Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. We've finally broken two hundred all across the board. Once again, I cannot thank you guys enough for your support. But you're not here for my thanks, you're here for the new stuff, so lets get on with it:
I shifted through the pile of books and scrolls, my eye reading the title of every work before it was set aside as it wasn't relevant to my search. For almost two days, my search had been similar to this. There were very few works that covered the topic I was researching, so it wasn't surprising that I was turning up empty handed so much.
It had been about two weeks since our return to Republic City. Korra had spent a lot of that time reunited with her friends, as well as restoring people's bending with the Orb. While I still had my doubts over the artifact, I couldn't deny the results it produced. Which was why I was here now, trying to find out more about it and it's companions if they were out there.
Tenzin had been against the use of the Orb, believing that not only was it too risky to use given the amount of unknown variables surrounding it, but also that there were those who would attempt to steal or kill for it once they saw it's power. He wasn't wrong, and I found myself agreeing with him. But Korra was the Avatar so the choice ultimately fell to her. She chose to use it to help people, regardless of the risks.
My hand fell on a leather bound tome, which gave me pause. The book was older than a lot of the others in the collection here on Air Temple Island. I carefully opened the brown text and peered at it's contents. The entirety of it was written in Classical Air Nomad, a language that had been used by the airbenders amongst themselves for thousands of years. Very few outsiders ever had the privilege of being able to hear it spoken aloud, much less learn it.
I was about to set the book aside. After all, a book is only useful when you're able to read it, which I and just about every other person alive could not. But there were notes. Little scribbles that had been added in much more recently, acting as a translation of sorts. I couldn't help but smile as I recognized that the handwriting belonged to Aang. Even until his final days, he had dedicated himself to preserving everything about his culture, and this was no exception.
According to Aang's translations, the book was the journal of Altan, an Air Nomad Avatar that lived several thousand years ago. Altan, from what I could gather, had set out into the world looking Xian's Tome, a book which the creator of the Hong left behind that supposedly contained all of his secrets and knowledge.
This held my attention much more than anything else in this dusty library had. Apparently, somewhere out there was a handbook on how to use this ancient artifact, as well as many other secrets lost to time. I read through the rough translations of Altan's adventures. Apparently he eventually did find the tome. However he was so frightened by it's contents and what they could possibly unleash upon the world that he entrusted it to the one being he knew could guard it.
Wan Shi Tong.
According to the journal, the great knowledge Spirit had taken the tome into his collection, and it had vanished into the vast shelves of his library, where it had rested ever sense. I couldn't help but frown at that revelation. Wan Shi Tong had, for the longest time, kept his library hidden in the heart of the Si Wong Desert. Then, seventy years ago, he had sunk it beneath the sands, returning it to the Spirit World and barring human entry.
I sat back in my seat and folded my arms, a little miffed at what I had just learned. Finding the tome meant a trip to the Spirit World. Trips to the Spirit World were on the list of things that were difficult at best to accomplish. I'd never been spiritual enough to actually attempt a crossing into the Spirit World. Between the Observer and a huge amount of unknown factors, the risk just wasn't worth it.
Then I remembered something Korra had said up north, about how Unalaq had wanted her to open some Spirit Portals. That got me thinking. Perhaps there was a way to make the crossing without having to leave our bodies and being defenseless. The whole thing required much more research into topics which, frankly, I currently didn't have the material at my disposal to cover.
"Find anything useful?" Korra asked in my ear as she leaned over my shoulder. I shook my head.
"Not much. How was it today?" I asked as I closed the ancient journal and stood, popping a few knots out of my back in the process.
"Exhausting, like usual. It seems like every time I restore one person's bending, two more take their place," she said.
"It'll be over before you know it," I reassured her. She grunted, but didn't give a response otherwise. We left the library and headed toward the dinning hall. I had to admit, it was much quieter around here without Tenzin's family being present. The Airbending Master and his family had set off on an extended vacation in order to visit the four Air Temples a few weeks ago, leaving shortly before we had returned to Republic City.
After being on the road for so long, Korra was in no mood to travel. So we had pretty much settled in and waited for Tenzin to get back. The Acolytes had been a little rustled at first, namely at us sharing a bedroom. But a reassurance from Korra that we would behave ourselves put them at ease somewhat.
Not that I really cared. Truth be told, I found some amusement in causing the monks some discomfort. But I was nice and kept it small, steeling an occasional kiss from Korra in broad view of everyone or, if I was feeling a little more routy, a passing slap on the rer. When she realized what I was doing, Korra was both annoyed and amused by the situation. She could see where the idea of making the monks uncomfortable was entertaining to me, but at the same time she had grown to respect the Acolytes and didn't want to cause them too much discomfort.
