Chapter Five

Enter the void.

Commander Zhao stood before the assembled men of the Lu Ten naval station, watching as a gilded ship approached the docks. In minutes the ship docked and a palanquin progressed along the pier to wait beside the gangplank. A procession of red clad firebenders and spearmen escorted a figure in black armor down and to the palanquin. The figure took their seat upon it and the procession made its way toward the assembled military.

Zhao knelt down and prostrated himself when the Palanquin passed under the gateway and into the base. The assembled military behind him did the same, and the palanquins curtains opened to reveal a girl with dark hair and golden eyes.

"You may rise." Princess Azula said, motioning with her left hand as she did so. Zhao rose, and when he stood he bowed to her.

"It is an honor to receive your presence, Princess." He said, before looking up again.

"The Fire Lord has received your report that my brother aided the Avatars' escape from the Fire Nation. He has sent me to discover the truth of this claim, and to find out if my uncle has betrayed us as well." Azula told the commander, watching him closely as she spoke. The man did not so much as blink at this.

"I would expect nothing less. The possibility that a member of the royal family could turn traitor would be disastrous for the Fire Nation," He said in response.

Azula nodded and pulled a scroll from the sleeve of her armor. "My father values your integrity, and as reward for your loyalty to the Fire Nation he has promoted you to admiral." She said, handing him the scroll.

Zhao took the scroll and read it, then bowed once more to the princess. "I am honored and grateful for the Fire Lord's goodwill."

"As you should be. Now, Admiral, show me to the witnesses."

"Of course, Princess." He said turning to lead her to the soldiers. As he walked, a triumphant smile spread across his face.


Sokka wandered through a vast forest, idly wondering if he had entered the spirit world again. He walked along a narrow winding path leading he knew not where. As he walked the grass dulled to brown, and it grew sparse and then ceased . The trees grew thin and shorter here, giving way to a plain illuminated by an auror of spiraling light over the center. He walked farther still, the path before him growing frosted until snow crunched underfoot. He came to the center of the plain and saw the aurora reach down from the heavens and touch a pale tower of ice and stone.

As if drawn in by an unseen force, the Water Prince glided towards the tower and stepped inside. He ascended a spiraling stairway, passing window after window, climbing higher and higher until he found a man meditating on a ledge overlooking the tundra below. The man stood and turned, and Sokka recognized him as Avatar Kuruk. Sokka tried to speak, but when he moved his lips no sound could be heard. Kuruk frowned and his forehead creased slightly. He placed his hand on Sokka's shoulder.

The moment the hand touched his shoulder everything rushed past Sokka. He felt as though he was falling, falling backwards into an infinite nothingness. He shut his eyes tightly against the disorienting rush passing him. After what might have been seconds or hours he felt everything around him still. He opened his eyes and saw Kuruk was still in front of him, yet their surroundings had changed. The tower had gone, and the tundra with it.

They stood on the saddle of a mountain, high enough that there were only loose and bare stones beneath them. Behind his ancestor stood the peak, rising again a few dozen feet. Sokka could vaguely make out the silhouette of a man upon it.

He tried to speak again, and Kuruk shook his head. He beckoned Sokka to follow him, turning to walk the final ascent. They climbed over the rough stone face until they reached the summit. Sokka's eyes widened when they reached the top, for the man he had seen was not on the mountain, but floating above it. The man moved through the air and levitated in front of Sokka. He was surprised again, for this man had the same tattoos as Aang. The mark of an airbender.

"So this is him." Said the air nomad, as he looked at Sokka with curiosity.

"Yes." Kuruk said, nodding and sitting cross-legged on the ground. Sokka tried to speak again but still no sound was heard. The airbender frowned at this, still watching Sokka.

"His mind is clouded." The airbender said, looking towards Kuruk now, who nodded and spoke, "We do not have much time before he returns to his body."

The airbender turned his attention back towards Sokka, and gestured to a large stone. It was covered with dirt and the empty shells of long dead snails. "Your mind is like this stone. Emotion and distraction cover it like the dirt and shells, keeping things from your sight. You must clear them away if you are to see things for what they are."

The man moved his arms in precise motions, rotating them as they pushed outwards towards the stone. Wind rushed across the peak and the dirt and shells that covered the stone were blown away, scraping it clean. What had looked to be an oddly shaped boulder was revealed to be a statue, its elegant curved lines twisting around it, and many veins of rock of varying size and color wove all across its surface.

