VII. Old Friends
After two months of waiting, the leaders of the nations arrived in the capital. From the Earth Kingdom came the Earth King of Omashu, King Bumi, and Earth King Kuei of Ba Sing Se. Next, representing the Water Tribe came the chief of the Northern Water Tribe and the chief of the Southern Water Tribe, Hakoda, Katara and Sokka's father.
The Earth King Bumi of the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu was the first to arrive. Crowned with a green leather cap, that acted as a base for two long feathers, a dark green shoulder pad that bore the symbol of the Earth Kingdom: a green wheel of earth that had a square in its center, and a light green robe. Bumi was a welcome face for them to see. Both the king and Aang had been lifelong friends. Back in the days when air benders still walked the earth, Aang had often visited Omashu to pay visits to his friend Bumi. Out of all the friends Aang once knew, Bumi was the only one who managed to live throughout the past century. Being over a hundred years old did not make him the most appealing king. He had unbrushed white hair that circled around his bald scalp, a white goatee hung on his stumpy chin, bags were strung up from his droopy, uneven, brown eyes, a crooked nose, missing teeth, and liver spots that covered his face and scalp. He was also not the most stern type of a leader. Back when he and Aang were young, Bumi would always get Aang into a crazy activity that he considered to be fun. Aang would refer to him as a "mad genius." Aside from his crazy intellect, the earth King was among the most powerful earthbenders in the world and he would often have wise reasons for his insane actions. His unpredictable personality is what gives him the power to rule over his people.
The Earth King Kuei, of Ba Sing Se, was a young man of thirty one. He wore a circular crown made of green velvet that had a gold point at the top and the Earth Kingdom insignia above his brow, small glasses above his nostrils, green and golden robes, and braided brown hair that hung down his back. Those who escorted him were his top generals of Ba Sing Se. Earth King Kuei himself was no fighter nor a gifted strategist, he left those jobs to his generals. Each general was armored in green and gold boiled leather, wore bands around locks of their hair, green capes, but no shoes, for earth benders could not bend earth without exposing their feet. Back in the days of the war with the Fire Nation, Aang and his company traveled to Ba Sing Se in order to ask for aid. They soon discovered that Earth King Kuei was being manipulated by his advisor Long Feng. Feng bent the laws of the city to his will, but was soon discovered by Aang and was locked away for treason. Earth King Kuei became an ally of the Avatar from then on.
The Chief of the Northern Tribe, Arnook, was a middle aged man of forty five. Brown chestnut skin, black hair that was braided along the sides of his ears, and a black goatee that circled around his mouth. His garments consisted of a blue leather vest, black leather forearms, brown boots, and a pendant around his neck that bore the Water Tribe symbol: the moon overlapping the ocean. Arnook was the father of the princess that Sokka had fallen for when their group visited the North. His daughter had died in the days of the Fire Nation siege, so he had seen his share of grief. But he not let himself be consumed by grief. The chief of the North had a strong will and would do anything to protect his people.
Last of the nation leaders, was Sokka and Katara's father, Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. He was a man in his thirties who shared the same chestnut skin as Katara and the same dark hair as Sokka. He wore dark blue leather plates as armor and his breastplate displayed the symbol of the Water Tribe: the moon overlapping the ocean. He had a short brown goatee around his mouth and a lock of his hair was woven back on top of his head while the rest hanged down above his neck. Hakota of the Southern Water Tribe was a fierce warrior and had a strong will for survival, but above all he loved his children so dearly.
The allies who arrived did not stop with the Nation leaders, several friends of Aang and the group answered the summons as well. To Sokka's delight, the Kyoshi warriors came along with their leader Suki and a former friend of Azula, Ty Lee. The Kyoshi warriors were a band of seven elite female fighters that hailed from the island of the earth bender Avatar Kyoshi. Their fighting skills are based in a fan combat and single blade swords. Each of the warriors wore white makeup, red eyeliner, green plated gowns, and green head dresses. Suki could be distinguished from the rest by her golden head dress that signified her position as leader.
Sokka and Suki were lovers. When they first met, Sokka was sexist towards her and her female fighters. But soon after learning their fighting style his view on women had changed for the better. When Ozai was still in power and made his final attack on the Earth Kingdom, Suki had accompanied Aang and his comrades in the fight; she was a great asset to their team. Sokka held Suki very dear in his heart and would gladly give his life to protect her.
