Chapter 2: The Swordswoman
Shu Jing had seen better days. Once renowned for its natural beauty as much for its human culture, the elements of nature had overtaken the structures of men in recent years. In the wake of the Energybender's attack on Piandao's castle, many residents of Shu Jing had abandoned the village out of fear, leaving their homes to be entangled by the jungle overgrowth.
The absence of humanity, of course, had led to it becoming a popular destination for spirits in the Fire Nation. Though the streets were almost entirely empty of human life, spirits flitted through the cracks of abandoned roofs and crawled among the roots of the overgrown trees, giving Shu Jing a new, stranger kind of life. Sen and company stepped gingerly through a mossy street crawling with dozens of small, insect-like spirits on their way to the castle. The insect spirits seemed to swarm around his feet, becoming more and more active as he passed them by. All the other spirits reacted in a similar manner, becoming more vibrant and energetic as Sen passed by. He wondered if that was a good thing.
The castle stood in a stark contrast to the rest of the overgrown island. The hedges and trees that surrounded it were perfectly manicured, and the building itself was completely intact, as if untouched by age or battle. The only imperfection in the structure was a battered and burned gate, deliberately left unrepaired; a small act of defiance against those who had attempted to destroy the castle and its resident. The splintered emblem of the White Lotus could still be seen on the tarnished gate.
"So do we knock," Suda said.
Ada knocked on the gate, to no answer. She tried again and met with no response once more. She waited by the door for an answer. Sorikami was known for being a bit of a recluse, so she was patient. Suda's patience ran out after just a few minutes. He pushed the scarred gate open and marched into the courtyard, despite Ada's protests. Sen waited at the gate with her, feeling rather confused.
Suda looked around the courtyard of Piandao's castle. It hadn't looked anything like this in the movers. There was supposed to be a throne somewhere that the master of the castle would sit on. He figured that Varrick had taken some artistic liberties and looked around for where the master actually was. He was still hoping for the throne, though.
He found a person he assumed was Master Sorikami. She wore a long black robe, edged with yellow trim. Her face was weathered and lined, as much by stress as age, with her black hair drawn up in a tight bun. She did not seem to notice Suda at first. Her eyes were locked solidly on a carefully trimmed hedge. A single branch had grown out of place, and a bird had landed on the extended limb. She put her hand on the hilt of her long sword.
With a movement of her wrist so fast Suda couldn't even see it, Sorikami drew her blade and swung it at the overgrown branch, removing it from the bush. With a twist and thrust of her blade, she moved her sword and positioned it beneath the falling branch. The bird's feet caught the edge of the blade, and it nestled there as it had on the branch, unaware that it had ever even moved.
"So were you just waiting for a bird to perch there before you clipped the branch, or was that a coincidence?"
The sound of Suda's voice frightened the bird and sent it flying away. Sorikami turned away from the bush and gave Suda a long, lingering glare. Suda shrugged. It was an honest question.
"I presume you have a very good reason for violating my privacy and disturbing my exercise," Sorikami stated. There was a hint of anger in her voice, and her sword hand still hung ready.
"I'm with the Avatar," Suda said. "We think he's dying."
"That is a very good reason," Sorikami said, sheathing her sword. She followed Suda to the gate of the castle and met with the Avatar. She bowed respectfully to Sen as he introduced himself, and then asked him about the problems he was facing. Sen gave her an abridged version of recent events, and then explained the heat in his body. Sorikami placed her hand on Sen's bare skin, and surprisingly, let her touch linger. She examined her fingertips.
"I have seen this before," She declared. "You are in no immediate danger. At least not from this. This is a fairly normal occurrence in young firebenders, especially in those who have lived through tragedy as you have."
She invited Sen and his companions inside and prepared tea for them, although Sen only got a glass of cold water with ice. He supposed that made sense. As Sen held the glass in his hands, he noticed the ice was melting much faster than it should. He drank it quickly. The ice water felt cold as a blizzard in his throat.
"What you are undergoing is something the Fire Nation has come to call Sozin Syndrome. The body naturally generates extra heat when experiencing extreme emotion, and when combined with an untrained firebenders ability to amplify heat unconsciously, this can cause the body to rise to incredible temperatures."
"How long does it take to go away?"
"As long as you make it," Sorikami stated. "This is not a disease one can cure with medicine or waterbender healing. It is a sickness of the mind, and until you set yourself right, you will never be free of it."
Sen heard his heart start to pound. His friends looked at him with intense concern. Sorikami had said the heat would not likely hurt him, but Sen had no desire to live with this forever. He hoped that Sorikami could say something to help him.
