Author Notes: Hey all! I'm a new aspiring author and would appreciate any feedback on my stories. Any ideas on how to be more detailed, provide better descriptions, or any other tips would be great! I will attempt to write at least one chapter a week so stay tuned if you enjoy what I write!

Chapter 1

Pure unadulterated power and energy in its truest form. As one of the four elements, fire was the most dangerous of them all. It's almost as if fire has an undying hunger of its own. A single spark contains the power to grow into a raging wildfire and consume an entire countryside. The other elements, water, earth, and air, all have the potential to destroy, but never do they leap out of their predestined paths and take on a mind of their own. A spilled cup of water will not grow into a flood. A breeze from the fan of a servant will not twist and turn into the form of hurricane. And a pebble kicked loose by the shoe of a traveler will not change into a boulder or bring about an earthquake. Fire is different in this way. The embers from a poorly tended campfire can leap outside of its rocky pit and devour the dry grass nearby. Long after a traveler thinks his fire has been extinguished, the coals will continue to glow and wait for an opportunity to devour its next fuel source. This is simply the nature of fire. If tended properly it can provide warmth and life, otherwise it will quickly turn on the hands of its creator.

The ones who seek to control this power call themselves firebenders. As one can imagine, anyone who chooses to commit to the art of firebending must master control, or risk losing themselves to their lust for strength. For many firebenders, this lust for power is too strong to control. They relish in the passion and power of the flames. There have been a few great leaders amongst their nation, but history tends to repeat itself over and over as once more, an emperor rises up and ignites the spark to set the nation ablaze with war once again. And yet, the world always returns to a state of peace thanks to the Avatar, the master of all four elements.

The Avatar's role has always been to maintain peace and order in both the physical and spirit realms. As war between the nations rises up, so does a new Avatar to put an end to the fighting and restore order to the world. Many emperors and kings have tried to fight the Avatar, but with mastery over all four elements, it poses a difficult task. The endless cycle continues to repeat itself. War and strife followed by peace and order. Like Tui and La, constantly circling each other and repeating the cycle. But just as a river changes course over time, a cycle cannot continue on unchanged forever.

Year 619 A.A.

Mira turned her head and closed her eyes as heat flashed up at her. Even from a distance the flames could be felt by all who watched. Bright orange and yellow fire blazed past a young man standing in the middle of the arena. Flames licked at his face and arms as he just barely moved from its path of destruction. The boy dodging the flames couldn't have been any older than 18. His body glistened with sweat, not only from the heat but also from the exertion. He had been fighting hard against his much larger opponent for a good ten minutes. Much longer than most fights lasted. His body was lean and toned from years on the street. A dragon tattoos curled from his shoulder, traveling around his arm ending near his wrist. Despite his heavy breathing and exhausted demeanor, he flashed a smile at his opponent, waiting for the next move.

Another blast of flame came roaring towards the young boy as his opponent lashed out with a combination of hooks and backhanded strikes. The boy ducked low into a roll, using his smaller stature to his advantage to slip beneath his enemy's guard. As he came up from his roll he pushed off the ground with both hands, kicking up at the larger gladiator with the force of his entire body. As his feet contacted the body of his opponent a massive blast of fire exploded from the impact, rocketing his opponent away.

Mira despised these duels. They took a beautiful artform like firebending and turned it into a brutal sport for mass entertainment. Some fought for glory and so-called honor, and others fought because they were forced to. Ten years ago, the emperor had created a decree that any criminal wishing to earn his freedom would be given the option to fight in arena. The only catch was any fighter who lost in the arena was put to death. Nothing gets people more excited than watching a man fight with every ounce of his being to save his own life. Mira contemplated what the young boy in the arena must have done to deserve imprisonment.

"Mira! Mira!"

Mira quickly snapped to attention. The emperor glared down at her in annoyance once he saw that she had been hiding her face from the battle.

"Is the entertainment not to your liking?" He asked, gazing back at the arena.

"No, my lord, the flames were simply becoming too much for me." She replied, looking at the ground, hoping he did not grow angry.

He snorted in disgust, "A real firebender should relish in the heat of the flames, not shy away from it. Either way, I'm out of wine." He shook his glass at her, waiting for her to refill it.

