Chapter 3

The journey through the Mountains of Fawa directly into the dense jungle of the entirety of Qinwa Island was rough. The first challenge was the Mountains of Fawa which were the same type of mountains where the Air Temple was built. Traversing through them should have been easy if not for the wildlife around these parts. Let me tell you, being woken up by the trembling of the earth just to find a giant worm was the cause of it and it saw me as its next food was not a good night sleep. Other than giant worms and giant eagles flying in circles above me I finally entered the dense jungle of Qinwa which as I learned wasn't that much better. In the end I traveled by foot for five days straight. Once I got to the coast of the island I made a little celebration because I could see the other Island in front of me so my sense of navigation through land did not fail me.

All in all, this trip was tyring but at the same time I couldnt argue with the results. Status

Abilities:

Lying (6)

Acting (5)

Intimidation (15)

Firebending (25)

Survival (25)

Free running (7)

Cooking (20)

Something that surprised me was that my intimidation also leveled up. It appears that intimidating those pesky Catgators in the jungle helped a little by that, although for some reason I have been having a problem with my Firebending and Survival abilities. I got to level 25 in firebending pretty quickly but I can't get past it, that also happened with survival. My theory is that I need proper training to advance but until I somehow get that I won't know.

Readying my stuff I covered almost all of my things in a makeshift bag and put everything into a makeshift "raft" I made for my stuff. There were some things in there I didn't want to get wet. "Well… here goes nothing."

Let me tell you, whoever put me in this world you will always have my thanks for giving me this body because doing this kind of thing after walking for some hours is something else. My stamina is really high and resistant as well. Although this is not that long of a swim, it still was a pain, something back in my world I would have never been able to do.

After making it to the beach I heated my body and dried everything faster than before. Something I picked up along the way along a more concentrated and powerful firebending. Turns out those breathing exercises really help.

Before continuing I layed the map on the sand and began reading it looking for the best possible route. "Hm, right now I am in the Ningwei region and the town should be about a day's worth of travel away. According to the map it is a coastal town so I hope I can get some sort of help in traveling into the main continent of the Earth Kingdom because I certainly don't want to swim for three days straight or make my way back to Qingao and go around the eastern and south sea. Well, let's hope there are some boats in that town." I rolled the map and began walking again.

After some more traveling it was getting dark but I at least got to the town before sunset. Once there I was relieved to see it was a big town that had a lot of ships. I made my way towards the shipyard and began asking around for transportation in exchange of work. Some turned me down and some didnt even went to where I wanted to go, but one of then did. "Hm, Gaoling you say?, well we arent exactly going there but we are going to Chin Village, if you go to Gaoling from there on foot it should be around five days give or take." The old man that was telling me this was the one that atleast didnt rejected me first glance.

Opening the map quickly made him quirk an eyebrow up while I looked at the map. "Hm, Chin Village its actually close to one of the other places I wanted to go, Kiyoshi Island. If you would have me I would really appreciate it." He smiles at the points to the map "Actually if you give me the map you can come without working" that made me stop for a second "What is so special about the map?" He looked surprised "Kid, the only people that have those kinds of maps are military people. Do you know what would happen if for example, the fire nation attacked this town and we had dozens of these types of maps around? Towns would be conquered and enslaved because of it. The fire nation already took some towns close to them because they knew about them, we are protected by distance and because these types of maps are hidden. Having one of them puts a target on your back" That made me stop for a second.

That explained why Sokka had trouble finding maps and why Aang map looked like a child version of the four continents without any detail. "If it puts a target on your back then why do you want it?" He chuckles "While yes it puts a target on my back. Never on my life have I ever seen a fire nation soldier come to this town. And to be honest, having one of those would give me an edge on my competitors" at that he points to the other ships "But anyways, that is my offer" At that I looked around and then asked him a question "What about if I make you a copy, do you know anyone here that sells paper?" He smiles and starts to guide me through town.

For a few hours we began talking and then he invited the whole crew of the ship to drink, apparently me included although I couldn't get much for 5 coins. At the end of the night he offered me a place to sleep on the boat because of my lack of money and told me that in the morning we would set sail.

And the next morning we did. They told me the trip would last four days given the currents that were in our favor which apparently they did. The whole time I was copying the map and also helping with navigation and general maintenance of the ship.

The trip was boring and for obvious reasons I couldn't exactly practice my firebending but at least I got some lessons in self-defense by some of the crew. I was the youngest on the boat and they took a liking to me so they began teaching me all sorts of things.

