Fanon:A Dark Sun

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A Dark Sun
Information
Series	The Rise of Lirin
Book	The Great Fall
Chapter	6
Written by	The Snowbold
Air date	April 24, 2021
Episode guide
Previous	Lord Avatar
Next	Faceless

Air, Water, Earth, Fire. A new Avatar has been born to the Fire Nation as the cycle of the Avatar continues. And Lirin must face a new challenge as both Avatar and Prince of the Fire Nation.

A Dark Sun

The winter months passed on in a stalemate of war. Raids and threatening moves were made, but nothing like the bloody battles that began this conflict. There was nothing that telegraphed the next great battle between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. The most elite soldiers were carrying out secret missions to improve their nation's power or harm the enemy's.

However, for the average soldier or sailor, it might seem like an exercise. For seaman Rin, his ship constantly crossed from the mainland to a forward base on Tion, closer to Republic City. When the first transport order was given to his captain, he thought it was odd. The direct island closest to the pickup point was Kyoshi Island, and they had the resources to transport supplies. However, their ship was sent elsewhere. This had been going on for over a month, ferrying supplies from the mainland to the same Fire Nation forward base.

Rin thought it was odd and wasteful of military resources, however he never complained publicly. His ship had been involved, briefly, in breaking the blockade of the Fire Nation. It was a harrowing experience to actually take part in a battle of such scale. His ship didn't have the firepower of others in the Grand Admiral's fleet, but it had its place filling in the gaps while the fleet struck the blockade with force of numbers in a concentrated area.

The terror of those days stayed with Rin. If his captain wanted to keep shipping supplies in an overly long trip, he was fine with that over the risk of death in a bloody sea battle with the Earth Kingdom.

Rin rested on his break as the ship sailed out to sea. He looked back at the island. It had a small village that was essentially built around the base. The island used to be a fishing hub until technology allowed for better preservation and transport to larger islands. With that change, only military personnel served as customers. Between the military and villagers, there were maybe 15,000 people on this part of the island and another five to six thousand elsewhere on this small dot of land in the sea.

Rin was standing up as his break ended when a bright flash of light dazed him. He held his hands over his face to shield his eyes. Soon after, a shockwave blasted across the sea. It was so violent that Rin fell to the deck. The waves of the sea became a ripple pattern away from the flash.

Soon, alarms were blaring across the ship and the captain's XO was giving out orders for the men to get to the station and prepare for rescue operations. As Rin got his balance back and stood up, he looked to the source of light. In its place was the military base they had just resupplied. Now it was just a crater, a crater with a fire that consumed the small village around it.

Rin had watched with sadness when the disaster was from a distance. However, as he got closer, he was filled with horror from the images that were seared into his brain that day. He cursed himself for wanting to avoid war. From this day forward, he would rather risk battle than ever have to see this again.

Tragedy in the Homeland

The catastrophe at Tion dominated the minds of people around the world. Reporters and first responders flocked to the island as a Fire Nation naval ship called for help after witnessing a massive explosion take the forward military base on the island. The village was caught up in the subsequent explosion.

For Lirin, it was disturbing and all too familiar. As an arms-race escalated, Lirin and many in the war council studied SVE weapons and their capabilities. This explosion was exactly that. They knew it because that is what the Fire Navy transporter was carrying to Tion. What they didn't know was why this happened. Multiple shipments had arrived before without this destruction.

Worse, the gruesome image of civilian casualties just worsened the effect. Lirin found it hard to stomach as children cried for help while burning and no amount of water could stop their pain even if the fire went out.

For some time, the world was too shocked to ask the next questions after what happened. How did this happen? Who did it? Why? Lirin knew that anyone asking that question would quickly answer the question with a wave of their hand and accuse the Earth Kingdom. However, he wanted a more concrete answer.

• * * * *

Lirin sat across from Kori for lunch. Kori and Mira agreed to a schedule, not that they told Lirin what that schedule entailed. Lirin spent more time with Kori over the last couple of months. They had also been upfront with her and Fire Lord Zorin about the pregnancy of Mira. Lirin's child would be protected, and they decided it was best to keep the pregnancy under wraps until after Kori had children or at least was noticeably pregnant.

In a rare sign of unity, all four agreed. Zorin did not want this pregnancy to harm the alliance with the Water Tribe. Kori did not want to be pressured by her family. Mira did not want her child to be used in the political games of the Fire Nation. And Lirin did not want the world to know and target Mira.

As a result, Lirin spent more time with Kori. They often discussed her relief work, but Lirin was grateful for her counsel. As an outsider, both politically and culturally, Lirin liked having her input. He also did his best to teach her about the Fire Nation from his perspective and joke about court politics.

Much of this lunch was devoted to the impending relief effort to Tion. "Are you sure that you have to go?"

"I am in charge of the Water Tribe Relief Effort to the Fire Nation. It would be poor form to avoid going to a site of disaster."

"Still, it could be dangerous. It may have been over a hundred years since the first SVE weapons were created and used, but we have no real idea what effect they have on humans."

Kori chuckled, "I think you're being a tad dramatic."

Lirin continued, "It's not just your health, I am worried about the security presence that can be available in the middle of a disaster zone with recovery teams desperately moving around. It will be the perfect place for infiltrators to come after you."

"I'll just have to take that risk. I am a princess who will soon be the lady of the Fire Lord. If I can't help the people when they need it most, what good am I?"

• * * * *

Lirin discussed the issue with Kori for some time with no success. Others sided with the public image of the princess personally leading the relief effort. Zorin, just like his son, was worried that if something happened to Lirin's fiancé, it would jeopardize the alliance but relented when the court insisted it was the best way to show the royal family's support to helping Tion.

As Lirin continued his duties, he was given a stack of folders, profiles of officers. Zorin wanted his son to focus on selecting a new Grand General of the Army. Lirin was a little peeved he couldn't just pick Ban and move on.

He knew that Ursa was grooming her protégé, but Ban, even as a general now, was not considered the most qualified. Ban was only recently promoted to general and had little experience. On the other hand, a couple of files on his desk were colonels with immense experience. Apparently Ursa had put them on the short list because of their skill and experience.

Lirin wondered how he was supposed to pick one of these people, all who were more qualified than him, to be the next Grand General. His frustrated musings were interrupted by a junior officer, "Prince Lirin, Minister Shi has requested a war council meeting."

"Very well," Lirin assumed it was about Tion, "let's go."

A Convenient Enemy

Earth King Luei joined his councilors as they prepared to brief him. His main concern was to answer the question on everyone's mind, who was responsible for the Tion disaster?

Luei breathed in relief when he first heard the news. The fact that the Fire Nation experienced the first accident in the arms race related to SVE weapons would take the stigma off the Earth Kingdom that had been lambasted for starting said arms race.

However, as time went by, he wanted to know who was responsible. Was it a screw up by the Fire Nation, or did someone sabotage them? In either case, it was important for the Earth Kingdom to take precautions to prevent that from happening to them.

One of his spymasters took charge and presented the findings. "We have had some issues in our collection of intelligence. Primarily access to the site itself, however, our communication interception and assets were able to collect data that helped us draw a conclusion. We noted a spike of communication between disparate groups in the Fire Nation in the leadup to the disaster. Immediately before the event, these groups began communicating with groups within the Air Nation, mostly Republic City, but not uniformly. In the wake of the event, the chatter of these groups spiked enormously."

A general spoke up, "Couldn't that spike in communication be attributed to just anyone hearing the news?"

"Certainly, and if that was all that came of it, our investigation would have ended. However, after some more time, we noticed that some of these groups centered around one cell in Republic City. We haven't been able to pinpoint where exactly they are, but each cell we identified in the network reported to this one. Every cell communicated with each other and reported this cell. But there is one other contact that only spoke to the representative cell. We did manage to pinpoint this cell's contact, Air Temple Island."

A few stirrings and deep breaths occupied the room as Luei processed this. "Then what is the conclusion you draw from this assessment?"

"My liege, we believe the Air Nation has created a mostly insulated organization that is meant to carry out such activities like assassinations and sabotage with as little contact and reporting in the proper military command. It is our belief that the Air Nation is responsible for the SVE fallout on Tion Island."

"The Faceless?" Luei had seen the announcements from this terrorist group who attacked soft targets anywhere in the world. While their most impactful strikes were Air Temple Island and Kyoshi Island, there were actually few attacks on the Air Nation with high casualties. This was especially true when compared to Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation targets. One hundred might get injured in the Air Nation while a few hundred might die in one of the two warring nations.

Luei had suspected that the Faceless were in league with the Air Nation after the attack on Kyoshi Island. The Air Nation vehemently denied this and then promptly removed Ko Jinora from their leading council, a humiliation for a descendent of the Jinora Clan to be leader and then kicked out of the council entirely. Luei assumed this was their attempt to claim plausible deniability.

"We are not completely sure; however, this network does operate beyond any borders and seems to hold a vehement hatred of traditional government structures. While they hate the Avatar more, the Earth Kingdom is next on the list."

"Have we been able to confirm who is their contact on Air Temple Island?"

"No, but based on the timing of the calls, it can only be a select group of people," The officer next to the spymaster passed out copies of a list of names.

The council reviewed the list and had concerned faces, "The Council of Elders and their direct subordinates?"

"They were the only people with the access and were located there when these communiques went out to the central cell. Your highness, someone very high up in the Air Nation is using a terrorist organization as cover to attack the Fire Nation."

A general in the council spoke up, "Isn't that a good thing for us?" He had spoken half in jest.

The spymaster answered humorlessly, "Not if these are the same people who attempted to assassinate his majesty on Kyoshi Island." The general shut up after that.

Luei looked to the council, "What is our recourse?"

An officer from the air force spoke up, "Frankly, my king? Not much. We do not have the same espionage capabilities as the Air Nation or the War Born. And what assets we have are occupied trying to stop the War Born's campaign of sabotage on Project Guru."

Another officer entered the conversation, "We would lose the element of surprise and the enemy would know we can monitor their communication, but if we announce this publicly, it will continue to embroil and destabilize the Air Nation. These recent events are unpopular in Republic City. The people have called for extreme action against the Council of Elders. Just a week ago, a protest calling for the trial of the council was at the steps of the Presidential Building."

A colonel spoke up in support, "Your highness, there is also another benefit. If we make this announcement, it takes away the power of the Fire Nation to pin it on us. If the Fire Nation announces that the Earth Kingdom is responsible and fabricates the evidence, no one would believe our denial. But if we announce first, people will doubt the Fire Nation instead." The officer let that suggestion sink in before continuing, "Also, the Fire Nation has yet to make an official report. It may be that they are reading the same reports we are. If the Fire Nation by luck believes we are telling the truth, that may divert their attention to the Air Nation as a top priority."

"Do you mean to use this as a way to entice the Fire Nation to attack Republic City before focusing on a campaign of the Earth Kingdom?" Luei was intrigued.

"Yes, sire," the colonel affirmed, "both strategies will require significant resources to fully commit to occupation of a city. If they attack Republic City first, they will have to hold off on attacking the Earth Kingdom. That is time we can spend improving our air force and getting Project Guru at a weapons-grade stage."

"And what does the council think?" Luei looked around. A few spoke up and discussed alternatives, however the Earth King felt the first proposal was the most thought out.

"Alright, prepare to release as much information as we can while protecting our means of interception. We will hold a press conference within the next two days."

• * * * *

The Fire Lord's war council had seen some depressing information pass by over these last few months. But the intelligence surrounding Tion was heartbreaking and frustrating. The operation to smuggle spirit vines from the Swamp and transport them back to the Fire Nation had gone relatively well.

They intercepted Earth Kingdom shipments, carried out their own collections and even managed to create a sizable supply chain. While their supply reserve was significantly smaller than the Air Nation or Earth Kingdom, the technical skill the War Born brought to the table allowed for them to make weapons without as much testing.

The fact that their main base to develop SVE weapons was gone was a blow to the Fire Nation on top of the tragedy. There were two positives from this disaster. One, there was more than one location storing spirit vines. Two, the scale of destruction, while large, was not enough to create rifts in spiritual energy.

"So, Minister Shi, have we learned anything?" Grand Marshal Zun inquired. If the safety of the spirit vine transportation were in question, the Fire Air Force would take over the role of shipping from the Fire Navy.

"Our picture isn't complete, but we have two main suspects that we are looking at, the Earth Kingdom and the Air Nation. Both are enemies and would seek to sabotage us while they develop their own SVE. We have evidence of communications chatter in Republic City at the time of the accident, but we also have significant activity west of the Swamp that was unrelated to the Earth Kingdom's Project Guru."

