Azulon watched as the sun rose over the horizon. It was one of the simple pleasures that Azulon indulged in. He appreciated the beauty of the rising son and loved the feeling of his increasing power. The sun was the most powerful source of fire and Azulon had a connection to it.

"Prince Azulon" a member of his crew said kneeling to the royal heir.

"Yes" Azulon responded, sad that his solidarity had been interupted.

"We'll be docking in the earth kingdom in an hour or so. General Mouzu's camp is located right up the hill from the port. Would you like to request a meeting with him" the soldier said.

"I don't request anything from my subjects. I will meet with the General or there will be consequences" Azulon said. The soldier nodded and left to send a messenger hawk.

The last two weeks at sea had gone smoothly. After Azulon's demonstration with the captain the men were completely obidiant. Azulon used the time at sea to train his battalion. He taught them more advanced fire bending techniques and sparred with them for practice. The men for the most part liked Azulon. Although he wasn't the nicest person and didn't tolerate anything less then perfection Azulon had made an impression on the men. He ate meals with them and helped them with the upkeep of the ship. The men felt that Azulon was one of them.

"Word has it that General Mouzu is planning to defeat the Qin province very soon" Lee said from behind.

Lee was the youngest member of the battalion. Like Azulon, he was also 16. Lee grew up in a farming family in the west Fire Nation. He was the most talented fire bender of any of the soldiers and Azulon saw potential in him. He was loyal and determined. Azulon would spar with him for hours on end. Lee would be beaten each time but he kept sparring because he hoped to improve.

"This battalion is going to need a captain" Azulon said ignoring Lee's previous remark.

"Well you kind of fried the one we had" Lee said rubbing the back of his neck.

"I want you to be the captain of the 501st" Azulon said, his voice completely serious.

"Me...but I'm so young" Lee said nervous.

"You have a lot potential and a lot of spirit. I need someone I can trust to be the captain of this battalion" Azulon said.

"You can count on me Prince Azulon" Lee said with new found confidence.

***********2 hours later at General Mouzu's camp**********

General Mouzu was a tall and strong man. He was one of the Fire Nation's best Generals and had been placed in charge of the Qin invasion force by the fire lord himself. Mouzu had seen many battles in his years as a soldier. He had witnessed the air nomad genocide during the comet and fought in many of the early battles in the western earth kingdom. The fire nation progress after the initial comet strike hadn't been great. So far they hadn't managed to secure much of the earth kingdom except for some coastal towns and ports. Mouzu hoped he would be the one to change that. He was sitting in his war room with his top commanders. He had ten thousand troops ready at his command for the invasion of Qin, the single largest force ever assembled so far in the war.

"All troops are ready for deployment sir" A lower ranked officer said.

"My scouts say that the earth kingdom defenses don't know we've assembled such a force" the commander of scouts replied.

"Then we attack at midnight. They won't be expecting the attack and we can get them by surprise. Colonel Chan will lead the 51st in through the center of the province. My men will flank from the east and Commander Ozo's men will attack from the west. We'll trap them and then burn their towns to the ground" Mouzu said.

The entire room erupted into applause at the plan.

"We attack at midnight!" Mouzu said putting his fist up.

"Delay that order" a voice said from the back of the tent. Mouzu immediately turned to see who would dare compromise his authority. Prince Azulon stood at the entrance to the tent. Mouzu and the rest of the commanding officers bowed before the crowned prince.

"Prince Azulon, what brings you here? Why shouldn't we attack? By the end of the week we shall control the entire province" Mouzu said confused about the Prince's command.

"Oh we will control the province by the week's end. But I need you to delay the order until tomorrow at noon" Azulon said.

"Why? What have you discovered" Mouzu asked.

"I have been sent here by my father to secure fugitives hiding in the Qin province. If you attack before I reach them they will be warned of our advance and escape. I need to go in and secure them. I'll have done the job by noon tomorrow" Azulon said.

"Yes that sounds perfect my lord. Is there anything I can do to help" Mouzu said now kneeling on one knee.

"I need to know if there is a way to sneak past the earth kingdom front line. The fugitives are in a town called Wufong. Its a few miles from here but behind the front line" Azulon said.

"My scouts discovered a hole in the line. Its small enough for a battalion or two to get through but not enough for the entire invasion force" the commander of scouts replied.

"That's perfect, me and my men will infiltrate the city and eliminate the targets. At noon tomorrow you may strike" Azulon said before walking out the tent.

*********** Sometime Early the next morning before Dawn outside Wufong************

Azulon and the 501st were camped out in the forest. Wufong was only a few minutes away. Azulon had just finished talking with a scout who was surveying the town. Azulon and his battalion sat in the clearing in darkness. Azulon had commanded that no one was to fire bend and that no one was to start a fire. Azulon didn't want to give away their cover with smoke. The men were dressed in their army uniforms, complete with shoulder spikes and white masks. Only Azulon and Lee wore different uniforms. Azulon's uniform was more streamlined so that he could more easily fight.

"Okay men, the town is at rest. The villagers are all asleep in their homes. In a few moments we will spread out and infiltrate the village from all sides. It is imperative that you are not seen. Check each of the houses through the windows for the targets. This village is being protected by the Earth Kingdom army so don't worry about encountering any soldiers" Azulon said only loudly enough for the men to hear. The men nodded in comprehension. Lee gave the signal and the men spread out around the village in the forest.

"Lee follow me" Azulon said.

The young captain complied and the two began to approach the village entrance. Azulon signaled Lee and they both quietly entered. They ducked around the small houses. They looked into each house only finding women and children sleeping. They kept this up making their way toward the center of the town. At the center they saw a large two story building. It was the meeting hall for the village. Azulon signaled for the men to hold back.

