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All of the characters in this story are stolen from TSes, Sail, chronicles, or Avatar, and are used without permission.
Originally this chronicle was meant to be comedy, but it didn't turn out the way I expected. I hope that somehow or another, it's at least a little bit entertaining.))
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Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Avatar attacked. The world has always depended on the Avatar, master of all four elements, to preserve peace and balance; but instead he used his powers to dominate. One hundred years ago, he vanished, leaving the tyranny of his empire to oppress everyone. The future may look bleak, but I believe, somehow, the Avatar can be stopped.
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(Near the South Pole, on the deck of a large ship.)
"You should rest, Prince Tiernan," advised Wizard.
"I will rest once I've destroyed the Avatar," shot back Tiernan.
"Suit yourself," shrugged Wizard, "But I'm going to go have a cup of tea and play War Solitaire with the crew. You're welcome to join us."
"No, thank you," said Tiernan coldly.
The Wizard started to leave, but then turned back. "You need to ask yourself, Prince Tiernan, what will killing the Avatar accomplish?"
Tiernan sighed in exasperation. "Uncle Wizard, have you forgotten that Avatar Selax killed my wife?!"
"No, I haven't forgotten. But that was 100 years ago, and no one has seen any sign of Avatar Selax since then. You have to accept the possibility that he's no longer alive, or no longer in this world."
"A hundred years is nothing to Selax," Tiernan said, still speaking with the venom of hatred. "He's up to something. I know it."
"I'm not saying you should abandon your quest. I'm just saying, perhaps someone else could take over lookout duty for a while," explained Wizard.
Tiernan scoffed. "I knew you wouldn't understand."
Wizard sighed in discouragement, and left, heading below deck. Tiernan stood out in the lookout station, trying to look everywhere at once through his telescope.
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(South pole, aboard a canoe.)
"Katerei, please pay attention!" grumbled a young blue-skinned man to his companion, a young blue-skinned woman.
"I am paying attention - to my water-bending!" corrected Katerei. She was leaning over the side of the canoe, gently pulling water out of the ocean and swirling it around through the air.
"That's nice, but it doesn't put food on the table," the boy answered. "We're supposed to be catching fish to feed our village, remember?"
"There's no time to have fun, huh, Fendul?" Katerei teased him, but her sadness was evidenced in her eyes. "Not ever any time for joy."
"Being with you brings me joy. We can be joyful while we work."
Katerei gave her fiancé a small smile. "Alright, Fuddy-duddy."
Fendul and Katerei returned their efforts to fishing, sitting silently. Katerei kept herself facing away from Fendul, and went through the motions of fishing, still not really paying attention. In her mind, she was wondering whether she should really go through with marrying Fendul, when she didn't feel the way he'd just expressed. She liked Fendul well enough, but she didn't derive joy from silently doing boring chores while he was in the same general vicinity.
After a long silence, Fendul broke Katerei's reverie. "We're drifting too far away from the jouyen. Can you pull us back in?"
"I thought I was supposed to be focusing on fishing?"
"Not getting lost at sea is an important aspect of fishing," said Fendul.
"We won't get lost at sea," Katerei rolled her eyes. "Why don't I just pull us in later, instead of constantly readjusting our position?"
"That's dangerous, Kat."
Katerei shrugged. "I live on the edge."
Fendul just sighed. He had long since learned not to bother trying to oppose Katerei's stubbornness. For hours they drifted out to sea, Fendul using his remarkable self-control to resist screaming at Katerei to pull them in.
Finally, he spoke. "It's time for us to head back."
Katerei didn't answer. It was then that Fendul looked over and realized she was sleeping against the side of the canoe. How long had she been sleeping? he wondered. He nudged her gently. "Kat."
"Go away," mumbled Katerei sleepily, not opening her eyes.
"It's time to head back," Fendul repeated.
"Wha? Who?" asked Katerei, sitting up and looking around without taking anything in.
She looked about to collapse, Fendul put his hand on her back in case she tried to fall into the water. "Kat, did you sleep last night?"
It took her a moment to process the question. "No. I was trying to finish writing my book."
Fendul gazed at her sadly. "Can you take us back home?"
"Where are we?" asked Katerei, looking around her in wonder.
"We drifted out to sea," said Fendul in an infuriating tone that was both serious and gloating.
"I don't think I've ever been this far out! Which way is home?"
"I thought you were keeping track of that." said Fendul.
"Nope, sorry. I was sleeping," explained Katerei.
"You should have told me you were going to take a nap. And pulled us in first."
"Do you want me to just leave you here?" threatened Katerei. "Because I can swim back."
"You don't even know where 'back' is! Look, I think we need to go roughly that direction," Fendul said, motioning in a direction that felt like the way they had came.
"Fine," said Katerei, and began moving water around the canoe so that it moved.
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(Two hours later.)
"We're lost!" wailed Katerei. "What are we going to do?"
"Calm down," Fendul answered. "I think we've gone too far to the east. Let's try going west for a while."
Katerei gasped, but not at Fendul's suggestion. "Fuddy-duddy, look! A ship!"
Fendul whipped around to see a war-ship, off in the distance.
"Let's go ask them for directions!" exclaimed Katerei, moving the canoe toward the ship.
"Kat, get us out of here," Fendul said urgently. "That could be one of Avatar Selax's ships. We have to go warn the jouyen."
"OR it could be a friendly Earth Kingdom ship who will help us find our way home," argued Katerei. "We have to at least wait until we can see its flags."
