Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OCs) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 21. The History of Yuan'Shi – part 2
Spirit World, The Tree of Time.
Yan Zu, Huo, and Wei'Rai observed Yuan'Shi, who stared at the small settlement in the distance. The fox-like spirit pondered intensively about something. Suddenly, she nodded and turned around, walking away from the lake. "In that moment, she made a decision that would change everything," Wei'Rai commented.
"You saw this before?" Yan Zu asked, looking at the phoenix.
"Yuan'Shi told us herself the next day, but yes, we asked Qhavaq to show us what happened after everything ended," Wei'Rai replied. "I'm watching this for the thirth time."
After his words, Qhavaq raised its water tentacle and made a slow waving motion. While there was no sandstorm this time, the time itself began to accelerate. The sun quickly moved and hid behind the horizon, allowing the moon to appear and travel across the black, star-filled sky. The whole night passed in a few seconds and when the sun reappeared, illuminating the landscape, Qhavaq allowed the time to flow normally again.
"Cool," Huo said in awe. Yan Zu, who stood next to his son, smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.
The boy spotted Yuan'Shi in the distance, who ran towards the same spot, but she wasn't alone this time. The fox-like spirit was followed by the Keepers, all sixteen of them. Small spirits that roamed around quickly moved out of their way. When she reached the lake, she sat down and waited.
The Keepers also stooped and formed a circle around her. Huo immediately spotted Shen'Rai, and while he knew the phoenix wasn't real, the boy was glad to see his friend. "Why are we meeting here?" asked Nukuio, the Water Keeper.
"There's a human settlement nearby," noted Nou'Rai, noticing the tiny houses in the distance.
"That's the reason I wanted to talk with you here," replied Yuan'Shi. "Humans deserve a chance to defend themselves against malevolent spirits. That's why I decided to bestow humans with the power of bending and teach them how to use it. I would like to hear your thoughts."
The Keepers weren't exactly pleased. "I don't think that's a good idea," stated one of the Earth Keepers. "Humans are strange and unpredictable beings. We don't know what would they do after receiving such power."
"It's easy, they would start attacking other humans and maybe even spirits," replied Wei'Rai. "I observed a few of them with Shen'Rai. Humans are violent, greedy, and care only for themselves. If one group would have our powers, they'd attack the other groups and spread their territories. Nothing is ever enough for them."
"I'm sure not all of them are like that," said Shen'Rai, defending the humans. "I mean we can't think that every human is violent because the ones we observed were. And besides, we don't know what caused them to be violent in the first place. Even calm and gentle spirits can become violent if angered."
"Even if you're right, how can we tell which ones are good?" Nin To asked, looking at Shen'Rai.
"Maybe Earth Keepers can help us with that," the phoenix suggested, turning his head towards the pangolin-like creatures. "Didn't you discover a way to tell if someone is lying? We could talk with humans and learn which are the truthful ones."
"Seismic sense has that ability, but it's more complicated than that," replied Denger. "We'd need to actively use it. What's more, if a human would tell a lie, believing that he speaks the truth, he wouldn't be able to tell."
The fox-like spirit thought about it for a moment. "How about we give bending to one human for now and see how it goes from there," Yuan'Shi suggested. "If anything bad will happen, I can always take the bending away. Even with our knowledge, one human won't be a threat to any of us."
The Keepers exchanged glances and nodded to each other. "What about the element?" asked a Water Keeper. "It's important that we know which element will be used by the human."
Yuan'Shi lowered her gaze, looking at the grass. She then looked at the phoenixes and spoke. "Fire represents power and is fueled by our drive and passion. Fire instills fear in enemies, and protects the weak, but demands control and responsibility. I think in this situation, fire would be the perfect element."
"It's hard to disagree," replied Vin'Rai. The other three phoenixes also agreed.
Yan Zu looked somewhat surprised since he had never heard of such a description of fire. Then again, it was obvious that the spirits had a different approach to bending than humans.
"I'm guessing you already have a certain human in mind," said one of the Air Keepers.
"I do," Yuan'Shi confirmed, turning her head towards the settlement. She spotted Min Yan, who headed towards the lake with an empty bucket. "And I think, she's going to do just fine."
