Not an AzulaxZuko story. That is for main characters and those two are as good as any for the whirlwind I have planned. As for pairings read and see. Also this is AU, and not High School AU*shudders* so do not expect me to kowtow to canon because in the words of a great AHer "I categorically reject your reality and substuitute it with ne of my own."

On that vein as my pater said to me, "Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story."

So enjoy and relax; or be tense if that is your pleasure! And remember to read is human, to review is Divine.

I can safely say with no fear of contradiction that I do not, have not, and likely shall not ever own Avatar: The Last Airbender. If I did Zuko would of been the titular character and Ozai would of died, and- Hmm this could go awhile, just start reading the story.

Prologue

The world: an ancient and mysterious place, where even those who dwell in a land for centuries are often ignorant, of what transpired there in the days long passed. Oral records are forgotten, the chain inheritance broken through war, plague, or chance. With time, even the most diligently kept texts crumble into dust, taking their secrets back into the void beneath human memory. Yet ignorance of the past does not invalidate it, whether seen or unseen the black roots' of history ensnare the world; shaping the present and laying the course for the future.

History, like memories seemingly forgotten, can turn up in the most unexpected times.

"It was an age long past, the days before benders dwelled beneath the sky and before the Avatar walked amongst mortals. Those days that lie far beyond the reach of human memory, the second age of Man.

In these days so distant that only the sealed chamber of the Owl Spirits library record them, Humanity reigned over the world. Through the power of machines, Humanity mounted the world as a Stallion mounts a Mare, and claimed it for its own.

The forests fell to feed the insatiable hunger of the machines, and the depths of the earth and the seas were violated for their treasures. What lands remained unsullied was only for the pleasure it provided those same desecrators, not for the sake of the world. The world became diseased, its systems became overrun with poisons, and its body torn asunder. Kept alive only by still more machines, the world wept for itself and its lost children.

In the final days of that age, Humanity was unified for the first and only time in its long and strange life. It was a union not born out of recognition of fraternity, or a desire for peace; but a domination by which their greed could be served, and to turn their exploitation on their own kind; as they exploited all else they had found beneath the sun.

In its pride Humanity turned its back on the Spirits, their temples fell and their prayers were forgotten as their greed grew. In the pursuit of domination of the material, they cast aside sacredness, and their lives became as the void. The tainted world drove away the spirits, back into their own world, where they waited for the inevitable.

Having taken all the world had to offer, the rulers of the Empire cast about for something more. For they had suffered a revelation, that all the riches they possessed and power they wielded, did not fill the void they had carved into themselves. Like a dying man in the desert digs through the sand in search of water, they tasked their might to uncovering what they lacked.

To their shock, the machines opened to them the world of Spirits. Beholding the power of the spirits, the masters of Humanity salivated in lust and longing. They gathered their machines and laid siege to the Divine. They would make this world and its secret theirs, stand atop the Heavens, and at last be sated.

They were fools.

As the Empire of Humanity made war on wonder, the King of Spirits at last roused from his distant throne, the patience of the king had been exhausted. At last he stood in defiance of the sickened mortals, and with a word drove back their onslaught.

No longer content to allow Humanity its liberty on the world of its birth, the King sent forth the four Cataclysms. First, there was the Tempest which tore across the world, a scream of righteous fury. On the second day the waves rose up, and broke upon the works of man, invading as it had been invaded. The third day the earth itself rose up giving voice to its ancient rage, shattering continents and raising new mountains. On the fourth, day fire rose from below and fell from above, the beloved pet turned on its master's.

Thus all that remained of the works of Humanity, was the Tower. Raised in tribute to their own glory it yet stood, a great black nail driven into earth and sky. It was on the fifth day that the King alighted upon the land and smited the Tower and all within. Thus Humanity and its dark ambitions were undone.

The king sent the Spirits forth, to heal the world, and to gather what remained of Humanity to him. To replace that which had been lost new creations were made, that which was lost restored by the merging of that which remained. The poisons of Humanity's reign were purged, new forests arose, the winds blew, and the water flowed free; all was made right with the world.

As for Humanity, filled with terror the remnant where gathered, and brought into the presence of the King. They were spared, but changed. To ensure the power of Humanity would never again become so great they were divided into four tribes. To ensure they respected their world the King wove into each tribe a seed of the world's essence.

From the survivors the King chose four who embodied the four great virtues of Humanity, and granted them each power over an element, and eternal life until death. To a woman who embodied wisdom, he granted the mastery of air. To a man who held empathy close to his heart, the secrets of water were granted. To a woman who held great determination, the solid earth was given. Lastly to a man of great passion, flames were bequeathed.

The King placed upon each of the Four Immortals the responsibility to govern and guide the four tribes, and returned to his unknowable throne, to contemplate the endless facets of existence."

So it was in a time separated from now by 12 millennia. Such time to have passed that memory of it only remains in the annals of the great library, and the knowledge of the noble Sons' of the Lotus, and the wretched Children of the Phoenix

"Under the Immortals, Humanity rose from ruin and there was a new beginning. Under their guidance of the tribes grew to nations and grew apart, and to each a piece of the vast world was granted. It was a time of peace surely, for so little of it is remembered. Yet vile or virtuous all things must one day end."

"In their long years the Immortals delved into the depths of their talents, and had drawn out the ability to bend in their nations. In time they each in their turn discovered the four forbidden bending techniques: Blood bending, Climate Bending, Resonance, and the Grave Flame. They recognized the perils of these skills, and barred the temptation to use them from their hearts. Yet they had no release from life and its hardships, thus the tide of years eroded their wills.

The Immortal of Water was the first to break the taboo. In his zeal for peaceful perfection he unleashed Blood Bending on his people. Depriving them of their wills he sought to end all suffering and hatred. When his fellows heard of this they came to his floating hall and attempted reason, alas reason had abandoned the Lord of Waters.

What came was a battle, and havoc not seen since the fall of the Tower. At last the final blows had fallen, and the Lord of Waters lay dead, but with him the Lady of the Earth had fallen. The Immortal of Air in her wisdom, realized that the King had been mistaken. She feared that in their unending lives they had traveled beyond Humanity, and would only bring greater disaster.

So the two remaining Immortals sought to change the shape of the world, to forestall a dark future of their own making. Gathering the remains of their fallen they summoned the spirit of the world itself, and bound it. From the spirit of the living world, the power of the four elements, and the willing sacrifice of a human life, a wholly new being came into existence: the Avatar.

The Immortal of Air deceived the Lord of Fire, her life had been lost to bring about the change, and she had known he would have died in her place given the choice. From her remains was born the first Avatar, and the Avatar Cycle was set in motion.

As the Immortals before it, the Avatar would guide Humanity and serve as a bridge between the world of humanity and the Spirits. Unlike them though, the Avatar would live many lives. Renewed by death and rebirth, the spirit would remain unbroken by the relentless onslaught of time.

The last immortal, Zeizan Agni, who alone is remembered by name, raised the first Avatar in the ways of the immortals. With his death and renewal, Agni realized his own labors where at an end. Agni passed his authority over his nation to a worthy descendant, and the line of Fire Lords began. In the dead of night the last Immortal sailed West beyond Human knowledge, to await the end of days alone.

This new and improve story brought to you by the assistance of my talented Beta Reader, Whispertomesoftly!