After spending the next few days at sea, the boat finally arrived in the Fire Nation, where it dropped anchor at the port of a harbor town. Once the ramp of the ship had lowered, everyone began to disembark and unload their baggage.

"Finally, dry land!" said Bolin, jumping down from the boat.

"So this is where mom is from; the Fire Nation." said Mako, also jumping down from the boat and landing next to Bolin. "I've always wanted to come see it someday.

"Hey Mako, do you think we might have some family members living here in the Fire Nation that we don't know about?" asked Bolin.

"Who knows." said Mako, shrugging. "I doubt we'll be lucky enough to run into them like we did with dad's side of the family in Ba Sing Se."

As everyone gathered at the harbor, two people approached from the town to greet them, one of them being Lord Zuko and the other being his grandson General Iroh.

"Greetings Avatar Korra." said Zuko. "It is an honor to have you here. This is the first time the Avatar has set foot in the Fire Nation since Avatar Aang."

"Hello Korra." said Iroh. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you too Iroh." said Korra. "I see you're taking some time off from your position in the United Forces."

"Whenever I'm off duty I come home to the Fire Nation to spend time with my family." said Iroh.

"I'd love to stay and talk, but I really must be going now." said Zuko. "I have some business to attend to back at the capital. I trust that General Iroh will be able to escort you to your destination. Simply board the train here in town and it will take you straight to the capital. We'll meet again at the palace, but for now I bid you farewell Korra. Enjoy your stay here in the Fire Nation."

Zuko walked away and climbed onto his dragon mount Druk who was waiting nearby, and then took off in the direction of the capital. After everyone had gathered their belongings they began to head for the train station, where they were surprised to find a very sleek and modern looking train. As the train sped through the Fire Nation countryside, it passed by a number of interesting locations on its way to the capital, including several modernized towns and cities, some of which looked even more technologically advanced than Republic City. While some of the places they saw were modern in appearance, others looked more ancient and mysterious, one of them being a forest filled with a great many spirits, which all seemed to congregate around the four large circular lakes near the center of the forest. After passing through the forest and leaving it behind, the train then made its way through another contrasting landscape, this one filled with devastation and ruins as far as the eye could see, with even a destroyed city off in the distance.

"What happened here?" asked Korra, looking out the train window. "Was there some kind of natural disaster? I've never seen devastation like this before."

"I'm guessing you've never heard of the war then?" asked Iroh, walking over to Korra.

"The war?" asked Korra. "You mean the Hundred Year War? That can't be. This damage looks too recent."

"It was recent." said Iroh. "About twenty years ago there was a civil war here in the Fire Nation. It started right around the time Aang died and lasted for about six years. You were probably too young to remember it, but I witnessed it firsthand and even fought in some of its battles. Many parts of the Fire Nation were left devastated by it, and although things have mostly gone back to normal since then there are still some areas that have yet to fully recover from the damage that was left in its wake. This place used to be Kotei City, but as you can see all that's left now are ruins. The war has certainly left its scars on the Fire Nation, and a lot of people here still hold some really bad memories of it."

"That sounds terrible." said Korra, feeling a sense of sadness as she looked upon the ruins of the city. "If only I had been a little older when it happened, then maybe I could have helped put a stop to it."

Hearing all this, Korra thought back to the time she had barged in on the meeting of world leaders during the Kuvira crisis. She remembered Firelord Izumi mentioning something about the Fire Nation having spent too much of its history fighting nonsense wars and wondered if this may have been one of those wars she was talking about. As the hours passed, one by one everyone on the train fell asleep, with Korra being one of the last people awake. She continued to stare out the window at the Fire Nation countryside, and as fatigue finally took hold of her she too drifted off into sleep.


Korra awoke from her sleep to find that it was now early morning and that she was the first one up. Feeling bored and still a bit groggy, she walked over to the window to see where they were, and was taken aback by what she saw. The train had now entered a very and large futuristic city, the sight of it filling her with awe as she took in its majesty. The first thing that caught her eye was a tall statue of Firelord Zuko in the distance, but something else about it also grabbed her attention. There appeared to be a man standing on top of its head, looking off into the horizon at the rising sun. As she leaned in for a closer look through the window, she could make see that the man was wearing a white featureless mask on his face. This caused her to immediately do a double take and rub her eyes, but when she took another look out the window, the man was now gone.

"Who was that?" asked Korra, speaking to herself and feeling somewhat unnerved. "Did I imagine that?"

