Chapter 5 The Winter Solstice, Part 1 The Spirit World = The Council of Primordials
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In the beginning, there was darkness... one millennium passed, and there was light... through their first clash, new energies were born...
Spirit energy and chi... neutral energy which could be influenced by light and darkness... and energy which had the properties of both...
These energies naturally formed a planet... connected and apart... the spirit world and the mortal world...
Another millennium passed, and in time, the pillars of nature were born... water... earth... fire... air...
The first spirits heralded no names... light and darkness fought over control of the spirit world... chi shunned himself in the mortal world, unable to witness their fight...
And the four elements learned to pass down their position throughout generations...
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The Council of Primordials.
A conference participated by the highest ranked spirits of the spirit world, the primordials. It was established and led by the primordial spirit of chi. In times of great upheaval, they gathered to discuss the fate of the world (should it concern the spirits in the first place).
The primordials were the ones responsible for maintaining the balance of nature. They weren't gods but merely the ego's of fundamental pillars of nature from which they drew their power. Raava and Vaatu, the primordial spirits of light and darkness, were the very first spirits. Still, as they fought, they continued to forget their own origin and true nature over time, believing themselves to be the forces of good and evil.
One primordial took at least one millennium to be born naturally. Meanwhile, the balance of the universe would be thrown into chaos, and ultimately, all life will wither and die if a spirit is missing, so the 'spirit succession' was the fastest and only way to maintain the current cycle of life.
After many millenia, five new primordial spirits were chosen by the cosmic energy of the universe, and according to tradition, their predessessors gave each of them a spirit name of their own.
Huoli, the primordial spirit of chi, was succeeded by Dagaz.
Enki, the primordial spirit of earth, was succeeded by Terran.
Shu, the primordial spirit of air, was succeeded by Zephyr.
Three primordials already passed on and renounced their existence. Other than Raava and Vaatu, the remaining two were still alive but had to wait for special phenomena.
Tui, the primordial spirit of water, awaited the night of the Blue Moon shining every three decades. At first, she didn't even deem it necessary for her successor to remain in the mortal world like the other three. But ultimately, she left the final decision to the new generation.
Agni, the primordial spirit of fire, awaited the day of the Great Comet, passing by every hundred years which announced the last day of summer. Originally, he chose the perfect successor decades from now, but the girl's soul was sent back in time to her years of youth.
Unlike the others, Tui and Agni both needed these special phenomena as their pillars of nature weren't born within the universe's center: Planet Earth.
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Spring of Year 9.924 (95 AG)
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A young boy was crying in the darkness.
"This is all my fault! I- If I just remembered earlier... he wouldn't be gone... I could've prevented everything!"
The echo of a spirit couldn't help but pity his younger self... and blame himself. "It's not your fault, Taiza. It's mine."
Taiza looked up and gazed upon an older version of himself. The same silver-white hair fading into black tips, steel-silver eyes, and robes representing his sparkling plumage as a phoenix. He saw it once before. In one of his mother's paintings. "B- But you a- are..."
"I am Dagaz, and I am you," he confirmed. "I come from the far distant future and am merely but an echo of him. When I have fulfilled my mission, I will dissappear."
"Mission?" Rage rose up from within the young primordial. "My great-uncle just died and you expect me to be in the mood for some- some mission?!"
"You were never meant to meet him in the first place," the older one calmly revealed. "We don't have much time as the 'seal' has broken."
"What?" They were never meant to meet? How? Why? It was confusing... in these memories, he never found himself in it. Wait. "What seal?"
"There was a seal placed on a part of your memories and seals on the spirit magic of your friends, or should I say students. But that's not my point." Dagaz proceeded to show him the future, seven years from when he was sent into the past. A land full of ice. "As you can see, about eighty-five years from now, the ice age will arrive."
The scenery was horrifying. Not just humans and animals, but many spirits died as well. "But that would mean there is no primordial spirit of fire and the warmth of the sun won't reach the earth." Taiza had no other choice but to accept his reality and move forward from there. His own sorrow had to wait.
As Dagaz noted that his younger self calmed down, he continued his revelation. "Six years after Agni chose a successor, he was killed by a human who found the Heart of Fire... and destroyed it."
...
There were three ways a primordial spirit 'died'. The spirit succession, the killing of their ego at a specific time, and the destruction of the 'Heart'.
Every primordial had a 'Heart' they kept safe in the spirit world, but after Avatar Korra re-opened the spirit portals and humans were free to physically travel to the spirit world again, the Hearts could be found, taken, and destroyed.
