"A Force Bender? I've never heard of that element," Aang landed on a tall mesa.
"Well, we were called Heretics for a reason. Through meditation and secret techniques we learned a different way of seeing the universe, with a different basis for the elements," Mitsu landed beside Aang as the others approached in the distance.
"A different basis?"
"Yes, not the way of Earth, Water, Fire and Air the Four Nations practiced, as I told you before. The basis of our style is that we bend what we are most attuned to. I guess being born in the Earth Kingdom; I'm attuned to magnetism and forces like it. Hence I call myself a Force Bender."
"So that's how you bent the metal back in town," Aang nodded, "I have to admit, for a second I thought you were another Airbender."
"You must miss the Air Nomads a lot," Mitsu put his hand on Aang' shoulder.
"I miss them terribly, especially Monk Gyatso," Aang looked towards the south. "I'm still coming to terms with being the last Airbender."
"If all goes well, you will not be the last one- as long as you have children who will in turn breed more children. As the Avatar, you will probably live to see them. Kyoshi lived for over two hundred years. In any case, I am also the last of the Golden Hand, as far as I can tell. No one is interested in researching bending, I guess."
"Can we get going now?" Sokka called out from Appa, pointing to the two peaks that flanked the Serpent's Pass.
The Serpent's Pass was tough enough to get through, although with Appa it would be easier than usual. The flying rocks and gale winds that characterized the region were still a problem for many, although the Avatar and his companions were now joined by some Earth Kingdom refugees fleeing from the conquered Omashu. The new arrivals were thankfully mostly Earthbenders who helped navigate the treacherous pass. The greatest help however was offered by a small group of Sand Benders who acted as guides, using special divining rods designed to find their way out of the desert. There was a similar pass nearer to the shores of the Eastern Bay, where a literal serpent apparently guarded it. The Pasha said that the Serpent was in fact the same legend in both places, although the one they were traveling on was lesser known to all except for the Sand Benders.
"Don't compasses point north?" Sokka peered over the Pasha's shoulder. "We're about twelve degrees off course."
"This is a gear compass, child. It is not one that follows the path of the Lode. It was designed by the King of Omashu to help people find Ba Sing Se. All tribes have at least one."
"Interesting…" Sokka peered into the spherical object with his natural curiosity.
Aang, Toph and Katara were on the largest catamaran, with Mitsu taking point at the furthest forward area. The gales brought up a dangerous curtain of sand which the Sand Benders could only hold with great effort. Appa wheeled around overhead with Momo and some Earth Kingdom people, a giant shadow over the small band.
"What is that in your hand, Toph?" Katara saw Toph holding what looked like a book, but with no writing on the pages.
"It's something my father wrote," Toph didn't turn her head.
"I don't see anything," Aang stood on his head trying to see what was in the book.
"Of course you don't see anything, Aang. It's printed in embossed form especially for blind people. Didn't you have this were you came from?"
"Actually, I've never heard of it. I thought you didn't like books?"
Toph was silent for a while until she closed the volume. "This is my father's journal. He gave it to Mitsu's library for safekeeping." Her tone was unusually soft and subdued, and her eyes were closed even though she didn't need to close them.
"What does it say?" Aang arched over to see.
"I think that's private, Aang," Katara stopped him.
"It's his feelings when he met my mother…and when I was born." Toph put the book in her pack. "I know Mitsu was going to give it to me, but in that whole place this was the only book I could 'see', so I took it." She sighed heavily, her thoughts deep in contemplation. "I had no idea how paranoid my father was!"
"It's only because he cares, in his own way, Toph…" Katara sat next to the sifu.
"She is so beautiful," Toph started reading out loud, "She doesn't look at me yet, but I'm still happy. I'm thinking of naming our first girl here Toph? That's the name Poppy's mother wanted, and she's so stubborn, even by Earth Kingdom standards. Still, she's a beautiful child no matter what her name is…" A single tear came down Toph's cheek, although no one noticed it under her bangs.
"That is a man being a father!" the Pasha kept his eyes on the 'road', giving them a backhanded wave. No one else spoke until they reached what the Pasha called the western shore of the Eastern Lake. The desert seemed to stop right before the lake's own sandy shores, leading to a large sparkling pool of seemingly still water that stretched into the distance. A small stream seemed to tail off into the south, which the Pasha said would eventually link this lake up with the sea on the Eastern side of the Earth continent.
"We do not usually travel this far out, young Avatar. Our paths to Ba Sing Se usually come from the south, up a channel from the Chameleon Bay," the Pasha bowed to Aang who bowed in return. "Ba Sing Se is on the other side, right off the ferry that is coming this way. We rarely go there, though as there is little to trade compared to other parts of the Kingdom."
