Chapter 8: The Slave Hunter

Tong ran from the scene of his rebellion and didn't look back. His body seemed to be moving of its own accord now- certainly his thoughts were too much of a whirl for him to consciously be in control. It was still impossible to move away from the fact that he had killed a man- though he hated the taskmaster and like many slaves had fantasized about killing firebenders before; the act itself was something different.

From behind he could hear the shouts of the soldiers and the other slaves, and sounds of a struggle. Tong wondered what was going to happen to the old man- the taskmasters didn't kill earthbending slaves often, but that was out of practicality rather than compassion. Anyone they caught in the act of deliberate rebellion would be punished terribly. For a moment Tong considered looking back, but the part of him that had taken over his body seemed to think that would be unwise. He kept running without a backward glance.

He left the immediate environs of Long Du Shi behind and passed into an area of forested hills. The earthbender had lived his whole life in the city and he wanted to stop and marvel at his surroundings, but a voice in the back of his head told him that would be very unwise- he was still too close to the scene of his crime, and no doubt soldiers were in pursuit. If he stopped now they would catch him.

The trees made running more difficult. Tong was in excellent shape as a result of hard labor and hadn't yet begun to tire, but the unfamiliar terrain meant that he had to make a conscious effort to dodge around obstacles and avoid tripping on rocks and vines. He could hear distant voices behind him now, and coming closer- the soldiers. After a few more minutes the voices were replaced by the hissing of flames and the smell of smoke. Apparently the firebenders were burning a path for themselves through the trees, rather than get hung up as Tong was.

That wouldn't do at all. At this rate, even if the soldiers themselves didn't catch up to Tong, the fire would either burn him or smoke him out. No doubt that had been their intent, but the escaped slave had no intention of dying here or going back to face torment- especially after the old man's sacrifice.

Dropping to one knee, Tong placed a hand on the ground and focused, trying to recapture the same feeling he'd experienced just before the taskmaster had died, when he'd felt the earth almost as an extension of his own body. At first there was nothing- and then, for just an instant, he could feel the vibrations in the ground and from them form a picture of his pursuers. Acting quickly before the sensation could fade, he performed the one earthbending move he knew he could work alone with any degree of accuracy.

Immediately in front of the Imperial soldiers a wall of stone sprang into being. Tong could feel them falling back in surprise as the rock blocked their fireblasts and sent them stumbling. He felt the earth-sense fading, but before it was completely gone he pulled on the earth again and sent the wall tumbling back, burying the soldiers in rubble and leaving a large crack in the ground where it had stood. That wouldn't hold them for long, but it would buy him some time.

Quickly the slave scrambled back to his feet and started running again. He passed through more of the forested hills, but as exhaustion was finally starting to reach him the plant life came to an abrupt end. Tong kept running a short distance more and then stopped short. The land here was dry and barren, and immediately before him was a deep, dark lake.

Tong collapsed to his knees, panting heavily. Now that he'd stopped it was finally registering to him just how tired his body was, and he didn't even want to know how far he'd run- only whether or not it was far enough. He devoutly hoped so, because even if the lake hadn't been here he didn't think he had the strength to go much farther.

"It's over, boy," a deep voice growled. Tong rose to his feet and spun around in surprise, only to find himself face to face with a group of a half-dozen firebending soldiers. Five of them wore the fearsome skull-masks of their elite rank, but the one who had spoken had his mask off and was rubbing sweat from his forehead. "You lead us a merry chase, but it's over now," he repeated. "Come along quietly, if you know what's good for you. They want you alive as an example, but if you try to fight I can do plenty of things you won't like but won't ruin your usefulness."

"Sorry," Tong replied, "but I really don't think I've got anything left to lose." Marshaling what remained of his strength, he planted himself firmly on the ground and heaved. A wave of earth shot towards the soldiers, but by the time it reached them it did little more than rock them slightly.

"You shouldn't have done that," the officer said, shaking his head in a mockery of fatherly concern. He raised one hand and summoned a small flame into it. "Time for some real discipline, boy."

He thrust his hand forward, preparing to throw the fire and inflict what would no doubt be a very painful burn- painful, but not lethal, since Tong would be wanted alive for his execution. Suddenly his arm halted, and Tong wondered why- and then he saw the equally confused expression on the officer's face. A slight groan escaped the man's lips, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground. An arrow was lodged in his back.

