Halga and her retinue were led through the building by their Fire national escorts. Try as she might, she couldn't help herself from looking around.

The interior was as foreign as its inhabitants with strange furniture and more magical crafts. She noted light sources in particular didn't flicker like normal fire. Instead, there was a steady stream of yellow light all around them.

'Could this be where the heat's comin' from?' She thought as they were led further inside the building.

In time, they stood outside the queer sliding doors which the Fire men seemed to like. It was decorated with a large three tongued flame and guarded by notably taller guards in full scale armour.

The lady Pao Lee spoke briefly with the guards before they slid the doors open to reveal a large hall. Upon entering, Halga's eyes swept the place; the walls were covered in strange, yet advanced paintings and the tangled runic script of the fire men.

Aside from that there was an elevated platform, at the base of this platform stood fire men servants in their shiny metallic garbs.

Finally, atop the platform halga saw what could only be the leader of the fire men. He wasn't what she expected. The man seated in the lotus position above her was of a diminutive stature even amongst his foreign subjects. She could tell even from her position.

'This balding elder is the lord o' the fire men?' Halga was well cultured by her father and life to know that appearances were not to be entirely taken into account when forming an opinion. However, she had unconsciously cultivated a larger-than-life figure within her own mind.

She imagined a large man wreathed in flame and pulsing with magic. Instead this lord a balding man with streaks of grey running through his top-knotted hair and beard.

He was garbed in a shimmering, crimson robe which had beautiful yellow patterns flowing about it. His body was stout but not fat. His face was kind, like that of a genial elder. However, as she finally locked eyes with the man, she could sense it.

Danger!

The eyes of the man were like nothing Halga had ever seen! While many of the fire men seemed to have yellow or orange eyes, this lord had bright amber orbs which flickered as if there was a hidden flame within them. There was a hardness to them which showed the man was no dandy.

She caught herself staring and quickly bowed her head in a way which would show difference but was also not too submissive. The fire men and smoky shore natives were different.

They were prostrating themselves in a way which was excessive in her opinion. Where the great and small chiefs would take a knee to her father, the fire men were on both knees with their heads to the floor.

The lord waved his hand and spoke- to which the prostrating group got to their feet.

The lady Pao Lee stepped forwards and spoke to the lord while making gestures towards her; halga even thought she heard her name being called.

'I'm being announced...' She figured.

The lord atop the platform began to speak to her in fire tongue and just as she wondered how she was to communicate with the lord, Herwyn spoke up.

"The Ouji-sama greets ye Lady Driftwood. I will be speaking in Ouji-sama's stead."

'Ouji... suma? Is that the name of this lord?' Despite her confusion about the lord's name, Halga nodded.

The lord spoke again, which lead to Herwyn also speaking after him though she could tell the girl was struggling at times.

"Ouji-Sama welcomes ye ta the G-governance hall, he hopes ye won't mind me speaking in his place."

"A... tell him it is no matter. I extend greetings from my house." She stammered out, not used to this type of communication.

She waited as the girl turned to the fire man Wang Lee and spoke to him in noticeably broken and sluggish fire tongue, after which, the man then began speaking to the lord.

Eventually, Herwyn interpreted the words of the lord yet again: "Ouji-Sama asks why you've come M'lady."

"Er...tell him I came 'ere ta secure trade and good relations with the Fire men in the name o' my father Igor Stane, Lord of Driftwood Hall." She told the girl who then relayed her words up the chain.

However, she didn't wait for a reply and pressed on. "I also come bearing gifts ta present."

She slowly and deliberately reached for the wrapped gift in her furs and presented them.

As the gift was taken from her palms, halga spoke again, "This gift is a ancient treasure won by my house in battle with the wolves."

She watched as her words were relayed to the man, almost wishing she never pushed so hard to come here herself...

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(-)

It felt like ages before the tedious exchange was complete and Halga was able to leave. She was asked many things about the lands of her people and Her mind had been stretched taut from constantly having to pick and choose each word and phrase. Even herwyn seemed tired which would be understandable as she was the middleman in the whole affair.

She exhaled secretly as they were marched through the halls of the building once again. She hoped the true meaning of her words were expressed by the girl in full. The more she saw of the fire men, the more she wished to establish good relations with them. It wouldn't do for that to be hindered by poor communication.

To be certain of this, halga planned to remain amongst the fire men as long as they would allow it. This was how she ended up agreeing to staying inside this magical building-despite its uncomfortable heat. And so, the noble lady, her sworn shields and her companions were given close accommodation inside.

Her dwelling area was pleasant despite the foreignness of it. The walls were still covered with plaques of Fire men runes and paintings of an obviously foreign land. They did provide her with certain comforts as there was a large, raised cot made of polished wood and spun wool.

Halga didn't spend much time surveying the room, instead she immediately walked over to the window and opened it, allowing crip air to flow into the room.

"Hahhh..." She sighed in pleasure as the wind washed over her.

And judging by the sounds of her companions, they did too.

"Lady Halga, these fire men sure are strange." Herly said while eyeing one of the magical lamps jutting from the wall.

"That they are." She agreed.

"Start searchin' the room, see if ye can find where the Gods damned heat's comin' from." She ordered them before looking out the open window.

She gazed briefly at the dusky skies before her eyes turned milky white as she reached out to her most trusted companion...

(-)

Councilwoman Aizane adjusted the hair framing her face as she sat around the large polished table. She prepared herself mentally as her fellow council members took their seats.

In the time they were getting settled, she managed to arrange the sheets of parchment she would be presenting to the council.

It was a rather prompt meeting with the information coming from the prince's office just a day ago. She was becoming used to these types of meetings, the chaos of their predicament of being stranded on a barren, cold wasteland in another world made sure of that. In order to manage the base effectively, they worked tirelessly with the prince to construct the current colonial governance from the ground up.

