Chapter 34: The Hunters and the Healer
"Report," the Governor of Long Du Shi commanded the officer who knelt before his high seat.
"My men have searched through what we believe to be the entire rebel fortress, milord," the man said. "It has been completely abandoned- there is no longer any trace of rebel occupation or of their trail. We presume they used their bending to obscure it. After our search proved fruitless, we left the fortress and sealed it using explosives so that the rebels will never be able to return. We now conduct a wider sweep of the surrounding hills, but as of yet have turned up nothing of value. We will, of course, keep you and your advisors appraised of our progress."
"Thank you, commander- you have conducted yourself admirably. Continue your search- I will not have my lands marred by rebellion any longer." Yan Li lowered his head onto his hands. "Go. You are dismissed."
The commander rose and turned towards the door, but his lord's voice stopped him before he departed. "I have one more question for you, commander," the governor said, his voice very soft.
"Yes, milord?"
"Was there any trace of my daughter?" Yan Li struggled to keep concern and grief from his voice, as it wasn't seemly for his subordinates to see such emotion in him. It slipped out anyway.
The commander shook his head sadly. "No, milord. We searched, but there was no sign of the lady Jiazin. If she lives, the rebels have her still. I am sorry."
"Go," the governor commanded, waving his hand dismissively. The officer bowed again and departed, leaving Yan Li alone with his dark thoughts. He wasn't sure how long he sat there alone, part of him insisting that he was the governor and he needed to be doing something, until he was roused by the sound of a commotion outside the audience chamber doors. He sat up stiffly and prepared to call a servant to find out what was going on, when the doors slammed open and a familiar smirking figure stalked inside.
"High Admiral Yuan," Yan Li said without warmth. "I must confess this is a surprise."
The High Admiral gave a tight-lipped smile. "Now really, Governor, is that quite the way you should be talking to the commander of the Fire Navy? I know that you don't interact much with those of true importance all the way out here, but I would really expect a bit more friendliness."
"I answer only to the High Minister and the Empress herself," Yan Li said, hands gripping the arms of his chair tightly. "I do not need to defer to you, and I am well within my rights as Governor to expect warning of your arrival and to know what your purpose here is."
"Very well- I was intending to come to this anyway. I am currently in pursuit of a pair of dangerous fugitives, and recently lost their trail not far from your fine city. I intend to use Long Du Shi as a base to continue my search, and I request that you order your garrison to assist me."
"You may certain operate out of Long Du Shi if that is convenient for you," the Governor told him, "but my garrison is otherwise occupied. I might be able to spare you a handful of scouts who know the area, but you cannot have my soldiers, and you have no authority to overrule me."
"Are you denying me?" Yuan asked, voice suddenly gone very soft.
Yan Li gave him a small smile. "Why yes, I believe I am. As I said, I require my garrison for more important tasks at the moment that stroking your vanity and your authority in my city does not extend past the docks." Part of Yan Li knew that provoking Yuan was not an entirely smart idea- the High Admiral was known to be volatile and to hold grudges. The rest of him, though, was feeling great satisfaction at seeing the look of frustration and anger cross Yuan's face.
Then the High Admiral gave a chilling smile. "Very well. You are, of course, fully in your authority to deny my requests. But there is another with me who would like to have words with you." He stepped aside, and a slender figure in glossy black armor strode into the chamber with a predator's confident, fluid grace. She seemed young, so far as could be told through her golden face-paint, but Yan Li felt a shiver run through his body at the sight of her anyway. All knew that the Empress's Chosen spoke with her voice, and none would deny them. Yuan must have deliberately waited until now to reveal her- whatever his other faults, the man had a powerful sense of the dramatic.
"I am Shiyan of the Chosen," the girl said. "I am on a mission from my order to capture one of the fugitives the High Admiral pursues. In the name of the Empress you are to provide us with whatever resources we require to complete the search. Failure to comply will be seen as an act of direct defiance against the Empress herself. Am I understood?"
On at least one level, the situation was absurd- one of the most powerful men in the Empire being lectured to and threatened by a girl no older than his own daughter. Yan Li, however, knew better than to laugh. Shiyan's words were in deadly earnest and the reputation of the Chosen preceded her. Much as it galled him to take orders from this child, in the hierarchy of the Fire Empire he was left with no choice in the matter.
