-The Training Begins—

FWAP

Korra shot up and began rubbing her throbbing arm. Tomkin stood over her bed with a metal cane which he had just used as a wake-up call.

"The "Avatar" rises with the sun now," he said. Korra could already feel that he was different.

She had no time to get ready. No time to eat. She was outside, standing in the yard in the twilight. Tomkin stood before her. Korra could hardly stay awake. She hardly slept. She had not had the visions she had been having. Maybe since leaving the South Pole they have had trouble finding her again. Maybe being around Tomkin scared them. It was scaring Korra that was for sure.

Tomkin could tell she was thinking about things. He knew just from looking at her. She could almost feel him in her head and so she put everything out of her mind and focused on his glare. What did he want?

"You have come to learn from me, is that right?"

"Y-yes."

"Then you will refer to me as master in all speech."

"Yes, master."

"What is it you want to learn?"

Korra had to think about this one for a second. She had no clear answer as to why she was here. She was depressed, confused about what she was, confused about the things she started seeing, and just wanted something to do about it all. There was hope here for some purpose.

"To find my purpose, master" was Korra's answer.

"You think that I can give that to you?" he asked.

"I am not sure. There is a lot I don't know. There is a lot I…am confused about. And I want to figure out what I am supposed to do about what has happened to me, master."

"What has happened to you?"

Korra knew. She failed as the avatar. She lost her bending. She lost her bending which she spent so long learning and perfecting. But she could no longer meet the responsibilities of the avatar without them. She failed as the avatar, the first ever to fail.

"Well, if you are just going to sit there and feel sorry for yourself like a child you can see yourself out. I don't train hopeless cases. I train those who desire to learn. I train those who desire to discover the secrets of this world. The existence of that which flows from this world into the next. A power that one must sacrifice a great deal of themselves to understand, but this knowledge of the planet will prove to be more invaluable than any bending has ever been. Now, if you are just going to find some way to get your bending back, to undo your miserable failures, than I am not wasting my time."

Tomkin turned to go to his house. Korra was stunned. She had already messed this up before she even started.

"Wait, master! I want to learn. I want to know these things. I have had so many questions, questions about the nature of this planet and of myself and I just can't answer them on my own. No one can. No one except you."

"I cannot answer your questions, pitiful child. A worthless human once asked me how they can get their bending back, how they can become what they once were because that was what defined greatness. You were born with this power, but real power is earned. Do not believe the lies of the past. People lust for power, and they define themselves by this power. In the end, it is not the power that defines us, it's the road we chose to take to obtain it. If you think I will tell you how to learn to play with fire and water again than you are just sad. However, if you can show me that you will be willing to undergo my training, I will have to see proof. Proof that I am not training some sad sack longing for her bending. Someone who will be happy once they find some way to bend again. I will tell you now, you will not get that out of this. What you will get is what you will put into it. And I will put in nothing if you will as well. Now, there is a river at the bottom of the steps leading up to this estate. I will give you two buckets, you will fill them completely, then you will carry them to me. You will do this repeatedly. When I get the water I will dump it out if you have taken too long. If you show me you are willing to learn, to try to understand that which is more important than bending, then we'll talk. Until then, I don't want to see your ugly face unless you have these filled with water."

He drops two very large buckets in front of Korra. Her eyes widen, thinking how difficult this was going to be.

"Oh, and I'm not stupid. I know you can airbend, somehow. Worthless element. If you do, I will know. You think I won't? Just test me. We will see after that how well you can hold even one of these buckets."