Chapter 32
The Tragedy of the Lok Wa Isles
After Wei had given his speech, and everyone was dismissed, I told him what had happened. He was furious at Taruk and me but refused to talk about the matter further. Hana healed most of my injuries, but I was still pretty sore and bruised. The next morning, everyone was on edge. We still had school, so I got ready and woke Hiko. I felt like today was important, but I couldn't remember why.
At school, no one was focused. I sat down in History by Koluk and Hana. I made an effort not to look at Taruk. Mr. Hui walked in as class started.
"Well, I know everyone will be distracted, given the circumstances, but don't think that means we will have no lesson. In fact, it all seems a horrid coincidence that all this is happening with today being today, after all," Mr. Hui said.
"Um, what is today?" A girl named Kanshin asked.
"Nine years ago, today, was the last and worst Fire Nation attack on the Northern Water Tribe; the attack is known as The Tragedy of the Lok Wa Isles," Mr. Hui answered her grimly.
I swallowed down emotions. That was why today seemed important. With everything that had happened, I had completely forgotten.
"What exactly was The Tragedy of the Lok Wa Isles?" Kuhaku asked.
"Well to be honest, no one is really sure, Kuhaku. All that anyone knows is that one of the smaller fishing villages sent word to the capital calling for help. Now, that right there is odd. The main city in the isles is Higeki. And if one of the smaller villages needed aid, they would contact Higeki, and if they couldn't provide enough aid, then Higeki would contact the capital. So when this small village sent word to the capital, everyone raised an eyebrow. A message was sent to Higeki, asking about the possible danger, but they didn't get an answer. Even more suspicious, a ship was sent with some of the Water Tribe's greatest, including Master Wei and Desu. Anyway, they traveled to Higeki and found it burned to the ground. They searched for survivors but only found a seven-year old, two five year olds, one with an infant brother, and a two year old. Only five young children, and all of them horribly injured," Mr. Hui explained.
I swallowed again, trying to hold back my emotions. I saw Koluk glance in my direction when Mr. Hui mentioned the five year old with a brother.
He continued, "The men and women searched the other small villages but only found more wreckage without any survivors. Not one other living person was found outside of Higeki. What we think the Fire Nation was trying to do was to cut off our trade. They must have thought that a lot of trade came to us through the isles, but the only people who suffered the after effects were the Earth Kingdom citizens in the small villages we help. That is why trade now comes directly from the capital itself as well as the isles. That was the most recent attack on the North, until now."
"What happened to them," Kanshin asked. "The children, I mean?"
"I am not entirely sure. I would assume they were taken to any family members they might have left. If they had no families, then they were adopted ,I think," Mr. Hui answered her.
I couldn't sit quiet anymore; I cleared my throat, "Um, Mr. Hui, could I say something?"
"Of course, Hyriu, what is it you have to say?" He asked, motioning to me.
"Um, well, I think I can give a bit more information on what happened," I said, and everyone looked at me with interest. "I am one of the survivors of the Lok Wa Tragedy."
Everyone gasped.
"Oh, Hyriu, I had no idea. We can change topics if you would like?" Mr. Hui said.
"No, I never knew that so little was known about the attack. Maybe I can give at least a little more light on what happened. I was only five at the time, so I didn't see everything. Well, I do remember that many people were in Higeki that day. A lot more than normal. I think it was something about bad fishing. I also remember there was no warning about the attack. Suddenly, it just happened. I guess I will start with what I was doing that day…"
It was a bright clear day with few clouds in the sky. In Higeki, the largest village in the Lok Wa Isles, a boy was playing in the snow in front of his house. A woman, who must have been his mother, was washing clothes nearby. She glanced at a basket that held a small baby not even a year old; the baby was sound asleep.
"Mommy," the boy said, "Come look at the picture I made."
The woman walked over to look at the picture her son made. It was a stick figure drawing of a family next to a house with the sun in the sky. It had a man and woman, and two children, one much smaller than the other.
"It's our family," the boy said. "See there's Daddy and you and me and Hiko." The boy pointed at each figure as he said who they were.
"Oh, Hyriu," the mother said, "it's beautiful. See if you can do your ice trick with it so your father can see it when he gets back from his fishing trip. I'll see if we have a frame to put it in, so watch your brother," she said as she went into the house.
The boy concentrated and closed his fingers into a fist. The snow in which he drew his picture made a cracking noise as it hardened into ice. It was not very strong ice, but it held together. The woman came back outside and glanced at the baby. She went over to the boy's picture with a driftwood frame in-hand.
She carefully lifted up the frozen picture, broke off a few pieces of ice, and fitted it into the frame.
"There, now I'll just put some whale glue on it, so it won't break if it falls," she said.
She smiled at the boy and checked on her baby before going inside; the boy followed her. In the house, there were many things made up of driftwood, as it most likely washes up on shore often.
