Kuvira

The mountains of the southern Earth Kingdom were dominated by several forts, built on the mountaintops about a thousand years before the time of Avatar Korra. The largest and most impregnable of these was the castle of Shanbao. Built at the top of peak 6,000 feet above sea level, the men who occupied it looked out over a commanding view over the surrounding regions, and did so from the comfort of multiple levels of walls, with trebuchets for launching rocks at anyone who tried to climb up to them. If anybody tried to approach by air, it bristled with ballistae that launched huge bolts to skewer them and swat them from the sky. A lot of the roofs of the buildings were also flat, and had been devoted to farms; An invading army wasn't going to starve the defenders out either.

It was like if an air temple had been specifically designed to be impregnable, and it showed; it had held off a 50 year siege during the war with the Fire Nation, and the Firelord's armies had broken before the fort did.

And Kuvira had to take it.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair in her office. The pretender King Shu was in that fortress, and he was no doubt putting his feet up and intending to wait her out. She supposed that, if push came to shove, she could just leave men to cut him off and let him rot on top of that mountain, but that left the option open for him to do something unexpected later. He had to be dealt with now.

There was a knock on her door, and one of her underlings stuck her head through.

"We're here!" She announced. Kuvira waved her away as the train began to slow down. She got up and crossed to the window, where she could see the mountain clearly. Her eyes travelled up and up and up some more, until finally they reached the top and she saw the fortress of Shanbao, towering into the sky far above her. Far below, several rings of trenches stretched away in either direction, the tops of Kuvira's men's helmets visible at regular intervals.

"Kuvira?"

She turned to find a much more pleasant sight, as Baatar entered.

"Are you alright?"

"I've just been thinking," she told him.

"About that?" He pointed out of the window.

She nodded.

"Well, you'll be pleased to know they apparently didn't do anything while we were away. They've just been sitting there."

"They won't be sitting there for much longer," Kuvira decided.

"What are we going to do? Attack?"

Kuvira thought.

"No," she decided. "We are going to talk."

The first Kuvira saw of the man who would be King were the flags; one white, and one green, fluttering majestically high above her as his party descended from their mountain. Behind her, three of her soldiers flanked her, along with Baatar and Bolin, all of whom had their eyes trained skywards.

Eventually, after a good five minutes, the other party approached enough to be clearly seen. They were standing on an earthen platform, and two earthbenders were slowly lowering it down the side of the mountain. Along with them were the two flag bearers and two men in old fashioned Earth Kingdom style armour, one of whom was significantly older than the other.

Finally, the platform drew to a stop in front of them, and the older man stepped off without breaking stride and stopped in front of her.

"My lady," he bowed dramatically.

"Hello, Shu."

Shu was a man with a long face, lined with wrinkles, and long grey hair that hung down to his shoulders. He wore an ornate breastplate that had the symbol of the Earth Kingdom's royal family in the centre surrounded by intricate scenes from their history; Kuvira saw a scene depicting the Battle of Llamapaca Crossing, and more with poses of Earth monarchs posing heroically in martial style.

The younger man next to him scowled. "That's "your majesty," to you," he snarled.

"Please, just because our companions may forget their manners, it doesn't mean we should do the same," Shu admonished him mildly. He addressed Kuvira as if he hadn't just insulted her. "This is my son and heir, Prince Qi," he told her. The man bowed, but he didn't look happy about it.

"Look, I'll cut to the chase," Kuvira told them. "We surround you. I don't know how many men you have up there, but we have more. Surrender, so that this bloodshed might end."

"And if I do that," Shu asked, "who sits the throne?"

Kuvira had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

"Does it matter?"

"It matters greatly. My nephew is a weak king, it's not his fault but he's too young. I am the best hope for the future."

"He has a good regent," Baatar called.

"He shouldn't need one," Shu replied. "A good King should have the authority to make the best call for his subjects, even if the realm is against him."

"And is this truly what is best for the Earth Kingdom?" Kuvira spread her arms for effect. "This war is nearly over. You are the last obstacle to peace. It will be so much easier if this ends peacefully."

"Perhaps in the short term," Shu conceded. "But I'm not sure if you are what is best in the longer term."

"How?" Bolin asked.

"A King hears things," Shu told him. "A good one should, anyway. And some of the thing's I've heard about your administration are... disturbing, to say the least."

Kuvira folded her arms. "Really."

"Yes really. What happens to people who disagree with you?" Shu challenged her. "Nothing good, from what I've heard. If that fate awaits me, then let me take my chances in my fort."

"Is an absolute monarch lecturing me about treatment of dissenters?" Kuvira had to fight the urge to break out laughing. "Besides, I've seen what your forces did during the fighting in the south, you have no right to judge me!"

"Laugh if you wish, but don't pretend you are so morally opposed to absolutism," Shu scowled.

Kuvira said nothing to that. She could think of no good response that wouldn't give anything away.

"Well," Shu clapped his hands together. "I take it that means we're done here?"

"You're not going to surrender?" Bolin asked with disappointment.

"No, I'm not," Shu replied. "I cannot surrender; I have been ordained by the Spirits, and I cannot betray their trust. Anyway, if that's everything, can I get back now? The Royal Cooks are preparing Roast turtle-duck for dinner, and my soldiers don't like to be kept waiting. Maybe I could send some down for you and your army?"

"That won't be necessary," Kuvira ground out.

"Oh well, all the more for us then!" Shu clapped again, and moved to stand on the platform.

With a movement from the earthbenders, it lurched away, and began its long ascent back to the fortress.

"Until we meet again!" Shu called. "We'll see how you feel in, I don't know, five years?"

Kuvira turned away as it retreated.

"Looks like we're doing it the hard way then," she said, a look of determination settling on her face. Bolin and Baatar nodded.

"I need fifty of the finest and quietest Earthbenders in the army," Kuvira told them. "And bring me Varrick."