DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.


Book One: Earth

'The Twilight Days of Spring'


1. Humble Beginnings


Far behind the tops of the Patola mountains, hidden from most of the world's dangers and ado, within the safety of the Southern Air Temple, trained Avatar Kalak. He had obtained mastery over the elements in the thirty-one years of his life, finishing his training at the aforementioned temple. It had taken him longer to become a fully realized Avatar than those who came closely before him. Mostly because of his own perfectionism, it had taken him years to perfect his skills and spiritual insight of each of the elements. When he finished his training, however, he was, without any doubt, the most powerful bender alive at the time. The whole world, including the children old enough to comprehend, knew of Kalak's prowess and might and treated him with the utmost respect, whenever he would honor them with a visit. Furthermore, Kalak had succeeded an Avatar whom, in most people's opinion, was very passive in his dealings, for he never left his home, preferring to receive those in need of his help at the Northern Air Temple. Kalak, hailing from the Southern Water Tribe, heeded to the people's call to be more active in his duties than his predecessor. Whenever there was a call for help, whether it be for spiritual assistance or protection, Kalak went to help those in need. It was no different in the last days of spring in the year which would be later known as the year 1350 before the Air Nomad Genocide by the hand of Fire Lord Sozin.

Monk Tseten walked down the hall that connected the large spiral tower to the training grounds, barely paying attention to who were around him. He nearly bumped into a council member, who muttered some incomprehensible words out of annoyance before straightening his back and head and striding away in a peaceful but strict tempo. Tseten smiled, shaking his head, while continuing his way down the hall. He sniffed in the fresh air as he entered the training grounds, enjoying the slight breeze of cold air along his wrinkly neck.

"Beautiful technique Kalak, although, I think I don't need to say that to you anymore," the monk chuckled. "I do not understand why you are still training here Kalak, as I have said many times before, your training is finished."

"I know master," Kalak responded to his old master's comment, "but I feel like that some of my routines are still a bit rigid…"

The bald air bender shook his head. "He's never going to change," he whispered. "Before he admits he has mastered every element into perfection he will be down the circle of reincarnation three times…"

"You know I can hear you," Kalak said, the tone of his voice was slightly annoyed though his seemingly irritated expression turned into a wide smile in a matter of seconds. Tseten sat down in lotus position, gesturing Kalak to join him. His former student acted on his former master's gesture and sat down in front of the monk.

"Listen to me Kalak," Tseten sighed, "just this once." The monk closed his eyes as he gave his final advice to the, to him, still young Avatar. "As I have said many times before, you are a full-fledged master, not only of air, but all the four elements. Still, you seem to think that you fall short. Kalak, you need not worry, you are worthy of keeping balance, more fit for the job than anyone could ever be." He opened his eyes, staring right into those of Kalak. He could read him like an open book, even though Kalak tried to hide his feelings from everyone, even himself. "I know that you are trying to do things better than your predecessor and believe me, I understand. However, you need to realize Kalak, that this way, you will end up overburdening yourself. And if you are caught in your own problems, how will you be able to help others with theirs? Just hear my words when I say that you are ready to face anything."

Kalak contemplated these words for a short time, but as he was about to respond to the words of the wise monk, a youngster interrupted the moment between the former master and student.

"Master Tseten, I have a message for Avatar Kalak," he enthusiastically said, waving the small piece of paper in front of the old monk's face. Every motion made by the kid caused small gusts of wind to blow the monk's beard and mustache into his own face.

Kalak snatched the message from the kid's hand, who bowed rapidly to both the Avatar and the monk, the latter threw a quick but seemingly annoyed, whit a hint of amusement, glare at the youngling, before running off. Tseten tidied his facial hair, stroking it gently back into place, after which he studied Kalak closely. Kalak seemed worried, frowning multiple times as he read the message he had been given.

"What is it Kalak, why the anxiety?"

Kalak looked up, obviously alarmed by what he had read. "Chief Adok has summoned me to attend a meeting."

"Ah, I see why you are troubled. There is nothing more dreadful than a meeting," Tseten said gravely, pulling his most sour face, before bursting into a thundering salvo of laughter. His former student, however, didn't join him as he usually would do. "Ahem…" Tseten recovered, "why the doom and gloom Kalak? Normally you are more easily amused."

"It is not just a regular meeting master, all the great chiefs will be there. Such a thing hasn't occurred in a long time. Let's just say that it doesn't mean good news."

"And combine that with the vision of the revered councilman…" Tseten fell silent.

"Yes…"

"Do not go Kalak."

"They ask for my help Tseten, I must go, it is my duty."

"You know what awaits you there!" Tseten shouted out protectively. "You will be killed. In his vision our esteemed councilman saw you die at the South Pole."

"There is no way to be certain that would happen now, maybe he was mistaken about the time it happened…"

Tseten was about to object, but Kalak beat him to it.

"I know how you feel about this master, but as you said, I am ready to face anything and I will only know if that is true if I go now."