During the Era of Raava, before Avatar Wan first closed the spirit portals, they were guarded by the spirits of the spirit wilds and the Hearts were heavily guarded by each primordial's familiars. But since then, most of those spirits passed on and, in time, have even forgotten their duties.
As time passed by very fast in the common sense of old beings, even the primordials let their guard down and forgot to replace the familiars who guarded the Hearts.
...
"As his last request, Agni asked me to send his successor back in time to succeed him during the Great Comet five years from now," he explained. "Originally, I was tasked to tell you that you must monitor the seals of the primordial spirit successors. In doing so, you will preserve the pre-determined history but only take the successor out of the picture during the Great Comet."
"But something happened, didn't it?" Taiza noted.
Dagaz nodded. "As you know, the cosmic energy of the universe is a mystery even to us. You and I may understand it as this world's annoyingly vague concept of 'God'." His true feelings of a higher deity were gushing out of him.
"And it interfered. You don't have to exaggerate this, you know I find it annoying too." Scolding his future self felt weirder than the fact he was talking to him in the first place.
"Ahem. 'I' was thrown into the seal on your avatar-verse memories. The successor to the primordial spirit of fire awakened in her six-year-old body without any kind of seal. Since then, you two met and the other seals broke because I was unable to warn you in time."
"So we were originally never meant to meet until our deaths," Taiza realized. And what's more, he was meant to be alone in this generation. "So that's why everything is so different from the avatar-verse I know. The changes began when she arrived."
"And now, even you have a new destiny as Dragonfire Island and the Longhuo clan were always supposed to stay in the shadows of history." Dagaz proceeded to show him his original 'role'... unseen, and unnoticed. His name remained unknown and his figure forever concealed in the darkness.
Everything made sense now. The reason Taiza and his whole life was never known in the avatar-verse was because they kept themselves a secret to begin with. And now, a new timeline was accidentally created as a result of their actions. According to what his future self showed him, it also meant that he was always supposed to be reincarnated in this world. After all, some of his original actions led to helping Avatar Aang, as well as Avatar Korra, on their respective journeys.
"My time is up. Now that you have found clarity, you must find a way to preserve history until the Avatar defeats the Fire Lord or the world as you know it will end."
"The only limits are the ones you put on yourself," he recited his own code of magic and looked up to the fading figure of his future self, determination in his eyes. "I'll find a way that will lead to the end of the Hundred Year War and consult the Council. That much I can promise. But the future after that is mine." He was greedy for a furure in which he could be happy with his loved ones.
"I suppose that is fine too. Good luck... Taiza D. Longhuo."
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Winter of 9.828 (99 AG)
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Sokka opened his eyes.
He had a dream he couldn't quite recall. He remembered a woman's laughter and seeing something in the distance. When he tried to recall the dream again, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He quickly forgot it again as he smelled Katara's cooking.
Her cooking improved tremendously since they started traveling with Dagaz, who offered spices he brought from home. Sokka most welcomed it. Breakfast smelled like a simple cereal, but flavored with a mix of sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa bean powder. The latter two ingredients grew in the tropical climate of the Fire Nation.
"Aang! It's time to get up! Breakfast is ready!" Katara called.
"Hmm? Morning already?" Aang mumbled and snorted. He had dark bags under his eyes and a slightly red nose, indicating a light cold as he jumped down from Appa's saddle.
"Are you alright?" Katara asked. "It's not like you to sleep in."
"I'm okay," Aang tried to reassure.
It didn't seem okay to Dagaz. He knew that Aang was sick once in his early adventures through reading the comics, but he didn't think it was right before the winter solstice. "Are you sure you're really fine?" He asked.
"Come on. It's just a little case of the sniffles," Aang shrugged. "No big... big... ACHOO!" He sneezed a whirlwind around himself.
The siblings braced themselves, but the wind didn't affect their surroundings. They looked at Dagaz, who held out his flat palm and sighed in relief. He had errected a barrier, just in time to protect themselves and their breakfast from being blown away.
Sokka crossed his arms. "A little case of the sniffles, huh?"
Aang laughed awkwardly with his hand behind his head.
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"Keep your eyes peeled, Guys!" Sokka steered Appa as they headed further north. "Who knows how many Fire Nation scouts might have caught up with us by now." He concentrated on keeping his friends safe.
"Ahh... ahh..." Aang moaned. His left leg was tied to Appa's saddle with a rope, in case he blew himself away.
