I've returned! And I have new stories to post.

The Swamp - Pt. 2


for one does not find themselves through rewards and success…but through suffering and patience…


Iroh's stomach yelled at him, but he did not move. The heat from the intense humidity irritated his skin, but he stayed firmly planted at the base of the tree. He did not know how long he had been sitting in the heart of the swamp, but the sun that was once beating brightly on his skin had set. Now the cool sheet of night enveloped him.

All kinds of horrifying sounds echoed from the trees and vines. Creatures moved gently through the bushes and puddles. Fear and instinct tried to coax him to run away, but Iroh remained motionless. His heart pounded and his body was in pain, from hunger, sun burn, exhaustion, dread and cold…but Iroh refused to leave.


Hours passed. The sun rose, but Iroh did not see its beauty. The rising sun only told him that another day had gone by. The voice in Iroh's head did not call to him, did not call him a murderer or uplift him or tell him that the world around him was beautiful. He heard nothing but his own suffering.

He felt hunger scrape the inside of his round belly and saw his vision blur from the heat. Water surrounded him, but he had not had any of it to drink. He could not sweat anymore, having no water inside him. For once, he did not care about his hunger. His thirst was far more painful.

Iroh's eyelids flickered up and down. He slowly lowered his head, over powered by exhaustion.

Creeek…SMASH!

Iroh jumped. To his right, a thick branch had fallen from high above him. A small pool of water had gathered inside the empty branch and was dripping out of the broken bark. Iroh smiled and reached for it, but it was just out of his reach.

Iroh lifted one leg, ready to move from his spot, but stopped himself.

"No." Iroh said out loud. "You will not trick me that easily." Iroh sat up straight and looked away from the dripping water. "I am not moving." He did not look at the branch, not even after he heard the last drop fall away from him.

Then Iroh lowered his head, and was consumed by suffering again.


Another night came. More horrible sounds haunted Iroh. For hours, they screamed and shrieked and kept Iroh awake. Exhausted, Iroh wanted to sleep, even with the nightmarish monsters that surrounded him, but the demons' did not allow him to close his eyes for more than a few seconds.

"BE QUIET!" Iroh yelled after hours of tortures sleep deprivation.

Prince

One of the monstrous sounds turned into a voice. Iroh's spine shivered.

hahaha…fallen Prince…

"Who is there?" Iroh recognized the voice.

you are nothing…

"Ozai? Is that…no! I am just hallucinating."

you will never see your boy again…

"Stop it!" Iroh held his ears, but the voice mocked him still.

you don't have anything to live for. Why not end it right now?…

"GO AWAY!" Iroh roared at the top of his lungs…

…and the voice left. Iroh paused for a few minutes, rattled, but the swamp was dead again, as noisy as a graveyard at night. Iroh's heartbeat was the only sound heard.

Iroh buried his face in the palms of his hands and screamed into them. No words, just a rage-filled shout. He wanted to cry, but his body did not have enough water to produce tears.


Another day.

Iroh could barely keep his eyes open. He could not feel his feet or fingers. His stomach was still round, but he felt insanity clutch his mind.

Tired, hungry and almost dead from thirst, Iroh felt his consciousness slip over and over again. One random thought merged into another and Iroh could not tell which vision was a dream and which was his own perception.

With eyes dried and his vision blurred, Iroh looked down at his hands. The skin on his palms was crisp and red, his nails dark and brown. His thin fingers shook like an old man's hands, racked with pain.

He tried to speak but his tongue was dry like a withered limb, useless. He could only gasp in quick breaths of air and yawn every so often. His cracked lips, his teeth and gums were so sore that they felt like they were bleeding. Nothing but pain flooded through his body.

Iroh looked up at the sky, towards the shinning sun. It blinded him but did not hurt his eyes. The light destroyed his vision, burned his mind, but he did not look away.

father…

Iroh heard Lu Ten call out to him, at last. Iroh forced his hand towards the fiery ball in the heavens and grunted, trying to shout back to his son.

father…please turn back…

Iroh choked on his tongue as it fell back in his throat, but he raised his arm higher.

please father…

Iroh heard the voice of Lu Ten beg him to go away. He did not know if it was really his son or another demon. He did not know if the spirits were testing him again. He did not know if the voice was even real or if it was inside his head. But Iroh did not put his hand down.

"…n…" The prince struggled to speak. "…no…"

The other voice did not answer back.

Iroh felt the wind blow around him, dance around his raised arm and loosened robe. A thick cloud moved in front of the bright sun, hiding Iroh in a blanket of cool darkness. The sounds of the wild animals in the woods stopped; all at once, the world was quiet.

Iroh's head lowered and waited, lost between day dreams and consciousness. The great pain that plagued his body began to lessen. Bit by bit, Iroh stopped feeling the pain in his stomach…then feeling all together.

Iroh laughed once. His fingers were bleeding, but he could not feel the blood leave his body. He could not feel anything…except cold. The cold breeze that enveloped him was warmer than his skin.

Iroh was dying.

And he knew he was dying. He felt the same lifeless cold when his wife passed on into the next world. He could never forget the empty, icy sensation that marked the last few minutes of her existence.

Iroh's fingers went numb, then his feet, then his knees. His stomach stopped growling and his lungs stopped aching. His heart began to slow down.

"…I'm…tired…" Iroh said. Finally, after three days of sitting firmly in place, Iroh lay down and placed his head on his hands.

His back and arms were the next things to shut down. Iroh felt his mind collapsing as well. He saw memories flash before him and then vanish into nothing. He saw the wall of Ba Sing Se, learning fire bending, his favorite tea pot. He saw Ozai when he was an innocent boy, he saw his old books, he saw the sun set outside his window. He remembered when he met Meng Ha and when Lu Ten was born and when he first saw Zuko.

He saw the ocean. The vast, endless ocean. Even as his soul was pulled out of his body, the sea still enchanted him. And then he saw himself as an old man sailing across blue waves, an image that he used to dream about when he was young and foolish. That dream, the one he hoped was not only practical but possible, would never come true. Iroh thought of all he didn't do as he lost feeling in his neck and jaw.

Iroh felt his eyes weaken, though in his mind's eye he could only see the sea…and his wife…and his son. He saw Lu Ten reach out to him, as if to help him leave the mortal world. With his last ounce of strength, Iroh reawakened his limp arm and held it out towards the delirious vision.

Iroh swore that he felt Lu Ten take his hand and pull, but before he could be moved…Iroh felt his heart stop. And it did not start again. The cold consumed him. And then…there was nothing. No pain, no suffering, no desire…just peace.


he wished to dwell beside the spirits…and he got his wish…

but the death is only the beginning…


The story is not over. Trust me.