METAL
I.
The Jasmine tea is good this year. The Fire Nation farmers use volcanic soil to grow the best tea leaves. Very soothing.
My nephew, sadly, does not care for such simple pleasures as a good cup of tea. He is pre-occupied by many things lately, but none more than his search for the Avatar. He is young and impatient, and fights with his muscle and not his breath. He has a long way to go towards being the next ruler of the Fire Nation. There is too much of his father still in him.
I watch my sleepy nephew stumble to the breakfast table. He must have had a late night. He often meditates for hours at night and sometimes forgets to sleep. Although, last night I could have sworn I heard voices coming from this very dining chamber. And I'm sure my nephew knows nothing about that.
"Good morning, Prince Zuko."
" 'Morning, Uncle."
"Long night?" He glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
"I don't want to talk about it." I didn't suppose he would. From the looks of him, I'd guess he had talked plenty last night.
"Good weather today. The skies are cloudless. Should be easy to spot the Avatar. We must be gaining since our departure from the North Pole," I replied, making small talk. Prince Zuko didn't speak; he set about eating his breakfast in silence.
"Perhaps we should question the water bender on the Avatar's location again. After all, that is why you chose to bring her on the ship." Zuko remained silent. I pressed on.
"Or, maybe you would like me to ask her. I can be quite persuasive and she may not tell you where the Avatar is if she knew the reason…"
"I will interrogate the water bender, Uncle." I shrugged.
"Suit yourself. The Hün-dai can be very stubborn." My nephew choked on his breakfast.
"How'd you know she was of the Hün-dai?" I gave him an innocent smile.
"Lucky guess?" Zuko frowned.
"I used to court her aunt Chi-hü. The Hün-dai women all have beautiful green eyes. Oh, and the family mark on her wrist confirmed my suspicions," I said, taking a sip of tea.
"So, you've known who she was all this time?" My poor nephew-he gets so upset when secrets are kept from him.
"Well, until recently, I only had a hunch. Besides, would you have rather heard the truth from me, Prince Zuko, or from her?" I watched him lower his eyes, perhaps reflecting on the previous night's conversation. I liked this girl; she brought out patience in my nephew.
"After you, uh, interrogate her, why don't you both come up to the deck for your training?" I stood up from the table. My nephew stared at me with a suspicious eye.
"Why does she need to be present during a fire bender's practice?"
"The best way to know your enemy, Prince Zuko, is to know how they fight. And I would very much like to see how a water bender fights. Wouldn't you agree?" As I turned to leave, I could see in his face he not only had seen the water bender train, but was eager to watch again.
II.
It must be said- the water bender is very interesting. Not only is she chief of her tribe at the young age of fifteen, but she is the last of an old bloodline of fire benders. How is this possible, you ask? Well, it seems her mother, a chief of the water persuasion married her father, Taro Hün-dai. Their child, Lenara, was taken from the North Pole water tribe when a plague devastated their village and threatened her infant life. Her father, then a widow, took his daughter home to the Fire Nation, but he was executed for treason. How do I know all this? Well, I have my way of picking up information, mostly by way of pressing my ear to a door and listening very hard.
Lenara is, from the Agni-kai she had with Prince Zuko, an accomplished and inventive water bender. Alas, whatever remains of her fire soul from her father has yet to be seen. All fire benders create fire in their soul, force it out with their breath, and command it with their bodies.
She seems to command something else, however, as evident when she fought my nephew. In a bind, she's known to improvise and seemed to have shaken Prince Zuko's concentration when she kissed him during their Agni-kai!
But there is something that piques my suspicions: Taro Hün-dai was rumored to have spent some time at the temple of Avatar Roku as a monk before he abandoned the Fire Nation for the North Pole. He was said to have a collection of clues of the current Avatar before the Avatar submerged himself in the South Pole. Though the Avatar has returned, the clues could still be useful. The Avatar had many old weapons and it would make my nephew's journey much smoother if we kept them from the Avatar. Some of the clues were confiscated by a Fire General when Taro was interrogated, but went missing shortly after the execution. Perhaps the General kept those clues-we fire benders are an ambitious lot. That is not what bothers me. My concern is that those clues were not Taro Hün-dai's only legacy to finding and protecting the Avatar. And whatever mission the monks were rumored to have given him may not have died with him.
