Post by Teяa253 on Jun 11, 2008 1:48:01 GMT 1
the 22nd installment of my series... interesting name...
you do meet the Phoenix Queen and the Empress of the Mountains.
you might remember who they are...
THE PHOENIX QUEEN'S LABRYNTH
We found ourselves in front of another guard, who seemed to recognize us for some reason.
“Ah,” he exclaimed, “Queen Toph; what are you doing here, if I may ask?”
“I just wanted to say hi to the Fire Lady,” Toph replied, “is she here?”
“Aye,” the man replied, “she is here. Just be warned that she might be in a foul mood though. And, who might you be?” he turned to me, my mother, and Ty Lee
“I’m Ty Lee,” Ty Lee replied, “and this is Kai Serenes I and Kai Serenes II.”
“Kai Serenes,” the guard exclaimed, “my apologies, my lady.”
“It’s okay,” my mother replied, “May we see the Fire Lady now?”
“I will go and check,” the guard replied, passing through the door. I could feel fire from behind the door once he opened it. He went in and talked with Sanaki for a while before coming out again.
“The Fire Lady will be seeing you now,” he said, but we heard a voice.
“NO SHE WON’T!” Sanaki shouted, and the guard poked his head in. Ty Lee later said she saw Sanaki waving her hand over her eyes, indicating she was blind. She chuckled.
“Oh,” the guard stammered, “right. The Fire Lady will be... The Fire Lady... eh, you can go in now.”
Toph laughed. “That’s another blind joke for ya,” she said, “let’s go in.”
We went in and we saw Sanaki sitting on her enormous throne. Around us, there were huge flames. Sanaki was lazing in the throne sideways, gazing upward.
“Lady Sanaki,” my mother said, “do you remember me?”
Sanaki held out her hand to feel the heat patterns radiating from my mother Kai Serenes I, and she suddenly smiled.
“Kai,” she exclaimed, and she jumped off her throne and gave my mother a hug. She smiled, and my mother smiled back.
“Sanaki,” she said, “it’s been such a long time since I last saw you. What have you been up to?”
“All sorts of things,” Sanaki replied, “times have been dark since I took control... there have been fights erupting all over. Luckily my skills have grown, for usually I’m the one who ends up silencing them. Among my haters, they call me a seductive woman who uses her looks and speeches to convince many—it’s a cold truth, Kai—a cold truth.”
“And how well have you been keeping things under control?” Toph asked, “Quite well actually,” Sanaki replied, “I’ve become a powerful enough firebender that there are no limits to my rule. Many now call me “Phoenix Queen Sanaki”. The rulers of the Fire Nation have always had a bad reputation. How should I be different?
“Sanaki,” I said, “the reason you’re different is because you are not aspiring to take over the world. You are simply using force to keep the imperialists in line so they don’t try to overthrow you. If they did that, then they would resume taking over the world.”
“Well,” said Sanaki, “most of that has been crushed under my reign thanks to my skills, but it still leaves something to be desired. I need to get out of here. I want some more adventure. Iroh can watch over the place for me, but yeah, I need out.”
Not to the surprise of any of us, we heard the decree that Phoenix Queen Sanaki had departed for a time, just as we were sneaking out. We were next to some of the imperialists, who started sn1ggering, but then they learned that Iroh would be overseeing the Fire Nation while she was gone, and they stopped. Everyone knew better than to try against Iroh. He might have been an old man, but he knew how to operate really well, similar to how I managed my avatar powers, or how Toph and Sanaki managed while being blind.
“So,” I asked her, “where are we going?”
“we are going to my secret retreat,” Sanaki replied, heading back around the palace, “it is a secret inner courtyard that I use to practice in. there’s lots of fire, and that’s where I plan to teach you firebending, little miss Avatar.”
“Avatar,” I exclaimed, lowering my voice to a whisper, “how did you know?”
“Well,” Sanaki replied, “the Empress of the Mountains and the Phoenix Queen have had close, but very secret associations for a long time. It came from out old friendship, and the fact that we were both blind, and the fact that we both are totally awesome. Anyways, she told me, but I already felt it in you… I could feel your water, but I could also feel a presence of your 2nd element, earth, flowing through you. And then, a want for fire, the next element, called out to me. It comes from being a master, Kai Serenes II. You should know. You are the waterbending master other than your mother and Water Chief Katara.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, and we continued until Sanaki took us down into a maze. She breathed in really deep and spewed a huge fire out of her mouth that shot through the tunnels. She then used those flames to find her way out. There was something to do with firebending that Sanaki was able to detect that led to her exit. She told us all to follow, and all of us did except for Toph, who decided to earthbend herself through all of the walls, restoring them as she went. However, she ended up lagging behind for some reason.
“Toph,” Sanaki called out, “Toph where are you?”
“I’m here,” Toph cried out, “I nicked a booby trap or something. I burned my feet. Ooh, it hurts to walk.”
“oh snap,” Sanaki muttered, “Toph don’t move. There are traps all over this place, many of which were not made by me. One more wrong move and you could get burned in other places as well.”
