Embers: Chapter Two
Aug. 22nd, 2025 06:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
masterghandalfThis is a repost from Das_Sporking2; previous installments of this sporking may be found here.
Warning: This chapter contains discussion of bullying and abuse.
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Vathara’s Embers! Last time, Zuko practiced some firebending field medicine that might be something more, and Iroh had a flashback. And, a few red flags for where the fic is heading in the future aside, it wasn’t really that bad! Today, we’ll see if that streak continues, as Zuko and Iroh continue their journey and we begin to learn about a figure from the Avatarverse’s past and how he ties into the story’s present. Joining us today will be Aang and Zuko!
Chapter 2
Sometimes, Zuko thought, even the most boring schoolwork paid off.
Aang: And sometimes, you get to school and realize you got Guru Laghima and Guru Shoken mixed up again, and you didn’t study for your math test, and you forgot your pants… oh, and Zuko, your dad was there, too!
Zuko: *utterly baffled* What!?
Aang: …the last couple of those were a actually a dream, though.
Zuko: *is silent for a long moment, sighs heavily* Fine. Let’s get this over with.
The Fire Nation usually used coal for fuel. The Earth Kingdom used everything from wood to coal to odd gases that seeped up in rock-salt pits. Given he'd been trained in preparation for conquering more of it, he'd had to know a little about them all.
MG: This is another area where I normally wouldn’t mind an aside like this – we know upper crust Fire Nation kids are well educated, we’ve heard about their schools – but considering the fic’s persistent fascination with royalty and nobility and tendency to portray aristocratic characters as knowledgeable and/or worldly, and how good at administrating conquered territory Vathara thinks the Fire Nation is… I’m going to go ahead and start a counter here, to be on the safe side:
Divine Right To Rule: 1
Which was how he'd noticed a persistent scent of wood smoke, and followed it to a charcoal- burner's mound. Part of which he'd just carefully dug out, constructing a small but thick cup of not-yet-charred wood against the mound's side.
"Really, Prince Zuko, this is unnecessary…."
"I don't use equipment I haven't tested, Uncle." He held out a hand. "Rocks. Now."
"We could heat them by hand. You didn't have to undo a poor woodcutter's hard-"
Aang: Zuko, I’ve got to agree with your uncle on this one – what are you trying to do here, even?
Zuko: Aang, this is not me. Or it’s a different me – I have some guesses, but I didn’t do this part!
"Yes, I did!" But he didn't move. Didn't attack. No matter how much he wanted to break something, just to loosen some of the knots in his gut. "Uncle, will you just trust me on this?" Uncle Iroh frowned, but handed over the bag of pebbles.
Finally. Zuko dumped them unceremoniously into his makeshift kiln, punched down flames, and stood back. Waiting.
Aang: Maybe you’re trying to hatch dragon eggs? This story does have dragons in it, right?
"The smoke will draw attention," Uncle warned, as flames blazed in the nest of wood. "Whatever you are up to, nephew, it cannot be as crucial as avoiding the notice of-"
Crack.
Zuko let out a breath, suspicions confirmed as more explosive cracks shuddered through smoking wood. A relief, actually. Maybe the universe would settle for this as bad luck, and leave them alone for a while.
Uncle didn't say a word.
He waited until the fire was quiet, and a few minutes more. Damped flames with a push of his hands, and started digging for surviving rocks.
Uncle was still quiet, watching over his shoulder. Unreal.
Finally he had the survivors, still hot to the touch. And two half-charred logs, studded with shards of stone like Mai's little knives. "You said that was a stream sometimes," Zuko said bluntly. "I couldn't trust them."
"Water in the rocks," Uncle said slowly, staring at glittering edges. "Yes, of course." He glanced at Zuko. "How did you know?"
Zuko: Uncle, you just said they were part of what’s sometimes a stream bed – I guess it makes sense some of the rocks might have water seeped into them.
MG: I’ve wrestled with this a bit, and after some thought, I’ve decided to give a point here. It’s not terrible, and certainly not a dealbreaker or anything, but I do think that even with the backstory we’re about to get, it does seem to strain credibility a bit that Zuko would think of this and, more importantly, that Iroh wouldn’t. I can’t help but think that “if you heat up rocks with water in them with firebending, they explode” is a phenomenon he would have encountered, even by accident, at some point in his decades-long career as a soldier and master firebender, and might consider that could be an issue with rocks found near a source of water. I get that Vathara wanted Zuko to be the more knowledgeable one for a change, and it ties into a bit of backstory we’ll be seeing momentarily (which I also think is kind of unnecessary, for different reasons)… I just think this specific issue is something Iroh should’ve seen coming too, especially since he knew the rocks came from a dry, for the time being, riverbed.
Prince Stuko: 6
"Zuzu, can you heat these up for me? I want to play a game…."
"Oh look, Zuzu's an earthbender! And he can't even get that right!"
"How do I learn anything?" Zuko said grimly, blowing on pebbles to cool them, before he dropped them back into Uncle's bag. "The hard way."
Zuko: *groaning loudly* Of course it was Azula. I’d say she’s usually sneakier about her cruelty than that… but it sounds like this was when we were little kids, and I still remember her shoving Ty Lee over that one time because she did a better cartwheel than her. She could be exactly that petty.
Don't laugh, Iroh told himself firmly, deliberately ignoring Zuko's trembling hands as they placed warm stones on a cranky blacksmith's back. Most people wouldn't have noticed even a twitch. Indeed, the small crowd of onlookers taking part of their midday break in this inn had seen nothing; they were too curious of strangers, and too incautious, to have held their tongues if they had. But he knew his nephew. More, he'd led men in war for many years. He knew, even if the boy himself did not know, when a young man was heart-wrenchingly afraid. Afraid, and ready to run. Or attack, burying the shame of fear in action.
Don't laugh. This is a battle - not of the body, but of the soul. Remember the general you once were, and lead.
Zuko: *rubbing his forehead* Okay? I, uh, guess we’ve changed scenes now, unless the whole thing with the charcoal pile happened in the middle of a village, which doesn’t seem very likely. And am I supposed to understand why I’m apparently so distressed here? Is it just because I’m trying something I’ve not done before? That would be awkward, but this seems like it’s supposed to be much worse. Or am I worried these rocks are going to blow up too? *beat* Though honestly, getting chased out of town by angry Earth Kingdom peasants because I accidentally blew up their blacksmith would be about right for how my life was going at that point…
So far, his story to the local innkeeper - that they were healer and apprentice, there'd been a Fire Nation raid, how unfortunate, not even time to grab supplies –
MG: Hrm. Something about that phrasing bugs me. It’s the “how unfortunate,” specifically – it just sounds flip and dismissive of how traumatic surviving such a raid would actually be for people. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it.
seemed to be holding up. They'd treated a few other men already; apparently the village healer was up to her elbows in caring for three difficult pregnancies, and these were but simple injuries, left to wait. Though perhaps their patients were also taking advantage of the fact that the strangers were refugees, and so all but forced to charge less for any business at all.
It didn't matter. He knew enough battlefield care to pass, as did Zuko. It should suffice, so long as no one asked them anything too complicated.
Aang: …I’m pretty sure Sokka would say that the laws of humor would demand that the whole village would immediately come down with septapox and you’d be their only hope or something like that.
Or anything at all, at the moment. Fortunately, the blacksmith was lying on an inn bench, unable to see Zuko lower his head and breathe, slow and deliberately even. If there were candles about, Iroh was uncomfortably sure they would have been blazing in time to that rhythm. It was a wonder the inn's hearth wasn't flaring.
Zuko: Hey! My self-control’s better than that… usually…
Well, perhaps not quite a wonder. Zuko knew they were watched. The young man was careful. Sometimes.
Zuko: See?
But why is he afraid? Iroh wondered, setting to work on muscles knotted by a long morning pounding iron. There is no danger here, nothing to fight. We are here to help this man, as we have helped his neighbors-
Zuko: Maybe it’s the fact that if I screwed this up, I’d have a very large, strong man angry with me?
Hmm. Aside from his uncle, when was the last time Zuko had helped anyone, without suffering for it?
Our helmsman, in the storm. The Avatar.
Aang: Uh, I was there for that second one. You took an arrow straight to the mask during that fight; you were out pretty good for a while. Does that count as suffering?
Zuko: *rubbing his forehead* Yes.
Heh. His nephew might think Iroh knew nothing of that little escapade, but he was old, not blind. One day despairing, certain Zhao would take everything he longed for - and the next, simply going to bed? With a great many bruises, no less.
Ah, but I wish I could have seen the look on Zhao's face.
MG: …yeah, I’ll buy that. We know Iroh knew Zuko was the Blue Spirit by the time they were in Ba Sing Se; I don’t think we know when he found out, but he’s smart enough and he had all the pieces… he could have put it together at pretty much any time after “The Blue Spirit,” I think.
Iroh channeled that amusement into an approving smile as Zuko stepped in and began to work. Careful to make it seem as if the shimmer of heat were from the stones fished in and out of their camp pot on the inn's hearth, and not his hands. "Gently," Iroh instructed, matter of fact as any master to an apprentice. Act as if this is ordinary, and everyone will believe that it is. "Always ease the muscles first, to be sure they are not strained further."
"Ha!" their patient rumbled, not quite dislodging smooth stones. "Think I can't take it, old man?"
"You are a veritable wellspring of yang chi, Master Blacksmith," Iroh said cheerfully, waving Zuko back to work when the young man hesitated. "But healing requires balance. So some gentleness is called for."
Advice he would do well to remember himself. That demonstration, with the pebbles-
He could have told me. I would have believed him.
Yet, it seemed Zuko didn't believe that.
No. It is more than that. Iroh considered Zuko's actions, and their result. By not explaining, he gained the freedom to act, and so remove the danger to both of us.
Aang: Uh, I’m… not really sure I follow. Then again, Gyatso always said that it’s truth that sets us free, while lies and illusions keep us tied down… but I’m not really sure this is what he was talking about…
Which meant Zuko had expected to have his concerns dismissed. Though why his nephew would believe anyone would deny the crown prince his right to protect himself-
I am a fool.
