Voices of the Present

"Voices of the Present" is the second chapter of The Dawn of Yangchen.
== Overview ==
Kavik witnesses Shang Teiin repress an angry mob through hired goons before breaking into the Blue Manse in order to get information for a broker. He is caught by Avatar Yangchen.
== Synopsis ==
Kavik tries to cross the square in the international district of Bin-Er through a crowd. When he asks what is going on, a man tells him that they have finally pinned down Teiin, a powerful and corrupt shang merchant, by copying Gidu Shrine's schedule of private reservations thanks to Kavik, who had been paid as an errand runner. The man asks Kavik to stay with them to confront Teiin; however, with a different mission of his own, the waterbender excuses himself, claiming he has to place an order at the apothecary's, and slips into the crowd as soon as the man gets distracted when the merchant emerges from the shrine.
As Kavik fights his way through the mass, the people begin to shout at Teiin and demand him to pay what he owes them. The shang, prepared for it, instructs a group of hired toughs to fight the crowd, and Kavik manages to escape. He walks through the city, passing by closing shipping offices, shops, and auction houses, until he arrives to the Blue Manse, a guest house that requires the regular employ of waterbenders to reshape and refreeze the walls, and that he is meant to break into. As he steps inside, a coffin of ice forms around him, which he waterbends and reshapes in order to form a solid floor underneath to elevate himself and thus reach the third floor. When Kavik realizes there are soldiers in one of the outer hallways patrolling around the place, he quietly insults Qiu, an information broker, for not warning him about them. He continues climbing his way up, sneaking past the soldiers and freezing his body in the process, until he gets to the third floor gasping for breath. Looking for some heat, Kavik makes his way toward a large oil lamp across the room, hoping not to get caught. After a moment, once he has the strength to raise his head, he looks around and finds out he is in the poshest quarters of the Blue Manse. He had been sent by Qiu to look for information and memorize anything in the room that would look impoprtant. He spots a desk with a pile of books, scrolls, and stacks of correspondence, and gets up to take a look at a large scroll, but the door opens and a girl about his age walks in with her eyes closed.
Yangchen, wearing several layers of orange and yellow robes, moves her hair, allowing Kavik to notice a small cut along her forehead that stood out on the blue arrow tattooed onto her scalp. Kavik thinks she "nicked herself shaving" and recognizes her as an Air Nomad, which he finds strange to find in the Blue Manse. However, this makes him realize that the girl is the Avatar. Yangchen is surprised to see Kavik and stops drying her hair to kindly ask him not to take the scroll as she has not finished studying it. Shocked, Kavik hands the scroll back. She thanks him and says that he might want to cover his ears, as she has been told she can scream pretty loud.
== Production notes ==
=== Character revelations ===
* Kavik is seventeen years old.
Category:A to Z
Category:Real world
Category:Yangchen novels chapters
Category:The Dawn of Yangchen chapters