"Azula always lies." – Prince Zuko
It was a beautiful moonlit night in the fire nation capital. The perfect time to watch a bending performance at one of the temples, to visit the pier and its gaslamp-lit streets on an excursion with your significant other.
Or the perfect backdrop for intrigue.
Azula confidently strode upon her stage.
It was a teahouse, exclusively serving noble patrons. Located inside the crater, it was part of the noble district, Hari Bulkan. Once, her baseborn rival hadn't even been allowed inside. Much had changed since then, both for that woman and the three men inside.
The Crown Princess passed through the tall mahogany gate, the cool night air following in her wake. Inside, a dozen servants kowtowed on the polished floor, greeting the secret owner of the establishment. They shivered, but it was not from the sudden cold.
"Rise."
They were too well-trained to breathe a sigh of relief, silently shuffling out of the hall. The proprietor, an old, portly woman walked towards her mistress side, taking care to always follow a step behind. Whispering, she reported: "The Minister of the Left, the Viceroy of Najing, and the Supervisor of the Huo Sha academy1 are awaiting you, my Princess."
With a handwave, the royal bid her to continue.
"The latter seemed exhausted, publicly claiming illness." A manicured eyebrow was raised in response, which was enough encouragement for the agent to speculate: "Some patrons have theorized his deteriorating appearance comes from stress instead. Supposedly, the Juan Xin Cai conglomerate has stopped sponsoring the academy."
Valuable intel, if Azula had not already traced back a large donation to the new colleges in Tan Ya's conquests to the group. The money had to come from somewhere, and the company had not bragged about more being sent towards their charitable foundation. The rest was common sense. Still, good work must be occasionally rewarded, for employees to have an incentive to go above and beyond. Or so her rival advised.
The Crown Princess handed her subordinate a few banknotes.2
They passed through richly appointed hallways, decorated with art from the Fire Nation. And only the Fire Nation. The establishment prided itself on never having purchased the loot of the Lightning Army, filling its walls only with the storied history of a superior people.
It made them look like a poor house.
Without earth bending, the domestic artisans never had access to as much gold and jade as those in the new Southern colonies.3
Once they had reached the meeting room, the stout matron silently excused herself. It would not do to be seen by her betters. Usually, she would instead hide behind a fake wall, monitoring her guests. Yet with her mistress here, she did not dare. It wasn't like the former courtesan could catch something the Crown Princess didn't and selling her out was plain unthinkable.
As soon as Azula entered the room, the three old men at the height of their careers rose swiftly despite their age and bowed low. High nobles one and all, they did not need to kowtow outside of court. That their noses still almost touched the tabletop said much.
After the princess sat down at the head, the viceroy immediately began the discussion. The former martial official was well known for his impatience: "Please tell us Princess, how should we respond to this provocation? We cannot allow the exile and the upstart to form an alliance!"
Azula remained indifferent in the face of his panicked words. The man was right to be concerned. His standing was by far the weakest of those present, having achieved his position thanks to his family. This, in truth, was why he was here. As the scion of multiple clans, he was a good measuring stick for the opinion of the high nobility. And it seemed they were panicking, enough to forget their courtesy.
"Temper yourself, Heiran," reprimanded the Minister of the Left. "You do not make demands from Her Highness!"
"We thank you for meeting with us, Crown Princess," added the academy supervisor. "Yet my student4 speaks true. This 'alliance' might be a conspiracy by Prince Iroh to usurp the throne."
His words earned a dismissive snort from the Minister: "I was there when Firelord Azulon passed. The Dragon's fire was extinguished at Ba Sing Se."
Leading a famous school for three decades had instilled within the supervisor the erroneous belief that his words held weight if he backed them with enough arguments. It came as no surprise that he fiercely defended his conclusion: "Prince Lu Ten has been dead for a decade! He will have overcome his grief by now. His flame will be fuelled by a self-righteous belief that his throne has been stolen! Has he not taken the exiled Prince under his wing? After acquiring an heir he is now gathering military strength!"
