Character—Qiao(ch-ee-ow). Qiao is short and agile. Her physical features show that she is a beautiful girl worthy of any prince, though that life is not for her. She is quick to judge and rebellious at heart. She is intelligent and skillful at Firebending and anything she sets her mind to. Her family seemed to have lost it's ability to Firebend a long time ago, around the time of the Air Nation's annihilation, and it had been hidden in their bloodstream until Qiao was born. Her family, however, did not want this secret to get out, so they scolded Qiao every time she used her powers. Her family was made up of poor, working class peasants who did all the hard work for the upper class. Sometimes they had to steal food to get by, and sometimes they got in trouble for it.

Introduction

It had been a little over a century before the Avatar appeared. The Avatar, the one who would bring peace to this world, had returned. No one believed it to be true at first, but after what happened at the place where the Northern Water Tribe resided, no one could deny that he had returned.

He had been born into the tribe of Air Nomads, a tribe that had been wiped out nearly one hundred years ago. Since it was prophesized that the next Avatar was to be born into the Air tribe, the Fire Nation decided to annihilate them.

The Fire Nation, who hated anyone who got in their way, wanted to destroy the Avatar at any cost. They cared very little or none at all for other tribes and only wished for world domination. Since this was their goal, they started their attack on the Earth Kingdom.

For years, we hoped that the Avatar would come. Eventually, we gave up hope. How could the Avatar come when he hasn't shown up for so long? How could he let the Fire Nation do this?

Then he arrived, trapped in an iceberg. The only Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe, Katara, and her brother, Sokka found the Avatar Aang while they were out hunting.

There was something extremely wrong with this Avatar, though; he was just a kid! It was also told that this kid didn't even have mastery over any other element but his own, Air. How were we supposed to believe in him when he hasn't connected with us?

Enough about him, and more about me. My name is Qiao, and I am a Firebender. My parents don't want the Fire Lord to know this, however, because the Fire Lord would probably execute my family for unintentionally keeping some secret or something. Who knows? No one else in my family can bend fire, though my great-grandmother used to tell me that they could a long time ago. Supposedly they married Firebenders ever since except for my grandmother. She was one-hundred twenty and still as sharp as a nail. My great-grandmother never married, though she had a child, and she refuses to tell us any specifics as to who her lover was and what family belonged to, except that his name was Feng.

"The process of keeping my Firebending a secret is a challenge. I want to practice my skills in case I need to use them someday. I have a natural talent with it somehow, but I don't feel it's good enough to take on the Fire Lord's daughter if necessary. I practice here and there when I get alone time. Sometimes my family will send me to fetch water in the middle of the night. I use my torch as my fire source and bends the fire to do my will. One time, the banished Prince Zuko caught me, but he said nothing. I have a feeling he is keeping tabs on me, though. I can't help but feel watched at times. "

That's me, and this is my story and how I play into Aang's great adventure. I will not be telling this story, however. Think of it as an ancient book you found in your archive.