The woman set the picture down on the table and left the room. She came back shortly with a small jar with a brush in it. In the jar was a clear thick substance - the whale glue. She began spreading the glue on the drawing.
"Now, we will just let it dry, so we can hang it up, okay?" she said.
"Okay," the boy answered. "When's Daddy coming back?"
"This afternoon," the woman said as they went back outside, "Why don't you draw me some more pictures?" She added with a smile.
The boy grinned widely, "Okay." He looked for a good spot, sat down and began drawing.
The woman glanced back at the baby as she washed more clothes. It was still asleep, but there was a black smudge on his face. She walked over and wiped it off with her index and middle finger.
"Hiko, what did you get on your face?" She muttered as she rubbed the tips of her fingers together. "Soot?" She said puzzled.
She looked around and noticed black dots all over the ground and some falling like snow. She looked up; dark clouds had gathered overhead. Not dark like storm clouds, but dark like soot. Other people around the village noticed the black snow as well and looked up at the clouds with worried expressions.
Loud voices were heard from the shore. The woman walked around the house to see what was going on. The boy peeked around the corner of the house at his mother and the shore. The men had returned early from their fishing trip.
A man left the group and ran towards the woman.
"What's going on?" The woman said fearfully.
"The Fire Nation is coming," the man said gravely. "Take the boys, get them to the shelter, and wait for me there; I love you."
The woman wrapped her arms around her husband for one final embrace, "I love you too," she said, tears streaming down her face.
They broke apart, and the man started to walk off but the woman didn't move.
"Koriu, now! Take them to the shelter," the man said.
Koriu, the woman, snapped out of her trance of sadness and headed back to the front of the house. The man began to walk off.
"Hirook," the woman said as she turned back around; the man stopped and looked back at his wife. "Be careful," she said. He nodded gravely and ran off towards a group of men preparing for the on coming attack.
The woman ran to the front of the house. "Hyriu, watch your brother, and I'll be right back." She ran in the house, gathering prized family positions and putting them in a small chest made of drift wood.
She came back outside. "Here, can you carry this?" She asked as she handed the boy the chest; he nodded. She scooped up her baby, "Follow me, Hyriu."
She started to run to the shelter. She glanced back and could see several large metal ships close to the shore launching huge fire balls into the village. Explosions could be heard as she ran to the shelter. Before they got there, a fireball landed on a building in front of them. The building collapsed, blocking their way. The woman began to cry, as they had no way of getting to the shelter. She and the boy ran back to the house. The boy glanced at the ships and saw his father wielding only a small knife as a Fire Nation woman with a katana charged at him.
"Daddy!" The boy cried out as his mother pushed him in the house. She looked around frantically, then pushed the table into a corner.
"Hyriu, take your brother and hide in this corner until the attack is over," the mother said.
The boy got in the corner and held his brother tightly, who had woken up from his nap and was crying. The woman also tucked the chest in the corner with her kids.
"What about you, Mommy?" the boy asked.
"Don't worry sweetie, I'll be fine," the woman said and kissed the boy's forehead.
A scream came from outside. The woman grabbed a wooden bat that Hyriu played with and went out of the room to see what was happening. Explosions went off nearby, and the house shook violently.
"Mommy!" The boy cried.
More explosions went off, and cries could be heard from outside. A fireball crashed through the roof of the house, causing it to collapse. A large piece of burning wood landed on the boy's right leg and the baby's right arm. They both cried out in pain. The piece of wood pinned him down, so he was trapped. The boy could do nothing but scream as the flaming wood burned the flesh on his leg and his brother's arm.
What was left of the room was filled with smoke and dust from the explosion. The cloud began to clear, and a figure began to become distinguishable.
"Mommy?" The boy said, crying.
A breeze blew the dust and smoke away and revealed the figure. A young Fire Nation girl. About the age of thirteen or fourteen. She held a katana above her head. Its handle was red and was threaded in gold. The blade gleamed in the fire light and was stained with red liquid that dripped from the tip. She didn't wear armor, and her clothes were not suited for the harsh weather of the north. Her arms and shins were naked. She had long curly brown hair that might be beautiful, if it wasn't filled with dust and ash and blood. A red ribbon, swirling in the smoke and dust, held back her hair, which looked as if it had been braided, but the battle had ruined it. She had pale golden eyes that had a dark shadow in them. She glared fiercely at the boy. At her feet was the woman, the mother, Koriu, covered in blood with a severe slash across her torso. The girl looked as if she was about to advance on the boy when a voice cried out. It cried out one word. One name.
"Akiko!" It said.
The girl turned her head in the direction of the voice. She glanced at the boy one more time, then left.
The boy looked at his mother, not seeing her wounds, or the blood.
"Mommy? Mommy! Mommy, wake up! Mommy!" The boy cried.
After a while, the sounds of battle faded, and no more explosions went off. The only sounds were the cries of the baby, the crackling of the fire, and the boy calling for his mother. Eventually, the piece of wood stopped burning but still trapped the boy and his baby brother.
