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

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The Sacrifice of Victory

By the time I had woken up, the sun had already risen. Koluk stood nearby. Hushi who had healed me, slept in a chair by my cot. It was quiet, but not an eerie silence, a peaceful one. I sat up.

Koluk came over. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," I said, my voice raspy, and my mouth and throat hurt a bit.

"Hushi said you had gotten some bad burns in your mouth. She worked on you all night," he said.

"Wow, I'll have to thank her. So what happened? I assume we won?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah we - we won. While you were asleep, Wei went to find out what exactly happened. Apparently Admiral Zhao, a guy who had been following the Avatar from the South Pole, was leading the attack. He went to the Spirit Oasis and grabbed one of the koi fish from the pond. The fish are actually the Moon and Ocean spirits, and Zhao grabbed the Moon Spirit fish. When he pulled it out of the pond, the moon turned red. Then the Avatar and his friends convinced him to put the fish back in the pond. That was when the moon turned back to normal for a few moments. Then Zhao fire bended at the fish and killed it. That was when you passed out as the fire bender attacked you. The moon disappeared from the sky for a long time. Then, uh, Princess Yue stepped forward." Koluk's voice filled with emotion, and a lot of people around us were listening, including Hushi, who had woken up. "You know how the Moon Spirit had given her life when she was ill as a child; well she... gave that life back to the Moon Spirit. She sacrificed herself, so it could live again, and that was when the moon returned, and you woke up. And during the time the Moon Spirit was dead; Avatar Aang went into the Avatar State and combined his energy with the Ocean Spirit. They formed this giant water being that took out most of the soldiers, including this Admiral Zhao, and the rest fled."

I swallowed; I couldn't believe Princess Yue was gone. I decided to not think about that. "Where is Wei now?"

"He and most of the other benders are cleaning up and repairing the city. We sustained a lot of damage," Koluk answered.

I positioned myself to stand up. I saw Koluk was on a crutch, his left leg was bandaged heavily, and his right arm was in a sling. Hushi rushed over to me.

"Take it slow. Your right leg is already bad," she said.

I winced at the pain, but I could stand. I stretched, but my chest and right shoulder exploded in pain, and I doubled over.

"Your chest got burned the worst," Hushi said.

After the pain passed, I straightened a bit, but I didn't try stretching again. I walked out of the hut with Koluk and Hushi. He was right about the damage. The ice wall that guarded the city was nothing but a few chunks of ice. Many houses near the wall had been destroyed. A lot of other houses had been damaged.

I took it easy most of the day. I tried to help clean up the city, but Wei wouldn't allow it. Pakku came to visit me at my house.

"Hyriu, I have made the decision to go to the Southern Water Tribe and help rebuild it," he said.

"What? Oh, well, when do you leave?" I asked.

"Not for a few days, but since you will be leaving for Hydronia today, we won't be seeing each other on my departure. I do not know if or when I will see you again, but it was an honor to be your special teacher." He bowed to me respectfully, something he didn't do to anyone.

I bowed back. "It was an honor to receive your teachings, and we will meet again. I will make certain of it."

He chuckled then left shortly after. I found out that along with Desu, two other people had died from Hydronia, Yun-Li, a warrior and Gen-Li's father, and Qiao, who was a water bender and also had a family waiting for him.

Near sunset, we prepared to leave. I didn't say goodbye to the Avatar or his friends, since I tried to distance myself from them. Arnook said he would come to visit Hydronia soon to tell everyone there what had happened. I waved to the people I knew, and we got on the raft and zoomed toward Hydronia.