02-06-2015, 05:37 PM
"What... IS this place?" I thought to myself as I finally forced myself to start taking in my new environment - My new home? To my left towered a gigantic tree, the biggest I've ever seen, rivaling the legends of a mystical Spirit Tree I remembered hearing from my teacher not three days before. Three days? Or had more time passed since? I'm honestly not sure, it seemed I'd been asleep for a while. And yet, it felt as though I hadn't slept in days...
I jolted to a start as my head began pounding. I remembered now. An apparition, all in white, that looked frighteningly similar to ME. Is that how we are all greeted, I wondered? With a suspiciously frail explanation and a couple of rules? An evil spirit of ourselves to quietly mock us, then toss us into an intimidating and frankly odd new world to just sort of fend for ourselves?
No time to think about that, though! The headache was gone, and with it, my rare desire for introspection. I was completely awake now! I looked again around me, and just then noticed there were people. How had I not realized this yet...? Lots of people! Tons of people, many of them not human, and not one of them dressed even remotely similarly to the next! There were roots, vines and stone cobble extending from around the tree, but past that, the ground just became white, and if not for the mind-blowingly dense and active population around me, I wouldn't have been able to tell the ground from the sky. Though, at the Air Temple, the ground WAS sky half of the time, so that didn't bother me much.
"Haha, this is soo cool!" I shouted, whipping up an air scooter and zipping out into the crowd. There were more people here I reckoned than the biggest Earth Kingdom city I’d ever seen, and surely some of them knew how to have fun! I cut into the crowd, yelling joyfully as the people around me gave bemused glances and returned to their own lives. Laughing, I scanned the sky to see if any other airbenders were around, when
I groggily stood up, having hit a concrete... Nope, that's a man! "Ohh no I'm so sorry" I began to quickly iterate, gesticulating faster and faster to match my voice - "I wasn't paying attention and I ran into you and I'll help if you need help! I can probably make it up t-"
"Mphh... Mphh... BAHAHAAHAHAHAA!"
He had been trying not to laugh this whole time...
"It's fine, kid. 'Nother new arrival? They're comin' in hot these days!"
"Y-yeah?"
"Hahaa! You really are new here! Lemme show you how this works. Ya see that, waaay off in the distance?"
I peered off in the direction he was pointing, where the people stopped, and could faintly see a thin pillar of smoke. "There’s a Fire nation here too! Neat!"
" Nah, kid. Under all that smoke is what’s called a gate, or a portal. Well, that one goes to the Ashen Steppes, you'll want to stay away from there anyway. But there's more of 'em, eight of 'em, and once you pick one, that's where your REAL adventure begins, yeah?" And with that and a pat on the back that nearly knocked me off my feet, he was on his way.
"T-Thanks?" But he was long gone. Huh. Well, he'd done me more good than he really had to anyway. Maybe I should just run into more people?
I felt the need to get on my feet again, so I hopped up and started jogging directly opposite the smoke in the distance. Don't wanna go there, he said! But I had to go somewhere. I gazed out excitedly back past the tree, past the droves of people walking, bartering, fighting, living. Onwards! To explore!
But wait... What about Appa? I guess he didn't get to come with me, huh? But the evil me had said something about Omnillium, and that what I desired most would come to me. Focus on the Omnillium...
“Appa?”
And then suddenly I knew. I could have Appa back… But not now. It was too crowded here, and I’d just have to protect him from the crowd instead of reuniting with my old friend. Disgruntled, I cancelled the Omnillium summoning process. Well. I guess I just have to wait until I find a more open area, then? Maybe. That puts a bit of a damper on my newly cheery mood, but it's okay! He’ll be with me again eventually. Someday... Onwards, then. To explore.
I jolted to a start as my head began pounding. I remembered now. An apparition, all in white, that looked frighteningly similar to ME. Is that how we are all greeted, I wondered? With a suspiciously frail explanation and a couple of rules? An evil spirit of ourselves to quietly mock us, then toss us into an intimidating and frankly odd new world to just sort of fend for ourselves?
No time to think about that, though! The headache was gone, and with it, my rare desire for introspection. I was completely awake now! I looked again around me, and just then noticed there were people. How had I not realized this yet...? Lots of people! Tons of people, many of them not human, and not one of them dressed even remotely similarly to the next! There were roots, vines and stone cobble extending from around the tree, but past that, the ground just became white, and if not for the mind-blowingly dense and active population around me, I wouldn't have been able to tell the ground from the sky. Though, at the Air Temple, the ground WAS sky half of the time, so that didn't bother me much.
"Haha, this is soo cool!" I shouted, whipping up an air scooter and zipping out into the crowd. There were more people here I reckoned than the biggest Earth Kingdom city I’d ever seen, and surely some of them knew how to have fun! I cut into the crowd, yelling joyfully as the people around me gave bemused glances and returned to their own lives. Laughing, I scanned the sky to see if any other airbenders were around, when
*WHAM*
I groggily stood up, having hit a concrete... Nope, that's a man! "Ohh no I'm so sorry" I began to quickly iterate, gesticulating faster and faster to match my voice - "I wasn't paying attention and I ran into you and I'll help if you need help! I can probably make it up t-"
"Mphh... Mphh... BAHAHAAHAHAHAA!"
He had been trying not to laugh this whole time...
"It's fine, kid. 'Nother new arrival? They're comin' in hot these days!"
"Y-yeah?"
"Hahaa! You really are new here! Lemme show you how this works. Ya see that, waaay off in the distance?"
I peered off in the direction he was pointing, where the people stopped, and could faintly see a thin pillar of smoke. "There’s a Fire nation here too! Neat!"
" Nah, kid. Under all that smoke is what’s called a gate, or a portal. Well, that one goes to the Ashen Steppes, you'll want to stay away from there anyway. But there's more of 'em, eight of 'em, and once you pick one, that's where your REAL adventure begins, yeah?" And with that and a pat on the back that nearly knocked me off my feet, he was on his way.
"T-Thanks?" But he was long gone. Huh. Well, he'd done me more good than he really had to anyway. Maybe I should just run into more people?
I felt the need to get on my feet again, so I hopped up and started jogging directly opposite the smoke in the distance. Don't wanna go there, he said! But I had to go somewhere. I gazed out excitedly back past the tree, past the droves of people walking, bartering, fighting, living. Onwards! To explore!
But wait... What about Appa? I guess he didn't get to come with me, huh? But the evil me had said something about Omnillium, and that what I desired most would come to me. Focus on the Omnillium...
“Appa?”
And then suddenly I knew. I could have Appa back… But not now. It was too crowded here, and I’d just have to protect him from the crowd instead of reuniting with my old friend. Disgruntled, I cancelled the Omnillium summoning process. Well. I guess I just have to wait until I find a more open area, then? Maybe. That puts a bit of a damper on my newly cheery mood, but it's okay! He’ll be with me again eventually. Someday... Onwards, then. To explore.
![[Image: Om484Nd.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/Om484Nd.gif)