The Fables of the Five Realms
Chapter 1: The Little Prince
From: Prince Eigen – The Royal Prince of Lestria
To: King Augustus II of Oiropa.
Dear Father:
I cannot help but feel uneasy as I prepare to greet the diplomatic mission from our sister planet of Eridan – the Planet of the Four Nations. Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang have recently concluded a peace treaty that ended a war that spanned fifty five of our years and I do not know if they rule a people fully ready for the huge cultural impact contact with our world will have.
On Duria, we have had interplanetary travel for over two centuries but we have avoided contact with the world of the Fire Lord and Avatar because we feared the cultural impact they might have upon us. Only after their Great War ended did some come to believe we could benefit from trade and exchange with the Planet of the Four Nations.
We studied their culturally sophisticated civilizations from afar and we pondered how another race of humans could exist on another planet. Some think we share a common ancestry and at one time many tens of thousands of years ago we may have come from Eridan or they came from Duria. Do we really want to open those questions up for careful examination? The more conservative among our people prefer their own popular prejudices and enjoy a comfortable belief in our inherent superiority. They will dislike the idea that we have come from the same stock as our raucous neighbors one planet away.
When our agents contacted Fire Lord Zuko and revealed themselves; he asked if our advanced medicine could restore his sister, the Princess Azula, a female. The Eridani still have the female gender and heaven forbid if one day a female set foot on our planet! Some might tolerate it as a sign of the times and yet others among us might show their anger that a female touch Durian soil. Such ideas do not linger far below the surface for many of us.
I do wish to spare their world from the disaster that faces them when Sozin's comet returns. It would smash their world to ash. I know we have the technology to save their world and must co-operate with them do accomplish this feat. I know technology gives us the ability to accomplish many great things the Eridani cannot imagine but once the illusion of power fades; both our races remain frail and human. Our desire to help our poorer neighbor shows charity but I have my grave doubts as I await the coming diplomatic mission.
I have my duty to Our Empire and to my loving father. I will not fail in this mission but I wished to take time to express some of my doubts about the course of action we have chosen. I will depart in one week and I have immersed myself in my studies of Eridani culture. I will do our House proud. Pray to the Gods for the success of my mission.
Your Son: Prince Eigen
Duria orbited the Jovian sized gas giant planet of Bellaria – a name taken for an ancient God of beauty. Bellaria had great beauty with intricate rings and bands of yellow, tan and white and the varied assortment of seven moons that orbited it. Duria lay the furthest out at seven million kilometers and only it supported advanced life. The next two moons had Martian like atmospheres and liquid water and hosted microbes but no advanced life. The inner moons ranged in size from the size of Mercury to the same size as the Earth's moon. The massive gravitational field of the gas giant Bellaria explained why the Royal Imperial Yacht the Imperia had such massive engines and such a large, long profile.
It took the Imperia four weeks to travel from Eigen's home planet to the strange new World of the Four Nations as they had come to call it. The positions of the two planets determined the travel time and Eigen had not left at the best time. The Imperia had a long and thin profile and measured over a kilometer in length. It needed imensely powerful engines to provide power to drive the large ship out of the gravity well of the gas giant planet. The Imperia had fifty crew and two hundred passengers and servants who performed tasks from cleaning to cooking and everything in between. It consisted of a long central section shaped like a long, thick square pole with the engines at the rear and the shuttle bay at the front. The center housed the spinning passenger sections that looked like large rectangles twirling on long arms. The Durians had taken time to give the outside of the ship as attractive a finish as possible with off white finish and blue accents. The outer layer that finished the huge ship also protected it from the cosmic rays sent out by the Sun and consisted of a dense alloy of depleted Uranium, Iron and Carbon a foot thick. A layer of urethane foam half a meter thick provided thermal protection while a steel skin formed the inner surface. The few windows that looked out into space consisted of a sandwich of foot thick lead glass on the inside and a slab of foot thick denser glass doped with rare earth elements with a gap filled with high pressure argon and nitrogen half a meter across between them to provide a thermal break and to provide the same kind of protection an atmosphere provided against cosmic rays. The Imperia did not make any attempt to shed mass or look light and made use of two fusion reactors to provide power and thrust. The total result of all of these layers of protection meant that Prince Eigen would receive less of a dose of radiation traveling between the two planets then he would receive spending a day in the Fire Nation.
Prince Eigen knew the nature of the planet of the Four Nations. It had a gravitational field about two percent stronger than Duria and he would barely notice that. The doctors had told him he would encounter and atmosphere with about three fifths the oxygen of that of his Homeworld. In real terms that worked out to the equivalent of climbing a five kilometer tall mountain and they gave him drugs to help his body adjust. He worried about the heat. The warmest days on Homeworld reached only 30 degrees at the warm regions of the equator and then only during the summer during heat waves. Their probes had measured heat waves where the temperature went beyond 40 degrees with humidity for weeks during the summer.
Captain Varyen rode the tram that took personnel down the center spine of the huge ship. The acceleration pushed him into the cushioned royal blue cloth of the seat. The tram could take a dozen crew people to different parts of the ship but the captain had the white plastic covered tram car to himself. The tram stopped and the captain floated out in zero gravity. Even though he had sailed the reaches of the solar system for two thirds of his life, he held the hand holds and made it toward the hatch that led to the spinning sections. The hatch led through the very center section and so while the center of the ship did not spin, a large round hatch led to the spinning section. He had to make certain he had opened the right hatch for the ship had two habitat sections that spun on long arms. The hatch opened and the Captain floated through. Captain Varyen could see the white plastic roof and white lights spinning over his head as he waited for the elevator that lead to Prince Eigen's quarters to slowly spin past him. He grabbed the grab bars and pressed the red button to call the elevator. He felt his weight returning as the elevator descended into the living quarters.
