Tashi
He watched as the young girl left the room, the heavy door clicking shut behind her. Elder Tashi looked down at the Pai Sho board, reaching up to scratch at his wrinkled cheek.
"Thank you for the lesson, honorable elder," Tanza's parting words still echoed in his mind.
"Hmm..." Tashi mumbled to himself, leaning over the grid.
As he looked closer at the pieces they had each laid out, he realized just how deeply her thoughts had strayed. The girl had been looking at the board and imagining a massive strike by the Fire Nation against the Earth Kingdom, and he had been too quick to chide her for it.
While it was indeed ingenious for a six-year-old to quickly adapt her mind and see a game board as a shifting battlefront, he had made sure to remind her that real conflict had far more moving pieces than one person could ever foresee.
Yet, a dark question lingered in his chest. For a six-year-old to already develop a mind that thought in terms of battle lines and territory... where had it come from? Was her brief experience on that Fire Nation island truly so terrifying that it had caused something in her to snap, turning her into this? Or had she always been this way—an analytical, hyper-cautious mind that looked at the world with nothing but suspicion?
For a simple young airbender...
Tashi stopped himself, shaking his head. No, he should not call young Tanza a simple airbender. That would not do the child justice. If anything, the hawk letters he had received from Master Paaru in the Western Temple made perfect sense now. Paaru had written that Tanza was leagues above her peers, seeing the world with a frighteningly deep intellect. Looking at the grid now, it truly seemed as though Tanza was an old soul of the wind, born into a body far too small for her.
Tashi grumbled softly, his gaze tracing the lines of the board again. The little girl was right to be afraid of a clash between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. A fire that massive would inevitably spread, spilling out until it consumed the other nations.
He knew firsthand what Sozin had already accomplished. Not too long ago, the Fire Lord had sent military forces to establish permanent colonies in the Earth Kingdom, such as Yu Dao. Avatar Roku had stepped in, forcing Sozin to withdraw his active troops and ending the localized fighting, but the colonists had been allowed to stay.
Because of that compromise, the Fire Nation now held a permanent foothold on the coastal lands. Not only that, but they had recently seized a sacred island belonging to the North and South Water Tribes, claiming it as their own and practically annexing it.
Reaching down, Tashi picked up the last piece Tanza had placed on the board. He would much rather a bright mind like hers spend her days studying the wind, mastering her tiers, and earning her tattoos at her own natural pace. But the world was not as kind as most of his fellow monks liked to believe.
Twisting the piece between his thumb and index finger, Tashi clacked it back down against the wooden edge.
Spirits help us... he grouched silently. He had never thought he would live to be an old man drowning in worry over the fate of the world. Everything had been so much simpler when he was just a boy running along the temple walkways.
But now he was just a grumpy old man, fully aware of the wider world and the terrible disasters about to cascade the moment Avatar Roku passed away. He wasn't wrong about the moving pieces, either; there were far more active forces in motion than anyone could see on a single board.
The Earth Kingdom was politically fractured, left deeply vulnerable long after the death of Avatar Kyoshi and the historic chaos of Chin the Conqueror's bloody campaigns. That ancient power vacuum was exactly what had allowed Fire Lord Sozin to exploit the continent, aggressively advancing into its western territories.
Worse still, the central government in Ba Sing Se was too weak, stagnant, and under-equipped to properly defend its own western provinces. The Earth King sat in a palace of blind ignorance while the outer realms frayed.
So yes, the girl had every right to fear the storm on the horizon. Tashi had to give the young mind credit for piecing together such a massive truth from so little. He could already guess how it would play out; once the real invasion began, the Earth Kingdom governors and citizens to the east would be left entirely to fend for themselves against a relentless, burning force.
Tashi sighed, sweeping his gaze across the grid one last time. She had seen the danger, but she was still just a child. It wasn't her job to carry the weight of the coming storm. It was up to the White Lotus to find, guide, and protect the next Avatar when the time came.
Tanza, One week later
A week had passed in a blur of steady routines. Between deep study, intense training, and her decisive airball victories, Tanza had successfully adjusted to the high-energy local boys. She managed it mostly by letting Jamyang act as the quiet mediator, trusting him to step in and corral the younger ones whenever they got a little too excited.
