"Father, you have to get up."
General Iroh blinked a few times as he realised his son was calling on him; he had decided to sleep in that morning, knowing that he had gotten a little too into the party he had the night prior with the other ranking officers. They were already approaching the Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se, and though the Earth Kingdom mounted a formidable defence, they were overstretched and could no longer hold his army back.
He had wanted to simply rest, as he knew he would need to be well rested for dealing with the day's affairs, knowing that he had battle-plans to finalise and messages from his subordinates to deal with. His army being spread across a large portion of the western side of the Outer Wall posed a number of challenges in and of itself, and he knew that their operation would only be successful if they could draw away the Earth Kingdom for long enough to break through a part of the wall. Their earthbenders would repair it quickly than they could barrage it, otherwise.
"I apologise, my son." he mumbled, raising his head up from the pillow; he had been sleeping on a stretcher, and though it was more comfortable than lying on the ground, it was not the same as the fine beds of the palace, "I just... well, I really should have gone to bed earlier."
"Yeah." Lu Ten nodded, before he gestured over to Iroh's armour set, which was sitting on a wooden stand, ready for him to put on, "Well, get dressed. You don't have any time to wash. The officers are all waiting for you in the command tent."
"W-wait, all of them?" he asked, the young Prince giving him an affirmative by the unease on his face.
"Father, you really do need to hurry up." he stressed, before turning around, "I'll just wait outside. You deserve to be able to dress yourself in peace." he conceded, stepping out of the tent.
The Crown Prince of the Fire Nation was really getting too old to get up at such an early hour and go to a war meeting. Though he was more than ready to lead his men on campaign, he knew that the sleep-schedule it demanded of him would be a struggle to keep up with; though as a firebender, he usually rose with the sun, he didn't find himself with the energy to get up for while after sunrise.
"Maybe I need to take a vacation after we win the war." he mumbled, "Lu Ten might like to go to Ember Island again." he acknowledged, before chuckling, imagining what his teenage son might get up to, "He might even find himself a girlfriend."
He quickly pulled himself up from the stretcher, raising his arms up into the air, making a rather loud and obnoxious yawn; he could get away with it, being the general of the army and Crown Prince- most men would be scorned by their superiors for doing so. Iroh glanced over to his chest of belongings, which was only as big as it had to be; he had already placed his robes there the evening prior to change into, and because of that, Iroh was able to quickly switch from his long, comfortable night-gown into his fitted robes. They sat snugly under his rather clunky armour; despite its cumbersome weight, it protected him well in battle, so he had no need to complain about it.
He immediately pulled his chestplate over his torso, tightening it only once, not thinking he was going to run into battle any time soon, even if he was expected to wear it. The armour sat loosely over his torso, which was a little more comfortable; Iroh had been trying his best to remain fit, but his body wasn't what it had used to be, and being stuck planning and on a komodo-rhino at most times, he couldn't stay with the training regimes he had built up when he was Lu Ten's age. As soon as he had the shoulder plates and boots on, which he was able to put in place and tighten with haste, having done it a thousand times before, he immediately exited the tent, turning to face his son, who had a tense look on his face. Iroh hated stressing his son out, though he knew that he relied on him for both timely advice and assistance; he would be going back to his unit once they actually began the fighting, so he appreciated the time they had together while they were still planning their assault on the Outer Wall.
"Father, let's go. I'm sure I can excuse your actions by saying you had to go to the toilet." he suggested, making Iroh snicker.
"And how is that any less embarrassing?"
"People have more control over when they sleep than their bowels." he argued, the Crown Prince finding such a claim hard to believe.
"Are you sure, Lu Ten?" he asked him with an amused voice, to which his son simply rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay, maybe I didn't hear that from the most reputable source." he conceded, before gesturing ahead of them, pointing out the command tent which sat impressively above the other tents with its flags and golden trimmings, "Let's just get to the meeting, Dad."
The pair strode along through the busy campsite, Iroh noting that many people were already up and about dissembling some of the tents, as they were set to move closer to the wall by midday. That was the original plan, at least, and Iroh knew scouts came in and out of their campsite multiple times a day with new reports on Earth Kingdom troop numbers and movements. He'd need to be cautious with their approach, knowing too many previous attacks on the Earth Kingdom's capital had failed due to brash generals and their big plans, usually ending with their forces getting pummelled by massive boulders fired from the top of the wall. He was determined to not make the same mistake; the Dragon of the West raised a finger to his eyelids, wiping the sleep from them, before he grasped both of his cheeks, trying to make sure he was of the right composure before entering the tent. He was meant to be their General, the man who would lead them to victory, not a dazed and tired man with no regard for punctuality.
