Avatar: The Last Airbender Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Avatar: The Last Airbender Owned By: Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Viacom
All original content and characters © Acastus
Chapter LIV – Götterdammerung (Twilight of the Gods)
Night had fallen. Another frustrating day of brutal combat had passed.
General Nifong, dirty and exhausted, pored once more over the campaign map spread on the ground. A shielded lantern cast a dim light, barely enough to see by. The young captain pointed at the rough markings that had just been added to the chart by a couple of young staffers who hovered at its edge.
"Prince Iroh's counterattack halted our advance right before sunfall," the adjutant reported in a sullen tone, "I don't think we can stage another attack before morning. By that time they'll have been reinforced with more of Tien Shin's troops – and probably those tank trains that cut through our lines this afternoon."
"Yes," Nifong sighed, "I agree, and I don't think we want to make another attempt on their center anyway."
"Why not?"
NIfong looked up at the sound of footsteps approaching. Two older officers appeared and waited patiently at the edge of the map for their leader to acknowledge them. He turned back to answer his adjutant's question.
"They are focusing all their attention there now. You can understand why, can't you? If we had succeeded in breaking them there today the outcome would be assured despite their remarkable success so far. Having come so close they will expect us to try again tomorrow. We must disappoint them."
He looked up again at the two newcomers.
"You're sure about Tien Shin's position, Colonel?"
"Yes, General," the thin man replied, pointing to their south and west, "We drove him off the Hue Road, but we suffered heavy losses killing off the last of their tanks. The attack stalled and both sides held up to reorganize. Tien Shin's command tent and battle flags were visible from the road right about…" the infantry officer got down on one knee and pointed to a location on the map, "here by late in the afternoon."
"We heard reports of a sparky?" the adjutant prompted.
"Yes, that's definitely true."
"Did we get him?"
"Not sure, the whole situation had gone straight to hell by that point."
"What about the dreadnoughts?" the aide continued, "Did you see them?"
"Oh yes, they smashed through one of our supply columns then crossed the Hue Road over to Fire Nation lines through a gap in our own. No idea why – they could have done a lot more damage than they did. I guess our rock sleds couldn't stop them?"
"They got rid of one," the young officer replied grimly, "but they weren't prepared to attack and had to wing it when the enemy suddenly appeared out of nowhere."
"A brave effort," Nifong observed, "but a failure nonetheless."
"Did any of ours survive?"
"No, none."
"That doesn't matter now," Nifong concluded with a dismissive wave of his hand, "What's important is that as the Fire Nation front shortens their southern flank has to thin out or shift north in order for them to close ranks at their center."
"You propose an attack on their southern flank then, sir?" the other officer speculated.
Nifong nodded in reply.
"Why not the northern flank, General?" the thin colonel asked, "We heard Iroh's left that girl in charge up there, the daughter of that old slave driver T'Zan. She's no soldier."
"Why not?" the aging general retorted with a trace of contempt, "Because unlike you, Colonel Hu, I don't underestimate her. If I knew her to be a fool I'd have attacked Mequon long ago. Let's just say there are reasons she succeeded her father."
Hu's expression registered his doubt.
"You don't believe that witch talk, do you? All she did was kill her old man and take his place. The whole fire spitter nobility is like that – thieves and robbers."
The rest of the group considered this. Governor T'zan's reputation had preceded her. Whispers from dark corners claimed the young woman had murdered her elderly father using the blackest of arts. Earth Kingdom intelligence had confirmed the elder T'zan had been murdered, but were uncertain of anything else.
For his own part, Nifong was unsure. He had met her once, years before at prisoner exchange, where she had been sent as her father's legate. There he had witnessed the burning intelligence in her eyes, the power of her personality and her skills of persuasion. He knew then that this person would someday drive the course of events in ways that few could predict or understand.
"I don't know what to believe, Colonel," Nifong replied dully, "and it hardly matters. The bottom line is that the weakness is developing on the southern flank, not the northern and the disposition of our forces makes an attack there far more practical than elsewhere."
"Shall I issue the orders then, sir?"
"Yes, Captain, we must be in position by sunrise."
"What about the reinforcements?" Colonel Hu continued, unruffled by the rebuffs he had met with so far in the conversation.
"No word, sir," the adjutant answered, "We've heard nothing from the east for more than a day."
"No word from Master Wu-Ti either," one of the young staffers observed, fear audible in her voice.
Hu crossed his arms at this, his expression turning suspicious.
"Is it possible the Council is letting us sink, General? Ordering everyone behind us to just back off?"
"No," Nifong replied instantly, his tone sharp, "I don't believe that. They've denied reinforcements, cut supplies, all of that, but never outright betrayal."
