Chapter 1: A Certain Breed of War

Excerpt from Dissertation #40,076, Professor Lon'qu, Ba Sing Se University, 71 AU, Year of the Sheep

Looking back on it, it is difficult to ascertain the exact cause of the Hundred Years War. Depending on who you ask, the bloodiest conflict in recent human history was waged for a variety of different reasons. Many refer to it as the Unification War, yet few ignore its other moniker, The Infernal Scourge. Seventy-one years after the conclusion of this great conflict, we are now at liberty to ask: what was the true purpose of the Fire Nation's desire for conquest? Unfortunately, while the memories have yet to be lost to time, the secretive nature of the war's perpetrator, Fire Lord Sozin, makes any definitive answer impossible. Speculation is the best we can manage.

On the other hand, records do exist, making our speculation far more credible. A detailed exploration of Fire Nation census records following the hundred years prior to the War reveals that the aggressor nation experienced remarkable growth of its population during this time: so remarkable that it was soon pushing the limits that the island country could sustain. One could assume then, that the Hundred Years War was nothing special at all, but simply an attempt by a burgeoning nation to claim more territory for its swiftly growing numbers. And yet, while this could have very well been a motivating factor in the initial stages of the war, the Fire Nation met that goal well within two decades, claiming more than enough land from the Earth Kingdom to support their new growth, casualties notwithstanding.

Why then, did the war continue on for another eighty years? Clearly territorial expansion was not the only reason the Fire Nation descended on the world at large. Was it honor? Anyone that has spoken to a native of the volcanic isles for more than a few minutes will tell you that the Fire Nation's culture reveres honor, courage, and glory to the extent that those values may as well be their gods. Did they continue the war for the sole reason of gaining glory and honor on the field of battle? Was the objective of conquering the world supposed to be nothing more than a monument to their own strength?

Some of my fellow researchers seem to believe this, yet I cannot say the same. The University possesses many remnants of war propaganda from the conflict's main combatants: a quick glance at Fire Nation material will prove that their ideals of honor and glory were only marginally relevant to their cause at best.

Another theory is that the Fire Nation's imperial engine also had some underlying altruistic motives, though many of the ones who believe that attribute it more to a feeling of superiority than generosity. There is no denying that, just prior to the War and all throughout it, the Fire Nation enjoyed a significantly higher quality of living than their fellow countries. Aside from the brief population crisis that was quickly nipped in the bud due to the War, records indicate that poverty, homelessness, and illness were remarkably low in the island nation, a stark contrast to the Earth Kingdom's admittedly appalling overall state at the time. This is to say nothing of their great technological gains, far overshadowing all of the other nations of the world.

These factors lead some of my colleagues to believe that the War was little more than misguided pity and arrogance on the Fire Nation's part: that the Fire Lord felt obligated to raise the backwards, inferior civilizations of the world to the standard of his own country. I won't go so far as to say this isn't true at all. Many of our most prosperous cities today are Earth Kingdom towns that had been converted to Fire Nation colonies during the War. There's no denying that the Fire Nation did indeed raise the standard of living for many of the territories they conquered. I find it hard to believe they would dedicate time, resources, and manpower to the improvement of conquered Earth Kingdom land if such a thing had not been part of their plan from the beginning, though it is quite possible the Fire Nation only made these investments because those conquered lands were now theirs, and their rampant problems had become their own.

The final most common academic theory is that the Fire Nation was simply governed by a megalomaniac that wanted to make the entire world his property. After all, even the natives of the island do not deny that the genocide of the Old Air Nomads was an outright atrocity their country still atones for today. Maybe Sozin was simply an evil man that intended to wipe away all other cultures and peoples. However, I believe this theory is far too flawed to take seriously; following the initial genocide of the Old Air Nomads, the Fire Nation never again attempted anything similar on other cultures. We have irrefutable proof that Fire Nation prisoners of war were rarely executed, and indeed, the aggressors established governance over many Earth Kingdom citizens. The notion that they were simply waiting for Sozin's Comet to kill everyone at once is asinine; the comet wouldn't have been present long enough to even get close to such a goal. If genocide of all other races had been the intent, clearly the Fire Nation would have been systematically killing off their opposition throughout the course of the war.

