(GREETINGS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,AND THIS IS THE AGENT OF LITERATURE SIGNING ON,I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS OR AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER.)
Water,Earth,Fire,Air.
My name is Eli Tal-gunn,when I was thirteen,the Jedi order was wiped out across the galaxy,as far as I am concerned,I am the last of the Jedi.
The earth kingdom has fallen,Neo is..gone,and we are trapped behind enemy lines,forced to hide in plain sight.
Our only hope for victory,is the day of black sun,where an eclipse will take place and thus taking away the fire nation's power,I don't know if we'll win,but one thing I do know,Xever will pay,and the avatar,lives.
LEGENDS OF BEND-FORE
BOOK THREE:FIRE
One night in the fire nation,Aang began having a vision,where he saw flames rising from the ground and he was in his old airbending robes.
It was then he saw Avatar Roku appear before him in the flames.
"Aang."He said.
"It's time you learn of my history with fire Lord Sozin.
"You need to understand how the war began,if you want to know how to end it,meet me on my home island,on the day of the summer solstice."
"Ok Roku."Aang said in his sleep.
Over in the fire nation,Zuko lay asleep in his bed,till he suddenly heard someone outside his door,he went to go check it and when he opened the door,he saw walking around the corner.
Before he could give chase however,he saw a scroll left by his door,picking it up,he read the words written on it.
"You need to know the story of your great grandfather's death."He read.
"It will reveal your own destiny."
As he read this,he then looked down the hall to the person who had just vanished,wondering what this meant.
(Que opening:Rewrite:Fullmetal Alchemist)
"WHAT'S PAST IS PROLOGUE"
The next day,Aang and the others were making their way to the island Aang saw in his vision while disguised as a cloud,eventually they saw said island and landed.
"There's nothing here."Katara said,as they hopped off of Appa.
"Yes there is."Toph said.
"An entire village,hundreds of houses.
"All completely buried in ash."
The group stood around seeing the aftermath of whatever happened there.
Back over at the fire nation,Zuko was looking at paintings of past fire lords,one of which was Zuko's great grandfather Sozin.
"It's never too early for a sitting with the court painter Zuko."Azula said as she walked past her brother.
"Make sure he gets your good side."
"Wait."Said Zuko,making Azula stop.
"I need to ask you something.
"What do you remember about our great grandfather's history?"
"Oh Zuko,it's so strange how your mind works.
"Fire Lord Sozin began the war of course,he spent his early years secretly preparing for it.
"He was patient as he was clever,he famously waited for the comet,later named Sozin's comet,and used its power to launch his scale invasion of the world.
"In the end,he died a very old and successful man."
"But how did he die?"Zuko asked.
"Didn't you pay any attention in school Zuko?
"He died peacefully,in his sleep,he was ancient."
That night,Zuko laid in his bed confused,he didn't know what any of this meant,he asked about his great grandfather,and only learned what was common knowledge.
He got up and looked at the scroll he had received.
"What does it mean?"He said,as he tossed it on the lantern next to his bed,when he suddenly saw red writing appear on the back.
"The fire sages keep the secret history in the dragonbone catacombs."He read.
After putting on his roab,Zuko made his way to the archives,where he saw a sage.
The sage placed his hands on the floor and used firebending to open a spinal staircase that lead to the catacombs below.
As soon as the door closed,Zuko went over and did the same thing,he began to make his way down the stairs.
As Zuko walked through the catacombs,he saw the different scrolls of past fire lords,and other political figures,Zuko having a lantern in his hand,walked into a room,where there were multiple artifacts and other things,as well as a statue of a dragon in the middle of the room.
It was here that he found the scroll of Sozin.
"The final testimony of Fire Lord Sozin."He said as he sat down on the floor and began to read.
~As I feel my own life dimming,I can't help but think of a time when everything was so much brighter.~
Back over with the others,was sitting on a ledge as Aang sat of a cliffside in a meditation stance,and began to focus.
When he opened his eyes,he was standing on a hilltop alone,and he was wearing his old roebs.
He then saw Roku flying towards him on his dragon Fang.
