Chapter Four: The Southern Air Temple
"You have a long journey ahead of you. It's been so long since I've had hope, but you brought it back to life, my little waterbender. "
Kanna to Katara, The Avatar Returns
Preparations for the departure of the warriors and for the Avatar were swiftly set into motion, and all too soon the day to leave had finally arrived. Aang was jubilant that they were finally leaving the South Pole after twelve years (he'd be able to see more than snow and the too few southern winter camp trees and grass!), and Appa seemed more than ready to fly longer distances than a few miles at a time if his bellowing roars and stomping feet were any indicator. Katara was excited, but more to the point where she felt like she was going to throw up with all her conflicting emotions. She was going to see the world, like she had always wanted to! But Gran Gran... Gran Gran would be alone with the few remaining elders, women, and the small children that were left in their village. Only their neighboring village could be called upon for any assistance, and most of their able bodied men were going too. How long would everyone have to wait for aid to arrive from literally the other end of the world? Weeks? Months?
The young Avatar couldn't help feeling guilty for putting her in that position, but the elderly woman put her at ease as the two made their way out of the village gates and to the beach, where Appa and all the warriors were waiting. "Katara, don't worry about me and the others. We've done well enough on our own before, and we'll do well enough in the time you're gone. As the Avatar, you have a destiny, and a purpose greater than what the South Pole can offer you." She paused to wrap her arms around the girl, giving her a surprisingly firm squeeze. "I know you'll be a great Avatar." She murmured, "But the world is a dangerous place. Be cautious and take care, my little waterbender."
Katara gulped back a wave of tears. It was ridiculous how easily she could be provoked to cry, and she scolded herself for being a baby about going away. She put on a brave face in spite of the tears, and a small smile spread across her face as she hugged Gran Gran back. "I'll be sure to be careful, and get to the North Pole as soon as I can." She promised. "I'll make you proud, Gran Gran."
A few yards away Sokka stood by Appa's side, watching the exchange between his sister and grandmother as he hoisted his sleeping bag up into the saddle alongside the other supplies needed for the trip. It was easy to see that Katara's inborn curiosity about the world was winning over her deep seated loyalty to her home (last night she couldn't stop going on about it), but when he asked himself what he thought about all this, he found that aside from his underlying excitement over it all, he already felt homesick. Would the North be anything like home? Would he fit in as a warrior, despite his youth? What if Dad was sending them away because he thought Sokka wasn't fit to fight with the other men?
When he told his father his doubts, Dad waved them off with a gentle smile. "Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most, and for you right now that's staying with your sister." He reminded his son, "You are not only acting as her protector, but you are acting as our Tribe's representative when you arrive at the North Pole." Taking the last heavy pack by their feet, he swung it up into the saddle with a grunt, pausing to pat Appa's flank affectionately before turning and grasping Sokka's shoulder. His eyes were suspiciously bright, but his voice was steady, and the small smile didn't waver. "Take care of your sister, Sokka. She'll need you more than you know. The world's a big place, and it's easy to let your guard down around wolves disguised with sealskin. Not everyone has the same loyalty to the Avatar as we do, and not everyone has the integrity we prize here. Just be mindful, and things will be just fine." He grasped Sokka's forearm in a traditional warrior's shake before pulling him into a hug. "I have faith in you, son." He murmured, "I'll miss you."
Sokka coughed, cursing the tightness in his throat. "I'll make you proud, Dad. I'll miss you too."
Hakoda straightened, patting Sokka's shoulder and gesturing for his son to climb up into the saddle before turning to say his goodbye to his waiting daughter. They regarded one another for an awkward moment before Hakoda cleared his throat. "I know you've heard this from your grandmother already, but I want you to be careful. Being the Avatar, you can't afford to be discovered before your time... and I can't afford to lose another person dear to me."
She nodded solemnly, reaching out and hugging her father around his waist. Hakoda's grip on his emotions wavered as he held her close, sudden anxiety over sending his children out alone hitting him square in the chest. He tightened his hug momentarily before releasing her and looking her in the eye. "I'm proud of what you've been able to accomplish in such a short time, and under such stressful times. Your mother would be so proud to see you now." He reached inside his belt and pulled out his parting gift for her. "I know things haven't been easy, and pressure is strong for you as the Avatar, but you're stronger. I know that with all I am, and your mother knew it too, even if she never fully realized that you were the Avatar. I think she'd like you to have this."