"If it's Selax, by the time we see his flags it'll be too late!" Fendul sputtered.
Katerei narrowed her eyes. "If it's Selax, he's going to wish he never came to the south pole." Her words were dark and purposeful, but she spoke quietly enough that Fendul did not hear her.
Fendul waited anxiously, squinting at the ship. Katerei did too. What was it, air or earth? White or green?
Fendul saw it first. "Impossible," he whispered.
"What?" asked Katerei impatiently. Then she saw it too - the flag was red. "Fire nation?" she asked in confusion. "But Selax wiped out the fire nation 100 years ago."
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(Near the south pole, on Prince Tiernan's war ship.)
Prince Tiernan continued to search tirelessly for Selax through his telescope. His heart jumped in excitement when he spotted a canoe out on the waters, for a second he thought maybe Selax had found a new way to get around, but he quickly realized it was just a couple of blue-skinned water tribe youth.
"Bring them aboard for questioning," Tiernan ordered his crew. A little while later, the two viirelei stood nervously in front of him.
"Have you seen any sign of Selax around here recently?" Tiernan demanded.
"We should be asking you that," said Katerei. "Where'd you get this Fire Nation war ship?"
"This is my ship," said Tiernan, raising an eyebrow.
"Your ship? Does that mean you're... Fire Nation?"
Katerei noticed an old guy standing behind Tiernan, making motions with his hand. He was holding his hand in front of his neck, fingers extended straight, and was jutting his hand back and forth as though he was sawing off his head with his hand. What was he trying to communicate with her?
"Of course I'm Fire Nation," Tiernan answered, "isn't that obvious from my clothes? I mean, I do have exceptional fashion sense even for Fire Nation, but still..."
"But," sputtered Katerei. The old man behind Tiernan was gesturing even more wildly now, as well as mouthing something, but Katerei ignored him. "But Selax wiped out the Fire Nation 100 years ago!"
"He did WHAT?!" Tiernan exclaimed, instantly igniting into flames.
The old man hit himself in the forehead. "I successfully kept this news from him for 100 years, and you ruined everything in 30 seconds! Seriously, this," he repeated the sawing gesture, "means shut up, how difficult is that to understand?! Ugh, that's it, I'm going to learn telepathy so I can send people psychic messages."
"You knew about this, Uncle?!" raged Tiernan, who had by now set the ship on fire. The crew started running around, trying to put out the fire.
"I didn't want you to be upset!" Wizard called over the chaos.
Katerei and Fendul huddled to the side and flames ran closer and closer to them.
"Kat, can't you do something?" asked Fendul.
"Oh yeah!" remembered Katerei. She motioned with her hand and a tidal wave crashed over the whole ship, instantly putting out the fire.
Tiernan blinked down at himself, surprised to see he was no longer ignited and that he was soaking wet. "Did you just..." he looked up at Katerei, "... douse me?"
"Uh," said Katerei nervously. "Yeah. Sorry. You were on fire." She paused and gasped when she grasped the significance of that. "You're a fire-bender!"
"Yeah, and you're a water-bender," Tiernan pointed out.
"But water-benders weren't wiped out 100 years ago!" said Katerei.
"How old are you?" asked Fendul.
"378!" Wizard answered for Tiernan. "Or was it 377?"
Tiernan glared at Wizard. "342."
"Oh. Oops," said Wizard.
Katerei gaped. "But you don't look a day older than 50!"
"50?" asked Tiernan, touching his face to check for wrinkles.
"This isn't possible," said Fendul. "My great-granny is 98 and she looks more like him," he gestured to Wizard. "You can't be 342," he informed Tiernan.
"Hey, who are you calling a great-granny?" demanded Wizard.
"Yeah," said Katerei, agreeing with Fendul. "How did you get so old? I thought people didn't live that long."
"Humans don't, but elves do," said Tiernan shortly.
Katerei raised an eyebrow. "You don't look like an elf."
"I'm not. Anymore."
"What? What happened?"
"Don't ask."
"But-"
"Really. Don't ask." Tiernan's threatening glare was so serious that Katerei hid behind Fendul and dropped the line of questioning.
"Now answer my original question," said Tiernan. "Have you seen any sign of Selax around here recently?"
"Not since-" Katerei's eyes filled with tears and she choked up.
"Our jouyen has no reason to attract Avatar Selax's attention," said Fendul. "Do you serve him?"
"No," said Tiernan venomously. "I'm going to kill him."
Katerei instantly lit up. "Selax can be killed? We'll help you!"
"I don't need help," said Tiernan.
"On the contrary," piped up Wizard. "You need as much help as you can get."
"Fine, you can help," relented Tiernan. "When was the last time you saw Selax? Do you know where he was going next?"
"It was a few months ago," said Fendul. Katerei put a hand over her mouth and sobbed.
"Don't let's talk about it," she said.
A wave of pity cracked through the wall Tiernan had built up against Selax. He put a comforting hand on Katerei's shoulder. "Avatar Selax has destroyed many lives."
Katerei flinched at his touch. She sniffled and pulled herself together. "He killed Nili," she said.
Tiernan froze. "Nili?" he repeated.
"She was my best friend," explained Katerei. But Tiernan was crumpling before her. He sunk to the ground and buried his face in his hands. Katerei and Fendul exchanged a confused look - they hadn't expected this news to affect the Fire Nation stranger so much.
"Nili?" pondered Wizard, searching his memory. "Was she the Southern Water Jouyen girl you spent the night with the last time we made a lap through the South Pole?"
