Behind them stretched the Si Wong Desert in brilliant gold beneath the sun's brutal rays. Pit stops at various sandbender settlements had kept their water carriers filled but the endless sand weakened their spirits: their party of two firebenders and an airbender faired poorly against the desert's determination to prevent them from reaching their goal. Desperate for a respite, they stopped at the Oasis for three days, reveling in the pools and eating their fill before departing again into the harsh desert. A sandbender offered them safe passage for a hefty cost, but Zion's pride refused the aid.
Pulling their blankets tighter around them as they scaled the Ruppa Mountain Range bordering the desert to the east, the trio prepared to go from one extreme of unbearable heat to the frigid temperatures and snow of the mountains. Zion and Aza inhaled deeply and heated the air with their firebending, warming them from the inside against the growing cold. Their thin red robes from the Fire Nation dulled as they crossed the Earth Kingdom provinces. Jino's orange clothing stood stark against the expanse of greenery stretching in every direction as the trio journeyed across the main continent. Arrow tattoos peeked from beneath his sleeves onto the back of his hands, and beneath his hood was inked the end of an arrow.
For half a day, the snow grew deeper and the temperature dropped drastically. At lunch Zion and Aza melted the snow in a small circle; the snow was deep enough for the trio to sit in the circle and have walls of snow reach above their heads. With a reprieve from the wind, the trio ate slowly to extend their time safe from the flurries. Though measly, the meal of rice cakes and fruit squashed their hunger and kept their spirits heightened against the mountain's constant battering.
"Isn't there an easier way to cross the mountain?" Zion asked. "This snow is going to be the death of us. I didn't volunteer for this. First that desert and now this. Are you trying to kill us?"
"The mountains stretch north and south," Jino said. "If we went around them, we would add two weeks to our trip. Our pass through the mountains will take two days. We can handle it."
"I knew the mountains would be snow-filled, but I didn't think there was this much," Zion said. "Our fire supply isn't endless. Exhaustion will kill us before we're able to melt all the snow in our path. We can't walk on top of the snow like you."
Jino stood-his hood flapping in the wind-and spun ending with a wrist twirl. A gust of wind gouged a path in the snow leading deeper into the mountains.
"There are three of us," he said. "We can take turns clearing a path. Doubt is like an infection: let it grow and you will be consumed, but squash it early and you will flourish."
"Is that some air nomad adage?"
"Monk Lito shared his teachings at the Northern Air Temple," Jino said. "Adage or current teaching, its lesson is still applicable."
"Yeah yeah but-"
Aza's hand fell gently on Zion's arm. "We need to help Jino reach the southeastern lands," she said. "Jino was entrusted with scouting land for a fourth airbending temple. We need to help him. We will make it through the mountains. It will be ok."
Zion finished his rice cake and packed up their bags.
"Alright, let's head out then. I don't want to spend more time in these mountains than I have to."
Jino lead the way down the path blown clear by his airbending while Zion and Aza followed. Only cleared minutes before, snow already coated the base of the path and quickly rose up their ankles. Jino blew another gust to clear the path, but the wind fought back and filled in the opening. Zion grew agitated as they trudged through the snow, but Aza turned to smile at him for brief moments, and though the flurries blurred her face, her smile still broke through the snow and comforted him.
As afternoon dragged on, Jino's paths grew narrower and his gusts weakened. Aza offered to lead the trio, though her firebending was much slower than Jino's air. Aza shot streams of fire at the snow, clearing paths only a few feet ahead. She repeated the process until Zion offered to take over. Determined to show off in front of Aza, Zion threw all his energy into his stream of flames, melting long swathes of snow, but he wasn't as effective as Jino.
Rotating between leaders, the trio worked through the mountain passes more slowly than Jino had anticipated. When they reached the end of a clearing and waited for the leader to form another, Jino looked behind them. The path disappeared beneath the snow, which grew as deep as they were tall. As their weariness heightened, their bending lessened until the paths were thinning and they walked single file. The mountain's peaks were hidden by the flurries, and the walls of snow on either side were so high that only the sky above was visible. Jino leaped atop the snow, his footsteps light, though he could only say that he thought they were still going in the right direction. In the blowing snow, nothing was visible. Zion complained at every opportunity, but Aza silenced him each time, reaffirming they were alright, though as night came her reassurances were less certain to herself. Jino ignored his complaints.