A dismissive snort from a more dangerous man was all his reasoning amounted too: "Pha. The Western Armies are still building shrines in his honour. I signed off some of their requests myself!" The government official was certain that Prince Iroh could raise the Western Armies with a word; as certain as he was that even with another army's support it would not matter. You could, after all, not fight an enemy you could not reach: And the navy was fiercely loyal, as the last seven years had proven.5
Before the scholar could quarrel further, a chilling voice cut him off. All three men immediately stilled and listened attentively.
"This play was not my uncle's doing."
Instantly, the supervisor changed his mind. If the Princess said so, it was true. After hesitating for a moment, he wondered: "Then is this Prince Zuko's plan? What can he hope to achieve with a single army? Even if it's them."
"It wouldn't even help him at court," added the Minister. "The meritocrats care not for an unproven boy, nevermind the mercantile factions or the plebeian masses. And the common soldiery hasn't forgotten how the Prince failed to defend them during that disgraceful Agni Kai." He sighed. "Their only commonality is that they all support that upstart miscreant, but they aren't so far gone that they would unconditionally support her pick for the throne."
His voice was full of hatred as he spoke of the Lightning General, his fellow conspirators sharing a grimace at her mere mention. Only the Crown Princess had remained undisturbed, but all of them knew how deep her hatred went. It was why she had gathered the three of them, despite their differing factions. They were all opposed to the baseborn' s rise.
Yet still, they underestimated their shared enemy. These nobles simply couldn't conceive of a commoner using two Princes as her own pei sho pieces. Only Azula saw the truth. She had long since stopped underestimating her.
"It is not the throne that dearest Zuzu seeks."
The Viceroy was the first to catch on, possibly already informed by the spy network of his relatives. "Is it true then?" asked the Viceroy. "The Avatar has been sighted?"
Azula did not ding to answer him, chastising him with a look. For what other reasons would her rival subordinate herself to her disappointing brother? Stating the obvious was plain bad form, especially since it revealed the Viceroy's uncertainty about his own intelligence.
"She can now delay her return to the homeland further. And who will gain credit for capturing the Avatar, I wonder? A known craven or the hero of the South?"
"We must take measures then. If she gains this honour her position will be untouchable," argued the old official.
"A letter of condemnation then?" suggested the supervisor. "She is a martial official serving an exile!"
"A general has the right to assign themselves their own objectives if the situation demands it. Wouldn't you say pursuing our nation's greatest enemy qualifies?" mocked the Minister.
"Still, just look at the optics. With the Princess's support, we could surely pass the motion! It might even cost that cur her command!" The viceroy seemed to practically salivate at the thought.
His words were greeted by a soft chuckle. The sound made the dignitaries shiver, their eyes turning to the Crown Princess. They hardly dared breathe.
"She has already lost her command."
Her words confused them, though they did not dare show it. What plan had their benefactor thought off? It was rumoured that the Heir of the Nation could outmanoeuvre her enemies with such grace their defeat was an inevitability that they never saw coming.
Then again… The Lightning General had proven a remarkably resilient target. Nothing had stopped her, neither a chronic supply shortage nor the armies of a whole continent6.
"When the sabretooth-moose bows to the koala-sheep the latter still remains prey." A wicked grin settled on her face, full of malice and cruel cunning. "This, gentlemen, is an opportunity. For the first time in seven years, her choices are no longer her own."
The gathered conspirators were no fools. They couldn't afford to be if they wanted to survive the royal court. Still, to describe the Dragon of the West who was undoubtedly the true power behind the Exiled Prince as mere livestock fit for slaughter… Such was a privilege afforded to the Princess alone. Even her Lord Father walked carefully around his elder brother! Yet the men were certain. Their benefactor had devised a strategy to entrap Iroh, and with him, her true enemy.
Only, they could not see it. And so the proud nobles practically begged for orders: "Tell us your will, and we shall see it done."
"Have the Vice Minister of Works suggest condemnation." Descending from lower nobility, it would add to the perception that it came from genuine concern. "Tell her to focus on Tan Ya leaving the South undefended. As for you… Speak not of treason, but question her disregard for military hierarchy. Nothing more. The motion will fail, but such is the first step of my plan."
…
A few li north of the shore of Kyoshi Island – General Tan Ya
…
Waiting, I found, was not an activity Prince Zuko enjoyed. It would be easy to dismiss his pacing across the deck as youthful impatience, and in truth, it might be part of it. But it also hinted at a far more worrisome trait: If his goal was within reach, he grew impatient.
