A/N: The introduction to my new fic, and also in a new world that I haven't worked with before: Avatar: The Last Air Bender. I'm really looking forward to starting this fic, and I hope that I can keep it up to date and not fall behind! If I do manage to start slowing down, please keep in mind that I'm in college right now and that my grades come before writing. Let's get started!
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Water. Earth. Fire. Air. A long time ago, the four nations lived together in harmony; but then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
This is the story of the Avatar and the war that is upon us. They tell us that the Avatar has returned after one hundred years of strife and madness. Many are cynical and believe that if the Avatar has finally returned, he's too late: the world lives in fear of the Fire Nation.
But I believe that the Avatar will bring about an era of peace and kindness. That the Fire Nation will not have a place in the war much longer, of that much I am certain.
My name is Hakone. I was born and raised in the Northern Water Tribe. Due to our superior defenses and being entirely surrounded by water, we have escaped most of the war that was raging around the world.
The day that my icy world changed began like any other. I rose a few hours before dawn and went into the room where my family had our meals, surprised to see my mother awake, stirring a pot of sea prunes and humming to herself.
My mother was a beautiful woman. She had long raven hair that she kept tied into a braid, warm ocean blue eyes, and long, graceful features. People often told me that I was a replica of her, and it was true. The differences between her and I were subtle. You could barely see any of my father in me. Strong, and brooding, the only thing he had given me was my build, which was slightly taller and slimmer than most my age.
"Good morning, mom," I said sitting down at the table.
"Good morning Hakone. Off to train?" She inquired, spooning some of the stew into a bowl and setting it in front of me.
"Yes. Master Pakku says that today is my last day before he decides whether or not I'm a master," I told her, blowing on my soup to cool it down.
"I'm so proud of you. The last time someone your age became a Master Water bender was…. Well I'm not sure," My mother said fondly.
She had a point. At fifteen, I was the youngest person to reach the level I was at in nearly one hundred years. Since the Avatar had disappeared…
I finished my stew in silence while my mother hummed and began cleaning.
"Alright mom, I'm going now. I'll see you later," I said, hurrying out the door. I pulled my furs tighter around my body, shuddering at the biting cold, then hurried down the strip of ice that led from my house to the majority of the city.
About half-way to the yard where we practiced and learned from Master Pakku, I heard a rush of water and turned on the spot. I shot my hands upward, catching the icy pikes that had been flying toward me, turned them into water again and launched it back in a large wave at the person who had bent them at me. I blinked, eyes large as they landed on the form of my best friend Korrik, who was encased within the icy wall I had trapped him in.
I sighed, dropping my hands and causing the water to dissipate back into the streams that wound throughout the city and raised an eyebrow at him. He started laughing and ran over to me.
"I was just checking to make sure that you were on your toes. Master Pakku is testing you today, isn't he?" Korrik asked, his energy causing me to smile.
"Yes, he is. But was trying to stab me with ice the best way to see if I was about my wits?" I asked, annoyed.
He didn't respond but just laughed and we continued on our way toward the practice yard. Korrik was three years older than me and had just been named a master a few months ago by Master Pakku. Since, he had been to the training sessions to help Pakku train those of us who remained.
The sun was just peeking over the edge of the horizon as Korrik and I entered the practice yard. Pakku was sitting down, eyes shut, meditating. I took my usual place directly in front of him, sitting in the same fashion as him and began meditating myself. I knew the importance of meditation. It was necessary to help clear your mind and calm yourself if you wanted to succeed in life and make good decisions for not only you, but also for those around you.
It felt like a lifetime had passed before I heard movement. The sound of rushing water, the sound of water freezing, and the sound of water bending itself greeted my ears. My eyes flew open and I had just a few moments to gather my bearings before the onslaught from Master Pakku reached me. I redirected the ice toward him and jumped to my feet, creating a ring of water around myself for defense. I locked eyes with Pakku, whose expression was blank and unreadable.
I shot a hand out, sending tendrils of water toward him, which he easily deflected. I continued the attack, switching between water and ice blasts. I noticed his movement were becoming more and more evasive rather than direct and offensive and realized that he was trying to get to my sides to incapacitate me. I turned then and launched the remaining water that was circle around me into a focused attack.
He interpreted my movements and sent my attack back toward me in an enormous ice block, which I promptly returned to its liquid state. I sent the liquid into the air as vapor and surrounded the yard with a thick blanket of mist, putting both of us at a disadvantage due to not being able to use our sight. I pulled water up around me and allowed the snow to cover my body and appear as though I had sunk through the ground, knowing that Pakku would eliminate the mist I had created and shifted my location quickly before he knew what I was up to.
When I rose out of the snow, he had dissipated the mist and was gazing in the direction where I had been. I jerked my hands forward and the snow surrounding his body jolted upward, encasing him in an ice prison much like I had done with Korrik earlier. He had turned before it had completely frozen around him and his eyes were wide with amusement, as well as pride. Before he could say anything, I allowed the ice around him to flow back into the snow that it was and bowed to him.
