===== 2 - The Mystery in the Dragon Catacombs ==========
"What a mansion..." That was the thought that crossed my mind when I woke up one morning, not in the frozen tundra of the North Pole or on the deck of an iron ship, but in a very soft, cosy and spacious bed standing in the middle of a room measuring about eighty square metres. Even if I lived with Tai Li, I would hardly be able to find a use for a room this size. Next to the bed was a tray with breakfast, which I happily devoured, and when I got up and stood in front of the wardrobe to get changed, I was a little stunned by the amount of clothes.
"They took your old uniform to wash it. You wore that yukata so much that it started to smell like your dark perfume," Afka said casually, reclining on a luxurious couch. She had her own feeding trough, in which lay a slightly nibbled fish; next to it was a kettle with brewed tea — I doubt that one of the servants had thought to bring it, so it was most likely stolen from me; there was also a whole pile of books under her feet... and when I said there were a lot of them, I meant that she had apparently raided some local library in order to greedily restore her lost knowledge.
"It was a gift," I muttered under my breath, but still felt compelled to go through what I could wear. To my delight, there were comfortable yukatas and monk's robes, but the problem was that everything was red. I wasn't used to this style of clothing, but everyone here wore it, so I would have to get used to it. I took off my pyjamas, slowly got changed, and at the same time noticed someone unexpectedly appear in the doorway of my room.
Azula leaned against the doorway and stared at me intently. Her gaze slid over my naked torso and the scars there, carefully studying my physique, and finally, as soon as I pulled my belt tight and covered myself, she smiled devilishly.
"Now I see what Tai Li found so interesting about you. She knows how to pick up guys quickly, but I'm surprised that this time our tastes have coincided," she said, putting her hands behind her back and drawing inspiration from my heavy gaze. She came closer. "I hope you slept well on your first night in your new home? Although you don't have to answer, it's obvious. Better tell me... do you like romance?
"Do I look like the kind of person who would be all lovey-dovey?
"I thought so," she said with a wicked smile. "Follow me."
Grabbing my hand roughly, without a thought for my safety — she did the same thing at the North Pole, by the way — Azula led me to an inner courtyard that I had only seen from the hallway before. She made me hide behind a window where we couldn't be seen, then she looked out towards the lake. There, already dressed in their home clothes, sat an embarrassed Zuko with his, frankly unattractive, Mei.
No, I knew she was the daughter of a very influential official who, in the canon, was given control over Omasu himself, but her unchanging face did not attract me, and during all the time we spent together, she behaved as aloof as possible. Although now... there was a slight blush on her face, and because she was so close to Zuko, she was smiling a little. Was this what they meant by romance?
"That's their business. Why should I care what kind of relationship Zuko has?
"They've been like that since their trip together in the palanquin. Listen.
Yeah, she's a good friend. However, it quickly became clear to me why Azula not only decided to show this, but also why she even listens to her closest friends.
"Are you seriously thinking of staying in this hotbed of parasites, or are you planning to run away from me again? I'll tell you straight, my father doesn't like that the Fire Lord is backing down because of the situation with Dagoth, and other aristocrats also think he's been pressured... you'll get into trouble because of this," the friends revealed the inner intrigues! It was amazing how well we could hear them, even from where we were.
"I don't understand, do you want me to stay or leave while it's still safe?
"...What if both?
I don't know what Azula meant by that, but when she turned to me, she eloquently declared that she would protect me. From all the caustic aristocrats, from the meanness and dirty tricks of her friends' parents. Azula knew how to get information, even if it didn't concern her at all, and due to the lack of personal space, she could get into anyone's head. Very... bluntly. Did she really take me as a kindred spirit and think we were alike?
"Now let's mock them!" But at that moment, all her feigned concern disappeared. She smiled rudely and pointed at me, "Throw them into the lake with your earth magic, let them splash around together, you two lovebirds."
