Book 1: Air
Chapter 1: New Beginnings
Mother Superior Aloi had gathered me and the other girls up and used to tell us stories about the time she befriended the Avatar before me Rong Yan, and how she and his friends helped him stop an insurrection with the sole purpose of restarting the Thirty Year War and throwing the Ba Sing Se and Omashu territories into disarray. Avatar Rong Yan was famous for heroically ending the insurrection led by General Senlin and the northern rebels.
Avatar Rong Yan accomplished many remarkable things in his life, eventually spending the rest of his days as the spiritual head of the Fire Sages in the city of Yin La. But sadly, his time on our world has come to an end. His legacy continues to ring true, and the echos of war have been silenced. The world was at peace while the Earth Kingdom's territories remain in a cold civil war.
Ba Sing Se, Eastern Earth Kingdom
The morning began to heat up as the sun rose from the east, birds were chirping, the sound of citizens communing and living their daily lives in the streets of the Upper Ring. Within the palace, the security was tighter than ever, even with foreign royal guards making rounds outside and inside the corridors. A major event recently occurred that required all world leaders to attend the meeting in the royal palace of Ba Sing Se. In the throne room were two thrones, a large throne sat on a large platform behind it was a stone statue of a badgermole, on the walls beside the statue were the names of every Earth monarch who ruled the kingdom. To the bottom right of the platform was a smaller throne which belonged to the crowned prince of the Qiangda Kingdom, a teenage boy, he wore lavish light green robes, his black hair was tied into a topknot and held by a golden sangtuwan, his skin was tan, his eyes were green, he was of average height and lanky. The prince's name was Qiang Zhen he held a scepter in his hands across from him was a large table made of earth there were a number of seats formed out of the floor for each world leader that attended.
They waited for his grandfather the fortieth Earth King of the Ba Sing Se Kingdom, the fourth monarch of the Qiangda Dynasty. Finally, the centenarian arrived with the help of his adviser Guwen and a royal guard they assisted the venerable old king onto his throne. The wrinkles on his face described the amount of years the king lived for, each telling a story. His skin tone was tan and liver-spotted, he was tall in his youth now in his old age his back formed a hunch, his hair was white and long and he also had a bald crown, he kept a long white scraggly goatee, his green eyes shone like the green fields of the agricultural ring of Ba Sing Se. He wore the finest of Qiangda Kingdom nobility attires, made from spider-silk the most expensive material in the Earth Kingdom alone. Atop his head he wore a green crown indicating he was the sitting Earth King, his name was Ta Po. A young man named Guwen, light skin, brown eyes, long brown hair, skinny stature stood idle to the left of the Earth King, this was his advisor the most trusted man second to the prince.
The world leaders rose from their seats to bow to the Earth King who joined them, in clockwise order was Cupun, Chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Ynook, Ambassador from the North, Gao of the Zu Dynasty, Earth King of the Omashu Kingdom, De Naoren, Grand Secretariat of Omashu, Unirak, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, Suluk, Ambassador from the South, Lu Yeh, Fire Lord of the Fire Nation, Xiao, Head Fire Sage of the Fire Sages, Geetsan, Hegumen of the Southern Air Temple, Baeg, Hegumen of the Northern Air Temple, Halmeoni, Mother Superior of the Eastern Air Temple, Daemo, Mother Superior of the Western Air Temple.
Earth King Ta Po placed his hands on the armrests of his throne and using them to support himself to his feet. With an expression of woe on his face he spoke to the world leaders before him, "Thank you for attending, on such short notice. I regret to inform you that our great Avatar, passed last night during his slumber," the crowd of world leaders and their advisors gasped, the grim news affecting them all. When an Avatar dies, the Avatar Spirit reincarnates into the next nation in the cycle. With no Avatar actively keeping the world in balance malevolent factions will embolden themselves to cause harm to others.
"The new Avatar should have been born in the Fire Nation between the death of Ku Tei and this morning, Ku Tei has planned and prepared things for his successor beforehand, masters have been chosen. They will await further instructions when the time comes, I'm sure Yeh Lu and his Fire Sages will begin the search for the Avatar soon," announced Ta Po eyeing the Fire Lord.
