Hi everyone. I am having extreme health issues so I have had to slow the updates down. I am still trying to post edited chapters that are mostly corrected spelling issues. But that too is taking time.
Regardless, I want to thank everyone who has favorited, reviewed and followed since the last update. And I hope that you all enjoy the update.
Eternal Art - Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven
Azula gracefully seated herself upon her cushion as she folded her legs beneath her with all the poise of royalty.
She turned to gaze at her father's cold face through the corner of her callous eye as she tried to ascertain what was on his mind.
"Father, you told me that we were going to discuss the matter of that wretched puppeteer." Azula stated with her frigid eyes gazing back at her father's emotionless face.
And once again she could tell that he was hiding something from her.
"And we shall Azula. For the first time in nearly eleven years…I sent out a summon for her." Ozai remarked in a totally impassive voice while Azula's amber golden eyes widened in shock.
"You invited her to our capital?" Azula snarled with a rare fury in her voice as her teeth ground together in her renewed rage.
The very thought that Silah could make such a brazen attempt on her life.
And massacre scores of Fire Nation citizens and still receive an invitation into their capital made her blood boil like no other!
"If she is foolish enough to show…and if her answers prove insufficient then we will simply kill her." Ozai stated in a cruel voice as he stared back into his daughter's seething amber golden eyes.
And that was all it took for blue flames to spark to life amidst the Fire Lord's own as the princess sprung to her feet in her fury.
"You can't be serious! She tried to kill me!" Azula shouted with royal rage in her livid voice as she smashed her fists at her womanly hips.
Your father actually thought that he was getting the better end of the deal.
Who is pathetic enough to spend their entire life fighting to claim a mere chair?
And for one of the first times in her life.
She began to ponder if her father even truly knew who he was dealing with!
Only for her amber golden eyes to widen in even greater anger when her father's flames sparked to immense heights as the older firebender stared coldly back up at her.
"Azula! Get ahold of yourself! You are letting this woman get to you! I thought I taught you better than that!" Ozai scolded in a harsh voice as he watched his daughter recoil with her amber golden eyes still narrowing in rage.
'How dare he tell me to get ahold of myself! He was not the one that she hunted!' Azula thought with fire spewing from her glowering lips as she struggled to contain her temper.
Only to find herself spinning towards the entrance of the throne room when she saw an Imperial Firebender rush through the curtains.
Ozai turned to gaze down at the soldier with a rigid stare as the man yelled out an alarming report.
"Fire Lord Ozai! A massive steel badgermole has tunneled past our fortifications and it is now heading into Hari Bulkan as we speak! The airships are currently engaged in pursuing the enemy! What should we do!" The Imperial Firebender informed in a startled voice that prompted the two royals to stare down at him.
The Fire Lord scowled as he ignored his daughter's enraged stare as he gazed down with callous amber eyes.
"Do not lose sight of her! If she makes any move on the populace kill her!" Ozai commanded in a merciless voice only for the sound of a distant rumble to resound into his ears.
His scowl deepened as he gritted his teeth before he stood up from his throne.
As Azula glared out of the corner of her infuriated amber golden eye at her father's face as the shouts of soldiers continued to pierce the air.
While more soldiers burst into the throne room as they gazed up at the two royals for guidance.
"It's…it's moving through the city Fire Lord! We can't get a lock on it! If we bomb it! We'll be bombing Fire Nationals!" A soldier shouted in an unnerved voice while the monarch stared down with narrowing amber eyes.
Azula stood with her fists clenched at her enraged hips with her outraged amber golden eyes still glaring at her father's back.
Only for Ozai to swiftly begin to stride down the steps.
And soon enough the Fire Lord stormed out of the throne room with his Royal Procession hurrying after him.
The princess still bared her teeth like a vengeful dragon as she followed after her father.
And seconds later Azula found herself storming through the halls of the palace.
Her rage only continued to grow as she listened to panicked shouts and rumbles resound into her ears from outside the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
Only to turn to glance over her armored shoulder when she saw her Dai Li jumping down behind her.
While the head of the Dai Li now bowed with his head bent in respect before the Fire Nation woman as she stared frigidly down at him.
"Princess! The enemy that you fought in the Forgetful Valley is heading towards the main gates of the Royal Palace. The Dai Li are loyal only to you. What are your orders?" Raolan announced as he bowed on the floor while the powerful princess stared imposingly down at him.
"Track every move that she makes and make certain that she doesn't go anywhere near the Royal Fire Academy." Azula ordered in a voice of natural authority with her terrifying eyes watching as her agents swiftly nodded their heads.
"As you command Princess." Raolan agreed as he bowed low before he swiftly turned around to rush down the halls of the vast palace.
The princess hurried down the halls of the palace with her intimidating amber golden eyes never once losing their vengeful glare.
'Damn this freak of a puppeteer and damn Father as well!' Azula thought with fire escaping her seething nostrils as she broke out into a rapid run down the hall.
Meanwhile, out in Hari Bulkan.
Ty Lee stepped outside her estate in alarm when she heard the sounds of screams piercing the air.
Only for her brown-gray eyes to widen in revived terror when she saw the familiar steel monstrosity bounding down the spikes of the caldera.
And without even giving it any thought she instantly broke out into a sprint towards the academy to make sure that the puppeteer made no move on her little sister.
Nako rushed outside of the Hari Bulkan Prison when she heard the sounds of the caldera rumbling in the distance.
Only to find herself watching paralyzed in terror when she saw the monstrous war machine descending down the caldera into the city below.
Yoko also gazed out the window of her estate with her golden eyes widening in disbelief as she watched the strange contraption land at the edge of the city.
As Fire Nation airships soared above Hari Bulkan in hot pursuit of the vehicle only to find that they were unable to attack without risking the lives of the populace.
Mio stood behind her mistress with her brown eyes gazing on in fear.
"No matter what happens I want you to remain in the mansion Mio." Yoko commanded with her back turned to her house servant while Mio bowed her head in understanding.
"Yes, Mistress Yoko. I will not deviate from your side." Mio replied in a devoted voice as she bowed with her back bent while the older woman glowered out her window.