Aza lit lanterns when night arrived. Hoping they were still headed east and not turned north or south, Jino blasted pathways in the lantern's light. Collectively they slowed, the cold encroaching on their limbs despite the firebender's heated breath and the airbender's ability to regulate his body temperature. Jino offered to stop for the night, to the appreciation of his traveling companions.
Mustering the last of his strength, Jino twisted his hands in the air to create a mini-tornado that grew to a large swirl of air that cleared the surrounding area of snow, revealing a mountainside they could make camp against. Aza and Zion cleared the area with firebending, leaving the high walls to block the wind from killing them in the middle of the night. They ate another bland meal of rice cakes and fruit though they held the fruit near their bodies to unfreeze them. Zion and Aza slept first, leaving Jino to keep the snow at bay. In blips the flurries blew in odd directions as Jino's fatigue grew.
With the firebenders curled next to each other in their own blankets, Jino sat a few feet away, leaving them near the rocky mountain. Watching the swirling mass of snow pile up the narrow pass leading out of their alcove lulled Jino near sleep, but he stood and paced. He focused on the air in his body, regulating his body temperature as cold bursts blew through the opening and trickled down his thin airbender's clothing. He forfeited his two blankets to Zion and Aza so they would have multiple layers to stay warm while sleeping.
Snow slowly encased the opening above their alcove as snow settled atop the eight-foot high drifts. Jino sent blasts of air to clear the opening, but the relentless snow undid his effort. Another unnatural movement of snow flurries caught Jino's eyes, and the opening above built up almost immediately after he cleared it away. Jino sat on the ground and meditated, his fists closed and pressed together. Air currents blew over his bald head, now exposed with his hood off. For minutes the flurries blew in the same patterns, whipping in circles and blowing loose snow to cover their alcove.
A break in the pattern slithered across his skin when the smooth current grew disturbed and hit him in waves rather than a consistent breeze. Jino opened his eyes and leaped out of the opening above, clearing it away once again. He landed softly on the snow mere feet away, his hands raised in front of him and close to his body, as if to chop at something. Light-footed, he spun on top of the snow and searched through the blustering snow but was blinded by the white-out condition. The air current changed again. Jino collided his fists together to create a globe of air forty feet in diameter around him, protecting the space from blowing snow.
Exposed near the edge of the air globe stood a hooded figure in a thick, deep blue jacket and matching pants tucked into heavy boots. Spinning their arms like a windmill, a slice of ice rose from the snow and shot at Jino. He released his hands and shot two streams of air: one broke the ice while the other barreled toward the blue-clad person. A barrier of ice rose from the snow to block the air blast as the air globe disappeared.
Jino spun his hands around each other, forming a mini-tornado to suck up the snow on the ground. The tornado blasted snow from the ground at the ice barrier, wearing away at the blue-clad figure's protection. From Jino's left shot a field of ice spikes growing from the snow in the blink of an eye. One emerged beneath Jino's foot; he let it push him upward thirty feet in the air.
While defenseless, pellets of ice shot toward him. Jino spun on his side and rolled along the top of the ice pellet barrage until he landed at their source. The blue-clad figure rose their arms encased in snow that turned to ice with razor sharp ends. The figure spun but Jino leaped backwards; the arms grew so they reached him where he landed.
From behind Jino a fireball flew through the air, colliding with the ice arms. Two streams of fire roared at the blue-clad figure, who summoned all the snow around them into more ice barriers that melted quickly. When it melted fully the figure was gone. The trio stood with their backs together, each searching in separate directions with their arms poised to strike.
Three spires of water rose beneath each of the trio and wrapped around them, turning to ice around their bodies as they were pulled apart so they couldn't see each other through the blizzard. Zion and Aza attempted to melt the ice but it regrew instantly. Jino stopped struggling and waited until the blizzard stopped in a larger orb around them, the snow outside the orb continuing to blow while the area between the trio was still. Snow piled around the orb to encase them in a large globe.