"That night was the only time in the last 100 years that I have relaxed," murmured Tiernan.
"Oh," said Katerei in surprise. "She did have a gift."
Tiernan suddenly sprung to his feet, as determined as ever. "And she was killed by Selax! It wasn't enough for him to kill my wife, he has to kill any other girl who could possibly fill that role. He will pay - with his life!" Fire burned in Tiernan's eyes.
"Um, your eyeballs are on fire," Fendul pointed out.
"Oh, oops," said Tiernan, extinguishing his eyeballs.
"Anyway," said Fendul, "Nili was killed because Selax banned dancing and she wasn't willing to obey that rule. She defied him. I don't think that had anything to do with you."
"No, this is what Selax does. His purpose in life is to make me miserable."
"Well, he's made me miserable too," said Katerei. "So we share a common goal."
"How about formal introductions?" suggested Wizard. "I am General Wizard, and this is my nephew, Prince Tiernan."
"Nice to meet you," said Fendul with a bow. "I am Fendul, okoreni to the Southern Water Jouyen, and this is my betrothed, Katerei."
Katerei waved nervously.
"Are you both water benders?" asked Tiernan.
"Just me," said Katerei. "But Fendul can fight."
"I can fight?" asked Fendul, looking terrified.
"Sure. Remember, when you were nine?" Katerei prompted.
"Oh yeah..."
Katerei nodded in satisfaction.
Tiernan looked doubtfully at the two of them. "Just keep your eyes and ears out for signs of Selax, and don't get in my way."
"Aye aye!" said Katerei, pleased with the opportunity to use the nautical speech she'd researched for her novel.
"Also, do you have any idea where Selax was heading after he left the South Pole?" asked Tiernan.
"He didn't mention, but he departed to the north," offered Fendul.
"You don't say?" said Tiernan flatly.
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(On Tiernan's ship, a few days later. Somewhere in the seas off the Earth Kingdom.)
"What is this mutiny?!" exclaimed Tiernan, bursting out onto the deck angrily. "Who changed the ship's course?!"
The crew members glanced at each other nervously, but Wizard, hearing the commotion, also came out onto the deck.
"That was me, Prince Tiernan. But don't worry - I had a good reason for changing the course."
"Did you see a sign of Selax?" asked Tiernan.
"No..." admitted Wizard. "I've lost my favourite playing card, the Dervish card. Without it, my winning War Solitaire strategy is impossible."
Tiernan gaped at Wizard. "That's not a good reason!"
"Calm down," said Wizard. "This will only be a short detour while I purchase a new Dervish card. Besides, perhaps you will discover something about Avatar Selax at this port."
Tiernan sighed. "Very well."
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"Have you seen any sign of Avatar Selax around here lately?" Tiernan asked a merchant near the port. He had been asking at every single stall, but so far no one had any information. This one was different.
The merchant glanced around.
"I haven't."
"You hesitated," said Tiernan.
"I haven't seen any sign of him, and that's the truth," said the merchant. "But... Several years ago, I met a traveler who said that if information about the avatar was needed, to seek out The Baron on the island of Tempest."
"The baron?" asked Tiernan. "What baron? What's his name?"
"I don't know that," said the merchant. "The traveler just said The Baron. Good luck to you."
"Thank you," said Tiernan. He hurried off to round up the others. It was a feeble lead, but it was all he had.
He found Katerei trying on a blue scarf. "You should totally buy it," Fendul was saying, "it brings out your skin."
Tiernan retrieved them and found Wizard in a gaming shop, admiring a card that he'd just purchased.
"So that's your favourite card?" asked Katerei, peering over his shoulder and the card, which had a picture of a wildly dancing Muslim guy. "I... don't think that's part of an official deck."
"Ah of course," said Wizard kindly. "You're too young to understand that only decks with a Dervish card are true decks." Wizard patted her on the head condescendingly.
Fendul suddenly dashed between Wizard and Katerei, separating them. "Dude!" he exclaimed. "Did you just touch my fiancée's hair?!"
"Uh, oops?"
"It's time to go," said Tiernan. "I have a lead on Selax. We're going to Tempest Island."
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(On Tempest Island.)
"So we're looking for this baron?" asked Wizard, as the crew finished securing the ship to the Tempest Island port.
"Yes," said Tiernan. "I have no idea who he is, only that he lives on this island. We'll have to ask around."
"Right, okay," agreed Wizard.
Tiernan, Wizard, Fendul, and Katerei disembarked the ship and looked around, wondering where to begin.
"Excuse me!" said Wizard to a citizen who passed near them. "Are you the baron?"
"Nope," said the citizen, continuing on his way.
Wizard shrugged, and interceded another citizen. "Are you the baron?" he asked.
"Uhh, no."
Without hesitating, Wizard found another citizen. "Are you the baron?" (The citizen shook his head.)
Tiernan, Fendul, and Katerei watched on as Wizard continued to ask every single passerby if they were the baron. After another dozen denials, Tiernan grew impatient.
"Uncle, we need a more efficient strategy."
"Hold on for a moment, Prince Tiernan," said Wizard, running up to another passerby. "Are you the baron?"
The passerby raised an eyebrow at Wizard. "Still no," he said, giving Wizard a funny look. He walked hastily away, periodically looking back over his shoulder to give Wizard more odd looks.
"You already asked him, Uncle!" exclaimed Tiernan in exasperation.
Wizard shrugged. "You never know, maybe he acquired the position since I last asked."
"This is ridiculous, let's try something else."