I've made it quite clear that I don't fully agree with any of these theories on the nature of the Hundred Years War. I believe they may have all had some part in it, but I would like to present a new theory; liberating humanity from the chains of the spirit world. A very idealistic notion, I grant you, but one I believe may have been the true overarching cause of the Fire Nation in their global conquest. It only makes sense to me: prior to the Hundred Years War, the four nations of the world were kept in relative stasis by a very powerful spirit, the Avatar. It's also an established fact that Avatar Aang, primary opposition of the Fire Nation during the closing days of the War, narrowly escaped death during the genocide a hundred years prior.

It stands to reason that the main reason the Fire Nation was so ruthless to the Old Air Nomads is because they were absolutely determined to destroy the Avatar once and for all. Now, perhaps this was merely an attempt to eliminate a powerful and nearly guaranteed foe, but I believe it goes deeper than that. My evidence for this dissertation is a bit unorthodox; an autobiography written by a common soldier in the Fire Nation during the War's end. This record of events was unmarked and clearly untouched in the darkest corners of our University's library, and I count myself lucky to have stumbled upon it during my research. Admittedly, it is difficult to take everything in this tale at face value, for much of it is truly extraordinary. And yet, I find it fills so many gaps in our understanding of the war, of the maneuvers that took place behind the scenes, that I've yet to come across anything that contradicts the events we know to be true.

I apologize for the lengthy introduction, but I felt it was necessary to introduce my theory and this gem of knowledge I have so miraculously stumbled upon. I hope all of you on the University Educational Committee Board can appreciate the revealed mysteries this soldier's tale provides, and maybe, even consider an entirely new perspective on the Unification War.

---

Nearly a full century after Firelord Sozin declared war on the world, the penultimate cause for which the Fire Nation fought was lost to many of those that engaged in battle. A select few remembered the grand cause their nation truly pursued: soldiers whose fathers had been soldiers, whose grandfathers and great grandfathers had been soldiers. Families with military lineages like these remembered their purpose, because one of their ancestors had been there when Sozin had sent them on their noble mission. Those soldiers passed down their quest to their sons, who likewise did it for theirs. Only a small portion of the Fire Nation's people still remembered that this war was about more than just conquest.

One such soldier was Corporal Xisheng, great great grandson of Weisheng, who had been a member of one of the very first battalions to be deployed on Earth Kingdom soil. Once a member of the 12th Guard Division, he had been pulled from the defensive line in the Earth Kingdom to serve in the massive armada Admiral Zhao had put together for the North Pole invasion. It was an odd duty station for an Army Firebender that had no experience on ships aside from the initial ride from his homeland to the Earth Kingdom, but he found that the Navy life wasn't so bad, at least in the short term. He had no doubt riding one of these metal letter openers for more than a few months would quickly lose all novelty.

"Xisheng, our shift is about to start."

Responding to the call to duty from his fellow Fire Nation native, Xisheng quickly concealed his unusual features behind the standard skull patterned helmet of a Firebending soldier, turning to face his comrade at the door of the armory, equipped in a similar fashion. Today, it was their turn to guard Admiral Zhao and his consultant for the siege, General Iroh. While it was difficult to imagine there being any threat to the two men, today of all days was the one were they needed to be on their guard. In but a few hours they would be on the Northern Water Tribe's doorstep. If there was going to be any danger, it would be today.

With that in mind, Xisheng simply nodded to his partner for the day and followed her out of the armory. The inclusion of women in the active military was more or less unique to the Fire Nation: just one of their many ideals they aimed to spread to the rest of the world, if only they could wrap up this war and begin with the evolution of global society.

The fact that the war had dragged on for over a hundred years was frustrating for any member of Fire Nation society, but it was downright infuriating for people like Xisheng that still remembered they were fighting for something more than military victory. Even worse was the fact that the only places that still needed to be conquered were the capitals of their opposition. The few Earth Kingdom cities that had escaped occupation thus far were either of little consequence or could be taken at any time. Aside from the North Pole, Ba Sing Se was the only real challenge still remaining thanks to its sheer size and defensive scope. Still, Xisheng had little doubt that their invulnerability wouldn't last much longer. If the Fire Nation's newest weapons couldn't bring down the walls, Sozin's Comet would handle the problem before the year's end.

