winds_voice | 16 - [Accidental Video/Action]

[Eley wasn't happy.

Not only had he been subjected to an experiment that had forced him to relive an experience he was trying to forget, the recent post from the Malnosso had riled him up even more. So they did it then... they used that weapon. And all he did was sit back and let them.

The Spirit was finding that he was being pushed more and more to his limits lately. That yes, perhaps he was becoming more emotionally invested in things than he should. The truth was, he was sick of being trapped in this bubble with no way out and of being stuck in a world he barely understood. He couldn't go after them... he couldn't do anything. Even if he did somehow break free, he had no idea what he would do or what it would accomplish.

Eley was angry and frustrated and seemed to be losing grip on his emotions again even after returning to his otherwise normal state here. Of course, throwing his journal in his frustration had only caused a feed to record without his knowledge as it smacked against a rock. There isn't much to see, just a lot of dusty rocks at a slanted angle and a blue patch of sky. You can probably tell it's in the mountains at least.

...but it's what can be heard that's likely more worrying. There's a large crashing sound followed by the incessant tumbling of several small fragments of rock clattering to the ground. The image of the feed becomes obscured by dust, and then everything falls silent.]

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[Aang certainly didn't find it abnormal. Even he felt anger and pain. And he knew the important of channeling it in ways that wouldn't hurt others. Especially when emotional imbalance could trigger the Avatar State.]

Wow... you were that dragon! You... you were a really great dragon!

[A great dragon? He didn't quite expect those words and for a moment Eley seems surprised to her them.]

Ah... thank you. There was a time where many others would share your sentiment. I have not had much praise of late.

Still, you do not mind that I tried to attack you?

[Eley was ashamed about his lack of control and it showed.]

N-no, that doesn't bother me. I mean... You were just being cautious - I was the one who disturbed you, and you did stop trying to hurt me. I understand that there's danger that can come from dealing with dragons or spirits. It's not something I can blame you for.

You do seem to have an understanding of Spirits, even if the ones you know may differ somewhat from myself.

[It was nice to be able to talk to someone with a certain familiarity of creatures similar to his own. There were no priests or priestesses of Aether here after all. Eley felt isolated sometimes...

It didn't help that he was only kindling that feeling right now by separating himself from others.]

My actions then were drawn from my past. I am trying to heal now. Meeting people such as yourself here is also helping me along that path. Yet the road is still unclear and the longer I stay here, the more uneasy I become. I am beginning to wonder just who I can trust. Certainly not the Malnosso, it seems.

It does help that talking with spirits is part of being the Avatar! [He does remember mentioning a bit about being the Avatar when they first talked.] But really, I think we're all a lot more alike on the inside.

I'm glad I've been able to help. And... I understand what it's like, when it can become harder to trust people. [Aang had his moments, of losing faith. And having trouble trusting Zuko at first when he finally tried to join them.] The Malnosso are definitely very tricky. It's understandable not to trust them. But I hope you can learn to use both your heart and your judgement together with other people. So that way... You can have some people to trust. And it'll help you.

[Eley remembered that the Avatar symbolised peace and that in itself was enough to earn his respect. To think that he was also responsible for talking to spirits... it was oddly familiar to him. It reminded him that no everything was bad about this place.

In fact, it might even earn Aang a sad smile.]

There were once many people like you in Aether. I have to wonder what caused them to disappear as they did. Were we too hard to understand in the end? Or did they simply decide that they did not need us anymore?

You are right though. As troubled as I may be at present, I have learned much during my stay here. There are people that I can trust and if I can trust people from entirely different worlds, perhaps not all is lost on my home world either.

I do not know much about the job of an Avatar, but it seems that you may be worthy of that title.

Thank you, Eleytheria. I'm honored that you think that of me. [He bows his head.]

I would urge you not to lose hope - in people who are here or in your own world. I can't tell... what made those kinds of people disappear. But I do know that things like that can happen in history. People change and they can fall out of touch with the spirits. That's part of why the Avatar exists in my world, to fix that. You may not have it in your own world, but I'm sure that times will change more. And people may come to respect you once again.

[Eley gives a nod in return, accepting that mark of respect. He listens well to the Avatar's words. He realised that Aang may be right after all...]

Yes... it is not hopeless. That even one nation still turns to me like the old days is a good enough start. The Agkelons themselves are peacekeepers too - the Royal Family and my priestesses are also held in high regard.

But... they are separated from the rest of the world by my hand and after being used by the ground-dwellers, they too have lost trust in them. While the ground still walks towards war, I do not think they would do well if they were to open themselves to others again.

The Aglekons do sound like a good example... Maybe they could fulfill a role like that of the Avatar. But what's wrong with that ground? Why's it want to start war?

...Bravura is the problem. The Emperor who governs it is young and not of sound mind. He does not trust others and so seeks to dominate them, to minimise the risk of a threat to his life. He believes that if he is feared, if he becomes powerful enough, nobody will be able to touch him.

His paranoia grows day by day and Bravura continue to try to develop more powerful machines... and weapons. I believe it is only a matter of time before Emperor Leo makes the first step towards war.

Then... there are those who seek Agkelos. The kingdom has become something of a legend but many on the ground believe it to be real. The inventors of Volante are trying to create a flying machine to search for it. However... I do not know what they intend to do should they reach it.

That emperor... He sounds like bad news. [Almost like Fire Lord Ozai - or Sozin.] Someone has to be able to deal with him, or the world's going to go out of balance.

But... What do you mean about that? If they find Agkelos, won't that be good?

Exactly... Though this is not something I am really supposed to become involved with. This is a war for the Spirit of Aether, but Aether is sleeping and we do not know where to find him.

[Eley shakes his head at the other question.]

I am to safeguard Agkelos from outsiders now and they do not trust them. If someone were to break through my cloud wall and invade, it would only make the problem worse.

[He pauses, hesitating. He knows that it isn't as simple as that and that he can't bring himself to shut others out completely.]

Then again... there have been occasions where the odd outsider has slipped through. I wanted to test them and the Agkelons, to see how they would react to one another. I wanted to see if they were ready to know one another again...

Aether? So that's another spirit. But... I know what that feels like. Things can be bad when the person who's supposed to settle things is busy resting. [He wound up taking a hundred-year snooze, himself.]

Oh! Right... so Agkelos is where you live. I definitely wouldn't want you to be disturbed like that. But what happened when you tested the people?

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