Avatar: The Last Airbender Created By: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko
Avatar: The Last Airbender Owned By: Nickelodeon, a subsidiary of Viacom
All original content and characters © Acastus
Chapter XLII – Vyazma
"Now, most noble guests," the storyteller continued, for the time of reckoning had come, "Our story finally takes us to the lamented Battle of Mequon. The night has sped by, and by my hand I see that we have now begun the second hour of the new day. Bear with me but a little longer and we shall come to the end of our tale. Alas, now we must pay for the glory of Lake Myojin as I promised."
"Yet, before we take this final plunge into darkness, let us step back and reflect for a moment on the day and age in which these events took place, so different from ours today."
"It was the autumn of the seventeenth year of the reign of the Earth King Hua Min. At that time the great poet Ying Lao was finishing his greatest work, the Galidiad, in the quiet comfort of Ba Sing Se. Far to the south the Southern Water Tribe had recorded the warmest summer on record, banishing the practice of ice fishing completely until the following year... and on the steppes of Mequon, the Earth Kingdom witnessed the bloodiest four days in our recorded history."
"Only a small part of the infamous battle took place before the gates of that mighty fortress, and though the fate of the colony and the fortunes of war for a generation were decided in those dreadful days, the greatest deeds and bloodiest fighting were seen many leagues distant, near the small market town of Vyazma. In and around this small patch of ground which had no honor in its possession save the name, the armies of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom fought and poured out their life's blood for their respective causes. Places with strange and unlikely names were destined by Fate to play a part in history. Now, we shall hear tell of the dreaded Field of Coins, The Crossroads, and Sad Hill."
"Yes, my friends," the storyteller continued, his expression grieved, "before this tale is over, we shall see the Army of the Granite Mountains, exhausted, ragged, and spent, face utter destruction at the hands of General Iroh and his pitiless conquerors. "
The old man swept the room once more and saw his monologue had achieved the desired effect. The audience's mood had swung dramatically from elation at Lake Myojin, to wonder at the desert crossing, suspense at the exploration of the dam, and growing apprehension as the story drew inexorably to the slaughter at Mequon.
The chamber's disposition was now somber. Guests who had fallen asleep after dessert had been woken by their companions. All eyes now looked to Gao with growing unease, the atmosphere steeped in a tense silence.
Iroh stole a glance at his immediate neighbors. Even Trimazu and Chen Ho, much to Iroh's surprise, had ceased their bickering. The merchant idly fingered one of his rings, pushing its jeweled crown round and round his finger in a mute, telltale expression of disquiet. Chen Ho twirled his drooping mustache, his eyes flinty and cold. The ex governor, his back erect, his hands folded neatly in his lap, could have been a statue. The other audience members exhibited similar signs of unease.
For the first time that night Iroh did not need to disguise his emotions. The audience's feelings of sadness and anxiety mirrored his own. He looked over at his nephew, who, with arms folded in a gesture of self protection, wore his trademark scowl. The retired general turned back to the bard.
"Now, my friends," Gao continued after completing his survey, "I give you the Battle of Mequon."
Colonel Fong was in an excellent mood. After fording the Chaophraya his division had made rapid progress. The column spent a little more than a day negotiating the grassy, gently rolling hill country of the eastern steppes before they came upon a remarkably straight thoroughfare. Fong and his soldiers had cheered at the sight, for this road led to the gates of Mequon. This famous and mighty artery was none other than the Silk Road and it ran across the entire breadth of the Earth Kingdom. Far older than the Jade Highway or even the Omashu Highway, the Silk Road was a wide, raised edifice built to transport volumes of traffic that had long since vanished. Using this corridor Fong and his unit moved rapidly west with the other divisions of Colonel Jenju's First Cavalry Corps in tow.
The country which they traversed was largely open, but they passed several market towns. All of these welcomed their liberators with cheers, music and gifts of food and flowers. Heaps of Fire Nation flags were burned, the flag of the Earth Kingdom was raised far and wide, and the fascist administrators and jailors who had administered the Fire Lord's slave state had been ruthlessly executed, their lifeless bodies left to rot in every village square.
The weather continued to be fine, and the men of the Seventh Cavalry sang to the heavens in praise of the Earth Spirit and General Nifong. When Colonel Fong himself appeared, as he often did, they delighted in switching to bawdy verses making fun of their beloved young commander who laughed right along with them.
