The first thing you would notice about me, if seeing me for the first time, is that I am an old man. I will not try to deny it to anyone, because it is true. I am a Firebender, and I am an ex-general, and I am a brother, and I am an uncle, but I am also an old man.
It is not an excuse. I do not claim to have lost my edge or my wit, or exchanged them for a love of ginseng tea. I merely want you to understand.
I would defend the Fire Nation with all my power, because it is my binding duty as brother to the Fire Lord. But before I protect my home, I will protect my nephew, for he is young and rash, and does not always know what he is getting himself into. He is a strong leader, willing to fight for what he believes is right. My only fear is that he does not always know what is right for him from what is right for everyone.
It is my fear that, as an old man, I will not always be able to stop Prince Zuko from making foolish choices in his life, and that I should not always stop him. True, he does sometimes need my guidance, but he does not always, and he will not always. He is already at the age in his life when he does not ask for help when he should. The maturity process has only been sped for him, as he was rushed into adulthood by his father and his desperate quest for the Avatar.
This is both a bad thing and a good one.
It is a bad thing in that he has missed many opportunities to be a young boy as he skipped ahead to a young man pretending to be an aged scholar. He has moved on to the isolated age at which he thinks his way is the only way. I feel sorry for him, I must say. He will never know the pleasures of carefree afternoons playing in the sun, or soothing baths in the hot springs after a hard day's work. He is too tense for such things now.
It is a good thing, however, in that he has adapted to the world around him. In an environment which does not readily accept weakness, he has learned to become strong and face his fears and his enemies. He will strive for what he wants and change what he does not like. He does not readily surrender in the face of overwhelming odds.
True, that is a double sided coin; he does know that he cannot give up easily, but he does not know when victory is simply an impossibility.
He will not listen to me when I tell him he cannot win. I am only an old man, tired and ragged in my exhaustion as my prime has long since passed.
But I hope that Prince Zuko is ready for his challenges, and ready for what he will not come to me with. I think that it is right to learn from experience, and I can only hope that he does not let his experience drag him down when he fails.
I do not think it will be a problem, really. I am only an old man, and I do not think I could face all that he has…but he is a young fighter with a strong will and a strong heart.
I think that we will both be all right.