Lirin chimed in, "So let me ask this: what are the odds that both of those activities are coincidences with someone else responsible? And do we even know how they managed to cause the accident?"

"We can't explain exactly what went wrong but we have a good estimate based on the time reports and how the explosion occurred."

Shi brought up a diagram on the screen of the island before and after the explosion. "As you can see, there was a significant explosion as a result from raw SVE exposure. What we learned after examination is that the spirit vines did not go off simultaneously but was a chain reaction instead. We also know based on the Tion Facility reports that they were in the middle of testing for miniaturization for smaller weapons to deploy. It would stand to reason that this miniaturization test had a negative reaction that led to all the spirit vines going off."

"So why wouldn't that be considered an accident?"

Jin spoke up, "It was for this exact reason that the War Born studied and developed a means to initiate a cooldown on unstable spirit vines. Every researcher authorized by the Fire Nation to work with spirit vines directly were taught the procedure. No one who knew how to stop this would have allowed this accident to occur. This was sabotage."

Lirin paused at the explanation. As much as he didn't like it, he felt it was too convenient that an enemy sabotaged them. However, the fact that means to prevent a deteriorating spirit vine existed further proved the point that it was unlikely that it had just been an accident.

"Then which is more likely, the Air Nation or Earth Kingdom?"

"We have determined that the Earth Kingdom is the most likely. They have been cracking down on security around the Swamp and activity near the coastal pickup spot was detected after this shipment moved. We also have communication on Earth Kingdom channels around the swamp that coincided with our collections of spirit vines."

• * * * *

The war council was looking over the information they had when news reports came about an announcement from the Earth Kingdom regarding Tion Disaster. The war council watched as Earth King Luei spoke in front of cameras.

They half-expected an exclamation, a victory lap of their sabotage of the SVE weapon development of the Fire Nation. After all the setbacks the Earth Kingdom suffered in a war they started, this would be a win worth calling out. There was also the chance that Luei would deny involvement in the whole thing, or claim the entire thing was fabricated.

To their surprise, Luei gave a serious explanation about his suspicions. According to the Earth King, the Air Nation was behind the incident. Not only did they make the claim, but they also presented timelines of communication between networks of spies and correlations with communications between Air Temple Island and a specific cell in Republic City. Based on what Luei said, the Air Nation was again attempting to use the Faceless as a smoke screen to attack.

Lirin wanted to reject the information presented to him, but his instincts told him to think. He wished everyone else was as calm. A myriad of reactions was present in the war council. Some discarded the validity as a false flag to keep the Earth Kingdom out of the new alliance's radar. Others believed the Earth Kingdom and Air Nation worked together and that Luei stabbed them in the back as revenge.

Shi spoke up to give his piece, "I do find it interesting how much more detailed information the Earth King has."

"It doesn't matter how detailed it is if it's fabricated."

"But a good portion of the information corroborates with what we have. We can tell that various groups in the Air Nation were in contact with each other. We didn't know that one of them was contacting Air Temple Island. It may very well be that the Earth Kingdom discovered the truth."

"Then why would they reveal it? Wouldn't it be better for them to hold onto it for leverage?"

"Not if they want to redirect our attention to the Air Nation." Shi may have had a different nuance, but he didn't disagree with the agenda. "Republic City is closer and more technologically advanced. The resources the Fire Nation would have to spend to deal with them before the Earth Kingdom would be significant and affect the entire war with the Earth Kingdom. That would give them time to recover and strike back. At the very least, they could use that time to develop new weapons to deter us."

Zorin sighed as he considered this information, "We don't have anything concrete enough to say which nation did this. In either case, they are both enemies and we should proceed with the presumption that both were involved."

Lirin leaned back, quietly disgruntled. He found it hard to believe it was that simple.

Inconvenient Truths

Lirin didn't have much luck convincing anyone that there was more to the Tion Disaster. Even Shi was skeptical of his view and thought only another nation would have the skills and resources necessary to carry out this attack.

Lirin understood why they thought so, but his instincts were telling him there was more to it. Lirin left the caldera of Capital City and approached the docks, where Princess Kori had continued her relief work.

In the wake of Tion, her focus was diverted to this island and the surrounding settlements first. Kori's day had been consumed with this and barely had time to speak with Lirin. She was busy signing paperwork and managing supply manifests when she saw the young Avatar approach, "Your highness, I am sorry I can't give a more proper welcome, but we are swamped right now. We are currently preparing for our first aid to reach Tion."

"You're going yourself?" Lirin noticed that she was dressed less formally, like she would when she was traveling to nearby islands for outreach. Lirin wasn't bothered by it as it helped her gain some freedom and appeal to the people. However, the idea that she was going to Tion after a Spirit Vine explosion was disconcerting. "Are you sure that is wise?"

"I need to show the survivors that they are not forgotten. If the Crown Prince's fiancé personally goes, that shows that someone at the top cares. So, I am sorry if I seem a bit distracted, but we are trying to leave as soon as possible."

"Well, I have plenty to say about you going, but first things first, I need your advice."

Kori smiled slightly. Although she didn't like the timing, she still appreciated that Lirin wanted her advice, something she never got in the North. They moved to a more private office away from the hustle of the relief effort.

Lirin paced for a bit before starting, "Did you hear Earth King Luei?"

"Yes."

"And what do you think?"

"It makes sense," Kori answered slowly, "The Air Nation went as far as to deceive both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom and attempt to kill the monarchs of both. Of course, it is just as plausible for the Earth Kingdom to frame them so that they are no longer the main target."

Lirin looked out a window at the docks as he responded, "What if it was neither of them?"

Kori looked skeptical, "I don't see anyone else with the resources capable of that. Or with the ability to deal with the aftermath of staging an SVE explosion on enemy territory."

Lirin had a troubled looked as he mused on that statement. Before he could respond, Kori added, "But perhaps it was carried out specifically by someone who doesn't have the resources for prolonged war with the enemy. Someone who wants you locked in a bloody war with someone else so they can strike."

A name came to Lirin's mind, "The Faceless."

"The terrorist proxies of the Air Nation?" Kori inquired.

"I have a feeling based on the leader I met, that it was more a relationship of convenience rather than subordination," Lirin left the window as he resumed pacing, "I fought a bender capable of manipulating multiple elements on a scale I have never seen before. Does that sound like someone who answers the beck and call of the Air Nation?"

"That's impossible, only the Avatar can bend more than one element."

Lirin chuckled, "During Avatar Korra's time, it was thought that only the Avatar could take someone's bending. Until Amon proved otherwise. Just because the Avatar is the only known bender of elements, doesn't mean we are the only one."

"If someone capable of such power exists, why don't we know more about them?" Kori was certain that if someone else besides the Avatar could bend all four elements, the world would know.

"Because they have been erased," Lirin had a sad chuckle. "There was once a time when the world was covered in spirit wilds and many lion turtles. Now we can't even comprehend that. But to think, there were once humanoid spirits that the Avatar committed genocide on. Is it so hard to believe a past life of mine decided to eliminate the competition?"

The look of terror on Kori's face with this realization was full of fear and revelation. Avatars have been painted as great heroes throughout history, but were there villains in the stories too?

Lirin began walking out, "I need to visit the royal vaults beneath the Dragon Bone Catacombs, I would like you to come with me."

The Vaults

Lirin stood before the daunting vaults of the Fire Nation Royal Family. It hadn't been opened since Rishu and Tala frequented the vaults decades ago. It held untold-of treasures but also dangerous and possibly deadly secrets. Beside the young Avatar was his betrothed, the princess of another nation.

"Lirin, are you sure I am permitted to enter here? This is the private vaults of the Fire Nation Royal Family."

"And you will be my wife and mother of my children, including the next Fire Lord," Lirin affirmed that his permission was all she needed to enter.

"Not if some of your court has their way," Kori chuckled as they walked through the opened vault. "Rumors of Mira's condition are slowly spreading. Most would rather have their daughters marry you to challenge my position, but if they can appeal to you through your firstborn, they will try."

"They will be sorely mistaken if they think that will work. After all, the three of us have already discussed this."

Lirin, Mira and Kori had already had a conversation confirming previous separate talks and also alerting them to Mira's pregnancy. As a native of the Fire Nation, the odds of Mira's children being firebenders were greater than Kori's which was a requirement for Fire Lord. In other situations, this could be the prologue to a bloody succession war. But that was already quelled, the royal court just didn't know it yet.

"How has she been feeling?" Kori asked both as a courtesy and as curiosity. She did not want to be blindsided by pregnancy herself.

"The morning sickness is past, but she now has terrible taste in food. Unfortunately, as the one who most often cooks for me, I have to endure her odd cravings too."

Kori chuckled, "I would think the Crown Prince could order for another cook to prepare his meals."

"That would most likely be handled by Mira's mother, Ita. So, I will pass."

"You're not her favorite person?"

Lirin laughed, "She knew that Mira and I could never get married and wanted more for her daughter. Becoming the mistress of the Avatar was never what she wanted for her Mira."

"Then odd flavors and combinations it is," Kori chuckled. If Lirin was going to have a mistress who was with child, he should also live with the consequences of a pregnant lover.

"She is more passionate, at least."

"Wasn't exactly trying to learn that at this moment," Kori blushed at the topic. Despite the frank conversations they had on the matter and the agreement that it would be best for her to have a child sooner rather than later, she had yet to share a night with Lirin. To be honest, she was nervous. Lirin was an experienced man while she was only educated in such affairs. She was confident in her beauty, but the act of something and the thought of it were two different things.

Changing the topic, Kori coughed and spoke up, "What exactly are we looking for here?"

"Anything in our history that would explain benders like the one I faced."

"Do you really think that there are benders out there capable of what you say?" Kori looked around the ancient treasures as she followed the focused Lirin.

"I don't know, but there are few places in the physical world where I can find out. This is one of them. My father told Ursa and I that Fire Lord Rishu would often leave behind documents here. Nothing in his will mentioned Zorin needing to read them. I think he left them for the next Avatar."

"What makes you think that?" Kori felt like that was a stretch.

"Why did the Fire Sages feel the need to remind me?" Lirin reached the end of a corridor that was covered in less spider webs and dust than the others. While it had been years since it was used, it was clear someone had been here more recently than the rest of this tomblike vault.

Lirin looked at the bookshelf and saw a variety of topics presented. Romantic novels from history, ancient history, war records. Finally, Lirin saw two particular books grab his attention. The first and oldest one read, Ancient Things of the World: What is and Was. The second was, The Life and Times of Avatar Tala. Lirin brought both books to the table as the prince and princess sat down and began reading.

Kori read the biography of Tala written by Rishu while Lirin read the ancient book. Kori scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "This is odd, I remember reading this book years ago, but I don't remember these sections."

Lirin stopped reading and quickly formulated a response, "Rishu probably kept an unrevised edition for himself. After all, he kept secret that the Avatar was his lover after she became a widow."

A look of shock was on her face at the blasé way Lirin said it. Lirin chuckled, "Oh, right, that isn't public knowledge."

"How did you know? I know it was rumor back in the day but that went away after Zorin married Asune."

"Tala told me in the spirit world, so did Jin, my cousin. Apparently, they kept it secret for the sake of international balance. They also kept from having children out of a mutual love for Lira, my grandmother, who only had Zorin for an heir to the throne."

"Indeed, if Avatar Tala had a child with Fire Lord Rishu, it would have upset world balance."

"Like my birth?" Lirin turned to look at Kori.

"I guess so," Kori looked back at the pages and blushed, "I guess the three of them were very passionate." She turned the pages backwards to another section earlier in history, embarrassed at the steamy topic on the pages. "Hmm, I remember this. At the end of the Siege of Omashu, Avatar Tala fought with a spirit witch and killed her, ending the war."

"The Nifrin," Lirin read the section on their kind in response, "A race of spirits that evolved into humanoid forms with a power of magic in place of their spiritual forms. During the Era of Vaatu, they sided with humanity against other spirits. But they lost and retreated to their enclaves. The Avatars began wiping them out about a millennium into the Era of the Avatar."

"Why?"

"I don't know, this book seems to skip over unpleasant details," as Lirin leaned back in his chair, he noticed a black book that had no name. He reached over and removed it from the shelf. As he opened it, he noticed it was a journal, it had letters from several writers, he could tell from the handwriting rather than it being printed.

"This is a journal written by my bloodline."

"The Fire Lords?"

