Wandering Firebender

Fourty Five: The Concept Of Destiny

Elio took in a deep breath. The time had finally come for him to start his journey to the North Pole, and he was already beginning to feel the pressure. He was traveling again, but this time he was traveling with a grander purpose.

He really had no idea how he was gonna make it to the North Pole once he got to the beach. He had no idea what he was gonna do when he got to the North Pole. He really didn't have any sort of plan beyond getting there and trying to help out.

Hopefully he would figure it out along the way.

"Elio. Are you ready to go? We have prepared an animal for your journey." Iroh called to him through the tent. Elio lifted his head and slung his pack over his shoulder.

"Yeah! I got everything!" He answered before coming out of the tent. Iroh smiled at him and patted him on the back.

"May your journey go well, Elio. I believe that you will succeed." He said encouragingly. Elio nodded appreciatively.

"Thank you, sir...am I really going to the North Pole alone? Not one of you can come with me?" Elio asked. Iroh shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. Unfortunately, the Fire Nation will focus their most formidable attack here on the Earth Kingdom. It will take all of us here to fight back." He answered.

"I understand...but what if I'm not enough?"

"You won't be alone, Elio. Once you have earned the trust of the Water Tribe, you will fight alongside them. They are a powerful, close unit. You'll be alright." Iroh reassured him with a smile.

"I hope so...thank you for everything. I would still be in prison if it weren't for you." Elio expressed his appreciation with a formal bow. Iroh chuckled and gave him a hug.

"May we meet again on the other side of this war." He said. Elio hugged him back quickly then let go.

"I sure hope so...take care of yourself, sir."

"And you too, Elio. Master Pakku has your eel-hound. He should be...ah! He's right over there." Iroh pointed Pakku out. He was just a few tents away, walking towards them and holding the reins of a large four-legged lizard creature.

"Well, let me go greet him then...bye." Elio said slowly, waving to him. Iroh nodded and waved back, resting his hands in his sleeves and watching him go.

"This eel-hound should speed up your journey to the North Pole," Pakku said as Elio approached him. "We gave you some food, money, and a map. That should be everything you need." He listed. Elio nodded.

"Thank you very much." Elio managed a polite smile.

"I do have to ask: what made you so determined to help out the Northern Water Tribe, my home?" Pakku asked. Elio glanced up at him in momentary surprise before answering his question.

"Ah, well...the truth is there's someone I know there. A girl named Cindra. After everything we've been through, I owe it to her to try and help out." He explained. Pakku's eyes widened.

"You know Cindra?"

"Yeah, she's a really good friend. We traveled together for awhile. How do you know her?!" Elio asked.

"She was my student. Funny, she mentioned traveling with a friend after she fled to the Earth Kingdom. I suppose it's no coincidence it turned out to be you." Pakku chuckled ironically.

"Yeah...you were her teacher? You wouldn't happen to be the same guy who told her she could never learn to waterbend, would you?" Elio inquired.

"Well, I told her she could never fight," Pakku clarified. "I simply wanted to uphold my home's cultures. But times have changed, and we needed to change too. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that she progressed very well and very quickly.

"Up until my departure, she was one of my most determined students. She's well on her way to becoming a master now." Pakku reported with a smile. Elio smiled too, looking at the ground and nodding.

"Good. I'm glad to hear it...I always wondered whether she made it home safe."

"Well I suppose you can say hello to her for the both of us when you arrive. Just tell the chief's counsel that Master Pakku sent you, and they'll listen to what you have to say." Pakku instructed as Elio mounted the eel-hound.

"Got it. I will." He nodded, securing his pack on the saddle.

"Do your best to get there quickly. The faster you arrive, the more time we'll have to prepare." Pakku advised before slapping his hand on the eel-hound, signaling for it to go.

"Ahh okay!" Elio exclaimed shakily as he rode away from the camp.

It took Elio a little while, but soon he was able to get used to riding the eel-hound. It wasn't too different from riding La, his ostrich horse back in Ba Sing Se...

Remembering that jogged his memory and made him wonder: were Alger and Sri alright? The last time he saw them, they were helping him with his unsuccessful escape attempt. It was evident that Ba Sing Se had been taken over by the Fire Nation while they were still in the city.

He could only hope that they had somehow managed to avoid any trouble...

"Whoa! Whoa!" A voice broke through his deep thinking. He looked up and saw a man walking on the road. Elio quickly pulled the reins, bringing the eel-hound to a stop.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Elio said quickly.

"Haha, it's alright, Elio! You know, you should really pay more attention when you're riding an animal." The man laughed. Elio looked down and his eyes widened in shock.

"Master Rala!" He realized. He quickly slid off the saddle and landed on his feet, greeting his old master with a hug. Rala chuckled and returned it.

"Elio, my dear student! It's so good to see you again! I was worried that you had gotten hurt when Ba Sing Se fell." Rala said.

"Uh, well I did, but I'm free now! Were you waiting for me?" Elio asked.

"Ahh, you think I knew you would be here?" Rala asked with a chuckle.

