Slight trigger warning for suicidal thoughts in a flashback. Also, discussions of childhood trauma.

Casting Shadows

"Why do we have to walk, Sokka?" said Aang.

"Don't tell us it's your instincts, again," said Katara.

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with my instincts," Sokka snapped. "We've flown a good distance. We can do a little walking, now."

They had, in fact, covered many miles and crossed into the mountains. From their position, they had spotted Mount Makapu, only for Sokka to order a landing before they could start looking for the village.

"Look," Sokka continued, "we're getting close to Fire Nation territory. You heard what the doctors told us about this area. If we get spotted by someone, Zhao or some other Fire Nation officer could trace our location and set a trap for us."

"That is a fair point," said Zuko. "Flying bison sightings were a major part of how I tracked you guys, myself."

"Wait, they were?" A huge grin spread across Sokka's face.

"Well, yeah. Not sure if you noticed, but your pet is kind of recognizable, even from a distance."

"I was right!" He shot a smug, triumphant look at Aang and Katara. "I told you so! Guess it's time for the 'Sokka-was-right' dance."

He then proceeded to do a victory dance, while the others just watched in growing embarrassment. After a few minutes of making a spectacle of himself, Sokka straightened up and began to lead the group along the mountain path.

"Let this be yet another lesson to you," he said. "I mean, you guys should've realized after the incident with Jet that my instincts are the best guiding force for us."

"Wasn't listening to your instincts how we even encountered Jet, in the first place?" Katara said teasingly. "You know, after we walked straight into a camp filled with Fire Nation soldiers?"

"Yeah, but it all worked out in the end. If we hadn't done all that, Jet's evil plan might have worked."

"All right, who is this Jet guy you keep talking about?" Zuko asked.

"Oh, he's Katara's boyfriend."

"Sokka!"

"He's not Katara's boyfriend," Aang said, his tone unusually sharp.

"Fine, fine. Sheesh, you guys can't take a simple joke." Sokka rolled his eyes and turned to Zuko. "Jet's the leader of this group of freedom fighters. He's a slimy, manipulative, lying creep who thinks he's all-that and goes around blowing up dams."

"Wait, is he the one who blew up the dam at Gaipan?" said Zuko. "One of the soldiers in the clinic mentioned it."

"Yeah, that was Jet. And Aang and Katara helped."

"We didn't know what we were doing," Katara said defensively. "He said we needed to fill up the reservoir because the Fire Nation was going to burn the forest."

"We thought we were doing something good," Aang added. "We didn't mean to get that village destroyed."

In a weird twist, Zuko suddenly gave a light snicker.

"What's so funny?" said Katara.

"It's nothing, just…" He managed to cut back his amusement to a few, inelegant snorts, "…well, you guys have been acting like I'm the biggest danger around, but you two actually destroyed a whole village. Even I haven't done something like that."

"Kyoshi Island," Sokka said through a cough.

"Hey, that was an unintended side-effect of an attempted capture of the Avatar."

"Try explaining that to Suki and her warriors. I'm sure that will go over real well for you."

The group ambled along for a while, with Sokka making jabs at the others over their unintended roles in destroying Earth Kingdom villages and pointing out that he was the only one to have not caused massive amounts of property damage. Before long, evening was beginning to set in.

"We should probably make camp for the night," said Sokka. "Let's get out the tent."

"I don't think a tent will be enough," said Zuko. "Just look at that sky." Sure enough, the clouds had turned ominous shades of grey and black.

"Yeah, and the air pressure just went through the floor," Aang added. "We should find a cave or something, just to be safe."

"Wait, what's that up there?" Katara said, pointing to something in the distance.

They hurried over and saw a weathered paifang gate which opened onto an overgrown pathway. As they scanned the shadowy cliffs, they noticed what appeared to be a large structure nestled in the rock.

"It's hard to tell from here," said Aang, "but it kind of looks like a monastery. Maybe they'll let us stay for the night."

The rain started to fall as they trudged up the steep slope. Katara used her waterbending to keep them dry. When a flash of lightning struck, Momo gave a shriek and darted under Zuko's outer robe. Zuko was taken aback, but quietly muttered some reassuring words to the frightened lemur.

The building proved to, indeed, be an old monastery and temple. The name plaque identified it as "Hundred Cherry Blossoms Temple."

"Hello?" Aang called out. "Anyone home?"

There was no answer. As they entered the central courtyard, they saw it was in a serious state of disrepair. Roof tiles lay broken on the ground and dead leaves skittered across the paving stones as the wind rushed through. At one point, a plank of rotting wood nearly fell on Katara, but Zuko pulled her out of the way before it could hit her.

The temple entrance was flanked on either side by large, stone lion-turtle statues. One had a massive orb clutched in its claws, while the other rested a paw on a lion-turtle cub. Walking past them, it almost felt as though their eyes followed the little group. The doorway, itself, stood like the gaping maw of the shadowy lair of some dark spirit that might snatch them up if it was displeased.