In the center stood the blue-blad figure, their arms raised.
"Who are you?" the figure's feminine asked.
"It's none of your business," Zion said. The ice around him tightened.
"Who are you?" the figure repeated.
"We're traveling to the Ganji Mountains," Aza said. "We're with an airbender to find a location for a new Air Temple."
The figure pulled off their hood to reveal short hair and a slender female face. "Pirates have claimed the southeastern lands as their own. Hordes have pillaged all the land and imprison anyone who steps foot near their domain. Give up."
"Then we must throw out the pirates," Jino said. "They must not be allowed to conquer free peoples."
The woman threw her arms once around her body and the snow orb turned to ice. She ended her bending with lowering her arms and a deep breath out. The ice towers holding the trio captive sank and returned to snow, releasing their prisoners.
"Even an airbending master could not retake the land from all the pirates," she said. "There are hundreds and their navy is enormous, with ships coming and going day and night. New defenses of catapults have been built along the coasts. We tried taking the islands back but too many of us were killed."
"Who are you?" Aza asked as she helped Zion stand, who struggled after having the air squeezed from his lungs.
"I am Taka, one of the last peoples from the Ganji Mountains you seek," she answered. "That island and its mountain range are lost."
"Where are the rest of your people?" Jino asked.
"They are hidden in these mountains," Taka said. "We are scattered and broken. You're trespassing on our new home."
"I did not mean to trespass. My name is Jino. I am an Air Nomad from the Northern Air Temple. That land's connection to the spirit world is strong. Many of our airbending masters want to construct a new temple on that island to connect with the spirit world. I was sent to investigate the area and see if it is inhabitable and what people currently reside there. These are my traveling companions, Zion and Aza from the Fire Islands."
"Your quest is futile," Taka said. "My people number less than a hundred after our attack on the pirates to reqonque our home. Turn back."
"I will complete my quest," Jino said. "We can work together to reclaim the island and give your people their home back. The airbenders and your people can live in harmony."
"My people will not lose any more of our lives for a pointless cause," Taka said. She stared into the snowstorm momentarily. "I will build you a shelter for the night. I suggest you stay well inside of it until morning comes and hopefully the snowstorm lessens."
"Take me to your people," Jino demanded.
"We don't need her help," Zion said. "She attacked us as we slept. We can't trust her."
"We have to if she will help the airbenders," Jino said.
Aza pleaded with Taka, "Please, give us fresh food for our travel tomorrow and warm shelter for tonight. We're weary travelers in an unforgiving mountain."
Taka stared between the trio. "I will take you to my people, but you must leave first thing in the morning. My people do not welcome visitors warmly since the pirates pillaged and murdered us."
She turned and waved both arms outward, shifting the snow before her as far as they could see in the blizzard. "We have a short walk back. I won't wait for you if you fall far behind."
Wind and snow battered the group, but Aza and Jino stayed close to Taka; the closer to the waterbender they were, the softer the gusts were. Zion stomped behind his comrades, billowing smoke from his mouth and nostrils while taking in full force the blowing snow. Around him snow melted and steam rose into the air, creating a fog that mixed with the snowstorm. Taka continued in front of the group, clearing the snow into ice walls that prevented the snow from reclaiming the path. As Zion at the back of the group passed by the ice walls, they broke down again into snow that covered their path.
"We can't trust a random waterbender living in the mountains," Zion said to Aza, the storm quieting his voice so Taka couldn't hear. "Is risking our lives with these pirates and this crazy waterbender worth it?"
"He needs our help," Aza said. "We've known Jino since we were all young. We adopted him until the air nomads visited the islands and we could give him back to his people. We can't just abandon him. We need your help." She held Zion's hand and stared deep into him, entrancing him. "Abandoning him would be dishonorable."
"Don't talk to me like that," Zion said angrily. "That is not how you talk to your betrothed."
