The foxes gathered around the three in a protective circle in the center of the planetarium's floor while the owl-spirit took off overhead with an otherworldly screech. He circled high above, pelting the night air with his wings. The building began to shake. The foxes looked to her assuringly and rubbed their muzzles against them, saying it would be okay, and the sand poured off the sides of the building in heavy sheets as the library rose from the ground. It felt like an earthquake, but, rather than the building being damaged, it was being restored. It created such shockwaves that it might have been felt even as far as the Misty Palms Oasis. The three knelt on the floor with the foxes until the shaking ceased, then the animals perked up their ears and stood up.
"Is it over?" Zuko asked. The foxes tugged at their clothing, urging them to follow, and the group were led down the tower and stairs, circling the atrium and descending level by level to the column hall of the arboretum. The mahogany doorway opened at the touch of the owl-spirt's wingtip. The foxes pranced out the threshold and down the stone steps. Behind their footsteps were sparks of what looked like the same fire of the dragons, the fire of life. When they stepped onto the sand, grass-clusters and wildflowers bloomed at their heels. Green spread like a wildfire across the desert sand, sinking itself deeply into the ground and crawling up the sides of the building in vines of grape-leaves. Palm trees and olive groves erupted.
The three walked down the steps. Around them the desert was being transformed into an oasis and it spread far and wide, fragrant and humid, like an ocean of life.
Katara looked back to the library. Its palatial form was hard to view all at once, as the scale was celestial. Stone pathways and garden-walls snaked out across the ground, then tracked upwards to form other buildings of a smaller scale, the substance materializing out of thin air guided by sparks flowing in a line she couldn't fully see. A city grew around them from the empty desert. Wavering into existence like a mirage, the images resolved into solid objects. Wan Shi Tong approached them and explained, "This is the city as it had been before its fall, from the time when this library was celebrated by my adherents and the city was a famed wonder of the world. I have restored all."
Her senses piqued. Water was flowing underground, as if through stone channels. She ran to the side of a well and looked down. "There's water!"
"This site," said the owl-spirit, "was the original paradise. The water of life started here."
The desert was unrecognizeable.
A large, fast object passed overhead and turned back towards them, slowly lowering itself. "Appa!" The sky bison landed nearby on the newly formed grass.
Aang waved at her from the reins and shouted down, "We've finally found the library. This building appeared out of nowhere and my Avatar senses were honing in on a large spiritual energy radiating from this area."
He went into the saddle and used airbending to conduct something down. As for 'we', a young man in a chair with wheels attached was lowered from the saddle and placed onto the ground. Song ran to him and threw her arms around him. "Teo!"
"Song, you're okay. I'm sorry it took so long to find you," he said in a gentle voice. "We've spent months making trips over the desert by this animal, but it's just too vast, and we needed to rest to let Appa recover in between each attempt. It wasn't until Aang noticed the spirit activity here that we could find it."
"You were looking for me?"
"Of course I was. Your mother told me why you sent me on a wild turkey-goose chase through the city. It was dangerous to come here alone—you didn't have to do that for my sake. You could have died in this desert. I've missed you so much, I prayed every day to be able to find you."
The owl looked them over approvingly. Katara wondered if they had redeemed his perception of humanity from the trespasses of Zhao. "Humans, I am restoring this library and oasis-city, Shambhala, for the benefit of your world. The desert, now, will return to the state it was in before the desolation and the land will again be fertile. Avatar, you must protect this site and consider it sacred."
He went before the owl-spirit and bowed, clutching his glider at his side. "Thank you, great spirit. I think my friends and I have some catching-up to do." He glanced to Katara and Zuko. "Fancy finding you both here."
"We seem to be in the habit of meeting in strange places," said Zuko.
