Know Yourself (Private, Training)

Kuzon looked over the vast mountainside he was currently climbing. He had been directed here by the White Lotus Grand Masters, the "final test" of his Avatar Training. Something that he was not prepared to do exactly, but he would do all he could to accomplish his goals. With the continued unrest present in the world, it was clear that internal revolt was inevitable. It was only a matter of time before civil war broke out in at least one of the elemental nations. He knew that he would be one to stop them, should they actually decide to revolt.
He had been told that this man would be able to guide him in the right direction, so he would have to see how it goes. He wasn't using his bending as that would make scaling the mountain too easy and he needed to condition his body for what was sure to be intense training. When he arrived at the peak of the mountain, he found a small monastery similar to that of the Air Nomads, but seemingly more spiritual if that was possible.

He approached the door and was preparing to knock when it was opened by an elderly man who had very ragged features. It was obvious that he was not expecting company, but had somehow sensed that Kuzon had arrived there none the less. Kuzon bowed respectfully to him, "Master Nero? I am Avatar Kuzon, here to learn under your guidance." He spoke in the manner that he spoke to all of the Lotuses. It was them who raised him after all. The man let out a huff but beckoned him inside, the inside was dimly lit with multiple candles all around. The man brought Kuzon to an area that was seemingly in the center of what was once a rock garden or statue area, but was now empty with the ancient symbol for 'EARTH' emblazoned on the ground.
Master Nero got down into the lotus position and motioned for Kuzon to do the same. "So, you want me to train you? I can tell that you haven't even unblocked your chakras but you feel ready to learn what I have to teach? You haven't even mastered yourself, how are you to master these techniques? You'd kill yourself or everyone else if you tried this!" It was clear that the man had little or no reverence for the title of avatar, which honestly,, was refreshing.

Kuzon looked at the man and then bowed his head slightly, he was right, Kuzon had not mastered or even trained the Avatar State, but he had never had a reason to do that sort of thing before. "Master, I will do whatever the training is required so that I can use this great power to aid me in defending those who are good in this world. I want nothing more than to be able to do my duty in bringing balance." He spoke honestly and with determination burning in his voice. The man seemed to take in what he said for a moment before he grunted again.
"Fine, we shall see if you have the resolve. First, you will need to open the spiritual blockers in your body that are keeping you blocked off from all things spiritual around you. It is important that the Avatar of all people has a strong connection to the spiritual world. First, you will need to unblock your Earth chakra. This is located at the base of the spine and deals with survival. It is blocked by fear. You must confront your fears and face them head on. This will allow your spirit to focus on survival rather than being afraid to live." As he spoke, Kuzon closed his eyes and began to meditate, focusing on what the older man was saying.

As he meditated, he opened his eyes to see flames burning all around him. He was in Omashu and there were riots going on everywhere. Benders fighting both benders and non-benders alike. The Lotuses all lie dead at his feet, their bodies mangled and decayed. He saw the bodies of his parents and friends, it was clear what this was... he had failed. He didn't bring balance to the world. He wasn't able to stop this end regardless of how strong he got, he couldn't defend the world by himself.
Taking in a breath, he rationalized his fear and slowly, allowed it to pass. He knew he wouldn't be facing this alone, he had friends to help him along the way and he wouldn't have to defend the world on his own. He wouldn't be alone in this task and he never needed to do any of it without help. He just needed to remember that he has a great support system in his friends and mentors. When he opened his eyes again, he was back with Master Nero. The man grunted and stood, "Good. It seems you do have some potential. I will train you, but it won't be easy, you still have to finish unlocking the other six chakras before your real training can begin. Follow me."

Following the master, he came into a room that was literally almost overflowing with water, waterfalls in each corner and water covering the floor that was around an inch in depth. They moved out to the middle of it and got back in the lotus position. Master Nero began to teach again, "The next chakra is the Water Chakra. It is located in the Sacrum and deals with Pleasure. It is blocked by guilt. Whatever has happened in your life that you feel guilt for, you must accept that these things happened and prevent them from clouding your judgment and poison your energy; You must forgive yourself if you want to be a positive influence on the world."

As he started to meditate, visions of his parents flashed before his eyes. If only he had known then what he knew now.. he could have defended them. He could have SAVED them! But, it was in the past. Nothing he did now would bring them back and he couldn't do anything about what happened. He could only move on, improve himself and build his strength in their memory. Letting loose a breath, he would open his eyes to see Master Nero looking at him with a brief flash of... approval? It was gone before he could be sure, followed by another grunt of acknowledgement.