But today was the final day of her temporary stay at the Southern Air Temple. By tomorrow morning at sunrise, she and her master would be gone, flying away aboard Juun with little Hachi trailing faithfully beside them in the open sky.
Near midday, Tanza was deep in the middle of her airbending practice. She moved a swift, rhythmic current of wind around her body, her arms tracing rapid, clean arcs through the air to shape the gale. From across the training grounds, she spotted Jamyang walking toward her through the crowd of local acolytes.
He offered a relaxed smile, raising a hand in a friendly greeting. Tanza smoothly stepped through her final forms, drawing the wind to a gentle stop as he arrived.
"Heh, you know, I think you're the only kid your age who can reach that level of airbending so far," Jamyang remarked, looking at the dissipating currents with genuine respect.
Once she fully settled her stance, Tanza turned to face him with her own calm, genial smile. "Yes, well, I do enjoy the exercise," she responded simply. "Bending the wind has been a rather fruitful adventure as well." she remarked with a rueful grin.
It was a short, direct answer, and absolutely none of it was a lie. Her eyes tracked his calm posture before she continued. "But you have your own merits, too. You certainly know how to be the mature one of your group."
For a ten-year-old, Jamyang carried a rare sense of responsibility, always taking it upon himself to correct and guide his wild juniors.
"If I did not know any better," Tanza added smoothly, "I would say you certainly have the makings of a future master."
Jamyang's cheeks quickly turned a faint shade of red. He reached up behind his shaved head, letting out a nervous, self-deprecating laugh. "Nah, me a master? I don't think I'm anywhere near that level yet!"
He lowered his hand and gestured toward her instead, his eyes full of curiosity. "I mean, look at you. What tier did you say you were working on now?"
Tanza offered him a thin, knowing smile. "I am actually working on my fifth through tenth tiers simultaneously. They are nothing too difficult once you truly understand the basics and steadily work your way up from the foundational laws of airbending." She earned a choking gasp of surprise from him and some of the other acolytes, but she ignored them.
She nodded her chin at him, shifting the focus of the conversation. "But enough about my training. Did you have another reason for approaching me, or did you simply come over to pay me compliments?"
Realizing she was entirely right and that he had completely lost his train of thought, Jamyang snapped his fingers and brought his fist down into his open palm. "That's right! Today is your last day here, isn't it?"
Tanza gave him a single, silent nod.
Jamyang leaned forward a bit, his voice dropping to an excited, confidential tone. "Well, then I can't just let you leave tomorrow without showing you something of mine! These past weeks with you playing airball with us have been awesome. It would be a real shame for you to head out without seeing the neatest spot on this mountaintop."
He leaned back to stand straight again, swiping his thumb across his nose in a bashful habit. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I've had a fair share of girls around our age visit the Southern Temple over the years. But none of them ever beat me at airball!"
Tanza lets one side of her mouth quirk up in a thin, amused expression.
Having previously lived an entire life as a male, she understood the mechanics of his pride perfectly. Being fiercely competitive with any peer—especially one who had just soundly defeated them—was practically woven into the fiber of growing up as a boy. It was a universal trait, whether in her past life or among the mountaintops of the Air Nomads.
But as her gaze lingered on Jamyang, she felt a quiet sense of relief. At his age, his boasting was entirely innocent, driven by a simple, healthy desire to show off a cool secret to someone he respected. It was completely free of the exhausting, awkward romantic tension she would have to navigate if they were just a few years older. Here, she was just a remarkably talented peer to be reckoned with.
"Is that so?" Tanza replied, her tone laced with a gentle, teasing dryness. "Then I suppose I should feel highly honored to be the first to break your winning streak, Jamyang."
Jamyang let out another bashful laugh, his face turning a slightly deeper shade of pink, though he held his head high. "Hey, a win's a win! I can admit when I'm beaten. But seriously, follow me." He motioned for her to do so, "The paths down this side of the peak get pretty narrow, so watch your step."
Turning on his heel, the older boy led her away from the bustling training grounds, bypassing the main stone plazas and heading toward a lesser-used trail that cut into the lower slopes of the mountain. Tanza smoothed down her yellow-and-orange robes, stepping into a calm, measured pace behind him as the chatter of the other acolytes slowly began to fade into the distance.
