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The Last of the Order of the Mystics - Chapter One Hundred Fifteen
Team Azula now walked back on their utterly broken-down feet towards the Sentinel Tree once more.
The forest had finally gone back to its previous peaceful quiet in the wake of both Silah and the invading soldiers being dealt with.
Azula glared on with unusually exhausted amber golden eyes as she braced her little girlfriend's small body over her armored back.
As the three noblewomen pulled themselves along beside their leader.
They watched through the corners of their gazes as Elle lay face first in the princess's dark hair.
"Azula-sama…" Elle murmured in a timid voice as she hugged the older woman around the neck while she listened to her mistress let out a low growl that sent a pleasurable shudder down her spine.
"Just one more wretched talk Elle and then we will go home." Azula remarked in a commanding voice as she stomped along with the young girl hanging onto her back.
The petite girl nodded with a smile on her lips as she clung adorably to the much taller girl's back.
As the others stared on from behind in silent amazement.
And it wasn't too long after that that the princess kicked open the door to the hollow tree.
The four highborn women quickly poured in as they struggled not to collapse on their feet.
"Boy, am I glad to see this tree." Mai grumbled under her breath as they rounded their way around the corner.
"You and me both Saolin." Zoi stated as she stumbled her way down the hall of the hollow tree.
Only for the four highborn women to enter in the next room.
And it was then that Nako dropped the book that she was researching with her brown eyes gazing back at the group in horror.
Saro glanced up with his mouth ajar in shock.
And even Jiao stopped what she was doing to turn to gaze their way in disbelief.
"P-Princess! Are you alright! What happened!" Nako cried out as she ran towards her princess while Azula's cold eyes turned to glance her way.
And for the most fleeting of instances the princess's harsh gaze flickered with something akin to relief to see that her subordinate cared about her.
"I am alive Nako. We ran into a group of dangerous enemies on the other side of that spirit portal." Azula responded in a drained voice as sweat still dripped down her regal brow.
The three commoners listened with looks of worry in their eyes.
And while the seductress tried to hide it the younger woman couldn't help but stare back at her battered lover in concern.
'What kind of enemy is capable of doing that to the princess and the captain! It looks like they just went another round with that monstrous puppeteer!' Saro thought with his golden eyes flickering in worry.
"Are…. you going to be okay Zoi?" Jiao inquired in a softer voice than usual while the noblewoman nodded her head.
"I'll live Jiao. I just don't want to see any more snow for a long time." Zoi replied while her lover gazed back at her with a confused look in her eyes.
"Snow Captain? There was snow there?" Saro pondered in a bewildered voice as he now took note in the wounds that could only have come from the cold.
"I-is there anything I can do for you Your Highness?" Nako questioned in a devoted voice while princess pushed her way past her.
"You three! Go fetch us water and be quick about it! And that includes you too peasant!" Azula barked with her usual bossiness returning in full force while she watched the three quickly nod in submission.
"Yes Princess! I will do so immediately!" Nako exclaimed as she rushed off down the hall.
Saro and Jiao ran after her to assist her.
Team Azula numbly found themselves somewhat surprised that the seductress had obeyed without her usual lip.
Although there were all so exhausted that they hardly gave a damn.
Ten minutes later.
Team Azula pushed their way into Mava's study.
Only for their eyes to widen in bewilderment to see that the mystical woman was hunched over before her spiraling flames once more.
As they made their way in to talk to her for the final time.
Until the battle worn princess plopped down on her ass in a chair with her exhausted girlfriend still panting against her plated chest.
The three noblewomen dropped down to sit on the floor.
They gazed on in astonishment to see that their princess was so exhausted that she didn't even care about maintaining appearances by booting their little sister out of her lap.
"Old hag! Let's get this over with already." Azula snapped with a deep scowl on her beautiful lips as she took a heavy gulp of a large jug of water.
She even paid no mind to the droplets of water that dripped down her parched lips.
Only for her possessive amber golden eyes to glance downward when she saw her little girlfriend reach up for a drink.
And not even a second after that she held it up to the girl's lips while she watched Elle take a large swig.
"Y-yes Wise Sage, I must agree with my princess. I…I am ready to go home." Elle stated in a tired voice while her princess gazed at her in approval from over her shoulder.
Only for the five girls to watch in confusion when the flames sparked up once more while a sense of unease began to develop in their eyes.
"This is terrible news! It's…it's broken! And now the gateway is closed! You should not have let him get away!" Mava cried out in a foreboding voice as she sat with her back turned to the confused group.
As the flames rose up once more before their uneasy eyes.
"Let…who get away? That horrible man…Nero?" Ty Lee questioned with a fearful swallow only for Mava to grimly shake her head.
The five girls gazed on with their weary minds pondering if the old woman was speaking of Felix.
