The Banishment

The Fire Nation palace was full of guests and officials as a day of celebration began. The Fire Nation was celebrating their recent success in their battles against the Earth Kingdom. They had finally conquered the Earth Kingdom city of Omashu. This city had stood in the way of their movements further into the Earth Kingdom for generations, but it had finally fallen. Now, all of the Fire Nation was celebrating that their win over the Earth Kingdom was inevitable. Soon, the great war might be over and the Fire Nation will reign.


At sixteen, Prince Zuko was eager to become a man in his father's eyes. Zuko wished to make his father proud and show that he was no longer just a boy, but was now ready for his responsibilities as the crowned prince. His father, Firelord Ozai was not a warm person and took honor very seriously. It was going to take a lot for Zuko to impress his father. Prince Zuko dressed for the festivities and headed to the hall, thinking to himself that he would honor his father and show him how worthy he was.


He walked with his uncle to the party. Zuko's uncle was the Firelord's brother, Iroh. He was once a fine general of their armies, but he retired from this work when his son was killed in battle. Iroh now watched over Zuko as if he were his own child. He could see great spirit within Zuko and knew he would make a great leader of their nation one day.


As Prince Zuko entered the grand hall of the palace, the celebrations overtook him. He noticed the relics from the Earth Kingdom that were on display in the center of the room. Speaking with his uncle, Prince Zuko marveled at the delicate decorations on these artifacts. He discussed with his uncle how it is almost tragic to take such beautiful pieces of history away from their people, even if taking them was a symbol of his own nation's power.

Prince Zuko's sister, Princess Azula, overheard this conversation and immediately decided to tell their father about what Zuko had said. Princess Azula has always been incredibly jealous of her brother for no reason other than he was the first born, so he would inherit the title. Princess Azula knew Zuko's words would cause their father to be angry and outraged at his own son's words. After telling Firelord Ozai, Azula and Zuko's father, Princess Azula tried very hard to hide a smile from crossing her face. Firelord Ozai was disturbed and furious with Prince Zuko for insinuating that they had no right to keep items from their conquered lands.


Firelord Ozai went up to Prince Zuko and asked him point blank if he thought that the artifacts should be returned to the Earth Kingdom. Zuko's uncle immediately recognized his brother's plans and tried to restrain Prince Zuko from speaking his mind. Prince Zuko only thought that his father finally wanted to know his true opinions on something and thought he was actually seeking advice from Zuko. So, Prince Zuko told his father that returning the artifacts to the Earth Kingdom would be the noble thing to do and it might even cause the Earth Kingdom people to be more willing to accept that they had been conquered. With a sick smile on his face, the Firelord told Zuko, "Well, since you feel so strongly about this, I command you to take these back to the Earth Kingdom and see just how grateful they are of your act of mercy." Prince Zuko, not knowing that this would be an act of banishment, graciously accepted his father's task. Prince Zuko's uncle stated that he would gladly assist his nephew in this noble task, even though he knew that this would mean he would be banished, as well.

Author's Note:

I based this story off of a part from the Mahabharata, The Princes are Banished. In this story, the Pandavas were banished by a rival cousin and were forced out of their home. I decided to keep my theme and continue basing the story off of Avatar the Last Airbender. I decided to have Zuko's banishment retold and have it represent the banishment of all of the Pandavas. In my story, the rival cousin, Dhritarashtra is represented by Azula, Zuko's jealous sister.


In the Avatar the Last Airbender story, Zuko is originally banished because he spoke out of turn in a war council meeting and then refused to partake in his punishment. In the war council meeting he spoke out of turn by telling a general that his plan was morally wrong because it would sacrifice an entire company of their men acting as a distraction. He was correct in that this idea was so morally wrong, but calling out a general in a meeting like that was not the "honorable" thing to do. When it came to his punishment, it was a duel with his father and he refused to fight his own father, the Firelord. I really liked that even in the beginning, Zuko's character fought to do what was morally right to him, even though it was against his people, culture, and even his own father. I thought that these elements, mixed with the original story really meshed well to tell an interesting story.

You can find my first version of this story here on my blog.

Original story that inspired this: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Mahabharata by Sister Nivedita

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