Chapter 9
Feng blinked at the sight of the Misty Palm Oasis, standing beside his friends in the small desert community. Located in the center was undoubtedly the iceberg that had given it its name, but unfortunately…
"Must've changed ownership since I was here." Aang laughed sheepishly, taking in the small mound of ice in front of them.
Of course, they have Aang, it's not like it's been 100 years or anything. Sighing, Feng took a step forward, leading the pack as they entered the town, walking past the small iceberg in the middle which did actually give off a refreshing air but was too small to do anything else.
"I need a drink," Feng muttered, seeing a bar in the distance.
"Me too." Sokka sighed, fanning himself with a regular hand fan, sweating as he was underneath the mighty sun. "I feel like I'm practically melting away here."
"That's probably because you grew up surrounded by Ice."
"Probably." Sokka agreed, still fanning himself
Stepping past the bar's dilapidated sign, dodging out of the way of it as it fell, team Avatar was greeted with the sight of five sand benders, each of them hanging around the outside of the establishment's walls.
One of the sand benders not covered in the tan-colored head wraps that two of his companions wore spat at Sokka's feet, chuckling darkly at the act.
"Hey!" Sokka yelled, quickly turning angry as he made to step forward at the provocation. Before he could complete the action, however, a hand on his shoulder stopped him, his sister leading him further into the bar as Feng gave the Sand benders a wary glance, noting their general state of clothes.
They were worn and in dire need of replacement. The benders' general statures were gaunt as well, a clear sign that they had not been eating enough. Feng might have felt pity for them once, but his years of travel had long since gotten rid of any sense of sympathy from the man.
Men like that, while unfortunate, were also the most desperate. The most dangerous. They would do almost anything to earn their next meal, whether it was a simple robbery to an elaborate scam. Spirits know he had fallen prey to enough of those in his early years of travel, so Feng was instantly put on edge as he traveled further into the abode.
When he was greeted by just weary travelers, however, some of Feng's paranoia disappeared as his guard lowered.
"So, now that this is a bust, what's the plan for our next location?" Sokka asked, still looking around the bar with curiosity. Feng did too, but more because he was cautious than curious, as he had been in enough bars over the years to get a feeling for them.
He'd even managed to scroll some alcohol now and then, which had caused some memorable experiences for the teen.
"Well, as much of a disappointment as this is, it still counts for Katara's vacation," Aang said with regret, smiling apologetically at the girl.
"That's fine, there wasn't really anything else I wanted to do anyway."
"Are you sure?" Aang asked, looking intently into Katara's eyes. When she nodded, Aang turned towards Toph.
"So, what do you want to do Toph?"
Hearing the unexpected question, Toph tapped her chin for a second as she thought of a response. "Well, it's not that I really want to go there in particular, travelling with you guys has kind of fulfilled that urge, but I do want to try something I never have before, something my parent's never would have let me."
"And what's that?" Aang asked.
Toph grinned widely.
"Gambling."
Of course, it was that Feng thought with amusement, not bothering to contain his snort. Although he probably would have been the same as her if he hadn't done the same years earlier. He'd never gotten too entrapped by it however seeing as he didn't have a lot of success, losing money that he really couldn't afford to at the time.
At least until he started pickpocketing people, but after he'd started that, and the chases that often came with them, gambling just hadn't held the same level of excitement as it once had.
"We can do that," Feng spoke aloud. "But I doubt we'll be able to do it anywhere around here, gambling houses only really exist in larger towns and cities, so you'll have to wait until we get somewhere with more people."
"Makes sense." Toph shrugged, easily going along with Feng's words.
"What about you, Feng? Is there anything you want to do?" Aang asked curiously, seeing as they would have to put off Toph's request.
When they'd first started talking about mini vacations like this, he'd put quite a bit of thought into what he would like to do. Freely using his air bending was something he was already doing, so that immediately knocked off the first item on his list.
Spirits know he's seen enough of the earth kingdom, as after a while it started to blur together in a mixture of green and brown, but there was one place he had always…not wanted to go really but needed to. It's just that he'd never managed to rouse up the courage to go there, not after he'd left.
