Alright, so this is my first crack at fanfics, so don't be surprised if I botch the characters. I don't really expect this to be anything better than mediocre, but if you're willing to rate and review, I'd really appreciate it.

And, just in case you had any doubt, I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. If I did, I wouldn't very well be writing this. The only things that belong to me are the plot and Zana, at this point.

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Prologue

To the few people she was permitted to see, Zana was a weak, helpless thing. Her thin, spindly legs trembled pathetically whenever she stood, and she could not walk more than a few paces without assistance. She had been born fragile, and it was obvious from a young age that she would not be able to bend the way her twin brother would. There was no spark of fire in her cream-colored eyes, no hope for control in her delicate frame.

Ashamed of such a weak daughter, her father had had her hidden away once her uselessness had become obvious. Her brother didn't know she existed, nor did her younger sister, once she was born. Her mother thought she had died, and her father kept her existence secret to everyone. Everyone but his father and brother.

Zana's father and grandfather did enough to keep her alive from year to year, but they offered her no kindness, no companionship. These she got from her uncle, who visited her when he wasn't away fighting in the war, or spending time with his own son. He taught her to play pai-sho ((Sorry if I botched the spelling!)) and told her tales of the family she would never meet. They sang together and he would dance about, holding her small, young frame in his arms, her colorless hair flowing lazily behind them.

It was during their times together over the years that he noticed something in her, something that everyone else had overlooked. A faint, dim ember, struggling desperately to stay hot, groping for the fuel it needed to burn. But it seemed to grow stronger each month, if only slightly. He doubted she would ever progress past basic fire bending, but she would be able to walk on her own, given enough time, and little bending was better than none.

Though the decision was a difficult one, Zana's uncle chose to let her discover her increasing strength on her own, guiding her along the way. But the war called him away to Bah-Sing-Se, and with him the only thing that made her lonely life bearable. Never before had he been gone for so long, and though he wrote, she missed their songs.

The ache of his absence was lessened when she receive a gift with one of his letters. A stone flute, painstakingly crafted through the most delicate of earth bending, that produced an eerily beautiful and resonant sound. Zana cried the first time she played it, the notes of her uncle's favorite song reverberating through her room.

When at last he did return, he was different. He wouldn't talk about his son anymore, and had cried when she asked why he wouldn't. Zana had trembled at the sight of it. She'd never known of anyone but herself shedding tears, and believed that it was only because she was ill. Fearing that she had broken him, Zana threw her arms around him and sobbed as well. "Please stop," she cried. "I won't ask again. Just don't cry. I don't want you to get locked away, too."

He smiled at her warmly through his tears, stroking her cheek. She returned the smile, tentatively, before pulling away despite her uncle's baffled expression. Wordlessly, she took out the flute that she kept on her person at all times and began to play, softly and sweetly. He sang along with until both of their tears were forgotten. When the time came for him to leave, it was with a smile on his face, though it was tinged with a hint of sadness.

From that day forward, she played for him, and no matter the earlier events of the day, he always left with that same smile, sad and yet happy. Until the time that he left with a grim expression. It couldn't quite be called loss, but it could be called anything else even less. Zana was left in the room, confused and heartbroken tears streaming down her face.

He was leaving with her brother. She didn't understand why, or know the details, all she recognized was that her uncle was going to be gone, and he wouldn't be coming back. Not until an impossible task had been completed.

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So...yeah. That's that. Rate and review, if you would be so kind.

And yes, I will be getting to the actual Avatar characters. Just...not quite yet. Chapter one, though.