The Army of the Avatar

Chap. 1

Beginnings of the End

The courtyard was vast, spanning close to half a mile in width. Located just behind the Royal Palace of Ba Sing Se, it was a simple green haven, decorated with trees and ancient statues from the earliest days of the Earth Kingdom Capital. However, it was surrounded by a set of walls that reached out from the Palace and kept it separate from the rest of the open city. A wise precaution; this place had, after all been conceived as a haven for the rulers of Ba Sing Se, a place for them to come and temporarily escape the responsibilities of their rulership. It was here they could gain the privacy and quiet that so few rulers of any kingdom ever receive.

But the two figures that stood in the courtyard today did not come to escape responsibility. No, they came to answer its call. For the time had come at last, for the Avatar to learn the final, and most dangerous element, and for General Iroh of the Fire Nation to fulfill the promise he had made to the boy.

"Fire is based in power. Power comes from the breath, not the muscles. Before you can even begin to learn to control fire, you must learn to control your breath." Iroh said, as he breathed in deeply, then exhaled. Aang watched intently, and he repeated the process, slowly and carefully.

"Good Aang, good." Iroh said, as he watched his new pupil. "Continue to breath. Feel it as the air fills your lungs. Let it fill your body, and stoke the fires inside you. Do you feel it?"

"Yes, I feel it, Sifu Iroh." Aang said gently, as he drew in air again. Iroh observed his young charge with some admiration. Firebenders were always taught the importance of breath before all else; it was from this that they drew their strength. But it was a long and often boring process that few were able to complete without impatience and anger. Iroh himself had had much difficulty controlling his impatience when he had learned, and Ozai had barely passed through it without throwing a tantrum at the slowness. But Aang was taking to the breathing with exceptional care and devotion, focusing all his energy into the exercise.

Of course, Iroh was quite aware that Aang had first hand experience of how dangerous impatience and Firebending were when mixed together. The memory of what he had done to Katara while training under Jeong Jeong was still bright in the young Airbender's mind. It was a fact that both calmed and worried Iroh. It was extremely fortunate that Aang was so concerned with honing his control of fire, a skill that few truly cared about anymore. As Jeong Jeong had said, those that controlled fire often walked a fine line between humanity and savagery, and those that ruled the Fire Nation now had crossed that line long ago. Aang was truly dedicated to mastering the element, and not letting the wildness of the fire control him.

Yet at the same time, Aang still had much apprehension about learning fire. Seeing the destruction that the Firebenders had wrought upon the world, and the pain he had caused Katara when using it himself, had given Aang something of a block concerning that element. Iroh still remembered what Sokka had told him; how after harming Katara, Aang had sworn never to firebend again. Still, the time spent since then had at least made Aang realize that he had to at least attempt to learn fire, if not for his sake, then the world's. But the question of what would happen when they moved onto larger exercises still concerned Iroh. He knew that if Aang was not willing to push himself, then he would have to do it himself. Time was not on their side, and they could not waste their efforts on bringing Aang out of his block gently. But Iroh pushed those thoughts out of his mind for now. Fear about the future never did anyone any good, and it was still possible that Aang would overcome his block when they began to actually control fire. For now, it was essential that Aang learn how to control this power. Iroh would deal with those problems if and when they occurred.


"How's it going down there?" Toph asked, as she leaned on the balcony.

"Well, they're breathing and…… no wait, they're still breathing." Aire said, a very bored tone in his voice. "Do we really have to keep watching this?"

"You guys can go if you want." Katara answered, as she focused on watching Aang practice.

"No we can't. The Earth King sent us to get you. He wants to go over his plans for the Day of Black Sun." Aire said.

"Yeah, but Twinkletoes gets to stay." Toph muttered.

"Because he has to learn Firebending in less then half the time it normally takes." Aire replied. The group only had a month left before Black Sun, and that left little time for dallying. Since freeing the Earth King from the control of Long Feng and the Dai Li, the Knghts and Avatar Gang had helped start the entire city towards preparing for the war. Recruitment for troops had been open for two months, with much success. The Council of Five had been planning out a near-perfect battle plan, knowing the failure meant the end of all they held dear. As for the Earth King, he had sent word out to all the free Earth Kingdom territories left for soldiers and had done the best he could to aid the process of planning the battle. He had also given Aang his courtyard to learn Firebending in, after the boy had finished learning from Toph.

"Do you think he'll be able to do it?" Katara asked, as she watched Aang and Iroh.

"Sure he will. He was the best student I ever had." Toph said.

"You know what I mean." Katara said. "After the last time Aang tried Firebending….."

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Aire answered. "Aang really took it seriously after what happened, and he won't be impatient like that again. Besides, as long as you stay away from when he trains…"

But the falcon didn't any further, as Katara whipped around and glared at him. "I'm serious, Aire! Aang just finished learning Earthbending, and now he's being thrown into another discipline with barely any time to recover! I'm scared he's going to burn himself out, and you're here cracking stupid jokes!"

