Part 1: In the beginning of the book, it shows the backstory of Ursa’s life before she became part of the Royal Family and the at the time princess of the Fire Nation. At the same time, Team Avatar were helping Zuko with thinking of solutions for looking for his mother. Later, Zuko with both Suki and Ty Lee as backup came with him to the prison where his father is so that Ozai and Azula could talk about where their mother was. The both of them did not speak because Zuko and the guards were outside of the door so, after some time they decided to leave for a few minutes so that they could talk in peace with no interuptions. After they finished talking with no interuptions, we get another flashback about Ursa’s past. In the flashback, we see that Ursa’s other boyfriend whos names is Ikem, was trying to stop Fire Lord Azulon and Ozai from taking Ursa away but due to Ursa who was forced to say yes into marrying Ozai, told Ikem to leave and to not follow them. Later Zuko had Azula in a wheelchair and asked her what she knew about their mother but before she said anything, she shot lightning at Zuko due to the chi blocking wearing off and ran away. We then get another flashback of Ikem in some sort of forest area, surviving for a couple of years. We then see both Zuko and Azula in a secret room where in a chest had a bunch of notes. Azula then burned all of them just to taunt Zuko but saved on more so it could be used as blackmail against him. Then we see another flashback of Ozai and Ursa getting married with Ozai telling Ursa to forget all about her past and her past loved ones due to her now being part of the Royal Family. The next day, Team Avatar minus Toph, went to the Fire Palace to meet with Zuko so that they can help him find his mother but Zuko also decided to bring Azula along because she was the only one who knew where to go with the rest of the team not liking the idea of her going with them but still letting her anyways. Zuko decided to put his Uncle Iroh in charge as temporary fire lord while he is gone. On the trip, Aang started to feel as strong spirit near them but at the same time, Azula jumped off of Appa so that she could go find her mother herself but as she kept going she started to hallucinate about her mother in reflections and believing that their mother manipulated the rest into setting Azula up. After the rest of the gaang showed up, they stopped Azula but then the spirit the Aang felt earlier showed up. In another flashback, Ursa is seen saying good night to a young Zuko and then went into another room to give a letter to Elua who was the only person Ursa trusted. After Elua took the letter and closed the door, she decided to read it and in shock of what it said, showed it to Ozai who was not pleased by it. We then see the gang trying to fight off the spirit which was a giant blue wolf without harming it too much. The team struggled in stopping it and Azula was still trapped in some ice but when the wolf started to summon a bunch of moth wasps, Zuko then decided to free Azula who was able to take care of the moth wasps with ease. During the night, Aang, Katara and Azula were all asleep while Zuko and Sokka were still awake. They both talked to each other about the difference between their bonds with their sisters. After seeing Sokka put a blanket over Katara, Zuko was about to do the same but then saw the letter that she saved earlier in her boot sticking out. Zuko decided to take a look at it and was shocked to see what was written on it.
Part 2: We see Azula waking up to another hallucinated Ursa saying that she should give up on the search, but Azula being Azula took the chance to try to shoot her with lightning. We then see Azula snap back into reality, grabbing Katara’s arm. Both Katara and Sokka then confronted Azula. Azula was trying to grab the letter but then realized that the letter that was in her boot was now gone and asked where Zuko was in an angry voice. Alone on a cliff near the campsite, Zuko showed Aang the letter that he took from Azula. After that Zuko then tells Aang about what the note was talking about. The note said that Zuko is not Ozai’s son which had Zuko believe is the reason why his father could banish him without giving it a second thought. Aang asked why Ozai didn’t get rid of Zuko earlier but Zuko said that his mother decided to take his place instead. As the two were talking about who the actual Fire Lord was, an angry Azula found them. Azula yelled at them and started to shoot fire as she believed “She” was the one to tell them to take the note from her. We then get a flashback of Zuko and Azula as kids still with their mother before she was banished. Young Azula burned some flowers and Zuko tattled to their mother, she then got in trouble by their mother but before that she burned Zuko in the butt calling him a tattletale. Meanwhile, Prince Ozai hired an Yuyan archer and told him to find someone named Ikem and “rid” him from the world. We then see Azula fight both Aang and Zuko. Aang wondered where Katara and Sokka were, so he went to go look for them while he left Azula to Zuko. As Azula had the upper hand, Zuko caught her off guard and asked why their relationship had to be so bad from the day they were born. As Zuko held Azula over a cliff, she then asked him why he didn’t burn the note that he took when he had the chance to. Zuko said that she wasn’t making sense while Azula believed that all of this was Ursa’s doing. Zuko then said that he didn't burn the note because if it was burned, they wouldn't get to find out where their mother was. Zuko then said that the two of them should group up with the rest of the team. As Team Avatar was clearing the mess that Azula made, Zuko and Azula found them and said that they came to an understanding and left with the rest of the gaang. In another flashback, we see young Zuko and Azula, as well as