"No! Not the scientist. He saved your lives for his own twisted ends. If not for his attack on the emperor none of you would have escaped to return to the other side." Mava declared as she turned to face the group with her hauntingly glazed eyes staring at them.
As a renewed look of humiliation flashed before all of their eyes.
The mere fact that they were saved by a man who sought to dissect the benders amongst them was the ultimate insult to injury!
The princess's amber golden eyes danced with rage once more as she took a furious swallow of water.
She leaned back on her posterior with her little girlfriend trembling from where she sat on her thigh.
"As much as I despise to admit it…she had us completely and utterly beat in both strategy and might. Not only did she spy on us months in advance. She…she was much stronger than us." Zoi commented with shame in her voice as she sunk back against the wall.
Elle, Mai and Ty Lee shuddered as they were reminded over how it felt when their bodies had started to freeze over.
"That's…that's just because of the cold. If it was in the Fire Nation and we were at full strength we would have won." Azula insisted in a prideful voice with her callous amber golden eyes glaring onward.
The others gazed on in an unconvinced silence.
"No. No, it was not. That monster was toying with all of you. And that is the only reason why you sit here to tell the tale. Had she actually fought you girls and the scientist seriously then it would have been a much different outcome for you and him." Mava informed in a wizened voice while the team fell back into a stunned silence.
As the anger in Azula's eyes only continued to soar to even higher heights.
"Who…who should we have not let get away Wise Sage?" Elle queried in a gentle voice with fear in her amber eyes once more as she sat on her mistress's thigh.
"Your brother. You wasted your time…fighting Katsu and Naoki…and all of the others. When your single greatest priority should have been his capture at all costs." Mava stated as she sat before the rising flames while a face began to form in the smoke.
While looks of outrage formed in the eyes of the four highborn women when they found themselves gazing back at Felix's madly laughing face once more.
As Elle swallowed fretfully with her amber eyes glaring back at her brother's insane face.
"D-does this have something to do with my confrontation with Felix when I fired that ball of energy at him? I was meaning to ask how I did that." Elle requested in a puzzled voice while her princess loomed protectively over her head.
"In a sense young Component. The closer a holder of the Component is to the Spirit World, the stronger the power of the Component will be. You tapped into the spiritual energy of the gateway and harnessed it to attack your brother." Mava revealed in a gruff voice while the group listened with awe in their eyes.
They all turned to gaze back at their young friend's adorably confuddled face with astoundment in their eyes once more.
"So…that's why Elle was stronger. She harnessed the power of the portal. That must also be how the girl was able to defeat that man Reynolds." Azula muttered in a moody voice as she held her jug in hand with her stern eyes gazing down at the back of her pet's golden head in amazement.
"You perceive correctly Princess. The principal function of the Component is that it is able to cut through and remove mystical barriers that stand in the way of the holder. As you know…this is also why the Component is able to disrupt the flow of chi of the Avatar and beings like him. And it is precisely why Elle was able to cut through the colonel's foreign weapon." Mava explained in a weathered voice while the highborn women still at Elle in shock.
Elle's cheeks started to turn pink as she blushed under all of the combined attention from her friends.
"I still can't believe that you are capable of such power…Tiger Monkey." Azula snorted in a fondly strict voice as she eyed her reddened girlfriend with possessive amber golden eye.
"I-I still wish I wasn't Azula-sama. I don't want to be have this power… I just want to serve you and nothing else." Elle mumbled in a distressed voice as she fiddled her thumbs while Azula allowed herself to smile down at her.
Both Mai and Ty Lee said nothing as they fondly shook their heads over the young girl's innocently obsessive desire to serve the princess.
"Oh Elle. Don't you worry. You are going to spend your whole life serving me and perhaps…even your eternity as well." Azula sighed as she began to coil a fingernail in her ebony hair while she allowed a small smile to grace her exhausted lips.
The two noblewomen almost shivered over how terrifying that sounded to them.
Only for the two to watch their little sister's smile more brightly after hearing those words.
"I…I would like that very much Azula-sama." Elle muttered as she smiled when a strong hand patted her golden head.
She leaned back with the back of her head pressing into her mistress's armored breasts.
As she paid no mind when her girlfriend propped her elbow up in her hair as she reclined her tall body behind her.
"Considering that the Component is able to go through a mystical barrier it is only natural that given the right conditions the holder can also go through a physical object as well." Mava replied in a seemingly timeless voice as she held herself up on her staff.
Team Azula listened with marvelment in their eyes as they tiredly nodded their heads.
"Old woman. I demand that you tell me why we should have brought back my servant's vile brother and while you're at it you better be able to also tell me more about this link to the girl's power than you were able earlier." Azula snarled as she let out a protective snort of blue fire over her little trembling handmaid.
"In order to tell you that. I must first tell you who and what I am." Mava responded in a mystical voice while the group gazed on with curiosity in their confused eyes.
