Centuries ago the world stood divided yet together. There were numerous wars across the ages and seas separated countries just as much as their own morals did. Wars waged for decades at a time and were often ended with nothing but a brief bout of peace and harmony. These were the wars that shaped the original world. This was the Avatar's world.
The Avatar was a master of elements. He or she would have complete control over the bending of fire, water, earth and air. They were a genius. Nobody on the planet could surpass them and it is through their great power that they achieved enlightenment and restored peace to the world time after time. The Avatar is reborn after they pass away, the legacy continues. A new hero and a new mind but the morals stayed very much the same.
People worshipped the Avatar as a God: the protector of their lives. Although this was how it was for decades, there was a time where a hundred years passed before the Avatar returned. War broke out and the Fire Nation ceased what it could. They enslaved, they conquered and they became kings.
When the Avatar did return, he was young and weak; it took him time to master the elements. He made friends along the way and formed bonds with many people. He was names Aang. He brought peace to a wild world and united its people together once more.
After him, another Avatar succeeded. Her name was Korra. She was a strong-minded individual who achieved a great many things in her time on this world. Time however, has a side effect and that is that everybody is destined to run out of time at some point. The will of the Avatar was passed on once more. And again and again. Something however, was off. People began to criticise the Avatar more than they had done in the past.
There was an Avatar called Sakura. She was imprisoned by her people. They held her deep within her own castle and bound her with things unbendable. Deep within this castle is where the trouble began. Her brother, Chi, was an unusual fellow. He was not a bender of any sorts.
Chi was the person who ordered the arrest of his sister. He used the people's fear of benders to aid him. He ruled the 4 kingdoms from the stone chair of the castle and barked orders that favoured the non-benders. Bending became taboo and benders began to live in fear. Their crimes were punishable by his law.
It is said that Chi liked to experiment on his sister; supposedly to prove how much of a monster she was. It is doubtful that even her guards knew what he did to her. All that is known is that it is something dark.
Then it happened.
One day they heard screams from the Avatar's cage. She was dying. They could not free her in fear that she would revolt against them. The Avatar would pass onto a new generation. Chi was well aware that this posed a great threat to him and his kingdoms. He then, whilst his sister was dying, ordered the murder of all new-borns and pregnant women in the land.
The soldiers were reluctant at first, but the hateful eyes of Chi burned into their souls like daggers and so, the 'Purification' began.
Several days had passed of the purification and Sakura was still screaming in agony. Nobody knew why. Nobody could find out. Except for Chi. He seemed to have insane with his power and the purification he had ordered seemed to have tipped him over the edge by quite some measure.
He went to see his sister one day. She appeared lifeless and her screams had stopped. He removed her armour plating and raised her fallen head by the chin. He kissed her passionately. Her cold pale skin against his light tanned face. Her deep red lips against his bright pink ones.
Her veins were visible throughout her body, like a map of her life. Chi moved away and stroked her pale face. He smiled to sweetly as if to a lover. He then crouched and removed her lower armour. Beneath it she was naked. But what stood out most was the lump on her stomach. She was pregnant.
He ran his finger down her stomach. Then further still until he waivered near her genital area. He then smiled that same smile once more. His eyes seemed to change slightly now. He removed his glove on his right hand. He threw it on the ground. Clink.
He then raised his arm through her genitalia like a raged animal. He thrust and dug like a wild beast until stopping for a moment and then finally pulling his way back out: much more slowly than he had entered. A child. He had delivered a child however the child was not alive.
He took his knife from his belt and cut the umbilical cord. He held the baby in his right hand. His arm covered in blood. He glanced over at his sister once more, his eyes returned to normal for a second, and then his right arm almost dropped.
In a jolt, he readied his arm once more, it now resembled that of something more bestial than a human, eyes returning to their other gaze. No, they were not the eyes of man anymore. They were something else. The eyes on the man named Chi were nowhere to be found now. He looked at the baby in his right hand. He stared for nothing more than a few seconds.
Then he did it.
There is a limit before man becomes monster and this man had crossed that some time ago; nothing was more evident of that then now. He lifted the baby to his mouth. His mouth opened at inhuman lengths to reveal razor-like teeth and a tongue with the same mouths all over. He pushed the baby into his mouth until you could no longer see it. With one large gulp, he swallowed it. The baby was gone. The baby had been eaten.
That was when it began. That is when it took over not only Chi, but the entire world.
His eyes tuned black and melted. He became a scaled beast with numerous mouths and a sharp spear-like tail emerged from his coccyx in a brutal fashion so much so that the tears in flesh spilled black blood all over the stone floor. The wounds healed over scaled like a serpent. His entire being became warped. He was now, if ever there had been doubt: inhuman. Nothing could redeem this mad monster now.