And yet while the majority of the noble populace and their servants were gazing on in fright.
There was one who was not afraid.
The former chancellor watched from his balcony with his hands grasping at the railing.
His golden eyes took on a conniving gleam once more as he held a hand underneath his chin.
As a crafty smile pulled onto his lips as he watched the metal beast bound down the slopes of the caldera.
"Hm. Interesting…a wild card." Terak stated in a voice devoid of emotion as he watched the vehicle land in the outskirts of the city.
Zoi watched from the far end of the city from where she stood on patrol outside the academy with her golden eyes growing wide in shock.
And that was all it took for steam to begin to emit from her robust muscles as she clenched her jaw in her rage.
She swiftly drew her sword with her golden eyes forming the glare of her warrior persona as she sprang into the air after her target.
'What is that monster doing here! What is she planning!' Zoi thought as she fired off her line while she soared high above the rooftops with her chilling gaze expressing a desire to avenge her subordinates once more.
And just like that the city was in a panic as the gigantic mechanical badgermole effortlessly leaped high above the buildings with no regard for the nobles that were nearly crushed underfoot.
The vehicle sprinted towards the walls of the Fire Nation Royal Palace as Fire Nation citizens watched it storm their city in confusion and terror.
As the soldiers of the Fire Nation military launched streams of firebending at the metal beast as it landed thunderously in the center of the streets.
Only for the soldiers to shout in alarm when their flames harmlessly gazed its armored hide.
Its eyes gazed in the direction of the Fire Nation Royal Palace with its lifeless gaze emitting an ominous glow.
And not even seconds after that…
The great war machine dug deep into the depths of the earth while the citizens continued to scream all throughout Hari Bulkan.
Ozai now stood at the top of the palace tower with his amber eyes brimming with rage over the spectacle that the woman was creating.
All the while as Azula stood behind her father with her amber golden eyes just trembling in her royal wrath.
"I-it just tunneled underneath the city!" An Imperial Firebender called out in a frantic voice as he stood behind the two royals while they both glared out the tower window.
The sounds of earth shifting rumbled into the air for all to hear.
Only for both Ozai and Azula to spin around to glare down with widening eyes when they saw the barren ground beyond the palace walls abruptly burst open!
And then the mechanical badgermole began to rise majestically from the hole in the earth just before the entrance to the Fire Nation Royal Palace!
The Royal Procession stood on guard around the metal monstrously on all sides gazing out from their helmets in disbelief.
And the Dai Li agents leaped down around the mechanical badgermole with even their hardened eyes widening as they stared up at it in astonishment.
And not a moment later….
The sound of a door on the underside of the lifeless creature's chest opening up with a mechanical hiss.
Azula's boiling amber golden eyes formed into murderous slits as she watched the cockpit chamber open up just like back in the valley.
Only for the hooded puppeteer to be revealed sitting in her control seat with her sinister dark green eyes gazing back up at the two enraged royals far above her.
"Been a long time Ozai. Shall I enter through the front door or should I create my own?" Silah greeted in a nonchalant voice as she stood up from her seat.
A devious smile curved onto her lips from underneath her white bone mask as the Fire Lord's amber eyes brimmed with anger over being addressed so casually.
And if looks could kill Azula's glare would have set her aflame instantaneously.
"You have some gall to show yourself here after what you tried to do to me! I can assure you that you will regret this arrogance in your final moments when I take your head Silah!" Azula snapped with flames blazing from her mighty fists while she glared venomously down at the masked woman's concealed face.
Only for the puppeteer to let out a sadistic laugh that resounded into the air of rocky landscape surrounding the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
And not a second later a hooded puppet sprang into the air and landed upon the head of the mechanical badgermole.
Azula turned to glare down at the shrouded puppet through the corner of her callous eyes in search of cables.
Only for her furious gaze to glance about in frustration when she was unable to detect any signs of strings of any kind!
Ozai still glared coldly down at Silah's masked visage with his amber eyes momentarily sweeping in the direction of the cloaked puppet.
Before his gaze glanced over the mechanical badgermole in astonishment as he studied it in disbelief.
'To think that this woman was able to weaponize that creature and turn it into her own mobile fortified vehicle.' Ozai thought with his callous gaze reflecting fascination before he returned his gaze back down to Silah's masked face.
"If you like Azula…we could finish where we left off." Silah taunted in an unmistakably arrogant voice as she stared up at the princess's infuriated face.
"With pleasure." Azula sneered with her white teeth showing in her royal rage while she stepped forward.
Only for the anger in her eyes to soar to even higher height when her father held out his arm to stop her!
"I don't care what you do with her outside the Capital but you will restrain yourself until she vacates the Capital. I will not have my capital reduced to ashes because of your personal quarrel." Ozai spoke in a low voice with his amber eyes staring back into his daughter's boiling amber golden eyes.
Before he turned away from his daughter to stare down at the masked woman below.
The princess shook in rage like no other with her amber golden eyes.
And for the most fleeting of instances.
Azula turned to glare down at her booted feet with her gaze almost seemingly to reflect a flicker of hurt.
And then Ozai turned to glance over his shoulder at his Royal Procession with an imposing scowl on his lips.
"Escort our 'guest' into the palace but do not take your eyes off her even for a second." Ozai ordered in a glacial voice as his soldiers swiftly bowed in understanding as they sprinted away.
The princess turned to glare between her father's back and her enemy below as predatory dark green eyes gazed back up at her.
And even though she couldn't see her revolting face.
She knew that the woman was smiling!
And that was all it took for Silah to leap down from the door of her vehicle as it closed with another hiss behind her.
Before she landed on the ground amidst the horde of unnerved soldiers with her cloaked puppet landing on the ground behind her.
Ozai cast her a final glare from the window above before he turned to walk away back to his throne room.
Azula was left standing there with her piercing amber golden eyes still glaring down at the bone mask.
While flames spewed from her enraged lips and lightning began to churn from her fingertips.
And in that very moment…
The dark green eyes of the serial killer met the princess's burning amber golden eyes as the two stared back at one another.
