Chapter 36: The Si Wong Desert

Azula’s resentment had faded. She had clearly enjoyed my nighttime expression of gratitude. True, the princess’s eye twitched occasionally whenever I practiced generating lightning, but she quickly returned to normal. Slowly, the realization that something might come easier to someone else than to her was sinking in. Especially given the gratitude involved…

My mood had been excellent for quite some time after mastering lightning, and I wanted the people around me to feel at least tolerably well. But the only person nearby was the princess. A princess in love with me, who had discovered the physical aspect of love and undoubtedly enjoyed it just as much as the spiritual one. I tried to ignore the only downsides: a scratched-up back and bite marks on my shoulders and neck. Besides, if I circulated my chi through my body a little, such minor wounds became completely invisible.

Initially, I assumed firebenders were blinded for a few seconds every time they released lightning. That turned out to be a misconception. By the fourth bolt I released, my body had somehow adapted. The lightning no longer blinded me. I couldn't find any physiological reason for this sudden change in vision within myself. Even my chi didn’t seem to be doing anything special. The part of my brain used to relying on science for everything rebelled and protested, but eventually conceded that this was simply magic. Though, that explanation was starting to make my own eye twitch.

Gradually, the pace of our ostrich horse slowed. It wasn't that she had become lazy, the animal was actually very hardworking, she simply physically could not maintain her usual speed. The heat was exhausting her. While we firebenders could ignore the gradually rising temperature thanks to special breathing techniques, our mount was capable of no such thing. The scorching sun caused significant distress to the ostrich horse, which wasn't adapted to such environmental conditions.

Eventually, when we crested a still-green hill, the ostrich horse bucked for the first time. She saw that beyond the descent, a true desert began. The animal's instincts screamed in alarm. I barely managed to restrain her from turning around and bolting back toward Omashu.

The transition from green fields to desert was too abrupt. I had expected it to be gradual, but it was as if a line had been drawn across the earth: endless sands on one side, green meadows on the other. My brain, which hadn't even recovered from my eyes adapting to blinding lightning, simply waved away any logical explanation and decided it was magic. After all, it was high time I got used to all sorts of oddities. It wasn’t that they surprised me… I just dislike things I can’t explain. On the other hand, everything new and incomprehensible to me is interesting. It helps dispel the endless boredom. It captivates me for a while, allowing me to lose myself. In short, my attitude toward these oddities was ambivalent.

"Time to dismount, Princess." Jumping down from our transport, I offered Azula my hand, then simply scooped her up and gently set her on the ground.

"I could have done it myself," she said, though there was no displeasure in her voice whatsoever.

"As you say, Prin—"

Azula interrupted me. "But next time, be sure to help me down exactly the same way."

"I’ll keep that in mind," I nodded, unburdening the ostrich horse of our luggage.

Finally, the saddle and harness were removed. I stroked the horse's flank, then gave it a sharp slap. Out of ingrained habit, the ostrich horse bolted into a run, quickly leaving our stopping point behind. Although she had grown up in captivity, she would survive perfectly well in the wild. That is the nature of these animals.

We could have sold our transport, but there were no settlements nearby. The horse would never have walked into the sands with us. And leaving her somewhere on the border… It was unknown when we would leave the desert or roughly where that would happen.

Rummaging through one of the bags, I pulled out two sand-colored robes, pieces of cloth, bandages, goggles, and several other articles of clothing.

"Princess, you need to change. You are too beautiful."

Azula raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What? You want me to change clothes because of my beauty?"

"Yes. No matter how Si Wong looks from the outside, people live in this desert, as you already know. Surprisingly many for such a perilous land. But the local population is a bit… specific."

"Elaborate," Azula frowned.

"Most of the desert inhabitants are nomads living in tribes. There are only a few permanent settlements in Si Wong. The rest appear and disappear as the nomads break camp. The thing is… Si Wong operates under somewhat savage rules compared to other Earth Kingdom territories. You probably noticed that we didn't encounter a single settlement all day yesterday, even though a cursory glance shows the land is fertile. People simply don't want to settle near the desert.

“Since ancient times, all manner of criminals and outcasts of society have fled into these sands. The authorities couldn't reach them here. It was these criminals who formed the bulk of the local nomadic tribes. It is only relatively safe within the permanent settlements. In any other zone, nomadic tribes might attack us. It’s better to try and pass for locals. The desert dwellers rarely attack their own. They despise their own kind here and won't offer help in a time of need, but if the tribes realize we aren't from these parts, the best case scenario is that they’ll try to rob us.