Learned the hard way, had he?
Ozai. Or Azula.
Zuko: …I think Uncle would’ve figured that out already. Dad was his younger brother – he knew what he was, and what Azula was. Better than I did, sometimes…
The girl, most likely. His brother's cruelty was more likely to be words and fire than tricking a young boy into harming himself. River rocks to explode in an innocent's face - oh yes. That was definitely Azula.
Zuko: Words and burning half my face off, you mean… but yeah, I can’t really see him playing with rocks like that. His cruelty was always… bigger.
Which meant that he'd set his nephew to work in an inn full of strangers with the memory of Azula's mockery ringing in his head. Oh dear.
Well. At least he has not run yet. Or set anyone on fire.
Still. It would be wise to draw this to a close, while his nephew's nerve still held. Pain and danger, Zuko would face without flinching. The demons of his own mind….
Three years, and I thought I had at least scouted them all. But those years were without Ozai, and without Azula.
My enemy's forces are more deeply entrenched than I ever knew. And far stronger than I had imagined.
MG: Hmmm, okay. I have some problems with this scene. Mostly, in that I think it’s designed more to tell us about Zuko than it is about Iroh, in that it’s running through things for our benefit that I think Iroh already knew or would have figured out (as Zuko said, Ozai was his brother, and he knew what both Ozai and Azula were like and what they were capable of, and he was present at Zuko’s Agni Kai – he knows the sort of abuse Zuko has suffered, and how badly the trauma of that has damaged him). But, beyond that, I think it also points to one of the fic’s deeper issues, namely its handling of trauma and the double-standard thereof. Zuko’s trauma is always given tremendous sympathy, and other characters are expected to be understanding about it and judged harshly if Vathara thinks they’re not being sympathetic enough to him. Other characters’ trauma… is often not given the same courtesy. When we get to Vathara’s take on Katara’s backstory, you’ll see more about what I mean…
As they had been, at Ba Sing Se….
No. I will not lose another son-
"Uncle!" Zuko hissed, elbow jabbing him.
Ah, yes. Better to focus, if he did not wish to lose his nephew right now. "I would advise you take it easy for a few days," he informed the blacksmith as Zuko started packing up. "Or at least, no more ostrich-horse lifting contests for a while, hmm?" he chuckled. "Better to let them carry you."
Aang: *stunned* Ostrich-horse lifting contests? Is that a thing people actually do?
A snort of laughter. "Where's the fun in that?"
The hearty backslap that accompanied it was enough to drive most men to their knees; Iroh let himself shift with it, only staggering enough to confirm their watchers' image of him as a lucky, harmless old man. Still smiling, he mentally held his breath; Zuko was twitching, within a heartbeat of attacking the man-
Zuko: For being loud, obnoxious and kind of stupid? I wasn’t that bad, was I? And what makes this guy worse than everyone else I was apparently treating today? Trust me, when I think of people who remind me of Azula, giant muscly Earth Kingdom blacksmiths aren’t it!
MG: I think it’s just supposed to be that this was building all day and this is when you finally hit your breaking point, but some of the wording does make it sound like it was something about this guy in particular that set you off, yes.
Wrestled down the rage, and stayed still. Though Iroh suspected the rocks in their pot were much, much hotter than they should be.
"I thank you for the use of your hearth, madam," Iroh bowed to the openly eavesdropping innkeeper. "But if there is no one else for now, I just remembered some supplies my nephew and I will need for our journey."
"You can come in again before the dinner crowd, cutie," the elderly woman dimpled at him.
Zuko: *groans and facepalms*
MG: Well, Vathara got “Iroh is apparently extremely attractive to women of his own age” right from the show, at least?
"Ah, but you are too kind." Another bow, and he subtly dragged his disbelieving nephew out, pot and all.
A left, two rights, and they were behind the solid wall of a bakery. No houses too close, due to the risk of fire - and no one would be surprised at a few stray drifts of smoke. "Nephew. Breathe."
"Breathe? I don't need to breathe, Uncle! If we've got enough, let's get our supplies and get out-"
"Lee," Iroh said, very deliberately. "I believe, as your master, when I tell you to breathe - you breathe."
Shock, painted on Zuko's face. Betrayal. Anger-
Shoulders slumped in resignation, and Zuko breathed.
Zuko: …okay, that probably is about how this conversation would have gone with me like I was back then, but… I get why Uncle couldn’t call me my real name in public like this, but I’m not sure why my fake name was what got through to me here? Especially when I hadn’t been going by it very long at this point? I’m not even sure I’d have reflexively answered to “Lee” yet…
That won't hold long, Iroh reflected. Attack, and he will fight. It's what he does. What he knows. But if I maneuver elsewhere…. "When I was a younger man, I dealt with soldiers who had once been captured by our enemies. Who had not been… treated well." He grimaced, recalling how he had been then; proud and fierce and not nearly as kind as Zuko likely imagined. "And I did not treat them well. I had not lost what they had lost, and I did not understand."
"Uncle," Zuko said stiffly, "soldiers in the past aren't important. Not compared to soldiers who might be here, right now-"
"They are important," Iroh interrupted. "You are important, nephew." Zuko eyed him warily. "I'm not a soldier, Uncle."
"Not in name," Iroh admitted. "But you were confined, and harmed by those you had no choice but to obey, and unable to free yourself, without aid-"
"Don't talk about my father like that!"
"And when you thought you had won your freedom," Iroh bore brutally on, "your nightmare returned, and threatened you with new chains. I have seen this fear, nephew! I knew it in their hearts. I know it in yours!"
"I'm not afraid of her!"
Quick as a striking snake, Iroh moved. "I am." Wrapped in his arms, Zuko sputtered incoherently.
MG: Okay, I have to say… I do like this exchange, quite a bit. We clearly establish Iroh’s empathy and love for his nephew, his desire to help him heal, drawing on his own war experiences to figure out a way to reach him without causing Zuko to throw his hackles up and wall him out entirely, and also the tacit admission that Iroh himself hasn’t always been a good man. I think this is one of the moments where Vathara really shows that when she focuses on the Zuko-Iroh dynamic and doesn’t let a lot of the other issues the fic will develop as it goes on overshadow it, she really does very well with it. I do have to wonder why we needed Zuko to have PTSD triggered by heating stones specifically in order to have this moment, though; I think that just feels somewhat contrived. I feel like Zuko’s own feelings of inadequacy from his upbringing, his father’s abuse, constantly being judged against Azula the prodigy, his need to prove himself worthy mixed with his fear of failure at performing a very difficult technique essentially in front of an audience could have brought his panic attack on by themselves without that element. But maybe that’s just me.
"She is skilled, and she is deadly," Iroh said, voice low. "She haunts your mind, and you cannot rest. But you must, nephew. Remember when we visited the Northern Air Temple, years ago." Zuko had vowed to search every Air Temple for traces of the Avatar, and his nephew never spoke lightly. But even a scarred, angry teenager had seen the wisdom in keeping Ji the Mechanist's work for the Fire Nation a secret.
MG: AFAIK, “Ji” is Vathara’s own creation for the Mechanist’s name. The original show just calls him by his title; the live-action show called him Sai (and he was left out of Shyamalan’s version entirely, no doubt to his very great relief).
This was not the first time the pair of them had traveled in Earth Kingdom brown. Yet that was only hours, to search quietly, Iroh knew. This has been days.
But he could not falter. Zuko needed his confidence, now more than ever. Exile was crushing to the soul; exile with the threat of agonizing death, far more terrifying.
"Lee and Mushi are but simple refugees," he said, voice deliberately steady. "To be always on watch, always searching for an enemy in the shadows - it marks us. And we must be as two leaves in the forest. It is the only way to survive." He held on tight, rubbing at too-thin shoulders. "I am here. I will not abandon you to her again."
Zuko: *quietly, clearly on the verge of tearing up, but trying to hide it* I know, Uncle. Believe me, I know I didn’t always act like it, but… I know.
"…I'm not afraid of her." A low, bitter whisper.
No, Iroh thought wryly. Not so much as you are of everyone, my nephew.
Aang: *raises his hand* Uh… I’m still a little afraid of her, does that count?
Not a fear of injury, or death. On the battlefield, his nephew could face any enemy-
Save two.
Aang: *to Zuko* Wouldn’t that be three? Me, Azula, and your dad? Or does one of us not count for some reason?
But to walk among those who might not be your enemies… he'd never had the chance to teach Zuko that. He'd never realized he had to.
That ends. Now.
"You should know, nephew," Iroh said matter-of-factly, voice still low, "that what we are doing is one of the most difficult and dangerous tasks in this world. To survive in a nation not your own, among ways and customs foreign to all you know - it is hard. Very hard. I do not believe Azula could do it." He pulled back enough to smile. "But I know you can."
Azula: *sniffs loudly and disdainfully from just out of sight, clearly resisting the urge to remind everyone just who conquered the Earth Kingdom by infiltration*
MG: Not giving a point here, because of the context – Iroh is talking Zuko up to give him confidence, so of course he’s praising his nephew’s skills in a rather hyperbolic way.
Gold eyes blinked, incredulous and disbelieving. But Zuko did not pull away. "…How?"
"Have you not heard the proverb of the dragon and the mountain? The mountain is strong. It seems invincible. And to many things, it is. But if a fierce enough blow strikes it, it is only rocks and dust." He gripped Zuko's shoulder, light but firm. "The dragon seems weaker. It is mortal; if struck, it bleeds. But the dragon can move, and avoid the blow, and choose its own time to strike."
MG: And now I’m just reminded of the Emperor’s defiance of Shan Yu in Disney’s Mulan. “No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it.” Though that might make more sense if this was an earthbender/airbender war.
Good, Iroh thought, feeling Zuko's breathing even out under his hands. The fear is far from dead, but we have weakened it. He is thinking-
"The dragons are dead, Uncle."
Ah. Well. That was an honest objection, given what Zuko knew.
