"I swear by almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty, King Kuei, His heirs and successors and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend His Majesty, His heirs and successors in Person, Crown and Dignity against all enemies and will observe and obey all orders of His Majesty, His heirs and successors and of the Generals and Officers set over me."

- Earth Kingdom Royal Army Oath of Allegiance

Two swordsmen approached each, their swords sheathed to their sides. A man stood in between the two fighters to officiate the fight.

"I am candidate Hong Hui," said one of the swordsmen, who was a young man.

"I am Warrant Officer Ping Qiang," replied the older man.

"Your name is peaceful strength. I like that."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. This is an examination of your swordsmanship to see if you are worthy of joining our group." Around them were other warriors who were watching the spectacle with their own weapons, arraying themselves in the enclosed courtyard. Behind the official, sat a line of men in uniforms. One of them was a member of the Dai Li, whose threadbare uniform was out of place.

"For future reference," said the official. "Please simply give your name. Now, please begin."

The two swordsmen bowed to each other and drew their swords.

"Begin!" ordered the official and the swordsmen began to slash at each other.

"I'm surprised that you still like to dress like that brother Zheng Zhong," whispered a young man next to the one with the uniform of the Dai Li. The clanging of iron blades against each other filled the air.

"You were Dai Li once," Zheng Zhong replied.

"I left after that snake, Long Feng, slithered in and corrupted it."

"The Dai Li had always served the Earth King, you were always too impatient."

"Long Feng served himself. It's because of him that the Dai Li are now disgraced and disbanded. You shouldn't even be wearing that uniform."

"It was Long Feng and the others who betrayed the king. I and my friends tried to stop him. Did you forget? If you had been there, we have been able to stop him long before he would have committed his betrayal."

"That's enough!" the young man ordered to the swordsmen when they disengaged from each other. "Next candidate, please."

The swordsmen sheathed their swords and bowed to each other. Hong Hui walked backwards, bowed again, turned and left as another took his place, and repeated the ritual and gave his name. Ping Qiang returned the formality, and the official began the match.

"All these men are brave warriors, all of them deserve to join our group," continued the Dai Li.

"I would like to have them all join. But, with the way things are right now we can't afford to. Besides, my brother, the king wants to keep the army small."

"That would harm us in the short run, we need more men if we are to keep order in our country."

The young man turned to study the Dai Li.

"Orders are orders."

"Orders are more like guidelines, and officers should be free to interpret them, based on the realities that they face. The people are growing impatient, words of hope and opportunity cannot fill empty stomachs."

The young man furrowed his brow.

"What are you suggesting?"

"That you should consider doing what your half brother cannot, or will not do."

"As prince and brother to the king, I am sworn to support and defend him. No matter what the cost."

The Dai Li turned away from the two fighters and looked at the young man straight in the eye.

"It's all for the Earth Kingdom, Your Royal Highness, Prince Chielun."

"I will not commit treason."

"Your words, not mine. And though my loyalty is ultimately to the king. You are my lord as well as my sworn brother. And I am NOT telling you to commit sedition; all that I am saying that you should be aware of what is happening. You must be prepared, you must diligent, you must never let down your guard. Wherever you go I will follow. Whatever order you give I will carry out with expedience. But mark my words, because no one wants to admit it, but our country is weak, and there are a lot of ambitious men in the world who are looking for an excuse to seize power. The Harmony Restoration Movement may spell the end of the Earth Kingdom as we know it."

"Enough!" ordered Chielun. "Bring the next candidate!" Turning to Zheng Zhong he whispered. "We will not have this discussion in front of my men."

"Neither a wise man, nor a brave man lies down on the path of history, to wait for the teamsters of the future to trample over him."

A new candidate approached Hong Hui. "My name is Haru," Haru bowed.

"I am Warrant Officer Ping Qiang."

"Your name is different, are any of your parents an Air Nomad?" asked the official addressing Haru. If he was standing any closer he would be looking down on Haru from his nose.

"What has that got to do with anything?" asked Haru indignantly.

"...What unit did you serve under?" asked Ping Qiang.

"Well...I guess it was my own army in a way. My father and I just got a group of villagers together that we met in prison. My father was the leader. Later, we tried to defeat the Fire Nation by invading their capital on the day of black sun."

