A/N: I never learned you should stop loving fire because you got burned. Love and be loved. Read… and review!

Agni's Lament

[Fall 130 AG]

"I'm not saying it's mumbojumbo-"

"But you're saying it's mumbojumbo."

"-I'm just saying, it's always been hard for me to conceptually believe in higher powers."

"We know there is reincarnation with the Avatar but you doubt that there's a being above us?"

"Don't you come at me too, Rangi!"

The Guardian, the Ghost, and the Guru are walking out the back of Achak's home, where the Watchkeeper is waiting for them. It's a brisk Fall morning on Lonlhai Island, the sun has not risen yet over the horizon, and almost the entire village is still sleeping. The two wives carry heavy travel bags on their back in preparation for what they hope is the final trip they will be taking with their Sword Master before finishing their training. Ganzaya waits patiently for them, staring out to the east. The crunch of the snow supplies the only noise as the whole group comes together.

"Alright, 'Zaya, we're ready."

"He's Sifu 'Zaya, On Jin."

"He's not a Sifu, Rangi."

"Isn't he?"

"No. He's just a master swordsman."

"Doesn't that make him a Sifu by default?"

"Enough!" He finally interrupts them, annoyed at their jabbering interrupting the peace and tranquility.

Achak laughs jovially. "Alright then, I'll leave you three to it. Good luck."

He leans in and delivers a quick peck on the cheek of Ganzaya, who wraps an arm around his partner briefly as a show of affection. It is no secret amongst the people of Lonlhai that their three greatest protectors and wisest spiritual consort are all gender betraying couples. However, just as Siq had once told Akola, the people are supportive in their own, private ways. It also helps knowing that the village would collapse without the four of them, so they don't have much choice but to support.

"Will you join us after sunset tomorrow?"

"Oh, of course!" Achak smiles. He turns to the wives now. "I need On Jin to see it, so she can believe it at last."

"See what?" She asks, to no avail.

Ganzaya nods in approval and Achak finally departs, heading back to his home. The Watchkeeper reviews their list of supplies. He runs down a long list of necessities making sure they brought it all. The inverse of their youth, Rangi is fully prepared after a life in the paramilitary; On Jin has drifted so much over the years she is mostly just agreeing to the items even if she's not sure she brought it. When Ganzaya is satisfied with their list he asks one last time.

"Sword mastery is no easy task. The path forward will span days. It will ask as much mentally of you as physically. Are you certain?"

"Yes, Sifu Ganzaya." Rangi stands at attention.

"Sure thing." On Jin examines her cuticle.

He grumbles at her before lifting his bag off the ground. They do the same. The sun rises up over the mountains and hills. Ganzaya walks out towards it, two gender betraying oddballs on his tail.

Azula has always been a skilled fighter. She was bred for it from an early age by Ozai and prepared for it with the toughest bending and hand to hand combat masters the Fire Nation could afford. By the tender age of fourteen she found herself as a warrior and in the middle of her homeland's global conquest machinations. Follow that up with nearly thirty years of being an eternal soldier and there was almost no place that she didn't have experience or practice. Almost.

"Sloppy!" Ganzaya shouts while easily parrying On Jin's swings. He side steps as Rangi also tries to hit him. He places his practice sword in the brunette's and redirects her right at her wife. "Off balance!"

The adult women collide into one another, the shorter Azula nearly toppling over with her lanky wife. She course-corrects them both and guides her to stand tall. They get their footing on the slick ice and stand back-to-back, swords held out in front of them, pointed at their foe. Two of the most accomplished fighters alive, being made into fools with the blade.

"Pathetic." The old man opposed to them spits out.

"For a man who doesn't say a lot you sure talk a lot of shit." Rangi points out.

Azula doesn't say anything, too focused on keeping the blade held up in this position. This training has taught her that longswords do not suit her. She needs something lighter, more agile, to fit her fighting style. However this isn't the first time she's been at a disadvantage in a fight. She puts to use her sharpest blade: her brain. She plays out in her mind a dozen moves and countermoves. She settles on an idea and begins.

"Remember the cave on Gou Island?"

