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Ang-Ye felt the fire course through him as he practiced on the warm stone of the neighborhood plaza. He drilled through his katas again and again but he couldn’t shake the sinking feeling as he watched the sun travel farther and farther in the sky.
“What are you training for?” A voice disrupted him from his sequence. Ang-Ye turned to see a young woman standing expectantly on the edge of the square.
“I’m not exactly training,” Ang-Ye replied with a huff. “More like last minute practicing I guess.”
“For what?”
“An Agni Kai.” He looked up at the sun. A few more hours til sunset. He had time to practice more.
“An Agni Kai?” The woman’s grey eyes widened. “That's a firebender honor duel right?”
Did this woman live under a rock? Maybe she was from the colonies— they didn’t keep fire nation culture as pure there, a century of mingling with Earthbenders had left traditions muddled. And there had been a lot of colony refugees recently ever since the new Firelord ordered most of them dismantled.
“Yes.” He answered, trying to keep the incredulity out of his voice.
“I see. Sorry I don’t know too much about them, I’m a non bender. But you seem awfully young to be dueling someone for your honor. How old are you?”
“Old enough!” He snapped.
The woman looked at him with an unimpressed stare.
“Fourteen.”
The woman sucked in a small breath. “What could a fourteen year old have to defend his honor for?”
“It’s my father,” Ang-Ye said gravely. “I’ve dishonored him and my family name at school. I have to show him I’m a real man and restore my dignity.”
“What did you do to dishonor your father to make him so angry?”
“Do you want me to write my whole life down in a biography? Why do you care? I have to get back to practicing.” Ang-Ye turned away to practice another form, and when he turned back after finishing the set, the woman had left.
Just as well. He wasn’t about to explain his situation to some stranger. In truth, there were many things Ang-Ye did that his father said dishonored him, from interrupting adults to getting poor marks in school—his father had been in a perpetually sour mood for the past two years. He complained day and night about the ruin the new Firelord had brought to the nation and how his years of selfless military service were in vain. Sometimes little things Ang-Ye did set him off that wouldn’t have bothered him otherwise. But nothing compared to his father’s anger this morning. Ang-Ye shuddered to remember it.
The day had started out normally like all the rest, He woke up, went to school and sat next to Hizashi in class. But then, right before classes would break for lunch, the headmaster had summoned him. When he came to the Headmaster Yon’s office, he had found his father standing there too, fists smoking with anger.
“We have heard a rumor from some of your classmates.” Ang-Ye’s heart had dropped into his stomach.
“Several of them allege that they saw you kissing a fellow student in the corners of the schoolyard. A male student.” No more needed to be said for the threat to be felt.
Ang-Ye had denied it of course, but it didn’t matter. They hadn’t believed him, why would they when the guilt was plainly written on his face. He was never to speak to Hizashi again. He was not to play with his friends unsupervised for a month. But that wasn’t enough. Ang-Ye hadn’t just broken school rules and insulted the fire and sun spirits. He had embarrassed his family, and shamed the family of his betrothed. And there was only one way to resolve the issue. Agni Kai.
In the end the outcome didn’t matter. If he won, he would have proved himself a real man again, not any of the flagrant insults his father had hurled at him earlier. If he lost, and he would probably lose, he would be appropriately punished for his transgressions, hopefully enough for everyone to forget that he had ever kissed a boy.
Ang-Ye would never forget though. He looked up at the golden sky and was reminded of Hizashi’s eyes. He didn’t regret that stolen moment, but he did regret the sorrow it had caused for him. Ang-Ye just wished he could say a real goodbye.
As the sun dipped lower he noticed a crowd had started to form. Word of the fight must have gotten around fast. People always loved to watch a good fight. Ang-Ye wasn’t sure how good it would be though. His father was a captain in the army and had spent years training with other firebending soldiers and battling earthbenders. Ang-Ye had only been training for 6 years. It wasn’t to the death, just til the first burn. He tried to swallow his fear. His father had maybe smacked him a few times, but never burned him. He hoped he wouldn’t let the flames linger. Or do it in too obvious a spot. A leg burn he could hide. A face burn… Ang-Ye thought about the portraits he had seen of the new Firelord. The whole half of his face was hideously burned, from betraying the true Firelord before him, his father had said. Ang-Ye didn’t think what he did was
bad enough to earn a disfiguring scar on his face, but he would have to fight to make sure it didn’t happen just in case.
The shadows that played at his feet announced the sunset. He looked up to see his father approaching the plaza. His uniform was gone and his chest was bare, save the ceremonial armbands and shoulder cape. As Ang-Ye took his tunic off he felt as if he was in a daze. Only the feeling of cold metal sliding onto his arms brought him back. He pulled the dark red fabric over his shoulders, hyper aware of every little thread that touched his skin.
