She trudged along in the emptiness, probably looking far more confident than what she truly felt. The last week had felt more like a dream than reality, but there was nothing fantastic about their predicament.
This whole place felt wrong, a bit concerning since this was supposed to be equivalent of her planet's Spirit Realm. She had always been at peace in there, but there was nothing that wasn't unnerving about this place.
Maybe she hadn't arrived to the other world yet? Who knows? Right now she was the leading expert in interplanetary travel, but only by ten minutes. At least now she could say she knew more than Aruk, and that would've been intensely satisfying had she not been on her way to a completely different world.
A completely unknown world.
The only certainty was that this place had a Spirit World, or else she wouldn't be on her way to either a heroic adventure or an embarrassing failure.
She really didn't want to care about last part, but when the fate of her world rested on her rather adorable hands, it was hard to be apathetic towards failure.
Perhaps she should start taking this more seriously, then.
Jin retracted her metal shoes into her metal bending armor and tried to sense the seismic energy of the ground but, yet again, surprise! No ground! No earthbending!
She groaned and stomped her foot. This wasn't the time for things to get worse! They were supposed to start getting better! Didn't that saying go that after hitting rock bottom things can only go up?
Well, she reasoned, unless things hadn't truly gotten as bad as they should. Then they could get worse.
Jin shook her head, dispelling the thoughts that all too easily occupied her brain, and breathed in deeply and tried to sense for chi again. Last time she tried she had felt nothing (which had convinced her she was in some empty limbo between worlds), but now she felt something to the east, only that it was corrupted and made all of her instincts tell her to get away.
Which meant she definitely had to go that way. She would take corrupted over nothingness any day.
She ran towards the source, freedom that had been restricted for so many years bubbling inside of her, and stopped dead when she got to the source of the chi.
A crystal.
A red crystal.
"Is a crystal alive?" she wondered aloud, if only to hear something, even if it was herself. At least her voice was nice.
"I would not touch that if I were you."
She screamed, her voice suddenly becoming not as nice, and jumped to the source of the voice, only to find nothing there.
Jin was getting annoyed at that whole nothing business. She should ban the word for the rest of her little trip.
"Is anyone there?"
"Define is."
Jin narrowed her eyes. "Do you think?"
"I believe so."
"Then you is."
The being chuckled. "Fine, fine, so you are made of flesh. Only a mortal would stoop to such low levels of wittiness."
"I'm not the one who laughed," she muttered, a bit more bitter than she should have.
"To answer your question, I am but only in the barest sense. Here, in the Void, nothing can truly exist, not flesh nor Fade nor spirit, except for the lyrium you see and His body. You are an impossibility."
"You're not the first to say that, but usually people just call me impossible. What is lyrium? Who is He? What is the Void?"
She vaguely remembered some lesson warning against having conversations with disembodied voices. Luckily her instructors weren't around to say anything, and she hadn't been taught anything about talking to disembodied voices in another world.
"I have never been called charitable and I would rather hush false rumors before they start. Answer a question of mine and I will answer one of yours."
She huffed. For some sort of being who doubted their existence, they were very arrogant. "Fine. Ask away."
"Earlier you spoke a curious language, never before heard in this world. Where are you from?"
"If you want to get specific, I was born in Shu Jing in Zuo, though I was raised in the ancient Eastern Air Temple. Wait, if you've never heard my language, how do you understand what I'm speaking?"
"I cast a spell on you before I approached you, adding the language of my people in your head and the replacing the old one for the time being. Yours is still accessible, so do not fear I have tampered with your memories. I am surprised you remain untainted, considering my magic came from the lyrium."
The voice sounded far too amused at discovering she was untainted. What is that? But, better yet, they brought back a word she had previously forgotten. And introduced a new word she would surely never forget. "Ah, that's my original question! What is lyrium? And did you say magic?"
"That was not what we agreed, mortal. A question for a question."
She didn't even have a face to be annoyed at! What a cruelty. "Fine."
"You are from another world. How did you travel here?"
"There is a metaphorical bridge that connects our worlds. I crossed it."
"Neither mortal nor spirit can travel across that bridge," the being pointed out accusingly. Had they tried? Is that how they knew?
