Tempered
Sokka strode through the Middle Ring of Ba Sing Se, Suki at his side and his sister and Aang not far behind. Toph had elected to remain behind with Iroh, citing the deliciousness of the tea as the reason. The Dragon had claimed to be 'too old' to be wandering the markets; right, like Sokka was going to believe that after some of the things he'd seen the old man do. Training the Avatar to Firebend, redirecting lightning, and defeating over a dozen Dai Li agents single-handed. Yeah, 'too old'. Chances were the Dragon of the West and the Blind Bandit had some scheme they were cooking up together. It worried Sokka whenever he saw the matching, mischievousness that would gleam in their eyes. He wasn't sure which worried him more; the gold, or the clouded green.
Life had been good, though, for Sokka since the end of the Hundred Year War; there had been challenges, sure, but it was better than fighting for your life every other day. Transforming the Fire Nation from an absolute monarchy to a democratic republic had been particularly challenging, though rewarding. At the end of the War 'Phoenix King' Ozai and 'Fire Lord' Azula had been defeated and imprisoned, before later being tried by a council consisting of Aang in his capacity as both the Avatar and the last remaining representative of the Air Nomads, Earth King Kuei, Chief Arnook, and Chief Hakoda. Iroh had also been present on the council, representing the Fire Nation's interests during the lengthy process of reorganising the government. Azula was shown leniency and was admitted to a secure mental health facility in the Earth Kingdom; her bending was suppressed by daily injections of a powerful drug, and she was undergoing various forms of therapy. Ozai was shown no such leniency; Aang had stripped the former Fire Lord of his bending ability, and the man had been thrown into the deepest, darkest hole that the Earth Kingdom could create.
At least, that's what Sokka liked to imagine.
But yes, things were pretty much peachy right now. The Fire Nation was changing under Premier Sang; Sokka had a kick-ass girlfriend; and his friends had all survived the War.
There was really only one problem with Sokka's life right now.
During the final battle he'd suffered a tremendous loss. His beloved Space Sword was lost to the fire and chaos as the airships fell.
Toph had, reluctantly, helped him to scour the battlefield in the weeks that followed, however she couldn't find any trace of it.
He sighed. While still relatively new to the art of swordsmanship, Sokka missed the weight of the blade on his hip. The feel of the grip in his hand. He missed the routine of morning practice, though he'd tried to use various replacement blades to keep himself in practice; none were the same, though.
After the battle, Master Piandao had offered to lend him another blade, as a replacement, but Sokka declined. He'd made Space Sword at a time that felt right, out of materials that he chose himself. The sword came to him when he felt lost, as a person and as a warrior. He couldn't just replace that.
Or, that was how he'd felt at the time. Now? Now Sokka wished he'd taken the Swordmaster up on his offer before the man departed for the Fire Nation to aid in its transition.
That was part of the reason they were in the Middle Ring, an area of Ba Sing Se renowned for its craftsmen and artisans. It had been Suki's suggestion.
"Look," she'd said, ever so slightly exasperated with Sokka's pining for what was no more. "Why don't you just find someone to make you a sword? Don't just buy a random one, get a custom order."
That had made Sokka pause. He'd not considered that; he'd been working under the delusion that he'd either have to buy a sword off the rack, or go to the Fire Nation and ask Master Piandao to help him make another. But a custom job… That had potential.
Sokka had argued though, because of course he did.
"Wouldn't that be, like, really expensive, though?"
Iroh had chimed in at that point. "I can cover the cost, if this is something you would like to pursue? I have a great deal of personal wealth."
Sokka was uncertain about accepting. On the one hand, free money. On the other, it was Iroh's money. The old Dragon had lost access to the Royal Treasure Vault when it became the Republic's Treasure Vault. He'd been allowed to take a few pieces that were uniquely family heirlooms, and not belonging to the Fire Nation as a country.
That whole process had made Sokka both confused and vaguely sad. The sadness intensified when it was decided that Iroh would not be allowed to enter the Fire Nation Republic for a period of at least ten years, at which point they would renegotiate. While Iroh wasn't as old as he seemed, or made out to be, he wasn't a young man anymore and ten years was a long time to not be able to go home.
