Saberus9: Cause I felt like it. A word of warning though I kinda bastardized some Sanskrit for this story. This is a homage of sorts to Embers by Vathara. It is perhaps the greatest Avatar fanfic I have ever read.
Child of Janayitrii
She could not fight back as they took away Her children. That damned Agni and his siblings stole them. She lay hidden away only able to exist on the periphery of their lives. To be able to watch but not to act. And so She did over many years, watching the trickster Agni teach Her children to worship him and move his fire. Watch Jala teach Her children to worship her stagnant water, watch Marut teach Her children his gales and Mahii teach Her children how to pull at the earth. She watched and grieved, grieved for the children She no longer had, grieved as the four siblings ruled Her children as gods, grieved as Agni, Jala, Marut and Mahii each pushed a piece of their piece of their power into a single one of Her children, tearing that one forever from Her side. She could see him as She could see all Her children but She could no longer guide him. His power force his soul to continuously cycle through lives for he was tied to the world with a surety that told Her that should he ever truly die Her children would be lost.
She watched as little by little they were pulled away from the knowledge of Her and felt Herself weaken unto death. She did not go quietly however; even as She died She seethed over the centuries and despaired. She had to leave in order to live but She had to stay to guide. She was Janayitrii and She could do no less. She saw the one now know as the Avatar force dominance over the rest for they were no longer Her children. It had been too long since She had touched them. She wept when She felt the deaths of the followers of Marut at the hands of those that follow Agni. She noted the absence of the Avatar as ninety-seven years passed.
Zuko was ill, or at least he felt ill. He didn't know how long he had been in the deepest levels of the capitals prison. He couldn't feel the sun. Agni was not watching over him and he would soon succumb to the lack of food, water and warmth.
'Why did Grandfather do this to me?' was all he could think. But secretly in his heart, he knew why. He was a failure; his father was disappointed in him, his mother and sister were visiting relatives in a colony on the edge of the Earth Kingdom and couldn't protect him. The ten year old let out a retching cough from where he huddled in the corner furthest from the cold steel door. He could not move anymore.
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Prince Ozai was in a rage. The palace was fireproof but the items within the Princes rooms were both delightfully flammable and deliciously breakable to the enraged prince. His father had taken his son because of his words. Because he had suggested his brother was no longer fit for ruling after Lu Ten's death, his son was imprisoned. He worked out his rage upon the inanimate objects wishing he had held his tongue. His beloved wife and daughter would return to the capital within a few days but the boy had been gone for ten already. Ozai prayed that someone somehow saved his son, despite his disappointment in him. He prayed to Agni and the other great spirits for this boon but the Fire Lord's word was law as stated by the Avatar long ago. He knew they would not listen even if they could hear him but still he tried.
And She heard. Her worry over the Avatar's missing status left her little time to think of anything else but She heard. The fragments of her dying mind that were not stricken with terror at the deaths of her children heard. Her mind turned towards Ozai's and She looked at him. She sought out the child teetering on the brink of death, just within Her reach. She touched him. He looked at Her with delightful gold eyes full of fear and a strange adoration. He looked at Her and the fear slipped away.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I am called many things" She replied with a smile. "But you know my name, child. It is buried deep in your heart."
"Janayitrii?" He asked. She laughed and held him.
"You look tired." He said.
"So do you." She replied, then Her face lost it's joy and Her voice lost it's luster. "I am not long for this world, child."
Zuko looked at Her and then gripped Her tightly. "It's okay," He said. "I'm Zuko and I'm gonna die too."
She felt a touch of rage boiling within Her. This child was dying and needed Her, what She had long wanted was nearly Hers and he wanted to accompany Her into death. She was weary but She couldn't leave yet. The Avatar was not there to hold the balance from tipping over the edge. The balance was nearly broken anyway with most of Marut's people dead. A few survived but their allegiance was fragmented and they had forgotten much. It then struck Her, and with this idea in mind, She looked at Zuko with Her eyes shining with hope.
"Zuko," She said softly. "You cannot come with me. It is not yet your time."