Of course, even that once guaranteed outcome was now in question. After the officially 'unintentional' tragedy that was the Air Nomad genocide, the circumstances of which had been lost to nearly everyone by now, no one was sure what had become of the Avatar. He had seemingly dropped off the face of the earth, and had never been reincarnated into the other nations. Or, if he had, he had literally done absolutely nothing to oppose the Fire Nation since the war began. But now, the Avatar had returned, and according to reports, he was nothing other than a young Airbender child, the exact age the Avatar was supposed to be back when Sozin had first searched for him. And of course, considering the fact that the Airbenders had been essentially wiped out as far as anyone knew, it was impossible for the Avatar to have simply gone through the entire cycle and been born into the Air Nomads once again. Somehow, someway, this was the same Avatar that had lived a hundred years ago, and he had not aged a day.

How this was possible was a complete mystery to Xisheng, but honestly it was above his pay grade. Whatever the specific details about the Avatar were, the fact remained that he was quite likely the only person capable of turning the tide of the war at this late stage of the conflict. In fact, the only reason the Fire Nation was launching a massive attack on the North Pole was because they knew the Avatar was there, and they could quite possibly kill two birds with one stone if they could take the city and simultaneously destroy him.

That said, Xisheng did not think it was the absolute best plan. While it was difficult to pinpoint the Avatar's location while he was on the move, surely the best time to strike at the powerful bender was not when he was secluded away in a heavily fortified capital. But Xisheng was just an enlisted soldier, and it was not his job to question the tactics of his superiors. Still, that didn't stop him from doing so quietly as he walked down the steel halls of the Inferno super battleship Admiral Zhao had claimed for his own.

Apparently his brooding was obvious even under his helmet, as his comrade questioned his peculiar behavior. "You seem on edge."

"Can you blame me?"

"Come on, nothing is going to come at the Admiral out here..."

"The Admiral's safety isn't what's bothering me."

"Then what's the problem?"

Xisheng glanced over at his fellow soldier as he walked. "We're about to assault the largest group of Waterbenders in the world, who live in a fortress city made of ice that rests atop an ocean, with ships that must sail on that ocean. Never mind the fact that we're only a night or two away from a full moon, which is the absolute worst time to be attacking the aforementioned target. The Admiral's lust for glory and fame is going to get this armada obliterated."

The woman beside him shrugged. "Well when you put it like that, it does sound like a terrible idea. But we have to attack the Water Tribe sometime and those advantages for them aren't going to just disappear."

"The least we could have done is wait until the full moon passed so we could avoid fighting the Waterbenders at their maximum power. Especially since there's no doubt in my mind that Admiral Zhao will launch a land invasion."

"You don't think we should?"

"We have a massive fleet of warships with siege weapons that can hit the city from far out of bending range. The most reasonable tactic is to simply bombard them into submission from a safe distance. Considering the massive expanse of open water between our fleet and their walls, we'd be able to spot any advancing boats long before they reached us. If we just stayed out of range and used our artillery we'd be essentially invincible."

"We can't make sure we get the Avatar if we don't deploy though..."

Xisheng spread his arms into the air as he walked, a gesture of confusion. "So? The Avatar isn't going anywhere anytime soon. We could still bombard the city first and then go in after him. And even if he fled before we were ready to deploy, it would be impossible to miss him flying away from the city. We have enough ships that we could easily divert part of the armada to pursue him. I'm telling you, someone in command is going to mess this up, and we're going to lose a lot of people. Honestly, I don't even know how Zhao got promoted. Last time I checked he accomplished nothing to warrant the advancement to Admiral. I don't trust his judgment."

"General Iroh is consulting for him. He'll make sure we do this right."

"Oh please, the Dragon of the West? You mean the general that retreated from Ba Sing Se after we finally breached the wall? If not for his cowardice, we could have captured Ba Sing Se by now."

"Come on Xisheng, that's not fair. He didn't have enough troops to take the whole city after the battle at the outer wall."

Xisheng jabbed an accusatory finger at his comrade, as if she were the General himself. "He didn't have to press forward. After breaching the outer wall, all he needed to do was establish a foothold and wait for reinforcements. The Fire Lord would have redeployed plenty of troops if he had known the outer wall was down and we had gotten past the most resilient of the city's defenses. But instead, the General retreated after finally accomplishing the objective, making the sacrifice of every single soldier who died to breach that wall completely and absolutely worthless. We lost thousands of men and women attacking that wall, and they all died for nothing because the General could only accept the casualties until his son was one of them."

