Chapter 1: The Avatar

Autumn, 326 AG

Normally, Avatars are revealed around the age of 16. Kai was not. He found out a few years later than he should have and, as he would later find out, for good reason.

Kai, a six-foot young man with dark brown hair and a lanky figure, was raised as a firebender in Fire Fountain City. If you've never heard of it, it's an industrial city located on an island off the coast of the Fire Nation. During the 100 year war, it was used to support the war effort led by Fire Lord Ozai. Even more than 200 years later, there is still a statue of him in the center of the city.

He grew up as the son of a banker, which is a noble profession in that area of the world, since it now more known as a commercial hub these days. His mother, a baker by training, had spent most of Kai's childhood raising his two younger siblings, Ailo and Jaun. Nowadays, she works part time in a bakery, and part time as a stay-at-home mother, now that Ailo is old enough to help her out in the household.

As for Kai, he was a second-year university student at Republic University, in the capital city of the United Republic of Nations (UR). There He is studying politics, and hope to one day be involved at the national, or maybe even international, level, working to ensure that the different nations continue to seek and support peaceful solutions to problems, and policies to prevent widescale conflict moving forward.

Within the following year, the UR would enter the process of choosing their next president. President Raiko III chose to step down, and thus an election will be held to choose his successor. In 326 AG, there weren't many candidates stepping up, but there were rumors of a few potential candidates stepping into the ring. One, who represented the non-bending party, is a close friend of Raiko III, and promised continue many of his policies. His name was Jen-Hu Mung, the former mayor of Republic City, and he was considered a pragmatist when it came to the politics of the UR. While he had particular beliefs and values, he also recognized that to get anything done, he would need to sit down with the other side and find a middle ground.

There was also Roe Pina, the ambassador to the northern water tribe under Raiko III and, naturally, a waterbender. We have never had a president who was a waterbender. In fact, only one president was a bender, and she was a firebender, as well as a descendent of Fire Lord Izumi, the daughter of Fire Lord Zuko, who once fought with Avatar Aang to end the 100 year war. Ambassador Pina had fantastic ideas that appealed to many people my age, particularly those who don't always follow UR politics. However, skeptics say that she would have difficulty getting much of her policies through a primarily non-bending government.

There was also a third major potential candidate, and that is Dade Wang, a businessman from Republic City. He was an interesting character. For starters, Dade knew little about politics, comparatively speaking. In fact, some would consider him a joke, but he was serious about running for national office.

Anyways, back to Kai's story.

It's a crisp fall day at Republic University. Kai just moved back into the school dormitories, which is customary for most students his age, after spending a summer back at home. It was just like any ordinary day, and it really started when he was walking to grab lunch with his roommate, and close friend, Wan.

Wan is a third-year student from Republic City. He was a tall, dust-brown haired man with skinny shoulders, similar to Kai's. However, it belied the overall look. Wan was well built, the result of spending his summers on the outskirts of Republic City working on his uncle's farm. He didn't show it much, if at all, but he was also an earthbender by birth. His parents came from a small village on the northern coast of the Old Earth Kingdom. His ancestors helped fight with Avatar Aang against Fire Lord Ozai. However, they never met The Avatar in person.

Despite how little he shows off his bending abilities, he is unusually proud to be an earthbender. When he was born, the current avatar was an earthbender, by the name of Alder (not a common name for someone born in the Earth Kingdom). What Wan is even more proud of, besides his shared abilities with Avatar Alder, is the fact that Alder came from the same village that Wan's ancestors also came from. When Kai found this out, he seemed interested, but didn't pay much attention. The Avatar never seemed particularly interesting to him.

They had just gotten to one of their favorite restaurants, called The Yellow Monkey, around midday. This lunch was really for them to catch up, since they hadn't seen one another in a few months.

"So...Kai, how was your summer back in the Fire Nation?" Wan asked curiously as they sat down.

"It was nice to be back home after being away for so long, but I really missed Republic City." Kai said as he looked down at the menu.

"What'll it be, boys?" a familiar voice asked Wan and Kai. The latter looked up from the menu to see one of his close friends from last year, Liang, smiling down at him. Liang was a shorter girl, with thick glasses and curly black hair. She wore an obnoxiously bright yellow shirt and a black skirt—the odd-looking uniform required at The Yellow Monkey.

"Liang! Hey, how's it going?" Kai said excitedly. Since he had been so busy moving in again, he haven't had the chance to catch up with any of his friends from school yet. Wan is the first, as a matter of fact.

