Powerful Benders Chapter 5: The Sun and Earth Divide, 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 by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi.

Pre - - A/N 1: Again, of the most importance, credits to reviewers! Thank You so much Elenea for another review that totally uplifted me, as your reviews have always done! And not only that...Thank You Midori Aoi, for your most dazzling review. To have actually taken the initiative of reading four chapters (with so many words) that didn't have such an inspiring review number, means a lot to me! And finally, Wilderness-Writer! You wrote the first Avatar fanfic I ever read and one of the first fanfic's I ever loved, and for you to actually review my work, is jaw-dropping! Thank you all! If eyes could sparkle, mine would be like giant fire crackers!

Pre - - A/N 2: According to Wilderness-Writer, AN's belong at the bottom of the chapter, entirely. As such, this will be the final chapter to have this many Pre-Notes like this. From now on, the Disclaimer, the music inspirations, and my final note before reading the chapters will be located at the top. The "Thank You's", the chapter details, and the ending notes will be posted after the chapter's end.

Pre - - A/N 3: Now, the themes for this chapter are well conveyed through, "11 – Corynorhinus," "02- Eptesicus" and "09 - Nycteris" by Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard for the Batman Begins Soundtrack, and "The Sortie of Scotland Yard" by Steven Jablosky for the Steamboy Soundtrack. However, the song that truly captures this as well as the next set of chapters, is done no better than this one, "Nostromus" by Immediate Music.

Pre - - A/N 4: This story is written to help me develop the proper initiatives to writing real and inspiring publications and to witnessing the hardships of writing a story. It is also written for your entertainment, so please, enjoy yet another chapter of Powerful Benders.

"Powerful Benders"

--V--

"A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind."

- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (1893-1986)

--Chapter 5: The Sun and Earth Divide--

In the slow process, as it had been for the past very many years, the light of the sun that began to rise in the east had started to burn the heavens above that had encased it in its eternal travel through the skies of the earth. The skies itself were black to the west but as the presence of the star took its place before the lands of the Fire Nation, it began to temper and burn the skies till it cooled to a beautiful azure, with a faint orange glow coming from the horizon. Minutes passed as the beast of fire slowly started to rise after a night of restful sleep. In its glory the light erupted through the lands, and lit all the dark corners of the earth...just like it would do to the truth hidden by the curtain that engulfed the world.

Thus was the morning of the Fire Empress. She creaked open her eyes only to stare outside the window into the abyss of the still slumbering world over to the west. 'Its still dark on that side of mother earth...,' she said to herself.

It was amazing, to feel the palm of the sun's rays on her face, and yet on the other side of the world, to see darkness still in prevalence. Many thoughts of the coming days rushed to her head, and Ursa wanted to just roll out of bed, as she had become accustomed to, but as it had been for all the nights that she did sleep with Ozai, which were rare now, she couldn't. The Fire Lord had draped a protective arm over her body and was pressed tightly against her, holding her as close as he could. His love for her was apparent even in the realm of the unconscious. He slept with a resounding peace within him that she didn't want to disturb.

Ursa tilted her head a bit to see part of her husband's head buried into her soft hair. She knew that both she herself and her husband had duties to accomplish for the day, of which hers started at an earlier time, and she had to initiate the preparations for the days to come as well, so Ursa had to get out of bed. She gently lifted his arm just enough to pull herself out and then had laid it back down.

Ursa swept herself out of bed and looked back towards her husband. Ozai's chin crumpled as he started to grumble, annoyed by the lack of heat that his wife provided. She bent over to kiss her husband on the forehead and then directed herself to the washroom to freshen up as usual. In the distance, the Fire Empress could hear Ozai start to quiet down, while he shifted in bed to compensate for the loss of comfort when Ursa left his side. She smiled, for these mornings were as rare as a peaceful day.

"Quickly! The Lady will be here in a matter of moments!" Whispered the lead imperial-attendant. A block of attendants took the order with robustness and stood straight and in a line forming the first column. "C'mon! Hurry," he said ushering over the next block of attendants to form up, parallel to the first block, ready to receive the orders of the morning.

While the lead attendant directed everyone to their briefing positions, he kept on repeating the importance of the next few days to provide a backdrop for his sense of urgency, "The funeral service is to be held in a matter of days, of which we must fully, and I mean ridiculously, be prepared! We shouldn't let the Lady down!" By the time he was done, he stood in front of seventeen blocks, each containing five attendants.

'I swear we have another twenty minutes before she arrives...that sundial must be falsifying the time...,' "But sir, I think that sundial is out of-" tried one of the servants, but was interrupted as the lead attendant looked straight at her.

"Hush, hush! There is no time for debate. The Lady will be here soon, so just stay quiet and in line!" He commanded, with a vein profusely throbbing on his forehead.

The servant huffed, and crossed her hands in aggravation, "Fine!" She mentally stuck out her tongue at him, for good measure.

The lead attendant let out a sigh of relief noting that the sundial was just a few minutes away from indicating the first shift. 'Everything is perfect!' He thought happily. If the morning ran this smoothly, then the rest of the day would be blameless.

He turned around to await the presence of the Lady, but was stunned to see that she was already there, watching the servants for what seemed like a few seconds already. "Mi-milady!" stuttered the lead attendant.

Ursa stood at the entrance of the South door, holding her great grandmother's book, and staring into the main corridor where the attendants awaited her presence. Her usual garments were replaced with crimson red and black apparel and just as herself, she noticed that the servants, as well, were dressed in the appropriate clothes to suit the unfortunate occasion that was to occur in a few days.

The Fire Empress caught sight of the startled and surprised faces of all the servants, especially the lead. She herself was surprised, and looked down, trying to remember the time depicted by the sundial on her balcony. As she recalled, she was much earlier than usual, 'So why are they here so early...?'

Ursa scanned around her and the group itself, missing the fact that the lead attendant was two steps away from his predesignated position. Baffled, she assumed that the servants were ambitious about the forthcoming events. "Honestly, there's no need to worry," she reassured them all, "if we stick to the usual schedule, we're not going to fall behind, even with the changes."

The lead attendant relaxed his shoulders and corrected his position, mistaking the statement as a means of forgiveness for his tardiness. "Its not that I'm worried, milady," he said breaking out his stupor, "But you have just caught us in a state of belatedness. This one morning was meant to flow as smoothly as possible, in response to the occasion to take place in the next few days. With us still not ready for your arrival, it shows that the carrying out of all the events to come has not started out well," he drooped.

'But they're ludicrously early...!' Ursa looked past them and stared at the device that relied on the sun to tell the time, 'Oh...' She giggled a bit, "If you're referring to the time using the sundial, then you're actually many minutes early yourself," she said pointing to the device.

"Pardon?" The attendant was startled. He, as well as the other attendants, turned around to observe the sundial with which they used to allot the appropriate duties to be performed for the day. They all noticed that the spike was actually tipped over at a very odd angle. "Oh..."

A faint, "I told you so...," was heard from within the blocks.

"The governor's daughter, Mai, was using it as a throwing needle, yesterday," Ursa giggled. She walked over to the sundial to correct its position, to avoid the case where any other would be tricked by its improper orientation. She reached over for the spike, a very sharp stone-blade, with a light coating of gold that shimmered under the sun's stare, and she gently attempted to adjust it, while addressing the servants. "Anyway, this day and the days to follow till the funeral- ouch!" Ursa reacted after the blade had nicked her thumb. She looked back at her hand and had noticed the tiny cut.

