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

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

A Time to Worry

That night, I laid in my bed, unable to go to sleep. I could hear Wei and some other people down stairs talking. I couldn't make out every word, but they were discussing me.

"...he alright? He just went straight up stairs," Wei was saying.

"...hasn't spoken since the temple lit..." Arnook said.

"We...tomorrow...needs sleep..." Wei decided.

They left after Wei came up to check on me; I pretended to be asleep. I finally fell asleep late in the night. I woke up before sunrise and couldn't fall back asleep. I went down stairs and got something to eat. Then I walked behind the house where there was a small open space with walls. I began to practice different bending forms. I didn't bend; I just did the motions. First, I did water bending forms. I moved slowly and focused on perfecting the forms. I let my chi flow through my limbs, enriching me and filling me with spiritual energy. I began to hear the whispers of so many voices echoing in my head. I switched to air bending forms. I felt more and more powerful; I could feel a great energy filling up inside me.

'Good, you are connecting with the spirits in you.' The woman in my head said.

I then did fire bending forms. I entered stage one and my energy grew. I could feel my chi flowing all around me, from my finger tips to my toes.

'Keep going,' the woman said.

I felt my power grow to as high as it could go when I was in stage one. I could feel a barrier that held even more power. I focused on the barrier and slowly it began to give way and suddenly collapsed, filling me with more power and energy than anything I had felt in a long time. I kept practicing the forms, controlling the amount of power I used. It was like trying to guide a rushing river. I slowly led it in the right direction. If I tried to force it where I wanted it, I would lose control. After a while, I had complete control of the river of energy.

'You have mastered Stage Two of the Avatar State,' the woman said.

"Really, how?" I asked her.

'You connected deeply with your spiritual energy, and you were able to control it very well. The trick is being in the right state of mind, with no earthly distractions. You were focused on your movements, nothing else, so you were able to master it,' she said.

"I just didn't want to think about anything else. It is really hard to process, and it is also frightening. I, I didn't want to feel scared or worried or anything," I told her.

'And that was the key to your success,' she said.

I continued doing the bending forms. I don't know how long I practiced. The sun rose, and the city began to wake up.

I heard someone walk up behind me. I continued practicing.

"Good morning, Hyriu," Wei said.

"Good morning," I muttered.

I turned and faced him and stopped practicing. He had a concerned look on his face, his eyes full of worry. Behind him, I saw Koluk and Hiko with similar expressions.

"How are you?" he asked kindly and hopefully.

"I'm not sure," I said truthfully.

"Okay well, if you need to talk to someone, I'm here for you," he said.

"Alright," I said with no emotion.

"No doubt Chief Arnook will call us to a meeting some time today, so stay in touch," he said.