Foreword (AKA: really big A/N)
sigh I knew I would get around to it eventually. I'm really excited as I set my next adventure into motion. After much deliberation, I decided on a name for our star besides the name most of you who read this will know him by. As a special note to people who haven't read The Lower Ranks, you should read it first before reading this one because of how this one will be written. The first one is standalone and could be read and never thought about again. However, I'm writing this one with many allusions and subtle references back to The Lower Ranks, and I believe it would be a much more enjoyable experience if you read TLR first. I wrote this prequel for two main reasons. One, I enjoyed writing the first one so much that I wanted to do it again. And secondly, because I enjoyed one of my own creations so much that I wanted to explore his story a lot more as well. So anyway, enough babbling with me, and on with the prequel to The Lower Ranks.
"In those moments, Iceberg thought about the future. He thought about the thousands of people he was about to liberate. He thought about all the peace that would come to the world after the Avatar escaped and continued on his way to destroy the Fire Lord…As he caught up with Long Feng, he launched himself toward him and sent them both tumbling over the edge." The Lower Ranks
Chapter 1
"Bad timing again," he thought to himself.
Pakoda couldn't think of anything he had ever done that had not been timed poorly for him. His mother went into labor at the fish market. His father left his mother the night before his first day of water-bending training. His mother was imprisoned the day before his first trip Ice-Dodging. The spies found him injured on an ice cap in the middle of the ocean rather than at his house where he could think clearly. And now, his sentencing was the day before his mother's release.
The latter wouldn't have been as bad had he not actually committed the crime he was charged of.
"I have come to a decision," said the chief. Pakoda had forgotten his name already, which wasn't really surprising since there seemed to be a new chief every time he came to a hearing.
"The defendant will be exiled. As of twilight tonight, he is no longer welcome within the walls of this tribe."
Everyone cheered.
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Pakoda left the room with an even bigger iceberg on his back than he had upon arriving. He pitied himself mercilessly. It wasn't enough that the crowd already had turned on him and rejoiced at his exile, but acting like a fool and pleading for one more measly night before departure had seemed to add a brand new glare of hatred from not only the chief, but the eyes of the audience as he stood and departed the room.
It seemed right that he was leaving. The North Pole had never seemed to welcome him as much as everything the North Pole had no association with. He knew that if he could get to an Earth Kingdom settlement and find good work, he would be fine. But the problems in his life right now were all to be found in the time between his trial and his finding his real place in the world.
He was off to find his canoe. Most canoe markets had closed up, knowing the possibility of who one of their customers could be, but a very few had stayed open knowing that there was the possibility of a definite sell.
He found a tiny hut and knew he had come to the right place. He walked in and found a single canoe leaning against one of the walls.
"How much?" Pakoda asked.
"What?" the man asked groggily. Pakoda hadn't realized that man was asleep.
"I apologize, how much for the canoe?"
"You mean you don't even want to look at it or anything?"
"I figure 'Why does it matter?'"
"Oh, it matters. A man's canoe is his home away from home. Sure they look small and dinky and ill fitted for living, but when you're out there on the water with nothing but the clothes on your back and the food in your pack, you'll want to make sure you've got everything how it should be."
"Wow. Now I know I want this canoe."
"Do I need to repeat myself boy? You need to look at it first."
"No, I don't need to look at it. The love you have for your craft shines through in how you speak of it. I know that buying a canoe from a man who loves canoes as much as you do can only be an investment on my part. Especially with that talk about living in a canoe."
"I like you. What may I call you?"
"Pakoda."
"Call me Cheapy."
"Cheapy?"
"Yep. That's what they call me."
"Why would anybody call you that?"
"I told you, look at the canoe."
Pakoda walked up and inspected the small boat. He carefully brought it to the ground and looked inside it. There was nothing special about how it looked. Actually, it was quite the opposite. The wood looked very junky and there was a horrific odor. But when he turned it over, he was shocked to see that the bottom of it was as smooth as ice itself.
"Now I know I want this canoe."
"Is that so? Am I the first shop you came to?"
"You're the only one open."
"And why is that?"
Pakoda was shocked. "You mean you haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" Cheapy asked.
"About the man that was exiled today."
"Yes, what about it?"
"Well, most shopkeepers don't like to keep their stores open when they know what kind of customers are going to be on the market."
"That's not very polite."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, it's just like I said. A canoe is a man's home away from home, or in the case of this exile, his home. When a man is out there with nothing but his food and clothes, he's gonna want nothing less than a reliable canoe to get him wherever he is going."
The man's voice then lowered to a whisper Pakoda had to lean in to hear, "And it's my duty to make sure young men like you don't try paddling to the Earth Kingdom in one of them cheap junkers out there."
"How did you know it was me?"
"Because the maniacs that shop for canoes on the day a man's been exiled are the same kinds of maniacs that sell canoes on the same day."
Pakoda then explained his situation in full to Cheapy, who then invited Pakoda to dinner before his departure. Unfortunately, Pakoda had one more stop to make before setting off for the Earth Kingdom and had to cut the pair's time together short. So, instead of dinner, Cheapy offered the canoe to Pakoda at a frighteningly low price, and threw in a week's worth of extra supplies to keep him going after he had run through what little pieces of skimp the tribe officials would give him.
In those moments as the two parted, Pakoda began to think of the future. He thought about the hundreds of people in his tribe he would never see again. He thought about the stressful times ahead after he had left everything he knew and continued on his way to the Earth Kingdom. As he caught the last open canal before twilight, he set himself and his supplies in his canoe and sent himself and everything he ever knew about life over the edge.
