Hello everyone! I hope life is treating you well.
I was inspired to write this story after reading Luna de Rivera's story, "The Earth on Fire" (which I HIGHLY recommend you all read).
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Avatar: the Last Airbender (but BOY do I wish I did). Those rights belong to Nickelodeon, Michael Dante DiMartino, and Bryan Konietzko.
I lit a flame in my left hand, bathing their faces in blue light as I held the teapot over it. For several moments, the tent was silent as the flame burned, illuminating the darkened space. Eventually, when the tea was ready, I closed my left hand into a fist, smothering the flame. As I started pouring the jasmine tea into the cups in front of the two young boys sitting in front of me, I said "Bending comes from the Chi within our bodies".
After pouring my own tea, I set the pot down. I then picked up my own cup, blowing gently on it before taking a sip. "For Firebenders, our Chi is the source of our Bending, which makes us unique. For Earthbenders, like you, your Chi is used to manipulate your surroundings. Where your strength comes from the land, ours comes from our own bodies. Do you understand?"
The two boys, with identical faces, ponytails, and Fire Nation uniforms, nodded.
"Each of the four Bending arts has its strengths and weaknesses" I continued. Pausing to take another sip of tea, I added "There is wisdom to be found in all of them. If you only draw it from one source, then you become rigid, and stale, whereas if you draw wisdom from many sources, you will become whole.
Fire is the element of power: the people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the drive to achieve what they want.
Earth is the element of substance. The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring". The twins smiled at each other, and I could tell that they took pride in such a statement about their people.
Taking another sip of tea, I said "Air is the element of freedom. The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom.
Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything. If you look at each of the four nations, you will find that each of them has their own strengths and ideals. Study from others, and you will be all the stronger and wiser for it".
The flap of the tent was then raised, flooding light into the space as a Fire Nation soldier took a step inside. "Captain Shan We" the man said, bowing to me. As I looked the man over, he said "The Commander requests your presence in his tent".
"Tell my father we will join him momentarily" I replied. The other man bowed before leaving, and I proceeded to finish my tea, enjoying the warmth of it as it ran down my throat. The twins gave me a curious look, and I explained "One should never leave good tea unfinished" with a marginal smirk. With an empty cup in front of me, I stood and walked out of the tent, knowing that the twins were only a few steps behind me without having to look.
We stepped out into the camp, taking a moment to look around at the field of tents and the row of large Fire Nation Cruisers. My father had cultivated a formidable force to himself, and we had clashed with the forces of the Earth Kingdom on multiple occasions.
Taking a deep breath, I made my way over to the command tent, where my father was. As I walked, with the twins close behind me, I saw a small, fairly ancient-looking ship making its way to the dock, in between two larger Cruisers. Perhaps the ship and its crew were why father had summoned me, I mused as I walked along; it looked rather battered, as if it had been in a great battle recently.
I soon came to the command tent, nodding to the two Firebending soldiers who saluted me. Stepping through the flap, I found my father poring over a map of the world, the unadulterated lust unmistakable in his eyes. "Father" I greeted, bowing in respect.
The older man turned around, acknowledging me with a nod. "I presume you've seen the ship that's making harbour here?"
"I have" I replied stoically, my hands clasped behind my back. "Is that why you summoned me?"
"It is" my father replied, clasping his own hands behind his back. "It's carrying very special guests, guests I want both of us to meet".
I didn't immediately reply, sensing that my father had something special in mind for these 'guests'.
"While we're keeping them busy, I want you to have our men question the crew. Have them report to me when they find out anything of note".
I nodded before father stepped past me and the twins, making his way outside. Me and my twin shadows followed close behind, watching as the relatively small ship docked before its sharpened bow lowered onto the ground. As we approached, I could see two men in Fire Nation uniforms stepping off of the ship. One was short, squat, and fairly advanced in years, while the other was thinner, taller, younger, and had a very recognizable scar.
The two of them exchanged a few hushed words before the younger man said "Don't mention his name on these docks! Once word gets out that he's alive, every Firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way".
"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?" my father asked as we walked up to the two men.
"Captain Zhao" Prince Zuko said, sounding not entirely pleased to see him.
"It's Commander, now" the older man replied, and I could see the unmistakable gleam of pride in my father's eyes. "And General Iroh", he continued, bowing to the short, squat man, "great hero of our nation".
"Retired General" the other man replied as he bowed.
My father then turned to me. "My son, Shan We" he said, indicating me with an outstretched hand.
General Iroh bowed, saying "It is an honour, Captain".
"The honour is mine, General Iroh, Prince Zuko" I replied, bowing to both of them.
General Iroh nudged the Prince in the side. "Don't be rude, Prince Zuko" he admonished, and I could clearly see the indignation in the young man's eyes.
"Captain" he said, forcing a bow.
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbour?"
"Our ship is being repaired" General Iroh said, motioning to the craft. Now that I was up close, I could see that the damage was quite significant, and found myself wondering what sort of battle the young Prince and his uncle could have gotten into.
"That's quite a bit of damage" my father said, sounding as if he was thinking along the same lines.
