The Fire That Consumes
Part One: The Sparks
1
The Last Firebender
The servant approached the Master. The only sound that echoed through the great hall was that of worn shoes scuffling along the marble floor. At last, the servant met the steps leading up to the throne upon which the Master was perched. The servant got down on his knees and lowered his head so he could not see into the Master's eyes.
"Speak." he commanded.
The servant's voice was shaky, he didn't want to be delivering this news, "We have gotten word of a… of a…."
"Spit it out, boy!" the Master ordered.
"A Firebender." the servant shook with fear. He had heard what had happened to some of the messengers that had delivered news that the Master was not pleased with. He knew that this was not pleasing news since the Master had worked hard to make sure there were no longer any benders in the world.
The Master took in a deep breath. His nostrils flared as he let it out. He was trying to control his anger. Something that he had been taught how to do many years ago. "Who is it? Do you have this bender in chains?"
"N-no sir." the servant whispered, "But we believe her name is Azula."
The Master took this in. It couldn't be the Azula he knew. She had been dead for fifteen years. A thought crossed his mind that sent his rage out of control. Someone had named this child after the previous Firelord's daughter to anger the Master! Although he was not sure of it, the idea that this is why this girl had this name was angering him by the second.
The Master stood and the servant shook more. He walked down the steps and as he grew closer, the servant shook more erratically. It was several moments before the servant realized that the Master had passed him by and was now speaking with one of his guards.
"What do you know of this girl?" the Master asked.
The guard straightened his back and spoke, "She is to be about fifteen years of age. She is not fully trained and…"
"And?"
The guard gulped, "…and she is also capable of bending… lightning…"
The fury in the Master's eyes showed clearly. There was a fire brewing in his soul that was clear to everyone in the room. The heat around him grew as he clutched his fists and tried to retain the anger welling up inside him.
After a tense moment, the Master was calm and said, "Fetch me the general. Now!"
The guard scurried out and the Master crossed the room to a table with an oversized map of the world stretched out. Most of the land was shaded black. The few parts that were not were either labeled "UNINHABITED" or "HAZARDOUS".
"Where can this girl be?" the Master asked himself.
"Yes, sir?" the Master turned and the general stood a mere few feet away from him.
"Ah, General, I require your intelligence." he brought the General over to the table and then his friendly grip of the General's shoulder moved to the back of his neck and became angry. The Master forced the General's head down and whispered in his ear, "Where is the girl hiding? I know you are the only one who knows where all the suspected Firebenders live so tell me or I will burn villages down to find her."
"Please! Sir! I do not know!" the General said.
"You lie, my good sir." the Master gripped tighter and the General fell to the floor.
"You are a monster!" he sputtered and pushed himself away. Slowly, the General got to his feet and the Master grew closer, the rage growing in his eyes.
"GUARDS! Discipline this creature!" the Master ordered and he turned his back assuming that his guards were doing as they were told.
The flames in the vases behind the throne began to dance strangely and within a moment they sprang from their source and flew toward the Master. He jumped, the flames just missing him and knocking back the guards behind him. The Master turned on the balls of his feet in a fighting stance to see that his guards had betrayed him.
"You will not touch that girl." the General said and pushed a palm forward. The Master once again avoided the flames at his back and landed, his stance unbroken.
"You betray me, General." the Master said. He turned, arms in front of him and turned back to face the enemy, flames followed shortly after. The General locked his arms together in front of his face and broke them apart at the last moment to separate the oncoming fire.
The General inhaled deeply through his nostrils and held out his index and middle fingers pressed tightly together. The electricity around him grew with great intensity and soon sparks of lightning were falling from his fingers. "Goodbye, Master." the General said and jutted his fingers forward, sending a lightning bolt straight for the Master's chest.
The Master held out his two fingers and caught the lightning. The raw power ran through his body and the Master held out his other hand. The electricity exited his fingers and shot straight into the General's neck.
A necklace of lightning was created and the General writhed on the floor in agony. Soon the lightning stopped, having no electric source to draw from any longer. The General's heart stopped the same time the lightning dissipated.
"Indeed. Goodbye, General. Obviously I need to look no further for the parents of the child. But I know you well enough to know you wouldn't allow word to get out about this child of yours without sending her into hiding first. No matter. I shall find her with or without any help." the Master began walking back to his throne to think about what to do next.
"May I leave, Master Zuko?" the servant asked, then realizing his mistake tried to correct himself.
The Master narrowed his eyes and sent flames circulating tightly around the servant's body. "Please, sir! It was a mistake!"
"Ah, but the damage is done. Besides, you're just a servant. No skin off my nose."
When the flames died away, the burnt carcass of the servant fell to the floor. The Master merely stepped over it and resumed his place on the throne.
He muttered to himself, "No once calls me 'Zuko'."