Chapter 6: Hello, my name is…
Carinthia
calmly strolled through the palace gardens, enjoying the warm spring weather. The
princess was eighteen now, and she rarely had an opportunity to simply relax
and enjoy nature. She stopped by a rose bush and brushed its petals. Noticing
that its leaves had a ting of brown on them, she drew a little bit of water
from the nearby fountain and watered it. After watering a few more plants, she lay
down on the grassy field and contemplated the events of the last seven years.
Ever since her mother and father had told her she was a Child of the Planet,
life had been very different. Everyone treated her with even more respect,
aside from that which she was already given as a princess. She trained even
harder at alchemy, learning more advanced techniques with fire and water. She
had discovered that a person could do amazing things by using pure Em along
with an element. For example, she could turn fire into a physical object using
Em, but it required a lot of effort, and she tired easily from it. But she
could do so much with both Fire and Water alchemy that she didn’t need to delve
into the deepest techniques. However, it wasn’t all fun and games anymore,
particularly in terms of her relationship with Elena. For some reason, Elena
had become more and more distant from Carinthia, as if she didn’t want to be
around her anymore. Carinthia had no idea why this was, and tried to talk to
Elena about it, but Elena merely changed the subject. They had even argued
several times of the years. Carinthia missed the times when the two of them
could sneak out and play, but she had realized early on that that was a thing
of the past.
Today
was an important day for her, for everyone really. Four of the other Children
of the Planet were scheduled to arrive by plane today, the only one missing
being the Sand Alchemist. Some years ago, a research team had been sent to
Africa to find him, but no one had heard from it for a long time; people were
beginning to worry. At least she would be able to meet the other four today…
Annie
stared in wonder at the towering buildings around her; they were taller than
anything she had seen in her entire life. Jeffery was close behind her as her
guide; they had arrived at the outer ring of the City earlier that morning and
had taken a train to the Central district where they were now walking. Annie
had expressed a desire to explore the city a little bit, so Jeffery now walked
with her as she gazed around at the gigantic structures. Annie was truly
impressed, but she preferred to do things on her own, and was looking for an
opportune time to ditch her earnest guardian. The bandit in her still felt like
exploring the markets and seeing what she could scrounge up, she just needed to
rid herself of her follower. Seeing an alley out of the corner her eye, she
decided to make her move now. She turned and looked towards a middle aged woman
and shouted, “Mom!” Jeffery turned and looked, and Annie ran off into the
alley.
Isaac’s
ears popped as the plane entered the atmosphere. It slowly descended, then
landed on the strip with a thud. The wind alchemists at the back of the plane
sat down as the wheels and brakes did their job. A few moments later, he and
Emily stepped into the airport, finally finished with the long ride from York to
the Steam Nation Capital City of Britain. Emily bought two cups of coffee,
which they drank as the two alchemists walked down to the parking lot. They
finished their drinks and tossed the cups before getting into Emily’s car and
beginning the drive to the Palace.
“So,
Isaac? How do you like Europe so far?” Emily asked as she drove.
“Well,
the weather’s nice, as is the coffee, but it looks like we’re still on the
outskirts of the city, right?”
“Yes,
absolutely right. Britain is split up into several districts, since the city
itself is humongous. In fact, it stretches across most of this island. The main
City is in the middle part of the island, but most of the island is considered
to technically be part of the City. To the west of the City is Ireland, a city
state and ally of the Steam nation. To the east is the rest of Europe, where
the reach of the Steam nation is long. It’ll be awhile until we reach the
Palace by the way, at least a few hours.”
Isaac
settled back in his seat and decided to take a nap until they reached the
palace.
Jethro
and Marcus sat at one of the tables at the Baxter Bistro, a small coffee shop
in Britain’s Central district. Jethro had ordered a latte and a muffin, while
Marcus sipped a cup of Chai tea.
“Thish
cithy ith prethy amashing!” Jethro mumbled through a mouthful of muffin.
“Yeah,
it is! Honestly, this is only my third time in the Britain, so it’s all fairly
new to me too.” Marcus replied before taking another sip of tea. Jethro was
about to take another bite of his muffin when a girl with bright red hair
streaked past him, bumping into his shoulder and spilling coffee on his shirt.
“Hey,
careful, you might get coffee on someone!” He shouted after her with a chuckle.
