"Oh, you know me, I keep my eyes closed and my ears open~" Lau employed a network of informants in Republic City and beyond, so he'd heard rumors of people just appearing almost as soon as they'd appeared. However, he'd sensed something even before that... a sort of underlying instability in the spiritual fabric of the world.

"You remember, of course, that business with the Avatar's uncle and the opening of the spirit world several months ago." Here he paused to click his tongue disapprovingly. "Typical bender trouble. In any case, this caused at least as much disturbance for the spirits as it did for we humans. The barriers between our worlds were weakened, and they began to intersect. I believe that what's happening currently is the next stage of that process, accelerated by the recent attempt on the Avatar's life... isn't it wonderful, my friend? Now the barriers between worlds and eras are beginning to collapse. What an exciting time we live in!"