"And abandoning your friends in times of need is not how you treat your friends," Aza said. "Or in Jino's case, your adopted brother. Do it for me, if you won't do it for the airbenders."
She jogged a few paces to catch up to Jino. Zion threw fire at the collapsing ice wall behind him.
Taka led the trio to a cave formed of ice except for the earth floor, the long curve of the walls kept snow out of the cave. Zion collapsed on the floor and warmed the frozen ground so he could feel dirt between his fingers.
Taka snorted at him, then faced the back of the cave and spun her hands around each other once. The cave wall compacted and formed a small opening large enough for a human to fit through. She jumped through it and waved the hesitant trio through. Jino led the way, and with his leadership Aza followed. Zion stared out the ice cave wall at the darkness and snow consuming the mountain. Lighting a small flame in his palm he stepped through the arch, which Taka closed behind him.
"Welcome to the Ruppa Mountain Range," Taka said, "and the last of the people of the Ganji Mountains."
Jino, Aza, and Zion stood atop a staircase leading into a valley where a hundred people lived in homes built of perfect cubic stones. Multiple fires were lit through the settlements and lined many structures, the smoke drifting upward to openings in the mountains high up. Snow blew through these openings but evaporated before it fell to the village below. Despite the reprieve from the storm the air was still cold. Taka started down the long staircase.
"How long have your people lived here?" Jino asked.
"We have been inside the mountain for five years," Taka said. "We venture onto the mountain side only when it is not storming for food. Once a week a group will travel to a village at the base of the mountain and barter for supplies or exchange work for food to bring back."
"Why not join one of the villages rather than crawl into a mountain?" Zion said. "Seems like a terrible place to live."
"It's home," Taka said. The conversation ended.
When they reached the base of the stairs, the villagers-all garbed in green-stared at the trio behind Taka, the parents pulling their children inside as the three strangers passed. Before they passed the second house the village streets were cleared. Aza noticed the air warmed considerably once in the village.
"Why-"
"Our people are afraid of another raid by pirates and of losing more lives to those savages," Taka said. "We have not had strangers in our village for over three years."
"Why?"
"The elders choose to ban outsiders from entering the village," Taka said. "The threat of losing more of our people was too great."
The earth around the quartet loosened and six people clad in thick green clothing popped from the earth. In unison they stomped and sharp pillars of earth emerged from the ground and grew until the points were inches away from the trio.
"Who are these intruders?" one of the women in green asked.
"They are with me and we are going to see the elders," Taka said.
"Outsiders are not allowed in our village," a man said.
Zion threw fire from his foot and kicked upward through an earth pillar, shattering it. He leaped at one of the earth benders and wrapped an arm around the earthbender's neck, shooting a short stream of fire from his fingertips at the earthbender's neck. The female earthbender sank Jino into the earth so only his head was above ground.
"Release him or he dies."
"Kill him," Zion said, "and I'll gladly kill this earthbender."
A pillar of ice shot through the air and froze around Zion's fingers. The earthbender knocked him in his stomach and sprang loose from his grasp. He sank Zion into the earth as well.
"I do not want to fight," Jino said. "We were traveling through the mountain to get to the Ganji Mountains when Taka found us."
The earthbenders looked at each other. They rose Zion from the ground and wrapped his hands behind his back in earth. They did the same with Jino and Aza. "You were wrong to bring them here," the female earthbender said to Taka.
"They would have died otherwise, Nin" Taka said.
"They might be killed if the elders decide to do so," Nin said.
She waved her battalion of earthbenders to lead their three prisoners through the village. Even with the strangers captured, the villagers remained hidden. Deeper into the small village were buildings two- and three-stories tall, and at the end of the short walk through the village was a building emerging from the wall that was taller than the rest. At the top a rail bordered the roof, where three figures stood.
The group stopped at the base of the five-story structure. The two earthbenders nearest the wall moved their hands up and down in a wave motion, moving a square platform of earth up the building side, raising the trio, Taka, and themselves to the roof. Taka led the party off the platform of earth, but two earthbenders stayed on it to keep it at roof level.