Aang: Or maybe it’s taking it a bit too literally? It’s a proverb, not some sort of secret code about dragons… please don’t tell me it’s a secret code about dragons…
MG: *knows where the fic is going with dragons, manages to avoid saying anything*
Do I dare? He still loves my brother, and fears him. The risk, if I am wrong….
The cost could be high. But the cost to his nephew, to the world, if he let Zuko fall back into that pit of awful doubt-
Mentally crossing his fingers, Iroh prayed. "So they said of the Avatar." Now Zuko did struggle free, shaken. "You lied to Grandfather?"
MG: Hrm. Especially considering how important dragons are going to be down the line in the fic, and what a big deal “The Firebending Masters” made about Iroh having supposedly killed the last dragons in his youth, this seems like a rather anticlimactic place to have this reveal in the fic? Especially since we’re not given any context here for why that would be important, though Vathara is probably assuming anyone reading this fic has seen the show and knows the full story. Anyway, I do think this is a moment, albeit a minor one, that shows that Embers doesn’t, despite the claims of a lot of its fandom, stand on its own and requires keeping the original show in mind to really understand and follow.
Stations of the Canon: 1
Carefully. Carefully. "The Moon Spirit taught waterbenders, my nephew. Would you have followed Zhao's path, and drawn its blood?"
"No!" Zuko recoiled, horrified. "Is that why he came - and I…." He jerked away, fists clenched.
Iroh stiffened, recognizing the huddled shame, the way Zuko had turned so his scar shrouded any expression. He never cries. Not since Lady Ursa….
"Is it my fault she's dead?"
Yue. He'd told his nephew everything, those endless days drifting on the raft. The princess had had a rare courage, to give up her life for her people. It deserved to be remembered. "No," Iroh said firmly. "You did not know Zhao's plan. I did not know. I could not stop him in time. Her death was brave, and her own choice. It is not your fault."
Zuko: …is this what Sokka was going on about that one time about how his first girlfriend turned into the moon? That was the Northern Water Tribe princess? I really need to hear that whole story sometime… I had… other things on my mind while all that was actually happening. But I am kind of confused why I’m so upset about this now? I never even knew her. And at this point in my life, I was too wrapped up in my own troubles to spend much time thinking about other peoples’.
"But I'm the one who took the Avatar away." Zuko swallowed dryly. "If he'd been there… if that waterbender hadn't followed me, she would have been there, and - if I'd known, I would have…."
Iroh kept his voice level, feeling the precipice his nephew stood on. "What would you have done?"
"…I would have waited."
Do not yell at him, Iroh told himself, unable to hide a sigh. He has been lost a very long time. You cannot expect him to recognize the path in an instant. "And if you had been there, and Zhao had overpowered them? What would you have done?"
"I'm not a traitor!"
Zuko: Zhao also tried to have me killed, remember? I sure didn’t have a problem trying to fight him later in the battle! I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d met him before he tried to kill the Moon Spirit, but I don’t think I’d have been feeling very friendly then, either.
"No, you are not," Iroh nodded. "I do not believe you ever could be. No matter what you chose."
Zuko was shaking his head, as if to drive away pain. "It doesn't matter now. She's gone." Something in Iroh's heart eased, recognizing the truth. "You would have helped the Moon."
"I wouldn't have helped the Avatar!"
Aang: This is after you rescued me from Zhao one time already, right? I think “defeat Zhao now, get back to chasing the Avatar later” was something you’d kind of already worked out you were willing to do?
"I said nothing of the airbender, nephew," Iroh said deliberately. "Two who fight for the same cause are not always allies." He shrugged, as if it were of no importance. "I will admit, I am curious why you would choose so. It would have been a noble effort, but you are not usually the first to approve of dealing with spirits."
"They don't exactly approve of me, or none of this would have happened," Zuko said venomously.
MG: Based on some of what’s coming later in the fic… this may not just be Zuko bemoaning his usual bad luck. This may be actual foreshadowing.
Zuko: …great.
Closed his eyes, and gripped the bridge of his nose, fighting back frustration. "Uncle. In case you didn't notice, we've been living on a ship the past three years. If we didn't pay attention to the moon, we'd be dead." An explosive sigh, with only a hint of steam. "We need supplies, and we need to get moving."
Aang: Am I the only one who thinks that conversation was kind of all over the place?
Zuko: No, you’re not. And I get I wasn’t in a great place mentally at the time, but I’m still not sure where some of that came from. At least Uncle still sounds like himself?
Nodding, Iroh followed his nephew toward the market. Still a bit sore of foot, but much lighter of heart.
His spirit is wounded, but it still fights. He needs only time. And a little… encouragement.
"Well, if it isn't a little deserter," a smug voice drawled. "Front lines too hot for you?"
Spirits, Iroh thought darkly, eyeing the massive Earth Kingdom swordsman smirking their way, you are not helping.
MG: Okay… here I’m giving a point, with I think more cause than the last one. Zuko and Iroh have been traveling through the Earth Kingdom without an ostrich-horse, likely on a different route at a different pace, with different goals (ie, pretending to be healers) but, spoilers, they still run into the exact same asshole whose swords Zuko ends up stealing. What’re the odds!
Stations of the Canon: 2
Patience. Patience, and shadows.
"Who do you think you're fooling, old man? That boy's no healer."
Wait. For the right time to strike.
"Did his family pay you to take him, or did you just pick up a stray?"
Breathe. Crouch. There.
"Who's there?"
Swordsman, yes. Good one, no. Grab, pull, use the solid wall against the almost as solid skull-
The man was out. And the swords were….
Spin, and cut the air. Feel their movement; not as separate blades, but two halves of a whole.
Not bad. Not the best, but not bad.
Zuko: …are we already at the point of me stealing that guy’s swords now? Without any sort of transition or buildup or anything? And when this really happened, he did a lot worse than just call me names, too. Remembering how he made Uncle dance for that coin was half the reason mugging him later felt so good. I robbed some people who didn’t deserve it as the Blue Spirit, but that guy did.
How a bragging lowlife like this had ended up with master-quality swords, he'd never know. Bastard hadn't been taking care of them properly, that was certain.
Aang: *shrugs* Maybe he used to be a soldier? Maybe he stole them from someone else? Maybe they were his dad’s and he inherited them? Could be lots of reasons!
Dao sheathed, he melted into the night. No real town watch here, but there was always the chance of wandering drunks, especially with such a full moon.
He made it back to their shelter in a stable's hayloft; the innkeeper hadn't been at all averse to arranging that instead of a paid room, once Uncle worked her over with hot stones and flattery. Which he really didn't want to think about. Ever.
The mask, Zuko tucked under the pile of supplies Uncle would have him pack in the morning. He should do the same for the dao….
Zuko: *confused* Where’d I get the mask? When this really happened there was a cart in town selling masks, and one of them was like the one I wore the first time I was the Blue Spirit; that’s where I got the new one. But I don’t think Vathara mentioned that at all? In fact, I think we’ve completely skipped over me deciding to become the Blue Spirit again in the first place, even though this is supposed to be from my point of view?
Stations of the Canon: 3
No. I won them. They deserve better.
He hadn't weighted himself down with swords to raid the North Pole, not when he'd all but planned on going swimming. But he'd always carried the cleaning kit, ever since he first started learning blades. Through the invasion, the raft, their mad flight from Azula - always.
Unsheathing twin blades, Zuko peered along the edge of one for nicks and scratches, and set to work.
MG: Okay, this is another nice detail that I like.
"I wondered if you would find him."
Sharpening stone in hand, Zuko hesitated, then kept working. "You don't want me to give them back."
"No, I do not," Uncle Iroh said thoughtfully, seated cross-legged in his bedding. "Our chances will be better if you are armed. Though it is just as well we are leaving early." He stroked his beard. "And since our men have never spoken of your extra training, even when Zhao asked - and believe me, he did ask, when he conscripted our men for the fleet - no one should connect this theft with us."
Zuko: *flatly* Zhao saw my swords. He knew I was the Blue Spirit; he knew I could use them. I don’t know if he ever told anyone else, but he didn’t need the crew to say anything to figure it out himself.
Zuko tried not to wince. "Theft? We're at war!"
Aang: I don’t think you were at war personally with that guy? Is one person declaring war on another person something you do in the Fire Nation these days?
"The Fire Nation may be. We are not." Iroh regarded him sternly. "You have always kept your honor, Prince Zuko. Do not lose it to despair. A leader of men does not allow his soldiers to pillage.
MG: …I’m now reminded that I’ve read that in the ancient Mediterranean world, at least, soldiers expected spoils from defeated enemies and cities as part of their pay. Good commanders might try to organize the process or put some limits on it, but nobody really tried to stop it outright, nor would the troops stand for it if they did. I’m less familiar with how that would’ve worked with armies in East Asia, but I have a hard time imagining the Fire Nation being more restrained about that sort of thing than, say, the Romans.
The Superior Element: 1
That way lies hatred for the Fire Nation, and not a future of harmonious rule, but a bloody conquest that will never be satisfied." The stern look softened. "And a wise leader first commands himself."
MG: Oooh, boy. Here we get the very first, mildest taste of something we’re going to come back to later… how Vathara thinks Fire Nation rule really works. We’ll have more to say on this as the fic goes on… but let’s just say that I have a hard time seeing people like Ozai or Zhao giving the slightest damn about “harmonious rule,” or Azula doing it for any reason other than cynical pragmatism and personal benefit… and even Fire Lord “We Must Share Our Peace and Prosperity With The World” Sozin committed genocide on a whole nation mostly for being in his way when he was trying to find the next Avatar. We see towns and cities under Fire Nation occupation in the show, too, and “harmonious rule” sure isn’t what’s happening there! And Iroh’s an experienced enough general to know better than to spout platitudes like this when talking about violent conquest. So, sorry, Vathara. Not buying it. And this is going to get much worse.
The Superior Element: 2
Steel seemed to burn in his hands. Zuko swallowed, and laid it down. "…He called you a liar."
Zuko: And again, it’s pretty mild compared to the real guy, who made Uncle dance for money by striking the ground by his feet with his swords so he’d get stabbed if he stopped. Just wanting to remind everyone of that.
