The years that followed were intense and enlightening for Isaruq. He had decided to give one hour to waterbending and one hour to Tai Chi practice. Each night he would sneak out of his room and try water bending, but it was not as easy as shown in the show he could not even move a drop of water at the start. He knew that he have to be in constant movement to make the water move, he knew about push and pull, he knew he have to imagine it moving along with him. He tried everything, but he couldn't.
He tried it for a few days but nothing happened, he knew he is a waterbender, he remembered what happened that day when he saw his mother's body. So why couldn't he do that now. He almost gave up and was thinking of going to Northern Water Tribe to learn. At first he didn't want to go there. You maybe asking why. Well because they have been using our momentary weakness to turn us into a breeding ground for them. You want to know how, well you ever wondered why Katara was the only bender in the whole Southern Tribe when back in the day more than 100 were born to non-bending parents every year. The truth is, the Northern Tribe would invite them to learn from them and make them stay there either to help in war effort or the better quality of life there. They would call our warriors when their city is being attacked but would left us in the dry when our villages are raided. So, Isaruq didn't want any help from them, atleast not now when he have enough on his plate to learn from the scroll, he would go there for more advanced techniques.
As he was thinking about it, he remembered something. The bending is not just some flashy movements, but also the moving of chi. The chi needs to flow along with the body. But he doesn't know how to make it flow.
So, when he returned next day he didn't try making the water bend to his will. Nope, he sat down and started meditating, trying to find the chi and make it move according to his will. After trying for a few days, he finally did it. He found his chi like a pond. He tried to move it and it finally moved.
Than remembering how it moved he tried bending the water by making the chi flow through his body along with his movement and the water moved with him for the first time.
From there he started giving an extra hour to chi bending along with waterbending and tai chi. He started making chi flow through his body at all times as he have read and seen in many fictions. But he didn't do it in one stroke, he took it slow. One step at a time. Because he knew that even one mistake here could make him disabled for life, if not kill him.
While he was doing it, his waterbending was not neglected as well and let me tell you the show lied, it was not at all easy to learn bending even with scroll. He have to learn the right way to move chi for every move. He had to understand every move from scratch and learn it. How did Katara achieved it so easily than, because she atleast had an Airbender master who taught her how to move chi and while not being a waterbender still gave valuable advice, also conflict and battlefield are the best teachers. Isaruq didn't have the luxury of first and no one would take him to battlefield at his age, and neither he was here to only learn to perform it. He was here to master it, and master it he will. It will take time and sweat but nothing worth keeping is gained easily.
But not everything was as smooth sailing as you will think. One day, Bato caught Isaruq sneaking out at night and found him practicing waterbending. At first, Bato wanted Isaruq to stop training, but Isaruq didn't listen to him. It was a tough week for both of us, full of arguments but finally he relented.
As my training progressed, so did life here in Southern Water Tribe. Soon our village chief and Bato's friend, Hakoda had a son whom he named Sokka. By next year he also had a daughter whom was named Katara. Ofcourse, Isaruq recognised them, they were the main cast of the show along with the airbender avatar. As far as he remembers, Avatar came out when Sokka was 15 years old. That would be around 99 AG. And they defeated Fire Nation in 1 year and some months.
That means Isaruq have around 14 years to take over Southern Water Tribe and make his moves against Fire Nation. And an additional year to bring the war to climax. Isaruq realised that he would have to amp up his training and also start his weapon training.
He immediately went to Bato next morning to ask to start his weapon training. Bato was a little surprised as benders don't usually use weapons, but didn't say anything. Here in Water Tribes, whether North or South we have a rule that if the child is strong enough to lift training weapon, which is generally heavier than regular weapons, and is able to train with it for a whole hour, than his weapon training will start.
So, when Isaruq asked for weapon training. Bato gave him a training spear and taught him basic stances and moves and have him drill them for an hour. When Isaruq proved that he could, Bato actually started training him.
Isaruq's preferred weapon was a spear and axes, though he didn't ignore a sword or daggers. It was so that in case he was ever disarmed he would have time to waterbend. As for why he would go into close quarters despite being a bender, simple, he believed in conserving chi for difficult opponents in a battle. You see unlike what the show would have you believe, you can't bend endlessly and an endless amount, it consumes chi and when you completely exhaust chi you get tired, so it's best to use stamina to fight non benders, which chi passively enhances, rather than chi directly.
Isaruq proved himself a prodigy in the art of spear and very talented in sword and while he was not as good in daggers as he is with other weapons, he was still better than most were at his age.
The next few years were nothing short of brutal.
Every dawn, before the sun could burn the horizon into gold, Isaruq's day began. The cold bit into his skin like shards of ice, the sea wind howling through the training grounds behind Bato's hut. He stood in his leather boots on the frozen shore, spear in hand.
At first, he simply drilled. Hours upon hours of stances, the spear held firm, the knees bent, his center low. Each motion had to be perfect: no wasted strength, no needless flourish. Bato was merciless. Every mistake was met with correction, sometimes a blow from the flat of his own practice spear.
"Again," Bato would say. "Keep repeating until your body learns what to do where your mind will freeze in the heat of battle. In a battle you wouldn't get time to think so let the instincts take over."
And again, Isaruq would move, thrust, step, spin, withdraw, breathe. The rhythm was like the tide, steady, unending.
