CH6: The Top Job

A day flew by without much fanfare. I removed all the guards around Ozai's bunker and left the man to stew in his isolation, and I broke the massive steel vault trapping him inside. He could try to melt his way out, but that would eat all the oxygen in the room. Then I collected ministers and records and realized I couldn't read a thing. So after the slight miscalculation, I went back to the drawing board and trained with Iroh. We trained in the royal fire bending training grounds while Azula watched in silence with a scroll in hand.

"Remember to breathe; it's where fire comes from." That was such a dragon way of looking at things. I heard someone mention his title, dragon of the west, and couldn't help but compare the man to a wise old dragon.

Iroh moved through forms with me and mimicked him down to his breaths, but it wasn't enough. I moved as he did and attempted fire bending like he had, but my flames were pathetically weak. My aura wasn't in it, and I didn't bother with manifestation. There was a difference in our efficiency. Iroh, Azula, and other fire benders made the element more cost-effective. That was curious.

After another series of forms, I started ramping up my qi to make up the difference. To equal Iroh, I had to use 8 times as much qi a pittance but still an essential factor. My fist shot forward, and gout of orange flames streamed from my fist. The air heated up and moisture collected on the glass windows, slowly dripping into water collectors, a luxury few enjoyed.

Iroh began to sweat, but I hadn't broken a sweat yet. Heat resistance was slowly rising, but I had faced warm environments before.

"I don't know, Uncle. I don't think he's trying. Only matching you isn't enough to take on father in an Agni Kai. Come on, show me what you can do, unleash your full might." Azula said.

Did she want me to burn down her house? Was there insurance on it? Did she need the insurance money to pay back debt collectors? It was plausible royals needed loans to fund their schemes, bribe ministers, and buy public support. That or I was mixing their culture up with my own. I didn't know the fire nation well yet, but I would rule them.

I thought about how I could do what she asked, took a step forward, and focused on what little water bending I knew. Fire bending was all about short, powerful bursts or a single long sustained devastating blast. I needed to gather power between each move and then release all the pent-up power. Just multiplying the amount of qi in a single fire blast was unstable.

After adjusting my feet for a second and positioning my hands just a little off where Iroh had them before I moved, I wasn't a bender by heart. Still, I trusted my qi as my aura flared, bathing the room in green light. Flames lashed out of my hand with one hand before the excess flew into the other. It was like juggling, and I moved control of my stored flames to my other hand when I used the next blast. Those flames condensed and swirled around my controlling hand, sustained by my aura. As I moved through the technique, my flame ring grew brighter until I moved it to the hand of my next strike. That ring-spun and unleashed the full might of my combo in a massive spiraling shotgun blast.

New Skill

Fire Bending lvl1 – Bend the Element of fire from a beginner to mastery and take power into higher qi techniques. Raises efficiency with fire bending at every level.

"Was that water bending mixed in with the technique?" Iroh asked.

"Oh, you noticed that. Did I make a cultural mistake?"

"Why did you need it at all? I wanted to see your strongest fire blast, not whatever that was."

-2 Affection with Azula

+1 Obedience with Iroh

I blinked at the sudden change; it wasn't what I expected.

"There is a proverb from the east that a friend told me about. I'll summarize it in ten words or less. Use what you need and toss the rest. As a fire bender, if another bending has something you want in its form, then learn it and add it to your style. After all, if you can learn the foundation, earth, water, and air bending will open to you." I said.

+4 Affection with Azula

+2 Obedience with Azula

"Oh, you know just what to say. But, be careful with that sharp with of your you might pierce an empire class battleship and leave hundreds to drown. Because your mind is so sharp."

I smiled at the compliment. "I think you're the one who's whit can sink mighty ships."

+1 Affection with Azula

Iroh coughed in his hand. "Your next lesson will be to put out the small fires you caused with fire bending, or they'll burn down the palace. Have fun. I'm going to go have my tea break."

I reached out and realized the flames were an extension of my qi. Smothering them was an option, but that would be a waste. My qi was right before me, and regaining it would be the most cost-effective. Fights were often decided on who could preserve their reserves the longest. If I wanted to get some good qi regeneration, I needed to find a species that enhanced it. That or I could get qi manifestation up to lvl100; the perk that technique would give me should boost that.

My will reached out to the flames and pulled. The flames reached out to me but didn't die down, nor did they seem ready to die.

"Control isn't easy, especially when you first start out. All the rabble need to do is keep a leaf from burning. But I know, and you know you're different. I can see it in your eyes you were born better than everyone else. Your power and your will, stand above anyone else in the world, so while the rabble keeps a leaf from burning, this is your first test." Azula said with a smirk.