"My sages will begin the search in four years, once the Avatar found letters will be sent to everyone about the discovery," Yeh Lu stated.
"Thank you for that, I ask you all to share this moment of silence with me while we mourn the loss of Avatar Ku Tei," he requested from the other world leaders. Ta Po bowed his head low closing his eyes in silence as do the leaders of the world and their advisors. A minute of silence ends, Guwen snapped his fingers, a guard bolts to his feet bowing before the Earth King, the crowned prince, and the Grand Secretariat.
"Orders, sir?" the guard inquired.
"Notify the watchtower guards to light the braziers, the capital must know our Avatar has passed," ordered Guwen. The guard slightly bowed his head, "Yes, Grand Secretariat."
Tang Village, Fire Nation
Somewhere in the western Fire Nation, a few girls rushed around a small home, one carrying a bucket full of water, another carried bundles of cloth. Inside another room, an elderly woman was delivering a child from a woman in labor. A pale man with brown hair tied into a topknot sat in a chair next to the woman in labor holding her hand while she dug her nails into his skin. He avoided crying out in pain, his hand was being crushed by the sudden immense strength of the laboring woman. The elderly woman turned around to see the girls arrive with the things she asked them to bring.
"Keani, soak the cloth that Loli brought into the bucket of warm water please," the older woman ordered the younger girl.
"Yes, mother," she nodded.
Keani a girl around her late teens with beautiful flowing brown hair and auburn eyes, grabbed the cloth from her sister and dipped it into the bucket of warm water. She twisted the cloth to release any excess water from it, she handed it to her mother, the elderly woman grabbed the cloth and legged it over to the front of the woman in labor placing the cloth folded on her forehead.
"You're doing great, Ming. Remember, just breath and push," smiled the old woman.
Minutes of agonizing pain later, a baby's cry echoed throughout the home the elderly woman stuck her hand out behind her requesting her older daughter Loli for the blade, "Loli, dagger please!"
The girl handed her mother the dagger, the old woman gently used the dagger to sever the umbilical cord connecting the new mother and the newborn then handed it back to her daughter. She shed a tear of joy, "Thank Tiandi and Mother Uma, it's a boy!" she exclaimed. She grabbed a red cloth her son bought last week and wrapped the newborn in it. The elderly woman kissed the baby's forehead handing him to his new mother. The child's head rested on his mother's chest, the woman full of emotions she teared up smiling, "I'm so very happy for us, Kahn. Our firstborn son, what should we name him?" She glimpsed up at her husband Kahn. He thought about it for a moment then snapped his fingers, "Well I was thinking of Rong Yan for the past few months, after my paternal great-grandfather."
Ming and Kahn gazed into each other's eyes meeting lips they kissed each other gently, Ming handed the elderly woman baby Rong Yan, "Rest Ming, you need it," whispered the old lady.
"Welcome to our world, little Rong Yan, I'm your loving grandmother Nila," she introduced herself to the newborn. The child cooed while she caressed him, she looked over at her son Kahn and the sleeping Ming. "Kahn you make me so proud and glad now that you have a child of your own. I feel like a proud mother and grandmother right now," Nila smiled.
She stared into the amber eyes of the baby's long enough with a simper, that she found herself inside her home where she had relived Kahn's childhood. She caressed her grandchild while reminiscing the past, she gazed upon the child and saw the face of her son staring back at her. When she examined herself she realized she was young again. In flash, everything returned to normal she mentioned to her son who nipped out of the room quietly to allow his wife some rest, "You know Kahn, Rong Yan, looks a lot like you when you were a baby, I imagined myself in a flashback holding you in my arms as you sleep."
Nila still carrying the child minced into another room which was designed to be Rong Yan's room from now on, the grandma planned to move in with her older daughter Loli and her family. Since they lived in a bigger home, Loli's husband was a scholar and in the Fire Nation, social hierarchy like most sophisticated societies scholars were held higher than other classes, just second to nobility though.
