Ziggy's Corner: Chapter 8! The Air Nomads are about to be betrayed, and things go very badly. Sozen's hatred is taking over him, his humanity falling into the shadows. I have a new computer, but lost a lot of my files, so I can not remember what I said last, during the time line. So we'll say that eight years as past. Okay, here we go!
The war had been fought for so long now. Half of the north central continent of the Earth Kingdom was in the hand of the Fire Nation. What had been brought to defeat for so very long in the early stages, was now showing signs of glory. There were constant parades, people coming out in droves to cheer their king, and the military force that he had built. Sozen stood over all of them a quasi god glaring down on the mere mortals who looked to his will as law.
Everything he had wanted since the beginning of the war was in his hands now, everything but one thing. Somewhere out there, were the Air Nomads, and that meant somewhere out there, was the "avatar" as well. For a long time the Fire Lord had believed that the cycle had been broken, the people's faith shattered, the old religion crushed. Prayers in the Fire Nation, if indeed there were any prayers said at all anymore, were no longer directed to a superstitious figurehead, but rather toward one that held obvious power. Then rumors had arisen that the avatar was still alive, or had at least disappeared from his home, a small boy that was twelve years old, that was eight years ago. If he existed, he would be around twenty years old, ten years older than his own son, Kaori. A boy named after peace, and was anything but peaceful.
At the age of five, Sozen sent the boy to train at the newly formed Royal Academy. He excelled at most of the subjects, simply because his father willed him to be greatness. He was ignored numerous times for a lot of what Sozen considered trivial matters, and because of this, he ordered the boy's wills and whims to be answered without question, if nothing else to quiet his constant demanding for attention.
Sozen spent many months, studying the maps, leaving the attentions of the battlefields to his capable commanders, generals, and admirals, all of whom he had hand picked to serve his interests. As his interest in the whereabouts of the avatar grow, so did his interest in running the government, and he hand picked loyal men and women to run it for him, acknowledging he had final authority over anything that was brought up. It was a bureaucracy he intended to allow alive, but only on a very short collar.
"Commander," he barked.
A tall, thin man scurried in and blinked. "Sire?"
"Are you sure that all these areas in red have been carefully cheeked?" he asked, pointing to the red areas in his map.
"Sire, I assure you, all places you ordered to check are and have been checked," the commander said with a sigh. "We've interrogated the prisoners, gone though every scroll that we could find, we've done everything humanly possible."
"Not enough!" he roared, pounding his fist on the table and shattering it in pieces. "We're the Fire Nation, commander, the superior element, children of the flames! The other races of our world are as close to 'humans' as the wild beasts in the fields are as close to them." He inched closer to the other man, his eyes bloodshot for lack of sleep, his breath reeking of week old meat and sour bread. His beard on closer observation was tattered slightly, and there was some dried spittle in it.
"Sire…," the man began slowly.
"I am the savior of this world!" his king bellowed, his arms waving about as if they had minds of their own. "How can you expect me to save it, to bring it to an era of peace, if you refuse to aid me in the last effort, of crushing our most dangerous enemies?"
"My lord, if I may be so bold," he sighed, "That Air Nomads aren't going to wage war against us. They've had many chances to do so, and haven't yet."
"And that makes sense that they never will then, I suppose," Sozen growled, flames building from his thick body. He eyed the other man very seriously and tapped an impatient foot.
"Your Highness," the commander said, and it was all he managed to say. Sozen grabbed his throat, and tossed him into the wall, where he was impaled by a sword that hung there. Sozen felt the blood splash against his face, and quivered with anger and hate. It wasn't enough for him. Sozen grabbed another blade from the wall and hacked, screeching at the top of his lungs as he cut flesh, bathed in blood. Arms, legs, and guts flew everywhere, and still Sozen slashed and cut, using his free hand to tear out vital organs that no longer worked, from the other man's dead body.
"I will no tolerate cowardly actions, or laziness in my ranks," Sozen howled at the disemboweled body. "I most certainly will not!" Tears streaked down his cheeks, covered with the commander's blood as he stared at his work, and he caught his breathe.
"What have I done?" he asked in a low voice. He was a traitor, a coward who couldn't see your brilliance. It wasn't the first time he had killed one of his officers in rage. In fact, it had happened more and more often. "But he was only trying …," he whispered. You can't be allowed to be swayed by those who are beneath you. More and more often his own words when chastising himself, came in the tone of his younger self, while those mental thoughts of pure hate seemed to come from something no where near human. Give in to doubt, convince yourself you murdered someone of equal status to yourself, and you can give up your throne and let chaos reign. He licked his lips and straightened himself regally.
