DorianVal@aol.com wrote:

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Content-Transfer-Encoding:

 7bit

12:33 AM est

    Eh?

Sic pereant omnes inimici tui, Domine

Thus perish all your enemies O Lord

Thunstone and Pursuivent

Silver Swords against the Darkness

    Is this a sig? Or part of the fic? :p

"I know what you want," the old man claimed.

    There's a way to grab someone's attention.

"She had hair like midnight," the old man rasped with deceptive
softness, yet Ranma heard him clearly over the bustle. "And
large brown eyes, so warm and so deep you could have lost
yourself in them forever if you had just let yourself." Ranma
stopped, frozen in mid-tread, eyes widening, his countenance
paling beneath well-tanned skin. "You found her to be a
paradox, for she was both as soft as fine silk yet as strong
and proud as Masamune steel; One moment fierce, the next

    One -- one (?)

    I assume you to be referring to the legend where Masamune's sword allowed leave's floating down a stream to divide around it, and reform unscathed on the other side? I had always read that as 'benevolent'...

gentle. She could be at times shortsighted, selfish and
willful, and during others wonderfully caring and giving, and
marvelously insightful. She fascinated you like no other ever
did. To you, boy, she was like a beautiful, bejeweled puzzle,
for every time you thought you knew her she would show a new
facet of herself for you to learn of with wonder. Yet despite
how you felt for her, the joy you took in her presence, you
concealed your feelings, masking it behind a wall of
indifference and denial..." The old man paused, turning his
head slightly towards Ranma. "So how did it feel, boy? How did
it feel when she died in your arms... died before you could
tell her you loved her?"

    Ah. One of those stories.

Ranma screamed, a primal roar of anger, a lionish rage.
Passersby jumped away from him, frighten and startled, then
quickly walked off with increased alacrity. The net of numb
paralysis the old man's words had woven over him charred away
from the heat of his anger. He turned on his heel. "WHO ARE
YOU?" he demanded.  But the old man was gone. Ranma just caught
 of glimpse of the tails of his trench coat before they
disappeared down an alley. Ranma growled out a vile swear and
ran after him, not care who he pushed aside or knocked off. He
turned onto the dark and dirty alleyway and chased after the
old man who he knew nothing of but knew far too much of him.

    'vile swear' sounds a tad stilted. I would suggest 'oath'.

    'not care' -- 'not caring' or 'uncaring' ?

    And then, 'knocked off' of what?

    That last sentence is worded a bit awkwardly.

And there before him stood the old man, shoulders slumped and
hat slouched, but five feet away. Despite his discipline Ranma
hissed in surprise, and he had to expend an effort to keep from
 gaping. It had been as if the old man had step out of thin air.

    step -- stepped

"You come when you are called," the old man commented. His
knife-slash lips writhed momentarily in a grotesque
approximation of a smile. "That is good. It is a valuable
trait. Now we can talk, unseen in this shadow," he made an
encompassing gesture indicating the lot. "Away from
uncomprehending eavesdroppers and the ubiquitous, revealing
Light."

    Oh yeah, that's a REAL good sign right there.

"I am Gaunt," said the old man pleasantly. "We have been
watching you, my masters and I, from the Dark corners of the
earth." Ranma's left hand, held up in guard, clenched tightly
shut. "We have observed you and your... adventures... with some
 interest, and we believe that you could be of value, and thus
what I want of you is to offer you a bargain."

    Leeland Gaunt?

"Death is not the end, and I never joke." Gaunt replied calmly.

    joke." Gaunt -- joke," Gaunt

Gaunt smirked. "But of course. You shall have it. Your time is
indeed your own... for the present." Gaunt chuckled. It was not
 a pleasant sound, and Ranma could not help but shudder. "I
shall return here at sunset. Be here with your answer, and be
prepared to accept consequences of your actions, now and
forever." Gaunt stepped backwards off the fence, dropping down
into the alley. Shadows rose up to swallow him, and he vanished
 from mortal sight.

    Interesting.

Send any comments or criticism to DorianVal@aol.com. I'm always
interested in hearing what you have to say. Do not bother with
flames, please. If you have nothing either polite or
constructive to say then show discretion by merely seeming a
fool instead of removing all doubt.

    Well, you've got my attention. I think I can see where you're going with it, but it's the journey that's the fun of a trip, not just the arrival.

Thank you all for your time and tolerance,

Jeremy Harper