Chapter 4 Imprisoned = Swordsman
oOo
Bumi prepared Dagaz' scrolls, the skinned chicken leg recipe, and supplies and money for their travels. They headed northwest and made camp in a forest clearing.
In the evening, Dagaz made sandwiches for dinner. Aang and Sokka watched in anticipation as he processed meat and vegetables, and prepared them with spices from all over the world. They've come to love Dagaz' adaptive cooking skills as he switched with Katara and even taught her some new recipes. Over the last few days, he adjusted to everyone's preferences.
Dagaz respected Aang's vegetarian lifestyle and always reminded himself not to use meat when preparing the Avatar's food. Sokka preferred anything remotely tasting like meat, and Katara wasn't a very picky eater, but she enjoyed sweet foods.
"There, all done!" Dagaz gave the eager boys their sandwiches first. Sweet komodo chicken sandwiches with honeyed ash banana sausage for himself and Sokka, peach marmalade sandwiches with cabbage leaflets for Aang and Katara, and a fruit salad mix for Appa and Momo. Sai had his own snacks to munch on.
...
"Hey, what's that stick on your waist?" Sokka asked.
"It's a sword I crafted myself. Why?" Dagaz raised an eyebrow.
"Can I see it?"
Dagaz was surprised that he would show an interest in swords this early. "Sure, but be careful not to cut yourself. I sharpened it recently. Here," he gave the sword to him. He guessed it would be fine as long as Sokka wouldn't be clumsy enough to cut his own clothes.
Sokka unwrapped the grey cloth, revealing a White Lotus symbol and the elaborate design of a white phoenix, its nine long feather-tails wrapping around the surface of the sheath. "Whoah," Sokka awed. He saw the sword handle and traced the menuki (decorative metal fitting under the hilt wrappings) with his thumb. "What is that symbol?"
"It's in an ancient language."
"What does it mean?"
"In a simple translation, 'walk through the darkness before knowing the light'." It was Elder Futhark for 'Dagaz'. A name that described his two lifetimes perfectly. He felt alone, lost, and succumbed to the darkness. No friends, no family, nothing worth living life for. But now, he found light, warmth, and love all around him. He found a purpose in this life not even destiny itself could have foretold.
Sokka took out the blade and was astounded once again as he held it up in the sunlight. "Whoah... it's completely white. And what kind of sword is this? I've never seen anything like it. Did you really make this?"
"Didn't you see one on Kyoshi Island? Katanas are weapons of the Kyoshi Warriors too." The katana was a sword type that only existed on Dragonfire Island or Kyoshi Island. Its primary focus was on slicing and thrusting.
"Oh, we only trained with fans, not with swords. So why is it white? Isn't a sword a steel-kinda blade?"
"Usually it is, but this one is a special case. One day, I found an extremely robust crystal ore that responds to my spirit essence. So I consulted blacksmiths and swordsmiths alike, and each taught me useful crafting techniques," Dagaz smiled and looked at the sword lovingly. "I forged many swords so far, but this one is among my greatest masterpieces. In honor of its nature, I named the sword 'Jingshen'."
Despite retaining his passion for cooking, 'forging swords' was his hobby in this life. He always engraved the sword's name on its habaki (metal collar around the blade, just below the guard) and his mei (signature, full name) hidden on its tang (back portion of the blade that connected to the handle).
The katanas he forged were all moderately curved and sometimes had a flame-shaped hamon (hardening pattern as a result of the forging process) due to his firebending. The Jingshen was one of those katanas, but the hamon could only be seen when held into the moonlight, reflecting a light blue shimmer.
Sometimes, he even created jians, double daos, or other kinds of weapons and sold them to weapon shops or through auctions, earning quite a hefty sum on the side. But those were just basic works he designed for fun.
Sokka sheathed the katana again, re-wrapped it, and returned it to Dagaz. Without another word, he continued eating.
...
Over the short time they traveled together, Dagaz had grown quite fond of all three of them. But he still had to be careful and stay out of their way as much as possible. After all, the fate of the world depended on their journey to end the war.
He never had a problem accepting this world as his own. In fact, that was the easy part. But when he finally remembered the Avatar-franchise almost five years ago, he couldn't help but feel like he screwed everything up big time.
Thankfully, he had friends and family who were ready to help. And at the center of his newfound heart... was her. Looking back, he never regretted the past, but he couldn't help worrying about the future, the life they were about to build together, and the destinies of Team Avatar. As things stand, they will inevitably clash in the end and possibly turn into enemies.
During the events of 'Book One', it was safe to travel with Team Avatar without causing any crucial changes, but 'Book Two' & 'Book Three' were the actual problem. Some people grew up a little different than Dagaz remembered, and he felt guilty about putting her through all that again.
...
Suddenly, a heavy rumbling sound echoed throughout the forest.
"What was that?" Sokka asked, looking around.
"It's coming from way over there!" Aang exclaimed and began running towards the sound. Katara and Dagaz followed.
"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms, not toward them?!" Sokka called but then followed too.
They hid behind a fallen tree trunk and saw a young man earthbending.
"An earthbender," Katara awed.
"Then let's go meet him," Aang suggested.