It was even conveniently on the way to Ba Sing Se too, so they would need to extend their travel time by much. Just as he opened his mouth to express his wish, however, a tan coloured finger bumped into Aang, spilling some of the juice in his hand onto his clothes.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Zei apologized, the man's regret expressed across his features.
"No worries, I clean up easy," Aang said, easily forgiving the man as he airbended the liquid off his clothes, some of it splattering onto Sokka even if no one noticed.
Zei gasped, however, holding a hand to his mouth as he looked at Aang with fascination, ignoring how the rest of his drink tipped onto the floor.
"You're a living relic!"
"Thanks," Aang shrugged, "I try."
"An Air Nomad, right in front of me." Zei wisped to himself, reaching over to pinch the back of his hand to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Seeing as he wasn't the two groups immediately started talking, although it was mostly Aang and Zei.
"Professor Zei, head of anthropology at Ba Sing Se university." Zei introduced himself politely before reaching out to grab hold of Aang's hands, pointing at the arrow tattoo on the back of it.
"Tell me, which of the air temples do you hail from?"
"The Southern Temple."
"Oh, splendid!" Zei grinned as he took out a pair of calipers and began to measure Aang's head. "Now tell me- what was the primary agricultural product of your people?"
This question immediately caught Aang flatfooted as he nervously replied. "Uh, are fruit pies an agricultural product?"
"No, Aang, no they are not." Feng sighed, ignoring the way Zei was frantically writing down Aang's words as he chose to answer the question himself. "Air Nomads were a race of vegetarians, believing that harming animals for their meat was sacrilege. Because of this belief, they existed on a diet made up of solely fruit and vegetable. Considering that they lived in isolated communities, they would have to grow all of their own food, so naturally, it would be fruit and vegetables that could be grown at a high altitude that was their primary agricultural products."
"That is fascinating." Zei reckoned, also writing this down before he looked up at Feng. "But how do you know this? Airbender's haven't been sighted for almost 100 years."
"Make that zero." Feng countered, holding up a hand to create a spinning ball of air, one that lacked the strength to do more than move a leaf, but was still enough for demonstration purposes. "Airbenders aren't as extinct as the Fire Nation would like you to believe, as despite their best efforts we still exist today."
"You're an Airbender as well!" Zei cheered at the demonstration, his mood turning even brighter as he began to write a bunch of information into his notebook, doing so without looking as he stared at Feng.
"Tell me, are you from an Air temple like your friend here or elsewhere? Also, why do you have your hair and not any tattoos?"
"Well, the tattoos are the sign of a Master Airbender, which I am not, while Aang's shaved head is…a cultural practice?"
Aang nodded.
"Yeah, a cultural practice, but not a compulsory one like vegetarianism was."
"Thank you for telling me," Zei replied, his eyes shining with gratitude as the gang fell silent. Seeing the opportunity for what it was, Sokka fetched out their Earth Kingdom map from his satchel, being the designated navigation guy of the group.
"So Professor, you're obviously a well-traveled guy. Do you have a more current map? Ours seems to be a little dated."
It was a little funny actually, Feng had a highly detailed map of the fire nation, one with restricted information, yet he didn't have a map of the earth kingdom more detailed than the major towns and cities. Yes, he could have fixed that issue years ago, but he had never felt the need, not when the simple map and his own knowledge sufficed.
"Certainly." Zei nodded, bringing out his own much larger map and handing it to Sokka who unrolled it, examining it intently. Meanwhile, seeing as Toph would be no help, she just kicked back and put her feet on the table, sipping at her cool drink contentedly.
As Sokka went about copying the major landmarks that their map didn't contain, Katara took note of just how detailed one section was, filled with little markings.
"You've made a lot of trips into the desert."
"All in vain, I'm afraid. I've found lost civilizations all over the earth kingdom, but I haven't managed to find the crown jewel: Wan Shi Tong's Library."
"You spent years walking through the desert to find some guy's library?" Toph asked in disbelief, a state that was not unearned if it was just an ordinary library, but Feng, surprisingly enough, knew better. He liked to think he had a greater knowledge of spirits than the average person, and alongside Tui and La, Wan Shi Tong, while not as crucial, was just as famous in the right circles.
"This library is more valuable than gold, little lady. It is said to contain a vast collection of knowledge, and knowledge is priceless."
The circles of knowledge that is.