Now you see my concern.
III.
I found my nephew on deck shortly after breakfast. Two other guards, tying on their fireproof armor, stood behind him.
"Did you get an answer from the water bender as to the Avatar's location?" Zuko removed his boots.
"Not yet. I thought it better to 'earn' her trust first."
"Very clever, Prince Zuko. How are you going to do that?" My young nephew flashed a sinister grin.
"Watch and see." We all turned in time to see Lenara walk up the steps and out onto the deck. She tossed her blue robe off as she strode towards us and paused to remove her boots, leaving everything in a heap on the deck. She walked like a warrior who would enjoy the fight no matter how it ended. She stopped in front of Zuko, leaving him with little personal space in which to squirm. I enjoyed watching my nephew with this girl-he seemed more like a person and less like the Fire Lord's appendage.
"Good morning." I watched my nephew hold her gaze.
"G-good morning." Very suave, nephew.
"'Morning, General Iroh. Forgive my tardiness. Something required my attention," she said, bowing in my direction.
"That's all right, water chief. We were just beginning," I turned to my nephew, "begin with the basic training, Prince Zuko." Zuko opened his mouth to protest; he feels he is above simple techniques, but the water bender folded her arms, giving Zuko her full attention, and he decided to use her interest to his advantage.
I watched her observe the training. She was focused, studying the fighters' form and force. Zuko seemed to capture her attention from time to time, but she mostly concentrated on the fire being released. A sudden misguided fire stream flashed our way and she was quick to deflect it with a spray of water from the sea. 'Pretty good reflexes,' I thought.
"Enough." I held out my arm, putting a stop to the fight. Zuko was winded, but glowed from the training.
"Well done, Prince Zuko. Fire bending is a very difficult thing to master," I mentioned to Lenara, "It is considered more advanced and graceful than, oh, water bending, for example." Lenara's cheeks held some pink and she raised her eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
"Hmm?"
"I must have had some water in my ears, did you just say fire bending is more graceful than water bending?" It was my turn for mock surprise.
"It isn't?" She narrowed her eyes, but surrendered as a smile circled her face.
"Alright, General Iroh, I'll play your little game. On one condition…"
"Yes?"
"Tell them to forget I'm a girl." She walked past Zuko. I nodded, signaling the two fire benders to use lethal force. The three fighters bowed. Lenara waved her hand at them, inviting them to attack. The fire benders both released a fire ball. Lenara swept a wave of water over the first, then ran at the second fire ball, slid under it, quenched it with a water attack that didn't require her to turn, and picked up speed, knocking the first soldier to the ground with a well place water stream that seemed almost whip-like. She turned to the second soldier, but he lashed out with two close-range flames. Lenara used her bare arms to block the sudden attack, then consumed the soldier within a vortex of water, soaking herself in the process.
The first soldier had recovered and charged at the water bender, slamming his foot to the ground to summon his fire. She arced behind him in a quick back flip and pushed him away with a blast of water. The other soldier came around from behind, grabbed Lenara with a bear hug and lifted her off the ground.
That surprised me. I would have thought she'd have kept a better eye on her enemies' positions.
"She let down her guard," Zuko said. Lenara closed her eyes, grimacing from the pressure, and the air suddenly felt colder. She pulled away from the soldier, breaking solid chunks of her tunic off as she turned to look at the man she had just frozen solid. Oh, I liked this girl.
"It appears he let his guard down, too," I commented. Zuko turned to me.
"I thought water benders could only freeze the water around them. How did she…"
"Her clothes were wet, Prince Zuko," I smiled, "she made sure to use an attack early on that would dampen her clothes on the off chance someone decided to restrain her." The remaining soldier, who had watched this small girl freeze his partner, took a step back. She struck an Agni-kai fighting stance (where she learned that I cannot begin to guess), then ran towards the last soldier, skating on ice as she had when she fought my nephew. She dodged the first fire stream; the second, just narrowly. The soldier was beginning to panic and swung out with his arm to catch Lenara as she came past. Lenara slipped, tumbled forward, caught herself in a hand stand and lifting her right hand from the ground, shot a stream of water at the soldier. He went down. Lenara bent forward and righted herself, examining her burned arms. She glanced at me.