"Well, at least you aren't bombarding a village this time," replied Aang, and as he laughed the owl-spirt glared down sharply while Zuko waved his hands in front of his chest trying to dispel the silent accusation. Appa had taken the chance to find a shallow channel at the surface and take a deep drink. By that time the ostrich-horses had found their way out of the library and emerged to graze by moonlight. "Teo, I want you to meet," he began saying, then looked back and let it drop as Song cried in his arms. "Well, I'll introduce you later." The foxes approached him curiously, and he knelt and held a hand out like greeting a puppy.
Song broke from their kiss and knelt beside Teo on the grass, then said, "I'm sorry. I read a thousand books on medicine, but I never found a cure for you. It doesn't matter to me, though. I like you as you are."
"I would rather have you than the ability to walk. We'll have to visit your mother and let her know you're well. My friend can give us a ride." He nodded towards Appa, whose face was dripping with water, which he shook off into the new grass. "With all that knowledge you've read, she'll be wanting to expand the medical practice."
"I've learned so much here, and now that the library is back at surface level we'll be able to come back whenever we want." She stood, then walked to the owl-spirit and laid a hand on the soft feathers of his belly. "Thank you, Wan Shi Tong."
"I shall look forward to the new volumes to be written. Perhaps you can make a contribution. I would like to read something penned by your hand," he said, sounding almost paternal towards her. She turned back and returned to Teo's side, and, while neither of them watched, he lifted a wing and made a gesture. Aang glanced up. Something passed between them, invisibly, and then he returned his wing to his side. He noticed them watching. "This area will need a new population to tend to the land and structures. Avatar, you will see this done."
"New population?" He thought a moment. "Maybe we can settle the refugees from Ba Sing Se here."
With a last remark, the owl-spirit said, "By the way, I favor camellias. See them cared for," and then took off towards the tower of the library. From the ground he had been standing on, a grove of white camellias sprung up and bloomed under the moonlight, full and white. There before the flowers they caught up and spent the rest of the night discussing what to do.
In the morning they woke late but found they were still in the shade provided by the garden and new city. Overnight even more had resolved while they slept and the city was dense and verdant with tree-lined streets and rich gardens. Surrounding the main city were newly sprung orchards and fields of vegetables. Aang took to glider and did a pass-over while Katara and Zuko took Appa up for a survey. Song, meanwhile, preferred to stay on the ground with Teo and catch up with him privately.
Humidity was retained in the air and soil. The oasis had spread so far and wide that it must have overtaken half the desert. Zuko said to her, "There are thousands of acres of fertile land here, more than the surrounding region at Ba Sing Se or anywhere else. If we can get a population to move here and farm the fields we'll never have another famine."
Katara thought of what the owl-spirit had told her of a world slowly in decline, its energy of life fading, and wondered if the newly returned city and the reversal of the desertification might be the start of a larger renewal and a second chance for humanity. They still had time to change how the spirits viewed them, and the spirits were still willing to heed their pleas. When they landed, she told Aang, "I wonder if more areas can be restored this way. The owl-spirit implied there were other places that have been lost."
"Like the city of the dragons," said Zuko. He looked to Aang. "Well, Jeong Jeong told me not to tell anyone, but I think the Avatar should be okay. In your past life, you knew them."
"Roku's dragon," Aang replied. "I remember him. Fang. He died trying to protect me—Roku, I mean. Are there more dragons?"
"Yes, but we have to keep them a secret until their population is restored. It will take a long time. Unless you happen to know of any more dragon eggs lying around."
"Erh, well, I'll see what I can find." He rubbed his head, his arrow gleaming in the softened sunlight. "That must be an awfully big egg."
"Well, about yea big," Zuko said, and gestured. "For now, we should get going back to Ba Sing Se to inform King Kuei that he can settle this area with the refugees." As they spoke, the foxes emerged from the library's front steps and stretched in the grass. Zuko knelt and called one over to them, and then asked, "Can you send a note for me? It will be a while before we can go home, and I want to let my family know I'm okay." The fox nodded, then returned a while later ferrying paper and a stationary set held in a package with a rope handle he could carry by his mouth. He set it on the ground and waited, his orange tail flicking casually in the breeze, for Zuko to finish writing. However, he seemed to be penning two letters, and Katara leaned over to read the other.
