Randomfella
Rando
"Wake up you sorry sacks!" A voice boomed into the barracks, causing Tao to quickly rise from his bunk, smacking his head on a usual low-point at the ceiling with a *THUD*. With a short groan, the young earth-nation man slumped from his bed, still half asleep, wiping his eyes with his dirt covered wrist, before changing into his uniform. A fit middle-aged man, Captain Bo, stood at the door, watching as the soldiers moved out of the door in form. A master earthbender in his own right, they all respected him, he was the type that deserved it, rather than demanded it.
Tao soon followed suit, being one of the last to venture out, he was stopped suddenly as the Captain's large hand rested upon his soldier. "Not you Tao, we have important work lined up." He stated, causing Tao to look up at him in a sort of surprise, not sure of what he could be meaning. It seemed Bo was not done however, as his eyes continued to scour the barracks, it seemed he was still looking for someone. *BANG* Was all that could be heard as a smaller, more plump young man fell to the ground from his bed, clearly not even close to being up and ready. "S-Sorry... Uh, Captain, Sir." He saluted from his awkward crunch on the ground, before letting out a short groan of pain. "...You too Manik." Bo sighed placing his fingers to the top of his nose. Manik ran over to join the two, smiling with a nod to Tao, the two had joined at similar times, becoming good friends over the years. In response, Tao quickly brought his open hand to the back on Manik's head, giving him a playful slap for his stupidity.
As the Captain exited the barracks, the two young men followed. "We're going to see the general, he has a task for us." Bo announced to the two, causing them to look at one another in shock, it must have been important to warrant such a meeting with privates. As the three entered the general's quarters, they gave a short bow, before taking a seat before him. Two others were already there, a corporal by the name of Ilesh, a large man, he had to be almost 6'6", with bulging muscles to boot, a weapons expert, and not the type you would want to get into a fight with. The other was a lithe female private, Ajala, known for her extensive practice into stealth and disguise.
Finally General Sudhir spoke up, his tone was soft, yet had clear concern to it. "As you all know well the fire nation continues to advance on our territories." He stated, walking toward his window which faced the new fire nation colonies, slightly looking out into the distance. "We need the Avatar now more than ever." He noted, before being interrupted by Manik. "Sir, but there's no way the Avatar is of age yet." He spoke up, causing Tao and Bo to glance daggers at him. Sudhir simply stood still, facing away, before turning around with a nod. "True, but if they want to do their job and save lives, they're going to have to start early." He sighed, before taking a seat before the group. "I need the five of you to go to the Southern Air Temple, our sources say they're there, and I don't doubt them. From there take them to one of the Water Nations to get started on Water Bending, then Master Bo can take care of the rest." Sudhir ordered, looked at each of the soldiers, causing Bo to nod in respect. "The Avatar cycle..." Manik whispered, noting the order in which the general had gone in, Manik's obsession and study of the Avatar had been clear for a while. "We aren't at war, not yet, so don't start trouble, and don't speak a word of this after you leave the room."
With that, the group were dismissed, gathering their gear and leaving on their ostrich-horses. It was clear that they had all been selected for their individual set of skills, Tao had no doubt that they wanted him around for his ability to detect movements in the earth, what better way to see something coming? Manik was ecstatic at the idea of their mission, jotting on his ostrich-horse as they left. For years he had studied the Avatar, their cycles, their powers, they amazed him to put it bluntly, and now he would get to meet them. "Calm it." Tao spoke up as the two of them followed from the back of the group. "The journey's going to be long enough without you shaking the poor animal into the ground." He stated with a serious expression as he looked toward Manik, causing them to maintain eye contact for a short moment, before the two of them burst into laughter.
Over one month later, in the inn of a mining village north-west of Omashu.
"Alright, so we'll get a ride over the channel in the morning, then it should be a smooth journey to Omashu." Bo stated, taking a large gulp from his mug, the other soldiers sitting at the circular table around him. "So you really think they'll come with us? The Ava..." Ilesh was beginning to talk, before Bo slammed his hand toward the large man's mouth. "You'll keep quite if you know what's good for you!" Bo commanded in a hushed voice, before returning back into a natural position. "Sor..." Ilesh was about to apologize, but stopped himself. Tao could feel some bodies twist and turn toward them, but as he turned his head to see, they quickly turned away. "I don't trust it here..." He whispered toward the Captain, whom instead of berating him for his suspicion, nodded in agreement.
