Chapter 43. The Swamp [FIXED]
Hugh turned out to be a straightforward guy, as long as you didn't dig too deep into his teachings. Maybe that's why Dria doesn't like him—she's not used to someone else doing most of the talking. What interested me more than his words was his energy, which was always in motion. After observing him closely, I understood why—Hugh is, in a way, a weaker version of an Avatar with only one element.
When I asked Banyan about it, he shared the details openly. Over generations of this tribe of benders, Hugh was the first gifted one whose bending even remotely resembled plantbending. So, the spirit decided to experiment, giving Hugh a small part of his chi. It created a connection similar to what Yui and I have: Hugh understands Banyan, and his bending will eventually resemble the spirit's. When his reserves are depleted, he can replenish them through the spirit. Hugh probably won't master true plantbending in his lifetime, but his children will have a better chance, and his grandchildren or great-grandchildren might become full-fledged plantbenders. Over time, the entire Swamp Tribe will command two elements—these are just my guesses, but they're worth considering.
Hugh's philosophy of life began to emerge as his connection with the tree strengthened. Unconsciously, he adopted the spirit's worldview—how the spirit perceives the world. The spirit also benefited: human benders' chi is more dynamic, preventing stagnation in his source. As we know, spirits are pure chi, and stagnation means losing the taste for life, which happens to older spirits over time. That's why there are more dark spirits—they usually die only by violence, constantly fueling their chi by consuming others.
I was intrigued by how the spirit separated a piece of his gift. When Yui was born, I gave her a significant part of my gift, but Banyan only gave a small fragment, gradually nurturing it while maintaining its effectiveness.
*Wan Shi Tong, why aren't you like the other light spirits? Wong, Dria, Banyan—they all help out of kindness, asking nothing in return. The tree spirit taught me his method of separating essence. It's not perfect—he lost much of his strength for a while, though he recovered faster, maybe because he's a higher spirit.*
It's not crucial, but I'll try his method and compare it later. I planned to do this with Shizuka and Suyuki anyway. I don't want to fly into Kyoshi's settlement one day only to find ashes. With two full-fledged benders and one in training, the village's chances of defending itself would skyrocket.
Dria asked me to wait another week for her training to finish. Then she'd go anywhere with me—she said this in a very enticing tone.
"Where did this behavior come from? I don't believe you figured it out yourself," I said bluntly. Dria's too pure for this world; she doesn't know how to deceive or hold back. Better to ask directly while I can.
"From books! Reading those letters was boring, but there were pictures! You love me, right?" she asked suddenly, serious. Does Dria even understand what that word means? Of course, I'm not the one to judge, but I doubt she grasped its full meaning just from reading. She was a low-level spirit not long ago.