And then the masked woman sauntered forward past the unnerved Imperial Firebenders with the cloaked puppet silently following after her.
A platoon of soldiers remained behind as they inspected the mysterious metal monstrosity from all angles.
Until Azula pursed her lips into a vengeful glower as she watched Silah vanish through the entrance of the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
Before she wordlessly turned around as she began to storm her way back towards the throne room.
Her ruthless amber golden eyes never once lost her vengeful stare.
Not even five minutes later…
The firelight from the flames in the throne room reflected brilliantly all throughout the vast chamber.
Ozai stood at the top of the overlooking platform with his amber eyes glaring down at the parting throne room curtains.
While Azula stood to the left of her father with her fists gripped at her hips as she watched soldiers pour into the throne room.
And at the center of it all…was Silah!
The tall form of the masked puppeteer walked with an incredible arrogance about her as she glanced around her with cruelly amused dark green eyes.
As the form of the concealed puppet walked imposingly behind her.
Silah's chilling dark green eyes almost seemed to cause many of the proud soldiers to sweat in instinctual fear underneath their helmets.
It was something that had not gone unnoticed by Ozai and Azula.
The elite guards almost seemed to be tip toeing around the criminal almost as if in hesitation to get any closer!
And the soldiers were even muttering and talking amongst each other in hushed tones as the masked woman sauntered past them.
"It's…it's her! She's the one! Soldiers go after her but they never come back!" A soldier exclaimed in a wary voice as he gazed at the criminal's masked visage.
Only to find himself shivering when sinister dark green eyes swept over his helmet covered face in cruel amusement.
The two mighty royals glared down at the puppeteer in fury over how the image of their unmatched army seemed to crumble in Silah's presence.
"And you call yourselves soldiers. A word of advice Ozai…you might want to consider finding more suitable replacements. These ones are…rather pathetic. I would know…after all I have been slaughtering them for years." Silah commented in a sadistic voice as she watched the elite soldiers attempt to hide their fear from underneath their helms.
The Fire Lord seethed with his amber eyes now boiling over in long since vanished patience as the flames in his throne room rose up to towering heights.
While the princess glared between her father's robed back and the masked puppeteer standing in the center of the throne room below.
And it had not escaped her notice that with every moment that the filthy woman sauntered about their grand Capital!
The image of her family as the world's most powerful family began to falter with every minute that Silah waltzed about their city with no regard for their authority!
And that enraged her more than anything else!
Only to find herself turning to gaze at her father once more when the flames shot up once more in unison with the sound of his booming voice.
"For as long as you remain in this city! Under the roof of my palace, you will speak to me with respect!" Ozai boomed from at the top of the platform with his amber eyes staring coldly down at Silah's masked countenance.
Azula still glared from beside her father with her vindictive amber golden eyes never leaving the puppeteer below.
Only for the anger in the two royals' eyes to rise to an even higher height when the masked woman offered them a mocking bow.
"Of course, mighty Fire Lord..." Silah trailed off with a poorly hidden laugh while the Fire Lord's eyes looked as if they were about to explode from his eye sockets.
And then Ozai turned to glance down at his elite soldiers with his merciless eyes regarding them in passing.
"All of you get out! Azula and I will handle her!" Ozai bellowed in a callous voice that split through the air like a whip.
The Royal Procession quickly bowed before the two royals before they turned to depart the throne room.
But not before the soldiers gazed over their shoulders in distrust at the masked woman a final time.
And then soon after the elite guards departed through the throne room curtains.
The Fire Lord and his daughter both stared frigidly down at the masked woman standing before the ornate pillars of the throne room below.
As Silah stared back up at Azula's supremely wrathful face with a cold smile of her own underneath her mask.
"Azula…despite what I told you before. In recognition of the bond that we share…I have decided to grace you with a rare gift. I am going to show you my true face." Silah announced in a softly enigmatic voice as she raised one gloved hand to remove her hood from her masked face.
The princess's callous eyes momentarily flickered with surprise as she studied Silah intently from above.
Before she hardened her gaze into that of a true conqueror once more as let out a menacing hiss.
All the while as the Fire Lord rose a brow as he gazed questioningly at his daughter from the corner of his eye.
Before he too turned his gaze back down to the lethal killer below.
'Is she truly so arrogant as to show her face before me?' Ozai thought with his calculating amber eyes staring down at the white bone mask in contemplation.
And yet as much as the very existence of his onetime ally infuriated him.
Masked or unmasked.
He knew well enough that disposing of Silah was no simple matter.
"Revolting peasant. The only bond between you and me is the joy that I will feel watching you burn to death in my flames." Azula snapped in a menacingly maleficent voice with her intimidating amber golden eyes glaring down at Silah's masked countenance.
Only for her lips to curl into an even more furious glower when a sickening chuckle resounded into the air in reply.
And then the father and daughter watched with intensely focused eyes as Silah pulled down the hood from her concealed face.
And seconds after that the woman threw her cloak aside to the palace floor below.
The two royals watched with narrowed eyes as they took in the green kimono adorning Silah's body.
And the sleek silver metal armor that she wore on top of her kimono.
And the two war fans that were secured in the sash around her waistline and the two sheathed swords that hung at her hip.
"In any event…you and your father should consider yourselves honored. I don't reveal my true face to just anyone." Silah stated in a strikingly emotionless voice with her gloved fingers now clutching at her bone mask.
And just then she slowly started to remove it from her head while the two royals still gazed down at her in captivation.
And then before Azula or Ozai could so much as say another word.
They both watched with widening eyes as the mask was withdrawn from the puppeteer's face.
While long almost angelic silver hair now spilled freely to Silah's middle back as a cold-blooded smile graced her lips.
Before she raised her dark green eyes to gaze up at the faces of the two astonished royals.
As she took tremendous delight in the way that the princess's amber golden eyes were widening in sheer disbelief.
Both the Fire Lord and the Fire Princess were now staring down in shock at the face of a young woman.
And because the princess was privy to information from the old sage that her father was not.
She was even more shocked than her father.
Azula's amber golden eyes were as wide as can be as she stared down at her enemy's at long last exposed face.
