The Challenger to Aowaka

"Accidents happen." Hakano said. "You could not have known. Our family has not publicized our weakness to chi-blocking, for good reason. We have a long tradition, and with it, many enemies. They would love to know the secret to our destruction. Though I suspect many of them already have some knowledge of this, it is important that we keep the knowledge from those of our enemies who do not. I'm sure you'll agree."

Outside in the corridor, Kano was slowly making his way to the dining hall, keeping one hand on the wall in case he fell and needed to support himself. He was still extremely weak, but he could walk. That was something. He hadn't bothered with his normal clothes. He was just wearing sandals, a light shirt and pants and a fur-lined robe. As he approached the door, he heard the conversation taking place inside.

"My grandson is a talented bender who shows much promise." Hakano was saying. The compliment made Kano smile. He loved his father, but his grandfather was the true master in the north. Impressing him was a feat unto itself. "It doesn't surprise me that he accepted your challenge." he continued. "Nor does it surprise me that he challenged the Avatar. He is a confident young man. He could, however, stand to learn that some things, you should not play with..."

Kano stood there, listening to every word intently. He found when they carried their conversation into more mundane fields of interest, he no longer desired to join them. He wanted isolation, and he knew just where to find it.

It took him all of five minutes to weave his way up through the proud structure which had been his home his entire life. He found his way to the Moonlight Balcony, a large terrace which hung from the northern side of one of the uppermost floors of the school. It was so called for it's magnificent view of the moon. As he stepped out onto the balcony, he pulled the robe closed around him, tying its belt to keep it closed. He approached the railing, supported by dozens of statues of bipedal wolves, holding their arms high in worship of the moon.

Tonight, the moon was bright and full; it shined with incredible brilliance. He basked in the cold light of it, feeling it's power fill him. He'd felt it over two-hundred times before now, but it was always different. For some reason, it was sweeter tonight than any other night. There was serenity in the moon. Barely a cloud hung in the sky. This was a mighty night.

He might have been standing there, leaning on the rail for a moment or hours, he really didn't know. He lost himself in introspection, in the feeling of where he was, and when. When he opened his eyes, he found himself looking, not at the moon, but at the horizon. In the bright moonlight, it was clearer even than it was in daylight, it's dark border seeming to be the end of the earth.

Kano felt an all-too-familiar feeling wash over him. It bled out the serenity, the power. If overcame his thoughts in every way. He felt restless. Save for the trips they occasionally took to Kyoshi to visit his grandmother, he'd never left the Northern Water Tribe. It was his home. It was comfortable. He knew it well. And yet... there was some part of him that desired more than anything to see what else the world had to offer. He spent his days pouring over texts and scrolls, reading of far off places and incredible skills plied by incredible heroes. He had no experience of any of it, save his tiny corner of the world. He longed to see it all...

"A fine night." said a voice behind him, making him turn. There stood his grandfather, framed in the doorway, looking quite as serene as the moon above.

"Pana." Kano said, using the nickname he had always used for his father's father. The old man smiled.

"It's good to see you back on your feet." he said, joining Kano on the balcony. "You recovered quickly."

"I haven't fully recovered." Kano said. "I still haven't regained my bending."

"There is more to life than bending, Noei." Hakano said. "This night is a perfect example."

Kano watched his grandfather approach the railing and look out at the ocean and the stars. It was the first time they had been alone in many years, since Kano was just a very small child and his mother and father were away in the Earth Kingdom on business of war.

"Your father tells me that you refuse to learn bloodbending still." Hakano said finally, breaking the silence. Kano almost wished he had said nothing. "Is this true?"

"... Yes." Kano said reluctantly. He didn't like to admit this to his grandfather. It had been he, after all, who had perfected the art and brought it into the Aowaka Style.

"I can understand your reluctance."

This comment caught Kano by surprise. He looked over at his grandfather with eyebrows raised.

"Bloodbending is a vicious thing." Hakano said. "It robs people of their bodies and their ability to enforce their will upon them." he turned his gaze upon Kano. "Have you ever asked yourself why I brought such a terrible power into our house, made it a tradition of this family?"

Kano found he did not have an answer for this question. It had never seemed to need much explanation. He had always believed that it was incorporated into the Aowaka Style out of some desire to claim more power. His grandfather seemed to sense his thoughts, for he nodded calmly and with apparent understanding.

"It was not for its power." he said finally, looking back out at the ocean. "I learned the art of bloodbending from a great waterbender named Katara, a master from the Southern Water Tribe. Your father was barely more than an infant, yet I had an all-encompassing urge to protect him. I knew of our family's weakness. I knew that one day he would face a Chi-blocker and on that day, he would die if he had no defense.