Dagaz thought he looked familiar somehow. Although he binge-watched the Avatar-franchise, it was fundamentally a cartoon. This was the real world, and even if many things were familiar, it was still difficult to tell the difference if he didn't know any better. He's been traveling around the southwestern Earth Kingdom since childhood, but from now on, the Earth Kingdom would be unfamiliar territory. Sure, he's been to the Northern Air Temple and the Fire Nation colony 'Yudao' before, but he hasn't seen the rest of the world outside the Fire Nation homeland yet.
"He looks dangerous, so we better approach cautiously," Sokka warned.
"HELLO THERE!" But his sister was already calling out to the earthbending teen. "I'm Katara. What's your name?!"
The teen gasped before running and blocking the path behind him with big chunks of rocks.
"NICE TO MEET YOU!" Aang called as he, Dagaz, and Sokka approached.
"I just wanted to say 'hi'," Katara dejected.
"Hey, that guy's gotta be running somewhere," Aang realized. "Maybe we're near a village."
"That's actually good timing. I'm running out of vegetables," Dagaz lied. He wanted to find out who the earthbending teen was, so he tried to use food as an excuse to go to the market.
"I'm fine without," Sokka shrugged. But then Aang looked at him like a kicked puppy because he was the one who mostly ate vegetables. "OR we could stop by the market. Let's go." He began leading ahead.
His friends giggled and followed him.
oOo
Aang found a stand where he inspected a straw hat. "Can we buy this?" He asked Dagaz because he held their money for the time being.
"Sure, it'd be good if you can hide your arrow from Fire Nation soldiers," Dagaz traded a few copper pieces for the straw hat. "There you go."
"Thanks." Aang put on his new straw hat.
It reminded Dagaz that he still had that masquerade mask to cover up his upper face. He took out the mask and traced its silver lines. He modified it slightly to cloud his unique eye color whenever he put it on. Now, it was a Magic Tool powered by his spiritual energy through the runes on the back of the mask.
...
SMT TECH or Spirit Magic Tool TECHnology was a technology in which Elder Futhark runes were usually engraved directly onto the surface of a spiritual-energy-filled crystal. It is commonly referred to as Magic Tool or SMT TECH (Spirit Magic Tool TECHnology) for short.
The one who developed this technology was a former Spirit Master named 'Futhark', later known as 'Elder Futhark'. It was rather funny since 'Elder Futhark' was a language in Dagaz' previous life which was a writing system also known as 'Germanic Futhark' (oldest form of the runic alphabets).
In Dagaz' case, the source of spiritual energy wasn't a crystal, but he himself.
...
"Where did you get that?"
"I bought it in Omashu before I went to see Uncle Bumi." He raised the corner of his mouth and put it on. It was the kind of mask that could act as a second skin. "How do I look?"
"It looks great! But... uh-, now I can't see your eyes."
"I enchanted the mask to subtly cloud my eyes. They stand out because they're silver, and they might be just as eye-catching as your blue arrow tattoo." Dagaz pulled his hood further down, its shadow covering more of his face. "And if I do it like this, it'll look more natural and no one will notice. Now, if no one tells anyone that I'm Fire Nation, it'll work out."
"Oh, okay," Aang blinked in understanding and turned to Sokka. "Hey Sokka! Check out my new hat and Dagaz' mask! Aren't they awesome?!"
Katara saw the earthbending teen again. The guys followed her lead, heading into a shop.
She opened the door. "Hey! You're that kid! Why did you run away before?"
The boy wanted to answer but remembered that his mother, the shop's owner, stood behind him. "Eh- you must have me confused with some other kid."
"No, she doesn't," Aang refuted. "We saw you earthbending."
The boy and his mother gasped. She immediately shut the windows and closed her shop. "They saw you doing WHAT?!"
"They're crazy, Mom! I mean, look at how they're dressed!" He tried to distract, and pointed to the four travelers sporting clothing of various colors.
But she wouldn't have it. "You know how dangerous that is!" She scolded. "You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending!"
Suddenly, a knock came from the door. "Open up!"
Sokka peeked through the shutters. "Fire Nation soldiers!" He whisper-yelled, alarmed. "Act natural!"
Dagaz crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, erasing his presence. The rest tried to look like customers as the lady let a soldier enter her shop. Haru and Sokka inspected an apple, Katara tasted lychee nuts, and Aang leaned against a water barrel, accidentally crushing the barrel's fragile cover.
"What do you want?" Haru's mother asked, annoyed. "I've already paid you this week."
"The tax just doubled," he informed and proceeded to threaten her with his firebending. "And we wouldn't want an accident, would we? Fire. It's sometimes so hard to control."
She was scared that her shop would be burned down if she didn't comply. She took out her money and handed over what was left of it.
"You can keep the copper ones." He let the coins fall to the ground and left again.
"Nice guy," Sokka scoffed and turned to the lady who picked up the copper pieces. "How long has the Fire Nation been here?"
"Five years," she replied.
So the soldiers arrived with Ozai's reign. That bastard should be put in his place!
"Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships."
Hearing reports and talking about the Fire Lord with Bumi was one thing, but hearing his name like this riled up his bottled-up rage as he clenched his teeth and tightly gripped his arms, trying to keep his aura under control.
