The Avatar: At Spirit's World End

[Chordling]

500 AG - Si Wong Desert
- Setting Music -

The spade of a shovel dug again into the bottom of the surrounding sand. Sweat and debris coated the entire surface of the handle and a pair of tired, working hands. The steady rhythm of fellow diggers chop, chop, chopping into the man made crater was no longer enough to sustain the small reserve of human energy that this man had left. Why couldn't he push the sands or blow the winds like the benders? Shoveling was incomparable to the progress they could achieve. A barely audible sigh escaped him. And where were those Waterbenders? Weren't they supposed to bring refreshments to the workers half an hour ago? He slid the spade of his shovel into the sands. "Just one more," he told himself. Everything felt heavier. Searching for lost legends was a futile mission. And where was his water? Frustration boiled inside of him but sudden exhaustion took over first. Both spade and man collapsed. Other workers were too lost in their own suffering to even notice.

But not a moment later passed and a tall shadow looked down at the man's limp body. The man felt like he could barely breathe against the intensity of the desert heat and his eyes struggled to keep open at just a sliver.

"Fi Roh," the worker heaved from the ground. "I'm sorry-" The tall figure leaned down and placed a gentle hand on the worker's sweating face. The worker focused on Fi Roh's golden eyes to make sense of his expression through the covering that obscured the rest of his face. There was an intensity within them that he never witnessed in anyone else before.

"You have done well," Fi Roh's muffled voice praised as he offered the worker a full canteen of fresh water. The canteen had been taken away and its contents consumed without hesitation. "Your work and determination have brought us to our next milestone of success. That is why I hired people like you. Because humankind curses this desert with many names. They call her unforgiving. They call her merciless. They even say she was impossible to traverse. But these words mean nothing in the name of destiny. Destiny can also be unforgiving and merciless like the mysterious sands of the Si Wong Desert. And today, young man, you have finally brought us to destiny's front door."

Fi Roh stood up from the worker's side as he picked up the dropped shovel. He slammed the tool into the side of the nearest dune with a single motion. The end of the shovel stopped halfway with the faintest clash. Fi Roh smiled and called for the Airbenders from his team. Large gusts of winds forced from the palms of Fi Roh's Airbenders slid the sand away from the desired area. Fi Roh's eyes widened and glowed brighter from the desert sun's light as a familiar spire was revealed, little by little. Soon, the fully uncovered stone tower beamed with more glory than anyone could have imagined. It almost begged him to bow in respect of its ancient aura. Fi Roh approached the sandy columns, one step at a time, with an outstretched hand. His bare palm touched the stone surface and he shivered. It was real. A relic of knowledge once permanently concealed beneath barren Earth was finally rediscovered.

 

[KaitWink]

It was nearly noon by the time the airship reached the Western Air Temple, lowering to the open, stone docks that had been built specifically for this purpose. As people began disembarking, many of them simple travelers or tourists, a man began gazing into the crowd, determinedly searching for someone. After a few minutes, his eyes fell on the person for whom he was looking, and a smile crossed his face.

"Chi Lun!" The man said, stretching out his arms as he beamed at the young woman who was approaching him. She grinned back jogging into his arms and embracing him.

"Dad," Chi Lun replied. "It's been so long."

"Too long," he responded. Arm-in-arm, they walked away from the docks, headed back into the main market and housing areas.

Over the past couple of decades, new innovations had opened up the formerly closed-off Air Temples, allowing tourists to visit the places that were once impossible to reach for those who weren't airbenders. Now, the small city was bustling more than ever before, but the air nomads weren't exactly opposed. Sure, they usually led a quiet lifestyle, but with travelers came income, and they had been able to greatly improve their structures thanks to the surplus of money.

"I'm so glad to see you," Chi Lun said to the man, who happened to be her father. As they walked towards his home, some people would whisper or point at her, and some even waved or greeted the woman outright. After all, it wasn't every day that one saw the Avatar herself out and about. Luckily though, no one interrupted their reunion.

"Everything looks so different," she noted aloud, looking at their surroundings. "It seems like the temples are doing pretty well. Not that they weren't before, but I know some of the buildings were a little..." She bit her lip, not wanting to sound rude.

"They were falling apart." Her father replied, and she sighed in relief that he hadn't taken offense. "The repairs were definitely needed." The man heard his name -- Haan -- on occasion in the crowd as well as they passed, neighbors greeting him and Chi Lun as old friends.

Once they reached his home, the Avatar was glad for the peace and quiet. She happily slid into an armchair; the one she always loved as a kid. "Oh!" She exclaimed, suddenly sitting a bit more upright. "I need to remember to go say hi to--"

Haan shook his head. "She isn't here, Chi Lun." He interrupted. "I know who you mean, but Ling left some time ago. She hasn't lived here in years." He could see his daughter's expression drop. She gave a half smile. "That's okay, I guess." She replied, trying to hide her disappointment. "Maybe next time."

 

[KaitWink]

Chi Lun spent about a week at the air temple. It was nice to reconnect with her father, whom she hadn't had the opportunity to visit with in far too long. When she was younger, she would come visit every summer, when school let out. Chi Lun would stay for two months straight, hanging out with her best friend Ling, and spending quality time with her father.

But once Chi Lun began training as the Avatar at age sixteen, the visits became less frequent. She no longer had free time during the summer, and if she did it wasn't long enough to travel all the way to the temples. Instead, she spent her time mastering the elements, getting stronger and stronger over the years.

Now that all of that was behind her, she had a little more time on her hands.

A few days into her mini-vacation, Chi Lun got a sense of overwhelming dread. Something was wrong. Very wrong. It was as if a dark cloud had formed over her head, and followed her everywhere she went. Being the Avatar meant she was the bond between the physical and spirit worlds, and she could tell that something in the spirit realm had gone awry, though it was hard to tell what exactly it was without actually going into that world.

So that's what she did. Chi Lun meditated, entering the spirit world, and found out that one of the spirits themselves had been destroyed. Chi Lun hadn't thought that possible, as it was hard enough for normal people to make contact with spirits, but somehow, in the Si Wong desert, Wan Shi Tong's library had been located... And the owl spirit was dead.

Chi Lun shared this news with her father, the man looking gravely at her as she explained that she needed to leave. As the Avatar, she was responsible for finding out who did this and holding them responsible, as well as stopping any plans to harm the other spirits. She would travel to the Earth Kingdom to search for clues.

On the ride back through the sky, Chi Lun tried to sort out what was going on. How had this come to be? Who would want to do harm to the spirits? What could they gain from it? She smacked her head back against the wall of the airship, sighing. The first time in years that she could visit her dad, and this happens. But this was important and she was probably the only one who could help.

The airship would pass through Kyoshi Island, so Chi Lun decided to disembark there for the time being, rather than continuing on to the airship's final destination in Ba Sing Se. Here, she would be able to reconnect with Avatar Kyoshi and perhaps get some guidance on what to do from here.

The Kyoshi Warriors were always happy to see the Avatar and took her right in. She hoped that she would be able to learn some fighting techniques from them, as well as speaking with her past self. She had always felt a bond with Kyoshi that went beyond simply being a reincarnation of her, and that meant with her followers as well.

The Avatar was met with a warm welcome and decided to call it a night, since the sun had sunk beyond the horizon before she had even reached the island. Tomorrow, the real work would begin.