11 Chapter 4. The Ember Islands. Part 5.

Well, despite Mei's secret fears, our walk through the forest was quite peaceful: no one jumped out from behind the trees, and thankfully, nothing fell from them either, so it was a pleasant stroll overall.

"What did Lu Ten die from? Some saboteurs, or how did they get to the prince?" I decided to ask a quite poignant question. A prince of the country should be guarded as carefully as the apple of one's eye.

"Ha, you can tell you're not very familiar with the subject. Both Prince Iroh and Prince Lu Ten were on the front lines. It's a tradition: members of the royal family must serve on the front lines, no exceptions. You could say it's a rite of passage."

"Oh, in that way, the royal family could potentially face serious problems at any given moment."

"They could," Mei agreeably consented, nodding her head for emphasis, which caused her hair to amusingly flick and hit her open eyes. She didn't even flinch. What a weird habit, damn, "but then they would be unworthy of the title of the royal family."

"Can't argue with that," I shrugged.

What a wild people. In some places, they're building factories and creating unions, while in others, there's savagery more akin to tribal societies. Well, you don't bring your own rules into someone else's monastery. If it works - don't touch it.

"And even Princess Azula will have to experience the heat of battle?" My question made Mei pause for a second, but she continued walking as if nothing happened.

Hmm, something in my memory mentions a close friend of the princess named Mei. But I can't recall anything beyond that. An interesting situation.

"If she proves herself as a warrior and studies firebending - yes. But if she assumes the role of an aristocratic woman, then no. In that case, she'd likely be married off to some advantageous match, and it's doubtful anyone would take her opinions seriously. I mean among the ruling elites, not among the ordinary servants," Mei lectured in a professorial tone.

"And in the first case, they can't marry her off?" I logically assumed.

"They can," Mei disagreed, "but her wishes would be considered. She could even conflict with everyone and not marry at all, the main thing is to prove her right to do so with strength."

"Ah, the pure Cult of Strength."

"Of course," the girl nodded solemnly, "we are the Fire Nation, after all. Ah... what have you heard about Princess Azula?" she inquired in an innocent tone, which I almost believed.

"Not really anything special. Just heard someone discussing her chances for the throne. But those are too theoretical musings. Ifs and buts. And the chances of me crossing paths with her are slim. My family is high-ranking, sure, but not close enough to the throne to have a chance of entering the palace and somehow seeing the princess. Considering I'm likely to end up in the army either way, there are some chances there, but I don't see much point in it," I explained.

"Hm," Mei chuckled mischievously, "why no point? To see your possible future ruler."

"What's the use," I shrugged again, "I can't influence who becomes the Fire Lord, so even if I see and study her, there's no point."

"Well, maybe you'll marry her, and you'll be the next Fire Lord!" Mei joked, yet watched me closely.

I would have thought differently if we were older, but right now, that look seemed slightly odd to me.

"Yeah, my chances of having even the slightest contact with the princess are as slim as suddenly discovering bending powers," I blurted out, and after a moment's thought, added, "Firebending."

Don't jinx it. My memories of Princess Azula are almost non-existent, at most, she was a villain. But it's hard to judge here - after all, it seems I will also be on the other side. Likely an enemy to the Avatar.

"You're exaggerating," Mei chuckled.

"Who knows, maybe you're right," I shrugged.

Considering the adventures ahead of me, anything could happen. After all, I'm obliged to explore the Air Temples, which could lead to various encounters.

By the way, I was leading Mei to a cliff I saw on the way back. A beautiful place from which you can see the trees, the beach, and even the ocean.

The cliff itself was a good distance off the ground - the treetops were far below, and the rock rose above them by about five meters. Falling from such a height - I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

"Wow," even Mei let out a bright emotion at the sight.

"Yeah. Beautiful view. I also hung around here for about ten minutes with my mouth open the first time I saw it. Just don't get too close to the edge, it might collapse."

"Thanks for the heads-up," Mei retorted, still captivated by the view.

Well, it makes sense, to the average person, and even not so average, it's hard to see a "top-down" view. After all, technological progress here hasn't reached skyscrapers or flying devices yet. So, such views are rare.

We swapped the rotting log for a stone, and the view of the ocean... for the ocean, but now also with the coastal area.

"Do you think we'll win this war?" Mei unexpectedly asked.

