This is the story of a conflicted man. One who's journey began as a child. His name was Sakuro, and he was a firebender.
You see, his father was a firebender of great power and skill, and very high-ranking in the Fire Nation army. As such, Sakuro received firebending training from a very young age – almost before he could walk. He was very naturally skilled, and grew quickly into a powerful bender. But when he was eleven years old, his father was killed in a pitched battle in the Earth Kingdom. Enveloped with rage, Sakuro trained with a vengeance until he was fifteen – old enough to join the army. He grew quickly in ranks, his rage and hatred for the earthbenders giving him good reason to be promoted – not to mention his bending prowess and power. While never able to master the more subtle aspects of firebending, Sakuro's skill in simply hurling flame was nearly unmatched, his rage fueling his powerful strikes and overwhelming his enemies.
When he reached a great enough rank to lead his own soldiers by himself, only two years after joining the army, Sakuro burned many earth kingdom towns to the ground, and any who were in them. For this reason, and uncorrupted Fire Nation general pulled him from the army, seeing his young age in turmoil and knowing he could be saved. The general sent him to a giant mountain deep in the fire nation to be kept in the care of an very old, very wise firebending guru. For three years, the guru worked with Sakuro, first healing him of the grief and rage that consumed him from his father's death, and then teaching him the true meaning of firebending. Soon, Sakuro grew even further in power and skill. He learned great powers from the guru – he learned to fling lightning from his fingertips, to launch bombs from his palms, and many other great powers besides. Most importantly, he learned how to control his power, and respect it for what it was. He also in this time mastered the more subtle parts of firebending and fighting in general, as well as being imprinted with the philosophy of learning such great skills in order to not have to fight instead of specifically to fight. However, his time of learning came to an end, and the Fire Nation knew his value, and came to the mountain, seeking to pull him back into the army. Sakuro knew he could not rejoin the army; he was a healed and changed man, and he saw that the war was twisted and evil. So he escaped the mountain with only the clothes on his back and his Jian sword, traveling to the earth kingdom to travel the lands and try and find peace.
This is where his story begins.