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"The day when thunder clapped and lightning roared over the skies of the royal fire nation military academy was the day that a legend was born. Natsu of the Ancient House of Wu had made history as the youngest ever recorded user of lightning bending, and the first one out of the fire nation royal family in over two centuries.

That kind of feat had sent echoes all over the world, not just within the fire nation. Even in the Earth kingdom it was whispered that the fire nation had birthed a special weapon to end the war in its tracks.

But for the events which this book describes, it is not on that day when things began. No, our concern is with what happened a scarce three years later."

Excerpts from 'Tale of the War of Two Dragons' by Zalindros

XXXX- 93 AG

That day changed everything for me. From then onwards, it wasn't just Grandfather who was interested in my development anymore. Every lecturer who taught my class always singled me out for everything. When I stumbled (rare as it was), it was gossip that travelled across the whole school for weeks. It had taken me three months to learn to never stumble again. Every waking second was dedicated to self improvement in one field or the other. Every scroll, every lesson, every bit of reading material was digested and meditated over for hours to make sure not a single detail, no matter how useless, left my memory. That was the life I signed up for when I became the boy who slayed a firebending master with the cold fire at the age of Eleven.

Even Grandfather, bless his heart, had begun to treat me differently over time. I think we had both expected my abilities, my growth, to plateau over time, for me to stop becoming stronger with every day that passed, but it seemed that the very opposite was taking place instead. I grew day by day in skill, and in power. My flames burned hotter and hotter as the time went by.

And now, three years after that day, I found myself consumed with a single question. How did Azula do it? How were her flames blue? It couldn't just be something she had that no one else could. I mean just because we never saw any other human use the ability in the show or the sequel ouldn't mean that it was unique and exclusive to her. The dragons could clearly call down fire of all the colours, so why would their gift of bending to humans be any less potent.

But even though I was sure of all of that, reality seemed determined to prove me wrong. After all, why was it that after nearly a year of trying to get my fires to burn as hot as they could, they still never turned blue. They never even changed colour. Yes, I made progress in getting them to become hotter, but it was almost like they were locked at the orange-red hybrid that every firebender was known for. Would blue fire offer any advantages beyond simply looking unique? To be honest, I didn't know. Unless I was given time alone with the princess to study the ability, I doubted that I'd ever actually manage to copy it.

Why was I suddenly dwelling on trivial things like the colour of my flames? Well, I'd gotten bored at not really having much to learn in terms of new abilities and techniques, so I had to find something to aspire to. And why was I talking about it all right now? Because I needed something to get my mind off of it. The court martial.

I stood in Master Shin's hall which also doubled as the firebending training hall for personal training time as I concentrated my energy into the fireball held in my hands. Maybe if I could do this, then what was about to happen wouldn't. But just like it always had, no matter how much concentration I put into changing the temperature, the flames remained a stubborn orange. The princess had already sent whispers flying a year ago when she developed the ability and prompted my own experimentation and my hope right now was that displaying a similar ability could elevate my family's station enough to avoid what was happening.

But even after intensifying my training a month ago when I received the news, I still had nothing. Today was the day. Grandfather would be in attendance when it happened. I didn't have the full story. I would probably never get the full story, but Father had done the unthinkable. When Prince Iroh ended the 600 day siege of Ba Sing Se after his son's death, he struck him in anger. Anyone from a less prestigious family would already have been branded a traitor and instantly killed. Maybe if that had been what happened instead, then things would not be quite so dire.

