Act 2 - Chapter 10, Part 1

Chapter 25: Jack; Shauran 30th, 344SR; 12:30

The quiet afternoon silence was broken by Jack's training with Ajal. Jack pursued him relentlessly throughout the small and enclosed space but was right next to him all the while. Jack swung his fist and Ajal ducked. 'Kick low!' Jack swung his leg forward quickly and ignited his spirit. Ajal flipped and completely evaded Jack's foot. 'Wha-' He landed on one arm and pressed off the ground. Jack's leg continued forward, he stumbled as he recovered.

"You haven't hit me once, what good is knowing how to make a Spirit Ignition if you can't land any attacks?" Ajal asked.

"I can't if you keep dodging!" Jack grunted impatiently.

"Will you ask your opponent to stay still?"

Jack focused his spirit into his fist and swung at Ajal who simply dodged backward. Ajal backed up into the fence, 'He can't dodge now!' Jack took a step forward and threw his fist at Ajal's left shoulder. The moment before Jack's strike could connect, he dodged to the left. Jack punched the tough wood instead, he pulled his right hand back as his fingers rattled from the impact.

"Ow!" Jack winced in pain.

"Try to stay calm-" Ajal recommended.

"Dammit!"

Jack's spirit flowed from his fist and into his foot as he swung his leg at Ajal. While still facing Jack, Ajal grasped the top of the fence with his left hand and pulled himself up. He flipped and planted his feet against the fence, and then kicked off in the time it took Jack's leg to rise. 'Dammit!' Jack turned to try and get Ajal once more but he stopped as the side of his stomach started to hurt. He grabbed the left side of his stomach as he breathed in and out, it felt like his stomach was going to rip itself out.

"You're tiring yourself out, calm-"

'I'll jump this time!' Jack clenched his teeth and ignited his spirit under his foot, he kicked off the ground toward Ajal. The moment before he could hit, Ajal dodged out of the way again, causing Jack's fist to just barely make contact. 'The way he dodged- It was at the last second, it's always at the last second!' Jack jumped back and took a deep breath. Despite them doing this for almost an hour, Ajal's white full short-sleeved shirt was clean, and the most Jack had managed to connect an attack with was his black sweatpants.

"Your use of Spirit Arts is much better, it's amazing really, you almost got me that time, but you're getting worked up too easily," Ajal critiqued his performance while dodging.

Jack breathed in, he focused his spirit on the back of his shoulders. Ajal squinted in confusion, causing Jack to hesitate. 'No... Not like that... That won't work... I have to kick off again... But... faster!' Jack focused his spirit on his foot and ran forward, Ajal got ready to dodge again. He slowed the flow of his spirit down, just as it was starting to overflow. Jack crouched down and clenched his teeth. 'Don't ignite!'

Ajal moved to the left, but his eyes lit up as Jack made a feint. 'Now!' Jack's spirit ignited and he kicked off at Ajal whose feet were currently off the ground. Jack threw his fist forward without any spirit.

'I got him! I got-'

Ajal used both hands to redirect Jack's fist to the right, he tripped and fell, rolling against the dirt and colliding with the red fence. 'Ah!' He pushed himself up and rested his back against the fence as his legs lay on the dry grass.

"Dammit..." Jack whispered as he breathed in and out.

"Using Spirit Arts for your movement was the main point of this session, but it was also to get you to think during a fight rather than trying to use a strategy that wouldn't work over and over," Ajal explained.

"You're barely sweating... How... Do you use Spirit Arts so easily?!" Jack huffed.

"Huh? I haven't used Spirit Arts once in this whole session. That wouldn't be fair."

"What?!"

Jack's head fell limp against the fence, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his head. 'This is insane... This guy couldn't beat Alexander Rael?! What chance do I... Ah! I don't even wanna think about it...' Jack signed as he glanced over towards the deck, where Sarah sat with her legs crossed. She had been meditating while Ajal and Jack were training.

"Can I do what she's doing? It looks a lot easier..." Jack asked.

"It's not easier, if anything it's harder. Sarah isn't good at fighting physically like the rest of you, so I'm teaching her something else," Ajal explained.

"Something else?"

Jack stared at Sarah, her short black hair seemed to rise slightly even though there was no breeze. Her skinny hands were open and facing upward as she breathed in and out. Jack watched her spirit collect at her palms, her spirit was on the verge of igniting, but she was holding it.