"Ugh. Whatever. But it had better not involve anymore riddles." Azula grumbled as she sat back with her jug in hand as took another relaxing sip of water.
Her callous amber golden eyes kept a close watch over the girl sitting in her lap.
"But…you said that you are Mava…right?" Elle asked in a voice that was filled with innocent wonder while her mistress scowled back at the wrinkled woman.
"That is right child. My name is Mava and I am the very last of a fading order of mystics whose sole purpose is to guide the Component." Mava announced in a learned voice as her face was accented by the flames while the highborn women listened with their eyes wide in disbelief.
"A whole order of mystics just to guide me?" Elle repeated in an awed voice while her princess sat in astonishment above her.
"Our order has existed for over a thousand years. It was first established long ago with the assistance of the ancient Fire Nation Royal Family." Mava revealed in a profound voice with her words causing the Fire Nation women to stare on in shock.
The princess's lips now curled into an angered glower as a blue torch lit over the wall behind her as proof of her ire.
"And you had the nerve to insinuate that I was unworthy when this very order was created by one of my ancient ancestors! That by itself makes me more worthy than anyone else in this world!" Azula hissed with great anger in her voice that was only tempered in part when she felt her serving girl place her gentle hand on her arm.
Only for the fury in her eyes to grow when the weathered woman slammed her staff down on the floor of the ancient tree.
As the three noblewomen sat there in a puzzled silence.
"No, it does not! The Royal Family of old were noble leaders that cared about their people. Ever since Sozin the Royal Family has been naught but a line of tyrants. All your family has cared about is making yourselves richer at the expense of the commoners and the peasants that suffer under your family's oppressive rule." Mava retorted in a resentful voice as she pointed a wrinkled finger back at Azula's furiously glaring face.
The other three highborn women sat in an unsettled silence as they wisely avoided stating aloud that it sounded as if the old woman had a valid point.
"T-the princess isn't like her father and the others Mava. When she becomes Fire Lord, she is going to make it better. I know so. I…I believe in her." Elle insisted in a faithful voice as she chewed on her lip while Azula found herself visibly calming over her.
Mai sighed under her breath as she mused that she could only hope that Azula at least made an effort.
Otherwise sooner or later she was bound to lose Elle's innocent admiration.
"Perhaps she will young Component. We shall see. In any event our order was created to keep the secrets of the Component alive for the day that the holder should return. And that is what we did…all of us for over a thousand years." Mava admitted in a greatly tired voice with her words stunning the team so deeply that the fury vanished in the princess's widened eyes.
"Your order managed keep such powerful secrets in memory for that long?" Zoi asked in a stunned voice with her golden eyes wide in shock.
"F-for over a thousand of years? Just to talk to me or whoever came through?" Elle repeated in a disbelieving voice while her princess gazed on in awe from over her shoulder.
"We did. And we didn't do it just so some spoiled princess could make light of our sacrifice. I didn't do this because I wanted to spend my entire life in a tree you know. I did it because there was no one else left to take up the task and if I didn't do it then the order would have died off. And then there would be no one here to enlighten young Elle's mind." Mava explained in a sage voice as she balanced herself on her staff while Elle's amber eyes widened with emotion.
As the highborn women sunk back in their seats in an affected silence.
"I…I am sure that Azula meant no disrespect Sage Mava. She…she just has never been very good at showing her emotions. And she is only just now starting to learn how to do so with Elle's help." Ty Lee spoke in a hastened voice while the princess sat in a prideful silence.
The mighty princess just let out a haughty snort as she turned to stare at the old woman.
Only for her amber golden eyes to glance down in puzzlement when saw her girlfriend standing up from her lap.
"Arigatou gozaimasu for doing so Sage Mava. I…and all of my friends are forever in your debt." Elle stated in a highly sentimental voice as she bowed her body while Azula sat scowling down at her.
Just as Zoi then lowered her body in a respectful bow with her hands in the customary position while Mai followed suit soon after.
And soon so did Ty Lee.
Azula still sat scowling with her arms over her breasts only to find herself growling when she Ty Lee push her head into a slight bow.
And not even a second later the princess sprang back up with her amber golden eyes still glaring back at the old woman.
Just before the team turned back towards the flames when they arose higher once more.
"We…have carried these hallowed secrets with us for all this time. All the while we were unable to share them with anyone outside of the order." Mava continued in a wizened voice while the team listened in a spellbound silence.
"You couldn't speak to the Royal Family of it? Not even before the days of Fire Lord Sozin?" Zoi inquired in a fascinated voice while Azula still sat scowling in her seat.
Just as the princess's cold eyes took note of how her girlfriend's legs were wobbling in exhaustion.
And just when Elle started to sway on her woozy feet.