"How could I forget? You tried to kill me afterwards."

"Not the point. Let's go with the same strategy."

"You're announcing your plans." Ganzaya interrupts, disappointed in his students.

"Right. Like Gou Island!"

"Let's go!"

Just as they had done over twenty years earlier, they replicate their attack strategy. Ty Lee bounds to one side in twirling motions, gaining momentum. Azula goes straight at the target, roaring as the blade drags behind her in the air.

"Simple." The Watchkeeper mutters to himself.

He falls back two strides, but only to fool Azula into thinking he's retreating. The moment he sees her kicking off the ground harder to get more push in her dash he surges forward. It's so quick, for an old man with such limited mobility, that Azula isn't prepared. She tries to bring the wooden sword forward, but it's too heavy and his 'blade' quickly overcomes hers. He has her in a submissive position, but she smirks with a raised, amused eyebrow.

"Got me, but not her!" She gloats victoriously.

"Hubris." He mumbles.

Ty Lee tries to fly in from the side with a sneak attack, but once again he sniffs it out. He deftly moves both his and Azula's blades simultaneously in the direction of her wife.

"Whoa!" She shouts and tries to stop her motion.

The end result is Ty Lee and Azula side-by-side, their blades straight up, pushing against his blade, perpendicular to theirs. Although they have both blades going against his, he fully controls this situation. He lets the blades fall forward for a moment and then pushes upward with all of his strength. Both wives stagger backwards. Not wasting time Ganzaya kicks Ty Lee's thigh, causing her to fall to one knee, her sword falling out of her hand. With another kick of the chest she goes tumbling back, and then sliding along the ice.

Azula tries to raise the wooden longsword to attack but she's too slow and he is already turning to her, smashing his sword near her hilt. Though it is wooden, the vibration stings her hand and she loses her blade. He uses his left hand to push onto her shoulder and send her falling back as well. In the end, Ty Lee and Azula huddle on the ice together and look up, disarmed, at their superior opponent. Ganzaya poses above them, not intentionally, but nonetheless drawing their ire and respect.

Both of their blades are at his feet. He holds his practice sword at his side and looks down at the pair. Azula is uncertain of how Ty Lee is feeling right now, but her own eyes dart from the practice sword to the face of the Watchkeeper. They dance back and forth frantically. Azula has not lost in a fight like this since the day her empire was toppled. Sick memories poison her mind and blur the line between what she sees and what she feels. The day a blade pressed against her neck and threatened to end her life. Her breathing becomes quick and shallow. She feels her heart pounding. Ty Lee notices the quick breaths and looks sideways at her. Azula contemplates stepping away from the fight, surrendering and quitting.

Ganzaya sees the fear in her eyes for the first time since she came to Lonlhai. He puts a foot on the handle of her longsword, seemingly signifying his dominance over her, claiming victory and her blade.

The next moment though he kicks forward and her sword slides on the ground towards her. With all eyes on Azula's blade, neither one sees him do the same to kick Ty Lee her sword too. They both come to a rest in front of them. All four eyes rise to meet the amber ones of the man across from them. He eggs them on with three words.

"Pick it up."

The wives scramble to their feet, clutching the handles of their respective swords.

"Now be perfect." He demands.

They steal a sideways glance at one another. Then they dash forward together.

"Where are the girls?" Aang asks as they settle into their seats.

"We're right here!" A voice responds.

The whole room looks up as the vision of two young beauties stride into the room. The rebellious fourteen year old water bending daughter of the Avatar enters side by side with the graceful sixteen year old daughter of the Fire Lord. Kya and Izumi walk in, elbows locked around each other, goofy smiles on their faces.

"There you two are!" Ursa exclaims. "Where were you?"

They separate and go to their respective seats at the ornate table. They giggle a little before Izumi replies, "We went for a walk, that's all."