Yuan'Shi stayed and waited for the girl while the Keepers began to return to their realm. Yan Zu looked at the real Wei'Rai. "So Yuan'Shi gave that girl the element of fire and she became a firebender," he stated.
"The first firebender in human history," Wei'Rai emphasized. As Min Yan got closer to the lake, she spotted Yuan'Shi and waved to her. The fox-like spirit approached the girl and nodded. "Hello again."
"Good morning, Yuan'Shi," Min Yan said with a smile and filled the bucket with water from the lake.
"Tell me Min Yan, do and your people have weapons to defend yourselves against malevolent spirits?" Yuan'Shi asked.
"Hmmm... I guess we have some weapons," the girl answered, placing the bucket on the ground. "We use torches, spears, bows and arrows when we go hunting for food or to chase off spirits when they get to close to our settlement. Still, its rarely enough since many get injured or worse. Why do you ask?"
"Would you want to have a power to defend yourself and your home?" Yuan'Shi asked.
The girl squinted her eyes. "What power?" she asked, clearly intrigued.
"Firebending," Yuan'Shi replied. "The power to create and control fire. It would be much better than any weapon you humans have."
Min Yan's blue-colored eyes widened. "I could create fire?" she asked in disbelief. "How?"
"I can give you that power with energybending and teach you how to use it," Yuan'Shi explained. "If you'll be responsible with it and won't abuse it, I'll let you keep it and who knows, maybe I even give that power to the people living in your settlement."
"Oh, okay," Min Yan nodded. "So... what do I need to do?"
"Just stand still and close your eyes," Yuan'Shi said and lifted her paw. The fox-like spirit delicately touched Min Yan's forehead with one claw, and the second claw touched the girl's chest. A greenish light began to glow from the two spots.
"The lion turtle took my waterbending and gave me firebending the same way," Huo noted.
When the light vanished, and Yuan'Shi withdrew her paw, the girl opened her eyes and looked at her hands. "I don't feel any different," she stated.
"Pretend you're punching something while exhaling at the same time," Yuan'Shi instructed.
Min Yan complied and threw a punch just like Yuan'Shi told her to. At that moment, an orange flame shoot from her fist. "Woah!" the girl's eyes lit up.
"Congratulations, you're a firebender now," Yuan'Shi announced. "For now, don't use your firebending near other humans unless you completely have to. I can't tell how would they react seeing such power."
"Okay," Min Yan complied.
"We'll start your training tomorrow in a more secluded place," Yuan'Shi added. "Grab your water and hurry back home."
Min Yan nodded with a smile and hurried back to her settlement after grabbing her water-filled bucket. Yuan'Shi also turned around and headed back.
"Everything seems to be fine," Yan Zu noted.
"And it was for many years," Wei'Rai replied. "The girl had a talent for firebending and learned very quickly. They had some close calls with some techniques, but it helped Yuan'Shi understand how true bending affected humans. Under Yuan'Shi's guidance, the girl became stronger than any of the present-day human firebenders who call themselves masters. Unfortunately, while human children can be kind and innocent, they change when they grow up."
Before Huo and Yan Zu could say anything, Qhavaq once again began to accelerate time. This time, however, it was much faster. Years passed in mere minutes, and Huo had to close his eyes due to the constant flashing of the sun.
When Qhavaq slowed down the time to its normal speed, Yan Zu and Huo immediately noticed that the houses in the distance were somewhat bigger, which made sense since many years had passed, and the humans managed to expand the settlement.
Hearing two familiar voices, Huo and Yan Zu noticed Min Yan and Yuan'Shi, who were sitting at the lake and eating fried meat. While the spirit hasn't changed, being an immortal entity, Min Yan was no longer a child but an adult woman in her early twenties. Clad in brown pants, a yellow sleeveless shirt, and simple black boots, she looked like a normal village girl. With her blue-colored eyes, tanned skin, and long black hair, she was easy on the eyes.
"How does it taste?" Min Yan asked, swallowing a chunk of meat. "Since we haven't seen each other for four years, I gave you a large portion and added your favorite spices."