"Who are these three?" a tall man in green warrior's garb asked, his back to the group as he watched the village from the east edge of the roof. At the western edge stood another tall man in blue and a tall woman in green.
"Taka brought them into our village," Nin said.
"I found them wandering through the mountain," Taka said, but she spoke to the two figures in blue and green. "I engaged them but stopped when they told me their purpose."
"I must say," the lone green-clad man said, "it is strange to find two firebenders and an airbender wandering so high in the mountains during such a fierce storm. Either you are foolish or brave, and rarely is there a difference."
"I am Jino from the Northern Air Temple. I was sent by my elders to scout the Ganji Mountain range on the islands in the southeast of the world. The Air Nomads are searching for a location for a fourth temple, and we heard rumor of strong spiritual energy in that mountain range."
"Oh the spiritual energy is quiet powerful there." He turned to faced the trio. Deep lines streaked across his face and his hands shook while folded in front of him. Scars decorated his right arm and leg so no unblemished skin showed. Despite his body weathering his clothes were new and he moved as if no harm had ever come to his body. "You are another people who would march onto our land and take what is not yours."
"The Air Nomads would never steal," Jino said. "We hoped that if people were settled in the mountain range that they would share the land with us and we could benefit from each other."
"How is your people moving into the mountain range and sharing with us different than just moving into the mountains without permission? Either way our land is robbed and our people suffer."
"We are sorry," the tall man dressed in blue said. He and the woman approached the group. "I am Don, and this is Gwu. I am sorry but we cannot give our blessing to a people who would move into the Ganji Mountains. It is too sacred to allow outsiders to live in it." His voice carried two tones, both saying the words, creating an echo as he spoke. His body was pristine compared to his comrade's, though his age showed in his salt-and-pepper hair.
"The airbenders can help you fight off the pirates," Jino said.
"It is not the airbender's way to engage in war," Gwu said. "Their way is one of peace. I am certain the monk's teachings were not lost on your, Master Jino." She bowed and her nimble body easily sank into the motions. Her face carried a youthful glow but her eyes hid a deeper story.
"If that land is spiritual, we can't let pirates continue to decimate it," Jino said.
"We have tried and lost too many," Don said. "The Ganji Mountains are lost, as are the spiritual lands within them."
"These people don't care," Zion said. "It's pointless talking to any of them."
"Young firebender, you have much to learn," Gwu said, her voice melodic. "I hope you one day understand the difficulties in life and remove the blinders you wear."
Zion punched fire toward her, but two earthbenders blocked the fire with walls of earth while two of their comrades grew earth spires around Zion.
"I wish you luck on your journey, young firebender," Gwu said when the earthbenders removed the wall. "Your flame burns on corrupted fuel."
She returned to the ledge of the roof with Don.
"I propose that we let these travelers try their skill against the pirates," Taka said. "What will it cost us but the lives of three travelers?"
Don thought for a moment. "I will give my blessing to that quest as long as our people's lives are not in danger."
Gwu slithered her arm through his and stood with her upper arm pressed against his. In the dull light emanated by the fires below, they appeared as statues guarding the city.
"Take these three away and toss them back into the snow," the weather-torn earthbender said. "Let the mountain decide their fate."
"You heard your father," Taka said. "They are to go to the Ganji Mountains and face the pirates. I will guide them down the mountain."
"Foolish waterbender," the earthbender said. "The mountain will be their ruin, and if not, then the pirates shall be their deaths." He returned to his perch on the eastern roof ledge opposite Don and Gwu.
On the ground Taka lead the trio into a house near the outskirts of the small village. Nin followed the group to keep a bracelet of earth around Zion's hands. Villagers peered out windows as the group passed and some brave souls ventured into the streets to continue their daily business and chores, but they kept a suspicious eye on the trio of visitors. All villagers wore heavy, warm clothing to keep the chill of the mountain out, and many hovered near the numerous fires. Picnic tables sat between houses and no official road or path existed to walk on; villagers walked wherever they wanted. Doors were shut quickly as fires burned within and food was scarce but bountiful enough to keep the population content.