She let out a lovable squeak when she was pulled down to sit in the older woman's lap once more.
Her cheeks turned pink once more as she peered shyly up at her caretaker's stoic face while the woman frowned sternly down at her.
Only for the couple's attentions to be rapidly regained when the old woman shook her head no.
"We could not. Because with Sozin and afterward the sacred knowledge would have been used to cause even further suffering in the world. And before Sozin…the Avatar would have destroyed it." Mava answered in a timeworn voice while the team stared on with astonishment in their widened eyes.
"The Avatar…would have destroyed it?" Mai inquired in an unnaturally spellbound voice as the old woman nodded her head.
"The order lost the support of the Royal Family over eight hundred years ago because the Avatar believes us to be evil. The Avatar cannot understand because the Avatar cannot see the Elder One or what it is doing. Therefore, the Avatar swayed the Royal Family and beyond to pay our warnings no mind. So, we were left with no other alternative but to sit and wait, and hope that the rune in this valley would prevent the Elder One from coming for us." Mava remarked in a grave voice while the team listened in a stricken silence.
The more they heard the more frightening it became!
"That's what you're doing in this valley? You're…hiding from this creature?" Azula asked with utter disbelief in her amber golden eyes while Elle shivered in fear in her lap.
A sense of newfound dread came over the entire team when the sage nodded her head with unrivaled graveness.
"Well, you don't have to worry anymore Mava! You have Azula-sama's support now! If the Avatar comes around Her Highness will give him what for!" Elle cried out in a devoted voice while the princess's lips curled into a small smile.
The three nobles gazed fondly at their young friend.
Just as the princess patted the smaller girl's golden head while her hand then took to resting in the girl's hair.
"All of these improvements that you girls have been making in strength would not be possible if you told yourself before you even tried that the Avatar is the only one who can do it. And that is why this being wishes for the Avatar Cycle to remain intact…so that humanity will stay weak. Therefore, the creature has created a cloud over the minds of nearly everyone on this planet." Mava stated in a weathered voice with her hands clutching her staff while the team sat in an unnerved silence.
"Y-you said that it is doing something…what is it doing?" Elle stammered with fear in her voice while Azula gazed on with protective amber golden eyes from over her shoulder.
"The Elder One does what your princess does when she gets her hands on a large bowl of cherries. It devours." Mava explained with her wrinkled fingers holding her staff while all but Azula stared on in amusement.
As Azula sat there with her amber golden eyes burning with the infernos of war.
"Are you…making fun of your Crown Princess's appetite?" Azula questioned in a menacing voice while her girlfriend listened in an enraptured silence.
"I-it eats? Eats what?" Elle gulped in a fretful voice only to find herself comforted by the sound of her mistress growling behind her trembling ear.
"Chi." Mava responded in a vague yet utterly dire voice while highborn women and their young servant friend gazed back in an unsettled silence.
"It…eats chi?" Azula pondered in a greatly intrigued voice while she rose a regal brow.
"A great deal of it. To put it lightly. In any case Princess Azula. I will give you a word of warning. If you are truly serious about becoming worthy…and wish to remain alive long enough to do so. You will take great care who you speak of this being around." Mava advised in a deathly urgent voice while Azula rose an elegant brow.
"Are you…telling me that it is not safe for me to discuss it with my own people?" Azula snorted as she rolled her amber golden eyes while her serving girl shivered once more.
"That is exactly what I am saying. It has many followers throughout all walks of life. And if word gets out that you are looking for it. Its followers will infiltrate your palace staff…perhaps a servant…perhaps one of your guards…regardless of the mask it will get to you." Mava warned in a frighteningly ominous voice while a look of great paranoia passed over Azula's widened amber golden eyes.
While a newfound sense of terror came over the air as the entire team sat in a disbelieving state of quiet.
Elle swallowed in fright once again as Azula gazed on with searching amber golden eyes.
"So…it has a cult that is capable of penetrating even the ranks of the Royal Family?" Zoi queried with a wary voice as she narrowed her golden eyes as she clenched her fist at her hip.
"A vast cult. A cult that spans the entire planet." Mava declared in a terrifying voice as the team sunk back in their seats with their eyes wide in shock.
"T-the entire planet? But how is that possible?" Ty Lee stammered with great fear in her voice while Mava's flames rose up behind her.
"Because it has the whole world outside of this valley and Silah's citadel is under its shroud of dark cosmic energy. The only people in this whole world that I know with certainty are aware of this creature's existence are everyone in this room…Silah and those that serve it directly such as the one called Vega." Mava informed in a beyond dire voice as Team Azula gaped on with their eyes wide in incredulity.
"That's it?" Azula repeated in a disbelieving voice as she tried to fight down the sudden sense of paranoia that she felt rushing over her.
If the old hag was speaking truthfully…and she has yet to catch her in a lie.