"Done so quickly?" Pakku called, walking toward me.
"Sifu Pakku, water is the element of change; it does what it will in its own time," I said. He smiled amused and bowed to me.
"Congratulations, Master Hakone. You'll make a fine teacher one day," He said.
"Only because I had the best one to teach me," I responded, bowing to him again. As I raised up, someone came running into the yard; it was Hahn, Korrik's cousin. I didn't know much about Hahn other than Korrik didn't have much good to say about him.
"Hello Hahn, what can I do for you?" Pakku asked. Hahn had to take a moment to breathe before he could respond.
"The chief wants you to come to the palace – he says that the Avatar has come to the North Pole," He panted. My eyes widened and looked to Pakku, who stroked his beard.
"Well, well, so the Avatar has come to us at last. What do you say, Hakone? Would you like to come meet the Avatar too?" Pakku asked, looking at me. Not knowing how to respond, I nodded.
"Alright, let's go. Korrik? Will you come with me as well?" Pakku said, then turned to instruct his apprentices on their instructions for training.
Korrik joined us as we started walking toward the palace, and he and Hahn glared at one another for a moment before Hahn headed into a different direction from the rest of them. Pakku said nothing as we began our journey to the palace, which was luckily only a ten minute walk.
"Master Pakku, are the rumors of the Avatar being all-powerful true?" I asked as we began to ascend the hill where the palace stood.
"Only when the Avatar is fully realized; and even then, if he or she doesn't have full control over the Avatar state, then that Avatar can be killed while they are in it. With one hundred years of being gone, I would be willing to wager that the Avatar has had the time to learn all four elements and master the Avatar state as well." Pakku said, keeping his eyes on the way ahead of us. I asked no more questions as the palace came into view.
Chief Arnook was a proud man, and he greeted Pakku like an old friend. Pakku smiled before introducing me as a new master. I had met the chief once when I was younger, but this was my first time remembering him. I bowed to him and he smiled.
"Anyone trained by Pakku and honored enough to be called a Master by him deserves respect," Arnook laughed, bowing slightly to me. I stood behind Pakku with Korrik as we waited for the Avatar to arrive.
"He is taking his time, I see," Arnook's wife said, and Arnook raised an eyebrow.
"He has been missing for a long time; it's possible that he's nearing death and came here to tell us who the next Avatar will be," Arnook responded, chuckling.
Then the doors opened and revealed… a boy. He couldn't have been older than twelve, and had air bender tattoos visible on his head and hands. Wait… this boy was the Avatar? I turned, wide eyed to Korrik who was sharing the same look and maybe the same thoughts I was.
"Hello!" He said, waving. I then took notice of the two people with him, realizing that they were dressed in water tribe clothing, but the designs were different than what I was used to… Could they be…?
"My name is Avatar Aang, and these are my friends Sokka and Katara of the Southern Water Tribe," the boy said, bowing. The other two did as well, and Korrik and I exchanged looks again. It had been a very long time since we had heard from our sister tribe – since before I was born, if I recalled correctly – and even longer since someone had seen someone from the South Pole.
XXX
That night, Princess Yue's birthday feast had been combined into a celebration of welcoming the Avatar as well as our Southern Water Tribe guests. Master Pakku and some of his students performed for the amassed crowd, while I sat with Korrik just beside the high table where the chief sat alongside his wife and daughter, and the Avatar and his friends.
Pakku took his place beside me when he was finished with his performance and began eating.
"I suppose the Avatar will be seeking a teacher," I said, making conversation with him. He nodded without replying and continued to eat. Used to the quiet methods of my teacher, I returned my attention to the high table where the Southern boy was talking to the princess, both of them blushing. The girl who was with him was quietly paying attention to their conversation, and the Avatar, Aang, was scrunching his nose at the sea prune stew in front of him, which I surmised wasn't particularly a favorite for him. When the feast came to a close, the chief brought Aang toward our table and told Pakku that he had a new student.
"Just because you're destined to save the world, don't expect any special treatment," Pakku smiled, his demeanor the cynical humor that he normally had about him.
"My friend and I can't wait to start training with you," Aang responded. Mentally, I made a note to keep an eye on him and made my way toward Pakku as they went their separate ways.
"Master Pakku, should I come to the training yard like I normally do tomorrow?" I asked, actually unsure of what I should do with myself now that my training was finished.
"Hmm, that would be a good idea I think. Allow you to keep your head on your shoulders – maybe I'll let you help train the Avatar," He chuckled. "I will see you tomorrow. Good night, Master Hakone."
We bowed to each other and then went our separate ways. When I made it home, I told my family what I had accomplished. My mother and father were thrilled, and so were my younger siblings. Kommi, my younger sister, hugged me tightly around the waist and Noruk bounced energetically in my arms as I carried him off to bed.
I laid in my bed that night, looking up at the moon through the window. I could feel the energy that the moon blessed us with filling my body and sighed in sleepy contentment. The next day I would begin life not as a student, but as a master.
