Hello everyone.
Here we are again with another update.
As always, I want to thank everyone that reviewed, favorited and followed since the prior update.
And as usual, if you find the story worth following. Please, consider doing so as you read along.
And without further ado, please enjoy.
The Potential Within – Chapter Eighty-Nine
The Sentinel Tree now rapidly repaired itself while cracks of light penetrated the deep underground cavern below.
Just as Silah slid down from the side of the cavern wall with her angered dark green eyes staring out from underneath her mask.
Nako rasped on her knees with her eyes agape in trauma while Ty Lee patted her back.
"It's going to be okay Nako." Ty Lee assured in a supportive voice as Nako stared down at her hands with terror-stricken eyes.
As both Azula and Zoi glared at Silah through their corner of their eyes while the hunter dropped to the ground below.
"So…. you finally returned Mava." Silah stated with her masked face gazing back at her old companion's wrinkled countenance while Zoi fired her line into the rock above.
"Had you not been so single minded with your twisted perversions you would have noticed my return long before I caught you off guard." Mava answered in a gravely voice as she leaned heavily under her staff while the group gazed at her in fascination.
"I must say old hag. I truly thought that you kicked the bucket. Though by the look of it that may not be too far off." Azula spoke in a snide voice with her cold eyes glancing down at the hunched over sage.
"Azula!" Ty Lee chided while her friend just rolled her amber golden eyes in response.
"By Agni. What a deranged beast you have become. I had known that you lost your way…but this…" Mava trailed off in an almost saddened voice as she raised her glowing staff into the air.
And just like that the tree roots began to spill out towards the cornered hunter.
The princess rose a brow beside her equally intrigued companions just as the captain's line embedded in the rock above.
And then the enraged warrior soared towards the hunter with steam blowing off her body.
"You only say that because you have not been enlightened…like I have." Silah remarked with her gloved hand on the wall while the captain plunged down above her.
Only for the two Fire Twins to slam into the furious captain from both sides as the seething woman slid across the rock in her anger.
Just as she skidded to a stop with her sword in hand while her golden eyes boiled over in rage.
"P-Princess…she's…." Nako coughed as she rasped for air as her comrades turned to her with attentive eyes.
Azula turned to stare down at her with even more approval in her callous amber golden eyes.
"Take a moment to catch your breath Nako." Mai advised in a marginally kinder voice than before she got to know the girl while Nako coughed once more.
Although she couldn't help but stare at the demented puppeteer with hidden fear in her tawny eyes.
Even with the tide seemingly turning in their favor with the old woman's return she wasn't comfortable being anywhere near that maniac.
As far as she was concerned the sooner.
The sooner they get as far away as possible from that monster the better!
"She's…using wires to control them!" Nako shouted with her eyes wide in terror while her comrades spun around to gaze down at her in surprise.
As the princess and the captain's eyes widened as they watched the puppeteer leap away onto the rock above.
And that was when they saw it.
There was a faint glimmer of silver in the sunlight that glistened in the air between the puppets and their master!
Azula's callous amber golden eyes narrowed into a hawk like gaze as she glared murderously at her enemy's concealed face.
'So, it wasn't just my imagination! That was a wire!' Azula thought with her brilliant amber golden eyes taking on a predatory gleam while turned to gaze back down at her devoted pilot in recognition.
"Wires? That's insane! She is doing all of that with wires?" Saro asked in a stunned voice with his golden eyes gazing on in astonishment.
'So…that's her secret.' Zoi thought with her golden eyes taking on a fixated gleam while her harsh gaze followed the movements of the backpedaling puppeteer.
"I am going to tear those wires out one by one and then we'll see just how formidable you are without your toys." Zoi stated in a ruthless voice as she propelled herself into the air while the hunter's lips curved into a devious smile.
"Be careful Captain! It's…not as simple as it sounds!" Nako advised as she sat up on her knees while her companions listened attentively.
Zoi gazed over her shoulder with her golden eyes paying mind to the young pilot's words.
What the girl lacked in physical prowess she more than made up for in strategic wit.
And that was worthy of her respect.
"Explain yourself Nako." Azula ordered in a strict voice with her callous eyes studying the puppet's closely as they jumped down in front of their master.
"I…found a wire chamber! It was…like an enormous web of cables. There were hundreds…maybe even thousands of them! And she was shifting them away from your location every time that you and the captain attacked!" Nako exclaimed in a hurried voice with her companions now gazing down at her in shock.
The princess's amber golden eyes now shone with renewed aggravation as she put one boot forward.
Before she watched with narrowed eyes when Zoi lunged through the air at the smirking puppeteer.
Only for Silah to yank her fingers on something unseen while the captain fell down above her.
And not a second later…
The warrior's eyes widened in surprise when she felt small steel wires swiftly wrap around her arms and legs as they began to slice through her clothing.
As the twins now jumped down above her from both angles.
"If you think my artwork is that simplistic then you are a fool. My art is much more intricate than that." Silah spoke in a sanguine voice as she swung Zoi in the air while the captain gritted her teeth in her ire.
"Of course, nothing with this freak would be simple." Mai muttered as she stood up with her knives in hand.
"And somehow…she is able to render them nearly invisible…" Nako trailed off as she fell silent when Silah's terrifying dark green eyes met her own.
And just like that she was once more swallowing in terror as sweat dripped down her brow.
Before she found herself jumping in surprise when Azula's commanding voice shouted in her ear.
"Stop that cowering Nako!" Azula barked in her usual domineering voice while she glared down at her shaken pilot.
"I apologize Princess! I am trying but I am afraid." Nako answered in a skittish voice while Ty Lee offered her a sympathetic look.
"Azula…try to go a little easier on her. She…went through a great ordeal." Ty Lee explained in a soft voice while Azula's lips still pursed into a regal scowl.
"I would have thought that I have made it abundantly clear by now that I am not going to let you die." Azula spoke in a callous voice as she turned to direct a murderous stare at her enemy while Nako soon found herself smiling in relief.
"I…will remember that Princess. Thank you." Nako stated in a quiet voice as she stood up while the ground continued to rumble all around them.
She gazed up at the ancient tree in wonder as its branches repaired at an astonishing rate.
Azula briefly regarded her loyal subordinate through the corner of an impressed amber golden eye.
'To think that Nako was able to decipher all of that in a few mere minutes…which is to say nothing of that little invention of hers. There is no doubt about it…this commoner pilot of mine is an indispensable resource.' Azula thought with her icy eyes turning to gaze ahead while her burning fists clenched at her womanly hips.
She will have to keep a close watch over that one.
It would not do to lose her.
And then she watched with stoic amber golden eyes as they were pulled back on a platform of tree roots.
Just before the furious captain was flung away into a pile of rubble while she ground her teeth together when her back slammed into a wall of rock.
"We must be done with Silah fast so we can conclude the ritual." Mava stated in a hurried voice with her staff held high as the tree repaired itself while Azula's possessive amber golden eyes peered down at the dozing girl.
"If anything happens to that girl…" Azula trailed off in a menacing voice with her amber golden eyes now gazing down at the sage in a terrifying stare that had her companions shuddering beside her.
