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The First Avatar

Book 2: Envy

Chapter 13: The Spirit's Rip PT2

Korra, Silver and Bolin landed with a soft thud, directly into the middle of the labyrinth known as the Spirit's Rip. From a distance, it had looked like a simple network of passages through desert stone walls, but up close, it was very different.

The orange coloured rock had intricate blue lines running through it, like veins of gold in a mine. The sand at their feet was a pale yellow, and the small group could feel themselves sinking very slowly. It wasn't Quicksand, but it was no ordinary sand either.

"The Spirit's Rip is sacred ground. No one except the King of the Earth Lion Turtles can reside here, so the sand will swallow anyone who stays here for more than three days." Silver explained as she began walking, keeping her hand on the rock face to her right. It was an old trick to getting out of a maze, and it had never failed her.

"Three days shouldn't be a problem, right?" Bolin asked, following closely behind Silver with Korra at his side.

"I've never failed to find Onua in three days…but I'd say that roughly ninety five percent of others who've tried have failed. At a steady pace, and without a break, you could walk every path in the Spirit's Rip within a day, but the maze isn't the trouble."

"It's the fear." Korra said, looking over her shoulder. "While we're here, our fears will become real… if a person is faced with their greatest fear…"

"They can almost never escape." Silver finished her student's sentence.

Bolin shuddered at the thought, deciding to whistle a familiar tune to help comfort himself. They walked for a while in silence, but for Bolin's whistling. After a while, they found something that Korra hadn't expected; A massive and ornate statue. It was half buried in sand and appeared to be made of some kind of hard white stone, making it stand out in the orange and yellow maze. It was in the rough shape of a human, with enlarged forearms and shins and undersized shoulders and thighs. Along its neck, abdomen and joints there were thin blue lines, like the veins running through the walls of the Spirit's Rip. The most distinct feature was its head; it was a basic human shape, but lacked any features; like a mannequin. It had a simple carved on face, resembling the old Fire Nation firebender masks, but with sharper eyes, as opposed to the simple circles they used to have.

"Ah, the first of the Colossi! That means we're about a quarter of the way there." Silver smiled.

"Colossi?" Korra said questioningly.

"Yep. Giant soldiers made of stone and animated. Divine Spirits rule the Spirit World and they use a Colossus like this as their soldiers. There hasn't been a war in the Spirit World for millennia, so these guys mostly just sleep. This one belongs to the Divine Spirit of the Mountain; Shan." Silver explained, walking past the golem without a second look.

"There's still so much I don't know about the Spirit World…" Korra muttered as she walked past the Colossus, trying to avoid making eye contact with the thing. It's neck creaked loudly as it turned its head, watching the small group go along it's way.

"AVATAR SILVER, AVATAR KORRA, UNKNOWN MAN; FEAR WILL FIND ONE OF YOU, BEFORE YOU MEET MY BRETHEREN." The creature bellowed; it's voice loud, but slow with every syllable spoken clearly and each word ended with a slight slur. Silver turned and gave a respectful bow before continuing their journey.

"I didn't know they could talk." Korra said.

"They can, but they don't really have free will. The ones in the Spirit's Rip will call out to you and warn you of the danger, but that's about it. It only knows the names of Avatars and Divine Spirits." Silver smiled. "But the warning was more specific than normal…"

"Yeah." Bolin began. "He said that one of us would face out fear before we get to the next one."

"That's about an hour, if we're lucky. There are three more Colossi here, so that means three quarters of the journey are left. We'll all be facing our fears soon…" Silver said. She wouldn't wish the fate of facing their deepest fears on either of her two charges, but it didn't stop Silver from silently praying she wouldn't be the first.

They continued to traverse the maze, not finding anything of much interest, but Silver nervously watched the sky. The sky was beginning to darken as black clouds gathered; readying a strike of lightning. When the cloud was big enough; it would strike one of them with lightning, and then their fears would materialise. It would be bad for those watching as well, as while they couldn't hear the fear, they could see it… like in Korra's dreams, where she saw Wan but couldn't hear his voice (until recently).

