A/N: Hello people. I've decided to simple update all the chapters I've got archived instead of waiting until i finish a new chapter. So, you're going to get a double upload today on this story. If you're following any of my other stories, go check them out cause you'll find they've also updated.
A/N 2: I've done some minor editing to the previous chapters.
Chapter 4: The Rescue
I silently watched the ship leave, not looking away because I could still see Aang and I refused to turn my back on him.
"Ware, you have to do something!" Katara ran to my side and demanded, she was crying.
"And I will, but I won't spit on what Aang is trying to do by going after him right now." I said simple.
Once the ship had left my eye line, I turned to survey the damage. The villagers had left my protective wall and were now looking around. We'd gotten lucky that the only damage they had taken was to the outer wall.
I moved so I was stood in the centre of the village and fell into the water bending stance. I didn't typically use the stances since I was able to bend without them, making me a more dangerous opponent in a fight since you couldn't tell when I was going to bend water. But for what I was about to do, I was going to need the extra control that going through the stances brought me.
When the southern benders came south, they had brought with them the scroll which went through the moves to build the walls to defend their new home. Since they didn't have the backing of an ice mountain, they had been forced to simple build a wall around the village – one which had been sieged and broken. That wall had taken thirty benders, working together, to build. The wall of the north had taken sixty. I knew from practise that I was stronger than most water benders that we had records off because what I was about to do was supposed to be impossible for a single bender to achieve.
First, I got rid of the wall I'd built.
"Wera, what are you doing?" Sokka asked.
"She's bending," Gran answered, awed sadness in her voice. "I've not seen someone take such a stance since the north."
I allowed my mind to fall back into meditation, focusing on my breathing and the feel of the water that was constantly surrounding me. My body started flowing, my muscles having remembered the moves instinctively after the number of hours I'd spent going through them.
Once my mind was settled, I focused on the feel of the water beneath the thick ice. I couldn't just manipulate the ice to my will because then it would leave the platform of land we called our home, dangerously thin. Instead, I drew the water up as I pulled up the ice. Slowly, I pulled ice and water up, making sure to extend the barriers enough to contain the entrance to the boats and the underwater pen (even if only I knew where they were and how to access them).
The wall grew, and grew until it was thirty feet in the air; higher than the original wall that had been built by my ancestor, but it was surrounding less space – they had needed a wall which protected a few thousand people, mine would contain no more than three hundred. The next change I made was to the upper structure – they had not thought that their walls could be breached by launching projectiles over the wall. I would not fall to the same folly.
Slowly, I started curving the wall into a dome. The dome merged together at the top. Despite a dome being naturally strong, I pulled pillars up to take the weight of the dome in a circle, just around the heights point, while there was another set of pillars in a circle at the point where the wall began curving. With the structure built, I added thickness to the walls, until they were twenty inches thick and I allowed the water to turn into ice.
I then focused on the pillars. They had been basic and solid, but now I twisted the water until they told the story of the Southern water tribe. If they were going to look at them every day, I figured they should be both functional and beautiful. Once the images had formed, I turned the pillars to ice.
With that done, I started making the defences practical and functional. I built a platform around the inside of the wall at three different levels, with stairs leading to each one. Then, I formed small arrow slits in the walls for look outs.
Once that was done, I relaxed my stance and opened my eyes. Everything was just as I pictured it in my mind.
"Wa… how… why…" Sokka spluttered spinning around in a circle. "Why didn't you do that from the start?!"
"Because…" I answered taking a step forward only to stumble and fall to one knee, blinking to clear the sudden black spots in my vision. I should have waited a moment before trying to move. If I'd done this the night of the fall moon, I wouldn't be as exhausted, but I was stubborn and I'd learnt how to use the natural movement and well of power in water to take some of the strain off myself.
"Because bending isn't as easy as I make it seem and doing something like that would have been a clear sign that we had benders here." I waved away Gran's and Katara's hands and forced myself up and over to my staff. "The only easy point of entry is now through the front door, but there is still exit points in the event of a major attack. If the fire nation returns, the walls will hold them long enough for you to evacuate. Now, I need to pack."
