Embers: Chapter Fifteen, Part II

[masterghandalf]

Warning: This post contains depiction of mind control and possession, as well as discussion of war, violence and imperialism.

This is a repost from Das_Sporking2; previous installments of this sporking may be found here.



MG: Well, everyone, it’s time to continue our journey through Vathara’s Embers! Last time, we learned how Shirong is secretly a budding Fire-boo and Long Feng is totally a badass war hero, guys, honest, Zuko had another lesson with Suyin and Jinhai, and Iroh and Amaya talked about war and revenge. Today, we find out a bit more about just what the thing that Shirong was getting ready to go hunting last time is, and what it’s up to. Since I’m still letting Zuko himself take a well-deserved vacation from sporking, joining us today will be Aang and Sokka!

It was the yelling that drew Shirong's attention, away from the possible smears of dried blood he'd found on a carpet-seller's roof. Young, male-

"You bastard!"

And obviously fighting mad.

Sokka: No, no, and here I thought when I yell “you bastard!” at someone, it’s a term of affection! Silly me!

"Stop insulting my mother."

Aang: Wait, why would… *suddenly blushes fiercely* Oh. Oh. Okay.

That voice, Shirong knew. Now what?

"Is that your Lee?" Yunxu, the agent slated to take over the search from him for the night, looked almost awake. Which was about as interested as the man ever got in anything, outside the mindbending rooms under Lake Laogai.

Sokka: Great, a man who’s only joy in life is brainwashing people, and Shirong’s apparently all buddy-buddy with him, or at least doesn’t mind doing shifts with him. Why are we supposed to like these people again?

MG: *sighs* Because our author has a thing for hard men making hard choices.

Sokka: I thought I was a hard man making hard choices back at our village just before we met Aang! And I was fifteen, and it was dumb! Come on!

"Hardly mine yet, but yes," Shirong acknowledged. Peered down into the next alley, where ice glittered around a furious body. "And unless I miss my guess, that would be Jet."

Aang: You know, I’d never really thought I’d say Jet deserves a break, but after what happens to him every time he shows up in this story…

Sokka: I know what you mean, buddy. I know what you mean…

"Come over here and fight like a man!" the ragged teen yelled, pinned to a wall.

Aang: Well, I’ve seen Katara kick Jet’s butt twice now, so I guess I can understand why he’d rather go up against someone who fights like a man instead of like a girl.

"Do I even have to answer that?" Lee stepped back, water flowing around one hand. "Wake up. You can't win. You're not a freedom fighter here. You're a refugee, just like the rest of us. No, wait; you're not. My uncle is a respectable teashop worker. I'm a healer's apprentice.

Sokka: And you’re also on the run, under fake names, hiding from both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. Sorry, Zuko, but you don’t really have a lot of high ground here when it comes to being a model citizen.

You? You're a troublemaker, Jet. The Guard let you off with a warning once. I doubt you'll get a second chance." His voice dropped, quiet and confident. "Go fight on the Wall, Jet. If you have to hate, take it where it'll do some good."

Aang: Jet was a guerilla. Not really sure how much good he’d be on top of that giant wall? Maybe they could use him and his people as scouts or something?

"You think you can stand there and lecture me?" Jet demanded. "I know what you are! Murdering Fire Nation scum-"

Sokka: Well, he’s right about Zuko being Fire Nation, anyway? “Murdering scum’s” a bit harsh, but since this is before Zuko turned over a new leaf and all…

Water cracked, whip-fast. A fine red line parted on Jet's cheek, welling tiny beads of crimson.

So he's been working on the water whip as well, Shirong thought, satisfied. Good.

Aang: Hey, I know the Dai Li are rotten, but aren’t they supposed to at least pretend to care about keeping the peace? Why is Shirong just standing there and letting Zuko do this instead of separating them and lecturing both of them? Or worse? *beat* It’s ‘cause Zuko’s the main character in this, isn’t it?

"For once in your life," Lee said, low and cold, "Think. If I'm murdering, sadistic, Fire Nation scum - scum that has you pinned and helpless, that knows exactly how to dismember you and leave the frozen pieces where only the scavenger lizard-birds will find them - why are you still alive?"

Sokka: Oh, I don’t know, let’s see – Azula, Long Feng, Ozai, some of the worst people I ever met or heard of, I could see all of them keeping Jet alive right now. Not because they like him, but because they want to make him squirm. Or think he’s useful. And Jet knows Zuko’s clearly trying to keep a low profile – murdering a guy people know was suspicious of him isn’t going to help with that! I mean, if Jet turns up dead at all Zuko’s probably going to be a suspect, after the public fight they had!

Jet's jaw worked, but no sound came out.

Sokka: *sighs* But no, the author’s pet just has to get the last laugh.

"Goodbye." Turning on his heel, Lee stalked off.

Shirong smirked, watching Jet squirm fruitlessly in ice. The kid has style.

Aang: *facepalms loudly*

Prince Stuko: 59

"Should have killed him," Yunxu said disinterestedly. "I know the type. He's not going to shut up until he's dead or mindbent."

Sokka: And from what Shirong said earlier, I guess you’re just itching to get started with that! *beat* What is wrong with you people!? And why does Vathara still think we should like you? I have nightmares about that room full of Joo Dees, you know!

"Do you want me to take him in?" Shirong said neutrally. Altering minds might be necessary, but he didn't exactly enjoy it. Not the way Yunxu's associates did.

Aang: Well, you clearly don’t disapprove of it enough to stop your friends from doing it. I don’t really think erasing someone’s mind is any different from killing them. Maybe worse, because you’ve crammed someone new inside them to do what you want… I remember when Long Feng took control of Jet. I don’t like Jet much, but that… nobody deserves that…

"No need." Yunxu sounded almost amused. "Why waste a good setup?"

Shirong inclined his head, acknowledging the truth of that. Spirits were drawn to those already touched by the spirit world. If the creature they were seeking was a predator-

And it probably is.

-Then if it wasn't stupid or arrogant enough to attack Lee himself-

And it probably isn't. Not while he's with people.

-The next best thing would be a human touched by Lee's bending. A pinned, helpless, angry young man, bent on disturbing the peace of Ba Sing Se.

Sokka: *exaggeratedly casual* Well, that’s just perfectly horrible. I’ll have you know, I’ve been captured by a spirit, and Hei Bei wasn’t evil, just angry and grieving, and he let everyone go when Aang calmed him down. Still not an experience I’d care to go through again. If this is a spirit that actually is dangerous to people on purpose… I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. And Jet’s not that. (He’s on the list, after everything he pulled when we met. Just not, you know, at the top.)

"Enjoy your night," Yunxu waved as Shirong left.

"No," Shirong murmured, once he was certain Yunxu wouldn't hear. Thinking of spirits, and a troublemaker turned unwilling bait, and the young waterbender who might well have put a merciful dagger through Jet's heart rather than leave him as a kamuiy's prey. "No, I don't think I will."

Aang: Okay, so, he uses people as bait for dark spirits… but he feels bad about it? And that’s supposed to make it okay, I guess? Because it really, really doesn’t.

-

"You really put your foot in it this time, Jet," Smellerbee grumbled, working with Longshot to chip their leader free. Or should that be, former leader? Jet wasn't exactly taking charge the way he used to.

Sokka: Also, there’s all of three of you now, two if you don’t count Jet himself. Kind of hard to be a leader of just three people… which I have reason to know, believe me.

Then again, maybe he was. But leading here wasn't like being in charge in the tree village. Grownups didn't listen to Jet.

Aang: But some of the most dangerous people in the city listen to Zuko now because something something he’s a waterbender? And okay, being a waterbender and a firebender is a sign something really weird is going on, but they don’t know about the “firebender” part…

And given what he'd been doing, Smellerbee was starting to wonder if she should, either….