Katara stopped her sewing for a moment. "You know, in the Water Tribe, we have ways of treating colds like this."
"I'm all for it," Dagaz chimed in. "We can't have you sick, Aang."
"See? Even Dagaz thinks so!"
"Katara, I'm fine! Really! I just- ACHOO!" Aang sneezed himself off the saddle, dangling on the rope. *mrr?* As Momo approached him, he sneezed again, catapulting Momo away from him. *mreeeep!*
"That rope was a good idea," Katara complimented.
Dagaz agreed. "Yeah, it was a great idea, Your Highness."
"Thanks," Sokka smirked. His ego was a little elevated since he learned of his family heritage.
"Careful, Dagaz, or he'll pop like a ballon," Katara teased, hinting at her brother's inflating ego.
Sokka grinned and mockingly bowed to her. "Of course, Princess Katara." His sister lost her amusement instantly.
Dagaz chuckled. "He got you on that one, Princess."
...
They landed at dusk and began making camp. Sokka put up the tent while Dagaz gathered more dry wood and Katara stoked the campfire.
"When I was a little girl, my mom made a paste of blubber and pepper berries and rubbed it on my chest. It's a little gross..." Katara explained.
"A lot gross," Sokka commented.
"... but it helped!"
"Not to mention it's stinks a lot," Dagaz said, nonchalantly. Eyes turned to him. "What? It's an old recipe among herbalists. I had a cold once too you know. But it does help in the end."
"Urgh. I'm with Sokka," Aang declined. "The monks used to let these things blow themselves out, and that's always worked for me. I think I'll pass on the blubber berry for..." His nose itched again. "... for... ACHOO!" His airbending-boosted sneezing threw their campsite into disarray as Dagaz couldn't react quickly enough to set up another barrier.
Aang quickly returned from his twenty-feet-high trip in the air and shouted in panic. "Time to go!" He picked up their things as fast as possible, startling Momo and Sai into climbing onto Dagaz' shoulders.
"What?" Katara asked, confused. "Why?"
Suddenly, Fire Nation soldiers on komodo rhinos spotted them from nearby. "There! It's the Avatar!" "Surround them! Quickly!"
By the time they were supposed to be surrounded, Appa took off with Aang at the reins. "Man, that was close! I wonder how they found..." Aang looked back to find glares directed at him. "... us?" Sai even growled for emphasis.
...
At their next campsite, Sokka tied Aang to a rock and nailed some ropes to the ground to hold him while Dagaz prepared the medicinal paste. Katara rubbed the paste all over his chest. Luckily, the sick airbender didn't struggle as he finally discovered the importance of medicine.
"It's like Gran-gran always used to say: 'Feed a fever, slime a cold'!" Sokka punned and started eating another spiced cereal for dinner.
"I don't think that's quite it," Katara doubted.
"Lucky for me, I won't get sick as long as I'm not in my real body," Dagaz shrugged. "An astral body does have surprising perks at times. I have no idea how Aang caught a cold though." He guessed that some things in life were meant to remain a mystery.
"And lucky for me, I never get... ACHOO!" Sokka began sneezing and the delicious cereal splashed all over his head. "Pass the slime, please..."
Dagaz and Katara looked at each other and laughed.
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As they were up in the air again after the boys recovered, Dagaz was sketching his phoenix spirit form as he saw his own reflection enough times to try it.
"These clouds look so soft, don't they?" Katara watched the clouds pass by. "Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big soft cottony heap."
"Maybe you should give it a try," Sokka suggested while carving out a piece of wood.
"You're hilarious," she said, annoyed.
"I'LL TRY IT!" Aang thought it was a great idea and happily jumped down out of boredom while laughing. "YEAH!"
While Sokka, Katara, and Momo watched him, Chi Chi (Dagaz' first spirit familiar, a messenger hawk) arrived with a message for Dagaz, announcing the host of this solstice's Council of Primordials.
Aang came back with his glider, clothes drenched from head to toe. "Turns out, clouds are made of water." He dried himself and saw that Dagaz was holding a scroll with a frown on his face. "What's going on?"
Dagaz remembered the 'official' story and looked up. "The Council of Primordials is approaching. The Spirit Masters have been summoned to the spirit world to attend it."
Sokka closed his eyes, trying to process more spirit-stuff. "I know I'm going to regret asking, but what is this 'Council of Prime-or-what-now'?"
