Author's Notes: I was planning on updating this story over the weekend but I unexpectedly got sick over the weekend, so I didn't feel like I'd do as good a job in writing as I would when I'm healthy. So, sorry for the slow updating but here is Chapter 6! And we get a peak at the Order of the White Lotus several centuries before Aang! Keep in mind that the rituals of the White Lotus and in naming the Avatar will be pretty different from how they are 800-900 years in the future, but some things should still seem familiar. In other news, my first exam is tomorrow so I'm hoping it and the rest of my exams go well! This unfortunately means updates will still be slow for another couple weeks, but once I'm done with exams I'll be done with school, so that means more time to devote to writing! And finally, thank you for your continuing support and I hope you enjoy this next chapter! And as always, please leave a review and follow/favorite if you enjoy!
Chapter 6: The North Pole
The North Pole was the only permanent settlement in the Norther Water Tribe and served as a de facto capital, although few people respected the governmental authority of the North Pole. The settlement was governed by Inuksuk, a man in his mid-twenties with a vicious temper. The oldest son of the previous leader, Inuksuk took power from an uncle and had ordered not only his uncle but all his male relatives old enough to pose a threat banished. Those who did not leave were executed on site.
In spite of the recent power struggles, the North Pole remained the only region with some sort of infrastructure. Several unrelated families had gathered and built up the village. The few scholars present in the Northern Water Tribe, which was at the time a largely illiterate society, all lived in the North Pole. The permanent structures in the settlement were constructed from ice and not animal hide like in the more temporary camps. Perhaps the most spectacular of the permanent structures was the Grand Shaman's Temple, which was the dwelling of the High Shaman and served as the center of religious authority in the Northern Water Tribe. The settlement was unlike anything Nuka and Tiriak had ever seen.
"It's so amazing!" Nuka shouted with joy as she ran around the village, Tiriak close behind her.
"These ice structures are incredible!" Tiriak gasped, looking up at the Shaman's Temple.
Alutiik, Aklak, and the other members of the family were a little ways behind the two teenagers, with the two men discussing what to do know that they had reached the settlement.
"Do you really think it's smart to have Nuka unattended here?" Aklak whispered to his father. "I know she can handle fighting off men if she has to, but she's never traveled to any permanent settlement. She may not be able to handle the way people act here. You've brought me here before and I know what to expect."
"She can handle it. I know she can. Just because the men here are buffalo yaks doesn't mean she can't handle it. Men are like that everywhere in our society," Alutiik lectured the younger man.
Aklak sighed. "I suppose." He then looked at his father, slightly irritated. "Now that we're here, will you tell me exactly why we've come? You told me it's so Nuka can learn more about Waterbending but you've said it yourself several times there's nothing left to teach her."
Alutiik looked his son in the eyes seriously and held up a Pai Sho piece. It had the image of a white lotus flower on it. "I don't understand. You're here to visit the other White Lotus members. Why did you bring Nuka and Tiriak? They're too young to be a part of it," Aklak replied.
Alutiik put the Pai Sho piece away and looked down, avoiding his son's gaze. "You know I spent much of my youth traveling with Avatar Tayisung. You actually met her once, but I'm not sure if you remember that."
"Vaguely. But what does that have to do with Nuka?" Aklak asked.
"Nuka's an incredibly gifted bender. She's the only waterbender I've encountered who's been able to use water to heal injuries or to be able to bend blood. The only bender I've ever encountered with that level of ability is the Avatar," Alutiik murmured.
Aklak stared at his father, trying to process what he had just been told. His pupil may be the Avatar? Finally he nodded and responded. "Are you suggesting Nuka could be the Avatar? Haven't there been any other claims or possibilities?"
"None that have proven to be true," Alutiik said softly. "Our fellow White Lotus members can help determine if she is the Avatar. And even if it turns out that my hunch isn't correct, I think she can learn far more about the history and culture of Waterbending here than she ever could from just studying with us."
Alutiik and Aklak walked up to one of the smaller ice buildings and entered. Inside sat a few men gathered around some Pai Sho boards. A younger woman walked past them, holding bowls of some sort of heated liquid. She caught Alutiik's eye and smiled at him.
"Welcome to our little gaming hut!" she called as she sat the bowls down in front of the men at the gaming board.
One of the men, a gentleman in his later years with several long grey braids, looked up from one of the boards and grinned. "Ah! I see Grand Lotus Alutiik has decided to join us at the North Pole finally!"
"Only temporarily, Unak!" Alutiik laughed. He then turned to the woman who was now leaning against the wall of the building. "Hima, it's nice to see you again! Last time I saw you, you were still a little girl!"