"When we perform a spirit ignition, the energy isn't necessarily released, rather the force of it bursting is what is released. The spirit flows back to you. It's useful, but someone without a strong physical body can't just become powerful that easily. What Sarah is doing, is the level after ignition, Spirit Manipulation, a controlled ignition, by controlling some spirit very closely in her brain while trying not to ignite the spirit she's going to manifest it into magic," said Ajal.

"Magic? A controlled ignition simultaneously, what? Is that the dangerous part... Igniting spirit in your brain?" Jack repeated.

"Depending on where you ignite your spirit, you can perform a variety of techniques. Of course, this is incredibly dangerous depending on what you do, but the benefits are astounding. Igniting the brain is the most dangerous when it fails, so you have to keep it just under. That is the fifth and final combat level, Spirit Release."

"Shouldn't I be learning that then?"

"No, it's completely separate from using the spirit in a physical fight. Spirit Release drains your spirit, you won't be able to use Spirit Arts for some time so if you do, so you'd have to defend yourself without it."

"Oh..."

"By igniting your spirit into your heart, you can boost your body's speed and reaction. In the muscle, it would increase power. But igniting it in your brain is different, your spirit will take the form of your affinity, and then you can give it commands."

"Give commands?"

"It's the foundation for magic, or, techniques that are far more advanced. It can be bypassed with a source of energy external from the spirit."

"I don't get it... You- talk to the spirit?"

"Sort of... Not exactly... Uh- I'm not very good at this so I'm probably explaining it terribly. There are six basic elements: fire, water, air, and earth are the first four. However the other two: light and darkness behave differently, while they both exist simultaneously, they can alter the properties of the other elements including themselves."

"Uh-huh..." Jack tried to follow along but he was visibly confused.

"The element a person can use depends on a person's affinity, personality, even blood. Look," Ajal pointed at Sarah.

Jack looked back to Sarah, her eyes were still closed. In her hands was a tiny light shining in her palm. 'Woah... I can see it...' Jack approached Sarah and put his right hand near the light, he felt a warmth that soothed the pain in his knuckles. The light wavered slightly, flickering like a dimly lit flame.

"Sarah only has a weak affinity for fire, it's altered by a stronger affinity for light. This usually results in healing techniques. I don't have an affinity for the four elements, my affinity is-"

"Pure darkness?" Jack finished Ajal's sentence.

"Uh... No..." said Ajal.

"Wow. But you control shadows all the time?"

"That is just my natural abilities... My real affinity is Light and Dark magic..."

"Wait, Light and Dark?"

"Yup... Light," Ajal looked away when he said it.

"That doesn't make much sense?"

"It's a rare affinity... Especially for me, since Light and Dark magic, as well as life and death magic, are disparity types, my disposition of the two is highly pure and allows for the two to exist together, albeit I prefer my dark energy because it's less straining for me and I'm just better with it, I doubt I'd ever need it."

"Hm, I guess that makes sense... What's my affinity?" Jack asked curiously.

"I'd have to put you under this training to find out your affinity."

"I'm cool with that-"

"Can I open my eyes now?" Sarah asked and the light disappeared.

She opened her eyes and looked at her palm.

"Dammit!" Sarah cried.

'She had been focusing even before the others went out, and before my training with Ajal... Do you really have to sit down and focus for that long? How is that useful?'

"I know I felt it... It sucks that I can't at least look at it..."

"You'll be able to soon. Even if you don't see it yourself, it's there. With enough practice, a Spirit Release won't even take-"

"Yeah yeah... With practice," Sarah muttered.

The old man, Marina's father, slid the screen door to the side. He pulled a tray with three cups of tea off the counter and stepped out onto the deck. Ajal walked over to receive it.

"Thank you," said Ajal as he took the tray from the man. Two of the ceramic cups were filled to the top with dark brown tea. Ajal's wasn't as dark, a purple flower petal floated on the top. The purple color bled out of the flower petal and into the liquid. It slowly changed to a white petal from the top first, leaving a fog of some sort in the tea.

"You're going to sleep?" Jack asked.

"Yeah... Franklin took so long to train, he barely progressed so I stayed up until now... So far, you, George, and Reinhardt are doing the best with this training."

"Yeah, Franklin is... Pretty stupid," Jack mentioned.

"Where are they anyway?" Sarah asked.

"They went out to get groceries, Marina was talking about going outside Andurill's wall to get some local ingredients, she said she was running low," Ajal sipped the tea.