"You were there?" asked Ping Qiang. "That was truly a valiant attempt. I wish I could have been there."

"Yes, it was. After that, I travelled with the Avatar for a bit, and later fought with Hokada of the Water Tribe, along with the freedom fighters."

"Chief Hokada?" Ping Qiang's eyes brightened up.

"But you were never part of the official army?" the official asked briskly.

"No. But I still fought for the Earth Kingdom to drive out the Fire Nation. And I'm Earthbender, see." Haru performed a simple Earthbending technique, which raised a pillar of earth and then lowered into the ground again, leaving the ground smooth.

"So I see," Ping Qiang said quietly.

"I'm sorry," the official said dismissively. "I would like to have you participate in the examinations, but we do not allow Air Nomads, or those without a military record join our ranks. I will have to ask you leave."

A handful of Earth Kingdom soldiers surrounded Haru to escort him out.

"Wait a minute! I'm not an Air Nomad! Just give me a chance!" Haru yelled through the guards.

"Let the boy prove himself," said Ping Qiang irritatedly.

"I'm sorry, the rules are the rules. I don't make them. I just carry them out," replied the official. The guards grabbed Haru.

"Don't make things harder on yourself boy," whispered one of the guards but Haru still put up a fight.

"If he won't go quietly, then use your strength to convince him," Chielun said. Everyone looked at the prince confused.

"You heard him! Throw him out!" yelled the official to the guards.

"Belay that order," Ping Qiang said sharply. "We were ordered to use our strength to convince him. So that means we have to fight him," smirked Ping Qiang, which earned the official's ire who glared at him.

"Release him," Ping Qiang ordered and the soldiers obeyed, returning to their posts.

"Thanks," said Haru.

"Your thanks are wasted if you cannot defend yourself," said Ping Qiang as he drew his sword. Haru grimaced as he drew his sword.

"Begin!" said the official.

Later that night Prince Chielun was enjoying a nice quiet dinner with his pretty young wife. It was a shame that peasant Haru was not accepted to take the final examinations. But he could not afford to be charitable. The people were now going to the markets to shop once more, and with greater enthusiasm. But this was to be short-lived once the soldiers start returning home and unemployment will start to rise. This would leave a lot of men unemployed who had made a living by swinging a sword, instead of learning to become skilled craftsmen, farmers, or merchants.

And under the Harmony Restoration Movement, the lands occupied by the Fire Nation were now effectively up for grabs for anyone with an army to back them. In effect Zheng Zhong prediction could very well become true. As the various Earth Nobles are now marshaling their armies in anticipation of the removal of the Fire Nation's colonies. They also have set their sights on the Air Nomads' traditional domains. As for Chielun, he had a dinner guest that evening, an Air Nomad nobleman was dining with him. Who politely declined the offer of wine, and opted for tea instead.

"You are not fond of wine, Hisaishi?" asked Chielun after his guest refused the offer.

"There is nothing wrong with the wine of his His Royal Highness. But I have a notorious drinking habit. It's habitual and uncontrollable. I recently had a bout of ulcers that nearly took my life, my physician tells me to change my ways and to pray to God."

"That is good. One should always look after one's health. My own father died of ulcers. I wish that he could have been with us and witnessed our victory. And one must also look after one's spiritual health."

"Affairs of life and death are not to be trifled with...The father of His Royal Highness was a good man. The prince's conduct during the war does His Late-Father honor."

"Thank you."

It was not unusual for nobility to talk to royalty in this way. In terms of hierarchy, the prince's station is above a lord's, and therefore should speak in third person when addressing him. Saying "you" or using their name would be too familiar if they are acquaintances.

They continued late into the night, it started out as small talk and later developed into more weighted subjects, especially matters of commerce and economics. Chielun could not help but be amused by his guest's intellect. That is until Chielun's wife yawned, placing her hand in front of her mouth. Both men stared at her and laughed, which increased her embarrassment.

"Ha, ha, ha! My apologies to Her Ladyship, if the discussion is boring. I should have brought along my daughter with me, surely she would have found much to talk about."

"I'm sorry my lords. Things such as trade and commerce are beyond my knowledge," the princess apologized elegantly.