Blue eyes widening, Katara gasped as her father held out Mom's necklace. The carved moonshell pendant gleamed clean and bright in the sun, and the previous plain blue silk ribbon was replaced with a fresh navy one. Hakoda gestured for her to lift her braid as he fastened it on for her, and nodded in approval as he stepped back to look at her. She fingered it reverently, though the weight and fit of it on her neck would take some getting used to.
He nudged her towards Appa before she could say her thanks, smiling tightly and unwilling to shed anymore tears this day. "Go on now. We're counting on you two!"
Katara climbed on Appa, feeling the anxious energy course through the bison as she settled into the wide saddle. She met Sokka's hesitant gaze, and Aang's joyful one, and found herself feeling giddy with excitement. With Aang's cheerful "yip yip!", the bison's strong tail swung downward, and with a billowing swoosh of air and snow, they were airborne. The siblings leaned over the edge of the saddle to watch the tribe they knew and loved grow smaller, the last discernible thing they could spot on Dad and Gran Gran's faces were bittersweet smiles of pride before they grew into specks, and at last faded from view as they passed through a cloud and set out over the sea.
As far as journeys went, flying on Appa was a great deal faster and more convenient than paddling a canoe or sailing in an umiak. It was only a few hours into their flight when mountains became visible, the craggy peaks shrouded in misty clouds. Sokka and Katara peered ahead with some wonderment (mountains were always avoided in the South, as they were inhospitable), and Appa bellowed a roar of excitement. Aang stared at them with a bittersweet fondness. "We're getting close to the Patola Mountain Range, guys!" He called from his perch on Appa's head, "We'll have to stop for the night near the Southern Air Temple." His expression dimmed a bit, longing to see the Temple fighting with the regret and shame he felt over what he knew had happened there. It was his hesitancy to actually see the damage wrought on his beloved home that eventually prompted him to avoid actually going there. "You think you guys have enough food to get to the Earth Kingdom? The closest would be Kyoshi Island, if the map is right, about three days away. If not, we'll find some fruit trees if we can- the Monks would plant peach, cherry, and apple trees along our flying routes, and the mountain range's end is pretty close to the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom."
Katara mulled it over. Fruit sounded good and the urge to hurry northward was strong, but... "Why not just camp at the Air Temple itself, Aang?" She wondered aloud, "I mean, it would probably have more fruit trees than on the way, right? And it'd be more sheltered than sleeping out in the open, with the weather getting colder. Besides," She studied him for a moment, noting his hesitancy, "Don't you want to see the place where you grew up again?"
"As long as they have food, I'm okay with it." An unfazed Sokka called from the back of the saddle, studying the map Dad had given him and ignoring his sister's one sided conversation for the time being. Katara scowled at him before turning to Aang when the spirit boy cleared his throat nervously. "I... I'm not sure it's a good idea. Other than the stables, there's no place for Appa, and I'm sure you don't want to sleep in a stable."
His excuse fell limp as a wet noodle, and Katara sighed at his transparency. "Come on," She wheedled, "I'm still mastering airbending! Wouldn't it be good for my education to see an actual Air Temple? Maybe there are other nomads there, and they've just been hiding this whole time!"
Aang scowled at her in irritation. She didn't understand. She hadn't seen what the comet enhanced attack on the Temples did. He was told that he was the very last one to survive, and now he too had died- it was the whole reason he was going to be given another chance to live if Katara succeeded, to rebuild his extinct culture and ensure the Avatar Cycle would continue. There would be no one there at the Temple to greet them, no familiar saffron and orange robes, no fruit pies, no laughter of young and old monks as they watched a lively game of airball. It was hopeless to think that they were waiting for him. It was all gone; like seeing brittle, dead autumn leaves and remembering their vibrant green sheen during the summer, and the thought made Aang even more resistant of the idea of visiting.
