The Fire Priestess
By Kali Gargoyle
An Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic. Rated ages 13+, for death and scary stuff.
**
Aang absently poked at the campfire with a stick. He watched as the flames sparked and danced with his prodding. An illusion of control.
“...and they were never seen again...” Sokka finished his story, wiggling his fingers in what was supposed to be an eerie manner, to emphasize the spookiness of his tale. He looked at Aang and Katara, and although the latter had at least listened to his story, neither seemed to be affected at all. “Fine then. See if I try and entertain either of you ever again,” he said, crossing his arms.
“You're more entertaining when you don't try,” Katara told him, chuckling. She looked over at Aang, who was still mesmerized by the fire, and absently rubbed her hands together. “Aang?”
The young airbender looked up. “Huh? Oh, is it my turn?”
“You didn't even listen to my story!” Sokka exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at his friend.
Katara glared at her brother, who just sat back and grumbled about people not appreciating great storytelling as a skill. Then the waterbender turned back to the young monk and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Aang answered at first, plastering a smile on his face. Then it faltered. “Actually, I've just got a lot on my mind.”
“That's understandable.”
Before Katara could say anything else, Aang perked up. “Okay!” he said suddenly. “My story!”
Katara sat back to listen.
“It takes place a very, very long time ago, deep within the Fire Nation...”
~~~
“Preparations are complete, Priestess.”
The disciple did not raise his face as the Priestess rose from her meditation, only knowing she had passed him from the sound of the delicate chiming the ornaments of her headdress made. “We must begin immediately,” the Priestess spoke, “if we are going to meet the high sun.”
“Of course,” the disciple replied, rising to follow his priestess, face still lowered. “If I may be so bold, Priestess, is this wise? This has never been attempted... successfully.”
The Priestess continued as if she hadn't heard the concern. She had full confidence in not only her own power, but the knowledge of the skywatchers as well. This would be glorious...
As they entered the large, roofless chamber, the other disciples bowed in respect. A small girl approached, bowing so deeply she almost fell over. “The bonfire is finished, Priestess.”
As everyone else backed away to stand against the walls, fear and concern etched on their faces, the Priestess stepped right up to the edge of the kindling and lifted her face to the sun. She raised her arms and the bonfire burst to life with flames that threatened to embrace everyone in the room. Then it fell to a more manageable size, as if it did not wish to compete with the burning globe overhead.
“Sacred spirits of sun and flame!” the Priestess chanted. “At the highest hour on the nearest day.” She opened herself to the energies filling the room. Drawing energy as she always did to firebend, but made no attempt to create or control the flames around her. “We draw your power into this form!”
The fire blazed fiercely once again, shooting out tongues of golden heat. Many of the disciples fled from the room in fear while others stood with loyalty and faith. In a sudden burst of energy just as the sun reached its apogee, the entire chamber was filled with fire and light. The disciples who had fled could do nothing but listen to the terrifying screams of those still in the chamber.
It was a full minute before the concentrated wildfire receded back into its original bonfire, and the disciples lowered their heads at the loss of their brethren.
“Look!” The small girl from before pointed to something exiting the chamber.
Most of the disciples fell to their knees in reverence. “Priestess!”
They could only tell who she was by her dress, and even that had been burnt and tattered until it was almost unrecognizable. Her sleek black hair was now a bright gold, and her eyes burned yellow, as bright as miniature suns. Her hands and feet were burnt black, fading into flame-like patterns and coloring farther up the limbs.
The disciples who had not bowed, frozen in shock and fear, burst into flames as her eyes met theirs. Those that had bowed did not raise their heads from the floor and shook with terror as the temple was filled with laughter...
~~~
“The temple was abandoned, but they say that the priestess still lives there. It's said that those who are seeking Mastery of Fire go there to learn her secrets, but if you aren't worthy, aren't ready to purify yourself in the sacred flames, you become another sacrifice to the spirits of Fire.”
Katara and Sokka just stared at the Avatar for several seconds. “Is that true?” Katara asked softly.
“There's no way that's true,” Sokka said, letting out a nervous laugh.
Aang just shrugged. “I'm not sure. It's a story I heard from one of my friends a long time ago.” There was another pause between the travelers before Aang spoke again. “Hey, maybe we should-”
“No!” Sokka and Katara shouted at the same time. Aang just pouted.
“We should get to sleep now,” Katara told them, drawing the liquid from her water skin to put out the campfire. “We need to move on first thing in the morning.”
***