Chapter 15: Aquila

Hanjo popped into view rather suddenly, as he usually did. Crossing the planes was a fairly swift process once you were good at it, and with nothing better to do for more than a year, Hanjo had gotten very good at it. The only upside to being in prison, as it was. He took a look around.

Sen was sitting with his legs crossed and his knuckles pressed together, a classic airbender meditation pose. Ada was practicing her swordsmanship, and the other two were sitting around bored. Suda perked up when he saw Hanjo, but Whistler kept observing Ada's swordplay with an odd intensity.

"Hanjo, hey," Suda said. "Sen's a bit busy right now."

"I noticed," Hanjo said. "What's he doing?"

"Talking to Korra," Suda explained. "Didn't say why."

Hanjo squinted. It wasn't like Sen to keep secrets. He looked at his friends quiet form, and wondered what was going on inside his head.

It wasn't entirely within Sen's head, in a spiritual sense. Most of it was actually Korra's memory. His struggles against seemingly undefeatable opponents had caused him no small amount of frustration, and he wanted that to stop. If he allowed himself to become too temperamental, he might end up making a fatal mistake. Korra knew quite a bit about being short-tempered, and she could offer her own share of wisdom.

They had explored some of her more extreme memories, reliving how her overconfidence had caused disasters when facing Amon and Unalaq, and had since travelled into deeper, more subtle memories. It was strange for Sen to walk through a world that no longer existed, but he carefully observed the memories regardless.

"It isn't just the battles you're fighting that frustrate you," Korra observed. "You're having problems with another. Your airbending master, Whistler."

"She's just not cooperating," Sen said. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with her. She's always been hard to deal with, but lately it's been even worse. She won't even look me in the eye anymore."

Ever since they had left the Seventh Kingdom city of Pakkre behind, Whistler had been even more uncooperative than usual. Sen could sense that something was wrong with her, but she resisted all efforts Sen made to help her.

"It can be difficult to understand people like her," Korra said. "Your sense of morality defines the way you look at life, but her morality is completely different. It's as if you're living in two completely different worlds."

The setting of Korra's memories shifted drastically, changing slowly into a dark cavern, illuminated only by the greenish glow of glowing crystals. He could see a much younger Korra sitting in front of a very old man who, curiously, seemed to be floating in mid-air. There was only one person who that could be.

"Zaheer?"

The first renegade of the new Air Nation was still infamous even today. Mostly for the way he had mastered the art of flight, but also for his role in the fall of the old Earth Kingdom and the ensuing chaos of the Earth Empire. He was not, however, anyone Sen would consider a role model.

"Do you really think Whistler is that much like him?"

"She's closer than you think," Korra said quietly.

The memory of the cavern fully crystallized in Korra's memory, becoming a clear replay of the past events. Sen observed quietly as the past played out before his eyes.

"He was old and sick the last time I saw him," Korra's spirit said. Her younger self began repeating a conversation she'd had in the past. She offered her condolences to Zaheer. The renegade did not take kindly to her sympathy.

"I'd spoken to him many times, begging him to use his wisdom for good. To share his knowledge and help build the new Air Nation. To finally bring something good into the world. I must have asked him a hundred times."

Korra observed the scene with no small amount of sadness. There was regret written on her every feature, even as a spirit.

"I thought that things would be different. When he was living his last days, I asked him one last time."

The memory of Zaheer looked quietly at Korra. Even ravaged by age and sickness, Zaheer maintained a look of dignity. A cold, hostile dignity, but dignity nonetheless. He stared intensely at Korra for a while, before speaking one single word.

"No."

Korra didn't give up. She tried to argue, tried to convince him, to persuade him, but Zaheer remained unmoved. He would not help his old enemy. Eventually, having made no progress at all, Korra grew frustrated and gave up. The memory ended, leaving Sen confused.

"Wait, I don't get it," Sen said. "Is that it? He didn't help you?"

"Yes and no," Korra said. "I wanted more from him, but the truth is by that time Zaheer had already shown me everything he ever could. Because of him I learned how vulnerable I really was, and I learned to understand the pain others felt. But I didn't learn that because he told me."

"You learned because he poisoned you," Sen said. He had lived through that memory with her, feeling the fire burning in her veins as the Red Lotus poison slowly killed her. It had been horrible, but somehow educational.

"The things we need to learn can't always come peacefully," Korra advised. "Sometimes conflict is the only way to grow."

Sen sighed. It was easy to hear, but harder to understand. The lessons one learned from suffering were often only apparent in the long term. Korra nodded solemnly, and faded from sight. Sen's eyes snapped open, back in the Spirit World again. Hanjo waved.