The evil possibility nevertheless hung in the air. Fear spread cold and deadly amongst them.
"What does it matter anyway?" the other officer injected bitterly, "Even if they sent reinforcements or if the Ningbo garrison set out immediately, they'd never get here in time to affect the outcome."
"Correct," the weary general affirmed. He had said as much when the idea of asking the Council for help had first been offered. It had been a foolish hope from the beginning.
The victor of Lake Myojin stood, followed swiftly by the others. The young captain motioned to the staffers to roll up the map. Someone doused the lamp.
"Get a move on those orders, Captain," Nifong reiterated before turning to the surly colonel, "You're in charge of the redeployment, Hu. Make it happen."
"Yes, sir!" Hu responded, snapping stiffly to attention and saluting.
Nifong mounted a nearby ostrich horse and prepared to leave.
"Where are you headed, General?" the adjutant asked in some alarm.
"East, I want to see what's going on in our rear – I don't like this."
"Shouldn't I come with you, sir, I can get these…"
"No, you coordinate the redeployment with Colonel Hu. I will return to Southern Command before sunrise."
Emotions warred on the young man's face and he was unable to reply.
"Don't worry, Captain," Nifong continued with a wry smile, "We'll face our destiny tomorrow shoulder to shoulder, whatever it may be, I promise you."
The Earth Kingdom hero kicked his horse into a trot and disappeared into the darkness.
Iroh woke with a start. He had snatched a few hours sleep after the last bout of combat, but the nightmares of Sad Hill had robbed him of any real rest. He doubted whether he would ever sleep through the night again. He was unsure, but he assumed there were only a few hours left before sunrise.
Every part of his body ached, but he barely registered the pain. Around him he could the moans and cries of the wounded. The dull thudding of Tien Shin's artillery echoed near at hand.
After a ferocious cavalry duel in the late afternoon, Iroh's outnumbered forces had been supported by Tien Shin's vanguard approaching from the southwest. Between them and the heavy ranged weapons, the gap between the two ragged pieces of the Fire Nation army had been closed.
Behind him the Constellation was under emergency repair. One of her treads had slipped off and her forward siphon had been severely damaged by an earthbending attack. Steam still escaping her vents whispered on the night air. Backlit by the flaming projectiles from Tien Shin's catapults she looked like a sleeping dragon.
His exhilaration and euphoria from earlier in the day had vanished, replaced once again by fear, anger and doubt that gnawed incessantly at the edges of his mind. They had blunted the enemy advance, but the price he had paid was high.
Iroh sat up and brought his knees to his chin. He knew the position was unflattering. If anyone came upon him they would think he was acting like a scared, lost child.
He looked up at the stars overhead, cold, distant, and beautiful. He remembered his final, bitter conversation with his cousin a lifetime ago on the edge of the Dune Sea. Xian had spoken softly of his memories of his own father and his famous Battle of the Coral Sea. All Iroh had known for certain at the time was that he was losing the man he had loved most, the elder brother he would have chosen. Now he knew what his cousin's words about his father had really meant.
"I used to dream of him on the bridge that night, looking at the stars, trying to make the best decision he could in such an awful situation… Your father and mine became heroes, just as they should have been. But that night… that night… they were just as afraid and vulnerable as we are now…"
The Crown Prince squeezed back tears as his cousin's voice echoed in his thoughts. Now, he was alone, as alone as Xian had been, or their fathers before them. The very same stars shined in the sky, but they provided no comfort, as they had provided no comfort to Xian or his father before him. The distant, cold pinpoints of light stood silent witnesses to all their struggles and heartaches without thought, insight or understanding. They could tell him nothing.
He alone had committed the army to the awful risks they had taken. Tens of thousands of Fire Nation soldiers had already paid the price with their lives. Weakened and exhausted, he could feel the Army of the Great Divide struggling around him to ward off final destruction. The surprise had been complete, the technology had worked spectacularly, but he now realized, with mounting horror, that these would not be enough to save them.
Yes, the message of deliverance had come, but would they survive long enough to profit from it? He did not know. The hope and certainty of the morning had dissolved into a chasm of despair and uncertainty. Visions of defeat had swiftly replaced the images of a triumph. He saw the ragged survivors of his army shackled to each other in chains, marching east in filthy rags to the prison camps of the enemy. In his mind the smoking ruins of Mequon loomed high in the shadows of night, the banners of the Earth King flapping in the breeze.
He found to his shame he preferred these thoughts to those of his friends, and he preferred all of these to thoughts of the raven haired engineer. Anger and fear warred in his heart at the thought of Corona flying head long into the heart of Nifong's army.
