Prologue Chapter One: The Lotus Emerges

Fire. Air. Water. Earth. Four elements; four nations. Only the avatar can master all four elements, and maintain the balance between the four nations. Avatar Aang restored the balance which had been lost by uniting the four nations, and Avatar Korra helped to protect this balance from those who would threaten it. Chief among these threats was the Red Lotus, a group of terrorists whose goal was to spread anarchy throughout the world. After the second capture of their leader Zaheer, however, the Red Lotus seemed to dissolve out of existence, and the peace was protected. And in this peace, scientific progress advanced at an unprecedented rate. The Satomobile, once the seen as the pinnacle of technological progress, was replaced by newer, faster models within years, hydroelectric dams replaced Republic City's Power Plant, which had previously been powered by lightning-bending, and television quickly replaced the radio, and televised pro-bending matches became incredibly popular. It was an era of peace and progress. And it is in this era, 70 years before the birth of the new avatar, where our story begins.

Sarrah smiled at the two guards and flashed her badge. The guards nodded, and entered their codes. The primary cell door, a large, circular structure composed entirely of pure titanium, opened. She walked through, and the door closed. The cell room was rectangular, and composed entirely of pure titanium. The secondary cell sat in the center of the room, a clear, rectangular structure, with a single guard sitting at a console outside. Sarrah nodded, and the guard opened the cell door. Inside, a man hung from the ceiling in chains, with shackles on his wrists and ankles, and his eyes closed. The man had long, unkempt gray hair, an equally gray unkempt beard, and was dressed in a brown robe.

"Time to eat, Zaheer!" she said.

Zaheer didn't move. "Where is Kanni?" He asked.

"Kanni suddenly fell ill today. I am his replacement for today," Sarrah responded. "The Lotus will soon bloom," She added.

Zaheer's eyes shot open. Sarrah created two fire daggers and cut the chains binding Zaheer's legs.

"Fry him!" shouted one of the guards through the intercom. The guard outside the secondary cell door reached for the large red button. As he did, Sarrah cut the chains binding Zaheer's arms, and grabbed them with one hand, just as electricity surged through them. She redirected the electricity into a lightning bolt of her own, blasting the secondary cell door open, and sending the guard flying.

"What do we do now?" asked one of the guards outside the primary door.

"We await the coming storm," said the second guard, smiling as he felt the strength of the full moon outside. He bloodbent the other guard into the wall, and opened the primary cell door. Zaheer and Sarrah walked out. The alarm sounded, and several more guards ran in. Zaheer released a powerful blast of airbending, sending them all flying. Sarrah ran to a locker and grabbed three gas masks, just as an odorless gas began to seep from the air vents. The Red Lotus members walked through the halls of the prison unopposed. Zaheer was free. The Red Lotus had returned.