Edited a few things in Chapter 1. Grammatical errors and also added a few lines of text that add a little more context to the situation. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Chapter 2
Reacting quickly I tried to jump and make a fire stream come out of my leg to propel me backwards but it only helped me to make a decent jump instead of the distance I was hoping for. Landing I quickly saw a boulder coming my way and ducked, the boulder passed right above me but when I tried to move my feet were now locked into place by earthbending.
I felt the world stop, I was going to die. Hen was already close to me, spear in hand ready to thrust it through me, someone in the back had a bow ready and pointed at me not to mention the other 5 rushing with other weapons. I didn't want to kill them. Thinking of the perk that I have, what would that imply if I killed them.
Chosen One: Sensing your arrival in this world, Vaatu has latched onto your soul. Being locked away his influence has no hold. From now on your decision will influence who you are more than before.
I felt my heart going faster and stronger. If I didn't kill them they would kill me. I don't know them, it's them or me. I swung my arms forward and then everything started moving again, only this time Hen was covered in flames.
His screams made everyone stop their attack but I didn't. I quickly freed my feet now that the earthbender lost concentration and I quickly bended the fire out of Han. "I don't want to fight! But if you make me prepare to also die!" I lit my hands with fire to make me look more dangerous and that helped apparently.
Han stopped thrashing around but was still grunting, he had some burns around his arms and a bit of his hair was gone but I bended the fire quickly so he wouldn't die. He tried to stand up but couldn't and they ran to help him "I don't want to fight, but I ain't scared of you, if you are willing to die fighting someone that hasn't done anything to you, then come!" The only thing I could hear after that were the grunts of pain of Han and the light breeze of the ocean.
There was a moment of silence, everyone was staring at me but the one I was looking directly at was Han. "It's not worth it to fight. There will be only death if we do, either mine or yours and that won't accomplish anything." He looked furious but then huffed and stood up with the help of his group. "Let's go… it's not worth it." They then began to slowly back away and walk along the coast.
I stood there looking in the direction they went and then collapsed on the sand bellow me and started breathing heavily "Fuck, that was close. Status"
Abilities:
Lying (6)
Acting (5)
Intimidation (10)
Firebending (11)
I think the intimidation ability saved me there, although I still don't know if it's a skill I have or it's boosted by the Status window.
I then layed there staring at the sky and tried to calm myself. After a while I began thinking. "There are some strong benders out there. One of them even bent the sand where I stood so I don't know how much has changed from the cartoon to… this. What I know is that it is December and from what I know Aang is going to wake up soon. I need to get to Kyoshi Island before a month passes and even before that. I need to train. Right now I was lucky. Very lucky. If I injured someone else than Han, he might have continued with his attack and I think it helped that I bent the fire out. It's the first of December and I know that the first season of Avatar happens in winter because of the winter solstice… Do I even care about him? Do I even want to travel with the avatar?." That got me thinking a lot. There were two reasons that I wanted to go to the Eastern Air Temple. One was to find and talk to Guru Pathik. He might help me with the whole Vaatu thing on my back. And the other was to explore it and maybe get some good information that could help the Gaang. But Why?.
I stood up and then made my way to my camp and prepared everything to continue my journey. "I don't know if I even want to travel with him. But what I do want is to help him. I prefer if Ozai doesn't win this war, but traveling with them will make things really hard. If I travel with them then it will be a matter of time before they discover that I am not from this world. I mean I would be traveling with the Avatar and I am sure that some of his past lives will feel the presence of Vaatu in me. God this is complicated." Finishing everything I adjust my bags and then head into the direction Hans' group came in.
While walking I decided to practice my firebending by doing breathing exercises. And that's how the next couple of days passed. I ate some of the animals that fell on my traps and kept on practicing my firebending.
It wasn't long before I came across a small abandoned village at the foot of a range of mountains that appeared to be lifted from the ground up by plucking the earth and then lifting. These mountains were all over the place and did sell the "Other world" view. Although Fehi and Hans' group didn't want to go inside the Air Temple, I did.
