Powerful Benders Chapter 2: Recollected Histories, an avatar: last airbender fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own "Avatar: The Last Airbender", but I do own the storyline for this story and all elements that are not within the official realm of the funded story done by Nickelodean. I also don't own the first article about the statements in the Nuremberg trials.

Pre - - A/N 1: First, and definitely FOREMOST, I deeply thank you Elenea and Cookie for reviewing my story. Your insights into what I have written has not only pushed me to keep writing, but your comments are like trophies for me! Thank you both SO VERY MUCH! As I said, it is much appreciated!

Pre - - A/N 2: Okay, funny thing is, is that this chapter is even heavier than the last! Hilarious, no? No, didn't think so. Heheh, but this chapter has a lot of time devoted into it, since it does have very important elements in it. Now, I just need to let you know something, this one is longer than the last. I would cut the chapter in half, but then the flow and the final message of it might not come out so well. So, if its a pain, I'm sorry. Again, the library document, and articles as well as the content within that you read here, they are just fiction that I made up to help with the story, with a great influence, obviously, coming from the series.

Pre - - A/N 3: You may be wondering, why so long to update? Well, with work and a huge number of family gatherings, things start to get in the way of me writing the story. Add to that, I had to make a separate file to describe EVERYTHING in the first chapter. That's EVERYTHING that happens in the first chapter. Just to let you have a hint, what you read is shallower in detail than you think... (oh and refer to Post - - A/N 2)!

Pre - - A/N 4: Most importantly, hope you all enjoy!

"Powerful Benders"

--II--

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

--Chapter 2: Recollected Histories--

Solzen's reign wouldn't last that much longer after the war started. However his successor was training intently, and was determined to pull through to become as great as his father was. About 5 years after the war began, Solzen's will, formally known as the 'Will', was modified to account for the now enraging war that included the forces of earth and fire. Solzen's Will, as it was in the beginning, and even now years after the changes, was still a very powerful document that nurtured courage and hope, and was one that truly tried to stabilize the foundations that made the Fire Nation what it was known for.

The Fire Nation's government was that of a martial law, in that it was the military that controlled society. Every child of the Fire Nation had to be an integral part of the vast expanses that composed the military, and they were to do it unconditionally. The society was disciplined, respectful and their mannerisms were known worldwide for their unbelievably curt and polite execution. There was no stain on the Fire Nation's records, they were only known to be the the 'bringer of bad news', the 'bearer of the hard truths', and they were direct and to the point, like a flame directed along a fuse line.

However, unconditional acceptance of the way society ran and the demands of the government, were not very hard concepts to press upon the people. Free speech was allowed, and when disagreements went out of hand, an Agni Kai, a 2 person combat exercise to prove, physically, who was correct, and who was of higher authority, could be engaged in. There were rights issued to every citizen, and any outbursts against it could always to argued with no consequence and the rules of society could be questioned with no drastic side effects. The Fire Nation used a certain philosophy, "To question ones faith is to strengthen ones beliefs," as a guide as to how disagreements could be handled and in this way, all citizens would never feel insecure. The last thing such a powerful empire would want during a full-scale war, is to have an unraveling community destroying the empire from the inside out. With the way society ran, the rules running it became easier to understand and accept.

However, to further strengthen these ideals visualized by the Fire Nation, the Will was a very important key in attaining that resolution. As such, the Will was a document taught throughout all the educational institutes throughout the Fire Nation and was an oath that soldiers were forced to swear by. However, not many of the citizens were as educated as the Fire Lord himself was, and interpretations of that Will became a common practice. So common it was that an official assistant understanding manuscript, a professional and unbiased interpretation, started to be handed out along with the original document to, as the title stated, to assist those studying the concepts of the Will. But when many of the distributors discovered that it was the interpretations that were being read instead of the writings composing the Will, copies of the Will stopped circulating. All homes were then searched and those copies that remained in the community were taken back. This left no document with the contents of the Will, with any of the citizens, nor with any of the distributors themselves. Strange as it was, shortly after all the documents were rounded up, the copies were burnt and discarded. This was done a year after the Will was modified.

Around 6 months later another strange event had occurred. The original document of the Will, that which was signed and sealed in blood by the Fire Lord's hands themselves, which was posted in the Gallery of Independence and under heavy guard, had vanished. The article, being of great importance, had prompted Fire Lord Solzen to initiate his own special investigation division to try and recover it, with the campaign starting a week after the incident. But, by the time the division had turned up one solid clue, 1 month later, Fire Lord Solzen had passed away.

Fire Lord Solzen had died from a 'charred heart,' a rare self-induced, or outer influenced, passive organ rupture spasm. To plainly describe it, his heart had burnt itself, without his direct control, and one that was propagated due to his own body's ability to bend fire. 'Charred' organ spasms were incredibly rare, and had occurred only 25 times in the last 10000 years. So rare was the condition that it was ruled out as a passed down trait. His body was analyzed for any signs of an external influence but none was found, and it was accepted that nature had taken its toll on the brave man. Instability in his emotions, and the vast myriad that he suffered from had destroyed the proper workings of his body, and his soul passed on to the spirit world. Fire Lord Solzen's body was, like the Avatar's, dressed in beautiful robes, with his hands placed peacefully atop one another in a gesture of happiness, and was sealed within the burial grounds of the temple, during a very mournful and powerful funeral procession. His casket was carried by his 2 extremely loyal, and at the time broken, sons and several of his generals, his closest friends, his friends of war. The procession of the soldiers was magnificent, and it was a true tribute to a worthy man. The followers of mourners rivaled that of the late Avatar and he, like the many of the rulers before him, was buried beside his forefathers, and as an honor to his work in trying to promote peace, a cease fire was declared by the Earth Kingdom themselves. Fire Lord Solzen had died, at the age of 40, 6 years and 7 months into the war.

Soon after, due to the temporary ruling party head, the battles raged forth and the war continued once again, but before the investigation continued, and ironically, before the clue could be followed up on, the investigation was canceled. It was an order forced to be followed, and one issued by the Head Sage Magistrate himself, Sage Zubuum. When Fire Lord Solzen had passed away, his son Prince Sazora, after a period of grievance, had started to prepare to take on the title as the Fire Lord. During this time of preparation, authority of the state was given to the Head Sage Magistrate, and Zubuum took the title of leader until such time Saroza was inaugurated. Sage Zubuum, then, had full authority over the war efforts and the investigation, and his decision to cancel the search came about as abrupt. Even more strange was his apparent conclusion that the document must have been destroyed along with the others and that valuable resources were being wasted in trying to find it.

What most conspirators, about this topic, noted was what the clue, in the investigation, concerned. It was related to the channeling of vital data within the internal office of the state. Apparently, confidential files were being leaked via a tab mole within the office, and finances and resources, that at first were marked as 'LOST,' were now turning up in strange places. Further, it seemed that unregistered clean up crews, who were legitimate, but still unregistered, were in contact with the Will. However, before any of the details were explored, the investigation died, and the rest was left to question. The Will had apparently disappeared completely.

Without a will to help run the Fire Nation, the key component in strengthening the ideals of the government, was lost. As such, the sages, and all generals had decided to accurately piece back together the original document, the original words of the Will. After countless interviews with advisers, close friends and family, and a very thorough study of the history of Fire Lord Solzen's brave and courageous exploits, his thought profile was accurately assembled. With this, several biographers, and the vast number of interpretations at hand, his Will was reconstructed, and by the signatures of all of those involved, deemed accurate, and almost identical to the original Will. Indeed the Will was well accepted, and society was, at large, very happy that such an awe-inspiring work of art, and of great thought, was still in existence.

