What's this? A fanfic that's NOT Harvest Moon? IMPOSSIBLE! :O
Well, apparently not. xD
So, this is my first Avatar: The Last Airbender fic. :) I'm actually quite proud of it. This WAS going to be a full-length fic, but then I saw a TLA/LoK OC Writing Contest on dA, and just HAD to write and enter this. :P Then I decided I'd just put the full-length fic up on here, but knew I probably never would, so... Here it is!
I cried. ;-;
Disclaimer: I don't Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of its characters.
Ashes in the Wind
A young airbender, around the age of seven, stood in a hallway in the Eastern Air Temple. She was practicing her airbending, blowing gusts of wind all around her.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard resonating around the hall, and two nuns, Sisters Nyima and Hariti, appeared. The girl immediately stopped airbending, though she knew she had been caught.
"Kona, what are you doing?" Sister Nyima asked. "You know you're not supposed to practice indoors."
"But Sister Iio said we weren't allowed outside, because the boys from the Southern Air Temple are here today, to pick out a bison." The girl, Kona, argued. "And I need to practice every day if I'm going to become the greatest airbender ever!"
Sister Nyima shook her head, chuckling. "You can practice later, Kona," she said. "Now go find Sister Ceba and help her with the younger children; they're all very energetic today."
"Yes, Sister Nyima…" Kona grumbled, kicking at the ground. As the two nuns disappeared around the corner, she sighed, and hurried off to find Sister Ceba.
Seven years later, Kona, now fourteen years old, was standing in one of the Eastern Air Temple's many courtyards. Her dark brown hair had fallen out of its usual bun, and she appeared windswept. Sister Nyima sat before her, calmly watching the young airbender.
All morning, Kona had been busy practicing her bending; the nuns told her she would soon master the element. However, she still had yet to successfully create a tornado, one of the more difficult airbending moves. Sighing, Kona leaned against a tree, running a hand through her hair.
"Do not give up yet, Kona," Sister Nyima advised. "The day is still young. You have many hours before you."
"I've been trying all morning," Kona said. "I just can't make a tornado…"
"Perhaps you should go meditate on this," Sister Nyima said, standing up. "Though the girls from the Western Air Temple should be arriving soon; maybe a talk with Sashi will do you better."
Kona nodded, and quickly left the courtyard, grabbing her glider on the way out. Heading towards the highest tower of the temple, she sat in a windowsill, her light grey eyes scanning sky for the Western Air Temple's flying bison.
Sashi was one of Kona's best friends, though they didn't each other as often as they'd like considering they lived in different temples. However, being nomads, they travelled quite a lot; they both had good friends in the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Southern and Northern Water Tribes.
Suddenly, she spotted several flying bison off in the distance and, opening up her glider, jumped out the window to meet them.
A year had come and gone. Kona sat, meditating, on one of the Temple's bridges. She had recently mastered airbending, gaining her tattoos. Her bangs had been cut off, revealing the blue arrow on her head. Taking in a deep breath, she lost herself in her thoughts, shutting off the outside world.
A war was feared to be coming; a great war that will endanger the lives of everyone who lives and shall live. Fire Lord Sozin felt that the wealth and prosperity of the Fire Nation should be shared with the rest of the world, and he intended to do so by taking it over.
Under the circumstances, the Avatar, Aang, from the Southern Air Temple, had been told of his powers, despite being four years beneath the normal age of 16. A rumour was flying around that he would come to the Eastern Air Temple to complete his training.
The four Councils of Elders feared an attack on the Temples; they were even beginning to consider disallowing people from leaving their Temples. As such, Sister Nyima decided that she, Sister Hariti, and Sister Ceba would take a few of the girls from the Eastern Air Temple, including Kona, on a trip to the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes.
All of a sudden, Dawa, a sickly young 12-year-old airbender whom Kona often looked after, appeared, and grabs her arm, pulling her to her feet.
"Come on, Kona!" she said, pulling the 15-year-old towards the main building.
"What is it?" Kona asked, bewildered.
"The Avatar!" Dawa said, breaking into a run. "Nobody can find him."
Autumn was in full-force. The leaves on the trees were dying and falling to the ground, and it was getting colder every day. It had been several days since the Avatar had disappeared; Sister Nyima had decided to cancel the trip to the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes. Kona was rather disappointed, as she had been hoping to see her friends in the two nations, though she knew that Sister Nyima was only trying to protect her.