"Have patience! It's bound to work sooner or later. Ah, there's a gentleman I haven't asked yet! Excuse me." Wizard ran up to another passerby. "Excuse me, sir, are you the baron?"
As yet another citizen denied being the baron, Tiernan pressed his hands over his eyes in exasperation.
Katerei cautiously took a step closer to Tiernan. "Um, are you okay?"
"We're wasting time," complained Tiernan. "The sooner I destroy Avatar Selax, the better."
Katerei frowned. "General Wizard?" she called.
Wizard, who had still not succeeded in identifying the baron, came up to Katerei. "Yes, Katerei?"
"What if," Katerei suggested, "we asked people if they knew anything about the baron? Maybe we could figure out where he lives or something."
"That's preposterous!" exclaimed Wizard, then he paused for a long moment. "Actually, that's a good idea. Let's try it!"
Wizard promptly ran off to try Katerei's idea. Katerei smiled at Tiernan, and was surprised when he gave her a small smile back. A faint purple blush rose to her face.
"Thank you," said Tiernan.
"My pleasure!"
Tiernan went over to Wizard, and after a moment of grinning at nothing, Katerei followed him, along with Fendul.
After a couple of passersby denied knowing anything about the baron, the adventurers noticed a young lady who was quite well-dressed and appeared to be part of the upper class. Her handmaiden trailed behind her.
"Excuse me, young lady!" said Wizard. The lady paused, looking annoyed. "We are looking for the baron. Do you know where we might find him?"
"I'm quite busy," said the lady haughtily.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you," said Wizard politely. "It's only a quick question."
"Talk to the handmaiden," the lady tossed her hair and walked away. Her handmaiden stayed behind.
The handmaiden cracked her knuckles and glared threateningly at the adventurers. "You folks need help with something?" she asked.
Wizard backed away in alarm. "Ah, no! We're good. Sorry to interrupt your walk."
"Uncle!" Tiernan reprimanded. "You're going to let a handmaiden intimidate you? She obviously knows something!" He stepped in front of the handmaiden. "Where is the baron?" he demanded.
The handmaiden stood her ground. "I'm sure I don't know. He's a secretive guy. Why are you looking for him?"
"I believe he has information that will help me destroy Avatar Selax."
"You're trying to destroy Avatar Selax?" The handmaiden looked thoughtful. "That's a noble quest. I'll take you to the baron, but I don't know if he will see you."
"Thank you," said Tiernan.
The adventurers followed the handmaiden through the island of Tempest. At long last, they arrived at a large manor.
"This is the baron's estate," explained the handmaiden. "I need to return to my lady now. Good luck."
"Thank you again for your help," said the Wizard. The handmaiden curtsied and departed.
Tiernan knocked on the door, and there was a tense silence until the door was opened by a huge, imposing, scarred butler.
"May I help you?" he asked politely.
"We need to see the baron," said Tiernan.
"I must inform you that he is very busy and does not entertain visitors," the butler explained. "However, if you have a message for him, I would be happy to deliver it."
Tiernan scowled. "Tell him we need to know what he knows about Avatar Selax."
The butler raised his eyebrows. "And who shall I say is asking?"
"Prince Tiernan of the Fire Nation."
The butler's eyebrows went even higher and he glanced Tiernan and his companions over. "Very well," he agreed. "I shall return with my master's response."
The butler closed the door, leaving the adventurers standing outside.
"What if he won't see us?" worried Fendul.
"Then, we will go back to searching for the Avatar through other means," said Wizard.
"No," said Tiernan firmly. "I have a feeling I am meant to talk to this baron."
"What do you mean?" asked Wizard.
"I can't explain it," said Tiernan. "It's a gut feeling. I need the baron's information. If he won't talk to us, we'll insist." A dangerous gleam came over his eyes.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," said Wizard nervously.
Katerei did not seem to be paying attention to the conversation. She looked around and paced restlessly. "I want to explore Tempest Island," she announced suddenly. "How about if I meet you back at the boat at dusk?"
"Do want you want," said Tiernan indifferently.
"I'll go with you," said Fendul.
"Oh no, stay," said Katerei quickly. "You would spoil all my fun."
"What?" asked Fendul sharply.
"Oops, um, that wasn't what I meant to say," Katerei flustered. "I meant, you should stay with Prince Tiernan, in case he needs you. You'd just be bored watching me shop anyway."
"That's true," Fendul conceded. "Okay, but be careful, and make sure you're back at the boat by dusk."
"Of course!" said Katerei happily, and wandered off with enthusiasm.
Shortly, the butler returned, opening the door once again.
"The baron wishes to see you. Please, follow me."
Tiernan, Wizard, and Fendul followed the butler through the large house, which was filled with many pillows and fireplaces. Despite the warm weather, fires burned in every fireplace. They passed through several rooms before arriving in what seemed to be a private study. Behind the desk stood a large chair with a high, broad back, but the chair was facing away from them, and they could not see who was sitting in it.
"Prince Tiernan of the Fire Nation and two companions here to see you, master," announced the butler.
Excellent, spoke a voice from inside their heads. Thank you, Ral. Come in, come in, my guests.
The butler motioned toward three plush, comfortable-looking chairs before the desk. The adventurers sat down, and the butler departed, closing the door behind them.
Finally the little moose-mice have found their way to my den. Long I've waited... murmured the voice.
The three adventurers looked at each other in confusion. Was the voice coming from the chair in front of them, and somehow the acoustics of the room made it sound like it was coming from their heads? And what was it talking about anyway?
"Baron," spoke up Tiernan. "I've heard you have information about the Avatar."
