I do not own Avatar
Legends – Fire
"Once, long, long, long ago, there was a time when the Fire Nation ruled almost the whole earth."
"Cool," said one of the young boys eagerly.
"Not 'cool,'" said the teacher." They ruled through fear, taking over one city at a time. Those who resisted were crushed, and the few remaining became too scared to do anything. It had been one hundred years since anyone had seen the Avatar, and the Fire Nation had killed all the Air Nomads, the next nation in the Avatar Cycle."
The students all looked shocked. Murmurs of dismay ran around the classroom, and the teacher stomped his foot to restore order.
"Hush! Let me speak!" When they had quieted down, he continued. "With no sign of the Avatar, the Fire Nation continued across the earth, conquering anything in their way.
"Fire Lord Ozai reigned at that time, and had two children – a son, Zuko, and a daughter, Azula. Zuko was in line to become the next Fire Lord, until he disrespected his father and was banished."
Everyone gasped. For one of the royal family, banishment was the worst possible punishment.
"He left in disgrace with his uncle, General Iroh. They sailed for a year, and then Zuko saw signs in the sky that told him the Avatar had been found. At once he knew what he could do. If Zuko captured the Avatar and brought him back to his father then he would certainly be given back his place and his honor."
The students nodded. It made sense to them.
"Zuko managed to take the Avatar from the Water Tribe village where he was seeking sanctuary, but he escaped and flew off with two teenagers from the Water Tribe.
"He chased them all over, coming close only to have them slip through his fingers time and time again. Until, one day, he saw his own face on a wanted poster. Not long after, he learned that his father had sent his sister, Azula, to bring him back . . . in chains."
Once again, the class gasped.
"He and his uncle knew they had to hide, so they disguised themselves as Earth Kingdom refugees. Iroh opened a teashop in Ba Sing Se, and they stayed there in relative comfort, though Zuko soon grew restless. He wanted to be on the move, to be hunting the Avatar.
"Soon, however, Azula showed up. Dressed as warriors from the village of Kyoshi, she and her two companions infiltrated the palace and took over Ba Sing Se. She immediately had her brother and uncle captured. Iroh was thrown in the dungeon, but Zuko agreed to help his sister, in hopes that it would put him back in his father's favor.
"However, racked with guilt over his betrayal of his uncle, the only real father he'd ever known, he soon left his sister's company. He freed his uncle, and they set off once again, with no real destination in mind.
"Soon came word of the impending battle, and they made their way to the Fire Nation. Zuko did not know which side of the battle to fight on. In the end, he did what he could for what he knew was right.
"Now, class, I hope you memorized last night's homework . . ."
The End