Grotesque
By Bard Child
Part I
Aang wandered through the murky sludge of the Spirit World as he looked for Lord Enma's Cave and some answers.
Three days prior, the almost thirty-year-old Avatar had been having some difficulty living in the Southern Air Temple. He and his wife Katara as well as many refugees had taken shelter in the Southern Air Temple. In half a decade it had become a thriving place again. A new home.
But weird occurrences began to crop up. First it was just simply doors slamming shut. Then, things began to go missing. Aang wondered if there were ghosts of the passed monks playing tricks. However as the years progressed it became worse. Aang remembered a woman screaming when her favorite flower vase flew across the room and smashed into the wall. People reported hearing children laughing and seeing shadows down the hall. But what finally brought Aang to the Spirit World were the reports of a monster.
Aang made a left and sighed, realizing he was lost. He was told by an old woman that the "Lady of the Gates" could talk to him and help him with the monster attacks. And so Aang was wandering around the Spirit World looking for the Lady of the Gates. Suddenly, the Avatar found what he was searching for.
The earth began to quake as a hand smashed through the surface. A deathly white figure pulled itself up through the hole in the ground. Aang's eyes widened as the figure was revealed to be a tall woman with the head of a rat. It had glassy black eyes and translucent skin. It held and lantern and was robed in the colors of the setting sun. Aang was awed.
"You must be the Lady of the Gates! Lao Shu Ping the Rat goddess!" She raised the lantern high. Its light shone against the silver key around her neck and the red solar disk on her brow. "And you must be the irksome Air Avatar Aang," she stated sharply while swinging her lantern around. Aang balked a bit, not knowing the temperament of this particular spirit. He bowed low to honor Lao Shu Ping, but the spirit didn't seem impressed.
"Why have you sought me, Avatar Aang?" Aang straightened and explained the circumstances of his arrival in the Spirit World.
"There has been some odd activity in the Southern Air Temple, where I and Katara as well as many individuals from all nations have come to dwell. There have been minor events, doors closing, and laughter. But recently we had an attack. A "monster" attacked many residents and…my wife. I have come here to ask how to stop these attacks." Lao Shu Ping scratched the back of her ear and huffed.
"You are a foolish Avatar, aren't you? After dealing with many spirits in your younger years you would think you would have the wisdom to show the spirits some respect!" Aang didn't understand what he did wrong.
"What do you mean? What have I done to anger them?" Lao Shu Ping huffed again and crossed her arms.
"Avatar…I know you mean well but you have trespassed. You did not honor the dead and tortured souls of the monks and soldiers, you did not purify the place nor did you leave an offering to any of the souls and entities there. Therefore you have trespassed Avatar; the temple may have been your home but it now has terrible stains on it that you tried to cover up." Aang bowed his head in shame; he had forgotten the massacre. He may have moved on from his guilt for abandoning the nomads as a boy but apparently the spirits had not forgiven him yet. Aang looked at the rat spirit with a dejected sigh.
"What can I do to appease them?" Lao Shu Ping lifted her lantern.
"It depends on who and what. The Fire Nation ghosts are probably feeling guilty and the Air Nomads are probably fearful. I saw waves and waves of the dead turning that night. Some did not believe that they were dead and stayed. Others let their emotions and hate consume them, turning them into beasts. Some finally found happiness and were reincarnated." Aang stared at Lao Shu before rubbing on the back of his head.
"So that monster that attacked the villagers and made them leave-and attacked Katara- is…" Lao Shu Ping replied and finished his statement,
"It's a grotesque, a conglomeration of spirits and entities a form of manifested hatred. Stewed long enough it will become corporeal and cause destruction. If you do not give peace to those spirits, they will wreak their anger and pain on the living. " Aang swallowed a lump in his throat. He had a lot of work to do. He bowed to the rat spirit
"Thank you Lao Shu Ping, for your wisdom." Lao Shu Ping tilted her head and crossed her arms.
"Avatar, you should be mindful of your actions…the solstice is coming and things are only going to get worse."
AN: Bard Child here. This is pretty much a re-write of an old plot I made years ago. It's kinda fun since I only seem to do fics with orginal characters and the old dudes XD love for my beta and R&R
