Ozai knew he had to be dreaming or otherwise hallucinating when he opened his eyes and saw a fox-raven in his cell.
This black animal before him was larger than a real fox-raven, standing about half as tall as a man. It stood on four legs, with the front two avian forelegs, but the hind ones were mammalian. He could also see two feathery wings tucked against its furry body. Its vulpine head bore an impish smirk, and the eyes were the color of storm clouds. However, the most glaring feature and the most visible difference from the actual fox-raven was the possession of nine tails instead of one.
"I had better wake up soon," he grumbled. Ozai did not like the way this thing was looking at him, especially since the shade of its eyes reminded him of the boy who had humiliated him.
"Don't you want to at least stay and hear my offer?" his guest spoke in a light masculine pitch, almost sounding hurt at Ozai's dismissal, but the playful tone kept it from being genuine.
The former Fire Lord was only half-surprised at hearing the fox-raven talk. It was, after all, a dream.
"What proposition from a dream could possibly interest me?"
"This may be a dream, but that doesn't mean it's not real."
Ozai snorted; this kind of talk reminded him too much of his brother's kooky proverbs.
"The only offer I am interested in is one that will get me out of this cell," he growled.
"What a coincidence; that's related to what I wanted to discuss with you."
The prisoner looked at the fox-raven suspiciously.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Just what I said," the fox-raven said, "I have a way for you to be able to firebend again."
Even though Ozai's interest was piqued, a lifetime among nobility taught him better than to show it on his face.
"And how do you suppose you could do that?" he asked carefully.
"With this."
From one of his clawed forelegs, he procured a ring. It was a relatively simple piece of jewelry compared to some Ozai had seen as Fire Lord, but still possessed a quality of elegance worthy of an emperor. It was a band of obsidian, the fruit of an active volcano and a symbol of the Fire Nation. It widened at one point to accommodate a circular ruby, its crimson hue representing the glow of the element Ozai once controlled.
"If you put this ring on," the fox-raven explained, "You will have firebending powers on a level no one has seen since Sozin's Comet."
That definitely garnered Ozai's interest. But once again, he schooled his expression, and asked the inevitable.
"What is your price?"
"You know better than to accept gifts at face value," the fox-raven seemed to grin in approval, "Don't worry; you don't have to pay anything in order to get this ring."
"Am I supposed to believe that you will give this to me for free?"
"I said that there was no price," corrected the fox-raven, "But there are stipulations attached to this ring."
"What are they?"
"The first rule is simple: don't kill anyone."
"What?!"
"You heard me. Rule the second: don't use your firebending to hurt other people. The only exception is if your life is in danger, or if you're protecting someone else."
Ozai's interest instantly turned to scorn.
"What manner of conditions are these?" he growled, his anger overwhelming his desire to control his emotions, "What use is a weapon if you cannot use it?"
"Well I am an air spirit. I can't just go around giving mortals dangerous toys without setting down some ground rules."
"Don't mock me," snarled Ozai.
"So is that a no?" the ebony guest asked.
The prisoner restrained himself just in time, and gave thought to the fox-raven's offer.
Yes, the two limitations that the fox-raven provided were very inconvenient. But it would not be the first time Ozai had lied in order to get what he wanted. And if there was something in the ring that prevented him from breaking his word, there were always loopholes to exploit in this deal.
"Those are the only two conditions?" Ozai asked finally.
"Yep."
"And if I agree to them, this ring will be mine, and I will be as strong as I was the day of Sozin's Comet?"
"Right again."
Ozai gave the offer a little more thought.
"Why should I trust you?" he asked, "What if this is all a dream? And even if it is real, what assurance do I have that the ring actually works?"
"You don't," the fox-raven said bluntly, "But what do you have to lose? If this is nothing more than a dream, you'll just wake up, and have lost nothing. If the ring is a dud, you'll wake up with a nice little piece of decoration to brighten up this dreary cell, but otherwise have lost nothing."
"Why would a spirit of air be offering such a gift to me, the grandson of Sozin?"
"Because you are not Sozin. And haven't you heard that Air Nomads don't hold a grudge?"
"So, why are you letting me have this power?"
"If you really want to know: fun."
"Fun?"
"Yep," confirmed the spirit, nodding his head enthusiastically, "Haven't you heard the tales of fox-ravens and other trickster spirits? We get our kicks out of creating a little chaos, which I'm sure you'll do with this little toy."
"If chaos and conflict was what you wanted, then why did you put such stipulations on the ring?"
"Because otherwise Agni wouldn't have let me give it to you," the fox-raven answered.
"What?"
"Who else could have forged a ring that would grant you the power of Sozin's Comet?"
Ozai chose not to answer the rhetorical question, and made his final decision.
"Hand it over."
The fox-raven grinned.
"First, swear to the conditions I mentioned."
"I, Phoenix King Ozai, swear to never kill again after receiving this ring," swore the prisoner, "And I swear to never use its power to hurt others except in the defense of my life, or in the defense of another."
"Good," cheered the trickster spirit lightly, "Was that so hard to say?"