"No, Azula's progeny." Realizing that Kori would likely not be informed about the intricacies of his family history, Lirin volunteered, "After Azula escaped and created the Fire Warriors, she had a son. At some point, Zuko took custody of his nephew and raised him. The man and his descendants would become famed warriors of the Fire Nation. One of them, Lya, married Prince Luzin and together had Rishu."

"Were they cousins?" Kori had a shocked look.

"A couple of generations removed but yes, they were related. Apparently from what I was told, Rishu was the product of breeding, an agenda of the Black Dragon spirit creating a powerful firebender as a host. Zuko's line was the rightful heir, but Azula's was more powerful. By merging them, he ensured the greatest firebender in the world was born."

As Lirin turned the pages, he continued, "When Fire Lord Ma-Tin died without children, Rishu inherited the throne as the closest kin to her." Lirin sighed, "This would have been simpler if I was just related to the royal family, if Ma-Tin had an heir."

Kori breathed out, "She was in love, and couldn't be with the man she wanted."

"You read about Fire Lord Ma-Tin?" Lirin looked at Kori as she kept reading.

"Of course, most girls in the Water Tribes read about her. The tribe tries to use her as a cautionary tale for why women need to stay in their place. But I always admired her. In spite of all the pain and suffering she went through, she still led her people and sacrificed for them. I only wish she were rewarded for it."

Lirin thought quietly on that topic while reading the journal left by his ancestors. It was disturbing the lengths they went to for their master, almost like they were puppets.

• * * * *

Some time went by as the two read from the books they had. Kori sat up straight, "Lirin, I think I found something."

"What is it?"

"Have you heard of the Iar Sea?" Kori looked to Lirin as she asked.

"A haunted spot on the northern part of the continent, why?"

"Did you know Tala and Rishu went there during the war?"

"No," Lirin stood up and leaned over Kori as she continued reading Rishu's account.

"Why did the history books omit this?"

Lirin found the answer he was looking for, "Because the Iar Sea is home to the Storm's Grave."

Lirin rushed back to the book on ancient history, "I know I saw that name before," Lirin thumbed the pages when he found a section about humans. "The Storm Grave was home to the first and last stormbenders in the world. It was the only human stronghold to survive outside of the lion turtles during the invasion of the spirits. The lands were ruled by energybenders who learned to harness energy outside of their body to induce excessive storms as a way to fight spirits. These immortal warriors became warlords during the early Era of the Avatar. The Avatars after Wan began a campaign to kill them off because stormbenders began hunting down elemental benders and lion turtles, who they saw as a threat to their position of power."

Lirin's hand shook as he turned the page, "The last stormbenders were killed near the Iar Sea in what is known as the Storm's Grave, it is also the burial site of that Avatar."

Lirin turned the pages for a description of stormbenders, "Stormbenders were master energybenders who could prolong their lives, becoming immortal. They could create powerful storms over a variety of situations, however they had very little control of the minute details like an elemental bender. The only exceptions were spiritual energy and lightning, the stormbenders were masters of these."

Dejected, Lirin sat down, "That would explain how that man was capable of fighting with so many powers."

"But the stormbenders were wiped out millennia ago."

"Is it so hard to believe that one survived and went into hiding? Besides, this book said they could become immortal. And Koram said he had killed other Avatars before. Maybe whenever someone found out, he eliminated them to keep his secret."

"Attacking you in the middle of Kyoshi Island sort of blows his cover, doesn't it?" Kori tilted her head.

"There were no records of it, just my witness testimony. If he killed me, history would eventually forget how."

"If a stormbender still exists, why would he throw his lot in with the Faceless?"

"The Faceless are drawn from the remnants of Equalists and Red Lotus, and their ideology is diametrically opposed to the existence of the Avatar. Is it so hard to think they could be manipulated by a stormbender to form another terrorist network?"

"And why now? Why not kill the Avatar when he was more vulnerable?"

"I asked the same thing. Aang spent a considerable time not in full control of the Avatar State, and Korra treated it like a booster rocket. His answer was that it would have been no fun. But that is not my biggest concern."

Kori looked away from the journals and books, "What is?"

"Koram was present, but he wasn't the leader of the Faceless. He said he was the last of his kind, so who could command an immortal stormbender?"

As the hours went by, Kori read an old book from a thousand years ago, "Lirin, did you know that a dozen different Avatars have had children marry into the royal family? I mean, your mother was Tala's grandchild and Roku's granddaughter married Ozai, but there were a lot more. There was an Avatar named Tiros, another named Akira. I didn't realize how many are tied to your family."

"Hm," Lirin walked over and read the section from the book Kori held. It marked the notable marriages of the Fire Nation Royal family. "I knew about Tala and Roku, and there was a rumor that Szeto's bastard child married in. I knew there were a few others from the past, but I didn't realize there were so many."

"Almost sounds like your predicament was inevitable. I have never heard of any one family being related to so many Avatars over the millennia." Kori didn't laugh, but Lirin couldn't refuse the irony in her statement either.

"Fire Lords always claimed they had the divine right to rule, maybe they got that idea somewhere." Lirin recalled the histories of the Fire Lords and their claim to rule.

Treason

The sergeant left the barracks and entered the armory to conduct his inspection. One of his roles was to ensure various munitions and related supplies were always accounted for. There was typically a small amount of variance based on activities and rushed resupplies to the navy, but things were generally square at the end of the day.

The soldier spent a couple of hours inspecting as he read his notes. The amount of munitions on paper matched the amount in person, perfectly. He looked around, there was no one present in the middle of the day.

He walked to a specific aisle and removed some particular high-yield explosives that were valued for their compact size. It required a special igniter to go off, which he did not take. If he did, the inconspicuous discrepancy of logs would be more noticeable. He looked back to his log and marked down on the explosives and put notes suggesting a discrepancy due to naval resupplies in the last week.

• * * * *

The sergeant saluted a passing officer as he returned to the barracks that night. He didn't recognize their face. He wasn't completely surprised. Since the Tion Disaster, there had been many new people on base passing through.

The sergeant enjoyed his shift, as he preferred working alone and his hours meant he wasn't constantly surrounded by others. It also made his mission easier if there was no one looking over his shoulder while doing inspections. Best of all, he returned to barracks between the busy hours, which gave him both time to rest and time to handle discreet shipping.

He was turning the corner when a dull pain hit the back of his head.

• * * * *

The sergeant woke up groggily as water was dripping on his face. He looked up with squinted eyes to see some figures past his blurry vision. As his eyes cleared, he noticed at least three men in the dark room that was contrasted with a small ray of sunlight in the back.

One of the men wore the uniform and insignias to confirm he was a colonel. The other two men wore armor. The sergeant quivered in fear as he realized what armor it was. The black, red and greys of the Dust Dragons left a distinct impression.

Because of the relative stalemate of the war, the Fire Nation's Navy and Air Force were more active than the Army. As a result, the Fire Army's intelligence bureau had taken the lead to conduct espionage while their activity was low. The Dust Dragons, as the most elite warriors, were used to carry out the most dangerous missions.

"I was wondering if you would wake on your own or have to be woken up with smelling salts," the colonel turned to face the terrified sergeant. "I am Colonel Tan of BAIN." The officer introduced himself and referred to his command center, the Bureau of Army Intelligence Networks, by its acronym.

A sharp pain stunned the sergeant. He saw the leg of one of the Dragon Warriors return to normal posture, "Salute a superior officer, sergeant."

The man was confused whether he would be allowed to stand in this situation when the colonel spoke up, "I think we can dispense with proper protocol for sergeant Amu here. After all, he is a traitor."

The last word rang in his ear, "I'm sorry, sir. But did you call me a traitor?" Amu sat up straight as he addressed the officer.

"What would you call theft of army weapons and sending them to enemies while in uniform besides treason?" Tan's eyes sharpened as he watched Amu for any reaction.

Amu was about to make his defense when a punch landed on his face. One of the Dragon Warriors was still hunched over as he spoke, "Don't bother, we already know about the explosives you stole today. We also know about the trend of missing supplies that always get chalked up to clerical error. It was all within margin, so no one looked at it before. However, when viewed over time, a disturbing pattern of weapons were missing, all of them perfect for use as sabotage with little to no trace of detection."

Amu was stuttering, his mind reaching for any excuse it could come up with when the colonel spoke again, "Amu, I don't know how you got into this predicament, but we will find out one way or another. The question you have to ask yourself is how painful it will be for you and how shameful for your family."

"My family?" Amu looked at Tan in terror. Tan pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the kneeling Amu.

Tan smirked as he answered, "Oh yes. With cooperation, we will simply tell your family that their son died in a munitions accident while doing his job. However, resist, and you will be labeled a traitor. Your family comes from Shu Jing, right? The people there are very patriotic. Once word gets out that you are a traitor, your family will be ostracized from society in the best case."

Amu didn't have time to consider the consequences for his family when the next statement came, "Make no mistake, sergeant Amu, you will suffer, and then you will die alone. The only question you should ask is to what degree. So, tell me, traitor, who are you giving the stolen munitions to?"

Defiance swelled up in Amu as he answered in the most direct voice that he could without looking like a liar, "The black market. I figured I could turn a good profit on explosives that can't be traced to anyone."

Tan had a quiet look as he listened. He leaned and whispered, "Wrong answer."

His wrists were gripped tightly as they were lifted up by the Dragon Warriors. He tried in vain to resist as his arms were shackled above his head. "This would be less painful for you and easier for me if you were just honest," Tan nodded his head to one of the Dragon Warriors.

The soldier looked back at Amu. Despite the dragon-faced helm, Amu could have sworn the face was full of rage. A hand quickly shot towards his chest and his body was racked in pain. It left as quickly as it struck as the warrior's hand retreated.

"It's not easy to generate lightning on such a small scale that it electrocutes you without permanent damage or knocking you out. At least lightning worth being proud of. The Dust Dragons spent years perfecting the technique and each warrior spends years mastering it. It actually serves a pretty good medical purpose to restart the heart, but not enough doctors are this skilled. That was when we decided to test its effects on obstinate people being interrogated."

"Please, I'm telling the truth..."

Tan rolled his eyes, "I guess you want to be the hero who suffers in silence? Very well."

Another burst of pain as electricity ran through Amu's body caused him to scream in agony.

• * * * *

Lirin listened to the report of the BAIN agent, Colonel Tan, "I'm afraid that Avatar Lirin's suspicions are correct that the Faceless were involved. It took the better part of a day to break through his resistance and his attempts at lying or misdirection. However, by the end, we got a pretty clear picture of his cell and the orders they received."

The colonel turned a page in his notes as he continued briefing Fire Lord Zorin's War Council. "Amu was given orders to regularly siphon off valuable materials when he could without attracting attention and never to take anything in complete form. As a result, no one on the field put two and two together that he was shipping off untraceable bombs to terrorists," Tan had a grim look on his face as he continued. "The other members of his cell included a lieutenant on the docks and some shipping crew soldiers. We are still working on their interrogations, but we have a solid understanding of how they played a part in the Tion Disaster."

"And what was their exact role?" General Ban inquired.

"The Faceless not only knew we were building SVE weapons, but they also knew where the largest depot of the materials was located. This cell was ordered to collect, build and distribute the bombs to another team that would then have them transferred to the supply ship sent to Tion regularly with Spirit Vines."

"If the explosives were on the ship, then that means one of the crew was involved."

"Yes, sir. They smuggled the bombs into the laboratory and then set it off when they knew a test would happen to cause a chain reaction." Tan answered confidently.

"Have we located the traitor on the ship?"

"Not yet, sir. The Air Force has dispatched the Sky Dragons and they will take the ship by force within the hour. Once they have done that, we will send a false flag message to lure out Faceless chatter. This should give us the identity aboard the ship as well as leads elsewhere in the nation."

Zorin chimed in, "What is the involvement of the Air Nation? In the past, they have cooperated with the Faceless. Could this have been the Air Nation's way of carrying out sabotage?"

Tan answered firmly, "Your majesty, that was certainly considered. However, based on our findings, we believe that the Faceless are not subordinates of the Air Nation. In fact, it appears that the Air Nation are simply too stupid to realize they are being used."

An unsettling silence took the war council as Tan finished BAIN's debrief on the situation. Zorin looked at his son, "Prince Lirin, what gave you the thought to look deeper into the Faceless and potential of conspirators within the Fire Nation?"

"The Faceless may have a new name, but the cause is the same one the Red Lotus and Equalist have had for over a century, overthrowing the Avatar. That cause is global, not limited to any one nation or political group. Besides, Suyin Beifong's most trusted aide was a spy who had tricked her for decades before helping the Red Lotus in their kidnapping attempt. Compared to that, a sergeant sneaking explosives is child's play."