The 15-year-old sat in the flying bison stalls with Iggi, her bison.
"Do you think a war will come?" she asked the bison, as she often did. "I hope it doesn't."
Iggi just blew air out of her nose, rolling over to her side.
"You lazy creature," Kona laughed, leaning against Iggi's stomach. "What about the Avatar? Do you think he'll return? He has to, if a war is to come…"
The two sat in silence for some time as the sun slowly began to sink beneath the horizon. Figuring it was soon time for supper, Kona stood up, giving Iggi a pat.
"I'll see you tomorrow, girl," she said, leaving the stalls and heading for the dining hall.
Later that night, as Kona lied sleeping in her bed, she was awakened by something off in the distance. It sounded almost like a… roar. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, noticing that the noise had wakened some of the other girls. A few of the older ones were soon up out of the bed as the noise sounded once more, and were soon crowded around the windows.
Getting, up, Kona went to the nearest window, looking up at the sky. It was too dark to really notice anything, and as she was about to go back to bed, someone cried out, "Look! There!" The girl, Kamala, was pointing to something flying towards the temple.
It looked like some sort of animal, though it was much too slender to be a flying bison, and flying bison didn't make noises like that.
"Do you see that?" someone asked, whom Kona recognized to Yong Ten, a girl a year older than her. "What is it?"
"I don't know," another, Pei Ma, said.
"It can't be a flying bison," Kona said, looking towards the animal. More had appeared behind it, and it looked as if many more were to arrive.
"They almost look like… like dragons!" an 11-year-old, Amrita, cried.
"They do!" Yong Ten said, grabbing Amrita's hand. "We have to go tell the nuns! Quickly!"
"Do you think this has something to do with the war?" Kamala asked, frowning.
"I'm sure it does," Pei Ma said. "And I'm guessing the Fire Nation's intentions aren't friendly…"
As people began to run towards the nuns' quarters, the dragons drew closer. It looked as if at least two Fire Nation soldiers were on each dragon, and who knew how many were attempting to climb the mountain. It was well known that the only way to reach an Air Temple was to fly, but to underestimate the Fire Nation would be a grave mistake.
"Sister Nyima! Sister Nyima!" Kona yelled as she and the other girls reached the nuns' quarters.
"Kona! What is it?" Sister Nyima asked, sitting up. "What's going on?"
"There are dragons," Kona said. "Coming straight for the temple with Fire Nation soldiers riding on them!"
Sister Nyima's eyes widened. "This is terrible…" she said quietly, scrambling out of bed.
Soon, everyone was out of bed, and the younger children were being herded someplace where they would be safe.
"We must protect the temple at all costs!" Sister Iio cried as the dragons were heard landing outside. "Don't let them get to the children! Airbending masters to the front!"
Kona moved towards the door, ready to defend whatever came towards her.
Suddenly, the door was thrown open. Several Fire Nation soldiers stood in the doorway. Within seconds, a fight had begun; the Fire Nation soldiers began setting anything they could on fire, even airbenders.
Taking in a deep breath, Kona tried to defend herself as much as she could, but it wasn't enough; they would have to attack, and even kill, the soldiers if they wanted to survive. Biting down on her lip, Kona generated a tornado and, with the help of several other airbenders, sent the soldiers flying; some never got up again.
Outside, the dragons were attacking alongside their riders. With their fiery breath, they set buildings and trees alight, and attacked the Air Nomads. Within minutes, the once peaceful courtyards of the Eastern Air Temple were covered in blood and burning.
Screams and sobs filled the night as airbenders were burned alive and mauled by dragons. Suddenly, up in the highest tower, the terrified shrieks of dozens of children were heard as their hiding place was discovered. Looking up, blasts of fire burst through the windows, and the tower was silenced.
Kona watched, tears filling her eyes as she realized that Dawa had been up there. Dawa, the young, sick girl that she had treated like her sister for years.
How could they? How could these firebenders do this? They were monsters… All of them. They were twisted, evil people. Kona knew she could never forgive the Fire Nation.
Suddenly, her arm began to burn. A searing pain shot through it, and she screamed loudly, falling to the ground. Two feet adorned in Fire Nation boots appeared in front of her, and looking up she saw a helmeted face looking down at her; the eyes appeared to be sneering. Raising his hand, the man prepared to attack and kill her, but a large gust of wind blew him away. Sister Ceba appeared beside Kona helping her up.
