Atmos
Casual Zuko
Tame the Flame
Posts: 946
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Post by Atmos on Jan 23, 2007 21:53:20 GMT -5
Well considering there's a lot thats going on and a lot that went on in my setting, I'd figure I'd supply some layout and background info of the setting. So for starters here are the tidbits and happenings in the Earth Kingdom **************************************************
THE EARTH KINGDOM - 100 YEARS LATER[/u]
List of Contents[/u] - Ba Sing Se - The Earth King - The Three Secretariats - Outside the Capital - Omashu Province - Si Wong Treaty - The Earth Nomads
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Ba Sing Se: The Capital
Ba Sing Se, the walled megalopolis, is the largest city in the world and capital of the Earth Kingdom. The city is noted for its giant, spanning walls and its complex system of roads and monorails that provide sufficient means of transportation throughout its interior.
The city alone has strong economic connections with all the major nations worldwide, which has had a big contribution to sustaining good international ties. There is even a steady industry of tourism provided for visitors. Business dreamers from all over the world flock to the city is hopes of big profit.
Its university is the largest educational facility in the world. Within the various sectors and boroughs, cultures from all around the world can be found. Currently the most focused city issue is the improvement of living conditions in the outer sector.
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The Earth King: Ruler of the Earth Kingdom
At the center of Ba Sing Se lies the Palace of the Earth King and Queen. The Earth King is the grand ruler of the Kingdom . Heirs to the throne are chosen through the royal family. He is protected with the highest level of security; the Royal Guard is a group of sentinels specifically tasked to protect the King and watch over his palace.
Though his role is most significant within the capital itself, it is the Earth King that has ultimate command over the trade routes and army through most of the Earth Kingdom continent. The Earth King is responsible to be informed of all important events that occur nation and international. This strict policy of awareness is to prevent any internal corruptions in the government such as the infamous treason of Secretariat Long Feng, over 100 years ago.
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The Three Secretariats: The Earth King’s Advisors
Another method to prevent any miscommunications to the King was to assign more than one secretariat, each handling specific fields. Secretariat Alpha takes charge of the military and other law enforcement departments. Secretariat Beta takes charge in handling and supervising the economy and trade throughout the Kingdom as well as the capital’s urban development. Secretariat Gamma is head of the Education and Health Department including responsibility to be up to date with any environmental issues such as possible droughts or plagues that could threaten the Kingdom’s civilians. This system has significantly increased the progress throughout the departments.
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Outside the Capital: The many towns and villages of the Earth Kingdom
Towns and villages span all throughout vast continent, which holds a variety of biomes, with several large forests, the lush central plains, numerous mountain ranges and the even the world’s largest desert. Most towns are hundreds of miles away from the capital usually have no trouble fending for themselves with a establishment of local security and agriculture. Depending on the size of the settlement, leaders can range from a village elder to a governor. Yet there are set of standard laws that every settlement must follow, including a universal judicial system.
The currency is the same throughout the continent. And conveniently the national tax is an optional one. Towns can apply for “trade security” in which military security is distributed from the town’s roads which connect it to major trade routes. Requesting for “trade security” requires a regular tax fee. Settlements can also pay an extra tax for overall security if the settlement lacks its own.
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Omashu Province: The Tiny Earth Kingdom
The mountainous province of Omashu is a small territory that surrounds the city of Omashu. The city is the second largest city in the Earth Kingdom. Its government, though separate from the Earth Kingdom with its own standard laws, holds a strong alliance with the Earth King. The small province is ruled by its own King.
Unlike heirs of the Earth King, which born through royalty, the title of the Omashu King is earned through an official earthbending tournament. The tournament includes a series of tests which not only demonstrate the contesters earthbending skills but help reveal their worthy to rule as King or Queen. And once that individual claims the title, they’re ruler for life. So a tournament is only held right after the death of the late ruler.
