Chapter 9: Shattering Stone

Sen stopped running for a moment to kick up a blockade behind them. The path was getting narrower now, which served their purposes very well. It made it much easier to slow their pursuer down.

As he fled down the path, Sen spared a glance over his shoulder. A thick bank of fog rolled slowly over the edge of the wall he had raised. The mysterious Fogbender had been pursuing them for what felt like hours now, slowly but inexorably closing in on them. They managed to keep ahead of it for now, but they were running out of room to maneuver.

Spilling over the wall all at once, the fog came rushing forward like a tidal wave, closing the distance ever faster. Sen stopped carrying the rear of the group and headed for the front. They were nearly to safety. Korra had given him some timely advice on a place where they could hide from the Fogbender, if only for a while.

Sprinting past Ada, Suda, and Whistler, Sen headed for the welcoming borders of the Brokmarsh. Conventional logic would say to not run towards a marsh when fighting a waterbender, but this particular morass was hardly conventional.

Sen reached the shores of the swamp, and hopped across the waters edge, landing on top of a large lily-pad. He tapped his palm on top of it repeatedly.

"I could use a favor," He said frantically. He had a good feeling that this would work, but he was still in a bit of a hurry. The Fogbender was closing in. A few curious bubbles rose from the depths of the Brokmarsh.

"Oh, good, you're listening. Anyway, there's a troublemaker following me, you can probably sense it, right? If you could do something about that for me, I'd really appreciate it. Please?"

In answer, a large mass of mud rose from the depths of the swamp, shifting the stagnant waters and disturbing thick layers of algae. The great mud-beast lumbered forwards towards the mass of fog. Sounds of an intense battle could be heard from within for quite some time. Sen's allies clustered onto the massive lily-pad and waited for the sounds to end.

The mud-beast was beaten back, and it was then reinforced by living trees that pulled themselves up by the roots and clambered into the mist. Their roots and branches flailed through the mist, striking at its heart.

After a long, tense pause, the fog began to retreat, and the living trees and mud pulled themselves back to the swamp and collapsed back into their old homes. Sen breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that the Fogbender had been thwarted once again, though he would have much preferred that he was defeated entirely. Sen was not fond of leaving unfinished business behind him, but it seemed it was all he had done recently.

"Thank you, Brok."

The mud shifted again, but rather than becoming a great golem, this time it became a small, hunched figure, draped in algae, a state Korra had referred to as the Old Lady of the Mud. It was the way Brok preferred to deal with visitors to her swamp.

Brok was lord of the marsh, and she was tied to everything in it. Every drop of water, every patch of mud, even the plants, all bowed to her will. She didn't do much with that power. Like the swamp she lorded over, Brok was a creature of stagnation, preferring a stable environment. She was not entirely unwilling to act, of course, provided the right circumstances were met. The conflict between the Avatar and the Energybender was one such circumstance.

While spirits were generally neutral in mortal conflicts, Sarin held the power to permanently kill a spirit, and they did not approve of such power existing. Most every spirit the Avatar had encountered so far was being very helpful to his cause. It brought Suda no small amount of relief that they were not being constantly assaulted by random spirits.

Brok and Sen spoke for a while about the state of the world, before bidding each other farewell. Brok gave them some advice on how best to get through her swamp, and then the Avatar departed. He was glad that things had been simple for once. Not everyone could be so lucky.

Miyani was rudely shunted off the tram and into a crowd of people suddenly surging the other way. At times like this it was almost tempting to remove her headband and let the tattoo on her forehead split the crowd for her. That would cause too much chaos, though. Ba Sing Se was one of the most crowded cities in the world, after all. One person panicking could cause a chain reaction that turned into a riot. That was the whole reason she was here, actually.

Miyani looked around. It had taken her quite some time to get all the way to the walled city. She'd actually missed most of the chaos by now. The streets bore the marks of past riots and protests, but normal life had, to some extent, resumed. There was a cautious hesitance to the citizens here, though, that told Miyani that the trouble was far from over.

She struck out towards the middle ring of the walled city. Even though the walls had come down during and after the Red Lotus Riots, the city was still clearly separated by the architectural styles, layout, and general culture. Zaheer's idealism had been misguided after all; it would take a lot more than knocking down walls and killing monarchs to create true equality between people. The lower ring was still a place of poverty and strife.

The squalid streets of the lower ring were being patrolled, now more than ever, by uniformed guards. Miyani kept a cautious eye on every officer, and they did the same to her. Guard patrols had been doubled and then tripled in the past few weeks. Most of the riots began in the lower ring, then worked their way towards the center.

