A/N: This is my first fanfiction, so I'd appreciate any comments or constructive criticism.
(Rated just in case)
Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, just some characters that I'll be making up
Summary
When the Avatar mysteriously vanishes, who'd suspect that his successor would be his own daughter? Follow her story as she sets out to find the cause of her father's death and harness her power, and is swept into an adventure of friendship and betrayal.
Though the hundred-year war is over, another one rages behind the sight of the majority of the four nations and could prove to be even more deadly than its precursor. An ominous and ancient power is stirring, and at the same time a prophcecy about a destined family is slowly unraveling.
Overhead in the starry night sky, the stars glittered coldly. A soft breeze swirled through the trees, sending the glimmering-wet leaves rustling. It was cold, and the air hinted at rain. All was quiet except for the lonely howl of a wolf-bear. The night seemed to be full of mystery, holding its breath as it waited for something to happen.
A brisk swishing sound cut through the air, and a shadow raced along overhead. The cause was a light blue glider on which a man hung from. He was garbed in simple orange and yellow clothes with brown boots, and his strange arrow markings glowed in the moonlight. His stormy gray eyes squinted as he searched ahead.
Unable to see very far in the unending darkness, the man suddenly sucked in a deep breath of air. Concentrating carefully, he exhaled a tongue of flame that illuminated his path. Small shapes rose up out of the gloom, ruins of buildings.
The monk frowned. Something was very wrong here. He angled his glider downwards, swooping low over the treetops. As he got close to the ground he pulled up a bit, landing lightly. Twirling his glider around, it transformed into a staff. He struck it against the ground and watched as a puff of dust rose up around it.
Squinting ahead once more, he saw that a larger cluster of buildings stood a few more yards away. The tall monk leapt high, blasts of air propelling him forward. He landed in a crouch before broken-down gates, one knee and hand against the ground while his other grasped the staff.
The lean-muscled man was puzzled. He had received a distress call from this area just a few days before. The exact details had been excluded from the report, but it had sounded urgent. Apparently, people were going missing without a trace. The monk figured it was like a situation he had faced before with an angered spirit, but this town seemed deserted.
He rose up and walked forward, thinking longingly of his wife. She was due with their second child soon, and he hoped to get back before she gave birth. All thoughts were driven from his mind, however, as he passed through the wooden gates. The air temperature suddenly seemed to drop 20 degrees, and his breath was visible as he exhaled. Tendrils of mist crawled along the ground.
Disturbed, he conjured up another flame within the palm of his hand, holding the makeshift torch high. He walked forward once more, his staff at the ready.
Suddenly, a strange disturbance seemed to ripple through the very atmosphere. The mist thickened and snaked its way around the figure of the man. He backed away in alarm, swinging around. Realizing that the mist now obscured everything from view, he spun in a circle with his hands outstretched to his sides. A bubble of air whipped around, blowing the mist away.
His heart pounding, the monk threw his staff into the air. It flipped open into a glider and he prepared to leap up onto it. Time seemed to slow down in the next two seconds. A strange snarling erupted from behind the man. He turned, his eyes opening wide. A silvery light reflected in them for a moment. Then, just like that, he was gone. Gone from the town. Gone from the world. Gone from existence.
The last of the mist drifted away and the air warmed up. The glider clattered to the ground on the spot where, moments before, the Avatar had stood.
~*~*~
Miles and miles away, Katara of the Water Tribe gave birth to a little baby girl. Holding the tiny bundle in her arms, she whispered, "Welcome to the world…Masuyo."