Book 1: Energy

Chapter 1: Culling the Lotus

The Grand Lotus shuffled his papers around on the podium once more. The preparation was taking longer than he'd expected, and his speech would have to be delayed.

Problems like this were to be expected, considering the scale of the endeavor. Order members were being gathered from across the globe to the new base in Ba Sing Se, so some complications were inevitable. Still, this was meant to be a climactic moment, and it shouldn't have to suffer just because some guard was late getting to his post.

After a long, awkward pause, and several re-shuffling's of his notes, a Lotus Sentry on the other side of the room gave him the all clear. The Grand Lotus gave a call to order, silencing the White Lotus agents who had begun to converse amongst themselves during the wait. They fell into silence as his voice carried out over loudspeakers across the hall.

"Order of the White Lotus," He began. "After many years, we are once again called to serve in the manner of our forebears."

Needlessly theatrical, this speech was, but the Order had been founded on ideals of poetry and beauty. They still liked to throw in a little embellishment now and then.

"With the death of Avatar Korra four years behind us, it is time to focus our efforts on the discovery and safeguarding of the new Avatar, as Avatar Aang tasked our predecessors. We have been working with the United Earth Kingdoms these past five years to gather information on all children of appropriate birthdate. A list of potential Avatar incarnates has been rigorously assembled and verified. Order Representatives will soon be dispatched to villages across the region to watch for signs of the Avatar."

The wind started to howl outside. Gusts slipped through open windows and sent a chill through the room.

"The new generation is upon us. This may seem a time of excitement and new purpose, but I urge you to carry out your duty solemnly and with dignity. The coming of a new Avatar often heralds the coming of new dangers as well. Always remember your purpose."

The wind screamed again outside, but the Order of the White Lotus screamed louder, with every member declaring their oath in unison.

"To protect the Balance," They screamed.

The wind screamed back.

With a shrieking howl and a heavy crack, the stone wall of the White Lotus assembly hall split in two, shattering to pebbles under the force of a screaming maelstrom, wind focused into a destructive hurricane. Debris and men alike were flung into the air and scattered before the storm.

Caught off-guard but not unprepared, it took little time for the White Lotus to mount a defense. Airbenders began to counter the gusting winds while earthbenders hurled heavy stones into the core of the storm, hoping to strike whatever Bender hid at the center. But as the massive stones hurtled towards their mark, the storm only took on new life. Gouts of lightning shot forth, following the trajectory of the attacking stones, striking those that launched them with burning fury. Soon the lightning strikes began to follow their marks to airbenders countering the storm, and any other who tried to halt the advance of the storm.

It thundered towards the center of the hall, catching anyone unfortunate enough to be in its path in a twisting gale, and striking those who stayed away with white-hot lightning. The Lotus did what they could, but even the attacks that managed to pierce the tornado seemed to have no effect. There were likely firebenders and waterbenders hidden within, deflecting attacks from their White Lotus counterparts.

The storm raged for a while, consuming the White Lotus who dared to stand in its way, but as the numbers of its opponents dwindled, so did the storms fury. Eventually, as the last of the Lotus acolytes fell, the howling winds faded to nothing. Only the Grand Lotus and his personal entourage stood witness to what was within.

A half dozen hooded figures, dressed in an unrecognizable uniform, but clearly marked in shades of yellow, red, green, and blue, to indicate the four elements. Then two figures in grey, one standing tall and proud, the other only a child, confused and anxious, likely no older than twelve.

"What do you want," The Grand Lotus demanded. He was in no position to demand anything, but he wouldn't falter in the face of what was undoubtedly yet another megalomaniac with a grudge against the Avatar.

"I want to make a demonstration," The tall grey figure said. His hood obscured much of his face, but a grey beard was visible beneath the hanging fabric.

His head turned subtly, scanning the room. There were four High Lotuses flanking the Grand Lotus. He raised his hands with fingers bent like claws, aligning each with one of the four Lotuses. Then with a fierce and sudden movement, he pulled his hands back.

