Earth Kingdom Chronicles Collection

by The Tale of Aang; Azula; Toph; Sokka; Zuko; Katara (retail) (epub)

  We all prepared to go our separate ways, then met up to say good-bye. I needed a moment alone with Katara, so I pulled her away from the group.

  “Katara, I need to tell you something. I’ve been wanting to say it for a long time.” Oh, boy. I’m so nervous I can hardly breathe. Here we go. …

  “What is it, Aang?” she asked.

  I’ve rehearsed this speech a thousand times in my head, but now that the moment is here to actually say it aloud, I don’t even know where to begin. I looked up into Katara’s beautiful eyes and I just blurted out—

  “Katara, I—”

  “All right!” Sokka shouted, punching me playfully in the stomach. “Who’s ready to get going on a little men-only man trip!”

  I can’t believe this! Can’t he see we’re in the middle of something? Now the moment’s gone, shattered, lost. Thanks a lot, Sokka. I was so close. …

  Just then, a messenger arrived to tell the king that three female warriors from the island of Kyoshi were here to see him.

  “That’s Suki!” Sokka cried. “She’ll be here when we get back.” Did I mention Sokka has a crush on Suki?

  Katara, Toph, Sokka, and I stood in a circle, huddling together. Then Katara hugged me and kissed me sweetly on the head. The head’s not exactly the lips, but it’s a start, isn’t it?

  Finally, Sokka and I climbed onto Appa and off we flew. All I can think about is Katara. I miss her already and can’t wait to see her face again. And from the look on Sokka’s face, he’s thinking about Suki.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Sokka said. “But things are finally looking up for us.”

  Chapter 12

  I dropped Sokka off, and Appa and I kept going till we reached the Eastern Air Temple. As we descended through the mist at sunset, I spotted a small man sitting and meditating among the overgrown gardens and ruined buildings.

  He told me he was Guru Pathik, and that he could teach me how to control the Avatar state. He also said he knew my old teacher, Monk Gyatso. That’s all I needed to hear. I was totally ready to learn from this guy.

  Guru Pathik took me to a cave deep inside a mountain and we began. He started out by explaining that controlling the Avatar state involves finding a balance between the mind, spirit, and body. Then he explained that energy flows through the body like water in a stream, and that the body contains seven chakras. These are pools of spiraling energy. When the chakras get blocked, the energy can’t flow and my power as the Avatar is weakened.

  So my job is to open my seven chakras. Doesn’t sound too tough!

  “First we will open the Earth Chakra. It deals with survival and is blocked by fear,” Guru Pathik explained.

  “What are you most afraid of?” he asked. “Let your fears become clear to you.”

  I closed my eyes and began meditating. Visions and memories rushed into my mind—the Blue Spirit attacking me with swords, Katara being buried in rock by General Fong—and then, suddenly, Guru Pathik was gone and the Fire Lord himself was right in front of me! He filled the cave with flames.

  I’ve failed on my first attempt! And I’m responsible for bringing the Fire Lord here to destroy the sacred temple, to kill Guru Pathik.

  Then a calm voice cut through my panic and fear. “Aang, your vision is not real.”

  I opened my eyes and saw Guru Pathik. No Fire Lord. No flames. It was all in my head. My hands shook and sweat poured down my face.

  “You fear for your survival, but you must surrender these fears. Your spirit can never die.”

  “But Roku told me that if I’m killed in the Avatar state, the Avatar cycle will end!”

  “Once your chakras are clear, you’ll be able to control the Avatar state so that you won’t need to worry about that.”

  Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better! Since Roku told me about the Avatar spirit, I’ve lived in fear of the Avatar state. I don’t want to be the one to end the Avatar spirit’s cycle. But since I won’t have to worry about that anymore, let’s try this again.

  I closed my eyes and the Fire Lord stood before me.

  “Let your fears flow down the creek,” Guru Pathik said softly.

  I don’t fear you, Fire Lord. In fact, soon YOU’RE going to have to fear me. So go away. Get out of my head!

  Wow! It worked. The flames in the cave are flickering out, and the Fire Lord is vanishing into the shadows on the walls.