"Give me the blazing ring now!"
"So impatient," chuckled the fox-raven, shaking his head in amusement.
He walked forward on three of his three legs and stopped in front of the prisoner.
"Hold out your right hand," he instructed, still holding the ring in his claw-tipped fingers.
Bristling at the command, Ozai nevertheless obeyed.
Easily and simply, the obsidian ring was placed on his middle finger. Instantly, the man felt a change. He could feel the familiar warmth of Agni's power flow through his veins, and he experienced the same thrill he had felt that fateful day when he attempted to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground.
To test it, he made a simple punch at the wall of his dream-cell. And he ended almost launching himself backward with the veritable volcanic eruption of fire that exploded from his fist.
Stopping the torrent of flames, the man with a new ring began to laugh, very satisfied with his gift. Of course, he still had to test if this power remained with him once he woke up, but for now, he was happy.
His laughter settling down to a fearsome grin, Ozai looked at his smiling benefactor.
"Now that you have put on the ring, it will remain with you for life," the fox-raven informed him, "No one will be able to take it away from you, save the Spirit of the World."
"You mean the Avatar could still make me powerless again?" demanded Ozai, his good humor immediately gone.
"Even Agni cannot compete with the Spirit of the World," shrugged the spirit.
Ozai decided not to dwell on the thought that the Air Nomad boy was actually more powerful than the spirit of the sun.
"Oh, and one last thing," the fox-raven said, almost as an afterthought, "If you break either of the conditions you swore to, the power in that ring will turn inward and incinerate you."
That statement grabbed the man's full attention.
"Why didn't you tell me that?" roared Ozai.
"You didn't ask," the fox-raven answered calmly, the infuriating grin still in place, "You should be thanking me for telling you now."
The newly empowered man was furious at being tricked in such a manner. He grasped at his newly returned firebending, and began the motions that would generate lightning.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" grinned the fox-raven.
Ozai immediately stopped and let the sparks disappear, but that did not stop him from trembling in impotent rage.
"How dare you…" he growled.
"Typical human," the fox-raven seemed to roll his eyes, "Make their best dream come true, and watch every single one of them complain about the minor conditions attached."
"How do you expect me to return to my rightful place as Phoenix King," demanded Ozai, "If I cannot kill Zuko or the Avatar?"
"I don't," the fox-raven said, "I didn't give it to you so you could become ruler."
"I should have known that a spirit of air would try to convert me to its weak Nomad ways," snarled the firebender.
"Not here to do that, either."
"Then why bother giving me this ring?!"
"I already told you: fun."
The prisoner growled.
"So just remember, Ozai," the fox-raven concluded cheerfully, "You can do anything you want with that ring of yours except harm people. Break your oath, and you'll instantly be reduced to ashes. Bye-bye!"
With that little farewell, the trickster disappeared, and Ozai woke up.
He sat up in his little cell, and looked at his right hand. There, sitting mockingly on his middle finger, was an obsidian ring crowned by a ruby. And he could still feel the awesome power residing within it.
"What can I do with you?" he whispered.
The oath prevented him from harming anyone with the ring except defensively, and forbade him from killing anyone, period. He could easily escape from prison without breaking his word, but what would be the point? He would not be able to attain his goal of taking his throne back from Zuko, and he had no other place he could escape to.
If he had gotten this ring within a year of his defeat, he would have been welcomed with open arms by some of the warmongering nobles. But several years had gone by since Zuko started his reign, and he had long since solidified his credibility to the throne. No one would dare risk the wrath of the Fire Lord to help the villain of the Hundred Years' War.
And even if he could find followers, he knew that it would end in failure. Ozai remembered how easily the Avatar had beaten him the day of Sozin's Comet, and then took away his bending. If he tried to conduct a coup against Zuko, the Avatar would only strip him of his power again, and he would not be able to bear being beaten and made weak twice in his lifetime.
Ozai considered finding ways to exploit loopholes in the deal, but he dared not risk that without knowing how strictly the ring adhered to the conditions laid upon it.
And even if he could find a way to circumnavigate the stipulations, Ozai was not sure he wanted to do anything more. When the Avatar had taken away his firebending, he had also ripped a part of his soul away. His determination, his will to fight, and his ambition for greater things were all decimated, if not completely destroyed. The ring gave him the ability to create and control flames again, but that inner fire had not been restored.
Ozai wondered if he had been given the most powerful sword in the world, only to be unable from drawing it from its sheath.
Author's Note: The title of this story refers to an idiom originating from Southeast Asia, referring to something that is valuable, but its cost outweighs its usefulness. The phrase itself refers to how kings of Siam would give a white elephant to obnoxious courtiers. The gift was too high an honor to refuse, but the cost required to feed and otherwise take care of the animal would mean bankruptcy for the unfortunate person.
The fox-raven spirit was inspired by the character Ichimaru Gin from "Bleach." In almost all cultures, foxes and ravens are both depicted as trickster types. In Japanese mythology, foxes (or kitsune) had different ages based on the number of tails they had (with nine being the maximum). The older they were, the stronger they were.