None of the adults are exactly sure what 'went for a walk' could be a euphemism for exactly, but they're confident it's code for something. Nonetheless, the two families gather around the table in the Royal Palace's dining room, with great excitement and much conversation to be had for the night. Fire Lord Zuko, Fire Lady Mai, and Crown Princess Izumi had invited Avatar Aang, Master Katara, and their children Bumi II, Kya, and Tenzin to join them for a meal. They are also joined by Zuko's thirty-five year old half-sister Kiyi, Kiyi's three children, Ursa who has recently turned sixty-six, her husband the also sixty-six year old Ikem, and finally the eldest uncle to the Fire Lord the eighty-six year old Iroh. Even Bumi II, the twenty-two year old young lad, on leave from the United Forces, is able to attend tonight.

They launch into a lavish, decadent multi-course meal. As he did throughout their childhood, Iroh entertains the "children" of the group with tales of his life that enthrall them, despite their best efforts to be 'too cool' for the old man. Kiyi, fresh off some humanitarian efforts in the colonies, quietly updates her mother and father on her humorously awkward love life, speaking quietly so her children do not hear about her exploits. Mai pretends to not listen to these stories before finally breaking down and asking questions. Zuko and Aang proudly look out across the table at their collective families and mutter quietly to each other about 'how nice this is' and 'we really should do this more often.'

Katara revels in it all, one of the architects of the world and the families around them. As the courses progress, she recedes from conversation, sipping on plum wine and reflecting on her life and the lives of all of these loved ones. She feels incredibly lucky and thankful. Finally, the food reaches a point where there is too much of it and she stops eating. Some extravagant bean and bread dish grows cold on her plate, her fork idly pushing at it. She looks up at the table all around her and smiles. She says nothing as she sits comfortably in this peaceful moment.

The Watchkeeper slaps together a bowl of gruel and hands one to each wife. After a harsh two days of training in the freezing cold, the warm plate of beans and a single lump of bread looks like the most appetizing thing either woman has ever seen. They gulf it down with haste and force, ignoring the fact that it tastes terrible.

"Do you have a name in mind?"

"I do."

After an unusual pause with no further words, "Care to tell us?"

"No." On Jin blunts.

The sun has set on their second day of training and they are done for the night. The Guru will be arriving in an hour or two. The three adults huddle around a campfire, each flicker of the flame providing a momentary, fleeting warmth to chase the chill away. Rangi talks in between hasty bites.

"Well I have one in mind," she chirps up. She pauses momentarily to build suspense and then adds, "Kyoshi's Fan."

"Honor. Duty bound. Deadly sharp." Ganzaya muses out loud, thinking of the name.

"That's great, Rangi." Azula nods.

The short, black haired woman takes her wife's bowl and stacks them together in a pile. She runs the backside of a dirty and thick sleeve across her mouth to wipe away the crumbs. She sits back down into a quiet contemplation. Everyone of them stares into the flame and reflects on the last two days. The Watchkeeper clears his throat to get their attention.

"I need to ask something of you, Guardian." He states in his gravelly tone.

After dinner, the children have departed and now it is just the adults left at the table. They chatter idly amongst and with each other, carrying on about current affairs, politics, and the latest pro-bending happenings. Conversation turns over and develops into a discourse on this generation of children. They discuss in vague and uncertain terms their futures and what they will be able to do with their lives as Republic City continues to develop. Katara remains quiet as this topic comes around, becoming pensive. They think and talk about how history will remember them and how they feel their lives and the lives of their children will play out as a result of the world they've built. Finally, it is Zuko who pulls her out of her trance-like state.

"What do you think, Katara?"

Surprised to be called upon, the brunette beauty sits up straight. She smiles a little and bows her head slightly. "Oh, I don't think you want to know what I really think about the world we've built."

"Sure we do!" Ikem of all people encourages her. Katara didn't like him that much, he always seemed to be trying too hard.

"Go ahead," Ursa adds. "Give us your full, unfiltered thoughts on the state of the world! I'm curious?"

Katara darts her eyes to Aang. They share a knowing look, one they've shared hundreds of times. He knows her feelings and thoughts, even if she has only rarely shared a glimpse of them. He gives a soft, subtle nod.

"Piando asked this of me, many years ago," he starts, the crackle of the fire supplying the background noise. "When you first arrived, I asked you about being recognized."

"You did."

"You have been recognized."

"I have."

