Chapter 7 The Waterbending Scroll = Change

oOo

La was admiring the Silver Lake, filled with aquatic creatures and otherworldly plant life he has never seen before, as he leaned on the rails of one of the floating waterlily pavillions surrounding the Silver Palace.

The Forest of Shadows was, unlike the other realm capitals, located underground and right beneath Hai-Riyo Peak (a large mountain inhabited by dragon birds, a Spirit Beast race which migrated back into the spirit world around a decade ago). Crystal veins decorated the ceiling like stars of the night skies and its luminescent plants brightened up pathways.

La has never explored Dagaz' Realm Of Chi, but he heard rumors of a deep river full of so-called 'dinosaurs' marking its borders. But above ground, it was very peaceful if one didn't count Vaatu constantly yapping about 'revenge of Raava' from inside the World Tree (dubbed 'Tree Of Time').

In contrast, the Realm of Water was overrun by withering vines, reflected Tui's old age and desire to rest eternally. Even the water spirits were acting as cranky as her from time to time.

"What are you doing outside, Ponytail?" Dagaz teased as he leaned against one of the columns flanking the pavillion's entrance.

The ocean spirit felt irritated. "I told you a million times already. This is a warrior's wolf-tail." Although his hairstyle was a high ponytail, it was as wild and spiky as a wolf's tail.

Dagaz chuckled. "Loosen up, La. I'm just teasing."

La sighed and changed the topic. "Your girlfriend certainly is... something." His mind wandered back to how she's been reprimanding the Council for twenty hours straight... very terrifyingly, he might add.

"If you're referring to the fact that she found the solution to our predicament in one session than we did in five years, then sure," Dagaz shrugged. Solaria was always amazing, and this time, she threw his expectations out the window by realizing the proverb 'you cannot see the woods for the trees'. She realized something so obvious. "Well, aside from the lecturing."

La smiled. The new generation of Primordials seemed more like a family than just friends. Dagaz and Solaria were the parents and Terran and Zephyr the kids. He wondered how the next Water Primordial would fit into their dynamic full of endless craziness. It was certainly worth looking forward to. "Well, I don't really care either way. We usually don't meddle in human wars, but I'll defend the north since it has been my home for almost twenty millenia." A moment of silence passed between them. "You know, I've been thinking... I think I've had enough and might start looking for a successor myself soon." Of course, he would prefer someone the next Water Primordial approved of. Unlike other Ancients, La carried a part of Tui' power inside him and it should be someone ready to declare his eternal loyalty to the girl.

The young Chi Primordial grinned mischievously. "When you were a human, were you ever drunk?"

"What brought this on so suddenly?"

"It's just, recently, I've been thinking about making peach wine for spirits to enjoy."

La burst into laughter, understanding his way of offering a farewell gift. "You're accepting death rather easily for a Young One."

"Death is a part of life. I don't really feel anything even if it occurs right in front of me. Five years ago was the only time in either of my lifetimes in which I felt grief and the need to mourne," Dagaz confessed. "It's like Elder Luan said, the human heart changes quickly."

Spirits were usually said to live very detached as they were not as sensitive to emotions as humans. Dagaz lived unattached to anything for eighty-two years, but after he reincarnated, it was like his emotional growth hit a reset button and his past 'experiences' transformed into 'knowledge'. He must admit, he enjoyed being a child and having a mother to look after him.

"In my previous life, there were people who believed in being born in the wrong world. As a result, the soul won't be able to form any emotional attachments. To me, it's strange that I now do have attachments..." Dagaz thought about the close friends and family he gained in this life. "... and I've taken a liking to it. You know, for a time, I thought I was a pretty heartless guy, but I'm actually relieved that's not the case."

"I see," La sympathized with him as he too once experienced the strong emotions of a human. "In the old timeline... I think I might've been so enraged about Mistress Tui's death that I just destroyed whoever was against me. Of course, I might've still believed it wasn't her choice."

