Edited: 13/03/2021

A/N: So, I'd done some editing to chapters 1 and 2. Thank you SenSen-Chan for leaving a review about the animals found in Avatar. I've gone back and changed that slightly, as well as some other things about life in the Southern Village which will be seen in chapter 2.

Full Summary: My mother was murdered and my father marched off to war, leaving me as the chief of our village and with two younger siblings to look after. Water bending had almost been completely whipped out in the Southern Water tribe, leaving only me and my sister. I hid my bending while I learnt to control it and become a warrior that could protect my people, but my sister wasn't as careful. She didn't truly comprehend the dangers of hiding what she could do. And then we found a boy trapped in the ice, and suddenly I was matching into war with my siblings at my back.

Chapter 1: A Little Bit of History

The Southern Water tribes was a collection of small tribes or villages, located in the South Pole. Within each of the villages, there was two elders who together formed the Council of Elders. The elders had the power to elect the tribe's chief – typically the one who would be able to unit all the tribes and ensure prosperity for the people. The chief was not always a Water bender, but they were always a strong warrior capable of defending the people in the event of an attack. During times of conflict, the tribal leader could be selected, not by the Elders, but by deed and the people. But this had only happened once in the history of the Southern water tribes, when the brother to the Avatar was selected to lead the tribes during a time of conflict.

Over the years since the Southern Tribe had split from its Northern sister tribe, they had developed a unique style of water bending. It was for this very style that the Fire Nation raided the southern tribes forty years into the hundred-year war. Over a period of fifty years, the Fire Nation devastated the tribes, taking prisoner those benders that had not been killed in the fighting. The main cities were abandoned for smaller settlements so that if the Fire Nation should return and try again, their people had a greater chance of survival.

Since no support had come from the Northern Water Tribe, those small villages who now lived scattered across the South Pole felt abandoned by their sister tribe. For forty years they had managed to hold off the Fire Nation, and in that time not a single ship from the North Tribe came to lend them naval support – something which the South had never been able to develop due to a distinct lack of wood and the Earth Kingdom denying them the loan they would have needed in years prior.

Even though they had no water benders, the Southern Raiders continued to attack the scattered tribes. It was through these attacks that the Fire Nation learnt of a remaining water bender – my sister. She was very young, and hadn't been discreet enough with her bending when she first learnt about the skill, and a report had been made. My mother, Kya gave her life by confessing to be the Bender they were looking for. With her death, the Fire Nation was given the impression that there were no more Waterbenders left in the south and the raids stopped.

In the years following my mother's death, my father Chief Hakoda of the south Tribes, rallied the male warriors that remained and set out for the Earth Kingdom. They hoped to aid them in their fight against the Fire Nation. This left the villages that remained behind with a population of children, mothers and the elderly. My brother had been the oldest male in the village at only eleven.

Technically, this should have left him in charge, but I was the oldest teen in the village at the time at thirteen years. Because the Southern tribe was smaller and not as easily defendable as the North, the woman of the tribe had been allowed to become benders and warriors, and not just healers. Although a woman had never before been a chief of the tribe, their numbers had fallen so low and I was the oldest and most mature person in the village so I ended up taking the position of chief over her brother. Some of the elders felt that they should be chief, but I proved very quickly that they may have the knowledge but they didn't have the physical strength needed to defend their people.

Like my sister, I had also inherited the water bending gene. I'd scavenged through what had once been the home of our capital, looking under the fallen ice for all the scrolls on water bending that we had left. I managed to scrounge up a lot of scrolls on our history, and a couple on water bending. I learnt the basics from these scrolls, and once I'd gotten the 'feel' of bending I simple improvised and taught myself. From the records I could find, I knew that benders typically relayed on 'techniques' and forms in order to bend, but I only had access to a few scrolls and so was forced to adapt and work on the feeling and connection to water to do what was outlined in the scrolls.

I didn't practise near the village, and always in a place where I would know far in advance if someone was coming, since I didn't want a Fire Nation spy to see me practise. It also gave my village the ability of deniability, since they didn't know I could water bend. I wasn't able to drill the same caution into my sister, who was so proud of her water bending ability that she kept trying to practise and use it. She knew only one technique, for I refused to teach her anymore until she'd matured and learnt better.

Unlike so many Water benders of the past, I didn't just rely on my skill with water in defence. Before my father had marched off to war, he'd been teaching me how to use a sword and staff, and I'd continued my practise. I'd also ensured that I learnt how to use a bow. Although there may have not been much use for the bow in the icy wasteland that we called home, I knew that I wouldn't remain in the village forever. Once I knew Sokka was strong enough to defend the village, I was planning on leaving for the North to offer them my aid in stopping the Fire Nation, perhaps even convince them to send a platoon of warriors to meet with the rebellions.

My brother tried to teach the children how to defend themselves, but he seemed to forget that they were just children. And so, I gave him the illusion of control over the teaching, when in truth I was the one teaching the children. Ensuring that they had good stamina and endurance, while also working on foot work and aim. Once the child turned eight, I introduced them to the spear and sword. Teaching them how to hold them effectively for defence and offensive techniques, and showing some basic positions that I had them repeat over and over again.

Sokka was the one to oversee the building of the village wall. Their village was located within what used to be their major city which had a twenty-five feet wall made of ice. A wall which the fire nation had destroyed. In resemblance of this, Sokka had built a wall which was near five feet tall with four towers – two at the front and two at the back of the village. These towers were just under seven feet tall and could be used as look out posts.

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