She yawned, and shook herself. Prodded Longshot, when the archer seemed dazed. This was no place to nap. Not with Jet in trouble.

"Too scared to finish me off. He must have guessed you guys would be behind me," Jet said confidently. "The next thing we should do is-"

Sokka: Get you down off the wall and warm you up? Jet, buddy, you’re not going to be making good decisions when you’re hanging off a wall and freezing, trust me.

Longshot flicked him in the forehead.

"What was that for?"

"He's right," Smellerbee growled. "Lee was about as scared as Sokka was. Remember him? The kid who didn't want you to hurt an old guy?"

"That old man was Fire Nation!"

Sokka: Also a harmless civilian. I didn’t want to be part of beating up a helpless old guy all on his own who couldn’t fight back, no matter where he was from. And it’s not like the rest of you “Freedom Fighters” were bothered by it at the time, either. I was there, remember?

"So what?" Smellerbee burst out. "And so what if Mushi is? He's making tea! That's all he does. All day! Who's that hurt, huh? Come on!"

"We don't let the Fire Nation win! We don't just leave them alone…." Jet's voice trailed off. Something seemed to whisper through the air, chill and tasting of salt.

The Deadly Depths: 7 (you can probably guess some about what kind of spirit this is…)

Smellerbee traded a glance with Longshot, and started chipping faster.

She had one arm free, and Longshot had mostly broken Jet's legs loose. But the older boy didn't move. Instead, Jet seemed to cock his head, as if listening to something they couldn't hear. "…Dad?"

Jet's parents were dead. Smellerbee knew that, the same as she knew about every one of the Freedom Fighters' lost ones.

MG: …honestly, I think this would’ve been creepier if we hadn’t stopped for the explanation. Give this whole encounter more of an eerie, nightmarish feeling, without the characters stopping to cerebrally work through the things that don’t logically add up.

Just as she knew the wind somehow had a sound like waves lapping on the great lake, coming with the shadow suddenly at the mouth of the alley. A shadow that felt lonely, felt wrong… but Jet was straining toward it, breaking the last of the ice-

The Deadly Depths: 8

"Get away!" Smellerbee yelled, and didn't care how shrill her voice was, or how puny the knives felt in her hands. Longshot was holding their struggling friend back, and she was all they had. "Get lost! You're not his father. Get out of here!"

Something chuckled, like seawater through rocks. Long black stretched out like an arm-

The Deadly Depths: 9

A door slammed open. "Here now! What's all this noise…."

Footsteps. The shadow drew closer.

"…Do I know you?"

Grabbing Jet's arm, Smellerbee ran. And didn't look back.

MG: On the one hand, having this spirit so easily startled and distracted by an interloper doesn’t do a lot for its sense of menace… but on the other hand, it seems like it’s skulking around trying to pick people off one at a time to build up its power, so I think it can slide.

-

"You fell asleep?" Quan said neutrally.

Yunxu dropped to his knees. "I have no excuse."

Aang: If the Dai Li in this version really are supposed to be all about fighting spirits, I’d think he might be able to guess what happened?

Studying traces left behind, Shirong tried not to glance at either of them. Quan was hard, but fair. "I wouldn't say there's an excuse, but there may be a reason."

MG: “There are reasons, but no excuses” being one of Vathara’s favorite phrases (here put in the mouth of not only a Dai Li agent, but Long Feng’s number two). And of course, it goes without saying that when she likes a character, their “reasons” get a lot more sympathy than everyone else’s…

Quan crouched to look at drying bits of twisted brown, not touching them any more than Shirong had. "Seaweed?"

"Smells like it," Shirong nodded.

Quan let out a slow breath. "Not good."

Sokka: Hey! I’ll have you known that you can make some very good meals using seaweed… though probably not this seaweed if it came off an evil spirit, but you know what I mean!

The Deadly Depths: 10

Now there was an understatement. All water spirits were unpredictable, and tended toward extremes; a river spirit mild as milk toward its denizens might be lethal as a typhoon to invaders. But of all the kamuiy bound to water, those of the sea were the worst. At their mildest, they were uncaring. Those strong enough to put a trained Dai Li to sleep… well.

MG: And here’s another of Vathara’s favorite things – people, creatures and forces associated with water, and especially the deep ocean, are alien, unpredictable and dangerous. We’re going to see this over and over across the rest of this fic – there’s a reason I have a “deadly depths” counter. And when I was doing my read of the fic a couple of years ago, it started as something of a joke in the comments that Vathara has thalassophobia… but after a while, it kind of stopped being a joke, because it comes up so damned much (and this is apparently true of her fiction in general).

The Deadly Depths: 12

I was right. We're dealing with a man-eater.

Had to be. Nothing else would draw a sea-spirit this far from the shore.

Sokka: *shrugs* Not necessarily. Maybe some diver stole something from it and it got sold in the city, and now the spirit’s looking for it. Maybe some human angered it and it’s out for revenge. Maybe it just got bored and decided to come ashore and wreak some havoc – pirates’ll do that, maybe it picked up the habit? It could be lots of things!

Salt was scarce; human lives were packed in like the anchovies in the schools off the eastern shore, that boiled water with their bodies. Lonely, desperate people, half of whom didn't even believe in spirits. The balance of the world was upset, and Ba Sing Se was full of prey.

Sometimes I hate my job, Shirong thought grimly.

Aang: You know, maybe if you hated the part of your job that involved brainwashing and oppressing people more, and the part that involves protecting people from spirits less, you’d be in a better place?

"Has anyone talked to the waterbenders on the docks? They're not spirit-touched, but they are benders. They may have noticed something-"

"They're gone," Quan said grimly.

"Gone?" Shirong echoed uneasily, as Yunxu finally got to his feet.

Sokka: Okay, that’s kind of creepy… but apparently every waterbender in the city (except Creepy Lady, I guess; and Katara, of course, ‘cause we’re here right now) just up and vanished, and we’re only just now hearing about it? Huh? Wow, Zuko’s not paying attention at all, is he?

"Not a trace of violence," Quan went on, eyeing seaweed as if it might burst into flames. "Looks like they started vanishing a week ago.

Sokka: *explodes* A week!? Waterbenders have been vanishing for a week and this is the first we’re hearing about it? And you all have done… what about it? Stood around feeling sorry for yourselves, maybe kidnapped a few more young women to brainwash because need I remind you the Dai Li do that? Why?

We have reports that some said they'd seen an old friend, and had to go. Others… it's as if they just got up from whatever they were doing and walked away. Of course, they worked with fish. No one would notice a few water-weeds."

No. They wouldn't.

Sokka: Wow. I know what you mean, but even so, that just sounds incredibly racist. We don’t just leave seaweed lying around, you know!

"Old friends," Shirong wondered. "Shapeshifter?"

"Probably." Quan didn't look happy at the thought. As well he shouldn't. It narrowed the field of possibilities considerably… but all of those left were lethal.

Aang: It could just be making people see things and not actually changing itself… but I’m not sure that’s any better?

"And a smart one," Shirong added, half to himself. "It knows what it's vulnerable to."

"Or who's vulnerable to it," Yunxu put in levelly. "Water pulls both ways."

Waterbenders. Shirong tried not to flinch. "Sir-"

"I've already placed a watch on Healer Amaya's clinic," Quan informed him, brows lifting slightly. "Calm down."

Sokka: Oh, so as long as Amaya is safe, everything is all right! *rolls his eyes*

"I don't think it's the healer he's worried about," Yunxu said dryly. "He hasn't given us any oaths yet, Shirong. You shouldn't get attached."

"I'm not," Shirong said sharply.

Sokka: If Toph was here, I know what she’d say. *sing-song, imitating Toph’s voice* I can tell you’re lying!