Soon after his death, Fire Prince Sazora was inaugurated, and had become the Fire Lord. Fire Lord Sazora was a one of a kind leader. As a child, he was ridiculed for his inability to properly bend fire. In most cases, he had burnt the very same limb that ejected the flame, by direct contact with the flames, like his own palms during a palm-thrust maneuver. The occurrence of this situation was rare and hard to come by, both intentionally and accidentally, even by the inexperienced. It was technically impossible for it to happen, unless the user's most basic understanding of fire bending principles were beyond sub-par. The reason he was singled out as an idiot, was because of this.

Basic fire bending principles were facts that were readily observable when studying the nature of the flame, so in most cases, training in these principles were deemed unnecessary, and the results were considered too obvious to be of any use. It was like challenging the fact that in broad daylight, one could see one's own hand.

But yet, such simple concepts, Sazora had never understood, or so others had speculated. In reality, it wasn't so much that he didn't understand, as it was that he had a hard time believing all he was told. Sazora, in fact, was a genius, blessed with amazingly efficient analytical skills. Unlike his classmates, who progressed through the training without a hitch, Sazora was always lagging behind, taking extra care in studying how and why fire was the way it was. Why was it that it always rose up? Why, under certain circumstances, did a teacher produce a bright yellow flame, when students could only produce dark red? He had never found the answers he was looking for when he asked someone, either. By himself, he was able to come up with theories as to why these things were the way they were. But to see if the theories were correct, he would have to test them. And so he did, during training classes, ultimately burning his own limbs, all because he questioned the most basic principles. And that was why he was labeled as an idiot. But in doing so, he was always able to modify the theory.

When he was around 11 years old, he continued to expand his vast knowledge considerably, and had finally came up with the proper thought processes required to bend fire efficiently. What he had discovered, by himself, was beyond the level of even the Sages of that time, and were on par with what Sages could achieve now. His logic of fire was beyond his own teachers. In essence, as a child, he was looking for the short cut that would lead to this final gain.

Initial bending training would always use basic, understandable concepts to strengthen the foundations of fire bending for the early learners. As the learners grew up, they would come to know that these concepts were wrong, and were only used to help settle their young questioning minds. Then a lesson was given on the true nature, but it would be very shallow. Finally at the stages of being a teacher, or a true bender themselves, they had to undertake the advanced lessons to learn the full truth. This process took almost 18 years. Sazora learned all that by 11, all because he took a more tedious and more complicated shortcut, which not only strengthened his skills, but had made him an extraordinarily powerful bender.

Sazora had, under the permission of this father, been taken out of the institution, after having demonstrated his enormous skill in a sparring match against him. Though he did lose, it was only because his father was a better hand-to-hand combatant. Fire Lord Solzen had seen his potential, and had advocated that he train by himself from then on. Ironically, the same time that Solzen didn't have to worry about one of his sons, he had something else to keep him beyond occupied. The war had begun when Sazora was 12 years old. In the years following, he developed such advanced techniques, that books were written to keep intact his discoveries, with all the documentation stored in the Gallery of Independence. Years later, Sozora's analytical skills were hiking to new levels, being motivated both by his determination to be able to accept his father's place on the throne, and because of the ensuing war. He had been there to help his father and his brother during the military meetings, earning him the honor of being one of the greatest advisers in Fire Nation history, and was instrumental in the development and modification of some of the modern body armor used in the Fire Nation.

Sazora's brother, Eraho, was a year younger. Eraho, was a bit different than his older brother. For one, he never questioned authority, unlike his brother, but had just followed the rules, but like his brother he was truly a genius. He trained countless hours, and had studied and practiced bending art forms many times a week. He was so dedicated and his will power so unbreakable, that in class he had excelled, and jumped levels that his older brother still lagged behind on. Never one to leave a man behind, he continuously tried to help his brother, but Sazora would recline, yet never once was he ungrateful. Their brotherhood was strong, and would remain so forevermore. When Eraho hit 10, he had graduated from the academy, and had become the youngest captain in the history of the military of the Fire Nation. The war had begun at this time, and his skills were being put to good use. In addition to being an adviser alongside his brother, to their father, he was an escort for his father when running head on into the tides of battle. Eraho's first engagement was at the age of 13, and his skills were proven to be invaluable. Surviving countless ordeals, and never leaving a fellow soldier behind, he started to rise above the ranks.

Sazora and Eraho, were 2 grateful children who diligently served their father throughout all circumstances. When Fire Lord Solzen had died, Sazora was 18, and Eraho was 17 and in the midst of their loss, they found strength in the knowledge that their brotherhood was still as strong as it was years before. At the ceremony of the inauguration, Sazora was titled as the Fire Lord, and his brother attained the rank of 1st Prime Marshal, an elite that was second to the title of the Fire Lord. As sons of the Fire Lord, they had a duty to carry out the Will declared by their father and though it did seem that this 'Will' was not in character of their father, nor did it exactly elaborate on what he had proposed, it was signed by a large military council that had a psychological profile of their father. Unable to defy nor testify against this new rendition, issued by this council, they were forced to believe that the Will was identical to that of what their father intended.

With heavy hearts, but with strong determination, they ran the war to a new level. According to the advisers, the interpretations of this Will were identical, and indeed it was, however, certain words had double meanings, and in the eyes of the unknowing, it could be interpreted in a few different ways. However, when it came down to it, they were to subjugate the entirety of the Earth Kingdom. They were to break their spirits, impale their hearts, bring them to their knees, and after torturing the battered form of the once glorious Earth Kingdom, were to faction them into an entity corresponding to one of their own. So said the Will, and unconditionally they valiantly followed through with it.

Fire Lord Sazora had gotten married to a charming, righteous, courageous and loving Fire Nation civilian. Though not of royalty, she had won his heart, as proven when on countless occasions he would sneak away just to be with her. Sazora and Erah married at the age of 20, and 18 respectively. Erah gave birth, at the age of 22, to a single child, whom she named Saze. Such was the legacy that continued after Fire Lord Sazora. Eraho, had gotten married as well, at the age 19, to lady Kira, age 18. Lady Kira, as her title suggested was royalty and was related to one of the sages. They had 3 daughters, and in addition, Eraho had an orphaned student, Ejah, who lived with them during his many days of training. Ejah and Saze were the best of friends and little did anyone know that their lineage would soon merge.

By now, the Earth Kingdom was under heavy siege. Since wars and outbreaks of battles were very rare before this explosion of events, battlefield technology was not as advanced as they used to be. Relying on intuition and documentation of past battles, the fights raged forth. The Earth Kingdom did enlist the help of the Air Nomads, and the Water Tribe, but as it was 10000 years ago, they regressed the proposition, preferring to stay neutral throughout this entire ordeal. However, in just the next few years, never would the Air Nomads have known how beneficial it would have been to just help.

Historical Document Library 3: Section 34
- Heroes of War
The 2nd Fire Lord of the 2nd Engagement

The war was now something far worse than its original intention, with the eastern shoreline, once again, becoming the battlefield it once was all those years ago. The Earth Kingdom was, at the moment, at a stalemate against the Fire Nation navy, and history seemed to be repeating itself. At first being composed of steel and wooden boats, some with sails, and others with outdated coal burning engines, the Fire Nation ships trudged through the waters, carrying menial forms of long range attack equipment, including the famed catapult. However the use of the catapult against the now advanced form of earth bending, proved to be of no use.