Silah smiled back up at her glowering countenance with a grin adorning her lips.
As she clenched her fists at her hips as Mava's voice flowed through her mind once more.
Back…when we were young.
My time in this world is nearing its end. But I can't say the same for Silah…because unlike me she has obtained an ageless state of immortality.
I have spent over one hundred and fifty years trying to interpret these visions!
'How is this possible! She…doesn't look a day older than me and yet if Mava's words are true…she was alive back in the days of my great-grandfather!'' Azula thought with her amber golden eyes furrowing in frustration down at Silah's pale smiling face.
And unlike Mava.
Silah's face was that of flawless youth!
She had no wrinkles. No folds. No lines in her skin.
There were no signs of any aging whatsoever!
Is it possible that she was truly immortal?
It was a prospect that she would have previously discounted.
And yet after meeting both Silah and that monstrous researcher Nero…
Her lips pursed into an imposing scowl as she glared down at Silah with fire spewing from her lips.
'I will uncover the secrets of their immortality and then…me and the tiger monkey will become immortals!' Azula mused with her amber golden eyes taking on a determined stare as she held her head high with all the poise of royalty.
"So…. that is your true appearance. It was foolish of you to reveal it to me so carelessly. If by some small chance you escape this palace with your life, I will be certain to use it to update your wanted poster." Ozai stated in a harshly rigid voice as he glared down at Silah's youthful face while she smiled back up at him.
He wouldn't deny that he had been expecting her face to be much older than what was revealed.
Only for the sound of another arrogant laugh to resonate throughout the throne room while Ozai's eyes narrowed into slits.
Azula finally recovered her composure as she glared venomously down at the laughing puppeteer.
"Do as you wish Ozai. But I would have thought that you would have learned from scores of soldiers that I have slain that I cannot be killed so easily." Silah responded in an ever-confident voice as a demented grin pulled upon her pale lips.
The two members of the Fire Nation Royal Family glared back down at their 'guest' in judgement.
As their gazes periodically swept to the cloaked figure standing behind Silah's back.
"I see that my suspicions were right after all…you are the one that has been butchering my soldiers in mass…and leaving a trail of destruction in the east in your wake." Ozai remarked in a frozen voice with his amber eyes glaring down at the criminal's smirking face as she sauntered forward.
Azula's amber golden eyes boiled over in even greater wrath as she glared between her father and the unmasked woman below.
"And what if I have? What are you going to do about it?" Silah countered in a remorseless voice with her dark green eyes gleaming with cruelty.
The flames in the throne room shot up all around her in response to her taunt as the man narrowed his eyes in a commanding manner down at her.
"You come into my domain to flaunt yourself before me after attacking my daughter and murdering my people! I can only hope that you brought ample protection Silah." Ozai yelled in a truly livid voice with his amber eyes glaring wrathfully down at Silah's chuckling face.
The princess turned to glance at her father with her callous amber golden eyes flashing with a momentary spark of daughterly emotion.
Perhaps…her father truly did care for her?
As her gaze shifted back to the woman below in loathing as she exhaled blue flames from her seething nostrils.
Only for both royals to glare down in contempt when the deranged hunter let out a dismissive laugh.
"Aren't you being a little presumptuous? I have all the protection that I need right here…" Silah retorted in a voice of upmost sanguinity with her lips curving into a wicked smirk while the cloaked puppet rose up behind her.
Ozai and Azula stared down at the figure looming behind the woman with their eyes observing it intently.
'That's the one from the cavern…' Azula thought with her brilliant amber golden eyes staring coldly down at the hooded puppet as her flames burned at her fingertips.
And yet…. once more.
Where were the cables?
"Then we'll just have to see how well that protection holds up…won't we?" Ozai stated with a margin of a cruel sneer forming onto his lips as his flames exploded throughout the throne room.
The hunter stood undaunted in the faces of the intense flames with her silver hair blowing before her cunning dark green eyes.
As a perverse smile continued to grace her lips.
While Azula stared on with vengeance in her boiling eyes from behind her father.
Only for the eyes of both royals to widen when a structure of earth arose up to effortlessly shield the puppeteer from the heat of the searing inferno.
The Fire Lord watched with narrowed amber eyes as the earthen wall was swiftly burned to away within his flames.
Before he rapidly turned his head to watch the woman agilely leap back with her cloaked weapon landing on the ground beside her.
Azula's amber golden eyes brimmed with rage as she studied her enemy closely.
Just like back in the valley…
It moved as if it was an extension of her will!
"Do not mistake yourself…I am more than capable of warring with you and your daughter. But…that isn't why I came here." Silah commented in an unfeeling voice with one gloved hand on the palace floor while the Fire Lord's amber eyes glared down at her.
"Then why have you come here?" Ozai questioned in a frigid voice while his amber eyes never left Silah's pale smiling face.
The princess glared daggers down at the smirking woman kneeling on the floor of their palace.
"I would like to forge an alliance with the Fire Nation once more…. against the combined might of the Avatar and Princess Ling." Silah declared in a stunningly bold voice as she pushed herself to her feet while the two royals stared down at her in complete disbelief.
And that was all that was required for the princess's cold blue fire to explode all throughout the lavish throne room.
"What! That is ludicrous! Father! She attempted to turn me into a puppet! She slew our people!" Azula protested with her mighty voice booming all through the chamber while her amber golden eyes bristled in unfathomable fury.
Silah still smiled up at her with her otherworldly silver hair flowing freely behind her.
Ozai momentarily glanced at his daughter's unusually enraged face before he turned to glare back down at Silah below.
"Azula makes a valid point. That is a preposterous notion." Ozai said in a glacial voice as he stood glaring down at the twisted artist standing below.
"Your daughter really needs to lighten up. I was only playing around. I simply wanted to see if she was worthy of inheriting the throne. That's all." Silah responded in a casual voice as she waved a gloved hand over her shoulder while the princess's amber golden eyes burned through her skull.
Only for the flames in the vast throne room to rise up once more as Ozai's amber eyes showed that he was unamused by Silah's words.
