Chapter 3:

Ken

It was early afternoon the next day. The other Knights had given Ken a wide berth. He stood in his own stretch of beach, practicing his firebending sets.

You'll never get better if you don't practice, he told himself. He had to stay sharp.

The other knights had been taking leisurely naps or rests while Piao was away. They'd left their weapons lying aside and some had even started smoking a sweet smelling opiate that Ken detested.

The animals hadn't been kept locked up and some had wandered further down the beach, prompting the air nomads to fly off in search of them.

It occurred to Ken that most of the Knights were like him- people who had been considered unfit to serve with the Earth and Water nation militaries. But for heaven's sake, at least he was trying to stay disciplined!

To their credit, Ankorr and Xin were hard at work. They were busy counting rations they'd collected from the harbor raids. Ken estimated that the Fire Navy delivered food and supplies every other week to the ports, meant to feed soldiers in four or five different units, each comprising of a hundred or so men. Between the twenty-five knights, they'd have enough provisions to end the war. Xin was making notes as Ankorr loaded it up on a steam-powered cart they'd commandeered. Whenever possible, they'd have to stop for coal if they didn't want to resort to distributing the rations among the knights.

Ken had been so lost in thought, he hadn't realized someone was watching him. One of the lady knights- a Dame dressed in flowing green robes and a bizarre tasseled headdress was watching him. She looked quite alarming in her red and white face paint and Ken nearly mistook her for an attacker.

"Pardon me," he said, taking a step back.

The girl said nothing.

Refocusing, Ken drew in his breath and released a jet of fire at the ground, scorching the sand. He paralleled the move and let the energy flow through his foot as he performed a rounded kick into the sky.

Although he kept excellent form, he couldn't shake the sensation of being watched. He looked up- the girl was still there.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked. She gestured vaguely out to the ocean. "Help that Fire Nation family, I mean."

Ken shrugged. "A good soldier is supposed to help people in need, no matter the consequences. We are knights of the Avatar, after all. The Avatar serves the world, not just the three nations aligned with his vision."

The girl squinted. "Do you think Sir Piao will see it that way?"

Ken didn't answer. "What'd you say your name was?"

The girl remained silent, then turned and walked away.

"He's back!" Ken heard the shouting. The other knights quickly hid their recreational activities from view and snapped to attention. Sure enough, Piao came soaring over the cliffs, his sash flowing in his own airflow.

"Sir Piao," cried one of the knights, and Ken realized it was Dakota, the waterbender who'd challenged him. "I have a grievance I'd like to bring to your attention."

Ken glanced at Ankorr- he was still on the steam engine, securing the last of the provisions, unable to see the situation arising. Ken cleared his throat, "Sir Dakota, stand down," he called. He was an officer after all- time to start acting like it. Piao, Dakota, and several other knights looked his way and he stepped forward. He didn't look intimidating at all. He was certainly younger than Piao, and possibly younger than Dakota. Plus, Ken didn't wear many clothes when he practiced his bending.

"Sir Dakota," said Ken. "Sir Ankorr reminded you yesterday to keep a civil tongue when you address your officers."

Dakota looked mutinous. "Respectfully, officer," he said. "I was speaking to Sir Piao." He turned his attention back to him. "Yesterday, the Fire Knight nearly sold us out to the enemy."

Sir Piao turned his steely eyes towards Ken. "Oh?" he said. "I'm sure there's an explanation. Sir Ken?"

Ken cleared his throat. "There were some Fire Nation civilians in the area looking for news of their son. I wanted to avoid more casualties, so I instructed Sir Xin and Sir Ankorr to conceal the knights while I aided the civilians and sent them on their way."

Sir Piao cocked his head. "And?"

Ken shrugged. "And nothing. They gave no indication that they didn't believe me. They never saw anyone else."

"How can you be sure?" asked Sir Piao. Sir Dakota stood behind him, looking very pleased with himself.

