Sozin took a small sip from his teacup and waited for several seconds while his words sank in. When he gazed directly into the faces of his audience again, he saw that his proclamation had had the desired effect: his son, Azulon, was valiantly struggling to remain impassive while his daughter by marriage, Ilah, looked like she was biting back either angry words or desperate entreaties. His grandson, Iroh, was pale, but the boy's golden eyes blazed with a fury that belied the stiff set of his features.
"I have observed you very closely over the years, my boy," he said to the young Prince, his gaze sharp and cunning. "You show so much promise as a soldier, as a strategist. But I have yet to see the makings of a Fire Lord within you. There is a quality you lack, which is the essence of being a ruler, a leader among men. The only force that seems to drive you is your own ambition to raise yourself above others, but you are missing the drive to achieve something greater, something beyond your own desires. Tell me now, truthfully, once you become the Fire Lord, what legacy do you wish to leave for the generations to come after you?"
Iroh was silent for a long moment before he replied to his grandfather's question. "I," his words were hesitant and slow in coming, "I will ensure that the light of progress the Fire Nation possesses will be shared with the other races of the world."
"Bah!" Sozin scoffed, putting down his teacup on its saucer with a violent rattle. "That is my legacy! What do you wish to share with our people and the other nations? What will men of the future say when they speak your name? What will you do to change the world?"
Iroh could not find ready answers to these questions, though he certainly tried his best to think of some. Finally, he was left with no choice but to keep his mouth firmly shut and glare resentfully at the old man. He knew that he could not expect any assistance from his father or his mother in this regard. Their own silence, their failure to defend him while the Fire Lord railed at him made him think the unbearable thought that perhaps they agreed with his grandfather's assessment of his character. His own father had certainly expressed his exasperation over Iroh's lack of clear goals apart from being a skilled fighter and Firebender enough times. Even his mother had tried, in her own gently scolding way, to inspire him to think beyond being a warrior.
"When I was a younger man," the Fire Lord broke the smoldering silence that had fallen over the hall, "we hunted dragons. To be able to defeat such creatures was proof that the hunters were great Firebenders. But, more important than that, such an achievement was proof that a man possessed not only skill and strength, but determination and the power of will to overcome any obstacle. Hunting a dragon, and killing one, showed a man's true mettle." He fixed Iroh with a grim stare, which the Prince returned in equal measure. "So that is why I am sending you on this quest. Return home after you have bloodied your hands with the death of a creature greater than yourself and you will have proven to me you are worthy of inheriting my legacy. And, who knows? Maybe in your journey, you'll find inspiration for how you will shape the world in your turn."
The young Prince still remained silent. However, Ilah could no longer hold back her tongue. "But what if he doesn't find a dragon, my Lord?" she asked. "The beasts have been hunted nearly to extinction years ago. Surely you will not continue to deny his right and his duty to serve in your army if he doesn't find any dragon to slay."
"If there are no more dragons to kill, then by all means he can serve in the bloody army," Sozin scowled. "But he has a year to search for the infernal creatures until I allow him to take his post as a soldier."
"But does it really have to be dragons, Father?" Azulon found his voice at last. "He is your only grandchild and my heir. If something were to happen to him—"
"Then you better start making another heir," Sozin cut him off brusquely. "Now what other pathetic objections and excuses are you two thinking of making on behalf of your son so that I can reject them all at once? I will not be swayed by any argument. I have long since made up my mind regarding this matter. I admit that I had hoped it would actually never come to this. I had hoped your son would do something that would show me he is even halfway ready for the future responsibilities that await him. But he has not done so, and so I must do this."
Ilah looked like she intended to protest further, but Iroh's voice rang out before she could make a sound. "I will go on this quest, my Lord." He pronounced each word distinctly, his posture one of hurt pride and defiance. "I will slay all the dragons I can find for you, to prove to you that I can be a greater man than any other. You have my word on that."
Sozin smiled, pleased. "Very good. You have a year's time to complete this quest and, as befitting your rank, you will receive a ship and a company of men to aid you in your mission. But, of course, I do not need to tell you that the actual deed of killing a dragon must be done by you and you alone."
Iroh nodded. "Of course, my Lord." He was still obviously keeping his temper in check and he struggled to keep his tone neutral.
"Excellent," the Fire Lord nodded. "We understand each other then." He now looked at the Crown Prince. "Azulon, I leave the matter of arranging his departure in your hands. I expect him to be ready to leave by the month's end." Then, without another word to his family, Sozin abruptly stood up and walked out of the hall.