"Just worried. Lee wasn't raised Water Tribe. If this is a spirit they'd know about, he'll have no idea how to protect himself." He glanced at Quan. "And he's fairly good at spotting us. If we put a watch on him, he may notice, and try to lose them." Which might run him straight into a kamuiy's jaws.

"So tell him not to," Quan said bluntly. "If you think he can keep it to himself. The last thing we need is a panic while the Avatar's here."

"Some bridge to the spirit world," Shirong muttered. "Second outbreak of malicious spirits in as many weeks, and he hasn't noticed anything?"

Aang: Yeah, because I’m pretty sure this didn’t actually happen while I was here!

MG: Well, this is a case of Vathara using her AU as an excuse to stack the deck, honestly, albeit a fairly minor one. It’s something the fic will do a fair bit, where she’ll introduce some AU story element or piece of worldbuilding that didn’t exist in canon, then take you guys’s canon behavior (which of course doesn’t take the AU element into account) as proof you’re stupid or immature or bad at your job… even though in the original story, there was no way you could’ve known about whatever it is, because it didn’t exist there. Notably, Zuko never seems to be the victim of this for some reason. It just makes it feel like she’s deliberately slanting the playing field to favor the characters she likes, and makes the ones she doesn’t look worse.

He Has Much To Learn: 19

"He's twelve," Quan said dryly. "And he's an airbender. The Grand Secretariat practically had to hit him over the head with a rock before he noticed you're not supposed to bother the Earth King with the world outside the walls.

Sokka: I’ll have you know we figured out pretty much as soon as Joo Dee told us it was going to take at least a month for our petition for an audience with the king to get processed that they were trying to stonewall us (because they’re earthbenders… stone wall… get it?). That’s why we tried to do the whole “sneak into the party to meet the king on our own terms” thing. And that’s when Long Feng caught us and took us aside and gave us all that creepy, creepy “I’m in control of everything and there’s nothing you can do about it” speech… which didn’t work out for him in the long run, I’ll have you know!

He Has Much To Learn: 20

And he's a monk. If the stories are right, he was raised in a temple, by people who prided themselves on being spiritually aware. There probably wasn't a malevolent kamuiy within miles."

Aang: So, because I was raised by monks, who the Dai Li admit are very knowledgeable about spirits… I’m bad at finding dangerous spirits? Huh?

Detached from Reality: 8 (for the Air monks’ spiritual sensitivity being portrayed as something with negative consequences)

Point. Spiritual awareness was well and good. But you had to have something really try to kill you before you developed the spiritual sensitivity to know when Something Nasty wanted you for dinner.

Aang: Well, if I was up against a dangerous spirit, I’d want Gyatso on my side any day compared to someone whose idea of protecting people involves taking away their free will.

Which is why we're not monks, Shirong thought wryly. "Given this is now a larger search, sir…."

Detached from Reality: 10 (I don’t think Vathara cares much for monks, or at least Air Nomad monks…)

"I'm reassigning agents to take it over, and we have the Guard looking for Jet and his associates," Quan said matter-of-factly. "Work on your recruits." Brown eyes were shadowed. "We need them now more than ever."

Sokka: What for, fresh meat? Because I’m not really sure what else they’d be good for against something like this. You know, I respected Zuko a whole lot more after he told us he got that scar by standing up against fresh recruits being used like that…

-

"I don't usually bring swords to healing sessions," Zuko observed, following Shirong down through the earthbent tunnel toward an open chamber of green-glowing crystals. A city under the city. Why am I not surprised?

Aang: *raising an eyebrow* Wait, how many catacomb cities of glowing green crystals have you seen, exactly? I thought it was pretty neat!

Wait. "There's water down here," Zuko breathed, feeling it tug, cool without the touch of sun.

"Quite a bit. That's why I want you armed," Shirong said plainly. "As long as there's something out there, don't rely on just bending as your only defense."

I never have. "Something?" Zuko asked pointedly. "You can't be a little more specific?"

Sokka: Considering what my boomerang did to Hei Bei – a big fat nothing – I’m not sure swords are much use here. *beat* Maybe Space Sword would be? Can space metal cut spirits? Seems like the sort of thing that could… I need to ask Master Piandao that sometime…

"If I could, we'd be halfway to catching it." Shirong stopped, just outside an area of more crystals and stronger light. "Go to the left, and stay out of sight. Unless someone gets overenthusiastic and needs your help, I'd prefer it if they had no idea that you're here."

Zuko nodded once. "You want to see who's paying attention to the earth, not just their eyes."

Smirking a little, Shirong stalked forward.

Aang: I mean, none of the Dai Li were ever able to get the drop on Toph, so I’d say that they’re not that great at it…

Zuko waited a few breaths for Shirong to draw their attention, then eased into the cavern, sticking to the shadows cast by the odd half-light of the crystals. Hands tucked into his sleeves, he sat down to watch the mayhem; just another irregular lump on the cavern wall. Think they missed me.

Not that that was such a great accomplishment. Between the crashes, the grating of bent rock, and the playful sparring assaults of various Dai Li agents, the young men in front of him probably would have missed a whole regiment marching through.

Sokka: Hm; not sure if all that sounds like it would make things better or worse for training spies…

A figure in the center caught his eye, narrowly dodging a flung rock glove. Min.

Damn. Given what Shirong had told him about something that might be eating waterbenders, this could make things tricky.

Just keep out of sight, Zuko told himself, surreptitiously heating his waterskin. Amaya had walked him through healing with water instead of fire, but it always seemed to drain him if the water wasn't warm. Decide on your story, make it simple-

Aang: Why does he always make it sound like learning tricks with a different element is something fairly easy? Because take it from me, it’s really not – especially when it’s the opposite element to the one you’re already best at!

Flesh moved slower than rock, and someone screamed.

Here we go.

Sokka: …wonder how many of the Dai Li’s trainees got crushed before they figured out they could bring healers down here for this? *beat* Wait a minute, don’t answer that…

-

There's at least four who won't make the cut, Shirong thought, looking at those lined up against the wall out of the action. More than four were injured; some of those Lee was treating had real promise, they just needed a bit more vigorous training to learn when not to jump in front of flying rocks. And one of those Shirong had decided was out hadn't a scratch on him; that young man just glared out of a body-bind of rocks, after he'd deliberately shoved one of the others into the path of a rising earth pillar.

The Army can have that one, Shirong thought darkly. If you couldn't trust one of your own to behave honorably in sparring, you definitely couldn't trust them against spirits-

Aang: *confused* Okay, I’m not a soldier or a Dai Li agent, but I kind of think that sounds backwards? Shouldn’t the people who are more honorable and trustworthy go to the army, and the ones that are sneaky and backstabby go to the Dai Li?

Sokka: Yeah, from what we saw of the Dai Li, they sure didn’t seem to care much about honor, but sure cared a lot about things like “winning by any means” and “controlling people and lying to them.”

Protectors of our Cultural Heritage: 23

What's this?

One of the possibles still standing had just done a startled double-take, and was now marching toward Lee with mayhem in his eyes. "What are you doing here?" Min Wen hissed.

"My job." Unfazed, Lee finished sealing his patient's nasty gash, glints of color fading out of water as he bent it back into his waterskin. "Looks like they're interested in you. Congratulations."

Sokka: Okay, I know Zuko could be a jerk back then, but is “the Dai Li brought me here to do some first aid” really that hard to say?

Min's eyes narrowed. "Like you really mean that."

Bad blood between them? With all the time Lee's spent at the Wen house? Why?

Aang: Wait a minute, we know the Dai Li are watching the Wen house, they’re interested in both Min and Zuko, and they haven’t figured out yet that they don’t like each other? Huh?

Casually, Shirong drifted closer.

Lee sighed. "Yes, I do. If this is what you want to do with your life, good." He looked into the distance. "At least somebody's life came out the way they planned it."