"Hey, Avatar," He said lazily. His physical body had an intense headache, and that somehow carried over the Spirit World. It wasn't pleasant.

"Hanjo," Sen replied. "What's the word today?"

"The word is that direction," Hanjo said, pointing off into the distance. "That's the way to the portals."

"We were heading that way yesterday," Ada said, pointing slightly to the left of Hanjo's indicated direction.

"It's just a detour," Hanjo assured her. "I imagine you guys want to get back on smooth terrain."

"Count me in," Whistler said. She picked up her things and started walking in that direction, leaving the others to quickly pack up and follow her. Whistler kept her distance from the others, even more so than usual.

"What happened to her," Hanjo asked. He had not been around during the incident in the Seventh Kingdom city of Pakkre. Sen explained everything that had happened to him.

"So what does any of that have to do with her," He asked again. Sen knew nothing of Whistler's fight with Chanchai, so his story was mostly about Suda and Yut. He had no way of knowing why Whistler had started behaving erratically. Whistler herself wasn't entirely sure.

"I'll figure it out," Sen assured him. "Eventually."

"I'm sure," Hanjo said sarcastically. "It only took you sixteen years to figure out your own eyes didn't work."

"Actually that was me," Suda interjected.

"Right," Hanjo said. "You never figured out your own eyes didn't work."

"Well how was I supposed to know the whole world wasn't naturally blurry," Sen said. He adjusted the glasses on his face.

"Blurry? Sen, I tried on your glasses once, I'm surprised you knew anything more than ten feet away existed."

"That bad? Hey, Sen, let me try on your glasses," Suda said.

"No. Your head's like two inches wider than mine, you'd bend them."

"We brought spares," Ada said.

"Only two," Sen said. Much like bathrooms, there were no optometrists in the Spirit World, making it very hard to replace glasses. Sen had been lucky enough to not lose any of his glasses yet, and he wasn't going to risk them now, not even to something as benign as Suda's giant head.

Sen kept his glasses firmly on his face as they proceeded forwards. Despite Hanjo's promise that they were heading towards smoother terrain, there was a large, lopsided valley on the horizon. The opposite side soared high into the distance above them. Sen wondered why Hanjo would lead them towards such an obstacle. Dried scrub bushes and a few dead trees littered the nearby terrain, and Sen pressed forward through the dry timber.

"Hey, hang on, do you hear something," Whistler said nervously. The rest shook their heads. Whistler listened more closely. Airbenders were naturally more connected to the air, and the way sound travelled through it, so her hearing was slightly better than her teammates. There was definitely a sound of movement and conversation. Even though he could not hear it, Sen and the rest moved forward just a little more carefully.

After closing a bit more of the distance between themselves and the valley, the others started to hear the sounds as well. They crept carefully forward through the dry brush.

"Sounds almost like a settlement," Ada whispered.

"Might be another Seventh Kingdom outpost," Suda suggested. Whistler's eye twitched visibly. Sen shook his head.

"I don't feel any movement," he said. "It can't be humans."

Sen ordered the others to pause while he personally checked out the valley below. Sure enough, there was a small village nestled in the bottom of the valley, and it was not populated by humans at all. It was hard to see exactly what they looked like from this angle, but they had a faint blue glow. They all looked rather small, and not particularly threatening.

Sen almost relaxed. After his short observation was over, a much larger, brighter figure lunged up the cliffside. It moved in a blur, lunging up the walls of the valley in rapid bounds. Sen readied himself for a fight that never came. The lunging figure reached the top of the valley and immediately prostrated itself before Sen.

It was a tall thing, nearly ten feet high, and shaped very much like a human. The whole spirit was coated in dull grey skin, with bright bands of glowing cyan blue spread across its body in a jagged pattern. Its skin seemed to be plated and spiked like armor, and it held a shield in one hand and a large sword in the other. The blade was currently plunged tip-first into the ground as the giant spirit bowed deeply to Sen.

"Master Avatar," It said. Some of the markings on its face glowed as it spoke. Sen bowed in return. The spirit stood and pulled its blade out of the ground. Sen's friends came running, but quickly relaxed as the spirit showed it meant no harm by sheathing its blade.

"It is my honor to greet you and your companions," the spirit said. "My name is Aquila, warrior and guardian."

Sen and his group made their introductions and explained their reasons for being here. Aquila nodded.

"Your journey thus far has been long and restless, and you have seen few friends. That changes today. Come, the village below is sparse, but it offers respite and friendship."

