Author's Notes: Summer tends to be really busy for me (which made me lose my initial streak) and I had too many distractions after that to list here and make excuses about, so all I'll say is that I'm sorry for the long update gap! This chapter turned out to be a killer.
Some news, though! (Now it's kind of old news, but this is still the first time I get to mention it). Thanks to CowTrain, there is now a r/Distorted-Reality subreddit! I'm a member, too! Also, Red Jessicaru is working on a new and updated Russian translation. Thank you both for your work!
The audiobook adaptation by Madame_Melon_Meow and C is all caught up! Check out the latest episode for an interview with me! And also some exclusive info for… all the remaining chapter titles!
I really, really didn't want to have to split this one into two parts, but I should have known it would happen - there were so many things I just needed to fit in here. I know I just revealed the chapter titles but this one had to be split in two.
Last time with Aang & Toph: After rescuing Toph from the Spirit World and stopping at Si Wong City, they parted ways with Yue and Nagi while the former headed to the North Pole. On his way back to Ba Sing Se, Aang reunited with an old friend - Iroh, from his world.
Last time with Azula & Katara: After swearing revenge on her father and grandmother, Katara puts her plans into motion on the same night that the skies open up, taking the first step in her vengeance to kill Chief Kuskok, Bato's father. Azula formally meets Hakoda and Long Feng approaches her for an alliance of sorts.
Book 3: Water
Chapter 16: Seer, Hearer, Speaker (The Blood Moon, Part 1)
He wished he had tried to stop Katara when she departed with Zuko. Even now, days later, even after Katara turned away from what she originally meant to do, his inability to say anything to her still festered in him, a weight in his stomach that he kept turning and turning. Aang couldn't have been happier that she ultimately denied the notion of murdering a man in cold blood, the man who took her mother away, but when they approached Aang to take Appa and hunt the killer down, he put his head down and handed her the reins. He might as well have handed her a noose instead.
He didn't have words for her about the futility of revenge, about how all the monks taught forgiveness. But Zuko's words echoed in his head. What would Aang do when faced with Ozai?
Aang pictured Hakoda. Bato. The Mechanist, Tyro, Pipsqueak. All the others. He wouldn't kill Ozai, not with vengeance in his heart. That wasn't who he was, that wasn't what an Air Nomad would do. But he couldn't forgive the Fire Lord either. He was certain of both of those things.
He'd come to spend a lot of time at the balcony overlooking the beach, listening to the sound of the waves as they rushed ashore, then pulled away. The waves left the sand flattened from all the playing among sculptures and miniature cities that day, all the stones smoothed. The night was a warm and humid one, the winds quickening in anticipation of a rainstorm. Perhaps later that night, or early morning. Just another night on Ember Island.
The wooden floorboards creaked behind him and the door to the balcony opened. He knew it was Katara without looking.
"You've been out here since dinner," she said. "Is everything all right? You were supposed to do some training with Toph, and you barely touched your food…"
He turned to her as she hugged herself in her Fire Nation reds, as if in an effort to ward off a chill. Was she cold? "I've been meaning to ask you…" he started. Ask her what? How she looked into the eyes of the man who killed her mother? How she remembered that day, so many years ago, and how she had been so overcome with rage and helplessness? How, despite all that, she turned away? Let him live? "I… did I ever tell you what the monks used to teach? About the spiderfly?"
Katara frowned in something like concern, but then her face relaxed into a smile tinged with just a bit of exasperation. "Of course. I've heard all about the spiderfly who gets caught in its own web plenty of times from Sangmu."
Aang blinked. "Sangmu?"
"What about me?" asked a voice from behind Katara. An Air Nomad, alive and well, walked through the door out onto the balcony, hands folded behind her back. "Katara, why does he look more confused than usual?"
Katara laughed into her hand. This was wrong. Who was Sangmu? Why did she look so familiar? "I don't know, but it's even better than the face Kuzon made at dinner when Suki told us all about how he crashed into that noodle stand in town!"
Aang's puzzlement washed away like the sand castles on the beach. "Right," he said, joining in on their laughter. He remembered now. How could he have forgotten Sangmu? "It came up because Sangmu found a noodle stuck behind his ear when we didn't have any noodles for dinner!"
Aang woke as if from a nightmare, his chest pounding. He pushed off his bedroll and sat on the dusty ground of his tent with his legs crossed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He grasped the pitcher of water near his other things and drank deep, the coolness of it refreshing and enough to help settle his heart rate. The dream was far from a frightening one, but even so, the wrongness of it had him shaken.
Over the past two weeks, his dreams of life in his original world and his dreams of the other Aang's life kept his nights fitful, always alternating between one or the other. Memories of a destroyed world and memories that were never his prevented him from getting a full night's sleep, but they always happened one after another, always alternating between two different sets of dreams. But that dream was the first time they had ever blended together. And worst of all, the dream had continued as if nothing had been wrong at all, both memories colliding into something new, and it felt nearly indistinguishable from what he remembered.
The boy, his younger self, felt as if he shifted uncomfortably at the back of Aang's mind. Aang almost always felt him now. Ever since he cleansed the darkness rotting away at the roots of the Banyan, something had changed. Xai Bau had done something, but he didn't know what. Every action felt like a tug of war between the two of them; whenever Aang did something in an attempt to restore or maintain the stability between worlds, Xai Bau did something else to undo or accelerate the instability. He had to stop the rogue master before it was too late - if it wasn't too late already.
After dressing and freshening up, he pushed aside his tent flap and went out into the early morning. The White Lotus had supplied him with a variation of his old Air Nomad robes; lightweight boots and autumnal colors with a shawl like he used to wear, but longer and with a cowl that he made use of today. Tents quivered and strained against the blustery winds that shook through the camp. It was going to be another day where people had to keep their heads wrapped up like the sandbenders to prevent the dry sands and dusty earth from whipping their faces. But at least it was natural weather, not like the random and sometimes devastating weather patterns hitting other parts of the world, unusual phenomena like tropical storms where there was no water and heatwaves where it should have snowed. If the rumors were true, anyway; but all the stories that travelers and messengers brought to the White Lotus camp suggested they were. And besides, Aang had seen snow in the desert himself.
Though the sun had scarcely risen, Ba Sing Se soldiers were already hard at their drills, training and practicing formations and earthbending. A small handful of Dai Li agents patrolled the rows and columns of tents - Grand Secretariat Wu's retinue now that she was a member of the White Lotus. Sounds of tinkering and construction of the war balloons hadn't begun yet today, but Aang knew he would hear the clatter of machinery in just a matter of time. For two weeks, this is what he had done. What they all had done. Sitting still, gathering their strength, ensuring the war balloons were ready for the upcoming attack on the South Pole.
