Avatar Zuko: Book 1 - Fire

Prologue: Sozin's Reign

The world, Fire Lord Sozin decided, would not end in fire, but be reborn in it. He had created the greatest empire that his world had ever seen. He had established the first colony in the Earth Kingdom, Yu Dao, the perfect symbol of his growing nation. Dozens of influential Fire Nation families immigrated to Yu Dao, establishing a life for themselves as well as demonstrating that the Fire Nation was there to stay.

Roku didn't know what he was talking about. He never did. As Fire Lord Sozin sat under the watchful eyes of the golden dragon behind him, he let these thoughts run through his mind. Roku had told Sozin at his wedding that the four nations were meant to be separate.

What an Avatar, Sozin thought, what Avatar would wish for separation instead of harmony? Why chose division over unity? Underneath the Fire Nation flag, Sozin believed, he could unite the world as one. He was doing what Avatar Roku could not.

The doors to the throne room opened with a loud thud. At the door stood the man he had met only recently, despite Sozin being the Fire Lord for decades. The man kept his head bowed until he approached the throne on which Sozin sat. He dropped to one knee and pressed the knuckled of left hand against the palm of his right and bowed.

"Kenja, please," Sozin remarked, "rise to your feet. It had been quite some time since I've seen you, my friend. Has there been issues in Capital Temple?"

"Thankfully, no, Fire Lord Sozin." The sage had risen to his feet and looked into Sozin's eyes. "I had been told by Fire Sage Himitsu about a plan that I must be made aware of."

"A plan?" Sozin questioned, forgetful that the plan being discussed was his own.

"Yes, Fire Lord, the sage remarked that you had a plan regarding..." Kenja shook nervously. He was never this nervous when talking to Sozin, but today that was a newfound fear in his voice. He feared upsetting or angering the Fire Lord. "A plan regarding the Avatar cycle."

Sozin's eyes widened slightly before returning to their relaxed composure. A small grin appeared at the corner of his lip.

"Ah, that plan." The Fire Lord took a deep breath, feeling the air as it traveled down into his lungs and came back out through his nose, a hint of smoke tickling his nostril. "Well, I suppose I am glad that Himitsu did not reveal the plan to you and instead directed you my way. As the head Fire Sage, I am sure this plan concerns you more than it does my dear wife. Does that stop her from impeding on my plans, however? No."

Kenja was silent. He too was trying to control his breathing, hoping that it may calm his nerves and mask his trembling hands.

"That was meant to be a bit of a joke, Kenja. You can laugh." Sozin let out a deep laugh, finding his comment about his wife mildly amusing. Kenja forced out a slight chuckle, never letting his attention leave the Fire Lord.

"Avatar Roku has been gone for nearly twelve years, Kenja." Sozin stood and began to walk, slowly gliding down the steps from his throne to the main floor where the sage stood. "Twelve years is a long time to think about my plans for an empire. I thought about how much further I could be in the progression of a Fire Nation world than where we are now. How do we prevent factors from slowing us down?"

Sozin had reached the bottom of the stairs and faced Kenja. Sozin stroked his white beard and raised his eyebrows, waiting for an answer to his question.

"Fire Lord Sozin, with all due respect, are you implying—" Sozin raised his finger and lowered his head.

"Hold on, Kenja. All in due time." The Fire Lord walked around the sage and continued to pace the throne room.

"The one thing that I feared most in the time of creating the first colonies like Yu Dao, was the retaliation of Roku. While I still held a morsel of hope that he would realize the good we were doing for this world, I knew that he would be angry for going against his advice. That day he visited me in the palace, we fought. He nearly destroyed this palace during that battle, reminding me of his power as the Avatar. I knew that with my friend in the way, the Fire Nation would never be able to achieve its highest purpose. Now, Roku is dead, and all of my plans seem possible without him in the way."

  Sozin let a heavy silence fill the air. He was nearly halfway down the room, still pacing.

"But, My Lord, the Avatar has already been reincarnated into the Air Nomads. What if this new Avatar will try to stop you?" Kenja began to follow after Sozin.

"There's a comet arriving in a few months, Kenja. A comet that only comes every one-hundred years. This comet will harvest an unfathomable amount of energy that my fire benders and I will use to wipe out the Air Nomads, killing the new Avatar." Sozin's voice was filled with passion, filled with motivation. It sent a chill down Kenja's spine.

"The Avatar will just be reincarnated as a waterbender. Unless you're implying—"

"We will have fleets set up in every one of the four nations. When we find the Air, Water, and Earth Avatars, we will kill them. Then, we will be given a new firebending Avatar. An Avatar that will be raised under the watchful eye of the throne and the loyal Fire Sages. One that will be trained to use all of the power in the world to help us conquer the world and create one unified nation!"

Kenja stopped pacing behind Sozin and stared off into the distance, trying to absorb everything that the Fire Lord had just said.

"You will anger the spirit world!" Kenja was losing the formality in his voice and switching to desperation. Sozin turned around to meet Kenja's frightened glare. He knew that what the sage was saying was most likely true. But there was still a sense of uncertainty within him.

"Maybe, but maybe not." Sozin opened his hand and let a small flame form above his palm. "A firebending Avatar is the only way to unite this world and eliminate all of this separation. The spirits will understand this. They don't want the nations to be divided." He closed his fist, extinguishing the flame. "From the ashes, Kenja, we will be reborn."