From that day on, Tyrygosa wasn't able to sneak into her father's hoard again anymore. Malygos made sure of that. Being extra cautious, he put the glowing sphere into a separate chest, locked it with a magical key and put it into one of the hoard's back rooms.
But in spite of being one of the most powerful, magical beings on Azeroth, he was not able to feel that the artifact was still active. He didn't manage to close the gateway between the worlds, he just... put it in a dormant state.
And by the time the artifact had recharged itself, exactly one year has passed in the Earth dimension...
Ranma sighed as he lay down on his back and looked at the stars.
"Today was a good day," his father smiled. "You have learned a lot since we began this trip, my boy!"
"Hmmmm..." his son sighed.
Genma looked at him. "What's wrong, Ranma? Something on your mind?"
"Huh? Oh, Pops, I was just thinking... I mean, do you know that it was one year ago that I met Sylvanas?"
Genma sighed. "Ranma, we've talked about this... this elf girl is nothing but a figment of your imagination. The only thing I know is that exactly one year ago, my hopes were crushed when I believed you would be able to use the Umisenken..."
"Sorry, Pops... but, you know, if she really was a figment of my imagination, then she was the nicest figment I have ever met..."
Genma shook his head. "Keep on dreaming, boy... as long as it doesn't distract you from your training... I'm going to sleep now. Good night..."
And shortly afterwards, the air was filled with the snoring of the Saotome patriarch.
Ranma, however, did stay up for a little longer. "I wonder what she is doing right now..." he muttered. "For a girl, she was really strong..."
Ranma didn't know this, but it was this moment when the Dimensional Seal decided to activate itself again. And in the blink of an eye, Ranma disappeared out of his sleeping bag... and reappeared directly on top of a girl with blonde hair.
Sylvanas gasped. She had just been aiming at the biggest stag she had seen in this forest, but just as she was about to shoot her arrow, something heavy fell down on top of her.
"What the...?" she gasped. The stag turned around his head, and dashed off.
The teenaged high elf groaned in disappointment. She then shoved the boy who had been landing on her away and shook him by his shirt. "You! It's your fault that I didn't get that stag! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Ranma's head was spinning. When he recognized the person that was shaking him, he frowned. "Sylvanas?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Do I know you?"
"Of course, I'm Ranma!" the boy smiled. "Don't you remember me? We climbed trees together last year." He took a closer look at her. "Wow, how did you become so big?"
"You... but... that was more than five years ago..." she muttered. "And I know humans grow older much faster than elves..."
"Five years? No way, it was exactly one year ago, I know that."
She sat down next to him and shook her head. "Where do you come from, Ranma? I mean... I knew there was this boy I met when I was a little kid, but now I'm learning to become a true Elven Ranger..."
"You told me you wanted to become one," Ranma smiled. "But why has so much time passed for you, when I know that I have see you one year ago?"
"That is the question..." the elf girl pondered. "I believe you, since you don't look much older from when I last saw you... but that doesn't make any sense, as a human, you should at least be a young adult by now."
"Does that matter?" Ranma asked. "I was so hoping I could see you again... hey, you wanna play in the leaves again?"
Sylvanas chuckled. "Ranma, I'm not a little kid anymore... right now, I'm on the hunt for my family. I was about to shoot the biggest stag in the forest... too bad he got scared when you arrived..."
"I'm sorry..." Ranma said in an apologetic voice.
"It's not that bad, kiddo," she grinned and ruffled his hair. "But say, you are a pretty strange human. I didn't quite realize it the first time you were here, but I have never seen any clothes like you are wearing. Where are you from?"
Ranma smiled. "I'm really from Tokyo, but my Pops and I are travelling through all of Japan, on a training trip. He even said we would go to China when I'm bigger."
Sylvanas frowned. "Tokyo? China? I've never heard of those kingdoms before... are they close to Lordaeron or Stormwind?"
Ranma scratched his head. "I dunno, I haven't heard of those before."
"You really are a mystery, little friend..." Sylvanas muttered. "Maybe I should introduce you to my family..."
"But didn't you say you were on the hunt?" Ranma wondered. "Let me help you find something else you can take home instead of the stag."
"Well, I'm not sure if you could be of any help, Ranma," Sylvanas said.
"Sure I can! My Pops and I are always on the road and eat what we can get. Please let me help..."
"You know what, Ranma? Let me do the shooting, and I'm gonna show you how it's done. Okay?"
