The Avatar's Masters

"We have until the next full moon to link up with Mok's forces for the assault. We can finally give you the training you were hoping for."

— Kirima says to Kyoshi.

"The Avatar's Masters"
Information
Novel	The Rise of Kyoshi
Authors	F. C. Yee Michael Dante DiMartino
Chapter	20/32
Word count	4,676
From page	282
To page	299
Chapter guide
Previous	"The Beast"
Next	"Preparations"

"The Avatar's Masters" is the twentieth chapter of The Rise of Kyoshi.

Overview

After Kyoshi finally admits to the Flying Opera Company that she is the Avatar, they agree to train her in bending. Later on, Lao Ge tells Kyoshi that she will have to assassinate Governor Te during the attack.

Synopsis

The Flying Opera Company flies over Ba Sing Se on their flying bison. Kirima demands that Kyoshi finally reveals who the powerful man that she wants to get vengeance on is, to which she admits that Jianzhu is the one hunting her down. Lek yells at her for getting on the wrong side of the man that he refers to as "the Gravedigger", but the Avatar attempts to defend herself, saying that he killed two of her loved ones. The group is not surprised by that since it matches up with his murderous reputation. Wong sighs as he realizes the trouble that they have put themselves in, and Lek yells at Kyoshi for getting them involved with Jianzhu.

Kyoshi is slightly comforted knowing that she is not the only one that is terrified of Jianzhu, and she reasons that though she has not known the group very long, she now owes them the full story. Kyoshi finally admits that Jianzhu is not trying to kill her but instead wants to capture her since she is the Avatar. The group refuses to believe her and laughs at her instead. Lek mocks her while Kirima reprimands her for trying to lie to them after swearing her oaths. However, Rangi backs up Kyoshi's claim, explaining that it is the reason that she has a Fire Nation bodyguard. Kirima, who still does not believe it, asks Kyoshi what she stole from Jianzhu. She becomes increasingly frustrated as the group refuses to take her seriously.

Wong asks Kyoshi if she can bend all four elements, wanting her to prove herself, and she admits that she has firebent once, but has not been able to do it since then. Lek continues to mock Kyoshi until Lao Ge finally admits that he believes her. Kirima asks the group to consider it logically but instead tests Kyoshi by suddenly attacking her with water. As Kyoshi squeals and covers her face with her arms in defense, she accidentally controls the water with her fan. The group is shocked while Rangi celebrates that Kyoshi has finally controlled another element. The firebender tightly wraps her arms around the proven Avatar as Kyoshi realizes that her mother's fans improve her bending. Lao Ge looks at them with a cool, knowing expression, but the rest of the daofei is shocked into submission.

The group lands in an abandoned quarry near Ba Sing Se. Kyoshi notices that Wong's face has a worried expression as they climb off Pengpeng. Kirima explains to Kyoshi that the original members of the Flying Opera Company will need a minute to speak privately. Rangi and Kyoshi glance at each other as the others huddle up. Rangi tells Kyoshi that if the group turns on them, she will buy her time to escape on Pengpeng. The daofei return to the girls and politely inform them that they have chosen to no longer travel with them. Kyoshi is confused by their politeness to her, and Wong explains that since Kyoshi is the Avatar, the spirits could be offended by her acquaintance with outlaws. Lek adds that traveling with daofei is also dangerous for her as they still need to join the attack on Governor Te's, to which Kirima agrees, stating that Kyoshi will be safer the farther away she is from them. Kyoshi is shocked that rather than take advantage of her Avatarhood, they are protecting her, but she then attributes her paranoia to the way Jianzhu treated Yun. Rangi understands what the group is saying and tells Kyoshi that falling deeper into Mok's clutches could forever stain her reputation.