Then he looked back at his muffin, before realizing it was gone. Then he looked
in the direction the girl had gone and saw a conspicuous trail of crumbs.
“Marcus…”
He said, “She took my muffin.”
“Jethro,
we can…” Marcus began, but Jethro cut him off and stated, “Nobody takes my
muffin.”
“You’re
just looking for an excuse to get some exercise.” Marcus said, giving Jethro a
condescending look.
With
a grin, Jethro jumped up and ran after the girl. Shaking his head, Marcus
shouted, “I’ll be at the palace!” and continued to drink his tea.
Jethro
sprinted after the girl, grinning as she took another bite of his muffin.
“If
you’re that hungry, why don’t you go out to lunch with me?” He shouted after
her.
She
turned and glared at him, then seemed to disappear. Most other people would
think she had vanished, but Jethro recognized it as a technique that earth
alchemists use: moving out the earth from underneath them and dropping into the
ground. What was an earth alchemist doing in Britain? It was worth exploring,
but first Jethro needed to worry about his own safety. Earth alchemists would
follow up by bursting up from underneath their opponent after digging
underground, and Jethro easily sensed that that was the girl’s intention, so he
sent out a small tremor. He felt that she had changed direction, and watched as
she popped up a few meters away from him. He splashed some water at her from
fountain in the nearby park. The girl, soaked, looked at him in surprise, her
mouth slightly agape. Then, she threw a blast of fire at him. He would have
been incinerated if he hadn’t raised a wall of earth in the split second before
it hit. He then split the wall in half and hurled the two columns at the girl,
who punched both of them simultaneously, smashing them. By now, a crowd was
gathering, so Jethro decided to make it a full blown sparring match. He pushed
down, and the earth beneath him and the girl suddenly sunk into a deep pit. His
opponent was momentarily confused, but soon caught his drift and played along, throwing
several columns of stone up in various spots in the newly created field. She then
looked up and created a crude railing of stone around the edge of the pit.
“Hey
kids, don’t try this at home!” She yelled. Then, smiling at Jethro, she sent a
shockwave of earth towards him. He flipped over the wave, and then used a
column of stone to launch himself onto one of the pillars the girl had made. He
pulled a stream of water from the fountain down into the pit and threw a barrage
of liquid spears at the girl. She threw an attack of her own, sending a wave of
flames up at him. When the two met, they exploded in a column of steam,
scattering the hot air throughout the pit. There were a few moments of silence,
as neither knew where the other was. Closing his eyes, Jethro tried to listen
for his opponent, straining his ears to try and catch her faintest footstep.
There! He heard her, and slammed his fist into the ground. I tiny sprout issued
forth from the earth, and began to climb into the air. As the plant sucked the
pervading steam into the ground around it, it almost instantaneously grew into
a tree the size of a house. Stretching forth his hand, Jethro shot a branch
towards the girl, whom he clearly saw now that the steam was gone. His opponent
leapt up, and the branch flew into the opposite wall of the pit with a thud,
ingraining itself in the earth and spreading its roots. Jethro launched branch
upon branch at her, all of which she dodged, nimbly avoiding the thick vines.
As she stopped for breath, Jethro leapt up into the branches
of the tree. Situated in the center of the pit, the tree now had limbs
stretching every which way, creating a veritable maze in the pit. Jethro flew
through the tree, causing various branches to rustle here or there, so as to
confuse his opponent. Confused and frustrated, she lifted one of the columns of
earth out of the ground, and launched it at Jethro using alchemy. It sped
through the air, breaking apart branches as it did, and slammed into the wall
of the pit. She lifted several more columns into the air, throwing them at
Jethro. He dodged each and every one of them, leaping from branch to branch
with the speed of a skilled gymnast. With one final leap, he landed behind her,
sending out a shockwave of earth as he did. She also released a wave of earth,
and the two alchemical attacks met with a resounding clash. Stone and rock flew
everywhere, sending both combatants flying through the air. As the dust settled,
the dazed Jethro sat up, trying to get his bearings. He could see that the girl
was recovering as well.
“Hey! It’s getting kind of messy in here!” Jethro shouted,
looking around at the chaos they had made. “What do you say we call it a day?”