"Very well," he said softly. "Tell me what the Empress requires." Hearing that, Yuan gave a triumphant smirk, and even Shiyan's lips turned up in a slight smile that didn't reach her eyes. Yan Li once again felt a cold chill rush through him, and he prayed to the spirits that Jiazin, wherever she was, would not cross the path of either of these deadly hunters.
"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Kanoda asked Yue as they walked through the barren hills near Long Du Shi. "I don't mean to doubt you, after everything I've seen you do, but there just doesn't seem to be anything out here. Isn't the city off that way?" He pointed in the direction from which they'd caught a distant glimpse of walls and towers earlier that day.
"The people we seek are near the city, not in it." She turned to look at him, smiling faintly. "And no, I don't know where we're going. I'm following my instincts, and they're following the Moon Spirit's guidance. When we reach our destination, we'll know, but not until then."
"I believe you," Kanoda said. Several of his favorite legends involved the heroes being given cryptic advice and guidance from one spirit or another before they could complete their task; living it, he found he would have preferred it if the Moon Spirit had simply given Yue a map. He trusted they'd end up where they needed to be, but he would have certainly preferred to know where that place was ahead of time.
They continued walking for what felt like several more hours, and then Yue suddenly stopped and held up a hand for quiet. Listening now, Kanoda could hear the sound of loose rocks falling nearby as if they'd just been disturbed by someone walking over them. His hand slid to the hilt of his knife. "Do you know who's out there?" he whispered to Yue.
"The resistance, I hope," she replied, then looked up and raised her voice. "We know you're there. Come out where we can see you."
Several figures in plain, brown-and-green clothes stepped out from the rocks, several of them holding bows with arrows on the string, one balancing an improbably large boulder in one hand. These didn't look like any kind of Imperial soldier Kanoda had ever heard of, but he didn't relax. Just because they weren't Imperial did not in and of itself make them friendly- his mind went back to the bandits near the south coast.
"Who are you and what are you doing out here? Are you spies from the city?" the apparent leader asked. "Speak quickly- don't think we won't shoot if you don't."
"If you're worried about spies from Long Du Shi, then I take it I am speaking to members of the rebellion?" Yue asked, sounding largely unconcerned by the fact that she might be struck by several arrows and a boulder if she made a single wrong move.
"We're asking the questions here, lady!" the rebel snapped. "Now, talk."
"Very well." Yue reached up and pulled back her hood, shaking out her long white hair and looking at the rebels directly with her clear blue eyes. "I am Yue, princess and last daughter of the Northern Water Tribe. This is my companion Kanoda. The spirits have led us to this place, and if you truly are with the rebellion, I request that you take us at once to your leader, whoever he or she may be."
The rebel spokesman seemed somewhat surprised by Yue's strange appearance, but his voice remained firm and hard. "That's a wild story for a spy, but I'm not sure I believe it either. If you are who you say you are, prove it."
"As you wish." Yue raised one hand, and the water leaped from the skins at her side and circled in the air about her in a strange halo. With her hair and eyes, surrounded by the floating droplets, even Kanoda thought she looked strange and otherworldly. He couldn't imagine what the rebels were thinking.
The rebel leader stepped back, eyes wide. Finally he swallowed and spoke. "It was thought that your kind were extinct- there were rumors, but no one believed them." He motioned to his men, and they lowered their weapons. "I do not believe any waterbender would ally with those who destroyed their civilization. Come with us, Yue and Kanoda. I'm sure that my leaders will be very interested to talk to you."
Shu Bei Fong leaned back, rubbing his eyes wearily and wincing at the pain in his side. The wound Gian had inflicted had been bandaged, but it still hurt horribly, and he felt weak and tired al over. Chaiy had told him not to tax himself, but he felt that he had to take an active part in the rebellion after what had happened at Lake Laogai. Others might have blamed Jiazin or Gian for the attack; Shu blamed himself. He was leader- he should have seen it coming. It was his failure.
He looked up again to see Chaiy looking at him expectantly. "What was that, daughter?" he asked. "I'm sorry- my mind was wandering."
"You should rest until that wound is healed," she told him reproachfully. "I can run the resistance by myself for a little while if I have to. Anyway, I was just saying that our scouts have seen the Imperial forces finishing their search of the Lake Laogai base- they took a leaf from Gian's book and used slaves to force their way in- and apparently finding nothing, blasted the place with their explosives. Whatever happens, we're not going back there."
