We were rowing for only a few minutes before reaching the tribe, makes sense that the kids won't go more than a few miles outside of the tribe, immediately everyone was on attention when I raised my hands in a surrendering motion. The people's worries practically evaporated. Anyway the chief of the tribe called me.
"Who are you young man and what are your intentions? Tell me now." She had an almost edge to her voice, I could nearly see that she would be hard to lie to so I said the truth. Kanna was her name I believe but I should refer to her as the chief just for the sake of appearances.
" I am currently lost and I am missing a large portion of my memories but I know one thing. I am an airbender." I looked her dead in the eye, she was immediately surprised but she didn't panic but got suspicious. Instead of answering with words, I willed the air around my feet to start spinning as fast as I could make it, which wasn't a lot cause this was the first time I ever air-bended.
The tiny vortex was more than enough proof of my legitimacy, as the chief looked at me like a Rare species. Which to be fair I was but still. Anyway, I need to get in." We wouldn't mind letting you stay as you have proven that you are not from the fire nation however you will have to perform chores for the duration you stay here,"
" Don't worry. I don't intend to stay for a long time but I was never a freeloader so i will pull my own weight, I just hope that you have enough chores for me to do." And that's how I got a place in the water tribe.
I was placed into a small bare bones igloo with basic amenities. Just the way I like it. Instead of trying to interact with the civilians, I stayed in the igloo and started meditating. I went completely still and focused on the energy I brought out when I blended air. It was at that moment I felt a small pool of chi.
It was like a tiny pond of energy, the weird part was that there were a few smaller ponds near me but still so far. There was an even weirder thing, there was an small lake of energy that was connected to all the islands including the air chi. I could see the lake slowly replenishing the chi in the air pond. Ahh that just be my pure chi. The weirdest part was that I could feel an familiar but unfamiliar ethereal ocean so far away from me that I couldn't sense it but I knew that it was there.
The ponds must be elemental ponds and only certain people have them. The tiny lake must be my own chi that is converted into elemental chi when used, and that is the chi used in either life or energy bending. The ethereal ocean must be the avatar state and it is both familiar but unfamiliar as I am the avatar but it is made from the collection of other avatars.
The other ponds must be the other elements. They are probably smaller cause they aren't unlocked or trained. I shouldn't focus on them, I need to master each element, not just learn the basics. I focused on the energy in the pond and tried to move it through my body and into the outside world. It was a slow process but the chi slowly started flowing out.
I opened my eyes in the outside world and saw that a lot of air was flowing through the room and that there was a slight breeze. I stopped the chi and the chi instantly stopped, I proceeded to repeat the motion until I could do it easily. I need to analyze that movement with extreme scrutiny and saw that the chi was flowing not from the head but from a point in the body near the center of mass which for the purpose of labeling, shall be called the dantian.
The dantians chi only went through certain pathways. I should practice and experiment this later in a safer environment. The sheer amount of ways I could die while experimenting is much larger than I could imagine. The only way in my knowledge to increase the container or the pond in this case is to fill it up with energy and then expend all of it. That or force your chi to enlarged the pond, however this is untested for an obvious reason.
However I have found another method. Fit more chi into that same pond. The mass of mercury and water in similar volumes are radically different due to density. If I can some how compress my chi to fit a smaller container, I will gain 2 advantages. I would be able to use less volume of chi for the exact same moves as my opponents. 2. I will be able to use bending more efficiently as it is harder to waste energy that is denser. The higher density also gives me an idea on where I am wasting more and more chi.
I haven't managed to compress my chi more than a tiny bit but that proves it works. Anyway enough hypothetical mining into my bending, I need to earn my keep, hunt for food. I stepped out of the igloo I was placed in and walked towards someone who appeared to be handing out chores, after a small conversation, I asked him about which chores I can do.
He said that mostly hunting chores as the younger children usually do the household chores " do the most chores you can." He had the audacity to say that. I simply grinned and responded positively and set off. I came back 1 hour later with nearly 100 fish. The jaws that unanimously dropped were very fun to look at.