The man would stand and nod his head in a direction before moving off into another meditation hall. It would seem that they had already been at it for several hours. He felt his stomach rumble, but had already been told by the other masters prior to coming that a major part of this training was endurance, which included heavy lack of sleep and fasting. Taking a breath, he followed the man into the next room. As he sat down, he was surrounded by a circle of fire that heated up the area around him. He could hear Master Nero's voice coming over the flames, "The third chakra is the chakra of fire. It is located in the stomach and deals with willpower but is blocked by shame.  In order to obtain balance, you must accept all the aspects of your life. You are the Avatar and therefore you are the bridge between the spirit world and the physical world. To gain this understanding, one must master themselves totally and completely, including the Avatar State. If you do not understand this aspect of yourself, you cannot hope to attain the balance you seek within the world."
Kuzon would sit and begin to meditate. He looked back on his life and thought of what he was ashamed of. What shame did he feel in the way he had lived his life? Did he have any regrets or feel that he had messed up in any way? Thinking about it, he realized that he had no regrets or ill feelings about his life. Opening his eyes he could feel another weight lifting out of his body. "That was quick, it only took you an hour this time. Lets move on." His voice was slightly softer than before, it was obvious that the old man was beginning to grow slightly attached to the young avatar.

Sitting down at the top of the temple in an open breezeway, Kuzon overlooked the mountain chain as the brisk air coursed all around his body. Looking to the old man sitting across from him, he would listen to him speak again. "The fourth chakra is the Air Chakra, depicted by the heart, it deals with Love and is blocked by grief. Love, is a form of energy that swirled all around people. your parents' love for you still exists inside your heart and was reborn anew, when you found new love, your friends. The cycle of love is similar to the cycle of hate, in that, born of passion, it is merely replace instead of permanently lost." Kuzon thought about that very diligently.
His mind flashed with his parents' bodies burning to ashes in front of him, a single tear escaping his eyes and then looking up, he saw all of his current friends waving to him and beckoning him to them. He went and took them all into his arms, thus releasing the grief from his spirit. He felt lighter, having let go of his grief for the loss of his parents. Realizing that their memories still lived on in him and that he would be able to continue their legacy by making his own great.

Master Nero motioned for him to come again back into the temple and through a series of narrow corridors. Kuzon followed in silence, his mind still comprehending the last several hours. He had been making steady process, but to him what felt like several hours was in fact a day and a half. His body feeling the effects of this intense training, but he pressed on regardless. He needed to finish this. When he arrived, it was literally him sitting under a waterfall and meditating. He sat down but couldn't hear anything. Master Nero wrote out words floating in the air in a glowing green energy, 'The Fifth Chakra is the chakra of sound. It is located in the throat and deals with the Truth, but is blocked by lies. You have lied to yourself more than you have lied to anyone else in your life. By telling yourself that mastering the Avatar State was not critical to your role as the Avatar, you have weakened not only your spirit, but your entire being by fighting against your destiny. You cannot lie about your own nature you need to accept your destiny as the Avatar.'
With a sigh, Kuzon would begin to meditate against the pain that he was feeling in his back. He could feel the pressure beating against him as he focused on telling himself the truth. That no matter how strong he got, if he wasn't a complete avatar, he would never be able to truly bring balance to the world. He resolved to himself that he would master it as soon as he finished his training here and made his journey to speak with the Earth King. Opening his eyes, he saw a brief nod of approval from his mentor before being beckoned into the next training room.

When he arrived, it was a room lit brightly by the moonlight filtering in through a colored window. Looking at his mentor, he was being handed a bowl of strange gunk. "Eat. You've earned it. You have made great progress over the last three days, but you aren't done yet." Kuzon nearly spit the gruel out, both in disgust at its taste and shock at what his aster had said. "Three days?! It feels like its only been a few hours!" He was genuinely surprised at this development, but quickly calmed down. Once he finished his disgusting meal, he would look to his master for his next instruction.
Letting out a short grunt, Master Nero would begin, "The sixth chakra is the Chakra of Light, it is located in the forehead and symbolizes insight, but is blocked by illusion. Life's greatest illusion is separation. Things that we often perceive as separate and different are in fact one and the same. Like the four nations or the four elements. Even Metal is simply a form of condensed earth and minerals. You simply need to find the connection underneath the illusion of division." Kuzon nodded and closed his eyes, eager to get started.

Kuzon would close his eyes and begin to focus. He just needed to finish this one thing and he would be able to complete the first part of his training. He visualized the four nations and elements and how each of them were connected in some way. He thought of the bending style he had created that utilized movements from each style to give him the ability to use them all at the same time, as a singular element. These were the thoughts in his mind when he finished meditating, the light gleaming off his determined eyes. He had mastered another.
Master Nero ushering him into a final room. This one was vast and seemed to go on forever. An endless expanse of blackness. Sitting down alone In the room, he heard his masters voice seemingly from everywhere all at once, "Thought Chakra is the seventh, located at the crown of the head. It seals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachment. You must release yourself from the bonds you have on earth and realize that as avatar you must put the needs of the many above the needs of the few. You must do what is necessary to maintain balance in the world, not what the people will approve of."
Thinking on this, Kuzon realized that it isn't his job to make people happy, it was his job to maintain a balance in the world, not just through peace, but also in war, not just through bringing life, but also granting death. It was a constant give and take cycle. He would need to prepare himself for the harshness of his future, close himself off while maintaining his compassion.
Opening his eyes a final time, he heard his masters voice, "Now, your real training will begin."