I made up my mind. “We’ll find them.”
“Where are they?” Katara yelled.
I couldn’t see the fishing boat anywhere. We were
flying miles from shore through the storm. Pummeling
rain stung my skin and lightning crackled through
the sky. Suddenly a monstrous wave loomed over us.
I pulled on Appa’s reins. “Yip-yip!” He banked
upward, trying to fly over the wave. I can always
count on Appa to come through for me. But the wave
kept growing higher and higher. Katara and I ducked
our heads as Appa broke through the crest.
We burst through the other side and rose above
the turbulent ocean. Salt water stung my eyes.
Lightning flashed twice ahead of us. I saw a small
object floating in the distance. We had found Sokka
and the fisherman, and just in time.
The tiny fishing boat was no match for the fierce
sea. Waves crashed over the deck, pounding it like a
hammer. I was afraid it was going to sink before we
could reach them.
Sokka and the fisherman clung desperately to a
pile of rope on deck. I guided Appa toward the boat
and jumped aboard. The boat rocked so much, I
almost fell into the ocean.
Lightning struck the mast, and the heavy wooden
pole started to fall toward us. I bent a rush of air at
the mast and it crashed onto the deck next to us.
“Hold on!” I yelled. Sokka and the fisherman
caught the end of the rope I threw to them. As I
jumped into Appa’s saddle, I snapped the rope like a
whip, yanking them aboard.
In my rush to rescue Sokka and the fisherman,
I’d ignored the ocean. Once again, the shadow of
an immense wave fell over us. This time we couldn’t
avoid it.
The wave crested and crashed against Appa. We
were thrown into the surging ocean. I almost froze at
the shock of the cold water!
I thought about the storm from my past—the storm
in my nightmares that had frozen me for a hundred
years. I wasn’t going to let anyone down this time.
I wasn’t going to run away. Gathering my last strength,
I fought the current, pushing at the water to create an
air bubble around me.
I made a wider arc with my arms, enlarging the
bubble so that it encircled all of us. We could breathe
now. We climbed aboard Appa while the ocean
pounded against our bubble.
I guided Appa through the swirling water to the
eye of the storm, where the sea was calm. We emerged
from the water and flew above the clouds into the
clear blue sky.
“All right!” Sokka yelled.
I looked below us and almost gasped. We had
made it! We were safe!
As Appa swooped through the air, we narrowly
avoided a small Fire Nation ship—and at the helm
was Prince Zuko, who had been trying to capture me
for weeks! For a moment I was afraid he might decide
to pursue us. But I could tell from the look in his
eyes that he knew his men needed him to lead them
through the storm. We looked at each other for a split
second, and in that one moment, I felt that we were
almost kindred spirits.
A few minutes later we were back on land and the
storm was over. The fisherman’s wife rushed toward
us and hugged her husband.
I turned to Katara. “You were right. I’m done
dwelling on the past. I can’t make guesses about how
things would have turned out if I hadn’t run away,”
I said. “I’m here now and I have a job to do.”
I was the Avatar and I knew I could do good things
for people.
The fisherman held out his hand. “If you weren’t
here now, Avatar, then I guess I wouldn’t be either.
Thank you for saving my life.”
“I don’t think you’re going to have those nightmares
anymore,” Katara said to me.
I didn’t think so either. My new life had begun.
The Air Nomads were
led by an order of monks.
The monks taught the future
generations of Airbenders.
They were also responsible for
training the new Avatar each
time the cycle returned to Air.
Many of the monks, like Monk
Gyatso, were also excellent
bakers! They made fruit pies,
delicious dumplings, and many
kinds of inventive desserts.
AIR NOMAD MONKS
Here is the information I have
managed to gather concerning Air Nomad
monks, as well as my comparison of Aang
and his mortal enemy, Prince Zuko.
MONK GYATSO
The monks lived in four temples,
all at high altitudes. There are temples
located at each compass point—
north, south, east, and west. Air
Nomads not linked to a temple had
no permanent home and roamed the
world individually or in groups.
LOCATION
Meditation was an important
part of Airbenders’ daily
routines. It helped them
focus their energy and
understand the power of
the air.
MEDITATION
One must master Airbending to earn the arrow
tattoos. To do this, an Airbender must invent a new
move and pass the thirty-six levels of Airbending.
Though Aang had only reached the thirty-fifth level
before he left the Jongmu Temple, his invention of
the Air Scooter earned him his tattoos early.
At an early age, Aang was able to pick out the
Avatar relics, toys that had belonged to the previous
Air Nomad Avatars. This convinced the monks that
he was the reincarnated spirit of the Avatar.
LEVELS OF AIRBENDING
IDENTIFYING THE AVATAR
According to Airbender custom, monks tell the
Avatar of his status on his sixteenth birthday. Only
then can his training officially begin. Aang was told
early, at age twelve, because the monks were afraid
that Fire Lord Sozin was preparing for war and they
needed the Avatar’s help.
TRAINING THE AVATAR
The Avatar is the human incarnation of the
spirit of the planet. When an Avatar dies, his spirit
is reincarnated into the next nation in the Avatar
Cycle: Water, Earth, Fire, Air.
For example, Avatar Roku was
a Firebender
. When he died,
his spirit passed to Aang, an
Airbender. When Aang dies, his
spirit will pass to a Waterbender,
then to an Earthbender.
Upon the death of an Avatar,
bending masters from the next
nation begin to look for the
Avatar reincarnate.
The Avatar is the only
person who can bend all four
elements—Water, Earth, Fire,
and Air—and his job is to keep
the four nations in harmony
with one another. The Avatar
must master his own bending
element before he can train
with masters of the remaining
elements.
