A few months after the battle on the ship, the Dragon Warriors made their hideout within the Earth Kingdom's territory. Apparently, word had gotten out about the Warriors saving the Earth Village, and as such, the four gained huge popularity; everyone was clambering to get even a glimpse of them, which could get annoying when the four were trying to plan their next move against the Fire Nation. Occasionally, when word got around of a Fire Nation camp being nearby, the Dragon Warriors snuck around the area, attacking without warning when they found the camp.
One morning, the four managed to hole up in another room that the innkeeper was more than happy to give them. Ana and Terran were looking at a map while Lyra paced the room. Ezeke' could be seen at another corner of them room, meditating.
"Two weeks, and not a single Fire Nation camp." Ana said, "I'm starting to get bored."
"Agreed" Terran added, "We should use this free time to learn more about ourselves. Remember, we're not quite fully aware of what exactly the Dragon Warriors are capable of."
"I agree with Terran" Ezeke' said from the other end of the room. Ana jumped in surprise.
"I completely forgot you were there" she said.
Lyra brought things back to the subject at hand, "How do you suggest we learn more about our kind. There's next to nothing in the libraries!"
Terran stroke his chin. "Well…maybe we're not looking in the right place."
"What do you mean, Terran?" Ezeke' asked.
Terran pointed to a sandy desert area outside of the village. "I used to read about an old library of sorts that stands out in the middle of the desert. Supposedly, all the knowledge of the world, past and present, is kept there."
"It could have something about us!" Lyra said, lighting up.
"There's just one problem" Terran continued, "It's guarded by a spirit. I'm not quite sure how it'll react to us."
"We carry the spirits of dragons" Lyra pointed out, "It'd have to be crazy to mess with us. My question is how are we gonna get there?"
Ana spoke up, "I know the Sand-benders have some ands sleds we can borrow. We can use one of those."
"Fine by me" Terran said, "It shouldn't be a problem after we get one of those."
"So, we're all in agreement then?" Ezeke' asked. The other three nodded.
"Alright, Ana" Ezeke then said, "Show us where these sandbenders are."
…
A few hours later, the team was cruising down the sand on a sand skiff. Turns out, the sandbenders were more than happy to lend one, though whether it was out of reverence for the warriors or for fear of Terran, the most powerful earthbender, Ezeke' couldn't tell. Whatever the case, there they were.
Terran stood at the back using his earthbending to move the skiff along at an insane speed. Ana and Lyra stood at the edges, looking around for the library while Ezeke' stood on the high platform next to Terran.
"So, what are we looking for?" Lyra asked.
"At this point" Ana replied, "I'm just looking for a building. Any sign of life will do at this point."
"It'll look like a tower" Terran said, "White stone. It'll be hard to miss, trust me."
"You mean like that?" Ezeke' asked. The team turned to see the tip of a white tower in the distance.
"That was fast" Ana said.
"Let's go, Terran" Ezeke' commanded, something the earthbender was more than happy to oblige to. Within a few minutes, the skiff came to rest next to a towering, white structure, just as Terran had described.
"So, this is it, huh?" Lyra asked, "It doesn't look like much."
Ezeke' looked around. "How do we even get in?"
The team looked around the stone walls for a few moments before Ana pointed out an open window a little higher up. Using her airbending, Ana then created small gusts of wind that propelled herself, as well as the other three warriors, up to the window and through it.
"There" she said, dusting her sleeves off, "That wasn't so bad."
"It wasn't" Ezeke' agreed, "But I think finding what we need will be."
The others followed his gaze and gasped as they walked into a massive chamber filled with rows upon rows of bookshelves filled to the brim.
Lyra fell to her knees. "If I wasn't trying to look for something important, I'd be blown away by this place."
Terran whistled in amazement. "This place really is massive."
"Well" Ezeke' said, "We should split up, take different floors at a time and…"
"WHO'S THERE?" boomed a voice. The four warriors started back in surprise as a dark shadow appeared above them, belonging to a massive black and white owl. The bird landed in front of them.
"Who are you?" the owl demanded, "And what are you doing here?"
Ana had jumped into Terran's arms out of fear while Lyra cowered behind him, though the earthbender remained unmoving. Ezeke' however, managed to swallow his fear as he approached the spirit and announced himself. "My name is Ezeke'. This is Terran, Lyra, and Ana. We are the Dragon Warriors and seek knowledge about our previous selves."
The owl tilted his head in curiosity. "The Dragon Warriors? Is that so?"
Before Ezeke' could respond, the owl walked around and peered down at Ezeke's neck, seeing the tattoo underneath the helmet
"You bear the mark" the owl said, "So I can see you speak the truth. I am Wan Shi Tong, the guardian of the library. Seeing as I am in the presence of beings as powerful as yourselves, I shall help you with what you seek."
"Good" Terran said, "Because I was afraid we'd be digging around this place for days without help. Girls, you can get off of me now."
Ana and Lyra started to calm down, and Ana climbed down off of Terran while Lyra appeared from behind him.
"You seek knowledge of your kind" Wan Shi Tong continued, "I will show you where to look."
"Why are you helping us?" Lyra asked.
"Because I have loyalty to the dragon gods. I was present for the creation of the first Dragon Warriors and swore an oath to aid them should they ever come into my library. I intend to keep that oath."
"Huh, how bout that?" Terran said, "We have a spirit owl helper."
Ezeke' gave him an unamused look before turning to the spirit. "Alright, show us the way."
