Chapter One: The Journey of One Thousand Stones

"Omashu, the lovely city of the southern Earth Kingdom. Beautiful sights and wonderful attractions abound, it's the perfect place to stop and smell the roses… at least it would be if I wasn't running late!" A young teenage boy shouted as he tore through the city as fast as he could go. "Damn, why do I have to be late on today of all days!?" He panted.

The boy was about average height, with messy dark brown hair, wearing loose fitting earth-tone tunic and pants. He wasn't out of the ordinary, however he was certainly earning strange looks from people as he ran past, mostly from the hurry he seemed to be in. "Damn! Damn! Damn!" He cursed, looking at the sun to determine the time. "King Bumi's gonna by soooo pissed!"

"Ran!" The boy nearly fell over as he heard his name being called. "Ran my boy, get over here!" an old-looking man in a green tunic called out as he gestured for the boy to come over.

"Yeah, what's up old man?" Ran bounced from one foot to the other, still clearly in a hurry.

"Ran Dejie… why are you in such a hurry?" The old man cocked an eyebrow as he watched the boy.

"Well, ya see, I gotta get to King Bumi's place, I'm going into the services today and he asked to see me before I left but I'm kinda in a hurry, so if I could just…"

"The services! How great it is to see young people wanting to help their country fight the Fire Nation, maybe if we all work hard, this war can be over in your lifetime. The Avatar's returned so…"

"But…"

"Ah, to be young, spry and in a hurry." The old man reminisced mentally.

"I really gotta go!" Ran shouted, breaking the old man's concentration. "Sorry old man, talk to ya later!" He shouted as he rushed off again. "Damn, if I don't get there soon, I'm gonna be late to my departure too! AH! Why me!?"

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"King Bumi, a visitor for you." An Earth Kingdom guard saluted in a formal manner as he escorted Ran into the King's throne room. The boy was panting, his hands on his knees as he was introduced to the king. King Bumi was one of the world's greatest Earthbenders, and like a grandfather figure to Ran, seeing to it that he was taken care of after his parents had died when he was young.

He supposed it was good fortune that brought him to the King's attention the day he was orphaned, when of the few bits he'd ever had. Ran was notorious throughout Omashu, not only for being a leader of the loveable delinquents, the Rock Rock Band, but for being one of the most unlucky people most had ever met. Being late today was a prime example of the many small misfortunes which had befouled him, luckily he had Bumi to bail him out when things got too bad. "Hiya Bumi." Ran grinned to the king, who was wearing an overly ornate purple Earth Kingdom outfit.

"Hello Ran, I've asked you here before you head off on your duties for something very important." The old king snorted. "Do you…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…"

"Yeah, yeah?"

"Like my outfit?"

Ran nearly fell over. "THAT'S WHAT YOU ASKED ME HERE FOR!?" He snapped to the much older man.

"Well, not the only thing." He snorted again. "But I feel it's important for young people today to have a sense of fashion.

"It's lovely…" Ran's eye twitched. "Can I go now? I'm gonna be late!"

"Now, now, no need to rush." The King walked over to his throne seat, which had two objects placed on it. "Remember what I taught you about the neutral Jing."

"Yeah, yeah, watching and waiting, can we hurry this up?" Ran resumed his stance of bouncing from one foot to the next. In addition to being a parental figure, Bumi had also taken himself to be the boy's instructor in the ways of Earthbending.

"Of fine, here you are." He handed Ran the two objects. One was an ornately designed flute, the other was a large knife-like weapon with a broad blade, about three and a half feet long. "These belonged to your parents, the flute was your mothers' and the Dadao belonged to your father. I figured you should have their mementos before going out to fight in the war."

Bumi's normal jovial-looking eyes became suddenly serious. "The Dadao's sheathe is a special gift from me." He chuckled as he pointed to the brown sheathe on the large knife. It had an outlined square in a circle in a bigger square, the symbol for the Earth Kingdom. "As you travel through the four nations for the war, I want you to collect the symbols of these nations on your journey, as well as some talisman to prove you've been there. I feel it's important for young people to see the world while they still can."

He pointed to the Earth Kingdom symbol again. "I'll fill this in and give you your talisman when you return to me, as an Earthbending master." Bumi grinned and snorted.

Ran's eyes teared up as he accepted the gifts. "Thank you Bumi!" He hugged the old king tightly as he cried at the sentimentality of being given his new quest.

Bumi smiled and patted Ran on the back. "Don't worry about it, it's time to leave though, weren't you just complaining about being late?"

"Yeah! Thanks Bumi!" Ran grinned as he whipped the tears from his eyes and put the Dadao on his back and the flute in his back pocket as he began to exit the throne room.

"Don't be a stranger if you're ever around the kingdom! Maybe Flopsy and Mako can have a playdate!" The old king shouted.

Ran stopped in his tracks. "Oh yeah! I still have to say goodbye to Mako before I leave! Thanks Bumi!"

