Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 1: The Spirit World

- Elara -

I don't think anyone could properly describe how it feels to not have a body because the idea is so complex the mortal mind is physically incapable of comprehending it. It's like you're suffocating, but you don't have the means or the need to breathe. Everything hurts, but you have nothing to feel pain. You're being ripped apart by the universe all while it's simultaneously trying to compress you into a habitable space to allow your spirit to continue to exist. It was the worst form of torment imaginable, especially for somebody that was forced out of her body unwillingly.

I sat up with a start, groaning as this wave of new sensations crashed into me all at once. I knew that I should be feeling something—pain, fear, sadness—anything that would tell me if this was real or not. If I was real or not. But I felt none of it. I just felt empty inside, like I was nothing more than a breath of air.

I shook my head as I turned my attention elsewhere, opting to spend my energy surveying my surroundings instead of wasting it on my obscure reality. I knew for a fact that I should have been in some dark and dirty Fire Nation prison, but that wasn't where I found myself. If I hadn't known any better, I would have guessed that I was in a Ba-Sing-Se monorail station. But that shouldn't have been possible, not unless I was...

"ELARA!"

I looked up just in time to see a blue blur barreling toward me, the figure lunging in my direction only to pass right through me as he let slip a surprised yelp. The boy then tumbled away for several paces before coming to an abrupt stop (well, it was more like he ran himself right into a pillar, but that was the same thing), and I was only able to catch a glimpse of those all-too-familiar markings as he struggled to pull himself to his feet.

"Aang?" I wondered out loud, my voice wavering as the airbender turned to me with a crooked grin. "Is it really you?"

"Of course, it's me, Elara!" Aang cheered as he tilted his head to one side. "Who else would I be?"

"I don't understand," I mumbled to myself as I tried to connect all the missing links. "I shouldn't be here, and you definitely shouldn't be here. The last thing I remember was..."

I cut myself short as horrific images flashed behind my eyelids, the phantoms of a monster constricting me in his murderous embrace sending shivers down my (nonexistent) spine as the memories came flooding back. I knew it was bad—I could see that it was bad—but I couldn't feel the pain I knew that I should have been feeling or the fear that should have been shutting me down. I had once again found myself feeling numb, and I couldn't explain why.

"Never mind that," I continued as Aang peered at me curiously, my suspicions suddenly seeming more like a reality. "Do you know what this place is?"

Instead of the boy in front of me offering some kind of explanation for our predicament, I was surprised to find a mysterious voice answering my question from behind me. "You are in the Spirit World," the mysterious voice said.

To say that Aang and I would have crapped our pants in that moment (given that we still had bodies) would have been an understatement. This spirit had somehow managed to slither up behind the both of us without setting off any alarms, answering my question as if I had invited her to while simultaneously scaring the living daylights out of us. Aang and I spun on our heels to see who had the audacity to frighten us like that, and I was surprised to say I was relieved by what we found.

"Princess Yue!" Aang greeted the spirit with a gentle bow.

Yue graciously returned the gesture from her position in the sky, turning to do the same to me as she spoke. "Hello, Aang. And hello to you as well, Elara."