"It's going, nothing new here. Just been working, makin' that sweet cash," Liang replied. She was one of those friends that tries to "stay hip" but fails miserably. Kai find it hilarious, although he know for a fact that he was not much better than she was.

"Well that's great. Say, wanna stop by my dorm later tonight? You can come meet my new roommates, and we can catch up some more!" Kai suggested.

"I'd be down for that dude. I'm also living in the dorms this year, so I'll text you when I'm on my way. Sound good?" Kai nodded. "Great! Now, what're you both having?"

They gave her their orders and she walked back behind the counter. Wan then looked at Kai, grinning as he always does, and began speaking again.

"Well, I'm glad you've had a great summer. How has your firebending been going?"

Kai shook his head. "I haven't actually practiced much, at least not as much as I should have. But I am learning new techniques. I'll have to show you later."

For Kai, firebending has always defined him, at least until he got to university. Growing up, he participated in bending athletics. It's essential pro-bending, but for youth benders. He was never particularly good at it, and since he was a firebender playing in Fire Nation leagues, he was always outclassed by other kids his age. However, his father used to play in amateur bending leagues, and taught him everything he knew. Kai played in bending sports until he was about 12 and since then he hasn't gotten significantly better at it. It's largely due to his lack of confidence that defines a great firebender, nor the aggressiveness. Since he moved to Republic City, Kai hasn't practiced firebending as much. It's something that he has wanted to work on for quite some time, but just never got around to it. He was either too busy with school or just too lazy to actually get off of his ass and practice. But this year, Kai hoped, will be different. He was determined to become a better firebender.

Unsure of what to say next, Kai looked down at the mat sitting in front of him. It was printed with the symbols of all four elements: air, water, earth, and fire, each one in the corner of the mat. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to actually master all four elements.

And then, out of nowhere, it hit him.

"Hey, Wan." He looked up from across the table. "I just realized something…about the Avatar."

"Yeah, and that would be…?"

"It's been almost 20 years since the last Avatar died. You would think that he or she would have been announced by now," Kai thought about it further. On the surface, it makes absolutely no sense.

"I bet there has to be some reason for that, right? Avatar Aang wasn't revealed as the avatar for quite a while."

"That was because he was frozen in ice for 100 years."

"True, true. But even before that, no one but the monks knew, if I recall correctly," Wan was right. The world knew that the next Avatar would be an air nomad, and so the Fire Nation went and destroyed all of the temples. Kai recalled this information to Wan, who thought about it for a moment. "Hmm…well, isn't this current Avatar supposed to be a firebender?" Kai nodded. "I doubt there is any sort of crisis that would prevent us from learning the identity of the new Avatar, so I don't seem to understand this."

Kai nodded in agreement. He don't know many firebenders outside of Fire Fountain, so he couldn't seem to think of anyone who could legitimately become the Avatar.

"The Avatar would be either 19 or 20 right now, I think," Wan said, swirling the jelly balls in his bubble tea, clearly deep in thought about this.

"That would narrow it down a bit," Kai said before sipping his bubble tea. Liang showed up and gave them their food. She noticed how pensive they both suddenly were.

"Are you two alright?" She asked. The two students both looked up at her.

"Let's talk tonight," Wan said. "We would like your thoughts on something." Liang nodded and, with a grin, walked back to the cash register to take some to-go orders.

Before he took his first bite of food, he looked directly at Kai. "Okay, this might sound a little weird, but I just thought of something." He looked up at me, a mix of concern and surprise on his face.

"And that would be…?"

"You could be the avatar," Kai spit out his bubble tea, nearly choking on one of the jelly balls that was already midway down his throat.

"What?! No!" He exclaimed, almost angry. "There's no way I'm the Avatar!"

"Well, think about it. We know the Avatar was born in the Fire Nation almost 20 years ago. You fit both of those requirements."

"But wouldn't they have told me already?" Kai said, leaning over my food, staring Wan down. "Furthermore," he said, leaning back into his chair, "I would be a far better firebender. I'm not that great at it. I would also be learning the other elements, or at least have had some sort of interaction with them."

"I don't know. It's just a thought. There are only so many 19-20 year old firebenders out there," Wan said, clearly dismissing his own idea. Kai started on his lunch as his friend finished speaking.