No, instead, as fitting for a family that had produced Generals of the Fire Nation for generations, he was honoured and given the right to fair hearing in the form of the court martial. Grandfather was going to be his representation in the obvious sham trial as he didn't want to see his only child killed by the Nation he loved so much, but even if he succeeded, we were fucked. What would our prospects be when everything was over and done with. I could already see a bit of it in how my fellow students and the teachers had treated me since the news broke. The teachers no longer seemed as interested in encouraging my progress and testing my limits. No, now they contented themselves with pretending I didn't exist. As for the students, those who had previously sought to endear themselves to me had suddenly decided to ostracise me. I'd already begun to hear whispers that I couldn't be trusted because I had traitor blood just like my father. Those who didn't take the opportunity to turn me into a social outcast only stared at me in pity, and I couldn't quite tell which one of those reactions were worse. Luckily, Toji could always be trusted to remain true to himself. He'd grown in the years since and was now flat out the most dangerous person on the campus. He was also still utterly uninterested in authority and motivated only by his ever-present need for entertainment.

That was why when he entered the hall with Lee at his heels, I was shocked to find him looking apprehensive. The fact that he hadn't even spoken any words upon entering and finding me staring at a fireball was even more shocking. His disdain for my attempts to change the colour of my flames had become a running gag between us. That was why I knew that something had happened. Lee also being silent while staring at me with a sorrowful look on his face was also another hint.

"It's happened, hasn't it?" I asked, and they both nodded.

I dispelled my flames and straightened up, planting an impassive expression on my face before speaking again.

"Grandfather said it would be beginning right about now"

"It was yesterday. Reports have already reached quite a few people. I'm sure your grandfather would have sent you a letter of your own, already" Toji said, still not spilling the beans. Ohhh. That meant it was bad. Very bad.

"Obviously, you are one of those people." I said, leading him on.

"Yes."

"And? Don't let me die of suspense."
"Prince Iroh spoke up for your father at the trial. He supported him and said it was just a moment of passion among firebenders."

"That's good isn't it?" I asked, naively hopeful.

"Yes. It saved his life. Firelord Azulon spared your father's life because of the Prince's words."

"Praise Agni"

"But he also decreed that even if your father got to keep his life, he would not escape without punishment"

"What is it? Weregild? Reparations? Banishment?" What could be so bad that Toji would be so hesitant to say it. Lee hadn't met my eyes since they walked in.

"The firelord decreed that since your father struck the Prince with a fist, he would lose the whole hand." I choked at that. A hand. A whole hand for a punch? What the fuck?

"That wasn't all, though. Your father apparently said some uncharitable things about the Prince in his rage, so the Firelord decreed that he would never speak again. His tongue was cut off." Fuck. A tongue and a hand. That was bad, but not too bad. Father was fucked, but he'd live. He wasn't a peasant. He'd live a life of luxury with servants waiting on him hand and foot until the day he died.
"But that still was not enough for the Firelord. He said that the previous punishments were to punish your father, but to deter others from doing the same, he decreed that none with your father's blood would ever marry within the royal family" At that, I actually exclaimed "Fuck"

"Indeed"

"Why'd you react so badly to this one, Natsu? I'd thought the others were the real bad news. I mean sure, you can't marry the Princess Azula, but that can't be that bad, can it?" Lee asked, looking up at both of us in shock.

"Sometimes, I forget you are from the colonies" Toji remarked with a look of disgust, not aimed at Lee but at the thought of the colonies themselves.

"It's bad because it essentially means the end of his noble family. Blood doesn't work in the fire nation the way it does in the rest of the world. If he were to marry anyone, that person's entire family would be of his blood, and thus his father's blood. That means no descendant of that family would ever get a royal marriage, no matter what. It goes without saying that no other noble family would be interested in taking that kind of risk. Without noble marriages, he'd be forced to marry either peasants or colonials. Eventually, the noble blood would be so diluted that the family would lose the rank." Toji explained for Lee's benefit. Good. I usually performed that duty, but I just wasn't in the mood.

"He has doomed us to a slow death" I said out loud, taking no relief in the pity on Toji's face and the realisation on Lee's.

"That's one way to send a message, I guess. Leave me, guys" I asked, as I turned back towards the dragon inscription at the end of the hall that I'd been facing before they entered the hall.

Lee wanted to stay. I could hear the reluctance in his steps until Toji began dragging him. "Sure" the older boy said as they left the hall and I was alone with my thoughts.