When he stepped into the tent, with his son by his side, all eyes turned to him; Iroh did not feel nervous, having dealt with soldiers all his life. He was ready to sit down, listen to people's reports, and offer his own advice when need be. Otherwise, he was to formulate his plans, knowing that without one, he'd be practically approaching the city blind. He did not know of the conditions which they might face, but he did know that their forces were well equipped and ready to fight- all they needed was the right guidance to make sure whatever battles they fought were all working toward the ultimate goal of conquering Ba Sing Se, the city which had been, until then, impenetrable.
"Good morning." he smiled at the men, moving to take his seat at the head of the table, being the general, after all, "I hope that you have all rested well."
The soldiers nodded along, some of them more confidently than others; perhaps some had enjoyed their sleep, like he had, while others had not. He would hate to be the man to force himself out of bed every day before dawn just because it made him feel like he had more control over his life. Iroh was not the kind of man to trifle with such things, knowing that knowledge itself was his tool, and preparation was only one part of winning the war.
"What reports do we have to discuss?"
"The northern division has reported a weakness in the enemy defences, left over from a previous Fire Nation attack on the wall." one of his officers spoke up, before another cleared his throat.
"There is a report that the rail system into the city, located in the south, is vulnerable to our forces." he spoke up.
"What of the centre?" Iroh asked, knowing that was where the Fire Nation's forces were currently concentrated, scoping out the strength of the enemy's defences, which seemed to be just as formidable as they had been in any prior attack.
"The Earth Kingdom has a whole army located on the central portion of the wall, and they seem well equipped to move north and south along the wall to fire on our forces, General." an officer answered his question rather succinctly.
"Well then, we should look to dealing with this army and its mobility first, should we not? If the enemy cannot reach our forces, we will be able to breach the wall with far more ease." he decided, the officers nodding along.
"A brilliant idea, sir." one of his subordinates commended him before looking at him with a more concerned face, "But where do we intend to focus our attack."
"To begin with, I believe it would be unwise to focus solely on a single portion of the wall. We need to make the enemy believe we are stronger than we actually are. If we spread out our attacks, they will be forced to disperse their strength." he argued, knowing that was a staple strategy the Fire Nation had used in the war so far; many an Earth Kingdom army had faltered because they were too slow or simply too stubborn to give up their defences and consider their swift flanking manoeuvres, "With their strength dispersed, we will be able to more easily attend to blocking their mobility. Shattering upper portions of the wall in a few key locations may do the trick, though I believe we ought to have our scouts check this more before deciding on which places to attack."
"The walls will fall by your hand, General." one of the subordinates proudly declared, obviously thinking Iroh's plan was a good one.
"I thank you for your support, but I cannot achieve this with just plans alone. I need all of you, and your men, to act precisely and as swiftly as possible. Without our strengths working to our advantage, this siege will not succeed."
The eyes of his subordinates flickered with thought, before each of them turned his way; they all bowed to him in respect, and uttered the same thing to him in unison.
"It will be done, sir."
The silence around Azula was a little eerie, the only sound she could hear around her being that of the wispy gusts that blew into the Western Air Temple, and the sound of her guards boots behind her. She glanced off to her left, taking note of the sheer rock face, which they had avoided climbing by accessing the temple from above, which had been its own struggle. Her men were equipped with the tools they needed to reach the temple; ropes, hooks and compasses, to ensure they didn't lose their way in the labyrinthine and unusual place they'd found themselves in. With each step she took, she glanced around the courtyard they were crossing, trying to spot out anything of note; it seemed like nobody had levied in the place for a very long time. She thought perhaps refugees might have come and used it as a hiding spot, seeing that it was far from the reach of the Fire Nation. She deduced that nobody had tried to occupy the temples after they wiped out the Air Nomads, and with good reason- they had to be some of the most isolated, hard to reach places in the world.
The lack of occupation was a good thing, however, as it would mean that it was more likely that any evidence of the Avatar, if they had even been at that temple, would be relatively undisturbed. She had no idea where the Avatar was hiding, but she assumed that it had to be somewhere far away from people; there had been no rumours of Avatar sightings, which drew her to that conclusion. The Air Temples were a possible hiding spot, but it wasn't the only place he could be hiding. There was wilderness in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes where a hermit could easily hide and never have to interact with others, even if they struggled to survive.
She guessed from the lack of evidence pointing to occupation, that the Avatar most likely wasn't hiding in the Western Air Temple. However, that didn't mean that the Western Air Temple wouldn't hold evidence of where the Avatar might have gone; the Air Nomads travelled around alot, which made sense, given they were called such, but the locations where they commonly congregated was beyond the information she could scour from the Dragonbone Catacombs in the capital, and from the Fire Sages themselves.