Then again, the Palace was now the Capital Building, the seat of the New Fire Nation government. Iroh's home didn't really exist anymore.
Sokka sighed, as he had done every time that thought entered his head. It was a feeling that he related to; with the arrival of Northern Waterbenders in the South Pole, and the re-unification of a lot of the smaller tribes, Sokka's home had changed a great deal. It was a lot bigger for starters, and a whole lot grander. His father had been anointed as Chief of this new, larger Tribe, though, so things could be worse.
Iroh had elected to live in Ba Sing Se, with the permission of the re-instated Earth King. The young King had even gifted Iroh with property in the Upper Ring, which had been transformed into a lavish teashop dubbed 'The Jasmine Dragon'. All in all, the old man was taking his new life in stride; in fact, the only time Sokka had seen real sadness on the retired General's face was when the man talked about his deceased son and 'lost' nephew. The GAang had heard a great many stories about both.
The manner and location of Lu Ten's death often made Sokka wonder why Iroh chose to live in Ba Sing Se, especially when he was close friends with the King of Omashu.
When asked, though, Iroh cryptically replied, "My destiny is here."
As for the 'missing' nephew… Well, given everything they had heard about how the Fire Lord had treated his firstborn son, and the details surrounding his disappearance, Sokka wondered why Iroh described him as missing. In Sokka's mind, the boy had clearly been killed by his father. A horrifying thought, and not one he planned to voice, however it was the most likely version of events. But no, Iroh described Zuko as 'lost' or 'missing' whenever he was mentioned.
Sokka sighed once more and did his best to shake the dark thoughts from his mind. What mattered now was finding a blacksmith of some skill and description to forge him a new sword as, in the end, he'd accepted Iroh's generous offer. The old man was extremely persuasive when he wanted to be.
Lee had lived in Ba Sing Se for just over four years. He'd entered as simple refugee, with barely a penny to his name, and he currently existed as a respected blacksmith, having taken on the shop after his master's death last year. Lee sighed quietly. Master Shila had been… cantankerous, but a good teacher. She'd taken Lee in when no one else would give him a chance. She had given him the tools he'd needed to make it on his own. Thankfully she had passed peacefully, untroubled by the revolts happening throughout the city as rebels fought back against the occupying Fire Nation. Lee had been by her bedside constantly throughout that time, a large hammer in his lap and a set of Dao blades leaning by his chair as he tried to ignore the sensation of his chi singing and igniting as the Comet passed overhead and the sky turned red. That whole time was nerve-wracking for Lee; Princess Azula taking Ba Sing Se, the Dai Li helping her, and then the riots and revolts that occurred during Sozin's Comet. In the great annals of history, Master Shila's passing would be but a footnote; however, to Lee, the loss was tremendous, comparable to the loss of his mother.
He could still remember the day he met her. Shila. He was new to the city, still staying with Gansu and his family. Their youngest son, also named Lee, had taken to him as soon as he learned that they shared a name. The boy's family had welcomed Lee and invited him to travel with them as they journeyed to Ba Sing Se to be safer and closer to their eldest son, Sensu, who was stationed near there as part of the Earth Army. The elderly blacksmith had found Lee loitering near her forge, enraptured by the fire. She'd put him to work shovelling coal and working the bellows to keep the fire burning hot.
That was about four years ago. Since then, Shila had formalised the apprenticeship and begun teaching him how to work steel and craft weapons, armour, and tools, amongst other things. Master Shila had looked at that scrawny kid, the left half of his face swaddled in bandages, and she saw something; Lee often wondered what, exactly, that thing was. He'd never know now.
She'd asked about the bandages because, of course, she had.
"What happened to your face?" She'd asked. It was that first day that she'd caught him staring into her forge fire.
Lee had just shrugged a shoulder, mouth becoming a thin line.
Shila had just shrugged as well. "Suit yourself, boy. Grab that shovel beside you. Might as well make yourself useful."
He'd told her, eventually. Well, he'd told her some of it.
"It was… A Firebender burned my face." He'd muttered, in between shovelling coal and charcoal into the forge.
Shila had just nodded, clever green eyes fixed on the glowing coals and the colour of the flames.
He'd continued, "The healer I saw… He said that I won't be able to see out of it. I'll be blind."
