Just Like the Good Old Days
Redbayly: *Trashing her room and smashing her television and computer*
Toph: What's wrong with her now?
Sokka: She's just upset by the season finale.
Redbayly: Anarchy!
Toph: She's going to diverge from canon even more than before, isn't she?
Sokka: Yup.
Redbayly: *Picks up canon* Red smash canon!
Toph: Man, I am so glad we don't work for her in real life.
Sokka: Yeah, it's definitely a good thing she doesn't own any of us.
Toph: Oh, and she wanted us to tell you that, in this fic, Senna is not just gonna stand on the sidelines when her family gets attacked. Apparently, Red is unhappy about the lack of a role that mothers get in the Avatar universe and has decided to do something about it. The fight with the spirit is going to go in a slightly different vein this time.
Sokka: Oh, and Red also wanted to say that she's hoping to start up a Senraq Week; seeing as how Senna and Tonraq are the only safe ship in either LoK or AtLA, it's only right that they should get their own week. Anyway, on with the fic!
Temple of Ice
Korra's POV:
As it got later, we all began to head towards the festival lodgings; I was really happy that my parents allowed me and Noak to share a room. Naga was resting in a corner while I was curled up on one of the sofas when Noak walked out of the bathroom; he was dressed only in a loose pair of trousers and he had taken his hair down. I began to feel a warm blush creeping into my face.
"Uh, Korra, are you alright?" he said.
I barely registered what he said as I was focusing on his exposed torso. How long has he been that toned? Oh, wait, is he saying something? Snap out of it, Korra!
"Hello, Korra, I asked if you're alright," he said, waving a hand in front of my face.
"Wha-what? Oh, yes, I…I'm fine."
He gave me a 'look' before a rather smug grin spread over his face.
"Really? Well, that's relief," he said, taking a seat beside me. He wrapped one arm around my waist and pulled me close so that I was resting against his chest. After an extended pause, he spoke again. "It's nice that we finally have some time to ourselves, isn't it?"
I gave a shy smile and hummed in agreement as he pressed his lips to my cheek. I turned to look right into his eyes, which were sparkling mischievously. All thought flew out the door when Noak suddenly pulled me into a deep kiss, his hands trailing down to rest on my hips. I wrapped one arm around the back of his neck while reaching up with my other hand to run my fingers through his hair.
I could feel a soft moan threatening to escape my lips as he began to kiss down along my jawline and then onto the skin of my neck that wasn't hidden beneath the ribbon of my betrothal necklace.
Unfortunately, our moment didn't last as Naga decided to bolt from the room.
"Naga, what are you doing?" I called after her, reluctantly pulling away from Noak, who let out a sigh of frustration.
Naga began to howl, loudly, and I knew it could disturb everyone else so I ran out after her.
"Naga, hush," I commanded.
As I ran outside, with Noak right behind me, I saw Naga standing near a precipice and continuing to howl. We tried to calm her down but she simply howled louder, causing the others to come outside.
"What's going on?" I heard Bolin say from a distance.
That's when something caught my eye. A large, dark creature had suddenly materialized out of nowhere.
"What. Is. That?" I said.
"Trouble," Noak replied.
Then, faster than anything I had ever seen, the creature shot towards me and knocked me back. I was sent sprawling until I collided with a small ledge and found myself face-to…whatever it was with the creature.
Noatak's POV:
I barely had enough time to register what had happened before I was sending blast after blast of water at the spirit that had Korra in its grasp. I was soon joined by my brother, Mako, and Bolin. However, the spirit seemed unaffected by our attack and simply dodged and darted towards us.
The creature knocked Bolin and Mako aside with its tail; luckily, my reflexes were good enough that I managed to dive out of the way, sending another Waterbending strike as I did so. Tarrlok narrowly avoided getting hit and began to Bend ice bullets towards the creature.
Korra was soon back on her feet and shooting fire-blasts towards the spirit. The creature swerved out of the way, not appearing to get injured or tired at all. We had just evaded several more strikes from the spirit when Tonraq joined the fight, riding in on a wall of ice. For a brief moment he managed to trap the spirit until it broke free and threw him back towards the lodges.
"Tonraq!" I heard Senna shout.
