**Roku.**
I wanted to stay on Kyoshi Island for at least another week, but knowing myself, I might end up staying even longer. So, steeling my resolve, I decided to move on.
"Write more often," Shizuka said in farewell, seemingly doubling her efforts to find a successor.
"Don't forget to hone your earthbending skills," I said, patting Suyuki on the head.
"You bet!" Suyuki replied, raising her tiny fist in the air.
"Bad news should be given in small doses," I thought wisely, deciding not to mention Jun this time. "Next time, I'll definitely tell her everything!"—or maybe not…
"I hope Toph and Jun aren't fighting too much," I thought. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to let her stay at the Beifong estate…
I didn't forget to say goodbye to the Sea Dragon pups. They were still too young to start their own journeys. It would likely take three or four years before they became adults.
My next destination was the vast northern territories of the Earth Kingdom. Somewhere near the Northern Air Temple, there was a village where a brilliant engineer, inventor, chemist, and scientist lived.
Logically, he should be there. It's unlikely they would have traveled all the way from some distant region after suffering from a severe flood.
I hoped nothing bad had happened, and that the Mechanist was still alive. So, I tried not to think about the possibility of Fire Nation soldiers visiting his village or another natural disaster striking. For years, I'd been exploring the vast continent, visiting nearly every city and knowing the location of about seventy percent of all villages, yet I hadn't found him.
After a week of monotonous flying, I reached the northern part of the continent. The air temperature here was much lower than in other regions. More than half of the Earth Kingdom's mountains were located here, which probably made it harder for me to find what I was looking for.
Along the way, I occasionally encountered small villages where people were busy with their daily lives. I had already visited some of them, so I decided not to waste time and only stopped at new settlements.
"Do you know someone who can easily fix things with earthbending?" I asked the elder of one village.
"Oh yes," he replied, smoothing his mustache. "We visit him at least once a year. He's a master of all sorts of gadgets that make our lives easier. Come with me," he invited, leading me into his house.
"Look at this beauty!" he showed me… an ordinary meat grinder, like the ones our mothers and grandmothers used. "You turn the handle, and you get minced meat! I don't know how we lived without it," he clicked his tongue.
"So, where is his settlement?" I managed to ask before the talkative old man started showing me something else.
"Almost at the Far North, where those… airbenders used to live," he said, scratching his head, apparently trying to jog his memory.
"You mean the Air Nomads?" I asked.
"Yes, them!" he confirmed quickly. "If you're going to see him, be careful," he warned me seriously.
"What could happen?" I wasn't afraid of many dangers, but anything was possible.
"It's been a bad year," he sighed sadly. "The glaciers have melted, and several villages have already been affected. Hundreds are dead or missing. I just hope his village doesn't meet the same fate."
"Thank you for the information! I have to go!" I quickly shook the elder's hand and rushed out of the house.
"Another reminder that it's better to do important things now, not later," I thought. But there's always something else to do, pushing things back.
Shaking off these gloomy thoughts, I focused on speeding up. As I gained speed, my vision began to tunnel, making it harder to see objects on either side.
But my open chi, which enhanced all my senses, still held secrets. One of them I'd discovered recently. This ability let me use my vision to its fullest, even in different states—like now, when I was flying at high speed and altitude.
Along the way, I passed several villages flooded to their rooftops. It seemed there was much more water before, but over time, it had spread across the land…
Small groups of people with belongings moved in the opposite direction. Such scenes didn't lift my spirits, so I prepared myself for the possibility of not finding the Mechanist.
*
**Mountain Village**
A village with such a simple name might soon cease to exist. The mountain river, which ran near the settlement and served as its main source of water and food, had begun to overflow rapidly, almost reaching the houses.
People with grim faces hurriedly gathered their most valuable and essential belongings. But they all shared one thought… it was unlikely they would survive the raging flood. The river stretched for many kilometers, and even if they had left a day earlier, their chances of survival would have risen to only thirty percent.
"How could you not notice this?!" a pretty thirty-year-old woman yelled at two young-looking men, who hung their heads in shame.
"We had no way of knowing, Miss Rin," one of them stammered. "A huge chunk of ice had a hollow shape, where water had been accumulating for a whole year. From the front, nothing was visible… Today, we saw the ice thinning, with several small holes already appearing… We should have climbed higher…" he admitted his fault, but the past couldn't be changed.
"Alright," the woman said abruptly, quickly regaining her composure. If they survived, she'd have plenty of time to scold them later. "We have little time. Go to your families and help them pack! We're leaving the village in fifteen minutes!" she dismissed them.
"Will everything be okay, Mom?" a nine-year-old boy peeked out from behind the door, his features resembling the woman's.
"Yes, we'll manage," she said, quickly wiping the negative emotions from her face upon seeing her son. "Are you ready?" she asked gently.