"Men of Ba Sing Se, keep close to your women, for here's a bearded adulterer.
Gold in Amiganza you spent in dalliance, which you borrowed here in Ningbo!"
After a few days they crossed an ancient stone bridge over the Donetz River almost as large as the ones wrecked by the flash flood they encountered at the Chaophraya. On the northern horizon the escarpment of the Dune Sea was once again visible as it had been on the Omashu Highway during their journey south.
Colonel Fong stroked his luxuriant beard, a smile on his lips, as he cantered his ostrich horse forward to the head of the column. He liked to ride point with the commander of the lead squadron as often as the situation permitted.
The young woman in command smiled and saluted as he joined her.
"Welcome, Colonel!"
"Greetings, Lieutenant! An excellent day to ride, don't you think?"
"Yes, sir, we're making good progress and there is still no sign of Fire Nation forces."
"Oh, don't worry about the enemy," he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "we won't see any lobster backs until we get to Mequon!"
"That's a shame, Colonel," she replied with a mischievous grin, "We're all getting bored."
"Hah! A fine sentiment, Lieutenant! I too would like something interesting to happen."
"Well, we can't expect to fight a battle like Lake Myojin more than once in our lives, can we?"
Fong laughed in hearty agreement.
"Well, hope springs eternal!"
They rode in comfortable silence for some time before the Colonel spoke again.
"What was the name of the town we passed yesterday morning, Lieutenant?"
"Vyazma, sir."
Fong's countenance brightened.
"Good, we are making excellent progress then. We should make the outer wall of Mequon the day after tomorrow!" then, after a moment of thought equivocated, "Well, maybe the day after that anyway."
A courier appeared from behind, slowing down rapidly from a dead gallop. The rider, caked with dust and dirt, saluted.
"Oh great Earth Spirit," Fong swore with a small laugh, "another one?"
Why wouldn't the old hen just leave him alone?
The courier handed him a scroll tube. Fong sighed and opened it. He recognized the seal.
"Is Colonel Jenju ordering us to slow down again?" the young woman asked with suppressed mirth.
"No, not this time," he replied in a suddenly neutral tone.
The scroll was from General Nifong. He rolled it up and placed it back in the tube.
"Anything wrong, Colonel?
"No, I just have to go see the General," he replied with a confident smile, "Looks like we'll have hold up here for awhile, Lieutenant, at least until I can figure out what's going on."
"Yes, sir," she acknowledged, a confused expression on her face.
Fong kicked his ostrich horse into a gallop. He didn't bother to tell her that he'd been relieved of command.
"Shoes? Really?" Liu prompted incredulously.
"Yes, Colonel," the adjutant replied, "some of the men from the Second Division thought there might be shoes there."
"And Colonel Cho permitted this?"
"Apparently she did, sir."
Liu swore under his breath. Armies had been destroyed for stupider reasons.
"All right, what's this place called again?"
"Vyazma."
Liu bit his lip as he considered this new information.
"How far ahead of us is First Corps now?"
"Has to be two days at least, maybe three."
"Damn him!" Liu thundered in impotent frustration, "Fong should have been fired the day after we crossed the Chaophraya! Jenju should be relieved too, dammit! She can't control him and he can't obey orders!"
"Yes, sir, but what do we do about the enemy now?"
Liu suppressed his anger ruthlessly. He knew it would not help. Biting his tongue, he forced himself to think.
"Are we in possession of the town?"
"Yes, sir, apparently we surprised each other. The fascists resisted briefly, but retreated southwest along the Silk Road."
"Do we have a description from the scouts?"
The aide handed Liu a scroll. He unrolled it with a flick of his wrist.
"I see… colonials. Probably from the garrison at Mequon."
"Yes, but they fought well, at least according to this report. Most of our soldiers weren't benders, so it wasn't an even match."
Liu grunted. That made sense. Many earthbenders preferred to go barefoot. The pikemen and blade wielders would be the ones interested in shoes.
"We should go after them, right, sir? Looks like a couple thousand at most, but that's got to be half the garrison. It'll be a lot easier to take them down out here than if we let them hole back up in the city."
The adjutant's reasoning was sound, but Liu hesitated anyway. He was no fool.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea. We're strung out as it is."
"Yes, sir, but I'm afraid Second Division is already in pursuit. Colonel Cho sent this."
