- Joined
- Apr 3, 2009
- Messages
- 21,209
- Reaction score
- 2,402
Still trying to get my shit together with The Scales of Astrea, but for now have a new ongoing story from the mind of Jabberwocky. The Legend of Korra recently ended, and almost immediately I had an idea for a followup series, starring a new Avatar and set around six decades after the end of LOK. It's been ages since I dabbled in Avatarverse fic, but hopefully I did OK! So, without further ado, get ready to return to the world of Avatar in The Legend of Qiang!
WARNING: As The Legend of Qiang is a fanfic-based sequel to The Legend of Korra, there will be major spoilers present from that series. If you haven't watched LOK yet, tread carefully (also what are you doing go watch it it's amazing).
His suit had been pressed that very morning. His facial hair - as much as he had, anyway - was freshly-shaven. His coif was perfectly-arranged - but that was hardly unusual. If there was one thing Wu prided himself on, it was his unquestionably perfect hair. Also, many other things, but it was mostly his hair.
Earth King Wu stood nervously behind a podium, facing a crowd of hundreds, if not more. Camera flashes burst all around, each one blinding Wu for half a second. The expectations of the throng were clearly high. Everyone was eager to see what the new Earth King had to say, now that the war with Kuvira was over.
It was all a little overwhelming, and Wu glanced over to Avatar Korra, who stood by his side, for encouragement. She met his gaze with a comforting smile and nod of her head, as if she knew what thoughts were running through his mind and believed he could do it anyway. For some reason, this felt like exactly what Wu needed.
With a newfound confidence, Wu returned his gaze to the crowd before him, cleared his throat, and began to speak.
“Citizens,” he began, “of both the Earth Kingdom and abroad, I address you now as Wu, King of the Earth, Sovereign of the Mountain, Swamp, and Sand, Light of Ba Sing Se, and Guide of the Nation.”
He smiled a tiny smile. “Kind of a ridiculous series of titles, isn’t it?” he said. “Pompous. Self-aggrandizing. But a few months ago I’d have used them without a second thought. I wouldn’t have even considered how they may have colored other peoples’ perception of me. I was content to stay within my own little world of royalty, completely shut out from the needs and concerns of my subjects.”
Wu gripped the sides of the podium tightly. “That’s the curse of royalty. You and your family become isolated from your people. Raised so high above them that they become insects to you. And the worst part is that you’re happy about it. You think that’s how things ought to be.”
The Earth King hung his head morosely. “I suppose many of you expect me to get on stage and condemn Kuvira, and everything she did when she controlled the Earth Kingdom. And it is true that she did many things that were inexcusable. She created wounds which will take years to heal. And yet, I cannot bring myself to denounce her entirely. In my exile from my nation, I observed and learned many things about my people, things I would not have been able to learn otherwise. My people had been hurting. They had been crying out for change and reform for ages, even before Zaheer killed my great-aunt and even before Kuvira took over. My family and I were simply too blind to see it.”
Murmurs ran through the crowd. Some were surprised, others angry, but no matter what they were, no one got up to leave. The whole crowd was hanging onto Wu’s every word.
“Kuvira’s methods and actions may have gone over the line and caused much damage and harm,” Wu continued, “but she was not a monster. We cannot dismiss her as one, because if we do then we discredit everything she did, right as well as wrong, and we lose a golden opportunity to challenge the problems with our status quo.
“Kuvira never stopped thinking about the people she felt she was fighting for,” Wu declared. “The people of the Earth Kingdom. People who have, throughout their history, valued freedom, independence, and bravery above all other things. My predecessors could not hear the cries of the people. They would not listen. Well, I think it’s high time that changed. The people of the Earth Kingdom want the freedom to decide their own fate and choose their own destiny. The reason I called this press conference is to declare that, within at most six years from this day, the Earth Kingdom will cease to exist, and independent Earth states will be created in its place.”
Wu held his hands up to quell the crowd as the murmurs began to grow in volume. “I will not be abandoning my people, however. I won’t leave the Earth Kingdom to fall into an even worse state of anarchy than it did following the Earth Queen’s death. I will remain in my position of Earth King to oversee and help guide the creation of constitutions and drawing of borders for these new nations. Once the Earth Kingdom is officially dissolved, and not a moment before, I will formally step down as monarch.”
