======= 64 - Praise to Roku ==========
"Katara, look, I've learned how to control the aggregate states of water too," - late in the evening, spent in the heavens riding Appa, it resembled a miniature battlefield, where Zuko and Sokka played the role of lifelong enemies. To the sounds of Aang laughing and Momo chewing, the two sat at opposite ends of the saddle and glared at each other.
Only a few hours into the flight, and they had already begun to settle scores and promise revenge. It was clear even to a hedgehog that it would be very difficult to travel with Zuko in his current state. He still hadn't taken sides and was even aggressive towards his own uncle, believing that we had kidnapped him and was thinking about plans to escape.
Fortunately, we had an agreement. Once he realised that no Fire Lord could compare to any of us, he would most likely change his mind. For now, he could simply marvel at our everyday life: Aang was training and showing his beloved Katara how moisture from the clouds condensed, first turning into water and then into ice. Just a couple of days ago, even Katara couldn't do that, but now the bald boy was repeating her.
"I can do it too," and now I, having transformed a crystal into sand, managed to melt it and create a high-temperature consistency. It seemed like nothing special, but you should have seen the face of the gloomy Prince, he looked like a man who had been slapped hard.
"Oh, I was so happy when I was the only one around who could do that," Katara whispered under her breath, and then... "Well done. I'm proud of you, Aang."
"Hehe, I just have an excellent teacher.
It was an extremely peaceful atmosphere, what could have gone wrong? Airo was pouring tea for all of us, took out some sweets he had bought in the village and prepared for a tea party before bed. Sokka continued to keep an eye on everything, and then, without doing anything in particular, Zuko sat down next to Tai Li and struck up a completely unremarkable conversation.
"Long time no see. I'm sorry for the things I said, it must have been unpleasant for you.
"Oh, don't worry about it. We were friends once. But it's nice that you realised your mistake and apologised.
"Actually, after what you said about my father... I wonder if you miss your own family? They support my father, so are you going to abandon them too? I still remember how you tried to get their attention when you were little, and you even succeeded when you became friends with Azula and me.
"
"Your parents were so happy then, and because of that, they paid more attention to you. Even back then, you stood out from your sisters with your charisma and cheerful disposition. Those were good days, weren't they? Not like now.
"No," Tai Li smiled broadly, stretched out her relaxed legs and let the wind envelop her feet in a pleasant chill. "Now I feel so much happier and freer. No chasing or need to get attention. You'll feel it soon too, don't worry!Zuko wasn't expecting that answer at all. Apparently, since things weren't going according to plan, he frowned again and noticed me nodding approvingly at Tai Li. An excellent answer, it couldn't have been better, and in fact, after it became necessary to test my connection and honesty with Tai Li, I had witnessed absolute trust between us.
According to Aunt Wu, there were several stages to this test. The first, which was very obvious, was meeting friends. In the past, when Tai Li would pester everyone and probe almost all the guys, anything could have happened — she could have succumbed to Zuko's tricks or wanted to return to her old life. And it wouldn't have been that difficult, as they were a very dangerous couple together, but Tai Li managed to show that she was much better off now.
And in general, she expressed complete satisfaction with everything I did... I really wanted to see what kind of situation would have to happen to test such a strong bond. In any case, after a couple of nights, we managed to fly to our destination! The northernmost part of the land, the city of Chenbao, which was almost adjacent to the Northern Tribe.
In fact, it wasn't almost, there was still a huge sea between them, but it was the closest settlement to the Northern Continent. Considering that we didn't get distracted by unnecessary entertainment, didn't stop at useless places, and didn't help everyone we met, we were just a stone's throw away from our destination.
It was probably also the best place possible to practise pure earth magic and test one's strength and endurance. Next to the fishing town was a whole mountain range, and there were also many craters and canyons around it. And of course, the temperature here was... quite low.
"You know, back in the day, this place fought against the Northern Tribe," said Airo as he dismounted the bison and looked at the town in the distance, a smile appearing on his face.