"The Council of Primordials," he corrected. "It's kind of like the government of the spirit world. They usually only come together every few centuries. The Spirit Masters are their agents in the mortal world, and if we are summoned, it means that something is happening." He packed away the scroll. "I'll have to leave for two-to-three days, maybe four. I need an anker, so Sai will stay in Appa's shadow for now. He's acting as my portal back to you guys. The Council is an important meeting so you won't be able to contact me, not even through Sai."
Aang and Katara looked at him wide-eyed.
"I shouldn't have asked," Sokka mumbled, facepalming.
"Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it," Dagaz reassured. "Besides, what could possibly happen in three days?"
"Don't jinx it!"
"Okay..." Dagaz looked from Sokka to Aang and Katara. "Here." He handed them the money and supplies he was carrying to be safe. "See ya in a few days, Guys. I'll trust that you'll be fine." He turned to Sai, who pointed out that he's almost out on his 'special snacks'. ["I'll bring back more. Promise."]
"Okay..." Aang and Katara dejected. They didn't like the idea of him leaving them so suddenly. But they had to accept it. Dagaz was a Spirit Master, someone who had duties to the spirit world.
Sai jumped into Appa's shadow. Simultaneously, the shadow realm was a place where Sai could naturally stay without having to rely on his snacks, so Dagaz sent him there. Next, he dissappeared before their eyes as if fading away from the world.
"So, what do we do now?" Aang asked.
Suddenly, Katara saw the dark landscape in front of them as they flew closer. "What is that?"
Sokka saw it, too. "It's like a scar."
...
They landed in the dark landscape. It was full of ash and burnt wood.
"Listen," Sokka scanned the area and searched for animal sounds. "It's so quiet. There's no life anywhere."
"Aang?" Katara watched him sadly as he looked at the burnt forest. "Are you okay?"
Sokka found komodo rhino footprints in the ashes. "Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-"
"Sokka!" Katara scolded and shushed him. "Dagaz is Fire Nation, too. He isn't like that!"
"So, I'm not allowed to be angry about this?!" Sokka yelled. His sister pointed to the dejected Aang, and they watched him concerned.
Aang sighed and let himself fall on his knees. "Why would anyone do this?" He let the ash slip through his fingers. "How could I let this happen?"
"Aang, you didn't let this happen," Katara said. "It has nothing to do with you."
"Yes, it does. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But I don't know how to do my job."
"That's why we're going to the North Pole. To find you a teacher."
"Yeah," Aang was still dejected. "A Waterbending teacher. But no one to teach me how to be the Avatar."
Katara pondered, holding her finger on her chin. An idea flashed through her mind. "What about Dagaz? He studied the Avatar, so maybe he could teach you what he knows?"
Aang lit up. "Of course! Why didn't I think of him?"
"We could ask him together when he gets back," she offered.
"Thank you, Katara."
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Dagaz entered his home in the spirit world, a glowing silver palace in the middle of what was known as the 'Forest of Shadows'. The palace itself was a high tower, layered like a multiple-story wedding cake. It reminded of a place where high elves would live due to its intricate design. The Elder Futhark symbol of his name and his clan/spirit crest was engraved at its entrance. The forest surrounded a silver lake, where the palace was built on top of a small isle, the chi oasis.
Inside the palace, he looked through the ingredients in the kitchen. Before the Council started, he wanted to assemble Sai's snacks. As he was currently too weak to constantly provide Sai with enough spiritual energy to sustain himself in the mortal world, he came up with the idea of making special snacks using ingredients from his realm in the spirit world.
Within the Realm of Chi, as it was his own territory, the only limits were the ones he put on himself.
Dagaz built his own modern kitchen from his imagination within his spirit palace since the one he usually used at home was rather primitive. So it wasn't up to his standards as even the practical machines he used to have in his old world were missing. Sure, he compensated with new Magic Tools, but it wasn't the same.
He usually always had every ingredient in stock but he ran out of silver lake weeds (neutral energy), yin lavender flowers (negative energy), and yang canine mushrooms (positive energy). As these plants were the exact ingredients of his spirit familiars' snacks, he couldn't start cooking without them.
He made his way to one of the four stone bridges, connecting the forest to the palace. "Nymphs!" The nymphs who lived in the silver lake heard his call and rose up to the surface. "I need more silver lake weeds." They nodded and dived to collect them.
Next, Dagaz headed into the forest. A spirit territory sometimes reflected one's personality, dreams, and inner wishes. That's why its image shifted over time and the Forest of Shadows slowly started to inhabit hybrid mythical creatures like faixies.
