Been sitting on this one for a while, figured it's not gonna get any better at this point so now's as good a time as any to release it into the wild.
In this oneshot we get a very brief glimpse of the actual Nanyue Massacre, an event I made up for my headcanon but have only ever alluded to in fics that take place decades in the future. So even though there's nothing explicit please be aware that all the warnings for that event apply here:
Genocide
Murder/torture of civilians
Rape
It's not explicit but if you've read my other stuff then you should be aware that all that's going on in the background here.
This takes place 29 years pre-series finale. Fun fact: By the time Sozin's Comet hits, Lu Ten and Hoang Trung's age group will be 28. .
"In the Water Tribe, they can heal."
The words slipped from Jeong Jeong's mouth thoughtlessly, without context. Princess Janya turned from the ship railing with a bemused smile. "We have healers too, you know."
"I mean with their element," Jeong Jeong clarified. "They use their element to heal."
"Ah, yes, I've heard about that," Janya said. "A handy trick, I'm sure."
Jeong Jeong's mind flashed back nearly two decades ago, to the Fire Nation's last assault on the Northern Water Tribe and his imprisonment in their icy city. He remembered the healer Yugoda knitting torn and burnt flesh back together with nothing more than her element and sheer determination, taking such care that she left nary a scar. He doubted Janya would be so dismissive about it if she'd ever seen a waterbender healer in action.
Janya had turned back to the view over the ship's rail. "So what brings this up?" she asked.
Jeong Jeong followed her gaze to the riverbank slowly going by as the fleet moved upstream. It was on fire. The trees lining the river were ablaze, the smoke billowing dark and thick through the sunset-orange sky, choking the air with ash. Small Fire Navy boats darted along the shoreline, spreading the flames efficiently. Beyond the riverbank, fires flickered up and down the mountain as the army did its work.
"Nothing," he said quietly. "I was merely contemplating."
Janya hummed and watched the burning world go by. Jeong Jeong tore his gaze away from the flaming forest to contemplate her.
It'd been bothering him for a while now. They'd been in Nanyue for nearly three months, carrying out Fire Lord Azulon's orders to raze the rebellious Earth Kingdom province to the ground. It wasn't the first time Jeong Jeong had killed in his Fire Lord's name, not the first time he'd conquered territory for the Fire Nation, not the first time he'd ordered cities burned to cinders. War was brutal, and he was used to brutality.
But here in Nanyue, the brutality seemed especially...vicious.
Nanyue's army had been defeated months ago, and the members of the family responsible for leading it had either fallen in battle or been summarily executed down to the last child. The Nanyuese troops had been wiped out, the few survivors scattered and disorderly. They were no longer a threat, and for months now there'd been nothing left to attack but civilians.
And so the Fire Nation had done exactly that. It wasn't the first time they'd killed civilians - it was impossible to not kill civilians in war, after all. The path to victory was paved with acceptable losses. But here in Nanyue, civilian bloodshed wasn't a side effect of war - it was the goal.
Fire Lord Azulon had been very clear on that point - after dealing with decades of Nanyuese rebellion, he was done. Any advantages or resources that might be gained by leaving the province unharmed were officially not worth the cost it'd taken to attain them. Nanyue would be more valuable as an example than a colony, its inhabitants worth more scarred and defeated and dead than as taxable citizens.
Jeong Jeong had followed his orders, the perfect admiral leading the way for his troops, but it was beginning to wear on him. It'd been wearing on him ever since Iroh had ordered the Trung children executed, ever since he'd realized Janya was allowing her interrogation specialists to torture civilians with no useful information.
He didn't think it was wearing on either of them at all.
But they were his friends, and he could hope that maybe he wasn't alone in these...feelings.
"Janya," he said, "what do you think of all this?"
She was looking up at the billowing smoke rolling through the sky, wispier and darker than rainclouds. "Think of all what?"
"All of this," he said again, gesturing at the shoreline.
Janya looked from the sky to the land. "Oh," she said. "I see." She was silent for a moment before sighing. "It's a shame, really. Nanyue was a beautiful territory. I wish we could have saved it, but, well...Father was very clear. We couldn't let them keep mocking us." She nodded towards the blazing forest. "I do wonder why they couldn't just accept it. Fire has proven to be the superior element. If they'd just surrendered to us years ago, it wouldn't have come to this."
It wasn't the first time Jeong Jeong had heard such words when it came to Nanyue's destruction. He was starting to think this was as close as he was ever going to hear to regret.
"But when you think about it," Janya said, gazing at the mountain and the little fires twinkling up and down its sides, "this is beautiful, too."
The words gave Jeong Jeong the odd sensation of the floor dropping out from under him.
Janya was oblivious. "Look at it," she said, gesturing over the rail. "Fire really is the loveliest element."
Jeong Jeong felt like he was floating in a void. "It is," he agreed, because fire was beautiful, it was, but - "but sometimes I feel that all we know to do with it is burn things."
It was, after the course this conversation had taken, the wrong thing to say. Janya suddenly went still and silent, and Jeong Jeong could see her carefully calculating his words in her head. He inwardly cursed himself. He should have known better than to think that maybe she and Iroh would have misgivings.
