The spirit was angry.
He was not angry. He was furious.
"Twi, La, you taught your people the secret, did you not?" He sighed, rubbing his temples. This was not working out the way he had planned.
"Just our secret, avatar." Twi said shiftily. "We do not know the secret of earth, fire or air."
"There are rules!" The spirit roared. "You cannot just give away the secrets of the spirits to the mortals!"
"We did not see the harm." La said sadly. "They devout themselves to us, why shouldn't we reward them?"
"Because it creates unbalance. This whole world rests on a single point, if one of the four peoples are more powerful than the others it leads to unrest, the whole world tips over and the balance is lost."
"We are sorry, we are young spirits." Twi pointed out. "We shall take the power of water from the mortals now."
"What makes you think they will let go of their new toy?" the spirit said angrily. "You gave the power of water to them, in their hands in must remain. Just tell me you didn't give it to all of them."
"Not to all of the humans, not all of them are in tune enough with the spirits." La whispered as Twi nodded. "Just a select few..."
"But their numbers have already grown; the weight is shifting to the favour of the water tribes." The spirit sighed.
"Then you understand why I had to act. My children the badger moles already had the power, why shouldn't the humans have it too?" the speaker was a tall brown furred spirit, a spitting image of the earth's original worshippers, the badger-moles.
"So you decided to give the potential for the power to a couple in two warring cities..." The spirit tapped his chin thoughtfully. "How is this helping my situation? It's bad enough that Twi and La broke the rules, now you as well?"
"You wanted the people of this planet to be equal, no? I granted the power of the earth to only a select few of the earth worshippers."
"Great, so now instead of the world tipping over in one corner, half of the world is now unbalanced with the other half." The spirit drooped over, slouching with self pity.
These young ones make the mess, and the ancient ones have to clean it up!
"Well, that's not entirely true." The Sun spirit smiled sadly. "Are you aware of a group of people called the Sun warriors?"
The spirit gasped. "You did what?"
"Uh, they looked cold."
"That's why you gave them the power of fire?" The spirit said crossly.
"Well, technically, no. I didn't give it to them, Kenos did." The Sun spirit pointed into the vision bowl in front of the spirit. An image splayed across the clear water.
A dragon wearing the high crown of the fire vessels of the sun spirit were performing a weird dance around a small group of people dressed in the garb of some tribe living right on the equator. He breathed a fierce flame around the warriors. The flame swirled around and disappeared inside the chest of the warriors. A smaller spark drifted on top of a small pile of kindling. The spirit watched, in amazement as the humans tended it. This was the first fire controlled by the humans on the planet.
"So the sun warriors were not your idea?" The Spirit said wryly.
"That is correct." The sun spirit bowed.
"So the only people left are yours..." the spirit now turned to the last spirit in on this meeting.
"My nomads are not devoted just to me, rather the spirits of the world. They are kindly people who care for my bison." The air spirit said softly.
He was a shape shifter, pure and free, like the wind. He tended to favour the form of an air lemur though, and today that was the shape he wore.
"Did you give them the power of the Air?" The spirit asked.
"No." The Air spirit bowed his head, "They had no apparent need for the power and I had no desire to break the rules."
"Well, at least one of you didn't break the rules." The spirit sighed, flopping down onto his earth chair.
"How do we regain the former balance now?" The earth spirit said forlornly. "The nomads are at a disadvantage to the rest of the world."
"Must you see everything in regard to war?" The Air spirit said crossly. "My people are peaceful; they would no more go to war than the Air bison and lemurs of the mountains."
"I think we all see that yours are a gentle people, Air spirit." The spirit said wisely. "That is why I give you my permission to give them the power of the air, and, as they are a small group, you may give it to all of the nomads. They are strong enough spiritually to study the power with wisdom."
The Air spirit bowed respectfully. "From now on they shall be known as the Air Nomads." He said with purpose. "They shall now truly be my people."
"Now, as to you four." The spirit trained his eye on Twi, La, the earth spirit and the sun spirit. "You may let the humans keep their bending abilities, but you must watch them. They are more powerful and divided than ever."
"How can we make sure nothing will happen to divide the world further?" The Sun spirit said. "They will be more likely to squabble amongst themselves now."
"Someone needs to watch over them more closely than we have been doing so far." The earth Spirit sighed. "These mortals really are troublesome."
"A spirit needs to go to the mortal world and stay there permanently." The spirit sighed. "It is the only way to do this right."
