Hey, second fiction here. Umm, there is an all night red moon in this chapter, it's for symbolism, but just in case there are some scientific minds out there. The moon is red because some random volcano erupted on a nondescript island in the Fire Nation and the aerosols in the atmosphere are causing a red moon :D.
Prologue:
In order to win a war, someone must have lost. In order to restore balance, something must have been taken away. In order to bring order, things must change.
Not everyone liked the order and not everyone liked the change.
When the War was officially over, ended by Fire Lord Zuko's decree at his coronation address, there were a lot of unhappy people. Disgruntled citizens of the Fire Nation who believed they should have kept pushing to win, since they were on the brink of total and complete victory. There were also angered citizens of the other nations, citizens who wanted to see the Fire Nation pay for the hundred years of war they forced on everyone.
A hundred years of war has created animosity and tension amongst the surviving nations, lives were lost, families were ruined and villages were changed forever. And out of the ashes rose new threats:
A faction of the Fire Nation army defected and created a coalition to dethrone Zuko and reinstate the rightful heir.
The Dai Li went rogue and are now loyal to no one except to the highest bidder and the one they consider a true leader.
Small groups of waterbenders and earth benders have teamed to create an army built on one objective only, revenge.
Then, there's one man, if he can even be named such, who thrives on this chaos and he will do anything in his power to keep the world in a state of disorder.
Part 1: Moon Rise
Chapter 1: Exposition
They always say that a red moon rising is the sign of great conflict and suffering, some people even go as far as to say that the red moon symbolizes the end of the world. So as Chuang looked up at the night sky that dominated Wulong forest and saw the red moon peeking over the horizon, he suppressed a shudder. His good eye closed as he reached up and felt the rough fabric of the eye patch that covered the one he lost in the war.
"This world needs no more war," he said to himself as he opened his eye again and stood up on the column of rock he was sitting on, "I hope the legend was wrong," he sighed and leapt off the column, landing lightly on another column, using them as leap pads until he reached the ground.
The moon rose above the horizon, shining down on one of the uninhabited islands that dotted the Fire Nation waters, and the battalion gathered on its shores.
"Fire!"
Fwoom!
"Fire!"
Fwoom!
"Fire!"
Fwoom!
Firebenders stood in orderly rows as they were drilled by a mean looking man in a skull like helmet, he glared at the men as he yelled, "Again!"
The benders stood in their stance, punching their fists forward and releasing another blast of fire at the targets that stood several yards away, the flames met the stone targets and scorched them, creating black marks on the stone, roughly carved to create human shapes.
"Sir," a soldier in modified Fire Nation armor ran up and saluted, "Admiral Kizu wants a word with you."
The man nodded, turning towards his charges, "That's enough! Take a break, and when I return, we'll drill again!"
"Yes sir," the group of benders replied and broke rank to take a short breather.
Meanwhile, the two men made their way to a high cliff that overlooked the encampment, it was in a strategic position. Protected by walls of unyielding rock on three sides with the ocean on the fourth. The ocean was the means of escape for the group of Fire Nation loyalists, only answering to who they believed was the true leader of the Fire Nation.
Admiral Kizu was the leader of this new army, he sipped a hot cup of tea as he waited for his messenger to get back with the commander. He watched as the red moon began its ascent in the sky, "Well, someone knows that we're up to something," he smirked as he placed his cup on the table, "Too bad it will be too late once they know the whole story."
"Sir."
Kizu turned around and saw the messenger he sent, standing with the commander, "Ah, Commander Jiang, how nice of you to join me this evening," he said sinisterly as he glanced out the window and looked at his army, "I have seen that you are hard at work Commander, your training seems to be paying off on the troops."
"I aim to please Admiral," Jiang answered with a bow, "The new Fire Lord won't stand a chance against our fleet," he said.
"I doubt that," Kizu answered flatly, "Our fleet is very powerful, that is true. But we won't last an hour into battle against Fire Lord Zuko, not with the Avatar on his side," he scowled, his face turning into a look of the utmost displeasure.