"Just don't forget to entrap Zhao in the Fog Of Lost Souls when you're done," he reminded nonchalantly. Killing a primordial during their time of vulnerability was one of the greatest sins anyone can commit. It warranted at least a punishment if it occurs through malicious intent.

La sighed as the air of pleasant nostalgia burst like a bubble. "You're not really the type to 'read the room', are you?"

"Oh, I can, but I choose not to. It's too tiresome to do so when I'm with people I trust I can be myself with."

La could never fully understand how Dagaz defined 'someone worthy of his trust'. But it was easy to recognize because he changed his behavior drastically as soon as he was in front of 'such people'. "Do as you please. You're now free to run wild."

"We'll do just that, Old Man. Maybe we'll even do something along the lines of 'world conquest' while we're at it," Dagaz half-joked.

La chuckled. "If I don't have a successor by then, maybe I'll even get to see it."

oOo

Dagaz made his way to the Library Of Memories. This library contained the knowledge he had accumulated throughout his ninety-nine years of experience. There even existed a 'restricted section', where he locked away everything about his previous 'identity' and other things he didn't want anyone to know about (ahem, embarrassing experiences, ahem). He even ended up creating a Tome Of Knowledge, from which he could summon the knowledge he sought from his Library Of Memories onto its pages in the mortal world. Terran and Zephyr created their own tomes after witnessing just how useful knowledge can be.

There, Dagaz found his two students looking like lifeless fish and his radiant beauty of a fiancée still scowling. In other words, exactly like he left them before talking to La. Completely normal situation, well... for them anyway.

He sat down on an armchair and browsed through the information he gathered on the previous Avatars through a tablet. It wasn't just knowledge of the 'story' he was confronted with when the seal on his memories was finally broken. The fascination he felt in his previous life heavily clashed with his thoughts on the Avatar in this life.

He was a die-hard fan of the story as it was very moving and played in a fantastical world that incited him to have interest on his previous world's architecture and ancient cultures. But as he learned throughout this life about the Avatar, his opinion of him wasn't like other people in this world.

If he had to express his opinion into words: The Avatar was a hypocritical tyrant. Most of his decisions were based on personal agenda and everyone who dared to stand up to the Avatar lost their life shortly after because no one in the world had the power to oppose him. And those he favored ended up with a position of power should they desire it.

At some point, the Avatar established the four nations, and crowned his friends their rulers. Those rulers passed down their authority onto successors, who then continued the line of succession.

But there was a fatal flaw in the world reigned over by the Avatar. There was the danger of power going to his head or him not caring about the world at all. And should the Avatar not accept the winds of change, he never failed to eradicate it. The only Avatar who ever acknowledged this fact was also the only Avatar in all of history to ever freely give up his title as the 'Avatar'... Fire Avatar Szeto.

Katara may have misunderstood his admiration as admiration for the 'Avatar', but the one who Dagaz truly admired was 'Szeto Longhuo'. As his direct descendant, he had access to all of Szeto's personal belongings that were left behind. His personal journals were filled with everything he felt as 'Szeto' and his remarkable decision to abandon the 'Avatar' was what gave him inspiration.

The last Avatar who reigned in a tyrannical manner was Avatar Kyoshi, who ironically admired Szeto too, but didn't know why Szeto didn't live as the 'Avatar'. Then there was that thing with Chin the Great, or Chin the Conquerer (as Kyoshi preferred to call him). History was written by its victors, so Chin's true reputation was only passed down through his remaining followers in Chin Village. He even confirmed it at the World Tree in the mortal world. Some 'villains' were actually the 'good guys' all along.

'The Spirit of Light and Peace' his foot! Raava should be retitled 'the Spirit of Light and Order' instead! And if Vaatu had the interest to actually watch the Avatars, he would find Raava's incarnations hypocritical and amusingly chaotic himself. He could literally rewatch history like a TV Show through the roots of the World Tree, which was where Wan and Raava imprisoned him.

"Should we create an Avatar of Darkness?" Terran interrupted his teacher's thoughts as he suddenly appeared looking over his shoulder.