"I wonder why," Zuko replied, completely uninterested, putting his hood up. In places like this, he and Airo simply had to hide.
"During the Rokku era, a powerful tsunami struck the coast of Chenbao and the walls of the Northern Tribe, destroying ports and houses. It was a powerful cataclysm: the Earth nation began to accuse the other side of sending the tsunami. The Northern Tribe responded by claiming that they themselves had created an underwater earthquake. Bloodshed almost began, but Roku stopped them.
"He acted wisely," Aang nodded respectfully... Perhaps in some situations, when there is a misunderstanding, such help is indeed very important.
"So, who was really to blame?" Sokka tilted his head.
"I don't know. But now they are powerful allies, and they hate the Fire Nation with a passion for the genocide of the nomads... and, by the way, there's a Lotus Order in this place! Let's go," clapping his hands, Airo led our hesitant group to the walls. Considering my luck and the fact that there were several fire mages in the team, something could definitely go wrong.
When we reached the city walls, we saw a tall, grey bastion, behind whose gates we could hear the sounds of a large, lively city. Fishermen carried their fish everywhere; bast shoes trampled the mud formed by the very humid climate; and urchins clutched wallets from passers-by. It couldn't be said that they lived richly, but at least no one seemed to be attacking anyone.
"Stop. Take off your hoods and show your passes," said the soldiers who appeared, reaching for stones and stopping the whole group.
"Hm?" Airo frowned instantly. "What passes?"
"Permission to enter from our mayor. Due to recent news, we cannot let strangers in and are required to check everyone's faces. You two, take them off now," the fire mages were met with threatening glances.
"Excuse me, honourable guards, may I ask what unpleasant news there is in the world?" Airo continued to maintain the appearance of an innocent old man. But his grandson clenched his fists and was clearly ready to let them fight.
"Omasu is under siege. They say the city is about to fall.
In an instant, the eyes of the three men rolled back into their sockets. Aang, Iro, and I felt as if we had been struck on the head with a sledgehammer. Was it really so soon? Did we really have to go back and leave the North Pole for an indefinite period of time? Where had the attack come from if I had destroyed the main camp?
We couldn't give up Omasha, which was becoming an important technological stronghold. What would become of the warriors of Kyoshi if a huge army entered the city?
"We need to get inside the city and contact the order to find out more," but at that moment, Airo approached me and whispered. Sure, thanks to Lotus' connections, we could find out a lot more details and understand the current situation. The problem was getting into the city, which might mean going straight through the walls...
"Let me through, I'm the Avatar!" Nevertheless, Aang also heard this conversation and immediately understood how he could help. He sent a stream of air from his hands, then pulled water from his flask, demonstrating his mastery of two elements at once. The guards' eyes widened, and Zuko's fists immediately loosened.
"I can't believe my eyes, it's wind magic.
"There was some information that the Avatar had returned. It's really you!
Aang was greeted with the same joy that I had received in some cities. From the words of delight and some whispers, it was clear that the reason for this was one of his past lives — they all greatly revered Roku and showed him respect.
Everyone was let in like real heroes, and the two fire mages from the team didn't even have to take off their hoods! Why? Because they were lucky! Everyone lets Aang get away with everything. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if we could get through with my reputation...
"A Sandbender? Never heard of them.
Their faces quickly turned grim after my question... It's amazing that the backwaters of the world know something about the return of the Avatar, but no one has even heard of me, who has been travelling across the continent for years. In any case, we refused the escort. Airo knew this place well and led us through the alleys, into a not very flowery shop on the outskirts of the city. There, in a dirty alley that stank of fish, where our feet sank into the mud up to our ankles, was an unremarkable entrance.
"Wait here, everyone. Dagoth and Aang, come with me," he said, stopping the team in the main hall, where there were only a few benches and everything was covered with flowers. Our small group entered the back room. Inside, as in any place like this, we were greeted by several old men. They sat at a round table under dim lighting and played their Pai Sho.
