The Sun , the moon, the dragon - A hope for the future. (Patreon)

Daeron Targaryen, Sea Camp – Earth Kingdom.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” shouted the mad king Bumi, as he made the entire coast tremble during his epic duel against Toph.

“I’ll turn you into dust, decrepit old man!” shouted his fiancée, although the smile on her face showed how much fun she was actually having, and to Daeron’s pride, his fiancée was using an adaptation of a waterbending technique, moving with fluidity and elegance and causing enormous and dangerous serpents of rock to emerge like hounds and attack Bumi, who, like Daeron, looked truly impressed.

Around them, the small army that had accompanied the mad old man was resting, while they watched in astonishment the powerful ships of the Northern Kingdom, the whispers saying similar things.

“The Dragon King”“The Lord of the Oceans”“Daeron the Conqueror”

And although Daeron truly wished those words had no effect on him, he simply could not help it, being honest.

It was inevitable, the pressure and the weight of responsibility, the fact that tens of thousands looked at him with respect, that if he ordered it, those men would fight without hesitation, it was an immense power.

As well as a great responsibility that threatened to overwhelm him.

Another tremor pulled him from his thoughts, now watching as Bumi had crushed Toph’s serpents and was approaching her at full speed, an action that the Earthbending master also imitated, both with their fists raised.

“This is going to get ugly,” he whispered to himself, Katara and Aang at his side nodding, while each prepared in their own way.

Daeron and Katara summoned a great amount of water, protecting themselves, an act that Aang also did with his airbending, leaving Sokka watching them in astonishment.

“Wait… what are you talking about, they…AHGHHH—!” shouted Sokka, as he was pushed toward the ocean, a result of the shockwave of the two titanic Earthbenders.

The impact generated a massive wave of dust that spread throughout the entire camp at high speed, making a mess and giving the group even more work to do.

So, with a sigh, Daeron prepared himself to intervene.

“Enough,” he said firmly, seeing that his fiancée and the mad old man still had their fists pressed together, both laughing with extreme pleasure.

“If you keep going like this, you’ll destroy the camp,” said Daeron with a frown and a hint of reproach in his voice.

“I’m sorry, Daeron, but… it was impossible to resist, this man lives up to his reputation,” said Toph, covered in dust and with a huge smile, while removing bits of rock from her hair.

“HAHAHA young lady, you are terrifyingly strong, the SECOND most powerful Earthbender in the world HAHAHA!” said the mad man, clearly wanting to provoke Toph.

“Oh old man I’ll show you who—YEEP!” said Toph, blushing completely as she felt Daeron’s firm hand on her waist.

“It’s enough, my dear, we leave tomorrow, you need to bathe and you must rest,” said Daeron calmly, laughing softly as he saw Toph pout.

“But I haven’t finished fighting! I—” however, Toph simply fell silent as she felt Daeron’s arms around her waist, followed by his lips in a warm and passionate kiss, that instantly took her breath and her desire to fight away, clinging to her fiancé’s neck with fervent desire.

After several seconds, and only when breath failed, the young warrior pulled away, her pale and refined face flushed, while she gasped, her brow furrowed as she said.

“That… that’s not fair, that’s cheating,” she said softly, making Daeron smile and whisper.

“Go to my personal tent and prepare a bath, I will take care of bathing you thoroughly,” he said in a playful tone, making Toph open her eyes with surprise and mischief at the teasing promise.

“Will I be able to do… you know what?” she asked, softly rubbing her thighs, excitement threatening to overwhelm her.

Daeron rolled his eyes but nodded.

“Yes, my dear, and I will return the favor,” he promised, making Toph nod, give him a quick kiss and run toward Daeron’s quarters, leaving him alone with the mad old man.

“Curious, your tactic was, young dragon, but no less effective for that HAHA,” said the old man, picking up his cape and walking toward Daeron, his imposing height of two meters disappearing under the cloak as he hunched over.

Daeron could not help but smile and shake his head at the old man’s antics.

“The help of Omashu will be welcome, how did Mai’s father take it?” he asked discreetly.

Bumi laughed softly, and for an instant, the mad old man disappeared, and the monarch made his appearance.