That sounded like a very appealing prospect. Aquila led the way. The cliff-face that led into the valley actually had a crude staircase carved into it, which made the descent very easy. They were soon in the midst of the spirit village. Small glowing creatures rushed about from side to side, paying little mind to the human arrivals in their midst. They were short creatures with stubby limbs and wide heads, with massive mouths. They reminded Ada of deep-sea anglerfish, with broad mouths filled with sharp teeth.

"Curious creatures," She remarked. "Since when do spirits build settlements?"

"I think they have been influenced by human settlements in the Spirit World," Aquila explained. "There is no way to know for sure. The Bessalisk are simple creatures, not possessed of speech."

Not human speech, at least. One of the stubby spirits gurgled something as it rushed past Sen's feet. They did seem to be acting out a crude imitation of human society. Hanjo thought it was a bit cute. Ada was mostly curious. The Bessalisk defied a lot of what humans believed they knew about spirits. Not only did they have a settlement, they seemed to be a cohesive species. Most spirits were unique individuals.

"How did you end up being their guardian," Sen asked. "You're clearly not one of them."

"I found them one day, while I was wandering. They are simple creatures, as I said, and I worried that they might be exploited or attacked."

"I can't see anyone coming all this way just for this little village," Suda said. A few of the Bessalisk were armed with crude spears, acting out the role of guards. They actually seemed to be on the lookout for something.

"Threats have been few, I will admit," Aquila said. "A dark spirit now and then, a wandering Bristleback pack occasionally. A group of humans tried to seize the settlement several years ago. All were easily repelled."

Sen nodded. Probably the Seventh Kingdom trying to occupy the village.

"Lately, though, we have come under attack by something that seems between man and spirit."

Hanjo scowled. He had had a gut feeling that there would be a problem in this village. Sen was not surprised either.

"What's it like," He asked. Naturally, his first instinct was to help.

"It is a strange creature," Aquila sighed. "It attacks every few days, striking at our defenses and then retreating. I don't know whether it is some manner of spirit or a human wielding tricks, but it fights with a cloud of fog."

"Oh no," Sen groaned. They had been evading the Fogbender for quite some time. It seemed to have found its way ahead of them somehow. Whistler shook her head.

"We should get out of here, now," she cautioned.

"You know this creature?" Aquila asked.

"Yes," Whistler said. "It's been hunting us. I don't know what it wants with your fish-things, but we're not going to help anything by staying here. The sooner we leave, the better off we'll all be."

"Maybe leading it away would be the best thing to do," Sen said.

"No," Whistler objected. "Not leading it away, just leaving. If we lead it away, it's just hunting us again, and that's not what we want."

"But we can't just leave it here to attack these spirits."

Suda and Ada took a step back. This was clearly going to boil into a full-blown argument. Aquila examined the unfolding spectacle with some curiosity.

"Or we could do exactly that," Whistler argued. "They're spirits, they'll come back. They aren't worth risking ourselves over."

"I reincarnate too," Sen countered. "How much is my life worth to you?"

He had meant it as a simple counterpoint, but Whistler seemed hurt somehow. Her face showed very little change, but Sen could feel a deeper shift within her. Sen bit his tongue. He had apparently crossed a line.

"Sorry."

Whistler tried to act like she didn't know what he was apologizing for. Sen rubbed the back of his neck.

"Just…hold on. We're going about this the wrong way," Sen said quietly. Trying to argue with Whistler about what was right and wrong would never work; she saw it the other way around. Sen had to argue from her point of view. Sen looked around at the Bessalisk wielding their crude spears.

"Aquila, have the Bessalisk been fighting to defend themselves?"

"Yes. A small militia assists me, though our numbers have been…dwindling," Aquila said sadly.

"And you set up barricades, there, and over there," Sen said, pointing to two different fortifications on either side of the canyon.

"Yes. They have greatly assisted in our defense."

Whistler didn't quite understand what Sen was doing. He seemed to have completely forgotten about their disagreement. He asked Aquila a few more questions about their defenses and the Fogbenders attacks, and then turned back to Whistler.

"Okay, just, forget about whether or not it's right or wrong. Just think about it in terms of what's good for us. We've been running from the Fogbender for a while. It keeps us up at night. We haven't been able to fight it effectively. But here, we have the element of surprise, we have a fortified position, and we have Aquila and the Bessalisk giving us an advantage of numbers."

Whistler looked around. The barricades and Bessalisk militia had been holding the line fairly well, by all appearances. Sen pointed up at the cliff-face above.

