Simplicity - A Zutara Story

Chapter 1: Loss

The 100-Year War was over. Fire Lord Ozai had been defeated. The Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se had been liberated. Prince Zuko had laid claim to the Fire Nation throne. Avatar Aang and his friends, along with the mysterious Order of the White Lotus had saved the world from destruction and restored peace.

If only it were that simple...

Hardly three years had passed since that fateful day under the light of Sozin's Comet, and it seemed as if this "peace" the entire world had craved for a century offered no real peace at all. The newly crowned Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang worked tirelessly to help as the world attempted to rebuild, but progress under such circumstances was, perhaps, even harder fought than the War itself had been.

The Earth King wanted all of his lands back, regardless of the countless Fire Nation citizens that had planted roots one hundred years deep in the former Earth Kingdom territories. The Fire Lord and his administration couldn't possibly drag their colonists across the sea to an ancestral home that they had long forgotten.

And what of those who'd come to coexist with their Earth Kingdom neighbors? What about those that had even married Earth Kingdom citizens? What of their children? Was the Fire Lord expected to just rip his citizens from their friends and families?

There were also an exorbitant amounts of reparations to be paid which the Fire Nation might very well be paying forever, or so it would seem. New treaties and trade deals were constantly being renegotiated and signed, only to be met with repugnance and renegotiated yet again.

Everything seemed to just be going around in circles at this point. All the while, Zuko had to tread lightly so as not to anger the wrong person.

Twice now, the Earth Kingdom had threatened the Fire Nation with war.

To make matters worse, Fire Lord Zuko's young reign was in dire jeopardy. Many Fire Nation noble families had profited for generations from the spoils of war. Few were pleased with their troops' withdrawal from the warfront, and common sentiment throughout the Fire Nation capital was ultimately poor. Many political, as well as violent, attempts had already been made to usurp his claim to the Dragon Throne, either in favor of his sister Princess Azula or other noble family heirs with some minor claim to the throne. The young ruler had wasted so much time having to deal with the backlash toward his new, more peaceful approach.

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe considered herself lucky. Her tribe had made exceptional strides in comparison to much of the world. With the support of Avatar Aang and - most especially - Zuko himself, Katara and her family had led the effort to reunite their people who had long been scattered into little villages across the Antarctic. Together, they and their friends from the Northern Tribe had rebuilt their capital city, which had been destroyed near the start of the War. Her people had established a more democratic form of government, and her father Hakoda was elected High Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.

Unlike their sister tribe, the Southerners, who had grown used to governing themselves in tight-knit, independent villages, were skeptical of a rule passed down through a single family line. As a result, their Chief would be chosen by common consent, and his successor would likewise be chosen when the former's death, retirement, or impeachment removed him from his seat.

Katara was happy to be unburdened by some birthright obligation to her government, though her brother Sokka was always much more open to the prospect of being called "Prince". As the daughter of the Chief, however, she did hold some level of influence among her people, who looked to her in admiration as one of the Young Heroes as well. She saw this more, though, as an opportunity to serve, which she joyfully accepted.

The occasion that brought her to where she stood now, however, was nothing to be happy about. She walked side-by-side with Aang, Toph, Sokka, and his fiancée Suki, all dressed in elegant white versions of their respective nations' traditional attires. The atmosphere was solemn as the Young Heroes walked amidst a large procession through the streets of the Fire Nation capital, following the lengthy train of Fire Nation Royal Guard and General Iroh, along with other high-ranking members of the Order of the White Lotus. At the front of the procession, the young Fire Lord Zuko walked alongside his mother Lady Ursa, whom Zuko had recently brought home from exile. They, in turn, followed after two polished white caskets with the Fire Sages as pallbearers.