Avatar:Fallback Plans

"The right kind of hurt delivered at the right time could knock her off kilter no matter how many of Abbess Dagmola's exercises she'd performed in the morning."

— Yangchen about her mental health.

Template:Chapter infobox"Fallback Plans" is the eleventh chapter of The Dawn of Yangchen.

Overview

Yangchen regrets her reckless provocation of the shangs. While Boma creates a distraction, she infiltrates the abandoned flues beneath the Bin-Er gathering hall to eavesdrop on the shangs. Confronted by fears from past Avatars, she steadies herself and presses on, determined to salvage something from her mistake.

Synopsis

The meeting with the shangs continues after Avatar Yangchen's accusation, but no meaningful discussion occurs. As the session ends, Yangchen curses herself for her recklessness, recognizing her actions as a mistake born of wounded pride. She excuses herself under the pretense of a sore throat.

Sidao asks permission to remain behind to examine historical artifacts, a flimsy excuse to smooth things over with the shangs who bribe him. Henshe escorts Yangchen from the hall. As they walk, he tells her she should have brought the issue of the ships to him privately. Together they might have negotiated with the shangs more gradually. Yangchen admits she regrets her delivery, but not her accusations. Despite his disapproval, Henshe offers her respect and promises to try to sway the others.

Once alone with Boma, Yangchen reveals her fallback plan. She instructs him to impersonate her departure, disguising him with her cloak when their position is obscured by a foyer, while she sneaks back inside. Though reluctant, Boma agrees, and shuffles awkwardly away, pretending to be her.

Yangchen earthbends a passage through a wall into a maintenance tunnel in the hall and crawls into the old furnace flues beneath the assembly chamber. She firebends a small flame for light. The space is filthy and cramped, forcing her to crawl through soot and cobwebs. Yangchen comes across a stone column that serves as a reference point she recognizes from the blueprints and uses it to orient herself. At one point, her robe snags on a support column. Pulling the wool over dislodges a section of the mortar, which begins to fall on her. Switching from firebending with one hand to earthbending with two, she catches the masonry before the crash exposes her, but one tile crashes onto her ribs. The injury triggers a panic attack linked to a past, claustrophobic Avatar. Memories overwhelm her until she recalls Jetsun's voice telling her to wake up, and she further pacifies herself by remembering that Kavik recently survived a similar experience at the Blue Manse, grounding herself on her identity.

Shaking off the fear, Yangchen launches herself forward using airbending and earthbending, propelling through the narrow chamber eastward until she overshoots her intended destination by a few columns. Above her, she hears the sound of benches creaking and realizes she has reached the assembly room. Settling into place, she waits to eavesdrop on the shangs' response to her earlier threat.

Production notes

Series continuity

• The documents Kavik previously attempted to steal were blueprints of the building that hosted Yangchen's meeting with the shang merchants.

Character revelations

• A past Avatar was claustrophobic.

Trivia

• Yangchen modeled her intelligence gathering effort after centuries of similar missions performed at the Crescent Island Fire Temple and Northern Water Tribe Royal Palace.