'Sup guys! Hope you liked last chapter, sorry it took so long. Thanks again, nine1775 for the story line! Don't be afraid to ask for a specific scene or dialog just message me or review the story. I got some extremely critical and rude messages last time, so please use constructive criticism! There might be a week or two before I update again, so that's why I released two chapters so close to each other. Lana's true past will be revealed in this chapter, so it might revolve mostly around her. Sorry, but not really. Hopefully I added some emotion and didn't make the backstory too bloody. I probably did, but whatever. Also, I might have put too much emphasis on her story, and disappointed you. If I did, I'm sorry.
Lana
The words came spilling out of her, "The Shadow Clan and Light Community never had an avatar, so the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom took that as a sign that we weren't supposed to be one of the four nations. We were forgotten and dismissed, until the Light Community started to claim land. The Fire Nation gave them an island that later became Roku Island. The Air Nomads gave the Shadow Clan a piece of land near the Western Air Temple. Since we didn't have an Avatar, the leaders of the Clan and Community decided that an alternate would be chosen. Someone, alternating Clan and Community, would be trained in Shadowbending and Lightbending. That person would be the balance between them. Later a child was born in the Shadow Clan that could control Light and Shadow. Basically, it's like the Avatar, only the chosen one can only control Shadow and Light. It continued like that for awhile, then disaster struck. A cave-in happened near our land and most of our village was swallowed up. A few years later, a group of elders volunteered to see if it was safe to live in. They found that it was safer than the village and had it's own water resources. My people moved in and developed a new life-style. Then Roku Island was destroyed by a volcano and the few Lightbenders left came to us for protection. We later found out that they were spies and had been saved just to use to spy on the Air Nomads. We lost the chosen ones at birth, since everything was unbalanced. The Air Nomads fell and we grew more suspicious and cut ourselves off from the world. Then I was born.
"Almost as soon as I was born, I was Shadowbending. I was taught Shadowbending quickly and mastered it, which was unusual. The earliest kids start bending is around age six. But when I was six, I almost died."
The Gaang shifted in their seats, preparing for Lana's story. If she had only told them part of the story to protect them, then it had to be bad.
"Wait, why didn't the Community and Clan join together?" Pidge asked, leaning forward.
Lana smiled sadly, "You should have heard about the bloody battles and the rivalry going on."
Katara sighed, "That's like asking the Water Tribe and Fire Nation to combine. They were opposite elements, like fire and water."
"Let her continue," Lance said, leaning forward.
Lana shot Lance a grateful look, "The Earth Kingdom has always hated the Shadow Clan and the Fire Nation took advantage of that, they made an alliance to defeat the Shadow Clan. I don't know why the Earth Kingdom trusted the Fire Nation, but they did. The Earth Kingdom sent Dai Li to the meeting point and surrounded the top of the cave. They blocked all tunnels and let the Fire Nation in. Without a way to escape, the Clan died and I watched them. My mother and father hid us with Shadowbending and many others did too, but they died. My grandmother, who fought back, was speared through the stomach and while she bled out, was burned over and over. My baby sister was thrown against a wall and squished to death. My older sister was burned alive along with many of our neighbors. And I watched it all happen. I watched people yanked from their homes and die slow, painful deaths. My mom, dad, and I only survived because my mom and dad swam us out from the rivers. We fought the currents until I saw a small cave just off the river. We hid in there for a long time, I think about a day, and swam back out. Most of the Fire Nation was gone and they left a way back up, I don't remember what exactly it was, but we got out. My mom knew someone in the Southern Water Tribe so we headed there. Most of the trip is fuzzy, so I don't think anyone died.
"We got to the Southern Water Tribe in the middle of a raid, so my dad helped fight. Later, Katara and I figured out that the raid my dad fought in was the same raid Katara's mom was killed. My dad was like Katara, he always had to help someone in need. He got himself injured in the process. The elders of the Water Tribe accepted us because my dad helped drive out the Fire Nation. Months later, when the Water Tribe men went to fight in the war, my dad with them and we got word that he died protecting Katara's dad.
"My mom and I left soon after, she didn't feel welcome and most of the village was still grieving for the men they lost. We took a fishing boat to a small Fire Nation town. My mom thought that if people were still looking for us, they wouldn't look in their own country. We built our own little hut in the woods and barely went into town. One day I was practicing Shadowbending in the woods, and instead of making a ball of shadows, I was holding a ball of light in my hands. My mother rushed over and told me I should never do that again, but while she distracted me, I didn't concentrate on the light. When I looked back at it, it exploded into a beam of light, blinding me in my left eye. The beam also caught guard's attention, along with my screaming. While my mom put a damp cloth on my eye, soldiers invaded our home and found a necklace from the Shadow Clan, as well as a bending scroll I'd found. They followed my mom's tracks and found her just as I stopped screaming."
Lana put her head in her hands and sighed, "It was my fault. I saw the soldier's outline and thought that they were part of the Light Community. My mother tried to stop me, but I showed the guards the pillar I'd made. They connected the dots and took us into custody. Since we escaped, they thought that there were more of us and didn't believe my mom when she told them that there were none of us left. They interrogated me as well and I told them that everyone was dead and they believed me. My mom and I had told the same story and they knew that no one was left of the Clan. One day, they brought me to see my mom and I remember that she had tons of burns; way more than I did and they burned me twice a day. They tortured her in front of me, whipping her to the brink of death, burning her, sticking needles in her, stabbing her. She died slowly, in agony and I couldn't do anything about it. The moment she died, her body released a huge cloud of shadows. She gave me cover to escape and I did. I wandered for years without a purpose, staying in an Air temple for awhile. Then I ran into Bumi, king of Omashu. He took me in, completed my education, helped me with my bending, and sent me off to the Northern Water Tribe to meet the Avatar. I took a boat and made it to the North Pole, where I found a sea cave and lived there until I saw Appa. That's when I sneaked into the Tribe and found the Gaang. From then on, my life hasn't be too awful."
Lance's jaw dropped, "Wow, your life sucked."
Shiro smacked him upside the head, "You can't just say that!"
"No, it's okay," Lana said, looking out the window, "my life was pretty bad."
"But you're still here," Krolia said, "you're stronger than someone would expect."
"So," Coran said, stepping in the doorway and making everyone jump, "who wants to show the Gaang the castle?"