"Then we should find more pleasant things to talk about," suggested Chielun.

"Perhaps. But as His Royal Highness may very well know by now my visit is not a social call. It concerns the matters the possible annexation of my fiefdom into His Majesty's Dominion. And I do not speak just for myself. The various lords and ladies who are my neighbors had chosen me to represent them. And we are quite concerned about what an annexation, if it were to come about, would entail."

"Well, as the king's brother, I will be garrisoning troops in your fiefdoms to ensure that your towns and villages will be protected. We will not take any power from you as you would be free to rule over your fiefdoms. But you would still have to answer to me. And my wishes are the same as the king's. You also have to abide by the king's edicts concerning commerce and trading regulations."

"...But that would that mean that I would have no control over my own personal economy?"

"No. I would have no real control over the economy. My troops would be patrolling the roads and trading hubs, and there will be officials regulating the trade routes. And you have your own personal economies that you control. But you and the other nobles, would not be allowed to mint your currency."

"...We would have to use the Earth Kingdom's currency? Not ours?"

"Yes. The royal government would provide the means necessary to circulate the Earth Kingdom's currency, while at the same time remove the excess."

Hisaishi narrowed his eyes slightly.

"And if the Earth Kingdom were to go to war? What obligations do I have with His Majesty?"

"The king's enemies would become your enemies."

"...Do my enemies becomes His Majesty's enemies?"

"...Yes. You are a part of His Dominion afterall."

"Is His Majesty's, or His Royal Highness'?"

"...I serve His Majesty. Therefore His Majesty is your sovereign and your rightful lord."

Hisaishi looked at Chielun motionless. Chielun eyed Hisaishi's sword that was close to his hand that would require little effort to pick up and unsheath. Chielun relaxed his hands slightly that were placed at his lap and near his dirk that was tucked at his waist. He could easily unsheath it and throw it at Hisaishi's throat if he attacked him. Moreover it was out of view from Hisaishi, but most likely had noticed it before dinner.

"Then I propose a toast to the royal family's continued good health," Hisaishi smirked, which made Chielun a little uneasy. It was carefully statement. Hisaishi could have easily made the toast for him or for the king. "Long live His Lordship!"

After everyone went to bed that night, Chielun stood in his garden stargazing. He was never superstitious, and would rather not to be influenced such silly notions that the movements of the planets or stars predetermining fate. Whatever disaster, calamity, or good fortune so-called fate has in store for them, it is usually come about from human efforts.

"Dearest," said Chielun's wife as she approached him. "Come to bed, it is late."

"Not yet my dearest. I wish to look at the stars a little more. I love this country. In Ba Sing Se there aren't any good viewing spots."

"Nothing compares to Be Sing Se," said his wife. "Truly, Ba Sing Se is the greatest country in the world."

Chielun chuckled. "Don't be daft, Ba Sing Se isn't a country. It's the Royal Capital of the Earth Kingdom."

"Yet it is big enough to be a country of it's own. It had been able to sustain itself for a whole generation against the onslaught of the Fire Nation. It's residents have been for there for dozens of generations. They have their culture that is distinct from the Earth Kingdom. And when people talk about what is happening in the Earth Kingdom, they're usually talking about Ba Sing Se as though it's a country."

"...That is true. That the Earth King was once known simply as the Earth Lord of Ba Sing Se. Can we rightly say that Ba Sing Se is the country, when it is only the capital? This is a bit troubling."

"I beg His Royal Highness' pardon," said butler as he bowed to the young couple. "But there is a woman, a Madam Wu. She is a soothsayer well known in these parts. She says that he has something urgent to the master of this house."

"Send her away," Chielun said simply and the butler turned to tell the soothsayer what his master had told him.

"You're just simply going to send her away, without hearing what she has to say?"

"Yes. I'm not interested in fortune-telling."

"I'm sorry Madam Wu," the butler said to the soothsayer at the foyer. "But the master of the house does not like to have his fortune told."

"It is not his fortune that I wish to tell. But the country's. Tell him that."

"But why this house? Should you go to Lord Hisaishi's or the governor's?"

"The stars and the stones have told to come here. I do not question, I simply obey what nature has biden."

