In the demonic realm there are 6 nations; fire, water, earth, air, light, and dark. Each of these nations was run by a council of royal families. The fire nation's council was run by members of two species of demons; dragons and phoenixes. The dragons had five families that were of royal blood while the phoenixes only had two. The two phoenix families were separated by their flame's color and attributes, although they were related far back in their bloodlines. The red phoenixes had consuming flames that destroyed as they burned, while the blue phoenixes had rejuvenating flames. Both flames could heal the phoenixes themselves, but only the blue flames could be used to heal others. Therefore, blue phoenixes were considered to be both more regal and stronger than their red counterparts. Either way, the phoenixes worked together regardless of their flames, though there was hidden animosity that the red phoenixes had towards their blue counterparts.

The nation was ruled between these seven royal families and, for a time, there was peace. But then a council member from one of the more prominent dragon families rose to power. His name was Akainu and he was far more powerful than any dragon was before him. He demanded that the council members of the other dragon families stand with him in enforcing new strict rule over the entire fire nation. His new laws sent many members of the public to death and drove many more into poverty and starvation. The two council members of the phoenix houses opposed the new laws, but weren't able to do anything as they were outvoted.

The phoenix families knew that they could do nothing to change the laws from within the council. So, they took to the streets of the fire nation giving support directly to their people. They gave money to families that couldn't meet Akainu's new higher taxes with their lower pay rates. They gave food to those who could barely feed themselves because they followed the new laws. They appeared at protests and funerals of those sent to death.

The people of the nation rallied behind the two phoenix families and protested for change both peacefully and forcefully. A friend of the Phoenix families named Gol D. Roger led the protests against the dragon members of the council and the new laws. At this time Roger sent his wife who was pregnant with his unborn child to live in the Air Nation with a rival of his. He knew that war would break out eventually and met with the phoenix families in hopes to keep the protests peaceful and not to incite war. But, he still could not risk the lives of his family members.

Still, word of what the phoenix families were doing soon reached the ears of Akainu and his supporters as well with word of the civilian unrest. Akainu decided that all that would not live under his policies happily deserved to die. Akainu began to meet secretly with rest of the dragon families with plans to eliminate those who opposed them. The first to die, they decided, would be the regal blue phoenixes. Roger caught news of this from one of his undercover spies within the government. He informed the blue phoenix family of this. None the less, the family decided that they would not start the war first even if they knew it could save them. They were pacifists; they refused to hurt and kill, even if the reasons behind it were for the good of everyone. Instead they sent their only child, a son who had only recently been born, to live with the red phoenixes. It wasn't long afterward that Akainu attacked the blue phoenix family and although they could heal and regenerate the dragons chased them to the border of the fire nation; to the sea. It was the only thing that could kill a phoenix and the blue phoenix family was drowned in the ocean until there were none left; or so Akainu thought.

The protesters led by Roger became an army to fight the dragon's tyranny and protect the remaining phoenix family. That family had fled from the capital in hopes to escapes Akainu's rage and their deaths. But with Akainu's strength and all of his supporters, the army was defeated and Roger was hanged. His wife in the Air Nation was distraught and in deep mourning for her husband. Thus, her health started to decline. She died during childbirth leaving behind her son shortly after he was born in the hands of her husband's trusted rival.

Akainu's rage was not stated with Roger's death and the defeat of the army of former protesters. He and his supporters continued to chase the red phoenix family. Finally, they cornered them at sea as the phoenixes were trying to escape to the Earth Nation that had offered them refuge. A prominent figure in the Earth Nation sailed to aid the phoenixes and to protect them from the dragons, but he arrived too late. He arrived only to see two young phoenixes, the last of their species, one of whom couldn't even use his powers yet, get thrown into the sea to their watery deaths.

But the older of the two boys, as he clung to the younger, trying desperately to save them both, whispered a curse. He gave a part of himself to a demon of darkness in exchange for setting a terrible curse upon what remained of the Fire Nation. The boy's heart was filled with hate and the need to avenge what had happened to him and his species. His hate turned into a curse of sickness that would ravage the fire nation. It would not be curable, as the only cure for it would be a blue phoenix's flames. As he and the younger boys sunk deep into the depths and their breath gave out and their vision went dark, the older boy smiled knowing that they would be avenged.

…

Not much to say. Taking a short intermission in The Collars Come Loose to get this fic started. Just got the idea and started writing. The first actual chapter will be out before Sunday, hopefully. -LPC