Agni Almighty, please… please keep her safe… let me pay the price for my mistakes… not her…
The prayer contained a stinging reproach, the bitter harbinger of guilt and regret. Dimly he recalled Tien Shin's warning when he had returned from Lake Myojin to find Iroh in command and suspected his hated elder brother had been right.
The certainty that he would live through the defeat that yawned wide before him only made him feel worse. He knew that if his army, his friends and the woman he loved lost their lives in this awful place, he would wear the chains that awaited him willingly, and that he would not long survive the assumption of the exile Rhiannon had foreseen.
Tears escaped and ran down his cheek. Salty and bitter, he could not stop them.
He quickly wiped away the evidence of his shame as he heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Standing up he was almost knocked over by a messenger. Dimly he wondered how anyone knew where to find him before remembering he'd told the Constellation's Chief Boiler Operator where he intended to crash.
"Yes, soldier, what is it?" Iroh replied a bit gruffly, transferring some of the anger at his own weakness unfairly, he knew, onto the runner.
"Sir! I bring a message from Commander Shiung!"
Without thinking Iroh raised his fist wreathed in flame to illuminate his visitor. He was filthy and had obviously ridden hard for many hours. The Crown Prince grabbed his shoulder and twisted the fabric of his uniform so he could clearly see the patch it bore. The Spaceship and Sun emblazoned on the patch plainly identified him as a crewmember of the Corona.
"How is she!? Is she okay!? Where is she!? Tell me!" he demanded, the questions pouring out in quick succession, the flames in his hands growing with his anger.
"I don't know, General," the messenger replied in a terrified voice, "I swear! The Chief gave me the message!"
"What's going on? What's happening!? Why did she order the tank trains to cross enemy lines!?"
The questions came rapid fire. He knew the terrified messenger was unlikely to have answers, but he couldn't help himself.
"I don't know, sir! Honest! All I know is we had a hell of a time crossing the enemy rear, your Highness, and we lost Nova, but the rest of us made it through!"
"What about Gan? I mean Captain Shu?" he corrected.
"I don't know, sir, but I do know Inferno survived okay."
Iroh let out the breath he did not realize he had been holding and forced himself to calm down. It was hard.
"All right, soldier, what is the message?"
The runner produced a scroll case and handed it over. Iroh reduced his flames to provide just enough light for him to read.
The message, written in what he instantly recognized as Chieng's neat, disciplined hand contained a message that struck fear he had never known into his heart. It read simply,
"Come – hurry."
Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He could feel it. What it was, he didn't know.
He hesitated only a second before acting. He knew he should stop and think, consider the facts and then make a reasoned decision in the best interest of the army and the Fire Nation. He could hear the wise counsels Xian and Rhiannon in the back of his mind, but he could not make out the words. They were drowned in the blackness and heat of his fear and anger.
He grabbed the messenger by the collar and pulled him close to his face.
"Do you know where she is now?" he questioned in a low, dangerous voice.
"Yes! Yes, sir!"
"Show me! Show me now!" he thundered.
He dragged the runner to the Constellation and once inside threw him at the operations table. The pens, instruments and straight edges that littered the campaign map jostled as the unfortunate young man slammed into its edge. The bridge crew and the elder "map buddy" looked up in surprise at the sudden, violent appearance of their superior.
"Show me!" he commanded once more.
Shaking, the messenger looked at the map and hesitated, unnerved by the Crown Prince's fury.
Realizing the danger, the "map buddy" stepped forward and began orienting him to the chart.
"Relax, son, I'll explain. North is this direction, here is the Hue Road… the Silk Road… Mequon… Vyazma… and Second Corps last known positions…"
Iroh fumed at the delay. Finally the runner pointed at a location on the map.
"I think about here, sir."
He turned to the Chief Boiler Operator, "Are the repairs done?"
"Yes, Highness!" the Chief Boiler Operator reported with more than a little fear, "Just a few minutes ago."
"We move now," Iroh announced.
"But, General…" the Chief began before he was silenced by a glare from Iroh that could have melted iron.
The Crown Prince stepped up to the flight deck, ordered the driver out of his chair, threw his baton of command on the dashboard, sat down and strapped himself in. Thunderstruck, the crew finally realized that Iroh intended to pilot the dreadnought himself.
Finally recovering, the Chief began shouting orders to the engineers.
"Trim vents! Fire boiler two! Increase pressure to one hundred! Now! Now! Now!"
Duplicating the movements he'd seen dozens of times, Iroh activated the running lights and released the brakes. Around him everyone took their seats and prepared for imminent departure. Before everyone was ready the young general popped the clutch, snapping the drive engines into full gear. The whole chassis yanked forward with a gut wrenching clank before settling in to a steadily increasing rate of forward motion.