The captain left the elevator and walked down the long hall to the lounge where Prince Eigen had set up a kind of informal office.
Prince Eigen placed his tablet computer on the table and raised his left hand in a salute, "Greetings captain."
"Even with our best surveys, our data on their culture remains incomplete." Captain Varyen looked at the tablet computer which displayed Prince Eigen's Mandarin lesson. Captain Varyen never expressed emotion and stated his opinions and the facts with equally well thought out blandness. He had a clean shaven square jawed face like that of a tough football coach but he expressed his displeasure or in the form of well timed stern stares. He had earned a reputation as a talented captain and wore the robes of a highly decorated commander but spoke softly and carried the big stick.
Captain Varyen blandly stated a plain fact. "You may find you have a difficult path ahead of you."
"Many of our own people doubt our intentions. I have heard what many our the royal families have to say and much of it is very pessimistic. Had the Empire's most skilled captain not placed his confidence in the mission and had I not volunteered my skills for the mission; I doubt the Imperial Court would have allowed us to use their flagship." Prince Eigen smiled confidently. "I must do my best to make our mission a success and make a good impression on our hosts."
Prince Eigen had the sweet looks of a young man only beginning his life with his eager looking teal colored eyes. Captain Varyen had lived three times as long as the Prince Eigen but the prince had the luck of having a lofty social position. The captain hoped the prince could handle such an important diplomatic mission and he hoped the reputation of the likable young Prince Eigen would survive the controversy surrounding the mission. The prince had a keen mind but like most members of the Noble Caste; he was as much engineered as trained, lacked the intuition experience bestowed and was naïve to a fault.
Prince Eigen placed his tablet computer on the table and raised his left hand in a salute. "I have to thank you for your support."
"You have put in a great deal of effort to study their language." Captain Varyen looked at the tablet computer which displayed Prince Eigen's latest Mandarin lesson.
"A friend of mine has studied their language and translated some of their children's literature for me." Eigen tapped his finger on the tablet. "At least I can make a brave attempt to learn their written language although I must admit I wished they had an alphabet."
"During their long War we tried all sorts of methods to study their culture directly." Captain Varyen sat down at the table when Prince Eigen motioned for him to do so. He sat on a high backed blue cloth covered chair bolted to the floor next to the table. "Our scientists had fits trying to develop probes that could covertly observe the culture – they were only partly successful. Our robots could hide and observe from a distance. A few brave souls landed on the planet and lived among the natives but they took great risks and some never returned home."
"I have plans to ask Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar if they know their fate." Prince Eigen sighed. "Of course I do not expect they will have much useful information."
"You have a singular honor. I will never have the chance to set foot on an alien world." The captain said. Captain Varyen could see through the window by Eigen's table and could sense the spinning motion of the center section. The stars moved as the section spun to provide the sensation of gravity so things on the ship would behave properly.
"You have explored the Solar System." Eigen said in a comforting way.
"We watched from afar and sent our spies but you will be the first person to openly set foot on another inhabited world." Captain Varyen gently corrected the prince. "I am your captain and as your captain I must ask you to take a break and make sure you don't overdo things. Take time to relax and enjoy the ship."
The shuttle hovered over the very same courtyard where Prince Zuko, Katara and Princess Azula had battled. The pilot deployed the landing struts and a deafening roar filled the palace courtyard as he hovered and then slowly descended onto the stone pavement of the palace court. The shuttle had the long and thin body of a military helicopter but wore the same white and blue color scheme as the Imperia. It had two canards below the side windows of the cockpit. A set of three skids came out of the body of the shuttle as it descended – one large on at the front ant two smaller ones at the rear.
Prince Eigen sat in the seat next to the pilot and breathed a sigh of relief as the shuttle finally touched down on solid ground with a dull thud. He felt his gut tighten as the scram jet engines went from a rushing howl to silence and he realized that history would record him and his pilot as the first people from his world to land on this world.
Prince Eigen had spent three weeks on board the royal interplanetary yacht - the Imperia. The ship had ferried the Royal family from the home planet to the colonies. While the Planet of the Four Nations fought their Great War, the Durians had spread from Homeworld to the furthest reaches of the Solar Systems: even to ice bound worlds on the outer reaches of the system. Prince Eigen longed for the comforts of the Imperia as he watched the Fire Nation delegation with Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko walking toward the shuttle. Prince Eigen felt the pilot undo his five point restraint and guide Prince Eigen out of the cramped space of the cockpit.
"I am Prince Eigen." Prince Eigen whispered under his voice as he waited and the pilot opened the door. They had rehearsed some things and the agents of Duria sent in secret after the War had given Fire Lord Zuko a special receiver to help plan this event. Even with such preparation, Prince Eigen did not know if every detail had been taken into account. The door slid open and Prince Eigen stood quietly as the Fire Nation delegation approached. Prince Eigen nervously adjusted his uniform and took his time to let his body become accustomed to the gravitational field of a planet once more. The ramp slowly unfolded and touched the ground and Prince Eigen reached for a small palmtop computer in a shiny metallic blue case with a flat touchscreen that translated for him until he fully picked up on the language and placed it on his belt. He placed a tiny earpiece in his left ear and then stepped down the ramp.