Still half asleep, Korra pushed the thought to the back of her mind and decided to forget about it, thinking that she was probably seeing things after having just woken up. Without warning, the door to her train cabin was suddenly flung open with a loud bang, startling Korra and causing her to jump.

"I see you're up now." said Iroh, walking into the cabin.

"Iroh, you almost scared me to death!" said Korra.

"Sorry about that." said Iroh. "I just came to tell you that we've arrived in the capital. It's time to wake the others up."

Following Iroh's advice, Korra proceeded to wake up Asami, Mako, Bolin, and Naga, who were all asleep in the cabin with her, and after waking everyone else up they disembarked from the train with all of their luggage.

"Welcome to Capital City everyone." said Iroh, gesturing towards the city. "This is the Fire Nation's largest city and its seat of government."

"Wow, this place is amazing." said Korra, still awestruck by city.

Everyone else seemed to be just as awestruck by the sight of it as Korra was, this being the first time that many of them had been here. After leaving the train station they all boarded several cars that were waiting outside for them, ready to drive them to the Fire Nation royal palace. Once they arrived at the palace, there was a small group of people waiting there to greet them at the top of the steps, among them being Lord Zuko and his daughter Firelord Izumi.

"This here is the Fire Nation Royal Palace." said Iroh, leading them up the steps. "For thousands of years it has been the crowning jewel of Capital City."

"Greetings Avatar Korra." said Izumi, approaching the group. "We would be honored to have the Avatar and her friends as guests at the palace, especially after everything you've done for the Fire Nation during your past life as Avatar Aang."

"I've missed you mother." said Iroh, running over to Izumi and giving her a hug. "It's been so long since I last saw you."

"It's only been two weeks Iroh." said Izumi, sighing with annoyance. "Why must you always be so attached to me? Honestly, at your age it's embarrassing. When are you going to find yourself a girlfriend and get married?"

"Wow, I never would have guessed that General Iroh was such a mamma's boy." said Mako, surprised by the display.

"I guess it can't be helped." said Izumi, blushing and giving Iroh a hug in return. "It just runs in the family. His grandfather was the same way with his mother."

"Hey Mako, has anyone ever told you that you look like a younger version of Iroh?" asked Meelo, showing up next to Mako.

"Uh, no." said Mako, finding the question to be absurd.

"Now that you mention it, they do kind of look alike." said Korra, noticing the vague resemblance between the two.

"You even have matching scars on your arms." said Meelo, pointing out the scar on Mako's left arm and the scar on Iroh's left arm.

"We don't look alike at all." said Mako. "It's just our haircuts. We both have that firebender look."

"Firebender look?" asked Korra, laughing. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." said Mako.

As Korra and Mako continued to exchange banter with each other, an elderly woman approached the group to greet them.

"Hello everyone." the woman said, sounding happy and perky. "It's nice to meet all of you."

For someone her age, the woman seemed to have a very energetic and outgoing personality, which greatly reminded Korra of Ikki.

"Hi there." said Korra. "Who might you be?"

"My name is Kiyi." said the woman. "I'm Lord Zuko's sister. Well, half-sister actually."

Upon hearing her name, Bolin suddenly became giddy with excitement.

"I can't believe it." said Bolin. "It's really her."

"What is it Bolin?" asked Korra. "Is she famous or something?"

"I never thought I'd actually get to meet another one of the three legendary Dragon Siblings in person." said Bolin. "You have no idea how happy I am right now."

"Who are these Dragon Siblings?" asked Meelo.

"Only the three greatest firebenders alive." said Bolin. "They were key figures in shaping the Fire Nation's history during the decades following the Hundred Year War."

"I'm glad at least somebody remembers me." said Kiyi, smiling. "My accomplishments are usually overshadowed by those of my brother and sister."

"If you and Zuko are here, then does that mean your sister is too?" asked Bolin, unable to contain his excitement. "Where's Princess Azula?"

"Oh she's out and about as usual." said Zuko, walking over to join them. "I'm sure she'll be back later."

Bumi then stepped forward to greet Firelord Izumi.

"Hello Izumi." said Bumi, nervously. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It sure has my dear Bumi." said Izumi, smiling. "Too long."

Bumi and Izumi then proceeded to hug one another as though they were old friends.

"Do you two know each other?" asked Korra, surprised by how friendly they seemed to be with each other.

"You could say that." said Bumi. "Back in my days of serving in the United Forces, I spent a lot of time here in the Fire Nation. That's when I met Izumi, and the two of us became really close, and for a while we also dated."

"You dated Firelord Izumi!" said Korra, noticeably shocked by this revelation.