No, not alone. I had my fire. That was one thing I'd always have. And so I used it. A punch first. Just enough fire that it went a bit beyond my fist. A kick followed that, with the same amount of fire. More. The next punch sent a blast that went straight at the dragon without leaving so much as a scratch. Of course, it didn't. This entire room, from floor to ceiling was covered in some of the most heat resistant materials known to man. But that didn't stop me from trying to do some damage to it. Blast after blast, I sent. Straight at the dragon, they went. No damage, they did. It was almost like it stood there in mockery of me, and I could feel my inner pride as a child of Agni bristling at the inanimate object.

If straight blasts didn't work, I'd use arcs. When those didn't work, I tried concentrating my fire into small points before firing it off. I kept the explosive force at the lowest I could. Destruction with concussive force wasn't what I wanted here. No. I needed to burn something. I needed something to feel my wrath. It would be this dragon. One of us would fall first and it would not be me.

After what felt like hours, I could not keep my feet under me anymore and I fell to the floor in exhaustion. Fuck. I stared straight ahead and found the dragon still there. Untouched by all my efforts. The room had become sweltering under my ministrations, but it felt none of that. Fuck this. Fuck me. Grandfather's biggest pride and joy, his legacy, was all gone because the fool who coughed up the sperm that became me couldn't keep his emotions in check. What a complete idiot.

I felt myself losing the struggle against the urge to close my eyes. They felt heavy, like they were being weighed down by multiple cement blocks. When I finally gave up the fight, it was with one last traitorous thought, 'would he still love me now that there was no legacy I was protecting?'

XXXXXXX

"Your father's foolishness need not be the end of us" Grandfather greeted me with those words as I entered the carriage he'd come in to pick me up at the end of the semester. His old face had aged decades in the months since I last saw him. Now, his wrinkles were pronounced and his previously bright blue eyes, the most noticeable shared feature between us, had dulled to an average sky blue. This had clearly been wearing on him. The fact that he hadn't bothered to get out of the carriage since his arrival showed that.

"What do you mean, grandfather? Even the smaller noble houses will look down on us now that we have no royal favour." I replied instantly

"Yes. That is true. But do not forget that what one fire lord decrees, another can overturn."
"What?" I asked him. Surely he wasn't considering what I thought he was. "That is treason" I reminded him incase his old age had begun to erode the common sense in his brain.

"No. No. Nothing of the sort. I don't speak of assassinating Fire Lord Azulon. All I am saying is that he will eventually fall prey to the great equaliser- time. One day, he will die. And when he does, his successor will be in position to do us a great favour." He said, voice barely above a whisper. We could trust our staff, but the risk of the carriage driver overhearing and telling the wrong person what was being discussed was much too high. That fact made it even stranger that he was choosing to broach the topic here and now, instead of within our home.

"Prince Iroh? Has he made us any promises?" I asked, trying not to make it obvious that I didn't actually expect the Prince to take the throne.

"No. Not him. The elder Prince is grieving. Speaking up for your father was the most we could expect from him. No, its Prince Ozai."
"Prince Ozai is the second son, father"

"And Prince Iroh has no son of his body. Prince Ozai has two healthy children, one of whom might be a bending prodigy to match you in talent."

"Still, the elder must inherit before the younger." I said, pressing him more, not keen on having Grandfather marry us too closely with Ozai's cause. Royal family conflict could get bloody, and if things went wrong, we'd end up with a lot more than some egg on our faces. I mean, sure, I knew Ozai would take the throne, but I had no idea what could happen in the process.

"No. There is precedence. I have consulted our histories and scrolls. Twice before has this happened."
"One of those led to civil war. Fire Lord Gonryu's reign is well known." I said, disagreeing with him instantly.

"Not as well known as you would think. Your knowledge of our history does you well, Grandson. But still, if war is to break out, we have the odds of winning." He said, features sharpening and face grave in the sparse light that bled in through the carriage's curtains.