Lirin sighed, "Also, the Faceless are not a formal army. They are terrorists. They can't sustain a war with us if we aren't distracted. The longer we went on without direct conflict, the better chance a peace could be negotiated. Besides, Koram was dead set on killing me and destroying the image of the Avatar. If the Fire Nation is triumphant, the Faceless will be hard pressed to keep control of its members."

"What would you suggest, then?"

"We need to purge the Faceless as best as we can. It will only be a matter of time before the other cells realize we are onto them. If we miss them now, they will bury themselves and we will never                              be able to get past the surface."

• * * * *

The Earth King was shocked at the reports coming from his intelligence officers about the Fire Nation. According to their sources, the Tion Disaster was the result of the Faceless, the terrorists who tried to kill him and the Avatar on Kyoshi Island. The Fire Nation had discovered this and proceeded to carry out a purge. According to his men, over a hundred men went missing, likely dead or worse. And that was just the first day.

Luei was more upset at the other implication. That the Faceless had infiltrated another nation's military. Luei turned to his generals and ordered them, "We need to find out whether this scourge has made it into our ranks as well. We can't afford traitors that are eager for my death while we are at war with the Avatar."

"Yes, your majesty."

Qatil Warriors

Zorin spoke with Shi late at night, "Can we trust them?"

Zorin wasn't sure about the new partners they were considering hiring. While he had no bad blood with them, he also didn't have a good relationship either. Only one time had their name come up during his reign as Fire Lord over a local official's death.

Shi answered in his calm voice, "Trust? This is a contract; we pay them and get the quality and service commensurate with our payment. Discretion and faithfulness are factored in, which is why they are so expensive."

"Then is it worth it?"

"They are a rare band of skilled assassins that rivals the War Born, I don't think we will get another opportunity. The Air Nation may never agree to contracting them, but the Earth King will definitely consider it."

Shi paused before continuing, "Besides, on the issues of skilled manpower, we are stretched too thin. Ursa's loss along with half the Dust Dragons is being felt now. The War Born were a necessary addition to keep us afloat, but we are still coming up short if we ever want to take the offensive in this war."

Zorin breathed deeply, "Very well, then we will contract the Qatil Clan." Zorin's stare showed that he made this decision not because it was comfortable but because it was necessary.

• * * * *

Qatil Jinora survived the Fifth Nation War and the Battle at Black River. Following that, he fled to his refuge at the Eastern Air Temple which had been abandoned a decade prior. Qatil had children and taught them in his ways as an assassin and master of his own form of Sun Warrior-inspired airbending, the Dragon of the Wind.

Eventually, his survival and activity drew the attention of Avatar Tala over a decade later. The two fought a terrifying duel, but Tala was the victor and imprisoned Qatil. However, she left his children alone, who had already mastered his form. The Qatil Clan was born.

What was once a single airbending assassin became a group that was for hire in the most dangerous missions. Rumors of the War Born hiring them for the most difficult missions abound, but these killers were hard to pinpoint beyond their island home, even if they had black arrow tattoos. It was this mockery of the Air Nomad culture that further antagonized an already hostile relationship between the Air Nation and the Qatil Clan.

Most nations had officially outlawed this organization, but the Fire Nation officially remained neutral. Unofficially, many nations and businesses used the Qatil to settle scores. Zorin never saw a need for them personally and so had no opinion either way. At most, he thought it was better to train his own men to their caliber so that he would have loyal men rather than men loyal to coin.

Now, he needed the manpower of skilled spies and assassins for wartime. To his surprise, the Qatil reached out to them. The fact they came forward could mean a lot of things, such as dissatisfaction with the Earth Kingdom's offer or their own agenda.

• * * * *

Fire Lord Zorin went to the Fire Sage Temple nearby with a small contingent. Once he entered, he met the sage that would guide him. Along the way, he encountered Shi, Jin and Lirin. They had  all left at various times and places to meet here without attracting attention.

Once they entered a closed off courtyard, the sages left. For a moment, Zorin felt like there was nothing, but soon it felt like something was lurking behind every shadow. It was unsettling to him, but he kept it to himself. Jin and Shi on the other hand were not mystified by it, as if this was normal. Lirin, however, had a look of annoyance, like he knew what they were doing and thought it pointless.

"Fire Lord Zorin, Avatar Lirin," an eloquent voice spoke as a woman stepped forward. She wore black robes similar to the Air Nomads of the past. It was accented by a red sash that went from one shoulder to the opposite waist. The woman was hooded as she stepped into the moonlight. She pulled back the cloth to reveal a beautiful face with soft brown hair. The most noticeable feature was the black arrow tattoo that dominated her forehead. A few others were just visible on the edge of the shadows in the half-lit night.

She gave a bow before continuing, "It is an honor to finally meet you both."

The four gave their own bows as Zorin responded, "Likewise, it is not every day that we meet one of the famed members of the Qatil Clan."

Despite the cordial words, both sides were sizing each other up. If anything were to go wrong, escape may not be an option. In the worst case, the Qatil and the Fire Lord's party would be in the fight of their lives.

Lirin stepped forward, "You must be Hana Qatil, niece of the Master, I take it?"

The assassin smiled, "How perceptive of you, Avatar Lirin. Do pray tell how you came to that conclusion."

Lirin answered with a confident and commanding voice that was lacking a year ago, "Given the importance of this mission, the Qatil had to send one of their best. However, in case something went wrong, they needed to make sure it was not the heir, your cousin."

Lirin looked over Hana and continued, "You also probably assumed that a beautiful woman would help allay me who is known for my lust."

Hana clapped her hands once, "Indeed, Avatar Lirin, you are correct. Since we have no formal relations we had to take as few risks as possible to ensure the safety of both parties. It was the opinion of the council that my appearance would be more soothing than Ito's. Not that he is ugly, but the spirits gifted him with power more than looks."

"In any case, your reputation precedes you," Zorin interjected. Hana Qatil's face may not have been known universally, but her skills as an assassin were. She was one of her clan's most elite killers. As Zorin sized her up, he believed that she was on par with the Dai Li agent Jin, a terrifying concept. Being honest with himself, he didn't know if he could beat her in a fight.

"Then we can get to business?"

The party nodded in response to Hana's question.

"Very well then," Hana tilted her head down in acceptance and continued, "I believe you would want to know why we have asked to speak with you?"

Zorin spoke, "The question is on my mind."

Hana chuckled soothingly, "Simply put, we do not trust the Earth Kingdom."

"Is there a particular reason, or just a general feeling?" Jin spoke up. As second-in-command of the War Born, the Dai Li and the Qatil had crossed paths over the years.

"Both," Hana said firmly. "We have carried out numerous contracts on behalf of Ba Sing Se and the crown. Despite our performance and clear standards, it was always a debate about our price after we negotiated the contract. And on two occasions, they cheated us on our compensation. The Earth King claimed it was the men involved skimming, but we know it was by his orders. Nevertheless, we have orchestrated some unfortunate accidents for his advisors in the past as retaliation. Furthermore, his blatant attempts to murder the Avatar and invade the Fire Nation do not bode well for us."

Zorin imagined the map of the world as Hana spoke, "The Eastern Air Temple may be on an island, but it is not an impregnable fortress. Any brigands would be slaughtered, but a concerted military endeavor would be too much for us to fight off and win. If the Earth King continues this way, our own national security is at stake."

"So, the enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Shi chimed in cheerfully.

"Exactly. We have a common enemy in the Earth Kingdom alone."

"You say that like there is more."

"Yes, my lord. We are no friends to the Faceless."

Zorin inquired about this new enemy, "You have encountered the Faceless before?"

"Yes, they tried to recruit us before. Needless to say, our family has some negative feelings about making deals with spirits. And their attempts to coerce us only confirmed our misgivings."

"Spirits?" Zorin asked plainly.

Hana's voice took a serious tone, "The leader of the Faceless is a spirit, the terrorists are named after him."

Lirin asked bluntly, "Named after him?"

"Yes, he was a victim of Koh, the Face Stealer."

The name sent a shiver up the collective spine of everyone present. The disgusting spirit Koh was known for his hobby of stealing the faces of those who showed emotions in front of him. Koh even stole the newlywed bride of Avatar Kuruk as punishment for his poor management as Avatar centuries ago.

"Who is this spirit and how come he founded this terrorist organization?"

"We do not know much. Our attempts have had limited success. His lieutenant, Koram is too powerful for us. What we do know is that he is some water or winter spirit, so cold environments and water are dangerous tools to let him have in battle."

Zorin was quiet as he thought over the new information. His son was correct in believing there was more to the Faceless than a proxy for the Air Nation to commit acts of terror and push the blame away. He wasn't willing to let them off the hook, but he understood that things were more complicated now.

"What is the extent of their reach into national governments?"

Hana answered the Fire Lord confidently, "Dangerously high. There are members of the Faceless embedded across the world. Ironically, his weakest influence is on the Northern Water Tribe, given their rigid spiritual structure and strong traditions."

"As for the other nations? The worst is the Air Nation. A lot of resentment from the Equalist holdovers and the Red Lotus cells and those hypocrites that sprang up from the Air Nomads. The Earth Kingdom and Southern Water Tribe are pretty bad too, but for different reasons. The oppressive rule of the crown in the Earth Kingdom has fostered a hatred for authority that the Faceless have exploited. In the past, there were the Spirits mercenaries, the triads and other terrorist groups for these people to join and diffuse their numerical power. But now, they are all concentrated in one large organization. For the Southern Water Tribe, their rebellious streak and dislike of larger authorities has allowed for a fair number of people to be open to the anarchic views expressed in the Faceless."

Zorin's son spoke up, asking the question on their minds, "And what of the Fire Nation?"

Hana's stance loosened, sensing that her openness had calmed the nerves between the two parties, "Small but not so much that they can be discounted. The problem here is that the Faceless have spent a lot of time preparing and embedding their men deep. They don't have numerical strength like in the Earth Kingdom or Air Nation, but they have incredible skills and deep covers that can keep them invisible under observation. Case-in-point, the Tion Disaster was their plot to lure you into an accelerated war with both the Air Nation and Earth Kingdom."

• * * * *

For some time, Zorin and his party had an open exchange with the Qatil assassin. Some information was already known while other bits were new to one side or the other. As they were coming to an end of information sharing that was meant as a goodwill gesture, Zorin spoke up, "To reiterate, why did the Qatil come to us?"

"In the simplest terms, we share mutual enemies and goals right now and together could accomplish more."

"If we achieve an alliance, what do you hope to gain from it, besides a paycheck?"

Hana chuckled at the snide comment, "We would certainly like to get paid for our services, but that is secondary to our first priority."

Shi chimed in, "And what is that?"

"Recognition."

The Fire Lord's party did not speak up in response to Hana's statement.

Hana continued, "The Qatil Clan belongs to no nation, we are independent, but others have different views about what claim they have to us and our land. If the Fire Nation, both Water Tribes and the Avatar recognize us as a sovereign people with the Eastern Air Temple, the surrounding islands, and the Isles of Seran as our national territory, it will eventually change our status in the world."

Jin spoke up, "A nation of assassins?" Her tone was half-mocking and half-admiration at the ambition of the request.

"Surely the Dai Li no longer feel attached to the Earth Kingdom, and neither do the Qatil to the Air Nomads in Republic City. Our patriarch was betrayed and discarded for political convenience by his own mother. We will not share a table with those cowards."

"Besides," Hana continued, "Fire Lord Rishu already recognized that the Sun Warriors and their ancient lands are independent of the Fire Nation. That confirmed the precedent that peoples with the same cultural descent can be separated. And the first precedent was officially legal under Avatar Korra but had been in practice for centuries."

Lirin did recall that history avoided explicitly detailing these realities. The Water Tribe broke off a long time ago. After the Hundred Year War, the tribes were treated as one nation again but civil war during Avatar Korra's time led to a permanent break and the South was officially independent with its own chief again. More recently, Rishu stated that the cultural and functional differences between the Fire Nation and Sun Warrior Civilization were so great that it made sense that they were independent nations.

"How would this recognition come? If we openly announce it, it will tip our hands to the Earth King that you are working for us."

"We can wait until the war is won to make that declaration. As for our partnership," Hana emphasized that last word as if to reject the insinuation of employment, "They will eventually learn the truth, the question is what they can do about it."

