Chapter 4: The Shrouded Island
Sen took a minute to think about the situation he was in. All his allies were gone now, though thankfully Ada and Suda were only a few hours away, unlike Hanjo. He didn't even have Gun. The only person in miles who knew Sen was the Avatar was Hayao, a man who seemed to never move.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. He couldn't foresee too many problems finding him here; it would be nice to take a break from all the stress of being the Avatar. No more running, no more violence, no more worrying about innocent people around him. Just Sen and some time to get his thoughts together. Also Miyani, whoever that was.
He didn't feel like looking right now. There was a table in the cavern, in the same room as the food, and Sen sat there. He didn't eat anything, not yet. He figured that the other residents of the island would come here eventually, so this was where he stayed. It was very quiet for a while.
Sen couldn't stand it. There was no sound, no movement. There was a little rumble in the ground below as magma forced its way upwards from the center of the earth, but it wasn't enough. Whenever it was quiet like this, he started thinking about Hanjo. The circular scar on Sen's wrist started to ache, and he decided to head out. His only hope of distracting himself, for now, was Miyani.
Sen headed down the coast a bit and searched for the first figure he remembered. He had seen a blurred silhouette on his way in, and they were as good a place to start as any. He found the spot where he had first seen the figure and found them again, tracking down their presence with the subtle vibrations of the earth until his eyes could lead him the rest of the way. They were just a gray blur in the distance, but they were there. Sen carefully proceeded up the mountainside. He couldn't make out any details about his target until he was practically right next to them, but when he finally got close he realized that she was very distinctive.
Her clothes were as unassuming as you might expect from a monk, a white shirt and black trousers, but she did have a bit of personal flair. Her hands, shoulder, and head were all bound in cloth wrappings, almost like bandages.
The bandaged woman was still kneeling, her eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the world as well as Sen. He figured there was a good chance she was Miyani.
"Excuse me, is your name Miyani?"
The woman did not get off her knees, but she opened her eyes. She stared blankly at Sen.
"Yes it is," She said quietly. "Why do you ask?"
"Master Hayao said you would teach me to firebend," Sen said. He explained all of Hayao's desires, including the fact that he was not supposed to leave the island. Miyani paused for a moment. If she was confused, her face didn't show it. In fact, her face didn't show much of anything. Her amber eyes regarded Sen, and the whole world, with an air of casual detachment. She was probably one of those monastic types that had stopped caring about the physical world a long time ago.
"Then I will teach you. Would you like to start now?"
Sen was looking for something, anything, to distract himself from the quiet, so he said yes. Miyani bid him to kneel on the ground next to her. The volcanic stone was harsh beneath his knees, and he didn't dare use earthbending to smooth it out lest Miyani notice. He finally found a comfortable spot on the rough stone and rested there.
"Breath is the most fundamental form of firebending. It is the base element of the way firebenders draw on the heat around them generate fire."
Miyani demonstrated by taking a deep breath. Sen felt the air around him get noticeably colder, and when Miyani released her breath, the heat in the air returned. He could feel the changes in her body through the vibration of the ground; something about her changed significantly as she breathed. Her body became quieter, almost. She gave him instructions on how to replicate that feat, and Sen mimicked her instructions exactly. Unlike Miyani, Sen did not change the ambient temperature.
"Your only concern right now is mastering the technique," Miyani said. "Don't be discouraged if you do not succeed on your first attempt."
"I don't know about this," Sen said. "I have this problem, it's-"
"Sozin Syndrome, I know," Miyani said blankly. Sen was caught off guard by that. She turned her expressionless face to look at him. "Master Hayao has an interest in the disease."
Sen looked at her skeptically. She had just defied Hayao no less than three times. Hayao didn't like to be called "master", he didn't like the name "Sozin Syndrome", and he didn't think it was a disease. Miyani seemed to be on an entirely different page from her master.
"Breath control is a universal tool. Whatever troubles you, this exercise is a fundamental step in fixing it. We will proceed when you have practiced it."
She turned away and repeated her deep breath. Sen followed her example. The two of them sat side by side and took deep breaths of the foggy air. The smell of salt and volcanism filled Sen's nose. He imagined that there were better places to breathe, but maybe that was part of the challenge. If he could master breathing here, he could master breathing anywhere.
He thought that to himself and immediately wondered what he was thinking. He could already breathe anywhere. His lungs weren't suddenly facing a massive challenge just because there was some salt in the air. Breathing was just breathing.
With that thought in his head, he repeated the cycle again. He inhaled deeply, drawing in the heat around him, and then he exhaled heavily. A thin mist emerged from his mouth, and he suddenly felt slightly colder.
"Very good," Miyani said. "Do not worry about the feeling of cold. Your body is re-adjusting itself to its normal temperature."
Miyani placed her fingertips on Sen's skin and did not immediately draw them back from pain. Though he was still burning up inside, he felt a bit of hope. Only a little bit. It couldn't be that easy.
"Will it come back?"
"Yes. The heat will always rise within you as long as your conflict remains unresolved, but you can clear it away on demand now."
Miyani turned on her knees to face Sen directly. Sen matched her, shifting until they were kneeling face to face. His body was getting used to its correct temperature very quickly. He hadn't even been aware of the heat in his body, but he definitely felt much better now that it was gone.
