Dawn. Just outside the Smoke Clan's Hideout.
Forsburn walked outside the main temple and allowed himself to stretch out his limbs. He would be traveling to a place with much animosity towards him. He might even be attacked on sight. He would need to be ready to fight off anyone and everyone, but hopefully not his brother. He had only been awake for an hour now, but he felt very exhausted.
He had slept well enough, despite some disturbing dreams. He had tried to ignore the images of a certain traveling companion in situations and positions one would not normally imagine a warrior to be in, but those weren't the problem. His biggest concern was of a black creature so large, it could blot out the sun before descending the world into darkness. Forsburn woke from that image in a cold sweat, fearful of an omen that the Shadows were soon to return. He did not wish to share his dreams with Maypul, mostly because he did not know how to tell the series of events within his dreams without exposing the details he would rather keep hidden. Knowing her, she would notice the gaps and would prod for answers.
He still didn't understand why he had such an a problem keeping his cool around her. She either annoyed him or made him too nervous, even though she was no enemy. Perhaps years of being told to view the outside world as enemies had gotten to him. He always imagined himself a proper diplomat, seeing all outsiders as potential partners and not discriminating. He was still Renburn's son. The toughest question was whether or not he should wear his mask when he arrived.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Forsburn looked out east toward the sunrise. It was a sight to behold, the sun rose over white mountains, its light shining so brightly as to make them appear ashen. The resulting gradient on the mountains seem to be calming, yet also invigorating.
Just then, he heard Maypul walking out behind him. "Morning, Smoky. I thought you might be out here already."
"Good morning. I just wanted to make sure Claiyen did not need to enforce her decision." This was partially true. He had also not wanted to look upon Maypul until he could calm his nerves.
"Oh yeah. I waited outside your room for a few minutes, and even knocked. But when you didn't answer I figured you already got a head start without me." She seemed happy, perhaps at the thought of not being left behind.
"Well it doesn't matter," he sighed, "since we are going separate ways."
Maypul frowned slightly at this, but she did not pause. "Then I hope we can meet again soon."
He nodded. His chest ached slightly, but Forsburn knew he felt the same way. She had been an interesting enough individual and, despite how aggravating she could be, he enjoyed her company.
Maypul moved about uncomfortably as she bid farewell. It appeared as though she had more to say, but Forsburn did not believe her to be the type to not say what was on her mind.
With farewells exchanged, they went their separate ways. Maypul dashed off to the Aetherian Forest and Forsburn walked through a smoke portal.
Running as fast as she could through the wastes, she looked back at the nearly visible hideout. Maypul had understood why Forsburn felt the need to go to the Fire Kingdom alone. It was his problem and his alone, but she wanted to let him know she supported him. Apparently, she had already fucked that up one hundred times since she met him. He was already annoyed with being around her. It was like he was ignoring her on purpose this morning. Was that the result of her actions? So now he was just trying to be rid of her? Well, fuck him then!
Maypul slowed to a jog. She was alone now, and while she cherished her personal time, she did not want it right now. She had been trying to get to know Forsburn since she met him and she thought she made some headway. Maybe she tried too hard. She had already set a small plan in motion, and could only hope it worked. The feelings she had never truly acknowledged before… were stronger than she would have liked.
Then there was the dreams. Sure, the last few nights have all brought similar dreams. Dreams of a strong, warm hero to lift her up and protect her. She didn't need protecting, but someone strong at her back was all she ever wanted.
Those dreams didn't bother her. Last night's dream did, however. A black sky bearing two burning blue eyes. That was all she could remember, and it made her shudder. Her own eyes were bluish-purple, and they weren't Forsburn's eyes, as his were a green, like a sapling that just sprouted from the earth.
'Wow,' she said to herself, blushing, 'Did I really just think that?'
By now she had come to a complete halt. But she shook herself and continued to dash for the Forest. She cleared her head as she focused on how to accomplish her goal. The treetop folk needed to listen to her, but she needed a way to convince them this time.