Eventually, the five went toward the cabin they had rented. "We'll take watches over the night." Bo stated, taking the first turn for himself.
After the night was through, Tao was the first to awake, walking toward the exit he could hear an all too familiar snore from the chair. "Damnit Man." He sighed, pushing the young man from his seat. "W-whoa what." Manik reacted in shock, before slowly getting up with a yawn. "This is why you got last watch." Tao stated, shaking his head. "You're just lucky Bo didn't catch you." He sighed. Soon enough the entire squad was ready, leaving toward the ferry.
Two days later, heading toward a town slightly north-west of The Cave of The Two Lovers.
"You should ask her." Manik moved his ostrich-horse toward Jojo, Tao's ostrich-horse, giving Tao a nudge as he did so. "Get off it will ya'" Tao replied, face turning red, thankfully for him they were too far back for the others to hear. "Look, I'll be your wing-man!" Manik responded in glee, causing Tao to look at him with a slightly off expression. "For some reason I doubt that would help, besides, we have a job to do." He sighed, causing Manik to pout at him in response.
Suddenly, Bo stopped, lifting his hand in the air to signal for the others to do the same. "If you two are done gossiping, Tao, I need you to check this out." He spoke up in an authoritative tone, there was no doubt that he was serious, an experienced military veteran. The area was a sort of forest clearing, circular and surrounded by thick trees. At first Tao was slightly flustered at the sudden change in atmosphere, before nodding, jumping from Jojo and placing his hand toward the ground.
"This can't be right..." He questioned out-loud, the contraptions ahead of them, it was an...
Suddenly arrows flew from the trees around them, Bo leapt from his mount, producing a wall of earth to shield them, the other's soon following suit. What must have been four fire benders leapt from the trees, punching flames toward the earth nation soldiers, another four spear-men wielding Jii rushing from the bushes. A few archers continued to fire toward them. Their ostrich-horses soon running in terror. Ilesh wasted no time in drawing his massive Lochaber axe, and charged toward the spearmen, attempting to smash their weapons as he did so. Ajala took out her bow, attempting to get an advantage on the opposing archers, firing into the trees from whence the arrows came. Manik took out his war hammer, attempting to launch rocks toward the approaching fire-benders. As for Bo, it was truly amazing, Tao couldn't help but stare for a short while as the master earthbender went to work, riding a mountain of rock over his foes. Tao then joined in, focusing as he took a stance, pushing his feet around as opponents approached, calculating their movements as he sent them off-balance.
Despite their prowess, they were outnumbered, and the fire nation soldiers continued the assault. Ilesh let out a fearsome war cry as he struck down upon one of the spearmen, blood soaking his weapon as he re-positioned it to strike once more. Bringing it down upon another's shoulders, an audible cry escaped the poor man, but his weapon had become stuck in his side, allowing the other two to overpower him, digging their Jii into his chest. For a moment it almost looked as if he were about to get up once more, but as they applied their weight he finally gave in. "Ilesh!" Bo cried out as he charged toward the spearmen, stomping his right foot into the ground with amazing force, sending the two of them flying in the air. At the same time, an arrow found the Captain's arm, causing him to writhe in pain before getting back to work blocking the archer's assaults toward them. A loud *THUD* could be heard as a limp body fell from the trees, Ajala taking no time in focusing her attention toward her next target.
Tao and Malik stood back to back as three fire bender surrounded them. Smashing the ground with his hammer, Malik brought up a large rock, sending it straight toward one of them, whom responded by jumping over the projectile, flipping over it with agile movement. As the others moved into an offensive stance, Tao dragged his forward foot in a crossing motion, lifting his arms as two pillars rose to trap their hands. As the previous fire bender retaliated with a massive plume of flame, the two young men dropped to the ground in order to avoid it, the crossfire striking Ajala from the back as she screamed from the pain, dropping to the floor. Bo, after slamming a rock toward the archer whom had struck him, causing the man to fall unconscious to the ground, rushed over to join the others. As Tao and Malik looked over toward Ajala in despair, the trapped fire benders brought their legs up in order to smash down upon the rocks that trapped them, together unleashing a flame toward the three, which consumed Tao and Malik in the process. As they fell toward the ground in pain, an arrow connecting with the fallen Ajala, Bo came before them, positioning himself in a fighting stance, the three fire benders doing the same.