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Si Wong Treaty: Agreement with the Sand Tribes
The Sand Tribes, nomads of the Si Wong Desert are best noted for their sandbending - a unique earthbending style. Never have they desired to be part of the Earth Kingdom’s rule and the Earth Kings through the generations never had a problem in leaving them be with their ‘barren wasteland.’ The relation had been such so until 50 years ago when the Earth King at that time proposed to build a dungeon within the desert. The Sand Tribes had heavily protested and felt the King had disrespected them in planning to throw away their criminals onto their land. After a decade of dispute the Earth King and Sand tribes had settled for the relocation of the prison in a dry valley just north of the desert. The prison had been designed to hold in the worst non-bender criminals in the Earth Kingdom as well as criminal waterbenders.
After the construction of the prison the Earth King proposed a written charter, the Si Wong Treaty, to make their relations official. The Desert would be considered out of bounds of Earth Kingdom law. The Sand Tribes had agreed, and since then there had been no tension. Meanwhile the Earth Kingdom had established two desert ports - one at the southwest end of the desert and the other at the northeast. These desert ports are towns where merchants and other travelers can seek desert guides. Many businesses and traders are now dependant on traveling through the desert. Many of the Sand Tribes have been making a modest profit as desert guides ever since.
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The Earth Nomads: The Legacy of Earth Master Toph
The Earth Nomads are a group founded by the first Earth Master, Toph BeFong. Earth Nomads live a similar lifestyle to the Air Nomads. The group, made up entirely of earthbenders, continuously travel all throughout the continent and constantly build their earthbending skills. They have established several shrines throughout the Kingdom. The Earth Nomads, now fairly known to the public, are usually welcomed wholeheartedly into the local villages and towns. Earth Nomads willingly go out of their way to help any civilians, whether it’s temporarily assisting on laborious chores or guarding merchants out on the road, all in exchange for just a bit of food and supplies.
Though their lifestyle may be similar to the Air Nomads, their attitude is 100% earthbender. They travel year-round through any weather and any terrain. And when they take a break from wandering, their earthbending training is incredibly intense. The leaders behave like rigorous drill sergeants, showing no mercy to even the newly arrived. Being able to withstand the training is the only requirement in being a nomad. One of the most intense exercises is to train and travel blindfolded, forcing members to learn to sense their surroundings through earthbending. Their motto is simply “Treat others the way you want to be treated,” while respecting the local laws. Any member has the freedom to join and leave the group at anytime. Most members join the nomads in their teens for several years to decades for the experience before returning back to live an average life. Others become Nomads for life, learning the most experienced techniques. So far only a handful of earthbenders have managed to actually bend metal. Even fewer people raise their family amongst the nomads as they love the lifestyle so much.
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Atmos
Casual Zuko
Tame the Flame
Posts: 946
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Post by Atmos on Jan 26, 2007 21:35:21 GMT -5
THE WATER TRIBES - 100 YEARS LATER
List of Contents - The Northern Water Kingdom - The Southern Water Tribes - The Ice Warriors - The Foggy Swamp Tribes - The Reef Island Tribes
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The Northern Water Kingdom: Land of the Urban Ice
By far the largest of the water nations, the Northern Water Kingdom spans across the southern coastline of the North Pole. Towns interconnect through frozen highways and ferrying systems. The largest settlement is the city of Yue, capital of the entire Kingdom. The most recognized feature of the Kingdom is the eloquent architecture of the buildings which are made almost entirely of ice. Transportation throughout the Kingdom includes the coastal traffic of ferryboats and buffalo-yak drawn carriages on the frozen highways. Recently there as been a booming increase in the usage of automobiles imported from the Fire Nation.
The City of Yue has a complex canal system within its interior which is run by a workforce of waterbenders. Fishery takes up a vast percentage of their economy. The bigger towns and cities are also dependent on the harvest of summer grasses from the many smaller villages. (Most of the grasses are shipped from islands just south of the North Pole).Over the years, the Northern Water Kingdom has become dependant on the trade from the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom for clothing and other fabrics. The Kingdom as adopted many of the art and music from the Earth Kingdom highlife. Overall, the lifestyle at the north pole as drastically modernized. The Kingdom is ruled by a royal family in the heart of Yue.