"Now, tell me what troubles you."
It was hard for Sen to put it into words. It was hard first of all because everything was so fresh in his mind. Hanjo had been his first and best friend, and Sen had left him to die alone. Part of him had yet to get over that, and he doubted he ever really would.
Putting that feeling into words was even harder than it should have been because of the secrecy he was being forced into. It took Sen a while to come up with a version of his story that didn't reveal him as the Avatar. Miyani took his silence for confusion, though, so he had plenty of time to think about it. She waited patiently for his answer. Sen nervously rubbed his wounded wrist. The scabs had cleared up, but there was now a pink scar encircling the base of his hand. Rubbing the agitated scar helped him focus his mind and come up with a story.
The story he eventually told was heavily neutered, but it was mostly accurate. Miyani nodded as he recounted the events that had led to Hanjo's loss. In Sen's version they were merely residents of Tunuk Bay, forced to flee during the Energybender's attack, leaving Hanjo behind. It wasn't a perfect cover story, but hopefully it would work for Miyani.
"I'm sorry for your loss," She said. Her voice was so monotone that Sen didn't really believe her. "It is a hard thing to lose a friend."
She got off her knees and stood up. Sen followed suit. As they both stood, Sen realized just how tall Miyani was. If Sen were to step forward right now the top of his head would just barely scrape Miyani's chin. She was likely even taller than Suda; he wasn't around right now to compare, but something about her felt larger, even though she was thin and lanky, unlike the bulky Suda.
"No one can really help you recover from a loss like that, but I will do what I can to help," She said. "Physical discipline can help focus the mind as well. Follow my example."
Sen mimicked her actions as she demonstrated a series of slow, steady stances. Sen knew that when sped up, this would be an effective firebending technique, so he paid close attention. He was here to deal with his emotions, but he had to learn firebending at the same time.
"Remember to breath as you move," She instructed. "Build on the basics."
Sen followed her advice. She had never told him when to breathe in or out, but somehow their breathing ended up synchronized anyway. Something about the stances gave him an intuitive sense of when to exhale or inhale. Sen and Miyani continued the synchronized practice for a time. Surprisingly, Miyani was the first to break the silence.
"If it's not too much trouble," She said cautiously. "Could you tell me more about the Energybender?"
"What do you mean?"
"I simply don't know much about him," Miyani explained. "I've been here with Hayao for most of my life. Sometimes I travel to Gai Zhu for supplies and I hear rumors from the woman who makes the donations, but I know very little about the movement of the world."
This was another question that Sen had to think about before he answered. Even he didn't know that much about the Energybender. Ada might know more, but she was hours away.
"I can't tell you much," Sen said. "All I know is he's a terrible person. He destroys without reason or remorse, all to hunt the Avatar."
Miyani's face broke out of its flat expression for the first time, briefly showing signs of confusion and concern. She quickly snapped back into her normal expressionless self.
"Does anyone know why he hunts the Avatar?"
"No," Sen spat. He felt heat rising in him again, and he took a deep breath, using Miyani's instructions to extinguish the fire within. The mysteries surrounding the Energybender and his vendetta against the Avatar still confused Sen to no end. He couldn't fight an enemy he knew next to nothing about.
"What do you think about it all," Sen asked her. "What's your take on the Avatar, and the Energybender."
"It doesn't concern me," Miyani said blankly. "I understand what the battle means to people like you, but I'm removed from those conflicts."
"I bet a lot of dead people at Tunuk Bay thought the same thing," Sen said bitterly. Miyani didn't respond. As they continued their mirror exercises, their breathing fell out of synch.
Miyani eventually moved them to a different exercise. She guided Sen down the coastline, towards one of the rumbling gouts of lava. Sen kept his distance from the liquid stone. He had seen lava before, when Bolin had lavabent, but it hadn't been quite so violent then. Miyani put the font of molten rock behind her, and turned to Sen.
"Tell me about Hanjo," She commanded.
"What? I already told you what happened," Sen objected. He had no desire to repeat himself. Just thinking about Hanjo hurt him. Saying the words aloud put a painful lump in his throat.
"You only told me the end of his story. Now tell me the rest."
Sen might have been a little more forthcoming if Miyani looked like she even cared, but she didn't. Her face was expressionless. Her bandaged hands rested idly by her side as she stood, nearly as motionless as Hayao.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I understand," Miyani said. "We'll wait until you're ready."
Sen wondered if he ever would be. Miyani crossed her legs and sat down.
"I understand your stress, Sen, but you can let all of that go now. This island is quiet and peaceful."
Sen's eyes flitted to the gushing river of lava behind Miyani. He could feel hundreds of other lava chambers rumbling beneath the island. This place was hardly peaceful. There was a layer of rock concealing it, but the whole place was a barely contained inferno. Sen dreaded what might happen if that layer of rock ever fell apart.
It wasn't his concern, at any rate. Hayao and Miyani both thought it was safe here, so it probably was. The island, volcanic as it was, was a secluded shelter, a perfect place to hide from the troubles of the world for a while. Sen crossed his legs and took a deep breath. So long as he was here, he could keep everything together.