Chapter 1: Failure and Joy
The student moved his hands just as he was taught, keeping in mind the instructions of his teachers. He could feel the pressure building as he spun the air, trying to keep the swirling winds contained in his hands. The motion he was cupping in his palms felt incredible and familiar at the same time, and once he felt it was ready, he bent the mass of air to the ground and leapt on top of it, tentatively balancing on top of the rapidly shifting sphere.
He found himself spinning wildly out of control, the air dissipating beneath his feet, as he landed hard on his backside, the spinning motion he had experienced only a moment earlier intensifying the pain of the bruise. His classmates laughed in a good natured manner, but the young Airbender did not join in their amusement. He angrily slammed a fist against the ground in frustration.
"I can't do it! I'll never learn the air scooter!" The young man picked himself up off his feet, dusted off his yellow trousers, and sat down on a stone bench away from his classmates.
"Nobody ever said Airbending was easy, young pupil." The boy looked up and saw a monk tending to the flowers across the way, near the ledge of the temple walls. He was a very old monk, older than any other he had seen. He wore the orange robes of a master, but his skin was so shriveled and tanned that the outline of his tattoos seemed to have been warped and wobbly, shrunken and almost raised above the gauntness of his skull. He was bald, like any other Airbender, but wore a gray beard that had one long point down to his chest.
"Monk Fu Long says he won't teach me the next technique until I master the air scooter," the young student confessed, standing up and taking a few steps toward the man. The other boys had noticed the monk by now, looking tentatively towards him while they continued their play. "Everybody else learned to do it in just...four days. I've been practicing for over a week now, and I just can't do it."
The elderly monk let out a gravely laugh, and rubbed the boy's bald head affectionately. "There are many paths in this world, young Airbender. Many have to pass through the mountains to reach the same valley, but sometimes the most treacherous routes have the most beautiful flowers." The monk picked an orchid out of a planter hanging from the ceiling, and breathed in the aroma while he cradled the blossom in his palm.
"But...it seems so easy for everyone else. Maybe I'm not supposed to be an Airbender," the boy said.
The monk's amber eyes narrowed, as the calm smile that had been on his face was replaced with a scowl. "Young man, what is your name?" he said.
"...Kobuji," the student said shyly.
"A fine name," said the monk. "Were you born in this temple, Kobuji?" he asked.
"Yes Master," said Kobuji. "I'll be eleven next week."
"Did you know that for over a hundred years, there were no students at this temple at all?"
"Yes, Master Monk. During the Great Fire Nation War," he answered. "Students returned to this temple after Avatar Aang defeated Firelord Ozai and returned balance to the world."
"Very good. And do you know how long ago that was?"
"It was...a hundred and three years ago?"
The monk shook his head. "No. That was when the first class at this temple formed after the war. The war ended over a hundred and twenty two years ago. What does that mean?"
Kobuji thought for a moment. "It means...that for nineteen years, there was no Airbenders studying at this temple?"
The monk nodded. "That's correct. This temple stood empty for a very, very long time." The monk smiled, and sat down, still cupping the orchid in his hand, and motioned for Kobuji to sit with him. "Now, has anyone ever told you about the first Airbender to arise after the war?"
Kobuji stood uncomfortably before sitting down next to the monk. He noticed the other boys had been listening in, halting their play momentarily. "No sir. I've never heard."
"Ah, well I'm sure you'll sit down with me while I tell you, yes?" Kobuji tilted his head to the left. He had been told the story of Avatar Aang more times than he could remember, but nobody had ever told him how the Air Nomads came to the temples after the war. "It all begins many years ago in a small village in the Fire Nation, not long at all after Firelord Zuko took the throne and the world was slowly regaining peace, but at the time it was a fragile peace. And in that distant village lived a young boy named Ryouma..."
