He had been born on the day of the comet. That is how the sages explained his unnatural fire bending talent. Ever since he was a child he had an affinity for his element. He fire bended for the first time when he was a week old. He was already dueling and winning against some of the palace guards by the time he was seven years old. At fourteen he defeated a dragon, a feat of bending un paralleled except by Avatar Aang's master at air bending at twelve. Aang probably being the only person born with an affinity for their element more so then himself. However the two would never meet. Word of his talent spread across the empire like rapid fire. There were so many expectations on him at one time. Later he would be amazed that he didn't collapse from such pressure.
Though the majority of that pressure came from his father, Fire Lord Sozin. He remembered his father being ancient, even when he was child. Sozin was eighty two when he was born. He remembered his father being old and bitter. For a fire bender, he had a very cold personality. As a child Azulon felt his father cared only about using him and never really loved him. When Sozin discovered Azulon's talents he forced him to train non stop.
"You will be the greatest fire bender the world has ever known, or you will die trying. This is your destiny" his father would tell him on a regular basis.
Even though Sozin was a frail old man he still could summon the power of the young and powerful fire lord he once was. Azulon knew this better then anyone. Azulon knew better then to incur the wrath of his father. Azulon learned to deal with his father and stay on his good side.
Azulon never knew who is mother was. He assumed it was one of Sozin's many mistresses. Sozin unlike many fire lords had never married. His father had no interest in a wife, only in his militaristic plans. Azulon sometimes believed that Sozin would have never had a kid if he didn't need an heir.
Sozin was obsessed with power and glory. He continuously told his son that these were the only important things in life. Azulon remembered once when he and his father were standing in front of a map of the world.
"Everything you see before you will be yours" Sozin said to him, his hand on the young boys shoulder. Azulon didn't really understand it then, but later he too would have great ambition.
Sozin's greatest obsession though was the Avatar. Azulon remembered spending much of his childhood with his father on long voyages. The voyages could last months and nothing ever came out of them. Mostly Azulon would be forced to train non stop. His father was obsessed with finding the Avatar. The old fire lord claimed that they could never secure victory over the world until the Avatar was out of the picture.
Azulon nearly met his father's wrath when he stated that, "The avatar is most likely dead, he probably died with the other air benders" Sozin's face turned to pure rage but he quickly calmed down.
"The sages have confirmed that the Avatar hasn't been reborn. He's alive and he's out there. I won't stop until the day he bows to me and you won't stop either" Sozin said with true passion.
Azulon hated those voyages more then anything. There was no one there his age, not that he was a really social kid anyway. Azulon never did have friends as a child. He also had no escape from his Father's constant supervision. His father was never satisfied with his performance. His father wanted to push Azulon's prodigal skills to their max potential. He could perform a set of fire bending forms perfectly but it wasn't good enough for his father.
"Do it again Prince Azulon!" Sozin yelled.
They were sailing around the north western earth kingdom. Azulon was ten years old at the time. It had been one of the only areas in the earth kingdom that was in complete control of by the fire nation. After ten years of war they hadn't made huge amounts of progress other than the destruction of the air nomads.
"But father I did it perfectly" Azulon complained. His father's face twisted into rage.
"Its not perfect unless I say it is! Prince Azulon, you will drill again, or you I will have you thrown over board" Sozin said. Azulon knew better then to take that threat lightly. On the voyages he had seen many soldiers be brutally punished for incompetence.
Azulon sighed and repeated the form.
It had been six years since that day. Azulon was no longer a small child under his father's thumb. He was now a sixteen year old young man as well as a master fire bender. He was one of the best benders, if not the best, in the entire world. He had already earn the title of dragon and was well respected within the fire nation court.
He was sitting in his room dressing himself. His room was very simple for the room of a prince. It wasn't furnished with anything more then a cot and a dresser for his clothes. There was a window door that led to his balcony and that was it. Azulon did like fancy furniture and decorations. He felt those things unnecessary. Besides he spent little time in the room anyway. He spent most of his time sparring and learning war strategy in the library.
"I'm a warrior, warriors don't need expensive things. I crave battle" Azulon thought to himself.
Battle was exactly what the young prince was craving. He had been stuck in the palace for more then a year now. Except for his victory over the dragon, Azulon had been relatively bored in the capitol. He had asked his father numerous times if he could see action on the war front but his father had ignored his requests. He assumed his father ignored his request because Sozin lacked any relatives and if Azulon died then the bloodline would die with him. That was why today was so important. His father had ordered an important meeting with him. Azulon didn't know what it was about but he hoped his father would give him a mission. Today could be the day he could finally get out of here.
He began to tie his boots. Most of the nobles had servants do these type of tasks but Azulon hated servants. He felt that only the weak needed people to menial tasks he could do himself. Azulon finished putting the top not in his hair. He then walked out of the room and closed it. He strolled through the palace in his armor. As he passed through the courtyard he saw a few nobles chatting.
"Ugh how I despise those free loading nobles. None of them are out there fighting in the war or even helping. And the ones who are spend their time complaining because its not as fun as they thought it would be. All they care about is stupid things like buying self portraits and going to balls. The first thing I'll do as fire lord is rid myself of them" Azulon thought to himself.