"Come Aang."Roku said,as Aang hopped onto the dragon.
"Where are we going?"Aang asked.
"To visit my past,our shared past."
~I remember my friend~Zuko continued to read.
(FLASHBACK)
A younger Roku and Sozin were in the middle of a duel,Sozin saw a tree root behind Roku's foot,seeing this as an advantage,he shot several fireballs towards him,making Roku trip over the root and fall to the ground.
"Looks like I win again Roku."Sozin said.
"Are you kidding,the tree root did all the work."Roku said as Sozin helped him back up,he then patted his friend on the shoulder.
"Nice one Solzin."
~"You were friends with Fire Lord Sozin?"Aang asked surprised.
"Back then he was just prince Sozin."Roku said.
"And he was my best friend."~
As Sozin and Roku made their way back to the main house,a beautiful girl walked past them,making Roku blush at the sight of her.
"Say something to her."Sozin encouraged.
And Roku went to say something,but soon lost his nerve and fell to the ground disappointed in himself,unaware that the girl was blushing too.
Sozin then proceeded to drop blades of grass on his friend's face.
~"Love is hard when you're young."
"You don't have to tell me."Aang added.
"Don't worry,it gets better."
Roku then took them to another point in time,where there was a huge party going on.
"Wait,whose party is this?"Aang asked.
"Sozin and I shared many things."Roku replied.
"Including a birthday."~
As the two young men walked down the stairs,Roku saw the girl from earlier,he was so distracted by her that he nearly fell,had Sozin not caught him first,the two briefly shared a laugh,when they suddenly noticed the crowd had gone quiet.
They then saw the fire sages make their way up to the two.
"Did something happen to my father?"Sozin asked them.
"No prince Sozin."One of the sages said.
"We are not here for you,we're here to announce the identity of the next avatar."
The sage then walked up to Roku and bowed.
"It is an honor to meet you Avatar Roku."
Roku looked on in both shock and bewilderment,as the entire courtyard bowed,including Sozin.
~Soon the day came for my friend to leave the fire nation,and face his destiny as the avatar.~
Zuko read.
~He needed to travel the world so he could master the other elements~
"Hey,why aren't you packed yet all powerful Avatar?"Sozin asked,but Roku did not respond,as he had a look of uncertainty on his face.
"Come on,so me how it's done using all four kinds of bending."
Sozin then proceeded to mimic the other three stances of bending.
"I started packing."Roku said.
"But then the fire sages told me I won't need any worldly possessions anymore."
"Oh."goes Sozin as he sits next to his friend.
"It happened so fast,everything is going to be different now."
Sozin sat there and thought for a second,before taking off his headpiece and handing it to Roku.
"Here,I hope you are at least allowed to have this."
"But,that's a royal artifact,it's supposed to be worn by the crown prince."
"I want you to have it."
Though reluctant,Roku does take the headpiece and places it on his head,the two then stand up and bow to each other.~
Back with the rest of the group,they watched as Aang sat on a rock,before he suddenly stood up and seemed to go to the bathroom in his pants.
"Do they have bathrooms in the spirit world?"Katara asked.
"As a matter of fact they do not."Sokka replied.
~Back with Aang and Roku,they flew the air as they came up on a familiar place,one that Aang knew all too well.
"Hey..we're almost at the southern air temple."Aang said.
"This was the first stop on my avatar journey."Roku said.
"It was the place where I mastered Airbending,and also where I met an old friend of yours:Monk Gyatso."
"No way."Went Aang.
And it was,as a line of airbenders stood in a single file,with Roku being the only one with hair,which Gyatso bent into his face.
The group then stood two to two as they then moved to follow the lead airbending master,as they then took off into the air.
"Hey Gyatso!"Roku said,as they flew through the air.
"You wanna see a new glider trick?"
He proceeded to do a loop twice in the air,which Gyatso followed up with standing up on his glider,and surfed through the air.
"He's air surfing."Aang said in amazement.
"I can't believe I've never thought of that."
Eventually however,Gyatso had lost his balance and crashed into Roku,sending the two down to the ground below and crashing into the rest of the airbenders.
