Book One: Spirits

The following morning, Karizibi was out of bed, to the post office and back to the hotel before any of her teammates had stirred.

“We’re happy to hear that you’re safe.” she read her letter quietly as she lay in bed. “If you need anything on your travels, do not hesitate to let us know.” It was signed with two initials: S.W. With a shrug and a simple hand motion, the letter was disintegrated in a flash of fire and puff of smoke. That seemed to wake the others nicely.

“Whas goin on?” Pong groggily sat up swinging, knocking Rikkako out of bed.

The group recovered from their rough morning and managed to make it to breakfast. They once again had intended to split up, having no mutual goal, until they realized that they had no plans and were trapped in the city. They decided to go to the park together for a day of training and relaxation, finding a nice spot in the shade where everyone could lounge.

“You know,” Pong broke the silence. “We’ve been with each other nearly every day, but I know next to nothing about you guys.”

“Not much to say.” Rikkako was the first to respond. “I’m from the southern water tribe. I’m one of the few waterbenders there.”

“So, you must have been something pretty special.” Kari commented, flicking sparks out of her fingers idly. Rikkako let out a humorless snort.

“Just the opposite,” she explained. “The other kids didn’t really understand what waterbenders were. They just knew that we were different, and for that reason, we were hated. No matter how hard I tried, everyone treated me like I was a waste of space. Except my teacher, anyway. She’s the one who told me I should travel the world and become a better bender.” Kari grimaced, immediately feeling bad for bringing up the topic.

“I know how that feels” Pong spoke up while playing with a few pebbles in the air. “I don’t know much about my past. I’ve never met my dad. My mom refuses to talk about him, but I know that he was in earth rumble. I’ve been training to compete and maybe even find him. No one else believes I can do it, and other kids teased me.That’s why I left.” He turned to Kari, expectantly.

“What about you?”

“As you all picked up on,” Karizibi still refused to make eye contact. “I come from a line of nobles. My full name is Karizibi Shinu. However, my life wasn’t as wonderful as you’re all expecting. I hated every second of it. My parents wanted to make my sisters and I into perfect little brides to be married off so that they can serve their husbands. My older sisters did everything they were told, but I refused to follow the stupid rules and teachings. I started sneaking out of the house. My parents didn’t seem to mind as long as I stopped interrupting their instruction of my sisters. My brother would even help me sneak out from time to time. Once they accepted that I would never be what they wanted, we all felt like a family for the first time in ages. Then my dad had to go and die.”

“What happened to him?” Pong asked when Kari became distant.

“No one really knows. Some mysterious illness. We called in the best healers, including some from the southern water tribe. We gave him the best care, but no one could figure out what was wrong with him, and no one could save him. I was with him until the day he died. Shortly after, I discovered I was a firebender while I was out relieving some stress. It got my family off my case as I didn’t look like a complete failure anymore. Of course, that’s after my mother spent a month convinced there was evil afoot or something.”

“Why would she think that?” Rikkako cut in.

“Because as far back in my family as we can trace, no one has been a bender of any element. I’m the first. Anyway, I tried to train there for a bit but couldn’t find a teacher I didn’t argue with. I packed up and have been learning firebending on my own ever since.” The group fell into silence.

“Why don’t we stop talking about all this depressing stuff and go do something productive?” Kari suggested. “I was going to make a run to the library if anyone would like to come with me?” Everyone seemed to agree that this was a good idea and headed for the nearest tram.

“I’m looking for a book on water bending.” Rikkako requested of the desk attendant, the same one Kari had encountered the previous day.

“Floor four, section nine, shelf C.” the woman rattled off.

“I need a bathroom” Pong was squeezing his legs together, hopping up and down..

“Floor 1, section 1.”

“And then the section for earthbending?”

“Floor four, section nine, shelf A.” Kari was slightly impressed. The woman didn’t need to look up even once. Everyone went their separate ways.

Pong was happy to be studying a new earthbending technique, but was having difficulties practicing in the quiet of the library. He scribbled down some notes so he could practice later, then went on a search for the girls. Rikkako was nowhere to be found, but he did manage to stumble into Kari.

“Hey!” he yelled from the staircase, causing Karizibi to flinch badly enough that her chair nearly fell over.

“P-Pong” she stuttered, snapping the book in her hands shut. Perhaps it was her imagination, but the room felt cold again. She stood and attempted to shove the book back into its slot on the shelf but it slipped from her trembling hands and fell to the floor. Pong reached down to help her.