"If anything happens to her you're all going to die eventually so it really doesn't matter. Now do me a favor and shut up! Brat!" Mava snapped as the others listened in a floored silence while the princess's angered eyes stared back at her in loathing.
'What does that mean? If something happens to Elle…we all die?' Mai thought with her tawny eyes gazing down at the girl in concern while rocks continued to explode into the air.
'Damn her! There are far too many cables. It won't be easy finding which ones are powering her puppets.' Zoi thought as she pulled her arm free of cables while her stony golden eyes glared back at the hunter's masked visage.
And then not even seconds later.
The sound of a piercing explosion of tree roots below shattered into the air as they all spun around to gaze down below.
As Silah's painted lips curved into a smug smirk while Team Azula's eyes flashed with frustration when they saw the mechanical badgermole bursting free of its restraints.
Azula and Zoi shared a look of aggravation while they quickly glared between the puppeteer and her metal monstrosity.
Their eyes grew wider in alarm when the creature opened its mouth once more with its cannon aimed up at them.
Just before the projectile fired high into the air while the princess's forced stared on with their eyes agape in fright.
Only for Azula to take them by surprise when she swiftly generated lightning at her fingertips.
And then the princess released her gathered energy before it impacted with the cannon fire mere moments later.
And then a booming explosion echoed into the air while they watched in awe with their elbows shielding their eyes.
The princess now held her smoking hand before her merciless face while she glared at Silah through the corner of her icy eye.
"Nice shot Azula!" Ty Lee exclaimed as she gazed at her leader's tall back in amazement while the princess's lips twitched into the barest hint of a smirk.
'How is she controlling that vehicle? I don't see any cables connecting it to her…does she have an accomplice?' Azula thought with her full lips pursed into a tight scowl while she glared back at the puppeteer's smiling lips.
"Indeed Princess…well done." Zoi commented as she stood staring hard back at her opponent's concealed face while the hunter's visible lips curved into an even larger smirk.
"Nako...if I recall correctly you hail from Teng Shu…is that right?" Silah questioned without warning while Nako's brown eyes grew wide in horror.
And even the others fell silent in a state of shock that the woman had the gall to threaten a Fire Nation town.
Even the princess and the captain could only stare back at the masked woman in a margin of disbelief.
"H-how…do you know that?" Nako responded in a trembling voice while the two noblewomen shook in fury behind her.
"I make it a point to know everything about my prey. Even the small ones. It is a scenic little impoverished small town. Your parents own a small bakeshop…and the majority of their earnings go straight into the pockets of your gracious new friends…just like every other commoner and peasant in this pathetic nation." Silah remarked in a taunting voice with a fist upon her hip while Nako's eyes shook in a rare moment of conflict.
The effect of the hunter's words was instantaneous.
Mai and Ty Lee were now gazing on with the anger in their eyes having transformed into a deep shame.
They now stared at Azula's glowering face while the princess glared at them through the corner of her ruthless eye.
And Zoi's fury in her eyes began to boil over even further while she crushed a rock beneath her fist.
It was obvious that the sadistic hunter was trying to sow discord in the minds of Azula's companions.
And what angered the princess more than anything was the fact that it was working.
"You are such a good dog. Standing by your master while your fellow citizens suffer to decorate the Royal Family's palace with even more gold. Maybe if you're a good girl she'll throw a few more treats your way. Or maybe…you should join the rising anti-monarchy movement." Silah purred in a devious voice with her heartless dark green eyes staring back at their stunned faces.
Azula's eyes were now agape in utter rage as she clenched her fists in rapidly rising paranoia.
First her father deceives her.
And then she learns of a peasant rebellion.
And now she heard that there was an anti-monarchy movement!
The highborn women present stared on in a state of shock while the puppeteer licked her lips perversely once more.
"Anti-monarchy movement!" Azula snarled with flames spewing from her lips while her enraged eyes glared ahead.
And her childhood friend shivered in growing pity for the rebelling peasant class.
"You didn't know Azula? There is growing negative sentiment towards you and your friends…talk of purging all highborn nationwide." Silah informed in a gloating voice while Azula's eyes continued to bubble over in outrage.
Both Saro and Nako were wisely silent as they swallowed quietly.
Ty Lee and Mai exchanged a knowing look.
Judging by the way that Azula looked as if she was salivating in fury, they could only shiver when they imagined what the princess would do when she confronted the peasant mob.
'Azula…I truly hope that Elle's presence will continue to persuade you to be a better person than your father…' Ty Lee thought with a look of great discomfort in her brown-gray eyes while Azula lips shook in a glower.
"And people call me a thief." Jiao snorted with her arms folded over her breasts while Azula spun around to glare icily her way.
"These peasants will be dealt with. I am done with being questioned. There will be no mercy for the disloyal!" Azula spoke in an unforgiving voice as she angrily clenched a fist before her seething face while her lifelong friends swallowed in fear behind her.
"And she wonders why I do not consider her worthy." Mava scoffed under her breath as she paid no mind to Azula's petrifying glare.
Only for the princess's anger to grow even further when her captain had the gall to glare up into her eyes!
"This will not stand. You will fix this. Or I will fix you." Zoi stated with her golden eyes staring fearlessly back into Azula's now beyond wrathful gaze.
A shudder spread throughout the air while the puppeteer chuckled as she clenched her gloved fingers along her cables.
"How dare you threaten me Zoi. I suggest you remember that you are only second in command and it is me that is in command." Azula retorted in a much colder voice than her usual while Zoi still stared defiantly back at her.
And somewhere deep down inside of her.
Even though she would never admit it aloud.
There was a tiny part of her that was strangely bothered by the woman's anger.
Dare she say it…that she actually considered the warrior her friend?
"Of course, I also recall that particular province is somewhere…that way. It shouldn't be too difficult for me to make it there in a few days. And I would say…that it wouldn't take me any longer than ten hours to kill all one thousand or so townspeople." Silah announced in an utterly monstrous voice with her gloved finger now pointing across the horizon.
And just like that the group froze up in a state of sheer speechlessness while Nako trembled in her tracks.
"No! You leave my hometown alone!" Nako blurted out with great terror in her shaken voice while her companions stewed in anger beside her.
And the princess pursed her lips together with fire flaring to life upon her fingertips once more.
'How dare she…act as if she is to be feared more than me!' Azula thought with fire escaping her nostrils while the hunter lapped at her lips.
And the captain gripped her katana as she began to march furiously towards the smirking woman.
"But then again…they are already living in considerable misery as is. Killing them could be seen as an act of mercy. Why waste the energy to kill people that will suffer more living under the rule of the Fire Nation Royal Family than they would dying at my hands?" Silah chuckled with an uncaring wave of her gloved hand as the group listened in revulsion while Nako's short hair hung in her traumatized eyes.
And the two noblewomen continued to stare pointedly at their friend's ruthless face while the princess now stared imposingly back into their judging eyes.
Only for Nako's voice to take them all by surprise when she shouted out in anger.
"I…won't fall for your shit! My Crown Princess gave me her word that she would help Teng Shu! Maybe I am just a dog! But I believe that she will make a just ruler to the loyal! So, go play your games with someone else! If you defeat her, you're going to kill me anyway so why should I listen to you!" Nako shouted at the top of her lungs with a spark of bravery flowing through her veins.