"Milady!" exclaimed the lead attendant. With the exception of one servant, who had run in the opposite direction towards the medical ward to acquire the needed bandages, the remaining servants all rushed to her side, and had tried to observe the cut.

Ursa, though happy with their genuine concern, was amused by the situation. "It's all right, just a tiny cut, that's all it is," she said trying to settle their uneasiness.

In the moment she completed her sentence, one of the servants had weaved through the crowd with a cloth, a clip, and some water within a divided basin. Using the water to cleanse the cut, with the residual liquid flowing to the other side of the bowl, the servant carried through with the procedure with thorough and benevolent care. Placing the bowl down, she had then placed the cloth over her finger and used the clip to bind the bandage in place.

"Thank you, Zara," Ursa smiled compassionately.

The female servant brightened at the kind gesture of the Fire Empress, both in gratitude of being addressed by her name and for being recognized among the many attendants present. However, since her speech was heavily impaired, of which Ursa knew, Zara could only smile back. She stepped aside as the Empress took to her feet.

"Thank you all for your concern. It warms my heart deeply to know that such kindness resides in you all. But, as I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted," she stated, glaring at the blade, which earned her a few laughs, "the days to follow until the funeral's advent will be carried out differently, as you all might have suspected. The services and duties will be centered for the arrival of the procession, as well as the accompaniment and completion of what is required during our usual operations."

Before she continued, she looked down a bit, as a very slight bitterness drew at her heart. 'I hope Zuko's fine now...,' she thought to herself dishearteningly. To Ursa, it wasn't his arm or any of the events that took place yesterday that she was worried over, but something entirely different.

"Milady, is something wrong?" inquired one of the servants.

Zuko ruffled in bed violently. He twisted and turned, rummaging his sheets, with despair etched into his face as he tried to find the end of his nightmares through a nonexistent path. Despite the show of affection that Ursa provided for her child earlier in the morning, Zuko, a short time after her departure, had started to recede back to his strained demeanor.

'You've won this battle, child... But whenever you sleep, we will engage in combat till I succeed...' drawled a very deep and dark voice.

'Can't you just leave me alone? I've never done anything to you!' Screamed the boy in return to the threat.

'You have...,' there was a long pause before the being continued, 'You have taken it upon yourself to create me...'

Zuko's eyes ripped open instantly and his body shot out of the sleeping position it once assumed. He was breathing heavily, and his heart was pounding within him, with every hit feeling like a hammer blowing right through his chest. Zuko, suffering from his still, ever-present, nightmare, started to break down very quietly, his tears rolling down his cheeks and falling onto his bedsheets, and his hands crushing the sheets that covered him. He desperately tried to reassure himself that it was all just a dream, '...a nightmare...,' but that it was still just an incarnation of his imagination and nothing more than a daydream at night, even though it was one that occurred once every few weeks

It was very early in the morning, with the sky still brightening, as the night blue on the west merged with the bright orange in the east. He had woken much earlier than he was supposed to, and he knew that his sister and father must have still been asleep. Zuko rolled over to his side, and looked at the sky through the open window. He was happy for the developing brightness. As it was, he didn't want to sleep right now anyway.

Ursa, after reassuring her attendants that everything was all right, and after specifying all the duties that had to be accomplished for the day, dismissed the group. She turned around and headed for the South Wall, with the intention of checking on her son, as a slight discomfort overtook her.

While venturing back to the sleeping chambers, Ursa recalled what happened in the morning. As she had for the past many years, every morning, before she met the attendants, she would quietly walk into her childrens' rooms and open the rice paper cover, to allow a fresh breeze to cool down the sleeping quarter without waking them up. It was when she visited Zuko's room that she noticed that her first born was very disturbed in his sleep. It wasn't that he was acting strangely, but more that he was strained. She remembered giving him a gentle kiss to the forehead, which seemed to calm him down, before she departed his room to meet the attendants.

Ursa, by now, had reached the door of Zuko's room. There was no audible sound other than the breathing of her son. She quietly opened the door, and was startled as she saw his open eyes staring out into the sky and focusing on its detail. "Sweetheart?"

Zuko slowly looked up at his mother and smiled. He didn't have be say anything, as it was his eyes that were now speaking to her.

Ursa was worried about him, more than she was about Azula, for she knew that he had been having these nightmares for some time now. Looking into his eyes, Ursa was drawn to a time almost a year ago, for the very makeup of his eyes were the same as that time.

Being the son of the Fire Lord, and an innocent child at the same time, Zuko tended to bury his problems inside of himself to try and hide the pain he always suffered from, in an attempt to show strength over mercy. Because of his persistence with such an unfounded concept, he had never come up with the thought of telling his mother of his reappearing nightmares. But his heart could only hold so much strength, and when he was nine years old, that state vanished, as his trouble with the nightmare overwhelmed him.

Ursa always knew that something was wrong with her first born. Zuko had seemed to be more afraid of the nights ever since he went into deep thought about the reason for the loss of life, and had insisted on putting a small candle basin right in front of his bed. Yet despite his odd behavior, and despite all the reassurance that Ursa could provide, Zuko never said anything and since there was a lack of anything else she could do, Ursa had to struggle to watch her son become more and more fearful of the nights.

At that night, though, things changed for the better.

Ursa was resting on the side of her bed, alone, looking through the balcony doors as she tried to sleep. It was darker outside than some of the more normal nights, due to the sky being blanketed by a bedding of clouds. Her husband was off on a contingent logistics meeting on an island west of the Fire Land Islands.

The Fire Empress' mind, however, could not find sleep, as her thoughts were constantly preoccupied with something of greater importance, Azula's playful, yet growingly violent nature. Her daughter had been enrolled into the Royal Academy a few years ago and was subjected to the new curriculum that was implemented, coincidentally, after her peaceful son passed those levels. With the war on the scales beyond anything measurable, the new curriculum was a plan, introduced recently, to allow the young to develop a mind set that dealt with war.

As such, at a very early age, and along with the fact that she had a beautiful gift for easily training fire, Azula was forced into combat training and was taught, rigorously, the virtues, the beginnings, the sustenance, and the ends of all wars as well as a very detailed history of the war raging now. For this very fact and the fact that her daughter had started to change as a result of what she was learning, Ursa was starting to worry.

Before thinking anything further, her thoughts were disturbed, as her nine-year son walked into the room, crying, while rubbing one of his eyes.

From a single glimpse into his eyes, Ursa knew the situation. It had seemed that his strength had finally failed him and his fears had overtaken her son. She quickly jumped out of her bed and embraced her child, trying to mend his hidden pains, with which she could still not figure out.

His eyes...they were frightened tiny orbs, shaky when most stable, fear a signature mark driven into every dark corner of its design.

The words Zuko formed within his struggling throat, as he had found the protection he was looking for, were ones that she would not nor could not forget. They were vivid in her even after all that had happened in the single year that separated her consciousness from her thoughts of the past.

"He won't stop!" He sobbed, crying into her, "I always cry and cry and I tell him to go away, but he keeps chasing me. I didn't hurt anyone, so why?"