"We can use the dry timber we saw up on the cliff to build torches, that'll boil away the fog. If we plan it right we might be able to trap the Fogbender in the center of the village, even."

Sen pointed, at last, to Whistler.

"But you're the only one who can see the Fogbender's attacks coming. If we have you actually helping us, we stand a really good chance of winning this. We can get this thing off our tail permanently, and we'll all sleep a little easier."

Whistler locked her jaw and scowled intensely for a moment. Sen made more than a few good points. It would be nice to put an end to the constant pursuit.

"Alright, two things," Whistler said. Sen's plan was not completely foolproof. "First off, I want an escape plan. If this goes wrong, in any way, we leave, and we leave fast. No heroic last stands."

"I'll have Gun dig an escape tunnel," Sen said. He was actually glad Whistler had thought of that. Having a way to evacuate the Bessalisk would come in handy in the worst case scenario. Whistler nodded.

"Second, I'm not putting this whole village on my back," Whistler said. "It's time you got serious about learning airbending. Until the Fogbender shows up, you're mine, got it? We're training, no interruptions."

"Deal," Sen agreed. Whistler extended her hand, and Sen shook it firmly. Satisfied, Whistler gave Sen one final moment to set up the defenses. With a few tactical stomps of his foot, Gun emerged from the ground and then began tunneling downwards. His tunnel was shored up behind him with a thin layer of earth, disguising the tunnel entrance until they needed it. Suda was put in charge of constructing more barricades and torches. Ada was to assist Aquila with training and preparing the Bessalisk militia. With the arrangements made, Sen and Whistler found a quiet spot to train, and began their practice.

The attacks by the Fogbender were infrequent, and so they ended up with a few days to prepare, which was all the better for them. The Bessalisk were not very clever creatures, and it took quite a bit of effort to train them how to fight. They wielded crude spears and flimsy shields with very little finesse. It soon became clear to Ada that the training was not going to accomplish much.

"They aren't very good at this," Ada mumbled as one of the Bessalisk tripped and fell over.

"No they are not," Aquila agreed. "But they have the will to fight, and they deserve the chance."

Two of the Bessalisk started hitting each other with their crude wooden clubs. They weren't really sparring, more just randomly flailing at each other. Ada shook her head.

"They're putting themselves at risk," Ada argued.

"Aren't we all?"

Ada looked up at the great metallic spirit. He only had two glowing eyes, which limited his facial expressions quite severely, but he had a rather solemn look on what little face he had.

"You and I are skilled warriors, Ada, but we are no less likely to fall in the coming battle than they are. To fight is to face the risk of defeat. Failing to acknowledge that is the greatest mistake a warrior can make."

Ada nodded. Her teachers in Zaofu had always told her to go into every battle expecting to lose; imagine every scenario that could go wrong and try to prepare for it. Obviously it was impossible to cover every eventuality, but being cautious was always important.

"Where did you learn swordplay, Aquila," Ada asked. She had gotten thinking about her own teachers, and that made her curious about Aquila's origins.

"I never learned. Battle is my nature. I was born with a sword in my hand, the knowledge to use it in my head, and the desire to practice it in my heart. I have never had another purpose."

While some spirits had a measure of free will, and an ability to learn and grow, many others played set roles and embodied specific concepts. Aquila was a guardian spirit; it was in his nature to protect others. Ada thought it must be rather limiting to have no other options in life, but she was not a spirit. Aquila felt no resentment over his singular path through life. It was his nature; he could not change it and he had no desire to.

Another thought occurred to Ada. If Aquila had never been taught by anyone, it was entirely possible that he knew things that no other living thing did. Until today, perhaps.

"Aquila, why don't you teach me some of what you know," Ada asked. While she had been intending to develop her own unique style, this was not an opportunity she could pass up. She might be the first person in history to learn the way of the sword from a Spirit.

"I can't guarantee it will go well," Aquila said. "But I will do my best."

Aquila took up a stance, and Ada mimicked him. After making some considerations for the differences in their various physical differences, the two began to practice.

Aquila's style was unique among all the forms that Ada had studied. His fighting style was based heavily on mobility. Rather than relying on the strength of his arm to give his blows power, he used the inertia of lunges and dives to add force to his strikes. When it came time to defend himself, he preferred to evade away rather than parry the strikes. It took Ada some time to adapt to the more mobile style, but when she had, she found it suited her. She was not large or strong, as many swordsmen were, so typical styles did not suit her body well. Using her smaller size and higher agility to her advantage would aid her greatly.

