Summer 99 AG
Northern Air Temple
For a while I had feared the number of stairs needed to reach the summit of the temple, going so far as to prepare myself for the things my uncle would say since he is not the most physically fit at the moment.
It was all just a waste of mental effort because the mechanist built a fucking elevator, it really shouldn't surprise me since this guy somehow made the Fire Nation tanks run on steam, this man must have been the reason, or one of the reasons for the rapid technological advancements that were present in Korra's time.
"This" Iroh said with a pleased look on his face "is really convenient, we should have these installed back in the palace, the novelty of this object alone would bring prestige and I'm sure those fat nobles would love it"
I looked at his belly when he said that last part and he didn't miss my stare either.
"You shouldn't judge so easily prince Zuko, this" he patted his stomach "is a well-earned reward"
I couldn't help but snort at his declaration "Perhaps you are right uncle"
The elevator keeps rising and there is a brief instance of silence before Iroh grabs my shoulder and turns me towards him.
"Zuko, are you happy?"
"What? Why are you asking that right now?"
"Zuko the path you've chosen is not an easy one, it will be filled with conflict and pain. However, none of that matters as long as you are happy, to me your happiness is the most of important thing in the world, after your health of course"
Taking a moment to collect myself I think about the answer, and it arrives almost immediately.
"I am, no matter what happens this is the right path"
"Good, you will be the greatest Fire Lord that has ever lived"
The confidence in his voice raises my ego quite a bit and he is not wrong. I will be the best.
Finally, we arrive at the workshop of the mechanist, which is the name the man goes by, which is weird but I'm no one to judge.
"Minister Qin why are you back so soon I- "confusion and panic come to his face "You're not minister Qin"
"No, we are…guests and perhaps friends" a smile was on my face as I looked at the man.
The mechanist was nervous and afraid, even as I tried to be friendly. Glancing at Iroh he quickly figured that I needed some help, he must have forgotten that I was not the most charismatic person in the room.
"Please speak freely, minister Qin mustn't have been a very good friend or superior to you. We are here to remedy the lack of tack he's had with you"
The tone of voice was perfect, calm, composed and overall friendly. Learning how to speak properly should be a priority.
"What do you want with my people? You must know that I was pressed into serving the Fire Nation and that they threatened us with wiping us all out" there was anger and resignation in his voice, this man had chosen to submit in exchange for the lives of the refugees but there is still a semblance of defiance in him.
That spark of rebellion that would be ignited by the Avatar resulting in his genius being turned against us, but it can be repurposed by me, after all I can offer him something that nobody else can.
"I want nothing from your people" this time it's my voice that answers him "what I want is you, or rather your genius. Will you be loyal to me?"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Zuko and I'm the crown prince an heir of the current Fire Lord, right now I'm planning to end this war but if I am to succeed I will talented people like yourself and I can offer you something that nobody else can"
"Yo-You want to end the war" the incredulity in his tone was evident but he continued more angry than surprised "never mind that, what could you possibly offer me, money, I don't want it, women, I had a wife whom I loved with all my heart, and I will not replace her. Tell me prince what do you think I would sell my soul for"
"Do you know of Agni?" My question caught him off-guard, and he seemed to be getting angrier.
"What does the sun spirit have to do with anything?" Iroh at my side was looking as lost as the mechanist. He clearly thought that me being chosen by Agni would mean little to a man of the Earth Kingdom.
"I was recently blessed by the sun and He has spoken to me through visions-"
"Zuko you've spoken with Agni" the reverent tone in Iroh's voice cut through my explanation.
"Uncle please, I'm trying to speak" he opened and closed his mouth a few times but finally let me speak "As I was saying the sun sees everything and has informed me that your son can't walk, if you swear your absolute loyalty to me, He has promised to heal him but if you betray me, he will die"
They were rightfully shocked at my words, the idea of a spirit intervening in the material world was something out of legend, what will really happen is that I would use my powers granted to me by the catalog to mark Teo and using the one time heal granted by my talent to help him, limiting it to only heal him.
"Think carefully about my offer mechanist, I will be waiting in our ship in front of the hidden entrance that leads to this workshop, to heal your son I will simply need to touch him, and he will need to spend three days in the eyes of the sun" with that I motion to Iroh that we are leaving, and he quickly follows me.
"Do you think he will accept Zuko?" uncle asked the question as soon as we started descending
"Of course he will, he would be doing practically the same job as before and as another incentive, besides healing his son, I will stop the war"
Just as I expected the man came to us that very night and professed his loyalty as long as I healed Teo, he also had the condition that no person living in the temple knew of our agreement.
After accepting I made the trip to the place where his son was resting and quickly stamped him and left, as we traveled back to his workshop the conversation turned to his current project, the war balloons, and I provided the answer to his little conundrum in how to control it, after explaining the idea of a valve that allowed the pilot to release the hot air at will.
The man left pleased that his son was healed and with new inspiration for his design that was going to become a key piece in the next part of my plan.