"They're thugs!" The bearthbending teen stated angrily and crossed his arms in frustration, leaning against the table. "They steal from us, and everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it!"
"Quiet, Haru!" She scolded, revealing her son's name to be 'Haru'. "Don't talk like that!"
Haru, the earthbender! Of course! This was 'Imprisoned' where Katara encourages earthbenders to fight for their freedom!
"But Haru is an earthbender! He can help!" Katara argued.
"Earthbending is forbidden! It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities," she said firmly.
"How can you say that? Haru has a gift! Asking him not to earthbend is like asking me not to waterbend. It's a part of who we are!"
She shook her head at the girl's ignorance. "You don't understand."
"I understand that Haru can help you fight back-"
"That's enough, Katara!" Dagaz snapped before he could stop himself. "He's a secret to be safe!" Although what he said applied to himself as well. But he glared at the naive girl nonetheless. "You of all people should understand that!"
Katara looked down and touched her mother's necklace. He was right. Her mother used to tell her to hide her bending too or 'monsters' would come and take her away... like they did to her.
"They already took his father," Haru's mother explained, sadness in her voice. "I don't want to lose him too."
Haru looked down.
oOo
Haru led them to a barn. "My mom said, you can sleep here tonight, but you should leave in the morning."
"Thanks. I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay," Aang promised as his sky bison already started munching.
Katara walked with Haru, leaving the boys to make camp in the barn.
Dagaz stayed outside and practiced basic sword katas with his wrapped-up katana. Practicing like this became a habit he never dared to discard, even after he regained a humanoid form to start practicing swordsmanship again.
He had his eyes closed as he slowly followed the motions he practiced a million times. Even if they were just the basics, it was the swordsmanship his clan perfected for several millenia that is able to adapt to other kinds of weapons as well, like spears or daggers.
A diagonal slash down from the left...
He thought about what happened earlier. 'Imprisoned' was an important event of their journey. The important part of this was to help the earthbenders help themselves, and it all depended on Katara.
A horizontal slash, followed by flowing movements connecting into a diagonal slash up from the right as he turned around...
But then again, it was mentioning Ozai what really affected him earlier. He could understand too well why he was always depicted as a monster beyond saving. He was power-hungry and cruel beyond comparison.
A step back before dashing forward and horizontally slashing from the left... changing direction and a thrust forward...
Dagaz can never forgive him for what he did to him in the past. Never! That's why he promised himself, and her, to get revenge the right way. They will make sure of that.
He finished his practice with a slash straight down to the bottom before he opened his eyes again and found Sokka watching him with mesmerized eyes.
...
Sokka finished creating makeshift haybeds for himself and his sister. As he looked outside, he saw Dagaz practicing swordsmanship. He grew curious and watched him next to the door, leaning against the wall.
It reminded him of a time he watched the warriors of his village train. But it was peculiar to him that Dagaz didn't practice with his sword unsheathed. As he watched, Sokka took notice of the swordsmanship's footwork.
Dagaz was light on his feet. Every move connected like flowing water in a dance. Every time he was about to slash, his stance would become more grounded and strong for a moment before returning to the elegant flow. As a result, every attack was sharper and fiercer than the next.
He knew that he was a blacksmith but that his swordsmanship was this good was very unexpected. It made sense that he didn't seem like other firebenders as he must've been a swordsman before all else.
Sokka was so immersed in admiring his friend's swordsmanship that he didn't notice him stop until Dagaz snapped him out of his strange trance.
"Sokka?" Dagaz waved in front of his face. "You alright?"
"Me? Yeah! Everything's fine! Totally! Yep!" He nodded multiple times as if to convince himself. Of what exactly, he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"If you say so. Did you want to tell me anything?" He asked with confusion in his voice. Since he started wearing a mask, others couldn't see his expressions anymore, so he put more effort into expressing his intentions through his voice.
"We made camp! So... uh- we're going to sleep... when Katara comes back," he was somehow talking stiffly.
"Then I better prepare my own camp with Sai," Dagaz realized. "Thanks for reminding me, Sokka." He pat Sokka's shoulder and walked into the barn, a thankful smile on his face.
"Yeah! Sure! No problem!" Sokka realized that he was kind of acting stupid and facepalmed, hard.
...
Katara returned after sunset as Dagaz waited for her without his new mask, leaning next to the door. She halted and turned her gaze away. It was a little awkward.
"I'm sorry."
Katara was surprised by his sudden apology and faced him. He looked away as he was clearly feeling uncomfortable.
"I shouldn't have snapped at you earlier. It was uncalled for."
Something seemed to really bother him, so she accepted his apology without question. She learned in the time they traveled together that Dagaz was forced to keep secrets as a Spirit Master, so she suspected this might be one of them or he would've explained himself right away. "It's okay, Dagaz." She gave him a hug and then walked inside.
To Dagaz, Katara kind of looked like someone he knew very well. Not just her appearance, her kind demeanor too. Dagaz shook his head. No. That was impossible. He refocused on being careful around her.
