AUTHOR'S NOTES: A curiosity I have at the moment is what people think of Nakkoa and Kwan thus far. OCs are always fairly divisive, but I try to make sure mine "fit in" with canon without being too obtrusive. I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on them, for better or worse. That aside, at the beginning of this fic I mentioned that there was going to be a lot of material surrounding Korra's past lives, as well as that mysterious "Interregnum Cycle". As the chapter title indicates, this is where we get our first taste of one of Korra's more nefarious past lives. More stories similar to this will follow in time.
Happy Reading!
BOOK ONE: POWER
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE INTERREGNUM CYCLE
Kwan had no trouble dealing with Korra's light snoring, since hers was heavier. Nakkoa was a lighter sleeper, although she was also not quite ready to sleep yet. She still vividly remembered that night a decade ago when she and the rest of the Red Lotus had met up with schemes to capture or slay the newly discovered Avatar. While killing and maiming things was no above Nakkoa's low moral standard, even she shuddered briefly at the thought of torturing a small child. It was less strong of an emotion now as Korra was in the middle of transitioning from a little girl into a grown woman, but even then, the kid had no idea what they had in store for her. Fortunately, however, it seemed that Nakkoa was thus far alone in her paranoia and desire to kill the Avatar—which meant she was safe for the time being.
Nakkoa wondered what Kwan thought about all of this, although didn't say anything at first. Kwan was a grumpy woman when she was woken up without a good reason.
Well, this *was* a good reason, and so a few nudges and whispers later, and Kwan was awake, smacking her lips, grunting, hitting Nakkoa on the shoulder, and groaning about how she had been pretty deep asleep when Nakkoa had roused her, which in turn made her groggy and grumpy. The moon was still high in the sky outside the hotel, where Naga slept peacefully under the stars. Nakkoa wasn't too fond of Korra's animal companion, but she knew there would be absolutely no reasoning with her to get rid of it, if her parents couldn't even turn the tides. Kwan even wagered that Korra would rather turn around and go home than leave Naga behind.
"The hell you need, sister?" Kwan mumbled almost incoherently.
"Do you remember why we are here?" She asked.
"Because it sure beats sleeping in the cargo hold of a ship underneath a Satomobile," Kwan replied without skipping a beat.
"No," Nakkoa seized Kwan's shoulders, her voice lowered, "why we are travelling with the Avatar at all in the first place."
"I do," Kwan nodded, "I don't like it, but we've gone too far to turn back now, yeah?"
"10 years is a long time to wait," Nakkoa twirled a knife between her fingers.
"A few hours isn't though," Kwan riposted, "this couldn't have waited until morning why?"
"Because there's no telling what the Avatar's gonna do next," Nakkoa reminded her without so much as a beat going by, "and right now, she's asleep."
"She has a name, y'know," Kwan shook her head, "Sheesh, I know you're tryin' to dehumanize her and stuff, but c'mon. Korra's only 14 for fuck's sake."
"Tell me," Nakkoa looked Kwan dead in the eye, "would you rather have to kill a girl you know; someone that you know the heart of? You knew her likes, dislikes, her passions, her fears, her skills, her shortcomings, who she likes and who scares her… it becomes personal. Would rather kill a girl like that, or would rather kill a girl only known as "The Avatar"? Which is easier?"
"Look," Kwan grunted again, her disappointment from getting her sleep interrupted still more than apparent, "I already said I ain't on board with this whole 'killing her' thing you keep going on about. You're being paranoid, and I don't like it—so don't go looking for validation from me. I'm in it because I've been instructed to be. I've done my share of murder and assault, and I've lost more than half my life to either the slammer, the Triads, or the Red Lotus, and I'm frankly more just about teaching the kid how to be a good Avatar. Just keep in mind that Korra didn't exactly sign up or volunteer for her lot in life, and that if we could get her working for us, that would alleviate the need to off her, wouldn't it? Now shaddup and go to sleep. You're worrying too much."
With that, Kwan flopped back down and buried her head in her pillow to fall asleep again before Nakkoa could reply. She mentally cursed her younger sister and her stubbornness, and while she definitely was the more charismatic of the two, she couldn't help but envy Kwan's level head. How had she escaped the family curse, Nakkoa would never know.