That I do, indeed, but information in itself is worthless, is it not?
"On the contrary," argued Tiernan, "information about the Avatar's whereabouts is extremely valuable. It's my sole purpose in life to find the Avatar, and kill him."
My! My! What drives you to suicide? Surely that is not the answer.
"Avatar Selax killed my wife, as well as many other people. He must be stopped."
Ah, so that is the way of it... Much knowledge I could share with you, and indeed, I am honour-bound to do so. However, time is of the essence. It is best if I enlighten you as we travel to the North Pole.
"The North Pole?" asked Tiernan. "Is that where Selax is?"
Finding Selax is not the first task on your to-do list, eager little moose-mouse. You yet lack the tools to defeat him.
"So... there's a tool in the North Pole that I can use to defeat Selax?"
That statement is not incorrect.
"And why should I trust you? This could be a trap orchestrated by Selax's forces."
Ah, but you do trust me, do you not, little moose-mouse?
Tiernan did, but he didn't like to admit it. Logically he saw no reason to trust this voice, this baron, who spoke with an infuriating condescension. And yet, he felt some kind of connection to this being, somehow he knew that he would know if it was being dishonest.
You trust me, but you do not understand why, observed the voice. Let me assure you that there is a good reason, which I can explain as we travel to the North Pole.
By this point, Fendul and Wizard were giving Tiernan funny looks.
"You'd really let this guy on your ship?" asked Fendul. "We don't even know who he is!"
Ship? asked the voice sharply, nervously.
"Yes, I have a ship," admitted Tiernan.
Preposterous. Unacceptable. We will travel by carriage.
"To the north pole?" asked Fendul.
Yes.
There was an awkward silence.
"How will we get over the ocean?" asked Tiernan finally.
Is that... strictly necessary? asked the voice nervously.
"Have you ever been outside of Tempest Island?" asked Wizard knowingly.
Of course I have. I mean, in a manner of speaking. Technically... no.
"Well, since an island is a body of land that is surrounded by water on all sides..." began Fendul.
Ah. It seems this is where we part company, moose-mice.
"What?" asked Tiernan in confusion. "You haven't explained anything yet!"
I will not go near the water, the voice said casually, but I will be with you in spirit.
"What is that supposed to mean!" demanded Tiernan.
Now that we have met, we can communicate with each other at any time, in your mind.
"That's... a little creepy," said Fendul.
Wizard looked serious. "Could it be..?" he murmured to himself.
Be on your way, moose-mice, adventure awaits!
Tiernan was torn by wanting to find this "tool" as soon as possible, and demanding answers before he did anything. He was rather relieved when Fendul gave him an excuse not to decide.
"We can't leave without Katerei."
Tiernan nodded. "It looks like we're stuck here for a few hours anyway. You might as well tell me exactly what's going on, and everything you know about the Avatar."
The voice sighed. Oh, very well. But it is quite a long story. Where to begin?
"With Avatar Selax," said Tiernan firmly.
Ah, but how can I answer a question which is rooted in fallacy?
"What fallacy?"
Referring to Selax as the Avatar is a fallacy.
Tiernan shot a confused look at his companions. Fendul looked as bewildered as he was, but Wizard looked thoughtful.
"Are you saying Selax being the Avatar is all a big conspiracy?" asked Tiernan skeptically. "He was confirmed to be the reincarnated Avatar, and sadly many people have witnessed his mastery of all the elements. The extent of his power has never been seen in anyone except himself."
All this is true. But surely you know that the Avatar Spirit is not eternally bound to one person, but transfers from person to person in a perpetual Avatar Cycle?
"But the Avatar Spirit is only transferred upon death."
The adventurers could almost feel the baron shrug in their minds. Just because that is how it's always been done in the past, does not mean it's the only way to do it.
"Then, what happened?"
Once Selax mastered all the elements and grew to unimaginable power, he wasn't interested in hosting the Avatar Spirit anymore. He transferred it to someone else and moved on to other endeavors.
"What other endeavors?" asked Tiernan at the same time that Wizard asked, "to whom did he transfer the Avatar Spirit?"
The baron chuckled in the adventurers' minds. Selax's chief interest is to access the Void so that he can conquer more worlds. Fortunately for the other worlds, this is quite impossible, but it has given Selax a hobby to occupy most of his time these last 100 years. As for the other question... that is a most interesting one. The current Avatar is none other than Prince Tiernan.
Tiernan blinked. "You're crazy."
Oh yes, agreed the voice easily, but that does not change the fact that you are the new Avatar.
"Why would Selax give me the Avatar Spirit?"
To torment you.
Suddenly the baron's words made sense. "He would," muttered Tiernan.
But you can turn this to your advantage. Master the arts of water-bending, earth-bending, and air-bending, and you may yet stand a chance of defeating Selax.
"So the "tool" Tiernan's supposed to get at the North Pole... that's learning water-bending?" guessed Fendul.
Correct, clever moose-mouse.
Tiernan sat silently, scowling at a random spot on the wall.
"Are you okay, Prince Tiernan?" asked Wizard gently.
"His spirit," whispered Tiernan, "is inside me. His murderous sadistic spirit is inside me."
"You are the Avatar, but you are not Selax," said Wizard in his slow, careful way of speaking. "You have been given a gift, and you can use that gift for good or for evil."
"I don't want any gift that Selax gives me. I should return it unopened. Or better yet, find a way to burn it to ashes."
"You don't want to do that, Prince Tiernan. This is your best chance of defeating Selax."
