======== 67 - The Strongest Pacifist ==========
Some acts of heroism remained beyond the notice of ordinary citizens, but if someone had actually asked me if I wanted it to stay that way... I would have answered yes. If there were other cities like this in the world, if the percentage of Lotus members who praised Aang and intended to support only him was too high, it didn't bode well for my future plans.
The elders of the Order are already convincing Aang of the righteousness of traditional views, poking my dead luck with sticks and probably already thinking about advancing their political ambitions. The Lotus has always been in favour of gaining some kind of global influence; they are like a shadow government with its own points of influence in every layer of society. And if the news spreads that we stopped the tsunami, that "we" will turn into the success of Aang alone.
So when I returned to the city, I was genuinely glad that no one suspected that the impending disaster had been stopped. A couple of soldiers were called in to build breakwaters and protect the port, but these were minor details that weren't even worth mentioning. Instead, we told the team that the problem had been solved, and then we went to rest.
"It... it was incredible, you should have seen it," Afka jumped around, attracting the attention of Airo and the rest of the crew. "They created an earthquake, and then boom, and hit the tsunami with their own. And then boom, they froze the entire sea! How many books can you squeeze out of that? We'll wring the topic dry, like a lemon!
"...You know, Afka reminds me of greedy producers who exploit their workers. Accept my sympathy, Dagoth, I didn't know how difficult your life was," said kind Uncle Airo, ready to take off his hat in my honour, to which I, with tears in my eyes, could only nod gratefully. In any case, they weren't the only ones reacting: Sokka bragged about stopping the tsunami as if he had done it himself — I had to shut him up a little before he advertised his deed. And Zuko just walked a little to the side and looked at us all in confusion.
He looked as if he was beginning to realise that he had underestimated his opponents and now had to think about it all. Not bad. It was worth finally taking the loot out of the whirlpool.
Upon arriving at our inn, the team dispersed to their rooms and began to rest. Even Katara, who had little influence on the outcome, put all her energy into helping and was now passing out along with Aang. Only Tyra remained at the limit of her strength, chatting amiably with everyone, especially the elders of the Order, not letting them bother Aang and distract him from his rest.
I simply had no right to go to bed. Seeing Zuko, looking pensive, sit down in the corner of the common room with Airo and stare at the table, I had to sit down right next to them. Nodding to Airo to let him know that I could handle everything myself, I spoke:
"How are you feeling?
"Hm?" The evil prince looked at me with a not-so-evil look. More confused... as if he had begun to doubt something. "Everything's fine. Or do you think I'm going to share news about my condition with you?"
"That would be nice, but that's not what I meant... you're clearly happy that the city wasn't destroyed. And that happiness isn't for your own life," he looked strangely at me and Airo, as if we were behaving the same way. Like two gurus who always know what others are feeling. Maybe that's why he slowly lowered his shoulders and whispered:
"I just realised that I didn't want the residents to suffer," I was surprised by this change in character, but, as if thinking that he looked weak, he quickly explained, "Our nation has always treated the poor well, it has historical roots that you probably don't even know about.
He raised his eyes with a smile and, as if doing me a favour, explained:
"Even Sozin began to support the poorest segments of the population in order to establish his rule, although he only extended this to his own nation. During his era, most conflicts took place in the political arena, in the struggle for power and resources. He was generous to the poor and won the love of the people by providing food, shelter and work — all of which contributed to his success as Fire Lord. My father adopted this tradition... although I never saw him show any warmth towards me.
"So you're already trying to set yourself apart from your father by helping more people than he did," I nodded calmly, ignoring the frown on my interlocutor's face. "I don't understand why we're not allies yet, since we both feel the same way about people.
"No, I just think we can make all nations work for us!" He slammed his fist on the table, as if making an ironclad argument against me.
"Me too! - But I was even more fired up. And even though the prince immediately grimaced, I had to continue. "There are already territories in the world where nations have mixed, but other people don't get support and feel out of place. It's a shaky world that needs to be strengthened exactly as you said at the beginning.
"...Only after we capture all the territories," I pointed at the table, no longer quite so confidently.
"And we still have to wait for that outcome. We already have an agreement that is still waiting to be fulfilled. Soon you'll see for yourself who has the upper hand in this war," he said, standing up from the table and looking at the very dissatisfied face, waving his hand at the guy, "We'll meet tomorrow and resolve this dilemma once and for all.
