π€ α΄’Κα΄α΄βκ± α΄ α΄α΄Ι’Κα΄α΄Κ
- Being the generalβs daughter had its advantages. Mariko or Mari, how everyone cooed, grew up among the royal families and used to be somewhat close with Azula, Mai, Ty Lee and Zuko
- Zhaoβs wife, Yuna, a gentle and caring woman got very ill and died when Mariko was only a child. That day a part of the young girl died
- Zhao was left without a chance of having a son which made him hostile towards his daughter
- This led to many problems. Mariko was promised to Zuko since her young age which set certain expectations from her
- Zhao forbade her to practice firebending which made her fierce
- Carrying her fatherβs determination, aggression and stubborn attitude she would confront him
- These confrontations led to abuse she was forced to keep her mouth shut about
- Entering puberty, Mariko developed two sides - one where she was afraid of her father and wanted to please him by acting like a whipped slaved and the other, where she despised his guts
- When Iroh came back from war, after he lost his son, the poor old tormented soul devoted himself to the girl. He saw great potential in her but seeing advising and criticizing Zhao didnβt work, Iroh decided to take action and teach her
- Finding out she was practicing with Iroh in secret, Zhao was furious. Confronting him wasnβt the best choice
- That night he scarred her β slapping her with his flaming hand left a sharp blade-like burn mark on her right eye and eyebrow that would remind her of him every time sheβd look at her reflection
- He locked her in her room but this time he planned to keep her there for days
- She was fed up with everything. Burning her room to the ground, not leaving anything behind, she ran away with no trace
- That day made Zhao an even bigger monster than he already is. The last ember in his heart was killed. He only wanted to protect her from the brutal outside world heβs experienced but he was doing it very wrong
- He lost his only daughter
- Mariko, now considered a traitor, became a nomad, going from town to town, earning money from public plays where she performed all sorts of traditional dances from the fire nation and tricks with fire
- This way she was practicing firebending, remembering everything Iroh taught her and adding up her own knowledge from experience
- To stay hidden, she would wear a Kitsune mask and go by the name Ember. She wanted to hide and forget everything she got from her father β her name and her face that looked awfully just like Zhaoβs
- Traveling the world, she would come across her own nation over and over again, see her father even, along with his doings
- Her biggest fear is being just like Zhao β an angry person without self control. While firebending, music would help her gain that control but only then. Otherwise she would refuse to firebend in fear to burn everything from uncontrollable anger thatβs pent up inside of her
- The only way to take this burden off her back is to face her father and challenge him to Agni Kai. Thatβs what sheβs training for, thatβs what sheβs living forβ¦
more on my ig: @ zukkoxo