This section of the story will be divided into two parts. Sorry if the chapter took a while to be released I didn't have much time on my hands this weekend. Reviews are appreciated and I thank you all for the ones I have received. I hope you enjoy! Hopefully Part 2 will be up by tomorrow.

The Avatar's Redemption

Book 1: Awakening

Chapter 9: Friendship is like a Fire Lily: Part 1

Moonlight trickled through the clouds and illuminated the shadow of the soaring Ash trees; a cool breeze rustled through the leaves. Terran's eyelids weighed down on his cloudy eyes as he rested atop a branch of the tallest Ash tree; it's dark and grainy bark, which reminded him of soot, tugged on his shirt. Terran kept his eye on a small fire nation town that would be his next scouting target.

Most of the towns on the outskirts of the Fire Nation Island had either escaped the industrialization and modernization that struck the island years ago or were too far out of the way for the Fire Nation to gather any benefit from the modernization of the town. Looking at the little villages reminded Terran of the ancient pictures he had seen of the early Earth Nation. They were mostly composed of shanty homes and buildings that gave the towns a rustic look. Many of the small towns had only early Fire Nation tech such as projectors and flight scooters. They lacked any real defenses and had little to no contact with the Fire Nation capitol. This is what made these small towns such good targets for attack. The earth benders could simply take over and use the town as a strong hold or base and the Fire Nation would be none the wiser.

Terran gave a monstrous yawn and shut his eyes; he decided to get some rest before he moved on to the remaining towns. The sun arose high above the trees; its glittering light stretched far and wide across the woods. Terran felt the heat rush across his cheeks and awoke, not even the shade of the Ash tree had protected him from the blazing sun. Terran placed his arm over his eyes to relieve himself of the bright rays; "This sun is much angrier in the Fire Nation than in the Earth Nation," Terran chuckled. Terran was certainly in brighter spirits; he had slept peacefully for the first time in days.

Terran made his way through the thick brush and into a town known as Bincho. The shacks provided shade with their long shadows and Terran could see that this had encouraged many of the town's residents to take to the streets. Children played ball, men and women chatted amongst themselves, old men brought out their pai sho tables, and a few young men went off to their jobs. If Terran didn't know any better he would have taken them for people of the Earth Nation.

"They're just like us," Terran thought, "they love, they laugh, and they live and yet we want to conquer them all." Terran walked slowly and with a slight sway as if he was going to stagger. His mind began to be filled with contemplation. Terran wondered why he had felt so strongly against these people; it was obvious of course, they killed and enslaved his people. But then again, did these people really have anything to do with it or were they just innocent men and women caught in the middle. In fact, why were the Earth Nation villagers attacked if they too had nothing to do with this war? They never fought against the other nations, they never attacked anyone, and they didn't play apart in the higher ups decision. They didn't even play a part in his own choices. Terran thought deeper and came to a startling realization.

They were all taught to hate. The General taught him to hate these people. The Earth Nation leaders implanted their minds with lies that caused them to believe these people were all vile and evil. The Earth Nation leaders were the ones who made these enemies and then they expected the innocent and manipulated to fight them. They convinced them to point our weapons at them and kill them even though the leaders never risked their own lives in the fight. All they did was risk the lives of the innocent people who played no real role in this war. "That's all I ever did too," whispered Terran in a somber voice. If it weren't for the propaganda they had all been subjected to, he would have thought these people to be his neighbors, his friends, his brothers, or his family.

Why did he need to continue this cycle of war? Why couldn't he change the fate of the nations? He certainly had the power to do so…Terran felt sick to his stomach. Was he really betraying the ideals he had held so close to him for all this time…was he really going to betray his people in this manner? Terran felt as though he was going to shatter. He had to leave.

He pushed his way through the forest with his eyes closed and covered in mist. He was burning up inside. He felt blind; he didn't know where he was going, all he knew was that he had to leave. He had to free himself from the burdens that weighed down his mind. He needed to be alone.

Terran was so lost within himself that he managed to trip over the thick root of one of the Ash trees. He opened his hazy eyes to see a meadow of fire lilies. The fire lilies were the most beautiful flowers of all the Fire Nation. They were a vibrant red and they caused the meadow to look like a sea of flames. Terran's breath moved heavily though his body as he lay down in this sea of fire. A sense of peace and tranquility had entered Terran through his breath; his mind became clear.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Terran turned around to see the same stout old man from the tea shop in Rahm. His ember eyes peered through the cobwebs that shrouded Terran's eyes. The old man could see deep inside his soul. The old man helped Terran stand up. The elder took in a calm and deep breath, "Yes, the fire lilies are some of the most stunning flowers in all of the Fire Nation. Sadly, they will die soon." Terran seemed to be unusually disheartened to hear this, "Why is that?" The old man's wise leer made Terran uncomfortable. This old man knew more than he was letting on.

"Well you see my friend, the fire lilies are a seasonal flower. They only last for a few weeks before they die off only to return next year. I would say these flowers have two days before they will leave us. Saddening isn't it?" Terran held his gaze towards the flowers and away from the old man, "Yes…it's a shame." The old man smiled, "Ah but not to worry they always return," the old man paused and stroked his beard, "I can see that you are not from around here," Terran's heart almost leapt out of his chest, "You must be from the capitol." Terran let out a huge sigh of relief, "Yes. I'm from the capitol."

