Koza knelt on the ground, every ounce of her focus now on Huvanni. The Air Bender stood before her, rays of moonlight now breaking free of the clouded sky and illuminating the girl in soft white light. She almost looks like a Spirit, Koza thought to herself.
"The Nuns had no way of knowing it was coming," Huvanni began steadily. "None of us did. We had no reason to suspect anything of the Fire Nation. When that Naval ship came right near the base of the Eastern Air Temple, everyone was in consensus that it had simply fallen of course. The Air Benders were always optimistic, but we were also naive. Very, very naive."
"Why would the Fire Nation have any need to come near the Air Temples?" Koza asked, her voice sounding hollow. She knew Fire Nation battle strategy like the back of her hand; she had studied it for her entire life. She knew the answer, and yet she couldn't bring herself to admit it.
"To spy on us. See what our defenses were, our abilities and behaviors… Air Benders never really participated in political affairs with any other Nation, so they couldn't be truly sure what our strengths and weaknesses were." Huvanni answered. Koza swallowed; that was right.
"We didn't think an attack was even possible," Huvanni continued. "The Air Temples are all located at the tops of mountains, accessible only by flying bison. It should've been impossible for anyone other than us to access the temples. We had underestimated the Fire Nation's advancements in technology, and… and how far they were willing to go." She took a moment to catch her breath, willing herself to continue. "They arrived at dawn. Thousands, millions of black-and-red clad soldiers invaded our home completely out of nowhere."
"And… and the soldiers arrested those in charge, right?" Koza said the words pleadingly, like she was begging the Universe itself to make it so.
"No. Simply taking prisoners would've been far too merciful, far too kind for Sozin." The name of the Fire Lord sounded like poison in Huvanni's mouth. "They, soldiers, they came and they massacred everyone. Everyone. The first thing I heard when I woke up this morning were the screams and cries of my friends, my family being burned alive right outside my bedroom. Being murdered in cold blood, by decree of the all-mighty Fire Lord." For a split second, a flash of pure, animalistic rage came across Huvanni's face. The split change between the girl's monotone voice and her sudden look of murderous fury actually made Koza shudder for a moment. Huvanni quickly caught herself, and her expression returned to a neutral one.
"I'm from the Western Air Temple. I was born there and I lived there my whole life alongside thousands of other women. Air Benders who devoted their lives to practicing spirituality and good-will, to try and spread peace throughout the world. That Air Temple didn't have soldiers or-or warriors. It housed women and children. And the Fire Nation had each and every single one of them killed." Huvanni swallowed, taking another moment to collect herself. Koza could see her entire body was shaking. "Do you have any idea what the Fire Nation does when they decide a group of people aren't worth living anymore? They don't ask questions, they don't explain why. They just hunt everyone down without a second thought. I watched a soldier take hold of a two-year-old girl. A baby who could barely even say her name yet, and he burned her to ash without even a second thought."
Koza wanted to cover her ears and block out each horrible word. Her stomach twisted itself knots, the graphic horrors Huvanni described making her feel physically sick. The Fire Nation would never murder people so senslessly, so merciliessly. This was the home she had been proud to serve for her entire life? It was all just too horrible to believe.
"When the Fire Nation first arrived, there was mostly a lot of panic from everyone. It was so early in the morning that by the time the Nuns even figured out what was happening, more than half of the Temple's population was already gone.. They knew, we all knew that at that point there was no possible way to preserve our home and our people other than to fight back. So, some of the most powerful Air Benders at our temple took the burden upon themselves to break our most sacred rule: They took lives of their own.
"See, there's actually a good reason that Air Benders never partake in violence or fighting; because if we did- fun fact- the blood would never wash off our hands. Air, by far, is the most unique element in the cycle; Water, Earth, and Fire alike all have special circumstances that would leave a person unable to Bend properly. A Fire Bender under a Solar Eclipse, a Water Bender in a desert, or an Earth Bender in the Arctic. But no matter where you go, Air is everywhere. On land, in the sea… and in a human body. No matter where, an Air Bender will always have power." The sudden ominous turn in Huvanni's tone made Koza's blood run cold. "If we had time to prepare or come up with a plan of defense, I have no doubt that we would've won the fight. But the Fire Nation chose the coward's method of attack. We were unprepared, unready, and terrified. And… they were stronger, somehow, I can't explain it. Their fire just burned brighter, faster. I don't know what they did, but they were more powerful than I've ever seen a Fire Bender. You'd think since the Western Temple was built upside-down into a cliff we would've had the home advantage, but the Fire Nation had been studying us. Readying for that moment."
