The thundercloud rumbled and lit up from within as sheet lightning bounced back and forth between the fluffy walls. Leera felt the static electricity on the back of her head, lifting her hair into a stormy updo. She wanted to touch the lightning, feel it surge through her body. She had always been afraid of lightning – afraid of fire, water, and cramped spaces. Now all she wanted to do was experience it all.

“No more fear.”

She saw the tiny vibrating red and white marbles of the cloud – they were missing some of their smaller building blocks. They were hungry, and that’s why they behaved this way.

“Come eat from my hand, little ones,” she said and stretched it towards the hulking cloud.

The massive beast roared. A tongue of blinding whiteness shot out, illuminating the sky. But instead of burning her alive, the lightning took what she offered, eating docilely from her hand. Tingles rolled up her arms and down her neck.

“Go play at sea,” she said and changed the direction of the wind, pushing the clouds out over the ocean.

Soon the sun peeked out over the tip of the cloud, and for a moment Leera just drifted through the air, enjoying the warm beams massaging her skin. She felt herself filling with a perpetual calm as the worries disappeared one by one. She no longer needed a house – the world was her home now. She no longer needed to worry about money or material things – whatever she needed, the land, sky, and sea would give her. And if she ever felt cold again… she smiled at the sun.

Was this too good to be true? No more worries? Then the realization hit her.

“Quick!” Like a comet, she shot across the sky, back toward Oceanpeak.

In the distance, the spires of the city rose like a shining forest of awls from the mountainside. But among the marble pillars were also smoke. Leera’s heart sank at the sight. The vision of a shattered Cloudrest filled her mind. She spurred the winds.

“No more killing…” she said, but this time it was a prayer rather than a command.

The wind bit into her cheeks as she dove for the capital. She flew over the roofs, scanning the streets for the broad shoulders and flappy beard of Quick. Mobs of people were running up and down the streets – some were flying. Guards in the royal blue and white swept by in strict formation.

Drawn by the salty smell of the sea, Leera steered toward the water. She left the Merchants District, with its sleek white buildings and neat cobblestone roads, and entered the Docks District.

The tall white walls of the royal palace were a striking contrast to the thatched roofs and dirt trails snaked between the worn-down buildings. Castle Saltgale was built in the middle of Oceanpeak and had gates facing each of the six districts. A smell of rotting fish found its way to Leera’s nose.

Leera noticed that the smoke came from two places. The first source was a hole in the wall of the castle, and a crowd of people was hovering around the destruction like a buzzing colony of wasps. The second pillar of smoke rose from a massive stone building with a grain silo, which had been broken into. People ran to and from the site with bags on their shoulders, while the guards tried their best to keep them away from the king’s granary.

Leera’s eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of something in the crowd that stood out like a rose in a field of daisies. Pursued by a squad of guards, Bryne zigzagged through the throng of shouting people. With a wide grin on his face, he feinted and danced around them.

“Leera!” he called out when she landed. “You’re flying!”

Leera nodded. “Have you seen Quick?”

“Sorry – I’ve got my hands full! He’s probably out drinking tea somewhere.” Bryne dodged, and one of the guards crashed headfirst into a trash bin. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Bryne produced a bottle and swiftly poured the liquid into his open palm. He slammed his hands together and disappeared in a thick fog. Leera smiled at the guards who searched for him fruitlessly. She had always wondered what kind of powers Bryne had. Now she finally had her answer – the man was a water-bender, and a skilled one at that.

Turning away from the scowling red faces of the guards, Leera drifted along the street. Through the smell of decomposing garbage, a familiar scent made her stir. She followed it and came to a rickety shack of a bar. A duck with googly eyes adorned the sign above the door.

Leera was just about to enter when the door swung open, and two guards with rosy cheeks and content smiles waddled out, and after them came Quick.

“Gentlemen, thank you for the company,” Quick said. “Send me a letter and tell me how it went with Breeze.”

One of the guards mumbled something unintelligible, and together they started strolling along the street.

“You’re okay!” Leera said and hugged the big man.

“Why, of course.” Quick patted Leera on the head. “I see you’ve got your powers – about time, I should say.”

Leera beamed at him and hugged him again. She hadn’t felt this happy in a very long time.

“I trust everything went well, meeting your brother?”

“There were a few… complications.”

“And such is life, a series of complications and riddles waiting to be solved. Now, we have but one important journey left. Gather your belongings, and we shall get going.”

“I have all I need.”

“Well, then,” the big man said. “Let’s be on our way to the Temple of Minah.”