The Constellation rocketed south and east under the stars and in the madness of their master's drive none of them saw the dull red glare of signal rockets bloom on the eastern horizon.
Deng moved east on the Silk Road with a small squad of guards for protection. A canter had turned into a gallop when they had seen the red flowers bloom in the eastern sky. The foreboding that had grown every step since they had left Ningbo had turned instantly to certainty.
A messenger soon passed them at breakneck speed in the darkness that could not be flagged down despite the best efforts of the general's party.
Half an hour later another messenger appeared who attempted to pass them as well, but was stopped by Nifong himself who grabbed the ostrich horses' bridle and forced the animal to stop.
"Stop," the green clad general bellowed, "I command you!"
"Who are you!?" the young man remonstrated, "I have urgent news that can't be delayed, idiot!"
"I am General Nifong."
The messenger peered at the powerfully muscled man who held his mount at bay. Recognition spreading across his features in an instant, he grimaced and saluted.
"Forgive me, most noble General," the young man begged, "I have an urgent message from Seventh Division!"
"What is it?"
"Signal flares, sir! Red ones! Multiple sightings up and down the rear! Fifth Division reported them too!"
"Yes," Nifong agreed, "We saw them."
"No enemy contact yet," the messenger continued, "but Colonel Dao believes we somehow have Fire Nation forces behind us!"
No supplies and no reinforcements in more than a day, his adjutant had said. Nifong could hear the steel trap snapping shut around him.
"What do we do now, General?" one of his guards asked.
"We finish what we started. We will see for ourselves what Fate has in store for us."
They set off again at a hard gallop.
His party reached the rear command center less than an hour before sunrise. The steppes to the east remained dark and silent, but Nifong knew this was deceptive. Swinging down from his mount he handed the reins to attendants who darted out of the operations tent. Around it dozens of other tents had been erected and in the open area around them lay hundreds of crates and stacks of supplies of every conceivable kind.
Just beyond the camp a neat line of artillery had been patiently awaiting transport to the western front. Now, crews of supply chain workers worked feverishly to turn the machines around to face the opposite direction.
He asked startled sentries for the camp commandant and after receiving proper direction arrived on foot at one of the nearby catapults. There two officers were overseeing the stacking of ammunition for the artillery. Both started at the unexpected sight of their legendary commanding officer. The expressions of shock quickly changed to relief.
"General! Did you receive our messages?" began one, a squat, plump woman wearing infantry armor.
"Yes, Colonel," he replied, "Do we have any scout reports?"
She shook her head.
"No, sir, I sent a dozen scouts east and south as soon as we saw the flares. Half returned having seen nothing. The other half didn't return at all."
Nifong had produced his sight glass and swept the horizon. All was hidden in darkness. The shallow depressions between the low rolling hills of the steppe could hide large numbers of the enemy. He lowered his instrument and turned to the other officer.
"When did the last supply column arrive, Commander?"
"Yesterday morning, General, we were supposed to receive another last night, but it never came. I sent messengers to you and to Master Wu-Ti at army group headquarters, but they're east of us so…"
The camp commandant let the sentence trail off.
"I don't understand, sir," the woman continued, "What's going on? How can we have anyone behind us? We've heard horrible things about the fighting ahead, but how can they be behind us too? Where did they come from?"
Nifong blinked and paused before replying. With crushing certainty his mind suddenly alighted on the only possible answer to the question. He looked to the east and saw the sky beginning to lighten.
"I don't know, Colonel," he finally replied in a hushed tone, "but I'm afraid the dawn will show us the answer."
"If they're out there, what do we do?"
His reply was brutal as it was honest.
"We die."
They stood silently and waited for dawn to arrive. Minutes later the sun peaked over the eastern horizon. The new day promised to be beautiful with clear skies, a westerly breeze and warm temperatures come afternoon.
Deng knew then it would be his last.
The newborn day revealed the terrifying truth. The hills behind them ran red with tens of thousands of Fire Nation soldiers, their helmets gleaming in the morning sun, the banners of General Shu and Prince Ozai snapping in the wind.
Nifong sank to his knees and closed his eyes in sorrow. Raising his arms to the sky, he bowed his head and prayed.
O Spirit of the Earth, the Enemy is upon us! Hear my cry come unto thee! By your divine grace help us break the power of our Enemy! Deliver your people, Great Spirit, from the tyranny of Azulon, help us to strike down the noonday devils, tormentors of the world!"
The old general looked up at the bloody sea flowing over the steppe towards them and knew his prayer would not be heard. He was not alone. Every green clad soldier who witnessed the spectacle knew then that the Spirit of the Earth had abandoned them.
The Army of the Song had arrived.
