Chapter 6
Only The Beginning
Here's another chapter, please start critiquing the work it really helps. Anyways here's another 4000+ word chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Follow/Fav/Rate/Review anything helps.
They walked for what seemed to be miles, they couldn't really tell because they were blindfolded. When they reached to what seemed to be their destination the White Lotus Leader took the blindfolds off. It seemed that the white lotus encampment which was well outside of Omashu. Edin had been looking down the rest of the walk and hadn't looked up once. Adrea, Mara, Rio and Iko had all been walking near Edin trying to cheer him up. However it seemed the more they talked the more Edin seemed on edge.
"We're here." The White Lotus leader stretched out his arms towards the camp. The group walked into the camp where they were greeted by White Lotus sentries. There were about 30 of them near the entrance of the camp. The kids had an uneasy feeling, not only because the White Lotus that were in the camp didn't look so friendly but the fact that they looked like they were all being stared at. After they walked in silence to the furthest tent down and situated themselves at a table the White Lotus Leader.
"Alright Edin, I know you're scared and shocked but before I answer any of your questions I have some questions of my own." The White Lotus leader said as he sat down across from Edin and his friends.
"Oh, wait, where are my manners, my name is Chang." The man got up to shake Edin's hand who ignored the gesture.
"Well, let's get started." Chang sat down and cleared his throat.
"I'd like to know if you have any prior recollection of you bending any other elements." Chang said as he looked down at his paper. Edin merely just shook his head.
"Can you control any other elements other than fire?" Chang said waiting for an answer so he could jot it down. Edin again just shook his head.
"Have you had any contact with any of the previous avatars?" Chang said preparing his pen to write down another answer. Edin looked up at Chang and looked him in the eye.
"Yes, I have." Edin continued looking directly at Chang.
"Which avatars?" Chang asked sounding a little more optimistic.
"Korra." Edin looked down again.
"Has she explained to you how you became the avatar?" Chang said as he leaned forward in his chair and prepared himself.
"No." Edin said.
"Alright, I know this isn't easy to talk about, but in order to get the most out of this I'm going to need you to speak up more and be more descriptive." Chang said trying to plead with Edin to cooperate better.
"All, she told me was that there was something coming after me and that I should be careful." Edin said seeming to slowly come to his senses.
"Thank you Edin, that helps." Chang put his paper away. "There's more questions, but that should wait for another time. For now ask any question you'd like to know the answer to and I'll try to respond to the best of my ability." Chang said trying to sound as cheerful as possible.
"Well, I'm guessing you wouldn't know how I, a firebender became the next avatar so I won't waste your time." Edin said as he began to sound more and more like himself instead of a depressed version.
"Wait, before he continues, How do you know him? What do you want with him? And who are you people?" Iko blurted out.
"Yea, what he said." Rio seconded Iko's comment.
"I can see why you're concerned, seeing as you're his older brother, but I assure you Iko we are only here to help Edin. However to alleviate your concern I'll explain it to you. We know Edin because we've been scouting him. We noticed his blue firebending, which is a rare form of firebending and figured that we could train him and recruit him to our cause. Secondly, we merely wanted to help him live up to his full potential, but now that we know he's the avatar we have a duty to protect him and prepare him to serve the world. Lastly we are known as The White Lotus we're a group who try to keep balance and peace in the world. We were a secret group at one point and we wish to return to that, but as of now we are pretty well known. Does that answer your questions?" Chang said as he looked towards the teenagers waiting to see if they had any more questions.
"Uhhh, I guess so." Rio looked down in defeat.
"Now back to you Edin… Any questions?" Chang turned his attention to the young avatar.
"Yeah, what am I supposed to do now? It's not like I can just leave my old life behind." Edin looked over at his friends who were all looking at him. "I have a family, and friends, I can't just pick up and leave."
"I know this is hard, but you have to understand that you can't neglect your responsibilities as the avatar. You may have just found out but you must not turn a blind eye towards them." Chang was looking at Edin's friends.
"I know that, but how will I tell my parents? School just started and they won't be happy about me missing my studies." Edin stood up and began walking back and forth going on and on about all the things that would change in his life and how it would affect him and those around him. Chang cut him off.