Sokka: I’d say joining the Dai Li counts as “not good” but hey, I’m not Zuko, I’m not Min, and where I come from the Dai Li are bad guys, not… whatever this story turns them into.

"You shouldn't be here," Min said tautly.

Aang: Shouldn’t that be Shirong’s call, since he’s running this exercise? Does Min really want to be arguing with a senior Dai Li? Because that seems like the sort of thing that won’t go well!

"I'd say it's fortunate for you he is," Shirong said levelly, snickering to himself as Min jumped. "Next up is partner work. And it looks like we're one short."

"You want me to-" Min caught the look in his eyes, and swallowed the rest of his protest. "Yes, sir."

Lee looked equally dubious, if more relaxed. "Steel or bending?"

One of the other survivors snorted. "You think you can fight earthbenders with swords?"

"I've done it before."

Sokka: *shrugs* Hey, this is one thing Zuko and I happen to agree on. Never underestimate a good sword and/or boomerang. I made my way all over the world with those!

Not a boast. Not a trace of swagger. Just a simple, level statement. Shirong hid a smirk, knowing more than half the young men here simply wouldn't believe it.

Their loss.

Min didn't look as if he doubted it, though. Interesting.

Aang: Again, you know all about the fight at the Wen house and that Zuko was involved – why are you surprised by this?

Prince Stuko: 61 (the exchange isn’t really bad by itself, but the whole “look at what a badass Zuko is” tone gets it a couple of points)

"It's a spar," Shirong said plainly. "No killing. No maiming. Outside of that… keep yourself and your partner in one piece." He waved them toward the others, and watched as Agent Bon picked the first set of pairs to compete.

"Begin!"

MG: Okay, before we move on, I have something I’d like to say. Even setting aside the guy who is apparently too dishonorable to be in the Dai Li *rolls their eyes* and considering it’s a very early stage training (but not too early considering that, spoilers, Min is going to graduate to full trainee Dai Li before too long) the biggest thing that jumps out at me about this training session is that it’s too nice. All of this is pretty standard earthbending training stuff; I’d think the Dai Li would be much harsher and more draconian in their treatment of their students even at the best of times. So, I don’t know if anyone else here has been watching the new Mighty Nein animated series on Amazon (adapted from Critical Role’s second campaign), but a major antagonist faction in that show are the Volstruckers, the secret mage-assassins of the Dwendalian Empire, who have more than a few parallels with the Dai Li. We also see some fairly extensive flashbacks to how the Volstruckers are trained in the show’s fifth episode, and the lengths to which their leader, the archmage Trent Iikithon, goes to in order to prey on magically gifted youngsters, recruit them, mold them and wrap them around his fingers, and it’s not pretty stuff (interestingly, Ikithon and Long Feng are both voiced by well-known villain actors – Ikithon by Mark Strong, and Long Feng, of course, by Clancy Brown). There’s a reason that the member of the main cast who’s a renegade ex-Volstrucker, and whose flashbacks these are, is a PTSD-ridden wreck, both from what was done to him and from what he himself did as one of their order. Compared to that, the Dai Li training we see here is just tame.

-

Min has no idea what he's doing.

Sokka: Which is clearly why the Dai Li – some of the most dangerous earthbenders in the world – are so interested in him. Right.

Zuko grimaced, batting a flying rock away as he ducked. Oh, Min knew earthbending. He wasn't too bad at sparring, either. Though the whites of his eyes were getting a bit too visible for Zuko's comfort, and if his moves were any more predictable, you could have set a clock by them.

Which was probably the only thing that had kept them in the game this long. Zuko could work around Min, knowing where not to be. There wasn't any other option; Min had no clue how to work with a partner.

At least, not one that's not an earthbender-

Aang: So I’ve got to wonder why the put Zuko in the exercise in the first place? Because I think the Dai Li usually work in pairs with each other and they’re all earthbenders. Unless it’s just to teach Min to be more humble?

Earth trembled near his feet. Zuko slipped sideways away from the opening rift, nudging Min's shoulder with his own to warn him of the oncoming threat.

Min flinched, and earth roared.

No!

Reflex crossed blades in front of him to ward off his own partner's blow; he needed fire, needed a shield, but he couldn't-

Water crashed down.

Zuko held his breath through the wave, rising as it receded, some still lapping hungrily at his sandals. Min was down and coughing, in no shape to defend himself. Their opponents hadn't been hit nearly as hard; they were damp and wary, but stamped feet to yank up stones to punch-

Wet stones.

Zuko spun in place, swords slashing to swirl up waves as he would a storm of fire. Lashed out, letting water call to water, thirsting for movement and surface-creatures and life-

Stone and water and bodies froze.

I win.

Sokka: So… is that spirit getting to Zuko, too? Because I’ve spent a lot of time with the guy by now, and never once heard him talking about “surface creatures.” Just so we’re clear!

The Deadly Depths: 13

It wasn't over yet. They still breathed. And it'd take so, so little to surge water into gasping lungs, and drain everything….

No!

Zuko shoved ice back into steaming water, dropping to his knees in formal surrender. "Shirong! Shirong, it's here!"

Aang: Okay, so it is the spirit! And… I guess Zuko knows about it now, too? Huh. Wouldn’t have thought that…

The Deadly Depths: 15

"Everyone hold!" the agent's voice snapped out, before freed rocks could pummel him. "Lee! Where?"

Water yanked at him, cruel as the ocean in a surging typhoon. Enemies; he was surrounded by enemies. But the tide would carry him, strong and sure and forever. All he had to do was slip into the cold….
No! Let go!

The Deadly Depths: 16

Silent, mocking laughter. Cold and seawater and cruelty, and it had him, sure as a frozen riptide. Pulling him under, sealing hope and heart away in ice….

The Deadly Depths: 17

Don't think. Just do.

Eyes closed, Zuko let his dao fall. Brought his hands up before his mouth, remembering another lethal sea of ice. And breathed.

Breath of fire.

With luck, his hands would hide the tiny flames. Without….

Sokka: Oh, come on. We all know Vathara likes Zuko way too much to let him expose himself like this here!

Zuko breathed again, fighting the chill in his blood. If this thing gets me, I'm dead anyway.

Aang: Or worse – it sounds like it’s trying to take control of you more than kill you, and that does not sound very pleasant!

In, and out, and let chi fan the flames inside to a bonfire-

Something snapped, a chain of ice shattering. Zuko sagged, barely feeling rough stone gloves catch him.

"You're freezing." Shirong's voice was cold as any ambushed commander. "Where is it?"

"The water," Zuko managed, trying to turn toward that channel etched in stone. "It's… moving away…."

Sokka: *flatly* Really. The water spirit… is in the water. You really needed Zuko to tell you that? Thought you were supposed to be the expert! Shirong, buddy, I have to say I’m a bit disappointed.

"On it," Agent Bon said grimly, leading a green charge along the sides of the canal. "Get the waterbender out of here."

MG: Bon is another of the Dai Li agents, along with Shirong himself and Quan, and a couple we haven’t met yet, who are going to be important down the line (though Shirong is always the most important).

Zuko felt Shirong's nod, but didn't have time to flinch before he was pitched over the agent's shoulder. "I can walk!"

"Who's walking?" Shirong's stance shifted, and earth shot up under them, rocks parting before them with a grinding moan.

Sunlight.

It blazed down Zuko's nerves, burning through ghosts of ice. Searing away the strength of the sea's uncaring cruelty, unearthing worry and fear and the pain of having his family shattered.

But it was his pain. Not the alien thing that had ripped through him from the water, turning his ally into something that would have destroyed them all.

Zuko clung to his scars, and breathed.