Wu bowed. “Thank you for your time,” he said gratefully. “I’m afraid I don’t have time for questions at the moment, but another press conference will be called in due time specifically so that I may answer any questions the media may have.”
Even so, the crowd exploded into a cacophony of questions, insults, and accusations, a deafening chorus that did not die down even as the Avatar escorted Wu offstage to the safety of his police guard.
Among these guards was former Fire Ferret Mako, who greeted Korra and Wu warmly.
“That was a pretty nice speech,” Mako noted to Korra after helping load the Earth King into his armored Sato-mobile. “How much of it was him?”
“All of it, actually,” Korra replied with a grin. “Tenzin and I both offered to help him, but he insisted that he write every word. He said it wouldn’t be authentic otherwise.”
“He’s sure grown a lot since he first came to Republic City,” Mako said fondly. “It’s almost a shame that the Earth Kingdom’s being dissolved. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he’d have made a good king.”
“I know what you mean,” Korra nodded. “But it’s for the best. The people of the Earth lands will be happier when they’re able to decide for themselves what path to take.”
“You may be right. But if it does end up going wrong, the next Avatar will have a pretty big mess to clean up, you know?”
Korra frowned before she caught sight of that trademark Mako smirk which showed he was joking. “Yeah, I know,” she laughed. “But I’m sure it’s nothing they - I - won’t be able to handle.”
“Yeah,” Mako agreed. “Whoever the next Avatar is, they’ll have been you in their last life. And if I know anything about you… well, it’s that there’s nothing you can’t handle.”
Qiang’s stance was firm, and his concentration utterly focused. Slowly, meticulously, he shifted the hard stone before him, lengthening his tunnel inch by inch. He needed to be quiet, and he needed to be subtle. He couldn’t risk an earthbender above sensing what he was doing here below. If he was caught, all of his work would be for naught.
Behind him, his ostrich-horse Ping squawked nervously. Qiang shushed the beast. “Quiet, Ping,” Qiang whispered. “I know we need to get out of Shiyi before someone notices we’re gone, but we also need to do it without being noticed. We’ve gone far enough that we should be at the gates by now. Just a bit further and we’ll be in the clear.”
Ping chirped again. Ping was a nervous animal, a fact which had often gotten both himself and Qiang into trouble, but he was also loyal, strong, and fierce when provoked. Add all that to being one of the only true friends Qiang had, and the young man had ample reason to keep Ping around.
Qiang grimaced. He had never needed to earthbend this precisely for this long, and the exertion required was beginning to take its toll. He was starting to feel dizzy, which probably wasn’t helped by how stuffy and cramped his tunnel was. Sweat formed on his brow and he began to pant. He couldn’t give up, though. What he was doing was simply too important.
Qiang was like most 17-year-old Yi men in most respects. He was of average height, his olive skin was no lighter or darker than most of his peers, and he wore his black hair short. However, there was one fact about him that set him far apart from any other Yi teenager - and anyone else in the world: Qiang was the Avatar, the latest in a millennia-old cycle of reincarnations, with the ability to bend all four of the elements.
Qiang had been raised isolated from the world in a Shiyi compound, trained in the bending arts to become the champion of the State of Yi, his home nation. Qiang had never questioned his upbringing or his purpose in life until a scant few weeks ago, when he was finally allowed full access to the compound’s library. Qiang voraciously consumed the books from which he had been forbidden access for so long, and as he did, he grew increasingly uncomfortable about his view of the world and his role in it. Subjects which had never before crossed his mind - foreign relations, the history of the Earth states, the heroic deeds of Avatars past - all at once came flooding into his consciousness. Qiang realized that he had been used all his life by those he had trusted. He knew that if he was to embrace his true duty to the world, and perform his role as the Avatar, he would need to leave Yi as soon as possible.
To that end, Qiang had planned to the most minute detail how he would escape. For days he pored over charts of Shiyi’s construction and surrounding topography, sketching in his head the path his escape tunnel would take. Once he reached the woods beyond Shiyi’s walls, he would mount Ping and trek across Yi, avoiding the roads, until he reached safety across the border.
