Chapter Text
The sudden death of Fire Lord Azulon triggered everything.
Some believe that it was an assassination by one of the other nations to try to stop the advance of the war, others that he was seriously ill without anyone knowing, there were even those who thought that it had been Fire Nation rebels against the war; the reality is that Azulon's time had come, it was his time to go to the spiritual world, the time for one of his sons to ascend to the throne.
The official announcement to the Caldera community was solemnly given by the Fire Sages, in the presence of the royal family.
Prince Ozai, the youngest son, seemed distant, some would say indifferent, but supportive of his wife and children, who, although they did not interact much with the late monarch, were saddened by his departure. The children were still too young to fully understand the change that this would entail in their lives, however, they honored as their mother indicated at the time of saying goodbye to their grandfather.
Days later the news reached his eldest son, General Iroh, who was reviewing with his lieutenants the most appropriate strategy to deliver a crucial blow to one of the fronts of the imposing Ba Sing Se wall, after almost six hundred days of siege, they were closer than ever to destroying that detestable wall.
"After this attack, the first wall will fall and our forces will be able to take control of the crops in the outer circle, without food supply, the enemy soldiers will be weakened and our victory will soon be imminent; The Fire Nation will manage to take over the largest of the Earth Kingdom cities"
"General Iroh! Official news from the capital!" burst in a soldier, who entered his tent unannounced holding a small scroll in his hand, which was sealed with the insignia of the royal family and tied with a black bow.
It couldn't be anything good.
"We will continue the meeting shortly, let me attend to this message" seriously requested the general and his subordinates left the room while he unwrapped the letter.
'Dear Brother,
I regret to inform you that our father has witnessed his last sunset,
by the time this message reaches you, a few days will have passed since his
departure. He did not suffer, he died in his sleep.We will wait until your arrival for the succession ceremony.
your little brother,
Ozai'
Tightly squeezing the paper in his hand and avoiding at all costs that it was consumed in fire due to his deep pain, a solitary tear ran down the general's cheek. He knew immediately that he must return home, but he could not leave the campaign like this, they could not miss the opportunity to break the wall.
"Soldier!" He called imminently to who was still at the entrance waiting for his orders.
"Tell me, General," answered the young combatant attentively.
"Call my lieutenants again and look for Prince Lu Ten in the camp, there are many things to organize"
The fastest of the eel hounds at his disposal had the General in just under 3 days at the entrance to the palace, where he was received by his brother and his family.
"Iroh, welcome home," the youngest of the heirs said seriously.
"It saddens me that these circumstances are the ones that bring us together brother" replied the eldest.
"I'm so sorry, Iroh," Ursa interjected, reaching out to hug her brother-in-law. Zuko and Azula also approached offering their condolences.
"The mourning of the nation will still remain for a few more days, it is a good idea that you rest from your trip, while everything is prepared for the reading of the testament and the succession ceremony" Ozai continued, as always direct, while slightly guiding his children to one of the training grounds.
"Zuko, Azula, continue with your training, I don't want to find you wasting your time when I get there"
"Yes father" Little Zuko responded attentively, who at only 8 years old, knew that he had to make an effort if he wanted to catch up with his younger sister in the Fire Katas.
"Don't worry dad, I won't let Zuzu rest until he manages to make at least half the katas that I do" Azula contributed while smiling arrogantly at her brother, there had always been a little rivalry between the siblings when it came to firebending.
"Well, you can't do more than me if I get there first" challenged the boy as he ran to the training yard.
"Come back here dum-dum!" The 6-year-old girl yelled, chasing after him.
"Hum So young and so eager to master firebending techniques," Iroh commented; the servants had already taken care of unloading all his things from his mount and taking her to the stables, while the royal family went to the rooms wing.
"Zuko showed his skills as a firebender a little later than usual, but he's stubborn enough not to let that stop him," Ozai replied without further reproach. “On the other hand, he is quite advanced in the use of dual swords.” he said proudly.
"Reminds me of someone, who never admitted when he reached his limits" answered the elder smiling.
"Azula, on the contrary, does not need to make an effort to learn the techniques and achieves more and more advanced katas, however, she does not manage to get along with the others in the royal academy for girls"
"Maybe we should talk to the noble families, I know of a couple of families with girls of almost the same age, we could arrange a game afternoon" commented Ursa.
"Schedule it for after the holidays" the youngest of the brothers, who could never deny anything to his wife, simply gave in.
“How are the investigations going? Any new weapons we can use to destroy that damn wall?” Iroh inquired again, knowing this would pique his brother's attention.
Although the crown prince had forged an impressive military career from an early age, his brother never found himself interested in political or military matters, or at least not from a front-line point of view. Ozai was passionate about technological research, creating new weapons and tools that could make a difference for the nation.
“We are making good progress, the prototype of the war tanks is ready, we will go to the tests once the mourning ends, with them there will be no terrain that we cannot reach, neither snow nor rocks will be an impediment” he replied with greater conviction than in the rest of the conversation.
"War tanks?"
“Armored vehicles from which soldiers can fire bursts of fire, while protecting themselves from enemy projectiles, with traction chains on the wheels to prevent slipping or getting stuck on difficult surfaces” explained Ozai smiling haughtily
“Our best invention so far”
"Who'd say? My little brother who was always putting together new toys out of bits of trash, creating the weapons that will help us end this almost 100 year war,” Iroh laughed.
"They weren't just toys!" He replied annoyed, referring to the typical phrase of ridicule from his older brother. "Anyway, rest Iroh, we have events to plan in the next few days."
"If everything goes as planned, it will be a coronation and a great victory celebration." The eldest laughed, not knowing what the future really held for him.