Aang pointed to a small chugging boat that was making its way west, slowly but surely. "That should be enough to carry us through, thank you so much for taking us through. I've had some bad experiences with Sand Benders before, so…"
"That tribe has been reprimanded. Like us, your Sky Bison is a reminder of a long gone time. They wanted to preserve it but a traveling circus stole it. As I can see, your Bison is in very good condition now that it has been rescued."
"Can't we just fly across the lake on Appa?" Toph crossed her arms. Sand was one thing; flying was another thing but water made her even more shut out from the world, especially on those rickety wooden ferries she remembered from her younger days.
"We are going to see the Earth King," Mitsu landed beside her, "It is the custom to approach him on foot and not by means of air. That is why the Earth Kings visited the Eastern Air Temples, not vice versa."
"Well, I'm not going to see him, am I?" Toph sat on the sand-boat's roughly hewn bench.
"I was being metaphorical. Did you read what your family wrote?"
Toph silently nodded. Her parents didn't want her to learn serious Earthbending, but they did want their child to communicate as best as she could, and hired specialist writers and printers to make books for her in embossed script so that she could read with her hands. They wanted her to read those books and become a scholar or a lawyer, not like the muscle bound fighters who took part in Earth Tournaments regularly held in their home town. Toph was bitter about that at least, but deep inside she knew that she loved them as well- typically for an Earthbender she was stubborn and suppressed that fact as often as possible.
Mitsu nodded , "There is more for you. You are the only one who has nothing concerning Bending to read, Lady Bei Fong. Oh, do you have your family seal? We might need it on the ferry."
"For a guy who lives in a library in the middle of the desert, you sure know a lot about places," Toph turned to him.
"He flies, Toph," Aang put aside his own scroll as the sand boat moored itself in a purpose built moat. "I still don't understand how, but Mitsu' s told me a lot about what he's seen in the past few weeks- like what we've seen in the past few months!"
Mitsu laughed and helped Toph off the boat, "Your words, not mine."
"What do you do on those travels, pick up chicks?" Sokka leapt off the boat.
"Sometimes," Mitsu grinned, "good excuse for a quick raid on the Fire Nation."
"Oh …boys," Katara and Toph moaned together.
As the Pasha's group turned back to the desert, the ferry and its chugging engine could be heard docking on the nearby pier. Aang felt some oddness in the local air, a strange sensation of stillness although there was a slight breeze blowing over the placid lake. No one else seemed to be aware of it, not his party or the Earth Kingdom refugees coming onto the ferry. The lake seemed to hum underneath the ferry every few seconds or so but otherwise there was nothing out of the ordinary. Appa wheeled overhead with some of the older refugees on his back, but everyone else was ready to board as a stern-faced guard looked on.
"Passports please," the guard stood in front of Sokka with a giant club in his hand.
"Passport…? What's a passport?" Sokka turned to his sister who shrugged.
"You can't come on the ferry if you don't have a passport."
"Coming through," Toph weaved past her friends, "this is our passport." She held up a small rounded seal from her pack.
"LADY BEI FONG!" the guard stepped back and bowed very low, apparently trembling. "Forgive me, Lady! I had no idea you were traveling in this region! Please, board the ferry with your party!"
"Wow, they're really into this Lady stuff, aren't they?" Sokka sauntered past the guard.
"Do we charge for that…thing up there?" the ferryman looked at a guard, referring to Appa.
"He's not on the ferry," the female guard smiled underneath her broad Earth Kingdom helmet, which covered her eyes, "so he and all the people on him go for free."
Katara looked around, "There are a lot of guards on this ferry." She spotted about twenty on the small ferry, all wearing the Earthbender patch of the Earth military, bar the female guard. Aang still felt slightly nervous about the lake, but took his packs on board the ferry nonetheless, exhaling softly with his Air bending. His ears perked up, however when Sokka was tapped on the shoulder by the female guard.
"Hey, where's your passport?" she was still hiding her face under her helmet.
"We don't use passports in the Southern Water Tribe," Sokka huffed.
"How do I know you are who you say you are?"
"I'm with the Lady of Bei Fong!" Sokka put his hands up as the soldier had her finger on his throat. Katara was already summoning a water whip when the female guard lunged forward and kissed her brother on the cheek. The hat came off and the finger curled around Sokka's chin.
"Suki!" Sokka hugged the Kyoshi warrior tight. "What are you doing here?"
"We decided to leave the island and help the ferrymen take these refugees to Ba Sing Se," Suki greeted the others, "the Avatar, all of you inspired us. Many of these people are from Kyoshi Island."
"It's great to see you, Suki! "Aang took her hand, "This is Toph Bei Fong, my Earthbending sifu." He brought Toph to Suki, who instantly noticed her blindness but bowed anyway.
"Hey there," Toph waved.