MAYA [Book 1 - Water]

Chapter 45 - Fate or Fortune

-Maya's Point of View-

"Sit down," Aunt Wu's old male assistant said as he pointed to a seat in front of the table. "I hope jasmine tea is to your liking," he said once more as he started brewing tea from a kettle.

"Jasmine tea is actually my favorite! Thank you," I replied. He continued making tea while I sat there in silence. After a few minutes, he was done and then he joined me on the table with tea in both hands.

"Careful, it's hot," he cautioned. "Thank you so much sir, uhm..." I tried to thank his kind gesture but I didn't know what to call him.

"My apologies... You can call me Yuan," he introduced. "Nice to meet you, sir Yuan. My name is Maya," I greeted back.

"Before I answer your question, Maya, would it be okay for me to ask where you got the emblem?" he suddenly asked.

I carefully placed the emblem on the table and answered, "I found this during our stay in Taku. It was near a fountain inside the ruins."

"I see..." he said as he stared carefully at the small piece of metal.

"When I first discovered that I could firebend at the age of 14, my grandfather started telling stories about our ancestors; about how we were once part of a powerful and feared tribe in the whole world. He said we were called the Fintan Tribe for we bear the ability to bend white fire," he started telling the story.

"And their people were called Fintan Soldiers?" I asked. He shook his head and smiled.

"My grandfather said that a person can be a Fintan, but not everyone is considered a Fintan Soldier," he answered. "Only those who were blessed by the white Phoenix Fenghuang were considered Fintan Soldiers."

"Blessed?" I asked in confusion.

"Fenghuang only selects the people whom she blesses with her eternal flame. The reason for that is what I do not know," he explained. "Legends say that a Fintan Soldier has the power of an army and that their fire prowess can be as hot as the sun itself."

Woah, does that mean I possess those?

"If you're a Fintan Soldier, then you must've been blessed by Fenghuang!" I exclaimed out of excitement.

"Indeed, I was blessed; but I wasn't chosen." His answer confused me.

"My grandfather on his deathbed, wished for me to relive the lives of our ancestors and bring justice to our tribe's mistaken legacy. But to do so, I needed to be blessed by Fenghuang. That's why he told me to go back to Taku, find the eternal white flame, and obtain the phoenix's blessing," he explained.

"After his death, I packed up and traveled from the mainland to the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom. On the way to Taku, I met a pretty woman who was helping people with the use of her fortune-telling abilities. You probably know who she is,"

"You met Aunt Wu," I said in awe. "It was love at first sight," he said with a soft smile on his face. 

"I stayed in the village she was in for a while and had my fortune told by her, to which until to this very day, I still could not forget.."

"She said that I was trying to fulfill a destiny that was not meant for me, and that indeed I will find what I'm searching for and I will be granted the blessing that I seek, but the cost is that I shall forever live in pain," he continued.

"That sounded like a bad fortune," I replied. He scoffed and said, "She told me to just stop the travel and go back to where I came from, but I didn't believe her at that time. I went on with my journey to which she offered to join."