"You adapt well," Aquila said. It was much easier to learn when she had a good teacher. Ada could remember struggling to learn anything at all from Sorikami's abusive training. Aquila was patient and helpful, and so she learned quite a bit in only a few days. As the days passed, and the Fogbender remained at bay, Ada and Aquila trained in the way of the Spirit's sword.

Aquila approved of his new student, but there was an area of concern for him. After one of their sparring sessions, he had to address the fear he had.

"You are a ferocious warrior, Ada, and that gives you strength," Aquila began. "But there is danger in it as well. It is a fine line between passion and rage."

Ada nodded. Sen had shared the same concern, as had many of Ada's teachers. She enjoyed fighting too much. She acknowledged the danger, but she was confident in her ability to overcome it. She had learned responsibility the hard way, and she had seen in General Rahm what became of those who lost control. She would not lose her way so easily.

Finally able to sit in one place and focus on his training, Sen was actually making decent progress in airbending. He was still far from being able to use it effectively in a fight, but he was getting much closer to that point.

"Alright, the next thing would be…dang it, was it an obstacle course or was it meditation," Whistler grunted. She hadn't been sleeping enough lately, and her fatigue was evident in the way she taught. She was absent-minded, and forgot things often.

"Is there actually a curriculum," Sen asked. "I thought we were just doing whatever you felt like doing."

A few Bessalisk spirits wandered by, and Whistler shooed them away. They were fairly easy to boss around, actually. Whistler didn't like telling them what to do, but she didn't want them to be in the way.

"No, Avatar, I actually have a plan, believe it or not," Whistler said sarcastically. "If we were doing what I wanted to do, I'd just be throwing the Pagu-Pagu cards at you. You don't seem to like that, so I'm trying to remember how that old fart taught people things."

"You mean Master Jung, right?"

"I said old fart, didn't I?"

There was a very sour look on Whistler's face. Sen figured he might regret it, but he had to ask.

"Whistler, what happened between you and the Airbenders? Why do you hate them so much?"

Something had happened in her past to drive a wedge between Whistler and her former comrades. She had once been a student to Master Jung alongside Sang Lug, but she had simply left one day to become a rogue thief, disappearing without a trace or an explanation to her former comrades.

The sour look on Whistler's face turned to outright bitterness, but there was also something contemplative to it. She crossed her arms stubbornly, remaining quiet for a moment, but she eventually relented.

"Hypocrisy," She said. "They were…they were hypocrites, is all. They said they wanted freedom, but they were so stupid and controlling, and-"

She stopped for a moment and grew visibly frustrated, stomping a foot on the ground.

"They said they wanted us all to be independent and free, but then they tell us what to eat, how to dress, how long to meditate every day, how to talk to people," Whistler rambled. "And when I said I didn't want to live that way, they just tried to control me even more!"

Whistler could remember all the "training" she'd been put through. Every time she raised objections and tried to change the way she was trained, she'd been put through more and stricter routines, as if they could somehow beat the resistance out of her by putting her through the air gates enough times.

"That sounds…oddly cruel," Sen said. Airbenders were supposed to be pacifistic. He couldn't imagine them being so harsh.

"It wasn't that bad, I mean, technically speaking," Whistler admitted. She was more upset with the fact that they had tried to control her than the ways they did it. Some additional training was not particularly terrible.

The Airbenders attempts at discipline had backfired terribly, though. After running through the harsh exercises so many times, Whistler eventually learned to harness her desire for independence and her frustration with typical airbender philosophy to achieve success. By all appearances the discipline had been a success; her airbending skills improved massively, and Whistler became one of the best students on the island, all while harboring a growing hatred for the airbenders.

"So what was the last straw? Why did you decide to leave?"

"Why do you care," Whistler asked. "You want to try and convince me to go back?"

"I just want to know," Sen said.

Whistler stared him down. He seemed sincere enough. She highly doubted that Sen would lie to her. That changed nothing.

"It doesn't matter," Whistler said, shaking her head. "The point is, the Airbenders were too controlling. They try to teach people there's only one path to success, only one way to be a good airbender, and I'm living proof that they're wrong."

Sen nodded in agreement. Whistler waited for a second, waiting for Sen to try and convince her she was wrong, or try and tell her to go back to the airbenders, but it never came.

"So teach me how you do things," He said. "Do the lessons your way."

Whistler stared at Sen, and past him, her weary eyes looking into the distance. She seemed suddenly confused.