"Well, you always seem to show up when I need it." He answered. Rala smiled and chuckled again.

"Do you mind if I sit on your eel-hound for a little bit? It'll make it easier for me to speak with you." He requested.

"Uh, I mean sure. But I am in a hurry." Elio informed him.

"That's alright, it shouldn't take too long. But we'll have to tread slowly. An eel-hound's top speed is a bit much for me." Rala said as he mounted the animal.

"That's okay." Elio agreed. He took hold of the reins and walked alongside the eel-hound while he spoke with his teacher.

"You look to be in very good shape now. What ended up happening to you?" Rala asked curiously.

"Well, I was captured by Princess Azula...she led the invasion to take down the city." Elio began.

"Ohh, interesting." Rala hummed.

"Yeah. She took me back to the Fire Nation and threw me in prison. I spent about a month there, but it just so happened that my cell was right next to General Iroh. We busted out together." Elio explained.

"Wow! What a stroke of good luck!" Rala laughed.

"Uhuh...so we came back here to Ba Sing Se. He and his friends plan on taking the city back from the Fire Nation. Meanwhile I'm headed to the North Pole."

"Lot of turns in this story! What made you decide to go to the Northern Water Tribe? Is that your next hiding place? I think they might take issue with letting a firebender live there." Rala commented with a chuckle.

"No...the Fire Nation is planning another attack there. I'm going to warn them and help them fight the invasion force." Elio answered. As he explained his intentions to Rala, he slowly started to realize the full weight of what he was doing.

"I'm very proud of you, Elio. You've grown since I met you nearly a year ago. You're not quite the aimless wanderer anymore, are you?" Rala said with a smile.

"No, I suppose not...your teachings were a great help to me on my journey. In fact, I ended up applying just about every lesson you taught me." Elio said slowly.

"I had a feeling you would. You've learned well." Rala complimented. However, Elio now realized he had a few questions that he needed answered.

"Master Rala...what are your connections with the Spirit World?" He asked. Rala's eyebrows raised a little.

"Oh, so you believe in the Spirit World now, hm?" He asked.

"Too much has happened for me to deny that something is going on, something that no one has been willing to tell me. It wasn't just when we first met. It was in those woods too. Those woods showed me things, things that ended up happening in the future!"

"That can happen sometimes," Rala nodded. "Sometimes certain events are put into motion in order to bring the world towards its natural balance. Perhaps you carry more potential than you realize." He said.

"What does that mean? Are you saying the Spirit World...has been arranging things to happen to me?" Elio asked, making a face. Rala shook his head.

"No, that's not quite how it works. Things come about on their own, and you find yourself having to make a choice...and that choice has a major impact on your destiny." Rala explained carefully.

"But there is something to do with destiny and the Spirit World." Elio reasoned.

"Your destiny is something you make for yourself, Elio. But where you end up in life is a product of the choices you make and it is influenced by your environment, the people and attitudes that you choose to surround yourself with." Rala answered.

"I see...but certain things were set to happen. My encounters with Cassian and Princess Azula, the death of the moon spirit, and the eclipse." Elio listed slowly, counting them off on his fingers as he remembered them.

"The Spirit World has a way of...knowing when certain things are going to happen. It isn't necessarily peering into the future, but it has a kind of...intuition, let's say. So it is likely that based off your circumstances at the time you ended up in the forest, you were already on course towards all these things." Rala explained.

"...but what about you? You're in tune with the Spirit World. You could've warned me." Elio pointed out, glaring back at him.

"Just because I have a spiritual center doesn't mean I know what any grand plans are." Rala said. However, Elio shook his head.

"No, you're lying. The lessons you taught me were all way too on point for what came next!" Elio said, starting to take an accusatory tone.

"Stop the eel-hound here," Rala requested. Elio tugged on the reins and the eel-hound stopped walking. Rala slid off the saddle and landed on his feet. He dusted off his clothing and took out his staff, walking past Elio.

"The things I taught you all applied, Elio, not because I knew what your future held for you, but because my teachings are meant to be principles that can fit into many situations, no matter how unique or personal or extreme." Rala said.

"As true as it may be, there's still something you're hiding from me." Elio stated, pulling out his own staff and pointing it at Rala.

"How certain are you of that?" Rala asked, taking several steps back and holding his own staff up defensively.

"Who are you? Who sent you?" Elio demanded, spinning the staff and swinging at him with several short-range attacks. Rala blocked each one.

"You've never been suspicious before. Why now?" Rala asked, flicking away Elio's attacks. He took hold of one end of the staff and swung it out widely with one hand, forcing Elio to jump back.

"I've been on the run for almost a year! I fought the princess of my nation! I killed my best friend! I fought my own sister!" Elio growled, swinging harder and more wildly at him with both hands, "And you didn't tell me anything about this destiny stuff!"

"Elio!" Rala dodged Elio's swings and blocked the last one, spinning and hitting Elio in the side, "I told you what you needed! Your decisions were yours alone!" He said as Elio stumbled back. However, he quickly stood straight and attacked again.

