Author's Notes: Hey everyone glad you liked the last chapter. Well here were are in Fire Book. Things will be speeding up soon but first in this chapter we dive into philosophy. As always I own nothing but the characters I make.
"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. - Elie Wiesel, Nobel winner.
Three days after the city fell they sailed for the Fire Nation. The mood was almost festive among most of the royal and noble teens. Well, for the most part anyway, Zuko was in a moody state and not even Mai could get him out of it and Zokar was his usual self. As the ship sailed through the night he saw Zuko leaning on the railing staring out at the waves and went to speak with him. As he again wore his armor, save for the coif and helmet, his brother heard him coming but did not turn around.
"You are up late tonight." Zuko said without turning.
"As are you." Zokar said as he came to stand beside Zuko at the railing. After a moment's pause he turned to look at his brother. "You seem to be in a poor mood. It seems even Lady Mai, who I just saw leaving, failed to lift you spirits."
"I have a lot on my mind like I told her. It has been three years I wonder what has changed, how I have changed."
"That is not what you're really thinking about, at least not entirely." Zokar said. At Zuko's confused look Zokar continued; "While I doubt not that you are thinking about what you say you are; you are mainly feeling guilt and regret about what happened to Uncle in the caverns. Even though he betrayed all of us it was he who raised you the last three years and was more affectionate to you than the Fire Lord has ever been. So even though it was he who betrayed you, you still feel guilty about what happened. But you should not."
Zokar paused, this was unfamiliar territory for him but he pressed on. "We have never been close, you and I, but I must tell you something. I am proud of you. When the moment came you chose duty to our country over your personal feelings and desires."
He offered his hand to Zuko who, after a moment's hesitation, took it. "Well done, Brother. I do not know what the Fire Lord has in store for you when we return, or me for that matter. Whatever happens know that you have regained your honor in every way that matters.
"Remember this; what others say about you doesn't matter. You chose duty over self and in that way you chose honor. Honor is not something others give to you; it is something you gain or lose on your own and you have regained yours."
Turning he left his brother to his thoughts. He started towards his quarters and then stopped himself. There was one more person he must speak to tonight, he turned and headed towards the ship's brig.
His uncle sat still in his cell, his limbs restrained to prevent him from firebending. For several heartbeats they both just stared at one another. Finally the old man broke the silence.
"To what do I owe the honor of this visit Nephew?"
"I want to know why you did it, why did you betray our nation?"
"I did not betray our nation. Our people have put the world out of balance. The balance must be restored, what I did I did for the sake of the whole world including the Fire Nation. For one hundred years we have brought pain and suffering to the world. If the Fire Nation is to survive, if the world is to survive, then the fighting and killing must end.
"I once thought like you. I wanted fame, glory and power. I conquered provinces and inflicted untold suffering on the peoples of the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. It was only the death of my son, your cousin Lu Ten that I finally understood that what we are doing to the other peoples of the world is wrong and had to be stopped. That is why I did what I did. We must make peace with the other peoples of the world and begin to undo the harm we have caused."
"If you believe that Uncle then you are a fool as well as a traitor." Zokar said. At Iroh's confused look Zokar continued. "You say we must stop and make amends for what we have done. Do you have any idea of how impossibly naïve you sound when you say that?
"What do you think would happen if we followed your advice and lay down our arms? Would they, the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, whom, as you yourself have admitted, we have invaded, terrorized, raped, pillaged and conquered for the last century will just smile and let bygones be bygones just because we say we're sorry? Or would they fall on us and our land with a rage born of a century of fear and hate?
"Don't you get it Uncle? It is too late to go back. Through our actions we have made the whole world our enemy; right now we have them by the throat but if we ever let go they will turn on us and tear us to pieces. After the city fell I rode through the city and I looked into the eyes of the people. Most looked away and would not meet my eyes but some did. Do you know what I saw there? I saw hate, I saw defiance, I saw men and woman who desired nothing as much at that moment than to see me lying dead in our capital as it and our whole nation burned. The others were the same, though they did not show it. No Uncle, this war began in blood and can end no other way and it was so before you, me, Azula, Zuko, Mother, the Fire Lord or anyone else from the Fire Nation was even born. We were all damned before we took our first breath.
