Fire, air, water, earth. For a long time now, the three nations have enjoyed uninterrupted peace and harmony thanks to the valiant efforts of Avatars Aang and Korra. The history books are filled with the epic saga's of their adventures, and tells of their numerous triumphs over evil. They say that when in great times of need, only the Avatar, master of all four elements can once again bring about balance to the world. My grandpa Rinzen raised me since I was a baby and trained me in the art of bending. He always says that one day I too will be the hero the world needs. When that day comes, I'll be ready. I am the Avatar after all.
A dense jungle thick with vines and scrub shields the forest floor from any possibility of sunlight, making it difficult to see. Torin races frantically through the bush weaving between trees as he seems to be chased by a mysterious shadow. Out of nowhere, a giant tree branch falls directly in his path. Without time to think, Torin thrusts his palms toward the ground forcing a sharp gust of wind downwards. Propelling himself over the branch in a somersault, he lands safely on the other side. Coming to an open clearing, he stops to face his pursuer still lurking in the shadows, in a battle-ready position. Poised with unrelenting composure, he blasts two balls of fire from the knuckle his fists towards a rustling bush. While temporarily distracted, from the opposite direction, a bushel of fruit comes hurdling through the air toward him. Torin quickly reacts by bringing one arm up as a guard, summoning a wall of earth to his side and then kicking it toward the attacker. Suddenly, as quickly as the last onslaught came, the sound of a slow creaking fills the air. A tree is coming down over him, but noticing a puddle nearby, Torin quickly alters his stance and bends the water skyward slicing the giant tree down the middle. It's then that Torin is able to clearly see the outline a shadow in the sky as if flying overhead. With his limbs occupied and his guard down, there's nothing he can do as he's thumped to the ground. He screams.
"Kira, ah you got me! You win." Torin laughs.
On top of him stands a gorilla-wolf pup proudly claiming her victory over the Avatar. Torin giggles and fusses about as Kira licks his face.
"Look Kira, up there! It's smoke. We're almost home." Torin smiled. "C'mon girl, grandpa's probably worried about us." He said.
Kira replies with a loud bark and off they went once again.
"Grandpa Rinzen, we're back!" Torin yelled, as he entered the small cottage. "Grandpa?" He said softly.
"Out here!" a voiced beckoned from behind the house.
The ground quakes as Torin investigates the scene. As he came around to the back, there stood an elderly man stomping the land beneath him, earthbending large trenches through an empty cornfield.
"Torin, my boy! You've been training I see. Come. Tell me of your travels over some hot tea. It's Jasmine." He smiled, as he sat on an old tree stump where a hot kettle had already been brewed.
Without hesitation, Torin wildly starts telling his tales of triumph and hardship as if rambling on about an epic action movie. There's mention of a rampaging heard of elephant-mandrill, being hunted down by a hungry platypus-bear, and even going toe to toe with a sabre-toothed moose-lion. Torin's enthusiasm is accompanied by Kira's own re-enactment of the story, howling and banging her chest with her giant fists. All the while, Rinzen stares off into the distance smiling as if his mind is elsewhere.
"So, I guess you're pretty strong now? Care to show me what you've learned, in combat with your old grandpa?" Rinzen interrupts.
Torin cheekily smiles out the side of his mouth. Standing only feet away from each other, ready for battle they take their stances. Silence suffocates the still air. A sudden whistle of wind signals a spark in each of their eyes and suddenly their spar begins with Torin leading the charge. Without remorse, Torin throws everything he has at Rinzen using all the elements he has at his disposal. Fire, air, water, and earth are hurled in numerous forms in an attempt to bring Rinzen to his knees. Frustrated at the lack of results received from his vicious onslaught, Torin focuses his energy to the tips of his fingers where they begin to spark and sputter. In a flash of blue light, he fires a deathly shot of lightning toward Rinzen only to have it redirected to the ground by a thin rod of earth, covered in a dull lustre.
