Chapter 3:
Entry 7:
You know how I said that I was thrilled to join Master Piandao in Ba Sing Se and see how the White Lotus operates on a global scale?
Well, now I'm starting to have second thoughts. Now I know, dear reader, what you are probably thinking, Why is that, Xai Bau? You said you always wanted to see the world and visit new places. Surely, it couldn't be that soon that you are starting to regret, right?
Well, you know how I said at the end of my last entry that I was concerned that the White Lotus were planning to reveal themselves to the world? Well, my worst fears would eventually be realized, and worse. Not only did the White Lotus do the one unforgivable thing and reveal themselves to the world, they stooped further and decided to serve the Avatar, effectively renouncing their role as global peacekeepers.
But I realize that I am getting ahead of myself, so I shall start at the beginning.
It was the afternoon of my departure. I had carried few trunks of all my essentials: ink, papyrus, some food, you name it. I glanced back at my hometown of Shu Jing. It is hard to believe that I was leaving the place I had called home, possibly forever. The life as I had known - all my old friends, my old hangouts, the bustling city life- they were all going to vanish right before my eyes. I sighed. Oh, Shu Jing. I surely will miss you. Even though it might never happen, I hope to one day step back within your walls, visit the old jade garden, buy a fresh hot meal from the market. The feeling was more than just nostalgic: It was bittersweet.
I felt a warm hand rest upon my shoulder and turned back. It was old Grey Hair, and his face radiated an expression I had never seen before: paternal warmth.
"All set, Xai Bau?" he asked. I nodded.
"Xai Bau," old Grey Hair started, "I know how you feel. When I first joined the White Lotus, I too faced the prospect of never returning home again. But I realized that just because we can't see a place again doesn't mean it won't be a part of us wherever we go."
"Really?" I brightened up.
"Of course," Grey Hair smiled. "It's good to remember where you came from, but you should also remember to expand both your roots and your horizons." He patted me on the back. "Come now. If you want, we can play some Pai Sho until it is dinnertime."
A few days into the voyage, I witnessed a most amazing spectacle. I was reading some of Guru Laghima's works in my quarters when suddenly the helmsman shouted, "Look at this!"
I looked up from my reading, and, without a second thought, put down my reading material and left the cabin, intrigued by what could be spectacular enough that it could draw the attention of the crew. All the White Lotus members were peering at something in the sky. What was it?
One member of the crew was pointing to a large brown dot flying above in the sky. It was. . .
"A flying bison!" yelled one of the crew. I stared up in amazement. Up until now, I had never seen one of these creatures myself. I had often been told that they were the creature of legend, and that no one had ever seen any of these old mythical creatures. And a flying bison could mean only one thing.
"The Avatar!" I blurted out.
The crew members looked at me awkwardly. Old Grey Hair gave me an amused glance, and I felt my face turn as red as a tomato.
Old Grey Hair chuckled. "I know, little one, I know. It would be an honor to meet the Avatar, but now is not the time. He and his friends are busy negotiating the dispute with Kuei to be meeting anyone who is amazed with their accomplishments. Besides, we cannot afford to get sidetracked."
After a few rough days of traveling through the Serpent's Pass (which unfortunately included a near-incident with a gigantic sea serpent, don't ask), we finally reached the harbor leading to Ba Sing Se. We then went up to the earthbending powered train, where one of the members paid for our tickets at the station. All around, I felt a sudden chill tingle my body, and the sensation that someone- something- was watching was it?
On the train, as we took our seats, a bespectacled younger member of the Order, who looked like he was in his twenties, suddenly said, "I wonder if we will find any rogue firebenders intent on attacking the Earth King or an insurrection bent on overthrowing the monarchy. With the current state of the Earth Kingdom, anything is possible."
I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Did you hit up any cactus juice on the way here? Or is it the pentapox speaking through your mouth?"
The member shrugged. "Like I said, with the current state of the world, anything's possible when-"
"Enough, Chan," Old Grey Hair interrupted, a stern demeanor on his countenance. "I'm sure we all would love to hear your oh-so-wonderful conspiracy theories, but I must beseech you to hold them in, as I just had a wonderful hot lunch of corn and shrimp squid stew, and I do not intend to surrender it any time soon."
As we disembarked the train and prepared ourselves to visit the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, I heard a deep, familiar voice say to, "My, you have grown since I've last seen you."
I turned, trying and failing to repress a grin, because I instantly knew who that voice belonged to. Master Piandao gave a great big bear hug, and it felt good to see him once more.
Piandao released me and chuckled. "I've heard great things about since we last met. I think it is time that I introduced you to our leader the Grand Lotus Iroh, the legendary Dragon of the West."
