Ziggy's Corner: Chapter eleven. I want to apologize for not submitting as many chapters, but I have gotten a new computer last month for my birthday, and had to use a lot to place info from one computer to the next. I'll be naming Zula, Azula from now on, as that is her true name, and the Fire Nation female general is General Akikira (if that's the same as before, kool, if not, sorry but it's the best I can give up!).
Zhao looked out of the brow of his ship and squinted his eyes. The islands were just up ahead, which meant that probably so was the Blue Spirit, and the girl. If his cards were played right, it could mean that so was his main prey, the greatest prize an admiral could get in the Winter Solstice. He smiled, his muscles getting tight. Conquest, glory, they were the staple words of the Fire Nation for over a century. It was their right, their duty to bring order to the subhuman who lived on the same planet as them. It was their duty to use the land as a good civilized group of people would do. These islands would be no different.
"Admiral," a young female voice snapped behind him. He grew stiffer and clenched his fingers in the rails. "Admiral!"
"Yes your highness," he gasped.
"I want the ships to take port in the first island to the right," the princess said.
"With all due respect, Princess Zula …"
"My name is Azula," she growled. "And with all due respect, General Akikira and I have gone over the maps. The most successful point of conquest will be that island."
"But the Blue Spirit," Zhao complained. "There are no ships there."
"Is that a problem?" another woman asked. She was a big woman, with a hairstyle close to the princess'. She scowled with black red lips, and her brownish green eyes seemed to sparkle in the light. She dressed in dark clothes.
"Everything was fine, until you had to show up," the admiral growled.
"There is no time to bicker, I'm the princess, my father is the Fire Lord, and my will, will be obeyed." Azula growled. "That island will be the first to fall. Its small enough it residents won't put up too much fight for land, and its mountains make it perfect for us to make a defense."
"And the Blue Spirit will make good his chance to escape," the admiral growled.
"That's enough about talk about the Blue Spirit and Water Tribe peasants," Azula barked. "We are here on a military expedition, not on a wild goose ferret chase."
He turned to look at the arrogant, rich young girl and scowled. She returned the hateful gaze, but turned away. "If we can conquer the island, one by one the others will fall. If we move quickly, not even this superstitious folk hero, won't be able to slip away."
"Unless of course he's an actual spirit and can slip away into the netherworld, the general laughed.
"Lady Akikira, that's enough, any more of this senseless squabbling, and I'll have you both thrown off this ship." Azula looked at both of them. "Do I make myself clear." She looked at the two and crossed her arm.
"Yes your highness," they said in unison.
"And Captain Loah," she snapped. A man approached and bowed. "Have some of the smaller ships scout around the islands. If there are any ships are not that belong to these islands. If not, if there is anything the slightest thing odd, report right back to me immediately."
"Your highness, won't you need the ships for the invasions?"
"Are you questioning me, captain?" the girl asked coldly.
"He's right, you know," Akikira said. "We need every resource at our disposal, and these are my med, sweetie, not to mention I am your teacher, so I must decline the order you just gave."
"And you forget that I am the daughter of the Fire Lord, an authority higher than even you, Lady Akikira. So unless you want to see the local fish up close, you will shut your mouth, and send my men to do my biding." The older woman was astonished, not used to having her pupil talk to her like this, but she knew what she had said to be the truth.
"My apologies, my lady," she said, forcing herself to bow. Zhao was grinning from ear to ear, and she was hating every minute of it.
"Good, then order the attack to commence, I'll be in my quarters, writing to my father. Both of you pray I don't decide to include this little incident." She turned, and walked away as both the adults bowed both bitterly and fearfully at her.
"Aang where in the world are we going now?" Sokka asked.
"To gather some more information," the boy said. "People in the street say I'm not the avatar, that the guy who rules the warring town just over this hill is."
Sokka frowned and stumbled over his words. "Wait a minute, two avatars? Look I've heard the same things, but to be honest I think its some kind of con man pulling the wool over the eyes of the people."
"So did I," the boy said, flicking the reins attached to Appa. "But when I went to the spirit world, I asked Avatar Roku about it."
"And?"
"He seemed generally surprised. Roku said at first he thought it was a trick too, that a lot of people over the years tried to deceive the people, even before the Fire War. But there were incidents in the past, when darkness grows very strong, when its necessary for the avatar to share two human bodies."
"Two bodies? Two bodies! You mean there really could be two avatars?" Sokka's heart pounded against his chest. His long brown hair clung to his cheeks as he had just finished a bath on board the bison. "But if that's the case, couldn't this guy have used his abilities to fight the Fire Lord for you?"
"I thought about that, but …," Aang looked down and sighed. "That's going to have to wait. There's the town below us."
"I'm still not sure I like this," Sokka said, pulling his shirt on as quick as he could. "I mean this is the guy they say trained those monsters to attack innocent people. That doesn't sound very Avatar like to me."
