Book 2: Water
Chapter 12: The Blood Moon Part 2: The Bloodbender
Sakana burst through the water of the tributary he spun very high onto a water spout, "Come on Avatar you're going to have to do better than that!" he taunted Rong Yan.
Rong Yan air-jetted into the air and conjured a spout of air, "I wasn't trying to kill you Sakana but I believe in an eye for an eye, your life for Kuma's. I hope you're happy Anguta is taking your best friend with her," said Rong Yan.
"I never cared for anyone they were simply my tools that I would later use for bloodbending," he grinned wickedly.
His mind consumed by Atshen, "Enough talk, Atshen wants me to kill you!" he threatened Rong Yan.
A wave of water came at Rong Yan, while in the air spout he dodged the wave punching air toward Sakana then released a swipe of air while on the spout. The air swipe cut the water spout but Sakana maintained his control over the water. The water quickly held onto the water that was cut and the water pressurized.
Sakana pulled streams of water from the water spout shooting each at Rong Yan, the first missed Rong Yan but the second he caught on time. Rong Yan redirected the stream of water at Sakana but grabbed it instead and created a ring that protected him and then grabbed another ring of water creating a gimbal of water surrounding himself.
Rong Yan shot a stream of fire from both his fists hoping to break the gimbal then it came to him if he overwhelmed Sakana it would break his defenses. A stream of water was ended by a strong shield of air. The water dropped below them, Rong Yan continued tossing fireballs and blasts of air at Sakana quickly overwhelming him a blast of fire that Sakana covered his face with his forearms before spinning out of control and dropping back into tributary.
Rong Yan spun in the air spout near the ground he safely landed onto his feet. The water burst again Sakana on the water spout while Rong Yan was on the ground below.
A barrage of ice shards was released from the water spout itself. Rong Yan quickly formed a dome of air around himself the ice shards shattered against the dome. Sakana formed ice he could skate around on he bent the entire water of the water spout into one huge wave that smashed against the air dome breaking through Rong Yan's defenses that washed him against a large rock. Rong Yan crawled on his knees and coughed Sakana cackled ever so loud.
"Did you think that dome of air was going to protect you against my waterbending?" he questioned Rong Yan.
Rong Yan looked up and blew air at Sakana it knocked him across the island. It created space between the two which gave Rong Yan some time to breathe before he regained himself and defended himself and his companions.
Unaraq is the first to wake up he saw the tree that was split in half one of the two who fought each other must have been smashed through that tree. He gathered his weapons and tools and snuck by the shoreline where he watched Sakana had approached Rong Yan. Sakana grabbed another stream of water it enveloped him like armor from the tributary he pulled water out and shot small balls of pressurized water at Rong Yan.
Likely to injure the Avatar, one of the bullets struck Rong Yan the other was met with an air bullet released from Rong Yan's right arm the water splashed and the air dispersed. Sakana slowly clopped toward Rong Yan, Unaraq swiftly observed the ground below him and gripped a rock. He aimed the stone and threw it at Sakana, the stone clubbed Sakana in the head, Sakana rubbed his head distracted from the rock. Unaraq pulls out his machete and legs it toward Sakana as he attempted to sneak attack his former friend.
Sakana lifted his right hand Unaraq dropped his machete, then Sakana began to crush Unaraq in front of him. A tentacle of water held onto his ankle Rong Yan pulled Sakana's ankle knocking him face-first onto the ground. Unaraq fell to the ground as well and crawled back to shore to regain himself. Rong Yan leaped into the air, a blast of fire hitting Sakana's parka that burned some of it.
Rong Yan's hands heated up he stood over Sakana, ready to execute him. A quick water whip hit Rong Yan with such a force that it knocked him off his feet and onto the ground. Sakana rose to his feet he careened a bit as he tried to maintain his balance. He formed claws of ice on his fingers he paced over to Rong Yan, suddenly a wave of water washed Sakana off and far from Rong Yan. He spun into the air with the use of a water spout.