"Once you learn to do this inside yourself, then things that were unseen shall become clear to you." The man alighted upon the ground in front of Sokka. He looked into his eyes and spoke once more. 'Let go thy earthly tether. Enter the void, empty, and become wind."

He turned away and walked a few steps before speaking again, "You are not an airbender, so you will not become wind. But attaining this mental state will help you to see clearly. And when you do, then you shall master your abilities. You must reach for the void."

Sokka tried to speak, to ask about what the airbender had meant by enter the void, but as he spoke the two men seemed to grow distant until they were far away, and then gone altogether.


Sokka opened his eyes as the first light of dawn touched his face. He blinked, yawned and stretched. He had been having the strangest dream. Was it a dream? It had felt very real, too real, now that he thought about it.

He climbed out of his sleeping bag and began rolling it up. When he finished he saw Aang watching him from atop Appa, a curious expression on his face.

"What?" Sokka Asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you almost never get up this early. And you were talking in your sleep, you said something I thought that only an airbender would know about.." Aang said, jumping to land beside Sokka.

"What was I saying?"

"It was a poem by an airbender who lived thousands of years ago: Let go thy earthly tether. Enter the void, empty, and become wind." Aang said, throwing Sokka and Kataras bags to Katara in the saddle.

"What was his name? The guy who wrote the poem I mean."

"Guru Laghima."

"Could he fly around and stuff? Because I had this weird dream about an airbender who could fly around. He told me my mind was clouded and I couldn't see right. Then he said the bit about entering the void," Sokka said as he climbed up Appa's tail to get into the saddle. Aang jumped and floated to the floor of the saddle so as to sit beside Katara.

"Well, yeah, that's what the monks said. Laghima was the greatest airbender to have ever lived. He supposedly reached enlightenment and lived the last part of his life without ever touching the ground." Aang rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he spoke, and Sokka stepped past them to sit on Appa's head. He was going to steer the bison, apparently.

"What are you guys talking about?" Katara asked as Sokka gave the command to start flying. He turned his head to the side and said, "I had a dream about a dead guy I've never met."

"What?" She said, looking at Aang who shrugged and grunted his confusion. She rolled her eyes and continued to speak. "Why don't you tell us about the dream?"

Sokka shrugged his shoulders and began to explain everything that he remembered about it. When he finished Katara spoke again, "That sounds more like a trip into the spirit world than a dream to me."

Aang grumbled, slightly miffed. "I wish Roku would speak to me as often as you speak to Kurrk."

"I've only seen him twice!"

"Yeah but that's still twice as many times as I've seen Roku." Said Aang, crossing his arms.

"Well, if I ever find myself in the spirit world again I'll ask Kuruk if he has any advice about getting in touch with Roku." Sokka said, feeling a little guilty that he hadn't thought of something like that before, although, it wouldn't have mattered if he did seeing as how he couldn't speak on the last occasion.

"Really?" Aang asked, cheering up a bit. Sokka nodded with a smile, and then turned forwards again. As sokka looked ahead of them he could see far in the distance the slow ponderous roll of storm clouds on the horizon. As he watched it the wind changed its course, blowing directly into them.

"Aang, Katara!" he called out to the others. "There's a storm coming. It's still far off, but it looks big."

Katara squinted in the direction Sokka was looking, but she couldn't see anything. She looked at Aang and asked, "Can you see it?"

Anng shook his head. "No, but I can sense the change in the air through my bending."

Katara frowned. Why was she the only one without any special weather sense? Stupid spirit powers and airbending. "We should find a town or village to shelter in."

"No, we need to get to the north pole as soon as possible," Sokka said, "Maybe we can fly through it?!"

Aang shook his head in disagreement. He could feel the strength of the storm on the wind already. "Not this one. It's too strong!" He remembered the last time he tried to fly through a storm. "It's better to get there later than not at all!"

Sokka stared at the oncoming storm. Barely a minute had passed and already he could see it more clearly, the dark clouds towering hundreds of feet into the air, flashes of lightning crashed within its ominous form.

"You know what? I think you're right!" he said.

"There!" Katara Shouted, pointing towards a seaside town on the other side of the bay they were flying over. Sokka steered the bison towards it. Nearly a whole day wasted, Sokka thought as they approached. They hadn't even been flying for an hour.


