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the day before the comet
The camp that sat at the walls of Ba Sing Se welled over with music the night before the comet. The Order of The White Lotus kept their spirits high before the battle that would commence. Iroh laughed by the fire and played the tsungi horn, accompanying Piandao and Pakku through the song.
This was the last night before victory.
The last night before the Avatar brought down the Fire Lord and peace could be restored to the world.
Iroh hoped that Zuko would take on his sister, would ascend to the throne himself, but he couldn’t be sure. If he didn’t, it would simply provide another fight for another day, and after they won under the red sky of the comet, he was sure that hopes would be high and rebellion would ensue.
Iroh retired to his tent early that night, then he rose with the sun.
eight years ago
The Dragon of The West eyed his troops that lined up before the wall. A flood of red facing the slight sea of green. He was confident his soldiers could crush the Earth Kingdom’s men, but the walls would be another challenge altogether. They were excellently constructed, as thick as a tank, all rock. They would surely have to scale the walls, climb over and down, if they could not break straight through.
“General,” the Captain said, “on your order.”
Iroh nodded once. “Send them in,” he said.
The call went down the line and the flood surged forward, fire raging on ahead of them. The green men rose from their trenches and volleyed rocks back; they slammed their hands into the ground and cracks shot towards the Fire Nation soldiers. Iroh turned away and returned to the war tent. As with every battle, they could be fighting for a long, long time.
But he would get inside those walls.
He would burn Ba Sing Se to the ground and claim the ashes for himself.
the day of the comet
“Grand Master,” a White Lotus member said, “we must begin soon.”
Iroh nodded, settled by the campfire as he ate breakfast. He craned his neck back to stare up at the sky. A comet passing so close was a once in a life time moment, the power of which he would never feel again. He hoped his nephew used the day wisely; hoped he was not driven afterwards by the urge to feel that intensity again.
He was proud of Zuko, proud that he learned from his mistakes and turned on his father. It was the Avatar’s destiny to save the world, but it was Zuko’s destiny too. Zuko’s destiny to bridge the cavern between his great-grandfathers and their strife. Perhaps one day, after the world was righted, he would tell Zuko the story of Sozin and Roku, best friends turned bitter enemies.
He finished his bowl and set it on the grass before rising. The other White Lotus members were preparing their animals to ride inwards; Azula’s Dai Li had brought down the walls, creating an easy passage into the city. They would rid the entire kingdom of Fire Nation presence, restoring it to King Kuei’s hands.
The king, in fact, sat nearby, eating and chatting with his brown bear named Bosco. He was a curious man and Iroh found him quite odd. But Iroh knew that if the king didn’t reclaim his throne, the power vacuum in the city could be worse than the Fire Nation occupation.
He started for his ostrich-horse, so they could begin the fight.
seven years ago
Iroh watched the conflict in the distance, the fires that raged and the bloody battle that ensued.
“Father,” Lu Ten said, and Iroh glanced over. “It’s your turn.”
Iroh studied the pai sho board carefully, eyeing his son’s newest move. “You have learnt this game well, my son,” he said, sparing a glance for his boy’s face. He was newly twenty, the Prince of the Fire Nation, second in line to the throne. Iroh knew that Lu Ten would make a wise ruler someday; he would win this war for the homeland and he would bring prosperity and peace the world after. “But you have not yet managed to outplay your father.”
Iroh placed a tile down and Lu Ten groaned, rolling his head back.
“I believe that’s a victory,” Iroh said, making Lu Ten laugh.
“No kidding,” he replied. He took a sip of his tea and then turned to watch the fighting in the distance. It was a daily occurrence now; soldiers would arrive, they would fight and die, and the wall would be no closer to breaking. Although, Iroh was confident that with a steady hand, they would wear down the Earth Kingdom soldiers, who died just as frequently as his own men. The walls were dented and scorched now, and the assault had taken land away from the Earth Kingdom; his men had even made it part way up the wall before being torn down again.
“Perhaps tomorrow, we will break through,” Lu Ten said, like he did most days.
Iroh took a sip of his tea. “Perhaps tomorrow,” he agreed. “Another game?”
the day of the comet
After passing through the mostly abandoned farm lands of the outer ring, the Grand Masters of the White Lotus grouped together. King Bumi of Omashu raised a thick disk of earth from the ground, and they watched the Fire Nation soldiers swarm the hole in the wall, readying themselves for the attack.