"Then it must be a good thing I'm neither," she pointed out smugly. Being the Avatar brought a lot of unpleasant responsibilities, but the perks were just great sometimes.
"A being made of flesh given a spirit. If only I had known this earlier, I would have stopped my earlier quests immediately to pursue your world."
Well, it wasn't just any spirit that could allow a human to cross, or else all the Sprumans of her world could have gone instead of her. But they didn't need to know that. "You mentioned earlier being surprised that I was untainted. What does that mean?"
"The taint is a sickness that affects all that are tied to the Waking World, regardless of race or age, that turns them into wretched beings. It is almost a fluke that you do not have the taint, standing in such close proximity to all the tainted lyrium in here."
Well, she couldn't have that. Her task was very simple (with extremely complicated solutions, unfortunately), and if this taint could infect people by not even touching it, then there was no point to their plan.
Especially since this place was filled with tainted lyrium.
"How are you maintaining your existence?" the voice asked.
Jin shrugged, though she wasn't sure if the being could see because, well, seeing required eyes. But, then again, hearing required ears and speaking a mouth so maybe they could see? "I'm not sure. This place is completely new to me. I just am." She had an inkling it had something to do with being the Avatar of Raava, but she wasn't about to divulge that information to a stranger.
"Or perhaps there is something more to you," the voice said, not fully trusting her words.
"If there is, then I don't know. Anyway, do you know how I can leave?"
"Leave the Void? Nobody has ever left the Void. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that nobody has left the Void for a lack of trying. We are Forgotten, and would like to remain that way."
"We? Why have you been forgotten?"
The being was silent, as if trying to prove a point. Oh, seriously!
"I have no more questions for you, so you receive no more answers."
"You're not interested in finding out why I'm here?"
"No," the being replied. "Mortals always find purpose in mortal affairs, and such things are beneath my notice. To answer your original question, yes, there is a way to leave the Void, just as there is a way to enter it. Lyrium is connected to all spheres of existence and the Void. Simply touch the lyrium and will yourself to existence, and the magic will do the rest."
Jin stared at the red lyrium in front of her with her arms crossed and a deep frown on her face. The being kept using the word magic, but everyone knew there was no such thing as magic. Nobody could will things into being. She could will things into moving with her mind, yes, but that required things to exist as a prerequisite. Even the Spirit of the Sun, the Giver of Life, was constrained in what he could and could not do.
But there was something more pressing than magic at the moment.
"And if I want to come back, I have to touch lyrium and will myself into nonexistence," Jin continued, not allowing a single ounce of uncertainty in her voice. She had noticed the being divulged more information through conversation than by answering questions. That she had realized late in the game was a bit embarrassing.
"Except that you do not know what it means to not exist, just like I do not remember what it means to exist. Whether you can come back or not remains a mystery."
Jin shifted her body, uncomfortable with the idea of not being able to access the bridge between worlds. The "door" to her side of the bridge wasn't sealed off with a riddle of metaphysical realities. Maybe this was because of the taint that plagued their world?
Or was there more about this place that the being hadn't mentioned?
"Thanks for answering my questions, but I think I should go. This place is really getting to me." And she had a mission with limited time and no room for hesitation.
Before either the being or herself could change her mind, she touched the lyrium and didn't even have to "will herself into existence" to feel a strange power invading her body. She did not feel as if she was being teleported or moving; rather, the environment around her changed instantly, as if her surroundings had adapted to the "magic."
She was now standing in front of a piece of red lyrium in a desolate land. The sky had a green tint, but while she associated green with nature and life, this tint was ominous and almost sickly looking. Stone and buildings floated in the sky as if held by magic, which made her realize that there was such a thing as magic in this place. Staircases rose to no place in particular, abandoned castles stood scattered around, and an island floated in the distance, a black castle looming ominously on it.
The air also tingled her skin rather painfully, and something inside of her resonated with all of her surroundings, as if her body was at home in here.
What in the name of the Gei and Tui was this place?
Jin took one tentative step forward, half expecting the world to shift, and it sure did. Gravity decided to stop working on the normal direction and started working in another one. Except that now she just stood floating sideways, not really falling.
With the little sense this place was making, she had to guess this place was the Spirit World. The gravity not working properly was something her own Spirit World exhibited in certain places. Though while Earth's Spirit World was full of bright colors and many different spirits and human tourists, this place was just sad and dark and lonely.