Rong Yan turned his head to his right Tanaraq rose from behind the tall grasses. The puddles near Rong Yan moved toward Tanaraq and she shaped them into a disc to surf. She ran into the water and jumped on the surfboard.
Sakana shot shards of ice at Tanaraq as she avoided the shards, Rong Yan concentrated his firebending and shot large balls of fire with both of his hands. Tanaraq swung her arms while she surfed as she created smaller icebergs while she attempted to knock Sakana off the water spout.
The water spout Sakana sat in weaved and avoided the fireballs launched at him, Tanaraq froze the spout the water slowly transitioned into ice. Sakana now stood on a tower of ice as the minimal resource of water was solidifying. A ball of pressurized air shot out behind the reeds smashing into the frozen tower of ice and hitting Sakana back into the water. Tanaraq sank into the water against her will, and then a wave shot out Aloi that engulfed her.
He returned to the surface Rong Yan worried about Tanaraq he was now more angered than ever but Sakana didn't care because he was tired now. He held a tight grip on Rong Yan and levitated him into the air Rong Yan screamed in pain.
Tanaraq rose from the water she coughed for air she jumped back onto the surface of the water and ran while she carried a wave of water that froze around Sakana. It held him in place he dropped Rong Yan for only a second. His arms were frozen in place instead he used his mind to kill the Avatar instead. Aloi crawled from out of the bushes, along with the other fishermen who gripped their weapons ready to eliminate their former friend.
Rong Yan felt his vision darkened he felt like he was being crushed by an unknown force likely Sakana's bloodbending. Rong Yan screamed Unaraq shouted, "Stop you're killing him!"
Aloi released a tear and concentrated enough air to conjure an air wake in the shape of her body which collided into Sakana. It knocked him close to the shore he coughed and panted he regained strength and used his mind again to bloodbend everyone.
"I'm ending all of your lives now I'm tired of distractions!" yelled Sakana, they all dropped their things and levitated in the air Tako felt like he was being crushed he cried out in agony.
Rong Yan's Avatar State triggered an immense anger conjured a ring of fire that emitted from him. Sakana dropped his grip on everyone, the waves of water that surrounded the island smashed onto the land, a ring of earth formed around Rong Yan then a ring of air knocked Sakana back.
Sakana gasped, he tried to grip Rong Yan but the Avatar State was immune to his grip of bloodbending. No grip was strong to hold the power of a thousand Avatars, Rong Yan roared, "ENOUGH!"
A wake of a fire in the shape of Rong Yan's body soared through the air and it collided with Sakana. The next thing he knew he was on the ground his life lingered before him. He could see the spirit of his father which sat on the rock near Atshen's shrine. His father was disappointed with him he could hear the voices of the dead Anguta came for Sakana now.
"No bender is more powerful than the Avatar, my son," his father claimed.
For a second Sakana finally believed his father his strength was gone and now Atshen abandoned him. His mother's spirit stood near his father's and Kuma's spirit stood there sad. He was disappointed in Sakana as well, Sakana reached his arm out to his family and best friend. Rong Yan fell to his knees and fainted the surge of power escaped his body. Aloi bolted over to Rong Yan she held him tight and cried, Gyomo darted over to the dying Sakana.
Sakana clung to life a bit longer his clothing remained as nothing but scraps. The intensity of the fire wake burned through his clothing. Sakana suffered fourth-degree burns his flesh was exposed and it smoked, Sakana finally released his final breath. Sakana's spirit was released from his charred corpse by a young woman wearing a black cloak. She held a staff but never allowed Sakana to see her face she suddenly transformed her posture slouched and now a wrinkly hand held his.
"Anguta," he uttered in a flash of light he found himself in the Spirit World he awakened in the snow except it wasn't cold. His father towered over him he never thought he'd see Aipaloovik's face ever again.
