Fall of the White Lotus [Zutara/Taang]

35 | Calling

Music: Love & Loss, Two Steps From Hell

                     The darkness of the night had yet to make place for the first murky signs of daybreak as Katara and Zuko readied Appa for their flight to the Fire Nation. They had led him back to where he'd landed the first time, just outside the ruins of Taku and near the fringes of the woods, after taking leave of the old herbalist.

As Zuko checked the reins, Katara looked up at the night sky, loose strands of hair blowing around her face. Her blue eyes searched and found the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the stars having moved to the west during the night.

Katara frowned slightly. Although part of her was unexpectedly excited at the prospect of seeing the Fire Nation again, it would be harder for Zuko to stay incognito. And there were still many places where Princess Ursa could be, despite the Fire Nation not being a large country by comparison. Her eyes strayed, coming to rest on the brightest star of Ursa Minor. The Pole Star - an ancient seamen's guide and a symbol to her nation. Its bluish light was now calling Zuko home.

Katara went to help Zuko with tightening the saddle girth when the faint sound of drums broke the wintery silence of the woods. Alarmed, the travelers jerked up their heads. They hadn't heard the ominous rhythm since the night they'd first arrived in Taku, but now that they were leaving it had returned.

"They're using the same rhythm again," Zuko said quietly as he put his hand on Appa's wither to calm him down. "It still sounds familiar."

"The drums are calling out to you," the voice of the herbalist suddenly spoke up from behind them, and they spun around to see the old woman leaning on her stick with an indulgent smile on her face. With a soft thud, Miyuki landed next to her, a bright, snowy white spot against the dark forest.

The herbalist craned her neck to look up at the ancient trees. "More than a hundred years ago, when the Fire Nation destroyed Taku, some of the inhabitants managed to escape and fled into the dense woods surrounding this city. To prevent their people falling into the hands of the Fire Nation, they split up into small groups living separately from each other. The drums became their means of communication.

"With the passage of time, the sound of the drums became legendary and feared by the Fire Nation. Among the survivors were members of the Order of the White Lotus, guardians of the Temple of the White Lotus in the middle of the city. It is said that their descendants stay in contact with the Spirit World, and through them the spirits will pass on messages for the drummers to convey."

Tilting her head, the old woman listened to the repeating rhythm vibrating through the quiet forests. "It seems as though they're playing a song. In all of my years of listening to the drums, I've never heard them play music before. The spirits must be wanting to pass a message to you."

"That's right, wise woman."

Appa grumbled low down his throat but didn't move when a boy suddenly stepped out of the greenish black dusk of the forests. The travelers had to look hard to discern the boy from his surroundings. He had a lithe posture and was clad in a sombre brown green hue similar to the woods.

When he came closer, they noticed that he was about fourteen years old. His brown hair was pulled back in a small topknot and in his slightly tan face, his almond-shaped, green eyes stood out. He came to a stop a few feet before Zuko and Katara and warily eyed the travelers. Then he made a curt Earth Kingdom bow.

"My name is Taiko, and I am a descendant of the mayor of Taku, whose youngest son escaped the Fire Nation attack on the city, more than a hundred years ago. I'm here on behalf of the people of the drums to greet the descendant of the Fire Lord who destroyed our city."