But it wasn't time. Not yet. The lunar eclipse was due to begin the very next night, and the plan was to wait it out. Let Hakoda keep his guard up now. The invasion force should have already been on route to the south, ready to attack over two weeks after the eclipse, but they hadn't even left Lake Laogai yet. And that was Aang's suggestion, as much as he hated sitting still.
Waiting and listening for the right moment to strike, he tried to tell himself. He had an idea; a plan, even. He had to make sure everything was ready, that his plan wasn't a preposterous one doomed to failure. But every day he waited was another day he was away from his friends, days where they met all kinds of dangers without him there to help them. Away from Azula, wherever she was. The ache to see her again felt nearly as constant as the presence of his other self, even when he told himself he had no right to yearn, no right to be with her when he had to go home. But Toph insisted he needed to live in the moment… To tell her before something happened to her…
He shook his head free of those thoughts as he spotted the Astronomer drifting past the war balloons, offering a little wave to her son Teo as he rose from his tent. She was the only person in the camp excited to see the approach of the blood moon. Now that the sun had risen, she collapsed her little folding telescope and retreated into her tent to sleep the day away.
An unfamiliar man emerged from the indigo and white circle of tents at the center of the White Lotus camp, hard-faced and solid as the spear he carried. An Earth Kingdom soldier, and one of the tasseled royal guards, at that. He mounted his armored ostrich-horse and rode off in the direction of Ba Sing Se with barely a glance at Aang as he passed. Aang furrowed his brow; the man had departed from the central command tent - that meant some big news had come if he had met with Iroh and the others before sunrise. Aang made his way there at once.
The heavy winds buffeted the tent flap before he arrived and its occupants noticed his arrival as he approached. He entered and joined them at the rectangular table at the center of the spacious tent, lit by a trio of identical lanterns. All three of the other occupants at the table sipped at cups of hot tea. Though they smiled at Aang when he entered, all three had settled into different expressions.
Kanna looked grave, her lined face settled into a deep frown. Iroh stared contemplatively into his tea, serene on the surface. Bumi still just wore the goofy grin he always did when Aang sat down.
"Was there bad news?" Aang asked. He tried not to shuffle in his seat; a childish feeling stirred in his stomach that made him feel like he was in trouble with three adults looking at him. The other Aang's doing, he knew.
Kanna rose and turned to the desk behind her, putting together a bowl of fresh greens and rice mixed with a sweet ginger sauce. She handed it to him, her voice stern. "Have some breakfast, dear. You don't eat enough. Fresh greens like that are a rarity these days." Before he could protest - even though he knew the futility of it by now - she went on with a sigh. "Word from Kuei. The Council of Five has overturned his decision."
Aang straightened. "What? Why? He's going to be the king again, why won't they listen to him?" Ever since Kuei had returned to Ba Sing Se from hiding among the Creeping Crystal, he knew the Council of Five objected to almost everything Kuei did. Even though he planned to do it, he did not yet officially resume his throne; no one dared object to that, but even with Grand Secretariat Wu and the Dai Li on his side he was hard pressed to assume any sort of control. They had spent Kuei's entire life letting Long Feng pull the strings, after all. Aang didn't understand the undercurrents of it, but he did know that the Earth King's word used to be considered absolute.
"A king's mandate is normally considered law," said Bumi. "But ever since Kuei returned to the city, he has acknowledged that things have changed. The Council and Wu ruled jointly without him for five years. He still has a certain degree of popularity and respect from the people, but Kuei believes he has no right to impose his will just because of the circumstances of his birth. Especially with so much of the Middle Ring still suffering and rebuilding from the Spirit Library appearance underneath the city. He voluntarily gave them the power to veto his proclamations if the Council unanimously disagreed with him, and in this case they have. He did a lot of reading and learning from his time with me." He finished with an appreciative and approving snort.
Aang tried not to grumble. He supposed it made sense - that was not so unlike the monks and nuns in the Air Temples with the Head Abbotts - but in this case it worked against them. Kanna gestured to Aang's untouched chopsticks, and he made himself start eating. "Okay, so now what?" he asked between mouthfuls.
Iroh finally spoke. "The Council's troops are mobilizing beyond the wall. Si Wong City sent a delegation to Ba Sing Se with the intent of having a peace summit where they can discuss the use of the Spirit Library, but they were… quite angry upon learning that there have already been moves to explore the library's depths."
"It's about more than just the library," said Kanna, staring into her tea with a huff. "It's just a pretense for both sides to come to blows. Bickering over nothing."
Aang swallowed a particularly sticky clump of rice and washed it down with tea. "Normally I wouldn't have time for all this, between the invasion plan and whatever Xai Bau is up to," he said. "But since we're sitting here for the time being, I should do something."
"Xai Bau's silence has me concerned," said Kanna. "It seems he is waiting for something, too. Master Jeong Jeong sought out the Sun Warriors you had met in the mountains near here to see if they could shed some light on his motivations, but based on the word he sent back he didn't learn anything of note. And I no longer think he has any correspondence with any members of the emperor's court in Aniak'to, either."
"You've got to wonder… what brought a Sun Warrior to the court of Emperor Kvichak, your old hubby?" Bumi asked, scratching his chin.
Aang frowned. "So other than the White Lotus members who ran off with him, he's working alone. Did you know that he had such a following?"
"One of the pitfalls of our society operating secretly around the world," said Iroh, sighing. "Even with our high ranks, we were unaware he had disciples who shared his views."
All four fell silent until Aang tightened his grip around his bowl. "I have to put him aside for now. This division in the Earth Kingdom needs to be dealt with. This, I think, isn't caused by Xai Bau." Toph's words echoed in his head. "I have to focus on the here and now. Ba Sing Se, and getting ready for the invasion to stop Hakoda." Then again, something Xai Bau said once echoed in his head, too: the Great Divide had widened.
"You still haven't revealed this grand plan of yours," said Iroh, peering at Aang with a curious smirk. "I'm thinking it's a good one if you'll risk us missing our own invasion plans to stay here instead of flying to the South Pole."
Aang made sure to scrape his bowl clean under Kanna's scrutinizing eye. "It involves Wan Shi Tong," he said finally. "It's just a theory… but I'm confident I can get it to work, with or without him. I think we can use the merging worlds to our advantage."
