Avatar: The journey of Xi'an

-Prologue-

It was a beautiful cool autumn day in the great earth city of Ba Sing Se. It was the time of the year when the weather is just right, not too hot but not too cold. It was the harvest and storing season to prepare for the winter. It was also the season that symbolized great change, from the hot unbearable heat of summer to the bone chilling cold of winter. As the leaves changed color from their normal green to beautiful colors of rust and scarlet, so had changed the once isolated and closed city.

Ba Sing Se is now a busy and bustling travel hub, full of people from all the four nations. Fire Lord Zuko along with Avatar Aang, had made good on his promise to usher in an era of peace and balance. Though it was hard for some to let go of old hatreds, the passage of time allowed a wonderful peace to settle throughout the land.

What was unheard of for more than a 100 years, was now a wonderful reality. It was the beautiful sound of children from every nation playing together. A fire nation child, a child of the earth kingdom, a child of the newly discovered sky nomads, and two children from the water tribe laughed and made harmless mischief as only good friends could.

It was a sound that warmed the heart of the kindly owner of the Jasmine Dragon as he swept the outside of his beloved teashop. Though he was once a crown prince and grand general of Fire Nation army, he now lived the humble life of a tea shop owner.

He was known by many names throughout his life, "The Grand General", "The Dragon of the West" and "The Savior of Ba Sing Se". But to everyone who frequents his tea shop and the local children, he is known simply as just "Uncle Iroh". Of all the grand titles, that was the one he was most proud of.

"To be content and happy with life.." mused Iroh "That is one of life's most greatest treasures."

The children, now becoming bored with their game, saw the former general sweeping his the deck of his tea shop. Racing over him, they had hoped he would grace them with another story. The former general told the best stories... and his shop made the best fruit cookies.

"Uncle Iroh! Can we hear another story today? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" they begged in unison

"And maybe you could share a few more of your delicious cookies?" asked the fire nation boy hopefully

Iroh smiled as he set down his broom and walked back into the tea house with the kids following closely behind. Business had been a little slow today as only a couple of tables had been taken in the very large tea house. Iroh paid no mind, business would pick up, besides this gave him and the kids ample time for a good story. Leading the kids to a small corner he took a seat, with the kids gathering on the floor at his feet. As if on cue a hot pot of tea and a plate full of fruit cookies was waiting for them on a nearby table. Passing a couple of cookies to each, he laughed heartily as each wolfed them down.

"So what story are you gonna tell us today?" asked one with a mouth full of cookie

"Well" Iroh said taking a small sip of his tea "I could tell you the tale of how the Avatar defeated Phoenix King Ozai..."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! We heard that one before!" whined Lan, the 7 year old earth kingdom girl.

Lan was a very excitable girl who meant well but caused more than her fair share of mischief . She slid her headband over her otherwise messy and unruly hair as her beautiful emerald eyes sparkled with wonder and excitement. A tomboyish girl who loved Iroh's adventure stories, especially the Toph ones

"Yeah, Everyone knows that story!" exclaimed Hui, the 8 year old fire nation boy

Hui was unlike many fire nation boys, he outright refused to wear his hair in a traditional topknot, instead letting it letting it grow long and shaggy like his hero, Zuko. His golden eyes shined with curiosity and kindness. More of a soft spoken kid who loved any Iroh stories that had action and excitement

"What about something new?" softy suggested Tai, the 7 year old sky nomad girl

Tai was a shy girl by nature, though with the help of her friends, she was slowly coming out of her shell. Her long hair was braided down the back and a set of cute bangs framed her arrow tattoo on her forehead. Her lovely gray eyes glowed with a sense of mischief and joy. Her favorite stories were the ones about a hero overcoming great odds

"Alright" Iroh said with a big smile "How about the Tale of Xi'an, the Hero of the 4 nations "

"There's no such person " announced Hahn, the 9 year old water tribe boy " He's not in the history books at all. He's just a phony legend that never existed, an iconic image to give people false hope, a ridiculous bed time story and furthermore...

Hahn pushed his glasses to his face, he didn't really need them but he felt that they made him look smarter. His hair was in a traditional wolf's tail as was common of people of his tribe. His blue eyes shimmered with disbelief and skepticism. He almost loved to try to ruin a good story, by pointing out the various 'impossibilities and facts". But he found that he enjoyed a great deal of Iroh's stories, once you could get him to shut up

-SLAP-

Hahn's ranting was cut short by his twin sister Kanna with a well placed smack to the head.

"What my brother means to say is...We'd love to hear your story, Uncle Iroh" said Kanna glaring at Hahn

Even though they were twins, Kanna was the complete opposite of her brother, who loved a good story and hated whenever Hahn tried to ruin one. Her short hair was also traditional with hair loops. Her blue eyes gleamed with trust and anticipation. Her favorites were of course the romance ones.

"It's not gonna be that same bedtime story that everyone else tells, is it?" asked Hui

"No" replied Iroh "This is absolute true story. Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"YEAH!" the other children begged "Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeese?"

"Well" Iroh started "It was 5 months after the defeat of Ozai and peace seemed to settle over the land. But newly formed peace is such a fragile thing. There were dark times that lay ahead for Zuko and his companions, for a new threat was looming on the horizon, one far greater than anyone could possibly imagine...