With the arrival of the Great Comet, the invasion was about to start any minute, and I no longer hesitated as I used Storm Caller; after creating the three required tornadoes that would suck the air and funnel it into the Temple, I made a spherical vortex, which was connected to the trio of tornadoes. With a deep breath, I used the rapid influx of air and hurriedly grew the spherical vortex until it eventually enveloped the entire Air Temple; only then did I stop.
Gazing at my creation, I was not religious, but I prayed this would be enough to resist the invasion because currently, we could use all the help we could possibly get given the impossible odds we were facing. Glancing downwards at the only path leading to the Temple, I couldn't accurately make out what was happening, but I assumed they were preparing for the assault, same as everyone else, and it was only a matter of moments until it happened; you could say it was the calm before the storm.
'Please be enough.' Thought Aang softly as he closed his eyes, further focusing his mind on the storm caller technique.
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Gazing from behind our defensive positions, I gazed down the pathway, waiting for the army of Fire Nations soldiers to come marching right for us, but as if they wished to instill us with fear, we first heard the faint noise of their rhythmic footsteps and the clanging of their armor.
"Remember, no matter what happens… ONLY defend. This isn't something we can win… Something only we can only survive." Stated the older man as he stared at his fellow elderly brother and sisters, who all nodded.
We were the first line of defense against the invasion, and since this was the most dangerous place to be, most of us consisted of the elderly; we wouldn't allow our younger brother and sisters to take this position, not when they were the future of us Air Nomads, and the ones who would lead the next generation. If anyone were to die, it should be us old folks so the younger ones can live on, though while we all hoped to survive, none of us believed we would.
If the Fire Nation Soldiers were as strong as they ought to be with the empowerment of the Great Comet's help, they would surely breach the first couple of defensive measures, with our lives being taken with them, so our goal wasn't to survive for the thirty minutes, nor was it to take down as many soldiers, it was too stall them for as long as possible.
As the seconds ticked by, the sound of armor clanging against itself and footsteps got louder, overpowering the thunderous noise of the raging winds that were created thanks to Avatar Aang's unique technique. A few more seconds passed, and all of a sudden, they suddenly appeared, donned in red armor and a mask resembling that of a human skull, they appeared from beyond the corner of the rocky path; for the first few seconds, silence consumed as we stared at out soon be attackers, yet, unlike us, they didn't hesitate to punch toward us, launching a blazing wave of flames that consumed my vision.
Their dangerous flames rapidly filled the very path they were going to walk down and spilled out in all directions as they reached our location. Swiftly hiding behind the defensive wall, I watched their flames fly above us while their heat caused me to sweat. I've encountered several fire benders throughout my long life, yet I've never seen such a powerful fire bender.
Still, despite how frightening such a display of strength was, I shoved my fear deep within my heart. In tandem with my fellow Air Nomads, I commanded the air and surged it upwards. The raging winds gave our bending a decent boost in strength, though it felt like nothing compared to the strength at our enemies' disposal. However, thanks to Avatar Aang strengthening our bending, our combined effort allowed us to redirect the powerful flames upward into the sky and away from harm's way.
"Redirect their attacks! Do not fight them head-on! They're too strong!" Yelled the older man as he worked in tandem with his fellow brothers and sisters, redirecting the powerful flames that were more than capable of burning them to a crisp.
My words weren't necessary as everyone present quickly realized the sheer power contained in each one of their soldier's attacks; even though it was apparent they lacked technique, finesse, and experience, the raw power at their disposal more than made up for what they lacked in.
With the help of my brothers and sisters, we did our best to resist the powerful attacks, constantly redirecting them in different directions. Although we were doing better than I expected, they were slowly gaining ground; they were simply too powerful for us to stop them. Not to mention, thanks to the intense heat, exhaustion would quickly set in and inadvertently aid them.