That would mean this being can find them anywhere at any time!
"Now do you understand? If left unchecked…this creature will eventually kill every living being on this planet." Mava declared with her flames rising up over her while the team sat back with their eyes wide in horror.
"A-all life? We have to stop it Azula-sama!" Elle cried out as she reached up to tug on Azula's sleeve while her mistress let out a heavy sigh.
"You want to be worthy Princess Azula? Think not of how you desire power for your own whims and think instead of how you can save the world. This isn't about you or me…or Elle…it is about all of us. For we will all share the same fate if we fail." Mava spoke in a venerable voice as Azula stared on with her hardened amber golden eyes pondering those words.
"You said that this Vega will come riding on the wings of this force of darkness. But what of Silah? Is she allied with…it?" Zoi pondered with her golden eyes staring on coldly while her princess also glowered over the mention of the woman's name.
Only for all five girls to gaze on with curiosity in their eyes when the old woman let out a depressed sigh.
Almost as if…she was saddened by the loss of the other woman's enigmatic friendship.
"Silah…. was supposed to be the one sitting here speaking to the young Component…not me. She…was the one who was originally chosen to become the next sage." Mava confessed with sadness in her voice while the team gazed on with speechless looks in their widened eyes.
Out of all of the things that the old woman had told them.
That had to rank up there as highest with the existence of this…Elder One!
"Silah and I are the last two members of the great order of mystics. My former master…chose Silah to succeed him and carry on this sacred knowledge until the day that the holder returns. But Silah…fell to her darker impulses." Mava spoke in barely perceivable whisper while the highborn women sunk back in unfathomable disbelief.
The simple fact that they were originally supposed to be speaking with the woman who wants to slaughter them just for pleasure was mind boggling!
"W-why…why didn't she?" Elle stammered in an emotional voice.
She started to feel a sense of guilt for making people wait so long for her to reappear.
"Because child…to become the sage you must bind yourself to this infernal tree." Mava muttered as she sat holding her staff while the group stared on with their eyes widening in realization.
And now the entire team understood what Mava meant.
She…bound herself to the Sentinel Tree just for the sake of keeping this information alive so it could one day reach little Elle!
"Silah chose to reverse the power of the sage…and bind people to her as her puppets instead of binding herself to the Sentinel Tree. And after that…she left to follow the path of a dark sage and to live the life of the hunt. I know not whether she has aligned herself with this revolting creature but I know this. All Silah cares about is the thrill of her hunt." Mava commented with a scowl on her aged lips while a shudder spread throughout the air.
"And so now…we have to deal with this…Elder One and its followers…while facing the Avatar and on top of all that…we have to deal with this doll freak chasing us down? Joy." Mai snorted with a shiver traveling down her spine while Ty Lee shuddered beside her.
Azula and Zoi glared on with prideful fury in their eyes as well as an eagerness to pay the puppeteer back for their underground battle.
As Elle began to shake once more when the flames rose up yet again.
Her amber eyes widened when she saw that her brother's face was forming in the fire once more.
The highborn women gazed on with looks of hatred in their narrowed eyes.
"All of that and much more. Your situation just got many times worse with your defeat on the other side of the gate." Mava began in a low voice as the team listened with their unnerved eyes gazing back at the young man's laughing visage in the flames.
"H-how?" Elle squeaked as she sat on Azula's lap while the woman stared on with murderously narrowed amber golden eyes.
"Child. The force has been in the blood of your family for countless generations…perhaps even going as far back as to the ancient days when the holder lineage was created. You see it was a noble nameless Fire Lord who first founded the Component holder lineage almost two thousand years ago." Mava announced with her hands gripping her staff while a sense of profoundly disbelief swept over the air.
Elle turned to peer up at Azula with a newfound adorable admiration in her eyes that would have made the others chuckle if not for the gravity of what the old woman was saying.
As Azula swelled with pride as she puffed out her breasts with a smirk already forming on her lips.
And that was all it took for both Mai and Ty Lee to sigh.
They knew that Azula was going to make the poor girl worship her even more than before out of some perceived gratitude for what her ancestors did.
"Really? I really do have a divine right to rule over this one then." Azula boasted with a flip of her hair while she held her head high as she took delight in how her serving girl was now gazing up at her as if she were Agni herself.
"A-Azula-sama…I didn't know that your ancient family founded it." Elle stuttered in an awed voice as her princess stuck her nose up over her while her big sisters sighed in the background.
"Yes, well you can make it up to me by spending the rest of your little life worshiping the ground that I walk on." Azula huffed as she scanned her fingernails on her clenched fist with a spoiled smile already gracing her lips.
She paid no mind to the sisterly growl that Ty Lee was sending her way.
Only for the old sage to cut the couple off before they could speak of it any further.
