If you're one of the original readers and you're going back to re-read what I've fixed, thanks. If you're a new reader, then welcome! This story was originally written in first person but towards the end of it I changed it to third person which was what prompted me to go back and re-write the story, especially since some of the earlier chapters were a bit bland and didn't add much to Abi's story. Here's how the re-written chapters will work, I'll keep my original authors notes at the beginning and leave a note there as well. At the end of each chapter I'll explain what was changed and why so that everybody can be on the same page.

28-08-2017: I've had the idea of doing a story like this for a while now and I finally put my thoughts onto paper. It follows the journey of Abby, a 16-year-old firebender who gets sent to capture the Avatar but she had no idea what the future would have install for her.

8-01-2019: For those of you who have read this story since the beginning, you'll notice that this chapter isn't how it originally was. That is because like the rest of the story, it's been rapidly re-written. It was towards the end of the story when I realised that I wanted to go back and re-write this story because the earlier chapters were just so… bleh compared to my later works. In my sixteen-year-olds self-defence, this was the first story that I had ever posted onto fanfiction and it's safe to say that my writing has improved a lot more since then.

Almost every chapter is going to be re-written, and I will be trying my best to not take forever with this for reasons of my own. The biggest change with this story will be that I changed the spelling of my OC's name from Abby to Abi. At the time, I thought it would be great to name a character after myself since I had saw someone else do it. But my name doesn't exactly have the Avatar flare like Azula, Katara or Sokka does. So I changed it to Abi, which isn't that big of a change but it's big enough. Anyways, I hope that you guys enjoy reading the re-written version of Blinding Horizon.

Honour of the Glory

They say that perception is not always reality. Abi would beg to differ. She was one of those people who firmly believed that perception is reality, regardless of what anyone else thinks. After all, the Fire Nation had the most clear perception of the rest of the world. Who was she to argue otherwise?

People undoubtedly had their own perception of Abi, she knew that. She knew what people thought of her. She knew that people thought she was the spawn of Vaatu and was cruel just like her master. Those perceptions were right since Abi knew that she was incredibly cruel for a fifteen-year-old girl. She had no sympathy or remorse for anyone and certainly didn't value those characteristics in anyone else. Only wimps felt pity for other pathetic individuals, which Abi certainly was not.

She prided herself on being strong, on being invincible. After all, that's what everyone thought she was and that perception of her was certainly correct as well. However, there were those few people that believed that she had been brought up lucky, being the prodigy of one of the Fire Nation's most esteemed Colonel's. She previously had no strong ties to any Fire Nation elite, and had been raised by Colonel Daisuke for almost all of her life. He had made her into who she was, and many people thought that she was lucky because of it.

Damnit, she was contradicting herself again. Daisuke hated it when she did that. She was better than that.

Everyone certainly knew that she was better than anyone else, since she had been proven herself to be better than some of the most powerful firebenders her age. Ever since she was twelve, Abi had been competing in firebending tournaments against renowned masters, all of which she had beaten. She was undefeated, earning her title as the Dragoness for mastering firebending at the ripe age of fifteen, making her one of the youngest firebending prodigies in recent years. Nobody could say that she hadn't earned her title.

Nowadays, Abi found herself reciting every single firebending move that she knew. There was hardly anything left for her to learn with firebending, so the best she could do is refine her skills so that they were perfect. There was only one more firebending move that Abi was yet to master – lightning generation. Daisuke had told her that she wasn't ready to try it yet and that was one of the rare things that Abi disagreed with him on.

If she had proven herself in every other area, then why wasn't she ready to master the most advanced move of firebending there was? But Abi wasn't stupid. She knew better than to argue with Daisuke.

Having been taught by Daisuke all of her life, Abi had been trained in every other area of defence. So she was pretty in tune with her other senses, which was why she instantly felt herself being joined by someone else. Turning around, Abi saw one of her many teachers, Master Kenji.

"Master," Abi acknowledged him, doing the proper Fire Nation greeting with her fisted hand below her upright, open palm.

Kenji chuckled, "There is no need for any formalities like that with me anymore, Abi. You do not need to call me master when you yourself are one."

"Old habits die hard," Abi stated.

"Is that so?" Kenji raised his eyes. "Then you would still have your habit of reciting the Fire Nation oath off by heart."

Abi immediately straightened herself up and reformed her Fire Nation salute as she recited the Fire Nation oath, "My life I give to my country, with my hands I fight for Fire Lord Ozai and our forefathers before him. With my mind I seek ways to better my country, and with my feet may our March of Civilisation continue."

"You never miss a beat, do you, Abi?" Kenji remarked.

"It would be a great disservice to my country to do so. I owe that respect to my forefathers, since I would not be able to achieve what I have done without them," Abi proclaimed.

"You truly are a proud Fire Nation citizen, aren't you?" Kenji noted.

"Of course I am," Abi boasted. "Why wouldn't I be? What's there to not be proud of?"

"Nothing of course," Kenji said. "I have come here to pass a message onto you. Colonel Daisuke wishes to see you in his office immediately."

Abi's eyes widened, "I will get there as soon as I can."

"You better, you know how uptight he can get when you're late," Kenji called out to the young firebender as she dashed out of the room.

Having been trained by Daisuke for the last decade of her life, Abi certainly knew how angry he can get when people do not show up on time. One of the first disciplines that he had instilled in her was the importance of punctuality and that if you are late, then you might as well not show up at all. Of course, there was Daisuke's golden rule in punctuality.

Early is on time, on time is late and late is just unacceptable.

Though Abi couldn't help but wonder what her esteemed master would want to talk to her about. Since Kenji had told her that he wished to see her immediately, it had to be something important. Daisuke never spontaneously called her to his office unless it was important.

