The Elderly Smith
Author's notes: This story is one of many I am planning on the early life of Iroh. I had learned earlier that his voice actor Makoto Iwematsu had passed away from esophageal cancer at age 72 on Friday 7/20/06. He was an early leader in the East West theatrical movement that allowed asian americans to enter into the acting business and eventually escape stereotypical or insulting roles. He has played many roles and expresses a certain mystery,subtle emotion,or even lively humor. I commit this story to the man of many faces, some shown,some not. A literal virtuoso.By the way Li Chow was a person from Ch'uan -Ch'i Stories of the Tang dynasty.Avatar The Last Airbender is the property of Nickelodeon and Viacom. It also has rights with it's respective creators.All characters and themes are the intellectual property of the latter and distributive property of the former. Now that I'm sure I won't be sued, let's commence with the story.
And in that line now was a whiskered old man, with a linen cap and a crooked nose,
who waited in a place called the Stardust Band Shell to share his part of the secret of heaven:
that each affects the other and the other affects the next,
and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one.
- Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven
He was an unknown, a reclusive character. Nearly one hundred years old and as dignified as a monument. He wore a silk robe over his thin form,dyed dark crimson and embroidered with silver dragons. In his left hand was a black cup of Ginseng tea, in the right was a fly wisk with a chesnut handle. The steam whipped around an old, wrinkled face that stared in thought of his next few words.At this time I was but a young luetinent charged with the protection of this mysterious character. In acutuality it was more of a military hospis,to make sure he would'nt die before his time.At first I had greeted this as an insulting assignment: I petitioned twenty seven times.
That was until I met the man, he was tall and erect with none of the slothfulness of an elderly person.He looked me straight in the eye, he had cold yellow orbs like a wolf. Then quite suddenly he offered me a cup of Ginseng tea.I eyed it suspitiously and he smiled at my investigation.He was a sword smith by occupation, though he'd been many other things in his ninty five years: a noh actor,naval engineer, and proffessor of metalergy. I was told his name was Guan of Ch'i province.A strange man this Southern fox.
" Young man, you are in deep thought?"
" No, I'm just taking a break, this is good tea."
" Thank you,I understand you are a lover of the drink?"
" Yes, it's just one of those things.My family however are wine drinkers by habit."
" What's your name anyway?"
" Iroh, of Dong province."
" Oh, you share the name of Azulon's eldest prince."
" It's a coincidence."
" To be sure, well they sent you to watch me. Those savages have attacked me for some time."
" Do you mean earthbenders?"
" No, I mean those who have no respect for the arts, and want nothing but devestating weapons.They fail to understand that the form is just as important as the function."
" But is'nt power in the function of the object and not it's presentation?"
" Not true, we are taught that everything owns a spirit. The spirit is the source of true power. It is the breathe, this is shown through the form and functionality together."
" Interesting, but false power often works."
With this we took a couple more sips and the old man bowed and retired. I kept my post and stood at his door way.He refused to speak for the next few days and focused on his work.
The mystery surrounding him became even more entrancing, the artist who spoke of the old beliefs of the asthetic shaman.Over that first week I learned his habits.He would eat a light meal,do his daily chores and then start on projects unknown in his workshop. Later he would eat a dinner of rice and pickled eel.I just ate my rations.Then he would sleep at two hours after sunset.Waking again at two hours before sunrise.I myself was bored, this man seemed perfectly able to care for himself and my assignment became an excercise in futility.
One day the old man looked upon me warmly and collected all his scrap work in philosophy to a single point of action.He fingered at his short beard and decided to skip his daily chores, this time he made a cup of black tea and as he drunk it in the mourning air eyed the half wake solider who guarded him.
" False power never works."
" What was that?"
" False power is only usful for false solutions.Do you want to die without knowing the truth behind your element?I know you are a fire bender."
" Do you mean the use of power with firebending?"
" No, the control of power, all things influence one another.Understand this and you don't kill yourself."
" Why do I need to control my power, I thought it was fine the way it was?"
" In the begining all elements were unstable, but water became cool and life giving. Air became free and flexable.Earth became hard and stable. Fire is the only element that dosn't know what it is. Everything else is a substance, we are events. If you don't form the event,it will go out of control."
" How do you control power?"
" Have you heard anything? You control power though the spirit. Spirit through the breathe.Smithing is a way to learn control through breath. I learned respect for the substance from earth benders.That's why I don't use smelting tools. I use bending."
The old man walked into his works shop and waited for me to catch up. Except for a reservoir of steel and a working place suited for high temperatures, it was empty.He grabbed a peice of iron and and breathed blue fire on it. Something I had never seen a firebender do.He then controlled the heat of the metal and folded it slowly into a long thin sheet.He slowly decreased the heat to allow just the right amount of carbon into the work.He handed the object to me and I found I could control the metal. Then I cooled the folds to different levels and created a sword.
" You see, sword smithing is a catalist for all the ablities of fire bending. It requires patience, control, using breathe to both start and stop an event.If you use this in fighting and in peace, you will escape the events that claim so many fire benders.The loss of control is loss of mind ,this leads to certain death.Excuse me but I will retire for now."
Guan picked up the sword and brought it into his home,he shut the door and I was left outside to guard as I had for the last few weeks. The control of power was one of those things that my teachers had not informed me of. Only power in it's most curosive forms that created greed and averace in my people. It was a great lesson, the control of one's inner abilities in peace and war.
In the mourning, I looked for the old man to wake at two hours befor dawn, he did'nt. I waited until noon and the elder did not wake. I broke down Guan's door and found him motionless, I checked his pulse. He was dead.But on his face was the look of one who has been taken into Agni's grace. In a corner of his room was a woden box, a peice of polishing stone and a leather sheath embroidered with gold.Above all this on a small bench lay the completed sword and etched on it's side the words: 'His glory reaches to the highest rank;His power can ruin a kingdom.And yet in a wise man's eyes all these are but an ant-heap.
" The words of Li Chao, the general of Huachow."
The mortuary services came to carry off his body and I signed a notice with an officer to show my assignment was completed.
" Glad to see you took care of the old man, but I think you wrote the wrong name here."
" I was told his name was Guan of Ch'i province."
" Oh,no. His name was Kuzon of Shin province."