Darkness covered the land, deep in midnight. No birds sung in the trees, only the grass being blown in the night breeze gave any sound. The rough, immense, sandstone Outer Wall of Ba Sing Se was silent and still as the Council of Five approached. They had been traveling day and night to reach Ba Sing Se from the distant city of Omashu. As they approached the wall in their carriage, a light was lit up on the Outer Wall by the guards stationed there. Their escorts dismounted their ostrich-horses and greeted the guards at the base of the wall. The lead of the escort gave their papers to a wall guard who then created a small opening in the outer wall to let their carriages pass through.
They had traveled for almost five whole minutes before they reached the other side and entered the Agrarian Zone. Some of the council left their carriage while the others moved on, heading to the Upper Ring and their homes, for they were wearing from their travels. Those that remained created a large slab from the wall and used their Earth Bending to make their way to the guards stationed above. They reached the top of the wall, scaling hundreds of meters in the process. At the top, they met the guardians of the wall. Both benders and non-benders alike were dressed in their traditional deep green armor, with thin helmets that hugged their faces with a feather on top, while the benders wore their wide-brimmed hats with no shoes, gloves, or weapons on them to be seen. In the torchlight, it could be barely seen that the benders were covered in a thin layer of dust, more prominent on their hands and feet than anywhere else.
"General Chao" the head of the guard said as he greeted the General with a traditional Earth Kingdom bow.
"Greetings, lieutenant" General Chao responded back. "Anything to report this evening?" he asked, gazing out to the dark horizon.
"No, sir" he stood upright again. "Everything has been quiet on all parts of the wall. Some Air Nomads made a camp on the Northern Edge, but nothing too disruptive. Some of our guards even decided to join their festivities while they were on their breaks" The general smiled.
"Ah…" he sighed. "Those silly airbenders. When you first meet them, you could easily confuse their devotion to spiritualism with their devotion to always throwing a good party" he laughed. The lieutenant smiled.
"So, how was your trip to Omashu, sir?" he then asked the general. At this, the general's face lost the warmth it had, being replaced with disappointment.
"Nothing" he muttered. "Not any trace of the Avatar. You'd think that by now, he or she would've been born, but… nothing. The king of Omashu knew nothing and hadn't received any word even after he sent out a public notice for everyone to look for the Avatar" he continued to gaze out towards the horizon, which far and was lost in the deep black of night. What he could see was so small that he felt like he was looking at one of his dioramas for an upcoming battle.
"Should I send word to the Earth King?" the lieutenant asked, ready to serve his general's wishes.
"No" he quickly replied. "I wish to tell the Earth King myself, having someone else do it may reflect poorly on me and my status" approached the edge of the wall, resting his hands on the turret, which was covered in loose dust.
"This kingdom, this city, is like the Earth itself, lieutenant" he began, losing himself in thought. "Impenetrable, with many layers, some more rich than the others. Traveling through these rings is like traveling through the crust, harder and firmer as you go deeper and deeper beneath the surface. The people in the Upper Ring have no idea what it is like here at the crust, the Outer Wall" At this, he turned and gazed at the Agrarian Zone inside the wall. Large, green, rolling hills and farmlands, with only the light of the sentries on the Inner Wall showing the end.
"Some may wish that the walls were torn down, that all of the Rings could coexist together. That is not what I believe. Should that ever happen, chaos would ensue, structure would be lost, life would turn into anarchy. This is what we thrive on, among many other things" the general sighed. "Well, there I go again" he laughed once more. "Sometimes I wonder if I should've studied Philosophy at Ba Sing Se University instead of Military Tradition and Defense". The lieutenant smiled.
"It's thanks to you though, general, that our military campaigns have succeeded in the furthest reaches of our kingdom" he told him.
"Ah, yes. You're right. Thank you, lieutenant" he answered back. Only now did he notice that the other two generals that had traveled up the wall with him had left. "Where did General Guo and Kun wander off to?" he asked a bender guard who was standing in a nearby rampart, drinking some hot Jasmine tea.
"Oh" he replied with a gruff voice. "General Kun has gone to speak with our families in their homes" he pointed down the inside of the Outer Wall to the houses affixed to wall. "Some of the new families he wanted to make sure were settling in nicely"
"What of General Guo?" the general asked.
"He has gone to the Northern Edge. He didn't say why, all I overheard him say before he left was 'I hope they still have some Fruit Pies left!" the guard replied, taking off his helmet and setting it on the ground.
