Ch. 2

Red vs. Green

Several things happened at once. The now large crowd gasped, the green fire disappeared from the young man's hands, the arena doors swung open, and royal guards flowed in, in the midst of them none other that Fire Lord Ozai, the ruler of the Fire Nation! He entered his personal box, and then nodded toward the duelists to continue.

"Very well," stated the younger man, "Begin."

And with that he turned and charged, several bright trails of green fire already whizzing across the arena. There were no tricks or delays from the wielder of the green fire this time. The crowd sensed that while the last duel had been more of a sporting event between two young teens, this was a serious matter of life and death for the participants.

Aside from a few murmurings, and collective gasps every so often, the crowd was completely silent. General Dao was obviously much more proficient than his young son, but no matter what he tried his punches were diverted or blocked, his kicks were stopped or avoided, and throughout every attack red was met with green, and turned aside.

The crowd watched in a hushed silence as the general began to tire, and the wielder of the green fire took the upper hand, stepping up his attacks and driving his opponent around and around the arena, gaining more and more momentum, until it was all the general could do to block the next blow. Dao, looking at his son, suddenly seemed to regain strength, and launched one last furious series, so fast the eyes of the crowd had trouble keeping up with it.

The last punch grazed the cheek of the young man, knocking him back and to one knee, but that was all the damage done. The green fire seemed suddenly to blaze brighter than before, and sent the surprised general flying across the dueling field. The young man stood, wiping his mouth free of blood, and lunged with such great force that his lunge carried him completely across the arena, to where Dao now was recovering from last blow.

It started again, this time the general seeming to have the upper hand, until he wound up for a last strength punch. The green-eyed youth leaned back out of the punches path, and, gathering a great flame in both hands, erupted underneath it and into General Dao's unprotected stomach and chest. The old man flew up into the smoke, out of sight, and then back down to the ground face first with a thud. He tried to rise, but then collapsed in a heap. The young man stood, exhausted and breathing heavily, and walked to the place where the general was lying.

"He is defeated, just as his son was. He has too much life left in him, I will not kill him now."

He looked up toward the booth of the Fire Lord. It was silent for a moment, and then a great booming voice echoed across the cavern. "Very well. This duel is finished. I declare all General Dao's lands and titles forfeit to this man..."

With this last astonishing statement delivered, the Fire Lord paused. The crowd of the stadium waited expectantly. "What... is your name, General?" asked the Fire Lord, somewhat hesitantly, as if he was dreading the answer.

The stadium had become quieter than a crypt, even the smallest of movements was not heard in the smoke filled cavern.

"Ky, my Lord," answered the green-eyed man standing at the heart of the clearing smoke.

The crowd started to cheer at this point, but the raised hand of the Fire Lord silenced them immediately. "Of what sect?" the loud, booming voice of the Fire Lord asked.

Answering him, with a tone of quiet command sounding somehow nearly equal to that of the Fire Lord, the flame-haired man answered: "Vagor."

The gentle murmur of the crowd that had commenced shortly after the question was asked halted completely at this word from the man's mouth. All mouths were open in silent astonishment, and all eyes were glued unshakingly to the face of the Fire Lord in his observation booth near the bottom of the stands at the northeast corner of the dueling arena. That emotionless face, although usually very hard, was now set as though it was carved from stone.

"What… sect… are you from?" the Fire Lord inquired once more, quietly and almost hesitatingly.

Now all those faces that had been on him turned to the man now standing in the center of the dueling field, their new general. The answer was the same.

"Vagor."

Everyone in the crowd knew that the Vagor Sect was one of the Fire Lord's largest problems because of their opposition to his war against the nations, and waited to see what their Lord would do about this mysterious stranger with his green fire.

Finally, after what seemed like hours to those in the audience, Fire Lord Ozai stood, and with a voice not quite so booming, but more personal, declared, "Well then, General Ky of the Vagor Sect, welcome to the Army."

With this said, there was a second of pause, followed by a great cheer gathering in the crowd around. It seemed to grow larger and louder as the smoke cleared and it became clearer in the cavern. The new general stood still for a moment, and then, as if making a sudden decision, turned on his heel and strode out of the arena, disappearing into the smoke.