Hey everybody, I've been working on this story for a while now and been publishing it on reddit. I've decided to start cross posting it here, to help reach a wider audience. I'll be posting the 6 chapters I've written so far over the next few days/weeks. I welcome any and all feedback.

Chapter 1 - One Day in Urumqi

Yuan woke at the crack of dawn, as he did most mornings thanks to his neighbors Roostercrow. And just as he did every morning he considered crushing it under a boulder, a favor to the whole village, until the feeling passed and he got out of bed. He dressed himself in a earthy green shirt, with a loose brown robe over it, and light brown pants. Grabbing an apple out of a bowl in his kitchen as he made his way outside to set about doing his morning chores. After finishing his modest breakfast he swept the outside of the small house he and his mother lived in. Upon completing this task, he made his way to the small shack in the back of their yard, grabbing some hay to feed to the two mooseyaks inside. With both the animals fed, he went back to the kitchen to prepare a more substantial meal for himself and his mother. Half way through the prep he noticed that both their jars of water were empty, and with a sigh grabbed them and made his way towards the well down the path outside his house.

The village of Urumqi was a small one, with a population, just under 1,000 people. It was located in the central part of the Former Earth Kingdom on a large and arid plateau. It actually wasn't too far from the canyon known as The Great Divide, a fact that no one ever seemed to want to bring up. Despite this, the location did make it a prime spot for traders and caravans to stop at while moving their wares. This also sadly made it of target for outside interests. Yuan lived on the outskirts of the village, with his mother, the two mooseyaks, and a few acres of grazing land.

Having made his way to the well, Yuan bent to his task. The pump grew rustier and rustier with each passing year, but with enough force, water could be drawn. After five minutes of strain and frustration, Yuan finally finished filling his jars with water. When he reached down to grab them, he accidentally hit one in just the right way to cause it to tip over. Yuan instinctually reached out his hand and froze the water in mid-air. Realizing instantly what he had done, he looked around to be sure no one had saw him. Once he was thoroughly convinced he was alone, he moved his hand back, and drew the water back into the jar. This time using earthbending, he picked both clay jars up and turned back on the path.

"I need to be more careful, I'm not always going to be alone," he thought to himself as he made his way back.

With water in hand, he finished the small breakfast of fried bread, rice, and tea. And right as he finished his mother, Jeu, entered the kitchen. The woman of 40, looked at the meal and then at her son, and smiled warmly. Despite him now standing a whole head higher than her, their features were still very much the same. He had inherited her light brown eyes and dark brown hair, which she kept in a ponytail while he kept his in a small bun on the back of his head. Where his hard jaw came from was a mystery to her, however, not even his father had anything like it.

"Thank you for making breakfast. Did you remember to feed the Nuktuk and Ginger?" she asked earnestly.

"Yes, just like every morning. But if you keep asking every morning, I might just stop." He replied with grief.

Jeu quickly shot back, "If I even begin to see them lose weight and I'll make sure you're the one living in the shack, and their the ones in the house."

"Stop your motherly affection is smothering me," Yuan said with his most over exaggerated eye roll.

"I'd be afraid of using the word 'smother' if I were you. Anyways lets eat before the food gets colder than my apparently icy dead heart." And so they did, both digging into their breakfast with great gusto. They made short work of the meal, eating in relative silence. After the food was gone and they were sipping on their tea Jeu asked, "What is your plan for the day? More village guard business?"

"I'm meeting with Phen and Teng down at The Snoring Badgermole. We're going to talk there, probably something about getting the United Republic Peacekeepers to leave as soon as possible. After that we'll be attending the service down at the spirit shrine, it's supposed to be a big ceremony or something today. I should be home in time for dinner," he explained.

"That sounds good, but I don't like the idea of Phen talking about United Republic forces in a bar. That''s just begging for things to get out of hand."

"Don't worry, me and Teng will be sure to keep him in check. Besides, it's just talk so there should be minimal violence." he reassured.

"If you say so. I hope you have a good day." She said. They both got up from the table, and Yuan went to her side. There he kneeled down so she could kiss the top of his head.

"Hope you have a good day too. I'll be back for dinner." Yuan got up and went for the door, waving goodbye one last time before leaving.

