Title: Descendants of Glory, Chapter One: A Distant Relative
Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Chapter Rating: K, G
Warnings: None
Archived At: (evilrantingbetashrimpy), Livejournal (micasilverwind)
Shrimpy: Behold! The light hath shone upon my imagination, and the flowers of inspiration have taken root! View the fruits of thine holy flowers! Be kind in thine reviews, for the honorable author of this fan fiction hath never written one before!
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'thoughts'
"speech"
Descendants of Glory
Chapter One: A Distant Relative
Fire, Water, Earth, and Air; these four elements make up the basic parts of our world. Without them we are nothing. With them, we can do amazing things.
Long ago the four nations lived in peace. But that all changed, when the Fire Nation attacked. There was only one warrior who could stop them: The Avatar. The master of all four elements, and his power is legend. But, when the world needed him most...he vanished, as if into thin air. One Hundred years later, the new Avatar was discovered by two children of the Water Tribe. The Tribe's once mighty force had now dwindled to a few tiny villages at the poles of the world, but those children still remembered that the Avatar was the only one who could end the tyranny of Fire Nation rule. They befriended this young Avatar, and accompanied him along his journey. The way was perilous, and the fate of the world hung in the balance. But this not their tale.
This is the story that took place much later, after all of Aang's adventures had ended, and all his stories told. Long after his life, in a world that is not his. For who among the dead can truly say that the world they made is theirs? The world belongs to their children. This world is the same. Three hundred years after the death of the most famous Avatar ever known, his long-distant descendants roam the earth. They are part of every nation. First, the Air Nomads in their mighty temples owe much to the blood of Aang. The water tribes as well owe a great debt of people to his life. Both Fire Nation and Earth Country have a piece in his lineage. Time goes on, and Life grows more diverse,the world turns and yet another Avatar is born.
"Hurry up, Akina! Today's the day!" Aori called, impatient.
The bison moaned a long bovine grumble as she struggled to get her massive frame around the sharp turning in the wall.
"Don't give me that, you know you're excited to go, too!" The young Air bender sighed exasperated.
Akina, a flying bison who was large, even by bison standards looked doubtful, but gave a final shove and rounded the corner to lick her partner.
"Hey!" Aori laughed, batting at Akina's gooey tongue. "That's gross, Akina!"
She laughed again as Akina slurped her vigorously, covering her with slime. Behind them, an ancient monk in bright orange robes watched them expectantly. When they continued to ignore him, he coughed politely. When even that failed, he let out a whooping hacking noise that might have been a cough...if it had come out of an elephant.
"Huh?" Aori said, looking up from her playing. "Oh! Hello, Monk Lorenzo."
"Today is an important day, young avatar." The wizened monk told her. "Not a time for playing."
"I know that, but if I can't enjoy myself, then what's the point?" She retorted grumpily, not at all convinced.
"You are the balancer! You must have a sense of dignity! Of propriety! Of-"
"That will be quite enough, Lorenzo!" It was a short, squat, round little man, dressed in the same traditional clothing of the other two, but instead this one also wore a happy grin, not a face of sorrow. "I believe we can trust young Aori to fulfill her duties as the avatar quite nicely. She is a master of the Air, and her training will serve her well."
Lorenzo grumbled, unplacated, but made no further protests.
"Monk Sento, do you really think I'll be a good avatar?"
"I'm sure of it, child. Now, off with you!" The ancient monk admonished. "They're expecting you at the Water temple in the Great Northern Ice. You mustn't be late by more than a month; or else they'll worry."
"A month!" Sputtered Monk Lorenzo.
"Young things must be given time to grow!"
"Yes, but a moth seems a bit much, especially with war brewing over the horizon!" Lorenzo protested. "The Fire Nation hasn't been so pushy and invasive since before the founding of this very temple!"
"If we push her too hard, she'll crack like a clay pot that's been heated too fast! Then what use will she be to anyone?"
"Better a cracked jar than a shattered one!"
Aori rolled her eyes and pulled herself onto Akina's back, the bison mooed sympathetically; both rider and beast had heard this argument before. "I'm going now!" She announced wryly.
Both of the elder monks had left off their arguing and were now glaring fiercely into each other's eyes, as if they could win the fight by not blinking.
"Goodbye!" They shouted in unison, and waved the hand closest to the one they were farewell-ing.
Aori rolled her eyes again. 'Those two will never change' And with that thought, she snapped Akina's reigns and was off. "Yip, yip!"
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Meanwhile, somewhere within the Fire Nation, there are lives playing out, people living, dieing, and growing up and growing old. People always need something, and there will always be those who provide it. Weapons for example, are always being made in the Fire Nation. Monk Lorenzo was right, the many centuries of balance and peace following the accomplishments of avatar Aang are coming to a close. There are ancient text that were written, even as he wandered the world, of a comet and the power it brings. And, for a long time, they were hidden away from all eyes, seen as the death knell to the calm happiness that was held so dear so long ago.
And yet...
There will always be power, and those who seek it for it's own sake. Fire Lord Ranshi was not such a man, but he was old, and relied heavily upon his advisors, all of which were rich and greedy men, with much power. A man who has power always desires more power. It was they who had found the ancient manuscript, and it was they who had poured their combined efforts into translating it. They knew what it represented, and desired the power to that end.
For after all, why should they merely rule the Fire Nation from behind the back of a doddering old fool, when they could rule the world as openly as they pleased?
And so, they began to expand, pushing back the boundries of the Fire Nation borders, and pulling the young men into the army, training them in the firebending arts and preparing them to fight. The only on who could stop them was the avatar, and nobody knew for sure where the avatar might be. It the time of great peace, the record had fallen into disuse, and no avatar rose to great deeds in a world already balanced. Only the temples remembered, and nobody ever bothered to ask them. time passed and many young men were pulled, all unwilling, from their families to serve in the Army of Fire.
Even the eldest son of an aged blacksmith, already proficient in his craft, was taken. There was no consideration in those five cruel men of the Fire Lord's council, that they should care if anyone's family starved. The boy's Name was Senshi, and this is his story as much as anyone else's. On that day, he set out on a journey much like Aori's, and yet so very different.
It is written that only the avatar can control the powers of all four elements. So, when Senshi was accosted by the recuiters, and forced to join with the army, it was much to their suprise that he was already well-versed in the martial arts of firebending. even more to their suprise, the boy defended himself with airbending. And so, the hunt began. The counsil of five would never let him live, for who else could destroy all their careful planning?
who else, but the Avatar?