Chapter 105 - My SI Stash #5 - Somebody that I used Tahno by Lost Carcosa (The Legends of Korra) (2/2)

But eventually I came to this conclusion. I could spend years moping about how my life was dead and the existential and personal terror that came with consuming another person's life, but that sounded exhausting.

I was in the prime of my life, famous within this city, in a career that meant I actually owned the apartment in downtown republic city and wasn't paying rent, one of the few people my age to own a car, good looking and with the audacious pride to back all of that up.

So what if it could crash and burn if I failed to learn in time. I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

”Can I get a coffee to go?” I asked, tapping a few extra yuans against the bar top as I considered just how to do this.

And there were. Tahno's fame meant that if I, say, went to a waterbending teacher of any description within the city and asked for beginner lessons my reputation would be ruined.

So... It might have to be back to absolute square one. I was going to have to go to a...

I shivered.

A library.

________________________________________

I had been right to fear it. The Chasan district library was a labyrinth in every sense of the word. The d_i_c_kish nearly hundred year old earthbender librarian regularly moved the stone bookshelves to screw with any sense of order to the place, the building was old enough to be both merely built of earthbent stone and lack electric lights, instead lit by flickering lanterns of some kind. The room was tall, and a thick layer of shadow hung above the shelves, bearing down on any that tried to read below. Natural light seemed to be in short supply inside the building. From the outside it had looked like a single block of earth, and the insides only confirmed this.

Then there were the inhabitants. This seemed to be a point between the undercity beneath Republic city and the surface world, where the homeless might spend a few hours on the surface before being forced back down below, less the virulent criminal gangs of the city discover them.

Still, perhaps only by the mercy of the librarian even pretending to do his job it did have books in it, and thankfully books on beginner waterbending at that. Transcripts of scrolls that, to my amus_e_m_e_nt, I realised were part of a series written by none other than Katara. However, rather than the simplistic and informative pictogram of bending technique, she instead preferred to transfer the knowledge into long and dry as dust treaties on moon and sea worship, on the evils of bloodbending, on the application of healing and, not that I could frankly blame her at all, a great amount of vitriol towards the s_e_xist northern water tribe. It seemed even she could not completely change their society.

This great tome, apparently one of four volumes, was far too large to simply be read here, in this building of eternal twilight.

So, I grabbed all four volumes and wandered between the great stone bookcases, lights flickering and passing before my eyes every so often, hunched other people reading at stone tables, or moving like spectres between the corridors of scrolls, books and oil lanterns. I could not tell what time it was outside, how long I had spent inside this sepulchre of writing. For half a heartbeat I thought I was on another plane of existence, stretching on for eternity containing nothing but wandering souls and books.

But my journey soon came to an end, as I finally once again found the main desk before the foyer.

”Is that everything for you today?” Asked the librarian.

”I need to get a library card here I think.” I added.

”That might take four to six...” The old man said lazily, grinning owlishly as he said that.

I placed twenty Yuans on the desk.

”Seconds.” the Librarian corrected with a smile. He scribed into a great ledger. Whilst he did his job I looked up. There was slightly more light here at the entrance, if only from the currently open door behind me letting the last rays of the sun come streaming through. Owl statues lined the walls. No, not owls. These were to owls what an ape was to a man. They were twisted things, some had four wings, others had their beaks lined with rows upon rows of sharp, misshapen teeth. One particular one that was glaring directly where I stood had three eyes in its head, its wings raised to strike.

This was a foul place.

”Here you go Tahno.” He said with a smile. The same grin I could see on some of the owl statues above.

”Thank you.” Was I could reply with, so desperate was I to leave.

I grabbed the books with both hands, carefully carrying them out. As I turned to leave and walk away he spoke up again.

”You'll be in my thoughts.”

_________________________________________________________

I fumbled with the key. Carrying the books up eight flights of stairs had been annoying, but trying to open the door with my hands full was just taking the piss. None the less, eventually I managed the arcane ritual of placing a key inside a lock and turning it.

I threw the books onto my plush leather sofa. Beyond the sofa, the curtains of my balcony window waved in the late evening breeze. Curling and unfurling with the salt sea winds of the Yue bay. I stood there, in the doorway for a moment.

Then closed the door behind me, rushing towards the sofa to devour the contents of the four volumes. If I could just get the waterbending basics down, surely my muscle memory would kick back in for me. Surely I could be as great as Tahno had once been, and I could live a comfortable life as a professional athlete?

My answer came after nearly sixteen more hours of uninterrupted conciousness, fuelled mostly by a few stops to Narook's below to grab some decent coffee. Perhaps the lack of sleep had made me only more aware. Perhaps I had entered some trance to see beyond the threads of reality, finally having found a vantage point beyond the mere three dimensions that made up this plane to realise an uncomfortable truth.

Or, and I'm just going out on a limb here, I was sick of sixteen hours of trying with no results.

”I can't waterbend like this.” I admitted to myself somewhere around my twelfth cup of coffee. Somewhere in that caffinated nightmare that had been the last sixteen hours, I saw the inevitability of my practise.

