Avatar: after the war ends
Prologue: Zuko's Lament
When I came to the throne I promised change and that the Fire Nation would help restore balance to the world. So far I have failed to do this. Though I was able to end the war I have not yet been able to repair the damage done to the Earth Kingdom. There are three main reasons for this.
The first is that many Earth Kingdom citizens cannot return to their homes because there is nowhere left to return to. The reasons why the Fire Nation burned Earth Kingdom towns and cities to the ground are many but it was mainly done to; quell resistance, weaken the Earth Kingdom, as a show of force, and sometimes just for fun. However the end result was always the same, a pile of ashes and a lot of refugees. My efforts to rebuild Earth Kingdom towns and cities have been hampered by both the nobility and Fire Nation citizens who don't want their taxes spent on the Earth Kingdom. Many consider ending the war payment enough.
The second is the Colonies scattered all over the Western Earth Kingdom. While I was able to remove my soldiers from the Earth Kingdom territories with little objection, I encountered great resistance when I tried to withdraw from the Colonies. Those living in the Colonies consider themselves to be Fire Nation citizens and many in the Fire Nation feel the same way. So when I first tried to return these areas to the Earth Kingdom there was a great deal of protest with some Officers and soldiers who lived in the Colonies or who had family members living there, with many threatening to defend the Colonies from the Earth Kingdom to the last person. While the Earth Kingdom might not object if the Colonies were a few small towns built by the Fire Nation they are often former Earth Kingdom towns and cities; along with Fire Nation fortresses, military facilities, smelting plants, and mines. At present much of the Fire Nation army is still in the Earth Kingdom to defend the Colonies and to deal with the third problem; Azula.
After I defeated Azula and became Fire Lord she was sent to a Fire Nation Mental Health Facility on a small island. There she received treatment for two months. Though her doctor said that she was making good progress and was starting to talk about her feelings towards her friends, this turned out to be just an act as she suddenly escaped. After her escape everything started going wrong. She went to the Colonies and started stirring up trouble by claiming that I was going to abandon the Colonies the same way I had "abandoned" the Earth Kingdom territories. By playing on the fear of the colonists she was able to gather not only the support of ordinary people but the support of many of the soldiers, Officers, and Governors living in the colonies. From her propaganda its clear that she's trying to gather enough support to start a civil war and become Fire Lord to "restore the Fire Nation to it's former glory".
Though she hasn't been effective at getting support among the average Fire Nation citizen it's unclear how many of the nobility support her. However her level of support in the Colonies is only too clear. There have been many raids on remaining Earth Kingdom towns in the Western Earth Kingdom in an effort to remove any Earth Kingdom presence. Though these attacks are normally carried out by colonialists, some are supported or even carried out by Fire Nation soldiers. I don't know how Azula has been organising these raids but whatever method she's using leaves behind little evidence. Since the raids are becoming more common this has encouraged many young colonialists to join Azula and attack the Earth Kingdom, rather than seek peace with them. There are even rumours that she has managed to convince some former Dai Lee agents to join her and oppose the Earth Kingdom.
The way she's funding her army is just as bad. Since some Fire Nation soldiers and Officials are under her control she can have them embezzle all the funds she needs. For a price smugglers and other criminals can operate with virtual immunity from the law. Again it's unclear how Azula is organising this and collecting the money but the effects are very clear. Taxes cannot be used to improve cities, criminal gangs operate in the Western Earth Kingdom unchallenged; Earth Kingdom civilians are abducted and sold as slaves; and the 'Poppy Tea' is freely produced in the Colonies and sold all over the Earth Kingdom.
The problems that Azula is causing in the Colonies and the Earth Kingdom has lead to a constant threat of invasion by the Earth Kingdom army (which has only benefited Azula by making the colonists more willing to seek her protection). Though Aang was able to convince the Earth Kingdom generals to let me handle this I could tell he was concerned about whether I would be able to deal with Azula. When my decree calling for Azula to surrender her failed I hired Jun to use her Shirshu to sniff her out. However Azula evaded detection by masking her scent, so put a large bounty on her, hoping that someone would sell her out. So far this has not worked and the as the situation deteriorates the Earth Kingdom is running out of patience.
Given that it has now been a year since Azula escaped, the problems she's causing are always increasing, and the lack of progress made so far I've decided to take action by forming a group to hunt down Azula and break her control over the Colonies. Though Aang and Katara are actively searching for Azula and trying to fix the destruction she caused they're too well known to be able to infiltrate her followers; the same is true of me. Though there are many in the Fire Nation that could carry out this task there is no one I can completely trust with it, since I'm unable to determine who supports me and who supports Azula. Fortunately I know of a group that could carry out this mission, yet would not betray me to Azula; the Kyoshi Warriors. I've sent a message Hawk to Suki and Sokka explaining this and I'm currently awaiting their response.
Notes:
1) Since many Jews put in concentration camps during World War Two had nowhere to return to after 5-10 years (many remained in Displaced Persons Camps until 1953) it's not unreasonable for the displaced Earth Kingdom people to have nowhere to return to after 100 years of war. Though I would like to point out that the German Government did give compensation to direct survivors of the Holocaust.
2) Governor (governs a city), Officer (military commander, such as General), Soldiers (serves officer).
3) The Dai Lee have been disbanded, though many have been retrained as guards in Ba Sing Se. Not all Dai Lee like their loss of status and having to change their Earth Bending style, so they joined Azula's cause in the hope of regaining their former glory.
4) 'PoppyTea' is a tea that contains ground opium poppies; though its weaker than smoked opium, Morphine, and Heroin. Its effects are: reduces pain, causes drowsiness, and produces feelings of euphoria and relaxation.
Early withdrawal symptoms are: insomnia, dysphoria (sadness, anxiety, irritability, or restlessness), and sweating. Late Withdrawal symptoms are: restlessness, irritability, loss of appetite, body aches, severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, tremors, problems sleeping, and even stronger and more intense drug. They occur usually between 6–12 hours after the last administration, with Major withdrawal symptoms peaking between 48 and 96 hours after the last dose and subsiding after about 8 to 12 days (physical symptoms only). Gradually reducing the amount of opium you take reduces the withdrawal symptoms.
Psychological withdrawal symptoms are severe depression, anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, amnesia (forgetfulness), low self-esteem, confusion, paranoia, and other psychological disorders. There is a high probability that relapse will occur after opium withdrawal when neither the physical environment nor the behavioural motivators that contributed to the abuse have been altered. Abusers of morphine and heroin (both opium and heroin contain morphine) have one of the highest relapse rates among all drug users.
5) In the past many rulers preferred to use foreign mercenaries rather than their own soldiers because they were better trained and often very loyal (as long as they were paid).