"You've been in the library since we got back. You need to get out and get some fresh air," Korra said as we entered the dining hall and got ourselves a couple of bowls of rice.
"Well I've had a few leads I was trying to track down," I defended as we sat down at a table and began to eat.
"And those leads are?"
"Things you'd find so boring you'd be passed out face down in your rice by the time I got done explaining them," I said. She poked her rice with her chopsticks a little.
"Yeah, probably. I always did find book work boring," she said.
"Tell you what, why don't we go out into the city tonight," I offered. She looked up from her bowl in surprise at my sudden suggestion.
"Really?"
"Yeah, why not? I could get out and stretch my legs some," I said.
"So, we can go on an actual date, like an actual couple?" she asked.
"If you want. Though, we've been together long enough I didn't think that really applied anymore," I said.
"Eating something next to a campfire you built because we stopped to rest for the night is not something I would consider a date," she deadpanned. I shrugged.
"Everyone has their preference, I guess. Alright, it's a date." She gave me a warm smile at that.
"I look forward to it."
Say what you will, but even after five hundred years I'm still not much of a romantic. We went to a small, dimly lit place for dinner. The kind that had a candle on every table and required you to at least put a little effort into your appearance. Korra was forced to leave her sword back on the island and actually spruce up her appearance a little. I did the same, but kept my sword hilt on my belt.
We ate and then headed to the park for a nice evening stroll. It was late spring, almost summer now, so the temperatures outside were fairly comfortable. For the most part we were silent, just enjoying the evening and each other. I couldn't help but steal glances at her from time to time. Even though I had seen her face almost every day for almost a year now, I still found her to be breathtaking.
"You're staring," she said, still looking straight ahead.
"Well, I like the view," I replied with a smile. She smirked and nudged me with her elbow.
"Have you really not made any progress in that library?" she asked. I made a rocking motion with my hand.
"There were some references to a tome, a handbook for the Hong if you will," I said.
"And?"
"And the last place it was seen was in the Spirit World," I explained.
"Oh. I see the problem," she said.
"Yeah, so dead end, I guess."
"Maybe…" she said hesitantly, like she was thinking of something. I paused and cocked an eyebrow at her.
"What?" I asked.
"What if we went on an expedition to recover the tome?" she asked. I blinked once.
"How? Neither one of us has been able to make the crossing in case you haven't noticed."
"We wouldn't be meditating into the Spirit World," she said, "we'd make a physical crossing."
"How?" I asked with some hesitation, not entirely sure if I liked where this was going.
"The Portals my uncle talked about. We could use one to enter the Spirit World and then find the tome," she said. I couldn't help but frown at the idea. It wasn't a bad one, exactly. But I just couldn't help but feel uneasy about it.
"I don't know. Unalaq wanted them open for a reason, and whatever it is, it's not good," I said, raising my hand to my chin in thought.
"So we've hit a dead end," she concluded. I ran over all of our options in my head again. Physically opening a portal wasn't something I wanted to do unless we had absolutely no other option. Once that was done, there was nothing to stop Unalaq or his goons from getting what they wanted in the Spirit World. That meant if we wanted to enter the other Realm, we'd have to meditate there.
"All paths are possible, so long as you have the right guide," I muttered to myself as I came to a halt, a possible solution coming to mind.
"What?"
"There might be a way for us to meditate into the Spirit World," I said. Korra frowned at me.
"I thought we just established that neither one of us has been able to do that."
"We haven't," I confirmed.
"Then how do you plan on pulling this off if we can't do it?"
"I think that we can, we just need the right person to guide us," I said.
Southern Air Temple.
Ashe circled the mountaintop temple, allowing us to look down upon it in all of it's restored glory. For so long, the building had sat abandoned and devoid of human life. It was refreshing to see it look like it did before the war again. I guided Ashe to land in a small courtyard, where we were greeted by a few of the Acolytes.
"Can we help you, travelers?" an elderly woman with spectacles asked.
"Is Tenzin still here?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. Master Tenzin is here in the Temple. Do you know him?"
"Take us too him," I said, not wanting to waste time as I dismounted from the dragon's back. Korra followed my example, sliding down Ashe's scales without saying a word. At the sight of the sword that rested on the Avatar's hip, the group of Acolytes' faces grew concerned.
"We must respectfully ask that you do not bring weapons into the Temple," one of them said. Korra sent a glare toward the man who spoke.
