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Remembrance Chpt 2

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Chapter II: Water

Korra kept her head lowered as her Waterbending Master led her through the streets of the Southern Water Tribe.
She couldn't say how she felt. Mostly… she just felt numb. She had just gotten out of the Chief's house, and had been told that she was the newest incarnation of the Avatar! When Chief Sokka had told her that she was the reincarnation of Avatar Aang, the Avatar who had died 13 years ago, she couldn't quite place the look that he had given her at that time, as if he were looking upon the face of an old friend. There was talk among the villagers that Chief Sokka had been personal friends with the previous Avatar. When he looked at her, he was probably seeing Avatar Aang and not her… not Korra, a thirteen year old Water Tribe girl.
Now that she had been told of her identity, she was being led to the Southern Water Tribe's Temple of the Avatar. It was a place where Korra herself had never set foot and, as far as she was aware, only a very select group of people were allowed inside.
Korra was still very much in shock and couldn't process what was going on around her, or the people that were bowing to her as she walked past, referring to her as 'Avatar Korra'.
The Temple of the Avatar was a huge, ornate building that was made almost entirely out of crystallized ice. Legend said that the previous Avatar, Aang, had Bent the Temple from the ice himself. It wasn't a shocking story. Avatar Aang had done a lot of building during his time as Avatar. He pretty much single-handedly restored the Southern Water Tribe, the four Air Temples, and created an entirely new city, Republic City, during his time. There were countless buildings around the world that attributed Avatar Aang as their creator.
Her Sifu turned and looked down at the frightened girl. "There is nothing to fear inside, my dear." He said soothingly.
Seeing that the girl was unsure of herself, her Sifu took pity on her and stepped into the Temple first. As he stepped in, he froze, and Korra almost ran into him. "Master Katara…" He whispered.
A little shocked, Korra peered around her Master and saw that Master Katara, the greatest Waterbender in the entire Southern Water Tribe… and probably the whole world, was all ready there.
Master Katara was the only living person inside the temple, but there were statues… Korra gazed in wonder. There must've been a couple hundred statues! But Master Katara didn't seem to be impressed with the sheer number of statues filling this place… she seemed to be only interested in one.
A single statue stood at the place of honor in the middle of the Temple, and that was the one that Master Katara gazed at. It took Korra some time to recognize that the statue was of an Air Nomad. She had never seen an Air Nomad in her life, and only knew about them from pictures. Her Waterbending Master had taught her that over a hundred and fifty years ago, at the start of the Great War, the Air Nomads had been nearly wiped out. Only one Air Nomad survived the genocide, and that was Avatar Aang. Now the only Air Nomads known to be alive were Avatar Aang's sons and daughters and grandchildren.
Judging from the fact that this was the Temple of the Avatar, Korra guessed that the statue was of Avatar Aang.
When the statue was carved, it appeared that Avatar Aang was in his twenties. He was very handsome, and the sculptor had carved him with a kind and gentle smile, a smile that did not seem to fit Korra's image of the most powerful Avatar in history, the only known Avatar who had mastered an unknown Bending technique known as Energybending, which gave Avatar Aang the ability to take away someone's Bending power, which he did most famously in his epic battle with Firelord Ozai. This statue was not of a powerful warrior who had ended a hundred year war at the age of thirteen, but of a kind and gentle spirit.
She watched as Master Katara took a step towards the statue. "Aang…" She whispered, surprising Korra. She had never heard anyone refer to Avatar Aang so informally. Master Katara reached up and caressed the stone face of Avatar Aang with a lover's touch.
"Master Katara." Korra's Sifu spoke loudly.
Master Katara's hand fell away from the statue's face. "Oh… I didn't hear you walk in." She turned around and her eyes fell on Korra. "I suppose she's been told now?"
"Yes." Korra's Sifu said. "She knows that she is the Avatar incarnate."
Master Katara met Korra's eyes, and the young girl felt herself shrink under the old woman's gaze. There was something in her eyes that Korra did not like, a deep sorrow that she had an unexplainable need to quell.
Without speaking another word, Master Katara walked out of the Temple.
Korra looked up at her Sifu. "Sifu, does Master Katara hate me?"
Her Sifu looked down at her with shock. "Why would you say that?"
"Master Katara has always looked down her nose at me, like I'll never be good enough. And, now that I think about it… the Avatar is supposed to be trained by the most powerful Bender in each discipline. Master Katara is the most powerful Waterbender in the world, and she refused to teach me. I—I'm not saying you were a bad Master, but…"
