Iroh converses with Lu Ten the night before disaster strikes the heart of the Fire Nation.
The sun was setting over the expansive plains surrounding the behemoth walls of Ba Sing Se however, the heavy dust choked wind had obscured any such light of the aching sun from reaching the battlegrounds below. The only light that penetrated the desolate miasma was the polluting light of the multitudes of smokey campfires made by the armies in and surrounding the capital. Hellish fires whose glow could only be seen in the deepest twilight hours. The Fire Nation had besieged the bastions of the glorious Earth Kingdom capital weeks ago led by the Imperial Dragon of the West - Crown Prince Iroh. What began as a ruthless campaign of assault, an assumed quick victory for the General against the last standing free society, had bled out torturously slowly. For all those surrounding and atop the wall engaged in the conflict, it had long since ceased to be a conquest or defense of the city but an exercise in misery.
The Earth Kingdom had rallied ruthlessly - not only charges from the infantry and routing by the cavalry commanding great beasts - but of earth benders as well, indistinguishable from their non-bending compatriots save for the sudden shock of raw earth and stone drowning and crushing unsuspecting Fire Nation bones in mega landslides of fury. The Fire Nation men had never seen dry craggy rock flow as water. It was demoralizing as wave after wave of assaults and countless strategies to fell the wall were rebuffed.
Defeat coated their mouths and tasted like gritty mud as the dry soil suspended in the air and under their boots absorbed the very spit, blood, and mucous of the Fire Nation's mouths and eyes. At the end of each day as troops wearily withdrew from the assault back to camp, the men were reminded that at least they wouldn't have to further pollute the air with funerary pyres - the earth benders had already buried their comrades for them.
The dip in morale was not lost on General Iroh's second-in-command and only son, Lu Ten. He was of the philosophy that leading from the front was the best strategy. He never asked his men to do anything that he himself wasn't willing and able to also do. Much to the chagrin of the ranking officers. Whether it was fault of over-attachment to his men or a morale boosting advantage of being relatable to them, the upper echelons of military leadership were often perplexed by Lu Ten's methods and execution of strategy. He was a young leader, given to risky gambles that had the mere luck of success more often than not. Luck that Iroh would often remind the affable young man, was not always guaranteed. Lu Ten always laughed off Iroh's concerns in private. Lu Ten loved the thrill of ground level battle surrounded by the brothers he loved so much.
"You're behaving too rashly. You're far too familiar with your subordinates, Lu Ten." Iroh peered seriously over the rim of his tea cup, eyes pointedly following as Lu Ten paced around the General's meeting tent. Iroh had earlier conducted an advisory meeting with his leaders, poring over maps, blueprints of new mechanized boring weapons, hashing and rehashing battle strategies, each iteration more contested and debated among the vulturous lieutenants than the last. Iroh felt as if he were banging his very own fists against the walls of Ba Sing Se. He was slamming his head like a ram trying to move a mountain face from his path. There had to be a better way to mercifully end this campaign, but how? To add unease to his precarious situation, the senior leadership with him were questioning his judgement regarding Lu Ten's unorthodox style and over attachment to his men. Attachment that these dusty traditionalists found at best puzzling and at worst, troubling. Leading by emotion wasn't the military's way. A loss of senior leadership, albeit less experienced, could spell disaster for Iroh's persisting campaign and failure was not an option. Fire Lord Azulon had made that explicitly clear to the Crown Prince. Iroh was entangled in military turmoil.
"General…" Lu Ten chided, "the men are losing faith. I can't abandon them and they need us. They need brothers now more than ever." Lu Ten plopped down wearily, showing his unease for the first time. His shoulders sank and he leaned forward head down, elbows resting on his knees. Iroh poured another cup of tea and refilled his own. Lu Ten looked up to Iroh's gesture and accepted it gratefully. They sipped together in silence for a moment, each lost to his own thoughts.
Lu Ten spoke again, quieter this time, "General, our troops are faltering and I won't allow them to carry their burdens alone. Leading from these infernal tents is no way to lead…" he placed his tea cup down curtly, sighed wearily once again and let his head fall. "General. Father. Can I speak freely?" Iroh nodded slowly. "Please do, my son. I need to hear any thoughts you have to share with me."
"I believe in what we're doing here, Father. The Emperor is nothing but a puppet - a shadow of benevolence - all the while Earth Kingdom citizens are disappearing in the night. Actually, the Dai Li don't even bother operating in secrecy anymore, instead they've been rounding up dissidents up in the squares to make examples of them…" his eyes glittered dangerously "They've begun choking the food supplies and contaminating the water ways that feed into the lower kingdom. The poor have no choice to do what they can… the lead and arsenic in the water is poisoning them. The few families I've talked to are gutted. I saw dead children in the streets. Infants!" There's nowhere to put them and now a plague is rumored to have spread. It's decimating them!"
It was Iroh's turn to sink tiredly. "This is a disaster…" He shook his head sadly.