"We must win this war. We must conquer all others, for if we do not or if we give back what we have taken then there is nothing between us and them and all the rage and hate a hundred years of war has spawned. This is our only option, all others vanished long ago."
He paused and looked at his uncle. Iroh regarded him with a mixture of dread and sorrow.
"So that is your answer to the evils of the past? To commit more evils?"
"You call what we as a nation evil Uncle? I do not see why. Look at history; Chin the Conqueror: he performed many of the same acts we have and yet it seems that for everyone who calls him tyrant there is someone else who calls him a great leader.
"Then there is Aiuoko, the founder of the Southern Water Tribe. To her people she was a visionary with the courage to strike off into the unknown and defy those who would deny her just because she was a woman. Yet if you were to ask someone of the Northern Water Tribe I would not be surprised if they called her a traitor and a violator of the natural order of things by being a woman in a leadership position.
"Even the Avatar, which you admire so much, has throughout history used intimidation and acts of violence to achieve its ends. Actions which if you or I had done them would be condemned as the acts of a tyrant. Yet because it was the Avatar who did them they were regarded as perfectly just and acceptable." Iroh looked as if he wished to say something but Zokar continued on.
"While we are discussing the Avatar let me ask you another question. What would you have done if Zuko had captured the Avatar? I admit that the odds of that occurring were practically nonexistent; but if he had, what would you have done? Would you have struck him down in the name of balance?"
"No!" Iroh shouted, his eyes blazing with anger; "I would have never done such a thing! He is like a son to me! I have been teaching him these last three years." He continued in a calmer voice. "Guiding him to true honor and understanding that he might undo the harm his forefathers have done and restore honor to the Fire Nation."
Zokar just stared at him for a moment. He felt the rage grow inside him but he was ready and suppressed it firmly. When he spoke was a flat as it usually was.
"You are a hypocrite."
"What?"
"I said you are a hypocrite. Your words and actions declare you as such. You claim you had some great revelation after the death of your son about the harm we were doing to the peoples of the world. But even I, who people say cannot connect with others, know the pain we inflict. So you did know, you just did not care until it was your turn to feel pain.
"And when you did supposedly receive this enlightenment what did you do? When you returned home and learned that your brother had stolen the throne from you did you attempt to take it back from him? No, you did not."
"What would that have accomplished?" His uncle asked wearily. "It would just be one brother killing another to gain power. And I no longer desired power."
"It does no matter what people think of you or your motives, it has never bothered me. Neither does it matter if you desired power or not; if you believe what you claim to believe it was your duty to act. To become Fire Lord.
"As Fire Lord you could have stopped the war half a decade ago. But you did not; you did nothing. You played your tsungi horn, the war continued, you played Pai Sho, thousands died, you drank tea and your favorite nephew was maimed and sent on what practically amounted to a suicide mission.
"In all these years all you have done with this supposed enlightenment was to attempt to maneuver a teenage boy to do what you yourself are unwilling to do. Which only further exposes your hypocrisy. You claim you want my brother to rebel against the Fire Lord and walk his own path. But what you really mean is you want him to walk the path you wish him to; the path you yourself were unwilling to walk.
"You talked to him about his destiny but that was a myth. There is no destiny or fate; there is only our choices and their consequences. And you chose to do nothing.
"So tell me Uncle, who is worse; I, who support the war and make no claim to moral superiority or you, who claim moral superiority yet fail to act on it? Has what you experienced or believed done anything to halt the suffering of others? You are repelled by what we do yet remain silent when you could have ended it.
"Silence serves nothing. Morals mean nothing if you are unwilling to stand and fight for them."
Author's Notes: Well, there you go. What did you think? Do you agree or disagree? Please let me know in the reviews. Aiuoko I made up. That is it for now; please pray for all who need it and that the New Year be better than the last one. Bye For now may Jesus bless you and Happy New Year.