I was pulled from my worry for Tonraq when I heard Korra shout out as the creature flung her away.
"Korra!"
As Tarrlok and I continued to try and draw the creature towards us and keep it from going after Korra, I noticed that Senna had risen to take over Tonraq's place in the fight. For such a tiny woman who made her living as a Healer, it was plainly obvious who Korra got her Waterbending skills from. She had rocketed into the fight on an ice-board and was dodging every strike from the spirit.
That's when Tenzin appeared with Shaman Guyapi in tow.
"Spirit," Tenzin said, "why are you angry with us?! What have we done to offend you?"
The spirit gave one look at Tenzin before knocking him about twenty feet away.
I noticed Shaman Guyapi reach into a pouch at his side and pull out a small object.
"In the name of Setna, leave!" he shouted, tossing the object towards the spirit, which began to back off; it seemed afraid of whatever the object was and shot away.
Unfortunately, it decided to go in the same direction as Korra who had decided now was a good time to enter the Avatar State. The air had begun to swirl around her, pulling her up as she sent blast after blast of fire at the creature.
We were only in awe for a moment before Senna ice-boarded down towards the fairgrounds where Korra was battling the spirit; Tarrlok and I quickly followed. We arrived just as the creature had grabbed Korra with one of its long tendrils and flung her into a bunch of crates.
"Korra!" Senna shouted. She struck at the creature with a water-whip. "Hey, ugly, over here!" she shouted at it.
Tarrlok and I helped her and tried again to draw its attention away from Korra. This time it seemed the spirit had had enough and grabbed Tarrlok, throwing him a good distance away before rounding on me. Just as I readied myself to duck the blow something happened. Water began to spiral around the spirit and I looked around to see that it was Chief Unalaq who was doing it. As the spirals of water surrounded the spirit a glow emerged and it stopped attacking.
"Go in peace," said Chief Unalaq.
With that, the spirit disappeared in particles of light. I was so enthralled by what I saw that I almost missed the others arriving; though I did notice that Shaman Guyapi was helping Tonraq to walk.
When I regained control of my thoughts I rushed over to Korra and helped her up.
"Tonraq!" I heard Senna shout, and looked over to see her run to her husband. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he answered shortly before immediately looking over towards us. "Are you all alright? Where's Tarro?"
"I'm okay!" came the distant sound of my brother's voice. "I'll walk it off!" He appeared moments later looking worse-for-wear but otherwise unharmed.
Korra disregarded the questions and approached Unalaq.
"How were you able to control that spirit when no one else could?" she asked.
"As your father could tell you, I have spent my life studying the spirits and learning their ways," Unalaq replied. "I could teach you everything I know."
"Convenient, isn't it?" someone suddenly spoke up. We all turned and saw Chief Kaliska drawing closer, Ciqala right behind her. "This is the first time a spirit has directly attacked a populated area and you just happen to be here in time to stop it from causing too much damage." Her eyes were narrowed.
"Kaliska, what are you talking about?" Tenzin asked.
"Simple, Tenzin. I find it far too coincidental that this just happened on the same day that our esteemed guest from the North shows up." She leveled her glare at Chief Unalaq.
"Aunt Kaliska, Chief Unalaq just saved us from a spirit attack," Korra defended. "What would he have to gain from having anything to do with it?"
"A valid point, Chief Kaliska," Chief Unalaq agreed. "What could I get out of causing a spirit to attack?"
"I have a few theories," Chief Kaliska said in a warning tone. "Just keep in mind, I will be watching you." She turned to her son. "Ciqala, go inform everyone that the crisis is over and that no one was hurt."
"Yes, mom," he replied before hurrying off.
Chief Kaliska then turned to Senna and Tonraq.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"I'm okay, Kali, you don't have to worry," Senna replied. "Tonraq doesn't seem to be as fortunate, though."
"I already said I'm fine, Senna," the man in question insisted. As he pulled away from Shaman Guyapi, who had still been supporting him, he gave a sharp wince and clutched at his side; as I focused, I could tell that he had a couple of bruised ribs and a sprain in his shoulder.
"No, you're not," Senna said sharply, grabbing ahold of his good arm. "You're hurt, and you need medical attention." She gave us a parting look. "We'll see you all back at the lodges." With that, she led Tonraq away, clearly against his will.