"Your highness." she heard one of her guards address her, the Princess turning around to face him.
"What is it?" she asked him with a snappy tone, not having any time for their concerns; their job was to protect her, though she didn't need much protecting, so instead, she only needed them there as extra eyes and ears.
"Did you want us to look around the temple for any kind of materials left over from the Air Nomads?" he asked her, the Princess furrowing a brow.
"Scrolls would help." she admitted, before she cleared her throat, having decided on an order, "I want you all to gather any evidence that actually details information about their traditions, bending practices and locations they travelled to. Anything that actually might give us a better idea where the Avatar could be hiding, or if they're hiding in plain sight, where they'd be travelling to." she explained, the Imperial Firebenders all nodding along; with that command, they spread out, walking off in different directions, taking the stairs or entering compounds, looking for what she had requested.
Azula turned her attention to a large fountain that sat in the centre of the temple, in front of what must have been some kind of common eating area. She strode over to it, narrowing her eyes around at the large wooden doors that sat between her and the eating area, which seemed to be intricately designed, and not damaged, despite what must have happened at the temple all those years ago. She stepped through a gap in the doors, glancing around the area, spotting an oddly placed stick, which was burnt and cut into two, presumably by a firebending attack. The fact that the break between the two sticks seemed to be quite small, yet the burn marks close, suggested the fire that hit it was extremely hot.
She didn't know for certain what the power of Sozin's Comet would bring, and seeing that it was coming in less than a year, she felt a sense of anticipation about it; she didn't know if the power it would grant to the Fire Nation would help them much, given that they'd already conquered the Earth Kingdom. Using it to conquer the Northern Water Tribe was a possibility, but she was unsure if her uncle would consider that use of naval resources worthwhile, given the potential casualties they'd suffer in the harsh terrain of the ice and tundra.
Kneeling over, she picked up one end of the stick, noting there was some kind of mechanical part inside of it; reaching her fingers inside, she pulled on the end of the mechanism, suddenly causing the stick to open up, and two paper wings flicked out. It was an airbender's glider staff; she analysed it with interest, wondering how it might have been used when it was whole. She picked up the other end of the staff, raising them both up, trying to imagine how it would have appeared; she held the two ends apart, and noted that the cut through the middle was right at her face when she held the staff pieces up in front of her. The thought that the wielder of said weapon had died by having their face burnt off by the kind of flames that could sear wood in half was macabre, even for her.
She glanced back around the area, placing the staff pieces back on the ground, wondering if there were any more artifacts, perhaps one that was more intact than the one she had just found. Azula made her way over toward a nearby compound, curious if there was anything inside of use. The upside down buildings of the Western Air Temple confused her, though she knew she could reach the other structures with a little help from their hooks and ropes. That wasn't what she was focusing on at that very moment, however, as she moved toward the building, which had no door; she wondered whether it had been vaporised into ash by firebending, or there was none to begin with.
Stepping through the doorway, she noted that the area must have been some kind of tea room, or at least something similar. Despite the old, damaged furnishings, or just furniture carved out of stone, which was a lot more persistent to the age and wear of time, it reminded her of the tea rooms in the palace where her uncle would like to sit, where they'd play Pai Sho together. She would admit that she missed the intellectual stimulation that her uncle's skillful playing brought to her day, though she would never ask anybody else to play Pai Sho. She knew that she'd probably thrash anybody on the ship, and they'd probably be too nervous to play with her anyway; she was the Princess, and she had no intention of playing the game with Lo and Li, the only people who would probably be capable and willing to do so. They were such dull and tedious people that she'd rather meditate and do nothing all day than have to stand a game of Pai Sho with them.
Glancing around, she took note of a few shelves, which had been cleared of whatever had been sitting on them; she wanted some scrolls, at the very least, to take back to the ship once she was done scouring the temple. That would make up for the struggle they took to get there. It seemed, however, that thieves or the original Fire Nation attackers had seized whatever was originally there. There was neither bodies nor much evidence of the Air Nomad's material culture, other than statues, buildings and furniture, all of which were a fair bit harder to steal than scrolls and other artifacts. Strewn across the floor were shattered ceramics, which she could tell had at one point formed a set of tea cups. She knelt over beside the table that had been in the middle of the room, which had been shattered, presumably by a body being thrown onto it, and lifted the wood up, wondering if there was anything underneath.