"Hmmm, sounds like good times." Toph drawled unenthusiastically.
"Oh, it is, According to legend, it was built by the great Knowledge Spirit, Wan Shi Toph, with the help of his "foxy" knowledge seekers."
Feng sat up, suddenly intrigued.
"Oh, so this spirit has attractive assistants, huh?" Sokka was of a similar mind. Fortunately, Feng was the only one to voice it aloud, as the boy received a hand to the side of his face to stop him from talking.
"I think he means they look like actual foxes, Sokka."
"You're both right," Zei replied, making both Sokka and Katara look at him in surprise. "Handsome little creatures. Wan Shi Tong and his knowledge seekers collected books from all over the world, and put them on display for mankind to read so that we might better ourselves."
Feng really doubted that was the case. Sure, maybe the great spirit had built the library that way, but he highly doubted Mankind was so selfless as to not abuse the knowledge.
"The Library, where is it now, if it was meant for mankind to read?" Feng asked.
"No one knows." Zei shook his head, looking down at the man and his charted wanderings. "But I'm certain that it exists somewhere in this desert. In all of my research, everything has led to here, and I know I will find it if it's the last thing I do."
Or you could die trying, Feng thought but did not say as he ran his fingers over the wooden table, tapping out a steady beat. He wouldn't deny that he was interested in this library, but would it be worth making a detour for it?
"Hey, what kind of knowledge is in there anyway?"
"Oh, almost everything will be in there. Bending scrolls, technological manuscripts, even literature. If it is knowledge of any form, the library will contain it."
"Any knowledge huh?' Sokka mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I don't suppose that would include any weaknesses of the fire nation or fire bending, would it? Maybe something that could disable it like water bending was disabled back at the Northern Water tribe invasion?"
"Something like that…" Zei trailed off, realizing they were in dangerous territory as he looked around the bar, observing the patrons who seemed to be minding their own business. Satisfied, he turned back to his new friends, missing that there actually had been someone paying attention. "Yes, I believe there would be."
"That settles it then," Sokka replied, standing as he finished making his modifications to his map. "Guy's, I believe it's my turn for a vacation, and this is what I want it to be."
"What about me?" Toph asked, still leaning back into her chair with her legs up.
"We'll get to yours afterward, but the knowledge that's contained in this library could be crucial for ending the war, so I feel like it's necessary to go there."
Fair enough, Feng supposed, moving to his feet as did the rest of their little group, Zei being a new addition. Time to search a desert he supposed.
…
"No, this is the library- look! It's completely buried!" Sokka yelled, pointing to the spire that emerged from the desert, the only visible sign of the great stricture visible to the world.
"The Library is buried?!" Zei yelled in despair, running forward as soon as Appa landed to collapse in front of the structure. "My life's ambition is now full of sand!"
He spent a moment lamenting his loss with the rest of the group standing back, not knowing what to do. Then he withdrew a small shovel from his bag.
"Well, time to start excavating." Zei smiled with excitement as he began to slowly shovel away the sand.
Intrigued by the structure, Toph placed a hand on it as she closed her eyes, focused on the image her bending was giving her.
"Actually, that won't exactly be necessary. The inside seems to be completely intact. And it's huge."
"That foxy thing went in through a window. I say we climb up there and take a look." Sokka suggested suddenly, looking to where the animal had disappeared.
"Yes, because invading the territory of a spirit is completely safe, nothing bad could possibly happen." Feng snarked as he looked at the window, feeling a sense of foreboding that he couldn't explain. Not yet at least.
"You worry too much, it'll be fine." Sokka denied as he tied a rope to his boomerang, winding it tightly before in a practiced motion he threw it towards the window, spinning through the air gracefully as it landed just beyond the lip of the window, catching on the edge with the rope hanging down.
"See, perfectly fine." He said, tugging on the rope to check its stability before he started climbing.
"You guys go ahead; I'll stay behind with Appa." Toph spoke, turning her back to the wall.
"You got something against libraries?" Katara asked with sarcasm, a hand on her hip as she addressed her younger companion.
"I've held books before," Toph shrugged, "and I got to tell you, they don't exactly do it for me."
"Oh, right. Sorry." Katara apologized, realizing the blunder she had committed. Reading did at least require some ability to see the words or imagines.