Late in the afternoon, a Water Tribe ship came to the shore. Many men and women were on it. They got off the ship with looks of sorrow and shock. They began to search for survivors.
A man in his late forties saw the father, lying lifeless before him. The man kneeled down.
"Hirook," he said sadly.
He picked up Hirook's fallen knife and put it in his pouch. He walked further into the ruin that was once the village of Higeki. He heard the cries of a boy. As he got closer, he could hear a boy calling for his mother. He followed the cries to the wreckage of a house he recognized. In the door way was a woman lying on the ground, covered in blood.
"Yugoda!" The man called, and an older woman came over quickly. "See if you can heal her."
Yugoda swirled some water around the mother. The man looked around and spotted the boy and his brother. When he saw the piece of wood on the boy, he ran over and moved it off the brothers.
"Wei," Yugoda said. "Wei, she's waking up."
The man named Wei went over; the boy tried to follow, but his leg was too injured for him to stand, and he sat down with a yelp.
"Wei," Yugoda whispered to the man, "she is too injured. I can't save her. We're too late." She got choked up at the end, and tears formed in her eyes.
"Go see about the children then," Wei said quickly. She went to the boys and began to swirl water around their burns. "Koriu? Koriu, can you hear me?"
"Wei," Koriu said faintly, "Wei are Hyriu and Hiko okay?"
"They should be fine," Wei said, trying to keep his composure. "And you will be, too." Tears formed in his eyes.
"I've known you long enough to know when you're lying." Koriu smiled faintly.
Tears were now streaming down Wei's face, and he tried to smile but failed.
"Take - take care of them, okay? Watch over them. Make sure they are both raised well," Koriu said weakly. "Take care of my boys, please, Wei. Don't let them be alone."
"I will try," Wei said, crying. "I will do my best, though I am not the best with children. But I promise you, I will do my best."
I know you will. Thank you," Koriu said, and her breathing stopped.
Wei sat there for a moment, silently mourning for his friend. He got up and went over to the children.
"Is Mommy sleeping?" The boy asked.
"Yes, she is asleep," Wei said and sat down by the boy.
"When will she wake up?" The boy asked.
"Um, I am afraid she won't wake up," Wei answered, more tears spilling from his eyes.
The boy began to cry.
"Come here," Wei said and hugged the boy. "It's going to be alright, Hyriu. It's going to be alright."
The boy pulled back. "How do you know my name?"
"What, you don't remember me?" Wei asked, and the boy shook his head. "Ah, well, that's alright. You'll know me from now on. I am going to take care of you, Hyriu, and your brother. I am going to take care of you both."
"Really?" The boy said.
"Really," Wei answered and smiled warmly at the boy; the boy smiled back.
"…And, um, and then Wei brought Hiko and me here," I ended my story.
I leaned back against Mr. Hui's desk. It was all I could do to not cry. While I was telling my story, I had had a flashback. I looked around wondering if I had done anything strange. And what bothered me about the flashback was that I had learned something new. I had always heard a voice call out to the Fire Nation girl, but I could never make out what the voice said. And now I knew. The voice shouted a name, her name; the name of my parents' killer. Everyone was quiet and had solemn looks on their faces, some people were even crying. I saw Taruk was looking down at his desk with a guilty look.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking," Mr. Hui broke the silence, "how badly injured was your leg?"
I showed him and the class my scar in answer. They all gasped at the pink and white skin.
Everyone looked at me differently now. The rest of the day went by solemnly. Mr. Hui told my story to all his classes with my permission. Everyone regarded me with a sad look. Lunch was quiet. The day passed quickly. Wei wasn't at water bending practice, and Master Desu just told us to keep practicing what we've learned. After practice, I found myself trying to convince Wei into letting me go to the capital with him.
"No, and that is final, Hyriu," he said, aggravated by my constant pestering.
"Why not? I can help. With me helping, it would only take a day to get there. We wouldn't be a day late, we'll get there right on time," I reasoned.
"On time?! This is a war-zone, not school! I know you can make a difference, but you are not ready, you are unstable. Yesterday, you almost exploded. What do you think would have happened if you lost control? You could have killed him, Hyriu. Do you want that?" He asked; I looked down. "I didn't think so. So my answer is still no. Do you remember your battle on the scouting mission? That was nothing, thirty soldiers. There will be hundreds; this is a full-scale invasion. If your small fight gives you nightmares, what do you think will happen after this fight, assuming you live through it?"
I remained silent.
"Now, I don't want to hear any more about this. Alright?" He said sternly.
"Alright," I said; he walked away.
"What did he say?" Koluk asked as he walked up.
"What do you think?" I said.
"And is that going to stop you?" He asked.
I gave him a sly look.
"Then I'm coming with, no argument," he said.
I smiled, "Alright."
"Do you have a plan?" He asked as he looked at me.
"Of course," I said, defiance plain in my voice.