MG: I actually suspect the focus on “he called you a liar” specifically being fic!Zuko’s berserk button may be foreshadowing for something that’ll be revealed down the line, so stick a pin in that…
"There will always be those who believe the worst of men," Iroh said easily. "You are not a deserter, Prince Zuko. That, we both know."
Do we? "I'm not fooling anyone as a healer!" Hold the temper. Hold it. Hay and fire were a bad mix. "Uncle, this is crazy, I'll never - real healing takes years to learn, it's going to be obvious I - I can't do it!"
A sigh. But it didn't sound resigned, or disappointed. More… decided. "Nephew," Iroh said quietly. "Come here."
Biting his lip, Zuko did.
"Sit," Iroh instructed, lighting a small flame in the palm of his hand. "Fire and healing are more closely entwined than most will ever know. Fire is not only destruction; it is passion, will, and life itself. And that life can affect other lives." He held the flame in front of Zuko. "Your mother may have shown you this."
My mother?
Zuko: …why am I the narrator now?
MG: Also, again, this feels like a moment that hit harder in the show when it was actually built up to. Getting the whole “fire is life” thing so early, and in the context of just being something Iroh is telling Zuko, doesn’t feel nearly as effective.
"The motions are like what you use to raise warmth in your hands. Only instead of the heat of your body, you use the flame. Gently… do not pull, but coax it to you… blend the energy of the flame with your own…."
It was like ice giving way underfoot. One moment it was flame. The next-
Lighter. Different.
The circular motions fell into place, reminding him of the Avatar's sweep of calm air to storm, the waterbender's shove that froze waves into ice. The fire was more than flame, but it had to be coaxed there, held, persuaded….
"Good," Uncle said softly. "Now, let us see what you can do for an old man's sore feet."
Blinking - since when did his fire have bits of green? - it took a moment for his uncle's meaning to sink in. He can't be serious.
"Try," Iroh urged. "Only try. If it does not work - then yes, you may call your old uncle a fool, and we will find another way."
Aang: …if it doesn’t work, won’t you end up burning your uncle’s feet? I mean, I guess that’s a vote of confidence, but even so…
"Don't say things like that!" Zuko snapped, heartsick. I said that. Because I wanted to believe it. Because otherwise Azula was lying, again, and I wanted to go home so much…. "You're not a fool, and you're not a liar, and he had no right!"
No one should say that to Uncle again. Ever.
Green. Bright as moonlight.
Aang: *confused* Is moonlight green in your world?
MG: No, I think we just have two separate ideas – the fire’s brightness, and its color – juxtaposed kind of weirdly.
Not hot, but warm as summer noon.
I can't hold this long….
Near, but not touching skin. Palms both turned outward now; he moved them over road- strained ankles, feeling strength leeched out of him as it fed frayed energies. In his mind's eye, hints of copper warmed to antique gold.
"Enough," Uncle said firmly, wriggling his toes. "Reach back, and allow me to redirect what I can."
A wash of warmth, and sparks of pain burned away like dead leaves. Zuko lost the motion, flames falling apart into smoke. "…I couldn't hold it." He was not going to cry. Even if he was - tired. So tired of failing.
"That you could summon it at all, is more than I have ever been able to do." Zuko stared at him.
MG: So… yeah, this is another bit I rather like. I always enjoy it when depictions of magic systems go into what it actually feels like to hold and use the power, especially with a magic system as kinetic as bending. And we officially have Zuko graduating to full-fledged fire healing with this moment (though I also like that he doesn’t master it right away, either; his skill here is still flawed, which makes sense for him to be just starting out), and so we have the fic’s initial premise! …if only it didn’t end up rather burying that under so much else…
Iroh gave him a wry smile. "Your mother showed me the kata many times, yet I could never master it. She said it had been passed down in her family. A technique based on legends. A secret, and a gift, from Kuzon of Byakko."
"Kuzon?" Zuko blanched.
Aang: Kuzon? Like… my friend Kuzon, or some other Kuzon? It was a pretty common name back then… and Zuko, I thought Avatar Roku was your mother’s grandfather? Or is this her other grandfather?
Zuko: *shrugs*
MG: Okay, so… yes, it’s the same Kuzon (more on that in a moment). And yes, while the fic will go into it in much, much more detail down the line, this is the first taste we’re going to get of how Vathara is going to be completely rewriting the Fire royal family tree, including Ursa’s parentage but also how various other characters are related to each other, in ways that, IMO, mostly make things more complicated rather than less.
"Your mother's grandfather. A powerful firebender, with quite the sense of humor, from his letters." Iroh raised curious brows. "You have heard the name?"
MG: Not really sure “quite the sense of humor” is the first thing I’d think of as regards to how the fic is going to be taking Kuzon’s characterization… maybe Vathara just assumed that he must have had a sense of humor, to be friends with Aang? *shrugs*
Zuko swallowed. "The Avatar… I overheard him say it." Kind of. "Someone he knew, a hundred years ago."
"Kuzon would have been fifteen," Iroh said thoughtfully. "It is possible. And perhaps that is why I could never master it. I have studied the waterbenders, but never have I held my own against an airbender."
MG: Don’t think I didn’t notice that Vathara specifically makes Kuzon Aang’s older friend by several years; we’ll be coming back to this as the fic explores their dynamic a bit more, but for now, stick a pin in this, too, because I think it’s worth noting and remembering.
Held my own. For all of two minutes. "Why would you study waterbenders?"
"Wisdom can be found in many places, Prince Zuko. Have you not studied the waterbender who bested you?"
Zuko: …well, this is just sort of turning into a day to talk about everything, isn’t it? This is what Uncle told me when he was teaching me how to redirect lightning… why has this story moved it here?
MG: Also… Katara is mentioned here in a vaguely positive way! Keep the memory of it close, people, because it’s something we’re not going to be seeing much of for a long, long time…
Zuko tried not to snarl. "…Yes." And she'd better have some new tricks, next time. He was not going to be crushed under a column of ice again.
"Study her not only to defeat her, but to learn what may be useful for your own form," Iroh advised, running a careful hand over his nephew's back. "Does that hurt?"
Zuko frowned. "No." Which didn't make sense.
His uncle smiled. "Then it would seem, Prince Zuko, that we are not lying."
Realization sank in, and Zuko buried his head in his hands to muffle a disbelieving groan.
Oh, Agni. I'm going to have to go through with this….
Aang: But, look on the bright side, you’ve learned a new firebending technique! That’s got to count for something, right?
Zuko: *groans and facepalms in a manner remarkably reminiscent of his fic counterpart*
"Rest now." Iroh ruffled his short hair. "We will finish with your blades in the morning."
MG: And on that note, we bring the chapter to a close! No Author Note today. First off, I can’t help but feel like this chapter is somewhat disjointed. Some parts of it are good, especially a lot of the Zuko and Iroh discussions and Zuko making the jump to actual fire healing. Other parts are weaker… as I’ve mentioned, I don’t really see much point in giving Zuko PTSD about heating stones specifically, when I think the scene would’ve worked just as well with the trauma we know he already has from canon. We still somehow get our confrontation with the jerkass with the dao swords, but it’s heavily truncated so the guy doesn’t come across as being quite as horrible as his canon self, so Zuko mugging him feels more disproportionate, and we also miss some of the context of Zuko becoming the Blue Spirit again that makes the plot point kind of confusing. Our first trace of Fire Nation whitewashing crops up in this chapter as well, though it’s not nearly as bad as it’ll get later on. And, of course, there’s Kuzon. That Kuzon was going to be important, and was possibly connected to Zuko, was a fairly common theory back in the day, though it had largely died down by the time I got into the fandom because of how late in the show’s run it was and it was fairly clear by that point that if Kuzon was going to be important, it would have probably come up already. But it’s always been something that felt like a stretch to me, and I don’t much care for it as a concept. I love the idea of the Chekhov’s Armory as much as the next person… but some background details really just should be background details. Not everything needs to be of vital importance to the story, and it can actually make the world feel smaller if it tries to make every background detail some vital clue about something else. But I’m not sure Vathara agrees with me on that, because she pulls a number of other background details and bits of popular fanon and spins them off into elaborate plotlines, many of which I think end up doing more harm than good to the story. I guess I just think Kuzon never needed to be anything more than “a guy from the Fire Nation Aang was friends with before the war, whose existence proves to Aang that the Fire Nation aren’t inherently bad and he and Zuko specifically don’t have to be enemies.” Anyway, that’s all for today! Next time, Zuko gets a new ostrich horse… and fair warning, we’ll be dealing with some fairly heavy topics. We’ll see you then! Our counts stand at:
Divine Right to Rule: 1
Elemental Determinism: 1
Prince Stuko: 6
Stations of the Canon: 2
The Superior Element: 2
The Ultimate Firebenders: 3
Warning: This chapter contains discussion of bullying and abuse.
MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Vathara’s Embers! Last time, Zuko practiced some firebending field medicine that might be something more, and Iroh had a flashback. And, a few red flags for where the fic is heading in the future aside, it wasn’t really that bad! Today, we’ll see if that streak continues, as Zuko and Iroh continue their journey and we begin to learn about a figure from the Avatarverse’s past and how he ties into the story’s present. Joining us today will be Aang and Zuko!
Chapter 2
Sometimes, Zuko thought, even the most boring schoolwork paid off.
Aang: And sometimes, you get to school and realize you got Guru Laghima and Guru Shoken mixed up again, and you didn’t study for your math test, and you forgot your pants… oh, and Zuko, your dad was there, too!
Zuko: *utterly baffled* What!?
Aang: …the last couple of those were a actually a dream, though.
Zuko: *is silent for a long moment, sighs heavily* Fine. Let’s get this over with.
The Fire Nation usually used coal for fuel. The Earth Kingdom used everything from wood to coal to odd gases that seeped up in rock-salt pits. Given he'd been trained in preparation for conquering more of it, he'd had to know a little about them all.
