. I believe she was clinging to the ceiling when she took this photo for me." Nodoka smiled happily at the young girl. "Every time I visit he's off working some odd jobs as a professional mage."
"A mage?" Sakura was a little surprised. Boy didn't look like a mage, more like a martial artist. "Any good?"
"He's the archmage of Tokyo," said Nodoka proudly.
"what?" squeaked Sakura. "Archmage?! He'd have to be at least -"
"Twenty fourth level from what I've heard," agreed Nodoka.
Sakura's eyes darted to her bokuto, concealed in a silk wrap. Decorated with runes, the wooden sword was effective against many demons. An archmage though - an archmage could upgrade it.
Seeing that the girl had not immediately rejected the possibility, Nodoka sat back with a little smile. Things were developing nicely.
Ranma continued to study, impressing the spells into his mind that he thought handy for the current week. A few home visits or "accidently" bumping into a few people might give him some useful information before he actually had to try teaching these buffoons.
Some spell functions he could pull out of thin air as it were, he'd permanently gained those spells as abilities when he'd become a Chosen of Mystra. So he didn't have to bother with Detect Magic.
Instead he went with Daze - a useful way of stopping a noisy student. Add to that Ray Of Frost, Mending - one of his favorites as it was just entirely too neat to be able to put things back together, Light - frequently useful. Protection From Chaos had its uses, Mage Armor likewise, Magic Missile another favorite, Sleep had possibilities when dealing with Kuno especially, and Reduce Person could be amusing.
Summon Monster II wasn't always useful, but it had its moments. Continual Flame was something he frequently used around the household and had business applications. Blindness/Deafness could deal with potential problems and Invisibility could get him out of some situations.
Third circle spells were likewise easily chosen. Ray Of Exhaustion was a good way of dealing with a rowdy student as was Hold Person. Deep Slumber and Suggestion were also potentials.
He normally memorized Dimensional Anchor as it was useful against a variety of supernatural opponents. It might not be as useful in the classroom however. Lesser Geas with a "shut up" command had definite possibilities. Charm Monster was another one he usually had memorized, though in his ret-conned past it could have unforeseen consequences. Finally there was Dimension Door - another potentially useful spell, though this was one that he had normally on a special scroll he kept handy for emergencies.
The spell Dismissal was good against supernatural menaces of various types. Summon Monster V could come in handy. Baleful Polymorph - useful. Hold Monster had obvious uses.
Greater Dispel Magic was usually one of his memorized spells, though for teaching he might have to substitute with Mass Fox's Cunning. Flesh to Stone useful, he'd keep the scroll with Stone To Flesh in his ledger. Mass Suggestion was more "iffy" but might just work. Rastifar's Compelling Voice was a very rare spell, but it had uses in the classroom that couldn't be ignored.
He normally had uses for Banishment and Control Weather but he might have to substitute Mass Hold Person and Waves Of Exhaustion for those two. Drawmij's Instant Summons was useful and normally one of his favored spells, and Bigby's Grasping Hand was typically useful in a variety of circumstances.
Summon Monster VIII was likely to see use as was Power Word Stun. He normally had uses for Polymorph Any Object and Incendiary Cloud but the last might be replaced with something else. Perhaps something from that one spellbook he'd gotten from that Thayvian slaver he'd turned into a toadstool. Lots of unique spells there.
The more powerful spells like Dominate Monster and Mass Hold Monster were not so easily swapped out, and Time Stop was something that had uses beyond the obvious.
Ranma got up and stretched, wondering if other teachers had as much preparation time as he required.
Meanwhile:
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(Posted Fri, 18 Jun 2004 10:37)
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