At the same time, Gyomo turned Sakana's charred body over onto his stomach while he observed the burns to the body. He jerked his head over to Sake, "The Avatar burned his body to the bone," reckoned Gyomo.
Tako and Sake ran over to Rong Yan, Tako assisted his brother Sake he placed Rong Yan's unconscious body over Sake's shoulder. Tanaraq coughed while she laid on the shoreline on her back Unaraq ran over to his sister. He placed his arms underneath Tanaraq's armpits and dragged her onto the island, "I need you to regain your strength and create a bridge of ice so we can get off this island safely," he said to his sister.
"What...h-happened?" she coughed out.
"Sakana's dead, and Rong Yan's unconscious, I'll explain later!" responded Unaraq. Tako grabbed his club and stared into the eyes of the ugly thing. Disgusted he raised his club and smashed the shrine to pieces.
He grabbed the grimoire, "What do we do with the book?" he inquired turning his attention to Unaraq.
"Hand it over we're taking it back to camp and burning it," replied Unaraq.
A few hours later, the skies started to pink with a tinge of orange the clouds were more visible. The
moon was still in the sky while the stars started to disappear it must have been four or five hours past twilight nearing morning time. They sat around the campfire the tome fed the fire quite nicely it kept them all warm. They ignored slumber they were all shook from the events that transpired hours before. Tanaraq came back with Sakana's satchel Gyomo shed tears for Sakana and Kuma, their bodies laid on the shoreline near their camp.
In a few hours, they would properly bury Sakana and Kuma's body with prayers and then building each a cairn with the river stones that dotted the shoreline and riverbed. This entire week was difficult for everyone to handle especially Rong Yan. He slept on Aloi's lap while she held him Tanaraq found a leatherbound journal inside were writings from Sakana to someone named Aumanil.
"I found a journal maybe it holds his secrets or his thoughts from his final days," announced Tanaraq.
"He mentions a woman named Aumanil in here too," Tanaraq added while she skimmed through the various journal entries. She sat down next to her brother and began to read, "If you find this you must be my mother or a friend...since I was young my father Aipaloovik had taken me out on hunting trips. We didn't hunt though, in secrecy, my father instead taught me the ancient forbidden art of bloodbending. It was passed down through generations after Avatar Anana and Chief Shesh banned the practice of it. My family hails from Mavsa village in the southeast Unalak region, generations of my family practiced in secret, eventually, my father taught me. I didn't want to learn it, but he forced me to do it or else he would bloodbend me as punishment."
"I obeyed my father and did as I was told. If I failed to accomplish a lesson he would torture me with bloodbending. There came a time where my mother asked but I was afraid to answer for her safety. My father fought with my mother daily about me being taken on hunting trips and returning suspiciously. He never told her our secrets, or why we frequented the wilderness," Tanaraq continued to read.
"There came a time just when the Fifth Nation was kicked out by force by the Kingdom of Omashu that my father was bold enough to travel to the Oma Kingdom. Now that no pirates occupied the southern Oma Kingdom coastline we could do this safely. There he ordered me to kill a vagrant who camped out on Atshen's island. He looked ill and slept rough, I refused to hurt the man further than he already was. There as my father held me in a grip I watched as the man squirmed and attempted to breathe for air. In a matter of seconds, I watched horrifyingly and traumatized as my father slowly killed the man. I was scarred," Tanaraq wiped a tear from her left eye with her finger.
"We remained on the island of Atshen, a small island in the tributary of the Yantai River in the West Jurong province. The river splits into two the You Gong River and the Zhuhai River, two islands sit between the two rivers. Atshen's island and an even smaller island but it doesn't hold any significance other than being marked on maps. There we met a woman named Aumanil, she was there for the Blood Moon event and made friends with my father and me while we camped there waiting for the night. She was from the Northern Water Tribe. She wasn't like my father when my father bloodbended me, she forced him onto his knees with her grip saving me," continued Tanaraq it was clear she was filled with emotion. Sakana was forced into this life by his abusive father Aipaloovik. While Sakana was an evil bloodbender she felt sorry for him now.