"You see, Noei, waterbending is powerful and formidable. In the hands of a master, it can change worlds. However, against someone trained in Chi-blocking, it is almost useless. A Chi-blocker is a master of dealing with benders, an expert in their weakness. Since the time of Aowaka one-thousand years ago, they have been the enemies of our clan. You know this. Bloodbending is their one great weakness, and against them, our greatest strength. In bloodbending, they cease to be a target which can be missed and become the tool of their own destruction. It takes but a thought to bend an element. We do not need to take aim at that which we bend. What a Chi-blocker cannot dodge, he cannot defeat.

"And so, I sought out the only bloodbending master I knew, the only one who had learned the secret art from Hama the Witch. I begged her to give me the power to protect my son and teach him to protect himself and his. Katara took pity on our house and gave me the knowledge. She made me swear that only those for whom it was a vital defense should learn the art from me, from them, or from their pupils. I agreed without hesitation. This is why bloodbending is not taught to the other students of the Aowaka School. Only those with the blood of Aowaka need this knowledge for their survival."

"So that's why I'm the only one..." Kano muttered faintly. He had always wondered.

"Yes." Hakano nodded. "My knowledge of bloodbending came to me on the brink of war. In battle, I was forced to demonstrate my skill. The witnesses to the strength it gave me heralded me as a hero, a champion of the Water Tribes. When I returned to the North and forged the Aowaka School from this place of our ancestors, my students were many in number. One by one, they left me to seek another master. My waterbending and healing was second to none in the North, yet they were not satisfied. They wanted to know the secrets of bloodbending. When I refused them, they accused me of hoarding power, of wanting to keep the might of bloodbending to myself. I was left with only a few loyal students... My word to Katara was my greatest vow, second only to my love for your grandmother. It remains so to this very day."

Kano considered all of this carefully. Most of it was new to him, a history close at hand that had been hidden from his gaze. In truth, he didn't know what to think of it all.

"There's one thing I don't understand." he said finally, voicing the most prevalent question churning in his mind. "Why are we so weak to Chi-blocking to begin with?"

Hakano sighed. It was obvious that something about the answer to this question pained him. Even when he began his explanation a moment later, Kano could tell he was holding something back.

"For thousands of years, our clan have been benders." he said, still staring out at the peaceful sea. "It is nearly unheard of. Only a handful of families are so thoroughly benders. It is not clear how it came to be so, but Heita, the Great Wolf has long favored our family. He empowered us in the ancient days and even now shapes all of our destinies. Perhaps it is simply that we have proven ourselves to be good servants to him. Regardless, every ancestor you have who was a member of the Water Tribes has been a waterbender for millennia.

"Some things, Noei, become so much a part of you that they are indistinguishable from your very existence. Bending is who we are, Kano. To loose it, even for a short while, is to die. This is no metaphor or proverb. The Sons of Aowaka and the Daughters of Enama are as mortally vulnerable to the blocking of chi as we are to the blade or the spear or the arrow. I had held out hope that you would never have to face a chi-blocker. It was foolish of me. In truth, your father was right. You should have been made to learn bloodbending long ago.

"You are on a path that will bring you into the presence of many more warriors like Hakota-Zai." he continued, turning toward Kano. "It is important that you know how to defeat them for your own protection, if nothing else."

"You can say that so easily..." Kano muttered, turning away from him, hanging his head. "But I have to do it. I have to learn this art."

"It was my choice to learn the art of bloodbending, Kano. I chose to take this burden upon myself. Even though it was the only path to protecting my family, I do not look fondly upon the years I spent perfecting it. Learning the art from Katara was not enough. In the beginning, only a night like this, when the full moon graces us with it's power, did bloodbending work. It was useless unless you were ambushed on the night of the full moon. It took decades for me to discover the secret to it's universal use. And even then, it came at a terrible price... and still does. You must come to the full understanding of this skill on your own, Noei, but I offer you this advice -- Listen to your heart. Heita will guide you."

"I don't understand..." Kano said, looking around at the wizened man. "Why can't you teach me?"

"Soon, you will go on a journey." Hakano said. "You will travel to your heart's content. I believe this is the only way that you will be able to find the will to master bloodbending. It will be perilous, but if you survive this trial, you will return a master greater even than myself. Of this, I have no doubt."

"But where would I go?" Kano said. "And how?"

"I believe you know already." Hakano smiled. "For all the danger it presents to you, I know your mind. You want to go with him. You know his reputation as well as I by now. He can show you the world you have so longed to see. Go where the waters carry you, my boy. That is the best way to travel."

Kano stared at him. In the most distant distance, the howl of a wolf was carried on the air.