Spiritual Exercises

"Spiritual Exercises" is the thirteenth chapter of The Shadow of Kyoshi.
== Overview ==
Nyahitha and Kyoshi hike together on the outskirts of North Chung-Ling. After reaching their destination, Nyahitha leads Kyoshi through a spiritual exercise to communicate with Avatar Kuruk. Nyahitha asks her to focus on the flame in front of her and chant along with him. Eventually, Kyoshi's past lives' voices reverberate from her lips.
== Synopsis ==
Nyahitha tells Kyoshi that he is not surprised the men involved in the recent battery are related to each other. Earlier, Kyoshi and Rangi had hauled the two aggressors to the town jail, though she doubts they will be kept there for long. Nyahitha leads Kyoshi down a path that runs along the edge of the caldera. Nyahitha says it is not a good sign that a fight broke out so early during the Festival of Szeto and that he does not appreciate how seriously vengeance is taken in the Fire Nation; he adds that at least there will be no Agni Kai's since it is a spiritual offense to burn someone during a holiday.
The pair reaches a cliff overlooking a growing plain. Nyahitha points out the melonyam fields that are suffering due to the Fire Nation's misfortune. Kyoshi asks if there is any legitimacy to the rumor that the spirits are for some reason angry at Fire Lord Zoryu. Nyahitha answers with an old expression and then suggests that she should ask them herself once she figures out how to do that.
Nyahitha points out a nearby clearing and proposes it would be a good place to land a flying bison if she had one. Kyoshi informs him that she has a flying bison. He asks why she did not mention it earlier since they could have flown to the spot in minutes and saved themselves an hour of hiking. Kyoshi explains that she assumed the hike was part of the spiritual exercise, otherwise she would have mentioned Yingyong.
Nyahitha tells Kyoshi to take a seat. Kyoshi anxiously asks if they will be doing incense, remembering that she had a rough experience with them before. He assures her that they will not be using any incense.
Kyoshi suggests that if she is not able to contact Avatar Kuruk, they should try to commune with Yangchen, the Avatar that is known for her spirituality. Nyhitha says that Yangchen will not be as much help with spirits as one might think, but Kyoshi insists that Yangchen was the perfect Avatar. Nyahitha says he believes that the Avatar cannot reach their past lives out of order; to talk to Yangchen, Kyoshi must first contact Kuruk. Kyoshi yells about Kuruk keeping her from the other Avatars, another aspect of many that she finds faulty about him. Nyahitha comments on how similar Kyoshi and Kuruk's personalities are, which greatly upsets her; she argues that Nyahitha cannot properly judge her character after only just meeting her.
Kyoshi asks if they can begin their spiritual exercise. Nyahitha calms himself down, then explains that Kuruk could possibly commune with Kyoshi in a few different ways: through a one-way vision, taking over her body, or talking face-to-face in the Spirit World. Kyoshi criticizes how useless and difficult the power of communing seems to be but Nyahitha explains that with practice, it will become useful to her.
Nyahitha creates a small flame and asks her to focus on it, explaining that just like the Avatar, it is both one and many. Suddenly the world around her accelerates as his words become her own; all of her past lives' voices join like a chorus as they chant Nyahitha's words.
== Production notes ==
=== Series continuity ===
* The three methods Nyahitha describes for communing with past Avatars – one-sided vision, spiritual possession, and direct communication – all appear in episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
** Aang has a vision of Roku while asleep instructing him to visit his home island on the summer solstice in "The Avatar and the Fire Lord".
** Roku possesses Aang's body to defend him against Zhao and his soldiers while visiting Crescent Island Fire Temple in "Winter Solstice, Part 2: Avatar Roku".
** Aang communicates face-to-face with Roku in the Spirit World about how to find the Moon and Ocean spirits in "The Siege of the North, Part 2".
* Nyahitha adds that sometimes the Avatar does not remember anything after returning from a Spirit World trip, the same outcome Aang experiences after waking up from his Spirit World journey in Escape from the Spirit World.Escape from the Spirit World online game.
* Kyoshi's discomfort with letting another Avatar temporarily take over her body is ironic given that she eventually possesses Aang's body in "Avatar Day".
== References ==
Category:Kyoshi novels chapters
Category:A to Z
Category:Real world
Category:The Shadow of Kyoshi chapters