Avatar: The Book Of The Phoenix

After Bin-Er

The dawn air over the ravaged camp outside Bin Er was thick with the bitter tang of ash and scorched earth, the scars of the Iron Dragon's ambush still smoldering. Shattered Earth Kingdom catapults lay strewn across the plain, their timbers charred by fierce firebending blasts, a hallmark of the Nomads' primal fury. Crimson phoenix banners fluttered mockingly atop Bin Er's skeletal ramparts, visible in the distance. King Xuo stood before a tattered command tent, his jade robes streaked with soot, his eyes blazing with barely restrained anger. Zuko sat on a splintered crate, his Fire Lord armor scuffed and dented, his golden eyes heavy with the weight of their losses—nearly half their forces decimated by Rokkun's warship and relentless firebenders.

Xuo's voice sliced through the smoke-laden silence, sharp and accusatory. "Rokkun slipped through our grasp again, Fire Lord," he said, his tone venomous. "You knew he was Aarslan, your childhood friend, yet you failed to predict his ambush. How could you misjudge him so gravely?" His gesture swept over the camp, where soldiers dragged wounded comrades from the wreckage, the ground scarred by swirling patterns of green flame.

Zuko's scar twitched, his hands clenching tightly. "I knew Aarslan as a boy, Your Majesty, a lieutenant under his father, Shoka the Cruel. But Rokkun, as he calls himself now, is a stranger—forged by exile and his father's tutelage. I didn't anticipate the ferocity of his Nomads, their flames, their traps." His gaze lingered on a charred boulder, its surface etched with the spiraling burns of Rokkun's firebending, a testament to his ruthless command.

Xuo's laugh was harsh, his pacing relentless. "And your sister, Azula, fighting alongside those savages!" he snapped, his prior knowledge of her defection fueling his ire. "You knew she'd joined Rokkun's cause, yet you let her rally them in Bin Er. Your hesitation has cost us half an army, Zuko. Why should I trust you to stop them now?"

Zuko rose, his voice steady but laced with strain. "I take full responsibility, Your Majesty. Azula's choice to join the Nomads blindsided me—she turned from the Fire Nation, from me, after the war. I didn't expect her to lead their charge, or for Rokkun's benders to wield such precise, devastating fire." The memory of Azula's blue flames weaving through Rokkun's in Bin Er's chaos gnawed at him, a betrayal that cut deeper than steel.

Xuo stopped, his eyes narrowing to slits. "Your bonds with Aarslan and Azula cloud your judgment, Fire Lord. Those flames, those ambushes—they're a threat to my entire kingdom. Their leader outwitted us, and your sister strengthened their resolve. What's your plan to salvage this disaster?"

Zuko's jaw tightened, guilt over betraying Aarslan and failing Azula warring with his resolve. "We can't chase Rokkun blindly," he said, his voice low but firm. "He knows these plains, their hidden paths, their traps, better than we ever will. Pursuing him now would only lead to more losses."

He gestured to the horizon, where Bin Er's walls loomed under the Nomads' banners. "I'll return to the Fire Nation and summon Team Avatar—Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph. They've faced worse odds and can track Rokkun to his stronghold.They might even reach Azula, find a way to reason with her."

Xuo's brow furrowed, skepticism etched in his weathered face. "The Avatar? You stake our alliance on a boy and his companions?"

"Aang ended the Hundred Year War," Zuko countered, his tone resolute. "They understand balance, and they've seen the Fire Nation's ferocity up close. If anyone can find Rokkun's weakness—or Azula's—it's them." He paused, his voice softening, heavy with hope and pain. "Azula's my sister. Despite her choices, I believe there's still a chance to bring her back."

Xuo's silence stretched, broken only by the distant groans of the wounded and the crackle of smoldering embers. "Your faith in your sister is a dangerous gamble," he said at last, his voice a low warning. "Her blue flames beside Rokkun's spell ruin for us all. Our alliance holds, Fire Lord, but it's fraying." He turned toward Ba Sing Se's distant silhouette, his jade robes catching the dim light. "I'll await your messenger in the capital. Prove your loyalty—to me, and to this fragile peace."

Zuko bowed, his crimson cloak billowing in the ash-laden wind. "I won't fail you, Your Majesty. We'll stop Rokkun and protect the Earth Kingdom." His words rang with conviction, but doubt gnawed at him—Azula's fierce loyalty to Rokkun, the Nomads' green flames, and the ghosts of his past betrayals loomed like shadows. As he strode through the ruined camp, the weight of the alliance and the war ahead pressed on his shoulders. Team Avatar was his last hope to find Xanadu and end this threat before it consumed the world.