𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 | prince zuko

¹⁴

After a few moments of silence, Jeong Jeong, Pakku, Piandao, and Bumi nodded in approval. Yan smiled eagerly, happy to finally begin real bending training.

. . .

     Yan spent several weeks training with Iroh, Pakku, Jeong Jeong, Bumi, and Piandao. She would alternate between the five masters throughout the day, spending many hours training and perfecting her bending. Jeong Jeong and Pakku were more stern and impatient with her but she still appreciated their teachings, their harshness urging her to push harder. Bumi's teachings were a bit... unorthodox but she still appreciated his efforts. Although Piandao wasn't a bender, he still taught Yan useful weapons skills in case she found herself using a sword again. Iroh used a lot of wisdom and philosophy in his teachings, helping Yan to better understand the different fighting styles and how to use all of them when in battle.

"You have improved greatly since we've started your training. Even your lavabending has improved." Jeong Jeong told Yan when she finished a breathing technique. Yan opened her eyes and nodded in thanks, smiling softly. 

She took a step back and placed her open left hand on top of her fist, the proper way to salute in the Fire Nation. "Thank you, Master. I couldn't have progressed so far without you or the other master's help." she smiled, bowing in respect. A small smile crossed Jeong Jeong's wrinkled face and he returned the bow and salute, something he rarely did with any past student of his.

Before she could finish her training with Jeong Jeong, Piandao approached the two, his hands behind his back. "Yan, could you please join us in front of Iroh's tent?" he asked. Yan dropped her hands and nodded, following behind Jeong Jeong and Piandao as they led her back to the camp. Upon entering the camp, the two elderly masters brought the teenage earthbender to Iroh's tent where Pakku, Bumi, and Iroh waited patiently.

"You wished to see me, Masters?" Yan addressed the group as they stood before her. The group gestured for her to sit in front of a small table as they sat across from her. Iroh poured a hot cup of tea and slid it across the table for her.

"Yan, your time with us has come to an end. Your journey must now resume at the Avatar's side. You have been an exceptional student and we appreciated teaching you the wisdom we know. We will see you again soon." Pakku explained, noticing her confused expression.

"Now that we know the Avatar is alive and conducted the invasion on the Day of Black Sun, we must prepare our own battle to liberate Ba Sing Se and the rest of the Earth Kingdom from the Fire Nation." Bumi continued.

"Masters, how will I find the Avatar?" Yan asked as she drank her tea in a hurry, surprised that she was now being sent on a new path.

"We have heard that the Avatar's flying bison was seen heading west following the invasion. There is no doubt that he has headed for the Western Air Temple which is located in the mountains in the northern Fire Nation. We have prepared an eel hound for you to get there faster than any ship or hot air balloon; upon arriving, head north until you come to a chasm in the earth. We trust you will find the Avatar and return to us in due time." Piandao concluded, the group rising to their feet once they finished explaining everything to Yan.

Yan took her time saying goodbye to each member of the White Lotus. Once she got to Iroh, she embraced him tightly, sighing softly; she had grown exceptionally close with him during the past months. "I won't let you down. I promise. Thank you all for being my masters and training me." Yan thanked the five old men, bowing respectfully before them. The group returned the bow and brought a large green quadrupedal creature to Yan.

"The eel hound will get you to the Fire Nation much faster than a warship. You should get to your location in two or three days. Good luck, Yan." Piandao smiled as he helped the teenage girl onto the tall amphibious creature. Yan looked down at the Order of the White Lotus and nodded, snapping the reins of the eel hound's saddle and nearly lurching off when it took off at a very fast speed.

. . .

     To say the eel hound was fast was an understatement; it made a warship look like a snail based on how fast the creature moved. By nighttime, the eel hound had already reached the western shore of the Earth Kingdom; it seemed to be even faster in water, and by early afternoon the next day, Yan was in the Fire Nation. She didn't even have to stop for rest or food, Iroh and the others were kind enough to pack her some food for the trip and she could just fall asleep in the saddle of the eel hound whenever she felt drowsy.

It was nearing five o'clock when the eel hound stopped at a cliff. Yan carefully slid off the green creature's back and looked around in confusion. When Iroh and the other White Lotus members told her about the Western Air Temple, she figured she would see it in the chasm of the cliff. But there was nothing there, nothing but an empty chasm with a very far drop. Yan walked around in confusion, putting her hands on her hips in frustration. If this was where the Western Air Temple was, then where was it? Was she missing something?

"They wouldn't just tell me to go to an empty chasm. What am I missing?" she asked herself as she continued to pace back and forth. Her frustration began to grow as well as her impatience. Stomping her foot, Yan sent a sizable rock over the edge of the cliff as her irritation grew. However, expecting it to fly over the chasm into the far-below depths, she heard a thud just below. With furrowed brows, Yan approached the edge of the cliff and carefully leaned over to see if she could spot anything below. By some stroke of luck, she spotted an overhanging that looked to be a stone platform. She took a step back and created a hollow hole in the cliff, laying on her front and pulling herself carefully into the hole.

Yan lay on her stomach and leaned upside down in the hole, peering around. What surprised her was that the Western Air Temple was right in front of her, it was just constructed upside down in the underside of the cliff. Pulling herself up, she walked over to the eel hound, placing her hands on her hips.

"You can head back to the Earth Kingdom now. I can handle myself from here." she smiled, slapping the eel hound on the backside and watching it run off. Once the eel hound was out of sight in the very far distance, Yan cracked her knuckles and began her descent into the temple. 

As Yan transcended into the ancient Western Air Temple, she was taken aback by the simple majesty of it. She had never seen such architecture, and on top of that, it was upside down on a cliff! She used her bending carefully, not wanting to ruin the temple or desecrate it; it was incredibly old and abandoned, she didn't want her bending to ruin any untouched structure. While she took a quick rest, a bit of chatter caught her attention; this place was seemingly abandoned, so why was she hearing voices?

Yan stopped and peered around a rocky podium and spotted something she did not expect to see.