Chapter 5: Revitalization
Fire Nation; Crescent island
Zuko had managed to reach the sanctuary at the top of the Fire Temple without drawing attention to himself. The guard patrols had been too regular not to pick up on their routines, so it had been easy for the prince-in-exile to slip past them. The movements of the Fire Sages, on the other hand, had been impossible to predict. For once, though, Zuko had been lucky and had not encountered any of them.
Getting into the sanctuary itself had proven most difficult, as its great doors would only open to a fully realized Avatar or five fire benders, and Zuko was neither. It had taken him hours to find a way in, when he had climbed up until he was right under the roof. There, he had found a small gap between the wall and ceiling he could fit himself through. Zuko suspected the gap was for ventilation of the otherwise sealed off room.
Now, the prince-in-exile was meditating in the centre of the room, facing the statue of Avatar Roku. He knew the former Avatar would not communicate with him. In fact, Zuko wasn't even sure if it was even possible for Roku to communicate with him should he even wish to do so. Nonetheless, Zuko believed this place would show him more about what needed to be done for him to regain – No… relearn – his bending. So far, each step he had taken had shown him the next step to take but somehow, Zuko was hoping for more than just one step here.
The flame he had found in his uncle's tent, he had carried with him to the Temple. It was still alive, but also still dying out slowly - although the process had seemed to slow down significantly. Maybe he was too careful not to feed the flame too much energy. Zuko just did not want to cause the small ember, resting in his hands, to grow into a sudden explosion, undoing the work he had put into it so far.
Within the sanctuary, Zuko felt as if an ageless, primordial power of fire resided right in the stone of the walls, floor and ceiling; a history recorded over the ages, which could only be uncovered by a few – if not only one. He chose not to focus on trying to delve into that which he did not expected he could harness. He instead focused on himself, on the flame in his hands – and within him – and his quest.
A Quest of Fire.
As Zuko closed his eyes again, he could still see the flame, burning low and slowly dying. A saddening sight and a situation he knew he could fix, if only he had enough time. Time…? That had to be it. For too long, he had assumed it would take time to find his answers. That was not the way of the element of fire. Fire did not wait, Fire acted. If he waited, he would always be looking for answers. If he would act, he would regain what was his. Not only his bending, but also the throne he had been denied. With that realization, the flame before his mind's eye seemed to shift briefly, before flaring up in a bright flash of light.
Zuko opened his eyes again, looking down at his hands to see the flame - which had been weak and almost powerless not moments ago - had turned into a strong, bright flame. Something in him must have awakened at his latest realization. Now, he had to decide on what path to take. Slowly, he rose to his feet and closed the few steps between himself and the statue of Avatar Roku, where he placed the renewed flame in the hands of the statue, before returning to his place in the centre of the room. It seemed only right for the flame to find its home within this sanctuary.
His gaze moved from the statue through the rest of the room. Something seemed to have changed. Not anything visible to the naked eye, but something… about how the place felt. It was probably something within himself that had changed, something that allowed him to sense this – whatever it was. Shifting his focus back onto himself and, more importantly, his inner flame, Zuko was reassured that it was himself which had changed, indeed. His flame was brighter, though he knew his bending would not return to him just yet. This merely was the first true step on his path and many more would follow. But first, Zuko had some matters to attend to. The banished prince would set his uncle free, and he would do so immediately. It was the only way to thank his uncle for making him realize where he had to go first.