It sounded scary: to take someone's side and support only them. While Zuko was thinking about it, I walked across the hall, met Tai Lee at the exit and asked her about the situation. After all, the prince wasn't the only thorn in her side; the members of the order who sided with the Avatar and with whom she had been communicating could also have done something bad.
My lovely agent found out that they were hiding something and were extremely hostile towards Aang's current team. They condemned many of our decisions and clearly behaved as if they could steer Aang down a more traditional path. It's clear that we need to visit these stubborn old men before they kick the bucket, God forbid.
"This whole situation is unacceptable. The Avatar is surrounded by completely incompetent pawns.
"And where have you ever seen the prince of an enemy country, who is obviously still hostile to the Avatar, travelling with him and pretending he won't stab him in the back? The current leader is unfit to make decisions regarding the Avatar.
"Because he supports this 'Dagoth'. Airo has completely forgotten the original goals of the Lotus.
The skeletal old men whispered in their secret lair, playing a game of Pai Shao. Their words were filled with what they considered practical wisdom. They were so afraid of change that their hearts trembled at the thought of it.
"He could be understood before, but now that the Avatar has returned, we must cling to him like a lifeline. I propose spreading Rok's ideology to stir up popular unrest — we need more support against Dagoth's intrigues.
"I agree," said an innocent and even kind voice that echoed through the room, causing the old men to tense up. They all turned to the wall, where there had been no passageway before, but now there was a convenient archway with a beautiful figure standing in the centre. "Oh, did I distract you? Then allow me to provide a moment of historical context: during the time of Roku, there were troublemakers who turned Oza against the Avatar, and vice versa. The people were becoming nationalistic, which was extremely difficult to stop, so any reasonable person would say that any repetition of such a story must be nipped in the bud.
"You were eavesdropping!
"Stop, what are you going to do?
The old men broke out in a sweat after just a few steps. Well, they weren't fools, so they understood that something very cruel, possibly even bloody and very, very scary, was about to happen.
Just as they believed that the Avatar's companions needed to be replaced, I believed that the Lotus needed to be reorganised and rid of radicals.
They have no place in my order.
***
The day of rest passed very happily, and most importantly, quickly. The next day, Aang had a happy smile on his face. For the first time since entering the Avatar state, he had not harmed anyone and had simply stopped a catastrophe, which he was sincerely proud of.
The rest of the team was on edge. Today we would return to Yangchen and finally find out whether she would train us or whether we were not peaceful enough for the kindest Avatar in history. After a quick snack, we left the city and settled in the middle of a stone clearing. Even Aang looked impatient now, and happily allowed Afka to summon the spirit of her past life. In a gust of wind, her transparent body was carried to our temporary camp.
"I must admit, you achieved results faster than I expected. And most importantly, you did it better than Roku did in his time," she said, appearing extremely relaxed and speaking with obvious respect. "Not like last time, when you only expressed irritation." "And I express my particular respect for the fact that you did not seek glory for your deed. Worldly glory is not something to be proud of."
We exchanged glances, and since I saw no negativity directed at me, I was convinced that my recent deed had gone unnoticed. Still, these incarnations could only observe the world through Aang's eyes, and that made me very, very happy.
"We are ready to discuss the topic of support. The current world order is outdated, but many still do not understand this," I placed a slight emphasis on the last sentence, causing Aang to roll his eyes.
"I've been thinking about this idea since our last meeting, and I noticed one inconsistency," she raised her hand, instantly silencing us all. The atmosphere itself became heavier, as if our plan was about to be taken and smashed against someone's knee. "There is no fourth nation in the world that would support the balance you want to achieve.
"That's not important...
"The air nomads solved the problem with the dark spirits that were preventing the peoples from living," she interrupted me, freezing me in my tracks. "Now the dark spirits are running wild. No one is performing the rituals to appease them, and the idea of a common world is impossible while the curses are gaining strength. The balance of the peoples is not just an empty phrase.And I... I hadn't really thought about it. The idea of balance is that everyone fulfils their direct duties, but unlike in my world, there is a spirit side here, and centuries ago it was dealt with by the fourth nation. As soon as the world enters the industrial revolution, we will no longer fight each other, but angry, almost immortal beings. Those who, like the panda spirit from the burnt forest, have suffered at the hands of humans and want only revenge.
"I understand!" Aang exclaimed sharply. "We must restore the spiritual places of the nomads so that the idea of peace is possible. That's why you wanted to test our pacifism; without this attitude, it is impossible to achieve a truce!