His fellow Firebender leveled an incredulous gaze at Xisheng, not that it was obvious behind the mask. "You can't be serious. You're condemning the man for being torn up about the death of his son?"

"I'm just saying, he certainly had no problem with the deaths of thousands of other people's sons and daughters. He was more than willing to sacrifice those lives. Excuse me if the death of his son doesn't evoke any sympathy after he wasted all of those sacrifices his troops made to breach that wall."

With no real retort to that, Xisheng's partner simply shook her head, trying her best to ignore the very good points she had been presented with. Honestly she would rather walk in silence at this point.

Considering the size of the ship, it took several minutes for the two Firebender guards to reach the bridge. When they arrived, they found Admiral Zhao boasting about his plans to General Iroh, with the morning sun just beginning to peak over the horizon.

"I have a plan for dealing with the moon, General Iroh. Trust me, by nightfall tomorrow the Northern Water Tribe will be no more."

Xisheng could tell by the look on Iroh's face that he wasn't nearly as happy about this as Zhao was, but the old man said nothing, providing time for the two guardsmen to announce their presence.

"Admiral."

Zhao looked over his shoulder to glance at the two bowing Firebenders. "What is it, soldier?"

"We're here to guard you and the General, sir. Just in case."

The man with the ridiculous sideburns scoffed. "I fail to see how two Firebenders below my skill could protect me, but I suppose it is what you are being paid for."

With that, Zhao turned away from the faceless soldiers, leaving Iroh to bow to them instead. "Your efforts are appreciated. I for one feel much more comfortable with someone watching my back."

Despite Xisheng's dislike for General Iroh, he had to admit that the man was polite. He could at least credit him for that, though Zhao clearly did not do the same. "Please. You talk as though those Water savages will somehow pose a threat to us."

"Do not underestimate the determination of a desperate people Zhao. From now on, we are on their turf. They will have the advantage, we must not underestimate them."

The female soldier next to Xisheng nudged him with her shoulder while nodding towards Iroh, likely trying to tell him that the old man wasn't nearly as bad as Xisheng made him out to be. Xisheng for one didn't think spouting common sense was reason enough to restore some faith in the retired general, but he certainly couldn't say that out loud.

With the formalities out of the way, Xisheng and his fellow guard began their duties in earnest. Unfortunately, this meant that they did absolutely nothing for several hours. After all, the fleet had still been quite far from their destination. At some point Zhao and his advisor decided to stand on the deck outside the bridge, but all that did was provide a never ending sea of blue to appreciate. Eventually there were some icebergs to look at, but that was hardly anything exciting. The temperature began to drop exponentially the closer they got to their target, but this was no danger to Firebenders that could warm themselves. Xisheng felt bad for the regular soldiers honestly.

The only other thing to do on guard duty was listen to Zhao's incessant boasting about his exploits or ambitions. It was this kind of thing that made Xisheng feel that guards deserved a pay raise. Did command have any idea how maddening it was to listen to the rants of men like these? The fact that such men were put in high command sometimes made Xisheng wonder if they had completely lost sight of their cause. Zhao wanted nothing more than to destroy the Water Tribe, but the purpose of the war called for assimilating them into more advanced society, not wipe them out. The Air Nomads had already been the first mistake, and they weren't supposed to be repeating it. The world Fire Lord Sozin had envisioned did not include the Fire Nation being the only people standing.

Thoughts like these were the only thing a guard could occupy themselves with as the long hours of their duty stretched on. Thankfully, Xisheng was the kind of person who could get lost in thought very easily, and the several hours he stood behind Zhao seemed to pass more quickly than they truly did. On the other hand, this meant he had zoned out for the entire approach to the Northern Water Tribe, and by the time they reached the place he had not spent any time psyching himself up for the battle.

Of course, it wasn't like he was a stranger to combat. The 12th Guard Division had been responsible for holding the line against Earth Kingdom incursions into acquired Fire Nation territory, providing all of its members with plenty of experience. Xisheng had fought and killed Earthbenders before and narrowly escaped death more than once. Still, he had never fought a Waterbender before, and he was slightly concerned about the imminent battle with their direct counterparts.