“Sure,
let’s get out of here.” The girl shouted, rising to her feet. They both
launched themselves out of the pit and landed near each other, scattering the
crowd. A roar of applause went up from the audience, and the two alchemists
bowed. Jethro then walked over to the girl and, grasping her hand, said, “Great
fight! My name’s Jethro by the way!”
“I’m
Annie, and you too. I liked what you did there with the water.”
“Yeah,
about that, I can only guess that you’re a Child of the Planet too?”
“Yep,
I’m from Australia.”
“South America. So, what do you say?”
“South America. So, what do you say?”
“What?”
“About
lunch?”
“Oh,
right. Well, let’s start by getting to the Palace. Um, don’t tell anyone, but
there’s actually someone looking for me right now. I’m sure he’ll meet me at
the palace, but keep an eye out anyway.”
“Oh,
looks like I have competition!” Jethro exclaimed. Annie threw her head back and
let out a laugh, then shot a withering glare at him. Nervously scratching the
back of his head, Jethro said, “Um, never-mind. Shall we?”
With
that, Jethro and Annie walked in the direction of the Palace as the crowd
behind them clapped in approval.
Mitchel
and Mei stood at the foot of Britain’s Palace. The towering pillars that
supported it were intricately engraved, and soldiers patrolled the area with
diligence and care.
“Well,
we made it.” Mei said, gazing up at the huge palace.
“Yup.”
Mitchel replied, taking the first steps leading up to the gate.
When
the two reached the gate, they were led inside by a soldier and guided to the
throne room. When they arrived, Mei saw a regal looking man with a crown
sitting on the throne. To his left was a woman who could only be the queen.
Mei, not knowing quite what to do, bowed to the King and Queen.
With
a smile, the King stood up and said, “My dear, please, you have no need to bow
before us.” The Queen, now also standing, asked, “What is your name my dear?”
“I
am Mei Cao of the Lightning nation.” She stiffly proclaimed.
“A
pleasure to meet you Mei. Again, no need to be so formal, please make yourself
at home.” The King said.
“So…”
Mei said, shrugging, “What next?”
“Well,
for now, you can do as you please. Explore the city, stay at the palace, there
isn’t much to do right now. We know that four other children of the planet are
in the city, so you’ll be able to meet them fairly soon. We just need…” The
king was cut off when a soldier ran up to him and whispered something in his
ear. The king nodded, and sent the soldier away.
“You’ll
have to excuse me, I have some business to attend.” The King said with a
nervous smile. “If you have any questions, please ask Mitchel or my wife. Good
day Miss Mei.”
With
that, the King retreated to a room in the palace.
“Oh
dear…” The queen exclaimed, covering her mouth.
“What
is it?” Mei asked, worried.
“He
just went into the armory!”
“Meaning?”
“There’s
a fight, and he’s joining!”
Ajani
landed on the ground with a thud, the front of his robe singed from the flames.
He tried to get up, but his opponent stepped on his chest, stopping him. The
man held a burning sphere of flames in his hand, and raised his arm, his eyes
showing he had every intention to kill him. Ajani closed his eyes, ready for
the worst…
Earlier that day…
As
Ajani flew over the ocean, he considered his sanity and why he was doing what he
was doing. He was flying over the ocean to try and reach an island, which
happened to be the capital of the Steam Nation, to find its King, to tell him
that Ajani was a living legend. Ajani shook his head, he must have gone
completely mad. His journey had taken him up through northern Africa, into the
territory of the Steam nation. He had learned that the King and Queen resided
on an island of the west coast of Europe. However, his suspicious line of
questioning led many to believe that he was a Sand nation assassin, and he had
needed to run for his life several times in the past months.
Ajani
lifted his head and saw a shoreline in front of him. Steering himself towards
the island, he saw what appeared to be city. As he got closer, he realized that
the city was enormous; there were more buildings there than he had seen in his
entire life. As he gazed upon the capital, he heard a strange noise coming up
from behind him. He turned and saw a strange object flying towards him, with
what appeared to be wings. However, it was made completely out of metal, and
seemed to be propelled by fire near the end of it. For some reason, it looked
strangely familiar. A voice called out from the machine, and said, “You are
trespassing in Steam nation air space, turn back immediately, or we will fire!”
