I've started this story after revistiting a concept I've sketched out years ago but never wrote after all, since I had other things to write at the time. When I picked this up again, I thought to give it a try and write it up, especially after seeing the comics and the Korra series, which finally gave me the needed ideas.
If you see the format you can by now see by my other works, that I've specialised in letting the canon story go in interesting directions by changing on factor, which ripples through the story. I found this gave me more freedom in my writing than other ways of doing so.
After positive feedback, I decided to go on with the story.
Chapter-specific notes are always at the end of the chapter to prevent spoilers.
This chapter took a long time due to my chaotic RL and the fact it is heavy on exposition slowed down things to a crawl. I'm glad I'm done with this one.
"Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days; a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world."
-Katara
Chapter 4: Avatar Aang
Sokka and Katara were experiencing one of the strangest days of their entire lives - which actually was no big feat considering that their lives took place at one of the most boring places in the entire world. Both teenagers knew the Southern Water Tribe wasn't a place where anything interesting would ever happen, apart from pain. Even their surroundings were radiating a monotony that could crush positive thoughts. Yet, it also had been home their entire lives and they knew nothing else, so they didn't mind.
What had started as a serious sibling squabble after a botched fishing trip - resulting in a crushed canoe and being stranded on an ice slab - had made a turn for the weird when Katara's temper and out-of-control waterbending had caused a huge iceberg to emerge from the ocean, with a person locked into it. Of course, Katara the good samaritan had bashed it open - well, it more exploded from the inside after she hit it a few times - and they had met the boy named Aang. Thanks to the stories their grandmother had told them, they knew from his looks that Aang had to be an airbender, as impossible as it was to believe.
Right now they were on their way back to the village on the back of something Aang called a 'sky bison' named Appa. Neither Sokka nor Katara believed this huge animal could actually fly, but at least it seemed to be a good swimmer. Aang however had been strangely evasive of their questions and even Katara, who was easy to give her trust to others, was frustrated about his evasive answers.
They knew he was hiding something from them, but didn't talk until Aang had fallen asleep.
"Katara, this is crazy, right? You know what Gran-Gran told us; the Fire Nation killed all airbenders long ago and he's completely ignorant of even the most basic recent history. Stuff that even we know. Add to it that he emerged from an iceberg, something impossible since he should have simply frozen to death, and I think he's keeping something big from us," Sokka finally said, when feeling secure Aang wouldn't listen in.
Katara was at times frustrated with her brother's mistrustful attitude, but he did have a point. "I wonder how long he has been in there? He doesn't even seem to be aware how much time has passed."
"And what about this strange light? Don't tell me that's just a coincidence! I tell you, Katara, regardless what he is keeping from us, it must be big," Sokka said further, not hampered by Katara's overly big compassion.
This made Katara think. "It's almost like he's more than just an airbender." She didn't continue her thoughts aloud, since she didn't want Sokka to pick her hope apart, but everything considered, it was almost as if Aang... Katara held onto the small hope it could be true. "I think we should better go to Gran-Gran as soon as we are home."
"Yeah, I think she'll know best," Sokka admitted.
Ever since their father the chieftain had left with the other men to fight in the Earth Kingdom, their grandmother Kanna had become the unofficial village leader until his eventual return. She'd managed to get everyone through the past two years without trouble, so everyone had by silent agreement accepted her authority in the absence of Chief Hakoda. After all, it wasn't like they had any rules against a woman taking charge.
The siblings for now tried to ignore each other, often going on the other's nerves. Sokka and Katara couldn't be more different, apart from the fact that she was a waterbender and he wasn't, despite being siblings.
Sokka was clearly taking after their father Hakoda, always trying to take charge and wanting to be a warrior, and also showing signs of his father's love of creating things, as a crude watchtower in their village was proving. That however also meant Hakoda being away to fight in the war had been quite a blow to Sokka. Yet, while he could be a nice guy, he was also a huge skeptic, easy to annoy and his acidic sarcasm at times really set off Katara.
Katara was taking more after their mother, being very compassionate and found it easy to accept strangers. Her loss to the Fire Nation some years ago therefore had hit Katara very hard, far harder than her brother. While Sokka disliked the Fire Nation, it was harmless to how much Katara despised it. Katara's easily given trust and experimenting around with her waterbending was bound to set off Sokka and once pushed too far, Katara would get really bitchy as well.
It was a perfect mixture for a complicated sibling relationship, despite them caring a lot for each other.
A little later, Sokka arched an eyebrow and looked up. "Looks like we don't have to go to Gran-Gran, she's already waiting for us."
Looking up, she saw that they'd finally reached the village. She also saw the people waiting for them. Even from a distance they could see that Gran-Gran Kanna was in equal parts worried and angry, while the three women beside her had their arms crossed, obviously not happy with the two teenagers, who had somehow managed to lose their canoe and were returning on the back of some huge animal.
"Both of you have a lot of explaining to do..." Kanna greeted them as soon as they had climbed off.
Sokka and Katara gulped, then accepted trying to lie to their grandmother was impossible. Thus they related the whole story. The women looked looked disappointed that they had lost a canoe due to a stupid sibling squabble and Sokka and Katara knew there would be consequences for the loss. However, when their story reached the strange events surrounding Aang, everyone's expression changed. They all seemed interested in the boy who was resting on the head of the sky bison, while Kanna looked very nostalgic when hearing how Katara's waterbending had caused this to happen.
"Be glad you two are too old now, or I would have tanned both your backsides with my big cooking spoon," Kanna finally said, making Sokka and Katara gulp again. Sokka remembered the wooden spoon too well from his childhood days and Katara, despite now being a responsible teenage girl, had been quite a brat in the past and her backside still had phantom pains from the times the spoon had been used on her as well. Gran-Gran was really nice, but had no tolerance for brats.
Kanna knew the threat had lost nothing of its effectiveness when seeing the siblings pale a little. "But your punishment isn't important for the moment... Now show me the boy."
Kanna took a closer look at the sleeping Aang, while Katara couldn't hold back any longer. "He looks exactly like the airbenders in your stories. Monk robes, shaved head and this arrow tattoo. I really think he's an airbender."
"Yeah, but Gran-Gran, he doesn't have a clue at all about what's going on. He acts as if the war had never happened," Sokka added, still being a bit skeptical about Aang. "And don''t even start with the whole 'found inside an iceberg' thing."
"That is what concerns me," Kanna finally said, looking up. "Even an airbender could not survive inside an iceberg for that long. You also told me about how he was glowing... Hmmm. I do remember something, but right now let's wait what he has to say." She turned to the women. "Bring him into Sokka's tent and make him comfortable inside some spare furs."
The three women obeyed and carried Aang away, Appa dutifully following.
Kanna then returned her attention to Sokka and Katara. "I honestly don't know what to do with you two. I send you on a simple fishing trip, and you go on such an adventure. Even your father wasn't that difficult..."
They knew this meant the discussion was over and they followed her back into the village.
"Whew... either Gran-Gran is in a good mood, or Aang is really distracting her. I was sure we would have been forced to do extra chores again," Sokka told his sister in relief.
Katara remembered the last time they'd been forced to do extra work - again due to their squabbling causing something to get damaged. She was till trying to forget the smell... "I more wonder who Aang is. Gran-Gran seems to know something."
