Luke

It was near sundown. I prayed I wasn't too late, but I wasn't.

I found their lookout perched where Iroh had said they were, a mile to the northeast, perched on a small hill overlooking the camp.

No words were demanded to be said in that moment. I ascended up the hill, all belongings I had in a small pack attached to my back, new rank insignia on my shoulder, all valuables held tight.

I stood in front of them now, begging for them to take me in. After everything I had done.

There were no objections to be had. They smiled, patted me on the back, took my stuff, loading it into a tank, not saying a word. I appreciated them all the more for it.

And as I stood there, as they loaded their gear and themselves into the three tanks they had, gifts from General Iroh to help us find our way, I collapsed to the ground, onto my knees, looking behind me at the past I was leaving behind, wondering one last time if I was making the right decision.

I settled on deciding that I would never truly know, but in that moment, I felt only one thing. Emptiness. I felt more alone than ever before despite the fact I was surrounded by smiling men taking me in without a second thought. I was leaving everything behind. Everything I had ever known.

And so, no longer hidden by the rain, atop a hill overlooking my past, I cried. For what, I didn't know. For Danev, Lu Ten, the Fire Nation, my past, my future? I had no clue. But I cried. There were no sounds. Only tears. Because never before in my life had I felt so utterly lost.

End of Book II: Warfare