Chapter Thirty-Seven

"It's time for you to forge a sword of your own, Sokka."

The water tribe boy looked up at Master Piandao, excitement jolting through him as he saw the approval writ across the old master's face. It was the same look his dad favored him with when he'd done something to make him proud, and even on a different face, the expression meant something to him. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Master."

"Come down to the forge with me then. Both of you."

Sokka glanced at Zuko, fully recovered from his injuries in the nine days they'd spent here so far, sparring and sharpening their minds for this day. The firebender made a face, coming as close to a real smile as Sokka had ever seen him. The two of them followed Master Piandao down the stairs and to the edge of the castle. As they passed through the rooms, Sokka felt a sort of transition in the architecture, a transition that reflected his own growth since coming here. The little lotus figurines that adorned every surface in the castle now followed the walls in two, straight lines. They were all carved of stone, and held flickering stubs of candle wax in their petals. The wallpaper and wood paneling of the rest of the castle yielded to gray stone walls that, in any other setting, might have been depressing to look at. Instead, they lent the long corridor an atmosphere of simplicity, stripping away all that was unnecessary and leaving only the bare bones of hard work and self-control as their guide. When the narrow chamber opened up into the sealed off forge at the edge of the castle, Sokka felt all the insignificant facets of his reality slip away, leaving him exposed. This is it, he thought.

"We have to select a metal for your new sword," Piandao said, his voice echoing in the stone room. "I've brought a few alloys out for you to examine. It's up to you to choose which alloy will go into your sword."

Sokka stepped forward, cautiously picking up the first block of metal. It felt very light in his hands, almost too light to be made into a proper weapon. He picked up another, quickly deciding that it would be abominably heavy in sword form. He started picking up each chunk of metal in turn, finding faults in each of them. Still too heavy . . . This one seems brittle . . . There wouldn't be enough mass in a blade made of this to make it an effective weapon . . . He lifted an introspective finger to his lips, breathing deeply.

He turned to Master Piandao. "Would it be all right if I were to go and come back with something special?" he asked.

The swords master smiled. "I would have it no other way."

Sokka smiled, then grabbed Zuko's wrist. "C'mon. I've got an idea."

"Where are we going?"

Sokka saw a metal door leading to the outside world, then pulled the firebender through it. Zuko followed, confused, but not resistant. Sokka tugged him along until he was certain the prince would follow.

"Where are we going?" Zuko repeated as they jogged.

"You'll see."

Zuko sighed, but continued after him.

They ran up the grassy slope, then across the shallow dip of the charred meadow where the meteorite had come down. New growth was beginning to take hold within the blackened patches of grass, in the form of fire lilies. Sokka had heard they only grew at a certain time of the year, and even then, only in certain places, but he had noticed some during their stay at the healer's hut, and that had been quite a while ago for the finicky flowers. Maybe it's not the time of year, he thought, remembering that the hut had been built on a volcanic island, like most of the Fire Nation. Maybe they need everything else cleared away by fire to grow. Or maybe they just need volcanic soil. This island is a volcano, too, just like the rest of the Fire Nation.

Sokka slowed as they reached the black chunk of meteorite, glad it was still there. "Okay, here's what I was thinking: this rock comes from space, right? The same way Sozin's comet comes from space, and how the moon and sun are part of space. And it got me thinking, if all those things from beyond the stars affect the four elements, there must be something out there that's just as good for normal people like me."

Zuko thought about that for a moment. "Maybe."

"So if we use metal we find in this meteorite, it might make a better weapon than ordinary metal, right?"

"I guess so."

"So I need someone to help me push this back to the castle."

Silence.

"Please? I'll let you use some to make your swords."

The firebender sighed, a puff of smoke shooting out of his nostrils. "Fine."

Sokka grinned and ran around the side of the fallen meteor, to start pushing it down the hill. Zuko joined him, not offering a word of complaint after his reluctant acquiescence. It took them several minutes to get it back to the castle, even going downhill. When they got close, Master Piandao sent Fat up to help them the rest of the way down. Finally, they reached the bottom of the hill and carried the space rock inside. The sword master grinned when he saw them shove the rock into the forge.

"That," he said, smiling. "will do just fine."

Author's Note

Short chapter, but I pretty much know how the story's going to end now, and it's going to be epic. On a side note, I'm thinking about doing a sequel for this story once it's done(which is rather shocking to me, since I seldom do sequels at all). That's still a long way off, though, and I have to incorporate more Zutara romance into this story before we can even think about any of that.