Ang-Ye stepped forward to face his father. From across the plaza, he could see his glower. This would not be an easy fight. Ang-Ye steadied his breath.
They bowed and turned away to kneel. An older man, his neighbor actually, called the crowd to silence.
“Yota, son of Reiko, has called an Agni Kai against Ang-Ye, son of Yota, for the insult of shameful behavior upon his family. By the witness of Agni and all the spirits of fire and flame, I bind this fight by the ancient rules.”
Ang-Ye threw off his cape and turned to face his father.
The officiant held up a small gong.
“Yota, do you accept the terms of this challenge?”
His father’s face hardened.
“I do.”
“Ang-Ye, do you accept the terms of this challenge?”
Ang-Ye swallowed hard. “I–”
“No.” A voice from the crowd interrupted. Ang-Ye turned to look for the source as a cloaked figure walked towards the center of the square.
The stranger in the hood did turn his face but walked in between the two duelers and came to stand several paces in front of him.
“By the ancient rules, I volunteer to take his place.” The figure threw down his cloak as gasps went up in the crowd. Ang-Ye stood frozen as the last rays of sun glinted off the stranger’s golden crown.
The Firelord. The Firelord.
“Ang-Ye, do you accept?”
“What?”
“I said Ang-Ye , do you accept?” The officiant asked.
The man in front of him, Firelord Zuko, turned his head over his shoulder with an expression that seemed strangely protective.
“Uh, yes,” Ang-Ye answered without thinking.
“This is ridiculous!” His father sputtered. “This is my business and my son. You can’t just–” He looked to the officiant for support and was met with a helpless shrug.
“What’s the matter? Rethinking your challenge?” Firelord Zuko’s arms flexed beneath his own metal armbands as he assumed a starting stance.
“Don’t back out now. I thought you wanted an honorable fight?” The Firelord smirked.
“You have taken the honor out of it. I would never forfeit an Agni Kai,” his father growled. “But this is between Ang-Ye and me.”
“Oh come on, what could be the difference between fighting him and me?” The Firelord goaded.
Ang-Ye saw his father’s gaze harden. The sharp clang of the gong rang out and Firelord Zuko made the first move.
Orange flames lit up the evening sky as the two traded blasts. He watched in awe as they dueled.
My father is fighting the Firelord.
The Firelord is fighting for me.
Ang-Ye wasn’t sure which revelation was more shocking. As the two danced around each other’s flames he noticed two things. One– that his father was struggling to keep up. Ang-Ye saw how his father’s normally confident expression had faltered and how he misstepped here and there. He wasn’t used to struggling in a bending match.
Two– that the Firelord seemed to be having a pretty easy time in comparison. He lazily deflected Yota’s flames with his own and each move he made seemed precise and intentional.
Ang-Ye had listened to many of his father’s rants about the new Firelord. How he had only half the bravery of Firelord Ozai and none of the honor. How he would bankrupt the Fire Nation and uproot thousands of lives in the colonies. How he had forever disgraced their people and he bore the mark of shame and cowardice on his face.
But the man in front of him seemed far away from all that. He seemed like a strong leader, certainly a strong firebender to say the least.
His father shot an intense blast of fire towards the Firelord. He swiveled out of the way and Ang-Ye realized too late that the jet of flames was heading straight at him. The Firelord snapped his head around and in an instant a towering wall of flames surged up as a barricade. His father’s stray blast dissipated harmlessly into the fire. Ang-Ye stared at it, mesmerized. The flames seemed to flicker with a hundred colors, not just orange but blue and purple and green.
Ang-Ye’s father aimed another kick and the rainbow flames went out as Firelord Zuko’s attention was drawn back into the duel. His father threw several blasts in quick succession, taking advantage of the Firelord’s momentary distraction. The Firelord deflected all of them but on the last one, he stumbled backwards and lost his footing. Yota threw another massive blast and the force of deflecting it knocked the Firelord flat on his back. The crowd gasped.
As he stalked over to his opponent, the Firelord swung his leg out. A stream of fire shot out and encircled Ang-Ye’s father. The flames swirled up in a pillar of fire, immobilizing him. Firelord Zuko got up and slowly walked over. With a wave of his hands, the flames fell down. Ang-Ye’s father stared at him in terror. They exchanged a few more blows in rapid succession but it was over in seconds. The Firelord knocked him to the ground and held his fist over him.
Ang-Ye’s eyes widened. Never had he considered that the Agni Kai would end in his father being burned. Would the Firelord give him a matching scar on his face? Would his father disown Ang-Ye for putting him in this position? Would he fly off to a remote island to live in shame and leave Ang-Ye free?