"I haven't gotten to go out yet, and they all went!? Wait that means Franklins has gone twice! That... Ugh..." Sarah groaned.

''Want to come with us to the library?" Yorrin suddenly asked.

Jack and Sarah turned to the door, and Yorrin and Korra peeked through the door. The old man turned and looked at the two, then sighed.

"I thought your mom told you not to watch us train?" said Ajal.

"She didn't say that today," Yorrin pointed out.

"Don't tell, or else," Korra warned Ajal.

"These kids in Rea are interesting..." Ajal whispered as he took another sip.

"I want to! I've always wanted to visit a library!" Sarah stood up excitedly.

"Huh? Why? Libraries suck?" Korra asked with a squint.

"Libraries are great Korra," Yorrin raised an eyebrow. "You're just brainless."

"What?!" Korra stomped. "I am not!"

"Wouldn't you have to look out for guards?" Ajal reminded them.

"We're going with Grandpa, so that'll be fine," said Yorrin.

"Jack you should come too," Sarah suddenly turned and asked.

'Huh?' "I- I don't really want-"

"Just come along, that way at least we have someone strong..."

'I'm... Not strong though?'

"Grandpa is strong!" Korra shouted angrily.

"I mean if you're okay with it..." Ajal nodded toward the old man. "I'm hitting the bed though so I'm not coming," said Ajal.

"What?!" Yorrin suddenly looked disappointed.

"Jack, Sarah. Don't fight, stay casual. If you get into or approach a conflict, avoid it however you can," Ajal instructed as he walked inside.

"Alright..." Jack agreed, still a little skeptical about going.

The old man looked at Korra and Yorrin, then tapped his wrist twice. Korra turned and ran inside. Yorrin kissed his teeth and looked down as if he had failed to do something, he turned and followed his sister into the house. 'I kind of don't want to go out again after what happened last time...' Jack looked at the fences around him, Ajal stood up and made his way inside as he took another sip of the special tea. Jack looked at Ajal, and then back to the fence. 'Using Spirit Arts for movement...'

***

"How far is this library again..." Jack asked after an hour of walking.

"It's in Ketova, the northeast district," said Korra.

"I thought we were staying in Rea..."

They stood in front of a forest full of massive trees with bright green-colored bark. The leaves falling from above were turning white as they dried up, some of the leaves still had a trace of their vibrant blue hue. 'We took nothing but back streets to get here... I didn't see a single guard, who is this old guy...'

"Wow, there's a forest in the middle of the city? And look at those leaves!" Sarah shouted with ardent enthusiasm.

"Yeah, if you go further into the forest you'll reach Anka, and if you go the other way it leads out of the city, towards Bomo's Jungle," Yorrin explained.

"Why is it called Bomo?" Jack asked.

"Bomo was a beast from the Celestial like Ophi or Wilo but didn't have as many followers, his descendants still control it, but they're a neutral clan," Yorrin answered.

"Nerd..." Korra whispered.

They had made their way to the region between the southwest and northwest districts, the loose forest had multiple small buildings as well as buildings that connected to the trees. Jack found the new setting a bit refreshing from the usual.

Korra and Yorrin wore blue jeans and sweaters. Yorrin's sweater was green, and Korra's orange, the hoods could barely contain their dense black hair. 'They might have distinct physical differences but... Hybrids seem very similar to non-unified...' The northwest district's buildings could be seen past the gaps in the trees, one building was especially large for some reason.

"That's the library, see!" Korra pointed to the large building beyond the forest.

"That's a library? Why did you need to go there?" Jack asked.

"We have to get a book about the life cycle since the festival of life is coming up soon," Yorrin answered.

"That's why we're going?" Korra asked.

"Yeah. Wait- Weren't you listening to Ms. Cera?!"

"You listen to her?"

"Korra..."

"What?"

"You're hopeless..."

"Huh?! What does that mean? Don't judge me!"

"I have reason to!"

Sarah and Jack both wore black sweaters with hoods and their regular black camo pants. Sarah giggled watching the two banter. Jack didn't say anything, he just continued to walk with the group, keeping an eye out for guards. 'Why did she want me to come along anyway...'

'... but you've been befriending angels? What's wrong with you?'

