- Chapter VI -

The beaming light of dawn entered Korra´s room through the window in front of her bed, waking her up. It was early, and way too early for her to usually be awake. The pulsing headache didn´t ease her mind. She covered herself with her blanket in annoyance. The warmth she gathered in the bed was so comfortable she could stay there forever. The blankets were thicker providing the perfect coziness for anyone to fall asleep. The blankets were all too familiar, from her childhood even. That´s when she realizes, she didn't remember falling asleep. She sat up quickly, taking in her surroundings. The room was small, walls made of compacted snow; it was her old room in the South Pole. Struggling to get up from bed, the Avatar found herself tumbling on her feet. As she carefully walked through her old house, she started wondering what had happened. The last time she woke up unconscious of her surrounding was after Zaheer. Her proved to be way to difficult and time consuming, nothing she´d like reliving. Entering the kitchen, the young southern girl saw her parents alongside Katara, they all seemed worried.

- Mom? Dad? – Korra said just above a whisper, catching everyone's attention. They´ve all been worried sick.

- Korra! – his father exclaimed surprised, feeling just a little bit relieved that her princess woke up. He walked quickly by his daughter side. – How are you doing? – he added, while helping her stand up.

- I´m fine. – she lied. So many emotions were flowing through her, she didn't even know how she felt. – Why am I in the South Pole. – she asked, taking everyone by surprise.

- Sweety, you collapsed. You weren't waking up. Everyone was so worried they brought you here for help. – her mother explained calmly, trying not to agitate her daughter further.

- How long was I out? – she demanded rather than asked.

- For almost a week. – her mother answered. – We started worrying about you not eating. – no wonder she was feeling so weak. The human body can go so long without eating or drinking, the Avatar included.

A week, damn. What happened? Not even dealing against the red lotus´s venom took her out so long. Sure, it hurt like hell, but she was awake through most of it, which is why it was worst. Sleeping was even worst because she relived it all over again; the pain was difficult, but the fear was just a nightmare. It´s been almost a year and still, up to this day, she has nightmares. She thought that was officially rock bottom. Nothing could come close to that. Countless hours she suffered in that same house… wondering why her. The excruciating pain she felt whenever she even tried walking was a reminder of all the misery she went through. And now, she was back; back in the bench, back to feeling useless.

- What happened…? – she said dumfounded. Everyone was just patiently waiting for her to take it all in.

- We were hoping you´d to fill that in. – Katara chimed in.

- I… I don't remember. – she felt lost. She tried hard to remember, but nothing came up. She looked up to the elders, dumbfounded.

- Okay, calm down…- Katara´s voice filled the room, producing a calm feeling. – What´s the last thing you remember?

-Well… I remember speaking with the Council about Kuvira´s death sentence. I was angry because they voted in favor, so I went to search for Asami… - she trailed off, trying to remember further. – …that´s it. Everything else is kind of blurry. I remember Opal and Mako in the air temple, but I don´t remember why. – the elders just looked at each other, wondering. – What? What is it? – she started feeling impatient.

- Nothing… – Katara responded. Truth was, not even the water-master wasn't sure of what was going on. But she couldn´t afford to worry the young woman more.

- I´ll make you something to eat, you must be starving. – Senna quickly offered, changing the subject.

Just like that, her stomach growled in reproach, showing the immense hunger she had. That was all she could think of now. Not eating in days left her stomach aching and growling in irritation. Senna smiled seeing her daughter being her normal self, at least that didn't change.

- So where is everyone? – the young Avatar inquired.

- Back at Republic City. Tenzin and Asami stayed for a couple of days, but Tenzin has a lot of responsibility being council and Asami had work, so they returned two days ago. – her father explained. – We stayed to take care of you and keep everyone updated. –

The Avatar was left speechless, unsure what to respond. The only thing she could think of was Asami. Well, her and food of course. She was a bit disappointed that her girlfriend wasn´t by her side, but also understood she was very busy. Still, she had mixed feeling about it. Not sure if she would've done the same.

- What do you think happened to me. – Korra asked Katara, changing the subject completely.

- It´s complicated. – the experienced water-bender seemed puzzled.

- Why? – she grew concerned.

- We tried healing you, but I couldn't get through. – the old lady started explaining calmly. Which Korra found a little upsetting. – Whenever I tried to go deeper, something just blocked me out. – she finished.