"You use my own words against me Kalak, you stubborn water rat."

"Well, once you start talking to me, words come out in such an amount that it isn't that hard to find something for me to use against you," Kalak teased.

"You are bright Kalak and I see that nothing I will say will stop you from going. But Kalak, be careful."

"I will master," Kalak said, standing up and saluting his former master as a means of farewell.

Monk Tseten jumped up in a gust of air, saluting Kalak afterwards, biting his lower lip as the Avatar walked away.

"Do come back Kalak," he whispered to himself.

Kalak left immediately, as he had nothing to take with him anyway, departing on his raft, towards his former home, the South Pole.


From his raft, riding a self-made wave in order to speed himself up, Kalak had a nice view on his place of birth. The South Pole glistened in the sun as the sun reflected on the endless expanses of snow. It had been exactly fifteen years ago since he last glanced upon the beauty that was his home for the longer part of his life. He was born and raised in a small, non-significant village near the center of the Pole. Living there meant living from the hunt, with almost no chance of improvement. Being the Avatar gave Kalak the opportunity to escape from what he had always seen as a prison of dullness. He made sure though, that his parents could move to the main city, the lesser equivalent of the great city in the North. His eyes were set on the city, the place where he was invited to meet with the great chiefs of all the tribes. The medium high walls of the sizable city, filled with small houses made of ice and igloos in all shapes and sizes, were closing in quickly.

Kalak docked his raft at one of the more smudgy docks of the city, more out of need than out of own initiative, the upper class docks were fully in use, due to all of the large, extravagant galleys who served as transports for the chiefs from the other parts of the world. He looked towards the mountains towering behind the city, he knew that beyond those mountains lied the vastness of the ocean. From the mountains, as many claimed, one would have a magnificent view over Tailbone Bay and the snowy plains that lay beyond. Yes, this easternmost point of the South Pole was truly a marvelous place to be, not only in the terms of view of course, but also because of the safety of the city. It was completely surrounded by mountains and the ocean, so the threat of wild polar dogs was minimal. Furthermore, the best healers of the entire world had their home in the capital of the Southern Water Tribe; their infirmaries were renowned throughout the world. It made Kalak feel proud as he walked through the main street of the city, summing up all the great things of his nation to himself, getting closer to the 'palace' step by step. The palace wasn't that much of a marvel to behold, unlike its counterpart at the North Pole, however, it still was the largest and most notable building in the entire city, if not the entire nation. It was at least five times the size of the houses in the city, raised above all other buildings due to its position on the mountain slope. Wide, white steps of compressed snow led to its gate which seemed to be made of refined metal, inlaid with fine blue gemstones. In the gate's center, the gemstones, consisting entirely out of diamonds and sapphires, formed the symbol of the water tribes, the crescent moon and ocean waves. It was this gate in particular that made this building one of the wonders of the world. Kalak had seen nearly all of them, seven out of eight, during his training and travels. The gate, the walls and palace of Ba Sing Se, that alone made three, add to that the Western Air Temple, the Fire Lord's throne room, the sanctuary of the Southern Air Temple and the city of Omashu, which makes seven. The last wonder of the world was a mythical place, a place which, according to most of the contemporary scholars and sages, didn't exist. Sunken into his thoughts, Kalak knocked on the gate, which opened immediately. A servant quickly pointed Kalak in the right direction, blabbering about in enthusiasm. Kalak didn't pay attention to him and quickly walked down the hall. There he stood, in front of a dark blue curtain that separated the hall and the throne room. Kalak felt slightly nervous, a mix of this being his first meeting with the great chiefs of the tribes and his fears of the vision monk Tseten told him about being true. He inhaled, pushed the curtain away and stepped inside. The room was only slightly lit by torches hanging far from the wall, to prevent any heat generated by the flames from melting the ice walls. The room was cold, which was quite fitting for the gloomy atmosphere, Kalak could see his breath developing into many small clouds of steam whom all hastily sought their way towards the icy ceiling. The ceiling, Kalak noted, was draped with all kinds of dark blue cloth, some decorated with symbols or tassels. In the center back of the room, elevated from the rest of the ground on a small platform, stood a simple throne, upon which sat: Adok.

"Kalak…" Adok gave Kalak a nod of appreciation, "glad you could join us." His rasping voice sent shivers down Kalak's spine. Some wrinkles surrounded the southern chief's eyes and mouth and a small grey beard decorated his accentuated long chin. His grey eyes pierced through the shadows dropped by the flickering torches. "Please," he slowly said, "sit down." He pointed to a small stool, part of a circle around a low table boasting a large map of the world. Save for his own, every but one stool was taken. It became evident that the other stool was meant for Adok himself, as he got up from his throne and took his place around the table. "Avatar Kalak?" Adok gestured at the still empty stool opposite of himself. Kalak quickly sat down at his indicated place, inspecting the other attendants.

"Chief, why have you called me here?" Kalak started asking.

