| By King Bumis Heir | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
| More from King Bumis Heir | Action/Adventure/Drama | PG - TV-14 | None | No update page |
Overview[]
The new Avatar arrives on Crescent Island, ready to begin his firebending training.
Chapter 3: Rong Yan's Master[]
Book 1: Air
Chapter 3: Rong Yan's Master
Crescent Island, Fire Nation
The hot sun beaming down on the temple, eyes slowly awakening in a large metal walled room with wooden floors, Rong Yan rubbing his eyes looked around the room of the new surroundings, a small window had small red curtains with a gentle breeze blowing in from the outside. A knock on the door from another sage.
"Good morning, young Avatar. Get ready, Fire Sage Xiao is on the top of the temple roof floor waiting for you to arrive. Time to meet your master." the fire sage announced.
Rong Yan sat on the bed, a sigh of exhaustion, rubbing his eyes once more and stands up since it is time to get ready. Few minutes later, he meets Xiao and his firebending master on top floor, the floor on the top is a flat metal roof, walls surround the outside, no roof over it either. There were flags with the Fire Nation insignia designed on them, weapon racks stood against some of the walls. They were training grounds for the guards that guarded the temple and a place for the sages to practice as well if the need arises.
He notices Fire Sage Xiao standing next to a taller muscular built individual with tan skin and long blackish hair that ran down and rested on his shoulders, on the top of his head he had it fashioned into a top knot. An older man, somewhere in his middle ages definitely younger than his father. He also wore a thin mustache and goatee, a very stylish look for Fire Nation men during the past decade.
Fire Sage Xiao and the man both bow at the sight of Rong Yan, and so he returns the bow as well. The man walks forward arm extended, "Greetings, Avatar Rong Yan. I am Takumi, I will be your firebending master. I will be willing to teach if you are willing to learn." Takumi introduced himself shaking Rong Yan's hand.
"Pleasure, Sifu Takumi." Rong Yan responded.
Sifu Takumi introduces himself to Rong Yan.
"Tell me Rong Yan, where both of your parents firebenders?" Takumi asked.
Shaking his head at Takumi, "No, my parents were non-benders. My grandmother is a firebender, she had taught me at age three when she had started to notice that I could produce smoke from my fingertips. I mostly know basic sets and stances."
"I'd like to start you on reviewing your stances and basics if you don't mind. But before we start those I want to start on breathing exercises. I want to know how you exert yourself during your bending. Let's see if I can correct you on anything." Takumi began.
"Squat down for me, legs spread apart. Breathe in and out, and at the same time feel the heat coming from the sun." Takumi said.
Rong Yan squats down and widens his stance, he began to inhale and exhale slowly, "Good, good now feel the heat! Control your temperature." Takumi added.
He continued to be in a squatted position for another thirty minutes or so, "We firebenders can control the heat around our bodies, try to control the heat around your body and make yourself warm. Concentrate on it." Takumi said.
"Controlling our temperature is very important for our firebending and our survival, especially in cold weather. We can use our breath to warm our hands or even transfer heat to one area of our body or even spread it evenly around." Takumi finished.
The hot sun beating on Rong Yan, a drip of sweat sliding from his forehead down his nose and falling off his chin. Suddenly, he felt warm and not so hot.
"I...I think its working, Sifu! I'm no longer sweating, I'm controlling my temperature and no longer feel the sun beating down my neck. It feels more invigorating than an annoyance I have to block." Rong Yan crowed.
There was a plant sitting there innocently in its pot, it had been watered recently and the leaves were green as can be. Takumi plucks a leaf from the plant and walks over to Rong Yan. He stood up resting on his two feet looking intently at Takumi who hands him the leaf, "Back to squat position, and then hold these two ends of the leaf with your thumbs, I want you to do your best to control the fire, that's slowly eating away at the leaf. I want you to try your best and control the flames do not let it go out quickly. Same exercise as before, feel the heat, control your temperature and breathe in, breathe out." Takumi ordered, using two of his fingers to burn a small hole on the leaf.