"The spirit needs to be powerful; otherwise the mortals will not listen." La pointed out.
"Then the spirit needs to be gifted with the powers of all the elements," Twi said.
"And the spirit needs to be mortal themselves." The Air spirit said suddenly.
"Why is that?" the sun spirit wanted to know. "If the spirit becomes a mortal he will eventually die."
"No." The spirit said. "The spirit will have to be reborn again and again."
"So, why does he have to be a mortal anyhow?" The earth spirit asked. "Why not stay as a spirit?"
"This spirit will have to be a liaison, between the spirit and mortal worlds as well as between the four nations." The spirit reasoned. "He can do his duty better if he can relate to the people of the world. He must know what it is like to love, to cry, to feel frightened. He must be mortal."
All five of the spirits nodded, agreeing to his words.
"So to what nation will this spirit belong?" the sun spirit said.
"The water tribes are powerful, we shall protect the spirit." Twi and La proclaimed in unison.
"The earth kingdom is big and strong, it is the perfect place" The earth spirit countered.
"No, the Fire Nation is the better. We are smaller, more centred on our culture." The sun spirit argued, flame spurting out angrily from his cherry red body. The sun spirit was always on fire, it seemed he was more comfortable that way, and he was not pleased when the troublesome twins had drenched him with ice water as a practical joke.
"What of the Air nomads? We do not fight and are a spiritual people; surely we are the best nation for the spirit?" The air spirit joined in.
"Stop!" The spirit yelled.
The small group of spirits fell silent.
"The spirit will be reborn over and over, Right?" the spirit said slowly. "So we have a cycle, Water, Earth, Fire, Air."
"That is okay with us." Twi and La said sourly, obviously they wanted the power of the spirit all to themselves.
"I agree also." The earth spirit said.
"And I" the Sun spirit nodded.
"I agree with these terms." The Air spirit said.
"So who goes?" Twi asked the question on everybody's mind.
There was a long silence.
The spirit looked round the circle, staring at the five spirits of the elements. Well, the moon spirit was never meant to get involved in this. La was Twi's twin, she was bound to him the way no moon spirit should ever had been, it gave her power over the ocean, the ability to push and pull the tides to her bidding. She was a part of this now; however it had been originally planned.
The Earth and Sun spirits were looking sheepish; they had only given the power away because the Moon and Ocean spirits had given the power away to the water tribes.
The Air spirit looked over and met his eyes. The Air spirit was wise; he already knew what the spirit planned to do.
This was the only way to keep things in balance. He would just have to trust the care of the spirit world to the younger spirits. They were ready.
"I shall become mortal." The spirit said. "It is the only way,"
"The spirit of the entire planet..." the earth spirit whispered in awe. "... Infused into a single mortal."
"That is the plan." The World spirit raised his eyebrows.
"We shall give you the power." The air spirit said stiffly.
Twi and La approached him. They slowly laid a hand each on his head. The two closed their eyes.
"The power of the ocean." Twi said hoarsely, he opened his now glowing eyes.
"And the power of the Moon" La continued, eyes glowing misty white of the moon.
"Push and pull, Ocean and Moon, the power of water bending is now granted to you." The twins proclaimed together.
The spirit felt his body pulse. A snake of water, visible only to him and the twins, pushed through the air of the spirit world. It bubbled and surged towards him, Washing over his chest and disappearing into his pores. He shifted uncomfortably; this ceremony was designed for mortals, not spirits.
The twins closed their eyes and bought their hands up to their chests, breathing slowly. They bowed to the Great World Spirit.
The Earth spirit now crawled forward, lumbering towards him.
"Kneel," The earth spirit said, eyes sparking into a full on glow.
The spirit obeyed, falling to his knees into the squishy mud of the river bank.
"The earth crumbles..."
The Mud started to pulse around his legs.
"The earth shakes..."
A shock jammed through the earth, jarring him. It took all of his self restraint to not fall over.
The earth spirit placed his two front paws on his shoulders, digging him further into the earth.
"The earth completes life; it is the base of the world. The power of the earth is now granted to you. Use it wisely."
The mud surged upwards, encasing him in dirt. It hardened slowly, forming an earth exoskeleton around his body.
The spirit gasped as the layer of earth cracked. It fell off him in chucks, leaving him completely normal again, except for a layer of dust.
The Earth spirit bowed to the Great Spirit, glow fading from his eyes.
