Life of Air

Chapter 1

Our Destiny

Feeling the breeze on my face, smelling the grass and greenery around me, and hearing all the life that moved on the surface was beyond amazing. Meditating in the temple was so different from being underground, I felt as though I could do anything up here and no one would be able to stop me. Nothing could make me give this up.

"Iyashi, hurry it up."

Except maybe my protective family. I sighed at my older brother's impatience, it's not like he could really understand why this was so important to me. With a final thank you to the spirits for allowing me peace, I floated to my feet and spun quickly around to face my two eldest brothers, my orange robes floating around me and my long, brown braided hair whipping over my shoulder as I turned.

"You know you could just go back without me, it's not like anything is going to happen up here," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Tanro, the oldest, scoffed. "Right, and who's going to deal with Mom when she finds out we left you up here? It certainly won't be me."

Ginko chuckled. "It'll be Iyashi who has to deal with her, obviously; it always is."

Tanro rolled his eyes. "Obviously, idiot."

"Hey!" Ginko shoved our brother which lead to the two wrestling on the ground. I shook my head and walked around them to go deeper into the temple where the entrance to our home was.

"When you two are done can we head back? It's not like I'm getting home without you boulder heads."

Soon they finished their minor squabble and followed after me. We walked for a good 15 minutes, zigzagging through the temple like we had no idea where we were going until we came to an empty room that seemed just the same as all the rest. Ginko and Tanro both made the same formation, stomping their feet on the ground and swinging their heavily muscled arms up and then down, which the wall responded to easily and dropped down to reveal a deep tunnel. I walked in first, the boys following in and shutting the entrance with another easy move. We continued forward in darkness until a small light shown in front of us, brightening as we moved closer.

"You know, Iyashi, Dad is getting tired of all these frequent requests to leave the tunnels. It's too dangerous to go by yourself and pretty much every earthbender down here is getting sick of coming with you." Ginko said to me and gestured to Tanro with a goofy grin. "We only put up with it because we love you."

"Earthbenders can't understand what it's like for me to be down here, it's suffocating," I told them, refusing to even look at them. "Dad is far from understanding, the only reason he actually lets me go is because Mom convinces him it's important for my development. They just want me to bear strong airbending children." I ball my fists up for a moment before realizing the action and making my hands relax, hoping my brothers didn't see my momentary lack of calm.

"You're gonna have to find a guy who can put up with you before anything like that will happen," Tanro said with a small chuckle. "Which is highly unlikely."

I glanced back at him then returned my gaze forward. "He doesn't have to put up with me, just give me a child. That's how it worked with Grandmother."

At that, my two brothers became quiet. Our grandmother had passed only a few months ago and the wound was still raw. Even though she and I shared the connection of airbending she was just as devoted to her other grandchildren as she was to me. She even taught my brothers the same air nomad values, some of them taking to it better than others. But even Ginko and Tanro, the only two of my brothers who could earthbend, used the methods of meditation and spiritual connections to better their bending and mental states. She always taught us it was important to learn from all the elements, that being closed off would only result in disharmony.

"Welcome home miss Iyashi." Han, today's entrance guard, greeted with a nod to each of us. "Tanro, Ginko." He's one of the more gentle guards and rather small in stature compared to the bulk of my brothers, but always offers members of my family the utmost respect, as the rest of the tribe does.

"Thank you, Han. Do you know if my mother is in the main hall?" I asked him, offering a gentle smile.

He nodded. "Yes, Lady Chiyu is serving breakfast for everyone."

I thanked the man again and headed towards the main hall with my brothers on my tail as usual. No matter how much I hated our living situation, even I could appreciate its magnificence. Long ago when the first members of the tribe traveled to the Western Air Temple to seek refuge they used their earthbending to carve out rooms and tunnels into the side of the cliff from inside the temple. They used the idea of the temple hanging off the side of a cliff and just reworked it for a more extreme earthbending approach. It was marvelous, but it was still my prison.

"Iyashi! Why did you leave so early this morning? You were supposed to help with breakfast!"

I sigh and forced a smile for my mother. "I just woke up early this morning, it was as though the spirits were calling me. Tanro and Ginko went with me, I was safe." I bowed my head respectfully though I grit my teeth behind my words. "I'm sorry if I worried you, Mom."

My mother shook her head and gave a huff, her cool grey eyes staring down at me in disapproval. "Just remember your responsibilities. People count on you down here. Now grab those bowls and pass out the rice."

I gave my mother a slight bow and did as she asked, offering everyone I served rice a smile. In the back of my mind, I continued to think of her comment about responsibilities. I knew better than to ignore its hidden meaning, I'm almost 16 which is when my father started courting my mother, so they thought I should be looking for someone to give my life to. They forget that my grandmother didn't have a child until she was much older and everything worked out fine for her. She was more like me and wanted her freedom above anything else. She was lucky though, she only had to have one child, my mother Chiyu, to continue the airbending line. My mother, on the other hand, had to have five.

"Hey, can you scoop me up another helping? I'm starving…" My brother Yen whined in a whisper so only I could hear him.

I grinned at Yen and tapped an extra scoop of rice into his bowl, setting it in front of him with a wink. Yen is my third brother, a non-bender and a total sweetheart with a giant appetite. He's bulky from working outside of the tunnels hunting and taking care of the crops we keep at the top of the cliff to feed our tribe. He works hard and cares for the tribe and our family more than anything. Sometimes I wish I was more like him, his priorities are so in line with what is expected of him.