"Well, you were right, Iroh. They were pretty graceful…at getting their butts kicked by a FIFTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL!" I wasn't surprised she did so well. Her father was an accomplished fighter. He had taught his daughter well. However, not a hint of her fire soul had shown itself during the entire fight. It was almost disappointing.
She started to walk back to where her robe lay on the deck. Suddenly, the frozen soldier broke free and, not knowing the fight was over, shot a fire ball at Lenara. I moved to block it, but my nephew, for once, was quicker. He pushed her away and they both hit the rough metal of the deck. I signaled to the thawing soldier the match was over. Zuko was furious. He stood up and would have challenged the man had I not whispered in his ear.
"Remember your plan, Prince Zuko. You've earned her trust. Now complete it by taking her to the infirmary to wrap those hands of hers-the backs still look blistered from blocking the fire." Prince Zuko turned, scowling at the soldier, and reached down to help Lenara up. One thing is certain-like her aunt Chi-hü, she has the talent of making a simple face look extraordinary by leveling you with her eyes. My poor nephew never stood a chance.
"You okay?"
"That was…unexpected. Thanks, Zuko." The two walked down the stairs. I watched them depart. My bones ached. I was getting too old for conspiracy. I will help my nephew regardless, but betraying this girl is weighing on me much more than it should. And I had a feeling that we needed to move quickly to get her help- I sensed she would not be with us long.
IV.
I have often sat and contemplated the future. What kind of ruler will my nephew be? What will become of our Fire Nation? And the Avatar- will he be able to stop my brother's war and restore the peace this weary world shouts for?
By this time, I am usually on my second bottle of Fire Saki. But today I am sober, down near the furnaces where the crew gathers. Bajoü, a squinty-eyed, wiry man, plays the fiddle. A bit off-key, but pleasant enough. The men sing in loud, half inebriated voices of glory and days gone past. Every so often, in the shadows, the water bender lingers to listen.
If Prince Zuko captures the Avatar, he will turn the child over to his father, Fire Lord Ozai. He believes his father will then restore his honor, but I know my brother better than that. Forgiveness is a thing my brother is hardly capable of. The last thing I want is for my nephew's trials to be in vain, but his quest for the Avatar may prove to be just that and as much as I try to explain, the young man simply refuses to believe he will not be welcomed back to his home. The only reason I continue to help Prince Zuko is because if he does succeed in getting his title back, he will number his father's days on the throne, a fact that personally makes me pleased.
But even if Zuko is granted the crown and he restores the damage caused by his father's war, he will still have to clean up the negotiations of peace with the other nations. That may prove difficult-a fire bender is seen as little else but a ruthless, angry butcher of innocents. And oh, how we've embraced that title. It sickens me to hear of husbands dead and mother's bereft of their children.
I remember once asking Zuko how he felt about the massacres.
"I hate the smell," he replied. As did anyone who cannot stomach the stench of burning flesh. Prince Zuko had endured his own. He seems to have grown tired of seeing innocent people, his countrymen and strangers alike, burned alive.
And Lenara-her father was baptized in the flames of treason. Poor child, she watched as her father was consumed.
There is no doubt in my mind my nephew belongs on that throne, saving his people from my brother's possessed notion of dominance and power. When Zuko becomes the Fire Lord, I will not serve on his council-I am too old to abuse myself with politics. However, he will need a sturdy council. Those who follow his father are too old and prudish, cruel and simpering towards the current Fire Lord. Perhaps our hopes now lie in the hands of our children; those who, like my nephew, are coming of age and are ready to shoulder the responsibility of their world if only we would give them the chance. And as I watch the young water bender and consider the Avatar, I think to myself perhaps this world will grow green and strong again. If Lenara and the boy and girl accompanying the Avatar are any indication of our children, then we have no reason to despair. All Lenara seems to do is strive and fight and encourage my nephew. The children with the Avatar do no less for him.
They are all too young to worry about such things, and yet here they stand, cast in the middle of a war they did not start and are forbidden friendships they cannot deny.