"Half blind." Shila corrected. "Other one looks like it works just fine."
Lee nodded, ducking his head a little as he shovelled some more coal into the forge, before setting the shovel aside at Shila's direction.
She said, "Start cranking the bellows. That handle next to you. Slow and steady."
Lee nodded and began doing just so. He could feel sweat forming on his back, could feel a burning in his arms and shoulders from the exertion.
Eventually Shila had said, "That should do."
She'd then picked up a steel bar with a pair of tongs and thrust the metal into the coals, burying it.
She said to Lee, "Back here tomorrow, at dawn. I'll have chores for you to do."
And that's how it started.
Since her passing, Lee had taken on 'Little Lee' as his own, part-time apprentice. The boy had school during the day from nine until three, but for an hour before and three hours after he helped Lee at the forge. Lee paid the boy a small wage, knowing that his family needed the money. They still resided in the Lower Ring and refused to accept money directly from Lee; he'd found ways and means though, like paying Little Lee a wage, which was not the norm. He also gifted them small tools and trinkets that he made. Never anything big but a knife here or a pot there made a difference to the family. He'd also made Sensu, Little Lee's older brother, a functioning prosthetic for his lower leg almost two years ago when the man was discharged from the Earth Army due to his injury.
While Lee wasn't as close to Sensu as he was to Little Lee, the two were bonded by the life-changing injury. Lee's robbed his left eye of sight, his left ear of most of its hearing, and it had left his appearance warped and distorted. His eye, once gold and gleaming, was clouded over and milky; his ear was a shrunken nub of scar tissue. Sensu's took his right leg and his ability to serve his Nation, not to mention move freely; then again, by the time of his discharge, Sensu was ready to leave. Even with the prosthetic that Lee had made for him, Sensu's mobility was severely hampered.
The War… it left its mark on everyone.
It was Suki that spotted the blacksmith's shop. A sign hung over the entrance depicting a black anvil against the wood.
She pointed it out and said, "There."
Sokka followed her finger and grinned. He grabbed her hand and they hurried along.
Katara called out, "Hey! Wait up!"
Aang laughed and the two took off running after the non-benders.
There were days when Lee despised living in Ba Sing Se, especially early on. The crowds of people, the noise; it could all be too much. In the first year of living there, initially with Little Lee and his family before eventually moving into Shila's spare room, he'd considered leaving. If it wasn't for his work, and his commitment to it, he very well might've. He'd spend days wanting to do nothing but scream until he lost his voice; not even out of physical pain, though there was plenty of that. The nerves around his eye had all been either damaged or outright destroyed and they still gave off twinges of phantom agony; his hearing was all but gone in that ear save for a fainting ringing, a bell-like sound that drove him to the brink of madness. However, it was more than that.
He wanted to scream that his name wasn't Lee, that he wasn't a peasant or a refugee. That he was born to be more than a blacksmith's apprentice, no matter how much he enjoyed the work. He wanted to scream every time he saw someone look at his face and flinch; when a baby would cry at his appearance; or when adults who should know better would gossip about him. He could always hear them. He wanted to scream and shout and rage about the injustice of it all, the sheer unfairness.
He didn't though.
For one, it would get him nowhere. Even on his worst days, he could recognise that. His life would not change if he cried about it. What had happened happened. Besides, all his screams would've gotten him would be imprisonment by the Dai Li. He would have vanished, like so many others. After all, there was no war in Ba Sing Se. He'd barely heard those words before moving into the Middle Ring, but then they were everywhere; especially in the mouths of those that descended from the Upper Ring.
To try and contain his frustrations, and his temper, Lee would meditate every morning as the sun rose. He was awake anyway. He turned his chores into meditation as well; they carried the same repetition that meditation did. His hammering became rhythmic, in time with his breath. Occasionally the forge would grow and shrink with his inhalations and exhalations, though Lee didn't give it much mind. Shila did, though.