Iroh sighed again and his eyes fell to a folded paper under his elbow – a letter. "Just be careful you do not fail to see the difference between the white dragon bush and white jade. One makes a delicious tea, and the other is a deadly poison." He unfolded the letter. "I received this during the night from my brother at Chameleon Bay. He speaks of the effect these widespread dreams and spiritual interference have had on his soldiers. Zhao in particular has been afflicted with some sort of madness, his mind lost in a fog from which he cannot seem to find himself. And I fear that story isn't an isolated one."
Aang's shoulders tensed. "Zhao? But… but he's gone in my world, and has been for years!"
"So was I," said Iroh. Aang had never seen him look so somber. "Yet here I am now. We don't know why such a thing has happened to Zhao. All I am saying, Aang, is to please be careful. This phenomenon has been impacting this world in ways we could never expect."
Aang's eyes fell. "I know." He couldn't bring himself to say more. If that had happened to Zhao, what was going through Ozai's head? How could Azula even stand it? "I'll go to Ba Sing Se with Toph. I've got to talk to the generals before that summit."
"Hmm… so the emperor is keeping things from you, is he?"
"Guard your tongue, little girl. You can never be sure of who's listening in this palace."
Azula gave Long Feng a noncommittal shrug as she sat in the only chair in the room and crossed her legs. It was a darkened room with no windows, part of the palace's stony interior, with only a small hearth fire providing scant warmth. This room was a small study near the the servants' quarters, a fact that had Long Feng irritable to begin with. It was Azula's suggestion to meet here, a clandestine discussion that had become somewhat of the norm during Azula's time in the palace. "We're in a tiny room in a forgotten corner of the palace with the door closed. I'm not nearly as careless as you seem to think. Besides, a statement of known fact is not likely to get me in any trouble. It is expected he'd keep certain things from you - you're not part of his inner circle, after all."
"No, but how I've come to know such things very well could," he snapped back. He also seemed irritated that she took the only chair, leaving him to stand.
"Just call them your little network of spies," she said. "Everyone knows what you're like. That you previously led the Dai Li. Though it's left unsaid, anyone with half a brain can assume you still have eyes and ears in both Jie Duan and Ba Sing Se. Even the Council of Five, in their infinite stupidity and shortsightedness, considered it fact when I was there."
Appear competent, but not overconfident, whispered the blue dragon. Long Feng's fragile ego cannot handle it if you appear smarter than him.
Azula's eyes caught movement on the wall near the door. She glimpsed a face in the reflective surface of an old shield hanging on an iron tack, but she ignored it. I'm letting him think I'm competent enough to be useful, but arrogant enough so that I'm not a threat.
Long Feng's brow twitched. "Fine. Those spies also told me that the Water Tribe forces in Chameleon Bay have withdrawn for a time in preparation for the eclipse, giving the Earth Kingdom an opportunity to regroup and regain the waters. The same is happening in the Fire Nation. Among the Dai Li, it is said that tensions are about to boil over between Ba Sing Se and Si Wong City. It's only a matter of time until they come into conflict."
"Ah, so you do have spies among the Dai Li under Wu after all." She smirked when he narrowed his eyes. "I never said everyone assumed the Dai Li in Ba Sing Se were still loyal to you, just that you had your own spies. But it's nice to get that confirmation. It's not that surprising; that quack seer had no idea what she was doing."
"Enough of this," he said. "What can you tell me? Put those observational skills to good use. What have you witnessed in Hakoda's audience chamber?"
In the past two weeks, it didn't take long for Azula's usefulness to both Long Feng and Katara to become apparent. Hakoda's first discussion with her had been a good one – after speaking with him at the first night of the festival of the hunt after she had arrived, he had been impressed enough by her observational skills and candor that he invited her to sit in on his audiences with foreign ministers and diplomats. Those coming to meet secretly with the Water Tribes had their own agendas, perhaps unknown to their lords and rulers, and Azula was to judge their veracity. It was a good use of her people skills, if she thought so herself, and both Long Feng and Katara wanted to know everything said between her and the emperor.
"That one despises his lord and seeks to undermine him. His flattery is insincere, but I am sure you can see that."
"This fish merchant uses the war to his advantage. If the Water Nation controls the sea where he does business, his trading would flourish and he knows that he needs you."
"His eyes kept shifting to Chief Gilak. He fears Gilak more than he fears you. I suspect some history there."
As she recounted the previous day's events to Long Feng, her eyes wandered once again to the shield hanging on the wall. The woman in its reflection burned among blue flames. The hearth fire flashed blue for a moment, too, before fading back to orange. Azula could smell the woman's flesh burning, sickly and distracting. Behind the woman, the blue dragon looked monstrous.
"Are you unwell?" Long Feng asked after a moment.
"Concerned for me, are you?" she asked, even though she knew the answer. His facial expression did not change from his usual lip curled in distaste. "It's no matter."
"Don't tell me you've also been bothered ever since the sky burned red," he said. "I thought you above such flights of fancy. It's all nonsense; delusions born of panic and the unknown."
"Just because you're not a spiritual man doesn't mean you should be blind to everything happening," she said, standing. Suddenly she felt a tightness in her chest and needed to breathe it out. Ever since the sky opened up and everyone witnessed illusory meteors falling, it seemed one in every three people reported strange feelings and even stranger dreams. Azula, of course, knew the source of it all. Too bad Long Feng wasn't one of the ones affected; it would make him easier to outwit.
"Of course I see what's happening," he said, glancing toward the shield himself. But he didn't seem to see anything. "But those who give in to the fear and lose their heads make it worse for all involved. I would advise you to avoid doing the same." He unfolded his hands from behind his back and stroked his long beard. "But I suppose it isn't all useless crock. The very night those 'meteors' fell and Patriarch Kuskok was murdered, some of the people I questioned reported seeing an evil spirit that seemed as solid as flesh and blood, unlike the spectacle in the sky. Perhaps that blue villain was an indication that the night's events were more real than it seemed at first glance."
Azula was glad she had turned away from him so he couldn't see the shift in her expression. "What did you say?"
He sounded puzzled. "I just mentioned that a spirit had been seen prowling the halls of the palace. Inconsequential, considering the increased sightings of spirits all around the city and surrounding areas lately. But within the palace itself? I expected people to be more rational."
"I see," she said. It took all of her willpower to keep the hearth flames from turning blue again. "We will discuss more tomorrow night. I know it is unwise to meet so quickly after today, but I suspect we'll have more news for each other than usual after the eclipse finishes."
His voice came out clipped as she opened the door to leave, and she knew he had been annoyed by the fact that she had been the one to end the conversation and propose their next one. But right now, she didn't care. "Indeed. I'll decide on the location next time."