"Then tell me about yourself. Your real self."

Azula turns to her wife for guidance. The brunette reaches a hand out and takes the fire bender's into her own. They share a look and a million feelings and thoughts are exchanged. Ty Lee gives a subtle, soft nod.

"Alright," she starts. "My real self. I've gone by many names, but my first-"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I do not want to know the names you've been known as. I want to know about your true self."

"In the wake of ending the 100 Year War and building Republic City, I thought my whole life would be this sort of," she looks for the right word. "I don't know, grandiose, forever adventure? An endless summer sunset."

"I had a role in the 100 Year War…an important one…for the Fire Nation. I was a weapon of war, and I was one of the last pai sho chips to fall. When I came out the other side of it I pursued a path of a forever soldier, one always going from fight to fight."

She stares at the fire and remembers the loneliness that she mistook for other feelings.

"It felt like there was this cloud hanging over me. A darkness that followed me around, and trapped me."

"And then as my post-War life unfolded, it's just been one setback after another. You know? I was the one who defeated Azula! Me! I was an expert in combat and now I haven't fought anyone for any greater purpose in years."

"And then things changed. Someone tried to kill me, held the blade to my throat and all but ripped me open," she recounts the harrowing details. "When I escaped I was determined to not waste that second chance. I never wanted to fight again, if I could avoid it anyway."

She laughs at this last comment.

"So much for that, huh?"

"I thought I would single handedly reshape the world."

"Begrudgingly, almost against my will, I've had a hand in, uh, various 'events.' Terrorist groups, same-sex marriage in the Fire Nation, the downfall of a kingpin in Republic City. Political movements, socioeconomic practices of predatory banks. Who knows what else."

"I meant well. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives. Rise above so that I could lift those below."

"I don't do any of these things for glory or because I want to, like, 'change the world' or anything else superfluous like that." She explains.

She waves her hands about as she gestures, a little exasperated. This next part is something she thinks a lot about and so she emphasizes them.

"I do things because they're the right thing to do at the time, or because they serve my own personal interest at that moment, and the ripple effects just so happen to end up being bigger than myself."

"I know that may sound self centered, but I promise I'm coming from a good place."

"I'm not altruistic. I'm narcissistic and self-centered. That's the real me."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm a mother and it is the most rewarding thing to ever happen in my life."

"I never wanted any of this. I wanted to raise children with my wife."

She looks at Ty Lee and in those grey eyes she sees many lives. She thinks of Yasuko, and Senna. Aiwei and Siq. Even the Kemurikage girls. It's disheartening to know it's too dangerous to adopt here in Lonlhai.

"That's something that feels empty in my life."

"But at the same time it's sort of been like a death for me. A death to my personal freedom and my old life."

"The world believes I'm dead. They think I died over fifteen years ago, and that death, in a strange way, gave me freedom that I never knew beforehand."

"So what do I think of this world we've built?" She asks the group. "We carved it out of the leftover, broken pieces after the war. And we've had to protect it from chaos and fire and lightning that's threatened it for so long. We can't rest until it's all expelled."

"I once tried to remake the world with fire and lightning. Now? Now I just want somewhere that I can rest, and watch the sunset."

"Or at least that's partially how I felt while the Dragon Empress was alive and represented the greatest danger to it all. Thankfully now she's with Agni somewhere."

"Please, Katara, that's enough about Azula." Zuko finally speaks up. "I respect you and accept that you have a different opinion about her, but you did not know her or what she did."

Iroh speaks up after this comment.

"She has been gone for seventeen long years now, Katara is welcome to have her own feelings about my niece. I believe we should let go of those who are gone. Missing them only prolongs our pain."

For some reason this bit of wisdom rubs Zuko the wrong way. It doesn't help that he's slightly inebriated as well. He'd had a little too much sorghum liquor. "Oh? Is that how you justify it to yourself?"

Ursa comes to Iroh's defense. "What do you want us to say, Zuko? We miss her just as much as you do!"

"No, you don't." He replies combatively. The whole table was awkwardly watching this tense discussion but now it feels like it's tilted into something else entirely. "You don't miss her. You don't even pretend to miss her!"

