Chapter 39: The Vulture (3)

Captain Zhao's attention was drawn to the Si Wong Rock, the nesting site of the Buzzard Wasps. That's why some of the wasps bore scorch marks. Zhao had been trying to take the rock by storm for a couple of months now, intent on seizing control of the area's only local landmark.

“Perhaps the Wan Shi Tong’s Library is located there?” Azula asked me.

“Zhao would remember a place that noticeable. He wouldn’t be wandering the desert for years.”

Unfortunately, the Sandbender we captured knew little of interest regarding the Captain’s plans. He was a foot soldier, a mere executor. His commander had only told him that their actions were all aimed at bringing prosperity to the people of the Si Wong Desert.

Speaking of the people who inhabit this desert: Zhao had staged a mini-war here, during which he proclaimed himself the Supreme Ruler and subjugated all the local residents. The resistance mainly came from the permanent settlements. Many desert dwellers willingly joined the Captain's side. I don’t know what he promised, but the majority followed him quite voluntarily. What’s clear is that Zhao now has a pocket army in hand. And Princess Azula and I are in the heart of his forces. It seems a miracle we managed to infiltrate the Si Wong Desert and remain undetected. I doubt we’ll find it as easy to get out.

The settlement where we previously encountered Zhao was the last stronghold of resistance against the invader. That means every person we meet now should be considered a Zhao soldier.

“What shall we do, Princess? Get out of the desert and report Captain Zhao’s treason?”

Azula, like me, had big plans for the Captain. The Princess assumed that Zhao had almost found the Library, if he hadn't already been consuming knowledge from it for some time. All we had to do was wait a little longer and report the operation’s success to the Fire Lord—naturally, attributing all the credit for the Captain and his unit entirely to ourselves. Azula would be able to show Ozai her usefulness, and I was supposed to gain access to the knowledge of the spirit Wan Shi Tong. But things didn't work out.

“Is Zhao participating in the assault on Si Wong Rock?” Azula asked our captive.

The Sandbender quickly nodded, cautiously glancing at me and expecting a new bone to break.

“We can't leave here with nothing,” the Princess stated, clenching her fist and digging her nails into her own palm. “I must find out what has drawn Zhao to that rock.”

“That's not the wisest idea, Princess.” Azula gave me a cold look, but I continued anyway. “Earlier, we escaped the Sandbenders. Why go back to them now?”

“Before, I simply didn't want to fight two units at once. I thought the nomad tribe was after Zhao. It was a sensible idea to let one enemy deal with the other and not expend our own strength. If I had known then that the people on the sleds served Zhao, I would have stayed in the settlement and dealt with them myself, finishing off the Captain's soldiers as well. The former Captain's.”

“They have a numerical advantage…” I chose to remind her. “Practically an entire army.”

Azula scoffed:

“Quality is on our side. We are still stronger.”

Sometimes the Princess was too self-confident. It almost seemed like she possessed immortality, not me.

“And for some reason, Zhao didn’t use all of his subordinates in the attack on the last resisting settlement. That means they’re busy.”

“Or Zhao decided that transporting people from all corners of the desert was an unprofitable endeavor.”

“We’re building a capital…” the Sandbender carefully offered. “Most of the people are working there… Some are procuring and bringing in provisions, while others are busy with construction.”

Zhao had a grandiose plan to improve the living conditions for the residents of the Si Wong Desert: he decided to build a city exactly between Omashu and Ba Sing Se, and then build a road. Currently, trade between the two cities is primarily conducted by ships, thanks to the many rivers flowing through the Earth Kingdom. Land trade routes are few, and all of them are quite long and difficult. Zhao decided to change that. He wants to build a road that will be the shortest route between Omashu and Ba Sing Se. I had to admit, if it was organized properly, Zhao really could bring prosperity to Si Wong…

Unfortunately, the captive had exhausted his usefulness at this point. He couldn't answer the new questions that arose. Nor was he aware of any interesting rumors. For that reason, he soon died…

****

Zhao winced in pain. The effect of the medicine was gradually wearing off. That damned soldier of the Princess had broken his ribs, and the Captain had been suffering for several days.

Princess Azula. Her visit was completely unexpected. Zhao could honestly admit to himself that he was frightened when he saw the Fire Lord's daughter. She had come at the absolute wrong time. Zhao wasn't ready yet…

Recalling the royal family, Zhao ground his teeth. A solitary candle in his tent flared up and almost completely burned out in a couple of seconds.

Over the past few years, the Captain’s life, and with it his worldview, had fundamentally changed. Perhaps it all began the moment he captured the traitor Jeong Jeong… Former Master Jeong… Zhao expected to be awarded an order, a medal, a new rank! Some form of recognition for his success! But the Fire Lord merely hosted a banquet in Zhao’s honor and congratulated him verbally. He didn't even address all the invited guests; he simply walked up to him and sparingly uttered words of gratitude. This was witnessed only by a couple of Captains and one Lieutenant, who, due to the amount of alcohol consumed, probably forgot entirely that the Fire Lord himself had approached Zhao.