That was until efforts were placed into the redesign of the military equipment. Years into the war, Sazora had noticed that at the rate at which they proceeded, though they were upholding a truly worth while fight, they would soon be on the brink of eradication unless changes to both battle strategies, and resources were implemented, such that the Earth Kingdom would have no more of an advantage than they had against them.

The ships were starting to use alloys, with no wood components throughout its design. Catapults had advanced locking and equipping mechanisms to outdo the fire rate of any earth bender. Add to that, the catapults were starting to be able to support massive artillery shells, steel balls with an outer burning exo-frame with an exploding core. These shells were overwhelmingly large and so were the catapults used to hurl them. The largest ships of the Fire Nation navy sported these behemoths of a weapon. Standing at over 20 cubits tall, and weighing almost as much 1128 fully armored Fire Nation soldiers, these titans were excruciatingly menacing, and had the brawn to prove their demeanor.

The smaller ships relied on smaller versions of the giant weapon. They hurled oil soaked, exploding rocks. Though not as damaging as the giant, they were indeed effective in extracting a large of amount practical usage from a device that had just been victimized by one. The rocks were composed of thousands of different materials, and so being nonuniform in nature were unable to be properly bended. When Fire Lord Sazora was 25, the Earth Kingdom had truly met their match.

Upon further advances, the Fire Nation started to attain a greater advantage in water. All the soldiers were trained to swim and execute underwater operations, and were therefore able to place signals on the beach heads for the Fire Nation to preemptively attack, before the Earth Kingdom could have a chance to stop them. The Earth Kingdom was suffering heavy losses, and their end was seemingly visible against the glare of the sun that burned before them.

Once upon a time, they had used to recover under the shade of trees. But ever since the eastern shoreline became the battlefield, all forms of life had retreated to the depths of the ground. The eastern shoreline was now just a beaten path that man hat littered their idealistic and shallow views upon. All had seemed lost. However, at the climax of their depression, the battlefield general of the Earth Kingdom, stationed at the eastern shoreline, was said to be smirking as soon as his tired head suddenly lifted from his knees as realization dawned on him.

Rumor had it that while resting his aching head against his knees, a swarm of fire ants had come out of hiding upon smelling the fresh scent of fruits that came from the supply lines. There were so many, that he promptly turned his head to the side to view them as they closed in on his meal. In mock anger, he raised his hand, lifting up a thin flat plate composed of earth, compressed it to retain a hard form, and subsequently collapsed it on the swarm of ants.

Laughing at what he saw, it was said that he joked to his companions about how it must have felt like to be that ant. As an ant it must have been so menacing to see a large flat plate rise above them as they stubbornly moved forward. Their hunger must have been enough to drive them even through the apparent danger, only to be crushed by the awesome power for which they could not resist. It was like collapsing a mountain on top a whole fleet of troops...or on top of a navy...

That single moment, intended to be a joke, intended to relieve the tensions in the air, was what caused him to raise his head into the air.

The history told henceforth is generated from a recollection of memories of the Great Fire Lord Sazora. It is supported and signed by his wife, and his brother. To note, as brethren of great honor, their nature, as is ours, is not to boast or over exaggerate the achievements of any bender of fire. Further, it is an insult to exaggerate upon the heroism of this great lord, as then many of his achievements can then be turned into fiction.

--In the military board room, a subdivision of the the entire military property block that was stationed off of Crescent Moon Isle, on the interior of the Fire Land Islands, a meeting between contented officials was taking place.--

"My lord!" Screamed the adviser, as he burst through the iron doors.

"What is it, Zaro?" Inquired the Fire Lord. His tone was patient, but a sense of urgency was written into it. There was never time to waste and so his speech was hurried, yet authoritative. He continued "Your input is invaluable to us, but at the moment, we are preoccupied with the frontal assault."

"My lord, you don't understand! There is no time for follow-ups, but please, heed my warnings! The Earth Kingdom has come up with a tactical initiative to entirely wipe out the acting navy engaging the eastern shoreline!" exhaled Zaro, a trusted combat adviser.

Eraho had jumped in before Sazora could respond, "Strategically speaking, that is an impossibility. We have all their escape routes blocked off. The only way for any contingency force to intercept our fleet before we effectively deal our hit, is if they route themselves through those passages." Eraho, seemed to be more authoritative than his brother. Standing at over a foot taller than him, and with such strength supporting his design, he was truly a great man, but one that always subdued to the will of his much more powerful brother, but only out of respect.

"Brother wait. Zaro continue on with the details..."

"Bless you my lord! It is an honor to-"

"I'm sorry Zaro, but there isn't any time for formalities." Interrupted Sazora.

"My lord, again, from physical contacts, the Earth Kingdom has initiated a plan to wipe out our navy, and it is to happen in 3 days! They intend to deal a lethal blow against us, and not from an external force coming from any of the said blocked off passages!" This he said, looking into the eyes of the Fire Lord's brother. "All of them...and I mean all of the earth benders, have already been stationed on the beach head, and when in formation, in one motion, they will make rise a mountain before our fleet! A mountain! They can do it, my lord! I have seen their skill, and together their actions are wondrous! And with that mountain, a strong enough force can collapse it into the water, onto our navy!"

The Fire Lord looked towards his brother, "As Zaro has said, there is no time for follow-ups, so we must proceed with a plan. Assuming this isn't a facade." He looked around his table. Currently sitting around a large wooden display map, were his trusted military officials and advisers. Their eyes were dark and concentrating, and their uniform heartbeats almost seemed to create a tangible reverberation in the steel walls that surrounded them.

"There are a few options in mind. My opinion...we retreat what fleet we can, and spare the others in case the initiative is a bluff." said one of the generals, among the myriad present. A few of the generals had a very calm demeanor. However for the rest of them, wiping out an entire fleet with one blow, despite the sacrifices the enemy must have gone through to do this, was something incomprehensible, especially due to the fact that the Fire Nation navy was the pinnacle of their war efforts and was the key element in heading all the battles.

"And by spare, you mean intentionally placing our spearhead in mortal danger, in case the initiative isn't a bluff, correct?" reacted another general.

"We can't do that. First of all, sacrifices at this time are uncalled for. We have an upper advantage, and must make sure we keep it that way! I suggest-"

"You don't suggest! The damn fleet is in line with an enemy attack plan, and we have no time to pull back. My lord, there is no other way, we must pull back the rear fleet and, yes, sacrifice the spearhead!", this was said by one of the generals who jumped out of his seat, when he realized there weren't any other options.

"Understand..." said the Fire Lord slowly, "...that the entirety of the military is composed of brothers and sisters working towards a cause to bring justice into this world, and they are motivated through unconditional love for this empire..." Paused the Fire Lord, and then he continued slowly increasing both the tempo and the volume of his words. "...I will not have a single man fall behind in any circumstance if the situation can be avoided!"

"My lord there isn't-"

"There is. Yes...there is. If the navy must be caught between the 2 options, to either sacrifice the frontal assault division and collect the remainder, or die altogether, the latter would be of more honor. But in this dire circumstance, I understand that the most viable option is the first...but I have a 3rd option." The Fire Lord turned his back to them and proceeded to walk out of the board room.

