Captain Jasai gazed out from his small bridge at the men loading the cargo and wrestling animals onto his ship. He didn't like where they were about to go. His ship was docked and left to rot after the 'spirit storm' as people called it, whisked them away to some cold island.

-Fuel supplies were too low and unstable they told him.

It was expected, after all his paddle ship was one of the smallest amongst the civilian ships and was a bit old. It didn't function quite as well as newer, more fuel-efficient steamers. He believed it to be left stranded for decades to come while he would need to seek work elsewhere.

Imagine his surprise when officials summoned him to the governor's office and appointed him a new mission that would be fully funded by the public assembly!?

He was ecstatic at the thought until he was informed just what his mission was. Old cap Jasai would not only be transporting natives to their lands, he would possibly be stationed there for some time ferrying people between the base and barbarian lands. Ther was even a possibility he would be in further contact with other native peoples from the newly discovered 'mainland'.

He almost refused. That would be dangerous work. What if the brutes became rowdy his ship while out at sea? Even though he was told there a team of guards assigned to his vessel for protection he wasn't fully on board with it. Even with protection, Jasai truly didn't wish to associate with natives.

His hesitance wasn't fully from a place of superiority as he didn't look down on others much as his other fie nation citizens did. Old Cap Jasai was well traveled and had seen many things while trading from place to place in between the earth kingdom and fire nation. A prejudiced merchant wouldn't make enough coin to remain in business for very long.

But these... Natives were something else. They looked so different, smelled funny and had strange tendances. If the leaked reports of cannibalism amongst the natives was bad enough, there was also rumours of spirit tree sacrifices and assaults on their own people!

Nevertheless, he relented and took the job. He was a seaman at heart and the few months of being away from the seas weighed on his mind.

"Heh! They look like mountain spirits from the plays." Kai-his lieutenant and nephew laughed.

"Hmm." He simply hummed in reply while observing the group of barbarians as they stumbled onto the deck, their eyes roaming.

He watched them from the safety of the bridge, eyeing their furs, their matted, coloured hair and tattooed faces.

"Must be the first they've been on a boat." Shei the navigator added.

"Not to mention a concrete boat. Must be magic to them." His nephew spoke up. He could tell the youth was fond of the girl but couldn't bring himself to tell the boy that the girl had eyes on another.

"Cap'n! The engine's ready and on standby!" Jasai heard the voice of his ship's engineer from the boiler room below though the brass sound pipes.

"Good! Stay on standby for my orders!" He shouted back.

It was then he noticed the officer coming towards the bridge. The man was surly one with rough features and had the bearings of a seasoned soldier. That was good in Jasai's opinion.

'He'll keep the savages in line.' He thought as the man knocked on the door.

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"Enter!"

The man opened the door, letting in the frigid air in for a moment before closing it before looking at him. "Boarding will be finished soon, walk me through the journey again."

He wanted to sigh. The man was firm and reliable but he really loved rehearing things.

"We will depart from the port, travel north turn west then stick along the coasts while travelling south until we spot the supposed docks of the natives." He explained with as little sea jargon as possible.

The man nodded. "Do you remember the emergency instructions in the event of an attack?" Jasai gazed at the man with deadpan eyes. They went over this but the man continued to drone about it over and over.

"Yes, Yes, seal ourselves inside the bridge and arm ourselves with the provided crossbows." He waved the man away. Jasai welcomed the protection and security... however he didn't wish to be revised of simple instructions.

And... he was a bit anxious to sail the seas once again.

Just in time a shout came from the brass pipe.

"Captain! The boarding is complete! On your orders!" A crew man shouted.

"Well then I'll leave you to it captain." The military man said before leaving. His nephew followed the man outside to command the deckhands and relay messages to him.

The bridge spurned into action as he communicated with the men of the engine room.

(-)

The journey was surprisingly smooth, with the natives being too awed to do much else and them sticking close to the shores. The little Unagi travelled smoothly with no complaints from the boiler room.

