Water…Earth…Fire…Air….Heavens….Before the Avatar had become the most powerful of Benders, they were guided by beings known as the Celestials. This men and women were masters and teachers of the sacred arts of bending, enough to mix elements in ways not yet thought of and adaptable enough to learn new ways quickly. After the first of the Avatars learned from those masters, they ascended to the heavens, watching them from above. However, in times of great incoming chaos, the Celestials would descend and give their power to man to counter the threat. These men were the true benders. For they taught the Avatar.

In a moderate sized village off of the coast of the Earth Kingdom, in a rather large home near the sea, a young man was reading up on the months of peace that followed Ozai's fall during the war from his room. After reading for a while, his long brown hair got in his eyes. He calmly placed the tablet he was reading down on a table and watched the sun fly over him. He turned his head to the coast and watched the waves pulled onto the shoreline. Peace really had come. The man opened his door to head outside to enjoy the day. Golden eyes of a firebender gleamed against the rays of the sun as he walked into a garden to watch a stream of fish chase each other. He looked over a bush and saw his mother trimming a hedge nearby. Her eyes also gave a golden shimmer. She wore silk robes and a wide brim hat to keep the sun from blinding her. She had just given some of the plants water before her son came outside. She was glad about the result of the war. She had been an officer for the Fire Nation, the land that sought to "unite" the world under them, before she met her husband and gave birth to her son during the war. Since then, their family had been discrete about certain things. Especially after certain incidents. She smiled as her son walked to greet her.

"Mother, I have heard that the Earth King of Ba Sing Se wanted reports on how people were recovering from the war."

"That's right…so many people have fallen on both sides…he just wants to know how bad it resulted. And how we can restart from all this. You father knows a bit more about it than I. Perhaps you could speak with him about that subject." She said as she burnt some old leaves in her hands and blew the ashes over some of her berry bushes.

"I think I'll do that. See later then, mom…" the young man said as he went for the wall that protected their house and climbed over it.

"Just like your father…"

The man ran out of the village and towards the coast. There, he saw a dark skinned man with blue eyes waterbending to pull fish to his boat. The man's hair laid at shoulder length, similar to the young man's. The man laughed when he pulled a big one out and onto the boat.

"You got a big one, Dad!" the young man shouted.

"It's a matter of skill son!"

"In that case, I'll be grabbing the biggest one then?"

"Oh-ho-ho, you're funny!"

The young man waved his arms and focused. The water in front of him started to cool and then freeze into a small berg. He jumped on it and pushed the water to propel him towards the boat. When he got close enough, he climbed into the boat to help his father. The pair pulled a large, stubborn fish to the boat before rowing to shore. As the father gathered up the supplies, his son pulled all of the fish into a bag.

"Dad? Mother said you knew about what was going on with the Earth King making accountability with all of the villages and towns in the nation."

"Ah….that's right. Every leader around the world is doing the same thing. The scars of war ran so deep. They wanted to know how far so. Therefore, they ask people of every province to come and report any damages. It's to find out how much damage needs to be repaired."

"So…who's going for our province?"

"I was actually going to ask you to go, son…"

"Me?"

"Why not? It's a simple request. All it really consists of is delivering a letter. Besides, you know how Ba Sing Se is. You could use this chance to get away from the village anyway." his father smiled.

"You sure you'll be all right without me then?"

"I think we will manage. I'll speak with your mother about before you go anywhere."

"Oh boy…."

Father and son headed back to town with their catch. As they walked away from the beach, the boy took a quick inhale of the ocean air. In was always refreshing to come to the beach. As they walked into town, some of the citizens in town greeted them as they walked by. Some of the girls were giving the young man provocative looks he walked past them.

"Oh brother…." He blushed.

"Haha! That's my boy. Don't worry, you get used to the old family charm."

"It must have skipped a generation…" he smirked.

"….You're funny…in case you didn't notice, I AM married."

"Yeah but, didn't you have to chase mother?"

"We chased each other, besides charm comes in many ways."

"Right….anyway; I'm going ahead, old man. It's not like you can keep up or anything."

"Try saying that as you eat my dust!" the father shouted as he ran past his boy. The son ran quickly past him and a little race began for them. As they ran to the house, the father used waterbending to slow his son a bit and get ahead. The son did the same thing. Getting closer and closer, they used more devious tactics to slow each other. At one point, the father's legs were frozen in ice while his son dashed past him. He broke the ice and ran hard to catch his son. Soon, they reached their house, gasping for air all the while. The mother walked up to the front of their home and just shook her head.