MG: This is another area where I normally wouldn’t mind an aside like this – we know upper crust Fire Nation kids are well educated, we’ve heard about their schools – but considering the fic’s persistent fascination with royalty and nobility and tendency to portray aristocratic characters as knowledgeable and/or worldly, and how good at administrating conquered territory Vathara thinks the Fire Nation is… I’m going to go ahead and start a counter here, to be on the safe side:
Divine Right To Rule: 1
Which was how he'd noticed a persistent scent of wood smoke, and followed it to a charcoal- burner's mound. Part of which he'd just carefully dug out, constructing a small but thick cup of not-yet-charred wood against the mound's side.
"Really, Prince Zuko, this is unnecessary…."
"I don't use equipment I haven't tested, Uncle." He held out a hand. "Rocks. Now."
"We could heat them by hand. You didn't have to undo a poor woodcutter's hard-"
Aang: Zuko, I’ve got to agree with your uncle on this one – what are you trying to do here, even?
Zuko: Aang, this is not me. Or it’s a different me – I have some guesses, but I didn’t do this part!
"Yes, I did!" But he didn't move. Didn't attack. No matter how much he wanted to break something, just to loosen some of the knots in his gut. "Uncle, will you just trust me on this?" Uncle Iroh frowned, but handed over the bag of pebbles.
Finally. Zuko dumped them unceremoniously into his makeshift kiln, punched down flames, and stood back. Waiting.
Aang: Maybe you’re trying to hatch dragon eggs? This story does have dragons in it, right?
"The smoke will draw attention," Uncle warned, as flames blazed in the nest of wood. "Whatever you are up to, nephew, it cannot be as crucial as avoiding the notice of-"
Crack.
Zuko let out a breath, suspicions confirmed as more explosive cracks shuddered through smoking wood. A relief, actually. Maybe the universe would settle for this as bad luck, and leave them alone for a while.
Uncle didn't say a word.
He waited until the fire was quiet, and a few minutes more. Damped flames with a push of his hands, and started digging for surviving rocks.
Uncle was still quiet, watching over his shoulder. Unreal.
Finally he had the survivors, still hot to the touch. And two half-charred logs, studded with shards of stone like Mai's little knives. "You said that was a stream sometimes," Zuko said bluntly. "I couldn't trust them."
"Water in the rocks," Uncle said slowly, staring at glittering edges. "Yes, of course." He glanced at Zuko. "How did you know?"
Zuko: Uncle, you just said they were part of what’s sometimes a stream bed – I guess it makes sense some of the rocks might have water seeped into them.
MG: I’ve wrestled with this a bit, and after some thought, I’ve decided to give a point here. It’s not terrible, and certainly not a dealbreaker or anything, but I do think that even with the backstory we’re about to get, it does seem to strain credibility a bit that Zuko would think of this and, more importantly, that Iroh wouldn’t. I can’t help but think that “if you heat up rocks with water in them with firebending, they explode” is a phenomenon he would have encountered, even by accident, at some point in his decades-long career as a soldier and master firebender, and might consider that could be an issue with rocks found near a source of water. I get that Vathara wanted Zuko to be the more knowledgeable one for a change, and it ties into a bit of backstory we’ll be seeing momentarily (which I also think is kind of unnecessary, for different reasons)… I just think this specific issue is something Iroh should’ve seen coming too, especially since he knew the rocks came from a dry, for the time being, riverbed.
Prince Stuko: 6
"Zuzu, can you heat these up for me? I want to play a game…."
"Oh look, Zuzu's an earthbender! And he can't even get that right!"
"How do I learn anything?" Zuko said grimly, blowing on pebbles to cool them, before he dropped them back into Uncle's bag. "The hard way."
Zuko: *groaning loudly* Of course it was Azula. I’d say she’s usually sneakier about her cruelty than that… but it sounds like this was when we were little kids, and I still remember her shoving Ty Lee over that one time because she did a better cartwheel than her. She could be exactly that petty.
Don't laugh, Iroh told himself firmly, deliberately ignoring Zuko's trembling hands as they placed warm stones on a cranky blacksmith's back. Most people wouldn't have noticed even a twitch. Indeed, the small crowd of onlookers taking part of their midday break in this inn had seen nothing; they were too curious of strangers, and too incautious, to have held their tongues if they had. But he knew his nephew. More, he'd led men in war for many years. He knew, even if the boy himself did not know, when a young man was heart-wrenchingly afraid. Afraid, and ready to run. Or attack, burying the shame of fear in action.
Don't laugh. This is a battle - not of the body, but of the soul. Remember the general you once were, and lead.
Zuko: *rubbing his forehead* Okay? I, uh, guess we’ve changed scenes now, unless the whole thing with the charcoal pile happened in the middle of a village, which doesn’t seem very likely. And am I supposed to understand why I’m apparently so distressed here? Is it just because I’m trying something I’ve not done before? That would be awkward, but this seems like it’s supposed to be much worse. Or am I worried these rocks are going to blow up too? *beat* Though honestly, getting chased out of town by angry Earth Kingdom peasants because I accidentally blew up their blacksmith would be about right for how my life was going at that point…
So far, his story to the local innkeeper - that they were healer and apprentice, there'd been a Fire Nation raid, how unfortunate, not even time to grab supplies –
MG: Hrm. Something about that phrasing bugs me. It’s the “how unfortunate,” specifically – it just sounds flip and dismissive of how traumatic surviving such a raid would actually be for people. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it.
seemed to be holding up. They'd treated a few other men already; apparently the village healer was up to her elbows in caring for three difficult pregnancies, and these were but simple injuries, left to wait. Though perhaps their patients were also taking advantage of the fact that the strangers were refugees, and so all but forced to charge less for any business at all.
It didn't matter. He knew enough battlefield care to pass, as did Zuko. It should suffice, so long as no one asked them anything too complicated.
Aang: …I’m pretty sure Sokka would say that the laws of humor would demand that the whole village would immediately come down with septapox and you’d be their only hope or something like that.
Or anything at all, at the moment. Fortunately, the blacksmith was lying on an inn bench, unable to see Zuko lower his head and breathe, slow and deliberately even. If there were candles about, Iroh was uncomfortably sure they would have been blazing in time to that rhythm. It was a wonder the inn's hearth wasn't flaring.
Zuko: Hey! My self-control’s better than that… usually…
Well, perhaps not quite a wonder. Zuko knew they were watched. The young man was careful. Sometimes.
Zuko: See?
But why is he afraid? Iroh wondered, setting to work on muscles knotted by a long morning pounding iron. There is no danger here, nothing to fight. We are here to help this man, as we have helped his neighbors-
Zuko: Maybe it’s the fact that if I screwed this up, I’d have a very large, strong man angry with me?
Hmm. Aside from his uncle, when was the last time Zuko had helped anyone, without suffering for it?
Our helmsman, in the storm. The Avatar.
Aang: Uh, I was there for that second one. You took an arrow straight to the mask during that fight; you were out pretty good for a while. Does that count as suffering?
Zuko: *rubbing his forehead* Yes.
Heh. His nephew might think Iroh knew nothing of that little escapade, but he was old, not blind. One day despairing, certain Zhao would take everything he longed for - and the next, simply going to bed? With a great many bruises, no less.
Ah, but I wish I could have seen the look on Zhao's face.
MG: …yeah, I’ll buy that. We know Iroh knew Zuko was the Blue Spirit by the time they were in Ba Sing Se; I don’t think we know when he found out, but he’s smart enough and he had all the pieces… he could have put it together at pretty much any time after “The Blue Spirit,” I think.
Iroh channeled that amusement into an approving smile as Zuko stepped in and began to work. Careful to make it seem as if the shimmer of heat were from the stones fished in and out of their camp pot on the inn's hearth, and not his hands. "Gently," Iroh instructed, matter of fact as any master to an apprentice. Act as if this is ordinary, and everyone will believe that it is. "Always ease the muscles first, to be sure they are not strained further."
"Ha!" their patient rumbled, not quite dislodging smooth stones. "Think I can't take it, old man?"
"You are a veritable wellspring of yang chi, Master Blacksmith," Iroh said cheerfully, waving Zuko back to work when the young man hesitated. "But healing requires balance. So some gentleness is called for."
Advice he would do well to remember himself. That demonstration, with the pebbles-
He could have told me. I would have believed him.
Yet, it seemed Zuko didn't believe that.
No. It is more than that. Iroh considered Zuko's actions, and their result. By not explaining, he gained the freedom to act, and so remove the danger to both of us.
Aang: Uh, I’m… not really sure I follow. Then again, Gyatso always said that it’s truth that sets us free, while lies and illusions keep us tied down… but I’m not really sure this is what he was talking about…
Which meant Zuko had expected to have his concerns dismissed. Though why his nephew would believe anyone would deny the crown prince his right to protect himself-
I am a fool.
Learned the hard way, had he?
Ozai. Or Azula.
Zuko: …I think Uncle would’ve figured that out already. Dad was his younger brother – he knew what he was, and what Azula was. Better than I did, sometimes…
The girl, most likely. His brother's cruelty was more likely to be words and fire than tricking a young boy into harming himself. River rocks to explode in an innocent's face - oh yes. That was definitely Azula.
Zuko: Words and burning half my face off, you mean… but yeah, I can’t really see him playing with rocks like that. His cruelty was always… bigger.
Which meant that he'd set his nephew to work in an inn full of strangers with the memory of Azula's mockery ringing in his head. Oh dear.
Well. At least he has not run yet. Or set anyone on fire.
Still. It would be wise to draw this to a close, while his nephew's nerve still held. Pain and danger, Zuko would face without flinching. The demons of his own mind….
Three years, and I thought I had at least scouted them all. But those years were without Ozai, and without Azula.
My enemy's forces are more deeply entrenched than I ever knew. And far stronger than I had imagined.