Katara only grew more curious, however, and as a result they quarreled about it most of the evening, even when Aang stubbornly landed Appa at the foot of the mountain that the Temple was built on and threatened to go take a trip into the Spirit World until she stopped asking to go. Sokka finally groaned aloud as he was left alone to set up camp by himself. Three and a half years of watching his sister openly talk to her invisible, magical previous life had made him (mostly) immune to the weirdness of it all, but sometimes it got to be a little tiresome... arguments and deep, meaningful conversations chief among them. After the top of the tent drooped onto his head for the fourth time in a row, he whirled around to face 'them' with an aggravated growl. "Katara, I know you're busy arguing with your invisible, inaudible friend, but I could use some help here!"
"Sorry." Katara ducked her head sheepishly, though she traded an annoyed look with Aang before the two stomped off in a huff and started helping out.
They soon lost themselves in their work; Sokka was halfway through the tent set up already, and soon with Katara's help it was assembled and they were able to spread out the sleeping bags inside. Aang arranged the bags and baskets before pulling out his grooming brush for Appa and set to work brushing the flying bison down after the long flight (only asking for Katara's assistance once, since he could no longer airbend the heavy saddle down to the ground himself). The post flight ritual was therapeutic, and did much in calming Aang down. As he watched Katara scurry around the camp making preparations (and occasionally reminding Sokka that the blubbered seal jerky was not supposed to be eaten all in one sitting), he started reconsidering his earlier decision.
She was right, in a way. Seeing the Temple would be necessary for her airbending education, and it would be great to see if they could find some airbending scrolls intact... maybe even a glider or a pair of metal fans, as the only thing they had been able to use in place of a staff was a longish stick they'd found last year, during the warmer winter months spent in the berry picking grounds. The stick was okay, but it was clumsy in her hands and it wasn't fully straight, making the precise nature of airbending with a staff pretty much a moot point when she continually missed her targets. They had left it in their haste to pack up for the journey north, and now the idea of visiting the Temple was proving to be more of a temptation. Frustrated, Aang buried his face in Appa's flank with a groan. Why is this so hard?
It was the sound of Katara's soft, contrite voice a half hour later that eventually prompted him to look up. To his surprise, it was already dark, and the shadows hid most of his friend's expression as she stood awkwardly before him. "Aang... I'm sorry for earlier. I thought about it, and I guess it's kinda selfish to want to go. I didn't think about how you would feel, seeing the Fire Nation's attack on your home." Her slender fingers fidgeted with her mother's necklace, her mouth tilted down in a frown. "Plus... I hate it when we argue. I don't like it."
"I don't like it either, you guys weird me out every time it happens!"
"Shut up, Sokka! I'm trying to apologize!"
"It's okay, Katara." Aang stood, making his way over to Sokka's merrily crackling fire, beckoning her to follow and sit next to him. As she settled next to him he silently fidgeted with a twig, twirling it in his fingers before tossing it into the flames, watching with sadness as the slender offshoots curled and disintegrated into a few unrecognizable wisps of ash in a matter of seconds. He looked up at Katara as the wind carried the little ashes and embers away, and she seemed appropriately subdued by his morose mood. "You have to understand... I remember what it was like there when it was untouched. I'm not saying we can't go, because it would be good for you to see the Temple... but..."
Katara grasped his shoulder. "I understand. I won't push it."
"Won't push what?"
"Seeing the Temple." Katara accepted the jerky bag as Sokka held it out, making a face at the five remaining pieces in mild annoyance before selecting a stout piece and continuing. "Aang says it's not going to be the same as when he was there a hundred years ago." Her gaze slid over to regard a hunched over Aang even as she continued speaking to Sokka. "He said that there's no airbenders left in the world at all... no one will be there to greet us if we go."
Sokka munched on his seventh stick of jerky thoughtfully. "You know, I've never really thought about it- your invisible friend being, you know, alive at one point and living somewhere else other than with us." He awkwardly studied the spot Katara had been looking at, where he assumed the spirit boy might be. He grimaced, feeling strange talking to Katara's invisible past life. "Sorry Aang."
"It's okay." Aang grinned and straightened up, the altogether too rare time of being spoken to by someone other than Katara (and being apologized to at that!) chasing away some of the gloom, even though he knew Sokka couldn't hear his reply. "Being dead isn't all that bad, but I do miss eating food... well, vegetarian food anyway." He eyed the jerky distastefully.
Katara laughed, relaying what Aang said back to her brother, who looked a little mournful. "No food for twelve years! I feel for you, man. But meat's man's food, you know. Don't be knocking good food like jerky here! Veggies are rabiroo food!"
