Chapter 3: Fire in the Sky
Far from the Fire nation capital of Nomda and set deep within the mountain range of Casca, was the stronghold of the Earth Nation. The Earth Nation had indeed, expanded their borders to conquer most of the mountain range and into the forest, yet they loved the mountains dearly and did not wish to be parted from them. The Earth nation held the largest empire, but had the fewest people.
However, the Earth Bender race was enormous, their runts standing at an easy six feet tall, and their tallest at nine feet. They had grey hair and stone colored eyes. These people were known for their skills as elite warriors, great kings of men. From the time they were born, they were trained to wield any manner of weapon, yet their favorite being the War Hammer. They were a quiet people, never speaking unless needed. They were mortals, but were powerful beings and lived many lives that of normal mortal men.
The Earth Nation's capital was a massive city that had many passages undeground which lead into tall towers that rose above the mountain tops. The Nine Gates which protected the entrance into the capital city were legendary. The tales of their power and their magic was believed that any non-Earth bender could not enter the city without suffering great pain. The city was rightly named, Lindoth, 'Land of the Gates'.
At the highest tower, unsheltered from the howling wind and rain, stood the great Earth Kage, Lord Sebastian. He faced the storm, bare chested, looking eastward toward the Fire kingdom. The Kage of Earth, was a huge man, standing seven feet tall. He possessed great strength, and legend told that he lifted the tallest mountain in the world, Candun. With its roots, he dug the first foundations of Lindoth. Lindoth was a glorious city, for it was wrought within the mountain, under the mountain, and upon the mountain. The sides of the mountain were filled with tall buildings that seemed to be carved out of the mountain. The mountain itself was honeycombed with buildings and filled with light. It was the largest city that existed upon the earth.
His long grey hair blew about his face as he stood rooted to the spot. His stony expression was broken with a look of wonder as he saw a large fire shaped dragon, ignite the sky. To his surprise, fiery shapes of smaller Phoenixes burst into flame as if in response to the large dragon. Troubled, he swept on his large grey cloak and descended silently into the tower. He retrieved his crystal orb and set it on the ground. Closing his eyes, he commanded the earth in the Tongue of the Rocks and it seemed as though veins from the earth grew from the ground and attached to the orb. The orb lit up brightly in a shining white light and then burned red as if in flame. Suddenly, from the depths of the fire, a deep voice spoke, "Yes Lord Sebastian. May I help you?"
The Earth Kage sat before the fiery ball and spoke quietly in a deep voice, "Neil the Great. Hail the Fire nation, and long may you sit at the throne."
Sebastian spoke slowly and with deliberation with each word. The Fire Kage was not impressed with his words, "Lord Sebastian, I hear rumor that you continue to ignore my request. I ask only to receive passage into your mountains to explore and perhaps assist my people out of the desert, where they have received…ill-fated luck."
Sebastian sat silently, pondering his words. "Emperor Neil, the past is behind us."
Long ago, the Earth Kingdom troops destroyed three of the Fire Nation's greatest cities. This happened after the first years following the separate paths each Kage took. It was said that the Earth Kingdom warriors believed that they should be gifted with the Mountain of Fire since they were masters of mountains. When the Fire nation took the Mountain, the Earth Kingdom was enraged and slaughtered thousands of civilians as well as crushing their cities literally to dust.
Many people dwelt in each kingdom of the world. The art of 'bending' or controlling an element to a certain extent was taught by each Kage to their own people. When the Kages were united and lived in peace, they each had their own students to teach their arts. Not all people who live in each nation are necessarily 'benders'. Some may be citizens, or 'regular' soldiers which posses mighty skills as warriors, yet are not learned in the arts of any element.
Neil the Great strove to contain his anger, "Yes, the past is behind us, great Master of Stone. You must grant me access to your mountains so I may help my people. Otherwise, I may have to use other means to gain access."
Lord Sebastian too, strove to master his grudge towards the Fire Master, "And those signs in the sky? This is your doing?"
The Fire Kage smiled fiercely, "My people will be avenged."
The flames suddenly were extinguished as though doused by cold water. The crystal orb returned to being clear. The Earth King rose in terrible anger. He knew that the Fire Lord was up to something and had hidden intentions than simply helping his people. The earth rumbled beneath his feet as he strode to the Great Hall. The Hall was filled with Earth Benders and citizens. The talking quieted as he stood on a clef overlooking the hall.
"It is to my greatest concern that the Fire Nation may attack our people and burn our empire to the ground." He paused. "We have lived in harmony for many centuries and I will not tolerate the Fire Nation to engulf this world in war."
The Earth Bender warriors nodded grimly. Harold the Strong, Sebastian's leading Captain took a step foreword and laid his hand on his breast. "We will follow our Lord until we have ground the troublesome Fire Nation into dust."
There was a deafening roar of approval as the Earth Benders flexed their incredible muscles, their grey eyes glowing with energy. The Earth Kage rose his hand and said, "This is our destiny. We were born from the stone and to the stone we will return. No Fire Bender shall disgrace these halls of ours."