Shattered Dimensions

Chapter 7, Origins

Dimension 1

Around 300 BSC

Small mountain village, Northern Earth Kingdom

Nobody's POV

The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit world. The first Avatar came nine thousand years before Avatar Aang. At first, the idea of a mortal who could transverse between our world and the Spirit world was not a widely accepted. Eventually, the Avatar became an essential part of everyday lives. The Avatar became widely known and famous. He or she was made to help those who needed it. But not everyone loved the Avatar. A small mountain village in the northern Earth Kingdom refuted the idea of a mediator between life and death in mortal form. The Avatar would be treated with extreme hostility if they were to visit the village.

Those who did not agree with the ideas of the five Elders were punished. Those caught speaking out against the Elders had a mask appended to their face. The mask was fitted for each individual person. It had two eye-holes, nose holes, and a mouth that is sewn shut. The mouth sewn shut was to silence those guilty of blasphemy against the Elders. As well as a symbol of the humiliation and shame that they brought upon the ears of their fellow villagers. But one young sorcerer used the mask to his advantage. Using it to inspire fear among those who he called his enemies.

The young sorcerer known as Zhianwuo casually made his way through the market of the mountainside village. As he approached the edge of the mountain, he looked down. A thick fog covered the trail leading to the village. It gave an eerie look to the market as it seeped over the edge and covered the ground of the market. The path was demolished when the decision was made to cutoff the village from the rest of the world. Now the only way to get to the village was to either scale the mountain, or be an earthbender or airbender. This fog was not natural. It was of the Elders' doings. It kept this place a secret. For as long as the young sorcerer could remember, the fog had been there, keeping this place disconnected and a secret from the world. Unless you were one of the few chosen to leave to gather some supplies, this rarely occurs, no one knew of what transpired in the world. The only thing that anyone knew was the element of the current Avatar, earth. There was a diversity of benders, as some immigrants that migrated to the village, when people were allowed to enter the village, were benders.

Zhianwuo took a deep breath. He knew that he was going to defy the Elders' commands, but he was curious about the outside world. He knew that this mountain was not the whole world as they were taught. The mischievous teenager prepared to do what was most likely to be suicide. He was going to jump from the edge of the cliff, to the earth below. He had worked for many years for countless hours of the day to perfect the spell that would allow him to survive not only the impact, but also the force of the air around him as he fell towards the earth. The young seventeen year old sorcerer checked his surroundings to ensure no one would see him jump. As he got in the position to jump, he heard a foreign thought call out to him, another sorcerer. He waited a second as to see if the thought would call him again. It did this time the thought was clearer than before. The person it belonged to, fellow sorcerer and long time friend, Elsetla, was getting closer to his position. Zhianwuo did not reveal himself. He cared not what she wanted of him. His only goal was to explore the outside world. And with that he jumped.

Zhianwuo accelerated to the point of human tolerance. He felt is vision begun to darken. His vision then went black. He saw flashes of someone who strongly resembled his best friend, Elsetla. The only difference being that this woman was older by about three years, and wore strange clothing. The flashes quickly disappeared, along with the sense of falling. He felt the soft earth beneath him. It was unlike anything in the mountain. Zhianwuo ran his fingers through the grass. It was sparse but it was there. Slowly, Zhianwuo's vision returned to him. He looked around. The ground around him was mossy. As he looked around, he saw poles sticking upwards from the ground. The poles were tainted a crimson red. Zhianwuo's eyes moved up the pole to see it transition from wood to clothing. Zhianwuo sat up, confused by this. He then saw the rotting flesh of the arms and legs still in the clothing. Zhianwuo reeled back, into the mountain behind him. The bodies faced away from the mountain. They were meant to keep travelers away. It was effective. Zhianwuo stood up and pressed his back flat against the wall in an attempt to keep as far away from the horrid site as possible. The stench of the bodies mixed in with a thick fog reached the sorcerer's nose. He gagged at the smell.

Zhianwuo ran past the bodies and into the dead forest. This was not at all how he imagined the outside world being. He wished he could go back to the village, but he would be publicly shamed for sure. He decided it was best to keep moving away from the rotting corpses. As he continued, life was slowly increasing within the forest as he got further and further away from the mountain and the gruesome site at the bottom of it. He eventually broke into a clearing. It was how he had imagined the forests of the world, lush and serene. There were various birds singing their hearts out, though Zhianwuo could not located the source of the birds. Zhianwuo's bare feet caressed the soft earth that he walked upon. He fell back upon the ground, chuckling and running his hands over the grass. He was free of that horrid place.