Even so, as Xisheng glanced up at the sky, he realized that the Navy completely lacked the element of surprise. No one could have missed the giant cloud of smog that signaled the approach of a fleet this size. The Waterbenders being ready for them simply added another disadvantage to the Fire Nation offensive.

That said, Xisheng was rather unimpressed with the sight of the Northern Water Tribe when they reached it. What could be seen of the city was certainly majestic and impressive, but the problem was that any of it could be seen in the first place. The walls protecting the place were too short to thwart a bombardment. The Fire Nation's munitions would sail over them with ease.

Soon enough the entire Fire Nation fleet was holding its position outside the city, dotting the blue sea with over one hundred ships. Most were cruisers and frigates, but almost a fourth were Hell-storm Class Battleships. Without a doubt, this was the largest and most formidable fleet the Fire Nation had ever assembled in one place.

That said, one would think the best tactic would simply be to attack in full force right from the start, but Zhao's first order was unfortunately nothing of the sort.

"Well, I see no reason to rush in blindly. Who knows what kind of dirty tricks those savages might have ready for us? Send out one of the cruisers from the vanguard, have it approach the city."

While the side of caution was usually advisable in any conflict, Xisheng did not see this as a very smart move. Zhao was sending out one ship by itself in plain view of the enemy. That was hardly a scout. In fact, it was pretty much just sending it out to die. Truthfully Xisheng despised men that employed these useless tactics.

Xisheng's distaste for the maneuver was justified when the Avatar flew out on his strange beast to engage the ship following its one launched projectile. It was impossible to tell how the fight was progressing from the distance Zhao's ship was at, but it only took a few minutes for the metal ship to be lifted out of the water by pillars of ice, courtesy of Waterbenders on several smaller vessels. Xisheng took the unnecessary loss of an entire cruiser as a stain on Zhao's strategic ability.

With that lead cruiser disabled, the Avatar was quick to rejoin his flying steak and approach other ships further back in the fleet. He had almost no opposition other than the deck crews on two other ships as he disabled all of their weaponry.

It didn't seem like Zhao had any intention of doing something to fix this situation, instead focusing on the bombardment that the Waterbenders were actually attempting to intercept at this point. Glancing down at the deck of the capital ship he stood guard on, Xisheng saw that there were barely any defenders should the Avatar come after them. They could be disabled just as easily as the other ships were.

That said, it wasn't Xisheng's place to give tactical advice to people above his station, but Zhao clearly wasn't fit to make these decisions himself and Iroh, his military consultant, was not properly advising him instead. And while speaking out to a superior officer regarding tactics could very easily get Xisheng demoted or worse, the longer he held his tongue the more of his comrades could die. With that in mind, he spoke up from behind his superior officers even as he bowed to show that he meant no disrespect: even though he did not really respect these men at all.

"Admiral, perhaps we should station some archers and Firebenders on the decks of our ships? It could at least ward off the Avatar..."

The first thing Zhao did was cock an eyebrow at him. Never in his military career had a grunt offered him tactical advice. And while he was not necessarily outraged by this input, he was still slightly offended. Before he could say anything however, Iroh responded instead.

"The Avatar is a powerful Airbender. Arrows and average flames are all but useless against him."

That Iroh, a famous general who was supposed to be a tactical genius, was opposing an idea that was beneficial to their forces, struck Xisheng as very, very wrong. Anyone with tactical experience in commanding armies knew what Xisheng had suggested was the best course of action. It was impossible for Iroh to not know it as well.

"With all due respect General Iroh, the Avatar can only deflect what he knows is coming. One attack he doesn't see is enough to kill or wound him. We'd still be better off attempting to shoot him down instead of waiting for him to jump from ship to ship destroying all of our weapons."

The Dragon of the West frowned at the soldier behind him, but Zhao actually smirked. "The soldier makes a fair point, General. In fact, I find it strange that he suggested this before you did. Surely you aren't that old already?"

Iroh simply scowled for a brief moment before schooling his expression into something more passive. From Xisheng's point of view, it almost seemed like the retired General didn't want them to do their best to attack the Avatar. Probably just assumptions on his part, but it still seemed suspicious.