"No! The Fire Lord did not found the power itself. The Component was originally a timeless force that was held inside an ancient tablet that held the key to breaching the Elder One's defenses, so that the Forge of Light could then be used to kill it and its creations once and for all. What this nameless Fire Lord did do…was merge the power within the tablet into a loyal servant of the then Royal Family." Mava explained in a greatly wise voice while the team listened in shock once more.
As the mighty princess turned to gaze back down at her serving girl with a look of awe in her amber golden gaze.
"A loyal servant of the then Royal Family? Does that mean that young Elle is a descendant of this servant?" Zoi asked in a marveled voice as she felt even more desire to protect the girl build up within her.
Under no circumstances could they allow Fire Lord Ozai to distort and use her as a tool of war!
It was a thought that was on all of the four highborn women's minds.
Even the Fire Princess herself.
"It is likely. As I told you all before. It is not restricted to just the lineage that the founding Fire Lord created. It can transfer to someone who has no connection to the original lineage. I do not know all of the rules. What I do know is that the lineage was created so that the Elder One could not destroy the power of the Component so easily." Mava replied with upmost seriousness in her weathered voice while the group sat in a stunned silence.
"Does…. that mean that Azula-sama and I are descendants of an ancient team of princess and royal servant? Am I really meant to serve her?" Elle asked in a lovably sweet voice as she gazed up at Azula's still surprised face.
She and her girlfriend gazed back into each other's eyes as she smiled shyly under the older woman's stern stare.
As she twiddled her thumbs while her princess's lips pulled into a charming smile.
And then she gasped when a strong hand lowered into her hair once more while she sat in shock as she found herself being petted under the princess's warm once yet again.
Ty Lee and Mai exchanged a wary look as they hoped that the princess wouldn't let it go too far to her head.
"It would seem so servant but fear not. I won't mistreat you." Azula assured with a smile on her lips while her girlfriend flushed under her domineering stare.
"O-oh Azula-sama. I know that you would never abuse me." Elle murmured with a hand on her reddened cheek while her big sisters sighed heavily.
Only for the adorable teenager to deflate when the old woman sighed as well.
"No. You two are not hearing me. The objective was not to create a servant that catered to the Royal Family's whims. The purpose was and is to save the world from the Elder One." Mava explained with a gruff voice only for the three noblewomen to gaze on humorously when the couple seemed to not hear her.
"You…you really are my mistress Azula-sama." Elle spoke up in an adorably sweet voice while Azula smiled down at her in even more approval than ever before.
"Indeed, I am dear. And you really are my fated royal servant." Azula stated with a wide smile on her lips while her childhood friends stared at her in disapproval.
"A fated bond with a princess charming that was meant to be…how romantic." Elle gushed as she wrapped her arms around the taller girl's belly while the princess smiled down at her.
'So, my Elle really was meant to belong to me?' Azula thought with her beautiful lips curving into a content smile.
This just made Elle all the more special.
They truly were fated to stand side by side as the princess and her peasant.
"So…anyhow what happened to the founding Fire Lord? Obviously…whoever it was did not succeed. Is that right?" Zoi questioned with a stoic voice while the couple turned their attention back to the old sage.
Only for all five members of Team Azula to feel a sense of dread fall over them once more when the flames rose even higher.
"Wiped out and erased from most history books. The same fate that awaits all who the Elder One kills." Mava informed in a grim voice as the team sat back with their eyes wide in a sense of rising unease.
'Is all of this true? Is this being truly this powerful?' Azula thought with her amber golden eyes glancing on while she scowled deeply.
"What I was trying to get at child…is that there are means in which another member of your family can become the new holder with or without your consent." Mava declared in a voice of unequaled graveness while the team felt their stomachs drop as soon as they heard those words.
Their eyes widened as they recalled the words that Felix spoke to them back in their encounter.
I know all about that power of yours Elle. And soon…very soon you will see that you need me.
It is time that we showed the world the power of the Turner family!
A newfound look of rage came over the princess's mighty narrowed eyes as she glared on imposingly over her young girlfriend's fearful shoulder.
She began to clench her bloodied fists in her fury as she watched the flames take shape in Felix's face once more.
"My child…I regret to inform you…that you only possess half of the Component." Mava announced with evident unease in her serious voice as Elle sunk back with her amber eyes widening in confusion.
The four highborn women stared on with their eyes wide in shock over the sage's grim declaration.
They swallowed in trepidation as they thought back to the power that Felix showed in their encounter.
Just as the princess abruptly stood up with her amber golden eyes burning wide in rage while her girlfriend fell from her lap with a squeak.
"You mean to tell me that the ability that worn showed in battle…was the Component!" Azula roared with her fists lighting up with blue fire once more while her lips sunk into a snarl.
Zoi gazed on with her golden eyes wide in fright like never before.
Mai and Ty Lee now looked as if they had turned as white as a ghost!
