The chorus of my corruption could be heard across the Earth Kingdom. An imbalance of the spirit has finally come to claim the last remnants of my soul. Integrity becomes lost in the smoke while ambivalent influences fight over my corpse. Malignant fixations dominated my life, but when will I finally break?

Internal strife tears at my flesh. Screams of doubt rupture my eardrums. Indecisiveness shreds all critical thought as my morality splits in two.

Iroh’s lessons hungered for tranquility on a diet of acceptance, while Azula is offering nobility on a silver platter. A stray to my own sanity, will I be the caring son that my mother nurtured, or will I bathe in the hellfire akin to my father?

I am My Mother’s Son

Always perplexed by how someone as lovely as my mother could marry a demon, the “blessings” of arranged marriages. Surviving circumstances crafted by the Baphoamet himself, it’s a miracle I had as much time with her as I did. Memories of her were filled with the joy I haven’t felt since the day she vanished.

A purity of heart like no other, the ghost of virtue tugs at the conscience. Planting the seed of humility that would hopefully grow through the sheet metal of hate, the Fire Nation is currently known for.

The admiration for her son playfully skipping stones by the pond haunts my judgment. Her last words were to never forget who I am, but I can’t even recognize my own reflection.

Blood Ties
My family’s negative influence is so vast that it kisses eternity. Even in Ba Sing Se, dysfunctional dynamics know no borders. My sister’s presence alone puts my inadequacies on the grand stage. Dare I say a word against my father’s right hand, instant repercussions are sure to follow.

Calculative, a prodigy, so perfect a hair is never out of place, a gift to earth for some, but the root of jealousy for me. She remains precise while demonstrating techniques free from the tethers of emotion, as I try my best to redefine clumsy.

A pool of envy drowns my own accomplishments when I see her cast a flame. Gasping for air in an ocean of neglect, I live with the suffocating notion that without The Avatar, my sister is an only child.

No matter where my fire bending progesses, receiving guidance from the only parent I had left remains out of bounds. Wanting to be like her more than myself, I was willing to do anything, even scorching the last real relationship I had left.

Quality Tea

For too many days to count, my aura has been stained with resentment. Receiving the cold shoulder from the Fire Nation is a hard pill to swallow, but my exile came with a companion. From Dragon of the West to a tea connoisseur, his wisdom flooded my ears, regardless of my own volition.

Orchestrating the lessons of balance and embracing change, his words cut through the lies I began to believe. From emotional enlightenment to spiritual heightening, he would rather die than let his nephew be enslaved to the fallacies of his history.

Treating me as a Prince when I wasn’t even good enough to spit on, Iroh held my hand as I walked through my own detriment. Lost in a tunnel of darkness, it wasn’t just my uncle who saw the flicker of light in my scared eye.

With a shared language in tragedy, Katara spoke of an escape route. Her finger tips guided the currents of change. The waves of forgiveness were calling, and all I had to do was listen to her voice. Let her caring hand break shackles of disappointment. Despite her mastery and water enhanced with the essence of a sacred oasis, they fail reverse the hands of time.

False Promises

My honor, my pride, my destiny, were finally mine for the taking. Upholding the family tradition of manipulation and betrayal, I bent a knee to conquerors and a middle finger to those who offered sanctuary.

While dining on meals of humbleness in the countryside, the sovereignty rang. Newfound principles were outweighed by the visions of a hero’s return. Temptation picked the right day, as now my first burn for the enemies of the future Phoenix King.

Was I, the Prince of the Fire Nation, to toss my throne to the wayside? Tea shops were for peasants, as I would rather fall in line with those who plunder. The hecatomb of my everything commenced in a crystal cavern.

• Trancendent Growth-To the Guillotine

• The connection to the only man who gave a damn- Hung

• A way to rid myself of this Stigmata- Trapped in The Brazen Bull

-The death of my inner-self must be lightning quick, before regret and remorse have a chance to step in.

In a flash, my father’s grace was in my palm, even if he if he didnt know it at the time. Deception and murder are the reasons for this family reunion. Discovering all these truths about myself, all for a lie to give me a free pass back to hierarchy.

The Stench of Shame

I arrive to an eruption of cheers from a crowd that thirsts for atrocities. Agony traded for a roar of praise and applause; a father figure was exchanged for a tyrant. The reckoning of my deceit lurks within shadows, begging me to have another honest moment. A glistening gemstone cave hosted my wake, and this heartless castle was my tombstone.

A victim or the tormentor, but forever clueless on what to do next. Everything imaginable is at my whim, yet I'm as empty as can be. The depressions my footsteps leave are laced with anguish. Misery rusts the armor of my fragile mentality. A Prince who rules all and nothing simultaneously, for I walk the path of the soulless.