Chapter 14: The Deserter - 96 AG

Iroh and Sozim ventured into the forest, the sun was high in the sky, its light unobstructed by gray clouds. They were clad in traveler's attire, complete with conical hats. Iroh led the young boy forward, his keen eyes scanning the surroundings as if in search of something. His hands were concealed within his sleeves, and a faint smile played on his lips, his gaze drifting even to the tree branches above.

Sozim broke the silence, asking, "What are you looking for?"

"An old friend," Iroh replied simply. "Young Sozim, if we encounter any threats, remember not to use lethal force and refrain from using your abilities."

Sozim raised an eyebrow. "Are we expecting an attack?"

"We've entered the territory of an isolated tribe," Iroh explained. "They're hostile to outsiders like us. I learned of their presence when we saw boar-q-pines fleeing the forest yesterday. They are one of my destinations on this journey."

"So, they're hiding something you want to see," Sozim surmised.

Iroh chuckled. "Good intuition, young Sozim."

"And this 'something' is the teacher you mentioned?" Sozim inquired.

"Correct," Iroh nodded. "You catch on—"

Suddenly, Sozim halted, bringing Iroh to a stop as well. Iroh turned to follow the boy's gaze, noticing the trembling tree branches he had missed before.

A frown creased Iroh's face, but he opted for diplomacy. "Come out, you've been discovered. No need to hide any longer."

Initially, silence prevailed, but after a few seconds, a group of tribal-clad men descended from the branches, wooden weapons in hand.

"You're trespassing, stranger," the tribal leader declared, spear menacingly pointed at Iroh and Sozim. "Leave."

"We come in peace," Iroh raised his hands. "I seek to meet an old friend."

The leader frowned deeply. "An old friend?"

Iroh smiled. "Tell Jeong Jeong that a fellow truthseek—"

Before Iroh could finish, the leader thrust his spear at him, prompting Iroh to evade with agility. The rest of the tribesmen made their moves, advancing either toward Iroh or Sozim, weapons poised for attack.

Sozim took his stance, his eyes sharpened. With a smooth movement, he dodged two thrusts of spears with a duck, his body curving towards the ground below. He spun in the air as he kicked the two spears away from the hands of the attacker, recovering from the dodge, and his gaze turned towards them.

At first, he raised his arms, already clenching in the air as if gripping something, but in the corner of his sight, he saw that Iroh was also trying to dodge the attacks, and he was shaking his head towards Sozim, calmly telling him to stop.

Seeing this, he froze, and changed his stance completely, releasing his grip, and clenching his fist instead, with a single knuckle poking out of the clenched fist.

Sozim quickly twisted his body to the side, and he released a barrage of small strikes toward his enemy, attacking key points around the arms and legs, when all his strikes were completed, the enemy that he was attacking dropped to the ground, groaning in pain and couldn't feel his right limbs, the limbs that Sozim had attacked.

Not waiting for Sozim, his other enemy pulled out a knife from his waist, and launched a stabbing motion towards the boy. With a push, Sozim grabbed the man's arm, and released the knife, throwing away the weapon immediately, before he swept his legs, making the man fall to the ground, like his partner.

Just as he crouched to the ground, his fist raised, aiming towards the man's head to knock him unconscious, a wall of flame suddenly launched through the ground, forcefully separating Sozim and the man he was about to knock out. Sozim turned to the source of fire, and saw a disheveled old man, standing calmly, looking towards Iroh who was dealing with the attackers passively, along with Sozim.

"Enough," the old man declared as the flames subsided.

Iroh turned to the newcomer and relaxed. Concealing his hands once more, he smiled and greeted, "Long time no see."

"What are you doing here?" the man inquired, the tribal people regrouping around him.

Iroh subtly winked at Sozim before responding, "May I have a game of Pai Sho?"

—

In a dimly lit room illuminated by candles, Iroh and the man Sozim had met earlier, Jeong Jeong, sat on the floor with a Pai Sho board between them. Sozim observed the two elderly men as they interacted.

"The guest goes first," Jeong Jeong calmly stated, his sharp gaze fixed on Iroh.

Iroh smiled and placed the white lotus tile in the middle of the board, eliciting a hum from Jeong Jeong.

"What brings you here, old friend?" Jeong Jeong inquired as he made his move.

"Can't I visit you for a simple cup of tea?" Iroh chuckled, making his move.

"While that would be good, bringing this young boy suggests otherwise," Jeong Jeong continued. "And I've heard you're continuing your journey."

"Indeed," Iroh nodded. "To the peak."