Azula,
We found the library and gained something amazing from it. Why did you suggest it to us?
—Zuko
"Do you think she'll answer?" Katara asked.
Katara looked back at the library. "It seems we'll have a long journey back on Appa. Maybe we should take some books with us for the trip."
"Really? Aren't you tired of reading? You've been trapped in a library for more than a month."
"The books were the point of the trip." She stood up and walked off, but he followed, caught up, and held hands with her. When they entered the building they were no longer prisoners there, but friends.
#
Aang hummed an old song that Monk Gyatso had once taught him. Its notes were inaudible behind the roar of the wind. Behind him the saddle was full to capacity with the four passengers and their luggage. They'd left the ostrich-horses in the city to provide some transportation for whoever came after, though Zuko had mentioned the owl-spirit had plans to eat the animals and didn't know how long he would hold off on doing so.
They passed a dense area of forest and Teo called out that they were getting close. Before long fields overtook the woods and a village was at their center of dark wooden roofs and white-washed walls. A reservoir was bridged with a long road and fences delineated the different plots of land and formed pens for cattle. At the center of the village was a town square and a massive ginkgo tree which must have been ancient. They landed Appa nearby it and a crowd began to form. Aang was used to the attention and gave a quick wave and shout of, "He's friendly!" as their greeting, then helped Teo and Song down from the saddle.
"Song!" cried a woman, who ran over to them. "You're back, you're safe." She wrapped her in a hug. They resembled each other and wore the same style of outfit. The woman turned to Teo and said, "You really did find her."
"I promised I would."
Her family owned an expansive medical facility and herbal garden, where they provided cupping, accupuncture, hot stone massages, and crafted medicine. The jars of balms and vials of tinctures were meticulously sorted into a large shelving unit with over a hundred small drawers, catalogued for all the ingredients stockpiled. They and the staff lived in residential wings of the building, and there were enough rooms even for the patients to have boarding. In the back of the house a seating area adjoining the kitchen was opened to the outside and a large rectangular table of polished and lacquered wood tinted red under the lantern hung above. Maple trees from the garden were burnt orange and wrinkled dark red, late into their season. Autumn was almost over, and the farmers were busy making their final harvests. Their arrival coincided with the harvest festival, Chuseok, and a feast was already being prepared. Tables were laden with songpyeon cakes in sakura-pink, cream-white, and pine-green, which were steamed over a layer of pine needles and still fragrant, while makgeolli and soju were poured. Jeon fritters, japchae, tteokguk soup, and beef bulgogi were plated for them.
Aang picked through looking for the vegetarian dishes. He found himself weak to alcohol and was flushed after one cup of baekju, a creamy white rice wine. While their travel outfits were being washed everyone had been provided with spare local garments. Katara wore a billowing blue-green skirt under the same type of jeogori as Song had, while the men had loose baji trousers and full length jackets.
Children ran through the village in masks playing a coarse version of the pungmul music they were learning from their elders but had not yet perfected. All the houses were open and visitors could travel freely between them, sharing food and exchanging gifts. Momo was dissecting a yakgwa cake on the table and plucked the pine nuts one by one to eat first. Once he had dug in to the center of the palm-sized cake his paws were sticky from the honey, and Aang excused himself to clean the lemur off. He went to the well and pumped water while holding his tail pinned under his foot. "You did this to yourself." The lemur thrashed and trilled as he poured water onto him, and then Aang knelt to plunge his paws in the remaining water and scrub the fur. "With everything opened like this and people able to come and go from the houses freely, it feels like the air temples did." He thought of the Northern Temple. "If the desert could be restored, maybe the temple could someday as well. I saw the reconstruction at Gao Ling and watched Toph make a new castle of obsidian at Shu Jing." Losing himself in memory, Momo had the chance to slip from his grasp and soared into the branches of the ginkgo tree to shake himself dry.