"All in time my Avatar," Adok evaded Kalak's question, "let me first introduce you to the rest of us. You might have heard of most of them, but I doubt you have ever met them." Adok's assumption was correct. Kalak had heard of some of the great chiefs, but he had never seen them in person, not even from afar. Unlike the times when he was in the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation, Kalak hadn't bothered visiting the heads of state of the tribes. Adok gestured to his right, saying: "Meet chief Ynook of the Northern Tribe, chief Sodok of the Western Tribe," he paused, then he gestured to his left, "chief Zibak of the Eastern Tribe and, of course, chief Ghanak of the Central Tribe." Kalak chuckled in his thoughts about how nitwitted the names for the tribes were, at least their location on the map was easier to pinpoint.

"It is an honor to finally meet you my Avatar." Chief Ynook nodded courteously in Kalak's direction, his long white braided hair dangling in motion with his head. The once great Ynook, a mere reflection of the man he used to be, while still emanating great wisdom, had grown old. He was the eldest of all chiefs, who, even though they treated him with the utmost respect, considered him dead already. He was in his eighties, an age not many reached.

"Indeed… finally," Sodok repeated. His voice was dripping with cynicism and spite. The middle aged man leered at Kalak, studying his every move. He had something paranoid about him, reacting to the slightest sounds, if only by glancing in the direction the sound came from.

"Now Kalak," Adok raised his voice, drawing all attention to him. "as you might know, some of the tribes have had some trouble with controlling disease outbreaks in the past decades."

"Scholars from my tribe," chief Ghanak continued, "have determined the cause to be the historically high population among the tribes."

"Yes," Adok confirmed, "our scholars determined the same. Only the Northern and Southern Water Tribe suffer less from this problem, since we have more space to house our people."

"What is your point, chief?" Kalak asked warily, incenting Adok to speak his mind, sensing that Adok was aiming for something he was not going to like.

"We need more space," Zibak, the youngest chief present, only sixteen years old, said what everyone thought. Zibak succeeded his father two years ago, after the respected chief died in a plague that haunted the tribe located in the Eastern Sea. "Unfortunately, his 'majesty' the Earth King didn't grant our wish to give us some Earth Kingdom territory to colonize."

"Why don't just move some people to the poles?"

Sodok sniggered shortly in response to Kalak's question; the laugh turned into two gurgling coughs. "My people will die if they'd have to live in these dreadful circumstances. Are you even thinking clearly Avatar. My people are used to the warmth of the archipelago, not to the cold of your icy wastes!" Sodok snapped. Immediately coming to his senses, he added: "No offense Adok, Ynook," to apologize for calling their homes icy wastes.

"None taken Sodok," Adok responded before turning back to Kalak, whom he stared deeply in the eyes. The staring turned into peering and Adok's voice deepened. "Kalak, I will be straight with you. We will take some of the Earth Kingdom's territory for our own, not because we want it, trust me we don't, but because we need to." He paused, standing up from his stool, and bowed over the table. "Do we have your support?"

In the meantime, a seventh person had walked into the room. Ghanak the Younger, as he was called to keep him apart from his father, was in his early twenties and considered a great water bending artist, preferring imposing distractions over brute force. The warrior's wolf tail crowned his handsome head, a bristly beard covered his broad jaws.

"Well?!" Adok urged Kalak to answer, who was too silent for Adok's liking. "What will it be?" Adok was getting increasingly angry and with his anger came a louder voice. Kalak didn't react, his head resting in his hands, seeming to process that what had been told to him. "Answer me!" Adok yelled out. And Kalak answered, still resting his head in his hands, sounding truly shocked.

"You ask of me to do what goes against everything the Avatar stands for. You ask me to support a war, to rob another nation of its lands. The world should stay as it is, as it has been for the past centuries."

Adok straightened himself, huffing in distaste. He sighed, but consented: "Very well, it is a shame you will not support us, but I understand. Nevertheless, we will proceed with our plan, I hope you understand."

"Then I hope you understand that I won't let you," Kalak responded absently. His head slowly rose from his hands, eyes still closed. The opening of his eyes was paired with strong gusts of wind and a bright blue light emanating from his eyes. The five chiefs and the prince, who had just entered the room, were blown against the walls of the throne room. The strong gust of wind had shattered the throne and blown out almost every torch. The room was lit in pure blue light, cracks started to show in the floor as the frequency and power of the gusts started to increase. How long it all lasted no one really knew, but suddenly it ended. It had been dark before it all occurred, but afterwards only to small flames from torches that hadn't been blown out shone little light through the room.

"I hope," Kalak spoke, being void of emotion, "that you will think twice before putting your plan into action. If I find out you have, I will return to finish what I started here." Kalak looked down upon Adok, who had crawled towards him. Adok looked up, his expression full of hatred, and tried to land a blow on Kalak. Kalak easily evaded the chief's fist, jumping backwards, resulting in the chief falling to the ground. The rest of the chiefs were on their feet again, with Sodok eager to fight. Kalak chose differently, turning around in order to make his way out and leave the chiefs to contemplate his words. There, when he had turned around, joy, surprise, pain and grief came clashing together in a maelstrom of emotion, where he had been void of it earlier. The joy and surprise to see his childhood friend and crush Zakkana in front of him, the pain of the sharp blade piercing his ribcage and back and the unparalleled sadness to realize that Zakkana was holding the blade. All the memories of bygone times flashed through his mind, like when he first discovered he could water bend and how he proudly showed it to Zakkana.

