HI OK HI OK SO HI!
Hi ok so I uploaded this FOREVER ago, hated how it was starting, took a lot of time to rewrite the background and plot for this character and story, and NOW I AM UPLOADING IT AGAIN YEHAWWWW.
So here it is! And here are a few things to keep in mind.
I am co writing this story with another amazing ATLA fan, Chloe.
I do not own anything Avatar the Last Airbender
THIS! STORY! WILL! NOT! NORMALLY! BE! IN! THIRD! PERSON! It will normally be in first person ok? Ok.
I NEED A BETA PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ I would love you forever 3
I would LOVE some suggestions, ideas, and constructive criticism on this story! Please just be nice about it I am so sensitive.
If you have any questions! Please ask! I will answer them in the next chapter!
Ok much love! Hope you like reading about Amaya and her background! And if you think this chapter is moving fast, it probably is. Because it's just her history. We have yet to get started on her actual story.
K LUV YA
-Teegan
The people of Yu Yan were notoriously known for their ruthless behavior. An elite squad of archers, who had a tendency for leaving no survivors. Working directly for the Fire Lord himself, these men would complete tasks most would find impossible. With incredibly precise aim, fast and agile combat skills, and a small, quick, silent nature. They never missed a shot. Their skills were unmatchable, an art they had passed down from son to son, a talent that is simply not gained in one lifetime but built into them; running through their genes, their blood. This is who the Yu Yan Archers were. Terrifying. Mysterious. Ruthless. But this was not always their way.
Sho was the last known chief of the Yu Yan island. The tiny island was so small you couldn't find it on a map. Off to the East side, they sat closer to the Earth Kingdom than they did to the Fire Nation, but the territory was still considered to be ruled under the Fire Lord. During this era the warriors lived only a peaceful life; practicing and training in archery for the sake of art and hunting, but to never bring harm to another living man. During the beginning of his reign as chief Sho would welcome many Fire Nation vessels that arrived on his shore with nothing but kindness. The first ships arrived in his first year as chief. They guaranteed the tribe protection, and in return requested the use of the Yu Yan Archers. In fear, Sho sent three of his best men with the general. Three years passed and all was peaceful on the island. Sho was becoming more and more respected as chief. Sho and his younger brother trained new warriors. But after three years another Fire Nation ship arrived, this time coming with the request of five new warriors. Sho and his brother spent the next two days debating weather or not to compel with the general.
"Brother, you wish me to guide you in wisdom, please do not go through with this. Our people are nothing but peaceful. We cannot let this Nation use them for their petty war."
Sho gave a sad look at his only brother. He grabbed his arm to affirm him.
"Nao, I simply cannot refuse this man. If I do, he will start a war with us. Think of the cost of five men, compared to our entire village. Please."
Nao looked down with sadness. "Then our people go extinct, like the Air Nomads. But we go extinct holding on to our beliefs."
Sho was far too good hearted to watch his people turn to ruins. He ignored his little brother's advice and again handed five of his warriors over to the general, who gave his thanks and then left once more. Over the course of the next five years, Nao and his wife bore a beautiful baby boy. This gave Sho the want for a child as well. He married the beautiful woman who had his eye since he was a child, and they were very happy together ruling over the island of Yu Yan, along with his brother and his family.
It only took Sho and his wife a few months to discover she was barren. Heartbroken and bitter, Sho and his wife, Rei, watched longingly as Nao brought up his boy, who would soon begin training as a warrior. Rei expressed to her husband how badly she wanted to raise the finest warrior Yu Yan has ever seen, she spent her days daydreaming staring off into a world unseen. A world where she raised a strong and big warrior to protect their people, that would bring her and Sho's name honor, that was courageous and brave. She wanted to raise nothing more than the best archer to walk all the land.
Near the end of these five years, Rei had a dream more vivid and more real than anything she had experienced. In her dream, Izanagi- who was the spirit of life- approached her. "I have heard your prayers." Izanagi said. "I will grant you with a child. Your baby will go down in history as the best Yu Yan archer to ever live. You and your husbands name will be honored, your people will be honored. Raise this blessing well."