Sanaki took Toph and was able to lead her out of the labyrinth as well. Kai was able to heal Toph with no effort at all, and then we all looked around at where we were. It was an elaborate courtyard, surrounded by flames. This was obviously Sanaki’s natural habitat. Icons of the Fire Nation emblazed the walls, and there was a lot of red.
“Of course,” Sanaki told me, “sometimes I just come here to retreat. There are living quarters over beyond that wall and that door. It’s unlocked, since I usually only bring myself and my most trusted friends here.”
“The place feels, familiar, Sanaki,” Toph commented,
“That’s because I haven’t changed it much,” Sanaki replied, picking at something in her ear; “it’s still the same place.”
One peculiar thing I noticed about Toph and Sanaki was that they both would do strange things like that whenever they were not in public. Sanaki picked her ears a lot. Ty Lee found this rather funny. Sanaki simply shrugged it off.
“Hey,” she shrugged, “anything that is worth doing is worth doing, right?”
“I guess so,” Ty Lee laughed, “besides; you can do whatever you want.”
“True,” Sanaki laughed, but for now, you all get some rest, especially you, Kai.” She pointed at me. “You’re gonna need it that most.”
Everyone left but Sanaki. My mother and Sanaki met again when it was evening. My mother was out wandering when she saw Sanaki sitting in the middle of her arena.
“What’s the matter, Sanaki?”
“Nothing,” Sanaki replied, “I just couldn’t sleep. How about you,”
“Well,” Kai replied, “you’re doing the same thing I used to do all the time. Sanaki, it may seem like you have changed, but you’re still the same adorable little girl that I adopted 29 years ago. You still have that kind, loving nature, and that touch of competitiveness. You’re a great Fire Lady, Sanaki, and don’t think that you’re turning evil just because of the bad reputation, okay?”
“Yeah,” Sanaki replied, “I won’t. On another note though, your daughter has incredible power. I could feel it. She’s probably destined to be the destroyer of Zuko’s Threat, as Katara called it. You know that Supernatural Lord?”
“Aye,” Kai replied, “I hope she does. Then Tera will be able to live at ease again. Of course, you might not like that,”
“No,” Sanaki replied, “I forgave her. I learned what she went though. It must be terrible. I wonder where she is right now.”
“You’ll meet her again,” Kai replied, “but for now, we should both get some rest.”
“Okie,” Sanaki replied, just like she had when she was 14, “I’ll do that.”
Sanaki and Kai both went up and went to sleep, leaving everything silent.
~Sanaki~
you do meet the Phoenix Queen and the Empress of the Mountains.
you might remember who they are...
THE PHOENIX QUEEN'S LABRYNTH
We found ourselves in front of another guard, who seemed to recognize us for some reason.
“Ah,” he exclaimed, “Queen Toph; what are you doing here, if I may ask?”
“I just wanted to say hi to the Fire Lady,” Toph replied, “is she here?”
“Aye,” the man replied, “she is here. Just be warned that she might be in a foul mood though. And, who might you be?” he turned to me, my mother, and Ty Lee
“I’m Ty Lee,” Ty Lee replied, “and this is Kai Serenes I and Kai Serenes II.”
“Kai Serenes,” the guard exclaimed, “my apologies, my lady.”
“It’s okay,” my mother replied, “May we see the Fire Lady now?”
“I will go and check,” the guard replied, passing through the door. I could feel fire from behind the door once he opened it. He went in and talked with Sanaki for a while before coming out again.
“The Fire Lady will be seeing you now,” he said, but we heard a voice.
“NO SHE WON’T!” Sanaki shouted, and the guard poked his head in. Ty Lee later said she saw Sanaki waving her hand over her eyes, indicating she was blind. She chuckled.
“Oh,” the guard stammered, “right. The Fire Lady will be... The Fire Lady... eh, you can go in now.”
Toph laughed. “That’s another blind joke for ya,” she said, “let’s go in.”
We went in and we saw Sanaki sitting on her enormous throne. Around us, there were huge flames. Sanaki was lazing in the throne sideways, gazing upward.
“Lady Sanaki,” my mother said, “do you remember me?”
Sanaki held out her hand to feel the heat patterns radiating from my mother Kai Serenes I, and she suddenly smiled.
“Kai,” she exclaimed, and she jumped off her throne and gave my mother a hug. She smiled, and my mother smiled back.
“Sanaki,” she said, “it’s been such a long time since I last saw you. What have you been up to?”
“All sorts of things,” Sanaki replied, “times have been dark since I took control... there have been fights erupting all over. Luckily my skills have grown, for usually I’m the one who ends up silencing them. Among my haters, they call me a seductive woman who uses her looks and speeches to convince many—it’s a cold truth, Kai—a cold truth.”
“And how well have you been keeping things under control?” Toph asked, “Quite well actually,” Sanaki replied, “I’ve become a powerful enough firebender that there are no limits to my rule. Many now call me “Phoenix Queen Sanaki”. The rulers of the Fire Nation have always had a bad reputation. How should I be different?