The palace felt colder and more tense than usual - if that was even possible - as she made her way to the royal bedchambers. It didn't take long for her to make her way there uninterrupted, as many people had come to recognize her presence in the palace by this point and didn't try to stop her. Guards and warriors leapt at the slightest shadows lately, eyes ringed with sleepless nights, while others turned more to the drink than usual. Yet today the halls were alive with the thrum of bowstrings being drawn and tightened, doors being barricaded, and orders barked to fighters and messengers. Defenses for an invasion she knew would not come. Not yet.
She barged into Katara's chambers without announcing herself, a brazen act that would infuriate the princess, but right now Azula didn't care. She found Katara at her bureau, twisting her hair into her customary loops. "You were seen," Azula said to her, forgoing a greeting. "The night of the meteors. You were seen. Which means Hakoda knows about the Blue Spirit."
Katara didn't look away from her mirror, but her brow furrowed. In the mirror, Azula saw the burning woman standing next to her, a hand on Azula's shoulder. She even felt it. "What's got you so worked up? I was wearing a mask. No one recognized me – that's the point of it."
Even the blue dragon seethed. Her carelessness will get you both killed!
"Your carelessness will get us both killed," she said, her voice low. The hand on her shoulder felt hot. The woman murmured words that Azula couldn't hear. "If it gets discovered that you murdered Kuskok, we're both done for. I don't care that you're on this revenge quest - if anything, I encourage it - but only if you don't do anything stupid to endanger our main objective."
Katara stood and the room turned so cold that Azula almost couldn't feel the burning hand on her shoulder. Almost. "You forget your place, Azula. I won't do anything to put this mission in jeopardy, mark my words. I'll make my father pay for what he did to my mother. Him and my grandmother."
Now Azula had a clear view of the mirror, and the woman whose flesh had been warped by the flames. Azula heard words, finally. Faint, as if coming from far away. The blue dragon coiled around her, tighter and tighter until she felt her chest would burst, her breath as hot against Azula's neck as the burning woman's hand on her shoulder. The dragon's jaw opened over her throat, its fangs inches away from her skin. Fire Lord Azula hated that voice.
My daughter… there will be nothing left… you're burning… to ashes.
Aang didn't know if it had anything to do with being part of the White Lotus now, but something about Grand Secretariat Wu seemed different as she argued back and forth with General Fong. The council chamber was filled with officers and scribes as usual while the leadership of Ba Sing Se bickered and Toph made herself at home with her feet up on the table. Even Toph had become used to this, involved in a way he never expected her to be. Toph seemed to like Wu.
Kuei was there, too. Also, as usual, with Bosco. The returned-but-not-officially-crowned-king already seemed exhausted by the proceedings, but he sat at the table with his warhammer on his back and looked as resolute as ever. Bosco snored away, but Aang himself felt a restlessness in the winds that blustered outside the palace of Ba Sing Se. The wind carried with it the smell of dust, dry and hot. Beyond the council chamber, the sky was a vivid blue but rippled like water.
"The Council overturned King Kuei's decision to leave Si Wong City alone," Aang said, making a conscious decision to avoid standing to punctuate his words. He didn't want to seem like a child trying to make himself look taller. "Why? It's like you want to start a war with them."
"Of course we don't desire war," said General Fong, perhaps a little too gently. "But Si Wong City has long been a threat to Ba Sing Se. Lest you forget, since we've learned of our dear secretariat's innocence, we've come to the conclusion that it was the sandbenders who attacked the palace on the Night of the One Hundred Revelries all along. If Jie Duan had fallen to the Water Tribes, ruling out Long Feng as the culprit, and they weren't waterbenders that attacked, and it was neither this 'Creeping Crystal' or 'White Lotus Society,' then who could it be? Our only enemy remaining is Si Wong."
General Muku banged his fist against the table so hard that his metal-plated headband shifted across his forehead. "Their brazen attack on our palace was far enough! For too long we have sat idly by while their borders expanded. Soon enough their desert will devour our fair city, and they're not happy about the fact that we have their precious library within our walls now. This supposed 'peace summit' is just a pretense for a declaration of war! And we have to defend ourselves."
General Yo Gan Jin stroked his long, white, pristine beard. "Our messengers indicate that it is their vaunted spiritual leader, the Hearer, who is leader of this delegation. Perhaps they are at fault for the spiritual happenings plaguing our city as well. They're threatened by all of their knowledge falling right into our lap."
"General Zhu Zhang already rides out to meet them," said Fong. He held out a hand to Aang. "If you want to stop her from coming to blows with them, let me assist you in stopping her. We'll at least hear them out."
"She's already going to meet them?" Kuei asked, leaning forward. "Why has no one notified me of this? Avatar Aang, if it is all right, please allow Wu and myself to join you as well." Aang nodded to him, frowning.
Toph pulled her feet off of the table and turned to Wu. "Finally. Okay, let's go. Wu, do you know if Nagi's with them?" Nagi had been in Si Wong trying to keep the peace from that end for the past two weeks, but from what Aang and Toph had been able to surmise, she had been no more successful than they were.
"Not that I've heard," said Wu. Throughout the meeting, she had been examining a pile of animal bones, burned earlier, peering at the cracks running through them. Even despite the back and forth with the Council, despite them looking at her tools of the trade with skepticism and distaste, she kept her composure and continued her readings. "I fear our friend Nagi has stumbled upon some secret – something that prevents her from joining us today. I don't see her in any danger, but…"
Across the table, Fong narrowed his eyes at Wu. "Your Dai Li agent. No, your spy… What is it she could have discovered?"
Aang clenched his fists at Fong's words. Nagi was no spy. But what, indeed?
"I wish to see Emperor Hakoda."
The guard sneered down at Azula in a way that made the blue dragon want to tear out his throat. Or perhaps that was just her. "And what makes you think we'd let any old firebender savage saunter right up to the emperor without an appointment? He's a busy man, you know. Especially today. He's already unhappy about having to deal with the Giant of Annik's Crossing reappearing for the first time in over a hundred years on top of… well, y'know, the eclipse."
"I have something important to say to him," she said, her face a cold mask. She had no interest in spirits of legend returning from forgotten stories. "Something he needs to hear. You know he values my opinions."
The second guard sniffed. "Can't say why, though."
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, peering up and down the long, icy hallway. She had never been this way before; her only dealings with Hakoda in Winter's Heaven, the upper level of the palace, had been in the throne room. This was his war chamber. Despite their grumbling, the guards permitted her to enter.
This is where power is.
