Chapter 2 -Old Masters and Old Wounds
"You should stay off the leechee beer," Piandao flatly stated. "Dulls the reflexes. I could have killed you before that jian cleared the scabbard."
"What are you doing here, Master?" Sokka asked as he lowered the weapon.
"Just checking up on a former pupil. I recognize the blade. I made it over 30 years ago. It was commissioned by a noble as a gift for his son graduating the Fire Nation Military Academy. How did you come in possession of it?"
Sokka shrugged. "Brigadier Chan. I liberated it from his corpse. He no longer had need of it. I did."
A questioning look crossed Piandao's face. "What happened to the sword you forged under my tutelage?"
"I sacrificed it to save the life of a friend."
"It was a noble sacrifice, then," the master mused.
An image of a girl with raven hair, alabaster skin, and milky jade eyes briefly flashed in Sokka's mind. "You have no idea, Master."
Sokka sat down on the edge of the bed while Piandao took his ease in a chair in the corner of the small room. Piandao broke the awkward silence. "Do you still have the white lotus tile I gave you when you left?"
"I do."
"And you know of its significance?"
"I think so. It was an invitation to join the Order of the White Lotus. What I don't get, is why none of you 'old masters' ever followed with me, you know, told me the next step."
Piandao smiled. "That's why I'm here now. After a potential candidate is identified, we watch, from a distance for a few years to see how he lives his life. We watch his judgment, how he handles adversity, the choices he makes. Once we know he has the proper character, we approach him and begin the initiation process.
"The purpose of the Order is to preserve ancient and arcane knowledge and arts. We're dedicated to preserving balance and order in the world."
"I thought that was the Avatar's job," Sokka interrupted.
"The Avatar is one being, albeit a powerful one. It's a big world. The Avatar needs help."
"Well, I figure I'm already doing my part helping maintain balance in the world, bringing these fugitive war criminals to justice."
Piandao shook his head. "Stalking men and murdering them in their sleep is not justice."
Sokka's lips tightened in anger, "Those men were convicted in a court. They'd eventually get taken in and executed anyway. I just eliminate the middle man."
Piandao sighed, "You've simply allowed yourself to become an instrument of vengeance. Just because you have the Earth King's imprimatur doesn't make it any less murder. Sokka, you have great potential, but the path you're on now will only lead to the destruction of your soul. Follow the path of the White Lotus. If you do, you can realize your potential, you can find redemption, you can find a way to ease your pain."
"You know nothing of my pain!" Sokka growled.
Piandao's gaze softened. "Then tell me."
Sokka shut his eyes, trying to hold back the tears. "When you and I last met outside Ba Sing Se, you also met Suki, the Kyoshi warrior." Piando nodded. Sokka continued. "We were in love. After the war, she returned to Kyoshi Island and I went home to the South Pole to help rebuild my tribe. My dad was grooming me to take over as chief. After a couple of years, Dad thought I was ready. Suki and I had maintained contact and we even got to visit a few times when I'd make trading journeys to her island. Anyway, the tradition in my tribe is that you can't become chief unless you're married. When I proposed to Suki, she told me she loved her home, and she loved being a Kyoshi warrior, but she loved me even more. So she moved to the South Pole and we married. The next day I was installed as Chief. Two months later, she was dead."
"How?" asked the old master.
"The Frost Burn," Sokka sobbed. "Stupid childhood disease that almost all the water tribe kids get before we turn twelve or thirteen. You get a rash around your neck, armpits and groin. Comes with a slight fever as well. Most get over it in four or five days. Suki didn't. The rash eventually covered her whole body. The fever never broke. All the healers, even Katara, could do nothing for her. She was delirious with fever and covered in boils. She died screaming in pain.
"She died in screaming agony because she loved me. I couldn't protect her. Like I couldn't protect Mom. Like I couldn't protect Yue.
"So, I did the only thing I thought I could do. I decided to take her home to let her rest there. But I was still Chief. I couldn't leave and not leave someone else in charge. So I took the Chief's robes back to my dad and I resigned. I knew I couldn't be Chief anymore without Suki by my side. After all, if I couldn't protect my wife, how could I protect my tribe?
"After I buried her on Kyoshi Island, I knew I couldn't go back home. I wandered around a bit and one day I saw a wanted poster for Brigadier Chan. That's how I went from being Chief of the Southern Water Tribe to being bounty hunter. But you already know all this because you've been watching," Sokka said with and accusatory glance.
Piandao nodded. "True. But you needed to tell it. The first step to letting go of pain is to acknowledge it. Suki will always be with you. You have to stop blaming yourself. You could not protect her from a disease she had no natural immunity against."
Sokka nodded in understanding. Piandao continued, "Fire Nation children go through the same disease, only we call it 'Fire Rash'. When the fire nation colonies were first settled, an epidemic of Fire Rash killed nearly every Earth Kingdom native past puberty in the surrounding area."
"So, Suki was probably the first Kyoshi Islander to encounter the disease. She had no immunity," Sokka mumbled.
"Thank you, Master. Knowing this helps a little. Is this the kind of thing I'll learn in the White Lotus?"
Piandao gave him a brief smile. "The knowledge of diseases and immunity is one of our more mundane understandings. You'll learn this and more, things you can't even imagine now."
"When can we start?" the younger man asked hopefully.
"In the morning. It's late and you need your rest. And I promised Madame Ling a game of Pai Sho."