Summary:

Despite feeling his life slowly fading, Fire Lord Azulon is still determined to win the war his father began and earn eternal glory for himself, his dynasty and nation.

Unsure whether he can live long enough to see the return of Sozin's Comet, he orders his son and heir Iroh to take the capital of the Earth Kingdom by any means necessary, something Iroh believes to be his destiny anyway. His rivalry with his brother Ozai, though once encouraged by him, has started to worry the aging monarch. In an effort to preempt a civil war and build an even stronger bloodline, he proclaims the marriage of Iroh's son Lu Ten to Ozai's daughter Azula.

Though her heart belongs to someone else her sense of duty is stronger, thus she faithfully follows her cousin on all his military quests. In the 18th year of her life she joins him and her uncle in their push to Ba Sing Se. Meanwhile her elder brother Zuko is building a career in the navy, growing more fearsome and respected by the day. Their father, though working in secret, is sure not to stand idle either. How will the drama of family and war unfold? Will the Avatar return to escalate things further?

Note

The story is inspired by House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones prequel. If you enjoyed those I hope you will enjoy this story too. If you don't, you've been warned.

I'm taking great liberties with the canon timeline, the order of events and some background histories while trying to keep the characters' personalities as intact as possible.

I'm also breaking the trend of making my story a gift, there are simply too many people I love and feel grateful to. I hope you all feel appreciated though.

Chapter 1: Breaking the Barrier

Azula, warrior princess of the Fire Nation, was on a mission. The same mission she was on since she was deemed old and skilled enough by her father to fight in the battle with the highest possible stakes: The realization of the Grand Dream of Sozin, the March of Civilization, the Dominion of Fire over all corners of this big round world. The tactics came and went but the goal remained the same.

In this concrete instance though, what had to be done was to take a fort from the Earth Kingdom, her nation's most important and most bitter enemy, two forts in fact. Together they were known to her and military leaders like her uncle and cousin as The Last Barrier, what the rock throwing savages called it didn't matter all that much, or at all, as long as it fell, and this night she had sworn she'd assure that very thing. The plan required skill and timing and the coordination of two players, herself and Lu Ten: the son of her revered uncle, her future husband by the decree of their grandfather and ruler Azulon, and most importantly to her, one of the few people she allowed herself to consider her friend. Though proud to the point of vanity herself, the plan was the brainchild of Lu Ten in equal measure, thus she would have no problem sharing the glory with him, especially considering they were expected to share so much more one day.

She was rather fond of those war meetings and field gatherings with her cousin and uncle. Not only was she able to learn something first hand from the greatest military man alive but sometimes when they all reached an agreement she could almost believe for a moment that her uncle saw her as human. She wasn't sure whether it was her mother who poisoned her uncle against her or whether it was the other way around. At least she knew something that he didn't know she knew, but she wouldn't be able to weaponize it until she had tangible proof. She could have dedicated herself to finding it years ago but a certain kind of spite prevented her from doing so; let the past rot is what she told herself.

Back in the present, the fact that she made it a conscious habit to immediately volunteer for the most dangerous missions and shame most men who dithered even for a second didn't help relations, but it sure raised morale. As for the current plan itself, simpler ones were usually preferable, she mused, but her uncle wouldn't have become The Dragon of the West if he had stuck to just the "burn everything" approach. She had every intention to outdo him in that regard. The Last Barrier was important for it defended the shortest and pretty much only traversable passage through the near impassable mountains that separated Ba Sing Se from the western territories of the Earth Kingdom. Those included the fertile grasslands, the playing ground of the steppe nomads. The western portion had been pacified for generations now and was an essential corn chamber for the war effort. The plan was to make the enemy leadership believe that the army mustered by her uncle was there to pacify the eastern part once and for all too. Little did they know that her cousin was leading a much smaller but much better equipped and trained detachment of the main army into the forest bordering the plains to the south, awaiting her signal of success for what she was about to do on this night, take the fort closer to the enemy capital and encircle the defenders of the fort facing the west.