Before exiting he made his final statements. "As soldiers of the Fire Nation, never once should you sacrifice your own without first considering sacrificing yourself. Eraho, by the dead of night tomorrow, I will proceed to the front lines to deal with the situation directly. You will now be the acting Fire Lord, till my return..."

The Fire Lord exited the room. Turning into the corridor he went into his sleeping chambers. His face was riddled with signs of pain. He would lose so much. His wife, his son, his brother and their family. He would lose all his hard work. "...that is, if I return." he concluded to himself. But, he would lose them all, only because he would save the lives of all those that he loved. That was true honor, and that lifted his spirits a bit.

"I heard that." His wife said sarcastically, but only for the moment. Her immediate demeanor had then become sad again. There she was, fully clothed in royal attire, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at a painting of their family.

"Erah! You're supposed to be at home, with our son. Why-" Erah walked up to her husband and looked deep into his eyes.

"I left him with Kira. I departed the palace a few hours ago because of a feeling. A feeling of what fate has in store for us." She started to break down in front of him. "My heart is telling me that you're about to..."

Sazora walked up to her and placed his hands on the sides of her shoulders. She looked into his eyes, and the smile across his face caused her to rush in towards him. A strong embrace encircled her, and it seemed that whatever protection those arms could ever offer her were going to be taken away from her. "I have the will to do so, and for our Nation I must carry it out."

Trying to be as strong as her soul would permit, she struggled to convey her feelings to her beloved husband. "So, you'd leave us alone? How can Saze take the throne if he isn't yet trained by his own father? How can he-"

"Honey, my brother and his family will take care of you both. Saze will not be of age to take the throne. I have entrusted that field to Eraho. I know him well, and without a doubt, he will train Saze relentlessly and will give the throne to our son. There is no doubt in my heart about it."

"I will train my nephew, yes. But you cannot leave me without a final goodbye." stood his brawny, cross armed, younger brother, as he leaned in against the door.

"Eraho, the situation is dire, so you know what must be done."

"Without a doubt! But, again, I'm not going to proceed without a final goodbye."

Erah broke off from her husband, and let him pass her by to go see his brother off. Sazora readied himself for a handshake. Eraho looked down upon it, and stared back at his brother. Smirking he grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him towards him, crushing him in a giant bear hug, and at the same time lifting him off the ground.

"This is why I never came to you...when father made me cry..." He chocked.

Eraho, dropped his brother down, and placed a hand behind his head, chuckling. "You decide to mention that before your grand finale, huh?"

"No better time."

"Sazora, as your younger brother, I will try and become the ruler that you once were, and as you have believed in me, I believe in you. I will carry out your decree. Your son will be powerful, and he will be just. The throne will be his, whether he is ready or not, 10 years from now. It will be a commemoration marked by a decade of loss. Your dynasty will continue. I swear it!" Thumping his hard fist against his chest as a sign of strength behind everyone of his words, he concluded, but not before counting the number of times he said 'will' in his heroic statments.

Sazora tapped his brothers shoulder, left his side, and looked upon his wife. "I will forever love you. If the spirits allow, I'll be waiting for you in the otherworld. So please, for my sake, be happy...,"Erah neared her husband while Saroza started to slow down in speech, both of them forgetting the company in the room, specifically Eraho. In addition the room did get a little hotter.

Eraho, turned around just in time. Tugging at his collar and releasing the build up of steam inside this tunic, under all that body armor, he rushed out of the room, locking the door on his way out, and then ran through the corridors and into the board room, locking those doors too. He had a blush across his face.

"Woah, why are you blushing! I want to see-" said one of the generals.

"Nothing to see out there! The doors to this room are locked and...we have a situation at hand!" Eraho struggled to let out. He was still blushing. 'He could have waited till I left...' he sighed.

The generals reluctantly returned to their seats. It wasn't everyday, that the brother of the Fire Lord blushed. But one look into the sleeping chambers would make even a monk blush. That is as far as the details will allow to go, however.

Erah and Sazora had woken up from bed the next morning. After the 17th hour of the day had passed, her husband would rush off into battle, and by some miracle return, if fate permitted him so. Sazora and Erah had gathered their clothes and what little belongings they had in the chambers, and departed for the palace, which was located a few lands away from where they were.

Eraho had accompanied them to the palace, and that was where he was secretly inaugurated as the Fire Lord. Hugging his child one last time, Sazora had noticed that the 15th hour had passed. He forced his wife to stay at home, since anymore of her presence would only soften his fiery determination to save his fellow comrades. By the 16th hour, Eraho had assembled, for Sazora, a 5 man assistance team. They would get him to his destination, the eastern shoreline, a travel of about a few days at a regular ships pace, in about 3 hours. Specifically trained to be a fast attack, reconnaissance unit, their travel speed was unheard off.

In the 17th hour, Sazora, along with his 5 man crew, departed from docks. Along the harbor lines were the remaining soldiers protecting the Fire Land Islands. They assembled themselves in a single order, standing shoulder to shoulder, with their white skull face plates, and their tough outer armor, each one stood with such pride and such respect for their fellow hero that Sazora could not help but smile. The soldiers were as stiff as boards, their arms as steady as rocks in the saluting position, looking straight ahead. Sazora was indeed proud of his army. They were dedicated beyond what one would consider normal and that all the more fueled his inner courage to fight for them. He saluted as he walked past, the 5 man crew behind him, and his brother beside him.

The 5 soldiers assisting the former Fire Lord, were dressed in raven colored clothing, a fitting attire for the operation and a frightening correspondence to their demise, with their hoods and face masks lowered, and their clothing masking their heavy body armor which was underneath. With their baggy tunics, but tight braces rounding their wrists and shins, along with a belt along their waists, they were armed with nothing, nothing but their incredible stamina and endurance for hardships. Other than the onyx colored cape that was draped over his shoulders, with a darker flame emblazoning located at the bottom of it, Sazaro looked no different that his 5 man team, but something stood out from him that the others lacked. Whereas the 5 man team were monotonous in their face tone, Sazaro was a walking candlelight, emflaming the hearts of all those that placed their gaze upon him. Around Sazaro's neck was a beautiful pendant that his wife had given to him. It was a keepsake on her side of the family and as a sign of her undying love for the man with an undying heart, she placed it around his neck.

Eraho departed, after leaving his brother with what luck he could wish upon him. In the best of situations, Sazora, would die quickly. There were no other options. His mission was indeed suicide. Boarding the ship, the war machine set sail. With the ship taking them to the outer section of main bastions, Sazora could only hope to reach there in maybe 4 days. But with intelligence stating that the attack was to be initiated at day break of the next day, he had to arrive there in just a few hours. Attaining full speed, the ship took off.

Heading down to the lower levels, they came to the under-marine carrier room. A bullet shaped silo sat in the middle. Just big enough to fit 6 people, it was a newly designed, recently implemented, propellant based carrier. The crew men helped the 6 into the silo, and upon sealing the hatch, had exited the room. Flooding the bottom level and opening the escape doors, the silo's ballast filled up and lowered the carrier out of the ship.

