Avatar:Shapes of Life and Death

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"I was paid by Huazo of the Saowon to humiliate Fire Lord Zoryu! I blasphemed by faking signs from the spirits of the islands! I committed foul deeds here and in North Chung-Ling to instigate a war that might put the usurper Chaejin on the throne!"

— Yun's impostor falsely confessing to Yun's crimes in order to convince the Fire Nation nobles that Zoryu has captured the earthbender.

Template:Chapter infobox"Shapes of Life and Death" is the twenty-first chapter of The Shadow of Kyoshi.

Overview

Upon arriving at the Fire Nation Royal Palace, Jinpa takes Kyoshi to her room and lets her rest after the recent events take a great toll on her body and spirit as she feels intense pain, shame, and regret, blaming herself for the upcoming war. After talking to Zoryu, the monk wakes her up and tells her she should go to the Fire Lord's assembly. There, Zoryu brings a decoy for Yun, claiming he has captured the earthbender. Kyoshi sees through the ruse and fights the palace guards to free the man, but he insists that he needs to die to save his family.

Synopsis

After they arrive at the Royal Palace, Jinpa takes Kyoshi to her room and sits her on the bed before going to find Zoryu to tell him that making Huazo and Chaejin confess to conspiring with Yun did not work. She considers that the Fire Nation will be consumed by civil war as soon as the leader of the Saowon clan and her son reach the capital. Kyoshi sheds tears as she falls asleep after the blame, regret, and shame she feels for what happened take a heavy toll on her. She does not want to be awake and witness what will happen the next day.

After some time, Jinpa shakes her shoulders, waking her up and telling her that the Fire Lord is calling for an assembly and that she should be there. The Avatar thinks that Huazo and Chaejin must have arrived and that Zoryu is addressing his people in the moments before the forthcoming war. Kyoshi feels as if the pain has emptied her entire being while walking through the palace corridors. She passes by two nobles whispering that everything is over for the Fire Lord before a theater room without any seats. Zoryu walks onto the stage, wearing a look of defeat and having grown a mustache.

He tells the nobles in front of him that this year's Festival of Szeto, instead of being an enjoyable celebration, has brought a terrible attack on the palace, on the members of the court, and on the Fire Avatar gallery, and that the sadness this has caused him will never pass. As he speaks, Kyoshi notices more confidence in him than before as he states that he cannot call himself Fire Lord until he avenges his honor. She sees that about a quarter of the people there who are part of the Saowon clan are delighted while the members of the Keohso clan are furious, all of them thinking that he will acknowledge his defeat.

The Fire Lord holds his hand up, saying that the spirits have put him to the final test and that he passed, as he has captured Yun, ordering his guards to bring him on stage. The Avatar chuckles in surprise, never having expected he would find the young earthbender as two palace guards come in with the blindfolded captive. Kyoshi raises her arm toward her former friend, wanting to speak to him, but Zoryu quickly resumes his speech, claiming that Yun has confessed to his crimes and that he will face capital punishment.

She does not think it is unusual for the earthbender to be executed for his actions, but she did not consider that finding him will mean he has to be killed. The Fire Lord grabs his prisoner by the head, tilting his face toward the light and asking what he has to say in his defense. Yun admits to infiltrating the palace, attacking the members of the court, destroying the Royal Gallery, and killing Dairin. He confesses he was paid by Huazo to humiliate Zoryu and to start a war that would end with Chaejin gaining the throne.

Kyoshi thinks that these are the results she has been hoping to achieve before the nobles start shouting and shoving each other. The Fire Lord declares that the Saowon family has betrayed the nation and orders all loyal citizens to capture its members within the room. The Keohso nobles are the first to attack, dragging the Saowon to the ground in a scuffle. As she witnesses this, the Avatar muses that, even if some fancy themselves in titles and etiquette, all people are the same animal at their hearts.

The members of the other clans are unsure of what to do, thinking that the Saowon have overstepped their bounds and are not as powerful as all the others combined. They decide that there are no longer any benefits in supporting them as they join the Keohso in the fight while palace guards run into the room.

Kyoshi follows Zoryu and Yun as they are escorted through the back by soldiers. She slips by injured men and avoids a woman crawling on the floor as she gets onto the stage and enters the dark passage they used. The Avatar crashes into a sharp turn, thinking that this is not a tunnel, but a catacomb with numerous paths. She firebends a small flame in her hand to light the way as she follows the sound of rattling chains, moving faster than the guards dragging the prisoner.

Kyoshi enters a corridor where half a dozen more soldiers block her path, ready to fight. The soldiers holding Yun take him to the passage at the end of the hall as she airbends a torrent of wind toward the door, slamming it shut and knocking one of them out. The other guard unsuccessfully tries to open the door as Kyoshi keeps it pressurized. She advances down the hall as the warriors launch fireballs at her and she deflects them and, as she approaches them, catches them. One of the men tells the others to call for reinforcements before the Avatar uses airbending strikes against them, guiding currents in all directions. The soldiers are flung into the walls and ceiling, passing out.

She walks to the prisoner who has gotten into a sitting position and inquires about his identity as she knows he is not Yun. He pretends to not understand her, claiming that he is the earthbender that assaulted the palace. Kyoshi removes his blindfold and sees his golden eyes, observing that he is from the Fire Nation but that his similarity to Yun is striking. She considers that he practiced talking like Yun and was good enough to trick the party attendees, but not someone who had been one of his closest friends, knowing him better than anybody.

The Avatar begins melting his shackles and he asks her what she is doing, trying to break free. She tells him to stop moving as she is helping him escape, not willing to let him die for crimes he did not commit. He replies that she should leave him alone as he needs to do this. Surprised to hear this, Kyoshi accidentally burns herself and drops the iron shackles, inquiring whether he needs to die, astonished. The impostor explains that he and his family in Hanno'wu are facing financial struggles, not having anything, and that Zoryu promised his debts would be paid upon his death. He says that this is the last thing he can do for his wife and children lest they die from starvation. Trying to convince the Avatar to let him sacrifice himself for his loved ones, Yun's impostor adds that his death is necessary for preventing the war the Saowon have been trying to start.

Kyoshi yells in frustration as everyone, including the man himself, consider his death the only way to stop the conflict. She continues screaming, letting out her hatred for herself and the world, as the decoy shudders away while guards round the corner.

Production notes

Series continuity

• Kyoshi notes the decisiveness of Fire Nation folk when thrust into a dilemma, the same trait Roku, also from the Fire Nation, advises Aang to consider in "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters" when debating whether or not to kill the Fire Lord.
• Recalling the devastating nature of airbending when used in close quarters, Kyoshi easily subdues the guards transporting Yun's impersonator through a series of corridors, an advantage Korra exploits in "Endgame" to overpower Amon when confronting him in a hallway in the Pro-bending Arena.

Character revelations

• Kyoshi realizes the man claiming to be Yun is an impostor.

Trivia

• Kyoshi's use of airbending to thrash around the helpless guards in the passageway is meant to reference a hallway scene from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, where Darth Vader uses "the Force" to manhandle and slaughter numerous Rebel soldiers in a similar manner.