"Because I'm confident in Sir Xin's earthbending abilities to conceal our encampment and there was no suspicious activity from the civilians."

"They could've been spies!" Dakota shouted. "Sir Piao, surely you don't believe this traitor!"

Sir Piao turned to Dakota. "It certainly seems as if there was no harm done and no malicious intention. All of my officers- Sir Ken included- followed their judgment. You'd do well to follow their lead, Sir Dakota. But I appreciate your concerns."

Dakota harrumphed and stalked away. Sir Piao turned to Ken and whispered, "Sir Dakota does have a point. We never engage with Fire Nation civilians. Your actions, however well-meaning, could've jeopardized us all."

Turning away from Ken, Sir Piao shouted, "We have new orders! Avatar Aang says there are still airbenders in hiding throughout the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation is sending bounty hunters to track them down. Our orders- find those bounty hunters and kill them. Prepare to move out."

By now, Sir Xin and Sir Ankorr had joined them. "Monitor their progress. Make sure they don't leave any clues of our camp behind. I'll scout ahead." He took off on his glider and sailed over the cliff face.

Ken collapsed his own tent and secured it tightly on Shan's massive rump. As he was doing so, he caught a flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw Sir Piao flying high in the sky. He was flying west, towards the Fire Nation. What was he doing?

Looking at the encampment, Ken saw knights sluggishly packing their belongings and weighing their steeds down. They would be here another hour at least. He secured Shan to the steam engine and started climbing the rocky embankment, away from prying eyes.

Once he reached the top of the cliff, he looked out to sea, wishing he'd had the presence of mind to grab his father's telescope.

He could just make out Piao flying further and further out to sea. He watched until he disappeared into the distance.

He climbed back down, his mind racing. What was Sir Piao doing flying towards the Fire Nation at a time like this?

Just as Ken predicted, it was over an hour before all twenty-five knights were packed and ready to go. They waited another half hour for Piao to return.

"Earthbenders, waterbenders," he called "destroy the beach as we roll out. Leave no indication that we were here."

The steam engine started to chug forward and the animals started walking. As they climbed the embankment onto solid ground, away from the waves, the earthbenders and waterbenders destroyed the beach behind them.

Sir Piao was walking near the front of the convoy and Ken ushered Shan forward to catch up.

"Commander," he said, deciding honesty was the best policy. "I saw you fly west, towards the Fire Nation. What was happening?"

Sir Piao looked up at Ken, then back forward. "I had to make sure the family you spoke to weren't spies."

"And?" asked Ken.

"I caught up to them," said Piao. "And they'll never speak of the stranger firebender who helped them again."

"You killed them?" Ken demanded.

"I did what I had to," said Piao, "as Avatar Aang has ordered us. Nothing is more important to our operations than secrecy. Next time, kill anyone who sails under your country's flag on sight."

"With respect, sir," said Ken. "Does that include me?"

Sir Piao didn't answer.

For days, they traveled along abandoned roads. The Fire Nation had made landfall in this part of the Earth Kingdom already, but since their supplies were cut off, they'd had to reposition to the north where the colonial settlements could send supplies more quickly. As Piao had predicted, conflict in the south had been more or less cut down to a trickle.

They set up camps in the woods and the wilderness whenever possible. Piao and the other airbenders would fly to nearby Earth Kingdom cities, looking for any rumors of other airbenders.

The trail seemed to be getting warmer all the time, but Piao was convinced that the airbenders were walking into a trap set by the Fire Nation.

On one evening, all four airbenders returned, their faces grim. The other knights demanded to know what had happened.

"We found three airbenders- crucified on planks of rotten wood, left along the road to die," said Sir Piao.

A murmur swept along the knights, cursing the Fire Nation for their barbarism. Ken kept his mouth shut, but he wanted to remind them that these were mercenaries. Fire Nation soldiers didn't just summarily execute people on a whim.