There was a legend that Aang knew about, when the Avatars first appeared on the world, a thousand years after all four elements were developed into bending styles. The period of time knew of many avatars walking the earth, aiding and helping the people understand the craft of bending and justice. Until three thousand years after that, a lone avatar discovered scrolls of unmentionable power, and begun to lust for more than just accolades from the people.
That Avatar's name was Nar-Sha, and he collected a good number of other avatars to his cause, which he called the Nandi. Opposing him was an avatar named Krishnu, who led a war that lasted seventy five years. The world had nearly expired because of it, but in the end, the Nandi were wiped out. But had somebody found their writings?
They landed in the town and looked around, as people glared as they walked through the marketplace. Most of the people had heard of the boy, and not one of them believed the tales of his avatar hood. The real avatar had brought them peace and power twenty years ago.
"Aang, I really don't think we're wanted here," Sokka said.
"Neither do I, but I don't care," Aang snapped. The town was sand tan, with houses built in the mountains and sand dunes. The people were covered from head to toe in white rags, and loose fitting robes. In the center of the town there was a large fountain pouring the sweetest tasting water they'd ever tasted.
"I've never seen an island that was split between a forest and a desert before," Sokka send as they sat by the fountain.
"Its because of our fountain that the war began," a strange man said as he walked up to them. He had violet eyes, brown hair both on his head and his face. His clothes were light silver, and he was dressed like some kind of fancy sage. "Before I came here, the people were suffering, but once I arrived, things changed …," he smiled and waved his hand, causing a tree to rise from the ground.
"So you are the avatar everyone has been talking about?" Aang asked.
"I am, child. And I hear you have some interesting bending skills, yourself." He looked the boy over and turned to his friend. "Are these stories true?"
Sokka frowned and inched away from him. "He's the avatar, what do you think?" The man laughed and crossed his arms.
"Is that correct?" his citizens growled in anger at the insult to their leader. The man waved his hand to hush them. "I hate to tell you this, but someone's been lying to you, warrior."
"It's no lie," Sokka leapt to his feet. "Aang is the avatar. My sister and I found him in an iceberg he'd been frozen in for over one hundred years!"
"Sokka," Aang said, carefully. "Let's be careful."
The ruler barked out a strong laugh, followed by his subjects. "An iceberg? Really? How quaint. So where is your sister now young man?"
"She, she was captured by the Fire Nation, and then kidnapped by a person wearing a blue spirit mask."
Again the old man laughed. "So the avatar let his companion's sister get kidnapped and then stolen before he could rescue her?"
"What liars," a woman cried out.
"Stone them for blasphemy!" another person said.
Sokka pulled his boomerang blade and was ready for a fight. "It's not his fault, Aang was injured."
"No more lies, Sokka, it's really getting old," Jet said, walking next to the other avatar.
There was a slight moment of hesitation, and then Sokka leapt toward the lunatic teen. "You!" he howled. A kick to his stomach brought him down.
"Jet is a menace, and a killer," Aang barked. "He's dangerous."
"So is a child who thinks he's the avatar, but not." The ruler shouted. Energy pulsed around him, and he smiled as Aang found himself barely able to stand, let alone move a walk. "This is energy child, this is power, this is what the avatar is all about!"
"Gravity?" Sokka asked.
"Doesn't that prove that he's the real avatar?" Jet asked, crushing the other teen's shoulder.
"Powers are one thing," Sokka groaned, "but where was he when the Fire Nation attacked? If he's the avatar, and not Aang then why didn't he help us?"
"I'm old, but not that old," the old avatar said. "The war was well into its thirtieth year by when I was born."
"And you didn't try to help them?" Aang grunted, pushing the energy from his body away.
"Things change," the old man said, his eyes glowing blue, then turning purple. "I can't be expected to save everyone with what little time I have on the earth. Better to create one free paradise, one that is free of tyranny, and disorganization from individual thoughts."
Aang's eyes turned blue, his mind racing. His fears were realized. "You are not the avatar," he snapped his voice echoing the voices of thousands of other avatars before him. "You might have been granted a little of my power, but you chose to misuse it. You found ancient scrolls, and decided to follow the path of ease rather than duty."
"If I am not an avatar, then what am I boy?" the old man snarled, his own voice echoing through the darkness of ages.
"You are a Nandi," Aang said. "You are ruthlessness and corruption."
The old man laughed, despite protests of his people, who were a little taken back by his action. "What is the complete power of the avatar if not with the Nandi?" Electricity flowed from his fingers, his eyes lined with fire. "You will die little avatar, and then the world will know the truth it used to years ago."
Jet stepped forward and blinked, "Sir Eloni (An: I lost the info on his name so this will be it). What is this about?"
Eloni turned to the boy and narrowed his eyes. "Foolish boy," he said, his voice filled with venom. "You could have ended our war, but you let your emotions get in the way. Now I will put you out of your misery." With a crack of lightning, he burned the boy within an inch of his life. Jet dropped to the ground, barely breathing.
"My lord what is going on?" someone asked. "We thought you were the avatar not something called a Nandi …," the man dropped to the ground, electricity and fire burning away his life, and his hand went limp.
