Here is the 13th full chapter in Book 5, released on time as promised. This the start of the main storyline of Book 5 as it is the moment where the two major players finally meet before, well, you can guess what will happen. This chapter will also serve as a bridge chapter between the end of the Zaofu arc and the beginning of the next arc that I won't name to avoid spoilers. However, that is all I have for now though and as there isn't anything to respond to that means that it time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 13th full installment of Avatar: The Tale of Harry. Book 5: Duty.
Disclaimer: As always I own nothing related to these two great works of fiction.
Chapter 13
Harry stood atop Azkaban as the cold wind whipped around him, but he paid it no heed. He was wearing tight fitting, warm weather clothes to protect from the chill though his cheeks and nose were starting to feel it a bit. Under all of it he had on the special exo suit that had been developed for him in Zaofu over a month ago. He'd perfected its use as it was similar enough to the glove on his right hand so at last he was as close as possible to being back to how he'd been before his extensive injuries at the end of the Principate War.
The only thing missing from his get up were his weapons and water skin. Azkaban had a strict policy on no weapons and Harry honored it. He did have his cane on him, well the one without a hidden blade in it, but that was it. It wouldn't have mattered anyway as he was the Avatar so all but his waterbending was still available should he need it during the impending meeting.
It was at last time to meet with Ekrizdis XIII face to face and see what the man wanted. It had taken over a month to set the meeting up and another week to prepare but at last it was time. Over the last week Harry, along with Ginny, Ron, Luna and all of the Ron and Luna's kids had been at the Western Air Temple preparing for it as best they could.
The plan ended up coming down to having the meeting and seeing what happened during it as Harry truth saw Ekrizdis and gaged him as a person. Afterwards Harry would contact Remus at the Southern Air Temple where he was, and they'd go from there. The most likely outcome was an emergency meeting of the National Council to discuss what to do about Ekrizdis following the Avatar's assessment of him.
Harry had no idea how the meeting would go but if he were a betting man he didn't think it would be good. In his experience, the sudden arrival of a new player who was both powerful and dedicated to a certain belief always heralded a change that could be good or bad but was more than often was the latter.
He was expecting the worst based off what he'd been told but Harry would still try and give Ekrizdis the benefit of the doubt and work with him if that was possible as the man did represent something the world had thought lost long ago. That alone was so valuable to them that Harry was willing to work with the man, within reason though.
From what Harry understood that was alas unlikely. Luna had told him the Ekrizdis was arrogant, narcissistic, and powerful, a dangerous mix in a person that Harry had seen a few times before an none had been good. He was also a fanatic according to her who believed that as he was the leader of the Exile Temple and descended from old Air Nomads that predated the genocide that meant that he was the rightful ruler of all airbenders.
It appeared that he wanted to revert things back to the way they were prior to the rebirth of the Air Nation and was inflexible, an uncharacteristic trait in an airbender ironically given his claims of strict adherence to the old ways. All this did not bode well for Harry's meeting with the man.
Still, Harry had to hope for a peaceful resolution was still possible hence why he was here staring out and trying to see where Ekrizdis was. It was almost time and Harry had a feeling that he wouldn't be kept waiting much longer now that the man was ready for their meeting.
He was right because as the meeting time neared he saw a speck on the horizon approaching the prison from high above. Harry strained to see what it was and could just about make out the figure of a lone man approaching. Good. Ekrizdis was ordered to come alone, and he was honoring that it seemed.
A moment later the figure came into better view, and it was as Harry expected. It was a man, the finer details he couldn't quite make out yet, gliding towards him on an ancient glider staff, a true traditional one made of wood with the orange sails that Harry had seldom seen outside of museums or stored in the archives of the Air Temples. On it the figure was clad in the traditional homespun robes of an airbending master, the same that Harry knew Remus or Luna would wear for daily attire. It was clear that this was the right man.
Harry just calmly waited there as the man reached the prison and leapt off his glider with a flip a good 10 feet above the roof. He spun it expertly in his hand to collapse it as he fell slowly to the stone building, the glider closing fully as he lightly touched down on the ground, air billowing out around him as he did.