Fortunately for them, Korra had genuinely been asleep and thus had no clue about the conspiracy literally going on behind her back. Instead, she found herself wandering down deserted halls that she had no recollection of, and yet that seemed all too familiar.
It seemed like an older version of the Fire Nation palace based on the red motifs and orange glow from flames on the walls. Korra glanced down at herself and realized that, while it was not one of those nightmares where she wasn't wearing pants, they and her shirt were the only things she had on—certainly not anything presentable to the Firelord, whoever he or she may be.
Whatever the case, Korra felt compelled to jog down the hall to see where it led. It took her to a massive chamber that was clearly the Firelord's throne, where a middle-aged man was perched on a throne beside a woman that was almost certainly his wife. The oddity of the situation was that between them was an orange-clad woman with long brown hair. Korra had seen pictures of ancient Air Nomads before (although had obviously never met one considering they were nearly 170 years before her time), but this one looked different. She wore more vibrant oranges and reds, and only a small end of her arrow tattoo was visible from behind her long bangs. Korra's eyes followed the character's flowing robes down to her feet, and the fact that this woman was barefooted made Korra feel a lot less guilty about her own state of dress.
She stepped into the room and called out, wondering if this was a dream or not.
"Firelord?" She looked at the man in the distance as the Air Nomad vanished with a wisp of white and blue smoke.
"Come now, Imalek," the man rose and opened his arms, "you know you can just call me Razon. How oft must I remind you?"
"Imalek?" Korra tilted her head, "No, I'm Korra. I've never even heard—"
"Always putting on your masks and playing charades, are you, Avatar?" Razon interrupted her, "come now, while it is amusing the first few times, even that trick needs some variety every now and again."
"Uh, yeah, I'm the Avatar," Korra stammered, her situation not quite clicking yet. "but who's Imalek? And where did that airbender go?"
"Now, now," the Fire Lady spoke, "Imalek, you should save your past life manifestation facades for one of your actual performances. You're wasting good talent if you're only going to show us."
"Um, sorry?" Korra glanced down at her hands, and was shocked upon realizing they were not her own. They were larger, but proportionally smaller, with lighter skin and blue arrow tattoos on the front. Korra ran her hands up into her hair, which was much less coarse than her own.
The moment Korra realized what was going on was a game-changer. Imalek was an Avatar—one of Korra's past lives, and here she was in this dream… vision… thingy… manifesting herself as this Air Nomad. Korra wondered briefly why this was; what purpose did this vision serve? But then suddenly she felt the most unusual sensation: her body and mind were not her own, and she felt an invading but not necessarily unwelcome force. Imalek had come to manifest her mind and spirit into Korra's.
It was one of the most surreal experiences Korra had ever been part of, and had Nakkoa or Kwan been awake, they would have actually seen an ancient Air Nomad sleeping where Korra had been. The manifestation was very real. But who was this past life? Where in history was she from and what was her significance?
Korra soon found out. The scene shifted multiple times, revealing that the conversation with the Firelord hinted at an alliance backed by the Avatar herself. Korra wondered why an Air Nomad would pledge loyalty to the Fire Nation, but then when the scene swirled around and whisked them away to the Earth King's throne, things got more complicated. Scenes in the Water Tribe and Air Temples revealed similar results. Whoever this Avatar Imalek was, she had essentially played the leaders of the world; convincing them all to support her endeavours, which kept the world in a delicate but solid era of peace. There were no wars in Imalek's lifetime, and so Korra started to wonder if this was the lesson to be learned here.
She regained control of her body again as she departed from what was apparently the Eastern Air Temple. If being able to fly like this was part of airbending, she wanted to learn those secrets soon. When she landed however, she found herself face to face with a much more traditional female airbender who crossed her arms as she looked down at Korra.
"Uh, hey?" Korra waved sheepishly. "Can I help you?"
"I know what you saw, little one," the matriarch warned. "And while I share the same connection to Avatar Imalek as you, I would kindly warn you against going down the path she took."
"What did she do?" Korra tilted her head, "and who are you?"
"I am Avatar Yangchen," the woman answered, "Five incarnations before you. Imalek's treachery managed to keep the world free from war, but at what cost? There was enmity between the four nations, including the Air Nomads. Each leader or set of leaders thought the other leaders were conspiring against them. In a way, they were right."