"No problem! You can't exactly take a Badgermole with you into a war!" Bumi chuckled in a mischievous way.

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"Damn, I'm so late!" Ran sighed as he ran through the city again, this time headed for the outer walls. "Screw this, I'm taking the shortcut!" He dashed down the alleyway. "Where are they? Where are they?" he muttered to himself as he looked around.

"Bingo!" He shouted as he saw an empty stone cart in front of a stone ladder-like chute. "Thank you Omashu delivery system!" He grinned, jumping in the cart and giving a firm stomp, causing a rock to push out under the cart and send it rocketing down the chute.

"WHOOOHOOO!"

Ran piloted the cart down the chute, heading in the direction he wanted to, towards the outer walls. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he saw a sharp drop, which propelled the cart a bit too far due to the speed he was going at. "SHIIIIIIIT!" He crashed down, missing the chute and landing on a vegetable stand, owned by an older gentleman.

"AGH! MY CABBAGES! That's the second cart today!" The shopkeeper growled as he glared at Ran.

"Sorry old-timer! Put it on King Bumi's tab!" Ran grinned broadly as he dashed through the city on foot once again.

As soon as he had picked up some speed however, he ran into another group of three. "Hey! Watch it!" A sarcastic-looking kid about Ran's age shouted as he nearly toppled them over.

"Sorry about that. Kinda in a hurry." Ran rubbed the back of his head as he eyed the group over. Besides the dark-haired sarcastic boy, there was a pretty looking dark-haired girl, both wearing blue clothing that made them look like they had come from the water nation. The third was a short-looking old man, his hair and beard both looked like they were made from straw and he held a long, staff-like cane to support his hunched back.

"Well watch where you're going, young whippersnapper." The old man spoke, his voice sounded odd, more like a kid who was pretending to be an old man, far be it from Ran to criticize though.

"Terribly sorry about that, please forgive me sir, I must be going." Ran chuckled as he ran off.

"Well… that was odd." The female blinked as the three watched him speed away.

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Ran's voice and actions calmed down as he neared the cave outside the city where he kept his pet Badgermole, Mako. "Sorry buddy, I've got to leave now…" He held out some of the vegetation and fruits that Badgermoles liked to eat as he fastened his new Dadao tighter to his back getting ready to leave.

Mako the Badgermole refused the food as he nuzzled his master's arm with his pink mole nose. He had brown fur with one white and two black stripes running down his backs and a white, mask-like patch on his face, like most ordinary Badgermoles. What made him different was that he had a rather large saddle with many pouches and some reigns for riding. Ran was skilled with using his friend for long distance travel in the vast Omashu plains. "Look, I'm sorry buddy, but I don't want to get you involved in a war. You stay here and take care of yourself, I promise I'll come back someday, hopefully this war will be over by then." He stared out the cave at the afternoon skyline thoughtfully before exiting, finally on his way to his squad.

"If you follow me, I'll be really mad!" He added as he ran out to the recognizance point for his military squad.

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"Let's see…. My commanding officer is Commander Chyuu…" Ran looked at a piece of paper with a few characters on it. "And the meeting point is miles outside the city walls, odd Commanders don't usually call new soldiers out of the city right off the bat." He sighed as he neared the meeting point for his team.

His eyes turned wide and he froze as he saw someone in the distance, and they didn't look friendly. He immediately hid behind a rocky cliff. The figure walked past the cliff and Ran had to cover his own mouth from shouting in surprise, it was a Fire Nation solider!

"Hmmm, looks like we've got all the recruits here, except for one. This… Ran Dejie kid." The solider muttered from behind his white mask as he looked at a list that assumeably had the names of the new recruits on it. Ran swore under his breath as the first man was soon joined by another Fire Nation solider.

Ran uncovered his mouth, still not making a sound.

"Hmm… lazy punk musta overslept." The second solider looked at the list and the name on it. Ran concentrated and punched into the ground with his Earthbending powers, causing a rock a few feet away to jump up about a foot and crash down a second later. "What was that!?" The solider picked up his staff-like weapon as they both headed over to the rock, their backs now facing the cliff, and Dejie.

"Perfect…" Ran whispered as he stood up, unsheathing his new Dadao. He gave a firm stomp, sending a large rock about chest level to him as he swung his giant knife, sending the rock hurtling towards the second solider. "That's for calling me lazy!" He shouted as the rock collided with the man's back, sending him crashing unconscious and bloody into the very boulder he was looking at.

"Why you…!" The first solider spun around, holding his weapon tightly after looking at his unconscious comrade.

"Bring it!" Ran swung his Dadao, meeting the blade of the Fire Nation soldier's spear head-on. As their weapons collided, the two growled both trying to push the other back. Ran gave another firm stomp, dislodging another rock right where the solider was standing, causing his stance to break and him to stumble forward. "Gotcha!" Ran shouted as he swung the giant knife into the man's chest, leaving a long and bloody, but not fatal gash.