"Let me know if they have something you could listen to," Toph replied with a smirk, forgiving the slight.
"Will do." Katara nodded, the next to head up the rope after Professor Zei, leaving just Feng and Toph standing by the rope.
"Did you want something? I thought you'd be with the others."
"I will in a second, but I wanted to have a word with you before I left." Feng shrugged, moving his gaze around the desert for any sign of followers. "When we were in the Oasis, I felt quite a few eyes on us. Eyes of people who were desperate, and willing to do almost anything for a score. While I'm not sure anyone will come, I can't deny the possibility."
"People will come after us?" Toph asked in surprise before snorting as she crossed her arms. "Let them come, I'll send them all packing."
Staring at her, Feng let his gaze move to her feet, taking in the way she was scrunching her toes, even if she wasn't doing it consciously. "Can you even see in the desert? The sand, while made of earth, isn't exactly good for transmitting vibrations.
A sheepish expression crossed the girl's face as she turned her head away, not answering the question.
"That's what I thought." Feng sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Hey Feng! Are you coming?!" Aang's voice yelled down from the window high above, the Airbender sticking his head out the window.
"One second!" Feng replied, getting a nod from the boy as he popped back into the Library's abode.
"Look, sand is just earth, right? That means you can control it?"
Toph tilted her hand back and forth in response as she swiped the other one, sending a small tendril of the grains away from the pair.
"Kind of, but not nearly as well as regular earth."
"Then just turn the sand around us into regular earth," Feng replied, moving his hand across the dune. "Sand used to be earth before it crumbled away, and I know you can fuse small stones into boulders. It's the same principle with sand, just with a lot more pieces. If you do the same in a wide area, you'll both be able to see and have your regular bending abilities available. Plus it could give you something to do while we're done there as I highly doubt you've practiced much sand bending before."
"That's true." Toph blinked as she looked at her hands, clenching them into fists as she grinned. "Yeah, I can do that to pass the time. Thanks for the idea Feng."
"No problem. I'll see you later then." Feng replied, turning to the window and judging the height in his mind as he crouched down, focusing his chi on his feet as he paused for a second before rocketing upwards, a blast of air leaving his feet like small air rockets as he soared towards the window, neatly landing in a flip on its lip as he was greeted with the sight of the others.
"Sup." Feng greeted their impressed expressions.
…
"Oh, it's breathtaking!" Zei praised, taking In the sight of the looming rooftops and arches. "The spirit spared no expense in designing this place. Look at those beautiful buttresses." Zei pointed at them, causing the rest of the teens on the rope to break out into giggles.
"What's funny?"
"Nothing. We just like the architecture." Aang lied, a smile still gracing his lips.
"As do I." The ever-gullible Professor replied, turning back to it as the others exchanged amused looks. Soon, they all slid down the rope, landing on the main floor of the Library, specifically the bridge.
"My word!" Zei proclaimed, examining a large owl mosaic above two pillars. "The exquisite mosaic handiwork of this tile-rendered avian symbol…" he trailed off as he noticed the quizzical looks, he was receiving. "Eh, nice owl."
The moment the word Owl was spoken, rustling noises were heard in the background. Wary, the group was all quick to act as they made for hiding places. Sokka and Katara chose a pillar, while Aang grabbed Zei and hid behind another pillar.
Feng did neither of these actions, fully aware that there would be no hiding from this. It didn't take long for Wan Shi Tong to appear from one of the hallways, walking over to the bridge towards him with a menacing aura.
"You should not be here." Wan Shi Tong spoke to Feng, his feathers ruffling up as he glared at the teen. "Turn back the way you came, human."
"I'm sorry, Great Spirit," Feng bowed, careful to address Wan Shi Tong politely but firmly. Hesitance would not help him here, especially from the feeling he was getting from the giant bird. It wasn't quite the same as a malicious spirit, one that would attack him, but it also wasn't the feeling of a benevolent spirit either. It was a mixture of both. "But my companions and I cannot do that."
"Your companions?" Wan Shi Tong said, rotating his head 90 degrees as his eyes darted around the area. "Ah, I see. You people behind the pillars, come out now. There is no point in hiding, it will not protect you from me."
Feng heard Sokka curse him but paid it no mind.
