This is plot bunny would not let me breathe. I swear. It was evil. Biting me and all. With evil red eyes like the distilled essence of all the valentines in the world (HoH reference!)
And it had sharp, pointy teeth! (I have a strange picture of LSP saying Werewolf rules. hehe) Really! I'm not even kidding!
Disclaimer: I disclaim. Can't think of a good disclaimer. Hmph
A long time ago, the gods were angry at the human race, for stopping their worship of them, for no longer performing sacrifices to them, for no longer fearing them. In a mighty fit of anger, the gods looked past their enmity and joined forces to punish the people for their insolence, their blatant disregard for their ways, and the destruction of their resources and sacred places. The world as we know it ceased to exist, replaced with a world of warring nations and clashing tribes.
The land was marred by war. Primitive blue-eyed hunters fought with whale-bone spears and the golden-eyed ones filled with hate and ingenuity, used powerful swords and learnt to make advanced weapons. The villagers looked on and stayed firm to defend their homes as their children looked fearfully through green eyes behind their mother's skirts. The nomads chose to avoid it all, not helping, not hurting, merely detaching themselves and ignoring the plight of the world. Everyone blamed their neighbors, their leaders, their family. It was a world of war and hate and fear. Maybe the people had learned their lesson.
The gods looked on as the people continued to destroy each other. Ra, looked disapprovingly, watching the humans fight over their petty troubles. Isis, with passive distate, not wanting the people's blood on her hands. Horus, accepting, he neither disliked the war or liked it. He had no bother with the human's concerns. Thoth, with worry, as the people he had given up so much to help chose a path of blood and violence rather than knowledge. Set reveled in it. He enjoyed every second of the war and the chaos fed his soul. He grew more and more powerful.
The gods gathered to address the concern of Set's growing capabilities. He developed powers no divine entity had ever had. They decided to end the war, as it was the source that fed the Red Lord's new prowess. They created one being, the Avatar, who would have a gift from each of the gods and would be able to control the elements. The Avatar would reincarnate every time the last one died, and its purpose would be to restore peace.
In return for the gods' punishments, they bestowed gifts on their favored people. Ra blessed the fierce golden-eyed race with the ability to rule and control fire. They drew power from the sun. Khonsu and Nepthys bestowed the hunters with the water element and the power from the moon. Geb preferred the stolid, firm villagers and gave them the ability to bend earth, a solid unforgiving element, as their people were slow to anger and forgive. And finally, Thoth and Shu blessed the nomads, and gave them greater spirituality and control of the winds.*
At first, the people abused their power, and used it to fight against each other with more ferocity, causing more destruction. Eventually, the different races were at an impasse, and settled for peace.
The hunters went to the poles to be at home with their elements. They adapted to the icy white landscape and learnt to hunt for koala-seals and fish and called themselves the Water Tribe. The firebenders and their kin settled in the volcanic archipelago and invented barriers and gates to prevent attack. They created a palace for the rulers and established the royal family. They called themselves the Fire Nation. The villagers stayed in the mainland and set to work on building a walled city to house their king. This city became the capital of the Earth Kingdom. The nomads preferred the high sheer cliffs of the islands in the north, south, and west. They befriended the sky bisons who called these places home and established temples and called themselves the Air Nomads.
Set, as you can imagine, was angry about the lack of chaos to sustain his power. He gradually grew weaker and weaker, but swore he would get revenge on his brethren. The Red Lord may inflict harm on others, and may go to horrible lengths to meet his ends but he never forgets a wrong done unto him. An eye for an eye, and all that. Or perhaps a giant cyclops size eye for an eye is more like it. He always was a hypocrite.
-o-O-o-
His first victim was Geb, and his favored earthbenders. He never really disliked Geb. He was just neutral. The only thing Set actually disliked about Geb was that he liked the color green. Set really hated green. He hated it so much that he decided to destroy the Earth Kingdom from the inside.
He manipulated the royal line and they became weak and easily swayed in their decisions. He turned their army, the Dai Li, into a force in Ba Sing Se that was drawn to power and money like a moth to a flame. They were corrupt and ruthless. There is a reason everyone says that the true power in Ba Sing Se lay with the Dai Li.
The Dai Li turned Geb's sacred place, the tunnels beneath Lake Laogai, into a source of unholy power that could brainwash others and force false identities onto them.
The fortress of Ba Sing Se, though still formidable, did not only shelter the civilians from harm, but also sheltered them from knowledge of the outside the world. The mighty walls became a prison; the people trapped by their own ignorance. Even though, out of all the nations, the Earth Kingdom would fall last in the war, in truth, the nation of once-mighty earthbenders and strong civilians had been the first to collapse.
Thus the first of four nations fell, due to the fact that one god held severe dislike for the color green.
-o-O-o-
His next victim was Shu and Thoth. Set held a severe dislike for Thoth and his peacemaking ways. He hated the ibis god for severely diminishing his power and helping Isis and Horus in a battle where he should have merely been a bystander.
The Air Nomads were a peaceful race, choosing freedom and spirituality rather than war and strife. They spent much time in meditation and ate no meat. It was no wonder that Thoth favored them. He was, after all, a foolish, peace-loving excuse for a god.
He had not counted on the Mechanist using Thoth's sacred library as a storehouse for Fire Nation weapons, but that was a plus.
Set had not expected a strong battle from the Air Nomads. They were after all a gentle, peaceable race. But by no means does that mean they were weak, and they put up a mighty struggle against the Fire Nation when they wiped out their whole culture, razing their temples to the ground.
It was Set who urged the Fire Nation to 'claim what was theirs'. It was Set who sent the comet, for hopes of starting a new war. It was Set who was responsible for the destruction of the nomads.
And thus the second of four mighty nations fell, in a cloud of ash and soot and black snow.