"Complicated question. The war has been going on for a hundred years, and it has become pure routine, so I feel like nobody is really striving for an end to it. The front has almost frozen twenty years ago, if my memory serves right: here they capture a couple of villages, there they lose some. It seems to me, the war serves more as a motivational factor for the entire Fire Nation... did you catch what I just said?" I realized at the end. Mei is smart, sure, but I still shouldn't overdo it.

"Yes, I understand," Mei nodded dryly, continuing to gaze into the distance.

"So, essentially, victory is purely a political decision. If the Fire Lord decides, there will be a massive offensive that could end this war. If not, everything will remain frozen. The main thing is to avoid any third party getting involved."

"Ha, and who could that be? The Water Tribe? One tribe is almost gone, and the other has locked itself away in its own world, very successfully not showing its nose."

"The Avatar, Mei, the Avatar..."

"No one has seen him for almost a hundred years!" Mei interrupted me emotionally.

"But sooner or later, he will make his presence known. As we know, the Avatar cannot just disappear, so... we can only hope that he appears when we have already completed our campaign. But if earlier... I fear we will have problems."

"Like what, for example? He may be a powerful bender of all four elements, but he's just one person."

"Well, first, we shouldn't underestimate the hope he would give to everyone. Morale is an important part of the army, and after the news about the Avatar spreads, many will be uplifted. Second, he's not just any bender of the four elements. Have you read the history books from Avatar Roku's times? The experience of previous benders accumulates, and the Avatar can easily do things that many can't even dream of. Our army's main offensive force is tanks. There's no effective counter except for very powerful benders, which are not as numerous as our tanks. The Avatar, in his state, could sweep armies of tanks with a few gestures, no matter which element he uses."

"You're exaggerating," Mei frowned, "those same books say that to reach his full power, the Avatar must master all four elements, and only then does he become as you described. Until then, he's dangerous in his state but can't use his full potential. Even if he somehow learns Water and Earth Bending, Air and Fire remain. He can't learn Air simply because there are no more Airbenders, and no one will teach him Fire."

What can I say? Without my knowledge of the canon, I'd largely agree - such a coincidence of events is improbable. But fortunately, or unfortunately, I clearly remember that the Avatar reaches his maximum "condition" fairly quickly. Normally, it takes an Avatar at least five to ten years, but here it's less than a year since all my memories of him are of a bald young boy of about the same age.

"Except for his previous incarnations," I broke the logical chain of the girl's argument, "not to mention that he's most likely to be an Airbender himself, and Fire... there could be defectors. After all, any deserter could teach him the basics, and from there, he'd intuitively progress."

"The Fire Nation has no defectors!" Mei flared up with some anger, but then quickly composed herself, adding, "alive."

It's not the first time I've noticed her strong loyalty to the Fire Nation. It's almost an obsession. Many others have similar sentiments, but they're more passive and less fanatic.

Unlike Mei, who even slightly fanatically adheres to the idea of the Fire Nation's perfection. Likely, it's her age; her critical thinking isn't developed enough yet to question such a monumental concept in her mind. It's a miracle she has critical thinking at all, frankly.

Many live their entire lives without it. And they live just fine, apparently.

"Really, are you a hundred percent sure? I'm not. On the mainland, it's a complete mess - in every settlement, the local commander thinks he's practically the Fire Lord himself. So, don't be so certain."

"How do you know what's happening on the mainland?" The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Rumors," I shrugged, "just rumors from various people..."

Our conversation was interrupted by a low growl that both Mei and I heard from behind us.

In the moment it took for us to turn around, see the damn wolf, and start backing away, my mind just blanked. One moment we were sitting, chatting pleasantly, and the next, I was trying to shield Mei with my body, quietly retreating backward.

This wasn't just any wolf - it was a monster. Huge, gray, with a maw of sharp teeth, it fixed its gaze on us and growled, baring its fangs from which saliva already dripped. It was taller than Mei in full height and about a head shorter than me, and in length, it was a good two meters, if not more.

Hearing the sound of small stones falling from the cliff, I felt like I was about to give my soul to Agni, even without the wolf attacking.

Behind us was a cliff, and we had backed up to its very edge. Feeling behind me how Mei, who had pressed herself against my back and was peeking out from behind me, was trembling, I realized I had to do something.

But what? I couldn't even summon a breeze; I simply didn't know how!

My thought was interrupted by the sound of a larger stone falling from the cliff, followed by more. I realized too late for Mei and me to jump away - a small tip of the cliff started to collapse, precisely the spot where Mei was standing.

All I managed to do was fall and catch Mei's hand as she began to fall, likely pulling her shoulder in the process.

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