"And I'm quick with languages when that comes up!"

"A pity that these are such troubled times, with relationships between nations strained as they are."

"Yeah, I've noticed that."

"How much recent history are you aware of?"

"Bits and pieces. I haven't had a comprehensive education."

"If you tell me what you do know, I can attempt to fill in some blanks."

"Uh. For some reason, the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom have been at war for a long time."

"More than a few gaps, I see. Well then. Let us begin at the beginning. Long ago, the Fire Nation was composed of many warring clans, and had little attention to spare for the rest of the world. The first Fire Lord united us, and his son turned his attention outwards. The Avatar of that time, who was originally an Air Nomad, intervened and stopped the fleets before they could reach the Water Tribes. Reeling from that summary defeat, the Fire Nation turned inwards once more. The world passed through three further Avatars: Water, Earth, and finally, Fire. This last was Avatar Roku and in his youth, he was a friend of the royal family. He and Sozin were said to be very close. But after Sozin's ascension to Fire Lord, that ended. Sozin became enamored of the idea of spreading Fire Nation culture to the rest of world. Roku opposed this. As the Avatar, he had a duty to maintain balance, and that balance included the separation of the four nations. They quarreled, and Roku left the capital after destroying much of the palace.The two did not meet again until Roku's death, when a volcano erupted near his home. The Fire Lord went to assist, but was unable to save his friend. After that, he resumed his preparations for war, which he had only halted and not dismantled. A short time later, a comet appeared in the sky, and the power of all firebenders was greatly increased. Sozin used this to launch a strike on the Air Temples. He did not intend to let another Air Avatar disrupt Fire Nation ambitions."

"Wow. That's a really narrow view of spreading a culture."

"Yes." He sighs heavily. "It is unfortunate, but that was the legacy he was graced with. This has ever been a military culture. Sozin lived for twenty years more after the comet, which we named for him. During that time, he was fairly conservative with expansion. Perhaps he feared the Avatar would yet show up to rebuke him. When he died, he was succeeded by his son, Azulon. Azulon was more adventurous than his father. No Avatar had shown themselves yet, after all. His target was the Water Tribes at the poles. The South Pole was easily subjugated, and all benders, all potential Avatars, were rounded up. The North Pole was more resilient, but he still pushed them back into a single city."

"Is that how the heredity of bending works? It won't just pop up on its own?"

"It's not something that is well understood. Bending ability does manifest very young, and the army does do sweeps periodically to catch any new talent."

"How young?"

"Between three and six, typically."

Piandao plays a few moves in silence.

"Things are really different where I'm from," she says.

"Oh?"

"Better, I think." She sighs. "What's working for the Fire Nation in the - capacity I've been solicited for - like? What kind of budget, what kind of team, what kind of discretion with both -"

"If you can deliver results and show a willingness to work, you'll mostly be left to your own devices."

"What kind of results, though?"

"I imagine that's still being discussed. The Fire Nation currently patronizes one other person like you. He lives on top of a mountain in the northern Earth Kingdom and provides blueprints for a new or updated war machine every eighteen months or so. But his style of invention was larger than yours, before he was recruited. I'm not sure how the precedent will adapt."

"It might not be so bad if they gave me enough money and time, but if they're going to freak out if I don't have anything that explodes in a year..."

"They might be upset, given your recent rate of output. But I think they would not be incapable of being reasoned with. Sozin's comet isn't due to return for three years and that is their real deadline for finishing this invasion, I think."

"Three years is really optimistic too, to be honest, I don't know anything about weapons. I do gadgets."