"You know her. She won't tell until she's sure. So don't even bother," Sokka reminded her.
Katara sighed. Despite his character flaws, Sokka was really good at pointing out the facts. Right now they could do nothing but wait until Aang would wake up. It also was starting to get dark, so the day effectively was over and both of them soon would have to prepare for the night. Nights at the South Pole were very cold after all.
Kanna watched her grandchildren retreat to their respective tents, Sokka trying hard to ignore the sleeping sky bison next to his tent.
I wonder if they even realize what this could mean... Yet, it is so long since the the Avatar has last been seen. No need to get up my hopes. Yet, who is Aang? Kanna wondered, before the cold wind made her shiver a little, despite her thick coat, reminding her that in her very advanced age, she wasn't as good anymore in ignoring the cold.
Sigh, these old bones seem to no longer have any tolerance for the cold, she thought, before retreating into her own tent.
...at the same time at sea...
Zuko was nervous.
Before him stood the entire crew of the ship, which was anchoring at the moment so that even the helmsman could attend. He had already spoken with his uncle, his mother and Mai. All three of them had backed his decision, as hard as it had been for him to make it.
And a hard decision it had been indeed.
His doubts had long grown over the course of his journey. Had he been all too willing to find the Avatar and hand him over to his father at the beginning, he had grown disillusioned and his drive to do so had died in the almost three years since he had left home. However, that didn't automatically mean he would be on the Avatar's side. Standing against his nation was perhaps the hardest decision of his life, but in the end, his conscience won. After all the suffering he had witnessed, he wanted to end the war, even though he knew that doing so would mean feeling like a traitor.
He knew, there would be no going back and he had not made this decision easily. He could be forced to fight against his nation; against men who only were his enemy because they believed in their nation. It gave him a very easy feeling, but he knew what needed to be done, as painful as it was to admit so. He simply couldn't do nothing any longer.
However that was just his personal decision. The more difficult part would be to get his crew to walk this way as well. While he knew they were loyal to him, he could not be sure if they would do this final step as well.
He finally addressed them. "Men, by now I am sure all of you have heard about the strange column of light we have seen. I have consulted with my family and together we are now sure about it... The Avatar has returned."
The crew started to whisper amongst themselves, which was a natural reaction to these big news. Their very job on this ship after all revolved around finding the Avatar for Zuko. Now that they knew their goal was so close, they were starting to worry about their future, since they had all fully expected to never again see the Fire Nation. Zuko waited patiently until he again had their full attention.
"When I first set sail, I was fully prepared to hand the Avatar over to my father. Yet, over the years I have seen the sheer suffering this war had brought to all nations, including our own. I have made my personal decision. I can not hand the Avatar over to the Fire Lord. I want to help him end this war, convince him that ending the war does not mean destroying the Fire Nation. Yet, I can only make this decision for myself, not for you. I would understand if someone can not can not follow me and I would never hold it against them."
This started more discussion amongst the crew and Zuko knew that he now had to wait what the final result would be. "I hope we don't lose too many men, or we will be unable to use the ship any longer," he remarked to Iroh, while watching the discussion nervously.
"I think you don't give our crew enough credit. You have not only earned their respect. You have earned their trust by growing into a responsible leader," Iroh tried to disperse his doubts. "They are fully prepared to follow you to the end of the world and each of them has personal reasons to hate the war."
"Really, Zuko. The one thing that's constant about you is your pessimism," Mai complained, rolling her eyes. "I'm by far no optimist, but even I can see that the crew will be on your side."
"You are such a ray of sunshine..." It was times like this where Zuko felt Mai had rubbed of on him a little with the sarcasm.
"Oh, I do what I can," Mai gave back.
Zuko then looked to his mother, as if to get her to make a comment about the whole issue at hand.
Ursa shrugged with her shoulders. "What? I have nothing to add. Even if they decline, you can count on us, although it will be a lot harder without than with the crew."
Zuko shook his head. "It's just so unreal. The Avatar was always something abstract... so far away that I thought this day would never come. I had made myself comfortable in what we have. It has come so sudden and I still fail to really understand how things are changing."
"Just believe in yourself, Zuko. You have grown a lot over the years and I have confidence you are ready for this," Ursa told him, hoping it would calm his nerves.
Finally, the crew finished discussing and Lt. Jee stepped forward, clearly being the spokesman for the crew.
"Prince Zuko, after long discussion, we have come to a decision. I admit it was difficult for some of us, but in the end all of us agreed to stand at your side. When you came on board first, you were a spoiled prince and we felt it almost being a punishment to be on the same ship with you. However, you have grown and changed, earning our respect and trust. All of us have their lives set onto a dead end due to the war. You have proven to be a more capable leader than your father, since you care for those serving under you. We will stand behind you as one man, Prince Zuko."
Zuko couldn't help but blush a little at how his crew was trusting him. "I don't... know what to say."
Lt. Jee held up a hand, not being done yet. "Prince Zuko, we discussed what it meant helping the Avatar and realized that it also meant toppling the Fire Lord. Despite your youth, we feel you have far better leadership skills than your father and would make a far better Fire Lord. Helping the Avatar also means helping you reclaim your birthright. All of us do not want to see Princess Azula ascend to the throne. It would mean the ruin of our nation."
Zuko hadn't even thought about that fact. Azula as Fire Lord... horrible idea. Considering how she was when I left, imagine her in ten years...
"So, what are your orders, Prince Zuko?" Lt. Jee asked.
Zuko composed himself. "We take course in the general direction of the light at slower speeds, since these waters are treacherous due to the icebergs. Keep on the lookout for settlements, since this surely is where we will find the Avatar. Be careful, we do not want to appear hostile to the Southern Water Tribe."
"Fat chance. After all what the Fire Nation did to them, they'll surely strike first and ask questions later," Mai snaked, remembering her history lessons. "They'll hardly welcome us with open arms."
"Although young Mai here could be a bit less sarcastic about it, she is right. Considering how much blood has been spilled, the Water Tribe will be hostile, unless you make your peaceful intentions clear to them right from the start. Even then it will be an uphill battle," Iroh cautioned Zuko.
Zuko didn't even want to imagine a whole village of angry warriors lynching him as soon as they would recognize him as being Fire Nation.
...the next day in the village...
Things had not been going well.
Katara had hoped that with showing Aang good hospitality, he would open up and tell them the truth. However, nothing of that kind had happened. Aang was still evasive with his answers, although by now it was painfully obvious that he was hiding something from everyone. At least he had proven to be an airbender to the tribe, although he mostly just used it to entertain the children of the village with tricks and his glider, much to Sokka's annoyance. Aang seemed easily distracted and was jsut returning from penguin sledging with some of the older children.
Aang was still goofing around with the children when Sokka pulled Katara aside, finally having had enough of this farce.
"Katara, this can't go on. He is doing everything he can to ignore that things have changed, insisting he can just return to the Air Nomads. If we don't do something, I know this will end in tears!" Sokka told her bluntly.
Katara sighed. While she'd found Aang to be a great guy, it was painfully obvious what was happening. "He's in denial and ignores anything that could tell him things have changed. I doubt anything other then telling him point-blank he will work, as he'll promptly ignore it in order to keep up the illusion that everything is OK."