End of the week

Zhianwuo wandered around a market in a village in the northern Earth Kingdom. He was intrigued by every little item on sale. He had no money to buy any of these items. And he had nowhere to put the items, so there was no point in stealing them. He had gotten some money periodically, though not enough to afford anything, by playing some street games rigged in his favor. He had found out that the current Avatar was named Kyoshi and resided on the southern part of the content that Zhianwuo currently stood in. Zhianwuo wanted to meet her to learn all he could about the world. It would become his goal to learn all knowledge that the humans knew.

As he walked down the street, he saw the flashes of the woman again. Zhianwuo realized the significance of this but did not tell anyone unless he wished to be shamed for insanity. He wished he knew what the flashes meant. If this Avatar was a knowledgeable as people claimed, then she would know what was wrong Zhianwuo. Zhianwuo sat down in the middle of the path to meditate on his thoughts. Almost immediately, his meditation was interrupted by the shadow of someone standing in front of him. He tried to ignore the shadow, when a small chuckle was heard from the figure in front of him. His eyes shot open to see the source of the chuckling standing almost directly over him. A young woman, not much older than Zhianwuo, stood in front of him.

"What is so funny?" the young sorcerer asked, looking over the girl, "Did I spill something on my robes?" He looked down at his robes, but did not see any spill.

"No, you're funny. You look at everything here like you have never seen it before and are anxious to find out what it does. And you are sitting in the middle of the road," she answered. Zhianwuo stood up. He stood a mere three inches taller than her.

"I'm Niline," she said, holding her hand out.

"Zhianwuo," he replied, shaking Niline's hand.

Three years later

Zhianwuo, now a fully accomplished sorcerer, entered his house. He was tired from the harvest. He removed his shoes by the door. He took a deep inhale. The smell of venison and various spices filled the air. It was a delectable smell.

"I am back from the harvest," he called out as he walked into the dining area. The aromatic smell of dinner became more potent. A smile crossed his face as he saw that dinner was already waiting. His wife, Niline, entered from the kitchen.

"I just had to wash up a little," she said, sitting at the small, square table. Zhianwuo nodded and sat across from her. Zhianwuo cut a piece of venison for himself.

"How was the harvest?" Niline asked.

"Better turn out than last year," he replied, taking a bite out of the slice he had cut.

"That is always good," she replied.

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It was now apparent that Niline and Zhianwuo were not as normal as people would think. As those around them reached into their fifties and sixties, Niline and Zhianwuo looked to be in their late twenties, early thirties. Zhianwuo knew that he lived longer due to his origins and that sorcerers could live almost as long as they pleased. Zhianwuo had figured out that Niline had come from the same village he did. Back when people could come and go as they pleased. Her parents had left the village.

Zhianwuo and Niline moved south from the village they had first settled in almost sixty years ago. They now resided in a small village on a peninsula south of the one they came from. It had about thirty people residing in it, including the sorcerer and his wife. They mostly kept to themselves. Most days were filled with exploring the surrounding lands. Due to her age, others believed that Niline was too old to conceive, but Niline and the sorcerer did not give up hope. Niline believed that when the Spirits felt that she was ready, she would conceive a child.

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Zhianwuo had taken up trade in the markets of the village that Niline and he had settled in many years ago. This day he left for the city Omashu to conduct trade there. He would return in one year. Most of the trip would be because of the months it takes to get there and back. He had prepared for his trip to the southern Earth Kingdom city for months. He had a feeling that the trade would be successful.

One year later

The trade had been successful. He had returned to his village. As he entered his house, he felt a chill in the air. The house was empty. It looked like wild animals had been on a rampage through it. He did not like the looks of this at all. He took his sword a sheath from above the fire place. He tied the sheath to his waist and drew his sword. He heard a noise that originated from the kitchen. He stealthily approached the kitchen. As he entered, he saw a man standing there, with his back to Zhianwuo. He recognized the clothing. Zhianwuo became filled with rage. He charged the man, taking him by surprise. He stuck the sword straight through the man's back and out the center of his chest. The man gasped and fell to his knees. He slouched over, dead. Zhianwuo, realizing what he did, withdrew the sword. His eyes widened and he began to shake. He had just killed someone. He swiftly snapped out of the trance he was in, realizing what happened. Zhianwuo was going home. He swiftly exited his house. He called fire to his hand and burned the house to the ground.

Zhianwuo approached the base of the mountain he had once called home. His face was twisted into a fit of rage. He gathered as much strength as he could and jumped as high as he could, almost reaching the height of a tall tree. He grabbed onto the face of the mountain and began his ascent. Throughout the ascent he saw flashes of a masked face. He did not know what it meant, nor did he care.