But the White Lotus were patient, and they waited until the sky finally turned from a brilliant morning blue to a fiery red as they comet reached them. Iroh stepped forward, and breathed in deeply.
He felt the fire inside him, felt the life it swirled into being. The comet accentuated that, nurtured it into growing bigger, stronger. He slipped one foot back and thrust his hands out before him, willing the fire to expand at his fingertips, a massive, scorching fireball. It grew larger and larger under the comet’s gaze, and Iroh thought, For the Earth Kingdom.
He sent it flying towards the wall and it crashed through, fire spreading across the nearby houses and burning the Fire Nation soldiers on the ground.
The Order of The White Lotus marched into Ba Sing Se.
six and a half years ago
If the city is as magnificent is its wall, Iroh wrote, Ba Sing Se must be something to behold. I hope you may see it someday, if we don’t burn it to the ground first!
He enclosed the gifts for his niece and nephew; the doll and the knife, and sent the package to be delivered to the Fire Nation palace, where his brother and sister-in-law might read it. He closed his eyes briefly, thinking of Ozai, of his cruel hand, and grew tired of the thought.
Iroh was tired often lately. He was tired of fighting, of losing, of not breaching the massive wall that surrounded Ba Sing Se. Perhaps he should have gone for Omashu, though the victory would not have been as satisfying as taking the impenetrable city. Thousands of men had died on either side in this war, after well over a year and a half of constant conflict.
There was a knock on the door, and Iroh looked up. “Ah, Lu Ten.”
“Father,” his son greeted. “I saw you sent a letter back to Uncle Ozai and Aunt Ursa.”
Iroh hummed. “To inform them of our impending victory and send gifts to your cousins.”
“Azula will hate that doll.”
Iroh waved a hand. “She will love it, I’m sure.”
Lu Ten’s expression was disbelieving but Iroh didn’t let it get to him. He asked, “Do you bring any good news?”
“Lieutenant Zhao has sent another two hundred men our way,” Lu Ten replied, “I received the hawk just now.”
Iroh nodded. More sheep for the slaughter, as it were. Still, they must power on, and he had no doubt Zhao would’ve sent them fine soldiers to fight this battle. He himself had been trained by The Deserter; Admiral Jeong Jeong, the first soldier to ever defect from the the Fire Nation military and live to tell the tale. Though Jeong Jeong was a traitor, his students grew to be excellent soldiers.
“Thank you, my son.”
“Are you alright, Father? You seem weary.”
“I am weary.” He sighed. “I did not sleep well last night.” He had not slept well in months.
“Perhaps some tea and pai sho later?” Lu Ten suggested.
“Aren’t you to fight at the wall today?”
“No. I’ll lead the new troops in when they arrive.”
the day of the comet
Fire flooded the streets, burning soldiers alive, as tidal waves crashed down on Fire Nation outposts and massive rocks flipped tanks. They ploughed onwards, powered by the overwhelming fuel of the comet, towards the palace, destroying every inch of Fire Nation in their path.
Iroh passed through the lower ring, the neighbourhood he and Zuko had lived in when they first arrived as refugees. In the upper ring, he spotted their next home, a nicer apartment to go with the Jasmine Dragon tea shop, just across the way as he burned through a small battalion of soldiers.
Perhaps he would return here and live a life of quiet with his shop. Perhaps he would make his peace with this city, with the bloodshed that happened here, with the pain he caused here, and begin anew.
Perhaps, he would even visit the place his son died, on the outer wall, and sit his picture by the window of the tea shop, so that he might see all that which he did not get to.
six years ago
Lu Ten was late arriving back from the battleground.
The fights often slowed during the night, when the firebenders were less powerful. He should’ve been back by now.
“Captain,” Iroh barked. “Where is Commander Lu Ten?”
“General Iroh,” the Captain said with a bow. “I have not seen him since this morning.”
“Find him.”
“Of course, General.”
the day of the comet
Iroh approached the palace. He lit his fingers and sent arcs of fire towards his nation’s flags. They burned, revealing the Earth Kingdom insignia underneath.
six years ago
They searched through the night. The entire encampment, miles wide, was alight with panic and worry. Iroh marched through it himself, before eventually, reluctantly, turning to the wall during the small hours of the morning. He started towards it.