It helped, after a while. The meditation. It gave him time to shut off his brain and to just breathe. He grew calmer, especially as he got older. The first year or two in Ba Sing Se were the worst, but not longer after turning fifteen Lee found that he enjoyed his life in the city. It was so very… normal. Nothing about his life had ever been normal, and Lee found himself developing a taste for it. His daily concerns extended as far as keeping the forge hot without cooking the steel. Making sure that he met orders on time. Keeping an eye on Little Lee when he strayed too close to something hot and/or dangerous. Simple stuff. Normal stuff.
Sokka and Suki entered the shop through the archway. The entire front, where the forge was located, was open, allowing enough ventilation so that you didn't choke on the smoke. A large anvil was bolted to the ground at an angle to the forge, and there were several tables set up with the blacksmith's wares on display, mostly pots and pans and other forms of cookware.
The shop then extended into the building proper, and as Sokka walked closer he could see that this was where the weapons and armour were displayed.
His eyes widened at the sight of the many swords, knives, axes, hammers, and spears that were on display, not to mention the helmets, shields, and other pieces of armour.
"Suki." Sokka breathed.
"Yeah?" She said in the same tone.
"I think I'm in paradise."
"I'll take that as a compliment, albeit a strange one."
Sokka was irritated at the fact that he jumped and gave a small shriek at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. He turned his head to see a young man, about his age, emerging from a trapdoor to the left of the main counter. The man's face was heavily scarred, though it was partially obscured by a mop of dark hair.
Sokka was even more irritated when he realised that Aang and Katara had arrived right at the moment and had witnessed his fright.
"Err…" Sokka stuttered, trying to find words.
Suki jumped in for him. "We were looking to inquire about a custom made piece. Is the owner around?"
A sadness crossed over the man's face as he said, "Yeah, that's me. What did you have in mind?"
Sokka's eyebrows rose. This guy, who looked maybe a year older than him, owned his own blacksmith's shop?
Sokka cleared his throat and tried to deepen it a little, to match the smith's. "A sword. For me."
The man stared at him for a long moment, and Sokka had the uncomfortable feeling of being analysed and assessed. Sokka watched him do the same to Suki, Katara, and Aang. He was surprised when the man barely reacted to Aang's Airbender tattoos.
The smith simply nodded, smiled slightly, stepping forward and sticking his hand out to Sokka to shake.
"Name's Lee. What do you need?"
Sokka took the hand and shook it, feeling ever so slightly inferior as he felt the abundance of callouses on the man's hand. The man's palm felt like old, rough leather.
He said a little uncertainly, "A… sword?"
Lee smirked. "Yeah, I got that. What style? Any specifications you want? Any reason it has to be custom?"
He gestured around and continued, "If you just want a sword, I've got plenty that you could walk away with today."
Sokka eyed the assorted blades and said, "Yeah, they're nice and all but…"
He struggled to find the words. It was Katara that saved him this time. "What my brother is trying to say is that he lost his sword recently, one that his master helped him to make, and that no sword has felt right since. I'm Katara, by the way. That's Aang and Suki."
Lee nodded at them and said understandingly, "You're trained then?"
Sokka nodded. "I am, yeah. A little, I mean."
"More than a little, I'd say." Lee remarked. "Most masters don't help novices to construct their weapons."
Lee turned away to duck under the counter, emerging with a scrap of parchment and some charcoal.
Suki asked, "Are you trained in swordsmanship? You sound kinda sure about that."
Lee paused. Then, in a quiet voice, he said, "I had some instruction. When I was a boy. That was a long time ago, though."
The group watched, slightly uncomfortable, as the smith's fingers drifted across the large scar on his face.
Lee shook his head. "Enough about that. Your sword. The one you lost. Tell me about it."
"Err… what do you wanna know?" Sokka asked.
"Style of the blade, the length and width of it. Metals used in the construction. Number of folds if you can remember. Any decoration on it? Anything you can tell me. I assume you'd like something similar?"
Sokka nodded. "Yeah, similar but different, if that makes sense."
Lee nodded as well. "It does."
"Well, it was double-edged. Two feet long, maybe a little more."
Lee nodded, scribbling down these details. He asked, "Straight edged?"
Sokka nodded. "Yeah."
"How long was the grip? One hand or two?"
Sokka thought about and mimed a swing. "Ugh, kind of in the middle, I think?"
Lee nodded again and muttered, "Hand and a half."
