Chapter Two: The Strings of Fate
"Who are you?" I ask as I position my left fist ready to Firebend. "Relax, Tenkuu. I am not here to harm you. If I was, you would be gone already." The voice replies. And my instincts lead me to believe him. He's concealed in the dark, if he wanted me dead, he could have done so already. As for my name, he could have seen that on the pillar downstairs with all our names on it. Plus this "Lightbender" thing makes me curious. But I have to know who or what I'm dealing with.
"Show yourself." I say with a stern voice. "Oh no, my boy, I can't do that. Unless you want your eyes burned out." He replies with a slight chuckle, like he's playing with me or something.
"I can deal with ugly if that's what you mean." He laughs as a reply. "No. I mean literally have your eyes burned out." As his words trail off I see a blinding light come from the corner. I grunt and shut my eyes.
"And that was just my hand. Do you understand now?" He says with a hint of amusement. What can he possibly mean? His hand? His hand is light? Hand… Light… My hand!
I look to my hand and it is still illuminated by a white light. "Yes, young Lightbender. Light." Said the voice. "What do you mean by Lightbender?" I yell out.
"Tenkuu, who are you talking to?" asked my mother as she lit my lamp. I quickly look at the corner but no one was there, just my workstation. "Tenkuu? What is it?" she asks as she stares at me with confusion. "Nothing" I reply "I just thought I saw something."
"Well alright then. Go to bed, darling." She says as she shuts off the lamp and goes away.
I call for the Man with the shiny hand, but there was no response.
Could it all have been an illusion? A spirit? A dream? No, I'm awake. My mother came in and talked to me. I'm sure I'm awake… Ow!
A sharp pinch shoots from my leg. I look at the side of my bed and see a gnarly figure beside it with luminescent yellow eyes. It looks at me and jerks up into my bed positioning its head in front of my face and then proceeds to lick it.
"Nekko, stop it!" I say happily as our pet tiger-dog licks my face like a lollipop. She stops and drops down to the floor. I thought she was going to leave but instead she sits at my bedside, staring at my face. I stoke her head and tell her I'm fine. She lets out a moan and leaves.
Nekko's always been able to sense distress inside the house, whether it involves intruders or small problems like mom's missing purse. She's been in our family for as long as I can remember, and I owe my life to her, Jubei too. If she wasn't around, my brother and I would have been killed by Fire Nation soldiers that passed through near the mountains a few years ago.
It was a very dark night then. Jubei and I snuck out to pick some Nightpears that can easily be spotted when dark. We made our way to the base of the nearest mountain and began picking when suddenly a blast of fire shot toward the tree I was climbing.
It was a Firebender and his squad. "Well well, what do we have here?" he yelled. "A boy lost in the woods, picking out glowing fruit? Or a vigilante team prepping for an ambush? "
I was confused by his accusation but I was too busy thinking of a way to escape so I didn't give him a response. He didn't know about Jubei, which was good. I could probably run and lead them off while Jubei ran home and got my father. But even then it would have taken too long, and I couldn't possibly survive an entire squad of Firebenders chasing me.
"Come out now! I know you're out there! Hiding in the trees!" He yelled out as he set fire to random trees around him. "Come out, you cowards!"
It was not a good sign. The man was paranoid. His squad was probably raided by the vigilantes he kept mentioning. Which explained the weary and restless looks on his men's faces, and the state of mind he was in.
I had no other plan. Jumping off and trying to hide would have been useless. They'd probably burn the entire tree line down. Leading them off was the best option. I was ready to jump when Jubei came out of the bushes and called for me.
The Firebenders quickly switched their attention to him. My heart was pounding like a drum, incredibly loud and incredibly fast. I couldn't lose my brother, not like that. I jumped off the tree and positioned myself between the Firebenders and Jubei. I took my stance and prepared for the worst.
"Hah! What are you going to do, boy?" The commander snidely asked.
What was I going to do? Those were hard trained Fire Nation soldiers, the best I could have hoped to do was make out a few shots before they eventually took me down. But still, I couldn't let my brother get killed.
"RUN! Get out of here! I'll hold them off!" I shouted at Jubei. And he did. A soldier tried to follow him, but a flame blast ended his life quickly.
"You're a Firebender! And a traitor!" the commander yelled out as he shot at me with flame strikes. He wasn't very accurate. The paranoia and the restlessness must have gotten to him. But still, there was an entire squad, even if they were all that inaccurate one of their strikes would be bound to hit me. I fired back and took another one down while they continued to unleash a volley of fire at me. My father taught me a lot, but at that time I was only twelve, he hadn't taught me the advanced stuff yet, and fighting an entire squad of Firebenders was in there somewhere.
I was backed up into a tree and they all had a pretty clear shot of me when out of nowhere Nekko lunged in and sniped another Firebender.