"I see." Shu hung his head as another stab of pain shot through him- emotional as well as physical this time. The Lake Laogai fortress had been his single greatest contribution to the rebel cause, and now it was lost to them permanently. "What are the Imperial forces doing now?"
"They're broadening their search, but I have scouts watching them. We'll be warned long before they come close to finding us and be able to move." Chaiy closed her eyes and looked away. "It looks like the Governor has his whole burned army out there- too many for us to take head on, though maybe we could get some of the companies away from the main body and ambush them. We just don't have the numbers for this kind of fight."
"I know. But then, we were always outnumbered, fighting a losing battle. We knew that we couldn't win that way, barring a miracle." He smiled slightly, hoping to raise his daughter's courage even if he had none himself. "We just need to keep fighting, and know that no matter how hard they try, they can never crush us completely." Still, he couldn't help but glance over at where the portrait of Toph rested against the cave wall and feel a stab of guilt, as though her blind eyes stared at him accusingly.
Chaiy gave her father a reassuring smile and hugged him gingerly, careful not to press against his injury. Suddenly she pulled back, and straining his ears Shu could hear the sound of commotion coming from the front of the cave complex, near the entrance. Chaiy stood.
"Dad, stay here. I'll find out what's going on." Chaiy pushed the cloth hanging that blocked off the part of the cave where Shu lived and the leaders planned aside and slipped outside. The rebel leader sat against the rock wall, listening to the distant voices- and then the sound started coming closer. The curtain was pulled aside again, and Chaiy stood there with several of her warriors behind her. With them were two strangers, a boy who looked a couple of years younger than Chaiy and a woman who looked only a few older. Both had unusually dark skin and bright blue eyes, and the woman's hair with thick and white.
"Chaiy? Who are these people?" Shu asked, more curious than afraid. His daughter wouldn't have let them get this far if she seriously thought they were a threat, though her expression was more confused and surprised than anything else.
"I think you'd better let them explain that for themselves, Da- Father," she said, slipping into the more formal mode of address in the presence of others.
"I am Yue, last of the Northern Water Tribe," the woman said. "This is Kanoda, my companion. Are you the leader of the rebellion?"
"I am. My name is Shu Bei Fong." He studied Yue closely- despite her apparent youth, there was an air of weight and sadness about her that made her seem very old indeed, and also something in the way she held herself that indicated a quiet confidence and power. "Why have you come to us?"
"I am a waterbender, and the Moon Spirit has guided me to you," she said. "I believe that our destines are linked, though I do not know how. It is my belief that the time has come at last for the peoples of the world to make the final stand against the Fire Empire and its Empress."
There was much surprised muttering at her words, but sudden hope seemed to pass through the rebels like wildfire. Shu raised a hand for quiet, though he felt that sudden hope himself. He also knew, however, that hope could too easily be cheated. "My heart wants to believe you," he said, "but my head is not yet sure. They say that the waterbenders of old were great healers. I myself was recently wounded in battle, and I am not the only one to suffer. If you are who you claim to be, I ask this of you- heal us."
Yue smiled at him and glided forward, Kanoda following close behind like a bodyguard. The white-haired woman knelt beside Shu, and as he looked into her eyes, he felt a slight shiver pass through him. Though they were set in a young face, those were old eyes. She raised one hand, and water flowed out of a pouch at her belt and wrapped around it, glowing with a faint white light.
Shu pulled his tunic open, showing his bandaged side. "Here," he said. "This is where the blade struck me."
"I see it." Yue lowered her glowing hand to the wound and then pressed it against it. Shu found himself filled with a sudden peace, accompanied by a strange feeling of tingling power- and then the pain began to ease. Finally Yue pulled her hand away, and the rebel leader was amazed to note that with it the pain was gone as well. Reaching down to the bandages, he tore them away and ran his hand down his side. There was a scar there, and likely always would be, but the wound itself was gone.
"You are a waterbender and true healer," he breathed. Looking up, he saw Chaiy staring with wide eyes and beyond her the rebels doing the same. Shu stood and looked out on his people, feeling rejuvenated not only in body but in spirit as well.
"Today a figure comes to us out of ancient legend, one I would not have believed still existed in this world," he said to them. "This is a sign to us. Now, at last, we have hope again."