It was certainly an impressive display of airbending control, the best Harry had seen in a long time. What made it more impressive was that as he stood there, his clothes didn't even rustle in the wind as if he were controlling the air around him as he stood to maintain a dignified appearance. It was what he was doing Harry realized and he was doing it without moving his body. This man truly was a top tier airbender.
He also held himself as if he were a leader, Harry had to admit it. He was tall, over 6 feet at least, and well-built from years of training despite his age being in the early 50s, though Harry was in his 80s and still fit so it wasn't a surprise.
His traditional robes, the same style that Harry had seen in paintings of the old masters, but which hadn't been properly replicated by modern tailors, were clean and crisp, his well-worn brown boots polished, his head shaved and waxed so that it gleamed in the sun, and his salt and pepper goatee expertly trimmed and groomed. All in all, Harry could see why this man was chosen as a leader but as he met Ekrizdis's cold blue gaze Harry suppressed the shudder that came over him and it wasn't from the chill air.
If there was one thing his years had taught Harry it was that eyes never lied. They were seen as the windows into the soul and in Harry's experience that was definitely true. He'd looked many killers, sociopaths, and fanatics in the eye before, so he knew what to look for. The cold look in Ekrizdis's eyes as he studied Harry at the same time Harry studied him showed Harry that this was a man of utter conviction in his ideals, though not the eyes of a killer. Not a good start but it could be worse.
"So, you are Ekrizdis XIII." Harry said calmly breaking the ice, his voice carrying over the win with a little airbending. "Thank you for meeting me here."
"The chance to meet the Avatar was something I could not pass up, I just had to be ready for our little chat." Ekrizdis said calmly, his voice strong and educated without a hint of a regional accent that Harry could detect further lending credence to his claims. "I know of your skills and exploits; I have followed them as best I could or read about what happened before I was born such as the Second Purity War and the Liberation of the Fire Nation. I must say I am impressed though I know of your injuries as well."
"I am fully healed from them." Harry said simply. "And what couldn't be healed I have support items for so don't you worry, I am still as strong as I was in my youth. Stronger perhaps as I am more in tune with all my bending than I have ever been in my life."
"Given the extent of what happened at the end of the Principate War I am not surprised that you've had to do that." Ekrizdis said. "Though I hear your truth seeing was always top notch, and that even though you often fought with blades your bending was prodigious as well."
"My truth seeing is good, though it isn't the best, and a man of your clear intellect must be aware that I am using it right now." Harry said retracting the soles of his metal boots as he spoke and ignoring the cold stone on his bare feet. "I have been tasked with confirming the veracity of your claims. You must forgive me, but it has been over 300 years since the horrific genocide that all but wiped out the airbenders of old so the idea of the survivors' descendants still being around is tough to believe."
"I respect your skepticism but let me put it at ease." Ekrizdis said calmly. "I am Ekrizdis XIII, the 13th elected leader of the Exiled Nomads and a direct descendant of the old airbenders who used to thrive before Sozin tried to eradicate them from the face of the earth. Ekrizdis I was our founder and a survivor from the Northern Air Temple. In total 202 airbenders were saved at the Exiled Temple where we remained in hiding during the 100-year war. Since then, we have grown and thrived and in the wake of Harmonic Convergence added many more airbenders who have come to live in peace at the Temple."
Harry had been listening to Ekrizdis's heartbeat through the vibrations from his feet as the man spoke and he heard no lie in his words. He was speaking the truth as far as Harry could tell and not even Pyrites, who was renowned for his lying, could lie to him, so he had no reason not the believe the man before him was indeed the descendant of pre genocide airbenders, or at least believed himself to be one. That was the first hurdle out of the way then.
"You speak the truth from what I can tell, and I will relay that to the other World Leaders." Harry said. "It seems that the Air Nomad genocide was not as effective as Sozin had wanted it to be. We did have records of initial survivors but also of records of the traps that were set to kill them. It appears that they too failed to complete the Firelord's objective."