Forsburn walked up to the entrance of the Fire Capital. It was still an incredible sight to behold. The banners flowed in the wind, and the pride of Fire was no more evident than from this ground-up view.
Despite the marvelous view of his home, his heart, and mask, felt heavy.
The guards' weapons seemed well polished today, but anything pointed at your throat would seem to be well taken care of. The guards also appeared to be quite in shape as well, almost as if they could snap a neck between two fingers with ease. Forsburn noticed one of the guards with flaming horns and fists was nearly twice his size. The other guard was not much taller than he was, but she had a musculature even more defined than her comrade and the flames around her neck made her tough scales glisten like molten rock.
Forsburn spoke carefully, he did not want to start off his return with killing two guards. "I must speak with Emperor. A great cala–"
"Silence, worm," The crocodilian guard shouted, "Terrorists don't deserve to speak. I should cut off your head on sight."
Forsburn wasn't feeling particularly patient. "Do it."
The guards winced as their anger spiked, and as they prepared to shove their spears through his neck, Forsburn exploded into smoke. Caught off-guard by this, the bull guard fell forward but the crocodilian guard was able to steel herself. As she spun around she was just barely able to see Forsburn's foot below her face as it came flying upward. Forsburn sent her skyward, landed, and then did a sweeping motion as he tripped the bull guard who was starting to raise himself of the ground.
As the crocodilian guard landed on her back, Forsburn growled, "Please stay down. My brother is expecting me."
"Then I will have to apologize to your brother," the bull guard spat, as they both got to their feet, "Family funerals are so heart-breaking."
Forsburn gave her no time to think, as he rushed at her with his dagger out. "Show respect to your King!"
"Stop!" A voice boomed.
The dagger was nearly at the guard's throat and the Spear to Forsburn's chest, but they stopped just before steel connected to flesh and fur. They looked to where the voice came from.
Zetterburn, tall and proud, walked to them from the nearby watch tower. "Let him pass."
The guard seemed unsure of what to do. "But, my prince. He is smoke clan."
Zetterburn, however, did not skip a beat, "He is not to be harmed." The guard's confusion visibly grew, but he took a step away from Forsburn. Zetterburn, now within arm's reach, sighed and whispered, "He is working undercover, a trusted agent." He glared at Forsburn, "Who so foolishly is reporting back in broad daylight!"
The guard seemed to ease a bit, but was still tense. Zetterburn continued to reassure the guard that all was well, and aided the crocodilian guard as well. When both guards were calmed and sure of no wrong, Zetterburn calmly sent them back to their posts before beckoning Forsburn to follow him.
They walked all the way up to the emperor's castle. Forsburn was horrified to see all the lion statues replaced with those of elephants. Loxodont's visage now stained the entire city.
They managed to get in without as much attention as Forsburn would have expected. No guards were stationed by the entrance they used, nor in the hallways within that Zetterburn chose to lead them down. They went straight for Zetterburn's room, still as marvelous as ever. Zetterburn turned around and gave Forsburn a heated gaze.
"Take off the damned mask!" He yelled. "Did you want to draw so much damned attention to yourself? You're lucky most of the guard is off duty right now."
Forsburn did as his brother asked, but did not respond.
"Damn it, Fors! I barely had enough time to string this together. The council is holding some stupid celebration today. Be thankful it's today, too, because it was such a golden opportunity to tell all the guards to take the day off. And it's not easy to get them to relax!"
Forsburn watched his younger brother go on and on. He listened as well as he could, but seeing his brother like this only reminded him of when they were little cubs. Zetterburn would always try to make plans for their mischief, and set up distracious to get the caretakers out of their way so he could sneak away snacks and toys and whatever he wasn't supposed to be getting himself into. Forsburn would, in those days, memorize all the guard movements and rotations, caretaker habits, and so on. In those times of youth and recklessness, they had been true brothers. Zetterburn did not care about his older brother's illegitimacy. Forsburn was never called a "bastard" by his brother. Only Zetterburn's mother, the late queen, would do that.