They were distracted. I had the chance to attack so I moved in. Three crescent flame strikes to their faces took the rest of them out. I stood there in shock as the embers from their flaming uniforms drifted in the wind. I had killed them all. Ten men dead, and it was because of me. Eleven if you count the one Nekko took down.
I had never taken a life before, and I had just taken eleven of them inside a few minutes. I told myself I didn't have a choice, it was me or them. And then realized how selfish I was. But it no longer mattered. They were Fire Nation, they were the enemy, even though a part of them was in me. Then I began to think that maybe that's why I found it so easy to kill. That part of them inside me, the fire that seems so cold.
I snapped out of it and realized Nekko had been licking me the entire time. I felt a little squeamish when I noticed the blood stains around his mouth. "Tenkuu!" A voice emanated from the trees. It was my mother and father. I broke into tears and ran for them. My mother caught me and hugged me so tight I could have sworn I heard a bone crack.
"It's alright, now. You're safe" she said while stroking my hair.
My father took a quick scan of the area. There were none of them left, none alive that is. He seemed astounded that a twelve year old boy eliminated a whole squad of Firebenders. His face showed a mixture of relief and gladness, then suddenly, concern.
He turned to me and said "Don't you ever sneak out of the house again! Do you hear me?" I nodded repeatedly and he hugged me. He was sort of mad, but I think the fact that his sons were safe trumped it pretty good.
Jubei and I were punished accordingly and my Firebending lessons were suspended for months. We never spoke of the matter again and just let it die down. Even now, after four years no one mentions it, the most traumatic experience of my life.
Why? Shouldn't they have talked to their son who almost died, their son who killed eleven men, and maybe explained some things? I just don't understand.
I close my eyes and drift to sleep. Maybe in my dreams I'll find answers…
"HNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!"
A sharp sound awakens me, a sound not unlike when metal scrapes other metal only it's sharper and eerier. I cover my ears but it doesn't help. I open my eyes and behold a fully lit room, incredibly shiny like everything, even the walls have been polished. The sound stops and I feel a presence behind me. I tried to use a flame blast but nothing came out.
"You can't Firebend here, my boy…" said the old man whose voice I recognize from the encounter in my room. I had completely forgotten about this Lightbender business from all the reminiscing.
He's dressed in a light red and white robe and has a long beard. Quite a generic look for an old man if you ask me. "I believe we were interrupted earlier. And as I recall you had questions." He says as he grabs one of the shiny objects in the room. "Yes." I reply. "Who are you? And what do you want from me?"
"I go by many names, but you may call me Shen. What I want from you is your decision." He answers.
What he wants from me is my decision? What kind of twisted wisdom is that? Still, I have to find out what's happening here. I take a step forward and say "Alright Shen, my decision is for you to tell me everything. Why you're here, why I'm here, and what this "Lightbender" thing is."
I assume that was the right answer since he smiled at me and gestured for me to follow him. He stops and suddenly the room darkens and all that I can see is him and a small sphere of light.
"Talking is an outdated form of communication. You would understand better if I show you…" And before I could ask, the sphere of light started to form images, rapid changing images that I couldn't make sense out of. I come closer to it, but as I take the first step I start to get sucked in. I try to struggle but the sphere eventually envelops me.
Flashes… Shion… Lightbenders… Fire Nation… Destruction… The Avatar… Sozin's comet…
I drop to my knees and start panting. So much information, so many details, absorbed in such a short time, even I couldn't catch it all up, but it's there, it's all there, in my head. Not all are useful at the moment but one piece of information was.
"You're the Sun Spirit." I say as I pan my head towards Shen.
"Remarkable. Those who experienced that before you were not so strong. They passed out for hours. But then again, you are already asleep."
And right after he said that everything became blurry, it's like I'm being pulled away by a powerful force.
"The Winter Solstice" Shen utters before his image succumbed to the blur.
I feel a slight jolt followed by a loud thump. I wake up on the floor of my room, my dusty old wooden floor. I just remembered I hadn't cleaned my room in over a week now. I sit up and daylight hits me just right, but some of it's getting in my eyes, so I bend it away. It feels almost natural.
"Hey, Ten. You alright?" my brother asked while stroking Nekko's head.
"I'm fine, I'll be down in a minute." I reply.
"Looks like you're already "down". Hahaha. See ya downstairs." he mockingly comments.
Normally I'd get him for that, but I only have one thing on my mind right now and that's The Avatar.
I can't necessarily look for him. I'm sixteen and my parents need me here to work… for now. And more importantly, I have no idea where he is. It's going to be a real challenge meeting up with him. But from what I saw in the sphere, I need only let the strings of fate do their job…
And there's another thing I have to look out for…
The Winter Solstice.