His plan would work, Qiang was sure of it, but time was his enemy. It would not be long now before his disappearance was noticed, and once it was, the entire city would be put on high alert. He could not stop or rest until he was out of the ground and ten miles away from Shiyi.
“Alright,” Qiang finally groaned, “Unless I made a mistake, we should be… right… under…”
Qiang clasped his hands together and then spread them apart slowly, cleaving the earth above him. Rocks clacked together and loose dirt rained down upon Qiang as the ground split open. When Qiang finally finished his work, there was a perfectly round hole in the ground. The moon and the stars shimmered high above the hole, and Qiang had to squint while his eyes adjusted to the moonlight after so long in total darkness.
Qiang beamed. “We made it, Ping!” he exclaimed. Ping whinnied happily.
Qiang adjusted his stance and raised his arms slowly, bending the ground beneath him to rise and carrying him and Ping up to the surface. As he watched the sky grow closer and closer to him, Qiang’s smile grew wider and his heart beat faster. Freedom was so close. In just a few more seconds, the ground would finish its upward journey…
…And Qiang would come face to face with a bamboozled city guardsman, a young and clearly inexperienced man probably out doing border patrol. Qiang cursed himself. He should have factored in this possibility. He steeled himself for a fight.
The guard, confused by the turn of events he had just witnessed, took a while to speak. A hundred emotions passed through his face before he even said a word: he blinked in confusion, tilted his head in curiosity, and squinted in disbelief. Finally, his eyes widened as he recognized who was standing in front of him, and he clumsily got in an earthbending stance as he fumbled out “Th-the Avatar?! You- you’re not supposed to be outside the city! I- I need to take you in!”
Qiang felt a pang of guilt for having to hurt this inexperienced and insecure opponent, but he could not allow anything to stand in the way of his escape. “You’re welcome to try!” he growled, and snapped his leg in a kick-like arc at the guard, shooting a jet of flame at the hapless young man. The guard barely had time to react, summoning a shield of stone from the ground to protect himself from the flames.
Qiang went on the offensive, curving jets of fire around the guard’s shield. With a grunt, the guard thrust a pillar of earth upwards, sending himself flying and avoiding the flames. With a series of aerial punches, the guard broke off chunks of his pillar and send them hurtling toward Qiang. The Avatar called forth his own rocky shield just in time, and even then his barrier cracked and shattered as the guard pummelled it with his boulders.
Ping screeched protectively, and charged the guard at full speed. “Ping, wait!” Qiang cried, but it was too late. With a flick of the wrist, the guard shot a boulder slamming into Ping’s chest. The force of the impact blasted Ping backwards into the trunk of a tree. The creature could only give a groan before passing out.
“Ping!” shouted Qiang, horrified, but there was nothing he could do to react as the guard continued his bombardment.
Finally, Qiang’s shield smashed apart, and the young Avatar was thrown onto his back by the blowback. The guard loomed over Qiang menacingly, with a boulder floating over each hand. Qiang’s heart was beating like a drum.
“Don’t worry,” the guard assured Qiang. “I’m not going to kill you. I’ve got no reason to, and Governor Kun would have my head if I did it anyway. I’m just gonna break your arms and legs, keep you out of commission for a little while. I’ll take you back to the city, and then you can have a chat with the administrator about-”
The guard was suddenly interrupted as a blast of wind knocked him away. His boulders fell to the ground with a thud and the guard skidded across the earth until he slammed to a halt against what remained of his own stone pillar.
A shocked Qiang turned his head to see a slender young woman in red-and-saffron clothing standing firm with arms outstretched. Her eyes were golden and intense, like an eagle, and her lips were pursed tight in focus. Her head was completely shaven, and a blue tattoo in the shape of an arrow tapered down her head before ending at her forehead.
Qiang gasped as he realized who this woman was. He was looking at a real, living Air Nomad.
The woman glanced at Qiang, and approached him slowly. Qiang attempted to pick himself up, only to feel a stabbing pain in his side that made him howl and fall back down in anguish.