"Yes" Prince Zuko said, placing a finger on his chin. "You wouldn't believe what happened". After a moment, he glanced to General Iroh, saying "Uncle, tell Commander Zhao what happened!"
The comment seemed to catch the other man off-guard, and after the wide-eyed expression of surprise evaporated, he said "Yes, I will do that. It was incredible!" Leaning in close to the scarred young Prince, he quietly asked "What, did we crash or something?"
Now it was Prince Zuko's turn to look surprised; clearly, the two of them hadn't taken the time to come up with a proper cover story. "Yes" he said, somewhat awkwardly, "right into an Earth Kingdom ship".
Glancing behind me, I could see the twins exchanging disbelieving looks.
"Really?" father asked. "You must regale me with all the thrilling details". He leaned in close to Prince Zuko's face, a predatory aura about him. "Join me for a drink?"
"Sorry, but we have to go".
Just as the young man started to walk off, General Iroh caught his shoulder. "Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao and Captain Shan We your respect. We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any Ginseng Tea? It's my favourite".
Walking alongside the retired General, I replied "I would be happy to brew some for you". Behind me, I could hear Prince Zuko fuming as he followed us.
"Would you? That would be most excellent, thank you". As he spoke, I turned to look at the twins and nodded, watching from the corner of my eye as they turned around and gathered a few men in order to interrogate the ship's crew. One way or another, we would discern what Prince Zuko was trying to cover up.
We all entered the command tent, and while Prince Zuko and I sat down at the small table in the centre, General Iroh walked over to a rack of weapons, inspecting them as my father stared at a map of the world.
I began to brew the tea, holding the ceramic pot over my left hand as I lit a blue flame. The young Prince stared at the fire with wide-eyed surprise, but said nothing as the tea boiled. The flame seemed to upset him, and I could only assume that it had something to do with his sister; after all, the Princess was the only other Firebender in the Fire Nation who possessed blue flames.
"We've made significant gains in the Earth Kingdom" my father said as I smothered the flame in my hand. "Our forces are as strong as they have ever been, and by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war".
I proceeded to pour the tea into four separate cups before setting the pot down. I took mine and proceeded to take a small sip, while the Prince merely stared into thin air, a look of indignation on his face. "If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool".
"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue" my father retorted icily.
I took another sip of my tea, cautiously observing everyone present.
"So, how is your search for the Avatar going?" No sooner had my father asked that question then the weapon rack General Iroh had been examining tumbled to the floor, causing a loud crash as the weapons slid haphazardly.
The short, squat man bore a grimace on his wizened face before saying "My fault entirely".
"We haven't found him yet" Prince Zuko replied. I could sense the bitterness in his voice, but there was something else there, something he wasn't telling us.
"Did you really expect to?" my father asked condescendingly. "The Avatar died 100 years ago, along with the rest of the Airbenders".
Prince Zuko avoided my father's gaze, and I held my tea cup in my hands and asked "Unless you've found some evidence that the Avatar is still alive?"
The young, scarred man glared over at me. "No", he replied as I stoically met his gaze, "nothing".
My father then stood, giving me a pleased smirk. "Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who could stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found".
"I haven't found anything. It's like you said: the Avatar probably died a long time ago". The young Prince then stood, starting to walk out of the tent. "Come on, uncle, we're going".
He was stopped by the two guards standing in front of the flap a moment before the twins entered, along with one of the men who had been sent onto the Prince's ship. "Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed" the man reported as the twins stood off to the side. "They confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, and let him escape".
Even with his back turned to me, I could sense my father's pure delight. I set my tea cup down before standing up, clasping my hands behind my back. "Now tell me", he said menacingly as he walked up to the young Prince, "how exactly was your ship damaged?"
The guards roughly grabbed Prince Zuko by the arms before sitting him back down. They stood behind him as my father said "So a twelve year old boy bested you and your Firebenders? You're more pathetic than I thought".
"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again" the young Prince replied with a fire in his eyes that conveyed the all-consuming desire to achieve his goal.
"No it will not", my father agreed, "because you will not have a second chance".
"Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years, and I…"
"And you've failed!" my father cut him off, casting a light arc of crimson flames with his hand. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now".
Prince Zuko suddenly lunged for my father as he turned his back, but I cast a line of blue flame in between them, stopping the younger man in his tracks. He looked at me with a mixture of surprise and anger, while I looked at him with a steely gaze that forced him to look down at the ground after a moment.
The guards then restrained him as my father turned to me and said "Shan We, get the men ready. I want to leave as quickly as possible".
"Yes, father" I replied, bowing. The twins and I then followed him out of the tent as he called back to the guards "Keep them here".
As I left the command tent, I could hear the table being violently kicked.
A short time later, after preparations had been completed, I followed my father back into the command tent, where Prince Zuko and General Iroh were still being detained. The twins stood guard at the flap, and as my father entered, he said "My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you'll be free to go".
"Why?" Prince Zuko asked, glaring over at us. "Are you worried I'll try and stop you?"