The smooth stone plazas of the temple vanished behind them, swallowed by a thick, rising mist as the trail began its steep descent. The path was ancient—little more than a narrow ribbon of weathered rock carved directly into the sheer face of the mountain.
Far below, the great southern valley opened up like a sea of emerald green, its ancient forests pierced by jagged stone spires that rose from the depths.
The air grew cool and heavy with the scent of pine and wild orchids. Golden-flower trees clung tenaciously to the cliffside above them, dropping bright, sunny petals that swirled through the air every time a stray current of wind swept up the canyon.
Jamyang leaped lightly down a set of steep, uneven stone steps, his footing entirely effortless. He glanced back to make sure Tanza was keeping up, but seeing her perfectly balanced, measured strides, he smiled and fell into a comfortable narrative.
"You know, traveling around the world is the best part of being an apprentice," Jamyang began, his voice echoing slightly against the damp rock wall. He looked out over the vast horizon, his eyes bright with memory. "My master took me on a grand tour across the Earth Kingdom for a few years before we finally came back home to the temple. We saw so many incredible places!"
He paused, navigating a sharp bend where the cliff dropped off into a breathtaking, thousand-foot void. "If you and Master Kelsang get the chance, you should definitely ask her to take you to Kyoshi Island. It's this massive, rocky place surrounded by rough seas, and they have these incredibly cool battle girls there called the Kyoshi Warriors!"
Jamyang stopped for a moment, turning around to face her as he walked backward down a gentler slope, gesturing animatedly with his hands. "They're completely non-benders, but man, they are tough! They train all day in this strict martial style, and they paint their faces with heavy white and red makeup and wear thick armor to look exactly like Avatar Kyoshi did. They even fight with these heavy metal fans. I saw one of them flip an Earth Kingdom sailor twice her size right onto his back!"
Tanza listened carefully, keeping her steps steady as she took in the lush, dramatic scenery. Curious about the island itself, as she has yet to hear of it till now. "They sound remarkably formidable," Tanza replied, offering a polite nod as the path leveled out onto a wide, grass-lined ridge. "I might have to make sure we pass through there during our travels."
As they continued to descend, she spoke more, "However, just the other day, Master Kelsang explained that our immediate route is taking us further south. We are going to visit the Southern Water Tribe next." she explained.
From the name itself, the group was either created by Avatar Kyoshi, or styled themselves after her and trained to be like her; she was banking on the former if anything.
Jamyang turned back around, nodding understandingly as the distant, soothing rush of a waterfall began to grow louder through the trees. "The South Pole, huh!?" He smiled a bit more, "Heh, that's going to be freezing. Make sure you pack a lot of heavy furs." He lightly warned.
"I am sure we will manage," Tanza murmured with a faint smile, her eyes tracking the shifting clouds below. "But once we finally leave the south pole and head back north, I will be sure to ask my master about a detour. I would find it highly educational to see those warriors for myself."
The narrow trail finally twisted past a cluster of thick bamboo, opening up directly onto the hidden ledge. It was a spectacular, secluded alcove. A small, crystal-clear waterfall cascaded smoothly down a mossy rock face, emptying into a deep, still pool that threw a refreshing, cool mist into the air.
Golden-flower trees hung low over the water, shedding bright petals that floated lazily downstream. From this exact vantage point, the entire southern valley stretched out below them, a massive sea of green forests and white clouds trapped between the giant mountain peaks.
Jamyang walked out toward the grassy edge, taking a deep breath of the crisp air. He turned back to her, rubbing the back of his neck with a small, self-deprecating smile.
"Well, here it is," Jamyang admitted, gesturing out toward the horizon. "I mean, I'm probably not the only acolyte who knows about this place, to be honest. But I just figured you really should see the wider area of the temple before you leave tomorrow. Out of all the spots on this peak, this one is my absolute favorite place to meditate!"
Tanza walked up to the edge, her eyes scanning the neat, orderly lines of the canyon and the perfect stillness of the pool. The absolute lack of noise and chaos satisfied her deep need for quiet structure.
"It is an exceptional location," Tanza admitted, offering a genuine nod of approval. "The spot has the perfect view and ambience for someone to perform their meditation. It genuinely brings a serene peace to the mind."
Jamyang beamed at her reaction, puffing his chest out just a little bit with a proud grin. "I knew you'd like it!"