Among the next people to arrive was Zuko's uncle Iroh who was followed by his fellow members of the Order of the White Lotus. Although he had attained a great age of sixty five, the old Fire Nation general had a great physique. His grey hair hung down his back, at the top of his head was a strand of hair held up. The lower half of his face was covered by grey muttonchops and his copper eyes held great wisdom. He was dressed in the uniform of the Order of the White Lotus, a white shoulder pad with the symbol of a lotus and blue leather armor. The Order of the White Lotus was a group of several great masters from each of the nations. Iroh held the leading rank: grand lotus. For most of Zuko's exile, Iroh had assisted him in hunting Aang but at the same time he was trying to give Zuko guidance in order for him to find the life he truly wants. Iroh was the older brother of Ozai but was denied the throne because of a plot hatched by his younger brother. Though Iroh never really sought the Fire Nation throne. Now he spends his days running a tea shop in Ba Sing Se. No one had any doubts about the wisdom he gave to people.
Other members included King Bumi of the Earth Kingdom, Pakku of the Northern Water tribe as well as Sokka and Katara's grandfather and Katara's waterbending teacher. Sokka and Katara's grandmother Kana was originally from the Northern Water Tribe and was engaged to Pakku when they were young. Kana did not want to live by the strict customs of the North so she migrated to the South. After the Siege of the North, Pakku journeyed to the South Pole to help rebuild it. When he arrived he was reunited with Kana and they wed after so many years of separation. Among the other members was Aang's first firebending teacher Jeong Jeong. He was once a decorated general in the Fire Nation military but had decided to leave because of the atrocities committed by his nation. Aang attempted to train under him when he was still young, since he had not learnt water or earth yet he did not comprehend the dangers of fire-bending and therefore was not ready. Finally, the last important member was the man who had trained Sokka in the ways of the sword, Piandao, sword master of the Fire Nation. When Sokka trained under him impersonating a peasant of the Fire Nation, Piandao already knew he was Water Tribe but trained him anyway. He believed that the way of the sword does not belong to one nation. Each of these masters was highly revered by their nations.
With each of the allies assembled, Fire Lord Zuko summoned all of them, including his own generals to the throne room for a war meeting. Zuko sat on his throne with Aang, Katara, and Mai to his right and Sokka, Toph, and Suki to his left. At the foot of the throne, a map was laid down that depicted the image of the lands in front of Mordor that was described by scouts. The White Lotus masters sat on the left side, the leaders of the Nations sat on the right, and the Fire Nation generals sat at the far end of the map.
Chief Arnook was the first to break the silence, "It has been centuries since the nations have met with one another. Standing together as one."
"It is the clearest objective." Spoke Iroh softly. "Each of us is in danger from a great evil. To counter such a threat, the Nations must unite. Prove to the world that we are ready to stand together as allies instead of enemies."
Earth King Kuei of Ba Sing Se said, "A truly wise reason. But... even with our combined strength can we win? I have heard from several of you Fire Nation generals that this Dark Lord has an army that can swarm across the world. If we were to fight and die then our kingdoms would be in great peril."
"What would you suggest?!" Jeong Jeong snapped. "Are we to just stand by and let the enemy attack us?!"
"Nothing of the sort. I'm only considering what would happen in a worst case scenario."
Hokoda responded strongly, "All the more reason to attack them before they can attack us!"
A young Fire Nation general barked, "We should set out to strike against this evil. The Fire Nation does not take an attack without exacting full retribution."
There was a great deal of chatter in the chamber. Then an old Fire Nation general stood up.
"Your Highness," The general addressed Zuko. "May I be permitted to propose another solution?
Zuko nodded.
"The one who attacked us was our idle the Dark Lord Sauron. We should not strike out against him. We would only be destroyed in the process."
"Then what do you propose we do? Sit here to get attacked once again!?" The younger general responded.
"We were attacked because the Dark Lord wanted to remind us of our betrayal of him. He will only punish us further with deadlier consequences. In order to resolve this we should give him our nation's full apology for betraying him and serve under him once more."
A storm of shouts and anger erupted throughout the room.
"I'd expect no less from a Fire Nation general!" Shouted a general from Ba Sing Se. "You just want to save your own skin and leave the rest of us to die!"
