Fateful Gathering| Kouzai, Kyo & Lee.

Eldunar stood behind a curtain while his servants dressed him in the finest robes of gold, emerald and vermilion coloured silks, imported from every corner of the globe. On the fingers of his right hand they placed the three rings of his office; the red gold ring with a flame-shaped ruby, signifying his rule over the Empire and its lands.  The black metal ring with the obsidian sphere set into it, to signify his rule over the Dark Nation, part of a matching set, the other one worn by the Dark Lord.  And finally the golden ring with the yellow sapphire shaped like the sun, worn by Light King's and their rulers, the Vermilion Emperor's ever since Owlan had made it so.

His brother's rings, his brother's empire, his brother's palace; hell this was even his brothers room.  Eldunar had inherited Owlan's legacy.  Owlan was the second son of their father, Fire Lord Tsun-Zu, and had Eldunar not turned down the position of Fire Lord upon their father's death it would be Owlan in this position right now...but the gods had not made it so, and Owlan had been the great one, known posthumously as Emperor Shinsei, or the Divine Emperor.  But now his brother was Spirit King in stead of the dead Raiden, and it was Eldunar's duty to sit on throne until his nephew of his age.

Therefore it had been Eldunar's call to marry his eldest nephew, Hideyoro, the son of his youngest brother, Erolass, off to the daughter of the Light King, in order to strengthen bonds between the two nations.  Eldunar wanted to do the same with his niece and the newly appointed Dark Lord, but the boy was an infant, and worst of all he was already married.  With a sigh Eldunar recalled the unstable monarchy of the Dark State.  In the past few months of his rule it went from Monarchy, to Military Government, back to Monarchy.  This instability was his fault, he knew, but he intended to atone for his mistakes.  "Damn him," thought Eldunar, "He made it look so easy. Divine Emperor indeed..."

"Are you sure this is wise?" asked Erolass suddenly.  Eldunar had forgotten he was standing on the other side of the curtain while he dressed.  "Yes, brother," said Eldunar hottily, "It is the wisest thing this family's ever done.  We need to start making dynastic unions.  It will bind the two crowns of Dark and Light to us even further.  You can't expect a few signatures of deceased and former rulers on a page to bind us forever?  We need to show constant fealty to one another.  Heirs are not usually like their predecessors.  Look at the Earth King, Onao--"  "Former Earth King, brother," added Erolass.  "--Yes, whatever.  The point is, the man was as gentle as a bird, yet his son was the exact opposite.  If his father hadn't fallen ill the boy would've kicked us out of the land given to us by his father and started a war no doubt...but he came here to live with his father and care for him instead.  Passing his line on to the Branch Family."

"What does that have to do with marrying my son off to this princess?" asked Erolass.  Eldunar's faced reddened slightly as he maintained composure.  Walking out from behind the curtain, he stared hard at his brother, "Nothing," he said simply, "However, I am marrying your son to the Light Kingdom to show fealty.  I am granting him Regency of our holdings in Nippon, as an added bonus.  Your son is blind, and he is terribly shy.  He should count himself lucky that I found anyone at all." Erolass looked plainly at his brother, "I could say the same about you and your moods," he said flatly, "You used to be much friendly when you were Regent Lord of Ember Island."  "Well I'm not Regent Lord anymore," said Eldunar annoyed as he walked towards the door that separated the meeting room from his bedroom, "I am Emperor, Vermilion Emperor Eldunar, First of My Name, Protecter of the Realm, Lord of the Light and Dark States, Ruler of Nippon, Blood of the Sun and Guardian of the Dragons.  Now come, the meeting begins."  Erolass bowed his head slightly as his brother spoke, but walked towards the door behind him.  "Remember, let me do the talking," hissed Eldunar finally, "Come."