Zorin breathed and let his mind wander on the possibilities. He looked to his son, who nodded, "I would have to confer with the Water Tribes, but the Avatar and I would be open to recognizing your people's sovereignty."

Hana smiled, "We are grateful for your prudence in this matter. When they have made a decision, we can formalize this in a treaty that will be publicized at a later date."

Zorin took a firm tone, "In the meantime, there is something I would like the Qatil Clan to do with their considerable skills."

"Oh?"

Zorin's face was terrifying, a visage of his ancestor Sozin as he spoke, "I want you to find every member of the Faceless on the continent and kill them."

Hana smiled, "We are in agreement on that."

Absurdity and Piracy

Over the last week since the Qatil made contact, many changes occurred. A new ally had been made and the Northern Water Tribe was brought into the fold. The South had yet to formally ally with the Fire Nation militarily but were on the cusp of doing so. Chief Leng agreed to recognize the autonomy of the Qatil Clan and share information with them. At first, he was displeased with the revelations he learned about the Faceless. However, his mood was calmed when he learned his people had the least trouble from it in the world.

For the Warborn, it was a gift to have the aid and contacts of the Qatil. The Qatil may be visually conspicuous, but they too were masters of espionage and deception and had different resources and sources of intelligence than Tala's organization.

Lirin stepped out of his bed and poured himself some water. Hearing the rustling of the sheets he turned to see his partner wake up. He quipped at the naked brunette in front of him, "You know, you would think a skilled assassin like you wouldn't snore in their sleep."

Hana smirked and returned fire, "It's typically not a problem when I kill the men I sleep with."

Hana looked around, "I must say that I am surprised that no one walked in on us. Don't you have a fiancé and a couple of lovers around?"

"Princess Kori is leading the mercy mission to Tion," Lirin gave his answer.

"Ah, so the missus keeps a leash on you when she's around huh? Can't blame her, the rumors about you are true after all."

Lirin chuckled, "On the contrary, Kori is not so controlling. She knew what I was like and knew that if I hadn't changed before, there was nothing she could do to change that."

"Sounds like a great wife for a playboy prince. Sure you didn't hit the lottery?" Hana couldn't help but laugh. The Avatar seemed to have it all in her estimation.

"Sure, if you don't consider that someone started a war over my existence and that my status could tip the balance between anarchy and totalitarianism," Lirin's voice was cold as he drank the water in his glass and responded to Hana.

"There is that." Hana's tone was not so humorous now.

• * * * *

A large ship carried itself in the sea between the islands of the Fire Nation. Along the side of the blue ship was the sigil of the Northern Water Tribe. Multiple sailors were working across the deck, taking advantage of the sunny skies to do work unimpeded.

Kori sat in an office next to the bridge of the ship as the large container ship sailed towards Tion. It took longer than she planned, but they finally prepared all the supplies needed to aid Tion. The only comfort Kori felt was that another ship was able to provide immediate aid until her ship arrived.

Her attendant entered after knocking, "Your highness, the captain reports we are ahead of schedule and should get there this afternoon rather than tonight."

"That is good," Kori smiled at the news.

"The captain also wanted to know where you would go once we landed, so that the guards can screen it in advance."

"That won't be necessary. This is a disaster zone, not a city square." Kori rolled her eyes at the paranoia of those around her, "Besides, I am hardly a target for assassination the way my fiancé and his father are."

Kori's father, Chief Leng, assigned twenty waterbenders as bodyguards for the princess. The Fire Lord had also assigned a small detachment of Imperial Firebenders, a dozen of the elite firebenders. Kori felt this was all overkill for a sheltered princess out on disaster relief. Such a royal procession seemed likely to be a burden in the middle of her work.

Nevertheless, she complied with the hindrance. Her position in the court had become stronger since she arrived, but it was not immune. It was an open secret now that Mira was pregnant, meaning the situation of Lirin's heir was in debate. If she were to flout her security detail, it would not look good on her image and the royal court would capitalize on it.

As she stepped out on the deck, she saw the vast expanse of the sea and the clear air. In comparison, her home waters were party to more storms and icebergs. As a result, the sailors of the Water Tribe relief ship found it easy traveling to.

Looking to the north, she saw a smaller ship in the distance.

• * * * *

The Air Nation fast attack ship, the Bumi, was masquerading as an irregular trade ship with no banner of allegiance. The men wore no uniforms and there was no distinct signature to denote the origin of the ship past its model which was a general issue on the continent and the Southern Water Tribe.

In short, it was pretending to be a pirate ship.

A scout on the ship saw the large vessel and notified the crew. Reporting to the captain, "Sir, we have a Water Tribe Vessel southwest of our position."

"Which Tribe does it hail from?"

"It appears to be the North based on the symbols, but it could be Southern."

"What direction is it heading?"

"It is heading east, Captain."

"East? Why would it head east?" The captain was briefly puzzled. The Fire Nation Capital was west of their position and if they were returning from a supply drop, then wouldn't they head straight north?

"Sir, it might be that they are extending relief to Tion which is east and slightly north from here."

"Ah," while the Captain understood the movement, he didn't understand why the Fire Nation wouldn't send their own relief ship. In any case, it worked to the captain's favor. His orders were to disrupt naval trade between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribes and not to engage the Fire Nation.

The Air Nation knew it couldn't win a war with the Fire Nation and also didn't want to antagonize them after Tion. However, they could not allow for them and the Water Tribes to amass more power. The ignorance of the monks led them to decide on attacking the Water Tribe vessels in Fire Nation waters while disguised as pirates. The hope was that the Water Tribes would lose confidence in the Fire Nation's ability to keep them safe and perhaps withdraw from the war altogether.

Several admirals knew it was a foolish plan and rather than committing serious resources to it, sent their most incompetent captains and sailors. They were often officers who received rank because of names rather than merit. The drawback was that these captains would inevitably fail, and the Fire Nation would easily link it back to the Air Nation. However, these more prudent leaders knew their Air Nomad leaders were too stupid to understand that and decided to preserve their real fighting potential by keeping their promising officers and soldiers out of harms way.

Captain Sang was one of the fools. His family was career military, dating back to the Equalist Revolution. However, he coasted on their reputation rather than work to exceed expectations. Unbeknownst to Sang, he was sent here with the expectation that he would fail.

Unaware, Sang was eager to prove himself. "Well, since it is a Water Tribe ship, let's intercept it. Kill half the crew, raid their supplies and leave the ship just damaged enough to limp to the next port so that they spread word."

"Yes, sir." One of the men on deck confirmed the orders and carried out his instructions as the ship turned towards the relief ship.

• * * * *

The captain and an Imperial Firebender watched as the smaller ship headed to intercept their course. It had initially been further north of them, just out of their path. However, it did a 180 and sped up to get in their way.

As the two watched silently, a man in Water Tribe gear that was different from the sailors entered the bridge, "What's going on?"

The captain answered, "Commander Yun, we have a ship ahead plotting a course to intercept us. They have no banner and have ignored our hails on the radio."

"What do you make of this?" The Imperial Firebender inquired.

Yun was the head of the bodyguards for Princess Kori. While the Royal Procession of the Fire Nation was a separate detail, Yun had gotten used to working with them to provide for the Princess' security.

"Either a trap or the most moronic pirates I have ever encountered," Yun answered confidently.

The captain of the ship and the Fire Nation guard both chuckled at the blunt assessment. Yun continued, "If there are hidden ships or submarines, this ship could be bait meant to provoke us and test our defenses before they spring the trap. However, I don't seem to see or feel anything to back up a lone ship raiding us."

"If they are just a random ship attempting to raid a relief ship holding Princess Kori and her guards, they are severely unlucky."

The firebender nodded in agreement and turned to the man at the helm, "What should we do then, Captain?"

"If it's a trap, then turning and running now won't make a difference. If they are idiots, we might as well deal with them now. Go prepare your men, we are going forward."

• * * * *

The unmarked ship began sinking with half of its crew still on it while the other half were committed to the attack of Princess Kori's relief ship. Of those men, half of them were dead and a quarter severely wounded. In total, only an eighth of Captain Sang's men were in any condition to fight but couldn't as they were captured along with him.

Sang was still in a state of confusion over what happened. His ship intercepted the Water Tribe relief ship and his men boarded when they were met with heavy resistance. Before he could wrap his head around the situation, the horde of waterbenders and firebenders that attacked his men had him pinned to the ground and some others fired lightning or massive ice spears into the hull of the Air Nation ship, the Bumi, sending it to a watery grave.

Further proving his incompetence, the men searching him found his identification forms, "So, Captain Sang, would you mind telling me why the Air Nation is masquerading as pirates?"

Sang refused to answer as suddenly a number of men bowed, though only those not directly guarding. Sang turned to see why and realized who was on deck. He cursed himself for his luck as Princess Kori of the Northern Water Tribe approached, "Commander Yun, what do we have here?"

"Milady, these are Air Nation Sailors pretending to be pirates sent to attack us."

Kori looked at the defeated men without emotion. She closed her eyes, focusing her chi. She felt the auras around her and sensed the turmoil before her, it was twisted and knotted and violent.

With concentration, Kori could focus herself to sense and interpret this energy. It was a difficult power to use and caused headaches when she was young. As such, she avoided use when possible. However, she felt it could be useful here. She opened her eyes and looked at the captain again.

"Captain Sang, was it? For what reason did you attack this vessel?"

Sang grimaced in front of Kori but didn't answer. Kori felt his chi knot up more at the inquiry.

"Did you attack because we are a Water Tribe vessel?"

His chi twisted violently in response as the man denied it, "No, we didn't attack at all. We were just inspecting when you slaughtered all my men."

"Did you know this was a relief ship?"

Sang didn't answer but the aura confirmed what he refused to say.

"Did you intend to kill some or all of the crew."

The energy in his aura twisted but less violently, confirming yes to a degree.

"Did you know I was on the ship?"

The tightly bound aura loosened and waved, implying the opposite. Sang didn't know that Princess Kori was on the ship. If so, they likely expected no resistance when raiding.

"How disappointing that the Air Nation would purposefully harm not only mercy missions but also their victims by depriving them of the food, water and medicine they desperately need in a disaster."

Kori turned to look out at sea, "Prince Lirin said that the Air Nation is a pack of Hog Monkeys. They are an unruly and unintelligent mob of disease-riddled buffoons. I am starting to think he was right. If you are an example of what the Air Nation is, then the sickness is your lack of ethics. In a savage clash of civilization, that amoral brutality would give you an advantage. But as society becomes more advanced, the society that values its people more becomes more dangerous and you risk making them more ruthless. Case in point, the Fire Nation will burn Ba Sing Se to the ground for killing Princess Ursa. If you had succeeded in murdering and defiling me, the Water Tribes would push Republic City into the sea."

Sang's aura twisted and knotted more violently than before. Kori could sense the evil emanating from this brutish thug of an officer.

"Tell me, Commander Yun. Shouldn't a captain go down with his ship?" A dark look was cast over Kori's eyes as she spoke.

"Yes, your majesty, the captain should be the last to leave a sinking ship, not the first."

"Well, then, perhaps we should help him get back to his ship as quickly as possible."

"As you wish."

Shortly after, a sailor appeared holding an anchor and chain. As if to humiliate Sang more, one of the Imperial Firebenders gave him a gut punch. While he was struggling to breath, the sailors hog-tied him, with his arms and legs tightly bound behind his back. The chain was tied into the knot and Kori's bodyguards lifted him up.

Finally, Sang panicked, "Wait, don't you know who I am! My father is an admiral and war hero! If you kill me, it will be war!" His voice cracked as he wailed, desperately saying anything that could save him.

Kori approached closer as she looked at the wreckage just on the other side of the boat and below where the bound Sang was being held. "Tell me, Captain Sang. Did you kill anyone else while masquerading as pirates?"

"No," Sang answered quickly. However, his aura spiraled violently in denial to his words. Kori closed her eyes, no longer needing to sense his aura. A dark look pierced Sang and he felt the murderous chill of rage.

"Drop him."

"No! No! This will be war! You can't do this!" The bound Sang tried in vain to shake off his captors as they threw the anchor overboard. The lag in the chain fell away in an instant and viciously ripped him off the deck, taking him to the depths below.

Kori looked back at the remaining men. Some were crying, a few had wet themselves and only a few tried to keep a brave face. She spoke at none of them in particular, "It was already war when you murdered my kinsmen," a cold rage took her as she walked away, no longer interested in the spectacle, "Get rid of them."

"At once your majesty."