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's tell Gran-Gran and there we go," Sokka asked, wondering what the problem is.
"I fear how he will react once he learns that his people are all gone. I don't think he'll take it well," Katara cautioned him.
Sokka looked in pity to her. "Oh, and should we rather let him walk around, pretending all is nice and dandy until he returns to his temple just to see heaps of bones?"
Katara didn't even want to image how Aang would react to that, yet her mind conjured an imagine of the young airbender being pushed over the edge at seeing the undeniable truth that the Air Nomads were no more. To her horror her imagination very much thought it possible that Aang would kill himself in his grief. Not a nice scenario at all.
Katara sighed. "Let's talk to Gran-Gran first..."
A little later, Aang was surprised that the whole village had gathered. The 12-year old felt a bit uneasy when seeing that it just consisted of women and children, a part of him he tried to ignore wondering where the men were. He'd actually ignored a lot of things that did not mesh well with the world as he learned it should be; had not lost a thought how long he could have been inside that iceberg in which the teenagers from the Water Tribe had found him.
Part of it was understandable, due to him being an 12-year old boy. His life had been great, with him having a loving mentor who was like a father to him, good friends who stood to him, the freedom to live as the child he is and a nice home in the Southern Air Temple. Then one day, everything was taken from him. His freedom got severely restricted and his friends turned away from him. When he was about to get sent away to never see his mentor Gyatso again, he had left.
Being the Avatar sucked big time.
Katara had also correctly observed that he was in denial. To him, the very idea that everything he knew was gone was so unbearable that he unconsciously did everything to tune out any clues that he had been in that iceberg for a long, long time. All the more reason for him to be nervous, since being confronted with the whole village was not a good sign at all and returned the underlying fear of being forced to accept what could have happened.
Kanna as the spokesperson stepped forward. "Well, young Aang, we've decided you evaded the truth long enough."
Aang knew right away he was in trouble. "Eh, what are you talking about?"
"The truth that you have been locked in that iceberg for 100 years."
Aang's eyes widened. "You must be wrong! Get me to the capital of the Southern Water Tribe and..." A humorless laugh from Sokka stopped him. "What?"
Sokka looked in pity at him. "Aang... this IS what remains of the capital of the Southern Water Tribe."
"Impossible! I know it is a city made of ice...not this!"
Kanna shook her head. "It was that in my youth, but that was so long ago... Just look around, apart from some even smaller, scattered villages, these are the sorry remains of the once powerful Southern Water Tribe."
"But... the waterbenders would have..." Aang stammered, eyes wide.
Sokka sighed. "Aang, meet Katara, my sister, the last waterbender on the entire South Pole - although her tricks can hardly be called that." He ignored the hard look Katara gave him for insulting her lack of proper training of her bending powers. "All the others either got killed by the Fire Nation, or kidnapped and are pobably dead by now."
Aang turned around to walk away. "No, I don't believe you! I'll just get Appa and get back to the temple!"
"Aang, you can't. The Air Nomads don't exist any longer," Katara finally told him.
Jerking around to face her, his eyes were wide with horror. "No! You must be wrong!"
Kanna knew it was cruel, bur Aang needed to know the truth. "No, young airbender. It is the truth. You were gone for 100 years. You have no memory of it due to being in that iceberg. The world as you know it has went up into flames. 100 years ago the Fire Nation attacked the Air Nomads and massacred them all. It was the beginning of a war that is raging up to this day. Our people paid a horrible price and are driven close to extinction as well, while the Fire Nation is conquering the Earth Kingdom."
Aang started to tremble. "They... are all gone?"
Katara gave him a sad look. "Sorry, Aang, but you are the last airbender alive."
The brutal truth was undeniable, despite him wanting to still deny it. Somehow he knew they spoke the truth - since what reason could they have to lie to him? He remembered things he heard by accident in the temple from the elder monks, how they were worried that dark clouds were at the horizon and that the Avatar was revealed early because they didn't have the luxury of waiting until his 16th birthday. He now understood that the monks somehow knew something bad was about to happen.
And he ran away... abandoning them when they needed him most, resulting in them and countless others paying the ultimate price.
Aang felt falling into a deep pit of despair. "What...what have I done? This is all my fault!"
"Aang, none of this is your fault..." Katara tried to calm him down, but Aang shied away from her, becoming more agitated by the second.
"No, you don't understand! They depended on me and I ran away! No one can understand me! No one!" everyone moved away when suddenly Aang's voice sounded like the voice of legion, his eyes and tattoos starting to glow a bright white.
"My people, the world... what have I done!?" Aang cried in his strange voice, the wind starting to rotate around him like a local twister.
"Gran-Gran, what the heck is going on?" Sokka shouted half-panicked, trying like everyone else to stay out of the strong winds surrounding Aang.
Kanna looked as equally relieved as she was worried. "This boy is the Avatar... But he is still a boy, and right now his grief is hurting him more than anything else."
"Nooooooooo!" Aang howled in emotional pain, a pillar of light shooting to the sky.
o
The final resting place of Avatar Kuruk, the last Avatar from the Water Tribes, had already a long time ago become a temple dedicated to the Avatar. Located at the edge of the city of the Northern Water Tribe, it was a majestic building, its smooth icy spires visible from afar, while the main body of the temple was molded from bright rock - some even said Avatar Kyoshi herself built it with her earthbending to honor her predecessor.
The main hall of the temple housed a life-sized statue of Kuruk, holding watch over his own grave at the feet of the statue. Right at the moment, Chief Arnook and his daughter Princess Yue were paying their respects to the late Avatar, bemoaning times long gone by. Arnook, a man in his late forties, looked hardened and he still held onto his beard from his warrior days, although his fighting days were over and politics was now his battlefield. Princess Yue looked very beautiful and mature for her age of sixteen, yet the most unusual thing was, that her hair was as white as snow.
"...thus we know our tribe is safe. Watch over us, Avatar, as we pray for your return..." Yue finished her prayer to the Avatar, then looked up at the familiar statue, which she'd known for all her life. However, suddenly... "Father!"
Arnook looked up and gasped when he saw the eyes of the statue glowing. "Is this possible? After so many years?"
"Chief! Chief! Come quick!" one of his guards suddenly called from the entrance gate. "You have to see this!"
Despite the sign from the statue, Arnook knew the safety of the tribe came first. Running outside, he saw the people pointing at the highest spire of the temple. Looking up himself, he saw it glowing the same way as the eyes of the statue did. He then saw his daughter approaching, her eyes wide in wonder.
"Father, is this a sign?" Yue asked, her blue eyes seeming to sparkle in reaction to the light.
Arnook knew what it was, especially after seeing the strange sparkles in her eyes, and he felt like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. "Yue, the day which we have longed for so many years has finally come. The Avatar has returned to the world."
o
It was a beautiful day on Kyoshi Island, the final resting place of Avatar Kyoshi, despite it being in early winter. The trees had lost the last of their leaves and it was starting to get colder, yet it would be quite some time before the first snow. The inhabitants went on with their daily lives, knowing they had prepared thoroughly for the winter and just had to sit it out for some months.