-o-O-o-
After that, he targeted Nepthys and Khonsu. He had no real quarrel with Khonsu, except for the one time when he gambled his wand away. He never really needed it anyway. The best defense is a good offense after all. His staff was all that was necessary. At least, that was what he always told himself.
The fall of the water tribes started with the Water Tribe Avatar. After Koh, the face stealer, with a mental push from Set, took the Avatar's girlfriend's face, he fell into a state of depression. The Avatar was the main bridge between the two sister tribes, as there was no easy way to send information or help across the world without some source of power.
When he died, the Northern and Southern tribes were completely separate and no longer relied on each other for help, paving the way for the destruction of the weaker southern tribe. When all their waterbenders died, and the warriors left to fight, the Southern Tribe was no longer a major threat in the war, and by extension Set.
He then attempted to crush the Northern Water tribe. He may have lost the battle, but he still managed to defile Khonsu's sacred place. He had not counted on the princess mortal's sacrifice. But no matter. The pain Khonsu experienced should be an equal punishment for stealing Set's wand. Wouldn't you agree?
Thus the third of four nations fell, due to Set's incompetence in the game of senet. And there always was the fact that he was a sore loser.
-o-O-o-
The last to fall was the Fire Nation and Ra. Set had something special planned for it. He plotted the destruction of their royal line, the ones with the original blessing of Ra. He manipulated them such that they became mistrustful and deceitful and power-hungry, and were overall despicable creatures.
He started with Sozin. After the Fire Lord's best friend, Avatar Roku, died, and the reason behind it was Sozin himself, he stopped eating and drinking and spent most of his time in meditation. He died of a heart attack. In a twist of irony, it was caused by the fumes from that volcano the day he started a century-long war.
Azulon came into power on Sozin's death. He was a good ruler, at least good by Fire Nation standard. His worst deed was perhaps that he brought a horrible, twisted human being into this world.
On General Iroh's failure to capture Ba Sing Se due to the incredible sadness caused by his son Lu Ten's death, Ozai requested to become Crown Prince. Azulon was enraged at Ozai's request, and told him to kill his own son so he could experience the same grief as his brother.
Ozai had no qualms at this. He had always preferred Azula anyway. Princess Ursa, after finding out about this, begged for Zuko's life in exchange for an untraceable poison. Ozai accepted the offer, but only after adding that Ursa should leave the palace. So she did.
Azulon was poisoned during his 32nd anniversary of ascending the throne. The poison was tjesu heru venom; the cause of death the same as Ra's**. It was a horrible way to die.
Ozai ascended the throne on Azulon's death. He ruled cruelly, but effectively conquered the 'impenetrable' walls of Ba Sing Se and Omashu. He had the Avatar in his clutches, and his daughter, Azula very nearly killed the young airbender. He also managed to get rid of his son, as an added bonus. Ozai would not have minded killing him, but banishment was just as good, and plus he was now travelling the world to capture the Avatar. His failure son was out of the way, and he was helping the cause. Not bad, wouldn't you say? He had two children who would do anything for him, and was preparing to win this infernal war. What more could he possibly want?
A sane daughter and a faithful son, perhaps. The day it all started to go downhill was when he banished his son. The burn on his face marked him as an exile, but General Iroh would be a much better father figure than Ozai ever would be. Maybe Set chose to spare someone from his curse?
But it was not to be. Zuko went through too much hardship, too much struggle. He chose to betray one of the only people who could honestly sympathize with him. After he became sick, and gave up his double identity, and was not sure in his decisions anymore, he was no longer any cause of concern to the Red Lord. Set did not care too much about the banished prince. He was no one special. He was not exceptionally powerful, he let his anger rule him, he was in no position of power. What could he possibly do? Yell at him a bit?
Set should not have underestimated the son of Ozai.
Azula, on the other hand, had learnt about the gods' ancient magic. She had found the history of Egypt in the Fire Sage's inner sanctum. They looked like plain history scrolls to the mortal eye, but to a blessed of Ra, it showed the secrets of the Golden Ages. But she put too much faith in her abilities, and made a fatal mistake.
She chose to channel divine power.
Set's to be specific. The fates really hate the mortals, don't they?
She slowly began to lose her mind. Set whispered poisonous things into her ears. They say there is an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Azula had devils on both.
She had sold her soul to the devil himself, and she was paying the price. She had terrible, terrible power. She could control lightning. Her power over fire was such that she could fly and it glowed blue with heat. She would be willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted.
But at the Agni Kai with her brother, the same brother, mind you, that Set had overlooked, she lost. Unlikely, I know. She lost everything. Her throne, her sanity, her entire life. It was probably the most horrible of all of Set's punishments, especially for one who had followed his path. And in a twist of fate, it was Zuko, the turncoat prince, the one who everyone had underestimated, who struck her down. He turned out to be useful to Set, after all.
Thus the last of four nation's fell, due to one god's inability to forgive.
Set was always one to hold a grudge.
A/N: I've had this idea bouncing around my head for a bit, and I finally typed it up. There are a few inaccuracies with the actual AtLA show, just to clear that up.
* On the AtLA wiki, it says the people were actually granted bending abilities by the Lion turtles, but I chose to change that. It also is said the waterbenders learnt bending from the moon, the firebenders from the dragons, the earthbenders from the badger-moles, the airbenders from the sky bisons. I also chose to change that (kinda obvious, ain't it?)
**Yes, Ra didn't actually die. But he lost some of his power. It says his eyes turned milky like a mortal's, so he lost some of his power, which is as close to dying as a god can probably get.
I love Set. He's so evil. AND AWESOME! the Rockin' Red Reaper is out!
If I made any other mistakes, please tell me in a review!
Tell me how I did!
Buh-bye! And I'm out!
~nutella