"What in the names of the spirits?" One of the other soldiers gasped out, and the remaining five spun in different directions, summoning fire and looking for the source of the attack. Mocking laughter rang out, and Tong raised his head to stare in the direction of the sound.

A person in drab green and brown clothing stood on top of a rise, a bow with arrow nocked held in his hands. Behind this archer were several other warriors, all dressed similarly and armed with the same weapons. The firebenders raised their hands and shot blasts of flame at their opponents, but the mysterious warriors dodged easily and returned fire. Four firebenders fell dead, arrows sticking out of the weak points of their armor. The final soldier fled back into the trees.

The archers climbed down from the rocks to stand over Tong. The one who had fired first bent down and helped him to his feet. "Who are you people?" the earthbender asked thickly.

"Hold it," one of the other warriors said. "We don't know who he is- he could be a spy sent by the Empire to learn where we're hiding. Don't tell him anything until you're sure."

"He's an earthbender," the archer holding Tong up said, and he was surprised that the voice was female. He turned his head and looked at her more closely- her hair was short and her face dirty, but now that he knew she was a girl he could see it. "Even if he was loyal to the Empire- and have you ever heard of a slave who didn't hate his master?- there's still the little fact that they wouldn't trust him with anything important. Besides, look at the shape he's in. He's been beat up pretty bad, and he looks like he's about to faint."

"Tong," he gasped out. "My name's Tong."

"I'm Chaiy," the girl said. "We're rebels, Tong- like you, apparently."

"All right," the other rebel said crossly. "You make a pretty good argument, but I still think we should blindfold him before we take him home."

"I was going to do that already, Yan," Chai said rather crossly. "I'm not that stupid, after all. You can't be too careful in this place." The one called Yan pulled a strip of cloth from a pocket and began to step towards Tong.

"Wait," Tong said, "where are you taking me?"

Chaiy smiled. "Don't worry, Tong- we're taking you to our home. You're safe now."

Then the blindfold went around his eyes, and the world went dark.

/

Qang, Underminister of Labor in Long Du Shi, was not having a good day.

It had been midmorning when one of his slaves- he thought of them all as his slaves, even though they technically belonged to the Empress and he never had any more direct contact with them than was strictly necessary- had snapped, as they sometimes did. Unfortunately, the slave in question had proven to be unusually powerful and had somehow succeeded in killing one of the Underminister's most valuable overseers before escaping. Then another slave had intervened, fighting so hard that the soldiers had been forced to kill him and preventing them from immediately chasing after the escapee. Now one member of that patrol was in Qang's office, claiming that a band of mysterious archers over by Lake Laogai had wiped the rest of his companions out.

"And tell me again how a gang of peasants with primitive weapons and no bending whatsoever managed to kill an entire squad of firebenders?" the Underminister asked, rubbing his forehead in an attempt to dispel the headache he could feel coming on.

"They took us by surprise, sir," the soldier said. "We weren't able to react before they had us."

Qang sighed. The Imperial army had been- and still was- the pride of the world, but in recent years most of its soldiers had never seen action outside of training drills, and were thus woefully inadequate to deal with real combat situations. That bunch over by Lake Laogai were especially tricky opponents- they'd attack quickly, and then when the army was sent to retaliate there wasn't a trace of them. A few weeks later, they'd attack again out of nowhere. It was maddening, but thankfully it wasn't the Underminister of Labor's department.

Or rather, it hadn't been the Underminister of Labor's department until today.

"Is there anything else you need from me, sir?" the soldier asked.

"No. Get out. I've got another appointment coming up shortly- a very important one." The soldier stood and gave a respectful bow, then departed.

When he was gone, Qang stood up from behind his desk and began to pace. One slave escaped, another dead, and almost an entire patrol wiped out. It was a bad situation, and if word of it got out it would make him look very bad indeed- might even get the Governor involved, and considering the man's notoriously meticulous nature, that meant that Qang's career would most likely suffer horribly. The Governor of Long Du Shi wasn't one to reward failure. Thankfully, the Underminister had anticipated that things might go wrong and made a point of sending for the one man who might be able to salvage things even before the patrol's lone survivor had returned. That way, even if the ordinary soldiers were successful Qang lost nothing, but if they failed he might be able to turn his fortunes around.