- Well, I´m felling just fine. Maybe it was just an episode from the venom. – Korra said hopefully.

She hoped there wasn't another demonic cult after her again, especially the red lotus. After Zaheer´s defeat, Lin and the others managed to apprehend the members present at the ceremony, but the red lotus had existed for centuries. It´s difficult to believe they caught every single one of them. They´ll probably just go into hiding and wait for their opportunity, whenever that is. Deep inside, Korra hopes it wouldn´t be in this life.

- I´d like to try again now that you´re awake. – Katara asked nicely, but being an elder, whatever she asked was almost considered an order. Elders are the tribe´s advisers, anyone can come for advice and guidance. Even leaders showed great respect towards them.

- Okay… - she agreed standing up. She grabbed her coat hanging next to the door.

The south pole was definitively at its peak. The freezing cold could be felt just by standing next to the door, meddling though the small opening under the door. As everyone prepared to leave, Senna packed lunch for later. Katara mentioned that it would be better for the process if she hadn´t eaten. As soon as they went outside, Korra remembered why she went to republic city during the winter. The weather is harsh, even through her warm coat she could feel the freezing air entering her lungs. Fortunately for her, she is a fire-bender, she let a little fire escape her mouth, warming herself. They began walking towards the healing waters, in the infirmary. The pace was slow, the Katara marking the pace, but it didn´t bother the Avatar. In fact, it gave her time to think. All her memories started flooding through her head. Like when she first got Naga, she was ten at the time and one of her happiest memories. Or when she was playing snowballs with her father at Aurora´s festival. That was probably her eldest memory.

The Aurora´s festival is a one-week celebration. It happens once a year when the Aurora Borealis is at its most beauty. The sky is filled with so many colors, there is no need for any light. Legend says that when Maru, the spirit of music, plays its graceful melody, all the other spirit joins and dance through the sky. Even Tui and La, spirit of the Moon and the Sea, come closer to each other. The mesmerizing colors extend from north to south. So, unlike other festivities, the Aurora´s Festival is traditional for both poles and, possibly, the best existing festivity. As a result, each year, there´s a carnival organized to commemorate the spirits. Plenty of game stands are put and everyone in town assist. Korra remembered getting her first stuff animal at this festival. It was a polar bear dog and she named it Naga. But for some reason something felt off about that memory, like an itch in her head that something was missing. That had never happened before.

- Korra, this way. – Katara´s voice interrupted her thoughts. She was signaling the young Avatar to a different path.

- But the infirmary is this way… - Korra said confused. She remembered too well where infirmary was since she had spent so much time there.

- True, but I´d like trying with the spiritual waters instead. – the elder spoke naturally. Her voice was a little low, probably from the age and the cold.

Not wanting to argue, Korra followed the water-bender. Very few people are allowed to visit the spiritual lake. It´s a sacred place left for meditating an in occasions urgent medical aid. It´s probably the only place in the South Pole where the air is warm, and grass grows. Entering the room, a huge spiritual force could be felt creating a warm, welcoming, and relaxing ambient. The Avatar already knew the drill, she took off most of her clothes and shoes and entered the mystical waters. There was no other way to described them other than spiritual. The flow of energy was immense, one could feel them through their skin, filling you with energy and peace. She laid on the waters, floating on them.

- Let´s begin. – the water-bender started the healing session. The waters started to glow along with the movements.

The spiritual waters exponentially increased the healing. Just like in past healing sessions, her muscles started to relax, she could feel the energy move through her body. It was her first time on spiritual waters and quite frankly it was amazing. The serenity and plentitude were unlike anything she felt before. But other than that, everything was the same. Shouldn't she be feeling something off? No matter how much she cleared her head, nothing happened. Maybe it was nothing, but then again, why would Katara said she felt a block in her head. Why did…

Images flooding her mind, too many coming on too strong and fast for her to process. They were just constantly repeating themselves over and over. Too quick for her to make a sense of them, much less analyze them. Aurora borealis on the sky and a stuff animal. A ship from the Northern Water tribe, sailing into the ocean on a terrible snowstorm. Two indistinct figures like Senna and Tonraq crying on the kitchen. A dark room, herself in the center with people all around her. Their faces unknown, blank, and a young kid waving goodbyes with tears on his eyes. So many images were appearing, so many any other human would be on the verge of death. They just kept repeating and repeating. No sound, no audio… just the images and this weird feeling of familiarity and repression. Why was she seeing all this images, or were there… her mind collapsed fainting, again.