Her companions stared at her in a taken aback state of shock.
Azula turned to stare back at her loyal subordinate with her cold eyes expressing uncharacteristic approval.
And then a faint smile returned to her beautiful lips before she took her friends by surprise when she placed a hand on the angered girl's shoulder.
Nako also gazed up with surprise into her brown eyes as she stood with her hand on the taken aback pilot's shoulder.
"Well said my royal pilot. Know that your Crown Princess recognizes your loyalty. Worry not about your little hometown. I will correct it." Azula spoke with a pleased smile on her lips while her palm lingered on her pilot's moved shoulder.
"Y-your Highness…I don't know what to say." Nako answered in a still shaken voice as she stood proudly with her princess's hand on her shoulder.
Just as a small smile formed upon her lips as she gazed up into the other woman's charming amber golden eyes.
Her princess truly is her friend! She knows it!
"Then just obey Nako…and I will take care of the rest." Azula purred as she patted the smaller woman's shoulder while her pilot hurriedly nodded her emotional head.
"I will Princess! I will." Nako assured as she stood more confidently under her princess's mighty hand.
Before the tall princess turned to stare imposingly at the masked hunter once more with her glacial eyes still burning in deep fury.
Only for another explosion of tree roots to launch into the air while Team Azula's forces now gazed on in renewed amazement when the old woman raised her staff once more.
And then the stunned captain turned to watch as the branches shot over her shoulder and straight at the puppeteer.
In seconds the vines slammed into a wall of rock while the group stared at the sage in returning wonderment.
The masked puppeteer now stared coldly back into her old companion's angered glazed over golden eyes.
"You are a far cry from the woman I once knew! They used to call you Silah the Wise! Now you are nothing more than a demented killer!" Mava hollered out in anger while the others listened in bewilderment.
"To the contrary Mava. I am wiser than I have ever been. I create beautiful art that does not rot or fade. But I wouldn't expect you to understand true art." Silah retorted with a sneer while she swept her gloved hand to the side.
And just like that the Fire Twins lit up their bending while the princess's forces gazed between the two in confusion.
And all but Zoi and Azula shuddered as they gazed at the two siblings' lifeless faces in boundless disgust.
It was obvious from the moment that the masked woman appeared at the old woman's hut that the two knew each other.
But the context of that relation was still a mystery to them.
"Old woman. You still haven't explained your relation to this…freak." Azula hissed with her frigid eyes glaring in hatred back at Silah's still smug face.
She has long since decided that she despised her smile.
Even though she could only make out her eyes and lip.
She could tell that it was the look of someone who thought that she knew more than her.
And that was something…that she intended to find out!
"Are you aware of the nature of the enemy that seeks to kill the young Component?" Mava pondered with her wrinkled hand clutching her staff while the group listened in rising intrigue.
The princess still gazed between the two with her cold amber golden eyes searching for something unseen.
"I am. I am also aware that the child's chance of survival is…abysmal to say the least. Which is why I am going to use her for my purposes before her time runs out." Silah stated in a heartless voice with a dark smile pulling at her painted lips while Azula's amber golden eyes now burned with indescribable wrath.
As did both Mai and Ty Lee as they now stared back at the twisted woman with protectiveness in their sisterly eyes.
"No. No, you will not. The girl is mine." Azula snarled as she put one boot forward while she glared furiously at the puppeteer's chuckling face.
Only for the old woman's staff to intercept her before she could proceed any further.
She turned to stare coldly at the sage through the corner of her eye while the hunched over elderly woman hobbled forward.
"And just what would those purposes be?" Mava inquired in a leveled voice while the masked woman turned to point up over her shoulder into the distant sky.
Everyone on Team Azula gazed up out from the underground cavern into the far away distance.
Only for their eyes to widen when they saw a faint light spiraling upon the horizon.
"The portal to the Component's homeland is growing even as we speak. I want…her to take me there and show me the wonders that await in this foreign land." Silah announced in a voice of great longing while the group listened in astonishment.
"A portal to Elle's homeland." Zoi commented with her golden eyes wide in awe while Azula also gazed on in grudging fascination.
Saro, Nako and Jiao could only stare on with utter bewilderment in their eyes.
It went without saying that there was much about the young girl that they had not been told.
'So…that's how those soldiers were able to invade into my domain…I must establish control over that vortex! But how?' Azula thought with fire escaping her nostrils while her brows furrowed in frustration.
"What is that you seek there Silah?" Mava queried in a graveled voice while Silah stared back at her with emotionless dark green eyes.
"Isn't it obvious? After I harvest my final targets then I will have exhausted all the use that I have left for the four nations. And then…" Silah trailed off in a predatory voice with her tongue running along her lips while she took a step closer.
A deep sense of silence spread throughout the air while the group stared at her in shock.
"You will not be harvesting my corpse! Because I am going to vaporize you!" Azula shouted in a venomous voice with her amber golden eyes wide in murderous fury.
The mere notion that this woman had the gall to not only openly declare that she coveted the bending of the princess of the Fire Nation.
But that she also had the nerve to claim that the Fire Nation was of no further use to her was made her flames boil in fury!
"I shall hunt anew in a new land!" Silah declared in a maddened voice with the veins in her dark green eyes bulging out in her bloodlust while the princess's forces stood in a speechless silence.
"She…wants to terrorize Elle's homeland?" Mai asked with her tawny eyes wide in realization while Azula's lips pursed into a thin line.
"Azula…we…we can't let that happen!" Ty Lee cried out with horror in her voice while she shook in rage.
"I already know that Ty Lee!" Azula scoffed with her fires burning on her imposing fists once more while she hardened her callous eyes.
Just as Zoi put another heavy combat boot forward while her golden gaze narrowed into focused slits.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Silah. You haven't defeated us yet. Until then I suggest you stay focused on the battle at hand." Zoi remarked in a merciless voice with her katana gripped in her fist while steam once more rose off her tense muscles.
Just before the hunter grinned wickedly underneath her mask while the hooded puppet extended his arms out to his sides.
And then not a second later.
The earth itself began to rumble with such force that the group could only stare on in astonishment.
While the mysterious puppet stood with his arms held out while rocks began to rain down from above once again.
All along while Zoi's golden eyes once more widened with reminiscence as she stared all around her in wonderment.
'This power…it's like…' Zoi thought as she now stood frozen in her tracks with that same familiar sensation of glory rushing down her spine.
Could it possibly be…
"What incredible earthbending…" Saro spoke in amazement as he gazed around him with awestruck golden eyes.
Just as an explosion of azure fire flooded forth from the princess while her companions turned to gaze at their leader in unhidden marvelment.
"Please. This doesn't even begin to compare to my evolved flames." Azula boasted with blue fire accentuating her beautiful features while her defensive veil of flames blazed to life.
The heat from her intense flames licked at her skin.
As she stared imperiously back into Silah's equally monstrous dark green gaze.
And with that a malicious stare down began with the two mighty firebenders glaring coldly back into the hunter's voraciously greedy eyes.
Only for it to be broken by the old woman as she shuffled forward with her staff clanging the stone ground of the stone ground.
"Stay back you two. I will handle her." Mava announced as she stepped past the princess while she let out a derisive snort.
"And how exactly are you going to do that old woman?" Azula snorted as she stared down at the crone's robed back.