“Better than expected, it seems that that princess of yours is quite persuasive, she promised glory, a new world order and prosperity to the governor, the fact that Ozai sent his brother and nephew to die in the siege of the North Pole also helped greatly, there is a lot of resentment against the Fire Lord, an opportunity we can capitalize on, how is your plan to take the colonies progressing?” asked the old man, at the same time that both began to walk to have some privacy.

Daeron sighed and responded.

“Agna Qel’a will lash the oceans, once Azula brings down the outer wall of Ba Sing Se, Ozai will not take long to send reinforcements toward the attack, the perfect moment for an assault on Yu Dao, the coalition is organizing an army, a great crusade to attack the three most important military strongholds in the region, leaving all the colonies unprotected, we have the plan and the resources, the most complicated thing is…”

At this point, Bumi interrupted.

“The moment to strike, your plan is calculating and would be a devastating blow to Ozai, but the window of time must be precise, exactly at the moment when the ships cannot return and relieve the colonies, I assume you will turn Yu Dao into the spearhead of the invasion,” said Bumi, making Daeron nod softly.

“Yes, that is the plan,” he said with a sigh, the weight of his decisions returning in full.

Now… things had changed greatly, the operation would not be defensive, but rather, he would deliberately order tens of thousands of men to go fight, knowing perfectly well that many of them would not return, that they would leave behind wives and children.

And what gave him even more helplessness? That he could do nothing to avoid it.

And something in his face must have been visible to King Bumi, who looked at him with sympathy.

“It is the weight of ruling, the fact that you have these doubts eases my old heart, it indicates that, unlike Ozai, you care about your people and your nation, a good omen for the future empire,” said the old man shrewdly, making Daeron look at him with surprise, and Bumi responded with a loud laugh.

“HAHAHA do not look so surprised, boy, I am old, and that makes me wise, I can recognize certain patterns when I see them,” said Bumi, making Daeron smile softly.

“I want to end this war once and for all, it has cost too much, for everyone,” he said with solemnity, making Bumi look at him fixedly for several seconds, before nodding slowly.

“In that you are right, but I have a good feeling, young wolf, or is it dragon now? HAHAHA,” said the mad old man.

Daeron only shook his head and both began to talk about the future, Omashu would participate in the invasion, and Bumi would move his soldiers discreetly toward Yu Dao once the news of the fall of Ba Sing Se became public, the southern wolves led by now commander Hakoda would attack from the south, taking the large rice plantations and the farms that fed the Fire Nation, the bulk of the coalition and Bumi would do it through the center, their mission would be to cause as much chaos as possible, not the most glamorous task, but earthbenders were perfect for that, while Daeron and the northern fleet would attack from the north, directly toward the industrial heart of the Fire Nation.

Together, the three attacks would place a noose around Ozai’s neck, preparing everything for the siege of Caldera City.

It was a solid plan, but everything depended on a single thing.

The fall of Ba Sing Se.

And on convincing Aang not to intervene in the battle, which was truly the complicated part of the matter.

“You must convince our bald friend that the fall of the Earth Kingdom capital is key to ending the war,” said Bumi with resignation, knowing very well how stubborn Aang could be.

“I know, he is not as naïve as he was before the siege of the North, but even so, he is still young and—”

However, Daeron’s words were interrupted by a commotion, coming from the docks, where several of his soldiers and Bumi’s soldiers shouted and pointed toward the sky, as if they were observing something approaching on the horizon.

“What the…?” whispered the young Dragon in disbelief, as he saw how a small group of sky bison made their appearance in the camp, apparently being guided by Master Alanna, his spiritual tutor.

Before the magnificent sight, the Earth Kingdom soldiers could do nothing but whisper in astonishment and wonder, while the northerners observed them with superiority, in a short time, the figure of the male bison, which the master rode, landed in the camp beside Ghost and Appa, who had stood up with curiosity upon seeing the visitors.

Master Alanna did not come alone, but escorted by a pair of northern soldiers, and by a group of… civilians?

They were of different ages, some children of ten or eleven years, and others young adults, but all of them looked excited, observing their surroundings with great interest.

