Enlightenment & Experiments with Fire
“The fire that burns within her will soon consume all who stand against her.”
—George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords
Zeus. He thought humans dangerous if given the power of fire. This gift would elevate them from beasts, make winters warm, and shield from the night. But Prometheus, defying Zeus, granted fire to the people.
Who kindled the fire within you?
When you give humanity purpose, even the gods become afraid.
In Avatar: The Last Airbender, we see this in the exiled Prince Zuko. His firebending, born of rage, was powerful yet quickly exhausting. Zuko was determined to hunt the Avatar, the only one who could bring balance, in pursuit of regaining his honor.
But when we chase what is meaningless we burn out quickly.
Zuko eventually realized that recognition from his family was meaningless compared to doing what was right. He joined the Avatar, finding purpose in defeating his own father and working towards a peaceful world.
Zeus knew fire's gift would also accommodate our destructive natures, escalating our capacity for violence.
Prometheus, however, believed humanity was more good than evil, despite the many who would misuse this power.
Drogon, Game of Thrones
And oh, how I love dragons - creatures of fire and instinct, raw embodiments of freedom and power. Their very breath is flame, and their souls are forged in the crucible of their own wild passions.
For is this not the duality that rages within us all?
Our heads and our hearts, constantly at odds, the dragon and the rider forever pulling in opposite directions. Without the steadying hand of the rider, the dragon's energies run unchecked, a maelstrom consuming all in its path. But deprived of the dragon's primal spark, the rider is left adrift, a ship without wind in its sails.
It is in this delicate balance - between emotion and logic, between instinct and purpose - that the true art of living is to be found.
For fire, my friends, is not mere destructive force, but an illuminating, ever-shifting dance. It moves to the rhythm of its own wild heart, untamable yet ever-awaiting the guiding touch of mortal hands.
The question remains: who breathed life into your inner flame? Whose divine gift now dances within your soul? The answer, as always, lies within. Tend to that fire, my friends. Fan its flickering embers until they roar into an inferno that will light the darkest corners of this world. For in doing so, you may yet set the heavens themselves ablaze.
Fire is an emergence.
Emerge.
-Jonathan, Great Fire Drake of the Fourth Age