Drifting slowly to the bottom of the ocean, each of the soldiers checked the pressure gauges. At the depth they were at, approximately half of the ballast's water supply would have to turn into steam. Sazora was located in the front of the carrier, ready to heat the nose cone, with 4 of the fire benders stationed beside the projector holes. The 5th soldier was in the rear, ready to control the rudder. Then in began. Working in unison, the projector holes were burned with an inflow of fire from the fists of the soldiers, turning the water into steam, with the steam escaping through the rear port holes when the pressure was high enough, however for now the port holes were sealed up. When the front nose reached the heat level they wanted, the sealant broke, and the port holes blew open, jettisoning the steam out the rear of the carrier. With the nose the temperature it was, water in direct contact with it suddenly evaporated, creating a fine film of steam over the front section of the carrier. Now almost like traveling in a virtual air tunnel within the depths of the water, the carrier headed straight for a nose dive.

In a stunning act of reflexive motion, the rear soldier pushed the rudder downwards, tilting the tail of the carrier up, throwing the machine into a 'v' shaped travel path. The steam pounded out through the sides as they propelled the carrier at break neck speeds through the waters. In no time at all, the Fire Nation would have its best man in the front lines.

What Sazora did not know, was that the plan for the attack was actually shifted for the night, the same night of his arrival. Though the earth benders would need more men to bring about a large enough stone structure to effectively deal a death blow to the navy at this time rather than at day break, when the fleet was closer, it was at this time that the Fire Nation could not depend on fire bending to get them out of the situation they had brought themselves into, not that is was possible anyways to escape.

Sazora's solution to the situation he was informed of, was the head behind enemy lines, in the dead of night. Assuming the attack was at day break, he would move into the main pillboxes where the enemy consul resided. When in, he would fully burn out the entire area, taking out all enemy fortresses in one swift sweep of his hands. At the same time, not only would he be attacked, the amount of power he would throw out would ultimately consume what energy was in his body, and there, he would die peacefully in the fires he created. That was his plan to stop the attack. It was simple, direct, and brutal. This was his grand finale.

With the situation changed, Sazora was guided into an unknowing death trap.

In the 23rd hour of the day, the time of mourning would begin. Standing against the backdrop of the night, with the thousands of stars gracing the planet with its beautiful shimmer, and the moon howling out in cries of sorrow, stood the proud navy of the Fire Nation. Thousands of ships were interspersed throughout the waters, and their engines gave off a subtle, ominous glow. They left a wake in their travel across the ocean, and had resounded with a slight grumble as they trudged forth. The soldiers were on the decks ready for invasive maneuvers when the first ship landed. They were mere hours from reaching the eastern shoreline. When the first ship landed, history would be written, or so they thought. Little did they know, that their history had already begun. In the midst of all the insanity of war, there was a resoundingly silent peace as each of the soldiers stared at how marvelously the moon cast its beauty onto the waters below them.

The earth benders lined themselves along the battered reigns of the mainland, the eastern shoreline. Situated almost a single land away from the tip of the water's edge, with 100 columns and 100 rows, the earth benders stood. They all poised in a defensive stance, their left leg stood forward, and their right at the back. Their backs were straight, and their knees were bent to make their thighs line up with the land they were standing on. Their left arm was stretched out, balled into a fist, and their right arm was held back, ready to be thrown forward and then up into the air, in an action that would raise the lands up. The first group pulled on the land shifting it up, pinching the land together at that point. In the same instant that the first row pulled up their hands fully, the second row took charge. They squeezed the land together even more, pinching it at a greater depth to attain a better height, shoving the first mound up higher.

A configuration of earth benders was located at the outskirts of where the mountainous drop plate would rise up. In a row of 25, with 50 bender columns, they plowed holes into the ground, allowing the land to separate at that point and pull closer to the rising mound, giving more earth to bend.

As they punched the holes into the ground, scarring the beachhead, the mound was being tightened and shaped by another group of benders, also in a 50 by 25 mass bending formation. They squeezed the rising mound together to an incredible density, while at the same time, making sure its ultimate shape was that of a flat rectangular plate, which would allow it to break at the base.

By this time, the 5th line in the 100 by 100 formation, was throwing their right hands into the air. The unison of all the benders was breathtakingly beautiful, as each motion was identical to the those around them. Any ill-form would be easily recognized, but none was seen.

The spearhead of the navy was a fleet of 240 ships. The remaining were the rear support, composed of close to another 600 ships. In this case, it was expected that the spearhead would have to be sacrificed to save the entire navy. But no one issued the command to exit. Not for greed, or envy was it that they, the admirals,not issue the command to leave, but only out of pure and unfortunate ignorance.

Their eyes turned towards to the shoreline. The low grumbling was becoming quite audible and menacing at the same time. Their only source of light to view the lands before them was the moon. In shock and utter dismay, a large mountain, apparently in their eyes, grew out of the ground in a matter of minutes. Such was the wonder that they stared in awe as it raised itself to the heavens above. Standing so high, it had totally blocked off the moon from even the view of the farther navy ship. Such astonishment wracked their brains that they did not even comprehend the fact that they were the ants that the earth benders were planning on crushing.

"Oh no..."

Those were the first documented words after the initial sight of the monstrosity before them. What was about to transpire was to far exceed whatever damage the earth bending army had every inflicted to any form ever before. Rising and rising, the stars were being cast aside as the behemoth stood before them. It was a giant rock formation, a massive earth bending prodigy of workmanship and of such grand magnitude that utter amazement was an insult to what was there before them. Nervous and frightened, their hope vanished as they realized their impending doom. They could not turn back now, for it was much too late. Many of the soldiers dropped to their knees and hands, thinking of their loved ones before it would all end.

But from behind them, they heard the slicing of water, the whistling of steam, the sounds of their salvation. A cave-out in the water flew toward them. Pushed forth by the steam, the under-marine carrier roared ahead, displacing water around and above it, raising the water into a think cover over it creating the cave-out that soared at the enemy. The silo ripped through the water's surface, the steam stopping instantaneously, as the heat inflow was cut off. Sazora took a punch right at the inside of the nose, igniting, outside of the hull, and in thin air, a giant fireball that quickly dissipated. Stopping at the instant, the silo crashed onto the waters surface, right in the front of the entire Fire Nation navy.

The soldiers looked down from the tops of their ships in wonderment. Out from the top hatch came the 5 man team. Fully clad in black, they stepped out, and stood, proudly among their team. They were supposed to stop here to rendezvous with the spearing ship, so that the former Fire Lord could relay the message to the acting commander of the fleet and halt their progress so that he could effectively destroy the enemy consul, and ultimately the project.

When the 5 looked ahead, their faces contorted into confusion. Looking down, one of them informed Sazora as he was stepping out of the carrier. This was Sazora's last conversation. And even in their plight, his calm nature played through it all. Never once will he be forgotten from history.

"There seems to be a problem, sir..." whispered one of the 5, and continued, "...the enemy has switched the battle tactic."

"Interesting." He said calmly.

"Sir, they might be acting now. Our strategy must be converted to a tactical initiative, now!" said another.

He laid his eyes upon the monument of death that the Earth Kingdom had planned to drop onto his navy. "Well, there does seems to be a change of plans..."

The earth benders looked upon their creation. There it was, a tower so large, that when toppled, it would annihilate all that was strong and powerful in the Fire Nation. The fleet may have been interspersed throughout the waters, but this 'thing' was so massive, that, at first, it would sink the spearhead, and subsequent ships, and, as it dove to the bottom of the ocean, would suck up every ship in its wake, bringing it all down to a place lower than the abyss, a place so dark that not even fire could light up.

"It is time..." Said the general to his people, his empire, to all the earth benders.

"Drop their grave stone." Said the leader, quietly.