"They'll pay for this insurrection," Piao said. "They're less than a day ahead of us. At first light tomorrow, we'll catch up to them. Then they'll see what the Avatar is capable of!"

300 years earlier

Avatar Yengchen

"And then," the suitor said, "I went windsurfing off of Whale Tail island. It was quite an experience!'

Yengchen nodded. "That certainly sounds like it!"

She'd forgotten this man's name, and found it impolite to ask at this point, but she enjoyed his company. Over the last couple of weeks, more and more suitors had been coming to the Western Air Temple and for once, Sister Ling hadn't disappointed.

The men visiting her were intelligent and well-traveled. They seemed ambitious, resourceful, and most of them weren't half bad looking. Gao and Baojia met with many of them. Some they rejected for Yengchen, insisting she could do so much better. Others they begged her to try again, but for the time being, Yengchen was enjoying herself too much just getting to know these men!

At least, that was the case until two days ago.

Over the last several weeks, more and more Water Tribe men and women were signing on to join the southern settlement. Yengchen had negotiated with the traders along the Earth Kingdom coast and the Fire Navy to allow a regular passage back and forth between the two tribes. Even Sister Ling had seemed impressed with her diplomacy, although that might have been because Yengchen had agreed to bring her knights to the diplomatic missions. If she learned one thing from earthbending, it was always negotiate from a position of power. Now, every week, more and more waterbenders and their families were following the passage to their new home at the bottom of the world.

Yengchen should've known it was too good to last. An envoy of southern settlers came to the Western Air Temple one day. The settlements in the south were disordered and more often than not, settlers would come to villages expecting to find their family members who'd made the passage sooner, only to discover they'd already relocated to another settlement on the other side of the ice caps. Still others insisted that their families couldn't be found at all. The lack of an effective means to communicate with each other and with the Water Tribe up north was putting the new water tribe settlement in a state of disarray.

"Avatar Yengchen," Sister Ling had said. "Surely you'll agree that this is a matter for your knights to see to? They are trained to investigate as well as fight, you know."

Yengchen conceded the point, realizing that Sir Ho had been itching for something to do since she'd called him off at the North Pole. The knights had dispatched towards the southern passages, looking for any clue as to the missing migrants.

Meanwhile, Yengchen had stayed here, entertaining Sisters Ling and Qui and a number of well-mannered, good-looking men. Still, she waited for news from her knights.

It occurred to her suddenly that she was lost in her thoughts the entire past two minutes and hadn't listened to a word this suitor had said. Fortunately he didn't seem to notice. He probably said four words for every word she'd said. He was interesting but he was rude!

"Have you met my friends?" she asked suddenly.

Five minutes later, they were at Gao and Baojia's dormitory enjoying pleasant conversation. Everything was going well.

"These air nomads astound me," said the suitor, who had actually introduced himself as Lee. "They must have quite rigorous standards in your training."

The room was suddenly silent. "I'm sorry?" asked Baojia.

"Well in the Earth Kingdom, of course we have women and men who act like women. But, they're nothing like all of you. Less… shall we say… capable? Unfit for service, less physical strength, you know."

"Act like women?" asked Yengchen, genuinely confused.

"Samaligi," said Lee. "Uh… tongxinglian… doseiai-sha… I'm not sure what you call it…"

"Gay," said Baojia.

Yengchen's stomach dropped. Surely Lee wasn't implying…

"Of course," said Lee. "We have scientists, the top scientists at Ba Sing Se, who tell us that men who… do that… are more effeminate or ladylike. And therefore, less fit for combat."

There was silence in the room, interrupted after several long seconds when Sister Ling stuck her head in the room.

"Avatar Yengchen," she said, "Your knights have returned to the Air Temple."

"Excellent," said Yengchen jumping to her feet. She turned to the men in the room. "Lee, if you're up for it, I'm sure Gao or Baojia would love to challenge you to a bending match to show you how… ladylike they are."

Lee stammered, but still managed to say completely the wrong thing. "Well I- I- I wouldn't want to… to hurt them!"