His sudden question grabbed Solaria's and Zephyr's attention as well. "Huh?"

"It's just... compared to Master's old world, or even Dragonfire Island for that matter, our world remains stagnant and underdeveloped, even after almost ten thousand years since Avatar Wan reclaimed the mortal world for the humans as its dominant lifeform. And if you look at it, this world has been unbalanced since Vaatu's imprisonment."

"Actually, it kinda makes sense," Zephyr pondered. "Raava always has stand equal to Vaatu to maintain true balance. Well, there is that option of getting rid of the Avatar."

"I'm for getting rid of him," Solaria said, arms crossed. No one could fault her opinion. "But then again, his reputation is useful. And this time it's a naive kid who could never imagine actually killing anyone."

"Technically, the Avatar is someone who fights against change... which is exactly what this world needs the most," Dagaz pondered. "But Aang is someone who is willing to actually compromise. That's why the United Republic of Nations could be founded in the post-war of the original timeline."

"But the Avatars after him might become just like his previous incarnations," Terran reasoned. "And the world isn't quite ready for a world without the Avatar. So my idea is to create an Avatar of Darkness to match the Avatar of Light, well, to keep each other in line. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time that the Council of Primordials changed the world for their own amusement," Solaria chuckled. "Just one problem: The lion turtle of water died a long time ago and we'll have to convince that goody-goody Yue to go along with it."

"I think I can help with that," Tui suddenly appeared at the library's entrance. "You're having such an interesting conversation. Take the 'Power of Water' as my parting gift before I change my mind."

...

After the primordial spirits of light and darkness created the northern and southern spirit portals, the humans began to live in fear. At that time, the Council of Primordials came to a decision to protect the human race: Let them build cities on the backs of lion turtles (ancient-ranked chi spirits, who became the first mortal Spirit Beast race).

But to give them a means to protect themselves against the spirits, each elemental Primordial gifted a lion turtle of their choosing the Power of the Elements. Thus, the lion turtles were given the task to protect mankind, distributing the Power of the Elements as they saw fit.

...

"Wow, wow, wait. So we're actually doing this?" Zephyr asked to make sure he wasn't hearing things. "Creating an Avatar of Darkness?"

"I do have some empty crystal balls on hand to serve as a containment for elemental energies," Dagaz grinned.

"You're all nuts," Zephyr stated.

"And your Dad isn't?"

"Fair enough. Now, hand me one of those crystal balls before I change my mind."

"And I'll get started on building a portable storage for these things." "Who cares about storage?! Who's gonna be the Dark Avatar anyway?" "Yes, but what about Harmonic Convergence? It's still decades away..."

As the boys bickered, Tui laughed. "They are very amusing compared to previous generations. My sincerest sympathies, Solaria."

"You don't even know the half of it." Solaria gazed warmly at her chaotic family. "But that's the way I like them." However chaotic their differences may be, they always had each other's back. No matter what.

But Solaria did start to wonder... did they raise Terran and Zephyr wrong? They were barely pre-teens but had the maturity of elderly and the childishness of spirits. Maybe she and Dagaz rubbed off on them too much. She shook her head. Who cares? They could stand on their own feet, and that's good enough for her.

...

Little did they know that the Darkness Primordial was starting to have similar thoughts and rewatching history like a TV Show... literally.

Vaatu laughed. "What kind of chaotic Avatar is this? He's an Air Nomad, but he eats meat, acts like a bafoonish muscle-head, and once almost caused world destruction? What do you think, Siya?"

The white-scaled tentacled eel-cat salamander spirit couldn't stop laughing like a hyena herself. Avatar Rinpoche truly was an Avatar worthy of the title 'embodiment of chaos'.

"Oh, I could watch this for a thousand years on repeat."

oOo

Prince Zuko's ship docked on the Seedy Merchants Pier in search for a new Pai Sho lotus tile for his uncle, Iroh, who supposedly lost his own.

The pier served as the center of trade between people of all nations, so long as they were inclined to bargain. It offered a varied selection of goods, ranging from jewelry to pottery to musical instruments and trivial items.

