Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legend

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***

-This is some kind of nightmare. One ambush took so many lives.

Reading through the dry lines of the reports, Tse grimaced as he pored over the familiar names that topped the list. His classmates and comrades that he had spent so much time together with, and now they were gone. Until now, he was still struggling to comprehend the tragedy that had occurred. Their first sortie against the bandits when they were in school and the battle with the deserter Rem had shown that someone always died in battle, but this...

After the savages attacked, most of the army was out of action. The well-disguised trap on the path had played its part. The army command was unprepared for so many land conquerors. In past clashes, the tribes had never put so many mages on the battlefield, more often using squads of humans and animals that the clever forest dwellers had subdued.

The most frustrating thing was that almost all of the casualties were irrecoverable, and there were very few wounded. Feeling that they were losing, the shrews collapsed the pits and sent hundreds of people to meet the spirits. Excavations were still going on to identify the dead or find survivors. To everyone's dismay, the latter were almost nonexistent. What is one survivor against a pit of corpses. There were so many dead that there was no time to mourn.

Many animals were dead or lying on the ground, agonising with fractures. The horrible death cries of the unfortunate creatures would long haunt the nights of each of Iron Fist's troops. This was the second day they had to stab the defenseless beasts to put them out of their misery.

Shattered bones were the most common injury after a battle. The few surviving humans and beasts lay on the ground with no chance of rescue. Doctors were sorely lacking, the few surviving healers were scrambling to save as many lives as they could, but the extensive and severe injuries negated their efforts.

Everyone in the camp was now working to the limit of their strength. Bodyguard Yu was running all over the battlefield, using earth magic to pull out bodies or supplies. So many draught animals and carts were left underground. Not to mention the tanks that didn't make it out in time.

The worst of all was the wounding of General Gongsun Zan. In the heat of battle, the man ignored his wounds, but as soon as the last enemy fled, he fell off his horse. Iron Fist's personal physician was constantly at his side, promising that the general would recover within a couple of weeks.

-Really, what are we supposed to do for those couple of weeks...?

The question asked into the void went unanswered. Sitting all alone in the tent, Tse hadn't yet fully realised that his deputy would never answer again. His loyal assistant Kun Jun had been riddled with stone shrapnel. It was lucky that his body could be identified, unlike so many others.

The line of command was severely thinned. Gongsun Zan used to have a couple of deputies, he sent them to command the volunteers and recruits. In the general turmoil, one was nailed instantly, his body only recently able to be removed from a huge stone stake, and the other was never found.

The junior officers and non-commissioned officers were not even considered, and neither was Sun Ce himself. His command experience was barely enough for two platoons and they were almost killed. That left only the 'veteran nannies' and the replenishment commanders from Lu Yang. The troop needed a commander and from the candidates under consideration, the young man had to choose the best. The influence of his father and family would be enough to put an interim commander in place. Because they still hadn't decided the matter themselves. Of course, he wanted his father's man, but there were more volunteer commanders, and many of them were members of influential families, while the old men assigned to look after them were mostly former homeless.

There was often shouting from the commander's tent, and the officers walked around trying to eavesdrop on what was going on there, but it was a futile endeavour. Even from his tent, Tse could hear the deafening shouts of the crowd of men that they couldn't come to an agreement.

Sighing heavily and stretching his eyelids, the young man slapped his cheeks and stood up abruptly from his chair. Deciding not to delay his decision, he set off for the tent, gathering many glances along the way. The closer he got to the source of the screams, the more people gathered around him. Most of the soldiers were from Lipin, but there were quite a few from other cities as well. Excitedly following him with their eyes, the men watched the heir's every move. They seemed to be assessing him and trying on every move.

At the entrance of the tent, Tie froze for a few moments. The immense pressure was felt from all sides, hundreds of stares from ordinary soldiers and mages piercing him. As he looked around and met such intense scrutiny, the son of the Fire Giant saw hope on the faces of these people. Frightened by the recent battle and the loss of command, many of them did not know what to do next and hoped he would give them answers.

Squeezing through the crowd, his surviving comrades stepped forward. The youngest of them shone with large black eyes and universal fatigue, but with his guan dao slung on his shoulder, he smiled confidently as he looked at Sun Ce.

Humming to himself and nodding his head, Ce pulled back the tent's canopy and stepped inside.

The coastal village in the north of the province had fallen into darkness. The lights had long since gone out, and there was no one alive on the streets. In some places, huge puddles could be seen, which was usual for this area, but not for this time of year. The wind blew through the wide gaps between the houses, scattering the clothes and linen that had not been taken off for the night.

Creaky doors dangled on rusty hinges, revealing the mess and chaos of the houses. Scattered furniture and kitchen utensils were in every building. Shallow human fingernail marks were visible on the door jambs. Many footprints led to the village, but they were becoming fewer by the minute.

