A long time ago, the Avatar disappeared without a trace, and with the absence of any successor, the world was gradually thrown into chaos. Governments became unbalanced, spiritual and natural disasters spread, and war sprang everywhere.
In the face of this unprecedented crisis, Fire Lord Kuni declared that he would assemble a party to search for this Avatar, but many nations feared this as a prelude to more aggressive actions, and moved to subdue this threat. Amidst the chaos, two young women managed to escape, and embarked on a long journey that would hopefully lead them to the new Avatar, the only one who could restore order to the world…
AVATAR
The Celestial Sailors
BOOK ONE: CHAOS
4: Inopportune Rain
The unrelenting torrent was everywhere. Try as they might, Minako and Artemis couldn't circumvent it. Ascending high above the bleak cloud cover turned the rain into snow; trying to dash through it turned the water droplets into needles; going around fruitlessly drove them into more rain, more rain everywhere. The only thing they could do was endure it, and hope to fly ahead or at least around it. Usagi could read the weather a bit, and was able to guide them into a few dry pockets, but the skies remained dark across the vast ocean and over the Earth Kingdom border. They made landfall at the first village they came across, every one of them thoroughly soaked. Rei gazed behind them at the troubling skies.
"Something tells me we're not out of it yet."
Artemis took that exact moment to shake all the water off his fur. Rei helplessly absorbed the brunt of it.
"I guess you were right," Minako said, while Usagi laughed. Rei wasn't so amused.
"That's not quite what I had in mind. Thanks, Artemis." The beast bellowed in response.
"Come on, it's not like a few more drops would've done any harm," Minako assured her. Rei wisely decided to curtail the shenanigans and find a place to stay, while Usagi scrounged for food and Minako picked up on local gossip. The village was too small and remote to have any knowledge of current world affairs, and their selection of hotels was just as meager. Usagi had a little bit of Earth Kingdom money to throw around, so there was some success in that; eventually they managed to secure a stable, which Artemis was only too happy to settle into. Rei found a hearth that some of the stablehands used to cook, and was preparing for that eventuality when Minako showed up.
Local scuttlebutt suggested that highway patrols had been increasing, presumably in preparation for military operations or defensive measures. The villagers weren't too concerned—theirs was too obscure a hamlet for any enemy nation to bother with—but word was slowly getting around that information on fugitives, spies, refugees, foreigners, or suspicious people would be rewarded. Everyone confided in each other that, at one point or another during their exploration of the village, someone had looked at them wrong, or stared intently, or at least took notice of their conspicuous nature.
"That couldn't be helped," Rei sighed. "I'll bet it's not often an air-bison flies through here. What about you, Usagi? What did you find out about your family?"
"Nothing, extended or otherwise. We'll have better luck in Omashu."
"We'll also have more people looking for us in Omashu," Rei reminded her. Her face darkened and she muttered, "Or at least more people looking for me."
"Well, staying here isn't going to do us any good," Minako reasoned. "Let's decide on our next course of action tomorrow." They dried off and ate a meager supper. Now that they all had a little leisure time, they could get to know each other better. Minako and Usagi turned out to be very chatty girls, and bonded almost at once as they went on about their lives as wanderers of the world. Between the two of them, they had set foot on every major continent and had visited at least half of all the known cities. They compared the most wondrous sights they had beheld next to the most humbling moments, and gushed endlessly about which nation had the most glamorous women, the most attractive men, the best food, the strangest assortment of animals...
Then back to the men and the food—ad nauseum, Rei felt.
For her part, she was an observer, keenly listening to the lifestyles of girls who led starkly different lives than her own. As a priestess and a member of the royal court, travel wasn't entirely unknown to her, but the extent that these two had appreciated awed and enticed her to the point of envy. She had never beheld the swamps of the southern Earth Kingdom, or the great Crystal Catacombs; had never wound through the Serpent's Pass, the Black Cliffs of the Fire Nation, or witnessed the Spirit Oasis of the frozen north. Then again, she had seen dragons roosting in the Sun Warrior temples, a feat none of her contemporaries could boast.
"...And that's where it is right now," Minako was concluding. "Several powerful earth-benders, or probably one of the Avatars, could break the peninsula off and make it an island."
"Whoa," Usagi gasped. "What do you know about the Avatars?"
"Mostly the last two air-benders: Ou P'eng, the Eagle in the Clouds, and K'ung Ming, the Curly-Haired. He was one of the very few monks that grew his hair out, hence the name. He was banished from the order even after being declared the Avatar, all because he refused to cut his hair."
"That doesn't sound fair," Usagi said.
