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masterghandalf · 1 month

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MG Reads Embers: Chapter Thirty-Three

Note: This is a continuation of my reread and commentary of Embers by Vathara, originally posted last fall and winter on my Dreamwidth account.

Chapter Thirty-Three We open with a brief author note. A/N: Warning, Azula in this chapter. The chapter proper begins with Tingzhe Wen reading some earthbending scrolls the Dai Li apparently had stashed away, while feeling like something isn’t right. He looks around and sees Jinhai meditating with Shirong, Jia and Suyin going over old histories with Huojin, Luli reading to her children, and Meixiang working on her knives, making sure they’re sharp enough. Tingzhe asks Meixiang if she knows what’s wrong and considers doing some meditation himself – she thinks it’s because Min is being held captive, but Tingzhe’s not sure. He’s read a lot of history, but he doesn’t have any experience with this sort of battle himself. Meixiang and Huojin remind him that he’s got lots of people around him who do know and to listen to them. Meixiang assures him that they’ll get Min out – her grandfather was a Fire Sage, so she knows the spirits are watching out for their family. Shirong, who overhears, thinks that someone so in touch with the spirits should know the war is wrong, no matter what Kyoshi did to the Fire Nation. Apparently, the Earth Kingdom’s official histories don’t mention much about what happened, but Tingzhe knows that about three hundred years ago, Fire Nation pirate attacks suddenly stopped, and Kyoshi was somehow involved. Meixiang is surprised – she thought everyone in the Earth Kingdom knew that. Tingzhe admits he never wanted to pry into the facts missing from the official histories for his family’s sake; Meixiang gathers everyone together and tells them the story of what Kyoshi did. Once she’s done, everyone is stunned. She relates how Sozin’s father, when he was a prince, went to beg Kyoshi in her old age to release her decree, but she never did – and Sozin must have hated the indignity of his father being forced to beg. He might have asked Roku, but Roku didn’t leave his training for the Fire Lord’s funeral, which was a terrible insult. And of course, nobody else could break the decree, since if you break loyalty you die, and everyone had to be loyal to the Fire Lord. Tingzhe wonders why people didn’t just leave the Fire Nation. Shirong reminds him that Zuko was exiled and had no choice – that’s not the same thing is disloyalty. Beyond that, it was the Avatar who ordered everyone to swear to the Fire Lord. That means the decree has the full force of the spirits behind it, and the sprits will turn on anyone who defies it. On the other hand, carrying out the war doesn’t hit the Fire Nation with spiritual misfortune for the same reason – technically, they’re following the Avatar’s orders.

Tingzhe realizes that so long as the Fire Lord wants the war to continue, it will, and nobody can oppose him. Shirong explains that at a Fire Lord’s funeral, it’s customary for all the great names to attend or send proxies to confirm their fealty to the new Fire Lord. Roku must have been a great name, to be allowed to be friends with a prince – by not coming or sending someone, he was essentially saying that his role as the Avatar was more important than his role as a subject of the Fire Nation, and since Kyoshi had already refused Sozin’s father, Sozin had no reason to believe Roku would think differently. Shirong thinks that Sozin was evil, but he might have given up too, in his place. Huojin realizes, though, that Iroh broke loyalty to Azulon, and then avoided having to swear to Ozai – he’s been free for years. But he still had loyalty to his nephew, so he stuck around for Zuko’s sake. Shirong suddenly starts laughing – he’s realized that Zuko’s an exile, so he’s technically outside of Kyoshi’s decree. He can do whatever he wants. Meixiang realizes that Zuko can set up his own independent domain, and already has the people to do it. Huojin wonders if anyone in Ba Sing Se is still loyal to their old lords back in the Fire Nation – Meixiang says Zuko’s descended from Byakko, which is as old a domain as they get, and he’s a powerful firebender and he has a lot of dragon blood; he can shield them, especially since he’s a healer. Other healers can’t touch loyalty sickness, but fire healers can. They wonder about earth – and point to an old scroll Jia has. But somehow, nobody else seems to be able to see it… Amaya and Shirong capture… something from midair and have Jinhai burn it. This was a spirit’s influence; everyone surrounds Shirong, and he admits he saw that scroll before, but never seemed to be able to remember it. They start discussing healing, and how it differs from regular bending. Jia wants to learn, if it can help get her brother back. Tingzhe is proud of her, and of his family – he thinks they’re going to be fine. Of course, there’s still one enemy in the way… Azula.

We cut to Azula as she tries and fails to bend hot water. She recalls that Iroh studied waterbenders but can’t figure out why. She thinks fire is the superior element, but still… if Iroh learned something useful, he should have shared it with someone who could use it, like her. She wonders how long Iroh has plotted against her father, but vows that he won’t hurt him – Azula is strong, she’s Ozai’s heir, she’s loyal. Everything Zuko isn’t. She remembers Ursa telling Zuko to protect her but thinks that’s foolish… she doesn’t need it… and besides, who’d protect a monster, anyway… Azula reflects on how she’s spent years building up to her current victory. Zuko’s only alive because their father wanted to teach him a lesson – and give her a reminder of what happens if she should fail. As if she ever would… can’t he trust her? But a Fire Lord always has people plotting against them… but after Azula took Ba Sing Se without a single soldier, nobody will ever dare plot against her again. She thinks she needs to focus on maintaining the Dai Li, who are too useful a resources… though she’s not sure how they let those spirits get into the palace. The Fire Sages wouldn’t stand for it. She might need to get some of them assigned here. She turns her thoughts to Mai, wondering at how Mai dared betray her when Azula did so much for her, including covering up her relationship with the royal family to give her a shot at a relationship with Zuko. Of course, Mai’s great-grandmother and Azula’s grandmother were sisters, which can cause complications. Apparently when people descended from sisters marry, the resulting children can be… monstrous. Not that Azula disapproves of firebenders born without sentimentality. And maybe she still has a chance to find out for herself – even if Mai and Zuko won’t have any children, she can always wait until Tom-Tom comes of age and marry him herself.