With a deep bow, Mira took the glass and rushed out of the viewing box, eager to get away from the roar of the crowd and the heat of the battle. She grabbed a large clay jug and poured what was left of it into the cup the emperor had given her. There was barely enough to fill it even halfway! The emperor was a man who enjoyed his wine and she knew he would not be pleased to see they had run out. Thinking quickly, she grabbed the glass and rushed down the stairs that lead deeper into the coliseum.

The air was cool and damp as Mira descended deeper into the magnificent building. At each separate level, one could look out past the massive stone columns and see the crowd on its feet, cheering for blood and burns. Mira spent almost every weekend here. The emperor relished the blood sport he had created and spent every possible moment he could at the coliseum. Consequently, he dragged all his favorite handmaids along with him. The stairs rounded one final corner, then opened to a long hallway, filled with servants and gladiators hustling about their own duties. Rows of torches did little to brighten the dark cavernous room. Mira scrunched up her nose as the smell of blood, sweat, and other unmentionable odors assaulted her. The servants' quarters were no place for a handmaid like herself, but she knew she had to find more drink for the emperor before he grew angry. She wove through the crowd and in between boxes, trying to find what she was searching for.

Mira let out a squeak of surprise as she was yanked backwards, a man tugging at her dress. "Please help me!" He groaned loudly and held her dress tightly in his fist. She gasped in shock when she saw the burns covering the man's body. His entire right side of his body was burned. The skin was an angry red and swelling and blistering all over the affected area. Some parts even looked charred and black. Mira's eyes teared up as she saw the severity of this man's injuries.

A large hand reached past her and gripped the man's arm, forcing him to let go. "Leave her be, Avoron." His grip was rough, yanking the arm away as he looked at the man in disgust. "It's just a few burns. Nothing any other fighter hasn't suffered before. Quit your whining."

Mira gave the burnt man one last look and then scurried off trying to put as much distance between her and the brutalized man. Her mind reeled at the gruffness of the other man who yanked Avoron's hand away. No sympathy could be found in his voice or his touch. What kind of torture did these men endure that a burn of that severity was brushed off like a sprained ankle? Finally, she reached the end of the room where casks of wine were being held. She wrapped her arms around the clay jug and lifted, stumbling backwards as she tried to adjust for the weight.

"Need some help with that?" A deep, voice asked as Mira felt a hand reach out and grip hers where she held the jug. "That looks awfully heavy and we wouldn't want you getting hurt down here."

She turned to face the voice and saw three large men all standing in a circle watching her. All three were well muscled from years of fighting and showed burns and scars all across their bodies. The man with his hand on hers gripped it harder, causing her to wince in pain.

"I don't want any trouble sirs." She held her head up high and stared them down, doing her best to show no fear in the face of these grizzled fighters.

"You shouldn't have intruded on our turf then little lady." The largest one grinned and took a step closer.

Mira took a deep breath in, weighing her options and spoke when she was sure her voice wouldn't quaver, "I am the emperor's handmaiden. I am a powerful firebender trained by the imperial master himself. You will regret it if you try anything with me." Her eyes blazed with fury.

The men laughed hard, a rough, mocking laughter. One of the men grabbed the jug of wine from her and smashed it against the table near Mira, wine splattering over her dress, soaking her.

"I don't know about my boys but I'm curious to see this magnificent display of firebending you speak of. Show me." He accentuated this last phrase by shoving his finger hard against her small frame, causing her to stumble backwards and fall onto her backside.

She raised her hands in defense in an effort to keep the men away when everything around them began to rumble. It was not a small rumble, like that of a table being moved across a stone floor, or a barrel rolling across the ground. This was the sound of the very earth beneath their feet moving. Like the sound of an avalanche cascading down a mountain, or what Mira imagined a herd of Cow Hippo's would sound like if one were to lay in the midst of it. She dove for a table nearby as the ceiling began to crumble and the three men who were harassing her scattered, trying to find cover. Dust filled the room, causing Mira to cough and cover her face with her wine-soaked dress. The sound grew louder and louder as more rubble cascaded from the ceiling in larger chunks. Stones began to pile up around her as she tried to press herself as close to the wall as possible. Then, everything went black. Mira could no longer see what was happening and could only wait as the deep rumbling sound filled her ears and blocked out all other senses.