At the instant, two badger moles, one on either side of the structure, bended the form of 2 thin plates composed purely of compressed sand. It was so compressed and under such pressure, that it became transparent in view, and when it was thrown towards the weak point, located at the base, it sliced right through.

From the distance, came the sound of rocks crumbling and shattering, as small chips of sediment burst from the base of the structure. As it was falling forward, ready to crush the navy, like the rock that was dropped onto the swarm of ants, it caused the ground to scream out in pain. Rocks were exploding now as the full weight took its toll, and the monster came crashing down. A beast weighing as much as the navy itself would soon be its downfall.

The former Fire Lord, looked ahead. The sirens of the ships were shouting now, and warning trumpets were being blown. His cape flickered violently behind him, as the behemoth was falling, displacing all the air around it. Sazora knew what was going to happen.

"I will sacrifice my life, and my life only, as I have planned." he said to his team.

His shoulders were strong, his stance powerful. The 5 behind him, stood strong and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked at each one of them and smiled. Looking forward once more, his eye brows furrowed, and his eyelids closed.

"Stand back..."

'For my empire, for my Nation, for my comrades, for my family, for my child, and for my wife, I bethroth the last of my energy and my life to the spirit world, in the endeavor to save my people.'

Holding his hands out in front of him and keeping his legs apart and bent , he clasped his hands over each other, intertwining his fingers, but he kept his fingers outstretched. From between the 'v' form of his fingers came a flash of heat. The air in that region started to waver, as it blurred whatever image could be seen through it, because of the forming heat wave. Embers started to fly out from his fingers and disappear into the cold night air.

Sucking in as much air as he could from around him, he started to exhale all the air out of his lungs through his tightly pursed lips, inflating his cheeks, but at the same time, making sure that the air channel went through the 'v'. That's when all his training, all his hard work as a child had finally paid off. His ingeniousness in discovering the true potential of fire bending as child was going to show itself, now. As a boy the theories he developed did not depend on fire for fire bending, but of heat. Heat was the what really enabled the ability of fire bending and through this he had developed a method to blow fire out from his lungs. The first person in history to ever accomplish this was now going to make history!

Right in front of him, a burst of flame exploded forward. The sudden outburst was so large that it pushed him back, further throwing his cape into a frenzy, and pushing the carrier down into the water. The 5 soldiers stepped back, and the Fire Nation navy personnel stood up to view their glorious victor over injustice burn through their plight. The flame poured out from his mouth and with such fervor that it lighted the eastern shoreline. It was so fast and so powerful, that its dissipation arc was many lands long. Burning right through the air, the flame made contact with the falling wall, and in a surge of energy, so immense that even the sun would be envious, halted its progress.

There it was, a single man, stopping the fall of a giant monument, that which weighed as much as the navy itself. Sazora's determination was strong, and it was so inhuman, that his nervous system cut all feeling into this hands, legs and lungs. The lands made no sound. Nor did they want too. The screaming of earth's barren and beaten body, and the howls of crying moon were silenced. The only sound that emanated from that part of the world was the roar of the flames carried through the air, which was, to note, extremely loud.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Screamed the general.

"This is not fire bending...this is just...inhuman power!" whispered one soldier in awe. "Wrong, this is power beyond that of the Avatar's." corrected another soldier. There were several other whispers of the sort as well.

The general shook his head to relieve himself of his frozen state, "Dammit! Foil his damn plan! All benders to the front ranks." When all the benders ran forward and stood in a line, he hollered to his newly formed battalion, "PUSH THE TOWER DOWN!"

The former Fire Lord was out of breath, but the flame was self sustaining now. Instead of drawing the air from his lungs, the energy was being drawn from his own bodily spirit. His own bodily life force was fueling the massive spew of fire, that was coming from his mouth. In an instant he switched his hand positions, connecting his finger tips together, such that the fire went in between. Quickly he started to close in his right hand, to reduce the size of the hole. Clasping his hand tightly with the other, the flame brightened.

Sazora noticed that the wall was now coming down. Slowly but surely it would sink everyone of his people into the abyss below them. 'This is beyond what I expected. I thought I would die with at least a mortal body to leave behind as a remnant of my stay on this planet. I have said it before, and I shall recast my words again. My people, forever shall I love all of you, and watch over you. This, the last of my energy, I pour forth to glorify our stature, and to prove that justice will prevail!'

Sazora closed his eyes. This was it. His eyes burned to a thick redness, and veins started to inflate all over his body. The blood coursing through him started to boil, and his muscles started to tear. At the base of his feet the carrier steel turned to molten metal, and the 5 soldiers, so taken aback by the sudden change in the nature of their surroundings, through themselves into the water away from the carrier. The sea surrounding Sazora started to bubble, and vaporize, and smoke started to become visible from where he was standing. Many of the ships in the front ranks were now becoming extremely hot, giving off a noticeable glow.

In a moment, the flame ignited, again. The fires pouring forth from his mouth, increased in energy but was being reduced in size, turning the flames into a white blast of heat. In the same second, the smoke blew away from the former Fire Lord, shaking the ocean's travelers, as the ships rattled back and forth. Sazora's body had then burned from the outside to his core. Eating through his body, the flames engulfed him, and charred away his being, leaving nothing but a tornado of embers which soon died in the midnight air, all in a matter of seconds.

The soldiers looked ahead at the falling wall.

"This...is terrifying." The general of the Earth Kingdom intercept force paused for a very long time, and then meekly stated, "It just can't be possible...,all units pull back, the Fire Nation has won this battle."

The wall had disappeared. Completely. It had vaporized into thin air at the instant of the shock. The Fire Nation soldiers, stood up, and looked to where their former hero was standing. In pain, they stood straight, backs as stiff as the hulls of their ships, looking towards the East, and saluting the ball of fire that grew out of the lands horizon. The sunrise set aflame the entire ocean in its burning magnificence.

Eraho had many revelations about his brother, who had died protecting the Fire Nation navy at the prominent age of 34. Many of Eraho's dreams later became the thoughts that went through Sazora's mind, and thus the story was told. His legacy, as one who kept on trying, who never stood down, one who went from zero to hero, from an idiot to a prodigy, is used everyday to nurture courage. He stood up to the obstacles in life. No life could be said to be harder than his, and no obstacles greater.

- Fire Sage Zaboa

Strange as it was Zaro had disappeared shortly after the incident. His body was never found and any path that might have lead to his whereabouts were exhausted in search for him. Totally out of view from the world, the most integral person to the survival of the navy would never receive his rightful praise, but as many did not know, he had never deserved any praise in the first place.

Sazora was gone. Eraho assembled every soldier of the Fire Nation, and ordered a massive halt on all operations. The full day would be a time of mourning. The navy had indeed captured the land, but their faces were distraught in pain and sadness. A monument of the Fire Lord was built in Sazora's honor. In the statue, he stood tall, his right hand holding a candle light, while his left hand held his son's tiny fingers, whose hands were outstretched clasping onto the fingers of his father. The monument, made of steel, had Sazora smiling and looking forward, his son staring up at his father's happiness. Both were clothed in magnificent royal attire, and at the base of the monument was a plaque, "Here lays the soul of our victor. The 2nd Fire Lord of the 2nd Engagement." Erah mourned her loss terribly, and Kira tried to comfort her. Meanwhile Saze stood strong staring into the happy eyes of the statue of his father. Eraho placed a hand on his shoulder and Ejah stood close to offer support. The march of the soldiers was beautiful, and the crowd of people gathered for his funeral were great in number.