I could feel heat in every direction as the flames danced and inched closer, and I felt nothing but fear. I could hear a voice over the roar of fire and the heat of the coals, but I couldn't make out the words exactly. They told me to seize the power. That the power of the flames could be mine and all I had to do was take it, take it from the fire coming ever closer. I didn't want to take that power. I only wanted to run away from the heat, to leap above the blaze, to escape from the fire nearing me.
At that moment, I wanted to fly. Even then, without knowing how to say it aloud, I wanted to fly.
"Please, stop," I cried, having no idea whether or not I was heard. "I don't want to do this anymore, I just want you to stop, please." There were tears coming down my face, and my body was curled into a little ball. I must have been a pathetic sight, a quivering, sobbing nine year old, afraid for his life.
The flames disappeared all at once, leaving nothing more than a ring of hot coals. I opened my eyes, and the teacher looked down at me with a blank expression while she gave me her hand to life me up. "Well it's certain," the teacher said. "He has no ability to Firebend at all."
The tension in the air was tangible, mostly coming directly from my father. I swallowed, and tried to wipe the mud and ash off my shirtless chest while the teacher turned away from me. "And unfortunately, if he wants to study at the Fire Lord's School for Boys based on Firebending talent alone, he would need to at least display some."
"Test him again," my father said. He didn't offer so much as a glance in my direction after I was brought to my feet, looking only at the teacher. "Please, our family has served the Fire Nation loyally before and after the war, think of it as a reward for-"
"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Mong, but there are children his age who have been able to bend fire for years," the teacher interrupted. "Now, if he was an academic prodigy or had was a virtuoso on the soongi horn, that would be one thing. But you specifically said you wanted him to study Firebending, and the fact of the matter is he cannot Firebend. If you are considering a life of military service for him, there are plenty of options for those who do not practice Bending Arts. Why, we have generals who-"
"It has nothing to do with that sham the Firelord calls an army!" my father interrupted angrily, one of the coals cooking into a blaze, punctuating his statement. "This is a matter of family pride. I tell you, my boy CAN be taught to Firebend, if given the right instruction. For generations, each firstborn in my family has been able to bend fire just as well as any master. My father, my father's father, they all served in the war bravely yes, but before that, they were beyond compare in their art. I tell you, he can Firebend."
I knew I couldn't Firebend. I knew I had disappointed my father. The time I spent in the ring of flames, desperately trying to part them so I could get out, I still thought there might be a chance. But there was nothing in me, no power to take control over the fire. I knew that then, that I would never, ever be a Firebender. But that felt okay to me. The shame in my father's voice didn't.
"Lieutenant, it was a pleasure meeting you and young Ryouma. Now, I'd recommend envisioning a different future for your son. I have contacts at the Yu Yan Military Academy, if you wish to consider their program. Otherwise, this village has a fine school that could open up many opportunities for him if he studies hard and works harder. If that will be all, Lieutenant Mong, I will take my leave. I have other appointments before I leave the village. Good day."
The teacher walked away, as I was left there with my father.
" I tried my-"
"Do not speak," my father said as he threw me my shirt and jacket and began walking away. I could still feel the heat on my skin as I dressed. The walk back to my family's home was long and silent, an uncomfortable quietness that turned my stomach. Without words, I went back to my room and closed the door. I could hear my father's voice through the heavy wooden door, but I couldn't make out the words. I curled up on my bed and tried not to listen. Anger can be felt without words, and my father's anger was always felt, whether it was just a dance of embers or a wild brushfire, it was always there.
I heard a knock on my door, and simply turned over and put my pillow over my head. Another knock. "Ryouma, let me show you something!" The door opened and my sister was there, her eyes always bright and filled with some kind of irrepressible love, not necessarily for me or any specific person, just the kind of love you can only see in a cheerful six year old who seemed to never touch the ground.
"Guess what I learned today! Guess, guess!"
"I don't know," I said, now sitting up and trying to make sure there were no tears left on my face.
"C'mon, guess! I saw the big kids doing it in the schoolyard and I figured it out on my own!"