Finally, a new day arrived and after my morning sun bath and meditation I could finally start training some higher forms of firebending.
"One of the most important techniques of a firebender is the ability to charge an attack whether alone or in a group, it requires patience and strength of will, you must be able to control yourself if you are to control your own fire"
He took a stance, legs opened wide with bent knees one arm at his waist and the other extended both with a fist ready, he started taking deep breaths and I felt as the very air around us got hotter and then a little ball of flame appeared in front of his extended arm, the fire was getting bigger going from the size of a fist into the something as big as head.
Then, he let it go. A torrent of flame more powerful than any other I've seen Iroh do was let loose, it was lucky that we were doing this on what little land there was at the hidden entrance because I'm sure the ship would need to be repaired again if we had done it there.
It took me a second to realize that this was the attack that destroyed the wall of Ba Sing Se and that I was absolutely going to make it mine.
"It's your turn Zuko and remember you must remain in control"
"I have a question before I start"
"As always I will answer the best I can"
"Is that stance really necessary?" it looked similar, but it was not quite the same as the one he used in the show
"It is and it isn't, once you master this technique you can modify the stance but as you are beginning to learn it the stance is necessary as it uses your whole body allowing you to better concentrate on the fire"
That made sense, without another word I took the stance and prepared myself, taking a deep breath and then another, the chi in my body was moving from my stomach into my arms and then into my fist.
Sadly, my elation at performing the technique broke my concentration and released the attack prematurely. The stream of fire was impressive, but it could not compare to the one that Iroh had released.
"That was a magnificent first attempt, nephew, it was almost perfect" he was cheerful and the fatherly pride in his voice stirred something in my heart.
"Thank you uncle, you are very kind but it was far from perfect, I will need at least a day to completely master it if I am to use it in a fight"
I was curious however about other master level techniques of firebending, this one was supposed to be one of the basics, but I doubted there was any other technique with the same destructive potential.
"Uncle can you talk to me about what you will teach me as I practice"
"Sure, but I will require tea if I'm to speak for so long, let me get that out of the way"
Iroh left and my attempts to fully control the strength of my attack began. I spent at least fifteen minutes of nonstop bending before he returned accompanied by some of the crew carrying a little table, a tea pot and two seats.
"I'm ready to speak now Zuko, mmm, a yes. You are familiar with the next technique, Fire Augmentation, a master firebender must be able to control any fire in his surroundings, anything ranging from the small flame of a candle to a raging forest fire. You have already trained this when you first started your trip and most recently you saw how I quickly dissipated the fire you created on the ship when you lost control"
A memory came unbidden to my head of Ozai seated on the throne surrounded by fire that grew as his mood worsened, the sudden change in mood ruined my next attempt as the fire was too chaotic as to be compacted.
"Why was I training it before if it's something a master should learn?" Iroh didn't miss the depreciation in my tone and frowned.
"You were an impatient student, but I let you practice because I thought you were ready for it, you are very talented Zuko don't ever forget that" there was finality in his tone, and I knew that he would not have anyone contradict him.
"Very well, continue to tell me of other advanced abilities"
"The Fire Missiles are a more advanced form of the fire stream, powerful firebenders can shoot long streams of fire that follow the target as they move. Another technique is the Intertwined fire stream, an advanced move that is also based on the basic fire stream. The performer directs two powerful fire streams at their opponent, though by intertwining the two streams, a massive, comet-shaped fire stream is formed that has more power than the single stream."
"You will of course teach me how to do them in the next three days, as my promise to the mechanist is fulfilled won't you uncle?"
"Those and more, I've noticed as you train with some of the men that now that you have Agni's protection you are not dodging their attacks and while that isn't a problem it could become one if you ever are attacked by any other type of bender, so I will teach you two more abilities. The Jet propulsion technique allows you to conjure huge amounts of flame to propel yourself at high speeds on the ground or through the air"
I remember that one, it looked pretty cool and if I master it I will be able to fly when boosted by the comet.
"What is the other one?"
"It's one of the few defensive abilities firebending has the Wall of flames, it can be either a situated explosion or controlled inferno, this wall of concentrated flames acts as a barrier to incoming attacks, very useful against waterbenders"
"I have a lot of work ahead of me before I can properly be a master firebender"
"With how fast you've learned this past week, I can confidently say that not even Azula would be your equal in learning speed"
"You do know she is younger than me right?"
"True, however she was directly taught by Ozai, she had an advantage, but now you are being taught by me who is his equal, so her advantage is negated. Shall we continue?"
Author note: Wolo you awesome people of QQ, i hope you are having a good wednesday. as always it is my sworn duty to remind you that you can find the next chapter on my for a dollar, but at this point you already know that. i have a question for you though, do you think i should give a proper name to the mechanist? cause he doesn't have a normal name and it can be weird to call someone mechanist over and over, any thoughts on that will be very appreciated.
:Check me out!