Huvanni went quiet for a moment, inhaling softly and holding her arms to try and stop her body from shaking. Koza watched with tense anticipation, gripping tightly on the grass. After a few seconds, Huvanni continued.
"My master and closest friend, Sister Ayoni, managed to take out more than a dozen soldiers once she joined the fight. She would manipulate the air out of the soldier's lungs to suffocate them; it's a deadly technique that Air Benders usually only hear about in horror stories. It's something we would normally never even think about doing. But Ayoni took it upon herself to defend her home and her people. She was one of the most powerful Benders in the Western Temple, but when… but-but when a soldier… snuck up behind her, she was gone in less than a blink of an eye. That woman was the closest thing I ever had to a mother, someone who helped me become the person I am today, and for your army… she was just another addition to the body count. Just another sacrifice to help fuel the Fire Nation." A deafening silence followed this statement, one that weighed heavily on Koza's chest.
"I… I would have never known. I-I never would have thought that the Fire Nation would…. That they would…" Koza could barely get the sentence out. Everything within her was telling her not to believe Huvanni, that this girl was nothing more than a liar, trying to put a bad name on her great home. But having the knowledge that the Fire Nation attacked early in the morning and at full-throttle… that wouldn't be something a normal person would be privy too unless they saw it first hand.
"...You said that Sozin claimed this attack was in order to dismantle the Air Bender Army?" Huvanni asked quietly. Koza nodded. "He lied to you. He lied to everyone. This had nothing to do with justice or keeping the peace. This was about ensuring not a single person in that Temple survived before the day was over. Watch, I bet Sozin announce tomorrow something like 'the Air Benders turned feral and violent, and the soldiers were forced to exterminate everyone to save their own lives.'"
"If the soldiers weren't sparing anyone, then how did you manage to escape?" Koza asked.
"Pure luck," Huvanni replied nonchalantly. "No, wait. That's not right. It was luck and… and sacrifice. ...When the attacks began, Vala- one of the older girls I shared a room with- said that the best thing we could do was hide. Like Spirits, a group of ten, under-skilled, teenage girls was going to take on an entire army fleet. She said- and Vala was always so good at keeping a level-head in bad situations- if we found somewhere to hide, prayed to the Spirits for mercy, we might be able to just hide until the soldiers eventually got bored and left. But I... didn't listen to her. I was panicking, I guess, and I couldn't think straight. But all I remember was just running out of our room and straight into the fray.
"People were screaming, soldiers were chasing the Nuns like they were some wild game… and they were even going out of their way to burn down some of our sacred statues, for no other reason than to pour salt into the wound. They… they even destroyed our statue of Avatar Yangchen, they destroyed her monument for no reason . ….And the bodies. The smoldering, ashen bodies that scattered all over what was once holy land. The people who had raised me, who I owe everything to, their faces were burnt beyond recognition. The smell of burning flesh is one that I don't think I will ever forget. But regardless, it was nothing short of a miracle that I managed to reach the stables with only minor wounds."
"Stables? Did you keep komodo-rhinos or something?" Koza asked. For the first time since she started speaking, Huvanni managed the tiniest of smiles.
"I think those would be a little hard to get up a mountain. No, Air Benders keep two kinds of animals at the Temple: winged lemurs and flying bison. When an Air Bending child reaches nine years of age, they are given a flying bison calf to bond with. Children learn so much from the original Air Benders, and by forming connections with them, we become life-long companions." Her voice sounded oddly strained. "My bison was named Noll. He was the sweetest cuddle-bug you'd ever meet. He loved nothing more than to just sit on your lap and snuggle, which wasn't the best trait to have considering he weighed over ten tons." Huvanni giggled weakly. "When we first bonded, he had such bad separation anxiety that he'd just howl and cry every time I put him in the stables at night. I can't remember how many times I slept in there just so he wouldn't feel so lonely."
"He sounds wonderful." Koza said. The small smile that had appeared on Huvanni's face had now all but vanished.
"Yeah, he was," She sniffled slightly. "When... When I reached the stables, I wasn't too sure of what I was doing. I knew I needed to somehow get out of the Temple, but I didn't know what to do about Noll. He had far more endurance and strength than I did, but he was also a much bigger target. That was the choice, take him with me and possibly slow him down, or let him go on his own and hope he got out in time. I wasn't sure what to do. But I didn't even get the chance to make a choice, because a Fire soldier had entered the stables and was creeping up behind me, and Noll… heh, Noll swung his big tail around and knocked the guy out cold. He protected me, he- I think he knew we were in trouble, and that was almost his way of showing me he wanted to keep us safe. There was no way I could just leave him behind, so I saddled him up, took out the reins, and we… ran. We ran away. Our home and our friends were in danger, and we just… ran away."