How could such a feat succeed? Well, her and Lu Ten made allies, at least temporary ones: the local hill tribes. As it should be expected, the road through the mountains made for an ideal taxing and tolling opportunity. Merchants, caravans, refugees and just regular travelers all passed there. The commanders of the forts were known for abusing their power to the best of their abilities, aiming to get as rich as possible before being finally sacked for corruption, only to be replaced by someone who'd eventually fall into temptation too. The people of the Earth Kingdom might be united by their hatred for the Invader but sometimes they hated each other even more. The tribes considered the mountains their rightful territory and demanded their fair share of the wealth generated in it. However, their attempts to collect riches themselves were treated as banditry and often gruesomely punished. Thus they proved willing to share their secret about a hidden passage going along the road in the cliffs. Even if the garrisons knew about it they didn't expect the Fire Nation to know.

It was this road exactly Azula was following now, spearheading her carefully chosen team of Yuyan Archers, more than capable of hand to hand combat too, and soldiers from the Guanyin Battalion, firebenders known for their fearlessness and lack of hesitation. Walking slightly ahead of her was Lao, son of the Guanyin leader Hakuin, who had in previous nights volunteered to scout out and become intimately familiar with the terrain. Azula felt she could trust his eagerness to prove himself, and his skill couldn't be dismissed either, the plan was to take the fortress by divide and conquer too.

At last, her, Lao and their forward strike team found themselves at the precipice, where the mountains and the fort connected. They held the height advantage, it was crucial to maintain the advantage of surprise for as long as possible too. There were several guards patrolling the railings, their positions and routines seemingly matching the ones previously reported by Lao. As soon as the anchors that would allow the team to scale down into battle were fastened to the edge of the cliff, the most elite among the archers present got into position. The moon was half full, positioned in the sky in their favor too. Though she knew their abilities, Azula couldn't help but deliver some encouraging words to the warriors preparing for the first, decisive strike:

"I've seen you literally hit a fly half a mile away, if you miss those sentry's throats please throw yourself off this cliff immediately so I don't have to."

Time behaves differently in battle, or at least it has its own rules only repeated survivors become slowly aware of. The tense time before the first arrow landed was a glimpse of eternity, while the rest of the engagement passed like a sudden whirlwind. The sentries fell in quick succession, almost all of them at the same time, the sound of them collapsing on the pavement louder than the painful, blood filled gurgle of their last moments. No turning back was possible anymore. Azula and her team wasted no time in scaling down and advancing to the tower. A few soldiers were left behind to watch out for unexpected reinforcements and to shoot down anyone daring to escape the trap.

Firebenders were known to be weaker at night, when the Sun, mother of their strength, was absent from the sky. Thus night attacks weren't seen as a permanent, looming threat. If the enemy doesn't expect something, then it's your obligation to do it, the princess knew.

A great number of firebenders considered their fire so superior to every other form of combat that they refused to even consider learning the use of weapons or unarmed combat. Not her though. In their sparring sessions, her nonbending friends Mai and Ty Lee, could and would kick her to the curb. Her brother Zuko could even channel his fire through his dual swords to great effect. Though she had mocked him as a kid she had learned better than to underestimate him by now. As her father had wisely taught her, learn from your mistakes, just never admit them.

Right now she also knew where to move, more of a hunch though, really. The merchants they managed to turn into spies had provided them with possible layouts of the interior. Merchants are people of questionable loyalty even at the best of times, even within a nation, how much more did that hold true for cross country caravan leaders and war profiteers? Still, the most important detail soon proved to be accurate: the commanding officers and their quarters were indeed on the tower's top while the main garrison had their armory and living spaces closer to the bottom. None of them were really prepared to meet their enemy so suddenly. The corridors weren't too narrow but they were narrow enough for Azula's men to take advantage of them. Her mixed team proved as deadly as she hoped. The Guanyin soldiers unleashed their flames first and by the time their opponent managed to put up an earthbending defense, the Yuyan soldier would have already snuck past them and quickly ended their existence with a skilled stab or cut with their knife or shortsword.