"This is outlandish, Nephew." Iroh replies, an open palm gesturing around the table. "We did everything we could for her before she passed."

"Did you? Did you do everything you could?" Zuko asks. He grows hostile and jaded as he asks, "Or is that what you just tell yourself and others to save face?"

"I'm hurt by this, Zuko," Iroh cries out. "You are hurting me!"

Zuko rises from the table then slams his hands down onto it, shaking the fancy plates and silverware.

"Really? Were you hurt when you told me to 'take her down?' My sister, my own sibling. But you weren't willing to do the same to your sibling?"

The whole room is stunned by this turn of events. Iroh looks especially shocked. He momentarily mumbles, trying to think of the words to say. Zuko doesn't let him, barreling onward.

"Ozai was a manipulative father and a literal tyrant but you wouldn't lift a finger to him. No problem sending me and Katara to do your dirty work against my sister, who was deranged and in need of help."

Ursa stays silent, wrestling with her own complex emotions of the psychological harm she herself inflicted on her deceased daughter. Zuko isn't done yet and continues on.

"She needed compassion, not combat. You loved me, but never her. You were my guiding light, but you left her alone in the dark."

When Zuko finally stops, Iroh stands up. Slowly and quietly he turns to leave. Before he walks away though he turns back to the table, to his nephew. He tells him something.

"I remember your speech at her funeral. You said she had 'a goodness in her heart.' But she was wicked from birth." He declares. He wears a solemn expression before adding, "Even now, right now, defending her like this, you're proving that she was never as good of a person as you are."

Iroh means to turn away and leave now. Zuko cuts off his retreat.

"Well, we actually agree on something, Uncle. She wasn't as good of a person as I am. She was better." He smiles and then turns to his long time friend, Aang. "In a world featuring an all-powerful figure of order and balance, she was a better person than the Avatar!"

Sick to her stomach, Katara can't help but interrupt.

"You can't possibly be serious?"

Zuko doesn't stick around to answer. He leaves the table, his robes billowing in his wake.

"He is, and he's right." Mai replies calmly. With no inflection in her voice she adds, "She was the best of us. All of us."

Aang wears a look of surprise, and perhaps amusement, but nods. He believes that they believe this. Meanwhile, Katara, perturbed by this bizarre turn of events and conversation, scrapes her chair back. She stands up and leaves the table and the company. Shortly thereafter, everyone goes their separate ways for the night.

When cooler heads have finally prevailed, and some of the alcohol has worn off, Zuko makes his way to his uncle's chambers - accompanied by Mai. It's quiet and late and many are preparing to retire for the night. He knocks apprehensively. He considers leaving straight away, but his wife, present with him, commands him to be here, and demands that he not leave. Finally, a voice on the other side of the door invites him in. He pushes it open and enters.

With Mai's guidance Zuko clumsily works his way through a genuine, heartfelt apology for his outburst earlier. Iroh accepts it without condition and offers his own apology for being equally combative. They leave their hurt and their resentment behind, sealing the forgiveness with a warm embrace. When they finish though, the conversation is not done. Zuko and Mai linger, to Iroh's surprise. Mai gives a soft, subtle nod to encourage Zuko and this is the last thing Iroh sees before his world is turned upside down.

"Uncle, there's someone we-I need to tell you," the Fire Lord stammers. "It might help you to understand some of what's happened and why I acted the way that I did earlier. But it will still be hard to hear."

Iroh, still not understanding where this conversation will be going, tries to offer comfort. "Please, Nephew, treat this like drinking a bad cup of tea: it is better to do it quickly before it becomes even colder and more burdensome."

"Heh," Zuko sighs. "I appreciate that, but this cup is quite cold already. Are you ready?"

Iroh sits down while Zuko stands, Mai sitting beside him, holding his hand. Iroh smiles, "Unburden yourself and share with me."

Zuko takes a deep breath and psyches himself up.

"I want you to know before it's too late. That's why I'm telling you now: She's alive. Or at least she was as of a few months ago, I haven't gotten any updates lately."