"Haha, yeah, I guess it has been a long time since I last saw you, Grand Lotus. My mother was still alive at that point, so it has to have been well over ten years. I'm sure you'll be happy to know I've been appointed a full member of the Order of the White Lotus since then!" the woman, Hima, replied. "Who's this with you? Is he one of your kids?"
"Yes, this is my oldest son Aklak, and a fellow member of the White Lotus," Alutiik said, introducing the young man impatiently standing by. "Aklak, this is Hima, Avatar Tayisung's daughter and one of the finest Airbenders I've ever seen!"
"I wouldn't know about that," Hima chuckled. "My mother easily had me beat there."
"So what brings you here, Alutiik? The last time you came here was for Aklak's induction into the Order," Unak asked.
"My son and I have been teaching two children Waterbending, and I have reason to believe that the younger of the two may be the Avatar," Alutiik began. "She is able to heal injuries using her Waterbending and is also able to bend blood. I've never seen skills quite like the ones she possesses."
Unak exchanged a nervous look with a few of the others in the building, then turned to Alutiik. "Your student is a girl!? Alutiik, you realize how serious an offense it is to teach a woman Waterbending?!
"Females learn bending in other cultures. Why should we be the exception?" Alutiik grumbled.
Hima glanced over at Unak and shrugged. "He has a point."
"He may, but imagine what would happen if Inuksuk knew. He would have you, your son, and your students executed for defying tradition!" Unak insisted.
"He doesn't have to know. For all he knows, Nuka is the companion of my male student, Tiriak," Alutiik replied. "And if it turns out she is the Avatar, there's no rule saying we have to publicly announce it as soon as we know."
"I suppose. When should we meet with your student?" Unak asked.
"Tonight. I know if she is not spoken to soon she might become too distracted by the new sights here," Alutiik said.
Nuka watched nervously as seven cloaked figures sat in front of her. They had met her at her dwellings that night and had guided her to the Grand Shaman Temple. Once there one of the figures had lit a fire at the center of the temple and now all of them sat in a semi-circle around the fire. Behind the figures was a pile of artifacts.
"Nuka," one of the figures began. "Welcome to the spiritual center of the North Pole."
"It's an honor to be here," Nuka replied quietly, bowing her head.
"The Order of the White Lotus welcomes you," another figure, who sounded like a woman, added.
"The Order of the White Lotus?" Nuka asked.
"We are a society who seeks to serve the Avatar and to help maintain order in the world," a third figure, sounding like a young man, answered.
Nuka looked at the figures and waited for instruction. They whispered amongst themselves then turned to face the girl.
"Please go retrieve three items from the pile," the cloaked woman said, pointing to the pile behind them. Nuka noted the faint shape of an arrow on the woman's hand but didn't say anything.
"Any three items?" she asked the figures.
"Whichever three stand out to you," a fourth figure, this one an older man, replied.
Nuka walked cautiously over to the pile of artifacts and inspected them. Some looked at least a hundred years old, while others were clearly very new. They were incredibly varied as well. She had never seen some of these things and was curious about what they were. She spotted a long, wooden item with strings attached to pegs. She picked it up and plucked at the strings, noting the beautiful sound the object produced. She walked over to the figures and placed the instrument before the figures.
"What's this instrument called?" Nuka asked.
"It's called a koto," the female answered.
Nuka nodded, disappointed to have not heard more information. Out of the corner of her eye, a piece of metal glinted in the moonlight. She walked over to it and picked it up. It was a knife, sheathed in a scaly hide. She withdrew the knife from its sheath and inspected it. Feeling confident with her selection, she presented it to the figures.
For the final object, she looked around to see if anything stood out. There were a few other large objects like the koto, as well as other vibrant objects like the knife, but none of these stood out in particular. Instead, her eye drifted to a small bracelet with beads carved from some sort of bone. She picked it up and inspected the beads, feeling the small shapes with her fingers. It was an alternating pattern of skulls and square beads with swirls carved into them. She walked back over to the figures and set the bracelet down, then sat across the fire from them.
The figures looked over the objects and the woman gasped, holding up the bracelet. Nuka waited impatiently for the figures to finish inspecting her objects. Finally, the figures regrouped around the fire and looked at Nuka, allowing some of their features to become visible. One of the older men had a greying brown beard while the other had grey braids hanging out from his hood. The woman had fairer skin than the others, and seemed to have arrows running up both of her hands. The young man also appeared to have a beard, and had scruffier light brown hair.
"This bracelet belonged to Avatar Tayisung. It was a prayer bracelet she would use to help her enter the spirit world," the woman began.