“Don’t try to get up on your own,” the woman told Qiang in a soft, warm voice. “I’m sure that fight took a lot out of you.” She knelt down and cradled Qiang in her arms before lifting him slowly and carefully.
“Where did you come from?” Qiang groaned. “How- how did you know where I was?”
“I was flying over on Xiang, my flying bison,” the woman explained. “He’s circling overhead right now, waiting for me to call him down.” Qiang looked up, and sure enough, a huge white creature was soaring around in the sky.
“I was heading to Shiyi,” the woman continued, “but I saw the fight going on below, and I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t make an effort to break up a conflict.”
“I’ve never seen an Air Nomad in Shiyi,” Qiang said through clenched teeth. The pain was growing, and it was becoming an effort just to stay conscious. “Why are you visiting?”
“I’m looking for the Avatar,” said the woman. Qiang’s vision was clouding, but her eyes pierced the fog, and as Qiang focused on them, staying awake felt just a bit easier. They were the most unique eyes he had ever seen. “There have been rumors that the Avatar is living in Shiyi. I was asked to see if they’re true.”
“Th-they’re true, alright,” Qiang said with as much of a laugh as he could muster. “The Avatar has been in Shiyi. Y-you’re looking at him.”
The woman gasped and nearly dropped Qiang in shock. “Y-you’re the Avatar?!” she exclaimed. “You’re not joking around, are you?”
Qiang did not say anything in reply, but opened his hand. It took a bit of concentration, but soon a tiny flame was dancing on his palm.
“And you were earthbending earlier…” the woman murmured. “That’s proof, alright. You’re definitely the Avatar. If that’s the case, I need to ask you to come with me back to Republic City. Are you alright with that? You’d have to leave Yi for a while.”
Qiang laughed again, and the pain returned in force. He was going to pass out soon, he knew he was. “I came out here with the intention of leaving Yi,” he said. “I’d be fine with not having to do any more legwork.” He pointed weakly at Ping, who was still lying slumped against a tree trunk. “Just make sure Ping comes along, too.”
The woman smiled, and pursed her lips together before whistling loudly. The bison above them grunted a response and began its descent.
“I’m sure you’re about ready to pass out,” the woman told Qiang with that same comforting smile from earlier. “Don’t worry, I won’t ask any more questions. You can get some rest. We’ll be in Republic City before you know it.”
“O-one thing,” Qiang said. His vision was becoming black. His grip on consciousness was slipping like sand through his fingers. “Y-your name. I never g-got your name…”
The woman smiled once more. “Zhi,” she answered. “My name is Zhi.”
It was the last thing Qiang heard before the blackness overtook him.
Nuan fumed. She was pacing back and forth in her office as fast as her legs would allow, seething with a silent rage which was quickly boiling over.
“How DARE he?!” she finally bellowed, startling her valet so much that she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Seventeen years I sacrifice and labor for him, to make him the best Yi citizen possible. I sheltered him, protected him, helped him grow as an Avatar! And now?! Now he just spits in my face and leaves! I’ve never been so ashamed in my life!”
“I-it’s a shock to everyone, Madame Administrator,” the valet said meekly.
“Oh, just wait till I get my hands on him!” Nuan snarled, curling his hands into claws. “He’s going to wish he’d never been born!”
“Bottle your anger, Nuan,” a deep and stoic voice suddenly said. The voice belonged to a muscular, stocky man in a green suit who strode through the open doors into the office. His face was severe and intense, and a meticulously-trimmed moustache sat beneath his large, round nose.
“Governor Kun!” Nuan blurted in surprise. Regaining her composure, she gave the Governor a brief but deep bow. “I didn’t expect to see you here until the morning.”
“The news made me hasten my journey,” the Governor explained. “Is it true?”
“I’m afraid so,” Nuan sighed. “Qiang is missing. Presumed fled. I take full responsibility for this incident, sir. Please accept my apologies.”
“No need to apologize, my old friend,” Kun said, his tone somewhere between comforting and scolding. “This turn of events is indeed unfortunate, but I would have been foolish not to account for this eventuality.”
Nuan tilted her head. “Do you mean…?”
