I am BACK! I didn't die, I have just been overrun with work. Now, I have a college diploma and I am still writing these dumb fan fictions. =P

But I am back. And it is good to be back.

Here is a story I have been wanting to finish for a very long time. I hope you like it. And I hope you take something from it.

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any characters, locations, ETC.

The Shaman

Prelude I - History

"Good morning class." Mrs. Cheng said coldly.

"Good morning honorable teacher!" Her students parroted.

"We did not finish our lecture yesterday. Probably because someone was asking too many questions…" Mrs. Cheng glared at boy wearing the headband in her class, the boy she thought was Kuzon. "…so now we will have to move extra quickly today. Take out the scrolls from yesterday and pick up where we left off: The Sun Warrior Culture."

The students shuffled out their scrolls. Mrs. Cheng started up again when she was sure everyone was ready.

"The Sun Warriors were a proud people, and the first to ever fire bend. They learned their skills from the Dragons, which are now extinct. The worshipped the sun as a god, as well as the moon. Unlike the barbaric Water Tribe savages, the primitive Sun Warriors were quite educated."

Kuzon filched. He did not like when people talked badly about other cultures.

"The Sun Warriors had a school system, as well as master and apprentice relationships. They had mathematics and could craft metals. They would decorate themselves with gold and head ornaments to show their social status and what caste they were in."

Kuzon raised his hand. Mrs. Cheng sighed.

"Yes Kuzon. What is it now?" Kuzon had only been in her class for two days, yet he was more inquisitive than any of her other students. Mrs. Cheng thought that Earth Kingdom colony people were strange, but hard workers.

"Um…you said a caste system?" Aang asked. His disguise as Kuzon fooled everyone, even the adults in the school. "What kind of caste system?"

"Well…it is a bit complicated." Mrs. Cheng paused, looking for the right words. "Sun Warriors stayed in school till they were thirteen. At the age of fourteen, they were put into 'Trials' to determine their future."

"What Trials?" Kuzon (Aang) asked.

"I'm getting to that Kuzon. Please be quite. The Trials were…how should I put this…the Trials were series of tests that would divide the children into groups. There were six caste levels, each of a different importance and each meaning something different. I've seen you children play a game called….Fortune Seeker, I think?"

On Ji raised her hand. "Future Seeker, ma'am."

"Yes. That one. That game is based off a very serious ritual that the Sun Warrior culture revolved around."

The girls giggled. Future Seeker was an astrology game, of sorts. The kids would ask each other questions and then give a challenge. Depending on how you answered the questions, you would get a different challenge. If you passed the challenge, you be given a title like 'Guide' or 'Protector', something that was related to the mission you accomplished.

"The Sun Warriors Trials were similar, but they were much, much more intense." Mrs. Cheng continued. "The Trials were rites of passage that turned boys into men. It was a powerful ritual that changed a child's life and made then true members of their community."

The students were suddenly interested.

"The first class, lowest on the list but still the most important, were the Farmers. Sun Warriors were actually quite peaceful and they valued Farmers for their hard work, their connection with nature and their ability to create non-human life. They kept everyone's stomach's full.

The second class were the Builders. Anything that needed to be built by human hands…cloth, metals, weapons, buildings, even works of art…they were under the control of the Builders. They also assisted in ceremonies and rituals at certain times of the year.

The third class were the Fighters. Most people who could bend fire would become Fighters. They were not just in charge of warfare. Fighters acted like police officers, as well as symbols of status and strength. When they were not busy, they would often help Farmers with manual labor for a small fee. Those two castes got along very well.

The fourth…" Mrs. Cheng smiled and giggled smugly. "…were Teachers. This is the only caste level that someone could cross over into, after they became older. They were masters of a certain craft or field of thought. They were advisors, controlled schools, even commanded trade routes between tribes. It was their job to sustain culture and keep it alive. Anything learnable was their gift to the community.

And the Fifth were the Chieftains. Highest on the list, they the leaders of the village or tribe. They decided everything, from when a community went to war, to which children got married. Oh, I forgot to mention…the Sun Warriors had a ten year calendar and each year would have an animal to represent it. All children born within a certain year would have to get married to one another. Arranged marriages were also dictated by specific Chieftains."

Mrs. Cheng looked down at Kuzon.

"Is that satisfactory, Kuzon?"

"I have another question…" Aang asked, timidly. Mrs. Cheng rolled her eyes. "…you said that there were six caste levels…but you only named five."

"Um…yes, there is one other caste level. But it was so rare that only it is barely worth remembering."

"What was it?"

"It was called The Shaman. The Shaman, singular. Only one was around at a time. When a Shaman got very old, he would find an apprentice and teach him. That apprentice would become the new Shaman. Then the old would leave the Sun Warrior tribe."

"Wait, wait, what?" Aang was confused. "I don't understand."

"Well, the Shaman was the greatest and most esteemed man in all of the Sun Warrior community. He was a spiritual leader, and a symbol of wisdom and hope. He had influential control over everyone in the village, even the leaders. He was supposedly able to communicate with the spirit world and knew magic. The old Shaman would leave the village when a new one was found so he could…well…so he could die alone. But he would travel to other villages, spread his wisdom to anyone who wanted to listen in his final days."

Aang was still very confused. But he was also interested.

"What kinds of tests did…" Aang could not finish his sentence.

"Kuzon, I believe we have learned enough about the Sun Warriors specifics for one day. We have more to discuss. Moving on…" And Mrs. Cheng continued with her lesson on Fire Nation History.

After class, Aang asked Mrs. Cheng if she knew any more about the Sun Warriors. She yelled at him.

"They are all dead! They don't have anything left to teach us! Focusing on your studies is more important Kuzon!"

But Aang, being who the boy he was, did not want to leave the subject alone. He was seduced by the culture, especially by the mysterious Shaman. It was like the Avatar before the Avatar. One at a time, a symbol of hope, great wisdom and skill. Of course, they were from different eras and different cultures, but they were practically the same, cut from the same cloth.

So, before he left that day, Aang ran to the school's library and looked for anything on the Sun Warriors. He found only a few scrolls and learned few new facts.

He found a few cliff notes. The Sun Warriors got married at the age of fifteen. They were only considered adults if they passed their Trials. Women did not undergo the Trials and, like most cultures, they were seen only as objects to get married off and have children.

Besides that, there was nothing. Nothing that Mrs. Cheng didn't already tell him.

Disappointed, Aang put the scrolls back where they belonged. Ready to give up, he noticed something, one last book, stuffed away at the far end of the book self. It was an old, dusty text, bound instead of rolled, written on bone tablets instead of paper scrolls. It was so old that it looked like the wind could blow it to shreds.

Aang took it out and started coughing. A layer of dust exploded out from it.

"Who is there?" Someone shouted, hearing Aang cough. Nervous, Aang tucked the book under his arm and ran away. "Hey!" A teacher saw him and tried to run after him, but Aang was much too fast.

Aang made it out to the school's playground before stopping. Then he realized that he still had the book under his arm. He didn't mean to take it. It was an accident. Still, the teachers would kill him if he went back. Out of options, he put the book in his backpack and walked away casually.

That night, Aang had his little dance party for the Fire Nation students and forgot all about the strange book.

I missed you all! =D