Book 1: Air
Chapter 2: The Identity of the Avatar
Four Years Later
The once newborn babe was now a small child, he sat atop a red rug with the Fire Nation insignia knitted onto it, he played and giggled with his new toy while he observed the world around him. A woman with long black hair tied into a topknot, it was bouffant around the top half, it rose up and then drooped down, as popular hairstyles for women within the Fire Nation in the early Lu period. She wore a pink tunic with red trim, she minced about the room while she searched for his clothing. The child was dressed formally for his appointment with the Fire Sages, two years ago the Fire Sages started their search for the Avatar on the eastern part of the Fire Nation archipelago and failed to find the Avatar. It took their search two years and now it's about to come to an end.
Four years ago, Avatar Ku Tei, passed away and the Avatar reincarnated into the next nation into the cycle. The Fire Nation tested their children at the age of two to six in the Trial of Fire, as it was known to be called. Usually, this was used to find prodigy firebenders during the periods of time after an Avatar was active. The trial contains several tests including a test of basic skill sets of firebending and an energy reading from one of the Fire Sages present. The parents are held in another room with their child where a brazier is present and the sage gives a result after the trial is completed. They will usually light the brazier two specific colors of smoke will emanate depending on the chemical used for the result of the trial. Black smoke meant the appointee failed the test, they weren't the Avatar and was kept in private, while the white smoke indicated the child was indeed the Avatar, the sage would open the window allowing the public standing outside to see the color of the smoke if there was any.
Ming and Rong Yan left their home, she escorted Rong Yan to the local temple on their way they realized there were other families pacing east where the temple was located at. The temple which rested on the eastern side of the village, stood tall and was pretty unique in design compared to the rest of the buildings and homes in the village. Tang village was built around two hundred years ago and founded by the Tang family of nobles when Ming and Rong Yan reached the temple grounds there was a long line of families who waited patiently for their child's turn to be tested. Children on his street waited alongside Rong Yan, it was the first time he met anyone who wasn't related to him.
There were families crying together on their way out of the temple when they learned their offspring was not the Avatar, in the Fire Nation it was considered the highest honor when your child was discovered to be the Avatar. It was known in the past some Fire Lords would move the family of the Avatar into Palace City and allowed one of the Avatar's parents into his or her court.
An elderly man in long lavish crimson robes and red miter with a flame design at the tip of the hat appeared out of another room, his hair was white as it could be seen from underneath the miter. A long white bushy beard adorned his chin he led another family out of the room, they left disappointed and ashamed their child wasn't the Avatar. He shared his sympathy with the family before pushing them out. Most of the villagers didn't have surnames unless they gave themselves one. Children were called by alphabetical order, records given to sages by the town census were used and everyone had an obligation to appear to the appointment.
"Rong Yan," the great sage called, he held a parchment in his hands. Ming carried Rong Yan into the room the Fire Sage directed them into with a gesture of his hand. She nipped into the room with the boy, the Great Sage, paced over to his table where he had empty parchment and an ink vial. Ming scanned the room for a pillow she could sit on while she allowed her son to be tested. The boy stood in the middle of the room in front of the Great Sage while he waited for the old man to speak further.
"Rong Yan, son of Kahn and Ming, correct?" he guessed.
Ming nodded, "Yes."
"What occupation does your husband currently have?" inquired the sage, he had made conversation with the young mother while he had prepared his things. She spoke up, "My husband works in the coal mines outside of our village."
"Ahh, quite a good-paying job indeed," added the Great Sage, he grabbed a small leaf in between his fingers, he paced over to the boy and lit the middle of the leaf then handed it to the child. The sage instructed the boy, "Do not burn yourself, boy. Slowly maintain the heat, as the leaf slowly allows itself to be consumed by flame. Once the entire leaf is gone I want you to hold the fireball in your hands do not do anything until further instructed."
Rong Yan held the leaf by the corners he focused on proper breath control like his grandmother Nila taught him. The leaf slowly being consumed by the embers created by the Great Sage. After a minute, the leaf burst in his hand and remained in a controlled state, the boy cupped his hands around the fireball. The Great Sage turned around ready to extinguish the flames, astonishment reached his face when he witnessed the child control the fireball adeptly. The Great Sage gently waved his hand underneath Rong Yan's flames, he had taken it for himself. He closed his hand and extinguished the small embers.