"Hmm," he nodded, a bit proud as he showed off his small backpack. "Only the essentials," he said.
"Where's your father?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Still tinkering in the workshop," her son replied immediately.
"This could go on forever," she shook her head. "I'd better get him myself," she decided, heading toward a separate wooden building.
At that moment, the future famous inventor, seemingly oblivious to the impending danger, was fully engrossed in gathering his "most important" notes. In the background, three small pops sounded. His latest invention, the "candle clock," signaled that it was already three in the afternoon, and time was up.
"Is it time already?" he asked himself, puzzled, looking at the burning candles. "Not good…"
"Time's up, dear," he heard the unexpected, gentle voice of his beloved wife behind him.
"Ah-he-he, but I haven't gathered everything yet," he tried to object.
"No," she interrupted firmly. "You're coming with us," and he was immediately led outside, where water had already begun seeping into the settlement.
At the appointed time, all the villagers were ready to leave their homes. The cries of small children, who didn't understand what was happening but seemed to sense the danger, could be heard.
"Looks like everyone's here," Rin quickly counted the people, as she was effectively the village leader.
"Let's move!" she commanded, as there was no more time to wait. The water was already reaching their ankles.
After an hour of walking at their maximum speed, they managed to move four kilometers away from the village. Their speed was limited because they didn't leave anyone behind—not the sick, not the elderly.
From here, one of the mountain peaks, from which their river originated, was clearly visible. Within five minutes, the sound of something massive and heavy falling echoed… the ice had fallen.
Tons of water rushed toward the abandoned village. The huge wave quickly swept away all the houses in its path, seemingly gaining speed.
"Faster, faster!" the villagers shouted, urging themselves and others on.
Soon, they realized the water was much faster than they were, and they couldn't outrun it…
Gathering together, they began to say their goodbyes. Even the men, who had seen much, shed tears as they expressed their love for their children.
"In the next life, I promise to spend more time with you," the Mechanist said to his son, realizing how much he had missed in this life.
The water was getting closer… one hundred meters… fifty… twenty…
Holding their children tightly, the adults hoped for the best deep in their hearts. Suddenly, it felt as if the ground itself had disappeared beneath their feet. Some fell to the ground in surprise.
"Made it," they heard a hoarse voice say.
Opening their eyes, the villagers looked down in growing shock at the raging force of nature below.
*
**Roku. Same place, same time.**
If I hadn't arrived even a moment earlier… No, better not to think about that.
"Good thing they were standing so close together," I thought. It helped me a bit. The task was to lift an entire chunk of earth as quickly as possible, and even for me, it wasn't easy.
"Thank you so much!" the woman who came to her senses first approached me.
"Yes! We're alive!"
"Hooray!"
"Thank you! Thank you!" the villagers began crowding around me, and among them, I recognized two familiar faces: the Mechanist and his son.
It took time for the people to calm down. By then, I had already introduced myself to everyone. And finally, I learned the inventor's name! I couldn't keep calling him by his nickname from the cartoon. Ran, also known as the Mechanist, was someone who would soon drive the world's progress. His words and thoughts seemed years ahead of his time. Five minutes of conversation with him were enough for me to reach that conclusion.
"What were you doing so far north?" Rin, who turned out to be Ran's wife, asked cautiously. "If you don't want to say, you don't have to," she added quickly, probably not wanting to appear rude to the person who had saved their lives.
"I was actually looking for your husband," I admitted. To avoid making the atmosphere tense, I quickly added, "I've heard about some of your husband's inventions, and they're incredible!" I said sincerely, seeing a proud smile appear on Rin's face. "The Beifong family is ready to invest any amount just for him to create!"
The people here knew almost nothing about me—after all, this was the farthest outskirts, and not all news reached here. But everyone knew about the Beifong family.
"This…" she hesitated.
"I don't need an answer right now," I understood her difficulty. "While you decide, I'll accompany you until you find a place to settle."
From further conversations, I learned that Rin was no less interesting a person, almost on par with her husband. Without his wild imagination, she helped him by understanding and, most importantly, organizing his notes and records! And all this without any special education. As for the Mechanist, we'll ignore him—he's supposed to be the brainy one according to the lore…
Two days passed. During this time, Rin held several small meetings to discuss their future actions. And I honestly tried not to eavesdrop…
By the end of the second day, Rin came with an answer.
"We agree to go with you," she bowed, "but only if you take the entire village," she said in one breath, closing her eyes. In any other situation, this would be considered audacious—asking something from the person who saved them all, offering a good deal but demanding more conditions in return.
"No problem," I agreed easily.
"…" She seemed to freeze for a moment.
"I said it's fine," I repeated.
"We'll never forget your kindness!" she exclaimed.
"It's okay, really," I smiled.
"Lao would've done the same in my place," I thought, especially since it would all be funded from his pocket…