"I'm the Avatar. Take us to see Tenzin immediately," she said sternly. Despite looking uncomfortable, they did as they were told and led us to Tenzin. The Airbending Master was relaxing in a courtyard with his infant son asleep on his chest. To say he looked surprised to see us would have been an understatement.
"Korra, Ryou, what are you doing here?" he asked. He didn't sit up or raise his voice however, in an effort to not disturb Rohan.
"We need to get to the Spirit World," Korra said.
"I would be honored to be your Spiritual Guide," he said. I held up a single finger, causing him to fall silent.
"Not you. Where's Jinora?" I asked. A look of confusion crossed his face.
"Jinora? Last I checked she was in the Statue Room. Why do you need her?"
"Jinora can see and sense Spirits, Tenzin. No offense, but she's much better suited for the job," I said.
"But…Jinora is only eleven years old. She can't possibly…"
"Tenzin, have you or have you not been to the Spirit World?" I interrupted.
"Well…not exactly…"
"Then let go of your pettiness and get Jinora," I said. To say I was starting to get impatient would have been an understatement. I couldn't help but shake the feeling that we were somehow on the clock, and that was causing me to become irritable. Not knowing what was going on, while knowing that something was going on, was frustrating.
Tenzin reluctantly shifted Rohan so that he was sleeping with his head resting on his father's shoulder before he stood and led us toward the Statue Room. The last time I had set foot in this place was about sixty years ago, when the Air Acolytes had first moved in to begin restoring the Temple. Not a lot had changed since then. The statues had been cleaned up, and a new one of Aang had been added, but that was it.
We split up in order to look for the young girl in question. Well, Korra and I did anyway. Tenzin headed off in order to properly put his son down for a nap. As I wandered, I found Bumi standing before the statue of his father with a solemn look on his face.
"I tried my best to make the world a better place. I hope I made you proud," he said to the statue.
"You did," I said, stepping forward. Bumi jumped at my sudden appearance.
"Uncle Ryou, when did you…"
"Relax, Bumi," I said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Together, we looked on at the statue of his father.
"Did I really make him proud?" he asked, his voice sounding small.
"You did. He was always so proud that you were willing to lay down your life in order to defend what he and all his friends had fought to create," I said.
"He could have stood to mention it a time or two," Kya said, emerging from a different angle within the statues. By this point, I had started to follow the spiral of statues outward from Aang. I stopped briefly at Roku, and then at Kyoshi.
"Do you doubt your father's love for you, Kya?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of my long dead wife.
"No, but…"
"Then why do you complain? Aang loved all three of you equally. Yes, he was the Avatar, and yes, he dedicated his life to preserving the Air Nomad culture. But don't think for one second that he wouldn't have thrown all that away for you three or your mother," I said.
"It's not that I doubt Dad loved us, it's just a little frustrating to hear Tenzin talk about the past sometimes. According to him, it was nothing but adventures and fun times," Kya explained as she came over to stand next to me.
"Your brother still holds Aang in the highest regard. He has pleasant memories, as I'm sure you two do as well," I said. Kya frowned and looked toward her brother and the statue of her father.
"I do," she admitted.
"Then let the boy have them. In the end, that's all we really have left of those who are gone," I said as I reached out and gently brushed my finger tips against Kyoshi's statue.
"You know that Tenzin is fifty two, right?" she asked with a hint of amusement.
"Oh to be so young again," I said, giving her a small smile. Kya just shook her head before her tone grew more serious.
"What are you doing here, Ryou? I thought you and Korra were going to take a long break in Republic City."
"Something new has come up. We're looking for someone to guide us through meditation into the Spirit World," I explained.
"So you came to get old stiff and serious, did you?" Bumi asked as he came over to join us. I shook my head.
"No, actually. We came for Jinora." Bumi looked confounded, while Kya simply cocked an eyebrow at me. The waterbender's look told me that she wasn't questioning my choice, but rather was waiting for me to present the reasoning behind it.
"But, Tenzin has his tattoos, why not just use him?" Bumi asked.
"Having the tattoos means you've mastered airbending, Bumi, it says nothing about how in tune you are with the Spirits," I explained.
"And you think Jinora is?" he asked.
"I know so," I answered confidently.
"How?" Kya asked.
"I've seen her talking with Spirits. She's the most spiritually tuned airbender I've seen in decades. Not even your father was as in tune as she is," I said.
"Hm. I thought as much. I've noticed a lot of energy signatures around her," Kya said.
"And you didn't bother to say anything?" Bumi asked. I held back the urge to roll my eyes.
"Why exactly do you need to get into the Spirit World anyway?" the retired commander continued.