The interior of the temple was no better than the outside. Layers of cobwebs and dust covered everything. The eyes of carved animals glinted faintly in the dark and the scent of mildew mingled with the stale traces of fragrance in rusted incense burners. There was no indication the place had been inhabited for at least a century.

"Well, this is supremely creepy," said Sokka.

"It's just an old temple," said Aang. "I wonder who they worshipped here."

"Probably a spirit, Aang," said Katara.

"Most likely it's a past Avatar," said Zuko. "Spirits are usually worshipped in the wilderness or in small shrines. Only Avatars tend to get big temples like this."

"What about Agni?" said Aang. "When I went to the Fire Nation, Agni had temples all over the place."

"He still does. Dragon and phoenix worship have actually supplanted worship of the Avatar. But they're regarded more as ancestors than spirits."

"This all sounds like a bunch of hooey to me," said Sokka.

Lightning flashed outside, followed by a roar of thunder. The rain beat an angry rhythm against the roof of the old temple.

"Yeah," Zuko drawled, "let's not go provoking anything, if we can avoid it."

"That was just a coincidence." Sokka brushed himself off. "I'm going to look around the grounds before the rain gets too heavy. We'll need some kindling for a fire. Aang, it looks like there's an old storage area on the far side of the courtyard; see if there's anything useful left in there."

"I guess that leaves me and Zuko to set up the camp," said Katara.

"Katara, you can take a rest for now." At Katara's incredulous look, Sokka elaborated. "You've been pushing yourself a lot, the last couple days. You've more than earned a break. Aang and I can handle getting stuff set up."

"What about me?" said Zuko

"You are going to stay put, and you better not try anything while we're gone."

Sokka then made an 'I'm watching you' hand gesture before he and Aang headed out into the rain.

"Am I a prisoner?"

He said it in the most deadpan voice that Katara almost thought he was making a joke. But, no, Zuko was not really the joking type.

"Of course not," said Katara.

"Are you sure? Your brother's acting like I'm a dangerous criminal who's going to start snapping necks if left alone."

"He's only worried that you're going to try and snatch Aang now that your injury is healed."

Zuko froze up and went quiet. It was hard to tell from how dark the room was, but it almost looked like he was blushing.

"You're not going to do that, though, right?" Katara said evenly.

"I have to," he said. "But I can't really do much, at the moment. I don't even know how to get back to my ship from here, let alone how I would even keep Aang…keep the Avatar from slipping away if I tried."

"You know, you can just use our names. You've already done it a few times, now, and it would probably be easier for you than constantly saying 'Avatar' or 'Water Tribe peasant.'"

"I know." He gave a short sigh. "It's just that…it makes things more difficult for me, down the line."

"Is this some ridiculous 'nobles cannot mingle with the commoners' things?" Katara affected a fake 'posh' accent as she said that.

Zuko snorted, but then tried cover his amusement with a cough.

"In a way, yes," he said, his expression becoming more solemn. "My father doesn't exactly encourage being overly-familiar with people. He told me that it's a form of weakness. I'm pretty sure the only reason my sister was even allowed friends is because she convinced him they could be useful allies, some day."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't you have any friends?"

"I just told you, getting too close is a weakness. I can't afford to be weaker than I already am."

He was talking more to himself than to her at that point. A deep bitterness in his voice.

"I don't think you're weak," Katara said.

There was genuine surprise in how he looked at her then.

"I'm serious, Zuko," Katara insisted. "In fact, from the first moment I saw you, the word 'weak' was the furthest thing from my mind." She frowned. "Actually, what I thought was that you were a big, angry, fire-blasting monster who was going to kill us all."

"Uh…I'm sorry," he fumbled, shifting nervously where he sat.

"But you definitely never struck me as weak. Even when you got shot with an arrow, I thought it was impressive that you were able to make it through that. And, then, when you helped us save Aang when you were still wounded, I'm amazed that you were even able to move afterwards. Honestly, I don't think there's anything that's made you seem weak."

Zuko became very quiet again, and Katara couldn't stop herself from reaching out to take his hands in hers. He twitched at the contact, but did not push her away.

"But there's something you must understand, Zuko," she said gently but firmly. "Being weak isn't a bad thing. It just means there's a problem that you can't handle on your own, and that's all right. If one person could do everything, there would be no need for other people." She gave him a kind smile. "We all need a little help, now and then. There is no shame in that."

They sat for a moment, just listening to the rain outside.

"You know, if you're ready, I can try and heal your scar, now," Katara said.

"Really?" His voice was so hopeful that Katara felt another layer of the ice walls around her heart melting.

"I promised you, didn't I? Now is as good a time as any."

Katara laid out a blanket on the ground so Zuko would be more comfortable while she treated him. As she was doing that, Zuko managed to find an old brazier in which he lit up a fire so Katara wouldn't have to work in the dark. Katara then had him lie flat on the blanket and bent some water around her hands. In a matter of seconds, a pale, silvery glow filled the water, sending ripples of energy tingling through her fingers.