Nevertheless, Abi headed towards his office at top speed, refusing to let anything get in her way just like she always did. Nothing ever got in her way – she made sure of it.

Upon arriving at his office, Abi readied herself for her entrance to make sure that she was perfectly immaculate. If she was going to see Daisuke for an important matter, she had to be presentable. A messy appearance showed very little respect to him, and he certainly deserved respect. He also commanded respect too, and he had always told Abi to knock on his door before entering, which she did now.

"Enter."

Colonel Daisuke's gruff voice was enough to instil fear in anyone, a good trait in any leader. But Abi had long since gotten used to his voice to the point where it was music to her ears. With his acceptance, she opened the large door in front of her and entered her masters office.

Looking around the room, Abi found her master sitting at his desk with numerous files and documents on it. His office was stacked with shelves of books and torches that illuminated the room so that the focus was on him at his desk. Only the best for the owner of the Tatakai Stronghold.

It was customary in the Fire Nation to bow before your superiors, and Daisuke was certainly Abi's superior – he would always be her superior. Out of respect, she knelt down and braced herself for whatever he was about to unload on her. For her sake, she hoped she hadn't done anything wrong.

"You may rise," Daisuke addressed her and Abi did just that and looked him in the eyes, giving him the respect that he deserved. "You have come a long way since you first entered these doors over ten years ago, my pupil. I have moulded you into the perfect prodigy that I knew you were destined to be. From the moment I looked into your eyes, I knew that you were destined for greatness and that it was my destiny to help you achieve that greatness – which I have already achieved."

Light flashed across Abi's face, highlighting her unusual ember eyes mixed with purple. It certainly wasn't a common trend in the Fire Nation, but Daisuke had always insisted that it was because she had come from a unique bloodline that presented the most unusual eyes in the Fire Nation.

"If you thought that you had already achieved your greatness, then you are about to be proven wrong. I have a task for you, Abi. The ultimate challenge that will decide if you truly are worthy of your title as a firebending master and the Dragoness. The task of capturing the Avatar," Daisuke proclaimed.

"Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Master, but the Avatar hasn't been seen for a hundred years. The last recorded Avatar was the treacherous Avatar Roku," Abi stated.

"You are excused, Abi. And yes, you are correct in saying that the last recorded Avatar was Avatar Roku. Until now. The day we have been waiting for in so long has arrived – the Avatar has returned," Daisuke said.

Abi's eyes widened, "What? Why would that coward choose now to return when he's had the last hundred years to show his pathetic face?"

"I do not know much, but I do know that the power of the Avatar has been evoked which sent a signal across the world. The Fire Sages Temple on Crescent Island reported this phenomenon as proof that the Avatar has returned. Along with that, Commander Zhao reported that Prince Zuko had finally found the Avatar, only to fail in capturing him," Daisuke revealed.

Abi scoffed, "Of course that pathetic prince would fail, just like I knew he would. He is no Prince of mine."

"Indeed he isn't. That is why you must be the one to capture the Avatar. If there is anyone that deserves that accolade next to their name, it is you. After all, you are the most powerful firebender in the world at your age," Daisuke declared.

"You want me to capture the Avatar?" Abi repeated, hardly believing her ears.

Daisuke nodded, "I know you can do it, Abi. I have given you the knowledge and the tools to succeed in this mission. Consider this your last task to complete before you are ready to complete your training. I promise you that if you are to succeed in this mission then I will teach you lightning generation. Think of the glory that will forever be associated with your name if you achieve. You would be a legend, the one to end the Avatar and help the Fire Nation finally win this war."

"And if I fail?" Abi wondered.

"Failure is not an option," Daisuke's eyes hardened. "But that should not be a worry for you, as I believe that you are destined to succeed in this task that four Fire Nation generations have failed to achieve. Sozin's Comet is almost upon us and should the Avatar still be around before then, he could ruin our great March of Civilisation."

"I will not let that happen. It would be an honour to serve my country," Abi promised.

"I know you won't. But if it does, then consider yourself stripped of your title and the luxuries that come with it. Do not disappoint me," Daisuke threatened.

"I won't," Abi insisted.

"You have the day to prepare yourself. I want you gone from here by sunset tomorrow. You are dismissed," Daisuke

Bowing as she did so, Abi headed out of her masters office and only once she was a safe enough distance from his office did she release a breath that she had been holding in since the moment she walked in. Who could blame her for being unable to do such an action when she had just found herself put in the spotlight?

Unlike those other times in the spotlight, this wasn't something that Abi had asked for. She hadn't asked to be sent on this mission and she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go on it. But arguing was out of the question. Abi had been given a job and she was going to have to complete it whether she wanted to or not.

That night, Abi went to bed buzzing with anticipation, unable to push it aside. This anticipation was nothing compared to what she felt leading up to any firebending tournament. After all, this was leading up to what was going to be the biggest mission of her life.

28-08-2017: So there you have it! That's the first chapter for my new story. Tell me what you think and if you like the idea or if you have any ideas because I'd love the fee back. Next chapter will be up in a few days and it will be longer than this so stay tuned for that.

08-01-2019: That was the first of many edited chapters to come. Originally, this chapter was fairly short at below one thousand words since it just had Daisuke giving Abi the mission to capture the Avatar. I felt like it needed more added to it than what was there originally, so I added to it. The conversation with Kenji and her thoughts on perception were added and the mission being given to her by Daisuke was given more context. Kenji isn't just some random character that I added in now, he first appeared in the story in Chapter 34, so here he is now. Keep your eyes out for the next updated chapter.