"Whistler, I could have brought Sang Lug, or, I guess you call him Suck Lump," Sen said. Whistler giggled quietly. "But I didn't. I didn't want to be taught by a nomad, so stop trying to teach me like a nomad."

"You know, my kind of training involves throwing Pagu Pagu cards at you."

Sen sighed and nodded. If Korra could learn a lesson from being poisoned, Sen could learn a lesson from having a few playing cards thrown at him.

He certainly wasn't going to like it, though.

"Alright, well seeing as how I once again got left to do my own thing while everyone else was training," Suda said indignantly. "I built a pretty darn good barricade."

Suda gestured proudly to his completed work. The wall was equal parts sturdy and flammable. It would be difficult for the Fogbender to cross, and once it did so, the sparking flames could keep it trapped in the center of the village.

"Looks good," Sen said. His face was covered in small cuts that he refused to discuss the origins of. The look on Whistler's face explained them, though. She shuffled a deck of Pagu-Pagu cards casually.

"Do the Bessalisk know what to do? I can't guarantee I'll be able to get to both sides of the village in time." Sen would be able to light the barricades on fir easily with firebending, but he might get held up on one side of the village. In that case, they would have to rely on the Bessalisk.

"Oh yeah," Suda said. "We practiced setting things on fire, watch."

Suda gave a loud shout, and one of the Bessalisk sprang into action, grabbing a lit torch and setting the nearest thing on fire. Unfortunately, that thing was a house, and the Bessalisk residents began to panic until Whistler doused the flames with a gust of wind. Once the fire subsided, the Bessalisk resumed business as usual.

"It's not a perfect system," Suda admitted.

"They will come through when we need them," Aquila assured them all. He seemed very trusting of the diminutive spirits.

"I'm sure," Whistler sighed. "How's our escape tunnel looking, Avatar?"

"Gun finished a few days ago. About ten feet deep, badgermole sized, of course, plenty big enough for all the Bessalisk to evacuate at once if necessary. Exits about a mile away, but this end is covered, so you need an earthbender to get in or out."

"Or the waterbending skill to dig in or out," Ada cautioned. They shouldn't underestimate their opponent. It was entirely possible that the Fogbender could dig through soil somehow. Waterbending was a versatile art.

"It would seem we are prepared to the best of our ability," Aquila said. "All that remains is to wait, and see if our best is good enough."

"We're not going to let you down, Aquila," Sen promised. He felt confident for the first time in months. His airbending training with Whistler had actually gone fairly well. He was still an amateur, but he was making progress.

"Of that I am sure. I could never be disappointed in what you have done, but this does not guarantee us victory. It is possible to do nothing wrong and still fail."

"You can be a real downer sometimes, you know that," Sen said.

"How can I be down when I am so much taller than you," Aquila retorted.

He held a steely grey hand above Sen's head, demonstrating the extreme difference in their height. Sen frowned slightly and looked away. Aquila laughed. Ada rolled her eyes. Everyone was so sensitive about their heights. She had to put up with this kind of thing all the time, but it rarely bothered her.

After a short chat, Aquila left to stand guard on the shorter of the two cliffs that surrounded the village. Sen and Ada also stood watch on the barricades on either side of the village, leaving Suda and Whistler in the middle of the village. Whistler tried to rest, while Suda watched the Bessalisk go about their business. They were all repeating their usual routines, pretending to act like humans.

Sen kept his eye on the walls of the valley. They were smooth and curved, unlike the steep, jagged walls of some canyons he had seen travelling across the Earth Kingdom with Hanjo. He didn't know why. He turned to Ada.

"Ada, why are some canyons all sharp and straight, and this one is all curves?"

"Oh, well, some canyons are formed by things like earthquakes, where the rock breaks apart," Ada explained. She gestured at the walls of the canyon. "Smooth ones like this are made by rivers. The water runs through and carries away little bits of rock until it's all smooth."

Whistler's ears twitched. She could hear something like a roaring sound in the distance. She dismissed it as a hallucination of her tired mind.

"Rivers?"

"Yeah, rivers, streams, anything with running water will make a canyon eventually. It takes thousands of years, though."

Whistler stopped trying to nap. The sound was getting louder. She looked down the canyon into the twisting walls of the maze. Her hands started to twitch.

"So where did the river go?"

"It probably dried up or…branched off somewhere nearby," Ada said hesitantly.

Sen came to his realization about the same time Whistler did. If there had been a river here once before, it was entirely possible that someone could put the river back.

"Avatar," Whistler shouted in a panic. The roaring sound was getting closer. It wasn't any creature doing that roaring. It was water.