"I know," Tiernan grumbled. "But..." he shuddered. "It makes my skin crawl. I'm going back to the ship."
The adventurers stood up.
"Thank you very much-" began Wizard.
One more thing, interrupted the baron. It is customary for the Avatar to have spirit animal. A magical creature with whom he or she shares a special bond. When the Avatar Spirit was transferred, I could feel it. I knew I was the new Avatar's spirit animal, and thus I knew that the new Avatar must be a fire-bender. This surprised me because I, like most of the world, believed that Selax had wiped out the Fire Nation.
The huge chair behind the desk was slowly turning around. The adventurers caught glimpses of flames, and then, as the chair completed its 180 degree turn, they saw a cat who appeared to be made of flames.
Nice to formally meet you, Avatar Tiernan. I am Firecat, your spirit animal.
-----------
(Aboard Tiernan's ship, departing from Tempest Island.)
Tiernan stood at the lookout station out of habit. He didn't even know what he was doing. Apparently finding Selax wasn't a priority.
Katerei approached him nervously. "Tiernan? Are you alright?"
"I have a lot on my mind."
Katerei waited for him to expand, but the silence stretched on. "Is... it about what the baron told you?"
"Yes."
"What did he tell you?"
"It's a long story."
"I have time."
"I don't feel like talking about it."
"Oh." Katerei knew she could get Fendul to tell her about the baron later, but Tiernan's refusal to talk to her still hurt.
After a moment, Tiernan seemed to remember that Katerei was there. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good company tonight."
"It's okay," Katerei lied. "I guess this isn't a very good time to tell you, but someone I met in Tempest asked me to tell you hi."
"Who?"
"Sparky Sparky Boom Rythan."
"Rythan was on Tempest Island?" Tiernan demanded.
"Yes-"
"Did he hurt you?"
"What? No! He was nice."
"No, he wasn't. I strongly recommend that if you see him again, you run. Fast."
Katerei's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"
"He is dangerous."
"He didn't seem dangerous..." Katerei protested.
"He is," Tiernan insisted.
No more words were spoken. Silently, the ship sailed on toward the North Pole, as the night darkened around it. Slowly, Tiernan came to accept what he now knew was the truth - that he was the Avatar. No longer was his quest to kill Selax merely a quest for revenge. Now, it was his responsibility to save the world.
Elsewhere on the deck, Wizard attempted to teach Fendul and Katerei how to play War Solitaire. Fendul and Wizard has already filled Katerei in about everything Firecat had told them, and she was really excited about meeting a water-bending teacher at the North Pole, and finally mastering water-bending herself. After a couple of rounds of War Solitaire, Wizard decided he'd better check on his nephew.
Tiernan still stood at the lookout station, though he didn't appear to be actively looking for anything.
"How are you doing?" Wizard asked. "I know it's a lot to take in, finding out that you're the Avatar."
"Did you know?" asked Tiernan. "All this time, did you know I was the Avatar, like you knew Selax slaughtered the Fire Nation?"
Wizard sighed. "No, I didn't know. I had suspicions, but no knowledge."
"Why didn't you tell me about your suspicions?"
"I meant to. It was second on my to-do list, after writing a chronicle."
"That's helpful," said Tiernan sarcastically.
"I should write that chronicle," reflected Wizard.
"Yes, you should," agreed Tiernan.
Wizard shrugged. "Well, if you need anything, let me know, Prince Tiernan."
"Don't call me that." Tiernan's own name sounded foreign to him now. As though he was the same person he was this morning.
"Er, why not?" asked Wizard.
"That name doesn't fit me anymore. Call me... Avatara."
-----------
(The North Pole.)
"It sure was generous of the Northern Water Jouyen to throw a banquet to welcome us to the North Pole," commented Katerei, as she dug in to the gourmet Water Jouyen feast.
"Yeah, it was really thoughtful..." said Avatara, who was gazing dubiously as the food. "The North Pole has unusual taste in music though."
"That's the best part!" exclaimed Katerei, who grinned admiringly at the band who was providing the entertainment for the banquet. "Isn't that drummer talented?"
"In the Southern Water Jouyen, music is reserved for spiritual rituals," pointed out Fendul, with a tone of disapproval.
"Just another thing that the Northern Water Jouyen does better, huh?" asked Katerei.
After the banquet, the adventurers were shown to their guest rooms, where they rested comfortably. The next morning, Avatara and Katerei met the water-bending master for their first lesson.
"Good morning, I'm Master Pakku," the water-bending master greeted them. "You must be my new student."
"Students, actually," said Avatara. "I'm Avatara, and this is Katerei."
Master Pakku gave them a funny look. "I only teach boy water-benders. The girls study healing with Mistress Adriana."
"But I want to learn how to fight!" said Katerei in dismay.
"Uhh, it would actually be really useful if one of knew how to heal. Just saying," said Avatara.
"Psh, when would that ever be useful?" scoffed Katerei.
Avatara shrugged. "What if I'm stabbed in the gut by a traitor and no one will heal me because they believe I'm a murderer and you know in your heart that I'm innocent but all you can do is watch me slowly die, because you never learned healing?"
Tears bit Katerei's eyes. "That would be terrible!"
"Or, you know, someone could get injured in the big Selax battle."
"I guess so..." agreed Katerei. "I'll go to Mistress Adriana's class."
Master Pakku gave her directions to the healing hut, and Katerei left, feeling bummed. She had really been looking forward to spending time with Avatara in water-bending class.