As he reached the rim, he pulled himself up. He stood in front of a crowd of people in the markets. He began to regret this, feeling that slaughtering them was not the answer. The visions of the masked face grew dim. Zhianwuo then heard a weak scream run through his head. The visions became increasingly vivid. He looked at the crowd before drawing his sword. They began to try to back away. The visions then became clear as day, and the masked face began to laugh in an evil tone. Some soldiers pushed their way through. Zhianwuo made quick work of them, taking off their heads in one slice. The people in the crowd began to panic. Zhianwuo charged the crowd, swinging his sword as he reached them, cutting several people down. He did not stop until the crowd was dead. Then, calling fire to his free hand, he lit all of the buildings in sight ablaze. It spread until there were no buildings left standing. He then entered into the mountain, where the main village was. He was met with soldiers whom he swiftly took care of. Their heads rolled to the ground, blood pouring from the stumps of their necks. For the most part the mountain was hollow. He would be able to cause multiple fires and not have to worry about smoke inhalation for awhile. So he lit buildings on fire as he advanced towards the Elders' temple, situated as par a possible from the entrance. Zhianwuo had lit the entrance on fire as so no one would be able to escape.

He cut down everyone in sight. Soon enough the roads flowed red. Zhianwuo did not hold back on anyone. He killed everyone in sight, men, women, and children. No one would survive. When he approached the Elders' temple, everyone else in the small city was dead. He let the flames die out. He entered the temple face down, as to not reveal who he was yet.

"Who is there?" one Elder spoke. They were the same ones as from when Zhianwuo was a child.

"Your vision has grown weary. It is one who you have sent away long ago," came the raspy reply from Zhianwuo. The Elders were confused by this.

"Do you have a name?" they asked in unison.

"My name is that of the one whom you have cursed as a bastard," he replied. The Elders then knew who he was.

"Zhianwuo, what gives you the right to return here?" The one on the far right asked. Zhianwuo turned his head towards him.

"Because the only ones still alive are those in this very room," Zhianwuo answered. The Elders gasped.

"You have taken something from me, and I want it back," he said.

"We do not know what you are speaking of," the middle one said. Before anyone could react, Zhianwuo took his head off with one slice. Blood poured from the lethal wound.

"We cannot help you if-" Zhianwuo did not allow the Elder on the left finish his sentence before taking off his head too.
"We do not have to endure this," the Elder on right said, standing to leave. Before he could take a step, Zhianwuo lit him on fire, causing the Elder to scream in pain before taking his head off.

"Does anyone else want to die?" Zhianwuo asked, rhetorically. When no one spoke up to help get what he wanted, he sliced vertically down the profile of the last Elder on the left, causing his back to fall off, revealing his internal organs to be sliced in half. He turned to the last Elder, who recoiled in fear.

"I am going to assume that you are educated. So I will give you thirty seconds to tell me where she is," Zhianwuo said. The Elder took a few seconds to catch his breath as Zhianwuo stood behind him.

"She is in the lower part of the prison," the Elder said. Zhianwuo raised sword.

"See, that wasn't so hard," he replied.

"But I warn you," the Elder spoke, causing Zhianwuo to raise an eyebrow, "she is in bad shape. She has been locked down there for months. And has been barely fed and given anything to drink. I spoke out against this, but the majority ruled that we keep the conditions the same."

"You always were a bad liar," Zhianwuo said, cursing him. With that, Zhianwuo stabbed his sword through the Elder's back. He slouched over. Zhianwuo swiftly removed the sword and decapitated the Elder. After he was satisfied with his work, Zhianwuo ran towards the prison. He got a strange satisfaction out of seeing the corpses mangled in the street. He did not know why he felt like this.

As he reached the prison, he found the door to be open. He ran to the stairs in the back of the prison. He jumped down the whole flight of stairs to the lower level. It was unguarded. He made his way down the hall until he reached a locked door. Looking through the window, he saw a figured chained up on the back wall, arms above her head. It was light enough to see the face, but dark enough to not be able to see the features. Somehow he knew it was Niline though. He swiftly got the door open. Zhianwuo grabbed on to the chain binding her right hand to the wall and pulled as hard as he could. The chain eventually gave way under the stress. Zhianwuo then grabbed the chain binding the other hand. Summoning all the strength he could, he pulled the chain from the wall.

Niline began to fell. Zhianwuo caught her halfway, and kneeled down, holding her in his arms. He could feel her slipping away. Looking at her body, he saw that it was bruised and broken. There was dried blood on her corners of her mouth. Her lips were dried and cracked from a lack of water. She had several cuts upon her cheeks. Her eyes were black from beatings and a lack of sleep. Her breathing was labored from several broken ribs. Her heartbeat was abnormally slow. Her body had multiple cuts and bruises upon it. Zhianwuo felt her breathing begin to slow. He was in utter shock at the brutality of the ones he used to call friends caused.

