Dragon At Heart

Chapter 9

9. The Dragon Shrine

I am not sure what is the name of the Spirit that this Shrine has been dedicated to, but whoever you are, I am in need of wisdom and guidance.

Zuko was down on his knees in front of what he presumed might once have been an altar or a statue.

He did not actually think praying would solve his problems, but Master Kurita had spoken highly of it, so Zuko had decided to give it a chance.

You have to try everything at least once.

The smell of the smoke rising from the incense reminded Zuko of the monastery he had spent six months at when he had been 14 years old, but Zuko would never go back to them for help.

Instead, the Prince decided he should specify his wishes.

I need help to find my mother, Lady Ursa. If you can hear this, if you are somewhere out there, hear my request and give me an answer.

Suddenly, Zuko realized that he was not alone. Something was moving behind him, and that something was not a spirit.

ooo

Two years ago

Master Kurita waved his hands in a simple gesture, calling forth a flame and moving it to lit all the torches on the chamber's walls. Zuko had not been to this part of the monastery before, but that did not surprise him. The monastery was a maze with more rooms than any one person needed to visit.

Zuko immediately noticed that there was something different about this room. It was old; more like a cave than a room really.

Its walls and ceiling were uneven and rough. The walls were decorated with paintings and frescoes, and they covered every inch of the room.

The paintings were clearly old, the colors in them already a bit worn off. They portrayed different things: scenes, people, dragons, bending and sword katas.

"What are all these?" Zuko asked.

"These", Kurita said, and gestured towards a certain group of paintings, "are here to help us remember how to find old, almost forgotten Fire Nation shrines."

Zuko looked at the collection of frescoes

"I have seen this place before. It's in Earth Kingdom. How could there be a Fire Nation shrine in Earth Kingdom?"

Kurita looked at the fresco Zuko was pointing at. "Ah, the old Dragon Shrine. Yes, it is in Earth Kingdom, but no, that does not mean it could not be dedicated to Fire Nation spirits."

Zuko felt like asking what Kurita meant, but something told him he would get to hear it anyway, so he looked at the painting more closely instead.

True enough, the master was not done talking. "People often think that the way things are now or have been for the past few hundred years is the way things havealways been. Looking further back we will learn that very few things ever stay the same.

"Land we today see as either Earth Kingdom or Earth Kingdom territories conquered by Fire Nation has changed ownership many times in the history."

"So these lands used to belong to the Fire Nation?" Zuko guessed.

"In the old times, there were not just four nations dedicated to their representative elements, but there was rivalry as much within elements as there was between them. There were numerous clans and kingdoms that have long since been forgotten. The separation of elements is not as final as you may believe, and this is why different elements also have much to offer to one another. For example, our Order has the Air Nomads to thank for many of our techniques."