"There was nothing you could've done. One person wouldn't stand a chance against the entire Fire Army." Koza said earnestly.
"Maybe." Huvanni mumbled. "Well, everything seemed clear for about ten seconds. I actually thought for a moment that Noll and I had gotten away, that we had actually made it out alive! But... the thing about sky bison is while they're strong fliers, they can only move so fast. When a hundred soldiers started launching fireballs at us, there was just no way for him to dodge out of the way in time. He tried. Oh, he tried so, so hard to get us to safety. He did the best he could, my sweet boy. ….But he was no match against the Fire Nation. He took shot after shot, and even though I knew he was in pain, he just kept trying to go forward. But one last blast to his spine, and he fell. I didn't think to bring a glider or anything, and we were falling fast. The ground was getting closer, I-I had to do something. I would've died if I didn't...!" Huvanni's voice quivered, and she closed her eyes. "I abandoned him. I jumped from the reins and just barely managed to cling to a nearby tree while Noll collided with the dirt. My best friend, my close companion, laid dead among the rocks because I was too helpless to prevent it from happening." She opened her eyes again, and through the moonlight Koza could see there were tears in her eyes.
"It wasn't your fault." urged Koza. Huvanni wasn't listening.
"I didn't want to leave him. I couldn't bear seeing him like that, so-so lifeless. He didn't deserve that, none of them did!" Huvanni screamed. Koza didn't flinch. Huvanni took a few more heavy breaths, sniffling back tears. "I should've done more. I should've done something to save him instead of just letting him take their attacks. I was meant to protect him, and I failed. But… at least the Spirits didn't let me get away without punishment." Huvanni said, and lifted up the bottom of her robe.
On the side of her right leg was the worst burn wound Koza had ever seen before, and that was saying a lot. It spread from her ankle bone nearly all the way up to her lower thigh, swollen and red. Considering how deeply damaged Huvanni's skin was, Koza was more than sure that one of the soldier's fire had made direct contact with her skin. How Huvanni managed to stand on that leg without toppling over in agony was beyond Koza's comprehension.
"After I lost Noll, I wasn't sure what to do. Where I should go," Huvanni continued, dropping her robe back down so her legs were covered again. "I thought about making my way towards the Northern Air Temple. It would take some time to reach it on foot, but it's the closest place that I knew would be safe. I waited until night fell to make my way across the Fire Nation. There was no way I'd be able to trust that nobody else in the Fire Nation would try to attack me, too." She said, giving Koza a stern look.
"I... I'm sorry." Huvanni looked just as surprised as Koza felt from the words. Fire Benders weren't people to ever apologize, it just wasn't a common phrase. Feuds or arguments in the Fire Nation were usually resolved through battle or Agni Kai, where whichever person was weak enough to lose was deemed to be in the wrong. Nevertheless, Koza just couldn't bear to sit there without expressing some kind of pitiful remorse for what her people had done, the absolute horror and damage that they had caused. Not to mention for when Koza tried to attack Huvanni just mere minutes before. Koza had believed the Fire Nation was the best place to live, a place of prosperity and greatness. Now, she wasn't sure what to believe.
"It's so... I-I wouldn't have... I didn't know." Koza could barely settle on her words.
"I know you didn't," replied Huvanni gently. "I doubt most do. The Fire Nation is one of the most powerful and influential Nations in the world, and there's no doubt that they'll find some way to cover this up to the Water Tribes and Earth Kingdom. How they'll find some way to excuse this to the other three Air Temples, though, I'm more than curious to see." Koza felt her heart sink down into her stomach, and unfortunately, Huvanni clearly noticed the girl's change in demeanor.
"What?"
"Huvanni... The Fire Nation attacks, they…. they weren't just on the Western Air Temple."
"...What?" Huvanni's entire stance changed, every last bit of remaining hope draining from her face.
"They... they said they were going to attack all four Air Temples. Dismantle the entirety of the Air army." Koza said fretfully. Huvanni stared down at her feet, the severity of Koza's words sinking in.
"So… that means Sozin wants to eliminate all of the Air Benders. Destroy an entire culture of people, an entire element of the Spiritual Cycle, but for what purpose? Power? Is this how he wants to be remembered in the books, as the man who destroyed world balance as we know it?" She spoke so softly Koza almost thought it was supposed to be an internal thought. Huvanni chuckled darkly. "Spirits above, it all makes sense now. There were… soldiers, yelling about how they needed to be ready for and prepare to fight the Avatar. At the time, I thought it was odd that their information was so off. I don't know much about the current Avatar, only that he lives in the Southern Air Temple, not the Western. I had originally guessed that Sozin wanted to take down the Avatar and had simply gotten the location wrong."