"Back to the matter at hand," Shaman Guyapi said. "Chief Unalaq, your experience with the spirits is obviously not something to be dismissed; however, I feel that the choice should lie with Avatar Korra."
"Korra still has much to learn about Airbending," Tenzin insisted. "And I hope that going to the Air Temples will help her connect with the past Avatars."
Korra gave an irritated huff.
"The Air Temples will teach her nothing," Chief Unalaq retorted. "Only I can give her the training she needs to be a complete Avatar."
"Shaman Guyapi and Prophetess Ituha are more than capable of aiding Korra's spiritual education," Chief Kaliska snapped.
"Actually, Chief Kaliska, I feel that Chief Unalaq could help provide Avatar Korra with knowledge that neither I nor the Prophetess possess," said Shaman Guyapi. "I know much about Southern spirituality, but even I don't know how Chief Unalaq was able to calm that spirit." He then reached into his pouch and pulled out another small object. "I threw down a talisman and the spirit simply drew back. Clearly it wasn't as wary of the Mark of Setna as most spirits are. There's something very wrong happening and we need all the help we can get."
"Fine," Chief Kaliska said sharply. "Do whatever you want. If anyone needs me, I'll be sorting my hunting-knives." She turned and stormed off.
"I think I may have struck a nerve," Shaman Guyapi said calmly before facing Korra. "This decision rests in your hands, Avatar Korra. Only you can decide what is best for the progression of your training."
Korra gave me a brief look that clearly told me she wanted my advice.
"Could I have a moment?" she asked. Without waiting for a response, she took my hand and led me out of ear-shot. "Well, what do you think?"
I bit my lower lip in thought. I knew that Korra should definitely seek council from Shaman Guyapi and Prophetess Ituha; they are the most knowledgeable about Southern spirits. I honestly felt that Korra shouldn't completely dismiss Tenzin as her teacher as there was still much she could learn from him as well. As for Chief Unalaq, well, I kept getting strange vibes from him; when he spoke about not being involved with the spirit attack, I could tell his heartbeat had an unusual reaction, indicating that he might not have been entirely honest; and yet, at the same time, I could tell he was a valuable source of knowledge and was likely to be helpful at least to a certain degree.
I told Korra about what I thought, though I tried not to say anything outright about my sentiments regarding Chief Unalaq, and she reached a decision. We both walked back over towards the others and Korra cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Tenzin, while I appreciate all that you have done to help me I feel it is time for me to expand my range of spiritual education," she said. I was quite proud of the maturity with which she handled this. "At the same time, I would like to say that I still respect you both as a mentor and as family. I hope that, should the need ever arise, I can still rely on you for wisdom and guidance."
"Of course you can, Korra," Tenzin replied.
"Thank you." She then turned to Shaman Guyapi. "Tomorrow, I would like to visit the Great Southern Ice Temple and begin learning about my role as an Avatar of the Southern Water Tribe."
Shaman Guyapi smiled and gave a bow.
"Of course, Avatar Korra," he said.
Finally, she turned to Chief Unalaq.
"I thank you for offering to teach me what you know and look forward to beginning a new form of spiritual training."
Chief Unalaq smiled. That's when I began to get the weird feeling again. It was like there was a strange aura emanating from him that did not bode well. I noticed that Shaman Guyapi was looking very intently at Chief Unalaq, as well; as though he, too, could see what I saw; the Shaman must have realized I was looking at him because he turned his attention from Chief Unalaq towards me. He fixed me with and indiscernible expression, as if he were reading my thoughts; then, he gave a short nod at me and departed.
I barely noticed Tarrlok move over to stand next to me until he spoke.
"Soooo…any particular reason why you're not wearing a shirt, Noa?"
Third Person POV:
Back at one of the lodges, Senna was tending to Tonraq's injuries; not an easy task when he kept trying to run off and speak to Korra.
Most likely to warn her off accepting help from Unalaq, Senna thought with a roll of her eyes. In all honesty, Senna had no problem with Korra learning more about spirituality and had nothing against Unalaq teaching it to her.
