Chapter 19: Ba Sing Se

Practicing the thirty-six stances of Baguazhang atop Appa's back as we flew through the sky, I perfectly did every stance while Monk Gyatso did the same; it was our morning habit to always practice our martial art stances, and we'd do so for about thirty minutes right after the first rays of sunlight had shone from over the horizon.

'Feel the air. Flow with the wind.' Thought Aang lightly as he slowly moved his arms forward while sliding his foot across Appa's back, switching his stances.

Once a certain amount of time had passed, I stopped practicing and stood straight like a pencil as I clasped my hands together and bowed before sitting down, taking a few minutes to meditate, which quickly turned into an hour.

"Monk Gyatso, how long have we been away from the Southern Air Temple?" Asked Aang lightly as he opened his eyes and glanced at Gyatso, who was calmly sitting while gazing at the earth.

"Hmm, I believe today will be the fifty-fourth day, so nearly two months." Replied Gyatso softly as he raised his head and glanced at Aang, who nodded before leaning to the side and reaching into Appa's satchel.

Grabbing an apple, I walked forward and held onto Appa's horn before sliding down next to his face as I fed him an apple, which he greedily devoured before licking my hand, causing me to faintly smile as I rubbed his head.

"My hands are too small; I can only hold one. I'll feed you some more when we take a break to land." Said Aang with a smile while rubbing Appa's head, causing him to nod with a gentle roar.

Pulling myself back up, I calmly sat atop Appa's head and meditated as he headed towards our final destination for the Earth Kingdom: Ba Sing Se. It's taken us nearly two months to finally visit Ba Sing Se, but that's mainly because we visited many different places in the Earth Kingdom, such as the Si Wong Desert, Omashu, Gaoling, Kolau Mountain Range, Taku, The Great Divide, Chin Village, Full Moon Bay, and several other minor places of interest.

In fact, we had just finished flying over Serpent's Pass a few days ago, and we were lucky enough to see part of the serpent's body; although it was just a part, it was apparent the creature was massive.

'I wonder how it compares to a Lion Turtle.' Mused Aang with a curious expression, only to lightly shake his head.

One of the most interesting places we visited, and the place we had just left yesterday morning, was Laghima's Peak; despite the mountain range being within the Earth Kingdom, Laghima's Peak was named after a famous Air Nomad poet Guru Laghima. He was possibly the most talented and wise Air Nomad to have ever lived until this day; even after four thousand years, he's the only known Air Nomad to achieve the ability of true flight. That's something I don't think I will ever be able to accomplish; after all, to achieve the ability of true flight, one must relieve themselves of any earthly desires that keep them bound to the ground.

'That isn't something I'll ever achieve, not within a normal lifespan, let alone all my earthly desires; I love my wife and child. That isn't something I'll ever give up on for merely being able to fly; the glider works more than fine.' Thought Aang softly, shaking his head as he sighed.

Although Laghima's Peak seemed to be filled with wisdom, at the same time, I felt a sense of eternal loneliness; it wasn't a place I'd like to stay for a prolonged period of time. I may just be overthinking things, but losing your earthly desires doesn't seem worth it, no matter what you may acquire in return. After all, what is the point of living if you lose your earthly desires? Could you even call yourself a human anymore?

'Haa, I'm getting worked up over nothing. There is no need to think about such things; I hold my earthly desires dear to me, and that's all that matters.' Thought Aang lightly as he exhaled breath before calming himself and descending into deep meditation.

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"Huh, what a beautiful moon." Muttered Aang lightly as he gazed at the full moon shining brightly in the night sky, giving the earth a faint glow.

"Yes, it indeed is." Said Gyatso with a nod as he opened his eyes and looked up at the clear sky.

"What about Ba Sing Se? Is not also beautiful?" Added Gyatso with a raised eyebrow as he glanced at Aang before gesturing towards the earth.

Hearing Monk Gyatso's words, I looked towards the ground and instead of seeing the Agrarian Zone, which is by far the largest zone of Ba Sing Se and is the area between the outer and inner walls used mainly for agriculture purposes. We had been flying over this area for the past hour and a half, but now, in the near distance, I spotted another set of walls, which were much larger and thicker than the outer walls and could almost be mistaken for a small mountain, given how large they are.

'And to think Iroh managed to break through this wall with his fire bending; granted, he was being enhanced by Sozin's comet, granting him nearly a one-hundred-fold increase in power, but still, that is an impressive feat.' Thought Aang with widened eyes as he stared at the massive walls surrounding the city of Ba Sing Se.

Although it was in the middle of the night, the city of Ba Sing Se was glowing brightly, and coupled with the faint glow of the full moon, it looked somewhat surreal; it almost made me think I had returned to my previous world.

"So this is Ba Sing Se. It's so… Massive. I can't imagine the logistics required to operate such a city." Remarked Aang softly with a slightly shocked expression as the four flew over the Inner walls and entered Ba Sing Se.

Despite having seen Ba Sing Se before through the TV show, seeing it all with your own eyes was a spectacle. To call it a city was vastly undermining the size of Ba Sing Se; it was more like a small country if I'm being honest.

"Hehe, you lay your eyes upon Ba Sing Se, and that's the first thing you think of? Though I agree, it must be headache-inducing to manage to such a place, glad I don't have to." Said Gyatso with a soft chuckle as he glanced at Aang before nodding in agreement with a wry smile while imagining such a situation.

"So, where shall we land, Monk Gyatso?" Asked Aang curiously as he turned and looked at Gyatso, who faintly smirked before patting his Sky Bison's head, causing him to descend towards the city.

Patting Appa, we quickly followed behind Monk Gyatso as we descended lower toward the city, flying just ten or so feet above some of the buildings; we did so for several minutes until I spotted a large platform with the symbol of us Air Nomads engraved on it. Once we beard the platform, Monk Gyatso landed on it, and seeing him do that, so did Appa and I; landing right beside him, I grabbed my bo-staff and leaped off Appa. Stroking Appa's head, I looked around the bustling city despite it being in the middle of the night before turning to look at Monk Gyatso.

"Despite what it may seem, us Air Nomads frequent Ba Sing Se more than you'd think, so we had spoken with the Earth King some time ago and had this built for our companions so they could enjoy their stay here as well. They even have food for them." Remarked Gyatso as he glanced at Aang, only to walk to the side of the platform and grab a cart full of fresh lettuce.

"Well, so much for our Nomad status." Muttered Aang with a raised eyebrow, only for him to grab a few cabbages of lettuce before holding them in front of Appa.

Appa must've been hungry since he quickly munched on the lettuce I fed him; I was even required to grab a few more for him.

"Let us rest here for the night, Aang; we shall explore the city in the morning." Said Gyatso lightly as he sat beside his Sky Bison in a meditative posture, prompting Aang to do the same.

"Good Night, Appa." Muttered Aang softly as he leaned against Appa's side, earning him a gentle roar while he meditated instead of sleeping.

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Feeling the warmth of the sun hit my skin, I stopped meditating and stood up, though while doing so, I happened to spot a man restocking the carriage with lettuce, which was nearly empty because of Appa and Monk Gyatso's Sky Bison being gluttonous. I didn't bother the man and performed my usual morning routine of practicing the thirty-six stances of Baguazhang, which Monk Gyatso joined me shortly after.

Once we finished, we both bowed before doing a little bit of stretching.

"Now, time to explore Ba Sing Se." Said Aang softly as he glanced at Gyatso, who nodded with a chuckle.