The actual healing lesson did nothing to improve Katerei's mood. The teacher, Adriana, seemed to inexplicably hate her. Whenever Katerei looked up, Adriana was glaring at her; and Katerei suspected she was giving her instructions that were deliberately meant to be confusing.
At lunch break, Katerei approached one of the other healing students, Danae.
"Hey... do you know why Mistress Adriana hates me?"
Danae gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's probably just the company you keep."
"The company I keep?"
"Yeah. You're working with the Avatar, right?"
"Yeah, but everyone loves Avatara. He's going to save the world."
"The Avatar killed Adriana's mentor. She's still bitter about it."
Katerei blinked. "But that wasn't Avatara!"
"It was his past life," Danae shrugged. "Besides, she has to blame someone, right?"
"So... my chances of getting on her good side are... not good?"
"Nope! But she is a good healer. It's a worthwhile class, even if she hates you."
Katerei sighed.
-----------
(The Northern Water Jouyen, a week later.)
Katerei had been getting mixed signals from Avatara. Every day after their lessons, he met her at the healing hut and they walked home together. She took that as a good sign that he cared about her. On the other hand, whenever she tried to hang out with him in the evenings, he was never around.
It was frustrating, and Katerei didn't really have anyone she could talk to. There was Fendul, of course, but she could hardly talk to her fiancé about whether or not she had any chance at a relationship with Avatara. And she hadn't really made any friends in the Northern Water Jouyen.
Well, there was that one guy, the drummer she had seen at the banquet the first night, Airedain. He was really cool. But, it wasn't really a talking-about-things sort of friendship, it was more of a getting-into-fights-with-random-jerks sort of friendship. It gave Katerei the opportunity to practice her water-bending fighting skills, since she wasn't allowed to take the combat class.
One evening, Katerei was heading out to look for Airedain, when she thought she heard voices coming from Avatara's room. That was weird, as he never seemed to hang out in his room except to sleep. Sneakily Katerei crept up to his door and listened.
Sure enough, she heard Avatara's voice. But he was speaking softly, and she couldn't make out the words. After a moment, she heard a second familiar voice. Was she going crazy? That voice sounded like her teacher! What on earth would Mistress Adriana be doing in Avatara's bedroom? With the door shut? Was Avatara in trouble?
Katerei crouched down to peek through the keyhole. She could just glimpse through the tiny hole, Avatara and Adriana, leaning against the pillows of his bed, snuggling!
Katerei recoiled, backing away from the door in shock. How could this be? What had happened? Katerei hurried down the hallway and out into the evening, now desperate to find Airedain and distract herself before she broke down.
Katerei ran to the bar where Airedain drummed, but he wasn't playing and didn't seem to be there. She aimlessly wandered the diciest dark alleyways of the north pole, hoping she'd run into him. Where could he be?
She was losing hope having anyone to keep her company tonight, when she turned a corner and-
"Miss Katerei! How pleasant to see you again!"
-----------
"I win again, Pakku!" announced Wizard cheerfully.
"Only because you drew the Dervish card," grumbled Master Pakku. Wizard had just defeated him in War Solitaire twice in a row.
"How about three-out-of-five?" offered Wizard. "It's only 1 AM, the night is young yet."
"I've got a class to teach in the morning," Pakku reminded him. "I'd better go to bed."
"Aww, that's too bad. It was nice playing with you!"
"You too," agreed Pakku, and they bowed to each other before Pakku departed.
Wizard packed up his deck of cards, and was just about to head to bed himself, when Katerei came in, grinning widely.
"Hey Wizard!" Katerei wrapped her arms around him in a big careless hug.
"Katerei, you're in a good mood tonight," noted Wizard.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it!"
"I'm afraid I wouldn't know, I've been indoors, playing War Solitaire with Pakku."
"You'll just have to take my word for it then! It's lovely, positively frigid, glorious!"
Katerei let go of Wizard and swept off down the hallway toward the guest rooms, grinning and humming.
Wizard blinked after her. "What a strange young lady."
-----------
(Healing Hut, the next morning)
Katerei sat down cross-legged, winced, and put her knees together, sitting on her ankles instead. Within a few moments, all her classmates were seated in the hut.
The minutes stretched on and the students began to whisper among themselves. Where was Mistress Adriana? She had never been late before, ever.
Finally, a jouyen elder came into the hut. "I bear grave news," announced the elder. "Mistress Adriana was killed sometime last night."
The students gasped.
"According to the Avatar, this is the work of Selax, probably through one of his numerous assassins. It appears the assassin fled after the act and is no longer in the north pole. Your class is cancelled until further notice, and we recommend you remain with your families in the mean time."
Katerei walked back to her room in a daze. She didn't see Avatara until that evening. He looked so thoroughly exhausted that Katerei hesitated to approach him, but she didn't want to miss the opportunity to offer her comfort. "Avatara, are you okay?"
"No," said Avatara in barely more than a whisper, and kept walking towards his room.
Katerei followed him. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked helplessly.
Avatara seemed to notice her and stopped. "What can anyone do? Adriana didn't even make it home last night. Selax must have assassins trailing my every move. I can't believe I let him do it again!" Avatara started to flame up in anger at that last sentence.
Katerei took a step back from the flames. "Do what again?"
"Kill someone I cared about."
"Oh," said Katerei. "I didn't know you cared about Mistress Adriana." (Well, you know, until she spied on them snuggling.)
"I was starting to..." said Avatara. He shook his head. "I should have known better."
"I'm sorry," whispered Katerei. She wanted to hug him, but didn't want to get burned.