Purge of Zaofu

In the days since Hana returned to the continent, she had become very busy. The sheer number of Faceless agents and sympathizers was staggering. Her people had been working before she got back and were still nowhere close to done.

With the Qatil ceaselessly pursuing the anarchic terrorists and killing them, Hana knew it would only succeed to a point. Even if they killed the thousands of members on the mainland, the elite and powerful would manage to hide and survive, preparing to strike when the moment was right.

Hana relayed her concerns to the Council of Elders. They agreed and set her new task to tracing the leadership of the Faceless, beyond the Faceless spirit and Koram. By eliminating all their financial and military support, the Faceless that remained would be an unruly mob reliant on numbers that were ruthlessly dwindling.

Hana received a report from the War Born based on some suspicions of hers about the southern Earth Kingdom. She read the report and sighed, fearful that her worries were true.

• * * * *

The sun setting on Zaofu was magnificent as always. Light streaked in beautiful ways as the domes closed on the Metal City. When Kuvira conquered Zaofu, she stripped off the domes to feed her war machine and prevent the city from resisting again. However, raw resources were repurposed to rebuild them in the future. Combined with Earth King Iruei's mother being a metalbender of Zaofu, the city recovered quickly and was spared from the same military rule as most of the kingdom.

The Beifongs remained in power and had relative autonomy in ruling the city. That did not stop them from disliking the ever slightly increasing rules that Crown Prince Qon enforced as Prince of Omashu, the regional power center of the south.

This combined with their elite upbringing made the Beifongs susceptible to a different problem, recruitment.

Hana wished she was wrong, but all the pieces fit. The Faceless in this part of the southern region were particularly active and yet they always managed to disappear from tracking. On its own, this was not surprising. The Faceless in Ba Sing Se were far more numerous and also had success protecting its most active members.

It was the report from the War Born about a proficient metalbender that got Hana worried. Metalbenders were still rare even centuries after the art was discovered. While there were now several schools across the world that taught elite earthbenders, Zaofu remained the preeminent place to learn how to bend metal. Hana directed her Qatil brethren to observe and track movements in and out of Zaofu and saw a delayed but correlated pattern between Faceless activity and covert actions by residents in Zaofu.

While disappointing, Hana could accept people in the Metal Clan being recruited by the Faceless. What upset her was who they recruited.

"Of all the Beifongs they had to recruit, it had to be those Beifongs." Hana looked up as the dome finished closing above her. Along with a dozen other Qatil warriors across the section of the city, her men had infiltrated the Beifong estate's dome.

Now, they would wait for some time to pass before continuing their reconnaissance. Zaofu remained one of the most secure locations in the world thanks to its prudent security measures and redundant physical barriers to the enemy.

For now, she waited.

• * * * *

Hours after the dome closed, shadows moved in the city. A dozen men and women clad in black and crimson and adorned with tattoos of black arrows glided across the metallic metropolis. Hana leaned against a wall briefly, considering her objective. Eliminating this particular enemy would be a mistake but gathering intelligence to eliminate their direct subordinates and means of communications was worth the risk of infiltration.

From her position, she was supported by two younger but experienced warriors. They followed after her as they weaved through the palatial estate of the Beifongs, making their way towards the buildings themselves.

As they were paces away from the nearest building, clapping from a single person erupted. Breaking the almost dreamlike rhythm of the assassins. "You Qatil really are skilled. To make it this far into the Beifong estate undetected without help?"

Hana stood up as she realized who was speaking. To herself, she thought great. "That sounds sarcastic after being discovered, Jun Opal-Beifong."

The woman smirked at the full name used. Jun was a Beifong, but she was not descended from metalbenders. In a rare occurrence after Harmonic Convergence, the Metal Clan's daughter Opal became an airbender. The young and rising air nomad also fell in love with and married a mixed blood earthbender by the name of Bolin. Bolin was an unimpressive earthbender when it came to combat as he was better at sport where life and death didn't play a role. He was also unable to metalbend despite having the tutelage of Suyin Beifong. All of this pathetic charade belied great potential, however. Bolin was born with an even rarer ability than metalbending, the power of lavabending. Immediately, Bolin's combat power went from inconsequential to battle-altering.

Bolin and Opal had a family that became its own branch of the Beifongs. Rather than producing metalbenders like the rest of the Metal Clan, this branch produced powerful airbenders and the rare but valued lavabenders. The Opal-Beifongs were elite members of Zaofu with significant influence. They were servants of the Faceless.

"It helps when you know that someone is coming," Jun answered Hana's retort. "We always knew that someone would eventually connect the dots that we were involved. Of course, we were expecting the Dai Li or the War Born to come, not the Qatil."

Beside the adult woman was a young man crouched on the pillar of the stairs that Jun was at the feet of. He watched relentlessly, almost wholly devoting his attention to the three assassins before him. "We were ready to deal with earthbenders and firebenders. Heck, even waterbenders. We did not expect airbending assassins to do the Avatar's dirty work."

"Well, we aim to surprise." Hana answered and half bowed mockingly. At the slight movement, a small retinue of metalbending guards appeared from hiding. There were about a dozen of them.

Purely on a scale of numbers, Hana and her companions weren't afraid. They have fought worse odds and prevailed with devastating results. However, these dozen warriors were not weaklings. Each was an experienced and capable fighter. Between them and the two Beifongs, the odds Hana and the two Qatil warriors could escape were small.

Even so, Hana smiled, "Tell me, do you intend to just kill us or will you risk capturing us?"

The younger man chuckled, "We only need one of you alive to talk. The first to surrender can survive, we'll kill the other two."

Hana smiled deviously, "Haru Opal-Beifong, isn't it? I heard that for an airbender, you are incredibly cruel, so much so that the Air Nation refused to train you anymore after you turned 13. It's a shame you didn't come to us. We could have helped you hone yourself into a true weapon." She snapped her fingers rhythmically, her eyes toying with the young man before her.

Haru sneered angrily at the jab and lurched forward. Jun lifted her hand, beckoning him to stop. "Your provocations mean nothing when you are going to die, Qatil. But we are merciful, if you give us your names, we will at least give you proper burials in the wilds."

The pace of the snapping fingers slowed as Hana cracked her knuckles, "Hardly worth remembering my name, Miss Jun. After all, we intend to live but are willing to die. You on the other hand, are prepared to kill but unwilling to accept the reverse."

"Tell me," An unearthly silence struck the courtyard, "Would you choose to fight if you didn't know you would win?"

Jun looked to the guards, readying to give the command when she noticed that three of them were falling over, each with a large shuriken protruding from their backs. Jun spun in a panic realizing the silence was death encroaching on them. Her fast turn changed her position, a chance save, as a shuriken flew past, lacerating her arm with a nasty cut.

Haru and the guards dodged the next volley as Hana and her comrades rushed forward. Jun stomped the ground and created a barrier around her and the closest guard. "Argh, my arm is messed up! Guard, how bad is it?"

The metalbender inspect her wound, "Fairly deep, but not to bone. If you leave it, you'll get nerve damage."

"Can you dress it and tighten it so I can fight?"

"But ma'am, they have already killed three guards and we don't know how many more of them there are."

Jun heard screams on the other side of the rock. Based on where the screaming came from, she worried more were already dead, "We won't make it out of this alive if we don't give this all we got. We got cocky knowing they were coming."

The guard spent a minute tending to her and tightening the tourniquet. Jun grunted at the pain but was able to move her arm more freely now that she wasn't worried about blood loss. She turned to the guard, "Sound the alarm and get as many guards here as possible. The commotion should at least get some heading our way."

"As you command," the metalbender nodded uncertainly.

Jun stomped again, this time creating a torrent of lava, "Go!"

• * * * *

Hana rushed forward as her comrades attacked from behind. Jun shielded herself after the first attack wounded her. Hana trained her eyes on Jun's cousin Haru. The younger airbender leapt in the air and fired off several attacks while evading to her left.

Hana immediately rushed left, forgoing an attack on where he was to where he would be. Haru was caught off guard and quickly jumped away. "You may be a sadistic punk, but you still learned the coward's way to airbend. Allow me to teach you the Dragon of the Wind style."

Hana kicked forward with a flurry of air attacks. Haru was too busy dodging to anticipate the shuriken she threw. Even so, he was fast enough to react and sidestep its trajectory. Confident in his speed and mistaking it for power, he attacked. He didn't notice the shuriken arc in the wind and circle back for him.

Hana blocked his attacks, smiling as the shuriken ripped through his shoulder. Shock took the young airbender's face as she threw a second shuriken after catching the first.

The spinning steel hurdled forward, preparing to split Haru's face as lava erupted from a central point.

"Go!" Jun's voice was coarse and irritated as she yelled. Hana saw her arm bandaged and a nearby guard bolt with a radio in hand.

Smart, Hana thought to herself. Rather than flee for her own life, Jun sent a guard to get reinforcement so she could focus on fighting. In honorable combat, she would respect this and face off against Jun.

Hana had no time for honor tonight. She bolted forward, dodging the streams of lava and taking advantage of a new weakness in Jun's defense. A column of lava brushed past Hana, but she persevered, knowing she dodged it. She threw her first shuriken in a vertical spiral; the target would die painfully if it hit.

Hana watched the shuriken fly off course as a gust of wind from the side took it. She realized that Haru was kicking as hard as he could. The fleeing guard was the only man using a radio. The others had them but were either dead or in fights too dangerous to lose focus. Once the man got far enough, he could call for reinforcements and the Qatil would be surrounded.

The man breathed fiercely as he sprinted as fast as he could. He was getting away thanks to Jun and Haru's cooperation. He had to fulfill his orders now and call for help. His order would fail as he suddenly felt like he was choking. His throat felt hot and full as a spear protruded from his neck. It was a black staff with a sharp blade sticking out the front.

Jun looked in horror as three more Qatil warriors joined the fray, ruthlessly attacking the now surrounded metalbenders. Just as they joined battle, several guards on patrol turned a corner to witness the frenzy, "Halt!"

The fight quickly progressed into a bloodbath as assassins and guards attacked each other. However, the nimble assassins used their higher mobility to disorient the defenders. Friendly fire became a problem as attacks from one side of the battlefield missed and rushed to the other side where a comrade might be standing.

Jun took command, "Idiots, don't follow after them. Attack an area and let the enemy come to you. We have the numbers!" She deftly ducked, no longer speaking as another spear-pointed staff was thrown her way.

A Qatil warrior circled around her, trying to attack from behind. His kick and air blast seemed to stagger her, and he rushed in for the kill. He didn't even have time to scream as the lava engulfed him, leaving only melted bones behind.

Jun chuckled as she looked for another target. She saw nine Qatil assassins standing. She killed one, and another two were killed by the metalbending guards working together. However, there were far more guards from Zaofu dead on the floor or bleeding out than the nine standing assassins.

"Understand what I mean?" Jun focused her attention to the voice. The woman leading these assassins stopped and stood before her. The guards around her were too preoccupied with the eight assassins before them to focus on the ninth squaring off with Jun Opal-Beifong.

As much as she hated to admit it, she realized that this assassin was right. If she knew the battle would be this dangerous and no guarantee of victory, she wouldn't have attacked. She watched the tattooed woman warily.

"Combat is a struggle for survival. The physical and psychological will to put yourself over another. In a moment of life or death, this happens so fast that most people are not truly bothered by this. However, when people premeditate, they must choose to take life. And that is not so easy if you know what it means."

"I don't need your philosophical mumbo-jumbo, I just need you to die." Jun punched with her left hand and a flurry or molten rocks rained on the spot Hana was standing before.

It was clear that Jun favored her right arm in lavabending but the pain of her wound made her hesitate and rely on more attacks from the left to compensate. This made her slow.

Hana smirked as she released a storm of attacks targeting her left. Jun was able to defend herself from all these attacks but realized too late that she blinded her field of view. A knee to her back sent her reeling and gasping for air. She desperately swung her arm to defend her rear. She hit nothing as Hana was crouched on a pillar a fair distance away.

"Honestly, how is such a nitwit able to bend lava? It must be purely genetic. I am curious, if I give your body to the War Born for dissection, will they find the secret to lavabending?"

Hana propelled herself forward like a missile. The sheer impact from her hitting Jun would break bones. A powerful and concentrated gust of wind veered her off course, hitting a nearby stone formation made from the chaos of battle.

Jun relaxed her breathing for a moment, "Haru," her younger cousin uneasily walked towards her, gripping his shoulder. "We need to get out of here, she'll kill us even if she dies in the process."