Before she started, she took a moment to really examine Zuko's face to get a better understanding of what she was working on. She hadn't really stopped to scrutinize his appearance until then, but there, in the flickering light of the fire, she was suddenly struck by a realization. Even with his scar, Zuko was actually quite good-looking. It was hard to explain, but there was something exceedingly pleasing about the elegant shape of his features and the unusual shade of his eyes.

Like molten gold, Katara thought.

A bit of warmth entered her cheeks at the thought and she mentally chided herself for it. After all, he was still Prince Zuko, son of the Fire Lord and the would-be capturer of the Avatar. Katara certainly didn't think of him as anything other than that.

"Are you ready?" she asked him.

He took a breath and nodded.

The surface-level energy around the scar was really nasty. It was rough and hot, and there was an unpleasant, sticky quality to it that was not too dissimilar from the particularly bad injuries she'd seen back at the clinic. Still, she began to loosen the outer chi paths. The wound had obviously not fully healed on its own since Zuko had gotten it. Traces of infection lingered in it, stinging at Katara's fingers like nettle thorns. There was a lot of bad energy around his left eye, as well, and Katara sensed that it had sustained some damage, likely even impairing Zuko's vision to a certain degree.

All of that was the easy part. Under her hands, the skin softened and some of the redness eased.

It was when she tried to go deeper that things took a turn.

As Katara pushed the water further into the scar, she sensed something akin to a wall of fire blocking her way. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, but the inner chi paths refused to budge. There was something especially nasty clogging the pathways, and the more Katara attempted to push through them, the more draining and painful it became. Eventually, the heat became so intense that she had to pull her hands away.

When she looked at her palms, they were red and raw. Not burned, exactly, but it was as if she'd spent hours washing them in lye soap.

"Katara, are you all right?" said Zuko.

"There's something blocking me from healing you," she replied. "I managed to make some progress, but I couldn't completely remove your scar."

"It's fine. I'm sure you did your best."

Katara was certain she could have done more, but, as she looked over Zuko, she couldn't deny that she had made progress. The scar wasn't gone, but it wasn't nearly as dark as it had been. The singed flesh had also become softer, more like natural skin than the stiff, leathery texture it had before. What was more, Zuko's left eye was no longer fixed in a squint.

"How…how do you feel?" said Katara.

Zuko reached up to touch his scar. Some of the anxiousness from earlier faded as he noticed the change. He blinked a few times, as if he was seeing something he hadn't noticed until then.

Katara explained what she had done and that, while she wasn't able to fully remove it, she had been able to heal parts of the scar. She wished she had a mirror on-hand so she could show him, but he was content to take her word.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more," said Katara. "Maybe, if there are more experienced healers up north, I can improve my skills and try again."

"It's more than I could've hoped for," said Zuko. "Thank you, Katara."

"I still don't know what it was that kept me from continuing. It's like there's some sort of tainted energy in there that doesn't want me near it. Whenever I tried, it felt like my hands were going to catch on fire. I know this sounds weird, but it's like it was…angry."

Zuko tensed up again.

Before Katara could ask him what was wrong, Sokka and Aang returned from searching the grounds. They were, naturally, quite surprised to see the change in Zuko's appearance. They weren't too sure what to say about it, though, and quickly moved on to showing the few bits and pieces they'd found. There wasn't much, as the place had been abandoned for some time, but they did manage to find a storage area with some firewood. By pure luck, the wood was dry and free of rot, meaning they could use it to fuel the fire in brazier.

After that, Aang and Sokka began to unload their camping gear from Appa. Katara stood up to help, but Sokka waved her off.

"I already said to stop pushing yourself so much," he told her. "Instead of resting, you went and burned through even more energy trying to heal Angry-Jerk's scar."

"Stop calling me that!" Zuko snapped.

"We've got this handled, Katara."

Katara wasn't sure why Sokka was being so considerate, as of late. In the past, he was perfectly content to let her work unassisted for as long as he thought he could get away with it. Now, though, it was like he was worried she might collapse if she did anything. It was nice to be given a break, for once, but it was also strange.

For a moment, Katara entertained the idea that Sokka was doing it so Katara could have a better chance of keeping an eye on Zuko to prevent him from devising a scheme to kidnap Aang. She dismissed that notion just as quickly, though, as Sokka would have told her that was part of his plan. Besides that, Sokka genuinely seemed concerned about her.

Still, there was a camp to be set up and Katara couldn't sit and do nothing. Grabbing the pack of food supplies, she sat down with Zuko by the brazier and began to divide up the rations for the evening.

Aang had to admit that he was getting a strange feeling in the temple.

It wasn't 'bad,' exactly, but it was still an incredibly weird sensation. There was a considerable amount of energy simmering under their feet, hidden behind a veil of physical reality. It was warm and conscious, not quite alive but not truly dead. And it was filled with an ache of familiarity, so much like what he'd felt on returning home to the Southern Air Temple.

He looked over at the others and smiled as he saw Zuko assisting Katara in prepping the food supplies. He definitely seemed more relaxed and at-ease since Katara had healed some parts of his scar. It was, honestly, a relief to see him getting along with the group, becoming more comfortable with all of them and starting to become a friend. Just as Aang had hoped.

