It's the Fourth of July today, which means two things. First, happy Independence Day to all my American readers, but also it's General Election Day for my fellow British readers. I won't tell you how to vote, only to vote if you can.
Responses to Reviews:
RonaldM40196867: The White Lotus were pretty secretive.
Zigzagdoublezee: We'll meet Kya soon enough, and you'll be pleased to know I have no plans to kill her off.
As Always, Please Review!
After what must have been hours, Yue was roused from an attempted nap by the sound of excited shouts. She opened her eyes and sat up to find the rest of the group crowded around just behind Rinzen at the front of Gembul's saddle. Ahead of them, instead of featureless ocean, tall spires of rock could be seen.
At last, they were approaching the Southern Air Temple.
From a distance, it did not look very different from the northern temple, where their journey had begun in earnest. It sat on high ground, and tapered upwards from expansive courtyards at the bottom to the tip of a tall tower at the top. It was buzzing with activity. Even from this distance, Yue could make out dozens of sky-bison circling it, and as she got closer even more air nomads with their glider-staffs.
"It looks incredible!" She said to nobody in particular.
"It is incredible," Rinzen agreed. "The fourth-best Air Temple."
"Hold on," Sokka frowned. "There are only-"
"I know," Rinzen cut him off. "I know."
Gembul swooped lower, and Yue saw nomads begin to look up and notice them. Fingers pointed at them, and a space was hastily made for them to land.
Just before they did, Yue looked around and her eyes were drawn to one corner of the yard, where an enormous statue of a man she recognised to be Avatar Aang stood, arms outstretched and a warm smile on its unmoving face.
Then the bison touched down with a jolt.
Immediately a cry went up.
"Avatar!" The nomads called, crowding around them. "Avatar, avatar!"
"They know who you are then," Katara observed.
Yue smiled nervously down at the crowd, who seemed so pleased to see her they had forgotten to give her any personal space.
Finally, someone shouted and the crowd parted.
A group of older nomads were walking towards them, and Yue guessed that this was this temple's council of elders. One of them stepped forwards and bowed, waiting for Yue and their group to dismount.
Once she had, the man spoke.
"Hello Avatar," he said. "My name is Akar. I have the great honour of welcoming you to our home."
"I'm pleased to be here," Yue returned the gesture.
"We received a letter from the north telling us that you were coming," Akar said. "Though not when. That was several weeks ago."
"Sorry about that," Rinzen stepped forwards. "We got... sidetracked. Several times."
"That doesn't matter," Akar shrugged. "You're here now. I thank you, Rinzen, for delivering the Avatar to us successfully. I shall write back to the north recommending that you receive your tattoos."
Yue had forgotten about that particular promise, but Rinzen bounced up and down happily at the news.
"In the meantime, how can we help? The world is on fire, and nobody knows what to do about it. Also, what is he doing here?"
He gestured to Jeong Jeong.
"I came here for a reason," Yue said. "I need to speak to Avatar Aang."
"Ah," Akar nodded. "I see. You'll need to go into the hall of statues. There you will be close to his spirit. It might be a good idea to take Rinzen with you."
"Why?" Yue asked.
"He can help you meditate, to make the final connection."
"What about us?" Sokka asked. Akar looked him up and down.
"You can have the the freedom to roam the grounds," he decided. "The gardens are lovely this time of year."
"Great," Sokka frowned.
"Why is a Fire Nation admiral here?" Akar asked again.
"I am no longer a Fire Nation Admiral," Jeong Jeong explained. "I deserted my post while we were stationed on Kyoshi Island."
"Did you?" Akar raised an eyebrow. "So what do you want from us?"
"Only one thing," Jeong Jeong said. "Passage back to the Earth Kingdom."
Akar looked at the other council members.
"Well, I think we'll have to discuss it," he said. "Make sure that we can trust you. But if we decide that we can, I'm sure we can come to some arrangement."
Jeong Jeong nodded with satisfaction.
"Why are there so many people here?" Yue asked.
"Since the outbreak of war, it's no longer been safe for our people to venture out across the world as they once did," Akar said. "And so every Air Nomad who usually is out in the wider world has returned to the temples for sanctuary. Some of them occasionally venture as far as the South Pole, maybe in emergencies Ba Sing Se and the North if we travel via the Eastern Temple where the Fire Nation hasn't reached yet. The Fire Nation cannot get us here, they do not have enough dragons for that."
Yue remembered the dragon which had refused to attack them during her first escape from a Fire Nation prison.
"The South Pole?" Sokka asked excitedly. "Have you heard anything from them?"
"They're fine," Akar said. "As far as I know. Nothing seismic has happened there, at least."
Sokka and Katara seemed to relax, both happy that their home was still intact.
"Anyway," Akar clapped his hands. "There's no time to lose. If you need to speak to your predecessor, then do so now. I'll show you to the hall."
Yue turned to Sokka and Katara. It seemed clear that they were not invited.
"I'm sorry," she said apologetically.
"Don't worry," Katara replied. "I'm sure we'll find something to do."
"Don't get in trouble."
"When have we ever got in trouble before?" Sokka asked in mock indignation.
Yue remembered several occasions in the last few weeks alone, and raised an eyebrow at him. Then she turned and followed the two nomads.
"It really doesn't seem so bad here," she whispered to Rinzen as she caught up to him. "Why do you dislike it so much?"
Rinzen sighed.
"It's just a silly sporting rivalry, that's all," he said. "Over airball."
Yue nodded.
"We're here!" Akar announced, stopping in front of a pair of giant wooden doors, with what looked like a brass instrument strapped to the front.
"What's that?" Yue asked, pointing to it.
"That's the lock," Akar told her. Then he spun around. Yue felt the wind pick up, the breeze turning into a gale, and then the elder directed it towards the door. One by one, the metal pipes seemed to retract, and then there was a clunking sound. The door fell open.
Inside, Yue, whose eyes were accustomed to the bright light of the courtyard, could only see darkness. It seemed like a gateway to another world in there.
"Good luck, Avatar," Akar told her. "I hope Aang has the answers you seek."
Yue nodded, and thanked him. Then she took a deep breath and stepped forwards, plunging headlong into the gloom.
