Chapter 1: The More things Change…
Cragger screamed as he was thrown into the air, landing with an oof. Laval brought his Speedor to a stop as the crowd cheered. He got off his Speedor and walked over to his friend up to help him up after his defeat.
"Nice Joust Cragger, keeping working at it and I'm sure you'll get me next time," Laval said.
"Hah! You know I will," Cragger said.
The two laughed as they walked out of the lush, green, arena that had materialized in front of the Lion Temple. Laval walked proudly up the steps in front of the temple as everyone cheered. He wished Li'ella was here to see this, but strangely the Lioness hadn't shown.
Lagravis waited at the top of the steps for his son to finish his assent, a giant, glowing, golden orb in his hands. Laval couldn't help but smile when he finally stopped in front of his father.
"You have won the Golden Chi once again Laval, use it well, use it wisely."
Laval tried to receive the orb with dignity and respect as it was handed to him, then after a nod of affirmation, he raised the orb above his head in victory.
"For Chima!" he cried.
Everyone applauded and cheered at the familiar battle cry of the Lions and their allies. But their joy was interrupted when suddenly a rumbling sound accompanied by a small tremor in the ground startled all of them as they turned to see where it was coming from. Eris and Cragger came to Laval's side as all three of them looked to see what was coming. The vehicle was a giant, tiger-like, tank that the trio quickly identified as a Tiger Striker, the signature vehicle of the Cat guides and originally a vehicle of the Tunnel Cats and the famed Tiger Tribe. It turned completely around and backed up as the crowd parted to allow the inhabitants through. It came to a stop with a hiss before the door in the back opened. Laval's eyes narrowed and then widened as familiar Lioness ran out with open arms and a wide smile.
"Laval!" Li'ella said.
"Li'ella!" Laval said.
They caught each other in an embrace.
"Where have you been? You missed the races!" Laval said.
"Yea, sorry about that, I was with my dad. Did you win?" Li'ella said.
Laval showed her his Golden Chi in Answer
"You know it!"
"Awesome, I'm so proud of you sweetie!"
"Hey, I could've won too Laval!" Cragger said.
"Good to see you too Cragger," Li'ella said.
"What am I, a pre-illumination skunk?" Eris said.
Li'ella laughed, "And you too Eris."
"So where have you and your father been? We haven't seen you guys for at least a few days." Eris asked.
"Oh, right well my father and I heard you were doing an event in which you were giving out Chi, we thought we would prepare in our own way."
Before they could implore further, a prominent tiger with familiar markings on his head walked up to The Trio as well as the waiting Lion King. He bowed as he stood in front of him.
"Your majesty, I apologize for our tardiness, but it took quite some time to find our Chi."
"Don't worry about that Tormak, we are just glad you were able to arrive, but what do you mean by "Find our Chi?" You do realize that other tribes bringing their Chi to give to us is not how Chi-day works."
"I know.", Tormak reached in the bag and pulled out an orange-colored glowing orb, "But I thought you might want to add this to the Chi being distributed."
Lagravis gasped, "Is that… Fire Chi?"
He reached out and gently took the orb, "I haven't seen this since the phoenix vanished after the illumination."
"And since then, the fire chi has all but vanished. This bag, is… all I could find."
Everyone else's (except maybe Li'ella's) mouth dropped in shock with a slight gasp at his last words. What would happen when all the Fire Chi was used?
"I know that you will only choose the worthiest of warriors to receive this special Chi, so just tell me who, and I will personally deliver the orbs to them," Tormak said.
Lagravis looked at the orb in his hand, then back to the small bag that Tormak was holding, his face bent in a frown of concern.
"I appreciate the offer Tormak, but with so little Fire Chi left, I cannot make the decision by myself. I will meet with some of the leaders from the other tribes, and we will decide what must and can be done with the Fire Chi. Until then, I will hold onto it."
Lagravis reached out for the bag only for Tormak to retract it. For someone who knew about Tormak's past like Laval, the hesitance made sense. Tormak had probably been a guardian of the Fire Chi since he had been in the Phoenix's service. To give it over to someone else to guard, it was a bit unnatural for him.
Laval stood next to Tormak, "Don't worry, we'll keep it safe. I promise. And if there's any left, I'll return it personally."
Tormak turned to the Lion Prince, "Guard it well, Winged one."
Laval was surprised at his new nickname but didn't have any more time to think about it as he took the outstretched bag full of the precious Fire Chi. But beyond anyone's view, a certain croc was watching the somewhat uncomfortable exchange. She smirked as a plan formulated in her mind, if all went well, some of the most powerful tribes in Chima would no longer be a problem for her and her ultimate desires, now all she had to do was just had to wait for the right time.
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Laval tried to keep his eyes open as boredom tried to force them closed as various leaders from different tribes discussed the future of the Fire Chi in the background.
"It's too rare to use in any circumstance." King Crominus said.
"That may be, but Chi must be used lest the balance of Chima be upset." Lagravis put in.
"If that was really true, the balance of the Chi would already be already upset as this is the only Fire Chi left," Ewald added.
Laval yawned loudly, he couldn't help it, this part of his life as a prince was so… so… boring. The response was a bunch of angry glances from the main three as Eris and Cragger (Who were also there, listening in and trying to help) looked very worried at Laval's rudeness.
"You have something to add Laval?" Lagravis asked.
Of course he would put him on the spot for that, and by the looks of the other leaders, they weren't going to let him out of this one so easily. Laval looked at the bag of the fire chi then back at the leaders, he had to come up with something but what? Having been one of the first to have contact with the Fire Chi, he had a unique perspective as did his friends Eris and Cragger, but would that mean anything?
Laval was about to open his mouth before Cragger spoke up, "Before Laval says anything may I remind you that the Fire Chi was given to us, the tribes of Chima, for one reason, and one reason only, to push back the ice powers of the hunters."
"Not to mention, its origin is and always was the Phoenix. So, if anyone truly had the right to choose who gets the Fire Chi, it's them." Eris added.
"That may be true, but Chi is still Chi. However, there is no rule against having a reserve of Chi, as long as it is shared as it is needed. So let us keep this Chi until an emergency calls for its use as my friend Cragger reminded us that this was the way that the original Fire Chi was used. It's too valuable to spread thin, so let us give it to the tribes as they need it, like we truly do with all Chi."
The council stood in silence before Crominus once more spoke up.
"Laval, you are truly you're father's son. And Cragger, you have grown into quite a gifted Croc, your Mother and I couldn't be prouder. And Eris, though I don't know who your parents are, I would imagine that they would think the same about you."
All three of the friends nodded in gratitude at the praise.
"If I may though Lagravis, I would like to study it as well maybe we can find out more about the Phoenix through it." Ewald said.
Lagravis hesitated, never had anything been asked from the Lions, "I suppose that would be alright, but only under my supervision in this temple."
"So it's decided," Crominus said, "We will keep the Chi in this temple until it is truly needed. I will send a messenger to let Tormak know immediately."
"See if you can invite Tormak to the Temple, too," Eris said, "It was after all the Tiger tribe's former duty to guard the Fire Chi for the Phoenix, perhaps they could help guard it for the Lions."
"Ah, Excellent idea, Eris!" Ewald said.
Lagravis thought about it before nodding, "I agree, I must say that Chima seems to be in good hands with you three as the future of your respective tribes, I think that thanks to you three that Chima is about to enter a new era of peace and prosperity!"
Oh, how tragically wrong he was.
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