"My apologies Great Spirit." Professor Zei replied the first to speak as he moved out from behind the pillar, soon followed by Aang, Katara, and Sokka. "But I was not expecting someone of your stature to approach. Let me introduce myself, I am Professor Zei, head of Anthropology at Ba Sing Se University."
"Mm, and unless you want to become the stuffed head of anthropology, I suggest you go back up that rope."
Sokka ignored the gulp the professor gave as he spoke next, addressing the great spirit.
"Are you the spirit who brought this library into the physical world?"
"Indeed, I am Wan Shi Tong, 'he who knows ten thousand things'. And you are obviously humans, which, by the way, are no longer permitted in my study."
"What do you have against humans?" Aang asked in surprise, looking up at the spirit with painfully naïve eyes Feng thought.
"Hm!" Wan Shi Tong snorted. "Human's only bother learning things to get an edge on other humans. Like that fire bender who came to this place a few years ago, looking to destroy his enemy. So…" the spirit leaned downwards, pushing his face right in front of Sokka's, his large owlish ideas staring without pause "…who are you trying to destroy."
"No one, Great Spirit," Feng replied, stepping forward as he headed off what Sokka was going to say. "That is not why we are here. Yes, it is true that humans have a knack for destruction, trust me, I am more than aware of that fact."
Feng frowned in remembrance as Wan Shi Tong turned his head towards him.
"I am an Airbender you see, I'm sure you are aware of our history."
Wan Shi Tong nodded.
"Then you know that there is a lack of teachers for my bending style, a style that is thousands of years old and reduced to a single master."
Wan Shi Tong turned towards Aang, in particular looking at his arrows before turning back to Feng.
"A single master is not enough, as one person cannot know everything. That is the point of libraries, after all, to contain the knowledge of the past, to preserve it. Each of us is here for this wisdom, not to use it to gain an advantage over other humans, but to explore our history."
"Indeed Great spirit," Zei spoke in support. "I am here to learn the history of the past, to learn about the lost civilizations I have uncovered."
"I'm here to learn about Southern Water Bending." Katara offered, getting the hint to follow Feng's lead.
"Same as Feng." Aang shrugged before turning to Sokka who blinked, being put upon the spot as he hesitated before sighing. "I want to learn how to be a leader. I am the future leader of the Southern Water Tribe, and with my father away I never learned what my role entailed. I believe I can learn it here."
The group paused as Wan Shi Tong turned his gaze from each of them, inspecting them all for honesty before rearing back up to his full height as he nodded.
"Knowledge for knowledge's sake, I can respect that. Very well, I'll let you peruse my vast collection on one condition."
Feng nodded, already aware that this would be the case. Spirits often dealt in bargains.
"To prove your worth as scholars, you have to contribute some worthwhile knowledge."
Well shit, Feng thought, trying to think what he could give. This wasn't a problem for Zei who immediately walked toward the Spirit.
"Please accept this tome as a donation to your library." Zei knelt down, offering it up to the spirit.
"First edition, very nice." Wan Shi Tong praised, as he took the book into his wing, looking towards the others.
"I have an authentic water-bending scroll." Katara offered next, giving out the scroll that she had long since mastered but kept for remembrance's sake. She only used it to refresh her memory now, and while she didn't wish to part from it, she knew she should avoid using it as a crutch.
"Ooh, these illustrations are quite stylish." The spirit complimented, carefully rolling up the scroll as he placed it beside the tome, his eyes shining with glee as he turned towards Aang.
"Uh…oh, I know!" Aang said after seconds of floundering, withdrawing a wanted poster from his shirt. "Hah!"
"I suppose that counts." He sighed as he took the paper with disdain, placing it next to the others. He was a knowledge spirit after all, and knowledge of any kind was still knowledge. It didn't mean that it wasn't disappointing, however.
"Oh, great spirit." Sokka intoned formerly as he walked forward withdrawing a piece of string from his pocket. "Check this out!" he then proceeded to tie the string into a butterfly knot, displaying the final result proudly. "Ta da!"
Feng smacked his face at Sokka's stupidity even as the others looked on in concern.
"It's a special knot. That counts as knowledge!"