Smaller than the throne room, and indeed smaller than the war chamber in Ba Sing Se, a handful of Hakoda's closest advisors and chiefs sat in a circle on the floor, with a map of the Southern Water Tribe stretched out on the wall across the ice. As usual for Winter's Heaven, the whole room was ice, with detailed carvings that showed no signs of melting. An icy whale-walrus swam through the ceiling, frozen mid-dive, as if in echo of the rib cage in the Whale's Belly below them.
Hakoda was the only one who stood, gesturing to the map as he outlined the city's defenses. He stopped speaking when he saw her, but where she expected a harsh reprimand his brow only furrowed. "Azula. What is it?"
"She dares intrude on war planning?" Chief Gilak rumbled. "This isn't customary."
Azula knelt, pressing her knuckles against the icy floor. Head lowered, but she knew the blue dragon coiled around her like armor so that the back of her neck wasn't bared to them. "Emperor Hakoda. There are things I need to tell you. Important matters that cannot wait any longer."
Hakoda nodded. She couldn't read anything from his expression. "We were just about to break." He nodded to the four men on the floor. "Leave us."
Gilak was first to his feet, glaring at Azula as he departed. Chief Seyuk followed, his crossed machetes on his back rattling. Then Captain Shimo of the Kokkan Samurai in his pristine robes, and finally Thod of the Alchemical Institute. After they left, Azula took Gilak's place on the circular floor mat with her legs crossed, almost as if meditating.
"What is it?" Hakoda asked, taking a spear from the wall and examining the haft. "This better be good."
The blue dragon fell silent, but the burning hand on her shoulder felt as if it clenched harder than ever before. She tried not to wince in pain. "There are two things I need to bring to your attention," she said. Despite the burning, she kept her voice steady. But the more she burned, the more it seemed to keep the blue dragon silent. Like a funeral pyre. Her mother's. "First, Long Feng. When I first arrived in this palace, he sought me out to conspire against you. As you know, he seeks Ba Sing Se. But he wants the city independent of Water Nation rule."
Hakoda was ice. "And what does he want with you?"
"He learned I was sitting in your audiences with your subjects. He asked me to report on what I saw. He wanted me to be his spy, both against you and the Avatar."
He walked around behind her. "And why do you come to me now with this? You've been here for weeks."
She lowered her head again. For this part, she wasn't sure how he would react. But it was a gamble that the blue dragon supported. "I was unsure of my own loyalties at the time. I was here for Katara. I didn't trust Long Feng, but I sought to perhaps use him for my own ends. Since then, I've come to realize my folly. I have seen your strength and your fairness, your ability to look beyond the circumstances of one's birth to allow any who follow you to rise to greatness. I am loyal to you, Emperor Hakoda." When he didn't immediately speak, she continued. "And I wanted to gather proof. Proof of Long Feng's duplicity, and his network of spies. He still has Dai Li agents loyal to him in both Jie Duan and Ba Sing Se, those who will carry out anything he orders of them. I… I have no proof yet," she said, her voice faltering for the first time. "I wanted to tell you this before my meetings with him had been discovered and misconstrued as a betrayal of the Water Nation. But if you keep an eye on him, you are sure to see him meeting with his collaborators, sending messages in and out of the city."
"I see," he said. He stopped pacing behind her. "Thank you for telling me this, Azula. It was the wise thing to do. There is no proof of wrongdoing yet, but I'll keep an eye on him. And he won't know that you've told me a thing. Continue to tell me what the two of you discuss."
Azula nodded and allowed herself to let out a breath. "The other matter involves Princess Katara."
He didn't say anything at first in response. Instead, he froze the spear to the floor so that it stood upright and walked around to her front, kneeling so that he could stare her straight in the eye. "What do you need to tell me about Katara?"
She stared right back. Dragon fang and claw ripped at the backs of her eyes, fighting to break free. "Katara is the Blue Spirit that had been sighted on the night of Chief Kuskok's murder. Katara is the one who killed him. And she plans to kill you next for your role in the night of her mother's death, for declaring her a taboo-breaker. She had learned both Kuskok and his son Bato were involved, and with her bloodbending…"
He cut her off. "How do you know what happened that night?"
"We met a former taboo-breaker the day we arrived in the city," she explained at once. Her voice came out hurried, defensive. "A woman who was there that night. I… I believe she fled after that. Fled the city after she told Katara the truth. Katara was so angry once she learned there was a plan to sacrifice her to the spirits, she stopped seeing reason. And thus I could no longer be loyal to her."
Hakoda stood again. The room felt cold in the way it did when Katara got angry, but this was no balm for the burning she constantly felt, either. "Again, I ask: why do you tell me this now?"
"For this, I needed proof. Something concrete," she said. "Today I learned that she was seen on the night of the murder." Careless. She deserves whatever comes to her. He is a more powerful ally. "You'll find the spirit mask among her belongings, in her bedchamber. Pardon my forwardness, but you must act before she does. She has already set plans into motion, plans to claim power of her own. Before coming here, she murdered the chief of the Poisonous Snowy Wolverine-Skunk Clan and the rest of them swore fealty to her. They have since departed from their mountains in the Everstorm and are invading your lands and the lands of your chiefs. Separate attacks, all spread out, in an attempt to mislead and distract you while she deals the killing blow."
"And this attack has already begun?"
"I believe so," she said. When he didn't immediately respond, she lowered her eyes. "You are the Speaker for the tribe. Anything you command, even if you proclaim me a traitor, I will accept it."
He turned away from her, finally, toward the map with a sigh. "On the day of the eclipse of all times… Very well. Leave me. I'll deal with the girl."
A cold dismissal. Fitting for him - she shouldn't have expected anything else.
"To ashes… Azula, my daughter, my monster… I love you. I do. To ashes…"
She should have expected the betrayal.
It was a familiar feeling, a burning in her chest that she vowed she would never let herself feel again. Why was she so familiar with betrayal? People never betrayed Katara. No one was ever foolish enough for it. She was loved. She was feared.
Sokka betrayed her, didn't he? And her grandmother. Kanna certainly betrayed her.
So did Jet. Or did she betray him? How did it all tangle together? Mother had been betrayed, too. But betrayals also required trust. Did Mother ever trust Hakoda? Katara never trusted Jet. But she had a memory of trust, vague – slipping away like a lotus down a raging river.
It took everything she had to flee from the palace. To avoid her father's men.
"What are you doing here? Get out of my room! I didn't permit anyone to enter!" She held her knife behind her back. She'd been examining it before the warriors entered. Imagining the feeling of slaying her father with it, since waterbending would be out of her grasp.