"I don't know, a cartwheel?" I said, trying to let her lighten my mood.
"Nooooo, I learned that a long time ago! This is even better!" She gracefully lifted one leg back, then flipped over and stood on her hands, as she walked backwards to me on her palms. "See? I can walk on my hands! You should try it! It's fun!" She walked around and backed up into the doorframe, before falling over on her face. I let out a quiet laugh helped her to her feet.
"You had your test today, right? Did you Firebend? Was the teacher pretty? Did you impress her? Are you going to the Fire Lord's School?"
"Hikaru..." I said quietly. I sat down on the floor next to her. "I can't Firebend. I'll be staying here."
"Oh. Well, that's okay, that just means you won't go away and we can be together here." I had no idea where it came from, but Hikaru had an invincible spirit. Maybe it she didn't have the same expectations from our parents, but even if she did I didn't think she would carry the same weight.
"Hey," I said, tussling her hair, "Remember last summer when we would sneak out late at night and catch glowfrogs?"
"You'll take me to the pond?" She said, her eyes widening and her mouth stretching into an impossibly large grin. "Will Isamu be there? Do you think we'll catch a lot? What happens if father finds out?"
"Isamu will be there for sure, that depends on how quick you are, and he won't find out." I opened my window, and there was a tree branch just barely within arm's reach. "Remember? We used to do this all the time. And father won't come in here, I can guarantee."
"But, but, but, what about those scary Earthbenders? I heard, I heard, from someone at school, that they were out after curfew, and one of those guys found him, and then, they, they, took her to her parents and he was crying and everything and his parents made him stay home every night and, and..."
"That won't happen. There's only three people who know about the glowfrog pond, you, me, and Isamu. The occupation forces won't be there, and it'll be dark enough that we can get there and back and nobody will see us."
I grasped the tree branch waiting outside the window and pulled myself onto the bough. It wouldn't be hard to climb down the tree. "Are you coming?"
Hikaru grinned widely, and rather than grasping the waiting branch, she stood on the windowsill and leapt onto the bough next to me, swaying as she kept her balance. She quickly tumbled from branch to branch, landing hard on her backside. "C'mon slowpoke!"
The glowfrog pond wasn't far from out house, hidden away near a forest. It was nearly moonless that night, but we knew the way by heart. I lived for those warm summer nights when I could forget everything that happened, a tiny glimpse of freedom from the weight on my shoulders, going to all the secret places that belonged to us. We discovered the glow frog pond last summer, when the occupation forces from the Earth Kingdom first moved in and we could only play at night in places they wouldn't find.
Isamu was already waiting for us when we got there, holding a torch above the pond that dimly illuminated the water below. We could see the faint glimmer of the glowfrogs beneath the pool, a pale blue light that seemed to dart around and move.
"Isamu!" Hikaru launched herself at Isamu, grasping him around the shoulders as he lifted the torch away from her as she tackled him to the ground. "Did you catch any yet? Did you have to hide from any Earthbenders on the way?"
Isamu laughed and hugged her back. "None yet, I was waiting for you." Isamu was much like Hikaru in spirit, all brightness and warmth, tempered with maturity. We had been constant companions since we were young. His father had died in the war, and my father had helped his mother in those first few years of our lives, just as the war ended.
"There's a lot," I said, looking at the glow beneath the pond. "More than last summer." We kept our nets hidden under a log on the bank, ones we had made ourselves. They were still there, waiting for us from when we left them as autumn began the year past. Hikaru grabbed hers first, and flailed it around the pond, the dim glows darting away from her, and she withdrew her empty net from the water and made a grumpy face.
"They're quick," Isamu said, putting the torch on the ground. "But I figured something out the other day." He took a quick Firebending stance, and with a few quick movements of his hands, he bent a ring of sparks from the torch flame, and with a single lunge, the sent them dancing around the surface of the pool, and the glowfrogs seemed to congregate around the flickering lights of the flames, and one by one they lifted their heads above the surface.