Prince Eigen found himself surrounded by new sensations. He had studied for this mission but their sun beat down with more force on this planet. He knew Duria had a cooler climate, heavier atmosphere with more carbon dioxide and lay almost a hundred million more kilometers further from the Sun than Eridan. He could breath but felt like he had climbed to great heights as this planet had a thinner atmosphere. The heat and humidity struck him like some kind of invisible wall and even though he had taken medication to prevent heatstroke he felt weak. His eyes would have struggled had he not had implants in his cornea that dimmed the light to bearable levels. His pilot checked his sidearm – a taser type weapon which would not prove lethal. He followed behind the princess in a similar uniform to Eigen's but accented in olive. At least the gravity seemed normal although he had spent three weeks in space in the weaker bond of artificial gravity which never quite felt normal. He saw new trees that had strange long leaves – Eigen had never seen a palm tree or any tropical flora and he studied the details carefully.
The Imperia had a swarm of bored botanists, geoscientific experts and other scientists who wanted a chance to collect warm and cold specimens and poke their instruments on the Planet of the Four Realms. They had to wait for Eigen to conduct his negotiations and if the young prince failed; he would gravely disappoint all of them.
Fire Lord Zuko watched the door of the strange craft slide in and then open. A young man stood in the doorway and looked on. The strange man had braided, long teal hair and blue eyes and wore a dark blue uniform with a black vest. It fitted him loosely and looked to Zuko almost like something worn by Fire Nation nobles. He stood shorter than most but Zuko had no idea if this was the norm for this new nation.
Avatar Aang did not know what to think as he saw Prince Eigen. Prince Eigen had a kind face and except for his odd hair color would count as handsome. He had delicate features and looked like someone raised among royalty without want for anything. Had someone suggest to him that their world had a neighboring planet when he lived as an Air Nomad – he would have thought them unhinged. He faced a new reality as the Avatar and had experienced many strange things in his adventured that opened his mind.
Avatar Aang watched the new arrival and one question entered his mind. "Has he really come from a world with no women?" Aang asked Zuko in a hushed whisper as they walked toward the shuttle craft that in Aang's mind could not fly without air bending.
"Odd that you would ask that first." Zuko whispered back. He had taken care to make certain the young prince would not see women in his stay. Lady Mai had retreated with her retinue of servants to the relative isolation of their home on Ember Island with Lady Ursa and Princess Azula.
Zuko tried to look unimpressed and calm but he had fallen under the spell of the Durian's advanced technology. Zuko wanted to know how something without a balloon or wings could hover and fly. He had many questions such as 'what was it made out of?' and 'how could it tap such power that it could defy gravity?'
Zuko bowed as Prince Eigen and the severe looking pilot now acting as his guard approached within two meters and stopped. Prince Eigen saw the Fire Lord dressed in his ceremonial black and red robes and wondered how he kept from fainting in the unbearable heat. The Fire Nation guards wore the same dress but stood by awaiting Zuko's orders or the next action on the ceremonial itinerary. Avatar Aang wore unassuming saffron yellow robes with the symbol of the Air Nomads carved in a wooden disk that hung from his neck. The Avatar looked like a boy and Eigen who had not quite come to grips with the concept of the Avatar. Eigen thought Aang looked vaguely ridiculous with his blue arrow tattoos. Eigen held back slight irritation since it looked as if the great Avatar – their spiritual leader – had no inclination to greet him in decent clothing.
"Welcome to our world." Avatar Aang bowed in synch with Zuko and spoke his greeting.
"Thank you." Prince Eigen relied on his palmtop computer to translate for him and hoped the slight delay would go unnoticed. He raised his left hand and held it in greeting. "I am honored to meet you."
Fire Lord Zuko heard the strange language of Prince Eigen: a tongue filled with sweet sounding vowels, soft consonants and a syncopated rhythm. A voice matching his came from a thin blue box his belt and translated his words after the Prince had finished speaking.
"I am grateful to the help you provided to help my sister." Zuko cleared his throat as Aang shuffled uneasily in the heat of his yellow Air Nomad robes.
"You are most welcome." Prince Eigen spoke as he studied Zuko. Zuko looked like a strong leader although the scar seemed to cast a bit of an air of disreputably to him. Prince Eigen could not imagine a member of such a high caste choosing to keep such a birth defect or allowing mental illness to go untreated but he knew aliens were alien. "She will remain well as long as she takes her medication."
"Shall we retreat inside where it is cooler?" Zuko offered and gestured with his hand. Zuko felt relieved that the encounter went well but had noticed the Prince and his guard had begun to look haggard from the heat. He knew they came from a cooler planet and the harsh thirty five degree heat and humidity made them uncomfortable and short of breath.
"May I ask the name of your guard?" Aang followed alongside Zuko. Aang noticed the pair of them walked in step as if trained. Aang had many questions about their exotic culture and they ran through his mind as he walked with Zuko. 'How did they live without women?' Aang wondered but he had received some warnings not to ask the Prince such questions.
"No." Prince Eigen said with a sudden abruptness that made Aang take pause. Aang had learned from Zuko and the experts brought together to deal with this visit that the Prince came from society based on a caste system.
"I am sorry." Aang bowed as he walked backwards.
"I should not have spoken so abruptly." Prince Eigen felt some relief as they entered the Fire Nation palace through two red varnished doors held open for them by two guards. "I have to admit I am a bit overwhelmed."
"I will take you to your quarters." Zuko began. "We have provided seperate quarters for your guard next to you."