She tapped into her chi and extended it, looking for any sources of life, but found none. That clinched her theory that she was in the Spirit World. Though Spirits seemed alive by many standards, they possessed no living body, thus no chi.
Jin, like any Avatar before her, felt at peace in the Spirit World, and thus went about to exploring it, initially walking perpendicular to the ground, but then manipulating her expectations so she was walking on top of it. The more she explored this Spirit World, the more anxious she got. This place wasn't beautiful; like the Void, this place was empty.
The ugliness of this world didn't bode well for the future of her people and spirits.
Still, she hadn't seen the Living World yet. She would withhold her judgements till then, but she didn't have any high expectations. From what she saw around her, this world was primitive and didn't have much to offer.
Speaking of Living World, how was she supposed to get to it? She had been walking for a while and she hadn't encountered any portals. There had to be portals, right? Else, how did the living beings and spirits live with each other?
She saw in the distance a humanoid figure made out of yellow light and almost hopped towards it. The figure must've sensed her presence because it also floated towards her, meeting her halfway.
Unlike her world's spirits who took on forms that looked physical, the spirits here looked like a projection. The spirit that approached her wore a cloak that covered their entire body and had its hood up, covering half of its face. The tingling on her skin increased yet again, and Jin had to resist the urge to twitch.
The spirit said something in a language she couldn't understand. That was understandable; in fact, that was what she had been expecting when Aruk told her the world she would travel to was similar but very different at the same time. She had assumed different would include different cultures and languages, not magic that could inject an entire language in your brain in a matter of minutes.
"I don't understand you," Jin replied, motioning to her ears with a bare hand.
"A human in her physical form in the Fade who only speaks the language of Arlathan," the spirit said in wonder. "I have never seen such a combination."
"So I've been told," Jin said, not bothering to hide her amusement. In her mind she was speaking the Common Tongue of Earth, but the words that came out of her mouth did not match what she said. It would definitely take some time getting used to this. "I take it you're a spirit."
"A Spirit of Duty, yes, and it seems you carry a heavy one. Whatever could trouble a young human like you?"
Jin stared at the spirit curiously. "How do you know?" Was she sporting a nervous look? She had always done a good job at keeping her expression calm, even if her heart was a completely different story.
"I wouldn't have been attracted to your presence otherwise. Even if you are here in the flesh, strong emotions still shape the Fade. And with the amount of magic you can channel, the effect you have is far greater than you can understand."
"Please don't tell me I have magic," Jin wanted to say, but instead whined.
The spirit cocked its head to the side. "You didn't know."
"There is much I don't know, Spirit of Duty."
"Then perhaps we should see someone more equipped to handle this lack of knowledge."
"Who?"
"A Spirit of Knowledge, of course."
Duty started to move, but Jin didn't follow it. The spirit sensed this immediately and turned around, beckoning her to follow with an arm.
"Why do you want to help me?" Jin asked suspiciously. It grated her heart to be suspicious of spirits, but she didn't know if spirits here were similar to the ones in her world, and she couldn't take any chances.
If she died, her world died with her.
"You have a heavy burden, and my greatest wish has always been being a part of it. Please, come with me."
Jin nodded, satisfied, and followed Duty. She wasn't sure how long they traveled through the rugged earth before they came across an inconvenience that stopped Duty on its tracks.
A small chasm stood between their destination. This wasn't a problem for the levitating Fade resident, but it sure was for the person who relied on walking in the ground. Duty looked around, as if trying to find a bridge, and Jin tried to manipulate her gravity again so that she would be perpendicular to the ground.
Except that wasn't necessary. Unlike in the Void, there was ground here. And the Avatar was at her strongest in the Spirit World. Screw this magic business when she has her reliable bending.
Jin extender her legs and crouched slightly, getting in touch with both her chi and the earth beneath her. She fisted her hands and willed pieces of rock to form a discontinuous bridge, going along with the movements of picking up the earth and levitating it on top of the chasm. She dropped the stance but the rocks didn't fall, her chi willing the rocks to remind exactly where she left them.
She looked at Duty and smirked. "Shall we?"
