Disclaimer: Aside from the story, I don't own anything. Even the Tea Gods.
A/N: Anything in italics: what the characters think. Anything spoken: has quotations. Enjoy! =)
Meeting the Tea Gods
Somewhere, out of the realm of the living, a young prince tries to make out the surroundings.
It's foggy here. But since when has the palace grounds become this foggy? Looks more like a swamp… No, wait, I think I saw something move…
Three entities started to walk around a young man sitting awkwardly on the ground, and he seems to be disoriented by the fog. After stopping for five rounds, the entity bearing semblance to an old man spoke: "You have summoned us to accompany you to this realm. You did not remember?" The young man, barely having his first chin stubble looks bewildered at the three strangely-garbed people around him. "I summoned you? But, who are you three, exactly?"
A burly man with a mask drawn with seven eyes leered over the young man, trying to read his thoughts. After gazing the young man's eyes, it became clear that this man was very confused and dazed. The old one breathed in and spoke again. "I see, so you seem to have no idea what you did, on the night of the full moon, on a summer's night." Scratching his head, the young man tried to think. But all he could recall was drinking tea while sitting on the dais, letting the moon reflect its full self in his cup of black tea. Nothing else came up after seeing the moon shine on his drink. "Nothing really, I don't remember doing anything than letting the moon shine on my drink."
A plump and jolly woman stepped forward and patted the young man's brown top knot. "Oh, I see, you did not realize that what you just did what open the Spirit Realm for three of the Gods of Tea?" Gods of what? That doesn't even make any sense. Where the Agni am I anyway? I'm not home? I want to go home.. But the young man's train of thoughts was broken by the plump woman's laughter. "Indeed, you have no idea what you just did. Well, since you're already here, might as well tell you where you are." So I'm really not at home, I guess? The old one seemed to have read his mind, and with a dramatic voice replied, "Indeed, you are not at home. Wherever that is. Welcome to the Spirit Realm, young child." The young lad dropped all learned manners and let his jaw fall.
The three entities introduced themselves to the young man. Plump lady stepped forward first. "I am what people might call as Tai. Obviously, my large body shows that. Heheheh." Plump as she was, she did smile the warmest among the three. The young man was able to feel a sense of calm after hearing her laugh. It feels like mother is with me. But she isn't here too, isn't she? Patting her belly, she spoke again, "I evoke the sense that a thing's richness would be depending on how much of the full character shows up front. Weak ones do not show much of themselves, and the strong ones would always be proud to do so. You can say that about tea as well." She smiled again, and motioned for the masked entity to move forward, who did so reluctantly.
The lad looked at the masked one who seems not to speak but simply breathes deeply. Tai spoke once again, and introduced the silent one to the young lad. "The one over there is what most would simply call Nagare. He doesn't talk much, but he lets everyone know what he means through his actions. It is easy to read anything when their inner selves show, but without actions, that would be even harder. But actions dictate so much, it divides what is and what is not. Like how water seems to flow faster than oil, even though the two can fit into the same bottle." The young lad still doesn't make any sense of what he sees but just silently nodded. Nagare held out his hand and pulled the young lad up so he could stand and see all three entities much clearly.
The old one stepped forward last. "I am what people would call Nioi, for I evoke the sense of smell and make people remember more than they could possibly can. Without me, it would be hard for anyone to recall memories, for it has been said that even the slightest scent can make people remember the distant past." He peered into the young lad's eyes, trying to pry his very essence out. "Hmm, it appears that you seem to be alive somewhere, you're not supposed to be here yet. But your heart is quite pure, maybe that's why you easily got here without much spiritual awakening to do. I guess we could let you stay here for a while." Nagare nodded in agreement, and Tai pulled the young lad into a bear hug. "Say, we haven't heard you say you name yet. Who might you be, young pure-hearted lad?" The young boy just suddenly had the realization that he was in the presence of beings that not everyone has the honor of talking to, and simply said his name without much of a thought. "I am Iroh, Crown Prince from the Fire Nation. And I feel honored to be in your presence, three of the Tea Gods."