The boy frowned now that the flame was gone, the sage removed the basic firebending scroll from his sash and opened it. It revealed basic sets of firebending moves. The Great Sage commanded the boy, "Shifa stance," Rong Yan extended his left leg backward and his right left forward, he bent his kness in a still yet agile form. He balled his left hand into a fist and positioned it near his belly, his right arm extended out in front while the palm faced the Great Sage.
"Lianhuan stance!" the man ordered the boy, he switched stances, he had put his right foot forward in an acute angle, his left foot back in an acute angle. His palms were open and positioned closer to his abdomen. One arm was positioned closer to his chest while the other was near the lower ribs. The Great Sage nodded in approval the child practiced.
"Meihua stance!" he shouted again, the boy had spread his legs shoulder-width apart, his arms extended out in front of him, his palms were open with four fingers wrapped on each hand and his index fingers were the only fingers unwrapped.
"Shifa stance again, boy! Then right foot up, stomp down, inhale and exhale, finally punch!" the Great Sage ordered the boy. Rong Yan quickly jumped back into the Shifa stance. He staggered back a bit but maintained his balance, he aimed at the wall near him then rose his right foot up, he had inhaled air as the foot went down, he exhaled and punched fire out of his hand. A small burst of fire hit the wall before it dispersed it had caused no damage to the wall, however.
"Lianhuan stance, kick with your right, stomp down face, pivot on your right then kick up with your left, inhale and then exhale," the Great Sage instructed. Rong Yan returned to the Lianhuan stance and had done what was instructed, the Fire Sage was impressed, he saw the boy was taught well but it wasn't enough evidence to prove he was the Avatar. Although he believed the boy might have been born a prodigy firebender he'd make a great imperial firebender for the Fire Lord.
The Great Sage wanted to know more while he prepared the table for the boy. "Ming who in your family taught Rong Yan to firebend?" he questioned the woman. The woman shook her head, "The only firebender in my immediate family is my mother-in-law when she saw smoke emanate from my son's fingertips she squealed with glee."
"As of last year, she's been training him only basic sets. She's not a master herself but she knows enough to defend herself," stated Ming.
"As far as I've witnessed he's one of the few children who actually practiced or remembered their stances. I'm impressed by his skills at such a young age if your son isn't the Avatar he could definitely be a prodigy," he mentioned. "This next test will be a reading of the boy's chi, only then will we know he's the Avatar or not," added the Great Sage.
"Is it possible that if he's the Avatar his past lives could try to contact him at a young age?" she wondered.
"It might be possible, but there are no records in the Palace City that indicate an Avatar could have spoken to a past life as a child. They usually aren't aware until they're much older and able to understand. Could be imaginary friends," responded the sage. He bent down to pick up the boy and place him on the table instructing him further, "Lay down and don't move, please."
Rong Yan laid down on the wooden table he had remained still while the Sage performed an energy reading. The Great Sage hovered his hands over the body of Rong Yan, his hands glowed while he hovered them in flow patterns. He had concentrated with his eyes closed and maintained breath control while he read Rong Yan's chi. The Great Sage staggered back in surprise losing concentration he ran over to the window and opened it, quickly nipping over to the other table where the ingredients needed for the different colors of smoke. Ming shared the same expression as the Great Sage did she rose to her feet and approached the table where her son laid down she picked him up and placed him down on the floor. The boy had been unaware of the event which unfolded in front of his eyes. The Great Sage tossed the ingredient that turned the smoke white into the brazier, the white smoke emanated from the brazier using his bending he directed the flow of the smoke out of the window.
An old man who stood outside with his family turned his head a bit to the left to stretch out his neck muscles he jumped back startled at the smoke and pointed at it he screamed which grabbed everyone's attention.
"THE AVATAR HAS BEEN FOUND!" he screamed.
"The Avatar?" questioned another.
Everyone who stood in line jerked their heads to the left where the white smoke had been leaving the window. Everyone cheered while other families were saddened their child wasn't the Avatar, Ming sobbed she had known her son was the Avatar, the immense amount of emotions filled her head. The Great Sage tried his best to calm her down, she shook her head and repeated, "No...no..." She wasn't excited about it, Ming knew that an Avatar always had a target painted on their backs.