Rei woke with tears of happiness in her eyes as she ran to Sho to share the great news. The entire tribe rejoiced after hearing how the spirit was going to grant them an amazing warrior. They all danced and celebrated for three days, giving their blessing and good wishes to the chief and his expecting wife. As the months dragged on, Rei grew in size more and more, and her excitement grew as well. This was the happiest of times. And then a Fire Nation vessel once again rose on the horizon of their sea.
This time a new face stepped off the ship, approaching Sho, recognizing him as the chief from his tribal tattoos. The man gave a curled smile, that somehow wasn't as friendly as the man who had come twice before him. He bowed in front of Sho with respect.
"How pleased I am to meet you, Sho. I am Captain Zhao."
Sho said nothing. Already suspicious of this man.
"General Iroh would have come back for the third time, but he's currently stationed in the great city of Ba Sing Se. I have come in replacement of him."
Captain Zhao then demanded ten more Yu Yan warriors. This greatly upset Sho and the rest of the village. Sho again spent time with Nao discussing, arguing, and yelling over what they should do. And again, against the advice of his younger brother, Sho reluctently handed over ten more warriors. As Zhao boarded the ship behind the ten solem archers, Sho roughly grabbed his arm, pulling his face toward him.
"If you return with the request of more of my warriors, we will go to war with you."
Zhao grinned at Sho.
"My… that would be a waste of amazing talent. But I shall pass on your warning to General Iroh. Best wishes."
With that the ship sailed away, holding ten more warriors captive in it's stomach, headed in the direction of the Fire Nation.
This event sent a ripple of panic throughout the island. Mothers cried in fear of losing their sons next, the warriors were on edge with Sho; for willingly sending away more warriors, the men trained in archery harder than ever before in case of a Fire Nation attack. Some even went as far as leaving the island completely, stealing a fishing canoe in the middle of the night and sailing away to safer land, where there were no risk to the Fire Nation stealing them away. In the midst of all this panic and stress, Rei went into labor far too early.
Sho paced outside his hut for hours, listening helplessly as his beautiful wife screamed in agony. He not only feared for his unborn child's life, but now for his wife's. The hours of the night soon became the hours of the morning, and just as Sho could see the outline of the sun rising above the ocean's water, black clouds swallowed it and rain began to heavily beat down on the island. The winds uprooted trees, blew over huts, and sent the worried tribe inside to their own homes. Sho continued to pace outside, the lightening brightening the sky for the brief moments that the strikes lasted. Rei gave a scream so agonizing that it sent Sho erupting into the hut, and to his relief and surprise, the cry of a baby began just as he entered. He ran to his wife's side and kissed her exhausted and sweaty face. He continued to congratulate Rei, tears running down his face as the beautiful sound of a baby's cry mixed with the loud boom of thunder. As the women cleaned off his new child he and Rei looked up, ready to meet their warrior boy.
"My son. I want to hold my son." Rei breathed.
There was a concerned silence from the women. Their stature appeared to be confused, and they whispered questions among themselves. Sho demanded they tell them what was wrong. The two midwives slowly walked over, one carrying a swaddle in her hands, placing it in the arms of Rei. There was a long moment where no one talked. There was just the noise of rain as it slapped against the roof, and a small boom of thunder as it roared over the ocean. Rei and Sho looked into their babies golden eyes. And heard the small voice of one of the midwives say;
"Your son appears to be a daughter."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Rei did not eat, drink, or look at the baby for three days. Sho tried to use reason with her, but to no avail. His wife was fully convinced that their child was a bad omen, a curse to their people. A sign that nothing but death and disappointment would come to the island of Yu Yan. The entire tribe was convinced as well, since- according to Rei- a spirit had promised a baby boy to the chief and her, and he would become the greatest warrior alive. After Rei had grieved for the son she had wished for so badly, she woke in the middle of the night, grabbed her sleeping daughter, and disappeared into the woods.
Sho searched desperately the entire next day for his newborn and his wife. He sent out search parties and even went out to look himself. He was sick with worry when he noticed the sun was setting, but he then saw the shadow of someone appear near the edge of the woods just as another storm was rising in the sky. He raced over and grabbed his wife, hugging her with great relief. In tears he kissed her, and then his stomach sank when he noticed their daughter was not in her arms. Enraged, he demanded to know what she did with their child. Her voice dripped with anger and hatred when she stated that she had rid of it. In a fury, he shook his wife by his shoulder, the first rain drops began to fall.