"Stars and stones? Have you gone senile?"

"I have you know, that it was because of my reading of the heavens that the Avatar saved my village from a volcanic eruption. The sun, the stars, the moon, the bones and rocks that were long buried in the earth before our parents were even born. They are agents of the divine. Those who do not heed their warnings or their message are tempting fate."

"...All right, I'll tell him." The butler turned away.

"Agents of the divine, matters that concern the country?... What kind of mumbo jumbo is this?"

"Let's just hear what she has to say. It seems innocent enough," suggested his wife. "And this soothsayer is honest and she even predicted a natural disaster, in which with the help of the Avatar was able to prevent."

"Very well then," sighed Chielun. "Show her in. But do not give my name or title, or extend any royal etiquette. I wish to know her true intentions."

"Are you the master of this house?" asked Madam Wu when she reached the garden.

"Speak, what is your divine message?" ordered Chielun impatiently. He thought that he would easily reveal the imposter and have her thrown out.

"I will sir. The planets Venus and Mars are turmoil, and are creating disharmony in the planets."

"Okay...How?"

"Venus is known as the metal element, and Mar is of the Fire Element. As they come to closer to together, they cause the other elements to be in state of flux. Something like this happens only once or twice every thousand years. This may bring about a new emperor."

"A new emperor?!" said Chielun loudly. His rage began to foment, how dare this senile old woman make such a remark. "Will one of the four nations have an emperor to rule over us all?! Is the Fire Nation going to try to conquer us again us, is that what you're saying?!"

"Dearest," his wife placed a hand on his shoulder, Chielun looked at his wife and his face softened.

"Explain yourself," Chielun turned back to the soothsayer.

"The current dynasty of King Keui is symbolized by the Fire Element. It is growing weaker by day as it is attacked by the Earth Element. Once the aura of King's Keui's dynasty fades away, I believe the new emperor will arise somewhere amongst these regions of Azai, or in Kanto."

"But isn't the Fire Nation, the element of fire and the Earth Kingdom the element of earth? Why this strange reversal?" asked Chielun's wife.

"The fire element is becoming weaker as Mars is getting close to Venus," Madam Kwan explained. "Likewise, the earth element is becoming more powerful. But I find it unlikely that King Keui's dynasty will not survive for long. His dynasty was born from the fire element, just as the Fire Nation identifies itself as the nation of fire, as both of their aura fade it may usher in a new dynasty."

"You presume a great deal," said Chielun.

"Heed the heavens and the earth. And you will be marked by the divine," replied Madam Kwan.

"Thank you, sir. For telling me this. You are dismissed."

The soothsayer bowed and left.

"What do you make this?" asked Chielun turning to his wife.

"...Humans cannot change the ways of heaven and nature. Not even the Avatar, who is master of all four elements and wields immense and immeasurable power, cannot overcome them. Humanity have long been repeating the same history, of forging new kingdoms, and destroying old ones. And no matter how hard we may struggle, we have always been at the mercy to the ways of nature. Floods, locusts, violent storms and blizzards. We are powerless against mother nature. Thus, it is only natural that we do not try to oppose nature, but to observe her movements and act accordingly with them. The movements of the stars and the heavens, are just another one of nature's movements. It would be best for my lord and husband, to keep it well in mind."

"The element of fire, symbolized by Mars and the Fire Nation. Both weakening. And I was born under the star of Saturn, the symbol of the element of earth. Is this is also a sign?"

"What do you mean?"

"Azai is my family's ancestral homeland. The ancient homeland of my ancestor, the first Earth King. I and everything that I just mentioned is connected to the earth element. Is this truly the will of heaven?"

"But what about Kanto? What about your brother?"

"Kuei was born under Mars, and Kanto is a country of the Air Nomads, it was their last Khan's homeland."

Chielun's wife inhaled. The two of them stood motionless, as Chielun cupped his head under his chin, his free arm supporting his elbow. Chielun's wife's eyes transfixed at her husband's features trying to see if there will be a reaction from their revelations.

"It seems that history, and the heavens, truly have a great sense of irony," said Chielun to break the silence.

"Let's go to bed. It makes no sense in solving the world's problems in the dead of night," his wife grabbed his arm and led him to bed.