Iroh understands what is being said. But like any surprising news his knee jerk reaction is denial.

"She…as in your sister? Azula?"

"Yes. Azula is alive."

"She is?"

"She is."

"No." He objects.

Mai adds, "She's changed a lot. I think you'd hardly recognize her."

"She's done a lot of good. So much good."

"She has?"

"She's helped more people than I have time to explain. We don't even know the extent of it all because we only get bits and pieces."

"How long have you known? Why have you not told anyone?"

Mai replies, "We found out a few years after the funeral. We didn't know then."

"How is this possible?"

"She got lucky. Very lucky."

Mai disagrees. "She's a survivor. She always has been."

"Can we help her? Can I do something?" Iroh asks next.

"There's nothing left that you can do for her in this world. Besides keeping her life a secret, which is how she wants it."

Iroh mumbles to himself, almost absentmindedly, "Nothing in the material world."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind," Iroh waves him off. He pivots, "Thank you for telling me this, Zuko. This secret is safe with me. And I will do all that I can for her someday."

Zuko, confused by this and shaking his head, smiles. "Of course you will, Uncle."

They spent the next hour or so answering Iroh's various questions and quenching his thirst for knowledge on his still living niece.

It is growing later and colder when Guru Achak arrives.

"Did you bring them?"

"Of course, dear!" Achak replies.

The Guru produces two long packages from his travel bag and hands them to his life long partner and de facto husband. Ganzaya takes them carefully and then carries them to the campfire, where On Jin and Rangi still sit, a blanket covering their laps together now.

"Kneel. Both."

Azula and Ty Lee share a moment of eye contact and then do as they're told. They remove the blanket stand side by side in front of the Watchkeeper, and then kneel before him.

"Rangi, when you first arrived, it was clear you were a practiced hand. Quick, decisive, strong. You have shown through the months that you had a full potential, but your reach was too short for it. As if you had trained with a shortsword your whole life."

She nods and he unsheathes her blade.

"For this, I bestow upon you Kyoshi's Fan."

The sword is a scimitar, crude and very long, with a short handle but a curved blade that extends and broadens near the tip. The handle was similar to the fans that Ty Lee was used to, but significantly longer and stronger at the point.

"And you, On Jin." He turns his attention to her and holds another scabbard. "In your training, I have seen you struggle to control powerful swords. In what you've told me of yourself, the burden of judgment weighs heavy on you. You do not take it lightly. So you needed a sword to match your wits."

He unsheathes the blade, a katana. It has a single edge and curves. Unlike Kyoshi's Fan, it has a long handle which can be gripped with one or two hands. He reaches down and places it in her open palms. Similar to Eclipse, Ganzaya's dagger, her katana has a dragon's open maw on the handle.

"Both of your blades were forged by the fires of the volcano in Caldera," he explains, to much shock. "The three of us have Fire Nation roots, even if we grew up elsewhere."

"Thank you, Master Ganzaya." Ty Lee says with reverence.

"The name?" Ganzaya asks Azula.

She looks down at her blade and remembers. She whispers into the night.

"Agni's Lament."

"How much further do we have to climb?" Azula prods the Guru from the back of the line.

"We're here." He replies, continuing to lead the way to the opening they are just below.

Achak had arrived after dinner with the swords in tow but a bigger objective to achieve. He leads a march up the mountainside that they had rested at the foot of. It is not a particularly long venture, but the newly dubbed swordmasters are exhausted from two long days of training, cardio, and breathing exercises. It is frigid and dark and the hour is late. The full moon shines down through some thin clouds up above. Ganzaya is the second in line and joins his partner at the plateau. Ty Lee is next, and when she arrives she exclaims.

"Wow! On Jin you have to see this!"

Azula climbs the last bit of rock and reaches the level they are on. She steps up beside her wife and up in the sky she witnesses a glorious sight. High up above in the heavens there are green and blue flashing lights. It is mesmerizing and inspiring. For just one moment Azula feels her awe cracked open. The bright moon shines down as well.

"These are the Southern Lights," Guru Achak narrates. "What you see above us are the light Spirits and the dark Spirits in balance. They're meant as a reminder of our connection to the Spirit World. And this is the only place in the entire South Pole where you can still see the Spirits dancing."