“Introduction to Spirits?” Pong questioned, reading the title. “What did you need to look up here?”
Rikkako was attempting to get her work done faster than any of her teammates. It would be for the best if they didn’t know what she hoped to accomplish this day. Rika could hardly believe herself as she tore through the waterbending shelf, creating a pile of books on the floor. She would find that there wasn’t a single book about bloodbending in the library, nor was there a book that even mentioned bloodbending as far as she could tell. If she could find a book explaining what it felt like to be bloodbent, it would be everything she needed, but her quest would prove futile. After an hour of leafing through tomes and scrolls, she decided that she would need to revisit her old teacher for the answers she required. More than frustrated, she began to search for her teammates.

“I’m exploring my spirituality.” Rika heard Kari’s voice and headed toward the sound of it.

“Oh, that makes sense.” Pong accepted the answer, but Rikkako thought she heard a lie in Karizibi’s tone.

“Exploring your spirituality?” Rika snatched the book out of his hands, thumbing through it. “Why would you feel the need to do that?”

“People in the fire nation aren’t very religious.” Kari shrugged. “I understand that things are much different in the water tribes, but I know next to nothing about the spirit world. I figured it was time I learned a thing or two.” Although Rika didn’t trust what she heard, Kari didn’t seem to be lying. Karizibi was being very careful to tell half-truths so that nothing she said was actually lie, even if it wasn’t the truth, and the book backed up exactly what she was saying. It was an introductory lesson on the basic spirits thought to exist. However, what they didn’t know was that it was also the only book in the library that contained any information on Huwei.

“Whatever.” Rikkako brushed it off. Feeling as if they weren’t alone, Kari began to usher the group out of the library. She decided to pause at the front desk.

“Anything fun to do around here?” she asked the librarian. For the first time, the woman looked up at everyone, a dazed expression on her face.

“Fun...?” She questioned. “I don’t know...You’re in a library. What else could you possibly need?” She returned to her book as Karizibi let out a sigh.

“Actually,” Rika spoke up. “I need to go on a trip to see my teacher. You two want to come along?”

The trip seemed like it was going to be uneventful up until the point where they were yanked into a pet store by Pong.

“They’re all so cute!” he was hopping up and down in front of some turtle ducks.

“Pong, we have things to do!” Rikkako snapped. They were already running short on time.

“Yeah, Pong” Kari grabbed his arm and was about to yank him out of the shop when she saw them: a cage of arctic hamsters. They had the appearance of a normal hamster, but were snow white with the long fluffy tails of squirrels. Not five minutes later, all three of them were gathered around the little pet they had bought. Rika paid for the entire thing, including treats, while Kari purchased a large pink bow to tie around it.

“We should name it-” Pong started.

“Yubi!” Kari blurted out before Pong could say what he wanted to. After the bending team name incident, she figured anything would be better than what Pong wanted. Somewhat distracted, the two continued to follow Rikkako.

“Last ferry to air temple island!” they heard a man call. Rikkako rushed them over.

“Your teacher lives on air temple island?” Kari questioned. “Who exactly is your teacher?”

“Sifu Katara.” Rika offered no explanation, but Karizibi knew enough to fill in the blanks.

“As in the wife of the Avatar?”

“That’s the one.” Rikkako smiled. Kari nodded in approval before going back to playing with the hamster. As they disembarked from the boat, the group was approached by a guard.

“May I help you children?” he smiled.

“My name is Rikkako. I’m a student of Katara’s. I need to speak with her.” the guard bowed.

“I will see if Katara is accepting visitors. In the meantime, I can have someone give you and your friends a tour of the island?” They agreed this would be a better alternative to sitting and waiting.
The group was shown around for roughly a half hour, learning different trivia and information on airbenders, the culture of the air nomads, architecture, and the Avatar.

“But that’s really all there is to know about air temple island.” the guide summarised, and they realized they were back where they started.

“We’re on air temple island?” Pong questioned, looking up from the hamster for the first time. Both of the girls groaned.

“Excuse me, miss?” the guard from before had returned. “Katara will see you now.” He led Rika off into the temple, instructing Pong and Kari to wait in the courtyard.

“I’ve got an idea.” Kari looked at Pong with a huge grin.

“Katara!” Rikkako met her teacher with open arms.

“Rika!” Katara embraced her in a motherly hug. “How have you been? Have you been practicing your waterbending?”

“I’ve mastered healing! Everything’s been going great!” Rikkako couldn’t help but smile, but that smile soon faltered. “Well, not everything. That’s why I came to see you.” Katara led her student to some chairs where they could both sit.