The universal impression was that the banquet wasn't organized for Zhao. Rather, he was just a convenient figure for the Fire Lord to use to summon noblemen and army officers for negotiations.

Of course, Zhao partially understood why this was the case… Jeong Jeong had escaped from prison just a couple of days before the banquet. So, in fact, there was no reason to reward the Captain. But what Zhao couldn't understand was why, after the banquet, he was surrounded by ten palace guards and ordered to follow them to the lower levels of the Fire Lord’s Palace—levels the Captain hadn't even suspected existed.

Zhao hated recalling his time in the lower levels of the palace. He would become furious, and the wounds he received then seemed to reappear on his body, causing him pain and reminding him of betrayal. Betrayal by the Fire Nation, a service to which Zhao had dedicated his life. He absolutely didn't expect to be tortured beneath the Fire Lord's Palace, where they would beat knowledge out of him…

They asked about many things. But the main emphasis was on the rebellious General Jeong Jeong, asking whether the Captain had conspired with the former Master and helped him escape, and also about the spirits of the Northern Water Tribe and the Wan Shi Tong’s Library. Zhao couldn't even guess how the interrogators knew about the last two points.

The thought that he was considered a traitor in his homeland emptied the Captain. It was a severe blow to him. And when he was expelled from the Fire Nation’s territory, told not to return without the exact coordinates of the spirit of knowledge Wan Shi Tong’s Library, the soldier's heart nearly tore apart. The Nation he had dedicated himself to, the Nation whose elevation he desired, treated him like this…

For a time, Zhao drifted. He infiltrated the Earth Kingdom territory and tried to complete the task assigned to him. Though this wasn't what occupied his thoughts. Zhao was contemplating his life. For days, this was truly the only thing he was occupied with. The plans to search for the Library only concerned the Captain perfunctorily. Zhao was trying to find answers for himself: What is a homeland, duty, loyalty, and patriotism? Should one serve a country that has turned its back on you?

The turning point in Zhao’s fate occurred when his unit was attacked by a tribe of nomads. The Captain unexpectedly realized that he was now truly as free as the inhabitants of this desert. He was no longer dependent on the Fire Lord and his country. Zhao's destiny and his life were solely in his own hands.

Zhao felt like the ruler of one of the four nations. Three. The Air Nomads had been eradicated. And they didn't have any prominent leaders. The Captain felt like someone standing at the pinnacle of this world. And he liked that feeling.

The search for the Library continued, but not for the reason of fulfilling the assignment given to him. No, Zhao desired something completely different. Wan Shi Tong's Library contained a lot of amazing knowledge. What a fool Zhao had been in his youth to only use it to learn the enemy's weaknesses. Now the Captain yearned to be in the sanctuary of knowledge again to gain information on how to build the greatest nation on Earth. Since he was now an outsider to the Fire Nation, Zhao could found his own state! There was plenty of unclaimed, unwanted territory. Enough people were sympathetic to his views. Nothing prevented Zhao from pretending he was still a Fire Nation soldier and gradually building the state of his dreams. The first in history where Earthbenders and Firebenders would live together!

And Zhao knew how to secure a strong foundation for his country. First, the Library would be found sooner or later, and his state would become a center of science. Second, there was the Si Wong Rock. One day, locals brought him an unusually shaped stone. And Zhao recognized it immediately. Once, the Captain was lucky enough to attend a tea party hosted by the sword master Piandao. He was taken there by Jeong Jeong, who was still his teacher at the time. The sword master bragged about a small stone, which looked so much like the one the loyal men demonstrated to the Captain. According to Piandao, this stone had fallen from the sky. And it was a meteorite ore from which such a superior metal could be obtained that armor made from it would protect against any blow, and swords would cut through stone with light swings. And the deposits of this ore were practically under Zhao’s nose. According to the locals, the entire Si Wong Rock was this ore. A meteorite that once fell from the sky, which the spirits used to display their greatness.

Zhao coveted this ore to smelt into weapons and armor for his future, unquestionably powerful, army. With such equipment and training from Zhao himself, his men would be able to repel any attack or even seize enemy territory themselves.

The Captain only needed time to carry out his plans, so he had to capture Princess Azula and kill her so she couldn't report anything to the Fire Lord. Unfortunately, the pursuit was suspended when the Princess's damned subordinate blew up Zhao's sled. His loyal men began digging their leader out of the sands.

“It’s nothing. They won't leave the desert alive. The people freed from the construction of the new city will look under every grain of sand.”

Otherwise, Zhao simply wouldn't live. For the impulsive attack on a royal, which happened simply from the desire to vent all the anger and pain the Captain had experienced onto her, and the further concealment of strategically important information about an entire meteorite of extremely useful ore, he would be lucky if he was killed quickly. Fortunately, Zhao had recently learned reliably that Azula was traveling exclusively with only her bodyguard. She had lost her entire unit somewhere.

Zhao will rule himself. Soon, neither the Fire Nation nor the Earth Kingdom will dictate to him. They must obey the Captain, not the other way around.