Author's Note:
Thank you for taking the time to read my first ever fanfiction. I have attempted to keep all new names within the realms of the same naming conventions as the original creators of Avatar as well as keeping everything that has been given to us from the previous shows. Let me know if you see a name, place, or anything that does not belong in the Avatar universe.
Thank you.
Book 1: Deception
Prologue
The year is 252 AG, 18 years after Avatar Korra has passed away. With the next avatar to be born an earthbender, the White Lotus is scouring the Earth Kingdom in an attempt to find the avatar. Though there is no looming threat, the White Lotus is determined to find the avatar for fear of the ways of the avatar will be lost. The White Lotus has tasked the nation's leaders to internally search for the avatar in case the cycle has changed.
With King Wu's declaration, all monarchies no longer have any control over the nation. The Earth Kingdom is now a full democracy with elected officials. Wu was even president for six years before helping pass into law that one person could not be head of the nation for more than six years. This democracy had major ramifications throughout the nation and even the world. The biggest change being that most of the major corruption had been rooted out and sent off to prison. Unfortunately, some of the people behind this corruption were able to escape and become leaders of bandits and raiders.
Meanwhile, the new Air Nation is continuing its promise to Tenzin and Jinora by bringing peace and balance to the world. With another 78 years under its belt, the Air Nation as grown exponentially in size and has reclaimed the temples on all corners of the Earth. It is now required that all airbenders must not only complete the 36 tests of airbending but spend at least 2 years with a group of airbenders exploring the world and helping to solve any problems before receiving their tattoos and becoming masters. The airbending masters may then take up home in one of the five temples (North, East, South, West, and Air Temple Island) or continue to roam the world and bring peace to the surrounding nations. A young female airbender, Urana, currently patrols the center of the Earth Kingdom along with four other airbenders. Urana has just received word that a local bandit clan in the Si Wong desert has been causing a lot of trouble for the nearby clans along with the Misty Palms Oasis. Determined to get her tattoos, Urana leads her group to the northern edge of the worst desert in the world.
Chapter 1: The Ghesh
"Hurry Men!" Kathaab shouted as his sand-sailors glided over the hot desert sand. Kathaab was the only bandit dressed with bright colors. Reds and greens adorned his wraps along with rubies and emeralds to accent the bright colors. There were multiple gold rings with more extravagant jewels fastened to the jewelry. "I want to be there before anyone else gets a chance. Qiang. Zaki. I want you two to lead the charge. Trap the merchants so that we can get the loot!"
Qiang and Zaki looked at each other and then nodded towards Kathaab. Zaki continued to bend sand into the sail of the sand-sailor as Qiang stood towards the front of the vessel, keeping an eye out for the merchants and any trouble. Zaki pushed the sand-sailor to the front of the group while Kathaab's sand-sailor followed behind them. Even with Qiang at the front of the sand-sailor, he still looked small compared to Zaki. Zaki was almost two meters tall while Qiang was about thirteen centimeters shorter.
"We're almost there." Qiang called out. "They should be just over this next dune."
The group of sand-sailors slowed as they reached the top of the dune, the sand biting at the cheeks of the bandits who were riding the crafts. As the group reached the top of the dune Qiang shouted, "Stop!"
"We're doomed." Some of the newer bandits called out.
"How can we beat them?" The others cried. All of the newer bandits stood in awe as they looked down the massive dune towards giant beetles carrying huge crates of cargo, multiple beetle-headed merchants, and a few dozen Earth Kingdom troops.
"Guess this verifies your intel." Qiang says to Zaki.
Zaki nods.
"If you wimps want to go stick your heads in the sand and wait for an easier target to come by, then LEAVE! We are the Ghesh and we do not hesitate to steal from whoever crosses this desert!" Kathaab bellowed out to his underlings. The newer bandits looked at each other and then started to turn their sand-sailors around.
With a sharp motion, Kathaab bended the sand around the new bandits forming a small gust of blades. The sand was tearing at their skin. The bandits started to yell out in agony.