There was a rightness about Zuko being with them that Aang couldn't put his finger on.

Perhaps he was just being nostalgic, longing for the days when he still had Fire Nation friends. There was even something about Zuko, specifically, that put Aang in mind of Kuzon. Rescuing Aang from a heavily-fortified stronghold all on his own was exactly the kind of noble, impetuous, and self-endangering act of pure recklessness that Kuzon had always delighted in. Aang was willing to admit he played no small part in encouraging that behavior in his friend, but they always got out of it in the end, so he'd never seen a problem with it.

Zuko nearly dying had made Aang start to rethink some of those past actions.

"Aang, are you done unloading the sleeping bags?" said Sokka.

"Oh, yeah," Aang stammered. "Here you go."

Aang jumped down from Appa's saddle. It was a massive relief to him that the temple was large enough that Appa could fit comfortably inside. The only other space Appa might have fit was the monastery's residential quarters, which were in much worse shape than the temple.

"This place is seriously giving me the heebie-jeebies," said Sokka. "We are out of here, first thing tomorrow morning."

"It's not so bad," said Aang. "And I'm still curious about who it's dedicated to."

"Well, we've got some light, now," said Katara. "And it looks like there are some lanterns."

"Lanterns won't do us much good if they don't have any oil in them," Zuko pointed out.

Aang used his airbending to give him a little push to reach one of the lanterns dangling from the rafters. Sure enough, a dark substance lingered at the bottom.

"Looks like there's enough in these to give us some extra light for an hour or so," he said before floating back to the ground.

"All right," said Zuko. "You guys might want to stand back."

They moved a short distance away and Zuko took a deep breath. Quick as a scorpion-snake, Zuko shot small, focused flames from his fingertips to each lantern he could see until the whole temple was illuminated by a soft, golden glow.

That was when they realized something odd about the temple. Something they hadn't realized, at first, due to how dark it was.

The temple interior was red. Faded and dusty, certainly, but an unmistakable shade of bright red, accented with the occasional hint of green, yellow, and blue. The columns were carved with images of dragons and phoenixes. The moth-eaten curtains and banners were all in red, black, and gold. At the center of the marble floor was the engraved emblem of the four elemental symbols.

"It's an Avatar temple, all right," Aang said. "A Fire Nation Avatar's temple."

"Well, we are near some of the colonies," said Katara. "Maybe it was built by some of the colonists in the last hundred years."

"Not likely," said Zuko. "Remember, I told you that Avatar worship has been less frequent in the Fire Nation. No one tears down the old temples, but no new temples have been built for any Avatars since the war started."

"And this place doesn't exactly seem all that new," said Sokka. "Look how run-down it is. It was abandoned some time ago."

"But, why would the Earth Kingdom have a temple to a Fire Nation Avatar?" said Katara.

"Maybe we should do a little poking around and find out?" said Zuko.

They followed the lanterns deeper into the temple. Momo chittered nervously from his perch on Aang's shoulder. As they walked, they passed rows of murals. Many of them were smudged or rotted from time, but a few images still stood out.

The figure in red bending four different element was, rather obviously, the Avatar to whom the temple was dedicated. Whoever they had been, they had clearly faced some considerable adversity in life, as the mural also showed massive armies swarming around them. A moment from the past caught in paint, forgotten to the slow, endless march of time.

Aang felt a heaviness enter his heart as he looked over the murals. There was a peculiar kind of sadness that lingered around them. Loss and heartache and regret.

Eventually, they reached the inner sanctuary. The lanterns stopped outside it, so Zuko created a large ball of fire over his palm and held it up so they could get a good look at the altar.

Despite the dilapidated state of the temple, the statue was perfectly intact.

She was a tall, striking woman with a stern yet delicate, round face. Her hair was done up in two large, elaborate loops that resembled the curves of butterfly wings, fastened in place with massive braids and studded with ornaments. She was dressed in a long hanbok that was covered with flower patterns. The colors and gilding had mostly worn away, but there was enough left to tell that the woman was dressed in red.

Aang stared into the statue's dark eyes, feeling that sense of familiarity, yet again. That motionless, stony stare kept him rooted to the spot. It was just like what he'd felt when he first saw Roku's statue at the Southern Air Temple. All of a sudden, he knew.

"Avatar Yeong-Hui," he said. "This temple is dedicated to Avatar Yeong-Hui."

"How do you know that?" said Zuko.

"It's an Avatar thing," Sokka replied.

"Something happened to her," Aang continued. "Something bad."

"How bad are we talking?"

"I'm not sure. But it feels like she died with a lot of regrets."

Everyone shivered as a cold breeze suddenly whispered through the sanctuary.

They continued their inspection of the room, hoping for some sort of clue as to Avatar Yeong-Hui's story. For all intents and purposes, it was a standard shrine. One recurring aspect of the place, however, was the use of lion-turtles among the artistic motifs. A mural on one of the walls showed Yeong-Hui and a group of people from the other nations standing before a massive lion-turtle as it rose from the sea.

