Royal barge



The royal barge is a royal-class ship. One of these barges was briefly used by Princess Azula to travel mostly between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.

History
Azula's royal barge was first seen when the Fire Nation princess traveled to the Earth Kingdom in order to capture the traitors Zuko and Iroh on Fire Lord Ozai's orders. On deck, she made clear to her bodyguards that they were not to hesitate to attack a member of the royal family if they wanted to live. Soon after she dismissed the guards, the captain approached the princess, saying that "the tides [would] not allow [them] to bring the ship into port before nightfall." It became apparent that Azula ruled her crew with an iron fist as she forced the captain to bring the ship in anyway, threatening to kill him if he did not. At nightfall, Azula practiced her lightning generation on deck under the watchful eyes of her teachers, Lo and Li.

After docking in the port, Azula tracked down her brother and uncle. As a trick to get Zuko to come willingly, Azula told him that their father regretted banishing him and that he wished for Zuko to return home, realizing that family were the only ones he could trust. Zuko bought Azula's lie and decided to journey back to the Fire Nation with her on her ship. Iroh, skeptical about Azula's intentions, joined him in order to keep an eye on Zuko's safety. When the two arrived at the docks, they walked through an honorary guard formed by Azula's crew and were warmly welcomed by the princess who ordered the captain to set course for home. When the captain relayed the orders to the guards, he misspoke, saying that they were "taking the prisoners home". Zuko immediately realized her true intentions. He pushed the captain overboard in order to get on deck where Azula was, while Iroh took care of Azula's bodyguards. The two siblings fought on deck, Azula clearly being the better fighter. When she prepared to finish the fight with a bolt of lightning, Iroh intervened by redirecting the bolt and throwing his niece overboard, allowing the two to escape.

Azula discarded her ship as main means of transportation after Lo and Li pointed out the it might no longer be wise to travel with the Royal Procession if she intended to keep the element of surprise.

The Fire Nation princess used her ship again to travel back home with Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee after they had conquered the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. They also brought Iroh along with them as a prisoner after he betrayed his niece and nephew by attacking them in the Crystal Catacombs, thus allowing Katara to escape with Aang's body.

The ship was neither used nor seen again after this, as Azula switched modes of transportation to an airship.

During the arrival of Sozin's Comet, Phoenix King Ozai used a royal barge to travel from the Fire Nation Royal Plaza to his personal airship base off the coast of the Earth Kingdom.

Design
The royal barge used by Azula was much larger and faster than her brother's ship, which was a much older model. To show its royalty and high rank, the ship had gold on the roof of its tower and on the two-pronged bow. Azula's quarters in the tower were never shown as she had spent most of her time on deck, giving the crew orders and practicing her lightning generation under Lo and Li's tutelage.