"Zuko and I are not so different. But, between the two of you, you're the more talented. It isn't hard; you feel much more powerful than him and are nearing Iroh's strength. All you need is a little more time, and you'll leave both Iroh and your father behind."

+1 Affection with Azula

"So you had a prodigy sister."

I nodded. "Well, we should get to know each other, so I'm going to be as open with you as possible." I smiled at her even as parts of the training room caught fire. "Will you do the same?"

My will battled the flames raging against me as I powered up my aura. But it didn't do me any good. The flames were mine to control, but they didn't want to die. So even as I forced my will upon them, they resisted me.

"Did your father like her more than you?"

Before rising, the flames loosened from my control and fed on my excess qi. I ground my teeth, pulled back my aura, reached out to the nearest flames, and focused on them. Small green bolts of lightning danced across my body as I struggled to take hold of the flames. It was my power, and I knew I could do it, but that didn't make it any easier.

I focused on the smallest of flames before slowing the rampaging energy. The flame died down while I collected the excess qi until the flame was no more. What I used were skills I wasn't ready for. No wonder benders were so powerful but limited to a single element. Each of them was incredibly specialized. And the skill that would douse the flames could be taken much further with a powerful foundation behind it. If Azula had my training, she would be the undisputed empress of the world.

"He was her favorite, but he gave me plenty of attention. From his stories from his days as a mercenary, I learned a lot about the world. He taught me the basics of qi control and gave me the tools I needed to build my strength. And I learned survival skills from him that some people might consider impossible. He even facilitated an environment just dangerous enough for me to develop all the power I needed to have a fighting chance at acquiring my dream. If he had doted on me like he had my sister, I wouldn't be the man I am today." I said.

"I don't think you have much in common with Zuzu. If your father had an honor duel and found your father as your enemy, what would you do."

"After I crushed him, I would buy him a drink. Mercenaries, even retired ones like my father, love their drink, especially when someone else is paying." I said.

+1 Affection with Azula

Oh, yea, I knew what that girl liked. She enjoyed flexing power and tails of skulls stacked like pyramids. Azula was a girl after my own heart.

"Oh, did your father learn the foundation, as you call it?"

"Yes, and at a higher level than me, more than likely. After leaving, I found opportunities and wealth that have greatly improved my power. For example, each ring I wear has a different power and benefit to my power. Together they boost me to an even higher level. I haven't used my full power since I arrived, and after I master the four elements, I'll be even more powerful. The old man hasn't trained seriously since he settled with my mother."

Azula's breath hitched. "Your mother would she have approved of me."

"Is it weird you remind me of her? She was a princess from the east that my father stole. I'm not sure whose family she belonged to, and once in the empire, her royal blood didn't matter. Don't tell anyone I said this, but my father was smitten with her their whole relationship." I said.

+3 Affection with Azula

The flames continued to rage as I divided and conquered them. Most likely, no skill popped up because it was an advanced form of fire bending, and my skill hadn't reached level 50 and unlocked the fire bending skill tree.

Fire Bending lvl18

My speed was increasing, but it wasn't enough to put them out immediately. Sometimes it was all I could do to keep the flames contained while I chipped away at them. Putting out the flames was leveling my fire-bending skill rapidly. No wonder people are trained to keep a flame from burning a leaf. But, first, I saw all benefits. My flames weren't even burning anything important at this rate; they would turn the sandy ground into glass. Then, all they had to feed on was the qi carrying my will.

"Do you miss her, your mother, I mean?"

"She died when I was 7 from a dragon attack. A dragon swooped down, took her, and flew away. After that father started to drink more, and my sister went wild with her power. Before I left, she had brought most of the forests around us under her control. There were rumors about the location of the dragon's nest, and I think she might have gone for it."

"Why didn't you try to join her in the fight?"

"This will sound dumb, but I wanted to join an academy and find teachers to help me complete my foundation. There was an empire-renowned sect where only the richest, smartest, or most noble of blood could enter. I was destined to die trying to get in by the hands of a noble-born who would someday heroically bed and kill my sister."

I closed my eyes and felt the flame of my anger burning brighter than ever. Nirvana didn't want me to let it go, even if it was a worldly concern, because it was important. Reaching nirvana and exiting the path of samsara didn't mean forgetting that the world existed. Even if it was an illusion, that didn't mean it didn't exist. The world's destiny decided that I should die at the hands of some idiot noble because I dared to enter the academy. Even after I orchestrated his death, he survived and managed to leave the dungeon unscathed. Someday my children or I would return to that universe and exact our vengeance.