"Oh, Kona…" she muttered. "He burnt you bad… Now, let's get you someplace safer."
Kona nodded, closing her eyes; the pain was so terrible. Sister Ceba led her to one of the smaller buildings where tools for the gardens were kept. Setting her down behind it, she bound up Kona's burn as best as she could with fabric from her skirt.
"I suggest you stay here," the nun advised. "I have to go back and help, but I'll be back to check on you."
Kona watched as Sister Ceba disappeared into the smoke of the fight. Resting her head against the stone of the building, Kona tried to block out the screams, but they were too overwhelming. She couldn't sit here and hide because she got burnt… There were nuns out there who were on fire still fighting.
Getting up, she hurried back into the battle, using her one good arm to airbend. The temples were beginning to crumble as the fire spread, and the ground was littered with bodies, Air Nomad and Fire Nation alike. The flying bison had been set free, and were circling around the temple, though few were left, as firebenders and dragons kept attacking them.
All of a sudden, Sister Hariti was dragging her away towards the back of the temple. "Come, Kona," she said, running faster. "We have to leave. There isn't hope of surviving if we don't."
"What?" Kona cried, hurrying to keep up with the nun. "We can't just leave! This is our home. Sister Iio said we must defend it at all costs!"
"And that we did," Sister Hariti said, stopping to send a tornado towards a few soldiers that had been following them. "But I'm afraid we are greatly outnumbered, and their ambush caught us far too off guard. So many have already fallen; we must abandon the temple. There is no other choice."
Rounding a corner, they arrived at the garden. Pushing Kona ahead of her, Sister Hariti stopped to make sure that no one had seen them before they disappeared amongst the plants. Grabbing Kona's hand once more, she began leading her to the centre of the large garden.
"We are not fighters, Kona," she explained. "We cannot hope to win this battle."
Suddenly, a blast of fire erupted from behind them. Kona screamed, and started running. She had not realized that Sister Hariti had stayed behind until she had reached the centre of the garden. Looking back, she saw nothing but the tall stalks of a vegetable plant, with dark smoke billowing above them.
"Kona!"
Turning around, she saw a small group of around five or six airbenders huddled around a flying bison.
"Oh, Kona, I'm so glad you're alright!" Sister Ceba said, coming forward and hugging her.
"Sister Hariti…" Kona said. "We were attacked. She saved me."
Sister Ceba nodded, placing a hand on Kona's cheek. "Come now," she said. "We have to leave now."
"Aren't there others coming?" Kona asked, frowning. "There must be more survivours!"
"I'm afraid not," Sister Ceba said. "We are all that is left of the Eastern Air Temple."
Kona sat leaning against the saddle of the flying bison. The sun was beginning to peak over the horizon; a new day. A new day that thousands would not see. The only survivours of the Eastern Air Temple were Kona, Sister Ceba, Pei Ma, Diki, a 10-year-old who had yet to earn her mastery tattoos, and Zopa, a girl of around 17. The elderly Sister De Chen had also escaped with them on the flying bison, Popo, but had died shortly after they left of burn wounds. Her body now lay covered near the back of the bison's saddle.
Pulling her legs to her chest, Kona rested her chin on her knees. Her arm still hurt greatly, though there wasn't much that could be done about it. Diki had a nasty wound on both legs, and was unable to walk, as well as one a large burn on her head. She lay with her head on Zopa's lap; it was unclear how much longer the girl would survive. Pei Ma had managed to escape in a fairly good condition, and was sitting near Sister De Chen's corpse, meditating. Zopa had a long scratch across her back from a dragon, and was quietly combing through Diki's hair with her fingers. Sister Ceba had a large burn on chest, though she was persistent that she was fine. The nun now sat at the reins of the bison.
The question "What do we do now?" had come up several times already. It had been decided not to go to any other Air Temples, as they had most likely been attacked as well and might still be under attack. Sister Ceba had decided that they'd flee to the mountains of the Earth Kingdom, where they'd hide as long as possible.
"It all happened so fast…" Kona spoke up suddenly, speaking quietly. Everyone's head snapped towards her, as if she had just committed a great crime by speaking. Even Sister Ceba turned to look at her.
"It did," the nun said softly. Sadness was etched into her every feature and a haunted look dwelled in her eyes.