"Listen, this isn't easy at all, I understand that. However you must know the world hasn't had it's avatar for over 25 years. Also if what Korra says is to be true you have to prepare yourself for anything. We don't know what evil might arise. We've had peace for a while now, but it could all end at any moment. And if you're worried about your parents I'm sure they'd understand the situation." Chang had gotten up and walked over to Edin.
"Here's what we'll do. First we must let your parents know about all of this and find out what happens from there." Chang said as he grabbed Edin's shoulder. "We'll get you through this." Chang's words seemed to strike Edin and even helped Edin stop dashing around the room. They continued to talk about the seriousness of the situation and how Edin must fulfill his duties as the avatar. The whole situation rocked Edin's world but he would have to get over it soon. An evil would soon be coming for Edin, he had to be prepared.
…
Meanwhile in the spirit world there was a congregation of spirits. They all seemed to be discussing something. There were several murmurs and whispers among them. Not too long after 5 humanlike spirits were standing on an elevated piece of land. They seemed to be leading the congregation of spirits. Finally the whispers stopped and all eyes rested upon the hill where the 5 spirits stood.
"Please quiet down we will begin shortly." One of the five spirits spoke up. He had a deep manly voice.
The spirits seemed to be angered about something. They all sounded worried although it was hard to tell if their faces matched their voices. The 5 spirits then began talking amongst themselves, and when they finished the spirit in the middle spoke up.
"We understand your worries, we have heard about what has been going on in the material world." The spirit had a high feminine voice but it had a calm and respectable tone.
"We know that there have been several reports about humans have been attacking spirits in the physical world. However we can't take action without first consulting the avatar." The spirit on the far left spoke up and it was Iroh. He talked in a calm yet serious manner.
"The avatar has been gone for 25 years, we can't always wait for the avatar to solve all of our problems. We must take immediate action against the humans responsible." A random spirit from the crowd spoke up.
"What would you suggest then spirit?" Iroh asked as if he already knew the answer to the question.
"Well I think that we should go find the humans responsible and make them pay." The spirit lashed out angrily.
"We can't just attack humans, we've had a good relationship with them for over 50 years now. Retaliation would only cause more conflict." Iroh said while outstretching his arms.
"Of course you would defend the humans, seeing as you once were one." The random spirit responded which caused the congregation of spirits to become slightly unsettled.
"I know you feel like I am defending humans but I'm not, I'm merely assessing our options and giving my humble opinion on how we should tackle the situation." Iroh was still calm despite the spirits slowly becoming unsettled.
"All right now, calm down. We're all on edge but we can not act rash." The female spirit in the middle spoke up again but this time more serious. The spirits began to speak amongst themselves again.
" Then what shall we do? We can't just sit here." Another random spirit blurted out.
"We will first talk to the world leaders about this and also hope the avatar returns wherever he or she is." The female spirit said as she began to walk away with the other 4 spirits. The congregation of spirits dissipated. As the 5 spirits were walking away the female spirit began talking.
"I'm beginning to fear the worst, if this situation is not resolved we could have a huge problem." The female spirit seemed to be stressed.
"Not only that, but the avatar has gone missing again. The avatar can't keep disappearing whenever it's convenient." Another female voice spoke up but this voice was a lot softer and less high pitched.
"I fear that we might have a repeat of what happened with Aang and Kuruk." The deep manly spirit replied.
"The avatar must be held accountable for its continuous lack of competence." The high pitched female voice said.
"They cannot continue to go unpunished for their wrongdoings. Just as we once did when Kuruk was punished for ignoring the world and focusing on his personal gains." The manly spirit said as he looked towards the others.
"What do you mean by punish?" Iroh asked not knowing where the spirits were going with their conversation.
"We must start showing the avatar that they cannot simply vanish when problems arise." The manly spirit said in reply.
"Yes, you are right, when avatar Kuruk let the world do as it pleased and focused on his wife Ummi Koh was sent to take away his wife's face so that he would no longer neglect his duties." The soft spoken female spirit said.
"But we can't just simply punish the current avatar for not being there, we do not even know the circumstances that caused the disappearance." Iroh said sounding defensive. "We do not even know who the new avatar is."
