I sat in the ship's mess hall, taking small sips of long-cooled tea. My thoughts were consumed with how to gain the favor of the Fire Lord and take revenge on Zhao, who had sabotaged my plans.
Captain Zhao had personally reported the successful capture of Jeong Jeong to the Fire Lord. He had framed the report as if he alone had defeated countless enemies and, ultimately, overpowered the rogue General in an Agni Kai. In short, Zhao claimed all the credit for himself.
In his report, he did not mention the name of a single subordinate who distinguished themselves in Jeong Jeong's capture. With a Captain like him, rising through the ranks or gaining the Fire Lord's favor would be extremely difficult. I wouldn't even have known that Zhao excluded everyone but himself from his report if not for my acquaintances in the palace, who happened to be guarding the Fire Lord during the Captain's audience.
When the mercenary on her beast knocked down the rogue General and fled, there was no one nearby. It was only a minute later that Zhao's battered soldiers began to emerge, looking at me and the unconscious Jeong Jeong at my feet with surprise. I decided to seize the chance and claim the victory over the rogue General for myself. I didn't even have to do much; I simply had to keep quiet and nod at the soldiers' congratulations on defeating the General.
Zhao, who only showed up about twenty minutes after the mercenary's escape, also congratulated me on my successful vengeance and noted that the Fire Lord would reward my efforts in capturing the rogue General handsomely. Except, there would be no reward. Fire Lord Ozai didn't even know about me.
I suddenly threw the teacup from my hands. It hit the wall and shattered into many small pieces. This wasn't done in a fit of anger… I had simply scorched myself with the scalding hot cup and water. I had been training intermittently in the skill of temperature manipulation, using cups of water, and had unconsciously used that skill now.
Hmm. Fire Lord Ozai intended to publicly congratulate Zhao for capturing Jeong Jeong, reward him, and promote him. This was no longer a secret. The rumor of the Fire Lord's decision had been circulating in the capital for a couple of days, and my palace acquaintances confirmed it. But Zhao would receive nothing…
...
Near the Fire Nation Capital was a prison for particularly important, mostly political, prisoners. Those who fought for an end to the Hundred Year War, for a change in the Fire Nation's regime and ideology, for greater rights for common people, and so on.
The unique feature of this prison was that it was hewn into the rock. It was done in such a way that the few windows—smaller than a man's head—received sunlight as rarely as possible. This was an additional method of oppression for the prisoners, alongside meager food, abuse by the wardens (which was approved by the Fire Lord himself), and forced solitary confinement.
To the Fire Nation's credit, very few people were held in this prison. There were even three times more guards than prisoners. I managed to gather this when I visited the prison with Zhao immediately upon arriving in the capital.
The Captain insisted on personally escorting the captured Jeong Jeong, so he could sadistically throw him into the cell, chain him with shackles, and utter a few insulting phrases in place of a farewell. But the rogue General didn't care at all about Zhao's words, the place of his confinement, or the shackles. He looked at the Captain proudly, with an extraordinarily contented expression. Zhao even ground his teeth in disappointment then. He clearly wanted to revel in his former teacher's suffering but saw nothing of the sort on his face.
I prepared in advance to infiltrate this prison. I even waited a couple of days until the full moon arrived. I had long noticed that at night, especially during a full moon, Firebenders not only become weaker but also somehow more sluggish. Not all of them, just the weakest benders. But even so, this effect would work in my favor.
Over the course of several days, I acquired completely black, comfortable clothing, weapons, and plenty of rope that could support my weight. I simply stole some of it, and bought the rest using disguise so that sellers wouldn't easily recognize me in case of an inquiry. I also scouted the prison several times. I figured out the schedule for the night patrols on the defensive walls around it.
This morning, I submitted a transfer request to Zhao. I justified my desire for a transfer by saying that revenge was complete, the criminal was in prison and awaiting the gallows. Zhao was slightly upset about losing such a "status item," which I represented to him, but he signed the request anyway, muttering to himself that he would find a better bodyguard after the awards ceremony.
In reality, I simply didn't want to get caught up in the investigation that would involve Zhao and, likely, all of his subordinates.
At noon, I finalized my transfer request at the Fire Nation Army headquarters, also located in the capital. It was much easier to do face-to-face than by sending messenger hawks from some colony. Unexpectedly, I managed to secure a spot in the capital's garrison. Not the elite one, as I had long wanted, but the regular one that guards the city itself, not the Fire Lord's palace and its approaches.