  “You have opened your Earth Chakra.”

  Next came the Water Chakra, which deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt. Again I began to meditate.

  “Look at all the guilt which burdens you. What do you blame yourself for?”

  My mind flooded with images of me running away from the Air Nomads when I should have stayed to complete my studies; of me screaming at Toph, blaming her when Appa was taken; and then, most powerful of all, of everyone I hurt and scared when I was out of control in the Avatar state. I hurt so many people. I don’t deserve to be the Avatar.

  “Accept that these things have happened, but do not let them poison your energy. If you are to be a positive influence on the world, you need to forgive yourself.”

  He’s right. I can’t change what I’ve done in the past, but I can try do better in the future—I hope.

  “Remember how alive you felt at the moments of your greatest pleasure.”

  Immediately Katara’s beautiful face filled my vision and I was back in the Cave of Two Lovers. …

  “Well, I sense that chakra just opened up like a dam!” Guru Pathik said.

  Me too. I do forgive myself and I am ready to move on. I also can’t wait to see Katara again!

  Next came the Fire Chakra. It deals with willpower and is blocked by shame.

  “What are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?” the guru asked.

  I instantly saw myself struggling to learn Earthbending. Then my mind filled with my clumsy attempt at Firebending and how I burned Katara. It’s clear to me now—I can’t ever Firebend again. I can’t risk hurting Katara or anyone else.

  But when I told this to Guru Pathik, he told me I was wrong.

  “You cannot deny this part of your life, Aang. You are the Avatar, and therefore you ARE a Firebender.”

  Right. I have to learn Firebending. There’s no way around it.

  I took a deep breath and pictured myself easily controlling fire—no shame, no disappointment, just the strong will to get it right. Then I let out a burp.

  “That chakra opened like a burping bison!” he remarked.

  The fourth chakra was the Air Chakra. It deals with love and is blocked by grief.

  Should be a piece of cake for a natural Airbender like me!

  “Lay all your grief out in front of you.”

  Happy memories of when I was a little kid at the temple flooded my mind: when I first met Appa, when I started learning from Gyatso. Then, suddenly, Gyatso’s laughing face melted into a bony skeleton. The grief bubbled up from deep inside, and tears streamed down my face.

  Don’t block the grief. Let it flow out.

  Suddenly I was floating on a cloud in the sky surrounded by all the Air Nomads I knew growing up. They were all meditating, but as I passed each one, they disappeared. Gone, just like in real life. It was like losing them all over again. …

  “You have indeed felt a great loss. But the love the Air Nomads had for you has not left this world. It is still inside your heart, and it is reborn in the form of new love.”

  There’s Katara! There she is finding me frozen in the iceberg. Now it makes sense. Love never dies; it lives on inside me and makes it possible for me to love again.

  The fifth chakra was the Sound Chakra. It deals with truth and is blocked by lies, the big lies we tell ourselves.

  There’s Katara and Sokka asking me why I didn’t tell them right away that I was the Avatar. It was because I never wanted this responsibility.

  “Then why do you accept it?”

  It’s my duty to bring
balance to the world.

  “Do you WANT this, or are you trying to impress someone else who thinks you SHOULD do this?”

  Why is he asking me that? He’s basically accusing me of not really wanting to be the Avatar. But I do want to be the Avatar! I think.

  The visions of Katara and Sokka melted from my mind, and I was suddenly alone on a high mountaintop. I looked out at the world.

  I do like being the Avatar. I WANT this. I know that now. The world is depending on me, and that’s okay.

  “Very good, Aang. You have opened your Sound Chakra to truth.”

  The sixth chakra was the Light Chakra. It deals with insight and is blocked by illusion. Guru Pathik explained that the big illusion is the illusion of separation. People are connected. So are the four nations. We are all one people. In fact, even the separation of the four elements is an illusion.

  I opened my mind and saw an image of the four elements blending. Then the vision shifted to Toph Earthbending metal. I get it! The four elements are just four parts of the same whole. Even metal is just earth that has been changed into a different form. Just then the Light Chakra opened for me. One more to go.