We performed the standard greeting of the Order, after which Airo introduced us all.
"This is Aang, he is the Avatar. We are on our way to the North Pole to teach him water magic." The eyes of several members of the Order lit up like spotlights, illuminating the most popular star. They looked as if they had seen the heroes of their childhood.
"And this is Dagot, a sandbender and hero of our Order.
But they reacted to me the same way the guards did.
"Hero? No, the Avatar is the hero who can save entire cities and stop a large-scale war!" A completely grey-haired man emerged from the shadows, his face marred by dozens of pigment spots and his hands withered from age. He looked as if he had personally witnessed the time of Avatar Roku. "We don't accept other heroes here!
Yes, as Anubis told me, there are places where Aang's reputation is much higher than mine. Only now did I begin to understand how bad this was: by praising the philosophy and principles of the Avatars, they were convincing the boy that he had to uphold peace throughout the world and drive these invaders from the Fire Nation back to their true lands. No, literally, the elders surrounded Aang and told him what fate awaited him, that he MUST stop this global misunderstanding.
"Have you heard the news? They even attacked Omasha, and they'll stop at nothing! We hope you'll be like Roku — stop this conflict," their words reminded him of the old men who reminisced about how things used to be better. And Aang was sweetly taken in by it all.
"Enough, we need accurate information," Airu stopped them. "We can send a hawk to find out how things are going."
"We're already waiting for a reply. Tomorrow or the day after, we should have news, if the city is still standing, of course.
All that was left to do was wait. The Order chatted with the new Avatar for a while, while I was forced to just watch, unable to intervene. There were people who would side with the Avatar, and that was normal. They couldn't be suppressed by force or authority; only other incarnations could change Aang's thinking. At least, that's what I wanted to believe.
Leaving the building, the rest of the team immediately pounced on the pensive Aang with questions.
Stopping in an alley, he said sincerely,
"I want to go back and help fight off the attack. I just can't let Omasu be captured, this place is very dear to me. And I think the Fire Nation really needs to be forced to return all the territories.
"Aang...
"Please, don't argue! - raising his voice, the boy looked at me angrily," - You've been guiding us for weeks, now it's my turn to choose the direction. It doesn't matter that we're already close to the pole. Only we, or even just me, can help Omashu.
"That's not what I mean," I said, gathering my thoughts and placing my hand on his shoulder. "Let's wait until tomorrow when the letter arrives.
"One extra day could be critical! You don't care if the city is surrendered, but I have fond memories of it. We can't just hand it over to the enemy.
"...Aang, he does care. He just wants you to get your strength back quickly. But I can't say I'm on his side...
Katarochka approached the distraught young man, calming the slightly hysterical Avatar. He didn't even want to listen; he didn't have a shred of the self-control that nomads were famous for. Apparently, this was something he hadn't managed to restore during his meditations. That's why my voice became a little harsher.
"I'm willing to swear that everything will be fine with them," I really didn't like this whining, although I couldn't condemn Aang. Instead, like a real older brother, I had to show support. "Let's just wait for news. If things turn out too bad, you can even beat me up in Avatar form, I won't lift a finger. We'll fly to Omashu together, and I'll bury everyone who took part in the siege. But if, or rather when, we find out that they withstood the attack... you'll pull yourself together, and we'll continue on our way.
"How can you be sure they'll make it?" asked Sokka.
"Because I was there. I personally reinforced the city's defences and redirected Kioshi's warriors from their island," even Zuko blinked and expressed extreme surprise. "And Airo... he already knew all this, so he just smiled," said Zuko. "Let's find a place to spend the night. Tomorrow, or the day after at the latest, you'll see for yourselves."
I would like to believe that I was not mistaken.
"Hey," Zuko approached Katara and smiled slyly at her, "What do you think, if Aang loses his temper, will Dagot defend himself? I think he will... and then it'll be the end of your Aang.
"...