Wan Shi Tong turned around. "Climb on."
A few minutes later, the spirit carried Ezeke', Lyra, and Terran to one of the higher floors, with Ana using her airbending to levitate next to him and keep pace.
"Here we are" Wan Sho Tong announced, landing on the railing of one of the floors and letting his passengers disembark, "Now I am letting you find what you need, but I do have one rule."
"Name it" Ezeke' said.
"You must not take any knowledge pertaining to war. I doubt this will happen with you four, but I must make sure you are aware nonetheless."
"Noted. Thank you."
The spirit owl nodded. "Now, you will find what you need in the shelves directly behind you. Best of luck."
With that, Wan Shi Tong flew off. Ezeke' turned around and faced the shelves, stacked with scrolls.
"Alright." He finally said, "Terran and Ana, take the shelves on the left. Lyra, you and I go right."
The team split up in opposite directions. Ezeke' and Lyra immediately walked over to the first shelf on the right and each pulled out the first book they saw. Ezeke' began flipping through it, noticing pictures of warriors that wielded weapons much like their own.
"I don't get it" he said after a few minutes of reading, "How can this place have so much on us, and yet there's almost nothing everywhere else?"
Lyra shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine."
HEY! shouted a voice tin their head, scaring both of them and causing them to drop their books and yell in fright.
Haha! It actually works! The voice said. Ezeke' and Lyra immediately recognized it.
"ANA!" they shouted in unison.
"How are you doing that?!" Lyra demanded.
Ana ran out from around the corner. "We all can! There's some telekinetic bond we all share. According to what I found, we can talk to each other with our minds, even from far away."
"And if this is correct" Terran said, walking up with his face still in a book, "We can even summon others to our location, even from across the world."
This definitely surprised Ezeke' and Lyra, and the team spent the next few minutes testing this out by spreading out across the entire floor and both communicating with each other as well as pulling each other over, which resulted in the teammate suddenly appearing next to the summoner. After that, Ezeke' suggested they continue researching, and meet back at where they started when they were satisfied.
There was one thing Ezeke' didn't realize when he suggested this plan; the team wouldn't be "satisfied" until a solid hour later. Once they met back next to the railing, it was clear they were both a mixture of tired and excited.
"Alright" Exeke' said, "Now that we're all here, what'd you learn?"
Terran began with his account. Apparently, their power doesn't come normally, like most benders. Rather, they were bonded to a portion of the dragon gods' very spirits. This allowed them to have full control over their particular element, regardless of whether or not they performed the right moves or not.
Ana spoke up next, and her discoveries were from a more historical perspective. Apparently, the Dragon Warriors chosen are usually close friends of the Avatar, which makes their bond all the more powerful. However, should the Avatar go rogue again, the warriors were able to bring him down only by uniting their power against him.
Lyra found information on their weapons. Apparently, they were created by the dragon gods themselves to be used by the warriors only. As Ezeke' already figured out, they can channel their element through their weapons, but what was most interesting was that if anyone else tried to wield the Dragon Warriors' weapons, they would immediately be burned by the divine magic radiating from them, assuming they could even lift them.
Ezeke' spoke last, and he found information on how the team operated in the past. Turns out, the Fire Dragon was usually the leader, though this wasn't always the case. Earth was the muscle and prevented sneak attacks due to his being able to sense anyone on the ground. The Air Warrior was the voice of reason, providing the strategy. Finally, the Water Dragon Warrior acted as the support, helping the others fight and sometimes even acting as a healer.
Once they had finished, Lyra stroked her chin. "It almost seems too convenient. We match the qualities perfectly."
"Well," Terran said, "The dragon gods DO choose who becomes the next warrior. Maybe they have certain standards because only certain people can handle the power given them."
"I agree" Ezeke' said, "We were all chosen for a reason. Let's make the most of it."
The others nodded in agreement.
Ana stretched and yawned. "I'm a bit tired. How long have we been here?"
Terran shrugged. "No idea, but I think it would be best that we leave. We have what we need."
Ezeke' nodded before walking over to the railing and calling out, "Spirit! Wan Shi Tong!"
Within a few seconds, the great owl swooped down and landed in front of them. "Yes?"
"We're finished here. Have we learned to your satisfaction?"
The owl tilted his head. "I have watched the four of you, and you have certainly learned much. You also followed my one rule, so I can permit you to leave in peace."
A few minutes later, Wan Shi Tong flew the four Warriors down to the lower levels. Landing on one of the floors, he let them dismount and waved his wings, opening a secret door in the wall.
"Should you ever need to seek more knowledge" Wan Shi Tong said, "My library is open to you."
"Many thanks" Ezeke' said with a nod, "And farewell."
"To you as well"
With that, the four walked out of the library, right to where the skiff was waiting for them. The suns was beginning to set in the distance.
As the door closed behind them, Ana turned to the others. "So, now what?"
"We take what knowledge we have" Ezeke' replied, "And we put it to good use."
"But first" Terran said, "We should head back to the Earth Kingdom and rest. We're going to need it."
Suddenly, a groaning sound echoed out, briefly startling them. Recognizing the sound, Ezeke', Terran, and Ana all looked to Lyra with unamused expressions. Lyra simply grabbed her stomach and blushed.
"Maybe we should eat too." She said with a nervous smile.
The others shared a laugh before getting back on the skiff. Standing in the back once again, Terran reached out with his power and guided the skiff away from the library and back to the Earth Kingdom, armed with the knowledge of their potential and ready to put it into action.