"By attacking my daughter and my subjects you have directly attacked me! And even if you hadn't! I already have abundant military might and war power at my disposal! What makes you think that I need you to crush the Avatar and the Earth Kingdom!" Ozai bellowed in a truly intimidating voice that resonated throughout the air while he glared at the hunter's smirking face.
"If you think sitting on that throne makes you the most powerful being in this world then you are sadly mistaken. There are forces in this world that transcend your concept of thrones…and I am one such force." Silah stated in a voice of calculated poise as she stared up into Ozai's burning amber eyes as she took a step forward.
The princess glared down at her enemy with her amber golden eyes already catching the hidden meaning behind the woman's words.
A vast cult. A cult that spans the entire planet.
Her ruthless gaze flashed with a trace of paranoia of the prospect of such a powerful entity controlling the entire world from the shadows.
Ozai still glared callously down at Silah as her lips creased into a sanguine smile.
"Allow me to let you in on a little secret. I was alive when your father took the throne…and I was also alive when your grandfather ascended the throne. In fact, this year will be my two hundred and second birthday." Silah admitted in a nonchalant voice as she stared up into the Fire Lord's utterly disbelieving amber eyes.
The princess's amber golden eyes flickered with astonishment as she once again clenched her fists at her hips.
And yet, after meeting the old sage.
She could not say with absolute certainty that the repulsive woman was lying!
"You lie. There is no way that you were alive when my father ascended the throne much less my grandfather!" Ozai refuted in a coldly dismissive voice as his amber eyes glared down at Silah's smirking face.
And then his eyes swept over her glistening almost angelic silver hair as he stared down at her in deliberation.
It appeared nothing like the natural gray hair that came with old age.
It almost looked…unnaturally preserved!
Beautiful!
But…that couldn't be!
It was not possible!
"Do I? Are those lines in your face Ozai? By the time that you are old and gray…I will appear the same as I do today because I have long since discovered the secret to immortality." Silah called out in a taunt with her ingenious dark green eyes gazing up at Ozai's incredulous glaring countenance.
The Fire Lord stared down with ever present fury in his eyes as Silah still smiled up at him.
As the princess's continued to glower down at the woman with hatred in her murderous eyes.
"But perhaps…you can be immortal too. I bet you would like that wouldn't you? Just imagine it! You could rule over this world for centuries. You wouldn't even need an heir because you would be eternal. You would be ageless! Just like me! Join forces with me and I will show you how to make that dream a reality! I'll show you immortality!" Silah exclaimed in a stunningly confident voice while the Fire Lord's amber eyes mulled over her words.
Her smirk grew even larger knowing full well that she had gained his attention.
Azula spun around to gaze in fury at her father's back as she balled up her fists in her royal anger.
"Father! Don't listen to her! She is trying to deceive us!" Azula yelled in a beyond furious voice with her amber golden eyes glaring at her father's face.
Only for the fury in her eyes to grow when she saw that he was actually considering the repulsive woman's words!
'I'll show you immortality…immortality as my puppet!' Silah thought with her dark green eyes conveying a predatory gleam as she stared up at the man's grudgingly intrigued face.
Just as Ozai narrowed his amber eyes once more as he exhaled flames from his nostrils.
"Do not think you can deceive me so easily Silah!" Ozai barked with his teeth bared in his anger as his flames flooded throughout the throne room once more towards his target.
While the hunter stood undaunted with her silver hair blowing about behind her as her lips grew into a knowing smirk.
And not even seconds later the Fire Lord's mighty flames exploded in the puppeteer's face.
As the explosion of intense fire shone radiantly all throughout the throne room!
Azula glared down into the smoke from where she stood on the platform above.
Only for her amber golden eyes to narrow into slits when she saw two figures standing soon appear in the clearing smoke.
Soon enough Silah's smirking face was visible once more as she stared up at the now shocked faces of the two royals.
"As for what I bring to the table…" Silah trailed off in an unmistakably conceited voice as she waved a gloved hand to her secret weapon whose cloak had been burned away in the heat of the Fire Lord's attack.
And the face of her prized puppet was now visible for both of the shocked royals to see.
And that was all that was needed to happen for the princess's amber golden eyes to enlarge in disbelief.
She now stared down at the face of the revealed puppet with her lips parting in an expression of rare disbelief.
It was a face that she had seen once before in a royal portrait in the Earth Kingdom Palace!
And even Ozai's amber eyes had widened in complete shock to find himself gazing down at the face of his long dead enemy in bright yellow and green royal combat robes!
Earth King Jaran!
There were not many things that could render a man like him into a state of astonishment.
But seeing the great warrior Earth King standing before him as a human puppet…
His gaze shifted about as he watched the deceased Earth King sink into a bending stance behind the smirking woman!
'What sort of manner of dark sorcery is this!' Ozai thought with his amber eyes widening in incredulity while he gazed into Jaran's lifeless light green eyes.
As Silah's deranged laughter soon erupted throughout the throne room as she swept her gloved hand over her shoulder to point at the face of the deceased Earth King.
"Gaze upon art that is everlasting! Per the terms of our deal eleven years ago! I assassinated your enemies and you got your throne! And I converted the strongest warrior Earth King into my magnificent weapon of war! He now belongs to me! I now control his bending as if it were my own!" Silah boasted in a stunningly monstrous voice as she thrust her gloved finger in the direction of Ozai's disbelieving face.
The Fire Lord gritted his teeth as he glared back down at the madly laughing puppeteer with his amber eyes forming into slits.
As the princess's amber golden eyes flashed with a revived paranoia as she glared down at the lifeless Earth King.
Now it all made sense!
Why Zoi had stated that she hadn't seen such power since the likes of Earth King Jaran!
It was because the tremendous earthbending that she had witnessed in the Forgetful Valley was none other than that of Jaran himself!
Before she recovered from her shock as she turned to cast a cold glare at her father's back with her amber golden eyes reflecting a stare of waning respect.
'She played you for a fool!' Azula thought with callous scoff escaping her scowling lips before her wrathful gaze turned back to the dollmaker below.
The laughter of Silah continued to echo off the walls of the throne room as her lips curved into a preserve smirk.