The other wall showed Yeong-Hui meditating amongst flowering trees on a little island.

"That's Thousand Flower Island," said Zuko.

"You're right," said Aang. "That's where Yeong-Hui was born."

Once more, Aang wasn't sure how he knew that, only that the name struck a chord of memory deep in his spirit. A sense of longing mingled with the rich fragrance of a thousand species of flowers.

"Aang, you really are weird," said Sokka. "You know that, right?"

"It's not weird, Sokka," said Katara. "Aang and Yeong-Hui share the Avatar Spirit. It's only natural he'd remember things connected to her."

Katara was right. From the time he was little, Aang often had moments where he felt a bond with a place, a thing, or even a person, as if they held some kind of significance to him. Sometimes, he'd even be doing something for the first time, only to freeze up and become filled with an absolute certainty that he'd done that thing before. It wasn't even major things most of the time, just walking through a new village or trying a new food could trigger it.

"Look, there's an inscription on the statue base," Katara said. "Zuko, could you hold the light up for me?" Zuko obliged and Katara began to read. "The many mighty powers, divided in four. All under heaven are pacified by one."

"Wait a second," Zuko said, looking closely at the words. "How do you know how to read that, Katara?"

Katara gave a huff and rested her hands on her hips.

"I'm not illiterate, Zuko."

"I wasn't saying you were. I was just curious how you can read that. That inscription is in seal script."

"Is there something wrong with being able to read seal script?" said Sokka.

"No, there's nothing wrong, but it's odd. I mean, who taught you?"

"Our Gran-Gran," said Katara. "She teaches all the kids in the tribe how to read and write."

"But how does she know seal script?"

"What's the big deal?" said Sokka. "It's just a type of writing, isn't it?"

"That's not the point!" Zuko snapped. "Seal script is an ancient language. It's the oldest form of writing in the world. It's not like just anyone can learn it. Normally, only nobles have the money and free time to study it."

"Well, our grandmother isn't a noble," Sokka said with a shrug. "She did once tell me that she traveled a bit when she was young, so maybe she picked it up."

"Seal script isn't something you can just 'pick up,' Sokka. There aren't a whole lot of uses for it, nowadays. I know it's used in the Earth Kingdom to stamp high-quality products or to mark mottos on weapons, but a lot of those phrases are very basic and are similar enough to modern writing that they can be read fairly easily." Zuko pointed at the inscription. "This is a spiritual text. Even I don't recognize some of the characters."

"So, what are you saying?" said Katara.

"I'm saying that your grandmother is probably keeping secrets from you. If you guys can read seal script like this, it means the person who taught you had some sort of higher education and access to a decent library. Does that sound like the South Pole?"

Judging by the expressions on their faces, Sokka and Katara could not admit to the South Pole being a major center of learning. Aang had visited the South Pole a couple times before he was frozen, and even he had to admit that he never really got the impression that the people were especially scholarly in the modern sense. He'd witnessed plenty of tribal elders giving lectures and telling stories, and there had been a school in the capital, but the Southern Water Tribe had been more interested in using speech and art than the written word.

"So, about that inscription," Aang said, trying to break the tension.

"It's pretty obviously about the Avatar," said Sokka. "'Mighty powers,' 'divided in four,' 'pacified by one.' Pretty straightforward."

"But what does it mean about 'many' powers?" said Katara.

"Was 'many' the literal translation?" said Zuko.

"It was, but the character for 'powers' was different than the word normally used for 'bending.' It's like it's implying that there's some sort of ability that bending was split into."

"So, what, does that mean there was a pre-bending magic that's been lost to time?" said Sokka. His tone was snarky, but he raised a valid point. Sokka seemed to realize it, too, as he suddenly became more contemplative. "I wonder…this phrase meant something to Avatar Yeong-Hui. Like she was trying to preserve a secret message."

"Stupid cryptic nonsense," Zuko muttered. "Why can't old people just say what they need to instead of burying it under proverbs and riddles?"

They all stood there puzzling about the mystery lurking around Avatar Yeong-Hui, but ultimately had to shuffle back to their camp spot in the outer annex of the temple. As they passed around food rations, everyone began positing theories. None of them really resonated with Aang, though, so he got the sense that they were way off.

Still, as the evening wore on, Aang couldn't help but wonder if there was something Avatar Yeong-Hui was trying to tell him.

Cherry blossoms fell all around her.

So much like her home. A home she could never set foot on again. It was her punishment. Well-deserved for what she had done. She couldn't even bear to bend the other elements, anymore. The hatred she felt towards herself was too strong for her to ever be a true Avatar. And a power she barely understood pulsed through her veins like a burning poison.

Friendly faces waited nearby. Hopeful. Kind. Patient. Understanding.

More than she deserved.

"You don't have to carry this burden alone."

"We'll be with you through anything."

"We won't give up on you, so don't you give up on yourself."

But encouraging words were not always enough. Soon, the faces faded into shadow and mist, and she was alone again.

