Avatar- The Last Airbender

Book 4 – Wood

by ShwiggityShwah

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

Its been two years since the Avatar Aang, a young air bender and my closest friend, defeated the evil Fire Lord Ozai under the light of Sozin's comet. Thanks to him, and the new Fire Lord Zuko, the war between the nations that lasted one hundred years, finally ended. Refuges went home. Families were reunited. We thought it was over. We thought the world would be peaceful and good again.

We thought wrong.

One hundred years is a long time. A long time of war, strife, and destruction. Some didn't want it to end. Much of the Earth Kingdoms lapsed into chaos as cities once occupied by the Fire Nation were left with no protection or leadership. Worse still was that people who lost homes and families to the Fire Nation stood together and vied for revenge.

Things were not much better for the Fire Nation. The once militaristic Nation split into two factions, ones loyal to Fire Lord Zuko and the Royal Throne, the others still embracing the dream of conquest given to them by their former leader.

With war once again on the verge of starting again, the Avatar flies out to protect the land to prevent that nightmare from happening again. Unfortunately, even though Aang had to go through so much to save the world once, I believe his work has only just begun.

--

Prologue - The Lost King

This island was massive. Huge. Big enough to be a country. Why wasn't it on the map? These were the thoughts that went through the young Fire Lord's head as he road into the darkness of the massive forest on his ostrich horse. Zuko, a handsome young king of the Fire Nation, simply radiated with nobility as he lead his small band of loyal guardsman through the shadowed forest of this uncharted land. If one could look away from his defining scar that surrounded his left eye, one could see the tired lines under his right. He hasn't been sleeping well lately. Though none would ask, most assumed that his fatigue was from the hazards of leadership. However, the reason for his restlessness could be seen in the fiery determination found in his eyes.

The young Fire Lord was looking for something. His guards knew not what exactly. They merely follow orders, but do wonder from time to time. They do know that it is so important that Zuko has spent the past year pretty much traveling the globe looking for it. Some accuse him of not leading his people properly through this crisis. Zuko ignores those critics now. His every action seems to be spent and getting closer to object of his desires.

"Where are those scouts?" Zuko asks aloud, brushing a hanging branch out of his way.

There was a sound of an owl which echoed in a creepy way. "My Lord, I strongly advise we set up camp for the night." One soldier recommends.

"We can't see a thing sir." Another admits trying to hold up his lantern and see past the tree line. His horse ostrich stops and makes a nervous clucking sound. "And the steeds are gettin spooked."

Zuko sighs and punches the air in front of him, but opens his hand palm up. The action caused a burst of light through the area as a fire ball came from his fist, was caught and now burned vibrantly in his open palm, casting a dancing glow over the trees around them. "There's your light. Now keep going."

The soldiers grumbled. "Yes sir." they answered in unison. One guard finally asked. "But sir, what are we looking for?"

Zuko squinted his eyes towards the road before him, remembering why he was here. "I'll know when I find it."

It was some time later when a figure came from the darkness before them. It gave one soldier a fright, but Zuko just casually cut the fire from his hand and gave the order to stop. The figure of his scout came forward. "My Lord Zuko. The path ahead is clear, but does pass a campsite."

"Anyone using it?" Zuko asked, his chin still upward as he looked down at his scout.

"No, it appears to be deserted in a hurry, and its old. Very old."

Zuko could feel the hopeful excitement from his guards behind him. They were riding since noon. Perhaps it was time for a rest. But it was more likely Zuko was tired of their whining and found the situation inefficient to discipline them. "Lead the way." he told the scout.

"Aye my lord."

It was close to midnight when they entered the clearing with the campsite. The men gave a relieved cheer when Zuko gave them the order to set up camp. The dozen or so soldiers did their routine, one scheduling guard shifts, another unpacking, one finding timber and fire bending a fire. Zuko in the meantime went towards the remains of the campsite.

Indeed it was old. The fire pit was merely some stones circling a fresh patch of grass. The tent was tattered, full of holes, and just barely remaining up on its last wooden pole. Even through the damage, Zuko could make out the faded Fire Nation insignia on the cloth of the tent. This drove him towards it. He knelt down and carefully pushed aside the cloth, disturbing a moth who fluttered away. As expected, there was nothing of value remaining in the tent. No doubt pilfered by the next traveler that came through the clearing. Zuko sighed and turned away...