Ajani
didn’t want to start a fight, but he had to reach the King. There was no choice
but to keep going; he had to lose these machines. Then, he remembered. He had
seen these before in one of Arthur’s books. It was a plane, or a jet; one of
those two. But Ajani wasn’t going to stick around and find out. He dove down
towards the ocean, pulling up just as he was about to hit the water, and hoped
that flying low would discourage the jets. He was proven wrong when the jets
fired on him. Bullets whizzed past his head as the jets descended to his level,
continuing their barrage. He weaved around, trying to dodge the jets, but they
had a solid lock.
Ajani
had an idea, but it was risky. He decided that he was out of options, and went
ahead. Suddenly shooting up into the air, he dropped back a bit so that the
jets sped past him. Putting out his hand, he slowed the jets using earth
alchemy until they came to a halt. Then, he threw their metal frames high into
the air, and flew as fast as he could towards the city. He looked behind him
and saw that the pilots had parachuted out of their vehicles, and were
descending into the ocean. A few moments later, he reached the City, and landed
in a local park. He saw the palace’s spires towering over the rest of the
buildings, and was about to launch himself into the air once more, but was hit
by a blast of fire before he could. He blew the flames off of his body and
turned. There stood a middle aged man with a rugged brown beard and long hair. His
body was covered in a steel plate armor, and he held a broadsword in his right
hand. However, the most eye catching feature of his figure was the golden crown
that was upon his head. Ajani instantly knew that this must be the King of the
Steam nation, and opened his mouth to introduce himself, but was cut off when
the King threw another blast of fire at him. Ajani blew it away with a blast of
wind, and drew his staff.
“I
don’t want to fight you, you don’t know who I am!” Ajani shouted.
“And
apparently, you don’t know who I am.” The King said with a stern glare. The
leader of the Steam nation leapt at Ajani, swinging his blade in a wide arc
that passed over Ajani as he rolled out of the way. Ajani raised his staff to
counter a downward blow from the king, and pushed up the earth underneath him, hurling
the king into the air. He landed on his feet, but was unbalanced, and Ajani
tried to throw him back with a gust of air. However, the King hardly moved, and
Ajani was confused, until he realized the man was wearing a full set of heavy
armor. ‘No wonder the wind didn’t do much’ he thought to himself. In fact, it
seemed as if his opponent hadn’t noticed at all. The King recovered and
launched a flaming ball of Em at him, which Ajani knocked out of the way with a
fist of earth. He then grabbed the King in the fist, and held him, suspended in
the Air.
“Listen
to me! I am Ajani of the Sand nation! I…” Ajani began.
“Yes,
yes, you want to murder me for killing your loved ones. Typical.” The King
said, cutting him off. Then, to Ajani’s surprise, his earthen fist began to
glow. Then, it crumpled and melted into a pool of magma, which the King landed
on without so much as sweating. Then, he rushed at Ajani, swinging his sword in
a downward arc. Ajani barely lifted his staff to block the strike, and was
brought to his knees in the process. Then, the King viciously kicked him with a
flaming boot, sending him flying through the air. Ajani landed on the ground
with a thud, the front of his robe singed from the flames. He tried to get up,
but his opponent stepped on his chest, stopping him. The King held a burning
sphere of flames in his hand, and raised his arm, his eyes showing he had every
intention to kill him. Ajani closed his eyes, ready for the worst…then opened
them. He dropped into the ground, and the King lost his footing. Then, pushing
the rock back up from underneath him, Ajani flew back into the air, catching
the King on the chin with the tip of his staff. The King staggered, trying to
regain his thoughts. Meanwhile, Ajani landed nearby, waiting for the King to
recover. He did, and with a growl, brought his hands back, and launched a
massive wave of fire at Ajani. Ajani had been expecting this, and had prepared
an attack of his own. Drawing bits of stone and cement towards him from the surrounding
area, he launched a blast of sand at the incoming flames. The two attacks met,
and an explosion of flames and sand particles blasted both combatants. As the
dust settled, both could see a massive wall of glass that had been formed as a
result of the explosion. The king looked in awe at the wall, and Ajani walked
around it to meet him. Still slack jawed, the King turned to him and exclaimed,
“You’re a Child of the Planet!”
“Yes,
I am. I was attacked by your jets; I didn’t have time to explain to them who I
was.” Ajani said.
