Blades that Burn

Chapter Ten: The Fire kingdom

As he entered the cavern to head home, Lewis could see the astonishment in her face, and it filled him with pride. He had made a peaceful impression and hopefully an ally. He would need a character witness for his plan to work. Having her on his side could mean that war can be avoided in the future and the fire kingdom may be able to expand to the surface. First, he needed to speak with Leon.

Leon was not an unreasonable man, but he required hard evidence and detailed plans to change his mind. Currently his mind had been focused on solving the overpopulation crisis of the kingdom. In recent years, many new firelings had been born and space was running out. The first major change came with new house policies consisting of tall clay buildings made to hold multiple families. It was a sustainable model in the beginning, but as the population's numbers continued to grow it was evident that a more permanent solution was needed.

Their uncle, Hector, insisted that they look to break free from the earth and expand to the surface. He had tried to convince their father, Damian, to return to the surface years ago. Damian always responded, "the surface world is forbidden Hector." Still his uncle wouldn't give in. After Leon took over, it seemed like Hector pushed the matter even more. Leon entertained the idea by allowing a scout to visit the surface and access the possibilities.

Lewis insisted on being the one to do so. He often snuck out to the surface and escaped to the spring. Leon, aware of this brother's familiarity with the surface world thought it was a good idea. Hector tried to go with him or at least send one of his men, but Leon refused. He couldn't expose why Lewis was the right choice, so he simply justified it with "Lewis is strong, tactful, and smart; he's more than capable alone."

Leon awaited Lewis' return with weighted shoulders. He knew well that their father had warned them about the dangers in the surface world. Last time they ventured to the surface, they had been reckless and naïve.

The princes had been playing near a cliff and after tossing a rock too hard Leon caused Lewis to slip and fall. In an attempt to save him, Leon rushed back and told his father. He returned to Lewis with Damian and Hector.

Damian hadn't been able to reach his son and asked Hector to lower him down closer to Lewis. Having reached Lewis, he hugged him and instructed him to climb up without looking back. Once Lewis was up the cliff and safe in Leon's embrace Hector was tasked with pulling his brother back up. In a sudden splash and burst of mist, their father had fallen into a deep pool of water and cooled. Hector explained that it was an accident, his grip slipped as he was trying to readjust his balance. A shocked and horrified look was on all their faces.

It was getting late; he was beginning to worry when Lewis finally made his appearance.

"There he is! Brother of the year." Leon boasted.

"Why must you always be so loud?" Lewis mocked.

"I can't express my brotherly love for you?" Leon teased.

"No. You can't," a disgusted Lewis replied.

"Let's make haste. What have you learned?" Leon said, picking up on his brother's intentions.

"I have done several trips to the surface and attempted to make contact with the beings there. In short, going to the surface would cause a massive disruption to the ecosystems above that thrive with the absence of fire. Nevertheless, I did successfully interact with someone from that world. I believe we may be capable of creating an alliance with the neighboring kingdom and be able to negotiate some land above for expanding the kingdom. However, I believe it will still only provide temporary relief." Lewis finished his report.

"What about the dangers?" Leon's eyes grew colder.

"We would be unable to remove the waters and would be threatened by it continuously."

"I see." Leon sat contemplating their next step.

Hector pushed in the doors and trotted in loudly.

"You're back! How I was worried about you, dear nephew. Let me look, anything feel cool to you?" Hector asked.

"Hi uncle, no I'm fine thank you." a solemn expression on his face.

"So, when do we get to charge up?" he asked, turning to Leon excitedly.

"We won't we surfacing. Based on Lewis's report, it is not safe."

"Why not?! We can conquer anything."

"Even water?" Lewis asked, pointing out the obvious.

"With enough troops we can dry up the water and lands for our needs. We don't need surface dweller's permission to do it." Hector sneered.

"Dry up the water and land? How many lives with that take?" Leon fumed.

"None." Hector smiled.

Lewis and Leon shared a look of disbelief.

"All we need to do is use the fire pearl. It can amplify our powers and with enough support from the troops the water would vanish." Hector completed.

"At what cost to the land above? If you use that pearl to dry the land, you'll start a war." Lewis said.

"That's not a bad idea. How do you think we got here? Imprisoned underground." Hector replied.

"The Great War was centuries ago; we must learn from it, no repeat it." Leon chimed in.

"Yes, I know. You are too scared to do what needs to be done to ensure the future of the kingdom. Just like your father." Hector rolled his eyes.

"Our father was a strong king!" Leon exploded in anger.

"I think you should leave uncle. We wouldn't want it to rub off on you." Lewis shot back.

"Fine I will, for now. When you have a rebellion because there is nowhere else to go but up, don't come crying to me." Hector scoffed.

Then he turned around and exited the hall. Lewis and Leon relaxed a little. In a serious tone, Leon turned to his brother and asked, "any great plans in the big brain of yours?"

Lewis shook his head, "He's making a great point. People are already becoming restless. After what I witnessed from having gone up to the surface, it's hard to get them to trust us. Not to mention the destruction caused. At this rate, war is inevitable."

"What about your contact? Can they help?" Leon asked.

"I'm not sure. I only met her today." Lewis sighed.

"Can you find out?"

"You want me to go back?"

"No, I want you to move up and prove that it's possible to live amongst them before things get worse here."

"And leave you here alone with the likes of him?" Lewis gestured to the doors.

"I can handle uncle. You save the kingdom." he said reassuringly.