"This will also affect your ability to firebend," Sorikami said, only making Sen worry more. "You could embrace the heat, and firebend as the soldiers of the Hundred-Year war did, but embracing your rage in such a fashion would prevent you from learning the philosophies of other bending arts, and halt your development as an Avatar."
"I'm really glad we came here," Suda said with sarcastic anger. "This is really helping."
"I am only making the Avatar aware of what he has to lose," Sorikami said harshly. "There is a Master who can help you."
There was something strange about the way she said "master". Sen got the feeling that he was not going to be heading to any traditional dojo.
"He is called Hayao," She said, her voice seeming to echo as she spoke the name. "He has been meditating for many long years, and occasionally shares his wisdom with young firebenders such as you."
"How well-known is he," Sen asked. He still needed to maintain a semblance of stealth, and he couldn't go see some major figurehead of the spiritual world. "How many people would notice if he travelled with me?"
Sorikami seemed annoyed by the notion that Hayao would go anywhere with Sen. She quickly explained why.
"Master Hayao has not moved from his meditation chamber in over sixty years," She said. "If you believe he will accompany you, you are mistaken. His location, however, is remote and known to very few, so if you fear for your privacy, you will have no concerns under his care."
Sen didn't know how he felt about staying in one place for training. Mastering earthbending had been relatively easy for him, as it was his native element, but firebending could take him many months. The Energybender was off his trail, though, and if Hayao was as secret as Sorikami claimed, he would probably be safe.
"What do you think, Suda," He asked.
"It sounds alright to me," Suda responded. "Secret, wise, mysterious, good combo for a master."
There was a silent pause as Sen considered it. Suda noticed Sen was forgetting something, and took action himself.
"Ada, you got an opinion?"
"No," she said quietly. Sorikami took notice of her despondent tone.
"I think Hayao feels right," Sen said. "We should find him. Can you tell us where he is?"
"It would be better if I showed you," Sorikami said. "His chamber is far from roads and cities, known to very few. I shall accompany you there."
Sen figured it wouldn't hurt to have one of the most powerful warriors in the world on their side for a while. It would certainly make any chance encounters with bandits or monsters go much faster. Sorikami, for her part, was interested in Ada. She wore swords on her belt, and the way her eyes flitted about the castle courtyard and inner chamber said that the young girl recognized Piandao's artistry, yet she had been silent and withdrawn during her entire visit. A girl like her should have been exploring the castle, studying the history of it. Something was not right. Unfortunately, Sorikami had little time to spare at the moment.
"We should probably leave quickly," The elder swordswoman noted. "The agitated state of the Avatar may have had some negative effects."
She proceeded back towards the gate and examined the vine-covered alleys of Shu Jing. She rolled her eyes.
Exactly as the master had predicted, the Avatar's internal strife had resonated among the local spirit population. The ethereal creatures were crawling amongst shadows and darting furiously through the air as they tried to release their pent up energy. If the Avatar stayed much longer it would only get worse. The young men and woman followed her to the gate and observed the situation in the city.
"We should depart immediately," Sorikami said. The three young ones agreed. They proceeded down the hill. The spirits started to become more active as Sen got closer. Sorikami was familiar with the spirits of the city, but they did not exactly like her, and she would not be able to stop them if they got aggressive.
"I'd like to borrow one of your blades, if I may," Sorikami said to Ada. The younger swordswoman handed over one of her two swords. Sorikami examined it.
"I usually disapprove of handicaps such as these," Sorikami said, examining the electrical devices along the back of the blade. "But the energy is useful in conflict with a spirit."
She swept her arm a few times, testing the heft of the blade. Sorikami's specialty was the Jian long sword, but the shorter blade of the Dao was not unknown to her. She found herself approving of the blade's workmanship, despite the handicap of the electrical devices.
"This is very well done. Whoever made this knew exactly what, and who, it was made for. How did you come to know a master smith?"
"They were a gift from my master, Ko Rin," Ada said, speaking a full sentence for the first time in Sorikami's company. Sorikami seemed to recognize the name. The master examined the blades more closely. Upon further examination, she recognized the work.
"These were made by Master Yakkul," She noted. Yakkul was a fellow master of the sword, a Southern Water Tribal who had carried on the tradition from his forefathers. He specialized in the Dao, and he was more open-minded to alterations of the sword like the electrical mechanisms.
"It is difficult to acquire even one such blade, much less a matching set. Custom-made, with special modifications, even made of an unbendable metal alloy. Ko Rin must think very highly of you to acquire such blades as a gift."
Ada nodded, saying nothing, but Sorikami saw her back get a little straighter as she walked. That was good, but likely a temporary change. Her soul was wracked by grief similar to Sen's, and though she did not have the problem of Sozin Syndrome, the sadness affected her in other ways. Sorikami would have to do much to break her out of that.
