Here we go again, the first chapter of The Essences! The prologue was a little short, sorry! I just needed something to introduce you to the Story. Here we find out the names and personalities of the 7 characters and how they came to be. Have fun, and don't forget to review!

The Essences

Book One: Strife

Chapter One: Birthday!

70th Day of Winter 191ACS

10 A.M.

-Kongqi-

Kongqi woke from his bed in the Western Air Temple to all his friends greeting him a Happy Birthday. "It's not my 7th birthday yet, guys!" he exclaimed. "Still 3 hours and 19 minutes! And how are you celebrating when there's that huge dragon in the sky trying to eat up the world?" They shook their heads.

"Kyora will defeat him!" one said. "It's your birthday, Kong, try to be happy for once."

"I told you, I have to be worried when there's a huge world eater a 1000 kilometres away that we can still see," Kong worried. "But I guess we can celebrate. Just wait 3 hours and, wait, let me check my watch." Future Industries had created bracelets that could tell time to the minute. "18 minutes. 3 hours and 18 minutes." Some of his friends sighed. Did he have to be so exact all the time? "I wish I was an Airbender..." he mused.

-Shui-

1:00 P.M.

Shui finished eating her Lunch and exited her hut to get a soaking from all her Waterbender friends holding a surprise party for her. "Aw, thanks!" she exclaimed. "You didn't do all this for me, did you?"

"You're our best friend!" one said. "Why shouldn't we?"

"Well thanks!" Shui said. "I wish I was a Waterbender too. But no matter, let's celebrate!"

-Tu-

11:57 A.M.

Tu exited her room and made her way to the dining area to get catapulted into her chair by her Earthbender friends. "This again?" she asked. "Do you have to do this for my birthday every year?"

"Yes!" her brother exclaimed. "And we set up a little surprise for you," he said as he stamped his foot, punching her chair up and throwing her up through a hole in the roof and down into her brother's waiting arms.

"Di Qiu!" their mother exclaimed. "What if you hadn't caught her?"

"Why would I not catch her?" he asked. "It's not like she would have gotten hurt if she'd fallen, she's strong as a rock! And I wouldn't have done it if I couldn't catch her."

"Just don't do it again," his mother said.

"That was fun!" Tu said as they began to eat.

-Huo-

12:30 P.M.

Huo got up from the table with his parents and left the dining room to see his Firebender friends shoot fireworks into the sky. "It's the middle of the day!" he pointed out. "How are we going to see it?"

"We don't care," they said. "At least we can hear it!"

"And so can everyone else in the neighbourhood," Huo's father said. "What if people were still sleeping?"

"Sleeping?" asked Huo. "Really? When there's a giant devourer in the middle of Republic City?"

"You make a good point," Huo's father mused. "Fine, you can do it. Just ask the neighbours first!"

"We already did," said Huo's friends. "You didn't let us tell you."

Huo ran out to join his friends. He wasn't a Firebender, so he couldn't make his own fireworks, but he could still watch.

-Guang-

1:15 P.M.

Guang woke up and checked his watch. "Gah!" he exclaimed. "It's already 1:15! I only have 4 minutes and I missed lunch?" He ran out of the room and slipped and fell on a slab of light, sliding right through an open door into the arms of his sister.

"Didn't think I would let you be late for your birthday, did you?" his sister asked.

Guang rubbed his back, still aching from the fall. "Good thing you did... whatever you did. I wish I was a Lightbender."

"Maybe you'll get your wish!" exclaimed his mother, startling Guang.

"Don't get my hopes up, it's never going to happen," said Guang.

"You live in an optimistic nation, be a little optimistic for once!" his sister exclaimed. "You always sound so bored."

"I'll try," Guang said softly. "It's my birthday, anyway."

-Yinying-

1:10 P.M.

Yinying left the dining room, her face downcast, to see all her friends.

"Why the long face?" one asked.

"I didn't get my wish," she said sadly. "I wanted to be a Shadowbender."

"You really believe in wishes and stuff?" another asked. "It's not going to happen." The normal pessimistic Shadowbenders.

"Well, your birthday really isn't for another 7 minutes," the first said, checking his crystal watch. "It's 1:12. Maybe it'll happen!"

"Shut up," the second said. "Don't get her hopes up, we don't want her to be disappointed."

"He's right," Yinying mused. "I guess it'll never happen."

