Ba Sing Se. Capital of the Earth Kingdom.
Today, I'm scheduled to travel to Shu Jing Island. It's high time I met the famous swordsman Piandao in person. After all, my primary duty is to train the Fire Lord's children, so I can't be gone for too long. Fortunately, the island is just a five-hour sail from the capital.
The harder part was convincing everyone I wasn't leaving for good. Ursa, judging by her hints, seemed to think I'd fallen out of favor with Ozai. Azula, on the other hand, insisted on coming with me and even mustered the courage to ask her father's permission. Needless to say, it was a futile attempt.
"We'll have time to travel together later," I said, smoothing Azula's soft hair one last time.
"Mhmm," she nodded.
"Zuko, don't skip your firebending practice," I added.
"When have I ever!" he puffed up, offended by my doubt.
"Ursa, I hope you'll delight us with new plays," I said, turning to Azula and Zuko's mother, who looked somewhat sad.
"I don't want to act in these scenes anymore. For some reason, I always get the stupid roles," she replied. Everyone but you, Zuko, knows why you get those roles…
"I'll be back soon," I waved goodbye, starting my slow walk toward the port.
Last week, Old Jian pulled me aside for a private conversation. He questioned my preparedness.
"Everyone who needs to know already knows you're visiting Piandao! The Fire Sages likely found out first! There'll definitely be an ambush! You've already become a thorn in their side, and since we've started 'cooperating' with Ozai, their desire to get rid of you has multiplied!" he said irritably.
"What do you suggest?" I asked. I'd forgotten that people only see me as a powerful firebender, not an invincible one, especially against a group of well-trained firebenders. Why risk exposing myself and merging with my other selves when I can take precautions?
"Here's the plan," he began. "You'll travel on one of my friend's ships—a simple trader. They don't bother with heavy security since they only sail within our territory." He waved his hand and paced the small secret room. "That's when they'll take the bait. There'll be our guys in the cargo crates," he paused for a second. "I'll come too. I've wanted to see their unusual flames for a while. For that, I don't mind sitting cramped for a few hours."
It felt like he'd planned to sail with me from the start… Oh well, extra firebenders are never a bad thing.
The port was bustling with life—soldiers, sailors, traders, and others whose lives revolved around the sea.
"Lord Wan?" a typical Fire Nation man approached me. "I'm Karim, the ship's captain," he bowed slightly. "The ship is almost loaded. You can board now."
"I will," I nodded. "Do you know what might be waiting for us?"
"Yes," he wiped some sweat from his forehead. "So, at the first sign of approaching ships, I'll rush to my cabin and take the crew below deck." Smart—who wants to lose their life? And there's no need to sacrifice the crew.
Most likely, this is his first encounter with an attack. As far as I know, he only sails between the Fire Nation islands. All approaches are protected by a naval blockade—a constantly patrolled strip of ships preventing invasions from the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes.
"You have nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine," I patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.
"I hope so," he exhaled. "Hey, you! Be careful with the cargo! I don't think you want to pay for damages!" he shouted at his crew, who accidentally dropped one of the crates. He was clearly nervous, knowing who was really inside those crates.
I thought I heard muffled curses from inside the crate. Someone was definitely having a bad time.
"Why are they so heavy?!" one sailor muttered.
"How should I know? Just work faster," another snapped irritably.
Standing at the front of the ship, I used my senses to count our warriors. Twenty in total—two masters and the rest average. Not bad.
"We're setting sail," Karim shouted twenty minutes later, after everything was checked and loaded.
It was hard not to notice the intense stares following me from the palace exit. Something was definitely going to happen. The trading ship steadily headed toward the island. Three hours into our journey…
"Ship on course!" the lookout shouted. "It's ours!" he reassured the tense crew.
"Everyone below deck!" the captain's deep voice cut through the air. "What are you waiting for? Move it!" he barked at the confused crew.
"What's happening?"
"How should I know?" whispers spread.
But the crew obediently headed inside the ship, to the living quarters. Meanwhile, in the cargo hold, there was movement as the firebenders slowly emerged from the crates.
After some time, our ship came to a complete stop. By then, the suspicious ship had already approached ours. There were exactly twelve firebenders on their ship—two high-level and ten mid-level. Not bad…
"Junior Fire Sage Hiroko greets you," a middle-aged man in the official robes of the Fire Nation's spiritual authority greeted me warmly. "What's this gentleman's name?"
"Wan, tutor to the Fire Lord's children," I replied, though I really wanted to say, "This gentleman's name is your imminent death." "How can I help you?"
"The thing is, our ship has a minor malfunction, and I'm afraid we won't make it to the capital," he said, shaking his head sadly. "I hope you'll lend us a hand, Lord Wan."
"Of course," I smiled calmly, tracking his crew's every move.
"I hesitate to ask, but where are all your people?" he asked, already suspicious, judging by his furrowed brows.
In the next moment, several things happened: Hiroko and the nearest firebenders on deck raised their hands, sending a fiery barrage at me. The Sage's flames were black mixed with blood-red. Luckily, the others were regular firebenders with ordinary fire.
