The Avatar and the Fire Prince

Book 1: Air, Chapter 10: Relics

(Originally posted April 17, 2023 on AO3)

In the days following the Pohuai Stronghold escape, Aang felt much lighter, like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Iroh's health seemed to have improved greatly thanks to the frozen frogs, and Zuko had been smiling a lot more than usual.

Now that Iroh was feeling better (and was no longer deliriously challenging Momo to Agni Kais), the trio had finally been able to determine where exactly in the Earth Kingdom they had ended up. It turned out that they had overshot Bin-Er completely due to the storm, which Iroh had already deduced when Aang and Zuko had told him about their escape from Pohuai Stronghold. Additionally, Iroh had determined that they had been camping in the ruins of Taku, an Earth Kingdom city that had been sacked by Zuko's grandfather and Iroh's father, Fire Lord Azulon, decades prior.

Aang often wondered just how much more Iroh knew. He hadn't been angry when Zuko had told him that his uncle had known the truth about what Sozin had done all along, but he couldn't help but wonder why he had kept so much from both of them in the first place. He also found it odd that Iroh, who had clearly once been just as ruthless as his brother and predecessors, was now seemingly a wise and kind old man who was willingly helping the greatest threat to his nation. Aang tried not to dwell on this too much, but these thoughts were always in the back of his mind.

As they had already long passed Bin-Er and were still planning on traveling to the Western Air Temple, it was initially decided that the group would continue on straight west from the ruins of Taku as soon as Iroh had fully recovered. However, with Zhao and the Fire Nation now most likely scouring the entire northwestern region of the Earth Kingdom for any signs of Aang and his mysterious captor, Zuko had rightfully stressed the importance of leaving the area as soon as Iroh was well enough to travel. On top of that, the supplies they had gotten from Teo weeks ago had been nearly depleted, so the trio had no choice but to venture south, away from Taku, to find a place to restock that wasn't crawling with Fire Nation soldiers.

Thankfully, after a few days of flying and some careful scoping of the area, they settled on camping close to a mountainside village just northwest of the Great Divide. Iroh needed rest, as he had still not completely recovered, but Aang was holding out hope that he would be back to full health any day now.

Before they set off for the village, Zuko made sure that Aang remembered to wear his bamboo hat to cover his arrow. Aang didn't argue; he wouldn't make that mistake again. He tried not to beat himself up too much about what had happened at Pohuai Stronghold like he had after Kyoshi, but it was difficult not to, especially when he remembered that Zuko had risked so much to break him out of the fortress all by himself.

When the boys arrived at the village, Zuko made his way to the produce stand while Aang explored the rest of the small market area. "Look, Momo!" he said, pointing down towards an unfurled mat with several trinkets displayed upon it. "An ancient airbender pendant, just like the monks used to wear!" The lemur chirped in reply from where he sat on his shoulder.

"Ancient? A man traded it for medicinal herbs two days ago," the merchant, a man dressed in green fur-lined winter robes, said. "He was wearing it around his neck."

Aang's eyes widened, and he felt his heart leap in his chest. He knew it was dangerous to get too excited; it was very likely that the person who traded the pendant had simply found it in an old ruin. However, he could not resist the urge to cling to any shred of hope he could find. If even just one person had survived Sozin's attack, that would be enough.

"Did he tell you where he got it?" Aang asked eagerly. "Did he have more? What did he look like? Did he say where he's from?"

"He came from the high mountain," the merchant replied, pointing his thumb behind him. "Probably a traveler who got lost. No one from the nearby villages would go there. The mountain is sacred, full of flying spirits."