"Thank you but my guard stays with me." Prince Eigen had come from a society full of formal expressions and levels of address and found the manner in which the Fire Lord spoke casually and directly quite shocking. Eigen had not expected a palace to look and feel so bleak. The floor had gray slate tile polished to a dark charcoal. The walls had red and gold wallpaper that ate the sunlight. The lamps hung from golden hooks cast a red and dreary glow. Eigen had grown up in the Lestrian Luftpalast which had light, cool colors, white pine floors, ornate white plaster ceilings, frescoes and works of art. Above all, it had huge windows – some of artistic stained glass telling historical tales that let sunlight pour through.
"May I call you Eigen?" Aang asked quietly in an attempt to begin the conversation anew.
"May I call you Aang?" Eigen smiled for the first time. "It seems only fair."
"Certainly." Aang smiled. Aang had studied the information they had on Eigen's home planet and the culture. Aang decided to take the egalitarian approach and try his best to act as his friendly self since most normal people liked friendly people and it took much less effort than trying to understand Eigen's way of life. Aang had learned Eigen's people lived in a patriarchal society based on a caste system made up entirely of men. They had a monotheistic religion based on something that translated as the Great Lord or God of All Things though no one really followed it. Aang could not understand the family lines or how they decided who became king and what made Eigen a prince. Even stranger, these people had no knowledge of bending. Aang had many questions for Eigen and even desired to visit their planet but doubted the culturally aloof and iconoclastic Durians would not allow it.
Zuko had been told Eigen's people had told him they had no interest in his nation and his world except to prevent its destruction when Sozin's comet returned in a century. Zuko did not know if this made sense. The Durians might have a sincere desire to prevent a catastrophe and they wished to establish trade. Fire Lord Zuko figured Prince Eigen had no military experience. He had a guard to protect him and looked like someone who needed protecting. At the same time, Zuko knew it was wise to keep Eigen confined to the palace during the visit. The world already knew of their human neighbors orbiting the gas giant planet sixty million kilometers further out from the Sun. They had seen the Avatar return and the Fire Nation defeated and so this appeared as one more sign of the times. Zuko and Eigen's people had agreed the greatest danger came from the spread of ideas and technology among the less advanced people of the Planet of Four Nations.
"I am a singularly lonely person." Prince Eigen said to himself as he sat at the blood red varnished desk and entered a report into the tablet computer. He had a large room with a washroom with fixtures of fine pink marble with gold fixtures. He had a large four poster bed with red linen and the nightstand had red vase with a delicate arrangement of red flowers. He had not talked to anyone in the Fire Nation save Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar and then only when the meetings had been arranged. He had spent only a quarter of the day on this planet – this planet had half hour longer days by his reckoning.
A knock came at his door. His guard opened door and Fire Lord Zuko announced himself.
"Please enter." Prince Eigen said.
"I hope I didn't disturb you." Fire Lord Zuko waved to dismiss his retinue of two guards as he sat down in a red velvet ornate chair next to the large window. Prince Eigen's guard remained in the room and kept an eye on Zuko. A small square silver box with colorful buttons on the front about the size of a breadbox sat on the desk and made a faint buzzing sound. It emitted cold blasts of air and Zuko could feel the cold through his robes. Prince Eigen came from a colder planet and what proved a comfortable room temperature for him gave Zuko goosebumps. Zuko had no idea what powered the box but compared to the technology needed for spaceflight that proved a small mystery.
"Not at all." Prince Eigen showed Zuko the tablet computer and held up the stylus. "I had begun a report to Homeworld but that can wait. What can I do for you?"
"Is that some kind of writing tablet?" Zuko examined the table which looked about the size of a letter sized sheet of paper and about as think as a stack of perhaps twenty sheets but had a finely detailed glowing color screen.
"Of a sort." Eigen placed it on the desk and turned to face Zuko.
"You wish to establish a consulate on our world." Zuko looked carefully at the little prince.
"You would have to agree to that." Prince Eigen said carefully. "I have barely learned how to catch my breath in the thin air of your world. I haven't given any thought to the future of the relations between our worlds."
"You have advanced beyond us and have machines I could not even imagine." Zuko tented his fingers. "If you wished, you could enforce your will on our world as the Fire Nation tried to impose its will on the world."
"Your homeland didn't succeed." Eigen knew Zuko intended to speak very frankly with him and gain some measure of the man. Eigen decided to play the same game with Zuko. "If all it took to win a way was technological prowess then the Fire Nation should have won the fight. I have heard past Fire Lords committed themselves to conquering the world, had the will to do it and had the machines. Fire Lord Sozin committed genocide and wiped out Aang's people and the Fire Nation didn't win."
"You have watched us for some time then?" Zuko said quietly as he rested his head on his left hand.
"Indeed." Eigen said frankly. "We even have reports of something we call 'bending' – a kind of telekinesis among some of your people."
"I did not know that your people knew of this." Zuko raised his head.
"Among our people we have a certain class of people who have psychic powers." Eigen said as if bending did not constitute a great mystery. "We have people who can read the thoughts and intentions of others with some training. A few people can see into the future or the past and report events. One very rare group can move objects from a distance – some can ignite objects, others can move them but we do not fully understand these powers."
"I see." Zuko leaned back in the chair and had begun to relax as Eigen began to talk.
"On my own world, I preside over a small northern nation called Lestria." Prince Eigen tapped his fingers on the desk. "I held a position of little importance but I have the ability to understand the intentions and thoughts of others. The King of our world sent me here because such a talent has endless uses."