"The monks have pretty strict rules. It's because of Avatar K'ung Ming that things have loosened up a little. It used to be that all monks had to cut their hair, no exceptions. Even women had to do it."
"And you didn't," Rei pointed. Minako smiled and ran her fingers through her long golden hair.
"Can you blame me?" She winked at Rei's own cascading river, black as the earth with a shimmer of royal purple under the right light. "Anyway, I suppose it's getting late. The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we can wake up and hopefully beat the storm. Do you think we should set a watch?"
"That would be best," Rei assented. "With all those looks we got in town, I'd feel better erring on the side of caution. I'll take first shift."
"I'm used to waking up early, so I'll take last shift." They both smiled at each other, then at Usagi, defaulting her to the second shift. She grumbled and wondered why Artemis couldn't take a shift, before burying herself in hay and drifting off. She must've been more tired than she thought, because it felt like only a moment passed before Rei woke her.
"I was kept up thanks to your snoring," she winced. Usagi made a face but went about her duties as faithfully as she could. The rain had crept up on them, and while it wasn't storming yet, there was a persistent downpour outside. It was blasted cold out, too, and the stable did little to protect them from the wind. Wasn't Minako an air-bender, she wondered, and couldn't she do something about this? She was curled up happily next to Artemis, warm and dry and resting perfectly. Usagi sulked enviously and paced away, marching and grumbling to keep herself awake. She took several laps around the stable, keeping a vigilant eye on the outside, then sat down to make account of all her thoughts: everything that had happened in the past few days, what they would do in the near future, what had happened to all those people at the tournament, and her family, and Suo, and whether they would meet anyone familiar, or at least helpful, and...
She hadn't meant to go back to sleep, but the day's weariness and the soothing lull of the rain threw her back into the sweetness of oblivion—and there she might have stayed forever if she hadn't been stirred rudely by a burlap sack. Someone had thrust one over her head, strongly and suddenly enough to waken her. Her arms and legs were bound but her would-be captors had neglected her mouth, and when Usagi wanted to scream, her wailing could nearly raise the dead. Artemis was the first one to spring into action, roaring and flying into the thick of the enemy—for a few of the sturdier villagers had crept into the stable intending on capturing the girls—and when Artemis flew, he dislodged both Minako and Rei, who had been nestled comfortably in his fur until then. Fully jolted awake, they had a few spare seconds to gather their wits and assess the situation; Minako reflexively let off a blast of air, bowling over a handful of villagers that Artemis had missed.
"Usagi!" The poor girl had been fully absorbed into the crowd; Rei shot off a fireball and hit a stack of hay, blocking their escape. Minako shoved them away with another gust, knocking fifteen people over like dolls (Usagi included), while Rei dove into the crowd and fought to free their friend. As one of the villagers groaned back to life, she shoved her palm into his chin, sending him crashing to the ground, and took up his hatchet for her own. It took her awhile to convince Usagi to stop struggling as she cut her bonds; luckily, Artemis was there to cover her, and fended off all but the most reckless with his enormous paws. When Usagi could finally remove the sack from her face, she gasped for air.
"Thanks!"
"I think we've overstayed our welcome," Rei quipped. Without wasting a moment, they leaped onto Artemis and flew out the stable door, Minako sending a breath of waterlogged wind into the stable to help put out the fire. They emerged facing a long row of houses and unavoidably smashed through one, scattering it and everything it contained. Before they could incur any further damage, Artemis issued a huge gush of air beneath him and ascended so rapidly, he flattened all his passengers. This brought them headlong into a watchtower, which toppled over. One of the local farmers screamed as the structure fell onto his field.
"GAAAHH! My radishes!" The girls could do nothing but issue an apology as they left the town behind them. As if to hurl one last barb in revenge for their wanton destruction, the sky flashed with lightning, and the clouds unleashed their payload in full force.
"Not again," Usagi yelled over the deluge. Minako panted with relief and took the reins.
"Would you rather be back in that barn?"
"I'd rather be somewhere nice and dry!"
"I'm sure their prison had some comforts." She looked over at Usagi grimly. Lightning flashed again, their only source of illumination as they put the village behind them. "If you've got any suggestions for shelter, I'd love to hear them!" Usagi took a moment to think, although even that was difficult to do in the unrelenting wind and rain.
"If we traveled east from the Western Air Temple, we should be in Abbey. Omashu is almost directly southeast from here—past Hei Bai's forest, the Great Divide, and the Kolau mountains. That's about four weeks on foot, and maybe half that time by boat."
"And by air?" Usagi couldn't judge. It had taken only a few hours to get to the little port village from the air temple, so...
