Well, long time no see! I've revised Firelily, and have basically changed the whole way the story is going. Sorry? Well, I was going to make y'all wait until summer 'til I gave you this, but I think a little taste is in order. Tell me what you think in a review please. Also, if someone wants to Beta with me, it would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!
I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender.
Firelily, prologue
One Hundred years ago, the world was thrown into chaos.
The majestic Fire Nation and the powerful Earth Kingdom met in the first battle of what was to become a century long war. By the end of this conflict, thousands of lives would have been lost, and longstanding hatreds acquired. It caused the changing of a world, and the breaking of the hearts of many.
The cause for this war is a simple one, albeit a bit commonplace – a woman.
Yes, it was for the love of one great lady that these terrible hostilities were started. And though her name has been buried by the years, her story lives on.
O0O
A great delegation, swathed in emerald and hailing directly from the Earth Kingdom had come the thousands of miles necessary to hold council with the Fire Lord. It had come, along with the Earth King himself, to discuss a trading matter, one which would invoke a long-lasting partnership between their two peoples. Because of the large nature of this party, the servants of the Fire Lord were in a constant hive of activity, going from one duty to the next, with no rest of any kind. It was one such servant, worked to the bone and barely awake, which started the Hundred Years war. Night had fallen, and the girl's work was hardly done. She was polishing a golden fountain, and though exhaustion pulled at her mind and body almost visibly, she began to sing. It was a simple tune, one which Fire Nation mothers sing to their children, but to the two men watching her, it was captivating.
The Earth King; enthralled by her beauty.
And the Fire Lord; enchanted by her voice.
The Earth King desired her, and wished to make the girl his, to bring her back to Ba Sing Sei as his mistress. She would live a good life there, and she would ask for nothing, as long as she remained his and only his.
However, the Fire Lord, Sozin, claimed the girl was already his property. He too wanted her, for her beauty, but also for her song. By watching her, and hearing her sing, he felt as though a Servant of Agni had come down to his court. Never in his life had Sozin come face-to-face with such purity, and he was not about to let it get away from him.
Both men's motives were selfish, but neither was willing to lose. Playful banter turned to squabbles, and squabbles turned to all-out war. Long forgotten incidents were dredged up and put to light, and just like that, a centuries-long peace was shattered.
O0O
The war had raged for a full seventeen years without any stalemate when the new Earth King, a young man by the name of Zan Yong, decided to change the game. So far, no other nation had been involved in the fight, but that would soon change.
Zan Yong contacted the Council of Elders, the governing body for the joint Air Nomads, and asked for assistance in his fight with the Fire Nation. Why contact the scattered and unreliable Air Nomads instead of the more organized Water Tribes? The reason is simple – the Avatar.
O0O
Like the Water Tribes, the Nomads had remained out of the war so far, and intended to continue in doing so. The other nations believed that the people of the Air had gained a higher spiritual connection than the rest of the world, and thus, all their people were benders. To the rest of the world, the word "Air Bender" conveyed a spirit-like association. So when the subject of war was brought up, it was thought over carefully by the council. Rather quickly, they unanimously decided that to go to war over something so trivial would be idiotic at best.
Sensing refusal, the Earth King slyly told the Elders of the Fire Nation's dangerous machinery, and "irreverence" for the spirit world. Zan Yong told the Elders of Sozin's dangerous temper, and how, he, the Earth King sometimes feared for the safety of his own people.
Though the Fire Nation's technology did exceed that of the rest of the world, it had no desire to destroy it. Yet. This war was simply the product of raging testosterone amongst two powerful men.
Despite this, the Elders, thoroughly convinced, began to consider taking action against the Fire Nation in earnest. The relatively peaceful nation's only assets were the Avatar and full population of benders. They had no technology to speak of, and no great war strategies. However, the bender of all four elements was a force to be reckoned with.
The Avatar was a young boy, still yet to master all the elements. It would be dangerous to rely on the power of one so young. Only twelve years old, even he had yet to be notified of his true Identity. Traditionally, the Avatar was notified of their true self on their sixteenth birthday. Tradition had never been broken before, especially by the upholders of balance, the Air Nomads. After much debate, the Monks decided that the situation was too dire to wait any longer. They told the boy.
Unfortunately, Records of what became of the Avatar at this time have vanished, leaving us with no possible way of knowing what happened next. What we do know, is how the Fire Nation reacted.
O0O
The Fire Lord, Sozin, learned of his enemy's alliance and grew worried. The Air Nomads were powerful, though they hid their power well under peace, love, and a fun-loving façade. But most everyone knew of their strength. It was dangerous not to.
Though this conflict started out as a fight over a woman, it had escalated, along with Sozin's ambitions, into something more. He had seen where conflict had led the world, and believed that he, the Fire Lord could stop it. If he could unite the world under one peaceful flag – that of the Fire Nation – all conflict would cease, for eternity. The first step in eliminating war would be to destroy the enemies to peace. He knew that while he was not yet strong enough to take on the vast and mighty Earth Kingdom, he was able to, and would, eliminate the Air Nomads.