"If you're able to concentrate on certain minerals within the earth, you can summon and bend them at will. In this case, I was able to use conductive metallic compounds to redirect your lightning and neutralize it in the earth." Rinzen explains. "Speaking of your lightning, it's a little sloppy and scatters everywhere. You must focus Torin. Now let's test your defence." He continues.
In a new scene with Rinzen taking the lead, boulders in massive quantities are tossed through the air as the earth shakes. The entire surrounding landscape is altered as he moves the ground beneath Torin, finally bringing him off balance. Carefully observing Torin's uncoordinated movements, Rinzen calculates his own steps, waiting for an opening and striking Torin to the ground with one last earthbending attack. Rising to one knee with the look of agony on his face, Torin lifts his right arm to eye level. Sheets of corrugated iron leaning up against the back wall of the house begin to rattle when suddenly they fly into the battlefield. The metal sheets wrap themselves around Rinzen and lock into place rendering him immobilized as Torin closes his fist.
"You're not the only one who can bend metal old man." Torin says confidently. "I forgot to mention that on our travels, Kira and I came across an old abandoned refining mill. With lots of metal lying around, we stayed there a few days while I mastered metalbending on my own." He smiled.
"Very resourceful Torin, you've done well my boy." Rinzen replied, happy with Torin's improvements. "However, encasing a stronger, more experienced metalbender than yourself in an impenetrable suit of armour may not have been the wisest course of action."
As quickly as he was incapacitated, Rinzen smashes his arms free of the iron casing and proceeds to bend it around himself into a more suitable combat-ready outfit. Stunned and tired from the amount energy it took to move that much metal, Torin stands motionless as Rinzen slowly walks toward him. Trying to regain composure, Torin musters the last of his strength firing a full on frontal assault of elemental power. Like it was nothing more than a gentle breeze, Rinzen deflects all of Torin's attacks with the aid his new armoured suit. Using up all of his available energy, Torin falls only to be caught in the arms of his grandpa Rinzen.
"You did well my boy, but remember there are many ways you can use the elements to your advantage. Even new types of bending are a possibility." Rinzen smiled.
Confused and exhausted, Torin sighs.
"I'll beat you one day, old man." He giggled.
They both began to laugh as Torin regained enough strength to stand.
Later that afternoon, Rinzen sends Torin and Kira out to gather fresh leechi nuts for brewing lychee tea, in the woods. After hours of collecting a large bag of leechi nuts, Kira notices smoke in the sky, more than usual, coming from the direction of their home. She barks at Torin to get his attention.
"What is it girl?" He asks. Torin looks up and notices the smoke. "What's grandpa doing? C'mon girl let's go find out." He says. Forgetting the bag of leechi nuts, they bolt off trailing back home.
A strange smell overwhelms the area as they get closer to the edge of the forest. Nothing prepares them for the sight of their house almost completely burned to the ground. Emotions build up in Torin's eyes as he calls out to Rinzen screaming his name, hoping for a reply. When none is given, he helplessly falls to his knees watching the last flames consume their house. Kira tries to comfort him by wiping his tears and curling herself up in his lap as the night flies by. Hours pass until all that is left are ashes in the dew of the morning. Bringing himself to his feet, Torin searches through the ruins. Sniffing around, Kira notices something amongst the soot and leftover brick. Torin investigates further, holding it in his hands and brushing off the ash, presenting a badge.
"I've seen this seal before, Kira, in one of grandpa's books. It's the emblem for the order of the White Lotus. But why would it be here?" He ponders. "Maybe they know what happened to grandpa Rinzen! They have a headquarters south of here in the great city of Ba Sing Se. We don't have a car, but our legs work just fine! You up for a new adventure, girl?" Torin yells aloud.
Kira replies with a loud, distinguished bark as she vigorously wags her long fluffy tail at the idea. Gathering what they can from the wreckage, their journey begins.
Meanwhile, in an executive office of Ba Sing Se, a man of obvious prestige in a black suit stands staring out of a large glass window of a multi-storied building. When the mysterious man hears a knock at his door, he orders them in.
"We have him sir." The man at the door says.
No reply is given by the figure at the window. Only a dark seedy smile is all he manages to conjure as the door is closed behind him.
End.