The spirit started to breath heavily,
What did I let myself in for? He wondered as he climbed shakily to his feet.
Next the Sun spirit approached.
"Fire is heat, and Heat is flame" The sun spirit said, closing his eyes and spreading his arms wide.
Fire grows, it is alive." The Sun spirit continued, "Fire can help you, or devour you." The Sun spirit's eyes opened wide, now glowing fiercely. He breathed out quickly, breath igniting a few centimetres from his mouth. This flame circled up and over the Spirit, A flame tornado swirling high around him.
It ravaged around him, separating into different colours and then merging back to the orange of the original fire.
The Spirit had never seen flame like this before.
Soon the fire dwindled around him; having consumed what little could burn on the ground in front of him. At last it came to a tiny fire seed, glowing earnestly on the ground. This fire seed was picked up by the sun spirit and placed in the hands of the spirit.
"You are now a fire bender, the power of flame now belongs to you." The fire seed winked out suddenly as the Sun spirit turned away, eyes normal once again.
The spirit had to sit down, his body had become a vessel for extraordinary power tonight, and he was still unsure if he could handle it.
"Are you ready for the power of Air?" The Air spirit asked.
The spirit nodded. It was time for the last element to be added.
"The element of Air is all around us, it moves freely, and does want it wishes." The air Spirit's wide eyes lit up. "To understand it we must feel the breath of it against our skin."
A cold wind swirled around him, touching his skin gently, Swirling the leaves and dust on the ground.
"We must become aware of it, inside and out." The Air spirit rhythmically breathed in and out, exhaling a warm breeze onto his face.
The world spirit felt air burning and shifting in his lungs. He felt it shift, and he could feel every whisper on his skin.
"Air is the element of freedom; this freedom is now granted to you." The Air spirit leaned backward, and the glow that filled his eyes retreated.
The world spirit stumbled and gasped for breath. At least his ordeal was now over, he had the power of the four elements, though he had no idea how to use them. He started to rise, wincing in pain.
"What should we do now?" The spirits wanted to know.
The world spirit squeezed his eyes shut, how he wished the spirits could sort their own problems out!
"I have to journey to the mortal world, as the water tribes are more developed in their bending I shall journey there first. Then carry on to the earth kingdom, the fire nation and then the Air nomads. By the time I arrive at my fourth lifetime the air nomads should be more than caught up to the rest of the world in tern=ms of power." He glanced at the air spirit for reassurance.
"It shall be so" The Air spirit whispered.
There was a pause as the spirits each realised what had to happen now.
"We shall carry you down to the water tribes and find you a host for your first life." Twi and La said in unison, holding out their hands and beckoning.
The spirit hesitated, looking around for one last look at his home.
"Do not be concerned," La said benignly, "You shall be a liaison to this place. You shall return here great spirit."
The world spirit nodded indifferently, secretly glad that the moon spirit had said that aloud.
And so the world spirit took the hands offered by Twi and La.
Kalanna loved her husband, loved her home, loved her life, loved her family, loved her two children.
But at the moment she wasn't too sure that she loved her third as she lay on the bed sweating and screaming.
"Hang on Kalanna!" Graji screamed along with her best friend, "It's almost here! I can see the head!"
Kalanna just screamed and shrieked in reply.
At last, after much pain and effort, the trial was over, and Graji was holding a blue-eyed baby boy in her trembling hands.
But as he began to cry, Graji shivered. Something passed through the tent and swirled around the child in her hands. He stopped crying for one earth shattering moment and his eyes light up white. Graji screamed, though did not dare drop the boy. She blinked away the light, wondering, and stared at the boy, now blue-eyed once again.
She looked at Kalanna, who had fallen unconscious after the baby had arrived, and back at the baby.
"You will be special, my boy," She whispered, "You have been touched by the spirits."
Twi and La sat side by side; invisible to the humans they called their own. They watched the world spirit take on the human boy's body with indifferent eyes. They watched the boy's eyes flash with the power of the great world spirit.
"The world will never be the same from here on, will it?" Twi asked his twin.
La shook her graceful head, "No."
Twi stood, and walked back into the spirit world.
But La stayed and curiously watched the woman wrap the tiny infant in a blue water tribe blanket, crooning softly to the child.
"Welcome to the world... Avatar." She breathed.
; ) yay! I'm so pleased that I actually finished this story! It's been sitting on my desktop for a while, Lol! Please read and review, you guys know where to find that button!