Zuko knew that the first time he had ever gone to find refuge through the comfort of his mother, regarding that constant and recurring nightmare, she provided it for him, a heart so inviting and so bright, that all the darkness that surrounded him would be swallowed by it and forever disappear. She gave him that heart when he was innocent and naive, and she would continue to do so even when he lost that nature, if ever he lost that nature.

Ursa stared at her child in concern, her hand still set on the handlebar of the door. Placing the diary by the entrance cabinet, she walked over to him and sat down on the edge of his bed.

Zuko stared at his mother, their eyes slowly meeting, two pairs of brilliant golden orbs reading into each others souls. He could see the sadness in her eyes, concerning the fear that was in his. She gently pulled her son towards her, and held him close, running her hand through his hair, as Zuko gripped on to his mother, slowly relinquishing his fear.

"It's okay, my love...," Ursa sweetly pressed. "He's only testing your strength." She could feel his head nod in understanding of her words. "He'll leave you alone once you show him how strong you are..."

Ursa pulled away from her child, and held him by his shoulders, staring deeply into those eyes. "Just be strong, my son." Zuko nodded again in understanding. His tears had started to die down, and slowly, all that remained were the streams that ran down his cheeks. "Zuko, remember...you are the descendant of many powerful men, and their souls are with you, always protecting you."

Ursa placed her son against her again, and had started to sing a sweet melodious tune. Her child tried to enjoy that sweet harmony that came from her soul and through her lips, but it only made his eyelids heavier. A moment later, his eyes had blanketed themselves, the eyelids becoming much to burdensome for the child to resist from closing, finally surrendering to sleep. Even though his vision was severed, his mind became bright and weightless, and his heart and soul resounded with peace, as they escaped their terrible tormentor and were free to roam the pure and undiluted pastures of his unconscious mind.

He was resting happily on his mother, and after his breathing became stable, she laid him on the bed, and placed the covers over him. Quietly making her way out of the room, Ursa acquired the book from the cabinet and closed the door behind her, keen on making sure that nothing would disturb her beloved son.

Ursa, upon fully closing the door, had leaned upon its frame. His nightmares would cease, '...till another day,' she thought to herself in extreme heartache. She wanted to cry right then and there. Seeing her son in so much agony, even if they were very rare and even when she was there to try and help him, was heart breaking to her, since she didn't have the power to take away his suffering. She could only offer her heart and the love of a mother. 'But why...? Why is he suffering so much...?'

Her hands were latched onto the railings as she descended down the length of the stairway that led to the doors of the South Wall, and into the main corridor. When she reached the main corridor, looking up, Ursa had noticed that a few red tailed hawks were perched on the lip of the opening in the ceiling, their cries as terrifying as the screams of war. The candles on the pillars were bright, despite the provision of sunlight. The shadows of the ominous statues standing below each candle basin danced below them as they stood below their halos. The sun's rays had pierced through the crevice and into the top quarter of the room, lighting nothing but a small area near the ceiling. The rest of the ceiling was almost veiled in darkness.

Ursa made her way to the West Wall, and greeted the guards. "Good morning young sirs."

The two guards knelt down on one of their knees, and bowed their heads, "Milady, a good morning it is, and how is yours?" Asked one of them.

'More gestures, I told them it wasn't necessary...,' she sighed. "Not as well as yours, I'm afraid. Prince Zuko, well...," she trailed off, looking to the side.

One of the guards took it upon himself to inform their Empress of the situation that occurred in the morning, with the mentioning of the prince's name a reminder of the event. "Milady, a guard from the southern flank had heard the prince yell out just a few hours ago. We would have warned you of it, had not the guard checked on the prince to see him already awake, and wishing to be left alone," he said looking up at her. "I hope all is well with the young warrior."

"Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern," she smiled. Her face then became stern, a feature not usually displayed by the humble woman before them. Fire Empress Ursa stared both guards in the eyes, the gesture causing them to falter a bit in utter surprise, "I'll leave you to your duties on one note though." Her posture relaxed a bit, "You don't have to go through all these formalities if you don't want to. You are part of the Royal family," she kindly informed them.

The tension in their faces smoothed off, "Milady, it is out of respect and out of our own will that we bow down to you. Please accept this," they replied to her.

"My husband has always been proud of you both. And I knew that he would, but now I see why," she grinned at them. Ursa looked back at the sundial and noticed that the hours of the day didn't wait for her, "now, I must be off. Duties await."

One of the guards looked up in gratitude of the compliment, "Thank you, milady. We are here to serve you must you need us to help with the duties."

"I'll call if I need any help," Ursa replied, as she paced through the doors and into the corridor leading to the knowledge-rooms.

Both guards turned back to watch over the door with which Ursa passed through. They stood straight, weapons at their side, as their stares were set back into stone, their armor gleaming from the candlelight around them. Their motivation to stand in that perfect stance, despite the lack of attention they received, was inspired by the statue before them. His robes dragged behind him, and a candle was on his right hand, with his child holding his left. Even set in steel, Fire Lord Sazora had still retained so much honor in the eyes of the many.

Ursa walked down the beautifully designed corridor that led to the knowledge-rooms. These rooms were a compilation of giant libraries and personal study areas that were used by knowists, a group of scientific learners, to store all that they had gained from history and research, in order to better access details of many different scientific avenues without venturing too far. The passageway leading to the rooms was a long corridor, lined with many different woods and steel braces. Candles were lit on either sides, illuminating the dark passage and the red carpet that ran down the hallway beneath her feet. The walls were decorated with paintings of several military personnel within various ranks that had performed their services to their empire with great honor and courage.

At the end of the hallway was a junction room with a highly elevated dome ceiling, imprinted with many openings that allowed the light to filter in. In between the openings were carvings of fire-inspired designs. Hawks were perched there as well, but they were much quieter. Around her were the open doors that led to the libraries. Her specific interest was the library known throughout the Nation as "The Historian."

A few servants had greeted her when she had entered, but other than their company, the large room was empty. Above her, the ceiling was at the same height as with the junction room, also with the many openings to let air and light in, with pillars organized into several rows and candles half way up their length. Around Ursa was a mesmerizing collection of books, autobiographies, biographies, historical papers, research documents, and many more of the like, all neatly codified and arranged into the thousands of shelves that lined the walls and that ran throughout the room.

"I'll be in the study, if anyone needs me," she informed one of the attendants at the counter.

"Yes, milady, we are here for your assistance," she responded and watched as the Fire Empress slowly walked over to the royal study.

Ursa stepped into the large room and closed the door behind her quietly. Sunlight gently lit up the room providing a soft glow, as it penetrated through the open rice-paper cover. The room was partially lit with the usual form of incandescence. Polished wood, crowning the entirety of the large study area, with a low hanging ceiling to offer comfort, laid the room with a look of great appeal. Around her was a shelf of personal books, and of historical collections that related just to her family.

'Aunt Brita...,' she thought to herself as she sat down into the padded chair. She sighed heavily. Brita's funeral arrangements were running smoothly and though she was not there to guide and help the attendants as they did their jobs, Ursa was fulfilling a task that was just as important, if not more. She was carrying through with what Brita insisted that she do, as soon as possible.