"Why does that not surprise me" the general chuckled. Everything was peaceful in the Earth Kingdom. When one of the most powerful generals on the entire continent could be merry and feast, the world was at peace. Still, the Avatar had not been seen for many years now, almost twenty years have passed since the death of Avatar Amaruq of the Southern Water Tribe, and yet there was still no news of the new Avatar's appearance. Even though the world was at peace, the Avatar would be needed soon, for the spirits would grow restless, crossing the boundary into this world. General Chao stayed the night at the Outer Wall, having a feast of his own with the Night Watch, which consisted of delectable egg-crusted tart and pan-fried noodles with a side of rice.
The next morning, a chariot arrived at the wall to pick up the three generals early in the morning. They descended the wall, climbed into their chariot and made their way through the Agrarian Zone. The farmlands extended far and wide, with many of the people in the guards' families tending to their crops closest to the Outer Wall. The sounds of cicadas, dogs, and farm animals filled the air, often being faint and in the distance. On the far side, at the base of the Inner Wall, many citizens of the Lower Ring were traveling to their farms to work for the day. Others lived in the Agrarian Zone in small farmhouses, with thatched or clay roofs with circular doorways that all faced south.
As they traveled to the Inner Wall, they passed by carts pulled by ostrich-horses that were traveling to the Lower-Ring to sell their goods, while others who made more highly demanded crops would be making their journey to the Middle-Ring. Among farmers, the generals' carriage looked like an oddity, but many of the generals waved to the people, showing their care and sympathy. After a half hour, they reached the Inner Wall. It wasn't as high as the Outer Wall, but just as thick, for it was the final barrier keeping invaders out of the actual city itself. It was also only watched by Earthbenders and Dai Le agents, who let the generals pass through easily. They passed through the Lower and Middle Rings, reaching the Upper Ring and the Capital shortly after noon.
Finely laid stone streets replaced the dirt ones of the Middle and Lower Rings. Grey stone buildings were spaced about the ring, with gardens filled with Jasmine and Moon Flowers a common sight among the houses, with ornately carved fountains and rivers crisscrossing through the Upper Ring. The roofs varied from all shades of gold and yellows. They were all tiled with upturned corners, just like the roofs of the lower two rings. Some houses rested on hills while others rested in the valleys, shaded by Apple and Mango trees, but all were enclosed in their own courtyards and compounds of many buildings. Passing through these roads were elaborate carriages, much like the generals' carriage, transporting the richest and most important government officials of Ba Sing Se.
The ride from the edge of the Upper Ring to the Earth Kingdom capital was much shorter, considering how this was the smallest of the three rings. The capital itself was almost its own city, being surrounded by its own wall, painted red with plaster. The Southern Gate marked the meridian through the city, and through the kingdom itself. After checking with the immense amount of guards, they passed through the three arches of the gate and under the two-storied pavilion and out of sight of the two guard towers that kept a watchful eye of those who entered the capital. The large inner plaza, filled with defensive positions for the Royal Earthbender Guards then welcomed them in as they exited their carriage and walked up the long set of stairs into the Outer Court.
After walking through elaborate temples and buildings of the Outer Court, they reached the Inner Court and finally the king's palace. Pushing their way through the large jade doors of the entry hallway, they entered the Throne Room and were greeted by the Earth King, King Hui.
"Ah! There's the rest of the Council of Five!" King Hui exclaimed, clapping his hands as he did so. The soldiers snapped to attention as King Hui bended his throne up from the floor on a slab of rock to greet the three generals. He set his throne down and shook each of their hands. He then gestured them towards the throne as he moved it back to its original position.
"So. How did the mission in Omashu go?" he asked them eagerly.
"Not so well, your majesty" General Chao told him solemnly. "We still have no idea on where the Avatar is, or if they have even been born yet. Forgive me" he bowed in shame.
"No no no General Chao" Hui told him, walking down from his chair to bring up from his bow. "I don't blame any of you. The Avatar will show him or herself eventually and if not, they will appear when we need them to" General Chao nodded at this, looking up at Hui. Hui was dressed in the traditional Earth King garb, golden and green robes that flowed down to the floor, with a beaded necklace with a deep jade emblem of the Earth Kingdom hanging from it, highlighted with gold. Hui was old, with short trimmed grey hairs and no beard. On his head he wore the crown, a large green hat with a large Earth Kingdom coin set into it, similar to the one behind his throne, guarded by the badger-mole statue.
"I have spoken with messengers from the Avatar Temple in the Kolau Mountains. When the Avatar returns, the eyes of the past Earth Kingdom Avatars begin to glow. They have been glowing now for the past eighteen years, which makes me believe that the Avatar has indeed returned" Hui went on. "But since we have had no luck, this leads me to believe that the Avatar is not destined to be revealed anytime soon" The generals agreed with him, leaving the capital to return to their homes in the Upper Ring. The sun set, splashing the sky and clouds with deep reds, yellows, and pinks as the city of Ba Sing Se slept in peace.