Week 13 Story: Rise of the Fire Lord

Uncle Iroh at the liberation of Ba Sing Se

Source

I would like to say that I grew up like any other child in the fire kingdom, but that would be alive. See, my name is Prince Zuko, son of fire lord Ozai and heir to the throne. Living in the royal palace may seem like heaven on Earth, but I lived a childhood that is fairly similar to other children in the fire nation. I awoke early every morning, I would train with the best teachers in all of the land, I would eat a balanced diet and spar with my younger sister, Azula, and then I would attend to my studies. I would attend a family dinner every night where I would eat with my father, fire lord Ozai, my mother, Ursa, my younger sister, Azula, and my uncle, Iroh. 

My uncle Iroh and my father were always very competitive growing up, and rarely agreed on anything. One of the common topics of debate was that of my future. On one hand, my uncle wanted me to grow into the feircest warrior anyone had every seen. Uncle Iroh was a brilliant and powerful general who had conquered many kingdoms. He was known far and wide as the dragon of the west, and would often demonstrate his intense power in fighting festivals and to warn off foes (though he was never one to shy away from a fight.) On the other hand, my father wanted me to grow up and become a thoughtful and careful ruler for the fire nation. My father used to be just as, if not more powerful than my uncle, but when he became the fire lord, everything changed. He focused more on education and music rather than combat training. He would often explain to me and Azula that a true leader isn't just the most powerful, rather the most thoughtful, as the fire lords only goal is to protect and care for the citizens of the fire nation. 

One day my father became ill, and no matter which healers we brought to the palace, his condition never improved. It was becoming clear to me and my fathers advisers that soon he would die and I would be crowned the new fire lord. While I was supposed to be studying, I became lost in thought over how to rule, what type of ruler I would be, and what my legacy would be. I walked towards my father's office, but then I rememebered that he wasn't there anymore. Instead, I walked furhter down the hall and approached my uncle's office. When I looked inside, he was training and breathing fire out of his mouth. I never saw something so spectacular in all of my life! I approached him and asked where he had learned that move, and if he could teach it to me. 

My uncle turned towards me and laughed. "Where did I learn this technique? Why boy, I created it myself! It was my secret ace in the hole whenever me and your father would spar." He looked down at me smiling, but noticed that I wasn't returning his enthusiasm. "I understand my boy, you are worried about becoming the new fire lord yes?" I nodded slightly, to which my uncle burst into laughter again. "The secret to being a good fire lord is not providing for your citizens or being the most powerful firebender in the nation, it is both! You are about to be a king, and what king doesn't have a massive kingdom to rule over?" I looked back at my uncle with a confident nod, and set my arms ablaze to show that I was ready to conquer all that stood in my way in order to provide for and secure the future of our citizens. "Atta boy!" My uncle boomed in excitement. "The first order of business is taking care of those pesky waterbenders at the south pole. And by god man, grow a mustache, you look like a girl!"

Authors Notes:

I decided to write about Ravana and his entrance to his adult life. When Ravana was a child, his father wanted him to grow up to coexist with the humans of Earth, while his grandfather wanted him to embrace his demon heritage. These conflicting personalities reminded me of fire lord Ozai and Uncle Iroh from Avatar: The Last Airbender. But, in this case I chose to make Ozai the good hearted one to follow the pattern of Ravana and his father. To be honest, it felt really weird writing and making Ozai the good mentor and Iroh the bad mentor, as in the show this is the opposite. I made Ravana prince Zuko, for obvious reasons. Also, that mustache line was a direct quote from the text and still makes me laugh to this day. In every depiction of Ravana, he is rocking that glorious stache and to think it's just because his grandfather said he looked like a girl is hilarious to me. 

Bibliography:

Abhimanyu Singh Sisodia

http://iereadingguides.blogspot.com/2015/05/overview-sisodia-ravana.html