The Fire Lord and his family
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Mike and Bryan. Well, almost all...
It was still early in the evening. The sun had already vanished beyond the horizon, but you could still easily distinguish west from the east, and the sky itself was still of a deep navy blue rather than moleskin black. The stars were making an appearance, but at this time of the month, there would be no moon.
In short, this was the perfect time of the month to launch an assault on the water-bending tribes of the north and the south Poles...but unfortunately, the Fire Nation had its' own set of problems right now. Generally speaking, it was still at the stage of the siege of the Earth Kingdom's capital city, Ba Sing Se. Speaking more specifically, the army's commander-in-chief, Crown Prince Iroh, was still in the mourning over the death of his son, Lu Ten – and it went all downhill from there.
If it were the son of any other high-ranking noble officer of the National army, by now Azulon would have taken steps about it. But, since Lu Ten was Azulon's own heir as well (he had began to plan to make him and Iroh co-rulers of the Fire Nation Empire after he passed on), this approach just could not work it – but what could?
"Sir, the Fire Temple is closed after the sundown – oh, forgive me, your Lordship!"
Azulon turned around. One of the Fire Sages, a man slightly stooped with age and in the robes of one of the lower orders, bearing the bull's-eye lantern the staff of a temple warder. "Forgive me, your Lordship, I was not aware that you have deemed to grace us with your-"
"Quiet," Azulon interrupted the man's babbling. "I admit that since my father feuded with Roku, it has become... unfashionable for the nobility to visit the royal temple, but every once in a while even I realize that it has been a long time since the time of my father and Roku, and come to visit... for some spiritual guidance, I suppose you can say."
"Well now," the other man carefully positioned himself on the opposite bench of the chamber, "your Lordship, this motto of the Fire Sages was to guide those who need guidance, whether high or low, rich or poor, good or wicked..."
"Mind your tongue!" Azulon's temper was frayed to begin with, and the Sage's unsubstantiated mystical babbling did not help matters in any way either. "Are you accusing me of wickedness?"
The Fire Sage ruefully shook his head. "Your Lordship, I was trying to say that the Temple and its' Sages offer advice and solace to all people, no matter who or what they are outside of the Temple. I was apparently getting too long-winded getting to it- Right. My Lordship, I am an old man, who does not have much time left till he goes to the lands beyond the horizon, and thus it will be hardly demeaning on your side if I gave you advice, thought-for or not."
"You don't look old," Azulon frowned in consternation, "and your beard is rather short."
"True," and there was another hint of rueful laughter in the Sage's voice. "The Eldest Sage, who has known your father, it is said, has a beard that can be wrapped thrice around him – it is the envy of all of us, but it is such a bother when you're walking. So, I decided on keeping a shorter beard, just to be different." He paused. "Oh, and I dye it, too. Maybe you should try it too, your Lordship, some say that it makes me look dashing."
"That's very nice, but I doubt that that is the sort of advice the Eldest Sage would want you to solicit," Azulon replied flatly.
"True," the other man came back to this business with a start. "So, on what matter do you seek advice on, your Lordship?"
Azulon sighed. "My family," he said, in a manner more reluctant than he ever spoke, since his father died. "It, I fear, has been falling apart since my wife has died, and now my eldest grandson has followed her. My eldest son has taken this hard – perhaps even too hard for someone of his own advanced age and experience, whereas my youngest son," Azulon just grimaced and shook his head.
"Well, your Lordship, as it had been said and written by the Sages of times past, we are all mortals, we are all beings of this world, this Cosmos, and as we affect it, so it affects us-"
"Don't!" Azulon yelled out. "I seek practical advice, not any more of that mythical or mystical mumbo-jumbo. Alternatively, have you forgotten, Sage of the Temple, that my family was related to the Avatar's? Mother mine had told me the stories how Ra, the first Avatar, smote down the fifth spirit, Camazotz, and in doing so he broke the world from a single land into the four nations! However, the nations are not the same: we got all the most of ores and metals, while the Earth Kingdom got all the fertile lands! The Earth Kingdom and we were trading and arguing about trade for generations – it was only a matter of time before we did come to blows!" He paused. "I admit that what had befallen the Air Nomads was a sad, irredeemable loss, and one that I hope to talk about with Chang-ho after the war is over..."
Azulon shook his head. "Forgive me for ranting, father, but this is something that is the bone of content between you, Sages, and us, the nobility, since my father's time, I suppose. But I would still welcome any advice regarding my family, if you still have any for me."