"Three days, maybe?"
"Not so bad!" Minako said, smiling in spite of the shower. It had gotten progressively colder, too, and much darker, and they only had a meager meal to sustain themselves.
"We'll travel faster once we're out of this storm," Rei said. "I say we find some place to hunker down, even if it's only until dawn." Usagi recalled there being a few small mountains in Abbey, and wondered if they might find a cave in one of them. It was too dark to do anything, though, so they had no choice but to descend and slowly fly closer to the surface. Rei harnessed herself to Artemis's horns and protruded a column of fire as far ahead of them as she could, but the wind and rain made this ten times more difficult and dangerous. They crashed through more than a few trees in their search, set at least one ablaze, and almost careened into an abandoned windmill. This last mishap at least had its benefits, for there was a ramshackle barn nearby, boasting a sturdy, welcoming roof.
Dawn offered very little promise for the future. It was still raining, and not about to let up anytime soon. The sky was dismal and slate-colored, the ground soggy, and the air bitterly cold. Everyone dismantled as much lumber as they could from the barn to make a fire, but whatever supplies had survived the downpour were dwindling rapidly. They scraped together a meager breakfast and spent hours resting and planning their next course of action. Usagi had no idea where they were, though it was a safe bet they were still in the northern Earth Kingdom. She spent the better part of an hour cobbling together a primitive compass, and after another hour or so of measuring and studying the weather, she could guess with some fair accuracy the direction they should go.
"If we had any potatoes, we could make a battery. There's enough copper wiring and nails in here to do the job."
"Whoa, seriously?" Minako gawked. Usagi smiled.
"Dad used to do it all the time. He'd get the nails and copper for nothing, since so many people tended to discard them, and potatoes grow everywhere. We'd be able to make compasses, give off light without fire, boil water, cook meals, you name it. Of course, Shingo and I always ended up electrocuting each other with them."
"I'll have to remember that," Minako replied, a mischievous glint in her eye. Rei was patrolling the perimeter in the meantime, but aside from the constant rain, things were quiet. She tagged Minako after making two more rounds and sat down by the meager fire she had started: cold, wet, tired, and very hungry. Minako took Artemis out to scout the area and came back saturated, but satisfied with the results. There were no pursuers as far as she could tell.
"And probably no civilization, either," Rei remarked sourly. She sighed. "Oh well. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can make it there."
"You don't want to wait this storm out?"
"It'll last at least another two days," Usagi said. "If we keep going southeast, it'll just follow us there. That's where all the wind is blowing, at any rate, and right now is the wet season for this region. We'll run out of food before it's over, and even if we get a break, it won't last. I'm all for resting and taking it easy, but I'd rather have a full belly."
"With the way you eat, that sounds like a daunting task."
"Hey. Artemis eats way more than I do."
"Yeah, because he has four stomachs."
"Okay, settle down, you two," Minako said in her most pacifying tone. "We'll leave once everyone's ready and make our way to the nearest town. We won't stay any longer than we need to, then we'll hop from one place to the other until we arrive."
"Not that we'll be any safer in Omashu," Rei sighed. Minako winked and held out her finger.
"Leave that part to me! I've got connections in the kingdom."
"Who, ex-boyfriends?" She paused to think about it.
"Um, besides those! Royal connections!"
"What, did you date the prince or something?"
"No. Well, sort of—we flew out over the countryside and had a picnic once, but we had chaperons, and we were like ten, and...I wanted to kiss him, but—"
"Okay, let's just hope they remember you."
"Favorably," Usagi added dryly. Minako pouted.
"I'll have you know I can be just as refined and ladylike as a...as a Fire Nation priestess. In fact, being the Sifu's daughter, you could go so far as to say that I'm an Air Nomad princess!"
"Well, your airy highness," Rei chuckled, "I'm ready to saddle up if you are. Might we trouble yon noble steed with our unworthy presences?"
Artemis groaned happily.
"He says 'okie-dokie'."
…...
The rain had settled to a decent drizzle by the time Wulong Forest was upon them, and the weather actually cleared just long enough for the girls to forage a fresh floral feast. Usagi finally got hold of some potatoes, while Rei managed to nab a few fish with a crude net constructed from the abundant foliage. They were just about to sit down to their first decent meal in ages when they heard a loud rumbling sound.
"Aww, not thunder—not now!" Minako groaned. Usagi stared up at the chalky sky, her face just as grim.
"That wasn't thunder, Mina. We're going to have to take this meal to go. Everyone, hurry up, but stay calm, whatever you do."