The little group walked in silence as they turned a corner. The three of them stopped dead as they looked ahead of them; at the end of a very long passage, was the undeniable presence of a colossus. It was much larger than than the previous one, and with a fatter appearance compared to the average width of the last one. The walk to the creature would take about ten minutes, but they knew that in that time; one of them would face hell.

All three walked on slowly, sweat running down their faces and their hearts beating rapidly. Bolin nervously whistled the tune again, prompting Korra to ask him what he was whistling.

"It's the tune to an old nursery rhyme. My mom taught it to me…I was whistling it while I hid in the alley on the day they died. Mako would get mad if he heard me whistling it, since it reminds him of that day." Bolin almost whispered.

Korra's heart went out to her earthbending friend, and she realised what Bolin's greatest fear would be… In a moment of selflessness, Korra prayed that she'd be struck first, instead of Bolin. Sadly, the forces of the Spirit World did not respond to prayers.

With an ear splitting crack; a bolt of pure lightning came crashing down on top of Bolin. Korra and Silver watched in horror as their companion disappeared within the blinding light. The young Earthbender didn't scream or cry, as he felt no pain. What surged through him was not true lightning, but fear in lightning's form; spreading to every corner of his body with great speed. When the strike ended and the cloud of sand settled down, Korra and Silver waited anxiously for Bolin to move.

He stood there, completely still as the remnants of the lightning still crackled around him. Bolin felt a horrible feeling in his stomach; like acid working its way out and up his throat, burning it as it went. He doubled over and retched violently, but he did not vomit; rather, he expelled some kind of white, fleshy ball. It splattered against the floor and Korra felt ill as she watched the flesh-like object grow and warp, shaping itself into a shape that she knew well, but Bolin knew better.

"Mako?" Korra muttered, as the pale and gaunt doppelganger stood before Bolin.

"I died Bolin…I'm your brother, the only person you have left…and you let me die." The copy said. His voice was identical, but carried an unnatural echo that made him sound ghostly. The voice combined with his horrific state made this fake Mako look more terrifying than anything Korra had ever seen…and it was Bolin's greatest fear.

"B-Bro! I… I didn't let you die." Bolin spluttered, tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm dead…I died alone, while you were nowhere to be found. I called out to you, but you didn't come."

"No…you're wrong! Mako is alive and in the city! He's with Asami and Korra's dad!"

The fake Mako looked Bolin in the eye, with his own dead orbs. "My corpse will lie on the ocean floor forever; tossed away in death just like I was in life, by you. You failed to save our parents, and now I'm dead too."

Bolin fell to his knees and pounded the floor. He knew Mako was alive! He knew this one was fake! Mako was not dead! He couldn't be…could he? Bolin looked at his brother's mirror image and felt not only fear, but doubt. What if he was wrong? What if Mako was dead and he hadn't been there to help him!? His terror was clouding his mind. His spirit began to crumble.

"How? How can I fix this!?" Bolin begged, lowering his head to the sand in a pathetic bow. Korra felt hot tears flow down her cheeks as she saw Bolin, her funniest and most cheerful friend, completely broken and begging on the sand. Korra truly realised just how hellish that fear could be…the spirits were not kind beings and the Spirit's Rip was no place for those with wounded hearts, like young Bolin.

"To fix this…stay here, with me." The ghostly Mako instructed. "Remain here, and sink beneath the sand. Become a part of this world, like me."

"NO!" Korra cried. The young Avatar had not heard a word the fake Mako had said up to this point, but for some reason, his last sentence had sounded as loud and clear as anything Bolin or Silver had said since they got here. It pierced her ears and heart like a knife of ice. Silver was shocked, having not heard what Mako had said either, but she watched with surprised curiosity as Korra fell to her knees beside Bolin, embracing him tightly.