As the two settled into a quiet silence, Tanza looked out over the valley, weighing her options. She wanted to reciprocate Jamyang's kindness. He had been willing to trust her and bring her to his absolute favorite spot on the mountain, and it only felt right to offer something back in return.
An idea quickly hatched in her mind. She turned away from the horizon and looked directly at the older boy.
"Well, I can't very well leave tomorrow without leaving something behind as well," Tanza remarked, immediately catching his attention.
Jamyang shifted his stance, looking over at her with a curious expression.
"If you are willing to show me something of yours," Tanza reasoned, her lips twitching with a faint hint of mischief, "I suppose it is only right that I show you what I have of mine."
"Oh? Oh, yeah?!" Jamyang turned fully to face her now, his eyes brightening as his focus locked onto her. "What is that!?"
Tanza raised her hands slightly. "Put your hands together first," she instructed calmly.
Showing an ever-growing curiosity, Jamyang didn't hesitate. He brought his palms flat against each other just as she asked, staring at her to see what would happen next.
"Now, rub them together," Tanza challenged him, a small, knowing smirk finally appearing on her face. "What do you feel?"
Jamyang began sliding his palms back and forth against each other. His brow furrowed, his lower lip quirked to the side as he thought about it, trying to figure out the trick. To him, the answer seemed almost too simple.
"Uh... heat?" Jamyang muttered. He stopped rubbing his hands together, lowering them slightly as he looked back up at her in confusion. "Like... a burning feeling?"
Tanza kept her calm expression exactly as it was. She turned smoothly to face the open cliffside, dropping her center of gravity into a firm, precise stance.
"Now, imagine wind doing that," she added softly.
Jamyang's eyes widened a fraction as her words sank in.
Having already spent at least two years working on this concept, Tanza had done her best to refine it. She had trained her bending to conjure faster currents, ensuring she could summon the technique easier to her will on command. She extended one hand forward, and the air around her palm instantly whipped into a violently swirling disk of wind. A split second later, she held her other hand out beside her, conjuring an identical disk spinning in the exact opposite direction.
With a deliberate, controlled motion, Tanza brought her hands together, forcing the opposing, high-speed currents to clash directly against one another.
By willing the air molecules to violently compress and vibrate against each other at extreme speeds, she generated massive kinetic friction. The trapped wind between the disks rapidly grew scorching hot, glowing a dangerous, searing red as the currents fused into a single, tightly packed blade of superheated air.
Tanza glanced sideways to see Jamyang standing completely frozen, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in sheer disbelief. Looking at his shocked expression, she let out a proud, confident smirk.
"You should learn to think outside the box more, Jamyang," she challenged him, her voice entirely calm despite the humming heat in her hands. "There is far more to the wind than what they teach us in the temples."
With a sharp, fluid snap of her wrist, she swung her arm forward and let the glowing disk loose.
The superheated blade sliced through the sky with a sharp, high-pitched hiss. It rocketed across the gap, cleanly shaving the top off a massive golden-flower tree on the opposite ridge. The moment the cutting edge passed through the wood, the fiery energy dissipated harmlessly into the sky. A second later, the severed top of the tree tipped over and fell into the canyon below with a loud, echoing thump.
Remaining true to the nature of a ten-year-old boy, Jamyang's mind instantly flooded with a desperate desire to learn more. What he had just witnessed defied every rule of traditional airbending he had ever been taught.
He palmed his shaved head in absolute awe, his fingers clutching his scalp as his brain scrambled to process the sight. "What... how... huh... wazzit... that—" He sputtered helplessly, trying to make sense of the physics before finally forcing a coherent sentence out. "How did you even learn to do that?! Just from thinking about two things rubbing together?!"
Tanza simply kept her genial smile in response. "Give or take, yes," she answered simply, her tone entirely casual. "I imagined what it would be like, so I tried it." It wasn't the full truth, but it was the basic gist more or less.
After the initial burst of excitement finally died down on his end, Jamyang looked back across the canyon toward the severed tree trunk. A sudden wave of caution washed over him. "...But man... I mean... it looks sorta dangerous, though," he remarked, the sheer destructive power of the blade sinking in.
