Mistress of the Sands meets the Prince of the Northern Waters

Enya walked through the streets of Ima City, she passed several children running through the streets between the sand buildings as she did. She smiled at them as she passed, but they didn't notice. She had always liked children, especially children from her clan, they were always so cute, and one day they would be great warriors, fighters and heroes.

Enya kept walking, and looked up at the large lateral towers that poked out of each building. They were towers from which people went up to speak to the sky, to the Gods, and as for forgiveness or for miracles, but no one had had to go up to the Lateral towers of their homes for a long time. No one had ever had the need to. There were no internal struggles within the clan, or wars or feuds with neighbouring one.

Though the outside world may have changed--how or when Enya or anyone else from this clan didn't know, except for faint whispers from those whom had left the clan to trade with merchants from other lands--the world within the Sand Tribes remained the same as it had for thousands of years, and it would remain that way forevermore.

Enya suddenly realized though, that they were very isolated and cut off from the world, despite living within the borders of the Earth Kingdom--though they owed no loyalty or fealty to the Earth King, and were, in a sense, more of a city state of their own--they knew little to nothing of the outside world other than whispers and rumours which may not even be true. The last major event that the sand tribes knew of the outside world, was the Invasion of Darkness, when the Dark Nation attempted to invade and take over the world but were destroyed in the end. The Sand Tribes hadn't worked together at that scale since, it was also the last time that they fought along side the rest of the world. They fought back against the Dark Lord Ibu, and repeled their constant attempts to take the Earth Kingdom...but that was over 300 years ago, and no one was still alive to remember it.

Enya kept walking, she wasn't completely fine with the solitude--even though she supported her clan the most, and hated a lot of the other nations and benders, especially the damned Earth Kingdom bastards--she would be able to tolerate a few of them coming into town--or at least some sort of trade agreement--in order to connect her clan to the outside world, and get them updated on the news of the world. But she knew this was not the ways of her people or the other tribes, no, the only matters they cared about or were interested in learning were there own, and therefore, that is how things would stay.

Enya turned around quickly, and placed her hands on her swords, but did not draw them. She looked upon the boy who had bumped into her, he was very clearly younger than her, much younger than her. She glared at him, "Who dares bump into Enya, descendant of the Sand Goddess Takamagahara, and the leader of the Takamagahara Clan."

Enya studied the boy carefully, and then noticed he was water tribe, she stood up--he was no threat. "What is a water bender like you doing here? Have the Elders let in an outsider without telling me?" she said, "Well, don't you speak? Or have the icy lands of the North frozen your tongue and brain alike? No wonder the Fire Nation wiped you and your people out so easily all those years ago."

Enya did not like when people showed her disrespect, and whether the boy had known it or not, to bump into someone so rudely in the Sand Tribes was an act of disrespect. Not answering to those higher than you was an even bigger offence. This boy, had he been Sand Tribe, would have been flogged, beaten or even killed for such insubordination, but he was not of Enya's people, and therefore the same rules did not apply. Such was the way of her people.

"Ah! So he speaks!" exclaimed Enya, "Well then the cold has just frozen your brain." Enya smirked at the boy, she did not care if he was prince, or king, or a Spirit, she had no respect for those she deemed stupid. This boy was the pure definition of it. Then she heard him ask "Such elements of the past are best left untouched." Enya laughed again.

"They told me you were a scholar, and the brightest of your nation, but if YOU are the brightest in your nation...I'd hate to see the average man. To think, a scholar and a royal, and he doesn't even learn from his own history. Even the dumbest of men could have foreseen the Fire Bender attack on your nation. What did you want? An open invitation perhaps? For it to be written out for you in the stars? It does not take a genius to comprehend the destructive nature of such a destructive element. When those of madder minds control such destruction, they tend to destroy. If your nation cannot learn from that, then they deserved what they got."

Enya could see the boy starting to react, but she merely rolled her eyes at the boy, like hell she was going to respect him now. The only royal she would EVER respect or bow down to even in the slightest, would be Owlan, Vermilion Emperor. He was a strong leader, and he was brave and fearless, and he learned from his country's past mistakes, much as she had. He was ruthless when he needed to be, and he wasn't shy of proving his greatness to his people over trivial matters. Fire benders were one of the few benders Enya DIDN'T hate....completely. She was more tolerant of them--to a point--if anything, because the Goddess Takamagahara, her ancestor, had been married to F'yr, the Fire God, the ancestor of Owlan's line. Without F'yr, Takamagahara's line, and that of the Takamagahara Clan, would not be.

Enya smiled, and her smile twitched and it became a chuckle. The chuckle then evolved into a laugh, and Enya doubled over. "There we go," she said as she stopped laughing, "That is how a leader should be. Standing there, apologizing and being silent, a leader must be ruthless when he has to be." Enya then turned around and began walking down the street, this boy was amusing, but he was young, and he understood nothing.

"By the way," she said just before she turned a corner, "There is one person who would care of our destruction, and that would be the Gods, specifically my ancestor, Takamagahara. They would smite those who slew us, and rebuild the world anew, as stated within our holy scriptures. It would also surprise you, perhaps, that our clans have stood for thousands of years more than your nations have. The Sand People are an ancient one, and have lived in these lands since before any of the original four nations were found. In the beginning it was just us, Light and Dark."

Enya then left the boy standing there alone, she did not fear the boy so long as she was in her own clan. In fact, she would not fear him if the situation was reversed and they were in his, she would gladly die if she could even punch him once, though, she would probably punch him anyway while he was here, at some point. She didn't care. He needed it.

"We?" asked Enya with a scoff, "Please don't make me laugh. I'M heading to the Temple of Takamagahara to pray, at sundown all komd crerdram go to pray to the Gods." Enya wasn't sure how she felt about this boy, she didn't hate him--far from it. But she didn't like him either exactly...making fun of him was fun, but at the same time, she never truly meant it. "For those who don't know," started Enya, "That is our language for 'sand children'."

Enya was simply testing the boy, if he could withstand her tongue lashing, he was allowed to stay. Many great leaders were disliked by even a few, in fact, Fire Lord Honno-ji had once been insulted by an entire crowd of peasants who still supported Ozai and Sozin. Since then, Honno-ji would reserve one day a week in which entire crowds of unhappy people would come to see him in his palace, be wined and dined by the palace, and complain to him--with no restraint. It would allow them to get out their anger and frustration at the Fire Lord himself, and it would allow the Fire Lord to A. Make corrections to his rule where he needed so that everyone was better off and B. Feed those who were starving from lack of money.

"I suppose even a dumb water bender can join us in our religious celebrations," said Enya, "It may yet give you some intelligence. But watch who's toes you step on from now on, or I shall have you killed, and I don't give a damn which tribe, nation or leader I piss off if I do. My people and I are willing to die for what we believe, which is more than can be said for the other nations."