"Hold still," she said to her husband. "If you keep trying to leave, I might just have to freeze you to the floor until I'm finished."
"Senna, please, I have to tell Korra that she is not to learn anything from Unalaq," he replied.
"Oh, Tonraq, stop being such a baby. I know why you have issues with spirits, but I don't see why Korra can't learn about them from her own uncle."
"You don't know Unalaq like I know him."
"What's the matter with you? Do you think he's going to try and replace you?"
"That's exactly what he's going to try to do. Unless I stop him."
"Sit down, right now," she said sternly, "or I'll get Katara in here to make sure you behave."
That was a serious threat. Tonraq had learned firsthand why his wife's paternal aunt was not a person you can argue with; especially not when she went into total mother-mode regarding patients. With a resentful huff, Tonraq sat back down and let his wife continue to heal his injuries.
"Very good," Senna said. "Now, stop being so paranoid. Unalaq is not going to replace you. You are Korra's father and she loves you. She doesn't even call Unalaq her uncle, but she always calls you 'Dad.' You have absolutely nothing to worry about."
"You didn't see the look in her eyes when she found out why she and the boys were kept in that compound. I should have listened to you back then. I should never have-"
He was cut off by a sharp thwack to his head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"For being so hard on yourself. While I agree it was a stupid idea to keep the kids locked up in that compound, you've realized that and feel sorry about what you did. Yes, I saw that Korra was deeply upset by it, and yes, it may take some time for her to cool down; however, you can't make it up to her if you keep trying to hold her back."
"All the same, I don't like the idea of her training with my brother."
Senna pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration and let out a sigh. She couldn't understand why her husband and his brother only ever seemed inclined to fight with each other; and it certainly didn't help that Kaliska had hated Unalaq since the first time she met him. Two years before Senna met Tonraq, his brother had come to the Southern Water Tribe for diplomatic negotiations; Unalaq had been perfectly polite back then and Senna would even goes as far as to say that she had been on friendly terms with him.
She wondered how things had gotten so out of hand and she certainly didn't like the idea of anyone fighting, let alone members of her own family; but whenever she asked Tonraq why he seemed to hate Unalaq so much, he would fumble and come up with some pathetic excuse or try to divert the conversation.
"I'm sure everything will be fine," Senna reassured him. "If anything goes wrong, you know the boys will be there to make sure she's safe and vice versa. They're all old enough to look out for themselves, Tonraq."
When Tonraq's worried expression still didn't go away, Senna gave him a reassuring smile and a soft kiss on the cheek.
"They'll be fine, Tonraq. I know it."
Korra's POV:
I didn't sleep well that night, not even with Noak there to hold me as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Something kept stirring in the back of my mind, it was like a thousand voices screaming a message of warning; I knew something very bad was going to happen very soon. Noak seemed to have a troubled sleep as well; whenever I woke up he was already awake; I don't think either of us knew quite what to tell the other.
We must have gotten to sleep at some point because we were both woken up by a knock at the door of the lodge.
"Hey, you guys awake?"
It was Lomasi.
"Yeah, and you can come in," I replied.
She pushed open the door and came inside.
"Dad asked me to come get you two," she explained. "Said you were coming to the Temple today."
Noak and I both nodded.
"I heard about what happened last night," she added. "Never thought spirits would ever launch a direct assault like this. I doubt something like this has happened since the days of Avatar Ehane."
"We're fine," I said. "And I'm going to find a way to stop what's happening."
She gave a small smile before frowning slightly.
"I thought you might also want to know that Master Tenzin and his family are about to leave."
"What?" I gasped. I hadn't thought they would go to the Air Temples this soon. I shot right up and grabbed my parka before rushing out the door.
I just reached the edge of the precipice in time to see Tenzin and his family take-off on Oogi.
"They didn't even say goodbye," I said quietly.
I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and turned to see Noak standing beside me, giving me a reassuring look.
"Do you think I made the right choice?" I asked him.
"Yes. I honestly believe you did," he said. "I think you may have wounded Tenzin's pride a little bit, but I know that, if anything goes wrong, we can still count on him for help."
I gave a brief nod and looked into his eyes. He looked so sincere and so certain. We started to draw closer and closer. Unfortunately, the moment was killed stone dead when someone put a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Unalaq standing there.