When the dust cleared,Gyatso sent a gust of wind into Roku's face,making his hair fly back,the two then shared a laugh.
"That's amazing."Aang said.
"I can't believe you were friends with Monk Gyatso."
"Some friendships are so strong."Roku said.
"They transcend lifetimes."
The scene then cut to the middle of the ocean near the northern water tribe,where an older Roku and a waterbender stood on a slab of ice.
"After many years mastering airbending."Roku continued.
"I traveled to the northern water tribe,waterbending was especially challenging for me."
At that moment,the man who was Roku's waterbending teacher had sent a large wave of water towards Roku,knocking him into the water .
"But in time,I mastered it as well."
Roku then popped out of the water,and sent a huge blast towards his waterbending master and shot him all the way into the water tribe tower,the master,now winded,looked on as Roku floated on a cycloan.
The scene then changed to Roku now surfing uphill on a boulder,with his earthbending master right beside him.
"I then moved to the earth kingdom."Roku continued.
"My earthbending master Sud was uncompromising,stubborn,and blunt..and a lifelong friend."
The two had come up to a splitting path and went their separate ways,when Sud arrived at the top of the hill,he came to a stop and began to cheer believing he had won the race,only to look in shock and surprise when he saw Roku was already there pouring both himself and Sud a cup of tea.
Sud then gave a smile to his pupil,as he took the cup of tea,and the two shared in their victory.
The scene then cut to Roku on the banks of a beach.
"It was bitter work."Roku said.
"But the results were worth it."
Roku began to move his hands around,as he performed all four elements.
First he pushed water out into the sea,he then caused the earth to rise up from the ground,he shot fire out of his hands,and sent out a gust of wind.
Avatar Roku,was born.
"Then came the final phase of being the avatar."Roku said.
"Final phase?"Aang asked.
The scene then cut to Roku entering a dark room,where the only light came from the open door behind him,as Roku came to the center of the room,the door suddenly closed.
Suddenly,the room was filled with light,by the presence of seven white blades that glowed in the dark,as they surrounded Roku,before him was one hooded person who did not have a blade drawn,with another on his knees facing Roku,who then got on his knees as well.
Between Roku and kneeled hooded figure was a dagger,which the hooded figure then picked up and used it to cut his right hand,he then handed the dagger to Roku,who did the same thing to his right hand,he then placed the dagger on the floor,then clapped hands with the hooded figure.
"What's going on here?"Aang asked,a little grossed out by the cut hands and the fact that the blood was now touching the other.
"It's a blood pack."Roku explained.
"What you are witnessing Aang is the ceremony of Creed."
"Creed,as in?"
But before Aang could continue,Roku shhed him,and motioned for him to just watch.
The hooded figure who had been standing the other hooded figure,then got between the two,and ignited his lightsaber,only this one was brown.
"Do you Amadeus creed,pledge to aid the avatar in his quest to bring peace and balance throughout the world,to protect him should his life be threaten,to avenge him,should his life be taken,and to continue to keep the peace long after he is gone,until the next avatar rises to take his place?"The hooded figure asked.
"I swear."Amadeus replied.
"Then Avatar Roku,I present to you,your creed."
Roku and Amadeus then stood up,as the main hooded figure then handed his lightsaber to Amadeus,who ignited it and swung it around to get the feel of it.
"Whenever an avatar has completed his or her training,they then comanse a ceremony to ignite the bond between the avatar and it's creed,much like Kyoshi did with Ezra,you too would have gone through such a ceremony as well."
"Had I not runaway."Aang added.
"Amadeus was a good confidant,a cunning fighter,and a loyal friend,in fact he was the first person who saw the darkness that was rising within Sozin,I only wish now that I had heeded his warning.~
Back in the fire nation,Zuko continued to read Sozin's testimony.
~(Twelve long years passed before I saw my friend again,when Roku returned,he was a fully realized Avatar,and I had changed as well.)
In the fire lord's throne room,Roku and Amadaeus walked down the aisle as they made their way to Sozin.
"Sozin!"Roku said in excitement to see his friend.
