"Hm. Let me show you a different opening." He clears off the board and places a single tile in the center. It's the same one he left on the table at her presentation, a white lotus.

She doesn't not notice, exactly, but the significance is totally lost on her. "All right."

"This is not something you will come across in casual play. The White Lotus opening is used only by a select group of people, an organization that crosses the boundaries of nations, as a way for us to recognize each other."

"...okay."

"Our goal is to support the balance of this world, and protect its people. The Avatar's long absence has made our task much harder. Our reach is wide but not deep. You have the feel about you of a person who could change the world. You do not want to stay here and design weapons for the Fire Nation and I do not think you should. I can't make it safe for you to go back where you came from. I can help you leave the capital and evade the initial pursuit, and I can give you the means to contact the White Lotus in other parts of the world."

"- oh. I'd appreciate that. Uh, I don't think I have a great handle on the concept of balance as it's used here, can you tell me what that means to you?"

"Balance is... harmony. Everything in its place, so that the world moves smoothly."

"Could you expand on that please -"

"How so?"

"What makes a place be a thing's place? What things are harmonious and what things are disharmonious? What do you mean by smoothly? I can't overstate how different my home is. You may need to get very basic."

"For me, it is something that is felt more than known. It's difficult to explain, and I am no sage. The capital is harmonious. The harbor approach is not. The Air Temples are harmonious, the walls of Ba Sing Se are not. There is a natural order to the world, and it is good to preserve that."

"Hmm."

"Diplomatic relations between nations are part of the balance, and trade, the sharing of ideas. But war, invasion, these things are not."

"One time in my homeland someone invented something so amazing that everything was different the week after it was done - everything - and it was all better, too, it was a really good invention. But some people thought it wasn't a good idea for an invention to change that much that fast, they would have rather things were worse in every way except being more natural."

"...I am not sure I can quite imagine something like that. But sometimes the balance changes. It changed when humans appeared. I would not say the speed of the change is of primary importance, but the character thereof."

"And it's nothing to do with being natural?"

"'Natural' is- the base, a guideline. Humans too are part of the world, even with our unique power to change it. We must be responsible with that power, but not afraid of it."

"Hmm."

"Making everything better is a strong claim, but taken at face value, well. There wouldn't be much room to argue with it."

"Inventions can get really amazing!"

"I don't doubt it."

"And I could probably invent things faster if the Fire Nation wanted to give me a bunch of money to do it with but if they want weapons and in a hurry I'm not their girl."

"I take it then you would prefer to leave?"

"Yeah."

"The main docks are heavily watched. It would be difficult to slip through unnoticed. It would be less so in the smaller villages. You might think about taking some time to sightsee while here in the Home Islands. To further your appreciation for Fire Nation culture."