MG: Hmmm, okay. I have some problems with this scene. Mostly, in that I think it’s designed more to tell us about Zuko than it is about Iroh, in that it’s running through things for our benefit that I think Iroh already knew or would have figured out (as Zuko said, Ozai was his brother, and he knew what both Ozai and Azula were like and what they were capable of, and he was present at Zuko’s Agni Kai – he knows the sort of abuse Zuko has suffered, and how badly the trauma of that has damaged him). But, beyond that, I think it also points to one of the fic’s deeper issues, namely its handling of trauma and the double-standard thereof. Zuko’s trauma is always given tremendous sympathy, and other characters are expected to be understanding about it and judged harshly if Vathara thinks they’re not being sympathetic enough to him. Other characters’ trauma… is often not given the same courtesy. When we get to Vathara’s take on Katara’s backstory, you’ll see more about what I mean…
As they had been, at Ba Sing Se….
No. I will not lose another son-
"Uncle!" Zuko hissed, elbow jabbing him.
Ah, yes. Better to focus, if he did not wish to lose his nephew right now. "I would advise you take it easy for a few days," he informed the blacksmith as Zuko started packing up. "Or at least, no more ostrich-horse lifting contests for a while, hmm?" he chuckled. "Better to let them carry you."
Aang: *stunned* Ostrich-horse lifting contests? Is that a thing people actually do?
A snort of laughter. "Where's the fun in that?"
The hearty backslap that accompanied it was enough to drive most men to their knees; Iroh let himself shift with it, only staggering enough to confirm their watchers' image of him as a lucky, harmless old man. Still smiling, he mentally held his breath; Zuko was twitching, within a heartbeat of attacking the man-
Zuko: For being loud, obnoxious and kind of stupid? I wasn’t that bad, was I? And what makes this guy worse than everyone else I was apparently treating today? Trust me, when I think of people who remind me of Azula, giant muscly Earth Kingdom blacksmiths aren’t it!
MG: I think it’s just supposed to be that this was building all day and this is when you finally hit your breaking point, but some of the wording does make it sound like it was something about this guy in particular that set you off, yes.
Wrestled down the rage, and stayed still. Though Iroh suspected the rocks in their pot were much, much hotter than they should be.
"I thank you for the use of your hearth, madam," Iroh bowed to the openly eavesdropping innkeeper. "But if there is no one else for now, I just remembered some supplies my nephew and I will need for our journey."
"You can come in again before the dinner crowd, cutie," the elderly woman dimpled at him.
Zuko: *groans and facepalms*
MG: Well, Vathara got “Iroh is apparently extremely attractive to women of his own age” right from the show, at least?
"Ah, but you are too kind." Another bow, and he subtly dragged his disbelieving nephew out, pot and all.
A left, two rights, and they were behind the solid wall of a bakery. No houses too close, due to the risk of fire - and no one would be surprised at a few stray drifts of smoke. "Nephew. Breathe."
"Breathe? I don't need to breathe, Uncle! If we've got enough, let's get our supplies and get out-"
"Lee," Iroh said, very deliberately. "I believe, as your master, when I tell you to breathe - you breathe."
Shock, painted on Zuko's face. Betrayal. Anger-
Shoulders slumped in resignation, and Zuko breathed.
Zuko: …okay, that probably is about how this conversation would have gone with me like I was back then, but… I get why Uncle couldn’t call me my real name in public like this, but I’m not sure why my fake name was what got through to me here? Especially when I hadn’t been going by it very long at this point? I’m not even sure I’d have reflexively answered to “Lee” yet…
That won't hold long, Iroh reflected. Attack, and he will fight. It's what he does. What he knows. But if I maneuver elsewhere…. "When I was a younger man, I dealt with soldiers who had once been captured by our enemies. Who had not been… treated well." He grimaced, recalling how he had been then; proud and fierce and not nearly as kind as Zuko likely imagined. "And I did not treat them well. I had not lost what they had lost, and I did not understand."
"Uncle," Zuko said stiffly, "soldiers in the past aren't important. Not compared to soldiers who might be here, right now-"
"They are important," Iroh interrupted. "You are important, nephew." Zuko eyed him warily. "I'm not a soldier, Uncle."
"Not in name," Iroh admitted. "But you were confined, and harmed by those you had no choice but to obey, and unable to free yourself, without aid-"
"Don't talk about my father like that!"
"And when you thought you had won your freedom," Iroh bore brutally on, "your nightmare returned, and threatened you with new chains. I have seen this fear, nephew! I knew it in their hearts. I know it in yours!"
"I'm not afraid of her!"
Quick as a striking snake, Iroh moved. "I am." Wrapped in his arms, Zuko sputtered incoherently.
MG: Okay, I have to say… I do like this exchange, quite a bit. We clearly establish Iroh’s empathy and love for his nephew, his desire to help him heal, drawing on his own war experiences to figure out a way to reach him without causing Zuko to throw his hackles up and wall him out entirely, and also the tacit admission that Iroh himself hasn’t always been a good man. I think this is one of the moments where Vathara really shows that when she focuses on the Zuko-Iroh dynamic and doesn’t let a lot of the other issues the fic will develop as it goes on overshadow it, she really does very well with it. I do have to wonder why we needed Zuko to have PTSD triggered by heating stones specifically in order to have this moment, though; I think that just feels somewhat contrived. I feel like Zuko’s own feelings of inadequacy from his upbringing, his father’s abuse, constantly being judged against Azula the prodigy, his need to prove himself worthy mixed with his fear of failure at performing a very difficult technique essentially in front of an audience could have brought his panic attack on by themselves without that element. But maybe that’s just me.
"She is skilled, and she is deadly," Iroh said, voice low. "She haunts your mind, and you cannot rest. But you must, nephew. Remember when we visited the Northern Air Temple, years ago." Zuko had vowed to search every Air Temple for traces of the Avatar, and his nephew never spoke lightly. But even a scarred, angry teenager had seen the wisdom in keeping Ji the Mechanist's work for the Fire Nation a secret.
MG: AFAIK, “Ji” is Vathara’s own creation for the Mechanist’s name. The original show just calls him by his title; the live-action show called him Sai (and he was left out of Shyamalan’s version entirely, no doubt to his very great relief).
This was not the first time the pair of them had traveled in Earth Kingdom brown. Yet that was only hours, to search quietly, Iroh knew. This has been days.
But he could not falter. Zuko needed his confidence, now more than ever. Exile was crushing to the soul; exile with the threat of agonizing death, far more terrifying.
"Lee and Mushi are but simple refugees," he said, voice deliberately steady. "To be always on watch, always searching for an enemy in the shadows - it marks us. And we must be as two leaves in the forest. It is the only way to survive." He held on tight, rubbing at too-thin shoulders. "I am here. I will not abandon you to her again."
Zuko: *quietly, clearly on the verge of tearing up, but trying to hide it* I know, Uncle. Believe me, I know I didn’t always act like it, but… I know.
"…I'm not afraid of her." A low, bitter whisper.
No, Iroh thought wryly. Not so much as you are of everyone, my nephew.
Aang: *raises his hand* Uh… I’m still a little afraid of her, does that count?
Not a fear of injury, or death. On the battlefield, his nephew could face any enemy-
Save two.
Aang: *to Zuko* Wouldn’t that be three? Me, Azula, and your dad? Or does one of us not count for some reason?
But to walk among those who might not be your enemies… he'd never had the chance to teach Zuko that. He'd never realized he had to.
That ends. Now.
"You should know, nephew," Iroh said matter-of-factly, voice still low, "that what we are doing is one of the most difficult and dangerous tasks in this world. To survive in a nation not your own, among ways and customs foreign to all you know - it is hard. Very hard. I do not believe Azula could do it." He pulled back enough to smile. "But I know you can."
Azula: *sniffs loudly and disdainfully from just out of sight, clearly resisting the urge to remind everyone just who conquered the Earth Kingdom by infiltration*
MG: Not giving a point here, because of the context – Iroh is talking Zuko up to give him confidence, so of course he’s praising his nephew’s skills in a rather hyperbolic way.
Gold eyes blinked, incredulous and disbelieving. But Zuko did not pull away. "…How?"
"Have you not heard the proverb of the dragon and the mountain? The mountain is strong. It seems invincible. And to many things, it is. But if a fierce enough blow strikes it, it is only rocks and dust." He gripped Zuko's shoulder, light but firm. "The dragon seems weaker. It is mortal; if struck, it bleeds. But the dragon can move, and avoid the blow, and choose its own time to strike."
MG: And now I’m just reminded of the Emperor’s defiance of Shan Yu in Disney’s Mulan. “No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it.” Though that might make more sense if this was an earthbender/airbender war.
Good, Iroh thought, feeling Zuko's breathing even out under his hands. The fear is far from dead, but we have weakened it. He is thinking-
"The dragons are dead, Uncle."
Ah. Well. That was an honest objection, given what Zuko knew.
Aang: Or maybe it’s taking it a bit too literally? It’s a proverb, not some sort of secret code about dragons… please don’t tell me it’s a secret code about dragons…
MG: *knows where the fic is going with dragons, manages to avoid saying anything*
Do I dare? He still loves my brother, and fears him. The risk, if I am wrong….
The cost could be high. But the cost to his nephew, to the world, if he let Zuko fall back into that pit of awful doubt-
Mentally crossing his fingers, Iroh prayed. "So they said of the Avatar." Now Zuko did struggle free, shaken. "You lied to Grandfather?"
MG: Hrm. Especially considering how important dragons are going to be down the line in the fic, and what a big deal “The Firebending Masters” made about Iroh having supposedly killed the last dragons in his youth, this seems like a rather anticlimactic place to have this reveal in the fic? Especially since we’re not given any context here for why that would be important, though Vathara is probably assuming anyone reading this fic has seen the show and knows the full story. Anyway, I do think this is a moment, albeit a minor one, that shows that Embers doesn’t, despite the claims of a lot of its fandom, stand on its own and requires keeping the original show in mind to really understand and follow.
Stations of the Canon: 1
Carefully. Carefully. "The Moon Spirit taught waterbenders, my nephew. Would you have followed Zhao's path, and drawn its blood?"
"No!" Zuko recoiled, horrified. "Is that why he came - and I…." He jerked away, fists clenched.
Iroh stiffened, recognizing the huddled shame, the way Zuko had turned so his scar shrouded any expression. He never cries. Not since Lady Ursa….
"Is it my fault she's dead?"