'I have to reveal the sun...I have to remove that curtain of darkness, that veil of night, off of the sun and reveals its truth..., that's what my dear aunt wanted,' she thought to herself, nervousness wracking her mind. Ursa wasn't confident whether she would be ready for the truth, but what she was sure of, however, was the explicitly stated fact that she was meant to open the book that rested in her hands and she was to do it now, when opportunity provided her a chance. Indeed any human who had believed so much of their own empire would be utterly frightened knowing that something with which they put so much of their faith in was about to be challenged.

The room had the aesthetics to calm the nerves, but as it was, Ursa could not afford that luxury. She was shaky about all of this, whether she knew it or not.

Zuko was starting to slowly awaken from his slumber, as his peaceful sleep slowly expired. His dream was very bright, both in nature and in atmosphere for he was sitting within a meadow talking with a boy he barely knew, but had wished he had known better, his heroic cousin, Lu Ten.

As they're conversation came to a close, Zuko was left alone in silence, as Lu Ten disappeared from the field. That quietness was shattered instantly, and his senses fully awakened, as a sharp and powerful, physically-real, kick made contact with his side. A scream echoed through the palace halls as the pain hit him full force, just as hard as the blow to his ribs. Rolling out of his bed in affliction, the sheets wrapping around him as he did so, Zuko dropped to the floor onto his stomach. His back had instinctively arched upwards trying to relieve the tension in the offended area, and clinging to his ribs, the prince dropped to his side.

When Zuko creaked his eyes open, his anger flared. "AZULA!"

"Get up, Zuko. Dad's waiting for you in the family room," she informed him, "and clean yourself up...you look disgusting...dumb-dumb." With a tone of clear abhorrence, she turned her back to her aching brother and vacated the room with no sense of remorse for her actions.

Zuko was starting to boil with rage. A frightening nightmare and an admittedly powerful blow to the side in the same morning was not something that could be easily forgotten with thoughts of a bright and peaceful meadow nor by a recollection of the conversation between his cousin and himself. 'I don't know what I ever saw in you that I'd even think of protecting...,' he thought to himself regretfully, staring at her back as she walked away. He staggered upwards and slowly dragged himself to the bathroom, limping his way through. That kick to his side had riveted an arrow of pain with every step he took towards the bathroom. It was really starting to throb painfully.

Before he could even accomplish a few more steps, Zuko's chest panged a bit as he coughed due to the strain. Slowly he turned around and sat himself on the edge of his bed, looking at the sun. 'Whether or not the day starts out great, I still have to keep up with traditions...' And with that, the prince tried to straighten his back, ready to perform the morning dedications. Today's kanji would decidedly be 'forgiveness.'

The sun was above the horizon by quite a distance now, and yet all this time, Ursa was still staring at the odd book before her. Her eyes kept glazing over its details, in an attempt to find a way to remove the seal. From observation alone, the sealant wasn't something that could just be broken or sliced open and it was the only restraint binding the pages closed. An odd set of lines danced on the sealant, almost resembling the grains of wood and a strange hue of red tinted its form, almost as if blood was part of the sealants mixture. The sealant was placed where the pages edges were supposed to be exposed, and on that side of the sealant, a small depression, which seemed to be a thumb print dragged along the sealant's cast, was visible.

'How do I remove this...and this clue, if it is a clue, isn't helping either...,' she pondered hopelessly. Ursa tilted the book to the side, and allowed the light to shade in the inscription that was carved into the sealant once again.

"May only the next daughter of Fire Empress Erah open the seal with which this hard earned text of knowledge as been bound. May the light of the sun shine upon the truth covered by the night..."

'That last line has a double meaning, but what?' She persistently thought to herself. Ursa carefully analyzed the book, the words kept echoing in her mind, as she desperately tried to find the true intention of the final line. Through logic, Ursa had deducted that the final line had to be a clue, for the simple fact that the first line was so direct and yet the second was so abstract.

Looking over the inscriptions, her eyes, once again, glazed over the diary, but with her concentration focused on the more, physically finer details of the book itself. There were a few things with its construction that confused her, dearly. The book's design was of the norm, but it was the rear cover that plagued her. Its sheer thickness, compared to the front cover itself, was one of the odd details she caught. It was, in fact, so thick that a crystal plate was slipped within its seams. The rear cover acted like a pocket with an opening at the top, allowing the embedded plate to be seen from above, and yet its remaining three sides, kept hidden. 'A thin bar of crystal...a prism...but for what?' Ursa noted that the sealant on the side was what kept the prism from slipping out.

Further, and this was the second oddity, when she stared straight at the back of the book, eyes planted on the rear cover's main face, another part of the prism was exposed in the form a tiny square opening, right in the middle of the book. Running her fingers over its cool surface, Ursa noted that its texture was uneven. The final oddity was what was within that rear square-opening. Peering into the glass, she could see dozens of tiny black dots interspersed throughout it. 'What's with this odd construction?'

Ursa decided to rest into the back of the chair. She knew that it would be more productive if she first relaxed, before she subjected her mind to such powerful details, or before she could come up with some method of decoding the text. As she began to lean back, however, the rays of the sun that melted into the room, hit the top of the book.

"May the light of the sun shine upon the truth covered by the night..."

The light penetrated the top of the book, shining some of the sunlight into the exposed opening of the prism by that side, while the rest reflected off its surface, causing a surreal glow to fog the top of the rear cover. The tiny black dots lit up as well and reflected all of the entering light through the square opening at the back of the cover. What was strange in Ursa's eyes, in the mere second before she even comprehended what had happened, was that the light that was exiting the exposed surface was not sent out in the manner in which she thought she would witness, but instead were split up as the tiny beads and the odd and nonuniform surface bent the light and sent them into different, almost predetermined directions.

Then realization dawned on her of what had just happened, as the light focused into her eyes. Ursa jolted up in bewilderment, accidentally pulling the book out of its position in the light, darkening the diary once again. 'What the...,' she thought in surprise. Looking over the book, Ursa recalled the writing on the sealant, 'May the light of the sun shine upon the truth covered by the night...' In curiosity she tilted the book again to take advantage of the sun's powerful stare. This time, however, she placed the book away from her and on the desk, such that the intense focus of light would not reflect into her eyes.

As a consequence, the light rays passed into the prism, and shot through the square opening into nothingness. Ursa stared at the book for a moment waiting for something, and then looked up.

"Huh!" She inhaled, a bit taken aback. "Wha-what is this... Are those...words?"

Ozai was sitting in the personal family room, a deviant of study room located within the sleeping chambers, past the South Wall. Like the royal study, the room was designed to offer a form of aesthetics to calm the nerves. It had contained a relatively small table as compared to the rest in the palace, able to seat five or six people, with a white silken table cloth on top. Beyond that and the golden lined, wooden chairs, it was almost identical to the royal study. He sat at his chair, at the head of the meeting table, awaiting his children.

Shifting through the papers, Ozai grunted, "Strange...the scout noticed more than just a landslide." The Fire Lord looked over some of the drawings of the area, and though they were not as reliable as actually observing the scene, they were the best resources he could afford at the moment considering the circumstance and the resulting restrictions. The top priority and his limiting situation was the funeral procession that had to be dealt with. After, such things as an investigation to the cause of death of his aunt, could be considered. But as it was, he had already allowed the sages permission to investigate the crime scene, so he had nothing to worry about.