"I know this was a hard decision, Korra," said Unalaq. "But it was the right one. Now it is time to put it behind you and begin your new training. I have great plans for you."
I wasn't sure why, but I got a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach when he said that.
Tarrlok's POV:
I had just finished getting ready for the day when there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"Lomasi," the person replied. "May I come in?"
"You may."
She entered the room and I noticed she seemed amused by something judging by the grin on her face.
"Something funny?"
"Oh, Korra and Noak were about to kiss when Chief Unalaq decided it was the perfect moment to talk to Korra."
"Bet Noak is just thrilled about that," I said sarcastically.
She gave a soft giggle.
"Well, he wasn't pleased if the 'I so want to kill you' look he was giving Chief Unalaq was anything to go by."
"Are we going to tease him about it?"
"Yes, I think we are."
The two of us broke out into bouts of laughter.
I had always been fond of Lomasi, ever since Korra introduced us to her when we were 'children'; she was a lot like Korra at times, though she was a lot more level-headed and less inclined to jump headfirst into a dangerous situation. Lomasi was a Non-Bender but was perfectly capable of keeping up with the three of us; she even held her own in a hand-to-hand sparring match with my brother a few years ago.
"Shall we get going?" she said. "It's just we have a bit of a walk to the Temple."
We made our way outside and met up with the others; as expected, my brother was looking thoroughly put out.
"Something wrong, dear brother," I said slyly.
Noatak turned and glared sharply at me; which promptly caused me to have to force down a chuckle.
"We'll see you when you get back," Senna said to us. She hugged each of the three of us in turn before we turned and began to follow Lomasi to the Temple.
Mako and Bolin had asked to accompany us; however, Asami had more business negotiations to go through with Varrick. It was going to be quite a walk as the Temple is situated a good ways outside of the main part of the city. Luckily, Lomasi was perfectly happy to talk about the old days to pass the time.
"And over there was where we got into that huge snowball fight with Acaraho and his friends," she said, pointing towards a particular area. "We really creamed them, didn't we, guys?"
"Oh, yeah, I remember," Korra agreed. "Wasn't that after Acaraho made fun of you for being a Non-Bender and you tried to black his eye?"
"It was," Noatak agreed. "And we all know you would have done it, too, if your father hadn't stepped in and said that Southerners don't settle their differences like that."
"We settle our differences with snowballs," Lomasi finished.
It was getting close to midday when we finally arrived at the grounds of the Temple. It was somewhat pyramid-like in shape with tiered layers ornamented with finely sculpted pillars and statues all made of ice. We walked along the path before we reached the bottom of the long stairway; it really impressed upon me the size of the building as it towered over us like some man-made mountain. We quickly made our way up the steps until we reached the courtyard of the Temple. One the ground, I noticed an engraved circle that had been divided into four quarters to symbolize the four directions: north, east, south, and west. Directly in front of us was a pyre, perpetually burning in front of the grand entryway which was guarded by the sculptures of two polar leopards.
From out of the darkened entrance emerged the figures of Shaman Guyapi and Prophetess Ituha.
"Avatar Korra and friends, welcome to the Great Southern Ice Temple," they said with low bows.
"It is an honor to be here," Korra replied.
"If you will please follow me." Ituha beckoned Korra over to the entrance and she gave us all a reassuring smile before following him.
"Since you all can't enter the main sanctuary, Lomasi and I would be happy to show you the other parts of the Temple," Shaman Guyapi offered.
We followed them down a shorter flight of steps and then into another wing of the Temple.
"So, why exactly are men not allowed in the main sanctuary?" Mako asked.
"Well, no one's completely sure," said Guyapi. "Popular folklore is that when Mother Setna founded the Southern Water Tribe she wanted to reverse the positions of authority that had been in place up north. In the Northern Water Tribe, men had become the sole leaders of the community; therefore, Mother Setna wanted to allow women the chance to be leaders in their own right. Southern spirituality is very focused on the power of women; in fact, the ancient texts often refer to women as the 'Life-Givers' for there is no future without them, no posterity."
We continued down a long corridor. There were a series of rooms attached to it and Shaman Guyapi led us into the first one.
