Wan Shi Tong's Legends
The Lost Legend of the 9th Avatar, Vamana: The Avatar and the Giant
As I scoured the library of Wan Shi Tong, I was lucky enough to find several parchments detailing what was, until today, considered lost histories and legends. These are folk tales that have been lost to time, for a variety of reasons: the cultures that spoke them died out, or the details have been changed so much over time that, once we got them, they were new stories, for all intents and purposes. This is one of those legends that were lost because the people that told it died out, and the only surviving manuscript resides in Wan Shi Tong's library.
Millenia ago, before the Earth Kingdom was united, this land was separated into hundreds of kingdoms and chiefdoms, led by many different men and women. Each of these kings, queens, warlords, and nobles had their own lands, and many of them ruled with wisdom and kindness. But as is common with mankind, some ruled with an iron fist, and their greed clouded their hearts. In the kingdom of Bali, located in what is now the southern part of the United Republic of Nations, there was an earthbender named Peracai, who ousted the true King and crowned himself. Unsatisfied with what he saw as a sliver of land in a giant world, he sought to conquer the entire continent.
Now, Peracai was a boastful man, but he was rightly so, as he was the most powerful earthbender the world had seen by then. He was so strong, he could crush boulders as big as a house with one move. He was talented enough to bore through the strongest rocks, to turn pebbles out of mountains. He boasted he could destroy any kingdom with his bending, even Ba Sing Se. He was a mountain of a man, whose very presence evoked images of powerful spirits like Hei Bai.
Peracai's mission of conquest led him to a tiny fishing village located near a lake that no longer exists today. This village, however, was also entertaining a very important visitor: the Avatar himself, Vamana.
Born of the Sun Warriors, Vamana was a small man, as small as a child. When he was ten, he was the size of a toddler. When he was sixteen and was told of his destiny as the Avatar, he barely reached to the average man's waist. Not much has been written of Vamana, but the Avatars who have come after him and sought his knowledge have described him as a warm man, fierce when angry, gentle when happy.
"What is this village to me, if not a stepping stone for my conquest?" Boasted Peracai, loud as he could, using his earthbending to knock down the houses. Vamana, who had been fishing with a friend at that time, sat up from the pier and walked towards the conqueror.
"Enough, you. Leave this village and rule your country in peace." Said Vamana to Peracai. But the conqueror laughed at the little man.
"Little ant of a man! I am conqueror of all I see, for I can destroy all!" Said Peracai as he stamped the ground, causing it to shake, destroying the few houses left standing. The villagers rushed towards Peracai, bowing before him in surrender. But Vamana did not bow.
"He who boasts of his strength, has none." Said Vamana to the giant. "Your heart is clouded by pride, and this pride feeds your greed. What is a conqueror, if not a weak man who is never satisfied?"
"You call this weak?" Yelled Peracai as he used his earthbending to lift a giant boulder above him, levitating it. "This is power! The power to crush the weak, to destroy all who oppose me!"
Vamana merely tapped the ground with his heel, and a small rock, barely big enough to fit the palm of his hand, levitated in front of him. "I too can lift a rock strong enough to defeat my foes."
"I will crush you!" Yelled Peracai, but at that moment, Vamana moved his right foot forward and extended his palm towards Peracai, launching the floating rock towards his foe's temple. Peracai let out a scream, falling backward as his temple bled, the boulder above him crumbling around him. Vamana used his own earthbending to keep the boulder from crushing Peracai. Slowly, the Avatar walked towards the giant man.
"I saved your life. Your own power could have destroyed you, if not for me." Said Vamana to a weeping Peracai. "Look at you, all that boasting, but one small rock was enough to defeat you."
And Peracai, humiliated, turned away from the jeering villagers. As the giant man walked the mountains alone, he once more encountered the Avatar. "I wonder." Asked Vamana. "If you would join me for a mile."
And so Peracai joined Vamana in his journey for one mile. And one mile became ten. And ten miles, one thousand. Stripped of his pride, his greed died out, and Peracai became a peaceful protector of the weak, becoming the fabled Giant who Protects.
It should be noted that the existence of Peracai has long been forgotten, as even Vamana refuses to talk much about himself or his friends. However, when Avatar Korra inquired about Peracai directly when she spoke to Vamana (by my grandfather's insistence), he answered "He was a good friend. Very humble."