"Or should I say Fire lord."
"Customaily,my subjects bow before greeting me."Sozin said in all seriousness,as he got in Roku's face,Amadeus then reached for his lightsaber,believing that Sozin meant Roku harm.
"But you're the exception."
Sozin and Roku then shared a hug for the first time in years,this allowed Amadeus to calm down and release his grip on his lightsaber.
"Come."Roku said as he released the fire lord.
"There's someone I want you to meet."
Roku then turned to Amadeus,as an older Roku and Aang looked on.
"After all these years,he was still my friend."Older Roku said.
The scene then changed to the courtyard,where a group of people watched Roku and a veil covered woman stand before them,with Roku and Amadeus standing to Roku's right.
"Roku,it's that girl who didn't even know you were alive."Aang said in surprise.
"Ta Min,I was persistent."Roku replied.
"When love is real,it finds a way,and being the avatar doesn't hurt your chances with the ladies either."~
Over with Zuko.
~(On wedding days,we look to the future with optimism and joy,I had my own vision for a brighter future)
"Excuse me."Sozin said to Ta min.
"Can I borrow him for a moment?"
"It's not very traditional."Ta min said.
"But ok."
Sozin and Roku then separated themselves from the party and made their way to one of the balconies overlooking the fire nation kingdom,with Amadeus close behind.
"What's on your mind?"Roku asked Sozin.
"I've been thinking hard about the state of the world lately."Sozin said.
"Sozin,it's my wedding,have a cookie,dance with someone,lighten up."
"I know I know,but hear me."
Roku then nodded,as the trio walked on.
"Right from the start I was destined to be Fire lord."Sozin continued.
"And although we didn't know it,you were destined to be the avatar,it's an amazing stroke of fate we know each other so well isn't it,together,we could do...anything."
"Yeah,we could."Roku said,not sure what Sozin was thinking.
"Our nation is enjoying an unprecedented time of peace and wealth,our people are happy,and we're so fortunate in so many ways."
"What's your point?"Amadeus asked.
"I've been thinking,we should share this prosperity with the rest of the world."
This suddenly got Roku and Amadeus on edge,this was not the way to keep balance.
"In our hands is the most successful empire in history,it's time we expanded it."
"No."Roku immediately said.
"The four nations are meant to be just that:four."
"Roku,you haven't even stopped to consider the possibilities."
"There are no possibilities,this is the last I want to hear of this."
Roku and Amadeus then turned and walked away,with the creed taking one last look at the Fire lord,who was now looking out to his kingdom,disappointed in his friend.
"He's gonna be a problem."Amadeus said to Roku.
"He won't be if he knows what's good for his nation."Roku said.
"Just hope this doesn't turn into another Chan the conquer situation."
"Yes,but the difference there is that Kyoshi wasn't friends with Chan,so she had no problem taking him down,it's not the same for you and Sozin,if he becomes a threat to the balance,will you be able to stand up against him and do what is necessary,or are you going to allow your friendship cloud your judgment?"
("I wish I had heeded Amadeus's words."Older Roku said.
"For that was my first real test as the avatar,unfortunately,it was many years before I learned that Sozin had gone ahead with his plan,despite my warning.")
As an older Roku and Amadeus road on their dragons over water,they were coming up on some Earth kingdom colonies,and it was then that they saw a terrible sight,the colony was now under the control of the Fire nation,as its flag hung from some columns.
"Still think he's not gonna be a problem?"Amadeus asked.
Not long afterwards,the two had arrived at Sozin's palace,and Roku was not happy.
"I've seen the colonies Sozin."Roku said.
"How dare you occupy Earth kingdom territory."
"How dare you."Sozin said,unfazed by Roku's tone.
"A citizen of the Fire nation address your Fire lord this way,your loyalty is to our nation first,anything less makes you a traitor."
"He no longer answers to you Sozin."Amadeus pointed out.
"As the avatar,he must keep peace throughout the whole world,and that means stopping anyone who may upset it,and that means even you."
"Silence,I am not speaking to you,don't make yourself an obstacle that stands in my way Roku."
"Don't do this Sozin."Roku said.