"Niline," Zhianwuo managed say. Niline looked up at him. Her eyes were barely able to stay open.

"Zhianwuo, I-" was all she managed to say. Her breathing and heartbeat stopped. Tears began to form in Zhianwuo's eyes. Just then, something inside of him snapped. He let out a loud primal roar. Zhianwuo's love was dead.

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Over the past, almost, one hundred and sixty years, Zhianwuo had lost almost all emotion and all sanity. Now and again, a short, insane laugh could be heard throughout the ruins of the mountain village. The only movement that could be heard from the ruins was that of the sorcerer's. He was now the only resident of the empty place. Over the years, he had developed a limp from an unknown cause. He now walked around with the aid of a cane.

As Zhianwuo walked among the ruins, he let out a laugh. He knew that war was coming, and for some reason overjoyed him. Zhianwuo, now adorning the Blasphemer's mask and sword at his hip, talked amongst himself, to some entity within his mind. He knew that he would not be disturbed by the coming war in this place, but a voice in his head told him to go and help with the death count. Mind broken, Zhianwuo agreed. He then heard light footsteps coming from nearby. Using his hearing to visualize the person or creature through vibrations, he saw a young woman. He could not discern any of her features. He ran swiftly towards the source of the sound, not needing his cane while running. When he reached the source of the footsteps, he saw no one. Perhaps it was his mind playing tricks on him. He returned to talking to the entity. Zhianwuo asked the entity if he would be able to make him forget Niline, as to try to move on with his life. The entity said that it could not be done.

12 ASC

War had begun, just as Zhianwuo had predicted. The reclusive sorcerer, sat upon a throne he built in the village. He heard the mountain shift. Someone was earthbending the side of the mountain, forming a path up it. Zhianwuo had an hour before anyone reached the top. His thoughts fell back upon who could know that this village was here. Zhianwuo had destroyed any signs of a village being here. And the only thing known was a children's bedtime story of a village in a mountain. As the hour passed, Zhianwuo could hear them getting closer and closer. There was a small band of people coming up the mountain. Zhianwuo exited the mountain village into the ruins of the market.

A small band of soldiers led by who appeared to be their leader came up their path, over the rim. The soldiers' masks were of different colors. Some were red, others were blue, and others were green. Zhianwuo approached the apparent leader.

"Who dares to approach my home?" the broken sorcerer asked. Their leader got on one knee before Zhianwuo and bowed his head.

"I am Emperor Roask. I have heard much about you. I wish you to come with us, aid us in our cause," the emperor said. Zhianwuo mulled this over. He wanted to stay here, isolated. But the voice told him to go with the emperor; as it was a chance to cause death and destruction.

"What is in it for me?" Zhianwuo asked. The emperor, still on his knee, looked up at the sorcerer.

"Anything that you want," Roask said. Zhianwuo grinned under his mask.

"Give me a moment to gather my belongings," Zhianwuo said before limping swiftly into the mountain village. He approached a place that had been well kept and free of debris, in a secluded place. A small wooden cross, a token to the Spirits, stood at the head of an area of packed dirt. Zhianwuo knelt beside it. He put his hand on the packed dirt and sat in silence for a few moments.

"Goodbye, my love, I must go. It is my destiny," he said softly, before standing and turning to leave. As he limped away and towards the market, everything that had happened since he left this place three hundred and twelve years ago played through his mind. All of this overloaded his mind. He fell to his knees, grabbed his head, and screamed in pain. After a few seconds, he stood and continued towards the market as if nothing had happened.

Present Day

Dimension 2

Zhianwuo watched Amy, unseen in the shadows, as she spoke with the man he had made the deal with, Jake. He had not killed Clayton yet, but Zhianwuo knew that he would not fail him. He was not stupid. He knew what Zhianwuo was capable of. Zhianwuo had been trapped in this gas like state since he lost his body during a trip to this dimension's future. Until he was able to fetch his body, he worked on creating an exact duplicate. It should be simple; he had successfully cloned that dead woman, Natalie, with a few 'adjustments'. He had also known that she ran off. She still had the mindset of the dead woman. Zhianwuo knew the past she had with Jake. He would wait until she came to him; that is when he would take her back. As he watched Amy, he got this strange feeling of recognition. He kept seeing flashes of an oddly familiar woman who looked like Amy. Zhianwuo thought that by capturing her and looking into, what Zhianwuo called, her ancestral memory, he would finally solve this puzzle of who the woman in these strange flashes was. Zhianwuo felt an emotion he could not place. It made him feel warm inside, in a sense considering his current state. He felt the need to take her to the forbidden place he left eighty-eight years ago. The need began to overwhelm him.