No More Wild Fires: the war took a different turn when they had tried to wipe out of air-benders. Fire cannot burn without air nor when it is smothered in earth or drowned in water. There are so few fire-benders left in the world when everyone's trying to get their pound of flesh. Dark AU.
Disclaimer: Avatar the Last Airbender is not mine.
Image: The Noontime Rush by Autis
Rating: Teen
…
Smother and deadened and drained of its heat,
A fire is thought dead except for the red embers it leaves.
…
Zuko tried not to twitch as a Dai Li agent took a seat, strangely with company that wasn't another agent. This man had a long braid like any other member of the Dai Li, but there was this regal-arrogant air about him. Zuko had never met this man but he knew who he was on sight: Long Feng. His breath wanted to come in panicked bursts as he stared at the green-clad figure. He wanted to scream at his uncle and the two serving girls, to tell them to get out and hide. This man was dangerous. Not because he was the Grand Secretariat who believed that there was no war in the walls of Ba Sing Se, but because he was driven to make sure there never would be.
Fire-benders, Fire Nation descendants for that matter, attracted air-benders who would stop at nothing to make sure there were no more fire-benders left in the world. Not that anyone could really blame them. His dead nation had used Sozen's comet to destroy the temples of the Air Nomads. In reaction, the air-benders that remained wandering the world, decided with a religious impudence that the world needed to be clensed. And so, having many strings attached to powerful people in many other nations, the air-benders started a campaign for revenge behind the banner of spiritual purity.
Some might have disagreed that not all of the fire-benders needed to die, but the air-benders had said that this one man's vendetta, the Fire Lord, had polluted the purity of every fire-bender alive. They all had to go.
It was a long battle, a losing battle after the victory of Sozen's comet. Some said that it was because air can steal fire's power and others said it was because the Air Nomads were just so enraged. Never had an Avatar died so young: their Avatar. They never found the young Avatar's bones, but he was most certainly dead since he never came to join the hoard of young wandering air-benders nor to stop them as the Avatar would generally do.
The boy was dead, yet no other Avatar rose up after him, meaning the spirits must have been enraged as well.
In a fit of ire, that some regret though would never admit, the other Nations decided that the Air Nomads vendetta was no longer only theirs but everyone's. There was no more Avatar to keep the world at peace because of the fire-benders.
So they'd make their own peace.
The siege of the Fire Nation was brutal and cruel. The war had lasted for almost seventy years but finally the capital collapsed and the mass genocide of the fire-benders began: except for a few servants and the Fire Lord's heirs. The soldiers had all but sacrificed themselves as their royalty escaped.
From a whole city, less than one hundred servants and fire-benders escaped.
After abandoning their homeland, the royals (Iroh having joined them later covered in blood) tried to set their roots elsewhere. Ozia was adamant in bringing their nation's pride back to life once he had grown old enough to be considered powerful; he even overthrew his eldest brother's title and took a small band of willing fire-bender's to kill off the Air Nomad's spiritual leader.
Lu Ten had followed.
None of them were ever heard from again though their fires could be seen on the mountain tops from miles away.
This only stoked the storm and the air-benders lashed out once more, destroying the small settlement that the Princes had built, crippling the gathered population and killing Zuko's mother and maiming Iroh. Zuko, who had barely been eleven, had tried to take up the reins as Prince. He had merely gotten a scar for his troubles though, a fireball being bounced back at him with a wall of wind. The movement hadn't been for defense on the air-benders part. The nomad had been hoping to kill him.
In a way, the air-bender had killed the prince that day. For he is no longer a prince. He is merely a young man that serves tea.
Shaking off his thoughts as to not seem nervous, Zuko put on a bland expression and asked in a dry and almost bored tone worthy of Mai (the strange Fire Nation girl who was strangely alluring despite her downfalls).
"Thanks for coming to the Jasmine Dragon, what do you want?"
The agent almost laughed at Zuko's tone. Long Feng didn't seem entirely as amused though.
"Do you always greet all your customers that way? It is a wonder you are still employed. This tea shop is supposed to be highly regarded. It is a wonder why they would hire someone of your," Feng was careful with his next words, seeming to catch himself when he realized he was publicly announcing his bad mood, "attitude to continue to enthrall this shop with your stoic mood."
Zuko put on a false smile, taunting the man almost as he continued in his drawl tone, "Has to, he's family."
Long Feng turned up his nose and pressed down the fabric of his uniform before adding in almost a whispered tone, as if not directed to anyone but more than welcomed to be overheard, "Well, it's best not to keep such an attitude in such a fine establishment, especially with the Avatar coming to visit. Apparently, he has been in an iceberg for a hundred years. It's best to keep on his good side. After all, he is the Air Nomad Avatar. It would be wise not to enrage him for there never will be war in Ba Sing Se."
Zuko tried not to shiver. It may have been just a lie and idle threat, but it may not have been. It was hard to tell with the Dai Li.
"Noted, I'll make sure Uncle gets in some flavors air-benders would like. Now, what would you like, … sir?" said Zuko with a frown, trying to be a little more cordial.
Long Feng put on a greasy smile that he always seemed to wear when he knew a dreadful secret, his tone almost a purr, "See, what a nice improvement. Now, I'll have some simple green tea and I'm sure my agent would like the ginger."
"Sure thing," stated Zuko as he slowly turned, adding, "And don't worry about me causing trouble, sir. I'm just a simple tea man after all and that's all I'll ever be."
XXX
Paw07: Oh how I wish I could continue this idea. I had some wondrous plans for it, such as a mentally unstable sister (Azula) who stresses Zuko out all the time as he tries to keep her erratic fire-bending under wraps. He also has to deal with a small population of fire-benders to hide from the air-benders in plain sight... and then there is the seemingly harmless reawaken Aang. And the Dai Li aren't ignorant. But, alas, I don't have the time. I have too many other multi-chapters that require finishing. Regardless, enjoy the plot-bunny. I love the last line.
(Revisions December 2015)