Suki, the young leader of the Kyoshi Warriors - a purely female group dedicated to protecting the island from outside invaders - was currently meeting the village leader Oyaji in the central square of the village in front of the big statue of Avatar Kyoshi, which had seen better days and was quite dirty after years of being exposed to the elements.
Right now however, neither of them had eyes for the statue.
"...and I wish you would get a bit more of a life, Suki. You are a young woman, life doesn't solely revolve around being a warrior. Some of your girls have already found nice young men who find nothing wrong with having a warrior as a girlfriend," the elder lightly scolded Suki.
Suki was glad for her face paint, as it hid her blush at the recurring topic. "I just haven't found the right man... I mean, Kyoshi herself needed a long time before she found a man who respected her, yet would not be intimidated by her being a warrior or the Avatar and stood his ground. These are so rare here..." She looked up the statue, and gasped. "Elder Oyaji, look!"
Oyaji looked up and his eyes widened when he saw it. "Good gracious!"
The eyes of the statue had started to glow and they weren't the only people noticing it. Everyone in the square stopped what they were doing, looking at the statue and its glowing eyes in awe, before the whispering started, everyone getting excited at what they were seeing.
"Elder, what does this mean?" Suki asked, her youth preventing her from knowing the signs.
Oyaji was in high spirits, his excitement making him look far younger than he was. "Something wonderful has happened. The Avatar has returned."
o
Guru Pathik was watching the big statue of Avatar Yangchen in anticipation. He had woken up today with a feeling that very important things would soon change the world. His feeling was proven true, when the eyes of the statue started glowing, as did the eyes of the other statues in the hall.
A knowing smile crept up Pathik's features. Now the healing of the world can finally begin.
o
On Crescent Island however, the sudden event of the eyes of the statue of Avatar Roku in the inner sanctum starting to glow did have a very different reaction from those witnessing it.
A number of Fire Sages were in a stage of panic, having never expected something like this to happen. They had long come to the conclusion, that the Avatar was a thing of the past and would never return, so this had caught them on the wrong foot. Other sages were shaking their fists in anger, since they had made themselves comfortable in a world with no Avatar and his return was threatening everything they knew.
The head sage however knew exactly what to do. "Send a message to the Fire Lord! Top priority! The Avatar has returned!"
Walking away from the other sages, Shyu tried to get his excitement and fear under control.
He was excited, because what the future Avatar had told him years ago was now finally coming true. He'd never forgotten her and now that the Avatar was truly returning, he was filled with hope that the madness that had infected his nation could finally be put to an end. Yet, he also was afraid, since the Avatar would also be in grave danger and when he would come to the temple at the equinox - something Shyu was sure he would do - Shyu knew he would have to turn traitor to his own nation to help him.
The wheels of fate have again been put into motion and I can only hope I won't be crushed by them, he thought, while planning his next steps.
He knew the equinox was still some time away, plenty of time for the Avatar to get used to the world in its current state of affairs. Hopefully it would be enough to make him weary of the sages. Shyu knew he would have to prepare for the day of the equinox when he would have to lead the Avatar to the inner sanctum, since he knew the other sages were also aware of the significance of that date.
From this moment on, the Fire Nation would do everything to hinder or stop the Avatar, and preventing him from meeting with Roku would be part of this.
o
The inner sanctum of the Southern Air Temple was as devoid of human life as the rest of the temple area. In the big room, the statues of all Avatars past were standing in silence, watching over the dark, empty room. The only thing living in it was a lemur, which was busy with eating some insects. It had discovered the peace of this place by accident and found it to be a great retreat from the other lemurs.
It looked up, when a sudden light disturbed its peace.
It looked in fascination when the eyes of all the statues lit up. Mesmerized by the light, the lemur felt different from before. It no longer was just existing, but had gained some better thought processes, starting to see its surroundings in a different light.
It then also noticed someone else waiting for it and strangely enough, it felt no fear.
o
"He's going to destroy the village if this goes on!" Sokka shouted, having trouble keeping away from the spiraling winds surrounding Aang.
Katara had thrown herself into a pile of snow to temporarily ward off the winds. "It's his pain! He can't think straight!"
The winds were expending and they had every right to fear that it could destroy the village, the ground under Aang already being being reduced to bare ice, after the wind removed the snow in a big circle surrounding him. Aang himself was screaming and crying, oblivious to everything else surrounding him in his emotional pain.
"Whatever you do, stop him!" Kanna shouted, feeling that her old bones should not be exposed to something like that.
"Stop! Stop! STOP!" Sokka shouted to Aang, of course with no effect.
"It's not enough..." Getting up, Katara again saw the look of sheer devastation on Aang's face and she started to walk into the howling winds.
"Katara, are you mad?" Sokka shouted, feeling his sister had just went mad actually walking into the inferno.
"Aang! Aang! Please stop! I know you are hurt and nothing makes sense, but you are putting us all into danger!" she pleaded to him, fighting to not be blown off her feet. "Please stop, otherwise you destroy the village!"
Aang was not stopping his crying, but the winds did start to slow down, before disappearing entirely. The white glow vanished and Katara barely had time to catch Aang, before he fell into her arms, physically and emotionally spent, where he continued crying his eyes raw. It was heartbreaking to see someone this emotionally broken, everyone looking sad now that the danger was over.
"My suspicion was right. Young Aang is the Avatar," Kanna then finally said.
Sokka knew after this show that he had no place to doubt her. "So, what do we do now?"
"He can hardly help anyone is the state he is now. Lets worry about this later... Hm?" Kanna stopped in mid-sentence when she saw something strange.
Sokka looked up, as did the rest of the village... and stopped in fear. The young children wondered why the grownups suddenly seemed to be so tense, not knowing the sign of bad news which was slowly falling down onto the village. It looked like snow, only that it was black, leaving dirty patches in the white snow.
"No, no, NO!" Sokka cried and Kanna looked equally scared.
Aang had just come over his fit of crying and now was wondering what was going on. "...what...what is this?" he asked weakly.
"It is a sign of great pain to our people," Katara told him. She almost felt like crying herself, since she did remember the last time it happened. She would never forget that day.
"It's soot! Soot from the ships of the Fire Nation," Sokka said, looking towards the sea, where it was getting foggy. "They are coming here."
...half an hour later...
"Great, now they are going to be itching for a fight after our soot rained down on their village," Zuko griped while boarding the small steamboat, cursing the change of wind giving them away early. And that so soon after witnessing the pillar of light that proved the Avatar's presence.
"I for my part still think this is downright stupid. The four of us in a village full of water-peasants who are all too eager to kill us? Tell me again why this is supposed to be a brilliant plan?" Mai complained to Iroh, since she was kind of attached to her health.
"We have to be the ones to make the first step. Also I think you think to little of them. They are not wild beasts which will rip us apart on sight," Iroh reminded her, although he knew a risk actually present.
Mai didn't seem moved. "If this was meant to reassure me, it didn't do the trick."
"You are not alone, I feel like having a block of ice in my stomach. I really can't fault them to hate the Fire Nation after all that was done to them. Yet Iroh is right, we do have to make the first step," Ursa told Mai.
"And if they decide to attack us?" Mai questioned.