By the fourth day the captain Shini, the old man that helped me with this, called for me and I walked to him at the wheel of the ship "What's up captain?" While he was chill and easy going on land, once we began our journey on sea he became strict and you couldn't refer to him by any other thing but Captain. "We are getting close to our destination. We will pass by Kyoshi Island but we won't stop, we will slow down and it's your call if you want to jump out or stay '' He then pointed to an island that wasn't that far away from us. I laughed a little, "What is life without risks?" He smiled and then nodded "Thanks for the map son, I appreciate it" I nodded and began getting my things ready.

When we got close I could see the beach of the Island and then prepared for the jump. Everyone on the ship was shouting encouraging things and with that I ran on the ship and jumped as far away as I could wish to be honest didn't made a huge difference, I still needed to swim although thanks to the captain not much.

Coming up from the water I turned around and bid farewell to the crew and the captain. Thankfully I didn't need to swim much, god how I hated swimming now, till I got to the Island.

Walking by the beach I then begin walking forwards until I see something in the corner of my eyes. I stopped completely and then lifted my arms. I knew from watching the show how the Kyoshi warriors protected the Island. The moment I lifted my arms immediately I was surrounded by them, one of them walked forwards "Who are you and what do you want here" Facing the one speaking I could see it was I couldn't tell if she was Suki or not.

"I am looking for answers and maybe some guidance" At that she looked at me intensely "And what does it have to do with the Island" I sighed and decided to tell them a half-truth for now. I knew I needed to be truthful but at least, for now, I need to lie a little to them. "I have traveled here from the Eastern Air Temple. I had a vision of the avatar and his return, I need to see him, I also saw the Island and that is why I am here" Suki immediately stopped and looked around to everyone and nodded, that made everyone lower their war fans and that made me relax a little.

"The Avatar isn't here; he was but he has been gone for a few days now." That made me sigh. I knew I was going to be late. "Well, I know where he is going next but I don't know if I can get there. '' That made Suki surprised and also smiled a little "Where are they headed to?". I smiled and said the obvious answer "He is going to the north pole; I also saw that in one of my visions. I guess my next plan will take priority." "Oh? and what is that other plan you are speaking of?" I looked at her and then took a knee.

"Please, I need help. I am lucky. On my journey here I could have died dozens of times, I need training. I am not asking to become a Kyoshi Warrior, but I ask of you to train me in any way you can" I never left her eyes while she looked at me. From the corners of my eyes I could see some of them take on surprised expressions but not the leader, more and more I think this is Suki.

Moments passed before I got an answer. "You ask us, The Kyoshi Warriors, to help you train a complete stranger in search of the Avatar, just like that?" She then crosses her arms and with her head nods me to stand up. When I do that I get a strange feeling in front of me and then look to see and feel the punch of the leader impact my face and send me tumbling backwards. "Show me you are worthy of training" She then takes her fighting stance and I see every other Kyoshi Warrior make a circle type ring.

Taking a deep breath, I get in the most basic stance I know of and that is boxing. She got close and threw a punch to my stomach and again, I felt a strange feeling, almost as if warning me of the coming punch which weirded me out. Although I could see it and also feel this strange thing I was just barely able to avoid it and then got surprised by a punch on the head. Luckily I had my guard up so it wasn't that bad. "¡Come on!" She screams and then proceeds to throw punches over and over again.

I don't know how much time has passed. How many times I have been knocked down. How many punches to the face I have gotten, how many kicks I have received or how much sand I have gotten in my mouth for getting knocked down. But I always got up, something that I noticed since appearing on this world, was my extreme stamina.

Getting knocked down again she speaks again "Stop… stay down you haven't been able to land a hit on me." She says and I could feel her eyes on my back as I tried to get back up. She was strong. Not crazy strong and I did land blows on her but she blocked them. Status

Abilities:

Basic Fighting: (15)

Even after all of this beating I did level up my ability but it wasn't enough. Getting back up again she raises her voice "¡I said stay down!" But I didn't listen. "I can't… I just can't. I need to become stronger." Standing up fully I turned to look at her, assumed my stance and smiled at her making the motion to come with my hand. That got her smiling and then proceeded to come closer.

I was tired but all this time the feeling of danger got stronger and stronger. It wasn't that big but I felt that this could help me a lot in the future. She charged and I dodge a punch, a kick, took a hit on my stomach but then using the momentum I struck on her face with a hook that connected making her stumble backwards a bit and I stood my ground. She quickly put her fingers on her lips and looked at the small trail of blood on them and then smiled.