With those words I entered my igloo and began packing my camp pack. It was the same one I used any time I left the village, even if I was only leaving for two days. Once I'd packed, I took a moment to stop and eat some food which Gran brought me with a sad smile.
"I know you worry about our ability to fish without you, but one of the mothers is going to take the tunnels to the villages. Have some of the teens brought here to help out." Gran explained. "Now you've built such a protection, the elders will meet and bring many of the villages together. There is no reason for us to be spread so thin when our strong are off fighting a war."
"Have the council convene here, and remind them that the tunnels can be used to escape if necessary. And they can send people to rotate the looking after of the plants and animals in their villages until we can return. They won't be trapped like they were in the past, and we have food stock outside of these walls to feed ourselves. I hope to return in the next year or two."
"You plan to stay with the Avatar until he's completely trained in all four elements." Gran realised.
"Yes," I said simple.
"You know what Katara and Sokka will follow you." Gran warned.
"I know." I sighed. This was going to be a dangerous expedition, but I can't force my siblings to remain behind. "I hope that Katara will be able to see the truth in what it means to be a water bender from the events of the last two days, which will allow her to improve her bending skills until we reach the North and I can get advice from the Master's there. And Sokka, he needs to be shown that he isn't brilliant with his club, even if he can use his boomerang to great effect. With real world experience he could become a great warrior, but he needs time to temper him. While they are learning, I will protect them." I vowed.
"I know you will. Just as you have protected the village." Gran agreed with a knowing look in her eyes as she reached out to take my left arm – the one I had used to take the fire blast while I was forming the ice wall. "So, like your mother."
I pulled my arm back with a sad smile. There was nothing Gran could do for my arm. There were healing poultices I could make, but I hadn't manged to successfully grow the ingredients necessary to treat a burn. I'd have to travel to the earth kingdoms and harvest what I needed. Besides, the pain wasn't too bad. Zuko's fire hadn't been hot enough to cause more than minor burns, likely because he wasn't used to fighting against the cold air. Experienced fire benders would know that they had to put more power behind their attacks when fighting in the icy, wet atmosphere of the south or north pole.
"When you reach the North, search out Master Pakku." Gran began, lifting her arm and removing the bracelet she wore – part of a set. The neckless she had given to mother, who had then given it to Katara the day the fire nation came. She clasped my hand in hers and past the bracelet over. "I've told you of the Northern tribes, but I never told you why I left. You need to know now.
I was daughter to a warrior and a healer, and when I was thirteen, I was betrothed to a young man named Pakku, who was quickly proving himself to be an exceptional water bender. He reached Master at sixteen, the youngest to ever achieve such. But he was a hard man. His father taught him not to rely on others emotionally, and he struggled to express himself openly. I learnt to read his true intentions, the caring beneath the ice, and I did love him." Gran sighed. "But I did not love him enough to stay.
As you know, daughters are not allowed to be warriors and I had no skill in bending. I wanted to explore and to teach, but those were roles of men. So, on my eighteen birthday – twenty days before I was supposed to marry – I left. Took what was most precious to me and journeyed south. It took me seven long months to reach here, but I do not regret a single moment of that time. Especially when it was my husband, your grandfather, who found me wondering the icy-tundra of the south and brought me back home. He was a proud warrior, but he was kind and open in a way Pakku was not. Dani loved me as I loved him; to the point that I stayed instead of returning to the North as I had originally intended to marry Pakku." Gran finished with a sad smile.
"Is there anything you wish me to tell him?" I asked her, securing the bracelet to my right wrist.
Like the neckless, there was a blue stone onto which a circle had been carved. Within the circle, waves were drawn – calm along the bottom and curving up near the stop. It was simple and beautiful, and I could see what Pakku carved it as such. Gran was a storm of emotions, wild, while he had been calm and stable. He was the current to her waves. Symbolic – he must truly have loved her. The fact that he made not just a neckless, but also a bracelet, showed that his intentions and feelings for her were serious: most in the north engagements were symbolised with the gifting of a neckless alone.