Ursa sighed. "Then we can finally test how fast we can run away..."
Nothing more was said while the boat was lowered into the water and started to move towards the shore. They could have used the ship to land, but Iroh was worried it could send the wrong message if they appeared out of the bow doors of a warship. No need to make them more trigger-happy than they already were. However, there was no going back after having already made their decision to help the Avatar.
Finally reaching the shore, they had no trouble to find the village. It was pitiful. If that was what the once proud Southern Water Tribe was reduced to after countless raids, it seemed doubful they could ever welcome someone from the Fire Nation. The village basically consisted of one central igloo, four dozen big tents around it and everything surrounded by a snow wall with a crude guard tower. It looked downright depressing to see what the tribe got reduced to.
Surprisingly, they were not greeted by an angry horde of warriors. No, the only thing thy saw was a teenager holding a spear, his face covered with war paint.
It looked bizarre enough that Mai couldn't help herself. "Don't tell me you've raided a girl's makeup box for that. Are all boys here more girly than I am?"
The boy looked astonished for a moment that he was just made fun of, before composing himself. "Fire Nation scum is not wanted here. Leave, now!"
Mai decided to needle him further. "Oh, really? You and which army?"
That resulted in him attacking them with his spear... or at least, he tried to. Zuko had taken hold of the weapon as soon as possible and with a quick shove threw the boy into the snow, disarming him in the process. The boy however only looked more determined, drawing a war club before attacking again. The end result was the same: disarmed and thrown back into the snow. Zuko found it more sad than anything, if that was all the tribe could put up against them. Still not giving up, he pulled out a boomerang.
"Please stop," Ursa pleaded with him. "We really don't want to hurt you, but there will be injury if this goes on. We are not hostile, we just want to talk to the Avatar."
"Yeah, sure..." He was about to throw his weapon, when a hand to his wrist stopped him. Aang had appeared out of one of the tents. "Are you completely out of your mind?" Sokka asked angrily, feeling that Aang had just signed his own death sentence.
"Maybe we should hear them out first..." Aang said timidly, feeling out of his comfort zone with this confrontation.
"Why is the Avatar still a kid?" Zuko blurted, recognizing the tattoos of an airbender. "He should be much older by now!"
Aang felt more out of his element by the second. "Eh, you know... that's a really funny story."
"Stop this nonsense right away!" Kanna shouted, having appeared from one of the tents. "Can you prove that you are not hostile?"
"Please, only the four of us have come to show our goodwill. We have come unarmed..." When Ursa said this, Mai gave her an annoyed look. She hated leaving her blades behind; she felt naked without them. "...and had we been hostile, the boy not be alive any longer."
Sokka scrowled while picking up his weapons. "Oh, and your word means so much after what the Fire Nation did to our tribe?"
Kanna finally did have enough. "We shall hear them out. If they don't have good reasons for being here we can still make them leave."
"Oh, since it pretty much means recapping the past three years and a ton of background information, I hope you won't mind if I set up some tea. I'm sure all of us need to warm up a little," Iroh suggested, causing Zuko to facepalm.
And then they pretty much did tell them everything.
They recapped Zuko's entire journey, his physcial as well as spiritual one, and how he grew to despise the war his nation was waging. They talked about how the royal family was connected to Avatar Roku, much to Aang's surprise, and how Zuko was feeling the need to set right what went wrong with his great-grandfather Sozin. It naturally also went into how none of them were the cliche Fire Nation nobility. Zuko was gravely mistreated by his father and lost his home in the end, Mai was raised to be just a tool in her parents' political games and had lived a horrible life, Ursa had it even harsher and her suffering was nothing for the faint of heart and Iroh while looking jovial was still hurting how much the war had taken from him, disgraced in the eyes of the public just because he realized that the losses were getting too high.
"Oh,and now we are supposed to suddenly trust you?" Katara asked acidly. Despite knowing that this simply was too big to be a lie, part of her refused to feel compassion for the suffering these four had went through.
"Of course not," Iroh waved it off, before heating up his tea with his palm since it got cold so fast. "Trust is earned, thus we need to let our actions speak for themselves."
"Let's start right away by giving the Avatar something that belongs to him," Zuko declared.
Zuko then gave Aang Gyatso's journal and the letter addressed to him in a show of good faith. Reading the letter and Gyatso's last entries, Aang was close to tears again. Reading how Gyatso was actually having faith that he would make the right decisions took away a great deal of insecurity he had gathered ever since knowing he is the Avatar.
Of course that resulted in questioning looks.
Aang sighed. "I guess you deserve to know what my story is."
He then quickly told them how life had been great for him until being told early that he is the Avatar. Things had went badly for him since then. All the other children avoided him, the expectations felt crushing and when the council decided to send him away from his loving mentor, he'd run away. He then got into a storm, causing him and Appa to fall into the ocean only only his Avatar powers saved him. Aang made it clear he wasn't thrilled being the Avatar, feeling it was more of a burden than anything else.
"Man, that's screwed up. No wonder you ran away," Sokka finally said after Aang was done, now understanding the boy's motivation much better.
It was strange. Talking for this long had eased the atmosphere significantly and even Sokka no longer was watching like a hawk for any kind of wrong move. It was Katara who still looked really unhappy to be in the presence of Fire Nation nobility and didn't even bother to make a secret of it.
Iroh saw they were on a good way to convince them of their good intentions. "Now, I think for the sake of young Aang here, I will show another piece of goodwill. As the Avatar, you do need to know the story of your predecessor and how it ties with my nephew's destiny. Zuko already knows it, but I think you will find it interesting..."
Iroh knew the story by heart, having read the final testament of Sozin often, so he told them the story of Sozin and Roku and how the whole thing ended in tears, when Sozin allowed Roku to die, before starting the war, wasting his final years on a fruitless search for the Avatar.
"...so you see, it is not where we come from that is important, but the decisions we make. Yet, there's a final part of the story even Zuko doesn't know about..." Iroh pulled out a small scroll from his coat pocket. "The Fire Sages have tried to keep this locked away. Sozin's final thoughts, shortly before his demise. Please read it to all of us and you'll understand."
Aang took the scroll, then read aloud.
"These will be my final words to the world, since I feel my life nearing its end and my inner fire getting smaller with each day.
Looking back at my life, I only now, at the end, understand. In my last year of life I finally came to realize how much more beautiful the world had been before my actions caused it to darken. You only start to appreciate things when they are already gone. It is an irony that I only now, close to my death, understand.
Each day I am confronted with the results of my actions. I am alone. I have no one left who would honestly grieve for me. My son Azulon has already taken over in all but name and left me powerless, just waiting for me to finally die. His coldness and power-hunger are a reflection of how I failed everyone. The nation I love so much has been infected with anger and hatred, it no longer is the Fire Nation I grew up in and I have no one to blame but myself.
Whoever may read this, learn from my errors. I thought I would spread the greatness of my nation to the others; share our progress with them. Yet, on the way I lost sight of what I wanted to give, my once noble intentions twisted into forcing the other nations to accept what we force onto them. It all started with good intentions...
Once I die, I will wait for Roku to appear and give me my judgement. Regardless what he decides, I will accept his decision... Just look at me: an old fool regretting the decisions he made."