"Don't, Korra, I understand." Her Sifu said with a sigh. "It's true that I'm not the Waterbender that Master Katara is, but she does have a reason for not wanting to train you, and for being upset at you, though it is no fault of your own. Master Katara's life is a sad one. She was once the pride and joy of the Water Tribe, she married a man with the sort of status that most women could never even dream of marrying. She loved this man very much and had many children with him. However, her husband died prematurely and it broke her. Her children have all left and visit her but rarely. They have all moved on to raising their own families and have little time to look after their mother. Thankfully, Chief Sokka is her older brother, and he takes care of her. But… that is not enough to fill the hole that was left by her husband and her children."
Korra had no idea who Master Katara's family was, but she all ready felt resentful of them. How could they abandon their mother in her time of need, even if they did have families to raise themselves? How could they just turn their backs on the woman who had raised them?
The only person in this story that she did not resent was Master Katara's unknown husband. After all, it probably wasn't his fault that he had died. "Who was her husband?" Korra asked.
"Her husband? He stands there…" Her Sifu pointed… right at Avatar Aang's statue. "Master Katara was very important to Avatar Aang. She was his friend, teacher, lover, wife, and eventually, the mother of his children."
"You mean she was married to… my previous life?" Korra asked, shocked.
"Indeed." Her Sifu said. "Their love was pure and strong. Some say it is this love that allowed Avatar Aang to over-power Firelord Ozai in their epic battle and allowed him to take away his Firebending. So, I suppose you can understand why she would look down on you. To her, you are the Avatar, but you are not her beloved husband. Don't judge Master Katara too harshly. She has suffered many years, and I fear that she is growing wary of this life. Many believe she wants to enter the Spirit World and be reunited with her husband."
"You mean she wants to die?" Korra asked.
"Do not blame yourself for this, Korra. You were born as the Avatar because Avatar Aang passed away, not the other way around. Now it is time for us to show you the reason that you were brought here."
"Why was a brought here, Sifu?" Korra asked.
"Each Avatar acts as a spiritual guide for their reincarnation." Her Sifu said. "You are to enter the Spirit World and speak to Avatar Aang. He will be able to guide you on your quest to master the other elements."
"But… I've never been to the Spirit World before." Korra said. "How will I be able to get there?"
"From what Master Katara told me from her experience with her husband, the first time you attempt to contact your previous life, he will use his power to pull you there. This can only be done on during the Winter and Summer Solstices, which is why you were told today, on the Winter Solstice. Once you experience this, you will be able to travel to the Spirit World yourself through intense meditation."
"You mean I can actually meet Avatar Aang?" Korra asked.
"Yes." Her Sifu said. "Everything we know about the Avatar has come from Lady Katara's knowledge of her husband. Avatar Aang was able to enter the Spirit World through intense mediation during times of great strife and speak to the Avatar that came before him, Avatar Roku. Now, I'm afraid it is almost time. I must leave. Avatar Aang's energy will soon fill this room and drag everyone in it to the Spirit World. Only the Avatar can travel freely back and forth, so it is not wise for me to linger here." He walked towards the door. "Be strong, Korra." He said as he shut the door.
Korra slowly turned away from the door and looked back at Avatar Aang's statue. She thought of Master Katara, in this room by herself and caressing the face of her husband who had been dead for thirteen years.
She moved closer to him, studying the face of her predecessor… the most powerful Avatar in history. A few moments later, the statues eyes and arrow shaped tattoos began to glow, and the room was suddenly filled with clouds and a gentle breeze. Korra blinked in confusion and she found herself standing on the top of a mountain. There was a man in front of her, and she recognized him from his statue. It was Avatar Aang, appearing as he did in his twenties. Upon seeing him, Korra realized that the statue was wrong… it did a very poor job of portraying his gentle spirit. Avatar Aang's very presence seemed to ooze peace and tranquility. He was in a meditative trance, probably from pulling her over to the Spirit World.
Within moments, Avatar Aang opened his eyes… Gray eyes… and smiled at her. "Welcome to the Spirit World, Korra. I've been waiting for you. Though I suppose I could have had it worse. My predecessor waited for me for over a hundred years."
Without knowing what else to do, Korra instantly bowed. "Avatar Aang."
Avatar Aang stood up and moved over to her. "Let me have a look at you." He said, studying her face. "Yes… you are Southern Water Tribe."
Korra realized that he was probably very familiar with the features of Southern Water Tribe women. "I've met your wife." Korra blurted out.
For the first time, Avatar Aang's eyes became sad, and the clouds around them turned a dark gray, as if they were affected by his moods. "I know. I've been watching over you for your whole life, and I've seen my wife through your eyes. It brings me unending pain that I was forced to leave her so soon, and I wish every day that I could bring her comfort once more… but I can do that no longer. That is why I want you to do one small task for me."
"What is that?"
"As you travel on your journey, you will eventually need to Master Airbending. My sons and daughters are the only ones alive who are capable of teaching you. They are all masters and any one of them could teach you, but I want you to seek out my eldest son, Tenzin."