Prince Zuko sat with Lieutenant Ji in the bridge of his ship, pouring over a map. They had drawn lines connecting each place where the Avatar had been spotted. They zigzagged haphazardly, though generally maintaining a somewhat northward trajectory.

"We lost the Avatars trail," The lieutenant said, "But we know that he's going to the north pole to learn waterbending."

Zuko nodded. It had been three weeks since the winter solstice, and the last reported sighting of a sky bison had been a week previous over a town in the colonies in the western Earth Kingdom. They had gone to the settlement and questioned the witness, but all he could say was that the Avatar had been heading northward. His thoughts were interrupted when his uncle entered the bridge

"There's a powerful storm coming." Iroh said, as he sat at the table with them. "We must seek shelter until it passes."

Zuko looked out of the windows that lightened the room. The sky seemed clear to him, and the sea was calm.

"It's completely calm, what are you talking about? Why do you think that a storm is coming?" He asked his uncle, irritated.

"When you get to be my age Prince Zuko," He said, as he stroked his beard, "You can feel the weather turn in your bones."

Zuko huffed and looked at the map. He didn't know where the Avatar was. If he had, then he would have ignored his uncle and ordered the ship to stay the course. But he did not know, the ship was low on provisions, and the men hadn't been allowed shore leave since before their journey to the south pole. If there was a storm coming as his uncle predicted, then it would be better not to be caught at sea. If the storm was powerful like Iroh said, then it might cause the Avatar to stop as well.

"Helmsman!" He called out, and pointed to a village marked on the map. "Change course and head east. We're going to dock the ship here," He turned his head to the Lieutenant. "I want the ship resupplied within three hours. After that, allow the crew shore leave until two hours past sundown."

Lieutenant Ji blinked in surprise, he hadn't expected for the crew to be given leave and he had told them as much the previous night. He stood and bowed. "Of course, thank you Prince Zuko. I shall give the order."

The lieutenant left the bridge and Zuko continued to stare at the map. His uncle spoke again, "It was wise of you to allow the men time off the ship. After so long at sea this will greatly improve morale."

Zuko remained silent at his uncle's words. He knew the importance of the men's goodwill, and he knew that he had gone too long without letting them off of the ship. He knew that if he was to capture the Avatar and restore his honor then he would need his men to remain loyal, and for that to happen he couldn't continue to treat them poorly.

He walked to the window and looked out beyond the prow of the ship. In the distance he could just faintly see a dark line appearing over the horizon.

"You were right uncle. There is a storm coming."


Team Avatar drifted over the seaside village and towards the fields beyond. There were a few farms a mile or two beyond the settlement, and some of them had barns big enough to house Appa. Sokka steered the bison towards one of the furthest from the village and landed beside it.

A middle aged man in earth kingdom clothing stepped out of the farmhouse and watched them wearily. Aang jumped out from the saddle and spoke to the man. Sokka and Katara waited on the bison while their friend spoke with the farmer. The man laughed and then bowed to the Avatar. He pointed towards his barn and returned to his home.

"Sho said we can stay in the barn until the storm passes." Aang said as he returned to them.

Sokka nodded and began to help unload their belongings, carrying them into the barn as Katara helped Aang to remove the saddle. He piled everything up on one side of the building, and Aang floated the saddle down beside the stack.

Sokka walked outside again and looked out at the sky. It was still blue, but towards the north clouds had begun to obscure the heavens. He lowered his gaze and looked around, seeing a large rock covered in dust and leaves.

"Hey Aang!" He called out, walking up to it.

"What's up Sokka?" The air nomad said, coming to stand beside the rock as well.

"Can you blow all of this stuff off for me?" Sokka gestured at the stone as he spoke.

"Sure I can," Aang said cheerfully, using his airbending to clean the stone. Once he had done so, the young Water Tribe man jumped up on top of it. An impressive feet as the thing came up to his shoulder. Once he was on top, Sokka sat cross-legged and closed his eyes, placing two fingers onto the center of his forehead.

Aang looked at Sokka with mild curiosity on his face, before turning to walk back to Katara in the barn.

Sokka focused on his third eye, willing it to open. He had practiced opening and closing it before sleeping each night since Aang had taught him the exercise, and now he could do it almost with ease. After a while, he opened his eyes again and returned his gaze to the sky.