"You are growing much faster than we did in our time, Aang," Yangchen smiled at him and stroked his head affectionately. "I want to believe that this is the influence of your good friends. I think I can even support their new philosophy.
And then she smiled at me. For a moment, it even seemed that there was no creature brighter and kinder, as if a halo of light had appeared around her... Could this be the influence of pacifism? Everything about these spirits is incomprehensible, so I was glad for the main thing — her support. And no, I'm not talking about some kind of spiritual guidance — she decided to teach us how to fight without causing direct harm.
Sometimes just a demonstration of strength could solve most of the problems, and sometimes a deadly weapon, which was indispensable, could defeat powerful magic without causing direct physical harm. She gave a couple of tips to each member of our team.
Take Sokku, for example. He didn't seem to carry anything particularly deadly at first — he would sometimes pick up a sword, but now even that was taking a back seat. As a result, his overall usefulness was somewhat reduced compared to if he had wielded the same bow... so Yangchen literally advised us to give him a bow and arrows, and through Aang, she passed on an interesting piece of wisdom:
"Shooting a bow is not a physical action, but a spiritual one, requiring harmony between the archer and the arrow. In my time, I turned archery into an art, and many nobles sponsored me with huge sums of money to watch and learn. Knowing people, I had to turn many of them down...
"Um... is it just me, or is she talking nonsense? - whispered Sokka in my ear, uncertainly holding the bow and quiver he had bought in the same town. "How can shooting be spiritual?
"Get used to it. These schizos don't know how to speak in normal terms.
She gave me very similar advice, saying that you also need to know how to use your strength. Being able to lift a huge rock doesn't mean I'm strong... well, at least she spoke in riddles, but training my strength and accuracy is what I've been waiting for for a long time.
Although there was one thing I had to ask for personally.
"Yangchen... can you take on Aang's form and show us how to block lightning?" While the team was still thinking about training, my question caught everyone's attention. Even Zuko, who was frozen in silent anticipation.
"A commendable request," said the spiritual lady sitting on the ground. "You must have heard that I have developed my own fighting style that allows me to avoid participating in battles," she said, smiling smugly and tilting her nose up, as if she hadn't just said that there was no point in being proud of worldly things.
Without saying that this was the first time I had heard of such a thing, I nodded. Afka even stopped blinking, as if wanting to capture every second of this moment, and in the next moment, the Avatars changed places by mutual agreement. The gust of wind that formed in Aang's place revealed a rather pretty and smiling woman, this time as if she were flesh and blood.
"Wow, they really did switch places again. How creepy does that look?" Sokka's body was covered in goosebumps. Katara exhaled silently, forced to accept it as it was. Her dear boyfriend had become a girl for the second time.
"Now... attack me," she raised her finger and looked at us all. It seemed that some found this request strange, so without thinking, I started first. If the Avatar was boasting about his powers, it would be foolish not to test them, right? Creating a stone arrow with good aerodynamics, and therefore flight speed, I launched it straight at Yangchen's body. If something had gone wrong, it would probably have been a double kill, but... my stone first froze, then disintegrated into dust only when it flew a couple of metres towards her body.
In shock, realising that my element had been so abruptly intercepted, I looked at Katara. Realising that nothing terrible was happening, she swung her water whip, not understanding at that moment when exactly the water had been intercepted, and instead of flying towards its target, the whip wrapped around Katara's arms.
"Sudden attack!" Sokka began his speech, shouting at the top of his lungs as soon as he threw the boomerang at the lady's back. He didn't even want to say that it had been blocked by a simple stream of air. "I can't miss my chance to attack the Avatar," Zuko grinned, thinking he had a great opportunity. He lunged forward and fired a barrage of fireballs with all his might... but for some reason, they didn't even reach the disappointed Yangchen. The fire went out as if a candle had been covered with a lid.
"The recklessness and cruelty of some of you irritates me," she said, turning to Sokka and tilting her head. "You're silly, aren't you?"
"...
"In any case, your attacks will never reach me. I have developed the ability to intercept attacks automatically. Still, when no one can fight, negotiations come into play," she clapped her hands kindly... but apparently deliberately omitted to mention the type of magic she could not block. Even Kioshi was no match for her, which means that Yangchen's weakness is my metal... useful to know," "Well, what about lightning... is there anyone among you who can create it?
She slowly scanned the group until a kind old man stepped forward, scratching the back of his head with an embarrassed expression.
"What an unusual request from an extremely unusual person.
Airo was about to show off his lightning.