"This knife belonged to Avatar Daisuke. It was with this blade that he slew Moro, the great dragon that terrorized the Fire Nation," the man with the greying beard uttered.
"This koto belonged to Avatar Bulan. It was with this koto that she would summon members of the White Lotus to her. Additionally, it was her most prized possession from her closest companion, a woman named Eboshi," the man with grey braids concluded.
Nuka looked on at the figures eagerly, waiting for them to resume speaking. Instead they removed the cloaks from their heads one by one. Nuka loudly began laughing when she realized who two of the figures were and fell over.
"Master Alutiik, Master Aklak!" she laughed. "You scared me! I thought I was about to be kidnapped or something!"
Aklak smiled back at Nuka, while Alutiik grinned smugly at Unak. "I told you she was it!"
Nuka sat back up and looked to her other master. "Master, why did you have me come here? Why couldn't you tell me?"
"Nuka," Alutiik began. "You are the Avatar."
"What? How can you tell?" Nuka asked, desperate for answers.
Alutiik looked at the others, slightly taken aback by her reaction. Hima began speaking. "The three artifacts you brought back to us belonged to the previous three Avatars. We believe that since these were the most prized possessions of the past Avatars, the next Avatar will naturally recognize them."
"So if these objects belonged to the past three Avatars, what about the previous Water Tribe Avatar? Shouldn't there be an object from them as well?" Nuka questioned.
"The Order of the White Lotus is still a relatively young institution. Our order was founded less than two hundred years ago. We have only been present during Avatar Bulan, Avatar Daisuke, and Avatar Tayisung's lifetimes," Hima continued. "Additionally, we already know that you're a Waterbender."
"How can you be sure though that this is right?" Nuka persisted. "Isn't it possible that I just randomly picked up the right objects?"
"There are three thousand artifacts here, so the odds that you would pick these three randomly are incredibly slim. Plus you tell us, did you pick these objects randomly?" Hima asked, curious.
"Well no, I didn't. I picked the koto because it's like nothing I'd ever seen, and the sound it makes is beautiful. I chose the bracelet because there was a sense of energy coming from it. And I chose the knife because the hide the sheath is made from stood out," Nuka elaborated. "The sheath is made from the hide of the dragon Moro, isn't it? Since Avatar Daisuke slew the dragon with that knife."
"It is. And you say you feel energy coming from the bracelet?" Hima continued.
"Yes. When I'm healing someone I can feel their energy, and that bracelet had a similar sensation," Nuka answered.
Hima smiled slightly. "That sounds like how my mother used to describe that bracelet. It's carved from the remains of a giant lion turtle found near the mountains, and she used to say she could feel the energy of the lion turtle pulse through the bracelet when she was in a spiritual location."
Nuka got up and walked over to the koto, the only object that hadn't been discussed in detail. "May I play this?"
"Go ahead," Hima nodded.
Nuka knelt down and placed the koto across her lap, then began plucking at the strings. She noted how each cord sounded and then slowly began playing a rhythm on the koto. She loved the sound it made and kept playing it as the others discussed her fate.
"See. I told you all and you didn't believe me," Alutiik whispered.
"Yeah yeah yeah...you were right and I was wrong. But what do we do now, since we know the Avatar is a woman?" Unak whispered back.
"Continue training her here until she's ready to learn the other elements, I suppose. Even though she is a very advanced Waterbender, she could stand to learn more about the spirituality of it. Plus, I would like to inform her family about her unique abilities," Alutiik said.
"I can teach her how to write. It would be beneficial for her to know how to read and write, even though your culture isn't particularly known for its literacy," Hima added.
"Very well, so we're all decided?" Alutiik asked. The other White Lotus members nodded in response. Alutiik turned to face Nuka, who had continued playing on the koto. "Nuka, when do you wish to begin your training in the other elements?"
Nuka looked up and smiled. "I'm not sure," she replied quietly. "In a couple of years, I guess." Nuka then grinned a wide grin and laughed. "I can't wait to tell Tiriak! He probably won't be able to believe it!"
"When would you like to publicly announce that you are the Avatar, Nuka?" Alutiik asked.
"Probably when I leave to begin learning the other elements, so in a few years," Nuka replied. She then set the koto down and dashed off to the door of the temple. "Can I go tell Tiriak?"
"Yes. You're dismissed, Avatar Nuka," Alutiik said, smiling.
Nuka laughed again and ran out of the temple excitedly. Hima leaned over and glared at Alutiik. "I never imagined the Avatar would be so...hyper. Mom would be appalled that her successor isn't at all dignified."
"Give her time, Hima. I'm sure she'll grow into her position eventually," Alutiik insisted.