A vast blue void filled half of it, and the storm filled the other. Sokka did not see much difference in the storm now, but he had been curious. The Eye gave him the ability to see into the spirit world, and the energy of the world around him. He averted his gaze towards the fields surrounding the barn and farmhouse.

In them he could see the imprint of the farmers' labor. A faint green mist above the fields, and most prominent around the places the man had worked most. He could see the life within the plants too. A faint glow from the leaves stretching down into the roots.

He closed his eyes again and thought back on his dream of his ancestor and the airbender. The man had said to reach for the void, and that he would find clarity therein. Sokka remembered how Aang had cleared the stone away, removing the debris from the stone and revealing the bair rock to the sky. He breathed deeply and exhaled slowly, imagining that as he did so the debris within himself was blowing away with it. He could feel something within himself fall away slightly, leaving behind as clear a space as the endless blue sky.

Had anyone been around him then, they would have seen the shadow he cast upon the rock lengthen. They would have heard the sounds of nature dim. But there was no one there to see, no one there to hear, and so these things went unnoticed..


Aang walked through the gate in the village wall, his friends on either side of him. They had found a farmer willing to let them stay with them for the night, and Appa was nestled comfortably in the barn. While he and Katara were discussing going into town Sokka had been meditating, first with his fingers over his third eye, and then not. At one point he asked Aang to airbend a large rock clean of debris for him, and then sat on top of it. He repeated the poem of Guru Laghima to himself, and then was silent for an hour.

Katara had asked him what Sokka was doing but Aang didn't have a real answer. He had never mastered the practice of stilling his mind, and he didn't have much knowledge of it to share with Sokka. So while his friend meditated on a boulder, he and Katara decided that they should go into town to try and learn what they could about any Fire Nation nearby. The farmer, Sho, had told them that his brother Boh ran an inn where they could get a hot meal and talk with other travelers.

Sokka had been silent on their walk to the village, and Aang got the feeling that his mind was elsewhere. Katara kept looking at her brother sideways as they walked, and Aang didn't really blame her. Weeks had passed since he had told them about his visit to Koh, and he had been less and less talkative every day. In the morning he was almost normal, but even as soon as an hour after waking he would grow quiet. And now he had visited the spirit world again, and had been told to reach for the void. Aang wasn't sure what that meant but it didn't sound good.

Katara told him that he had broken the leg of one of the bandits that ambushed them, and in the weeks that followed there had been a couple more battles. In each of them Sokka was more… eager. He hadn't seriously wounded anyone, but it seemed to Aang that his friend was more willing to fight, almost like he enjoyed it.

They passed by a few shops and continued walking west. The sky was dark with storm clouds, and the wind had picked up since they left. Aang began to think that coming into town might not have been such a great idea when suddenly Sokka grabbed him, pushing him and Katara into an alley.

"What are you-!" Katara began to shout at him but her brother put a finger to his lips.

Aang was going to ask Sokka what was going on when he heard a familiar voice drifting from the road they had just been on.


Zuko glanced in the direction he thought he'd heard something in. He looked down the road but there was no one there but a cabbage merchant. He squinted, and was about to walk in the direction when his uncle spoke.

"Wow, I can't believe it! Zhao has been promoted to admiral."

"What?!" Zuko exclaimed as he turned to his uncle. Iroh had been reading a scroll that had arrived by messenger hawk. He closed the scroll and handed it to Zuko, who began to read it aloud.

"By Order of Fire Lord Ozai, in recognition of his skills as a leader and for demonstrating exceptional loyalty, Commander Zhao has been raised to Admiral Zhao and placed in command of the northern fleet." Zuko threw the scroll at a wall and exhaled fire from his nose.

"Exceptional loyalty?! All that man has done is stop me from capturing the avatar!"

Zuko shouted at the scroll, as if that would do anything.

They made port in the village an hour after noon, and had completed their resupply in record time. Zuko wasn't particularly surprised by that, he figured that the promise of a night on dry land would give the men a particularly strong motivation.

His uncle had suggested that he join them in the tavern or the inn, but Zuko had refused. He was sure that the last thing the crew wanted was to have their commander standing over their shoulders as they tried to relax.

He turned and continued walking down the road in the direction of the cabbage merchant.

"Where are we going, Prince Zuko?" his uncle asked, following him. Zuko kept walking and said, "We are not going anywhere. I am going for a walk. Remind the men to be on the ship two hours after sundown."

