Intermediate
Okay, so I've gotten a request for some "fleshing out" of the lore. Many of the historical elements of this story would be really REALLY hard to incorporate, so I think that I'll just give a brief overview.
For those of you not interested, just skip this chapter. Pretend it never happened.
If I had tried to incorporate this into the story, not only would it be longer and likely out of character, but I wouldn't be able to explain any elements that are unknown to the characters. So bear with me.
I apologize for this. Just details.
The basic AU for this story is that Aang had plans to leave the next night. That's it. Everything else is butterfly effect.
After the raid on the air temples, due to his status, he still actually managed to escape. He waited in hiding, mastering his airbending for a while. Eventually, his hiding place was discovered, and he escaped to the Northern Water tribe. There he learned his water-bending, and he later found Bumi in the Earth Kingdom who taught him earthbending. He couldn't find anyone to teach him firebending, so he had to try to teach himself, which took a loooooooong time.
Eventually, when he was nearly forty, he felt ready to take on the new fire lord. Of course, this was about the peak time for the Fire Nation, and his attempt failed, due to the masterful lightning of Azulon's grandfather.
At the same time as his death, a young girl was born in the Southern Water tribe. No one knew of her identity. Mind you, the Southern Water tribe was already quite weak.
In the meantime, the Fire Nation pressed hard, focusing on the Northern Water tribe instead of attempting to take the Earth Kingdom, choosing not to surround their forces. The tribe was proving an enemy, especially assisting the Avatar in his quest.
Finally, after decades and the birth of young Iroh, the Northern Water Tribe fell. Though his resources were exhausted, Fire Lord Azulon turned his sights on the Earth Kingdom, that had had time to prepare. The war was exhaustive.
Iroh and Ozai grew up, and despite Azulon's best efforts, both got into trouble. Iroh turned primarily to drinking and gambling, quite the burden on the treasury. Ozai opted for being a skirt-chaser, and, as prince, was extremely successful. Azulon finally demanded that they marry, much to their protests, most heavily from Ozai.
Azulon relented, allowing him to choose his bride. Iroh was forced into an arranged marriage, much to his disdain. Ozai had heard rumors of an exceptionally beautiful actress…
The rest was history. Iroh fell in love with his new bride, but she died in the childbirth of their son. On her deathbed, she made Iroh swear that he would never drink again, a major difficulty through their marriage. He swore.
He stayed home for several years, depressed, the seeds of reformation sparking in him. His late wife had been full of philosophy, and he now pondered upon it. Azulon didn't like it, knowing the potential of his son.
With little warning, he sent Iroh out to the siege of Ba Sing Se as a distraction. The condition was impassed, and it seemed relatively safe. He took Lu Ten with him, and took command of the siege.
Ozai was restless, and he asked for a mission as well, even though his wife was now pregnant with their second child. Azulon, intending to avoid a scandal, sent him to conquer the Southern Water Tribe, which was of little threat.
When the Hakoda, the chief at the time, learned of this, he kissed his young, also pregnant wife goodbye. He went out with the rest of the men, and they were never seen again. There was mourning in the Tribe that day.
With the main forces gone, Ozai and his men set in to destroy the village. In the midst of the chaos, however, they suddenly retreated. Granny had told them that she knew the identity and location of the new Avatar.
She was taken and placed before Fire Lord Azulon, insisting on speaking to him privately. She revealed that she was the Avatar, and informed him that she would agree not to do anything rash, so long as he left the now unthreatening, practically destroyed Southern Water tribe alone, a peace negotiation.
Azulon, knowing that if she died he might have to deal with a whole nother Avatar somewhere else, agreed. She was returned, and the village was left unharmed (for the most part).
Meanwhile, Iroh had begun to embark on his spiritual journey, taking advantage of the lack of progress in the siege. Eventually, he felt confident that it was his destiny to conquer Ba Sing Se. He began employing various ingenious strategies, eventually piercing the outer wall.
When news of this reached Azulon, he was very pleased. He had sent Iroh there to distract him, not actually anticipating any real progress. Iroh had made history.
Unfortunately, most of the Fire Nation didn't share in his enthusiasm, partly because of Ozai's influence. He had paid for many tales of his conquering of the Southern Water tribe to be told. Ozai conquered the entire South Pole. Iroh had barely broken a wall. Ozai seemed far more impressive to them, especially as the picture-perfect attractive family.