Entering the tower from the wall proved pivotal in splitting the enemy in two, Azula fought her way up while Lao led his part of the troops down. The majority of the Earth Kingdom soldiers could call themselves lucky in the princess's estimation, they were either too slow, sleepy and surprised to effectively mobilize, which allowed Lao's forces to trap them in their barracks. Thanks to some skillfully thrown tear gas grenades they were knocked out and captured alive.

Making use of the confusion, Azula and her force quickly advanced upwards. The stairs should have given the Earth Kingdom soldiers the advantage but the princess made up for it by sheer boldness and the frightening effect of her unique blue flame. At last she fought her way through to the command room and immediately attacked the man whose uniform gave away his crucial rank. Just moments before he had been shouting unclear orders, trying to make sense of the situation, now he lay screaming in agony over his badly burned hands. The soldier next to him immediately launched into his own defense attempt but the features of his face instantly awakened a particular memory in Azula. With a quick motion of her hands she charged her lightning and struck him. He was paralyzed right away but very far from dead. She had trained long and hard to develop this non-lethal variant of the ancient royal skill. A few eggs had to be broken in the process of course but the results were something to be proud of in her view. Seeing their leaders brought low made the rest of the opposing soldiers throw their hands up in surrender and fall on their knees. Azula's men quickly secured the room. The princess herself looked around then approached the communications relay and listened. After a short while the panicked voices of the enemy fell silent and Lao's voice could be heard instead. She smiled and raised her fist to her troops, the first part of tonight's victory was achieved. Now it was time for the next phase.

Azula ordered one of the prisoners to write an emergency letter in the calligraphic style and military language of the Earth Kingdom and send a sparrow with a seal of authenticity to the commander of the forward fort. All rumors and reports agreed that he was an exceedingly greedy man, jealously guarding his position. He was therefore sure to send every man he could spare and leave his position with a skeleton crew at best instead of calling for the aid of Ba Sing Se and risk being sacked for incompetence. While this was being done she had the man she incapacitated with her lightning seated in the best chair in the room. Finally, she turned her gaze to him and the memories started coming back.

It had been one of her first missions, a scouting mission to find an Earth Kingdom resistance outpost. It was a common tactic of the enemy, especially in only recently occupied territories, to fall back to some hidden camp or base and harass the Fire Nation from there and slow further advance from there. It was a relatively simple task, find the base and report back without being seen, or at least leave no witnesses able to warn others. It wasn't particularly vital or glorious work but it was a chance to prove herself against real opponents, people who had every intention to see her killed or captured. It should have been simple, except she did get captured, and separated from her escorts too. She had studied the enemies of her nation throughout her short life and believed herself immune from the danger of underestimating them. Luckily for her she would get the chance to learn from her mistake and not repeat it, all thanks to the man she was facing now. His name was burned into her memory even though she had heard it only once, thus she greeted him with it:

"Lieutenant Tsun."

The man responded to the name, his ability to speak still intact, not even slurring:

"It's vice-commander now."

"I see you've risen through the ranks."

"You have grown too."

"You remember me?"

Tsun gave her a tired smirk and said:

"How could I not? Most defiant eyes I've ever seen, recognized them immediately when the posters started appearing. Spent many nights wondering how many people I've doomed by my act of mercy. Seems my turn has come too."

Azula sighed, trying to adopt less threatening body language and a softer tone of voice before continuing:

"Maybe you don't remember but I did promise you I would repay your kindness somehow, one day, if I got the chance."

"I don't suppose I can ask for you and your men to retreat?"

Azula seemed unphased, a tiny smirk of amusement escaping her lips:

"We'll find a compromise… Which reminds me, I made a promise to someone else as well. Would be a good negotiation start if you told me, truthfully, if he is here too."

"Another victim to your endless list?"

"At least this one deserves it, wouldn't you agree? You called him a questionable soldier and a horrible human being, remember? Xi, wasn't it?"