Yue. He'd told his nephew everything, those endless days drifting on the raft. The princess had had a rare courage, to give up her life for her people. It deserved to be remembered. "No," Iroh said firmly. "You did not know Zhao's plan. I did not know. I could not stop him in time. Her death was brave, and her own choice. It is not your fault."
Zuko: …is this what Sokka was going on about that one time about how his first girlfriend turned into the moon? That was the Northern Water Tribe princess? I really need to hear that whole story sometime… I had… other things on my mind while all that was actually happening. But I am kind of confused why I’m so upset about this now? I never even knew her. And at this point in my life, I was too wrapped up in my own troubles to spend much time thinking about other peoples’.
"But I'm the one who took the Avatar away." Zuko swallowed dryly. "If he'd been there… if that waterbender hadn't followed me, she would have been there, and - if I'd known, I would have…."
Iroh kept his voice level, feeling the precipice his nephew stood on. "What would you have done?"
"…I would have waited."
Do not yell at him, Iroh told himself, unable to hide a sigh. He has been lost a very long time. You cannot expect him to recognize the path in an instant. "And if you had been there, and Zhao had overpowered them? What would you have done?"
"I'm not a traitor!"
Zuko: Zhao also tried to have me killed, remember? I sure didn’t have a problem trying to fight him later in the battle! I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d met him before he tried to kill the Moon Spirit, but I don’t think I’d have been feeling very friendly then, either.
"No, you are not," Iroh nodded. "I do not believe you ever could be. No matter what you chose."
Zuko was shaking his head, as if to drive away pain. "It doesn't matter now. She's gone." Something in Iroh's heart eased, recognizing the truth. "You would have helped the Moon."
"I wouldn't have helped the Avatar!"
Aang: This is after you rescued me from Zhao one time already, right? I think “defeat Zhao now, get back to chasing the Avatar later” was something you’d kind of already worked out you were willing to do?
"I said nothing of the airbender, nephew," Iroh said deliberately. "Two who fight for the same cause are not always allies." He shrugged, as if it were of no importance. "I will admit, I am curious why you would choose so. It would have been a noble effort, but you are not usually the first to approve of dealing with spirits."
"They don't exactly approve of me, or none of this would have happened," Zuko said venomously.
MG: Based on some of what’s coming later in the fic… this may not just be Zuko bemoaning his usual bad luck. This may be actual foreshadowing.
Zuko: …great.
Closed his eyes, and gripped the bridge of his nose, fighting back frustration. "Uncle. In case you didn't notice, we've been living on a ship the past three years. If we didn't pay attention to the moon, we'd be dead." An explosive sigh, with only a hint of steam. "We need supplies, and we need to get moving."
Aang: Am I the only one who thinks that conversation was kind of all over the place?
Zuko: No, you’re not. And I get I wasn’t in a great place mentally at the time, but I’m still not sure where some of that came from. At least Uncle still sounds like himself?
Nodding, Iroh followed his nephew toward the market. Still a bit sore of foot, but much lighter of heart.
His spirit is wounded, but it still fights. He needs only time. And a little… encouragement.
"Well, if it isn't a little deserter," a smug voice drawled. "Front lines too hot for you?"
Spirits, Iroh thought darkly, eyeing the massive Earth Kingdom swordsman smirking their way, you are not helping.
MG: Okay… here I’m giving a point, with I think more cause than the last one. Zuko and Iroh have been traveling through the Earth Kingdom without an ostrich-horse, likely on a different route at a different pace, with different goals (ie, pretending to be healers) but, spoilers, they still run into the exact same asshole whose swords Zuko ends up stealing. What’re the odds!
Stations of the Canon: 2
Patience. Patience, and shadows.
"Who do you think you're fooling, old man? That boy's no healer."
Wait. For the right time to strike.
"Did his family pay you to take him, or did you just pick up a stray?"
Breathe. Crouch. There.
"Who's there?"
Swordsman, yes. Good one, no. Grab, pull, use the solid wall against the almost as solid skull-
The man was out. And the swords were….
Spin, and cut the air. Feel their movement; not as separate blades, but two halves of a whole.
Not bad. Not the best, but not bad.
Zuko: …are we already at the point of me stealing that guy’s swords now? Without any sort of transition or buildup or anything? And when this really happened, he did a lot worse than just call me names, too. Remembering how he made Uncle dance for that coin was half the reason mugging him later felt so good. I robbed some people who didn’t deserve it as the Blue Spirit, but that guy did.
How a bragging lowlife like this had ended up with master-quality swords, he'd never know. Bastard hadn't been taking care of them properly, that was certain.
Aang: *shrugs* Maybe he used to be a soldier? Maybe he stole them from someone else? Maybe they were his dad’s and he inherited them? Could be lots of reasons!
Dao sheathed, he melted into the night. No real town watch here, but there was always the chance of wandering drunks, especially with such a full moon.
He made it back to their shelter in a stable's hayloft; the innkeeper hadn't been at all averse to arranging that instead of a paid room, once Uncle worked her over with hot stones and flattery. Which he really didn't want to think about. Ever.
The mask, Zuko tucked under the pile of supplies Uncle would have him pack in the morning. He should do the same for the dao….
Zuko: *confused* Where’d I get the mask? When this really happened there was a cart in town selling masks, and one of them was like the one I wore the first time I was the Blue Spirit; that’s where I got the new one. But I don’t think Vathara mentioned that at all? In fact, I think we’ve completely skipped over me deciding to become the Blue Spirit again in the first place, even though this is supposed to be from my point of view?
Stations of the Canon: 3
No. I won them. They deserve better.
He hadn't weighted himself down with swords to raid the North Pole, not when he'd all but planned on going swimming. But he'd always carried the cleaning kit, ever since he first started learning blades. Through the invasion, the raft, their mad flight from Azula - always.
Unsheathing twin blades, Zuko peered along the edge of one for nicks and scratches, and set to work.
MG: Okay, this is another nice detail that I like.
"I wondered if you would find him."
Sharpening stone in hand, Zuko hesitated, then kept working. "You don't want me to give them back."
"No, I do not," Uncle Iroh said thoughtfully, seated cross-legged in his bedding. "Our chances will be better if you are armed. Though it is just as well we are leaving early." He stroked his beard. "And since our men have never spoken of your extra training, even when Zhao asked - and believe me, he did ask, when he conscripted our men for the fleet - no one should connect this theft with us."
Zuko: *flatly* Zhao saw my swords. He knew I was the Blue Spirit; he knew I could use them. I don’t know if he ever told anyone else, but he didn’t need the crew to say anything to figure it out himself.
Zuko tried not to wince. "Theft? We're at war!"
Aang: I don’t think you were at war personally with that guy? Is one person declaring war on another person something you do in the Fire Nation these days?
"The Fire Nation may be. We are not." Iroh regarded him sternly. "You have always kept your honor, Prince Zuko. Do not lose it to despair. A leader of men does not allow his soldiers to pillage.
MG: …I’m now reminded that I’ve read that in the ancient Mediterranean world, at least, soldiers expected spoils from defeated enemies and cities as part of their pay. Good commanders might try to organize the process or put some limits on it, but nobody really tried to stop it outright, nor would the troops stand for it if they did. I’m less familiar with how that would’ve worked with armies in East Asia, but I have a hard time imagining the Fire Nation being more restrained about that sort of thing than, say, the Romans.
The Superior Element: 1
That way lies hatred for the Fire Nation, and not a future of harmonious rule, but a bloody conquest that will never be satisfied." The stern look softened. "And a wise leader first commands himself."
MG: Oooh, boy. Here we get the very first, mildest taste of something we’re going to come back to later… how Vathara thinks Fire Nation rule really works. We’ll have more to say on this as the fic goes on… but let’s just say that I have a hard time seeing people like Ozai or Zhao giving the slightest damn about “harmonious rule,” or Azula doing it for any reason other than cynical pragmatism and personal benefit… and even Fire Lord “We Must Share Our Peace and Prosperity With The World” Sozin committed genocide on a whole nation mostly for being in his way when he was trying to find the next Avatar. We see towns and cities under Fire Nation occupation in the show, too, and “harmonious rule” sure isn’t what’s happening there! And Iroh’s an experienced enough general to know better than to spout platitudes like this when talking about violent conquest. So, sorry, Vathara. Not buying it. And this is going to get much worse.
The Superior Element: 2
Steel seemed to burn in his hands. Zuko swallowed, and laid it down. "…He called you a liar."
Zuko: And again, it’s pretty mild compared to the real guy, who made Uncle dance for money by striking the ground by his feet with his swords so he’d get stabbed if he stopped. Just wanting to remind everyone of that.
MG: I actually suspect the focus on “he called you a liar” specifically being fic!Zuko’s berserk button may be foreshadowing for something that’ll be revealed down the line, so stick a pin in that…
"There will always be those who believe the worst of men," Iroh said easily. "You are not a deserter, Prince Zuko. That, we both know."
Do we? "I'm not fooling anyone as a healer!" Hold the temper. Hold it. Hay and fire were a bad mix. "Uncle, this is crazy, I'll never - real healing takes years to learn, it's going to be obvious I - I can't do it!"
A sigh. But it didn't sound resigned, or disappointed. More… decided. "Nephew," Iroh said quietly. "Come here."
Biting his lip, Zuko did.
"Sit," Iroh instructed, lighting a small flame in the palm of his hand. "Fire and healing are more closely entwined than most will ever know. Fire is not only destruction; it is passion, will, and life itself. And that life can affect other lives." He held the flame in front of Zuko. "Your mother may have shown you this."
My mother?
Zuko: …why am I the narrator now?
MG: Also, again, this feels like a moment that hit harder in the show when it was actually built up to. Getting the whole “fire is life” thing so early, and in the context of just being something Iroh is telling Zuko, doesn’t feel nearly as effective.
"The motions are like what you use to raise warmth in your hands. Only instead of the heat of your body, you use the flame. Gently… do not pull, but coax it to you… blend the energy of the flame with your own…."
It was like ice giving way underfoot. One moment it was flame. The next-
Lighter. Different.
