Chapter 21: Sozim Alone - 96 AG

In the heart of summer, beneath the gently waning sun in the western sky, Sozim traversed a dusty road within the colonial domain of the Fire Nation. His cloak billowed in the breeze, marking his solitary journey southward toward Harbor Town, with hopes of securing passage on an Eastern Earth Kingdom-bound boat.

Considering the hour and lack of nearby shelter, he contemplated setting up camp. Yet, on the distant horizon, wisps of smoke curled into the sky. Curiosity piqued, he decided to investigate, wondering if it signaled a friendly campfire.

Approaching the source of the smoke, Sozim discovered a sizable encampment. Earth Kingdom soldiers stood vigilant around their tents, and within, he observed civilians, most of them appearing downtrodden and ragged. It seemed to be a refugee camp, though it struck him as unusual for Earth Kingdom soldiers to escort refugees.

As he approached the encampment's entrance, two Earth Kingdom soldiers halted him with wary glances.

"Traveling alone, kid?" one of them inquired.

"Yes," Sozim replied. "Is that an issue? What is this place, anyway?"

The soldiers exchanged looks and sighed. "You can enter to rest if you'd like, but if you're thinking of accompanying us on our journey, know that we won't be reaching a safe haven anytime soon. We have many wounded to tend to."

"Where is this group headed?" Sozim asked again.

"Originally, Omashu," one guard answered. "But considering the wounded, it will be a while before we arrive. First, we're headed to Taku to care for them."

"What happened here?" Sozim inquired, glancing around. "And why Taku?"

"Most of the refugees are from nearby villages, victims of recent Fire Nation raids," the soldier explained with disdain. "As for Taku, there's an herbalist there who usually tends to the wounded among soldiers and refugees."

Sozim nodded thoughtfully. "Can I join, at least for the night?"

"Do you have food? We're running low," the soldier cautioned. "You'll have to provide your own."

"I have some," Sozim reassured them. "If you're short on food, would you like me to hunt for you?"

The soldiers arched their brows skeptically, doubting a boy's hunting skills. "It's alright, kid. We already have people handling that. Just enter and rest."

"Alright," Sozim acquiesced, passing through the soldiers and entering the encampment. Inside, he encountered a somber scene. Many people sat around a campfire, their faces marked by sorrow. Some sported poorly wrapped bandages, likely casualties of recent raids. Children cried in the corners, some alone, possibly orphaned, while others stared blankly at the ground, their eyes devoid of hope.

Nearby, he heard commotion—wails and screams emanated from a tent farther away, with women rushing in and out, clutching bloodied cloth, their eyes bearing the weight of exhaustion.

Sozim sighed at the sight and walked toward the source of the turmoil to witness the full extent of the fire nation's brutality. Passing through the bustling crowd, he peered into the tent, revealing a grim scene—soldiers and refugees lay on the ground, some wailing, their bodies fully bandaged, others missing limbs and bleeding in agony, while some bore severe burn scars left untreated.

The sight shook Sozim to his core. In the past, due to his nature, he had committed gruesome and unorthodox acts, taking lives in horrifying ways. Yet, this scene, these people in pain, crying and pleading for help, mirrored his past deeds. This time, however, he felt no satisfaction. Perhaps it was the influence of his training with Jeong Jeong, or maybe his meditation experiences, but he sensed the bloodlust lurking in the recesses of his mind, though it remained subdued.

Swallowing hard, Sozim entered the tent, revealing an even grimmer reality. He moved to a corner where a man with a missing foot lay, his vacant gaze fixed on the ground, waiting for relief or the end of his suffering.

Suddenly, a woman touched Sozim's shoulder, causing him to turn around. She, too, wore a weary expression and seemed concerned as she looked at him. "You can't stay here, child," she urged. "Come on, let's get you out."

"No, I..." Sozim's gaze shifted to the injured man's bleeding foot, and he looked at his own hands. "I can help."

"Help? Don't be absurd," the woman dismissed his offer, gently trying to pull Sozim away from the tent. But he resisted, breaking free of her grasp, and knelt beside the injured man.

Initially, the man simply stared at him, saying nothing. Sozim's gaze returned to the gory wound, and he raised his hand, hovering it over the gaping injury. Gradually, the blood coagulated, sealing the wound, and the bleeding ceased.

Witnessing this, the woman was taken aback, almost dropping her belongings. The injured man, however, reacted differently. He was exhausted and weak, uttering a few words. "Thank you..." he murmured, struggling to stay awake.