Taka's house had two rooms: a bedroom and a moderately-sized space combining a table and chairs with counter space. Animal furs were laid on some chairs gathered in a circle. Nin followed them inside but refused to release Zion's hands despite his protests.
"All those people look defeated," Aza said. "There's no warmth in their eyes."
"Their spirits were broken when the pirates took their homes," Nin said. Her tone was aggressive and her eyes never left Zion, who sat on an animal-pelt covered chair.
"We need to help these people," Jino said.
"That is the avatar's duty," Zion said. "I say we let them struggle under this mountain. Why should we concern ourselves with someone else? We have enough happening in our lives." The rock band around his wrists tightened.
"Our people have waited for the avatar to come for the past five years," Taka said. "He has not come. We have no hope that he will ever come." She busied herself taking bowls down from a ledge. "I will make soup for supper."
Jino sat at the table while Taka heated up water over a fire that Aza lit. In the ceiling a hole above the fire allowed the smoke to escape. As the fire burned the house heated and the group could remove their heavier clothes. Once the water boiled, Taka dropped in the few spare morsels she had, and added in flour to thicken the mixture. She circulated her hand near the pot above the fire, stirring the liquid within. Nin remained rigid next to Zion as Taka used waterbending to separate the bland, mostly-broth soup into five bowls.
With no spoons the five slurped soup, filling the house with a mixture of the crackling fire and their slurping. Nin freed Zion's hands but she encased his feet in earth so he couldn't leave his spot; Nin's smile revealed too much satisfaction at restraining Zion.
"You do not have to accompany us to the base of the mountain," Jino said. "We can manage."
"You would have frozen to death last night had I not attacked you," Taka said. "I make trips all over these mountains. Bringing you to the base will be no problem. Besides, I want to join you."
"Taka, you cannot join these outsiders," Nin said. "Your duty is to the people of this village, not to some wandering airbender looking for a new home."
"We don't need any extra dead weight," Zion said.
Aza smacked him as she walked past to set her bowl on the counter. He glared at her with vengeful fire in his eyes.
"We appreciate the offer but we don't want to get you into trouble with your people."
"If you won't allow me to travel with you then I'll find my own way into the Ganji Mountains."
Nin sighed. "If you're going, then I'm going too. Earthbending in combat has felt freeing. I can only imagine what earthbending at the pirates would be like. Plus, if you're going to scale a mountain, having an earthbender would probably help."
Taka and Nin stared satisfied at Jino.
He stood to bow and place a closed fist against an open palm, the sign of respect among his people. "Thank you for your help."
"I'm not staying chained up in earth if she's coming with us," Zion said.
"When you are out of our village I will release you," Nin said. "I cannot allow you to move freely after attacking our leader."
Jino joined Taka at the sink to dry the dishes with mini-tornados as she washed with waterbending.
"Who exactly are your leaders?"
"That is not information I can share with an outsider," Taka said. The conversation ended as they finished cleaning the dishes.
"Rest, and we'll head out in the morning," Taka said. "It's still dark out, and the snowstorm likely hasn't let up."
Aza barely slept. Though the fire burned throughout the night, she felt a chill slither from beneath the door. Zion's hands were again bound but he slept without notice. Nin insisted on guarding Zion but she fell asleep soon after him, as did Jino and Taka. Wind whispered through the village like spirits watching over the community. Inside Taka's house, the whispers stopped so only the crackling of the fire and Zion's deep breathing filled the air.
Climbing nimbly from her blankets, Aza crept closer to the fire to sit within a foot of it. The flames danced along her skin but never touched her. She closed her eyes and stuck her hand into the fire: it parted around her. The fire grew from a few flames to a towering height that reached halfway to the ceiling. Aza's eyes glowed red reflecting the flames. As the flames danced higher her eyes grew wider and all color left them except red until her eyes were unrecognizable. A hand grasped her shoulder and a cool sensation swam through her body.
"Calm down," Taka said gently.
Her hand glowed as the water encasing it soothed Aza. Slowly the fire shrank until only embers glowed in the dark room and color returned to Aza's eyes. Taka removed her hand from Aza's shoulder and the water on it flew to a bowl sitting on the counter. Taka sat next to Aza and huddled beneath a blanket.
