A dear friend of mine and myself were having a heated conversation about Avatar (yes, we are helplessly nerdy, no salvation for either of us) which went something along the lines of "...and they could have done x with y... but of course they're not going to, because this is a Nick show and they have to keep it Y7." Which got me to thinking... what would the story of Avatar be like if the writers had the freedom to explore such pivotal issues as: 'This is a war and we're not going to win without killing people' or 'character (name witheld) is not appearing anymore because they are dead'. Some of the early fight scenes dealt with in a noncomical manner. Things like that. And then of course, me being me, I actually started writing something from this misbegotten idea. I truly hope that the resulting story will be entertaining for everyone.

Rating: Teen. Might possibly go up later on

Parings: I'm going to try to stick close to cannon. Which means yes, if I ever do make it to book three Zuko and Mai are still going to hook up. I'll also tell you right here that I am a Kataang fan, and that's probably going to crop up in this story eventually, but I'll try not to hit you over the head with it. Truly rabid Zutara fans may wish to look elsewhere...

Warnings: Will contain violence. Will contain interaction between the sexes, but probably won't be anything more graphic than kissing and (gasp) holding hands. Will also contain my sense of humor

Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Waterbending would be a truly terrifying thing and... well, I try not to scar my readers in the opening notes. They don't show up for the next chapter if I do.

Unabridged: The True History of the Great War

Prologue: A page from a diary…

Fourth Month, Eleventh Day: Year Three Hundred and Twenty since the Restoration (or AR, if you are fond of abbreviations. I am not.)

I've done something idiotic. I know that probably wouldn't come as a surprise to most who know me, but this time I've done something even I believe is truly stupid.

I know it's been only half a year since I received the honor of becoming a librarian in the service of the Royal Archives of the Earth Kingdom. I'm well aware of the fact that I would not have this responsibility if my father had not pulled some considerable strings. I am his youngest and most feckless son, whose only skill is in keeping things organized and whose only interest is books, to the exclusion of everything else. I probably would not remember to eat half the time if Mother did not remind me. Part of me feels sorry for whoever my parents marry me off to already, but I cannot help myself. I try to change time and time again, but it seems every time I almost do some new book has ensnared me. I may mock Ping's hapless addiction to fine vintages, but in truth I am no better. No, Ping can function with modern society. I am ten times worse, at least.

This time, I have really done it though. I 'borrowed' a book from the Restricted Section, the part of the library off-limits to all but the Royal Family and the Chief Librarian. The door was open, the books were there, and I could not stop myself from going in to look just once. When I looked, and I saw this book, I could not help but pick it up and open it. Really, who could resist a book with a title like 'The True History of the Great War'? It was practically begging me to read it…

And now I have a dilemma. I cannot return this book. I literally cannot get into the section of the library I need to be in to put the book back where I found it, I believe the Chief Librarian sleeps with the keys clutched to his bosom, miserly bastard that he is. If I leave it around to be reshelved, someone will no doubt comment on the title, bring it to the Chief Librarian's attention, and then they will start looking for the culprit and probably ferret me out. Everyone knows about my little fixation. If I am lucky, I will merely lose my position and disgrace my family. If I am lucky. The same can be said for going to the Chief Librarian and confessing my guilt.

I guess the only thing to do now is to read of this tome and see why it was restricted in the first place. It's not like I can do anything to fix this mess, so I might as well enjoy myself a bit before my execution.

I really hope that last sentence remains the poor joke that it was meant to be, and not a prophecy.

-Ru Min

Random author's note: Ru Min should translate to something like 'scholar'(Ru) and 'clever, sharp'(Min). It's basically a name I fused using an online name dictionary of Chinese names, and I don't know how accurate it is since I'm a poor ignorant Caucasian girl. My only defense is that it sounds cool, and that the Earth Nation isn't actually China, it's just based off of it. Enjoy this teaser for now, I'm putting the first chapter through some editing before I actually post it... I'm also trying to give myself a bit of a chapter buffer in case I run into writer's block. I have an actual goal for myself this time: an update every two weeks! (I'm putting up the first chapter on Monday since I already have it mostly completed.) I probably won't be able to hold myself to it, but goals are always nice. And yes, you will hear more of Ru Min. How much more will depend on if I decide to split the three books into three separate stories, or if I just do them all together.