The Avatar's Master

17. Kuvira's Redemption, Part 2

Zaheer sat cross-legged beneath a dragon blood tree with its dense, umbrella-shaped canopy and ruddy colored resin. His salt and pepper hair and beard were long and the look on his face severe. Like the great airbending master Guru Laghima, he had managed to empty and become wind yet remained imprisoned, ever-floating in shackles and meditating into the Spirit World. In the end, to outsiders, it seemed like little had changed in his life.

"Welcome back to Xai Bau's Grove, Avatar Korra and... Kuvira, the former Great Uniter. Glad to hear you were defeated," Zaheer said dispassionately.

"Glad to have helped defeat you," Kuvira snapped back. She and Korra were alert and ready to act if need be, though they had no bending in the Spirit World.

"Relax, Avatar. Kuvira. I'm not going to hurt you – unless you give me a reason to." Zaheer half-smiled.

"Then why are we here?" Korra said.

"You tell me. I'm always here. I didn't summon you."

Korra replied: "We just came from the dogfish spirit and – "

Zaheer laughed.

"The dogfish spirit? Silly children. You were incredibly foolish to barge in on her. You're lucky you made it out alive. However, if she let you live then maybe your purpose has yet to be served," Zaheer said, rubbing his beard ponderingly.

"The dogfish spirit said we would end up where we needed to be at this moment. So why here, with you?" Kuvira said.

Zaheer uncrossed his legs and stood, facing the women. He was about their height and had square features. He considered the dogfish and women's presence a moment, began:

"Neither of you understand what it's like in the world. You grew up sheltered and powerful. And now as adults, you're surrounded by powerful people. And all of you could easily abuse your power if provoked, to dire consequences."

"Isn't that why you're in prison – because you abused your power?" Korra met his gaze.

Kuvira squirmed a little at Korra's retort, knowing it was true to her as well. But she sucked it up and kept her gaze on Zaheer steady.

Zaheer continued: "I was a nonbender for the first forty years of my life, and I had an unremarkable upbringing. And yet my spiritual energy and focus made me strong. I knew my purpose and likewise made strides toward it long before I could bend. You two put so much of your identity into this part of you. Korra, remember you are the Avatar of nonbenders too. Likewise, it would make no difference to me if I lost my bending tomorrow. I'm in shackles but here I am in the Spirit World -- free. Nothing is more valuable than a person's freedom."

"Not everybody wants to be free," Kuvira said. "Some people just want to be led."

Zaheer considered this.

"You authoritarian-types... to make things go your way, your solution is always oppression – through force," he seethed.

"So, was murdering the Earth Queen an accident, then? Because it sure seemed like you forced the air out of her lungs," Korra said, taking on her no-nonsense Avatar tone.

"I assassinated the queen because she was a tyrant who caused her people to starve and suffer as prisoners to her selfish whims. It was a necessary evil for the greater good."

"You left the Earth Kingdom in chaos. People who were already suffering suffered even more. I gave them stability, I gave them order. The lesser evil was I had to sometimes do what was necessary by force. But I never murdered anybody in cold blood," Kuvira said.

At this exchange, something clicked in Korra's mind. She relaxed her stance and said: "Even if the Earth Queen was tyrannical, murdering her wasn't the solution. Chaos isn't a long-term answer. It can shake things up, but eventually life settles back down and finds balance. What I don't know yet is what the right balance looks like. Maybe it looks different depending on the place and time and circumstance."