Ozai roots his stance and bows to the Sun Spirit. "Agni," he greets, ignoring the hurried shuffling of armor and the whisper of silken sage robes as the other occupants of the room sink into kowtows. He dares to raise his head so he can look at the spirit as he says, "I have cast aside nothing."

Agni makes an impatient gesture for him to straighten from his bow. "You have tied your ability to carry out the responsibilities I have given you to another man's life," he accuses.

"I have no intention of allowing him to be killed," Ozai says with a scowl.

"Mortal lives are fragile and short," the Sun Spirit dismisses, "Your intent alone cannot ensure another's life."

"You're right. I can't protect against everything, but my oath doesn't demand that," the Fire Lord says, "You charged me to be honorable. A man that lashes out at his brother unprovoked is far from honorable."

"You left no provision to protect yourself."

Ozai squares his shoulders and glares. Foolish, but his temper is nearly at its end and he's quickly losing the different facets of his self-control one by one. "I have no reason to doubt Iroh's honor and, if I am wrong, he remains under your authority and judgement. A betrayal of my trust would not go unpunished."

"No, it would not," Agni agrees, staring down at Iroh's hunched over form, "But by then, the damage may already be done."

"You would still have a herald."

Agni's attention returns to the Fire Lord. "You are young for the role as it is, child mine. The boy is not ready."

"There would be a regent to --"

Agni cuts him off. "I have grown weary of men seeking to rule by an authority I have not given them." Ozai stiffens at the statement. That sounds like a rebuke of his father, the sole member of the living royal line that Agni had actively chosen to sacrifice. "I have corrected that in you. I am in no hurry to tolerate the return of ambitious false kings."

"Then I am sure you will handle the matter in whatever manner you judge best, if it ever comes to be. Either way, we've been at war with the other nations for generations. It's all we know, anymore, and we have an arsenal built to take on the rest of the world because of it. Some of us won't be ready to let Sozin's war die so easily, and it won't matter to them who they need to turn on in order to keep it alive. It could lead to a new, internal war in a bid to continue the outer war that you ordered we end. I need Iroh to trust me or it will be yet another thread of tension pulling the nation apart. You can't want that."

"No," Agni says, "My promise to Kuzon the Uniter stands to this day, as it will tomorrow, and all of the days that follow." He again turns his consideration to the previous crown prince.

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A raised hand forestalls Ozai's next words and the tension in the room simmers as the silence grows.

"Rise, all of you," Agni commands. The spirit slowly circles the subject of his attention before coming to a stop in front of him. "Iroh of Second Fire," he addresses the mortal, "it would seem that Ozai the Reforged has not only deemed you worthy of a large portion of his trust, but also decided that it is appropriate to deliver you fully into my keeping." The spirit bends down closer to Iroh's pale face. "You may come to regret your brother's choice over the next several weeks. Rest well, Once-Prince. You will need it in the morning."

Agni takes a step back before allowing his form to unravel, disappearing from the throne room as quickly as he had appeared. All the flames in the room return to their natural oranges and yellows, and the wall of flame burns low in its trough of coals.

Ozai pinches the bridge of his nose and doesn't bother to reclaim control over any of the fires. They're not going to get anything more done tonight. The Fire Lord drops his hand and instead studies the shaken men around him. "This council will reconvene later this week to finalize plans for the first stage of the withdrawal. In the meantime... General Shiro, see to it that the orders to cease aggressions are sent out immediately. General Masao, let the rest of the council know that we are finished for the evening and to expect a summons sometime in the next few days. Sages, make the temple elders aware of my oath and also of Agni's appearance. Dismissed."

"Yes, Fire Lord," General Shiro says despite his ill pallor and wide eyes as he bows. Masao and Kazuya Kai follow suit with equally shocked faces. The sages, in turn, quickly mimic the generals and hurry out on the older men's heels.

"That was Agni!" Misha says in a poorly contained whisper to his brother sages, "We were in the presence of Agni!"

"The elders are never going to believe all of this," Abedni worries.

Shadra sighs, "All we can do is report what we have witnessed. The rest is out of our hands."

"Who cares? We met Agni!"

Ozai catches Iroh's arm before the man can attempt to follow the others as they file out the throne room door. "Sit," he says, guiding Iroh to the nearest of the cushions surrounding the table, "Breathe."

The older royal braces his elbows on the table and his head finds its way into his hands as the subtle shaking of his fingers becomes full-bodied trembling. It is almost a full handful of degrees before the shudders lessen and Iroh attempts to speak. "I do not know what to believe anymore," the man croaks.

Ozai doesn't know what to say in response, so he remains quiet.

"Agni called you 'reforged.'"

"Yes."

Iroh frowns but it does nothing to disguise his exhaustion. "What does that mean?"

"What it means." That is something he has zero interest getting into while they are both as tired and out of sorts as they are. Or possibly ever. The more he thinks about it the more he comes to realize that it is awkward enough when he is the only one that knows he has been transplanted into his father's body. He doesn't want to think about what Iroh's reaction might be, and especially not right at this moment.

Iroh ponders over that non-answer for nearly half a degree. "Agni is..." the elder royal thinks better of finishing his thought and instead allows the sentence to trail off into nothing. After another second's consideration, he says, "None of my research into the spirits has prepared me for this."

Ozai closes his eyes and sighs. "I wasn't prepared, either," he admits softly. The Fire Lord shakes his head and pushes himself to his feet. "You seem to have recovered. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Iroh."

He doesn't wait for Iroh's response before leaving.

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Iroh stares after his brother and wonders what the spirits have done to so thoroughly change the man.