The Fire Sage nodded, seemingly unruffled by Azulon's long rambling. "If the old ways of managing your world do not work out, your Lordship, then maybe it is time to try new ones," he said placidly. "Your eldest son seems to have lost his heart for war, while your youngest seeks to win your approval? Then perhaps it is time that you granted you youngest this chance. Send him in the stead of his brother, and give your oldest time to recover from his loss – say, till the New Year celebrations," the Sage paused. "Only, since he is still new to the art of war, as you say, maybe you could give some of the senior generals some sort of instructions that will say that in some affairs on the field of war it is possible to mitigate some of the young prince's commands during the course of battle... or something to this effect?"
"Do not presume to tell the Fire Lord just how closely should his children be managed," Azulon replied rather stiffly, "but you may be onto something. Go, and thank you for your advice."
Recognizing the thinly veiled dismissal for what it was, the Fire Sage slipped back into the Fire Temple's main building. The darkness of the night claimed him there.
Azulon too made his way back to the Fire Palace, his mind busy with new plans.
* * *
"Father, you wanted to see us?" Prince Ozai spoke, as he and his wife, princess Ursa, stood before their Lord and father. "Are you still set on your course about your last surviving grandson-"
"Your impudence, Ozai, has no bounds but the ones it chooses to recognize," Azulon said coldly, "but fortunately for you, I decided to grant your children mercy, and spare both of them instead. As an alternative, I am giving you time until the New Year to succeed where Iroh failed and capture the city of Ba Sing Se!"
Ozai promptly kowtowed from where he stood, joined almost immediately by Ursa. "But won't that conflict with Iroh's command?" he could not help but asking.
"Your brother has been relieved of his post, at least until the same New Year and will be recovering from his loss in our family estates," Azulon said coolly. "Also, Ozai, I will have you know that I have sent messages to some of our most experienced and senior commanders in field regarding your lack of military practice. Therefore, should you make some mistakes they will prevent you from losing us this war."
"Thank you, crowned father," Ozai kowtowed again. "You are most wise. However, what of my family? Will they come with me?"
"As loathe I am to break-up a family, especially one that is related to me," Azulon replied slowly, "I am aware that neither of your children is of age that could have made it appropriate for them to go with you to our colonies in the Earth Kingdom. Therefore, they and their mother, your wife lady Ursa will go to your home on Ember Island."
"But, their studies-!" Ozai protested weakly.
"I already told Li and Lo to make sure that they have tutors assigned to them while you're away, aside from the usual staff," Azulon said calmly. "That is all. Now go!"
Still shaken up from the news, Ozai and Ursa left.
* * *
Contrary to the popular opinion, the Fire Palace could be quite a dark place, despite all the well-lit torches and similar sources of light. This was especially so since the death of the old Fire Lady, Lord Azulon's wife. Since her death, the Fire Palace acquired a certain aura of doom and gloom...one that was especially palpable at night, especially at certain parts of the palace, like the wing where Ozai and his family used to live.
Right now, though, Ozai was alone, as his wife and children were busy packing for their trip as opposing to his – or so it appeared. Unexpectedly, seemingly materializing out of the darkness of the corridors, Ozai was joined by another man, even better muscled and taller than the youngest Fire Prince was. The man wore the clothes of Earth Kingdom's colors, but by now, they were almost faded to black.
"So, did it work?" the man calmly spoke-up, half-turning to the walking Fire Prince.
"It did," Ozai smiled back. "Will the Sage's body be discovered?"
"Eventually yes," neither Ozai nor his interlocutor broke their strides. "By this time we both will be in the army overseas, and it will be quite a stretch to connect the man's death to your promotion." He paused. "And what about your family?"
"Father's right," Ozai dismissively shook his head. "Both of my children will just get underfoot of the officers, and with Iroh and father acting up, it's for the best that they kept away from the capital city and the court." He paused and added, coolly: "And it will be over by the New Year at any rate, won't it?"
"Of course. Master Long Feng is ready to open the gates, and with Chang-ho on your side, it will be easy to sway the others and give your father the report that he wants. And once Ba Sing Se falls, the Earth Kingdom is finished, just like the Air Nomads were, and the Water Tribes can be dealt with... at a more leisurely pace."
"Leisurely pace... I like the sound of it!" and Ozai laughed. It was a laugh as warm and friendly as the light of the stars that shone down from the moonless sky overhead, and Hsi Wu, a renegade assassin from the Earth Kingdom, whose eyes and soul were as black as the same sky, smiled back, hearing in the laughter the shape of things to come.
The End