Despite the efforts made to bring equality to women 100 years ago, the Northern Water Kingdom still attains traditional customs adjacent with significant gender segregation, and the populace wouldn’t have it any other way. Traditions haven’t changed because anyone who opposed such view would simply immigrate to other nations, preferably the South Pole. Most of the population are fully aware how other nations may look down upon some aspects of their culture, but look over it with their pride of their development. The city of Yue holds an all boys academy, which is the largest waterbending training facility in the world. The Northern Water Kingdom also has for the largest Healers Institution: a boarding academy for female waterbenders. Deep within the pole’s interior there is a maximum security prison which possesses a population of criminal earthbenders.
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The Southern Water Tribes: The Polar Opposites
Unlike the densely populated and urbanized North Pole, the South Pole is occupied by a large yet expansive community of villages of various sizes. The largest settlement is the port town of Kana , which is the biggest spot for trade. The villages throughout the tribe are very self sufficient, thanks to the more flourished ecosystem. Unlike the North Pole where the majority of its coasts are jagged glacial cliffs, the South Pole is surrounded by numerous rocky shores and shallow coasts allowing an assortment of animals to beach breach, which are heavily relied for food, clothing, and shelter. Overall the inhabitants of the South Pole ‘rough it out’ much more than their Northern cousins. Each individual (male and female) are raised to be self sufficient and learn various survival skills. Male and female waterbenders are subjected to all forms of training, including healing. Their government is very modest. Each village is led by a chief or elder. The leaders regularly congregate at Kana to have to keep up to date with local events or to discuss and debate important issues or decisions. The villages have several organized programs. One includes a mandatory field trip for all young teenagers where they are taken north, to the continent of Chatura* to camp out in the wilderness for 6 months. There is also a second yet optional expedition to spend a few months with Foggy Swamp Tribes. Another unique group commenced several decades ago was the start of CryoWarriors.
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The CryoWarriors: Specialists of Ice
Combining waterbending with the deep tribal customs, waterbenders of the Southern Water tribes can enlist an exclusive curriculum of cryo-training. Waterbenders not only taught to handle a variety of weapons but to form them out of ice. The most common base-tool is a staff or narrow club. Utilizing their waterbending the wielders immerse their base-tool with water and then mold it into any desired weapon before freezing it in shape. Wielders can shape out anything from a sword or mace to a lance or spear. And held weapons are not the only focus in the training. Trainees learn to other various techniques such as creating armor. With the combination of their physical strength and waterbending, ice armor can enhance the wielder’s power and agility. This form of training branches away form traditional waterbending.
Both genders are permitted to the training, though almost every male waterbender choose to become a cryowarrior. Cryo-training has yet to be adapted by other water tribes.
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The Foggy Swamp Tribes: The Green Waterbenders
On the western end of the Earth Kingdom continent lies a vast brackish-water mangrove swamp. The swamp actually consisted of one giant mangrove tree that spans throughout the marshes. The mass abundance of life exist primarily in the canopy, including a wide diversity of epiphytes, non parasitic plants that grow on other plants (in this case the giant mangrove). But the swamp is best known for the magic properties of the mangroves presence. People can encounter various illusions, particularly visions lost loved ones. The strength of the illusion can reflect of how much the spectator has grieved for their loved ones.
The majority of the local inhabitants are split into five tribes across the swamp. The tribes are completely self-sufficient in the swamp, almost never making contact with outsiders. The only regular association the Foggy Swamp tribes has outside the swamp is with their cousins from the South Pole. The Foggy Swamp tribe are best known for their unique style of waterbending, plantbending; they can manipulate the movement and growth of plants by bending the water inside of them. Two of the tribes live an almost entirely arboreal lifestyle, hunting and gathering exclusively in the canopy and living in treehouse complexes. These two tribes heavily stress their practice in plantbending. The other three tribes mainly fish and hunt at the watery surface, getting around by canoe.