However, this was an important line of defense; here, we could bottle-neck their advances; if we allowed them entrance deeper into the temple, all hell would be let loose from their sheer numbers and destructive capabilities. So, with that in mind, we fought… We defended for as long as we could with every ounce of our very being, yet as the minutes ticked by and as our brethren succumbed to the wounds of war, it grew harder.
"SISTER!" Yelled the older man with an ugly expression as he watched one of his fellow sisters suddenly engulfed in a mighty wave of scorching flames.
Gritting my teeth, I did my best to ignore the pain within my heart and focused entirely on resisting the invasion; the cries of pain and agony of my brothers and sisters only serving to make me defend until my dying breath.
"ARGHRRRH!" "AHHHHRHRGHHR!" "BROTH-AGRHRGRH!" "SISTER WATCH OUT!" "AGRHRGRH!" Exclaimed several Air Nomads as they were slowly picked off one by one, their agonizing voices echoing within the air, filling the remaining Air Nomads with passionate fury.
Nearly crying out in pain, I clenched my burning palms and quickly returned to redirecting the various attacks; now wasn't the time to wallow in my shallow pain of burnt hands, not when my brothers and sisters were being killed right in front of my eyes.
'C'mon, longer! This isn't long enough!' Thought the older man as he ignored the sweat dripping down off his chin while his body furiously moved, creating powerful winds that barely redirected the mighty flames.
Despite my best, one man could only last for so long, and it was only a matter of time before my time came; watching an unavoidable flaming wall approach me, I accepted my inevitable death as I waved my hands, manifesting the most powerful winds I've ever made in my life while it surged towards the fiery wall of death.
"ARGHHHH!" Yelled the older man as he slowed down the advancing flaming wall, yet, despite his courageous act, his loud voice was eventually engulfed by the sound of raging flames that sought to destroy everything.
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Although I wasn't where the battle was happening, I could vividly see how fiercely our people fought back despite the massive disadvantage we faced; however, even so, after less than five minutes, they were overrun, and the last man put up one last valiant effort, before he too, was killed by the Fire Nation soldiers.
I may not have known any of them personally, but seeing my own people getting killed wasn't by any means easy to ignore; flexing my muscles in a surge of anger, I closed my eyes and quickly took a breath to calm myself as I felt myself lose concentration, which would've been disastrous.
After a few moments, I reopened my eyes and gazed at the front of the Temple's pathway, only to see tens of Fire Nation soldiers enter the Temple as they killed any surviving Air-Nomads, which nearly caused me to lose my cool, though I kept composed, if just barely.
'I think this is the first time where I've ever truly felt the desire to seriously harm someone.' Thought Aang softly with a hardened gaze as he stared at the Fire Nation soldiers from a distance.
Despite less than five minutes had passed, the first defensive measure lasted longer than initially expected, which was great, but still, we were only one-sixth of the way through the war, and a lot of stuff could still happen.
While I was deep in my thoughts, I suddenly heard the sound of battle off in the distance, causing me to quickly focus on where the fighting was happening, only to see the Fire Nation had arrived at the sight of the second defensive measure, which was where Sky Bison would finally take part in the way while aiding their human companions; however, even so, they too, couldn't resist the might of enhanced Fire Nation soldiers.
Similar to the Air Nomads, they were getting killed out of the air like they were flies; the only saving grace was the fact their large bodies would crush a few unlucky soldiers when they hit the ground.
However, Sky Bison weren't stupid; once they learned they were getting picked out of the sky, they all unanimously agreed to directly enter the fray as they charged towards the soldiers, which forced them to switch their targets, giving the Air-Nomads a moment of respite, though at the cost of their companion's life. Of course, the Air Nomads fought back, forcing the soldiers to split their focus, allowing several sky bison to run amok amongst the soldier's ranks, and incapacitating many before they were quickly put down for good.
"Roar!" Said Appa sadly as he gazed at the battle down below while his tail gently flapped.
I don't know exactly what Appa said, but whatever it was, I wholeheartedly agreed with him.