In ATLA, there was this weird trope that Katara easily fell in love with attractive guys. Not to brag, but he was quite an 'attractive guy' himself, according to her, and... well, literally everyone he knew, so he only used the aura manipulation technique to impose calmness on the Water Tribe girl as it was a definite no-go if she suddenly developed feelings for him. After all, she was already his fiancée.
Unnecessary disturbances were not allowed to blossom and to be crushed mercilessly. If there was one thing they promised each other, it was absolute loyalty and unwavering trust.
He headed over to Sai and leaned against his giant body as his familiar covered him with a blanket.
Katara told her friends about what happened with Haru as she lay on her makeshift haybed. "... it was so brave of Haru to use his earthbending to help that old man."
"You must've really inspired him," Aang was lying on Appa's head with Momo next to him.
"Everyone should get some sleep," Sokka suggested and covered himself with a blanket. "We're leaving at dawn."
"Dawn?!" Katara exclaimed, surprised. "Can't we sleep in for once?"
"Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops!" Sokka reminded. "If they discover that Aang is here, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast. Good night."
"Fine," she sighed before putting out the lamp and falling asleep.
Sokka was confused that his sister agreed so easily, but was satisfied to just go to sleep without arguing about it for once.
...
Dagaz couldn't sleep and stayed awake a little longer. To not wake up the kids, he erected a sound barrier around himself and took out a wrapped-up trinket from Sai's saddlebags. He removed the cloth, revealing a golden headpiece. Thanks to his night vision, he could admire it to its details.
Two prongs, one on each side, shaped like stylized flames intended to encircle a traditional Fire Nation topknot and fix it in place with a hair-stick.
It was an ancient artifact one of his ancestors designed for the heirs of five important families within the four nations. The artifact series was named after its creator, the 'Gong Jiang Jewels'.
A pendant, a plaque, a headpiece, and a set of beads. But for his own family, the Longhuo clan, Gong Jiang Longhuo crafted a silver cylinder-shaped hair ornament. In each, a special jewel was embedded or molten into its material, and the crest of a primordial spirit was engraved on it.
These crests were simultaneously the crests of the five families as they descended from primordial spirits who once explored the world as Spirit Masters, formerly known as 'Incarnated Spirit-Humans'. They were shaped in the image of the five primordial spirits' natural spirit forms. The white phoenix, the golden dragon, the fei lian, the moon hare, and the flying boar.
The white phoenix was the symbol of the Longhuo clan and Dagaz wore his clan's crest proudly on his leather samurai bracers, although he always had it covered by his long sleeves.
Dagaz inherited two Gong Jiang Jewels from each side of his grandparents' clans. The hair ornament of the white phoenix and the headpiece of the golden dragon. His great-uncle, Kuzon's younger brother, passed down the latter to him almost five years ago. Both artifacts were the ultimate proof of his inheritance to both clans by blood.
He's only known him for a few years, but his great-uncle was like a father to him, and the very first he could call so in both of his lifetimes. He was very old but still lively for his age... and Fire Lord Ozai killed him. The headpiece was not just 'proof of inheritance', no, he swore revenge on it. His rage grew stronger the longer he had to wait.
He traced the headpiece's unique design and the crest of the golden dragon engraved inside its hoop... the crest of the clan his fiancée was born into. They were technically cousins-twice-removed by blood, but Fire Nation law stated that marriage was allowed if ones partner was born into a different noble clan. His great-uncle and his mother saw through their crush on each other and arranged their engagement rather hastily in his opinion. But childhood engagements were actually pretty common in the upper ranks of Fire Nation nobility, so he considered it a part of his new life.
At first, he had no interest in inheriting a clan other than his own. It was too bothersome in his opinion. And his fiancée was about fifth-in-line at the time (himself and his mother excluded), so it was perfectly acceptable if she married into the Longhuo clan. But then, the inheritor of his generation died during the war, and suddenly, he was thrust into an engagement contract tied to a few crucial conditions.
Ozai wasn't that happy with the Longhuo clan gaining too much power and plotted to kill him and his great-uncle. Only he survived, reduced to live without his own body. His fiancée despaired that her only hope at happiness could be taken from her again. Together, they devoted themselves to their studies and improved their individual skills while searching for a way to accomplish their goals. The fruit of their research was, unfortunately, the story of the Avatar within his memories. The necessary past of 'Book One' unfolded naturally, even without their meddling as some things were events that happened before their birth. Such as Zhao learning of Tui and La, their mortal forms, and when it was possible to kill Tui for good, etc., was decades ago.
If only there was a way Dagaz could return to his overpowered human body earlier. It was the key that could lead to a path solving their torturing predicament. She herself wasn't strong enough to defeat Ozai the tyrant and, even if she could, without the status he possessed, the Fire Nation could be plunged into a civil war without a named heir to the Fire Nation throne. Unprecedented catastrophes could arise, leading to the nation's self-destruction. It was not at all the outcome they desired.
The only way to reach for their happily ever after was currently to follow the story of the Avatar as closely as possible until the next 'Great Comet', and they could finally have their revenge.
Revenge was often defined by physical violence, but Dagaz and her had something even better in mind. He felt bad for Zuko but he would understand it when he'd finally realize what a horrible person Ozai truly was.