The circular motions fell into place, reminding him of the Avatar's sweep of calm air to storm, the waterbender's shove that froze waves into ice. The fire was more than flame, but it had to be coaxed there, held, persuaded….
"Good," Uncle said softly. "Now, let us see what you can do for an old man's sore feet."
Blinking - since when did his fire have bits of green? - it took a moment for his uncle's meaning to sink in. He can't be serious.
"Try," Iroh urged. "Only try. If it does not work - then yes, you may call your old uncle a fool, and we will find another way."
Aang: …if it doesn’t work, won’t you end up burning your uncle’s feet? I mean, I guess that’s a vote of confidence, but even so…
"Don't say things like that!" Zuko snapped, heartsick. I said that. Because I wanted to believe it. Because otherwise Azula was lying, again, and I wanted to go home so much…. "You're not a fool, and you're not a liar, and he had no right!"
No one should say that to Uncle again. Ever.
Green. Bright as moonlight.
Aang: *confused* Is moonlight green in your world?
MG: No, I think we just have two separate ideas – the fire’s brightness, and its color – juxtaposed kind of weirdly.
Not hot, but warm as summer noon.
I can't hold this long….
Near, but not touching skin. Palms both turned outward now; he moved them over road- strained ankles, feeling strength leeched out of him as it fed frayed energies. In his mind's eye, hints of copper warmed to antique gold.
"Enough," Uncle said firmly, wriggling his toes. "Reach back, and allow me to redirect what I can."
A wash of warmth, and sparks of pain burned away like dead leaves. Zuko lost the motion, flames falling apart into smoke. "…I couldn't hold it." He was not going to cry. Even if he was - tired. So tired of failing.
"That you could summon it at all, is more than I have ever been able to do." Zuko stared at him.
MG: So… yeah, this is another bit I rather like. I always enjoy it when depictions of magic systems go into what it actually feels like to hold and use the power, especially with a magic system as kinetic as bending. And we officially have Zuko graduating to full-fledged fire healing with this moment (though I also like that he doesn’t master it right away, either; his skill here is still flawed, which makes sense for him to be just starting out), and so we have the fic’s initial premise! …if only it didn’t end up rather burying that under so much else…
Iroh gave him a wry smile. "Your mother showed me the kata many times, yet I could never master it. She said it had been passed down in her family. A technique based on legends. A secret, and a gift, from Kuzon of Byakko."
"Kuzon?" Zuko blanched.
Aang: Kuzon? Like… my friend Kuzon, or some other Kuzon? It was a pretty common name back then… and Zuko, I thought Avatar Roku was your mother’s grandfather? Or is this her other grandfather?
Zuko: *shrugs*
MG: Okay, so… yes, it’s the same Kuzon (more on that in a moment). And yes, while the fic will go into it in much, much more detail down the line, this is the first taste we’re going to get of how Vathara is going to be completely rewriting the Fire royal family tree, including Ursa’s parentage but also how various other characters are related to each other, in ways that, IMO, mostly make things more complicated rather than less.
"Your mother's grandfather. A powerful firebender, with quite the sense of humor, from his letters." Iroh raised curious brows. "You have heard the name?"
MG: Not really sure “quite the sense of humor” is the first thing I’d think of as regards to how the fic is going to be taking Kuzon’s characterization… maybe Vathara just assumed that he must have had a sense of humor, to be friends with Aang? *shrugs*
Zuko swallowed. "The Avatar… I overheard him say it." Kind of. "Someone he knew, a hundred years ago."
"Kuzon would have been fifteen," Iroh said thoughtfully. "It is possible. And perhaps that is why I could never master it. I have studied the waterbenders, but never have I held my own against an airbender."
MG: Don’t think I didn’t notice that Vathara specifically makes Kuzon Aang’s older friend by several years; we’ll be coming back to this as the fic explores their dynamic a bit more, but for now, stick a pin in this, too, because I think it’s worth noting and remembering.
Held my own. For all of two minutes. "Why would you study waterbenders?"
"Wisdom can be found in many places, Prince Zuko. Have you not studied the waterbender who bested you?"
Zuko: …well, this is just sort of turning into a day to talk about everything, isn’t it? This is what Uncle told me when he was teaching me how to redirect lightning… why has this story moved it here?
MG: Also… Katara is mentioned here in a vaguely positive way! Keep the memory of it close, people, because it’s something we’re not going to be seeing much of for a long, long time…
Zuko tried not to snarl. "…Yes." And she'd better have some new tricks, next time. He was not going to be crushed under a column of ice again.
"Study her not only to defeat her, but to learn what may be useful for your own form," Iroh advised, running a careful hand over his nephew's back. "Does that hurt?"
Zuko frowned. "No." Which didn't make sense.
His uncle smiled. "Then it would seem, Prince Zuko, that we are not lying."
Realization sank in, and Zuko buried his head in his hands to muffle a disbelieving groan.
Oh, Agni. I'm going to have to go through with this….
Aang: But, look on the bright side, you’ve learned a new firebending technique! That’s got to count for something, right?
Zuko: *groans and facepalms in a manner remarkably reminiscent of his fic counterpart*
"Rest now." Iroh ruffled his short hair. "We will finish with your blades in the morning."
MG: And on that note, we bring the chapter to a close! No Author Note today. First off, I can’t help but feel like this chapter is somewhat disjointed. Some parts of it are good, especially a lot of the Zuko and Iroh discussions and Zuko making the jump to actual fire healing. Other parts are weaker… as I’ve mentioned, I don’t really see much point in giving Zuko PTSD about heating stones specifically, when I think the scene would’ve worked just as well with the trauma we know he already has from canon. We still somehow get our confrontation with the jerkass with the dao swords, but it’s heavily truncated so the guy doesn’t come across as being quite as horrible as his canon self, so Zuko mugging him feels more disproportionate, and we also miss some of the context of Zuko becoming the Blue Spirit again that makes the plot point kind of confusing. Our first trace of Fire Nation whitewashing crops up in this chapter as well, though it’s not nearly as bad as it’ll get later on. And, of course, there’s Kuzon. That Kuzon was going to be important, and was possibly connected to Zuko, was a fairly common theory back in the day, though it had largely died down by the time I got into the fandom because of how late in the show’s run it was and it was fairly clear by that point that if Kuzon was going to be important, it would have probably come up already. But it’s always been something that felt like a stretch to me, and I don’t much care for it as a concept. I love the idea of the Chekhov’s Armory as much as the next person… but some background details really just should be background details. Not everything needs to be of vital importance to the story, and it can actually make the world feel smaller if it tries to make every background detail some vital clue about something else. But I’m not sure Vathara agrees with me on that, because she pulls a number of other background details and bits of popular fanon and spins them off into elaborate plotlines, many of which I think end up doing more harm than good to the story. I guess I just think Kuzon never needed to be anything more than “a guy from the Fire Nation Aang was friends with before the war, whose existence proves to Aang that the Fire Nation aren’t inherently bad and he and Zuko specifically don’t have to be enemies.” Anyway, that’s all for today! Next time, Zuko gets a new ostrich horse… and fair warning, we’ll be dealing with some fairly heavy topics. We’ll see you then! Our counts stand at:
Divine Right to Rule: 1
Elemental Determinism: 1
Prince Stuko: 6
Stations of the Canon: 2
The Superior Element: 2
The Ultimate Firebenders: 3
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Date: 2025-08-22 03:09 pm (UTC)To point this out in time: "installments" is typoed as "isntallments" in the first sentence of the post. I'm also quite liking what you do with this so far!
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Date: 2025-08-24 04:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-08-24 04:36 pm (UTC)I thought it'd be nice to point out before you might end up copy-pasting it into every entry... This also seems to be attracting quite a lot of people, which might also make for a nice change from Greenwood's books.
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Date: 2025-08-24 07:36 pm (UTC)Definitely, and I have a feeling the numbers may continue to go up as we get more into the meat of the story; I feel like a lot of people, myself included, were just getting numbed and burned out on how tedious the Greenwood stuff was getting, though I never really got a huge amount of comments on those sporks compared to some of my other stuff (Making of a Mage probably got the most engagement there).
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Date: 2025-08-24 07:56 pm (UTC)(Maybe I'll be among those numbers at some point? I don't know yet.) Yeah, I'm hardly surprised, since I myself also got rather burned out, and Making of a Mage was both of necessity more varied than the other books, and was more enthusiastic, I found, than the others.
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Date: 2025-12-17 04:08 pm (UTC)Yeah from Vathara's author's notes I always felt like Vathara was struggling to keep fair sympathy for characters like Katara and Aang. Genuinely trying to write them fairly and not just bash, but clearly having trouble with their side of things. And she actually seemed somewhat self-aware of it at times? She spent quite a few words on how alien Aang's pacifist beliefs are to her, and her trials in writing him.
But other times it seemed like Vathara genuinely thought she was being fair when she was being more one-sided.
And sometimes I would agree with her and others times, again, :/
…I’m now reminded that I’ve read that in the ancient Mediterranean world, at least, soldiers expected spoils from defeated enemies and cities as part of their pay.
Yeah and this bit goes into Vathara's cherry-picking with historicity to fit her fic. Can't just say "I chose to write it this way because this is what's interesting to me", has to do the research. But I see this in a lot of "this story is histroically accurate" people in a variety of fandoms. Where they take one bit of history from Wales, one from France, one from Japan, one from- and then act like that was all one unified cultural standard across a wide time period. And ignore that at the exact same time X may be expected in one country and forbidden in another.
I don't so much mind if people want to make a hodge-podge culture, but I do mind when it's presented as more realistic than a different invented one using traditions from another part of the globe or different time in history.
I have a hard time seeing people like Ozai or Zhao giving the slightest damn about “harmonious rule,”
I mean, to be fair to Vathara, she -- from what I remember of the fic -- pretty explicitly paints Ozai and Sozin as deviations ffrm the natural state of the Fire nation.
She seems to imagine them naturally existing in a state like a valley full of squabbling chicken flocks.
...she'd probably prefer a more noble animal analogy, like wolves, but same difference.
Though that's later. Right now the focus on ruling is still on the fire nation as a whole...