After exploring the abandoned village I found what Hans' group left behind and decided to not touch anything. Walking to the other side of the village that was closer to one of the mountains I saw a big staircase leading up to it. "*Sigh* Well, this is going to suck".
I got to the village in the early afternoon and now I could see the sun almost setting. When I got to the top "I WANT TO DIE" I screamed collapsing on the last step. "And doing so how would it help you?" I heard a voice speaking in front of me. I couldn't see him because I was facing down but I knew who he was. "In nothing but at least I would be relaxing… I think" at that he started laughing a little.
I stood up slowly and I saw Pathik standing there "I guess you knew I was coming?" I said while smiling "If you mean how I hear you cursing all the way to the top then yeah I knew you were coming" He smiled and that made me laugh. "Come, I have prepared tea" I nodded and followed him inside the temple.
While the temple looked abandoned I didn't see any sign of fighting. "Did you clean up the place?" He nodded "Out of respect" We then came to a living room of sorts where two cups of tea were already prepared "So you knew I was coming" He took a seat and smiled nodding. "The moment you set foot in here I knew of you" that phrase had a lot of meanings to me. "From my knowledge you are something… unique." He said while sipping his tea and I did the same.
"Unique huh?... you could say that. I need information and guidance. Everything is moving so fast and at the same time so slow." He nods "You need time, something everyone needs" He says while standing up "Will you accompany me in meditation?" I smile and nod.
After walking silently we end up at the top of one of the temples overlooking the sunset. The cold breeze made me relax a little. It isnt cold, but it feels enjoyable, like a cold embrace on a hot night. "This is where I usually meditate, here I usually find answers to the questions that plagues my mind. Maybe you will too" And then he goes silent meditating on the floor. I do the same and really try to concentrate but at first I got a little bit desperate.
I tried staying still but I was getting anxious, I couldn't relax like he was and that irritated me. I always thought of myself as someone calm but now I cant even stay still for a few moments "Breath. Do your breathing exercises." He said without looking at me and then it clicked. In the show firebenders were never shown meditating by conventional means, they were always doing something, not making your mind clear but maintaining it occupied. Is this something about being a firebender?.
Relaxing once more I began doing my breathing exercises and in time I was able to enter a trance of just breathing. At first it was nothing, just me breathing in and then breathing out. That was until I opened my eyes and saw that I was now in a black void. I was still doing the breathing exercise and I saw fire come out of my mouth when I exhaled. I wasn't controlling my body but for some reason I could see. Or not see.
Inhale. Dark. Exhale. Void. Inhale. Nothing. Exhale and in that moment where fire came out of my mouth I saw something in the void. Inhale, it disappeared. Exhale and it appeared again, only this time it wasn't just a smudge but now, it was like a picture but blurry. Inhale "What is it that you seek?" Exhale. And the picture once more became clearer, not to the point that you could see what it was but it became clearer and clearer. The voice was dark and powerful, but it didn't hold any malice in its voice. Inhale. "Lost in a new world without purpose. What is it that you seek?" Exhale and the picture became clearer and clearer, the void began to fill with colors slowly but surely. Inhale "Whatever you wish to accomplish, you will. And we will be with you every step of the way." The voice didn't change but someone else spoke, female and full of grace. Exhale. And then the picture was revealed to me. It wasn't just a picture but multiple things. It started to flash before my eyes, moving faster than I could imagine, places, people actions, emotions, it was a lot and then everything went dark. "Always/Always"
Opening my eyes I saw that I was now inside a room. I was looking at the ceiling and once I sat up I saw the door opening and Pathik came in. "Good, you are awake. Do you remember what happened?" He asked but… I honestly couldn't remember any of the images I saw "No… I don't remember what I saw but I remember what I heard. I don't know what happened but I was shown a lot of stuff in the span of seconds, but I don't remember any of it" I said and trying to remember the things I saw a headache strikes me really hard. "Easy there. It's best to not dwell on the things you saw. It appears you have a talent for visions, but your mind isn't strong enough. Maybe being connected to that spirit of yours gives you that opportunity." I open my eyes and look at him "You knew?".
