"Entire Temple? D-Did I hear that correctly?" Asked Jun softly as he rubbed his ears while glancing between Gyatso and Tashi, both looking confused as well.
"I think I misheard. Would you mind repeating what you said, Aang?" Asked Tashi lightly as he cleared his throat while looking at Aang, who nodded.
"No, you heard correctly, Monks; I wanted to envelop the entire Temple with the technique, hopefully granting every Air-Nomad a boost in their airbending. However, as you can see, I couldn't even accommodate you three, let alone hundreds more." Replied Aang with a nod as he glanced at Tashi, who couldn't help but widen his eyes in disbelief, same for Gyatso and Jun.
"I-I respect the ambition, Aang, but your idea… is it even possible?" Asked Jun, staring at Aang in disbelief while he observed the temple, taking in its sheer size.
"Even if it were possible… How long could you maintain such a technique?" Asked Gyatso curiously as he eyed Aang, who furrowed his brows with a thoughtful expression.
"Is it possible? Yes, I don't see why not, though maintaining such a technique also worries me; those two little tests didn't tire me at all, but the scale of what I desire will be numerous times larger." Remarked Aang with a nod as he glanced at Jun before shifting his focus to Gyatso while faintly frowning.
"I do believe I'll be capable of creating my technique large enough to engulf the entire Temple, but now I've got another problem to fix, and size alone doesn't seem to be the issue; it's the lack of intake." Added Aang with a faint nod while walking around the training grounds, trying to think of ways to improve his technique.
"If you believe you can do so, I'll help you; this technique will shine the brightest if every Air Nomad can use it. Strengthening their own bending will substantially assist in defending our home." Stated Gyatso firmly as he gazed at Aang, while Jun and Tashi furrowed their brows before nodding.
"Yes, Brother Gyatso is correct; we'll also gladly assist you, Aang; this technique may very well save many lives." Stated Tashi with a nod as he and Jun stared at Aang, who faintly smiled.
"Then I suppose we shouldn't waste time; we only have a week before the fateful day." Declared Aang with a nod as he looked between Jun, Gyatso, and Tashi.
With three elders assisting me, I told them the entire concept of how the technique worked, and after a few hours, they were also able to do the same; once that was out of the way, we all discussed amongst each other while attempting to figure out ways to further improve upon on it. For the next four days, we spent most of our time doing such, yet in the end, we only managed to make minor improvements, which was better than nothing, but it wasn't what we wanted.
___
___
"Aang, are you ready?" Asked Gyatso lightly as he stood beside Aang, who was sitting at the very precipice of the Air Temple, awaiting the signal.
Nodding at Monk Gyatso, I raised my arms into the air and began circulating them, creating turbulent winds as the vortex manifested above me; over time, it rapidly grew, reaching a gargantuan size as it utterly dwarfed any tornado I've ever made before.
Now, regarding my technique, we, unfortunately, couldn't come to a conclusion on improving the intake other than using brute force, which simply meant one vortex or tornado wasn't going to be enough; with the tornado up above finished, I outstretched my arms to my sides and began circulating them, creating yet another two tornadoes.
After a few moments, the two other tornadoes eventually reached a size comparable to the one above me. Thankfully, they weren't difficult to maintain; all I had to do was direct the air while the tornadoes did the rest.
"Whenever you're ready, Aang." Said Gyatso as he nodded at Aang before leaping towards the ground, using his bending to soften his landing.
Having received the signal, I sat on the ground and touched my fists as I created a spherical vortex around me, only for it to rapidly grow from the influx of air the three tornadoes were pouring into it, causing them to also extend further out; however as it continued to grow, for the first time, felt a slight strain on my body, it wasn't a physical strain, but rather a chi one.
Though it wasn't anything serious and continued to expand the spherical vortex until it finally enveloped the entirety of the Temple; however, I wasn't given the luxury of examining the effects my technique caused since maintaining it required a substantial amount of focus, more than I expected.