"How so? What were they doing?" Korra was clinging to Yangchen's every word, wondering the significance of this story. This was the first time she had ever heard an actual story of one of her past lives, and all of a sudden there was a whole new set of thrills to being the Avatar.
"During the age of Imalek," Yangchen explained, "The Avatar wielded a great deal of political power. People from all nations strived to earn this individual's support for their side and their campaigns, and the fact that she was not the first in a long-running trend of incarnations that were exalted above their station meant that Avatar Imalek could get away with anything she pleased. The Four Nations did not catch on until long after her death, but those who followed her were even more dangerous than she."
"Was she by chance one of the Interregnum Avatars?" Korra asked, hoping to finally get closure on that name she had heard so many times growing up, but that no one seemed willing to talk to her about.
"She was indeed," Yangchen nodded, "the 14th of 20, although some claim 21. I do not know how much you know of them, young one, but do not throw your life away as they did. It is a dangerous road that you will see many times as you grow older."
"So what was the purpose of this visit?" Korra asked, her tone and expression making her reminiscent of a young child asking her mother about this or that, "Is this a dream, or is this the spirit world? Because I kinda haven't ever been very spiritual."
"We all have our struggles, Korra," Yangchen put her hand on the little Avatar's shoulder, "but to answer your question: this is real, and you are in the Spirit World for the moment. Sometimes when the body is unconscious the Avatar Spirit will act on its own, as it did when Avatar Aang froze himself in an iceberg, or as it did with you just now, in taking you to the spirit world. Mastering the spiritual side of the Avatar's abilities will enable you to make trips like these whenever you please—not to mention you will also obtain the ability to manifest yourself as one of your past lives at a given time."
"Well then," Korra's lower lip stuck out, more in a contemplative pout than an upset pout, "it looks like I have my work cut out for me."
"So it would seem," Yangchen nodded. "I wish you safe travels and a long, prosperous life, Korra. We shall certainly speak again in times to come."
With that, Korra was jolted awake, and after rolling onto her back, she gazed up at the ceiling in the pitch darkness, contemplating everything she had just experienced and seen.
Yangchen's warnings seemed legitimate, and even little Korra could see how it could be dangerous if the Avatar was a commanding political entity among the four nations. Imalek seemed impartial, but was she? Korra had only seen glimpses into this manipulative woman's life, and while she had gotten an effective summary, surely there was much more to her life than just the politics she played. On a similar note, Korra wondered what would happen there was an Avatar who did not even pretend to be impartial? What if she turned out that way? If she wielded physical, spiritual, and political power on par with Avatar Imalek, what would she do?
On the other hand, Korra was hyped up and excited, because the first piece of a puzzle she had been clamouring to try and solve for nearly a decade had fallen into place.
Avatar Imalek was an Interregnum Avatar, and now Korra knew at least a little about these mysterious entities. There were 20 or 21 of them, and they were apparently black marks in history. Korra was wary of the notion, but at the same time, the kind of political power that Imalek had wielded made the young girl's mind wander. The way Yangchen worded it made it sound like Imalek was far from being the worst of these characters, and despite Imalek's reign of peace, it did seem like she was dangerously manipulative. She wished she could talk with her interregnum past lives the way she had conversed with Yangchen, but she lamented in knowing that it would have to be another time, or after she had mastered the spiritual aspect of being the Avatar. Despite all of this, Korra grinned ear to ear with excitement. While she was borderline convinced that she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep at all that night, she eventually did exactly that, although there was a new fire ignited in her heart: a new passion for what being the Avatar entailed—the secrets, the power, the connections: Korra hungered for it all.
PAST LIVES DISCOVERED:
Imalek (Air Nomad, Female): The 14th Avatar in the Interregnum Cycle. A cunning woman remembered for her devious ability to powerfully influence those around her. While she had full peace during her reign, it was speculated that this was primarily due to her manipulative machinations rather than the world actually desiring peace. It was years before anyone had realized what she had done, and by that time she was long gone.
Yangchen (Air Nomad, Female): A wise Avatar who was so effective at keeping the peace that her reign was without wars as well, as was the generation that succeeded hers. A contrast to the Interregnums, she used their lives and deeds as lessons for her successors.
TOTAL PAST LIVES MET: 2