Author's Note: This chapter continues Aang's tattooing ceremony. I decided to depict it with only a couple of monks in attendance because of Aang's age and because I do think it would have been a very personal experience with only the initiate's mentor and the head monk in attendance.

I did a little research for this and found that a style of Japanese tattooing called "Tebori" resembled best what I was thinking for this story so I used it as a model for Aang's ceremony.

Vayu: Hindu diety of the air

Akasha (Aka Sha in my story): is the Hindu "fifth element."

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

One hundred and three years ago…

Aang's excitement and bright smile didn't fade and he settled himself on the pallet, watching as Gyatso filled a couple of the bowls with water and placed a couple of the cloths into one of the bowls he had just filled. Monk Suji opened the wooden chest and began pulling smaller boxes out of it. He unrolled a strip of gold colored cloth and then opened the boxes, laying the instruments upon the cloth.

Aang felt the fear return as he saw Suji lay needles on the cloth. The monk smiled at the boy, trying to reassure him.

"There is nothing to fear, little initiate. I have been doing this for many decades. I know to be quick."

Suji continued to prepare, this time laying jars of bluish liquid next to the tattooing instruments. Once he was finished, he sat back on his heels and folded his hands in his lap. Shiatu and Gyatso each knelt on one of the cushions near the pallet and all three monks assumed the position used for prayer, fists held together so that the arrows on each monks' hands pointed towards each other.

Then three monks began to chant the prayer to Vayu, the Spirit of the Air, asking for protection for the child and for the Spirit to accept the boy as one of His mortal representatives. Aang sat silently, eyes closed, kneeling on the pallet, trembling hands held in the proper position, listening as they prayed for him. At one point the three monks became silent and Aang began his portion of the prayer. His voice was small, tinged with nervousness, and yet he managed to speak the entire verse just as Gyatso had taught him. As he finished, his young mind pulled up an image of his guardian smiling proudly at how well his young charge had handled the difficult verse.

Shiatu and Gyatso began chanting another prayer, one Aang had never heard and in a language he was unfamiliar with. A couple of years later Gyatso would tell him it was the Aka Sha, the Avatar's prayer. It was said in a language no longer spoken except in special situations. Once the head monks had learned of Aang's identity, they had learned the prayer knowing that it would be used.

After the prayers were finished, Suji gestured for Aang to lay face down on the pallet. The boy complied, his head resting on the pillow. The tattoo artist moved Aang's arms to his sides and studied the child's form. Every monk was tattooed with the same design, but Suji knew that each tattoo was as unique as the body it was on.

The tattoo artist positioned himself by the small of Aang's back and carefully folded the waistband of the boy's underwear back to reveal a few more inches of his skin. The child's back was the first area to be done as all of the markings were to branch off of main tattoo. It was important that the end of the tattoo be hidden beneath the waistband of his clothes so to give the illusion that it was like the wind, forever continuous and never ending. The monk picked up his needle, saturated it with ink, and prepared to begin the process.

Aang felt Suji's hand on his back, the monk's fingers stretching the boy's pale skin taught. The little initiate reached a hand out to Gyatso, silently asking for support, his gentle features tight with fear and nervousness. The elderly man took the boy's hand in his own and Aang felt a soft squeeze.

Suji positioned the long needle over his thumb which was now positioned on the boy's back and using the fingers of his other hand, he pushed the needle into Aang's pale skin repeatedly. He gasped as the pain washed over him like a tidal wave, sending a horrible burning sensation over his entire body. Wave and wave of pain hit each time the needle went in. He squeezed Gyatso's hand tighter and tighter, tears streaming down his cheeks as he sobbed. He could hear his guardian's gentle voice comforting him, telling him stories of the great airbenders before him. Anything to distract him from his pain.

After what seemed like eternity, the needle stopped. Gyatso pulled out one of the cloths that had been soaking in a nearby bowl of water and placed it on Aang's forehead. The boy was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, his poor stomach tumbling with nausea, and his little body was shaking uncontrollably.

Aang could hear voices around him and he tried to make his mind focus, but it was like he was in a thick fog. His head was pounding, he could feel his chest heaving as he tried to breathe the sensations of pain and sickness away.

"He feels feverish. I think he's becoming ill."

"And the tattoos are only halfway done. Are you sure he'll be able to endure the process?"

"Better that it is finished now. To come back later and finish could make any possible infection worse. Trust me, I'll be quick."

The voices blurred together as Aang slipped into unconsciousness.