Two days later Commander Zhao arrived at Kyoshi Island, ready to capture the Avatar and bring him home as his prisoner. On his way, he had spent the time envisioning the eternal glory that was about to be his. The Great Commander Zhao who captured the Avatar, The Invincible, The Magnificent. He was about to write history with his glorious victory.
But they found no Avatar.
Instead, they found Kyoshi Island burned and damaged as if a wildfire had spread through the village. But this wildfire wasn't a natural one: it had been a Fire Nation raid. Even though the people were already repairing the damage, it was clear that the attack had happened less than a day ago.
Elyrie's blood turned cold when she saw the blackened houses and burned rooftops. She mentally cursed herself for giving Zuko the destination when she saw the damage. Then, she cursed Zuko because of his negligence.
"I want to speak to whoever is in charge of this dump!" Zhao roared before anyone could even approach the Fire Nation delegation. With five other soldiers, they were brought to the square where a statue of Avatar Kyoshi was displayed.
Elyrie looked at the statue with fascination. She knew Avatar Kyoshi had been an intimidating woman, with her unusual height and fighting style. She was born on this small island and it seemed the citizens continued to worship her. The statue, like the rest of the village, had been damaged. She sighed and returned her gaze to the approaching figures.
A man and six women who were dressed like Avatar Kyoshi walked toward them. The leader of the village was an older man, around fifty years old, Elyrie estimated, who wore a blue tunic and had a large grey beard. He did not seem intimidated by the presence of so many Fire Nation soldiers. She was surprised by the amount of women present at the meeting. They were all dressed in the same green costume and had their faces painted to the likeness of Avatar Kyoshi. They had two fans attached to their outfits, which Elyrie presumed were their weapons.
Elyrie stood at Zhao's side and bowed respectfully to the older man. "Thank you for receiving us." she said in a polite tone.
The man looked at her with a confused expression. He did not expect such a young girl to be with so many Fire Nation soldiers. Moreover, he did not expect such a respectful greeting. He nodded back at the girl and glared at the older man standing beside her, who was obviously the leader. The man was around forty years old and wearing a Fire Nation uniform, but he was no ordinary soldier. From his clothes and composure, he assumed this was a Fire Nation captain or commander. The man had dark brown hair, with sideburns and a receding hairline. The girl must be his daughter, he mused. He looked again at the girl to find any family resemblance, but he found none: the girl was petite with auburn hair and unusual blue eyes. Not even the Water Tribe siblings who accompanied the Avatar had such a shade of blue. He took a deep breath and looked at the Fire Nation commander in front of him.
Zhao looked at the older man with a furious expression. He was fuming about finding nothing but a damaged town. The Fire Nation soldiers had visited this island before him, that much was certain. The scorched houses and burned roofs were proof enough.
"We heard the Avatar came to Kyoshi Island." he barked, "Where are you hiding him?"
The older man did not look surprised at his demand. It was if he expected this question. "The Avatar was on this island, but he left when the Fire Nation soldiers attacked our village." He replied calmly.
"What kind of soldiers?" Zhao demanded as he crossed his arms.
"I don't know." the man shrugged, "All I remember was that their leader was a young man with a scar."
The man had barely finished his sentence before Zhao shot six fireballs into the air with a loud cry. He stomped in the sand, pushed one of the soldiers out of the way and continued his incoherent ranting.
Elyrie tried to feign her surprise at the news, but she was distracted when one of the fireballs hit the roof of a nearby house. With a quick flick of her wrist, she managed to extinguish the flames before they could spread any further. When she was done, she saw one of the women gazing at her. She must be the leader, Elyrie thought as she studied the woman. Her headband resembled the golden headband of Avatar Kyoshi, while the other women wore a simpler, green-coloured headband. The girl looked at her with a puzzled expression, as if she failed to understand why Elyrie prevented the roof from burning down. The girl was around her age and had auburn coloured hair as well, but with light grey eyes. Elyrie only smiled at her and looked back at Zhao.
Zhao failed to notice her action, since he was beyond himself with anger. He demanded to know in which direction the Avatar was heading before storming out of the village. Four soldiers followed him, while the fifth stayed behind to escort Elyrie back to the ship.
His name was Kun and around thirty years old already a honoured soldier. He had been assigned to be her personal bodyguard on the ship and whenever they went ashore. Elyrie liked him, which was more than could be said of the other soldiers Zhao had employed. Most of them were rough types, not unkind but rather loud with more brawn than brains. Kun, on the other hand, was an intelligent young man with a calm personality.
"Miss, are you ready to return?" he asked as he motioned to the ship. She nodded at him, before she returned her gaze at the leader of Kyoshi Island.
"Thank you again for receiving us." Elyrie said while she bowed a second time. If Zhao wasn't about to show these people some respect, she would do it. I guess this is to become my life, she thought as she started to walk towards Kun. Since the Agni Kai it had become painfully clear to her that Zhao wasn't exactly a polite or respectful person, not to mention dishonourable. But, she reminded herself again, this is your future so you better get used to it.