"Can you read my thoughts?" Zuko asked and leaned forward.
"I could." Eigen straightened out his uniform. "But it takes concentration. Think of it as like listening to a single instrument in an orchestra – you need to put forward some effort to track the flutes."
"Could you pry state secrets out of my mind?" Zuko asked frankly. Zuko began to think of important and yet secret affairs of state which included secret meetings with King Bumi and others during Eigen's stay. He promptly suppressed them as best he could.
"I could not." Eigen smiled kindly. Eigen could do many things and yet had a strict command not to reveal the full extent of his powers and he paused to come up with a convincing lie. Eigen could not lie well due to his honest nature but he had prepared for this line of questioning. "You speak a language I do not yet know. I have to rely on my computer and software so while I could pick out impressions I can't pick out useful information. Even if we spoke the same language I don't know your world and have only a shallow understanding of your culture. I understand how my culture places people in castes and each caste has a style of dress, a certain color of uniform or clothing. If you saw an image of a crowd of people in the courtyard of my palace you would see a crowd in many different colored clothing but I would see it and tell instantly that the man in the orange robes was a merchant while those dressed in red and black like you belonged to the religious orders."
"I came to ask you to join me on a tour of the palace." Zuko could hear Prince Eigen panting because of the thin atmosphere. "If you feel up to it that is."
"I must admit the thin air of your world has taken a toll." Prince Eigen stood up slowly from the chair and smiled cheerfully and gestured in acceptance of the invitation. "But my physician told me my body would adjust."
Azula stood for a moment at the end of the hallway. She could see the guards at the door of the Prince's quarters but she doubted if the alien visitors could outdo her in the art of subterfuge. Fire Lord Zuko had thought she had gone with her mother to Ember Island and her mother thought she had remained at the palace in order to protect her fragile mental health. The Fire Nation guards watched as she strode up to them.
"You may not pass Princess." The taller of the two Fire Nation guards posted to protect the visitor said authoritatively.
"I see." Azula pondered the option of threatening the guard but knew this would not succeed.
"Can I ask that you let the Prince know I wish to visit him?" Azula asked as politely as she could.
"I cannot." The guard said.
"Please indulge me," Prince Eigen spoke as his guard opened the door, "I will receive a visit from this person."
She had not anticipated the skills Prince Eigen had with telepathy. He had known of a strange presence for some time and he became very curious as Azula approached the guards. He did not regard Azula as a woman since she gave him the impression she had the thought patterns of a man. She looked like a woman but this did not make an impression at first – that piece of information took a few seconds to sink in to his mind. His personal guard stood at the ready as Prince Eigen examined Azula.
"You have poisoned me." Azula hissed as she stood with her arms crossed and shivered. The small box sitting on the desk that pumped out blasts of cold air to keep the room at a bearable temperature for Eigen made Azula shiver. Azula felt like she had crossed into the northern latitudes of the Earth Kingdom in autumn.
"Indeed," Prince Eigen regarded Azula with mistrust as he faced her, "at least with our help you can think better."
Azula wore a harsh expression on her face. "For all the good that has done me. I could spend the rest of my life in an asylum and suffer from my own kind of torment and anguish or I could spend the rest of my life in this palace suffering with a clear mind."
"I warn you not to try anything violent!" Prince Eigen looked into Azula's eyes. "I can read your mind."
"I didn't come to do something unspeakable to you," Azula raised her eyebrows, "I came to discuss some matters with you."
"We do not allow women on our planet." The Prince motioned her forward. "Of course this is not my world so I must accept things as they are."
"Your planet must have a colder climate." Azula rubbed her arms with her hands and shivered. "I suppose I could learn to live with it."
"You came here to appeal to me for some kind of asylum." Prince Eigen looked at the amber eyed woman as she confidently spoke to him.
"I offer my services as a diplomat." Azula stood before Prince Eigen and examined his delicate face and his odd teal colored hair. She bowed slightly and delicately. "You will need one at some point."
"I regret to tell you that you are unqualified for the post." Prince Eigen held up his hand.
"Because I am a woman?" Azula poured herself a cup of tea from the pot on the desk.
"And a war criminal," Prince Eigen continued. "You may have regained your faculties but you still believe in your cause."
"When you arrived yesterday I watched you speak with my brother and the Avatar and you had to use a kind of machine." Azula sipped the tea. "Now you have no trouble understanding me without it."
"I have a brain implant that learns language for me." Prince Eigen pointed at his head. He had an implant that learned language but also allowed him to send messages and communicate with computers but the Princess did not have need to know that state secret. The tablet computers he had were easier to use but could go missing or break so Eigen had an implant in his brain to act as a computer and allow him to remain in touch with Homeworld even if his tablets failed. "I needed time to hear enough of your language for it to process and learn your language. Unnatural but necessary for diplomacy."
"If you have such powerful medical technology," Azula followed Prince Eigen around the room showing no concern for the poor man's level of discomfort. "why can't you modify me to suit your purposes?"
"Make you a man?" Prince Eigen sat on the desk chair.
"I think you ask me to give up far too much." Azula leaned forward. "I meant give me a change of mind with some kind of brain implant."
"Our people would never accept you." Prince Eigen scratched his head. "Even if we could change a mind, no operation could remove your past. You don't strike me as the polite diplomatic type. You would spy on our government, take bribes and do anything to gain the upper hand."
"Isn't that what diplomats do?" Azula cracked a smile. "You spied on us during and after the War."