"We'll explain everything once we find Jinora," I answered. We didn't have to wait long, as Korra and Jinora appeared soon after, with Tenzin arriving not long after them.
"Korra, what is all this about?" Tenzin asked.
"You'll have to ask Ryou. He knows more about this than I do," she answered. I stepped forward and took a knee in front of the young girl. She returned my gaze quietly, curious as to why I had come to her of all people. I silently removed the glove from my left hand before holding the hand out to her. This was it, the final test to see if she was really in tune to the Spirits as I believed her to be.
Jinora silently raised her hands to touch my own. However, before she actually made contact, she paused. Her eyes went wide as she hovered over the Mark that was there, and her breathing became shorter and more ragged.
"You've been touched by a Spirit, a very powerful Spirit at that," she said. I gave her a single, slow nod of my head.
"Yes, little one. I have. What else can you tell me?"
"I…I've only felt such power from one other being," she said, looking toward Korra as she spoke.
"Do you know why we've come to you, Jinora?" I asked.
"You need help," she answered, lowering her hands.
"Yes. Korra and I need a guide into the Spirit World. Do you think you can do it?" I asked. The young girl looked unsure of herself.
"I'm not sure. I've never been to the Spirit World."
"But you've seen your Spirit friends, have you not?" I questioned. She nodded.
"Yes."
"Born in you, little one, is the ability to see beyond the boundaries of the Realms. If you can see what others cannot see, than you can tread where others cannot tread. So I will ask again, can you guide us there, Jinora?" I asked again. At first, she looked unsure of herself. But then, that melted into a look of determination that belonged to someone far older in age.
"I'll do it," she said.
Although Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi were unsure about everything, Jinora was determined to do the job we had asked of her. When she learned that our destination was the largest library in existence, the young girl was practically jumping with excitement at the thought. Tenzin became a little more against the idea when he learned we were trying to get to Wan Shi Tong's Library, but he allowed it when it was pointed out that both the Avatar and a five hundred year old swordsman would be watching over his daughter.
We started out mediating in a circle in the middle of the statue room. Some insese sticks and candles were lit to help. The others stood and watched while Korra, Jinora, and I closed our eyes and focused outward.
For what must have been hours, the only thing I could sense was what was going on around me. I found the smell of burning incense and candle wax to be distracting. The stone floor was cold. Every single twitch and scratch Bumi made seemed to be amplified by a hundredfold. Just as I was about to give up, I took a deep breath and focused outward again.
Then I felt it. A presence, somewhere beyond the edge of my being calling to me, beckoning me forward. I realized that it was Jinora, and in my mind's eye I began to follow the girl. It's almost impossible to describe what I felt as I left my body further and further behind. There was a level of freedom and bliss I had never felt before, and I almost didn't want it to end.
Suddenly, Jinora's presence vanished, and I felt cool once more. I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to find myself back in the statue room. However this wasn't the case. The room I was in was a copy of the statue room, sure enough, but a large section of the wall and floor before me was gone. Beyond it was an inky purple darkness that seemed to stretch on for eternity.
Standing, I hesitantly approached the edge and looked down, only to see the same endlessness below me. Feeling a little light headed, I stepped back and looked around. There seemed to be no one else here. I glanced down at my hand and noticed that the Mark was glowing with a faint golden light. I flexed my fingers and turned my hand over a few times, but nothing felt out of the ordinary.
"Jinora?" I called, "Korra?" My voice didn't have an echo, instead sounding flat and monotone as if I was a small enclosed room. I was sure that I wasn't in the Spirit World. From the accounts I had heard, no matter where you found yourself in the Spirit World there was always some form of life. Here, there was nothing.
"So. The Wanderer has finally come home." I felt a chill run down my spine at the voice. Only one being had that voice. Turning, I found myself face to face with The Observer. He was standing a short distance away from me in his monk attire with his arms folded.
"Where am I? Where's Jinora and Korra?" I asked. The Spirit held up a hand.
"Peace, Wanderer. They are fine, for now," he said. Next to him appeared a full body length mirror with an ornate wooden border around the glass. The glass shimmered like water in a pool that had just had a stone dropped into it. When the image settled, it showed Korra and Jinora standing in the Great Library, talking to a ten foot tall barn owl. I recognized the Spirit as Wan Shi Tong, the Keeper of Knowledge himself.
"As for your other question. You are in my Realm," the Observer continued as the image reverted back to the reflective surface of a mirror.
"This is the Void?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yes. The Space between Spaces, the Great Divide between Worlds."
"Why am I here? You only collect the souls of Mark Bearers when they die," I said.