  “Once you open the final chakra, you’ll be able to move in and out of the Avatar state at will. And you will have complete control and awareness of all your actions while in the Avatar state.”

  I am so psyched! This is why I came here. This is the big step that will allow me to defeat the Fire Lord and unite the world. Let’s go. I’m ready!

  The guru told me that the Thought Chakra deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by all earthly attachments.

  “To begin, Aang, you must meditate on what attaches you to this world.”

  Instantly my mind filled with thoughts of Katara. I saw us together in all the things we’ve been through, and I realized that I’m never happier than when I’m with her.

  “Now, let all of these attachments go,” he continued. “Let them flow away, forgotten. … Learn to let her go, or you cannot let pure cosmic energy flow in from the universe.”

  What? What’s he talking about? Why would I ever want to let go of Katara? I love her. This must be some kind of mistake. How can feeling an attachment to Katara be a bad thing? She means everything to me. I don’t understand—and just when I thought this was going to be easy.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t let go of Katara.”

  “Aang, you must clear all the chakras to master the Avatar state. The Thought Chakra is your gate to all the energy in the universe. You must trust it and surrender yourself.”

  I closed my eyes again, trying to let go. I saw myself walking on a narrow bridge over the universe. Katara was there with me on the bridge, but as I relaxed, she lifted into the sky, growing smaller and smaller until she became just one more glowing star in the cosmos. I turned around and saw this giant standing at the end of the bridge.

  Wait. That giant is me, in the Avatar state. I get it now! I have to reach myself in the Avatar state to clear the Thought Chakra.

  I walked toward the giant, but then, suddenly, I heard Katara screaming. I spun around and saw her bound in chains, locked in a prison.

  Katara’s in trouble. I’m certain of it. I have to save her.

  But the giant Avatar also beckoned me.

  What am I supposed to do? Do I continue to cleanse the final chakra and let go of Katara? Can I give up the person I love most in the world, or do I turn my back on learning to control the Avatar state? I can’t just ignore her! What if she’s in real danger?

  I turned away from the giant Avatar and ran across the bridge to where Katara was trapped, but the bridge crumbled beneath my feet and I fell into the vast emptiness of space, lost forever.

  Then I opened my eyes. I was back with Guru Pathik. I jumped to my feet in a panic. “Katara is in danger. I have to go!”

  Guru Pathik told me that by choosing Katara, I had locked the last chakra.

  “Aang, if you leave now, you won’t be able to go into the Avatar state at all!”

  Somewhere in a distant corner of my mind, a voice is telling me to stay and complete my journey. Sorry, voice, Katara’s in trouble. I could never live with myself if anything happened to her that I could have prevented. I don’t want to lose the power of the Avatar state, but if being the Avatar means that I have to give up everyone I love, maybe I don’t want to be the Avatar after all. Isn’t the Avatar SUPPOSED to do things like help people in danger? Maybe THIS is what I’m meant to do BECAUSE I’m the Avatar. Either way, I know I need to save Katara because I’m Aang. I have no choice.

  I leaped onto Appa’s back and took off for Ba Sing Se as fast as I could.

  Chapter 13

  On the way back to the city, I stopped and picked up Sokka. Then we spotted Toph below, surfing a wave of earth. Appa swooped down and we picked her up too. Sokka told us about how great it was to see his dad, and Toph told us that she learned how to bend metal! First I just thought, Gosh, she’s such an amazing Earthbender. But then I thought about my visions with the guru, and how I’d seen Toph bending metal in one of them when I was trying to cleanse the Light Chakra. The Light Chakra is blocked by illusions, and just like the Waterbender from the swamp and the guru told me, time really must be an illusion, because the vision I saw in the swamp of Toph laughing and the vision I saw just a while ago of her bending metal both came true!

  And all of this means that my vision of Katara must be real—she must really be in danger! It also probably means that the guru is right—my seventh chakra is blocked. Well, first things first, I guess. Both Toph and Sokka were upset when I told them about the vision of Katara, and we sped off for Ba Sing Se as quickly as Appa could take us there.

