Prologue
Prince Zuko, of the Fire Nation, stood on the deck of his ship, looking out at sea. He was tired, and he was not in a good mood. Of course, he was never in a good mood. It had been almost three years since his banishment, and the beginning of this endless search for the Avatar. He was sick of it, and he wanted to go home.
Home, he thought to himself. What home? Even if I capture the Avatar, things will never be the same again. I can't keep lying to myself like this. Angrily, he shot a fireball into the sky from his fist.
"Is everything all right?" came a voice from behind him.
"No, Uncle," Zuko said, voice full of despair. "We've been looking for years, and there is absolutely no sign of the Avatar anywhere!" He threw his hands into the air. "What am I going to do?"
A rotund old man walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Iroh looked upon his nephew with pity in his eyes. He wanted to go home, too. But it was complicated, and Zuko did not like to listen to his advice. Sighing, he said, "Listen to me, Prince Zuko. If the Avatar is out there, I have no doubt that you will find him. I believe in you. Now I think it is time that you start believing in yourself."
Zuko yanked away from his uncle, going farther out onto the deck and resting his hands on the railing. He was about to make a rude comment to the old man, but then he looked down and saw a body in the water. Pointing, he yelled, "Look!" As Uncle Iroh ran over to him, Zuko turned and yelled, "Man overboard!"
The crewmembers began scurrying around to get the supplies necessary to pull the body onto the ship.