Yet, the anxiety lasted only a second before he zeroed right back in on the trick she had just invented. His eyes locked onto hers. "Hey, do you think I can learn that?!" He asked with an eager look and fists lightly clenched beside him.
Tanza shook her head, her smile fading into a slight frown. "That is up to you. I am still working on it myself, and I am not at the level I would like to be to teach it to anyone yet." she reasoned, as she'd much rather master it in totality before she teaches it.
Then, her lips twitched upward with a hint of a challenge once more. "But don't let me stop you from figuring it all out on your own." Afterall, it wasn't like she could stop him from across the world.
A fierce, ambitious gleam instantly lit up Jamyang's eyes. He puffed out his chest, completely hooked by the challenge. "Oh, you bet I wanna figure it out! A whole new type of airbending? You bet I'm going to figure it out!" he boasted, his competitive pride completely reignited by the prospect of mastering a secret technique.
The crisp, freezing air of the early morning bit at Tanza's cheeks as she stood on the massive stone launch pad. The sun was just beginning to crack over the distant eastern peaks, painting the clouds in sharp streaks of amber and violet.
Beside her, the massive form of Juun, Master Kelsang's veteran sky bison, let out a deep, rumbling low that vibrated right through the stone floor. Little Hachi, the young bison calf trailing faithfully behind them, mirrored the sound with a high-pitched, enthusiastic chirp of his own, his six legs shuffling impatiently in the morning chill.
"All set, Tanza?" Master Kelsang called out.
Her master offered a confident smile as she hopped effortlessly up onto Juun's head, settling comfortably right between his massive horns. She took hold of the heavy leather reins with practiced ease.
"Yes, Master," Tanza replied smoothly.
With a fluid, practiced leap, Tanza channeled a small current of air beneath her feet to lift herself gracefully up onto the saddle, smoothing down her heavy traveling robes the moment she landed. Everything was neatly packed, balanced, and secured for the long, freezing flight down to the South Pole.
But just as she turned to settle into her seat, a chaotic chorus of shouting echoed across the stone courtyard.
"Wait! Wait up!"
Tanza looked over the edge of the saddle. Rocketing onto the takeoff platform in a blur of messy orange robes came Gyahn, his wide, gap-toothed grin visible even from a distance. Right on his heels were the twins, Gio and Gyi, sprinting in perfect, high-energy synchronization. Trailing a few paces behind the rowdy pack was Jamyang, running at a much more dignified pace but clearly winded from trying to keep up with them.
"You're leaving too fast!" Gyahn cried out, skidding to a halt near Juun's massive flat tail, waving his arms wildly.
"We brought you—" Gio started.
"—some sweet potato cakes!" Gyi finished.
Gio held up a small, neatly wrapped banana-leaf parcel, tossing it upward. Tanza reached out and caught it deftly, noting the warmth of the fresh food against her palms.
"Thanks for letting us push you around, Tanza!" Gyahn yelled up, completely misremembering how overwhelmed she had been by their initial meeting.
Jamyang finally caught up, delivering a light, habitual disciplinary flick to the back of Gyahn's head to quiet him down. He stepped forward, looking up at Tanza in the saddle with a relaxed, meaningful smile.
"Have a safe flight to the Water Tribe, Tanza," Jamyang called up, his voice steady and polite. "Don't freeze out there. And make sure you come back to visit us when you're a master."
"Yeah! Come back soon!" the twins cheered together.
A genuine smile graced Tanza's features. She looked down at the chaotic, fiercely loyal group of boys who had made her quiet routine so wonderfully noisy over the past few weeks.
"Thank you," Tanza replied, her voice carrying clearly over the rising mountain wind. She offered them a formal, respectful bow from the saddle, before looking directly at Jamyang with a small, challenging smirk. "Keep practicing your forms, Jamyang. I expect a real challenge the next time we play airball."
Jamyang grinned broadly and gave her a sharp nod.
"Yip-yip!" Master Kelsang called out, snapping the reins.
Juun gave one final, thunderous roar, slammed his massive beaver-like tail against the stone pad, and launched his massive body forward into the open sky. Little Hachi leaped right after them, his tiny tail wagging as he caught the draft.
Tanza sat back in the saddle, watching the towering spires of the Southern Air Temple and the four waving figures on the launch pad slowly shrink into tiny dots, completely swallowed by the endless, swirling sea of white clouds.