Though Kyoshi agrees that staying with daofei is a risk, she decides that she cannot abandon her new friends who need her since they remind her of Yun. She tells the Flying Opera Company that she is not going anywhere and will even help them attack Governor Te's mansion. Kyoshi looks at The Flying Opera Company and is reminded of how she felt when Kelsang tracked her down for the first time, as they glance at her with wonder. Rangi asks Kyoshi to reconsider, but she argues that the world does not know her as the Avatar yet and that she has taken the oaths of this group. Rangi warns Kyoshi that she is too valuable and not skilled enough to help with the raid. Lek surprisingly defends Kyoshi but Kirima agrees with Rangi, adding that they have until the full moon to train her. Rangi fails to see how a daofei group is qualified to train all four elements to the Avatar in such little time, but Kirima says that she is not going to miss out on the opportunity to be the Avatar's waterbending master, which infuriates the firebender. The group is entertained by Rangi's agony, and Lek tells her that they will only need to teach her enough to survive the attack, not become a master. Kirima explains Kyoshi that since the group does not have an airbender, she will not be able to learn airbending from them, teasing Kyoshi in the process for her weakness. Kyoshi, to prove her strength, earthbends a massive chunk of stone from far in the distance. Kirima, who does not flinch as Kyoshi drops the boulder, tells her that she needs more than one trick in her bag.

Later that evening, the group happily chats around a campfire. As Rangi meditates on her own, Kyoshi wanders off to practice earthbending. However, Kyoshi is approached by Lao Ge, who comments that Rangi has been distracting her from training with him. Kyoshi apologizes, but Lao Ge teaches her that she does not have to forsake love in order to become a killer. He asks Kyoshi whether she wants to kill Jianzhu in the heat of the battle while acting out of self preservation, and she responds that she needs to make him pay for what he has done while looking him in the eye. Lao Ge assures Kyoshi that she will get an opportunity to practice killing by assassinating Governor Te during the attack. Kyoshi is stunned by his proposal and asks why she would kill Te. He explains that not only is it practice, but Te is a corrupt leader that needs to be removed. Kyoshi is unsure about Lao Ge's justifications, so he again tries to convince her that assassinating Te is the heroic thing to do. Lao Ge also encourages Kyoshi to be a strong hunter like Avatar Kuruk was. Kyoshi is freaked out by the thought of her becoming a mindless killer and asks Lao Ge why he gets to decide Te's fate. He justifies his opinion and tells Kyoshi that since she is the Avatar, she also has the right to shape the world for the better. Kyoshi angrily tells Lao Ge why she needs to kill Jianzhu, wishing he would take him out instead of Te. Lao Ge, who does not care whether Jianzhu lives or not, asks Kyoshi what she will do about the lives of Te's guards that could be unjustly lost, before disappearing into the darkness. Kyoshi begins to worry about the countless lives that could be taken during their attack and then falls asleep before thinking of a solution.

The next morning, Kyoshi wakes up with Rangi, Wong, Kirima, and Lek hovering above and judging her for sneaking off to seemingly train alone. Lek reveals that they know about her inability to bend small objects and throws a pebble at her face. Kyoshi is able to quickly grab a fan from Wong and redirect the stone toward Lek before it hits her. Kirima is surprised that Kyoshi is able to bend such a small pebble while Wong criticizes the damaging way that she opened it. As the group bickers, a frustrated Rangi hides her face in her hands. Kyoshi realizes that her official Avatar training has had quite the bumpy start.

Production notes

Series continuity

• While discussing Jianzhu's body count, Kirima mentions a disease called septapox, similar in name to the illness Katara invents in "Return to Omashu", pentapox.
• Kyoshi's comparison of the invisible clouds in the sky to black-clad stagehands moving the settings of a play is consistent with the stagehands' depiction during The Boy in the Iceberg in "The Ember Island Players".

Character revelations

• Kyoshi reveals her identity as the Avatar to the Flying Opera Company.
• Kyoshi waterbends for the first time.
• Kyoshi realizes she can use her mother's fans to improve her bending precision.