Air…Water…Earth…Fire.
For centuries, the Avatar has kept balance in the world, serving as the master of the four elements and a bridge between man and spirit in over a thousand incarnations. From the legendary Avatar Aang who ended a century long war to the mighty Avatar Korra who defeated the anti-bending Equalists, each member of the Avatar line has saved the world more times than either man or Spirit can remember. But where did it all begin? This is the story of how the Avatar Cycle came to be…
Book 2: Gaia
Chapter 4: Storm
Oogleo journeyed to the far South next, making several stops along the way. All air benders were nomads after all and they could not be found in one nation alone. During these travels, Amos taught Gaia all he knew about chakras and how they enabled energy bending . Using this knowledge, Gaia was able to enhance her own bending since energy bending was the basis of all modern bending arts. She soon developed seismic sense like a badger mole and could will her fire bending to be hotter and stronger, making her flame blue in the process. She also discovered that lightning was ionized fire and could soon generate it with ease. As Gaia developed these new skills however, Amos grew worried that she could be consumed by the vast power she commanded.
"You command elements of power and tenacity but you must remember to temper these things with gentleness and a peaceful mind" Amos advised her "you were made to balance the world but you must remember that you are the world incarnate. If you yourself are unbalanced ,you have already failed."
They eventually came to a village in the small nation of Peilo, just across from Del. The Chakra Empire had launched attacks there in the past but each time, they had been repelled by a demon who could summon a powerful wind storm. This same demon had launched attacks on several Chakra Empire outposts in the past several months and was already becoming something of a legend to the people. Gaia suspected this to be an Air Nomad and spoke with Venshu on the subject but the Air Spirit dismissed it.
"The Air Nation would never seek conflict by actively joining the war. Their involvement has so far been limited to offering shelter to injured soldiers and war refugees. I suggest you investigate these incidents however as they may lead you to an air bending master." Gaia took this advice and the next night when a Chakra Empire ship neared the village, Oogleo burst from the depths and the Avatar leaped off her animal guide's back onto the enemy vessel.
The dual bending of the Avatar easily took down the first dozen or so Chi Warriors but when Sonja was revealed as the captain of the ship, things took a turn for the worst. She had grown stronger since the battle in the Si Wong desert and easily went toe to toe with Gaia despite the later's enhanced skills. Gaia would have been defeated that day had a great wind storm not attacked the ship at that very moment and the one the people called "the Wind Rider" appeared from above, landing onto the deck with in a fighting stance .
His features were covered by a hooded cloak that only enhanced the mystery about him . He commanded raging winds easily, using them to scatter Chi Warriors and beat them without even touching them. Sonja turned away from Gaia to confront her new foe with Dual Chi Swords only to find herself missing every strike as he nimbly evaded her every attack. When the High General was close enough however, she was met with a massive air blast to the face that knocked her off the ship and into the sea, or would have had she not teleported away at the last second.
The recovered Gaia was amazed and moved to thank her new ally when he turned to attack her! On reflex ,the Avatar attacked with fire bending, burning his cloak and revealing a long blue arrow tattooed on his arm. Something in Gaia clicked and she suddenly knew what the markings meant. "Those are Air Nomad markings" she exclaimed as she grabbed the exposed arm to examine it "you're an Air Bender!" The Wind Rider roughly pulled his arm free and hit Gaia with an air blast, though weaker than his attack on Sonja. The Avatar was knocked to the floor as her mysterious air bender pulled out a long staff and extended glider wings from it. While the first generation of Air Nomads could fly as freely as the Sky Bison from which they were taught, succeeding generations eventually lost the ability to fly unaided perhaps due to slightly weaker spiritual bonds with their Bison companions. To remedy this, a particularly inventive Air Nomad created the first glider staff and the Air Nomads have used them ever since.
Gaia attempted to stop the Wind Rider but it was too late. He had already taken flight and vanished into the clouds. Determined not to lose the bending teacher she had searched weeks for, the Avatar mounted Oogleo and followed the Wind Rider across the sea. When Amos awoke the next morning at the inn where he and Gaia were staying, he was enraged at what she had done but prayed to the Spirits that she would be returned safely.
When Gaia reached Del, Venshu's voice sounded in her head. "I admit you were right" he said reluctantly "but this Nomad may be a rogue and after what happened with the Fire Sages , you shouldn't take chances. I suggest seeking out the Air Temple and finding a master there." "But you said yourself that they would never get involved in the war and probably won't teach someone who intends to fight in it" Gaia argued and Venshu sighed. "As a keeper of balance, it will sometimes be necessary to perform actions that mortals may not find completely ethical."
To this end, Gaia approached the Air Temple and claimed to be an air bender born a few villages over who had come to seek instruction. As male and female Air Nomads had not yet separated in those days, most were born in what was then the only Air Temple but on rare occasion, air benders could be born in other places around Del. The saying was "we never stay in one place so why be born in one place?" After the separation of the temples ,which will be spoken of later, foundling air benders became more common.