"Tenzin." Korra repeated.
"When I lived, he was planning on making a life for himself in Republic City, so you might be able to find him there." Avatar Aang said. "Tell Tenzin to take care of his mother."
"But my Waterbending Sifu said that all of Master Katara's children have abandoned her."
"Tenzin left because he felt like he was being turned into me." Avatar Aang said. "He is the child that most resembles me, and he knew that my wife saw me every time she looked at him. He couldn't stand the thought of me being replaced in any sense and left. But Katara cannot be alone any longer. It is not yet her time to join me here in the Spirit World, and I do not want the woman I love to live her remaining years in a depressed state. Tell Tenzin to look after his mother."
"I will, Avatar Aang." Korra said.
"And as for you other teachers…" He paused thoughtfully. "It's a shame. I wished Katara would have taught you, but I guess she cannot live with the pain of having trained two Avatars, one of whom she fell in love with. Your Earthbending Sifu will be Queen Toph of Omashu. She was my own Earthbending Sifu and the most powerful Earthbender in the world. Her skills with Earthbending surpassed even mine. If you ask nicely, she may even teach you the secret of Metalbending. And for Fire… my Firebending teacher, Firelord Zuko is still alive. You will learn from him. I just hope that his grudge against me hasn't carried over to you."
"Grudge?" Korra asked. She knew that Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko had been great friends, but had some sort of falling out a few years before Avatar Aang died.
"It is neither here nor there." Aang said. "Even if Zuko won't teach you, he will be able to recommend someone."
"Thank you, Avatar Aang." Korra said, bowing. "So, do all Avatars ask their reincarnations to clean up their leftovers for them?"
Aang laughed. "Consider yourself lucky. When I first met my previous incarnation, Avatar Roku, he basically said: 'By the way, I accidentally let a hundred year war start because of my negligence. Would you mind cleaning up after me? And while you're at it, go ahead and master the elements in a few months. Good luck'."
Hearing it like that, Korra had to admit that maybe she got off lucky after all.
"Korra… one of the hardest parts about being the Avatar is that sometimes you have to pay for the mistakes that your previous incarnations make. I almost got killed by a Spirit monster because of the previous Water Tribe Avatar's actions. Avatar Kyoshi caused me plenty of trouble… the Earth Kingdom was nearly destroyed because of the Dai Li she created… not to mention she almost got me boiled in oil. Speaking of that, avoid the town of Chin in the Earth Kingdom if you possibly can, unless you want to eat un-fried doughy versions of me. And Avatar Roku's actions, of course, started the war that almost killed me. All I can hope that I made as many right choices as I could and might help minimize your troubles. And, remember, Korra, any one of your past lives and I are here to help you if you need us. If you need to call on us again, meditate on the deepest part of your soul. You will find us there."
"Okay, Avatar Aang. Is there anything else?"
Avatar Aang said nothing for a few seconds. "Yes." He finally answered. "Tell my wife that I love her and I miss her. And that we'll be reunited soon."
The clouds swirled again, blocking out Korra's view, and when they cleared, she was back inside the Temple. She looked up just in time to see Avatar Aang's statue stop glowing.
For a while she didn't move, simply thinking about the things that she had heard. And then she bowed. "Thank you, Avatar Aang." She said. She turned and walked out of the Temple.
To her shock, Master Katara seemed to be waiting for her… or maybe it wasn't for her. Korra could see the anticipation in Katara's eyes as the doors opened, and they instantly fell when Korra stepped out into the sunlight. Was she expecting to see her husband walk out of there? Korra wondered to herself.
Without a word, Katara began to walk away. "Um… Mast… I mean… Lady Katara?" Korra called.
Katara paused in her steps. "What?" Her tone was not cruel, but it's wasn't very nice either.
"Avatar Aang told me to tell you that he loves you, misses you, and that you'll be reunited soon." Korra said.
Korra couldn't see Katara's reaction, but Katara had silent tears running down her face. A few moments later, she spoke. "Thank you." She said calmly, walking away.
This takes place when Korra is 13. Since we have no idea how old Korra is besides the fact that she’s a teenager, and considering the fact that she’s all ready mastered three elements by the time LoK starts, I’m going to assume that people decided that the Avatar can be told earlier than sixteen because of Aang, so they told Korra when she turned 13. This is by no means meant to be official. Once again, I know very little about LoK, so I’m taking liberties.

Katara was expecting to see her husband again because she remembered that the first time Aang got in contact with Roku, Roku channeled himself through Aang and appeared in physical form. She was hoping that Aang would do the same thing. The Avatar’s first duty is to clean up the mess left by the last Avatar. Trufax. Thankfully, Korra got off lucky in this regard.

Chapter 1: [link]
Next Chapter: Coming Soon...

"Avatar: The Legend of Korra" (c) Bryke
Fanfiction (c) Me
© 2010 - 2024 LightEcoSage1
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dennis51000's avatar
NEED MORE!!!! so sad..