Chapter 10: military part-1

…Northern water tribe

“Have you decided anything yet?” Pakku asked Arisu at the dinner table, it has been a few days since he returned and things have finally gotten normal so to speak.

“About what?” Arisu asked, somewhat more focused on eating the delicious food on the table.

“You are one of the best water benders that we have in our tribe and at such a young age as well. Normally as soon as a bender completes their training, they have to serve in the army for 3 years, but they are all much older than you in comparison.” Arisu nodded to indicate that he was listening.

“It would be a pity if you joined now and ended up dead because of your young age. Bending is not everything despite what everyone believes. So I was wondering if you had an interest in something else, we could delay your military summons until you are a bit older.” Pakku conveyed.

“I do not have much in mind at the moment. What might be your suggestion?” Arisu knew his grandfather enough that since he started the conversation, he clearly has some agenda of his own too.

“Hmm… well after your safe return, I was privately approached by the chief in the court. He told me that one of the royal guards that were responsible for taking care of the princess was retiring. Since you and the princess have a good relationship and given your battle capabilities, he asked if you are interested in being a royal guard.” They both wryly smiled.

“She is not even of age and he is already looking for a suitable candidate?” Arisu jested. 

“The older she gets, the harder it will be for him to reject the proposals coming for her hands that he does not wish to accept. He either meets her daughter’s wishes or fulfills his responsibility as the chief. The ideal outcome would be to find a man that is capable of leading the tribe while also not despised by his daughter.” Pakku guessed.

“What about Enyo? What has he decided?”  Arisu did meet him after returning but he did not think of asking about this at the time.

“*sigh* That child has already decided to enroll in the military.” Pakku shook his head regretfully.

“How about you convince the chief to appoint him as the royal guard instead of me? He will be much more prone to take risky measures during the missions due to his extreme past. Plus, compared to him I am much more mature and know how to protect myself should the need arise.” Arisu suggested.

“That child will not agree.” Pakku was confident in convincing the chief but not his disciple. Somehow, his disciples end up inheriting his stubbornness.

“Leave that to me, I will convince him. I think joining the military is not that bad for me right now. Fire Nation is focusing on Ba Sing Se now. It has been a decade since we have seen a large fleet this far away from their home turf. It is the best time to build a reputation in the military from the ground up.” Arisu presented his opinion.

“Why do you need the military on your side?” Pakku asked in interest.

“The chief cannot remain in power forever and he only has a daughter. Traditionalists will not allow her to be a chieftain and whoever marries her will be the chief. You might have a lot of say in the court given your military background and your own water-bending capabilities but with time that will fade too. We both know that nobles do not like us because they are afraid that if we end up remaining strong for another generation, we will be a noble house too.” Pakku nodded.

“You want the backing of the military to protect you from the joint assault of nobles. They cannot irk the military, especially when we are still at war.” Pakku groomed his beard in thought.

“Good. However, I hope you are ready for the hardships ahead of you. Soldiers can be quite rash.” Pakku replied before rising up and leaving the room.

“Sure but they can be disciplined.” Arisu muttered to himself quietly.    

…Next day

“How was the outside?” Asahi asked while looking at the fish swimming in the stream. They were currently in the southwest side of the capital. There is not much of a crowd here at this time as mostly only long distant merchants reside here temporarily to sell and buy goods before returning to where they came from.

“Quite lonely. I ended up gaining a hobby of talking to the stars while there.” Arisu is seated a meter behind her writing something on a piece of paper.

“What about you? I have heard quite some rumors about you after returning.” Arisu smirked.

“Tell me, what have you heard, and who have you heard it from?” Asahi asked, turning towards Arisu with a raised eyebrow.

“I am afraid if I told you, they would end up with a crooked leg or two. The rumor has it that your master is quite pissed at you lately.” Arisu teased and Asahi angrily sat beside him.

“It was not my fault, those boys were asking for it.” She replied while pouting.

“Recently sister Mera was receiving a lot of patients and they were the same every day. These boys were injuring themselves every day and coming to her to get healed. They would take her half an hour just to heal a cut on the hand or the forehead.”

“Oh right, she recently turned 16, right? So she is already receiving suitors? She must be quite beautiful.” Arisu guessed.

“Yeah, she is quite gentle too. She did not tell anyone about it but then recently some of the boys got brave and came to her and asked her to deliberately check on their private parts. They did not know that we could heal without the need to expose the injured part so they were disappointed when she healed them from afar but this time she told me about it. And guess what?” Asahi asked with force.

“They came back the next day?” Arisu guessed as told.

“I chose to be with her the next day after she told me about it and those boys came again that day and this time they wanted her to inspect the injured part.” She huffed in anger.

“What did you do then?” Arisu asked already with a guess in mind.

“Since they liked to get injured on a daily basis, I helped them a bit by twisting their knee tendons.” Asahi confessed.

“Seven hells. That must have hurt badly.” Arisu inhaled a cold breath.

“Yeah it does. Master got mad that we did not inform her about it and chose to settle things on our own.”

“Understandable. An injury like that could be permanent if not done properly. You could have crippled them. It would have consequences for not just you but for your master too.” Arisu smiled wryly.

“I know that too. I… I just could not just sit down and rely on everyone around me.” She hung her head down in disappointment.