"We prefer to use the term conducting anthropology." Prince Eigen smiled slightly. "I suppose you call it spying but that implies you have some secrets we wish to know."
"Why did you choose to contact Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar first?" Azula looked at her nails.
"Your brother led the most technologically advanced civilization on the planet." Eigen explained. "Avatar Aang is the most important religious figure and the last Air Nomad. I had no role in making these decisions."
"I will vanish from history," Azula said quietly, "I sided with evil."
"Most people have no footnotes in history." Prince Eigen tapped the touch screen of his tablet computer as Azula watched on in interest.
"I almost became Fire Lord." Azula continued.
Prince Eigen shifted uneasily as he examine the tablet computer. " I knew that."
"I suppose you fear I might try to take over your world." Azula smirked. "Emperor Azula?"
"Our Emperor is kind only a figurehead." Eigen placed the tablet computer on the table and tented his fingers. "The Holy Durian Emperor doesn't rule as the Fire Lord rules. The Emperor basically keeps the throne warm and meetings of the Royal Committees dull. His name hints at a religious function but he doesn't function as a religious leader."
"A ceremonial monarch like the King of the Earth Kingdom." Azula said.
"With a generous pension plan." Eigen laughed.
Prince Eigen entered the throne room as the two guards posted to guard it opened the double doors. Zuko had not seen him without his guard but the stern looking man did not accompany him. Prince Eigen found Zuko pacing the large room and waited a moment, cleared his throat and tried to work out exactly what he should say. The throne room paid homage to the element of fire and a wall of orange flame separated the throne from the rest of the massive gray room. Fire Lord Zuko had taken the young Prince on a tour of the palace the previous day and explained much of the tormented history of the place. Eigen could not manage to make himself feel at home in the monstrous bowels of the palace. He had hoped he would learn to cope with the heat but discovered his people didn't sweat enough – Prince Eigen smelled very nice but hovered on the edge of heatstroke.
"I have to tell you that Princess Azula has remained in the palace and paid me a visit." Prince Eigen said quietly. "She wanted to serve as diplomat I believe."
"I had expected as much." Fire Lord Zuko leaned against a one of the dark stone pillars. "My sister could not resist a chance to see a real live alien."
"Or ask him to help her leave this place." Prince Eigen had begun to find breathing easier but he could not bear the heat or humidity for long and found walking any distance outside of the guest quarters exhausting.
"I thought you would take offense at seeing a woman." Zuko faced Prince Eigen and leaned against one of the stone pillars in the throne.
"I think my schooling has prepared me for this kind of thing. I didn't turn into a pillar of salt if you were worried." Prince Eigen said.
"She is a deeply unhappy person." Zuko watched as Prince Eigen paced the room and suppressed the urge to chuckle. He had not expected such a subtle wit from his young colleague.
"As long as you know." Prince Eigen said.
"How are you adjusting?" Zuko saw Prince Eigen suffering in the heat.
"I can breath easier." Prince Eigen said obligingly. "I still feel like I am being baked alive when I leave my room. I suppose the officials that planned my trip would have done better than to plan it for the middle of the summer."
"We suggested Kyoshi Island but it proved too remote. Ba Sing Se has less ferocious summers but we couldn't provide proper security. Omashu has a pleasant climate in the mountains but the air proved too thin for your people to breathe easily." Zuko said. "You might find travel easy but we still can only travel as fast as our best sea ships can carry us."
Eigen shook his head. "We crossed the distance between our worlds in only a little more time than it takes to sail to Kyoshi Island. Well here I am. I have a mission to meet with the Avatar and the young Fire Lord and discuss what kind of common future we have."
"As I understand it, without your help we have no future." Fire Lord Zuko watched the small prince pace the throne room. Eigen tried with much effort to look dignified but Zuko saw the inexperienced and naïve prince. This helped Zuko trust him.
"A comet will strike your planet in a little less than a century." Eigen said frankly. "We have known your world had life long before we had the means to visit it. When we began studying your people we found this world had a civilization in the midst of a horrible war and decided to leave you along. We changed our minds when the War ended after a hundred years."
"You felt pity on us poor backwards people?" Zuko raised his eyebrow.
"I wouldn't call you backwards." Prince Eigen said playfully. "We have our own history, our own tragedies and nearly destroyed ourselves. We didn't feel pity; we felt charity. We believe that our two worlds could forge a future based on trade and mutual gain. To let your world fall would deprive us of all of this."
Prince Eigen had two days to adjust to the heat, humidity and thin air of the Fire Nation and then the hard work began. Prince Eigen had a long meeting scheduled with Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko in the room used by Ozai as his war room. Prince Eigen had his guard bring the small table top air conditioner and his tablet computer in preparation for the long discussions ahead. Eigen walked quietly past the guards who opened the doors for him and his guard. Prince Eigen found Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang seated on dark red cushions on a platform at the back of the room. The palace staff had set out a cushion for Eigen and his guard. Eigen walked across the parquet floor that had a map of the world inset in exotic stained woods and took some time to examine it. The red wooden tokens once used to mark Fire Nation military positions in the Earth Kingdom had all vanished but Eigen knew what purpose the map had once served.
"Good morning." Avatar Aang stood and bowed politely in his most formal attire.
"Thank you." Eigen returned the bow as best he could. Eigen had mastered Chinese but the dictionaries of the two languages didn't quite match. His language based greetings on status and caste, not the time of day – as if someone said: 'Sir Eigen – your highness'.