Meanwhile, Mai herself has arrived with messages. The top one is from General Gang, which the Fire Nation had intercepted. She can tell something was going on with him and wonders why he wanted to send word to Ba Sing Se so quickly, Still, it’s a moot point now. She also sees that Suzuran is due to come into port tomorrow. She knows it’s a dumping ground for malcontents and incompetents, and also that Captain Jee is in command – and Jee has a history with Zuko. She drops a few hints, hoping Mai will pick up on them, and also laments about Yakume’s behavior earlier and how he was clearly one of Iroh’s soldiers. She wonders what her father was thinking, leaving Zuko with their uncle. Mai thinks he needed to at least have a show of someone training Zuko, a potential heir, and nobody took Iroh seriously anymore anyway. Meanwhile, Azula wants to know what to do about this potential insurgency. Mai suggests watching and waiting. Azula is amused and looks forward to crushing them – she starts to weave her plans. She thinks about how she’d made previous crews under Zuko mutiny, though Zhao ended up derailing all of that with his own plans; Azula’s glad he’s dead. But now, the world will bend to her will.

We cut to Aang and his friends coming up on shore, Toph thrilled to be on land again – and how the spirit Zuko sent, which Toph has named Boots, is apparently helping her goad Aang into actually practicing. Aang isn’t happy about letting the world thing he’s dead, but Sokka convinced him it was tactically smart. Zuko knows Aang’s not dead, though, and Toph wonders what he’ll end up doing. She knows Zuko chased Aang across the world, with a level of determination beyond sanity – or even humanity. But that doesn’t bother her – she thinks he’s a decent person anyway. Still, Aang crossed lines with him, and Toph knows he won’t be able to give up on revenge. Meanwhile, Sokka is trying to talk Aang into practicing deflecting projectiles against his boomerang. Aang remembers the Yu Yan archers, and Sokka wonders why they’ve never seen them again. They know someone broke Aang out without using firebending – the Yu Yan aren’t firebenders either, and neither are Mai and Ty Lee. Just because they’ll be hitting the capital during the eclipse doesn’t mean it won’t be dangerous. While they’re working, Katara takes Toph aside. Toph wants to know why Katara isn’t pushing Aang to learn air healing. Toph herself is a great fighter, but she has no idea how to heal using earthbending and doesn’t have the right attitude. Katara wonders if Haru might be a good choice for an earth healer and shares the story of the prison barge. Apparently Zuko already told Toph about tracking Katara using her necklace, with angers Katara. Zuko had admitted it wasn’t very honorable – but when tracking an enemy of the whole Fire Nation, any method goes. Anyway, Katara knows the Air Nomads were peaceful – so why did the healer from her vision have a sword? Toph thinks maybe she needed to defend herself – healing takes a lot out of you, more than normal bending. Katara thinks bending is a gift from the spirits, and they have to respect that, or they’ll end up like the Fire Nation, burning whole forests for fuel. Toph backs up – the Water Tribes use swords, made from teeth and bone rather than metal, but still swords. Would Katara use one if she lost her bending? Katara thinks this doesn’t have anything to do with spirits, so Toph reminds her that her people use water for everything – they even build with ice. So what’s wrong with the Fire Nation using their element and burning things for fuel? Katara thinks it’s not the same, and none of them have any honor, including Zuko. Toph wonders if she might try healing after all – it might help with her headache.

Toph wonders if Katara is so mad at Aang and Sokka and indicates she’d be willing to help; Katara says she’s not angry at Aang, but he doesn’t seem to care about her mom, even though he was so angry when he found Gyatso’s skeleton that he nearly blew them off the mountain. Toph reminds her that Aang didn’t have a mom, he had a teacher… he might expect Katara to feel the same way about Pakku. Toph’s reminded that Katara is also Aang’s teacher, and he has a crush on her, and thinks that won’t end well. Out loud, she reminds Katara that they’re all from different places and have different values, but they can work together to win, and then fix things. Katara thinks she sounds like Sokka, which Toph doesn’t mind. She thinks Katara does need to calm down before she goes back to work with Aang… maybe she’d like to help Toph try some experiments with seawater? We cut to Iroh and Zuko as they wrap up practicing. Zuko thinks he’s not good enough, but Iroh thinks he can pass as an ordinary firebender long enough to get into Ba Sing Se unnoticed, even if he couldn’t fool Azula herself. Zuko says Azula missed him in the palace, and Iroh is impressed. Zuko’s used to hiding from Azula – he knows how not to be found. This gets the attention of Sergeant Kyo, who asks Zuko to demonstrate – and suddenly the sense of his inner fire seems to vanish. Zuko’s blending his own inner fire into the heat around him, camouflaging it. Apparently, he was inspired by a book Iroh gave him as a child – Iroh hadn’t realized he’d take it that seriously. Kyo thinks the book’s not a bad place to start – and anyone who can hide from their crew, including Teruko, is clearly doing something right. Iroh is amused that he’s treating Zuko like a newbie marine. Kyo says it’s all about the state of mind, and not everyone can do it. Zuko knows Azula will have the Dai Li with her, though, so they’ll have to be extra careful. Meanwhile, Zuko notices that the refugee ferries are gone; no more refugees are coming to Ba Sing Se these days. He wonders if they could find them, and if Teruko might be up to playing pirate. With Amaya’s connection, Zuko might be able to get crews. But Zuko will have to be the one to present this plan to the Earth King in person – Zuko doesn’t think Azula has him. He must be in hiding, so Zuko will have to get to him and persuade him. If he can’t, he’ll have to try his luck with individual captains. Teruko says she’ll need plans for the harbor, which she thinks Iroh must have. He admits he does… and is amused that if they’re breaking Kyoshi’s decree, they’re going all the way, and are becoming pirates indeed.