Yet she found herself unable to suppress a spark of intrigue from gleaming through her icy amber golden eyes.
The rest of the group also gazed at the bizarre old woman in puzzlement as she slowly advanced closer.
The captain gazed over her shoulder at the sage with her focused golden eyes conveying a deep curiosity.
As the earth continued to buckle underneath the ominous force of the hooded puppet's powerful earthbending.
Rocks large and small continued to drop down from above while the sage now stared back into her old companion's strikingly cruel eyes.
"Yes, how do you plan to accomplish that Mava?" Silah pondered in a smooth voice with her unfeeling eyes gazing out from underneath her mask.
"As I am now, I cannot defeat you. And if this battle continues. The chances are greater than not that you will make off with the Component before I awaken her chakras." Mava remarked as she made her way forward with her robes flowing behind her.
Azula's possessive amber golden eyes stared out from her wall of raging flames as she defensively stood over her young girlfriend's motionless body.
Her childhood friends remained crouched over the girl with their glaring eyes keeping a close watch on their enemy.
"Once again you take your Crown Princess too lightly. She will not get past my flames." Azula hissed with fire exuding from her nostrils while her callous eyes glared ahead.
Although she could see the merit in the old woman's tactic.
And as much as she was loathed to admit she couldn't deny that the sage was shrewd.
In some respects, she even reminded her of her wretched fuddy duddy Uncle Iroh.
"Then you admit that you cannot defeat me." Silah purred as she advanced forward with her bloodthirsty eyes staring at the faces of her enemies.
Before her gaze turned back to her companion's glazed golden eyes while the sage held herself up by her staff.
"No, I cannot." Mava agreed with a nod of her head while the princess's group gazed on in bewilderment.
And Azula now stared at the old woman with deadpan amber golden eyes.
'Just what is her ploy?' Azula thought with her calculating gaze lingering on the crone's aged back.
"What is the point in standing against me if cannot fight as my equal?" Silah taunted with annoyance lacing her cold voice while she gazed at her old companion's worn face.
It was a question on the minds of all present.
But before anyone could even so much as open their mouth to voice it.
They found themselves gazing up in shock when the ancient tree rose finally finished rearing up above them.
Just as a great light shone into the air while the sage thrust her staff into the air as she began to glow in unison with the tree itself!
"But I can repel you from the Forgetful Valley!" Mava called out with her staff tightly grasped in hand while a great power erupted into the air behind her.
Silah's dark green eyes grew wider as she turned to gaze all around her.
"Repel? The Sentinel Tree is only as strong as its user! You are dilapidated and feeble Mava! You cannot possibly harness its full power as you stand now!" Silah scoffed in a dismissive voice as she gazed up at the ancient tree.
Only for her dark green eyes to grow even larger as she shielded her face beneath her sleeve.
Her painted lips fell open in an expression of disbelief when the tree began to radiate with a long-buried power.
Team Azula stared on in unbridled fascination as they all watched the mysterious tree emit a blinding light in the skies above them.
"So that's it…her power comes from the tree…" Azula muttered in a stunned voice with her amber golden eyes staring up in uncharacteristic fascination.
"Under normal circumstances no but not if I use my trump card!" Mava shouted with her staff now humming with magical power while the hunter gazed back in disbelief.
And then with every fiber of her being she raised her staff above her head as its power began to shoot out all around her.
The princess's group stared on in a speechless silence.
Zoi and Azula watched with their eyes agape in wonderment as turned to stare up at the pulsating tree.
Just as a crimson barrier swept out into the air while they watched with surprised eyes as it encircled the ancient tree once more.
And then not a second later the hunter gazed down at her gloved hand with her dark green eyes widening in realization.
And then she felt a jolt of pain travel throughout her body.
"What…did you do?" Silah asked in a baffled voice while she turned to stare into her old companion's eyes as Mava lowered her staff.
"I enacted a stronger barrier than the one you destroyed. I don't have the power to chase you. But if you do not leave this barrier you will die." Mava replied in a firm voice with her words causing the others to stare on in shock.
Before the hunter found herself being pushed back by the ethereal barrier while she stared on with her dark green eyes wide in incredulity.
"U-unbelievable! She truly is everything that the stories say!" Nako exclaimed in awe with her brown eyes staring on in bewilderment.
"Amazing…" Zoi breathed with an arm over her face while she watched Silah start to slide backwards in the erupting barrier.
'The pressure of her barrier can kill…her enemies?' Azula thought as she stared up in awe while her masked enemy seethed as she pushed back against the barrier.
"You…cannot push me out Mava!" Silah yelled as she slammed her gloved fists into the barrier while its energy crackled over her squinting dark green eyes.
"Oh, but I can! Now tell me what you know of the enemy forces! Has the herald Vega begun her march!" Mava hollered with her hand trembling upon her staff while her once friend stared back with cruel dark green eyes.
The four highborn women listened with their eyes wide in alarm having recalled the name from the mystic flames!
"I will tell you what I know! If you surrender my prey! I will tell you where you shall meet your doom! I will even let the nonbenders live! But first you must take down your barrier!" Silah yelled out with her mask starting to crack under the power of the barrier while the benders in question bristled in paranoia.
"I am not your prey! I am the princess of the Fire Nation and I am going to butcher you!" Azula roared in a terrifying voice with her childhood friends shuddering behind her.
They weren't sure who was more frightening…Azula or Silah.
"My thoughts exactly Princess." Zoi stated in a low voice that promised great pain while she glared at the puppeteer's eroding mask.
"Poisonous words! You would kill us all anyway!" Mava retorted with anger in her frustrated voice while she watched her former companion release a howl of pain.
"Give me the Component!" Silah snapped with the hooded puppet bracing her body from behind while the highborn women glared venomously back at her.
"Never!" Mava howled in a panting voice as the others gazed at her back in concern.
Just as a spark of energy flared into the tense air while the hunter was sent sliding back on her slipping feet.
"Give her to me!" Silah repeated in a malicious voice as she clutched desperately to the barrier.
"I am sorry that it has to be this way! But the Silah that I knew is dead! And you leave me no choice!" Mava called out as she clutched her staff while her old companion's furious dark green eyes met her gaze.
And then just like that Silah and her puppets were sent hurtling through the barrier while the hunter's shouts echoed throughout the air.
"Mava!" Silah protested in defiance as her mask split down the middle while her eyes trembled in bloodlust.
Only for a thick stream of azure fire to smash into her chest while she rapidly glanced up into the princess's merciless eyes.
Azula pursed her lips into a cruel sneer while she gazed down into her attacker's delightfully aggravated eyes.
And then mere seconds after that an explosion of blue fire and red energy sent the hunter soaring through the combusting rocks.
The group gazed out in a disbelieving fascination as they watched their demented new enemy plunge through the air below.
And then there was a speechless silence followed as they all gazed in wonderment at the exhausted sage's panting back.
A new barrier now glowed majestically around the ancient tree in the sky above them!
"Is…she actually gone?" Mai asked at long last while she stared on in still present shock.
"How…did you do that?" Zoi questioned in a speechless voice as she turned to stare at the old woman with great respect in her eyes.
Just as Azula lowered her hand while she also turned to survey the sage with her callous eyes conveying a little more respect than before.
