I have use of you" were the words written on the letter.
He had heard stories about an island that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, one moment there was nothing, the next it was right there, the Fire Nation was just going to let such a thing go unexplored and so soldiers were sent in.
They found an entire kingdom on the island, they were given a choice surrender or be destroyed.
They refused and a war began.
The war had ended in the end a deal had been made, no one from the Fire nation would be allowed on the island without the Aincradians permission.
There was just one problem with that deal, the surrounding lands now belong to those people and as a direct result certain people ended up taking refuge in those places.
The border of the island, the surrounding sea, and the nearby lands were off-limits, the sea for the islanders could fish and go from mainland and back.
The mainland was the real division of the boarders, neither side would cross the mountains, no one cared about those lands, simply because the lands themselves were completely unfertile, served no strategic purpose, had no useful minerals and were difficult to even walk on.
He could feel the cold wind on his skin, as the ship neared the border of the island, he could already see the various boats just lingering bout passing their time in this hot day, or catching fish to sell or eat.
Some buildings were being built, each one had a design different from the other but they still maintained their specific functions.
For example, the people from the Earth Nation built their homes stronger than the other nations because they either had to deal with wild animals or the fact that the ground beneath them was constantly moving, so their buildings were reinforced.
The people from the Water Nation made their comfortable, they had figured out how to regulate the temperatures of their homes, somehow they were never too cold or too hot.
The people of the Fire Nation made theirs for multi-use, every space was ut to use simply because of what they have learned over the years, the Fire Islands make it difficult to build, so the houses had to be made in a way that everything had a use.
He could see the island now, it was surrounded by strange metal tubes, there were catapults and animals on top of walls that were on the inside of the island itself.
The edges of the island had people simply sitting on the sand relaxing and enjoying the sun, some were swimming, others were cooking food.
His ship finally stopped and as he began to walk onto the shore, he found several armored men and women waiting for him and those accompanying him.
"Welcome Prince Zuko, we received your letter and have come here to listen to your request" one of the men said to him.
"Last year, our two kingdoms got off to the wrong start. I would like it f you would agree to share your technology with us and in exchange, I offer the trade routes and lands I control" he answered the man.
"We have a none aggression treaty with your father, one of the conditions to it, was we don't move into his borders." the man answered him.
"Right but the deal never mentioned my kingdom, as you know or perhaps you weren't aware I was exiled by my father, I have my own lands, separate from the main Fire Nation"
"What I came here for, is an Alliance between me and your people" he answered the man.
"We need time to discuss, however, we don't have any rooms available right now, so you will have to wait on your ship"
He walked back onto his ship and he couldn't help but remember the events of a few days ago.
He stood in front of his father, the ruler of the entire Fire Nation.
"My spies report several untapped resources on that island, I will grant you lands, ships and soldiers, your job is to obtain everything you can before they realize you tricked them"
"This means that everything from allowing benders from other kingdoms and trade between you and isolated lands will be permitted"
"You have been a disappointment from the beginning, I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself."
" You probably thought to your self I could do a better job if I was Fire Lord, well here's your chance, get everything from technology, animals, minerals and build up your strength"
"Get out"
He was led to a castle that had been abandoned for years and needed to be repaired, soon soldiers and servants began to arrive, finally, ships carrying workers to repair the castle and the surrounding buildings.
He had o go loke at his newly acquired lands and unfortunately, everything was either impoverished or had no one living on those lands.
A servant ran up to him and handed him a letter it was a list of conditions, he wrote down a simple word and told the servant to give it to the one that had given him the letter.
"Deal " was the one word he had written down.