The vice-commander Tsun would have preferred talking to someone who behaved like an enemy, the princess speaking to him a relaxed tone reserved for friends unnerved him:

"You said you'd repay me, let him go!"

"Thanks for the confirmation. Noble of you indeed, but don't waste your chips, there are many other men here who deserve them more, think about them. I don't care if they live, but you do, so what will it be?"

"Can I trust your promise?"

"You're still alive and we're negotiating like civilized beings, I think that's proof enough. Give me my vengeance and you shall have my gratitude. No harm will come to the prisoners made tonight, as soon as my uncle's army secures the area, you will all be free to go."

"You still fight for a nation of traitors!"

"Careful now, my dear Tsun. I can't speak for everyone but I myself only betray people I have full reason to believe will betray me first, so don't hurt my feelings, please."

Weighing all his options and responsibilities Tsun finally gave in, saying:

"Alright, just make it quick."

"I will, thank you for not asking for it to be painless. I've waited way too long to not have my moment of joy."

Indeed, she would have her satisfaction, the memory of that fateful day was now as fresh in her mind as when it happened. She was leaning against a tree at the edge of a small clearing, her hands tightly bound behind her back with a strong rope, just like her feet. Tsun was one of the two soldiers guarding her, he looked at the other and sighed deeply and wearily:

"I can't believe this. Their soldiers have been getting younger and younger every year, now they're sending girls ?"

The other soldier seemed very far from shocked, in fact, his amusement was plastered all across his face. He said:

"That's a plus for us Tsun, they are obviously getting desperate. Now we don't even have to take their settlements to get to their women, they're throwing them at us! The spirits are smiling at us, time to show this one how much we "appreciate"."

His brother in arms seemed to either ignore or not get the implication in his tone, thus he said:

"Maybe she's the daughter of some nobleman, trying to avoid bandits on the beaten paths. Maybe she just got lost. We could ransom her fairly."

"Or we could make her "unmarriageable", I'll even let you at it first. Destroying some highborn house might do them more damage than extorting them for some coin and supplies."

Tsun's eyes slightly widened as he finally understood. He retorted with:

"Enough! This is worse than your campfire talk Xi! I know you like them young but this girl is barely a day older than 13, at best! She has done nothing to warrant what you want to do to her!"

The man known as Xi appeared unimpressed and just said:

"If you see a snake in the grass, in your field, do you spare it just because it hasn't bitten you yet?"

Now, his comrade started sounding angry, responding in a commanding tone:

"I'm still your lieutenant and I say, here, take this coin, spend it on desire when we are in a town again. Now go to the camp and tell another private to switch places with you."

Xi grumbled but in the end said nothing, and did as he was told. Tsun then turned towards Azula. Her moment of shock upon seeing him take out a knife quickly passed when he began cutting her leg bindings. Once her arms were free too he said:

"Go, go back to your family! I don't know how much time I can buy you so run as fast as you can."

Once Azula stood upright again, she bowed in respect to her unexpected benefactor and before leaving said:

"I will never forget what you just did for me, you have my promise I will repay you should we ever meet again… And I promise to repay your colleague too should I get the chance."

Despite the vividness of the overall memory, Azula couldn't remember whether Xi had actually touched her or not. It didn't matter, she felt violated still. It was her first, all too real taste of the worst thing men could do to women.

Now she stood in the barracks, flanked by two of her best men, the exit was well guarded too. She and Lao had traded places, with the understanding that Lao would notify her immediately should the enemy host arrive within sight of the fort. She promised she would make it quick and wagered she would have enough time to fulfill her intent. Before her on his knees, arms bound, was the sole prisoner she truly had no desire to spare. She asked him for his last words and he replied:

"I might say I would try to haunt you, but I don't think you and your people have a conscience. I'll settle for that traitor you owe your life to instead."

Satisfied and amused by the response, Azula pulled out a knife from her armor. It was actually the very same knife Mai had gifted after coming home from that mission. By now it had served her well on many occasions. The friendship wasn't as good and easy as it used to be anymore but the princess never truly considered getting rid of the gift, it was all too practical, she told herself. She gave the instrument of death a long pensive look and listened carefully, it seemed that not even "the voice" was trying to stop her.

