Toku didn't have capacity to contemplate on anything as they delved deeper and deeper into the palace. A feeling of dread built inside of him; an anticipation of something immense. His gut told him that his life was about to take a dramatic turn, but he couldn't form the thoughts in his head, or the words in his mouth. All he could do was register his surroundings. Great columns of fine black wood, curved in the likeness of flames, rose towards the ceiling in many places. Silk carpets, embroidered along the edges with images of dragons, lined the floors. They were milky soft to tread upon. Men and women in plain robes scuttled here and there, sometimes with trays of foods, and sometimes with tea or even textiles. They would be servants, on the errands of the higher born. The higher born, what Toku figured them for, were also present. They held themselves in such a way they seemed taller than everyone else, walking with rigid backs and fluid steps. Nobody phased them, and nobody got in their way. Toku was so taken in by everything he saw he almost bumped into Jael when their small retinue suddenly came to a halt. A pair of great doors stood before them, ornated with intricate carvings of what Toku thought to be five Firebenders making a dragon out of fire. Something was said, but he was only half aware of it. Before he knew what was what, the doors had swung open and he'd been pushed inside. The doors shut behind him. 

The chamber was too thick with smoke for Toku to be able to make out the ceiling or the walls. He could only see more of the same columns he'd seen earlier, rows to either side of him, running along into the smoke as if they went on endlessly. None of this diminished Toku's mounting sense of dread. Yet he managed a gingerly step inwards. "The fires have spoken," said a booming voice. It nearly made Toku jump out of his skin. 

"That's funny," Toku said uncertainly into the smoke, mostly to calm himself, "I didn't know fires had mouths to speak with." He tried to laugh, but it came out awkwardly. 

"But the boy, he can speak," said another, sharp voice, in an amused tone. "He even dares to jest. At least he doesn't lack bravery. I can almost feel his fiery spirit."

"Can you please stop talking like I'm not here? It's really creepy," said Toku with regained confidence, taking a few more steps into the chamber. 

"All fire is sooner or later extinguished," said the booming voice. "However fiery his spirit, he is but another candle." 

"I take that as an insult, sir, sage, fire-whoever you are," Toku said, wading deeper into the smoke. 

"Spare us your pecimism in this historic moment, Faedric," a third voice said, this one thin and crooked, sounding as if belonging to someone very old. "And remove this blasted smoke. The poor boy can't see." 

Someone groaned, but almost as soon as the old voice had said the words, the smoke quickly began to clear out. Toku stopped, taking in what came to view. The chamber was spacious and quadratic with a great fire at its center. Around it, five men sat on cushions on the floor. Toku immediately recognized the old man, who looked as aged as he sounded. He looked exactly like what you'd expect a grandfather to look like. He figured the booming voice belonged to the strong-arm, who looked like the strongest and tallest of all of them. The sharp voice probably belonged to the thinnest of them all, who had features like a snake-rat. Two remaining two were a plump man with a thin mustache and a young girl who seemed very much out of place beside all the older and bigger men. 

"Come. Come closer," the old one said to Toku. "Rise, all of you," he barked to the other Sages. They rose quickly, though the strong-arm did so with visible reluctance, and the plump one with visible effort. "We're in the presence of the Avatar." 

Toku did as he was bid. The old man seemed used to people doing exactly what he asked them to. The twenty meters or so he was forced to walk felt like many miles, as he was being scrutinized with each step by the five most powerful people in the Fire Nation. Once he reached them, the six made a complete circle around the fire. 

"First things first. Introductions," the old man began. "We are the Fire Sages. We rule this nation as a council of five. My name is Suenzei. The others present are Faedric, Tzako, Kaza and Soie." He gestured in turn to the strong-arm, the rat-snake, the plump one and the girl. "And we know who you are, of course." 

"Yes, I was wondering about that. How in the blazes do you know I'm the Avatar? I didn't even know that, and I'm myself, so I should have known before anyone else I think," Toku said. He realized he was just spewing out words, but he felt more comfortable talking than not talking in this, the most surreal experience he'd ever had. 

"We've been searching for the new Avatar ever since the last one passed away. In the Fire Nation, this is traditionally done by Sages who specialize in reading the prophecies left us by ash, bones and flame. After sixteen years of silence, they finally found you. Among the thirty Sages appointed this task, it was unanimous that it couldn't be any other person than you. We spent some time locating you, but here you are, ready to begin your training in all the four elements," Suenzei said. 

Toku was left scratching his head. "But I can't Bend any other element than Fire."

"Have you ever tried Bending any other element than Fire?" Asked Kaza almost rhetorically, and got a negative shrug in response from Toku. Kaza nodded to Tzako, who produced from his robes a rock and a flask. He poured water from the flask into a cup and placed the cup and the rock on the ground in front of Toku. "Try Bending either rock or water. Focus. Let your inner strength guide you," said Kaza.

Toku looked passively at the two objects, thinking of the impossibility of the task. They were all staring at him in anticipation. He tried shaking off all his doubts and to focus like he'd been told. He stared at the rock. He punched the air, a familiar motion for Firebending techniques, but nothing happened. He started flailing his arms this way and that, but not with any success. He did the same with the water, but to no avail. "See? I can't be the Avatar."

Suie gestured with her hand to the air. "Try Bending Air. It's all around you," she said. 

Her way of speaking combined with her girly voice was definitely weird, but Toku paused only a moment before he tried Airbending. He didn't have any more success with this. The Fire Sages stared at his feeble attempts. 

After a few silent moments, Suenzei stroked his beard in contemplation. He exchanged a few meaningful glances with the other Fire Sages before turning to Toku and saying, "Rooms have been prepared for you and your friend. Go, now. We must discuss what to do with you further. Kozai will take care of you. Leave now." 

He didn't hesitate. Toku was happy to leave the chamber, almost running to the doors. On the other side, he found Jael and Kozai waiting. He didn't know what to say to him. Everything seemed different now. Was he the Avatar? He couldn't be. Or could he? He was confused. He turned to Jael and grinned and tried to act like his usual self. "Sorry for making you wait, buddy. I had to explain to the five Fire Sages how I'm not the Avatar. You know, just the usual stuff," he said and laughed. "We also get to sleep in the palace, with our own rooms and everything. Kozai here is going to be our butler, too. Show us the way, will you, butler?"

Kozai sneered at Toku's glib, but didn't shed light on it. "This way," he said simply, gesturing for Jael and Toku to follow him.