There were nearly a dozen men, Chief Seyuk foremost among them. His serrated machetes had been drawn, gripped tight in both of his hands. "Stay here, princess. Your father is on his way."
Hakoda knew. He had to.
"What does Dad want with me?"
"Find the mask," said Seyuk. "I don't care what it takes."
The mask. The only way they could have known it belonged to her…
"Azula," she whispered to herself. Bloodbending those men away from her was the easy part. But so many, even with the full moon approaching… She had been hard pressed to fight them off before the arrival of her father, but if she waited any longer her chances of escaping would have been slim.
Flee into the city, said her mother's voice. You need to get out of here. Your dad's soldiers are going to be looking everywhere for you. Can you scale the walls? We need to find somewhere safe.
Azula betrayed me! How stupid was I to trust her?
Sweetie, I'm sure it's not as it seems… You can't think about that right now. Just know that no matter what happens you don't forget what it feels like to trust. To love.
You've been betrayed. So, so many times. I feel it. You know what it's like. You've been hurt and you lashed out at them too, at everyone who ever did you wrong. I'll do the same, Mom. I'll end Azula too if I have to. Her destiny will end here, along with Father's.
She felt so dizzy that she nearly fell after leaving the palace grounds, her hands scraping against the stone wall of the palace enclosure. Everything passed by her in a blur, the speed she skated through the snow and ice on her descent into the city. She couldn't be seen. It was too bright right now. She had to climb the city walls at night. But could she do it without her waterbending, when the eclipse started? She had to. She had to. She had to.
Her lungs burned. Warriors - all that Hakoda could spare from his defenses, surely - poured into the city after her. She disappeared among the buildings. She wished she could cut them all down, but that would leave a bloody trail. A trail she couldn't afford to leave. She had to survive. She had to. She had to.
Murdering Kuskok had been so easy. The easiest of them, as old and frail as he was. His neck had felt so brittle. The rest would be a challenge, but she had to do it.
She didn't see Zuko until she crashed right into him, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Katara grabbed his arms with her scuffed up hands and pushed him forcefully against the wall, hiding in the shadow of a hot yoga sauna. No one could see them.
He recovered the use of his voice first. "Katara? What's happening?"
"You're here," she said with a scowl. She noticed he didn't draw his swords. "That means my brother and the Avatar are, too."
"No! Well, not entirely true, but…"
"I was the first person to trust you! Back in Ba Sing Se, remember?"
"It doesn't matter," she said, shaking her head. Confusing images she didn't understand. "You promised me once. To help me find the man who killed my mother. And now's your chance."
She didn't expect him to look sad. "No, Katara, that wasn't me. Are you okay?"
Katara wanted to hit him. Wanted to yell at him. "Forget it, I can't trust you anyway. I can't trust anyone ever again. I've got to stop your sister, to do what we've failed to do before. She betrayed me. And it's time to get payback on everyone who ever wronged me. My dad most of all."
He tried to reach out to her but she held out her palm and shoved with all her strength, slamming him against the side of the building. Zuko slumped to the ground. "I can't run away. I have to go back to the palace," she said, her words rushing out in a torrent. Devastating and unstoppable. "Before the waterbending goes off. I have to."
I have to.
Zuko ran back to their igloo at the taboo-breakers' camp as fast as his legs would allow without looking suspicious. He had been lucky - or perhaps extremely unlucky - to run into Katara on his way back from the Aniak'to Alchemical Institute. He had already lost a few precious minutes recovering from his daze after she knocked him into the wall. Was Azula near?
He burst into the igloo so quickly he almost damaged the entrance. "It's Katara," he let out in gasping breaths. He barely took in the scene of Sokka and Sangmu preparing that night's dinner. "She's here. I think she's going to hurt Azula. She's about to do something reckless - there are warriors all over the city looking for her and she said something about payback against your father."
Sokka tensed and furrowed his brow. "The eclipse is starting soon. We've got little time."
The sun had begun to set by the time Appa arrived at the chosen location where they had planned to meet the delegation from Si Wong City. It was just before the Serpent's Fin river that connected the Serpent's Pass and Chameleon Bay in the land known as the Barrens. Here, at the entrance to a temple carved into the side of a mountain, the Hearer of Si Wong waited. Concealed head to toe in a myriad of colors and fabrics and patterns, they stood out compared to the rest of their people and the muted colors of the land around them.
The temple had a majesty all its own, though. It had traces of the red ocher from the nearby mountains in it, giving it a faded rusty color that burned vividly in the sunset. Four pillars framed the open entrance with no door, making it seem more like a cave than anything. It was cavernous, too, the doorway looming over them so high that Aang wondered if it was intended for giants. It had three towers all born from the side of the mountain, but he wondered if they could even be called towers if they were part of the mountain itself. These three towers had been crowned with what looked like polished geode, adding a splash of color. Aang could see only darkness inside. It seemed to be in remarkably good condition despite its obvious age; perhaps there were earthbender artisans somewhere who maintained the temple exterior's hard angles and masonry to the point where it still looked almost new.
"The Hearer came with more attendants than I would have thought they did," said Kuei, his voice low and introspective as they dismounted from Appa. He looked smaller without Bosco next to him.
"Not just attendants," said Fong in an equally low voice. "Regional chieftains and sand sailer captains, too. Doesn't look like someone who came with a peace offering, to me."
Toph muttered as he walked ahead to the gathering, where General Zhu Zhang and her soldiers had already started negotiations around a newly constructed earthen table. "Says the guy with a ton of soldiers who just happen to be patrolling to the north of here. There's so many that I can feel the earth shaking even this far away."
General Muku jumped off of Appa into the sand with angry grumbling. He had been even more uncomfortable than Toph in the air, cursing loudly at every strong gust of wind or quick movement. He looked stiff when he walked over to the gathering of people, not looking back at Appa even once. Aang didn't want to take him along, but he insisted on coming.
"I wish Bumi was here," Kuei said in a voice only meant for Aang. "But I suspect he stayed behind so I would learn to handle these sorts of things myself. I am king, after all. I suppose I must act the part."
"These past five years you've been a scholar and a warrior," Aang said. "And even a secret resistance leader. It's okay that you haven't had your kingly practice yet. But I think you will be able to handle this just fine."
Kuei smiled. "I appreciate the encouragement, Avatar Aang. And though Bumi couldn't be here, I am glad that you are present to act as a mediator."
As they approached, something about the world seemed to spin in Aang's head, almost like the temple opening threatened to swallow him. The opening was taller rather than wide so it looked less like a mouth; that was more comforting, in a way, to tell himself it wasn't something that could devour him. Even so, if he listened hard enough to the wind he thought he heard the distant peal of a gong, and even faint chanting. Yet another side effect of the worlds merging, he thought.