"This is where we house the sacred relics and ceremonial tools," he explained. "Feel free to look around, but please do not touch anything."
CRASH!
We all turned around to see Bolin standing beside a set of ritual battle gear that he had obviously just knocked over.
"Uhh…sorry," he said with a sheepish grin.
Guyapi gave an annoyed sigh before coming over to set the gear back up and shooting the young Eatherbender a warning glare.
We all began to look around at the strange implements and decorations. My attention was quickly drawn to an odd collection of knives and daggers.
"What are these for?" I asked.
"Ah, these are from the more, um…colorful parts of Southern tradition," Guyapi replied. He picked up a rather sinister-looking curved blade. "This little number was used by a particular sect during some of the tribe's early days. We've found a few others like it from excavations around the old caves in the sacred mountains. According to the records in the archives, the particular sect that used this was involved in some rather…unsavory practices."
I gave an audible gulp.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, they believed in sacrificing a young virgin every year to appease a being called Hei-An, 'the dark one,' and to honor the Snow Wolves. I'd say that is fairly unsavory."
"Whoa, what happened to them?" asked Bolin.
"Well, it's believed the sect was eradicated by Chief Eluwilussit, who had allegedly had a vision from Awonawilona, the Great Spirit, telling him to go forth and end the followers of the dark. Of course, it might have been a bit of political propaganda as Eluwilussit was also documented as being in a struggle to secure his claim to the chiefdom." He set the blade back and picked up a set of bronze daggers. "These artifacts, however, have a connection to a powerful legend. These daggers were said to have been used by Avatar Ehane to wound the demoness Hakidonmuya after she had abducted his younger brother Cheveyo to the Spirit World. It is said that Hakidonmuya cannot be slain, only wounded, and that these daggers are still imbued with her blood."
After explaining the use and history of several other knives and daggers, we all continued to look around. Noatak seemed to be paying particular attention to a shelf of assorted artifacts.
"What are these for?" he asked.
"Those are some of the Avatar relics," Guyapi explained. "The comb worn by Avatar Chilaili as her betrothal token, the yellow shawl given to Avatar Migisi by her Air Nomad lover shortly before his untimely death, the helmet worn by Avatar Ahanu who founded the Wolf Warriors, the matching bracelets worn by Avatar Melina and her twin sister Nashota…"
After Shaman Guyapi finished showing us the artifacts in that room, he led us back into the hallway. He gestured towards several of the rooms where Healing was being practiced by both men and women, Benders and Non-Benders.
"The goal of Healing is not simply about curing the physical wounds," Guyapi explained. "It is about ensuring all of the body is whole, including the spirit. One does not have to have Bending in order to cure the sicknesses of mind, body, or soul any more than one needs to be a man or woman to practice the art."
We continued deeper into the Temple before stopping in a relatively large room. At the back of the room was a doorway shrouded with thick, dark blue curtains.
"This is one of the holy places," Guyapi explained, "The only holy place where men are free to come and go as they please. The holiest of the holy is the main sanctuary but that is reserved only for the tribe's women and a select few men such as myself. Through those curtains is the shrine of the Sacred Triad, the first Waterbenders."
Behind me, I heard Bolin give an awed "oooooh" sound. I couldn't blame him; there was a distinct sense of power here that was clearly felt by everyone. Of course, I had heard about the three Mothers of Waterbending many times in the Southern Water Tribe; they were always shown great reverence during the Festival of Ama.
"Would anyone care to see inside the shrine?" Guyapi asked. "I must warn you, though, to maintain an appropriate degree of respect and not to speak while inside."
I exchanged a look with my brother and together we both approached the entrance to the shrine.
Korra's POV:
I could feel my heart quickening its pace as I entered the sanctuary. There was a genuine presence in this place, one of a powerful individual. The room was enormous, a fact only emphasized by the sounds of a few women chanting prayers to the Mother. The walls were lined with small panels bearing figures of past chieftains; I noticed one that I was certain was of my grandfather; then there were sculptures of each of the different totems, I even noticed that the polar bear-dog of my clan looked distinctly like Naga. It was strangely bright inside the Temple, odd as there were not many sources of light. There was a heavy scent of ocean sage and incense in the air, it was strangely comforting.