"H-half? B-but I thought you told me that I was the Component!" Elle cried out from where she lay on the floor at her princess's boots while the woman towered over her.
"You are child. You used to possess all of it. But somewhere along the line you lost half. Did he do something to you at any point while you were unconscious?" Mava pondered in an urgent voice as the four highborn women stared on with absolute outrage in their murderous eyes.
Elle now shook on the floor as she tried to sit up with her angered eyes gazing back at the visage of her monstrous brother.
"H-he…he always liked to put sleepy pills in food and drinks…that's why I…learned to cook my own food." Elle stammered in a voice of fearful realization as she audibly swallowed.
As the captain now stared on with her golden eyes agape in utter disgust.
The princess and her two noble friends now looked even more regretful that they had not met their sensitive young friend sooner.
"Come here child. I'll see if I can pull it from your mind." Mava requested with a wag of her hand while Elle shakily stood up.
The highborn women glared on with promises of murder in their eyes.
And then Elle came to a stop standing on her nervous legs before the old sage.
Just as the old woman reached out to place her wrinkled palm on Elle's shaken forehead.
While the team stood back with their eyes wide with anticipation.
And then after what seemed to be a minute of unsettling waiting the hermit withdrew to face her fire.
Elle took a frightful step back as she saw her brother's image finish taking shape in the mystic flames.
As the princess stepped forward to loom behind her frightened girlfriend with her callous eyes glaring imperiously back into the fire.
Only for her amber golden eyes to widen in a sense of some horrible foreign emotion.
When she saw an image of the girl laying on what appeared to be an operating table surrounded by a masked medical staff.
Elle's amber eyes widened in horror like never before with her big sister's arising to their feet to stare on in shock behind her.
Felix stood over Elle with a man at the forefront who looked to be a doctor of some kind who appeared to be administering anesthetic to the girl.
"H-he's my brother…my own brother. Why…why would he do this to me?" Elle inquired with a tear in her eye while the princess now looked as if she were about to explode in her royal rage.
The noblewomen stood stricken into a horrific silence unable to answer their adopted sister's sorrowful question.
"I must warn you…there is a chance that your sister will not survive this…" The physician began in something akin to a hesitant voice while Elle in the present stared back in disbelief at her unmoving past self.
By the look of it this couldn't have happened more than six months before she came to the Fire Nation!
Team Azula was rendered into a state of absolute shock as they watched Felix roll his eyes in an almost similar to Azula.
Only even Mai knew that there was no way that Azula would have ever done something like this to Zuko!
"Elle will be fine. At least…more so than you will be if you decline me. If you have any moral reservations about it, I could just feed you to my seekers…" Felix spoke as he smiled menacingly back at the older man's terrified face.
The highborn women listened in utter repugnance that the man hinted that he fed people to his pet beasts.
"No! N-no! I…have no moral compunctions…I…am ready when you are." The physician swallowed as he stood over Elle with his remorseful eyes keeping a close watch on the girl's vitals.
And it was then that the entire team began to turn hot white in their rage as they watched the brother lean over their young friend's unconscious body!
"Poor Elle. You try so hard to win but you always lose." Felix remarked cruelly as he reached down to wipe a stray tear from his sister's eye.
And then just like that a sickening light shot out from Elle's body while everyone watching was rendered into a speechless silence.
Even the sage who had seen the repressed memory in the girl's mind had was stunned by the sheer level of Felix's cruelty.
Elle backed up until the back of her head hit the bottom of her princess's armored breasts.
The Fire Princess stared on with bubbling fury in her amber golden eyes.
She smashed her fists at her hips with her subordinates staring on in endless disgust.
And that was all it took for the team to gaze on in horror when the young man began to withdraw a bright light from the girl's chest.
And then Felix took a step back with the orb of light humming beneath his power-hungry hands.
And then not even a second later he slammed it into his chest while the group stood in shock as they watched Felix force it inside him!
And with that Felix tipped his head back as he began to release disturbing cackles with his glasses shaking over the bridge of his nose!
The doctor seemed to be almost riddled with remorse as he turned away to gaze off into the distance of the room.
As the team of medical staff stared on with fear in their eyes when the young man's body began to emit a frightening glow.
"So, this is the inheritance of the Turner family! It feels so sublime! And it belongs to me now!" Felix shouted with his gloved hands held out before his delightfully grinning face while the team stared into the flames in horror.
"W-what did I do to…deserve this?" Elle stuttered with heavy emotion in her angered voice while Azula trembled in rage over her.
And then the mystic vision in the flames finally faded away while a lone tear slid down Elle's cheek.
The calamitous sound of Felix's lingering laughter as it sent a chill down the spines of all present.
Until that too soon vanished leaving only the sense of indescribable dread of what this will mean for the conflict to come.