"Tyrannus, if I should live to be 10,000 years old, I won't forget the karma destiny established. I will ruin your cultivation, pauper your family, fuck your sisters, and sell the rest of your household to their family's debt collectors. Then, when I'm done with him, his line will be ended for all time." So I said as I seethed mercilessly, putting out flame after flame as my task neared completion.

+4 Affection with Azula

"It's good to know you have pride; it's essential for any ruler. We'll make a Fire Lord out of you yet. Have you given any more thought to our marriage or our wedding?" Azula asked.

I froze up, and she narrowed her eyes.

-8 Affection with Azula

"I could just proclaim us wed and let that be the end of it." Even when her lips set in a line, she was beautiful; I loved the shade of her lipstick. "Being Fire Lord gives me a lot of power; we could have a wedding nearly anywhere. Though I hear the Northern Water Tribe is rather beautiful. We could share Fire Nation culture with them and be wed under the moonlight."

+1 Affection with Azula

Her frown turned into a mischievous smirk. "Be careful with that sharp whit, or you could leave thousands to die at sea. The Fire Lord has a lot of power because people trust you won't spend their lives carelessly."

"I consider the lives on both sides to be under my control, and I'll spend neither carelessly. Once we conquer them, they will be our people and our water benders. We'll find a governor we can trust among them and take a tax; when they have a celebration, we'll have a member of the royal family attend, and maybe we'll have Zuko marry the chief's daughter or niece. Maybe that will make him less grumpy."

"That is politically savvy. It pains me to say it, but we don't need him to marry a fire nation noble and get their support to take the throne from you. My friend Mai will understand." Azula said without looking me in the eye.

"He could marry Mai as well. Kings and royal families have had multiple wives and mistresses before. I'm not afraid of a noble power block. If they become an issue, I'll wipe them out, or do we have assassins." I asked.

Azula sighed and shook her head. "No assassins except one man, but he's a bit too high profile."

I nodded. "There are plenty of orphans; we can find a few young impressionable earth benders and train them to be assassins for the royal family, maybe some water benders too, depending on how this war turns out. We can just say their enemy assassins from the earth rebels. Oh, that's our new foreign policy. All kingdoms will be referred to as states in rebellion. We no longer respect their sovereignty; they are all considered rebellious colonies. Any official letters will now refer to them as colonies in rebellion. I promised a water tribe girl I would end the war between the Fire Nation and the world, and now I have. We must return order to some colonies, and the world will be at peace." I said.

Azula giggled at that. "That's perfect. I love it we can even treat them as if they are already a part of our nation and take offense when they reject our overtures."

It was what the Huns would do, and they were on the rise. A smirk spread across my face as I reduced the last of the out-of-control flames. With the method down, all I had to do was practice it until I could subdue a volcano or maybe a star. That was the type of power I wanted.

…

After my training session, I stepped into the throne room full of bowing ministers. As I walked to the Fire Lord's throne, my aura bathed the room with green light. They had been left on their knees throughout my training session and the conversation with Azula. It was a show of power and expected obedience. A few guards were secretly watching for the ministers to see if they would disobey me. A few thought they were sly and took breaks; they were old and probably felt like they didn't have much else to lose.

Azula wanted me to banish them or, if they were fire benders have them fight each other in an Agni Kai for the right to remain citizens.

I wasn't sure about going that far. Sure, sending their sons to be killed for sport by a gladiator sounded godly. Still, if even one family member survived, they would plot my downfall.

We didn't have a coliseum for us to toss them to the lions. Or Lion bears in the case of this world but seeing a few of them doing tricks sounded like a grand idea. There might have been dragons in this world still, and I could tame them. Having one or two at my throne would be pretty intimidating.

Once I was comfortable on the throne, I raised my hand. "You may rise," I said and listened to the groans of a couple dozen ministers.

I pointed to two ministers. "You two are my heads of foreign affairs. From this point on, the Fire Nation is the only nation on the planet, and any states that claim to be independent are rebelling. Any earth kingdom-born man may become fire nation citizens. Once over 5000 citizens live in a single area, they can declare themselves a state of the Fire Nation." I raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you writing this down?" The minister moved quickly to jot down my orders in a series of kanji I couldn't read. For all I knew, he could be preparing to write the rest of the generals that the Fire Lord has been usurped if they haven't already.

"Someone get a messenger hawk and write a message to Commander Zhao; he is now an Admiral, and his first task is to subdue the rebelling water tribes to the North."