No explanation was needed why this was a terrible trait for a commander, and having self-assigned myself under him… I really hoped he wouldn't do something foolish, like say, facing the Avatar unprepared.
Looking across the ocean at Kyoshi Island, I hoped we would soon get word from my diplomats. Despite having stranded their vessel, we still had an open line of communication as they carried messenger hawks.
Which most officers would probably use to send them an invitation to their court martial. Warships were expensive, and the ship's sacrifice did not lead to a tactical gain. The action seemed especially egregious since that oversized sea anaconda disappeared beneath the waves the moment I shot a single lightning bolt towards its general vicinity: It had gotten too close to our blockade.
Militarily, the corps had made a mistake. 7
Diplomatically, however? There was a difference between seeing steamers on the horizon or up close. Since we lacked cannons parking a vessel of war longer than your entire pier in spitting distance of the village was the next best thing.8 It, more than any demonstration of bending or expensive gifts would convince them to negotiate.
Or not.
Illuminated by the evening sun, the Avatar's bison flew. Shit.
"It seems diplomacy has failed," sneered the Exiled Pansy9.
"So it seems," I said as I bowed my head in apology. Best not to mention that his own plan would have earned dishonour and resulted in the same outcome, only with more of my soldiers dead.
"We can bring it down," asserted Le Ren confidently, probably trying to come to my defence. Instead, had put the two Princes in an impossible position. You can't ally with the dead.
"If we go large enough we should be able to kill the Avatar in one blow, regardless of whether or not he has mastered earth bending," offered Iuka eagerly.
Unlike the rest of my men, she had not left for other duties, insisting some of my personal guards should always be by my side. Even if I was only waiting, drinking tea and sucking up. I had judged the whole thing pointless on the open ocean where she couldn't raise fortifications for me to hide behind, but right now I was immensely grateful.
She had given me a way out: "Lieutenant, have you forgotten our enemy is a master Airbender? One strong gust and the dust will surround our own ships."
Before Le Ren or Iuka could rightfully point out that my lightning did not have the same limitations but would lead to much the same result as my armies signature technique, I continued on: "Additionally, most of our soldiers are packed in the cargo holds and our earth benders have little access to their element. Fighting over the ocean with our water benders still in training camps would only mean death if the Avatar repeats his performance from the South Pole10."
Commander Le Ren raised an incredulous eyebrow, though he thankfully remained quiet. My second might rightfullyy demand an explanation later, but for now, he was playing along with my lie.
"Mph. The rumours made me expect more from the invincible army," scoffed Zuko. I could practically hear Iuka grind her teeth, though personally, I did not care.
"Rumours are just that," I shrugged. Starring at the beached ship I continued: "Reality… is often disappointing." The warship had been named 'Glorious Victor'. There were probably dozens with the same name.
"So it seems." The exile turned his back on me. Iroh poured me a cup of tea.
Not a trace of disappointment was visible on his face.
As the Bison became a small dot, Zuko asked: "How will you make up for squandering this opportunity, General?" He was still looking at the island, the anger in his voice barely mastered.
The teenager's accusation was hardly surprising, but Iroh's sigh was. It looked like the old Dragon was about to admonish our 'leader'. While I appreciated the support, I spoke up before he could. Soon I would be able to bring results, and they would be more convincing than mere words. "By providing many more chances." I barked out a harsh laugh. "We are in the South, my Prince. The Avatar has nowhere to hide."
…
Below deck, hours later
…
An army consumed massive amounts of paperwork just by existing. It got worse when it had to move around.
Le Ren and I were practically buried in it, especially since we had spent most of the day attending the Princes. Figuring out how to get an army of twenty thousand strong to keep up with a flying target was challenging, and we had worked deep into the night until we had some workable plans.11
Now, however, there was time for our discussion. I leaned back in my chair "You are probably wondering why we didn't attack yesterday."
The scratching of his pen stopped. Turning towards me he gave a single, hesitant nod. I bit back a sigh. If it didn't concern military strategy he was hesitant to express his opinion, despite me valuing it highly.