"What did you do to her! Where is our daughter!" He screamed.
"It doesn't matter, she is dead anyways." Rei retorted, and marched back to the camp.
The rain began to fall harder. In his worried outrage, Sho followed the tracks of his wife through the forest. He cursed in hurt and frustration. He ran through the mountains and the trees, the lightning again helping light up his surroundings and helping to lead him to where he would hopefully find his child. He walked all night, and began to fear the worst. Finally the tracks led him to wear a bundle lay in the wide open night. Not expecting his daughter to be alive, Sho picked her up in his arms, and was amazed when he saw the tear stained face peer back at him. He cried in relief as his baby began to wail. He couldn't stop looking into those yellow eyes. It was right then and there, in the middle of the island as the rain poured on the two of them… where his only child was left for dead, that Sho felt love in it's purest form. And he made the decision in that exact moment, that he would die for the tiny human he held in his arms. He began the trek back to camp, walking slowly to be sure to not disturb the baby he held in his arms. The sun was half way up by the time he reached camp, the air was brisk and nipped at the father's face as he walked to the centre of the village. He raised his voice so everyone could hear;
"Let all know, as of right now, if anyone tries to harm my daughter, this will be an act against our people as a whole. Punishable by death. I will raise my daughter on my own, I no longer consider Rei as my wife."
People began to crowd around, surprised mumbles and questions rose from the tribe.
"I am going to raise her to become a Yu Yan Archer." Sho proclaimed, making it clear for
everyone to know. People voiced their concerns about this in the crowd.
"Only men can be Yu Yan Archers."
"She's too tiny and sick. I doubt she will make it through the winter months."
"How can you lead us and raise a child on your own?"
"What a sad decision to raise a child without her mother."
As the voices questioned the morality of the situation, Sho's deep and loud voice silenced the people. "Let it be known!"
He then said the prayer that the people of Yu Yan blessed their sons with. Sons who would soon become Archers. Then he fittingly named his daughter Amaya. Meaning; rain in the night.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Amaya was raised being rejected and disliked. Change is against human nature. And this change made the entire island uneasy. Some suspected that the spirits would be angered, some were uneasy with a girl holding such a powerful position within the tribe. Most just didn't think she could follow through with her warrior training.
But nonetheless, Sho raised her with much love. He didn't let her know who her mother was, but Amaya of course knew. She knew because of the looks Rei would give her of disapproval and regret. Amaya knew before she probably knew anything else. But even with this constant tension between the two girls, they never spoke a word to each other. Not once. It was sad for Sho to see his daughter being brought up knowing that she was loathed so greatly by her mother. Loathed to a point that Rei could not even be close to her only child. But despite the constant negative energy surrounding the young girl, Sho could not have done a better job raising such a respectful, kind hearted, and loving child. She only started by feeling loved by her father, uncle, and cousin; but as she grew she slowly began to win over the hearts of the people. With her defiant dimples, stubborn personality, and sweet nature, it was almost impossible to not smile at the little one.
Sho kept his promise, and a week after Amaya turned seven, she began training, just like the other boys. No one liked seeing her shoot an arrow, or seeing her practice throwing punches, or even just simply wearing her apprentice face paint. She was clumsy at first, small and fragile. Amaya was constantly getting knocked over, pushed around, and snickered at by the other students. Her mentor, who also happened to be her cousin, didn't give up on her. Takeo was very patient and kind. They were quite the odd pair, Takeo being very strongly built, while Amaya was small. It was hard for her to even pull the string back on the bow, whereas the others could shoot with ease. But every time she did manage to let an arrow fly, it hit her target. Amaya was definitely her father's daughter, and soon it began to show. With much help and patience, her weaknesses soon became her strengths. Her small build was perfect for slyness and agility, and her flexibility came in handy with the hand combat skills. The young warrior even developed some of her own fighting moves before she turned ten. Over the years she grew in strength, power, and talent. With extra help from Takeo she became the top of her apprentice group. The suspicion of the people soon became amazement and acceptance. Amaya was finally getting respect.