"These were his last known words. Days later, he was dead. You understand why this is locked away?" Iroh explained,once Aang was done. "Let this be a lesson, young Avatar. In this world, nothing is purely good, or purely evil. The Avatar itself is a good example. Always human, it's the decisions you make that determine what kind of Avatar you are, not the idea that the Avatar is good by nature. There indeed have been some Avatars who turned into horrible despots when the power seduced them. Each time left scars that needed generations to heal and the Avatar was seen as a figure of despise instead of hope."
"I never knew there were evil Avatars," Aang said in surprise, the mere idea of an evil Avatar being downright frightening.
Iroh was again surprised how young and innocent this Avatar still was. "Oh, I understand why they are not spoken of about. It is a harsh reminder that even the Avatar, champion of balance, can fall prey to the darkness lurking in man's heart."
"As if what I'm waking up to wasn't enough already..." Aang sighed, remembering the whole war issue. "I guess you want me to end the war?"
Surprisingly, it was Zuko who shook his head. "As I see it, you right now are in no condition to stop anything. You can only airbend. You can hardly be an Avatar without the other three elements. Did you even think about that?"
"Oh, yeah... I kind of ran away before I was starting to learn these," Aang admitted, scratching the back of his head im embarrassment. "I'm not really good with making plans..."
"Ok, stop!" Sokka finally shouted, making everyone shut up. "So, to sum it up. You and the crew of your ship had a change of heart and want to end this war. You dumped a ton of exposition into our laps to prove you don't plan to knife Aang as soon as you can. Aang here is supposed to end the war, but right now kind of sucks, since he can't do the thing the Avatar is famous for. Does this sum it up nicely?"
"Pretty crude, but it hits on the head. Maybe you are smarter than I first thought," Mai said, again unable to stop herself from inserting a zinger. Sokka was just such an easy target.
"So, what do we do now?" Aang asked the big question.
...the following morning...
"I still have a bad feeling about this. Why did Gran-Gran decide that we stay on their ship until we depart at the Southern Air Temple?" Katara complained with her arms crossed, looking at the Fire Nation ship docked at the shore, while final preparations for the journey were done.
Yesterday's discussion had been long and heated at times. Aang's question of what they should do now was more complicated than imagined. They knew right now he wouldn't be able to help anyone, having not learned anything but airbending and being a bit too young for the job anyway. Learning the elements had priority if Aang was ever to be capable of making a difference, and waterbending was next in the cycle. Of course it did provide the problem that there was only one waterbender left at the South Pole, and Katara only knew little about it as well.
It was decided that Aang needed to go to the Northern Water Tribe in order to learn proper waterbending. This had priority for the moment. It of course created the question how Aang was supposed to reach the other side of the world. Despite them no longer thinking Zuko could be evil, they didn't completely trust him to house the Avatar on his ship the entire time. Letting Aang fly north on Appa on his own was also out, considering what had happened to him when he ran away from home.
After lots of discussion it was decided that Katara and Sokka would stay with Aang while he'd fly on Appa towards the North Pole. They literally were the only ones left in the tribe who could take this journey. Additionally, Katara had almost begged them that she should do it, wanting to learn proper waterbending. Kanna had given her a look of pity she had not understood. At the same time, Zuko would make his way north as well, checking the route ahead. He'd then wait for Aang to catch up and they'd go some of the way together before parting ways again.
"Come on, Katara! Even I think we won't be in danger. Don't you think you take this a bit too personal?" Sokka complained.
Katara knew exactly what Sokka was playing at. "Don't you dare to bring mother into it! You act like her sacrifice doesn't matter, trusting these, these..."
"Katara, your brother never said this. It is you who can't let go of her anger," Kanna said, having appeared behind Katara a little earlier.
Katara saw the disappointed look Kanna gave her. "Gran-Gran... I..." She swallowed hard.
Kanna shook her head. "I won't tell you what to do. Forgiveness can only come from one's own heart. No, I came to tell you something before you go. Should you indeed reach the North Pole, I fear my personal history will catch up with you. You know, originally I came from there."
Sokka whistled. "You were part of the Northern Water Tribe? That's on the other side of the world."
"Yes, a long way... Katara, have you ever wondered what my necklace is supposed to be?" Kanna asked Katara.
Katara touched the necklace she was wearing. She knew it had belonged to her grandmother and then her mother, before it was given to her."No, I always thought it was some kind of jewelry, but nothing else."
Kanna sighed. "There is a custom in the north. You see, it is a betrothal necklace. These are given to the woman when the man proposes to her." Kanna saw how shocked Katara looked. "Back when I was a young woman, I was very independent, yet I suffered under the role of women in the tribe. My mother explained that during her childhood, there had been a conservative backlash and the role of women in the tribe got marginalized. Woman were pushed into purely domestic roles, to be there for household and family and nothing else. More conservative men even expected women to be subservient to them. Waterbending was forbidden for women, except for healing."
"WHAT?" Katara exploded. This went against her very belief that women and men were equal. "What kind of caveman attitude is this? Our tribe would laugh away anyone even suggesting this!"
"I fear it has become firmly entrenched by now. Avatar Kuruk would turn in his grave at the mere idea... Well, there was one very skilled waterbender, who had an eye on me, but I didn't want to be with him because he was one of these conservatives. Then one day, he proposed to me, gave me this necklace and in flowery words expected me to marry him. Expected in that in his eyes my decision was irrelevant and the date already set. Imagine my surprise when I found my mother in tears, her telling me our fathers already arranged everything and deemed it not necessary to even tell me. I valued my freedom very much, so I packed up my things and left and never looked back."
"And we have to go to these people?" Sokka asked with an arched eyebrow, since Katara was too angry to put coherent words together. Sure, his personal opinion was that women were better suited for some domestic tasks, but never ever would he even think about what his grandmother had just told them.
"Don't get me wrong, they are not evil, just misguided. However, Katara, if you truly want to learn waterbending, you have to fight for it."
"You better believe I will do so!" Katra growled , feeling deeply hurt in her female pride.
"Man, the whole thing is so wrong," Sokka concluded.
While he was far from being progressive, the idea of women being reduced to that was alien to him. He had grown up with men and women sharing the same responsibilities and jobs. They hunted, went fishing, helped keeping the village in good repair and shared a lot of domestic stuff. Only being a warrior was reserved for men, thus why the men were the only ones leaving for the war. Of course that rule was because after conflict, it would be far harder to repopulate if a good number of women died as well, but Sokka didn't know that reason. Sokka simply felt, some things were better left to women.
Kanna sighed. "In a way I envy you... despite its flaws, it had been home. Part of me is still missing it. What would I give to see it one more time..."
Kanna looked every bit her age this moment.
On the ship meanwhile, others were watching Aang and the huge Appa from the command tower.
"He still is very immature. This journey will be a huge change for him and force him to grow up early. I had not expected the Avatar to be this young," Ursa said, while observing Aang grooming Appa, who had made himself comfortable on the spacious deck of the ship. It was uplifting to see him care for the big sky bison after all what he had went through the previous day.
"Yeah... that makes things quite difficult. I expected an old man with lots of experience, not this. I'm still surprised they trust us enough to entrust us with this," Zuko sighed, the previous day having been very draining for him.