Jasai was originally a little worried as the old ship would have to switch to charcoal. The engineers warned him that there were potential issues with the fast burning, high temperature material could damage the furnace. Potential harmful gases where also a risk. Thankfully, it seems the modifications to the furnace grates and smokebox made mitigated these concerns.

There was a little danger though. The damned seas near the island were rough and unrelenting, however, for an experienced man such as himself who managed to keep his ship from going under during the spirit storm- this was nothing much.

Thankfully, they weren't bound by the whims of wind and sails. If that was the case, they couldn't have stuck close to the shores as they did for fear of the ship being thrown along the craggy coastline.

Soon enough, the supposed harbour they were to dock in appeared. It jutted from the rocky coastline crudely. He could tell, even from a distance that it was extremely primitive and assumed it would be barely maintained.

As the little unagi got closer, Jasai realized his assumptions were correct and he would need to command from the deck himself in order to ensure the ship could be safely moored in joke of a harbour along the coasts. If the rudder and propeller was damaged, his poor old girl would be scrapped like the mighty Azulon.

He swapped places with kai and stood outside in the lightly snowing air, braving the biting winds. The eyes of the natives were upon him but he didn't pay them much mind as the deck was heavily guarded.

He managed to coordinate with his nephew and the men below deck while successfully pulling into the 'harbour'. From his position, he could see the huts lining the shore and fur wrapped fisher folk who looked up at him in awe and fear? He couldn't really tell with the light snow. The old captain hoped they wouldn't pepper the vessel with arrows as he heard the natives of the smoky shore did when the first warship sail to the coast.

That worry intensified when he heard loud shouts below the ship, even over the howling winds and the crashing waves. He minded the small row boats and commanded his men to angle the ship, while one of the natives – a woman leaned over the deck and shouted at the people below.

Jasai barely managed to notice a massive bird take flight from her shoulder He hoped it would deliver a message that they weren't to be attacked.

(-)

Halga shouted at the people below and felt relief as they recognized her from the distance.

She hadn't planned to return by sea as her people weren't capable of it after the starks burned their ships and killed their ship builders all those years ago. Never had she expected to travel by sea before. It was a lifechanging experience to her. She saw why her ancestors took to the seas in the past. To ride the waves and feel the salty winds on her face was simply breathtaking!

To think the fire men would allow her to ride on their magical ship! The fire men was certainly great craftsmen and could construct many wonders which didn't need magic... however she was sure the stone vessel was magical. How could a heavy, stone ship float on the seas?! Without a sail or oarsmen as well?! Only magic could allow for such a thing to happen!

Be it the vessels of night's watch or the sailors from the east, all of them had intricate sails, oars and crewmen who would run about their vessels to pull ropes however, that wasn't the case with the fire men and their magical ships.

The ship pulled in without issue, the loud sound of an anchor plunging into the waves was heard and a tether was thrown by her men. A heavy, wooden gangway was lowered, allowing her to disembark just in time to meet the men at arms who rode from their garrisons. The fire men who followed her off the great vessel were being regarded with wary eyes by the fisher folk and warriors.

"Lady Stane!"

She recognized the man.

"Troddar!" she clasped his arm with her own. She was happy to see him as it meant her decoys returned safely from magnar lands.

"These... these are the fire men?" He asked gazed at the foreigners and their ship.

"Aye Troddar, they are as great as I said." She said as more fire men began descending the ship.

"Are the others alright?" she asked though she noticed the man could barely pay any attention to her, his eyes lingering on the shorter fire men.

"...Aye milady."

"That's good. Now, let's welcome these foreigners. They have travelled far an' bear many gifts for our people, they come in peace." Halga patted the man's shoulder.

She felt strange internally though. For the first time in her life, she felt a small measure of shame as the rough spun huts of her people spread out before her. They couldn't be compared to the neat and orderly home and buildings of the fire men- even Driftwood Hall fortress couldn't compare...