It had been known in the past that evil people had always attacked an Avatar after they learned of the Avatar's identity. An Avatar's main goal is to have the world kept in balance. This usually is a conflict with the plans of an evil force, which the Avatar is obligated to stop. There are others out there who have planned on doing their best to prevent an Avatar from having to master the four elements.
The Great Sage hugged the woman he had given her advice now that her son was identified as the Avatar, "Listen Ming, you must make sure Rong Yan never knows of his status until his sixteenth birthday. Allow the boy to have a childhood without having to worry about his safety." She nodded wiping a tear with her right index.
"We will visit your home on the day of his birthday to let him know of his status, the day after we will come and take him to Yin La where he will master firebending under our watchful eye and protection of guards," said the Great Sage. "I never got your name," she sobbed while she tried to contain her tears.
"Xiao, Great Sage Xiao," he responded.
Twelve Years Later
Rong Yan walked down a dirt road he had headed into the bazaar square of Tang village. He whistled with his hands in his pockets while he had gone about his business running errands for his mother. Rong Yan picked up groceries for tonight's dinner. He didn't remember much about what happened twelve years ago because his parents kept it from him plus all of it was but a blur to him. He entered the merchant square and saw a few merchant stalls on the sides of the road, a tavern, a few clothier shops, and two restaurants.
He then noticed a man behind one of the stalls wearing small glasses, he wore a light red tunic, with red trousers, white boots, the stall had several fruits, vegetables, raw meat, and gains. "Browse my goods, good sir. Best in town and the lowest prices!" the merchant advertised. Rong Yan pointed to the dried rice, small pocket size pouch of leechee nuts, some onions, lettuce, tomatoes, tomato-carrots, ash bananas, apples, pink berries, and lemons. Each one placed into sacks after Rong Yan pointed at each item.
"Do you have komodo chicken legs?" Rong Yan inquired, the merchant nodded and ducked under the stall to grab the meat requested he had then handed it to the young man. He pointed at the loaf of bread and finally at some tea bags of ginseng. Rong Yan had two full bags of groceries, he reached into his pocket and grabbed a sack of money.
"Ten silver please," the merchant requested reached out his hand, Rong Yan handed him the ten silver coins. Which the merchant dumped into a money box, and then returned Rong Yan thirteen copper pieces. He strafed his bristly goatee and then called over his assistant who bolted toward the cart, "Xin come give this kid a ride to wherever he needs to be dropped off!"
A short, stocky Fire Nation teenager prepared the cart wagon before he mounted the ostrich horse, Rong Yan placed his sacks of groceries into the cart, Xin paused for a moment when he noticed the five Fire Sages who had approached them. Some of the other people who wandered about on the street noticed this as well and had gathered behind the sages. They followed the sages who came to a halt in front of Rong Yan, who bent down because two copper pieces dropped out of his hands he picked them up. The two most important sages approached the teenager the High Sage and the Great Sage, the top of hierarchy announced to the public, as the Great Sage and the other three sages lowered themselves to their knees and bowed before Rong Yan.
"It is truly an honor to be in your presence, Avatar Rong Yan," announced the High Sage. All the civilians gasped, Rong Yan's jaw dropped while he stood there in disbelief at the words spoken by the highest sage. The villagers knelt before the new Avatar, Rong Yan scanned his surroundings everyone who once stood tall along with him now knelt and bowed to him. Everyone rose to their feet after a short amount of time, Xin offered the sages to ride the cart so they could disclose any information to the Avatar. All five men sat in the cart along with the Avatar, he interrupted them by asking Rong Yan, "Sorry to interrupt but which direction am I heading?"
"Up the western road and to the left." Rong Yan answered.
Xin snapped the reins of the ostrich horse which propelled itself west and to the left, Rong Yan opened the door while he held one of the sacks. Xin assisted him with the other sack, the Fire Sages were welcomed into his home by Rong Yan. Much to Ming's surprise, she had not expected the company to arrive but then it hit her the sages planned on showing up on Rong Yan's sixteenth birthday.
"We have guests, mother. They just announced publicly about my true identity," Rong Yan commented without a second thought. The High Sage behind him interrupted, "Sorry for the sudden drop in, but we did tell you that we will come back for him on his sixteenth birthday."