"No chance, the Qatil are too dangerous to flee from. Besides, you are just gonna walk away after this?" Haru gestured to the battlefield. Now six Qatil assassins were standing besides the one they were facing, but a horde of guards were strewn across the courtyard like mangled dolls blown to bits in a storm. Aside from the fresh corpses, the courtyard was a scene of disaster.

Hana stepped out of the rubble. "That wasn't very nice. I could have really hurt myself hitting stone that fast." She rolled her shoulders as she stepped out of the debris into a clear area. Luckily, she had created an air blast before contact.

"Well-played, runt. Let's see if the one-armed boy can keep it up." The assassin reached into her belt and threw out several small objects. Hana disappeared in a flash made from the small bombs.

Haru and Jun looked around frantically. For all of Haru's bravado, they were in terrible shape. Jun's right arm was usable despite the bleeding, but it caused her pain and slowed her down. Haru was worse off as the cut in his shoulder ripped through muscles, nerves and past his collarbone, making him unable to move his left arm.

A piece of debris came flying at them. Jun immediately bent it into dust. Another pelted them from behind. The airbent rocks were rushed about from every direction. Haru waited, knowing that Hana was attacking from a safe distance. He could feel the vibrations in the air. He sensed the next attack coming. Rather than blocking or dodging, he attacked for the source.

A sweeping kick angled for the distant airbender and caught her off guard. Haru was blasted in the back by the air attack. However, he let the attack propel him so he could run faster and attack Hana again before she recovered.

Hana shook her head, slightly dizzy. She was genuinely surprised this boy had this kind of natural talent. It was almost a shame to cull it. Almost.

Haru did a sweeping kick down where Hana was sprawled. He expected the back of his foot to hit her spine. Instead, he felt incredible pain as a shuriken ran through his calf. Hana tore it out, throwing Haru to the ground violently as he flailed in pain.

Hana stood up wearily. She gripped her shurikens tightly as she crossed her arms. She violently swung her arms out in a wide arc. Haru knelt before her as his head rolled away from a clean cut.

"Haru!" Jun raged, willing a torrent of lava after Hana. She leapt high in the air, watching as the lava consumed Haru's corpse and even some unsuspecting guards.

"Wow, a cremation then and there, huh?" Hana was exhausted and knew better than to mock a dangerous opponent, but she also knew that putting an enemy off edge could tip the scales.

"SHUT UP!" A massive boulder came flying for the assassin. Hana spun in place briefly before jumping and kicking a tornado to redirect the mass of earth flying at her.

A battle of earth and wind stormed between the two. Hana was impressed that even wounded, Jun's rage made her a formidable enemy. While she may have used less lava, the sheer volume of earth she was bending was daunting.

Unfortunately, it left her with tunnel vision. She never even noticed the dagger in her back. Jun's arms jerked as the knife twisted. She struggled to turn her head and see that one of the assassins was the culprit.

Looking further, all the guards were dead. And while they were exhausted, the seven remaining assassins including the one stabbing her and the one who killed Haru were all standing. Her breathing became ragged as she fell to the ground bleeding out. Her sight blurred and she tried in vain to crawl as her life faded away.

"Thanks for the backup," Hana breathed easily for the first time since they had entered the city.

"Thanks for killing the airbender and keeping this lavabender occupied. If you weren't here, it would have been a different story."

Hana agreed. She meant no disrespect to her team, but she was on another level compared to them. Besides, the eleven of them weren't just fighting Jun and Haru Opal-Beifong, they had just slaughtered a horde of guards.

"In any case, we need to get out of here before reinforcements arrive," Hana wanted to collect intelligence on this mission, but that was blown out of the water when they were detected.

"I'm afraid I need you to stay here a little longer."

• * * * *

Koram watched the battle as it unfolded. He was impressed with both sides. Were he still a warlord, he would have had the involved parties killed to remove potential competition. However, over the millennia, he realized how shortsighted he was.

He and his stormbenders were certainly rare, but their power was unrivaled by all but the Avatar. They should have drafted the benders into his army. The empire he could have formed would have been so powerful and important, that the Avatar would have had no choice but to accept it, maybe even assimilate into it.

With that mindset, he would want to recruit these talented fighters for himself. Unfortunately, he couldn't turn back the clock on his past mistakes. He could only move forward.

He watched as the leader of the assassins kept the two most powerful benders, the Beifongs, occupied while her subordinates whittled down their guards.

Now the guards were dead and so were the Beifongs who fought the Qatils. Compared to the seven surviving Qatil benders and their five dead comrades, the scores of dead made it clear who was superior.

Nevertheless, he could let the Qatil leave as victors and certainly not in any heroic fashion.

"I'm afraid I need you to stay here a little longer."

Koram called out to them from above. The assassins looked up to the building he was perched on and terror took them. That was proof that they knew who he was and what he was capable of.

"Koram, what business do you have here?" The one called Hana stepped forward.

"Well, since you killed my lackeys, my business is now with you. If you just walk away after defeating so many metalbenders, Zaofu will be discouraged from fighting you or your new masters in the future." Koram gestured to the dead strewn across the courtyard and the damage as if a monument to their martial prowess.

"However, you instigated a massacre that was in no way appropriate to the conflict, Zaofu will be enraged, and the heart of this city will cry for war, further escalating the conflict between the Fire Nation Alliance and the Earth Kingdom."

"We will do no such thing, Koram, so it's pointless to assume."

Koram smiled as he raised his arms, "Oh but you already have. The lot of you attacked this city with the intent to slaughter the whole Beifong family and when you were stopped by Haru and Jun Opal-Beifong, you resorted to creating a storm using a combined bending technique to turn this estate into a disaster."

The wind howled around them and their cries were lost in the torrent as Koram laughed.

• * * * *

Hana pushed the large stone over. She bent over, coughing blood and reached back into the hole. Two of her kin appeared. One was relatively fine apart from bruising and lacerations, like her. The other, however, was banged up badly.

"We need to get out of here."

"I heartily agree with that. The last thing we need to do is fight with Koram."

The Qatil warriors looked at the wreckage from Koram's attack. The Stormbender had summoned a hurricane of incredible proportion. What made it worse was that it had been boxed in by the closed petals that shield the city at night. The pressure continually built up until the steel cage couldn't contain it. The hurricane had exploded like a bomb, ripping the Beifong estate apart and blowing a massive hole through the metal petals.

From an amateurs' glance, it looked like the advanced techniques of the Air Nomads working as a group and then taken to its lethal limit. Hana cursed Koram and his plot. As the three snuck their way out, she could hear the people, both lowly and elite, curse the Qatil for this horrendous act of war.

The two assassins helped their comrade as they limped out of the wreckage that was Zaofu and the Beifong Estate. In the chaos where hundreds were coming, no one noticed them as the only ones that left.

Mercy

Princess Kori's adventurous journey to Tion had ended and the true work of a mercy mission began. The first order of business was to establish a headquarters for aid and a place to house refugees. The immediate structures made in response to this were just elaborate tents, which was fine in the summer. But no one knew how long it would take to rebuild and more permanent structures were necessary.

Kori also thought on the request by Fire Lord Zorin. Despite the massive damage and loss of life. Tion was a valuable military base before it was wiped off the map. A team specifically dealing with base recovery accompanied her mercy mission to investigate whether there were any valuable resources that survived and take them back.

Kori decided to delegate that to one of her aides while she focused on the mercy mission. Providing help to those hurt was her first priority. The sooner the HQ was up, the sooner she could do the real work.

• * * * *

Kori breathed deeply after a day of work. At first, her staff had her doing mundane tasks that were great for photo opportunities. However, the demand for healers was too great for how many they had. She decided to join in. In an ironic twist, it was the Fire Nation officials that were out of sorts about her doing healing instead of the Water Tribe members.

In the Fire Nation, the Fire Lord and his family were held above everyone. Even if they fought and trained like everyone else, it was expected that they were given respect and space according to their status. As such, you would never see Fire Lord Zorin personally sparring with a student when visiting the military academy.

In the Northern Water Tribe however, the role of healing people traditionally belonged to women and it was considered proper for them to master this craft so that men could focus on other aspects of waterbending.

Being raised in this environment, Kori was a master healer. Despite her ambivalence to her homeland's patriarchal system, she valued the lessons gained from healing. She also incorporated them into better understanding of her aura reading. By understanding how waterbending affects chi in healing, she learned more about chi flows and why it was important. This knowledge left her on the cusp of epiphany towards chakras, according to a traveling sage who helped her with her gift when she was young and suffering headaches.

As Kori rested, letting the wind kiss her face, the bustle of work died down as the sun was on the horizon. Kori decided to return to her newly made quarters. She tried to make it as spartan as possible, but the Royal Family was insistent on some level of decorum for a princess.

As Kori slowly walked, an unsteady pattern of steps rang in her ears. She turned to see a man lung at her with a fire dagger. The princess didn't remember much after that as instinct from years of training kicked in and she grappled with the assailant. The man was overpowering her with strength alone and she kicked him between his legs to stun him. She was able to put some distance between them and used the nearby puddles and containers of water to bend a shield around herself.

The man desperately fired off streaks of flame that dissipated into steam upon contact with the water. Kori felt a little more confident as the man seemed to panic about how to proceed. Kori blinked, calling on her senses of aura to see a sickening sight. The energy in this man was knotted and broken, oozing a dark and disgusting hue. Kori felt like she wanted to vomit.

How could this man be so vile?

Before she had to worry about the consequences, whips of fire and water struck from behind her and hit the attacker with terrifying force. The man staggered as he tried to stand up, his right hand grasping at his burned face while his left hand nurtured a bleeding chest.

"Milady, get back! We will handle this!"

The man stopped where he stood and monitored the situation for a bit, judging his options.

The waterbenders and firebenders guarding the princess readied themselves and gave a warning, "Surrender or we will show no mercy!"

The man remained motionless for a moment more before his eyes showed a disturbing clarity in them. He breathed in and rushed forward. His right hand abandoned his scarred face and reached for his vest. In it, he pulled out a small switch and pressed the button.

One of the Imperial Firebenders recognized the device, "Bomb!" He leapt over the princess, tackling her to the ground in a sudden flash of light and debris.

The Lost Ground

Hana looked at her bandaged hands while she waited in the hallway. In the frenzy of battle and the aftermath, her adrenaline pumped her to the point she didn't realize that she had nearly broken all her fingers. Now she felt like an invalid at the pain of even attempting to grip a cup.

For all that, Hana was more concerned with the conversation that was coming up. An Imperial Firebender stepped out and called to her, "Lady Qatil, they will see you now."

She stood up slowly and slightly favoring her left. The battle in Zaofu had left her more bruised than she bargained for. No, that wasn't true. Koram's attack left her more injured than she anticipated this mission would have been.

All she could do now was enter and answer the inevitable flood of questions honestly.

• * * * *

Lirin sat beside the throne as Hana Qatil entered the hall. She was injured and by the look of it, very tired. Nevertheless, Fire Lord Zorin needed answers.

In the wake of the attack on Zaofu, the news came out of the city stated that the Qatil Clan orchestrated a massive attack, using a group technique to devastate the entire Beifong estate in an attempt to wipe out the Metal Clan's leaders and one of the most influential families on the Continent.

Zaofu had previously enjoyed a level of autonomy from the Earth Kingdom. This status quo was born not from Earth King Wu, but his son Iruei. Iruei's mother was a resident of Zaofu, and he was raised and trained there before moving to Ba Sing Se. After the sudden death of his father, Iruei moved quickly to cement his rule. Part of that was allowing Zaofu to rule itself like Omashu did, so long as they recognized the authority of the Earth King nationally.

When Omashu was subjugated as a principality, Zaofu remained independent and neutral. Earth King Luei had been eroding that freedom since his rule began, but he was cautious about it to avoid conflict. Now, Zaofu was so enraged that they were eagerly joining to carry out the war. Luei now had absolute control of the Earth Kingdom, there were no more holdouts or aberrations on the continent outside of the Air Nation.

Zaofu did not have great numbers, but they had power, influence, money, technology and were a force to reckon with. War with the Earth Kingdom would become that much harder with the people of Zaofu now eager to wage war.

Zorin and Lirin both agreed that this was the worst possible outcome for the Fire Nation and its alliance. As such, they needed to know what happened from those who were there.

Lirin listened as Hana recounted her mission of pursuing the Faceless. They tracked the orders and resources to Zaofu and the Beifongs in particular. Instructions on how to build the bombs used to sabotage Fire Nation technology originated from the Metal Clan.