Aang smiled lightly as he could see Eigen could not completely grasp the skill of bowing. Eigen and his guard took the cushions between Zuko and Aang and the guard placed the small box that blew cool air in front of Eigen and set it to blow enough cool air to keep them both comfortable and able to concentrate.
"With your indulgence." Eigen began as he touched the screen of the tablet computer. "I would like to show you the forecast for the orbit of Sozin's comet. I think this is important because we have determined the comet will likely collide with your planet in just under one of your centuries."
Eigen handed the tablet to Avatar Aang first.
"What am I looking at Eigen?" Aang held the sleek looking tablet in his hands.
"The image shows the track of Sozin's comet as it orbits. At the bottom is a time scale in your units of time." Eigen shifted uneasily. "If you watch the entire movie it will show our best prediction for the orbit of the comet and that it will likely impact your planet."
Aang watched the screen until the movie ended with a three dimensional rendering of a massive explosion in the Southern Ocean. Even for the Avatar it made a frightening spectacle as it blew a crater two hundred kilometers into the planet. Aang remained silent as he handed the tablet beck to Eigen who reset the device and passed it to Zuko. Zuko remained silent as he watched the movie play and remained silent for quite a few seconds after he handed the tablet computer back to Eigen.
"I had thought the end of the Great War would have brought an end to the threat of our destruction." Zuko said quietly as he looked down. "Are you certain?"
"Yes we are." Eigen sounded ashamed and placed the tablet computer behind him. "Simple celestial mechanics tells us this will happen."
"What can you do to help us?" Avatar Aang said seriously.
"We have the capability to nudge the comet into an orbit that does not cross the orbital plane of your planet." Prince Eigen breathed in gently. "If we did this, Sozin's comet would not return."
"And the Fire Nation would find itself at a disadvantage." Fire Lord Zuko explained further. "We would no longer have the ability to draw on the power of the comet."
"I know." Eigen seemed apologetic.
"I would like you to meet my father." Fire Lord Zuko said.
"What could I gain from meeting him?" Prince Eigen shook his head.
"You look like one of us," Zuko said as he looked down at the young Prince, " but you do not act like one of us. My father may be evil but in him beats the heart of our nation. You meet him and you will come to understand more about us."
"He represents the old ways." Fire Lord Zuko's face looked worried. "Some of our people might prefer to lose their lives than lose Sozin's comet. They fear losing the comet will weaken the nation and my father is one of these people."
Ozai had not seen his son for a week. Even in prison, he had a good idea what transpired in the land he once ruled. He had not anticipated his realm would make contact with an alien race but Fire Lord Zuko and the Avatar had begun the process of negotiating with them because Sozin's comet might fall into the planet on its return trip.
Those talks with Prince Eigen began today.
Ozai resented the meddling of the people called the Durians and feared the destruction of Fire Nation culture at the hands of these odd people. Ozai's mind had locked on the fact the Durians indulged in homosexuality and he did not approve of this.
Ozai had thought of hiring an assassin to kill Prince Eigen but feared the Durian reprisal. The Durians may be perverted, but they had great power even without bending. Even the best assassin could not hide his deed from the power of Durian science. Ozai realized that revenge was a universally understood concept and the danger was too great.
"Why has my brother come to visit me?" Ozai spoke as the guard let Uncle Iroh into his cell. "I thought you had a tea shop to manage."
Iroh remained silent as the guard closed the door with a clang.
"Have you become caught up in all this foolishness surrounding our alien visitors?" Fire Lord Ozai rose to his feet in his cell.
"I wanted to be here if my nephew and the Avatar needed my counsel." Uncle Iroh kept his eyes on Ozai as he paced inside his cell. He wore the green and light tan robes of a fine Earth Kingdom merchant which added to the visual offense Ozai felt. "I thought I would take the time to see if you have reformed – but I see no sign of contrition."
"My son has destroyed the Fire Nation." Ozai growled. "Better to die at the hands of Sozin's comet than to have these effete bastards trod on our soil."
"Many of the people of our world might disagree," Uncle Iroh replied softly, "and you do not have a role in these decisions."
Uncle Iroh and Ozai heard Fire Lord Zuko's voice in the hallway and the guard opened the metal door of the cell with a loud clang.
Uncle Iroh bowed politely as Fire Lord Zuko and Prince Eigen entered the room. Prince Eigen had never seen men with facial hair before his visit and it still troubled him as his culture viewed such a thing as uncultured and slovenly.
"This is the Prince I have heard so much about?" Ozai turned his back to the prince. "You will destroy our culture with your meddling!"
"Indeed." Prince Eigen found Ozai's mind filled with rage and hate. If he had the chance, Eigen sensed Ozai would have killed him on the spot. The hot, humid and dreary interior smelled of burning dust and Eigen had trouble imagining a more dreary place of imprisonment.
Ozai gave Prince Eigen a menacing glance to see if the little prince would flinch and felt disappointed when he did not.
"Is it true your people have watched us from afar?" He said.
"We knew of your world and studied it." Prince Eigen said politely. "When Fire Lord Sozin started the War and the Avatar vanished we decided it was best to leave your people alone. We thought you would do far less damage to your world if you didn't have access to our technology."
"And now?" Ozai turned away from the prince.
"A degree of sanity has overtaken your people," Eigen said, "or some of them."
"My son!" Ozai faced Zuko and bellowed. "What made you agree to this visit from that blue eyed oaf! I can see in his eyes contempt for all things Fire Nation and he looks like a frail child!"