"Okay!" Ranma smiled happily.
Ranma and Sylvanas spent the next hour together in the forest, searching for an animal Sylvanas could hunt and bring home to her family. They didn't play like the last time Ranma came for a visit, but he still had fun. Sylvanas explained to him what Elven Rangers did to cover their tracks and how they were able to silently move through the thicket. She also told him that a true hunter was quiet, so the animals didn't hear him.
When they finally found another stag, Sylvanas whispered: "Be very quiet now, Ranma!" Ranma watched with fascination as she took an arrow out of her quiver and took aim.
'This stag is not as big as the one I saw before, but he'll do,' she thought.
The arrow made no noise as it flew through the air and embedded itself in the stag's flesh. The animal let out a small cry, then it fell down to the ground.
"I did it!" Sylvanas grinned. "This will be more than enough for dinner. Ranma, that really was..."
But when she turned around, the boy had already vanished.
She sighed. "Too bad... but somehow, I have the feeling I will see him again..."
Ranma nearly fell over in surprise when he appeared back on his sleeping bag.
"Awww, over already?" he sighed. "Oh well... but it was fun."
He looked over to where his father was peacefully sleeping and snickered. "I'll bet Pops won't believe me either this time... I guess it's gonna be our little secret."
He lay down to sleep again. Before closing his eyes, he thought: 'For some reason, I have the feeling that I will see her again next year...'
And from now on, Ranma and Sylvanas would meet every year. They were never able to find out how Ranma managed to get to Quel'Thalas and back, but they were each year looking forward to meet each other again. For Sylvanas, it was always five years she had to wait, while Ranma only had to wait one year. And even though Sylvanas was slowly becoming more and more mature than her childhood friend, she always felt younger when she was with him. And like he, she never told her family of their encounters.
And Ranma wasn't the only child from Earth that was brought to Azeroth. Several other children from Japan and China appeared close to their respective Azerothian friends on an annual basis. And they didn't know it, but the Dimensional Seal did not just carry them across dimensions, but also through time. That was the reason why the time span between their meetings differed in several cases.
Sayuri frowned when she heard how Akane began to tell another tale of her 'fairy tale prince' at school.
"Hey, Nabiki!" she whispered to Akane's older sister during lunch break. "You know how Akane always comes up with that stuff? Again and again she tells us about this handsome prince who lives in a castle and wants to marry her... you know, at times, it even sounds as if she actually believes that such a prince is actually waiting for her."
Nabiki shrugged. "Well, if Akane thinks he's real... as long as she doesn't bother me with it, I'm fine with it."
Sayuri stared at her. "You think it's OKAY that Akane believes in such a... such a fairy tale? Nabiki, that doesn't sound like you at all. Is there any reason for you to support these weird ideas?"
"N-no special reason..." Nabiki muttered. She didn't really want to know how Sayuri or others would react if they found out about her own unusual... acquaintance she met every year. She thought back to last night, when she had once again appeared in the workshop of a certain, small, green-skinned man...
"So remember this, kiddo!" the goblin told the young girl standing next to his desk. "Rule Number One for all businessmen... and -women... 'Money makes the world go round!' If you can see, feel and touch anything, you can buy it. And everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, can be sold. There are ALWAYS some people who need stuff that is junk for other people. Always keep your eyes and mind open, and you will make a fortune in this world. Mark my words, girl!"
"Hai, sensei!" Nabiki gushed as she looked up at the not handsome, but sly goblin. Never before in her life had she met a man who knew so much about money, who was so CLEVER!
Gazlowe smiled. "You know girl, you are still young, but I have the feeling that one day, you might just have your own, successful little business, just like me!"
"So you see, little girl, this world is full of invisible creatures, spirits that are holding the earth and sky together. And if you can see and talk to them, you might even know how to use their gifts. Our race has long ago followed this path, before it became corrupted and more and more shamans chose to become warlocks... but your race, the humans, aren't that close to nature, they prefer to use arcane magic instead of listening to nature and its spirits... and that's why I believe that it will be difficult for you to learn how to use the same spells as I do, even when you grow up. Now, could I satisfy your curiosity?"
The purple-haired girl looked up at the towering form of the orc with a frown. She then shook her head. "No, Shampoo still not know how your skin is all green."
And Drek'Thar, elder shaman of the Frostwolf clan, sweatdropped.
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(Posted Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:53)
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