"My dear Kalak," she whispered in his ear, somewhat seductively, although the smirk on her face indicated something different. "How will you stop us…" she paused and pulled out the blade, "…if you are dead?" she wondered, stabbing Kalak two more times in his stomach.

"Don't you wonder why she's doing this?" Sodok hissed from behind, plunging a spike of ice in Kalak's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sure he is dying to know," Zakkana chuckled softly, retracting the blade once more, only to stab Kalak again, her hands red of Kalak's blood.

"We are betrothed," Zibak revealed, slowly cutting a crescent moon into Kalak's cheek.

Kalak didn't struggle, he gave into his fate, choosing not to give into feelings of betrayal, but instead focusing on trying not to feel the pain of his wounds.

"Turn him around," Adok commanded. In response, Ghanak, the Younger that is, shooed Kalak's assailants away, throwing the bleeding Avatar before Adok's feet thereafter. Ghanak the Elder grabbed the Avatar by his hair, forcing the Avatar on his knees. "My apologies Avatar, but things would be easier if you were never to interfere," he mumbled.

"Kalak, Kalak…" Adok tilted his head, acting to be sad, "the most powerful of benders, mastery in perfection, but unable to prove it."

Adok raised his hands, an orb of water formed above Kalak's head. Kalak stared Adok in the eyes, muttering his final words: "Forever you'll remember this moment."

"Indeed," Adok agreed, grinning from ear to ear, as his hands came slashing down, raining spikes of ice down on Kalak. Thus passed Avatar Kalak, murdered by those who once ruled over him.


"Come Kormuk, we have to stop this. He doesn't deserve this fate." Two women and a man sneaked through the dark streets of the Southern Water Tribe capital, from a side street, through the main street, out of the gates, onto the plains between the city and the mountains. There, one of the few remaining packs of wild polar dogs were feasting on the remains of the dead Avatar, spotting the three, the dogs ran off. "Come on," the woman prompted again.

"Yes Sanna dear, take it easy," Kormuk reacted. The young man and his bride to be unfolded a large cloth. Sanna, Kormuk and one of Sanna's friends started to place Kalak's remains on the cloth. It was Sanna that had heard of Kalak's demise, she worked as a servant girl, and decided to act on it.

With the remains gathered, Kormuk carried the remains to a small pyre Sanna had built earlier.

"A shame that his parents could not be here," Kormuk noted as the flames started to have their way at Kalak's remains.

"He would have deserved a proper ceremony," Sanna added. When the flames started to wither, the three walked their way home.

The next day, Kormuk woke up to the sound of fists pounding on his door. He slowly stood up from his makeshift bed, put on a fur coat and drowsily stumbled towards the door. The moment he opened the door, two heavily armed warriors forced themselves through it, throwing him to the ground in the process. Chief Adok stood in the door opening, casually leaning against the doorpost, staring condescendingly at the man whom he only perceived to be a lowly creature.

"Kormuk, son of Kamuk, you are under arrest for treason and theft, you will not resist or you will be executed on this very spot," the chief spoke. He didn't even bother listen to what Kormuk had to say, or to the questions he had. Adok simply gestured his band of soldiers to take Kormuk to his cell, walking down the street like nothing had happened.

"And that while Kamuk used to be such a respectable man," Adok mumbled. A long time Kamuk had served the tribe as a chief of a smaller village not far from the capital. His service earned him a nice house in the city, which his eldest son inherited, his youngest son, Kormuk, ended up in the… lesser parts of the city. Adok mused on what he should do with the elder son, with his young brother in prison, he might cause trouble in order to get him free. Of course, that would be easily dealt with, but then time would be wasted dealing with the trouble that was caused. He could arrest him now to prevent him from causing any trouble, that too didn't seem to be a good choice. No need to anger those who do not feel any ill will against you. Sunken in thought, Adok walked the stairs to his palace, not heeding the cold wind that had risen over his loved nation. He had work to do, strategies to devise, plans to conceive, plots to concoct. How well had his first two plots worked out, uniting the tribes with a single goal and disposing of the one person who could have a chance at stopping them. It had taken him years to turn young Zibak to his side, starting when his father was still alive, so that together with Sodok, who hungered for expansion anyway, he could fool old Ghanak and Ynook into this conflict to be. They truly believe that this war will be fought out of pure need, whilst it truly is as Kalak perceived, only out of lust for more power. Oh, he hadn't said it out loud, but he knew. He had seen it when he looked Adok in the eyes. Yes, Kalak was not fooled as easily as Ghanak and Ynook were.