The Underminister was facing his window and looking out over Long Du Shi when he heard his door open. "You wanted to see me?" a rough voice asked.

Qang turned around and smiled. "Ah, yes. I'm glad you're here, Gian- I have a job for you."

"I'm listening." The man who stood in the Underminister's doorway was tall and lanky, wearing a sleeveless red and black tunic over his tightly muscled frame. He was bald save for a rough dark braid, and carried himself with the casual confidence of one who knows with absolute certainty that there are none better at his chosen profession, and the eyes that stared out from his scarred and beaten face were without mercy. Gian was a mercenary, one of the few truly skilled enough that the Fire Empire was willing to tolerate his existence in return for his services. His specialty was tracking and capture, though he'd perform almost any job so long as the pay was good. There were rumors- probably exaggerated- that he was almost as good in hand to hand combat as the best of the Empress's Chosen, though so far as anyone knew that had never been tested. No one knew for certain where he came from, what part of the Empire or what social class he'd been born into, or the circumstances under which he'd acquired his skill. Everyone, or at least everyone who might require- or fear- his skills, knew his reputation.

Gian had never failed, at least not to Underminister Qang's knowledge. Even if he had at some point, the efficiency with which he'd kept it quiet spoke well of his skill.

"There was a slave who escaped earlier today," the Underminister said. "He killed his overseer before fleeing east."

"And you want me to find him," Gian finished. "I can do that. Barely even a challenge." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"That's not all," Qang said. "The reason he managed to escape pursuit was because he had help- a band of rebels you may have heard of. They killed five skilled firebenders and drove the survivor off. He can take you back to where he fought them, but I want information on their location. If you can, bring me back a rebel as well. A leader would be nice, if you could manage it."

"Manage it?" Gian laughed softly. "I've been waiting for someone to have the guts to admit their failings and put me on this job. I'll do what you ask, Underminister- don't get me wrong. This just might be fun after all."

Qang pulled a small bag of gold coins from his robes and tossed it to Gian, who caught it effortlessly. "That's for taking the job. There will be twice as much waiting for you when you succeed."

Gian smiled like a predator smelling fresh meat, and the Underminister shivered involuntarily. Other rumors about this man began to rise in his subconscious, stories not of Gian's skill but of his utterly merciless nature, the joy he was said to take in the most brutal successful jobs. "Oh, I will," the mercenary said. "Now where's this soldier you told me about? It's never too early to get started."

/

Well, things are looking up for Tong now, seeing as he's escaped his pursuers and fallen in with Earth Kingdom rebels. I very deliberately made Lake Laogai the rebels' hideout mostly for the sheer irony factor- what was once the heart of oppressive Dai Li power has now become one of the last bastions of freedom in the former Earth Kingdom- and we'll definitely be seeing a lot more of what's going on here. Chaiy's a character who's going to be pretty important, and she actually ended up more important than I'd initially intended her to be, though I can't say much more about her until the next Tong chapter. I will say that she's connected to a canon character…

Also, it wasn't intentional at first, but I do think there's a nice contrast between two of my main female warrior characters- Jiazin the high-class Fire Nation swordswoman, and Chaiy the outlaw Earth Kingdom archer.

Gian was a character I created initially to give an antagonist for Tong's storyline, now that he's reached the point that he's out of the power of guards and slavedrivers. I'm not going to lie, he's probably the most purely evil person who's appeared in the story so far. Gian is pretty much a pure sociopath, capable of killing someone with the exact same amount of emotional response he'd have for throwing out his trash, and he's very, very good at his job (which means killing people is something he's done a lot). He's not as devious as Qing Xi, as fanatical as Shiyan, or as personally unpleasant as High Admiral Yuan, but Gian is probably the closest thing possible to someone without a soul.

Fun fact- when writing fanfic for a setting which initially appeared in animation, I sometimes mentally cast voice actors for the characters. I can't imagine Gian as anyone but Lance Henriksen, aka the Lieutenant from Legend of Korra, Lockdown from Transformers Animated, and Grim Reaper from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, among others. The funny thing is, Gian sounded exactly like Henriksen in my head even before I'd ever encountered a character voiced by him (I wrote my first scene with Gian in summer of '09, and didn't encounter Henriksen until I watched Transformers Animated that December). Weird, huh?

-MasterGhandalf