17. Prince of the Sea

…

Since he had already decided, Lee didn’t delay any longer. He went downstairs and found Pakku. He was sitting at the low table, drinking tea as always.

“Master Pakku,” he said, bowing slightly as he approached.

Once he saw his unusually serious expression, Pakku tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?”

Lee sat down on the opposite side of the low table. “I—I had this weird dream yesterday, and since then, I feel this pull from inside-a need to go and seek the source. I ignored it at first, but as time passed, it grew stronger… And I had the same dream again.”

Pakku narrowed his eyes and put his teacup down. “Do you remember the dream?”

Lee hesitantly nodded. “Not perfectly, but yes.”

“Tell me everything that you remember.”

“I was in the ocean…” Lee obeyed his order, telling him everything he remembered about the dream.

Once he was done, a brief silence fell between them, broken only by noises from the kitchen.

Pakku rubbed his chin and let out a thoughtful hum. “It feels like the work of a spirit,” he muttered softly and exhaled.

“You’re right,” he said. “Ignoring it isn’t a solution. If it’s a malevolent spirit, we need to deal with it before it can harm someone from the tribe, and if it’s simply a spirit asking for help, then we must do what we can to help it.”

He gave one last glance at his now cold tea before he stood up. “Come on,” he said, gesturing for him to stand up. “I’ll accompany you.”

“Thank you, Master Pakku,” Lee said, expressing his gratitude before he hastily stood up. He knew his strengths and weaknesses well. No matter how skilled he was at waterbending, he had no true means to defeat a spirit. But unlike him, his master could easily deal with a spirit using spirit-bending, something that he hadn’t yet mastered.

Pakku glanced toward the kitchen and yelled. “Is the breakfast ready, girl?”

“Not yet, Master Pakku. I’ve just started. It’ll take another hour before it’s ready,” Mona yelled back from the kitchen.

“Don’t cook for us then,” Pakku said. “An urgent matter has come up, and we might be absent for the day.”

Mona appeared briefly in the doorway, spared a glance at both of them, before nodding her head. “…Alright,” she said.

Pakku turned toward him. “Lead the way, boy.”

Lee walked outside the house, closely followed by his master. With his eyes closed, he focused within, feeling the direction of the pull. The source was still in the south.

They quickly made their way to the southern wall, crossed it and started to surf away from the city.

The sea was silent, like a vast sheet of deep blue, broken only by ridges of ice drifting into their path every once in a while. Both of them rode waves born of waterbending, moving fast toward the source.

The farther they went from the city, the stronger the pull became.

.

.

.

A couple of hours passed in silence as both master and student glided across the water with effortless control.

“How much farther is it?” Pakku asked, breaking the silence.

“Not much,” Lee replied, based on the strength of the tugging inside his chest.

They travelled in silence after that for another half an hour before a change appeared in the calm body of water. They started to spot all kinds of sea dwellers in their path, peacefully moving in the same direction. Otter-penguins, tiger-sharks, orca-whales, seal-walruses, elephant-koi and more.

Lee slowed without meaning to. At first, the creatures didn’t even acknowledge them. They continued to move forward, eyes fixed ahead, as if answering a call, just like him. A tiger-shark slipped beneath his ice board and vanished into the blue below, only to surface some distance away amid two seal-walruses.

Even Master Pakku looked surprised.

“Let’s continue,” Lee said once he calmed down.

They advanced some more, but at a slower pace to avoid bumping into the creatures. A few minutes later, another change came. The creatures finally began to notice them. Their response to their presence was different.

A couple of otter-penguins approached Lee before tugging at his clothes to encourage him to continue moving forward.

He turned to look at his Master, only to find him surrounded by creatures of all kinds, blocking him from advancing further. They didn’t look hostile at first, but when Pakku tried to drift forward, they began making warning sounds.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lee frowned and guided his board closer, but the sea creatures immediately shifted to block him as well. Before he could react, the otter-penguins at his side squeaked sharply and pulled harder at his sleeves, insisting he keep going alone.

“They want you to proceed,” Pakku said, studying the strange scene with narrowed eyes. His voice remained calm, though his posture had stiffened. “It seems I am not invited.”

Lee hesitated. Every instinct told him to find the source of tugging in his chest, but he didn’t like the idea of leaving his master behind. He watched as around Pakku, the seal-walruses snorted and thumped their tails against the water whenever he edged forward.

Pakku sighed before looking directly into his eyes. “Go,” he said gently. “I’ll wait here.”

Lee steeled his resolve and nodded. “I’ll return quickly.” He took a deep breath and surged ahead alone.

Lee shot forward across the water, the otter-penguins chirping excitedly as they raced beside his board. Soon, he arrived at the point where the creatures stopped advancing, creating a large empty pool of water, as big as three football stadiums, circled by water creatures of all kinds and shapes.

He could feel the source of the tugging deep in the water.

Lee took a deep breath and began performing waterbending kata. Water surged upwards, covering him in a large sphere.

He pressed both of his hands downwards, and the sphere sank into the ocean. The surface closed above him, muting the cries of the creatures into distant echoes. Inside the sphere, air remained trapped, allowing him to breathe for a while.

Lee guided the globe steadily downward, toward the source. Schools of silver fish scattered around him, while an enormous serpentine shape glided at the edges of his vision before vanishing into the dark.

Soon, he was beside the source. His eyes widened in surprise.