Eyes still up above Ty Lee can't help herself from interrupting, "Why? They're so beautiful. Is it because of all the industrial buildings at Wolf Cove?"

"Not exactly," he speaks. Azula can't look away at the beauty. "It's because our connection to the past and spiritual ways is being forgotten and left behind by our secular leaders across the South Pole. I truly believe that if Lonlhai were to ever fall, the lights and the spirits would go out in the South. And then who knows what might happen with the Spirits."

Azula, for the first time in her life, in the presence of Guru Achak, her wife, Yue the Moon Spirit, and the dancing spirits forming the Southern Lights, feels overwhelmed. Perhaps for the first time in her life she feels a power greater than herself. She feels infinitely small compared to the vastness of the spirits above her out in space and the cosmos. She recalls talking with Aiwei about the Spirit World and not having much faith in it. Then her own run in with a spirit had changed the calculations. All of which has led her to this moment. Azula feels that Avatar Asuna is there with her right now. Standing right beside her, hand on her shoulder, looking up at the sky with her.

[Winter/Spring 131 AG]

Kodo the Conqueror emerges into the townsquare as a massive pillar of fire rises above the village. The Children of the Fifth Nation have no peers, no force as powerful as them who can compete. Yet the village threatens to burn and a young man stands waiting for the old master. Kodo examines him, coming to a stop a few feet away. There are dozens of members of their operation standing around, waiting, watching. The man opposed to Kodo has the mark of an open palm printed across his face. A giant red badge of shame. A forever reminder that he was defeated in battle and could be defeated again.

"What's this about, Kallik?"

The water bender raises his hands at his side.

"Isn't it obvious?" The now eighteen year old boy says. "I've come to Challenge for the Mantle."

"You've brought outsiders?" He asks, referring to the fire bender's working the pillar of flame and other followers that Kallik has amassed in over two years of being absent from the Children of the Fifth Nation. "Will they be fighting for you? Since you aren't capable of defeating me alone."

Kallik spreads his legs apart and spins his arms around.

"I think you'll find me more than capable of ending your life. Do you accept the challenge?"

Kodo forms his own fighting stance. Icicles and rings of water form circles around him as he raises his fists up in Kallik's direction.

"I accept!"

Kodo the Conqueror steps forward and moves to throw his hands out in front of him. Kallik puts his hand straight out in front of him and brings it downward. Kodo's water and ice fall flat. Surprised he tries to move his hand but he can't. He feels suddenly that he can't move any of his extremities.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this!"

He leaves the ground, his feet kicking about as he tries to stay grounded. He feels an invisible hand wrapping around his throat and his entire body, suffocating the air from his lungs. He is levitating off of the ground and splayed out in the sky.

"This means your end, Conqueror."

Kallik moves his hands in opposite directions. A cracking noise that could be mistaken for thunder is heard throughout the camp. All of Kodo's body spins around, but his head stays facing Kallik. The onlookers scream out in agony. Their steady leader and master is killed in front of them, without any effort. The body falls to the snowy ground below.

Kallik approaches as the Children look from one to the other. It is customary when the Mantle is won for all to kneel before the new Holder. As such, a few of the men begin kneeling and the women follow suit. Others take longer as the terrifying sight before them becomes a grim reality. Their conqueror is dead; the new conqueror stands before them. Kallik stops at Kodo's dead body and turns around, arms again extended out, making a show of the victory and speaking to the audience.

"Fear not! I am the Spirit of Death. And I am here to guide you home."

Some of the people weep. Kallik pays them no mind. He points to the moon.

"When Yue blesses us with the next full moon, we will take back what is ours. We will wipe Lonlhai from the face of the Earth and reclaim our homeland!"

The followers that Kallik has garnered and brought with him begin chanting in support. In due time the entire compound of the Children of the Fifth Nation come to join the chanting. Not because they believe in this new leader, but because they fear him.

A/N: This chapter's OST is "Swan Song" by Saweetie & NIKI.

Love always. Tyzula forever.

Notorious