My name is Sheng

I was born in the colonies. My mother's name was Sen. My father's name was Kei, he was a carpenter. I had an older sister named Xia. I was second, the first son.

I always loved to shoot. My father made me my first bow when I was only four summers of age. It was a crude thing but I loved it and practiced so that by the time I was five I could shoot a trap a fly from a hundred meters.

It was at that time that the soldier man Shinu came through our village. He told my parents that I had the type of talent they were looking for to join their elite archers. I wasn't meant to hear but Xia told me later.

Mother was flattered, Father was proud of his son. He told me as much when he found out I knew. I was to young though and soldier Shinu left our village a few days later taking a number of older boys to train as soldiers. I went back to my games and my lessons, Mother and Xia continued to work around the house, and Father kept making things.

I used to stand by my father's workbench and help him, I would stand still as a deer in the woods and hold nails for him. Sometimes he let me build things with him, I was strong enough from using my bow to pound the nails but I wasn't a builder like him.

Sometimes Xia would come and tell me stories while we worked. We always loved the stories of Avatar Roku, though we weren't supposed to know about him, he always seemed so wise and powerful.


I am alone.

A few months after soldier Shinu left us the Earthbenders found our village. They attacked in the night. I awoke to my mother's screams. Xia found me.

There was a soldier in our house he had my mother by her hair, my father kneeling at his feet begging him not to harm her. The soldier took his war hammer and slammed it into my father's head. I heard a loud crack my father stared into my eyes as blood began trickling down onto his face. My mother screamed.

Xia grabbed my hand and we ran. My mother's tea set, the one she got from her mother, who had in turn inherited it from her mother, lay on the floor shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. It's painted red designs blending in with the dirt floor beneath it.

We ran through the streets. Houses were being swallowed up by the earth itself. Earthbender soldiers ran through the streets killing all in their path. Blood ran bright red in the gutters.

My friend Yi, born the same summer as me, lay outside her house a red well of blood soaking through her pretty yellow dress as a man pulled his sword out of her stomach. As the few firebenders who tried to defend us were killed their fires became uncontrolled and raged through the streets unchecked.

I was hot and sweaty, smoke burned my eyes and filled my lungs making me cough. Xia, being a firebender tried to protect us by walking into a fire and creating a sphere around us but she was young and untrained and when the fire went out we were surrounded by soldiers.

Xia's hand was yanked away from mine and as I turned and ran away I heard the soldier spit out that he was going to make the little firebending bitch beg for mercy. He would have his revenge for the crimes of our people. Xia cried out and began to sob for mother.

I hid in the outhouse. The stink of dung from the pit wafted up to my nose mixing with the scent of charred wood, dust and blood. I sat for hours, it slowly grew quieter and quieter.

When the sun finally shone through the cracks in the boards I climbed out and once again began to walk through the streets. There was no movement. A cold wind blew dust through the stillnes. The dead lined the streets.

I returned to my house, calling out for my mother. No one answered. I checked her room, there was no one there. I went to our small kitchen, there was my father's body, bloody and stinking. My mother lay next to him with a jagged line across her throat where a dagger had cut it. I puked in the cooking pot.

Xia was a few yards away from the well, her face was covered in blue patches and her clothes were ripped to shreds. She was covered in her own blood. I tried to puke again but nothing came. I covered her with mother's favorite table cloth.

Mother didn't care anymore if I used it.


I am strong.

After the massacre of my home I took what belongings I had, my bow, and what food I could carry and set off to find soldier Shinu. I was hungry. I begged, I borrowed, I stole. Other than to say I sought Shinu, I didn't say a word.

A few people took pity on me, took me in and fed me but always, I moved on. With a bow of thanks I left behind old women who felt sorry for the poor little tike all alone. With a glance of fury I parted with men who thought that I owed them my service because they gave me a bite to eat. But always I kept going.

I found the Fire Nation soldiers on the border of the desert. When I told them I sought soldier Shinu they asked what such a little fellow wanted with him.

A man flipped a coin and before it fell back into his palm I put an arrow through it. It lodged in a tree a few meters ahead. The man whose coin I had shot swore at me and retrieved it from the tree. A few muttered "Freak" and spat at the ground. One merely looked at me.

He introduced himself as Captain Tai Yang. He gave me food and put me on a ship to the Fire Nation with a note that he said would tell the port master to take me to Colonel Shinu. I put my hand over my fist, bowed my thanks and continued my journey.

I reached Colonel Shinu on my seventh birthday. I told him the slaughter of my home and my request to serve my nation as an archer. He brought me to the Yu-Yan.

There was big brother Wei, Xing-Xing & Ye the twins, and Xi-Wang our sister. We trained together. Everyday, rain or shine we were out with our bows. I learnt the longbow, we practiced moving quickly and quietly. We learned to climb tall, tall trees and leap across blood-chilling distances from tree to tree.

We took our meals together. We slept in the same room. I crawled in with Xing-Xing & Ye when I woke in the night silently screaming for my mother. Xi-Wang held my hand when I finally broke and sobbed my grief out at the sight of a shattered teacup. Wei drilled me in the longbow until I could shoot it as well as any of the others despite it being nearly as tall as I myself was.

I was twelve when we had our first assignment. It went smoothly, no one was hurt. The target was eliminated and one of my neighbors rested in peace. Wei fights for his father, Xi-Wang fights for civilization, Xing-Xing & Ye fight for our Nation, but I fight for my family. We all of us have the eyes of Gryphons, the patience of Lionturtles, and the speed of an ostrichlepoard. But only I have the endurance that comes from unwavering purpose.

I am Yu-Yan.


A/N: I have a deep love of the Yu-Yan archers and a unique view of them that I've been trying for weeks to pull into story format. This poor thing is the result, it's also my first real attempt at a "serious fic." As such constructive criticism is very much desired but please leave your comments regardless of whether you liked it or not. More may follow depending on my muse. Cyber cookies to all reviewers. Thank-you for reading.