"That was a long time ago." said Bumi, sighing. "We were both young and in love, but unfortunately our different stations in life made it difficult for us to be together. She was a princess and I was but a mere soldier, and once my deployment in the Fire Nation ended I had to leave. It was hard at first, but eventually I got over it and we both moved on with our lives. Even so, Izumi and I have remained great friends."

"Unrequited love can be a sad thing." said Korra, looking off towards the direction of Lin. "It's a story I've heard before."

Izumi then called over some palace servants and had them collect their baggage.

"Just follow them and they will show you to your rooms." said Izumi, gesturing towards the servants.

"Thank you for all your kindness and hospitality Firelord Izumi." said Korra, respectfully bowing towards Firelord Izumi as everyone else followed suit.

"What do you want to do first Korra?" asked Asami, walking beside Korra as they made their way to their rooms.

"I feeling like doing some sight-seeing." said Korra. "There's so many cool things here that I don't even know where to begin. We've got a big day ahead of us."

After being shown to their rooms, Korra and her friends got ready to have the time of their lives in the city.


At around the same time that Korra and her friends had arrived at the royal palace, another meeting was about to take place in a small rural town located somewhere in the Fire Nation countryside. On the outskirts of this town was an outdoor noodle shop, where a man dressed in monk robes and a conical straw hat sat at one of the tables, eating a bowl of noodles. On the table in front of the monk was a Pai Sho board, which he played around with until he was approached by a boy with short, messy, black hair who looked to be in his early teens.

"Is this spot taken?" asked the boy.

"No, go ahead and sit down if you'd like." said the monk.

"I don't think I've seen you around here before." said the boy. "What's your name monk?"

"I am Monk Gyatsuboro." said the monk.

The boy sat down at the seat opposite the monk with his bowl of noodles, all the while studying him closely.

"You look bored." said the boy, noticing the monk staring up at the sky. "Want to play a game of Pai Sho with me?"

This seemed to pique Gyatsuboro's interest.

"Sure, I'll play." said Gyatsuboro, turning towards boy.

They each selected their pieces from the board, the boy choosing the red ones and the monk choosing the white ones, and then began to play.

"So you're going with red?" asked Gyatsuboro. "I guess I'll go with white then."

After playing for a while, the boy pulled off a maneuver in which he arranged all of the red pieces on the board into the shape of a lotus flower.

"May I ask you a question monk?" asked the boy.

"What is it?" asked Gyatsuboro, looking down lotus flower the boy had made with the red pieces.

"When does the lotus flower close?" asked the boy.

Gyatsuboro immediately looked up at the boy, as though he had been anticipating the question.

"It closes in the evening." said Gyatsuboro. "I see, so you're a member of the order too?"

"Are you Grandmaster Zaheer?" asked the boy.

"Don't use my real name out in the open like that." said Gyatsuboro, covertly looking around to make sure nobody had heard them. "I'm too well known by the authorities, so stick to using my alias when we're out in public."

Gyatsuboro took off his hat and set it down on the table, revealing himself as Zaheer, his face and head now cleanly shaven except for a short beard on his chin.

"I see you're trying to go with the whole monk persona." said the boy. "The look suits you well."

"I don't think I recognize you." said Zaheer. "Are you a new member?"

"I am." said the boy. "I joined the order during the time you spent locked up after your failed attempt to kill the Avatar."

"What's your name boy?" asked Zaheer.

"My name is Sanken." said the boy. "I'm the order's most recent grandmaster."

"You're Sanken the Iron Dragonfly?" asked Zaheer, a surprised look on his face. "Sanken the Magnet? Sanken the Untouchable? The one I've been hearing rumors about?"

"I take it you're a fan of my work?" asked Sanken, a cocky smile on his face.

"With your reputation, I pictured you to be a bit older." said Zaheer. "For someone as young as you to have climbed up the ranks so fast, it says a lot about your talents. What's a grandmaster of the order doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I would ask you the same thing." said Sanken. "I'm here to deliver a message. Our leader is calling together a meeting of all the remaining Red Lotus members. He's starting preparations for something big. If you're still with our cause, then he'd like for you to join us."

"My main reason for staying with the order was lost along with my comrades." said Zaheer. "What use am I to the order now?"

"I should mention that there's someone who really wants to meet you." said Sanken. "He says he's an old friend of yours, and he's also the one who sent me to come find you."

"An old friend you say?" said Zaheer, now interested. "Okay then, I'll come along for now and see what this whole meeting is about."

The two of them got up from the table and left, following the road that led out from the town and into the countryside.