A one-eyed forest elf (elf-cyclobs hybrid) landed from the trees in front of him and knelt. "How may I help you, Dagaz?"
"I need more yin lavender flowers."
"I will deliver them to the palace." The one-eyed forest elf immediately understood that Dagaz' spirit familiar needed more snacks to sustain himself by his side in the mortal world.
It was an order that the spirits of the realm were already used to since Dagaz was not just a great cook but an extraordinary alchemist. Since he was a very young, Dagaz liked to experiment with the plants of the Forest of Shadows. They always had unexpectedly useful results and he found many friends among his spirit subjects. At first, they always called him 'Master' but that kind of title felt awkward at the time, so he asked them to just call him by his spirit name.
The spirits especially liked the tea parties Dagaz held once-in-a-while because he always found ways to recreate human-like food that even the spirits liked. Cakes, donuts, muffins and tarts for example. But for his spirit familiars, Dagaz liked to make coated chi churros (pseudo 'energy bars'). They tasted sweet, spicy and crunchy, in that order. Even Dagaz liked to munch on them if he craved them.
"Dagaz!" A centaur called as he carried four baskets of yang canine mushrooms. They grew on crystals near the habitat of the centaurs. "We heard from the nymphs that Sai ran out of his snacks again and gathered some."
"Thank you." Dagaz began walking back to the palace with the centaur. He picked up the six baskets full of silver lake weeds, the nymphs left him at the edge of the isle, by encasing them in barriers and lifting them up to trail behind him.
Back in the kitchen, five baskets of yin lavender flowers already awaited him. The centaur set the yang canine mushrooms down and left again.
Dagaz removed his long sleeves and got to work. First, the yang canine mushrooms. They were dark violet in color. It was the crunchy part and the core of the snack, so he had to cut them into long sticks with a knife. His sword skills sped up the process a lot. What was left, he grinded into powder and stored them in extra bowls for later use in the storage room. It was a great spice for rice dishes, so he didn't need to throw such a delicacy away.
Elder Luan entered the kitchen with his large wooden staff and began watching the primordial spirit of chi engage in his hobby. "Are you making coated chi churros again, Dagaz?" He asked his master.
...
Elder Luan was the familiar of Dagaz' predecessor, Huoli, and a so-called 'remnant-familiar'. When Dagaz was reborn as a primordial, he took over Huoli's realm as well as his remaining familiars as their new master. Elder Luan was the last existing one as the rest already passed on a long time ago. He served as Dagaz' teacher in regards to knowledge of the spirit world since his infant-years and was one of the spirits who used his spirit-rank as a title.
Spirit-ranks were measured according to power, descending from 'primordial' to 'ancient', 'elder', 'high', 'middle', and 'lower'. The higher the rank, the longer their lifespans. Only the primordials and ancients were free to decide when their lifespans would end.
...
"Yes, Sai ran out of his snacks and these are his favorite," Dagaz replied with a big smile on his face.
Elder Luan smiled as he sat down on a chair at the dinner table. "Would you leave some for me?"
"Sure, Elder Luan. I have plenty of ingredients so I'll definitely have more than enough," Dagaz chuckled. "Oh, and recently, I've been traveling with Avatar Aang."
"Yes, who doesn't know that he has returned these days? And he's an airbender of all things," he scoffed.
"I know you still have a grudge about that, but don't take it out on him. He's just a twelve-year-old child and doesn't know about the 'Divine War'."
...
The Divine War was a significant event for the Incarnated Spirit-Humans, later known as Spirit Masters. About three thousand years ago, a group of renegade airbenders called the 'Air Templars' commited a sacrilege against the spirits.
Long ago, just as much as the Air Nomads longed for their spirit friends, the spirits longed for their human friends. Thus, they began incarnating themselves in the mortal world.
One day, an Air Nomad discovered their true power and how to use it against his enemies. He was banished from the air temples, but he did not give up easily and founded the Air Templars. Their military force was formidable in more ways than one, enabling them to capture the Incarnated Spirit-Humans.
At the time, Huoli, the primordial spirit of chi, granted the survivors a safe haven on an island reflecting his realm in the mortal world, the birthplace of chi, later known as 'Dragonfire Island'. He errected the Great Storm Barrier and decreed to never let airbenders pass through it.
Air Avatar Kelsang defeated the Air Templars many years later. A group of stealthy warriors, the Kunai Shinobi, were founded and set out to hunt down every bit of information on incarnated spirits. To protect the Incarnated Spirit-Humans, they were fabricated into the 'Spirit Masters'.