"Ynook," Adok huffed as he settled himself at his desk, "unbelievable that that man is to be chief of chiefs. He might have been great once, but now he's just an old fool who has lived long enough. His death would be unfortunate though, it's easier to manipulate him than his son."

"You should be more careful with such statements Adok."

"Yes, yes, the walls have ears and all, I know, but, Zibak, his ancient foolishness and the Ghanaks are far from here by now."

"Anyway, I have done what you told me to. The girl has been arrested and her friend rewarded."

"Is that so? Then how comes that some guards informed me about screams coming from the house when you went in to deliver the reward."

"What?" he tried saying looking as innocent as possible.

"Your acting skills do not impress me, speak up!" Adok commanded, while looking through some papers in the meantime. "The guards told me before I went to arrest the young man about the screams, now did you, or did you not do what I think you did to that girl."

"She wanted a reward, she got her reward. Am I not a gift from the spirits?" Zibak smirked, licking his lips slowly, which, luckily for him, Adok did not see as he was still busy reading through his paperwork. "But that is not all!" Zibak exclaimed after a few seconds of silence. This got him the attention he wanted, Adok finally looked up.

"Did you…?"

"Criminals need to be punished, so I did."

Adok frowned, withholding his anger. "You know that I can't allow this to happen every now and then Zibak. If you need to get rid of your urges, at least do it in a way that no one hears of it. If word got out, my reputation as chief would be seriously damaged."

"Fine…" Zibak grumbled. "When will you pass judgment over the thieves?"

"Soon, after I finished my paperwork."


Soon turned into the late afternoon, Adok had underestimated the time he needed to finish his work. Now he found himself sitting at the place where only a day ago he had lured the Avatar into his deadly trap. There was no bloodstain to be found, nor a crack in the floor, the servants had done a marvelous job in cleaning up the mess. Ironically, he now had to pass judgment over one of those servants who had helped cleaning the throne room. Adok moved himself into a comfortable position, trying to adjust to his newly crafted throne, which was hurting his back at the moment; he preferred his old throne. Kormuk and Sanna were kneeling, albeit being under the pressure of two guards holding the in their necks, in front of him, neither of them dared to look up.

"Kormuk, Kormuk," Adok sighed in disapproval. "I would expect this behavior from filthy peasants, but not from you. How low the son of a respectable chief can fall…" He shook his head, turning to Sanna. "And you, you who used to serve me some dinner from time to time when I had to work into the night," another theatrical sigh followed, "I had not expected such disloyalty from you."

"It is all my fault, I got him into this mess," Sanna cried out.

"Yet he chose to let you get him into this mess," Adok replied coolly. He studied both arrestees closely, noticing Sanna's necklace by coincidence. "Well that explains," he mumbled, suddenly realizing the gravity of what Zibak had done that morning. Adok stood up from his throne, walked towards the two, signaling the guards to leave. He circled around the two lovers, once, twice, thrice. Sanna started to cry, Adok couldn't assess whether it was because of anxiety, or out of sadness of the cruelty done to her by the young chief from the Eastern Water Tribe; he figured it was a mixture of both.

"I have a problem," Adok said, finally standing still. He looked over his shoulder at Kormuk, trying to see how he would react. "You see, you have an influential brother and you have a secret I don't want out on the street, well actually…" he chortled, "you both have a secret I don't want on the street." Adok saw that Sanna knew exactly what he was aiming at, as she quickly looked up when he mentioned her and the word secret in the same sentence. "Now I believe," he continued, "that the two of you fancy each other, but above all, you two fancy living. What if you two were to suddenly disappear… then suddenly my problems would be gone, wouldn't they?" Adok didn't wait for a reply, but rambled on: "But that would be unfair to the two of you and would still get me into trouble, unless… unless the two of you were to leave out of free will."

"You would let us go?" Kormuk asked in disbelief.

"If you agree to never talk about what happened between yesterday morning and this night, and if you agree to leave the South Pole, yes, I would let you go." He chuckled, saying: "Am I not a benevolent ruler? Now, are we agreed?"

The two didn't need to think long about the offer, hearing the verdict with a feeling of relief: banishment, where death was the lowest imaginable punishment. They were given an hour to pack and say their farewells, before they were escorted to a galley that would bring them to the Earth Kingdom, far away from the South Pole, far away from Adok.