their parents eating dinner. Azula talks about how her teacher was dumb with Ozai smiling. Zuko then said that he was just doing his job when Ozai snapped at him saying that even though she is a year younger, she mastered more firebending moves then he did. Ozai then said “She was born Lucky, You were lucky to be Born”. They then get interrupted by a soldier saying that the Yuyan Archer requested to see Ozai. The archer told Ozai that Ikem ran off into a forest near the bottom of the village and was unable to find him for months. The archer said it was impossible for Ikem to survive there but there was nothing confirming his demise. As punishment for the archer’s failure, he said that he would no longer be part of the Yuyan Archers. Ozai then talks to Ursa privately and lashes out on her asking her why she kept sending letters to Ikem even though she was to devote her life to Ozai. He then said that he ridded him from the world with Ursa shedding a single tear. Team Avatar arrived at Hira’a and wore disguises so that they wouldn't get surrounded by people. In the village they saw a play happening which was Love Amongst Dragons, a play that both Zuko and Azula used to see when they were younger. When the play ended, the gang asked two people if they knew where Ursa was or where they could find her. Someone behind them whose name was Noren said that they used to know her and had them follow him so that they could talk in private. They then arrived at their house and also met his wife Noriko and their daughter Kiyi. Noren then talked about how Ursa was the most famous member but was later taken to the capital city for some official business. Zuko then asked about what happened to Ikem, to the surprise of Noren. He said that Ikem disappeared after Ursa shortly left. Noriko said that she heard people say that he went into Forgetful Valley, a forest that’s at the bottom of the canyon outside of the town where heartbroken people go to forget their lives. Noriko then said that she once heard people say that Ursa came back to the town years later to look for Ikem and went to Forgetful Valley with Noren saying that it couldn't be true since no one has seen or heard of her ever since she joined the Royal Palace. Noren says that The valley is dangerous and says that anyone who enters never returns. With all the helpful information, the group decided to leave for the night and thanked the two for the info and for sharing their home with them for the time. Azula said that she was tempted to burn down their house much to the disinterest from Katara, but the reason she didn’t was because of Zuko. Azula said that she hated their little charade and that no one could be that happy. Katara said that her and Aang are that happy with Azula saying that they're that happy because they are idiots. Aang told Zuko that he was sorry for blowing up at him earlier and that they should stop trying to find Ikem and have the history stay lost and burn the note. Zuko then said that he gave it back to Azula. After some time, Zuko says that they should go to the Forgetful valley. In a flashback, we see Azula teasing Zuko about how their dads gonna kill Zuko like in the show. Ursa then asks Azula what she heard and she says what she heard like in the show. Ursa then tells Ozai that he can’t banish Zuko so she told him that she knew how to make a poison that could kill Azulon having Ozai take the throne and sparing Zuko. Ozai said yes but Ursa would have to take Zuko’s place and be banished from the city and to never return with her agreeing to it. Ursa then makes the poison and tells her kids that she loves them and we get that heartwarming scene of her and Zuko from the show with her leaving the palace afterwards. We then see the gaang enter Forgetful Valley. Azula tries to make her own path and fails and Aang senses many spirits causing him to follow a Flutter Bat. As he was chasing the bat, he then found a big pool of water. As the rest catch up to Aang, Azula sees another reflection of Ursa in the water and attacks it. As both Zuko and Katara try to stop Azula, they get attacked out of nowhere by the forest. As the group were protecting themselves, Katara noticed that the flowers were hard as ice which made her realize that someone was bending the water in the flowers and attacking them. As they were doing fine holding their own, Zuko then gets caught in some vine with Aang freeing him. Katara then used her abilities and found another waterbender and her brother. In another flashback, We see return to the old village she grew up in. She went up to a house and asked if there was anyone named Jinzuk and Rina but was told they passed away years ago. As she was resting on the stage she used to perform on, she then met Noren. He saw how down she was and offered to get her some breakfast with her saying yes. Back in the forest, the gaang had some food with the two people. They were both members of the Southern Water Tribe like Sokka and Katara. Their names were Misu and Rafa and they went to the valley so that her brother could get a new face because his face got damaged when they were younger. Azula interrupts them saying that they were looking for Ursa with them saying they have not seen her. Misu said that they had been looking for a sprite for years so that she could heal her brother's face while explaining how the process of finding her goes. Aang then went to meditate so that he could contact the spirit while Azula stormed off and Zuko went after her. As Azula teased Zuko, she then thought that Ursa planned the whole thing out and that meeting Misu and Rafa were just slowing them down. She then ran back and tried to attack them with Zuko interfering. Aang in the spirit world found the giant wolf spirit from earlier. Aang decided to follow it even when it did not want him to but Aang then found the spirit known as The Mother Of Faces.
