Avatar: The Legend of Anzen Hyriu, Book 1: The Legend of Beifen

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Behind Walls of Ice

Part 2

Knowledge and Fear

We continued through the grand palace, taking little detours so Arnook could show us something. He took us to the part of the palace where people would live. He showed us the bedrooms, which were enormous and had wonderful paintings on the walls and great views from the balconies. We also saw lounge rooms with many different activities to do in them. There were tea rooms wonderfully designed. One of the most interesting parts of the living areas were the bathrooms. They were very large and had wonderful designs in them. So wonderful that I wouldn't dare use the facilities, as it seemed something you would look at, but you would not touch.

Next, he showed us the different wings of the palace dedicated to the Four Nations. They had artwork from all of the nations as well as clothing, books, statues, and many other things from their different cultures. It was fascinating to see all of these things; however, to think that most of these cultures had been destroyed by the war was saddening.

We were walking through a Fire Nation section when I saw a painting and gasped.

"What is it Hyriu?" Wei asked.

I pointed to the painting, "This was in my vision. What did you call it Chief, the Azulan Gates?"

"The Great Gates of Azulan. Yes, this is what you described to me in your vision. You said you saw them being destroyed?" he asked.

"Yes, they were surrounded by clouds of black smoke," I said.

"Hmm, well I am not sure what to think about that," Arnook said,

"The gates were built by Firelord Azulan who was the father to Firelord Ozai, the current Firelord. If I remember correctly the gates protect the capital of the Fire Nation, so perhaps you saw a battle that would end the war."

"Maybe," I said, but in the vision it felt like a bad thing that the statue was being destroyed, not a good thing like winning the war.

I continued to stare at the painting for a few more minutes before moving on. The Air Nomad section was incredible and got everyone's attention. There were paintings of each air temple and paintings that showed the interior of each. Each temple had a slightly different style and design. There was a hall of statues in one, a group of sky bison in another. All around were pictures of what looked like happy carefree people that kept to themselves, bothered no one, and had very simple lives. I then grew sad and angry that someone would want to end their happiness. In one room, there was nothing but gliders and instructions on how they worked. I had not yet gotten a glider of my own. I had borrowed my friends to practice air bending with, but the air benders had yet to give me one. As I studied them, I decided that if I could choose I would want a Southern Temple style staff-glider. The Western Air Temple design was the most popular among the Shui Air Nomads as most of them are descended from them. Their style was like that of birds' wings, with triangles. The Northern style had primarily rectangles and squares. The Eastern had the same as the Western but it had jagged edges made by triangles on one side. The Southern style was a half circle design and it seemed the most practical to me. Lamara stayed in this section for as long as she could.

"Now," Chief Arnook said dramatically, "I will take you to the Gambing Library."

He led us down a long hallway, up some stairs, over a walkway, through a courtyard, and down another long hallway. Before we reached its end, I could see a door. It was very large and had breath-taking beauty. As we got closer, I could see more and more details, and I was quite literally speechless. On the door was a painting with so much detail, I didn't know where to focus.