"Wow!" Hikaru said, as she darted in with her net, catching a single frog as the water splashed and doused the flames. She held her net up, and proudly showed us the glowfrog she caught. It chirped quietly in her net, as it pulsed with its light. "Again! Again!"
Isamu put a hand on my shoulder nodded as he did his Firebending trick again. I was trying to not think about my test earlier that day. Isamu was the best Firebender at school, and he was athletic, popular, and smart. He was exactly what my father would have wanted me to be, but that never seemed to keep us from being friends.
"There's something special you can do too, you know," Isamu said, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. "Mom keeps telling me that no matter who you are, there's something only you can do." We sat on the log and watched Hikaru splash around with her net while we talked.
"I don't really feel all that special," I admitted. "I mean, even Hikaru can do cartwheels and walk on her hands, and, I don't know, I'm just not really good at anything."
"You're good at catching glowfrogs," he said, handing me my net. "Come on, why are we just watching?"
For a brief time, I was simply able to enjoy the summer night and the pond that was only ours. That was what the night was for to us, to leave behind whatever was on our mind, forget about parents, school, the occupation, forget about it all. Maybe Hikaru and Isamu were able to hold on to those moments longer than I could, and that's why they never let anything bring me down.
My problem was that I hadn't learned to leave the ground yet.
Going back to the village was dangerous, but the forbidden nature of what we were doing was part of what let us enjoy it more. The Earthbenders leading the occupation had watchtowers at night, but we knew all the shortcuts and hidden routes. As long as we moved quickly and stayed away from the watchmen, we would get home safe and nobody would know. We hid near the shadows cast by the houses in the village and waited for the watchmen to leave. We had spent last summer memorizing their routes, which they never seemed to change, so sneaking by was second nature to us now.
Isamu signaled that the path was clear. We were less than a minute away from our homes, and the idea of a comfortable bed was welcoming this late at night. I could see the tree that would lead us back into my open window, and this is where Hikaru and I would say goodnight to Isamu and quietly go into the house.
I gave Isamu our secret goodbye sign, but he didn't signal back. His eyes were wide, his mouth ajar. I looked behind me and saw the fireball approaching in the distance, arcing towards where we were standing.
"Hikaru get down!" I yelled, as I leapt towards her and pushed her to the ground. The fireball landed near us, close enough for me to feel the heat, as I tried to shield my sister with my body. I looked out towards the distance, and saw the war machine, left from the old army during the war, a thing made of black iron. They loaded another boulder into the catapult and I saw a Firebender set it alight. "It's the insurgents! Hikaru, run and get father!"
Isamu was bending the fire, trying to keep it from spreading, but there was simply too much. He darted and thrust his hands, fanning the flames with each stroke. The grass was dry with the summer heat, and would quickly spread. I could barely see the other war machines off in the distance. A warning bell sounded in the distance, but it would take the Earthbenders too long to mobilize. If we didn't do something, we would die.
"I can't keep ahold of it!" Isamu took a defensive stance to shield himself from the flames, which were spreading in all directions. He was able to keep himself from getting burned, but it was all he could do to bend the flames away from him. Another fireball landed several yards away. I could see Hikaru off in the distance, running towards our front door. The insurgent Firebenders started to move in. I could hear one of them shouting something in the distance, but I couldn't make out the words.
Another fireball launched, and I could see the arc. If would land right in front of my house, right near Hikaru. "Run!" I screamed as loud as I could, while I was sprinting towards my sister. I couldn't run fast enough, I couldn't reach her in time. She would die. My mother, inside the house, would be helpless as it caught on fire. Father was probably asleep, and it would take him too long to save her.