"Furthermore, Earth Kingdom natives strongly advise against young women entering the desert. Effectively, every inhabitant of the Si Wong Desert is related to one another. The locals realize this isn't good, so they sometimes dilute their bloodlines using captive women."

"I am a firebending master. I think I can handle some nomads."

"Also, this nondescript clothing will help protect against the local weather. And I don't mean the scorching sun," I added quickly, realizing Azula was about to say she could handle the heat herself. "Windburn is quite unpleasant. I wouldn't want your lovely skin to suffer from it."

Even warrior princesses remain women in the end; so, when a threat to Azula's beauty was voiced, she immediately agreed to change.

I helped Azula switch her attire. We considered this normal by now. After all, I had seen her naked, and not just seen… Our outfits were practically identical. From a distance, one wouldn't even be able to tell our gender. We wore loose, thin tunics—tunics, not long-sleeved shirts, because the word 'shirt' simply doesn't exist here. The trousers were also loose. generally, people in the desert preferred loose clothing to avoid getting baked. Over the tunic went a sleeveless vest and a matching robe. For some reason, the locals preferred to wrap their limbs in several layers of bandages. We replicated this as well. Next, we put on goggles to protect our eyes from the sun’s rays. Finally, we wrapped our heads in cloth like turbans, covering even our faces. Now, our appearance resembled the nomads of the Si Wong Desert as closely as possible.

I looked over myself and Azula once more. I made sure that no one could recognize us as Fire Nation citizens, nor as inhabitants of any territory other than the Si Wong Desert. I grabbed the massive bag containing our camping gear, to which two smaller bags were attached. I slung it over my back and nodded to Azula, signaling that we could begin our journey. It was late morning, and staying at the border between the desert and the green meadows for the night would be a waste of time.

Trekking through the desert was definitely more boring than traveling by ostrich horse. Princess Azula did not agree with me. She disliked both options. She admitted she missed her palanquin a little.

The nights in Si Wong were cold. So, the princess and I slept together not just because of her whim, but for warmth. Of course, a firebender can easily warm themselves, but one needs to be conscious to do that.

We held a course roughly toward the center of the desert, toward one of the permanent settlements. It was decided we would start the search for Zhao’s group from there. A compass helped us keep our bearing—a compass that had gone crazy the moment we crossed the visible border, stepping from green grass onto sand. The needle abruptly changed direction. It stopped pointing north, as it had before, and began pointing toward the center of the desert. Fortunately, I had managed to find out about this anomaly back in Omashu, so I oriented myself quickly. I didn't stray from the route even after a hundred steps.

They say there is a rock in the center of the desert that serves as the only landmark in Si Wong not built by human hands. It is this rock that the compass points to from any spot in the desert…

On the third day of our journey, I suddenly felt the crushing presence of something very strong and dangerous. Looking around, I saw only sand dunes and Princess Azula walking ahead of me. My intuition screamed that this creature could crush me without exerting any effort whatsoever. And it definitely wasn't a beast or a human. I would have recognized their attention. Somehow, I had managed to interest a spirit. An extremely powerful spirit.

I was used to trusting my intuition. I tried to listen to it. The immense experience of my past lives simply could not have failed to develop good intuition in me. Though there were times it failed me—gave no signals at all. Most often, this was linked to fatigue.

This had happened before. I had felt the interest of spirits directed at me in the past. It would appear abruptly and vanish just as quickly. I simply lacked the speed to understand where I was being watched from. For example, I remember sensing someone ancient during my skirmish with Jeong Jeong. I even got distracted by it. But I never found the spirit. It was as if it were everywhere within the Foggy Swamp. And it definitely wasn't the monster that fought the Fire Nation soldiers back then. At sea, I was also frequently noticed, but the gazes were fleeting. I hadn't been studied as intently as I was being now, or back in the Foggy Swamp.

The local spirit was different from the one that lived in the swamp. I was able to pinpoint its location quite clearly. My intuition told me that Princess Azula and I were literally walking on top of it. It was buried in the sand.

"Are you the Great Knowledge Spirit, Wan Shi Tong?"

Azula turned around upon hearing my voice.

"Long, despite your firebending, has the sun baked your brain?"

The spirit didn't answer immediately. And it certainly didn't use a mouth. It transmitted the message mentally. One short word: "No." Then, my intuition told me it had lost interest in me and seemingly fell asleep.