“Sifu Katara, I’ve been doing all of my forms perfectly, but even during the full moon, nothing worked. My friends were in danger and the only thing I could do was heal them when the fight had ended.”

“Well,” Katara paused in thought. “Sometimes, healing is just as important as fighting. You can’t let yourself get frustrated. This will pass. Even I have troubles bending from time to time. Just keep trying!”

“I want to learn to bloodbend.” Rikkako spoke quickly in response, cutting straight to the point. Katara’s posture became rigid.

“Where did you hear about this?” she demanded. “Why would you ever want to learn something so awful?”

“What if I can’t save them next time?” Rika pleaded, tears rolling down her face. “I need to learn so I can protect them.”

“I’m sorry Rikkako, but my answer is no.” Katara stood and ushered her out the door quickly.

“I understand Sifu.” Rika bowed before leaving. When she made it to the courtyard, she found her friends dressing the hamster up in what might have been armor made out of leaves. Kari was trying to coerce the pet to stab a target with the stick she had placed in its mouth. Noticing her at the door, Kari stood.

“Everything go alright?” she asked.

“No.” came the one word response. Rika immediately scooped up Yubi and cleaned her off. “And you’ve lost your hamster privileges. You guys can have her back tomorrow when you’ve learned your lesson”. However, as they were about to walk away, Pong could hear a voice from inside the temple.

“He’s moving!” someone yelled. By the time Rika turned around, Katara was back at the door.

“What did you say your friends’ names were?” she asked, barely covering her excitement.

“Pong and Karizibi.” Rika gestured to each person as she said their name.

“You’ll want to see this.” she told the trio, stepping aside to let them all in.

They were led upstairs into a room Rika hadn’t seen before. It was mostly dark save for a few lanterns. In the center sat a man on a pedestal, the tattoos on his body glowing a bright white. He appeared to be some sort of airbender, and it looked like he might be meditating.

“This is my husband, Aang.” Katara gestured to the airbender. “You know him as the Avatar. He went into the spirit world a few weeks ago to right the balance that had been upset there. He hasn’t come out since. In fact, he hasn’t so much as moved...Until tonight.” In front of the Avatar sat parchment and a quill which Katara gathered and handed to Kari. “Does this mean anything to you?” Katara asked kindly. Kari’s face paled instantly as her eyes scanned the page’s contents. It was as though she felt the floor falling out from beneath her.

“Kari...” Rikkako eyed the firebender. “What does it say?”

“It says, ‘Karizibi is the key to balance’.” Kari spoke quietly. Katara anxiously glanced between the two, hoping for a better reaction than the one she was receiving. Rika looked confused, but Kari looked like she might collapse at any moment. Realizing that something was amiss, she decided to take a different tactic.

“Why don’t I pour us some tea.” she suggested, ushering the group to another room and pulling a chair out for Kari.

Karizibi and Rikkako sat in absolute silence until Katara returned with tea and tea cups. Pong chose to sit on the floor with the Avatar’s children.

“Does your father do this often?” he asked the only girl.

“Nope.” she smiled.

“It doesn’t worry you at all?” he asked, concerned.

“Not really. My daddy’s the avatar. He can handle himself.” Pong nodded in acceptance. The children grew bored rather quickly, though, and began chasing each other around the island.

“What do you believe the parchment means?” Katara asked as gently as she could.

“To be honest,” Kari took a breath. “I don’t have a clue.”

“Have you perhaps come into contact with any spirits?” Katara urged.

“Well...” Kari took a deep swig of her tea. “A few years ago, my father fell very ill. I stayed with him up until the day that he died.” In Kari’s mind, she had returned to that day, trapped within a flashback.

Her father was incoherently mumbling by this point, convinced that he was other places with other people. There were only a few moments of true clarity for him, and Karizibi was there to see his last. His vision suddenly snapped into focus, staring at something just behind Kari.

“No!” he yelled, then dropped his voice to a whimper. “No, no, no...” he began to repeat, shrinking back into his pillows. Kari’s head snapped around to see what he was making a fuss about, but there was nothing there.