"The Nandi are the only avatars," Eloni hissed.
"That's enough!" Aang growled. Power filled through his body. "It ends here!" With a burst of pure white energy, Aang let loose a wave of energy and shot it at Eloni. The Nandi focused his own power and shot out a black wave of energy to counter. People ran away screaming, the wave of horror and fear flooding the entire town. The fountain's waves rocked back and forth and lashed out to attack people, and to attack each other, defending the waves.
"You have strength, but the avatars are a thing of the past. You're right, I've stayed here too long," Eloni cackled. "After I defeat you, I might travel to Banaras and visit Fire Lord Ozai. With him defeated, I'll bring a springtime of peace to the world. Those with bending abilities will become my new apprentices, and the Nandi will rule this world forever!"
Aang tried to match him step for step. But Eloni's energy was too great, he'd had too many more years of practice at his skill than Aang had. Slowly the boy could feel himself slip into unconsciousness, only to hear a kind voice flow through his mind.
Aang, do not give up hope Aang.
Who are you?
Someone laughed. Someone who can help you, who has fought this very same battle you have, hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Are you an avatar too?
Blackness gave way to a valley lined with cherry blossom trees. Aang walked through the valley until he came across a man who was dressed like a lazy slacker, not giving any care to anybody. He lifted his straw hat and gave a roguish smile. "Hello there Aang."
"You are an avatar, aren't you?" Aang asked.
"Yep. You could say that if you want to," the rouge chuckled and grinned again.
"I can say that?" Aang asked, his anger starting to grow. "Well are you, or aren't you?"
The man chuckled and scratched his butt, rising to his full height. Aang had never seen someone so big. "Well, you're in quite a predicament, aren't you?"
"Okay, you are completely out of your mind," Aang snapped, turning to walk away. In the blink of an eye, Roku stood before him.
"Don't be so impatient Aang, he has what you need to defeat Eloni."
"But he's so lazy, and its like he's spent too many hours in the sun." Roku stared at him for a long time, before allowing himself to howl with laughter. "Am I missing something here?"
"When I was a young man, I felt the same way you do about him now," Roku explained. He looked over to the other avatar, who flashed him a big grin and a peace signal. "But don't judge him on the outside, he's much more powerful than he looks."
He didn't know how he figured it out, but his jaw dropped. "You're Avatar Krishnu, aren't you?" The very avatar who lead an army to defeat the Nandi. The young, large avatar chuckled and nodded his head. "How could someone like you defeat such a menace?"
"Hence why Roku said not to judge the cover by its book," Krishnu said with a wide grin.
Aang looked at Roku and frowned. "What's a book?"
"Its kind of like a scroll dude, but with many more pages, and has a hard cover around them." Krishnu said. "At any rate, I always feared someone might find the old writings of Nar-sha. I can help you defeat this latest Nandi. If you are ready."
Aang wasn't sure, but he knew he couldn't defeat Eloni by himself. "I'm ready."
His body was ready to give as he filled it with his life, Aang found himself on his knees, pain surging through every bone. He could hear Sokka call his name, but couldn't see him. His eyes were no longer his own. "Dude, you want to know what power is?" he asked, his and Krishnu's voices merging. "Then let me illuminate."
Power unbroken and totally raw surged through his body, and a brilliant silver light shot from it, straight at Eloni. The Nandi groaned and felt his bones shatter as energy poured over him. "This is not possible? How can anyone have such energy at such a young age?"
"Youth has nothing to do with it dude, it's the power of positive energy," Krishnu said through the boy. "It is the power of justice, something a Nandi would never understand." The light faded, and yanked what bending powers Eloni had in his body into Aang.
The boy felt the avatar pull away from him then, and he was again standing in front of Krishnu in the cherry tree orchid. "So you didn't kill him?"
"Dude," Krishnu sighed. "Life is precious. From the life of an unborn child, to all nature, to the elderly, all life, even a villains. If we killed them simply because we had the power to do so, we might as well have be Nandi ourselves."
"So you defeated them by absorbing their powers so they couldn't hurt anybody?" Aang asked. Krishnu smiled and shrugged, and then gave him a nod.
"You got it dude! Now go back and get that totally cute little water bender out of danger!"
"O…kay," Aang blushed. He liked Katara, but somehow he knew she'd end up with someone else.
In the dark of night, three small scout boats arrived at the island where the Blue Spirit's ship was docked. The commander of one of the vessels, turned to his subordinate. "Send a messenger hawk to the Princess," he barked. "Tell her we found them."
Okay, that's chapter eleven! Yay! I wasn't sure how to deal with Eloni, but after reading my book, The Handy Religion Answer Book, (written by John Renard, published by Visible Ink Press -- boy aren't I just the name dropper, J ), I found my answer. I also got the Fire Nation's capital's name by going through the Hindu section of this book. I must saw that I don't believe in reincarnation and the ninety percent of Hindu belief, being a dedicated Roman Catholic, but I do love a good story, and there isn't any better than Avatar. Okay, on to chapter twelve!