|| Water || Earth || Fire || Air ||

Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony. But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could save us. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed before the new Avatar was discovered. And although he was young, Avatar Aang delivered the world from assured destruction at the hands of the Fire Lord. With a new sense of harmony instilled, the cultural and human boundaries began to uplift and the people of the three remaining nations reentered into a unified world. But as the years began to pass, the airbending race eventually died out and unexplainably the number of children born with the ability to bend their respective elements began to decrease. Centuries passed and subtly the Fire Nation began to reclaim the world, its economic and colonialist dominance and impact over the world no easy thing to get rid of in just one avatars lifetime. And with the extinction of benders the ways of old have become just stories, the avatar—a representation of divinity. In the modern world, the old world of the Avatar is no more. But something is brewing within this modern metropolis. A group of believers, aptly named Nation, who trace their lineage back to the Fire Nation, have been looking for those who still possess even a trace of the genetic marker that enables bending. Once enough benders have been amassed, the group will begin the next phase of their dark plan…

Book One: Chapter 1: My New Unionist Life

Dawn crept through the dusty, white blinds hanging loosely in the windows. Sunlight inched its way into the shady confines of the 17ft.4in. X 11ft. 9in bed room, slowly, yet surely stripping it of the darkness it wore. The harsh light gave life to the walls, wearing a lush, cream paint that smelled of nectar, yet failed to hide the wall's smell of cigars and cheap incenses. Previous tenants, whadda yah gunna do? Below, on the wooden flooring, the once polished and gleaming floorboard was littered with arbitrary pieces of clothing, dirty dishes and just about anything else scattered across its hardwood surface in a manner of disarray.

A thick, hot muss consumed the air, overpowering the small scented cinnamon candle atop the windowsill, leaving its tart scent cowering in a limited section of the room. Airborne dust could be seen passing by the columns of light bursting through from the window, twisted around the room by the soft turning of the ceiling fan, swooshing as it spun on full blast. The interior was fitting of its modern and sleek design, constructed for the urban 'Joe', a meld of culture, perfectly symbolic of Caldera growing modernization.

The bed squeaked alive.

Limbs extended from under the white satin sheets, stiff and restless. Unwilling to be woken by the bright intruding light, bodies, intertwined in one another, clung to the covers, eyes shut tight as possible. But just as it seemed that the expanding forces of sunlight had been beaten by laziness and sheer resilience, the alarm rose to life behind the bed stand, its recent home during the last night's three hours of sleep after Call of Duty: Black Ops via Playstation Network ran a little past lights out.

"Osian! Get up or you'll be late for early morning mass, honey! You know your new school requires attendance at least once a week! Now move!

The musical alarm coupled with my mom's soft ranting claimed my ears, tearing me from my slumber. The sudden soulful ballad caused my body to jump as I immediately tore my arms from under the bedspread, banging against the nightstand, searching for the snooze button that now lay at rest on the solid premium Greenwood Bamboo floor.

Letting out a long, exaggerated breath, my deep, grey eyes shot open. It was like the jazzy tones played to off beat emotional yelling of my mom ignited my thought process.

"UGH! I'm up, I'm up!"

I wasn't up, but autopilot was a necessary skill set to develop in this new place. The ability to wash up, dress and eat while losing only about 17% of the awesome feeling of sleeping in was almost resume applicable. As I moved through his daily routines without much conscious interaction, I thought about my friends and family back in northern Ba Sing Se. I missed home. This wasn't home. This was a nightmare so far. But with the economy the way it was, good jobs were hard to come by and so, when mom got offered a position working in the Secretariat of Caldera, we honestly had no choice but to accept and relocate to the capital of the United Nations of Fire.

I'd been forced to leave everything I'd ever known: my social life, my friends, my dad, my grandparents, anything that reminded me of a time when things were a bit easier; a time before the accident. It'd only week since the move, but things showed no signs of getting better. Their apartment was too small, even for just the two of them. The city was crowded. The people were rude and always moving, always busy. Not to mention my new school, The Saint Iroh State Academy, was a total prison. It was apparently the best school in the whole city, with a tuition that more than clarified that. The only reason mom was able to afford it was that state official dependents were offered a discounted rate. And although it was still rather pricy, she felt my old high school was such a rundown piece of crap that I could finally get the education I deserved. Either way, I didn't like it. They had to wear uniforms and it was plainly obvious that I didn't fit in at all there. The kids were all rich little snobs with drivers and butlers and a knowledge base of some six or seven different nation based languages. It was all a bunch of bologna if I had anything to say about it. When would I ever need to speak Katarese in one of the Ocean Tribes or the King's English in the more snooty Earth Kingdoms like Omashu or Bei Jing. As far as I was concerned I would get through school without too many hiccups, find some moderately paying job somewhere near home like the one of the islands and surf and bake til I kicked the bucket. Just because my mom was now working in the Secretariat didn't mean I had to assimilate to this lame way of living.

I took another bite of cereal than stumbled out the door as my mom pushed me off to mass while she headed to work.

"You can walk to the cathedral right, Sai? Thanks, love you! Dinners at 11, don't be late!"