We cut to Langxue and Saoluan, docked near a delta and watching Fire Nation ships through a spyglass. She thinks they look too good to be pirates and asks one of the sailors they’re traveling with if he knows who they are. The sailor, Shu, starts rambling about how they’re near the Foggy Swamp and there’s waterbenders here, but after some prompting says he thinks the Fire Nation guys are from Byakko – Byakko’s not too bad, as Fire Nation people go, even if they do eat bugs. Langxue doesn’t care what they eat – he just wants some real food. Meanwhile, the ship’s captain is arguing with the swamp man he’s been trying to trade with. The swamp guy has a message from Hue, who knew Langxue and Saoluan would be coming; the Moon told him. Langxue introduces himself and Saoluan, says they’re already doing what the spirits want. The captain already has enough problems, so Langxue and Saoluan get in the boat with the swampbenders and head off with them. They bring them over to dock with the Byakko ship, where they’re met by an older Fire Nation nobleman who Saoluan finds very intimidating. She feels safe in his presence, though, even though he’s Fire Nation, and she doesn’t know why. Langxue thinks he’s being very obvious about something – he’s not even sweating. The old man comments that he’s old enough to do as he wishes, calling that a “custom” which Langxue corrects to “human custom.” But Langxue thinks the old man is here to help them – Yue and Hue wouldn’t have sent them to meet him if he was a dark dragon. The old man introduces himself as Shidan of Byakko and says that his grandson will need their help. Saoluan is put off by his attitude, and Langxue tells her the truth – Shidan is a dragon. Saoluan is stunned – she thought all the dragons were dead. Shidan admits many of them are, and the survivors have gone to great lengths to make sure the world thinks they’re extinct. But they have common enemies – Shidan hopes he won’t have to help them take on the whole Fire Nation, but for now they have to leave, before Makoto finds them. Langxue realizes his past life knew Makoto – but that was a thousand years ago. How has no one killed her? Shidan says many have tried, and died trying – apparently, she was nearly killed centuries ago, before Kyoshi came and ruined things. A century ago, she found a new tactic – she took human form, and married Fire Lord Sozin and became the mother of his heir. Saoluan realizes that Ozai isn’t human and is shaken.

She tells Shidan that Azulon is dead, which he knows, and he says Makoto will never forgive his clan for that. More than that, she knows the yaoren and hates them, though Shidan has managed to keep her off Zuko’s trail so far. Worst of all, she’s been Koh’s ally in the past, and may be again. Shidan and his wife have managed to keep Makoto out of Byakko so far – and Shidan’s parents died doing it - but she’s old, powerful and evil, and he can’t fight her head on forever. Especially since Shidan assumed human form to marry Kotone, and he’s tied to that form until she dies. Fortunately, his current mission gives him a chance for some action and to help the Moon Spirit, so he’s very committed to it. He offers them aid, and his ship. He can get them through Fire Nation blockades – and he knows Langxue is like his grandson. Shidan felt Zuko drown and be brought back and decided to leave home to seek him. Byakko has connections with the Foggy Swamp already, so… here he is. Saoluan doesn’t trust him, but Shidan assures her that his kind my be ruthless, but they are honest and forthright. Saoluan says he’s wearing blue, even though he’s a Fire Nation noble, and Shidan says that’s not a lie – Byakko is located at a mountain now, but they were originally a wave clan. They’ve kept their healing knowledge hidden, since it can save a person from dying from broken loyalty… and the Fire Lord won’t allow that. Langxue remembers all the wave clans are healers and can’t believe that the Fire Nation would wipe out half their own people – and then he and Saoluan both realize what Kyoshi must have done. Again, Shidan offers temporary alliance against common enemies. Langxue and Saoluan accept. For the moment, though, Shidan has an errand of his own – he needs to assure his clan that their line is secure. There aren’t dragons in the Foggy Swamp… but apparently something of that sort. They need to stop by Pohuai Stronghold, which, conveniently, is on the way to Gaipain. Saoluan wants to know what they’re waiting for.