There was a sound like howling again, but not like wind or wolf or any mortal force. It was an unnatural sound, sharp and painful to the ear. The Grand Lotus covered his ears, but it did nothing to dull the shrieking. He looked to his left, and saw the eyes of his subordinates droop as they fell into unconsciousness. The howling seemed to come from within them and around them at once.

The ones around the grey figures seemed deaf to the howling, or perhaps merely used to it. Even the child stood still as the horrendous noise tore through the air, tore through the bodies of the four High Lotuses, and eventually fell silent.

When the horrid howling stopped, the Grand Lotus finally regained his composure and stood to face his opponent. The others soon regained themselves as well, and returned to his side, for all the good they could do.

"Strike me," The hooded figure said.

The grand lotus and his companions remained motionless. There was a pause, which seemed all the more silent for the terrible noise that had come before it.

One of the High Lotus, a firebender, hesitantly eyed the child, but found his resolve soon enough. He was could create lightning in this pause, and hopefully end this before it became even worse.

He gathered his strength and composed himself, resolving the possibility of wounding the child with the necessity of striking down this attacker, balancing his cause and his motivation, the dark and light. He drew on his center of balance, drawing chi along his arm, towards his finger, to its eventual purpose. He aimed at the grey one.

Nothing.

"You will stand witness," The grey one said, staring down the silent fingertips of the Lotus. "All but you."

He looked to the Grand Lotus. The others flailed, lashing out at the grey one with futile stances and strikes, unable to connect to the elements around them.

"The world will know that this is no parlor trick or deception."

The blue and green companions of the grey one struck out, ceasing the flailing's of the Lotus by trapping them in prisons of stone and ice. The heads were left exposed, facing towards the Grand Lotus as the grey one made his approach. Forcing them to watch as he placed his hand on the Grand Lotus' chest, forced to watch as he clenched his fist as if gripping some intangible fabric.

And then they were forced to watch as the grey one pulled, drawing with him a cobalt sheet of energy, glimmering yet somehow immaterial. They watched him pull as the color faded from the Grand Lotus' eyes and the blood faded from his veins.

"This is power."

With a final pull the spectral cobalt was torn from the Grand Lotus with a brief and horrifying sound like tearing meat from a bone. He fell to the ground, hollow and lifeless. The grey one ignored the lifeless corpse he had created and turned to his captive audience.

"No questions?" He said. It was almost a joke.

He grabbed the firebender who had tried to strike him by the chin and stared into his eyes. The hooded man's face was weathered and wrinkled, but still somehow youthful, as if he had aged before his time.

"No one will shelter the Avatar," he said. His eyes met the firebenders. His pupils were gray and ragged. "No one will hide him, train him, or protect him. Or they will answer to me. The Energybender."

With a flick of his wrist, he rendered all four of his captives unconscious. They would wake eventually, to spread his word. For now, he had a moment of privacy.

"Leave us," he said to his followers. Only the child remained behind as his minions retreated into the night, vanishing forever from the ruined hall.

The young boy looked around the devastation around him, the lifeless bodies and the ruined stone. Spectators had begun to gather outside the fearsome ruins that they had created.

"This was a waste," he said. He was trying to be stoic, but his elder could sense pain behind his words.

"This was necessary," the Energybender said. "Our power isn't limitless. We have to scare them, make them afraid to support the Avatar, or he might find allies that would let him overpower us."

He paused for a moment and surveyed his hands. They hadn't been this worn down an hour ago. He had improved on the techniques he had learned from his father, who had learned from his father, but across three generations, none of their family had found a way to counteract the damage Energybending dealt to the soul. Hopefully his younger brother would be able to finish their mission before the toll consumed him as it had their father and grandfather, and would eventually consume him.

"It will fall on you to finish this, brother."

"I know," the younger brother replied. "Find the Avatar. Finish what grandfather started."

"At any cost," his older brother concluded.