Elevating himself, Bo let out a barrage of attacks, the opponents attempted to dodge for some time, unleashing fire upon him, and though it connected, it was as if the man felt no pain. One of the fire benders was struck, sending him toward the ground in pain, followed soon after by the next. Before long an arrow found it's way to Bo's back, causing him to fall to his knees. Tao could only watch, his body in too much pain to move, as one of them stood over the master earthbender, a slice of fire soon dispatching him. The last thing he heard was the breath escaping Malik, whom rested beside him, his wounds too severe to go on.
He couldn't do anything... He was going to die here, along with the only friends he knew.
Pupils dilating, his eyes became pitch black, the fire nation soldiers continued to inspect the bodies, before finally noticing something strange occurring. The earth itself seemed to shift, moving toward the young man, his body becoming encased in a thick shell. "Quick! Take the last one out!" One of the fire benders commanded, his voice distorted by his mask. An arrow flew toward him, but simply bounced off the hardened earth which now surrounded him. As he rose, he stood now close to 8 feet in height, moving his attention toward the trees, Tao smashed the edge of his earth-covered foot toward the ground, what seemed like an upward landslide followed, destroying the trees and anything within them in the direction from whence the arrow came. The fire benders readied themselves, exhausted from battle, and a couple of them injured. All at once they unleashed a barrage of flame, a wall of earth raising to block it, before finally being pushed in half, smashing into the two injured fire benders to the sides of the one in the middle.
Pushing both of his fists toward Tao, the fire bender attempted to burn him out, but the golem-like bender slowly walked toward him. Grabbing the fire bender's arms with one hand, an audible crunch could be heard, forcing him to the ground. "P-please, mercy! I'll tell you everything! Our plans! Don't you want to know why we're heading to..." He began to plead, but as Tao shifted his body around, the fire bender sunk into the ground, soon to choke on the very dirt he once tread.
Finally as his foes were dispatched, the young man fell backward toward the ground, the dirt seeming to simply disperse and fall on top of him as he did so.
There he laid, unconscious, the sound music filling his resting mind.
Tao soon followed suit, being one of the last to venture out, he was stopped suddenly as the Captain's large hand rested upon his soldier. "Not you Tao, we have important work lined up." He stated, causing Tao to look up at him in a sort of surprise, not sure of what he could be meaning. It seemed Bo was not done however, as his eyes continued to scour the barracks, it seemed he was still looking for someone. *BANG* Was all that could be heard as a smaller, more plump young man fell to the ground from his bed, clearly not even close to being up and ready. "S-Sorry... Uh, Captain, Sir." He saluted from his awkward crunch on the ground, before letting out a short groan of pain. "...You too Manik." Bo sighed placing his fingers to the top of his nose. Manik ran over to join the two, smiling with a nod to Tao, the two had joined at similar times, becoming good friends over the years. In response, Tao quickly brought his open hand to the back on Manik's head, giving him a playful slap for his stupidity.
As the Captain exited the barracks, the two young men followed. "We're going to see the general, he has a task for us." Bo announced to the two, causing them to look at one another in shock, it must have been important to warrant such a meeting with privates. As the three entered the general's quarters, they gave a short bow, before taking a seat before him. Two others were already there, a corporal by the name of Ilesh, a large man, he had to be almost 6'6", with bulging muscles to boot, a weapons expert, and not the type you would want to get into a fight with. The other was a lithe female private, Ajala, known for her extensive practice into stealth and disguise.
