Records were brought to Jinora's room until her dormitory looked like an archive that had suffered a sandstorm. She sat cross-legged on the low bed scroll in hand.
"There's nothing." She unrolled the parchment further and rubbed her forehead. "There must be a reason..."

A knock thumped through the door and Jinora looked up from the page.

"Come in."

Tetsu peeked his head in. "Someone called for you about the princess."

Jinora stood displacing several scrolls on the bed.

"What is this about?" Tetsu asked giving her room to exit through the door.

"I'm doing some research for them. Make sure Ren doesn't leave the premises without someone."

"He hasn't had any training so he's antsy."

Jinora nodded, tightening a loose part of her shirt. "Could you train with him today?"

Tetsu frowned. "Airbending and waterbending aren't very similar from everything I've read."

Jinora straightened. "Every form has some similarities with the others."

"Alright."

Jinora entered Yaxi's room. Cuyan sat with an elderly man next to him. The prince was garbed in black a robe, red earrings hanging from his ears. The man next to him was older, with a white beard cropped close to his face, and white hair tied down his back. His cheeks were sunken and dark circles shadowed his eyes.
Jinora looked over towards the door where Yaxi's bedroom was.

"She's asleep," Cuyan said.

Her eyes shifted to the old man sitting beside him. His eyes were cloudy.

"This is Gahacan," Cuyan said indicating the old man. He says he was my grandfather's recorder." The prince clenched a fist beside his folded legs. "It seems that my ancestors did not write the most important things down. Instead, they used recorders to memorize the information."

Jinora nodded. Cuyan stood up and left the room and a shadow peeled from the corner and followed him. Jinora looked after the prince and her gaze came to rest on Gahacen.

"What was the name of the man you served?" she asked.

The old man's eyes waltzed slowly around until they rested where she was sitting. "King...Amin," he said in a scratchy voice.

"When did the earthquake in Kaili happen?"

"One hundred and seventy...AG."

The room was warm, faint light glinted on the woven rugs and decorations. Jinora's steady breathing matched his labored ones.
Her eyes focused on the man's pale face. "Gahacen. Tell me about the daughters."

"That...is a broad question."

Jinora leaned forward. "Why is your hand broken?"

The man shook his head. "I'd...prefer if you asked about other things."

Jinora leaned back sliding her hands together and looking away from the hand resting in his lap. "Do you know why the daughters of this family die around the age of thirteen?"

He took a deep breath. "Cuyan is still prince?"

Jinora's eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"

"His...father. Is he alive?"

Jinora looked at the man. "No."

Gahacen exhaled. "Daughters used to be long-lived." Gahacen coughed. "But after the skirmishes with Nara, none of them were born healthy. They all died before they could marry."

"When was the war?"

He shifted. "Long ago now."

"Tell me about it."

The man cleared his throat deeply and inhaled slowly placing his hands together. "Before Doku had been constructed and the land tamed, the Hiaxi lived here. They roamed the lowlands by the river, down to the east. There was another clan that bordered that territory. They were called the Yehe. And due to their proximity were allied. Another group came from the east. They were the Nara. They began pushing into the normal holdings of the Yehe. But the Yehe had a large armament and retaliated. The Hiaxi were expected to fight alongside their neighbor, which they did. But after a bad year of crops, the Yehe military weakened and asked the Hiaxi to defend their vital spots. After several gruesome battles, the Hiaxi had a meeting to discuss their survival. Some argued that they should stand with the Yehe. But their leader, Udari decided that they should play both sides until an outcome. After three battles they retreated to a mountain top leaving the Yehe to fend for themselves. Unfortunately for the Hiaxi both Nara and Yehe found out about the double play and they were pinned between the two valleys. When most of the rebellious leaders of the Yehe were killed and their wealth taken most of the Nara rode back to where they had come from. It's said that one of the lower chiefs of the Yehe lost his daughter in one of the vital points. Before he could be cut down by the Nara he screamed his daughter's name and plunged a dagger into his own heart."