"Wait!" a voice called out to her and Elyrie turned around. It was the auburn-haired woman. 'Thank you for putting out the fire." she said, which surprised Elyrie. She felt a twinge of shame: her village had been burned by the Fire Nation, yet she was gracious enough to thank her for such a small thing.
Elyrie smiled at her. "It was nothing, but I am sorry for the damage that has already been done to your village." The girl looked pained, but nodded as if she appreciated her apology.
"Can I ask you something?" Elyrie asked before she could stop herself. The girl raised her eyebrows, but nodded at het with an expectant look. "Why are your dressed like that?" Elyrie asked, hoping she wouldn't be considered invasive.
The girl hesitated, uneasy sharing information with a Fire Nation citizen. After a few seconds, she responded however: "We are the Kyoshi warriors. We practice the fighting style Avatar Kyoshi was known for, which is why we use fans as weapons."
"Fascinating!" Elyrie replied, "Is it only possible for girls to practice these fighting skills?"
"It is possible for girls to start training from a young age and become proficient at the arts of battle." The auburn haired Kyoshi warrior answered with a hint of pride in her voice.
Elyrie was intrigued when the girl - who introduced herself as Suki - proceeded to tell her about the history of Kyoshi Island and the Kyoshi warriors. After a few minutes however, she heard Kun softly clear his throat to signal that they had to leave.
"I do not mean to be rude but we have to return, Miss Elyrie." He said to her. Elyrie nodded over her shoulder and bowed for the last time at the older man and the women. "Goodbye and thank you for telling me about the Kyoshi warriors." she said to Suki after she bid them goodbye.
She left with Kun, who said something about keeping up the pace. She smiled, happy to have been able to learn more about this island. But when she remembered the burned houses, she felt guilty.
"That is the way the war works." Kun said to her when she asked him about it, "It is something ugly."
"I understand." she answered while thinking about the return of the Avatar. His return had sparked hope, she had seen it on Kyoshi Island. The greatest threat to the Fire Nation, that was what Zhao had called him. But what if that wasn't a bad thing?
Fire was dangerous: if it couldn't be controlled, it destroys everything on its path. Luckily, there hadn't been casualties or injured people on Kyoshi Island, for which she thanked the Gods. But if even Zuko - who wasn't a bad person, she knew that - was capable of destroying a town, what would other raids be like?
With that troubling thought, she boarded the ship again.
Weeks passed since their visit to Kyoshi and there had been no sighting of the Avatar. Zhao had ordered his fleet to return to the border of the Fire Nation and he prepared a blockade to interrogate every passing ship for new information about the Avatar.
Elyrie saw little of Zhao, who was busy with planning and anticipating the next possibility of finding the Avatar. She picked up bits and pieces during the councils, but nothing seemed conclusive. It seemed the Avatar was a master in manoeuvring. So, the time passed by without anything exciting happening.
The sea was calm, but the days dragged on without any change and so Elyrie amused herself with singing, reading and making conversation with the crew. She felt no longer trapped since the sea gave her a sense of freedom. Just like Mama, she thought with a smile. 'That is the beauty of the ocean: you can look on forever because it always changes.' her mother had told her when she was a little girl when they visited Ember Island.
The Winter Solstice was approaching, Elyrie knew. She could tell by the position of the sun. Mama used to tell her about the festivals that were celebrated on the Winter Solstice, which she called 'Midwinter'.
Elyrie reached for the medallion around her neck and carefully opened the golden locket, which was inscribed with her name. On the left side was a picture of her father. He had a proud face and the classic look of a Fire Nation nobleman with his amber-coloured eyes and raven black hair. He smiled tenderly, which made his eyes sparkle. She missed her father, she missed his smile. She did not resemble him in the slightest, aside from her pale complexion.
But every time she opened the locket, she was reminded of how much she looked like her mother. The picture of her mother, taken shortly before she died, showed a smiling young woman. Elyrie remembered her wavy hair, the colour of chocolate, not auburn like hers. Her skin had been olive coloured, but the heart shaped face, blue eyes and full lips were identical to her own features. It made her proud to resemble her mother, as a way to keep her memory alive.
She was brought out of her memories by a loud call. She quickly put the locket back under her dress and looked out the window to see the entire crew running to the side of the ship. Without second thought, she jumped up and raced towards the deck. Briefly blinded by the sun, she shielded her eyes until they adjusted to the bright light. She saw Zhao standing between massive metal weapons, which were used for throwing fireballs. She walked toward Zhao, while she saw Kun discretely following her. She gave him a friendly nod before she turned to the commander. Before she could ask anything, she spotted a dark figure in the sky above her, but she failed to notice a small Fire Nation ship approaching the blockade.