"Mako would never say that! You're his little brother! He'd never want you to die, no matter what! And you're not alone; Mako isn't the only one you have anymore! You have Silver, Tahno, Asami, Tenzin, Lin and me."

Bolin looked up at Korra. "I-I have you?"

Korra nodded with a teary smile. "Always. You're one of my best friends! I'd do anything to help you!"

Bolin forgot his own tears for a moment and gently lifted his rough hands to wipe away Korra's, his fingers lingering on her cheek for just a second too long. He got to his feet, Korra joining him with their hands tightly intertwined. The earthbender turned and gave a hateful glare at the Mako copy, before his expression softened into his usual happy grin, even if it was less genuine than normal.

"You're a bad joke. You almost got me though… get lost." Bolin said with a jovial tone, hiding his anger well. The Fake Mako faded away, the ghost of a smile on his lips. The black clouds above them began to fade into a multi-coloured sky and the two teens shared a chuckle, before Bolin blushed and let go of Korra's hand.

Silver smiled warmly. 'She understood his fears well enough to hear the ghost's words. No normal person could do that…nor could most Avatars. You'll make one hell of an Avatar, Korra.' The first Avatar thought with a smile.

With a glimmer of hope returning to the group, they progressed quietly through the Spirit's Rip. After passing the second Colossus and before reaching the third, Silver was struck by the lightning of fear, but she had bent the sand into a small storm, blocking Korra and Bolin from seeing the object of Silver's terror. It was a little disappointing, but neither truly wanted to see Silver scared and when the little sand storm ended, after only about a minute of raging, Silver stood there like nothing had happened, though Korra didn't miss the glint of a tear in the corner of her eye.

And then they passed the Third Colossus. This one was taller than the last two combined, but was thinner than the first one, making it look severely warped and malformed. It greeted them like the last two had, warning of the fear that one of them would face. But only Korra was left to deal with the ordeal and no more Colossus would be greeting them, as the end of this maze was coming and with it, their objective.

The Colossus only added one additional phrase to the warning of Korra's upcoming trial; "HELL INSIDE YOUR HEAD" it uttered before returning to its slumber.

"What do you think it meant by that?" Korra asked nervously.

Silver frowned. "From a normal person, it could mean several things, but from a Colossus; creatures which don't have free will or even true intelligence, it means that something horrible exists inside you. It must be referencing your fears."

Bolin looked worriedly at his friend. "Does that mean hers is worse than either of ours?"

Silver shrugged. "Possibly, but it likely means that the source of her fear is herself, or something within her; our fears were from external sources, while Korra's may be within her."

The younger Avatar already knew what that was…deep down inside, she could just tell what it was. It was something that had been with her ever since she was a small child; a niggling doubt that undermined her confidence as an Avatar.

Soon enough, as they neared the end of the Spirit's Rip and the location of Onua, the clouds gathered again. Their little group stopped when Korra asked them to, as she knew her time was coming soon. It was ironic actually; she was terrified of facing her own fear! "The greatest fear is fear itself." Silver said sagely, repeating a saying that was twice as old as she was.

Korra dwelled on that thought for a second as she looked up at the darkened sky. There was a distant rumbling and the girl knew that her turn had come. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Just as it had with Bolin, the lightning struck her yet she felt no pain; only a terrible sickening feeling in her stomach. The same white mass forced its way out of her throat and onto the sand, leaving Korra panting as she recovered from the feeling. All feeling in her body was soon forgotten as the white mass divided and separated into four people; people she knew very well.

Ghostly visages of Tenzin, Aang, Silver and Korra's own father appeared before her and surrounded her. Bolin and Silver watched with quiet pity, knowing that they'd see and hear the effects of their words on Korra, but not the words that the ghosts spoke… It was hard to watch.

