Inherit the Wind
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon. As much as I would like to, I cannot and do not claim any sort of authorship, ownership, or "melon lordship" over the characters, plot, etc.
The autumn winds are crisp, rustling among the trees and shivering through the lush overgrowth crawling across the temple walls. The blue spires of the Southern Air Temple rise into the clouds and reach upward toward the sun as a lone air bison emerges from the cirrus and dives down toward the courtyard where it lands at the foot of the granite temple, slapping his great tail against the rock, sending forth a cloud of earth and dust.
They make their way to the Sanctuary, watched by thousands of pairs of marble eyes as they bow low before the statue of Avatar Aang. She wonders if he knows they're there, and her father assures her that is true and wishes the previous Avatar were there in more than just memory and stone.
Ring-tailed winged lemurs observe curiously from the trees, munching loudly on papaya fruit, as father and daughter together flow through the thirty-six levels of airbending mastery. They are synchronicity in motion, matching one another beat for beat, breath for breath.
Upon the highest peak of the temple they meditate, moving effortlessly through the spirit world, their bodies still and silent with nothing more than a slight rise and fall of their chests as they breathe deeply of the elements around them, focusing their energy into the core.
Incense and sunlight pervade the chamber where she lies upon the grey stone slab, shivering at its coolness. The prayer beads she clutches bring her solace and help to focus energy on her chi as the metallic ring of the blades echoes through the chamber. She blinks back tears as her hair begins to fall in waves upon the floor.
"It will grow back," he promises as the razor slides smoothly over her head.
She winces as tap by tap, pinch by pinch, the mark of her people, her family, is scarred across her body. Tears spill once more as the emblematic arrow materializes at the center of her forehead, marking the path of her chi as it flows through her body.
He wipes away the splatters of blood and cleans the area with an abrasive substance meant to ward off infection and promote healing. The new additions to her body feel foreign, but he assures her they will soon become a part of her just as the airbending itself. At this, Tenzin reaches out and pulls his eldest daughter into his arms, and blinking back tears whispers, "You are now a true airbender, Jinora. This is your heritage. Feel it within your bones. Ponder it with your mind. Embrace it with your soul."
And as the sun rises in the East, she takes flight, a streak of orange and yellow against the azure sky, assuming her place as the first member of the Council of Sisters in three generations. The wind whispers and fills her with a sense of serenity she has never felt in her whole life. It flows along the ink lines, over her feet and up her legs across her arms and upon her head.
This,she thinks to herself, is freedom.
The updrafts welcome this newest master into their folds. Her heart and limbs vibrate with the currents as they swirl around her. Body. Mind. Soul. She is one with the wind, and if she listens closely enough, she can almost hear the gentle whispers of the nomads as they, too, welcome her to her past, her present, and her future.
Author's Note: I've been planning this one for a while now, and I was excited that S3E7 of LoK covered this topic. I can't wait until Jinora receives her airbending tattoos. Maybe we'll even get to see it happen on screen. I like to think of this ritual as being a very private, sacred matter, one between master and student. Of course I'm sure Jinora will be happy to show off her new adornments after the ceremony.
If you'd like to know more about the Council of the Sisters that was mentioned, be sure to check out the Avatar wikia page. This piece was semi inspired by a composition titled "Wind Queen" by Two Steps from Hell. Simply lovely.
Thank you for reading!