Chapter 3: Revelation
Fire Nation; Roku's island
Iroh took a long moment and a large sip of his tea as he looked at his nephew. To Zuko, the silence was almost unbearable - as if that alone was a rejection already. After what seemed like minutes to Zuko, Iroh closed his eyes and nodded slightly. "What is wrong, Prince Zuko?" he asked, indicating his nephew could tell him about his problem.
Zuko sighed heavily, still looking down at the ground between them. "Uncle…" he spoke, "I have lost my firebending." Iroh seemed not to react, as if he was waiting for a longer story. "How am I supposed to help the Avatar if I can't even bend fire anymore?" Part of him wondered why he asked his uncle. Even though he knew his uncle always had words of advice and help, he nonetheless felt like even his uncle could not help him this time.
Again, Iroh took a sip of tea and a moment to contemplate this revelation, which tormented Zuko, before he spoke. "It makes sense, nephew," Iroh finally said. "For years, your one goal was to find the Avatar to regain your honour. For years, your firebending was fuelled by that hatred and goal." To Zuko's frustration, another sip followed before Iroh finished his sentence. "You no longer have those goals, Zuko, and will have to find another way to fuel your bending." Iroh knew Zuko didn't understand exactly how the ways of bending, especially firebending, worked. But he also knew the young prince had to discover parts of this on his own.
Zuko sighed and closed his eyes at his uncle's words. How was this supposed to be of any help? The Avatar didn't have much time left to learn firebending and, as things were now, Zuko was one of the only options left to teach him. After a long moment of silent contemplation, Zuko sighed again and rose from his seat. "This is a waste of time, Uncle," Zuko spat as he turned to leave. "Why do you always have to beat around the bush?" As Zuko took a couple of steps towards the tent's exit, not really wanting to wait for the answer, a small smirk appeared on Iroh's lips. Zuko still didn't understand, but Iroh knew he would, soon enough. "Remember, Prince Zuko - anger never is the only way." Infuriated by what, in his eyes, were merely more cryptic words, Zuko stormed out of the tent. "Whatever, uncle!"
"Halt, right there!" A voice ordered as Zuko stepped out. The sight of half a platoon of Fire Nation soldiers and firebenders greeted the prince, and an anger flared up inside Zuko. Before he could do anything, though, the voice of his uncle sounded behind him. "Let the boy go, captain, and I will come with you without a fight." Zuko looked across his shoulder, narrowing his eyes at his uncle. What was going on? There was no reason not to fight these soldiers for his uncle's freedom… If only he had his firebending…
Iroh slowly walked forward, briefly placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder as he passed him. Without another word, Iroh and the soldiers marched off, leaving Zuko alone on the plateau. Zuko felt anger and disappointment - like he let down his uncle - as he watched the soldiers take away Iroh, his uncle, and the Dragon of the West. Suddenly, it came to Zuko… Dragon of the West… The original firebenders were the dragons.
Unfortunately, dragons were extinct…