"Why do you think that only a single ship was dispatched to capture the Avatar?"
He didn't answer immediately, taking his time to consider all angles: "The simplest solution is that that single ship with two royal fire benders on board was deemed a sufficiently large force to apprehend a child Avatar. Especially since he would have had no access to training in his native element, thanks to the Southern Raiders."
From just looking at the obvious, this was indeed the most logical conclusion. Yet Le Ren had served as my second on the worst battlefield in the world for six years. He knew better than to take things at face value. "Alternatively… The mission was never meant to succeed in the first place. Until recently, there had been no sight of the Avatar for over a hundred years."
Before he could wander into dangerous territory, like speculating whether exile had truly been meant for Zuko alone, I interrupted: "Indeed. Despite the best efforts of our entire nation, despite the largest navy in the world having standing orders to be on the lookout, despite dominating the South Pole, we have not found a single trace."
I let my words sink in for a moment.
"Until recently. When one lone ship carrying members of our country's ruling family just happened to stumble across the target in some no-name Antarctic hamlet."
Le Ren was brilliant, so he asked without delay: "If they knew where the Avatar was, or at least where their new Water Tribe incarnation would pop up, why not send an armada? Couldn't it truly have been a coincidence?"
He was however still limited by military thinking. "Look at the facts from another perspective. Roku's successor never took action against our nation. Why assume that that one's successor would?"
"Because the Southern Raiders systematically killed any water benders among his fellow villagers?" He deadpanned.
"The Avatar is twelve, and the last southern water bender was reportedly killed a decade ago," I responded equally dry. "Anyway, it is true that he will have grown up with stories of fleets of black ships bringing death and destruction to his home."
"Be it one warship or a dozen, his elders would still tell him that a threat is approaching."
"Different perspective," I reminded him. "Think about what can only be accomplished by a Seignior (=Elder Prince) like Iroh, a person who has the power to negotiate on his brother's behalf. Stop thinking of the mission as a military one."
That was enough for him to connect the dots: "A single ship with two Princes aboard would carry enough weight without coming across as too threatening… But still, why not send a diplomatic delegation in the first place?"
I shaking my head, I explained: "You have been away from the homeland for too long. Even a hundred years later Roku's name is still cursed at court. There must never be another case where an Avatar dictates national policy by force of arms. Just negotiating with the Avatar without him submitting would go too far for the royalists."12 Which publicly, was everyone. Fire Lord Ozai was not one to tolerate dissent.
"Is Prince Zuko's exile a smokescreen then?" The Commander pondered, still considering every angle of my theory.
"Possibly." I shrugged: "Or the Fire Lord just wanted to make way for the superior heir." The one great achievement of Ozai's reign would be by whom he was succeeded. "Regardless, I am entirely certain that the true authority on this mission is the war hero with decades of experience as a Crown Prince and General, instead of the petulant teenager."
"It would explain why the Dragon followed his nephew into exile… On the other hand, the two of them seem close. Maybe Prince Iroh just wanted to be there for his remaining family during a difficult time. After all, that famous Agni Kai most assuredly happened. Zuko's scar isn't exactly inconspicuous."
I noted how my second didn't mention the Exiled Pansy's title, but didn't comment on it. A few days at sea together had endeared him to neither of us.
Still, I scoffed at the idea that a widely worshipped martial official would abandon his job in the capital in order to spend time on a tiny boat traveling to the artic, just because he wanted to spend time with his ungrateful nephew. Zuko wasn't even part of Iroh's nuclear family! 13
"My friend was present during the event and described it to me. Prince Zuko really refused to fight for the conscripts, cowering in fear and shaking."
Le Ren looked disgusted, an emotion shared by most in the military, myself included. It was short-sighted to sacrifice an entire battalion of fresh human resources when they could be developed and used up more efficiently. It was worse when the person speaking against it was unwilling to stand up for their opinion, prioritizing their own selfish desire not to fight their father over the good of the nation and that of the soldiers. Zuko refused to stand up for the conscripts the moment personal stakes were involved, and the lower rungs of the military had never forgiven him.
In the end, the stupid order was carried out, as was typical of Ozai's war council. Probably because he didn't want to appear weak.