As soon as the doors had closed behind his back, Ilah immediately rushed to her son's side. "Oh, Iroh!" She tried to put her arms around him, but the young Prince refused to be comforted. He squirmed out of her embrace. "I'm quite all right, Mother," he said shortly.
Ilah then turned to her husband. "Are you really going to allow this to happen?" she demanded. "He's still a boy. He can't go off to kill dragons. Talk to your father. Make him see reason."
Azulon gazed at her distraught face with a frown. "When have I ever been able to influence my father once he has set himself on a course of action? He means for this to happen, and so it will. Iroh has no choice but to go through with the quest as commanded by the Fire Lord." However, he could not withstand the heat in his wife's eyes for too long, so he looked away eventually. The Crown Prince now reached out a hand towards his son. "Iroh," he began, "I am—I know this is unpleasant news for you. But take it as a challenge and an opportunity to show the Fire Lord how capable you truly are."
The Prince nodded slowly. "Yes, Father." For the first time in a long while, there was no bluster in his attitude. He looked very young and overwhelmed. It was a strange look for Iroh who was usually so confident and more than a little mischievous. Eventually, though, he sat up straighter. "I shall help you with the arrangements for my journey, Father," he said. "If I am to hunt dragons, then I shall make certain I am well equipped for the task."
Azulon nodded. "You will be," he assured Iroh. "We will place the fastest ship in the navy at your disposal, and we will hire the most experienced hunters to assist you in your quest. You will succeed at this, of that I will make sure." A look was exchanged between father and son, unspoken worry and affection evident in their gazes.
Princess Ilah still had a fearful expression on her face as she stared at her only child, but she stifled the desire to make another protest. She knew that she could not sway any of the men in her family now that they had resolved on seeing this particular ordeal through. So she turned her mind to practical matters, as Azulon and Iroh were intent on doing, and she immediately remembered one detail that seemed to have escaped their attention amidst all the heightened emotions that pervaded their meeting with the Fire Lord.
"Oh, dear," she gave a little sigh of distress, "what about Iroh's engagement ceremony?"
Her husband groaned at this reminder. "Hells!" he cursed. "Yes, the engagement. That will most definitely have to be postponed."
"That's perfectly all right with me," Iroh quickly said. He wasn't looking as moody anymore now that he realized he wouldn't have to go through with the engagement he had been secretly dreading for weeks.
"But all the plans and the arrangements have been made for the occasion," Ilah pointed out. "It will take place seven days from now. To postpone it would be an incredible inconvenience, not to mention an insult to Lord Hanashi's family. Oh!" she exclaimed in sudden irritation. "I'm sure the Fire Lord has not forgotten about that for one moment. He purposely waited until it would be too late to postpone it before telling us he means to send Iroh on a quest. He means to drive us mad with aggravation."
"I'm sure he meant no such thing," Azulon said diplomatically, but he was scowling as he thought of how rotten his father's timing was, perhaps deliberately so. Now he would have to appease Lord Hanashi who fully expected to wed his daughter to Iroh before the start of the new military campaign in the spring. Since that was unlikely to happen now, because Iroh would most certainly still be chasing after dragons at that time, he would need to smooth things over and explain to the Lord that the wedding would be delayed for several months. And should Iroh perish during his quest—the thought was unbearable. Azulon cleared his throat. "The engagement ceremony will proceed as planned," he proclaimed, ignoring his son's dismayed expression, "but the wedding would have to wait until Iroh returns home from his hunt. We would all just have to make the best of things."
"Great," Iroh said wearily, "so I'm supposed to kill a dragon and get married, too. I don't know which task is actually more frightening."
Azulon gave him a stern glare. "The union with Lord Hanashi's family is an important one," he reminded his son, "so don't go thinking you can die during your quest just to escape from the marriage."
"Well, I have to say that the thought had never occurred to me until you mentioned it," Iroh teased, his eyes twinkling and his good humor restored for the moment. But he sobered almost immediately. "It looks like I'm going to have a very exciting year ahead of me." He sighed. "Why did it have to be killing a dragon, though? I think I would have better luck finding the lost Avatar."
"It'll all be fine, I'm certain," Ilah tried to sound reassuring. "You will succeed in your quest and you will be home sooner than you expect." She smiled at her son and, because she could no longer resist the urge, she ruffled his hair affectionately, messing up the dark strands and making him scowl at her in annoyance.
"Yes," Azulon agreed gruffly. "It will be fine. You will make us proud."
But even as his parents tried to sound confident about his success, Iroh could not help but recognize the fear in their eyes.
