1 The Day It All Began

"You've stolen the scroll with our nation's most powerful techniques. Today you'll die, but we might let your son live as long as you give us what we're asking for."

"You're one of the most feared warriors; how could you love such a filthy woman like her? All the greatest warriors of the Fire Nation are here today to end your life, Fire Demon. We've set up a perimeter so you can't escape; this time you'll definitely die."

"Fire Demon, despicable monster, you killed hundreds of warriors just to escape with that woman from the Water Nation, cheaper than a prostitute. You've committed a heinous crime by taking the secrets of our firebending, but having a child with that woman is an unforgivable sin, something that will be punished by death."

The man they called the Fire Demon was actually a man named Draven, who was one of the greatest warriors of the Fire Nation but ended up abandoning his responsibilities as a warrior when he was ordered to eliminate a village from the Water Tribe.

Instead of fulfilling his duty as ordered, he fell in love with a beautiful woman from the same tribe. Their relationship was complicated, but by promising to leave everything behind to marry her, they managed to protect the village by moving to a safer area and fighting against their oppressors together.

Years passed slowly, but soon a bounty was placed on Draven's head when it was discovered that he was still alive. Just nine years later, those men found his village and initiated an attack that he could only repel while others escaped.

Draven wore a tattered blue coat, his hair waving wildly. His body was bathed in blood from head to toe as he surveyed the scene around him. The breeze from the snowy mountains slowly froze his wounds, giving him a pitiful appearance. Fresh red blood flowed from hundreds of wounds on his body.

Just by standing there for a moment, a pool of blood formed beneath Draven. What was curious about the way he had been injured is that by attacking this village with iron weapons, Draven could deflect hundreds of attacks but not thousands, and progressively, after defending this village for ten minutes, his wounds became more brutal.

His enemies surrounded him in a circle, cutting off all possible escape routes. It seemed dictated that he had no choice but to die here today in this place.

Draven saw the situation as clearly as a burning fire. But despite the imminent death, he remained calm, his expression serene. His eyes were like distant, ancient water puddles, and as before, they were full of unfathomable depth.

The crowds of firebending masters surrounding him were not just hunters but assassins specially trained to kill him. There were also the great generals of the Fire Nation; some looked at him with anger, others with sympathy, but some just smiled coldly. None of them made a move, fearing that Draven's final attacks could seriously harm them.

"At least my son has managed to escape by now." Draven murmured with a smile. By now, the great ice ground beneath Draven's feet had been stained dark red for a long time. His face was pale from blood loss, and in the glow of the sunset, they suddenly acquired a sweet and beautiful gleam.

"It seems your sacrifice was in vain... It is a pity for you, Draven. Your wife has been captured, and your son, I've just been told, will eventually die frozen in this blue hell."

Draven's eyes were unfocused when he saw something rolling on the ground under his feet. When he looked down, he could see the face of his beloved wife. Half of her face was burned, and the other perfectly showed her beautiful beauty. Seeing how the treasure of his life had been damaged ignited an unprecedented fury in his chest.

"If you had obeyed orders, maybe you wouldn't have suffered this divine punishment imposed by our ancestors. I will punish all the pigs in this village, and by the end of the day, I will make sure to put their heads on a spear."

Draven didn't react; he kneeled before his wife's head and held it in his arms. "I must thank you..."

"What did you say?" A man who was closer to Draven expressed his confusion upon hearing this man had just thanked them. But when everyone wanted to seek an answer, they understood perfectly what he meant just by seeing the increase in flames reach a terrifying level. Knowing that his firebending increased with rage, fury, and resentment, it was more than evident now that they had helped Draven to give him an exponential increase in his power.

"Everyone will pay with their lives for this." Draven used his last secret technique that he had been perfecting for a long time in extreme cases like this.

At that moment, the flames expelled from his body spread, surrounding the entire village without giving these people a chance to escape, and like the cocoon of a flower, an explosion of furious flames erupted with such force that few of the nearby people survived. Boom!

Draven, who also received damage to his body, only had time to think of his son Thorian, who from now on would have to live between pain and anguish. He only hoped that somehow he could survive; his son had to survive no matter what.

"In the end, this war should never have existed." With these last words, Draven disappeared completely amidst the explosion of flames that consumed everything.

The corpses turned to ashes, their bodies began to disappear, and in a matter of seconds, nothing was left in this village, giving everyone the impression that a meteorite had exploded in this place.

At this moment, as if somehow an ancient spirit had opened its eyes in the middle of the water, a huge silhouette of a dragon moved quickly towards a boy who was on the water and who would most likely die without its intervention.

"What an incredible combination..." The dragon murmured as it took care of the unconscious young man.

When everything returned to normal, no one was left alive in the village, but some of their attackers were indeed alive to tell the tale.

From that day on, stories about the fall of the Fire Demon resonated throughout the Fire Nation because of how important this warrior was to their own nation.

Those who had considered him dead long ago held a ceremony to bid farewell, but others silently listened to the death of a great warrior.