The Sea of Ice (Sun and Moon Book 2)

Chapter 19 - The Five Elements

Aang left Twila at the entrance. The huge, domed building stretched up toward the frozen sea above, its silver gilding glinting in the pale blue light. Twila's face was excited, and but Aang knew she was worried.

It was in the way she held her hands, pressed together and still. In the way her eyes slanted down, away from the building. In the way she stood, turned slightly toward the street as if she wanted to run.

He nodded to her before entering the building, trying to be stoic. The walls were carved bone coral, with intricate moldings depicting various spirits. Two of the spirits, bigger than the rest, were in a fearsome battle, connected by their tentacles.

Aang felt something stir inside him, some memory, as he looked at the carving. But he didn't have time to wonder why the picture was so familiar, and made him feel so... guilty.

So he kept walking, following the careful directions Twila had entrenched in his mind. He turned left at the statue of La, then right at the giant rendition of the Avatar Cycle. Down a long hallway with strangely bare walls, then through a billowing, gauzy curtain.

Into a dark room that was full of wooden doors that all looked the same, taking the far left door. Down another long hallway, this one with moldings done in silver and gold, depicting the age of the lion-turtles, when humans lived on the backs of the giant creatures.

It told a story that Aang knew, but that he also didn't know. The monks had told him that the first benders were the air bison, the moon, the dragons, and the badger-moles. But the pictures told another story, showed the lion-turtles giving the elements to large groups of people.

Aang wanted to stop and study the carvings, memorize their lines, but he kept going. Through an open archway, past the curtained doorways, turning left at the statue of Agni. He walked farther and farther through the maze that was the Great Hall, until finally, he came to the last door. It was nondescript wood, the same as all the others. The carvings on the walls were of a marriage ceremony, presided over by the Lady of Hope, the Spirit of Marriage, whose name was not known.

But Aang could feel the awe that Twila had felt when she stood here, having been led through the passages in order to give the memories to Aang. And he knew that behind this door was the Meeting Room, where the Elders waited for him.

With a deep breath, Aang pushed open the door.

**__**

"He has a right to know, Katara."

"Traitors have no rights." I don't look at him, I just watch my long fingers as they knead the dough in front of me.

"She is his daughter! You are his wife!"

"HE IS NOTHING!" I whirl on him, water from the basin rising up and curling around me defensively.

"You speak words you do not understand. You do not know YOURSELF. Until you understand the person you are, Katara, you will never be at peace." His amber eyes are angry, but Uncle doesn't yell or even continue our argument. He just leaves, the door closing behind him with a dull thud. His words make me ache inside, but I brush them off. He's wrong. I don't care what he says.

I'll never stop hating Zuko.

**__**

Five people sat in a semicircle in front of Aang. Each of their chairs was placed on a raised dais, and each dais was connected by a thin path above the ground. Aang was forced to look up at them, and from his vantage point they looked very regal and imposing.

They all looked the same--four men and one woman. All had long white hair tied back at the base of their necks. All wore long white robes with swirling gray designs at the collars, sleeves, and hems. And each wore a ring on their right middle finger--but that was where the similarities ended.

Each ring was different, matching their chair. The man closest to Aang, on the far right of the semicircle, wore a deep red ring, and his chair was of a deep red coral. Its designs were of fire and sunlight.

Beside the fire man sat a man whose ring was deep, cerulean blue. Like Katara's eyes, Aang thought, but forced the image away. His chair was of a filmy blue cloth-like substance, almost like tentacles, and they moved in the air though there was no wind.

Next to him, in the middle of the semicircle, was the woman. Her ring was clear as glass, and her chair was ice, glowing from within with the pale blue that was the color of Twila's strange bending. Etched into its contours were pictures of animals and nature.

On her other side, to Aang's left, was a third man. His ring was as green as grass, and his chair was of jade and dark gray marble, shot through with veins of gold which wove in intricate patterns that Aang didn't understand.

And finally, on the far left was the fourth man, with a ring of pure silver. His chair was white as snow, swirling with sky blue designs depicting birds and various sky creatures.

It wasn't hard to figure out what they were--the representatives of the four elements. Fire, water, earth, and air. The woman in the center, though, stood for an element Aang didn't understand.

They were silent, quietly watching as Aang studied them. "Who are you?" he asked finally, his voice seeming loud in the silent room with its plain white walls and bare floor.

""We are the Elders, Representatives of the Five Elements."" They spoke as one, their voices a disconcerting concert in the room.

"Five? There are only four-"

"Fire." The red man spoke, expressionless.

"Water." Then the blue.

"Light." The woman's voice confused him, but before he could ask, they continued.

"Earth."

"Air."

"Light isn't an ele--" Aang began, confused.

"It is the element of the Spirit World, the true element of the Avatar. The element of the spirit Raava, who bound herself to Wan so that they could defeat Vaatu, the Spirit of Darkness. As descendants of the Spirit World, we are lightbenders, able to control the Spirit Lights within ourselves."

"Spirit Lights?"

"Souls, boy. Minds. Hearts. Emotions. A human's bending stems from a deeper connection with their element, on a subconscious level. Our bending comes from our own individual consciousness."

Aang was more confused than ever. Raava? Who was that? Spirit Lights? If he hadn't witnessed Twila's mind-bending himself, he would have no idea what they were talking about.

"Oh." Aang swallowed, and gathered his courage. "Why am I here?"

""To save the world.""

_____

Oh dear, what can they mean?! 0.0

Five comments and you'll find out. XD