Only for the eyes of the two royals to stare warily back down at the lifeless king when the floor of the throne room started to shake under the power of his earthbending!
"What did you think when I told you that I would take my payment in bender from labor camps instead of gold and I volunteered to kill Jaran personally? That I was just some simple collector of corpses?" Silah mocked in a profoundly sadistic voice while the Fire Lord trembled in unimaginable outrage.
"You dare! You filthy witch!" Ozai roared with rage like no other in his imposing voice as his flames flared to life once more.
Silah's lips curved into a psychotic as she slid into a fighting stance with her gloved hands before her face behind her ultimate weapon.
As Azula still glared in fury at her father's utterly enraged face.
"How many benders did you give her! Don't you get it! She takes the power of slain benders and makes it her own! You supplied her with the very corpse army that she used to assault me!" Azula bellowed with in an indescribably booming voice as she glared at her father's boiling face.
"You really should have been there to see it, Ozai! I had to put in a monumental effort to bring him down! It wasn't easy…even for me! Not even with the Fire Nation military at my back! You should have seen how hard he fought! He truly is deserving of the title…the strongest Earth King in recorded history! Allow me to show you just a fraction of what he is capable of!" Silah shouted with her maddened words resonating throughout the throne room while Ozai's amber eyes nearly erupted from his eye sockets.
Azula shook her head outside of her father's line of vision with a gaze of disgust brewing in her amber golden eyes.
Before she turned to glare back down at the deranged puppeteer with her gaze expressing immeasurable hatred.
"There he is Jaran! It's the man who ordered the death of your pregnant beloved! He's here before you at long last! It's a shame that you are no longer with us to avenge your wife and unborn child but fear not…perhaps I will avenge her for you!" Silah announced with unrivaled sadism lacing her compassionless voice as she smirked over her shoulder at her puppet's lifeless face.
Jaran's expressionless light green eyes gazed dully up at Ozai's remorseless face as the Fire Lord glared back down at him.
Before Ozai turned to regard the hunter in contempt as a callous scoff escaped his lips.
"You truly are deluded if you think if you think that the bending of one corpse…no matter how powerful is going to allow you to defeat me and every soldier stationed in this city!" Ozai thundered with his amber eyes forming slits while he glared down at the puppeteer's coldly chuckling visage.
"You misunderstand me Ozai…I don't have to defeat every soldier in the Capital. All I have to do is use Jaran to do what he intended to do from the moment he embarked on his quest to kill you. And that is use his legendary earthbending in combination with my own prodigious talent to awaken this dormant volcano!" Silah chuckled in a demented voice with her lips forming a perverse smirk while the two royals listened in horror.
Even two people as cruel as Ozai and Azula were floored by the sheer depravity in the puppeteer's announcement.
And just as stunned that had been the plan of the fallen Earth King all along!
While searing flames flooded forth throughout the throne room once again as the earth began to shake with even greater volume.
As the sound of guards rushing towards the chamber were soon heard approaching in the distance.
And in the far distance Zoi sprang past the stationary mechanical badgermole with her golden eyes glancing over it in disbelief.
'What is that beast doing in the palace! Zoi thought as she burst through the doors of the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
Only for her stony golden eyes to gaze ahead in alarm when she saw that the walls of the palace were starting to shake around her.
Just like back then and just like back in the Forgetful Valley!
And without even giving it any further thought she rushed down the halls like living lightning towards the throne room!
"I know why you and the rest of the Fire Nation elite, as well as even the corrupt Earth Kingdom bureaucracy such as Long Feng feared Jaran! It was because he was considered an ascendant level bender! He was to the Earth Kingdom to what Azula is to the Fire Nation!" Silah spoke with a horrific pride in her weapon in her heartless voice while a merciless grin graced her pale lips.
The two members of the Fire Nation monarchy stared with their eyes expressing shock at Silah's claim.
As the princess stood with her callous amber golden eyes expressing her astoundment as she recalled the old sage's words once more.
There are still select talented benders who are able to rise above their limits.
These benders are called ascendants.
And you should both know that Silah is already an ascendant.
Before her imperious gaze hardened once more as she studied her father's enraged face through the corner of her eye.
Her cold gaze rapidly danced between the two as she rapidly debated what course of action that she should take.
Should she assist her father?
Or should she assassinate him amidst the ensuing chaos?
'An ascendant…level bender?' Ozai thought with his amber gaze burning with a rising paranoia towards both the puppeteer and his prodigy daughter's ever advancing bending.
Before he glared out of the corner of his eye at Silah's infuriatingly smiling face as lightning began to generate at his fingertips.
"Neither Jaran's bending or my own will stop until my life force fades…and since I cannot die of old age or disease. I suppose the question that you have to ask yourself is…do you have time to find out how to kill me before I take thousands of Fire Nation citizens with me?" Silah explained in a joyfully diabolical voice as she ran her tongue along her pale lips.
She gazed fearlessly up at the outraged Fire Lord as electricity sparkled before her eager dark green eyes.
As Azula's lips pursed into a cold glower as she glared down at the smirking puppeteer.
'There is no way that I can stand by and allow her to do that…to the people of the Fire Nation!' Azula thought as she entrenched her boots along the platform below as her own firebending flared to life.
"The choice is yours Ozai…I can either turn our legendary power on the people of the Fire Nation…or the people of the Earth Kingdom? Which one will it be?" Silah concluded in a shockingly vicious voice while the Fire Lord's amber eyes glared down at her from atop his platform.
And for a passing moment Ozai glared with rage back into Silah's astonishingly cruel dark green eyes.
Azula swiftly gazed between her father and her mortal enemy with icy amber golden eyes.
Only to find her lips falling open agape in disbelief when her father's lightning abruptly dissipated even a second later!
And just as quickly as the shaking had begun…
It suddenly stopped not even seconds later.
The princess stared at her father's cold face with unimaginable rage in her widened eyes as the puppeteer smiled up at them.
"You truly are a depraved beast Silah but so be it. I will re calibrate my plans for Sozin's Comet with your war power factored into consideration." Ozai stated in a stunningly emotionless voice with his amber eyes gazing down at the puppeteer's smirking countenance.