"It's delicious," Yuan'Shi answered, ripping a piece from a large portion of meat. As they ate peacefully, Huo and Yan Zu spotted a large group of humans heading toward them. Each of the men was fully armed, and it was obvious that they weren't coming to join the two.
Min Yan spotted the group and narrowed her eyes. Yuan'Shi also turned her head towards the humans. One man stepped forward when the group, consisting of at least forty men, got close enough. He was a bald, tall, beefy man with fair skin, blue-colored eyes, and a burly black-colored beard. His thick arms and body were covered in scars from cuts, while his face had a nasty burn scar on his left cheek.
"What do you want, father?" Min Yan asked with a frown.
"The power of fire!" the man replied bluntly and looked at the fox-like spirit while a young man around Min Yan's age stepped forward and stopped right next to him. He was a tall man with an athletic build, dark eyes, black hair, and brown-colored skin.
Min Yan's father smirked and gestured toward the man. "This is Gavon, a leader of another settlement. We have joined forces so even you won't stand a chance."
Yuan'Shi swallowed a chunk of meat and shook her head. "You humans can be so arrogant and stupid," she stated. "Numbers won't change a thing and the fact that you're here, demanding firebending from me only proves that you don't deserve it. I already refused you once and I even gave you an explanation why. You would abuse the element to attack other human settlements and try to chase off spirits from their homes."
"And it only proves that you're not fit to be our leader," Min Yan added, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought about taking over your position as a leader for some time now."
"You?! A leader?! Ha! Don't make me laugh!" the father replied with a smirk. "You don't have what it takes to be a leader! The leader has to make sacrifices!"
"Oh, trust me, I can make sacrifices," Min Yan assured. "And unlike you, I use my brains as well as my strength."
Before her father could reply, he heard a scream behind him, and he turned his head around. One of his men was stabbed in the back by one of Gavon's men. At that moment, Gavon's men began to attack the rest.
Min Yan's father was shocked and confused. "What's going on?!" he demanded, reaching for his weapon. He was about to look at Gavon, but the young human moved toward him and stabbed him in the stomach with a dagger. The man hissed through his teeth and fell to his knees, placing his hands on his wound. Taken by surprise, the men from Min Yan's settlement were quickly dealt with, and only her father was still alive. "What's... the meaning... of this?!" he asked while breathing heavily.
Yuan'Shi was just as confused as Min Yan's father. Huo and Yan Zu also had no idea what was going on. Only Wei'Rai watched the scene without any reaction since he already saw it.
"I told you, I use my brains, father," Min Yan stated calmly with a smirk as Gavon cleaned up his dagger. "I knew that if you'd have more men, you'd try to attack Yuan'Shi, so I paid Gavon a visit and we setup a trap for you. He never intended to attack the spirit with you in the first place."
Min Yan approached her father and Gavon. The young man moved closer to Min Yan, and the two shared a quick kiss. "Why?!" the wounded man growled.
"Like I said, I'm taking over and becoming a new leader," Min Yan announced and crouched in front of her father. "You always said to me that the weak must submit to the strong, who can have everything they want. It's the only thing that matters. Well, I am strong, and you, are weak."
"People won't follow you," the man replied with a groan.
"Oh, I think they will," Min Yan disagreed. "With my power, I will conquer the humans from all the settlements and I will control them, but you won't live to see it. Too bad my mom isn't here to see your downfall."
"Is this about her?" Min Yan's father asked. "I told you it was an accident!"
A frown appeared on Min Yan's face. "My mother died because you were drunk, and you beat her to death," she growled. "You hit her all the time whenever she disagreed with you. You even 'borrowed' her to your friends while I was in the same room."
"What does she mean by borrow?" Huo asked. Yan Zu sighed and shook his head. He knew precisely what Min Yan meant but couldn't say it aloud near Huo. "It means that he did terrible things to her," the man replied, looking at the wounded man with disgust.
Min Yan stood up and walked away from her father. Gavon also backed away from the wounded man just like the rest. "Min Yan? What are you doing?" Yuan'Shi asked.
"What I should've done years ago," the girl replied and turned around. "Goodbye, father," she made a quick circular motion with her right arm and shot a lightning bolt at the man, killing him on the spot.