"Now, whether or not Prince Iroh accompanied Prince Zuko because of familial ties or because of his own mission or even a combination of the two, it doesn't really matter because of what their response was when they encountered the Avatar," I argued.
"Hiding intel about our nation's greatest enemy, you mean."
"You are very much correct, though I take issue with the word 'enemy'. The boy is twelve. Give it five years in the right environment, with the right tutors." Or five hours with Azula, " And we will have a loyal monster that can tear down the very walls of Ba Sing Se itself."
Sighing, Le Ren took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Yes, the benefits of having the Avatar on our side are plain. Yes, when the news of his reappearance spreads, every ambitious officer will want to capture him. Every petty captain, every forgotten garrison commander, even soldiers fighting on the frontlines will drop everything to pursue him. They will hunt him, hurt him and turn him into an irreconcilable enemy. Yes, if we ever want the Avatar to have a friendly relationship with us, it would make sense for the Princes to keep him a secret." Hesitating for a moment, he continued: "However, could it not be that they simply did not want anybody else to share the glory?"
"Watch who you are talking about," I reprimanded sharply. "Prince Zuko might be a petulant child, but the Dragon of the West is a hero of our nation."
Le Ren looked abashed: "You are right, I apologize. I cannot imagine General Iroh, the man who abandoned his greatest triumph in the face of a pyrrhic victory, put his personal glory above the good of the nation." We both admired him for his decisiveness during the Siege. "Where does that leave us? I understand why he accepted us, with the news leaked he needs some kind of force just to be able to reach the Avatar as quickly as ambitious military officials, but why hasn't he shared his true objective with us?"
"I don't think either of them trusts us. Prince Zuko's hostility is open and I don't believe Prince Iroh has invited me to tea solely because of his love for the drink. Over the last few days, it felt like he has been probing me." Quite a nerve-wracking experience, especially since I believed that he has figured out my true opinion on the war.
"Are they right too?" He interrupted before I could outline our tactics. Despite being a fierce nationalist, the last six years had worn down Le Ren's patience for Homeland institutions. Even the royal family, it seemed. Before long, he had developed an us-vs-them mentality.
"There is no reason for us to go against Prince Iroh. We both benefit from cooperation." My favourite kind of arrangement.
"Now, for our strategy concerning the Avatar… There honestly is not that much difference between trying to capture him or trying to facilitate a meeting from a position of strength. The debacle at Kyoshi Island proves that he will run away even if we just send diplomats. Our first priority then should be to surround the target, cut off any way of escape. While doing so, we must avoid engaging in hostilities."
"So what, are our men just supposed to close in on him without shooting back? All while he fires at them?"
His outrage was justified, but I merely responded with a shrug. "Yes. From what we have learned by interrogating Prince Zuko's crew, the boy entered the Avatar State when he almost died. If he feels like he is in danger it might trigger it again."
"Our men won't like it."
"They will do it anyway when I order it."
He looked at me for a moment, before sighing: "They probably will. Still, I don't like our soldiers being exposed like that."
"It's probably best if they move underground anyway, at least before he has learned earth bending," I nodded, sharing his sentiment. "Not counterattacking might even be safer. I would take a few splashes of water from a powerful bender we can at least defend against over a tsunami."
Actually, my force of war maniacs might be able to stop such a natural disaster too, but I would rather not risk it. The histories I uncovered mentioned that the last water Avatar, Avatar Kuruk, had sunk an entire island chain the first time he accessed his Avatar State.
"Secrecy will be our greatest weapon. If we strike, it must be at once with overwhelming force from the best possible position."
"So we will still make preparations for battle?"
I merely stared at him, and after a moment he looked away in askance. It was a General's responsibility to plan for any possibility.
"I would prefer a clean assassination, to be honest. We would probably win a prolonged engagement, but the casualties would be ugly."
"Zuko has a mission to capture the Avatar," said Le Ren pointedly.
I considered for a moment how I would best bring my intentions across without suggesting treason before I gave up and just spoke plain: "I don't care. Capturing the Avatar is like trying to contain a fire in a box."