"What fresh horror awaits us now?" Rei sighed—but as the rumble grew louder, she did as she was told, packing all their food into whatever container she could find. Artemis was busy dislodging apples from a tree when he was interrupted by the girls—not running, but clearly in haste. Rei picked a few off the ground as Minako saddled up.
"So what exactly are we running from?" Usagi leaped up and helped Rei.
"Have you ever seen a Woolly Thunderhorn?"
"Just in drawings. They're supposed to live in Water Tribe regions."
The world trembled again. Something that sounded like the horn of a furious army echoed across the forest. All matter of birds flew off in a panic.
"Let me guess," Rei muttered darkly, "they migrate."
"They don't," Usagi said darkly, just as the foliage collapsed not twenty feet behind them, and what must have been the god-king of all beasts—or perhaps all demonkind—heralded itself in with a piercing, throbbing blast of indignation. Usagi screamed, "BUT THEIR COLOSSAL FOREST-DWELLING COUSINS DO," and Artemis needed no further encouragement. The monstrosity was twice his size, at the very least, with a nose like a python and gargantuan curved spears protruding from its mouth. It blasted through the trees like they were little more than brittle toothpicks, uprooting one with its long snout and hurling it like a ballista at the fleeing trio. Its branches clipped Artemis as he flew away braying, sending him tumbling and tossing out of control. Rei and Usagi screamed and hung on for dear life; it took every fiber of strength Minako had to keep balance. They righted themselves after a harrowing moment and picked up speed, just in time to avoid a lethal boulder. Artemis didn't slacken until they had completely cleared the forest and were back out over the sea. Sighs of relief passed all around.
"Is everybody okay?" their pilot said. Rei and Usagi were still breathless and disoriented, but...
"I...I think so. My life flashed before my eyes, and I think I peed myself a little..."
"Oh no, we lost the food!" Artemis slowed for a quick inventory check: over three-quarters of their bounty had been lost in the mad escape. Minako took a deep breath to calmly assess the situation.
"Well...we'll just have to find a safer place to forage. I think the worst of it is over."
Just then the rain came back in full force. Her face instantly blackened.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
It followed them as they skirted the sea, past Mt. Makapu and into the Great Divide. Usagi caught sight of a school of whales migrating, but that did little to lift their spirits. The day had long since worn out, and night had completely enveloped the world as they touched down on land again—this time at least finding an honest cavern to wait the persistent storm out. Whether by accident or design, Usagi estimated their hectic dash to safety had put them just within Hei Bai's forest, and once they crossed that, they'd be within sight of Omashu. Everyone was far too worn out to celebrate or even make much comment; indeed, only hunger kept them from completely passing out in an exhausted stupor. They ate what fruit had survived the trip and settled into as comfortable a sleep as they could.
The next day, the rain had grown worse. The sky was so overcast that it was difficult even to tell if the sun had come out. The adventures of the previous day encouraged the girls to stay in their shelter, even if their food supply had other ideas. Rei explored the cave and found some mushrooms, while Minako stripped down to her underclothes and braved the elements, scouting for food and information. Usagi was left alone to her thoughts, and since this had been the first time she really got to rest in...how many days now? Three, four? Well, she had quite a bit on her mind.
The thing she dreaded most was finding a dead end in Omashu. This whole journey could very well lead to nowhere: they'd find themselves without supplies, friends, information, direction, assistance, or even hope itself. That all sounded unlikely, but Usagi felt cornered; she naturally focused on the worst-case scenario. She was just about ready to formulate a backup plan when Rei returned, completely disheveled from her days traveling in the rain with only one set of clothes to wear. Her luxurious hair was an absolute mess, her humble garments were threadbare, and her face was pale and haggard. Usagi could only guess what kind of startling impression she herself would make—in fact, they might have been confused for savages in a more civilized society. Rei got a fire going and skewered her bounty to cook. At least the mushrooms were edible.
"My grandfather had an expression he liked to use," Rei said, giving Usagi an assuring smile after the other girl shared her thoughts concerning their future. "He said, 'don't worry about the condition of a bridge until you cross it'. When the time comes, we'll accept our situation for what it is and work with it. All the same," she said, sighing as she bunched her wiry hair up and tied it together, "what did you have in mind for a contingency?"
"Ever hear of Wan Shi Tong's Library?" Of course Rei had; it was legendary. They could learn practically everything there was to know there, or at least find some good leads—and there were few places in the world safer. Usagi had been there twice, and claimed that its curator was on good terms with her family. Rei knew her grandfather used to visit that place, so the odds of them gaining access were good. A silence passed between them, at least until Minako returned, half-naked and soaked through, carrying a bag full of nuts, berries, and even some wild grapes. Rei stoked the fire and they spent the rest of the day drying off, planning, and filling their sore stomachs.