"You're lying!" Elio yelled, spinning his staff and shooting fire out of it.

Rala spun his staff faster and twisted his body to keep Elio's fire from burning him. He got in close and swung one end towards Elio's head. Elio ducked under it and shot a fire punch up towards Rala. Rala bent backwards to dodge it, but stumbled and fell on his butt.

Elio took his staff in both hands and swung it upwards, knocking Rala's staff out of his hands. Rala yelped from the stinging pain and clutched his wrist. Elio stood over his master and aimed the blunt end of his staff towards his face. Rala looked up at his student and saw the tears in his eyes.

"This was never what I wanted! I just wanted to be left alone!" Elio shouted, his emotions stirring from a combination of anger and regret; regret for the wrong choices he felt he had made. Rala's expression showed how he felt for Elio and sympathized with his pain.

"I know...Elio, I didn't choose this path for you. I couldn't have known what would happen to you or what choices you would have made. All I've ever done is try to guide you and help you to be ready. Please...put the staff away and let's talk." Rala said peacefully.

Elio sighed and sniffed, fighting back the tears in his eyes. He slid his staff back into its sleeve and slowly lowered himself to the ground, sitting down cross-legged. Rala sat up and rubbed his wrist as he addressed his student.

"I received a vision a number of years ago that I would take on a student: someone who would go on to do remarkable things. I've always held my students to the highest standard, but it wasn't until I met you that I knew you were the student I was meant to teach." Rala revealed.

"The Spirit World gave you that vision?" Elio presumed.

"The Spirit World only refers to the plane of existence in which spirits reside. But it was a spirit that gave me this vision..." Rala revealed,

"You see, Elio, the Avatar's return set a lot of things into motion. This war has advanced more in the past year than it has in decades. At some point, it became apparent that you had been given the destiny of fighting for the Northern Water Tribe."

"I...but that doesn't make sense." Elio said, doubting that he could ever have that much importance.

"Perhaps it only doesn't make sense to you because you don't believe you could have such a grand destiny. And yet, you came to the decision on your own to go to the North Pole." Rala pointed out. Elio swallowed nervously.

"Was it really my own decision? If this is my destiny?" Elio asked. This was such a strange and foreign concept for him to consider that he was really unsure how to feel about it. It was difficult for him to comprehend something so...abstract.

"The funny thing about destiny, Elio, is when it is truly right for us, chances are it lines up with what we want anyway. It just...makes sense in a way that can't really be explained. But you know it, and anyone around you can see it." Rala summarized.

"I see...maybe I'll never truly understand it." Elio said.

"But you do feel it, don't you?" Rala observed.

"I do...this is what I need to do." Elio said, standing up. Rala smiled gently and stood up as well.

"Then I only have one last thing to say to you...if you are ready to hear it." Rala said. Elio nodded.

"I'm ready." He said, taking in a breath to mentally prepare himself.

"Trust your instincts – trust your experience. The challenges you are about to face will be the biggest you may ever see. Treat them as a test: a test of strength, a test of resolve, a test of morality." Rala said, putting his hand on Elio's shoulder.

"So...trust in my skills and stay true to myself?" Elio summarized.

"Exactly. After all you've gone through, I know that you will make the right decisions. Even if you don't know what to do, just keep moving. You'll figure it out." Rala said encouragingly.

"Okay," Elio closed his eyes and nodded, accepting all of this and taking it in. "Thank you for everything, Master Rala. I'm sorry for attacking you." He apologized.

"Haha, don't worry about it! It's not the first time, it's not the worst time. What's important is that you have all that you need." Rala said kindly.

"I guess I do...where will you go now?" Elio asked curiously.

"Ah well, my work is finished now. Now I go home and relax. Perhaps I may even retire soon...unless I feel like taking on another student." Rala chuckled.

"Heheh, I see...well be safe. The Fire Nation will be attacking soon, but you probably know that already."

"I do. Word is already spreading across the Earth Kingdom. But you don't need to worry about me. You just worry about making it to the North Pole with time to spare."

"I will...goodbye, master," Elio said sadly, performing a Fire Nation bow. "Again, I apologize that I was so volatile during our last lesson."

"It's okay, Elio, really," Rala said, bowing back in the same manner. "In the grand scheme of things, you were one of my best students. Never lose that respect for others."

"I won't. Will I ever see you again?" Elio had to ask.

"Ha, well...if it's meant to be, it will happen." Rala managed a smile. Elio interpreted that answer as Rala not knowing whether or not they would meet again.

"I hope so, once this war is over." Elio said, mounting his eel-hound once again.

"Me too. I look forward to hearing all the stories you come back with!" Rala smiled and waved goodbye to him. Elio waved back and rode off.

Elio sighed to himself, still regretting his emotional outburst. He decided that he was going to take more care not to let that happen again. If he was going to make the right decisions when it counted most, he needed to keep a calm and level head.

The idea of so much responsibility falling on him was incredibly scary, but at least he knew that he was as ready as he could possibly be...