Aang, Toph, Kuei, and Wu approached the makeshift stone table. The terse discussions that had already started before they arrived had been interrupted by the arrival of the flying bison, and now all occupants of the table and those standing around it stared openly at Aang and the others as they approached. Zhu Zhang stood and bowed to Kuei and Aang, but glared at the Si Wong delegation when none of them followed her lead.
"I present Generals Fong and Muku of the Council of Five," she said, and Aang didn't miss how Fong was the first one to be introduced from their ensemble. "You are also in the presence of Earth King Kuei, Grand Secretariat Wu, and the most honorable Avatar Aang."
"It is a blessing to be in the presence of these most esteemed personages," said the Hearer, who rose. Their voice came out low and raspy, almost like someone sickly or aged or even wounded, but Aang couldn't tell how old they were. A round metal shield hung on their back, but Aang couldn't see any other weapons.
Zhu Zhang held a hand up to her face and spoke to Aang and the others out of the side of her mouth. "Wish I knew you were all coming. This turned into quite the gathering." To the Hearer, she scowled openly. "This is the Earth King. You need to show the proper decorum - despite your independent sovereignty, you are still a city-state of the Earth Kingdom, and he is still your ruler."
Kuei held up a hand. "There is no need, General Zhang. I have been absent for five years, but even before then I was barely a king worthy of the title. I am honored to meet you in person, Hearer and chieftains of the Si Wong. I hope that we can reach a peaceful agreement today, as we are all citizens of the Earth Kingdom."
The Hearer seemed to accept his words, inclining their head as all the players took a seat. Aang thought he could even see some softness in their eyes, but it was difficult to read their body language under their layers of colored robes. On his previous visit to Si Wong City, he had learned from Nagi's father that the Hearer was someone who had no name, as they had given it up to the spirits and gods they worshiped upon ascending to the position of spiritual leader of the desert. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hearer," Aang said, offering a smile. His inner child found delight in their colorful motley of robes and fabrics and he couldn't help it.
Their return smile, covered by a yellow cowl and indigo veil, reached their green eyes. Aang could tell they were kind eyes. "Likewise, Avatar Aang. I hope I did not offend you in some way. I learned that you had been to our city but we never had the opportunity to meet."
Aang shook his head. "Not at all. I'm sorry that I didn't get the chance."
That seemed to release the tension somewhat, but silence fell on the gathering once a massive white cloud appeared in the sky above their heads from nowhere, swirling with unnatural speed into the shape of a mushroom, and then something that might have been a drill or an arrow and then disappeared as quickly as it came. One of the sand sailer captains leaned forward, her mouth set into a hard grimace as she pointedly ignored the sky. "Now that introductions are over with and everyone's here, back to our earlier discussion. The Spirit Library is a treasured belonging of the Si Wong Desert. It has been among our people for eons. We cannot simply leave it in the hands of those who would misuse its knowledge."
Aang frowned. That sounded an awful lot like Wan Shi Tong's belief.
"Your people could never even reliably pinpoint its location," Zhu Zhang retorted. "It moved around the desert all the time. What makes it yours?"
"Besides," said Fong. "We cannot simply pick it up and put it somewhere else. It exists under the city now, and has replaced any foundations that existed there previously. If the library were to move - or, spirits forbid, disappear - it would take half the city with it. Even more of the Middle Ring and beyond would suffer irreparable damages, perhaps more so than when the library first appeared."
"It got stuck there because of the upheaval in the Spirit World," said a chieftain, tugging on his beard. "The Avatar and the Hearer should work together to enlist the aid of spirits to get it out."
General Muku muttered something unintelligible to himself that Aang couldn't hear.
Wu sighed. "General Fong has a point. If that is even possible, it would cause greater damage to the city. That we cannot accept."
The first sailer captain crossed her arms. "What do we care? We sent an aid group with supplies once we heard about all the people who lost their homes or lives, but they trudged back here only days later. You turned away our help when it was freely offered!"
Kuei and Wu exchanged confused glances and then Kuei turned to Fong. "That is the first I am hearing of this. General Fong, do you happen to know why we refused their help?"
"I don't know either," said Fong, frowning. "Any number of defenders on the wall could have made the decision to turn them away. Our city was facing an unprecedented crisis. I do not blame them for barring entry to the city. They had their orders to defend our wall."
Muku tightened the metal headband across his forehead and crossed his arms. "How do we know that claim is even true? Don't you have enough of your own refugees to look after? Based on what we've heard, your precious city has become the popular destination for those fleeing the war."
"Are you not thankful?" said another chieftain. He wore a beetle helmet. "Your city is already overcrowded. We have the room and the resources to support what you cannot."
Muku stroked his thin beard. He seemed fidgety, unable to sit still in his seat. After stroking his beard he crossed his arms again. "For what reason could so many refugees flee to a desert? It is an inhospitable wasteland. Your only defenses are the environment. Any army you have is weak. What is it that makes your city seem so safe, so appealing?"
The Hearer was still. "What are you trying to say, General? What does it matter where the refugees go so long as they are safe from the ravages of war?"
Aang clenched his fist but said nothing. He wanted to, but his gaze fell on the temple behind the Hearer. One of the geodes crowning the top of a tower sparkled in the fading sunlight. The sky rippled.
"We shouldn't have brought him along," Toph said to Aang under her breath. "Something's wrong. Muku's heart is pounding. He's been worked up for a while, but now it's even worse."
"I'm saying you must have cut a deal with the Water Tribes!" He slammed his fist against the table and it shook. "Why else would your desert remain untouched after all these long years of war? You're colluding with them to take down our city from the inside!"
Kuei stood. "Muku, you are out of line!"
"It's true!" Muku roared, speaking over the din that erupted at his words. Everyone shot out of their seats except Aang. His dizzy spell came back, his vision unfocused. He thought he saw two people standing where Muku stood. One was the general, the other was a man with a spear in rugged clothes; a daofei? But when his vision cleared again, the second man was gone. "It was you who attacked the palace that night! You who did some spirit mumbo-jumbo to summon Wan Shi Tong and all of his destruction in the Middle Ring! How else would you have gotten into the city? We know that the waterbenders in the attack just a few nights after the Revelries had sandbenders helping them!"
"How dare you accuse us of such a thing!"
"This Spirit World upheaval is not our doing!"
Wu spread her hands out wide. "Everyone, please, let us remain calm. Muku, you need to step away."