Jin could've also powered a jump with airbending but her teachers always complained that she favored that element too much and she needed more balance with its opposite element.
Duty floated across the chasm meanwhile Jin jumped from rock to rock, letting the rocks fall as soon as she stopped standing on them.
"That wasn't magic," Duty mentioned.
"No, it wasn't," Jin confirmed happily.
She looked around, taking in the new mountain structures and puddles of water before looking up to a very recognizable floating island with a black castle. They were getting farther away from it, but it was still very prominent.
"What is that place?" Jin asked, pointing at the rather ominous place.
"Some mortals call it the Black City. I admit I don't know much about it, only that nobody should go inside."
"Why not?"
"I wish I knew, but it seems the knowledge has been lost to even the oldest of us."
As soon as Duty finished talking, they entered a rather run down stone structure with broken walls reaching ten times her height. A robed, violet spirit stood in an empty room, observing the boring-looking wall.
The tingling got stronger and even more uncomfortable.
"My skin feels very weird," Jin said, no longer able to keep her discomfort a secret.
"You're hypersensitive to magic," the violet spirit said in the language she spoke. "You possess a great amount of mana and your body hasn't gotten used to feeling magic, yet." The more she learned about this magic, the more she hated it. Chi never did weird things to her body; it was a part of her body. Magic was like a rude intruder. "You found an interesting one, Duty. She speaks Elvhen perfectly, something not even the elves of the Dales could say."
"I was hoping you could help us, Knowledge. This is... Well, it seems I didn't ask her name."
"I'm Jin. I'm from another world."
Duty took a step back, but Knowledge took in the piece of information in stride. "I didn't know other worlds existed."
"I didn't know either until a couple of months ago."
The yellow spirit shone a little brighter, as if flustered. "I do hope you don't tell any mortal you're from another world."
"Why not? It's not like it's a dark secret or a crime. Unless you have really strict immigration laws. In that case I'm sure an exception can be made, yes?"
"That should be the case, yes, but take it from a spirit that has studied the nature of the sentient beings of Thedas that this is the age of fear. Everything that isn't understood is destroyed. Anything that could be dangerous is destroyed."
"A human who speaks Elvhen isn't exactly someone to be understood from what I gathered," Jin pointed out calmly, but inwardly feeling daunted. The worst case scenario Aruk, the Parliament, and she had planned for, the one where she might need to defend herself, was quickly becoming a reality.
"Spells that could transfer the understanding of language have been lost, unfortunately. You will be an oddity to everyone you come across, misunderstood, and perhaps hunted because of your magical aptitude."
Before Jin could ask Knowledge to expand on the "hunted because of magic" part, Duty pointed out, "Even I cannot understand you. I had never seen such a power before."
"What power?" Knowledge asked.
Jin spread out her legs again and circled her hands in an almost wave-like motion, bending the water in the water gourd strapped on her back to move with her body. After her little stunt, she put the water back where it was as if nothing had happened.
"You didn't use magic," the purple spirit almost breathed. "I have never seen anything like that. Then again, you are from another world. Everything about you is something I have never seen besides you being a human."
"So there are humans here!" Jin exclaimed, relieved.
"And elves, dwarves, and Qunari," Duty added. "Though dwarves are a bit of a myth for me."
"They exist, I assure you," Knowledge said, amused. "Anyway, Jin, even if we all have questions that need answering, you remaining here in the Fade must be painful, especially to someone as sensitive as you."
Jin's body had started numbing out the magic of the Fade, but Knowledge's words brought her attention back to the really uncomfortable feeling. "Yes, if you could take me to the nearest spirit portal, that would be great."
"Spirit portal?" Knowledge asked.
Jin felt dread creeping in. "Yes, spirit portals… You know, the pillars of spiritual or physical energy that connects the two worlds? Do you not have those here?"
"No, in here, the Veil keeps the Fade hidden away. The only way to cross to the Waking World is through tears in the Veil, and such journeys often turn us into our negative forms because of the shock."
"Negative forms?"
"Demons," Duty replied. "Every one of us has a negative counterpart."
Jin nodded. That was similar to her own world. Spirits had negative and positive jing, and though they couldn't be classified as good or evil, most people were naturally attracted to spirits of positive jing. "I'm sure people can turn you back to your positive forms, right?"