"What about the air bender? Many say he is the Avatar?"

"Don't be ridiculous; there is only one Avatar," Azula said.

"Be that as it may, there are rumors."

"The air nomads were wiped out by the Fire Nation or have some gone into hiding. Genocide might be tricky with people who can fly."

"I assure you Sozin's comet allowed our forces to wipe them out in a day," Azula said.

"Stronger fire or not, the air nomads should have been the least confrontational and the most difficult to siege. They should have fled and gone to ground in the earth kingdom or some vast mountain range. If they stayed and fought, they must have thought they had something very important to protect, something worth all their lives."

"My lord?"

"Nothing to worry about. I'll inspect the city later today and finish usurping Ozai." The door to the throne room swung open, and four generals in full armor stood in front of perhaps thousands of fire benders.

"Are you here to swear fealty, or will I have to discipline the lot of you?" I asked easily, letting my voice carry over.

The lead general opened his mouth to speak. "F,"

"I'm going to have to stop you right there. By what authority did you move my troops without permission. Perhaps I should fight all of you in Agni Kai. I could make a game of it and invite all the nobles." I looked over to Azula, who smirked back at me. "My lady, would you enjoy an Agni Kai between the generals and me."

"How dare an outsider like you throw mud on our traditions?"

"So, I should execute them all instead and promote their lieutenants. Have any of them made anything noteworthy in their careers? How much territory have each of them conquered?" I glanced at one of my ministers. "Have any of them expanded the territory, or are they coasting on the loreals of better men?"

"See here, you damned usurper, we have more than enough men to bring you down, free the princess, and return Ozai to power."

"No, you don't; you have maybe 5000 men; even if you have a hundred times that number, it wouldn't matter."

My charisma stat was a blessing and a curse. They were under my thrall, and they barely registered it. None of them were equipped to resist me, and the ministers were already jumping to my tune. When I stopped the general from speaking, he had already lost. My qi bathed the throne room in an emerald glow, and my body appeared to be wreathed in flames. Azula stood beside me as my right hand, and the ministers did my bidding. In front of me, the eternal flame continued to burn brightly as I fed my own qi into it. Watching those flames was enough to raise my fire, bending by a couple of levels.

Fire Bending lvl21

One of the generals struck out with his fist and unleashed a torrent of flames. My qi surrounded the flames and snuffed them out. It was easier with my aura already manifested. Even if it wasted power, I could snuff out the fire as quickly as the general bent it. All at once, the flames vanished, eaten away by my aura. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to level up. The general punched again, but I was on top of it this time. His flames vanished before they could get going.

General Daza +25 Obedience

General Jiraim +15 Obedience

General Zumo +16 Obedience

301st Vanguard Battalion +50 Obedience

New Perk: Man of Legion - +20% relationship gains from soldier Battalions

After taking the initiative, all who viewed the throne room were enthralled. Their minds were more vulnerable to suggestion, and they could all see at least a glimpse of me. Later, those in the back would refer to me as the green star. Apparently, I spoke to them in their dreams.

The reason why this worked out at all was relatively simple. In the Fire Nation might ultimately makes right. Nationalism was a driving force, and I was an acting Fire Lord. By using their traditional titles like the king of kings Medes.

"Soldiers, if you accept me as your Fire Lord, then stand and call me what I am," I said.

"Fire Lord," 5000 men in armor called even as my aura crept out of the palace like living fog. Even though I knew it was my charisma flowing out into them, I smiled. 5000 men were quite a force, more than enough men to begin running experiments.

But first, I needed to get a handle on my fire bending, ensure the economy wouldn't fall apart, find dragons to breed them, catch interesting creatures to tame, conquer the northern water tribe, and go on a date with Azula. There were gardens at the palace, and they would be perfect for growing some rare herbs used for pill making. Basic vitality pills were a staple in most cultivators' diets. Consuming them would boost the endurance of the soldiers easily. Which meant the gardens weren't enough.

"Azula, that island off in the distance with the active lava flow, is it used for anything important?"

The generals made their way inside to stand closer to me. "Fire Lord forgive my display; we needed to know you were worthy of the title."

Azula opened her mouth, but I beat her to it. "You are pardoned. All the men who came here to see to my wellbeing."

General Daza, a well-built old man with a nearly white beard, rubbed his chin. "Yes, we were merely excited about swearing fealty and showing off our new lord's power to his men." Suppose I wanted to rule the Fire Nation. In that case, I could outright kill off all the generals, but I needed them to keep the peace in the empire while I developed a new system for world governance.