Hindrence

Subject: Hindrence Sat Jan 14, 2012 10:07 pm

Eldunar sat in his stone chair, at the stone table in his stone dining hall. He sighed and swirled the wine around in his glass. Taking a sip he closed his eyes annoyed, "Why do I have to meet with this, Prince Cassian?" asked Eldunar to a mirror in the middle of the table. The hand mirror sat face up towards the ceiling and a deep, strong, yet soft, voice sounded from it. "Because Naina is having a day off to go to the mountains with Airo," answered the voice, "And you're the only other person who I trust with this. Erolass is...childish, I mean he's our brother and all, and I love him but...he's not the kind of person I'd send to meet people, especially people like Cassian." Eldunar rolled his eyes and took a sip of wine, "Well there I can agree with, the moron can't--" "Eldunar!" shouted the mirror, "Enough. Just, relax. And don't screw up, Eldunar, we depend upon this relationship between our nations." Eldunar raised an eyebrow, "And why is this so important?" asked Eldunar, "Are you planning something Owlan?" The mirror laughed, a low happy chuckle, "I plan to unite the Nations. I plan to unite them as a symbol of peace." said Owlan smiling. Eldunar laughed, "That's some dream," said Eldunar, "But you don't intend to conquer them all do you?" Owlan laughed, "No, no not at all," he replied, "I plan to make peace between all Nations. All nations must be friends. If the Nation's are to be united under one banner it will not be me who does it so. Coi ui wer kobtish di nomenes svaust nishka confn ghent udoka. Coi ui filki hesi kobtish ekess xikin wer idol." Eldunar stopped and paused, then sipped his wine again and shuffled in his seat. He smiled then picked up the mirror, "Sjek wux yenta zyak, isthasy." answered Eldunar, "Now, go. I hear someone coming, we shall speak after, Brother." Owlan nodded from within the mirror and disappeared and the mirror's surface reflected Eldunar's face. A knock at his door, "Lord Eldunar, your guest is here," said one of his attendants. "Let him in," said Eldunar standing up and finishing his wine.

Coi ui wer kobtish di nomenes svaust nishka confn ghent udoka. Coi ui filki hesi kobtish ekess xikin wer idol. - It is the job of those who come after us. It is our job to pave the way.

Sjek wux yenta zyak, isthasy. - If you say so, brother.

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:59 pm

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

About a week ago, just shy of dawn, Cassian found it necessary to adhere to his father's strict communication orders and unearth the enchanted scroll crushed amongst his belongings.

Honestly, the damn, frayed slip of parchment annoyed him. Father and Castiel found it absolutely amusing to put down all their sentiments. Father never ran out of errands and personal news for him, and Castiel was never short of his usual, concerned gestures: "Be careful! Keep practicing! Not starving are you? Blah. Blah. Blah."

And then there was the bullshit he really didn't care about at all: "Just yesterday, Kihana and I had some rare trout for dinner. I tried to teach her the proper etiquette, but you know she's feisty. Maybe if you were around, she'd listen more. Anyway I ..." The sheer inadequacy of it all prompted him to bury the scroll deep within his travel sack and never look at it again for 8 days. What the hell still made Castiel consider him the talkative type? He did not care for his brother's frivolous acts, and Castiel knew it.

Humph. He must miss me, Cassian had thought.

Anyway, a new message had printed itself in glaring red. The rest of the parchment was filled with marks that had yet to fade. Apparently Castiel had no idea he was being ignored.

The message was fresh. It informed Cassian of an arranged meeting concerning him and some member of the Fire Nation Royal Court. Had Cassian missed it, Kinuk would have been pissed, but in all honestly the boy had to struggle to give even the slightest damn about it.

In any case, it gave him something to do. Cassian spent the rest of the week traveling, meandering his way through the Fire Nation wilderness and locating civilization in the first three days. He spend one more on a cruise liner breaking the hearts of hopeless women, and the last four a acquiring residence on Ember Island near the site and preparing himself for the meeting. He was surprised there was no trouble; the people of the Fire Nation were known for their tempers. Explosive things, those were. Hell, he was itching for a fight.

Privately, as he made his way up the stone steps to the stone building, he wondered what this 'Eldunar' was like. He had asked his father, but all Anuk said was that he was an interesting man. Castiel did not have any advice to give him, only that Eldunar was a very accomplished man and other shit Cassian already knew about.