Dawn was still indiscernible the next day, but the girls were used to this by now. Usagi had no idea when the rain would pass (or even if it would pass, by the look of things), but seeing as how there was nothing to gain by staying there, they set off into the inclement wild. Artemis met a flock of strange birds with large bills, and the girls watched as they dove into the sea to scoop up fish. A two-headed leviathan surfaced to snatch a few in its jaws, and not all of them escaped. There were long-necked spotted beasts wandering the woods that Usagi identified as Cloud-Eaters (though the only chewed on the forest canopy), several flying creatures that looked more like lizards than birds, and even another Thunderhorn, though this one was considerably calmer. They stopped to rest and eat two more times, feeling less inclined to dry off each time. The third time they stopped, their supplies had come to an end, but with them, the rains had left as well, it seemed. They took advantage of the lull and camped outside with a hearty bonfire. Rei even offered to sing to pass the time.
In a faraway land, past the rain bridge's curve
A hero comes traveling whom I gladly serve
They called him the drifter, the dreamer, the wise
And wherever he smiles, the sun doth rise
Though his shoulders are burdened with numerous years
His eyes sparkle wildly and allay my fears
The hands that he guides with are wrinkled with age
But there's not a soul stronger than this mighty sage
Oooh, oooh
There's not a soul stronger than this mighty sage
"It's a good song," Minako said gently. "Was it written about one of the Avatars?"
"I honestly don't know," Rei answered. "I learned it from my grandfather, and he said the song was already old when his grandfather taught him. It could be about anybody." Minako smiled, seemingly content with that.
"You've got a wonderful singing voice," Usagi said. Rei smiled humbly.
"Thank you. I love to sing, and as a priestess, I was encouraged to do it. It's said that singing heals the soul. Someday... Never mind." She shook her head and stared into the fire. Usagi scooted closer.
"What? Someday what? You can tell us."
Rei blushed. "Someday I'd like to sing in front of people. It's...the one dream I've had, the only one that has nothing to do with being a priestess. I...want to perform someday. That's all." Usagi smiled sweetly and put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sure you'll get the chance. A voice like that needs to be heard." The skies above cleared more, unveiling a river of stars. Usagi recognized several constellations and pointed them out: "Ah, the Double-Headed Scorpion and the Double-Headed Snake! We're closer to the Kolau Mountains than Omashu, but we should get there tomorrow if we head due south."
"That's good to know," Minako yawned. "Which way is south?" With the skies opening up at last, Usagi had no need of her compasses.
"See those stars that form two forks, like a dowsing rod? Those are the Scorpion's pincers. Follow those straight and true and we'll be in Omashu before you know it." Minako assented with another yawn, and with Rei's singing, they were all lulled to sleep in no time. The night was cold and very damp, but passed without any further incident, and for the first time in nearly a week, the morning rewarded them with blissful beams of rosy gold and lavender to peek through. Minako, Rei, and Usagi matched the warm sunrise with their smiling faces, and took as much time to bask in its welcoming light as they wished. Gradually, an orb of yellowy-white shimmered in an otherwise cerulean sky, and the girls moved into action for one final flight.
"Well," Minako exclaimed, "Omashu or bust! Yip-yip!"
A pure-white bison leaped up to match its glorious cousin in the sky.
…...
Princess Kotono winced as the piercing light struck her face, but refused to reel back from it. Its sudden appearance was equaled by its disappearance: it came and went rapidly, flickering with every step she took inside the prison, every window she passed. The frustrating inconsistency of the sun, aimed almost directly at her eye, was nothing compared to the indignity of her situation, or the events leading up to it, or—worse of all—what was her inescapable destiny. An armed patrol flanking her front and back guaranteed she would not miss what was to come. Fine, then: she would face it, and face it like a princess, unflinching and undaunted. Offended, yes, and inflamed, but fully in control. A door opened and she was led inside. There were no surprises in store, only more frustrations. A man she recognized only too well stood in the room to greet her.
"General Nephrite: only you would be so bold. I recognized your foul stench as soon as I was brought here. Don't think for a moment our Generals will stand for this. When they hear you attacked the Fire Nation and kidnapped—"
"My dear princess Kotono," the Earth Kingdom General sighed, "how in the world did you think we were able to procure you so easily?" She glowered, not sure what he meant—but then all that fire turned to horrible ice as a second man came into the room. Her eyes widened in shock before indignation narrowed them.
"General Jaedite...you traitor."
The end of "Inopportune Rain"
Next time: "A Respite, and Then..."