Azula stood in a state of speechlessness behind her father with her amber golden eyes enlarging in incredulity.
As Silah straightened with a gloved fist against her cheek as she smiled devilishly up at them.
"I just knew that you would see reason. I promise you that once you see the devastation that I am going to wreak on the battlements…you won't regret this." Silah purred in a softly cruel voice with her unfeeling dark green eyes gazing up at the Fire Lord's glacial countenance.
"Father! This is…you cannot be…" Azula protested in a disbelieving voice only to recoil when her father spun around to glare back at her.
"Silence Azula! Not only did you and your brother fail to truly kill the Avatar six years ago! You and your new weapon have spent weeks wandering the Fire Nation and yet the Avatar still lives!" Ozai snapped in a tyrannical voice with his amber eyes staring harshly back at the princess's greatly angered face.
Silah stood smirking below with her gloved hands falling to her hips as she stared up at the princess's utterly humiliated face.
"But…she…" Azula replied with the words dying in her throat while her father regarded her with a dismissive stare.
Even after all this time.
After all that she has done for him.
He still didn't see her as an equal.
As someone to rule beside him.
He still saw her…as nothing more than a tool!
"Enough! My decision is final! I caution you to remember that I am Fire Lord! Not you!" Ozai shouted in a cruel voice as he turned away from his daughter's recoiling face.
And after the Fire Lord turned away to gaze back down at the serial killer below.
For fleeting moment an expression of great pain flashed before the princess's proud amber golden eyes.
Only for it all to vanish into a limitless stare of boiling rage not even seconds later.
Azula's wounded amber golden eyes glared between her father's back and the smirking woman below.
'Who does he think he is criticizing me my battlefield performance when he has never once left the safety of this palace to command a military operation!' Azula thought with her outraged amber golden eyes forming a stare of fury like never before.
"It would be a waste…not to utilize the power of the great Earth King Jaran himself…against his own people." Ozai commented in a callously offhand voice as he stared down at Silah's smirking countenance.
"My thoughts exactly…and why bother waiting for Sozin's Comet? When I can deploy today?" Silah suggested as she held a gloved hand before her face while her puppeteer now stood motionless behind her once more.
The princess continued to tremble in volcanic wrath with the veins in her amber golden eyes nearly exploding in her fury.
As the Fire Lord's lips had already begun to curl into a monstrously approving smirk as he stroked his goatee in contemplation.
"I approve of the way you think…witch. But don't think for a moment that I will forget the disrespect that you showed me today or that you are welcome in my capital. You will leave the Capital before the end of the day or I will have you eradicated by the entire Fire Army if necessary." Ozai ordered in a coldly imperious voice as he stared down at the puppeteer as she carelessly shrugged her shoulders.
Azula stood behind her father with her dark bangs shadowing her incensed eyes as she ground her teeth together.
"Whatever you say…Fire Lord. It hardly matters to me if I am welcome in your city. I find your city of pampered nobles boring anyway." Silah scoffed with her gloved hands on her hips while Ozai still glared down at her.
"And one more thing…you will make no more advancements on my daughter. That ends today. Is that understood?" Ozai declared in a voice of rigid authority with his amber eyes gazing down at Silah's smirking face.
The princess still loomed silently with her armored shoulders shaking in her unimaginable rage.
As she glared past her father and down into the eyes of the predatory puppeteer.
There is nowhere that you can run from me Azula. You will never be safe from me. Not even in your own palace.
And not a second later Azula raised a hand to grasp at her hair as she trembled with her hair hanging over her enraged amber golden eyes.
She ground her white teeth together with a flash of insanity appearing before her widened amber golden eyes once more.
And for a brief second the ghostly image of Ursa appeared with her robed hands folded before her while she gazed in apparent concern back at her daughter's pained face.
'He doesn't love you Azula! Not like I do!' Ursa's voice rang out into Azula's mind as she spewed flames from her pursed lips.
'Shut your mouth you coward! You never loved me! You abandoned me! You sought to forget all memory of me! Now be gone specter! You mean nothing to me! You never did! Elle is all that I need now!' Azula thought with her callous amber golden eyes glaring over her plated shoulder at her mother's sorrowful face.
And not even seconds later the phantom image of her mother dissipated into thin air.
And in its place, it was replaced with an image of her young girlfriend's lovably smiling face.
Before she turned away to redirect her focused amber golden eyes to her enemy below while Silah smiled up at her.
"Certainly…I'll agree to those terms. Truth be told…I confide that I have become…quite fond of her and I am looking forward to seeing her performance in the war to come." Silah stated in a voice of astonishing eloquence while her lips still adorned a pale smile.
And then the serial killer bent over in a slight bow while her dark green eyes still gazed back into the princess's glaring malefic amber golden gaze.
The Fire Lord still stared frigidly down at the deranged hunter with his amber eyes regarding her for another moment.
"Now take your repulsive…toy and leave my palace." Ozai commanded in a severely draconian voice as he swept a hand in the air before his still furious face while the puppeteer let out another chuckle.
"Right…I'll do that. Come on Jaran." Silah commented in an unfazed voice as she turned around to walk away while collecting her discarded cloak from the floor with her lifeless puppeteer following dutifully at her heels.
But not before she gazed into Azula's wrathful amber golden eyes for a final time with a smirk still gracing her lips.
And then she turned away with her prized weapon quietly sauntering after her.
Azula now stood glaring menacingly after the puppeteer's departing back.
Until Silah soon departed through the curtains of the throne room with her cloak draped over her shoulder.
Just as she turned to stare at her father's back with a far greater ruthlessness than she had ever graced him with in her entire life.
As an expression of boundless betrayal sparked before her murderous amber golden eyes.
And if her mind wasn't made up about overthrowing her father before her decision was solidified now.
So be it then!
She will vanquish them both!
Both Silah and her father!
They will both die screaming in the flames of her unstoppable conquest!
This vow she makes upon her honor as the princess of the Fire Nation!
AN:
Dx, Happy belated New Year to you as well.. Thank you for wishing me well. I am glad that you love the story, and the direction is going, including Elle's bond with Azula, and the future plans to come.