He put down the charcoal and pulled a length of string out of the pocket of his leather apron. Markings had been inked onto it at regular intervals.
"Hold your hand out."
Sokka obliged, and Lee measured his hand from wrist to the tip of his middle finger, and across the breadth of his palm. He scribbled those numbers down as well.
He said, "You're maybe an inch or two shorter than me. That seem fair?"
The question was directed at Suki; Aang and Katara had drifted away to examine various weapons mounted on the wall of the shop.
Suki eyed them and then nodded. "Call it two inches."
Lee nodded and wrote that down too. "A jian." He said.
Sokka blinked. "Sorry?"
"That's what you were wielding. I think." Lee leaned over and sketched something out. He then held out the parchment and said, "That look right?"
Sokka and Suki looked at the parchment. Suki whistled under her breath, impressed. It was, to scale, a pretty accurate sketch of Space Sword.
Sokka nodded. "Yeah, that looks right. Can you make it?"
Lee nodded. "Sure. Just need a few more details off you. Materials, decoration, that kind of thing."
"Well," Sokka said. "My last sword was… Well, my master did a lot of the detailing on it, so the fancy stuff was more his thing than mine. I thought maybe I'd change that?"
"You're Water Tribe, right? But you weren't trained by another Tribesman?"
Sokka frowned. "Yeah, what about it? And how'd you know that?"
Lee shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. "The jian isn't a traditional Water Tribe weapon. And your eyes and the blue clothes kind of gave you away."
Suki asked, "Why does it matter who trained Sokka or where he's from?"
Lee shook his head. "It doesn't. Or, at least, not to me. What I was meaning was that we could but more of Water Tribe spin on it, if that's what you wanted. Symbols important to your culture, animals, that kind of thing. Dye the grip leather blue, maybe the sheath too?"
Sokka paused. "Yeah, that sounds good. Do you, you know, know anything about that?"
Lee shrugged. "Not really. But if you tell me about it, I should be able to recreate it."
Katara wandered back over at this point. She chimed in with, "The Moon is very important to the Water Tribes, and to my brother in particular."
Sokka's face turned ever so slightly sorrowful, and Suki placed her hand on his bicep, squeezing gently. She'd never had the pleasure of meeting Yue, but from the stories Sokka had told her, it was a great loss.
Lee observed the two having a moment and turned his attention to Katara. "As in the phases of the Moon or…?"
Katara nodded. "Yeah, the phases, and how the Moon affects the tides. Obviously the Ocean is important to our people as well."
Lee scribbled on his parchment as she spoke. He nodded along. "Wolves too, right? I'm sure I've heard about Water Tribe warriors being connected to wolves in some way."
Katara was surprised at his knowledge. "Yes, actually. Before going into battle a lot of traditional warriors use war paint to look more like wolves."
Lee nodded and muttered, "Wolves would work."
A little louder he said, "Anything else?"
Sokka re-joined the conversation and said, "Yeah, the pommel and guard of my old sword were plated with gold, would you be able to use silver instead? Much more Water Tribe."
Lee smiled. "I can do that."
He glanced down at his notes and then said, "I can rough up a scale drawing of what you've said, but it might take a little while. You could come back in… let's say an hour, and I'll show you what I've got? If that works for you?"
Aang said, "It is getting close to lunch. We could get something to eat and come back?"
Sokka agreed. "Sounds good to me, Aang."
Katara snorted. "Food always sounds good to you, Meathead."
Suki asked Lee, "Can we bring you anything?"
The smith shook his head. "Thank you, no. I'll eat later."
Katara frowned. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Thank you, I'm fine."
Sokka said, "So, see you in an hour?"
Lee nodded again. "I'll be here."
Sokka shook the man's hand again and the four of them left Lee's shop.
As soon as they were out of sight, Lee fell back against the counter. The Avatar in his shop… and his friends too. Once he recognised the Avatar, it wasn't hard to realise that the girl in blue was his Waterbending Master. He'd heard stories, gossip, of a Water tribe boy who travelled with the Avatar, his new client, and that he was a skilled tactician, especially for one so young. The other girl he hadn't recognised, though she was definitely Earth Kingdom; maybe his Earthbending teacher?