In the evening… Using all the aristocratic contacts I had once acquired through Lu Ten, I managed to secure an audience with the Fire Lord. Our conversation was quite short. I simply laid out all of Captain Zhao's schemes that I had been lucky enough to learn during my time with him. He hadn't seen the ambition in me, which was greater than even his own, and didn't feel the need to hide his dark dealings from me. Zhao generally loved to put on airs and saw others only as dirt beneath his feet.
This is why the Fire Lord heard how much Zhao skimmed from funds intended for base development, his cooperation with pirates, and the crucial strategic knowledge that could determine the course of the war with the Water Tribes—knowledge the Captain refused to share with anyone.
Unlike the other facts of his somewhat murky biography, Zhao tried not to mention the knowledge that could secure victory over the Water Tribes to anyone. The Captain wanted to use it for his own advancement. But Zhao had been drinking heavily twice in my presence…
The first time, he accidentally blurted out information about a great library where absolutely everything could be learned, and the spirit who guarded the place. I was interested in information about such a library, so when Zhao decided to drink a little the second time, I slipped him a drug that, combined with alcohol, easily loosens anyone's tongue.
That's how Zhao confessed everything he knew about Wan Shi Tong—the great Spirit of Knowledge who keeps the largest library of books and scrolls. Unfortunately, finding the spirit's lair was practically impossible. Zhao himself knew it was somewhere in the desert and nothing more. When he was a Lieutenant, he stumbled upon it by accident and could never find it again, though he desperately wanted to.
I chose not to tell the Fire Lord about the library. Like Zhao, I wanted to use it for myself. Although, perhaps the Fire Lord would eventually find out about it anyway…
"I cannot simply arrest Zhao," Fire Lord Ozai was clearly displeased with the information about theft in his army and the concealment of important, strategic intelligence. His emotions projected onto the flame in the throne room. It began to burn more fiercely, more sinisterly. A common practice among Firebenders. Jeong Jeong once said this happens due to the chi the benders emit.
"His awards ceremony is already scheduled. His arrest would cause a reputational harm, first and foremost, to me. At this moment, all I can do is limit the reward to a symbolic one. If that bastard Zhao receives nothing, my actions will not be understood by other officers. After all, he did capture this Jeong Jeong…"
Currently, Ozai's power was quite fragile. He could not act as he pleased. For now, he had to consider the opinions of the top aristocrats and his army officers. Many expected to see Iroh in the position of Fire Lord, but the previous leader of the nation chose Ozai for some reason. This raised questions. Therefore, he still ran the risk of being forcibly removed from the post and having his own brother seated on the Fire Lord's throne.
Of course, this turn of events was becoming less likely every day, as Iroh was not showing himself in the capital, and in a few years, Ozai would be firmly established, so no aristocrats or officers would be a problem for him, but not right now…
"I dare not insist on any punishment for Captain Zhao," I said, humbly bowing my head as I knelt before Ozai. "I simply decided that you should know about the crimes of my former Captain."
"Hmm, former Captain…" I felt Ozai's gaze on me. "Would you not care to work for me personally, Long?"
"Any word of yours, Fire Lord, is an order to me that must be carried out with all my available strength…"
"Commendable," by Ozai's voice, I knew he was pleased with my words.
At first, I thought Ozai would offer me the chance to kill Captain Zhao with my own hands, but he had other plans for me. Since I was able to dig up so much on Zhao in such a short time, the Fire Lord presumed I had a talent for this kind of work.
From the day of our conversation, I became one of his agents in the army. Something like a secret auditor who checked the officer corps for loyalty and the absence of crimes against the Fire Nation. If such crimes existed, I was to obtain proof and deliver it to Ozai.
"I am aware, Long, that last time you sought knowledge of bending for your loyal service. If you do not fail me, everything the Royal Family knows about Firebending will be made available to you."
Ozai clearly had something like a personal file containing information about me. He knew where to press.