"Stay with me" Azulon said to Lee.

The two began to scale the side of the meeting hall using the window ledges to climb. They looked into different windows and found mostly ceremonial things and farming equipment.

"I found them" Lee said pointing to one of the windows. Azulon climbed up to the window Lee was hanging from. He looked in to see three air nomads sleeping on the floor. There was a young man, and hold man, and a woman who looked to be in her late twenties.

"Tell the men to secure the perimeter of the town. Have a few other secure every entrance and exit of this building. Instruct them to kill anyone who attempts to escape either this building or the village" Azulon said.

"Right, I'll meet you back here in a few minutes" Lee said climbing down from the meeting hall. Azulon jumped into the room silently. The air benders were still asleep and didn't notice his intrusion. He decided to wait until sunrise, when his bending was stronger, to confront the air nomads. He walked out into the hallway and sat down to wait.

(A/N: Aloi is the air bending woman. She is also a character from my other story Book 4 air. You don't have to read that story to understand her character. If you didn't read Book 4 air all you need to know is that she is an air bending friend of Aang's. They were the same age before Aang was frozen)

Aloi turned her head as the sun's rays hit her face. She opened her eyes to see the room just as it was the night before. She sat up and saw Master Matso also beginning to stir. She got up and walked over to where Muji was sleeping. She began to shake him so that he woke up.

"What's wrong?" Muji asked wearily.

"I'm just checking your bandages" Aloi said. She opened his shirt and checked on the bandages that lined his torso.

"These burns are probably going to leave a scar" Muji said.

"Its better then being dead. Its a miracle you survived. I'd prefer we didn't run into fire benders again" Aloi said.

"Well we may not have a choice about that one" Matso said looking out the window.

"Why not?" Aloi asked. Matso motioned for her to look out the window. Aloi looked out to see a battalion of fire benders had surrounded the village. Many of the villagers had been rounded up and forced into the center of the village"

"The building is surrounded. They know we're here" Matso said.

"We have to go then" Muji said struggling to stand up.

"How? We don't have a sky bison and we are totally outnumbered" Aloi said grabbing her staff.

"Ah your awake" A voice said from the doorway. Aloi watched as the fire nation soldier walked into the room. She immediately could tell he was different then the others. His uniform was more streamlined and he was much younger then a typical soldier. A second walked in. He too was young but he was wearing a captain's uniform. The first boy had a serious and intimidating disposition. But the second still had the disposition of an innocent boy.

"You are my prisoners" the first soldier said.

"What now, do you kill us like you killed our people" Muji said angrily.

"Not necessarily, if you cooperate then you may end up living" the first soldier said.

"What could you want from us?" Matso asked.

"You are going to tell everything you know about the Avatar" the first soldier said. The word avatar had an immediate effect on Aloi. Her eyes widened as her mind immediately shot to the image of her friend. The boy she hadn't seen in sixteen years. The boy she had spent the last sixteen years looking for. The boy who could stop the war.

"We nothing about him. No air bender does. He hadn't been revealed yet when you attacked our people" Muji said bitterly.

"Why do you want him anyway? He's obviously gone" Matso said.

"He and you are the last of the air benders. The fire nation has wiped out all of your people. When he dies air bending dies" the first soldier said coldly. The words hit Matso like a punch to the gullet.

"We know nothing of him" Aloi said quietly.

"You lie" the first soldier said coldly.

"She's right we know nothing!" Matso yelled. Azulon raised his hand. His palm faced the older man. In a flash the old man was down on the ground. Smoke billowed out of the wound on his chest where the fireball had just exploded.

"Noo!" Muji yelled as he clinged to his dying coughed and struggled. He turned his head toward the first soldier.

Matso addressed the first soldier, "You will die a lonely broken old man, killed by those closest to him." As the last words came out of his mouth his eyes closed. Muji's eyes were full of tears. Aloi's mind was spinning. Matso was dead.

"Now are you prepared to talk" the first soldier said again.

Aloi gripped her staff tighter. She shifted her ankle and then whipped her arms. A gust of air blasted the rooms furniture toward the door. The soldiers were caught off guard but blasted the furniture with fire before it could hit them. Muji and Aloi used the opportunity to run toward the window. Muji had grabbed his staff from the side and was right behind Aloi. Aloi jumped out the window first followed by Muji.

Azulon watched as the air bending woman lept out the window extending her glider. The boy jumped right after but Azulon was ready. He shot foward a strong concentrated blast of fire. The blast hit the boy in the back just as he had extended his glider. The boy plummeted straight down from the window and landed in a crumpled burning heap. The girl looked back with a look of horror.

"Stop her!" Azulon yelled from the window. He jumped straight out the window and rolled into the street below. The 501st shot fire blast in every direction at the girl in the air. One of them hit the tail of her glider and she started to decline falling into the trees outside the forest. Azulon took off at full speed toward the forest. When he arrived the girl had just jumped down from the trees and was running through the woods. Azulon tried to keep up but she was using her air bending to increase her speed. He heard the sound of water and saw that he was coming up on a river. Azulon shot fire blast toward the girl but she managed to dodge them. As they came to the river she leaped with her full strength. Azulon stopped at the shore and watched as she just barely managed to land on the other side. She disappeared into the woods.

Azulon stood at the river bank in shock. He couldn't believe he had just been bested by an air nomad. He had failed his mission and dishonored himself as a warrior. He vowed to himself to make her pay for this disgrace. He would follow her to the ends of the earth to make her pay. He wouldn't stop until he had killed the last air bender.