ABOUT 80 YEARS AGO

Avatar Aang had been walking for days. Alone, on foot, because in these times of war, it was too dangerous to ride a sky bison or fly on a glider, and it was definitely too dangerous for a group of airbenders to travel together for several days without an end goal in mind.

He could only hope that the remnants of his people were still safe, in the little hidey-hole of a town he'd left them in before setting off on his journey.

If he was lucky, this journey would be what saved them for good. But in the 20 years since the war began, he'd grown accustomed to misfortune.

Still, he continued doggedly on, because he would not, could not, give up on this last hope: saving his people from certain doom, in whatever way he could. His dreams had brought him here, and hopefully that meant something.

When he was beginning to give up hope, he came to the edge of the Earth Kingdom. He stood on the beach, alone, the grit of sand between his toes as waves lapped over them and the wind tugged at his tattered robes. Three elements as one.

It was a shame he couldn't manage the fourth.

As Aang stared out over the endless blue of the ocean, a shape appeared on the horizon. At first, he thought it might be a ship, but as it got closer, he realized it was much too large for that, and it was the wrong shape, too.

It was a lump, a mound that rose far out of the water. It looked like a small island, its top dotted with rich vegetation and trees. Except it was moving, coming closer to shore. Aang had seen a lot of things in his time, but he'd never seen an island that moved.

As it got closer, within swimming distance, something inside Aang whispered that he should go to it, and, in a daze, his body moved forward. He plunged into the cold water of the ocean. He was very near the southernmost tip of the Earth Kingdom continent, and the water here was not ideal for most humans to swim in, but Aang was an airbender above all else, and his bending helped keep him warm as he approached the island and the island approached him.

Before long, he found himself making his way through thick underbrush to the very top of this strange mound, where the trees and vegetation fell away, leaving a clearing whose ground was carved with a hexagonal pattern.

Aang stepped into it hesitantly, looking around. His earthbending training was sorely lacking despite his best efforts, but even he could tell there was something wrong about the ground here. It didn't feel like normal rock or earth beneath his bare feet. It was too smooth.

Experimentally, he tried one of the few earthbending moves he knew, attempting to lift a portion of the ground in front of him into a column. It didn't move. "It's not earth," he said to himself, puzzled.

Maybe he was in the spirit world, somehow? He'd had visions there before; he knew you couldn't bend there. To test that theory, he tried to conjure a ball of wind in his hand—and did so easily. Frowning, he let it puff away. So not the spirit world then. Still, this island did have a similar atmosphere to the spirit world. It was eerily calm. No wind blew through the trees, no insects or animals made sounds in the brush. Like it was somehow both intrinsically connected to and yet slightly offset from the world he was used to. What was this place?

Spinning around in a slow circle, he called out, "Hello? Is anyone there? I'm the Avatar, and I think I was brought here for a reason. I need your help. Hello?"

There wasn't a response, at least not one in words he could understand, but he thought he felt the ground rumble beneath his feet, and the leaves on the trees around the clearing began to rustle, all moving in the same direction as a sudden wind blew through. Aang figured the best thing to do would be to follow it, and so he did.

The direction of the wind led him down through the forest again, though not back the way he had come, until he reached the very edge of the island. There wasn't a beach, at least not on this side of the island. He was on what seemed to be a small cliff, and looking over the edge, he could see that the water was still a good dozen or so feet down from where he stood. The island seemed to reach its lowest point and then curve slightly upward at the end, like the rim of a plate… or a shell?

Could this whole island be a giant animal? It seemed impossible, but that was the only reason Aang could think of for why it was moving.

After chewing on his lip for a moment, Aang took a deep breath and dove into the water.

As before, it was brutally cold, and even Aang was struggling to keep his teeth from chattering as he bent a little air bubble around his head and used waterbending to help propel himself forward.

Down here below the waves, he could see that it was a creature. A massive foreleg rose from the depths and nearly collided with him. At its end was a giant paw adorned with claws that were easily twice, maybe even three times as big as Aang was. He followed the trajectory of the leg, figuring that the creature's face would be somewhere up there, and jetted himself in that direction.

Eventually, he found the face. Two gargantuan eyes opened, regarded him. Then he suddenly felt himself being pushed upward through the water, carried atop one of the creature's giant paws.

He broke the surface, standing on the animal's paw, and its head rose out of the water in front of him. Aang could not hope to understand what its emotions were. Looking at it, he felt overwhelmed, not only by the size, but by something much more profound. He had never seen a creature like this before in person, hadn't known there were any still in existence, but he could tell that this wasn't just a normal animal. This was a being as old as the world, as old as time itself, maybe even older. It was a lion turtle, something he'd heard of only in distant legends.

He bowed to it. "It is an honor to be in your presence, great lion turtle."

He wasn't surprised when the creature spoke, its impossibly deep voice resonating through his entire body, as if it was speaking directly into his mind. As if it wasn't the lion turtle talking, but the soul of the planet itself. "You come to me with yet another face, but it is no less familiar, Avatar."

"You know who I am?" Aang asked.

"Many times have we known each other, though fathomless time has passed since last we met. Why have you come?"

"I need help," Aang said, practically begged. "My culture is dying, my people are nearly dead, and I am too weak to save them. I need a way to keep them safe, and protected from those who would wipe them from the face of the planet. I don't know that I will live to see the end of this war, but if I can't, I want to die knowing that the balance of the four nations doesn't die with me."

"You have indeed suffered a great loss, and the world would suffer a greater one if what you suggest comes to pass." The lion turtle paused for a moment, as if considering. Its expression didn't change in any noticeable way, so Aang could do nothing but hope it was feeling favorable. Finally, it said, "Bring them here, to me, and I shall grant them the salvation you ask. It has been millennia since I have felt the touch of human feet on my back. It shall be nice to have some companionship again. So long as they remain, they will be hidden from all who seek them."

Aang felt his eyes welling up with tears that spilled forth as he thanked the lion turtle profusely.

His people would be safe. He didn't yet know if the legacy of Avatar Aang would add up to anything more than that, but at least he knew that much.

And that was more than enough for now.