Looking at the kneeling soldier, Ozai no longer saw Iroh's spy, whom his brother wanted to push into the palace to watch him, but a rational man whom he could exploit. Ozai smirked. All he had to do was dangle the reward, and Long was on his hook. This soldier was indeed a spy. Only now he was his, not Iroh's…
That night… After double-checking the ropes I had personally dyed black and tied together to get the necessary length, I began my descent from the cliff top to the prison. Unfortunately, this was the only way to enter the prison's inner courtyard unnoticed. The walls and approaches were well-guarded. So, simply climbing over them wouldn't work.
A hanging rope descending into the inner courtyard is undoubtedly no less suspicious than a person trying to climb the walls, but at least the courtyard, unlike the walls, was not lit. Also, the guards expect someone outside the walls and are mostly focused on the trail leading to the prison, rather than the interior territory.
In general, as I had long ago noticed, people for some reason do not look at what is above their heads. Therefore, the chance of being noticed during the descent was minimal. And I was indeed lucky. No one paid attention to the black spot descending from the sky to the ground in the middle of the night.
There were no guards in the inner courtyard itself. Everyone was either on the walls or inside the building. The entrance was also carelessly left unguarded, although I remembered that a post was usually stationed there during the day. I didn't like this. I began to act even more cautiously. And this paid off.
Without entering the prison itself, I heard someone sniffling and cursing the night shift. The soldier was simply hiding behind the gates to avoid the cold night wind. He only had time to be surprised by my all-black attire before I clamped my hand over his mouth so that the dying man's gasps could not be heard.
The armor of those who served within the Fire Nation territory, with the exception of the elite guards, differed greatly from the units currently deployed in the colonies or even in enemy territory. It was more flawed. Very open. It offered little protection.
Therefore, killing a person in such armor was much easier. Even the neck was completely exposed. That is where I struck the soldier with a knife. A knife, not a fire dagger, because the smell of burned flesh is very noticeable. The smell of blood doesn't travel as far, and you have to know what to look for…
I had to draw blood from people, to kill them, several more times. Otherwise, I would have been noticed. It was simply impossible to pass through the guard posts unnoticed. But throwing knives solved that problem. Once, I had to use a bow to kill a soldier far down a corridor. Fortunately, he fell quite silently. There were almost no suspicious sounds.
Another piece of good news was that Jeong Jeong had not been moved from the first floor to any other. He was still in the cell Zhao had thrown him into. I pulled a broken ice cube from a pouch attached to my back. I placed it near the door to Jeong Jeong's cell. It would be an additional dead-end clue. Then I heated the closed lock and immediately cooled it. I repeated the process several times until the metal deformed and ceased to perform its function.
The cell was open. Before me stood Jeong Jeong, still shackled. Jeong Jeong was awake. He was clearly roused by my manipulations with the cell door. I signaled him to be quiet. I took the torch from the corridor and entered the cell with him. Placing the torch on the floor, I began to lay out many different types of metal rods.
A set of lock picks, barely assembled, and partially self-made. I wasn't sure I wouldn't scorch Jeong Jeong's hands with my bending. And since he hadn't escaped himself yet, the rogue General was also unsure of his own abilities. I had to open the shackles the old-fashioned way. Fortunately, I had experience with even that…
"You are a man of many talents, Long," Jeong Jeong said quietly, but with surprise, when the shackles were finally removed. The Firebender immediately understood who his liberator was. There were simply no other options besides me. All his loyal subordinates had been captured too. "Are my people here?"
"No, they were taken to another island. People of too little importance to be held in the capital prison."
"Indeed," Jeong Jeong nodded, rubbing his hands.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps and a faint whistling. I crept as silently as possible to the cell door. When a guard looked through it, his neck was instantly broken. He must have come down from the second floor…
At noon the next day, it became known that the rogue General Jeong Jeong had escaped from the capital prison. It was hypothesized that Waterbenders had assisted him. The Fire Lord had even fewer reasons to reward Captain Zhao in any way.
I could have escaped with Jeong Jeong, but he had already passed on his most valuable knowledge to me. The former General was a specialist in large-scale techniques and some chi control, so I couldn't learn anything more from him. He certainly mastered Lightning but believed I wasn't ready to learn it yet. My chi control was too weak.
For this reason, Jeong Jeong was even afraid to pass on the knowledge of how to generate lightning to me. There had been precedents where benders with poor chi control literally exploded during the training of this highest form of firebending. Jeong Jeong didn't want me to take such a risk, so he refused to teach me that technique.
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