"Yes. I was wondering that myself hag." Azula spoke up in her usual strict voice just as Ty Lee slapped her shoulder.
"Azula would it kill you to be respectful to your elders?" Ty Lee chided as she stood up on her good heel while Azula rolled her haughty eyes at her.
"I am the sovereign of this nation and I will do as I please Ty Lee." Azula huffed as she sheathed her katana at her hip.
"There…is no time to answer that. I must finish the ritual. It…is not meant to be interrupted." Mava responded as she turned to hobble back towards the sleeping teenager's side while all but Jiao turned to gaze down at the girl in concern.
"And what exactly may I ask happens when its interrupted?" Azula demanded in a possessive voice as she stomped up behind the old crone.
"If Elle stays in a hyper induced meditative state for too long… there is risk of her presence being detected by a malevolent spirit. That is why I sent you four along to accompany her." Mava answered as she came to a stop over the unconscious blonde while the group spun around in alarm.
"What! And you didn't tell think to tell us this beforehand!" Azula snarled with her mighty fists blazing in blue fire while she smacked her lips together in a seething thin line.
Just as the crone reeled around to glare up at the younger woman's overprotective face with glazed golden eyes.
"You should consider yourself fortunate brat! I withdrew your minds sooner than anticipated when I sensed Silah encroaching upon the Sentinel Tree! Had I not done so you would have been as defenseless as a newborn infant!" Mava barked as she prodded the princess's stomach with her stick while amber golden eyes seethed down at her.
"Finish your ritual old woman. And know that any harm that comes to my servant will be repaid to you tenfold." Azula commanded in a callous voice as she folded her arms over her breasts while she fixed the sage with a nasty glare.
"She's…she's going to be okay, though right?" Ty Lee asked while gazing down in worry at the younger girl's unmoving face.
"Calm yourself. The girl will be fine." Mava assured as knelt down with visible discomfort while the group stared on in a bated silence.
"Are we actually safe from that lunatic?" Jiao queried in a rightfully shaken voice while she glanced around with paranoid blue eyes.
It was a question that everyone on the princess's team had been pondering.
"For the time being yes. Until you leave the Forgetful Valley that is. Then Silah will resume her hunt." Mava replied with her words causing everyone to stare on with varying levels of trepidation in their eyes.
It was absolutely insane to think of the sheer terror that they just went through in the caves below.
And know that they may well find themselves repeating it again someday soon!
"Joy. Something to look forward to." Mai muttered in a monotone voice with fear still present in her tawny eyes.
"N-no kidding. I was hoping that I would never see her again." Nako stated in a still distraught voice while several of her fellows offered her a pitying look.
"Let her stalk me. The next time will be her last." Azula sneered in a pompous voice as she stared down at her handmaiden with callous amber golden eyes.
Now that she knows that she has information on the functionality of Silah's puppets…
The disgusting commoner won't have the element of surprise on her side in their next encounter.
"I can't say I disagree. I am not one to shy away from an opponent…I've seen a great deal in my days of military service. But never anything near as revolting as that." Saro remarked with a slight shudder as he stood beside his contemplating captain.
Just as Zoi turned to her comrades with her golden eyes once more taking on her trademark focused gleam.
"No. No, she will not. This battle is not over. As soon as young Elle is concluded here, I am going to hunt her down and finish what we started in the cavern." Zoi announced in a razor-sharp voice with her words causing the others to gaze at her in surprise.
Azula now glanced over her armored shoulder with her stony amber golden eyes conveying approval of her subordinate's words.
Her warrior truly was indispensable.
There were many benefits to having a soldier that stood as her equal who could be trusted to hunt down her enemies when she was unable to do so herself.
"Whether you do or do not is none of my concern. Regardless of whether if you win or lose against Silah. The only reason I intervened was to ensure that the Component was at least able to defend herself in the event that you lot fell in battle." Mava commented bluntly as she set her staff down while the others gazed at her in a shaken silence.
The princess now spun around with her amber golden gaze brimming in anger once more over the old woman's stunning words.
"You…don't care if your Crown Princess falls in battle?" Azula hissed out with ire seeping through her regal voice while her friends gazed on uncertainly behind her.
Before the crone turned back to gaze in the proximity of her direction with her wrinkled face meeting her furious stare.
"I may not care much for the Avatar but that does not make us allies. You are only here because you are with the Component. It is pure circumstance that I am aiding you at the moment. My one goal…my only goal is to see the Component's mission to completion. My loyalty is not to the Royal Family. It is to the Earth itself." Mava answered in a matter-of-fact voice while the princess's amber golden eyes shook in offense.
The others stood in a state of quiet gazing at the mysterious old woman in a mixture of bewilderment and unease.
"If the situation was reversed…and the Avatar was fighting beside you. And the Component beside your brother. I would aid your brother in place of you and do all that I could to remove you from power." Mava explained in a curt voice while Azula's eyes now boiled over in bubbling fury.
"You admit that you would plot treason against your Crown Princess? Consider yourself fortuitous that I need you. If not, I would tear your tongue out for your continued disrespect." Azula spoke in a positively ruthless voice with her hardened eyes staring down at the old woman in judgement.
While her childhood friends sighed behind her.
"Do we really have to do this right now Azula?" Ty Lee asked in a soft voice while Azula's lips pursed into a tight thin line.
"You want my respect?" Mava pondered in turn while the princess glared down at her.
"I don't want it. I demand it." Azula quipped in a hubristic voice while even her captain sighed under her breath.
And the seductress even rolled her eyes outside of the princess's line of vision.
"The Fire Nation aristocracy deal in the slave trade that is sanctioned by your father and has been by your family since the days of Sozin. And you support it. I do not support slavery. And that means that you have a long way to go if you want my respect." Mava stated in an unyielding voice with her words causing the group to stare at her in an unsettled silence.
Azula's proud amber golden eyes once more shook in her royal fury as she exhaled a carefully controlled flame through her nostrils.
The two noblewomen stared at the princess's tense back with pointed expressions in their ashamed eyes.
"She…has a point Azula. You can't lie to Elle forever. Maybe you should consider liberation after you become Fire Lord. It's…it's what Elle…would want." Ty Lee advised in a quiet voice only to find herself flinching when the princess turned to glare at her from over her shoulder.
But before the prideful princess could snap out a response.
Her attention was regained when she saw the old woman lower her aged hand over her young love's innocent face.
"It is time to complete the process Elle. But I need you to listen to me closely." Mava spoke with her aged hand hovering over Elle's forehead while the others stared on in growing fascination.
The princess's cold gaze never once left Elle's dozing face as she observed with a look of profound protectiveness in her eyes.
All while finding herself unable to suppress her grudging intrigue over the nature of her servant's unknown enemy.
'If the old woman believes our nation to be evil and the Avatar just…what manner of enemy could possibly prompt her to aid me against the Avatar?' Azula thought with her intelligent eyes flickering in ever rising curiosity while she held a flawless fingernail under her chin.
"The Avatar Cycle must fall at all costs. It is an unnatural blight upon this world. The time has come for it to come to an end." Mava stated in an enigmatic voice with her hand taking on an ethereal glow while the group listened in bewilderment.