We end with an author note: A/N: If you're wondering what's up with firebenders and genealogies, besides just trying not to have too much dragon blood, the interested reader might check out human mitochondrial genetics on Wikipedia. Especially the facts that the mtDNA passed to kids from the same mother can vary remarkably, and have differing effects depending on the nuclear DNA involved. Mixing two species (and their mitochondria), even with the spirits taking a hand, isn't exactly something that's always going to have good results. Given the Fire Nation doesn't have genetic testing to figure out what the problem is, they go by a rough rule of thumb: do not marry descendants of sisters. Even so, this doesn't catch everything. And yes, theoretically speaking, Mai and Zuko would be fine. They don't know that. Plus, they know Azula's involved. Assuming whatever Azula's involved in will screw you up royally (pun intended) is a survival trait. "Dragon-child" doesn't have to refer to a direct dragon descendant; it can also refer to anyone who exhibits enough of the traits to show there's a lot of dragon in their background. And it can skip generations. (However, Teruko does come from a long, long line of tavern-burners...) Akuma komainu-ko - roughly, "devil stone lion (or lion-dog) cub". The stone lions are protective guardians outside temples. Shidan's outfit - think Piandao's robe, with a belt and a haori on top. Yes, the "mountain stripes" were inspired by the Shinsengumi. (Does anyone know what Piandao's outfit is officially called? As far as I can tell it's either some kind of changshan or Manchu-type robe, but I can't track down a positive ID.) For those who are wondering - don't worry about Sokka and Suki. Those two, in canon, understand each other enough to know they've got cultural differences to work out. I think that's the most grounded, plausible, working relationship in the whole show. (And one of the cutest. Sokka's Look of Awe when Suki goes after the Warden in Boiling Rock... there's a guy secure enough in being a warrior to appreciate her!) And a reviewer pointed me to the TVTropes page on Embers. ...You guys are awesome. (Yes, even those of you who think I like Zuko too much. And that I did everything wrong. That page is cool!) MG’s Thoughts I don’t have nearly as much to say about this chapter as the previous ones, but it actually contains a fair bit that I like, and most of what I don’t like is more minor. While I have my qualms about how Vathara writes Azula, the way she depicts her internal monologue here – full of arrogance and ruthlessness, but with a core of insecurity that bubbles to the top at unpredictable moments and that she never lets anyone else see – feels very genuine. The scenes with the Gaang also work better than a lot of what we’ve been seeing from them lately, since everyone’s calmed down enough that they’re allowed to just be people for now, though elements like “Toph Knows Best” and “Katara Is Irrational and can’t see beyond her own culture” still crop up. I’m of two minds about the bit with the Wens – I probably like them the most of Vathara’s various OCs at this point in the fic and enjoy their dynamic, but we get yet another chance to talk about how Kyoshi ruined the Fire Nation (this time, giving Sozin – who the fic in general, to its credit, does usually depict as evil – a few inches of whitewashing), and I really don’t see how Meixiang (who has lived in Ba Sing Se for decades, is married to an Earth Kingdom man and raised four Earth Kingdom children) remains this ignorant about what is and isn’t common knowledge in the Earth Kingdom. And I still don’t like how much of what’s going on with the Fire Nation refugees is bound up in the loyalty stuff.

This chapter also sees the official introduction of Shidan, and the fic’s second main antagonists – Makoto aka Sozin’s dragon aka Sozin’s wife, who’s been foreshadowed so far, but only a little bit (I’m not sure if she counts as an OC or not; very technically, she’s not only a canon character but two can characters but taken in a direction radically different from anything canon ever established about them). Frankly, this falls into a lot more of the “this stuff would be interesting in an original work, but I don’t like it as part of Avatar specifically” category that I’ve mentioned before. It also plays into what I think is one of the core tensions of the fic – Vathara is trying to do something that’s more gritty and “realistic” than canon with its emphasis on sociology and politics, while also cranking the high fantasy elements of the setting up to eleven in ways that make the story fundamentally less grounded and realistic. I don’t think it’s a needle that’s impossible to thread… but I’m not sure Embers actually manages it.

#avatar: the last airbender #embers #embers critical #mg reads #critical #mg reads embers #cw: controversial issues

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masterghandalf · 2 months

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MG Reads Embers: Chapter Thirteen

Note: This is a continuation of my reread and commentary of Embers by Vathara, originally posted last fall and winter on my Dreamwidth account.

Chapter Thirteen We open the chapter with Jinhai asleep, and Zuko assuring Meixiang that it’s normal – firebenders draw their power from their internal energy, so young firebenders get tired easily and take lots of naps. Zuko himself did at that age. Though he adds that a good thing about being a firebender is that they don’t sunburn easily. Zuko then decides to warn the Wens about Jet, describing him and telling them that he’s pretty sure he’s gotten him fooled that he’s a waterbender. Suyin wants to know how, and Zuko explains that he can bend the heat inside of water (without adding that he’s also somehow acquired the ability to bend regular water); Tingzhe and Meixiang are stunned, and Tingzhe asks if he’s ever tried anything similar with earth. Zuko isn’t sure – water and heat both flow in ways that earth doesn’t, though this reminds him that air flows too, and he thinks that getting blown through a wall or two might be good for Aang. Getting back on topic, Zuko says that Jet hates anyone he thinks is Fire Nation and doesn’t care who he hurts, and if the Wens see him, to make sure they keep Jinhai away from him. They should also warn anyone else they know who has Fire Nation heritage or has ties to them. Meixiang promises she will, with a bow – Zuko begs her not to, but she tells him that he may have left the Fire Nation, but he can’t abandon who he is. Zuko insists he was exiled after he lost an Agni Kai, against someone he owed loyalty to and couldn’t bring himself to fight. Tingzhe wants an explanation, and Meixiang explains duels. Her husband is outraged, but Meixiang thinks it’s better than how the Earth Kingdom does it – better to have it over and done with in a way that satisfies everyone’s honor than start feuds that last generations. Still, Meixiang is shocked because of Zuko’s youth – he couldn’t have been more than a child when it happened. Zuko says he was thirteen and that’s old enough, which startles Suyin, since she’s that age. He promises he’s just training her in basic self-defense, and only firebenders fight Agni Kais – nonbenders duel with blades. He says he could teach her swords if she wanted, to which Tingzhe glares and cracks his knuckles.