"Maybe I should come with you, it's getting dark, and the storm.." He trailed off as rain began to fall.

"I need some time to think, Uncle. After you remind the men, why don't you find out what local tea they carry at one of the shops?"

"Well, I do like tea, but.."

"I don't need you to watch over me while I walk around the village, Uncle." Zuko said. Had he been looking at his uncle he would have seen the worry on his face, but as it was he did not see.

"Alright, Prince Zuko," Iroh said. "I will do as you asked, but please, be careful."

Zuko nodded that he would and Iroh turned away and vanished around a corner. As Zuko walked he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He looked down an alleyway just in time to see a scrap of blue cloth flicker out of sight, his eyes widened and he chased after it.


"Do you think he saw us?" Katara asked, as they hurried down a side street to find a way out of the village.

"I don't know," Aang said quietly, sneaking as quickly as he could. "How does he keep finding us?"

"I don't think he came here for us." Sokka said, walking in front, looking around corners. "They probably came here to shelter from the storm the same as we did."

A fireball shot directly next to Katara, and they bolted. "I think he saw us!" Aang said, sending a wave of airbending at the scarred prince. The gust hit him and he was blasted back into a wall, but he was soon after them again, sending wave after wave of firebending at them.

Sokka led the way, crossing the road and ducking into another alley, and pulled them into the shadow of a building. When they stepped into it it darkened and concealed them from view. "We need to split up. Aang, you and Katara get back to Appa and I'll distract Zuko."

"No, we're not leaving you behind!" Katara argued, and Aang opened his mouth to do the same, but Sokka spoke before he could.

"Aang needs to get to the north pole, and Katara you need to stay with him. Besides, I have a plan." As he spoke thunder crashed around them, the wind and the rain became furious.

"He won't be able to firebend that well in this rain, and his men aren't with him. Wait until he chases after me and then you two get run back to Appa. I'll lose him in the storm and join you, and when you get there start getting everything ready to leave. As soon as the storm breaks we need to get out of here."

"No, Sokka, we won't leave you here, it's too dark you won't be able to.. Oh, right." Aang remembered that Sokka had been able to see inside that cave, and other times in the past weeks that he had been unhindered by darkness.

"No, not 'oh right'. We can't just leave him here and hope that he can get away!" Katara said, glaring at the two boys furiously.

"Katara, he can see in the dark, remember? With that and the rain, he's the only one who can do anything. Neither of us are good waterbenders yet, and I can't see that well in this." He waved his hand vaguely in the air as he spoke. Even in the short time they had been hiding the storm had begun to blow with a tremendous rage..

"I- Fine. Sokka, if you get hurt I'm going to freeze your feet to Appa's horns and fly around upside down." Katara glared at him. Sokka nodded. "That's fair." he said, before walking out onto the road.

Sokka looked down the street and saw Zuko staring around, his hands in a ready stance. Sokka wondered how long he'd have to stand here until Zuko noticed him. He decided to take matters into his own hands and stepped into a puddle, splashing loudly.

A jet of flame shot towards him, and he had to jump to the side to avoid the attack. It flew past him and hit something and a man in one of the buildings cried out, "My cabbages!"

Sokka started running, careful to keep in sight of Zuko as he did. The plan would only work if Zuko could see him. Zuko shouted unintelligibly and a whip of fire shot out, barely missing Sokka.

Sokka ducked around a corner and into another alley, running in earnest now as fire reigned down after him. He focused on the center of his forehead and opened his third eye. He could see everything as clearly as if it were a cloudless day. He lept over a stack of crates and heard Zuko collide with them.

Sokka turned another corner and found himself surrounded by walls, buildings forming a cage with Zuko at the only opening. Storm lanterns illuminated the space, and Sokka had nowhere to hide.

He turned about to try and escape the way he had come but saw Zuko blocking the entrance. Sokka gulped. He was more capable than any time before, but he was boxed in against a firebender. The rain had not hampered his foe's ability to firebend as he had hoped.

"Where is the Avatar? Tell me and I will see that you and your sister are unharmed." Zuko said, facing Sokka.

The warrior took a deep breath as he faced Zuko. "No."

"Last chance!" Zuko snarled, the rain running down his face.

