Suki's blue eyes glanced at the town around them before settling back at the elderly innkeep.
"I know what you mean, but... Khan retiring to a peaceful life? I don't see it."
...
The old man just gave her a broken-toothed grin as he replied to her, "For someone who doesn't wish to be judged by her appearance, you are swift in doing the same..."
"Get better chefs, old fart." Khan grumbled as he walked back from the kitchen with a bounty of food on a tray. It was surreal for them to see the warlord Giant of the Horde acting as a waiter. A brown apron barely covered the front of his red and black Fire Nation armour, alongside his skull-faced helmet as he placed a dish of baked fish in brown sauce down in front of Suki and her sisters... followed by steaming bowls of rice.
"I did have a better chef in my employ before he was burned alive." the old innkeeper pointed out, but Khan just scoffed- tossing his apron at the elderly man.
"If his cooking was as good as his Earthbending, then he wasn't that good of a chef."
"Pardon me... I must calm down the staff." the wizened old man just sighed before walking into his inn.
"Wait a minute..." Suki murmured- eyeing the food he cooked, "Is this... elephant koi?!"
"You recognise it that easily?" Khan asked as he sat down with them, "Yes, it is actually. We had sent our own caravans to start trading with Chin village down south. They, in turn, trade with Kyoshi Island who supply the Koi. Well, not your village in particular."
Suki took a bite of the food and frowned at the giant.
"Okay, but why is it better than what we have at home?"
"One of the first things taught to a Firebender is the precise control of temperature." Khan smugly hummed, "And precisely controlled heat is important for cooking proteins. Also, you all need to learn how to season and spice your food properly. And no, I don't mean just dumping spice onto it like in the Fire Islands."
That only reinforced the 'Khan is a noble' theory for Suki as she glanced at her sisters-in-arms.
"Heavily seasoned food is a noble's luxury, Khan." She pointed out to him, "Not everyone can afford that many spices from so many parts of the world."
"Hmm... I must have been underestimating its rarity then." He muttered, "Well, ea, drink and be merry, Kyoshi Warriors. Because tomorrow, we march for Omashu."
Suki watched as Khan took off his helmet to eat, immediately drawing the eyes of her sisters and some of the Earth Kingdom women nearby as well. The man seated before her was definitely some Fire Nation noble... a 7ft tall Fire Nation noble on the opposite side of the war with a handsome face, an amazing body and a really nice cock. That can also cook really well... Her ovaries screamed at her to lock him down.
Suki chewed her lip as she stared at him with undisguised lust.
Although she didn't know it yet, she would look back on this as the moment when she sealed her fate, and it all started with just one dangerous thought that was the height of feminine hubris and thirst.
'I can change him.'
...
[Lake Laogai, Earth Kingdom Capital of Ba Sing Se]
Long Feng sipped on a cup of Jasmine tea as he sat in his favoured study in the base. The fireplace before him contained a green flame that he always found conducive to his meditations. The deep underground nature of the base lended a certain feeling of solitude that granted him the strength and wisdom to correctly manage the Earth Kingdom from the shadows.
"Grand Secretariat, sir." A Dai Li knelt in respect behind his seat- the quiet flow of his robes the only other sound he made, "We have a new report from Turquoise Team regarding their mission to tail that relentless assassin... She has now infiltrated a Fire Nation Cruiser heading for the Capital Island of the Fire Nation."
Long Feng hummed- stroking his long black beard in consideration. As protectors of Ba Sing Se's cultural heritage and the latest generation of acolytes to the legacy bestowed to them by Avatar Kyoshi herself, he personally believed that it was only right that they were the ones to guide the Earth Kingdom- leagues more so than the short-sighted royal bloodlines. After all, they preserved the soul of the Earth Kingdom itself, but bloodlines still held some modicum of importance... and not just to them either.
"She has travelled to every corner of the Earth Kingdom and now she steers a course for the Fire Nation as well?" He pondered out loud, "Someone is going through great lengths to extinguish this particular bloodline despite its fall into irrelevance... Do we have any news on the identities of her clients?"
"Malachite Team have not reported any significant progress on that front, sir. The Garden stubbornly holds to their policy of client discretion."
"No matter." Long Feng replied as he took another sip from his tea, "We will ferret out the truth with or without their cooperation. For the moment, however, send word to Citrine Team to see if they can identify the poor fool who is her latest next target. That may shed some light on this matter from a different angle."