The next time the Avatar opened her eyes, she was on the floor, lying next to the spiritual waters. It felt like she´d been at sleep for all her life when a couple minutes had passed by. She was freaking out, her body not answering. Her mind was conscious, but her body wasn´t. Whatever this is, it´s deep. Panic grew on her, her breathing spiked drastically. Her body was in such a shock that not even her senses had come back completely. She could only see her parents looking down at her. Their mouths moving, but no sound coming out. She couldn´t feel the ground beneath her, wondering if she was still floating. A whole minute passed before she gained control and moved; sitting up in one energetic movement, she allowed a disturbing scream to escape her lungs. It burned, feeling like it was her first time speaking in years. In a matter of seconds, she passed from not feeling anything to letting everything flow. Tears started to come out of her eyes unwillingly. Korra was trembling on the ground helpless, her father embracing her trying to calm her down.

- Korra you´re okay, you´re okay. Look at me. Look at me! – Tonraq´s baring tone voice snapped the Avatar from the panic attack she was having. It worked, catching her attention. Still trembling, her father turned towards Katara, furious.

- What in the spirits is happening to my daughter? – he demanded. He had never spoken to the elder this way, but this was his daughter´s life on the line.

- This is very old knowledge, very dark. I believe you´re daughter´s memory was blocked. – Katara affirmed.

- What do you mean by blocked? – Senna asked petrified.

- I´m not an expert, I´ve only read about these things. Someone put a mental block on Korra and know it starting to fall apart. All her repressed memories are rushing back, it was too much for her to handle. – she elaborated further, still very ambiguous.

- What is going to happen to me? – Korra finally managed to gain more control of herself. Her mind was still extremely saturated and hurt. Katara looked doubtful, contemplating whether to tell her. – Tell me, I can take it. – she insisted

- If we don´t do something about it… you could die. – news hit hard to the Avatar family. Sure, her daughter had been at the edge of death countless times, but this time they had absolutely no idea what to do.

- What? – Senna was one to speak.

- She should be dead. I think the only reason why she´s alive is because of Ravaa. Korra, what happened? What did you see? – Katara ignored the mother.

What did she see? What DID she see? She saw so many things she couldn't even remember half of them. That´s the scary part. Just how many memories was she forced to forget? What was so horrifying to completely forget it? Why was she starting to remember now? So many unanswered questions. Her mind was scattered, she needed to focus so much just to answer.

- I remember Aurora Borealis´… I think I saw you two crying in our kitchen… - she gestured toward her parents. – I was in a dark room for some reason, a lot of people around me… -

- Do you remember them? – her father asked quickly. She shook her head in denial. His father cursed underneath his breath.

- What else honey? – Senna´s calming voice asked.

- I remember a ship and a snowstorm, and… a kid? – it sounded more like a question than a statement, - The rest is still blurry. What do you think it means? – they all looked thunderstruck.

- Visions don´t always have to be literal, maybe it more about meaning. – Senna said.

- Probably, but this aren´t visions. They are memories, she lived these. – Katara disclaimed. – What is Ravaa telling you? – she took a while before speaking.

Ravaa and Korra usually never spoke to each other. Spirits don´t usually speak to humans, they usually show things open to suggestion. That´s their way of communicating. It´s how Ravaa showed Korra Among was a water-bender. After Unalak, they were closer but not after losing all her past lives. But ever since Zaheer, Korra hasn´t been the same with the Avatar state. Not even after facing Zaheer in jail and connecting back to the spirit realm. So even though she tried tapping into Ravaa, there was no answer. Probably because Ravaa was just as damaged and keeping Korra´s mind from falling apart. So, she looked back into the images she saw. Out of all of them, the kid stood out. For some reason, he´s important. He might be the key to solve this.

- I need to go. I need to find this kid. – she said decisively.

- Korra, sweety. You just woke up, you fainted twice now. You need to take time to rest. – Senna said.

- Mom, if we don´t do something I´m dead. I can feel Ravaa struggling as well. Whatever happened to me is also affecting her. – she was right. They knew it, but they couldn´t help but worry about their daughter. They nodded in agreement.

- So, what now? – Tonraq said.

- We go back to Republic City. -