"Katara, wait, look I'm sorry." Aire sputtered. "I didn't mean anything by it. Look, I care about him too, and I don't want him to burn out either. But think about it; in all the time you've known Aang, has he ever failed to rise to a challenge?"

"No." Katara answered thoughtfully.

"Then don't worry about this. Aang knows what he's capable of, and frankly he's capable of a lot more. So you have faith too, ok?"

"Right." Katara said, as a smile grew on her face. "Thank Aire. Sorry about before."

"It's ok. Sometimes I don't know when to shut up." Aire admitted.

"Frankly, I thought it was good to see a little venom from you, Sugar Queen." Toph said. "Now come on, before Sokka blows his top waiting for us."

"Yeah. He'll start yelling that Fire Nation spies are everywhere, and they'll tell Ozai where Aang is in his bending. God, he's paranoid." Aire said, as the group moved off towards the Palace.


But Aire was wrong. There was one Firebender that did know of Aang's training. He knew of it quite well, for he was experiencing it as well. In the depths of the Spirit World, the being once known as Avatar Roku sat in deep mediation, as he felt the power Aang was gaining fill him as well. As the last incarnated Avatar, Roku felt most of what his living Airbender counterpart experienced upon the mortal plane. The two of them were a part of each other, and whatever happened to one would always affect the other. Roku had experienced the skill and power Aang had gained in his training as much as he had when he had learned them as a living man.

But though Roku could feel that power, he knew that it would not be enough. Even when Aang had mastered Firebending, there was still a final skill he needed to learn, a final power of the Avatar. Had Roku been alive, he would have instructed the boy in the ways of this power himself. But even the Avatar cannot return from death, and so Roku would need to find another to show Aang the way.

But who? He wondered as he mediated, attempting to find the answers in his tranquility. It has been a century since any knew of this skill. Only one still exists that can teach him, and I cannot reach him without Aang. Only through the living Avatar can I appear upon the mortal plane, and only for a brief time. Still, perhaps I can at least reach Aang and tell him. He will be able to look for the man and convince him to teach him.

"That will not be necessary." A voice said suddenly. His concentration broken, Roku opened his eyes and looked for the source of the voice. He did not have to look for long. Standing near were two hooded figures. One was clothed in robes of blackest night, while the other stood in the brightest red. Though their faces were shrouded, Roku recognized them. Rising to his feet, the spirit bowed to them and asked, "I am honored to be in your presence, Architects."

"Thank you Roku." Darya, Architect of Fire said, as he pulled down his hood. A short white beard, much like the one Iroh had once worn, dominated the Architect's squat face. His eyes were marked by crow's feet, and laugh lines grazed the corners of his mouth. There were also more then a few wrinkles evident. All this was the price of wielding fire, the element that burned brighter and faster then any other. But it mattered little to Darya. The power he wielded was evident in his raised chin, serious expression, and in the fiery glaze of his red eyes.

His companion, Rastla, Architect of Shadow revealed a face graced with a strange, exotic beauty that was found only within the night sky when all the stars were shining, and even that blackness seemed entrancing. Long, ebony hair spilled onto her shoulders and enhanced her dark, slender face, and her entrancing amethyst eyes that could show a man the way to mysteries beyond his dreams. Looking at the former Avatar, she said, "You need not fear. We have spoken with this man, and he waits even now for the Avatar."

"Good. But I do not feel you came all this way to simply alleviate my fears." Roku said.

"Very perceptive Roku." Darya said. "No, we have come for something else. What lies before the young boy is a task that no Avatar has ever faced before. The entire Fire Nation waits for him to show himself, so that they might unleash their full power on him, as they have so much of the world. It pains me to say this of my own people, but they must be brought down, and by a greater power then the Earth Kingdom alone can muster."

"I see. What is it you plan to do?" Roku asked.

The Architects reveled their plan to him then. Roku listened, then nodded and said, "You have a mighty plan. But can Aang's teacher truly survive there?"

"He has survived for much of the last two centuries." Rastla said. "He will survive there."

"Even so, will Aang? Your plan for him will fill him with much anger, as well as joy. Such a mixture may backfire."

"It is a risk, true. But Aang is strong, stronger then even he knows. He will come to understand." Darya answered.

"I hope you are right. I assume your Knights will handle your end of the plan?" Roku asked.

"Yes. I shall visit Nightstalker tonight, and inform him." Rastla said.

"I shall do the same for Aang." Roku said.

"Thank you Roku. May you continue to find peace in your world." Darya said

"And may you in yours." Roku replied.

The three great beings bowed to each other and then the Architects vanished, leaving Roku alone once again. He settled back onto the ground and resumed his meditation, this time with a much greater sense of peace.