Azula had an uncanny, paradoxical ability she honed over the years. The more frightened she was of a person or situation the more intimidating she appeared when facing it. The more disgusted and revolted she was by a practice or punishment the more it looked like she relished it when threatening someone with it. Some might call it a necessary overcompensation but it can be said that she secretly enjoyed and was proud of having discovered and mastered this technique. This time however, she didn't have to even try, much less pretend.

When her gaze turned fully back to the captive Xi, she could see the hatred and fear in his eyes. It quickly turned into an expression of pure pain and agony when her knife jammed itself deeply in his throat, even more so when she twisted it. Perhaps he would have screamed if he had been physically able. At last she violently pulled the knife out, letting her would-be violator collapse on the floor. If there was any life left in him, it would soon drown in a pool of his own blood.

Azula then carefully wiped her weapon clean with a handkerchief and gazed around the room, looking the enemy soldiers in the eyes, most quickly averting their own gaze away. Then she spoke:

"You heard that I gave a promise to your fallen friend. I hope everyone here is now aware how serious I am about keeping my oaths. Luckily for all of you I've also promised to your second in command that no harm will come to any of you as long as you don't try to riot or resist. You will all be free to go wherever you please as soon as the whole passage is secured. I'm sure each of you has at least someone you want to see again. Don't make this place your tomb and don't feel ashamed. You fought valiantly enough, we were just better. You can always say it was your skills that earned you clemency."

The crowd remained silent to her speech but the air became lighter. Relief could be sensed though some tension naturally remained. She then made her way up again and met with Lao, who already received news from their scouts that the other garrison was moving towards them to retake the fort, which meant Lu Ten's army was moving into position too. The day was slowly dawning, Earth Kingdom soldiers were approaching from the west but no movement could be detected from the east. The gamble seemed to have paid off. Azula, Lao and their forces entrenched themselves, ready to defend what they just captured with all the fire and fury their nation was known for. Shortly before the first flames were shot and the first rocks thrown, Lao of Guanyin turned to his princess and asked:

"Are you sure the trai-defector detachment will play its part?"

"I'm sure, you cannot defect from someone you never felt loyalty towards in the first place. Besides, they aren't a necessity for victory, they'll just make it easier."

The hill tribes had earlier assured help and were notified also. Of course, they were less coordinated and trained so their timing wasn't perfect either. But sure enough, about an hour into the fight, they appeared from both sides of the passage and started pelting the Earth Kingdom soldiers with rocks and showering them with javelins and arrows. Having to now defend themselves on three sides, their ranks started thinning out even faster. The merciless fire from the fortress and Azula's occasional fatal lightning didn't do them any favors, and the casualties they inflicted on the Fire Nation forces and their allies weren't high enough to turn the tide in their favor. Yet they still held out as best as they could.

That is until a bone chilling trumpet sound could be heard from the west. It was the battle cry of a Fire Nation cavalry regiment. Lu Ten's shock troopers really earned their name that day for they trampled down the enemy on their komodo-rhinos before they could even understand what was happening, never mind properly defend themselves. It was the final blow required, whoever remained who wasn't yet killed or incapacitated threw their hands up in surrender, seeing no other way out anymore.

Behind the shock troopers, riding his own mount and leading the infantry was the regal figure of Lu Ten, shining with pride, observing with satisfaction his and Azula's achievement, their achievement. When he saw her at the battlements, he dismounted from his rhino, gave her a graceful bow of thanks and beckoned her with a smile to join him.

She couldn't help but feel charmed by his antics in general. Despite their union being arranged it wasn't that she felt nothing for her cousin. In fact her fondness for him only grew as the years passed. It was just that her heart of hearts belonged to another; someone she could never have, someone who'd get hurt if the world knew, just as she would. At least the years of unrequited passion taught her one thing, it's much easier to hide something shameful when you yourself aren't truly ashamed of it. Besides, the success of this day might give her secret love the chance to shine too very soon.