The black blood spread across the floor like a plague. It grew and moved until in covered not only the floor, but the walls and the ceiling, it began to coat everything in its ink. Sakura soon was completely emerged in the liquid and everything in that room became dark.
The substance spread to the outside of the castle and from there on it began to engulf everything in its path. People drowned alive in its gloop and buildings and landmarks melted into the sludge. Everything became black and even the sun could no longer bear to look upon such a horror. The sun shone its rays everywhere but upon the darkness. Luckily, this cancer did not cover the entire world, it stopped at the seas. The only true unfortunate situation was the loss of not only one of the four kingdoms, but also the loss of an Avatar.
Chapter 1The Fire Nation was east of the terror known only to the world as the 'darkness'. It had engulfed the entire earth kingdom in a matter of days. The people of the fire Nation were worried that somehow the darkness would spread to them. However, this was not the least of their worries. Something odd was about to hit them, something not unlike the darkness: a side effect maybe.
The people were going about their daily lives as best they could, the busy market of Pyros City (the Capital of the Fire Nation) was lively and full but rather than words of gossip and banter the streets were filled with a distinct thick aroma of fear. It lurked silently in everybody's speech, invisible but there nonetheless.
The city was a fine construction. Beautiful buildings decorated with carved stone and a pathway far beyond dirt track. The Fire Nation was small compared to the Earth kingdom and so they could afford to pave their walkways much more handsomely. The Court of Fire was the current governing body. Chi never had much influence in the Fire Nation, he himself had known this. The Fire Nation was strong and independent: a democracy. They only helped Chi when it suited them. They were always thinking about their country: their nation.
The sun always shone bright upon the Fire Nation. Rainy days were always few in numbers. Benders were still very careful in the Fire Nation. There were some even amongst their own people who despised the benders and ever since Chi had become "King", the number of global benders had diminished significantly to the point that you were lucky to find one in a town. Most of them had supposedly fled to the Water Tribe. A possibility nonetheless but it was somewhat regarded as a myth. It was common knowledge that the Water Tribe had been desperate enough to sell out a few of its own kind to keep the peace with Chi. They had been lacking benders for some length of time and, as one would say, they grew tired of turmoil: they wanted peace. All those they turned in were willing sacrifices but it is unknown what they would've done to fire benders.
The Water Tribe was also neutral, as was the Air Temple. The supposed reign of Chi never really existed. Chi had not the right mind-set for global conquest as such; he seemed to believe that marching soldiers into towns to "keep watch" meant he had power over them. It was quite the opposite; soldiers fell in love with citizens, improved the economy of the country and made them more independent. Saying things like this to Chi would've got you killed though, so everyone kept with the false belief that the world was ruled by one man: a man who never left his chair.
Now that Chi was gone, there was only the darkness to worry about. People mourned the loss of the Earth Kingdom. They also prayed for salvation from the same fate. Some occult citizens believed it to signify the end of the world. Some said it was a sign that the wretched king's madness had finally engulfed him. Others just didn't know what to make of it. It just seemed evil to them.
There was little anyone could do about the darkness. People just avoided it. Anyone who went to explore and see what may have been left of the Earth Kingdom never made it back alive. Some said that if you stared at it for too long, you began to feel dark thoughts entering your mind. It was something that nobody wanted anything to do with.
There was a lot of discussion in the Court of Fire about the darkness too. They wanted to keep the country in a state of peace but were also themselves unsure if the darkness would ever spread across the water to them.
Lord Tao, one of the elders and most respected members of the Court of Fire suggested that they form an alliance with the other nations like they had done in the past. He wanted unity for the nation and he wanted safety. He wanted to know that if the darkness should ever spread there would be a place to go for anyone until the people could no longer hide. He did not discriminate against benders. He himself was one: a good one too. He did not show off and kept it to himself as other members of the Court were prejudiced against benders. They seemed to think that it made people think highly of themselves and that is what had corrupted their past rulers. They also believed that although Chi killed benders, some of his actions were just as it reduced the crime rates and increased prosperity overall: the benders could now be used rather than the people being used by the benders, or so that's how they worded it. It all sounded too fancy for Tao. They seemed to forget that benders and non-benders exist for reasons and that they are both equal.
Tao was middle aged. He had long dark hair that was showing signs of turning grey. He wore it in a typical samurai fashion: as did the Fire Nation's upper-class. He had deep, caring brown eyes that showed his love for his nation. He wore the red robes of his forefathers as a sign of respect and was as some might say a traditionalist, but not for his father's views, but for his grandfather's and his grandfather's father's views that unity was key to peace; not independence.
He knew when to oppress his opinion and when to state it. He was a very well educated man whom would not flaunt his position or try to abuse it in any way. He was a kind and gentle person who was admired by many in the Fire Nation.