"If you want to get technical, death is defined as the soul leaving the body, therefore by definition you are dead," he said, his usually stoic face showing a small playful grin, "However I will not lower myself to such pettiness. Your presence here is a temporary one."
"Okay, then why?" I asked again.
"Things have been set into motion. Events are starting to unfold that have been a long time in the making. The very fabric of Creation is getting ready to shift. You've felt it, haven't you?" I didn't answer him, but I scratched at my Mark all the same, a move which he noticed.
"There is one out there who would seek to undo everything that has been accomplished within this past age, to return Creation to the chaotic primordial soup it once was," he continued.
"Yusei," I said with some realization.
"Yes. Another paradox such as yourself. One which has managed to exist far longer then you have," the Observer said.
"He's just one man. Ageless or not, that's still just one man against Spirits and the Avatar," I said.
"You, who has defied Kings and gods, should know better than that," he said with a level voice. I took a breath and held my tongue, waiting for him to continue.
"This man has spent much of this past age learning, gathering knowledge on things that have otherwise been lost to time. Now, he seeks the same thing you seek," the Observer said.
"The Tome," I said, my eyes growing large with realization. There was a very real chance I had just sent Korra and Jinora into the path of a powerful ten thousand year old immortal.
"The collection of knowledge belonging to the greatest alchemist and wise man to ever walk the mortal plain. Whomever has Xian's Tome has the potential to reshape the Realms as they see fit," the Observer said before holding aloft a rather large book. It was bound in plain black leather with no markings or letters anywhere to be seen. I looked between the Spirit and the book with surprise.
"Where did you get that?" I asked.
"Long have I foreseen these events coming, and took action accordingly some time ago," he answered before handing me the book. I took it with a strange sense of reverence. It felt heavy and old, but not old enough that it would crumble to dust under my touch.
"You're the Observer. All you do is watch events play out, why would you do something like this?" I asked.
"It is my eternal duty to maintain the gap between the Realms. These men, Unalaq and Yusei, seek to cause great damage to that which I have maintained since the dawn of time. I cannot allow this to happen." I nodded in understanding at that. If everything truly was in danger like he suggested, even he had a stake in what was to come.
"I have other questions that I'd like answers to," I said.
"Ask them, quickly. Our time grows short."
"Last time you called Korra Raava," I started.
"Raava is the name of the Spirit that resides within her. The embodiment of Light and Order. What you mortals call the Avatar Spirit," he answered.
"Why does Unalaq and Yusei want to open portals to the Spirit World?"
"If the two great Portals are open when Harmonic Convergence comes, Vaatu will break free of his prison."
"Vaatu?"
"The Counter of Raava. Darkness to her Light, Chaos to her Order."
"And Harmonic Convergence?"
"The Great Shift we have all felt coming. The end of one era, and the dawn of another." I couldn't help but frown at the Spirit's description.
"That's…vague."
"You already have much of the information you seek, you just need to know how to read it," he said, inclining his head toward the book in my hands. My frown continued, but I didn't press the matter.
"One last piece of advice before we part ways, Wanderer. Use the entirety of the Hong during Harmonic Convergence, and you might find a pleasant and unexpected side effect," he said.
"Umm…okay?"
"Now, awaken!"
A gasp escaped my lips as my eyes sprang open. I was back in the actual statue room, surrounded by the others. Korra and Jinora's eyes sprang open as well. Tenzin and his siblings were next to us in an instant, making sure we were okay.
"Where were you? We looked everywhere," Korra said.
"Yeah, I felt you coming after us, and then you were just gone," Jinora added.
"I was…nowhere," I answered truthfully. Having seen the infinite nothing that awaited me in the realm of the Observer, it was sobering to say the least.
"We couldn't find the Tome," Korra reported, knowing by my posture and tone of voice that I didn't want to talk about where I had been.
"Someone beat us to it years ago. It could be anywhere now," Jinora added with a hint of sadness in her voice. I looked down and stared at the black book that was resting in my lap. Everyone else followed my line of sight and took notice of the book as well.
"Where did that come from?" Bumi asked, stumped by the book's sudden appearance. I slowly took a breath before opening the leather bound tome. A short breath of impatience left my nostrils.
"Does anyone here read Classical Air Nomad?" I asked. Both Tenzin and Jinora held up their hands. Well great, that solved one problem.
Now for the other billion or so that seemed to want to come our way.
And cut. That's all for this chapter. There wasn't much action, but there was a lot in the way of things being set up. Trust me when I say that this is only the beginning. So, let me know what you guys think. Drop a review, leave a PM, let me know what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.