The two brothers entered the room as a herald repeated the titles Eldunar had just done, followed by a modest introduction to Erolass.  The two bowed low to the Light King and his daughter, but not too low as to lose their authority.  "I welcome you to my city and home, Light King," said Eldunar proudly, "I hope you find everything to your liking."  Eldunar and Erolass took their seat at the head of the table near the Light royals.  "Shall I get some food? Wine perhaps?  It's a personal family label, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.  A nice summer red--we have fruits from Nippon as well, grapes and the like.  Delectable and delicious; tropical enough for your liking I'm sure."  Politics was a game of words; Eldunar was not just offering the man hospitality, but he was displaying his wealth and power in such subtle tones that even the oldest and most seasoned kings could not decipher his true intentions.  Owlan's words went through his head "Appearance is everything; and a ruler is what his nation makes of it.  Appear strong and your nation shall be strong, appear weak and your nation will fall to those beneath you who believe they can do a better job.  Do not appear weak--ever!"  And so the politics began.

Hikaru bowed a little lower than the emperor and his brother and closed his eyes in respect of the two. "You run a healthy land my Lord. Bread would be great, as for the wine, I usually don't take part in such festivities but I would gladly accept your offer." He straightened his back and made himself seem taller than he usually stands. Hikaru placed his hand on his daughters' shoulder and spoke "I am grateful that you would allow me and my daughter a Presences with the Emperor of the Vermilion Dragon blood. Shall we speak now, or after a fine dine with the Reagent Lord and the Emperor?" He smiled with a serene look and a sparkle in his face.

When Hana heard footsteps coming out of the room, she quickly sat at a big red couch. She pinches her left thigh as a stop-day-dreaming and then puts a smile. As the door opened her heart beats fastened. As always, Hana inhaled, counted to 3, and let the air out and then did a 2 second praise to the gods. When Hana saw who entered the room, she even calmed down more. It was the Light King Hikaru. "Thank the Gods you are here" she said with a relieved voice. The Light King seats next to her without a respond. Maybe he is organising his thoughts. One minute pass and Emperor Eldunar arrive along with his brother Erolass, the regent Lord of Ember Island. Hana and the king stand up and bowed to them and then Hana seats down again.

Emperor Eldunar offered Princess Hana and King Hikaru wine and tropical fruits from Nippon, but all King Hikaru replied was ''You run a healthy land my Lord. Bread would be great, as for the wine, I usually don't take part in such festivities but I would gladly accept your offer". Hana noticed how King Hikaru straightened his back and made himself taller then he usually stands. Hana crooses her legs and with a smile says "I would appreciate a cup of tea, if it doesn't bother you my Lord".

Eldunar smiled and turned to his servant, "A fresh plate of breads and some summer red wine," said Eldunar softly, "Also, if I could have a plat of that...dragon fruit is it?  That one brought from Nippon; it's delectable."  The servant bowed politely and left the room.  "Now, my old friend," said Eldunar turning back to the king, "You are here to discuss your daughter's marriage into the family of Ezofuji-no-Tsukiyomi, correct?  My nephew, Hideyoro, is the son of my youngest brother, Erolass."  Erolass bowed his head politely, "I'm sure your daughter and my son will get along famously; though my son is only twelve, he will make a suitable husband."

Erolass cut his speech short, there were so many things he wanted to say about his son, so many things that he felt he needed to say as the boys father.  He was wondering how Eldunar would breach the topic about Hideyoro's sight.  He was blind but he could see through spirit bending...and he was such a careful and justice-loving boy.  Erolass bit his lip and let his brother's wisdom guide them, however.

Eldunar paused as the servant returned with the food.  Placing sliced fruit infront of the Emperor and the wine in the middle of the table.  Bread was brought, still warm from the oven for the Light King, while wine was poured for both monarchs.  Eldunar brought the wine up to his nose and sniffed it whimsically, then sipped it and smiled.  "Delightful," he smiled, "Please; pour my brother some."  "I don't drink," said Erolass quietly, but Eldunar's sharp look did not permit him to continue, and he was given wine anyway.