"You cannot destroy air so you cannot kill all of us." Ekrizdis said. "But this is good, the Avatar will lend legitimacy to my claim. That is the primary reason why I have come here after all so thank you for confirming what I've always known to be the truth."
"I will?" Harry asked probing Ekrizdis for what he meant. "How will I do that?"
"Yes you will." Ekrizdis said with a smile that didn't exactly reach his eyes. "Your word carries weight even if it is not actually law though the nations will honor your decrees most of the time, it has always been like that. By acknowledging that I am who I say I am you legitimize my claim as the true leader of all Air Nomads, including the ones who are descendants of Harmonic Convergence's breath of fresh air into the world."
"That's what I thought you meant and no I will do no such thing." Harry said though Ekrizdis seemed unphased by that as if he was expecting it. "I will confirm your claim and that you are airbenders descended from those who survived Sozin but that is it. I will not proclaim you the true leader of the Air Nation as that title belongs to the rightfully elected Archabbot who happens to be Remus. I believe he made an offer to you to integrate you into the Air Nation and even gave you a seat on the National Council with all the rights that that entails. That offer is still on the table, so I suggest you take it."
"That is a shame that you will not proclaim me what is rightfully mine, but I will still take you confirmation and use it to support my rightful cause even if you claim otherwise." Ekrizdis said and Harry was already getting a bad feeling from this meeting. "As nice as Remus's offer is it is still illegitimate for one simple reason, he is not the rightful leader of all airbenders in the world. I am as I am the descendant of true nomads."
"Airbending was returned to the world by Harmonic Convergence, those who are part of the Air Nation are true nomads just as you are." Harry countered. "And as for your logic, Remus is the heir to the legacy of, as you put it, a true nomad. The first Archabbot, the one who codified the current system the Air Nation uses, was Milo, Tenzin's son and the grandson of Avatar Aang making him the descendant of a pre-genocide airbender. He made the system as it is today meaning that the Archabbot's who succeeded him, Filius and Remus, are legitimate even by your logic."
"No, they aren't because they have polluted and poisoned the traditional teachings thus voiding any potential claim they might have had." Ekrizdis said and for the first time Harry heard a hint of anger in the man's voice. "Aang himself is on record saying he doesn't remember all the old teachings so while his descendants carry his blood they did not honor the old ways as we in exile did. We have kept it up which is why I am the rightful leader. You have the chance to correct all this Avatar and restore true balance to the world as is your job. Simply name me the rightful leader and be done with it."
"I will do no such thing." Harry said trying to keep calm but knowing it was going to be tough the moment Ekrizdis used balance to justify his position, it was a sign that he was a true zealot when that happened. "I agreed with Milo when he set up his system and it still works to this day. You have rights should you take them within the system but that is it. Furthermore, I am aware of your planned revenge on the Fire Nation, and I will oppose that as well. Zuko has already paid the reparations needed, the past is in the past and no one alive today are from that era so you will get nothing from that."
"I expected as much on that front and as a sign of good faith I am willing to put my plans to hold the current Fire Nation perpetually accountable for the crimes of their ancestors, even those with no relation to those criminals, on hold for now." Ekrizdis said surprising Harry by his will acquiescence on that front. "For now, I will focus on the first major issue that has come up. Once that is resolved then we can resume ensuring the Fire Nation is eternally accountable for their past crimes."
"And that is?" Harry asked knowing the answer but wanting to hear Ekrizdis say it. "I am willing to table the Fire Nation debate for now until whatever the main thing you falsely claim to be true is resolved."
"The leadership of the Air Nomads." Ekrizdis confirmed. "And a restoration of the old ways. Until this debate is settled I will not act on any other paths of justice owed to me and my people in perpetuity."
"And as I have said that debate is settled; Remus is the Archabbot and thus the rightful leader of all Air Nomads." Harry said simply. "If you wish for leadership I suggest you take his offer and join the Air Nation by integrating your Temple, you have a boon for us, don't squander it with your pride. As the leader of a Temple, you will be eligible for the Archabbot position when Remus dies. Patience is a virtue of the Air Nation, and you are young, you could be the leader within the decade if you take this option. I always thought that the Air Nomads were taught to revere their elders after all."