"What was that?"
Aza stared at the dying embers. She gripped one wrist in the opposite hand. Taka took both Aza's hands in her own. They sat there until sleep drifted over both women.
With no natural light in the village, being woken in the morning felt like it was still nighttime and their bodies reacted with an unwillingness to move. Determined to drive the pirates from the Ganji Mountains, Jino sprang from his blankets ready to go. Aza and Zion slowly crawled to their feet, but Jino was already waiting outside with an apple ate and his backpack strung over his shoulders. He checked in every few minutes on his companions to ask how long they would be. Zion ignored him and Aza's responses grew lack-luster.
Jino bolted ahead of the party of five, waiting at the ice walls in the mountainside leading out of the village. Still weary of the visitors but more carefree after their multi-day presence, the villagers wandered between buildings to add fuel to their fires, trade small portions of food, and visit the tunnels leading outside. Aza's eyes met a villager's: the man was thin and his hands trembled when holding small pieces of fruit. Beneath his light frame, his legs shook. Aza glanced from him to the three figures standing like statues on the roof of the main building. They were not on opposite sides of the building but all three gazed in the direction the party walked to. Near the border of the village the three figures blurred and disappeared from sight.
Taka dissolved the ice wall and rebuilt it when the party walked through. A light shone above the main building where the three figures had been. She closed the hole with ice again.
Zion breathed deeply as the sun warmed his skin and replenished his energy. Nin removed the earth braces around Zion's hands. With his limbs fully free he shot a burst of fire into the air. Between two mountain peaks blue skies reached overhead to the sea in the distance though fog covered the Ganji Mountains. Taka waved both arms and the snow cleared in front of them as far as they could see; the farther away they looked, the more the snow blended into a white mass with no end.
"We have almost a full day's walk to the mountain's base, then it's another two hour trek to the sea," Taka said. "We'll also need to find a boat to get across. I know some fishermen living along the coast but they won't want to sail to the Ganji Mountains. The pirates have terrified everyone living in the area."
"This is a suicide mission," Nin said. "We can't beat the pirates. There are too many of them."
"You didn't have any fire or airbenders last time," Jino said. "The pirates will be thrown off guard and I will drive them out of the mountains."
"We will," Taka said. "It'll take all of us to even have a chance of being successful." She waved her arms again to clear more snow as they walked. "I don't know how they've changed the landscape of the mountains since we were driven out. There may be entirely new structures."
"Are we trying to capture the pirates or are casualties not an issue?" Nin said.
"Casualties are fine," Zion said. "Do pirates deserve mercy?"
"Does the hawk who kills a snake that kills a mouse any better than the snake?" Jino said.
"Airbender crap," Zion whispered to Nin, "kill them all." He forgave Nin for holding him captive when she smirked at his comment.
Traveling through the snowy mountain was simple with Taka at the forefront of their party. Her waterbending made clearing the path easy and she never grew tired. Jino stayed on her heels and often ran ahead to the end of the path she cleared, only to tap his foot in annoyance while waiting for the others to catch up; he ran at the speed of wind. Taka ignored his ushering to move faster.
Zion and Nin walked in silence at the rear of the group. Both watched the other with suspicion. Zion's fingers stayed alert and nimble to throw fire while Nin stepped wider than normal with longer strides to more easily bend earth if Zion attacked. When Zion agreed to killing all the pirates, Nin let her guard down and exchanged a few words. Their conversations were short. Neither said more than a sentence nor revealed their excitement at working with the other, but neither upheld their posture to attack the other.
Mountain peaks grew smaller as the day wore on and the group ventured farther from the center of the mountains. The height of the snow lessened and by afternoon Jino cleared the snow around them with a tiny flick of his wrist, the light dusting nothing against the gusts he could summon. Just before lunch the slope turned downward and all five members of their party were thankful for the reprieve of walking uphill. As they climbed down the mountain they removed their heavier clothes.