Beneath her skin, energy was sizzling and crackling. Taunting her for her inability to use it properly. For the price she'd paid. For how terribly she had failed those who had loved and trusted her.

The grief welled up inside her until it overflowed and burst, ripping her apart from the inside.

She rose to her feet, edging closer to the precipice, her gaze locked on the raging tide below. It would only take a moment. Her connection to her past lives was blocked, so she wouldn't go into the Avatar State. Just a short drop and a moment's pain. She might hit her head on the way down, if she was fortunate, and it would be that much easier. The next Avatar would be better than her. She would be doing the world a favor.

The sea roiled and shook. The earth trembled. The sky turned a cloudy amber and the wind stood still.

From the depths of the sea, the old lion-turtle rose.

"You are lost, once again," his ancient voice rumbled loud as thunder.

"Take this power back," she told him. "Please. I was wrong to think I was ready for it."

"The power I bestowed is not easily taken back. It has always been and was always meant to return to its rightful owner."

"Take it away. Please, take it away. It's too much."

"I can seal it away, but it will come back to you. Not in this life, perhaps, but many, many lives from now. You are not yet old enough, your will is not strong enough, but the day will come when you call for my aid to unlock this power, once more. And we shall meet again."

It pressed its massive claws to her as anguished tears streamed down her face.

Aang's eyes snapped open.

The silent gaze of Avatar Yeong-Hui stared back. Still and lifeless, she stood on her pedestal as unmoving since the day she was carved and painted.

Sleepwalking was not altogether a new thing for Aang. There had been a few times he'd gone to sleep in his room at the Southern Air Temple only to wake up in strange spots. The weirdest incident was when he'd somehow balanced upside-down from the limb of a peach tree alongside a bunch of lemurs.

So, he was not too shaken from waking up in Avatar Yeong-Hui's sanctuary. It was the dream that had him really rattled.

From the start, Aang had had the distinct feeling that something terrible had happened to his past life. Apparently, that suspicion was well-founded. He wasn't entirely sure how it was that Yeong-Hui had been able to send him that memory, especially as it wasn't a significant spiritual occasion like the Winter Solstice, but perhaps just being in her temple allowed for a stronger connection.

Up until that point, the only previous Avatar whom Aang had been able to contact was Roku, and that had been under very special circumstances. He knew about a few other Avatars, like Kyoshi and Yangchen, but that was usually circumstantial or through Air Nomad cultural tradition. Despite the generational and cultural separation, as well as Aang's lack of knowledge, it seemed that there were more past lives of his that wanted to give him guidance.

Aang rose to his feet and gave a reverent bow to Yeong-Hui.

"Please forgive my ignorance," he said. "I do not yet understand the meaning of the vision you sent me, but I will try to figure it out."

There was a curious shift in the energy around the room, as if someone had released a breath.

As he turned to go back to the others, Aang paused to look at Yeong-Hui one last time and wondered. What was it that she was trying to tell him? What was the tragedy that drove her into exile and cost her the people she loved?

And, most curious of all, what was the strange power she'd gotten from the lion-turtle and why was she so scared of it?

"No, please…I'm sorry."

The sound of Zuko's frightened voice woke Katara.

It was like when he had that nightmare during his drug-induced delirium. This time, however, Katara wasn't going to ignore it. She quickly got to her feet and hurried over to him. She hesitated, though, as she didn't want to upset him even more by shaking him awake. Instead, she placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Zuko," she said. "It's all right. It's only a dream."

"I'm sorry! Forgive me! No…" He started thrashing. "Please, don't…Father…Father, I'm sorry!"

"Zuko! Zuko, wake up!"

He gave a pained wail and clutched at his face. At the scar.

Katara felt as if the bottom of her stomach had dropped out as the horrible realization hit her. She'd suspected that something truly awful had happened to Zuko for him to get that scar; the energy inside it that resisted her healing was so tainted that it went beyond just his flesh and into his very essence. Now she understood. The scar hadn't come from some accident or a fight gone wrong. The scar was given to him deliberately.

It had been given to him by the Fire Lord. It had been given to him by his own father.

"Zuko," Katara said, straining to keep her voice calm, "It's okay. You're safe."

It took a moment to finally shake him out of the nightmare, but Zuko's eyes eventually snapped open and he scanned the room with a manic desperation. He must not have been fully back to himself, however, as he made a sudden lunge which Katara just managed to dodge.

"Zuko, snap out of it!"

"What's going on?!" Sokka said, sitting bolt-up in his sleeping bag. In his hands he clutched both his club and his machete.

"Hey, what happened?" Aang said, approaching from the hallway that led to the inner sanctuary.

Zuko shook his head, the nightmare-induced panic-attack finally abating.

"I…it was nothing," Zuko said sharply. "I didn't do anything!"

"You were having a bad dream," said Katara. "Everything's fine now." She turned to Sokka and Aang. "You guys can go back to sleep."