Spirit Masters were portrayed weaker than they truly were, and more importantly, they were not known as a source of energy anymore, but as the users of spirit magic. What the Air Templars did wasn't just 'drawing out their power', but their very life force, driving them to die very young.
The last survivor of that time was an elder-ranked spirit, Huoli's familiar, who was later known as 'Elder Luan'.
...
Dagaz got started on the bright blue yin lavender flowers. They were the sweet coat of the churros. After they were crushed into mush, he let it stir on the stove.
Elder Luan sighed and looked down. "Yes, I know, I know. Children don't bear the sins of their ancestors."
"Besides, Avatar Kelsang throughly punished the 'Air Templars' and forbade the Air Nomads to ever form a military force again." Dagaz sighed, "but now, Aang thinks that he's all alone."
Every Avatar left behind good as well as bad deeds for the next generation to clean up. Thanks to Air Nomads being forbidden to form a military force, very few airbenders actually knew attack techniques. Unable to defend themselves due to cultural reasons, the Air Nomads were hunted down and eradicated. In the 'official' Fire Nation history, they were portrayed as this grand army, but in reality, they were largely pacifistic people who valued living in peace.
Elder Luan smiled. "You seem to have taken a liking to him."
"Before I remembered the destiny of this era, I used to look up to him after all. My human grandfather was one of Aang's best friends and kept a journal about all their fun adventures. My mother especially liked their prank stories that turned out to be good deeds. But he's still very naive in the ways of the world."
"You should be careful not to alter too much," he advised like a worrying grandfather.
"I know. That's why I'm only staying until the North Pole. I have to take care of my fellow primordial spirit successors after all. Unlike me, they never had a teacher like you," Dagaz smirked. Zephyr may have had a maid-like spirit by his side, but Terran didn't have anyone to guide him. Although, Dagaz had to teach both of them to properly control their power in the mortal world, so they wouldn't accidentally cause catastrophes.
While the churro-coating still stirred at a low temperature, he wrapped the long crunchy sticks in the spicy silver lake weeds. To dry them, he bent the silver lake water into another bowl as they hardened around the sticks but stayed oily like dried seaweeds.
Elder Luan laughed loudly at Dagaz' compliment. "I suppose not. I don't know what the primordial spirits are thinking. Since you've been born, they suddenly decided to incarnate the next generation as humans. The only ones left are Agni and Tui but they both already have fine successors."
"Personally, I think that they just want successors who can understand the world in a way spirits can't comprehend. Eventually, we'll become spirits like our predessessors but we will always remember where we came from and that we all experienced strong emotions."
"You're growing wiser by the day," Elder Luan said as he stroked his beard. "As your delicacies grow tastier, of course."
Dagaz was the one who laughed this time. He needed a conversation like this.
Lastly, he bent the liquid yin lavender flower mush to coat the wrapped sticks as they floated in the air and let them harden like chocolate. A batch of five hundred light-blue coated chi churros were done very quickly. So Dagaz still had time.
He filled three small pouches, enchanted to act like a time-stopping cooler, and gave a pouch to Elder Luan. "Here. I packed fifty."
"Thank you, Dagaz. You're always so kind to us."
"Because you're all my family," he admitted. "When the humans I know someday die in spirit standards, you're the ones who will be there for me the longest."
Elder Luan gave him a hug. "Don't change anytime soon. I know how quickly the humans change their way of thinking but I think, you should stay as inventive and creative as you are."
Dagaz sighed and hugged him back. "I hope so too."
Elder Luan left the palace to go to his own hut in the shadow of a big rock.
Dagaz closed the pouch containing another batch of fifty with a light blue ribbon before he restored his long sleeves.
oOo
In the meeting room, Dagaz arranged snacks and calming tea for everyone.
The 'memory crystal' which contained a copy of the Avatar-franchise from his own memory was placed in the middle of the round table on a pedestal. Access was granted to every throne through a navigation panel.
Five thrones for five primordials, three of which were Spirit Masters, and two additional seats for the successor of the sun spirit and the familiar of the moon spirit.
The first to arrive was the moon spirit, Tui. She was currently oldest spirit among them. A black dress and ghost-like hair. Followed by La the ocean spirit, her ancient-ranked familiar. Hair as dark as night and white robes.
Twenty thousand years ago, Tui divided her power with a familiar and the ocean spirit was born. Ever since the Era of Raava began, they spent their time encircling one another in a pond at the North Pole.