His mood elevated, Aang glanced up into the dark shadows of dusk that held the silhouette of his boyhood home thoughtfully. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad after all, if he went with his friends. And maybe, just maybe, there would be some closure for himself as well.
"You were right about the fruit trees, Aang! I should have brought another basket."
Aang's smiling countenance was a good thing to wake up to in the morning, Katara found out, especially when she had felt a little disoriented in where she was at first. Sokka seemed to be a little homesick too, especially when he found that breakfast wasn't going to happen due to his raiding the jerky bag again before going to bed. (There was a few dried bundles of seaweed noodles and a braided loaf of bread, but Katara was bound and determined to save them in case they couldn't find anything else over the course of the next few days.) Fortunately, as they made their way up the mountainside, Katara spotted the red gleam of sheepnose apples peeping out from beneath their small, olive green leaves, all perfectly ripe for the picking. (Good thing too; the other fruit trees were on the tail end of bearing and not much was available on the trail so far.)
Sokka was currently praising the virtues of late bearing apple trees as he scarfed the fruit down, and Aang was amusing himself by hanging upside down by his knees on a branch, dangling comically in front of Katara. "See? Told you the Monks were thoughtful." He grinned, "Cherries would ripen first, then peaches, and then the apples before snow set in. Most of the year we were able to make fruit pies and sell them for money to buy necessities, and then give any left overs for charity."
"Sounds yummy." Katara grinned, biting into an apple and securing the basket's flip down lid over the rest. She wondered if trading between the Air Nomads extended to the Southern Water Tribe. Delicacies like fruit pies (heck, fruit anything) would have sold like hot cakes back home.
Bending a cushion of air under herself, the young Avatar propelled herself with a spiraling twirl into Appa's saddle and set the basket in the corner where it wouldn't easily tip over. She ignored the startled shriek of her brother as Aang laughingly shook a branch over Sokka's head, pelting her brother with apples. "Hurry up you two! The sooner we go, the sooner we can see the Temple!"
Picking a twig out of his wolf tail, Sokka climbed aboard as well, muttering curses under his breath about apples and invisible spirit boys. "Why are you so intense on seeing this place? Aang already said it was abandoned."
"Well, think of it! We'll be some of the only outsiders to see this place, and it'll be fun to see everything that he's been telling me about." She crossed her arms with a self righteous sniff. "Plus, it's going to be an educational thing. For my Avatar training."
"Of course it is." He drawled sarcastically.
"Actually, she's right." Aang floated up to Appa's head and flicked the reins. Appa took off, carrying them from the mountain path and up into the shrouded heights that hid the Temple. "The Avatar needs to become acquainted with all the world's cultures! We'll sneak in some airbending training before we head out, and try to find out if we can salvage anything for later." He frowned lightly. "I wonder if the library survived."
As it turned out, it did not.
Aang knew intellectually that not much would have survived the attacks he had seen in the vision, but it was an entirely different thing seeing it up close and personal. Apparently, Sozin hit this Temple very hard- after nearly a century, the children could see the effects of the devastating attack. The walls were pockmarked, the vast collection of sacred scrolls and texts had long since been burned to ash, and in protected alcoves scattered bits of bones and pieces of armor could be seen. Even the airball court had evidence of destruction, with armor and helmets littering the grounds. Katara's prior enthusiasm had died a swift, merciless death, and Sokka was grim faced and subdued as they explored the once vibrantly alive place. Aang could barely choke out the descriptions on each spot they visited, and he just about lost it altogether when he showed them Gyatso's statue. He lingered by his beloved mentor's likeness in silence, not noticing if the others had left without him or not as he stared at Gyatso's serene expression, so very real in the slightest upward tilt of his lips. I never said goodbye to him. He thought, shame and tears constricting his throat and clouding his vision. And I'm forbidden to look for him or the others in the Spirit World until Katara wins the war. He might never know how much I loved him... he might never know how much I regret not saying goodbye to him properly.
"Aang?"
He looked up, only mildly surprised to see Katara had stayed by his side even while Sokka had long since wandered off. The girl wrapped an arm around him. "Come on. The quicker we get through this place, the sooner we can leave this behind."