Next to him sat Yuji, my fourth and last older brother. He's also a non-bender but he has dedicated his life to the air nomad way and takes it very seriously. He often joins me in the temple for meditations and finds the tunnels to be suffocating as well. I've always wondered why he wasn't born an airbender but remember that if he was I probably wouldn't have been born at all. That's when I take fate and destiny for what it is instead of questioning it.

Once I was done passing out rice I took my seat next to Yuji and to the left of my father where he sat at the head of the table. My mother took the seat to his right and across from me as always. Mother said a simple thank you to the spirits for our food and health and everyone dug in to their breakfast. I enjoyed rice topped with a mix of vegetables and some melon on the side. Most everyone here ate meat, including my family besides my mother, Yuji, and myself, but a few other members of the tribe took part in our vegetarian diet. Over generations we've had some take on the air nomad way of life, all learning from my grandmother and her mother and now my mother and myself.

I tapped Yuji's leg under the table and leaned in closer to him. "What do you say for a little meditation session out in the temple later, maybe after lunch? I'm going to ask Han to take us, he's usually up for it after guard duty."

Yuji smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

The rest of breakfast went by without any excitement. My father spoke to the men about some guard shifts and taking those that tended to the crops to the surface. He never even addressed me during our meal, which I was used to, but I could feel his eyes on me every once in a while during discussions with my mother about the future of our tribe. I did my best to ignore them and ate in silence.

"You said we would be meditating, not goofing around. Come on Iyashi, you've already meditated out here this morning, but I haven't." Yuji complained.

Han laughed and tossed another rock into the air for me to dodge on my glider. "Miss Iyashi just likes to take full advantage of the space for training. Why don't you go meditate over there, just not too far where I can't hear you."

I swooped down to the temple floor and shut my glider with a spin, still breathing hard from my training exercises. "Ginko and Tanro don't do this kind of stuff with me. I just wanted to have some fun before I started meditating. What's the harm in that?"

"No harm," Yuji said while looking away. "I'd just prefer to meditate together."

I knew better than that, I mean he is my brother. Since I was about eight years old I've noticed Yuji getting jealous of my bending ability, then two years ago he blew up at me about it and called me an ungrateful show-off. It's not like I could blame him, I had been complaining about being the airbender of the family because of all that it entails. He didn't care that I wasn't complaining about the ability, he was just mad I was complaining about something he had wanted for the longest time. Grandmother had a talk with us both and we reconciled shortly after, but it's sort of a sore spot for him.

"Alright, alright," I said, offering him a smile. "Let's sit in front of the fountain."

Just as we sat down at the fountain a large beast dropped down on the temple floor and gave a loud roar. Han jumped into action and stood in front of us with his arms up and ready for a fight. Yuji stood strong behind him, refusing to cower, but I could see the fear in his eyes. I, on the other hand, was intrigued. This creature reminded me of something from grandmother's stories but I couldn't put my finger on it.

A group of what looked like kids and teenagers jumped off of the beast and took a fighting stance, this kicked up Han's protective reflexes. "Miss Iyashi you must run and hide, I'll take care of these intruders."

A young bald boy moved to the front of his group and pointed his staff at us. "Who are you? This temple belongs to the Air Nomads! Why are you here?"

I used a gust of wind under my feet to move from behind Han's protective stance. "This is my home! You must leave at once!"

The bald boy stepped back slightly and peered at me with obvious confusion and shock. "How did you- Did you just-?" He babbled for a moment, glancing at my feet with each attempt at a sentence. "Was that airbending?"

I narrowed my eyes at him and then everything hit me at once. His tattoos, the staff, the creature I now recognized as a flying bison, this wasn't just any intruder. "Are you an airbender… too?"

He perked up quickly and spun his staff with speed only an airbender could accomplish, then he pointed to the ground and swept it across the floor, creating a gust of wind which ruffled my hair and skirt. I felt my eyes water but pulled myself together enough to return the gesture of bending to prove myself as well. Everyone around us was in utter awe, but we could only keep our eyes on each other. I saw his water just as mine were and I felt as though the world had become so much brighter.

The young boy gave a traditional Air Nomad bow and smiled at me as he rose. "My name is Aang, it's truly an honor to meet you."

I returned the bow. "I am Iyashi. The honor is all mine, I insist." I rushed in front of him and took his hands in mine. "Please, you must come to my home and tell my tribe how your family escaped the genocide. Are your parents airbenders too? Are they with you? Do you have any siblings? Where did you get your tattoos? Oh, I have so many questions!"

"Miss Iyashi!" Han grabbed my shoulder and pulled me away from the boy, Aang. "We don't know these people, it could be a trick. You need to go back inside the temple where you'll be safe while I take care of this."

I yanked away from him. "You don't understand, Han! He's an airbender! Which means my mom and I aren't the only ones anymore! You couldn't possibly understand what this means to me!"

One of the girls from Aang's group, she wore all blue and had long dark hair, walked up next to him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we should get out of here, Aang. We don't know if they're really who they say they are." She eyed me cautiously, obviously very hesitant to trust us.

Then the boy in blue took to Aang's other side. "Yeah come on, buddy. We probably shouldn't stick around here. It's not safe."

Aang looked at the two and shook his head then smiled in my direction. "No guys, she's an airbender, I can feel it. We were meant to come here and we need to stay. Something good is finally coming out of this."

I smiled at Aang and knew he felt what I was feeling, this strong pull towards each other. "Yuji, go get everyone… they need to meet our guests." I said to my brother without taking my eyes from Aang.

A/N - I hope everyone has enjoyed the prologue and first chapter. A little introduction to the characters and the world. Those familiar with the original would see a few changes in characters but I hope the change is well received. Let me know what you think!