"I won't be silenced!" he shouted over her. Fong tried to grasp his arm and pull him back, but he shook off the bigger man. "I remember! You desert bandits stole my ostrich-horse and left me for dead! But I made it out! I'm here! I lived!"
"He's gone mad!"
"He's one of the spirit-touched! People like him are the reason my goatpigs are dying!"
"He is of two minds," said the Hearer, and Aang felt he was the only one who heard them clearly.
Aang finally stood. He had to step in before it came to blows - he let it get this far, but he didn't want anyone to get hurt. This conflict had played out long enough. If he hadn't shown up yet… Aang held a fist into the air and unleashed a spurt of flame to get everyone's attention. "Muku's words aren't the belief of everyone here," he said, trying his best to project his voice. It worked; aside from Muku's struggling to get Zhu Zhang off him, everyone present turned to Aang.
"That's hard to believe," said another chieftain, a hand on her hip. "Especially when Ba Sing Se left one of their spies in our city. Did you all truly think we'd let her slide just for being one of our people?"
Toph stomped her feet. "You mean Nagi? What happened to her?"
"She was arrested, of course," said a sailer captain. "She was snooping where she didn't belong. Everything we've heard here today supports that decision."
Wu looked taken aback, but it was Fong of all people who had the next outburst before she could speak. "Spy? And you've arrested her? She was simply a citizen of your city visiting her home! Chieftains of Si Wong, such an unprovoked act - admitted freely from your own mouths, and concealed up to this point, to boot - can easily be seen as the first open act of aggression between our two parties." He gripped the side of the table, leaning forward with a hard glare. "I suggest you choose your next words carefully."
Fire Lord Azula was in a good mood.
Azula had taken actions today that had pleased her, but the blue dragon's serpentine body coiling and flapping wings just gave her a sense of restless thrill. Katara had been ousted from the palace. Long Feng was under scrutiny. And best of all, she had taken her place among Hakoda's good graces. A small part of Azula was concerned about retribution from Katara, especially since the princess had escaped arrest, but that was a problem for later. Azula could take her. Especially now that she had the advantage of power and status over her.
As for Long Feng, that wasn't a thorn she had managed to extricate just yet. Katara's blunder as the Blue Spirit forced Azula into a different contingency, a rushed one. She'd meant to learn more about Long Feng before outing his machinations to Hakoda. Her place within Hakoda's fold had been presented to her, but not secured or solidified yet.
Which was why she now found herself within Long Feng's study.
She didn't care anymore if she had been seen, if Long Feng had eyes lingering here while he was away. But she knew he had gone to a place deeper within the palace to wait out the eclipse, safe and secure in a heavily fortified corner of the palace along with other visitors and dignitaries. Now was her best chance to find evidence. The eclipse was supposed to start in a matter of hours.
His quarters were better than those of most other foreigners in the palace, all things considered. He had two rather spacious rooms, both fully stone, with no windows due to being in a more central part of the palace. One room had a blazing hearth fire but the other had a bath heated with water from somewhere below them. She could smell floral perfumes lingering in the air. Rather than the decorations of the Water Tribes, he had a woven rug from the Earth Kingdom covering the floor of the study, a desk with stacks of paper left out and ink still drying that she knew to be too obvious and out in the open to be anything important, and a bookshelf. She supposed even a deposed king could retain some perks.
She scanned the bookshelf, noting with faint surprise the amount of poetry she found. Among the tomes she also found scrolls with copies of treatises between all four nations, an earth sage's letter wherein he discussed with Long Feng the economic benefits of tea leaves from a plant she'd never heard of, and a badgermole statuette that looked to be little more than a paperweight. It was a clumsily constructed thing, with a barely perceptible crack that told her it had been broken once and put back together with earthbending; no proper artisan had repaired this. When she picked it up, it even felt lighter than she expected it to be. Hollow.
Good eyes.
Knowing that there'd be no hiding this if her intuition turned out to be wrong, she clutched it in her hands and threw it at the wall with all of her strength. The badgermole shattered. And among the shards of clay and stone she discovered a tiny piece of rolled up paper that she shook free of dust and unfurled, reading its contents.
"Avatar still here. Revelries continue - battle imminent. Rest of Council moves as intended. Fortuneteller and historian still playing Pai Sho. One fixed on the future, the other fixed on the past. Only we see the here and now."
Azula nearly burned the message in a rage but the importance of it kept her in check. She could only assume the message still existed because Long Feng hadn't read it yet – it had likely been left in the statuette by a collaborator for him to receive later.
She could decipher enough from the vagueness of the message to know that it had come from Ba Sing Se. Aang was there. Somehow, for some reason, he had gone back to the Earth Kingdom. And Long Feng had kept that from her. He knew, and he withheld something so important!
The blue dragon hissed. Control yourself. Consider the implications hidden in the rest of the message!
'Revelries' was a word that stuck out to her. A reference to the Night of the One Hundred Revelries, perhaps? It continued; perhaps because the mystery of who attacked was still unsolved? Could this be the answer - could Long Feng have been behind it after all? Not entirely a surprise, but this message seemed to come from within the Council of Five.
There was a traitor within their ranks. But who? Which member exchanged secret messages with Long Feng, their former Grand Secretariat?
The fortuneteller she knew to be Wu. But who was the historian? Could that have referred to Kuei? Perhaps they were dealing with the White Lotus Society. If so, that was bad news - it meant the Council knew of them.
Aang. Aang was there, away from the South Pole. Had he abandoned Toph, or even rescued her already? What was he doing? Was he in danger?
No, she thought. The danger is here. It's all with me.
She departed from the study, her footsteps silent down the palace halls despite her quickened pace. Even now, the halls felt emptier than usual, but she had the vague feeling that a shadow could leap out at any moment and attack her. Warriors readied traps outside the palace, appearing only occasionally in the halls in even more of a hurry than she was.
"Firebender," a voice called out to her just as she passed by a hallway. She froze. She recognized the voice and the man when he appeared - he was the guard who had stood outside of Hakoda's war chamber earlier. He still had that look of distaste on his face as he regarded her. "I need you to come with me."
"Might I ask why?" she asked, examining her nails. She didn't want to appear the least bit tense in front of him.
The warrior grit his teeth and seemed to be forcing his words out. "The emperor commands your presence," he said. "With Chiefs Gilak and Seyuk returning to protect their own clan halls from the traitorous Wolf-Skunk Clan, Emperor Hakoda's guard is… in need of your… skill." The man's face twisted into a grimace. "Just during the eclipse. Consider it a great honor. And a test."
The blue dragon's teeth bared in something like a smile.
Author's Notes: Please review, and move on to Part 2!