Finally General Sudhir spoke up, his tone was soft, yet had clear concern to it. "As you all know well the fire nation continues to advance on our territories." He stated, walking toward his window which faced the new fire nation colonies, slightly looking out into the distance. "We need the Avatar now more than ever." He noted, before being interrupted by Manik. "Sir, but there's no way the Avatar is of age yet." He spoke up, causing Tao and Bo to glance daggers at him. Sudhir simply stood still, facing away, before turning around with a nod. "True, but if they want to do their job and save lives, they're going to have to start early." He sighed, before taking a seat before the group. "I need the five of you to go to the Southern Air Temple, our sources say they're there, and I don't doubt them. From there take them to one of the Water Nations to get started on Water Bending, then Master Bo can take care of the rest." Sudhir ordered, looked at each of the soldiers, causing Bo to nod in respect. "The Avatar cycle..." Manik whispered, noting the order in which the general had gone in, Manik's obsession and study of the Avatar had been clear for a while. "We aren't at war, not yet, so don't start trouble, and don't speak a word of this after you leave the room."
With that, the group were dismissed, gathering their gear and leaving on their ostrich-horses. It was clear that they had all been selected for their individual set of skills, Tao had no doubt that they wanted him around for his ability to detect movements in the earth, what better way to see something coming? Manik was ecstatic at the idea of their mission, jotting on his ostrich-horse as they left. For years he had studied the Avatar, their cycles, their powers, they amazed him to put it bluntly, and now he would get to meet them. "Calm it." Tao spoke up as the two of them followed from the back of the group. "The journey's going to be long enough without you shaking the poor animal into the ground." He stated with a serious expression as he looked toward Manik, causing them to maintain eye contact for a short moment, before the two of them burst into laughter.
Over one month later, in the inn of a mining village north-west of Omashu.
"Alright, so we'll get a ride over the channel in the morning, then it should be a smooth journey to Omashu." Bo stated, taking a large gulp from his mug, the other soldiers sitting at the circular table around him. "So you really think they'll come with us? The Ava..." Ilesh was beginning to talk, before Bo slammed his hand toward the large man's mouth. "You'll keep quite if you know what's good for you!" Bo commanded in a hushed voice, before returning back into a natural position. "Sor..." Ilesh was about to apologize, but stopped himself. Tao could feel some bodies twist and turn toward them, but as he turned his head to see, they quickly turned away. "I don't trust it here..." He whispered toward the Captain, whom instead of berating him for his suspicion, nodded in agreement.
Eventually, the five went toward the cabin they had rented. "We'll take watches over the night." Bo stated, taking the first turn for himself.
After the night was through, Tao was the first to awake, walking toward the exit he could hear an all too familiar snore from the chair. "Damnit Man." He sighed, pushing the young man from his seat. "W-whoa what." Manik reacted in shock, before slowly getting up with a yawn. "This is why you got last watch." Tao stated, shaking his head. "You're just lucky Bo didn't catch you." He sighed. Soon enough the entire squad was ready, leaving toward the ferry.
Two days later, heading toward a town slightly north-west of The Cave of The Two Lovers.
"You should ask her." Manik moved his ostrich-horse toward Jojo, Tao's ostrich-horse, giving Tao a nudge as he did so. "Get off it will ya'" Tao replied, face turning red, thankfully for him they were too far back for the others to hear. "Look, I'll be your wing-man!" Manik responded in glee, causing Tao to look at him with a slightly off expression. "For some reason I doubt that would help, besides, we have a job to do." He sighed, causing Manik to pout at him in response.
Suddenly, Bo stopped, lifting his hand in the air to signal for the others to do the same. "If you two are done gossiping, Tao, I need you to check this out." He spoke up in an authoritative tone, there was no doubt that he was serious, an experienced military veteran. The area was a sort of forest clearing, circular and surrounded by thick trees. At first Tao was slightly flustered at the sudden change in atmosphere, before nodding, jumping from Jojo and placing his hand toward the ground.
"This can't be right..." He questioned out-loud, the contraptions ahead of them, it was an...
Suddenly arrows flew from the trees around them, Bo leapt from his mount, producing a wall of earth to shield them, the other's soon following suit. What must have been four fire benders leapt from the trees, punching flames toward the earth nation soldiers, another four spear-men wielding Jii rushing from the bushes. A few archers continued to fire toward them. Their ostrich-horses soon running in terror. Ilesh wasted no time in drawing his massive Lochaber axe, and charged toward the spearmen, attempting to smash their weapons as he did so. Ajala took out her bow, attempting to get an advantage on the opposing archers, firing into the trees from whence the arrows came. Manik took out his war hammer, attempting to launch rocks toward the approaching fire-benders. As for Bo, it was truly amazing, Tao couldn't help but stare for a short while as the master earthbender went to work, riding a mountain of rock over his foes. Tao then joined in, focusing as he took a stance, pushing his feet around as opponents approached, calculating their movements as he sent them off-balance.