He looked through more of the drawings, and at the several of the angle shots. Throughout every picture, despite the fact that the drawings were drawn from different orientations and perspectives, and were from different investigative artists, he always noticed two prominent details. Those details were two lines, dug deep into the earth, that ran up the mountain side, from its base, towards the ridge where his aunt Brita was supposedly hit by the landslide. The mounds of dirt, sitting both at the base of the mountain and on the ridge, that resulted from the accident, hadn't been cleared. Despite that, the face of that mountain side was still bare, and those two scars bolting towards his aunt's death bed, were very protrusive details.

Ozai, persistent with the fact that something was very abnormal, put the picture closer to his eyes to try and make out any other details, when his daughter opened the door.

"Hi dad," she waved nonchalantly. Azula glanced at the papers sprawled over the desk, 'I wonder what's happening today...' The Fire Princess walked over to the table with the intention of taking her seat, located to the far left of her father, when, in the midst of pulling her chair out, Ozai looked up from the drawings he was holding.

"Foul play, maybe," he said to no one in particular, staring right through her.

"Pardon, dad?" she said, freezing, her brows furrowing.

"What?" Ozai's glazed expression melted away, as he stared right at his daughter, taking notice of her presence. "Azula? Where is your brother? I called for the both of you."

Azula pulled the chair out, knowing that her father must have been immersed in matters of higher importance to realize that she was there in the first place. "Zuko was still sleeping, so I gave him a wake-up call. He'll be here soon, dad. So what's with the papers?" She asked, sitting down.

Ozai looked over the scattered sheets, and then leaned back in his chair. "These are none of your concern. Right now, I'm more worried about the funeral. That will be the detail we'll wonder over today."

Azula's usually calm and ominous demeanor had suddenly broken in realization of this. "You canceled practice for a funeral arrangement?" She exclaimed in surprise, standing up.

Ozai, stunned by her words, had suddenly shattered the already tempered air, "Azula! Know your place!" He bellowed, his sudden change causing Azula to drop back into her chair in fear. She wasn't used to her father directing such angry words towards her, as she was about his compliments. Ozai eyed her very carefully and with a powerfully intensive stare. "This is the funeral arrangement of my aunt Brita! She is not just anyone, but someone of the Royal Family, a descendant of very powerful and influential men, and a person of close relations to your uncle and I. In a matter of days, we'll have to bury a loved member of our family with which I dearly regret."

"I'm sorry father." She murmured in shame, looking down.

Ozai shook off the tension building into his shoulder. "Anyway, this meeting is about your participation in the funeral. I have to go over a few details with the both of you, as to the procession and the usual traditions. If anything goes wrong, and if it is due to any actions related to you or your brother, your mother won't be there to stop both your punishments," Ozai stated flatly, shifting through the papers once again.

One detail caught him though and, in the back of his head, it was irritating him. Though it was a surprise to him that Azula would actually have the nerve to consider practice more important than funeral arrangements, especially of a family member, royal or not, it was the fact that she had suddenly addressed him as 'father,' just because of a sudden change in his tone, that surprised him even more.

Ursa looked at the ceiling in shock. She had visited this room on many occasions, to meditate, to read and to relax, and as such, she had known the room to its every degree. So it was to her utter astonishment that there appeared to be 'blurred' writing on the ceiling, which also happened to be very 'bright,' almost glowing. 'That's very strange...'

Snapping out of her temporary state of amazement, she removed herself from the chair and stood on it. Ursa reached for the writing, to see what it truly was, but as her hand approached it, a fragment of the writing darkened out to match with the ceiling. 'A shadow...? Is this light...?' Remembering what had happened just a few moments earlier, she gazed back down to observe the book below. Ursa viewed the surreal glow of the square-opening on the rear face of the book, noticing that it was focusing the redirected sunlight over to where her hand now was. The dust, floating around the room, were captured within the beams of light as they danced around in freedom.

Stepping off of the chair, she reached over for the book and looked up at the light. Pulling on it, Ursa saw that the writing, penned in light, moved with the book, while at the same time dimming out, due to the lack of sunlight as the book moved further away from the source. 'So the light is entering the book and is being reflected through here,' she thought tapping the square opening, 'to form...something like words...' Ursa knew that the light was indeed forming words with some sort of tangible meaning. She didn't know how the diary accomplished it exactly, but it had to do something with the black dots and the odd surface.

Brushing the detail aside, she focused back on the words written into the ceiling as the light bounced off its surface. Trying to comprehend the writing, Ursa vocalized whatever words she could properly identify. "Shatter...link? ...you and I together. Break...?"The rest of the words were too blurred to make any details of it. 'It's almost like it's out of focus...'

The word 'focus' summoned up a time in her past long ago. Ursa remembered that when she was just a child, her mother used to teach her a certain form of art that involved the use of a small telescope and a block of wood. When sunlight was directed through the telescope, and when the lens' were adjusted such that the light became a single and very tiny dot, she was able to use that concentrated beam of pure sunlight to burn messages and art signs into the wood. 'But that required the light to be focused...'

Ursa used her intuition to reinforce a theory that formulated within her. Lifting the book off of the desk, she noticed that the writing dramatically sharpened at a surprising rate, as the book was raised into the air, and then blurred again when it moved any higher. Lowering the book very carefully, the beams converged once again. At a certain point, during the time she was trying to bring the words into focus, the words became visible, almost as if it was written in pen. It seemed to Ursa, that the book was more than just a text of knowledge, but was the pinnacle of intelligence at that day and age more than sixty years ago.

Placing a few books under the diary to support it at the correct height, she looked up at the writing very carefully. The words were clear now, and were written with excellent penmanship. 'Shatter the seal with the very link that binds you and I together. If it was meant to be, it will break.'

'Great, another riddle,' Ursa sighed, looking back at the book. 'What's in here that's so important that it requires so many measures of insurance?' That question alone, as she started to think about its context more and more, had created a motivation that drove her to again find out how to open the book. There was information in here that her great grandmother never wanted anyone to know about, unless it was by one that had the ability to take its words into mind to bring about the necessary changes.

Ursa sat back in the chair and looked at the writing in the ceiling. 'Shatter the seal with the very link that binds you and I together. If it was meant to be, it will break.'

"'If it was meant to be, it will break...,' that makes sense. There's no other way to comprehend that message. The seal will break if I was meant to find the contents within the book," she whispered to herself, with the intention of establishing all the necessary details, so that an overlap of interpretation would not occur later.

"Shatter the seal...with the very link that binds you and I together," she read, the words causing her to quirk her eyebrow in confusion. "The very link that binds you and I together...," she wondered to herself. "What do we both share, great grandmother? What can we both share, now, even with a separation of three generations?"

'The most obvious relation would be our heritage. We are of the Fire Nation, and our cultures are the same, despite a few changes, but that is to be expected with so many years between us...but what else?' Ursa knew that the answer was simpler than the riddle had insinuated. 'There would also be our ancestry and that would also bind us together, since our ancestors are identical. But any of the ancestors you knew, would already to be buried by now in my time...and any living relative in my time, you would have never known about. What binds us then?'

Ursa knew the link between her and her great grandmother could have been any number of relationships and since she had no clue as to the riddle's answer, any number of relationships could have been considered, from physical characteristics, to traditions and lineage. 'But which one is the most viable path to opening this book? It can't really be this hard...'