"Yet they don't trust us enough to have him on our ship the entire journey. Smart people," Mai admitted. "I in their place would have been far more distrustful."
Zuko didn't say that Mai was mistrustful in general, since he didn't want to be on her bad side. Questioning her character was one of the things that really pissed her off. "We should be glad they did agree that we can help at all."
"It is not exactly close companions, but it will have to do for the moment. Trust after all is earned, not given," Ursa thought aloud, while watching Aang tickling one of Appa's big paws.
"Well, we will have him and these other two on board until the Southern Air Temple, where they will depart. We then take course for the coast of the Earth Kingdom up to the supply depot near the coal rigs. There we'll wait until they catch up. In case there is trouble ahead, we send them a hawk. Sounds simple enough," Zuko explained what they would do next.
"We already know all this, Zuko. You really think we have such a short attention span?" Mai mockingly asked him after hearing this pointless exposition.
"We do have to make a detour first," Iroh said, appearing from inside the tower. "I spoke with the stokers. They say our coal supply is rather low. To prevent trouble, we need to go to the nearest supply depot. Sadly, the nearest depot also is the home base of Captain Zaho."
"Oh, that's wonderful," Mai sighed with a look of pure contempt, while Zuko grounded his teeth together. Both teenagers had a deep dislike for the man. "Do we really have to endure this ego on two legs?"
"Sorry, no way around it unless you like being stuck in the middle of the ocean," Iroh apologised, himself not keen on meeting the man.
Ursa also looked like she had just seen a roadkill. "I've never met the man, yet what you have told me is already enough that I never want to." She looked down on the deck to see the two Water Tribe teenagers boarding the ship, meaning they would soon go. "Let's hope he's not present when we arrive."
...Fire Nation palace...
"...we have made significant progress in securing further lands east of our colonies. The crumbling of the Earth Kingdom is speeding up, its old structures simply collapsing in the areas we have conquered, most likely because the population has become disillusioned with their corrupt old rulers," the general explained in front of the war cabinet, pointing at various places on the map.
Ozai didn't show how much these war briefings sometimes bored him. He of course was always kept informed of his army's progress in paper reports and therefore often learned nothing new. However, he still needed to attend. Not only to follow protocol, but also because as often as he heard nothing new, equally as many times something that was left out of the reports reached his ears. Also, giving orders when his generals were gathered was far easier.
"The only important cities not yet in our hand are Omashu and the capital, Ba-Sing-Se. We can gain control of the less important cities once that is done. However, it is now only a matter of time. Even the mighty Ba-Sing-Se can not survive when surrounded by enemy lands," the general concluded.
"Oh, it will indeed only be a matter of time, maybe shorter than many predict," War Minister Qin added, "With the progress we are making, it is only a matter of time before these walls, behind which these earthbenders are cowardly hiding, become irrelevant."
This caused unrest in the cabinet, since many of the generals didn't know what kind of developments Qin's department was making, as he was working directly under the Fire Lord's orders. The things he'd presented to the troops over the years were huge improvements or changed the way how war was fought significantly. Therefore, such an announcement was to be taken seriously.
The discussion was interrupted, when a military courier entered, quickly saluting to the gathered generals, before approaching the wall of flames that separated the Fire Lord from his cabinet. "Your majesty! A top priority message from Crescent Island, for your eyes only!"
Ozai quickly got up. If the Fire Sages were bothering him like this, it had to be something serious. Walking through the flames, he quickly took the message scroll from the courier and read through it, his eyes first widening and then narrowing in anger, causing the scroll to burst into flames once he was done reading it. Everyone gathered looked concerned, since such an reaction meant trouble.
Ozai pulled a cord to call more couriers and addressed the room once they had arrived. "The Fire Sages bring very unfortunate news. They have witnessed proof that the Avatar has returned after a century." The room erupted into a discussion. "SILENCE! I do not have to spell out how this puts our nation at serious risk. The Avatar is a public enemy... THE public enemy. The army and navy are to be put into a raised state of alarm. All troops are to be notified. Capturing the Avatar has the highest priority, killing is entirely optional."
Ozai noticed some raised eyebrows. "Capturing the Avatar holds him out of our business. Killing him, he will be no threat for years, enough to finish our conquest and have him at our mercy."
Ozai retreated behind the flames, while the rest of the room erupted into a storm of activity.
He would have never imagined that the Avatar could ever return, thus this had caught him unprepared. However, he would not be idle and make sure the Avatar would not get the chance to ruin their plans this close to final victory. They would hunt him down like an animal. Despite the might of the army and navy however, even Ozai was not arrogant enough to take success against the Avatar as granted. He would only feel secure of his victory once the Avatar was taken care of.
Almost as an afterthought, he remembered that Zuko now would chase after the Avatar as well.
Let him. This failure won't manage to come even close to capturing the Avatar. He has proven his incompetence often enough, Ozai dismissed the idea, finding it absurd.
...a few days later, the Southern Air Temple...
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Katara asked carefully while they climbed down from Appa's saddle. The had departed Zuko's ship mere minutes ago, flying up to the Southern Air Temple.
Aang tried very hard to not show how the surroundings were disturbing him. The human remains littered throughout the plateau were something no child should see. "I need to do this... I won't believe he's really gone until I see it for myself. Gyatso has had a small meditation hovel some way off the temple. If he wanted to make a last stand, it would be there."
Aang carefully led Katara and Sokka towards a small hovel near the cliffs. Gathering his courage, he ripped open the heavy curtain to see what was inside. He nearly screamed. There were the remains of at least two dozen dead firebenders. Completing the picture was the final skeleton. The rotting remains of the monk robes and the unmistakable amulet made it clear to Aang that he had found out what had happened to monk Gyatso.
"Gyatso..." Aang was close to crying again, but kept it down, not wanting to again cry in front of others... and especially not Katara.
"Well, Gyatso sure has made good on his promise to not go down without a fight. He must have been awesome," Sokka observed when looking at how many firebenders had died at Gyatso's hands.
"Yes... that he was..." Aang was still slightly trembling, but remembered the words Gyatso had written for him. "Can you help me? I want to give Gyatso a proper burial. Maybe then he can rest better."
Some time later, a fresh grave on the cemetery of the temple was the final resting place of monk Gyatso.
Aang had then excused himself that he needed a moment for himself to think. Sitting at the balcony where Gyatso had baked his pies, indeed the old oven was still there, Aang thought about the hugeness of the task ahead of him. He would have to learn the three remaining elements and then topple the Fire Lord, before the world would go up into flames. Everyone would be intimidated by this huge task, a twelve-year old even more so. Sure, he already knew where to find a teacher for waterbending and his prospective firebending teachers were awesome, so much he knew after a little demonstration on the ship. Yet, he had no idea where to find an earthbender who could teach him. He also wondered how he was supposed to learn the other elements so fast. According to history, Avatar training would take almost a decade.
"What am I supposed to do? It's so much..." Aang sighed.
"Don't be disheartened, Aang."
"Gyatso?" Aang knew Gyatso was dead, yet he was standing there... Although something was wrong. Gyatso was partially translucent and glowing blue. It almost looked like... "You came back, for me?"