Years passed, and the children grew. Lu Ten began to serve as a commander beneath his father, while Ozai become disillusioned with Zuko. He was too soft, like his mother. He found that Azula was a far superior candidate for his teachings, and he left Zuko to fend for himself.
Ozai stayed home for the most part, glutting himself on his fame. His father was far less impressed with him.
Finally, Fire Lord Azulon died. During the weeks before his death, he insisted that Iroh not learn of his state until after his death, wanting him to finish off Ba Sing Se. Previous reports had hinted that they were very, very close.
When Iroh was informed of his new status as the Fire Lord, he turned his gaze to Ba Sing Se. The day was the summer solstice, and he had been anticipating this event for some time.
But first, he called a meeting with the Earth King, who had virtually no choice but to accept. The whole world was holding its breath, hoping for the Avatar to come forward. But she waited.
At the meeting, Fire Lord Iroh declared that they would now discuss the terms of the Fire Nations surrender. The Earth King was surprised and expected a trick. Iroh told him that he intended to end the war.
Word was sent to the Southern Water tribe, demanding a leader to negotiate the terms of the end of the war. Ozai caught word as well, and traveled there in the meantime. He didn't trust his brother to negotiate properly.
The negotiations occurred, but the other kingdoms were in no place to debate. Iroh had spared them what would most definitely have been a crushing defeat, placing the Fire Nation as supreme. They agreed to any and all terms.
Granny, not having been very educated, merely picked out what she could. Most of the negotiations were between Iroh and his brother. Iroh debated on the side of the other nations, desiring balance and the end of hostilities. Ozai wanted to wring them dry to feed the Fire Nation.
The first agreement was on the Tribute. The Tribute was an ancient Fire Nation tradition, wherein scouts went to collect either slaves or volunteers from the other countries, one from each. They were either purchased legally, or volunteered for money to be delivered to their parents.
Ozai pushed that it should now be two from every nation, insisting that the absence of the Air Nomads meant others should take their place. He also claimed that the most beautiful women, voluntarily or otherwise, should be selected.
The Fire Nation was quite displeased with Iroh, especially after Ozai's propaganda. The whole war was for nothing, in their eyes. Iroh knew their displeasure, and had to succumb to many of Ozai's demands, or risk a coup, especially with Ozai's influence over the people. He did counter that the payment would be increased, over time, and matched if they sent it home. Ozai disdainfully agreed.
Which came to the matter of the military. Ozai and Iroh compromised over the Earth Kingdom minimizing its military expenditures by half, which the Southern Water tribe also drily agreed to, while the Fire Nation would cut down by 25%. This left the Fire Nation in a higher military state.
Next was agriculture. Ozai demanded that the Earth Kingdom pay for the war, and that 90% of their agricultural products (after basic maintenance) would be delivered to the Fire Nation as a recompence tax every year.
Iroh was forced to accept. But he insisted that the tax would be lessened by 5% each successive year, and that they would self-select the amount needed for survival. Ozai reluctantly allowed it on the condition that they removed all of their safety measures in exchange for productivity. Iroh countered with keeping just the basics. They came to an agreement.
And so on. These are just the major ones, and I don't want to discuss all of them. You get the picture.
Iroh returned home, subtly mocked by the population, alongside his brother, who was revered. Iroh turned the 25% of cut down military budget, along with much more from the treasury, to science. Instead of mere military investigations, they began experimenting with herbs and bending, discovering fascinating combinations. This eased some of the tension with the populace.
Iroh also transitioned a majority of his power into the War Counsel and renamed it the Counsel. He elected Lu Ten, as well as one of his older comrades, Commander Fi Qu, onto it, as well as Mai's father. The Fire Nation began to prosper.
Ozai, in the meantime, was secretly stirring up war propaganda. He published letters using a pseudonym, and kept the unrest going. Iroh knows about it to some extent but can't prove it or do anything about it. Any punishment on Ozai would result in an extreme reaction from the public.
He arranged a marriage for Lu Ten with a family of Earth Kingdom nobles, as his father had done for him. The family he selected was the Bei Fong family, who had offered information of their secret daughter. Lu Ten was married to Toph Bei Fong, and the true aspects of their relationship are unknown to the public, though rumors of hatred spread like wildfire. No one knows Toph is blind, except for Iroh, her parents, and Lu Ten.
I think that about covers it. Yeesh. If you have any more questions, PM me. I'd be happy to answer them.
I'm very sorry about this! I hope you found it at least somewhat interesting, or that you skipped it.
Don't forget to review! I won't write another chapter until I get a review.