Kun nodded. “Do not fret, Nuan,” he said. “I will need to alter the timeline somewhat, but this is no more than a small bump in the road. Glory will belong to the State of Yi in the end… whether your son is with us or not.”
To Be Continued
WARNING: As The Legend of Qiang is a fanfic-based sequel to The Legend of Korra, there will be major spoilers present from that series. If you haven't watched LOK yet, tread carefully (also what are you doing go watch it it's amazing).
The Legend of Qiang
Book One: Unity
Chapter 1: Escape From the City
58 years ago
Book One: Unity
Chapter 1: Escape From the City
58 years ago
His suit had been pressed that very morning. His facial hair - as much as he had, anyway - was freshly-shaven. His coif was perfectly-arranged - but that was hardly unusual. If there was one thing Wu prided himself on, it was his unquestionably perfect hair. Also, many other things, but it was mostly his hair.
Earth King Wu stood nervously behind a podium, facing a crowd of hundreds, if not more. Camera flashes burst all around, each one blinding Wu for half a second. The expectations of the throng were clearly high. Everyone was eager to see what the new Earth King had to say, now that the war with Kuvira was over.
It was all a little overwhelming, and Wu glanced over to Avatar Korra, who stood by his side, for encouragement. She met his gaze with a comforting smile and nod of her head, as if she knew what thoughts were running through his mind and believed he could do it anyway. For some reason, this felt like exactly what Wu needed.
With a newfound confidence, Wu returned his gaze to the crowd before him, cleared his throat, and began to speak.
“Citizens,” he began, “of both the Earth Kingdom and abroad, I address you now as Wu, King of the Earth, Sovereign of the Mountain, Swamp, and Sand, Light of Ba Sing Se, and Guide of the Nation.”
He smiled a tiny smile. “Kind of a ridiculous series of titles, isn’t it?” he said. “Pompous. Self-aggrandizing. But a few months ago I’d have used them without a second thought. I wouldn’t have even considered how they may have colored other peoples’ perception of me. I was content to stay within my own little world of royalty, completely shut out from the needs and concerns of my subjects.”
Wu gripped the sides of the podium tightly. “That’s the curse of royalty. You and your family become isolated from your people. Raised so high above them that they become insects to you. And the worst part is that you’re happy about it. You think that’s how things ought to be.”
The Earth King hung his head morosely. “I suppose many of you expect me to get on stage and condemn Kuvira, and everything she did when she controlled the Earth Kingdom. And it is true that she did many things that were inexcusable. She created wounds which will take years to heal. And yet, I cannot bring myself to denounce her entirely. In my exile from my nation, I observed and learned many things about my people, things I would not have been able to learn otherwise. My people had been hurting. They had been crying out for change and reform for ages, even before Zaheer killed my great-aunt and even before Kuvira took over. My family and I were simply too blind to see it.”
Murmurs ran through the crowd. Some were surprised, others angry, but no matter what they were, no one got up to leave. The whole crowd was hanging onto Wu’s every word.
“Kuvira’s methods and actions may have gone over the line and caused much damage and harm,” Wu continued, “but she was not a monster. We cannot dismiss her as one, because if we do then we discredit everything she did, right as well as wrong, and we lose a golden opportunity to challenge the problems with our status quo.
“Kuvira never stopped thinking about the people she felt she was fighting for,” Wu declared. “The people of the Earth Kingdom. People who have, throughout their history, valued freedom, independence, and bravery above all other things. My predecessors could not hear the cries of the people. They would not listen. Well, I think it’s high time that changed. The people of the Earth Kingdom want the freedom to decide their own fate and choose their own destiny. The reason I called this press conference is to declare that, within at most six years from this day, the Earth Kingdom will cease to exist, and independent Earth states will be created in its place.”
Wu held his hands up to quell the crowd as the murmurs began to grow in volume. “I will not be abandoning my people, however. I won’t leave the Earth Kingdom to fall into an even worse state of anarchy than it did following the Earth Queen’s death. I will remain in my position of Earth King to oversee and help guide the creation of constitutions and drawing of borders for these new nations. Once the Earth Kingdom is officially dissolved, and not a moment before, I will formally step down as monarch.”