"Why?" The boy asked.
"Because I need you to protect my children," She replied.
"How do I protect them?" He asked, somehow knowing that he should never say no to Janayitrii.
"Find the Avatar," She said. "Have him taught. He will return soon, I felt a change in the winds."
Zuko nodded and hugged Her tightly. She reached within Herself and started to pour the last dregs of Her power into him. She knew that this was Her end, there was no beyond for Her like there was for him but still She gave this gift to him.
She was Janayitrii and She could do no less.
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Zuko opened his eyes in the dank cell. He no longer felt ill. He could not feel the sun but that no longer mattered. He now felt as if the sun was within him, like he was somehow wrapped around a sunny day. He looked at the door. He knew he was not a very powerful Firebender but he needed to find the Avatar and so he buckled down and got to work.
It was the next day that the guards found the body of Fire Lord Azulon. The man had died, his arms were charred and his robes nearly burnt away. It took them a little longer to find that the door to the pit, as the deepest cell was commonly known, was little more than slag. Ozai was swiftly installed as the new Fire Lord. Fire Lord Ozai quickly became known as a ruthless tyrant who kept his family on a tight leash.
Four weeks later, a boy washed up on the shore of Kyoshi Island and was found by a girl called Suki. The girl being only nine was not able to carry him despite being already a year in to her training as a warrior. She ran back to her village carrying word of a boy coated in wounds. Suki led Oyaji, leader of the village and a few of the Kyoshi warriors to the boy. Oyaji could only stare for the first few moments. The boy was a mess, one of his arms was at an odd angle, he was coated in infected cuts and a huge scar marked his left eye. Oyaji had him taken to the village healer. The boy took nearly two years to get back on his feet.
The Kyoshi warriors took a liking to Zuko, who never gave up or relented and inch during his recovery. He always seemed to be looking for something. He did a few small jobs on the island and when it was time he left. Oyaji had left him with instructions to seek out a man known as Jian who was once a student of Piandao. Zuko spent another two years under Jian's tutalage before he set out on a journey to find teachers for the Avatar.
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Further into the Earth Kingdom, Zuko came across a small blind girl , she was one of the people he was searching for. He did not know how he knew he just did. He stopped and spoke to her. She called herself Toph Bei Fong, she said she was the greatest earthbender ever and he believed her. She expected him to laugh at her or to denounce her claims. She did not expect the conversation that followed her announcement.
"Toph," Zuko said to the nine year old. "I am seeking those who would train the Avatar. He will return soon and you are the one who has been chosen to teach him. Coming now or later?"
Toph could only reply with "What in the hell are you talking about, Zu?"
Zuko replied with "I am asking you if you want to help me now or later either way you will teach him."
Toph and Zuko than had one of the strangest conversations she had ever experienced. This led to her agreement and with a demonstration to her parents, She was allowed to travel with her new friend providing she gave no clue she was a girl. Not that it was hard for her to do so.
Zuko and Toph struck north and headed to the Northern watertribe where they managed to secure a meeting with a waterbending master called Pakku. The man agreed to teach the Avatar but only if he was brought to the north. Zuko was unsure whether Pakku thought they were joking or not.
Zuko and Toph set out to find the Avatar, having many strange adventures along the way for two long years. Between them and the Bei Fongs they built a large network of allies all for the purpose of finding and hiding the Avatar.
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There was much merriment in the tavern known as the Raunchy Wench. The tavern sat in the tiny mountain village of Sing. Tonight was a special night for the merry makers as new news of the Paragon had arrived via word of mouth. No one really knew who called him the Paragon, It was really a shortened version of the full title. They called him the Paragon of Fire. There were legends of all kinds about him. Some swore he was a ghost of a long dead hero, while others swear he is the great Agni himself and still others agree that he is a dead man who just doesn't know it yet.