Ursa decided to clear away the most improbable relationship first, which she thought were physical characteristics, and then work towards the more likely links. She gazed unto her own hand, to see if there was anything tangible that her great grandmother was referring too. Scanning her hand with no real objective, her eyes passed over the bandage. Ursa noticed a small red stain on the cloth as a result of the cut she received earlier.

The Fire Empress' eyes then jolted open in utter surprise, as realization settled upon her. 'Our Blood!' Ursa screamed in her head, 'Our blood is the same! It's what binds us together!'

Ursa reread the riddle penned in light, for her ears to hear, "Shatter the seal...with the very link that binds you and I together. If it was meant to be, it will break." Ursa fixed her gaze at the sealant, fully aware that she was now a step closer to unlocking very ominous and dark secrets.

The red hue, caught her eye. 'If that is truly the blood of my great grandmother transfused into the mixture that is part of the hindrance before me, then it can only be my blood that will have any affect on its cast...hopefully the desired effect...,' she pondered. "So, I have to shatter this seal with my blood...if it's used against it, it should break. But if it doesn't work, then what do I do...? What can I do? However, I must not show fear before I attempt this. It could work...so then how do I apply it?" She wondered aloud to herself, tapping her finger on the table.

Ursa's eyes were still fixated on the sealant, however, her concentration deviated from its red hue, to its abnormal indent. It, in all honesty, looked like a thumb print that ran down the length of the sealant. "That might be what the strange depression is for. It could be a guide...to where my blood should lie..."

Ursa leaned forward and picked up the book. 'I sincerely hope this works...,' she silently prayed. Looking at her thumb, the Fire Empress took the initiative, removing the clip that held the bandage tight and the unwinding the bandage itself. As a consequence, the slit reopened, and squeezing around the cut, a small bulb of blood appeared as a result, right over the cut. Ursa firmly pressed her appendage against the sealant and dragged her thumb down over the depression, following its path.

She removed her thumb from the depression to see the result. 'Huh?' Ursa thought in confusion. To her eyes, the blood that she had taken the pains of applying, were actually sinking into the sealant. The grain lines that were branched throughout the sealant, had begun to brim over with the iron filled substance as her blood followed through its network, finally being bound as if it were within a sponge. '...its working!' Acting along the grains, the sealant began to curl up, as its form crumbled.

Ursa took the opportunity to gently peel the rest of the sealant off herself. She smiled contentedly, 'I guess it was meant to be then. I was meant to find out what truths my dear great grandmother had stumbled upon...' But even with such reassurance, she was still unnerved about the fact that what she was about to open, might have been too much to handle.

Zuko grappled his side with a strong arm as he limped down the corridor of the sleeping chambers. Azula's iron kick to his ribs, had caused a stubborn and powerful aftershock of irritation. His free arm had made use of the wooden rim that ran along the wall, using it as a support as he dragged his way past the stairs that was connected to the South door and to the main corridor, with the intention of getting to the room that Azula had barbarically informed him of.

'Hmm...?' He wondered. As he trudged past the stairs, he could hear the muffled sounds of screaming men coming from a distance. He stopped in his tracks and turned towards what he thought was the source. Looking towards the stairway that was now behind him, he shot up one of his eyebrows, as the sounds became much more audible.

The very first statement tinged the air with severe urgency. "STOP! Stop those creatures!" The statement caused him to quirk his other eyebrow too, changing his demeanor from confused to absolutely stunned. 'Hmm!'

According to the screams, there apparently was a wild animal running through the palace with which Zuko knew could not have been possible. Using the argument as a defense he tried to laugh it off. 'That'd be funny if there were actual creatures running around here...,' he thought turning back around to head in his original direction.

"STOP!" This, despite the argument, caused Zuko to both falter in step and flare his eyes. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, as he began rethinking what he just thought, 'I really...REALLY, hope this is not what I'm thinking it is...' An image of a giant animal baring its fangs reeled through this imagination, forcing him to face the stairs again, 'please...I hope its not some crazy saber mountain cat bear...'

"Hey, come back here dammit!" Screamed another soldier, shattering the prince out of his daze. The voices were close enough for Zuko to identify them, and to his knowledge, they were the palace soldiers. "Sound the alarm! Wild animals in the vicinity, and their dangerous!"

The last statement jump-started Zuko's brain, as his dreaded thoughts were confirmed. 'A nightmare, kick to the side by my sister, and attacked by a wild animal...animals... Happy thoughts will definitely NOT make me happier today...,' Zuko thought to himself in panic. Turning back around, once again, the prince pointed himself to the other end of the corridor, a destination he was originally headed for, with the full intention of surviving the morning.

"They're heading up to the sleeping chambers!" Cried another guard. "Don't sound the alarms though, that'll probably disturb everyone-"

"Idiot! Those things will kill you if you give it a chance! We need to sound the alarms," bellowed another.

Zuko tried to hop towards the family room, where his father and sister were, in hopes of reaching there faster. 'There's more than one in here! There's more than one!' He screamed in his mind, trying desperately to ignore the pain, as his body strained with every leap. Rivulets of sweat cascaded down Zuko's face as his sanity reached the brink of fracturing.

His ears perked sharply as he picked up the sounds of footsteps trailing up the stairs, the beasts making their way into the sleeping chambers. "OH NO! They've breached the South Wall! Hurry!" A short moment later, and another cry was heard, "And where's the damn alarm?"

Zuko deemed this to be his end. His body was wracked with pain, his mind was flimsy with panic, and the nearest door was too far for him to even comprehend. 'What a horrible morning...' The prince turned around and stared at the monstrosities as they set foot on the clean marble floors of the sleeping quarters right by the stairway, which to his surprise, was quite a distance from him now.

They're forms were in full view, and worse yet, their eyes were fixated on their first prey. Zuko's sanity began to recompose, for there before him were...

...A komodo rhino pup, with three tiny bumps for horns, and big eyes and a small red puff of red and black feathers, a red tailed chick, situated on its head.

The chick turned its head to observe the area, its intentions unclear, and once again rested its tiny black orbs on Zuko. Sticking out its wing in his direction, its chest puffed out before giving one powerfully small squeak. In response, the pup mad-dashed towards the prince, only to slip and spin out on its belly. The chick quickly shook its head to regain composure, and tried to find the young Fire Prince again. Once it did, and a small chirp later, the pup was quick to its feet and again bolted towards the young prince.

Zuko stared at the creatures in utter bewilderment as they closed the distance. Behind the scampering animals, Zuko took notice of the mass of soldiers and servants that ran up the stairs only to collide into each other and collapse on the opposing wall. "They're attacking the Fire Prince!" Screamed one of the soldiers, poking his head out of the entangled crowd. "My word!" hollered one of the many servants now sprawled out on the floor.

Two soldiers recovered fast enough to attempt to run to Zuko's aid, just as the creatures had done. Two chirps sounded, and the pup tried to come to a stop, only to slide desperately and ultimately run into the prince's legThe creature bound up and around, scampering to hide behind Zuko's leg, with the chicks head sticking out to survey the danger.

Zuko was so surprised he couldn't even laugh, 'I don't even need happy thoughts now!' Realization hit him like a bag of coal, as a he discerned the fact that a group of elite guards was chasing down two baby animals as they struggled to escape.