The three-part governing system made up of the governor, his council and the general assembly, with the governor as head.

This governor exercised both civilian and military control in the name of the Fire Nation central government. He was answerable only to the Fire Lord or the Royal Family, though this was no longer the case as the current governor was a member of the imperial family and the colony was worlds apart from his majesty Azulon.

Effectively, the crown prince was the sole ruler on the island with full authority.

As his council members, they were tasked with keeping track of legislation, policies and finances in accordance with the prince's will. This was easier said than done as the legals systems they created was mostly adapted from the standard colonial system developed by Fire Lord Sozin and his council even before the beginning of the hundred-year war.

Where a normal fire nation colony could rely on military support, government funding and resources from the Fire islands, they could not. They had to survive and recover on their own; carving a place for themselves on a wild, rocky island.

She could understand the hesitance of the prince. In a situation such as this they need to remain prudent. They were effectively a splinter faction of the fire nation and if they were to survive into the future for generations to come; possibly re-connecting with the empire one day, they would need to practice extreme caution.

Especially in the disadvantageous cold environment they were in.

'Thank the spirts prince Iroh is with us.' She remembered thinking when the first lines of legislation were being written. What anarchy would follow if there was no member of the royal family to guide them? What would've happened if the prince wasn't with them and an ambitious traitor planned to rule? What chaos would follow if there were numerous factions springing up, all vying for power?

'It would have been the age of warlords all over again.' She thought.

'Only this time the people of the fire nation would have probably been wiped out in the end....' She banished the grim thought as the fellow council men and women looked at her.

"Good morning council members. I know this meeting was rather prompt and unplanned, however the prince wishes this to be addressed as soon as possible." She got up and walked over the board in the room.

"As I'm certain everyone knows, we have been in contact with a noble emissary hailing from the uncontacted northwestern regions of the island, which according to this map." She said while unfurling the aged map for all to see and taking up a ruler.

"Would be right in this region." She motioned the pointer around the western coastal area of the map though not actually touching it in fear of damaging the ancient thing.

She turned to see recognition on the faces of a few councilors. This particular area was marked as a potentially inhabited region to be contacted in the future by the initial surveyors who mapped the coasts from the sea.

"Our recent visitor claims they are from a noble ruling house of the island." She noticed a hand in the air.

"Ah yes, what is it Mr. Gin?"

"Noble house? As in settlement- a noble home?" He asked.

"Not quite, the directly translated word seems to be a title bearing similarity to the warlord clans of the ancient Fire islands or the petty king clans of the pre-unification earth kingdom. Though there may still be differences we have yet to decipher." She clarified before continuing.

"Of the three ruling clans, the 'Stanes' rule from the northwest their clan's sigil is of a leafless, brown tree on pale green. The Crowls rule from the southwest, their clan's sigil is a ply flame and black."

"Finally, the Magnars from the central east coast with their sigil of a green lobster clutching a spear." She pointed at the general area of each house on the island was the attendants passed around parchment with the sigils of each clan.

"The Stanes unlike the Magnars and Crowls are rather receptive to us. Though we haven't been able to decipher why just as yet. The prince believes we may will be able to ensure a suitable level of submission from this clan as soon as we discover their aim." Her eyes passed around and she could tell the members weren't pleased with the relationship they had with the natives of the land.

Personally, she wasn't either. How could she be? They were citizen of the greatest civilization the world had ever seen. It was their destiny to bring civility to the world and fulfil the noble goal of the imperial family in sharing the prosperity of the Fire Iles.

These were only her personal thoughts and beliefs as a civilian. How would the others feel? Many of whom were officers of the grand army! They were ready to fight and die in order to see the capital of the earth kingdom finally under Fire Nation rule.

Now they had to sit and talk with with savages who couldn't even bend...

"If the words of this noble woman are to be believed; the nobles of the land are all ruled over by some other more powerful 'house' from the mainland in the west." She pointed from the small island patches to the continent on the map.

"My fellow councilors... it seems this world has just gotten a bit bigger." She knew the assembled people were looking towards the western land mass and were just waiting for it to be addressed.

"There is some issue with our interpreters when identifying the name of this landmass and whatever nations can be found there. In face of these limitations, we will simply refer to this land as 'the west'.

"The ruling mainland clan which the nobles of the island owe allegiance to is referred to as the 'wolves' by the emissary. There also seems to be a fair amount of resentment for these 'wolves'. This may work out for us nicely." She smiled.

"In a few days the Stanes are planning to return to their lands. Prince Iroh believes it would further our relationship with this clan if we are to take them there by sea. A team is to be sent to Driftwood Hall. Not just to explore and trade... But to establish a point of contact between this western region." She could tell those present didn't like it. Neither did she.

However, none protested. They all knew what was at stake and what the prince's plans were. They didn't have the manpower, firepower, food or facilities to wage war against the entire island. Barbaric the natives were, they knew the inner layout of the land far more than the fire nation did.

With no support from back home, the cold climate, rough and unfamiliar terrain, they would bleed heavily if they were to battle the cannibals. Any unified resistance would be hard to counter.

"We will need to form a good relationship with these people, make contact with the mainland and encourage the resentment they feel towards the other clans- particularly the lobsters and the wolves. The prince wishes for this operation to be named: 'Fishing in turbulent waters." The assembled members nodded; some took notes.

Unified states were subject to infighting and lacked sufficient organizational structure to do much. If they nursed the resentment between the other houses, they could destabilize the region and swoop in after the powers have been crippled. This way they (the fisher men), could reap the greatest benefits at the lowest cost.

"We will need to arrange teams of explorers, military personnel, geologists and skilled interpreters in preparation for this voyage. Ladies and gentlemen... It seems we will have our work cut out for us."