Wu bowed. “Thank you for your time,” he said gratefully. “I’m afraid I don’t have time for questions at the moment, but another press conference will be called in due time specifically so that I may answer any questions the media may have.”
Even so, the crowd exploded into a cacophony of questions, insults, and accusations, a deafening chorus that did not die down even as the Avatar escorted Wu offstage to the safety of his police guard.
Among these guards was former Fire Ferret Mako, who greeted Korra and Wu warmly.
“That was a pretty nice speech,” Mako noted to Korra after helping load the Earth King into his armored Sato-mobile. “How much of it was him?”
“All of it, actually,” Korra replied with a grin. “Tenzin and I both offered to help him, but he insisted that he write every word. He said it wouldn’t be authentic otherwise.”
“He’s sure grown a lot since he first came to Republic City,” Mako said fondly. “It’s almost a shame that the Earth Kingdom’s being dissolved. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he’d have made a good king.”
“I know what you mean,” Korra nodded. “But it’s for the best. The people of the Earth lands will be happier when they’re able to decide for themselves what path to take.”
“You may be right. But if it does end up going wrong, the next Avatar will have a pretty big mess to clean up, you know?”
Korra frowned before she caught sight of that trademark Mako smirk which showed he was joking. “Yeah, I know,” she laughed. “But I’m sure it’s nothing they - I - won’t be able to handle.”
“Yeah,” Mako agreed. “Whoever the next Avatar is, they’ll have been you in their last life. And if I know anything about you… well, it’s that there’s nothing you can’t handle.”
58 years later. Shiyi, the capital of the State of Yi
Qiang’s stance was firm, and his concentration utterly focused. Slowly, meticulously, he shifted the hard stone before him, lengthening his tunnel inch by inch. He needed to be quiet, and he needed to be subtle. He couldn’t risk an earthbender above sensing what he was doing here below. If he was caught, all of his work would be for naught.
Behind him, his ostrich-horse Ping squawked nervously. Qiang shushed the beast. “Quiet, Ping,” Qiang whispered. “I know we need to get out of Shiyi before someone notices we’re gone, but we also need to do it without being noticed. We’ve gone far enough that we should be at the gates by now. Just a bit further and we’ll be in the clear.”
Ping chirped again. Ping was a nervous animal, a fact which had often gotten both himself and Qiang into trouble, but he was also loyal, strong, and fierce when provoked. Add all that to being one of the only true friends Qiang had, and the young man had ample reason to keep Ping around.
Qiang grimaced. He had never needed to earthbend this precisely for this long, and the exertion required was beginning to take its toll. He was starting to feel dizzy, which probably wasn’t helped by how stuffy and cramped his tunnel was. Sweat formed on his brow and he began to pant. He couldn’t give up, though. What he was doing was simply too important.
Qiang was like most 17-year-old Yi men in most respects. He was of average height, his olive skin was no lighter or darker than most of his peers, and he wore his black hair short. However, there was one fact about him that set him far apart from any other Yi teenager - and anyone else in the world: Qiang was the Avatar, the latest in a millennia-old cycle of reincarnations, with the ability to bend all four of the elements.
Qiang had been raised isolated from the world in a Shiyi compound, trained in the bending arts to become the champion of the State of Yi, his home nation. Qiang had never questioned his upbringing or his purpose in life until a scant few weeks ago, when he was finally allowed full access to the compound’s library. Qiang voraciously consumed the books from which he had been forbidden access for so long, and as he did, he grew increasingly uncomfortable about his view of the world and his role in it. Subjects which had never before crossed his mind - foreign relations, the history of the Earth states, the heroic deeds of Avatars past - all at once came flooding into his consciousness. Qiang realized that he had been used all his life by those he had trusted. He knew that if he was to embrace his true duty to the world, and perform his role as the Avatar, he would need to leave Yi as soon as possible.
To that end, Qiang had planned to the most minute detail how he would escape. For days he pored over charts of Shiyi’s construction and surrounding topography, sketching in his head the path his escape tunnel would take. Once he reached the woods beyond Shiyi’s walls, he would mount Ping and trek across Yi, avoiding the roads, until he reached safety across the border.