MG: Hrm. I’m torn. On the one hand, this is a genuinely well-written bit, and I really do like how it captures Zuko’s feelings in this moment, and his relief on finally getting out of the spirit’s grasp… on the other hand, it’s kind of hard to miss the “sun good, water bad” subtext here (that’s barely even subtext), isn’t it?

The Deadly Depths: 18

The Superior Element: 38

-

Reluctant footsteps. "Is he going to be all right?" Min wondered.

Shirong raised a brow, accepting Lee's dao from the teenager. The healer himself was seated within grabbing range, closed eyes turned to the sun, meditating as if his life depended on it.

And it very well might.

Aang: Hey, it may sound weird in this context, but it really can work wonders for you!

"He's warmed up, and he's not wandering off to get eaten," the agent said practically. "So far, those are good signs." Wiping a rag down steel to dry it, he clicked the blades together. "I'm hoping he'll be coherent soon. Any clues we can get to the nature of this kamuiy would help." Though he suspected speed was no longer a factor. Not when Bon and his men had come up empty-handed.

"It's dark water," Lee rasped.

Sokka: *rolls his eyes* Of course it is.

The Deadly Depths: 19

Shirong let out a relieved breath. "Are you all right?"

"Cold." Lee cleared his throat, and opened tired eyes to glance around the little-used palace garden they'd surfaced in. "But it's gone. Doesn't like sunlight."

Shirong nodded, adding that to the scant list of what they knew about this creature. "What else?"

"Felt like the sea. Like staring down into deep water, where nothing's alive, not even seaweed…." Lee shuddered. "The middle of the ocean. Where there's no one to help. No one to care if you live or die. You're alone."

MG: You know, Vathara, moments like this are we the “the author has thalassophobia she’s not worked through properly” caught on in the comments on my old readthrough…

The Deadly Depths: 20

"Is that how it's luring people?" Shirong asked levelly.

Lee shrugged, hands spread; how the hell should I know?

Aang: I mean, you’re literally the only person Shirong knows who’s experienced this and lived. Who do you think he should ask, Min?

"It got me when I - thought I was outnumbered."

"When Min hit you," Shirong said bluntly. And you thought you really were alone.

"Hey!" Min protested. "He's the one who got caught by a spirit!"

"What part of keep your partner in one piece did you not understand?" Shirong said sharply. "I wanted you working with Lee for a reason." He shook his head.

Sokka: Oh, and of course it’s nothing Zuko did by himself that attracted the spirit, it’s all Min’s fault! Why didn’t I think of that?

"We didn't expect an attack, but we knew something might happen. Given your demonstrated level of skill, I thought you'd be the most capable partner Lee could have."

Aang: *confused* Weren’t you just talking earlier about how bad Min was at this?

Silence. Min's gaze slid away, and he swallowed.

Angry and embarrassed, Shirong judged. Good. You screwed up, Min. Learn from it.

Sokka: Just try not to let your partner get possessed next time. That’ll look pretty bad as a note on the old Dai Li entrance exams (and I do not want to know what’s on those, thanks!).

"It got me through the water," Lee said quietly. "I was fine with my waterskin. But when I was… scared, and reached out to the channel… sunless water. That's where it's strong. It - tried to pull me under. Inside. Through my bending." He drew deliberate breaths. "It wanted to drown everyone. It's hungry, and cold, and it tried to - to use me, wrapping its power around mine…." Lee's voice trailed off, and he paled.

MG: And this isn’t the last time something creepy and dangerous, and associated with the deep ocean, will try to take possession of a waterbender though their element, if you were curious (you may not have noticed this yet, but Vathara wears her biases just a wee bit on her sleeve…). And it’s not always going to be Zuko it happens to…

Aang and Sokka: *take the hint and both look very worried*

The Deadly Depths: 21

"What?" Shirong asked, alert to danger.

"That's what he did." Lee's fists clenched, rage glittering in fire-green eyes. "That's what he did, that's why they died, that-!"

Aang: …why do I have a bad feeling about where this is going?

MG: Because you really, really should.

The punch to unsuspecting ground didn't shock Shirong, though the amount of dust raised took him aback. Yet even that didn't give him nearly as much pause as the occasional crackling words in Lee's sudden stream of curses; a litany of odd, sea-touched foul language that almost made him want to cover Min's innocent ears.

Sokka: *flatly* Wow. The scary Dai Li man who fights spirits and brainwashes people is embarrassed by a little naughty language. From a teenager.

Oh. My. A waterbender who curses with Fire Nation High Court archaisms. Half of which Shirong didn't recognize, despite his study of that people's odd second language. You're lucky I already know what you are.

MG: …yes, the Fire Nation have their own special court language in Embers, which mostly seems to be garbled Sanskrit (this may have come up before, but I suspect that Vathara picked Sanskrit because of Agni). No, I don’t believe any other nation is given something similar (or it’s not given much attention, if so). And of course, Zuko slips into cursing in it when he’s supposed to be in disguise, and around someone who’d normally be one of the worst possible people to have the mask slip around.

Prince Stuko: 62 (on reflection, I think Zuko speaking the special awesome semi-secret court language merits a point)

The Superior Element: 39

"-Parents probably got drunk on a moonless midnight-"

Shirong's brows climbed. "Back up," he mouthed at Min, waving a warning hand to be sure the teenager got the message. The Fire Nation took lineage seriously. For Lee to be implying what he was - oh my, indeed.

MG: Hmmm, I’ve mentioned a couple of times that there’s a culture from a published but fairly obscure fantasy series that Vathara’s Fire Nation really reminds me of in a great many ways (and we’ll discuss that parallel eventually, I promise; I’m just waiting for more of the Fire Nation worldbuilding to get revealed). As it turns out, that culture happens to attach a severe stigma to illegitimacy (albeit in part because they have some ability to control their own fertility; nobody in this society bears or sires a bastard by accident; it also feels worth reminding everyone that the author of this series actually explores the implications of this culture’s values and nature, and lets them be actually deeply, deeply messed up). Just something else to keep in mind as we go.

"You've seen this before?" he said neutrally.

Lee's fists hit the ground again, knuckles bone-white, anger rising off him in a heat-haze. But he stared into the distance, jaw clenched, hauling in his runaway temper like an anchor chain. "Something like it. Once." Green eyes closed, conjuring up painful memory. "A waterbender - wanted to hurt the Fire Nation. He let a spirit take him over. The ships… those men had no warning, no chance, I-"

Aang: *stunned, and quiet* This… this is about me, isn’t it? And… what happened with the Ocean Spirit…

MG: Yes it is. And Vathara’s about to go off on you a bit, so brace yourself.

"They were Fire Nation," Min growled.

Bad call, Shirong winced.

"They were people!" Lee blazed. "When the Dragon of the West broke through the Outer Wall, he let people surrender! This - this thing-" He swallowed, and went on, voice thick with horror. "You look into the water, and all you see is broken ships and broken men. And you can't help them. You can't help anyone…."

Sokka: Yeah, I was there. They were people. You know what else they were? An invading army. They were there to conquer and pillage and sack the Northern Water Tribe. And they were in the process of doing that and were showing no signs of stopping when the Ocean Spirit struck back – it’s not like the Ocean rose up and hit a base or a town that was just minding its own business. Look… does Vathara know what happens to a city when it gets sacked? I do! I grew up on horror stories of Fire Nation raids – and those were just raids, this was a full-scale invasion, which was much, much worse! And oh yeah, their leader just literally killed the moon in order to get an advantage in battle (and for his own ego!). So, I’m sorry. I’m not a monster; I’m not proud that so many people died in that battle. But they’d come to kill and conquer a city full of innocent civilians. So if you expect me to feel too bad because Admiral Zhao and his merry band of murderers were defeated – and again, this was an army engaged in battle right at that moment, they weren’t trying to surrender, and they were the aggressors, just so we’re clear here – then I’m sorry, I just can’t.