"Tell him, that I am sorry I left without giving him an explanation and that I never returned to explain. He did not deserve that. Tell him I lived a happy and full life, and that I never forgot him even as I gave my heart to another." Gran requested.
"I'll tell him," I promised, reaching between the space separating us and taking her hands. "I am sure he will be gladdened to know you survived your travels and settled. With the fire nation, it's possible he feared you dead all these years."
"If we had ever managed to keep Eagles this far south, I would have sent him a message to asway him of such fears. As it is, no one has travelled to the north since before I arrived on these shores – we could not afford such a journey."
"Well, when I reach the north, I shall ask them to send some of their men, and perhaps a healer or two, to you and for them to bring one of their Ice Eagles to carry messages. I think it's time the north remembered their sister village to the south." I told her, my eyes sparkling with mischief. "And if Master Pakku wishes to meet you, perhaps he can lead that expedition."
"You cheeky child. I am far to old to be starting a new relationship." Gran scolded lightly.
"You're never to old to find love," I disagreed.
"Now, on a more serious note, in that chest," I pointed to the chest that sat beside my door, "Is a collection of weapons and scrolls on fighting. The top scroll is a training program across all the ages, please stick to it. I do not want the children injured for foolishly pushing them beyond their limits or present capabilities. I've already given copies of the first two years of training, dependant on age group, to the other villages and started them with training, so if they decide to join there won't be a large gap in base training. It's all outlined."
I'd been planning my leaving for years now. Everything was ready and set up. I had only been waiting for my siblings to grow up and get better, but I'd always ensured that even if they did not the village would be okay. Planning for multiple scenarios was always something I was good at. I'd known I would need to leave the village to get training before I turned twenty, and I was already cutting it very close; which was why everything had been finalised before my seventeen. I'd only stayed longer in the hopes that my siblings would learn what I was teaching them – but it seemed they were leaning too much on me. Perhaps going out into the world with the Avatar would do them some good, show them the truth of the world and their abilities.
"Do I even want to know how you managed to get an entire chest of weapons and weapon-based scrolls?" Gran asked with amusement.
"Probably not." I agreed, this was the same conversation we'd had when I returned with a boat load of dirt and everything else that I kept returning with to benefit the people.
"Are you ready?" Gran quired, glancing to my full backpack and my empty bowl.
"I should probably get some sleep, but I need to retrieve Aang before the ship gets too far away. I doubt that Prince Zuko is going to let his men rest until they reach the capital." I sighed, grabbing my pack and throwing it on before grabbing my staff. Hopefully, Aang will be able to get himself free from the chains. Air benders were tricky like that.
I left my igloo to find Katara ranting at Sokka who had a backpack at his feet and the recently repaired canoe ready to be carried to the water's edge.
"We have to go after that ship, Sokka. Aang saved our tribe; now we have to save him."
"Katara, I-" Sokka tried to say something but Katara continued on, probably not believing that Sokka would have changed his attitude towards Aang in such a short space of time.
"Why can't you realize that he's on our side? If we don't help him, no one will. I know you don't like Aang, but we owe him and I-"
"Katara! Are you gonna talk all day or are you comin' with me?" Sokka pointed to the canoe, catching their sister's attention.
"Sokka!" Katara gasped happily and grabbed him in a happy hug.
"You won't catch up with a Fire Nation Ship going at full throttle in a canoe, and even if you do, they'll simple set the boat on fire. I have a better idea." I caught their attention, walking past them towards the exit.
"Wait, you're going after Aang?" Sokka asked shocked, grabbing his bag and jogging to catch up with me.
"Of course, I was never going to abandon him. But like Aang said, it just was not advisable to continue fighting so near the village and our people. However, on a fire nation ship out in the middle of the ocean, we have the advantage." I said simple.
"And um… how are we going to follow them if we aren't going by canoe?" Katara came up on my other side.
"Flying off course." I stepped outside the village and pointed to Appa.
"Great, you just love taking me outside my comfort zone." Sokka complained.
"I could leave you behind," I said flippantly, jumping up onto Appa's back and grabbing the reigns.