The two guards stopped short of Zuko, worried for their prince's safety and of their own, for the creatures were dangerously close to him. The prince held out his hand to stop them for a moment, and bending over, he picked up the two creatures in his hands. The bird marched its way to Zuko's head, standing tall right at the base of his pony tail. It held out its wing in the opposite direction of the soldiers and chirped once indicating that he wanted Zuko to run in that direction. The pup on the other hand, just opened its mouth, with its tongue hanging out, panting.

"My prince...be very still...these creatures are unforgiving...," one of the soldiers said as his hand approached the creature grasped in Zuko's hands. Just by his clothing, and the fire emblems adorning his metallic body armor, Zuko understood that this was the one of the lead guards of the unit deployed to capture the animals.

The pup turned its head and opened its mouth wide, only to bite down on the soldiers hand. A yelp escaped the guards mouth, as he quickly drew his hand back in fear. Since the creature had no teeth, save for two tiny bumps sticking out of its gums, the only thing scarring the soldier's hand was the intense saliva that covered it. "What power...," he drawled.

"That's it?" The other soldier asked incredulously, looking towards the offensive animal. He then turned his attention to the commander of the operation, his eyebrow twitching bitterly, "You deployed...," he stopped mid sentence to clarify his words, and very slowly continued, "...the royal guard, the 7th tactical squadron, sent a request for the attendants help and had wanted to sound the main alarms...FOR THIS!" He stated angrily pointing his finger at the rhino pup, and the red tailed chick on top of Zuko's head "A puppy with no teeth, and ball of feathers!"

"Incredible, aren't they?" The commander established, trying to clean his hands.

"NO!" The soldier screamed back, his hands thrown up to show his disapproval with the matter. He stormed off back towards the stairs to help his comrades that were still intertwined with the servants, all lying helplessly on the floor of the sleeping chambers.

The lead guard, though, was rather persistent. He had made a few more attempts at retrieving the innocent creatures, while keeping his proximity at an optimum distance, but by the dozenth and unsuccessful try, and after his fingers had gotten wrinkled from the amount of spit his hand was subjected to, the help he really needed hastily raced up the stairs, and performed a back flip only to slip onto the pileup. The young girl quickly recovered, and in an instant later, Zuko could have sworn he saw her eyes shine with light as her view rested upon the two animals that were in his custody.

"Bou! Ar! There you are!" She exclaimed jumping for joy.

"Ty Lee...?" Inquired the young prince.

"Prince Zuko! You found the circus kits!" She bounded over to the prince and gently lifted the pup from Zuko's hand. In the young girl's cradling arms, the creature gave a small yawn, and slowly closed its eyes. "This little cutie," Ty Lee stated, in response to the pup's yawn, "is Ar." She then proceeded to tickle the rhino's exposed belly, causing it to wriggle in laughter. "He's usually sleepy, so he doesn't run much, but with Bou as company," she said pointing to the young chick, "these two are really hard to handle!"

"Well, I shall take my leave. It seems the situation is under control," stated the remaining guard, who turned around and had proceeded to helping his deployed soldiers that were still in the entanglement.

The said bird flitted across the gap between Zuko and Ty Lee, landing on her shoulder. "Bou...well, she's pretty bossy for a bird..." 'Hmm, strange...,' she thought, leaning on one leg and staring at Zuko with a frown, but not one that reflected disappointment as it did confusion.

Zuko could see the apparent inquisition in her face and feeling uneasy at being gawked at, tried to resolve her confusion, "What's wrong-"

Cutting him off, Ty Lee, stated flatly, "You're the first person that Bou and Ar have ever warmed up to so fast." She placed Ar on the floor and continued, "I'm their only caretaker and it took me weeks to get them to like me. Most of the time, I was off trying to cage Bou while Ar would just yawn and go to sleep."

Ty Lee giggled, as the birds feathers grazed her cheeks, trying to climb onto her head. Upon successfully scaling the peak, Bou stood as tall as her three inch frame would allow, and huffed in as much as air as possible. Directing its wing toward the end of the corridor, the hawk chirped. "Nope...we're going back to the school, you rascals, and its not that way." The bird's wings drooped as it looked down, and gave out a long chirp of sadness.

"You can understand them!" The prince asked, severely startled.

Ty Lee giggled a bit more before she continued. "Well, I can't understand Ar, since all he does is yawn. He listens well though! Bou...on the other hand," the bird jumped onto her finger as Ty Lee pointed at it, "...well, she has a simple way of talking to people. From what I've seen...one chirp means 'go' and two means 'stop'. I think two and half means 'turn.'"

"Two and half? Birds can chirp half?" Zuko asked furrowing his eyebrows.

"Actually, its sort of two chirps and a choke. I guess that's what it is...," she tried to reason to herself.

Zuko got down on his knees and stared at the pup, who stood on the floor trying to climb Ty Lee's legs. The prince imitated Bou, providing his best impression of a chirp. Within a moment, Ar looked back at the prince and then promptly started chasing its tail. Zuko had on such a big grin that his cheeks forced him to close his eyes.

The young aspiring acrobat caught sight of his eyes before they closed and could see the mirth in them, "You know Prince Zuko...since you're the first person they've ever liked, just in a single glance, I think you should come visit them," she smiled happily.

"You mean at the girls academy?" He asked in surprise, jumping up. Realizing what he said, he quickly covered his mouth and continued in a hushed tone, "I can't go there!"

Ty Lee brushed the comment aside, waving her hand, "Nah, they stay at the circus. I take the beginners CQ...," she suddenly trailed off, looking away a bit disappointed in herself.

CQ stood for Close Quarters, and Zuko knew her sentence ended with 'combat course', causing him to frown internally for he knew he could never take any course with a nature such as that. His lack of skill in combat forbade it.

Ty Lee, herself, knew how Zuko felt about being superseded by everyone around him, and quickly tried to get on to her more pleasant point. "...so I usually visit the circus for training. They stay there most of the time, so you should visit..., it'd be nice to see you there," she placated trying to convince the prince.

The prince could only offer a smile, before a circus trainer appeared, heavily panting near the stairway entrance. He turned and spotted the couple engaged in their conversation, but had to inquire of the more important issue. "Ty Lee! Have you retrieved the young ones yet?" He asked hurriedly, with heavy breaths.

"Yup, they're right here, sei-fu," she informed, waving to her teacher. Turning back to face the young boy before her, she continued, "Anyway, Prince Zuko, I'll see ya later!" She winked before picking up the still tail-chasing pup, and then dashed to the stairway.

Zuko waved his hand at the retreating figure as she disappeared down the stairs with her teacher, her pets, the royal guard, the 7th tactical squadron, and the attendants. 'At least those annoying alarms weren't sounded...' He turned around and made his way towards the meeting room, still limping. His ears perked again, as the emergency bells ran off. 'Oh boy...' In the distance, he heard a muffled scream, "Idiot! The situation is already contained! Turn that damn thing off!"

Unbeknown to any in the Fire Nation, or any other being in world, a meeting of the intellectual was taking place. Very dark and lurid minds were assembled within the confines of an elaborately decorated room on the islands of the Northern Air Temple.