And the captain exchanged a momentary look with her princess before she glanced back down.
Unnatural.
Blight.
Those were strong words to describe the Avatar.
"Why is it unnatural?" Ty Lee pondered in a taken aback voice while she gazed on with spellbound brown-gray eyes.
"It is a state of false balance. It is better to endure a century of conquest from a human tyrant such as a Fire Lord that will fade to the winds of time just like the rest of us. Then to endure tens of thousands of years of the entire world being completely reliant on the Avatar to take care of the world's every need like children through false balance." Mava declared in a conclusive voice while her audience gazed on in astonishment.
It was impossible not to be puzzled by the old woman's words.
She almost made it sound as if the Avatar was a greater tyrant than the Fire Nation Royal Family!
As the princess's crimson lips now curved into the barest hint of a smug smirk.
"So, my conquest is for the good of the world. Well then. I will not rest until I dominate this entire planet." Azula purred in a gratified voice with an elegant hand under her chin while her childhood friends shivered behind her.
Indeed.
This was working out wonderfully in her favor.
'Elle is my pet and she obeys me and me alone. We will defeat the Avatar together and then we will crush all who stand in our way. And then…I shall take my rightful seat as the ruler of this world with Elle right where she belongs…at the foot of my throne.' Azula thought as she smiled with a lovely fingernail now twirling subconsciously in her hair.
She found herself unable to resist the tiny sliver of a blush from developing upon her regal cheeks.
Only to shake her head quickly not a moment later with her full lips pursing into a proud scowl once more.
Now was not the time for such distracting thoughts.
Right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand.
And that was watching over her little peasant.
"Now Elle…it is time that we brought out the potential from deep within." Mava commented with her glowing hand now resting upon the young girl's forehead while the others gazed on in a transfixed silence.
Just as a faint light shone into the air while the princess's forces found themselves unable to look away.
And then Elle's youthful face lit up with a magical glow while her silent friends stood crowding around her in wonderment.
While inside Elle's mind scape…
Elle's amber eyes were still brewing with tears after witnessing the deaths of both of her parents as well as the secret behind her mother's power.
Only for her awestruck eyes to widen when a bright light flashed before her stunned eyes.
As she covered her face with her elbows only to gaze out from underneath them in amazement to find that she was now floating through some kind of astral plane.
Her mouth dropped ajar in the shape of an o while she now gazed all around her in rapidly rising marvelment.
"Where…where am I?" Elle pondered in a bewildered voice as she bit her lip while she turned to glance over her shoulder in astonishment.
Her wide eyes stared on ahead as she heard the old sage's voice suddenly flow all around her.
"Now Elle…it is time that we brought out the potential from deep within." Mava spoke into Elle's awed ears.
"B-but how do I bring out my potential?" Elle asked in a voice that was brimming with wonder only to find herself crying out in surprise as she was suddenly plunged through the depths of the vast void.
Her innocent amber eyes grew even wider as luminous light blinded her eyes once more.
"You have a great purpose Elle Turner." Mava called out as Elle gazed out with confuddled eyes from underneath her sleeves.
"I-I still don't understand Wise Sage? What exactly is my purpose?" Elle inquired in a lost voice as she gulped while she fell through the seemingly endless void.
Only to find herself gazing on in amazement when visions began to rapidly flash before her disbelieving amber eyes.
Just as her mouth opened up in awe when a long line of apparitions appeared for as far as her eyes could see.
Their eyes were glowing a ghostly white that was once more sending a chill down her spine.
'What is it about those eyes that makes me feel so unsettled?' Elle thought as she swallowed nervously with her amber eyes agape in contemplation.
"The Avatar Cycle is an unnatural force that should not be." Mava stated in the young girl's ears while Elle's spellbound eyes gazed at the faces of all of the past Avatars.
"W-why shouldn't it be Wise Sage?" Elle stammered with great confusion lacing her voice while she floated through the astral plane.
Her wide eyes watched with growing unease when the phantom faces began to encircle her on all sides.
She floated backwards with her feet seemingly free falling through the endless void while a shiver began to travel down her spine.
"The Avatar is a perpetually reincarnating being that has been misdirecting the fate of humanity for ten thousand years. In order for humanity to grow the Avatar Cycle must cease to be." Mava lectured all around Elle while she gazed on with stunned amber eyes.
"A perpetual force…than hinders human development…" Elle mumbled in an attentive voice with her hair blowing in her eyes while she stared on in astonishment.
"But the true threat young Component…is what dwells in the plane of the Abyss." Mava informed with her aged voice flowing through the air while the handmaid shook as the past Avatars surrounded her from every angle.
"W-what dwells in the plane of the Abyss?" Elle questioned in an increasingly frightened voice as she stared back at the ghostly faces of the phantoms that were enclosing around her.
She truly wished that her princess and her big sisters were hear to stand beside her.
But she knew that Azula-sama would want her to be strong.
And therefore, she resolved herself to do her best so that she can return to her princess once more.
And just like that she gazed on in rising wonderment when the astral plane flashed before her widened eyes.
Just as more specters flickered before her while she stared on with speechless awe.
And then a face from the mystic flames before her eyes once more.
It was the shadowed image of the third person from the flames that the sage told her would cause her great pain.
It was…the woman called Vega.
Haunting golden eyes now seemed to be staring right back into her own while she gulped as she floated backwards in fright.
And if she didn't know any better the woman's lips almost seemed to be curving into a horrible smile!
And then just as quickly as Vega had come, she vanished within seconds while another specter took shape before the handmaiden's frightened amber eyes.
Just as Elle staggered back with her paling hands falling to her hips while her widened eyes stared back on when she watched a monster form in the distance.
The face of a terrifying horned creature with a bizarre bone helm growing over the top half of its ghastly head now manifested before her.
Two large horns protruded from the back of the monster's head while two evil crimson eyes stared back into her quivering soul.
And then not a moment later she let out a scream of fright with her eyes growing to the size of dinner plates as she gazed back at the horned beast.
Only for her amber eyes to stare on in terror when the monster vanished into thin air.
Just before she suddenly felt as if she was falling once more while her hair blew wildly in her terrified eyes.
And then she saw it!
Something just as hideous lurking in the depths of the dark void!
Another monster but it was far larger!
Much of it she was unable to make out.
But the one thing that she could clearly see was a series of malevolent inhuman eyes gazing out from amidst a sea of spiraling tentacles!
"The Elder One…that is what awaits in the plane of the Abyss." Mava responded in a mysterious voice while Elle cried out into the depths of the abyss.
"P-please take me out of here Sage! I don't want to be here anymore!" Elle pleaded in a terrified voice as she plunged through the astral plane while she cowered under the gaze of the horrifying eye.
"Look deep within yourself young Component and bring out the power within." Mava advised in a mystical voice while Elle fell through the air with her eyes wide in panic.
"B-bring out the power within?" Elle repeated in a dumbfounded voice as she trembled under the stare of the penetrating eye.
"Indeed, my child. And once you do…you must cut the shroud that has been cast over this world." Mava answered in a gruff voice while Elle fell with her amber eyes agape in wonderment.
"C-cut…the shroud?" Elle stuttered with her golden hair blowing about in her awestruck amber eyes.
