Chapter 10

The night air was freezing, but as long as I was bundled up, I was fine. The winds searched for the warmth of my body, wanting to steal it for themselves. A few spirits flew with us, their glowing multicoloured bodies like stars in the darkness.

We had been flying for a few days. The spirits had found us not too long ago, which I took as a good sign. Spirits were really drawn to the Southern Air Temple. It made sense since it was the home to the Spirit Mistress.

Jinora was not only an Air Master like all her siblings, but a master in the ways of the spirits as well. She was Korra's spirit guide, when she had to journey to the Spirit World. Rohan thought that his eldest sister would be able to find out how the Avatar Spirit Raava, was split into two earthly vessels.

In the darkness, the gray-black clouds parted to reveal the Southern Air Temple. Nestled in the Patola Mountain Range, the Temple was a mountain covered with white buildings with blue roofs. The tall white pagoda at the crest of the mountain was an imposing shape in the diffuse moonlight.

I felt that tightness in my chest, like some invisible hand was slowly pressing down on my ribs. This was definitely a place of power, a place of the spirits. It made my head go into a tizzy.

Square paper lanterns lit the meditation area, a giant square bordered by double eaved buildings. A sole red figure sat in the middle of the square, spirits dancing around her.

Master Jinora: the Spirit Mistress, the eldest daughter of Tenzin, son of Aang and Katara.

The spirits escorting us disappeared, rushing to Jinora's side. She stood and made a come gesture with her hand. A paper lantern jumped from its hook and landed into her hand. Selene hovered above her, casting a large black shadow on the Temple. I jumped off her back, letting the air carry me gently down.

"Avatar Tiana," Jinora said. The lantern cast an eerie pale gold light on her face, making her brown eyes glow amber. Under her dark brown hair, I made out the blue arrow of the Air Master. I was surprised that she didn't shave most of her hair to show it.

"Master Jinora," I said in reply.

"My youngest brother called me about your predicament. I knew your predecessor Korra quite well and was her Spirit Guide when she journeyed to the Spirit World to close the Portals before Harmonic Convergence. I knew that she never died by a dark spirit. I felt it deep in my soul," she said, as she led me across the square, and into the Temple.

"Why didn't you make the police investigate it?"

"Mako was still on the force then. I knew he would want to investigate himself. So I called everyone, and told them not to let him go into Korra's death. Of course, he tried anyway. That is why he is the way he is. You of all people should know."

My head snapped around. "He drove himself to depression when he did that," the words were out of my mouth before I thought of them. It must have been Korra's influence on me.

"Yes, he did. It was only with the help of his children and loved ones that he is still with us at all. You see, Korra and Mako had that epic love. It was so powerful that it could destroy both of them. It was a bond they couldn't ignore."

I felt Korra trying to pull me into her memories but I fought it. I had to actually sit down before I dropped off into Memoryland of Korra. I doubted that Jinora would want to deal with my limp body if I followed the past Avatar's memories.

I was nearly fading when she led me to the sanctuary, where the Avatar statues were locating. The seeping dark of the Temple alternated with blinding white landscapes of the South Pole, a pale sun blazing at the horizon. I felt the frigid breeze of the Arctic on my face and through my hair, cold fingers beckoning me to delve into Korra's memories.

Jinora put a plush blue cushion onto the dusty floor, right in front of Korra's statue. The other statues were frightening black shapes lined along the tower walls. Moonlight gently filtered in, bathing Korra's stone face. She stood tall and strong, her hair pulled back in her signature Water Tribe beads. Those empty stone eyes stared into me, as Jinora gently pushed me down onto the cushion, urging me to get into a meditation position.

I was barely able to sit; my body was disconnected from my spirit. Images flickered by my eyes as fast as lightning, each of them splitting my mind open from restraining them.

Jinora's slender and strong hands secured themselves on my shoulders, digging into my bones. "It's okay to let go, Tiana. Let Korra show you the truth," she said. She lowered herself down onto another cushion and placed the paper lantern on the dust covered floor. The lantern's light lit the dust motes a gentle gold.

"Just let go," Jinora said, locking me with her fathomless brown eyes.

I sighed. I stared up into Korra's blank eyes. They began to glow, that empty white light of the Avatar State. The brightness of her glowing eyes blinded me. I was no longer sitting on the floor of the sanctuary with Jinora. I was in a world of white, a rushing similar to water in my ears.

I felt my spectral body float, an invisible current making my clothes ripple gently. Images flashed around me, Korra's long line of memories.

Korra floated in front of me, her eyes like the bluest water in the Poles.

Follow me, she told me, fading away with a rush of wind.