Chapter Three: A Man Named "Guru"
It had been a month since he and his Fei She had left the Western Air Temple, and Jiao-long had been regretting telling his father he wished to master the four elements such as an early Avatar did. He had no training in survival, as he was young and only studied the ways of the monks and bending, of course. His firebending seemed to be at its peak, and he was already one of the most dangerous young people. The only reason that he could think of for feeling all the power in his bending was that he had a bigger drive now. Since he learned that he was the Avatar, he felt more powerful, but now he had a quest that could take almost his entire youth to fulfill: take down the Air Temple of the West. He had assumed the name of a great Fire Nation general: Lóng xi, or, Dragon of the West.
While traveling to on Fei She, he settled down one night early as he had a lot on his mind. Jiao had been traveling for about a week and was hungry and tired. He hadn't eaten in a few days until that morning when he found a berry bush, but they were poisonous, giving him a stomach ache.
"You should not eat strange things you find, good sir." Jiao heard.
"Who's there? I'm fully capable of defeating whoever you are!" He shouted.
"Do not be alarmed, good sir. I am Guru; legend has it that I am a reincarnation of another great person in history, just like you! In fact, when the world was in chaos, the one who is said to be me in a past life has a connection to one of your past lives, Avatar Aang of the Southern Air Temple. If you would let me, I would be honored to teach you of the Avatar State, just as I have done for you before."
"The Avatar State?"
"Oh this is not good at all. You see, when your body senses severe danger, you automatically go into a state of retaliation, known as the Avatar State. Even though your past lives have been dead for years, you are still one being and are connected with the knowledge of all of the Avatars. When you are in the Avatar State, you are virtually unstoppable."
"All right! Let's turn the key and start kicking some butt!"
"Now, now, good sir. Part of the responsibilities of being the Avatar is learning to mature faster than the ones around you, especially in these new ages. You must calm yourself, take this seriously, and take on the challenge of becoming an adult at a young age."
"But that isn't fair, Guru! I never asked to be the Avatar. I never agreed to terms to become it either! Everyone my age is having fun and is still at home, being loved by the ones around them. Yet, now I'm forced to leave my home to travel the world, never returning just because I don't like the customs we are now forced to abide by!"
"I understand, good sir. But what has happened in the past cannot be changed. Avatar Aang was wise and lived a very long life. His standards he set for you and your people may not be so favorable, but they are successful. Besides, he was, and is, you."
"It still isn't fair."
"Enough! If you wish to sit around and complain about how hard your life is, then be my guest. Your own past lives almost all had harsher lives, as you grew up in a civilization that its main goal is to take care of all of your needs and teach you the information you need to know to be successful. I'll be waiting for you to start your training over here, when you grow up come and find me."
"Yes, sir." Jiao was infuriated with Guru. He didn't know if he wasn't anything more than an insane old man, but he decided to give him a chance. He needed all the help he could get. Jiao hadn't even ever heard of anything called the Spirit World! Yet, Guru was speaking about it as if some of the words he was saying were words that everybody used daily. He didn't know what he was getting himself in to. He was, for the first time in his life, befuddled.
"I wish to learn from you, Sifu Guru." Jiao-long requested.
"Then let's get started, good sir." Guru smiled. "I'm going to ask you to first, forgive your father-"
"Baojia, please call him by his name. He is not my father." Jiao interrupted.
"Please, you must forgive your fa-, Baojia, for banishing you. You will return one day, but you must forgive him first. After we finish our lessons, I will speak with, pardon me but, your father. You may not respect him as such, but he is technically still your father."
"You really think I'll be able to return?"
"Yes. You are the Avatar after all. That comes with its own honor, and you must protect it, good sir. Now, enough chitter-chatter, time for training! Now, assume battle stance." Jiao did. "That is weak. You can easily be knocked down, like so." Guru simply kicked the inside of his right ankle and he crumbled to the ground. "See? Now, bend your knees. You haven't learned about earthbending yet, but you will and the earthbenders technique is all in their stance. Bend your knees, widen your stance, and stay strong. As you know with firebending, you must breathe properly, or you will be weak. Also in earthbending, you must wait and respond with a move of your own. Never strike first. In waterbending, you must feel the flow of your surroundings, or you will not be able to gracefully attack your opponent with the elements, making it harder to battle naturally. Finally, in airbending, you never look for a fight, or even seek to strike directly. This is similar to earthbending, where you wait for one to move first. Also, as in firebending, your power comes from the flexing of your abdomen."
"So all they are all connected, just as Avatar Aang said!"
"Just as you said, good sir." Guru smiled. He did that a lot.
"But wait, what about waterbending? You haven't said anything about that so far!"
"Ah, but waterbending is all of the elements turned into one massive defense mechanism. You see, some used to believe that waterbending was destined to be different than any other bending, simply because it was the only style that wasn't learned from animals! Sky Bisons taught the Air Nomads, Dragons taught Sun Warriors, and Badgermoles taught the two lovers: Oma and Shu. However, Water Tribes learned from the moon, making them the only benders not to have learned from animals."
"So….waterbending isn't connected with the other three?"
"Wait, good sir. Tui and La, the Ocean and Moon Spirits took form into coy fish, making them no longer spirits, but animals. So they are related in that way."
"But the other benders are connected by how they fight?"
"Be patient, good sir. Earthbenders manipulate the earth to defend themselves and then attack, mastering neutral jing."
"What is jing?"
"Jing is the style of fighting in which you choose. Waterbenders use defensive moves to counter and use their opponent's strengths into their own weaknesses, similar to the earthbenders' neutral jing. Firebenders deal with a very deadly matter, unlike the waterbenders. However, both of these two bending styles depend on the bender to shift the shape to a form that turns something either deadly or serene, a strong attacking force. Airbenders are a rather calm and levelheaded people, like the sea. Both water and airbending styles are graceful, and flowing; even though an airbenders attack depends on the force in a single blow."
"You are explaining how similar everyone is, but Rokou and the Monks say that the four nations should be separate, and never to be interfered with. How can these two statements both be true, Guru?"
"The Moon and Ocean Spirits rely on a never ending form of a push and pull concept. In order for balance, there must be a push for every pull. Otherwise, the world would be unbalanced."
"So even though we are a part of a whole, we are still a part and without that the world would be uneven and chaotic?"
"Exactly, good sir. It is time that your training shall commence."
"But you said that I would only be learning how to master the Avatar State?"
"Did I?"