"Not only that," Lu Ten continued fervently, "my troops aren't even able to give their comrades proper last rites! Our brothers have simply been left half covered and naked in the open. We tried to pull everyone we could in the beginning but now…" he shrugged dejectedly, losing steam "There's too many of them to pull from the rubble. The earth benders won't let us near them anyway." Lu Ten stood again, suddenly impassioned by the horror of it all - his eyes glazed over and in the glassy surface Iroh could see ripples of loss and grief. "They desecrate us! Each day they build and rebuild new walls that we have to break through. They build them using the bodies, pieces, and parts of us and their wretched mud mixed with our spilled blood as mortar! The smell is…"
Lu Ten faltered, his voice choked threateningly with tears. He tried to continue"...it makes me sick, Father." He shook his head again, trying harder to keep the sorrow at bay. "My youngest recruit fell today; he was only fourteen! Fourteen, Father! They crushed his head… They..." he gestured wildly in desperation all around him and fell back into his chair again, head buried in his hands. Iroh sighed sadly at his anguish. His son was suffering. He was suffering. All of this useless suffering...
Being in the midst of war ground unraveled all men - not even the gods themselves willingly chose to endure it and here, his only son couldn't bring himself to stand outside of it! Combat undid every man in some way. Even the enlightened. Was there really any victory in it all? No, not victory… only Honor. The false Honor of a nation that had lost its way, long long ago. Iroh approached Lu Ten and knelt before him, resting his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Lu Ten looked at Iroh, expecting to see the face of the General, a battle hardened man gazing back at him. Iroh's eyes were wet with tears.
At a loss for words, Lu Ten wept quietly. Iroh allowed himself to surrender and clasped his son's shoulders tightly. Time fell away and they sat with their grief.
Iroh stirred and rose, stepping away from his son and made his way back to his desk piled with useless paper and minutia. He rifled through a small basket, looking for something. Lu Ten dried his face, slowly letting his breath steady and return to normal. Shortly, Iroh returned again and sat next to his son.
"Open your hand, Lu Ten. I have something important to give you." Lu Ten complied. Iroh placed a single pai sho tile in his open palm; the White Lotus. Lu Ten looked over in shock at his father. The White Lotus was no ordinary tile. It was his mother's tile. It was their tile. Iroh answered the unspoken questions in Lu Ten's eyes.
"As you are aware Lu Ten, there is false honor and True Honor and we all have a part to play in this life; from the significant to the insignificant. At times, great challenges are set before us. Challenges we wish we could extricate ourselves from… Challenges that we face at the whim of the universe." Iroh stood now, and crossed the room to stand in front of a tapestry delicately woven with a floral motif, and of course in the center of it all, a lotus. He stared closely at the threads, his vision somewhere else entirely. "But just because the trials have been assigned to us does not necessarily mean we have no voice in the matter. We all make the decisions we must to fulfill our own destinies. After your Mother, I knew I wanted, more than anything, to forge my own path. A different one than what was expected of me. A kinder way. A gentler way. And everything I've done since then, I've strove to do deliberately, in pursuit of that goal. Of that life she and I dreamed of. For us and for you." Iroh looked down a moment, gathering his thoughts, then turned to face Lu Ten. "My duty now lies in the practice of mercy. We are surrounded by an enemy of malice and reckless appetites for false honor. I will not yield to the appetites of vultures, searching for any and every opportunity to destroy the beautiful world around us. Instead, I will do what I can, while I do what I must to end this war and restore what balance I can to the world. I must swiftly end the trauma and strife. A decisive victory in the Earth Kingdom is the way to accomplish this goal. There must be a way to end this needless bloodshed. I have my path and I am deciding the way I will go. And you must also choose your way…" Iroh was next to Lu Ten now. He still held the lotus in his open palm. Iroh clasped his hands around his and closed the tile in Lu Ten's grip.
"My son, I have my way. And you have yours. I support you however you decide to proceed in your strategy. Act deliberately. Act Honorably. And act always in balance with yourself. Although," Iroh smiled wryly "I wish you would act a little more carefully, instead of being a hard head." Lu Ten smiled and they chuckled together.
Relaxed, they shared lighter conversation and a few cups of tea together.
Lu Ten stood to leave, feeling much better than when he'd arrived. Iroh escorted him to the threshold. "Father…" Lu Ten faced Iroh. "Yes, my son?" Lu Ten swiftly engulfed his Father in a bear hug, strongly clapping him on the back with his hands. Iroh smiled contentedly in the embrace. An affection they hadn't exchanged since Lu Ten's childhood. There would be peace for them and for the Fire Nation. There was nothing they couldn't accomplish together. Lu Ten released him and stepped away. "I love you, Father… General." Lu Ten held up the White Lotus one last time, flipped the tile with a wink, and slipped it in his pocket. Pride and warmth spread once again in Iroh's chest. They clasped arms and with one last soundless bow and smile, Lu Ten was gone into the night.