"You're not very bright, are you?' Wan Shi Tong replied after a moment of silence, earning a grunt from Sokka as he took the knot, negligently tossing it over his wing as he let the boy pass.
Finally, the spirit turned to Feng, looking at him with interest and likely expecting something profound from the teen. Sokka's idea may have been stupid, but it did prove the point that the knowledge didn't have to be something physical.
"There are a number of things that come to mind, airbending techniques that I have been developing on my own for example, but I do not feel they are appropriate seeing as they are unfinished."
The spirit nodded, agreeing with the words. Unfinished knowledge was such a pain for the spirit, it meant he had to expend effort on gathering or discovering the rest.
"But I do have one thing I believe that is not known to you, a fact about airbending and air in general that I suspect may have been discovered long ago but was abandoned in the face of the Air Nomad's peaceful nature. If you would allow me to demonstrate?"
Lost knowledge Wan Shi Tong thought with intrigue, nodding as he leaned forward, watching as Feng took in a deep breath to center himself, crouching into a familiar stance for the rest of team Avatar.
Snapping his eyes open, Feng grunted as he brought his arms up, performing the first stance of his Air Fortress technique. At the motion, a large volume of air around him came together, fusing into a dense wall as a small void of air opened in the space around him before it closed with a crack, the spirit merely leaning backward at the force generated from it.
Sighing, Feng let go of the technique, letting the air flow back into the room.
"As you can see, when I condensed the air around me, a small void was left in the space around me. A void where for a split second, nothing existed inside of it, correct?"
"Indeed." Wan Shi Ting nodded, waiting for the obvious explanation that was to follow.
"Well, if you do this inside of a small room, something enclosed in a tough material and kept up with a constant effort, a room of void can be maintained by an airbender. This void has exotic effects on what's inside of it. Any water inside instantly evaporates, no matter the quantity. Fire gets snuffed out, starved of the very thing used to fuel it, and to my dismay, I learned that this effect is highly deadly on living creatures, specifically a mouse that I was not aware of it. Under the effects of the void, the air was sucked out of its body, devastating its body and killing it. It is deadly to experience, and I believe that is what lies outside of our planet if you go out far enough."
"That…" Wan Shi Tong trailed off, astounded by the knowledge he was just entrusted with. "…the higher up I fly, the less air there is. Eventually, it becomes too thin for me to continue to climb, but if you went high enough…yes, I believe that the void does exist outside of our planet. Thank you for sharing this with me, Great Scholar. Please, enjoy my library." Wan Shi Tong bowed, opening his wing to welcome Feng in.
Feng nodded as he walked past the spirit, ignoring the concerned looks the others were given as he walked into the library, the others quickly following as Wan Shi Tong went off to do his own thing, maybe to write down the information Feng had given him.
…
"The Darkest Day of Fire Nation History." Sokka read from a piece of parchment. "It's got a date at the top, but it doesn't say anything else." Looking around, he made sure no one was in sight before prying open the frame with his sword.
"Sokka, where are you going?" Aang asked as he walked in with the others, the sound of Sokka's action drawing them all towards him
"I want to know what happened to the Fire Nation on their darkest day. This could be promising." The others quickly followed the teen. "The information on the Fire Nation should be right here."
Running through the archway, however, Sokka came to a stop, despair forming on his face as he took in the sight. Wondering what the cause was, Aang pushed ahead, but even the pair together could not block the sight from everyone.
"Firebenders." Aang said softly as he looked at the room full of ashes.
"They destroyed everything having to do with the Fire Nation." Katara noted, a frown gracing her features. Yes, that was Feng's experience with the Fire Nation. They took whatever they wanted to and destroyed the rest. If they couldn't have it, neither could anyone else.
"That's so unfair!" Sokka cried. "Just when I think I'm one step ahead of the Fire Nation, it turns out they beat us here a long time ago. I need to know what happened on the darkest day."
A whimper over by the room's entrance drew Team Avatar's attention, all of them looking towards the Knowledge Seeker standing on its hind legs.
"Hello, little weird fox guy."
The fox growled, making Sokka put his hands up in surrender.
"Sorry, girl. Did you want something?"
The now identified female seeker flopped down onto four legs, nodding as it turned around, leading the way unerringly to a large round door with a texture lining the bottom side of the wall. Beside it was a smaller door, one just large enough to allow the knowledge seeker entrance as the rest were left to wait.