Meixiang tells her husband not to threaten Zuko when he’s just telling the truth – Fire Nationals may not have dragons’ teeth and claws but make do with blades and fire. Still, she wants to know how Zuko got sucked into an Agni Kai so young. Zuko is stunned and can barely bring himself to talk about it, but at last gives a truncated version, leaving out that it was the Fire Lord’s war room where he spoke out of turn, not just a meeting of officers, and that the Fire Lord is his father. Still, Meixiang is outraged and says that Zuko’s family should have intervened to stop the duel, even appealed to the Fire Lord if they had too – Zuko breaks out into hysterical, half-sobbing laughter and explains that wouldn’t have worked. He describes how Iroh tended to him after the duel, how his sister gloated at the prosect of his exile, and how his uncle agreed to go with him. At last, he bows to Tingzhe, tells him Amaya is expecting him, and leaves. At Amaya’s clinic, she recognizes that Zuko is in distress and wonders what’s wrong. He gives her a very brief rundown of the day’s events, and then shows Amaya the scroll Shirong gave him – she recognizes it as a waterbending scroll. Zuko says he’s fit to work, and Amaya reluctantly agrees to let him, so long as he doesn’t work too hard and follows her instructions. We cut to outside an earthending class at the university, where Shirong is watching incognito. The students’ skill varies greatly, but Shirong thinks only one of them has what it takes to be Dai Li – Min Wen. But, while he has the kind of skill that could be brought up to Dai Li standards, he’s also the son of a professor who has been critical of the Dai Li and the government before, and Shirong wonders what Min would do if his loyalty was conflicted. Shirong’s also worried that Min is too driven, and that sort of zeal can easily to astray.

On the other hand, Long Feng and Quan have made it clear to him that they’re desperate for new recruits – and he knows it’s true, or they wouldn’t even consider someone like “Lee.” Shirong admits to finding Zuko impressive – he’s clearly faced death in a way that someone like Min hasn’t, but still has a basic level of compassion, and Shirong’s instincts, honed by two decades in the Dai Li, tell him that there’s something safe about him. Shirong thinks to himself about how the spirits have grown increasingly restless every year the Avatar has been gone, and it’s been the Dai Li’s job to deal with them – and then he recognizes the signs in Zuko and realizes he’s fought a spirit before, too. That’s what that good feeling Shirong’s been getting from him is – people who’ve touched the spirit world and survived often have that sort of aura. He feels a flash of pity for “Lee,” since after an experience like that, he’ll never fit in with normal people again – but then again, he’s working for Amaya, who has the same aura. Shirong wonders if Zuko’s picked up on it yet. He then turns back to watching Min practice.

Back at the Wen household, Suyin asks her mother about some of the things Zuko said or implied earlier, about lords and dragons and such. Meixiang explains that Jinhai is too young to know, since he want be able to keep it a secret, but Suyin can - the first earthbenders were Oma and Shu, who were human, but the first firebenders were the descendants of a powerful lady who appeared mysteriously to save her lord when he was near death, married him and had children with him– and then when he finally died, turned into a dragon and flew away. That wasn’t the only time this has happened, and ever since, many of the Fire Nation’s greatest warriors and heroes have had dragon blood in their veins. There used to be many accounts of people who mysteriously appeared, had children, and then vanished, though after he began the practice of hunting dragons, Sozin did his best to cover up such talk. Meixiang explains that their family are of dragon blood too – after all, Jinhai is a firebender, and all firebenders must be – and it’s nothing to be ashamed of, but the Fire Nation aren’t like other people. Dragons are territorial and hierarchical, and so are their descendants. When multiple dragons live in one area, one of them has to be in charge, and the others have to bow to it – or leave. Suyin realizes that if the Fire Nation didn’t have lords, they’d fight each other all the time, and Meixiang agrees – her family keeps stories from a time when that was true, and Tingzhe, being a history professor, knows the records as well, so she can ask him too.

Suyin wonders why Meixiang doesn’t seem to have to fight anyone, and Meixiang in turn asks her if she understands why a kid as shy as Jinhai took to a stranger like Zuko so readily. Suyin says she thinks he feels warm and safe, and this admission causes Meixiang to hug her tightly. She explains that loyalty is owed first to the family, but after that, you get to choose who you swear to – and a good lord rules, but also protects. But if Suyin feels the pull of loyalty, she has to be careful who she gives it to – breaking it can be painful and, for a firebender, lethal. Suyin realizes that she does know what it feels like – she’d rather die, or kill, than betray her family. Meixiang tells her that’s why she needs to pay attention to her lessons with Zuko, so if someone does come after them, she’ll be able to protect them. Suyin says that Zuko’s lord didn’t protect him, and Meixiang says that shouldn’t have happened – then she seems to realize something and tells Suyin she needs to talk to her father. Meixiang finds Tingzhe in his rooms, where he’s going through something she thinks he shouldn’t have. Tingzhe insists that everyone knows he’s a harmless eccentric with no interest in current events, and she affectionately calls him a deceiver to match the Face-Stealer. But what she’s come to tell him is that she’s deduced that the person who scarred Zuko must have been his father. Tingzhe isn’t surprised – and, worse, he thinks that he knows who Zuko must be. Based on what he’s let slip, and his age and the circumstances surrounding his exile – Meixiang asks Tingzhe to just tell her, and he admits he’s afraid of the enormity of what he’s figured out, and what will happen if she knows too. She promises that she loves him and looks over the notes he has – and then she realizes it too, and reaches for some wine. They know that “Lee” is probably the Fire Lord’s son, which makes his uncle – the Dragon of the West. Tingzhe is terrified of the implications, but Meixiang thinks they really are just here to hide. They wouldn’t be doing this if there was anything left for them in the Fire Nation. Tingzhe is still horrified by the implications of the Fire Lord’s son being in their home – and of what kind of man the Fire Lord must be, to do something like that to his son. Meixiang wants to ask the person who knows better than anyone – Iroh. She was already planning a get-together with some of their friends, so she’ll ask Zuko and Iroh to come, then corner Iroh and get the truth out of him. And to do that, they need a plan.

