Chapter 88

Post-war clean up is tedious. The only saving grace was that War Minister Qin was more than willing to support the winning side of this familial spat as long as he maintained a position of power. So the new Minister of Foreign Affairs relayed to the capital forces that they were ordered to stand down. We kept watch over Ozai and Zuko, as the military district started to return to regular operations. Azula, Ty Lee, and Aang summoned and met with high ranking military officers and civilian bureaucrats.

Iroh had come through for us. He had reached out to several influential court members who were present at the meeting. Then before the situation could start backsliding, Iroh himself showed up at the capital with an army at his back. A brief period of martial law was all it took before Azula's rule was cemented. Despite that her actual coronation was being held off for a special occasion. In the meantime, the Fire Nation was transitioning away from war and support for Ozai. Loyalists and War Hawks were found. If they proved to be 'stubborn' they were arrested to be tried for their part in the war. Azula needed to clean house as well as people to punish, this did both.

While cleaning up internal politics, foreign politics we're also being addressed. Representatives from the two other nations we're invited to and arrived in the capital. With a piece agreement already having been reached. All it took was to officially ratify the agreement, and the Water Tribe and Fire Nation were now at peace. If only things were so easy with the Earth Kingdom. The Earth Kingdom and its representative saw the Fire Nation suing for peace as a sign of weakness. They pushed hard for a lot of reparations and concessions. They were the kind of demands you would make after unconditional surrender, not an armistice. The tensions were high and for a few days, it seemed like the war was going to continue.

In the end, word had reached us of widespread chaos in the Earth Kingdom. The Earth King had been killed by parties officially unknown, but without an heir, the regency went to his advisor and head if the Dai Lee Long Fei. Local Lords across the kingdom refused to acknowledge his rule. Which wouldn't normally be that big a deal considering the discrepancies in relative military strength, especially now with the end of the war looming. However, some Earth Kingdom Generals were not acknowledging Long Fei's right to rule either. Some thought Long Fei was behind the Earth King's death, but others just saw it as an opportunity to grab power and as their chance to be Chin the Conqueror. After that news reached us it was easy to strong-arm them into a peace agreement. Unfortunately, the peace agreement was incredibly weak. There was no point supporting a government with a very real chance to collapse. Without knowing more about the different factions it was ill-advised to support any of them. Perhaps we could have supported Long Fei and secured a longer lasting peace agreement, but that had two problems. First, Long Fei could still lose, and then the Fire Nation would have antagonized the new Earth Kingdom ruler and restarted the war. Second, the Fire Nation didn't end the war just to restart it and then conquer the Earth Kingdom for someone else.

The peace agreement left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had originally thought about starting an Earth Kingdom civil war in order to end the 100-year war. However, seeing it happen without any outside interference is making me feel guilty. I know logically I didn't do anything. In fact, I stopped the Fire Nation from completely conquering the Earth Kingdom. Somehow me stopping one terrible thing has caused something infinitely worse to happen. Objectively, I did something good. It just so happens another worse thing happened. Maybe I'm not feeling guilty. Maybe it's just the sinking realization that I'm not getting a break anytime soon.

A week after the peace agreement was finalized it was time for Azula's coronation. She wore ceremonial royal robes and was kneeling at the top of the Fire Nation royal temple's steps. In front of her was an enormous crowd of people eagerly watching events play out. To her side, Iroh and Ty Lee were seated. Behind her 5 fire sages stood leading the ceremony. One section was cordoned off for very important people. That included the rest of Team Avatar, Ty Lee's family, other Fire Nation nobles, as well as the foreign dignitaries.

"NOW RISE FIRE LORD AZULA!" Shouted the lead sage, and so she did. And as she did something shifted. The world felt warmer and more energetic. The crowd that had exploded in cheers and applause just moments ago had fallen silent except for shocked gasps. As Azula stood the sky turned vermillion. The sky broke and an enormous ball of fire became visible to everyone (except Toph and me). As the celestial body moved across the sky Azula addressed the audience.

"People of the Fire Nation. People of the world. 100 years ago my Great Grandfather used this comet to start a war. A war that caused immeasurable suffering and cost us unfathomable lives. It started with the excuse of sharing our greatness with the world. That was a lie. The world and the Fire Nation today is worse than it was 100 years ago, and yet things will get better. The war is over. We will rebuild. We will improve. We will re-achieve our peak and we will soar past it. We will stoke our flames and they will get hotter than ever. But we will not do so alone. Our Ancestors promised to build a better world. They failed, but we will honor their promise. We will carry their torch. 100 years ago this comet symbolized the will to reshape this world through fire and blood. Today I use this comet to symbolize a new path forward. We burn brighter together. Never before have our nation's flames burned brighter, and I will carry those flames as the Fire Lord."