The Origin of Roh-Shan

Sewer

The sewage tunnel seemed endless, and the ledge was less than two feet wide, causing the occasional slip and close call. Kota lit up a flame in her palm to see where they were going, but her light mixed with the green-tiled walls cast everything in an awful green glow.

Ara and Iden led the way silently at a near running speed, but the others weren't quite so sure on their feet.

They also weren't exactly dumb enough to follow the people who kept trying to kidnap them. Roh slowed and turned back for a brief moment. "What if we go the other way?" she whispered.

"It ends at the palace in that direction, feel free to walk right back into the Fire Lord's shit. Literally." Iden called back.

Roh hesitantly turned and carried on, a little impressed that Iden even heard her.

After running for what felt like forever, Roh spotted blue sky up ahead, and felt the slightest bit of a cool breeze moving in. Ara slowed and came to a stop. Iden stopped sharply behind him, nearly making Roh slide right into her. Kota stopped as well, pedaling her arms to stay balanced.

Haider wasn't so lucky. He realized too late that everyone was stopped, and tried to pull his arm across his chest for balance, but without both arms, his body was still unbalanced. He fell towards the brownish, chunky water, letting out a "Waah!"

Kota tried to grab his shirt, but he was too far gone. She let go and balanced herself out, only getting splashed as Haider went fully under.

Roh just gagged, and Iden laughed.

A second later, his head popped up. "Help! Someone get in here! I can't swim!" He thrashed his arm wildly, slipping under again.

Iden kept laughing. To everyone's surprise, Ara sighed and jumped in, landing on his feet in the waist-high water. He reached down and pulled Haider up by his shirt. "Stand the fuck up, kid."

Haider realized how shallow it was and stood on his own, swatting Ara away and trying to spit away the liquid around his lips. Realizing his hands were just as covered in crap, he quickly reached for Ara again, wiping his face on Ara's shirt where it hadn't touched the water yet.

"Ew, stop!" Ara shoved him away, and Haider's foot slipped and he disappeared under the surface again.

He came back up spitting and screaming in horror, which bounced around and echoed through the tunnel. It mixed nicely with Iden's near-uncontrollable laughter. She doubled over, wheezing, and sat down fully, dipping her feet in the water.

Roh gagged again.

Kota finally saw what was happening. Just ahead, the ledge narrowed until it was gone altogether. They would have to walk the rest of the way.

Iden caught her breath and pushed off the ledge. Being considerably shorter than her brother, the waterline reached her mid-chest. They both started trudging through the water towards the end of the tunnel.

Haider waited for the other two, still spitting. He couldn't even open his eyes.

Kota shrugged and sat down on the ledge, ready to slip in like Iden had.

"Wait!" Roh grabbed her friend's shoulder, her other hand flat against the wall. "I can't."

"You have to. C'mon, same time." Kota urged, glad Haider was too preoccupied to make some comment about it. She held Roh's hand as Roh sat down also. "One, two," Kota didn't wait for three, and instead let go of Roh's hand and pushed on her back, forcing her into the water.

Roh screamed as they both slipped in, but caught her balance. She got her bearings and looked at Haider, and gagged again, the sound causing Haider to gag also.