After the meeting Iroh stayed back to speak with his father, the Fire Lord.
"Forgive my disrespect, Fire Lord Azulon," Iroh said with his head bowed in reverence to his father but his fists were tightened, "But a Child of the Forest is a spirit creature, partly human yes, but she does not belong in the human world-"
"She is partly mortal, and there has never been a capture of one in the history of mankinf." Fire Lord Azulon said abruptly.
Iroh's eyes widened and he looked up. The Fire Lord allowed the flames to decrease enough for Iroh to see what he had in his calloused palm. It was a black stone so dark the flames around it had no reflection on its surface. At the hilt was a rock the shape of a flame, within the cracks of this rock he saw burning embers, and it was as if this stone had just been retrieved from the ashes of a fire pit.
"I took this from her when I defeated her." He said with pride heavy in his deep thundery voice, "I went in search of a dragon but I found something much rarer. Not just any Child of the Forest but a Fire Wielder, her kind used to be worshipped for being dragon vessels. Spirit creatures who were one with dragons. She is the ultimate weapon. She is the key to our inevitable victory, Iroh. With her by my side we will destroy the Avatar and anyone who dares oppose the Great Fire Nation." He smirked with a heinous glimmer in his dark eyes as he looked at the rock in his hand, "I will keep her here and make her a patriot of this great nation"
"This has never been done before. What if we upset the balance of nature?"
"Nonsense! When Avatar Wan closed the Spirit Portals did that upset the balance of nature? It did not. Neither will this because I will mold that Child and she will grow into becoming my ultimate weapon."
Iroh didn't say anything, what could he possibly say to that? If he continued to oppose it would seem like he didn't have the Fire Lord's ambition and best interest at heart but the girl's instead.
He knew that girl. In a sense, he owed his life to her. His thoughts melted away into a flashback, a few weeks after the death of his only son Lu Ten, he was in such loss and grief it was like he fell into a dismal pit of anguish.
Wanting his son back more than life itself, he meditated and travelled into the Spirit World to search for his son.
Flashback
When he came into the spirit world, he found himself in a forest. The trees were so high it reached the sky and branches of leaves faded into the clouds. The trunks of the trees vary, some were light brown and thick, others were dark and thin and so forth. He could see nothing beyond the canopy of trees because it seemed to stretch forever.
Thick fog clung to the forest flooring, so thick he couldn't even see his feet. The trees were so dark and foreboding it left chills up his spine.
"Lu Ten!" He called out.
His voice echoed around him, as if he were in a well. He walked around, calling his sons name. The more time felt like it was slipping away, the more he felt anger and sorrow.
"Lu Ten!!!!" He cried out. His son had to be here. Iroh would see his son or die here with his spirit disconnected from his body.
"Who are you looking for?" A soft voice echoed in his head, so soft that if he hadn't been quiet in that instant he wouldn't have heard it.
He whirled around, caught off guard. There was no one behind him.
"Hello? Spirit of this forest, I mean you no harm." Iroh said with reverence and bowed his head.
There was a childish giggle. "Oh this forest is not mine, me and Hisashi heard you calling when we were flying by. This is Seraphim's domain, she's pretty nice but she turns wandering humans into trees when they make her mad."
Iroh gasped and hus eyes widened as he staggered back and onto a tree trunk. When he felt its rough bark in his hand he gasped in horror, shuddering as he jumped forward, rubbing his hands on his clothes feverishly.
The same childish voice erupted into a fit of giggles.
"Hisashi we got him good."
In the blink of an eye the forest seemed to shift and lighten up as the fog ebbed away. A little girl stood before him barefooted and in a simple yellow dress. She was so beautiful he blinked twice, unsure if it was a mirage. Her (H/C) hair was long and reached her waist. She giggled and ran around him, almost in a blur poking at his sides and pulling the fabric of his clothes.
"H-hey who are you?"
She stopped in front of him and looked up at him past her long dark lashes.
"I'd ask you the same thing, you're the first human we've seen in the spirit world, right Hisashi?"
He heard a heavy huff in agreement behind him, he could feel hot air blowing down his neck. He swallowed and turned.
His heart almost stopped in his chest when he saw a dragon behind him. It was a white dragon the size of a canoe with orange glowing eyes. It wasn't fully grown yet but it was already larger than life to Iroh. Its scales seemed to melt onto a light yellow hue from his spine to his tail.
It took a step forward and Iroh stumbled back and knelt down in reverence.
"Hisashi says not to do that, he's not really big on formalities." She chuckled and walked up to the dragon.
"I'm (Y/N)." She informed him.
Iroh nodded and said, "Nice to meet you great spirit, my name is Iroh."
The dragon turned to her and nudged his nose against her cheeks.
She crinkled her nose and giggled. "Hisashi that tickles."
A little spirit girl with a dragon she seems to understand telepathically, it finally dawned to Iroh what this girl was.
"Y-You must be one of the First." He breathed. "A Fire Wielder."
She turned to him and smiled cutely. "I guess and what brings you here?"
His hands clenched and unclenched. He looked down, his gaze distant and wistful. "I'm looking for my son...he died."
"Lu Ten?"
He snapped his head up, hope burning in his warm brown eyes. "You've seen him?"
"No I heard you calling for him earlier. Are you looking for him here? I don't know any spirits name Lu Ten. Hishashi?"
She turned to her dragon and he shook his head as if saying, "Me neither."
"He's not a spirit. He's my son. He…he passed on, so I'm looking for him."
"Here?" She asked and there was a hint of sadness in her soft voice.
A gust of wind blew by, tousling her (H/C) hair around her and ruffling her white dress. The wind seemed to sweep the forest out of view. The scenery morphed and twisted before him, the trees disappearing as a clearing appeared around them. There were wildflowers scattered everywhere and the sky was an explosion of color.
"Yes. Here. He should be here. He…He has to be here." Iroh clenched his jaw to stop himself from showing any form of grievance. He felt pain in his very soul. What was he without his beloved son?
The girl turned to her dragon Hisashi who lowered his head solemnly. They exchanged a silent grave look and she turned to Iroh.
"The Spirit world is a realm with many entities…But the dead is not one of them."
There was an invisible sword lodged in his chest. That had to be the reason he felt that sharp pain just now. Iroh knelt down. His fingers dug into the earth, pulling wildflowers. He wanted to scream in pain but he stifled it. Tears silently streamed down his cheeks as he closed his eyes in pain.
After all that meditation, only to find that Lu Ten would forever be lost to him. He wasn't sure how long he sat there like a wounded soldier unable to go on. Maybe it had been hours already. Time had a very peculiar way of passing here.
"Do you have family?" (Y/N) finally asked.
Iroh thought of Azula and especially Zuko. He nodded gravely.
"Then come with us."
Iroh looked up and saw (Y/N) offering her hand. She smiled, her (E/C) eyes twinkling under wisps of her (H/C) hair.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
"To somewhere you'll find yourself again."