Title: Honor: The Ties That Bind
Author: XArienX
Rating: T(PG-13) for violence, blood and adult themes.
Summary: Almost twenty years have past since the Avatar and Fire Lord met in battle and since then radical changes have shaken the very foundations of the Avatar world. Aang and his friends have found themselves caught in this endless web of love, lust, politics and betrayal, whose end shall conclude the history books of a tumultuous era.
A/N: Here is the first official chapter of Honor: The Ties That Bind. If you don't read the introduction you will be a little lost but this is the real mandatory first chapter.
Disclaimer: This is the completely useless part of every fan-fiction. Obviously I don't own Avatar! Otherwise I wouldn't half to write about it.
Chapter 1: Dead or Alive
"If I had my way, they'd be dead! Every last one!"
A bawdy crowd cheered in accord, washing down their debate in another pint of ale.
"Well you can't rub'em all out, their like roaches; impossible to kill."
Again the burly group of men yammered with confirmation, the foulness of their words matched only by their odor.
The Scarlet Pub door swung open, announcing a new customer with the groan of rusty bolts. A wall of light cut through the dense smog which lounged about the dingy room. The aroma of alcohol, coal, and tobacco invited the cloaked figure to pull up a chair and share in its toxicity. A cluster of rickety ceiling lamps routinely flickered and hummed, casting a very weak sphere of influence after the door closed. If the night sky produced more light than the aged lamps, the inhabitants could either see in the dark or not care either way.
The nations of the world may have put aside their regional lines, but the men within them hadn't. Each pub was dominated by a different group, the small gangs fiercely defendant of their territory and masculinity. Everyday tired factory and dock workers piled into their favorite bar to engage in the pleasures of smoking, drinking, and cursing. To them there was nothing better to do in the forsaken pit they called home. Single, overworked, and of less than moral character, the men who lingered in the streets, on the water, and inside the taverns loved to hate the lives they lived. Their dwellings were dark, dank and disgusting and the only women who resided within city limits were sweetly described as prostitutes. It was a dissolute place, loathed by those who lived their and ignored by the rest of the world. Tiran, however, was not the only city of its kind. With no where else to go, the people's revolution had deposited its own fighters into obscurity. The malicious overseers of factories, mills, and mines used their new freedoms to legally enslave employees. Saved from one fiery tyrant to serve another, prosperity was something for the lucky, the politicians and the Avatar.
"Just last week they hired one to work with me. The coal eater expected me to help him." One man hollered, slamming his fist on the table.
It was hard to miss the physical condition of the men who were perpetually dirty, unkempt, and boisterously muscular. Their eyes looked sharp but the rest of their senses, unless under some liquid influence, blunt. The Scarlet Pub served to the iron smith crowd, a group which held no more prestige than any of the other pitiless workers.
The squat male who had spoken earlier continued on his soap-box. "Can't trust them! Should have gotten rid of them in the Great War!"
"But the Avatar has a soft spot for'em." A man in the far corner spat, the half chewed chunks of his sandwich emphasizing his detesting tone. "Don't see why, since he killed the Fire Lord."
"I heard one even betrayed him, nearly cost us the war!" There was a roar as the ruddy-faced men pointed fingers, shook fists, and clenched jaws. A pair of eyes looked up.
"It's true." whispered a boy in his early twenties, who evidently wanted into the elite circle.
"No way Shi." One of the elder men slapped the soot-faced young man on the back, nearly spilling the junior's beer. Out of pity and the bit of compassion none of the men would admit to, the otherwise arrogant clan had allowed the young street urchin to follow them about. He was the butt of every joke and shamelessly teased, so this tall tale only added to their antagonism.
"Really, I was there, I knew him."
"You knew him!" The gaggle hooted with indignation, disbelief, and ill-humor.
All of the room seemed to center about their ruckus; the bar keep and the assorted amount of exiled customers perking their ears into the less than private conversation. Save from the man who had shuffled himself in earlier, they all pretend to not be listening keenly to the conversation.