“General,” his Captain said, “if you go close, they might kill you.”
“I will find my son,” Iroh replied, gruff.
He started off for the wall.
the day of the comet
Ba Sing Se burned, but it burned with recapture, with honest victory. He watched the battles waged in the streets, saw the people of the Earth Kingdom rush out of their homes to fight their oppressors alongside the White Lotus. The people of the Earth Kingdom were always courageous, always strong.
They fought tooth and nail to take back their home.
six years ago
Iroh hoped he wound find his son cleaning up the dead, or mourning the lost by the wall, but he was wrong. There was no life out here, just dark, thick blood.
Iroh had barely been this close to Ba Sing Se’s wall since the invasion began, almost six hundred days ago. He had watched from a distance, but now he was here he saw how his men must’ve fought over the corpses of their brethren; standing on their bodies to push forward towards a wall that refused to yield.
He stepped carefully through the gore, a mile wide at the base of the wall, his only light a single flame in his hand. He held it to every face he saw, searching for the familiar features of his boy. He had to know. He had to.
A group of his men stood off to the side, watching in the dark. Far above him, Earth Kingdom soldiers followed the man wandering through the dead, trying to find his son.
the day of the comet
They sat King Kuei back on his throne. The Dai Li were all dead or long gone, happy and comfortable in the Fire Nation, so White Lotus members guarded him as he took back his kingdom.
“King Bumi,” Kuei said, “was the recapture of your home this… violent?”
“Oh, yes,” Bumi replied with a maniacal grin. “But much faster! I did it all myself, there.”
Iroh smiled, returning to the window where he could look out over a free Ba Sing Se. There was dancing in the streets. He wished it could remind him of home.
six years ago
He saw the flash of gold in the fire light, the symbol of a commander on the shoulders of the armour. Iroh rushed to the body and collapsed into the dirt. His precious Lu Ten. His boy. His son.
The Dragon of The West roared scorching fire into the air. He collected his son’s body in his lap and cradled him tight; the prince was dead and disfigured, bones crushed under the weight of battle. What had Iroh been doing during his death? Planning another attack? Organising for more troops to come and fight in this brutal wasteland? Drinking tea and playing pai sho?
His men carried his son’s body back to camp. He would not be buried in the mass grave like all the rest.
the day of the comet
“I have a lot of respect for you,” Iroh said that evening.
“Is that so?” Jeong Jeong replied.
“You realised on your own what tragedy the Fire Nation was spreading. It took the loss of my son to discover for myself.”
Jeong Jeong shook his head. “We all played our role in tyranny,” he said. “What matters now is building a new future to honour that pain.”
six years ago
Iroh returned to the Fire Nation and took his troops with him. There was no point invading Ba Sing Se if his son would not be there to see it.
Lu Ten’s body was embalmed and buried in the crypt of Fire Nation royalty, right next to his Iroh’s father, Azulon, who had died shortly after his son. There was so much loss darkening his vision he had trouble seeing.
He did not fight when Ozai took the throne for himself. Perhaps he should’ve, but all the fight in him was gone. His son was dead, so what was there to live for after that?
the day after the comet
They received the news at noon.
“Prince Zuko did not challenge Azula for the throne,” the messenger said. “He helped the Avatar defeat Fire Lord Ozai—uh, Phoenix King Ozai.”
Iroh shared worried glances with the other Grand Masters of the White Lotus.
“Is my brother dead?” he asked.
“Yes, Grand Master.”
“And my niece has become Fire Lord?”
“Yes, Grand Master.”
Iroh sat back in his seat.
“It would seem,” he sighed, “that the war is not done yet.”
His fellow Grand Masters straightened, determination set in their eyes.
“Then let’s end it ourselves,” Pakku said.
Iroh would not sit back, apathetic, again. He would not let others fight his battles for him, nor would he send men off to die in fights that meant nothing, in wars that reeked of misplaced pride and aggression. He would place his own hand in the ring and fight for the soul of his nation.
He would not ignore the lessons he learnt from Lu Ten’s death.
three years ago
Iroh stared across the deck of the ship at his son. No. No. At his nephew.
There would be great things in store for him, someday.
He just knew it.