"I didn't say you could keep the sailors." He cackled. The new bandits stopped the sand-sailors and brought them around facing the merchants below.
"That's what I thought. Now, watch as we show these beetle-headed merchants why they should never cross our desert, especially with a squad of Earth Kingdom soldiers." Kathaab nodded towards Qiang and Zaki. Zaki began bending sand back into the sail of the sand-sailor and the vessel ramped off of the top of the dune and down towards the merchants.
As the vessel got closer to the merchants, one of the soldiers on the beetles called out, "BANDITS!" The soldier pointed towards the sand-sailor now halfway down the dune. The Earth Kingdom soldiers jumped off of the beetles and readied there stance. Troops falling in behind the front line of soldiers began hardening the nearby sand into rocks and boulders. Teams of two began launching the boulders at Qiang and Zaki's sand-sailor. Qiang began bending the boulders so that they would just miss the craft causing explosions of sand and rock to fly up around them.
"Well. What are you all waiting for?" Kathaab called out to the rest of the bandits. "They don't get to have all of the fun." The rest of the sand-sailors started down the dune towards the merchants. A few boulders knocked out a few of the outlying craft. Kathaab shook his head in disgust.
The giant beetles began to rear up in fear causing the merchants to fall off of one of the beetles before it ran away. The beetles with the crates were too nervous to move since they knew the punishment for dropping their cargo.
Qiang and Zaki's sand-sailor was now just meters from the front line of soldiers. Qiang and Zaki jumped off the sides of the craft and began bending projectiles of their own. Qiang fired the rocks as fast as he was making them causing multiple soldiers to fall to the ground. The soldiers charged Qiang and Zaki. Qiang bended the metal of the soldier's armor that were surrounding Qiang, tightening the armor around their chests making it harder to move and breath. The soldiers dropped to their knees trying to catch their breath in the harsh desert air.
"A metalbender. Out here!" A soldier cried out before being knocked out by Qiang. Qiang began rushing towards one of the beetles with a large crate on top of it. Qiang jumped to the top of the beetle and cut the ropes holding the crate with a few shards of metal that Qiang always kept on him. Qiang then pushed the box off of the beetle as the beetle started to rear up.
"Hope that wasn't breakable." He chuckled.
Meanwhile, Zaki made a small rock wall around himself, blocking the attacks of the soldiers. Once all of the soldiers were within range, Zaki bended the sand at the soldier's feet and formed a large pool of quicksand. The soldiers started to sink as they struggled to get free. One of the soldiers managed to free a leg and was able to form a rock. The soldier bended the rock at Zaki. Zaki caught the rock in his hand and crushed it back into sand. Zaki then finished the job by hardening the quicksand around the soldiers, preventing them from moving their arms or legs. Zaki then joined his brother by cutting the crates off of the beetles. The merchants huddled up together as Kathaab and the remaining bandits made their way to the giant beetles and entombed soldiers.
"What did I tell you two? Surround them, not take them all out so the rest of us have nothing to do." Kathaab said in a sad tone. "How am I supposed to train our men if you two do all of the work?"
"Relax." Qiang called out from on top of a beetle. "There is still plenty to do. You get to move the crates, open the crates, threaten the merchants. You know, the fun stuff." Qiang joked.
Zaki went up to Kathaab and said in a deep, clear voice. "There are four crates in total. Only one was damaged in the raid." Zaki stops to scowl over at his brother who is currently using a rock to smash open a crate. "Make that two crates are now damaged." Zaki then slowly walks over to Qiang, sighing. Zaki begins bending sand into stone steps up to the tops of the next two beetles.
"Alright men. Load up the loot and let's get out of here before the sand shark passes by." Kathaab stops to look down at the entombed soldiers as the bandits begin hauling what's left of the crates over to the sand-sailors.
"Hope you guys don't give him indigestion." Kathaab smirks as he makes his way over to the merchants.