The Princess's expression brightened when she saw something that would be of use to her; a tied up scroll, flattened by being stuck under the table for a century. She reached under and grasped it pulling it out; other than the folds and creases that had been formed by its position, the scroll seemed to be in quite good condition, and hadn't been burned or damaged during the Fire Nation's assault on the temple. She unfurled the scroll, and immediately recognised its contents; the resemblance of the art style and structure to the firebending scrolls she had studied to learn her sets was uncanny. Of course, it made sense that they'd structure it a similar way, given that bending, despite its differences between cultures and the actual elements themselves, was learnt and understood similarly.
"Airbending forms." she whispered, before narrowing her eyes at the scroll.
Looking at how the forms gracefully moved along, similar enough to her own bending that she understood it, though it had something distinctively alien about it; the lack of force, the weaving and dodging, all seemed antithetical to how she understood bending, of all kinds. She didn't know much about waterbending or earthbending, but she knew enough that they, like firebending, were all about manipulating strength and energies; airbending just seemed to look like avoiding that all together, where the wielder would just remain impartial and flow around the threats they faced.
"Maybe that's why they lost. They were detached from our reality." she chuckled to herself, finding the idea to be amusing, if not tragic; the ignorance of a group of people dedicated to pacifism, freedom and impartiality would be poorly equipped to deal with the Fire Nation, let alone any opponent.
She narrowed her eyes in thought considering the concept of detachment for a moment; when she thought about such a mindset, she could only consider one person- her uncle. Though the Fire Lord was not completely detached from the world like the Air Nomads seemed to be, he was far less concerned with power, strength and the material side of life. He cared about things like love and emotions, things that she had been taught to shun; she thought her uncle was foolish for having such thoughts, but she knew he couldn't be completely wrong. He'd conquered Ba Sing Se, after all; he was the greatest military leader in Fire Nation history, yet, he seemed so uninvolved with things that it just made no sense how he could have achieved it. She considered perhaps, that he might have been driven by a love for his country, which she could understand; the commoners were drawn to join the military for that very reason- they wanted to participate in their great project, to spread the prosperity and greatness of the Fire Nation. However, she had a hard time believing her uncle held such a view; it was too simple, too ignorant of the reality that their country faced.
Azula knew that she had to be attached to reality; power, strength, intelligence, wisdom, all of those things came from understanding reality and using that understanding to her advantage. But the thought could not simply leave her head; she couldn't comprehend why the Air Nomads believed what they did, and why they just disappeared. They could have resisted, they could have fled, but they perished; she could not stand for such kind of inaction, yet, she was drawn by the allure of it.
"Negative jing." she remembered what it was called, Lo and Li having discussed the matter of the three primary jings a while back when teaching her bending theory, "They were drawn by that. But that's not the way a Fire Lord should run a country." she concluded, before furrowing a brow, realising that her uncle didn't prescribe to negative jing, but instead, neutral jing- he was waiting to act.
"What are you going to do, Uncle?" she asked herself, knowing that she didn't have an answer, and perhaps wouldn't have one for some time; she then rose up to her feet, before rolling the scroll up and sliding it into her belt; from her thoughts, she could only make one conclusion, concerning her own intentions- she had come to find the Avatar, but there was something else she needed to do, if she was to become a great Fire Lord one day.
"I need to understand." she mumbled under her breath, "I need to understand everything."
Striding down a dimly lit hallway in the palace, Prince Zuko let himself smile; he didn't like to smile and be happy in public, knowing that he wanted to give an image that his father, Prince Ozai, would respect, but at that very moment, he couldn't care less. When his uncle told him he would be coming to their next war meeting, and his father had signed off on it, he couldn't help but be in a good mood; he was finally going to get the respect he deserved, and he could show his uncle that he was capable of making the decisions he'd expect of a Fire Lord. Not to mention he'd be able to rub it in his father's face without a chance of a reaction; though he might have been able to and more than willing to chide his son in private, he wouldn't dare do it in front of his brother, who was the Fire Lord, and the undisputed head of the Royal Family. Though his uncle had tended to non-intervention when it came to Ozai's behaviour, which had frustrated Zuko in the past, knowing for sure that his uncle could have done something, his new position as Fire Lord meant there was no chance his father could get away with the kinds of things he'd been doing.
His father had been forcing the young Prince and his sister to train at daybreak to improve their firebending, making them show their forms to him and repeat them until they were perfect; none of that would have to continue if Zuko could prove his worth in an area outside of his firebending, which he was certain he had. Of course, Ozai probably wasn't approving of some of the things he was skilled at, which would be more useful and expected of a thief or assassin than a future monarch; that didn't mean, however, that Zuko wouldn't use those skills to his advantage. He knew he might need to sneak around a little more often, especially given his father's clear intention to become the Fire Lord a little quicker than in twenty years' time.