His plan would work, Qiang was sure of it, but time was his enemy. It would not be long now before his disappearance was noticed, and once it was, the entire city would be put on high alert. He could not stop or rest until he was out of the ground and ten miles away from Shiyi.
“Alright,” Qiang finally groaned, “Unless I made a mistake, we should be… right… under…”
Qiang clasped his hands together and then spread them apart slowly, cleaving the earth above him. Rocks clacked together and loose dirt rained down upon Qiang as the ground split open. When Qiang finally finished his work, there was a perfectly round hole in the ground. The moon and the stars shimmered high above the hole, and Qiang had to squint while his eyes adjusted to the moonlight after so long in total darkness.
Qiang beamed. “We made it, Ping!” he exclaimed. Ping whinnied happily.
Qiang adjusted his stance and raised his arms slowly, bending the ground beneath him to rise and carrying him and Ping up to the surface. As he watched the sky grow closer and closer to him, Qiang’s smile grew wider and his heart beat faster. Freedom was so close. In just a few more seconds, the ground would finish its upward journey…
…And Qiang would come face to face with a bamboozled city guardsman, a young and clearly inexperienced man probably out doing border patrol. Qiang cursed himself. He should have factored in this possibility. He steeled himself for a fight.
The guard, confused by the turn of events he had just witnessed, took a while to speak. A hundred emotions passed through his face before he even said a word: he blinked in confusion, tilted his head in curiosity, and squinted in disbelief. Finally, his eyes widened as he recognized who was standing in front of him, and he clumsily got in an earthbending stance as he fumbled out “Th-the Avatar?! You- you’re not supposed to be outside the city! I- I need to take you in!”
Qiang felt a pang of guilt for having to hurt this inexperienced and insecure opponent, but he could not allow anything to stand in the way of his escape. “You’re welcome to try!” he growled, and snapped his leg in a kick-like arc at the guard, shooting a jet of flame at the hapless young man. The guard barely had time to react, summoning a shield of stone from the ground to protect himself from the flames.
Qiang went on the offensive, curving jets of fire around the guard’s shield. With a grunt, the guard thrust a pillar of earth upwards, sending himself flying and avoiding the flames. With a series of aerial punches, the guard broke off chunks of his pillar and send them hurtling toward Qiang. The Avatar called forth his own rocky shield just in time, and even then his barrier cracked and shattered as the guard pummelled it with his boulders.
Ping screeched protectively, and charged the guard at full speed. “Ping, wait!” Qiang cried, but it was too late. With a flick of the wrist, the guard shot a boulder slamming into Ping’s chest. The force of the impact blasted Ping backwards into the trunk of a tree. The creature could only give a groan before passing out.
“Ping!” shouted Qiang, horrified, but there was nothing he could do to react as the guard continued his bombardment.
Finally, Qiang’s shield smashed apart, and the young Avatar was thrown onto his back by the blowback. The guard loomed over Qiang menacingly, with a boulder floating over each hand. Qiang’s heart was beating like a drum.
“Don’t worry,” the guard assured Qiang. “I’m not going to kill you. I’ve got no reason to, and Governor Kun would have my head if I did it anyway. I’m just gonna break your arms and legs, keep you out of commission for a little while. I’ll take you back to the city, and then you can have a chat with the administrator about-”
The guard was suddenly interrupted as a blast of wind knocked him away. His boulders fell to the ground with a thud and the guard skidded across the earth until he slammed to a halt against what remained of his own stone pillar.
A shocked Qiang turned his head to see a slender young woman in red-and-saffron clothing standing firm with arms outstretched. Her eyes were golden and intense, like an eagle, and her lips were pursed tight in focus. Her head was completely shaven, and a blue tattoo in the shape of an arrow tapered down her head before ending at her forehead.
Qiang gasped as he realized who this woman was. He was looking at a real, living Air Nomad.
The woman glanced at Qiang, and approached him slowly. Qiang attempted to pick himself up, only to feel a stabbing pain in his side that made him howl and fall back down in anguish.
“Don’t try to get up on your own,” the woman told Qiang in a soft, warm voice. “I’m sure that fight took a lot out of you.” She knelt down and cradled Qiang in her arms before lifting him slowly and carefully.