"Don't challenge me,it will only end badly...it's over."
Roku and Amadeus then turned to leave,but Sozin,not allowing the two to stand in his way,jumped from his throne and sent a wave of flame,but when the flame died down,the only thing there was Amadeus,who had used the force to block the flame,but Roku was gone.
Amadeus then jumped up in the air,as Roku came out from the ground and sent Sozin flying with airbending into a beam,he then sent Sozin up with earthbending and left him hanging,Roku then activated the avatar state and destroyed the entire temple,with Sozin still remaining on the earth colum that Roku made.
"I'm sparing you Sozin."Roku said,as he floated up on airbending.
"I'm letting you go in the name of our past friendship,but I warn you,even a single step out of line will result in your permanent end."
At first Sozin looked at Roku in anger,but then his face dropped in defeat as Roku and Amadeus left him hanging.
("Needless to say,Amadeus was not happy with my decision to spare Sozin."Older Roku explained.
"He felt Sozin was too dangerous to left alive,but part of me hoped that Sozin had abandoned his plan of conquest,but we didn't speak again for 25 years,eventually,Amadeus had to leave as well,to take over as head of the creed clan,he was still my creed,but just as it was my responsibility to keep the balance in the world,it was now Amadeus's responsibility to lead the Creed clan.
"I spent some of my free time here,at my home.")
It was nighttime on Roku's island,as Roku and Ta min slept in their bed,when suddenly the earth began to shake which awoke the two.
As Roku jumped out of bed,he looked out the window and saw fireballs falling from the sky.
He and Ta min ran out of their house. They looked and saw that the volcano on their island had erupted as ash and miasma was everywhere.
Roku took Ta min's hand and sent a gust of wind through the miasma and began to make their way through it.
The rest of the people living on the island began to make their way through the village,as they got closer to the boats,Roku let go of Ta mins hand.
He then took his stand against the dangerous side of nature and created an air bubble that kept the ash and miasma back long enough for Ta min and the people to escape.
("Roku's island was a hundred miles away.
"But I could still feel it rumbling and see the black plume of smoke,I had never seen anything like this catastrophe.")
The volcano sent out more rocks and dust as Roku then created a rock wall in the hopes that he could somehow save his home,but soon the lava began to make its way down the path and Roku was forced to fall back as the lava overtook the rock wall.
Roku slid down the hill as he landed and then created two bankments that sent the lava in different directions into the water.
"This is amazing Roku."Aang said as he and Roku sat on the spirit of the dragon.
"You're battling a volcano,and you're winning."
"Unfortunately,my success didn't last long Aang."Roku said.
"There was no way I could do it all."
Roku watched as the volcano sent out a burst of lava from its whole,Roku began to make his way up the hill and jumped into the air,and as he came down,he blew air out from his mouth and hardened the lava hard,but that did not keep the gases down,as Roku had to fight both the miasma and the lava,all while trying to keep himself from suffocating.
"Battling the elements was hard enough,I had to do it while I could barely breathe.
"The poisonous,volcanic gases were overwhelming."
Smoke and lighting were beginning to fly into the air,as Roku's dragon Fang flew towards his master,only for more lava to burst into the air.
"It's alright Fang!"Roku called out to his dragon.
"Get out of here,I'm fine!"
Roku then did some hand motions and through the avatar state,sent the lava out of the back of the volcanic mountain into the river below.
The victory however was short lived,as a second volcano suddenly erupted.
All hope seemed to be lost,when suddenly a blue dragon landed behind Roku.
"Need a hand old friend?"Sozin said.
"Sozin?"Roku said surprised.
"There's not a moment to waste."
Soon the two friends went to work containing the new volcano,as Roku sent the lava back down into the mountain,and Sozin began to send the miasma into the air so that the lava could harden,but the volcano soon became worse and the formation that Sozin was standing on crumbled,but Roku acted quickly and created a new one for Sozin to stand on.
But soon the gases began to become too much and they were forced to fall back.
"Don't breathe the toxic gas."Roku said as he and Sozin ran to make their escape.
But soon Roku was hit directly by the gas and became disoriented.
