54 Chapter 53

The next morning I had planned on waking up early but realized my meeting with the moon and ocean spirit would probably better take place at night. So, I instead spent the day lazing about while the other went around and did their own productive activities. Once the sun had set I found a guard to show me the way to the spirit oasis. It's not very hard to find. I went to the northern most part of the city then went more north. There is a decorative wooden bridge that crosses over a small lake. In the center of the lake is an island covered in grass and the occasional tree. This is probably the only greenery for a hundred miles. On the island is a pond filled with water a shade lighter than usual and two koi fish. One is black with white markings and the other is the reverse. I step up to the pond and watch the two koi fish circle around the pond. I'm not quite sure what I should do, but 3 quarters of the moon is out and I'm right here so I'll just wing it.

"Greetings mighty spirits of the moon and ocean. I am a humble child of your teachings here to pass along a message from another spirit who I have learned under. Wan Shi Tong, spirit of knowledge, and overseer of the Great Spirit Library has requested I deliver the both of you an urgent message. A man from the fire nation was admitted to the great library, however, he broke the most important rule and sought knowledge for war. Unfortunately, he found something. He discovered both of your names and location. He had planned to lead an invasion coming here to kill your physical forms. I have killed him as Want Shi Tong requested, but not before he spread what he had learned. I believe that an invasion will still occur and you both may or may not be targeted. Even if you are not targeted now you may be later, because I do not know who all the transgressor told of you."

Well, I monologued to two fish. And okay somethings happening. The two of them are speeding up and the calm pond is creating waves. Actually, the whole lake surrounding me is getting pretty choppy. Huh, they're slowing down when they're right and left of me and speeding to when they're both in front of me. I think they want me to go in. Scratch that a water tentacle just grabbed my ankle they definitely want me to go into the pond. Hopefully, spirits don't shoot the messager. I wait for an opening in their swim pattern before walking into the center of the pond. I stand at the center of the pond up to my knees in water. The spirits start to glow their eyes and off-color markings. The pattern they were swimming in is gone now they're just swimming fast. They keep swimming faster and faster and glow brighter and brighter as they circle me. Then all of a sudden I fall. My whole body is surrounded by water as I sink further into a deep watery abyss. In shock I choke in some water, only to find I can still breathe. The cold water becomes warm as my whole body relaxes and sinks further and further.

I finally stop as I hit some kind of solid bottom. My vision returns to me, but I am surrounded by darkness until above me I see two enormous glowing fish. One white and one Black. Oh, shit those are the ocean and moon spirits. They continue to circle above me. However, the rest of the water begins to light up as well. Creatures of all shapes and sizes begin to fill the water above me. All glowing in a variety of colors like a series of northern lights, but underwater. Those creatures too begin to circle above. More and more creatures appear and add to the ever-growing glowing ring. The brightness and size increase until the once void black emptiness becomes blinding bright.

Those were my last coherent thoughts as I slowly lost all perspective on what was happening. The things I saw and thought became more and more surreal. I was communicating with spirits. Ageless beings possessing inhuman thoughts, and for a time I was understanding them. The sprit oasis didn't just hold the ocean and moon spirits it was a micro-ecosystem containing all of the water spirits as well. Spirits for the most part can't get along with humans at all. When the split occurred the spirits returned to the spirit wilds, but eventually the water spirits missed their homes. So, the ocean and moon spirits returned to the physical realm and recreated a new ocean just for the spirits. They hid it as a small pond which would become the spirit oasis. I'm sure I'm missing a lot, but I was learning this story from what seemed like thousands of voices at once. The ocean and moon spirits could always return to the spirit world but didn't because of all the water spirits who wanted to stay, but now with idiot humans coming to bother them it's not worth the hassle and they'll go back to the spirit world. Then after some time, they'll relocate somewhere in the physical world. I think the ocean and moon spirits are appreciative of what I've done, but they exclusively communicate in a complex series of tidal movements. So, really they could have been telling me that they've cursed my firstborn son and have declared war on humanity. No way to know for sure. The light reaches a zenith and then dissipates revealing regular blue water. That I quickly float to the top of returning me to the now spiritless spirit oasis.