The old general scowled, "Easy for you to say. This so called enemy was once worshipped by the whole Fire Nation. If you had to turn against your own deity what would you have done?"
"If I had such an idol to worship I would gladly severe all ties with him!"
The wrinkles on the old general's face tensed with growing anger. "Do not be so blunt in your pride Earth Bender! If we submit to the Dark Lord I'm pretty sure he would not be reluctant to accept the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe as well."
Once again the room erupted with angered shouts and curses. It was clear to Aang that even after a year of peace and reconstruction there still existed old wounds between the Nations.
"Silence!" the fierceness of Zuko's tone put an end to the skirmish of words. He turned his attention to the old general. "How dare you even bring up that idea! What you propose is betrayal! Betrayal of our allies and friends! We should surrender our mite to him so that he will grow stronger and leave the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribe to rot?! That decision would lead to our undoing of all we have worked so hard to achieve since the war of the Nations. The end result would be the destruction of the world!"
"But sire we must think of our nation's safety first. Joining the Dark Lord would allow our nation to prosper."
"The Dark Lord does not forgive those who betray him. He would destroy us if we begged for forgiveness! You speak of our nation's safety. Well defying him may be an act of suicide but it is also be for the greater good. Such an evil presence must not be allowed to roam our world. Appealing to him would be certain death! Therefore we will not join him now or ever again. Be gone from my site and keep your ideas of appeal to yourself!"
The elderly Fire Nation general bowed his head grumbling and left the chamber.
"Good men. This threat puts the world at stake. This is no matter of any single nation. After fighting for a century, we must prove to ourselves that living in peace was not in vain. The nations of Water, Earth, and Fire must stand together as allies and brothers instead of enemies. We share a common enemy if we bring discord with us regarding the past then we will fall."
The leaders nodded their heads in agreement of his words. Iroh could be seen looking at his nephew with great favor and approval.
"Now that we are intent on joining our strength," spoke Hakoda. "How many troops would we have? My warriors from the South Pole make a total of thirty five hundred."
Chief Arnook responded, "My Southern brother, my army consists of sixty five hundred.
"Four thousand for Omashu," King Bumi cackled.
"Six thousand from Ba Sing Se," spoke a general.
"Ten thousand from the Fire Nation," announced a Fire Nation general.
Pakku of the North concluded, "With our combined army, our number escalates to thirty thousand."
Jeong Jeong stroked his white goatee, "I suspect that even numbers such as ours will not be enough to break the lines of Mordor."
"We have a fleet of airships that count up to ten and our tanks range from two hundred," A Fire Nation general added. "Even though we will most likely be out numbered we can rain fire down from above."
The swordmaster Piandao stated, "In war, numbers do not always win battles. It is the strength of those who fight it that emerge victorious."
"That maybe, but from what I saw coming here a black fleet carrying a thousand troops managed to destroy the Great Gates of Azulon and fight all the way to the capital," said Earth King Kuei.
The Fire Nation generals grew tense with that reminder. "We were taken by surprise!" Growled a general. "If we had known of the attack we would have destroyed them!"
"Calm yourself general," Iroh advised. "The Earth King makes a valuable point. The Dark Lord's armies consist of powerful forces beyond our imagination. What Piandao said earlier is true, that the strength of those who fight in a war emerge victorious, but it can work both ways. Furthermore, pay attention to this map." Iroh pointed a rod to a drawing of the Black Gate that guards Mordor. "This gate is the only entrance into Mordor, archers will most likely man it and the mountains surrounding the gate. We will be directly in front of them. The enemy has the advantage in the terrain."
Bumi cackled, "We can block their arrows easily with earth."
"That's true but their ground troops will be our main focus," said Hokoda.
The war meeting continued for hours until it was finally concluded.
"It's decided then." Announced Zuko. "Jeong Jeong shall lead our airship fleet, King Bumi and Chief Hakoda will have command of the vanguard and cavalry, Piandao will lead the left flank, Pakku the right, my uncle Iroh will command our rear troops, and lastly myself and the Avatar will have command of the center. Each of you are permitted to return to your homes and prepare your forces for war. The road to Mordor will be long, so the meeting shall take place a month from today. This meeting is adjourned."
The nation leaders departed. Those who remained were Iroh, Jeong Jeong, and Piandao.