As instructed by his brother, Eraho took the throne, and ruled diligently, training both Saze and Ejah, in the necessities of truly great leaders. Erah had disappeared, along with the child in her womb. A concurrent investigation was thrown in to research the matter, but it was not a decisive effort. The decision to stop the endeavor of trying to find Fire Empress Erah was directed by Eraho, but heavily influenced by Sage Zubuum, and it was still regarded in mystery. Sage Zubuum had spent 3 months convincing Eraho about the results that she had indeed gone mad and had gone off to search for her husband. It was Kira who heavily doubted these results, but Zubuum ultimately convinced Eraho.

Ejah succeeded his father to become an honored general. Saze had taken the throne after the decade of mourning passed. Saze's inauguration was on the anniversary of his father's death, and the celebrations took place at his dedication ground, to include Sazora into the ceremony. Ruling the Fire Nation for 32 years, Saze was 52 years old by then, and the war raged for 64 years now. His son, Azulon, then succeeded him, by which time Saze retired. Azulon had a single daughter. Her name was Ursa and being his only child, his dynasty was bound to die out.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Saze and Azulon had barely any documents published on the both of them. In their time of rule, they had conducted structured attacks on rebel fortifications, but for some reason or another, whatever ground Saze had won in his battles, Azulon had lost, and vice versa. They were great men, indeed, and their tactics and strategies were perfectly sound and were executed with the highest of efficiencies, but the outcomes were always so predictable, despite any effort to change the expected. There was one action though, carried out by Saze during his time of rule that was out of order.

In an act so terrifying, that the Fire Nation and its citizens were labeled, by all peoples, as despicable tyrants, they had carried through with the massacre and the genocide of the entirety of all the Air Nomads. Despite the fact that the Earth Kingdom had apparently started the war, all Fire Nation peoples were always regarded, thereafter, as ruthless, tyrannical, blood-thirsty killers with no right to live. Of course these statements were far from the truth, but it seemed that since such a powerful icon had carried through with the events, all of them under him would also be cast with those insults. The actual motivation for the genocidal act was a controversial matter. Fire Lord Saze said that he did it only to eradicate the existence of the Avatar, such that there would be no hindrance to the war efforts, but of course he only said that.

They're internal stories are unknown, and not one effort was put into any biographical documents on them because of it. They were the only Fire Lords in history upon which no details were paid to, and it seemed to many that both these Lords of Fire had something in their midst that no one else was to know about. Many documents that do talk about their exploits imply, very subtly, that they were trying to hide something.

Ejah, by now was also 52, and had several children, each of which became generals, admirals and commanders themselves. His 3rd son was 24 years old, and had 2 children. His first was named Iroh, and his second was Ozai. Ejah had trained them both with invaluable skills to continue his dynasty composed of the most powerful generals in history. When Iroh turned 20, he had fallen in love, had gotten married, and had his first and only child. But Ozai, 12 years old now, was still a single person, alone in his life, as to be expected of him.

Though Iroh was kind hearted and generous, Ozai was fierce and honorable. Iroh and Ozai saw their relationship, even with such contrasting views, as a means to define their lives. They were dependent on each other, and could not live in the world otherwise. Ozai was a man thought to have an iron jaw, and a fist clenched so tight that his knuckles refused the flow of blood to his hands, or so he was thought of like that. In reality, but hidden from anyone's view, he was severely kind hearted, unable to even step on an ant.

Because of these traits associated with him, it was humorous how Ozai had found love.

General Iroh was 28 now. Captain Ozai was 20 and was still single. As he was trekking though the forest, he came upon many plants and animals, all of which did not surprise him and his escorts were not beside him that day. He ventured alone into the wilderness to quietly meditate. Ozai, by now, was a very handsome man, who had the eyes of many girls. They would giggle whenever he would pass by them in the cities, and some would try and follow him, only to be scared away by his escorts. Strong, proud and honorable he paced the lands patiently quietly thinking to himself about how wars had begun, what fueled them, and what was necessary to end them. Never once did he spend his time fulfilling in attaining what others considered pleasure. Ozai was beyond that and was raised with true honor. He would never disgrace himself, and even mere thoughts such as those never crossed his mind.

Though his tactics were brutal, his ultimate goal was only to end the war peacefully. Seeing his best friends go off into the blast furnace that was war, never to return, hurt him dearly, and every night he would look upon the tags that their bodies left behind as their souls ascended into the spirit world. It pained him even more to know that he was forbidden to cross the threshold of Fire Land Islands in order to help his comrades. Watching his friends die was very painful, indeed. As a result, he trained vigorously, waiting for the day when he could finally go out there. After years of seeing what war had become like, unlike his brother who had remained kind-hearted, his thoughts on the path of life had become very dark, and so, many had regarded him as the Beast of Fire. His body was well built and frighteningly strong. But hiding behind his tough exterior was gentle heart, so soft in nature, that at every loss, his heart not only destroyed him with pain, it threatened to disappear.

And trekking through the forest, his thoughts were no different. He thought about his fallen acquaintances, now just distant memories. He also mused at how grand the funerals were becoming. It must be from all those losses. That unintentional joke, angered the spirits, or so Ozai thought as he tripped over a root, and with no escorts to stop his fall, had dove right into the soft dirt. Cursing, he picked himself up, only to be knocked down again by a branch that flung back from being bent by a running platypus bear. Hitting him right in the middle of his face, he was thrown backwards and landed on a spiked anter, an animal with a horde of needles bound to its posterior. The needles dug into every section of his back, and ultimately punctured his rear. The animal scurried away, leaving a helpless grand general-to-be in pain, lying on this stomach.

Fire Princess Ursa was taking her usual morning jog. Deciding for the first time to venture through the forests, she glided by the trees gracefully. She was a young beautiful lady now, about the age of 18, and still looking for a husband. She wasn't in her royal garbs since that would only hinder her exercise. Wearing a tight pair of shorts, and a relatively tight short sleeved tunic, with her hair in a pony tail, and the hair clip in her pocket, she majestically flew through the forest. As she was running, she saw a pile of red and black clothes, royal attire, all crumpled on the ground. The funny part of it was that it was Ozai's clothes. All those girls must've finally got to him.

"I knew he would just fall for those girls...that Ozai, always...ugh!" She sighed in disdain. Ozai and her had known each other for several years, ever since they were children. But they were never friends. It was most likely because they hated each other, but that hate was something that spawned out of an inability to contain an uncontrollable desire for them to be with one another, however no one knew this, not even themselves. Constantly bickering, Iroh was always there to try and break the fights. Ursa and Ozai had one thing in common, though. Being around one another brought the children in them. But now, there would be no one to stop her from blasting the young man. Sleeping with local civilians was a forbidden action, and those kinds of actions done by such royalty was heavily looked down upon.

She would let him go this time, but not without giving a piece of her mind. "OZAI! I know you're here! You're pretty clumsy if you just leave your clothes out here in the open. Any passer by, traversing this forest, will see you and your actions, like me for instance, you IDIOT!", she screamed, mistakingly thinking that Ozai had discarded his clothes to sleep with a women in the forest, when in reality, the pile of discarded clothes was really Ozai bearing his back in the air.