Sokka and Katara were quick to scramble up behind me and take a seat, knowing that I would indeed leave them behind.
"Appa, yip yip." I ordered as Aang had done the day before.
Appa let out a long rumble and jumped. Instead of landing, he continued kicking and moving through the air.
Despite the distance that the war ship had on us, Appa managed to catch up quiet quickly. Air speed was much greater than water speed, apparently.
I stood, passing the rains back to Sokka.
"What are you planning?" Katara asked, her eyes wide in worry at my actions.
"This." I said, jumping from Appa's back and falling towards to ship. Judging by the movement on deck, Aang had managed to escape his holding but not the ship.
While I was falling, I pulled the water up to meet me and used it as a slide to land on the deck. Immediately upon landing on the deck, I sent water from my slide at the visible soldiers, sending them to the deck where I froze them in place. Aang came barrelling out from the lower decks, opening his glider and trying to take to the air. Prince Zuko however, was following closely in pursuit and with a cry of desperation he grabbed Aangs foot. The extra weight destabilised the air bender and sent him tumbling onto the deck.
I stepped up to Aang's side, pulling water up from the sides of the ship to use as my weapons. "Aang, Appa's behind you."
"Right."
"I won't let you escape." Zuko spat angrily.
"You're on a minor war ship in the middle of an ocean. With an air bender standing beside a water bender. Do you really thing you'll be able to stop us?" I proved my point by destabilising the ship by pulling the water away from the left side of the ship which caused it to tilt.
Instead of verbally responding, Zuko sent a fireball. I stepped forward, putting Aang behind me and engaging Zuko in a fight. I would have simple flooded the deck, but I couldn't do that until Aang left, so I was left in a bending battle.
"Aang, get to Appa." I snapped, deflecting a fireball while trying to get closer to Zuko to engage him in hand to hand. However, it seemed that the little prince had learnt his lesson because he kept me at a distance.
"I'm not leaving you." Aang answered, sending a blast of air at the solider which approached from the left.
"Dame it, you are a twelve-year-old boy who doesn't have combat training. Avatar or not, you are not presently capable of aiding in this fight. Now please, join my siblings." I snapped, suddenly ducking a fire blast from the left.
Keeping track of the new soldiers who were appearing on deck, Zuko and Aang was proving to stretch my fighting ability. Especially since I'd already put myself in a near state of exhaustion protecting the village but was still continuing to bend while fighting.
"Dame," I swore when someone managed to get a lucky shot at Aang which sent him over board.
"Aang! No!" I heard Katara's desperate shout. I couldn't afford to dive overboard to retrieve Aang since I was being kept in the fight. Hopefully, Aang would be able to use his air bending to get himself out of the water.
Suddenly the boat jerked as Aang rose from the water, a typhoon behind him. His arrows and eyes were both glowing blue and his face was fixed in a look of determination. When Aang landed, I had just enough time to anchor my feet and bend a water shield around me as Aang bent the typhoon and blasted Zuko and his men overboard. Maintaining my own resistance against the power of the Avatar was extremely taxing.
The pressure against my water shield stopped and I lowered it in time to see the light fade from Aang's tattoos as his knees gave out. I darted forward and caught the boy.
"Easy there," I said, hefting Aang back to his feet as Katara came to his other side to offer support.
"Aang! Are you okay?" Katara asked in wide eyed worry.
"Hey Katara. Hey Sokka. Thank you for coming."
"Well, I couldn't let you and Wera have all the glory." Sokka quipped.
"I dropped my staff," Aang realised, shaking off his exhaustion.
"Got it!" Sokka announced, turning and finding it lying on the deck of the boat. When he went to pick it up, he found that Zuko was hanging onto the other end of it, trying to pull himself back onto the deck. With a glare, Sokka hit him three times in the head with the end of the staff, so that he was forced to let go.
"Katara, get Aang on Appa," I ordered, moving so I was no longer offering any support to Aang who was rapidly recovering. Several of the soldiers who hadn't been blown over deck, were making their way towards them.
I used the residue water on the deck to throw them back and then froze the water to stop pursuers. Once Sokka had climbed onto Appa, I jumped up after them. Sokka was the one to take the reins and encourage Appa into the air.