"Aren't you too old to be playing like that, my dear?" she teased.

"Hey…I caught up…didn't I?" he said between breaths.

"Barely…." His son said, finally getting a second wind.

The mother helped them inside the house and later started cooking some of their catch while her son dried the rest. The father came in to speak with his wife.

"Zhen…Can I have a moment?"

"Of course, dear. Tanna finish up here and get ready for dinner, alright?"

"Yea, mom! Got it." The son responded while finishing up.

The couple went into the living room and sat down. The father gave his wife looks from time to time. She was still as beautiful as when he ran into her.

"What is it, Keota?"

"It's about our son. I was talking to him about going to the Earth capital to deliver the report on our province for us. We haven't done it yet and this can be a way for him to get away from the village."

"…True…we aren't exactly being chased anymore…thanks to the Avatar. But what about someone to get him there? To protect him?"

"Our son doesn't need protection…you and I both know that."

"But…I still would want someone there to watch him. A recovering world can be a dangerous one."

"….Indeed. But who would you suggest?"

Zhen smiled as she made her suggestion.

"Perhaps someone from Kyoshi Island?"

"Why them? I know for a fact that they don't…"

"They are recovering just as much as we are. We could pay for an escort for our son. They would just have to watch him until he returns…besides…"

Zhen started whispering more details to her husband about why she suggested this. He looked at her for a moment before agreeing.

"So, that is what you are up to. I guess I have no choice then. I'll get the documents for him so he can leave after dinner. The sooner he gets this over with, the sooner he can enjoy his time away from here. Besides, his birthday is coming up soon…this will be a nice present for him."

He walked off to gather the paperwork while Zhen went to the kitchen. Tanna had already cooked most of the food. He pulled some broth out of a pot with waterbending and soaked a grilled fish in the juices. He then inhaled and blew light flames over the fish to get it to the right temperature. Zhen smiled at her son. He had always been gifted like that. Even at the tender age of four, he was learning to waterbend from his father and learned some firebending from her. He really was different, to say the least.

"I think it's ready mom."

"Alright, help me set up."

She grabbed a few things before heading to the table. Tanna followed with the entrees. She looked at her child again. It will have been sixteen years in a couple weeks that she brought her son into the world. She had watched him grow up to be a handsome young man. This birthday coming up would be special in more than one way though. She set the table with Tanna's help and waited for her husband. Keota soon returned with a scroll containing the information the King requested.

"Well look at this! Is it time to eat now?"

"It was five minutes ago…you take too long." Zhen teased again.

"I'm so sorry, my dear. The papers were everywhere, I almost drowned in them." He said while acting dramatic.

"Just sit down already!" she snapped as he laughed.

The family soon sat down to dinner. After finishing their meal, Keota looked as Tanna and then the scroll next to him.

"You know, your mother and I spoke about that information being sent to Ba Sing Se. And we both agree that you could go deliver it to the Earth King in my stead."

"But there is one stipulation to you going. You need an escort there." His mother said.

"An Escort? I think I am capable of going to Ba Sing Se by myself…"

"It was your mother's idea."

"Well sorry for taking precautions…"

"Okay…so is it someone around here escorting me?"

"No, you'll have to go to Kyoshi. You will meet your escort there. I'll send a messenger bird as soon as we are done here." Zhen explained.

"I'll start tonight then."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's not that big a deal. It'll take a while to reach the city, so I need to get a good start. Besides, I have to meet my escort and that alone will take some time."

Tanna started putting his dishes away and grabbed the scroll when he was done with them. He then went to his room and grabbed a blue coat with a dragon design on the back of it and slung it over his shoulder. As he walked outside and stretched, a bird flew off with a letter in its beak. His mother ran behind her son and held on for a moment. Keota smiled as his boy just looked away from the affection.

"Alright Zhen. Let him go. He has a long trip ahead of him."

"Alright…be careful out there, Tanna."

"Got it…" Tanna said nonchalantly.

"And Tanna, use the wagon. Save some strain off your feet." Keota suggested.

"Okay…Thanks Dad."

The boy ran down the hill of his home and towards the stables to get two ostrich-horses. He then led them to a wagon that was a bit worn but still did the job. Tying some harnesses to the horses, he got them ready for the long journey. His father met him has he pulled the horses toward the long road ahead of him and gave him supplies.

"Tanna…don't make too much ruckus out there…"

"I AM your son."

"I know, your mother's worried about that." He chuckled. "Go on. And enjoy yourself. And be careful. The world is still healing from war. You never know what could happen out there."