The day finally came where she was to perform her learnings to the people of Yu Yan, with hopes of passing off her final training, and becoming the first female archer to live. She exceeded the expectations as she publicly showed her learning, hitting all the targets, using different techniques, showing her agility with hand on hand combat, and showing how strong she was by throwing her fellow apprentice on the ground in defeat, proving to one and all that she was equipt and ready. At the end of her performance, Amaya looked into the faces of her people to see no more anger, no more hatred, and no more suspicion. She even thought she saw a smile on the face of Rei. The eleven year old not only graduated a year early, but earned her bow and quiver that night. She was blessed with high honors, and would go down in history as the first girl to be a warrior of Yu Yan.
All finally seemed well with Amaya. That night her and her tiny family celebrated with dumplings and rice cakes. Her and Takeo laughed as their fathers joked around with their chopsticks. They told stories that night, using the shadow of their hands from the fire to create characters and act things out. Amaya had never been so happy. But that happiness did not last long.
A Fire Nation vessel was on their shore in the morning. And Captain Zhao stepped off the ramp and onto their shores. Amaya watched from a distance as her father and the Captain had what seemed to be a very heated conversation. It lasted a long time. Amaya thought it was strange how her normally welcoming and friendly father would not invite Zhao to the village for tea, and did not even let him off the ramp of his boat. After a few more moments of them arguing at a distance, Amaya gazed after her uncle as he joined whatever it was they were talking about. Another few long moments passed, and just as Amaya began to question if she would have to fight, the captain turned on his heel, marched up to the ship, and it pulled away into the sea. After the chief and his brother watched the boat for a while, the two walked back. Amaya was immediately frightened by her father's expression. She had never seen him look so worried or concerned.
Amaya sat outside while the entire village had a meeting, and held back tears as the tribe blamed her for whatever was happening.
"The spirits obviously didn't want you to make a girl a warrior!"
"It is simply against our ways!"
"She is why he want's to take more of our warriors!"
Sho raised a hand, which immediately made the entire congregation go silent.
"My daughter is the not the issue at hand. The Fire Nation has been causing trouble for us since before Amaya was even born. I warned Zhao last time that we would not give him any more of our people. Since that is the case, we must prepare ourselves for battle."
There was an uproar that night. People protesting and women crying. Amaya wandered to bed and lay there trying to block out the enraged cries of her people. Guilt ripped through her, but she had to stay strong. Sho came into her room that night, and tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.
"You know that they do not mean what they say, they are acting out of fear and not reason." He softly said.
Amaya nodded. He kissed her forehead, and blew out her lantern, standing up and heading to his own quarters.
"Father?" Amaya said in her whisper voice. Sho stopped and turned his head. "I love you." Amaya stated.
He grinned back. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Amaya. I love you." With that he slid her door shut.
And that was the last conversation they would ever have.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The next morning Amaya led her first ever hunting party. Her and a squad of three other warriors left early before the sun rose, traveling along the ridge of the tallest mountain on the island. The season was early spring, and during this time the water elk spent their mornings drinking in the river, preparing for the mothers to have their calves.
After the team had finally tracked the herd down, they waited for the sun to rise which would allow them to make the the cleanest and easiest shot possible for the bucks. Just as Amaya had her target clear and the arrow notched, a loud boom exploded off in the distance. She let her arrow fly but the startled buck had jumped and fled away from the explosive sound. The archer was agitated that the herd had fled away. One of the warriors suggested they follow the animals since food was starting to run low back at camp. Amaya was about to agree, but when she squinted her eyes near the direction the loud noise had arouse from, she felt her stomach sink when she noticed a cloud of black smoke, rising up over the mountain where the village was located.
The booms grew louder and louder as Amaya and her team sprinted back to the other end of the island. As they grew closer and closer, the explosions became louder and louder, and the more panicked Amaya and her warriors became. When she heard the screams of children and felt the sting of hot ash hit her skin, she ditched the other three archers and sprinted as fast as her feet could carry her back to camp.
