Avatar: The Last Airbender Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Avatar: The Last Airbender Owned By: Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Viacom

Based partly Msgr. James H. O'Neill's Prayer for General George C. Patton
All original content and characters © Acastus



Chapter X – The General

"The Fire Nation fleet set sail that next morning," Gao concluded in his charming baritone, "I would tell you more of that journey, esteemed guests, but very little of interest happened. After several weeks at sea, Xian's army disembarked as planned in the Gulf of Gela."

Iroh was snapped rudely out of his shared memory of that night by a spray of liquid from his left. The retired general lurched to avoid the spray, startling his nephew who stood up to prevent his uncle's ponderous frame from slamming into him.

The source of the explosion was obvious. Trimazu had spit an entire mouthful of wine onto the table and floor in front of him.

"What? WHAT?" the merchant thundered in fury at the old storyteller.

Gao turned in dismay, his eyes betraying more than a little fear, "I beg pardon, Master. How have I offended?"

"What do you mean, "how have I offended"? Are you out of your mind? You're going to tell me with a set up like that nothing happened? Nothing?"

Gao was flabbergasted, as were most of the guests. Some of the party goers, however, tittered at the merchant's outburst, though whether it was because they understood his complaint or were merely responding to his usual over the top delivery was unclear.

"Set up?" repeated the storyteller as if he'd never before heard the words strung together in such a way.

"Yes, a set up! That Chieng sounds hot. You just know she's one of those sassy, sexy, devilishly smart types who delights in playing hard-to-get! Just like those Genji stories. And now you're going to tell me that she doesn't end up with one of these guys?" His voice increased in intensity as he spoke. Then, pinching his nose he continued, "Please, don't offend my nostrils with such a heaping pile of dung!"

Releasing his nostrils Trimazu continued hopefully, "Come on, she ends up with Iroh, doesn't she? Confess!"

His ears and cheeks burning, Iroh raised his wine glass and drank heavily. Over the rim of his goblet, Iroh eyed his nephew, who returned the look with some surprise. Air accompanied the wine down the retired general's wind pipe and he erupted in a coughing fit, breaking eye contact with the young Prince.

"Uh, no, Master, she doesn't end up with Iroh," Gao replied.

"Okay, she ends up with that rake Nikon then, right?"

"No."

"The noble Xian?" the fat merchant wheedled eagerly.

"No."

"So she ends up with Tien Shin, then?" Trimazu concluded in horror, "How vile!"

"Uh, forgive me, Master, but, no, she doesn't "end up" with anyone," replied Gao, "at least not in this story."

"Yeh, okay, fine," the merchant replied in frustration, "maybe she doesn't get married or whatever, but we're going to get some hot sex, right?"

"No."

"Are you sure?" the merchant questioned in a scandalized voice.

"Yes."

"What?" the Merchant bellowed, "You mean no sex at all? What kind of a crappy story is this? What the hell am I paying you for?"

At this Trimazu picked up a guava fruit from one of the many plates in front of him and lobbed it at the old storyteller, who dodged the fruit with some difficulty.

"Crappy?" Iroh muttered, his eyes wide in dismay at the statement.

"You'll have to forgive him, Master Storyteller," Chen Ho inserted in a slightly slurred voice, "your story was the closest thing Trimazu was ever going to get to actually experiencing sex with a woman."

Few heard this brazen remark, but Trimazu turned to his neighbor, laughed and replied in a normal voice, "At least since your wife died, my dear Chen, but this is neither the time nor the place for me to relate my enthusiastic efforts to alleviate that poor woman's acute suffering!" Trimazu turned back to the Storyteller who stood in fear before him and barked so that the entire hall could hear him, "Gao! What is this crap? I demand an explanation!"

"I apologize for offending, Master," Gao begged, bowing low, "Had I known the requirement was for romance, I assure you I have many tales of the wild at heart whose passions overcome all reason. Do you wish me to stop, Master, and begin another tale more to your liking?"

Trimazu's face contorted with a sour look and with a gesture of frustration replied, "Oh, I don't know. I'll let our honored guests decide." Turning to Iroh he inquired, "What do you say, Xian? Do you want to hear more? Or should we ask for a Genji story?"

A veil of silence descended suddenly upon the audience and all eyes turned to Iroh. He and his nephew had been an object of curiosity among the guests when they had first entered the room, but the fascination had quickly died away. Parading around a couple of day laborers in the middle of a high feast for the nobility was probably neither the first nor the most outrageous stunt the merchant of Shanxi had perpetrated in his time. Iroh was keenly aware of the attention focused upon him. Although most of the faces were smiling, the sensation was most unpleasant and not out of any sense of modesty or embarrassment.

Trying to put the odd sense of mingled fear and shame out of his mind, Iroh's eyes panned around the room. Several audience members cried out for the story to continue. A few others yawned.

Then, to his surprise Iroh found himself replying, "Uh… no, Lord. I'd like to hear more," turning to the storyteller he continued, "Our noble storyteller seems… very well informed. I wonder if he might know something of General Nifong? Is he not the ill fated hero of our story?"

The audience members who had cried out for the story to continue clapped loudly at this response. Trimazu's sour look disappeared instantly. The merchant slapped himself on the forehead and cried, "Of course! An excellent idea! It's not as good as some steamy sex, but it will do! Gao, tell us what you know of old Deng the Hammer, for how can we have Xian without Deng Nifong? The very idea is monstrous."

At this Governor Tao leaned over, smiled and raised his fist in hearty agreement with Iroh, saying, "Excellent choice, Xian! General Nifong is a great Earth Kingdom hero worthy of celebration. I was too young to serve with him, but my brothers did. O that we had such leadership now!"

