After spending a week playing with East, South, West, and North, Azula finally beca familiar enough with them for normal interaction.
During that ti, Mai and Ty Lee heard the news as well and ca over to see them, becoming acquainted in the process.
By then, East, South, West, and North had more or less beco part of their little team.
Once the four spirits had played to their hearts' content, Kahn finally brought up the main matter and asked them to help him travel to the Eastern Air Temple.
East, South, West, and North agreed readily.
To them, it was simply going sowhere else to play.
There was no difference.
As for returning to the Spirit World?
They were having such a wonderful ti here that they did not miss it at all.
Kahn and Azula secretly slipped out of the capital with East, South, West, and North.
Azula ca along to witness the true power of these so-called spirits, since she had seen nothing impressive from the four little things over the past few days.
When they arrived in the deserted wilderness outside the city, Kahn said to them,
"I'll be counting on you."
The four little spirits nodded in unison, flew into the air, circled once, and then collided with one another.
The instant they touched, they transford into a sphere of light.
As the light flickered, the sphere grew larger and larger, its shape shifting with it until it finally beca clear again.
A massive, beautiful, and dignified spirit appeared before them.
It had deer-like antlers, ox-like eyes, a serpentine body, and a flowing mane like a horse.
While bearing features reminiscent of a sacred dragon, it still retained the body and wings of a bird.
Golden feathers draped across its form, complented by pale-gold manes, while half of its wings shone blood-red.
It looked mysterious, solemn, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Only after seeing this form could one truly understand why they were called dragonbirds.
Azula's eyes filled with surprise.
She truly had not expected those tiny creatures to rge into such a beautiful and powerful form.
So this was a spirit.
The slight disdain in her heart vanished completely.
No wonder Kahn had such confidence in them.
And Kahn, who had already seen this form once before, felt just as stirred.
This was his ideal companion.
His very own spirit beast.
The dragonbird casually flapped its wings, stirring up waves of pressure through the air.
Then it landed gently before them, its enormous body filling their entire field of vision with gold.
Kahn smiled, looked up, and called its na.
"Four Directions."
"Kahn."
Four Directions lowered its head and spoke in human language, startling Azula.
Then it affectionately rubbed its huge beak against Kahn in response.
"It… it can really speak our language?"
Kahn shrugged, a hint of pride in his tone.
"Of course."
"I told you before."
"You just couldn't understand it then."
"Hmph."
Four Directions was also the exclusive na Kahn had given it.
After East, South, West, and North rged into Four Directions, its form and power increased trendously, and it could speak human language directly, just as it could in the Spirit World.
Azula, as an ordinary person, could now understand it as well.
In addition, East, South, West, and North's voices were usually as tender as children's.
But after becoming Four Directions, it was as though they had grown up.
Its voice was gentle, steady, and androgynous, pleasant to the ear.
Four Directions lowered its body, making it easier for Kahn to climb on.
After Kahn seated himself firmly, he said to Azula,
"If I manage to et him successfully this ti, I'll probably stay and begin studying imdiately."
"But I'll be back within ten days at the latest."
"During that ti, I'll need you to cover for ."
"Small matter."
"It's not like I haven't done it before."
Azula agreed easily.
This kind of task posed almost no difficulty for her.
Kahn trusted her ability as well, so he said nothing more and turned to Four Directions.
"Then let's go."
Four Directions let out a clear cry, spread its wings, and soared into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, it had beco a small dot in the air.
After passing over a mountain peak, it vanished from sight.
"What a convenient spirit lord."
Azula withdrew her sowhat envious gaze, already thinking that next ti, she wanted to ride it too.
Unfortunately, Kahn would not let her use her thods on the little spirits, so gaining their consent might still be troubleso.
But on the way back to the capital, she suddenly realized another serious problem.
With those spirits around, if Kahn ever wanted to escape from her in the future, wouldn't she have no way to stop him?
Although that problem did not exist for now, Azula still felt a sense of crisis.
No.
She needed to find a solution.
Four Directions flew swiftly and steadily toward the Eastern Air Temple according to Kahn's instructions.
The altitude above the clouds ensured their concealnt, and no one could detect them.
Feeling the cold wind against his face and looking down at the white sea of clouds below, Kahn could even ask Four Directions to descend slightly, allowing him to scoop up a handful of mist that quickly dissolved into water vapor in his palm.
The novel experience made him feel unusually comfortable, and his nervousness eased considerably.
Although the sky was rather cold, a firebender's body allowed him to endure it without fear.
If an ordinary person were up here, they would probably have caught a cold by now.
Four Directions flew extrely fast.
The stretch of sea that would have taken several days to cross by ship now took only half a day.
When Kahn saw an island appear ahead, with a beautiful and majestic temple complex standing atop its mountain peak, he knew they had reached their destination.
"Four Directions, that's the place."
Four Directions let out a clear cry, descended, and finally landed at the very bottom of the temple complex.
The Air Nomads had been the most peace-loving of the four nations.
They were naturally optimistic, gentle, and free-spirited, never even establishing a country of their own, instead living unconstrained lives.
Their architecture also had unique features, resembling a chain of temples.
In fact, it was said that their clothing, appearance, and daily habits had resembled those of monks as well.
Unfortunately, the past had faded like smoke, and records concerning them could only be found in scattered fragnts of history.
Air ca from the sky, so the Air Nomads, who represented airbending, had all preferred to live among mountain peaks.
The pristine white temple complex, half-hidden within the mountain mist, carried a unique beauty.
Judging from the environnt alone, this place stood far from the mundane world, with beautiful scenery and clear air.
It was indeed a suitable place to cultivate the mind.
Moreover, no remains of the slaughtered Air Nomads could be seen here, so it seed soone might have buried them.
Walking along the path with East, South, West, and North while admiring the scenery, Kahn wondered how he should find Guru Pathik.
Even if the man did not deliberately avoid him, finding one person in such a vast complex would not be easy.
Just then, a calm voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
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