As I followed Prophetess Ituha further into the sanctuary, the statues at the very end of the room grew more visible along with the altar in front of them. In front of the altar was a round platform which contained water that surrounded a rectangular slab, undoubtedly a Healer's table; the water seemed to have a strange, ethereal glow to it.
Looking up at the sculptures along the wall, I saw the figure of a giant woman in a long, dress-like parka; I couldn't see her face, but I just knew she was smiling; this was clearly the statue of Mother Setna. Curled about her feet was the sculpture of her polar leopard, Anaba. There were seven smaller figures around Setna, three boys and four girls, her children, the first leaders of the Southern Water Tribe. Engraved into the base of Setna's sculpture were the symbols of the four nations.
I looked straight up at the statue's face, attempting to make out her eyes. All I could see were two, faint glimmers before a strange sensation overcame me and it was like I was being plunged into memories that weren't my own.
"You are the Avatar, the world's only chance for peace. You have a heavy burden to bear, but if you are strong then you can persevere. Do you accept your responsibilities and promise to do all in your power to protect the world?"
I answered in a voice that wasn't mine but was very familiar.
"I accept and acknowledge my duties as the Avatar and swear to use the gifts I have been given to protect humanity and to be the bridge between this world and the Spirit World."
"Avatar Korra, are you alright?" Ituha's voice brought me out of my daze.
"Yes, I-I think so."
She looked at me with that piercing stare.
"It is natural for you to experience strange phenomena in here," she said. "After all, Avatar Setna's presence is both around you and within you."
"Wait, Mother Setna was an Avatar?" I asked. No one ever said that before. All I had ever learned was that Mother Setna was the foundress of the Southern Water Tribe; I didn't know she was one of my past-lives, too.
"Of course she was. It would require a great deal of power for her to have brought all the first settlers down here the way she did; far more power than any normal Waterbender. Look at the statues of Setna's children and tell me you don't know which one is which."
I looked at the statues of the seven children and I could recall each one's name perfectly, as if I had chosen the names myself. The eldest child, Setna's firstborn son, standing tall and unwavering by her side was Catori, who was allegedly cursed by the demoness Hakidonmuya because of Setna's victory over her. Then there were Setna's eldest daughters: Ahyoka, Chenoa, and Denoma, her other two sons, Bidziil and Hania, and her youngest daughter Mapiya.
I looked over at Ituha, who nodded and smiled at me.
"You see?" she said. "You are able to remember everything your past-lives knew if you let their wisdom in. Help will always be given to you as long as you ask for it."
"Prophetess Ituha, there's something I should tell you," I said. "Months ago, when I was still having trouble with the Equalists, around the time I was kidnapped by the former councilman Tarrlok, I had a vision and heard a voice."
I then related everything to her about what I had seen. About the voice that had told me to be patient and wait for help to come and that had reassured me right before Noak and I had gone on the mission to stop Amon. I also told her about the vision I had had about the war dance and what the voice had said about a coming conflict.
"The answer is simple, Avatar Korra," Ituha said with a kind smile. "Setna has always spoken most clearly to Avatars of the Southern Water Tribe. While any Avatar may access her wisdom if he or she chooses, Setna has been known to speak directly to children of the South if they need her. She watches over more than just her reincarnations, after all."
I smiled at that statement. It was kind of comforting to know that there was some sort of powerful entity always watching my back.
And it's also nice to know that I wasn't going crazy after all.
As I turned to follow Ituha into another part of the sanctuary, I thought I heard a voice say: I heard that.
Noatak's POV:
I held in a breath as Tarrlok and I pushed aside the curtains and stepped into the small shrine. It was very dark inside with the only light coming from two sconces and a small incense-burner. As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I saw the distinct statues of three women along the wall in front of us.
The woman in the center I recognized as Ama, the Great Builder. She stood there with her hands outstretched as if in welcome. To her right was Doli, the Great Warrior, in her hunting gear with her hair tied up in a ponytail like mine and Korra's. Then, to Ama's left was the demure image of Migina, the Great Healer, wearing her betrothal necklace, allegedly the first one ever made.