Either way, Zhao quickly ordered the troops on his own ship to take up defensive positions against the Avatar's aerial assault, and he wasted no time in signalling the other ships to do the same, though it took them some time to interpret and follow through with the orders. Soon enough the sky was filled with scores of arrows or blasts of fire whenever the Avatar drew near, and though the young boy did deflect or dodge practically everything that came his way, he was now so busy defending himself that he didn't have much time to actually attack.

That said, Xisheng's tactic had paid off very well, and even Zhao, hotheaded as he was, could see that. "Well Iroh, it looks the soldier was right. Are you being outsmarted by a common grunt?"

The retired general said nothing, instead looking to the skies as the Avatar retreated from the front-line to escape the significant danger to himself and his bison. With the Avatar off the field for the moment, the few Water Tribe boats that had sailed out from their city quickly retreated before they could be blasted to timber by the trebuchets of the Fire Nation.

That being the case, the Fire Nation armada was free to continue their bombardment throughout the day, blasting away at the ice wall that the Waterbenders kept trying to repair and doing who knew how much damage to the inside of the city. Unfortunately, it was a rather droll experience, since it wasn't a battle so much as an attack on an enemy that failed to resist. Xisheng had nothing to do but watch the sulfur bombs raining on the city for hours on end, and the only time when that became interesting was when a particularly well-aimed bomb smashed into something showy and created a nice explosion for everyone to cheer over.

Xisheng honestly wished he could simply rest. Take a nap or something. But until Admiral Zhao and General Iroh retired for the night, it was his duty to guard them. Thankfully, dusk began to fall soon enough, with a nearly full moon rising over the horizon. It was as Xisheng had feared: with the full moon in effect, the enemy Waterbenders would be at their strongest. Still, even though he realized this, he was surprised to hear the advice Iroh offered to the commander of this siege.

"It's a full moon tonight Admiral Zhao. The Waterbenders will be stronger than ever. We should stop the bombardment for now and resume in the morning. Besides, our men need their rest."

To Xisheng's chagrin, Zhao looked completely ready to agree with his advisor. But it was such terrible advice. Even a common soldier like Xisheng could see that. Why would the strategically renowned Dragon of the West suggest such a thing? Even so, Xisheng didn't think it was a great idea for him to counter the General's advice, at least not for his personal career. But the General's tactics could potentially cost the Navy hundreds of lives. Didn't he have a duty to prevent that from happening?

With that in mind, Xisheng bowed as low as he could go, prompting a concerned look from his female counterpart that probably knew what he was about to do. "Forgive me Admiral..."

Zhao and Iroh both turned to face him, though the Admiral seemed slightly willing to indulge the trooper after his earlier success. "You find some issue with the General's tactic, soldier?"

"I mean no disrespect to the General, but I believe we should continue the bombardment throughout the night."

Zhao cocked an eyebrow at him. "What part of 'they are at their strongest during a full moon' did you not understand?"

Xisheng kept his gaze glued to the steel floor of the ship even as he explained his reasons. "The strength of the enemy in direct combat is irrelevant at this stage of the siege, sir. We won't be fighting them directly, so we'll be in no danger even if we continue to bombard them."

"With the full moon in effect they'll have no problem stopping almost all of our bombs from causing any damage. It's pointless."

"Sir, even if they stop every bomb with ease, they'll still have to stay awake all night to do it. We can weaken the enemy's forces before the land invasion if they're exhausted from a night of bombardment."

If Xisheng had looked up, he may have noticed Iroh glaring at him ever so subtly, even as the old man tried to refute the common soldier's suggestion. "The same will apply for our soldiers. They will be tired too if they must stay up all night, and the trebuchet crews have been working all day as it is."

Not for the first time, Xisheng was somewhat suspicious of Iroh's reasoning. It didn't take a genius to see that he wasn't making the best calls as a military advisor. But why? It was almost like he didn't want the Fire Nation to win.

"Operating the trebuchets is very simple, sir. We can let the gunnery crews rest and train another group of soldiers to use them in ten minutes or less. Crew rotation throughout the night will fatigue the enemy and give our troops an advantage during the land invasion."