Although one thing remained clear to Elle.
And that was that she had to stop her brother and take back what he stole from her.
The lives of everyone that she cherished were depending on it.
For the sake of all of her friends in both worlds.
For the sake of her Princess Azula.
And for the sake of the legacy of her mother.
There was no way that she could let Felix win!
He had to be stopped!
No matter what it takes!
AN:
Alright, so there were huge revelations in this chapter.
The primary reason that Team Azula escaped Rieko was because of Nero's expected interference and Rieko's own arrogance towards them and him.
Also, Mava just further touched on how the power of the Component can cut through mystical objects like the energy of the World Gateway and physical objects, like the rocket that Reynolds fired at her.
We learned in this chapter that Mava is the last of a great order, an Order of Mystics which was founded long, long ago in part with the help of an ancient noble Fire Lord.
The Avatars, also believe this order to be evil because one of their main goals is to destroy the Avatar Cycle hence why Mava has never been able to seek the help of any of the Avatars.
Also, Mava did not show Azula respect when she first arrived because the Royal Family (Sozin, Azulon, Ozai and Azula prior to meeting Elle) have become something that she no longer respects.
More or less, the ancient Fire Lord Mava was referring to cared about the greater good of the world unlike say Ozai.
Of course, Mava respects Azula now more than when she arrived and Azula also respects Mava more. And unlike Iroh, Mava believes that there is hope for Azula. Somewhere deep down in Mava, she sees a great leader and she wants her to take a different path than her father.
We also learned a disturbing detail, the Primordial One has worldwide influence. So, it doesn't really mater if the four nations are separate, or if one nation controls all of the land in the world. Mava is essentially saying that regardless of the situation, the Primordial One is the one in control.
Further, we received a subtle hint from Mava about what the Primordial One does, according to her it eats chi.
And just as unnerving, Mava has revealed that those that the Primordial One destroys are wiped from the history books so that there is no record of their existence.
Another large reveal, is that Silah was once a part of this great order long ago during the days of her friendship with Mava in their youth. And that Silah, was originally the one who was chosen to succeed as the Sage of the Sentinel Tree.
However, she chose to instead follow the path of a dark sage, her power is a reversal of the sage magic that Mava uses. Instead of linking herself to the magical tree, Silah binds the energy of people to her as her puppets.
Also, another prominent reveal is that the Component was once a force held inside an ancient tablet. The Primordial One fears both the Component and the Aegis because when combined they have the power to kill it.
Until it was transferred into a human holder to make it more difficult for otherworldly forces to destroy.
The first holder was a follower of the ancient Fire Nation Royal Family and as we learned in this chapter, Elle is likely a descendant of this royal servant.
This revelation in Elle's ancestry is going to feed Elle's desire to serve Azula even further and Azula's desire to rule Elle even more. At least for now.
Azula and Elle's relationship has a long way to go before it will be true equality, and this reveal is going to have an effect in making Elle even more devoted.
Eventually, however Elle is still going to have to break out from under Azula's ruling shadow and be more vocal about following the path that her mother inspired her to walk. And over the coming arcs, we'll see how Elle evolves into being more free spoken with Azula.
Another reason that this is huge, is because Azula and the others will now have to protect Elle from Ozai and his generals wanting to turn her into a weapon of war.
And that is also why it was essential that Azula and Elle form an inseparable bond before learning all of this. If Azula had learned all of this information on the same day that she met Elle. She would not have hesitated to use her as a tool in war.
But now that Azula appreciates and values Elle as her companion, Azula is unable to look at her as just a mere weapon.
And finally, possibly the most grave reveal in this chapter is that Felix has half of the Component.
The power that he displayed against Elle, was the Component and the entire reason why he wanted to reunite with her was so that he could test out his powers against hers. And that is why the gateway reacted violently during their encounter, because it was responding to the presence of both holders.
Unlike the Avatar Cycle, the Component as a force that was held within the ancient tablet can be split into two. And essentially something went wrong when Felix reached into Elle, and then the power was split between two holders.
This is going to have giant ramifications for the story to come, as Rieko is now in possession of 'the other half'.
Team Azula will eventually have to find the site of their World Gateway, reopen it and embark out on a mission to hunt Felix to restore the Component whole once more.
My intentions with this chapter were to take Felix's evil to a whole different level. And I also wanted to show, that the Component can be used for darker intentions.
And in the future, we are going to witness a clash between both holders of the Component as they vie to make the power whole once more.
Anyhow, there are only two chapters left to this arc, next chapter will be the team's final chapter with Mava and then they will leave the valley.
And after that, we will begin the Royal Caldera City Arc while will bring Ozai into the picture at long last and delve back into the political intrigue of the Fire Nation Capital.
Stay tuned for next time.
For chapter one hundred sixteen! The Path in the Mystic Fire!