"Iroh you must understand that it's been 25 years since avatar Korra passed away. For all we know the new avatar is a fully grown man or woman just simply hiding away." The high pitched female replied. "But don't worry Koh is only sent as a last resort, and only if we have proof that the disappearance or negligence was not circumstantial. Remember Aang was gone for 100 years and even let the fire nation wage a war, but we never punished him because we knew he was trapped in an iceberg." The female voice said trying to assure Iroh no unnecessary pain would be caused.
"Koh will only be sent if we learn the avatar is of age and has knowingly neglected his duties." The manly spirit said reiterating the previous point.
"Ah, I see." Iroh said looking down.
…
"Why have you come to see me? Only those who wish to be added to my collection visit me." Koh said as he moved slyly around the cave.
"I have an offer for you that's too good to deny." The mysterious voice said echoing through the cave.
"What could you have to offer me?" Koh said as he slowly inched towards the mysterious person.
"A beautiful young face." The mysterious person's footsteps began becoming louder as they walked towards Koh unphased by the crawling monster.
"Ahhh, yes I do love those, but you wouldn't summon me without a purpose. Why do you need me to take this person's face?" Koh asked as he jumped out of the shadow.
"You're so predictable, always jumping out of hiding spots. Anyway I need you to take the face of a girl who is becoming particularly close with the avatar." The mysterious voice continued to echo.
"Now you've asked me to do the impossible. Do you not know that the avatar hasn't been found for over 25 years?" Koh said as he snickered and changed his face into Ummi's.
"Ahh, but see you are mistaken. The avatar has been found and he's alive and well. How fitting that a spirit that lives in a cave takes the words of simple common gossip." The mysterious voice laughed slyly.
"How fitting that a human asks a spirit for help. But I will let you bask in your knowledge. However you still have yet to tell me the significance of this situation. As of now I don't see the need to involve myself in such pedestrian things." Koh said as he turned his back towards the mysterious person.
"Ahh and that's where your lack of patience always fails you. Recently there has been several run ins with spirits and humans in the material world. Spirits claim that humans have been attacking spirits. This conflict has escalated to the point that even the council of spirits were called upon to advise the spirits on a course of action. Now none of the spirits know that the avatar has been found. This is where you come in, I would like for this situation to play out without the avatar's interference. If he is discovered to be alive the conflict will be quickly resolved. Now I don't want you to hurt the boy, I only want you to um.. how do you say deflate his confidence." The mysterious person seemed very set on what he had in store for Koh.
"I see, this would be a great time to add another face to my collection, I'm beginning to grow tired of my current one." Koh said as he switched to his monkey face. "However, my involvement in this ploy will quickly be discovered if I enter the physical world."
"Oh, don't kid yourself, you may be the child of the mother of faces, but your true form is undeniable. You can enter the spirit world in your human form and switch later on." The mysterious person began walking away as if they already won over the monster.
"You really seem to be full of yourself, and who informed you of my true form, only few have seen it." Koh said feigning a calm tone but truly angered inside.
"You need not worry about how I received my information just carry out your job as asked and you will receive your reward." The mysterious voice echoed as it faded away.
'The arrogance of that man.' Koh thought to himself as he crawled back further into his cave.
…
"Alright now that we've cleared everything up we have to tell your parents and find out what to do next." Chang walked across the camp with Edin and his friends in the back just far enough that they could hear the conversation.
"So I'm guessing he's going to have to travel and master all four elements like every other avatar." Rio said as he kicked a rock.
"Yea, that seems like the most logical thing, the question is who's going with him? Iko you'll be going for sure right?" Adrea said as she looked over towards the waterbender. He seemed to be deep in thought when the question was posed but snapped out fast enough to respond.
"Uhhh, actually I can't go." Iko said while looking over at his brother who was walking with Chang through the camp.
"Why not?" Rio asked looking surprisingly over at Iko.
"I would love to be with Edin on his journey, maybe even be the one to teach him earthbending. But I can't leave Kira alone. I have to look after her while Edin's gone." Iko said while keeping his focus on the two men walking in front of him engaged in a deep conversation.
"That makes sense. That's actually very considerate of you." Mara said giving a sympathetic look towards Iko.
"Thanks, but it's the right thing to do. But I know he'll have some great traveling buddies to look after him." Iko looked over at the three young people who were all shocked to hear his answer.
"You mean like travel with Edin? I don't know if my parents would agree with that." Adrea said as she looked down.
