11 The Uprising

Four years later, somewhere south of the North Pole,.

The snowy mountains could be seen more frequently, leaving only a narrow path for the Fire Nation cruisers to pass through. One could swear that if they had passed through here before, nowadays more ice mountains were visible.

The weather was also ferocious; even stepping outside the cruiser could cause vision problems, which was truly a torment. But this cruiser had the mission of discovering the whereabouts of the previous cruiser that had disappeared without warning.

In different areas, it has been discovered that cruisers vanish without a trace. This time, a new one had been sent, but the soldiers were much more experienced. However, as they entered this special mountain area, the weather suddenly worsened.

"What the hell is going on with this damn weather?" The captain of the cruiser looked at the weather and couldn't help but show disgust.

"Sir, should we turn back?" The man named Aligor shook his head and instead ordered, "Keep going; we'll push through this storm and find out exactly where we are."

But at that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps and labored breathing approached from behind. Aligor glanced in the direction of the sound and found one of his soldiers, drenched in sweat, running towards him with a pale expression.

"Is there anything new?"

"Sir... We've found the missing ones."

Aligor showed surprise, but when he looked at the soldier's expression, his own changed. He furrowed his brows and then stepped out onto the cruiser's deck, where he saw in the distance ice spears, and atop them were the decapitated heads of dozens of Fire Nation soldiers.

"How is this possible?"

"Sir, we must leave this place and inform the Fire Nation of a possible uncontrollable uprising of the Water Nation. We won't be able to get out of here if we're attacked; we must do something."

Aligor walked to the bow of the cruiser and suddenly noticed that the snowstorm had calmed down. In the distance, atop the ice mountains, he could see dozens of figures with animal masks.

"This is an ambush... The mountains are artificial. Prepare for battle!" shouted Aligor, but as he turned around, he saw the head of the soldier who had been speaking to him moments ago lying on the ground.

Above the cruiser were a dozen of those figures with masks, and one of them stood out—a figure with a dragon mask. This figure was very tall, wielding a chain sword in hand, and they all seemed to be waiting for him to do something.

"Surprise, did you like it? Hmm, from your expression, I must assume you didn't expect something like this." The man with the dragon mask waved his bloodied sword and walked towards Aligor, who retreated as the figure approached.

All the figures wearing Water Nation attire seemed to laugh at the surprise of this small captain sent to investigate something they had no answers to.

"How have you managed to achieve all this?"

A very basic question: the man in front removed his mask, revealing bright blue eyes and long white hair. "My name is Thorian; I am the commander of the uprising, and I sentence you to an unburied death."

"And who has decided that?" Aligor showed fury, but at that moment, from different directions, several ice spears impaled his sword.

Feeling weakness in his legs, he fell to the ground, unable to do anything. The icy weather prevented him from attacking and showing resistance. As blood gushed from his wounds, his eyes focused on Thorian, who was looking at him expressionlessly.

"Don't dare ask for mercy, soldier; we are at war."

"Hahaha..." Aligor nervously chuckled, a bit afraid. He knew he would die, but he didn't care at all.

"War? You lost the war long ago, damned nomads."

Crack!

Extending his hand, Thorian made sure this death wasn't quick enough and asked, "Do you know where I can find more cruisers like these? I only have about ten in my collection; I would need more to move in this water-filled place."

"Screw you; when the Fire Nation finds out that its cruisers are disappearing more frequently, they'll wipe this place out." Aligor said with furrowed brows, a hint of satisfaction visible in his eyes, imagining that moment.

But Thorian, who didn't receive a satisfactory answer, moved his sword, and Aligor's head fell to the ground without any resistance. Watching how they had easily taken over this cruiser, it seemed to him that the firebending masters were weakening.

"Commander Thorian, what do we do with the hostages?" Darío approached to ask about the surrendered people.

Thorian turned around and asked, "Why do we need hostages? Now is not the time to worry about them; cut off their heads."

"No!"

"Please, I have two children!"

"And so do we!"

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Watching as everyone was mercilessly killed, Darío walked towards Thorian, who was standing on the edge of this cruiser, and asked, "What are we going to do with so many cruisers? We don't have the resources to maintain them. Is it worth taking them back?"

"We will need them to move people from all the villages that have not yet decided whether to join us in this war or not. They are afraid we might lose." Thorian had spent a long time training these people, and now they were training hundreds of warriors who would be the next graduates.

Now their large tribe amounted to no more than four thousand inhabitants, more than half of whom were learning the techniques Thorian had imparted.

The Southern elders had been considering choosing Thorian as their new ruler, but due to his age, that decision had not yet been made. Southern culture was devastated; no one knew anything about waterbending, and Thorian imagined that the last tribe with formidable warriors was that of his mother, which had been exterminated about four years ago.

The place that had been used to establish the new home for all the tribes in the southern area, or most of those who had joined them, now knowing they had a chance to rescue all the waterbending masters who had been captured, they were working harder to improve weapons, especially the cruisers, which now became part of the Southern Water Tribe fleet. Obviously, many disagreed with revenge; they believed Thorian's methods were reckless and put everything they had built so far at risk.

"Raise the flag!" Thorian shouted as they approached the border of the place where they were now hiding.

When Thorian ordered this, a blue flag rose above the cruiser, and at that moment, the people in the distance gave the signal.

Looking at the huge wall they had managed to build, he felt a bit allergic. It had been four bitter years, and now it seemed he had a chance against the Fire Nation.

"The moment is getting closer and closer." Thorian murmured with a gaze full of harshness.