My heart aches for the innocent, for they are truly the casualties of this war.
V.
The next evening, I was sitting down at my Pi-sho table when Lenara dropped onto the cushion across from me.
"Evening, General Iroh."
"Good evening. You know, if you sit across a die-hard Pi-sho player, it is considered an immediate challenge." She simply smiled.
"Challenge accepted," I said, dumping the ivory tiles onto the lacquered table. Lenara took her set and I mine. We did a quick 'Stone, Fire Water' competition and after we both chose stone, I won and we began.
As we moved into the game, I could sense her strategy. She had a very straightforward, no nonsense plan and wasn't going to stray from it. So much like Zuko. I, on the other hand, prefer rogue moves and several small battles at once. This probably comes from my years of being a General, but as the old saying goes, if it isn't burnt, don't freeze it.
"So," I began, "what news of the Avatar?"
"If Zuko can't persuade me to tell him where the Avatar is, what makes you think you can?" I watched her capture my Rat piece.
"Lenara, Prince Zuko will find the Avatar eventually. Since your people were able to track him, he naturally needs your help."
"You mean he needs me to betray Aang to that he can recapture the honor he never lost? No deal." She surrendered her Bear piece to my Monkey tile.
"Try to understand; my nephew is a complicated young man. He wants to reclaim his birthright so he can overthrow Fire Lord Ozai and stop the war. The only way he can return to the Fire Nation as a Prince is with the Avatar."
"I've gathered as much, but you seem to think your nephew will save this world all on his own. The Avatar will bring the balance back to this world. Zuko has his mission to stop the war and it is by no means any less important than what Aang is trying to accomplish. He can overthrow his father, I know he can. I just wish he knew it, too. Then he would see he doesn't need the Avatar as a bargaining chip-he needs the Avatar as an ally." She watched as I moved another piece. Those green Hün-dai eyes seemed to penetrate through me.
"General Iroh, unlike your narrow scope, my mission extends past the worries of the Fire Nation. The whole world is crying out for justice and freedom from Lord Ozai's tyranny. Why should the Fire Nation alone benefit from the end of this war?" She was moving her tiles into a final surrender of my Dragon piece. I stopped a Pi-sho with my new Lotus tile.
"Do you know how long Prince Zuko has been banished from his home?"
"Over two years."
"Yes. I do not care for my brother very much. It was by his hand my nephew has his scar."
"I know."
"Then you know I ask for your help not because of the Fire Nation, but because of my nephew." Lenara looked at me. I knew she carried the responsibility of her executed father very seriously, but I could see the genuine pain of regret in her eyes. It seemed some part of her did want to help my nephew.
"I'm sorry for Prince Zuko's exile, Iroh. It wasn't fair. He never asked for that. However, his reconcile is not above the rest of the world's. I told him when he first brought me captive on this ship that I would not assist him by betraying the Avatar. He knows why." She slapped down her Tiger tile in front of my Dragon.
"Pi-sho." I stared, bewildered. She was planning a side attack all this time! Lenara stood up from the table.
"You knew of my father's search for the Avatar, General Iroh?" I nodded.
"He has passed his mission on to me."
"I've gathered. You are…searching for something?" She gave me a guarded smile.
"The Avatar has returned. The banished Prince has been found. I merely have a gift to bestow. "
"But which of the two will receive this gift of yours?" She lowered her eyes. Those Hün-dai lived for their secrets.
"Congratulations-you asked the right question, Iroh. Not that I'll tell you or anything," she grinned. She turned to the door and stopped.
"If I could, I would help him."
"Yes," I said, "I have no doubt you would." She left. I sat at the table, contemplating the gift she spoke of. I could only imagine what kind of gift she'd give to my nephew! I shook my head. No time to worry about this. I had more pressing matters to attend…like how she beat me at Pi-sho!
A guard raced into the room.
"General Iroh! Prince Zuko has spotted the Avatar!"
VI.
I reached the deck in time to see my nephew ordering the cannons to be loaded. He was always so impatient in battle. I looked up and saw the Avatar's white bison making lazy circles in the sky. That seemed odd. The Avatar was usually in a hurry to get past our Fire Navy ship. Why linger above it?