"Are you not paying attention?!" Zetterburn shouted. Forsburn managed to snap back to reality. Those memories were precious to him, but they were only memories now.
"Sorry, Zet. I'm just a little off today."
"A hell of a day to be 'off!'" Zetterburn scowled, "You realize how much work is ahead of us?"
"Yes," Forsburn lowered his voice to a whisper, "Does Loxodont suspect anything?"
Zetterburn also came to a whisper, "No. I've sent word west of the treachery of Loxodont and his plan's to march on Merchant Port and the Rockwall."
Forsburn was shocked, "The fool! Does he mean to wage war on all of Aether? His enemies will unite against such bold actions!"
"Its all lies," Zetterburn chuckled, "I expressed how the Fire Kingdom does not share Loxodont's dreams."
Forsburn grinned. Zetterburn just set up the groundwork for assassination attempts. And without the Kingdom's greatest warrior making a serious attempt to defend the Emperor, all he would have to do is set up a time that Loxodont is vulnerable. "You sneaky little shit! Where'd you learn a trick like that?"
"Father used to tell me of the your exploits. He used to say, 'A great fire needs kindling.' I figured I should use some of your tricks. I even have a copy of the note I sent." As he said this, he lowered himself, reaching underneath his bed. When he rose, he revealed a small container, and inside it was a small piece of paper. Zetterburn handed the note to Forsburn.
Forsburn read the note carefully. There was very little in it, but the message was clear. 'The Fire Emperor would declare war on everyone, and he must be stopped by any means necessary.' And with the old seal of the Fire Kingdom, from before the recent wars, it was clear this was the wish of the people. He only hoped that others remembered the seal, and how it was used to represent peace talks in ancient times.
Forsburn looked back at his brother, "Well done, this should work."
"Thanks. The intent is for the Water Trading Company to see it, and hopefully the Wall Runners. They used to be involved in the peace talks, and I would honestly be just as pleased to be notified that they acknowledge that Loxodont does not represent the will of the Fire Kingdom. But I guess I didn't really think much further than that." Zetterburn looked embarrassed now, as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his own feet.
Forsburn stepped forward and put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "This is a good start. Just let me take it from here, and we can set things right."
Zetterburn looked into his brother's eyes. Forsburn could see the sadness there. His younger brother still could not forgive himself for believing the lies, but he was trying to make it right in his own way. Forsburn wanted to punch himself for being to distant and allowing any doubt to be set into Zetterburn's mind. He vowed to himself to work to rebuild their bond.
"If this all goes smoothly," Zetterburn mumbled, "One of us will end up the new emperor."
"Probably," Forsburn new he could not lay a claim, being a bastard. "I'll wholly support your claim." This was the truth. Not only did he need his brother to guide the kingdom back to glory, but the people loved Zetterburn and were as proud of his achievements as Forsburn himself was.
Zetterburn's brow furled a bit, "Well that sucks because I'm not as good at politics as you. You were born for this stuff."
Forsburn couldn't disagree, "Then, once my name is cleared, I'll shall be your chief adviser."
Zetterburn clearly wanted to disagree, but unlike in their youth, he seemed prepared to trust that Forsburn new what was best.
It would not be an easy road for them. Proving Forsburn's innocence; removing Loxodont from power; creating alliances with the other folk of Aether. Forsburn knew how difficult it would be, and the obstacles they would face. However, for now, he just wanted to move forward, without fear and hesitation.
It would be a long road to peace.
A/N: Phew. longest chapter yet. AGAIN!
hopefully i don't keep this trend up, because it is hell on my proofreading. Its hard enough to write all this down in one sitting (which i have to do or i'll fuck up my motivation) but sitting down and proofreading it all is even less enjoyable.
O also dabbled with writing from Maypul's perspective. not easy and that small segment took me twice as long as it should have. I still dont get how woman think on such a topic so i just tried my best.
in other news, im not dead yet so these will keep popping out for now.
Take Care!