Cassian reached up and rapped firmly on the door. There was a murmur of words behind the door, not escaping Cassian's sharp senses. Then, an attendant opened the door, revealing an interior made entirely of stone. Cassian strode into the area without acknowledging the attendant.

"Lord Eldunar, correct?" he asked giving a respectful nod. "May I have a seat?"

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:19 am

Eldunar sat and and grunted, pointing toward the chair at the opposite end of the stone table. Eldunar poured another glass of wine for himself and took a sip before realizing Cassian was there. "Would you like some wine C...what was your name again?" asked Eldunar. It was times like this Eldunar was glad Owlan wasn't there, Owlan would've laid it into him despite who was looking. It took a while for Eldunar to remember that this meeting was important to the Fire Nation. "The wine is the finest on my island, we use ashes from the nearby volcano just off the Northern Coast to give special nutrients to the soil we farm with." Eldunar restrained rolling his eyes. Why was he being so nice to this child? The kid was obviously younger than him, if anything, Cassian should be begging to be part of Owlan's new "alliance." Eldunar closed his eyes and exhaled slightly, 'Control Eldunar, control.' he thought to himself. Eldunar sipped his wine again and swished the red liquid around in his glass. 'Damn you Owlan,' thought Eldunar, 'And Naina too. If she hadn't gone out to go frolic around in the fucking mountains with that B*stard boyfriend of hers, and if Erolass wasn't a total idiot, I wouldn't have to be doing this.'

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:10 am

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

"Cassian," the young Waterbender replied tersely.

He nodded, then beckoned with his hand, successfully signifying his desire for the wine. Meetings were annoying. It meant speaking. Necessary talk. And it was no secret Cassian was a man of a few words. However, if this alliance was going to work, he needed to cooperative. Cassian was good at being cooperative, among other things. He was also good at negotiating. He was good at lying. Hell, he'd master candle lighting if he were allowed.

As he waited for his wine, he sat very still. Cassian had purchased a Fire Nation-esque suit from some fancy tailor shop along the cliffs. It was too stiff. The collar was outrageous. He saw fit to burn the damn thing, but alas, he tolerated its presence on his skin just as he tolerated this man in front of him.

"Well," he began. "This is an alliance, right? Let's talk politics. Why should the Northern Water Tribe associate with the Fire Nation so intimately? How should the Northern Water Tribe benefit from this 'alliance'? What's in it for us?"

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:38 am

Eldunar waved his hand and a servant walked into the room, pouring wine for Cassian, then standing back by the wall. Eldunar laughed as Cassian spoke and smiled, "Let's cut to the chase," said Eldunar, "Your tribe lacks military power. Our nation could wipe you away in an instant were it not for our...kind, disposition. We've been helpful and tolerant towards your Nation because of the mistake of our ancestor." Eldunar finished his wine and stood up, wondering if all the alcohol was starting to get to him, "What we could provide for you is support," said Eldunar, "Military support. Support you'll need in case another idiot with the wrong idea thinks that Water Benders are in the way of his vacation house. In return, we ask for nothing but a share of your fish stocks, of course we will not take the fish for nothing, we will pay you a fair amount of gold for them. Our fish reserves have gone down the last few years, so we've decided to let the fish restore their stocks, and in the meantime, we're going to have to import fish to replace our stocks. The Southern Tribe has already made this deal with us, now all we need is the approval of the Northern Tribe, and we'll have the fish we need, and you'll have the defence you need." Eldunar sat back down and smiled across the table at Cassian, with a smile he added, "Perhaps a gift as well?" he said, "To help affirm this contract? 24 of our finest trained warriors. 12 day guards, and 12 night guards. These will serve as a guard for you and your family to use as you please."

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:55 am

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Cassian's eye twitched. "I'm surprised," he began, slowly. "That you would boldly assume our nation is obsolete. It makes no sense, in any right, that you would have the audacity to offer an alliance under these conditions." Cassian almost, languidly, shrugged. Peasant customs were rubbing off on him. Instead he said, airily, "You have to do better than that."

Cassian sipped his wine, relishing the smooth flavor. It had the smallest tang, but it was certainly zesty. "If I were to accept your offer of military strength at this moment, you are claiming we need it. Our fish supplies mean little to nothing to your abundant cuisine. They mean little to us. Do you take me for a fool? Are you insulting the Northern Water Tribe? Do you disrespect our southern counterpart?"