"And what shall be their rules of engagement, Grand Secretariat?"
"Against the Fire Nation? Whatever they deem necessary." Long Feng specified, "Against the Thorn Princess Yor herself? Avoid and evade. Do be certain to stress that in the message, the Dai Li can scarcely afford the loss of another team to that monster."
"As you command, Grand Secretariat."
Quiet as the wind, the Dai Li stood up and promptly left to execute his orders.
He had to prepare Ba Sing Se. Long Feng could feel it in the bones buried beneath his feet, taste it in the waters of the lake, hear it in the wind's whispers ... and see it in the emerald fire. There was a storm brewing in the distance.
...
[The Earth Kingdom wilderness] (Just before dawn)
Omashu. An Earth Kingdom fortress city that was said to be second only to Ba Sing Se in grandeur and immenseness.
It was something I had to see with my own eyes.
So far, I had only encountered tiny Earth Kingdom villages that had been drowning in famine and poverty. But I knew that the world of Avatar was more than that- filled with examples of amazing fantastical architecture, and Omashu could be counted as one of them. But more than just wanting to see it out of curiosity, I also had to see this fabled mountain city for myself so that I can place the finishing touches to my original plan: Conquering the city, crushing any Earth Kingdom resistance, planting the Fire Nation banner atop its highest point and gorging ourselves on the spoils of war before moving on.
That was why- under the cover of night- I accompanied a small scouting force to traverse the steep hills, unforgiving mountains and deep ravines of Omashu's outer border. Just myself, ten {Ostrich-Horse Scouts}, and the six {Kyoshi Warriors}. The main force of the 41st Division will be taking longer to manoeuvre across this harsh landscape.
One of my Scouts swivelled on his ostrich-horse to face me- his Fire Nation armour hidden under an inconspicuous brown cloak as she spoke, "My Khan, Omashu should be just beyond the crest of this hill: We will have a good vantage point while concealed amongst the boulders."
"Excellent." I replied as I led my own ostrich-horse on foot, because I've yet to find a mount that could carry my armoured bulk. However, that suited me just fine: My Constitution, Dexterity and the [Relentless] perk made long marches easy for me. Soon, I'll be able to outrun these strange hybrid creatures myself, and make them even more redundant.
The same couldn't be said for my honour guard though.
"I can't believe we wanted to make this journey on foot..." Suki commented, the redhead Kyoshi Warrior in an Earth Kingdom peasant disguise as she rode atop her own ostrich-horse. Her blue eyes looking with unease at the treacherous terrain that led to Omashu.
The winter snow made it unclear which was walkable ground and what were the overhanging roots that broke when you put your weight on them, and with a hundred foot drop, knowing the difference was very important. The ostrich-horses with their keen noses could easily tell though.
The other disguised Kyoshi Warriors made noises of agreement from their own ostrich-horse mounts.
"Omashu is surprisingly hard to go to."
"Back on Kyoshi Island, you wouldn't know that there was so much dry land in the world..."
"Or that mountains can grow so tall."
"My feet are already hurting just from looking at it."
Their chatter was cut down to one word, however, when we crested the hill and beheld Omashu in all its glory.
"Wow..."
A massive city sprawling over an equally massive mountain. With a steep ravine encircling the mountain, there was nowhere else to enter the city except through the front gates. Attackers would either have to scale a high cliff several hundred metres tall, or straight out fly... all while Earthbenders threw boulders at them. The only approach to the city was a narrow, winding footpath where a single misstep meant a hundred metre fall to the brutal rocks below.
My entire scouting party stayed silent as they stared at the city we were going to take. At least, they did... until Suki said what everyone was already thinking, "How in the name of all the spirits under heaven are you going to conquer that?"
"We're already halfway there." I said- much to her surprise, "The city is almost ours."
"But... how?" Suki puzzled as she, the Kyoshi Warriors and even my own scouts looked at me like I've grown a second head. "You haven't even attacked the city even once yet!"
"There are other equally viable tactics to besieging a city aside from launching flaming boulders at it." I calmly explained, "Raze the surrounding villages and drive all their unskilled labour off as refugees towards the target city.
Cramped and homeless in the big city, they'll sow panic and despair amongst the local populace about the imminent invasion- all while eating through the city's limited food supply with being unable to meaningfully contribute back.
Now factor in how they've been cut off from their main source of food through the Gaoling-Omashu Trade Route, and Omashu has far too many mouths to feed with not even rice grains to feed them all."