A new voice spoke up from the shadowy corner of the room, "Perhaps I can help you gentlemen?"
"Who's there!" Kizu yelled as he shot a fireball in the general direction of the voice, a hand shot out and dissipated the flame much to Kizu's chagrin and fear.
A man walked out of the shadows, "I guess I forgot my manners," he said off-handedly, "Then again, you were rude for attacking me before I got a chance to introduce myself."
"I won't ask again, who are you?" the admiral demanded, cold fingers of fear were tracing up his spine, making him shudder involuntarily.
The man smiled, "I am Tenzu," he replied calmly, "And like you, I am no fan of the supposed 'Fire Lord', he does not deserve his place on the throne."
"We are aware of that," the admiral retorted, "Tell us something we don't know."
"Well," Tenzu chuckled, the laugh seemed dark, sinister, "I am allied with a powerful man, even more powerful than the Phoenix King, it is said he creates chaos and war where ever he points. And he is willing to help you with your goals."
Kizu's eyes narrowed, he didn't get to Admiral status for being an idiot, "What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously, "He couldn't be doing this out of the kindness of his heart."
"All he wants, is your full cooperation when the time comes," Tenzu replied smoothly, he smiled at the expression on Kizu's face, "And you will gain enough power to usurp the Fire Lord and take his throne for yourself."
"I don't want the throne," Kizu snarled, glaring at Tenzu, "I am nowhere near honorable enough to touch the throne of the Fire Lord. I want to place the rightful heir in that throne."
"Ozai?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
Kizu shook his head, "No, Ozai is nothing more than a sniveling wreck after he was bested by that 12 year old boy. He has no honor, he can't lead his nation. I plan to free Azula from her bindings, she does not belong in that hospital."
"You don't have to plan that escape anymore," Tenzu smiled again, "We have already got a team on that, they should be completed their objective by the end of the month."
"That is the heaviest guarded mental institution in the world," Kizu challenged in disbelief, "A well thought out escape plan will take years to accomplish, how can they do it by the end of the month? That's a week from now!"
"If I recall," Tenzu said matter-of-factly, "Boiling Rock was said to be inescapable and then a banished prince and a Water Tribe peasant broke in and freed two prisoners within the span of two days. Nothing is ever inescapable Admiral, just hard to escape from."
Admiral Kizu gave Tenzu a stiff nod, "Very well then, tell your master or whatever, that I accept his offer gladly, and when can we meet?"
"My master meets no one but his closest advisors," Tenzu replied curtly, "He will not help overtly but leave you clues on how to accomplish your tasks."
Kizu scoffed, "Yeah, sounds real helpful there," he snorted.
"Be it as it may," Tenzu said as he walked to the window and gazed upon the red moon, "You have accepted the help of my master, and I must tell him this," he placed a foot up on the sill, "I will return later to give you your first set of instructions."
"Wait," Kizu said abruptly, looking on Tenzu with confusion, the latter glanced back with a bemused expression, "How did you get in here?"
"As you did," Tenzu replied easily, "Through the front door," he smirked and used fire bending to propel himself to the very precipice of the cliff and disappear.
The commander rose an eyebrow, "What?"
"There was an armed guard at the door, no way he could have . . ." Kizu ran outside and saw the guard slumped against the wall, seemingly dead but the soft snores escaping his lips betrayed him.
The commander knelt down and picked up a small note attached to the chest armor.
Admiral -
I could have easily killed your foolish young guard but that would have been a blow to the relations I was hoping to open. The sleeping potion should wear off in a few hours, then you can discipline your guard however you like. Please discipline your forces better, there will be no way you can defeat the Fire Lord with a bumbling army.
- Tenzu
The commander and the admiral exchanged a glance, "I think I'm beginning to like this man," Kizu commented as he addressed the commander, "Jiang, you may return to training the troops, be sure to discipline the guard."
"Yes sir," Jiang said as he was joined by a few soldiers, he ordered them to take the guard to the infirmary, he'd deal with him later.