Sokka looked doubtful, hesitating before he rolled back over in his sleeping bag. Katara noticed he still kept his weapons in his hands. Aang, for his part, glanced a few times between Katara and Zuko, but simply shrugged and went back to his preferred sleeping spot on Appa's fluffy tail.

Katara then approached Zuko, who wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I think the rain has stopped," she said. "Do you want to get some fresh air?"

He paused, but then gave a small nod.

The night was cold and damp, but the rain had, indeed, stopped. There was enough light shining from the inside of the temple that the darkness wasn't so absolute. Misty clouds swirled before them as they breathed the frigid winter air; Zuko, especially, radiated enough heat that it was like he was being followed by fog.

For a while, they simply stood there, taking in the calm and quiet peace of the site. The heaviness that had practically seeped from every corner of the temple was left behind.

"How much did you hear?" Zuko asked.

Apparently, it was Katara's turn to feel awkward.

"Enough to know what your father did to you," she said.

"It wasn't anything less than what I deserved." The pain was heavy in his voice. "I shouldn't have disrespected him the way I did."

"'Disrespect'? Zuko, your father burned half your face."

"You don't understand. He had to do it. If anything, he was being merciful for not killing me. He would have had every right to."

Katara opened and closed her mouth, unsure of how to even begin to respond to that. The very idea that Zuko thought his father was being merciful to him had her completely floored.

"Zuko, what could possibly make you think you deserved to be treated like that?"

"I told you, it was my own fault," he said. "I was the one who was stupid enough to think I belonged in the war room. And then, I made a fool of myself in front of my father and his war council by challenging a senior general's plans."

"Your father burned you just for speaking out of turn?"

"It wasn't my place to say anything. But when General Bujing suggested using new recruits as bait to lure in an Earth Kingdom battalion, I couldn't stop myself. It was such a needless waste of life and seemed so stupid to me. I started shouting and…" He hunched his shoulders and looked down at the cracked stone pavement under his feet. "I'm sorry. This is so embarrassing-"

"Stop. Stop apologizing." Her throat felt tight and her eyes were stinging from how angry she was at the unfairness of it. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Katara, I disrespected-"

"No, I don't want to hear it." She placed a hand under his chin and lifted his head up so that he met her gaze. "You did nothing wrong," she said firmly, in the way her own father did when something was so serious that he would brook no argument.

"You still don't get it." He heaved a tired, bone-rattling sigh. "My father is the ruler of the Fire Nation. He can't have his thirteen-year-old son throwing a tantrum in front of his generals. My actions were an insult to my father and his prestige."

Katara didn't care about the Fire Lord's prestige or what his bloodthirsty generals thought. Her attention, instead, turned to something entirely different.

"Thirteen? You were only thirteen when he did that to you?"

"Didn't you hear me, Katara? I acted like a child in front of a war council and-"

"You were a child, Zuko. There is no excuse for what your father did to you."

Zuko stared at her as if she'd spoken another language.

"It's not like he just grabbed me and burned me, then and there," he said, completely missing the point. "He even gave me a chance to prove myself, but I was too much of a coward and a weakling to take it."

Katara had to force herself not to start screaming in frustration that this subject had resurfaced. She knew raising her voice and getting too aggressive would only make him feel worse and cause him to put his guard up. Gran-Gran had told her that there were children in the world whose parents treaded them cruelly, and the best thing to do when encountering such situations is to stay calm and be kind, to listen and take their concerns seriously, but to also be very clear and direct about how the abuse they received was not acceptable and should not be tolerated.

So, she gently prompted him to elaborate on what happened.

"In order to prove the merit of what I'd said, I had to fight an Agni Kai. It's a sacred duel between two firebenders to determine who is more honorable. I thought I would be fighting General Bujing, because I'd challenged his plan, but…"

"But it was your father who came to fight you, wasn't it?"

"I can't believe how stupid I was." He sounded so miserable and disappointed in himself. "I should have realized it was my father I'd shamed in that meeting. Why couldn't I have just kept my mouth shut?"

"Zuko, what you did wasn't shameful. If anything, it proved how brave you are."

He gave a disbelieving snort, as if she'd made a bad joke.

"I mean it, Zuko. You spoke up because you care about your people. What that general suggested was a hideous betrayal of the trust of the soldiers."

That seemed to get through to him. He straightened a little and his expression softened slightly.

"And I still don't see how what you did was an insult to anyone," she continued. "I might not know anything about how Fire Nation war meetings go, but I know how they're run in my tribe. The people in those councils argue with each other all the time over every detail of any plan put forth. Did none of your father's generals ever interrupt or question each other's ideas?"

He didn't answer right away and started fidgeting, as he often did when he was nervous or unsure of how to respond.

"…it happens all the time," he said quietly.

"And were any of them ever made to fight a duel for talking out of turn?"

"…no."

"Then why should you be the exception?"

"It's because I'm the Fire Lord's son. I need to be held to a higher standard."

"A thirteen-year-old should not be held to higher standards than seasoned generals." She shook her head. "At worst, your father should've made you give a formal apology for being rude, not that I think you even deserved that. Making you fight a duel that resulted in getting half your face burned is just obscene."

