Neutral Jing

Book One: Ember

Chapter One: Lotus Buds

Young, twelve year old Iroh, crown prince of the Fire Nation, stirred impatiently in his seat. His tutor, Mako, was teaching him the history of The Fire Nation military, but Iroh was bored and longed to actually practice his bending instead of sitting in a stuffy room. As he listened to Mako drone on, Iroh daydreamed of blasting a hole in the ceiling with a fire blast. He imagined the look on Mako's face and struggled to stay composed.

Mako had now been teaching Iroh for five years, since he was seven. He taught him everything from language, to history, to military strategy, to Fire Bending techniques. Iroh's father, Fire Lord Azulon, was often busy and preoccupied running the war, and so Mako tried to fill in the role of father for him.

To do this for someone as independent and strong-willed as Iroh was not always easy.

Mako noted his student's boredom and smiled to himself. Iroh was a very quick learner, but even Mako himself occasionally drifted off when reading these textbooks. On top of being boring, they were totally inaccurate. They had just started to call the Air Nomads the Air Nation to make their deaths seem less like genocide. Mako thought this disgraceful.

Mako had had enough teaching from the inaccurate, propaganda filled textbook. He thought to himself I'll teach Iroh something that's actually damn useful, not this garbage. He said, "I think that is it with the history, for today, my Prince." Iroh grinned at this.

His smile quickly vanished, though, when Mako said, "I am going to teach you a very ancient art. Many call it a game, but it is truly a test of mental skill and endurance. You will learn to play it well, as befits a prince."

Iroh was already bored again, but he knew better than to argue with his wise old tutor. "Yessir. I do have a question though. What is this game- I mean test- called?"

Mako said, "You can call it Pai Sho."

"The first thing to understand about Pai Sho," said Mako as he dragged over an old Pai Sho board and two sets of playing pieces, "is that it is a game of balance. Brute aggression and power is not enough to win. You must keep your tiles on both sides of the boards, so your opponent cannot exploit your weak spots." Iroh nodded.

"Now," Mako continued, "I believe you are familiar with the concept of Jing from our lessons?"

"Yes. There are three kinds of Jing. There is positive Jing when you are attacking, negative Jing when you are retreating, and neutral Jing when you just wait."

"Very good memory, Iroh! Although, to be precise, there are 85 different kinds of Jing, but only those three are important for now. Anyway, which type of Jing do you think is most important when playing Pai Sho?"

Iroh thought for a minute and then asked, "A balance of all three?"

Mako nodded, "Yes. You see there are four different kinds of pieces in Pai Sho, and sixteen pieces overall. The five fire pieces represent positive Jing, and are used to attack. They are fundamental for winning, but many players overemphasize their importance. Equally important are the five air pieces, which represent negative Jing, and are used to defend against the Fire pieces. There are also five water tiles. These tiles represent both positive and negative Jing. While they are not as effective at attacking as the Fire tiles, nor as effective at defending as the Air tiles, the five Water Tiles are the most versatile pieces in the art of Pai Sho. Understand?"

Iroh said, "Yes master, I think I do. But I think you made a mistake. You said there are sixteen tiles, but you only listed fifteen."

Mako replied, "I made no mistake, young prince. The final piece is the most important of all. It is the White Lotus tile. It represents Earth Bending, and neutral Jing. Many people think neutral Jing Is unimportant, but it is a key part to any fighting technique, including Fire Bending."

"How can neutral Jing be the most important?" asked Iroh. "Isn't it just doing nothing? It seems like in Fire bending, at least, positive Jing is the most useful by far. Isn't neutral Jing more of an Earth Bender thing?"

Suddenly the candles lighting the room flared up, as Mako bended them with rage. "No, Iroh! No! Neutral Jing is not just for Earth Benders. If you are to effectively lead this nation one day, you must know the importance of neutral Jing."

Iroh was shocked by Mako's anger, as his tutor was usually a very calm, kind old man. He asked quietly, "Can you please tell me why it is important, Master?"

"No. This you must learn for yourself. Think for the next few days about the importance of neutral Jing. You may come back to class once you have figured it out. Dismissed."

Iroh bowed and exited the room, thinking hard to himself. What possible advantage could there be in doing nothing in a fight?

Fire Lady Ilah, Iroh's mother saw him jogging down the corridor with a troubled look on his face. She asked, "Iroh! What is wrong?"

Iroh answered truthfully, "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to not do."

I hope you enjoyed Chapter One. I've revised it with the help of user Lilako. Continue reading, it only goes downhill from here. I mean uphill. ? Downhill would mean easier and softer on the one hand, but on the other hand it would mean decreasing in quality. Uphill I guess. Either way, it only gets better

To un-digress, please review and continue on to Chapter 2.