Zephyr, the air spirit, arrived next. He dragged along Terran, the earth spirit, by his ear. "I'm sorry about this, Master Dagaz. Somehow, he managed to end up in Gaoling with Toph Beifong when I found him... again. It's a miracle he didn't convince her to leave home early."
Zephyr and Terran lived in the northern parts of the Earth Kingdom but traveled together often in their natural spirit forms. Although... Terran liked to lava-surf underground and sometimes found himself on the other side of the world as a result.
"You think, you're the one with another anomaly?" Dagaz asked, already irritated. "Sokka apparently has a the 'pendant of the moon hare' on him, so he's the Southern Water Prince."
"What pendant?" Zephyr blinked as he didn't learn about the Gong Jiang Jewels yet. But he knew that Sokka never had a pendant on him from watching ATLA.
"Exactly!" Dagaz yelled and facepalmed, leaning his elbow on his throne's armrest.
Zephyr sat Terran down on the earth throne before he sat on the air throne between Terran and Dagaz.
"This just keeps getting better and better," Dagaz mumbled. "I thought I might've been too impulsive but everything still worked out until now. But this is almost impossible! The real issue is still what happens after the events of the north."
Meanwhile, Tui and La calmly sipped their tea as if talking about the destiny of this world didn't concern them much. It actually didn't since Tui will pass on her role as the moon spirit and La will only have the duty of defending the north with the Avatar. When La first came to know of the future, he was furious. But eventually, he abided by Tui's wish to finally pass on.
"Just leave it to your girlfriend," Terran chimed in. "She's done it before, so she can do it again."
Dagaz sipped his tea to calm his nerves. Although he was extraordinarily gifted at hiding his emotions, he had a hard time just keeping his cool after being confronted with his own rage towards Ozai and Sokka's pendant. His nonchalant demeanor was a sort of emotional barrier to protect himself from feeling anything. There were thousands of ways everything could go wrong. And for the last five years, the Council discussed countless what-if scenarios. Unfortunately, this meeting was their deadline.
When Agni, the sun spirit, finally arrived, followed by her, the Council of Primordials was finally gathered.
The sun spirit sighed, falling on his throne. "I am tired of these meetings. Usually, I only have to attend these things every few centuries but seeing your faces this often is just too much."
Tui decided to include herself. "And who's fault is that? I don't even have to and you don't find me complaining."
Agni and Dagaz flinched. Granted, their future selves caused the start of their conundrum, but, technically, it wasn't entirely their fault.
"Is it always like this?" She asked her mentor. She was Dagaz' fiancée and the successor of the sun spirit a.k.a. the primordial spirit of fire. She was a Bhanti Fire Sage, prepared to succeed Agni far in the future, and her soul was sent into the past. But in doing so, her presence created a new timeline. Her spirit name... Solaria.
"Right. This is your first time attending since you've been... busy," Agni remembered. "As you know, the Council is discussing almost every solstice what to do to keep history the way it's supposed to. And usually, we don't gather that often, so we're getting on each other's nerves."
"It's only you and Granny, Hotman," Terran corrected. "We're the newbies."
"Who weren't even supposed to be newbies!" Agni retorted, irritated as ever by the nicknames.
"Exept Master Dagaz-"
"Okay, ENOUGH!" Dagaz interrupted, and they all went quiet. "May the last Council of Primordials begin. And I bring concerning news... the Avatar might not survive his destiny... which is why I joined him."
"Hold up. Didn't we agree on you not meddling?" Agni asked, concerned.
"Me and Terran saw it too," Zephyr chimed in and used his panel to pull up three images in front of him. The image of Aang being struck by lightning, him being defeated by Ozai, and him slumped on the ground surrounded by ice. "It's like the cosmic energy was telling us to choose, and whichever, the Avatar will die and the world might burn for it."
"..."
As the gravity of their situation sunk in, Solaria raised her voice. "We won't need the Avatar anymore." She grinned proudly. "I found a solution to our problems. But first, Dagaz, how have you been lately?"
"Huh? Ah, now that you mention it, I've felt like I'm getting stronger lately. But what does that have to do with-" He interrupted himself as realization flashed through his mind. He eyed his lover warily. "Okay, what did you do?"
"It's not a prank!" She defended and tapped her pointers. "I just found this ancient lost technique... and... sorta... used... your body... as a... guinea pig?" She explained nervously, turning her eyes away as her voice grew quieter.
Terran stared at her in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind?!" He yelled. "Master is dying if you lost your memory to boot!"