"Civil war in the middle of the largest war of fire nation, history? Grandfather this is ridiculous" I said, and immediately, I knew I overstepped from the way his features changed. His cheeks flushed, and his eyes narrowed and I felt like I was in the presence of an actual dragon as the heat within the already warm carriage seemed to skyrocket.

"Do not forget your place, Grandson" Every word was said in little more than a whisper, but still each one landed like whips from a belt.

"Everything I do, I do for us. I will not be remembered as the Clan Head who lost everything. I will not be remembered as Natsu the clankiller or something equally ridiculous. No. If war is what is necessary to secure our place at the top, then it will be done. You will play your part in this. You always will." He said, his voice softening at the end, but still doing little to hide his fury.

Normally, my own fury would have risen to match his, I was a son of Agni, after all. But even in the anger I could hear the hopelessness he was struck with. Azulon was cruel in his judgement, and it was going to have effects for a very long time. After he spoke, his chest heaved and he let out a few coughs. I made no move to assist him, and acted like I did not notice as he fumbled for a cup and took a long sip of some foul smelling medicine.

Grandfather had no interest in being pitied or for his old age to become a source of attention. He chose to avoid drawing attention to it, and I played my part by acting like I did not notice it when he slipped up.

The rest of the ride was silent as the grave, each of us turning over our thoughts.

XXXXXX

When I got home, I got my very first look at my father that was not from a portrait or picture. Needless to say, he'd lost it. The man I looked at, slumped against his table, cup of sake tossed carelessly across said desk, was a shadow of his former self.

I'd returned a day ago, and not having seen him, I sought him out on my own. Finding his rooms were easy, and when I did, I saw the truth in Grandfather's statements. There sat my father. Formerly proud General of the Fire Nation, brought low for saying and doing nothing more than what literally every other member of the army had wanted. Iroh ended the siege of Ba Sing Se and abandoned years of military efforts and resources. Tossed it all down the drain, and where was he now? In the royal palace enjoying every luxury.

Any other General would have been executed for treason and his orders would have been ignored. But no. Not this one. Instead, the person being punished was the only sane one in the bunch for opposing the stupidity of a man whose only claim to fame was dropping from the right pair of legs.

The longer I stared at my Father, the more I felt the flame rise in me. I itched. To kill. To destroy something. Was this how Grandfather felt as he saw what the royal family was doing to us? No. No it couldn't be.

Because if it was, how then would he be able to stomach our salvation coming from another member of the same family. What made them better than us? Did not the same blood that flowed through Azulon flow through me? We shared ancestors. Dozens of them in the last four centuries alone. Not to talk of how all firebenders came from the same group of less than a hundred.
How could Grandfather sit and still consider remaining subservient to them? Self preservation? No. Some echo. Some part of him maintained the loyalty pounded into our heads from a young age. Unfortunately for them, I had no such loyalty. Fuck it all. I'd burn the world if I had to. This could not happen again. If this world I was both blessed and cursed to live in was this unfair, then the only way to keep myself and those who came after me safe was to ascend to the top. I had to do it. It was no longer a matter of pride or desire. This was pure self-preservation.

My father was loyal. Dozens of victories, he delivered to the foot of the throne, and one misstep later found him here. Pathetic. A shell, a shadow of himself. Rendered mute and crippled by the same blades his comrades had wielded against the enemy. No. This fate can not befall me. Never.

XXXXXXXX

And the very next semester, I made my application to graduate early from the fire nation military academy at the ripe old age of 13.

A/N; That's all. That's it for the chapter. Give me your thoughts? We've got the next three chapters of this story, along with the first Eight chapters of another fic that I uploaded at the exact same time as this one (an insert is into a version of Kal El, who gets tossed into the MCU) all available on pa-atreon, and you can read all of that right now just by heading to the link on my profile or searching for my username up there. Feel free to have a look.