Avatar: The Legend Continues
This story starts with a slow introspective look at the main protagonist and few side characters, trust me there will be bending and avatar stuff eventually. Just trust me with this one for now :).
Book I: A New Beginning
PART I
The sun had just started to set as Jun began to look upon the vast city sprawling with life beneath him. He enjoyed these moments of reflection at the end of the day after his training or learning was complete. Even now, after three years of training, he would never tire of looking at the city and breathing fresh air. Typically, these moments were briefly interrupted by the call to family dinner, but today as his father was out of town and his mother was busy at a get-together with her friends, Jun was left to wonder. "What if, I was just one of those people down there, living a normal life, working a normal job, and coming home to a family?" he thought. He couldn't help but wonder, having a very different life from most of his grade school friends requiring training and specialized learning. "Prince Jun, your food is ready sir." Arthur Longbottom, his butler, said. "Thanks for letting me know Arthur, I'll be inside in a minute." Jun continued to wonder, and his mind changed to the lesson he had been learning for the past month, which dealt with making decisions and how to act in a tough environment. As he saw a person buying produce from a stand, he watched with curiosity at the way the store owner and the customer interacted and how he would've handled the transaction. It almost seemed trivial to imagine an easy normal task like that being even remotely considered in his mind. So, Jun receded into the palace to eat his dinner and prepare for bed.
The next day, his main learning instructor, Master Alvarez began to teach him the art of ancient war leaders and the decisions they made upon the information they received of their opponents. His instructor would often use the game of Pai Sho as an example of making these decisions based on how your opponent was acting. "Jun, if you are truly to be a ruler one day, you must be able to read and react depending on how a situation presents itself, the three R's of life. Read, Reason, React. If you want to rule in a manner that brings success these R's of life are a guideline to ruling and daily living." His instructor would often say, in different manners, but the three R's remained the same always. Jun often thought they were passed down in his family from one generation to the next, although he would never ask for fear of punishment. Master Alvarez not only taught him lessons in the classroom but also as a martial arts instructor.
Master Ten Alvarez had grown up in the ancient age of war and conflict within the great Shining City when an opposing faction within the city demanded peace and a different style of government using the people as the main voice of rule and authority. Alvarez had earned his ranks by being enlisted into the Shining army as a young man and proving himself in battle and with his wits. He rose to the rank of general during the great battle of the Adek Bridge when he commanded his fellow group of warriors after their leader was injured in the battle. Not only did he show leadership by instructing his fellow warriors on what to do, but he also saved his commanding officer and was given the rank above his officer due to this act.
As a colonel, he was allowed into the meetings with the Lord and his most trusted officials but was forbidden to speak unless the Lord had directly spoken to him. Lord Chun, Jun's father, was plotting how to finally crush the rebellion uprising in the most swift, non-violent way his officials are recommend different things. One recommended they make a show of force, by marching the army and reading a decree that the rebel faction would be met with strong force if they were to continue. Another recommendation they try to reason with the faction and negotiate a peace deal. Sitting in that meeting Ten Alvarez began to read, reason, and react to the situation and came up with a plan. The problem was the Lord barely spoke to the colonels and other members in the room unless he needed information or current updates. Lord Chun didn't like either of these approaches and was thinking in his throne as Ten's voice rose above the people around him. "Sire, what if you requested a meeting with the rebel leader and told him to sign a peace treaty on the spot or to be dealt with force," Colonel Ten said as he stood to his feet. After Ten said this, the Lord's officials begin to apologize for Ten's behavior saying they would remove him immediately. As they waited for the Lord's response he leaned forward in his throne and responded, "What if the rebel leader refuses to meet, what then?". Ten said, "Well, if he refuses to meet with you and negotiate a peace treaty, then he doesn't truly believe what he is fighting for, and we will deal with him in that way." The Lord responded with one question that would change the rebellion conflict and his life forever, "Who are you?".
From there, Colonel Ten rose to General Ten, then finally the Lord's right-hand man and most trusted official. Therefore, when the Lord finally conceived with his Queen and bore a son, he entrusted his then retired friend to teach his son as soon as he finished grade school.
Prince Jun would never forget the first day of meeting Master Ten and his first lesson, "The art of leadership and the consequences of mistakes." Their relationship grew from instructor to a trusted and wise mentor for the young prince often coming to the house after their lessons to tell him stories or show him old artifacts of the fights he had been in. This would intertwine with their lessons where Master Ten would often tell Jun about the importance of making the right decision and regarding the long-term outcome of those decisions.
Even as much as Prince Jun enjoyed learning the history and ancient martial arts of his predecessors, he couldn't help but wonder why he. Why had he been chosen for such a duty as being the Lord over the land? The empire he was set to inherit was massive spanning from one sea to the next and in two different climates. This was why he enjoyed his moments of reflection on the palace balcony so much. At 17 though, his training would soon be complete, and he would be in the next process of becoming the next Lord. As fate would have it though all that was about to change.
END OF PART I