No one had cried yet. They had all been too shocked to cry. But now as the events began to sink in, the first tears began to fall. A great sadness and mourning enveloped them all; they mourned for those they lost, for those they'll never see again. They cried for the lives that had been burned down by the ruthless Fire Nation, now nothing but ashes in the wind.
The cultural destruction that the Fire Nation had done; an all-out genocide. The Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes would soon declare war on them, but there would be no Avatar to save them. They'd have to fight this on their own. There was no denying it: a war had started.
Kona kneeled on the snowy ground, her head bowed. Before her, two rocks sat, marking the graves of Sister De Chen and Diki, who had died two days earlier. Sister Ceba, Zopa, and Pei Ma were kneeling beside her, Sister De Chen's necklace in Sister Ceba's hand, and Diki's glider in Zopa's. They did not have the tools or time to write something on the rocks, and instead set the necklace and glider on the respective graves, and stood. A few feet away, the entrance to a cave lay etched into the side of an Earth Kingdom mountain, in which the body of Popo rested. Only hours before the flying bison had succumbed to the infections of its wounds.
Bowing towards each grave and the cave, the four Nomads turned to leave to find new refuge.
A few days later, they stumbled upon a small group of Nomads from the Northern Air Temple and their flying bison. They had seen the smoke of their fire and had gone to it cautiously should there be Fire Nation soldiers there.
However, as they approached, they spotted the flying bison, and immediately knew they had found friends. There were three Nomads there: Monk Ta Shi, an elderly man, Yongten, who appeared to be around 17, and Je Tsun, who was around the same age as Yongten.
They were the only known survivours of the Northern Air Temple, just like Kona, Sister Ceba, Pei Ma, and Zopa. They began to travel together, using the flying bison, Pabu.
Sister Ceba explained how their temple had been attacked in the middle of the night by Fire Nation soldiers on dragons, and that six of them had escaped on a flying bison, but that two of the survivours and the bison had died.
Monk Ta Shi said that they had also been ambushed by Fire Nation soldiers on dragons, and that there had originally been five survivours, but that two had died of wounds.
"It's all a very terrible thing," Kona said one night as she sat around a fire with Pei Ma and Yongten.
"It is," Yongten agreed. "No one needed to die."
"We'll get through this," Pei Ma said. "I know we will."
Three days later, the group stumbled upon a small house nestled deep in a valley. They would normally pass such houses by, as they had already found a few, but something about this house attracted them… An Air Nomad glider was resting by the door.
Approaching it quietly, Monk Ta Shi knocked twice on the door. A quiet, frail sounding voice echoed out from within.
"Come in," it said.
Monk Ta Shi opened the door quietly as Je Tsun told Pabu to stay outside. As the Nomads entered the dimly-lit room, someone closed the door behind them. All of a sudden, the room was illuminated by fire springing from the hands of several people standing behind a man in a chair.
"We've been expecting you," the man said slyly, smirking.
In seconds, the firebenders were attacking them, shoving them to the floor. All around the room and in the windows, Air Nomad relics lay scattered.
"It was all a trick!" Sister Ceba cried, struggling to get free of a firebender. "You stole these relics to lure Air Nomads here so you could murder them!"
"Very well done," the man said, standing up. "Kill them." He ordered, turning to the firebenders.
They did their best to fight back, but they were so weak from so many days of endless travelling, and most of their wounds had yet to heal. They were burned, set on fire as if they were only kindling.
As Kona lay writhing in pain and agony on the floor as the firebenders looked down on her, she somehow found her voice to speak…
"The Avatar will save us." She choked, closing her eyes tight as the pain overwhelmed her.
"Foolish girl," the man laughed. "No one can save you now."
"I know," Kona whispered. "But he'll end you all. He'll end this war. He'll save us all."
As she drew her last breaths, she prayed the Avatar would return, and that he would end this war. Darkness fell upon her, and she slipped away from the physical world to join the other Nomads, her friends and loved ones, in the spirit world, where they're free of all this pain and suffering.
That night, the last known living airbenders died…
That is, until a hundred years later, when a brother and sister from the Southern Water Tribe found a certain young airbender named Aang frozen in an iceberg.
"He'll save us all."
Yeah. That's my take on the Air Nomad Genocide, more specifically the Eastern Air Temple.
*tearbend*