We cut to Amaya as she’s serving tea to Zuko. He asks if she misses her people, and she admits she does, but not enough to go back. The Northern Tribe had been waiting for decades for the Avatar to be reborn among them, which they eventually would be if the missing Avatar finally died. Since Amaya was a bender, a woman, and not the Avatar, her only future prospect was to work as a healer and wait to be engaged to another bender, possibly even Pakku himself. But she finally left when she overheard some of the elders talking about their goals – to find the Avatar, and then destroy the Fire Nation. The prospect of destroying another nation shocked her enough that she left home to seek her own answers and has never been back. Meanwhile, she’s intrigued by the scroll Zuko brought. Zuko says he thinks the Dai Li are trying to recruit him, but he’s more interested in the scroll itself right now. He knows that the Northern tribe doesn’t teach female waterbenders to fight, but while he doesn’t know actual waterbending techniques, he does know how to fight. If Amaya let him study the scroll, maybe he could help her learn some things too. Amaya is curious and wants to know if he means to improvise with hot water; she gets the sense that he’s hiding something, but not what. They go over the scroll together and start discussing forms and how to apply them across different elements. Zuko demonstrates the breath of fire technique, claiming Iroh invented it and that it’s very useful for a bender to keep warm – or even survive being iced over. Zuko realizes he might have shared too much, but Amaya says that there can only be so many exiled Fire Nation nobles, and if she really wanted to know who he and his uncle were, she could probably figure it out – but she won’t until they’re ready to tell her, because she respects their privacy. They then go back to studying.

We cut to Iroh at Pao’s tea shop, as Zuko comes in and warns him that Jet’s still sniffing around. He gives a brief rundown of their encounter as Iroh gently escorts him outside. He briefly considers trying to set Zuko up with one of the tea shop’s young, female customers, but ends up deciding that this isn’t a good time. Zuko explains some of the training he’s doing with Amaya, which surprises Iroh since he’d not thought Northern waterbender women were trained to fight, unlike the southerners. This causes Iroh to flash back to the Fire Nation’s campaigns against the Southern Tribe, and his regrets that he hadn’t been able to protect more than a handful of waterbenders from capture and imprisonment. Zuko explains that they don’t, but brings up the scroll, and says he’ll tell Iroh more when they get home. Once they have, Zuko finishes summarizing his day, and tells Iroh that he’s sure the Dai Li are trying to recruit him. Iroh reminds him to be wary but admits he can understand why they might want a waterbender in their ranks – which surprises Zuko, since most people in the Fire Nation wouldn’t want to work with benders of another element. Iroh, though, can see the advantages. This makes Zuko think of Sokka and he bitterly wonders if he’ll be a great general someday – Iroh thinks he has potential, but he’ll need to learn to master himself first. The talk then turns to chi blockers, and why the Fire Nation doesn’t make better use of them. Apparently, they’re not allowed to leave the Fire Nation normally, lest they fall into enemy hands – and certain Earth Kingdom leaders, like General Fong, would do anything to learn their secrets. Still, a chi-blocker might be a powerful weapon against a bender like the Avatar – and Azula has probably recruited Ty Lee to join her. Zuko remembers how Aang and his friends were running from Azula, and thinks that there’s only one thing that scares a bender that much. Iroh realizes what he means and tells Zuko that Amaya told him what Ty Lee did to him – Zuko says it’s not as bad as it could be, and at least he learned how to dodge from it, and to not rely exclusively on bending.

Still, Iroh wonders why Zuko never told anyone what Azula and Ty Lee were doing to him, and Zuko says he didn’t want Azula trying to smother him in his sleep again. After it happened, Zuko told Ursa, who told Ozai, but Azula claimed Zuko was lying and weaseled her way out of trouble. But Azula’s not here, and Zuko would like to talk about something more pleasant – like tying Jet up and dropping him down a well. Iroh admits the idea has merit but reminds Zuko to do as he thinks best at the time. Meanwhile, it’s probably time for them to turn in, but before they do, Iroh has one more piece of advice – as a traitor to the throne, Zuko is no longer bound to the Fire Nation’s laws or the Fire Lord’s orders. He has the freedom to follow his conscience. And here, Azula is not a princess, and Zuko isn’t a prince – if Azula attacks again, don’t hesitate to attack her back. Zuko says he’ll think about it. Iroh thinks that he doesn’t want Zuko to ever think that Azula had the right to hurt him… and if he ever sees his brother again, Ozai will have much to answer for. We then cut to Amaya’s clinic, as Zuko is forced to deal with trying to examine an unruly, biting toddler, before taking the time off to perform katas in her garden. Finally, Zuko decides to start practicing with water, while thinking about how fire had always been a tool for him, unlike his mother’s fire, which was warm and soothing. As he practices more with water, he thinks Ursa would have liked this, and wonders how good she was with firebending other than healing. Finally, he manages to heat the water up, and using a combination of firebending and waterbending, deposits it all back into a barrel. Amaya comes out, having sensed what was happening, which impresses Zuko. He apologizes if he was too rough with the child earlier, but Amaya wants to know more about Iroh – specifically, what he considers a good night out. Zuko says he likes music and food, and promises to mind the clinic while she’s gone.