Gaia was accepted but much like Avatar Korra, air bending proved a challenge. The art required her to abandon all she had been taught previously. With earth bending, she was taught to stand firm and face all opposition head on while fire bending taught her to embrace her emotions and let them fuel her but air bending was about remaining free from earthly ties while avoiding and evading conflict. Learning to use these vastly different elements together seemed impossible and the Elementals were no help. "The Elements are all part of a whole" they all said "finding balance between them is just another part of being the Avatar."
Despite her difficulties, Gaia had made many friends amongst the Air Nation. The monks were friendly and fun loving and their vegetarian ways matched her own but there was one amongst them who simply refused her company. This was Tizu, a very powerful air bender who mostly kept to himself anyway but made special effort to avoid the Avatar. It was almost as though he knew of her deception and was sending her a silent warning to watch her step. For her part, Gaia could not help but feel she knew him from somewhere.
One night as Gaia was on her way to bed, she passed by Tizu's room and was amazed to see him dawn the cloak of the Wind Rider and fly off into the night. Now it all made sense! She had heard the Air Nomads gossip about how the Chakra Empire was attacking their neighbors and slowly making their way towards Del. While the Wind Priest and elder monks said that the violence of the world was not their concern, Tizu had always burned with a desire to aid those in need despite his people's pacifist ways.
Gaia confronted him when he returned and after revealing the truth about herself, a deal was made. The Avatar would keep Tizu's secret in exchange for Tizu's help with air bending. He helped her truly understand that Air was the element of freedom and to master it, she needed to free herself. Gaia did this by clearing her mind of the burden of her mission and thinking of what brought her joy and happiness. Memories of her parents filled her mind and as she felt uplifted in spirit, she found herself uplifted literally by a swirl of air.
Gaia went on to master air bending soon after but on the day she was to receive her arrows, an emergency forced her to use earth bending and reveal her identity. The Wind Priest was outraged even as the Avatar tried to explain her mission would bring peace. So strict were the Air Nomad's principles in those days that even fighting in self defense was frowned upon greatly.
Before the Wind Priest could pass judgment however, an energy dagger flew out from one of the monk's robes and pierced his heart. Before everyone's horrified eyes, said monk transformed into Captain Neo, a low ranking Chakra Empire soldier. Neo was aiming to capture Gaia and replace Sonja as Oni's High General. After two defeats at the Avatar's hand and being beaten by an inferior Element Bender, she had fallen out of her master's good graces and was now undergoing a Chi Rape,one of Oni's cruelest techniques, as punishment .
Neo's troops appeared in the temple and attacked the Air Nomads without mercy. Their usual methods of avoid and evade were useless against the ancient fighting techniques of the energy benders. It was not until Tizu and Gaia began fighting back that the tides began to turn. "Peace will always be the right way but sometimes one must fight to protect it!" Tizu yelled to his brothers and sisters "just as Appalo, the first Air Nomad, fought to free his people, so should we fight to protect the peace for ourselves and others!"
The Air Nomads saw wisdom in Tizu's word and began fighting alongside their comrades. Tizu in particular debuted some new and more aggressive air bending moves such as the Air Sword, Air Daggers, and the Storm Bending he developed as the Wind Rider. These same techniques would one day be used by Avatar Yangchen, a direct descendent of Tizu.
With his troops beaten, Neo was left to face Gaia alone and was beaten very quickly, being sent flying through the air by a mini tornado and then captured in an earth column as he landed. The Captain remained confident however as he proclaimed "this war has only just began Avatar! You alone cannot hope to defeat Oni for his is a power feared by even the strongest of Spirits! He shall conquer this world and then rip open the next with his might and slay Brykus as he was slain eons ago! ALL WILL BE REMADE IN HIS IMAGE AND HE AND ALONE SHALL RULE THE UNIVERSE!"
Ignoring Neo's ramblings, Gaia left him in the Air Nomads' hands in the hopes that their teaching could rehabilitate him. She was aware however that he was right about her needing help to defeat Oni. Tizu, as the new Wind Priest, promised to lend Air Nation support when the time was right. Gaia returned to Amos after many weeks and the Old Mystic revealed that he had foreseen the final battle in a vision:a massive army of Benders from each Elemental Nation being lead by Gaia against Oni's legions. To this end, Amos decided to travel back to the Fire Nation and Earth Continent to gather allies. He also admitted to hearing that Oma's ancestor was also named Amos and was curious to see if this Amos had been descended from him. The two friends parted ways after this and Gaia began the long journey North to master her final element: water.
AN: Sorry for yet another long wait but only a few more chapters of Book 2 to go! Special Thanks to Siver Omega 01 {who also developed Storm bending}, thestorywizard, Atomic psychology, Jonesman2007,and everyone else.