"Prince Zuko," I advised, "the Avatar is trying to draw our attention."
"What are you talking about, Uncle?"
"Look at the flight pattern of the bison. He is not avoiding capture. He is trying to…" before I could speak further, the Avatar's animal shot away from us eastward.
"You were saying, Uncle? Follow the Avatar!" Lenara raced over to the rail in time to catch sight of the Avatar. I watched her reaction, but it was carefully guarded. She turned to leave, but Zuko caught her arm.
"Looks like the Avatar decided to show himself." His grin was smug and cold.
"Looks that way."
"Good thing we didn't have to rely on your father's clues. They might have led us the wrong way. Old scraps of junk from the past have a tendency to be misleading." What was he doing? Did he not remember their conversation yesterday? Shocked by his sudden rudeness, she seemed to bite back her fury, though her fists were curled tight.
"It's a shame you can't see past your scar at the bigger picture, Zuko. I would have expected more from you," she muttered, turning away. Zuko, for once, held in the insult. It may have been a trick of the light, but he looked ashamed as he walked past Lenara to the stairs up to the helmsman's tower.
Why would Zuko goad her when he claimed to want her trust? What was he up to?
We followed the Avatar to a small jutting shoreline, where he disappeared among the trees. Prince Zuko ordered the ship to dock. We were going ashore.
Zuko walked down the gangplank, scanning the trees. Lenara smelled what I caught a scent of-another Fire Navy ship.
"We're not alone," she told me.
"Yes. Someone else has been tracking the Avatar." I caught up with Zuko and told him the news.
"Then we'd better get moving." Prince Zuko took a few of the soldiers, myself and Lenara with him into the dense forest, leaving the crew behind in case we needed to make a hasty escape. We scouted the brush below and the branches above. The Avatar and his child companions were light and nimble, so the foliage aloft or the frantic shrubbery beneath our feet would provide excellent coverage. A branch snapped from above. We headed in that direction. A murmured voice was stifled. We pressed on. I realized we were being lead deeper into the forest. I stopped my nephew.
"This is a trap. The Avatar is baiting us."
"Or someone else," Lenara muttered just within earshot. My nephew turned to me.
"We need to draw them out." Lenara walked towards a cluster of shrubs and knelt in front of them. She snatched a torn piece of cloth from one of the bushes. It was the color of the orange cloak of the Avatar. Zuko took the cloth from her. I strained my senses, listening for footsteps. This seemed too easy, too obvious…
"I don't like this, Uncle."
"Me neither," Lenara said, suddenly nervous. She sniffed the air, then grabbed Zuko's arm, smelling the cloth. Her eyes narrowed.
"I know that scent. It's familiar. From my past…"
"You're past? Wait.." Zuko stepped in front of Lenara. The soldiers shouted their alarm. I held up my hands in surrender before the other soldiers emerged from the brush. We were out-numbered. One of the guards tied my hands together. Two of them restrained my hot blooded nephew, trying in vain to bind his hands together. Lenara held still as they tied her hands at the wrists. She yanked them away just as they finished and stepped towards one of the soldiers.
"Where is the Avatar?" He shoved her backwards, but she regained her balance. Zuko growled, finally bound. I leaned over to him.
"Easy, now. Let's find out who's in charge."
"I already know," he muttered darkly. Lenara was pushed our way and the three of us stood before our captors. The water bender sighed.
"At least this day can't get any worse."
"We have the traitors ready for execution, Admiral."
"You were saying?" Zuko muttered to Lenara. She made a face at him, rolling her eyes. My nephew leaned towards her, shoulder touching shoulder.
"Remember, it won't bring him back."
"What?" She stared at Zuko, clearly confused, "what in the world are you talking about?" I suddenly understood. I knew why my nephew had tried to anger her, why he brought up the past, her father's clues... the general who ordered her father's execution was no longer a general.
Out of the foliage stepped Admiral Zhao, the man who had killed Taro Hün-dai.
VII.
Both my nephew and I watched the water bender's reaction; this young girl who had watched her father die before her eyes at the hands of the man in front of us. I saw a flame, red and dark, flare in her eye. She knew who he was.
"You saw it, too?" Prince Zuko whispered.
"Her Fire Soul?" He nodded.