Aang sucked in a steadying breath, grasping her hand and lowering it off his shoulder. The young monk reminded himself not to snap at her- she was trying to look out for him. It hurt, but if they stuck around much longer he was not going to be of any use at all, no matter how much time he needed to grieve. He willed himself to walk and not run away from the venerable stone monk's compassionate gaze. "I think there's one last place we need to check out before we leave. The library and scriptorium been destroyed, but maybe the room behind the sacred doors is still untouched."
"Sacred doors?"
They passed a courtyard down below, the intricate looking spiral shapes within the tiles catching Katara's interest for a moment. Aang nodded. "Yeah, it was a room that was sealed off by these super thick doors, and it can only be opened by a Master airbender. I was told that I was going to meet someone there, just before I ran away, so I guess it has something to do with the Avatar."
"Wow." Katara sounded awed, "You think that the someone who you were supposed to meet is still there?"
"I don't think the person was alive..." He mused aloud, gesturing for Katara to airbend herself up to the archway above their heads as he effortlessly floated up, nodding his approval as she landed lightly on her feet. "I've been thinking about it for a while, and if it's an Avatar room, perhaps I was supposed to meet Avatar Roku." It was now a moot point for both young Avatars, seeing as he had met Roku upon dying and Katara was currently talking to him, but something in Aang desperately needed to see if there was anything left of his boyhood home undisturbed.
As they finally stood in front of the doors, Katara darted forward to study them, her curiosity awakened. "Wow! Look at all the carvings! How long do you think they spent carving these panels?" She ran a slim, dusky hand along the weather smoothed surface, marveling at how very tall and thick the doors were. Goodness, where did anyone find the trees for the wood? She wondered in awe, They must have been enormous!
Aang couldn't help but feel cheered up by his friend's reaction. He chuckled a little. "I don't know. The doors and the room has been here for over a thousand years, or so I was told. I'd have to ask some of the others if they remember them."
Katara tilted a curious glance at him. "Others?"
"Our past lives." Aang elaborated, sweeping his arms out wide. "There's literally over a thousand of them, Katara! The Avatar cycle goes back over 2,500 years, you know. There must have been other Avatars who grew up here at the Southern Temple, and dozens more who came here to learn airbending when their time came. Roku learned airbending here, after all."
Katara repressed a shiver at the idea of the Avatar ever being born into the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation was made up of monsters. Surely there was no such thing as a good man coming from there.
She looked over the doors once more, shaking off the disturbing thought. "So... only a Master Airbender can open them? How will we get inside? I'm not a Master yet!"
"Well, no, you aren't yet," Aang conceded, "But that's because you haven't learned any of the staff or fan forms. For raw airbending talent, you've improved in leaps and bounds! I'd say that in regular weaponless airbending, you're getting very close to mastering it."
She blushed, looking down at her mukluks with a shy smile. "You really think so?"
"Sure I do! Now," He lowered himself into a stance, his arms held out in front of him in demonstration, "You'll need to direct two strong airblasts into these openings here." He nodded to the two tsungi horn shaped pieces, "And you need to keep it perfectly steady! Just keep blasting until you see the panels rotate into place. Okay?"
He moved, and Katara took his place. Sucking in a deep, centering breath, she thrust out her arms with a sharp "Ha!", and put all her energy into maintaining the gale force currents coming from her hands. Her efforts were rewarded after a few moments with a sharp clack! as the first panel rotated and clicked into place, and then the second. Her control was on the verge of wavering when the final piece rotated into place; and the doors made a heavy, settling Ka-chunk! sound that startled her out of her bending before slowly swinging open with a creaking groan. Aang pumped a fist in the air, cheering "Way to go, Katara!" while Katara blew out a breath and grinned at the evidence of her skill level. Aang grasped her hand, excitement filling him for the first time today as he peered into the great room. "Come on, this place has been completely untouched! Let's go check it out!"
Katara allowed herself be led inside, and as soon as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she saw the reason for Aang's excitement.
Statues- hundreds of them- filled the widely spacious room, all different and all life size, lined up in the classic elemental pattern. Katara drew a breath of wonderment, craning her head to see the statues that spiraled up to the indiscernible ceiling. She turned to her friend, astonished. "Aang... this is amazing! Are all of these our past lives?"
He smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes as he stared at the empty space next to Roku's statue. "Yep. Everyone is here but me... and you, of course."
"There's so many of them! And all of them were real live people, all with their own stories." The Water Tribe girl stared at the stoic looking men and women who had come before her, her awe slowly melting away and uncertainty replacing it. "I suppose they've all done amazing things- thousands of times over. How...how am I ever going to live up to that?"
Aang rubbed the back of his head. "Just ask Kuruk about doing great things- he left the world alone and didn't do anything special as the Avatar. Heck, look at me! I failed. And there's others who have failed before me." He offered a tentative smile at her. "But for what it's worth, I know you'll be an amazing Avatar. Probably better than most of us past Avatars combined!"
Whether she too would fail in the end, or become one of the youngest to ever become a fully realized Avatar, it was hard to say at this point. But as Aang saw the reassured smile spread on his friend's pretty features and brighten the darkness, he was certain that he wasn't wrong.
Three Days Later, At Another Temple...
The soft morning light filtered through the magnificent, upside down spires of the Western Air Temple, and a light breeze teased the crimson robes of the man who stood at the edge of one of the spacious courtyards. "What a stunning view!" He enthused, beholding the sight of dawn kissed mountains dotted with trees and veiled in a light glowing mist. General Iroh had seen many things in his life, but for a moment he envied the nuns who had once lived here. What a sight to behold, every morning! What he wouldn't give for the freedom they must have felt, for himself... but especially for Zuko.
He turned to his nephew, who glared at the morning sky as if it offended him. The thirteen year old's back was ramrod straight, and it was apparent that gentle cajoling was not going to help the young Prince relax. "The only view I'm interested in is the Avatar in chains." He snarled, his young voice raspy from his recovery over the fever he had suffered on the way over. The blow the Fire Lord had dealt him was finally rid of any contaminants that would cause infection and was securely wrapped up now, and the retired General was more fussy than ever about keeping it clean. He regarded the angry young man sadly. "You know, the Avatar hasn't been seen in nearly a hundred years. The chances of finding him- or her- here are very slim."
The lack of stately women and giggling little girls here were a testament to that.
In spite of his words, Zuko was determined to start the search immediately. "First we'll check each of the air temples, and then we'll scour the rest of the world, searching in even the most remote locations!"
"Prince Zuko... it's only been a week since your banishment." Iroh gently tried again, "You should take some time to heal and rest."
After the fateful Agni Kai, Ozai had piled further humiliation upon his son by banishing him; sending him off in one of the oldest warships outfitted with ex-criminals, a doctor, a few petty officers, and a loyal lieutenant for a crew within the hour. Before they had set sail, Ozai had given the boy a joke of a chance at redeeming himself: find the Avatar and bring him back. Only then could Zuko regain his rightful standing as heir to the throne, and his honor. Iroh knew it wouldn't happen- the White Lotus had been conducting their own search for years, and have finally given up twenty years ago. Despite the fact the airbending Avatar was very likely dead and even the cycle itself might be broken by now, his nephew took his father's ultimatum seriously.
Zuko turned to him with a sneer. "What else would I expect to hear from the laziest man in the Fire Nation?" The Prince turned back to regard the distant mountains, ignoring his uncle's sigh. "The only way to regain my honor is to find and capture the Avatar... so I will. If I have to, I'll send every day of the rest of my life hunting the Avatar. I know it's my destiny to capture him!"
A knowing smile spread over the retired general's face, and he clasped a hand on the boy's shoulder. Perhaps this banishment wasn't quite the punishment that Ozai had intended. "You know Prince Zuko, destiny is a funny thing. You never know how things are going to work out. But if you keep an open mind, and an open heart, I promise you will find your own destiny someday."
Author's Note: Guh, SO glad to get this chapter out of the way (and so glad to get Zuko's introduction established)! Had to rip this one quick like a band aid, since the Southern Air Temple is a necessary chapter but a long and (I'm afraid) rather boring one. So Sorry! Now we can go on forward with the journey!
Originally I was going to have Sokka and Katara find more bones than what was showed, but my husband reminded me that bones out in the open won't last for a century. So, less angst for you guys than necessary, ha ha. More humor to come in the next chapter, with the addition of Momo (yes, I haven't forgotten him and Sokka) and the arrival at Kyoshi Island!