Chapter 24: Shen Guan

Omashu was a magnificent place, where King Bumi had united essential benders into an environment where their abilities accumulated and flourished. I was speaking, of course, of the benders assigned to the so-called "offense" and "defense." Smiths and architects repaired, created, and built, while soldiers focused on combat, distributing the burden evenly. Moreover, history made it clear that Bumi had gone to great lengths to address the poverty of his people; everything within his system ran like clockwork. The question arose – how? How could one man know so much about everything: strategy and tactics, construction and combat, the work of a miner, and even the needs and desires of the common folk? Or perhaps, he simply could.

The hundred-year-old King told me about a couple of interesting places he recommended visiting before I headed to my final destination, Kyoshi Island. I was meant to have some fun and hopefully learn a thing or two, visiting the sites of the former glory of a master earthbender. The latter was the real draw: you couldn't say Bumi became King simply by inheritance or stepped into a ready-made life; even if he held the title of King and was thus a Monarch, among the Earth Kingdom people, there is only one true heir to the throne, residing in Ba Sing Se. In outlying regions where a firm hand and powerful bending are paramount, a leader is chosen as a sort of supreme commander-in-chief – in this case, he has ruled several times longer than the Earth King himself, giving him immense influence. Well, that was just a bit of interesting Earth Kingdom history that Afka brought directly to my hands.

Most important was how he mastered all his skills. After marking several points of interest on my map, I headed out of the city. It felt as though the place might collapse or come under attack if I stayed too long. I’m exaggerating, of course, but even so, I wanted to leave quickly before my "unluckiness" touched anyone else. Passing through the gates, feeling the shocked stares of the soldiers directed at my back, those who had finally realized who had been in the city all this time, I hopped on my scooter and headed into the mountains.

"Our goal is Shen Guan, a fortress city," I said to Afka, who was draped around my neck. She resembled a literal fox scarf, huffing and "af-ing" at my every word. "One of the very few cities near Omashu that was never captured. Just imagine, it has held out exactly as long as Omashu, even though it’s not as high up in the cliffs, and as the map shows, there’s a forest nearby where one could easily hide."

"Af, af…" she chattered, her sounds tinged with confusion.

"We’re going to find out the reasons behind such an unusual fortress. Bumi said it would be fun..."

******

The journey, spanning a couple of days, led us into a completely different habitat. The bare, yellow cliffs, from which it was incredibly easy to extract sand, gave way to green pine-topped peaks and large mounds with stones protruding in every direction. The air here smelled of moss and damp earth after a rain. We were approaching the sea, which could even be seen from a high vantage point; this meant battles were often fought here against invading Fire Nation benders. All those massive boulders lying haphazardly on one another, the piles of fallen trees with smashed or charred trunks, these were the aftermath of such skirmishes.

Holding a fortress in a place like this... absolute heroism. The Fire Nation’s advanced navy was surely capable of sweeping away most coastal villages and outposts; it was by the water that they had their maximum flow of reinforcements, which could simply overwhelm through sheer numbers and machinery... provided, of course, the earthbenders took no action. Any large detachment could be stopped by a sudden landslide, a giant pit trap, or a ton of other snares I encountered here from time to time. Even in the simple forest, the ground was littered with spikes and abandoned points of resistance, fortified outposts that were remarkably well-constructed.

"Apparently, it was intentionally destroyed. But look how strong the stone is here," I said, climbing onto one of the stone blockposts where the ground in front was scorched and the trees splintered. I touched the wall. I had never taken an interest in construction skills, though I knew how to create, stone huts for overnight stays, but my amateur crafts were nothing compared to this level of building technology. "I wonder why the firebenders don't just capture this place and reinforce it with metal?"

"Af!" Turning toward the little fox, I saw her nose pointing toward a cliff where a pile of stones was balanced... Logic took over, and I quickly realized that one could trigger a landslide with bending. In short, the locals had created so many traps that the Fire Nation couldn't even establish their steel bastions!

"I suppose this is where Bumi learned architecture," I mused. After traveling a bit further, I stopped on a slope. Before us stood the fortress city that allowed the locals to slap the Fire Nation across the face. The tall citadel was made of reinforced stone blocks, with earthbenders on the towers preparing for defense, while a beautiful and perfectly intact stone path led to the city itself, as if mocking anyone who dared to invade.

In excitement, I approached, standing before the gate guard and giving a friendly wave.

Except...

"Passage is closed! Suspicious type with a threatening look, if you don't leave, we’ll pelt you with rocks!" the booming guard protecting the small city's gate shouted, hoisting a boulder over my head. Even the sentries on the walls watching us seemed aggressive and paranoid...

"Isn't this a city? Do you take refugees?" The soldier's response was starting to annoy me.

"Who in their right mind would seek refuge from the Fire Nation on the front lines? This is a military town. Only architects can officially report here for the protection of the coast and trade routes. Are you an architect?"

"Um... I'm a smith."

"Then get lost," the man raised his fists threateningly. The guards stood their ground... perhaps if they let everyone in, the city wouldn't have lasted so long, but it deprived me of a great opportunity for self-discovery and learning ways to shape matter. On the other hand, I already had experience with this sort of thing.

"Maybe you need help pushing the enemy back from your territories?" I rubbed my palms together. With enough will, the entire surrounding area could be cleared in a day or two. But... the guard literally laughed in my face.

"Our traps push back the enemy better than any warrior," he scoffed. Well, right... otherwise, the fortress would be under siege. I began to realize that I shouldn't overstate my skills; it wasn't the place of a teenage bender to instruct and lead fifth-generation elite warriors into battle. Though the Avatar and his group of companions might have disputed that statement...