She suddenly stepped back from the hearing a response so quickly. "I'M NOT LIKE THAT! FOOL!" She heard the voice from the clothes and ran towards it. Bending over to get a better inspection, she started to giggle. Trying to suppress her laugh, she flung her hands over her mouth, but her shoulders were shuddering. In an uncontrollable fit, she latched onto her sides, and burst into laughter. There was Ozai, a young man of such power, lying on his stomach, his head tilted sideways for him to talk. His back and rear were embedded with needles. "An... anter, I... suppose!" She forced out, through her fits of laughter.

Ozai then closed his eyes, and furrowed his eyebrows and tensing his posture. Time to play with her. "Please..." Ozai said, his voice almost broken.

Ursa suddenly stopped laughing and her reaction became serious. She had never seen Ozai in pain before, or never did she see him show his pain, so she didn't know how to react. "Ozai, what's wrong. Anters aren't poisonous, so it shouldn't hurt for you."

"Please..." Ozai let out, less tense this time. This should really get her...

Now Ursa was starting to break. She didn't know what to do, and she desperately wanted to help him. Lowering herself to her knees, she placed a hand on his cheek. "Ozai, be strong, dammit! I'm not used to you in this condition. I'll get help, just hold on."

"Please..." he said once more, Oh, I'll just cut the crap...looks like I'm going to make her cry again. In a more unenthusiastic voice, he continued "...just shut up," Ozai stated flatly.

"Stop this Ozai...you must be stro-" then realization dawned on her, "YOU IDIOT! You made me worry for nothing! I was willing to do anything for you right now, and you...AGH!"

Ozai opened his eyes, and looked at her, raising an eyebrow, "It still hurts you know. Try getting an array of needles in your back, and see how long you can suppress the pain, idiot."

Ursa got onto her feet, and screamed, scaring away the curious animals that were aroused by the bickering couple. She was adamant about leaving him in his position. Ozai, though, was not faking anymore. The needles were starting to bother him, a rare occurrence, and she could see it in his face. Ursa bent over again, and in a very gentle voice that even surprised Ozai, said, "Just stay still."

Slowly, she started to pull the needles one by one out of his back, and finally reached his rear. For the first time ever, they were conversing normally, well as normal as could be when one was constantly pulling 3 finger length needles out of ones back. Suddenly jokes started to fly in, as she tried to quickly take out needles in his rear. The conversation they were having started to open up the gates to their hearts that they locked from each other. However, it was Ursa's whose opened faster.

Ozai, was still giggling after the treatment, tears rolling out of his closed eyes. He was still on his stomach, since lying on his back would only aggravate the pains. She had to take off his top tunic in order to bandage the wounds, while at the same time was trying desperately to suppress the blush that crossed her face every time she grazed her soft hands over his powerful back. Luckily for her, the needles on his rear were very small, and there was no bleeding, since the pierce was extremely shallow, so no bandages were necessary. It seemed that Ozai's lower back had made contact with the creatures head, where the smallest hair-like spindles were.

But that was all a few minutes ago. Ozai was now relieved of the pain, but was still giggling from the recollection of their distant memories. Ursa's laughter died down. An affectionate gaze crossed her face as a slight grin caught a hold of her lips. She stared at the broken hearted man, a person scarred by the loss of so many of his dear comrades, for the first time, laughing with no worries in the world. Her heart melted as she gazed upon him, and couldn't resist pulling herself closer to him.

Over the course of a few seconds, her lips glided across the air and rested happily upon the hardened soldiers lips. Ozai instantly stopped giggling, and snapped his eyes open only to see the closed eyes of a contented women right in front him, lying down beside him, holding his face in the palm of her gentle hands. She continued to kiss him, and Ozai realized why he was so broken hearted. There was no one there to mend his injured heart. Ozai rolled onto his side slowly and wrapped his arms around her waist, ignoring the pain that ripped through his back. In was a simple kiss but one that brought him out the dark recesses of his mind into the broad light and comfort that she offered. Holding her close, they stayed in their position, till she pulled away, finally hugging him tightly.

Closing her eyes, she said, "I'm so sorry...for what you had to go through all your life." She whispered.

Ozai's shoulders started to shudder, and she pulled away to look into his pained face. What she saw astonished her. Ozai broke down very slowly, right in front of her, but not dramatically, and began to release the emotions he closed off to the world for so long. In an instant she embraced him again and kissed him on the forehead. "I won't leave you alone then. From now on, be sure to know that I'll be with you, right beside you from now on. Despite our pasts." She said truthfully, never knowing the reality of how truthful she really was being, since 2 years later Ozai and Ursa had gotten married. Ozai, as a descendant and a trainee of the some of the most powerful generals and military officials in the Fire Nation, his stance as the newly inaugurated Fire Lord was more than perfect. Ursa had become the Fire Empress, and Azulon's lineage would continue. And 9 months after the marriage, their first son, Fire Prince Zuko, was born to the world. Almost 12 months later, they had yet another child, their second and prodigious daughter Fire Princess Azula. Though Ozai and Ursa had had the greatest of happiness in each others presence, Iroh's life was bound to become lone and miserable, when in a battle, his son had died, and his wife passed away with a broken heart.

Saze's and Ejah's dynasty had finally merged, which in actuality should have unified their friendship. But something had happened, much into the past, that scarred their brotherhood, and the unification of their families was further paining their relationships. It seemed that what Saze and Azulon had to hide was becoming more prominent in ways one would never imagine.

"ZUKO!" Screamed his mother. She had come upstairs to check if her children were asleep and as it was for several nights now, Zuko was still up.

Prince Zuko was taken by surprise, and the flame lighting the candle ignited upwards. "Mom! I...uh, was...having a hard time getting to sleep. Yeah...and I needed to read these boring documents to make me get tired! That's it! But, yeah, mom you're right, I should jump into the bed, so goodnig-" He tried to end it, before she started questioning, quickly trying to snap his fingers to douse the candle, before his mother interrupted him.

"Oh no you don't! You can't get off that easily-", Ursa paused for a moment then, "Documents?" she pondered aloud.

"Mom, I got training tomorrow, so can you punish me later. Dad's going to get into a frenzy if I can't balance on a finger while sending a burst of fire through the obstacles in the training grounds." Zuko yawned. Ursa approached her son and kissed him on the forehead. "Tomorrow it is then. Your dad won't be as easy on you as he is on your sister."

"But! He doesn't even go easy when training Azula!" he whined.

"I know. That's your punishment." she giggled and left his room. "Now go to sleep!"

Zuko smiled and fell back onto his pillow, soon snoring, while questions raced through his minds of the many mysteries he had pondered about when bringing up his recollected histories of the Fire Nation.

Post - - A/N 1: Now there is something very important to notice and to keep track of. The uses of the words 'mysteriously', 'apparently', 'abrupt', 'disappeared', and other words of the sort that seem to imply something not on the surface of what is read, really, make sure you remember those points. Its not that I use them to find a way to just help in cutting down the descriptions (though they do wonderfully...lol), they do have a bigger purpose.

Post - - A/N 2: About the music idea, take it for what its worth. I write the story first with music, and then I concentrate and run through what I've read to make it better. The musical part is just to bring out whatever feelings I have for the story at that time. But for this chapter, though, its not a requirement, get this song, Choral Fantasy by Immediate Music. Again, the same song as the first chapter sets the tone for everything. These guys make music for movie trailers, and it fits in perfectly for the last part of the historical document.

Post - - A/N 3: Now, how was the story? I'm trying to add more...uh, BANG, as the story goes. More power you know.