Ling peeked one last time through the door opening, there in the alcove bed, lay his wife and two sons, one of them eight years old, the other only a few weeks. Little Ling junior rubbed his small hands over his head, rolling on his left side on his mother's stomach. Ching hummed serenely, lying in his mother's arms. Ling's wife had woken up when he tried to sneak out of bed, he didn't want to wake his family so early in the morning, but it seemed she had fallen asleep again. Ling softly closed the door and walked to the edge of the cliff where his house was built upon, in front of him, down the steep slopes of the cliffs he could see the stretching forests where, far to the north as Ling knew, Gaoling should be located. The cliffs encircled most of the village of which Ling was the chief, leaving a gap in the east and south. In the east, the cliffs were cut off by the river Xiao Shan, continuing at the other side of the river, and to the south, the villagers who lived in Hia-Pao, as the village was called, carved out pathways to get to the forest situated beyond the cliffs. If one would continue to walk south for five minutes, Ling knew, one would see the hills, meadows and farmland where most of Hia-Pao's inhabitants worked as farmers or herdsmen. Of course the village was home to some loggers and miner as well, but farming was of the utmost importance in Hia-Pao. Hia-Pao lay secluded from the rest of the Earth-Kingdom; Gaoling was the nearest town, but still a few days of travel away. Ling walked downhill, into the village itself, the chief's house was, in this regard, isolated and elevated from the rest of the village. The first house Ling could see was home to Chon, the village's richest farmer, and Li, his wife. Coincidence has it that Chon and Li had become parents as well, they too had a son, whom they named Sen. Their house was situated at a large pond, connected to the river by two small ditches. To the north, against the side of the cliff and next to the river, donning a large herb garden, stood old lady Ma´s house. Lady Ma, already eighty-eight years old, lived there together with her, also quite old, daughter, Fa. According to lady Ma, all of the boys born these few weeks, three in total, were to be earth benders, which on its own is quite extraordinary. Yes, Ling and Sen were to be earth benders, so that would mean three more miners in the future. Being the chief's son, Ling though, shouldn't mean that his son wouldn't have to work, living in Hia-Pao means working hard in order for the village to survive. Ling walked over a small bridge crossing one of the small ditches, walking past two houses on the left and right, before passing Sui's house. Sui was the third man who had become a father in the past weeks. His wife, Ilu, was still recovering from giving birth to her son about two weeks ago; Sui and Ilu had named their son Kukuh. Ling walked across another bridge over the other ditch and turned left to cross the bridge over the Xiao Shan.

Walking over the bridge, which was entirely made of wood, Ling glanced to his right, seeing a small house, with a small pier connected to it, downstream, outside the protective arms of the cliffs. The small cottage was home to an immigrant family from the Unagi-peninsula, a man and a woman who is with child. Ling didn't know them that well, not only because they had arrived two weeks ago, but also because he didn't really care about them, he believed they were called Ko and An. Even though chiefs of Hia-Pao never let outsiders into the community, Ling had given Ko permission for him and his wife to join, provided that they supplied the village with fish every week, because Ko had mentioned that he used to be a fishermen back at the Unagi-peninsula. However, a place within the safety of the cliffs was out of the question at this point, to do such a thing would dishonor the ancestors greatly. Ling passed a small house at the end of the bridge, the only house on the other side of the river to really be part of the village and continued on a small dirt road leading through a small forested area. More to the east, there were two more passages through the cliffs, leading to the barrows, where Ling was heading. It was a minute walk to reach the passage, just before walking through it, Ling peeked through the trees to see if he could spot Ling the Hermit, who lived on a hill a few yards from the passage. He could see a small shack made of rotten wood, mostly overgrown by green moss. Ling the Hermit used to be part of the family until his wife died ending their childless marriage. Being alone, he had no other family because they had left for Gaoling, Ling decided to seclude himself; not wanting to leave the village entirely, he chose to reside on the hill, still within the protection of the cliffs. Ling still considered the Hermit part of the village, at least more than he did consider Ko and An part of the village. Ling walked through the passage, still thinking about his namesake. Turning around the final corner, Ling looked over a seemingly endless landscape of hills and small shrines. Here and there, a blossoming tree added more color to an already beautiful picture, even though the sun had not yet risen. Ling considered it a paradise, a worthy resting place for the ancestors. Ling picked one of the white flowers along the road and smelled it, turning from the road, walking onto the slope of one of the many burial mounds. On top of the mound, Ling kneeled before a small altar, on which he laid the flower he'd picked moments ago. He reached for the small pouch on his belt, grabbing a few incense sticks, which he put into a small hole on the altar. Lighting the sticks, he sat there, quietly, for about ten minutes. He did this after every full moon to pay respect to his ancestors. Honoring the ancestors was important to the villagers of Hia-Pao, as they had inherited Hia-Pao from the ancestors. Most villagers also believed that the ancestors could protect the village from harm, provide abundance and happiness. Others believed that by honoring the ancestors, the people would please the spirits guarding the village, who in turn would protect it. Ling was one of them, that is why he would go to his great-grandfather's burial mound. Ling the Wise was the first of Ling's family to be the chief of Hia-Pao. He was chosen to be Hia-Pao's chief a long time ago and, after his unrivaled commitment, the position of chief stayed in the family. The sun started to rise, coloring everything its light touched pinkish red. Ling stood up, starting his walk back to the village, at peace.