Bumi and Daeron looked at each other, and walked toward the place in question, ready to find out what was happening.

“Master Alanna, it is a pleasure to see you,” said Daeron sincerely, ignoring for the moment how the civilians stared at him in astonishment and admiration, a young girl even let out a squeal of excitement, before blushing in embarrassment.

However, his master did not look at him, but at the mad old man beside him.

“Bumi, you old wolf, you are still as handsome as I remember,” she said with… something close to flirting, to Daeron’s absolute terror.

And as if that could not be worse, the old king responded.

“Oh dear, and you are still as radiant and beautiful as that time, a pleasure to see you again,” he said, taking the master’s hand and giving it a kiss, an act that Master Alanna responded to with a smile.

Daeron looked between Bumi and his master again and again, still believing what he had just seen was impossible.

Alas, he quickly shook his head and looked toward the elderly woman, curious to know the reason for her visit.

“Everything in order, Master Alanna?” he asked with great respect, even more so when he saw the old woman nod with seriousness.

“We have a… situation in the city, my student,” she said, although her tone of voice made it clear that it was not something… bad or dangerous, but rather curious.

Before Daeron could ask what it was about, the young girl who had squealed upon seeing him let out a powerful sneeze and, to Daeron’s disbelief, she shot into the air with a powerful cry, before landing gently and letting out a soft laugh on the ground, as if nothing had happened.

Daeron, Bumi, and everyone around them froze, the young Dragon had only seen one other person do that.

And that was Aang.

So, if this young girl could do the same thing as his bald brother, then…

“An airbender!” said Daeron, opening his eyes wide at the revelation.

“Not just one,” Master Alanna intervened, making the rest of the group step forward and begin to perform small and simple airbending techniques.

And at that exact moment, the small bald boy made his appearance, having arrived with his staff, completely agitated.

“Jon!! I… I saw someone, make a huge jump like if they were a—”

Aang’s words died in his throat as he observed how at least a dozen people were doing something that, in his mind, was completely impossible.

Airbending.

“But… but what is happening?” asked the small bald boy, his voice trembling, as if what he had just seen was simply impossible, as if he did not dare to say the words out loud for fear of what might happen.

However, Master Alanna answered for him.

“Airbenders have been appearing all over the city, the young girl one day sneezed so hard that she reached the palace ceiling, where she was terrified without knowing what had happened, we believe it has to do with the spiritual surge from a few weeks ago, when—”

At this point, Daeron intervened.

“When I made the Hidden Sea emerge in the ancient desert,” said the king in realization, making Aang look at him with a radiant smile.

“Do you know what this means, Jon? My people, my nation, everything… has hope and a future!” said the young airbender, unable to hold back his tears and, without hesitation, throwing himself at Daeron, giving him a strong embrace full of hundreds of emotions, gratitude being the strongest.

An act that Daeron returned, at the same time that a thought came to his mind.

“Wait… if this is something spiritual, then it is possible that there are lost airbenders in the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation,” he said heavily, making Aang look at him with surprise and determination.

“Then… I will take care of finding them, all of them, no matter where they are, I will make sure they are safe!” said the Avatar with determination, making Daeron nod.

“And I will be with you to help you, this… is too important, we have much to plan, and you… have students to train, Airbender Master Aang,” said the king with amusement, happy to see the joy on the young monk’s face.

“YES! Oh, we’re going to have so much fun! I can teach them the air scooter and also how to fly with a glider! Oh, and the bison, Daeron! They will be able to fly again accompanied! We will have to rebuild everything and—”

Daeron watched as the young monk walked away with Master Alanna and the ten newly discovered airbenders with a smile.

“Well, that turned out well, however, now that airbenders are back, Ozai’s death is even more important, I will go rest with my troops and depart for Omashu in the morning with the new orders, you should go attend to that earthbender of yours, I am sure she is waiting for you HAHAHA!” said the old man, before jumping with a powerful leap toward his camp, a truly impressive act.

Although not compared to firebending and waterbending, of course, he thought with amusement, before shaking his head and beginning to walk toward his quarters.

He had a blind bandit to spoil, after all.