The woman rushed to the man, touching his shoulders and shaking him gently. "Don't fall asleep," she urged, using a bit of bandage to cover the clotted wound, protecting it from exposure. She then turned to Sozim, still somewhat surprised. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a... bender," Sozim replied hesitantly.

"A bender? What kind of bender can stop bleeding?" the woman furrowed her brow but soon shook her head. "Can you do it again?"

"I guess," Sozim said.

"Good," the woman nodded. "Can you help us? We're severely understaffed right now, and your… abilities could make a significant difference."

"Sure," Sozim agreed, and with that, the woman led him away from the injured man and toward another patient.

—

As the dim moonlight shone above, Sozim sat below a tree, positioned just a bit far from the encampment itself. Beside him was his bag, and he had taken out the smoked meat that he had made himself to eat, but he hadn't eaten it yet, as of right now, he was staring at his own hands, covered in blood, and he could only sigh at the sight.

Slowly, the blood detached itself from his skin, forming a small blob of red liquid in the air, spiraling, before he threw the blood away, tainting the ground in the distance. After that, he took a deep breath and released it, repeating that over and over, releasing negative energy and thoughts that had been created when he was working in the tent, and breathing in the positive energy, calming his thoughts.

His mind is… tired from all the things he saw in the tent, there was just something about the scene of helpless men awaiting their fate that struck a bad chord to him, a chord that pushed him to just… help ease their suffering.

The boy just shook his head, and grabbed the smoked meat using his now unbloodied hand, biting in on the tough muscle.

Suddenly, he could feel someone approaching him, and his gaze turned towards it. It was a soldier that he had met earlier, the man who talked to him at the entrance, and he was bringing two bowls of soup.

"Hello, kid," he murmured. "Why are you here? Why don't you join the others?"

"I… I just want some quiet." Sozim murmured, continuing to bite his smoked meat. "Why are you here, sir? Did something happen?"

The soldier shook his head, sitting opposite the boy, leaning against a nearby tree. "I just want to thank you."

"For what?" Sozim simply asked.

"You tried to save my brother," he said. "The one who was missing his foot."

"There's a lot of people who have missing feet in there, sir. You have to be more specific."

The soldier chuckled. "I guess you're right. Here, soup, it's the least we could do." said the man, giving Sozim the one bowl in his hands.

Seeing no reason to refuse, Sozim took it, dipping his smoked meat in it. Sozim also took another piece of smoked meat and offered it to the soldier. The man just smiled and took it too.

"I see you're from the water tribe." the soldier remarked, sipping on his soup. Sozim raised his brow, and before he could say anything, the soldier quickly clarified his words. "Your… skin. And eyes. You're far away from home, kid."

"I don't have a home." Sozim shrugged, biting his smoked meat again. "Have you ever seen the water tribes? Seems you're familiar with our characteristics."

"Dealt with some of them in the southern earth kingdom." answered the soldier. "I probably shouldn't say this, but… I used to escort a general to have talks with the southern water tribes, to join in the war."

"Quite a long way from escorting generals to escorting refugees," Sozim remarked.

"My family is from here." the soldier sighed. "I can't just leave them. I requested a transfer."

"Family, huh…" Sozim murmured. "Well, you should be with them right now."

"Well, I can't," he said.

"Why?" Sozim raised his brow.

"Because they're dead." the soldier sighed.

Sozim froze for a moment, before turning his gaze to the soldier again. "I thought you said—"

"I said that you tried to save him," he murmured. "He's lost too much blood."

Sozim looked down on the ground, closing his eyes. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault. Like I said, I'm still thankful that you tried to save him. Though you arrived in this camp too late for that…" the soldier shook his head.  "And thanks to you, we'll be moving to the herbalist much faster than anticipated, and by that time, we can save more people."

"Right…" Sozim hummed.

Looking at Sozim's expression, the soldier sighed in regret. "Sorry, shouldn't have said all of that to you, you're still a boy at the end of the day."

"It's fine. I've heard worse." Sozim smiled.

"Worse, huh…" the soldier clicked his tongue in self-disappointment. "Your uh… abilities. Are you a waterbender?"

"If you're asking if I can bend water, then no," answered Sozim. "But yes, overall, I am."

The soldier was confused. "I don't get it."

"I… have a spiritual block right now," Sozim said the half-truth.

"Oh… I see… you're this young and already have a spiritual block… what kind of things have you seen, kid?" the soldier shook his head. "Well, it seems my presence here will just disturb you more than comfort you, so I'll just… leave you alone."

As the soldier stood up and walked away, Sozim just leaned his head against the tree, staring at the moon above, sighing deeply, before closing his eyes to rest, his food still in hand.