But no, the 'cosmic energy of the universe' just had to interfere... again. Frankly, they were sick of it messing with their lives as much as it already had. But on the other hand, they never would've met this early if it weren't for 'that meddling'.
Dagaz tucked away the headpiece of the golden dragon and closed his eyes as he suddenly felt like sleeping.
oOo
In the morning, Katara burst into the barn as the boys were packing up their sleeping bags and blankets. "They took him! They took Haru away!"
"What?" Aang asked.
"The old man turned him in to the Fire Nation! It's all my fault! I forced him into earthbending!" She cried hysterically.
"Slow down, Katara." Sokka tried to calm down his sister. "When did this happen?"
"Haru's mother said they came for him at midnight," she explained.
"Then it's too late to track him," he reasoned. "He's long gone."
"We don't need to track him. They're going to take me right to Haru."
"I like the way you think, Katara," Dagaz grinned, already knowing about her crazy idea.
"What are you talking about?" Aang asked, confused. "Why would they do that?"
Katara was determined to go through with her plan. "Because they're going to arrest me for earthbending."
...
Dagaz formed a barrier around a boulder, froze the space inside it, lifted it up for demonstration, and set it down again. He clenched his palm into a fist and opened his hand again. Something was weird... somehow... it was too easy, he felt... stronger. Usually, even lifting heavy things was taxing. He didn't know what to make of it.
He sat down next to Aang, who hid behind a boulder, and started playing with Sai and Momo because Momo was trying to steal Sai's snacks.
"That actually looks like earthbending," Sokka stated.
Dagaz' barriers could only be seen by those who could look into the spiritual plane of the mortal world as they were made of his own spiritual energy, so it was completely invisible to normal mortals. Not even Aang could see them as he hadn't connected to his spiritual self yet.
"Wait a minute..." Sokka turned to Dagaz. "Why aren't you getting yourself arrested?"
"Ahem," he coughed and took down his hood, reminding him of his silver-white hair fading into black tips. Dagaz had attention-attracting looks, so he stood out too much.
Sokka blinked. "Right. Sorry, I forgot." He turned to his sister. "I thought you were crazy at first, Katara, but this might actually work."
Dagaz was reluctant at first but ultimately felt he should go along with it as it didn't really matter how they were going to get through this adventure. Besides, he planned to compensate for the original 'ventilation shaft idea' later. If there was one thing he could bring to the team, then it was the necessary knowledge of Fire Nation technology.
"Dagaz is going to lift the boulder up with his spirit art when I say 'earthbending' and they're going to arrest me," Katara explained. "You guys will follow me on Appa and we'll have the location of the prison."
"Did you get all that?" Sokka asked the distracted Aang and Dagaz.
"Sure. Sure," Aang answered while playing with a sooty copper fritillary (orange and yellow butterfly tracked by miners to uncover new mineral deposits). "Just relax! You're taking all the fun out of this."
"By this, do you mean intentionally getting captured by the enemy?"
"Exactly!" Dagaz agreed enthusiastically while Momo was curled up on his head and successfully captured one of Sai's snacks. Sai quickly recaptured the snack with his long reptilian tounge in a frog-like manner and swallowed it, grinning smugly. "That's the fun stuff," he said as he sat Sai in his lap, who mischievously stretched out his tounge at Momo. "Grandfather Kuzon and Aang did this kinda stuff all the time a hundred years ago."
Ever since Dagaz was revealed to be Kuzon's grandson, he and Aang have grown much closer. He originally just saw him as his grandfather's old pal and the Avatar, but recently, he's come to really like him just like his grandfather described their friendship in the journal.
"Hey! Remember when you guys rescued a dragon egg?" He asked the airbender as he suddenly remembered his grandfather's adventure after he ran away from home and later traveled the world with Bumi and Kaliyah Longhuo. It was an adventure similar to what Aang and Kuzon experienced before the war started.
"And the mother thought we were the ones who stole it?" Aang lit up as he remembered that particular adventure and laughed. "Kuzon was all flam-y-O and-"
Sokka spotted the Fire Nation soldiers in the distance. "Everyone stop goofing off! Here they come! Get in your positions!"
Sai sat on Dagaz' shoulder to not get in the way and pushed Momo off. Aang and Dagaz hid while Sokka and Katara pretended to bump into each other while Dagaz prepared the barrier again.
"Oompf! Get out of my way, Pipsqueak!" Sokka yelled.
"How DARE you call me 'pipsqueak', you giant-eared cretin!"
"What did you call me?"
"A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things!" She gestured to Sokka's ears. "Do herds of animals use them for shade?!"
"You better back off!" He then whispered as he felt offended, "seriously, back off."
"I will not back off! I bet elephants get together about how large your ears are!"
"That's it! You're going down!" Sokka started to genuinely feel hurt, even if it was just an act.
"I'll show you who's boss! EARTHBENDING-style!"
Hearing his cue, Dagaz lifted the boulder again. But then a certain someone stood under the boulder and lifted his arms to lick his own armpit. "Uh, Aang? How the hell did Momo get there?" ["What are you doing, Momo? Get out of there!"]
Aang awkwardly smiled and shrugged.