Miyani kept herself between the lower and middle rings, patrolling the wreckage of the wall. Shoddy houses built out of the ruins of the great wall dotted the streets, marking the place where the barrier had once stood. Miyani walked slowly along the ring, keeping a careful eye out.

It occurred to her after an hour or so of walking that she probably wasn't going to get anything done like this. The ruins of the wall stretched on for miles, and major disturbances were far less frequent than they had been before. As heroic as the idea of a 'patrol' was, she'd probably be better off finding herself a base of operations.

That wouldn't be easy. Ba Sing Se was crowded already; there wasn't much room for anyone here. People were already stacking themselves on top of each other, quite literally, to get by. Miyani tapped her fingers against her waist as she walked. There had to be something.

"Hey lady, you're really tall," A small voice said. Miyani angled her neck sharply towards the ground. A small child was looking up at her.

"Yes I am. Thank you for noticing."

"How'd you get that big?"

"I caught a magic fish, and it said if I let it go it would make me a giant. So I let it go."

Miyani's arm snapped behind her, and grabbed the wrist of the thief digging through her pockets. She forcibly pulled the would-be pickpocket to the front and held him dangling off the ground. He was a small child, not much older than the questioning boy in front of her.

"You don't look like a magic fish," Miyani said angrily. "So you better give me a very good reason to let you go."

"Aww, come on, I didn't even take anything," the child whined. "Have a heart."

"I don't have anything to take," Miyani said. She was just about broke. What she did have, she was not stupid enough to keep in her pockets. She'd hidden her money far more securely than that. "I'm waiting to be convinced."

"Okay, come on, we can make a deal," The thief said. "I'm a plucky orphan. I can be your sidekick or something."

"I already have an orphan friend," Miyani said. "But I suppose I could use a few directions."

She asked about a place to stay and a place to eat first of all. The pickpocket recommended a few cheap establishments across the city and told her how to get to each one. As an afterthought, Miyani asked about an old historical landmark. There was something she needed to see. The pickpocket wasn't quite so eager to give her directions to that particular location, but he did relent eventually, and told Miyani where to find the ruined hall of the White Lotus.

Miyani didn't know what she'd been expecting to find in the hall of the White Lotus. Remnants, maybe, some clue about the Energybender. The pickpocket who'd led her here had told her how the halls still echoed with the arcane howling of Energybending, and how the soul of the Grand Lotus still lingered in the halls, bemoaning his fate. Miyani had seen none of that. It was just an empty building.

She stepped back into the streets of Ba Sing Se. The city was filled to the brim with people, but there was always an empty space in front of the "haunted" hall of the White Lotus. Miyani drew strange glances from everyone around her as she stepped down the stairs of the abandoned hall. One person in particular seemed to be waiting for her.

He was not a tall or proud man; he might have been handsome once, and strong, but that had all been beaten out of him. He was tired now, and worn down by age and despair. His eyes had a very hollow look to them, like something had been taken from him.

"You went inside," He said as Miyani approached.

"Yes, I did."

The tired looking man stared at her wordlessly for a while. His worn face betrayed very little emotion.

"Can we talk?"

"Well, I never had a mom to teach me not to talk to strangers, so sure," Miyani said. The man didn't laugh. No one ever laughed at her jokes.

The weary man led her to a small, worn down building, not far from the ruined Hall. These structures had been built to house the White Lotus member who ran the old Hall. They mostly sat empty now, occupied only by squatters and those too poor to find a home further from the haunted ruins. The stranger led Miyani into one such home, inviting her inside. He prepared some tea.

"What did you find in there," He asked. He spoke slowly, and with very little emotion.

"Nothing," Miyani said. "It was empty."

"You're not from around here," He said. It was a statement, not a question. "Some traveler, I'd wager. I'm Qiang."

"Miyani. Nice to meet you."

Qiang handed her a cup of bitter tea, and she drank more to be polite than anything else. Qiang took a sip of tea as well.

"I've been hoping someone like you would come along. Someone who'd finally go in that ruin. I always thought it would be some stupid kid, walking in because his friends dared him to."

Qiang put his teacup down and looked at Miyani. He placed his palms together.

"Why'd you go in?"

"I wanted to see where everything began," Miyani said.

Qiang didn't react to that very much. He picked up his teacup and drank from it again.

"People are stupid, and superstitious," He said derisively. "There's hundreds of thousands of people in Ba Sing Se, a million more visit it every year, but you're the first one to walk inside that hall. That's very important. You've broken through the stone wall of fear that enclosed that place."