"Mom, 11 is late all on it's own. Why would I prolong the suffering anymore than I have to?"

"Oh honey I'm sorry but you know I need these extra shifts until we get better settled. Love you bunches, though. See ya."

I sighed as he continued on my way. Our apartment really wasn't that far from the school, but I always took my time getting there so it might as well have been. We lived near the historic district so I had to pass through downtown to get there, which meant I had to walk through rushing crowds of people usually. It wasn't ever too bad in the mornings but still there were a lot of people who lived in the city. As I passed a few opening shops and markets, their large glass windows gleaming my reflection back at me, I took a moment to appreciate my lack of attentiveness to my wrinkled uniform. It'd have done the boys back home proud. I stared back at myself for a moment. I wasn't very tall…but not short either…maybe 5'9" or so. And my medium length, uncombed, yet naturally calm black hair and slight baggy eyes testified to the fact that I hadn't been awake very long. But my bangs were threatening to cover any sign of the bagginess anyways so I didn't care. A girl once told me that I was 'rather handsome, but in a more subtle, sleeker way than most others." I never knew whether it was a compliment or not. Oh well. My burgundy and grey uniform kinda hung on me. I'd asked for a slightly bigger size than I wore only because I hated feeling uptight and cramped. My mom nearly freaked that I was bringing this habit along with me to a new school but hey she was winning just by getting me to even wear a uniform so she let it go.

A biker with a similar uniform bumped past me and jogged me from my thoughts. I sighed and continued on, finally reaching the cathedral and lazily pushing into the double doors with other lively kids rushing to take their place before the sage began his morning prayer. As I took my place among my grade and kneeled into the available row, I sat there and scanned the crowds. This was my second time coming to one of these things and it still kinda amazed me how in tune everyone was while here. Most kids had their eyes closed and heads bowed, with their hands politely clasped in their laps. Some even chanted.

The customary loud gong cleared my thoughts as looked back up to the front at an old man, Sage Sepu, in ceremonial robes and a few boys my own age assisting and accompanying the sage.

The man chanted in some ancient dialect for a few moments before beginning anything that I could understand.

"Dear Avatar, most benevolent, most beneficial

We come before thee today gracious and thankful for the many blessings that you have bestowed upon our unworthy lives."

The students chanted the lines afterwards. I never did… Just kept my head down as to not arouse attention from any of the head boys or girls overseeing the mass. Almost no one in my immediate family or friends was very religious back home. They never went to church on Sundays or really even prayed at all. We used to, but after the accident my mom stopped making me go. I barely even remember what I was even supposed to do while in church so I kind of just sat there when we had to do this.

"…Lead us on the right path, oh Father Avatar, and help us to do as you have instructed."

I knew some things about the state religion, of course. But nothing too detailed. I remembered what my father used to teach me and what I'd listen to him say or see him doing. He told me that Avatar was a divine being, or the divine being, I corrected, who maintained peace and harmony amongst the world and kept it in balance. That Avatar was the bridge between the spiritual realm and the physical realm and that he had the power to bless you or smite you if you were bad or threatened the natural balance. Unionism was never my mom's thing but my dad sort of gave them all faith. Now I seemed just as lost as ever. I wondered whether there was a patron spirit of those were lost. There seemed to be one for everything else at least. I could only really remember a few books of the bible. One or two that I could pull off the top of my head were about the ancient benders and some others about the trials of Avatar. It was all mostly gibberish to me now and so being at a unionist academy seemed a conundrum that I wouldn't soon be solving.

"Hail Avatar, keeper of peace, prey for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

They chanted the last line a few times over and the gong rung again, signaling the end of mass and the start of the school day.

My class schedule had finally stopped shifting and I was assigned a final schedule for the duration of the semester. Four lecture classes and PE course. Most were arithmetic courses but I did have one elective: Religious and Philosophical Studies: Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Apparently it was a course on history and social studies, naturally with a unionist twist to it. As I walked in the instructor signaled me to remain standing in front of the class before finding a seat. It was my first time in the class and already I was wishing I could have stayed in Pre-Cal…but apparently the class was overbooked and so it was replaced with one of the lighter courses. The instructor was an old man, Professor Ko, who looked like he should have retired decades ago. Probably thee Saint Iroh himself. Thank Avatar, or so I'd developed a small habit of saying, that this wasn't one of the larger classes or else I'd have been standing in front of 100 prying eyed students instead of the 20 I now stood before.

"Students. Good morning! We have a new student joining us. Please tell us your name and where you are from.."

I gulped. "My name is Osian…uh…Walker. I'm from northern Ba Sing Se."

"Ahh. What a delight! A Singsean in these parts. Welcome, Mr. UhWalker. So which Nation are your descendants from?"

I believe I honestly looked as stumped as I felt. How the hell was I supposed to know? I was born and raised in Ba Sing Se… never even thought about where my grandparents were from… and somehow I figured this man wanted to know even farther along than just that.