"I've checked all the shops on this pier. Not a single lotus tile in the entire marketplace!" Iroh complained.

His brooding nephew scowled. "It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for EVERYONE!"

"Quite the contrary", Iroh retorted. "I always say 'the only thing better than finding something you were looking for... is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain'." Soldiers carried baskets full of antiques, teapots, and an instrument.

"You bought a tsungi horn?"

"For 'music night' on the ship," he explained and continued walking. "Now, if only we had some woodwinds... ooh, this place looks promising." He pointed at a pirate ship with red sails.

...

In the pirate ship boutique, full of rare, exotic items from around the world that the pirates obtained through 'high risk trading', otherwise known as 'stealing', Iroh found a ruby-eyed monkey. "Ooh, that is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?" He asked his nephew.

A pirate reported to his captain. "We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with."

Their conversation gained Zuko's attention. "This 'monk', did he have an arrow on his head?"

oOo

After bidding farewell to Tui and Agni, Dagaz returned to the mortal world. He was greeted by Appa and Sai, who immediately attacked him with a snugglefest. At this point, it didn't surprise him anymore. Spirits and Incarnated Spirits of all kind liked Dagaz' natural presence. It was the very reason Aang, who was the Avatar, warmed up to Dagaz more easily than the Water Tribe siblings.

"It's nice to see you guys as well," Dagaz said as they released him. Sai's red puppy-eyes were already begging for his new snacks. "Alright, alright, Sai, here you go." He handed him a small pouch, containing a batch of four hundred coated chi churros.

Sai picked up the pouch with one of his tentacles and stored it in his personal saddlebag, next to the saddlebag storing Dagaz' personal belongings.

Dagaz petted Appa and looked around. It was already dark but Dagaz could clearly make out a waterfall lagoon. "Looks like you've been just fine without me for a while. Why don't you get some rest?"

The sky bison groaned and fell asleep.

["Momo?! Are you with the others?!"] Dagaz called out.

["Oh, good, you're back. Katara has been captured by Prince Zuko and some pirates!"]

So he returned for their pirate adventure. Not a problem. He and his friends, mostly Solaria, came up with a decent enough plan to end the Hundred Year War. Although everyone will pretty much do whatever the hell they want, they were not allowed to fail in their 'grand scheme' of things. ["Momo, do you trust me?"]

["Of course."]

["Then keep an eye on Katara and free her when you're certain she can escape."]

["Okay. But what about you?"]

["Let's just say 'me and Sai might surprise you with a neat little trick we have in mind'."] Dagaz grinned as he watched Sai munching on his snacks, storing up energy. There's something he wanted to put to the test.

oOo

While trying to learn the Water Whip from a stolen waterbending scroll, Katara was captured and tied to a tree by Prince Zuko and the pirates of the Seedy Merchants Pier. Momo was watching, hidden in a nearby tree.

"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you and your brother", Zuko demanded calmly.

"Go jump in the river!" Katara retorted.

"Try to understand", he tried to reason with her in his own way. "I need to capture him to restore something I've lost... my honor. Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost." He held out a familiar trinket in front of her neck.

Katara immediately recognized the medallion attached to a dark blue band. "My mother's necklace! How did you get that?"

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're wondering", Zuko retorted. "Tell me where he is."

"NO!" No matter what he offered her, Katara wouldn't betray Aang.

"Enough of this necklace garbage!" The pirate captain scoffed. "You promised us a scroll!"

"I wonder how much money this is worth." Zuko took out the stolen waterbending scroll and held fire under it, threatening to burn it to cinders.

The pirates gasped. "No!"

"A lot, apparently", Zuko grinned. "Now you'll help me find what I want. You'll get this back. And everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here!"

"Fine", the pirate captain complied, not willing to risk precious merchandise.

...

In the morning, Sokka woke up and found his sister's sleeping bag empty. "Huh? Where did she go?" He had his suspicions and went through his bag. "I don't believe it."

Aang yawned. "What's wrong?"