Lee shook his head, breathing deeply as he tried to calm his racing heart. His family had spent the last hundred years trying to find the elusive Avatar, to destroy the last of the Airbenders. Then there was the Waterbender; the colours she and her brother wore were very much Southern Tribe, if he remembered his lessons correctly. Grandfather Azulon had spent decades massacring the Southern Waterbenders, killing and capturing as many as could be found. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Why did he take this job? If they found out who he was…
Lee shook his head. No one knew who he was. Not the Fire Nation, or the Earth Kingdom, or anyone. He was just Lee, humble blacksmith. Simple sword-maker. Nothing more. He would take the order, make the sword, and then he would never see them again.
Simple.
"So what do you think of this Lee?" Suki asked Sokka as they dug into their lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Sokka shrugged, focusing almost entirely on his food. "He seems okay, I guess."
Suki eyed him. "Do you want him to make you a sword?"
Sokka just shrugged again. "Don't know. Depends what he comes back with when we go back.
Aang asked as a waitress appeared to refill their drinks, "What would make you say yes?"
That made Sokka pause a moment. He stared into the distance, thinking. Then he shrugged a third time and said, "Don't know. Something that… looks right, I guess."
Katara said, "He seemed to have a pretty solid understanding of what you'd used and what you wanted."
Sokka agreed. "I know, it was almost creepy, like he was reading me or something."
Suki said, "He's just good at his job, that's all. I wonder how long he's had that shop? He doesn't seem very old."
The waitress said, "Are you talking about Lee? The blacksmith?"
Katara said, "Yes, actually. Do you know him?"
She smiled and nodded, a slight blush entering her cheeks. "For several years now. He was Master Shila's last apprentice. She died just last year and left him the shop."
The girl's smile faded as she spoke of Shila's death.
Suki squinted at the girl's nametag and saw that it read 'Jin'. She said, "I'm sorry to hear that she passed. Was Lee close to his master then, Jin?"
Jin nodded seriously. "Very. He was her apprentice for… three years, I think? Three or four. He moved into her spare room not long after arriving in the city, I believe. He'd fled the War and found himself in Ba Sing Se."
Sokka asked tactlessly, "Is that how he got the—"
He gestured at his own face, and Suki dug her elbow into his ribcage, making him wheeze.
Jin frowned at him. "He doesn't like to talk about it, as I'm sure you can understand."
Katara jumped in with a placating smile. "Of course we understand. I apologise for my father; he often speaks before he thinks."
Jin nodded as Sokka spluttered indignantly. She said, "I understand. Lee is… He does not have many friends, but he is respected and is a part of our community."
Aang asked, "Are you his friend?"
Jin frowned. "I… I've always wanted to be. However, I do not believe he wishes to make friends. He is… guarded, I suppose. Understandably so."
She turned and saw her manager eyeing her. She sighed. "I have to get back to work. Please, enjoy your meal."
Jin left, heading back towards the kitchen.
Katara turned a mild glare on her brother. "You really need to learn to think before you open that big mouth of yours."
"What?" Sokka said, taking a bite of his meal. "If you don't ask, you don't learn anything."
Katara and Suki both sighed, long-sufferingly.
They returned to the shop and found Lee hunched over a long table in the corner of the building. He turned as they entered, offering a small smile. He gestured Sokka over and stepped back.
On the table was a length of parchment that stretched across the entirety of the table. It depicted a sword, just over three feet in length, from the pommel to the tip of the blade. It was… beautiful.
That was the only word Sokka could think of to describe it. Space Sword had been beautiful in its way, but it had also been very plain. Utilitarian. This was… practically ornate, while still being extremely functional.
Lee had even painted it with watercolours, depicting the pattern in the steel, the intricacies of the wolf-head pommel and the blue of the leather-wrapped hilt. It was perfect.
Suki came over to stand beside him and whistled, clearly impressed.
"This is…" Sokka started and then finished, "Amazing."
Suki asked, "You can make this?"
Lee nodded. "If I can find the right materials, and you give me time to work, then yes."
"How long?" Sokka asked.
Lee thought about it. "Six weeks, minimum. Probably closer to two months if I take my time polishing and refining it."
Sokka blinked. "To make a sword? One sword? My first sword was made in a couple of days!"