"You will get burned doing so, and still might accidentally snuff it out," finished my second. "I see what you mean. We will need so much force to capture the boy that we might kill him regardless, and he could still escape later as he did from Zuko's custody."
"And once he gets reaches adulthood as an earth bender, our army won't be facing him alone. Slaying the Avatar should be achievement enough." With Zuko's exile lifted and Prince Iroh returning to court, we would have two powerful allies that could protect us from Ozai. "Who knows? The Avatar might even be reborn in our territory!" With the new colonies, the odds were pretty much even.
"Still, won't the Princes be angered that we make this decision without consulting him?"
"Negotiation is still the first choice of course. I would prefer to end this peacefully." Le Ren raised an eyebrow. "You know me, a paragon of peace," I said darkly, remembering the past.
"Regardless, if we tell them Prince Zuko might be peeved. He will value the greater achievement of capturing our nation's greatest enemy above our lives. He would just order us to capture him, no matter how much it cost us.
Pointless glory hounding. Killing the Avatar will make the nobles happy enough."
"I suppose you would know that better than me," Le Ren said with a grin, the tension from our discussion slowly leaving his frame. We had made our plans, and exchanged our read on the situation. Now there was time for the informality that came naturally when one spent six years campaigning together. We had fought a pre-industrial war together, wintered in the mountains together with only our fellow soldiers from our army as a company, and lived together on the exact same frontline. Even reserved officers observing office culture developed a certain closeness. In fact, I had spent more time with my army than even with the 203ed. So I forgave him goading:
"By the way, a letter from your 'friend' has arrived."
Unlike the rest of my men, he at least had the decency not to make air quotes with his hands, though his inflection left little to the imagination. There was a widespread if mostly joking, belief that the constant flurry of messenger hawks I had been getting came from a noble lover in the Homeland. How they thought I had acquired him when the only part of the caldera I had been allowed access to was the Royal Fire Academy for Girls, I was unsure about. It was better than them leaking the truth.
"Why haven't I been told earlier?!"
My subordinate merely gave a pointed glance in response to my strong reaction. Only his respect for the chain of command14 kept him from voicing something like: "Because you would either have immediately started decrypting the letter, leaving me to do all the work organizing schedules alone or you would have been distracted the entire time in anticipation."
Maddening. As if I would ever do so while on the clock.
"Just hand it over," I ordered with a sigh. Wordlessly, he did. I grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and gestured his dismissal.
Half an hour later I had finally solved the cipher only Azula and I had access to. In front of me was her translated letter:
My dearest friend,
I hope this letter finds you in good health. Not least, since I believe our enemies have dispatched another assassin: The perpetrators I have already taken care of. Yet I would still recommend that you be careful with your meals, as during my razzia I recovered a ledger with what looked like a prepayment.
The situation at court is tenuous. Your recent alliance has spread uncertainty even amongst those who support you. I know of course why you acted the way you did and won't rebuke you for it. However, as your friend, I still wish to warn you. My brother is quick to anger, insecure, and ashamed of himself. Your mere presence will irritate him.15
I took a moment to stare at the metal ceiling. Well, this wasn't really news.
As for my uncle… The high ministers believe him to be a tiered old man, still hurting from the loss of his son.
That was strange. Besides the one slip-up when I had renamed Gaoling in Lu Ten's honour, he had not seemed particularly aggrieved. He was by all appearances a friendly and happy man. A cultivated appearance? I did not doubt that hidden depths lew beneath his bubbly appearance: He would not have survived his brother's ascension otherwise, or be tasked to negotiate with the Avatar.
The ones most upset are the higher nobility, who are demanding censure. Heiran, the supervisor of the Hou Sha school, feels threatened since his money bag has started sponsoring your colleges instead. That sentiment is shared by other literary academies, which are all demanding action from their students.
A condemnation was attempted at court, but I have made certain it would come from someone low ranking enough that I could exert some pressure and have it fail. However, as nothing has been done about you it has further incensed our enemies and made many younger officials worry about Iroh and Zuko's 'ascendency'. This won't be the end of the matter.
I took a moment to silently thank Azula. Were it not for her tireless efforts, I would have fallen prey to the court long ago.
