In the pillar of dark light, the man smiled. He stood on the center of his raised dias, and looked around at each of them. They sat on the edge of the darkness, hoods raised. Each of them sat in a different color of light. One sat in a dim blue mist, another sat in a low red fog, a faint green dust obscured the one beside her, and the last tapped his fingers in dappled yellow light.
The man in the center turned around to look at each of the four hooded figures. "Are there any questions?" He asked. His voice echoed off the marble columns bordering the chamber.
No, my Lord, his servants all said at once.
The man relaxed his face. "We must move swiftly," the man said, padding on his bare feet off the dais. He passed in between where the woman in the blue light and the man in the yellow light sat on their thrones. "If the other Nations find the child first, everything is lost. Master Marcian," the man said. "Tell us about your efforts."
The man began to pace around the outside of the circular table where the four figures sat. The figure who sat in the red light leaned forward, revealing thick pink lips. "I have managed to persuade the Fire Lord," the woman said. "Into believing that the Avatar is in grave danger of being found." The woman turned her head towards the man tapping his fingers in the grey light. "Master Antonius's efforts in convincing the Air and Water Council that the Avatar must be killed have benefited this effort.
"The Fire Lord believes that only someone in his absolute confidence can protect the Avatar." The woman leaned back into the red light, the darkness of her hood once again concealing her face. "I was unable to dissuade him from the idea of sending his daughter, Princess Cathra, in search of the Avatar."
The woman in the blue light laughed, a dark noise that sounded like ice shattering. "Is this the same Cathra that is now living in the Impera household?" The woman turned her head to the man in grey light beside her. "Antonius, just what are you up to?"
"I ask the same question of my children, but I never receive an answer." The man in the grey light sighed.
"We will distract the Nations with their search for the Avatar." The pacing man remounted the dais. "And then we will move to Phase Two."
Silence fell over the room like a blanket of night.
The man in the green dusty light spoke up. "I can arrange for the Avatar to make an appearance in Bah Sing Sae, Master Marcian. All I will need is time to prepare them for public debut."
The man in the center of the room smiled again. "Let the world think that their savior has arrived. You are picking up the habits of the Dai Li, Master Commodus."
The man in the green light bowed his head. "We adapt to our locations, my Lord."
The man in the darkness laughed. "That we do, Master Commodus… that we do." The man turned to the woman in the red light. "Master Marcian," he said.
"Yes, my Lord?" the woman leaned forward.
"You are to escort the Princess to the Fire Nation." The man in the darkness commanded.
"My Lord, the Fire Lord has asked of me to return one of his aging admirals back the Capitol as well. May I bring them back together?" The woman in the red light asked.
The man in the darkness waved a hand in dismissal. "Do whatever you have to do to maintain the Fire Lord's trust." The man in the dark light closed his eyes and imagined the darkness around him. Comforting, like the warm embrace of a lover. Soon, he would feel it forever.
In the pillar of dark light, the man smiled.