Avatar - Conquering the Elements-Chapter 11. Development

That same week, during a tribal assembly, my name was inscribed in the Book of Waterbending Masters, a record kept since the founding of the Northern Water Tribe's capital. As a master, I now have a voice in such conferences, where the tribe's future steps and life are discussed. Being the Chief's son already gave me certain advantages, and while I wasn't entitled to another vote, I held some influence even without my mastery.

But sitting through these meetings is so dull. Nothing serious ever seems to happen in the capital. There are people responsible for supplies, catches, and inspecting structures—they're the ones who report during these gatherings.

I had to pretend to be interested and fight off sleep. My efforts didn't go unnoticed, though honestly, some people were actually snoring. Most attendees are of a respectable age, which speaks to peaceful times. During wars, only the young attended such meetings, as the elders were the first to rush into battle to protect the younger generation.

I tried to test the waters about allowing both genders to pursue the types of bending they themselves want. I've often seen young men whose personalities simply didn't suit the intense combat aspect of waterbending; they usually became excellent healers. Sometimes, at night, I'd find girls secretly practicing waterbending from scrolls. If they received proper training, we'd gain worthy replacements for the current masters. These people are highly motivated—all they need is guidance, and they'll reach the top on their own. But the system, devised long ago, prevents such individuals from flourishing.

Not everything is as bad as it seems. The Chief, the head of the Healing Huts, my father's loyal supporters, and a small group of masters generally agree with my ideas. However, even this number isn't enough to change rules established by our ancestors. After all, our ancestors are deeply respected here, and their decisions are viewed through rose-tinted glasses, as if they unquestionably knew best.

There's a neutral faction that will simply observe how my efforts play out for now. The real headache is the die-hard traditionalists led by... Pakku! Alright, so your fiancée, whom you deeply loved, left you—fine, she did it right before the wedding. Sure, she didn't just leave; she ran to the other end of the world. It happens. But now, because Kanna, Sokka and Katara's grandmother, ran away, Pakku has become obsessed with traditions. He's a sound man, always caring for the Water Tribe, and I've often seen him playing with children using waterbending. Even with my antics, he'd look at me with a fatherly gaze, not too offended by my words.

I need to somehow influence either the neutrals or the radicals. Then, with more than 75% of the votes on my side, I can continue changing certain prohibitions.

For instance, some marriages are arranged without the bride's consent. Brides aren't supposed to go against their parents' decisions about marriage. The first example is Kanna, and the second is Yui, who could have avoided marrying the man her father imposed on her. As we saw in the series, she was kind and compassionate, putting the Water Tribe above her own interests. If anyone tries to force their hands on Yui, I'll immediately pull their eyes out. This issue also needs to be addressed gradually.

After my victory, I spent most of my time with the waterbending masters. That's when I felt the difference between the battles I had with my mom and the masters who focus on developing their bending. Still, it's worth noting that June, without a teacher and systematic practice, could easily defeat weaker masters.

Master Izamu, seeking a rematch, challenged me first. This time, the initial victory was his. From our first battle, he'd already figured out my tactics. This time, he systematically targeted my weaknesses while countering my strengths. According to him, I have very few weaknesses. He says I lack experience fighting against other benders, but my creativity, technique repertoire, chi control, and precision are all excellent.

Admittedly, I won against him in the arena, largely by strictly following my plan. For a whole year, I observed all the masters, studying their fighting styles and identifying their strengths and weaknesses. I didn't choose Master Izamu randomly. He often fights at long range without closing in, which gave me time to infuse the ice with my energy.

In the first month, I lost more than I won, but by the second month, only true monsters—who, for some reason, resembled kind grandfathers—left without injuries. The first battles with them really threw me off. In peacetime, they might walk with canes or hold their weak backs, but once the fight starts, all weakness vanishes. They leap across the field like saiga antelopes, and some are so dangerous in close combat that they'll tie you into knots with their hand-to-hand skills.

I often challenged Master Pakku to fights because his stubbornness genuinely annoyed me. At least it allowed me to vent my frustration. Noticing that I became more emotional during our battles, he once approached me to ask why, even offering to help with my problems. He's truly a good man, but his quirks aren't great.

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I discovered so many new ways to manipulate water—techniques I hadn't even found in the scrolls. Different tactics, methods to improve mastery and control. None of this is documented. When I raised the issue at a meeting, they approved giving me notebooks to record everything useful, just in case. If these notes ended up in the library, healing benders who practice in secret could read them. The problem with the library scrolls is that they mainly record ready-made stances for techniques and more complex things, but lack methods for developing the control needed to perform these techniques. Our brave girls have to push themselves beyond their limits to master what the scrolls describe.