Jinora leaned forward. "Blood and the loss of a daughter..." Jinora said. "If this is somehow a curse directed toward the Hiaxi then...wouldn't that mean that somehow this current family of Doku is somehow related to the Hiaxi?"

He shook his head. "When I became recorder the records of lineage had already been...sanitized. Not all of them must have been killed. If I had to guess then...yes they would have to be related strongly enough."

Jinora leaned to her side. "Did Amin know about this?"

The old man remained quiet.

"You stowed away this information for...three generations?"

Gahacen drew back like a wounded animal. "I had a good memory as a boy and it was noticed. Amin's father...had me brought here as a child with several other boys. The others filled other positions. I was sent to the recorder. He taught me how to do this job. But he never told me this." Gahacen shifted. "When he was on his death bed he whispered it into my ear when we were alone. He warned that Amin's father would kill me if I spoke the words aloud. When Amin's father died he became king. I became his recorder and he trusted me to tell him everything he needed to know. A few years after becoming king he married a woman from the south. Hohori had been chosen by his father. They had a daughter."
Gahacen cleared his throat taking a sip of water. "I kept my lips sealed. I didn't doubt that there were men in the court that would cut out my tongue if I spoke to Amin of this...curse. I realized it would do no good to tell him...all it would do is break his heart. I did encourage him to have a son. He was curious since in Doku the ruler's gender isn't relevant. Of course that was not entirely true but I never went against him. Finally, his third was a son. I was relieved that there would be someone that could live on. As the girls aged, I grew anxious. The eldest, Sain was approaching her eleventh year, and the other her ninth. Amin had to work often and I was with him recording things for him when people from other nations came to visit. I felt torn..." Gahacan rubbed the side of his head. "I wanted to tell him to spend as much time with his daughters as he could...but there was no way to explain it. A part of me was bitter that the death of these little girls would likely leave him a husk of himself. When Sain reached the age of thirteen she fell very ill and died quickly. Their mother spiraled into a depression. The second died two years later. Hohori accused Amin of poisoning her children to find a new wife. She tried to run away with their son." Gahacen looked down and frowned. "She was detained and thrown out. Amin came to me and asked if I knew why they had died and whether someone had poisoned them. I remained silent. Amin never smiled again. He focused on training his son to be a perfect leader. I think it drove the boy. Amin died when he was thirty-three and I became the recorder for his young son." The old man shook his head and smiled. "Gahacen never wanted to the adopt the title of king and retained the title of prince saying that his father had sullied the title."

Jinora leaned forward. "The prince had the same name as you?"

"Yes." Gahacen fidgeted with the tea cup resting on the floor.

"I see."

"He only wanted to be called Prince," Gahacen said. "I advised him to marry later. He agreed as women were painted in a dark light by his mother's actions. Gahacen began to think that his family had some mental illness and refused the idea of children. He was a good leader. He was good militarily and built Doku into a safe and secure stronghold. He enforced rules and encouraged travel. He is the reason so many people are here. The economy began doing well because of his actions. Because of this accomplishment, he earned the title of Silver Prince. Eventually, he fell in love with the daughter of a very powerful shipbuilder. Doku advanced in ocean travel and began building large vessels. Their first child was a girl."

"Huaike?"

"Yes."

"They didn't have any more children and the woman eventually left Doku. Huaike was special, like Amin when he was young. She stood tall and was easy to speak to. She had many offers for marriage and ambassadorial trips. The Silver Prince was lucky to have her as his daughter. Each birthday of hers I told him to hold a large celebration. Each year a stone fell into the pit of my stomach. She was the perfect leader for Doku. She was what the city needed. Once she turned twelve I went to tell the Prince what I knew hoping there might be some way to save her. When I began to speak someone seized me and told the prince that I was planning on killing his daughter. The prince questioned them. He was placid though I could see the turbulence in his eyes. I was taken down to the dungeon and placed in solitary confinement. The prince visited me and told them not to kill me. I was sure now someone would kill me if I told the prince about the curse. When Huaike died he came down once. He yelled, saying that if I knew anything I needed to tell him. I didn't. He must have had them feed me something over time but once I had realized it I was already going blind. You see I was only forty two at the time. I've been down there ever since."