Sokka thought furiously trying to find a way to get out of this. What had the airbender said in his dream? He had to enter the void to see clearly, and to control his abilities. Put his emotions and distractions aside. He reached for the void he had found earlier, the vast emptiness of the sky. He breathed out slowly and felt as though a part of himself fell away. There was a tug at the back of his mind.

"What?" Zuko said, his voice faltering.

Sokka opened his eyes and saw that the light given by the lanterns was repressed, illuminating only a few feet around them. He felt a tugging sensation in his mind grow, but he ignored it. He could feel an unyielding calm, a detachment from his emotions. They were still there, but it was as if they were far away, just a voice at the edge of hearing.

Looking at Zuko now with his Eye, he noticed for the first time that the fire burning within Zuko had changed. The corrupted flame was smaller than it had been, and the golden light of the sun had grown. The two were fighting still, but it seemed that the corrupted light would falter at times, if only for a moment before returning to its desperate struggle.

He watched as Zuko squinted into the darkness where Sokka was hidden. He bent fire towards him but it went wide and illuminated little of the space before dying out. Zuko moved towards the center, one step at a time, scanning for Sokka.

Once Zuko moved far enough into the space Sokka walked past him, ducking into the alley. He stepped through a hole in the fence he hadn't seen before and let the calm escape him. And suddenly he felt his emotions rush back to him, and the tugging he had ignored turned to pain as the light returned to normal.

He heard Zuko roar in frustration and turn back down the way they had come, passing the place where Sokka had hidden. Sokka waited until he couldn't make out his enemy's steps in the rain, and then made his way back to the farm where Appa was hidden. He cradled his head in his hands as he walked, each step causing it to throb painfully.

He walked back to the farm they had found refuge in, the wind and rain obscuring his trail. As he walked the pain subsided. He thought about how the light had been dimmed, and how it looked as had the light in Koh's lair.

The tugging sensation, he realized. He had done it subconsciously, dampening the light from the lanterns.

As he walked the pain receded. As the pain left him he realized that he had suddenly become ravenously hungry, as if he hadn't eaten for days. He walked on until he found his way to the barn, stopping to close his third eye. It was harder to do now, exhausted as he was. He had to go through the exercise a few times before he managed it. When he had closed it, he looked around.

He could see better than he had before his pact with the Face Stealer, but whereas before it had been as clear as day, he instead saw everything as if it was illuminated by the full moon. With his third eye closed, his senses were dimmed, but still greater than they had been naturally.

He placed his hand on the door to open it, but paused when he could hear Aang and Katara talking within.

"It's been too long, we have to go after him!" Katara said, pacing back and forth in front of Appa.

"Maybe we should wait a bit longer," Aang said, ringing his hands with indecision.

"What if he was captured by Zuko? We've got to do something, he might need our help!" Katara waved her hands in the air in agitation. "I knew we shouldn't have left him there!"

She began to walk to the door when Aang spoke again, "What if he comes back while we're gone and thinks that we've been captured? He might run off and sneak onto Zuko's ship while we're looking for him!"

Katara stopped walking and began tugging on her braid, "One of us should stay here and wait for him. I'll go, he's my brother."

Aang shook his head. "No, I'll go. I have a better chance of fighting off Zuko and his men."

Katara began to argue that it was too dangerous for Aang to go since Zuko's primary goal in life seemed to be capturing the Avatar, when the door opened and Sokka walked in. He was soaking wet, and he looked haggard and exhausted.

"I appreciate you guys being brave and all but I'm fine, just really hungry." He said, sitting down on an upturned bucket.

"You're okay!' Katara cried out and threw her arms around him. She let go almost as soon as she hugged him. "You're freezing. Let's get you dried off."

As she pulled the water off of him with her bending, Aang tossed a bag of food his way. Seeing the food, Momo leapt out of nowhere swinging a hand at it, disrupting Katara's concentration and soaking Sokka again. "Gee, thanks Momo. That's much better."


Author's note

It took me a while to get this chapter to a point where I was happy with it. At one point I deleted it and started again entirely. I think that was for the best though, and this version is much better than the one I had originally written, though I worry that the pacing might not be the best.

I'm trying to get the formatting figured out. I read through the chapter I uploaded previously and discovered that the format I Had written them in didn't transfer properly. I re-uploaded them as a different document type and that seems to have worked.

As for the future of this story, part of the price Sokka unknowingly agreed to pay will be revealed soon, so if you're curious about that it will come out before long.