"It's..to much."Roku said,as he fell to his knees.
"Please."
"Without you all my plans are suddenly possible."Sozin said with determination.
"I have a vision for the future Roku,you're standing in my way."
Sozin then mounted his dragon and looked at his former friend one last time.
"I'll give my condolences to your friend the creed."
Sozin then took off leaving Roku behind.
Roku was now on his knee,as the wall of smoke made its way towards him,Fang flew down and wrapped himself around his master,as they were both engulfed in smoke and Avatar Roku met his end.
"WAAAH!"Came the sound of a baby crying,as the scene then shifted to an air temple and air nomads surrounded a small newly born baby.
"Who's...wait,that's me isn't it?"Aang asked.
"Make sense of our past Aang."Roku said as he started to disappear.
"And you will bring peace and restore the balance in the world."
"Roku,Roku!"~
("With Roku gone and the great comet returning,the timing was perfect to change the world.
"I knew the next avatar would be born an air nomad,and before Amades creed knew anything,it was already too late,I wiped out the air temples.
"But somehow,the new avatar eluded me,I wasted the remainder of my life searching in vain.
"I know he's hiding out there somewhere,the Fire nations greatest threat….The last airbender.")
"That can't be it."Zuko said looking through the scroll.
"Where's the rest of it?"
Later,Zuko had made his way back to the prison,where he visited his uncle again.
"You sent this didn't you?"He said more as a matter of fact then as a question.
"I found the secret history,which by the way should be renamed the history everyone already knows about.
"The note said that I needed to know about my great-grandfather's death,but he was still alive in the end."
"No."Iroh said.
"He wasn't."
"What are you talking about?"
"You have more than one great-grandfather prince Zuko,Your mother's grandfather,was avatar Roku."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers,can help you better understand the battle within yourself.
"Evil and good are always at war inside you Zuko,it is your nature,your legacy.
"But there is a bright side,what happened generations ago can be resolved now,by you,because of your legacy,you alone can cleanse the sins of our family and the Fire nation.
"Born in you,along with the strife,is the power to restore balance to the world."
Iroh then picked out a piece of rock from the floor and picked a clothed object.
"This is a royal artifact."He said,as he walked over to Zuko and unwrapped the object.
"It's supposed to be worn by the crown prince."
Zuko then took the object and discovered...that it was the same crown that Avatar Roku was known to wear.
Back with the group at Roku's island,Aang had told everyone what he saw.
"You mean after all Roku and Sozin went through together,even after Roku showed him mercy Sozin still betrayed him like that?"Katara asked in disbelief.
"It's like these people are born bad."Toph added.
"No that's wrong."Aang said.
"I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all."
"Then what was the point?"Sokka asked.
"Roku was just as much Fire nation as Sozin was right?
"If anything,their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil,everyone,even the Firelord and the Fire nation have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance,and I also think it was about friendships."
"Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?"Toph asked.
Eli then walked up to her and took her hand.
"I don't see why not."He said,as Aang took his hand,and Katara took Aang's.
"Well scientifically speaking,there's no way to prove that…"Sokka started to say before..
"Oh Sokka just hold hands!"Katara interrupted holding out her hand,which Sokka took.
Later,as the group was about to mount Appa,Aang had pulled Eli aside.
"What's going on?"Eli asked.
"You know how I saw the Creed clan in the vision?"Aang asked.
"Yeah,you said you saw the ceremony of Roku and Amadeus forming a blood pack,what's your point?"
Aang then pulled out Sokka's sword and Eli knew what he had in mind.
The rest of the group was sitting on Appa,as they watched the silhouettes of Eli and Aang perform the ceremony of Creed.
(I'M BACK,SORRY FOR TAKING FOREVER,I JUST HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MOOD FOR WRITING,BUT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WONDERING,AND HERE I AM,HOPEFULLY I'LL HAVE THIS UPDATED AGAIN SOON.
UNTIL NEXT TIME,THIS IS THE AGENT OF LITERATURE SIGNING OFF,COURAGE AND GODSPEED,AND JESUS LOVE.)