"You failed you know." The Fake Aang said. "I had a great legacy! I saved the world at twelve years old, mastered all the elements before I was a teenager and brought peace to a world that had seen one hundred years of war! All that was squashed by you! The world has been in nothing but war since you took over, and you haven't even gotten to the second element yet!"

Fake Tenzin frowned angrily at her. "Your reckless stupidity has brought shame to us all! We should have left you to Necros; maybe he could have gotten some use from a foolish woman like you. No, you're not even a woman; you're a silly little girl who tries to walk and talk like a grown up!"

"My family has never known such a failure! As an Avatar, you were at least useful to us, but now you're just a useless burden! I should have let Unalaq take you and keep you from adding to my disgrace!" Fake Tonraq roared, speaking with a tone that the real man would have never used on his daughter.

Korra collapsed to her knees, tears flowing freely. Their words were all true; she paled in comparison to Aang and shamed him and failed the world by not meeting their expectations of her. she had wasted Tenzin's time when he had tried to help her and she had proven to be nothing but a problem child for her parents; her status being her one redeeming feature, turned into her greatest flaw by her own stupidity. Korra looked defeated at the fake Silver, standing above her with her arms crossed and her lips pursed together into an angry sneer.

"I took your bending and trained you, hoping you'd redeem yourself and become a worthy Avatar, but it seems you're truly and unredeemably useless. Instead of taking my lessons and growing stronger, you've relied on me and the others to save you and do your job for you! The Avatar is a pinnacle of power and hope, yet you are both powerless and hopeless. Just die and be replaced by a worthy Avatar!"

That was the final blow to Korra. The girl remained on her knees, her eyes turning red as she cried silently, looking into the faces of the four malevolent ghosts. These four represented her greatest, deepest and most private fears. She feared that she'd never live up to Aang's legacy. She feared she'd wasted the time of her teachers. She feared she'd be useless to the world and her family and friends.

But at her very core, she feared all these things for the same reason. Korra was afraid that she'd be left alone. Growing up with the White/Black Lotus, Korra had felt truly lonely, with no friends and rarely being able to see her family. Only Katara eased the pain of solitude. Throughout her childhood, everyone told her the same thing; "Be a good Avatar, like Aang and you'll make everyone proud, and the world will love you."

She had to be a good Avatar, the very best she could be! Or everyone she knew and loved would leave her… Korra closed her eyes in defeat; beaten by her fears.

"We may not always act like it, but we're proud of you. All of us Avatars, even the ones you haven't spoken to. We're proud to share a bond with you, and we admire your desire to do well and live up to our shared title. We all wish to assure you, that you are a fine Avatar."

The young Avatar's eyes snapped open as the words echoed in her head. They had been Aang's words…

Korra remembered what Aang had told her, and what others had told her too. Silver, Bolin, Tahno, Mako, Asami, Tenzin, her family… they had all said the same thing.

"You are not just the Avatar! You are Korra and we will love you for being you, not for your title!"

The young Avatar's defeated frown turned into a little smile. Her heart felt warm and she looked over to the real Silver and Bolin. They were watching her ordeal; unaware of what the doppelgangers said, but regardless, they stood there with tears flowing down their faces, simply because they saw Korra in despair. It proved what they had always said; they loved her despite her title.

Korra used her waterbending to whip her tears from her cheeks and throw them at the visions, whom recalled with disgusted shrieks. "Get lost!" Korra yelled, grinning widely. "I'm not just an Avatar! I'm Korra, and you gotta deal with it!"

Silver and Bolin gave the widest smiles they could as Korra brushed past the fading illusions, grinning proudly as she went. The First Avatar put a hand on Korra's back and rubbed it comfortingly.

"You've taken one heck of a big step…you've finally truly learnt the lesson I had hoped you would! I'm proud of you." she said.