I was, technically, still a waterbender. That much I knew. The fact I could vibrate the water within a bowl without moving anything but my hands was as much confirmation as I needed. But that was it. I could not lift the water out of the bowl, I could not freeze it in a moment, nor could I turn the contents into steam. I couldn't do anything with it but drink it, or throw it away.

In a fit of pique brought on, again, by nearly twenty four hours of uninterrupted conciousness and twelve cups of coffee I threw the china bowl against one of the walls and held my head in my hands. I was f_u_c_k_e_d, good and proper.

The telephone choose that moment to ring, as if to compound my problems. Gingerly, I picked up the receiver.

”Tahno.” I said, trying to put on a laid back 'I don't give a shit about anything' voice over the fact I was practically twitching and beginning to hallucinate at this point.

”You little shit.” The voice said on the other line. ”Have you seen the papers this morning?”

Strangely enough, despite the harsh words, the man on the other end (who I sort of recognise from somewhere in the memories of the man who's body I had stolen) sounded overly smug. Like listening to a recording of myself in fact.

”No. I've been busy.” I admitted to Tahno's agent.

”Well, you're page three on the Republic gazette, page one of the Tribunal and page 53 on the Financial.” Said my agent.

”We did win I tournament a few days ago.” I grumbled as I scratched the back of my head, my eyes beginning to close.

”No one cares about that, that was four days ago. This is so... Well, you'll get some new fans that's for sure, though perhaps parental groups might boycott your next fight in a week.” Han'za admitted. Somehow I could hear the shrug through the line.

”Wait.. A week?” I asked fearfully.

”Don't tell you forgot buddy? You guys versus the Golden temple Tigerdillos, little charity match thing, something about baby sealturtles or something.” My agent explained.

I nearly shat myself. I had thought I had an entire year to get back into the grove, free to live off the winnings of this year and the odd sponsorship. This was... Well, certainly put a damper on my plans. Not that I could admit that to my boss. Telling him I was effectively useless as a probender would simply see me kicked off the team, then it was goodbye to the life of relative luxury.

”Right. That.” I said slowly, carefully, as I ran through likely means to fake my death and steal enough money to live somewhere else in the world. Surely the water tribes would be cheap real estate?

”But that's not what I wanted to talk about. You got a paper yet?” Han'za asked.

Dead medium anywa... Wait, pre internet society. So, the only alive medium. Great.

”No.” I replied.

”Well, they've got this picture of you smoking on your balcony. Very avant garde.” How is there such a thing as avant garde in a world without France?

”And I'm n_a_k_e_d in it.” I said slapping my forehead with my free hand.

”And your n_a_k_e_d in it.” My agent confirmed. ”Got to say, not bad.”

”I work out.” I replied. ”Wait, what?”

”I mean, the guy was taking the picture from ground level, so you can't make it out, and it's covered by the railings of your balcony, but it, you know, implies a lot.” Said Han'za. ”Plus, it's clearly wasn't set up by me or you, so no ones talking about me exploiting you or anything.”

”Spirits forbid.” I said drolly.

”Trust me Tahno, this little picture is going to be hung up in rooms across the world within the week.” Said my agent.

”That's... Horrifying.” I admitted.

”What are you talking about Tahno? This is big publicity! Plus, It means a total reinvention of your image. Vain pretty boy was getting old hat anyway, other probenders are trying to copy it, so we need a change.” Han'za said excitedly. I hoped he was drooling over the money he might make, rather than the picture of me, but who knows.

”You've been probending's bad boy for a while, but we need to show there's a tortured soul underneath it. All that crap. Women love a tortured soul.” Said Han'za.

”I hardly think my life...” I began.

”We'll make it up. I hired enough PI's to cover up your 'foggy' past anyway, no harm in making up an entirely new one.” Said Han'za. ”You've got to come down to my office. Day after tomorrow, we'll sort this all out.”

”We'll make up my new entire life story?” I asked incredulously.

”Tahno, buddy, I do this all the time. So, I was thinking perhaps both of your parents died in a whaling accident and you've both feared and loved the ocean ever since, the raging...”

Does my life always revolve around whaling in some description?

”Look... Han'za. Can we discuss this later?” I asked, the sudden news and lack of caffeine darkening my vision, narrowing to a single cone of light as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

”Of course. See you in two days Tahno. I'll bring the entire team down.” Said Han'za. Shit

”Great. See you then.” I said tiredly, placing the reciever down on its stand with a slam.

I leaned back into my sofa, running a hand down my face. There was no way I could train to be a waterbender within a week. I tried to stand up, perhaps to grab another coffee, or perhaps to just go to bed. But my legs were dead, refusing to respond. I tried to move them, even poking at them to try and feel something through them, but I felt nothing.

And then, in a flash of inspiration, it came to me.

Perhaps I don't need to waterbend. I just need to not get hit. And what style more accurately fits not getting hit...

I looked at my dead leg, and poked at a pressure point. It twitched even in death.

Than Chi-blocking?