Seeing him alone, a group of young children ran to him and began dancing out of sync, their faces hidden behind costume masks too big for them.
When he returned inside, Song was seated beside Teo and Zuko beside Katara. Aang sat at the opposite end of the table from Song's mother. They were both alone. Aang took another cup of the rice wine.
"Oh, Aang," said Teo. "You three can stay as long as you like before going to the city. I know Appa gets tired."
"Are you not coming with us?"
"I've been to the city enough, and Song wants to write down some of what she learned and teach the others at the medical center. They had instructions for completely new types of medicine."
"Besides which, I haven't seen my mother for three years," said Song. "I want to enjoy being home at last."
#
Zuko fidgeted as they alighted from the bison's saddle into the courtyard of the palace. The last time I was in this city, I was wanted as a criminal. Without disguise, in the new outfit Song's family had provided, he entered the palace and greeted the king. Kuei leapt from the throne and met the three like old friends. It was a long and strange story, told over tea and sliced custard-apples, but he didn't doubt a word. "I never imagined—the desert changed into farmland," said Kuei. "I'll have an announcement made to the citizens and we'll gather volunteers to settle the new city. Many had once been farmers, so I'm sure those refugees will be happy to have land again. Being in the city is unnatural for them and I know there has been much dissatisfaction with their accommodations."
The Dai Li were gone. Jet, in their wake, held position at the head of a new division of guards, refusing to carry the taint of the name of the old order, though he declined to greet them and was only sighted at a far distance slinking away to another room.
Somewhere nearby, locked in a cell, his sister was still being held. He wondered if she received his letter and whether she would reply, but was still too uncomfortable to ask her anything in person. Kuei had probably expected him to ask for her to be released, but he had not, and the king spoke closely to Aang, much more comfortable with the young monk than with his former enemy, the brother of the woman who had done such damage to his city guard.
Katara finally had her maple-leaf mochi, specially made just for her. They were not quite the same as the ones made in the Fire Nation, but they were close, and she tore through the stack then sat back contented. "We barely made it. Now that it's winter they won't make any more of these until next autumn."
"I'll have to buy my uncle some tea while we're here. We can go shopping tomorrow." Aang would be flying them both back to the Fire Nation whenever they were finished in the city, as he wanted to visit Suki and Sokka. Thought of home made him realize that he would have another problem soon—his nation didn't know their Firelord had officially been married. "The advisors won't be happy with our development. Many of them were against our engagement but assumed they had time to break us up."
"There is nothing they can do about it now," she replied. "They can go and argue with Wan Shi Tong, and he can stuff their heads for a plaque on his wall."
Kuei paused his conversation with Aang and looked over to them. "What's this? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing happened," Zuko replied quickly. Flashes of an impending overly lavish wedding and the two being paraded like royal poodlemonkeys left him chilled to consider. "I sure can't wait to send a research team to learn from the new library materials."
He took the bait. "Oh, yes. Ba Sing Se University will be sending an expedition soon. I'll introduce to you Professor Zei later, he is the one who first postulated the existence of the library in the Si Wong desert, and I'm sure he'll have many questions for you. I'm told he has been in a depression the past weeks, he had something like a mental breakdown and was screaming about being attacked by spirits. He's been bedridden since then, but this news will surely cheer him up."
I guess the owl wasn't gentle in his visit. "We would love to meet the professor."
#
A/n:
"King Manjuśrīkīrti is said to have been born in 159 BC and ruled over a kingdom of 300,510 followers of the Mlechha religion, some of whom worshiped the Sun. He is said to have expelled 20,000 people from his domain who clung to Surya Samadhi (solar worship) rather than convert to Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) Buddhism. After realizing these were the wisest and best of his people and how much he was in need of them, he later asked them to return and some did. Those who did not return are said to have set up the city of Shambhala."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambhala
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