I wrote this in honour of Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon Festival (Oct. 6). Hope you had a good one!

Clarity By Moonlight

"So once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess…"

"That's not how it goes."

"Hey, who's telling the story here?"

"Fine, Sokka, whatever…" Katara flopped back onto her sleeping bag, laid out on the paved courtyard so she could comfortably gaze up at the huge silver globe of the moon on the field of black velvet night above them. It was so bright that night her eyes watered.

"So once upon a time, there was this beautiful princess named Chang'E who was engaged to a handsome archer named Hou Yi. Oh, and they were both immortal. In the time before the four nations existed, there were ten suns, see, and one day…"

"How could there be ten suns?" Aang interrupted. "I mean, wouldn't it be kinda hot?"

Sokka ignored him. "So one day, all ten suns rose at the same time, scorching the earth. Chang'E felt sorry for the people of the world, so she asked her husband to shoot down nine of the suns with his magic bow and arrows…"

Toph chimed in. "What if they fell to earth and killed a bunch of people? How do you think Chang'E would've felt about that?"

"Would you stop interrupting me? I'm trying here, okay?" Sokka exclaimed huffily. The blind girl grinned impishly and made a zipping motion across her lips. "Anyhow, the gods got angry at them for shooting the suns out of the sky and banished them both to earth. So to become immortal again, Hou Yi went on a quest and got an immortality pill, but he only found one…"

"And I bet the wife took it." Zuko made a face. "Women."

Sokka glowered at the prince for ruining his ending, but went on. "As an immortal, Chang'E floated up to live in the moon. And every year around harvest, Hou Yi gets to visit her, so that's why the moon is so bright for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

The Fire prince snorted derisively. "The way I heard it, Hou Yi's shot down the nine suns and was rewarded with the elixir of life. He hid it away, but then his wife found it swallowed it out of curiosity, then floated up to the moon. I mean, how stupid is that? Putting something in your mouth when you don't know what it is."

Katara snickered, sending a knowing look to her brother. "I'm pretty sure the way Gran Gran told it, Hou Yi was a tyrant who shot the suns down and became emperor, and, obsessed with becoming an immortal, stole the elixir of life from a goddess. His wife supposedly stole it back and as she ran away, drank it and flew up to the moon. And now she lives there with a rabbit…or something like that."

"The Jade Rabbit," Aang piped up. "I know that story. Three immortal sages who lived in the Moon Palace came down to earth in mortal form as beggars, and asked for food to eat from a fox, a monkey, and a rabbit. The fox and monkey both had food to give, but the rabbit didn't, and offered himself as a meal, jumping into the fire to cook his own flesh so the beggar sages could eat. The sages were so touched by his sacrifice that they exalted him and made him move into the Moon Palace to live for the rest of eternity."

"Ew!" The group exclaimed. "That's just sick."

"Why do you think I'm a vegetarian?" Aang said wryly, waving a carrot at them.

Katara asked, "Do you have any Mid-Autumn tales, Toph?"

"Just the one about the moon cakes and how they were used to pass military secrets between camps. It's not an origin story, but I think it's pretty cool."

"Speaking of moon cakes," Sokka sat up, "Where's Iroh?"

The old man came bounding into view just then, his canvas shoes slapping loudly against the cobblestones.

"Moon cakes!" He declared, brandishing two boxes of the sweet, rich desserts. "The servants are bringing tea, too."

"Are those…lanterns?" Zuko asked, looking at the brightly coloured things under his uncle's arm.

"Of course, Prince Zuko. Otherwise, how will Hou Yi find his way to the moon?"

"We're a little old to be playing with lanterns, General Iroh," Katara said. "But thanks for thinking of us."

"You'll be wanting to handle these soon enough." The old Firebender began to unfold the gorgeous paper lanterns, and Aang and Sokka's eyes went wide with glee.

"Ooh…pretty…" they crooned, and as Iroh lit them, even Zuko's eyes went glassy with longing.

"We've been discussing the origin story about the Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon festival," the water girl explained to the old man. "I don't suppose you could tell us which is the right version of the story?"

Iroh tugged at his beard thoughtfully, smiling widely at this group of young people who were too old to believe in fairy tales, but young enough to appreciate them. "There are no right versions when it comes to fantasies and legends and I wouldn't deign to sully your impressions of the story of Chang'E and Hou Yi. It is not my place to tell you the truth."

"So there really was a Chang'E and Hou Yi?" Aang sat up, ears perked.

"Did you know them?" Sokka asked.

"I'm not that old, Sokka." Iroh chuckled. "The Mid-Autumn Harvest Moon festival is simply a time to appreciate what the farmers in the fields have reaped for us all year, falling on the day when the light of the sun brightens the moon to its utmost, symbolizing the balance of Yin and Yang." He began opening the boxes of moon cakes. "These tales we tell to explain why we do the things we do today are only for diversion. What's important is that these holidays bring us all together so that we can share a common tradition and be united in our customs and beliefs. And to eat good food, of course." He lifted the lid off the first box of moon cakes and smiled down at the perfect lotus paste-stuffed pastries, and got to work on opening the second box.

"But Uncle, if there are so many different versions of the story, don't we risk conflict over the political or historical significance? Don't we risk losing the meaning of the holiday?" Zuko asked. "People have started wars over less."

"Yeah, like the Gan jin and Zhang tribes' feud over their redemption ritual, or like that time I was accused of murdering Chin the Conqueror in a past life… Well, it turns out I did, but still…" Aang floundered for clarity, "…I wasn't the bad guy."

"History is not always kinds to its subjects," Iroh proclaimed sagely. "Chang'E and Hou Yi have alternately been portrayed as villains and heroes, lovers and enemies. The 'truth' is left up to the interpretation of the storyteller, or historian, or politician. We can't say for certain who is the bad guy and who is the good guy. Perhaps there was no bad guy at all. Perhaps the tale was simply a metaphor for some greater thing happening around a pair of lovers stuck in the midst of a difficult time in history, and embellished for the sake of entertainment." The retired general studied the moon cakes in the second box and began slicing the heavy dessert cakes into bite-sized pieces.

"So, what you're saying is…you don't know squat," Sokka concluded blandly.

Iroh grinned. "Cultural traditions have their purpose, their uses, just as stories do. What we need to remember is that sometimes, they are just stories." He passed the box around and everyone took a piece of the dessert cake. "Now let's all enjoy the rest of the evening. It's not every day we can see so clearly by the light of the moon."