Avatar: The Book Of The Phoenix

Scorched Earth

The throne room of Ba Sing Se was a storm of voices and torchlight. Jade pillars rose into shadow, banners of green and gold hanging limp in the stifling air. Nobles and generals crowded the lower steps, their robes rustling like dry leaves as they argued, gestured, shouted over one another.

The usual solemnity of the court had shattered into raw panic.

King Xuo sat on the high throne, fingers tight on the arms, face carved from stone. The news had come in waves over the last weeks, each report worse than the last. Now the room waited for him to speak.

General Shin stepped forward first, bowing low. His voice cut through the clamor.

"Your Majesty, the Iron Dragon has been sighted again along the southern coast. It has bombarded villages and towns without mercy — indiscriminate, unrelenting. Entire settlements reduced to ash. The Nomads have seized every province from Xanadu to Republic City. Refugees flood the roads, thousands of them."

Another general, Lady Mei-Lin, added grimly: "Khan Rokkun has crossed the Si Wong Desert with over seven thousand men. They move fast, strike hard, and vanish before we can counter. The southern garrisons are gone. The coast is theirs."

Xuo's knuckles whitened on the throne. The room fell silent, waiting.

A noble from the outer ring — Lord Zhang — spoke up, voice trembling but defiant. "We must assemble the army. Crush these barbarians once and for all."

Another noble, older, more cautious, protested.

"The Earth Kingdom has already suffered heavy losses against the Nomads. Without Fire Lord Zuko's military assistance, we have no hope of overcoming a force that size!"

"Silence!" Xuo thundered.

The room stilled.

Xuo rose slowly, robes whispering against stone. His voice was low at first, then built like rolling thunder.

"Do you think when that brat Zuko deceived my brother, King Kuei, all those years ago at Yu Dao during the Harmony Restoration Movement, that Kuei stood down in the face of great treachery? No! He fought. And so will we."

He paced the dais, each step deliberate, fury radiating from him.

"We will not be cowed by these savages. We will not allow them to destroy our homes, our people! We will fight! We will fight until every last Fire Nomad is driven back into the sea!"

He stopped, turning to face the generals.

"Assemble every able-bodied man in Ba Sing Se. Call up the reserves. Summon the garrisons from the north and east. We will meet this so-called Great Army head on. We will fight for our homes, our land, for every inch of the Earth Kingdom."

The generals bowed as one.

"Make it so," Xuo said. "We march at first light."
The room emptied quickly, footsteps echoing off stone, voices rising again in urgent planning.

Xuo remained on the dais a moment longer, staring at the empty space where the banners of alliance once hung.

He had lost a city.

He had lost an army.

He had lost faith in the peace he'd helped forge.

But he had not lost the Earth Kingdom.

Not yet.

And he would not lose it without a fight.

The doors closed behind the last general.

The throne room fell silent.

And somewhere far to the south, the Iron Dragon steamed on — carrying its king, its queen, and the promise of fire.