Avatar

The Last Benders

Book 1: Return

Chapter 3

The Next Avatar

Shay managed to stand up on his feet. He still couldn't believe a water bender had healed his broken back. As he turned to thank the woman his eyes went wide. Floating before him was a bright blue spirit. "You… You're… A spirit!" Shay stammered. "Yes, my name is Raava." The spirit said. "Raava, wait I know that name. You're the Avatars spirit!" Shay exclaimed. "Yes, that is correct." Raava said. "Well what are you doing in this cave?" Shay asked. "Come I will show you." Raava said. Shay followed Raava deeper into the cave. Soon they came upon what looked to be a carving of a person in the stone walls. "Is that who I think it is?" Shay asked. "Yes, it is Avatar Korra." Raava confirmed. Her body was incased in the wall. Shay immediately noticed that her eyes still glowed a bright white. "Is she still alive?" Shay asked, gesturing towards her eyes. "Her spirit is, but her body is not. You see, during the final battles of the war Korra became corned by dark spirits. Knowing that she couldn't defeat them all on her own she entered the avatar state and burrowed under the Earth. There she encased her body in stone to protect me. She knew as I did that if she were to die the dark spirits would have consumed me, thus ending the avatar cycle." Raava explained. "That still doesn't explain why you've been in this cave all these years." Shay said. "I can only go so far away from Korra's body. If I were to drift too far away I would lose the connection to her. It would then take decades for me to reincarnate into another soul. We simply do not have that kind of time." Raava said. "What do you mean?" Shay asked. "The dark spirits are not gone, they live among your people. They have possessed humans with great power and have been planning something ever since the end of the war." Raava explained. "How do you know all this?" Shay asked. "I can sense their presence in this world. If we do not act fast they will destroy this world." Raava said. "How can I help?" Shay asked. "You can bond with me." Raava said. "Wait, you mean become the avatar?" Shay asked. "Yes." Raava said. "I don't know that's asking a lot. I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility. Besides, I'm not even a bender." Shay said. "I can gift you the ability to bend. You would still need the training to learn how of course, but I can give you the potential." Raava said. Shay thought for a moment and soon realized that if he didn't do this he would be letting the world die. "Ok, I'll do it. I'll become the next avatar." Shay said, confidently. "I am pleased to hear that. Now relax and I shall bond to your soul." Raava said. Shay took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Raava the shot into his body. Shay gasped felt a weird sensitive shoot throughout his body. Shay's eyes opened and they glowed a bright white. "We are now bonded." Raava said in Shays head. His eyes slowly returned to their natural state. "Wow that was weird." Shay said. He walked back to where he had fell into the cave. "So since I can't bend yet I guess I'm climbing out." Shay said. He began to climb up the jagged stone wall. "So I guess I'll have to find a fire bending teacher first." Shay said as he climbed. "Actually the next avatar was meant to be an earth bender." Raava said. "But I was born in the Fire Nation." Shay responded. "This does not matter. The order of the cycle stated that the next avatar after Korra would be an earth bender." Raava explained. "I'm glad my dad's not around anymore. He didn't really care for earth benders." Shay said. Finally he reached the surface. Shay climbed out of the crevice and lay on the ground beside it. "My arms are killing me!" Shay exclaimed. "There is no time to waste we must find you an earth bending teacher." Raava said. "Ok, but first I need to get somethings from my house." Shay said. He then got up and took off towards his home.