In pursuit of those far mysteries we dream of, or in tormented chase of that demon phantom that, sometime or other, swims before all human hearts…
— Herman Melville, Moby-Dick
***
Chan's Detachment. Omashu.
"What do you think, Zuko?" We stood over a map of the world, trying to figure out what exactly we were supposed to do next.
"I have several possibilities, based on what we know about our opponent. As we know, he's trying to stop our nation's expansion, and to do that, he needs strength and allies."
"Could you get to the point?" Azula hurried her brother along.
"Fine. Right now, air is the only element Aang has mastered to a high level. Water... at best, he's mediocre—our forces at the North Pole prevented him from finishing his training. Earth—just the basics, and as far as I know, he can't firebend at all. From that perspective, things aren't going particularly well for him, and he urgently needs to make up for lost ground. With that in mind, the most reasonable move for him would be to head for Ba Sing Se. He'd find allies there among the remnants of the Earth Kingdom's forces, as well as plenty of skilled, high-level earthbenders."
"Too logical," Mai remarked, a hint of wariness creeping into her otherwise colorless voice. "We've already fallen for that once."
"Exactly," the prince nodded. "Which is why I don't think he'll go there. The earthbending tournament in Gaoling, though, is a more plausible option." His royal finger tapped the southern tip of the Earth Kingdom on the map. Kyoshi Island, incidentally, wasn't all that far from there.
"Pfft. Nothing but weaklings there, not a single decent earthbender," Toph snorted contemptuously.
"How do you know?" Azula asked.
"Because I'm a two-time champion there. All those big, tough fighters get their asses handed to them by a little blind girl, heh-heh. By the way, if we have time, we should stop by again so I can kick their asses a third time!"
"Oh, right. I believe you mentioned something like that," the princess said, pretending she had only just remembered this particular insignificant detail.
"Well, to be completely fair, that little blind girl kicks the asses of quite a lot of fighters," Suki offered from experience.
"Yeeeaah, praise me!" The little brat stuck her nose in the air. "But seriously, think about making the trip. I'm sure Father would be happy to meet our gan—uh, delegation too."
"Yeah..." I looked over our little company. Toph's first choice of words was definitely closer to the truth than the more diplomatic alternative.
"We'll see how things go, but we're getting off topic." I steered the increasingly unruly youngsters back toward something resembling a constructive discussion. "Any other possibilities?"
"Besides earthbending, the Avatar needs fire. Given the current situation, the only person who comes to mind is Jeong, but he's thoroughly disappeared somewhere along the western coast." The prince circled a fairly broad stretch of the map between Yu Dao and Omashu. "There are several other powerful firebenders who aren't exactly loyal, but they're currently sitting in the Boiling Rock."
"I doubt the Avatar could get himself a teacher out of there. Uncle Wade knows his business, and he'd sooner drown every prisoner and jump into the boiling lake himself than allow an escape. Besides, the prison's location isn't exactly common knowledge," Mai observed with her usual melancholy.
Huh. She certainly had an interesting family. Her father was the governor of a major city, her uncle the warden of the Fire Nation's most "prestigious" prison. And Mai herself was the princess's friend and... a close friend of the prince.
Zuko nodded, taking note of the information.
"There's also a chance they'll try to hole up somewhere in the middle of nowhere and polish their waterbending. That Katara may be very young, but when it comes to bending, she's every bit as talented as you are, Sister." Zuko sighed. "And now for the completely insane option—the kind no sane person would ever consider. They might try hiding somewhere in the Fire Islands. Aang could even pick up the basics of firebending at one of the Academies there. He's the right age to enroll without any trouble, and those places don't exactly conduct rigorous background checks. Kids from the colonies arrive every six months to attend their boarding programs. Slipping in among them would take minimal effort."
"That seems a little too much even for that lunatic," the princess said, shaking her head.
"After everything he's already pulled?" The prince raised his burned eyebrow questioningly.
"Ahem..." The girl pursed her lips in displeasure. She had no answer to Zuko's argument.
"Um, but those are all plans for the future. What about right now? Did we manage to track where the Avatar is headed?" Ty Lee joined the conversation.
Riding the "wave of stress and anxiety," she had decided to get her Aura back in order and had twisted herself into yet another bizarre knot to accomplish it. She was bent in such a way that, despite ourselves, the prince and I found our gazes lingering on the acrobat's figure for an extra second or two.
"He was lost from sight somewhere in this area." Zuko pointed to the southeastern outskirts of Omashu. "That's actually why I mentioned Gaoling. If he doesn't change course sharply, he'll end up either there or near Kyoshi Island, but there's definitely nothing for him on the island."
(End of Chapter)
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