The walk down to the bar was peaceful at least. Upon entering the bar, Yuan had a bottle careen towards his head and narrowly miss, smashing instead on the wall next to him. The source of the bottle was either the violent,inebriated, and ironically titled Peacekeeper Bartok, or perhaps even more predictably, Yuan's good friend and coworker Phen. These two were in an all to frequent argument, with Bartok drinking and starting a commotion, and Phen trying to use it as an excuse to kick all United Republic Forces out of the village. Standing behind both were there equally exasperated bosses, Teng the head of the village guard, and Commander Ryu, the mustachioed leader of all Peacekeepers in the area. The two made small attempts to restrain their underlings, but it was clear neither was truly going to intervene until it came to blows. The owner of the establishment seemed to have vacated the premises, wanting no part in the following hysterics. Seeing all this Yuan took up a position behind Teng and decided to watch this round of arguing unfold.

"You are always coming into the village, drinking all the cactus juice you can get your hands on, and then starting fights and destroying local property! If you want to help keep the peace, then leaving would be a good start," Phen angrily lambasted.

"You would love if we left wouldn't you! Then you could harbor all of your terrorist friends, and let your village sink back into the mud where it belongs," shot back Bartok.

"Because the United Republic has always done such a great job of stopping terrorists and bringing stability! Just like they did at Omashu."

This was enough to set Bartok off. He clenched both his fists, and Yuan could see as tiny ridges rose out of the water in the sink behind the bar. He wasn't the only one to see this, as Ryu immediately placed a firm hand on his subordinates shoulder.

The commander stated in a firm voice, "Let's leave well enough alone, Bartok. Captain Teng, we apologize profusely for this interruption, and look forward to seeing you at the ceremony later today."

Teng nodded coldly and professionally at the two foreign soldiers. With that the Peacekeepers made their exit, while the village guards made their way into a back room. There was a table at the center of this small and private room, with three chairs positioned for the guards. On the table was three neatly arranged wanted posters. Each said dead or alive, and promised a healthy reward, two for 10,000 yuons, and one for 25,000. The two lower bounties were for the local terrorists Li Chen and Phu, members of the Rising Earth movement, whom Yuan had fortunately only had to meet once. The final one was for a more notorious figure, an international terrorist whom had been given the title The Iron Scorpion. Yuan didn't know anyone who had ever come into contact with him. They all took their seats around the table.

Teng was an older man in his mid-50's balding on top and with a good sized grey beard. Phen was younger then Teng, but still much older than Yuan, at 28 years old. He had a narrow face with short black hair and small fu-man chu moustache. These three were the only earthbenders within the village and, since Yuan had turned 14 and old enough to join, they were the sole members of the Urumqi Village Guard. Teng looked at both of them, before sighing and announcing, "These are the people I've been talking about for the past few days. They will … sigh ... be staying in the village for the next few weeks, before moving to their next destination."

Both Phen and Yuan sat up at this. "Are you serious? I mean, I'm no fan of Li Chen or Phu, but at least we know them. The Iron Scorpion … have any of us even met him? Isn't every nation in the world trying to find him? Why on earth are we letting him even close to Urumqi!?" Phen was frantically asking questions, while Yuan just sat there in disbelief.

Teng began to make reassuring gestures with his hands. "We already have volunteers to house our 'guests' for their stay and I've received confirmation from his current host that the Iron Scorpion is not currently being followed, or at least no one knows where to look. What these men do is despicable, but it's a necessary evil if we ever want to be free from the the United Republic and it's allies, and we are compelled to assist them"

This time it was Yuan that spoke up, "But hiding them is the exact kind of action that keeps the Peacekeepers here!. If they catch us harboring these … 'guests' then The United Republic will just increase their presence, and we'll be taken prisoners! I understand why these men do what they do, but they've never asked for something this dangerous. Can't we refuse them, just this once?"

"No. Neutrality makes us the enemy of both sides, and refusing them will only infuriate The Rising Earth, and make us a possible target for future attacks. I don't like it, but it's already been arranged and it is happening." replied his captain.

"So they're threatening us and making us comply, so that we'll get weeks of Li Chen talking about how 'great' and 'righteous' they are? Really capturing the hearts of the people guys, bravo." Phen said while making a sarcastic applause.

