Washed Up Upon the Sands
The Hunt Begins
The eunuch bowed before him.
"Prince Tatsuo (Dragon Man), the Fire Lady commands your presence."
The eunuch's posture was perfect as the servant performed the traditional bow towards a superior. The servant's official outfit was spotless and perfectly pressed and starched.
The prince was attired in a pair of short breeches and was panting from the heavy exertion. He had been training, preparing for the traditional hunt that marked a noble's transition from boyhood to manhood. For most, the post-hunt celebration would mark one's entrance into the games of power. However for the prince, his existence, from the moment of his conception, was intertwined with the game.
Crown Prince Tatsuo knew that his previous two predecessors, Prince Zuko and Prince Iroh, never ascended to the dais. The traitorous Prince Zuko was killed during the battle between the Avatar and the old Fire Lord Ozai when the roof collapsed and crushed his body. Prince Iroh was hiding somewhere in the Earth Kingdom.
The Fire Lady might be his mother, but he knew better than to expect any love from the lady he called mother. His mute nursemaid had more love for him in her pinky than his birth-mother ever had.
The prince's fingers unconsciously traced the scar on his chest. His mother taught him to channel lighting the hard way. He stilled remembered the pain of walking in and getting a lightning bolt to the side. He managed to deflect the second and following bolts. However despite surviving, he was punished for not being alert enough to avoid the first.
The body servants quickly sponged down the waiting prince and slid a red and black hanten (traditional sleeveless jacket) with the Fire Nation crest in the chest. He dipped his hands in the perfumed water and grabbed the towel.
Prince Tatsuo toweled off as he trotted off to the throne room.
The only thing the Fire Lady hated more than a filthy prince was a tardy prince.
"Prince Tatsuo, it is time for you to hunt down and kill a traitor to our nation. If you were just another noble's brat, I would have you hunt down just any prisoner. However you are my heir. Therefore I expect more of you. I would have you hunt down and kill the Avatar for what he did to our nation. However, there is someone more dangerous that needs...correction."
Prince Tatsuo kept his face emotionless as he awaited this assignment. Here was the beginning of his legacy. He was to hunt some more hated than the Avatar.
"The one you hunt does not have a name, but he uses many. He is born of fire, but hides in the shadows. He is the masked one many call the Blue Spirit. He was the one that whisked the Avatar from Admiral Zhao. He is an assassin and was once my guest for many years. He escaped from the Iron Mountain Mines."
Prince Tatsuo knew his quarry. He had to hunt down a legend. He had to hunt down the Blue Spirit.
"You will depart on the morning tide. My spies tell me that he escaped to the lands of the enemy. You will go incognito as another bounty hunter. There are many brigands terrorizing the roads and the seas and enough of our bastards for you to blend in with the local population. As far as the Nation will know, you are going to the Fire Temple for studies for the next year. You have one year to bring in our enemy or at least his head. Your position...no your life depends on this, Prince Tatsuo. Don't be the failures your two predecessors were.