He turned and looked right into the face of his son, who stood blankly, craning his neck to see the carnage and then back at his father. Sozen tried to explain, breaking into a sweat, but the boy waved him off dismissively. "He was garbage, waste, just like the others," he said icily. Kaori wasn't always like this, but after listening to his father rant over and over, soon began to accept this attitude.
"Son," Sozen said, raising an eyebrow, never really sure, or not ready to admit, where the boy got this kind of attitude. His human features returned, and the weight of the world seemed to be lifted for a moment.
"You have visitors," the boy said calmly, and turned to leave. "They're in the throne room."
Sozen blinked and shook his head. "A visitor?"
"They says they know about the Air Nomads and that they can help you find them," the boy said dully. "Oh, I also need a raise in my allowance, there's a sword I've had my eye on."
"Another sword," Sozen sighed. "I've had the best crafters make you any numbers of swords."
"Not befitting a prince of the most powerful nation," the boy said with a low growl. "Sooner or later if the war continues I'll be going to the front lines, and my men are going to need something to inspire them to victory."
The Fire Lord agitatedly handed the boy the money, his heart racing. Somebody the whereabouts of the Air Nomads! Somebody knew something about them. It might be a false alarm, another execution in the making, but he could not take that chance. The capture of the avatar, and extermination of the Air Nomads would cement his victory in this war. Sozen hurried to his throne chamber, and sat in his throne, to face the elderly man dressed as an Air Nomad Monk, and a woman … if he could indeed call her that.
She was of average height, with long white hair, and blazing red eyes. She wore a long white robe, that matched her locks, and even her face, as she was the palest thing he had ever seen before in his life. Indeed, her skin was whiter than even the Americans, it was as if her whole body was a death mask, without the mask. Her skin was also full of tattoos, either inked, or carved into her skin with a blade. Face, arms, wrists, legs, they were all inked and carved up, so that she looked as if she was a master air bender. She smiled at him with light blue, razor thin lips and bowed in courtesy. "I am pleased to see you, your majesty." Her voice grit on his nerves, though it was somewhat alluring in a dangerous way. It was soft, almost beyond human hearing, and had a hollow lisp to it as she spoke the "s" and "ch" sounds. Like a snake, hissing. It was full of shadows, and dark flames, and an icy chill crept up his back.
He was old, but had such bitterness in his eyes, that he looked older still. He carried a staff, but Sozen didn't doubt the man didn't really need it. Like the Fire Lord, he seemed a little on edge around the woman.
"You have some kind of information about the Air Nomads for me?" he said.
She smiled and nodded. "I do," her laugh sounded like an engine on one of his metal ships had spread a leak. "How would you like to know where the temples are, where they live?"
"And how do you know this?" the Fire Lord asked.
"As you can plainly see," the man, called Afiko, said, "I am one of their number." He smirked and used his skills to prove it. A show off, but the man clearly knew how to bend air, and his dress and style and manner clearly proved that he was who he said he was. As to the woman, she cocked a head and blinked.
"Look at me Your Highness," spreading her arms across so he could study her. "These markings are from the Nomads. It means I'm a master air bender."
"From what I knew, the markings are completely tattooed, and not so … thoroughly," Sozen spoke with very slow words, his eyes unable to remove themselves from staring at her. She laughed again, and he cringed.
"We don't cut our markings in our skin with a knife," Afiko said sourly, and flinched as she looked at him.
"You've caught me, I mostly etched them into my skin, the superstitious fools at the temples feared the color of my skin as a curse, and banished me from their lands," her dark flaming eyes twitched violently, again she stared at Afiko, and again he twitched, turning his eyes from her. She twisted her hands a little and summoned a large gust of wind. "However, I knew it was my destiny to learn air bending, to be the greatest air bender ever." She smiled, her canines carved into shaper fangs than what they should have been.
"So you would betray them for vengeance?" Sozen asked, raising his eyebrow. There was no doubt of who she was now. He'd seen fancy parlor tricks to convince people that a person had been an Air Nomad, he'd seen fancy markings like what this woman wore too, to further the illusion, but the power she wielded was not fake. It could only be taught by the Monks and Nuns, or by studying them, which meant either she had been raised for a while by them and thrown out because of her skin, or she had stumbled on the temples and watched and learned from a distance. Either way, she knew where the temples were.
Afiko was arrogant, and proud of his power, convinced that he too was called to greater greatness than what he really was given. No doubt he wanted revenge, as much as he wanted power.