Regarding our latest discussion, while I agree that the taxation strategy employed by Sozin disadvantages…
I shifted in my seat, settling in for a nice evening reading a thoughtful essay ruminating on politics, economics, and sometimes even philosophy. I would soon send my friend my response, as I had been doing for years.
AN: Azula always lies! What are her real motives? To whom does she lie too?
On Azula: I really hope she came across like an actor on a stage. If you read her dialogue you really notice that trend: She always acts like she is playing a role, a performance. She might enjoy it, revel in it, but ultimately it still is an instigated act. Look back at the Beach episode where her friends and brother pour out their hearts and she reacts by calling this: 'a wonderful performance'. Unlike Tanya who performs a mask, Azula is the mask. I really hope I managed to convey her unique presence on stage.
AN: Bison interlude
Is coming, but probably only after the next chapter
AN: by the way, if by some improbable coincidence, any of my readers can read Chinese be sure to tell me if Google Translate spat out something strange.
1 Surprisingly, the academy supervisor is probably the most or second most powerful of the men listed here, since despite not having an actual government position he can still exert a lot of soft power over his 'students' which include everyone who ever went to the academy, and their protegees too. A particularity of the Chinese court system that sometimes leads the emperor to appoint the top scorer of the civil exam to these academies/archives. The Minister of the Left could be argued to be more powerful, as he is basically the prime minister writ small, sharing power with the Minister of the Right, only outranked by the Premier and the Fire Lord.
2 So, in the show, we only see FN coins, but you can't industrialize nor fight a 100-year-long war that way. Since fire nation coins seem to look like iron anyway it already is a fiat currency in practice and so the denomination of large sums in banknotes just makes sense. Coins are really easy to fake after all.
3 A reminder: Tan Ya's army went full-on art thief on their conquered territory. As the Earth Kingdom has a far easier time mining with their people's ability to magically shift rock, its palaces had a lot more precious gems and gold than that of the Fire Nation.
4 Despite being of the same generation, the academy supervisor can still claim seniority and teacher status over the viceroy because the latter attended his academy. This gives you an idea of why that position is so coveted and powerful.
5 Naval Capabilities: Since space-battles seems to love its military debates I am just goanna preemptively say that the Minister of the Left isn't an idiot who has misjudged the situation. In the show we learn that even chameleon bay is controlled by the fire navy, making them the unquestionable rulers of the waves. And even if the colonies seceded to support Firelord Iroh, it wouldn't matter, since all shipyards are in the homeland and the former EK doesn't have the industrial capability for a matching navel buildup. So the navy is key, and I encourage debate as to whom their true loyalties are.
6 Now the South doesn't include the entire EK mega continent, but it still is a massive area geographically isolated through a mountain range and a desert. So it is still a different 'continent' despite not having an ocean between them. Like Europe and Asia. Honestly, I used the word primarily to showcase that Tan Ya didn't fight against a monolithic, single state.
7 One of the things that really annoyed me last time was how the commenters argued that it wasn't logical for the Air bisons to be wiped out when they ignored the actual, seemingly illogical actions. Not a single comment about the lost ship, but dozens about animals the Cannon Fire Nation already managed to wipe out.
8 Gunboat diplomacy reference
9 Pansy: As a non-native speaker I sometimes make mistakes. For example, I always thought pansy meant coward when it is actually an insult to 'effeminate men' according to the dictionary. However, I really like the sound of the word and how it rhymes with Prince. Just note that Tanya isn't calling Zuko a homo here.
10 For those who forgot: Aang entered the avatar state and froze Zuko's ship in ice in episode 2.
11 Army Size: No, the 20k is not a mistake, and I am also aware that an army that size can't conquer a continent, not even with bender magic. No need to point it out, it will be explained later how they did it.
12 On Roku: Just my opinion, but he was the worst Avatar of all time. After he destroyed the royal palace and almost killed Sozin the man really had no other option but to do the exact opposite of what the Avatar ordered. At least if he didn't want to lose all authority.
Kyoshi also threatened the Fire Lord's life to get her way, but she had the smarts to do so secretly.
13
Its very Tan Ya not to abandon an incredibly successful career and your home for familial attachments. To be fair, quite a lot of people wouldn't.
14
And fear lol.
15
This is Iroh's assessment btw.