'The mental strain is something I can handle, but the chi expenditure… That will be a problem.' Thought Aang with a frown as he felt his mental and chi exhaustion slowly grow.
Since I'd never had a problem with my chi, I figured it would be best to test out how long I'd be able to maintain this technique, though as the minutes ticked by, my initial estimation was far off. After some time, I finally couldn't maintain the technique, and everything quickly began to dispel, causing me to open my eyes as I started gasping for breath.
"2-20 minutes." Muttered Aang weakly as he lay down, gasping for breath while his sweaty clothes stuck to his body.
After a few moments passed, I tried to slowly stand back up, but that proved too difficult, so I just stayed lying down in a small puddle of my sweat; though as the seconds passed, I felt my mind go weary while my eyelids grew heavy.
___
___
Snapping my eyes open, I looked up at the ceiling of my room, causing me to rub my face in confusion as I slowly sat up, only to grab my head.
"Ouch, this is one nasty headache." Muttered Aang lightly as he winced while gently rubbing his head, only to suddenly tap his neck.
'Thirsty.' Thought Aang lightly as he attempted to stand up, only for the door to suddenly open while Gyatso entered carrying a water bowl.
"Ah, you awake; I had found you unconscious at the peak of the Temple-" Said Gyatso with a faint smile as he glanced at Aang while sitting down, only for him to abruptly snatch the bowl out of his hands.
After guzzling the entire water bowl, I handed it back to Monk Gyatso, grabbed the towel, and wiped myself while he gave me an amused look.
"That was delicious." Muttered Aang with a faint smile as he laid back on his bed while Gyatso chuckled.
"Hoho, I imagine… You were completely drenched in your own sweat." Remarked Gyatso with a small chuckle while Aang nodded, only to furrow his brows.
"How long has it been, Monk Gyatso?" Asked Aang with a slight frown as he glanced at Gyatso, who furrowed his brows.
"You've been asleep for roughly nine hours, and it's the middle of the night; we still have a day and a half until the invasion." Replied Gyatso, with a nod, his words causing Aang to softly sigh.
For the remainder of the time, I asked Monk Gyatso questions regarding the Storm Caller, which is the name of the technique I decided upon; learning that everything went relatively smoothly and every Air-Nomad has received a boost in strength to their bending, I was pretty ecstatic with myself even if I didn't outwardly display it besides a smile.
Once we finished speaking, Monk Gyatso left me alone for the rest of the night, and I spent it meditating as I wasn't tired after sleeping for nine hours.
When the morning arrived, I spent most of my time with Appa since I hadn't been able to visit him lately; obviously, this ten-ton fool wasn't going to leave my side during the invasion despite me repeatedly telling him to; he'd just hit me with his tail. However, although I spent most of my time with him, the heavy and tense atmosphere surrounding the Temple was rather apparent; no one was seen smiling or in a good mood, and everyone was preparing for tomorrow's invasion.
"If we survive, Appa, promise me you'll find a lovely sky bison, and you'll have many children." Stated Aang lightly as he gently scratched Appa's head, prompting him to roar softly while nodding.
"Yes, I will also do so as well, but I don't quite know when or where my fated one is." Replied Aang as he glanced at Appa, who licked his cheek, causing him to faintly chuckle.
I spent the night with Appa as well, yet even though I should have been sleeping, I'm sure, like many others, I couldn't; for the whole night, I was wide awake, staring at the starry sky until the first rays of the morning arrived.
"Huh, morning already?" Muttered Aang lightly with a wry expression as he sat upright, only to shake his head while beginning his morning routine.
___
___
It's been a few hours since morning, and currently, I'm sitting at the peak of the Temple, awaiting the Fire Nations invasion; the moment I see them, I'll use Storm Caller. With that technique and our home-field advantage, not to mention we were actually prepared for the invasion, unlike what happened in the show, we had a chance of surviving.
"At least I hope… Think positive." Muttered Aang softly as he gazed at the Temple down below, only to take a deep breath.