Flames of Destiny

1. A STRANGER APPEARS - IN THE STORM?!

The sky was dark, atmosphere cold as the night reached late. Darker clouds heavy with rainwater covered most of the sky, blocking what little light the moon would have provided had none of the cotton mass particles of air was in the way. The cold air was made even colder with the combination of the strong night wind and the rain that poured, bordering on a rainstorm that may be the first that the mountainous region had experienced after a long time.

The rain did nothing to stop the figure who stood at the peak of one of the mountains. Draped in a faded green long sleeve ragged tunic with a dark brown cloth tied around the waist as a belt, the figure spotted short dark brown hair which was soaked along with his clothes. But what stood out most was the red scar on the left side of his face, closing his eye almost to a slit, covering the beautiful the amber eye which would spark with life every time the figure was in a more positive mood.

But in a positive note, he was not. Despite being drenched from the heavy rain, the figure was boiling internally with rage. Just a week ago he had carried his injured uncle's body towards a partially destroyed hut not too far from where he stood. That same day he found himself teaming up with his 'mortal enemy', the Avatar, to face his own sister who had branded him 'a traitor'. It took him days to nurse his uncle, especially since he only possessed basic medical knowledge which he learnt from the many times he was treated after sustaining injuries from combat, and also some of the knowledge from his mother.

When his uncle awoke, he had spent the entire day training with the older man in hopes of honing himself with advanced firebending techniques should he meet his sister again. It weighed in his mind that it would be probable he would cross paths with his younger sibling, who his uncle had described as 'crazy and needs to be taken down'.

There he learnt about the essence of the 'lightning bending' which is created when both the positive 'yin' and negative 'yang' energy are separated and recombined as they crash together to create the cold-blooded fire. Despite a full demonstration by his uncle, and numerous attempts by himself, the figure had only managed to spark explosions in his face which sent him tumbling backwards from the impact.

"You will not be able to master lightning until you dealt with the turmoil inside you."

His uncle's words rung in his ears, deafening him from the rain that continued pattering down.

"Zuko, you must let go of your feelings of shame if you want your anger to go away."

How could he? He was Zuko, Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, Prince of the Fire Nation, and Heir to the Throne. But he's mother had left him when he was much younger, his father exiled him to an impossible mission which even his forefathers had failed to accomplish, and just a few weeks ago, he was deemed a traitor by his own nation. How could he not be feeling ashamed? Even if he denied that he ever felt shameful by claiming he was proud as ever, his uncle's words again replayed in his mind.

"Pride not the opposite of shame, but its source."

How could his pride not be hurt? Even after his uncle decided to teach him a firebending move only he knew, which the exiled Prince would come to learn to be 'lightning redirection', the older man had refused to allow him to test it despite constant pleas by the younger man to shoot lightning at him.

Was it because Uncle felt I'm not ready?

Pushing the image of the incredulous yet comical look his uncle made upon hearing the request to the back of his mind, Zuko lifted his head to face the clouds. The sound of thunder clashing was what led him to stand atop this mountain peak, to get his own source of lightning.