Avatar, The Last Airbender: The Shadow of Kyoshi (The Kyoshi Novels #2)(10)
“Make it happen,” Kyoshi said curtly.
Jinpa nodded. Then he paused, as if wondering how to frame his next statement. “I didn’t open all of today’s letters. One of them came by special courier.”
“Half the letters we get are by ‘special courier,’” Kyoshi scoffed. Grandiose deliveries with envelopes stamped with Urgent and For the Avatar’s Eyes Only in loud green ink were common tricks the Earth Sages tried, in order to grab her attention.
“This one is genuinely special.” Jinpa reached into his robe and pulled out a message tube he’d been safekeeping.
It was red.
The sturdy metal tube was end-capped with gilded flames. In the surroundings of the staid but clearly Earth Kingdom furnishings of the apartment, the scroll case looked like an ember in a forest, threatening to catch. An army of wax seals guarded the seams.
Jinpa passed it to her with both hands like an object of reverence. “I believe this is from Fire Lord Zoryu himself.”
Her first direct correspondence from a head of state. Kyoshi had never met the Fire Lord, nor had he ever written her before. The only contact she’d had with the Fire Nation government was the envoy who’d visited her in Yokoya soon after the news broke of her Avatarhood. The sharply dressed minister had watched her raise a modicum of all four elements, nodding to himself as each one was checked off in turn. He’d saluted Kyoshi, politely stayed for dinner, and then left for his homeland the next morning to report the new state of affairs. She remembered appreciating the lack of grief the foreign delegate gave her in comparison to her own countrymen.
Breaking the seals and opening the case felt like damaging a historical artifact. Kyoshi kept as much of the wax’s original shape as she could and unfurled the scroll inside.
The writing was direct and to the point, devoid of the flourishes Earth Kingdom officials thought were necessary to curry favor with her. Lord Zoryu needed the Avatar’s assistance on a matter of national importance. If she would come visit the royal palace as his honored guest to celebrate the upcoming Festival of Szeto, a significant holiday in the Fire Islands, he could explain further in person.
“What does it say?” Jinpa asked.
“It’s an invitation to visit the Fire Nation.” A debut on the world stage. She swallowed the nervousness that had suddenly clumped in her throat.
Jinpa saw her hesitation and clasped his hands together, beseeching. “This is exactly what I’m talking about, Avatar. The Four Nations aren’t going to let you remain out of the public eye forever. Please don’t tell me you’d snub the Fire Lord, of all people.”
Kyoshi mulled it over. She doubted the ruler of the Fire Nation would waste her time with a frivolous request for help. And her frustrations with her own country were threatening to push her past her breaking point. A change of scenery might be called for.
“And it’s a holiday festival,” Jinpa added. “You might even have fun. You are allowed to enjoy yourself from time to time, you know.”
Leave it to an Air Nomad to fall back on fun as the last argument. “You can write back and tell the Fire Lord I am honored to accept his invitation,” she said. “We’ll start planning the trip tomorrow. I don’t think I can handle any more business for today.”
Jinpa bowed solemnly, hiding his satisfaction that finally the Avatar was stepping up to her responsibilities. “No one needs their rest more than the Avatar.” He left the room for the office they’d set up down the hall.
Alone, Kyoshi stared at the cream-colored paper in silence. She hadn’t mentioned to Jinpa the portion of the letter that tipped the scales in favor of the visit.
It was a very specific piece of news at the end of the Fire Lord’s message. The former Headmistress of the Royal Academy had returned home after a long convalescence in Agna Qel’a, the capital of the Northern Water Tribe. So had her daughter. Perhaps the Avatar would like to see them, given the three had been acquaintances in Yokoya? They certainly wished to see her.
Acquaintances. Kyoshi didn’t know it was possible to feel such relief and distress at once. She wasn’t in the Fire Nation yet and already she could picture who was waiting for her, the walking blaze of pure heat and confrontation. In the darkness of her exhaustion, a point of shining light beckoned.
Rangi.
Kyoshi carefully folded the paper and tucked it into her robes, close to her thumping heart. Despite her secretary’s wishes, she was not going to be getting much sleep tonight.
PAST LIVES
Jinpa’s bison Yingyong had only five feet instead of the usual six. As a calf he’d been attacked by a predator and lost his left forelimb. As an adult, the injury caused him to list slightly to the side when he was flying, which required Jinpa to give a gentle tug with the reins in the opposite direction every so often to maintain a straight course through the air.
Kyoshi had gotten used to traveling in Yingyong’s arcs. Kelsang’s bison Pengpeng was busy raising calves of her own at the Southern Temple in a well-deserved retirement, and Kyoshi had never expected their relationship to be permanent. Pengpeng might have been willing to put up with her, may have even liked her, but only a single Air Nomad could truly partner with one of the great beasts for life.
She and Jinpa flew a little lower than usual on their way to the Fire Nation, close to the green waters of the Mo Ce Sea, where the air was warm and easy to breathe. The beautiful weather allowed it. Scoops of clouds drifted overhead in the blue sky, providing little pockets of shade for them to dip between.