Well let us see if Hyriu had a right to be worried. Enjoy.

Chapter 36

The Illusion of Peace

A week after we arrived in Hydronia, Wei had us spar each other again to see if we had improved. Daminao and I still had an engaging fight, and he had gotten better, but I still won. Moji went up against Taruk this time and he beat her but with a bit of difficulty. After that Taruk had to leave, apparently, his father didn't like Wei pulling him out of school all the time. Tekton and Shan were almost even. Lina sparred with Dhanu which was fascinating to watch. Ava and Lamara sparred with air bending. Ava was surprisingly good and they tied.

Everyone had gotten progressively better with Wei's training. Despite our improvement, he still kept at us saying 'There is always room for improvement.'

The next morning found us listening to one of Wei's speeches about war.

"It is a hard thing, war," he was saying. "Though, it is actually easier to maintain war, than to maintain peace. It is incredibly easy to piss someone off. However, it is nearly impossible to keep everyone happy. Even when peace is made, it never lasts. It is a harsh and solemn truth, but true none the same. We know that war can be timeless. It can go on for many years and not lessen. Peace however, is easily disturbed. Some even say it is an illusion. The illusion of peace is that it doesn't exist. Because somewhere, sometime, there is always conflict, even if it is small. There is no such thing as peace of mind. For me, I can only describe things as peaceful if they stay that way from beginning to end. No one's mind is peaceful from beginning to end. You can be calm yes, but that isn't peaceful. We are calm right now, here in this valley. In Hydronia, in the Northern Water Tribe, but is there peace? That is up to you. But know this; never lose yourself in the illusion of peace as it lowers your guard in a false sense of security. I say there is no peace, only lulls in the battle, however long they may be. To me, if there is someone somewhere fighting, then there is no peace. And there is always someone fighting."

"How can there not be peace here? We are in the valley of peace after all?" Daminao said.

"Ah, but don't trust names either, Daminao, they can be deceiving. Oh, that reminds me, have any of you heard the tale of Sahasa, the cowardly lion-bear?" Lina's hand shot up showing she did. "Good. It is a great piece of literature. Well it is ironic because Sahasa's name actually means courage or brave-"

"Um, may I go to the bathroom," Fai asked sheepishly.

"I suppose Mr. Small Bladder. I assume, by now, you know you're way to the restroom after your frequent visits?" Wei said sarcastically.

Fai blushed and ran to the bathroom.

"Anyway, Sahasa lived in this magical forest called…" Wei resumed.

I tuned him out. He had told me about Sahasa ten times. I was troubled by a dream I had the previous night. Kan Dao had visited me in a dream. She'd said, "Remember you visions!" but I hadn't had visions for months. What in the world could she have been talking about?

"Hyriu!" Wei snapped.

"Huh," I said startled.

"You weren't paying attention. Who was Sahasa's love interest?"

Wei asked childishly.

"Oh, uh, Kurupa, the beautiful pig-squirrel," I said offhandedly.

"Correct, and why was her name ironic?" Wei inquired with a smirk.

"Because everyone called her Kurupa The Beautiful but her name meant 'ugly' and she indeed was quite hideous," I answered in a bored tone.

"Correct again, but you don't seem very enthusiastic. Is something the matter?" he asked.

I made sure it was just my friends who knew about Avon were with us before I spoke, "Kan Dao came to me in a dream last night."

Wei suddenly became serious, "What did she say?"

"She said, 'Remember your visions!' But I haven't had visions in weeks. The last vision I remember having was Avon's final warning vision. After that it was mostly nightmares. I have no idea what she means," I sighed.

Everyone was quiet while we thought. Fai came back from the bathroom, Lina filled him in.

Wei spoke up, "Perhaps she was referring to your first vision, the time-line one. Where you saw the temple light first."

I smacked myself in the head and cursed for forgetting about that.

"You're right. Okay, so first was the temple light. Then there was the black snow and red moon. After that was the meteor, which was Avon's arrival. Gah, but what was next? I remember the Great Gates of Azulan and the big burning castle but what was next?" I kept repeating the question straining my memory. Temple, snow, moon, Avon, and then what?

"Hyriu!" Kan Dao's voice echoed in my head. "You must remember for that vision was of today! For the sake of your loved ones, remember!"

All at once, the vision came back to me. "That is of today?" I asked Kan Dao.

"Yes!" she cried.

I slowly looked up, a chill moving up my spine. Dark clouds had gathered overhead, but no one had taken notice of them or thought them unusual. I knew better. I had seen clouds like that two times before. In the Lok Wa Isles, and when we had arrived in the capital just before Zhao attacked.

"No," I said aloud.

"What is it?" Lamara asked.

"Hyriu, what did you see?" Wei asked me seriously.

I bolted for the Mountain Pass balcony. I ran through the tunnel and onto the balcony overlooking Hydronia. Everyone had followed me.

"Hydronia, in ruins," I answered Wei.

Black snow had begun to fall in the city. On the river, large metal ships could be seen sailing for the city. Black streams of smoke flew through the sky: Shadow Eaters.

"Oh no," Wei muttered.

I whispered in fear, "They found us, the Fire Nation and Avon."

I thought some comedy in the beginning would be a nice contrast. The wonderful love story between and cowardly lion-bear and an ugly pig-squirrel.

So that was a tense ending, huh? Hyriu was right, something terrible was about to happen. His worst nightmare has come true. His home is in danger. For the Finale of Book 2, I will do something similar to what I did with Book 1, a full week or well Monday-Friday with a new chapter every day. That will be next week starting on Monday the 15th of December with the last chapter on Friday the 19th of December.

Also, I will be posting a few posters on the face book page 'The Legend of Anzen Hyriu Series.' I would really like you all to check them out.

I will say, more than one will be lost before we reach the end of the book…

Chapter 37: Defense of Hydronia will go up Monday the 15th.