The Real Victims: 24

He's on the edge. Pull him back. Kneeling by the healer, Shirong put a hand on his shoulder. "It's over," he said quietly. "You're alive. And you can help us, Lee. If something like that is loose here, we need all the help we can get."

"But if we could turn it against-" Min started.

"Don't even breathe that," Shirong said coldly, boring into the teen's gaze with his own until Min paled. "In fact, you're going to forget this conversation ever happened. Or you will forget it ever happened. Am I clear?"

Aang: *weakly* Oh, so Shirong just casually threatens to brainwash a teenager for saying something stupid. Again, why are we supposed to like this guy?

"Yes, sir." But Min still looked unconvinced.

"He doesn't understand." Anger was fading from Lee's voice, swamped by exhaustion. "Guess they don't teach the laws of war at the university."

"Like war has any laws," Min snorted.

Sokka: Oh, hey, I think I know what time it is – it’s “someone says something stupid so Zuko can lecture them” time, right? *looks down* Okay, it looks like it’s Shirong who’s going to lecture him, but it’s the same idea!

"Actually, it does," Shirong informed him dryly. Leave it to the Fire Nation to write them down. And hold to them. Mostly.

MG: …is anyone surprised that the Fire Nation codified the laws of war in Embers!verse? And that it apparently holds to them, even after a century of aggressive war of conquest under the rule of three successive brutal tyrants?

The Superior Element: 41

"The one Lee's thinking of, the most basic, is the reason it would be suicide for Ba Sing Se to do what you're suggesting. It's called the law of reprisal." He raised a brow. "In short, don't do to others what you don't want blasted right back in your face."

MG: And this is sounding like the beginning of something Vathara is going to come back to later – that the Ocean Spirit was, in essence, a superweapon Aang unleashed and couldn’t really control, versus something that Zhao himself provoked by messing with things that ought not be messed with when he killed the Moon Spirit.

Aang: …and, okay, I don’t remember a lot of what happened after the Moon Spirit died, but I’m pretty sure it was La who started it, not me.

"Humans don't get the spirits involved in our wars," Lee said bluntly. "Spirits aren't human. They don't recognize honorable surrender; they don't even recognize someone just trying to run away.

MG: Funny that Koizilla only went after the Fire Nation when they showed hostility to it and did in fact let a decent-sized chunk of the armada retreat, then…

We're supposed to honor them, and they're supposed to leave us alone to go on with our lives. Mostly. And if we dishonor them, they're supposed to go after the humans who broke the rules. Those people. Specifically." His voice dropped. "Not that they've been holding up their side, lately."

Sokka: *snorts* What spirit tales has he been reading? Spirits get up in people’s business all the time – and vice-versa! – in my people’s stories, anyway! And that’s kind of big talk coming from someone the Ocean Spirit specifically left alone so it could grab Zhao – you know, the guy who actually wronged it. It’s almost like it went after Zhao’s army and fleet because they were a threat to its people or something…

"The definition of broke the rules can be very flexible for malevolent kamuiy," Shirong said dryly. "In essence, Min? The Fire Nation must not know what happened, or there'd be nothing but ice and ash where the North Pole used to be.

MG: …I’m sure the Fire Nation knows what happened. They’d have seen the moon vanish and could’ve guessed what happened, or at least the Fire Sages probably could’ve figured it out and filled the royal family and war council in (and I always figured even Zhao wouldn’t have dared try to kill the Moon Spirit without Ozai signing off on it, though this isn’t explicitly stated, unless you count the terrible Shyamalan movie, which you shouldn’t). And there were survivors from the battle – even in this fic, we’ll see some later. But the thing is, the Northern Tribe in general, and Agna Qel’a in particular, is a veritable fortress. It’s pretty clear Zhao assembling and leading an armada large and powerful enough to brute-force its way through their defenses was the culmination of years of planning and preparation, possibly spanning most of Zhao’s career, based on some of his comments. I don’t think it’s something the Fire Nation could just whip up any old time, or they’d have conquered the North long ago.

But if they ever do find out - given they're probably not insane enough to pull the same kind of stunt with a fire spirit, this waterbender's actions would force the Fire Nation to treat every waterbender as if he might do exactly the same thing."

Aang: Hey! That was a very particular circumstance. There’s only one Ocean Spirit, and most waterbenders aren’t going to be in a position to channel it (and if they could find a less powerful water spirit, it wouldn’t be as powerful), and it only did that in the first place because Zhao killed its mate and provoked it. The only reason the Fire Nation would take that as a sign to kill every waterbender is if they wanted to kill every waterbender already… and they kind of did…

"Which means the Water Tribes die," Lee said flatly. "Though maybe you'd think that's a good thing. Take some of the pressure off the Earth Kingdom. For a while."

Sokka: I bet Long Feng would be perfectly happy to sacrifice the Water Tribes to protect Ba Sing Se, I can’t lie. *muttering under his breath* Evil old creep…

Min, Shirong was grimly pleased to note, looked practically gray. "But - they were defending themselves!"

"How the hell do you know that?" Lee said harshly. "You weren't there!"

Sokka: Well, I was! And they were! Zhao launched the attack, the Fire Nation was trying to conquer their city, and Zhao killed one of the Water Tribes’ special patron spirits! And he was doing it all for the Fire Nation’s power and his own glory! About the only way he could’ve made it clearer is if he’d dropped his pants and took a whiz right in the pond in the Spirit Oasis – and I wouldn’t be surprised if he would have done that if Iroh hadn’t attacked him and chased him off! And why wouldn’t Min be right to assume the Fire Nation were the aggressors, because they were the ones who started the war in the first place because Sozin wanted to rule the world, and they’d been trying to conquer it ever since! Why would there even have been a battle at the North Pole if the Fire Nation hadn’t been attacking?

The Real Victims: 25

But you were, Shirong reflected. What happened? When? Why haven't we heard of it?

Aang: *flatly* I don’t know, maybe ask your boss. He seemed to know everything that was going on, and he kept lots of secrets.

And why did he have a sense of holding puzzle pieces and just not recognizing their edges?

"The Water Tribes got lucky," Lee said, half to himself. "The Fire Nation's already looking for that waterbender. Hard." He glanced at Shirong. "If that thing pulls me in, and I can't get out-"

Sokka: Oh, great, we’re back on topic now.

"We'll do what has to be done."

Lee nodded, accepting that grim promise.

"Which is another thing you should consider, before you think of spirits as weapons." Shirong eyed Min. "The kamuiy we're hunting would have killed us all. How many of the Water Tribes were destroyed because of what they unleashed?"

Sokka: Uh, none, that I saw *he sighs heavily* unless you count Yue… but she’s not really dead dead, she’s just, you know *gestures up at the sky* and that was because of what Zhao did; far as I know, all the Water Tribe casualties in that battle died to the Fire Nation. The Ocean Spirit knew who it was after, and it wasn’t us.

The Deadly Depths: 22

"Spirit or fire, dead's dead," Min objected. But he didn't sound quite as certain.

"Oh, no," Shirong said, deadly calm. "No, Min. If you want to be Dai Li, learn this, and learn it well. There are worse fates than death. Much, much worse."

Aang: That kinda does seem like something the Dai Li would know about… *remembers the Joo Dees*

That gave the boy pause for thought. I hope it lasts, Shirong reflected, snaring a palace servant to escort Min out. He's got potential. But if he can't think of the consequences…. The agent sighed.

Lee, he was slightly amused to note, was still sitting in the sunlight. Breathing. "That's a firebending meditation, isn't it."

Lee glanced at him, and away. "It helps."

"It doesn't like fire." Shirong nodded, adding that fact to the rest. And tried not to shiver. "Haima-jiao."