"That lemur!" The soldier pointed to Momo. "He's earthbending!"
It occurred to everyone else that Momo was there too.
"No, you idiot!" Sokka scolded the soldier. "It's the girl!"
"Of... course." The soldier felt stupid.
Dagaz facepalmed, hard, as he let go of the boulder which crashed to the ground. Just how incompetent were these soldiers trained? Sure, their education doesn't last long enough to develop intelligence, but experience should've compensated for it plenty.
"I'll hold her!" Sokka held Katara's shoulders, and then whispered, "you've got twelve hours to find Haru. We'll be right behind you."
On the spot, Katara was arrested by the soldiers and brought away.
Meanwhile, Sokka pulled at his ears, feeling sensitive about what Katara said. He looked at Sai who sat on Dagaz' shoulder. "Sai, you have some big ears."
"Uh, Sokka? Those are Sai's horns," Dagaz corrected. They may look similar to cat ears but they were actually horns as hard as diamonds. Sai's real ears were small flaps between the horns and the base of his tentacles.
"I mean... look at Momo!" Sokka turned to the winged lemur who was sitting on Aang's shoulder. "He has big ears, am I right?" They started giving him weird looks.
Dagaz sighed. "Please don't dump your insecurities on innocent animals."
Sokka slumped and gave up. "Let's just go, please."
oOo
Aang steered Appa as they followed Katara being brought to the prison on a boat with other earthbenders. He looked worried when he saw the prison.
"She'll be fine, Aang," Sokka reassured. "Katara knows what she's doing."
"Just trust her," Dagaz advised. "Girls are tougher than they look." He spoke of experience, which seemed to give Aang a little reassurance.
When they got the location of the prison at sunset, they retreated again to wait.
...
As Aang and Dagaz talked among themselves, Sokka secretly pulled out a pendant. It was a family heirloom his mother entrusted to him when he was younger. It looked very ancient. When Katara told him about Dagaz' knowledge of the Water Tribe, he wanted to ask Dagaz if he knew where it came from.
The pendant was shaped like a wolf's head. Its eyes looked like ice crystals. A push to a small button opened a hidden compartment which was engraved with a symbol that somehow looked like the shadow of a rabbit.
All he knew about it was that it was passed down in their family for generations. Unfortunately, his mother never had the chance to explain why it was so important... as she was taken from them only a few hours later. Sokka promised at her memorial to always keep it safe. To be honest, he almost forgot about it and just unconsciously kept it hanging around his neck, but now he grew curious.
oOo
The guys returned to the prison at midnight and they managed to find a blindspot where Appa could stay without alarming the prison guards. Sokka and Dagaz waited while Aang got Katara and led her back.
"Your twelve hours are up," Sokka whispered. "Where's Haru? We've gotta get outta here."
Aang jumped back on Appa but Katara stood still. "I can't," she stated.
"We don't have much time. There are guards everywhere. Come on," her brother urged.
Aang saw her determined face. "Katara, what's wrong?"
"I'm not leaving," she declared. "I'm not giving up on these people."
...
They sat together on the edge of the prison as Katara explained herself. "We can't abandon these people! There has to be a way to help them."
"She's right," Dagaz agreed. "These people were unjustly arrested for who they are."
"What do you say, Sokka?" Aang asked.
"I say you're all crazy!" Sokka answered as a light almost spotted them. "Last chance. We need to leave. Now."
"No," Katara said firmly.
Sokka shook his head, "I hate when you get like this." He sighed. "Come on, we better hide."
Aang told Appa to hide in the clouds while Sai and Momo stayed on Dagaz' and Aang's shoulders respectively.
As Appa flew away, two patrolling soldiers caught a glimpse of him. "Look!"
oOo
The captain and a foot soldier reported to the warden. "Tell me exactly what you saw," he demanded firmly.
"Well, Sir, it looked like a flying bison," the captain answered.
"What?"
"It was a giant flying buffalo, Sir, with an empty saddle," the foot soldier elaborated.
"Which was it? A buffalo or a bison?"
"Eh... I'm not sure what the difference is, but that's not really the point, is it, Sir?" the captain clarified.
The warden lost his temper. "I'LL decide what the point is, Fool!" He threw the captain overboard in retaliation. "You!"
The foot soldier straightened his back as he was spoken to.
"Wake up the captain! Search the entire rig!"
"Uh... Sir!"
"What?!" He snapped.
"That was the captain you just threw overboard," the foot soldier reminded. "So... "
"Then wake up someone I haven't thrown overboard!" He snapped and then added firmly, "and search the rig. There's something going on here and I don't like it."
oOo
They were hiding between storage boxes while Momo and Sai kept a lookout for soldiers together.
"We don't have much time," Sokka urged. "What are we gonna do?"
Aang sighed. "I wish I knew how to make a hurricane."
They deadpanned.
"The warden would run away and we'd steal his keys," Aang suggested.
"Wouldn't he just take his keys with him?" Sokka asked.
"I'm just tossing ideas around," he defended.
"I tried talking the earthbenders into fighting back but it didn't work," Katara confessed. "If there was just a way to help them help themselves."
"For that, they need some kind of earth or... some rock," Sokka said while thinking about how earthbending works. "Something they can bend."
