Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar:The Last Airbender, and I never will. I'm not writing this again.

The history of the Great Revolution and the Great Reformation

by Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.

Long ago, the four nations lived together in balance. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation opened its first trading post. It was an unassuming little shop, located in the middle ring of Ba Sing Se, and only sold the most basic items. Mostly, it imported cheap Fire Nation steel, fashioned into everyday objects like fishing hooks, fire starters, or chain links. However, what little it sold was both better made and much cheaper than the local competition, despite having to raise their prices to cover shipping costs. As word of the store and its quality merchandise spread, it started raking in the money, and quickly grew in size and scope, bringing Fire Nation art, furniture, and many other things to the Walled City's inhabitants. In fact, it was so successful that its owners decided to expand even more, starting similar trading posts in the other great cities, including Omashu and the Northern and Southern water tribes. Soon the franchise could be found in even the smaller villages, plying the best wares available.

And that was just the beginning. In an attempt to increase profits, the great shipping merchants hiredwaterbenders to propel their ships, making them far faster and allowing for the complete removal of the engine and sails, which meant more cargo space. This sparked other ideas, ideas about how bending could be used for more than combat. Soon, a new variety of earthbending school opened, one that taught architecture and engineering instead of martial arts.

The first few graduates made the biggest impact, causing high quality roads, large scale irrigation, and sturdy stone houses to pop up all over the world almost overnight. In a few short hours, a trained earthbender could make a larger, nicer stone house than a month's worth of building with wood. Within the year, everyone who wasn't really scraping the bottom or lived on an ice floe had commissioned one of these houses.

The airbenders weren't left out of the party, either. In exchange for food and a place to sleep, they could carry messages, cargo, and even passengers as fast as the winds traveled, covering in days what used to take weeks. This led to a massive increase in communication once the Air Nomad Post Office was founded.

And you can't forget the waterhealers. After enough people traveled to the poles in search of cures for ailments that mere herbs couldn't handle, a few ambitious healers set up shop in the lands of Earth and Fire. With the healing arts now available to everyone, people started living longer, decades longer.

This all resulted in a massive increase in the standard of living, as goods and people traveled the world, and almost everyone had more food, a stronger home, and better health. And for 13 years, everything was perfect.

Then politics happened. One of the lesser sons of the Fire Lord had seen all the wealth brought in by the trading posts, and wanted it for himself. He moved slowly, worming those loyal to him into position all over the world, disguised as inconspicuous sailors, managers, and factory workers. They struck on the day the Great Sun Comet returned. In a simultaneous sneak attack that touched both the poles, Ba Sing Se, The Fire Nation Capital, and everything in between, they conquered the entire world in the space of 12 hours. The Air Nomads were hit the hardest, as their love of freedom meant that they would never submit to Fire Nation rule, and were driven into hiding or extinction (no one knows for certain).

Only the Avatar, Master of all fourelements, could have stood a chance against such a well-planned attack, but he had vanished over 13 years previously,just before the first outpost opened under mysterious circumstances, and his reincarnation had not yet been found. Without the Avatar to stop him, Prince Basan became the new Fire Lord Basan, and nothing has been the same since. 100 years have passed since then, and the Avatar still hasn't returned. He'sgot to be out there somewhere, though, because if the Fire Nation had caught him, they would gloat about it until the great Koi fish swallowed the sun. So we wait, hoping that he'll return and end our subjugation before the Fire Nation becomes too corrupt. (Father, once you grade this, make sure you burn it. The last thing we want is for a regulator to find it.)

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Journal entry #1. March 14th, year 113 after The Great Revolution.

I might as well start with the basics. Hello, journal. My name is Katara, and I'm a waterbender at the South pole. I live in an igloo I made with my big brother Sokka, and our father, whenever he's home. Luckily for me, our village that far enough away any semblance of civilizationthat the Fire Nationdoesn't really pay any attention to us, so we were able to get out of the mandatory schooling *cough*brainwashing*cough*. My brother and I were taught at home, an ever increasing rarity these days. We're mostly left to our own devices, between Mother working as a healer on Ember Island and Father traveling deep into the tundra for week long hunting trips (penguin jerky and fur coats are trending this year). I would usually practice my water bending while my brother trained in combat or conductedhis own mock fishing/hunting trips, but somehow he managed to rope me into coming along with him yesterday, a trip that changed both our lives.

Thanks to a family squabble started by Sokka (my brother) and ended by me (of course), I found him. After... after all this time, I (personally!) found the Avatar. Unfortunately, neither of us were expecting him to be an extremely perky Airbender named Aang who wasn't even fully grown yet. He also wasn't even close to completing his training. At least he had already mastered airbending, otherwise finding a teacher for him would have been practically impossible.

Unfortunately, he is also the least responsible person I have ever had the displeasure of meeting. Getting him to focus long enough to learn anything will probably stretch my considerable patience to its limits (I swear, the kid is more flighty than a flutterwasp).

He was there that night 100 years ago, he watched the Great Reformation (heh, more like the Great Undoing, but saying that is a good way to see the inside of a cell) firsthand, and now that he's free and knows his powers, he's eager and willing to take down the usurpers that have caused so much suffering for him and his people.

Anyway, here's our goal: travel all over the world, sneaking past the entire Fire Nation in the process, help Aang to master the other elements, find the real heirs to the Fire Nation throne, figure out what made all this happen in the first place, then raise an army and take our freedom back from those who wish to exploit us, hopefully reviving the Air nomads in the process. Yep, we're screwed.

Hey, I helped free him too! I made you mad enough to reflex bend that iceberg apart didn't I? Also, language Sis!

That doesn't count Sokka. And screwed is not a swear word.

Says you.

Sigh.

AN: This story was partially inspired by"Embers" by Vathara, and "What SHOULD have happened in ATLA" by daveshan. go give those a read.

Also, don't forget to review!