Somar, Bato, and Winona coldly gazed upon the prone giant of a man, and his sister as well. For a moment, they seemed to confer among themselves without speech, as though communing in thought by way of some secret, forgotten art.
Their eyes were dark, cold and impersonal like the depths of the ocean as they pronounced the Doom of the transgressors, even as had been the tradition of their people since before the Earth Kingdom was united under a single monarch, before the Air Nomads built their four great temples, back when the Sun Warrior Dynasty still prospered in the West.
"For the bloodshed which these two have unjustly inflicted upon our brethren," they spoke, the cadence of their words perfectly matched, such that it seemed they were more a single being speaking at once with three mouths voice, "and the bloodshed enacted against us by their people in the year previous, it has been decided. They must be punished, in accordance with the way of the Water Tribes. Thus do we, the appointed judges of the Brotherhood of the Whale Tooth Scimitar, declare that these two shall face the harshest of Dooms."
Aang and Katara paled, both knowing full well what this meant. They looked like they dearly wished to interfere, to try and sway them from this course, but they did not make any moves. They had been chastised, perhaps, by Sokka's sharp words, and feared to widen any more the divide that seemed to have formed between them.
The Earth Kingdom merchants and their guards, however, seemed simply vexed, appearing more annoyed than anything, as if they saw no reason to fear the judgement of the Southern Water Tribe.
"And what is it, then?" said the mousy, middle-aged captain, a man who looked more a bureaucrat than a sailor. "What is this 'harshest of Dooms'?" He sounded irritated, but unconcerned -- as though he did not believe he had any reason to fear the judgement of the Water Tribe.
"The Ice," said Sokka simply, and there was a grim weight in his words. "Those who commit the worst of crimes within the Water Tribes are left to the judgement of the Ice. They are blindfolded, stripped of all supplies, tools, or rations, left with only the clothes on their back, and brought out into the furthest, emptiest wastes of the tundra. That far out, left stranded, alone, whether you live or die, your fate is left in the hands of the Ice. If it judges them worthy of life, if it shows them mercy and permits them to return to humanity, then they shall be considered cleansed of wrongdoing, purified by the cruelest of Nature's hardships." His eyes alighted upon the two accused, the two guilty. "However, if they die, then they are left to the Ice, and their names are stricken from all records, save those of their transgression and judgement. Their names are forbidden to be spoken among the tribe until they return."
"If they ever return," said Aang, and face was pale. "Sokka, you can't actually be considering--!"
"I'm not the one considering it," Sokka replied. "It's already been decided. The Brotherhood of the Whale Tooth Scimitar has spoken. Even I could not overturn their judgement, if I wanted to."
Aang sighed.
"But you don't," he said, sounding weary, tired. He leaned against his staff, looking very old and worn at that moment.
"It's not about what I want," said Sokka, pointedly avoiding the question. "As Chief, I must follow the will of the people. Judgement has already been passed."
Aang shook his head.
"Sokka..." he said slowly, quietly, and the man for a moment felt truly sorry for his friend, and the position he must be in. "I understand that this is how your people settle such matters, and I will not interfere. However," he added, "I do not support this. I cannot support it. Sokka, I know your people want justice for everything that's been done..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Yet, I wonder what Justice really is..." he seemed to be whispering this more to himself.
"Justice is the Will of the Ice," said Somar. "It is not the place of men, or women, to determine it for themselves."
"Yet still you would leave them out on the tundra," murmured Katara, a distant, sad look in her eyes.
"It's the way of our people, Sister," spoke Sokka softly. "I'm not in any position to change that. It's not my place."
Katara sighed.
"I know," she said, and Sokka knew that she spoke the truth. She knew this every bit as well as he did, but she was still sad, too kind to truly accept what needed to be done. That, more than anything else, was really why Sokka had been chosen as their father's successor, not her.
And the Chief Hunter knew that his sister would never be able to really accept what he needed to do. She would never be able to look at him the way she used to.
"I'm sorry, Katara..." Sokka whispered, before turning to face the captain of the Earth Kingdom merchant ship. "Well? You have heard the judgement. Will you submit these two to the Ice, and accept that they must face justice for their actions?"
How did the captain respond?
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