Rong Yan tipped Xin as he jogged out the door, Ming grabbed the vegetables and headed back over to the stove where she prepared the stew. Kahn walked in and opened the door, he took a step back surprised to see the Fire Sages who sat around the table. Kahn bowed to the Fire Sages, "High Sage Ra-den, Great Sage Xiao, you honor my family by coming to visit us, you're welcome to join us for dinner," Kahn offered.
"Thank you, Kahn," Xiao thanked the hospitality of the Avatar's father. They all sat around the table when Ming had come around and given each man a cup of stew. They all bowed their heads into prayer, High Sage Ra-den leading the prayer to the gods, he had thanked them on behalf of everyone for the meal placed before them.
"Happy birthday, son, your mother and I love you," smiled Kahn. He ignored his father's birthday wishes, he turned his attention to Xiao, "How do you know I'm the Avatar? Why me? What am I supposed to do now?" he inquired requesting more information.
"I arrived in Tang village, twelve years ago, and began testing children ages four to six years old, in the Trial of Fire. A series of tests that detemines, whether the child is the next Avatar. First the test of controlling fire, second was the test of basic firebending stances and moves, and then the final test was an energy reading," recalled Xiao.
"You sorta failed the first test, you couldn't keep the flame from consuming the leaf, but you also didn't fail to maintain the embers. You passed the second one with ease, your grandmother taught you well-" Xiao continued before Rong Yan interrupted him, he sighed saddened. Nila, Rong Yan's grandmother passed six years ago when he was ten-years-old.
"If only she was here to see me now," he frowned.
"I'm sure she's happy in the Spirit World," Xiao assured him.
"What really gave everything away was the energy reading I sense a great amount of energy inside of you, something bigger than most children are known to have that's when I knew you were the Avatar," stated Xiao.
"You were chosen by the Avatar Spirit to be the successor of Avatar Ku Tei, the Avatar Spirit randomly chooses a newborn that belongs to the next nation in the cycle. We will arrive tomorrow morning for you, escorting you to Yin La, a city twenty miles from the Palace City where the Fire Lord resides. There you will master firebending with your instructor personally chosen by Fire Lord Yeh Lu," High Sage Ra-den said.
"Have you tried to bend the other three elements?" questioned Xiao, Rong Yan shook his head, "No I was not aware I was the Avatar until now, I mostly blocked out those memories and remembered having a good childhood. My parents never stopped me from living the childhood I deserved," Rong Yan answered.
While they continued eating their meals Rong Yan curiously asked, "You said in a past life I was a man named Ku Tei, what was he like?"
"Avatar Ku Tei was a Qiangda Kingdom general, while he wasn't really active in the Ba Sing Se military he was used by Earth King Ta Po as an ambassador between the Qiangda Kingdom and the Northern Water Tribe. He accomplished so much in his life that a mere mention of his name brought fear to his enemies. Ku Tei has arranged you, trainers, from the other three nations before his passing. All friends of his," Xiao responded.
"You will meet each of them soon, but for now you will be trained by Takumi, who's main goal is to help you master firebending," Ra-den mentioned. They rose from their seats shaking hands with Rong Yan and his parents, the Fire Sages were taking their leave to the temple for the evening. On the way out, Ra-den said, "Say your goodbyes and pack your belongings we're coming for you in the wee hours of the morning and flying you off to Yin La."
After they left he ran up the stairs and packed his things, he jumped into bed and laid there wide awake all night while thoughts ran through his head. Eventually, he had fallen asleep the dream that entered his mind he dreamt Avatar Ku Tei battling an army of men who were led by an ally. The next day arrived, a knock on his door woke him up. He quickly grabbed what he needed while Kahn spoke to Xiao, he bowed to Xiao, his father saying, "We'll miss you, son. Make us proud."
Rong Yan embraced both of his parents before he headed out toward the large dragon down the street, "I'll miss you guys too," he said.
The dragon ascended into the air and flew off in the direction of Yin La, seven hours passed, finally they reached the temple just a mile outside of Yin La. They dismounted and Xiao opened the door and led Rong Yan inside, "Come Avatar let me give you a tour of the temple," offered Xiao. Rong Yan followed behind the Great Sage around the large temple that would be his new home.