In a fast pace, Cheng-Zhu walked down one of the many halls of the great palace of Ba Sing Se. Thirty-nine years of age, Cheng-Zhu was in his prime and above all, one of the most powerful persons in the Earth Kingdom. His hair, in the traditional queue, flopped around in the strict motion of his pace, his bald forehead glimmered in the dim light provided by the fluorescent crystals on the walls. Two guards saw the statesman approach and, knowing all too well what the fast pace meant, opened the doors that led to the dining room immediately.

"Your majesty," Cheng-Zhu shouted from the door opening. Cheng-Zhu started to run, tripping over the long green carpet on the floor, consequently falling down before the large dining table. The Earth King looked up, having been sunken in thought or sleep, as the old king seemed to be tired, quirking an eyebrow at the Grand Secretariat. Cheng-Zhu, still on his knees, could see a slight smile on the king's face. The king sat at the head of the table, flanked by his son and daughter-in-law, with his granddaughter on his lap.

"For a moment I thought you were going to tell me something very important," the king chuckled, "but it seems that, since you are so silent all of a sudden, I was wrong about that."

"Oh, ah, yes," Cheng-Zhu stammered, standing up as fast as he could, dusting off his fine robes. His expression changed from embarrassed to earnest. "Your majesty," he sighed, "I have received word from the South Pole."

"Oh," the king responded somewhat surprised, "what word from Adok?" The royal family, with the exception of the Earth King, didn't pay any attention to what the Grand Secretariat was saying, preferring to finish their diner.

"Your majesty, Avatar Kalak is dead, according to…" Cheng-Zhu was interrupted by the sound of a spoon falling into soup. It was the king's daughter-in-law, who stood up and ran out of the room, clearly emotional.

"Father, please excuse me," prince Zhu Ming whispered to his father. The Earth King nodded in response, after which Zhu Ming lifted his daughter from his father's lap and with her on his arm, he walked out of the room.

"Walk with me," the king commanded, slowly rising from his chair. Cheng-Zhu waited for the king to lead, following immediately after him. "Tell me everything you know," he ordered.

"Your majesty, according to chief Adok of the Southern Water Tribe, Avatar Kalak came to his end when he was on a hunting trip. Chief Adok believes that the Avatar fell down a chasm, broke his arms and got shredded by polar dogs. Some hunters found some broken bones and a half eaten head." Cheng Zhu swallowed heavily, disgusted by the image of the Avatar's remains forming in his head. The Earth King didn't react at once, a long silence followed, until it was finally broken by the king.

"How morbid this may sound, this is the best news I have had in many years."

"What?!" Cheng-Zhu blurted out in revulsion, immediately apologizing for his tone.

"Don't you understand? Now that Avatar Kalak is dead, the new Avatar has been born in the Earth Kingdom, while I'm his king. Not many Earth Kings have had the honor to experience the birth of an Avatar in the Earth Kingdom." The Earth King sounded truly excited and happy, even though he had been fond of the previous Avatar. Avatar Kalak had visited the Earth King more than often when he was training in Ba Sing Se, trying to perfect his mastery over earth bending. The Earth King had always been respectful to the Avatar, since his father was friends with two of Kalak's predecessors. "Now," the king continued as the two neared the king's private quarters, "I need you to dispatch envoys to Taku and Omashu. Tell the kings to start searching their regions for the Avatar and start the search in the city and the region around Ba Sing Se."

Cheng-Zhu bowed before rushing away to do as he was told to. The Earth King opened the doors to his room, sighing deeply. He was tired, ninety-seven years old, and eager to find the new Avatar. He knew he didn't have that much time, being so very old, but this was more than he could have hoped for. He never expected to outlive Avatar Kalak, which truly did sadden him, but the desire to find the new Avatar was greater than his grief. "Well…" he sighed, "tomorrow we'll search…" closing his doors.


Adok watched over Tailbone Bay from one of the many mountains upon which slopes the capital city of the Southern Water Tribe was built, enjoying the cold gusts of wind. On the other side of the bay, he could see the dry docks that had been built a few years ago. The Southern fleet had tripled its capacity in the past year and that was only the beginning. Production had increased tenfold since the death of Avatar Kalak and at least a thousand ships should be ready to use at the end of the month. A little bit more to the south, beyond a few ice caps, lies the large newly built training camp for the new army battalions. According to the officers Adok had chosen to train these new soldiers, they were making progress. Everything was going so well, but the success had to end somewhere.

"You asked for me Adok," someone said from behind Adok's back. It was Sodok, his deep blue eyes piercing through the darkness of the night. The little light the stars shone was joined by the light coming from the full moon.

"Yes, Sodok, I have terrible news."

Sodok stood still beside the southern chief, sighing loudly. "I fear I'm not going to like this at all." He stroked his well-maintained full beard, anxiously waiting for what Adok was going to say.

"Ynook…"

"Has died?"

"He has withdrawn his support for our war."

It struck Sodok like lightning, he had never expected the old fool to go against their plans. Every time he had met the 'esteemed' chief of the tribes in the last five years, he had really struck him as a spineless idiot, who had no idea of what plans he and Adok were concocting.