Qiang looked at the wall. Miyani glanced to the side, following his eyes, but he was looking at nothing. His sight had drifted to some far off place.

"Now that the spell's broken, people will start walking in. First it'll be the kids, like I said. Then travelers, like you, people who are curious. And then at the end it will be the widows and orphans, and they will see the ruined stones where their family died, and they will finally say goodbye."

Miyani bit her lip. Qiang continued.

"Then decades from now, it will all be a memory, and the ruins will be bulldozed, and the graveyard of the White Lotus will be buried under an apartment building. Or maybe they'll make it into a museum. Could go either way."

Miyani put her teacup down. She hadn't put so much thought into it. She hadn't even found anything in there.

"You've sent a message, Miyani, whether you know it or not. Rumors are going to start spreading. People are going to talk. Every time the story gets repeated there will be less and less fear in people's voices, until fear becomes courage and courage becomes action."

"What kind of action?"

"Don't know," Qiang said. "Something stupid, first of all. That's the way people are. After that, something more meaningful. Resistance, most likely. People are tired of being scared. Be afraid of something long enough and you start to hate it."

"So you think people will start fighting Sarin," Miyani said. "Just because I walked into a building?"

"Don't give yourself too much credit," Qiang said. "Anger was already there, just buried by the fear. You get rid of some of the fear, anger starts to win."

"Then I should walk in there again," Miyani said.

"Might be a good idea. More people see you, more people talking."

Qiang finished his tea and looked at Miyani. For the first time his face betrayed some emotion, but Miyani couldn't quite tell what. It seemed to be equal parts curiosity and optimism, but it was all very dim. Qiang had very little spirit left in him.

"Though someone with your talents could do much more than walk into a building."

The sitting area was small, and it didn't take much effort for Qiang to reach across the table and pull Miyani's headband down before she had a chance to stop him. He was surprisingly quick for a man in his condition. Miyani recoiled backwards as her tattoo became exposed, but Qiang seemed unfazed. He sat back down and toyed with his empty teacup.

"They taught us how to identify your kind," he said. "That was before Gohrman, so every combustion bender who'd ever lived had tried to kill the Avatar at some point. We were cautious, obviously."

"Who's 'we'?"

"Doesn't matter," Qiang said. "We won't be doing anything any time soon. You, on the other hand…"

Qiang gave Miyani a long, lingering look that made her slightly uncomfortable. Qiang rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"What was your plan, Miyani? What do you want to do with all that power?"

"I want to make a difference," Miyani said. "I want to help people."

"Charity helps people. Explosions, less so," Qiang noted.

"They can be very helpful when they're aimed at the right people," Miyani said.

"Hmm, now there's an idea," Qiang hummed. "And you came to Ba Sing Se hoping to find those people?"

"Yes."

"Well you won't. Only people to be found here are scared, confused. A few wolves among the sheep to stir things up, perhaps, but not many. No monsters to be found in Ba Sing Se."

"Then where do you propose I go," Miyani asked. Qiang was well-prepared for that question.

Qiang reached over the side of his chair, towards a well-worn desk. Opening a drawer full of aged and crinkled papers, Qiang rooted around until he found one significantly newer and fresher than the rest. He slammed it onto the table between them with an open palm. It was a map of the United Earth Kingdom provinces, marked with red ink in three spots.

"Energybender bases," Qiang observed. "Howler has a few outposts out in the wild, places to stash his soldiers and supplies in secret. Isolated, and filled to the brim with Energybender soldiers. Much better use of your time than firing off shots in a crowded city and hoping for the best."

Miyani shrugged. Perhaps her plan had not been entirely well thought-out. She examined the map. All three red circles were in the north-eastern provinces of the Earth Kingdom, the ones that most strongly rebelled against the Avatar.

"How did you find these?"

"They're not hard to find," Qiang said. "Lots of people know about them. Military can't do anything, though, not unless the provincial leaders authorize it, and the Energybender has them in his pocket."

"But I don't have to worry about those rules," Miyani said. She wasn't affiliated with any political body, and so she could go after the Energybender without upsetting the delicate political balance in the United Earth Kingdom.

"This map is all I have to offer you," Qiang said. "But I have a feeling it'll be more than enough."

Miyani picked up the map and took a closer look. The nearest base was just a few days away by train. There would be a bit of a hike to get into the depths of the woods, but Miyani could handle it.