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The Reef Island Tribes: Of Mermaids and Water sprites
During the last war when the Fire Nation had led a massacre to the Southern Water Tribe, a percentage of the population were forced to flee north out into sea. After weeks stranded out in the ocean, the refugees had stumbled across a small chain of uncharted islands in the tropics. These islands provided a safe haven to the refugees in a variety of ways. The islands were completely outlined with extensive barrier reefs, so during the war, Fire Nation navy ships never attempted to reach the shores of these tiny isles. Though there were times when a naval ships had anchored a distance from shore sending out smaller boats to scout the area. The refugees, who were on constant watch around the beaches at the time, made sure that no one would reach the islands. With the aid of their waterbending, the refugees would dive and streamline through the waves and with team effort cause whirlpools and other tidal disasters that would keep the Fire Nation at bay (or in this case away from the bay). After a decade of scaring off the Fire Nation the navy never bothered to stop at the islands ever again. The sailors successfully spread their terrifying stories of their encounter with malicious mermaids or water spirits that haunted the islands’ shores. It was not until two decades ago when the Reef Island tribes were revealed to the rest of the world.
Overtime these tribes grown to live a hedonistic lifestyle; their hardest work include gathering fruits and herbs in the jungle and fishing out in the reef, living in tiny huts outlining the jungle interior. But the tribes have made even these vital chores very enjoyable. Though they have discovered the use of ‘plantbending’ it is no where as developed as the skills of their swamp cousins; the tribes only plantbend to levitate and transport their stock of fruits and nuts, especially coconuts. Waterbenders, let alone anyone else in the tribe, are hardly fighters and the only traditional form of waterbending they still practice is healing. But their most unique skill of waterbending is their super-swimming or “streaming” as they call it. Bending the water around their bodies, a waterbender can swim through the water as if they were flying; they can swim just as efficiently as dolphins. As a matter of fact, swimming with dolphins is exactly what they spend much of their time doing. The Reef Island tribes have a strong connection with the local dolphin population. They swim, play games, and even fish along side each other.
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*Chatura is the new name for the continent of the Southern Air Temple
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Atmos
Casual Zuko
Tame the Flame
Posts: 946
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Post by Atmos on Jan 28, 2007 13:26:06 GMT -5
A fabric whipped and fluttered in a soft yet constant howl of wind. That was the first thing Hanara heard as she peeled her eyes halfway open. Laying on her side, her hands nestled under her cheek. She hummed as she awoke with much content. She felt so refreshed, so revitalized. A pleasant nap was exactly what she needed after a long night at patrol.
But despite the good sleep she couldn’t help but recollect the most bizarre dream she had had. She dreamt that Earth King’s palace had been infiltrated by an airbender. She dreamt of traveling with a firebender across the entire radius of Ba Sing Se on top a flying dragon. And upon reaching the outer walls she had fought along side some bounty hunter in attempt to capture the criminal airbender and his mistress companion and then…It felt so real. Hanara widened her eyes.
Staring off over the ground she saw her katana in its sheath right beside her. Hanara took note of the flapping fabric and the howling breeze, as if a large flag was fluttering in the wind. She puckered her eyebrows. That’s when she started to take in her surroundings. Not moving her face, she looked up at the brown walls that swayed around her. She was in some kind of tent. Cautiously she lifted her head and looked at herself. The woman noticed she was on a flat quilt and a thin beige sheet draped over her body. In her mind she submitted to the reality, It wasn’t a dream. All of it…it wasn’t a dream!
“Ah, so your finally up!” A voice welcomed her from behind.
Hanara twisted her body around to face its source. She gasped in a spook, “You!”
Right next to her a man sat cross-legged on a separate blanket. He wore a thin open vest. His entire right arm and half his torso was wrapped in white bandages. His pants and boots were part of a Fire Nation uniform. He had a pencil and small book at hand. He also wore the familiar dark-red headband around his tall pointy hair.
“Good morning,” Zai greeted with a smile. “You sure slept like a baby.”
Hanara lifted her torso up. Her long walnut brown hair, no longer in the tight bun, draped over half her face. Her mind was completely overwhelmed, “Did you say morning? It’s morning? But it was already morning hours ago.”
“Hours ago? Oh, should I say ‘Good next morning?’ You were asleep through a whole day and night. That sleeping formula’s sure is a doozy.”