The fox-like spirit sighed and shook her head, but Min Yan spoke before Yuan'Shi could say anything. "It was a quick death," the girl pointed out. "Far better than he deserved."
"I gave you firebending and taught you how to use it properly so you could protect yourself and others from malevolent spirits," Yuan'Shi replied, squinting her eyes. "Not for executions. And can you explain what you mean by conquering and controlling humans?"
"It's simple, actually," Min Yan replied casually. "We'd visit each settlement, and I would demonstrate my powers, demanding that they join us. Instead of having small settlements scattered around and exposed to dangers, we could create one big city where humans would safely live in peace. Gavon and his people already agreed to join me, and we're stronger together."
"And what would happen if the humans won't agree to your 'demands'?" Yuan'Shi asked. "What would happen to them?"
"I would find a way to 'convince' them," Min Yan answered, and Yuan'Shi didn't like how she said it.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing right now," the spirit replied with a disappointed tone. "I didn't give you firebending so you could conquer other human settlements. You changed, Min Yan, and not for the better. I told you that you'd get to keep your bending if you wouldn't abuse it."
Yuan'Shi wanted to say something else, but she suddenly winced, feeling pain in her stomach. She shook her head, feeling dizzy, and laid down on the grass. The fox-like spirit began to cough and even spat out blood.
"Yeah, about that," Min Yan began. "I had a hunch that you wouldn't like my idea and try to take away my bending, but even if you wouldn't try to do that, there was a chance that another human would get firebending or one of the other elements from you. That would cause problems for me and my plan, so I decided to get rid of you and prevent that."
Yuan'Shi's eyes widened in realization and shook. "The meat!" she said between coughs and tried to get up.
"Yes, it was poisoned," Min Yan confirmed. "I know that I'm not capable of defeating you with bending so I needed a more clever way to kill you. However, since I'm grateful for everything you did for me, I will make it quick."
Min Yan moved her right arm in a circular motion, generating lightning. "Goodbye," she said and fired a lightning bolt at Yuan'Shi. Although poisoned, the fox-like spirit stamped her paw, and a rock wall shot upwards from the ground. The lightning hit the wall, destroying it in the process, but the attack didn't reach the spirit.
"Don't struggle, Yuan'Shi," said Min Yan, giving Gavon a signal. "It will only make it more painful for you."
"Aim and fire!" Gavon ordered, and his men began shooting arrows at Yuan'Shi. The spirit wanted to create another wall, but she winced from the pain and lost focus. Yuan'Shi roared in pain and fell on her side as she was showered by arrows.
Gavon raised his hand, signaling his men to cease fire while Min Yan began to walk towards Yuan'Shi. The girl conjured a flame in her hand and was about to shoot it at the spirit when Yuan'Shi turned her head towards the humans and sharply opened her eyes. Min Yan, Gavon, and his men froze and began to twitch.
"Huh?" Huo squinted his eyes, but after a moment, he realized what was happening. "That's bloodbending! But, it's the middle of the day!"
"Water Keepers can use bloodbending without the full moon," Wei'Rai explained. "So it's nothing strange that Yuan'Shi can do it as well."
The fox-like spirit growled and tossed all the humans away with bloodbending. She then swung her five tails and used airbending to propel herself towards the lake. Yuan'Shi hit the water head first and immediately dived. Quickly after, the water in the lake began to glow with a greenish hue.
"She wants to heal!" Min Yan returned to her feet and propelled herself with fire towards the lake. She immediately shot two lightning bolts at the water when she reached it. The glow faded, and Min Yan stared silently at the water, looking for the tiniest movement.
She wasn't sure if Yuan'Shi was dead, but she quickly heard a rumbling behind her and felt the ground shaking. Turning around, she noticed that the earth began to crack underneath Gavon and his men. Suddenly, the ground collapsed, creating a large, deep chasm. While Gavon jumped away in time, his men weren't so lucky.
Min Yan ran up to Gavon, and both heard painful cries from the chasm. Gavon could only guess that his men were being killed by Yuan'Shi. When the last cry went silent, the fox-like spirit jumped out from the chasm. With one stomp of her paw, the hole was slammed shut instantly, crushing everyone who might have survived.