“But it is okay to rely on others. Everyone does, including me. There are certain things in which others are better than you so it is okay to rely on each other.” Arisu tried to cheer her up while also presenting a different approach on things softly.

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“I know that but there is a limit to how much you can rely on someone before you become a burden. I rely on you and vice versa, you rely on me for anything related to the healing art. This is an equal exchange and I want everything to be like this. Not just me relying upon you without giving you something in return.” Asahi shook her head.

“I am sure others do not feel this way. Sister Mera would not have approached you if you were not reliable. You have to increase your self-worth in your own eyes. You are not useless. Stop having this negative view of things. It is good to be cautious but trusting is important too, to an extent.” Arisu advised.

“Especially now that I might go for expenditures.” He added after.

“What do you mean?” Asahi asked.

“I am joining the military; I might not be as available as I am now. You need to expand your social cycle beyond just a few people otherwise you might end up lonely often.”

“Why am I only hearing about it now?” She questioned with narrowed eyes.

“It is nothing like that. The plan was just made after a discussion with my grandfather. We both do not want Enyo to be in service with how hot-headed he is for revenge and I need to build some connections to tackle the incoming court proceedings.” Arisu helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

“But you promised me that you will teach me martial bending arts.” Asahi pointed at him. “When will you find time to do that if you join the expedition?”

“I did not forget about it but it is not the time yet. I can feel a tsunami bubbling underwater that might change the whole scope of the war in a few years. A big change might be coming and that will affect our home. That is when I will fulfill my promise to you. I have just gained the title of master, let me gain some experience and then you will be my first disciple.” Arisu seriously remarked staring directly into her eyes.

“I hope you are true to your words because otherwise, no one can stop me from leaving the North Pole.” Asahi said after a moment of silence and Arisu accepted that. 

“So… when are you going to convince Enyo?” Asahi rubbed her hands, finding the silence a bit uncomfortable.

“Do you have any idea where he is lately?”Arisu asked, standing up.

“Yeah, nowadays he spends most of his time in the training courtyard refining his skills.” She replied with a bit of anger in her tone. She does not like that both of her best friends from childhood have grown so far apart from her that they hardly see each other more than once in a week.

 

“I guess I would need to use some emotional blackmail on him this time.” Arisu massaged his forehead in defeat.

 

…. That evening

“You should focus on the spiritual side of water too.” Arisu advised Enyo as he approached him. There was no one in the training ground except them now, as even Arisu does not train this long and this often.

“It will not help me in taking down the fire nation.” Enyo replied, finally ending his training session.

“You are underestimating how much the spiritual side of bending helps you grow stronger in the physical side of bending.”Arisu first honestly tried to beat some sense in him. “Moreover, your goal itself is questionable.”

“What do you mean, Arisu? Speak plainly.”Enyo took a seat opposite to him as they both sat down.

 “The world is not simply made up of black and white, my friend. There is a lot of gray in it. I heard you applied for service. I am here to convince you to withdraw.” Arisu got ready to receive a rebuttal.

“I did not expect this to come out of your mouth, Arisu. You are all aware of my past, my desire to take revenge for my village that was massacred for doing nothing bad at all. Revenge is the only thing that guided me all this time from all the hardships. And now that it is so close to me, you expect me to sit down instead?” Enyo stood up and tried to walk away.

“Enyo listen up. If you consider me your friend, you will stay until I am done here.” Arisu gave an ultimatum and Enyo stopped right in his tracks but he did not turn back.

“It is the exact reason that I know what is going on in your mind that I do not want you to go right now.” Arisu calmly rose from his seat and walked up to him.

“This only ends in two ways, either you join the war and end up dead or you become the very thing you swore to kill. War changes people and it changes them for the worse. No one wins the war.”

“No side in this war is completely evil, especially after this war went on for 100 years. No matter who started it, once it escalated both sides end up doing things that are morally wrong if done outside of war and it further fuels the hatred in both sides against each other.”

“Just like there is evil present on both sides, so is good. Fire nation has good people in it that are forced to do the bidding of their monarch as well, whether they like it or not. If you end up surviving this war, you might end up becoming what you despise because of your absolute hatred of the opposite side. You will end up killing innocents and I know you enough to tell you that you will not like it when you have already crossed that line.”

Enyo calmed down a bit by now, “What about my village?”

Arisu shook his head, “If they were kind-hearted as you described them to be, they would have not wanted you to be living a life where only hatred guides your actions. Instead, they would have wished you to live your life to the fullest, and experience all that they could not do. To fulfill their life goals.”

“You always said that there are a lot of debts on you by me, by keeping them in mind I ask you to think about our friendship and decide on what I told you today. I promise you this, in a few years I will be by your side as we dismantle all those people that build a castle out of other people’s misery and despair. Our fight is not with the common folk, our fight is with those that sit above them and enjoy the fruits of war.” Arisu said his part before leaving him to think.

If he agrees to stay, it is well and good as Arisu will have one of his own in the palace but even if he does not stay, Arisu could use a capable bender like Enyo in his squad. Maybe front-line horror could help Arisu change his thinking to only see destruction, not its after-effects.  

  

 Edited by- GrimHræzlyr

 

 

 

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