"He was a prince, a banished prince. I was there. I served under him before he…he double-crossed us." Shi's comrades quieted down, hushed by the force with which Shi's beer glass was held. They might have been seeing two beer glasses, but at least Shi's confession caught their attention. His voice strained in the attempt to stay even. "He went mad and tried to kill the Avatar." The eyes looked down.
"WHAT!" All at once the room was alive vengeance. If there hadn't been so much liquor consumed with their heated dispute, the insurgents probably would have just settled the matter with more beer. Unfortunately the night had taken a turn for the worst. It didn't matter to them if Shi was even telling the truth, he had convinced the raffish men of their erroneous belief.
The bartender had become accustom to these situations and took proper refuge under his counter, reaching up only to save a bottle of whiskey. In a clumsy sweep, the mob made for the door in their determination to lynch and otherwise harass the next unlucky soul they met. Pity the man who decided to wear red that night.
Broken glasses, the chill of a near empty room, and Shi were left in their wake. The drawled out sip from an ale glass broke the silence, its maker clearly indifferent to the events which had occurred. Amber liquid swirled about in the glass before it was set down again and shoved in the direction of the cowering tender.
"So you say you know this Fire bending Prince?" The cloaked man grunted in a voice harsh from alcohol.
Shi looked towards the back of the man's head, his face still showing a mixture of anger and bewilderment. He wasn't sure if this stranger's invitation to conversation was going to end in a similar fashion, but the chance at getting some form of attention made him edge a little closer.
"Yes, I knew him, but he is dead." Shi sat down, his tough act thin but upheld. He tried to look at his new friend but the man's face was shadowed in cloth and darkness. His glass slid back to him and disappeared behind the brown hood for a few moments.
"How do you know he is dead?"
Shi displayed a smug and contemptuous grin. "The bastard was killed soon after his assassination attempt. Killed by his little girlfriend no less." Shi settled into the story after the man made no response. "Yea, ironic how he met his end by the hands of a Water bender. She woke in the middle of the night went looking for him, and found him at the foot of the Avatar's bed with a blade."
"And how did you manage to witness all this?" His voice remained the same but he took another drink.
"I didn't, I heard it later. Neither she nor the Avatar ever spoke about it but rumors have their way of spreading. Don't know why it was so hard seeing as he was a Fire bender and all."
"So peace lives between all four nations. The Avatar did well." The comment would be sarcastic if the man would display any emotion.
"Now don't get me wrong." Shi pointed, the alcohol starting to effect him. "I am not as radical as some of the guys." His confession showing just how much of an outcast he was from his own 'friends.' "I don't think they are all bad, just most of them. You know, the uncle of that prince is Fire Representative. The old coot must be ancient, he was the only one that survived the Terror." Shi beckoned the bartender towards his now empty glass. "All those royals and nobles dead at the hands of their own people…except Representative Iroh. Must have felt he was the only decent one, although in my book, he did raise that son of a bitch prince."
There was silence, although the other man was no longer drinking.
"Say…what's your name anyway? Don't think I've ever seen you before."
The over-burnt candle between them flickered a little.
"Come on, don't be shy. We are brothers here. It's not like you're a Fire bender or nothing." Shi was already slurring and waving his hands like an idiot, slipping away with every word.
"Let me see your face, friends don't hide from friends." Shi grabbed for the back of the man's hood but swift and strong arm twisted his own back. His head gear remained on, but the slight movement needed to keep it there allowed the tiny candle's illumination to light up the man's face.
Shi gasped suddenly sober, dumbfounded, and flabbergasted. "You!" He murmured, his eyes widening in instant recognition. "YOU!" The man let go of a shaking Shi who fell off of his bar stool.
"Dead, dead, dead!" Shi could think of nothing else as he choked on an air which was unexpectedly noxious.
Just then, as if on cue by some heavenly director, the tavern door swung open to reveal a disgruntle group of men. Unable to find a suitable prey to molest, their moods were even fouler than before.
"Shi! What are you doin on the floor?" One asked.
"It's him!" Shi shouted, finding some audible volume. "It's Prince Zuko!"
A/N: Chapter one! Woo. Wait I shouldn't be so excited, look at the situation if put poor Zuko in.
Read, review and enjoy!
Arien