Not for long, however, as soon a groan emerged from the large doors as they slowly crept open, revealing the interior of the room with the Knowledge Seeker behind it, having opened the room for them.
"What is this place?" Feng asked with curiosity, looking around the vaulted ceiling that showed the sky, sun, and moon.
"I'm unsure," Professor Zei admitted as he peered carefully at the room's interior, "but I believe it is a Planetarium of some kind."
Paying no attention to their discussion, the Knowledge Seeker moved towards a lever up against a wall, next to a calendar wheel of some kind? Feng didn't really know. When it pulled the lever, however, the domed ceiling underwent a transformation as it changed from day to night, the individual moving parts moving under the action.
"This room is a true marvel, a mechanical wonder. It's a planetarium that shows the heavens moving!" Zei exclaimed.
Feng understood immediately what The Fox spirit had led them to, giving it a surprised look as it seemed to wink at him. Okay…that was weird Feng thought, but he'd ignore it for now.
"Sokka, enter that date into the calendar, it's why the spirit led us here."
"Okay?" Sokka shrugged, moving over to do so despite being unsure as to why. Wheel after wheel, Sokka changed them, closing in on the exact date the parchment had given him. Day turned to Night turned to Day, none of them sure why they were doing this.
Just before Aang could open his mouth to make a smart comment, however, as the Planetarium moved to the day cycle again, something had changed from the previous iterations. It had remained dark.
"Hey, wait. What happened to the sun?"
"Great, you must have broken it," Aang complained with irritation, but Sokka paid the comment no mind, nor did Feng. Together, they walked closer to the Sun, seeing how it was covered by the moon. They exchanged a glance at the realization.
"A Solar Eclipse…" Feng breathed, alerting the others to their discovery. "That's why it is called the darkest day! A day when the light turns to night, a day where Firebenders lose their firebending!"
After all, if losing the moon was enough to prevent waterbending, the sun being blocked like this should be enough to prevent firebending.
"Exactly!" Sokka declared, sounding excited as he moved back towards the dial. "And during a solar eclipse, the Fire Nation will be vulnerable to an invasion! This could be a key event in winning the war! We have to get this information to the Earth King in Ba Sing Se. We'll wait for the next eclipse, then we'll invade the Fire Nation when they're totally helpless! The Fire Lord is going down!"
"You've earned this, little miss." Sokka declared, fetching a piece of meat from his back and tossing it to the fox spirit who immediately gobbled it up as she licked her vulpine lips.
Feng and the others were awestruck by the act. Sokka never shared food, it was against his nature.
"Well, I'm satisfied with my vacation. Thanks to Feng we have a map of the fire nation, and we know a weakness we can exploit. Does anyone else want to grab anything before we go?"
Aang and Katara were the first to shake their heads, really just following along with others. Professor Zei however thought differently.
"Unfortunately not my young friend. Finding this library had been my lifelong ambition, and I cannot just leave it now. I'm afraid this is where we must part ways. Good luck, Avatar." Zei bowed towards Aang, revealing he knew just who he was as Aang blinked in surprise.
Before anyone could say anything more however Zei walked off, moving out of the Planetarium and into the greater library.
"What about you Feng? Did you want to find something?"
Feng thought for a second as he slowly nodded, turning towards the still waiting knowledge seeker. "If she's down to help me, I do want to go find something from the Air Nomad section. It shouldn't take long though, so you guys go out without me, I'll catch up."
"Are you sure?" Aang asked with concern, but Feng just saw how the Knowledge Seeker nodded her head, so he turned to Aang as he nodded firmly.
"I'm sure. I'll be fine."
"Alrighty then!" Sokka declared, walking towards the exit with a wave. "See you in a bit."
"See you soon, Feng." Katara waved as she followed her brother, a pensive but accepting Aang following her with a simple nod.
Feng waited until they were out of earshot before giving his request as he knelt down in front of the spirit.
"Alright, now that we're on our own, you're quite knowledgeable about most things, correct?"
The spirit nodded, giving off an amused air.
"Good. Is there a section in the library about humans turning into spirits, and if so, can you lead me there?" This had been something that had been on his mind since the vision he had had in the great forest, a worry that he would become vengeful and cruel just like he had foreseen.