“I
see.” The King replied. “Please forgive me, I mistook you for a terrorist. I
must say, you are a brilliant fighter. I would love the opportunity to spar
with you again sometime.”
“I
would be honored, my King.”
“Oh,
please. I’m not your king, I have no authority over you. I would rather you
think of me as a friend. Please, call me George.”
“Alright
then, George.”
“Well,
I do believe that the other Children of the Planet are waiting for us at the
palace. Let’s go; I’ll race you!”
Ajani
liked this George fellow. He leapt into the air, just as the King used a blast
of fire to launch himself towards the palace. It was going to be a good day.
Carinthia
sat down in one of the chairs at the table her mother had reserved. They were
going to eat at one of the most popular restaurants in the City: Golden
Platter. It was a top of the line restaurant, very classy, and Carinthia always
enjoyed eating there. As she scanned the menu, she heard the restaurant doors
open, and saw a young man and woman walk through. The woman looked to be in her
mid-twenties, had long brown hair, and was dressed in a sharp suit. The young
man, probably seventeen or eighteen, had shaggy blonde hair, and was dressed
very casually, wearing a grey hoodie and blue jeans. They came to the table and
sat down, the teenager looking rather nervously at the rest of the group, which
consisted of herself, her father, her mother, and a young man named Ajani, who
happened to be the Sand nation’s Child of the Planet. After a few moments of
nervous silence, Queen Mary broke the silence by saying, “Welcome, you must be
Isaac! I’m Queen Mary, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”
Isaac
responded by saying, “Thank you, the pleasure is mine ma’am.”
Well,
what he lacked in fashion sense, he at least made up for in politeness. Looks
can certainly be deceiving.
“Please,
take a look at the menu Isaac, feel free to order anything you like, it’s on
us.” Carinthia’s mother continued, gesturing at the menu in front of him.
“Thank
you very much.” Isaac replied, opening the menu as he spoke.
Another
rather lengthy phase of silence was broken when two more people entered the
restaurant. One was a middle aged man, the other was a young woman with long,
lustrous black hair and a sleek pair of glasses who Carinthia assumed was
another Child of the Planet. The two sat down at the table, and the young woman
also looked around nervously, but not out of lack of proper dress. She wore a
dark violet dress, and had silver earrings on. Carinthia had come in a light
grey dress, matching her element.
“Ah,
and this must be Mei!” Carinthia’s mother exclaimed. “Please dear, feel free to
order anything you like. The last two should be here fairly soon.”
“She
had hardly finished speaking when another middle aged man burst into the restaurant;
he looked as if he had been running, as sweat was pouring down his forehead. People
turned and stared at him as he anxiously scanned the tables. He then briskly
walked over to King George, and whispered a word in his ear. The King shook his
head, and the man walked back toward the door. As he was about to open it, two
young men and a young woman walked through. The middle-aged man threw up his
hands in exasperation, and walked back to the table, taking his seat. The two
young men had light brown skin, and both were dressed in suits. One had long
black dreadlocks, while the other had shorter black hair. The young woman was
as drastically different as could be. She had black skinny jeans on, and a pair
of thick leather combat boots. She had a dirty white t-shirt on, emblazoned
with a large red flame symbol in the center. Her reddish-brown hair fell down
around her shoulders in a messy tangle, and her hand was on the hilt of a sword
that was fastened onto her belt. The three of them sat down in the remaining
seats at the table, and her father, the King, stood up.
“Well,
it looks like everyone is here! Thank you all so much for coming, we hope you
have enjoyed your time in Europe so far! I am King George, and this is my wife
Queen Mary! Why don’t you all go ahead and order what you like, and then we can
introduce ourselves.”
Carinthia
scanned the menu once more, and gave her order to the waiter as he came by. As
she waited for the rest of the group to order, she noticed the TV to her right.
She couldn’t quite hear what it said, something about Atlantis. She figured she
must have heard incorrectly, and turned back to the table. After the waiter
took the last order, her father stood up again and said, “Alright then, I
assume you all know why you’re here. This is a chance for you six to meet each
other, and then the nations will decide what to do about the upcoming crisis.
Why don’t we start with my daughter, Carinthia, and go around from there.”