But through the corner of his eye, he noticed something. Under a fold of matted cloth, there appeared to be an odd bump. Curious, he reached over. It was a book. Now moldy and crumbling, but a book none the less. Zuko picked up which caused a chunk of pages to fall from the deteriorated bindings. He looked at the cover. No title. Then opened the pages. It was a journal with long faded words. The ink was no longer readable. Nothing but faded smudges. Zuko flipped through the pages, and by sheer luck found that the last entry still had something readable.

'Season of...

...travels have... me...

...no... messages...band...

...long to...

...son and...

I so ... dear Zuko...'

Zuko stopped reading more to glance at that line again. His name. This journal must have belonged to- "Mother..."

"Aaaagh!!" Suddenly there was a scream from off in the woods, making Zuko and his men turn, weapons drawn or fists raised to fire bend.

"What was that?" Whispered one guard.

"That was Kai. Hey! Kai! Wha-" The guard was silenced as something struck him from the darkness and he fell back. An arrow dug firmly through his shoulder.

"We're under attack!" Shouted one of the soldiers just as a barrage of arrows shot forth from the darkness of the tree line. Fire Nation soldiers scrambled for cover as chaos ran rampant.

Zuko ran to join his men and went on the offensive. With a mighty "Hauh!" he raised his leg in a round house, a ribbon of fire followed the kick's path and outstretched towards the end of the clearing. The force of the fire wave cut branches and singed through leaves.

The arrows stopped firing, but soon after, the culprits were forced to reveal themselves. Even in the flickering light of the fires, their opponents still seemed unidentifiable. They were masked with featureless cowls and wore seemingly light clothing of a dark color. They abandoned their bows at close range and went for small blades at their sides and ran swiftly to engage the Fire Nation guardsmen.

With their enemy now present before them, the guardsmen regained their resolve and took to sword, spear, and fire to deal with this new threat. One guard raised a spear only to find the handle cut through and a powerful kick delivered to his gut. Another flourished his spear masterfully and forced an attacker to parry the blow lest the spear tip strike him in the throat. A swordsman locked blades with his masked attacker, while another struck with his sword to hit nothing, but instead was thrown off his feet where his attacker's blade pinned him to the ground.

Zuko, needed no weapon. With a quick flurry of ferocious jabs and steps, he fought off three attackers at once whom believed they could outflank him. Two of them met quickly backed off while another was knocked several feet away by a fireball. Zuko noticed through the corner of his eye that there were more masked fighters entering the clearing, shooting an arrow before entering close quarters. Zuko brushed the arrows aside with his hands, burning them to cinders before they struck the ground. He leaned forward on his front foot and shot out both arms towards his assailants. He engulfed them within an inferno and halted their charge. Two of his fire benders went to his side to assist in burning away their opponent's hiding places.

But no sooner did they make progress before one of his soldier was taken from behind. The other fell prey to an odd powdery attack swung from an assailants blade sheath. Zuko staggered out of the way in time while his soldier caught the spray. He coughed twice before falling to the ground.

Before Zuko knew it, he was alone. His men were disposed of and held at blades edge while the masked attackers surrounded him. Zuko snarled in defiance. Round house kicks and fast punches to all directions made all of his attackers think twice before attempting to get close.

Eventually, both he and his attackers seemed to be at an impasse. They could not get closer for the strike, and Zuko could see no escape, but he swore he would go down fighting. He formed a blade of fire in each hand and stood with both weapons in front of him. "You don't know who your dealing with." he warned. "I will not be easy prey!"

Just then something came from beneath him. He thought for a moment that one of them must have earth bended. Instead however, he was shocked to find his feet rooted to the ground. Literally. It was as if tree roots were rising from the ground and enveloping his legs. By the time he began to slice through, it was already too late. The roots began to climb his body, hindering his movements more and more. In his struggle, his blades went out and he was left to wrestle fruitlessly with the thick roots. They encompassed his torso, then his shoulders, then his neck, and finally they began to grow over his face.

The last thing he saw was the attackers parting for another masked individual. Its hands seemed posed in a dance like martial arts Kata with one hand, palm up in the air, and the other waving out in front while it rhythmically stepped forward.

His last thought before blacking out was that the bender's fluid movements reminded him of Katara.

The last thing he heard was a woman's voice. Sharp, and full of venom. "Prey is prey."