When she decided it was time to leave, Qiang practically pushed her out the door. He was not one for goodbyes, it seemed. Or perhaps he was simply uncomfortable with having a Combustion Bender inside his house. Either way, Miyani was soon out the door and wandering into the distance. Qiang took a moment to look towards the hall of the White Lotus. His stare lingered for a while.

"Maybe another day," He said to himself. If he would ever be ready to talk into that hall again, it would not be today. The empty space in his soul still echoed hollowly every time he recalled his last visit to that hall.

The outpost in the middle of the woods was not exactly a spectacular construction. It was hastily thrown together with earthbending, meant for nothing more than storing supplies and having secret meetings out of the way of prying eyes. Despite that, it had become an important stopping point for many of Sarin's soldiers, and as such it was constantly under guard. One silent watchman kept a constant vigil on path to the hidden enclave.

The sound of motion on the path set the guard on full alert. She was eager to have something to do. In her civilian life she was forced to pretend she was a powerless non-bender, and she relished every opportunity to use the firebending that Sarin had granted her.

A lone traveler emerged from the bushes, stumbling and limping as she walked. She had her face and limbs wrapped in dirty bandages. The traveler locked eyes on the guard and fell to her knees.

"Oh please," She begged. "Please help me."

"Get out of here," The guard threatened. She wasn't here to run a charity operation. She was not a kind or pleasant individual, despite the fact that Sarin's cause was ostensibly one of peace. He tempted people to his cause by exploiting their lust for power, enticing non-benders to join with the promise of granting them bending. As such, his ranks were bloated with cruel and arrogant individuals.

"Please," The young girl continued. "The spirits reward those who show generosity."

"I couldn't care less about spirits," The guard said dismissively. "Leave, now."

"You know I'm actually glad you said that," The traveler said. She suddenly abandoned her hunched posture and limp, showing off her true, towering height. "I'm going to feel a lot less guilty about this."

The guard had no time to react before Miyani ripped the bandages off her forehead and blasted the earth in front of her, sending her flying backwards. Miyani stepped around the smoking crater she'd just created and proceeded forward to the base. She brushed a few strands of hair away from the red mark on her forehead and used the focused power to unleash an explosive blast upon the walls of the Energybender's base.

The shoddily constructed base began to collapse after just a single blast, though Miyani threw in several more just to make sure it was annihilated completely. Soldiers poured out of the rapidly shattering walls in desperate attempts to escape. Miyani blasted out the paths in front of them, catching a few as they attempted to flee. The vast majority of them managed to flee into the woods. Miyani didn't like that, but she supposed that scattering them was effective in its own way.

Miyani turned her head to the left to blast a fleeing soldier, but snapped back when she heard the sound of movement to her right. One of the soldiers had decided to try fighting, apparently. She had always figured no one would be dumb enough to try.

The robed soldier had seemingly done his research on combustion benders, and aimed his attacks at Miyani's forehead, striking out with small, precise volleys of rocks. Miyani swatted aside the pebbles and sent a spear of energy rushing towards the foolhardy soldiers feet. Being smart was not enough to beat a bender of her caliber. It would take more than any of these soldiers had to bring her down.

The brave soldier was sent flying into the air by the blast, before falling downwards and landing painfully on the charred ground of the crater. Miyani stepped into the smoking circle of scorched earth and looked down at the soldier. He was cowering in pain and fear. His courage had left him fairly quickly. Miyani stared him down for a while, just to put a little more fear in him.

When the soldier had cowered sufficiently, Miyani grabbed him by the collar and pulled him upwards. She pulled his face in close, making sure he got a good look at the red tattoo on her forehead.

"Go tell them all," She said threateningly. "I'm coming for them."

Miyani released the soldier, and he fled from the smoking crater. She put her hands on her hips and thought for a moment. She probably could have phrased that better, made it sound scarier. She shrugged. It had been short notice, and they would certainly get the point.

Miyani walked away from the smoldering ruins of the base and examined her arm. Though she was protected against pain, she did notice a few bruises on her arms from where she had blocked the soldier's blows. Perhaps it would be worth investing in some armor.

The wind carried the smoke of the burning base high into the sky and away, towards the road. Somebody would notice the smoke eventually, and come to investigate. Those who witnessed it spread the tale, speaking far and wide of the blasted ruins of the Energybender's base. They were dismissed as foolhardy rumor-spreaders for a few weeks – and then another smoking ruin appeared in the wilds. Then another and another, until the landscape was dotted with the shattered remnants of Sarin's outposts. There was no denying it after that; a combustion bender had entered the game, and she was single-handedly tipping the scales of a conflict that had been in stalemate for nearly three years.