The boy panted as he looked over the two fallen warriors. "Good thing I was late..." he gasped, "Or else I might've been captured with the rest of them. I've gotta find Commander Chyuu!" He ran off towards the meeting point again after realizing his good fortune.

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Ran panted as he finally found the meeting point, a small and grassy clearing, shocked at what he saw there. The whole place was covered with at least fourteen Fire Nation soliders, along with a cart full of captured Earth Nation recruits. "Oh shit…" the boy muttered.

"You should've stayed home boy." A voice muttered behind him. Ran jumped and turned to see a large, muscular man in Earth Kingdom clothes specifically made for the military. The man tilted his domed hat towards Ran. "Now that you've seen this, I can't let you live."

Ran backed up, moving towards the cart. "C-Commander Chyuu…?" The boy gasped as he put two and two together. "Why are you working with the Fire Nation?!"

"Picking the winning team kid." Chyuu smirked. "If I hand over these kids and a few other useful tidbits and treasures about the Earth Kingdom, I'll be sitting pretty when the war's over."

"Bastard." Ran pulled his Dadao out of its sheathe, pointing it at the Earth Nation Commander.

"Careful with toys like that boy, you're liable to get yourself killed." Chyuu unsheathed his own broadsword, using it to slap away the Dadao. "Take the cart away to the southern cape to be picked up boys, I'll handle him alone." He ordered as the Fire Nation soliders left, eager to get out of the area so that their presence wouldn't be discovered so close to Omashu.

Ran swung his Dadao hard at the remaining commander, becoming frustrated as it was easily dodged. He kept swinging in a fury, each time being met with a bemused laugh as the attack was either dodged or blocked. "You've got potential boy, but no skill, you have yet to see the horrors of the real world."

"I don't care what you've seen or who you're aligned with! I'll kill you for capturing my Earth Kingdom brothers!"

Pathetic!" Chyuu swung his broadsword hard, knocking the Dadao out of Ran's hands. "You shouldn't make such strong claims Ran, you'll sound weak."

"Grrr… Earth Bullet!" Ran gave a firm stomp, punching a rock towards Chyuu as it popped up.

The commander crossed his arms, using a great Earthbending defense to have the rock crash and crumble harmlessly after it hit him. "You name your attacks, how quaint. You have your silly little names, I however have power!" Chyuu punched the ground, dislodging a much larger rock, spinning around and kicking it towards the young boy.

"Earth Shield!" Ran plunged both fists to the ground, raising a slab of rock to shield himself. From the attack, Chyuu's boulder collapsing into dusty as it met with the shield.

"Hmm… not bad I suppose." The commander mused as he watched the boy.

"If you think that's good, watch this! My special move, Earth Surfer!" He kicked at the base of the slab, causing it to fall over into a horizontal position on the ground. Ran hopped up onto the slab and kicked the ground behind him, causing him to rocket forward, using the slab as almost a surfboard as he used his Earthbending to keep the slab moving forward at a fast pace.

"Hmmm.. interesting, but foolish." Chyuu swung his broad sword ad Ran passed, leaving a bloody gash across the boy's chest.

Ran fell to the ground with a bloody whimper, writhing in pain at his new wound. "D-Damn you…" he gasped as he glared up at Chyuu, who was now standing over him.

"Time to bury the wounded." Chyuu sighed as he spread his arms out, palms down and clenched them softly. Ran suddenly felt himself sinking and eventually falling as a small chasm opened up underneath him.

"Shit!" Ran gasped as the rocks fell into the open fissure and everything turned black.

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Ran whimpered to himself as he woke to a cool tongue running across his face. He looked up to see the familiar Badgermole face of Mako. He winced as he looked around, sitting up slightly, still covered in dirt from being buried alive. He saw what had happened clearly from his surroundings. The chasm where Chyuu had left him for dead was reopened by Mako's Earthbending powers and he had been dragged to where he was by his pet Badgermole.

"Never thought I'd be so happy to have you disobey me, buddy." Ran smiled softly and petted the snout of his pet. "That keen nose of yours sure comes in handy for tracking me down." He chuckled.

Ran's face suddenly became more serious as he looked down to his chest wound, which had been covered by dirt in the fissure. He quickly went to the saddle on Mako's back and got out his first aid kit, dressing his wound in haste. "Come on Mako, we're going to the Southern Earth cape." He climbed onto the Badgermole's back and into the saddle, grabbing his reigns tightly.

"Hyah! Hyah boy!" He pulled at the reigns, urging the Badgermole to run across the landscape quickly, using its claws and Earthbending prowess to move quickly out of the forest-like clearing and back to the rocky plains.

Watch out Traitor Chyuu! I'm coming for you and not leaving until I get my true Earth Kingdom brothers back!

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Well there it is, the first chapter for the long awaited Avatar fic! I decided to put this up before the premerie of Book 3: Fire! If you have any Avatar OC's please don't hesitate to send them in, I desperately need some characters to make the story more interesting. Hope it's good, sorry if not. Please Review!

PS: I'll have info on Ran and other characters up on my profile soon!