Water Lily in a Sea of Fire

Chapter 1: The Orphan

General Iroh of the Fire Nation stood on the deck of the ship that was headed back to his Nation. He had only been away from home for a month, but it seemed much longer as he sat through meeting after meeting as plans were being made for the Fire Nation's movements through the Earth Kingdom. His last stop had been a week at the Pohuai Stronghold from where he had sent a message to a Fire Nation camp in the far northwestern Earth Kingdom requesting a company of soldiers to be stationed there. Now, sailing east along the coast, he stood on the upper deck of the ship. His dark hair was pulled back from his receding hairline and tied into a tight topknot that barely moved in the light wind blowing over the deck. His long dark sideburns, however, gently swayed in the breeze while his amber eyes scanned the horizon ahead of them. Black smoke rising up from the land on the port side caught his eye, and as the ship drew more level with it, he could just make out fire blasts between the trees.

"That's Fire Nation," he said to Lieutenant Jee who was standing next to him. "I requested Captain Idem to take a company to the Pohuai Stronghold. It could be him and his men in the area. He may be in trouble." He turned to Jee. "Have Captain Maza get closer. I want to take a few soldiers ashore. I'm sure Admiral Jeong Jeong will understand the delay."

"Yes, General," Jee nodded before doing as requested.

Landing on the shore, Iroh rode his komodo rhino flanked by two Imperial Firebenders. He led a squad of soldiers towards the battle. Cautiously approaching the fire that could be seen through the trees, they rode up to what had once been a village but was now destroyed. Most of the buildings were on fire; the villagers were dead, and the surviving Fire Nation soldiers were gathering bodies to burn the remains. Spotting Captain Idem, Iroh dismounted from his rhino to walk up to him.

"What happened here, Captain Idem?"

"General Iroh," he said not expecting to see him. "It was just a Water Tribe. Nothing to worry about anymore."

"Nothing to worry about?" asked Iroh in a low voice. "Tell that to the families of our soldiers who will not be returning home alive."

"They seemed like an easy target, but the savages fought harder than I expected."

"It was not your mission to attack," said Iroh, struggling to control his anger. "You were to merely move your company to Pohuai."

"They were given a chance to surrender, General. I gave the order to kill every villager who fought back. None of them stood down, not even the women."

"This was just a civilian village, not a camp of warriors," argued Iroh looking around at the remains of men, women, and children. "It was completely unnecessary to attack it."

"If they had just surrendered this would not have happened."

"If you had just followed your orders this would not have happened!" yelled Iroh in a tone that reminded everyone who heard him that he was the Dragon of the West.

General Iroh severely reprimanded the captain for his actions, but there was not much more he could do. He knew it would be seen as an act of self-defense as the soldiers defended themselves from a barbaric Water Tribe that did not do as they were ordered.

Iroh climbed on his komodo rhino and slowly rode off by himself to look around. Not one villager surrendered, and it appeared to Iroh that not one villager survived, but not without taking out their share of Fire Nation soldiers. He was disgusted by the devastation and the loss of life, not just of his own people, but the people of this innocent village, especially the women and children, and he deeply regretted he had not been able to prevent it. He stopped his rhino, and after climbing down, he walked around to get a closer look at the remains. Lost in his thoughts as he walked among the smoldering ruins, he thought he heard a soft whimpering. He approached the burning remains of a building, and on the ground nearby lay a young woman; her throat had been cut, and her arms had been badly burned. Next to her lay a bloody sword. Despite her horrific death, her beauty did not go unnoticed by him. He could not help thinking that it was a waste that such a beautiful woman had been destroyed. His eyes were then drawn to the small figure of a little girl next to her pouring water over her cut throat. She was the source of the whimpering he heard. He walked up and stood over her. It would be easy to kill the girl; one quick slice with his knife would end her life and suffering. Any of the soldiers, had they found her, would have immediately put her to death. He looked at her; she could not have been much younger than his own nephew.