Jino insisted on running ahead to the water's edge in the distance but Taka said it would take them another five hour to reach it. Zion dived into full conversations with Nin because it meant ignoring Jino's incessant pestering to move faster. Nin accepted Zion's invitation to conversation and they slouched back behind the other three even farther. Aza thought of hanging back too but Nin shot hateful stares at her if she tried.
They ate while walking rather than stopping to light a fire, all at Jino's insistence that they reach the water's edge by nightfall. Zion threw his apple cores on the ground near Jino's feet, which received spiteful looks from Aza. Nin stood at Zion's side and stared Aza down until she stopped glaring at Zion.
Jino sped ahead to the water; the others reached it an hour later as the last ray of sun left the night sky. Wispy clouds mixed with the stars as the black waves lashed against the shoreline. Zion shot fire at a small pile of twigs; Nin threw dirt to extinguish it.
"What's that about?" Zion said.
"No fires on the shore," Nin said. "The pirates watch these waters. The pirates know where the farmers and fishermen live along these shores. If we light a fire where there normally isn't one, the pirates will attack us."
"She's right," Taka said. "I would love to warm up by a fire but the pirates are ruthless."
She stepped into the water with bare feet and let it lap against her legs. Jino scanned the water for a ship but in the darkness he could see nothing.
"We need to rest for tonight," Aza said by his side.
"We need to cross the sea and rescue the mountains from the pirates."
Aza wrapped her hand in his. "We're too tired to cross tonight and fight the pirates. We need to talk tonight about a strategy. Taka and Nin know the mountains and can tell us what to expect when we fight the pirates. Please just rest."
Jino stormed away from the shore and threw his hand from Aza's. She stared after him until he disappeared in the dark.
"We should split into two groups," Taka said later that night when the five sat in a circle. "Nin and I can lead you through the mountains. It's been five years so hopefully things haven't changed much. There were two main cities we lived in, one near the shore and another halfway up the mountains. I doubt the pirates stayed in the mountain city since it's so far away from the water."
"What do we have to worry about when we fight them?" Zion said. "Are any of them benders?" Even in the dark Taka could see the passion for death in his eyes.
"None of the pirates are benders," Taka said, "but many know how to fight benders. They use swords and other hand-to-hand combat weapons, such as maces and chains. They also attack in groups, so prepare to face multiple pirates at once, hence why we will stay in groups ourselves. We have a better chance of surviving if we're not alone."
"What is our goal?" Aza said. "We can't just go in and fight every pirate."
"Five years ago there were three pirates that ran various parts of the island," Taka said. "Their names are Rin, Kashi, Obi. All three took up residence in the main city. If we take them out, the pirates will be leaderless and chaos will ensue. Then we could probably drive the pirates out of the Ganji Mountains. Probably."
"This doesn't sound like it has a high chance of success or like I have a high chance of surviving," Zion said. "If this is a suicide mission then count me out now."
"We will succeed," Jino said. "We have to. Even from here I can feel the spiritual energy from the mountains. We need to build our new temple there."
Taka stared at Jino until Aza spoke up.
"I suggest we get some sleep."
"Somebody is here," Jino whispered.
Zion, Nin, and Taka stood in fighting stances and struggled to see an enemy through the dark.
"There is a ship sailing toward us along the shore," Jino said.
Taka ran to the water. As she stepped on it, ice formed around her ankles to hold her afloat. With each step more ice formed. Behind her a trail of ice floated out to sea. Once she disappeared from their immediate sight, the four did not see Taka but heard the distant sound of sword on sword, a few screams, and a crack of wood that split the night's silence. Taka returned soon.
"There's nothing to worry about. Let's get some sleep. Aza, you have first watch."
Taka bended the water from her clothes and then curled under a blanket near the shore. Nin chopped diagonally at the ground around her and two earth walls grew over her in a tent. Zion longingly gazed at the earth tent but he pulled out a blanket and curled under his own blanket.
Jino stayed awake through the night, staring across the sea at the mountain range hidden in the dark. He sat cross-legged with his fingers folded across his lap with his back erect. The spiritual energy leaked into him.