"Thank you Silver. I wouldn't have gotten through it without you, or you Bolin. I owe all of my friends a thank you. I'll be sure to do it when we get back home. But for now, we've got to finish what we came here for." Korra said, punching her palm and marching off in the direction they had been going, her hand on the wall in the same way Silver did.

Bolin and Silver exchanged a brief look before chuckling and following after Korra, having gotten through their ordeals and now possessing a reborn sense of strength. They did not walk for long before they finally reached the end of the Spirit's Rip, in the form of a literal dead end.

The long stone passage ended with a huge cliff, where the maze met a gaping abyss. Korra and Bolin studied the colossal and seemingly bottomless pit, hoping they'd find some way to climb down, or a ledge they could jump on, but Silver just giggled.

"Don't you recognise this? It's a Turtle Hole! The same kind of thing that Gali climbed out of! Lion Turtles dig deep holes for them to sleep in, but Onua, being the King of the Earth Lion Turtles has a bit of a taste for digging. Who knows how deep this thing is. One second." Silver told them, before wetting her lips and bringing two fingers to them. She whistled loudly, the sound echoing deep into the pit before them.

Nothing happened at first, and Bolin was about to suggest a louder whistle when a deep rumbling could be heard beneath them. As the ground shook and the sound of massive thundering paws reached the small group, an absolutely massive, behemoth of a Lion Turtle burst from the pit and leapt onto the top of the Spirit's Rip, hanging its massive head and paws off of the wall of the passage that Korra's group occupied.

"I am Onua, Head of the Mountain Clan and King of the Earth Lion Turtles. Speak your purpose, or be flattened!"


AVATAR EXTRAS

Spirit Rites

What is a Spirit Rite?

In the World of Spirits, godly beings known as the Divines rule over lesser spirits and control not only large territories, but also aspects of the world, such as knowledge, light or darkness. Each Divine takes an emblem as their personal crest, and that crest becomes an important focus of lesser beings who worship and pray to these beings. The spiritual and national emblems for each of the Four Elemental Nations are in fact the crests of the Eight Divines that rule over the Four Mortal Elements. A Spirit Rite is an agreement between a Divine and a human that allows a human the power to call on a Divine for aide. The Rite involves tattooing the crest of the Divine into the flesh of the human using an ink made from human blood, blessed water and energy from the Divine in question. Whenever a Rite Holder focuses energy into part of their body which holds the rite, they open a kind of telepathic channel to the Divine Spirit, who can then be prayed to in order to grant the user access to their power. Different Divines have different rites, which carry different effects.

Rite of Movement

This Rite allows the user to effectively teleport to any location which has a blessed carving of the Rite of Movement. The Rite can also be used to carve these waypoints, allowing users to use them efficiently. Normal humans who possess this rite may only use it once an hour and must always travel a distance greater than a mile when warping to another location. Gods, Kami and Spiritual advanced humans can use it in rapid succession and have little to no restrictions; allowing to teleport to any location they can visualise, with or without a waypoint.

Rite of the Stone's Heart

A Rite that is more commonly used by spirits than humans. It allows one to breathe life into a construct of stone that resembles a living being, be it a human, animal or plant. even if it is a partial construct, the animation will still work. This is who Colossi were created by the ancient humans and Divines. Normal humans can only permanently animate constructs which are smaller than they are, while the advanced users can animate any construct regardless of size. Only Gods possess the power to permanently animate a construct, but legends of this Rite say that those with childish minds and hearts are able to sustain them indefinitely through imagination.

Rite of Judgement

This Rite can be considered both incredibly useful or astoundedly useless. It allows the user to judge a person's words as either true or false, making them immune to lies. In addition, it can judge people into various categories based on the questions asked by the user while the rite is active. for example, asking a crowd of people what kind of bender they are would force them to move and stand in groups that match their bending type. The ability can be used to force people into answering questions or allows the user to secretly find out about a person by asking questions to themselves while looking at their target. The main downfall of this ability is the fact that it only provides direct answers to yes or no questions.