Prologue
After the conclusion of the Hundred Year War the world was still recovering. Anyone who thought that with the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai the struggle would be done was a fool. Deep seeded hatred between the Fire Nation, and the rest of the world could not go away after one battle. However the people were tired of the fighting and were able to set aside their hatred in pursuit of peace. That peace that was created was fragile. Nobody truly forgave nor forgotten what the past century was like. The people buried their hate down, but they never truly let it go. Tension around the world was building and it was only a matter of time as to when the hate would bubble back up to the surface.
As soon as Fire Lord Zuko was crowned he got rid of the entire remaining Ozai loyalist from all government offices. He began a time of reconstruction. The massive Fire Navy began shipping relief supplies to the areas affected by the war. Initially the people of the Earth Kingdom were suspicious and believed that the Fire Navy was trying to invade. After some resistance, half of the fleet was stripped of their heavy weaponry as a sign of peace. While that helped ease tensions it did not stop it. No Fire Navy ships were allowed to dock and relief supplies had to transfer to a boat provided by the port cities.
While Fire Lord Zuko gained respect and praise in the rest of the world at home he was still look at like a traitor. When he disarmed half of the Navy the people were furious. They believed that the Fire Navy was the Fire Nations best defense in a world that hated them. A small terrorist organization made up of Ozai loyalist was formed. They called themselves the Black Phoenixes. After the Black Phoenixes attacked a well liked governor, the general public began to follow Zuko. Zuko soon closed off the Fire Nation to the world. He did that out of fear of allowing the Black Phoenix out to destroy the delicate peace. Only the Avatar and a select few were allowed to enter the Fire Nation and only Zuko and his guards were able to leave.
The Earth Kingdom was severely crippled by the war. The people were impoverished and taxes had to be raised to help fund reconstruction. The Fire Nation helped in the south until they went into isolation. The southern portion of the continent became a haven for bandits. The soldiers of the Earth Kingdom were moved were in the only remaining basses in the North because all of the southern basses were destroyed. The Northern Earth Kingdom recovered quickly but the South was still in ruin. The Earth Kingdom was split in two the northern rich half and the crime ridden southern half. The big city of Omashu became a known as the capital of crime after its King Bumi was crowned the Earth King and had to move to Ba Sing Se. King Bumi used his recurces to try to create order in the South but he died before he could succeed. After his death the South became even worst. The new Earth King only contained the power of the crime bosses to the South.
The crime bosses were former soldiers of both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom. Some of them were bandits before the end of the war or they were freedom fighters. But when Fire Lord Zuko surrendered the Fire Nation outposts in the Earth Kingdom the crime bosses took control of them. King Bumi did not have the forces to retake the outpost so they endured his war on crime.
The Water Tribes had better luck after the war. The Northern, Southern, and Swamp Tribes unified to become one. Each tribe had a member to represent them in the Chief's council. The Chief was democratically elected every four years. The capital was put in the Northern Water Tribe. The Council consisted of the Chief, the Northern representative, Southern representative, Central representative (from the Swamp Tribes), and the Wolf Commander. The Wolf Commander would have the highest rank in the Water Navy. They would have command over the Northern Navy, Southern Navy, and the Central Marines. The Water Navy would protect the trade routes from pirates as they sailed from one place to another. After the Fire Navy was cut in half the Water Navy became the major power on the sea. The Northern Tribe became the seat of political power, the Southern Tribe became the center of economic power and the Central Tribe became a cultural hub. The largest Naval Academy was in the North. The largest Bending Academy was in the South. The largest University was in the Swamps. This made each tribe equal in power.
Avatar Ang had a lot to deal with after the war he had to keep the peace between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation from breaking out again. He also had to deal with the rise of crime in the Earth Kingdom. His most important thing was restoring the Air Nomads. He could not truly bring balance to the world until they were brought back. To be able to take on all of this he had to enlist the help of the Kyoshi Warriors. They helped Ang keep the peace and protect travelers from bandits. This was so Ang could focus on how to revive the Air Nomads.
Ang used his knowledge of Spirit Bending to find people who had a latent or dormant affinity for air. These people were decedents of Air Nomads that never were able to learn Air Bending. He found a few young boys and girls that he began to train. Their training was crucial. If they did not learn correctly then when Ang died he would be the last Air Bender and the last Avater. He eventually gained 8 pupils to train to become Air Benders.