She relaxed a bit and made a motion with her hands and I saw every other Kyoshi Warrior relax and break the circle. She then looked over the ocean and I followed her eyes. I could see that the day had progressed a lot more than I thought. Looking carefully at her I could see the signs that she was tired, maybe even more than me. "You are something else. You took a beating for hours and you still look like you could go for more." She then chuckles and walks to me. "Suki, leader of the Kyoshi Warriors' ' and then extends her hand to me. "Atlas… traveler?" and she smiles and nods. "We don't usually train outsiders but… we made an exception a few days ago, I don't see why we wouldn't teach you some things while you stay on the Island" and that made me smile until I suddenly collapsed on one knee making her worried for a second "Hey hey, whoa, take it easy, like I said you took a heavy beating for hours without being used to it." I chuckle and turn to her "Are you? Being used to it, I mean" She laughs and puts my arm over her shoulder "Come on, I think we have a spare bedroom somewhere."

And like that I found myself someone who could teach me how to defend myself.

Days passed and I had now a routine of sorts. I woke up, ate, did some light training with the Kyoshi Warriors, research and then more training. My whole time here I couldn't train my firebending because of obvious reasons, but I wanted to become trusted enough to practice it without being accused of being a fire nation.

Something interesting is the size of the Island itself. In the show they just showed the small village on the island, but here? After exploring I saw at least two other small villages that guarded the entrances to the Island, each one with their band of Kyoshi Warriors. That made me think. If this small Island changed from being just one small village to three medium ones, then what other changes await for me. I am not looking forward to traveling to the desert or swamp.

One day after eating one of the Kyoshi warriors that was patrolling the beach where the Gaang and I came from, came running to us and stopped right in front of Suki "There is a Fire Nation ship coming towards the island. What should we do?" The moment she finished we all stopped whatever we were doing and stared at Suki "¡Everyone! You know what to do, we have been training for this, call the remaining Warriors on the other Islands, sound the horn and they will come. We need to hold for reinforcements." Everyone else nodded and began running to their positions while Suki looked determined and then looked at me "I know we have known each other for very little, but please, would you help me and this village in this attack?"

There was a moment of silence between us, but then I nodded. "As if I would just stand there and do nothing." She smiled and then began making her way to the middle of the village. I stood there looking at her while thinking the opposite of what I just said. I almost died a few days ago fighting a small group of earthbenders, now? Am I really willing to help in this fight against a fleet of fire benders? Something in me felt conflicted. I wanted to help, I felt as if it was my duty, but the other part of me screamed at me to flee. I've learned something on this Island already, I have no need to stay here any longer…

"Fuck it" I then ran towards Suki and then heard the loud war horn alerting the other villages.

Getting closer and closer to the beach I saw the typical fire nation ship coming towards the beach. All of the warriors, including me were hidden, all except Suki, she was on the beach waiting for what would happen. The hope was that they just wanted to talk and then they would go away but with the recent attack on the village they weren't sure. One good thing is that the Kyoshi warriors had one earthbender in this village. So at least there was something.

The ship came closer and closer until it stopped and a few boats came down with a lot of soldiers. When they got closer I saw one of them without a helmet, and I could recognize him as Zhao. What the fuck was he doing in here? The cartoon never showed him coming here.

They disembarked and the Zhao walked up to Suki, we were all in earshot so we could hear what was happening. "What are you doing here?" Asked Suki first upon Zhao stopping right in front of her with the rest of the soldiers forming a line awaiting orders. "Good afternoon. I was informed that someone special came to this Island" I saw the small tremble on Suki's hand, and it appears that I wasn't the only one. Zhao smiled and I felt the Kyoshi warrior next to me reach for her fan. "I don't know what you are talking about '' said Suki.

The smile on Zhao's face banished and then made a movement with his hand "Destroy the village and find any sign of the Avatar." At this Suki made to strike Zhao and every Kyoshi Warrior leapt into battle.

AN: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I really struggled with it, I rewrote it a couple of times because I didnt knew what to do exactly with Atlas. He could have gone to Chin Village or maybe go straight to Gaoling, but in the end I decided to go to Kyoshi Island for some future reasons as well.

Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I have finals this week and it didnt help that I was involved in a car crash, my back got hurt and I cant really do much this days. The next chapter will take almost the same amout of time, maybe more, I cant really concentrate all that much because of the constant pain, but anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Also For anyone interested in what map I am using for this story. Look up Avatar Map World Anvil and you should find it. I am using this map because of the details on the regions across the world. I know that most of that isnt cannon, but there isnt really a lot of information about the world of avatar and their regions specifically.

Have a good day :).