The Vessel of Baofu

The sun beats down on my head like a hammer on an anvil. I take one step after another; I don't know how far I've walked. My sandals have worn thin and the stones bite into the soles of my feet. My mouth is parched; I've run out of water again. But this thirst is nothing to what I've felt before. I've wandered through desert and wilderness; I was truly thirsty then. Before that I passed through jungles and mountain passes, where the only thing I wanted was a place warm and dry. And before that I travelled…

Well, I've travelled far.

I had different names back then; I was different people. Names are easy to change, like a pair of shoes. I stumble on the road and remember just how badly I need another pair of those. I sit for a moment by the roadside and take a break. My destination isn't far; I'll probably reach it by the end of the day. Still, I can't take many chances. I saw my one of my former guises drawn on a wanted poster at the last outlier town. It was a remarkable likeness of my former self; obviously either the artist or the one whom the artist took my impression from knew me intimately. I didn't stay long to find out which.

I stretched my legs and think back on the time when I was that person on the poster. That was at least a year ago, a persona I must have recycled a dozen times. It works well for me. I lose track of them now just like I lose track of the number of days I've travelled. What was I before my wandering began? It's hard to remember life before. It seems now like my life begun on that day.

There's the dust stirring up from the road I've just travelled. A rider's coming and I need to be off. I haven't yet changed my appearance from my last persona. I quite liked this one; I am a courtesan, my finery now thrown away but my hair is done up and I'm wearing paints to highlight my eyes and bring colour to my cheeks. I haven't found water spare to wash it away. I'm sure I must look a sight, all dusty and travel-stained and looking like lost royalty.

But in the last town I looked much more refined and I had stolen the heart of the local banker. I smile as I set off on the road again, reminiscing my time spent with him. But the smile leaves my face as I recall our last moments together, when I put a knife in his heart.

Turned out he was working with the Fire Nation, siphoning money for them. Of course, I only found this out after I killed him. But Baofu knew; she always knows.

I try and sense the Vengeance Spirit within me, to see if she stirs. There's nothing and I relax a little. Perhaps I can have a moment's peace on the road then. I won't have to harm the rider that follows me.

I don't necessarily blame the elders of my village for what they did. There's only so much oppression you can take from the Fire Nation before you feel the need to strike back. Still, I wonder if they can sleep at night knowing they used a child to be the vessel of an assassin spirit before banishing her to wander the world forever. Forever is an awfully long time.

I crest a hill and pause for a moment. There it is; the Great Walls of Ba Sing Se. Baofu has led me here and I've never been able to turn aside from her path. I feel her now beginning to awaken. She knows I've almost arrived. Soon she'll have me hunting more Fire Nation but I wonder how many of them can be in the great fortress of Ba Sing Se? After all, it is the stronghold of the Earth Kingdom. Still, I don't argue with her; there's no point.

I'll reach the City Walls by nightfall if I keep my pace up. I'll need a new face for the City, a new persona. I've already thought of a name, one I like the sound of. Yes, Jin will do nicely.