"She took the scroll! She's obsessed with that thing! It's just a matter of time before she gets us all in deep- AAHHH!" Sokka was interrupted by a rope wrapping around his wrists and suddenly pulling him forward.

Two pirates attacked them by surprise. One of them wielded crossbows, which shot a net at Aang. He tried to deflect its path with airbending. Unfortunately, it didn't work and he was captured. "I've got him! Come on!" They left Sokka while Aang was dragged away.

"Oh, what? I'm not good enough to kidnap?" Sokka just had to ask and was dragged away with a net as well.

...

The pirates returned along with Aang and Sokka, both tied up.

"Nice work", Zuko praised, prepared to exchange the waterbending scroll for the Avatar.

"Aang, this is all my fault", Katara looked down, disappointed in herself.

"No, it isn't", Aang said.

"Yeah, it kind of is", Iroh clarified nonchalantly.

Katara eyed Zuko's weird uncle.

"Give me the boy," the banished prince demanded firmly.

"You give us the scroll," the pirate captain demanded in return.

"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?" Sokka chimed in.

"Don't listen to him!" Zuko warned. "He's trying to turn us against each other!"

The pirate captain turned to the bald monk and asked in awe, "your friend is the Avatar?"

"Sure is," Sokka confirmed. "And I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll~"

"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe Peasant!" Zuko yelled.

"Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth," Aang urged, not understanding his friend's plan.

Sokka ignored him and shrugged. "I'm just sayin, it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar." He had the pirates' attention. "You guys would be set for life..."

Meanwhile, Dagaz arrived riding on Sai's back in the sky. Of course, since Sai was modeled after otherworldly dragons, he had the ability to fly similar to the kumandra water dragon. While the latter 'ran on raindrops', Sai gathered the chi around him to form 'temporary footholds'. In that sense, he was 'jumping on energy' to move through the sky.

["Now, Sai!"]

At his command, Sai spewed a tornado of shadows at the people down below.

...

Spirits had 'titles' which defined their specialty on spirit arts or their own self-image. Although young and still growing in power, Sai was recognized as the 'Spirit of Shadows' with a natural talent for shadow manipulation.

...

After surprising them, Sai manipulated the shadows to cover two of their five senses.

"What's going on?! I can't see!" "I can't see!" The pirates yelled one after the other and frantically ran in circles, occasionally bumping into each other.

As the Shadow Spirit suddenly grew tired and shrunk again, Dagaz grabbed him and landed softly on the ground.

Momo took the confusion as the opportunity to free Katara. "Thanks, Momo. I owe you a bushel of apples." Although he couldn't understand the girl, he recognized that he earned her favor.

"What's going on here?" Aang asked, then spotted his masked friend. "Dagaz?"

"Nice to see you too," Dagaz used one of his hidden kunai daggers to cut through the boys' bindings. "Hurry, Sai is currently distracting them by taking away their sight and hearing, but he can't hold it for long." He was counting how long Sai could keep up his enchantment, measured by the power-boost he gave him previously as his new snacks were an improved version of previous ones.

"Thanks. Did I ever mention you have great timing?" Sokka complimented as he rubbed his wrists.

"Hurry," Dagaz saw that Katara had already moved to the pirate ship as he ran up to her, Aang and Sokka behind him.

"Come, quick! Help me push this boat back in the water!" Katara urged. "Welcome back by the way."

"Thanks." Dagaz kept an eye on the soldiers and the pirates, who were starting to regain their senses. "Looks like time's up."

Aang and Sokka hurried to push the boat. "It's no use! We need a team of rhinos to push this thing back," Sokka complained.

"A team of rhinos OR two waterbenders," Aang looked at the girl. They started to push-and-pull the water underneath the boat, making it float. Climbing onto the pirate ship, they immediately set sail down the river.

The pirates hurriedly pursued them, leaving Zuko and his uncle behind.

"Can't you make this thing go any faster?!" Aang shouted.

"I don't know how," Sokka refuted. "This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe!"

