Author's Notes: Hi everyone, I'm Takenokohime. Avatar has been one of my favorite shows for years and I've always found the mythology of the world very interesting, particularly the mythology surrounding the Avatar. I know that a lot of fans, including myself, have wanted stories about previous Avatars, so this is my shot at writing a story about a previous avatar! My story centers around an Avatar from the Northern Water Tribe about 800 years before the main story, so expect the world to be very different from how it is in Aang's time. Please let me know what you think by leaving a review and follow/favorite if you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe and have no affiliation with either Avatar: The Last Airbender or Nickelodeon.
Chapter 1: The Frozen Land
The icy tundra of the North Pole was a normally inhospitable place, but this evening was more extreme than most nights. A blizzard had started earlier in the day, and the sun had been up for less than a quarter of the day. The winds howled and snow swirled everywhere, making it nearly impossible to be outside. Despite the harsh conditions, a man was wading through the snow, dragging a tiger seal behind him. He was a large, stocky man in his late thirties with medium brown hair tied back in a topknot. Behind him trailed a wolf saddled with knives and a spear. The wolf stopped in the snow and barked at the man.
"We can't stop right now, Spear. We have to get back home as soon as we can," the man said to the wolf.
Spear looked up at the man but continued to stand by. The man begrudgingly set down the tiger seal carcass and walked up to Spear. "Pilok is due to give birth any day and I need to get home."
The wolf wouldn't budge. The man sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling a piece of seal-jerky out. He broke the jersey in two, eating one half and holding the other half in front of Spear. "If you come along I'll give you this piece of jerky."
Spear took the piece of jerky from the man's hand and began crunching it. The man turned around, picked up the tiger-seal carcass and continued walking forward. After about ten feet he looked back to see if Spear was following him, and sure enough the wolf was slowly trekking behind his master. After another mile, the man made out the faint light of a fire.
"Almost home boy," the man called back to Spear.
A few more yards and the two had arrived at a small camp with three tents and a central communal firepit. Two men were sitting by the fire, chatting. One was around the same age as the first man, while the other was significantly older.
"Igaluk, Tekketsertok!" the first man called to the two by the fire. "I killed a tiger seal! It should be enough food to last us a week!"
The younger of the two by the fire, Igaluk, walked over to the man entering the camp. He grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. "Glad you made it back safely, Akissiak. Pilok would be devistated if anything had happened to you."
Igaluk and Akissiak walked back over to the fire with the seal carcass. Tekketsertok smiled at the two younger men as they sat down by the fire with the tiger seal. Tekketsertok pulled out a paring knife from his parka and began cutting into the seal's flesh. After some of the seal's blood leaked out, Tekketsertok removed his right glove, dabbed his fingers in it, and smeared the blood on the face of Akissiak.
"May the spirits bless you for the kill you have made," Tekketsertok said softly as he wiped the blood off his hand and went back to cutting the meat off the carcass.
Akissiak and Igaluk took out their knives as well and worked to cut the flesh off the seal. Spear approached the fire pit and began whimpering at the men to share their kill. Akissiak cut a strip of the seal's belly fat off and threw it to Spear, who ravenously devoured it.
"That wolf will become lazy if you keep feeding him like this. They're supposed to be hunting animals for us, not pets," Tekketsertok lectured.
"He's barely had anything to eat over the past three days. Besides, he helped separate the seal from its pod while I was hunting it," Akissiak said defensively. He then turned to Igaluk. "How has Pilok been doing the past few days? Has she already had the baby?"
"She's been in labor for most of today, actually. Sedna's in your tent with her. The girls are in with them as well," Igaluk replied. "And unfortunately you know the custom. You can't come into the tent until after the baby has been born."
Akissiak nodded. "It is better though that we aren't in there while she's giving birth. How are my daughters doing?"
"Nasaka and Niviarsiaka are well, although it seems like Nasaka is having a hard time getting used to the idea of having another sibling," Igaluk said, laughing slightly.
"She is only three years old, so I don't think she entirely understands the situation. I remember Niviarsiaka had a hard time when Nasaka was born," Akissiak added. "I wonder if the new baby will be a waterbender like Nasaka is."
"Perhaps. It would certainly be nice to have another person who can defend the camp while one of us is out hunting," Igaluk responded.
"You better hope that your new child is a son. Having nothing but daughters is bad luck," Tekketsertok muttered. "Besides, women have no status here. Nasaka's waterbending is useless since she'll never be using it for combat."
A woman walked out of the largest of the three tents and walked over to the three men. Two young girls, ages seven and three, followed the woman out. The older girl ran up to Akissiak and hugged him from behind.
"Papa! You're back!" the older girl exclaimed.
Akissiak turned around and grabbed the girl, pulling her onto his lap. "Niviarsiaka! I missed you so much!"
The younger girl jumped onto Akissiak and hugged him. "Papa, we watched the baby get borned!"
"Oh, you did? So the baby is here already?" Akissiak asked.
The woman walked up to the fire pit and sat beside Akissiak. Akissiak turned toward her and nodded. "Sedna, the girls said that the baby has been born already?"
"Yes. She was born early evening," Sedna replied.
"She? Another girl?" Akissiak asked.
Sedna smiled and nodded. "She's so beautiful. I'm very happy that you and Pilok have given me another niece."
"May I see Pilok and the baby?" Akissiak asked cautiously.
"Of course. Everything has been cleaned up and the baby has been swaddled," Sedna replied.
Akissiak got up from the fire pit and approached the tent Sedna and the girls had come out of. He pulled back the entrance to the tent and entered, quickly followed by the girls. Pilok was laying on a pile of furs with a seal pelt covering her lower body. Pilok, normally a very put-together woman, had her dark brown hair loose and her tan skin glistened with sweat. She cradled a tiny baby wrapped up in a wolf pelt. Akissiak's niece, Pipaluka, knelt beside Pilok and was whispering at the baby.
"Akissiak," Pilok said softly. "You made it back safely. Come meet our new daughter!"
Akissiak walked over slowly and knelt next to Pilok and the baby. His new daughter had a small amount of dark brown hair and pale blue eyes. She looked up at Akissiak, who smiled contently at the little girl.
"What should we name her?" Akissiak asked.
"I was thinking we should name her Nuka," Pilok replied.
"Nuka. I think that's a beautiful name," Akissiak said in agreement.