"What is this…? How? From where?" the owl whispered feverishly. "An entirely different phonetic structure, sentence construction unlike any known language family… Where did this come from?"
"And what are you prepared to give me for that knowledge, Spirit?" A grin spread across my face. "By the way, perhaps we should sit down somewhere? After all, I'm only a weak and fragile human, not an ancient and mighty spirit, and I have the unfortunate tendency to get tired."
The bird flicked a wing. A second later, an entire swarm of foxes, dogs, cats, and assorted creatures dragged over a table, cushions, a pitcher of water, a glass, and some snacks. Apparently, the collector was hooked already.
"Well?" The owl could barely contain his impatience. Heh. For such an ancient being, he really wasn't very restrained.
"I'm interested in two things: magic and history. I want to understand the nature of bending and learn how this whole situation with the Avatar, reincarnation, and everything else began. I'd also appreciate it if you granted my companions access to your limitless collection. I'm willing to pay for them as well."
"Hm-m-m…" The owl considered it. "Very well. I shall help you find the books you need."
"There's one more problem. I'm extremely limited on time. I doubt I'll be able to stay here for more than a month and a half."
"You humans are always in such a hurry. I can solve that problem, but it will not be very pleasant for you, and I will demand greater payment."
"How much greater?"
"I am the Spirit of Knowledge. Everything that is or ever was within this library exists within my memory. I can reveal the history of this world to you through visions, show you its magic. But in exchange, you must share the knowledge of that language and the culture of that nation with me in the same way. And it will hurt."
"Only the language and culture of that nation?" I asked again, just to be safe.
"Yes," the owl nodded.
"I accept!" Quickly, before he changed his mind. Worst-case scenario, I could always "sell" him a few other languages I knew reasonably well later on — along with whatever scraps I remembered of languages I'd only encountered in passing.
"Good. Your companions may touch my books. But to properly comprehend what I will share with you, you must first prepare yourself."
"How?"
"You must learn the foundations and the key milestones upon which all else is built. Follow me."
Well, I didn't exactly have many alternatives, so I listened to the oversized parrot and followed after him.
Wan Shi Tong led me into a hall adorned with the symbols of all four elements. Four colors, four distinct arrangements of decor facing the four cardinal directions. Very symbolic.
"Reason first appeared in this world more than twenty thousand years ago. The first spirits — embodiments of the elements — awakened at the dawn of the age. After them came spirits of places, states, and phenomena. Myself among them," the owl explained. He'd aged remarkably well for someone that old. "The first and mightiest of all spirits were Raava and Vaatu. Light and Darkness. Creation and Destruction. Order and Chaos. Stillness and Motion. The moment they came into being, they locked themselves in eternal struggle… until humans appeared and found their footing in the world."
"Appeared?" I immediately latched onto the word.
"Yes. Around eleven thousand years ago, your kind emerged in the middle of the ocean upon the backs of gigantic Lion Turtles. Where you came from and for what purpose — even I do not know," the owl shook his head regretfully. "But let us continue the story…"
From the lives of spirits, the Librarian moved on to humanity, then to the first Avatar and the form of bending art that had existed in the world before the elements and remained there to this day. Forgotten by humanity. Lost to all… except the spirits.
Energybending was the ability to bend life energy itself.
This form of bending had existed long before the Avatar, before the creation of the four main bending arts, and before the rise of the four great nations. Before the Avatar came among humans, people manipulated the life energy within themselves. But when humanity discovered the four elemental arts, energybending gradually fell out of use, and all knowledge of it was lost.
And that still wasn't everything.
According to the spirit, elemental bending itself had artificial origins. Humans had been granted the power by mighty beings or spirits, most commonly the Lion Turtles — colossal creatures that lived in the ocean, with vast forests growing upon their backs and the first human settlements built there. For some reason, they had been inexplicably friendly toward humanity.
Much later, after dozens of generations of these "altered" humans, people with an inborn affinity for the elements began to appear. That marked the beginning of the end for humanity's natural energybending.
In earlier times, to accept the gift of bending an element, a person first had to prepare their life energy, strengthen their inner power. That required enormous effort and years of training, and even then success was never guaranteed.
An inborn elemental gift, meanwhile, usually began responding around the age of six or seven. With only minimal training, by twelve or thirteen a child could already become a middling bender capable of roasting, drowning, crushing, or slicing apart a couple dozen enemies, dangerous beasts, or malicious spirits. And with proper training…
Well, then you ended up with a walking death machine.
(End of Chapter)
🙌Bonus chapter for 200 power stones!
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