Zia stood on the bow of the ship, letting the warm sea breeze ripple through her hair and down the back of her neck. She stared grimly at the horizon before her. To her left, the sun was just beginning to rise in the early morning sky.
They had been sailing for a few hours now.
Zia inhaled deeply, feeling the energy that she always felt when the sun was just starting to rise. But this morning, her mind was not on the power of the morning sun. It was on the new concept of being the Avatar. Less than an hour ago, after she had boarded the ship with the Sages, they had informed her of all her duties as Avatar.
She had not been allowed to bring the few things that Li had packed for her because the Sages had informed her that she would not need any worldly possessions on her Avatar journey. So Zia had boarded the Fire Navy ship that would take her to the South Pole with nothing but the clothes on her back and her set of knives on her belt.
Zia was still struggling with the idea of her being the Avatar. All she had ever known was Firebending. Not that she had ever tried bending anything else.
The sound of creaking hinges brought Zia's mind back to the present. She turned to see one of the Fire Sages, the shortest and quietist of them, emerge from one of the doors that led below decks. He was followed by four crew members. Zia was surprised to see them. The Sages had all retired to their quarters, having been up the entire night.
"Good morning." Zia bowed politely.
Neither the Fire Sage nor the crew members returned her greeting. Instead, the Sage pointed one finger at Zia accusingly.
"Attack the Avatar!" He commanded.
Zia's eyes widened. She barely had time to register her own surprise before the crew members and the Sage stepped forward and blasted her with five streams fire.
She yelped and rolled out of the way, not a moment too soon. She came up punching hard, fast, fire fist at her attackers. She sent one of the crew members flying overboard with a fiery kick that he tried in vain to block. Another went flying into the railing of the ship where he lay in a crumpled heap, motionless.
The other two crew members looked slightly panicked now, but they continued to attack her alongside the Fire Sage. The Sage was obviously a more skilled Firebender than the others. He blocked each one of Zia's attacks successfully as the others struggled to maintain their footing.
Suddenly, the Sage stopped attacking her. A look of absolute shock came over his face. He coughed once, spewing blood.
Zia's other two assailants stopped attacking her and starred with horror at the large knife embedded deeply into the Sage's back. Zia took advantage of their shock and promptly knocked them both out, burning one's face in the process. Only then did she turn to the Sage, who was now on his knees, struggling for his last breaths.
"Failed!" the Sage gasped. Blood was now running out of his mouth. "I have-" suddenly the he toppled forward, another knife in his back.
Zia looked beyond the fallen traitor to the knife thrower. He hung by one arm from the ladder to the lookout tower high above her, another knife between his teeth. When he saw that the Sage was dead, he quickly re-sheathed his knife and began to quickly slide down the ladder toward the main deck.
They stared at each other for a moment, each sizing the other up. The knife thrower was a dark-haired boy about Zia's age, or perhaps a little older. He wore dark clothes and a belt of knives at his waist. Zia decided that she could take him in a fight, if she could manage to avoid his knives. A warrior, Zia decided. Not a bender.
Zia decided to speak up, since it didn't seem like the boy felt like saying anything.
"Thank you." She said, bowing. "I am in your debt."
The boy gave a short nod, but didn't say anything.
Just then, the portal that lead below decks clanged open and two sleepy looking Fire Sages emerged, ready to defend the Avatar. The commission of the battle had obviously roused them from their slumbers.
"Perfect timing," Zia muttered under her breath.
"What is going on here?" demanded the lead Sage. His gaze came to rest on the dead Fire Sage. He gasped in horror at the sight of his fallen comrade.
"Avatar," demanded the other Sage, "What has happened here?"
"The Sage and four of the crew members attacked me," Stated Zia flatly. The two Sages frowned and exchanged worried looks. "Needless to say I was unprepared. The crew members were not a grave threat but the Sage was a very skilled Firebender. A Master even. Are all of the Fire Sages so skilled?" inquired Zia curiously.
"No," said the first Sage gravely. "Very few of us pursue our skills to the level of Master. We had no knowledge that Shan," he nodded to the dead Fire Sage, "was a Master." He stroked his beard thoughtfully.
Zia nodded. She had thought as much. "In any case, I am greatly indebted to the knife-thrower." She turned to meet the boy's gaze again. She gasped.
"What knife-thrower?" demanded the second Sage.
The boy with the knives had vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
So what do you think?
Sorry it took so long for this chapter. Things have been pretty crazy lately. I hate it when people take forever to add another chapter to their stories, so I'm going to try to get the next one up within the next few days.
Until then,
Flameo!