"Now, shall we get to the point?" asked Eldunar as he daintily placed some dragon fruit in his mouth, chewing gently.  "There are terms, I'm sure, that you would like to bring up in the matter of marriage, Light King?" asked Eldunar, "In particular, I'm sure you're here to discuss the size of a dowry, possible land benefits...succession rights, am I correct?"  Eldunar was getting right to the politics now, the food and hospitality was only for show at this point.  Here is where the politics became most important.

Hikaru nodded slightly and said "Yes my lord there are terms. We would like a plot of land inside the new lands of Nippon to expand our kingdom along with a sum of gold to sustain it along with all the costs of imports and exports of goods in said land." Hikaru kept a straight face and not even blinked as he proclaimed his demands in exchange for his daughters hand in marriage. He glanced to his daughter to see if she was behaving herself.

Hana listened as she pinched the wineglass' stem between her index finger and the thumb. She shakes the glass of wine slowly, to see the wine's volume. By the volume, Hana knew the percentage of alcohol was too much. At least for her... She have never been a good drinker. Hana takes a sip of the wine. The sourness of the wine gave her goose bumps. She puts the cup of wine back in the table, and pick a dragon fruit from the basket full of Nippon fruits.

"Yes my lord there are terms. We would like a plot of land inside the new lands of Nippon to expand our kingdom along with a sum of gold to sustain it along with all the costs of imports and exports of goods in said land" King Hikaru said with a straight face. She saw the Light King checking on her. Hana puts a smile and then turn her head towards the Emperor, waiting for the answer. She liked the idea of expanding the kingdom. She had discussed it with the King and Queen countless times. She wants the best for the kingdom. After all, she will inherit the throne in the future.

Eldunar sipped his wine silently and watched the king, thinking his offer over slowly.  He didn't want to seem to eager to respond, lest he seem weak, but if he took too long he would seem rude.  There was a prudent matter of time needed to do these kind of exchanges.  Finally, after several minutes, Eldunar spoke softly, "I'm sure I can speak for my brother here when I say that the exchange is adequate," said Eldunar softly, "I will give you Kamiki Village then, but not the soldiers in the barracks within.  The barracks I would prefer remain there--that is where our training center for Colonial Soldiers resides, the benders there are much stronger than here...it almost seems a shame to waste their talent.  Besides, they wish to defend their own lands they may do so, who am I to stop them?"

Eldunar looked over at Erolass, who had remained silently shy throughout this whole meeting.  He had done exactly as he had been asked and nothing more, Eldunar was proud of that.  "Now here are my terms," said Eldunar slowly, "I would like the payment of one hundred thousand gold pieces paid in name to our crown, to fund the construction of military academies in your nation so that we may build a Light Bender's Army as you have previously requested.  Furthermore, I must ask--should your daughter, Princess Hana, inherit the throne, that Hideyoro be named King-consort to her, and act as her Light King and co-ruler while she cares for the Light Bender's State.  Does this seem fair, Your Grace?"  Eldunar had given the man a village, what he asked for in return was not unusual; the money was going right back to his kingdom, and putting his nephew on the Light Throne tied him closer to their nation.  If he could only marry off one of his nieces or nephews to a Dark Royal now, Eldunar would have his grip firmly sunk into the two states, and allow them the political indulgences that come with being related to the Imperial Family.

King Hikaru contemplated the terms in his head. This could either make his kingdom stronger or meld it in with the Vermilion Dragon Empire even further. The use of the military academy would be a great idea not only to help the empire but also make the light kingdom stronger. This was a chance to gain strength to fully support themselves. They may now have a claim in the Light Kingdom throne but it would help their growing nation. King Hikaru stood up and gave a graceful bow "Our nation happily accepts these terms. May the Empire grow along with her peoples strength."

"Our nation happily accepts these terms. May the Empire grow along with her peoples strength."
said King Hikaru as he bowed gracefully to the Emperor. Hana wanted to discuss about the wedding, but it might be too late for turning back, the King already bowed to the Emperor. Hana would make a fool of him if she reminds him that there are still things to discuss. Hana ended standing up and bowing to Emperor Eldunar and Erolass.

OCC: Sorry I couldn't write much... But hat can I do? Im just a princess listening... lol.