Turning away before I was brained for standing like a statue, I went to some nearby trees and sat on a stump to think.

[Choose:]

[1 — Continue down the road (Is there any point in infiltrating a military town where you aren't welcome? Find a way to have fun and achieve your goal through other means.)]

[2 — Go to another place of glory (Deciding to optimize your time, you will continue to follow the map. You understand perfectly well that you won't open a chakra here, which means you can ignore the abilities attainable in this place. You will learn more useful skills elsewhere. You will not learn architectural techniques.)]

Anubis was rushing to the rescue as always. However, the options didn't shine with much variety; moreover, neither suggested staying to learn. I stood up and paced slowly around the town. The inspection allowed me to understand how good the sun-drenched castle was from a defensive standpoint. Patrols on the towers were ceaselessly vigilant of anyone nearby, and the monstrously hard soil near the city prevented unskilled earthbenders like me from tunneling in. The walls made me salivate; the only way in was through the gates. I would have learned more by exchanging just a few words with whoever built this, but I had no acquaintances among the "elite."

In short...

"Forget this."

If Bumi thinks trying to figure out a way inside is "fun," I don't get him. I only came here to try and understand how to open the second chakra; even Anubis clearly indicated there was nothing useful inside for me. I had to head down the stone road in the direction away from the city. Apparently, there was something to be learned, the first option provided for that, but the town itself is useless trash.

On the way to the sea, I decided to turn slightly into the forest to create a sanctuary for training. Finding a cozy spot on a rise shielded by trees, I dug a tunnel and furnished it in the most comfortable way I could. From the outside, it was completely indistinguishable, and the walls were quite sturdy, protected, as I thought, by an extra layer of earth on top. Then I sent Afka off for books on the relevant subject, and once I had a snack, I went for a walk. Somewhere, I had to find that ghost of "fun."

"Ur-ur!"

But coming out to the road and walking closer to the sea, I seemed to stumble upon something else entirely. Sounds resembling a sick creature hiding behind a few trees near the trail. Blinking and squinting, I slowly approached, spotting a large and frightening creature with yellow eyes, green scales, and a saddle.

"A toad-lizard?" I recognized it only because I had read a compendium of Earth Kingdom creatures in Omashu. The animal was tamed, as seen by the gear on its back, but the owner was nowhere to be found. The creature clearly had a burn on its neck, suffering whenever it tried to inflate its throat sac. "Someone else suffering again."

A shadow fell over my face. Seeing me, the beast immediately reared up, hissing threateningly a few times. But then its legs trembled, and the massive body collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"And Afka’s gone... unlucky again, letting her go so early," I wanted to roll my eyes, but I had to manage with what I had on hand. I unpacked my travel bag and began pulling out supplies one by one, reaching what was at the very bottom: bandages, high-calorie rations, candles, charcoal, and spare jennomite. Spare filters for a spare dust mask. Here was the main mask. I should change its filters. And finally, the cooling ointment for burns. "I knew it would come in handy! What idiot walks around this world without burn ointment, gauze, or in my case, my usual face cloth, and a small manual on fire-fighting and burn care?"

Over so many years of war, many ways to treat burns had been devised. The problem was just getting close to the distrustful beast. I had to pull sand from my gourd and pin down its legs and maw, like a fool, I hadn't brought a manual for treating deep wounds and monster bites.

Boom-Crash!

At the same moment I heard the growling and began applying the ointment, a sound echoed from the sea. Something resembling the catapult salvos of the Fire Nation; they had tried to use them against me before, but had never managed to hit. Now, obviously, they were firing at something else. Another siege, apparently.

Before I could even finish applying the ointment to half the neck, someone came bursting through the bushes, tripping over tree roots, and ran straight toward me. It turned out to be a girl in a dark green dress and light green trousers; the breathless stranger froze with a tense gaze the moment she saw me. Our eyes met... her pupils darted between me and the beast I had pinned down in every possible way.

"...Look, I'm helping him, got it? Don't even think about making me look like a creep."

CRASH!

In that exact second, just a few meters from us, a massive, flaming boulder landed, scattering wood splinters in all directions. Several large logs came hurtling straight at us. Extending tendrils of sand from my gourd, I stopped the oblong projectiles in a second.

"How do they know where to hit?"

"Eagles. Run!" the girl shouted, grabbing her creature’s lead. But we didn't even have time to move; I looked up and saw several more very unpleasant and large stones, and red-feathered birds were circling above. I had to release the beast from its sand bindings and concentrate on the target. Clenching my fists, I first sent a precise sand projectile at each of the birds, encasing them in stone. Taking a firm stance, I prepared to deflect the impact.

"Darn... that's bigger than it looks."

"Build a wall, you idiot!" the girl screamed, apparently also realizing we couldn't outrun it. So I had to drive my feet into the ground, summoning a large, densely packed monolith.

CRACK!

The colliding stone sent fragments flying. It stopped the projectile, but I had to protect us from my own wall.

"Did you make that out of cardboard? Why is it so useless?" the girl asked, instantly astonished. So sincerely, so bluntly, that I felt embarrassed and huffed.

"Let's just get out of here." To keep the beast from overexerting itself, I threw my hands up and forced the earth to swell. With "tidal" movements mimicking the style of waterbenders, I created a literal wave of earth, upon which we "flowed" away from all the projectiles. "Where are your companions?"

"I was alone, studying blueprints for finished outposts." Realization came quickly, an Architect. This was the "other way" Anubis had spoken of. Someone who could teach me to build properly. What luck.

"Then why didn't you help yourself with bending?"

"Maybe because I'm not a bender at all?"

Or perhaps there was no luck to be found here whatsoever...