The moon stayed on its path to high in the sky, bathing eerie red light on a secluded island in the middle of a raging sea, waves crashed against jagged cliff sides as salty spray misted over the tall and heavily fortified structure that seemed to be carved out of the rock.
Golden eyes stared out of one of the numerous windows that adorned the exterior of the structure, these eyes belonged to the once proud princess of the Fire Nation, Azula. She had come a far way from her mental breakdown after the Agni Kai between her and her brother. The instability caused by her deep seated trust issues and belief that failure meant death, was diminished.
"Azula," someone spoke up from the door of the cell she was in, a woman opened the door carrying two small cups of steaming liquid, "I've got some tea for you," she said with a smile as she sat on the bed of the room, Azula was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, next to the window.
She took the tea, "Thanks," she said sipped it quietly, this was new, Azula had never really thanked anyone genuinely before. She continued to gaze out the window, a preferred behavior of late.
"The moon's beautiful tonight," the woman commented, her name was Liang and she was a doctor-in-training at the institution.
"It is," Azula answered as she took another sip of tea, Liang was the only genuine friend she ever had, Mai and Ty Lee were close but they were no more than tools in the end, tools that betrayed the princess.
"How have your group sessions been going?" Liang asked the Fire Nation princess, "I heard from the doctor that you've been progressing, but how do you feel about them?"
Azula shrugged, she didn't particularly care for the group sessions, she absolutely hated the other inmates in the asylum, "I don't like everyone there, they're peasants, not even peasants," she glared at her tea, "Lower than peasants, they're crazy, sick."
Liang sighed, this was a snag that she had been hitting every time she discussed group sessions with Azula, the princess hated anyone who she deemed inferior, the other inmates were definitely classified as such, "Yes, but the group sessions are necessary for you to-," Liang started.
"Yes, I know, 'get better and return to society'," Azula finished for Liang, she had heard the same song over and over again by pretty much everyone she had complained to in the hospital. It didn't mean that she liked it.
"Look, you're here for the same reason everyone else is," Liang said bluntly, she realized that was the only way to get to Azula, "And despite the fact that you're royalty, you're at the same level as everyone else here mentally."
Azula seethed, had she been able to, she would have shot a bolt of lightning at the doctor-in-training. She had lost the ability ever since the Agni Kai she lost between her and Zuko, the last lightning bolt she had generated was to strike her brother, she felt a little pang of something every time she thought of it. Remorse maybe? It wasn't the homicidal intent that she had use to feel, it was an emotion completely unknown to her.
"Azula?" Liang asked, snapping the princess out of her thoughts.
Azula glanced over at Liang, acknowledging she had heard Liang, "I still don't like the group sessions," she said.
"Yeah," Liang replied as she got up, picking up her empty cup of tea, "But you've come a long way, I'm proud of the progress you've made Azula," she smiled at the princess, "Good night princess," she said as she took Azula's empty cup and left the room.
Liang walked down the empty hallways, past the lone janitor who was mopping the floor, she looked up at the doctor-in-training, "Good evening Miss Liang," she said pleasantly.
"Hello Zhi," Liang replied curtly, if not a little haughtily. She walked down the hallways to the dormitory wing, where the doctors and other employees slept.
At the end of the wing was a balcony that overlooked the seas, Liang walked to the railing and smiled, she liked the view and the ocean. Some people had joked about her love of the sea, stating that she could have been a water bender, and it was true, Liang absolutely loved the sea, it was always in motion. On some days it would be calm, the water undulating peacefully in large swells that would wash softly over the rocks, lulling one to sleep. Other days it would be harsh and violent, crashing the cliff side roughly and spewing foam feet into the air.
"How did I know you'd be here, Liang?" a voice spoke up from the entrance to the balcony, Liang turned around to see her close friend, Lee, standing behind her.
Liang smiled and shrugged, "You tell me doc," she said as he walked up beside her, "Interesting moon tonight," she said as she looked up at the red tinted moon.
"Definitely," Lee said as the wind swept back his jet black hair, "So have you been talking to the princess?"