Carinthia
stood up, brushed off her dress, and said, “Hello, I am Carinthia Fontaine, the
princess of the Steam nation. I am Europe’s Child of the Planet, which means I
can use Fire, Water, and Steam alchemy. Please let me know if you have any
questions, I’d be glad to grace you with my knowledge.” Carinthia sat down with
a grin. Everyone looked expectantly at the next person at the table, the
teenager in the hoodie, and he stood up.
“Uh,
hello everyone! My name is Isaac, Isaac Matthews. I’m from the city of York, in
the Ice Nation, and I am North America’s Child of the Planet. So, I can use
Water, Air, and Ice alchemy. I enjoy free running and mixed martial arts. Um,
thanks for having me here.” He sat down a little awkwardly, and everyone’s
attention turned to the young woman in the glasses. She stood up, and began her
introduction.
“Hello
all, I’m Cao Mei. I, ah, I’m from the Lightning nation. So, I guess it would
make sense that I can use Lightning Alchemy. Oh, and, Fire and Air alchemy too.
Um, my father’s an inventor, so I guess I like engineering and technology.
Thank you very much for inviting me here, and for lunch.” She said, bowing the
King and Queen. The next person was the darker skinned teenager, who stood up
and spoke in a rather casual tone. “Hey everyone! I’m Jethro Phelp! So, I’m
from the Wood nation, meaning I can use Water, Earth, and Wood alchemy. I’m
also a DJ, so if anyone wants me to spin them a tune, just let me know.” He
grinned and took his seat once again. Next was the young punk who sat next to
Jethro. She stood up, and said, “I’m Annie, and I’m from the Lava nation. Obviously,
I can use Fire, Earth, and Lava Alchemy.” She sat down, a stern look on her
face. Last was the mysterious young man who her father had brought with him. He
was dressed in a strange black robe, and had declined her father’s offer for
new clothing. He hadn’t spoken much, and now, Carinthia was going to find out
if he could speak at all. He could, as he stood up and introduced himself. “I
am Ajani of the Sand nation, and I am Africa’s Child of the Planet. I control
the earth, the air, and the sand.” He sat back down, but as he did, Jethro
looked to him and asked, “Hey, Ajani. We all, have someone who brought us here.
I don’t see anyone by you except the King, did he pick you up?”
“I
flew here.” Ajani replied.
After a moment of stunned silence, Jethro asked in a tone of
unbelief, “You flew here? From Africa?”
“Yes.”
Ajani replied.
“Okay,
that’s cool.” Jethro said, sitting back. A few seconds later, the food came in,
and everyone began to eat. Conversations began, and Carinthia found herself
speaking to Isaac.
“So…”
She began, “How’s life in North America?”
“Well,
I go to school, practice alchemy, all that kind of stuff. I don’t know if this
happens to you, but I get bugged a lot about being a Child of the Planet. Like,
people want me to make Ice cubes and stuff.”
“Well,
I’m the princess, so I can relate, yes.”
“Ah,
good point. I guess I didn’t think of that.”
After
a few moments, the Queen turned to Carinthia and said, “Dear, I think…” But she
stopped midsentence and let out a scream. At that moment, almost everyone in
the restaurant began to scream and writhe in pain, including both of
Carinthia’s parents, as well as the adults that had accompanied Mei, Annie, and
Isaac. Carinthia jumped in surprise, scared out of her wit. She looked around
in confusion as people around her fell to the ground. The only ones who seemed
to be unaffected were the Children of the Planet, and the young man who
accompanied Jethro. Carinthia rushed to her mother’s side, shaking her and
saying, “Mom! Mom! Are you alright? What’s happening?”
After
a few moments, the King and Queen recovered, though some of the other customers
were still on the ground groaning.
“Dad,
are you alright?” Carinthia said, walking over to him.
“Yes,
I think so. I don’t know what happened, and for some reason, I feel strangely hollow.
I…oh no…”
He
looked out the restaurant window, and Carinthia turned her head to look as
well. Bodies lined the streets as people lay on the ground, groaning and
writhing in pain. Some were on their knees, screaming. Then, Carinthia jumped
again as she heard the young woman with Isaac scream.
“Oh
no, oh no, this can’t be happening…” She frantically muttered, waving her hands
in front of her.
“What
is it Emily?” Queen Mary asked.
With
tears running down her face, Emily replied, “I can’t use alchemy!”