"That, as well as if they die, I will be the only air bender remaining, thus the most powerful one," she said with a thin smile. Shadows seemed to dance and leap as if obeying their master's whim as she stood there, her eyes full of flame and venom, and he swore that he could almost see the souls of tortured people wail within her eyes.
The Air Monk glared at her, his chest rising and falling as if he had been slapped in his face. "So sure you are, that your strength is the greatest?" Sozen knew right then and there that they had not come to his palace together. The woman glared at him, and this time the old man kept the other's eyes match for match.
"How will I get my men to the temples?" he asked. "We can't exactly fly."
"No, but my bison is strong, and I intend to lead the attack," she saw him frown, and shrugged. "Make the revenge sweeter if I do so." Afiko had acknowledged he had smaller bison that the Fire Nation could use, and also wanted to aide in the attack.
"How do I know you won't betray me?" he snapped.
"You don't, but this is your best chance," she said with a guffaw. She bent her head to the side. "I can lead them in a month, just need the proper provisions, money, and armor."
He sat forward. "Armor?"
"I've made some blue prints as to what I'd like it to look like," she said with a low chuckle.
He looked down at the prints and nodded. It matched her, animalistic, the fingers and toes were curled and clawed, the helmet would hide her face with the exception of her eyes, a mixture of both wolf like and predatory bird. "Very well," he said. "But tell me, your name… what is it?"
Her smile grew as evil as her appearance. "My name." She stopped to think. "My name is as cursed as the Air Nomads claim I am. I was named … Daeva."
"Demon," Afiko thought out loud, translating the name. She nodded.
"My bison's name is Ahriman, a name which is supposed to mean, 'evil', 'nightmare', 'accursed one', take your pick. He was throne out of his herd for being so large, and his whole darker than the night."
"Yes, I've heard of him, and you…," Afiko nodded. He turned to the Fire Lord. "She is a legend, a dark one, but a legend nevertheless, in the ranks of our people." He hated to admit it, but she was stronger, just as Aang was supposed to be. That brat, the Avatar! It wasn't fair! His strength was unmatched by any who had come before him, he should have been the one to inherit the Avatar spirit, not this little whiner.
Something cracked in Sozen just then, and he smiled, though his inner youth recoiled at his action. "Ahriman and Daeva. The Accursed One and the Demon. It has a nice ring to it."
"Just one last thing to add, I think," she hissed. He waited for her to talk, and then she lowered her head. "If I give you these temples, grant me the rank of admiral."
"If you can do as you say, then consider it done, Admiral Daeva." His eyes sparkled like newly discovered gems brought to the sunlight. "I must say, that does have a much nicer ring to it." His inner youth protested. She was just the kind of villain that he had hoped to free his people from once he defeated Gai in the duel. Sozen's mind and will pushed the words away, and he grinned with animalistic glee. He looked at Afiko. "You too will be granted a high rank in my inner circle, if you can pull this attack off."
The monk jumped and smiled, his heart racing. "My lord, it would be an honor," he said with a smile.
Sozen really didn't trust the man, not much the woman either, but with their combined strength, the balance of the war could shift nicely in his favor.
What about Admiral Daeva? If Sozen could be thought of as Anakin Skywalker, I guess you could say, she's his Emperor Palpatine in reverse, or the snake that tempted Eve to eat the apple. She's very dangerous, deadly, and one of the creepiest villains I've made in a while. She's going to play a major role in the rest of the series, right up to the end of chapter 12 and the end of this story. I recently read about Afiko at Wikipedia, and decided to add him too. He's the one who REALLY betrays the Air Monks according to the series and the card game. But I wonder, two Air Benders, in Sozen's pocket. Male and female, could you imagine what would happen if they married and reproduced? A whole line of Air Benders in the hands of the Fire Nation, serving them! Whoa, that's a story in itself! The Dark Air Nomads! Sway Kool!
The next chapter takes place three years after this one, and sees Sozen almost at his darkest. Hope you enjoy! I also wanted to vent or discuss my thoughts of who could play these characters if they were animated into an Avatar movie, which would be cool, whether or not they went in this direction. I'd love to really know how and why the war started, and it would be amazing if it mirrored this story in some elements. Anyway, I'd like to think that Renjiro would be voiced by Patrick Stewert, young teenage/twenty something Sozen by Drake Bell, and adult, old Sozen by Christopher Lee. Gai could be voiced when young by Josh Peck, and older version by Sean Connery. Admiral Daeva I think could be best voiced by either Tara Strong, or Lacy Chabert (I believe I misspelled her last name, Eliza from Wild Thornberries). Jennifer Love Hewitt I could see playing Sozen's wife. Anyway, what do you all think?