Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then the Fire Nation attacked. But there was not war everywhere. In the Fire Nation, Akira, a close friend of the Princess and son of an Admiral in the Fire Lord's inner circle, has not realised what his nation's work is until he visits the colonies in the Earth Kingdom. His nation is wrong and he realises the orders he carries out should have never been done. Even though the war has not reached the shores of the Fire Nation, his mind is in the middle of battle. It is time to take matters into his own hands - but can someone born in a family swearing allegiance to the Fire Lords be anything but a pawn? NOTES •Any characters that do not appear in Avatar: The Last Airbender belong to me. •The a:tla universe belongs to the creators. •This is a companion story to "The Thief".