Yeah, I know the story is extremely long. It was intended to be that way, I modeled it after fanfic stories that are epic in length that run for six to eight years. And I created a vast outline to make sure that it all connects together.
I am not sure how many people will want to read it to its conclusion. But I can say this, I have it so deeply outlined that I can see scenes in story arcs that I won't be writing for a long time play out vividly in my mind. And my hope is that if I can envision it all in my mind, that most of the people reading it will be interested in where it goes.
Sakaewmatsui, Happy Chinese New Year to you too. I am not doing well, but thank you for showing concern. I am glad that you are excited by Azula learning plasmabending. The plasmabending will be a long road with many steps, probably many heat levels to it. It won't just be all of the sudden Azula can plasma bend and that is that. It will will probably be something like partial plasma at first. We'll see where she takes it though.
So, Silah is back. We saw that Silah is truly one of the most powerful forces in the world to the point where she can flaunt herself in the Fire Nation Capital.
Silah's arrogance is bolstered by her dubious alliance with Vega, the herald of the Elder One, a horrible and mysterious entity that has influence over their entire world and beyond.
Silah is one of the most unprecedented inventive genius's to ever exist in the Avatar world, and because she has lived such a long life, she has discovered how to create machines that are a twisted combination of technology and dark sorcery. Which means that Silah's mechanical badgermole, and all of her other machines and puppets, are a demented rendition of technology and dark sorcery.
Due to Silah's vast lifespan, her machines are actually more advanced than that of even the best that the Fire Nation is currently capable of producing, and that means that she is actually in possession of the most technologically advanced war machines on the planet.
But because Silah is just one person, and the Fire Nation is an entire nation, she cannot create the widespread industrialized war effort that the Fire Nation has been able to produce.
Silah's true appearance is that of a young looking woman with angelic silver hair, and unlike Mava, Silah hasn't aged at all and appears eternally young.
Silah wearing a green kimono also suggests that she is of Earth Kingdom origin.
As for Jaran, unlike all of the other Earth Kings who were nonbenders, Jaran was actually a highly powerful warrior and one of the greatest earthbenders to ever live.
Because of this and his honor, he was the first Earth King in centuries to try to reclaim control of Ba Sing Se from the bureaucracy and the Dai Li, which ultimately failed because he didn't have the political skill to undo several centuries of corruption.
Jaran launched his offensive against Ozai because the newly crowned Fire Lord Ozai had Jaran's wife assassinated which provoked the warrior king into leaving the walls of Ba Sing Se to avenge his slain beloved. And Jaran was going to use his mighty earthbending to spur a volcanic eruption in the caldera as revenge for Ozai killing his wife and unborn child.
When Ozai made his deal with Silah, he never knew how old she was, or that she could take the power of benders that she killed as her own, and that she was going to take Jaran as her weapon after she killed him.
After Silah killed Jaran, Long Feng and the Dai Li retook control of Ba Sing Se from Jaran's direct heirs, and then they installed their cousin Kuei as a puppet Earth King as the one we know from canon.
Silah also hinted at how may be an extremely powerful earthbender in her own right by saying that neither she nor Jaran's bending will stop until her life force fades.
Silah showed here that she can 'stack' the powers of benders, and that if she is an extremely powerful earthbender, and she controls the extremely powerful earthbending of the lifeless Jaran, that it means that combined that she perform horrific feats of earthbending like making the entire caldera quake.
Ozai was enraged by Silah parading her badgermole through his capital, her showing that she is much more than he took her to be, her flaunting her power and showing that she has the power to openly defy him. And even more furious when she revealed that the power of the mighty warrior king that Ozai wanted out of his way is not gone, and now is in her complete control as her own personal super weapon.
Despite this, Ozai made the choice to use Silah and her dead warrior king against the Earth Kingdom and the Avatar instead of having a prolonged and destructive battle trying to subdue her in the Capital.
Like how Ozai left Azula behind in canon, even though it was clear that he hurt his daughter deeply. Ozai is thinking more about how he can use Silah as a weapon of war, and how he can uncover Silah's secret to her claimed immortality. Than what she put his daughter through and all of the Fire Nation lives that she has taken.
Ozai also referring to Elle as Azula's 'new weapon' shows that he also has no regard for Elle as a person.
Azula is so hurt by her father not expressing genuine concern for her after all that Silah put her through, that it destroyed any loyalty that she had left for him.
Because of Aang still being alive, Ling's Earth rebellion, and now rebellions even in the Fire Nation. Ozai is trying to remain in control and he may be overestimating how much he is able to control.
What are Silah's motives? Is she doing this as part of a plan with Vega? Is she doing this just to torment Azula? Does she actually want to ally with Ozai?
How will Team Azula react to being on the same 'side' as Silah?
This is the start of the new arc, the Dark Sage arc.
On a more personal note, I am really not doing well right now, my health has gotten even worse. I had to slow updates down because I have been struggling to write because I am so sick from the pain in my ears, teeth, head, neck and eyes. Because of this, I have not been able to produce new chapters at the rate I have been since I uploaded the story. It took me three months to write the first chapter of the arc after this when I usually write a chapter in a week to two weeks.
And so I slowed down on uploading the chapters that are written. Because the last thing I want is to have nothing to upload, and be unable to write. So, I am just going to upload more slowly for awhile. Hopefully while I wait to soon fell better.
My UOM neurologist spoke with the NYU neurosurgeon who agreed the compression of nerves in my neck could be the cause of my illness. However, he does not want to operate without first trying a direct nerve block there to see if it helps me.
So, a month from now I will be flying to New York City to meet with an NYU pain doctor to see about setting up this special nerve block. And then I will have to fly back again for the nerve block. And then if that helps me, I have been told the surgeon will likely operate. So, I am hoping this will result in my getting drastic pain relief and then I will be able to write more again, among other things. My entire life is pretty much riding on if they will be able to help me or not. It goes without saying that I hope that they can.
So, for now I am now going to keep it slow as I wait for that to pan out.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter one hundred thirty-eight! Fear!