"Uhm. I… don't know. I guess probably…"

"Stop right there…. We do try not to simply 'guess' in this class, Mr. UhWalker. But either way… if I had to guess from looking at you, I'd say your family isn't originally from Ba Sing Se or anything surrounding regions…"

Half the class began snickering at the man's remarks. He was definitely as old as I had figured if he'd forgotten his no guessing rule so quickly… I fought my own inkling not to smile only because the instructor was prying straight into my expression.

"You actually look as if your family could have migrated from the UNF by your features…you've got that Fire Nationer look in your eye… Either way, please take a seat and try not to disrupt the class with your less-than-presentable look you have going for you today."

I tried to ignore the comment about my clothing and scanned the room for a vacant seat until a waving hand shot up near the back and a guy flagged me over to the seat next to his. I took the way out and scurried over to the empty desk.

"Thanks.."

"No problem, dude… I'm Corintin. Call me Corey." He extended his armed and dabbed me up.

"Sai."

"Now, class… who can tell me how many kingdoms there were at the beginning of the Romance Era," inquired Ko.

A few hands shot up, not many, but the ones who did waved very eagerly. He called on one, a girl. "3!"

"Incorrect." He called on another. This time a guy's "3".

"Still incorrect, Xavier." A few people snickered.

"There were a rumored four nations that existed just before the Great Sozin War but the few remaining records from that era only prove the establishment of three…"

He raised his bushy eyebrow and looked over to a girl sitting diagonal to Sai and Rin… When I turned to see her for myself, she was actually really pretty. Her hair, fine and in black sheets, arranged expertly and attractively about her head, was well cared for. Sharp, amber eyes, a forgettable nose and a strong jaw made up for an unmistakably beautiful and intelligent face. Her voice, light and soothing, gave me shivers initially.

"Only rumored? Aye, Miss Amiamara?"

"Like I said… there are no official records."

"Hm… or so the Secretariat would lead us to believe… what if there was proof buried in the catacombs of other nations?"

"But the Secretariat has the largest and most expansive library in the world. They have documents predating all other nations and colonies, if there was another nation the UNF would undoubtedly have provided proof as such," she rebutted.

"Um… my dad…" Fuck. I'd said that out loud, didn't I? The entire class shifted their eyes to me.

"Yes… Mr. UhWalker… You have something you'd like to add?" The instructor was practically giddy with excitement that such a new student was already getting involved with discussion. A sight for sore eyes amongst the drowsy eyed, drooling crowd. "Go on.."

I wanted to break a run for it, but the building was probably tightly controlled with head students and security. I swallowed.

"Well… my dad… used to tell me that there was once a proud people who lived as nomadians. That they were a roaming society of people with no official government or monarch or anything. That they were free…"

"Ah. Your father must be a scholar! It is true! There was a fourth nation… the Airian Nomads! A gypsy society of free thinkers, scholars, spiritualists, monks and enlightened individuals. They were rumored to have built the great Southern and Northern Airian Temples. The ruins of the temples till this day have never been able to be attributed to any currently existing nation. Two of the few wonders of the world, the technology used to lift the temples have yet to be replicated since! Marvels they are! The temples are even said to have been the birthplace of the human incarnate of Avatar if you can believe it!"

The professor seemed to speak with such enthusiasm that even managed to lift some of the heads in the back of the classroom.

"Perhaps it was Avatar himself that granted them the ability to do so..!"

"Herself!" "Himself" "Himself" "Herself!" The students went back and forth with each other for a few seconds longer before the instructor hushed them all back down, with a few lasting giggles here and there.

I turned in my chair to look back at the girl who'd spoken, only to find glaring, almost reddish eyes starring straight back at me. I immediately shifted back around in my chair, my face immediately turning a lighter shade of pink. I shrunk in my chair, Corey chuckling to himself having witnessed it all.

"I have a question, though… What happened to the Airians?" asked Corey.

"Well… it depends really. There are a few stories that you could choose to believe. Some believe that they ascended to a high plane, others believe they simply disbanded and merged with other nations. And yet still others suggest that they were…exterminated. Destroyed in Sozin's War."

"I don't think there ever were Airians. I think it's a myth attached to this sillier idea of people shooting fireballs or flying through the air." This from Amiamara.

The bell rung.

"Damn it all to Fire!" The kids all laughed at the instructors sudden mood change. "I say I did forget about the SATs today… Darn things cutting my lesson plan in half! The blasted things hardly test anything at all… just another way the state is funding itself… Blasted politics I tell ya! Well, up and out with you all… report to the gymnasium… But remember tomorrow I'll be administering a quiz on the legend of the benders as soon as you come in so study your assigned texts and prepare yourselves…"

"The Legend of the Benders?" Exclaimed Sai..

"Don't tell me they've never heard of the Legend of the Benders in the Earth Kingdoms…" screamed Sai!

"Nah.. It's not that. It's just. I haven't heard anyone talk about that old story since my dad."

"You're dad sure does like his light unionist readings before breakfast, huh?" He laughed at what apparently was a joke.

"Actually… my dad died."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. But uhm. How about I let you use my textbook tonight so you can study... or I could just come over and we could help go over it together."

"Cool beans."

"So... What are these SATs?"

TheAlphonse: Hi! So this is my first story on this site! I'm really excited about it! Please Let you know what you guys thinK!