"But that's just it. I didn't fight the duel. I couldn't raise my hand against my own father. Even when he ordered me to, I couldn't do it. Fighting him would've just made me even more insolent and disrespectful. It would've been an act of rebellion, if anything."

"So, you didn't do anything?"

"No. I just dropped to my knees and begged for my father to forgive me. I even cried. Cried! In front of all the nobles and officers who'd come to watch."

"And he still burned you?" Katara thought she was going to be sick. "Zuko, that is beyond monstrous." That was when it dawned on her. "That's why you're chasing Aang, isn't it?"

"By refusing to fight, I'd proven how much of a disgrace I was. My father decreed that I would be banished from the Fire Nation for life, unless I find and capture the Avatar."

It was a genuinely a horrific situation. What made it all so much worse was that Fire Lord Ozai had ordered his son to try and find someone the entire world believed to be dead. No one had seen the Avatar in one hundred years. If Katara hadn't lost her temper at Sokka when they were out fishing, Aang might never have appeared in the world again. Zuko could have wasted his whole life pursuing a shadow. And Fire Lord Ozai knew it.

How could she even begin to explain this to Zuko? How could she possibly tell this lost, broken, hurting teenage boy that his father had no interest in ever seeing him again? Zuko had basically been given a death sentence that would last a lifetime and nothing short of a miracle could overturn it.

She tried to reach out to him again, but he caught her hand.

"I know you hate that I'm chasing the Avatar," he said. "But I can never redeem myself in my father's eyes if I don't do this. I can't go home without him, Katara." He let go and turned to leave. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Katara stood there until the sunrise broke across the horizon and scattered the darkness.

Author's Note: We'll get to "The Fortuneteller" next chapter. I promise!

I wish we could have seen more of other Avatar temples. It's clear they exist, as we catch a few glimpses when Aang goes into the Avatar State in the "Southern Air Temple" episode. Not to mention Roku has a temple all to himself. This means different incarnations of the Avatar receive some form of worship.

The inscription about the "many mighty powers" is actually a translation of the words on the Avatar map in the title sequence that I learned about from watching Xiran Jay Zhao's videos on the cultural inspirations behind Avatar. Check it out, it's pretty cool.

Did it ever strike anyone else as odd that Katara is capable of reading seal script? In "The Cave of Two Lovers," the inscriptions in the cave are in seal script (a very, very, very old form of Chinese writing) and Katara reads them with no difficulty, even though, in universe, the writing comes from a time "as old as earthbending, itself." So, I thought to myself, "Who is most likely to have taught the kids to read and has the most experience outside the tribe?" In short, Gran-Gran seemed the best answer. We know very little of her life in the North Pole other than her engagement to Pakku and friendship with Yugoda. I plan to go more in-depth in later chapters, but this seemed a good place to introduce the idea that there's more to Gran-Gran than she lets on.

I realized, belatedly, that the Earth Kingdom kid Lee was also able to read the seal script on Zuko's dagger. So, my new headcanon is that the Earth Kingdom uses some pieces of seal script kind of like brand logos ("Made in Earth Kingdom" is generic enough that it should be easily recognizable") and that there are characters close enough to the current script that certain phrases can be figured out if they're simple enough.

I always felt that there should be more to energybending than just being able to take someone else's bending. Also, the lion-turtle should've had more foreshadowing. A one-off mention in "The Library" and seeing some statues at Piandao's house is not sufficient.

Today's C-drama recommendation is "Word of Honor." In order to atone for his sins, Zhou Zishu, leader of the infamous assassins' organization, the Window of Heaven, has taken on the Nails of Seven Torments, which will slowly kill his senses, leaving him dead in three years. Determined to enjoy the little time he has left, he takes on a disguise so he can drink and relax in the sunshine. However, he soon runs into the mysterious and handsome Wen Kexing, who seems intent on becoming his traveling companion. At the same time, a rumor is spreading through the martial arts world of the appearance of the Glazed Armor, a set of artifacts which can open the door to an armory filled with the martial arts secrets gathered by its creator, Rong Xuan. At the same time, the leader of Ghost Valley has decided to break the peace and send his ghosts out to cause havoc as part of a plan for revenge against the martial arts sects. Zhou Zishu, aided by a curiously unconcerned Wen Kexing, is suddenly caught in the crossfire of the schemes, grudges, and violence of the Jianghu as he tries to defend the young orphan Zhang Chengling and avoid being found by his former boss, Prince Jin.

This series is a rollercoaster of emotions. It has everything you'd need in a Wuxia. Stunning fight scenes, delightful humor, fascinating and weirdly believable villains, devastating emotional damage, the dichotomy of good and evil, and two actors beautifully portraying a gay romance without outright saying it's a gay romance (I honestly think the censors were sleeping through this one; seriously, how did this air in China?). What makes it even more impressive is that it was made on an almost nonexistent budget. They got a sponsorship from a company that sells mixed nuts (and they work the ads in as a running gag in the show). Final couple of episodes are a gut-punch, so be warned.