"Yea, me either. My parents wouldn't be too happy with me leaving school after only a week." Mara said as looked up at Iko.
"Well regardless of what my parents say I'm going to go with Edin, I can't let my bestfriend have all the fun without me." Rio said as he lept up for joy. This outburst of emotion earned him a menacing stare from Adrea and Mara both.
"Oh don't worry about that, I'm sure if they heard you're going with the avatar they'd be more considerate." Iko said as he picked up a stick.
'Yea hopefully' Adrea thought to herself. She and Edin were only friends but she had began to gain feelings for him and didn't want this to be the last time she saw him. At that moment Chang turned around and informed the group that they were going to re enter the city and talk to Edin's parents. The group began walking towards the exit of the camp.
"You're not gonna blindfold us again?" Mara joked.
"No, I trust that you won't give up our location. But I can still do it if you want." Chang said as he grabbed four blindfolds out of his pocket.
"You keep blindfolds on you? Who does that?" Rio said looking at Chang eyed a little crooked.
"You never know when you'll need them." Chang replied simply.
"I don't think any situation warrants having handy dandy blindfolds in your pocket." Rio said as he began to walk away.
"Whatever you say, but you'll see that it helps to keep them on me." Chang said as he stuffed them back in his pocket. " Alright we're off."
As they were walking Adrea walked closer to Edin who seemed to gain control over his emotions and calm himself down enough to look sane.
"How are you feeling?" Adrea asked Edin as she got closer to him.
"All right I guess." Edin looked over at her.
"I just want you to know that I'm here for you, and I haven't forgotten my promise to you about helping you become confident in your gift." Adrea blushed as the words exited her mouth.
"Thanks, you're a great friend. And I'll make sure to pay you back for helping me so much." Edin cracked a smile as he continued to gaze into her beautiful blue eyes. Adrea reached out for his hand and he did the same. They interlocked their hands and Adrea rested her head on his shoulder.
"Oh look at them, aren't they cute?" Mara said walking side by side next to Rio and Iko. Iko and Rio merely shrugged and continued walking. Iko caught up with Edin and Adrea.
"Uh Um." Iko fake coughed and caught the attention of the two lovebirds. "Mind if I borrow Edin for a second?" Iko said as he winked at Adrea.
"Uh, yea sure." Adrea stammered a bit and blushed.
"Thanks. It'll only take a minute." Iko said to Adrea as she walked towards Mara and Rio.
"Hey lil bro how you doing?" Iko said while walking in stride with Edin.
"Yea, I guess I'll be okay." Edin said while flashing a smile towards Iko.
"I just want you to know that I'm here for you, there's a lot on your mind and this is all going by really fast, but I'll always be here to back you up." Iko said with a empathetic tone and putting his hand on his brother's head and messing up his hair. This put a smile on Edin's face.
"Yea I know, and I really appreciate it, you're the best brother any guy could ask for." Edin said while lightly elbowing his brother in the stomach. "Huh, maybe now I can beat you in a fight." Edin laughed a little after saying his comment. Iko laughed and merely said "Maybe."
"I think you'll be the best avatar ever." Iko said while sending a rock towards the back of his brother's knee forcing him to stumble. "But you'll still never beat me in the fight." The two began horsing around while Mara, Rio and Adrea looked on.
" I can't wait to travel the world with you. It'll be fun." Edin's mood seemingly changed after his little skirmish with his brother.
"Uh, about that. I won't be going with you if you travel." Iko said solemnly.
"Why not?" Edin blurted out.
"Because I have to look after Kira, we both can't leave or else she'll be alone." Iko said matching his brother's tone. Edin seemingly understood but continued to protest.
"But you have to go with me." Edin said as he pleaded with his brother.
"You know I can't, no matter how many times you ask it won't change the situation." Iko said looking at his brother. Edin merely sighed and looked on. "I never thought I'd be the avatar."
"No one did, but now that you are you have to take on the responsibilities that come with it." Iko said as he earthbended three rocks and fiddled with them.
'Yea I hope I can' Edin thought to himself.
"Well I'll leave you to your girl." Iko said as he hit Edin in the head with a rock and ran off.
"SHE'S NOT MY …." Edin's shouting was cut short by Adrea's sudden appearance.