Simultaneously, from my hands and mouth erupted an equally powerful green flame, for which I spent ten percent of my reserve at once.
Time raced ahead. His men came to his aid, including another Fire Sage—second only to Hiroko in power. On my side, all of Old Jian's people, including himself, were ready.
"Surprise, girls," Old Jian sneered, clearly holding a grudge against them.
"A trap," Hiroko said calmly, dropping the act. "We should've expected it."
"Formation four!" Old Jian shouted, and his people quickly arranged themselves in some order.
"Kill them," the Sage growled.
The battle began anew. In the first seconds, one person fell on each side.
"Ha," I muttered, forced to create an entire wall of green fire. The Sages didn't hold back, immediately attacking with area-of-effect moves, likely hoping to eliminate the pesky insects right away.
I had to close the distance quickly, so their attention would focus solely on me. The green flame showed its true power, "repelling" the hostile fire, which even made me feel sick.
"This is for my sister, you bastard!" one of our guys shouted, lunging forward and sending powerful streams of flame at Hiroko.
"No! Stop!" Old Jian yelled after him.
"Damn it," I muttered, blocked by the second Sage.
"Get out of the way!" I sent a dark fire vortex at him.
"Aaaah!" the fool—or perhaps the brave one—screamed as he burned alive in the fire consuming his body. Within two seconds, nothing remained of him but ashes, quickly swept away by the sea breeze.
"Definitely not something you want to get caught in," I thought, and judging by the others' faces, we were all on the same page. The same could be done with regular fire, but only if the flame was maintained for five or ten minutes.
"Hold the line," Old Jian's voice cut through the chaos, immediately calming the hotheads who wanted revenge.
My body was producing adrenaline, allowing my brain to catch every detail. Sometimes, I had to rescue my teammates from the fire, as my clash with the Sages sent flames far and wide. Too little space. The entire battle was confined to two ships—nowhere to maneuver…
We had the numerical advantage, and since I took on the Sages, we slowly gained the upper hand, taking down one enemy firebender each minute.
It was a constant dance—dodging, defending, occasionally striking back, and so on. I managed to counterattack perfectly a few times. The flame bursting from my mouth hit the second Sage's face, though it didn't even faze him. He didn't pause for a second, though his face was badly burned.
"Rrrr," a demonic roar escaped Hiroko's throat.
I noticed their infinite reserve had consequences. With each minute of our fight, their moves became more aggressive and primitive, but this was offset by the increased power of their fire. It seemed their minds were degenerating…
"You! Interfere! With! Our! Lord!" he roared, launching another swift attack.
Standing on the bridge, I avoided a whip of flame. A double backflip saved me from turning into ash. Knocking one of them back with my attack, I lunged at the second, sending a spinning vortex of fire that he calmly absorbed into his chest.
"So, they don't pay attention to their wounds," I concluded. "Most likely, to finish them off, you need to decapitate them or rip out their hearts…"
During our battle, the ship suffered multiple scorch marks, and the Sages' fire even slightly melted the metal.
"What monsters," I grimaced, looking at the now mindless beasts. Their eyes held no intelligence—only a thirst for murder and a final command to kill me. Hiroko's saliva was dripping from his mouth.
"Old man, only the masters stay here!" I shouted when I saw the last enemy firebender taken down in a joint attack.
Old Jian understood without further explanation. There was nothing for the average fighters here—they'd be killed without a second thought.
Only five people remained on the enemy ship's deck: me, Old Jian, an unknown firebending master, and the two Fire Sages. Now, we could use more powerful techniques without restraint.
Suddenly, a black flash erupted, momentarily swallowing all daylight. In the same second, we heard the sound of a body falling. The unknown master turned into a smoking piece of flesh.
"Ah, what will I tell his family…" Old Jian was the first to reach him. To my unspoken question, he shook his head.
None of us expected them to use lightning, as they'd only used their strange black-blood fire until then. It was ruthless, and we had to be twice as cautious. I doubt their lightning could be safely redirected.
It was clear Old Jian was furious, likely knowing the fallen master well. But his training and experience kept him from acting recklessly. Instead, his cold rage was entirely directed at our enemies.
At one moment, my lightning struck Hiroko, causing a brief spasm. Old Jian quickly seized the opportunity. Jumping toward the Sage, he drew a small blade from under his kimono in one fluid motion and decapitated him.
With one Sage down, the threat was significantly reduced, and within the next minute, we caught the second one off guard.
"Phew," Old Jian collapsed on the deck. "I could really use something strong to drink," he muttered weakly.
"Agreed," I leaned against the ship's rail. For a moment, I considered calling on my other selves for help.
"You can come out now!" I shouted to the person cautiously peeking from a slightly open door. "And clean this up!" I had no strength left to breathe in the smell of charred flesh…
"…" Wide-eyed, the trader's crew began to emerge, some losing their stomach contents.
And Old Jian still wanted to take a "prisoner" to extract all the secrets… Dream on…
*
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