Jinora sucked air through her lips. "Cuyan has to be at least twenty five and he hadn't even been born when you were..."

"Yes," cough. "That is correct."

"Yaxi turns thirteen in...four days."

"I was afraid for the reason Cuyan ordered my release."

Jinora sat back looking at the tapestry on the wall. Then she closed her eyes and dove into the spirit world. Jinora's head seared at the violent intrusion into the spirit realm. She swam towards a faint flicker. She parted a curtain of long deep-green leaves and passed through. There flickering in and out like a light-bulb was Yaxi's sleeping body.

"Show me," Jinora spoke through the thick air of the spirit world.

Nothing appeared on the girl's form. Instead, the girl melted into the buttery light. Jinora held a hand to her heart and slowed her breathing. She followed the pull, emerging into a meadow of trampled grass and deep flowers. She peered down a splotch of white on one of the petals contrasting with the deep red. She bent down, wiping one of the petals and a bloody ichor rolled off, revealing a stained white underneath. A harsh wind swept through the clearing. A figure materialized on the other end of the meadow. Their back to her as she inched forward. As she got closer she heard a faint rasp.

"ri...ari...ri..."

The thick atmosphere distorted the words and Jinora swam hard to get closer. Her feet began to settle skimming the soft ground ad she began to walk closer passing a small bent tree alight with floating lights.

"ari...ari...ari...ari...ari."

Her hands twitched violently as she cut through the spirit world. Finally, she stood just behind the figure.

"Udari."

She froze for a moment.

"Udari...udari...udari..."

She flinched but her feet stood rooted to the ground.

"Udari...uda-ri...u-da-RI!"

Jinora recoiled at the wild staccato. "Not the daughter..." Jinora breathed to herself.
She felt a shift and the man turned around. A knife was stuck into his stomach but his hand was not on the hilt. Her eyes widened. He looked down at himself gasping, then looked up.

"Udari."

Then the wind blew him away.

"He didn't kill himself..." Jinora's eyes went wide.

She backed up quickly and shut her eyes. "Out." She snapped her eyes open but she was still in the spirit world. She clenched her jaw and began walking. Then began to swim. "OUT." She woke up in her body, gasping.

Gahacen sat across from her, neck craned forward.

"Gahacen," Jinora said scooting closer. "The recount your master told you— "

Gahacen didn't respond. She pushed back his shoulder to check his face. His eyes were unresponsive and cloudy. His pupils still. She rushed to Yaxi's suite parting the curtains that separated the sitting room from her bedroom. The girl was untouched. But the meadow vole chittered in the corner. Yaxi turned over making a small sound. She looked around the room and let out a small breath. She turned on her heel racing for the apartments. She swung the doors to the suite open and panted opening both of their bedroom doors. Both boys were asleep. She went into her bedroom and strapped several items onto her person then went out into the hall. She heard a faint sound, but the hall was dim. She followed down several hallways and came up into the open air of the city, moonlight painting the way. She looked left and right and pulled out the whistle Cuyan had given her. By the third call, someone stumbled to her. A second set of footsteps came from behind. In the dark two pairs of eyes glinted faintly. She ran in the direction of the shadows she had seen, quiet footsteps echoed behind. She trailed the figures on a consistent path until they reached glittering water sparkling in the moonlight. The figures turned sharp from the bay and descended through darkened neighborhoods. After following for what could have been more than an hour the faint shadows ahead of her dissipated. She turned on her heel to address the shadows that were following her.

"Where did they go?"

One of the figures stepped forward. A man, hair braided back from his face. A thin outfit hung from him. "They may have turned and gone into the sewers."
To her right someone came closer. Another slimmer figure.

"It's more likely they slipped through into a wall passage," said a woman's voice.

Jinora's eyes widened. "The walls?" She looked at the mammoth walls shrouded in darkness."Show me."