  They asked me how my experience with the guru went. I lied to them and told them I completely mastered the Avatar state. As much as they love Katara, they won’t understand my choice. They’ll think I abandoned my responsibility. And maybe I did. I don’t know. But what I do know is that I have to make sure Katara is okay. I also know that I had to lie about this. I don’t feel good about it, but I can’t deal with all this now. First Katara, then I’ll figure out how to make all the Avatar stuff right—I hope.

  We landed in Ba Sing Se and hurried to the king’s throne room. But to my surprise he told me that Katara was off with the Kyoshi warriors and doing fine. We headed for our apartment, where I was greeted by Momo—but no Katara.

  She IS in trouble. I knew it. My vision was right.

  Then a knock came at the door. Toph threw open the door and there stood Zuko’s uncle, Iroh!

  This is the last thing I need, to battle Iroh. Is Zuko with him? Maybe they have Katara. …

  It turned out that Toph and Iroh had met before, in the woods when Toph ran away from us, and they’d become friends.

  “Toph, I need your help,” Iroh said. “Princess Azula is in Ba Sing Se.”

  Azula! SHE must have Katara. Now I’m really worried. Azula nearly killed me the last time we fought. She’s crazy, and super dangerous. How are we going to save Katara?

  Iroh explained that Azula had captured Katara and Zuko.

  “We’ll work together to fight Azula and save Zuko and Katara,” I said.

  Sokka was shocked when I said we’d rescue Zuko. I guess I was a bit surprised myself. But I’m willing to do anything to save Katara, and after dealing with Azula, Zuko really didn’t seem so bad.

  Iroh brought along a Dai Li agent he had captured. The agent told us that Azula and Long Feng were plotting to overthrow the Earth King! He also said that Katara was being held in the crystal catacombs of old Ba Sing Se, deep beneath the palace.

  Toph Earthbended a tunnel beneath the palace, then we split up. While Sokka and Toph went to warn the Earth King about Azula’s coup, Iroh and I headed into the tunnel to rescue Katara and Zuko.

  First I started actually feeling sorry for Zuko, now I’m trusting his uncle, a retired Fire Nation general. Boy, it’s strange how things change. You think you have stuff all fig
ured out, who’s good and who’s evil, and then people go and surprise you.

  Toph’s tunnel led us into a crystal courtyard, a wide-open plaza with waterfalls and a stream running over beautiful crystal rocks. I used Earthbending to open sections of the courtyard’s walls until I finally found Katara’s and Zuko’s prison.

  “Aang! I knew you would come!” Katara rushed over and hugged me.

  Thank goodness she’s okay! Now I know I made the right choice.

  Just then Zuko rushed at me, but Iroh stopped him. Those two had a lot to talk about, so Katara and I left them and headed off to find Sokka and Toph.

  But before we got out of the crystal courtyard, Azula attacked! She fired bolts of blue lightning. Katara countered by Waterbending water from the stream as I used Earthbending to block Azula’s blasts and knock her off balance.

  Azula may be too much for me alone, but working with Katara, I think I’m going to beat her. Wait, Zuko’s back! Did his uncle convince him to help us or will he join Azula against us? I wonder what he’ll choo—

  BAM!

  Zuko just sent a fire blast headed right at me! So much for people surprising me. Same old Zuko. Only now he’s teamed with his ruthless sister! I hope we have what it takes to beat them. …

  Oh, no! Katara’s hurt. She just fell down into the stream. … Azula must have zapped her as she stepped into the water, shocking her! I didn’t save her! I rejected Guru Pathik to save her and I still failed.

  Now a troop of Dai Li agents are joining in the fight, throwing Earthbending attacks at me. There are too many of them. I can’t stop them all AND beat Azula and Zuko.

  Guru Pathik is right. I’m holding on to my earthly attachment and ruining everything. There’s only one way to make this better: I have to let her go.

  I’m sorry, Katara.

  I Earthbended a protective crystal shell around myself, and then I began to meditate.

  I’m back on that bridge, walking toward the giant version of myself in the Avatar state. …

  Don’t hesitate this time; just walk toward the giant Aang. Accept your fate. …