When she finally spoke, it wasn't as a friend - it was with the voice of the Fire Princess. "Admiral Jeong Jeong," she said slowly, "what you're saying is dangerously close to treason." She turned towards him, her eyes wary and warning.
He grimaced. "My apologies, Princess," he said smoothly, bowing respectfully. "Of course I did not mean it that way."
Janya eyed him for a moment, and then she sighed. "I know this is hard," she said quietly. "This campaign is unlike any we've ever done before. But it has to be done." She looked at the shoreline again, her lips pressed in a resolute line. "Jeong Jeong, I've always counted you as a friend, so I'm going to pretend this conversation never happened. I advise you do the same, and make sure it never happens again. You've always warned your students that fire is dangerous and needs its user to exercise control. I recommend you take your own advice in regards to your words."
Jeong Jeong hid his grimace and very primly said, "Of course, Janya." She'd looked at a burning, brutalized country and called it beautiful. He didn't know what to think anymore. Nanyue weighed on him, but he liked Janya. He'd counted her and Iroh as his friends for years. They'd supported each other through countless campaigns and court affairs, with jokes and late-night chats and last-minute saves.
He couldn't expect Janya to support him through this. He was never going to be able to trust her with the misgivings stirring in his heart. It was a terrible feeling, this realization that someone he counted as such a dear friend held such a horrifically diametric worldview, that she drew delight from the same source that was giving him despair.
Well, alright then. Not Janya. Telling the Fire Princess that he thought he might disagree with her father-in-law's orders was a stupid idea anyway. But he had other friends here, other people he cared about and who cared about him in turn, and surely one of them would share his opinion and understand how he felt -
"Ah, there you two are! I've been looking for you! We're nearly ready for music night!"
Jeong Jeong didn't flinch at the sound of Iroh's voice, but something inside him shriveled up. Janya turned from the rail to greet her husband, but Jeong Jeong stared out at the view for another long moment. They were passing by a village now, the stilted houses going up in flames. Jeong Jeong could see little green-clad figures getting cut down as they tried to run from the Fire troops.
"Jeong Jeong!" Iroh laughed, coming up behind him and clapping his shoulder. "Would you like to play tonight? You've been holding back your musical talents for weeks, and I daresay the crew is missing out!"
"They'll have to miss out a little longer," Jeong Jeong said as good-naturedly as he could, turning to look at the two people he thought he might still count as friends even after all this bloodshed. "I'm planning on going to sleep soon."
Janya shot him a look, but then she broke into a grin. "In that case, I call tsungi horn!"
Iroh looked alarmed. Jeong Jeong found it in him to be apologetic. "I'm sorry," he said.
"Janya, my teacup," Iroh said, "wouldn't you rather sing? Your voice is lovely. Your tsungi horn skills…" He waved his hand. "Not so much."
Janya snickered. "I know. That's why I want to play. It's amusing watching the crew trying not to wince."
"Jeong Jeong, you're sure you can't even stay for one song?" Iroh pressed.
Jeong Jeong looked up at the sky. Most of it was still orange with the light of the setting sun, but the darkness of night was steadily encroaching. In an hour, he wouldn't even be able to see the smoke. The flames on the shoreline would burn all the brighter. "I'm very tired," he said.
Iroh sighed. "It was a long day. Alright then, get your rest. A man needs his rest."
"Goodnight, Jeong Jeong," Janya said, giving him a smile.
"Goodnight," he told her, managing to return it, and he left the deck without a glance back at the burning riverbank.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you enjoyed! I love reviews. ^_^
隔岸观火, literally "see the fire across the shore" is a Chinese proverb that I found translated as "Watch the fire burn on the other side of the river." From what I can tell, it describes gloating over the misfortune of others instead of doing anything to help them. It's not your problem.
Jeong Jeong's not a full-blown deserter yet, but Nanyue is a turning point. He'll get there eventually. Sooner than Iroh, at any rate. In the meantime he's gonna keep on dealing with these thoughts and emotions of his and not-quite-keeping-his-distance from his BFFs. It's coming to his attention that his people are being pretty terrible, but it's hard to cut ties with the people you love no matter how noble the cause.
Speaking of Iroh, he spent the majority of his life at the head of the March of Civilization, so yeah, he's still pretty indoctrinated at this point. He'll become a better person once Lu Ten dies. Poor Janya tho, I feel bad - she dies before she even has a chance to become a better person. (Actually this is a lie. She and Iroh are royalty. They literally always have a chance to say "actually maybe we *shouldn't* be jerks" and they keep failing that test so like...)
Regarding Jeong Jeong's mention of Yugoda...I have headcanons. . Honestly I love the scene in Book 1 where Katara and Jeong Jeong have a quiet moment by the riverside, and the old and broken man tells the culturally lost girl a bit about her heritage. The way Jeong Jeong speaks of waterbending's ability to heal is so very respectful and reverent, so I get the feeling he's seen it in action before, and the Fire Nation has had campaigns in the North... But that's a story for another time, if I ever get around to writing it. ^_^"
Anyway if anyone wants more Jeong Jeong content I highly recommend introspection-of-a-deserter on tumblr by Raff, it's a great webcomic.
You can follow me on tumblr at caelum-in-the-avatarverse if you wanna see more of my thoughts on ATLA.