“Where did you come from?” Qiang groaned. “How- how did you know where I was?”
“I was flying over on Xiang, my flying bison,” the woman explained. “He’s circling overhead right now, waiting for me to call him down.” Qiang looked up, and sure enough, a huge white creature was soaring around in the sky.
“I was heading to Shiyi,” the woman continued, “but I saw the fight going on below, and I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t make an effort to break up a conflict.”
“I’ve never seen an Air Nomad in Shiyi,” Qiang said through clenched teeth. The pain was growing, and it was becoming an effort just to stay conscious. “Why are you visiting?”
“I’m looking for the Avatar,” said the woman. Qiang’s vision was clouding, but her eyes pierced the fog, and as Qiang focused on them, staying awake felt just a bit easier. They were the most unique eyes he had ever seen. “There have been rumors that the Avatar is living in Shiyi. I was asked to see if they’re true.”
“Th-they’re true, alright,” Qiang said with as much of a laugh as he could muster. “The Avatar has been in Shiyi. Y-you’re looking at him.”
The woman gasped and nearly dropped Qiang in shock. “Y-you’re the Avatar?!” she exclaimed. “You’re not joking around, are you?”
Qiang did not say anything in reply, but opened his hand. It took a bit of concentration, but soon a tiny flame was dancing on his palm.
“And you were earthbending earlier…” the woman murmured. “That’s proof, alright. You’re definitely the Avatar. If that’s the case, I need to ask you to come with me back to Republic City. Are you alright with that? You’d have to leave Yi for a while.”
Qiang laughed again, and the pain returned in force. He was going to pass out soon, he knew he was. “I came out here with the intention of leaving Yi,” he said. “I’d be fine with not having to do any more legwork.” He pointed weakly at Ping, who was still lying slumped against a tree trunk. “Just make sure Ping comes along, too.”
The woman smiled, and pursed her lips together before whistling loudly. The bison above them grunted a response and began its descent.
“I’m sure you’re about ready to pass out,” the woman told Qiang with that same comforting smile from earlier. “Don’t worry, I won’t ask any more questions. You can get some rest. We’ll be in Republic City before you know it.”
“O-one thing,” Qiang said. His vision was becoming black. His grip on consciousness was slipping like sand through his fingers. “Y-your name. I never g-got your name…”
The woman smiled once more. “Zhi,” she answered. “My name is Zhi.”
It was the last thing Qiang heard before the blackness overtook him.
Hours later, the Shiyi Compound
Nuan fumed. She was pacing back and forth in her office as fast as her legs would allow, seething with a silent rage which was quickly boiling over.
“How DARE he?!” she finally bellowed, startling her valet so much that she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Seventeen years I sacrifice and labor for him, to make him the best Yi citizen possible. I sheltered him, protected him, helped him grow as an Avatar! And now?! Now he just spits in my face and leaves! I’ve never been so ashamed in my life!”
“I-it’s a shock to everyone, Madame Administrator,” the valet said meekly.
“Oh, just wait till I get my hands on him!” Nuan snarled, curling his hands into claws. “He’s going to wish he’d never been born!”
“Bottle your anger, Nuan,” a deep and stoic voice suddenly said. The voice belonged to a muscular, stocky man in a green suit who strode through the open doors into the office. His face was severe and intense, and a meticulously-trimmed moustache sat beneath his large, round nose.
“Governor Kun!” Nuan blurted in surprise. Regaining her composure, she gave the Governor a brief but deep bow. “I didn’t expect to see you here until the morning.”
“The news made me hasten my journey,” the Governor explained. “Is it true?”
“I’m afraid so,” Nuan sighed. “Qiang is missing. Presumed fled. I take full responsibility for this incident, sir. Please accept my apologies.”
“No need to apologize, my old friend,” Kun said, his tone somewhere between comforting and scolding. “This turn of events is indeed unfortunate, but I would have been foolish not to account for this eventuality.”
Nuan tilted her head. “Do you mean…?”
Kun nodded. “Do not fret, Nuan,” he said. “I will need to alter the timeline somewhat, but this is no more than a small bump in the road. Glory will belong to the State of Yi in the end… whether your son is with us or not.”
To Be Continued