"The Dragon of the West?" I asked, barely repressing my excitement.
"The very same," Piandao affirmed. "He's at a tea shop in the Lower Ring of the city. Let me show you."
Piandao herded our group to a cab to take us to someplace called the Jasmine Dragon. When we got there, there was hardly anybody there. The only people who were there were an old bearded man in a tea shop uniform who was washing tea cups, a muscular young man who was drinking tea, and a group of patrons in White Lotus uniform. I felt Piandao prod me with his finger.
"You are in the presence of the Grand Lotus Iroh," he said to me. "Please be sure to introduce yourself."
As if on cue, the man in the uniform came up to me and said in a kindly voice, "Hello, young man. Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, please," I answered. The man gave me a cup of jade leaf tea. I gave him seven yuan and sat down to the table with the buff guy, holding out my hand. "It is a pleasure getting to know you, Grand Master Iroh. I have heard so much about how you took back this city."
The buff guy shook my hand, evidently confused. "Um, thanks?"
Behind me, I heard Chan and old Grey Hair chuckling in amusement. Piandao sighed in frustration and clapped his hand to his face. "Kid, if you want to see the Grandmaster, try him." He pointed to the man who had served me tea a few minutes ago.
I stared at the man, open-mouthed, dumbfounded. I would not have been surprised if my jaw had hit the ground. That old guy? The Dragon of the West? That tea server was the Fire Nation's most feared general-turned-Grand Lotus? The sheer thought of that was unlikely. I even imagined that Piandao may have had a rare moment in jesting. One look on his face told me, however, that he really wasn't joking.
I went up to the old man, trembling. "I-It's s-s-so g-good to m-m-m-meet you, G-Grand M-Master." I know, I know, but I was nervous, and it is hard to keep your cool in the face of a legend.
The old man, Iroh, chuckled warmly. "Please, I am just a simple tea server now. It has always been my dream to work in one of the finest cities of the world serving tea. But I see that you are in need of spiritual training, so I will train you as soon as it is closing time. In the meantime, let me give you some more tea, free of charge." He produced a second cup and gave it to me. I held it in my hands and went over to join my fellow Lotus members, barely containing my bubbling excitement. Here I was, in the grandest city of the world, a member of an ancient organization and having tea with one of the world's most legendary generals. I knew for a fact that if I told my old friends in Shu Jing right now, they would never believe me.
Entry 8
The last customer had left the Jasmine Dragon, and Iroh had locked the doors of the great establishment. He turned to me and motioned to me to come into the back room. I felt a mixture of confusion and excitement flow through my very body. Was Iroh going to lead me into the Spirit World?
As soon as the closet door was shut, we found a space to sit on the floor.
"Now we are going to enter a location that you have heard about," Iroh started. "It is the Spirit World, a parallel plane of coexistence that the most fascinating number of spirits. Now entry into the Spirit World is very difficult, and can only be made less difficult with someone else who has
already been there.
"Well, where will we find someone who can take us there?" I asked, disappointed. "You seem to forget that there seems to be no one else here at the moment except us. Unless …"
Then it hit me like a cartful of cabbages. Could it be?
"You have actually been into the Spirit World?" I asked.
Iroh chuckled, which I took as affirmative. "As a matter of fact, I've been there many times, my boy."
"Really?" I asked again, now even more curious. It sounded far-fetched, but then again, he was the last person I thought to be the Grand Lotus. With this guy, anything was possible.
The old man chuckled again, which I took to be an affirmative. "Indeed, I have. It has been such a long time, but the last time I have been there was . . ." He paused, as if remembering a painful event. I didn't know what it was, but whatever it was, it must have been pretty traumatizing. I sure didn't want to find out what it was, if it was that terrible.
"Anyway," Iroh continued, almost as if it had not happened, "let us begin. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Focus."
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Nothing happened.
"Hmmm," Iroh paused, deep in thought. "It appears that if we are to go into the Spirit World, for now, I need to take you there myself." He extended his hand to me. "Take my hand."
I complied, uncertain what this was supposed to accomplish. Iroh closed his eyes and breathed deeply. But this time, I focused harder, and I felt a powerful rush come over me.
And I was in the land of the spirits. When I opened my eyes, I was in the midst of an orchard of trees, all bathed in the golden light of the sun. A few spirits, multicolored and luminous, stole a few glances at me, but otherwise did not acknowledge my presence. Judging by the fading light, the sun was about to set.
"Where are we?" I asked, overcome by awe.
"We are in a spirit grove," said Iroh simply. "This is where spirits often stop by on their migrations. The trees represent life and purity."
"Whoa," I said, unable to suppress my excitement.