Sozin, though nearing the age of eighty two, was not to be underestimated. The Fire Lord was strong enough to make the decision to attack, and to gain the upper hand once and for all. A comet was coming, one that would empower all Fire Benders; he had Agni on his side.
Three years later, the Sozin struck.
Fire Nation soldiers wiped out every Air Nomad in the temples, desecrating their holy places. Afterwards, they scoured the surrounding lands for any sign of them, them. Orders were issued from the Fire Lord himself, that the Air Nomads had committed terrible acts against the spirits, and were to be put to death if they were spotted. No questions were asked by the people, and soon, no frolicking Air Benders roamed the skies. And though the populace revolted at the genocide, Fire Lord Sozin justified it before the people;
"The people of the Air Temples grew too strong and many in numbers; they needed to be stopped. The acts our soldiers saw committed by them in their temples were heinous and treason against the spirits themselves. The Earth Kingdom would have used them to eliminate us, once and for all. I could not stand to see a single one of our children killed by an Air or Earth bender on Fire Nation soil, and so, I did what any father would do. It was either strike first, or die. The strength of the Fire Nation was such that we destroyed them easily. With this strength, the Fire Nation will bring the world to a new peace, under one flag, under one people, forever."
Sozin's statement instilled a great courage and pride in the nation for decades to come. It gave them the strength to fight the Earth Kingdom with a new vigor.
O0O
Twenty years later, a new Fire Lord came to power, his name was Azulon. Born in the year of Sozin's Comet, he was a still a young man in comparison to other rulers. Yet his intelligence rivaled even that of his father's, Fire Lord Sozin's. He is renowned in both the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes for his grand accomplishments. Once his power had been secured, Azulon took a long look at the Fire Nation, and saw a crumbling giant. This war had been raging on for upwards of forty years, and his people were losing the strength, and resources, to keep fighting. Yet, because he was his father's son, a stubborn man, he refused to surrender. Azulon devised a cunning solution to a victorious end in the war, and his father's visions of world peace. He decided to ally with, what his father viewed as, the largest threat to a new regime.
Azulon allied with the Water Tribes.
He traveled to the Southern Water Tribe, the head of the joint Sister Tribes. The Fire Lord decided to change his father's plans for world domination, for he knew that with the help of the Water Tribes they could win easily against the Earth Kingdom's might.
But before battle could proceed, there lay the matter of convincing the neutral nation to fight. Azulon devised a plan.
He came to the great fortress that was the Southern Tribe flying a white flag of peace. Kuruk's gate was lowered, and he was allowed in. He spoke to Head Chief Nasoka in a speech that has been copied and spread through the world as one of the most popular dialogues ever recorded. His argument appealed to the Water Tribe principles of Tui and La, moon and ocean, push and pull. In the Fire Nation, they were called Yin and Yang, and symbolized harmony between Ice and Fire. He explained that since his father defended himself against the Air Nomads (a preemptive strike) there were only three Nations. Fire and Water could coexist, however Earth could only push and strike, never simply live. They were the cause of such disharmony in the spirits; they needed to be stopped. The people of the Earth would always be a threat to peace in general. Azulon made absolutely certain that the Earth Kingdom would be hated and feared by all members of the Water Tribes. Needless to say, they quickly joined the fight.
O0O
Under the watchful eyes of the Fire Lord and Head Chief Nasoka (and later his son, Chief Hakoda), the war ended within fifty years. Within those fifty years, their economies prospered, the Gates of Azulon were built, and new territories were divided and split harmoniously.
Life went on, but peace had not yet been attained.
The former 'Earth Kingdom' was angry and riotous; their proud spirits did not adjust well to submission. They lived under their new Water Tribe and Fire Nation rulers, spite and hatred ran rampant. Attacks on governors of large states grew frequent. An attempt was made on the Fire Lord's life. Drastic measures were taken, time and time again, to quell the uprisings.
But nothing worked.
Constant threats on his life made Azulon paranoid. He suspected everyone of trying to uproot him from his throne; everyone was an assassin waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Azulon grew suspicious of even his Water Tribe allies, who had supported him unquestionably these past fifty years, so he made a demand that would ensure cooperation and harmony for years to come.
O0O
To make this "treaty", Azulon, well into his seventies, sent his wife to the Southern Palace. Before her, Kuruk's gate opened wide. For her, smiles and salutes were thrown her way. She was as good as a second queen to them. Many had grown up hearing her virtues and worshipping her smiling face. Because of their friendly past, she was granted access to the Head Chief and his family. Yet she deserved none of it, for she was not here for trivial talk and sipping arctic tea; she was here to destroy a family.
So this is where the story really starts, with supreme harmony between Ice and Fire.