"It's just the way things are. They'll be arriving after the service this afternoon, using the crowd exiting the shrine as cover. From there we'll take them to a small room in the back, and wait for night to escort them to the home they will be staying at. Yuan will serve as a lookout while we do this, while me and you, Phen, will be on the ground with them. If either of you have any problems with this plan, please speak up." Teng looked at both of them waiting for a response. Phen angrily grinded his teeth and glowered at the posters, while Yuan sat stone faced reviewing the information. After a moment had passed and no objections were raised, Teng concluded their meeting saying, "Ok then. Do your rounds and make sure all is well in the village. Meet me before the beginning of the ceremony at the shrine, so we can make sure everything is in order." And with this final command, the Urumqi Village Guard went their ways to ensure that justice was being served in their village.

"All is well in the village I trust," said Teng as he saw Yuan approach him in the back of the Spiritual Shrine. It was the largest building in Urumqi by far, with a large glass dome for a roof and stain glass windows lining it's side. It was arranged in a circle with benches surrounding a raised altar at the center. Teng and Yuan were situated at the back end, nearest the entrance, while various citizens began to fill in for the service.

"Shin thought people were stealing his hen's, but it turned out he just can't count. It really helps me sleep at night knowing I'm making such a difference in people's lives," said an exhausted Yuan.

"Phen's rubbing off on you too much. Cynicism might not be lethal, but it will kill you on the inside."

Yuan shrugged at this suggestion."Where is the little ball of fury anyways?" he inquired.

"He hates ceremonies like this. Really anything related to spirits and the shrine, so I sent him to meet with our friends."

Yuan nodded at this. "I can't really blame him for that, it's boring. Two hours of droning about the purity of the spirit world and the sinfulness of the human world, with a dig at Avatar Korra every few minutes."

"It's not that bad. This shrine helps bring our community together and if it only costs two hours a week, then it's more than fair. Besides if anyone deserves hatred it is the former Avatar. She's the one that lead the charge when The United Republic sent its forces into Former Earth Kingdom, and helped install this era of imperialism. The world is better off without an Avatar, especially one like her. It wasn't enough that she stomped and disregarded our sovereignty, but her and that Sato woman also had to be deviants. Completely disgusting." Teng went on and on with this familiar tangent, about the evil of the Avatar and the wickedness of homosexuality. For his part, Yuan stood silently during his bosses tirade, careful not to let his face betray any actual emotion. Despite his feigned calm, he was racing between emotions of fear, anger, and self-loathing on the inside. Yuan soon noticed, much to his dread, that the candles in the shrine were beginning to flicker wildly, but luckily no one else seemed to notice this. It was a relief when Commander Ryu arrived with two subordinates, neither of whom was Bartok, in tow.

"It's good to see you Captain Teng," said the commander as he bowed slightly. "I must apologize for allowing things to get out of hand this morning."

"No, no, I didn't stop them either. I'm just glad nothing violent transpired," Teng replied courteously.

"As am I. We've received notification at our base camp that there has been an increase in insurgency in the surrounding areas. As such, we're keeping an alert status in our camps until we are given further notice. We just want to keep you informed in case something does occur."

"Thank you for the warning. We'll be sure to keep an eye out and inform you if anything suspicious is occurring." With that, both leaders bowed to each other, and the peacekeepers took their positions at the opposite side of the shrine. In a few more minutes the entire shrine had filled up, and the ceremony was ready to commence.

Out from a back room emerged an elderly man, wearing ornate green robes, carrying a bowl filled with brightly colored chalk. He made his way to the center of the shrine, and carefully placed the bowl on a table, next to a large and ancient looking book. From atop the altar, the man began to make a speech. The service advanced much the way Yuan had described, with sweeping language used to describe the majesty of spirits, and to condemn the wickedness of Avatar Korra. It wasn't until the end, where they began to deviate from routine, as the old man launched into a speech about accepting spirits into one's heart, and growing to be a member of the congregation. From here he signaled a young boy, about 10 years old, in the audience to come and join him on the altar. The boy was dressed in ceremonial robes similar to the preacher. When he reached the top he turned his back to the old man and knelt. The preacher took the bowl of chalk and began showering the boy in the bright dust. After this went on for half a minute, and the boy was began to cough uncontrollably, the old man helped him to his feet.