"I agree," Iroh said. "This place is fascinating."
A few spirit creatures breezed by lazily. Some of them glanced at us, and I had the feeling that Iroh had come across them before. Indeed, the look on his face suggested that seeing them before was not a new experience for him. Before I could fully process my surroundings, a green spirit that looked like a cross between a frog and a lizard approached us.
"Master Iroh," it started. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"It is a pleasure to see you as well, Gun-Lin," Iroh bowed politely to the spirit.
"I see that you brought a new friend," Gun-Lin noted, looking up at me. "What is your name, young man?"
"My name is Xai Bau," I bowed respectfully to the spirit. "I have come here with Iroh to learn about the spirits and to advance my spiritual training."
"Lucky for you, kid, he happens to know every spirit in the whole joint," Gun-Lin smiled at me a little, his beady little eyes boring into mine.
I turned to Iroh, slightly impressed that he had friends in otherworldly places. "I was not aware that you knew such fine folks as these guys," I admitted.
Iroh chuckled, a bit sadly. "This wasn't always the case, my dear boy," he started, a bit rueful. "I was once one of the Fire Nation's fiercest generals. 'The Dragon of the West', they always called me."
"Really?" I asked, surprised. The old man nodded. "How did you become so . . . spiritual?"
Iroh sighed, as if he was bringing up a subject that he would gladly have avoided. Almost instantly, I regretted what I had said. At last, he answered, trying not to betray any feelings of sorrow, "It was during the six-hundred-day siege of Ba Sing Se. My forces had successfully breached the outer wall of the city, an act that had never been done before. But just before we neared the total destruction of the Inner Wall, a fierce earthbending battalion clashed with my son's division of firebenders. There was chaos everywhere, and I grew worried that my son would get hurt. I do not know what happened next, but my fears were ultimately confirmed and more: the captain of the earthbending battalion came into direct confrontation with Lu Ten. The details are a bit hazy, but what I know for certain is that in all the chaos, my precious son died by the earthbenders' hands."
I gasped. No wonder he didn't want to talk about it; the war had taken a dear toll on him, just like it did with me. "I'm so sorry," I whispered.
"It's okay," Iroh assured me, trying to hold back tears. "When I learned what had happened, I suddenly realized the sheer scope of the loss I had been inflicting on the rest of the world for so many years. I felt as though I suddenly lost the willpower to fight that pointless, meaningless war, so I willingly surrendered and withdrew my troops and abandoned the Ba Sing Se theater."
"What happened next?" I asked, a terrible curiosity building up inside of me.
"I decided to take a long break from my work in the military, and from there, I traveled the whole world to find a new purpose for myself. One of the stops I made along the way was the Spirit World, which changed my way of thinking profoundly," Iroh continued. "It made me realize that this violence was pointless, because all it did was take lives away. That's when I vowed to dedicate myself to preserving the peace of the Four Nations, and so I joined the White Lotus."
"Whoa," I said, completely awestruck. Just like me, he too had lost loved ones to the accursed war, and felt that his energies would best be put to use in preserving the peace. I sat down, eagerly awaiting my first lesson in the nature of the spirits. "What are you going to teach me first?"
Iroh smiled. "Before anything else, let me teach you about the two most important spirits in the Spirit World: Raava, the spirit of peace and light, and Vaatu, the spirit of darkness and destruction." He produced a scroll that showed a picture of two spirits resembling a cross between a kite and a flatworm, each with intricate markings on them. One of the spirits was white with blue markings, the other black with red markings. "Once every 10,000 years, these two spirits fight a major battle near the spirit portals over the fate of the world: Harmonic Convergence. During this time, the planets align and spiritual energy is greatly amplified, causing the spirit portals to merge. If Raava wins, there will be another 10,000 years of peace. But if Vaatu emerges victorious, he will destroy everything and darkness will envelop the world until the next Convergence."
Suddenly, a great cold overcame my body and chilled my bones. I felt as though I were suddenly at one of the poles, without any protective layers on. Then a deep, booming voice whispered in my ear.
"Yes . . . Come to me, little one . . ."
"Did you hear that?" I asked. Perhaps I had spoken that out loud, because all of a sudden, the grove grew quiet. All of the spirits were looking at me, some quizzically, others just plain confused. Iroh put a firm supportive hand on my shoulder.
"Everything okay?" he asked, his voice a mixture of warmth and concern.
"Nothing," I muttered, not wanting to put him off his ease. "I must have hearing things." This was a bold-faced lie, and I knew it. I knew full well what I had just heard, but what did it mean? "I'm sorry for causing such a scene," I added, not wanting to trouble Iroh with what I heard.