Suki elbowed him again.
Lee frowned but just said, "Was your sword cast?"
Sokka frowned as well. "Err…"
Lee elaborated. "Did you heat the metal until it was molten and pour it into a mould?"
Sokka nodded. "Yeah, and then my master showed me how to shape and refine it, because it was still a little rough."
Lee nodded, understanding. "Casting a sword is… It can speed up the process, especially if guided by a skilled smith. I presume you needed the blade quickly?"
"Yeah. We were in a bit of a rush."
Lee continued, "Yeah, that's why your master had you cast your sword. It's an old technique, from when swords were made out of bronze. I'll be using a more traditional method for forging steel. Folding it over and over and building up the layer count. It can take a lot of time, especially because I'll need to smelt the metal, but it creates an incredibly strong blade once you're done."
Sokka was still a little stunned, so Suki jumped in and asked, "How much would something like this cost?"
Lee pursed his lips. "It will not be cheap. No custom job is. With the specifications you asked for, and the materials selected… 400 gold pieces."
Sokka, only just recovering from his shock, almost choked on his tongue.
Katara saved him this time. She said, "We'll need to look over our finances. Could you keep us on your books without confirming?"
Lee nodded. "I'll pencil you in, but I'll need you to confirm whether you want it or not in the next couple of days, and I'll need a deposit of 100 gold, so that I can purchase materials for the build."
Aang smiled brightly. "We'll get back to you as soon as we can."
Iroh barely even blinked at the amount. He just held up a finger and descended into the Jasmine Dragon's basement. He returned with a pouch, one that jingled and clinked as he placed it on the table and took his seat once more.
"100 for the deposit, you said?"
Sokka nodded, mouth open. He tried to object. "Iroh, I can't let you—"
The older man cut him off. "My friend, it is a small price to pay. Your actions saved the lives of many, and owning a proper weapon will help you to continue doing so."
Iroh counted out the amount, transferring it into a smaller pouch that he set down in front of Sokka.
Sokka put his hand on the money, and hesitated. He stared into the old Dragon's golden eyes and asked, "Are you sure?"
Iroh smiled and placed his hand on top of Sokka's, squeezing gently. "Yes. Take the money, buy the sword."
When Sokka stopped to think about it, Iroh had always been very supportive of his training with the sword. He was supportive generally, with pretty much anyone he met, however he seemed to have a sad smile on his face whenever he observed Sokka's practices with the blade.
When asked, the old man just said, "You remind me of someone."
Sokka was pretty sure the man was referring to either his son or nephew, though he thought better of asking which.
It was the next day when Sokka returned to Lee's shop and confirmed the order, paying him the deposit of 100 gold pieces.
Toph had accompanied him this time. "To be your muscle." She said with a smirk. "We wouldn't want you getting jumped by some mugger with all this gold on you."
Sokka had spluttered and argued but had, ultimately, been unable to prevent her from joining him. No one made Toph Bei Fong do anything she didn't want to.
He'd thought about asking the Earthbender for a sample from her meteorite bracelet, but had decided against it. This sword wasn't Space Sword, and it was important that there was a distinction. Besides, who knew if Lee could forge space earth?
So Sokka had confirmed the order, paid the money, and Toph had interrogated Lee about the metal he planned to use. Unless Sokka was mistaken, the smith had seemed almost amused by the little Earthbender, who barely came up to the man's chest, grilling him about the quality of his steel.
Lee had ended the discussion with, "Don't worry, Master Toph; your friend's sword will be one of the finest in the city, perhaps the Nation. I would not sell him a bad blade."
Toph tilted her head to the side, as if listening. "Huh." She remarked. "You're telling the truth."
They'd left shortly after, and Lee had begun sending out orders to various other tradesmen in the district.
An order for blue-dyed leather at the tannery. A selection of irons and steels from his usual suppliers. Small quantities of silver from a local jeweller. Everything else, he had.
A few days later, his order of ore came in.
Lee eyed it. Little Lee stood at his side, staring at the metal as well. The boy was less than six months into his apprenticeship and was thus merely an observer.
"What first?" the boy asked, staring up at him.
Lee sighed. Then he said, "We smelt."