At the same time, I began training in healing bending. There's no ban on men learning healing bending, but if you sign up, people will look at you sideways and call you a weakling. In my case, saying something to a waterbending master could be dangerous.

My mentor in this path became Yugoda, once a close friend of Kanna. She also tested what I already knew.

"Your theory is excellent, and you even told me something new," Yugoda said with a gentle smile after assessing my competence. "I've heard your words about expanding rights for the tribe's women—it's a very good initiative. If only you'd been born earlier, when many girls left for the outside world just to avoid marrying someone they didn't love," she added, her smile turning bitter and her eyes unfocused, as if recalling something distant.

"Alright," she said, snapping back. "We'll start with the basics. First, we'll learn to heal animals—fish will do for now. Then we'll move on to rodents, and only after that, under my supervision, we'll treat humans with minor external injuries. Once we build the foundation, we can tackle moderate and severe injuries."

"I've only taught young girls before, never a full waterbending master," she said with a laugh. "I hope you're used to blood? At my age, it's hard to care for students who might faint several times a day."

With this unusual monologue, my studies began. At first, I tried to feel my chi, which would have taken a long time if I hadn't started preparing to open my chakras. Chakras are energy centers, the main gateways through which chi flows. Finding its flow in my body wasn't too hard, but directing even a drop of chi into water once seemed impossible to me. It's a very heavy energy. At first, I learned to move it through my body, and only after some time could I release it outside myself—but as soon as it left, it dissipated.

Once I learned to direct my chi into water, we began practical training. May all the creatures I destroyed forgive me. The first fish simply exploded into pieces. Let me say right away, I didn't mean to—I was just as shocked. You try to close a poor fish's cut, and suddenly its head wants to kiss yours. I walked around with a bump on my forehead for a week, amusing everyone. And the local creatures have very strong bones and bodies overall—it is a bending world, after all.

It turns out Yugoda always conducts this kind of test to show that your carelessness costs lives. I assumed healing wasn't that simple, but I was naive. It's not enough to just direct chi into water and wave your hand over the wound. First, without introducing your chi into the patient, you must attune your chi to theirs. Everyone has their own chi, and to heal rather than harm, you must intuitively adjust your energy. That's what happened with my first victim: I poured my chi into it, which was inherently hostile to the fish. Seeing no way out, it clashed with the fish's chi, resulting in an explosion.

Next, you must program the attuned chi for healing. Beginner healers whisper words about healing or small mantras to better focus. External injuries are easier to close because you can see them with your own eyes—you just need to believe in how they're closing. With internal injuries, water with properly attuned and programmed chi will try to find abnormalities in the body, but this is far more energy-intensive.

After a year of practice, I could heal ordinary injuries without my teacher's supervision, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are many diseases that still can't be healed, but I think we just haven't found the right approach yet. My goal is to master healing bending that can cure even the terminally ill, stop aging, or at least prolong life.

On one of the rare days when my parents were out late, I put Yui to bed. We had a conversation that was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Brother, why am I so different from my peers?" my little sister asked, covered up to her neck in a blanket. "And don't try to joke your way out of it—I overheard Mom and Dad discussing how I came into the world."

"I thought this conversation would happen much later," I said. My little sister's mind is growing up too fast. I suppose it's time to reveal some secrets. "You were born very weak—so weak that you wouldn't have survived a day without a miracle. In desperation, I shared a piece of my chi with you. You might remember the emotions that helped calm you."

"So it wasn't just my imagination?" she asked, much louder. "I thought it was just my imagination. Then why can't I feel your emotions like I did in the first year?"

"I thought it would hinder your own development if I constantly shielded you," I explained. "I've learned to block that channel. Listen—" I opened the spiritual channel and sent her feelings of love and care. "Do you feel it now? I've always been with you," I said, looking at her tenderly.

"I love you too, brother," she said, blushing. "Will you teach me to do that too?" she asked excitedly.

"Of course, I will, but you must promise not to tell anyone. Let this connection be our secret," I said more seriously.

"So I'm smart because you're smart too," Yui said, nodding approvingly. "Now it all makes sense. Thank you for telling me, brother."

"Something like that," I said with a smile. "Alright, it's time to sleep now. Good night."

"Sweet dreams," Yui murmured sleepily.