Even though I knew these were just images of the legendary first Waterbenders and not really them, there was a strange feeling in the air of the room that made me feel as though Tarrlok and I were being watched. In that heavy silence I thought I heard faint whispers that seemed to emanate from the sculptures; it was rather unnerving, but I was strangely enthralled by it at the same time. I figured the incense must be getting to my head and turned to leave, Tarrlok following right behind me.
"You guys certainly took your time," said Mako.
"What are you talking about?" I retorted. "We were only in there for a few minutes."
"No, you were in there for almost half-an-hour. I checked on my watch."
"Time moves differently for the spirits," said Shaman Guyapi. "Often times, when I enter a shrine or even the main sanctuary it feels as though I've only been there a moment, but when I emerge Lomasi is there to berate me for being late to dinner."
Lomasi rolled her eyes as her father chuckled.
"Anyway, Dad," she said, "do you think Korra has finished talking with Ituha in the main sanctuary? I was hoping she'd be with us when we go to see the archives."
"Patience, Lomasi, I am sure Korra will join us in due course."
Lomasi huffed in annoyance but didn't press the matter.
"I'm surprised your wife didn't decide to join us today," Tarrlok said to the Shaman.
"Honovi is…preoccupied with other matters for the time being," Guyapi replied hesitantly.
"By which you mean she got another assignment from her office and is too busy to spend any time with her family," Lomasi said bitterly.
Shaman Guyapi gave a low sigh but didn't comment. It was well-known amongst our circle of friends that Lomasi's mother was very dedicated to her job and had to go away a lot; Lomasi always said she wasn't bothered by it, but we all know differently.
"Shall we continue with our tour, then?" Guyapi said, changing the subject.
We proceeded out of the room and back into the corridor.
Redbayly: Finally got this done. Took forever, I tell ya.
Toph: Now that you're out of school for a while, are you going to update more frequently?
Redbayly: I'm gonna try, but I still have another story that I promised to re-upload and continue.
Sokka: *Sarcastic* Oh, joy.
Redbayly: Anyway, here's an omake I thought up for your enjoyment. Oh, and could I please get some suggestions for future omakes? They won't be part of the main storyline, but I'll include them at the end if I like them enough.
Omake: (Set before Korra's birth, when Tonraq was attempting to court Senna)
It was late in the evening and nineteen-year-old Senna was thinking about Tonraq, that young man who had recently moved from the Northern Water Tribe. He was a bit arrogant, but Senna liked to think she'd knocked a bit of sense into him (quite literally) during their recent sparring match in Waterbending class. As she continued to remember her encounters with Tonraq, her mind wandered to how nice his smile was and how attractive he looked with his hair all disheveled after Waterbending practice earlier that day.
Senna was suddenly pulled from her musings when her brother Paytah suddenly burst into her room.
"Senna, look out your window," he said.
"Wha-"
"Look out your window," he insisted before pulling her up and leading her over to the window. "Prince Charming is throwing snowballs." He pointed down below to where the very familiar figure of Tonraq was standing, tossing snowballs up at the window of her room in an obvious attempt to get her attention.
"Tonraq?" Senna said incredulously. "Tonraq, what are you doing?"
Tonraq cleared his throat, pulled out a piece of paper and began to read a poem of his own creation.
"Oceans deep are in your eyes,
With just a glance, I'm yours.
Much better is the air when you walk by,
And the sun shines brighter when you smile.
I have heard songs of many kinds,
But your voice is the melody I love most.
A gentle soul with a warrior's strength,
And a heart as pure as gold.
Then let me learn, my love,
If your kisses are as sweet as I have dreamed.
For if you would give me just one chance,
I would make it last forever."
Paytah scowled as a sappy grin spread over his little sister's face; you could practically see little hearts flying around her head.
"You're not seriously listening to this drivel?" he demanded.
Senna gave a soft sigh and that cinched it.
"Dad!" Paytah called out.
Suddenly, an older man burst into the room.
"What's wrong?" he said frantically. "Is the Fire Nation attacking? Where's my boomerang? Is there an assassin in the house?"
"No, worse," Paytah replied. "Senna's got a suitor."
The old man was taken-aback for a moment before he narrowed his eyes.
"I'll get the machete."