Following this lead, Hana was at the head of a dozen assassins who entered Zaofu stealthily in order to gather intelligence. Unfortunately, they were discovered by the Opal branch of the Beifong family, and a bloody fight ensued. The Qatil were victorious but with casualties. Any decision on how to move forward were meaningless, because Koram, right hand of the Faceless, was there and attacked. He attacked with a hurricane with the intent of framing the Qatil for the attack.

Given the scale of the attack and the nature of it, it wasn't hard for the Metal Clan to believe it was a group of airbenders who used the confined nature of the enclosed city at night to create a pressure bomb with airbending.

Lirin considered the facts she gave and lamented the consequences. The Faceless played them. They knew that the Fire Nation would seek to purge their people wherever they were. They couldn't stop it, but instead led them to some of their most valuable members in order to make them martyrs and drag out the fighting even more.

The Fire Nation walked right into the trap. The war council was not pleased with this turn of events. The previous orders to hunt down the Faceless were withdrawn until further notice. They needed to know more about the enemy before blindly slaughtering rank and file soldiers.

There was a pit in Lirin's stomach. He could feel a web of lies and plots gripping him tightly. This enemy may have stayed hidden, but that did not mean they were inactive. They had made preparation for this day.

"Hana," Lirin spoke up over the war council, silencing them. "The spirit who leads the Faceless, we need to know more about him. Find any way that you can to acquire this information."

Hana kept a calm face, realizing that Avatar Lirin was providing her an out from taking the blame if the conversation continued. "As you wish, my lord," she bowed and left promptly.

• * * * *

As the Qatil warrior left, Zorin asked, "Prince Lirin, what do you think of the Faceless' goal?"

"At minimum, they seek to overturn the world order. That means war and chaos to overthrow the governments in charge, and ultimately destroying the Avatar. In order to achieve that, they need power either at a state's level or by manipulating states to carry out their agenda for them."

Shi spoke up, "The only way I can see that is if incredibly influential people were behind it."

Jin retorted, "Like a spirit and an immortal stormbender?"

Shi's face was crooked as Lirin continued, "Our guessing and hypothesizing are meaningless if we don't determine a way to discover who the Faceless Spirit is and why he is doing this. The Qatil only know that he wants to kill the Avatar. We need to know why."

Jin tilted her head, "Perhaps you can connect with the Avatar Spirit and divine an answer to some of these questions."

"Perhaps, it will have to be sooner rather than later if we the war will escalate again."

• * * * *

As the war council debated the various strategies and preparations that had to be made for the war and the introduction of Zaofu to the conflict, an aide entered the hall with an Imperial Firebender. He was a liaison from BAIN, the Bureau of Army Intelligence Networks.

"Your majesty, there was a terrorist attack at Tion."

Zorin inquired, "What happened?"

"A member of the Faceless used his cover as a soldier in the army to attack Princess Kori. When her security detail stopped him and tried to detain him, he rushed them to use explosives he had to suicide bomb himself with the intent to kill the princess."

"Is Kori alright!?" Lirin stood up at the news, unnerved by the rapid escalation.

"The princess survived with some bruises. Unsure of the security situation and having lost nearly a dozen guards, they decided to return her home as fast as possible by dragon. She should be arriving soon."

"Very well," Zorin answered calmly, "We will need to double her- Lirin!"

Zorin called out in vain as his son rushed off to the courtyard where dragons typically perched in the Royal Palace.

Underappreciated Value

Lirin rushed to the open courtyard as a dragon landed in the Royal Palace. On the dragon were two people, a Fire Nation officer who had already dismounted  by the time he got there, and Princess Kori, whom the officer helped step away from the blue dragon and it coiled and flew off like a spring.

"Kori, are you alright!?" Lirin spoke fast, in a daze.

"I'm fine, just some bruising from the explosion."

"What happened!?"

"I guess you were right that someone did want to kill me. Some guy came at me and when the guards beat him, he set off a bomb on himself and tried to take me with him... huh?"

Kori's voice was cut off as arms wrapped around her. To her surprise, they were Lirin's. He gripped her tightly, as if letting her go was unacceptable.

"I told you it wasn't safe!" Kori sensed a panic in his voice. Despite herself, she opened herself up to see his aura. She was shocked to see the fraying energy coiling around him. Her time studying people informed her what she felt. She saw anger and confusion, but what shocked her most was the sense of fear. It was almost suffocating.

Kori wondered what happened to cause this. Even with the news of the attack on her, she refused to believe that alone was enough to shake Lirin. As the Avatar slowly calmed down, she sensed another part of his aura: passion and love. She was shocked to feel this and realize it was directed at her.

In the past, Kori had sensed the lust and passion of men, but it was a rare thing to feel the love that should have been the core of that passion. Kori felt it there, faint in comparison, but undeniably there.

Kori kept herself from smiling. Maybe almost being assassinated wasn't such a bad thing.

• * * * *

As the partial moon hovered in the air over the night sky, Kori looked out a window in the halls of the palace. The series of events were climatic and jarring. It was even more unsettling when she heard about what happened in Zaofu. From what she heard, the pause in direct conflict in this war was coming to an end. The formal militaries had not fought for months, but bloody skirmishes between irregular forces had helped ensure that the war was ongoing. The pause in conflict did not let cooler heads prevail, it only allowed for more fuel to be poured on the fire.

Kori was thankful she survived but was sad that so many men sacrificed their lives to protect her. Eleven Imperial Firebenders and Northern Waterbenders were killed in the blast and another seven wounded, including the one who shielded her with his body. This firebender lost feeling in his arm. Depending on the extent of the damage, he may never be able to move it again. She felt bad that she was so relieved. People took the action of trading their lives to protect hers.

Was she worth it? Kori was full of doubt as she returned to her quarters in the palace, her handmaiden in tow. As she got close, she noticed that someone was waiting at the entrance. It was Prince Lirin.

"Prince Lirin, I didn't expect you at this hour."

"I know, can we talk?" Lirin's face was full of emotions she hadn't seen from him before this day. His dark eyes did not flash amber like they had before.

"Yes, come in."

• * * * *

Kori dismissed her handmaiden, insisting she could handle preparing tea alone. She was certain that Lirin wanted to talk privately without prying eyes and ears given the hour.

As she set down the tea, she took a sip. While it was usually rude to drink or eat before your guest, especially royalty, it was also decorum to prove that it wasn't poison by partaking first. Lirin and Kori had both been raised on this cultural norm and thought nothing of it.

Lirin slowly took a cup and sipped the warm tea. The low light set a somber mood as Lirin sat there restlessly. Kori didn't know what to say herself. As traumatic as the experience was, she still hadn't fully processed it yet. It was only a matter of time when she really felt it.

Lirin finally spoke, "I'm sorry if I appeared angry at you before. I was just worried about what might have happened to you."

"I know, no apology necessary. Besides, you did warn me about going even before the incident in Zaofu."

"Right. Unfortunately, in light of recent events, we will need to raise your security detail as well as take more precautions to protect you." Lirin looked away in shame. He feared how she would react.

"I know," Kori didn't try to hide the frustration of this. Such an increased security presence would hamper her work and ability to travel. Kori knew that Lirin was worried that she would feel it being no different than life in the north. "I did enjoy it, going out there and making a difference and having the freedom to do what I wanted."

"I promise, you will get that back again," Lirin looked Kori in the eye resolutely. For a moment his eyes flashed golden before going black. "But for now, I need to know you are safe."

Kori chuckled and answered sarcastically, "Right, we wouldn't want to harm our nations' alliance with a misplaced princess after all?"

Lirin crossed over to her couch, kneeling in front of it, "I don't care about that! I don't want you to be hurt because some maniac wants to kill the Avatar. I couldn't live with the idea of Ursa, my father, Mira, or you dying because of me." Kori finally understood some of what was plaguing Lirin. He blamed himself for his sister's death. He feared those close to him would be next.

She cupped her hand around his cheek tenderly, "Lirin, I won't die. I am better protected now than in my homeland."

Lirin leaned his face into her hand as he cupped it himself. His face was warm and inviting. Kori wanted to kick herself for doing it again, but she couldn't resist reading his aura. It was warm, full of love and care. Fear gnawed at the edges but was fear born out of a desire to protect not a fear over personal safety.

Kori wasn't sure if it was appropriate, but she felt encouraged. For as courteous as Lirin was and undoubtedly attracted to her, she did not have possession of his heart. But for just a moment, she was everything in his world. In that moment, she decided to take the offensive.

Lirin wasn't in a daze, but he wasn't observing with sharp eyes either when Kori kissed him. It wasn't a brief peck of endearment. There was warmth as she stayed there waiting for him to respond. Lirin grabbed the back of her head softly as he returned her kiss.

Kori's ice blue eyes were all he could see as he picked her up, carrying her to her bed. He caressed her as he kept kissing her. Lirin's amber eyes could only see Kori that night as his fairer skin pressed against her soft caramel skin.

Notes

• Yes, they are doing that.
• This is the first chapter where AvatarKyoshiKorra had an active hand in editing and early reading. I would like to thank her for the help.
• Hana Qatil nicely put it that the next heir to the Qatil Clan is nothing to look at, but that he is a powerful airbender.
• With the Qatil requesting recognition of independence, we are seeing a break from the traditional four nations again that sparked the Fifth Nation War in Journey of Tala. We currently have the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nation, The Northern Water Tribe, the Southern Water Tribe, The Sun Warrior Civilization, and the Qatil Clan. That is seven nations.
• Bolin and Opal had children who have the genes for both airbending and earthbending with lavabending potential.
• Zaofu was like Hong Kong was in the past, with relative autonomy as a city within a nation, and like Hong Kong, an oppressive leader was eroding the past freedoms of the city. That is where the two cities diverge.

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For the collective works of the author, go here.

v - e - d Storms of the Future Cycle
The Journey of Tala
Book 1 - Sand and Steel
Revival - The Council - Impasse - The Blockade - Invasion - Holdouts - Resistance - Foundations - Myths and Omens - History Repeats - The Order and the Coast - Queries - Agni Kai - The Night of Puppets - Exile
Book 2 - Blood and Swamps
The Prisoner - Heritage - Kin - The Edge - Siege of the North - Into the Mists - Supremacy of Wolves - A Dark Art - The Black Dragon - A Dark Path - The Way Out - Lord and King - The Ties that Break - Avatar Tala - All Nations
Book 3 - Pyres and Storms
The Other Front - The Witch - Ancient Dangers - The Spirits - Ambush - Nomad - The Exiles - The Airfield - Roots of the Past - The Storm Grave - Spirit of a Dragon - Night of Steel - Things in the Night - Falling Seasons - Black River - So Ends The Journey
Fates and Vows
An Untimely End - Disrespect and Disregard - Birth in Fire, Death in Water - Conflict - Hold - Collisions of the Mind - Ilera - Solace Fade - Scions - Sovereign
The Rise of Lirin
Prologue: A Special Day - In the Morrow - The White Dragon - Faith in Blood - The Great Gates - Lord Avatar - A Dark Sun - Faceless - Factions - Tempest - Rally of Crows - Rally of Eagles - Dragons and Serpents - Kings and Men - Storms of a Spirit - Princes - A Battered Land - Seas of Ichor - Arbiter - Return to a Grave - Declination - Disaffection - Epilogue
Myths of the Empire
Pacification - Assassins - Empire - Red Sun Under The Empire - White Snow - Heirs
The Reclamation of Arein
Prologue
Judgement
Book 1 - Chaos
Refugee - Rogue - Ghosts - Dark Roses - Doyen - Divulgence - The Plan - Abscond - Mists of Illusion - Madonna - Syndicate - Playing the Stakes - Purge - Brothers
Book 2 - War
Alliance - Temple - Tensions - The Fall - Hunters and Prey - Lussuria - Shades of Relevance - Broken Star - Defiler - Strikeforce - Secrets of the Lair - Eminence - Swarm - Wanderer
Epilogue
Hope
Dreams of Melasa
Book 1 - Servant
Proactive Survival - A New Master - The Great Forest - Different Worlds - Prowess and Priority - Waves of Stone - Sons of the Earth - Brethren - Arbalest - Convalesce - War Flower - Keepsakes - Iseran - Dosh Rak - Interlude -
Book 2 - Shadow World
Faint but Clear - Ghost in the Steel - Kurotama - Loyalties - Servants of Shadow - Game of Fate - Shadows and Reflections - Tomb of Blood - Broken Blades - Hill of Shadow - Souls and Swords - Home
Other
One Hand - Bending Sub-Skills
Unrelated
Running Numbers - Fragile - A Painted River