“Sleeping-” Hanara then remembered when that bounty hunter injected her with some sort of needle. “Why that scoundrel, I’ll! Wait a minute?!” She zoomed her gaze on Zai, “You said I’ve been sleeping all day and night!” He just nodded with a plain expression. He was about to speak, but Hanara went into a anxious frenzy. “Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness!” She flung the blanket off of her. Scanning frantically she sought out her katana and quickly grabbed it. Sitting up on one knee she asked, “Why didn’t you wake me?! I’m supposed to be on patrol! What part of the city are we in?! How far are we from the outer wall?!”
“How far?” Zai gave her a weird expression before bursting into a quick laugh. “How far are we from the outer wall? We’re ‘very’ far.”
“Wait! We’re back inside the city?! What the hell am I doing in a tent?!”
Zai’s golden eyes looked straight at her, “Hanara. We’re not in the city. We’re nowhere near Ba Sing Se.”
Hanara’s eye widened, her brain was about to explode from the shock, she almost didn’t believe her own ears. In a calm yet unstable tone she grinned, “We’re not in city?”
Again Zai nodded, “Yes. We are not in- AHHH!”
With lightning speed Hanara had unsheathed her katana and pounced fiercely onto Zai. Zai slammed right onto his back, causing all his bruises and injuries to ach all over again. Hanara’s face was only a few inches away from his. The cold steel of her katana pressed firmly over his neck. Any harder and her sword could pierce his skin, but her menacing stare was enough to kill. With her teeth tightly clenched she hissed, “Where the hell did you bring?! Give me one good reason not to kill right here!”
Zai choked. Whether it was from nervousness or physical strain, he started sweating form the side of his face. “If you kill me now…” he coughed, “you’ll be stranded.” Hanara drew her face closer to his while shifting her sword up right under his chin. She then pressed her hand onto his right should “You really think you’re in a position to make a threat.”
Zai shook his head and groaned, “No…You’ll really be stranded, We’re in the middle of nowhere.” She lifted her face up with a curled brow. Hanara then shifted her eyes to the walls of the tent rippling and swaying about by a constant breeze. Why is it so windy outside? She thought curiously. Hanara then stood up off of Zai, leaving him choke. Stepping to the side of the tent, Hanara grasped her sword with both hands and swiftly slashed a tall ‘X’ through the wall. She then marched outside.
Hanara flinched from the sudden exposure of intense brightness from the rising sun. Her hair whipped about in the dusty breeze. She swiped off several grains of sand from her eye with her finger. “Unbelievable…” the word dripped from her mouth in awe. She looked to the left, then to the right. She climbed up a small dune to get a better view at the never-ending landscape of sand. Zai was right, they really were in the middle of nowhere. Hanara’s whole body became tense. She was in the middle of the Si Wong, far away from her city. Far away from fulfilling her duties as part of the Royal Guard. Far away from everything she had worked so hard to for. Everything she accomplished to prove her loyalty and worthy to protect the Earth King, the very ruler of the entire Earth Kingdom. Her goals of a faultless record, the respect and trust she had gained. She had lost it all within the endless dunes that surrounded her. Hanara closed her eyes tightly. Her fists clenched. Her body also shook from the tension. She wanted to throw her sword in the air and scream out loud. But before she could unleash such chaotic energy, something tapped the shoulder of her thoughts. It calmly repeated, Stay sharp, Hanara, stay sharp. Listening to that phrase, her eyelids relaxed. Hanara took a deep breath, “Stay sharp. I can’t lose control in any situation under any circumstances. I’m a member of the Royal Guard. I‘m an elite.” As she meditated a soothing ripple from her mind spread all the way down her body, alleviating much of her tension. Hanara opened her eyes. Her bangs swayed in the wind in the way of her way. She marched down the sand dune and headed straight back into the tent.
Zai was up on his feet, rotating his shoulder and shaking off the aches. He stopped at sight of her but managed to keep his cool. He grumbled, “You know the tent had already had an entrance.” He then thingyed his head back and rose up his palms up as Hanara aimed her sword right at him; the tip was just an inch away at his chest. Hanara demanded, “Why are we in a desert? And why did you bring me here?” She expression was plain but her voice was austere.