Meanwhile, Momo flew to Dagaz and threw him a scroll. ["Catch!"]

Dagaz caught it and took note of the Water Tribe markings on each side. It was the waterbending scroll! ["Got it!"] He nodded and stored it away in Sai's saddlebags.

Momo was pursued by an iguana parrot (green reptilian bird with large talons), so Dagaz errected a bouncy barrier and the bird was repelled into the water, its wings too soaked to fly. Momo safely landed on Dagaz' shoulder. ["Thank you."]

["Appa is just ahead."]

["Got it."] Momo replied and took off again. He soon saw Appa hovering in the sky. *mrrr!" Appa understood and followed the winged lemur to the pirate ship, just in time to see Sokka in a conundrum.

"... would you two quit congratulating each other and help me?" Sokka asked while stuck between two pirates.

"I'm on it!" Dagaz gathered concentrated chi on his foot and, with a tremendous force, kicked the pirates away from Sokka. 'Super-strength' was a power martial aritsts used subconsciously, but trained chi-benders could augment their strength however they saw fit.

Sokka spotted the pirates whose heads were now stuck in in the walls. "Thanks."

Dagaz pointed to Appa and Momo. "Now get on, before more pirates arrive."

"Appa!" Aang shouted and immediately jumped on the sky bison's saddle. "But how did you...?"

"I just told Appa to follow me in a certain direction when he was awake." Dagaz helped the Water tribe siblings to climb up, then took the reins. "Yip-yip!"

Appa groaned and took off, leaving the pirate ship and their pursuers to crash down the waterfall.

...

Iroh and Zuko just reached the waterfall. Zuko was less concerned about his lost boat, but more about what just happened. For a moment, everything went dark. The masked figure on the bison... it must've been that Spirit Master who was supposed to be with the Avatar.

If he was like the one he encountered before, then this one must be of formidable power as well. But why wasn't he with them until now?

Iroh started laughing. "Prince Zuko, you're really going to get a kick out of this." He showed him the supposedly lost lotus tile. "The lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!"

Zuko suddenly felt irritated, snatched the lotus tile, and threw the damn thing down the waterfall.

oOo

Appa carried them above the clouds.

"Aang, I still owe you an apology," Katara began. "You were just so good at Waterbending without really trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger."

Aang readily accepted her apology. "That's okay, Katara."

"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?"

Dagaz pulled out the waterbending scroll. "Oh, really? I could then just throw it away if you don't need it then."

"Huh? The scroll! How did you get that?" Katara reached out for it.

"Nope," Dagaz grinned and held it away. "Momo gave it to me, so I get to have a say in what happens to it. So if you want it so badly, I have a condition."

Katara sensed his 'bargaining'-mood. "Okay, I'll bite. What do you want?"

"What happened? I've been away for longer than I thought, so you'll have to catch me up on what happened."

"What do you mean?" Aang asked confused. "Just like you told us, you've been away for three days and returned on the fourth."

Dagaz sighed. "You really don't have a clue about the spirit world itself, do you?"

Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. In the spirit world, time is different. A few weeks over there, could only be one day here. Or the other way around depending on what mood the World Tree's in. Before you ask, the spirit world is a crazy place and I wouldn't recommend going there without a partner."

"You know, I would've felt a lot better if you were here three days ago," Sokka complained.

Aang started recounting what happened. "Okay, so first, there was this angry spirit named 'Hei Bai' whose forest was burned down. Sokka was trapped in the spirit world all day. And then I had this vision of Avatar Roku and a comet, so we went to this crescent-shaped island in the Fire Nation."

"The Crescent Island Fire Temple? Did you meet Fire Sage Shyu by any chance?"

"You know Shyu?"

"Yeah, he's the only Fire Sage still loyal to the Avatar, so he must've helped you out somehow. His grandfather was Avatar Roku's mentor. There's actually a pretty fun story. One day, Roku was stuck in the Avatar State and nearly destroyed the Fire Temple. When Fire Sage Kaja finally snapped him out of it, he forced Roku to rebuild it from the ground up." Dagaz laughed to himself, and thought about forcing him to rebuild it again after the war was over. It was basically the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan China, but in red and with flames for fish as decoratives. "Would you believe that the incident nearly caused a war between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom?"