"I...I turned on him and ended his life there...I was fifteen when I killed my first person...but he deserved it..." she deeply inhaled some air while she read with further emotion which filled her.
"...after that event, I never saw my mother again. I couldn't return to her without my father, I was raised throughout the rest of my teenhood by the woman who had helped me kill my father, Aumanil. She taught me that not all bloodbenders were evil. There are good ones and there are bad ones. She studied medicine and alchemy when she was my age. As of course by the custom of the North Pole, women used their bending to heal and not to fight. She told me about the old tome she stumbled upon after almost finishing her studies. From there she learned the various forms and ancient remedies of bloodbending. You see bloodbending is a healing art as much as a fighting art if used properly. The bender can perform miracles, like cure the blind of blindness over even cure the disabled allowing them to once again walk," revealed Tanaraq as she read further into the journal the sadness ended she was still full of emotion but she learned more about bloodbending.
"My new mother warned me though, the majority of benders used it for harm. I was only allowed to use bloodbending if I was in great harm. The solution was to knock them out with my abilities...you should know by now that I have either been arrested or killed. If my real mother is reading this...I'm sorry I should've told you sooner...but I did what I did to protect you, I love you. If Aumanil is reading this thank you for taking me in...you were a great secondary mother and a great teacher..." Tanaraq finished, she sighed after finishing the long journal entries.
"Wow that was a very sad story...do you think his past with his father might have caused Sakana to grow insane?" Unaraq wondered.
"That's a good question," mentioned Sake, he stood from his seat and paced to the shoreline.
Gyomo rose from his seat too, "Morning's coming in you guys should pack up and go. We'll stay here and bury Sakana and Kuma, then we'll head home," he suggested.
"No we're going to stay here with you guys, we want to say our final goodbyes to Kuma and Sakana," Tanaraq declined.
"I'll put Rong Yan in Shen's saddle and I'll meet you guys in a bit," Aloi mentioned to Tanaraq, Tanaraq continued to ignore her.
She had enough of Tanaraq at this point she exclaimed, "What's your problem with me?!"
"I hate you!" she screamed, she was pushed beyond the edge that she conjured enough air to send Tanaraq flying away from the camp. She tumbled down near the shore Tako and Sake stopped her with their feet they darted their heads toward the camp baffled.
Tanaraq clutched the sand at the same time Unaraq confronted Aloi for what she did, "What's wrong with you?! How dare you attack my sister! I've had it with you guys!"
Gyomo held Unaraq back, "Stop, let them fight it will end whatever tension they have between each other."
Unaraq nodded and stepped back they ignored Tanaraq and Aloi and helped Sake and Tako. Tanaraq's hands trembled with rage she rose to her feet, "You stupid arrowhead this will be your final mistake!"
She clutched a hold of some water and charged at Aloi. A blast of air and water collided and knocked both women to the ground they both leaped up onto their feet pulled each other by their hair. Screaming profanities at each other and being foul-mouthed, Aloi yanked Tanaraq's hair and punched her in the face. Tanaraq broke free pushed Aloi and tackled her to the ground.
Meanwhile, the men ignored them they grabbed river rocks and circled the corpses of their friends with the rocks. They formed the cairns as they continued to stack rocks atop each other and buried their friends. At the same time, Aloi sat on top of Tanaraq where she punched the princess in the face. Tanaraq in a quick ditch effort grabbed sand and tossed it into Aloi's eyes and blinded.
"Ahh!" Aloi screamed Tanaraq sprinted toward the water where she pushed and pulled the water and washed Aloi with a torrent of water. It slammed her into a tree, the endless stream of water continued Aloi drowned in a channeled stream of water little by little. She released a wail while muffled it was strong enough to affect everyone's hearing. Rong Yan jumped into the air he shouted frightened at the wail, a wake of air shot at the disoriented Tanaraq which knocked her into the drink. There was a ringing sound in his ear for a bit.