As Zuko approached the doors of the throne room, he took note of the two Imperial Firbenders who were standing by them as a few last military officials walked inside; the Prince simply raised his hand, and they stepped out of his way. He knew they might have done otherwise if Iroh hadn't persuaded his father to let him join them. He straightened the smile that he had held between his cheeks, knowing that it would not be a good look; he needed to be calm and serious if he were to earn the respect of those inside. As he strode down toward the large map that sat in the middle of the room, lined with seats upon which the highest ranking military officers in the Fire Nation sat. He knew that most of the men present weren't the most important military figures, given most of them were off in the Earth Kingdom, dealing with the occupation or rebel groups, or at sea, defending their interests from pirates and the threat of the Water Tribes. He saw his father sitting by the head of the table, and decided it would be best for him to sit beside him, seeing that they were both members of the Royal Family, second in authority to the Fire Lord himself, who sat on his throne, the flames of which had been weakened to allow Iroh's face to be clearly seen. His uncle raised his chin up, acknowledging Zuko's entrance with a small smile, though the Prince didn't dare respond, knowing that his father was watching; he sat himself down beside Ozai, who eyed him for a moment, not saying a word as he turned his attention back toward his brother.
"I believe that is everyone." Iroh acknowledged, before gesturing toward the table, "Which of you has the report from Omashu?"
One of the generals, an older man with a long goatee and moustache, with thin sideburns lining his cheeks, rose up to his feet, "I do, your majesty."
"Go ahead, General Bujing." the Fire Lord raised his hand up, the general clearing his throat before he turned to pick up the pointer stick, gesturing it toward the part of the map where Zuko assumed Omashu was located.
"The city is surrounded by our forces, and has been for the past three months." he explained, "But we still have the problem that many earthbender rebels are in the countryside around it, resisting our rule. Because they melt into the countryside, our soldiers have had issues with crushing them."
"Do you have a suggestion to deal with that problem?" Ozai spoke up, his voice sounding calm and cool, rather than necessarily chiding the general.
"Yes, my Prince." the General nodded, "The rebels are moving around regularly, and must be communication. I believe that they may attempt to attack the core of our forces in a combined assault." he explained his theory, before smirking, "But I believe there's an easier tactic than just waiting and fighting them on even ground." he argued, Zuko's father raising a finger to his goatee, and stroked it with an interested look on his face, suggesting for him to continue.
"If we were to send a division forward, preferably one that is eager and ready, to attack one of the surrounding villages under rebel control, they would win, but draw the attention of the rebels; when they move to destroy that division, they might succeed, but we will attack them from all sides and crush the rebels where they stand." the General gave his plan, earning himself a few nods from the men present.
Zuko, however, didn't agree with it; his plan was a clear waste of troops when they could instead remain steadfast. The Earth Kingdom was known for being resolute and persevering; if their forces did the very same, with their superior numbers and arms, victory was certain.
"A distraction." the elder Prince acknowledged with a pleased voice, "Brother, I believe that would be an effective plan. Don't you agree?" he turned to Iroh, who was looking back at him with a calm expression, though he clearly wasn't happy, thus not approving of Bujing's plan.
The Fire Lord sighed, and looked like he was about to disagree with him; deciding that to be the opportune time to make his mark, Zuko cleared his throat, Ozai and Bujing both looking at him with confusion.
"Did you have your own recommendation, Prince Zuko?" his uncle asked him, the Prince turning to eye his father, pursing his lips ever so slightly upward; the look of annoyance that immediately appeared on his father's face was priceless.
"Yes, Uncle, I do." he admitted, not even getting to stand up, just looking toward the General, "Your plan may work, I acknowledge that, General, but it is a clear waste of lives." he admitted honestly, the General looking at him with slight confusion, his eyes momentarily darting toward the Prince's father before he continued, "Those troops could be better used to track down and deal with each rebel group individually; if we were to lose a whole division, that would be so many men that could not help with the occupation and deal with rebellions elsewhere."
"My nephew is correct." Iroh spoke up, making the Prince smirk, assured that he was right, and that by extension, his father was wrong, "That would be a needless waste of lives. We have complete control over the countryside surrounding the city. It is not as if we need to use our men in such a manner; the Earth Kingdom cannot win this fight, only lose a little slower than they might have otherwise."
"I apologise, your majesty." Bujing bowed toward the Fire Lord, who seemed indifferent to his words, watching as he dropped back down to his seat.
"Brother, did you have any suggestions?" he asked Ozai, who raised his chin up, trying to hold back his annoyance; his right eye glanced toward his son, obviously trying to hold back his fury toward Zuko.
"No, Brother, I did not."