Iroh smiled warmly at me. He beckoned me to sit down on the grass, which I obliged. He sat down next to me.
"Xai Bau," he started, "have you ever heard the story of Avatar Wan?"
"Who's Avatar Wan?" I asked curiously.
"The very first Avatar," Iroh explained. "During the Harmonic Convergence, he fused with Raava to battle Vaatu and bring balance to the world. But he wasn't always like this."
And so he explained to me how Avatar Wan grew from humble beginnings on a settlement on a fire lion turtle and how he had lived with the spirits for two years and learned their ways. He also explained how Wan had also separated Vaatu and Raava, bringing imbalance to the world, and divided the spiritual and physical planes. I couldn't help but frown. What was the point of that? Didn't this Wan character know that dividing the planes caused only more imbalance? I kept this to myself, not wanting to upset Iroh.
"Master Iroh," I asked curiously, "how did the White Lotus come to be in the first place?"
"I'm glad you asked, little one," Iroh answered. A few crickets chirped in the distance and the sun descended even further into the horizon. "Here is how our organization came to be." And so he told me all about the origins of the White Lotus, how it had originally began as a meeting of old masters in an ancient Earth Kingdom city millennia ago.
Time passed, and before we knew it, it was getting dark out. As soon as Iroh had finished, he put his hand on my shoulder again and we headed back for the material world. Next thing I knew, I was back in the Jasmine Dragon as night had officially settled over the city. I came back knowing a great deal more about the spirits and the order than I had ever learned in my entire life, and I knew that right then and there, I would never be the same again.
Entry 9:
Twenty-six or so years had passed since I updated my last entry, and a lot has changed since then. Not only had the White Lotus set up a new base in this place called Republic City, but I was now older, wiser, and more experienced in the affairs of spirits, and had officially become a member of the White Lotus. I had begun reading more literature and had started working alongside Iroh and Piandao in White Lotus security affairs. I also began questioning things more, specifically the direction the organization was going.
It all started when the mobster named Yakone showed up and caused trouble in the city. I had just gotten up from my quarters and was on my way to the mess hall for breakfast when I saw the other White Lotus elders huddled in a circle around a radio set, somber countenances etched onto their faces. Iroh and Piandao, in particular, looked solemn and deeply troubled.
"What's wrong, Master?" I asked Piandao. He turned to face me, still wearing the same grave expression on his face.
"It's Yakone," he answered simply. "He has struck again, and this time he attacked the Avatar."
So? I thought to myself. Isn't the Avatar more than capable of handling this himself? I didn't say this, of course, but rather chose a different approach. Clearing my throat, I continued, "Is he all right? The Avatar, I mean."
"Of course," Iroh answered, still grave. "There's no doubt about it. But this recent attack has forced me to reconsider the purpose of the White Lotus."
My heart sank like a sinking Fire Nation freighter. "What do you mean?" I asked, fearing the worst.
"Up until now, the goal of the White Lotus was to bring peace and stability to the world," Jeong Jeong started, boring his eyes into mine. "But now that that goal has been accomplished, it seems that we must now focus our energies on protecting the Avatar."
"In other words," another man added, "we must become the bodyguards for the Avatar."
My worst fears had been realized. The White Lotus would no longer be focusing its time and energy on protecting the world at large, but rather squarely on the Avatar. I forced myself to take a deep breath, so as not to appear angry in front of the other masters.
"I see," I responded, in a tone that was clearly forced into calm. "I respect this decision." I turned around and stormed back up to my quarters, having officially lost my appetite, then covered my face with my pillow.
This was what I feared would happen. The White Lotus had turned its backs on the ideals on which it was founded, and now, it was nothing more than a glorified praetorian guard for the Avatar. How disgraceful.
Later that day, the White Lotus met up with Avatar Aang and discussed with him how from this point forward, they would serve as his bodyguards. I watched the entire scene from the sidelines in disgust and frustration. It appeared that there was not a chance that the organization would back down from its stance of protecting the Avatar as if he were a glorified celebrity. When Piandao motioned for me to shake hands with the Avatar, I went up to him with the most insincere smile that I can muster, and shook his hand with an extra-firm grip.
"It will be an honor to work with you, Avatar," I said to him, trying to mask the sarcasm and insincerity in my voice. After we stopped shaking hands, I turned around and glowered both the organization and the Avatar as soon as their backs were turned.
To think so long ago that I used to look up to the Avatar- I shook my head in disgust. As of now, the Avatar was my greatest enemy, whether he knew it or not, because he was standing in the way of true unity and freedom. Now that the White Lotus had officially changed its modus operandi, someone needed to do something to preserve the way that it should have been.
And that someone would be me.