They slipped through an opening in the nearest wall. It scraped at her back and arms. One of the figures pressed their ear to the stone for a few seconds.
"They're here. That way," the man said.

Jinora followed, the woman at her back. After about an hour the man pressed his head to the wall again.
"I don't hear anything. They must have exited." He pushed forward. "There should be one ahead."
He paced forwards and then pressed his hand to the wall, then slipped through. Jinora stared at the space he had just occupied. Her hands skimmed along the stone in the pitch.

"Here," the woman brushed past her. She grabbed Jinora's hand and pulled it towards the wall where a small lip was. "Slide through here."
Jinora squeezed through her breathing labored. The woman slid in behind her. Then they exited through a small sliding door in the cool air. The man stood arms crossed, braided hair flung over one shoulder. His foot tapping the ground.

"That way," he said pointing down and out into the darkness. Then they were out of the city slipping down grassy knolls.
Jinora stopped when she heard a far-off grunt. "That must be them. They've stopped," she said panting.

"Who are they?" the woman asked.

"I don't know," Jinora panted shaking her head.

She strode through the field but the man clamped a hand on her shoulder. "I'll go first." He crouched down wading through the tall vegetation like a field snake. He came back a few minutes later. "It was hard to see. But I saw one man. Broad shoulders. I heard others but didn't see them. There was also someone propped against a tree."

Jinora nodded. "Are you benders?"

"No," they said at the same time in contrasting voices. "But we're Wu."

"Wu?" Jinora asked.

"You'll see."

Jinora sat between two thin trees her eyes heavy. When faint light began to illuminate the sky the man and the woman began to adjust their clothing tightening things and loosening others.

"Ready."

Jinora stood, her legs shaking faintly. Once in sight of the figures, they stopped and observed. A figure sat in the faintly lit meadow back turned to them as they focused on something in their hands.

Jinora inhaled. "The air smells strange." She shut her eyes and heard faint voices. But ones that were not from human lips. Her eyes snapped open. "Spirits."
In the faint light dusky figures were visible, standing in different areas of the field. Most were close to a tree where a person slumped against the thick trunk. She looked back at her companions and in the faint light could faintly make out their features. Enough to see the large scar on the woman's face.

"Let's go."

The man and woman nodded.

As they closed in Jinora squinted at the field. It looked familiar. She looked down and saw white flowers peeking between the tall grass.
Just then several men jumped out at them from the right and the figures standing by the tree whipped around. Jinora made carved masks on their faces. One of them turned to the others and nodded. Then vaporized into smoke.

"Oh no." Jinora said.

The scarred woman intercepted one of the men approaching with a lightning-fast maneuver that sent him backward. The Wu man spun in a quick pirouette to avoid a weapon that flashed past like a shooting star. Jinora sent a blast of air forward, grounding one of the men, his head cracking on a large stone. Several other men circled them not hesitating to engage. One swiped at the woman and cut her with a thin curved sword. She stepped into him and placed a hand on his sword and another on his neck and bent him backward to curl in on himself. Jinora sniffed again, the smell of water and blood thick in the air. She sent an air blast at an encroaching man sending him crashing into the ground. Her eyes caught on the face of the person pressed against the tree.

She took a sharp breath. "The prince."

She looked at the Wu as they incapacitated two more men. Jinora made for the tree but was rebuffed by a violent plume of smoke. One of the robed figures rushed at her like a violent wind. The curled pattern on the mask glinted as it filled up her vision. Jinora dove into the spirit world. Her chest contracted and lights danced in front of her eyes. She swam a few paces and then walked in the direction she felt the energy pooling from. Far out she saw a figure stooped on the ground their back to her. A single red flower grew up beside them. She ran through the thick air pushing her lungs.
Once she got to them her voice burst from her.

"I know you are upset with Udari— but the prince has nothing to do with it."

The figure didn't turn around. "Oh? You think I'm that hopeless man."

Jinora's eyes widened.

The cross-legged figure floated around a book in his hands.

Her brows knit. "Sheil?"