The Knowledge Seeker hesitated for a second, its eyes staring unblinkingly into Feng's as she looked for something. Seeming to find it she nodded as she turned around, running off to lead the way as if this was something she should not be doing.
To be honest, Feng suspected it wasn't, but he was still grateful as he ran behind her. Through twists and turns she led him, quickly making Feng lose track of his orientation as he was led to steadily older and older-looking parts of the library, the smell of musky books permeating his nose even if the rooms were clear of dust.
Eventually, the Knowledge Seeker led Feng into one final room and a small one at that. It only contained a single bookshelf against the back wall, and this bookshelf only held maybe two-dozen books by Feng's reckoning.
"Is this it?"
Instead of replying, the Fox Spirit turned around and stood back on her back legs, reaching Feng's waist. She didn't stop there however as she continued to grow, her features morphing as she rapidly transformed into the form of a beautiful woman, one with long, dark hair and glowing skin.
A naked woman at that.
"Yes, Relentless one." The woman murmured from a striking-looking face, staring unblinkingly at Feng with yellow eyes as a tail swished in agitation behind her, uncaring of her state of undress. "These are the only books in the entire library to do with the birth of spirits. The third book on the top left is the one you want, I believe. Be quick, however, Wan Shi Tong will be done cataloging your gifted knowledge soon and will come looking for you. If he discovers you here there will be nothing I can do for you."
"Be quick, got it." Feng nodded.
"Exactly." The woman smirked with a foxy expression, bending over in a way that highlighted her assets as she transformed back into her animal form, moving towards the door to stand guard.
"Third from the left," Feng muttered, running his fingers over the spines as he read the titles, stopping on the book called, Mortal-Spirit Transcendence.
That's probably it, so with a flourish, he withdrew the hard-bound tome placing it on top of the small table beside him as he flipped through its contents. It wasn't a long book despite its thickness thankfully, more consisting of pictures than words, so after two short minutes, Feng was greeted with the page he wanted.
...A mortal, if they so choose, may transcend as a spirit in one of two ways, dear reader. The first is primarily peaceful, an emergence to be looked on with respect, and is called Spirit Harmonization, which is a conscious choice on a mortal's death. The second, however, is not so peaceful. No, the second method for a mortal to become a spirit is for them to trifle with spirits in a way that is beyond acceptable. These disgraceful few become affected by Body Severance, punished by the spirits they have offended for all eternity.
While it is rare for either to happen, there have been many notable examples in both cases. The Painted Lady, the guardian of the Jang Hui River, is an example of Spirit Harmonization, as is Fang, the guardian of Avatar Roku.
However, there exists a subset of Spirit Harmonization called Vengeful Spirit Harmonization, which occurs when a mortal is overcome by negative emotions at the time of their death. The Kemurikage were women of the Fire Islands who emerged as spirits after dying under extreme grief and sadness due to their children being taken away. As a result, they were reborn as dark spirits who haunt the warlords who wronged them and their descendants to this day.
Unfortunately, due to the common nature of human greed and exploitation, there are far more examples of Body Severance than Spirit Harmonization, too many to write about in fact. The most recent example however is the case of the Fire Nation General Zhao, who was punished by the great spirit La to be imprisoned in the Fog of Lost Souls for all of eternity in return for his vicious act of killing the moon spirit, Tui.
Other famous examples include...
Feng stopped reading here as he shut the book, fully aware of his time crunch as he replaced it on the shelve he'd found it. He had what he needed to know, as the passage combined with his vision told him had let him figure it out.
The future he had seen, the one that had been foretold…he believed that would be what would happen if he underwent Vengeful Spirt Harmonization.
Spirits know he has enough regret and bitterness inside of him for something like that, and if he died due to a Fire Nation Solider, he could see himself returning to strike vengeance upon them. But would that really be worth it? To spend eternity inflicting his misery on the ones who had offended him?
He didn't really know.
That wasn't a question that he could answer without the benefit of hindsight, and by then it would be far too late to change anything about it. Feng supposed he'd just need to make sure his tale didn't end like that, which meant that the Fire Nation would have to be defeated.
And along the way, he would have to make sure he didn't lose himself at the same time.