I managed to reach Hikaru before the fireball landed, but there was nothing I could do. It was going to kill us both. I grabbed my sister tightly and prepared myself for the impact and the heat, but I felt nothing except for a strong wind. I thought that was it, I was dead, and my spirit was leaving my body. That had to be why I didn't feel anything. But I opened my eyes, and Hikaru was there, and so was I. I looked up, and the fireball had reversed course, being blown back in the other direction somehow.
I looked back to the house, and that's when I saw him. It was the Avatar. He was standing on the roof of my house, staff in hand, wearing the yellow and orange robes everyone knew to be his. Another fireball was launched from one of the catapults, and I saw him make a single circular motion with his whole body, not like the sharp jabs or lunges I saw when my father or Isamu was Firebending, and I could literally see the air, a wide arc that nearly slammed into the fierly boulder heading our way, sending it sailing back towards one of the catapults.
Avatar Aang leapt off the roof of my house, and knelt to Hikaru and me. "Get some place safe," he said. "I'll protect you." He changed stances, this one slower and more flowing, as he lifted up his hand, and I saw water from the town well rise and splash down to put out the fires around Isamu. Hikaru ran to him, as I stood there watching Aang.
The insurgents started moving in on foot, and I saw him leap into battle. The Avatar was all motion and grace, each step as if he was one with the air around him, pushing the Firebenders away with mighty gusts of wind. He moved like he was made of air himself, light as a feather as he leapt away from the fireblasts, or redirected them. The insurgents were sent flying by huge cyclones, wide arcs of air. He was unbeatable. His focus never seemed to waiver.
By the time the Earthbenders had arrived, the Avatar had already defeated the insurgents, all lying unconscious or injured. There were four of them, dressed in the green and brown uniforms of Ba Sing Se. I had been terrified of them for as long as I could remember, but with Avatar Aang directing them, they were completely subservient. Everyone who had arrived listened to him unquestionably, as he directed them to check for injured or wounded. My parents had awakened at the time, and were tending to Hikaru. I simply stood there in awe. The Avatar had saved my life. After the Earthbenders had been deployed, the glider wings popped out of his staff and he flew away, my eyes following him as he left into the sky.
I could feel my mother's hands on my shoulders, as she hugged me close and said how happy she was that I was safe. I didn't really hear the words. I was looking to the sky, hoping to catch one more glimpse of him.
"That was when Ryouma knew. But you see, it wasn't Avatar Aang's prowess in battle or the authority he held over others that left him in amazement. It was simply the feeling of freedom he felt upon seeing the Avatar, being able to leave the ground so easily, to move as one with the wind."
"Um, sir," Kobuji said awkwardly. "Your story is fascinating, but I have class with Monk Fu Long now. I cannot stay much longer."
"Ah yes, of course," the old man said, looking off in the distance. He was still holding the orchid blossom in his hand, and looked to it a moment. "Well, when you go to see the Master Monk, could you do me a favor?"
"Of course sir," Kobuji said nervously.
The old man moved his hand in a quick rotating motion, and a single sphere of swirling air began to form above his index finger. He gently placed the orchid blossom on top of the sphere, balancing it like a top. The flower began to rotate along the top of the sphere. "Catch," he said, as he tossed the sphere with the flower on top towards the young student. Kobuji awkwardly caught it on and extended finger and carefully balanced it, the orchid still sitting atop the sphere. "Bring that to your master for me, if you would."
"But...once you stop bending, it-"
"Ah, trust an old man, I've been alive a very long time, I know a thing or two."
"Yes, of course sir." Kobuji looked back towards the Monk as he left to attend his lesson. He wondered what happened to Ryouma after the Avatar left. Surely, Ryouma wasn't the First Airbender-he was born in the Fire Nation, and his parents were from the Fire Nation. Kobuji was born an Air Nomad, just like all the other children he was studying with. But if Ryouma wasn't the First Airbender, what was the point of the story?
He decided to just go to his lesson and stop wondering about it. After all, he wasn't even sure if the old monk's story was true. He could come back later and then decide.