Takumi walks away and down the stairs into the temple, Rong Yan tries his best to control the fire and let the flames stay in one spot. The flames are burning a rapid pace but he begins to control his breathing and the flames slow down. Takumi walks back up several minutes later with a tray with clay cups, a kettle, and two ginseng tea bags. He walks over to the small table and rests the tray down on it.
Suddenly, the leaf bursts into a pretty big ball of flames in Rong Yan's hands. It had caught him off guard, and he laughs nervously, trying to contain the fire in hands he sticks to his exercises and the flame begins to condense itself to smaller flames.
"Good boy, now keep the flames and don't extinguish them, shift to a Shifa stance, and punch the flame out of your hand. Don't forget to breathe in and out!" Takumi directed.
He extended his left leg out, and used his right for a base, his right in the position of his belly flame in hand, his left in the position of his belly as well he threw the right punch and the fire formed a fireball and shot out and hit the metal wall in front of him. Raising his arms in a wide circle starting from inside and going around his outside and back inside again he exhaled breath to calm his breathing.
"Nice shot, and good stance, Rong Yan." Takumi cheered, clapping for the Avatar.
"Let's get started on fire squats, I'll join you," Takumi said.
Takumi stood right beside Rong Yan, he then explains the exercise, "Just like regular squats except with a twist, when you squat down to punch with your right or left, and then go back to sitting position and repeat another squat and punch with the opposite. Produce fire with each punch and breathe in and out." he squatted next to him and demonstrated it as he instructed the exercise.
Takumi squatted down and punched fire out of his left, then returned to sitting position and squatted again and punched with his right. Rong Yan looked over and nodded and repeated exactly what his instructor had done. They both had continued to do fire squats for another half hour, they stop.
Takumi slowly walks over to the small table feeling the pain in his thighs and calves and muscling through it sits down and signals Rong Yan to grab a chair. Takumi places a hand under the kettle of water and boils the water inside the kettle, still holding the kettle with his other hand he pours the hot water into the clay cups, and adds the tea bags to the water, allowing the bags of tea leaves to soak in the hot water. Rong Yan breathes in and controls the heat of the water, and makes it warmer.
Then begins to drink the ginseng tea, "Nice, you're a natural. I like the way you decided to lower the temperature of the water to your liking. This wasn't a test." Takumi adds.
"I know, I just dislike hot tea I prefer warm beverages." Rong Yan responded.
Looking at the sky, "Whew! Looks like its time to go back inside, its getting dark. Let's head back into the temple and sit at the dinner table, and see what Sage Li has for us today!" Takumi said.
Takumi finishes his cup of tea and gathers the kettle and his cup and places them back on the tray. He cleans up the table while Rong Yan finishes his cup of tea, Rong Yan finishes and places the cup on the train and heads out first. Takumi goes right behind him, tray in hand and they both walk down the stairs They both head down to the dining area of the temple where there were a few tables set up for the Fire Sages and the guardsmen.
Fire Sage Li, is the main cook in the Fire Temple besides being a Fire Sage.
Fire Sage Li, was one of the temple's cooks, the man was wearing a burgundy apron and had comfortable clothing underneath and not in his usual attire. He carried out a platter of smoked purple fish, the tail was longer than the dorsal fin but it looked so delicious it had pineapple slices on top of the fish.
Another cook walked out with a large metal pot full of stew and began pouring it into the bowls of everyone who sat at the three tables. More cooks walked out with platters of food or loaves of bread for the feast. The last cook walks out with a small bowl full of small round slices of ash bananas and mangos. Once everything was settled, the Fire Sages began a prayer to be thankful for the harvest and the feast. Everybody then began to chow down.
He takes a bite out of the purple fish, and licked his lips, curiously asking, "Wow where did this purple fish come from? It's so darn good!"
Takumi answers, "Those fish come from the icy waters of the Southern Water Tribe. This is your first time trying fish from another part of the world?"
"Yes, my family wasn't well off enough to be able to afford exotic fish." Rong Yan responded.
