Water Lily in a Sea of Fire

Chapter 42: Revelations

You need to know the story of your great-grandfather's demise. It will reveal your own destiny.

He stared at the puzzling message. For years he had been sure of his own destiny. He had not been thrilled with becoming the crown prince after his grandfather's death. His mother's disappearance was a fresh wound, the death of his cousin had still stung, and he had been terrified when he heard his grandfather's anger after his father asked for his uncle's birthright. But he had no choice but to step up and try to be a worthy prince for his Nation. As crown prince he knew he would one day be Fire Lord, and he accepted it as his purpose. The message on the scroll made no sense to him and he wondered what his great-grandfather's demise could possibly tell him about his own destiny.

========================================

The next morning on his way to breakfast he walked by the Royal Gallery. Stopping, he turned back and walked down the hall until he reached the portrait of his great-grandfather Fire Lord Sozin.

"It's never too early for a sitting with the court painter, Zuko," said Azula as she walked by him. "Make sure he gets your good side."

She continued walking.

"Wait...," said Zuko. "I need to ask you something." She stopped. "What do you remember about our great-grandfather's history?"

"Oh, Zuko, it's so strange how your mind works. Fire Lord Sozin began the war, of course. He spent his early years preparing for it, but he was as patient as he was clever. He famously waited for the comet, later renamed Sozin's Comet, and used its power to launch his full-scale invasion of the world. In the end he died a very old and successful man." Her recitation sounded like it had been memorized from a textbook.

"But how did he die?"

"Didn't you pay any attention in school, Zuko? He died peacefully in his sleep. He was ancient."

Zuko was no closer to understanding the meaning of the cryptic message.

--------------------

That evening he sat in his room staring at the scroll again. "What does it mean?" he said to himself. Frustrated, he threw the parchment over his lantern. Heat from the lamp revealed hidden writing on the page, and he quickly grabbed it up.

The Fire Sages keep the secret history in the Dragon Bone Catacombs.

Zuko quickly left the palace and went to the catacombs. After sneaking inside he found The Final Testament of Fire Lord Sozin. He sat and read it through, but when he reached the end, he was surprised that was all there was.

"That can't be it," he said looking over the scroll. "Where's the rest of it?"

He immediately left to go to the prison.

"You sent this, didn't you?!" he asked Iroh angrily after storming into his cell. "I found the secret history which, by the way, should be renamed the history most people already know! The note said that I needed to know about my great-grandfather's death, but he was still alive in the end."

"No," said Iroh, finally breaking his silence. "He wasn't."

"What are you talking about?" he asked more calmly.

"You have more than one great-grandfather, Prince Zuko. Sozin was your father's grandfather. Your mother's grandfather was Avatar Roku."

Zuko's eyes grew wide to learn he was descended from the Avatar. "Why are you telling me this?!"

"Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself."

He fell to his knees dropping his head into his hands.