Third Year, Reign of Fire Lord Izumi, Midwinter
I frown as I consider the date. No, they don't do it like that anymore, do they? It should be '170 After Genocide', but that makes me quite uncomfortable. Planning a calendar after a brutal extermination campaign conducted by one still extant group against another? Even dating it from the start of the Great War has that problem, even if the phrasing would be a little more neutral.
I pull the oars again, while on the bench across from me Azula sniffs as she considers the map. And if I was more invested in the events of this world I might well sniff as well.
Firelord Zuko gave up every gain the Fire Nation made in the Great War, regardless of how long the region in question had been integrated into the Fire Nation, the ethnicity or disposition of the people living there and whether or not anyone living there wanted to go back to being ruled by whatever Earth Kingdom royal family used to rule them. An actual revolt in the oldest settlements resulted in one city and its surrounding rural region gaining theoretical independence as Republic City, but it only got actual independence after some sort of mass revolt by a non-bender paramilitary led to the council made up of appointees of the four nations being disbanded.
It beggars belief that the system lasted as long as it did.
Azula rolls the map up. "This isn't helping."
"Oh?"
"I thought that Zuzu might have grown into being Firelord."
"He made the decision to decolonise almost immediately after Aang defeated Ozai. There wasn't much time for him to gain more experience."
"Then he should have given the throne to Uncle Iroh." She reties the cord around the map and returns it to her satchel as we come up to the beach. "I don't think this is helping."
"On the contrary. I think this is exactly what you need."
She takes hold of the mooring rope and jumps, easily passing over the intervening patch of water and landing on the dark volcanic sand of the beach. I give the oars two more strokes before stowing them, then I stand up and jump into the knee-deep water besides the boat. The water feels entirely too warm for this latitude and time of year, which is the main reason that I wanted to come here once I heard about it.
Azula pulls on the rope and I push the hull, and between us we get the boat up past the high tide line before the guards reach us.
"Hey! You can't be here!"
Azula's eyes narrow immediately, but she calms herself a moment later. She's come a very long way in the last seventy years, but I must admit that I'm a little worried that reinstating the earlier context might cause her to relapse. Which is essentially why I suggested this journey: she is as well. That and the obvious.
The guards are wearing red and black leathers, and carry shields and cudgels rather than spears or swords. Armed for dealing with street criminals rather than a serious fight. It's rather nice that someone issued that order.
I smile broadly, walking past Azula to greet them. "Hello!"
The leader of the trio sighs. "Look, sir, this island is off-limits for as long as the volcano is acting up. It's for your own safety. So it's really best if you and your…" He considers Azula for a moment, presumably attempting to divine the nature of our relationship. "Girlfriend, try another island."
Azula takes another calming breath.
Azula has similar attitudes towards personal decay that I do, her eighty-five year old body looking perhaps half of that. She only started allowing her hair to grey in places when people assuming that she was a lot younger than her true age began to irritate her. I on the other hand have far more experience with looking like the old man I have allowed myself to become; a slightly more withered version of the face I wore when I first met her.
"Yes, that's why I'm here."
"Sir-."
"To commune with the spirit of the island and try to calm it." I point my right thumb at Azula. "She's my assistant, not… That. Hah! Not at my time of life."
"Oh! Ah, sorry, sir. Ma'am."
Azula makes a show of rolling her eyes and shaking her head, before turning away to pick up our bag from the boat.
"Ah, you're a Fire Sage?" The lead guard looks me over sceptically, no doubt noting my plain dress. "Lord Bao did send for one, but we weren't expecting a reply for a few weeks."
Radios, they have. Radios with good reception in isolated areas next to- I look up at the ash column. -powerful sources of electromagnetic interference, they don't have. And a traditionalist like Lord Bao would probably feel a little off about expecting the Fire Sages to respond to a radio call anyway.
"No, merely a humble wandering shaman. But I've been talking to spirits most of my life-" Certainly true by now. "-and I was closer."
The lead guard looks up at the volcano, sucking in air through his teeth.
The island is usually inhabited, but the villages have already been evacuated. The locals wouldn't be happy about having to rebuild from scratch, but they could do it and the Fire Nation is well accustomed to the idea that sometimes volcanoes erupt. The problem Lord Bao is more worried about are the neighbouring islands, where the falling ash and obscured sunlight is killing off the tourism from people trying to get away from the colder weather in other parts of the world, and the damage it will do to the next tourist season.
That actual problem is a good deal more serious, but he doesn't know that.
He doesn't want to let me up there. He has orders, and he knows how dangerous active volcanoes are and he doesn't want me to come to harm. But he also doesn't want to pass up on an opportunity to get this problem fixed. So 'we'll take you to our officer' in two, one-.
He turns back to me. "I'll take you to our Captain. He can decide if it's alright for you to go up the slope."
"Splendid!" Azula passes me my pack and I shrug it over my shoulders. "Lead the way."
The guard nods, then turns to his more slender compatriot. "Jin, take them back to base camp. Bo and me will keep watching the shore."
Jin nods with a smile, while Bo slumps slightly. "Aww…"
"You can do the next escort." The two of them start to walk off. "Seriously, you're getting paid to go to the beach, how do you..?"
"This way back to camp." Jin leads us in the opposite direction, towards the evacuated settlement. "So what's got the volcano spirit riled up? This island hasn't gone up for centuries."
"I don't know yet. Was the shrine at the peak in good repair?"
"I have no idea. Is that it?"
"Some spirits can be fairly sensitive about that sort of thing. Or traditional festivals being abandoned. Or made more touristy."
He winces. For the most part, spirits don't actually care much about how the humans who live near their holy places live. The issue is when there was some pact or other that requires that the humans do certain things at certain times, and then the humans forget about it. Most spirits do not handle that well, and just about everyone is raised on stories of why traditions are important...
And then the tourist money starts coming in, and that goes right out of the window.
"But I imagine that between us, we can sort this out. A quick refresh of the shrine, a few candles, a little chanting…" I smile reassuringly, while Azula remains po-faced. "We should be able to calm things down within a day."
Within A Day
And I didn't do any of those things. But things are a good deal calmer now nonetheless.