Zai put his hands down, “Basim decided to stop here to keep a low profile. Though coming here…‘low profile’ may seems kind of like an understatement.” He chuckled in attempt to lighten the atmosphere, but Hanara’s emotionless stare was unaffected. Zai cleared his throat, “Well besides that, I figure you should know I’m not the one that brought you along. Basim just told me you got hit with a sleep dart and-”
Hanara retorted, “Did he tell you that ‘he’ was the one that stuck me with the needle?”
Zai did a double-take, “He did?!” By the sudden surprise, it seemed he really didn’t know.
“And you didn’t bother to ask why he just decided to kidnap me.”
“Kidnap you? Whoa, whoa, you got it all wrong. We didn’t kidnap you.”
“We?” She titled her head, “So you ‘are’ sharing the responsibility in this.”
Zai’s tone became more agitated, “Alright, enough of this. Of we kidnapped you, do you think we would just leave you sword lying right by ya? Look, I’m sorry, but at the time I’m was a bit preoccupied with my own wounds,” he pointed his hands to himself, “So no, I didn’t bother to think entirely about you. There I said. I’m sorry for being selfish.”
“Sorry? You better be sorry! You are walk up to me outside the palace, you ask me to come with you on your big scaly steed with short notice, reassuring me we were going to the outer wall. And now I’m here in this this….far away from the outer wall.”
Zai crossed his arms, “Jeez, the way you seemed so eager to come with me, I’m surprised to see you act this way.” He stopped as the sword came closer.
“Eager to come with you?! Eager to…” She stuttered with frustration, “I was ‘eager’ to capture the criminal who infiltrated the palace and threatened the safety the Earth King.” Hanara then blinked at Zai, “Wait. The infiltrator! The nightbender! Did you capture him?!”
Zai rolled his eyes aimlessly and in a childish manner he actually fiddled with his index fingers, “Uhhh…well…I captured his attention…and,”
“You didn’t capture the Nightbender,” She immediately ridiculed him. At that point she withdrew her sword. Hanara placed her fingertips above her nose and massaged her sinuses. She whispered to herself, “So this ordeal…was a complete waste. This whole-”
Zai overheard and stopped her, “No, no, no. This wasn’t a complete waste. We have a lead, sort a. Remember that woman you fought. She was a comrade of the Firestorm, or the Nightbender and-”
He successfully regained her attention, as he gasped, “That’s right. We managed to subdue her before the bastard put me to sleep. Where is she?”
“The ’bastard’ is interrogating her as we speak.”
“Where are they?!”
“They’re in the other tent on this side.” He pointed right behind him, opposite from Hanara. Without saying anything she walked right passed him toward that direction. Zai just asked, “Hey, Basim said not to disturb him while he’s questioning…hey hey hey! Don’t rip another- Aw, come on,” Zai moaned as he watched Hanara tear through the tent wall and step out. Only a few yards away stood the second tent, its crown swishing in the breeze. She paced straight to its side and decided to give a surprise welcome. Using the same method as before, she swiped her sword across the sheet wall and made her way inside. Her jaw dropped at the sight. At the center of the tent sat the dark rugged man, Basim. Sitting across from him was the woman they had apprehended, her dark hair fastened in two pigtails. But the woman wasn’t restrained in anyway; her limbs weren’t tied or anything. She sat comfortably in front a full course meal; Chi had a full mug of water and a plate of rice with a side of greens. The distortion of Hanara’s mentality almost caused her to drop her sword. She finally spoke up, “This…is an interrogation?!” Her volume increased after every syllable. Both Basim and Chi were still staring at her. Basim murmured with melancholy, “You ripped my tent.”
Chi gave a stuck up snort, “How rude.”
Hanara’s mind screamed, What the hell is going on here?!
Clenching the sword to her side Hanara paced right toward Basim and then sliced it forward. Its tip barely reached the man’s neck. Basim hardly flinched but raised his chin up and away from the sword and held a grin, “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the tent.” His tone was rather jovial considering his position.