"Do you really enjoy this? Oh, I thought we were going to engage in some political activity to finally achieve world peace," he combed his hair and looked down at the girl, "Don't drag me into these meaningless and stupid taunts.
There was a pause for a second. There was a restrained tension, as if it were about to explode and turn into a conflict. But a servant who happened to pass by, seeing us together at the wrong moment, was startled and turned back, whispering strange rumours under her breath:
"They said to stay away from the Sand Mage, they say he destroys everything he touches.
"There's even a rumour among the guards that this Dagoth destroyed an entire water prison just because he walked through it!
And then suddenly... I just rolled my eyes, and damn Azula covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. These rumours had already reached the capital: all that time spent on the ship had not been in vain, rumours began to spread among the crew that I was attracting trouble. Whether it was a reckless pirate attack or a powerful storm that nearly sank the ship, the cause of such problems was blamed on me, because people had never seen so many problems happen at once. By the end of the voyage, people had begun to fear me, and the soldiers would tremble when I entered a cabin, because they knew that I would somehow find something broken and blame them for it. Admiral Liang must have added fuel to the fire with his stories about how I had damaged a huge platform with a water prison.
"You're so scary. That's where those stupid rumours come from, that the Fire Lord is afraid of you," Azula teased me. It's good to create a negative image, it commands respect, but it's bad when that image continues to accumulate like a snowball, and you can't do anything to stop those around you from trembling. Look, Oza is really starting to tremble because I'm here," I said. "Well, if you don't enjoy my games, then I'll have to find something else to do. Your father, whom you want to talk to so much, is talking to Uncle Airo right now, so let's not disturb them.
"Hm? - I couldn't tell if it was true or not, but it seemed like they wanted to give me a break from political conversations. Were they stalling for time to decide how to deal with me? In that case, I should have insisted. There's nothing wrong with talking to Ozaim with his older brother. I need to be bold." "I don't care, take me to..."
"Oh, I've got it!" She interrupted me very tactlessly in the middle of my sentence, batting her eyelashes innocently. "You want to know how to get closer to my father, don't you? I'm sure he won't mind if I show you something."
Now this was interesting. Just like last time, she took me by the hand and led me down a long corridor of the palace, as if we were on a date. No, these weren't my thoughts, this was how the people watching us saw the situation, their hearts racing because the princess was holding my hand! Why was she acting so boldly? Why fuel rumours about my position? A place where any wrong move could be interpreted in a thousand different ways was too... risky, I guess. We would have problems after that.
"Fyur, they're openly bullying you," but at that moment I heard Afka's voice as she jumped onto my shoulders. Looking at her in confusion, I replied in a sarcastic tone, "You're too weak when it comes to intrigue. I told you to read romance novels about royal families; they describe situations like this well. They want to make you their ally and political support!
"
"Look at it this way: you are a piece on a Pai Shu board. The people around you are mere pawns that can be sacrificed without regret; the royal family are the pieces in the strongest positions, securing the territory. The enemy pieces are now trying to get to the fortifications, while you are the link that protects the entire position of the royal family. It will not fall until you want it to, so it is most advantageous for them to either kill you immediately or make you an ally who will support them even in the most difficult situations. They have decided to go the second route. Wise.
"And I would have understood all this if I had read romance novels?
"What novels? Azula turned to me strangely, having understood only my words. Yes, it must be said, I did not choose the easiest way to solve the problem, but I did not resist, I was really interested to see what the princess would do.
Together with her, we left the palace and went out into the city. We took a few guards with us and, without particularly hiding, walked through the streets, where all the ordinary citizens paid attention to us... and I noticed what kind of pawns Afka was talking about that Oza had to protect. They were gloomy and angry citizens who wanted to punish me and were not involved in the political situation.
What was the problem? The world that Oza had chosen did not appeal to nationalist-minded people, which, incidentally, meant that there would be many problems if the people of fire lost the war. All these people would become a headache for the person who would rule afterwards, and it turned out that I was supposed to help stop this wave? Cunning people...