He begins chuckling "Of course I knew. You are a beacon kid. I have never met someone like you. Well at least not someone who wasn't the avatar that is." He smiles "But I am n…" "Not, I know. You weren't the only one to have a vision. I have been having visions for a long time. But I saw him and it wasn't you. Although I still cannot see why he is appearing in my visions." That scared me and relieved me a lot. It means that Aang hasnt awoken yet and that I still have time to make my decision. "Dinner is ready, I hope you like vegetarian food" And then he walks out of the room.
I plopped down and began thinking. Status.
Perks:
Chosen One: Sensing your arrival in this world, Vaatu has latched onto your soul. Being locked away his influence has no hold. From now on your decision will influence who you are more than before.
You are susceptible to visions of the future
You are a beacon for spirits
Bonuses of this perk have yet to be discovered.
"*Sigh* Nothing more." Standing up I go and have dinner and sleep for the night.
The day after I was exploring the temple with the permission of Pathik although he told me that I didn't need permission. Walking along the temple I saw that a lot of it was heavily damaged. A lot of the walls had holes or had collapsed long ago. If I looked closely I could still see some of the blood on the floor and walls but this was just the first mountain. I didn't know how bad it could be further down, but I still went. Exploring the place was something that I wanted to do as a fan of the cartoon and to further implant on my head that this is now real.
The temples on the other mountains were worse kept than the first mountain. Fortunately I saw some books and scrolls that were not burned in what I assumed was the library. Some of them were just stories but a few of them described some of their customs. Although something that catched my eye was a scroll of airbending almost intact. I knew that it honestly wouldn't help me but I still grabbed it. After exploring a bit more I left the library. Although some part of me thought this was wrong, some other part told me that this could be useful in the future.
Exploring a bit more I found the giant statue of the Avatar Yangchen meditating. Walking around it I saw a hole on the floor which kind of surprised me. I thought there wasn't a lower level. Crouching I picked through the hole and saw the chamber with all of the avatars. I thought that there was only one per temple but it appears I was wrong. Looking at the hole it was big enough to fit me. The problem was the fall. It was a good 50 feet fall. I stood up and saw one of the pillars on the side and began testing it with a rope that I bought in the village. It was enough to get me down and I did.
There wasn't much light on the chamber but I was a fire bender and once I got down I began exploring. There wasn't much, just the statues of all the previous avatars and it was something to see them in real life. Walking through the statues I stop where the statue of the first Avatar stood. "Wan… to think that it began with you" I touched the name and in that moment the eyes of Wan lighted up. "What the fuck" and then every Avatar lighted up and it blinded me for a second and then it went dark. When I opened my eyes I saw Aang breaking free of the Iceberg but in that moment I saw him looking at me and then I was back to the chamber with the statues. "He has woken up… I need to move quickly."
Climbing by the rope I come to the outside of the chamber and gather my things quickly. Running to the first temple I saw Pathik where we meditated and made my way towards him. When I got close he spoke before me "You felt him… didn't you?" I stopped and chuckled a bit. "I saw him and he looked at me. '' At that he turned to me "Interesting… very interesting." He then stood up. "You are leaving right?" I nodded and he smiled. "May the spirits guide your path Atlas. I will stay here if you ever need me." I smiled and nodded.
Making my way down the mountain I began thinking about my next set of actions. Should I head to Kyoshi Island or go to Gaoling? According to the map, Gaoling is closer to me and if I wanted to intercept the Gaang I think I wouldn't have the time to catch them in Kiyoshi Island. Or should I even bother going with them?. I currently don't have a boat and I don't actually know how to maneuver one over long distances.
"Anyways, I need to get to the next town and gather supplies. Hopefully I can get transport to one of these places. But first I need to get out of this mountain range. Then go west and finally swim… again to shore and shortly after that there would be the town of Ningwei in Douhao Island. This will be really tiring." I said while beginning my journey west.
Yeah another chapter. This story is my way of practicing writing in english so sorry if you see any errors. Also the last question in the chapter is also for you guys. Where would you like Atlas to go or do specificly.