"Yea. I'll remember that." He said as he got into his wagon. His father watched as the boy rode off into the night. Keota then walked home to his wife, quietly wishing good luck to his son as his rode off.

Tanna took the time to get some rest while the horses traded the road. After a few hours, he woke up and let his horses rest up. While they did, he went to a nearby river and practiced his bending forms. His execution was flawless. He had been doing it for so long that the movements were natural. He ended his session by wrapped water around his body before it turned to steam. He walked back to the wagon and relaxed on of his bags and went to sleep. As morning rose, the horses went on the move while their master slept. Soon, he woke up and watched the road as he traveled. Later in the day, he made it to the coast of a small island. He just sat there and waited, feeding his horses all the while. He even went to the ocean and got water, pulled the salt out to give them some fresh water. After about an hour of waiting, he saw someone coming towards him on a boat. It looked like one of the island's warriors. She had a long brown ponytail and was wearing white makeup. As she got closer to the shore, the young woman backed up a bit, and ran into a jump. Flipping gracefully through the air, she made a perfect landing on the beach before walking up to Tanna. She smiled as she got closer. The woman had been assigned specifically for this task. And it looked like she didn't mind at all either.

"Well, Hi there!" she said before jumping in front of him. "Aren't you the cutie? I guess I was lucky to be assigned to escort you."

"Uh huh…"

"Let me introduce myself. I am Ty Lee of the Kyoshi Warriors. It will be an honor to work with you." She bowed.

"Oh! Umm…My name is Tanna." He said as he thought. "You said your name was…Ty Lee? I feel as though I heard that name before."

"You…have?"

"Yeah…Anyway, we should be going. I trust you know where to—"

"Ba Sing Se….here we come!" she said as she grabbed the reins and snapped the horses to move.

"Hey! Those are mine!"

She giggled as he ran after her before slowing the horses down so he could climb in. He glared at her and she acted innocent.

"That's quite the way to start the job…"

"Yeah. It's good to have a bit of fun to start right?"

"Oh brother…"

Ty Lee smiled again as he rode off towards the capital. After a moment, she noticed Tanna giving quick glances at her.

"Aww, you really think I'm that cute?"

"I suppose you have your charm but…I was wondering if you could wipe that makeup off. It's a bit distracting. Besides, you could attract a lot of attention with that alone."

"I guess…or maybe you just want to see my face?"

"You done?" he asked blandly, even though he wanted to see.

"Okay, hold on then." She requested before getting a rag that she found in the supplies. She got it wet and wiped the white makeup off. After she was done, she turned around in a fashion of 'ta-da'. Tanna honestly did think she was cute. Though he wouldn't say anything. Did his mother set this up?

"It's…nice to have a pretty face around, I have to say."

"Oh, he called me pretty~!"

"Yes, Yes. Anyway, I really don't expect anything major happening on this trip, so just relax and soon you'll be back."

"Hmmm, I really don't mind. I liked Ba Sing Se when I was there last, though my departure could have ended better…"

"Is that right?"

Soon, the two starting talking about current events and other things, though Ty Lee left some details out. After speaking for a bit, the ride there got quiet. That is, until Ty lee heard something and pulled the reins.

"Hey…stay low…"

"Huh?"

"Just listen to me…stay low." She said as she climbed out of the wagon.

Tanna slowly did what she asked, though grabbed a satchel of water and slowly squeezed some in his mouth. Ty Lee got into a ready stance and as soon as she did, bandits ran out with weapons in hand. She quickly dispatched two of them with a variety of pressure point maneuvers that took away their chi temporarily. While she took care of the ones in the front, some found a way behind her, looking at her with lustful eyes. Tanna saw that opening and blew hot mist into the air around the wagon, confusing everyone. He then used the water in the air to make ice blades and started taking down the bandits' one at a time. They never stood a chance with his hostile advance. His water started to turn blood like after a while and soon, he melted the blades to water and pushed the mist away. Ty Lee stood in shock of the dead bandits as Tanna climbed the wagon and waited.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I do believe that was waterbending."

"But…I've never seen a waterbender…kill anyone…"

"You would be surprised by what a bender can do…let's go….don't be scared."

"I'm not scared…I'm just surprised…you took them out to fast in the mist…I'm impressed…" she said as she got in.

"Good. I thought you would have chickened out on me."

"I have seen worse…believe me."

"I can. Now shall we be on our way?"

"If you would."

The wagon rode off towards the city while the pair talked again. The young woman was amazed by this bender. She honestly had a thought come to mind.

Where was he during the war?