"Why wait a decade when I have been the rightful leader for almost one already." Ekrizdis countered and Harry saw a flash of fanaticism in his eyes as he spoke and knew that there was no hope of convincing Ekrizdis to take the deal offered him. "9 years ago, I was elected the leader of the Exiles making me the Ekrizdis and therefore the leader of all Air Nomads, including those in the Air Nation, by virtue of my position and heritage as a true airbender. I am the ruler and that is final. I will accept no less."
"I see that there is no changing your mind." Harry said with a sigh. "I have looked a true fanatic leader in the eye 5 times in the past, so I know when I am talking to a zealot, and you are one such zealot. I can see it and I know you speak what you believe to be the truth. There will be no convincing you, that I am certain of."
"You have experience with extremists that is true." Ekrizdis said. "Voldemort, Hermione, Delphini, Cresswell, Johannes, and even your own son James were all such zealots that you have described and met but I am not like them. I know I am right and not extreme in your views."
"That is what they all say to justify their actions and claims." Harry said shaking his head. "Each and every one I have faced has believe that their views, claims, philosophies, beliefs, whatever they espoused was the true way things should be, but they weren't. They were twisted extremists who took notions past where they should be and threw the world out of balance."
"I agree with you on that front, those extremist did throw the world out of balance with their actions." Ekrizdis said. "But the world is still out of balance because the Air Nomads do not have a legitimate and rightful leader who is of the old blood and ways. I am that leader and by acknowledging my claim you will actually restore balance unlike the times before. Deny me and you will continue this imbalance and even make it worse Avatar."
"I have heard that justification before Ekrizdis and it is always the same." Harry said with sadness in his voice over both the failure to reason with the man and the conflicts of the past he'd dealt with because of men and women like Ekrizdis. "If you continue down the path you are on then you will join them on that list. Please, I am offering you an olive branch, I implore you to take it. Show some good faith and tell me where the Exile Temple is so I can go there and talk to the descendants and see what they want."
"I have a counter offer." Ekrizdis said shaking his head with a clear note of anger in his voice. "I am the rightful ruler of the Air Nomads so use your voice to confirm that and order Remus to stand down and allow me to restore the old ways of the Nomads. I will not tell you were the Temple is because I know that you will use it to undermine me, and I can guarantee you that the entire Temple is on my side because they know that I am the true leader of all airbenders. If you don't then I cannot promise there will be peace. Already many within the false Air Nation want to a return to how things were."
"Is that a threat?" Harry asked quirking his eyebrow. "Because you know I will not go against the rightful leader of a nation as I see it and thus if you can't promise peace then I will take it as a threat."
"It's not a threat, it's a promise that I will take what is mine by right from those who are denying me it and I have already accepted many new airbenders who have seen the light, including many who the Air Nation see as undesirables and expelled but who I have forgiven." Ekrizdis said and Harry didn't doubt his words. "And if you will not support it then stay out of this Avatar, you are not welcome if you do not agree with me. What is about to happen is internal Air Nomad affairs and you are not an airbender by birth which gives you no say in what happens."
"The Avatar is a citizen of the world and has the right to be heard in any conflict that could bring about imbalance in the world." Harry retorted. "I am the protector of peace and balance, and I will do that be it international or internal conflicts that threaten what I am duty bound to protect. If you do decide to disrupt that then I will do what I can to correct it."
"Do what you must Avatar." Ekrizdis said dismissively. "But I am ready to make sure that this is drawn out and that you can't just come in with your power and stop it so that you can impose your views on the situation the way you've done in the past."
"I will always do my duty." Harry said. "My duty led me to having to kill my own son when he tried to conquer the world and plunge it into eternal imbalance, do you really think it would stop me from ending you should you break the pacifist code of the Air Nomads."
