Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the brainchild of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and is owned by Viacom. I own none of the characters in this story. If I did, I wouldn't be posting it on a fanfiction site, after all . . . they are all lovingly used without permission. This story is written solely for my personal amusement (and posted for the amusement of others) and to keep the crazy idea from boring a hole in my head, so I can get on with my life. I make no profit from this other than peace of mind!
Storytime at the Summer Cabin
"Who cares?" Sokka attempted to bluster brazenly through the uncomfortable atmosphere, "He's a firebender, and it's a burn mark. There's any number of ways a firebender could come across that. It was probably a training accident."
"It was no accident," Zuko snapped before he could stop himself, and the campfire leapt dangerously, the flames reflected in his golden eyes. For a second, he sounded like the banished prince who'd chased them across the world, and their faces bordered on the fearful looks that he remembered from first seeing them all, save Toph. He had to think fast before they became too interested in this topic. He was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. "I just remembered a story that has nothing to do with me. Do you want to hear it, or not?"
Eager for a way out of the dangerous atmosphere, the volatile firebender's friends quickly agreed.
"Alright," Zuko started, reaching into the crate beside him and bringing out two candles, "Once upon a time," he shot Sokka a pointed glare, and the young Water Tribe warrior gave him a slightly nervous thumbs up, "before the islands of the Fire Nation were unified under the first true Firelord," he set the long tapers down, one to the left, the other to the right, between himself and the campfire and lit them separately with a one-fingered gesture, "there were two brothers. One good," one of the candle flames rose and took the form of a laughing man, arms heroically akimbo, about one foot high, "and one evil," the other small flame took on a similar form, but this figure had his arms crossed and appeared to turn his nose up at his counterpart. Other than their postures, the figures appeared nearly identical from their traditional topknots on down.
"They were the sons of a powerful nobleman who was obsessed with conquering as much territory as he could. The good son," Zuko hesitated a fraction of a second, "named Zu Ten, was many years older than his brother and a very talented firebender." As his name was called, the laughing figure stepped forward, away from the candle at a gesture from Zuko and took center stage above the campfire. "He distinguished himself on the battlefield and was an inspiring presence to all his soldiers. He was less likely to challenge an enemy to an Agni Kai as he was to offer them a drink and become their friend, after which they'd often pledge their service or at least form an alliance." The heroic Zu Ten mimed precise firebending moves and sat down to drink with another nondescript figure in time with Zuko's narration. "The good brother was a hero with countless friends, wise beyond his years, and poised to inherit everything.
"The evil brother, Zanroh," the name came easily this time, rolling off the reluctant storyteller's tongue, and the menacing figure strode forward, his brother disappearing to take his former place above his candle, "was no less talented with his bending, but he was also conniving and ruthless. Battlefields were not where his interests lay, however. He held more of a taste for the dealings that went on behind closed doors. Assassins, poisons, and double-dealing were the weapons he preferred, and he gained almost as much territory for his father in the dark as his brother did in the light." As Zuko named off his interests, Zanroh was alternately seen using firebending forms, fighting with daggers, or exchanging a bag of something with another nondescript figure. All the while, the figure appeared to be looking over his shoulder suspiciously.
"The younger brother was never satisfied, though. The only thing stopping him from challenging his brother to an Agni Kai and taking his birthright was the older brother's advantage of experience." At these words, the evil figure found himself hovering back over his candle. "He was ever on the lookout for another way to increase his favor over his brother, though, and he found a possibility when listening to ancient rumors. Legend had it that there existed a mystical gemstone called the Quintessence." The image of a large faceted gem appeared over the campfire and took on a purple hue. "Some said that it could strengthen its owner's bending a hundred fold or give him bending powers over other elements much like the Avatar, but no-one had seen it for two hundred years."
Suki blinked, "What's an Agni Kai? You've mentioned it twice now."
The fiery images flickered momentarily at the interruption and the gemstone lost its unique color, but the firebending prince managed to keep them all in place. "An Agni Kai is a formal duel between two firebenders," Zuko explained carefully, trying not to become too distracted, "It's often used to settle disputes and matters of honor."
"Like what?"
"Like," the scarred prince paused. They were used for so many things! Steering away from the example closest to his heart, he thought of one of the more common reasons for such fights, "if a father denies a man the right to court his daughter, the suitor can challenge him to Agni Kai for the rights to court the woman, no matter what his social standing. Some otherwise unremarkable peasants have earned the rights to court noblewomen this way. Back in the time of this story, though, it was mostly used for military disputes, one commander challenging another so their armies didn't have to fight each other."
"That's so romantic!" bubbled Sokka.
Suki gave him an amused smile, but continued on with her own statement, "That's pretty practical, really, having only two people fight instead of whole armies."
"Yeah, but the challenged person also has the right to decline. There's lots of rules to follow with an Agni Kai, really--"
"Back to the story!" demanded Toph irritably.
Zuko blinked, realizing that he could probably give a whole lecture on the rules of Agni Kai. He did want to get these guys to bed sometime tonight. "Right, where was I?"
"Zanroh heard about the gemstone," Katara supplied.
"The Qintessence," Aang grinned. Apparently he really liked this sort of fairy tale.