The words she said in Logos came back to him, they stung but also confused him. 'I hate angels but... Eos wasn't a bad guy...' The two of them hadn't talked much, and they were silent to each other along the walk except when Yorrin or Korra had something to say. The old man walked in front, taking strange turns and going in directions that seemed redundant, but Jack trusted he knew where to go. The old man wore a black robe, he was incredibly slim, and a belt wrapped around his waist tightly. The white hair on the back of his head flowed in the wind.

"Hey Sarah, Jack! Have a race with us!" Korra asked, waving her arms excitedly in the air.

"A race? Korra you're such a dummy... You always lose..." said Yorrin.

"Yeah but I could at least try to beat them," Korra gave her strange reasoning.

"Sure, I'll race you! I can run way faster than Jack," Sarah accepted.

"Huh- A race? Sure?" Jack accepted. 'Spirits Arts for movement... Maybe I could try right now...'

"All right! The last one to the end of the forest has to carry all the books!" Korra shouted as she took off.

"Huh? At least play fair! Ugh, dummy," Yorrin spat as he started running.

Korra ran down the curving path, Yorrin cut through the thicket of trees 'He seems smarter, I'll follow him!' Sarah started jogging as well, Jack focused his spirit on his legs and started running. 'Yorrin went through that gap in the trees!' Jack started sprinting. A burst of spirit underneath his right foot carried it a bit further. Jack's foot didn't touch the ground, 'shit!' Jack fell onto the dirt and broke the fall with his arms, his shoulder hit the ground and he felt his skin scrape against the hill, but he came to a stop on the descent.

"Haha! You fell!" Sarah chuckled as she passed him.

"Ah... Dammit, that hurt!" Jack grunted, his side stung.

Jack quickly got up, shook his head, and looked at the gap in the trees, 'Through there!' This time without running he focused his spirit on his left foot, he breathed in and out as he focused his spirit as hard as he could on his legs.

'Spirit Ignition!'

Jack ignited his spirit at his feet as he jumped off the hill, launching himself soaring between the two trees and past another. 'This is dangerous!' Jack saw Yorrin running up a hill ahead. 'It'll hurt if I land at this speed! I have to strengthen my-' Jack focused his spirit to his feet the moment he hit the ground and landed, he bent his knees but couldn't stop the velocity his body traveled and he rolled over on his shoulder, his back collecting several leaves during the roll. He slid down the hill rather than following Yorrin up.

He rolled onto his feet and pushed with his muscles to start running as fast as he could, 'There are too many trees in the way!' Jack's foot landed on a muddy pit of soil. His foot sank in. 'Shit!' Jack took another step and the ground was muddy as well.

"Why'd you go on the bad path?" Yorrin shouted from above on a hill.

Jack looked up at the boy on the hill while trying to progress through the mud to a better spot.

"Why don't you do that thing again?" Yorrin asked with a smug grin on his face.

"Huh?"

Jack looked up ahead and noticed something. Up ahead was a trunk that had fallen away from the direction he was running. 'Movement...' Jack hurried through the mud. He got to the log and stepped on it, he felt the log spring back against his weight. The old wood was turning grey in some parts, it creaked as he got his second foot on. Jack turned and slowly ran up the log, it got wider the further he ran up. The incline was a little steep.

Jack was getting a better view around as he got higher, up ahead was Yorrin struggling to get through a small stream, 'You wanted to see something cool huh...' Jack ran up the branch while focusing his spirit to his core. At the end of the fallen tree, he noticed a clear path through the trees back to the original brown dirt trail. Jack sped up, 'Over there!'

As his spirit ignited Jack shifted his spirit from his core to his right foot. The moment before he jumped he crouched down, with both feet at the cracked edges of the branch. 'Spirit Ignition!' Jack jumped and ignited his spirit at the same time. Breaking the wood with his lift-off and soaring through the forests quickly. His arms flung wildly as he soared through the woods and focused his spirit into his core once again. 'Fast! Too fast! Too-' Jack looked to his right and saw Yorrin below him. The boy's expression was completely dumbfounded as he saw Jack fly by in mid-air. With a rapid beating in his chest, fear, and excitement ran through his veins as he witnessed what Spirit Arts could do. The wind pushed against him, passing by tree after tree, the angle and height he jumped at were taking him further than intended.

Jack started to descend, the buildings of the northeast district directly in front of the trees ahead, he was nearing the original trail which happened to curve in the direction of his trajectory. Jack concentrated his spirit to his feet. He landed on the ground but he was moving too fast. He tumbled immediately, falling on his front and flipping over before crashing into a tree.