Rong Yan recollected his thoughts as he scanned the area in front of him and watched as an air wake in the shape of his airbending master pierced through the sand to the shoreline below. Tanaraq rose in a large water spout, Rong Yan questioned Aloi, "What's going on, Aloi?"
She ignored him she dropped a combination of kicks and punches aimed at Tanaraq he looked to see her on a water spout. A huge blade of water cut through the shoreline Aloi side rolled to dodge the blade that cut a tree in half.
As soon as he awoke he witnessed madness everyone else was gone and Tanaraq and Aloi were killing each other. He had enough that he used an air suction to grab Aloi and then slammed her onto the sand. The force disoriented Aloi, while Rong Yan ran up to the shoreline and tried his best to freeze the water spout. The ice trickled down to the foundation of the water spout, then the ice shattered which knocked Tanaraq out of control and she fell into the water. Rong Yan used an air suction pulled Tanaraq out of the water while he channeled airbending and dragged her unconscious body out.
He turned his head to the right where Gyomo, Unaraq, Sake, and Tako stood there next to stacked cairns. Rong Yan shouted, "What are you guys doing?"
"We let them fight and get it out their systems while we buried Kuma and Sakana," Unaraq answered.
"You're not supposed to let them fight!" Rong Yan exclaimed.
"Well, to be honest, the airbender did start it first," added in Sake, all four men nodded in agreement that Aloi did indeed start the battle between the tribal princess and herself. They ignored the Avatar and dropped their heads and held each other's hands and initiated a prayer circle to wish both men a safe passage into the Spirit World.
Rong Yan was infuriated that they would disrespect him in this manner. Tanaraq crawled back up to camp where Aloi had still been stunned. Aloi rose and sat down she rubbed her head with one hand while she used the other to support herself on the sand she whimpered in pain. Tanaraq who's hair was damp and full of sand refused to quit. She crawled over to Aloi to dig her nails into the airbender's skin until Rong Yan grabbed her by the wrist and shoved her aside.
"I said stop! That's enough from you two! If you fight again then I will drop you off with your father and you will find away back to the Sum Pa Air Temple! I will find Naartok alone!" warned Rong Yan.
Aloi was now scared about the threat not because of what he said, simply because if he blew up in anger it would trigger the Avatar State. Rong Yan tried to step away but a large weight held him down. Aloi held on to his right leg, she was bruised and exhausted.
"I'm sorry, Rong Yan. She started it!" Aloi cried.
"I've had enough! I don't care or want to know who started it, I trusted you to keep the peace. You disappoint me, Aloi," Rong Yan said raising his voice he was irritated at both women. At the same time, Gyomo, Sake, Tako, and Unaraq finished their final prayer for their two fallen friends.
"Thanks for everything, prince. I'm sure Sakana and Kuma would be thankful for this, we're going to head back home now," Sake thanked Unaraq for his desire to give his late fishermen friends proper burials.
"You're welcome, I suppose this is goodbye for now," Unaraq frowned, he hoped he'd see his friends again soon although it wouldn't be the same without Sakana and Kuma.
"We lost our waterbenders you could assist us in pushing the boat back into the river," Gyomo mentioned Unaraq nodded at the request, he lifted his pants by the corners. He followed the oldest of the crew over to the boat and assisted them.
"UNARAQ!" shouted Rong Yan, "I gotta head back now, I'll see you guys soon!" Unaraq said sharing his goodbyes with his crew and hugged it out with all three of them. He padded up the shoreline after they broke camp. He knelt before his sister and reached out his hand, she had tears dried up under her eyes and her hair was dirty.
"I need you to help me keep your sister and Aloi apart from each other please," Rong Yan requested then sighed.
Unaraq nodded, "As you wish, I fully apologize for what transpired here."
Rong Yan shook his head, "Don't worry about it, just glad I woke up on time and ended their altercation."