“Why did you put me to sleep?” she demanded, “Why did you bring me here?”
“Oh, this is interesting,” Chi commented as she watched from her spot, “So you used a dart on this lass as well?”
“Basim?” Zai called out. He had just stepped in Hanara’s newly made entrance, “Is this really true? You didn’t tell me that you were the one who did it.”
The man heaved a sigh before he responded, “Yeah, I put her down.” He turned and looked up at Hanara, “Don’t take it personal, but in my line of work, I don’t have nor take any affiliation with the authorities. You’re part of the government, so at the time we had captured this madam here,” he gestured his hand to Chi, “if told you that I wouldn’t of handed her over to your comrades we would probably end up expressing our…disagreements, and that was a risk I couldn’t take. So I apologize for any surprises. But when you had arrived at the scene, I had assumed that your friend here would have elaborated on the details of the operation.” His eyes shifted to Zai.
“Friend?!” Hanara swung her sword back, aiming at Zai, “We’re barely acquaintances!”
“Alright, would you stop pointing that thing at me!” Zai yelled.
Hanara pierced a glare at Zai, “And no, he didn’t elaborate on the details.”
Zai coughed as came up with an excuse, “Keep in mind I was in a bit of a rush. And it was hard enough to get your cooperation as you screamed most of the time while we were flying.”
“Well excuse me for never riding on a dragon before.”
“It’s okay,” Basim nodded, “I screamed the first time too.”
Chi sighed, “ Apparently I ‘slept’ through my first flight.”
“Quiet you!” Hanara ordered at Chi, “And don’t even think on trying to pull anything.”
“Listen sister,” Chi matched her tone with Hanara, “If you haven’t noticed already: we’re in the middle of a freaking desert with a fire-breathing pet lizard swooping around. That’s just a little bit out of my comfort zone. Killing either of you isn’t going to help much either. Yeah, I guess I could be upset about the whole situation, but Basim here pretty much works the same field I do, so I understand more than most that this is all just part of the business; I’m just getting a taste of my own medicine, with a bit of a luxury,” She eyed at her food. “I know when I’ve been beat, and I’m just sucking it up for now. I was just about to give my statement until you decided to join us.”
“Hanara,” Basim grabbed her attention, “Look, I’m sorry this turned out this way and I promise to settle the matter with you as soon as I have my little discussion with Chi.”
There was no point in fueling the rowdy atmosphere, nothing would come of it. And as much as she hated to admit it, Hanara was in the same exact situation as Chi. It was only best to take advantage of everyone’s civility. Withdrawing her sword, she rested her arms. “Okay You two can resume your discussion. I’ll quietly wait here.” She steeped back to a corner of the tent and sat herself down. Basim looked at her with a bit of concern, “Are you sure you don’t want to wait at the other tent?”
“I’m sure,” Hanara made no hesitation with the answer.
Basim just huffed out a breath before turning back to Chi, “So, where were we?”
Chi was chewing on a green bean pod, “Mmm…I was about to tell you exactly what you wanted to know: where you can find the Firestorm.”
“You do know where he is!” Zai pointed his finger at her with a stern excitement, “Where is he hiding? Why does he work for the rebels? What do they plan on doing?!”
Basim sighed as he wiped his hand down his face, “Don’t you start now,” he grinned at Chi, “This is why I wanted him to wait outside.”
Chi looked at the firebender. She stared at his golden eyes. Her eyes then drifted, slowly scanning Zai’s body from top to bottom. Hanara could have sworn the woman was actually checking him out. Chi looked back to his face and said, “Well well. So you’re the one who went face to face with Eason…and lived.”
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Ming Ue
Haru
MingZula: The one true ship!
Posts: 341
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Post by Ming Ue on Feb 1, 2007 17:23:30 GMT -5
Chapter One Review: Very Nice Story so far and very well written. The plotline seem intersting and you have a nice way of putting it together.
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Atmos
Casual Zuko
Tame the Flame
Posts: 946
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Post by Atmos on Feb 2, 2007 17:16:05 GMT -5
Thanks Twilight! ;D Glad you like it so far
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