"You're from the Fire Nation? Hmm.. No wonder you have such fancy clothes. Nice one, lad." Nioi patted the young boy's back rather unabashedly. "I think you might be the best representative of the Tea Gods in bringing back the art of tea making and drinking in your land. And not just for the benefit of us spirits." Nagare nodded again. Tai spoke up, but with a bit more chilly voice now. "You might not be aware right now, but at this point the balance of the world rests in your nation's hands. Even us here in the Spirit Realm have been worried ever since Sozin waged a war over the other nations of the world. You'll never know when any of the land spirits living there would suddenly wake up to devastations around them. Considering that their spiritual energy depends on the life forces around their sacred sites." Iroh got worried but still dared to ask, "But I'm just the Crown Prince. It's not like I can do anything now. And besides, I'll soon be sent to the war myself, as a head of hundreds of fighting units. How can I make changes to my own destiny?" Nioi snorted at the idea. "Destiny? Bah. Seriously, you can't even choose your own life? How pitiful. You could always play it down if you want to. You're human, you still have so much roads to choose. Once you die, you'd wish you did it while you had a chance."
"It is quite true you know," Tai softened up her voice for the young lad. "Destiny is something only you can choose. And to be honest, regret is something not worth living for. It can make your sweet life taste bitter for well beyond eternity." This time, Nagare spoke up, with a surprisingly deep voice as well. "People can only dictate your path, but you can always choose it for yourself. You will well know that you have chosen the right one, when your thoughts and your heart speak as one. When you find peace with yourself, and that you feel that the world has come whole." Tai looked surprised and gasped. "Oh wow, Nagare, you can talk? That's a hot voice you got," she added with a wink. Nagare looked away and said nothing more, while Nioi retorted, "Now you just made Nagare stop talking for another hundred years. He seems to be quite bashful of his vocal quality, and we will wait for a very long time before hearing him again." Hah, I'm quite fine with that, I can wait," the plump lady smirked while saying so.
While still laughing a bit, the three gods noticed that the young lad was already growing a bit too interested in their small talks. Tai seemed all fun and games, but she did mean well when she turned to the young stranger and said, "But seriously, young Iroh, your destiny may be tied to a war, but it doesn't mean that you'll wage it. You will be an instrument to stop it, and return the world to its original balance." Uhm, isn't that what's the Avatar supposed to be doing? But then again, he is already dead. Oh no, does that mean I should do that kind of work? But I'm just a firebender! This is crazy stuff! Iroh didn't know how to react to such thoughts, but the older entity patted his shoulder and comforted him still. "You don't have to be the Avatar to do that. You can do it in your own way. By simply finding your inner center and inner peace through meditations, you can clear your mind of any doubts. Especially the clearing part, that's the hardest thing to do when you're out of balance. But you can easily achieve that by simply fixing yourself a few servings of tea, and drinking it slowly. Of course, living with a very different life from your ancestors can pose a great challenge with that." "Yes, I think so too. Even if I would have to choose to, I'm not sure how." Before Tai could react, Nioi answered the young lad, who seems to be coming to the point of being enlightened. "If you feel like you need to reach into your inner self, try fixing your own cup of tea. You can lose your inhibitions in the process, and actually discover something new about nearly everything. Plus, it can actually calm you down."
Iroh was now listening intently to the older Tea God, and was about to ask a bold question but a weird-looking monkey spirit suddenly appeared. "You might want to leave that lad alone now. I hear Koh has been making rounds, he sensed the arrival of someone new, and not undead." What, what's going on now? What's happening? Am I supposed to hide now? The Tea Gods suddenly lost their smiles and pulled a few puffs of fog around the young lad. "It's best if you go home now, young prince. I don't think it's within your time to stay here, it's not safe anymore." "But I still have so much to learn from you. I want to find my true destiny!" The young lad was suddenly whisked off to a pool with something that looks like the moon shining in its reflection. Tai gave Iroh a warm hug, then pushes him into the pool. "You know how to get here, you can always talk to us again. We'll see you, even if you don't see us." "And besides," Nioi added. "I think you'll always find your own destiny, we gave you some things to think about. We believe in you, and trust you." Nioi waved over the waters to enclose over the young prince. Before he fully sunk in, Nagare spoke the last words that Iroh would ever hear from him: "Besides, the Avatar is alive, and you don't have to recreate the balance alone!" But before he finishes his sentence, the young prince was already halfway back into the realm of the living.
The young lad woke up in a stupor, his tea already gone cold and bitter. The moon has already sunk behind the palace, and only candles lit the very dim chambers of the dais. He tried looking around him, if there were signs of fogginess or smoke, but everything seemed as clear as it was before. He let his chi flow through his arm and allowed a small flame to light his path. He felt lighter, he felt different. He felt like he was gone for a very, very long time. And weirdly enough, at the wee hours of the morning he suddenly craved for some hot, Jasmine tea. Did I just dreamed everything, or I just need something to calm me down?
-End—
Well, that's my take on Iroh's first encounters with the spirit world. What happens next can be speculated as usual. Thanks for reading! ^-^