"That is… unfortunate," Sodok grumbled. It truly was unfortunate, not only because Ynook has the largest fleet and army under his command of all the water tribes, but also because the Northern Water Tribe is in a perfect position to launch an attack on both the Northern Air Temple, as the Earth Kingdom capital of Ba Sing Se. Now, with this sudden withdrawal, these advantages slipped through his, and Adok's, fingers.

"We must postpone the invasion," Adok sighed. He seemed to be as struck as Sodok himself, since the both of them had been planning said invasion for a long time. All the careful planning seemed to go to waste.

"Why?!" Sodok yelled out, repeating it twice in frustration.

"He thought we went too far in killing Kalak," Adok answered, trying to get rid of his annoyance by spitting in the snow. It didn't really help, the feeling of betrayal by the mightiest, yet weakest in their minds, chief couldn't be soothed by anything at this moment.

"How about killing him?" Sodok wondered.

"He took the decision after consulting his sons, killing Ynook won't change a thing."

"We can't stop the invasion now!" Sodok yelled, throwing his arms in the air.

"I've already sent word to Ghanak and Zibak," Adok said, "we must wait, increase our forces and fleet and when we are ready, we will invade without Ynook."

"That will take years!" Sodok protested.

"Indeed, but we have no other option. If we invade now, we won't be able to capture any of the great cities in the Earth Kingdom, the campaign would turn out to be a disaster and in the long run, the Earth Kingdom would defeat us."

Sodok roared and raged on, seemingly not listening to his fellow chief's words. Adok just waited for Sodok to calm down, keeping his cool. There was no point in trying to calm Sodok down, as it seemed to work counterproductive. Instead Adok used the time Sodok needed to calm down, to think about what he was going to say to him, when he finally has calmed down.

"Ugh, I hate Ynook," Sodok hissed.

"Are you done?" Adok asked, glancing at Sodok from his eye corners.

"Yeah, yeah," Sodok grunted, waving his hand in Adok's direction. "You are probably right, but that leaves us with one problem."

Adok, knowing what Sodok was going to say, responded before Sodok could even start stating his problem.

"Ynook won't tell anyone of what we are planning to do, or what we did to Kalak."

"Why are you so sure Adok? Only a few months ago you were sure that Ynook would support our cause, no matter the cost. Now he has withdrawn his support, the support you guaranteed he would give, and you say you are sure he won't tell anyone."

"Oh, just think for once will you? If people were to know what really happened to Kalak, or about the invasion, they would blame him as well. People would call him a dishonorable dog for the rest of history, as much as they would call us; he was just as involved as we were."

"That is true, but…"

"Besides, you are forgetting one important thing my dear friend," Adok said with a devilish smile on his face. "His daughter is married to my son and I've made it very clear to him, that she won't see another day if word got out on the street about what happened."

"Do you think people suspect something?" Sodok asked out of the blue.

"No, I just got a message back from Ba Sing Se. They seem to believe our story about how the great Avatar Kalak met his unfortunate demise. The Earth King has already ordered the search for the new Avatar. That old rot wants to find him before he turns into a walking corpse," Adok sniggered. "Speaking of the new Avatar…"

"Ah yes, of course." Sodok gestured at a man who had been standing a few yards away from the chiefs. "Allow me to introduce you to one of the finest warriors of my tribe."

Adok observed the muscular man, who seemed to be in his late twenties. Like Ghanak the Younger, this man sported a small wolftail, but unlike Ghanak, this man had shaved the sides of his head and had undone himself of his facial hair. He had a small scar on his right jaw, which added to his ruthless appearance.

"Chief Adok, meet Manak," Sodok said proudly. Manak bowed before Adok, who commanded him to stand up, taking Manak's arm by the elbow, initiating the proper water tribe greeting.

"It is an honor, Manak of the Western Water Tribe," Adok spoke. "I have a task for you, which is of the utmost importance."

Manak remained silent, listening to the chief's words.

"You must visit the great cities of the Earth Kingdom and obtain information about the new Avatar. Find out who he or she is and where he or she lives. We must know, so that when the time comes, we will know where to strike first."

Manak nodded, he was selected for this mission after many tests. He did not know what his mission was going to be up until this point, but to be frank, he did not care. He did it for glory, to become a legend, a hero for all the tribes, a figure people will look up to for centuries to come.

"I will grant you a ship of your own so you will be able to relocate yourself with ease and swiftness. Don't disappoint me Manak, don't disappoint the water tribes." With that, Adok shooed Manak away. He and Sodok remained, watching over the bay and city from the height of the mountain. Manak sped away, running down the hill, towards the harbor, where his ship was waiting for him. His mission was clear, he was full of confidence. He would go down in history as one of the key persons responsible for the upcoming water tribe dominance. Leaving his wife and daughter behind for a period of time was a sacrifice well worth it, according to himself.

"I will find the Avatar, I will become a legend," he shouted in the open, still running. There was no one there to hear, everyone was asleep within the safety of the city walls, not knowing of all the events that had taken place in the past few weeks.