"Aang, you need to deflect that," I called as I saw Zuko working in unison with General Iroh. I didn't have the strength left to pull the amount of water needed to block that fireball in the time I would have to intercept it.
Aang jumped on Appa's tail and crated a gale which intercepted the large fireball and sent it crashing into an ice cap. The fire caused an avalanche which slammed into the front of Zuko's ship.
"Well, at least we know we'll have a few weeks before Zuko tries following us." I relaxed against the back of the saddle. Aang settled beside me, while Katara was sat opposite, with Sokka sat at the reigns.
"Aang, how did you do that? With the water?" Katara asked. "You said, you didn't know how to water bend."
"I don't know. I just sort of… did it." Aang said sadly.
"It was the Avatar state." I informed them gravely. Among the scrolls that I had managed to collect over the years, I had found scrolls written by either past Avatars, or past friends of the Avatar. It was the writings of Avatar Marilla, the only known Avatar to hail from the South Water tribes, which had described the Avatar state.
"What's that?" Aang asked confused.
"The Avatar state is when the Avatar channels a vast amount of cosmic energy, and gains the knowledge and skills of the previous Avatars. Which is the reason Aang could bend water. Further to this, because he is channelling the energies of the cosmos and therefore the spirit realm, he has access to a greater amount of power. It is not unheard of for the Avatar to unconsciously enter this realm when they perceive themselves to be in mortal danger, or they are experiencing high emotional stress. The Avatar state, in this instance, would be used as a defence mechanism. Once an Avatar has mastered all four elements, they move onto entering, controlling and leaving the Avatar state at will with only the knowledge and skill that they need to complete the task at hand." I informed them. "One of the major problems with the Avatar State, is that Aang has no control over himself when he enters it reflexively which could mean a high chance of collateral damage."
"How… how do you know so much about it?" Aang looked very hesitant to broach this question, as though he was unwilling to hear the answer and what it might mean.
"I managed to get my hands on a scroll which once belonged to Avatar Marilla. One of the things that she discussed was the Avatar State because it is one of the hardest things for an Avatar to consciously master, due to the high control over one's emotional state and connections that is needed, as well as the ability to calm one's mind. And then there is also the fact that they don't have a mentor in learning to control it, like they do with the elements."
"Aang, why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar? And Wera, you knew and said nothing." Katara frowned, a hint of betrayal in her eyes.
"Because… I never wanted to be." Aang admitted sorrowfully.
"Because it is not safe to speak of such things so openly." I said simple.
"But Aang's the only hope the world has that the war will end. Everyone's been waiting for the Avatar to return." Katara pointed out affronted.
"And how am I going to end a war?" Aang asked, looking down at his hands sadly.
"According to legend, you need to first master water, then earth, then fire, right?" Katara glanced between Aang and me for approval.
"That's what the monks told me." Aang agreed.
"And that is the order that it has always been. The learning of the different elements follows the spiritual circle because the Avatar's Spirit is so closely linked with the spirit world." I agreed.
"Sometimes, I get the feeling that you've swallowed to many books." Sokka grumbled.
"So, in order to master water bending you need to go to the North Pole, 'cause Wera refuses to admit her mastery over water until she's been there." Katara said with a thoughtful frown.
"We can learn it together!" Aang said with a smile, allowing his sadness to fade away.
"And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some fire bender heads on the way."
"I'd like that. I'd really like that." Sokka admitted with a dreamy tone to his voice.
"And I'll do my best to introduce you to water bending along the way, and to protect you. Aang, you also need practise in using your air bending in a fight." I tagged on.
With Aang pulling out a map to discuss where he would like to stop on the way to the North pole, I closed my eyes and evened my breathing out for meditation. I'd been hovering at the point of exhaustion for a while now, even while I'd been bending, and I needed to rest to recover my energy. But going straight to sleep after the amount of energy I had expended would be a bad idea since it would leave my body in a deficit. Meditation allowed me to first begin recovering some of my spiritual energy before I started recovering physical energy alongside it when I fell into sleep.
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