Chapter 21.3- And so the Dragons Danced

XXXXXXX- MASASHI (WINTER, 99AC)

On days like this, he rather hated his job. The FireLord was furious. The entire council was furious, and they were all screaming. There wasn’t any headway to be made, just a headache to be gained as each member of the military tried to put the blame on the others. The Navy higher command seemed keen to remind everyone that before Zhao had joined the Navy, he was a member of the Army, and that it was the Army that had been charge of his foundational training. The Army, on the other hand, were more than willing to point out that it was the Navy Command that ha recommended Zhao for promotion and brought his plan to the FireLord in the first place.

The FireLord was silent. Only the ever-rising heat around his person made it clear how displeased he was. They had lost. And they had lost badly. Thousands of soldiers, Millions of Bans in resources, Hundreds of ships, weapons, and even more were all gone in the same attack. Lost, and they hadn’t even managed to conquer the Northern Water Tribe in the end. They’d been beaten back by the Avatar. Masashi wasn’t a military strategist, but he had attended one of the finest serving schools in the fire Nation to prepare him for this role and he’d learned enough to know that this kind of loss was the kind that could break a Nation.

“Is there any word on my Son?” That was the first question he asked so far. And it brought the entire council to silence. Part of it must have been the fact that it was the FireLord asking, but Masashi would wager that at least part of the silence was shock from the question being asked. In all his months of service, he had never heard the FireLord ask about the banished Prince. The Generals still reported on his whereabouts when it was pertinent but he never seemed to pay any special attention to it. So it shocked them now that he was asking seemingly out of the blue.

“Our reports say that he still lives, My Lord. Perhaps he has retreated towards the Earth Kingdom.” One General said. The others nodded along to his words. They probably didn’t have anything to add.

“So what you are saying is that you have no idea where a Prince of the Fire Nation is” The FireLord said. Once again, there was silence. His voice was low when he spoke, but no one could fail to recognise the anger within.

“The Avatar henceforth ceases to be the sole responsibility of Prince Zuko. All Fire Nation forces and personnel are to work to apprehend him the second they catch sight of him. Remind them that the death of the Avatar is not the will of the FireLord. I will not fail as Sozin did and allow that cursed cycle to continue and plague my descendants” He said instead.

“Yes, My Lord” They all chorused at once.

“And now we must begin to look towards the future. Our losses in the North Pole, while regrettable, are nothing we can not recover from” At least a few Admirals seemed to disagree but they all had the good sense not to express any of that to him.

“Yes, My Lord” They chorused again.

“Natsu Wu remains in Omashu, yes?” He asked no one in particular.

High General Hiro was the one to respond in the affirmative.

“He is to expand. Give him whatever resources he needs. I want every scrap of earth Kingdom land down to Ba Sing Se under Fire Nation control before Summer next year” He commanded.

Not a single soul spoke up to tell him that the demand was unreasonable or impossible.

“Have Natsu expand and take Goaling. That is to serve as the centre of our operations. All other forces within the Earth Kingdom are to report to him and fall under his command. As his division expands, they are all to sweep behind and manage the integration of these forces into the earth Kingdom. Whatever ships we have remaining are to abandon all previous pursuits and to join the blockage around the Earth Kingdom. No resources are to pass into the Kingdom without my approval.” He did not stop there, and issued order after order for the continued war within the Earth Kingdom.