Chapter 101 - Chapter 103

Young Aang's two-year training program had come to its end. Dragon had not attempted to make the boy a future god of the world. That was not his goal, so he just helped the boy stabilize his foundation in martial arts and air bending.

Dragon, Aang and Gyatso were standing on his mountain like any other day. But today everything was a little different, and the feeling among the group was not the same either.

Aang was sad and depressed, while Gyatso was somewhere in between anxious and happy. Aang was mostly depressed about Orlando not staying here.

"Dragon I want to thank you for the last two years. It has been very fun and exciting. And I am sure Aang feels the same way." Gyatso cupped his hands and bowed.

"It's no problem. It was highly useful for me to stay here. And I want to thank you, Gyatso, for being such a good friend. And now when I leave I have to ask that you continue to be a good boy and take care of Aang for me."

Dragon bowed as well and gave a cheeky wink to Aang. He didn't like drawn out goodbyes so he picked up his bag that was the only thing he would bring with him.

"Make sure to come back someday. And please do it before I kick the bucket." Gyatso laughed and waved at Dragon when he jumped up on Orlando's back. Aang was standing beside Gyatso and waving goodbye to Orlando.

Dragon sat down and made himself comfortable on Orlando's back. Not even a bed could compare to the comfortable feeling his fur gave. That was probably why Aang had begged Dragon to leave Orlando behind.

"Goodbye for now, and say bye to the others for me." Dragon waved and Orlando pushed off the ground with incredible force. His massive body shot up in the air like it was launched from a cannon.

"Do you think he'll come back someday?" Aang looked at Gyatso with sadness in his eyes.

"I am sure Dragon will never forget you."

"No! I was talking about Orlando?" Aang's words made Gyatso let out a hearty laugh.

"Well, I would say that their journey will probably take them around these parts someday in the future." Gyatso looked out over the horizon with a gaze that almost made it seem like he pierced the boundary of time and was looking at the uncertain future.

Aang didn't say anything more, so he and Gyatso stood there in silence while the eagle's body was getting smaller and smaller in the distance.

---

Dragon and Orlando were travelling south towards the closest landmass to them. And that was the southern water tribe. It was a well-developed sister nation to the northern water tribe. It was a thriving nation, but still not up to the standards of the northern water tribe.

Orlando could fly for weeks without rest if he wanted to. And because this ocean that surrounded all the nations was enormous it would take a while for the two of them to reach the borders of the water tribe.

During the two years stay with Gyatso and Aang, Dragon learned a great many things.

It also took two years for him to figure out the secret to flight. And since free flight and floating were very different techniques, Gyatsoo couldn't help him in achieving it.

But through old texts and deep sleep meditation, he realized the secret to flight was letting go. According to records, only one person achieved this before. And that was Guru Laghima. He spent his last years never touching the earthly ground again.

'Letting go. I hold on no longer.' Dragon opened his eyes in revelation, and without second-guessing he willingly fell off the back of Orlando. The eagle noticed the shift in weight on his back looked around and saw Dragon falling towards the ocean.

"KAA!" Orlando panicked and dove after Dragon with great speed. But Dragon adjusted his body like an arrow and headed straight towards the water surface.

A few meters above the water Dragon finally opened his closed eyes and did a summersault and flew straight up into the air. He disappeared so quickly above the clouds and into the distance that Orlando didn't even see his body pass by. He only felt and heard the sonic boom when Dragon took off like a shooting star.

Orlando felt the connection between himself and Dragon. So Orlando wasn't worried about losing Dragon's position. He gave out an annoyed eagle's cry and also flew in the direction he felt Dragon's presence.

----

Dragon was hovering above the massive icy landmass known as the southern water tribe. They didn't utilize the entire landmass, but they held control over it and made sure no pirates would set up on near their home.

Dragon was up in the air completely fascinated by his new ability. The discovery of weightlessness took him two years, while it was rumoured to take Guru Laghima forty years to figure it out. But to be fair, Dragon worked off the words that Guru Lahima wrote down.

"No more earthly desires. Originally Guru Laghima taught through his texts that all desires need to be let go off. But that is not right either. Earthly desires can be interpreted differently since I don't feel attached to wealth, housing or even the earth we walk upon."

"But despite all of this, my love for my family has never burned brighter. Perhaps someone should add some extra notes to Guru Laghima's texts. They do not hold the entire truth. the flight ability appears to be a lot more complicated then he thought."

Dragon took a few seconds to move around in the air. He felt the wind on his face, and finally, after two whole years, he felt complete. Almost like there was nothing holding him down anymore.

'Now I only have three elements left to master. And then that strange multi-coloured piece inside me. Now it is just to continue moving forward and see where this strange life of mine will take me.'

Dragon's eagle-like eyes suddenly caught sight of a small boat in the distance. And right now it was being surrounded by four other bigger boats.

'That looks bad. Let's see if they need assistance.' Dragon stopped messing around with his flight ability and moved to assist the small boat if needed.

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End