We then cut to Amaya relating to Iroh the story of Zuko and the kid from earlier, which amuses him greatly. Amaya notes that the two of them always seem to expect trouble, and Iroh admits that they do, though he doubts Amaya’s life has been easy either. Amaya talks a bit about taking Zuko in and working with him and is impressed by his skill as a healer when it’s clear he didn’t have much formal training. She thinks he’s what Huojin would call a natural, which Iroh says he’s not heard of in benders before – he’s known prodigies, but it’s not the same. Amaya says it reminds her of benders who’ve learned from the original source of their bending, who always seem to have a natural instinct those taught by humans lack. Iroh wonders if this is true even for adults, and Amaya wonders that, if waterbenders were first taught by the Moon and Ocean spirits, who did the first firebenders learn from? Their conversation is interrupted as Longshot and Smellerbee suddenly show up, without Jet. Apparently, Jet is at home, fixing his harness after it got torn up in his fight with Zuko. Smellerbee claims it was Zuko who attacked Jet, but Iroh tells her that by accusing him of being Fire Nation, in Ba Sing Se of all cities, it was really Jet who was the aggressor. Amaya agrees, making it clear she knows a raider when she sees one. Finally, Longshot touches Smellerbee on the arm, and they both leave. Amaya and Iroh decide to head home as well, with Iroh admitting he hasn’t had such an enjoyable night with a woman in a long time. The two of them head back to the clinic, where they find Zuko in the back, practicing with candles on a frozen sheet of ice. They watch as he weaves strands of water between the flames, and then with a casual breath Zuko freezes the strands as well… and at the sight, Iroh collapses to the ground in shock.

We cut to Iroh waking up, with a concerned Zuko bending over him – he spots the ice around the candles, and realizes he wasn’t dreaming. Zuko starts babbling, trying to explain how he became a waterbender without really understanding it himself, while Amaya goes over to calm him down. She says that she knew that Zuko’s sister was their father’s heir, so she wants to know why both Zuko and Iroh look like someone’s died. Iroh admitted that he had hopes, and Zuko is now convinced that lots of people are going to die when Azula takes the throne, and he doesn’t care if it’s what the spirits want, it’s wrong. Iroh also thinks that Azula as Fire Lord would be a disaster, but tells Zuko that spirits have their ways, and he doubts Yue gave him this gift out of hatred. Amaya isn’t so sure – she asks Zuko if it hurts when he waterbends, and he says it does only when he uses both kinds of bending together, so Amaya decides to examine him more closely. Iroh for his part has realized why Zuko has been so confused lately, while Amaya reveals the source of Zuko’s pain – Zuko’s scar wounded him down to his spirit, and to pour her own energy into him to turn him into a waterbender, Yue had to essentially rip that old wound open again, which was understandably traumatic. Now the two parts of him are in conflict. Amaya can try to heal it, but first, she needs Zuko’s name – his real name. He gives it, and she cuts him off before he names his father, before explaining what they can do. Amaya can do nothing, which she doesn’t recommend. She can try to revert Zuko back to his previous state, taking away his waterbending; Zuko thinks it could make things simpler, but Iroh sees this gift as a path forward, that Yue was trying to turn Zuko into someone who could be a champion for all peoples, not just the Fire Nation. Turning his back on that could be dangerous – and besides, Iroh thinks Zuko is happier now than he has been for a long time and doesn’t want him to lose that. Yes, Azula would be heir, but with Ozai and his cronies in power, conflict was inevitable anyway. Finally, Amaya can try to knit the two parts of Zuko’s spirit together, more subtly than Yue was able to do – but it will be the most difficult healing she’s ever attempted, and she wants to make sure Zuko is certain before she tries. Zuko wants to do it – he feels like he owes his people to try. Amaya admits she can’t fix everything – the damage Ozai did is too old – but she promises to try.

She begins the healing, and suddenly Zuko finds himself surrounded by light as they touch, spirit to spirit. He can see the wound in his spirit, and Amaya tells him to reach out, to touch fire and water, and spirit to bind them. He senses another presence nearby and realizes that it’s Iroh – and that Iroh loves him. Amaya assures him that he does, and she does too, in her own way. At last, his spirit knits slowly together, leaving him whole but exhausted. Zuko falls asleep, and Amaya and Iroh help him into bed – Amaya asks Iroh what he sees with his spiritual sight, and he says he sees two dragons, at peace. For now, though, Zuko should be well. Amaya asks Iroh if Zuko learned firebending from dragons, and Iroh says no, but he did learn from his mother – who Iroh is becoming increasingly sure was a dragon’s child. Amaya asks Iroh to walk with her, and he explains that dragons are powerful creatures, who can take human form and sometimes bear or sire children with humans. Though they can also be evil, as Sozin’s dragon companion was, aiding in Sozin’s genocide of the dragon species. Iroh isn’t sure about Ursa’s heritage, but when he thinks about her, and some of the things he knows about her own parents, Kotone and Shidan – it just seems to fit. Apparently, Shidan was a skilled warrior and firebender, and Kotone’s father – Ursa’s grandfather – approved the marriage almost as soon as he first appeared at court. Though Shidan did provide his genealogy, which most disguised dragons don’t bother with, Iroh still has to wonder. Especially since healing fire and dragon fire look the same. Amaya wonders if that’s why Iroh took the revelation of Zuko as a waterbender so calmly – she can’t imagine Pakku would have taken one of his students turning out to be a firebender so calmly, and Iroh, who knows Pakku a bit through the White Lotus, has to agree. But none of this is the first strange thing Iroh has seen – though if he ever speaks with Yue again, he might have words about how she handled things. And while Iroh doesn’t want Zuko to fight the Avatar – if worse comes to worse, he might have to. Amaya wonders what he means, and Iroh explains that to the Avatar, balance means four separate nations – but after the Hundred-Year War, the nations are all mixed. What if Aang decides to force everyone back to where he thinks they belong? In that case, Zuko has every right to be afraid.