The old storyteller breathed a sigh of relief and replied to Iroh, "An excellent suggestion, my humble friend, and you make it at exactly the right moment," then in a conversational tone, "Tell me, you seem of Governor Tao's age, is General Nifong your hero too?"

Zuko folded his arms over his chest and surveyed his uncle, restraining the urge to snort derisively. Iroh looked down for a moment before replying, "He always had my respect."

The retired general looked briefly to his left to find the Merchant of Shanxi regarding him steadily, a slight smile on his face.

"Shall he continue, Lord?" Iroh inquired.

Trimazu regarded him a moment longer, made brief eye contact with the young Prince to his right, before replying with a wider smile, "But of course, my lowly friend!" Then in a much louder voice and addressing the wider audience he continued, "I'm paying him a fortune, haven't I said that yet?" Snapping his fingers he bellowed, "Gao, get on with it now!"

The old storyteller bowed, turned to the audience and resumed his tale. With a solemn expression he began, "Lake Myojin was Deng Zev Nifong's greatest victory – and his last…"


The man in green armor stood at the edge of the scrub desert, his back towards the richness of the Nasu plain. Before him on the horizon lay the vast expanse of the Dune Sea. The sun had long since set and the sky was illuminated by myriads of stars. A cold wind blew off the desert floor, ruffling the man's uniform. Crickets chirped loudly in the underbrush as the bushes sighed in the wind above them.

Approaching footsteps alerted the man to the presence of a newcomer. He knew the identity of the intruder by the rhythm of his footsteps.

"Yes, Captain?" he inquired without turning.

"Are you all right, General? You've been out here for awhile and we were beginning to get worried."

General Nifong, for of course that is who he was, continuing to contemplate the desert in the distance, replied, "Your pardon, Captain. I'm fine. I've just forgotten how cold it gets in the desert at night."

The younger soldier shuddered slightly and tugged his cloak more closely about him and replied, "Very cold, sir."

The wind continued to whip by for a few moments before the General continued, "I saw several riders. Have our…guests arrived?"

"Yes, sir. A new Fire Nation army has landed in the Gulf of Gela under the command of Prince Xian."

The aide hesitated, then closed his mouth.

"And?" prompted the General at the pause.

"Well, the reports are confused, sir. Three messengers arrived at the same time. The earliest report is already four days old. The latest is from this morning. Apparently the Fire Nation army has already disembarked, joined up with the Army of the Great Divide from Mequon and forded the Arno."

Deng exhaled and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we had been expecting them to arrive much further south, so…"

"Yes, I know. Who's first and how soon, then?"

"This is where it gets confusing, sir. General Jin's infantry held them at the Arno for a day or so, but the Fire Nation troops broke through near Sedan. They've moved with incredible speed. Most of Jin's men were surrounded and overwhelmed within hours." The Captain produced several pieces of paper and began to scan through them, his brow creased in concentration, "After the breakthrough, the enemy divided into several columns." He handed the papers over to his commanding officer and continued, "Looks like they are quickly encircling those parts of General Jin's army that are still fighting."

Nifong flipped through the pages and asked, "Where are their vanguards headed?"

"We don't know," the younger soldier admitted glumly, "All we know is that one column was on the road to Edo and will probably get there sometime tonight. The whole north end of the Nasu plain is afire, General."

"How are they moving so fast?"

The aide hesitated a moment before replying, "They have new machines, sir."

"Describe them to me."

The young Captain described the Fire Nation's latest invention in some detail. The machines spread panic and terror amongst Jin's men. Retreat had turned into a route. Deng said nothing while the younger man spoke.

"I see," Nifong replied, "And how has the general staff reacted to this news?"

"They're concerned, General. I left right after the news arrived, but a huge fight had already broken out between those who want to stick around and defend the Nasu and the rest who want to abandon it and attack Mequon. They're saying that this is the opportunity we've been waiting for to kick the Fire Nation out of the Earth Kingdom and that we shouldn't waste it. Either way, it won't be long before everyone starts asking for orders."

"Of course you're correct." Then turning to face his companion for the first time in the interview he inquired, "So, is she ready then?"

Without blinking an eye or betraying any hint that the question was a non-sequitur, the aide replied, "Yes, sir. She's waiting for you now."

The Earth Kingdom general allowed himself a slight smile and replied, "Thank you, Captain. Tell Madame Wu I will join her in a few minutes. Dismissed."

The young soldier exchanged salutes with his superior and left the way he had come.

When certain that he was alone, Nifong drew a mighty breath and squatted low. Spreading his arms wide with him palms upward he raised a perfectly circular pillar of stone before him. With a twist of his hands the top of the pillar became crenellated and a pattern raised itself on its exposed face. Although the pillar was only a few feet high, he raised a stone to serve as a single step almost as an afterthought. Standing up straight, he then walked up onto the top of the pillar. The pattern on the top of the pillar was the solid, familiar emblem of the Earth Kingdom. He knelt when he reached the center, his arm resting on knee as he began his prayer.

Spirit of the Earth, hear now this prayer from thy most humble servant. Thy divine guidance has ever been the author of my victories and the safeguard of thy people. Yet now the Fire Nation has once again chosen to make war upon us. My heart should overflow with confidence, but it does not. My dreams are dark, and the shadows by day seem so much longer than they used.

I raise my voice now to thee in prayer as I feel the rapid approach of some great turn of events, and beg thee once more for thy divine favor in the struggle to come.

Grant us, O Spirit of the Earth, understanding of our enemy, for courage, strength, determination and skill at arms we hath ourselves in abundance. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon thee that, armed with thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and restore the sacred balance among men and nations.

Deng opened his eyes and stood once more. With a single glance toward the Dune Sea before him, he turned and stepped off the altar of living stone. As he walked back to camp, the pillar dropped back into the earth from which it had sprung.