After the coughing fit died down the boy and preacher both looked to the glass ceiling and a light began to shine down on them. The light soon filled the entire shrine, bathing the parishioners, making them all squint to see what was happening. Soon the light began to fade and the spirit became visible. It was a large bright yellow bird-like being. There were large claws at the end of it's wings, and atop it's head were two enormous moose antlers. The spirit descended before the boy and waited for a moment slowly flapping it's wings in front of him. The preacher asked the child if he was ready and received a small, almost terrified nod in response. With that the spirit lunged forward and entered the boy's body. The child took a step back to regain his balance, and slowly opened his eyes revealing them to be glowing. From here the preacher gave a series of questions to the co-inhabited body, all of which were answered in the affirmative. From here one final blessing was given and the spirit arose from out the body, and then through the glass dome at the top of the shrine. The boy returned to his parents and the preacher made some final remarks before dismissing the congregation.

"This is our cue," said Teng, as he tapped Yuan's shoulder and signaled him to exit in the midst of the crowd. Soon a large mob of townsfolk formed outside of the shrine discussing both the days ceremony, and the random happenings of the week. Teng and Yuan both were searching frantically until they saw Phen with two hooded figures behind him. Yuan circled back to the entrance, and made sure that all Peacekeepers had exited the building. Seeing the coast was clear, he signaled to Teng and Phen. All five men met at the the entrance and quickly moved into a cramped back room at the opposite end of the shrine. Once inside their guests removed their hoods revealing the two Rising Earth members Li Chen and Phu.

"Where's the Scorpion?" asked Teng angrily.

"Change of plans." Li Chen responded, "He'll be joining us in a few days, but thats not even the big news. The big news is that Haiyan is looking to increase presence in the area, this village specifically." The mention of The Rising Earths leader and his new plan was enough to give a brief pause to the Village Guard, until Phen shattered the shocked silence.

"What!? Who gave that monster permission to use our village as his stomping ground? What gives him the right to come in and bring the fear and violence that always follow him, down upon us? If he comes anywhere near Urumqi, I'll crush him into a paste!"

Both their guests were clearly offended by Phen's threats against their leader. "Watch what you say! You should feel lucky to be part of this revolution. Haiyan is giving you all a chance to liberate your country, your land, your home from this foreign power, and you have the indecency to threaten him." Li Chen angrily shot back.

"Can it! Phen is right, we gave no permission to Haiyan or The Rising Earth to use our village to fight their war. We'll house you two, but when you leave you will inform your superiors that Urumqi is off limits to any Rising Earth activity!" Teng barked orders with a great sense of authority ringing in his voice.

"I hadn't realized you were all so ready to lick United Republic boots. Were your ancestors this kind and welcoming to the Fire Nation when they invaded, or is your hospitality a recent tradition?" berated Li Chen. "Like it or not our struggle is your struggle, and you will give aid, whether you're willing or not."

"And when United Republic Forces descend on us, and wipe out not only you, but our village as well, what then?" asked Teng.

"Now that is an interesting question."

All heads turned to see Commander Ryu standing in the doorway, backed by four additional soldiers. Most everyone stood in disbelief, except for Phu, who immediately kicked up a stone from the floor and sent it hurtling towards the commanders head. The commander deftly dodged the rock and countered with a fireball, which landed square in Phu's chest knocking him to the other side of the room.. Before anymore blows could be exchanged, Teng placed his hand on the back wall, and blew it apart, creating an exit for the five earthbenders to escape through.

"How in did they find us!? There was no one looking when we came in." Phen shouted angrily, as they fled.

"They must have seen us in the crowd, and wanted to ambush us in the shrine!" was the only explanation Yuan could think of. The group fled to the outer edge of the village, dodging all manner of fireballs, air blasts, and errant stones being flung their way,, before they turned to face their pursuers. The commander stood with two soldiers on either side of him.

"Surrender and turn yourselves in, or we will treat you all as enemy combatants." shouted Ryu with a commanding aura.

"You know we can't do that," huffed Teng.

"Very well." Ryu sent a huge burst of flames at the ragtag group of benders. Phen and Yuan moved in unison and created a massive earth wall between them and the flames. After the burst died out, Pu and Li Chen launched themselves atop the wall. Once there, they both bent low, with arms swinging to one side, where they slowly rose with a behemoth sized boulder behind them. Clearly using all their strength, the two swung forward and launched the boulder into the crowd of Peacekeepers. The United Republic Forces scattered to various sides, with none hit. Bartok, who had apparently joined the soldiers after the ceremony , drew water out of a gourd hanging off his belt. He swung it back in one large stream, before whipping it forward into Li Chen's abdomen, knocking him into Phu. They both fell off the wall, right below an airbending Peacekeeper who had just launched himself into the air. While both insurgents were still in the air, the airbender sent a blisteringly fast spike of air into them, piledriving them into the ground, and knocking them out. Right as they landed, an earthbending soldier punched straight thru Phen and Yuan's wall causing it to crumble, leaving nothing between the three Village Guards, and the five soldiers.