"Now, what were you carrying that was worth hiring on a squadron of soldiers?" Kathaab says to the merchants. One of the merchants stumbles forward, shaking.
"Why do you torment us with your pillaging? Sandbenders may steal once and awhile but they never harm or take from fellow clans."
"You didn't answer my question." Kathaab drops down and sweeps the merchant's legs out from under him. Kathaab points to another merchant.
"Why are these crates so valuable?"
The old merchant replies, "These are ancient relics from an era long ago. You won't be able to sell them unless you can find the right buyer."
"So, you are saying I should take these to your buyer instead of you and get the profit? Sounds great!" Kathaab smiled and then waved his hand at the merchants. "You are free to go."
"But you scared off most of our beetles. How are we supposed to get back home?" The old merchant cried.
"Not my problem." Kathaab started back towards the bandits. As Kathaab passed the soldiers, one of the men yelled out,
"How are you still alive, Kathaab? You were kicked out of Fort Bosco years ago." Kathaab looks down at the soldiers stuck in the solid stone created by Zaki. Kathaab eyes the man that spoke out and replies,
"The same way I controlled Bosco, by being ruthless. Now you might want to stop talking and start figuring out how you are going to get out of there." The soldiers shudder as they realize they are being left for dead.
"Just kill us now. Why do we have to suffer first?" A soldier cries out.
"What fun would that be?" Kathaab ignores the rest of the soldier's pleas as he walks back to the bandits. A bandit walks up to Kathaab and states,
"All done, sir."
"Good. Let's get out of here before the sand shark makes its daily pass." Kathaab motions to Qiang and Zaki. "Make sure we aren't followed." Kathaab gets back on to his sand-sailor. The rest of the bandits get on to the remaining sand-sailors and begin bending back to the Ghesh base. One sand-sailor remains for Qiang and Zaki.
Qiang steps on to the remaining sand-sailor and after Kathaab and the rest of the bandits are over the dune, Qiang makes a motion with his hands. The armor that was tightening around the soldier's bodies loosens and falls off. Zaki makes a slight smirk towards Qiang and begins bending the stone around the soldiers. The stone starts to crack and then break down back into sand.
"Why?" the soldiers ask.
Zaki gets on the sand-sailor with Qiang. As Zaki steps onto the craft, Qiang makes a snide remark towards him,
"You're welcome." Zaki then bends the sand into the sand-sailor's sail and glides off towards the Ghesh base. The soldiers and merchants look at each other in confusion. Feeling defeated, the soldiers and merchants climb aboard the remaining beetles and head off in the opposite direction. Not wanting anything to do with the Ghesh ever again.
Back at the Ghesh hideout, the bandits were taking the crates into the large stone building that stood at the center of the base. Kathaab's face was glowing with excitement as his men started to tear open the crates.
"Gold, jewels, weapons. I bet its jewels. It has to be." Kathaab was practically bouncing as he tried to guess the contents of the crates. Qiang and Zaki were leaning up against a back wall of the building while watching the commotion going on at the center.
"They're open boss." A bandit called out.
"Let me see. Let me see. Let me see!" Kathaab raced over to the nearest crate and ripped the side off. Kathaab threw the hay that was inside of the crate to the side and yelped.
"What is this?" Kathaab runs to the next crate and finds the same object inside. "Eggs!" Giant eggs!"
"Guess that explains the gooey stuff that was leaking out of the two crates Qiang broke." A bandit says as if he had just solved the biggest crime the world had ever seen.
"I thought you said there would be treasure!" Kathaab stormed over to Zaki.
"I said there would be royal artifacts. How was I supposed to know that these eggs were worth twenty thousand gold ingots?" Zaki stated in a calm voice. Not even flinching as Kathaab knocked two men over as he approached.
Kathaab's face lit up again.
"We still have half of the cargo which means we still get ten thousand ingots." Qiang said. "Hell, we even get a free dinner." Kathaab laughed and placed his hands on the brother's shoulders.