As for the man who promised her and Lu Ten to each other and for whose honor they both fought, Fire Lord Azulon… like so many rulers before him, had to judge whether it was better to bring allies into the family or to keep power within it. He chose the latter… for now. His absolute refusal to reconsider the betrothal was a demonstration of his complete unwillingness to have his will challenged. If someone wished for him to endorse their idea, they had to convince him that it was his all along. One could speculate about Fire Lord Azulon's eyesight all day but no one in the realm could say that he was blind.

He wasn't the type of person to consider dying one day a viable option but he knew his sons had their factions, ready to tear at each other. Competition might be a good thing for it produced stronger individuals but good things had their limit, plunging the nation into civil war certainly was a hard one. For that and another, secret, reason he proclaimed the marriage of his grandchildren, to be consummated once Azula was of age.

Neither the princess nor her cousin ever outwardly expressed any misgivings to their marriage. Azula was even quite grateful for her betrothal status, for it allowed her to join Lu Ten in all his campaigns and no one could protest effectively enough. How did Mai describe it? The family who slays together, stays together.

Now standing tall and proud before her cousin, despite being almost a head shorter she asked warmly and teasingly:

"How was your battle, my prince?"

Lu Ten, being one of the few people who could detect tenderness when Azula was using it replied:

"The enemy fought bravely, I'm sure the spirits of their ancestors will warmly and proudly welcome them."

"I captured most of them alive on my front."

"Impressive little cousin, you got the commander of the castle to cooperate?"

"My love, you are forgetting that I'm a people person."

"I beg your pardon. I never doubted you, I'm sure he stood no chance against your charm."

"You flatter me… I appreciate it as always."

Lu Ten, smiling in his trademark, slightly devilish way that Azula and so many other girls loved seeing, said:

"What about a little show of celebration? You know, for our brave troops and all."

Azula, bowing slightly before him, her own smirk revealing that she knew what was to come, responded:

"As you command my lord-fiancee."

Lu Ten then extended his right hand, placed his finger under her chin and gently lifted her pretty visage to face him. Stepping forward he felt her breath still hot from battle and placed a kiss tenderly, which her lips returned passionately. The time they felt awkward about such things was long past; didn't mean they didn't enjoy putting on a show. Their bodies might not have gotten to know each other yet, but their hearts sure did. The troops did indeed clap and cheer seeing them. If male soldiers were permitted to celebrate success with a lay, Azula thought she at least deserved a kiss. Sometimes they even felt so good that she could almost forget that other boy.

Iroh's army finally joined them later that day, abandoning their false flag operations against the weakened grassland nomads. Of course, he toasted to her honor, not just Lu Ten's, in public but his behavior in private didn't change. Moreover he didn't take the news that Azula's prisoners were promised unconditional release and her tribal allies part of the captured treasury all too well. Before he could form a coherent counterargument Lu Ten reminded him that the word of a dragonborn was sacred and that Azula had the right to speak for their dynasty, just as they all did. Yes, earthbending prisoners could be used to cultivate the grasslands or the wild lands between Ba Sing Se and the mountains, but negotiations are instrumental to sieges, the value of trust can not be underestimated.

Vice-commander Tsun, his superior and almost all of their men chose to head for Ba Sing Se, join the army there and try to redeem their reputations. They were sent on their way as soon as the Fire Nation army was truly safely on the other side, too numerous to be pushed back easily. Azula's parting words were the following:

"I do enjoy repaying favors but I consider us even now. If you want any more favors you better save my life again."

"Maybe the reports of your cruelty were exaggerated, slightly… I'll try to at least not end it myself, if I can."

A short while later she joined her cousin and uncle at their war meeting in Iroh's command tent. The atmosphere was solemnly silent, all eyes focused on her uncle who had his own closed. He appeared to be in some form of deep concentration. When at last he awoke, he spoke in a serious, quiet tone, full of fire and blood:

"This is where the end begins. This is where destiny is made manifest."