Fire Nation Royal Family

The Fire Nation Royal Family is the ruling family of the Fire Nation. Although the current tree only traces after Fire Lord Sozin, the Royal Family has ruled the Fire Nation for many centuries.

History
The Fire Nation was originally ruled by the Fire Sages, with the Fire Lord at their head. However, the Fire Lord eventually gained more power and split off from the Fire Sages, becoming its own position. From that moment on, the Fire Lord and his or her family ruled the nation.



The family has been in power for many centuries, and there have been many dynasties, including the Pho Zel Dynasty. Over time, the position made its way to Sozin's ancestors, and the current Royal Family was born. At the age of twenty-four, Sozin took control of the Nation. Later in his life, Sozin took advantage of the Great Comet's power and led his nation in the Genocide of the Air Nomads, thereby instigating the Hundred Year War. Soon after his passing, his son, Azulon, was crowned Fire Lord and continued his efforts in the war and global domination.

The current Royal Family at this time was Azulon, his wife Ilah, and their sons Iroh and Ozai. The family enjoyed the newfound power of the Fire Nation greatly, and the war began to sway in their favor. Azulon's eldest son, Iroh, became a great general who often led his armies to victory. Iroh eventually had a son, Lu Ten, becoming the new Royal Family.

However, Ozai grew jealous of his brother's position as Heir to the Fire Lord and plotted to take his brother's place. Ozai soon saw an opening when Iroh failed to conquer Ba Sing Se due to the grief brought about by his son's death. Ozai began to use his daughter Azula, a firebending prodigy, to try and take the throne from Iroh, telling his father to revoke Iroh's birthright because Iroh's bloodline had ended, while his was strong and powerful.

Enraged by Ozai's request, Azulon ordered Ozai to kill his only son, Zuko. However, Azula eavesdropped on the conversation and later taunted her brother on his fate. Ursa overheard her and told her to tell her everything she knew, thus learning of her husband's intentions to kill Zuko. Intent on saving her son's life, she offered Ozai a deal: she would concoct an untraceable poison for him to use as he pleased, if he would reconsider going after Zuko. The prince accepted the deal, albeit on the extra condition that Ursa left the palace. Ursa agreed, prepared the poison, which Ozai used to kill his father, and made her way into the night, leaving the palace. Ozai later told Zuko that Ursa did "treasonous things" that night, and the next day she was banished while Azulon was dead and Ozai was crowned Fire Lord. Ursa, meanwhile, returned to her home town, Hira'a, where the Mother of Faces granted her a new new face and identity to start a new life. Subsequently, she married her former boyfriend Ikem and had a child with him, Kiyi. It was not until six years later that Zuko and Azula discovered this small offshoot of the royal family.



Ozai's reign as Fire Lord was successful but cruel. The Fire Nation saw many victories and the Hundred Year War was going smoothly. However, in one war meeting, the young Prince Zuko spoke out against a general's plan and by doing so in the Fire Lord's War Room, he had disrespected the Fire Lord himself. This resulted in his father challenging him to an Agni Kai. At this Agni Kai, Zuko begged for forgiveness, but his father did not listen to him and burned him, scarring him for life. Following this, Zuko was banished, only to return if he had found the Avatar, who had gone missing for a hundred years. Zuko was accompanied by Iroh on his defining quest.

Nearly two-and-a-half years after his banishment, Zuko succeeded in finding the Avatar, a twelve-year-old boy by the name of Aang. Though he succeeded in finding him, Zuko did not capture him and was eventually marked a traitor to the nation, causing his father to send his daughter Azula after Zuko and his uncle. Along with school friends Mai and Ty Lee, Azula managed to track down Zuko as well as the Avatar, beating her brother many times, but never capturing the Avatar nor Zuko.

Over the course of this time period, Azula eventually ran into a group known as the Kyoshi Warriors. After defeating them, Azula and her team donned their outfits and infiltrated Ba Sing Se. In Ba Sing Se, Azula formed an alliance with the Dai Li and Long Feng. She put her plan into action and started the Coup of Ba Sing Se, during which she successfully lured her brother into joining her and betraying their uncle. She effectively conquered the Earth Kingdom in the name of the Fire Lord when she killed Avatar Aang.



Upon his return to his homeland, Ozai praised Zuko for the Avatar's death; Azula had lied to Ozai because she suspected there was a possibility that Aang was still alive. However, Zuko felt inner turmoil because he betrayed his uncle. The Fire Nation Royal Family waited for the invasion that Azula had heard about which would take place on the Day of Black Sun so that they could thwart it and easily take over the world once Sozin's Comet returned. Once the actual invasion arrived, they did stop the attackers, but Zuko defected from the Fire Nation in order to teach the Avatar, who was revealed to have survived Azula's assault as she had thought, firebending. Zuko had decided that the Fire Nation's waging of the Hundred Year War was not what the world needed, breaking from the Royal Family's opinion that had been held for the last century. On this day, Iroh escaped from his prison, using the eclipse to overpower the guards who were unable to firebend.



Ozai and Azula were infuriated and wanted to take revenge. Azula nearly managed this when she met her brother again at the Boiling Rock and fought him. After a relatively even battle on the gondola, Azula and Ty Lee noticed that the gondola was about to be cut down by prison guards and escaped. However, before the gondola with Zuko and other prison-break participants was cut from the wire, Mai intervened and saved them. This led to Azula's attempt to kill Mai. Ty Lee managed to stop Azula in time with her chi blocking, but she and Mai were captured by the guards and imprisoned. This betrayal caused Azula to slip into insanity, but this would not become evident until the arrival of Sozin's Comet.

Several weeks prior to the arrival of Sozin's Comet, the Fire Lord had a war meeting and pondered how the Earth Kingdom rebellions could be stopped. Azula spoke up and told him he should burn the entire continent to the ground, to which he agreed, saying a new world would rise from the ashes. The Fire Lord attempted to go through with this plan after crowning himself Phoenix King, but interference from Team Avatar and the Order of the White Lotus thwarted his plans. At Azula's coronation, she had finally slipped into insanity and was easily taken down by Zuko and Katara.



Meanwhile, Aang defeated Ozai by stripping him of his firebending through the use of energybending. Finally, the Order of the White Lotus managed to liberate Ba Sing Se, ending the war.

Ozai was imprisoned following his defeat and Azula was put into a mental health facility where she was continuously monitored. Zuko was subsequently crowned Fire Lord and officially ended the war.

Zuko later continued the royal bloodline through at least one child, a daughter named Izumi to whom he passed the throne in 167 AG following his retirement. Zuko's grandson, Iroh, is a general of the United Forces and the commander of its First Division. He was also crucially involved in the battle for Republic City, helping to liberate Republic City from the Equalists.

Duties
The Fire Nation Royal Family is a very powerful family, whose main duty is to rule the Fire Nation. Although not clearly stated, the Fire Nation Royal Family may require members to do some military work, with the Fire Lord having command over the armed forces. The Royal Family played an important role in the Hundred Year War: Fire Lord Sozin instigated the conflict and Azulon, Iroh, Lu Ten, and Ozai were all stated to be militarily involved. Members of the Royal Family also represent their country in diplomatic affairs.