Their next stop was the Southern Air Temple. Lu Ten had been looking forward to this with nervous anticipation. First of all, any air temple was a likely location for Zuko to be at, especially the southern and western ones, which were closest to the Fire Nation. He also wanted see an air temple for himself, to see if those stories about the air nomad genocide were true. Perhaps any lingering evidence of the devastation would provide a clue.
"After a few days' journey they arrived, landing on a small beach below the hill where the temple sat. The structure loomed above them, a silent specter, as they dragged the boat ashore.
"It's so quiet here." Ayeshi muttered. "It's unsettling."
"I think it's to be expected, though." Lu Ten muttered. "No one's seen an Airbender alive in generations. Come on, let's explore." He led the way up the hill, stopping when he saw a pile of ash. "Campfire. Looks relatively new, too."
"How do you know?"
"We made a lot of campfires in the army. I know one when I see one. And this one is relatively fresh. Not new, see? The ash isn't hot or anything. But the ashes aren't disturbed either. Whoever made it, no telling if they're still here. But it's definitely a lot more recent than any air nomads."
"Look at you. A whole detective."
"Learned it in the army. You have to glean information from your surroundings, otherwise you might end up dead. Come on." He soldiered ahead. "Do have your knife ready, just in case whoever made that is here and hostile."
The further they went, the more apparent the signs of a fight were. There were Fire Nation helmets and armor strewn about, rusted and grown over, buried under dirt and trees as if the earth were trying to heal the scars of the atrocities that had happened here. The walls of the temple bore burn marks and scars from the battle, and the only inhabitants now were the little lemurs that scuttled about.
"Do we think anyone's here?" Ayeshi asked as she yanked on the handle of a set of double doors.
"No air benders, obviously." Lu Ten muttered. "But I think Zuko would lurk here longer, especially in a spiritual place like this. Stop yanking on that door; it's not going to open."
"It's not?"
"No. I think it's one that can only be opened by air bending. There's a similar one in a fire temple on Roku's island, that can only be opened by fire bending. So whatever's in there will remain a mystery."
They spent the afternoon exploring the temple, puzzling over the remainders of air nomad culture and trying to piece together what had happened when the Fire Nation attacked. But there was no indication that anyone had been there more recently. Lu Ten was about to suggest they call off the search when he stumbled into an alcove and saw the most horrifying sight they'd seen since coming.
The first thing he saw was the bodies of Fire Nation soldiers scattered about. Horrible though their deeds were, he couldn't help but wonder if some had been like him. Taken from home as teenagers to fight in a war they didn't care about, all to support Suzan's power-hungry scheme, just to die and be left here to rot in a land that wasn't theirs. Sleeping under the winter snows and the scorching summer sun, the rust running from the eyeholes of their helmets like tears.
Then he saw the other body. Sitting in the center of the room was the skeleton of an airbender, his necklace still hung around his neck. Lu Ten gasped, all the pieces of the puzzle falling into place. "You see what happened here, right, Ayeshi?" He turned and saw Ayeshi standing in the doorway, stricken. "I've heard stories about air benders who could bend all the air out of a room, killing everyone inside. That has to be what happened here. This person, whoever he was, sacrificed himself to give his people a chance." He frowned. "This doesn't feel right. Let's go."
"Lu Ten?" Ayeshi followed him out, taking the stairs at a run to keep up with him. "Lu Ten? Are you ok?"
Lu Ten sat down under a tree, panting. "We've got to get out of here. I've got to get out of here. We were told there was an air nomad army, you said there wasn't one. We were told that the air nomad genocide was justified, because of their aggression. Look at what happened in there!" He broke off, trying to collect himself. "Are we doomed? Is the whole world doomed because we're thrown so far out of balance?"
"You've finally seen the devastation the war caused."
"I know we caused devastation! You showed me that when I first came to Ba Sing Se! But I've never seen anything like this. We caused a lot destruction in the army—we were told it was just the way of war—but there were always people left behind. Every time we torched a town, there was a stream of refugees. There were always people. We never wiped out entire groups of people like this." Lu Ten sighed. "This is why we have to keep going. We have to get to Zuko and convince him not to hunt the avatar. He can come to Ba Sing Se instead. We can't let him turn the avatar over to the fire lord."
"What makes you think he's going to find the avatar, though?" Ayeshi asked. "People have been searching for a hundred years. I don't think he's going to be found by a thirteen-year-old. I think Ozai's sent him on a wild goose chase."
"I know." Lu Ten muttered. "I know. But Zuko doesn't know that. That's another reason we've got to find him—to show him he has family who still care about him. Let's go. I don't think Zuko is here. He would've gotten a bad feeling about this place, or maybe my dad would have. They're probably the ones who made the campfire, but they're long gone by now. We need to keep moving."
Ayeshi nodded. "Let's get out of here. Lingering here doesn't feel right. It feel like we're disturbing all the poor souls who rest here."
They hurried back down the hill to the beach, past the remains of the campfire to their boat. "Where now?" Ayeshi asked as Lu Ten pushed them into the water.
"Anywhere but here." Lu Ten muttered. "Let's just leave this place behind." He adjusted the sail as the boat leaned into the wind. "At this point, I don't know where to go or what trail to follow. I'm just going to follow the wind." He turned his face to the horizon as the wind picked up, so eager to be leaving the air temple that he let the wind toss their boats towards the grey clouds that gathered there.