Teng and Phen immediately sprung to action, sending a flurry of stones at their enemies. The Peacekeepers responded with their own overwhelming volley of the elements. Teng and Phen dodged and returned fire as best they could, while Yuan mostly dodged, and defended himself with rock walls. The battle lasted two minutes with the United Republic forces completely overwhelming the Village Guard, knocking Phen and Teng to the ground, leaving only an exhausted Yuan left standing. "Please … huff … stop. We can just … pant … walk away from this. We'll let you take those two, but please just leave us," he pleaded.

"You know we can't just let that happen," coldly stated Bartok, as he hit Yuan to his back with a chunk of ice. Phen reacted to this by sitting up slightly and sending a large spike of earth at Bartok's head, who only narrowly dodged it. "Oh you'll pay for that." Bartok brought down his water whip straight onto Phen's chest, knocking the air out of him. He then began to walk forward and slowly froze his water into a large spike, which he placed right above Phen's neck. Bartok placed his boot on Phen's chest, as if to gloat over his opponent before finishing him.

"Wait, Bartok, stop!" shouted Ryu, but his orders fell on deaf ears. With a sadistic grin, the water bender slowly raised his fist, and the ice spear. Right as he was about to bring it down, Yuan opened his eyes.

"NO!"

Before he could even turn to see, Bartok was blindsided by a fireball to the side of his head, knocking him to to the side several meters. All in shock, the remaining Peacekeepers turned to see Yuan standing up, eyes glowing. Yuan let loose a powerful air punch, which curved and sent the recovering Bartok flying into his comrades. With all his enemies on one side, Yuan let loose a huge breath of fire out of his mouth, leaving a wall of flames separating him from them. Soon a cyclon picked up around his legs and he slowly ascended into the air, with rings of earth, water, and fire spinning around him.

"Leave now, and you leave with your lives!" he bellowed at them.

They needed no convincing, as Ryu immediately ordered a retreat back to their base camp. As they retreated back, Yuan noticed for the first time, that almost the entire village had gathered at a distance to see the fight. This immediately snapped him back to reality, as he exited the avatar state and fell back to earth. He looked up and saw both Phen and Teng staring in disbelief. All three men laid there for a moment, all unsure quite how to react.

"Yuan…" Teng started, but before he could finish his thought, Yuan turned and began to run as fast as he could back home, hot tears streaming down his face.

He came back to any empty house, where he made a beeline for his room. He grabbed two large bags from out of the corner, and began stuffing them with a spare set of clothes. He also grabbed some apples from the kitchen and all his spare money from a box he kept in a closet. It was in this frenzy that he failed to notice his mother enter their home. She silently slipt into the room behind him. "I saw everything," she said, startling her still crying son who turned to see her. "I went down to the shrine to grab you for dinner, and, and…"

"Mom, you know I couldn't tell anyone. I didn't even want to believe it was happening to me," he desperately pleaded with her. She stepped forward a placed him in a large reassuring hug.

"I understand Yuan. I also understand why you're packing," she said, her voice slowly growing more and more choked up. "You can take the neighbors ostrichhorse. I'll give them Nuktuk or Ginger as payment later. We need to get you out of here." He looked at her in shock, but all she did was turn and move to the kitchen, where she grabbed a map of the area from inside a drawer. She also wrapped the dinner he would have ate in a cloth and handed it to him. They both silently moved to the neighbors farm, where they found the ostrichhorse inside the farmhouse. Yuan saddled it in silence while his mother looked on. Once he had completed this task, and tied his sacks around the steed, he turned to see his mother had begun crying, just as he had. He walked over and bent low, where she kissed the top of his head, as she had just this morning.

"I love you mom. I'll think of something, and when I do, I'll comeback for you," he said in between sobs.

"I know you will. I love you too," she said trying to put on her best smile. He turned and mounted the ostrichhorse and walked towards the entrance of the barn with his mother. They both gave one final look and wave, before Yuan kicked the sides of his steed, and sped off into the horizon. Jeu stood there at the door, until her son had fully faded from view, when she finally broke down and began to sob uncontrollably.

Coming Soon: Chapter 2 - The City