-Nengyuan-

1:16 P.M.

"Just 3 minutes to my birthday," Nengyuan mused to his Energybender friends. "Maybe the Spirit World will grant my wish and make me an Energybender."

"We'll see!" his brother exclaimed. "Just be patient. We don't know whether or not, so let's just not worry."

"You're right," Nengyuan said. "I grew up not worrying, I'm going to stay not worrying."

1:19 P.M.

-Kongqi-

"I guess it's my birthday!" Kongqi said.

"Make a wish!" his friends exclaimed.

'I wish to be an Airbender,' he thought. Suddenly all their eyes widened when the dragon winked out of existence. There was a whoosh of air and Kong felt a presence deep in his heart. "The dragon is gone!" he yelled. There was rejoicing in the temple for the defeat of Ragnarok and Kong was deeply stirred by what had just happened in his soul.

-Shui-

"It's your birthday!" all her friends yelled. "Make a wish!"

'I wish to be a Waterbender,' she thought. All activity in the Northern Water Tribe stopped as they felt a gust of wind. They instinctively looked in the direction of where Ragnarok was- no, where he used to be. Shui felt something new in her heart as they all rejoiced.

-Tu-

"Time for birthday target practice!" Tu's brother exclaimed as the wall extended and shot Tu to the wall where she smacked flat. "Make a wish!"

Tu laughed in the wall and thought, 'I wish I was an Earthbender like my brother.' There was a sudden gust of wind and someone yelled, "Ragnarok is gone!" Tu fell off the wall rejoicing that the world eater, the great devourer was gone. Tu's heart felt heavy as something from the Spirit World flooded in.

-Huo-

Huo's friends sent up a bunch of huge fireworks that just about blew the ears off of everyone near and yelled, "It's your birthday, make a wish!"

'I wish I was a Firebender like my friends,' Huo thought and there was a sudden spell of hot wind as all activity stopped. After everybody stopped rattling from the shock wave of the fireworks, someone looked in the direction of Republic City and announced the death of Ragnarok.

"Ragnarok is gone!" everybody yelled. Huo felt hot as something from the Spirit World entered his heart.

-Guang-

Guang's sister made a huge light slide and Guang slid down it as everyone yelled, "Happy Birthday!" Guang's sister, Tian, told him to make a wish.

'I wish I was a Lightbender like my friends and sister," he thought happily. As he got to the end of the slide it suddenly disappeared leaving him flat on the grass. There was a flash of light and a gust of wind and somebody screamed, "Ragnarok! He's gone!" Everybody rejoiced for the death of the devourer, and Guang felt like he was glowing. It was as if the Essence of Light itself had entered his body.

-Yinying-

"I guess it's my birthday," Yinying said downheartedly.

"Make a wish!" the first friend yelled.

"Seriously?" the second asked. "This again?"

"I guess I could try," Yin said and thought, 'I wish I could be a Shadowbender. Maybe I would be a bit more happy then.'

Suddenly, there was a spell of darkness and a gust of wind. The darkness disappeared and someone exclaimed, "Ragnarok is defeated!" Everybody's downcast looks disappeared, except for Yinying's. They all rejoiced that he was gone. Yinying felt a little lighter as something like an Essence entered her heart.

-Nengyuan-

Nengyuan's friends rejoiced about his birthday and told him to make a wish. "Wishes? Really?" he asked. "I guess I'll try..."

'I wish I could be an Energybender," he thought and suddenly there was a gust of energy-filled wind and everybody went on something like a sugar rush.

"Ragnarok, the World Devourer, the Universe Destroyer, the Great Enemy is dead!" everybody yelled really fast. Neng felt the Essence of Energy enter his heart and knew. He was an Energybender now.

-End-

Wow, that was a long one. So if you are Chinese, you probably figured out by now that the names of each lead character comes from the Chinese word for their element. Air is Kongqi, Water is Shui, Earth (ground) was Tu, Fire was Huo, Light was Guang, Shadow was Yinying, and Energy was Nengyuan.

The names of the essences will be the Japanese names for the elements: Kuki, Mizu, Chikyu, Kasai, Hikari, Kage, and Enerugi (The most like it's English word, actually).

By the end of the chapter you probably should have figured out that those presences were the Essences. The reason I said lighter for Yin was because Shadows weigh very little- Actually, that doesn't really make sense. Oh well. Don't forget to review!