Wandering Firebender

Fourty Six: Alliances

The words of Master Rala were still hanging heavily in Elio's mind as he rode down the trail on his eel-hound. All of the responsibility being entrusted onto him was daunting to say the least, but he knew that there was no way he was going to let the invasion happen without warning.

He owed that to Cindra.

"You know what? I think you need a name," Elio rambled to his eel-hound, looking to get his mind focused on a lighter subject. "What do you think?" He asked it.

The eel-hound exhaled gruffly, continuing forward without an opinion to offer.

"That's fair...hm...I'mma call you Sai." He decided with a faint smile, pleased with that choice.

Elio glanced ahead again and pulled Sai's reins, urging him to slow down. Up ahead, he saw that the trail he was traveling on passed through a small territory occupied by the Fire Nation. Flags were draped across several buildings at the entrance just to emphasize who was in control.

"Oh boy..." Elio said worriedly. He pulled the hood of his shawl over his head and pulled the ends forward to conceal his face. He kept his head low as he proceeded at a cautious pace into town.

What Elio saw in town deeply upset him. Fire Nation soldiers were crawling all over the town, harassing businesses and intimidating the local residents. They didn't hesitate to take things from other people, and no one dared to speak out against them.

The Fire Nation's fear and intimidation tactics were in full effect.

Elio was torn at seeing this. He wanted so badly to help this town, but there was truly little he could do. Even if he did have the power and ability to liberate this place, this was not where the fight was. His goal was the North Pole, and he couldn't afford to waste time.

Although the guilt pulled at his heartstrings, he made his way through without drawing any attention to himself. He did not stop to help; he did not stop at all. Once the town was behind him, he was able to take some relief in his safety, but he still found himself wishing he had done something.

However, there was at least one little comfort that he could take in with what he had seen.

When Elio imagined the life of a soldier growing up, it wasn't long before he started to realize what really went behind the elevated propaganda that the Fire Nation taught him – the cruel actions behind the haughty words of conquest.

Seeing what was going on in this town reminded him that he was right, and it impressed upon him even deeper that he had indeed done the right thing by not joining the war...

Continuing on with his journey, he went from a Fire Nation controlled territory to a bigger, bustling Earth Kingdom town. He rode through the streets of the little city with the same level of caution.

Almost a day's journey away, Elio found himself going from one extreme to the other – where before he saw the Fire Nation exercising its dominance, now he saw earthbenders preparing to take back their land. They seemed busy reinforcing the city for a battle that was soon to come.

It was evident that the end of the 100 year war was coming very, very close. A sense of finality and importance seemed to be thinning out the air.

"Excuse me, sir! Could you help us, please?" A woman's voice called out to him. Elio glanced over and saw an older woman and her younger son approach him.

"What's wrong?" Elio asked, establishing eye contact with the mother while still keeping his face concealed to everyone else.

"Our wagon wheel got stuck in a pit and we can't get it out. Do you think you could lend your eel-hound for a second to help pull it out?" The mother requested.