"Calm down. He's still alive, isn't he?" Agni remarked.
Dagaz burst into laughter, surprising everyone. "I'll hear you out. But warn me next time, Solaria. I don't mind you using my body, but you should at least give me a heads up."
"Mother gave me permission." Solaria looked at him with seductive half-lidded eyes. "I don't see any problem."
A passionate pink aura rose between them as they gazed into each others eyes, making their younger friends uncomfortable. The older primordials ignored it and just continued sipping tea while Zephyr shielded his eyes.
"Would you two mind not flirting for once?" Terran deadpanned, arms crossed. "We're in a serious meeting here."
Dagaz turned away and coughed awkwardly. "Ahem. Let's continue, shall we?"
Solaria smiled and returned to the topic a hand. "I finally developed my new technique to a satisfactory standard...I call it 'healing lighting'." She demonstrated it by projecting her memory of using it on her lover's human body hovering over the table.
Dagaz read the technique's chi paths.
Outwardly, it looked like green electricity, but, similar to bloodbending, it could interfere with the flow of energy within the body. But more importantly, it had the potential of freeing Dagaz from the effects of the 'medically incurable' poison flowing through his human body, enabling him to continue his life.
"When will it be ready?" Terran asked. It has already been proven that the technique works. Now, it's just about timing.
"I... actually don't know," Solaria admitted. A gloomy aura enveloped the room instantly.
The vague estimation of Dagaz' awakening was simply... disappointing. "Until we know for sure when I'll be able to return to my body, we're back to square one."
"Great," Terran said sarcastically, and banged his head on the table.
oOo
Author's Notice :
Did you know that even the mythology of the avatar-verse is a combination of various fantasy- & folklore- cultures from around the world? Most of my spin on the spirit world is inspired by Korean and Japanese fantasy-culture that is often found in manhwa and manga.
I also took inspiration from the original source of the concept of elements. The ancient Indian concept of Pancha Mahabhuta where there are not four but five elements. I renamed the fifth element "chi" to suit that energybending-stuff as it is called chi in Chinese Mythology. In some cases there is also a sixth element I interpreted as "spiritual energy".
About Tui and La: the only historic canon info I could find about them is that they are 'ancient spirits who were encircling each other near the very beginning', according to Roku and Koh. But since the beginning of what? So I placed them in the beginning of the Era of Raava.
What did you think of the reason for Air Nomads having no military force? Not every nation is perfect and flaws can be found in every culture, but that's exactly what makes avatar's history so fascinating. When I researched the Air Nomads, I found a lot of religious extremists. Characters like Guru Laghima and Zaheer are prime examples of such people. As for 'why' Incarnated Spirit-Humans could be defeated, I'll elaborate on that in a later chapter.
My OC 'Elder Luan' is a contemporary witness to that event. I just named it 'Divine War' spontaneously since, within the avatar-verse, spirits are regarded similar to gods or divine beings because of their long period of existence.
ABOUT THE EARLY COMICS: I'm only going to include a few comics, but not all of them.
oOo
Fun Facts / Trivia :
- 'Enki' means 'Lord of Earth' in Sumerian. 'En' means 'Lord' and 'ki' means 'earth, ground'.
- 'Shu' is the name of the Egyptian god of wind and air and means 'emptiness' or 'he who rises up'. The Chinese version of the same name represents the space between the earth and the heavens.
- 'Agni' is a Sanskrit word that means 'fire' and refers to a Hindu deity of the same name. Agni, the god of fire, sacrifice, and divine knowledge, is one of the primary Vedic gods.
- 'Tui' means 'push' and 'La' means 'pull' in Mandarin Chinese. I reversed their spirit form colors as it was a cultural inaccuracy even in the original series.
- I actually had a fit of laughter over this: When I developed my MC, I never thought he would seriously end up with a "D." in his name. I'm really not imitating One Piece with this one. "Taiza" came from another fanfic that inspired me, well, gave me a creative fever, unleashing my creative block I had for ALMOST A DECADE ("The Clarity of Everything" by Dante Kreisler), and I liked the meaning of "Dagaz" too. So I wrote "Taiza Dagaz Longhuo", but then it occurred to me that I could just shorten that extra name and SURPRISE: Taiza D. Longhuo.
- if anyone remembers: Fire Sages suffered during the Hundred Year War as their religious authority diminished.
- the one-eyed forest elf is my own hybrid species (actually every hybrid classic-mythology creature I will mention)
oOo
See ya next time, Panthosilea out
Uploaded: 17th April 2022