"You missed the last solstice?" Jeong Jeong asked.

"I did," Iroh mused. "But I won't miss the next one."

"You could always try without it."

"No," Iroh shook his head. "What I need is time and an easier entry into the world."

"I see," Jeong Jeong said. "You haven't given up."

"What I want is to see him again, one last time," Iroh sighed. "And this may be my only way to do it."

Sozim continued to watch the two old men play in silence, his gaze drifting upward as elephant rats scurried across the wooden beams overhead.

"So, what about this boy?" Jeong Jeong asked again. "He doesn't seem to be related to you; his eyes..."

"He's a… young traveler that I met a couple of days ago." Iroh smiled. "He had trouble controlling his mind because of his ability."

Jeong Jeong raised his brow. "Ability?"

Iroh then proceeds to explain the general problem that Sozim is currently facing, which earns a frown from Jeong Jeong. The man's gaze turned to the young boy, his eyes still sharp.

"Bloodbending? Potentially connected to a spirit? Mind slowly consumed by madness?" Jeong Jeong repeated what he had heard. "You have a unique problem, boy. Can you show me?"

"Show you what? My bloodbending?" Sozim said. "Directed to who?"

"To me." Jeong Jeong answered.

"No." Sozim shook his head. "I don't think I can control myself."

"We'll see." Jeong Jeong stated, and he turned his gaze to his game again, continuing it. "After this game."

—

Outside, Iroh stood aside as Jeong Jeong faced Sozim, his expression composed. From a distance, the tribal onlookers observed with a mix of curiosity and trepidation.

"I'm not sure about this," Sozim voiced his doubts, glancing at his hand. "What if I can't stop and end up harming you?"

"If you're confident enough to kill me, you must have the confidence to stop before you do so," Jeong Jeong calmly responded.

"Just a demonstration, young Sozim," Iroh added. "Nothing more, nothing less."

Sozim sighed, reluctantly agreeing. He extended his arm, his fingers mimicking a gripping motion. In an instant, Jeong Jeong felt his body immobilized, his muscles frozen and his veins tingling with pain. He widened his eyes, perturbed by the sensation and the true extent of Sozim's power.

Meanwhile, Sozim kept gripping the air, and Jeong Jeong's body slowly floated into the air. He could feel it, the whispers, telling his mind to just let go of his restrictions, and give the man the true power of his ability. Freeze his muscles, empty the blood vessels of the brain, crush his heart, collapse his lungs, boil his blood, take away his bending, he could do it at all, he could do all of that to the man if he could just follow the words instead of being a pussy—

"Young Sozim." a voice suddenly entered Sozim's ears, it was Iroh's. hearing this, Sozim's eyes widened, and he snapped out of it, releasing his grip towards Jeong Jeong's body. The man dropped to the ground, at this point coughing and trying to feel his muscles again.

"Sorry," Sozim murmured, his eyes wandering away.

"Yes…" Jeong Jeong muttered. "Yes… I know now the capacity of you. In a way, you are similar to the burning curse."

"The burning curse?" questioned Sozim, confused.

"All fire benders have it." Jeong Jeong continued, walking towards Sozim. "Fire is alive and could spread, creating destruction on its path if one does not have the will to control it. While you… your ability… your blood bending… it will consume your mind with bloodlust, with madness, with insanity, if one does not have the will to push it back."

"Iroh told me that with breathing, one can bring peace of mind, retain discipline, and take over your feelings.." Sozim stated. "Will you teach me that?"

"Why would you want me to teach you? Iroh is the best in terms of breathing," answered Jeong Jeong.

Both of them turned to the old man, who just smiled. "Summer Solstice is still a couple of months away," Iroh said. "We could use the time."

Jeong Jeong just hummed, but he shook his head. "I can teach you, but breathing is not enough."

"What do you mean?" Sozim asked.

"It is only a temporary solution. Madness can overcome all things, even the calmest of minds." Jeong Jeong said. "To find a permanent solution, you must look into yourself, to the reason you've become like this, and if what Iroh said about the connection to a spirit is true, you must look into their world."

"The spirit world?"

"Yes." Jeong Jeong hummed. "But of course, you could always just not use your ability."

Sozim turned to Iroh, whose smile was now even wider. "It seems we'll be traveling together again, young Sozim."

"Then you will go to the peak with Iroh, as you are not even trained in meditation, not to mention advanced spirituality." Jeong Jeong nodded. "In the meantime, you'll learn how to breathe properly, to control your emotions and your thoughts."

Sozim then bowed to Jeong Jeong, paying respect to the man. "Then, teach me."