"Listen, Azula, can't your father crush them all with force and political power? Tell them that this is the right thing to do and lead the people down a new path?
"... That's what tyrants do, my father isn't like that," she blinked innocently at me. "Although I like your suggestion. You said we were different," misunderstanding me, she led me to a large temple at the edge of the volcano. The long building was surrounded by torches, and people dressed in robes, who looked like me because of my kimono, were wandering around the inner courtyard. As Oza had mentioned, there were still spiritual mentors in his capital, but they were engaged in magic and documenting history, and this place, according to Azula, was their home.
Why had I been brought to this obviously secret place? I thought about it for exactly five seconds before remembering Oza's words:
"I forced the new people to treat things materially: hundreds of schools were built for this purpose, scientists and mechanics delved into technology, and the spiritual mentors of our nation are now deepening their understanding of magic and keeping information that is very inconvenient for the whole world."
At first, I thought he had either misspoken or just thrown that in for the sake of a nice turn of phrase, but it was preparation. Did they want to show me something special? Something that would change my view of the world? Aren't they trying to take me under their wing a little too quickly? It seems strange.
"Princess Azula! And... oh, the Sand Mage is with you~
Once inside the temple, the girl led me through a row of chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and magnificent, simply enormous paintings depicting some kind of spiritual practices. Old, hunched-over people were lugging books around, making the place look a bit like how I imagined a nomad's temple would look. Finally, we met a man in a dark burgundy robe, whose face contorted at the sight of me. He had only just stated that outsiders were not allowed to visit the abode of wisdom when Azula interrupted him just as unceremoniously.
And it was nice to watch, especially when it wasn't you being interrupted.
"Great fiery sage," she began ironically, "If you don't want the temple visitors to know about your business, try not to interfere with the wishes of the Lord of Fire and my own. We have an exceptionally good relationship, don't we? The way she looked at the poor old man... it convinced me even more that everyone was afraid of Azula.
She was like me, only she beat her own people to scare everyone else. Besides, I saw with my own eyes how she pressured someone high-ranking for my sake. As Anubis said, that was one of the few good things about her. After the Great Sage bowed his head and nodded, he led us somewhere and opened a secret door. Azula pushed him around like a puppet. "Just please... don't break anything, the dragon bone catacombs are not meant for fighting," he said. It was becoming more and more mysterious and exciting. He led us down a narrow descent where we had to follow each other in single file. The walls were engraved with faint frescoes depicting the history and myths of the fire people, and then we came upon a long corridor... and the sight of it took my breath away. A pile of ancient bones lay at our feet, dragon skulls were arranged in neat rows along the walls, with braziers burning above them, and on the ceiling was a giant spine with ribs, a trophy from the great dragon hunt.
This was where all the trophies and remains of the poor lords of fire had been taken. We confidently walked past hundreds of skulls until Azula stopped at a particular room. Declaring that this was the place we needed, the Great Sage opened an iron lock and allowed us to enter the room with the scrolls. If there was nothing in this place that would shatter my view of the entire world order, then I would not understand why such a great place had been revealed to me. Afka was going crazy with the desire to bury herself in the locked folios and send them all to the great library.
"You must be wondering why I brought you here and whether my father really allowed me to do so," she said, taking out a scroll and lazily unwrapping it. "Let me tell you that our ambitious nation has always strived to reach the top of the world. It is difficult to contain such a strong inner fire that drives us to develop. I am not just talking about military action, although I doubt that bothers you. Great discoveries, technologies, we have always strived for them... but some, one might say, hated us. The whole world is like zombies, blind to this. They have deceived themselves with the philosophy of some ancient fool and believe that the world must follow unjust rules, because of which we have been left with only one, almost uninhabited archipelago, far from all other countries.
The unrolled scroll was handed to me personally. Together with Afka, I pored over the text as if it were some kind of secret knowledge that could be taken away at any moment, until... until I opened my eyes in sheer shock.
Anubis, damn him... why didn't you talk me out of getting involved in all this?