Anyone with eyes could tell that Yuan'Shi was angry. The once majestic entity now looked like a creature one could witness in nightmares. The beautiful silver fur was stained with blood, especially the paws and the snout.
Without a word, the fox-like spirit grabbed Min Yan with bloodbending and lifted her into the air. She then hurled the girl downwards, slamming her against the ground.
"Min Yan!" Gavon exclaimed and immediately rushed toward Yuan'Shi with his dagger. However, the spirit simply waited for the human to reach her. She swatted him like a fly with her paw when he tried to stab her leg. She lifted a large piece of earth and hovered it over the dazed human.
"No, stop!" Min Yan cried out, drawing Yuan'Shi's attention. The girl was on her knees, raising her hands in a peaceful gesture. "I won't attack you! You win! Take away my bending, but please don't kill him!"
Yuan'Shi looked at Min Yan and focused on her seismic sense. Sensing that the girl wasn't lying, she dropped the piece of the earth right next to Gavon and walked over.
The fox-like spirit reached out with her bloody paw towards Min Yan, who closed her eyes. Just as she was about to use her energybending, Min Yan quickly conjured a flame and shot it at Yuan'Shi's eye. The spirit roared in pain and shook her head.
"She lied!" Huo pointed out.
"Yuan'Shi didn't realize she lied to her?" Yan Zu asked.
"If someone has complete control over his emotions, you cannot tell if he's lying or not, even with seismic sense," Wei'Rai replied. "It never happened before so Yuan'Shi had no reason to think that the skill was useless against the girl."
Min Yan was ready to generate lightning and attack. However, Yuan'Shi moved her paw down and used earthbending to forcibly sink the girl into the ground so that only her head and chest were sticking out. Immediately, Yuan'Shi touched the girl's head and chest with her claws and began to energybend.
The fox-like spirit raised her head, and bright beams of white light shot from her eyes and snout. The same happened to Min Yan shortly after, but her beams were orange. Yuan'Shi's whole body began to turn white while Min Yan's body began to turn orange.
After a moment, when their bodies were completely covered by their respective colors, Yuan'Shi's white color began to spread over Min Yan's body, slowly turning her orange color white. Before the white color completely covered Min Yan's body, it stopped, and the orange color began to push it back.
"What's going on?" Yan Zu asked, squinting his brown-colored eyes as the orange color began to spread over Yuan'Shi's body at a rapid pace.
"Yuan'Shi couldn't take away the girl's bending," Wei'Rai explained. "We never managed to learn why. Maybe she was too angry and sad because of the betrayal. Maybe it was the lack of focus due to the injury. We don't know, but the fact is, she failed, and her spirit got corrupted."
The orange light completely engulfed Yuan'Shi's body, and a bright flash illuminated the whole area. When the lights vanished, Yuan'Shi and Min Yan's bodies returned to normal.
The fox-like spirit suddenly roared and began to violently shake her head. She opened her eyes and looked around for a moment. Squinting her eyes, Yuan'Shi focused and sat down. Black-colored cracks began to spread all over her body.
For a moment, Yan Zu and Huo thought that the spirit was about to explode or shatter into pieces, but Yuan'Shi roared again and lowered her head. Suddenly, a transparent white-colored shape engulfed in a dark mist emerged from her body and immediately lunged towards the trapped Min Yan, entering her body. It happened so fast that Huo and Yan Zu didn't even manage to take a good look at it.
The cracks on Yuan'Shi's body vanished, and the spirit fell over. Min Yan, however, began to twitch and emit a dark mist as her body started to change. Her skin turned pale, and her blue-colored eyes turned orange. The girl's left eye twitched and became slightly larger. At the same time, two rainbow-colored spikes emerged from the upper part of her back, which explained the hunch.
Huo felt a cold shiver running down his spine when the girl jumped out of the ground without the slightest effort. The eyes, the skin, the hunch. It was the same person Huo, and his dad had already met.
"And the nightmare has started," Wei'Rai said as the girl roared with Yuan'Shi's voice.
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