"Then, you knew she had one."
"I had my suspicions, Uncle."
"And Zhao? You knew he…"
"Killed her father? The fool bragged about it to my father while he was still a General. It was Taro Hün-dai's murder that earned Zhao his promotion to Commander."
"And her untamed Fire Soul-you were trying to get her to release it at you. Dangerous gamble, nephew."
"Better me than Zhao. I can handle an angry fire soul, because the anger is more controlled; it's a release. I didn't destroy her life. But she kept it locked inside her and now…"he shook his head, "she'll be wrath and vengeance itself. She's not going to hurt Zhao-she's going to kill him." Admiral Zhao stopped before us and we became silent.
"Oh, don't stop conspiring on my account," he grinned. His eyes slid over to me and he shook his head, like a schoolmaster to a disappointing pupil.
"General Iroh, it truly is regretful to see you mixed up in this. Your reputation is legendary in the Fire Nation. How will it look when tarnished by being in the company of an exiled traitor?" My nephew was about to go into meltdown, but I calmly shrugged.
"I have the Fire Lord's permission to train and accompany my nephew during his quest, so I doubt my reputation will suffer very much. However, if honor is measured in the people we choose to betray and abandon, then I am ashamed to be a Fire Nation General. But I'm sure my honor is not the point of this, is it, Admiral Zhao?"
"No, it's not."
"We are not on Fire Nation soil. You have no reason to hold us captive."
"Oh, but I do," he walked to my nephew, a wide grin splitting his face, "don't I, Blue Spirit?" My nephew never looked away, but there seemed to be a battle going on in that staring contest.
"What are you talking about?"
"Still ever the defiant liar," Zhao relented and turned to me.
"The Avatar was captured a few months ago and held in a prison in my personal fort. But a bandit sporting the image of the Blue Spirit infiltrated our fort and released the Avatar."
"A bandit broke into a Fire Nation military stronghold? That must be some thief!" I crowed. Zhao was not amused.
"The Avatar escaped, but no matter. As I'm sure you know, General Iroh, Fire Lord Ozai has turned the task of capturing the Avatar over to me. So your little journey," he said to Prince Zuko, "is over. You were a small price to pay for the Fire Nation's future."
"The Fire Nation's future is lost without Prince Zuko. You're a fool if you can't see that." We all turned to the source of the angry voice. It was Lenara. Zhao didn't seem angry; in fact, he seemed quite amused.
"You keep strange company, Prince Zuko, but appropriately enough, a traitor all the same. Don't worry, little one, there isn't any nasty water around for you to bend," he said, noticing her water tribe robes. It was true; the coast was miles back.
"It doesn't matter. I don't need it," she growled. Her voice was empty; the Fire Soul was taking over. Zhao didn't seem to notice. He obviously didn't recognize her.
"Oh, she seems like a handful. And such pretty green eyes. You know, you seem awfully familiar to me…" Zuko interrupted.
"I see you haven't managed to recapture the Avatar." Zhao smiled down at him.
"On the contrary," he motioned to his soldiers and they pushed three children into the clearing, "they were the first to be captured." The Avatar, his girl and boy companion, even the furry lemur, were bound as we were.
"You guys okay?" Lenara glanced at the Avatar. He smiled bravely.
"Yeah. Sorry we f…" Lenara gave the boy a sharp look and he quickly snapped his mouth shut. Zuko and I shared a look. What was that all about?
"Seems we all have a secret to share," Zhao proclaimed, stepping into the center of the clearing, "so I'll go first. I'm taking the Avatar and the Prince of the Fire Nation back to Fire Lord Ozai. The Fire Lord will be pleased to see you, Avatar. He will not, however, be pleased to see his son come back a failure. I can only imagine what he has in store for you both. The rest of you will be tried for treason to the Fire Nation. And since I'm the top rank here, I can pass sentence. You are all guilty and therefore must be executed. Let's get them tied to the trees," he signaled for the soldiers, "then we can burn this useless forest down." And as I was dragged to a sturdy Aspen tree, as my nephew was lead away to face the wrath of his father, as the Avatar was all but lost to us, I bent my head and mourned the thought that I would never have another cup of jasmine tea again…