"Then how about coal?" Dagaz pitched in. "Fire Nation technology generally burns coal to fuel the Fire Navy ships. And they need ventilation shafts to keep their machines cool. So they've got to have some-" He looked around before he saw three smoke trails coming from the prison rig itself.
Sokka followed his line of sight and smirked. "Dagaz, you're a genius."
"So I've been told my entire life," Dagaz shrugged. He wasn't just bragging. During his seventeen years, he received praises from left and right to the point he believed his accumulated karma must've been paying off.
...
They worked on their plan until morning.
"It's almost dawn. We're running out of time," Katara urged. "You're sure this is gonna work?"
"It should," Sokka whispered. "There are vents all over the rig."
"There's a huge deposit of coal at the base of it and the system is ventilating to keep itself from exploding because of the heat," Dagaz explained.
"Aang closed off every vent exept one. When he pushes air through the vents, the coal will land on the only place it can: Here."
"THERE ARE THE INTRUDERS!" Soldiers surrounded them on all sides in a circle while pointing their spears at them.
The siblings and Dagaz stood back-to-back. Dagaz readied to pull out his katana should he have to step in.
"Stay back!" Sokka pointed his boomerang at them. "I'm warning you!"
The commotion gained the attention of the earthbending prisoners. "Katara! Stop!" An old but muscular man shouted. It was Tyro, Haru's father. "You can't win this fight!"
Katara looked to Haru but he looked away.
"Listen to him well, Child!" The warden appeared with more soldiers at his side. "You're one mistake away from dying where you stand."
The soldiers came closer but then a wave of coal burst out of the vent. Aang jumped out with Momo, covered in soot. He coughed a little and shook the soot off himself.
Katara seized the moment, grabbed a coal stone and held it up in the air. "Here is your chance, Earthbenders! Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!"
Haru wanted to step forward but Tyro stopped him and the other earthbenders backed away too.
The warden laughed sardonically. "Foolish Girl! You thought a few inspirational words and some coal would change these people? Look at these blank hopeless faces."
Katara scanned her surroundings. The earthbending prisoners didn't look like they even had the energy to fight within themselves.
"Their spirits were broken a long time ago."
She slowly put the coal down as she began to deject too.
"Oh~ but you still believe in them," the warden mocked. "How sweet. They're a waste of your energy, Little Girl. You failed." The warden turned around and began to leave. But all of a sudden, coal was thrown at the back of his head.
It was Haru, who was outraged and bent chunks of coal in his hands. The warden shot flames at him but Haru was protected by an Earth Wall. It was Tyro who stepped in to protect his son.
"Show no mercy!" The soldiers began firebending too.
Two others joined Tyro as they blocked the flames. "For the Earth Kingdom! Attack!" At Tyro's command, the earthbenders gathered their courage and shot coal at the firebending soldiers.
Sokka chopped up the spears and threw them for Momo to catch as Aang, Katara and Dagaz followed behind him. Tyro and Haru gathered the coal into a boulder and threw it at the wall to create an escape path.
"Get to the ship! We'll hold them off!" Everyone ran for the hole.
"Do not let them escape!" The warden ordered and shot fire in their direction.
Aang halted and bent an Air Tunnel. "Guys! Throw me some coal!" Everyone pitched in a few chunks and the soldiers were knocked back by the force the coal was thrown with.
Suddenly, more soldiers surrounded them. That moment, something flashed through Dagaz' mind. He's felt it before... when he decided to meet Aang, Sokka, and Katara. Like something was guiding him, and choosing his course of action for him.
Like every other sword, the Jingshen could cut through material objects. But what truly discerned it from any other weapon was its ability to cut through spiritual energy at Dagaz' command and its inability to cut living creatures.
The sword cut through the armor and spears of the soldiers, but not their living bodies. Cracks started to spread and all their equipment shattered into triangle-shaped pieces, leaving them literally naked.
He playfully stretched out his tounge at them as the soldiers tried to cover up and began swearing colorful insults at him, but they were history as soon as Tyro and two others threw them overboard by earthbending the coal under their feet.
Tyro and his pals transported the warden above the open sea. "No! Please!" The warden pleaded. "I can't swim!"
"Don't worry," Tyro mocked with a grim face. "I hear cowards float." When he stopped earthbending, they fell into the water and drowned.
...
The prisoners fled with a few captured ships. Appa was swimming in the water as the ships weren't big enough for him.
Haru approached Katara with Tyro. "I wanna thank you for saving me... for saving us."
Katara smiled. "All it took was a little coal."
"It wasn't the coal, Katara. It was you."
She looked away with a small blush. Dagaz narrowed his eyes, leaning on the edge of Appa's saddle and listening in. There it was. Katara's weird trope of developing a crush for attractive guys too hastily.
"Thank you for helping me find my courage, Katara of the Water Tribe." Tyro was extraordinarily grateful to her. "My family, and everyone here, owes you much."
"So, I guess you're going home now," she said.
"Yes, to take back my village." Tyro turned to his comrades. "TO TAKE BACK ALL OF OUR VILLAGES! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!"
"Come with us," Haru suggested to Katara.