And in any case, sooner or later, Jinhai will have to leave Ba Sing Se. There’s no place for a firebender child here, and sooner or later the Dai Li will come for him. For now, there is no safe refuge… but Iroh and Zuko are beginning to draw plans to create one. Amaya says Iroh is asking for the impossible, and Iroh corrects her that Ozai asked the impossible – Iroh is asking the merely difficult. But that Zuko is even considering this means his loyalty is weakening, and hopefully that means he’ll survive it breaking. Amaya tells him he’s insane, and Iroh remembers his wife, Natsu, telling him that same thing long ago. Amaya tells him it wasn’t a compliment and tells him to tend to Zuko or go home. Iroh leaves her, thinking about how he misses Natu and always will, but that wound is old, and raising Zuko has helped soften the pain of losing her and Lu Ten. Iroh intends to use the opportunity he has to guide Zuko rightly, and realizes he’d welcome a companion along the way. Still, she’s also Zuko’s mentor, and he doesn’t want to interfere with that training. Finally, deciding to be patient and to let her make the next move, Iroh sits down by Zuko’s bed to meditate and falls asleep.

MG’s Thoughts Okay, that was a long one, even in bare-bones summary form (I think it’s the longest chapter the fic has had yet). And while there are a few parts of it I liked, in general… I have a lot of issues here. First off is that the chapter really is too long, and it doesn’t feel very cohesive – more like a bunch of loosely-connected vignettes than anything. Zuko getting healed was the best part, and even that felt like it deserved a full chapter to itself – here, it’s rather rushed. Then we get to the content.

First off – the Fire Nation. And while we’ve had some stuff about loyalty and dragon ancestry before, this is where it really starts getting laid out directly – the Fire Nation, and in particular all firebenders, are literally descended from dragons. And some people have much closer dragon ancestry. And… okay. At this point it really can’t be ignored. Vathara’s Fire Nation are literally a different species from everyone else in the world. They’re physically different, which we’ll get more into later. They’re mentally different – I wasn’t kidding earlier about how the fic presents the whole “feudal warlords and proud warrior race guy attitudes” as being not just a cultural difference, but literally baked into the Fire Nation’s DNA, such a natural and fundamental part of who they are that trying to change it will invariably be depicted as a terrible imposition. And since none of the other nations have any sort of nonhuman ancestry, it just feels like something that exists to further mark the Fire Nation, and fire as an element, as something singular and special. I also really have to side-eye giving the conquering empire who already do some crowing in canon about their natural superiority literally superhuman ancestry to boot, along with a much greater dose of sympathy than canon gave them – and yes, I count “being a dragon” as superhuman. We also get a bit more discussion of loyalty here, and while Vathara tries to take the sting off a bit by saying that loyalty must be freely given – considering that it’s a plot point later in the fic that loyalty can be coerced, I can’t say I really buy it. I will say, when I was a teenager, dragons were easily my favorite fictional creature, and even now, they’re still definitely up there; if this was a work of original fiction, I’d love reading about a race of dragon people. If it was a complete, ground-up reimagining of Avatar, I’d think it was a weird choice, but I’d be willing to hold judgment. As an AU that still takes large swathes of the original show as canon, and builds plot points off of throwaway lines from canon… it just serves to underscore that Vathara’s Fire Nation is something completely different from canon’s Fire Nation, wrapped up in canon Fire Nation’s clothes and desperately trying to convince us it’s the same thing. And, while I know fans of the fic would disagree, for me… it just doesn’t work. The same is true of Vathara’s dragons being totally different from canon’s dragons – I really don’t think Vathara likes canon’s depiction of dragons at all, for that matter, though we’ll get to that more later. Before moving on, I’d also like to note the mention of Sozin’s dragon, who’ll be an important character later – and the oddity that said dragon is referred to with the pronoun “he” here, when later chapters will make it very clear that she was, in fact, a she.

I have some other issues, too. First off, Amaya’s reasons for leaving the North Pole, which represent two notable trends in the fic. The first is the tendency to conflate the desire to see the Fire Nation as a state defeated with the desire to destroy the Fire Nation as a people (which we’ve already seen with Jet) and the second is the depiction of the Water Tribes as being obsessed with revenge and absolutely unwilling to let the Fire Nation off the hook for the war (and this being presented as a bad thing). For another, Shirong’s scene also begins to lay the groundwork for some of Vathara’s depiction of the Dai Li later on – let’s just say that they, like the Fire Nation, end up being beneficiaries of her fondness for Hard Men doing Hard Things. We also see the return of the idea that restoring the balance of the world means enforcing an apartheid between the Four Nations, which again I can only presume is taking Roku’s speech to Sozin out of context and blowing it massively out of proportion. On a related note, we also see the idea that in Embers people from different nations are completely ignorant of each other’s cultures, to a frankly unbelievable degree – even Tingzhe, a history professor married to a Fire Nation woman, needs basic facts about the Fire Nation like their dueling culture and the fact that they teach women to fight explained to him. Finally, I feel like the Iroh/Amaya relationship is kind of rushed here and comes out of nowhere, though I’ll freely admit I’m bad at reading romantic subtext.

Also, I know it’s subtle, but I’m starting to have a sneaking suspicion that Vathara wants us to think Jet is dangerous, but also a total loser. Just a hunch.

#avatar: the last airbender #embers #embers critical #mg reads #mg reads embers #critical #tw: abuse (mentioned)#tw: controversial issues

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