Favored tales of the younger generation, include the Paragon fighting dragons and spirits as well as saving princesses. The older generation enjoyed the ones about him saving villages from the Fire Nation and one particular tale about him saving a kingdom from desolation by sleeping with all 108 daughters of an evil sorcerer. Some of the tales made the Paragon out to be some kind of giant swathed in flames, others made him able to turn people to ash with his glare and stand back up despite having his head chopped off.
All of the tales have two details in common; the Paragon was seeking the Avatar and was always accompanied by an earthbending boy who called himself Toph. And so while the storyteller was beginning to tell the newest tale of the legendary Paragon, events were coming into play many kilometers south.
Two figures strode through the icy plateaus of the southern continent. One was somewhat smaller and seemed to move with a slight insecurity on the ice. The other moved with unrelenting purpose. Both were clothed in dark blue fur-lined clothing. Boots adorned the feet of both of them. The shorter one had the coat's hood up and the larger one was carrying a large bag slung over the left shoulder and under a rather bizarre turban-like head covering, a single golden eye could be seen glaring out in weary determination. The shorter one slowed and spoke.
"Zu? Can we take a break?" The shorter one said in a feminine voice. Her compatriot slowed and turned.
"Are you hungry or thirsty?" He asked. She nodded. He quickly took of the bag and offered her a waterskin, a small loaf of bread and some Snakedeer jerky. Toph quickly and ravenously ate the simple meal. Zuko simply stood looking out over the ice field that they were on. He suddenly saw a burst of white light and gasped.
"What is it, Zu?" said Toph. Zuko's eye seemed to lose all weariness and narrowed. He secured his bag as Toph repeated her question and then picked her up as if she weighed nothing and set off towards the light at a frenzied pace.
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Toph did not know how long she was carried; all she knew was that Zuko had found the Avatar. Nothing but the Avatar could bring Zuko to such heights of activity. It had taken her a long time to even be able to think about ice as cold ground so she could understand the necessity of carrying her. That didn't mean he wasn't going to get the biggest talking to when all of this running was over.
Zuko crested the rise, and he saw it a Fire Nation ship surrounded by soldiers holding a small Water Tribe village hostage. He fingered the hilt of one of his trusty Dao. The Avatar must be saved. He placed Toph onto the ground and handed her the bag, he then raced into battle without so much as a word.
Zhao was having a very good day. He would shortly have the Avatar in his grasp and could return from exile. It was due to Princess Azula that he had been on this three year exile in the first place. The foolish child had interrupted a war room meeting and that had led to an Agni Kai that he had lost. He heard a yell as one of his soldiers spotted a figure running towards them. He looked at the figure as it closed in. It looked Water Tribe so he commanded his nearest Yu Yan archer to pierce the figures heart.
Aang, Sokka and Katara all watched as the first death of the raid occurred. Some unknown person charging towards the soldiers before getting shot through the heart with an arrow. Everything then ground to a halt when the figure unsteadily got to its feet and engaged the soldiers. "It's the Paragon" came frightened shouts. The figure then started to hurl fire around. Quickly the Water Tribe siblings and the Avatar joined the fray and within a few moments Zhao was sent packing. It was Aang who spoke up first after the battle.
"Who… What are you?" the Avatar asked. The thickly clothed stranger did not respond.
"Damn, Zu!" said another voice. "How dare you leave me alone." The three then noticed another figure approaching them. With that the first strange person collapsed.
End
Saberus9: Just so you can understand, Agni(Fire) Jala(Water), Marut (Air) and Mahii (Earth) stole the children of Janayitrii(Mother) and taught them to bend. They also created the Avatar but in doing so kinda tied him to the fate of the planet.
Janayitrii is dead and has sent Zuko to protect the Avatar because doing so would save her children. As for Janayitrii's appearance think of your mother, your friends mother, your grandmothers, any mother. Janayitrii looks like them all.
Lastly, Zuko has taken a small fragment of Jannayitrii's power, this does not make him Immortal though he may live a long time. He has some small gifts like the sun and the cold no longer binding him, and a significant resilience to suffering. He survived to Yu Yan's arrow because I have decided to give him Detrocardia situs inversus. As for the other stories, well who knows.