"Aang, you wouldn't believe how much of a ruckus your return has caused in the spirit world. I must go soon, but I do have enough time to send you on your long journey. I'm sure you have some questions. And by the way, thank you for this nice grave, I already feel my bones being more comfortable," Gyatso calmly told him.
Aang then remembered when he'd last seen his mentor. "I'm sorry! I should not have run away!"
"Don't worry, Aang. I'm not angry at you. It actually was even fortunate that you have run away. If not, you would have died with us, and the Avatar cycle would have come to its end by now. Do not blame yourself for things that are out of your control," Gyatso reminded him.
That Gyatso was not angry at him lifted quite a burden from Aang's shoulders. Gyatso then gave him a knowing look. "Now, you sure seem eager to ask questions."
"Gyatso, I'm expected to save the world... It's so much, so big," Aang sighed.
"Aang, you will soon learn that even the biggest tasks become doable, if you make one step after the other. While the Avatar should always help the people, you should worry about learning one element at a time. It is a pity you will only be able to learn the basics of each remaining element, but true mastery has to wait until the world is safe," Gyatso explained to Aang.
"You mean I really for now have to worry about learning waterbending?" Aang asked.
"Yes. While you surely will have to help those in need, your main goal for now is to reach the Northern Water Tribe. I wish I still could be with you on your journey. However, I have found someone who wants to come with you," Gyatso told Aang, pointing at something on Aang's shoulder.
Looking at his shoulder, Aang saw a flying lemur sitting there, giving him a questioning look. "Oh! I didn't know these little guys are still around. He's unusually calm." Aang remembered that lemurs weren't exactly the most patient animals, so this was surprising.
"Oh, he witnessed the signs of your return in the inner sanctum, and it somehow made him attached to you. It took a bit of patience, but it's my hope he will be a loyal companion." Gyatso then turned serious. "You also need to know that the signs of your return were also witnessed by the Fire Sages, who have surely reported it to the Fire Lord. They know you have returned."
Aang gulped, now knowing that an entire nation would be hunting him. "For me it was just days ago that I was a normal airbender novice..."
Gyatso gave him a fatherly smile. "Don't worry, Aang. I believe in that you can do it... Sadly I have to go now."
Aang saw Gyatso starting to fade. "Wait, can I ever talk to you again?"
"The further you master the way of the Avatar, the better the chances that we can meet again..." Then Gyatso was gone.
Aang knew he should be sad... yet, being forgiven by his mentor had brightened his mood considerably. Scratching the lemur on the head, he was thinking about what Gyatso had told him, while slowly walking back to Katara and Sokka, who were waiting by Appa's side for his return. Katara seemed impatient, while Sokka was more concerned with some peaches he had pilfered from Zuko's ship before their departure. Aang really wondered if Sokka was a glutton, or if he wanted to make up for how little food was available at the South Pole.
Katara seemed relieved that he didn't look depressed any longer, but then spotted the lemur on Aang's shoulder. "Aang, what is that?"
"Oh, a flying lemur. They've lived in the temple ever since I can remember. I really have to tell you what just happened..." Aang stopped when suddenly the lemur jumped off his shoulder, snatching away one of the peaches Sokka was about to eat.
"HEY! Give that back!" Sokka shouted, but it was too late, as the lemur jumped back onto Aang's shoulder, quickly devouring the peach.
"Oh, you sure love them," Aang laughed, feeling he had really needed that laugh. "Hey, I'll call you Momo, since that stands for 'peach'. What do you think?" The lemur didn't seem to object, so Momo the name was.
"Aang, are you sure you are all right?" Katara asked, trying to ignore Momo and his antics for the moment.
"I am! I have to tell you what just happened..."
o
The Fog of Lost Souls was, what people would consider the worst punishment in afterlife. The souls of people who had done unspeakable things in life were sent here, if they got captured by the spirits after dying. Of course, only very few were actually caught, but those unlucky ones would wander around in this fog, constantly confronted with their sins, until either they would come to truly regret their crimes and try to seek atonement, or completely lose their mind and become truly lost souls.
Sozin however had come here completely on his free will. No spirit had dragged him here. Instead, it were his own guilt and shame that had caused him to do so on his own. This place was the perfect punishment for him, being confronted with the results of his choices and the suffering he had caused with his unspeakable crimes. The perfect place for him to wait until Roku would come to judge him.
He knew he'd already waited a very long time, but would not leave until Roku would come.
He stopped when someone approached him from the fog, and went to his knees, bowing down when he saw that Roku had finally arrived to decide on his fate. Before looking to the ground, he'd seen Roku like he remembered him: a strong presence, looking determined. Staying silent, he felt a sort of relief that his judgement had finally arrived.
"Please get up. It is disheartening to see you kneeling before me," Roku told him after long silence.
This was not exactly the reaction Sozin had expected. "Why? I sincerely doubt you have simply forgiven me everything I have done."
"I didn't. Your deeds were very dark and will always remain. Yet, it is no longer my place to punish you, since you have punished yourself more than enough already," Roku explained, again waiting for Sozin to get up.
"I don't understand," Sozin wondered honestly while finally getting up to look Roku into the eyes.
"Sozin, 90 years inside the Fog of Lost Souls... Many others would have gone insane long ago. Yet, you accepted your punishment without complaint, even sought it out, and felt true remorse for what you have done. You punished yourself more severely than I could ever have done myself," Roku calmly explained.
"Yet, things between us will never be like they had been..." Sozin said, again feeling the loss, which had been entirely his own fault.
"You are right. However, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, now that you have shown true regret, to see if you can work on regaining my trust." Roku then offered his hand. "Come, everyone else is already waiting for us. Your wife is most eager to finally hold you again."
Sozin sighed when remembering her. "It must have been lonely for her... I guess my son is not present?"
"Of course not Even though you destroyed an entire nation, it still doesn't compare to the sheer amount of crimes Azulon committed over the course of over 80 years. The sprits were most eager to hunt him down and he's here somewhere, but doesn't regret a thing and his future does look bleak... Now come."
Sozin took Roku's hand, who started to lead him out of the fog.
"I must say I was sorely tempted to punish you right after your death. Me being unable to reach you helped you to punish yourself," Roku admitted.
"If the question is allowed, what kept you for this long?" Sozin wondered.
"My successor, whom you never found, was... unavailable for a long time. Things have changed now and I was free to seek you out," Roku explained.
Both men vanished into the fog, on their way to Sozin's final destination.
to be continued...
Next Episode: "The Fall of Kyoshi Island"
Notes:
As I said, the chapter graw a lot bigger than intended due to all of the exposition I had to get out of the way, despite me already trying to spare you stuff you already know. I find it interesting however, that them leaving the South Pole in a far more structured way allows them to learn much stuff they in canon only learned far later.
As you noticed, there was only little Zuko and Mai in this one, since I needed the lion's share to introduce Sokka, Katara and Aang. They will have some more to do in the next chapter, although you can guess someone else will also appear judging by the chapter title.
Concerning the scenes were the different nations realize the Avatar is back, I found that the scenes in the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe were severely lacking in canon. So I decided to make them more interesting by giving Yue and Suki cameos.
You can guess that by now canon is going serverely off the rails.