"You're right. Men, take the two good eggs and lock them in the vault for now. Make sure that they stay in pristine condition. Take the other two eggs to the kitchen and remember, I like my omelets with cheese and peppers. NO ONIONS!" Kathaab laughed and left the building, heading towards his personal quarters.
Later in the dining hall, the bandits were enjoying a victorious raid with a great feast of every type of egg dish you could think of along with the usual mead and ale. The bandits were no longer in their heavy wraps and you could now see the faces of the men who call themselves the Ghesh. Qiang and Zaki enter the room and make their way over to a table in the corner. Qiang with his hands over his head, smiling and Zaki with the same face he wears doing anything, a neutral frown.
Zaki was stout in almost every meaning of the word but still toned and in very good shape. He had sharp dark green eyes and short, spikey hair that was a dark black. Qiang was also in great condition but not as big as his brother. Qiang had the same hair color but his hair was much longer going down past his shoulders. Qiang's eyes were a much lighter shade of green that stood out even from across the room. With their robes off, you can see the difference in skin color compared to most of the men in the Ghesh. Their bodies were toned but not as dark as a natural born desert dweller. Kathaab was the only other person in the Ghesh to not have the dark skin of the desert clans. Zaki has a large amount of scars going down his arms and legs and a dark one across the right cheek while Qiang has smooth skin with no noticeable marks except for a few dark freckles underneath his eyes.
"Does that guy ever look happy?" A bandit says to another as Qiang and Zaki walk over to the table.
"I doubt it." The bandit says back. "I've been with the Ghesh for three years now and have never seen that kid smile or laugh or act like a human being at all. He's always like that."
"What a weird guy."
"Yeah, well that weird guy almost single-handedly took out those soldiers today." Another bandit chimes in. "Just as he was about to get his butt kicked, he pulls an ace from his sleeve and trumps all of those soldiers."
"He's always done that. He sits there and takes a beating and then finishes everything in a few moves.
"Is that how he got those scars?" A fourth bandit asks.
"Probably. He's had that eye soar on his face since I have known him but all of the other ones seem to be multiplying."
"He should fight more like his brother and actually dodge the attacks. Then he might actually look his age and not like a thirty year-old man. "The bandits chuckled. "You would never know that Zaki is the younger brother."
"Really?"
"Yeah." The bandit laughs. "Crazy when you think about how much stronger he is then his brother."
"No way!" Qiang is way tougher than Zaki."
"I don't know. I think Zaki's smarts and strength beat out Qiang's speed and agility."
"What are you talking about? Qiang can dish it out just like Zaki. You remember when we were too close to the Si Wong Rock and the buzzard wasps swarmed us?"
"Yeah. That was terrible."
"Exactly,but Qiang bent the metal right from the rock and cut down the buzzard wasps."
"We did eat pretty well that night too." The bandits all laugh again.
"Well if it ever came to it, my golds on Zaki if they ever have to fight to the death."
"You're crazy! Qiang would kick his butt any day of the week." The bandits continue to argue and laugh as they drink and eat the night away.
Meanwhile.
"Why do you insist on being so nice to everyone?" Qiang says to Zaki once they sit down at the table with plates full of eggs.
"What are you talking about?" Zaki replies.
"Today. I know you would have never let be live it down if I didn't free those soldiers from their armor."
"Tell me. What do you gain by killing them? Gold, food. No. It's pointless to make people suffer or die for no reason."
"It's what they get for being soldiers and fighting us."
"It's what they get for wanting to protect the people of the Earth Kingdom?"
"Whatever. You are too naive" Qiang starts to laugh. "I won't win this argument either. Anyway, Kathaab wants us to go to the oasis and see if we can find the buyer for the eggs. Maybe even get a better price out of them."
"When?"
"Sunrise. So don't over eat like you did last time." Qiang chuckles as the two brothers finish there meal. After the meal, the two brothers head out to a nearby stone hut. Each brother goes to their respective room and try to get a good nights rest.