It wasn't new to him. In his past life, tai chi had taught him patience, precision, and the quiet flow of motion. The spear forms of the Southern Water Tribe mirrored that same philosophy, fluid yet firm, gentle yet deadly. It was almost poetic how easily his body remembered what this world had never taught him. His mind might be that of a man reborn, but his muscles were still young and pliant, eager to learn.
By age seven, he could spar evenly with boys older than him and even defeat them sometimes despite them being stronger and faster. Bato kept pairing him with older childrens and sometimes even warriors, testing his adaptability. He didn't win in the start, but he never repeated a mistake. That, more than anything, earned their respect.
Still, Isaruq never lost sight of his true goal, mastery, not victory.
At night, after everyone slept, he returned to his secret training. Beneath the pale shimmer of moonlight, he would stand before a bowl of water and breathe. Slow. Deep. Intentional. He let his chi move, trickling from the base of his spine through his arms like a current of warmth. When he moved his hands, the water trembled, no longer defying him, but listening.
He didn't try to dominate it anymore. He guided it. Like teacher and student, they moved as one.
Over time, the bowl turned to a skin, the skin to a bucket, the bucket to a tide pool. The motions grew complex, flowing seamlessly from one form to another, like water itself learning to dance. He realized something profound in those quiet nights, bending wasn't just a tool, it was a mirror of the soul. When his heart was turbulent, the water rebelled. When he found calm, it obeyed.
He began meditating daily after spear practice. To Bato's eyes, it seemed like trying to rest and relax his sore muscles, only Isaruq knew it was also chi control. He trained his energy to flow alongside his muscles, strengthening his body while refining his spirit. It was subtle and invisible, the kind of mastery no one could see but everyone could feel.
By eight, his strikes carried more weight than they should have.
By nine, he could dodge attacks that should've floored him.
By ten, Bato no longer treated him as a child.
Winter, 90 AG
The snow fell thick that year, blanketing the village in silence. The Fire Nation raids were growing closer, and even the children whispered of war. Bato's training shifted from art to necessity.
No longer did he teach just form, now it was survival. They sparred on ice, where footing was treacherous. They trained in blizzards, learning to see through wind and snow. They practiced exhaustion drills, pushing until their lungs burned.
And through it all, Isaruq endured. He wasn't just stronger, he was sharper. The patience of a monk mixed with the ferocity of a hunter. When he wasn't with Bato, he was observing the tribe's warriors, memorizing the ways they threw spears, how they tracked seals, how they worked in pairs. He learned to think like them, to fight as one, not alone.
But deep inside, another discipline was forming.
One that no one could see.
His waterbending had evolved from simple motions to subtle control. He didn't make waves crash or columns rise, that would draw attention. Instead, he trained in micro-bending, reshaping ice for grip, redirecting the mist for cover, shifting droplets to adjust balance mid-swing. Tiny things. Imperceptible things. The sort of bending that didn't look like bending at all.
It was his hidden weapon.
He was eleven, when for the first time he disarmed Bato, it was by instinct. A parry too fast, a twist too smooth, and the old warrior's spear spun away into the snow. The silence that followed was heavy. For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Bato grinned, a wolfish, proud grin, and said, "You're ready."
From then on, the training changed.
No more drills. No more repetition.
He began learning battlefield tactics, how to read an opponent's stance, how to bait attacks, how to control range, how to fight against different weapons. They sparred with wooden blades, blunt clubs, even shields. Every weapon, every angle, every motion was analyzed and dissected until it became instinct.
When Isaruq sparred with others his age, he didn't fight them, he studied them. How they breathed, when they hesitated, what their first motion always was. He learned that most fights were decided before the first strike even landed.
That was the philosophy of tai chi, and now, it was his creed.
Flow with your opponent. Redirect. Never resist more than you must.
He integrated these lessons into his spearwork. His movements became smoother, faster, unpredictable, like a current breaking through stone. When he fought, it was almost beautiful to watch: every strike had purpose, every dodge had intention.
Word spread quickly through the tribe. The boy was gifted, they said. Blessed by Tui and La themselves. Bato never confirmed it, but in private, his eyes held quiet pride.
As he turned 13, the boy was gone, a young warrior had taken his place.
He stood a head taller now, his shoulders broader, his arms corded with lean muscle. Years of training had forged his body into steel and his mind into ice. His spear moved with frightening precision, his blade with fluid grace. Even Hakoda, the best warrior of the tribe, sparred with him often, calling Isaruq "the calm tide before a storm."
But beneath the calm, Isaruq carried purpose.
He had not forgotten the Fire Nation. He had not forgotten the smoke that stole his mother.
Each night, he bent water in secret, more complex forms now. Waves, whips, currents. He tested himself with ice, shaping blades and shields, practicing how to control temperature subtly without freezing his own skin. He could not reveal this gift, not yet. The time would come when the tribe needed it. When he needed it.
And so he prepared.
He built endurance through hunting trips, days in the cold wilderness, testing his survival skills. He learned to track, to strike silently, to read the weather and stars. He spent time among elders, listening to stories of past wars, gleaning every scrap of wisdom.
He wasn't just training his body anymore. He was preparing to lead.
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Author's Note:
While rewatching the show to write this, I couldn't find the third season. So can anyone help me with a Site or YouTube channel where I can find Season 3 of Avatar for free, preferably in hindi but I am comfortable with english as well.