Aside from the single opening in the middle of the ceiling, that allowed a portion of the sun's light to clarify the time of day, the rest of the room was still fabricated in darkness. Hanging below the opening, its wire supports at each edge of the crevice of the ceiling, was a magnificent and marvelously assembled chandelier, composed of black diamonds. The walls were of black stones, and the tiles, black marble.

A very large, square, meeting table with a square opening, was situated right in the middle of the lurid chamber, and in the seats were eight people for every empire, both composed of men and women, adding to a total of thirty two occupied seats. It was ordered such that the Air Nomadic face of the table was towards the north, the Water Tribe towards the east, The Earth Kingdom towards the south, and the Fire Nation towards the West. Behind every such person, there was banner that hung vertically posted to the walls, representing the empire they were from, as well as a symbol of their clan. They themselves were almost unrecognizable, and despite the fact that they could barely see each other, a discussion was in progress.

"The two, very prominent scars, embedded on the mountain face, in the assassination of Lady Brita, has prompted the Fire Lord to permit us to perform a thorough investigation of her death," said one of assembled members, a person from the party of the Nation's face.

"It was one of you own, was it not, who had eliminated her?" Asked another from the Kingdom's face. "Had it been performed by another not linked to us, we might have to deal with that person, or persons, existence. Any nuisance to our plans must most happily be disposed of."

"It, indeed, was one of my own. The Fire Lord has no knowledge of our existence, and as such, has, most fortunately, allowed members of our sect, entry to all details of the investigation. We have successfully taken control of that...," reassured the speaker.

Another, most likely female judging from her voice, and one that resonated from the Nomadic face, interrupted the exchange. "Mind you, no one should know of our existence..."

"Its under control," he responded, eyeing the silhouette of the member from the Air Nomad face. He turned back to the beings assembled, "In any case, allow me to finish off the briefing before we entirely deviate from the topic at hand." With that, the rest of the group quieted down, and at the response, the speaker from the Fire Nation face continued, "We were given permission to all paths of the investigation. And with that we were able to finally gain access to that damnable house."

Another much older, female voice, from the Nation's face, continued from there, "We used the reason that she had departed that house before her death..."

"...As a means to gain entry with investigative purpose as our alibi," informed a near identical voice from the same face of the table.

"Exactly. We were in the house, thoroughly searching for the diary of Erah, the only hindrance to all our plans-" he was then rudely cut off once again.

"To spend our resources on a book of such unfounded pretexts, is idiotic to say the least," glared one of the females from the Tribal face.

"Listen to my explanation before labeling my theories," he stated, glaring back at the woman. "Her existence damned our own hidden identity, and for all we know, her diary has detailed knowledge of our exploits. Remember, she knew of our plans, even if she never pointed fingers. If anything, details of her own investigation are trapped in that book." He planted both his hands on the table and stood up, "Understand that if any were to ever lay their hands on that text, without it first being in our hands, many of our coups would be exposed. It was paramount, and in my discretion, that we attained the book..."

"And your progress with the situation...?" Wondered a burly man from the Kingdom's face.

"Unsuccessful. The book was not within its confines, and torture of the local citizens as well as the residents of the household, was of course out of the question, being that they are royalty..." He inhaled a bit of air to continue, but another member finished the sentence.

"But that is only for now," replied a member to the speakers right. "In any case, we searched her body, and there was nothing. She apparently never had the book in her possession before she left the house, nor after her departure. However, the book is also not within the house, and therefore, it must be out of our sight and reach. But despite the circumstance, we must accumulate all pieces of its existence and then destroy it..."

"...as well as any who figure out its contents. We MUST," he stated, slamming the table hard, "not only reacquire that book, but must also destroy those who know of its existence and of its textual matter. We must hide the crumbs of bread it leaves behind us."

A skinnier being from the Kingdom's face had then snarled, "And what if it were the Fire Lord who had possession of this book? What of it then?"

"We'd have to kill him," he responded nonchalantly.

A representative from the Nomadic face then spoke, "Then this means, any person who is a liability will be assassinated, then? Is that what you are insinuating? To go so far as to say that you would murder your own Lord, means that every other person is no less susceptible..."

"Exactly," he smirked.

"Then so be it. Reacquire that book, and eliminate all our impediments. The rest of us will prepare for the arrival of Solzen's comet...and the advent of the final sacrifice." The eight Air Nomadic members stood up, signaling that their participation of the discussion was over. The rest of the members stood as well, indicating that the meeting itself had concluded.

In a quiet voice, she, as a consequence of the meetings end, had finally stated, before departing, "The assembly of the Confederate Empire is adjourned."

Side Notes: The Imperial Attendants

The servants of the Royal family were eager to please the will of their empress, but as it had always been, every time she saw their faces, she was already more than happy with them. Acting as her extended family, she cared very much for their well being and happiness, so she had forced upon them the same requirements as she did her children, which were proper sleep, proper meals, and proper breaks.

Originally, the servants were the lowly of the Fire Nation. They were the poor or the incapable, unable to serve the military nor the society. They were cast out of communities, were treated harshly and unjustly, and were forced to perform menial, insignificant jobs just to earn a living. Some jobs, however, were also underground trading of black market merchandise, which included weapons and explosives. On the line of poverty, they were pushed to their extremes.

Fire Empress Ursa, when she gained power to control civil law, had paid visits to the outlying communities of the poor. In pity and out of love for her people, she had decided to employ them, to allow them perform palace duties. As such they were paid well, had a residence to sleep in, company to be with, and were never again treated as lowly as they had once appeared.

Now they were of royalty themselves. They were the direct servants to the royal family of the Fire Nation. Such was their honor, and their pride. Her kindness to them was beyond anything they could ever have asked for and their devotion to her was incomprehensible. She had come to know each of the servants by name, and since there were hundreds, it was impressive. They were indebted to her, and all of them would give their life for her, just as much as she would for them.

Side Notes: Erah's Diary Prism

The prism idea is actually really easy to comprehend. The opening at the top of the book, absorbs the light coming into it. As it does, it hits the tiny beads, which are actually very tiny mirrors. The light gets reflected through the square opening on the rear face of the book. As it does, the uneven surface of that part of the prism, causes the light to refract in different directions, which at some point in space, converge to form the message that Erah wanted Ursa to find out.

Post - - A/N 1: This chapter was developed as a prelude for the following chapters, maybe lasting 2 or 3 chapters. Consider this to be the "Discovery Arc" of my story.

Post - - A/N 2: You may think that this chapter could not have taken so long to create. So why so long to update? In actuality, this chapter was reduced by almost 6 pages and it was those 6 pages, along with the preparation for the remaining arc of this part of the story that took so much of time to create. I spent close to 25 hours preparing the elements that made the next set of chapters and the central idea of the story itself. I'm sorry to those who may be angered by this.

Post - - A/N 3: The next set of chapters may end up being the most critical and most intricate of the entire story. I say 'may' for two reasons. All of you are smart, and some of you may understand everything, so it just 'might' seem intricate. Second, well, I'm having trouble in the way the next chapter should be told. It might end up being less critical and less intricate than I originally planned for, but that's only because of story purposes, and not because of time limitations.

Post - - A/N 4: The story will start escalating soon, well, 'soon' is used in relative terms. I mean, compared to the rest of the story, it will be soon. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.