A jet of fire shot from the Firelords fist and Ang-Ye closed his eyes on instinct. But when he opened them, his father was unhurt. A dark singed spot lay next to his head. The Firelord backed up and let him come to his feet.
Ang-Ye’s father immediately threw himself to the ground in prostration. The Firelord ignored him and turned to face the crowd.
“Good people of the Fire Nation. When I look out at you I see a proud, honorable people. A people who do not let themselves be trampled on or shamed. That is why for centuries we have invoked the Agni Kai to settle disputes and deliver justice. But equally as important as justice is mercy. As Firelord, it is my duty to guide and protect this Nation as if you were all my children. On my honor as a son of Agni, I will never strike one of you down in vengeance. But on my authority as Firelord, I hereby declare it unlawful for an adult to challenge any child under the age of eighteen to an Agni Kai.”
The crowd erupted in murmurs. The Firelord motioned his hand to someone on the edge of the crowd and several young women threw off their hoods to reveal shining gold and green headbands. The women started to disperse the crowd and the Firelord reached down to slip on his robe. As he did, Ang-Ye noticed a large branching scar on his chest. The Firelord noticed his stare and walked over.
Ang-Ye hastily lowered his head in respect and moved to bow down.
“That isn’t necessary, Ang-Ye.”
He used my name. The ruler of the Fire Nation used my name.
Ang-Ye looked up and saw that Zuko had gotten on one kneel to speak to him at eye level.
“My Lord, I am honored that you would fight an Agni Kai on my behalf,” he said, hating how his voice squeaked nervously. “But how did you know of our duel? And why would you choose to intervene for me?”
The Firelord smiled as if Ang-Ye were an adorable turtleduck.
“Well, to answer your first question, I have a lot of friends in the city, and someone let it slip to me that there was a crowd gathering to watch an Agni Kai. But to answer your second question, I was around your age when I fought my first Agni Kai. When you’re young, you may feel like you’re proving your worth and fighting for respect. But as you grow older and stronger, you realize that there isn’t much honor in besting a child, nor is there any problem that can’t be solved in a better way.”
Ang-Ye paused to take everything in.
“Is that how you got your scar?” Ang-Ye mustered up the courage to ask.
“The one on my face?” the Firelord asked.
Ang-Ye nodded. “And the one on your chest?”
“Well the one on my chest is a parting gift from my sister. But the one on my face is from my first Agni Kai, yes.”
“Is it true that…” Ang-Ye trailed off meekly.
Firelord Zuko shifted his hips to adjust his kneeling stance and looked back at Ang-Ye with a soft expression, far more gentle than he had ever seen a Fire Nation man look before.
“When I was about your age, I said something that upset my father, and made him feel embarrassed in front of his advisors. He challenged me to an Agni Kai, but I didn’t want to fight so I just asked for forgiveness. But my father believed that forgiveness and mercy made you weak. He gave me this scar so that everyone would see me and think I was a coward.”
“You’re not a coward,” Ang-Ye said quickly, then wondered why he said something so dumb. Was he trying to reassure the Firelord of his own bravery?
Firelord Zuko just smiled.
“And you’re not either. You were very brave to be challenged by your father to a duel and face him anyways. But you shouldn’t have needed to be. It wasn’t right for your father to challenge you to an Agni Kai. The ceremony and spectacle doesn’t erase its cruelty.”
Ang-Ye bowed with his fist to his palm.
“Thank you, Firelord Zuko.”
The Firelord rose to his feet.
“And one more thing.” He dug around in his pocket and placed something in Ang-Ye’s hand. He looked down. It was a carved wooden token, lacquered in red and gold, and it bore the flaming crest of the Fire Nation, as well as two circling dragons on the other side.
“If your father ever threatens to hurt you again, Agni Kai or otherwise, you need only come to the royal palace and show that, and you will have a room to stay.”
Ang-Ye stared down at the token in his hands, unsure what to say.
“Thank you so much my Lord. I think…. I think I’ll be okay for now. But I think I know someone who might need it more. See, I have this classmate…” Ang-Ye thought of Hizashi and his mother’s notorious wrath.
“Any child of the Fire Nation is a child under protection of the Firelord.”
A hand clasped his shoulder gently.
“Just remember this Ang-Ye, no one else can strip your honor or give it back. It’s something we give ourselves by choosing to do what’s right. Remember that, and I know you will grow up to be a great man one day.”
Ang-Ye bowed again as the Firelord turned to walk away. He turned the lacquer token over in his hand once more then slipped it in his pocket. There was someone he had to go find.