"Then you just go as hard on them as you think is fair," said Yengchen. "I'll be back in a few."

With that, she and Sister Ling proceeded down the hall. "What was that all about?" asked Sister Ling.

Yengchen shrugged. "Lee thinks Gao and Baojia are as effeminate as me and that he can easily best them in a competition."

"Those two are each twice as effeminate as you, and he still wouldn't be able to beat them OR you," said Sister Ling.

Yengchen appreciated her mentor's confidence and was surprised to learn that Sister Ling was capable of criticizing these men.

In the courtyard, the Knights stood, their armor gleaming in the sunlight. "Sir Ho, report," said Avatar Yengchen.

The Air Knight cleared his throat. "The state of the southern settlements was abysmal when we arrived," he stated. "Their chief complaint was a lack of communication." He gestured to the tall waterbender in the lineup. "Sir Khan?"

Sir Khan stepped forward. "We implemented a system I used as a catamaran captain in the Northern Ocean. The system involves torchlight at night and smoke signals during the day. We taught it to the settlers and they have implemented it to a degree of success."

"Excellent," said Yengchen. "And the missing settlers?"

"Half of them found their families through the new communication system," said Sir Ho as Sir Khan took a step back into the formation. "However, by comparing notes with who has left the north versus who has arrived in the south, we're missing about a hundred and ten settlers. Or eleven of the thirty-two ships."

Yengchen's jaw dropped. "Eleven boats?"

"As Sir Khan and I were investigating the south, Sir Huang and Sir Rozan were investigating the route the settlers took," said Sir Ho.

"The Fire Navy patrols the disputed waters north of the Daichi Sea," said Sir Rozan. "According to the communications outpost files, they noticed thirty-two Water Tribe boats sailing southward, so they know they made it past the equator."

"After that, it's harder to determine their route," said Sir Huang, in his thick accent. "The ocean becomes wider, there are more storms, and alternative routes between the islands. The southern air temple reports seeing none of the thirty-two ships, but island fisherman across the sea report seeing as many as six of the boats, but not one can confirm seeing every single one of the ships who made it."

He shuffled his feet. "Here's where the news gets really bad, young Avatar. My contacts in the Omashu Kingdom report that the ocean can be treacherous and that they regularly lose ships- massive ships- to storms."

"What do you mean lose?" asked Yengchen.

"Imagine a ship with a crew of a hundred or more men," said Sir Huang.

"Ok," said Yengchen.

"Now imagine it's gone and no one knows where and there's no flotsam floating around in the water and there are no survivors or bodies washing up on shore."

The rest of the conversation was a blur for Yengchen. Over a third of the settlers were dead. She barely registered the rest of the conversation or Sister Ling dismissing her knights. She watched from the courtyard as they retreated back to their bunks. On the other side, she saw Baojia and Lee engaged in a bending match drawing the attention of maybe twenty onlookers. She couldn't tell who was winning, but Lee was red in the face and sweating.

"How could I have let this happen?" she asked.

Sister Ling put a supportive hand on the Avatar's shoulder. "You had nothing to do with those storms-" she started to say.

"I told them to leave," said Yengchen. "They're only getting caught in those storms because of me."

Without another word, she jumped over the ledge and dropped to a lower level, rushing back into the temple corridors, her face stained with tears.

*

Ken shuffled uneasily on his feet. Sir Piao had summoned him, Ankorr, and Xin to hear the scouts' report. The scouts were the three airbenders, Sangye, Bhakto, and Padma Drapka.

They were reporting on the mercenaries who'd crucified the airbenders. They'd tracked them to a small Earth Kingdom city, governed over by a magistrate. He'd yielded the city to Fire Nation occupation so the mercenaries had a town full of eyes and ears.

"There's three mercenaries, all firebenders," said Bhakto. "They set up a camp north of the town. East from the camp, it slopes down to the river, and all other sides of the camp are completely open. No chance of an ambush."