"But it wasn't just about the Avatar. It was about wiping out every last Air Bender alongside him. To not only destroy him, but to make sure his entire culture was wiped out alongside him." Koza finished the thought, the realization setting in for both of them at the same time. Huvanni and Koza shared a look, having the exact same thought in that second: How could anyone be so monstrous?
"...Am I the last Air Bender?" Huvanni suddenly asked. "Others surely survived, right? I can't be the only one left, I just can't. " She looked to Koza for any response, but Koza had just as few answers as she did. Huvanni slumped against the bark of a tree, the heavy realization of her current position at last settling in. Though she was clearly distraught, she seemed to quickly accept the fatal truth; like deep down, she had secretly known it all along.
Huvanni escaped the genocide solely through chance; the probability of anyone else getting out of there unharmed, or getting as lucky as Huvanni did, was low. Even if anyone did manage to survive, they'd surely be chased and hunted down to the ends of the Earth by the Fire Army. Realizing this, Koza could no longer keep down her utter disgust.
"To think I spent my entire life listening to story after story about the greatness of the Fire Nation, and believing each and every word of it. I spent every day of my life pledging allegiance to what I thought was a glorious Nation, the best Nation. And it was all a lie. A lie built on a thousand graves of those we thought we had the right to kill." Koza uttered gravely. Angry tears burned at the corners of her eyes.
"I wouldn't say it's a total lie," Huvanni responded. "It's not a false statement to say that the Fire Nation is great and powerful. Fire Benders are a strong and honorable people, ones of great strength and endurance. I have met only a few Fire Benders in my time, but all of them were of great mind and power. The bloody truths hidden below the surface aren't the fault of the common people; they are the fault of the government that fed them those lies." Huvanni said, putting a gentle hand on Koza's shoulder. Koza wiped her eyes on her sleeves, her throat tightening up.
"How pathetic. You're the one whose experienced terror and loss like nothing I've ever seen, at the hands of my people, and yet here you are comforting me." Koza couldn't help but scoff at the irony of it all. Huvanni held out her hand and helped Koza up onto her feet.
"My life… will never be the same after today. Everything I've ever known up until this point will be different, and not for the better. But… the same could be said about you, Koza. Maybe it's not exactly the same, but I can't imagine it's easy to learn that your homeland built its towers out of bones." She said thoughtfully.
"...You're very wise." Koza mumbled.
"You pick up a few things when you've practiced strict spirituality for your entire life." The two girls' eyes met, and they analyzed each other for a moment. Had anyone else in the world seen the two of them standing together like this, they would've expected the girls to treat each other as a mortal enemy; Koza for being apart of and supporting the Nation that massacred the Air Benders, and Huvanni for being decreed as Public Enemy Number One in the eyes of the Fire Lord. And yet, in that moment, there was no resentment in either of them. There was hatred and anger, yes, but no longer for each other. In that one moment, they recognized they had the same enemy.
They were two sides of the same coin.
Koza was the first one to break the silent understanding, taking her hand back from Huvanni's.
"What are you going to do now? I can't imagine you'd want to stay in the Fire Nation, but if all of the Air Temples were destroyed… Where will you go?"
"...I honestly don't know. I was counting on the notion that the other Air Temples would be spared from Sozin's wrath. But now... Now I have no idea," Huvanni folded her arms and thought to herself. "Maybe… Maybe I could make my way to Ba Sing Se. Under Earth Law, the Fire Nation wouldn't be able to touch me. And even if they did somehow decide to go after me and figure out I was there, that place is so big it'd take them a hundred years before they actually tracked me down." She said, her eyes sparking a bit at the idea. Koza, however, seemed unconvinced.
" Ba Sing Se? Huvanni, it'd take you at least a few days to get to the nearest port town. Not to mention, a ferry would only take you to the very edge of the Earth Kingdom, from there it'd be at least a month before you reached Ba Sing Se. Not to mention, you're severely hurt." She said, pointing at her leg. "Not to mention, if you go walking around the Fire Nation in Air Bender clothing, you'll be captured before you even get out of Ki Lo." Perhaps it was due to the adrenaline that came with learning about the horrible truth of Fire Lord Sozin or how broken and helpless Huvanni looked, but Koza was surprising herself with how determined she was to keep this girl safe. Huvanni, on the other hand, didn't seem to take much note of it.