"I'm tired. I've been up since 6 AM looking for the assassin. Either he's a really good hider, or he's gone. Probably reporting to Selax. I need sleep."
Katerei nodded, and Avatara went into his room. He collapsed in his bed, ready to be unconscious for the next 12 hours.
But he couldn't stop missing the feeling of Adriana's warmth next to him. He tossed and turned all night until morning, when he finally drifted away into nightmare-filled sleep.
-----------
(The North Pole.)
The next couple of weeks weren't all that happy for anyone. The Northern Water Jouyen Council still had not found a replacement healing teacher, so Katerei had nothing to do all day except sleep off hangovers (from hanging out with Airedain the previous night), heal her injuries (also from hanging out with Airedain the previous night), and hang out with Fendul (fun...). Sometimes she watched Avatara's water-bending lessons, hoping to learn techniques from watching.
Avatara was finding everything rather hopeless, but Wizard, Katerei, and Fendul encouraged him to focus on mastering water-bending so he'd be a step closer to defeating Selax. Avatara continued his lessons, but mostly kept to himself the rest of the time.
Katerei missed the brief moments she used to have with Avatara on the way home from their lessons, but now she wondered if the only reason he'd ever bothered walking her home was so he could say hi to Adriana when he picked her up.
Fendul was worried about Katerei. In the first place, he wasn't too crazy about his fiancée spending so much time with another guy, but Airedain seemed to be a particularly bad influence. Katerei was always getting drunk and getting hurt. Often Katerei didn't come home until after he'd gone to bed, but one night she came home "early," while he was still up.
She was covered in blood that was flowing from a gash in her forehead.
"Katerei!" exclaimed Fendul, running to her. "What happened!"
"Big gang of water-benders... they knew their stuff," muttered Katerei. "We ran."
"Can't you heal it?" asked Fendul.
"I would, if it would hold still and stop doubling," said Katerei, and Fendul smelled the alcohol on her breath.
"Can't you at least be sober when you go looking for fights?" pleaded Fendul. He ran off to retrieve his first aid kit and came back. He bandaged Katerei's wound and cleaned the blood off of her.
"Thanks Fuddy-Duddy," said Katerei, hugging him.
"You're welcome," Fendul hugged her back. "But you really, really need to stop hanging out with Airedain."
"I guess so," agreed Katerei easily.
She forgot by morning.
-----------
(The North Pole, water-bending class.)
Katerei and Fendul sat on an icy ledge, watching Avatara practice sparring with his teacher, Master Pakku. Avatara was really getting the hang of water-bending.
After a while, Airedain passed through the area.
"Hey South Pole girl, how's it going?" he carelessly greeted Katerei.
"Doing well. What are you up to?"
"Boring errands. You know, watching other people water-bend is a poor substitute for actually practicing it."
Fendul stood up. "Your method of providing Katerei with opportunities to practice water-bending is extremely dangerous."
"Hey, life is dangerous," Airedain shrugged.
"Last time she came home with a huge gash in her forehead!" exclaimed Fendul.
"Sorry about that," Airedain said to Katerei sheepishly.
"You're sorry? Is that all you have to say?" demanded Fendul.
Airedain's eyes narrowed. "And what are you doing to help her learn water-bending? Oh that's right, absolutely nothing. You couldn't care less if she reaches her potential."
Fendul pulled his arm back and punched Airedain in the face.
"Fendul!" exclaimed Katerei, shocked. She scrambled to get between them.
Water-benders from Avatara's class were riding turrets of water up unto the icy ledge to help break up the fight. Airedain was sober enough to recognize when he was outnumbered.
"Why do you sound so surprised, South Pole girl?" he asked. "You've seen me punched in the face enough times."
"Yeah, but by jerks! Not by Fendul!"
"Open your eyes, South Pole girl. He's just another jerk." Airedain turned around and stomped away.
"Why would you do that, Fendul!" said Katerei angrily.
Suddenly a slushy snowball hit Fendul in the face. They heard Airedain laughing and saw him running off.
Fendul growled and brushed the snow off his face.
"Thanks, Fendul," said Avatara, who had apparently joined everyone else on the icy ledge. "I've been wanting to do that all month."
"What do you have against Airedain?" said Katerei.
"I see him around town. He rubs me the wrong way," Avatara explained.
Master Pakku had enough of the distraction and summoned his students back to their lesson.
Katerei shot Fendul a hurt look and then sat back on the ice to sulk.
-----------
(The North Pole, guest rooms.)
"Uncle, prepare the ship. We're leaving tomorrow," Avatara informed Wizard.
"We are?" asked Wizard, surprised. "Have you mastered water-bending already?"
"Well, not exactly, but close enough. And I can't stand being on the North Pole any longer."
"Ah," said Wizard wisely. "The memory of Adriana is too painful. I understand."
"No, it's just that I can't stand living on the same continent as Airedain."
"Oh."
-----------
(Elsewhere, in Selax's lair.)
"Decent assassins are so hard to find," complained Selax. "Of course, I had to terminate the last one, seeing as he let some other assassin kill Adriana before he got around to it. In the end, Adriana is dead, so it doesn't really matter, but that kind of sloppy work is unacceptable. It could easily have had undesirable consequences. I need a quick, decisive assassin. I need someone to follow Avatara closely, and not hesitate to take any action necessary."
"I won't let you down, Master," said Iannah, grinning.
(To be continued...)
This post has been edited by BreadWorldMercy453: 10 November 2015 - 09:14 PM
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