For the rest of the meal, neither of them spoke. There's no way I'm the Avatar, Kai thought to himself. He didn't remember any instance in which he accidentally bent another element. He could only firebend, and not very well at that.

There's also the veracity of Wan's statements to consider, particularly the history of them being very incorrect. Once, during their previous school year together, Wan firmly believed that Liang had a crush on Kai. The young firebender, completely oblivious to social cues, and slightly gullible, believed his friend Wan. So, Kai confronted Liang about it, and was promptly denied. Liang had no interest in Kai beyond a friendship.

Another moment of wrongness: Wan also, very firmly, alleged that President Raiko would stay on for another term as president. He had no evidence to back this up, other than pure speculation. As it turned out, a few days later Raiko announced he was retiring.

Even though Kai was skeptical about Wan's belief that he was, in fact, the Avatar, he resolved to call his parents when he got back to his dorm room and ask them. If anyone, they would know the answer best.

On the way back to Sato Hall at the University, Wan and Kai continued talking about the Avatar. He kept insisting that Kai was, who kept denying it. Eventually, Kai abruptly ended the conversation, although he was almost certain that Wan wasn't convinced. He needed firm evidence to prove him otherwise.

Anyways, Kai get back to my dorm room. He lived in a suite-style dorm, with rooms surrounding a common area with a window outside. As he walked through, Kai noticed some of his roommates playing a pro-bending based video game. Wan, who followed behind me, went and joined them for a few rounds.

Instead, Kai laid down on his bed and pulled his phone out his pocket. Looking at it, Kai thought about calling his parents. However, knowing that there were a few people out in the common room that might overhear his conversation, he decided against it for the time being. He placed his phone on the nightstand next to his bed, and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

Next thing he know, he was on the ground, and his head was aching. There was a loud knocking on my door.

"Kai? Kai are you alright?" Wan's voice sounded urgent, and slightly worried. Once Kai managed to stand up, he slowly walked over to the door, massaging his head.

He opened the door. "Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I passed out and then fell out of my bed or something and hit my head on the nightstand," he said, wincing.

"Do you need anything?" Wan asked, clearly concerned at what he saw. Kai shook my head slowly, instead walking out into the common room and sitting down on the couch next to some of his roommates. They both looked at me, pausing their game and asking him what happened. Kai repeated what he told Wan, and lay his head back against the wall behind the navy blue and forest green striped couch.

How did he end up on the ground? That hasn't happened since he was a kid, when it was normal to fall out of a bed. He didn't remember having a dream. Maybe it was just anxiety that pushed me out of the bed on accident, Kai thought to himself.

Kai finally decided to find out the truth. He stood up from the couch and went to grab his phone. Instead of talking in his room, he decided to go out onto the balcony and speak with his parents there.

He called his father, Ren-di, and for a couple of minutes they just caught up. He asked about how Kai's move-in was, whether or not he liked his new roommates, how Wan was doing, and a variety of other questions. In turn, Kai asked how his siblings were doing. When they got that out of the way, Kai asked him to get his mother, Ying, on the phone as well.

"What's bothering you, Kai? You sound a little concerned," Ying asked, sounding a little worried. Ren echoed her statements.

"Well, I have a question to ask you. And I want you to be as honest as possible," Kai stated bluntly. Here it goes.

"What is it, son?"

"Am I the avatar?"

For a moment, both of his parents were dead silent. Maybe they didn't quite know how to respond. "Why do you ask?" Ren finally said, after a few moments.

"Wan and I were talking about it during lunch today. I know that the last avatar died almost 20 years ago, and he was an earthbender, meaning that the next reincarnation would be born in the Fire Nation. Mom, Dad, I am 19 and I was born in the Fire Nation."

"Well, Kai, that doesn't mean you're the avatar," Ying said, trying to reassure me. She must have sense the worry in her son's voice, knowing that Kai was clearly not ready for this kind of responsibility.

"Can you please answer my question? Yes...or No?" Kai repeated himself, this time more serious.

Another silence followed.

"Well…" Ren began. "We were worried about telling you."

That's it. Kai got his answer.


Hello! I am back, and obviously with a new story!

I started writing this story shortly before I wrote Through the Years, but I never got past the second chapter (which will come out soon). I hope you enjoy it. I'm a huge fan of ATLA and Legend of Korra and wanted to add my own ideas to the universe, in the same way I did in Through the Years.

Chapters may or may not be uploaded on a daily basis. That's my plan, but I really have no idea. I'm just now getting back into writing again.