Admiral Zhao cocked an eyebrow at the masked soldier before him, but he smirked as well. "Seems to me like you would have been better off becoming an officer than a common grunt, soldier. You make a fair point across the board. We'll continue the bombardment overnight."

Xisheng noticed that General Iroh was glaring daggers at him, but decided to resolutely ignore it as the burning glow of more bombs illuminated the night sky. At this point the spectacle became a lot more entertaining, if only because it looked a lot more like fireworks. Thankfully the troops didn't need their commanders to tell them what to do during the night, so the two men commanding the siege retired soon after Zhao gave his standing orders to continue the bombardment. This meant that Xisheng and his comrade could retire as well, a welcome relief after standing literally all day.

The sound of the trebuchets launching could be heard through the hull of the ship pretty clearly, but rather than keep him awake, it would actually help Xisheng sleep. It was comforting to know that he had improved their odds against the enemy, and without endangering his own career. Maybe he really should have become an officer.

As he removed his gear for the night, Xisheng couldn't help but glance in the mirror the barracks had for ensuring one's uniform was presentable. He made a habit of appreciating what he had before every potential battle, just in case he returned from it with some gruesome deformity. Unfortunately, he didn't have too terribly much to appreciate. Like the majority of Fire Nation natives, jet black hair covered the top of his head. It was definitely outside of military regulations, what with the somewhat shaggy strands that stopped just above his eyebrows. The military only supported long hair if it was in some sort of 'respectable' hairdo. But being a Firebender, Xisheng wore a masked helmet around all of his superiors, and none of his comrades were petty enough to report him.

On the other hand, being born in the colonies where mixing between Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom citizens was common, his genes had forsaken the common amber color of the Fire Nation for a peculiar set of eyes that constantly earned him looks of curiosity from his fellow soldiers.

Heterochromia was pretty rare the world over. Because the four nations had always been so inclusive, the dominant traits in each nation had almost been continuously perpetuated. More then three fourths of the Fire Nation had black hair and amber eyes of various shades. The Earth Kingdom was similar, but with green eyes. Blue eyes were almost strictly found in the Water Tribes, and the Air Nomads, when they had been around, rarely had eyes that were any color besides brown or stone gray.

Xisheng was one of the very, very few people who genetically laughed in the face of these dividing lines. His complete heterochromia had not only made his eyes one unusual color, but two. This wasn't all that surprising considering that his mother had carried this rare mutation as well, but every time Xisheng looked in a mirror and saw his pair of blue and green eyes, he always wondered where the blue had come from. With a Fire Nation father and an Earth Kingdom mother, the blue had seemingly come out of nowhere.

Of course, he supposed it was some facet of genetics that was yet to be understood. The Fire Nation had begun investigating genetics very, very recently. A lot of research was being conducted on similar traits between parents and children, but this early in the research very little was understood. All anyone really knew right now was that nine times out of ten, children acquired the aesthetic traits of their parents. One time out of ten they would have some trait that neither of their parents had, and that was still confusing the scientific community.

Despite their lack of understanding on the matter, Xisheng always often found the vast difference between nations in regards to science telling. While the Fire Nation was constantly working towards the advancement of medicine, culture, and technology, the rest of the world may as well have been studying dirt. The Earth Kingdom probably didn't research anything other than how to throw even bigger rocks at people, and the Water Tribes were probably trying to develop a better way to catch seals or something. It was almost laughable really.

But Xisheng never laughed at the notion because he, unlike many of the Fire Nation supremacists that made up the military these days, knew that conquering these nations was not the end, but mere means to an end. Other soldiers laughed and scoffed and called their enemies savages or fools, but the few that knew of their true noble cause looked on the enemy not with disdain, but with determination. Determination to usher them into a new age of human ingenuity and potential, rather than a world stratified and held back by inhuman forces.

Many soldiers, knowingly or not, had given their lives for this objective. As for Xisheng, he knew that no one wanted to die without a righteous cause. He knew better than anyone that the people they fought to save would not appreciate their efforts for years after the war, likely decades. But when the starving were fed, the homeless sheltered, and the sick cured of their illnesses thanks to the enlightenment of the Fire Nation, they would see that they had been blessed by foreign dominion, not cursed.

These were the kinds of thoughts that ensured Xisheng slept soundly at night, and tonight was no exception, even with a potentially hazardous land invasion the very next morning.