"Is that a power you possess?" Knowledge asked. "Such a thing is unheard of here."
"Of course. Though it is very rude in my world to just change a spirit's jing without permission. Usually they won't mind. Spirits are very malleable compared to mortals. They don't care about changing. But what concerns me is the Veil. Does that mean that humans and spirits don't regularly interact?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Like I said before, this is the age of fear. Much has been lost, and everyone in the Waking World stumbles in the darkness, afraid of any source of light. Spirits are feared, and demons are the reason for it."
Jin grunted and narrowed her eyes. Could she imagine a world without spirits? Could anyone alive imagine a world without spirits? Almost ten thousand years had passed since Avatar Korra and Host Unalaq had opened the spirit portals and ushered an age of balance unto the world. The idea of living separately was inconceivable to Jin, and more than slightly abhorrent. How could the people and spirits of this world feel when they led stunted lives?
Regardless of what they felt, her own people would rather die than adapt to such a different world. Well, if they even arrived to the world, considering the taint would just corrupt them and kill them.
And the spirits of her world that had vowed to follow humans wherever the Avatar led them would live a most miserable life.
She would lose half of her friends.
Duty interjected, "Knowledge, please. You're distressing Jin. She will attract demons."
Jin snapped out of her dark turn of thoughts and used one of the oldest Air Nomad techniques to empty her mind of both positive and negative emotions. A positive jing could turn into negative jing and vice versa, but a neutral jing brought balance that wasn't easily broken.
"You calmed yourself down," Duty said. "You have a firm control over your emotions."
"Took almost thirty years to master this," Jin said tonelessly, "but the benefits were worth it."
"You barely look as if you've survived twenty winters," Duty pointed out.
Ah, yes, they would surely not have genetical engineering if they were so primitive they still kept their Spirit World locked away. Perhaps her age was something else she should just keep quiet about.
"Duty, you said you sensed the weight of my burdens."
"I do."
"Would you help me if I told you what it is that I wished to do?"
"I would do my best."
Jin stared straight at the cloaked, yellow spirit. Though she couldn't see its face or her own reflection , she knew her green eyes were intense. "I must save my people from terrible destruction, and the only way to do that is to get a new home for them to live in."
"And this world is the place you have chosen?"
"No, I didn't choose this world. This is the only world that is connected with a Bridge, and thus our only chance for survival. Initially, my purpose was to act as an ambassador, exchanging land for my own world's technological advancement and secrets, but with what I've heard from this world so far, some things need to change before my people come through.
"I have to cure the taint and tear down the Veil."
"You want to cure a disease that has plagued the Waking World for millennia? And you want to tear down a construct that has existed for as long all beings of Thedas can remember?" Knowledge asked incredulously. "Even I don't fully understand where the taint comes from, or when the Veil was created."
"I don't want to; I have to," Jin corrected. "It's not a choice. Will you help me?"
Duty flickered slightly. "Your burden is great, but your intentions noble. You would scorch this earth to plant the seeds of the next?"
She whipped her head at Duty, horrified. "What? No! Why would I do that?" she exclaimed.
"Tearing the Veil would bring no small amount of chaos, that is a certainty," Knowledge said. "The Fade and the Waking World have not been one in many millennia. The lives of many beings depend on the Veil to exist as they are."
Jin frowned heavily. "That is unacceptable. I will not kill a world to save mine. All life is sacred." No matter how primitive, she added inwardly.
The philosophy that had once belonged to the ancient Air Nomads had spread throughout the world, becoming very popular, and she was a strict adherent to it. Life was a choice, and to take that very choice away from someone was the antithesis of freedom.
"Then what will you do?" Duty asked.
"I'll find another way, that's the only thing I can do."
"We can theorize about many things, but until we find a way for a mortal being to leave the Fade, our planning would amount to nothing."
"Our planning?" Jin asked, arching a black eyebrow.
"I'm not a Spirit of Purpose or Duty, but nothing good has ever been accomplished without knowledge and wisdom."
Jin smiled and nodded. "The more help I can get, the better. I have a feeling I won't find such helpful people in the Waking World."
"Perhaps, you might be surprised. Regardless, we must find a way to get you to the other side of the Veil."