"Who's not your what?" Adrea asked Edin with a smile on her face.
"Uhh, nothing." Edin blushed and Adrea noticed and giggled a bit.
"Mara and Rio are enjoying themselves back there, I couldn't wait to get back up here with you." Adrea said making Edin turn around and notice how smug Mara and Rio were. The two laughed and returned to their former state of closeness.
The night was beginning to fall and they had nearly reached Edin's house. Chang had been quiet the entire time and just observed the group of friends the entire time while just smiling the entire time. He knew the worst was yet to come and telling Edin's parents were merely just the beginning. They reached the house and the group of friends all entered. Hope, Liwe, and Kira were all in the living room and were surprised to see the sudden emergence of people enter their home.
"What's going on?" Liwe said as he stood up in a defensive stance.
"Calm down dad it's us." Iko said as he walked towards his father to calm him down.
"Okay, but who are these people?" Liwe said as he let his guard down.
"This is Adrea, Mara, and Chang. You already know Rio." Edin said pointing towards each person as he said their name.
"Hi Mr. and Mrs…" Rio was cut off.
"Yea, yea hi Rio nice to see you, but what's going on. You never told me we would have company." Hope said as she held Kira in her arms. Chang motioned towards the group informing them that he would be the one giving the news.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your peaceful night but we have some urgent news to tell you. I don't think there's any other way to say this but your son Edin is the avatar." Chang rounded out his statement and simply waited for a response.
"Wait really?" Both parents said in unison.
"Yes, Edin was found out to be the avatar during his tournament battle when he airbended out of nowhere." Chang replied to the parents.
"But how? Isn't the next avatar supposed to be an earthbender? Oh I know you must have our sons named confused. The taller one is Iko and the shorter one is Edin." Liwe said in response while laughing a little.
"No sir it was Edin that airbended, we don't know how he is the avatar and/or what happened to the avatar cycle but Edin is the avatar. There's no mistake about it." Chang said resoundingly.
There was a long pause and it was completely silent until Kira piped up.
"Edin's the avatar? That's so cool." The little girl ran up to Edin and hugged him. Everyone in the room could do nothing but laugh at how cute the little girl was.
"Wow our little boy's the avatar, I don't know what to say." Hope said as she put her hands over her mouth.
"Mom don't cry." Edin said as he walked over to her.
"Well I'm sorry to break up the family moment, but Edin has a duty to do. He has to master all four elements." Chang said abruptly halting the touching moment.
"That sounds good can't we just find some trainers here to teach him?" Hope said as she freed herself from Edin's grasp.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. Every avatar before Korra traveled the world to learn the elements. It helps them experience all cultures and types of people. They also learn from the best and not some trainers we can hire. I'm sorry but your son must do it like the rest." Chang said as he explained the situation.
"Then why didn't Korra travel the world?" Hope asked with a little frustration.
"I'm sorry I never explained who I was. My name is Chang and I'm apart of the White Lotus. Now to explain why Korra was isolated and never traveled. Korra was pursued at a young age but a group who called themselves the Red Lotus. They nearly got to her even with our protection. From then on she was put in a compound where she would master all four elements. We didn't want to risk her life in order to learn the elements. I hope you'll understand the difference in circumstances." Chang explained it much to everyone's satisfaction and content.
"I see." Liwe said sitting down in his chair.
"I know it's sudden but we need your son to begin as soon as possible." Chang continued to plead with them.
"He's right, he might be our son but he's got an obligation to the world." Liwe said in reply to Chang.
"Thank you for understanding." Chang let out a sigh of relief.
"Well allow us some time alone with our family before we let him go. Give us a week please to see him off properly." Hope asked Chang in hopes that he'll say yes.
"That's quite fine. Take your time, but I must be taking the rest of these kids back home. I've kept them for too long." Chang said as he made his leave and escorted the kids outside of the house. They all exchanged quick goodbyes and faded out of sight. The family spent the rest of the night enjoying each other's company and talking about their plans and futures.
Hopefully you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review, I don't mean to beg for reviews but I'd like to see what you guys think of this story, It'd really help me to know what you like and you don't so I can become a better writer. Anyways who is the mysterious person? What's going on with the spirits and humans? Who's going to tag along with Edin on his journey?