"You know I have," Liang said as she glanced sideways at Lee, a little apprehensive, she knew he didn't approve of Liang's visits, none of the doctors did.
Lee shook his head in disapproval, "Don't," he said to Liang, "You know how dangerous that is," he said severely, "There's a reason we've classified her as Class A threat."
"What are you talking about?" Liang challenged, her brown eyes glinting fiercely in the eerie red light created by the full moon, "Azula's changed, she's better now!"
"No she isn't," Lee argued back, glaring back at his friend, "I know the difference between damaged and broken! Azula's broken, there's no way to change her! She can't be trusted Liang, she'll manipulate you, use you to her advantage! She'll never get better!"
Liang made a noise of frustration, "You haven't connected to her on the level that I have Lee, Azula's not a threat! Yes she's still a little condescending at times, but she can't even create lightning! She's getting better!"
"She's not, I've seen cases like this before, they just use you in the end," Lee said, his eyes softening as he placed a hand on Liang's shoulder, "Don't let her get to you."
Liang only shrugged off his hand angrily, "You don't know what you're talking about," she said flatly, leaving the balcony, "I'm going to bed, good night."
Lee sighed, letting her go, "She'll only use you," he said sadly as he turned away and looked back at the view, he looked towards the red moon a sad expression in his eyes.
The only area where the red moon wasn't visible that night, was on the storm ridden seas of the southern pole as a small fleet of warships sailed the violent waves.
"Put some slack in that sail!" the captain, a man with vividly blue eyes and shaggy brown hair, yelled at one of his sailors. Waves crashed into the small fleet and snow fell in blinding sheets, creating whiteout conditions on the sea, "Benders! Clear the deck of snow and ice! We're taking on too much weight!"
Teams of water benders paired together and worked to clear the decks of snow and ice but each wave brought new weight to the ship and threatened to send it into the depths of the raging sea.
"Captain Rahn!" one of the sailors yelled as he struggled to keep the ship on course, "The storm's too strong! We've got to get to shore!"
"I know that already," Rahn snapped at the sailor, glaring, "But we've got to press the attack on Whale Tail, any delay will result in the Fire Nation finding out about our plan."
A large wave suddenly crashed over the ship, submerging the deck in an eerie green twilight, everyone hung on for dear life in the freezing waters, a second later, the ship emerged from the waters, damaged but still afloat. Shouts rent the storm ridden air as sailors made sure their friends were still aboard the ship and in one piece.
"Everyone accounted for?" Rahn yelled at the crew, the men nodded as the benders cleared the decks again.
The snow and wind slackened abruptly, visibility improving greatly as the wintry precipitation cleared from the skies. Rahn sighed in relief as they exited the snow band, the conditions were improving and he was grateful for that, "Thank La that we made it out safely," he said fervently.
"Land ho!" a sailor shouted from the highest point in the ship, he pointed to the small island in the middle of the sea, right on the horizon.
Rahn was quickly giving orders to everyone on board, "Douse the lanterns! Prepare the boarding parties and get the earth benders on deck!"
The fleet quickly collapsed into darkness as all the lanterns were snuffed, the boats were silent yet the decks were busy with preparations for the attack. Earth benders came up from beneath deck, bringing large piles of stone along with them. Water benders stood behind them, ready to provide support in the first wave.
Everyone on deck, whether they be benders or non-benders, wore the same symbol on their armor, a silver crescent of the moon, transected by a brown hammer. They stood at the ready on the deck of the ship as the fleet sailed closer and closer to Whale Tail Island, the Fire Nation soldiers still occupying it were oblivious to the impending attack.
"Let's show these Fire Nation scum that they don't mess with us, not without paying dearly," Rahn said sinisterly as he donned his wolf helmet and stood proudly at the bow of the ship, club in hand.
The moon reached its zenith at that moment, casting the entire world in an eerie reddish glow. A figure aboard a small ship watched the fleet attacking Whale Tail, white teeth gleamed as he grinned maliciously and cackled.
It has begun.
Updates may be few and far between, sorry, room cleaning (I need to learn "stuff bending") and school. Happy New Years!