"Alright then. If that's not a good option, then what do you suggest I do?" Huvanni asked. Koza blinked.
"Huh?"
"My life has been dedicated to learning about all the good in the world. You clearly know more about the bad than I do. So, what should I do? How do I keep myself alive?" Huvanni asked. She didn't seem to be asking the question out of irritation, although Koza could pick up a hint of playful wittiness in her words. While Koza was being quite vocal about giving her opinions, she honestly wasn't sure what Huvanni should do; this seemed like a no-win situation. To their current knowledge, she no longer had any friends or family she could go to. Not to mention, walking around in enemy territory while disheveled and wearing Air Bender clothing would only guarantee a price on her head.
Then, an idea came into Koza's head. It was a stupid, terrible, and awful idea that would put them both in insane amounts of trouble if things went even slightly wrong. However, it was the only thing that could guarantee Huvanni's safety. And Koza felt that she owed the other girl at least that much.
"Stay in Ki Lo." Koza announced. Huvanni raised an eyebrow.
"What?" She scoffed somewhat, like she expected Koza to be joking.
"In my house I mean, not... you know, here," Koza said, referring to the forest around them. "It's a... not great, but somewhat viable solution! We have plenty of room in my house, your leg will be able to heal, and you'll be able to stay under a roof with food and water! If we just give you different clothing, no one will be able to tell you're an Air Bender."
"Koza, that's crazy," Huvanni said and Koza silently agreed with her. "I mean, hiding from the Fire Nation in the Fire Nation? If anyone even gets even the tiniest suspicion that I'm an Air Bender, I'm done for. Not to mention you'd probably get arrested for treason against the Fire Lord."
"What other options do we have? You'll be hiding in plain sight, but as long as you don't use any Air Bending in public nobody will have any reason to be suspicious!" Koza argued. "It's not like anyone here would be able to recognize an Air Bender if they saw them." Huvanni tried and failed to think of a rebuttal, so she moved onto a different reason why this insane plan wouldn't work.
"What about your family? No offense, but judging by what I've seen from the rest of this damned city, the people here don't seem very keen on giving out charity. Am I wrong?" She said. Koza bit her tongue; she had her there. She pondered on Huvanni's point for a moment before an answer finally came to her.
"We can just say you're-you're some exchange student from the Earth Kingdom. Yeah, the daughter of some Earthen nobility who needs a place to stay while she studies in the Fire Nation! My mother wouldn't turn you away if she thinks you're rich and important." Koza said proudly. Huvanni clearly wanted to argue some more, but accepted defeat against the Fire Bender's moxie.
"What changed your mind so suddenly? A few minutes ago you were ready to turn me in, and now you believe my words against your Nation. What if I'm lying?" Huvanni asked. Her voice wasn't laced with any malic or condescending tones- she seemed genuinely curious.
"Honestly, I don't really know," Koza admitted. "I… still don't want to believe you. I want to believe the Fire Nation is as great and noble as I was raised to believe. But… what you told me, it's… it's not something somebody would be able to just fabricate. I really do believe you, Huvanni. And I want to help you." Koza said, holding her breath. Huvanni smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, Koza. I sincerely appreciate your generosity and hospitality. And… for believing me." Huvanni put her fist into an open palm and bowed to Koza. "But if anything goes wrong and you end up betraying me, I will absolutely spend all of eternity haunting you."
"Don't worry, I don't think my conscience would let that happen." Koza chortled. "Alright, you'll have to stay out here just for tonight. I'll throw one of my extra uniforms out the window, so grab it and put it on when the back lights go off. I'll try to leave some food out tomorrow morning too, I'm sure you're starving. Wait for me to come back for you tomorrow afternoon, and don't let anyone see you. Nobody really comes out here anyway, but if you hear voices that aren't mine, hide." She said rapidly. Huvanni's face went blank as she tried to take all of the information.
"Uh, yeah. Got it." Huvanni blinked. She thought for a moment, then continued, "Koza? Are you really sure you want to do this? I can guess that hiding a declared criminal of war probably wouldn't make you look too good, and… I won't be offended if you don't want to deal with those potential consequences. I mean, aren't Fire Benders big about keeping their honor?" It was almost astounding to Koza; this girl was so desperately in need, and yet she was putting the feelings of a person she just met over her own. Koza couldn't remember the last time she had seen such a level of selflessness; maybe she could stand to learn a thing or two from the Air Bender.
"Giving aid to someone who needs my help? What could be more honorable than that?"