The old man murmured to himself as if to give himself a pat on the back, "Mhmm…I thought so. It also appears as though you have a heavy heart and a heavy mind at the moment," Terran wondered if he was that easy to read or if the old man saw things with great clarity, "and you thought heading to the country would give you some comfort," the old man chuckled, "Ha ha, and here I am giving you bad news. What a fool I am." The old man reached down and picked a fire lily, "Here my friend, take this lily. Maybe it will warm you heart enough for your journey back to the capitol. Take care of it. The flowers are extremely delicate but their beauty is profound." The old man waved good-bye and headed towards Rahm. Terran placed the fire lily in his coat pocket and felt an odd sense of comfort.

…

Terran sat in the meadow of fire lilies for what felt like hours. The sun lowered and the lilies were covered in an orange glow. A gentle breeze rolled in and the lilies started to dance and sway. Terran intently stared at the lily the old man had given him, in this world such beauty was a luxury. Terran shut his eyes and envisioned what he believed would be the future. The meadow was covered in flames and its soil was uprooted. Bodies were sprawled across the scorched remains of the meadow; blood saturated the soil and the flowers were crushed, never to grow again. Terran grimaced and shuttered. Was this the redemption he yearned for?

He decided to head towards the capitol of the Fire Nation, Kazangan. If he was going to make a decision for the future of the nations he had to examine the Fire Nation from all angles. "Wherever there is good, there is bad," Terran thought to himself and for a brief moment he saw the face of the beast from his dream. He groaned and hoped he was making the right choice.

Terran could see the spiraling towers of Kazangan from a few miles away. The city was one of pure innovation; hover cars moved through the skies in a flurry of red and orange, bright neon lights were project at all corners, the skyline was covered in the illuminating lights of the city; the towers had beams shooting from their rooftops that created a dome of energy around the entire city. Thousands of people entered and exited the city through the transport bridges that were placed around the circumference of the dome.

Terran covered his head with his hood; no one had recognized him in the villages but in the capitol there was no doubt that everyone had heard of him and had seen his face. Terran quietly passed through one of the transport bridges with his head down and entered the main streets of the city. It was complete pandemonium. Everyone was shouting and screaming profanities; people were crowding in the streets with their fists raised above their heads and were shouting, "DEATH TO CHAO! DEATH TO CHAO! DEATH TO CHAO!"

Terran looked up at one of the huge halocron screens that stretched across the skyline. One was replaying footage of the General and the royal guards slaughtering fire benders. Amongst the royal guards were earth benders dressed in the garments of slaves with broken shackles on their wrists and ankles. The footage ended with the General atop the remains of a fire nation mechtank. He was bloodied and bruised but his face was alight with victory; he shouted out to the slaves, "You are free! The Earth Nation has returned!"

The footage replayed again and again only to entice more rage from the fire nation citizens. Fire Nation patrol and guards began to move in closer. A compartment in the center of the street opened and a pedestal began to rise. Atop of it was the Major General of the Fire Nation Army, Rohtak. He raised his hands in the air and the crowd saluted him. Dead silence filled the air. Rohtak lowered his arms and began to speak, "People of the Fire Nation, witness the cold heartlessness of the Earth Nation!" the crowd screamed in anger, "They slaughter our people like moo-sows! They deserve no right to live free in this world! Hundreds of years ago they attacked us and destroyed our livestock, the tried to leave us barren, they tried to destroy our empire, but they failed and now we shall rise above them!" the crowd cheered. This seemed odd to Terran; it was common knowledge in the Earth Nation that the Fire Nation had started the war with the help of the United Water Nations. Rohtak continued, "They thought that with the help of the United Water Nations they could flood us away from history but the Water Nation has given penance for its sins and now sides with us! Together we will destroy the Earth Nation and take all that they have, just like they did to us! They say they will win because they have the Avatar but I see no Avatar alongside Chao! The Avatar is weak! We will slaughter the Avatar and take what is ours my brothers!" the crowd was filled with pride and rampaged through the streets, "The Earth Nation attacked with no remorse, they started this war in a vain attempt at conquest, but I say to you my brothers and sisters we shall strike down at them and bring peace to this world! Their people will suffer in the same we have! This ends now my brothers! THIS ENDS NOW! In three months' time we will have amassed an army so great that no one will stop us! WE ARE THE FIRE NATION, HARBRINGERS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE!" The crowd cheered with such vigor that Terran thought they were going to bring down this entire place themselves.

Terran understood now. These people weren't evil; they were manipulated. In the Earth Nation, everyone had been taught that the Fire and Water Nations were the root of all the pain in the world, but now Terran could see that all the nations had lost sight of who the real enemies were, themselves. Terran didn't care who started this war anymore, all he cared about was ending it and that's what he was going to do. The airbender, Calais, entered his mind, "Don't you see you can end this cycle of hate and start a cycle of peace!" Terran struggled with his newfound understanding of the war; he felt like he was betraying all those who loved him but he knew he had to stand for the greater good. He had to stand for all the nations. He was the Avatar. Terran clenched his fists. He desperately hoped he was doing the right thing.

Terran pushed his way through the crazed crowd and decided he had to meet Toshi as soon as possible to confide within him the truth of their destiny. The fire lily began to crumple in his pocket...

That's a wrap folks. The awaited meeting between Terran and Toshi will take center stage in part 2. Their meeting will most certainly change the dynamic of the remaining chapters of book 1 so make sure to check it out when it's uploaded.

Preview for next chapter (the following chapter after part 2): We get to see the return of Calais and his journey into the slums of the Earth Nation. What or rather who will he discover?