Between Crescent Island and the Earth Kingdom, there was Natsuo Island. It had a large cache of ore the Fire Nation needed after the Crescent Island disaster for Roku to rebuild the Fire Temple. Due to it's close proximity, Earth King Jialun wanted to claim the island for the Earth Kingdom, so he sent military vessels for an 'exercise' around the island's coast to goad Fire Lord Sozin into making the first move towards aggression.

"The thing is, good or bad, the Avatar always affects the world. Unfortunately, you'll only gain the full authority of the Avatar once you complete your training by mastering the four elements, the Avatar State, and experience the cultures of the four nations."

Aang thought about his conversation with Roku on Crescent Island...

...

"...but what if I have questions? How will I talk to you?" Aang asked, starting to panic.

"You already have a friend who can answer them all," his predessessor, Roku, replied. "Every Avatar before you had a mentor to guide their journey, and Dagaz will guide yours. Whether he's aware of it or not..."

...

And after remembering what Monk Gyatso said before he was encased in the iceberg for a hundred years... "Actually, there's something I want to ask."

"You can ask me anything, Aang."

"You studied the Avatar, right? Could you teach me about being the Avatar?"

Dagaz raised an eyebrow. "Okay, but why?"

"Monk Gyatso said that I will meet someone who will guide my journey, but when I entered the sanctuary... you were there. Avatar Roku said it'll be you, Dagaz. So please... teach me," Aang bowed with a left fist held to his right open palm.

Huh? What was going on here? Teaching the Avatar wasn't in his plan at all. But if he thought about it, in this era, he has to somehow live with the Avatar. Surprisingly, this was an opportunity. "But I have a condition."

"Okay, what is it?"

"I don't have much time anymore. After I'm done visiting my friend at the North Pole, I have to return to Dragonfire Island."

"What?! You're going to leave?!" Aang couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was fine with Dagaz being away for a few days, but him actually leaving?

"You have to understand, Aang. I have responsibilities to my family and duties I can't just ignore forever! I thought I made it clear when we first met. This arrangement is temporary and only lasts until we're at the North Pole." Dagaz couldn't allow himself to yield to a child's whims. This was bigger than him. "That's my condition: You have to accept me leaving. I'm telling you now, because I don't want to say goodbye whithout actually telling you anything beforehand. That would be too cruel on my part because... we're friends." He meant it. Aang was his friend at the end of the day, but even he had boundaries he couldn't allow anyone to cross.

Aang lowered his gaze and looked away. "Yeah." What Dagaz said reminded him of how he left things with Monk Gyatso. He couldn't say anything.

Dagaz took off his mask and gave him a sad smile. "Don't worry. After I leave, we're bound to meet again." He hoped Aang wouldn't be too angry when the time came.

Aang looked up and found that his friend seemed sad to leave them too. And he realized what Roku meant. Whether he's aware of it or not... Dagaz will be in Aang's life, one way or another. But there was something that concerned him too...

...

"... but beware, Aang," Roku warned. "The Spirit Masters are very dangerous beings... and this time, they are the most powerful to have ever been born. If you anger even one of them, the wrath of the spirit world shall follow..."

...

"We still have time to have fun adventures together. And we even could tell each other stories." Dagaz tried to cheer Aang up as best he could. He wasn't sure what to do exactly because, unlike with his mother, his closest human friends, and the other Primordials, he had to keep his true human identity a secret for their own safety.

"Yeah... I think I'd like that." Aang decided to put off thinking about Roku's scary warning. Dagaz was his friend, and he trusted him like he would Kuzon and Bumi.

"How about a lesson on Fire Nation etiquette first?"

"Huh?" He blinked.

"That bow you gave me is the old Fire Nation greeting. Today, we greet with a right fist under a straight left palm, like so," Dagaz demonstrated. "It symbolizes you greeting someone in high respect."