"The lives of your friends…your princess and everyone that you care about depend on it." Mava spoke in a wise voice while the young girl dropped through the void with her mouth hanging open in tremendous emotion.
"Nako…Zoi…Mai…Ty Lee…and Azula-sama's lives…depend on it." Elle murmured in a devoted voice with great emotion flashing in her amber eyes.
"Do it for them Elle…do it for your friends." Mava concluded in a grave voice while Elle's blonde hair blew before her emoting amber eyes.
"For…my friends…for my family…" Elle trailed off in a sentimental voice as she spiraled through the void with her amber eyes reflecting her loyalty to her adopted family.
And more than anything else…
Her undying allegiance to the princess of the Fire Nation!
'I…won't let you down Azula-sama…' Elle thought with her hands falling at her sides while she gazed up into the seemingly endless depths of the astral plane.
And then her wide amber eyes gazed up at the ominous eye once more while a shudder ran down her spine.
Before she resolved herself with her fists clenched at her hips while her hair blew in her motivated eyes.
"I…will do it for them…for Azula-sama." Elle whispered with indescribable loyalty shimmering in her amber eyes while she fell through the air.
And not a second later a beam of white light erupted forth from her falling spirit while she gazed up with transfixed amber eyes.
And then just like that a powerful chi exploded into the depths of the astral plane!
Aang abruptly sat up from his spot on the deck of the ship with his gray eyes gazing on in alarm while a chill now ran down his spine.
Zuko and Sokka turned to gaze at him from where they leaned on the rails in concern to see the startled expression in the Avatar's eyes.
"Something wrong Aang?" Sokka asked in a wary voice with his blue eyes on in poorly hidden worry while Aang turned to gaze at them in a panic.
"That girl Elle! I can sense her presence in the Spirit World!" Aang exclaimed with Momo perched on his shoulder while the two gazed at him in alarm.
"She's…in the Spirit World?" Zuko questioned in returning dread with a pale expression in his golden eyes.
"Yes!" Aang answered in an equally unnerved voice while his friends stood in an unsettled silence behind him.
"Can things possibly get any worse than this!" Sokka shouted in a dreadfully dismayed voice while the firebender shuddered beside him.
Only to receive no answer from Aang when they watched the monk slip back into meditation once more.
As the prince gazed on with horror in his wide golden eyes.
'This girl has the power to travel into the Spirit World and distort it according to her will! And she serves Azula!' Zuko thought with terror like never before brewing in his eyes while his hands fell to his sides.
By no means could he abide by the deaths of his loyal countrymen.
There was also no way that he could accept ever allowing Azula to stay in possession of such a terrible power!
Unspeakable conflict now flashed in Zuko's golden eyes while he stared out into the crashing waves with his fists balled up at his hips.
There must be some way that they can stop his sister without spilling further Fire Nation blood.
But how? That he did not know.
And then mere moments later…
The Avatar dropped through the dense void of the astral plane with his widened gray eyes making out a falling shape in the distance ahead of him.
He gazed in alarm at the girl's plummeting body just as a bright aura exploded from her spirit!
And without even giving it any further thought he propelled himself through the air while his shouts now echoed into the air.
Just as Elle turned to gaze at him through the corner of her surprised eye while her eyes widened in realization.
"Elle, I need to talk to you! Please! I beg of you! Hear me out! Azula is not who you think she is!" Aang yelled as he fell through the void with his clothes blowing in the wind while the young girl fell across from him.
The Avatar and the Component dropped through the Spirit World several feet apart from one another while they gazed back into each other's eyes.
"You can't turn me against Azula-sama Avatar! I will not betray her! She's my home!" Elle cried out with profound emotion in her loyal amber eyes while Aang stared back in utter bewilderment.
And then they fell through a mystical cloud.
The alarmed Avatar floated opposite from her with his startled gray eyes never once leaving her face.
Just before they felt their spirits start to pull back into their physical bodies.
And in seconds their spirits began to fade from the astral plane while the distressed monk yelled out to her once again.
"Elle!" Aang shouted with his evaporating hand making a futile effort to grasp ahold of the vanishing girl.
Only for his fingers to slip right through Elle while her emotional amber eyes gazed up at him for one final time.
Before the two of them disappeared from the Spirit World and reemerged back into their bodies once more!
Team Azula gazed on in a speechless silence when an explosion of chi erupted from their young friend's body.
Naoki watched from high above with her brown eyes widening in comprehension as the girl's chi exploded into the air.
'I knew it Elle! I was right all along! You have…it!' Naoki thought with her machinelike eyes observing the release of the younger girl's chi.
As the bright light flooded before their awestruck eyes while the old sage still held her wrinkled hand over Elle's forehead.
The mouths of the highborn women dropped open in disbelief while they watched glowing lines spread across their young friend's body.
Azula and Zoi gaped at the scene with uncharacteristic amazement in their eyes as they studied the chi bursting forth before them.
Mai and Ty Lee stood rooted to their spots with their eyes wide in amazement.
And the others too found themselves unable to look away from the astonishing sight.
Just before Elle's amber eyes abruptly snapped wide open.
And then she sprang up from the floor while her friends stood over her in a stunned silence.
AN:
Alright, so this afterword is likely going to be a longer one as there is much that I have to go over. Feel free to skip it you don't want to read it. But you might want to look it over if you have any questions about what happened in this chapter.
So, there was much that was revealed in this one. The tree that Mava dwells in is an ancient tree that holds a great power and it is capable of regenerating from its own destruction.
Mava and Silah were once similarly matched in power, but for reasons that will be revealed Mava's power has waned over the years. While Silah's has only grown.
Despite this, Mava was able to tap into the Sentinel Tree's reservoir to expel Silah from her barrier.
And we also learned from Silah that there is a growing anti-monarchy movement developing in the Fire Nation which we will start to explore in the following arc.
And I also want to state that Silah's intent is not to judge Azula from a perceived moral high ground. Silah wants Azula to let go of her noble aristocratic exterior and act without regard to anyone around her. To Silah, the more ruthless that Azula becomes, the more entertaining their war will be.
Also, Mai and Ty Lee's disgust towards the Royal Families atrocities stems directly from their own sense shame. This probably effects Ty Lee more than Mai, as Ty Lee is a nicer person than Mai. But it bothers both of them on some level all the same.
Mai and Ty Lee didn't act against Azula in canon until one of their lives or someone they cared for was finally threatened. They just looked after themselves, and assisted Azula with whatever that she wanted.
Silah is reminding them that they are essentially not great people. In some way both Mai and Ty Lee desire a more peaceful Fire Nation. They just don't have the will to go against Azula and Ozai to help Zuko bring it about.
As for Zoe, she definitely cares more about her people than say Mai. And she is willing to take a stand for the people of the Fire Nation than Ty Lee. As we have seen many times now, she is ruthless in her hunt of the rebels because she strongly believes in fighting to prevent her country from falling apart if they were to lose the war.
Because Zoe has been away at sea for over a year, she is only now just finding out about the growing problems the Fire Nation commoners are facing. And she is starting to come to the realization that the war is tearing the fabric of her nation apart.
In the effort to complete their conquest of the world, Ozai and to some extent Azula have been pushing the people of the Fire Nation to a dangerous breaking point. Much like with many real life examples throughout our history. When monarchs and governments wage extended occupations, the lower class are the ones that pay for it and truly suffer.