“Sanaki,” I said, “the reason you’re different is because you are not aspiring to take over the world. You are simply using force to keep the imperialists in line so they don’t try to overthrow you. If they did that, then they would resume taking over the world.”
“Well,” said Sanaki, “most of that has been crushed under my reign thanks to my skills, but it still leaves something to be desired. I need to get out of here. I want some more adventure. Iroh can watch over the place for me, but yeah, I need out.”
Not to the surprise of any of us, we heard the decree that Phoenix Queen Sanaki had departed for a time, just as we were sneaking out. We were next to some of the imperialists, who started sn1ggering, but then they learned that Iroh would be overseeing the Fire Nation while she was gone, and they stopped. Everyone knew better than to try against Iroh. He might have been an old man, but he knew how to operate really well, similar to how I managed my avatar powers, or how Toph and Sanaki managed while being blind.
“So,” I asked her, “where are we going?”
“we are going to my secret retreat,” Sanaki replied, heading back around the palace, “it is a secret inner courtyard that I use to practice in. there’s lots of fire, and that’s where I plan to teach you firebending, little miss Avatar.”
“Avatar,” I exclaimed, lowering my voice to a whisper, “how did you know?”
“Well,” Sanaki replied, “the Empress of the Mountains and the Phoenix Queen have had close, but very secret associations for a long time. It came from out old friendship, and the fact that we were both blind, and the fact that we both are totally awesome. Anyways, she told me, but I already felt it in you… I could feel your water, but I could also feel a presence of your 2nd element, earth, flowing through you. And then, a want for fire, the next element, called out to me. It comes from being a master, Kai Serenes II. You should know. You are the waterbending master other than your mother and Water Chief Katara.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, and we continued until Sanaki took us down into a maze. She breathed in really deep and spewed a huge fire out of her mouth that shot through the tunnels. She then used those flames to find her way out. There was something to do with firebending that Sanaki was able to detect that led to her exit. She told us all to follow, and all of us did except for Toph, who decided to earthbend herself through all of the walls, restoring them as she went. However, she ended up lagging behind for some reason.
“Toph,” Sanaki called out, “Toph where are you?”
“I’m here,” Toph cried out, “I nicked a booby trap or something. I burned my feet. Ooh, it hurts to walk.”
“oh snap,” Sanaki muttered, “Toph don’t move. There are traps all over this place, many of which were not made by me. One more wrong move and you could get burned in other places as well.”
Sanaki took Toph and was able to lead her out of the labyrinth as well. Kai was able to heal Toph with no effort at all, and then we all looked around at where we were. It was an elaborate courtyard, surrounded by flames. This was obviously Sanaki’s natural habitat. Icons of the Fire Nation emblazed the walls, and there was a lot of red.
“Of course,” Sanaki told me, “sometimes I just come here to retreat. There are living quarters over beyond that wall and that door. It’s unlocked, since I usually only bring myself and my most trusted friends here.”
“The place feels, familiar, Sanaki,” Toph commented,
“That’s because I haven’t changed it much,” Sanaki replied, picking at something in her ear; “it’s still the same place.”
One peculiar thing I noticed about Toph and Sanaki was that they both would do strange things like that whenever they were not in public. Sanaki picked her ears a lot. Ty Lee found this rather funny. Sanaki simply shrugged it off.
“Hey,” she shrugged, “anything that is worth doing is worth doing, right?”
“I guess so,” Ty Lee laughed, “besides; you can do whatever you want.”
“True,” Sanaki laughed, but for now, you all get some rest, especially you, Kai.” She pointed at me. “You’re gonna need it that most.”
Everyone left but Sanaki. My mother and Sanaki met again when it was evening. My mother was out wandering when she saw Sanaki sitting in the middle of her arena.
“What’s the matter, Sanaki?”
“Nothing,” Sanaki replied, “I just couldn’t sleep. How about you,”
“Well,” Kai replied, “you’re doing the same thing I used to do all the time. Sanaki, it may seem like you have changed, but you’re still the same adorable little girl that I adopted 29 years ago. You still have that kind, loving nature, and that touch of competitiveness. You’re a great Fire Lady, Sanaki, and don’t think that you’re turning evil just because of the bad reputation, okay?”
“Yeah,” Sanaki replied, “I won’t. On another note though, your daughter has incredible power. I could feel it. She’s probably destined to be the destroyer of Zuko’s Threat, as Katara called it. You know that Supernatural Lord?”
“Aye,” Kai replied, “I hope she does. Then Tera will be able to live at ease again. Of course, you might not like that,”
“No,” Sanaki replied, “I forgave her. I learned what she went though. It must be terrible. I wonder where she is right now.”
“You’ll meet her again,” Kai replied, “but for now, we should both get some rest.”
“Okie,” Sanaki replied, just like she had when she was 14, “I’ll do that.”
Sanaki and Kai both went up and went to sleep, leaving everything silent.
~Sanaki~