A mile down the canyon, the first wave surged around the corner, scattering into white foam as it broke upon the rocks. The tidal impact made a sound like thunder as it crashed against the stone wall, and then began to flow once more, racing towards the Bessalisk village.

Aquila's guardian instincts kicked in, and he quickly acted to defend his people. He snatched up panicking Bessalisk in his arms and kept them away from danger, jumping towards the cliff-face in massive bounds.

"It's trying to flood the village," Whistler shouted.

"Get to high ground," Aquila bellowed, as the roaring torrent drew ever closer to their fortified village.

The first wall of water hit the walls of the village. The barricades and torches were crushed beneath the wave, shattering their careful construction. Suda did what he could to lift up the ground beneath them, to keep them above the flood waters, but there was only so much to be done. As he watched, Sen could feel the weight of the water come down on the escape tunnel Gun had dug, collapsing it completely. The only way to get out of the valley now was to go up. Whistler and Ada helped lead nearby Bessalisk towards the exit. Sen stayed behind, raising up his own pillars of earth, trying to navigate what was left of the flooded village. There were still Bessalisk in the far reaches of the village, trapped in the rushing waters. Sen helped them out of the flood and tried to get them to safety.

Suda, having made a ramp that would lead those Bessalisk out, caught up to Sen quickly. He tried to forcibly push the Avatar towards the exit, and safety.

"No! No," Sen said. "I have to stay here, I have to get them out!"

"I'll handle it, Sen," Suda assured him.

"I can help!"

"You idiot, you can't swim!"

Sen froze. He had forgotten. Miyani had never finished his swimming lessons. Now he was standing in the middle of a lake that was growing deeper by the second.

A bank of thick fog rolled over the surface of the rising waters. Sen felt an icy chill of fear, and then a much more physical kind of cold as water wrapped around his legs.

Suda did not have time to grab on to his friend before the water pulled at Sen, dragging him into the depths. He quickly wrapped one of his metal lines around a nearby stone and dove into the water after the Avatar.

The depths were unnaturally dark, and filled with currents that pulled Sen deeper and further away from safety. He tried to remember everything he knew about swimming. He had only ever had the most basic lessons, though, hardly enough to prepare him for the swirling maelstrom that was the Fogbender's trap. He clawed at the water, trying to force himself towards the surface, but it accomplished nothing. Something was pulling him down faster than he could pull himself up. He had not had time to take a breath before being pulled under. He could feel the air fading from his lungs. He didn't have long.

Sen's struggling had managed to slow his sinking long enough for Suda to catch up to the Avatar. The Fogbenders currents made sure that Suda was carried directly to Sen. He wrapped a metal coil around Sen's chest just in time to feel the Avatar go limp. Suda pulled them back to the surface with all his might, but the currents pulled stronger. At this rate they would never get out of the water in time.

A subtle blue glow illuminated the surface of the water. With a sudden sharp tug, Suda felt himself dragged upwards. The water began to drag at him harder, tearing at his skin as the Fogbender tried to pull them down, but whatever was on the surface was pulling them faster.

With a last mighty pull, Aquila and a few of the Bessalisk managed to drag Sen and Suda out of the water, pulling on Suda's metal cord like a fisherman reeling in his catch. The waters began to tremble and crash: the Fogbender was not happy to have lost his prey. Great tendrils of water rose up from the surface of the roaring river. Suda and Aquila could evade the waters; their Bessalisk helpers were not so lucky.

Suda tried to catch his breath and make sure Sen was still breathing at the same time, giving him little time to shield himself from the waterbending offensive. Aquila had no need to breathe, and he was forever on guard. He lunged into the water after the Bessalisk that had been swept away.

"Aquila, come on," Suda shouted. The waters racing past were too fast and deep to survive for long. Aquila breached the surface once again, dragging a Bessalisk to safety on the cliff face. He spared a look towards Suda.

"Go," Aquila shouted. "Get the Avatar to safety!"

The waters rose up in a great mass and dragged Aquila down. He tore his way to the surface, pulling another helpless spirit behind him to safety, and then went down again.

"Get out of there," Ada shouted from the edge of the cliff. She could see the entire valley begin to surge with raging water. Staying there much longer would mean disaster.

"Aquila, come on," Suda cried. He used his lines to ascend the cliff as quickly as possible. Aquila did not leave the waters.

"I am a guardian spirit," He rumbled lowly. "I am a defender."

Aquila took another dive, and saved another life, btut he waters were coiling more viciously around him with every second he spent in the water.