MG: Not giving a point here because it is a water spirit, so disliking its opposite element makes sense.

"What?"

"Assuming the worst? That's what we might be dealing with." Shirong frowned. "There's not much in the archives about them. They're sea-spirits, and usually we're too far inland to draw them. But in the time of Chin the Conqueror one supposedly followed a trail of shipwrecks up to the lakes. They're shapeshifters, predators. Usually they pick off people lost or stranded on the shore, or already drowning. And they hate sunlight, and fire."

Sokka: *flatly* That sounds about the shape of it, yeah.

"Think I'm going to burn lamps around Amaya's well," Lee said, half to himself.

"Couldn't hurt," Shirong acknowledged. Paused, and gave the younger man a deliberate look. "Who's the waterbender?"

Lee hesitated.

Aang: Oh, boy, here it comes…

Odd. "Don't tell me he's a relative…."

"No!" Lee looked horrified by the thought.

Sokka: Well, sort of! Aang, you are the reincarnation of his great-grandfather (Roku, not Sozin), so technically…

And wearily resigned. "No. It's just… you'd never believe me." His voice dropped. "No one would."

I wouldn't? Why wouldn't I-

Puzzle pieces clattered into place, and Shirong looked at his chain of conclusions with dread. A waterbender the Fire Nation was already searching for. A waterbender they're already prepared to throw armies against to destroy. A waterbender Lee doesn't think anyone will believe something so horrible of….

Sokka: Yeah, it was terrifying. I think spirits like that always are. But again, I don’t think anyone is shedding too many tears for Zhao’s invading army, especially when he brought it on himself.

MG: And yes, I can’t help but notice that Shirong seems to instinctively be sympathizing with the Fire Navy here, even though realistically he’d be much more likely to find himself in the Northern Water Tribe’s shoes, considering the shape of the war and who the aggressor is.

The Real Victims: 26

A waterbender we welcomed into the Inner Ring itself. Because he destroyed the Fire Navy.

Aang: *protesting* It wasn’t the whole Fire Navy! It was part of one fleet! And I still had nightmares about doing it – do you think I liked what happened up there, even with the Ocean Spirit directing me?

The Avatar.

He's supposed to be the bridge to the spirit world. To enforce balance between the nations. To protect humans.

He's not supposed to let the spirits use him. Ever.

MG: Interestingly, the novel line would kind of complicate this. See, it’s eventually established that Yangchen, in her day, prioritized the mortal world’s concerns over the Spirit World’s and tended to rule in favor of humans when judging disputes between humans and spirits. Among humans, she was remembered as one of the greatest of all Avatars, with people literally praying to her as late as Kyoshi’s time… but she made a lot of spirits angry, with the result that her successor, Kuruk, had to deal with a ton of dark spirits running around, taking out their wrath on humans. He, in turn, ended up spending all his time hunting spirits and neglecting the human world, which eventually led to his early death when he clashed with major powers like Father Glowworm and Koh, and left the mortal world in turmoil for his successor, Kyoshi, to pick up the pieces. So, in fact, the Avatar is not supposed to favor humans over spirits, and doing so can have pretty disastrous long-term consequences!

He Has Much to Learn: 21

Yet if he believed Lee - and Shirong did believe Lee - the Avatar had done just that.

And he's in my city. Being kept in my city.

What the hell do I do?

Sokka: Uh, convince your boss to let Appa go, so we could talk to the King, share the invasion plan, and then leave?

First things first. "We'll get you home."

Lee shook his head, eyes sad. "The clinic. Uncle - he's not going to be home yet."

Grief, Shirong recognized. "You've lost someone."

"Hasn't everyone?"

Point.

Sokka: Huh, kind of amazed Vathara isn’t making sure we know Zuko’s losses are extra special for once.

"The clinic, then. I believe you have something there I need returned."

Lee tensed, then deliberately made his face calm. "Master Amaya and I found the scroll very useful."

You think I'm just going to take it. Whoever had you in their keeping before your uncle, they treated you shabbily, indeed. "Come with me."

Aang: I mean, on the one hand, that’s absolutely true, but on the other hand, from what we saw of the Dai Li, they’d absolutely just take it.

Through doors and down corridors; some public, others most definitely not. Those Dai Li lucky enough to have families lived elsewhere. For most, though, barracks under the palace close to their king were good enough.

MG: I’m honestly kind of surprised the Dai Li are allowed to have families, really. None of the ones we see seem to have much of a life outside their job; I’d always imagined them as almost monk-like in their dedication to dedication to their order and their vision for the city, which IMO makes them scarier. And don’t forget that some sources indicate they start training their new recruits at twelve; they get their hooks in young.

Protectors of Our Cultural Heritage: 24

But barracks weren't the only rooms down here. Shirong led Lee into one of the archives, and stepped aside to see the look on his face.

Surprise. Wonder, as Lee took in end-caps of blue, green, red, and orange. The whole room should have been lit from the force of it. "These are all…."

"Avatar Kyoshi left us very well prepared for our duties," Shirong smiled in satisfaction. "And we've expanded our library since."

Sokka: And you’re just showing it to the kid you’ve known for a few weeks and are half convinced comes from a family of spies. *shakes his head* Wow. If Zuko really was a spy, he could send a really interesting report to Fire Lord Ozai tonight… bet the Fire Sages would be real interested in this library…

Protectors of our Cultural Heritage: 25

Lee smirked, muttering something under his breath that sounded like pirates. Looked over shelves of scrolls with fierce longing. "Have you copied these?"

Interesting question. Particularly given he'd deliberately loaned Lee one of the older scrolls. "Why do you ask?"

"You should make caches. At least three or four. Some outside the city." Lee gave him a sober look. "This is the greatest treasure in Ba Sing Se. It shouldn't be lost if… if something goes wrong."

Aang: And I guess the Dai Li couldn’t have possibly thought of this without Zuko suggesting it? The Air Temples have lots of copies of our important texts… or had them, anyway…

Sokka: Yeah, but this is the Dai Li we’re talking, Aang. Knowledge is power and they know it – doubt Long Feng wants this stuff spread around. Which makes it even dumber Shirong just brought Zuko down here…

Shirong laughed once, softly, another part of the puzzle becoming clear in face of that hunger to know. "You're not at the Wen house for Min at all, are you? You've been seeing Professor Tingzhe."

"I like history." Lee's smile was quiet.

Sokka: And I like maps, but I don’t think the Dai Li would let me into their map room just because they liked me! Which they didn’t.

"It's not like I can afford the university… he's been giving me lessons. And I've been teaching Jinhai."

Damn. Shirong gave him a hard look. "Jinhai's a waterbender?"

Lee grimaced, accepting the rebuke. "I didn't want to tell you earlier; I don't want word to get out to people I don't know. The whole family's upset. Especially Min. He thought Jinhai would get him kicked out of being recruited. And the university…."

"If they knew, the family would be in for hard times," Shirong acknowledged. "But you know the boy's in danger."

Aang: Well, I guess if one of the Wens cheated on the other one, that would be pretty embarrassing? Though maybe they could just say Meixiang has some Water Tribe heritage? She is from outside the Earth Kingdom originally, so it’s not a huge lie, is it?

"They don't have a well, Jinhai's six and not allowed out after dark, and he bends with hot water," Lee said frankly. "He's probably safer than I am. He's never been marked by the spirits. And Suyin would shove a flaming spear right down the bastard's throat."

Aang: …where would she get that… not the point, I know, but even so!

Reasonable arguments. Still. "Next time, tell me there's something I need to know. We almost lost you. Remember?"

"You're right," Lee acknowledged quietly. "Sorry. I screw up when I get surprised."

And being told there was a waterbender-eating spirit out there was definitely a surprise.

Sokka: Pretty sure that’s something to be scared of even when it’s not a surprise.