Part 3: As Azula shot lightning at Misu and Rafa, Zuko redirected it so it did not hit them. Zuko then asked Katara and Sokka to take down Azula with them doing it with relief. Aang then appeared and introduced everyone to The Mother Of Faces. In a flashback, we see Ursa and Noren talking about Love Against Dragons with him complimenting Ursa out loud. Ursa was shocked when he knew her name and was about to leave but before she could, he revealed to her that he was actually Ikem. We then see The Mother Of Faces telling everyone that she will only grant one wish to them all, so Zuko decided to let Misu take the wish since she and her brother waited for so long but Azula pushed her aside and demanded to know where Ursa was with The Mother Of Faces saying that Ursa was Noriko. Azula then went to fing her while both Zuko and Sokka went after her. Misu begged to have her wish granted but got refused. Aang decided to go after her so that they could bargain a deal. In another flashback Ikem said that when he was heartbroken, he decided to go to the valley so that he could have a new face and a new life. Later Ursa had the idea of getting a new face and life as well. We then see Aang failing to find The Mother Of Faces but after some time, she appears and is not in a good mood telling them to get out. We now see Ursa and Ikem traveling through the valley for what looks to be a few years but finally, they found The Mother Of Faces. Ursa asked to have a new face and a new life which confused The Mother Of Faces because she said that Ursa had a wonderful face but granted her wish anyway. Doing that caused Ursa who is now Noriko, to forget her memories of the things that majorly affected her past life. We then see that later on the two of them ended up getting married. Zuko and Sokka finally made it to Noren and Noriko home and before Azula. Sokko decided to be on watch out duty while Zuko talks to both Noren and Noriko. As he was invited in and asked to have dinner with them, he asked Noriko if she was happy. She was confused by the question but said yes. As Zuko was about to leave feeling like he was bothering them, Noren decided to tell the truth to Noriko knowing it would happen sooner or later. Zuko told her that he was Zuko, Lord of the Fire Nation and her son. We then see Aang, Katara, Misu and Rafa trying to escape from The Mother Of Faces. As Aang did his best to keep the spirits away without harming them, he accidentally knocked off Rafa’s mask showing that he didn’t have a face at all. Aang realized that his face was taken by Koh The Face Stealer. After The Mother Of Faces heard Aang say Koh The Face Stealer, she told him that Koh was her son. The Mother Of Faces decided to give Rafa his face back to repay what her son did. Aang thanked her and apologized for being a bit greedy earlier and for disrupting her. Noren said that he instantly recognized Zuko and the rest when they first were in town. Noren said he was sorry for not telling them everything when they were there while also calling Noriko, Ursa. He then told Noriko about her past life since she had no memory of it. He then told Zuko that his name was actually Ikem which surprised him. As Zuko was talking, Azula came bursting through the roof of their house with Sokka trying to stop her. Azula had Noriko in a corner but Sokka was able to distract her long enough to hit her with his boomerang. Sokka told everyone to get out but Azula had Noriko pinned to a wall. As she was asking her why she made her feel this way, Noriko said that if the things she were saying were true, then she is sorry for not being there enough for her and for not loving her as much. Zuko then grabbed Azula’s arm but the two of them started to duel. She then shot lighting at his but he redirected it at her. Azula wenton about how the decisions he made were by Ursa and that he needed her to set him free but Zuko said that he knew his destiny was the throne and he did the things he did because she was his sister. Azula then ran out of the house and into what looks to be a forest and not Forgetful Valley. Zuko and Noriko then saw The Mother Of Faces with her asking Noriko if she would like to return to who she used to be with Noriko saying yes. Later, Ursa talked to Zuko and wanted to apologize for not being there for him even though Zuko forgives her. He then showed her the note that he gave back to Azula who dropped it during the fight. Ursa said that the note he gave her was fake. We then get a flashback of when Ozai said he ridded Ikem from the world. In the extra bit of the scene, Ozai asked her why she would write such an obvious lie with her saying to see if he was reading the letters that she wrote or not and saying that she wanted to hurt him for even a moment and that Zuko is nothing like hime. Ozai then said that every time Zuko gets yelled at, harmed, etc. He would treat him like he was Ikem. Ursa then asked Zuko how he felt with him saying, like the way things should be. She then told him that there is so much she wants to tell him about and Zuko asked her to tell him everything, from the beginning.
I thought it was interesting to see what Ursa’s life was like before she joined the Royal Palace, when she was in the Palace and when she was banished from the Palace, as well as Team Avatar plus Azula’s trip on finding Zuko and Azula’s mother.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the show and who has seen the first graphic novel because it goes over what happened to Ursa after she was banished from the Royal Palace in the TV show.
Comments