"Like this?" Aang bowed in the new Fire Nation style greeting.

"Correct," Dagaz nodded to Aang's delight. "Now, back to what happened that led to you being captured by pirates." He unconsciously released a slightly threatening aura.

Katara flinched. "Well, you see-"

"Katara stole their waterbending scroll," Sokka answered bluntly, earning his sister's glare. "What? He's scary." If Sokka didn't see how King Bumi talked to his grandnephew-by-oath, Sokka would've thought Dagaz was genuinely threatening his sister. In conclusion, Dagaz was the good-kinda scary.

"I see," Dagaz replied, slightly narrowing his eyes at Sokka's remark, but returned his attention to the girl. "And what did you learn?"

She looked down. "Stealing is wrong." Her brother nodded in agreement.

"Good. By stealing you gambled with your life, so don't do it again," he grabbed her wrist and placed the scroll in her palm. "Here. Until we arrive at the North Pole, the knowledge it contains is what you need to protect yourself."

Katara tightened her grip around the scroll.

Dagaz steeled his resolve.

Even if things were about to change, the Avatar was to stay alive in case of failure. After all, the one to challenge the Fire Lord will not be the Avatar...

oOo

Author's Notice :

I kinda wanted my MC to start as a typical ATLA-reincarnator, but then break off from that fanfic-trope where the MC 'chooses to follow the story'. So I briefly used my Female MC to incite change (get it?).

If you haven't noticed: I haven't acturately described any of the Primordials yet (exept Tui and La). I'm saving that stuff for their own chapters.

About my MC: I kinda wanted him to start as a typical Avatar-reincarnator who 'chooses to follow the story', but break away from that stereotype (as you can see, he changed his mind because his genius girlfriend found a way). But hey, this is my first fanfic and I'm certainly not a professional writer.

I have no idea if what I'm writing is understandable at this point. I've just been stuffing my idea box into each chapter with my head in a constantly spinning rollercoaster carousel. I'm sorta going for a storyline that will only make sense after Book 1 is finished (kinda like a big puzzle).

I'm trying to imagine I am that character when I write (with their past in mind and everything), and like in real life, everyone does whatever the hell they want. I gave each chapter a new tone but I wanted to keep it light-hearted (similar to ATLA), and I have no idea if I wrote it well.

PLEASE REVIEW

I'm already planning for beyond the 'grand finale' I have in mind for during Sozin's Comet. To me, it didn't make sense that they never actually dealt with the theme of 'is the Avatar needed or not' or this 'Avatar of Darkness' stuff they set up in TLOK. Frankly, it never made sense how it tied into the 'North vs. South' stuff. It's just been glossed over with an over-the-top laser-beam spirit battle for the fate of the world with no clear explanation whatsoever.

Ch1 - Ch7 were generally teaser-chapters to get to know my MC more and tease the storylines. He's the type of MC who grew up with omitted stuff of the avatar-verse, but interacted with most of its characters. He doesn't think of them as 'characters' but genuine people and loved ones who he's known throughout his life.

Now that I set up the mysteries, revelations shall follow. Be prepared to have your own perception of 'Avatar - The Last Airbender' be flipped on its head throughout Book 1.

ENJOY

oOo

Fun Facts / Trivia :

- Avatar Rinpoche is an unknown Avatar I found on YouTube (16 Avatars before Aang). He was hilarious for an Air Nomad Avatar who lived in the pre-unification Fire Warlord Era and ended up actually marrying a Fire Warlord Queen.

- THEORY: I always wondered why the Fire Nation greeting was the only greeting Aang got wrong (Basically a reverse Bao Quan, martial arts greeting), so I thought that it might've been something that came about during the hundred years he's been stuck in ice. And in TLOK we see that Zuko greets Mako and Bolin using that same bow. I thought Aang might've taught Zuko the old Fire Nation bow sometime after ATLA ended.

oOo

See ya next time, Panthosilea out

Uploaded: 1st June 2022