Author's Notes: I still don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender Nickelodeon does, and Shakespeare owns Henry V.

For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be never so vile. This day shall gentle his condition. - Henry V

With Chen on board he and Zokar worked tirelessly to bring the Ash Knights into being. The first thing they needed was money. As he doubted his father would grant him an official budget for something that was his private creation he would need to fund the whole operation himself. Zokar, as all of the royal children, received an allowance but this was no were near enough.

Traditionally the royal family, and noble families as a whole, did not concern themselves with financial matters. They drew their incomes from their lands and other holdings, such as ships and mines. They left the 'dirty' aspects of dealing with such things on a daily basis to stewards and other servants. They turned up their noses at merchants and all other 'cash breeders'.

Zokar, already seen and shunned as a disgrace, did not have this prejudice. He invested his allowance in various merchants throughout the Fire Nation and the colonies; he bought shares in almost everything that affected both the military and the civilian world. Ships, factories, mines; even street stalls and many more. Chen had suggested they also invest in casinos and taverns. Zokar had been suspicious of his motives at first but upon reflection he saw the validity of the argument, especially in areas near military bases. Chen had then mentioned brothels and Zokar had put his foot down, he did have some royal dignity.

All these investments, though they greatly upset Woo's, who had been put in charge of managing them, sense of propriety they for the most part proved extremely profitable. Especially as he, a member of the royal family did not pay taxes.

With money now secured they turned their attention to members. Zokar had not forgotten the boy Lǎoshǔ from his first battle in the colonies and his fighting style. Zokar sent for him, his unit having been sent back to the Fire Nation to recoup their losses, shortly after he met with Chen. Lǎoshǔ entered the palace with a look of barely suppressed terror wearing a uniform rigorously cleaned. When he was ushered into Zokar's presence he bowed with such vigor one would think he was in the presence of Agni himself.

"Rise." Said Zokar formally; Lǎoshǔ slowly rose to his feet though he kept his eyes downcast. As he did so Zokar took the opportunity to study him. Lǎoshǔ was indeed short; several inches shorter than average, and his skin bore signs of diseases suffered in the past caused by malnutrition and poor living conditions. As he looked up his eyes held the barely repressed fear that commoners always had when they found themselves the subject of interest of those of higher social standing. Azula reveled in it, Zokar found it vaguely annoying and inefficient. If a person was so nervous they could not even look at you then they could hardly perform at their peak ability.

"At ease;" he said, rising from his seat and coming to stand in front of Lǎoshǔ, "I have wanted to speak to you since the battle at the breach. You impressed me with your courage and that unusual style of fighting; I had never seen fighting before until that night."

"It is not so uncommon where I am from my lord." Said Lǎoshǔ, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground. "They are cheaper than swords and a good weapon for men like me of small stature."

Zokar nodded and went over to a nearby table and poured to glasses of wine. He walked back to Lǎoshǔ and handed him one, the other was so surprised that he nearly dropped the glass. Zokar resumed his seat and looked at Lǎoshǔ. "I spoke to your superior; he told me where you came by your rather unusual name." He saw Lǎoshǔ flinch and flush, with embarrassment or anger he was not sure. "I am curious though. With skills like those one would think that you would have stayed where you were and risen in one of the gangs."

Lǎoshǔ was silent for a moment before he slowly began to speak. "I suppose I could have my lord but I had no desire to. I grew up surrounded by criminals of all sorts. Pimps, drug dealers, thieves, rapist, murders and more. I wanted to be more than that; I saw soldiers at the taverns, saw how proud they were. I wanted that; I wanted their sense of…of…dignity and purpose. I wanted a better life, to be more than muscle for some petty crime lord." He ended with a derisive snort. He then seemed to remember to whom he was speaking to as he quickly shut up and seemed to be trying to shrink into himself.

"Your attitude seems to have undergone a change."

Lǎoshǔ now looked as if he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him. "Well;" he swallowed nervously, "My lord…I must confess it has. I was expecting a sense of brotherhood, of camaraderie, I did not find it. Most of the men in the army are from more 'respectable' origins and had little use for a bastard from the streets like me."

Zokar sat looking at Lǎoshǔ for several heartbeats and when he spoke he allowed just the smallest hint of anger to enter his voice.

"Look at me."

"My lord?"

"Did you not understand me? Servants and slaves avoid eye contact. You are a soldier of the Fire Nation. So what if others look down on you? You grew up in an environment that would have killed most them. You clawed your way out from a place where everything and everyone was against you solely by your own strength. You fought against overwhelming odds alongside a blood-crazed mad man. So never, ever, let me see you with your head down again."

Lǎoshǔ looked up stunned and clearly made uneasy by Zokar's tone, but he raised his head and did not lower it. Zokar walked up to him, even though he was the younger he was much taller than the other, and placed his hand on Lǎoshǔ's shoulder and locked gazes with him. Lǎoshǔ flinched at the touch but seemed unable to break eye contact. When Zokar spoke again the anger was gone

"I seek to form something new. An order of knights, elite warriors who will stand firm against all enemies; who will be both the sword and the shield of the Fire Nation, I believe there is a place for you in that order. I care not where they come from; all I care about is that they possess courage, skill and a spirit that will not fail. All who stand among them I shall count as my sword-brothers, united by duty, courage and honor. Will you stand among them; will you be my sword-brother?"

Lǎoshǔ just stared in stunned silence for a moment, incapable of speaking. Zokar waited patiently. Finally Lǎoshǔ found his voice.

"Yes. I will stand with you my lord."

Zokar nodded once. "Then I welcome you, Ash Knight Lǎoshǔ."

Author's Notes: Well I got it done before I left. I hope you all liked it. Sorry if it was a bit short; I meant for it to be longer but when I got to this part it seemed a good place to stop. The next will be longer as I will introduce the rest of the knights. As they would not know about the title Sir I will insert Ash Knight in front of their names. I borrowed heavily from Henry V as you can probably tell. How did you like the speech was it to out of character for him please let me know in the reviews. That's it for now. I will close by asking you to please pray for those effected by the tornadoes and that those still missing will be found alive. Bye and may Jesus bless you all till next time.