"However," interrupted Sangye, "there's a grove of mountain peonies on a hill that blocks the view from the city. We could strike from there- they'd never see us coming."

They left the animals tied up in the woods, miles from the city. Under the cover of darkness, the airbenders flew them to the grove one at a time. Once they'd assembled, the warriors all drew their weapons. Ken noticed the Earth Kingdom knight with the tassels and war paint. She fought with two collapsible fans. She spun them in her fingers absentmindedly. Ken wondered how she dealt with the anxiety before a battle.

Sir Ankorr peered through his telescope. "They don't have a watchman," he said. "Idiots."

"They're sure they're safe," said Sir Piao. "Let's move."

They moved quickly, ducking under tree limbs and narrowly avoiding tripping over roots. Then they were out in the open and the camp was just ahead of them. Ken looked back- the city was miles away. There was no one to catch them.

"Earthbenders!" said Sir Piao. "Now!"

The dirt beneath the campsite's feet dissolved into sand. The firebenders must have woken up to the feeling of suddenly falling through the sand. In another instant, it solidified, their arms and legs stuck in the earth. One firebender took a deep breath and flames shot out from his mouth.

"Wait!" shouted Ken, leaping forward. He caught the fire with his hand and redirected it at the ground. The mercenary stared at Ken in shocked silence until Xin kicked him hard in the face.

"We surrender!" one of the mercenaries said quickly.

Sir Piao acted like he didn't hear them. "Gentlemen," he said, "you stand accused of mass murder. You were paid by Fire Lord Sozin to hunt down airbender refugees and kill them. Consider this your trial."

Ken looked back at Sir Piao. He had a sick grin painted on his face. Several of the other knights started chuckling.

"Evidence against the accused!" piped up a waterbender, Nukpana. He reached into their bags and heaved out a sizeable chest. He bent a drizzle of water into the lock, froze it, and shattered it. He upended the chest and gold coins spilled out. "Your blood-money, sirs."

The mercenaries watched the gold disappear into the darkness, with something like fear in their eyes. One of the Earth Kingdom warriors picked up a handful of the coins to flick them forcefully at the mercenaries faces.

Everything about this made Ken uncomfortable. He walked up to Sir Piao.

"This is all unnecessary," he whispered. "Let's tie them up and take them back to our camp."

Sir Piao looked at him. "These men are to be executed," he whispered.

"They surrendered," Ken argued. "They didn't even fight." He hesitated a second, wondering if he ought to say what he was thinking. He decided to risk it. "The Avatar would be merciful."

"They murdered my people!" Piao said, no longer whispering. "Enough. Dame Kundra, the fire knight wants us to show mercy." He sneered. "Make it quick."

Kundra unsheathed her sword and slashed at the first mercenaries neck before Ken could react.

"Wait!" Ken shouted again, but Kundra ignored him. The next mercenary was half sobbing half yelling, begging for his life. Kundra swung the sword and caved his head in.

Ken started to take a step forward but Piao grabbed his arm. "Don't do this!" Ken begged. He locked eyes with the last mercenary. He saw something in those eyes. They were the eyes of a man who had committed atrocities for gold and who had come to terms with it. He wasn't begging for his life, but in his final moments he saw and appreciated that Ken was advocating for that life. Ken was stunned into silence before Kundra delivered the final swing.

They all said very little on the long trek back to the campsite. Ken was reflecting on his hesitation with the mercenary. What was so different about killing them over any of the Fire Nation soldiers they'd killed.

He'd killed several soldiers in battle now, and surely the life of a mercenary wasn't greater than a soldier. A mercenary killed for money. A soldier fought for his values, his country, and his family. If anything, the mercenary's life was worth less.

Ken shook his head when he thought that. He grabbed his bracelet from Avatar Roku. Something Roku had once said, "All life has value, but that value is not determined by humans nor spirits. It is not the sum of the person's self-worth, experiences, or his effect on others. It is something else entirely, something that our consciousness can't comprehend."