The Fire Nation is a rich nation, and it is abundant in wealth. But as we are starting to see, the Royal Family and the noble class have not been sharing that wealth. And Azula is starting to discover that a monarch can only take so much from her people before they rise up in rebellion.
Which again we'll see more of in the next arc.
As for Mava and Silah's once friendship, we'll explore that as we get to see both characters more. Silah is aware of more than she is letting on, as she is equally as knowledgeable as Mava. But unlike Mava, she is unwilling to freely share her knowledge.
We learned that Silah was manipulating nearly invisible cables that allowed her to fight with so many puppets all at once. However, as we saw in this chapter even when her ruse was uncovered. Silah was by no means defenseless and she was plenty capable of fending off an enraged Zoe.
Also, one of Silah's flaws is that she becomes too obsessed when a favored victim is at hand for her to play with. This is why she focused more on tormenting Azula and Zoe than taking Elle with her.
While Silah desires for Elle to guide her to her land in the hopes of exploring a new world. Her desire to hunt Azula and Zoe overrode that through much of their battle.
This is also why Silah didn't pay Mava as much mind after she broke her first barrier and damaged the Sentinel Tree. It is possible that Silah could have killed Mava if she had ignored Team Azula. But then doing so would have let them slip from her grasp.
And that is why Mava was able to recover, because she knew that Silah would be too preoccupied with her perversions to ensure that she was dead.
Also, both Silah and Mava's words reveal that ever since Sozin, the Fire Nation Royal Family has overseen the enslavement of conquered peoples.
Azula is purposefully hiding this from Elle, for several reasons. The first is that she isn't as kind as Zuko, and she is too proud to admit that her nation has any flaws.
And after coming to learn of Elle's own traumatic experiences, and what ultimately become of her parents as well as the rest of her village. Azula fears that Elle will no longer love her once she discovers the Fire Nation's cruelties.
It is basically a ticking time bomb because she cannot keep it from Elle forever. And at this time, she is too stubborn to just outright agree to free the people that her nation has conquered.
Azula is essentially torn between the merciless conqueror that Ozai raised her to be, and the good that Elle sees in her. And Azula needs to emerge from that inner battle before she can overcome her mental turmoil.
And in order to do that, she is going to have to face the growing peasant dissent, the consequences of her country dealing in slavery, the Earth Kingdom rebellions and more.
My narrative objective with this is to remind everyone that the only truly good person on Team Azula is Elle.
Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Zoe are four privileged wealthy women who have benefited in one way or another from the sufferings of those under them. And slowly as time goes on, they are finding themselves influenced for the better in small realistic ways by Elle's goodness.
Elle has very much become the heart of Team Azula, she's the odd one that shouldn't be there because of her lowborn status but she has managed to win each of their hearts in one way or another. And she is helping them to become better people, both for their home nation and for the sake of the rest of the world.
And that finally brings us to the biggest moment of the chapter when Elle awoke her inner power.
Elle's power is intended to be used against a force that is greater than the Avatar. But it works equally against all supernatural beings and that is why she was able to hinder Aang's Avatar powers back when they first met.
I also want to state very clearly, that the being that Elle saw is NOT Vaatu. As far as the story is concerned, Vaatu does not exist and Raava is not fused with the Avatar Spirit. I know that the fan base is very much split on the opinion of the LOK, some despise it, and some love it. But I really don't like what they did with the spirits in LOK. So, I am going to ignore most of that.
To put it simply, if it was canon to ATLA, it is a part of the Princess and the Peasant story line. This will also include some spirits from the ATLA comics like the Mother of Faces.
I just won't be including the whole Raava versus Vaatu affair. However, the Avatar's role as peace keeper very much remains the same as it was in ATLA.
I am just going down a more original route with my own expanded fantasy story line.
The creature that Elle caught a glimpse of is an ancient entity called the Primordial One. It is an evil force that exists in the Avatar world, unbeknownst to most of the people alive in the present day.
And as we saw when Aang was trying to grab a hold of Elle's hand, he is unable to see or sense it. It is for all intents and purposes invisible to him.
If Mava's words are truthful, this implies that an Avatar was defeated/deceived by this creature long ago before Aang or anyone else was alive. But instead of destroying the Avatar cycle, it left it in tact for its own nefarious purposes.
When Elle said that Aang disgusted her more than Felix back in chapter 32, what she didn't realize at the time was that it was the Primordial One that she was sensing that repulsed her. So, what she was truly saying was that the Primordial One disgusted her more than her brother.
I tried to lay out hints for this way back then, by having Elle clutch her cheek in a show of discomfort and to demonstrate that she appeared bothered. My intent was to show that it was more her Component powers reacting to a supernatural presence more than Elle having any hatred of Aang.
But even so, I still got comments from people that were concerned that Elle was saying that she hated Aang.
Elle does not hate Aang, they are just simply on opposing sides in a war beyond their understanding. The Avatar's role is to work with the supernatural to bring balance. And the Component's role is to serve as a weapon that can be used to strike back against the supernatural.
Even if all of this is true however, it does not excuse the Fire Nation for the atrocities that they have committed in the One Hundred Year War or that the Avatar is evil. It simply means that there are other forces at work going on behind the scenes.
And that brings us to Mava's beliefs.
Mava believes that any attempt at balance is a false peace, and that the world will be better off if the Avatar cycle is broken. Her reasoning is because she feels that people are far too reliant on the Avatar.
She has her own goals, the primary one being to assist the Component in the completion of their objective.
And we also that she can be manipulative in her own right when she downplayed the Fire Nation prison camps when she was speaking with Elle. But as soon as Elle was out, she openly referred to it as slavery.
That is because Mava wishes to keep Elle focused on the greater goal, and she doesn't want her getting distracted by too much along the way. More or less, she sees Azula as a powerful person that has protected Elle up until now. And she would rather Elle not lose that by feuding with Azula.
In the end, Mava would very much like to see people use the cruelty that the Fire Nation inflicted on them to rise up and fight for themselves. Mava feels that nothing good can come of every generation relying on the Avatar. And that it is better for the Avatar cycle to be destroyed.
So, that way over time people will hopefully develop into stronger benders of their own accord because they won't have an Avatar to protect them. And she feels that while this path would result in more pain and hardship in the short term that it is better for the world as a whole in the long term.
Mava is resolute in her belief that humanity should learn to find their own way throughout the centuries without supernatural inference. You can pretty much compare her belief to any superhero franchise where you have a character believes that the humanity would be better off without having a super being such as Superman or whoever to constantly solve the world's problems.
And regardless of where one stands on if the world does or does not need an Avatar. The situation in the Avatar world is considerably more complicated than in canon.
And we are going to delve into that more as the story goes on.
For the time being, the Primordial One is something that is in the background. We don't know much about it, or what it is or what it wants. Or what the other creature with the half dragons helm was.
As the series progresses, more hints to the overarching supernatural plot that Elle saw in her vision will be unveiled. And it will become more prominent as we get into second and third book.
But we'll have to wrap up the One Hundred Year War before we can move on to that.
Anyway, with that said that will be all for now.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter ninety! Refuge!