Rong Yan continued eating the fish after he finished eating the fish he grabbed a small bone and started to pick the leftovers out of his teeth. He began to lean on the chair he was sitting on, with a full stomach, he unlatches his belt, and it falls off quickly hitting the floor with a soft clink.
All of a sudden he loses balance and falls back, he rubbed his head winced a bit, looking back up at Takumi he chuckled. But Takumi wasn't amused, he shook his head in disapproval he had seen the Avatar was still immature.
The servants who are required to finish their meals before everyone else does, begin to pick up the empty plates. Fire Sage Li, the sage who's wearing an apron at the moment begins to help the servants pick up the bowls and plates. Rong Yan gets out of his seat and helps with the empty dishes and walks into the kitchen with Li.
"I just wanted to thank you for the delicious food you and your cooks prepared for us. That fish was so very good and I'd like to have more while I'm still here." Rong Yan thanked the old man.
"With much pleasure young Avatar, but I just cooked the meal is all, I believe you should thank the young Water Tribesman that caught the fish himself. He might still be on the docks outside of the temple," Li replied.
Takumi walks in with his plate offering Rong Yan to take him to the docks, "I'll take you to the docks if you'd like."
"Guardsmen!" Takumi barked.
Two guards walked in, "Assist me in escorting the Avatar to the docks to meet with the fisherman who caught the fish we ate for dinner. He'd like to have a few words with him." he ordered, the two guards nodded to their orders.
Rong Yan cleaned himself up and follow the guards and Takumi around and out of the temple to the docks. They arrive at the docks there seems to be a sort of tall guy, muscular stature, long dark brown hair past the shoulders resting on his back, his bangs hung low to meet his chin, and he wore a top knot on top of his head. He wore a light blue tunic with white lining and light blue breeches. He wore brownish leather boots to keep out the cold, he was putting his gear on the boat while two other men were setting the sails on the boat so that they could finally leave the Fire Nation and head home. There's a fat Fire Nation man paying one of the fishermen off, must be from a nearby restaurant on Crescent Island maybe from the seaside town of Yin La.
He gives the fisherman Fire Nation money, but most international merchants like fishermen usually take the money to get exchanged at one of the port cities in the Earth Kingdom at a treasure house. Both men bow at each other and they both walk away, the fisherman who was putting his gear away on the boat had finished and Rong Yan had run over to him shouting "Hey! Excuse me!".
Prince Unaraq of the Southern Water Tribe, is the main fisherman of his crew.
The fisherman looked up a little startled, "Yes?" he whispered to himself.
The others who had stopped continued working, "I would just like to thank you for the purple fish that you brought into the Fire Temple for Fire Sage Li to cook for us." he thanks the fisherman.
He extends his hand out and the fisherman smiles shaking his hand, "My name is Rong Yan." he introduced himself.
One of the other fishermen tells him in the native Water Tribe tongue that the firebender before them is the Avatar. The young man takes a step back and kneels before Rong Yan bowing in his presence. The others drop their things and kneel as well as bowing before Rong Yan.
"It truly is an honor to be in your presence, Avatar Rong Yan." the fisherman said. "It is an honor to have met you, Avatar. My name is Unaraq." Unaraq introduced himself.
"A pleasure to meet you, Unaraq." Rong Yan smiled.
"I wish you safe travels on your way back to the Southern Water Tribe, maybe someday our paths will once again cross one another." Rong Yan added.
They board the fisherman's boat, two of the crew of the boat begin to windmill their arms bending the waves under the boat and pushing it forward. Unaraq and the man who mentioned he was the Avatar both were waving at Rong Yan as they were leaving the docks. Rong Yan looks back and sees a beautiful young Water Tribe girl in light blue robes, with a dark blue Southern Water Tribe insignia on the back of the robes, with white fluff on the exterior of the robes and hood, with long snowy white hair, only catching a small glimpse of the girl.
She must've been a noble but why was she with those fishermen? Rong Yan felt like something of a higher power was calling him, he felt a slight connection when he had caught a glimpse of the girl. But he didn't know what purpose she would serve in his life yet. It was too early to find out right now.
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