"I will not break any code, any actions I take are in restoration and thus defense of the old ways, so it is in fact your side that is starting this, not mine." Ekrizdis said and Harry now knew that conflict would happen, the man was twisting things to justify his impending actions just as Voldemort, Hermione and James had done. "All the aggression and violation is on the heads of Remus and those who follow him for destroying the Air Nomads. They are the ones who started this, not me. Remember that Avatar, I will make sure that any blood spilt is your fault and on your hands."
"Twisting and convoluting things to justify your own actions." Harry said with a slight shake of his head. "I've seen your type before. Voldemort did so but he was also not afraid to admit to his need to kill those who opposed him, likewise James admitted his crimes on the way to his goals and embraced what he became to achieve what he wrongly believed to be correct. You are closer to Hermione who blamed others for the suffering she inflicted upon them and never truly took responsibility for what she had in fact caused. Even in her final confession she blamed everyone but herself for the harms she caused."
"I am nothing like that monster." Ekrizdis spat clearly pissed at Harry's comparison. "I will not kill. I will not burn innocents alive simply because they oppose me or say things I find offensive. I will not violate my oaths as an Air Nomad. Any harm done will be done in self-defense of the old ways and thus the evil is those who have started this, not the noble airbenders like me who are defending it."
"I see, then there is nothing more for us to say here." Harry said. "I had hoped that this meeting would allow us to come to an understanding and bring you into the fold, but it is now clear to me that you are too far gone for that. Under the codes of this place, I will let you leave but you will be watched, and we will find the Exile Temple so that I can see for myself if they want to follow your path of violence or not. I will do everything I can to stop this before anything can happen."
"Good luck with that Avatar, like with your eldest son, you have already failed in that." Ekrizdis said as he spun his staff in his hands to extend it. "You will have my own answer soon enough. We will meet again, I am sure of it, and next time we meet it won't be so civil. Always remember that you started this, not me, I am merely protecting what is right and ending it."
With that Ekrizdis bent his knees and launched himself high into the air on a vortex of air that was meant to impress Harry with his power, which begrudgingly it did. He reached a good 20 feet before he got on his glider and flew away to the north.
Harry just watched the man go not sure where his backup was. With the airbending he'd seen he was sure that Ekrizdis could make it a good few miles before he needed help, so Harry doubted he'd see it or that they could actually follow him. As such he just had to think on what had happened.
It was clear that Ekrizdis was as bad as James, Hermione, and Voldemort had been before him. Harry had seen it in his eyes, they were the eyes of a fanatic who would stop at nothing to accomplish what he believed to be right. Something was coming and Harry wasn't sure what it was. One thing was certain though, he needed to contact his airship and get picked up so that they could debrief the conversation that Harry had just had.
Opening his jacket, Harry activated the small, short-range radio he had on his belt and took off the special headset attached to it to contact his airship. It was the latest model that Zaofu had developed and given him while he was there. The range wasn't far but the airship Harry had was only 5 miles to the west and high in the clouds so it would reach Ron on it.
"Ron come in; this is Harry." Harry said over the radio, the frequency he needed already keyed in. "Do you copy? Over."
"Loud and clear Harry." Ron said his voice coming through the radio with a hint of a crackle but that was it. "What is the determination of Ekrizdis? Over."
"It's as bad as we expected." Harry said with a sigh. "He's a fanatic zealot and hellbent on claiming the leadership of the Air Nation using his ancestry as justification no matter what we say. He won't accept any less then complete control over all airbenders. He will stand down on his goals against the Fire Nation for now but that is only until the leadership is sorted out and then he'll resume them if he wins. Over."
"Great another fucking extremist to deal with." Ron said. "Not that we expected anything less, anyone who makes that kind of entrance on the global scene is someone who sees themselves as the rightest person out there so this was merely a formality to make it look like he was being civil. What do you expect from him? Over."