She was about to round the corner to see the view of her camp, but an explosion so fierce and big sent her crashing to the dirt. Her ears rang and her throat stung as she forced her muscles to move herself back to her feet. She stumbled around the corner to a horrific sight.
The huts were up in flames. Seven Fire Nation vessels sat on the shore, soldiers pouring out of them like water pouring from a cup. Torches in hand, several soldiers threw the lit sticks, or even just fire bent the houses that were full of children and screaming mothers. This forced them to exit, and as soon as they were exposed in the open chains were threw around their wrists and the soldiers started shoving them into the ships. The archers were letting their arrows fly into the hearts of the soldiers, sending them violently to the dirty ground were many soldiers already lay unmoving. But where there were dead Fire Nation soldiers, there were twice as many dead archers, their bodies had black skin peeling off and smoke rising from them, like when the mothers cooked the elk meat over a fire. The battle cries continued to rise from the camp as the archers fought against the evil men.
Amaya couldn't move her feet, and the view was so disturbing for the eleven year old that she vomited. She couldn't take her eyes off the scene that was before her. She kept scanning back and forth, she even saw Rei being loaded up in one of the ships. Finally her view came across who she was looking for.
She didn't remember her feet carrying her across the ruins of her tribe, or the tears start to stream down her face, or the screams leave her mouth, but somehow she ended up by her father's side. His eyes were looking right at her, but not seeing her. He lay there still as a rock, with blood still trickling down the open wound on his chest.
She didn't even have a chance to say goodbye.
She held onto her father and sobbed as the battle continued around her. When suddenly a shadow loomed above. Amaya looked directly into the eyes of Captain Zhao. Who had the blood of her father and her people on his hands, and a sick look in his eyes. He appeared confused. Probably wondering what her title amongst the tribe was by her warrior paint. Unsure if he should load her up with the other woman and children, or slay her where she sat. He appeared to have made up his mind and not taking a chance, lit his hands up on fire, and took a step to kill Amaya.
Then came the familiar shout from her cousin, Takeo, who shot an arrow at Zhao. He dodged, but it grazed his arm. This gave Amaya just enough time to regain herself, and she lunged at the murderer, kicking him in the groin and then punching his face as he bent over from the pain. Quick as lightning she had an arrow notched in her bow and pulled back, pressed against the Captain's head, ready to release the arrow and sending him to the dead. Everything became still while Zhao sat on his knees, his life completely in the hands of the little girl who stood above him.
Amaya wasn't sure how much time had passed as the two didn't move in the middle of the camp. She tried to release her arrow… but she couldn't.
"You killed my father." She girl cried. Still not moving, or dropping her ready to fly arrow into his skull.
Zhao looked up. And he must have known Amaya was too weak to take a life. Because he smiled and whispered;
"Yes, and now I'm going to kill you."
In one quick motion his hand grabbed the girl's arrow and bow, and snapped them both in half. Tossing them into the flames. She stared in a silent horror, all of her skills she learned over her years and years of training escaped her. She stumbled back as the captain strode to her, his hand grabbed her neck and he lifted her off the ground. Her feet kicked in the air and she clawed at his massive fingers which just squeezed tighter around her neck. She tried to suck air down her throat but nothing came. She fought for air harder and harder, but Zhao just smiled sickly at her, and even laughed at the desperate child fighting for her life. Amaya saw black tunnels form in the corner of her eyes, and felt spit run down her chin. Zhao pulled the dangling girl to his face and whispered in her ear.
"Your father should have listened."
Amaya's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she went limp, momentarily dangling in the air. Zhao laughed and lifted her higher, before using his strength to forcefully throw her into the ground. Hard. Amaya heard a sickening crack as she felt her head smash into a rock. She lay there, too dazed and too pained to even suck air into her exhausted lungs. Too shocked to even move. Her eyes stared forward, and she only found it safe to breathe when she saw the back of Zhao walking to his ship.
She stayed there, unmoving. Too injured to do anything. The consciousness was seeping out of her while she felt blood pour from her head. The last thing she saw was the last of the Yu Yan warriors being loaded up. They must have surrendered. The last man in the lineup was her cousin, Takeo. His eyes locked with hers, and must have assumed she was dead because he let out a cry of mourning.