Fair enough. "Think it through next time." Shirong let himself smile slightly. "As for caches… I imagine you're not familiar with earthbending printers, where you're from." He waited, watching.

"Exact copies," Lee realized. "As close as you can bend it to what you see. And if you can make print blocks…." Delight bloomed in green eyes.

"We've done a lot more than make a few caches," Shirong agreed dryly. "If you think you're leaving here empty-handed while there's a lethal kamuiy out there, you're out of your mind."

Sokka: *rolls his eyes* Oh, great, Shirong’s just handing out powerful and dangerous texts on bending and spirits to the kid he barely knows who might be a spy without any sort of permission! I do not want to be in the room when Long Feng finds out about that…

Though one thing still bothered the agent, as Lee almost smiled.

What the hell were you doing at the North Pole?

Aang: Well, there was a big battle up there where lots of people who wouldn’t normally be around were there, and you know Zuko has Fire Nation heritage – is it really that hard?

-

"I made dinner, Uncle Mushi."

Setting down his traveling box and hat, Iroh nodded. So. We are being observed more closely than normal. He'd thought he suspected a few shadows on nearby roofs. "I appreciate that, nephew."

"…I miss him, too."

MG: Okay, so I think we can officially locate this chapter as taking place on the same day as the anniversary of Lu Ten’s death, so at the same time as Iroh’s Story during “The Tales of Ba Sing Se.” Not giving a Stations of the Canon point for that because, well, that would logically fall at the same time Zuko and Iroh were in the city.

"I know you do." Iroh smiled sadly, and moved in for a fragile hug. "I know that you do." He looked up into worried eyes. "What has happened?"

"It's not-" Zuko saw the look in his eyes, and winced. "Something tried to make me kill people…."

Sokka: Zuko, I think you’re really underselling how freaky that was.

"Haima-jiao," Iroh said thoughtfully sometime later, after a stumbling explanation and a slightly scorched dinner. "The lurer. Yes, I have heard of them." He frowned, stroking his beard. "It must have come up from Chameleon Bay. The western route would be far too chill."

"But it's dark water," Zuko objected.

"A spirit of ocean's darkness, yes," Iroh nodded. "But if tales are true, its chill is not that of ice, but of an emptiness of life. It is a spirit of the deserts of the sea; of warm water, warm oceans, that lack the rich bounty of the poles and flowing currents. The haima-jiao lairs beyond the sun's touch, ever hungering for what it cannot have. But when that great fire retreats, it looks upon the shores, and it hates." He nodded, recalling texts studied years ago. "Fire is its enemy. Fire, and family. It promises an end to pain - but the end it means is eternal. It lies, nephew. Never forget that."

The Deadly Depths: 23

The Superior Element: 42 (again, it makes sense that this thing wouldn’t like fire, but the way fire gets talked up in comparison to it is still kind of excessive)

"I knew it had to be, but…." Zuko swallowed. "I didn't know spirits could do that."

Aang: Spirits can do lots of things, and sometimes they aren’t very nice. We’ve got old stories in the Air Temples about people getting careless and getting possessed. *he shudders* Not pretty.

"Most cannot," Iroh assured him. "Which is why Agent Shirong is, unfortunately for us all, likely to be right. A haima-jiao would have the power to twist water against you." He sighed. "Most spirits do not have that power… and most benders, even those touched by the spirits, are not powerful enough to be so vulnerable."

"I'm not powerful."

How little you know.

Prince Stuko: 64 (somehow even Zuko nearly getting possessed is a sign of how awesome he is… and his excessive humility is probably supposed to be a result of the abuse he suffered from Ozai and Azula, but it still rings false that the guy who is a supposedly impossible dual-bender now thinks he’s not special)

"You have the determination to drive flesh and bone beyond where others fail, and perish," Iroh said bluntly. "Your will is stronger than your body." He smiled wryly. "Usually, this is an advantage."

Sokka: *shrugs* Well, Iroh’s not wrong. Zuko never gives up – we learned that along time ago.

"Perfect," Zuko grumbled. "So how do I fight this thing? Salt's only going to make it laugh."

Aang: …have you tried a whole lot of salt? You’ve got a whole city of earthbenders to work with!

"With fire, and with family," Iroh said firmly. He gripped the young man's shoulder. "You are never alone, nephew. There are those who love you, and wish you well. And they are not only myself and Master Amaya. Huojin, Luli, Tingzhe, Meixiang; even young Suyin and Jinhai. They care. Even if I were lost, they would take you in."

MG: I can’t help but notice that, aside from Iroh himself, everyone there are Vathara’s OCs, so I kind of have to side-eye it a bit – it’s probably not the intention, but it does feel like she’s using Zuko to talk them up indirectly at the moment.

Zuko did not look convinced.

I suppose I cannot blame him. He does not know some of them know the truth. And while we are watched, I cannot tell him.

Sokka: Well at least someone is worried about security around here!

But the young man sighed, and tried to push his doubts aside. "I miss him, too," Zuko said quietly. "And - I don't know if today's a good day to tell you this, but when I drowned…."

Ping thinks Lu Ten is cute. Close to death, was close to the spirit world. "Tell me," Iroh said gently. "Tell me everything."

Aang: And it probably still isn’t going to put any of them off of trusting Amaya, even though it was her fault that happened…

MG: And in any case, the chapter is over, save for a very brief author note!

A/N: Haima-jiao - "sea horse-scaly dragon". Loosely based off the Celtic each uisge (water horse). Very nasty critter.

MG: …and I can’t help but notice that Vathara has pulled yet another western concept, this time a monster, into the Avatarverse (a very quick search turns up a bunch of dangerous water-themed yokai she might have taken inspiration from, if she was determined to go with something Japanese). And in the comments to my previous read, Chessybell noted that if this thing really was an each usige, it would be much worse and certainly wouldn’t be taking live captives (which we explicitly see it doing in subsequent chapters).

Anyway, this part… I didn’t much care for. It has its moments; I like most of the final Zuko and Iroh scene, and when the spirit tries to get its claws into Zuko is legitimately disturbing, especially for what’s essentially a glorified monster of the week (albeit one that’ll be sticking around for another couple of chapters). Unfortunately, a lot of the fic’s… Embers-isms are also out in full force today. We’ve got everyone talking up how wonderful Zuko is; we’ve got Jet being a butt-monkey; we have the Dai Li being increasingly heroic, while their sinister aspects such as the brainwashing get acknowledged but in a disturbingly offhanded way that’s not really dwelled on when they’re acknowledged at all, which I find very unsettling to say the least. And we have our extended tangent about the Siege of the North, and more of how Koizilla Is The Worst, this time seeming very determined to ignore just what the Fire Nation was doing up there and why the Water Tribes just might have been determined to fight back with everything they had (Vathara does try to address this at the AN at the start of next chapter, but IMO it’s not really good enough). None of this is really new, mind you, nor is most of it as bad as it’s going to get later on, but it still distracts and bothers me enough to take me out of the story and sour my ability to derive much enjoyment from it. Which is a sadly appropriate metaphor for my attitude towards Embers as a whole. Anyway, that’s all for today! Next time, we have more Conversations With Shirong… and we see Toph again for the first time since the early chapters (though we’re still some ways away from the rest of the Gaang returning to the story). We’ll see you then! Our counts stand at:

Beware the Sugar Queen: 6

The Blind Bandit Wins Again: 8

The Deadly Depths: 23

Detached from Reality: 10

Divine Right to Rule: 39

Elemental Determinism: 41

He Has Much to Learn: 21

Prince Stuko: 64

Protectors of our Cultural Heritage: 25

The Real Victims: 26

Simple Rubes from the Water Tribes: 22

Stations of the Canon: 23

The Superior Element: 42

True Guardians of Balance: 1

The Ultimate Firebenders: 19