"He's a confident, bordering on arrogant, and charismatic man." Harry said assessing what he could of Ekrizdis from their chat. "And from the airbending I saw one of the best out there, if not the best I've ever seen. I expect he's already got a plan and has people on his side, likely high ranking airbenders within the Temples at the very least, possibly up to the Head Abbotts of some Temples if I had to guess, as he did mention support from within the Air nation. My bet, he's going to go public soon and do his best to cause a schism within the nation by using his claim to woe people to him while blaming everything on us and set up a public relations conflict with Remus. Over."
"That would be his first action no doubt, but it can't be his last or his end goal." Ron said. "He's going to resort to violence, I am sure of it. Did he give any indication on that front. Over."
"He did imply it yes." Harry said. "Though I am not sure when that would happen as he almost certainly doesn't have the numbers or support to win at the moment, not with me openly supporting Remus and more known allies on our side. He will justify it by claiming it is self-defense of the old ways though and use that to claim that we started everything and as such all his actions are justified to stop us. Classic twisting of philosophy to make his claims and actions seem right just like Hermione and the Enlightened did. Over."
"We've seen that before and it didn't work then but this could be different if he's savvy enough." Ron said and Harry heard him sigh over the radio. "Very well, what are your orders, Avatar. Over."
"Come get me and we will head to the Western Air Temple to regroup and plan for the next stage of this situation." Harry said thinking over what had to be done. "Ekrizdis implied that he had supporters out there which makes sense, and he likely has plenty in all the Temples just as Remus does. We need to talk with Luna and Remus about this and find out who is loyal to who but without it being an active witch hunt because that could harm us. We have to be slow, patient, and careful as we bolster our support and defenses, that will include reaching out to mercenary companies or orders loyal to me. Oh, and he claims to have expelled airbenders as well and you know what that means. Over."
"Makes sense, it's how I'd do it and undesirables would be willing to fight against the Air Nation and wouldn't be bound by the old codes as they're already tainted by their actions which is not good, but we can talk with Luna more when we you're back on board and hash this out on the way to the Western Air Temple." Ron said. "I'll have the ship brought to you right away, stay there and we'll pick you up and head back west. Out."
The radio clicked off and Harry put the receiver away before closing his jacket and looking out over the sea around Azkaban and shivering at both the cold and the impending feeling of doom he got from Ekrizdis. This place was always cold as it was pretty far north but that wasn't the only reason Azkaban was cold.
It was a prison for the worst of the worst nonbenders out there and as such a depressing place full of evil and malice. It had been where Hermione had served the second half of her sentence. However, because Spirits helped guard it, soul sucking Dementors but still Spirits nonetheless, it was a place of pure neutrality so no conflict could happen here.
That had been why it had been used for the meeting after all. Harry thought back on it and knew that it wasn't good. Ekrizdis was clearly too far gone to be reasoned with and Harry had to accept that. He had no idea how the man had turned out the way he had, they knew so little about the Exile Nomads that he couldn't make a good assessment on them, but Harry had a feeling that any other Ekrizdis may have been more reasonable than the one that he'd met.
Whatever the case, Harry was going to do his duty and try and maintain peace and balance in the world. This time though, Harry was going to do everything he could to resolve it diplomatically rather than letting it deteriorate to the point that it has to be resolved by force. In the past he'd had to restore balance by violence because the extremists forced his hand by attacking first. This time Harry was going to try to avoid it.
Alas, as Harry waited for the airship to come get him, things were already in motion to scarper his plans before they even began. He didn't know it yet, but soon events would push the world in a direction it never thought it would go in and once again Harry would be forced to do his duty as the Avatar to restore peace and balance to the world.
Ah I can't resist a good foreboding end to a chapter. This is the start of the main bulk of the story as Harry and Ekrizdis have finally met, only the second time Harry has managed to have such a chat with the current book's main antagonist before the final battle and again it is at Azkaban, and the story kicks into high gear. The next chapter will show that as things will now be moving rather quickly as the dominoes fall and we see how it all starts to play out. However, that is all I have for now and as such will leave it here. As always any questions in PMs or reviews will be answered before the start of the next chapter (as well as replied to if possible). Please follow, favorite and review, all are greatly appreciated. Until next week.
Stringdog