Despite their prowess, they were outnumbered, and the fire nation soldiers continued the assault. Ilesh let out a fearsome war cry as he struck down upon one of the spearmen, blood soaking his weapon as he re-positioned it to strike once more. Bringing it down upon another's shoulders, an audible cry escaped the poor man, but his weapon had become stuck in his side, allowing the other two to overpower him, digging their Jii into his chest. For a moment it almost looked as if he were about to get up once more, but as they applied their weight he finally gave in. "Ilesh!" Bo cried out as he charged toward the spearmen, stomping his right foot into the ground with amazing force, sending the two of them flying in the air. At the same time, an arrow found the Captain's arm, causing him to writhe in pain before getting back to work blocking the archer's assaults toward them. A loud *THUD* could be heard as a limp body fell from the trees, Ajala taking no time in focusing her attention toward her next target.
Tao and Malik stood back to back as three fire bender surrounded them. Smashing the ground with his hammer, Malik brought up a large rock, sending it straight toward one of them, whom responded by jumping over the projectile, flipping over it with agile movement. As the others moved into an offensive stance, Tao dragged his forward foot in a crossing motion, lifting his arms as two pillars rose to trap their hands. As the previous fire bender retaliated with a massive plume of flame, the two young men dropped to the ground in order to avoid it, the crossfire striking Ajala from the back as she screamed from the pain, dropping to the floor. Bo, after slamming a rock toward the archer whom had struck him, causing the man to fall unconscious to the ground, rushed over to join the others. As Tao and Malik looked over toward Ajala in despair, the trapped fire benders brought their legs up in order to smash down upon the rocks that trapped them, together unleashing a flame toward the three, which consumed Tao and Malik in the process. As they fell toward the ground in pain, an arrow connecting with the fallen Ajala, Bo came before them, positioning himself in a fighting stance, the three fire benders doing the same.
Elevating himself, Bo let out a barrage of attacks, the opponents attempted to dodge for some time, unleashing fire upon him, and though it connected, it was as if the man felt no pain. One of the fire benders was struck, sending him toward the ground in pain, followed soon after by the next. Before long an arrow found it's way to Bo's back, causing him to fall to his knees. Tao could only watch, his body in too much pain to move, as one of them stood over the master earthbender, a slice of fire soon dispatching him. The last thing he heard was the breath escaping Malik, whom rested beside him, his wounds too severe to go on.
He couldn't do anything... He was going to die here, along with the only friends he knew.
Pupils dilating, his eyes became pitch black, the fire nation soldiers continued to inspect the bodies, before finally noticing something strange occurring. The earth itself seemed to shift, moving toward the young man, his body becoming encased in a thick shell. "Quick! Take the last one out!" One of the fire benders commanded, his voice distorted by his mask. An arrow flew toward him, but simply bounced off the hardened earth which now surrounded him. As he rose, he stood now close to 8 feet in height, moving his attention toward the trees, Tao smashed the edge of his earth-covered foot toward the ground, what seemed like an upward landslide followed, destroying the trees and anything within them in the direction from whence the arrow came. The fire benders readied themselves, exhausted from battle, and a couple of them injured. All at once they unleashed a barrage of flame, a wall of earth raising to block it, before finally being pushed in half, smashing into the two injured fire benders to the sides of the one in the middle.
Pushing both of his fists toward Tao, the fire bender attempted to burn him out, but the golem-like bender slowly walked toward him. Grabbing the fire bender's arms with one hand, an audible crunch could be heard, forcing him to the ground. "P-please, mercy! I'll tell you everything! Our plans! Don't you want to know why we're heading to..." He began to plead, but as Tao shifted his body around, the fire bender sunk into the ground, soon to choke on the very dirt he once tread.
Finally as his foes were dispatched, the young man fell backward toward the ground, the dirt seeming to simply disperse and fall on top of him as he did so.
There he laid, unconscious, the sound music filling his resting mind.
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