"Go!"

Suda tried to think of something to say to Aquila, but he didn't have the words. Better to act than speak, he thought. He obeyed Aquila's demands and carried the Avatar out of the valley, away from the raging waters. Wherever the Fogbender was, it seemed aware that the Avatar was escaping its grasp yet again. The waters surged with a renewed wrath.

They all stood at the edge of the cliff face for a moment, uncertain, as Aquila toiled against the deadly current, trying to save as many Bessalisk as he could. They watched him sink and rise and sink again, pitting himself in a struggle against a living force of nature, until he sank once more, and did not rise.

Sen coughed up the last of the water in his lungs. His chest burned like fire, and all his limbs felt weak. It took him a long time to regain his full faculties. He was aware that he was lying on Gun's back, and they were moving at a slow pace. That, presumably, meant they were safe. He allowed himself to relax for a while and let the pain leave him behind.

Sen tried to look around. Things were fuzzy. He tried to rub water out of his eyes, but that wasn't the source of the problem. He soon realized his glasses were gone. They must have been swept away by the water.

"Ada," Sen groaned. Talking hurt more than he expected it to. "Do you still have my spare glasses?"

He was handed a pair of glasses, and placed them on his face. Able to see clearly again, he looked around. Suda, Whistler, and Ada were all walking by Gun's side. They had a solemn look on their faces.

"What happened?"

Sen had been under the impression that they had won. It didn't seem like it now. Nobody would look him in the eye.

Gun stopped for a moment as Sen crawled off the badgermole's back. Sen was still weak, but he managed to walk towards Suda.

"What happened," He demanded. Suda sighed.

"Most of the Bessalisk got away," Suda began.

"Aquila didn't," Whistler said. She would not be so gentle about it.

Sen stared forward blankly. Whistler was not impressed. They glared at each other for a while. They both knew what was coming. It was only a matter of how long Sen would keep it bottled up.

"Aquila's gone?"

"You heard me," Whistler said.

There was another pause. Whistler tapped her foot. She was not feeling patient right now. She could see what was about to happen. It was written all over his face.

"So are you going to do it or what?"

Sen slammed his foot against the ground, shattering stones and sending pieces of rock flying. A loud bellow of frustration echoed through the emptiness of the Spirit World. Sen kicked a stone and shattered it into dust. As a final display of overpowering frustration, Sen sent a lance of fire tearing across the ground. Most of his travelling companions backed away, but Whistler held her ground.

Sen knew in the back of his mind that this tantrum wouldn't solve anything, but he had to do something, anything at all. The past few days had apparently been completely pointless, after all. For all their work, for all their preparation, the Fogbender had forced them to retreat once again. Once again, they'd been completely helpless.

As with most outbursts, Sen's was short-lived. His destruction ceased, and Sen slumped against a raised stone, breathing heavily. He placed his head in his hands.

"I should have done more," Sen whimpered. "I was so stupid, I should have thought it through, I should have had a better plan."

Whistler, oddly, sat down next to him. She was tired, and this was a good excuse to sit down.

"It sucks. Yeah."

It was surprising to hear any kind of sympathy from Whistler. She quickly changed to a more familiar tone.

"It was a good plan. Maybe it wasn't good enough, but it was the best you could do. If you're going to mope about doing the best you could, you're going to be moping forever. Suck it up, take what you learned, and do better next time."

Sen tilted his head. Though her words were caged in hostility, there was some wisdom in them. He had always been so distracted by her harsh tones and sarcasm that he had failed to see that Whistler held her own kind of wisdom. It made him wonder what he had missed in the past.

He'd thought for a long time that Whistler couldn't teach him. Perhaps it was the other way around; maybe he had just been unwilling to learn.

"Teach me some airbending," Sen said.

At Sen's insistence, Whistler removed the Pagu-Pagu cards from her belt. With a careful flick of her wrist, one went sailing at Sen's head.

Sen held his breath. Air scattered randomly, driven by hundreds of forces at once. The breath of the people around him, the motion of plants nearby, and even things miles away that he couldn't see, all created a network of shifting air currents. It was a maelstrom of confusion, a random scattering of motion that no one could ever hope to control completely. Sen stopped distracting himself with all the things he couldn't control.

Moving so slowly and gently he barely disturbed the patterns of air, Sen moved his wrist, and snatched the playing card out of the air. He then tossed it right back at Whistler. She could have moved out of the way easily, but she allowed it to sail forward, gently tapping her on the forehead.

"Well, we'll make an airbender of you yet."