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

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Night at the Gambing Palace

Thunder boomed outside as we walked through the halls of the Gambing Palace.

"Well, children," Chief Arnook said, "now that the 'performance' is over, you may explore the palace at will. Though, I recommend that you at least stay in pairs. We do not want anyone getting lost, especially you, Hyriu." The Chief took me off to the side with Wei. "Now Hyriu, have you had any more visions since the library?"

"No. None," I replied.

"I expect you will get one soon. It seems that you get one every few hours, and you will be due for another before dinner. I ask that you do not leave the sight of at least two other people, no matter what. Do you understand?" he said very seriously. I nodded.

"Well, after that piece of sunshine," Wei began with a smile," You have passed your test; you should be celebrating with your friends, going where you please. However, heed Chief Arnook's words for he speaks the truth. Something is going on that we do not understand. You pass your test, these visions, and someone over hearing Pakku call you 'Anzen'. These cannot be coincidences, and I think in the coming weeks we will not gain answers, but instead, more questions."

"Do you think it could be because the Darkness is coming? Maybe that's what is causing all of this. Maybe it will be here soon," I said in a scared voice.

"No, I do not think that it is the Darkness," Wei said reassuringly.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I don't," he replied gravely. "But I would think the Avatar would return before the Darkness gets here, and he hasn't been heard of for almost a hundred years. When the Avatar returns, we should worry. But enough of this dreary talk. Go celebrate, have fun with your friends, and please, take Hiko with you."

"Alright," I said, forcing a smile.

My friends and I split off from all of the adults with Hiko trailing after us. We discussed my test and the water bending forms I had used. Then, we decided which places we would each be revisiting and exploring.

"I really would like to see the Meditation Room. Hyriu, I'm sure you would like to go there with me. What about you guys?" Lamara asked.

"I don't know. I kind of wanted to go back to the library," I told her.

"Oh come on," she grinned. "Hiko will go. Won't you, Hiko?" He blushed and nodded shyly, "See, and how about you Koluk?"

"I'll go," he said, seeing what she was up to.

"You wouldn't leave your brother and best friend, now would you? And Lina will go, right?" she asked eagerly.

"Of course I will go. I love learning about the Air Nomad culture. Hyriu talks about it a lot during trai- after school," Lina finished quickly. She was about to say during our training lessons, but no one else was supposed to know about them.

"Now you really can't say no," Lamara said. They all looked at me expectantly. "Chief Arnook and Wei said to celebrate with your friends, and if you go to the library now, you will probably get distracted and lose track of time. Then, before you know it, it will be time to leave."

"Well, I can't argue with that," I said finally with a smile.

We did our best to find our way back, but we did get lost and found very interesting parts of the palace along the way. A courtyard that was full of statues and a walkway that went over a large chasm with a waterfall pouring into it were a few of our discoveries during our escapades. Finally, we found the main hallway and followed it until we saw the passage way that lead to the Meditation Room. We followed the blue and purple patterns beneath our feet until we reached the end where there was a circular room with a spiral staircase that reached at least five stories.