"I came to contact your people and help them." Prince Eigen came as close to the bars of the cell as he dare. He could sense Ozai's thoughts and worried that if he dare come too close to the metal bars of the cell, Ozai would maul him. Eigen knew Ozai had called him out as a coward and Eigen determined to maintain self control: he could sense Ozai's thoughts but Ozai could not sense his. "Zuko said I needed to meet you to learn a lesson about fanatics."
"He enjoys his revenge." Ozai didn't as much speak to Eigen as growl at him. "He has me locked up in this prison cell. Better to kill me and have this torment end."
Prince Eigen felt a wave of dread flow across his small frame.
"You have plotted to kidnap me and kill me." Prince Eigen approached the bars of Ozai's cell.
"Many nobles wished you had not arrived." Ozai's amber eyes and dark sinister face filled Eigen's field of vision as the evil dictator loomed over him.
Zuko watched the look of dread fall over Eigen's face. "Eigen?"
"We have to hurry!" Eigen turned to Uncle Iroh and Fire Lord Zuko.
"We did do well to come and visit your father!" Eigen gasped, "your father has plans to overthrow you and has schemed to kidnap your mother and your wife."
"How do we stop them!" Uncle Iroh asked.
"I think it is too late!" Eigen turned away from Ozai.
Zuko banged on the door and yelled. "Guards!"
Eigen felt relief as the door clanged open when he pushed on it but he found no guards protecting it.
Ozai let out a roar and laughed in triumph as he pressed his foot on a stone and an opening appeared in the floor. He jumped into the gaping hole and vanished in a flash. The opening slid closed in almost and instant leaving Zuko, Eigen and Iroh standing in shock.
"We have to go!" Eigen snapped out of the shock and pulled Zuko's arm.
The three of them rushed out the door of the cell, down the long circling stone passageway and out through the front entrance to Zuko's carriage. The ostrich horses had vanished but their harnesses sat on the ground in the dust of the stone road. Prince Eigen took a moment to catch his breath as his lungs burned. The lavish dark red carriage looked out of place alone in front of the prison. Zuko rushed to the front and saw a thin trickle of blood and looked up and saw the driver on his seat with a long crossbow bolt through his heart. The glass of the front window lay on the ground in fragments and Prince Eigen's guard lay on the red velvet seat with a bolt through his neck. The rich velvet seat had hidden most of the blood but a pool had formed on the wooden floor.
"Who could do such a thing!" Prince Eigen stared at the carnage that unfolded before his eyes. Uncle Iroh stood next to to the young prince as he held his long teal colored hair and walked around the carriage studying the scene. Zuko realized they remained in grave danger: the archers had taken two very accurate shots and might wish to kill Prince Eigen. Zuko motioned Prince Eigen and Uncle Iroh away from the front of the carriage.
"I'm sorry," Zuko whispered as he knelt behind the carriage seeking cover from the invisible bowman.
"Notice the prison guards have vanished?" Iroh spoke into Zuko's ear.
Prince Eigen knelt beside him between him and Uncle Iroh. He recited a short prayer for his guard in a melodic language and then seemed to snap to attention.
"I should have known better. My sister and my father plotted against me." Zuko whispered as he knelt behind the carriage and examined the surroundings for any hostile movement.
"Can you fly that machine of yours?" Iroh asked.
"I can fly it," Eigen said somewhat sadly, "but I can't promise I can leave it intact."
"What do you mean?" Zuko looked to Prince Eigen with a confused look. "We have no one who can fly it?"
"I have to set it to self destruct. If anyone else tampers with it; it will self destruct." Eigen knew the shuttle represented a wonder of engineering to the Fire Nation even if it had no weapons to aid Ozai but leaving it in his hands was a bad idea. As backwards as the Fire Nation was, it could gain an invaluable technological lead over other nations from a study of such a machine. The computer would only let those it recognized even activate a switch but he doubted Ozai's allies cared to go for a flight. They would seek to take it apart and try to understand what made it work. The shuttle would self destruct; magnesium strips in the hull would catch fire and slowly burn the shuttle to a useless hulk. Such a system would allow the curious to escape but preserve state secrets but Eigen knew it had never had a test and no technological system was foolproof.
"Someone approaches." Eigen whispered to Zuko and Iroh and pointed to the figure of Azula running along the basalt field that surrounded the prison as if running for her life.
They squatted down and sat against the the ornate carriage in silence. Zuko could hear soft steps and he slowly prepared himself for a fight.
"Princess Azula!" Zuko stood up with a start ready to do battle with her sister.
"Our father has left the prison with a squadron of guards," Azula took a moment to catch her breath, "I had to leave the palace."
"Why?" Zuko stared at her sister.
"He would kill me for my failure to defeat you." Azula said flatly. "They will kill you, Iroh and the prissy prince."
"Is the shuttle still working?" Eigen stood up before Azula.
"No." Azula said. "A little blasting gel and fire bending zeal put an end to that."
"And the Avatar?" Zuko said sadly.
"Hiding and waiting for us," Azula crossed her arms and enjoyed the feel of being in command. "He will meet us soon."
"Why help us?" Uncle Iroh eyed Azula with grave misgivings and made no attempt to hide his mistrust.
"I hate Zuko, I hate you but I hate my father more." Azula said.
Eigen felt too low to feel unhinged at the sight of a six legged flying thing with fur and a gray arrow on its head. Appa silently landed and Aang jumped down.
"We must escape!" Aang shouted to the group.
A green eyed small mammal flew around the heads of the group and chattered.