The problems of the future gave way to the problems of the day as they reached the edge of the overgrown city. There was a hissing noise from the shadows as the Avatar stepped foot into the territory the spirits had claimed as their own.
"Is this going to be trouble," Suda said nervously. Something that had more eyes than legs, and it had a lot of legs, was staring at him.
"Very likely," Sorikami said. Simply telling the Avatar to calm down wasn't going to do much at this point. Their only hope was to make it to the Avatar's vehicle before the spirits got much worse.
"Where exactly did you park," Sorikami asked.
Sen pointed down the street that would take them on the longest possible walk through the abandoned town. Sorikami was somehow not surprised.
She led them on a hurried walk down the streets. The vine-covered walls and empty windows were becoming alight with angry spirits. The creatures filled the streets with a subtle, multicolored glow as they congregated. Sen's eyes darted around the twisted faces of the spirits. Somehow he got the feeling that this wouldn't be solved as easily as his confrontation with the sleep spirit Natae.
As was expected, they actually came in sight of the way out before problems found them. Just a few yards from the satomobile, a large spirit coiled into the street around them. It moved like water, but as it came closer it was apparent that the entire spirit was a mass of silver scales that moved as one unit. There was no face to the creature, but it had a voice all the same.
"Why do you come here, Avatar," the mass of scales asked. "Why is there rage inside Raava?"
The spirits that clung to the walls and vines around them began chanting, or perhaps it was more like chirping, repeating the word "Raava" again and again. Sen looked at the scale spirit and tried to explain himself.
"I have my problems," Sen said awkwardly. "I'm trying to get them fixed, I promise. I'm sorry if I've hurt you."
"How does the Avatar know pain," The silver scales mocked. "All the power Raava gives you, how can you be weak? How have you failed?"
Sen looked at Sorikami. The master looked back at him expectantly. Apparently she expected him to solve this on his own. Sen hesitated before offering an explanation.
"I wasn't ready," Sen tried to explain. "I got caught in a fight I wasn't ready for. I haven't been learning very long."
"So you lose one fight and you turn on yourself," The scales said. Other spirits crept into the streets, dark things with tendrils that clung to the shadows and eyes that crawled along their skin like worms crawling along the flesh. "You are a disgrace."
"It's not like that," Sen objected. "I didn't just lose the fight…I lost my best friend."
The silvery spirit seemed to back away. The encroaching shadows also paused. Sen thought that was good. Maybe they were listening to him. Sorikami came to the opposite conclusion. All she saw was an enemy preparing to strike.
In a movement so fast Sen barely aw it, Sorikami swept her borrowed blade through the mass if solver scales, scattering them into a cloud of metallic disks. The metal blade itself had no effect on the spirit, but the electrical charge caused enough damage to disrupt the spirits physical form. The silver spirit vanished into the air.
Suda groaned. He had shared Sen's impression that things were going well, but Sorikami had trashed it all. Suda tore some metal from the walls of a nearby ruin as the dark spirits closed in. Normal metal wouldn't affect spirits, but anything being manipulated by a bender could hurt them. Suda didn't fully understand how that worked. Something do with chi, as he recalled it.
Ada had her eyes on Sorikami, watching her example, but the old master's battle came to a dead halt when she saw Suda metalbend. Her eyes widened briefly with fear, but she quickly shook her head and returned her attention to the immediate enemy. Ada quietly wondered what she had just seen, before the encroaching spirits demanded her attention as well.
The glowing spirits that still clung to the walls began to lose their luminescence and crawled towards the ground, rapidly shifting to strange and twisted reflections of themselves. The mass of dark spirits grew bigger as the circle closed around them. The spirits surrounded them and crawled forward like predators on the hunt.
There was only one real predator here, though, and he was named Gun. Having grown in recent weeks, Gun's emergence was no longer from a neat little hole in the ground. Shattering an entire abandoned building as he burst out of the ground, Gun thrust his heavy claws forward and bared his fangs at the dark spirits that would dare threaten his master. Sensing the power and anger of the animal attacking them, the spirits vanished and dissipated into the shadows they had crawled out of.
Huffing and puffing, Gun's fur still stood on end as he lumbered forward to check on Sen. The badgermole was reasonably clever, but he was quite a bit confused by recent events. Gun didn't understand why he couldn't feel Hanjo's presence anymore, and that only made him more protective of Sen. Gun's seismic senses let him see Sen's heartbeat, and he didn't like what he saw.
Sen tried to be appreciative of Gun's rescue, but in a way the damage had been done. Even the spirits were against him now. Maybe they had a point.
Sorikami saw the melancholy look on Sen's face and tried to move their journey forward. Gun returned to the depths of the earth as Sorikami led them to the hidden monastery of Master Hayao.