Then the ramp was shut. And the first ship pulled away.
Amaya screamed at herself to get up, to go do something. Anything. But her eyes blurred, and she passed out, right next to her dead father.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The young warrior was unsure how long she was out for. But it must have been a considerably long time since the thin layer of ash that covered her was not warm, and when she reached out and touched her father's hand it was stone cold. Once the memories came back, she sat bolt upright, her head screaming in agony. Her eyes focused and she saw her camp in literal ruins. She crawled as fast as she could over to a bucket of water. She didn't even care that ash was mixed into it. She drank the entire thing. She sat back on her heels and gawked at the sight of her tribe.
She tried to scream for help but her swollen throat could only muster a scratchy cry. Her face felt wet and she touched where the pain was the worst- above her eyebrow- and her hand drew away red. She slathered mud onto the wound to stop the bleeding and then stumbled through the broken camp. Looking for a survivor… Any survivor. She tripped over the bodies of her fallen archers, and broke down every door to every hut, her heart sinking more and more with each corpse of warrior, mother, and child in her tribe. As the day came to an end, she realized she was the only one alive on the island.
Amaya spent one week there at camp. She cried gut wrenching sobs, and cursed to the sky. She spent that week swearing to the gods that she would find Zhao and kill him. She spent a lot of time looking at her father, so she could always remember his face. She memorized every smile line and wrinkle. She spent that week considering if she should die herself.
Amaya lost a piece of herself that week. Being alone and frightened. She was only a child, but seeing almost everyone she grew up with dead- corpses who were nothing more than rotting flesh and decaying bones- forced her to leave something no normal human would ever wish on a child. She lost her innocence that week. She lost her happiness, she lost her will to live, she lost her sense of meaning and her drive. She lost everything. And that week was a week spent realizing that.
But mostly she spent that week realizing and crying over the fact that everyone was right. She was a curse. She was a bad omen. She had brought nothing but hell to her people. And it ate her up alive. On the last day of the week, she found her father's bow and arrow. The bow that had been passed down chief to chief. Beautiful carvings covered it, and it was so well kept that she wasn't sure if she could manage the exquisite masterpiece.
With some guilt, she packed the bow and quiver. She hunted for all the arrows she could find, even pulling most out of the dead Fire Nation soldiers. She stowed away ten buckets of fresh water in the biggest canoe she found, and packed the last remaining food particles she dug up from camp. Before she left, she said goodbye to her dead uncle, and cried and apologized to her dead father, then pushed the canoe out to sea.
Amaya spent exactly four weeks at sea. She knew it was exactly four because she kept tally marks on the side of the canoe. The ocean pushed her around, and she prayed she ended up somewhere quickly. Or dead. On the last day she saw land, and the current sent her onto the shore of somewhere unfamiliar.
Before she stepped off the boat, she paused. She realized this was her first time anywhere that wasn't the island of Yu Yan. She felt tears brim in her eyes. But suddenly a new sense of being came over Amaya. She pushed down her emotions. She left the dead to be dead. She pushed thoughts of her family and tribe so far to the back of her mind, and made those thoughts stay there. From here on out, Amaya changed as a person. She became a girl who's only focus was to stay alive, not to live. Someone who accepted the things that had happened to her, and who blamed herself for them. She became emotionless.
And with that, she stepped off her canoe.
Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Amaya would spend the next five years of her life as a robber, a hunter, and a hired assassin, traveling through different places in the Earth Kingdom. She got money where and however she could, and never gave her name. Through her years alone she became skilled in many different ways, and her aspect of the world grew more and more cold as she witnessed the corruption of men.
It was hard for her to get jobs as a hunter or an assassin as a girl, so she learned that if she bound her chest, and wrapped a scarf around her entire face minus her eyes, she would get more jobs under the identity as a man. So she became the Masked Marksman. Who got the job done for the people who needed it. These five years were hard years for her, and she soon began to forget just who she was deep down.
And then she got tangled up in an entire new mess.
With a snotty prince and the Avatar.
This is the story of Amaya. The Yu Yan Archer.