"Why don't we find a tear in the Veil? It's how every spirit gets through, right?" Duty questioned.
"A spirit, yes, but a mortal? Such a journey might kill them immediately. The last humans who tried to cross the Fade physically brought more misery than anything."
Well, that put a stop to her plans. She thought about finding a piece of lyrium and willing herself to cross the Fade, but Knowledge told her that magic didn't work like that, even in the Fade. Knowledge mentioned waiting until the moment presented itself, but both Duty and Jin reminded it that they were working on limited time.
"Wait, you said that spirits could cross the Veil through a tear, right?" Jin asked Knowledge. The purple spirit nodded. "Well, what about a spirit in a mortal body. Could they pass through?"
"A spirit inhabiting a mortal body? Such beings have existed but only on the other side. I haven't heard of them crossing the Veil to the Fade, however. I don't see a reason why you could."
Jin inwardly sighed. Of course they wouldn't understand; they had never seen a being such as the Spirit of Order, Light, and Preservation. Then again, maybe there was a counterpart to Raava and Vaatu in this world, and they had chosen to remain hidden instead of real forces initially battling for dominance over the other.
"Take me to a tear. I want to see something."
Knowledge and Duty did as they were told without any questions. Though the Fade still tingled her skin, she was starting to get more used to the feeling, and had to admit it wasn't as painfully uncomfortable as before. Still, her own Spirit World had never had such an adverse reaction to anyone, so she had to theorize how her world's spirits and humans would adapt to the magic of this world.
It sure wouldn't be easy.
"There might be some demons around the tear, and we're not combat spirits," Knowledge warned.
Jin smiled in a slightly condescending manner. "Don't worry, you'll be protected."
Knowledge and Duty led her through the Fade wordlessly, leaving Jin to her thoughts. From what she had gleaned in her conversation with the two spirits, her two tasks seemed short of impossible. She didn't know much about medicine or biology (she was the Avatar, not a scientist), but she knew the basics of the body and spirit, and the taint didn't sound like something wholly biological in nature. Curing the taint was the most important issue, and the one she knew less about.
Tearing down the Veil was something that was more up in her alley. Avatar Korra had joined the Spiritual and Living Worlds during Harmonic Convergence almost ten thousand years ago, so of course it would turn out that Jin would join another Spiritual and Living World. Albeit, she would be changing the lifestyle of another world. The part that would be more problematic was the whole harbinger of chaos part. From what she remembered, when Avatar Korra joined both worlds, spiritual energy poured from the portals, but no one was physically harmed from this. In fact, this made certain people airbenders, and eventually led to everyone in the world becoming a bender in the next centuries. If she tore down the Veil, would everyone be able to manipulate this so called magic?
Knowledge and Duty suddenly came to a halt. Jin crept behind them to see what had made them stop and observed the four creatures around a greenish looking hole in the air. They looked like globs made out of lava, leaving a line of fire wherever they went.
"That's a tear?"
"The Veil is thin here. You can feel the sudden drop of magic around, correct?" Knowledge said.
Jin laughed in excitement, pumping a fist. She was finally starting to feel normal again. "Yes! This feels great!"
"We can go no further than this," Duty said. "We have no interest in crossing over to the other side, and the further we go the weaker the magic is going to get."
"Magic affects you?" Jin asked.
"We are made out of magic," Knowledge informed. "We draw magic from our connection with the Fade, and in here it is weaker than what I feel comfortable with. It is because magic that spirits can travel across the Veil, albeit not easily."
Jin filed that information for future use. "And those are the so called demons you were talking about."
"Yes, they're rage demons. You must defeat them to cross to the other side," Duty replied.
Jin scrunched up her nose. No, that wouldn't do. She had never killed anyone in her life, whether it be an animal, spirit, or human, and she wasn't about to start doing that now.
"Spirits don't die like mortals do," Knowledge clarified as if sensing her discomfort. "When one of us perishes our energy becomes one with the Fade and we can reincarnate under different circumstances. Some might even have the same memories."
"That sounds a lot to me like dying," Jin pointed out. "Don't worry, I'll just break social etiquette to save them."
Jin jumped high into the air with the help of her airbending and sliced her hands downwards to throw powerful air slashes. The rage demons roared in anger and aimed fireballs at her, which she tried to firebend, but their fire refused to submit to the will of her chi.
