I am a genius, all of the issues I have with Korra can be solved with the application of a few things, all based on and around Hundun from the games as well as something Sokka says in the first episode as well as the Painted Lady and all spirits really... Hei Bei was a big help too.
Also by Spirit bending and how similar it is to magic in some series... it uses lifeforce and so it inspired something interesting.
One year before Korra enters Republic city
Focusing hard, Mizuki breathed out, releasing as much as his emotions and pain as he could. He had been practicing this technique for months, meditation for years. It calmed him, getting him through the hell that was life as a nonbender orphan. After all, he was not able to become a full healer despite his talent for it since he was no waterbender, he was not able to get a cheap job in construction like an earth/metal bender, or working as a lightning bender in a factory. He had nothing, was nothing in the eyes of the world.
Today had been a hard day, turned away once again by the healer's academy despite being well trained and experienced as an aide. He had started at eleven, he had three years of training damn it! Just because he could not use fancy magical water...
"Just breathe, Mizuki, breathe..." He shook, trying hard to stay calm, but his rage was so great he could barely think and breathe and relax... "If I only had something, anything to give me an edge... I am tired of not mattering...I am tired of it all." It was here that something happened, his body felt lighter, warmer and colder all at once... a jolt shot through him and he opened his eyes... only to realize he was no longer in his dingy apartment above the library he worked in. He was in a building, on a bridge made of stone, with hundreds of bookshelves around him. "How? Where am I, how did I get here?"
"That is what I would like to know?" A deep voice came from behind him, Mizuki turned seeing a giant bird looking at him. An owlish being... one he recognized.
"Wait, your, Wan Shi Tong!" He stood and bowed. "I am so sorry, I know you hate humans, but I did not intend to come here... I just... did. I astral projected. I knew that... well, it was a risk, I have been studying old texts from the Grand Library. I learned about all sorts of things, reading auras, sensing chi... I have been meditating for years, but never managed to come to the spirit world though... I apologize for the interruption and intrusion."
The Spirit nodded. "I can sense your honesty, child... how old are you?"
"Fourteen... um... I... can I stay?" he sighed, seeing anger in the Spirit's face. "I am not here for war, I am here for knowledge. I love to learn and I know oyu have so much knowledge, think of just what we lost... if I could, I would come here nightly, in my dreams, if I can figure out my astral projection... please. I would happily become a knowledge seeker, giving you what I can find in the mortal world."
The spirit did not smile, but he sensed it's aura shift. "I sense earnest energy in you, you are rather serious... very well, give me a fact now to prove your worthiness of my knowledge."
The boy beamed. "How much do you know about chi blocking? I learned it to protect myself from abusive benders."
"I know all there is to know about Chi blocking." The spirit huffed.
"Did you know that you can soothe pain with it?" The spirit twisted it's head. "Really, I only just started to figure it out. I have been training in private to become a healer for years. I learned that chi blocking, or rather the application of pressure points, can unblock damaged chi, help with bloodflow and soothe muscles. I would happily write down my findings, even as I learn more. I would show it to you as proof."
The Spirit nodded. "I believe you... you are a curious creature... very well, I will let you return as you wish to my library. In return, for each month I expect new facts for me."
The boy beamed, nodding low. "I have only one question left... is magic real? Beyond bending, I mean. I ... there are references to it all over, the word itself should not exist in a world where bending in exists. I ask not for power over others, but to equalize and protect and heal. Yes, self-defense may be needed, but not conquest or abuse...please."
"What inspired that question, to look for it?"
"Honestly, spirits and those souls that become them... the soul is what links all things. It is energy, pure energy, and all beings have it. It is what allows some souls to heal with water bending, others to see spirits and auras... I just assumed they were so well linked, especially in enlightened beings, that it just had to be connected... Magic is just a fancy term for it, a unifier, but it felt... like it was connected."
Wan Shi Tong sighed. " Yes, it is." Mizuki gaped, happy to be right. "It was once a great power, many used it, and many abused it. The power stopped being valued when spirits first broke the barrier between our realms. To use magic it to tap into the essence of the soul as well as your lifeforce to create a greater whole. Bending is more popular is it does not use lifeforce but Chi. It is less dynamic but safer..." The bird lowered it's head. "I rarely trust others, but I am willing to try with you. I can sense your honesty... and I am aware there are no wars in your world. There are sections on magic, learn it, learn from it, but remember, mortals can only ever have so much power and magic is a mutative power. It will change you, always and forever. The power to become a spirit is a mere taste of the power within. To use magic you must become enlightened, and connect with your soul and the energy of the world around you, something you have already begun by learning to astral project, even if by mistake... now, go, my Knowledge seekers will lead you."
To his shock, a small fox rushed to him, and he followed it, away and towards his a future he would mold on his own, not born of destiny, inheritance or the powers of bending... but effort, training, and learning...
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a joy to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.