But she had to refuse. "I can't. Your mission is to take back your home. Ours is to take Aang to the North Pole."
"That's him, isn't it? The Avatar." Haru watched as Aang played catch-the-airball with Momo. "Katara, thank you for bringing my father back to me. I never thought I'd see him again. I only wish there was some way-"
"I know." Katara touched her neck for the comforting sensation of her mother's presence. "My mother's necklace! It's gone!" She searched herself but the necklace disappeared.
oOo
Meanehile, Zuko arrived at the destroyed prison rig and picked up a blue necklace engraved with Water Tribe markings. Katara's necklace which she inherited from her mother.
oOo
As they were flying through the clouds, Dagaz started beginning to wonder if traveling with them during the events of Book One was really such a good idea after all. Even if it was to protect the Avatar from a dangerous fate.
Katara looked down.
"What's wrong, Katara?" Aang asked.
"It's my mother's necklace. It's gone."
Hurriedly, Sokka took out a pendant from under his clothes and sighed in relief. He thought he might have lost his own heirloom too.
As Dagaz looked closer, he realized it was in the shape of a wolf's head. "May I see that, Sokka?" He asked hurriedly.
Sokka raised an eyebrow and opened his palm, revealing the pendant's detailed design.
Dagaz' voice trembled. "Where... did you get this?" He asked carefully, dreading the answer.
"Mom gave it to me when I was little." Sokka noted how shocked Dagaz seemed. "You've seen it before." It wasn't a question. "Katara told me you know about the Water Tribe. Please, I have to know what this is."
Dagaz was going nuts. Apparently, the fate of the world was derailing on its own even without his 'help'. If he didn't know any better, he would've begun to think this world was an alternate universe of the avatar-verse. The fact that Sokka was in possession of the wolf-shaped 'pendant of the moon hare' almost proved it.
He couldn't help but stare at the pendant. By the desperation in Sokka's voice, Dagaz couldn't possibly deny him the truth. "That pendant is an ancient artifact only passed down to the heirs of the Southern Water Tribe Royal Family. And the engraving within it would be the moon hare... your family crest."
"But that means..." he widened his eyes in realization.
Sokka... was the Southern Water Prince.
oOo
Author's Notice :
Did you really think 'The Clarity of Shadows' was just about my MC? Sure, he's special as both a spirit and a human. But he's not the only one with secrets flowing through his veins.
I present to you the star of one of my sub-plots: Water Prince Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. Spoiler: Sokka-Fans might be a little disappointed with what I have in store for him since he is loved by all just the way he is. My inspiration for it was in the episode Sokka's Master where he expressed his true feelings about himself.
We're going to dive into my own lore more and more. Personally, I love Avatar. Not because of the story, but because of the characters and that world's extensive culture, history, magic, and mythology.
Oh, and that 'Elder Futhark' thing comes from my native mythology/history since I'm a German myself. (Sorry, I couldn't resist including it. It's just too perfect for my Dragonfire Island Lore). By the way, Pai Sho has a similar canon origin story in TLOK that it was developed by the spirits (according to Iroh).
Since I'm explaining the mysteries of the spirits in the next chapters, some things will probably, well, definitely be different than what the original Avatar-creators had in mind. Even if it's a little confusing at first, I'll explain it throughout Book 1 when we meet the other Spirit Masters one by one since I'm planning on giving every Spirit Master of the same rank as Dagaz their own introduction-chapter (apart from the winter-solstice-chapters).
This isn't going to be anything for those who love the coming-of-age theme of Avatar, so quit reading if you're not interested in learning more about the avatar-verse itself (plus my own spin on it). Even though I already have a 'grand finale' in mind, the journey itself is pretty much still in limbo and in-progress, and I still have a lot of ideas.
I'm going to write out many theories and create a side of the avatar-verse in this that will tie into a few details of mainly ATLA and TLOK, similar to that thing with Bumi's purple outfit in the previous chapter. But for another reason, things will be different in the future. Spoiler: Who loves time travel? I certainly do. All kinds of craziness explodes if time travel is involved, but that's what what makes it FUN.
If there's anything you like about this story, make a review. Constructive criticism is most welcome.
oOo
Fun Facts / Trivia :
- '精神/Jingshen' means 'spiritual' in Chinese.
- the flame-shaped hamon is a characteristic of the kitetsu swords (engl. cursed swords) in One Piece. I just included that for magic logic's sake (the design just fits into my MC, who is a Firebending Swordsman which would be the equivalent of a Magic Swordsman in Japanese fantasy-culture).
- I referenced the comic 'Dragon Days' (the only canon-story where Kuzon actually appears), if no one understood what Dagaz and Aang were talking about.
- in the royal families of the four nations, the name of the element is only part of an official title in a global context. For example: Fire Prince or Water Prince. But within their communities both are titled 'Crown Prince', as in: the heir to the royal throne.
- although I'm going to inculde this within the story anyway: Did you know that all the places in the avatar-verse can be found somewhere in the real world too? I'm following that same concept with Dragonfire Island's design and architecture, as well as compensate for other places without an 'official' description.
oOo
See ya next time, Panthosilea out
Uploaded: 15th April 2022