A cool breeze swept quietly over the streets of Ba Sing Se as the town's residents (when it was a town a long time ago) blew out their candles and locked their doors for the night. Farmers bought in their animals and mothers tucked in their children. The world was calm with not a single soul aware of the frightful things happening in the palace that very night between the two Earthen princes.

Though the sun had long since set, the night had only began with the death of the King who passed alone in his sleep into the Spirit world without naming an air leaving his twin twenty-five old sons in turmoil. Throughout the entire world, Earth King Xerxes had been respected and idolized as the bringer of peace. He had been the one who silenced the Southern water tribe warlord Tianta after the murder of Avatar Siara. It had been he who had given supplies to the poor of the Fire towns as their rich ate themselves to death, and it had been he who had banished the glass spirit back into the spirit world. So of course it had been fitting to everyone that on the death of Avatar Siara by Tianta, King Xerxes should father the 20th Avatar; a young boy by the name Jinhai who now stood beside his brother Prince Beiwin at the deathbed of their father, awaiting the King's adviser to bring the name of the next King.

From the minute Xerxes was visited by the White Lotus on the eve of his son's second birthday, he had known exactly which son was the avatar. Though born at the same time to the same parents, the boys had turned out remarkably different. Jinhai, who now spent all his time mastering the elements, had grown larger than his brother and more serious with a heart – which Xerxes believed to be nobler. Beiwin on the other hand had grown thinner than his brother with a personality more reminiscent of a snake than a little boy. Beiwin kept to himself most of the time. He spoke back to his parents and hit his brother frequently.

Through their differences, Xerxes had loved both his sons equally and never favored one more than the other if it were helped.

But Xerxes' spirit was no longer in the world and his two sons, now men, stood over his deathbed, each with the notion in mind that they had been the better son in their father's eyes than their brother.

Beiwin, who was much smaller in build than his brother, smirked slyly to himself as he studied his father's body, staring intensely at his peaceful smile.

"Well brother." He said, sliding his tongue over his jagger-like teeth. "Today is the day. Your day came when the white Lotus found you, my day is today. Can you just imagine? Avatar Jinhai and Earth King Beiwin protecting the world." Beiwin said almost gleefully, most unfittingly to his character. "Perhaps now our people may build up a Kingdom and establish ourselves, just as father would have wanted!"

Jinhai, keeping his eternal stance, turned to face Beiwin sternly.

"Kingdom? Beiwin… The world needs to be balanced… Father-"

"I know father's wishes, Better than you… And this will balance it… The Fire towns and the water tribes grow larger day by day… what will happen when they invade?"

"Invade? That will not happen…" Jinhai said to himself.

"No, it will not. As my first act as Earth King, I will stop it from happening. Once I am King I will take our forces and bring fear into the hearts of-"

Jinhai cut in.

"You're going to invade innocent lands for fear that they will invade yours? Beiwin, I-"

The door flung open with a dull thud, breaking the conversation as the King's advisor Lee entered holding a scroll of parchment shakily in his hands.

Lee was a small frail man who had never seen a war but had definitely seen better days. He looked at the Princes before him nervously.

"My… My lords… We have decided. The final wished of Earth King Xerxes is that his son Jinhai shall succeed him and Beiwin shall join the ranks of the Military – "

"WHAT?" Cut in Beiwin angrily. "You cannot be serious! Let me see that scroll you old bafoon!"

Beiwin snatched the scroll off the poor startled man and read it quickly. He glared back at Jinhai who looked back expressionless.

"He is born the Avatar and dies a King?! No! no! that is not fair! I will not let that happen!" Beiwin yelled, pointing his bony finger directly at his brother. The ground shook slightly.

Beiwin raised his fist, bringing up a thousand sharp rocks from the floor, floating before him. Jinhai suddenly jumped to attention in a defensive stance.

"No Beiwin! Don't do this!" He shouted.

"An attack on the Avatar is punishable by death m'Lord!" cried Lee. "Even for one as high a rank as you!"

Beiwin trembled, his hands shaking under the weight he was bending. He gazed down at his fingers to calm himself then looked up with a wicked grin.

"Then let me be a criminal. No one man should hold so much power!" he shouted and twisted his fist, which sent the motionless rocks now flying towards Lee and Jinhai like stone knives

"Nooo!" Jinhai screamed as he dodged the rocks, bending a stone wall defense for himself from the same floor. Beiwin's daggers smashed agains Jinhai's wall but did not hurt him.

A cry of pain echoed throughout the room and Jinhai turned to see Lee fall to the floor dead, with a rock through his heart.

"Brother! Please! I will not fight you!" Jinhai called out from behind his defence.

"Then you will die!"

Beiwin raised both fists as the floor beneath them trembled and broke free from the rest of the building. Holding them in place, Beiwin smashed his fists together and the roof above Jinhai fell.

Jinhai screamed in agony as his bones broke under the strain. He tried to free himself butcould not move his arms and therefore could not bend. Realising defeat, Jinhai looked up helplessly at his brother who stared him down with contempt.

"All my life I have lived in your shadow. I have been nothing and no one but our father's son and your brother… but no more. The world will remember my name as it will forget yours…"

Beiwin raised a bolder made from the surrounding walls above Jinhai.

"Now, let the whole world know the story of how the great Avatar Jinhai went mad and killed his own father only to be stopped by his brother. Let every man woman and child alive know of your demise!" Beiwin grew the boulder to extremes as he laughed menacingly. "The Earth Kingdom will rise and all enemies shall fall. One nation… that is balance!"

"You… You think I am the only one to stop you brother? You are the one who is mad… another…"

"Another shall take your place? Do not bore me with the story of the avatar cycle! I have heard it a million times! Once you are gone I will stop at nothing to find your next life. I will not kill them though… no… I have a far better plan in mind for the fire citizen who will replace you…"

Beiwin laughed again. He looked up at the boulder above them and with a slight twist of his fingers, turned it to molten lava.

"Until we meet again, Avatar!" He cried, bringing the dripping ooze onto his brother who gave a blood-curdling scream.

At that very moment, far off in the lands of the Fire towns, a woman screamed for the final time as her baby sucked in it's first breath of air and looked around at the new world. The father of the child knelt down to collect it and smiled at his wife.

"Yumi," he said. "We have a daughter… and look at how her eyes light up!"