One of the noble girls smiled at him. She was a pretty young girl. She had golden eyes and silky brown hair. Azulon wasn't an ugly boy at all. He had silky black hair and golden eyes. His skin was pale in comparison to his jet black hair. He was naturally a tall and lanky boy unlike his father however his intense training had caused him to fill out and become more muscular. However Azulon scowled back at the girl. He had no interest in women, a trait he inherited from his father. He continued to walk until he reached the throne chamber. Two guards were posted outside the door. They stood straight. The first guard recognized him immediately.
"Prince Azulon, the Fire Lord is expecting you" the guard said to him before bowing. Azulon nodded and walked into the throne room. He immediately felt more comfortable with all the fire surrounding him. He always did when surrounded by his element He had been in this room numerous times. Most people were intimidated while in here, but Azulon felt a strange sense of serenity. He could see the silhouette of his father in the throne. He walked slowly up to the wall of flames. He bowed down toward his father.
"Rise my loyal son" Sozin said with his ever weakening voice. Azulon followed the command. He looked into his father's ancient face. His hair was as pale as his skin which was full of wrinkles and splotches.
"What is your bidding, father" Azulon said.
"A week ago I received an intelligence report from General Lee-Sung in the earth kingdom. There are rumors that a few air benders survived the attacks during Sozin's comet, three to be exact. I can't send just anyone to get them because the element of surprise is important. This situation requires precision and swiftness. I need you to go there and eliminate the last of the air benders" Sozin said.
"I accept this mission, thank you for the opportunity father" Azulon said.
"Failure is not an option, if you fail you are as good as banished" Sozin said in a warning tone.
"What resources are at my disposal?" Azulon asked. He was trying to keep from smiling. He had been waiting for something like this for years.
"The 501st battalion is ready for you. They are an entire battalion of new recruits. I assume you'll be able to train them to your standards" Azulon said. (AN: I'm such a star wars nerd for this XD)
"Yes that is great, I will not fail you father" Azulon said, his voice full of hope and determination.
"Good my son, your troops and your ship await you at the harbor" Sozin said. Azulon bowed again before turning to leave.
"Prince Azulon wait, if one of the air benders turns out to be the Avatar, bring them to me alive" Sozin said. Azulon nodded.
Azulon walked out of the throne room with a small smile on his face. He was finally getting the opportunity he always wanted. He walked outside to the court yard He mounted a kimodo rhino and headed toward the harbor. He could have ridden a palanquin but that was yet another thing he felt was for the weak. As he passed through the capitol city he saw many people cheering for him. Azulon wasn't one for attention and attempted to ignore the masses.
When he arrived at the harbor he found the 501st. They were a rough looking bunch. They were sitting on the dock by the ship playing cards and talking. They were all new recruits however all the combat soldiers were fire benders. There were eighty fire benders and twenty supplementary soldiers( cooks, medics, ship maintenance etc) He knew it would take some work to bring the troops up to speed. He found the captain of the battalion standing next to the ramp to the ship. The troops were all looking at him now. One of them had spotted him and the entire battalion knew of his presence in moments. The battalion became silent. They immediately straightened themselves up. None of them had ever been in the presence of a member of the royal family.
"Captain, I am Prince Azulon and I will be commanding this battalion" Azulon said to the captain. The captain however didn't bow to him as was custom. The soldiers all looked surprised and slightly afraid. Azulon looked at him, his gaze shifting from neutral to serious.
"There is no way I'm taking orders from a child. I don't care if he's a spoiled prince. I'm a soldier and deserve better" the captain said. He was a larger man wearing a traditional fire navy uniform. His beard was the same color as his black shoulder spikes. He'd obviously seen battle before which was evident from a scar or two on his face.
"You best learn respect Captain, or suffer the consequences" Azulon said coldly. The last thing he wanted to be dealing with right now was insubordination.
"I'm going to meet with the fire lord right now to ask about this" the captain started. However before he could finish his statement the Fire Prince had extended his palm toward the man's chest. With one flick flames shot out of his palm like flamethrower. The captain ignited into flames and disappeared under the wave of fire shooting out of Azulon's palm. When the fire stopped the captain lay, a burnt mess on the stone dock. He was twitching in pain. He was burned badly and the stone beneath had scorch marks. Azulon raised his foot and proceeded to kick the man of the dock and into the water where he sank.
He turned to the soldiers, "Does anyone else agree with the captain because they can easily join him" Azulon said. None of the soldiers responded. They stood perfectly still and silent. They were all very scared, some of them were even sweating.
"Good. Board the ships, we set sail at noon" Azulon said. Azulon headed into the tower of the ship. It was one of the new models of the fire navy ships. It was built to go eighty percent faster then the original model. It wasn't big and was only meant to hold one battalion rather than three like the original ships.
He found a his room at the top of the tower right below the navigation room. It was very basic and he felt instantly comfortable in it. A messenger hawk was sitting in the center of the room. He pulled the scrolls out of its pocket and read them. They were the intelligence reports about the air benders.
There are rumors that three air benders are being given asylum in the Qin province in a town called Wufong. The province is in the control of the earth kingdom but there are holes in there front line. The province is a mostly mountainous state. Wufong is located on the side of one of the many mountains. It is a small mountain with little defenses. Two of the air benders are female while the other is male. None of them have sky bison...
Azulon stopped reading the scroll and decided to continue it later. He decided to take a nap so that he would have plenty of energy to command the crew in the maiden voyage of the ship.