“Father, I don’t see-“ But, suddenly, something seemed to fade into existence. It looked like a giant spider with a woman’s torso dangling from its head - what Karizibi now knew to be the demon form of Huwei. It lunged for Kari’s father, but as it reached out with one of its many arms, without thinking, Kari threw herself between her father and the demon. Everything went dark.
She found her eyes opening with a snap, suddenly aware of her surroundings. Kari gasped, taking in the air her body had been deprived of for some time. Her eyes struggled to focus on the figure she realized was hovering over her. It was entirely made of flames, but seemed to have formed in the shape of a dragon. However, that form continued to change. As if it realized it had frightened her, it quickly transformed itself into the figure of a man. He extended his hand to her. Cautiously, she took it, confused when these flames didn’t burn her. As she stared up at her savior, she saw what might have been a smile. Her body was warming up and her strength was returning rapidly. However, it was then she felt something cold take hold of her other hand, giving it a firm tug. Kari looked back to see a pale woman with long, black hair. She seemed familiar, but it wasn’t until Kari noticed the woman’s hair waving in a tendril-like manner that she recognized her as the demon that had just been standing over her father. All the life that flowed into her from the fire was being sucked out by the demon. It was wreaking havoc on her body and Kari felt her eyes begin to close once more.

“You must let her go.” the flames crackled quietly. The pale woman stared at the man, unblinking and silent. Kari wasn’t sure if she was unable to reply or simply unwilling. “She is important.” Both remained in a tug of war for a minute longer before the woman relented, letting Kari’s hand fall. In an instant, the man pulled her close, allowing life energy to flow into her once more. He seemed to completely encircle her for just a moment before disappearing altogether. She turned just in time to see a dragon’s tail flick out the window and out of sight. She took a deep breath. Kari felt just as fine as when the day had begun. In fact, she felt better! Suddenly remembering how she got into this mess in the first place, Kari was at her father’s side in an instant. She felt for a pulse, but could find none and called out to her mother and siblings.

Kari never discussed the events of that day with anyone. However, a short time after she discovered she was able to firebend.

“I attribute it to that spirit.” she explained, coming back to the present. “I’ve been doing some research since I’ve come to Republic City. I believe the spirit I saw was Huo Long. He supposedly was the spirit who taught the dragons to firebend. If that’s really who saved me, it’s not so much of a stretch.”

“And the woman?” Katara spoke after Kari went silent and began to take large sips of her tea.

“Huwei.” her tone changed immediately back to one of fear. “I hadn’t seen her until very recently when I began to read about her, and now I think she’s following me.” Kari took a shaking breath.

“She exists to take lives. For my father, and those who disrupted the balance of the world, she appears as a demon and takes their souls for eternal suffering. For those who have led good lives, she appears as a woman with long dark hair and a lantern. So far, she has only come to me in the kind form, and only as an onlooker, but...” she went quiet again.

“I think you should go visit a friend of mine in Ba Sing Se.” Katara patted Kari’s hand comfortingly.

“There’s a professor there who should be able to shed some light on what you’re experiencing. If you’re able, I can set up travel arrangements tonight so you can leave tomorrow.”

“One slight problem,” Kari smiled sheepishly. “We’ve been asked to remain in town for the next few days. We were involved in that scuffle with Councilman Peng and they want us around for questioning.”

“I’ll have it taken care of.” Katara stated. “This is much more important. I would send you on one of the flying bison, but the ones here currently haven’t been tamed yet.” She paused in thought for a moment. “There’s a caravan that will be traveling out of Republic City Square at noon tomorrow. Your tickets will be waiting for you there.” Karizibi nodded and the three stood from the table.

“Good luck, Kari.” she her, much to Kari’s surprise, then turned to hug Rikkako.

“I need to defend my friends, Katara,” Rika whispered in her ear. “Now more than ever.” Her teacher sighed.

“Just a moment.” she left the room, returning with a few scrolls which she handed to Rika. “These are my writings on the subject. It’s all the information I’ve ever collected. However, if you are caught, I will not be there to get you out of trouble.” The two exchanged a meaningful glance before Kari and Rikkako collected Pong.

“What’s up with the scrolls?” Kari asked when finally off Air Temple Island.

“They’re about bloodbending.” Rika’s tone was flat. Kari seemed impressed and nodded her approval.

“What?” Pong asked while yawning, clearly tired after all his horseplay.

“Controlling people with waterbending. It’s extremely powerful but also illegal.” Rika was honest and dry. “If we’re traveling together, you should know my intentions right now.”

“But...But that’s illegal!” Pong felt scared, but also angry that the girl he’d been swooning over was not entirely what he expected.

“Whatever you need.” was Kari’s steady response.

The rest of the trip to the hotel was spent in silence. Karizibi was certain she wouldn’t be receiving much sleep this night after the events of the day. Before closing her eyes, she thought she might have seen a face in the corner. Unsurprisingly, it had disappeared by the time she had a chance to look.