It didn't bring Ken much comfort in the moment.

When they'd returned to base, Ken started walking automatically toward his pitched tent where Shan was waiting for him. Shan's ears perked up as he approached and started to bray in warning.

Ken was seized from behind- two earthbenders held him forward at an angle, lifting him under his arms and squeezing, completely limiting any motion.

"Sir Ken, you thwarted my authority as commander of the Knighthood in front of the enemy," came Sir Piao's voice.

Ken didn't speak as the two burly men forced him toward one of the earth tents. They threw him against it and Ken felt his entire front cement to the earth. Shan was braying loudly. Out of the corner of his eye, Ken saw the girl with the fans restraining the crazed dragonmoose. He couldn't help noticing she was patting the creature just the way he liked.

"The penalty for insubordination is six lashes." Ken felt his armor being pried open and his tunic ripped.

Ken could see it in his mind's eye- a waterbender assuming the stance, stepping forward, and…

Ker-CHAP!

The sound of the whip so close to his ear was only softened by the agonizing sting of the water whip on his bare back. Cold water and hot blood dripped down, soaking his pants.

Ken thought- or maybe hoped- the second lash would be less painful, but whoever was waterbending behind him put in more effort. Ker-CHAP! His back was already screaming. Ken let out a yell.

"Roku!"

The lashes continued, and Ken had to squeeze his eyes shut to conceal his shame. He gritted his teeth and the pain seemed to fade somewhat.

After the sixth lash, the earth released him and he slumped to the ground. He let out a strangled sob and gasped for breath.

Then there was another sensation- something wet and cool on his back and Ken felt the bleeding stop. The waterbender, Sir Ansed, was healing the lashes now.

"Now that's handled," said Piao, "let's move past this. Officers, let's convene in private to plot our next course."

The knights made disappointed sighs. Clearly they were hoping for more public shaming of the only firebender around. All except for the girl with the fans.

She released Shan, and the moose-dragon bounded up to Ken and licked the water off him with a forked tongue.

"My name is Rin," said the warrior, and she walked away.

Ken watched her leave, feeling somewhat dazed. The other knights may not appreciate having a firebender around, but this girl Rin seemed to respect him at least a little.

Ken turned to wear Sirs Piao, Xin, and Ankorr were conducting their officers meeting around the fire outside Piao's tent. Did they really expect him to join the meeting after what just happened? Were they going to act like he hadn't just been humiliated in front of their entire little army?

Ken approached the fire and sat. The other knights didn't acknowledge his presence, but also didn't ask him to leave. Sir Ankorr was carrying on about things they'd ransacked from the mercenaries.

Piao was smiling and nodding along to everything Ankorr listed.

Ken felt confounded. Why was Piao treating him like this? It occurred to Ken that Piao was much more interested in the appearance of the knighthood than he was in accomplishing the Avatar's mission. And how could Ken be sure that he was even following the Avatar, when supposedly he was off seeking enlightenment, away from the fighting. Something wasn't adding up.

Ken realized he wasn't listening to what Sir Ankorr was saying. Apparently, the mercenaries had maps of the Si Long Desert. And the location of a spirit library.

"If the mercenaries know of this spirit library, it's likely that the Fire Nation's naval intelligence knows too," Sir Piao was saying. "That could be why they're campaigning in the south. This spirit library could make the Avatar vulnerable."

"What should we do?" asked Sir Xin.

"We need to get there first," said Sir Piao. "We leave at dawn."

He stood up and for the first time, addressed Ken. "I'm sorry I had to do that. You have to understand, the authority of our knighthood cannot be called into question. The air monks have a saying- discipline only with love."

He left. Ken wasn't sure what was so loving about being whipped by waterbending, but it became clear that Piao's image of the knighthood wasn't the reality. Maybe the spirit library had information about the knights that Ken could use.