Before I could reply, my father gave a hearty chuckle. "You? Stop me?" he asked incredulously. "Impossible".
The scarred Prince stood defiantly. "Don't underestimate me, Zhao" he warned in as threatening a tone as he could muster. "I will capture the Avatar before you".
"Prince Zuko, that's enough!" General Iroh cautioned.
"You cannot compete with us" I told the younger man. "We have hundreds of warships under our command".
"And you", my father added, "you're just a banished Prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you".
For some reason, I glanced at my father, feeling a distinctive jolt of pain in my heart.
"You're wrong" Prince Zuko countered. "Once I deliver the Avatar to my father, he will welcome me home with honour, and restore my rightful place on the throne".
"If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes, you are a failure, and a disgrace to the Fire Nation".
"That's not true". Prince Zuko stared at my father with a look that conveyed his utter conviction to this cause; while everything my father said was true, objectively, it was still cruel, and the young Prince didn't strike me as someone who would let insults to his honour slide.
"You have the scar to prove it" my father said with a malicious smirk, driving right into the heart of the younger man's source of shame.
He growled as he stared at my father from mere inches away. "Maybe you'd like one to match!"
"Is that a challenge?"
"An Agni Kai" Prince Zuko said. "At sunset".
After a very tense moment, my father replied "Very well. It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do".
I followed my father out of the tent, and once we were outside, I said "Father, let me fight for you; I can defend your honour against…"
"Stay out of this!" he suddenly growled at me. "I will fight. I will defeat this pathetic pup, and I will be the one to do what even the Fire Lord could not!"
As he walked away, I stared at him for several moments. Looking down, I saw that my fists were clenched as tight as they could be, and I consciously opened them, releasing the tension which I didn't know I'd had in that moment.
I stood behind my father, flanked by the twins and half a dozen soldiers, as he knelt with his back turned to Prince Zuko, who did the same. They both wore only a shoulder garment, otherwise leaving their torsos bare.
My father then stood, turning to face the scarred Prince as they both shed their shoulder garments. "This will be over quickly" he said contemptuously.
I wasn't so sure. While my father was certainly a strong Firebender, he had an unfortunate tendency to allow his emotions fuel his strikes, which got the better of him more often than not. Also, Prince Zuko's sheer determination and will to succeed would prove a challenge.
The gong rang, and the Agni Kai began.
Prince Zuko attacked first, sending two streams of crimson flames at my father, who easily dodged the attacks. The scarred Prince continued his assault, only to have his attacks blocked every single time.
My father brought his hands together as he crouched low to the ground, sending a powerful stream of fire forward that dissipated his opponent's attack.
"Basics, Prince Zuko!" General Iroh called to his nephew. "Break his root!"
No sooner had he said that then my father planted his feet firmly to the ground as he launched a stream of fire at the young Prince once, twice, three times, finally knocking him to the ground.
Roaring, my father leaped into the air, firing another stream of fire from close range.
The Prince responded by flipping back onto his feet, knocking my father to the ground as he did so. He followed the surprise manoeuvre by launching into a series of quick, staccato attacks, eventually knocking my father to the ground.
The young Prince stared down at my father as he groaned. "Do it!" he said, trying to goad the younger man into finishing him. As I beheld the spectacle, my muscles tensed, anxiously awaiting the outcome despite my stoic demeanor.
Prince Zuko growled as he launched a fireball… into the ground beside my father's head.
I stared, along with all the others that were present, in mild shock.
"That's it?" my father asked incredulously. "Your father raised a coward".
"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back" the scarred Prince warned. He then turned around and started walking away as I made my way over to my father. Before I could get to him, he stood and savagely aimed a kick at Prince Zuko, sending a stream of flames at him.
In the split second when I started to react, General Iroh suddenly appeared and grabbed my father's foot, smothering the flame. He then pushed, and my father was sent sliding across the ground as if he had been struck by a gargantuan Badgermole.
As I crouched down to grip my father's shoulders, Prince Zuko tried to attack, but General Iroh held him back. "No, Prince Zuko!" he said. "Do not taint your victory". He then turned to my father and asked "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honourable than you. Thanks again for the tea; it was delicious".
He and Prince Zuko then turned and walked away, leaving my father to fume. I tried to help him stand, but he violently shook my hands off and growled "Get off me! I don't need your help". He stood, wiping the dust off of himself as he stared in the direction the Prince and General Iroh had left.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. I silently waited for his anger to simmer, and finally, after several tense moments, he turned to me and said "Follow him. Take a ship and follow him wherever he goes. If he happens to find the Avatar, then you get to him first! I won't have that miserable little boy stealing my glory. Now go!"
Pursing my lips, I bowed. "As you wish, father". I then turned and started walking away, hearing the footsteps of the twins as they caught up to me. As I left the Agni Kai arena, I kept my gaze forward, trying my best to keep my emotions in check.
Perhaps Prince Zuko and I were not so different after all.
Well, there you have it: first chapter! Not a whole lot of character building, I know, but I hope that I firmly established enough to build on in the coming chapters.
Please review and favourite; constructive criticism is always welcome!