1 PROLOGUE part one

Excerpt from the journals of Temno shui.

journal one.

3rd September

1941 years after the end of the Bending Age

These fools!

They think that summoning me to a disciplinary hearing will change anything. They are wrong, it will only make me want to pursure my thoughts to the very end just to spite those ugly faces. I should restrain myself at the hearing, I don't want them to pull the funding of my research. I will use simple logic to prove the veracity of my claims..

and rely on their common sense

6th September 1941

Expelled!!

Ridiculous!

Their decision is proof of their foolishness and short sightedness. It seems common sense is more uncommon than I thought. I can expect contact from my father, the family will not miss this chance to futher ridicule me.

Sigh..

Father will probabley cover it up somehow.

3rd January 1942

It has been 3 months here in this cesspool of ignorance. Go work at the hospital he says and keep your head down...for the family..

it seems even father thinks me psychotic.

I have taken to penning my inner thoughts and discorveries in a separate journal as it seems that the only one worthing of conversing to .... is myself.

2nd February 1942

Not a day goes by that I don't scoff at their determined ignorance. All my research points to it... bending may vanish from the world.

The Qi is thinning and showing abnormal changes, more natural benders are surfacing while there are less trained benders. However, the rate of decline is greater, the disproportionate levels are alarming.

11th February 1942

I have received a invitaion for a reaserach collaboration meeting. They know too much, who are they? i should be cautious, I suppose I should use some of those shui family guards my father lent me. I will not be done in again. The bait they sent out,however, is quite ...

apetizing.

14th February 1942

I am more shocked than surprised really.

How can three high schoolers posses such profound knowledge and expertise in bending and Qi. It was without much hesitation that I agreed to a demostration at their discretion.

They will notify me of time and place.

Again, I must tread cautiously.

21st February 1942

Order any drink at the coffee stand in lovers lane, talk to the person sitting on the third bench about Qi levels.

22:00 sharp.

These were their orders, they seem more arrogant than me...but I can prove my arrogance...can they?

23rd February 1942

Those punks! They used me as bait.

kidnapped by the Qi controllers gang. They've been active in the city for the last couple of months. The police have yet to track them down, how did a couple of teenagers trace them?

I now realized why certain fighting style were called 'art', it was trully beautifull...

but deadly...especially that boy Jack, I've never seen air bending like that. I'd wager even the protogies from the big clan can't do it. A bunch of arrogant youth and an obsessed scientist, what waves will we bring to the bending world.

15th March 1942

Our relationship has proved to be mutualistic.

They act as living experimental subjects testing out my theories and I supply knowledge relating to Qi and history.... and.....

money ( I am of the opinion that the latter was he greatest factor in establishing our partnership..sigh...and I thought we were growing closer...like brothers or friends perhaps)

10th April 1942

Espers.

That's what they call themselves. Those manifesting unique abilities outside of or beyond that of the traditional elements. They have a wide range of abilities; telekenisis, hallucinations, manifestations etc.

Jack says the first appearance was below the Spire mountain range boardering the Dark continent. We assume the cause being the transformation of the nature and form of Qi in the environment. Saggio predicts a wide scale change, a revolution of sorts. This is inlign with my own hypothesis on Qi change.

4th May 1942

The change of Qi has been noticed across the empire, there are more cases of esper manifestation.

27th May 1942

There has been a development..Qi crystal mines have been dicovered, the compressed Qi being able to increase bending and esper ability. Jack looks more and more solemn of late.

9th July 1942

Conflicts over Qi mines are becoming more common. We've heard news of the rising of a Esper kingdom, They seek to make their superiority known and who can fault them

for their pride, I too was once like them. Many espers are flocking to the Esper kingdom.

11th July 1942

Jack says war is coming.

it's frightening.

i've learnt over my time with them...

Jack's intuition and instinct are borderline clairvoyance.

11th May 1948

This is the apex. Three years into the war and the Beyond Benders discorverd the Qi preservation machines, hidden underneath the ruins of our ancient ancestors. We've manage to secure one for study. Jack asserts that it should be destroyes after our research, Saggio and Hu Lin agree.

28th May 1948

Qi is forced into every part of the body flowing as blood nuturing the organs and transforming the body. The theory was to use Qi to sustain bodily functions in a state of suspended animation.

4th June 1948

It has been proven successful.

3rd January 1949

We've begun tracing down and destroying the machines as per Jack's desire. They are keeping out of the loop. What are they planing?, my three brothers.

6th October1950

i've stolen and hidden some of the left over machines. It seems others have done so too..

i must secure the future so that your sacrifice was not in vain.

I'm sorry Jack.

It is for the future.