Cassian stood, drawing his hands behind his back. "You, sir Eldunar, have a larger military, yes. But your soldiers parade around like bumbling machinery. They know only orders. They are taught systematically, within a process, and know nothing outside of what they have been commanded.

"My people are clever, creative, individual tacticians. They could utilize several advantages in battle, swiftly gaining the upper hand. They use teamwork to overcome trials. Trickery. They are taught methods other than Bending to survive. You have nerve, My Lord."

Cassian sat once more. He regarded the wine almost lazily, and took another sip. "Now, can you think of any other proposition?"

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:24 am

"You underestimate the Fire Lord," said Eldunar, "At 15 he fought and defeated an army of 200 000 in a matter of three days. He is known as Owlan the Lionheart. And if he were here he would know everything right to say to you that would make you agree. However, I am not him, but I do know something that will make you agree to these conditions." Eldunar stood up and pulled a small thing, leather page from his robes and handed them to Cassian. "Those pages, written in the ancient language of my people and of the dragons, depicts a time of war. Translated those runes mean: A great war shall bring about great change. The world shall face a threat like no others before it. Divided shall the world fall, but united strong, by their leaders shall they prosper." Eldunar turned back to Cassian, "That document was discovered by my brother in the Spirit of Knowledge, Dara's, library. It was written by--what my brother and Dara think to be--one of the Creation Spirits. It tells of a war the will shake the Earth, and if the nations don't stand unified, we shall be destroyed by this new threat." Eldunar collected the piece of paper and turned back to Cassian, "My brother told me to show you that if you didn't accept the first deal," he said, "I'm glad to see you're not as foolish as the Southern Water Tribe leader was. The Elemental Kingdom was all to eager to gain more military strength. The Light and Dark Nations were no problems, we already gave them a lot to begin with it was a simple matter of what they could do for us in return. And as for the Earth Kingdom, they had been friends since the death of Ozai. You though, you questioned our motives...Owlan would respect you for that were he here." Eldunar clasped his hands together, in his mind he was tired of explaining, but he dragged on for the sake of his brother, "So you see, no matter what it takes, no matter what we have to give you, Owlan will do it to get you to join us. Join us, or we'll all be destroyed." Eldunar didn't know what he was saying anymore, but he was sure that it was the wine talking.

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:41 am

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Cassian leaned over, intending to extract the papers from the prince's hands. "Humph. That is an impressive feat," he said, regarding Owlan's accomplishment. "Foolish of you to assume an attack on the Tribe will have similar results, but an impressive feat nonetheless."

With the leather pages in his grasp, Cassian attempted to review it, but the letters warped in his vision as he struggled to understand. It was some draconian language. Cassian recognized few words. He had caught news of a new language cropping up in the Fire Nation. Few natives uttered the language, but it was obvious it was spreading. "This. This is a prophecy?" he said, incredulous.

He paused for a long moment. "Ultimately, this is my father's decision. He seems to be in favor of a truce. An alliance. If this prophecy is true, I would like to adhere to it."

Cassian extended his hand. "Have we made an alliance?"

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 4:55 pm

"That's all up to you," said Eldunar, a hint of arrogant victory in his tone, "Can you agree to the aforementioned terms? We really are having fish stock problems, those would've been brought up regardless. In return we'll pay you handsomely for them, and supply you with military. Together our Nations will support each other?" Eldunar walked over to Cassian and removed the parchment from his hands, "It's best you didn't tell anyone else about that though," said Eldunar, "Dara doesn't exactly know we have it on loan. But, that is not the point. Do you agree to our terms?"

Subject: Re: Hindrence Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:08 pm

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Cassian felt a hot, seething "no" burn within him. There was no doubt Anuk would have difficulty accepting this man's terms, especially after an insult, and when their favors were unneeded. In the past, it were always the Northern Tribe aiding the other countries, never vice-versa, and certainly not now.

Fish stocks and military service did not sit on equal terms. It was a lot the Fire Nation was giving up, and he might be a fool not to consider. In the end his pride won, and he was making amends, "All right, I will except your service under two conditions: one, do not try to impose your military customs on us. You will be rebuked. Two, any sign or action of superiority on your part -- the deal will be annulled.

"With that, I expect a smooth alliance. The tribe has many fish to offer. Your force will be of great advantage in a time of need." Cassian still had his hand outstretched, and wondered with a prick of irritation if the man was ever going to shake it.

"I also," he added, "Must inform my father of your 'prophecy'. He'd always liked knowing all the details."