Zhao looked through the telescope. "The Avatar and the banished prince." he said smugly. "This must be my lucky day." He noticed his fiancée standing beside him, shielding her eyes from the sun. He gave her the telescope. "Here, feast your eyes. Tonight I am delivering two prisoners to the Fire Lord."
Elyrie looked at him with faked admiration and said: "It was only a matter of time before you would succeed." He smiled arrogantly as he gave the order to shoot the sky bison down.
Elyrie quickly grabbed the telescope to look. It was truly the Avatar. He was riding on his enormous flying bison. She never thought she would see one in real life. The bison was wearing a saddle on it's back and she spotted two figures sitting on it. Companions of the Avatar, she assumed.
She moved the telescope downwards to look at the ocean and saw Zuko's ship approaching the blockade. He must be mad, she thought as she saw the ship coming in their direction. The blockade was placed on Earth Kingdom waters, but once you passed it you were in Fire Nation territory. Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation and if they captured him, he would surely be put in prison. If not worse, she mentally added. She silently prayed for Uncle Iroh to persuade Zuko to turn around. She prayed for the Avatar as well, as Zhao gave the command to shoot the bison down.
"But there is a Fire navy ship out there, sir –" the captain said, 'One of our own. What if it is hit?"
"So be it." Zhao said coldly, 'It belongs to a traitor. Ignite!' he commanded. The soldiers lit up the stones covered in tar, ready to fire. Elyrie wrinkled her nose, hating the smell of burning tar. She looked nervously at the sky bison and the ship, hoping they were able to avoid the fireballs.
'Launch!'' Zhao roared. At that moment, dozens of fireballs were blasted into the sky. It was like fireworks, but they started to come down. The sky bison swiftly went from left to right, manoeuvring its way through the sky. Once the first fireballs had passed, the sky bison flew higher into the air. Smart move, Elyrie thought, since the fireballs can only reach a certain height.
She was relieved the sky bison wasn't hit but once the fireballs started their descend, her worry grew. Zuko could not as easily evade the attack. She bit her nails as she watched the fireballs fall into the ocean, mere meters beside the small ship. One of the fireballs hit the back of the ship, setting it on fire. Yet, the ship did not stop or even slow down.
"Launch!" she heard Zhao bark for the second time. Elyrie had been so caught up in the first attack that she did not notice a new set of fireballs being ignited. With even more force, the second set was swung into the air. The sky bison had disappeared into the clouds, but she saw a small figure falling. She looked through the telescope and saw that it was a boy, not much older than she was. He must be one of the companions of the Avatar and swung out of the saddle during the attack. She watched him quickly approach the unforgiving water and prayed he would survive the fall. But just before he hit the water, the sky bison returned and quickly caught him. She sighed of relieve, but looked nervously at the enormous bison who was now flying a few meters above the water.
A third set of fireballs was launched, but the sky bison evaded it yet again. Zhao clenched his jaw and ordered one more fireball to be ignited. The bison approached rapidly, but Zhao waited to give the order. Only when the bison was within range, he gave the order to fire. The fireball went straight towards the bison and Elyrie was sure it would be hit. It was too close to evade. But when she looked through the telescope, she saw a boy in yellow and orange clothing jump from the bison. That must be the Avatar himself, she thought. The Avatar jumped in front of the bison and blasted the fireball to pieces. When he landed on the bison again, he had passed the blockade.
Elyrie looked at them, while they quickly flew away. So the Avatar truly is a young man, she thought impressed. He looked like a true Air Nomad: bald head with an arrow drawn on it. She knew that the arrow tattoo was one of five, each extending to a different limb. The pattern is an emulation of the sky bison's natural markings, she remembered, since they were the original airbenders.
She quickly returned her attention to Zhao, who stared pensively at the Avatar's retreating silhouette.
"Where do you think the Avatar is headed, sir?" the captain asked.
"I'm not sure." Zhao answered as he stroked his sideburn.
Elyrie saw Zuko's ship getting closer and made a decision in a split-second. She put her small hand on Zhao's arm and looked at him. "I bet a certain banished prince will know." She suggested softly. Zhao looked at her and back at the approaching ship. Please, Elyrie mentally pleaded, take the bait and let them pass. Two blockade ships started closing in on Zuko, certainly crushing him if he went ahead. Elyrie looked at the ship, knowing Zuko would not slow down.
"The boarding party is ready to apprehend Prince Zuko, sir" the captain said to the commander. A dozen soldiers behind him were waiting for the order to arrest the banished prince.
Zhao hesitated for only a second before he said: "Wait. Cut the engines and let them pass."
The captain looked confused, but did as he was told. The ships stopped, barely avoiding a collision. Elyrie sighed in relief as she looked over the railing and saw Zuko and Iroh standing on the deck. Zuko looked at her and then at Zhao with a hateful glare. Zhao answered it with as much disdain as possible.
When the ship had passed, Zhao looked at his crew and said "And now, the young traitor will lead us to the Avatar."