Her eyes widened and she hastily sent a metal bending wire to the ground at her side and sped towards it, barely missing the fireballs. What was that? She had never been unable to bend anything in her life, and the first time it ever happened was as shocking as frustrating.
She punched twice, sending short streams of fire towards the rage demons, but they seemed to not be affected the fire. She knew water doused fire, but she couldn't waste the precious water she had.
Jin anchored herself on the ground and pushed pillars of rock towards the nearest rage demon with her palm, knocking it out on impact, and sent wide sweeping kicks and air slashes at the other three.
She bended the water out of her gourd sent streams of water that encircled the four rage demons. The movements of the water followed a positive jing and eventually golden light enveloped them. The rage demons dematerialized in golden light, leaving behind little red balls of light that floated away from the tear, no longer threatening.
Jin bended what little water she had left to the plastic gourd she had strapped on her back. She was now halfway out, but she could make that water last for a long time.
The Avatar looked behind her to see if Knowledge and Duty were still there. They hadn't moved, and though emotions didn't work the same way for spirits, she could tell they were assessing her in a different manner. They probably thought she was joking when she vowed to cure this world of the Blight and tear down the Veil, but nothing could be further from the truth.
She walked towards the tear in the Veil and tried to feel for its power. It was magical in nature, and she didn't know how to use magic. Even if she entered the Avatar State, it's possible the trip might separate her and Raava from each other, or she might not be able to cross at all.
Except, the spirits had implied that magic was energy that came from the Fade. The Fade was the Spirit World. Magic was energy from the Spirit World, and that energy could be bended in the Avatar State.
Jin was giddy for five seconds until she realized how particularly useless that power was. Energybending was only possible in the Avatar State, something she should not use. Aruk and the Parliament had begged her from using the Avatar State continuously, and, if she used it, the situation had to be life-or-death. If she died in this world, spiritual researchers had theorized that Raava might be able to make her way back to her own world and reincarnate into the next Avatar, but if both Raava and her died in Thedas, the outlook was uncertain and not very positive.
Still, this was one of those life-or-death situations in her book, and she needed the Avatar State to get her body out of the Spirit World.
She frowned. Her body. To cross, she should energybend her own body's life energy and the energy of the tear to safely go through, but she couldn't bend the physical objects she carried because they carried no life energy. Tears in the Veil apparently only let spirits pass because spirits were beings made out of magic, and she was positive her armor and equipment weren't part of it.
Ugh, there went her nice airbending staff, her water gourd, her metal bender armor, her diagnostics machine, her miniature backpack full of clothes, her other miniature bag with three months worth of food and water, and various holo-pics of her and her friends to remind her of what her reward was if she succeeded. And her most prized possession: a red feather from her firejay spirit guide, Feni.
That also meant her underwear. She was fine with being nude around very close friends, but parading naked across a land she had no knowledge of didn't sit well with her.
Jin slapped her cheeks slightly, snapping herself out of her problems. She would have to learn how to live a different life. She had been warned about this. She had been warned about many things, and she had accepted all of these dangers because she was the Avatar, and it was her duty as defender of her world to protect all of its inhabitants.
She unstrapped her water gourd and staff from her back, placing her precious weapons on the ground. She bended her metal armor away, slowly levitating the pieces down next to her staff and weapons, leaving her only in her underwear. She untied her hair from its top bun, letting the black locks fall to her mid-back, and realized she might have to cut it if she doesn't find . Jin unstrapped her bra and pulled down her underwear and shivered, feeling such an intimate connection with the Fade that left her with goosebumps and her nipples hardened.
Jin cleared her mind and tapped into the power of a thousand lifetimes leading all the way back to Avatar Korra. She bended the energy within herself and the tear in the Veil so that she could safely traverse to the other side with Raava still inside of her, and entered the tear, not once looking backwards.
The Avatar had been called once again to save the world, and now was not the time for doubt.
My newest addition to the collection: a not-Crossover. I didn't list this under the Avatar section since there is basically little to connect it with the storyline. The timeline will later be explained but it encompasses the entirety of Inquisition, Trespasser, and more.
The Avatar World will be better explained later on through little Codex entries that will replace the author's notes.