"Yeah," Zuko continued, "the Quintessence." The faceted image stabilized and regained its color as he turned his attention back to it. "It was said that the Avatar itself had hidden away the gemstone for fear that it would disturb the balance of the elements. Some even said that the Avatar had made the gemstone in the first place or that it came into being the same time the first Avatar had, an immortal object as an alternative for the eternally reborn mortal. Either way, it was fairly certain that no one had destroyed it, if it had ever really existed at all.
"While Zu Ten continued on his campaign trail, scoring victory after victory, Zanroh left his home and his back-alley dealings to search for the Quintessence." The evil brother's image returned to its spot over the campfire and mimed actions as Zuko narrated. "Over mountain and valley, caves and swampland, plain and sea, Zanroh traveled. His search was tireless, and for eight years he traveled before he finally returned home."
"Did he find it?" Aang was on the edge of his seat, looking every bit of the 12 years old he really was.
Zuko gave him a dirty look as the carefully-constructed images flickered again, "No, he didn't." Aang's face fell. "Anyway, even though Zanroh returned home without the gem he sought, he didn't do so empty-handed. In his travels, he found a beautiful noblewoman, the most beautiful in the entire Nation." Zuko's voice became slightly wistful as the silhouette of a lovely woman took shape at the evil brother's side, "She was also a powerful firebender in her own right, so powerful that some said she was descended from a previous Avatar, herself. She was even a local hero, known for calming rampant dragons and taming wildfires. It was uncertain if Zanroh singled her out for her beauty, standing, power, or breeding, but the lady had certainly fallen for him and agreed to become his wife.
"In light of his fruitless search, but beautiful bride, Zanroh returned home to the praise of his people, and his wife was so charming that she made even the brothers' callous father smile warmly.
"Zanroh and his wife had two children, a boy and a girl, respectively," the image above the fire changed to reflect the expanded family, "but Zanroh never changed his dirty dealings.
"In fact, even siring two children was an attempt to one-up his good brother, for Zu Ten's beloved wife had died in childbirth many years before, leaving him with an only son." The image shifted to show Zu Ten's heroic figure with an active boy who quickly grew into a man with the next sentence, "Zu Ten loved his son fiercely, refusing to be parted from him for long, even though he had no bending. He went so far as to bring his son along with him on his campaigns when he was of fighting age. Zu Ten's son was barely into his twenties when he died on the battlefield, during the long siege of the city that would become the Fire Capitol. He was completely devastated, and the siege was broken." The image of the heroic pair quickly changed to the good son cradling his own child in his arms, a spear savagely jutting out of his chest.
"When word reached back to Zanroh of his nephew's death, new plans formed in his head. He showcased his young children to their aged grandfather," the fire morphed into five figures in profile, Zanroh and his wife, an old man facing them, and two children, performing firebending routines between the seated adults, "and after his family left the room, Zanroh stayed behind. He claimed to his father that since now Zu Ten had no heir, he should be stricken from the succession, and Zanroh should inherit by virtue of his two talented and healthy children.
"Zanroh's father was enraged at the mere suggestion," the fire reflected the heated argument between the two men, flaring white-hot as the father argued with his son, "He declared that Zanroh was belittling his brother's sacrifice, and that to truly understand his pain, he should also lose his first-born son."
Zuko carefully kept his gaze on the patterns in the fire to avoid looking at the shocked faces around him. His friends could barely fathom a decree like that, but the prince knew how brutal nobility could be and how twisted perceived justice was.
"That's horrible!" Katara balked, gasping in outrage as soon as Zuko stated the nobleman's verdict, "How could he say something like that?"
"It gets worse," Zuko said tonelessly, "Zanroh was not only to lose his son, but to kill him by his own hand."
More gasps and even the previously stoic Toph looked stunned.
"Zanroh's daughter had inherited his cloak-and-dagger disposition, so she had hidden in the room and heard every word." The imaged shifted to the little girl peering out from behind a curtain before skipping off, "She consequently skipped directly to her brother to torment him. The boy already knew that his father favored his second-born, just as Zanroh felt he should be by his own father, so he was justifiably scared."
"Dad's going to kill you!" sing-songed Azula's 8-year old voice in Zuko's head, "No really, he is."
"His frightened voice telling his sister to be quiet brought their mother's attention to them both, and she dragged her daughter away to hear the whole story." The older figure of the beautiful woman dragged her child away, then approached Zanroh's figure, "She then went to her husband to plead for her son's life, for just as Zanroh favored his daughter, his wife favored their son. The two eventually formed a plan and struck a deal. Zanroh would inherit as he wanted and his son would survive, but for that, the grandfather had to die."
There were no gasps that time as his friends just stared, open-mouthed like dead fish.
"That very night, Zanroh's wife went to his father's chambers and mysteriously left the country, never to be seen again. It was easy enough to say that the old man had died of old age, even though those closest to him knew he had many good years left, and it was even easier to say that on his deathbed, he named his second son as his heir. All this and the succession was staged before Zu Ten even returned from the battlefield. He never even had a chance to dispute it, even if he'd had the heart."
The flames formed the image of Zanroh standing proud while Zu Ten hung his head in defeat before finally dying down to the normal campfire once again.