Another scroll changed hands. Liu's eyebrows disappeared underneath his bangs in surprise.
"Coins? You're kidding me."
"That's the word, sir, a huge field of them, apparently left over from Sozin's invasion."
"Yes… probably from the counterattack after our defeat at Hue… if I remember the history right."
Liu stroked his beard thoughtfully. The opportunity was too good to pass up. He made his decision with a quick nod of his head.
"Right, let's make short work of it then. We'll use the scouts as light cavalry to put pressure on their left flank and push them into the coin field. I want orders dispatched to Fifth Division and Twelfth Cavalry and a message sent to Colonel Jenju. If she can get Fong's outfit back under control she may be able to return in time to help."
"Yes, sir, we can probably push them into the coins by early tomorrow morning. Do you plan a night attack?"
"No, Lieutenant. We'll go for encirclement and attack at first light."
It was late afternoon. The action at Vyazma had probably taken place two hours before. Liu squinted up at the sun and made some rough calculations in his head. He had done this many times over the years and knew his estimate would be accurate to within an hour.
"Colonel Cho can move Second Division against their left flank as the enemy retreats. We should be in position on their front by sunrise. Fifth Division can probably set up on their eastern flank by the third or fourth hour. Twelfth Cavalry might even get here before the Fifth if they pivot quickly enough."
"If they march all night the Fifth will be pretty tired out, sir," the aide pointed out, "is it really a good idea to expect them to attack without rest?"
"No, it isn't, but we'll do the heavy lifting along with Cho's men. The Fifth and Twelfth Cavalry will just have to prevent escape. We'll outnumber them six to one without them anyway…and besides," the Colonel added with a wry grin, "we'll have all the toys an earthbender could hope for, isn't that right, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, Colonel," the aide replied with a matching grin, "Sounds like the enemy is going to have a tough time in the Field of Coins."
"Let's hope so. Meanwhile, we must inform the general of our situation."
The waning moon hung low over the horizon when the green clad general received the message. His adjutant, who slept as little as his commanding officer, appeared before him as a dirty, mud spattered mess. After exchanging salutes the young captain handed Nifong the report from Colonel Liu.
"Did you read this, Captain?"
"Yes, sir."
"What do you make of it?"
"It looks like a good opportunity to destroy the Mequon garrison. Unfortunately, Colonel Fong's… intransigence…" the adjutant chose the word carefully, "has left us all spread out over almost a hundred leagues. So, I think we're exposed."
"You don't sound as optimistic as you once did," Nifong noted.
"You have taken great pains to teach the value of sobriety and humility, General, but… it looks like Colonel Liu was right about Colonel Fong…" the younger man hesitated, but ultimately pressed forward with his admission, "I feel a bit of a fool for encouraging him about reaching Mequon first and all that."
"If you feel a fool then how should I feel, Captain, when I trusted him with the power to expose us so foolishly?"
Nifong could not prevent some bitterness from showing in his voice. The aide knew his superior's self-criticism was justified, but he could not bring himself to voice agreement. Besides, the question was clearly rhetorical. Receiving no reply, he followed up with a more prosaic inquiry.
"Have we received any reports from the southbound scouts?"
"Nothing yet, sir."
This was not troubling in and of itself, but the grizzled general suspected it nonetheless.
"Well," the younger man offered, "since it looks like it's just some garrison troops, Colonel Liu should have no trouble, right?"
"If the situation is what it seems, then no, he should have no trouble at all."
"Right, in fact, it's almost a shame there isn't more of them – what more favorable ground could we ask for than a field full of huge stone disks? That's a nice stroke of luck."
"Remember the old adage, Captain," the green clad general warned, "be careful what you wish for, you might just get it."
The younger man considered this for moment.
"No matter," Nifong continued, straightening his uniform, "We must break camp immediately and conduct a forced march to support Colonel Liu."
The adjutant looked at his superior in surprise, for the men had only camped a few hours prior and few had gained any rest since they had stopped.
"Why, sir? It's just a small band of colonials."
"Probably, but we need to tighten up the column no matter what, and if this is what we believe it is then we will stop to rest after the garrison is eliminated."
"… and… if it isn't?"
"Then we will be in position to support our comrades when they need us most. If we march tonight we should reach their position in no more than a day."
Nifong and his aide left to rouse the soldiers camped around them to action.