THE AVATAR CYCLE
WATER
AIR
Past Avatars like Roku and Kyoshi are honored
with statues in the Southern Air Temple and their
respective nations. There have been both male and
female Avatars throughout history.
AVATARS BEFORE AANG
EARTH
FIRE
When his eyes turn white hot and his tattoos glow
and pulse, Aang has entered the Avatar state. The Avatar
state is triggered by extreme physical or emotional
stress. In this way, the Avatar can
send a kind of psychic distress
signal to his spirit. All the past
Avatars can help Aang in this way,
enhancing his strength and power.
The Avatar state kept Aang alive in
the iceberg for one hundred years.
THE AVATAR STATE
Though they are on opposite sides of
Fire Lord Sozin’s war, Aang and Zuko
have many similarities. Both are on their
own, but do have father figures. Aang
was taken from his parents when they
discovered he was the Avatar, but Monk
Gyatso took him under his wing. Prince
Zuko’s father, Fire Lord Ozai, banished
him from the Fire Nation for daring to
disagree with his policies, but Uncle Iroh
keeps an eye on his fiery nephew.
Aang and Zuko also have shameful pasts.
They both have to live with the guilt of
disappointing the people they cared about
the most. Aang is marked by the
traditional Airbender tattoos, and
Zuko was scarred in a duel with his
father. Aang and Zuko have
companions on their opposing
quests. Zuko and Aang are both benders
who are fighting for something:
Aang fights to save the world;
Zuko fights to save his honor.
Before the war broke out,
Aang used to have many
Firebender
friends,
but
Zuko has only just met Aang;
Aang is interested in Zuko as
a person, but Zuko only sees
Aang as a means to regain his
honor.
“Sokka, do you really think we’ll find
Airbenders?” Katara whispered.
My sister is a total optimist. I tend to
see things a
little more clearly. “Do you
want me to be like you, or totally honest?”
I replied. Katara and I were on our way
to the Northern Air Temple with
our friend Aang. A man had
told us he’d seen Airbenders
there. Supposedly Aang
was the last Airbender,
but he and Katara
were hoping that the
rumor was true.
I guess that
makes
both
of
them total optimists.
Appa soared through
the clouds as he climbed
higher into the sky. Then
the temple appeared,
shrouded in mist on a high
mountaintop.
This tale was passed down from the young warrior
Sokka, who details his role in a battle against the Fire
Nation.
Its stone spires poked through the clouds and into
the sky. It was quite impressive, if you like that kind
of thing. But I was more impressed by the people who
swooped through the air around it.
“Those guys are flying!” I said, amazed. Katara was
right—she would never let me hear the end of this.
“Oh, Aang! They really
are Airbenders!” she said.
Aang’s smile faded. “No, they’re not.”
“What do you mean?” I said.
“I can tell by the way they move, they’re not
Airbending,” Aang said sadly.
contraption. “Hi, I’m Teo!” He waved at us as he
passed by. What a show-off.
Aang leaped from the bison and snapped open his
staff, catching a rush of air to fly alongside Teo. They
swooped and looped under and around us, keeping
pace with each other.
“Maybe we’d better find some solid ground before
it finds us,” I suggested. Katara and I guided Appa
down to the temple grounds, where a crowd of excited
kids watched Aang and Teo soaring side by side.
Teo swooped higher into the air. He did a series
of tumbles that brought him back to eye level with
Aang, except that Teo was now upside down! Then
Aang flew into a big loop, ending with a series of flips.
Teo and Aang were showing off, but it was great to
watch.
Aang banked and soared toward the temple and
landed next to me.
Teo dropped from the air like a falling feather. His
speed and twirling increased until he was a spinning
blur. As he approached the temple, he grabbed
a banner pole. He swung on it several times and
landed right in front of us. The wheels on his glider
skidded to a stop.
I noticed then that Teo’s legs were wrapped in
white cloth: He couldn’t walk. That made his flying
ability even
more impressive.
“Hey, you’re a real Airbender,” Teo said to Aang.
“You must be the Avatar! I’ve heard stories about
you.”
While Teo and Aang got acquainted, I studied
Teo’s chair. Its mechanics were amazing! Whoever
designed it sure knew a lot about air currents.
Teo saw me examining the glider. “If you think
that’s good,” he said, “wait until you see all the other
stuff my dad has invented.”
I could hardly wait!
I stood, speechless,
inside the hall of the Air
Temple—an enormous room filled with whizzing,
whirring machines. Large wooden wheels rotated,
pulling giant ropes. Steam pipes jutted from the
cracked plaster walls. A complex elevator system
carried people from one level to the next using steam
and pulleys. I had never seen anything like it.
“My dad is the mastermind behind this whole
place,” said Teo.
“Unbelievable,” Aang said.
“Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?” Teo smiled with pride.
“No, just unbelievable.” Aang turned and walked
away.
“Aang used to come here a long time ago,” Katara
explained to Teo. “I think he’s a little shocked it’s so .
. . different.”
“So better!” I added. And it was too. Teo’s dad was
a genius! I couldn’t wait to meet him.
Teo smiled and
nodded.
“What
the
doodle?” said Teo’s
dad, the Mechanist,
as he rushed over to
us. He looked like an
owl, with his shock
of brown hair, patchy
eyebrows, and a thin
red scar around one
eye. This was a true man of science.
Too bad Aang didn’t see it that way. “This is a
sacred temple!” he said. “You can’t do this. I was here
a long time ago, and I know what it’s supposed to be
like!” Aang was still getting used to the new world
around him, realizing just how much the Fire Nation
has changed everything.
Teo’s father studied Aang for a few seconds,
examining the arrow tattoo on his bald head. I knew
he was trying to figure out how a kid could have seen
the temple as it used to be. I think sometimes Aang
forgets that normal
people don’t get frozen in icebergs