The chief's son, Arnuk, watched the work of the conquerors who were now getting rid of the footprints on the ground. Tamping down the soil, they removed any evidence that spoke of their presence. Waiting for the Earth Kingdom soldier to give the signal, the young man waved to his men, who quickly marched from the centre of the village deep into the forest, leading potential pursuers further west. His warriors, dressed in native garb, looked incongruous. Their swarthy skin and small stature stood out against the pale inhabitants of the continent. They might as well have left their weapons and armour to themselves, but the allied protégé was very vehemently insisting on various tricks and manoeuvres to distract attention.

Shaking his head, Arnuk walked back to the shore where his soldiers were unloading from dozens of ships. The earth mages were making good moorings while the waterbenders conjured thick fog along the shore. His warriors and mages were able to handle the ships of the land mages Lu Chong had assigned to this mission.

Looking around, the chieftain's son realised more and more how precarious a position his old friend was in. For this mission, the prince had pulled out all his reserves, utilised many connections and allocated a great many men and resources. Arnuk had never seen so many Earth Kingdom soldiers in his entire life.

Smooth ranks of warriors lined up along the shore to then move away towards the forest, dissolving into darkness. In addition to the infantry regiments, there were many boarding parties from the ships and soldiers from the garrisons of the cities that had volunteered to go along with them. The secrecy and scale of the operation was staggering. With each new ship that docked at the northern shores, new troops were released from its hold. The militant Landers were eager to fight, eager to get even with the torches.

Biting his lip thoughtfully, Arnuk frustratedly recalled his conversation with his father. The chief had refused to send a large force, fearing the Fire Nation would attack them in a moment of weakness.

-You should know what kind of forces are gathered here. Maybe we can drive those things off the continent.

Given that the Northern Tribe had been attacked almost sixty years ago, the son of the chief doubted that the torches would strike now.

The Northern Tribe commander did not notice when one of his subordinates appeared nearby. The soldier crept quietly up behind Arnuk, pressing a hand to his chest and drawing attention to the periphery of his vision, but the chieftain's son didn't even turn a deaf ear. Straightening up and speaking in a quietly confident voice, the saboteur looked around constantly, as if expecting an attack. The fighter's face was coloured black, and his trademark blue coat had been replaced by the skin of a rare animal, the koala otter. A spear and shield were mounted behind his back, and a good bone sword hung at his side. The jagged blade and the many scrawled notches said more about the wielder than anything else.

'Must be one of the Sea Rats.' The special unit his father had created at the beginning of his reign had been at war with the Fire Nation for years. Only volunteers who passed a rigorous selection process were chosen. Everyone was required to be able to not only fight, but also to be able to read tracks and hunt, steer a ship, and swim. Of course, in the last two points the Water Tribe could give a head start to any inhabitant of the continent and archipelago, but still. The Sea Rats selected the best, and in time they became vicious and insidious, like the true inhabitants of the oceans after which they were named.

-My lord, our troops are ready to move out.

-What about the villagers?

-We've got them all.

Arnuk didn't like what was happening, but for the success of the mission he had to do it. He looked down at the cage where the last of the villagers were being pushed, and then he closed his eyes tiredly and turned away.

-All of them to the bottom.

The chieftain's son hoped he was imagining things, but when he gave the order, he heard a satisfied hum. The sea rat, of which Arnuk was now certain, scurried off towards the ice cage. Fuelled by the power of the conquerors, it still held on to the water, despite the sheer weight of the people held inside. The huge prison of ice rocked on the waves, causing panicked cries from the people, but fear of the savages from the north forced them to keep quiet.

When the saboteur levelled with the mages, they talked about something for a couple of seconds, and then the cage began to sink to the bottom. Just a couple of swings and a hundred people disappeared into the icy abyss. None of these poor people even had time to cry out before the cage disappeared under the water.

Glaring at the burial site of the villagers, Arnuk felt disgusted with himself and his friend, Liu Chun. The prince had always seemed like a good man to him, but something like this threw him off balance. No one denied that there would be casualties in war, but the death of an entire settlement was gruesome.

The man originally presented by Chun had suggested burying everyone alive or slaughtering them, but Arnuk had made a different decision. Remembering the commander of the Earth forces, the son of the chieftain grimaced and looked in the direction of the approaching young man. Smiling cheerfully and sporting a small moustache, he strode lightly along the shore, looking at the water with satisfaction. Dressed in a good armour of different colours, the young man was easygoing about the death of anyone who belonged to the Land of Fire. It didn't matter to him who, what, or why. If they were enemies, the only thing they deserved was death.

Reflecting on his aide, Arnuk felt that with such a companion, there was no need for enemies. If they slaughtered every village, the locals would rise up against them and rush to the recruiting stations.

A new, tired sigh escaped the waterbender's mouth involuntarily. Xiahou Yuan, who had noticed him, waved at the son of the chief, not hiding his joy at the death of a hundred peasants. Nodding to Yuan, Arnuk put a smile on his face and walked towards him.

-It's going to be tough.