12th Year of Ri Wu

A boy on the cusp of adolescence suffered a tumult of emotions. Fear, despair, desperation, the crushing weight of expectations. He was Avatar Aang, and he wished that he wasn't more than he wished for anything else. The responsibility, the burden, it was too much for a boy his age to handle, and yet it had been settled on his shoulders. The monks of the air temples decided the fate of the world was too important to spare him from that responsibility for another four years. Fire Nation aggression struck unease into the hearts of the monks. What did they want him to do? Did they expect him to fight? He was a monk, a pacifist. Talk to the Fire Nation and pursue peace? He didn't even know where to start!

He wasn't ready.

And then, because he had someone he could lean on, someone who supported him and tried to help him shoulder his burden, the other monks decided that was bad. He needed help! They thought just by telling him he was the Avatar he would suddenly be ready for it?! Gyatso was the only one who understood how much he was struggling and they wanted to separate them! Move Aang to another temple, isolate him from anyone who cared about him as more than the Avatar.

He didn't know why he ran. Why he hopped on his sky bison Appa and flew off into who knows where. He was doing what they wanted. They wanted him away from Gyatso, away from the one person who treated him kindly. And now that's exactly where he was. All alone. The impulse had been strong, but now he was trapped in an aimless flight. He hadn't achieved anything by running away, but he was too ashamed to go back.

And then the storm came. He was the Avatar, he was an Airbending Master even at his young age, but the forces of nature were too much for even him to handle entirely alone. Appa did his best, fighting against the rough air currents that threatened to throw them both around like ragdolls, but it was too much!

"Aaaaang!"

The boy heard the voice, cutting through his fear and panic in an instant. "Gyatso!" he exclaimed, his own voice largely lost in the roaring winds. He could barely keep his eyes open enough to see, but he saw the old monk soaring toward him on another bison. Or at least doing his best to do so as he also was carried by the rapidly changing currents. Yet while the sky bison struggled, the old monk seemed entirely at peace, guiding the air around him even as he also gently redirected the winds to push him closer to the boy.

"Aang!" he called out again once closer. "I know you're scared, but remember, as the world moves, you must move with it. If the winds roar, you achieve nothing by roaring back. Let their force be your force. Their movements, your movements."

Still fearful, Aang felt reassured by the kindly words delivered with a smile. The two airbenders and bison rode the winds of the storm, riding it out for hours until they were able to reach some weaker air currents and redirect them to allow for an escape.

Ashamed or not, Gyatso convinced the boy to return to the Southern Air Temple with him. There he received a verbal thrashing from the elders as they claimed his actions were unworthy of an Avatar, only for Gyatso to quietly suggest a meeting of the elders. The boy was not privy to what occurred in the meeting. He was not there to witness the monk raising awareness of what his peers nearly accomplished. How they had chased him away, how they had nearly lost him to a storm were it not for Gyatso's interference, how they had forgotten they were not dealing with a fully realised Avatar but a twelve year old boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The old monk did not win all of his peers over with his patient remonstrations, but it was enough that the majority relented.

Aang was permitted to stay at the Southern Air Temple.

Later that year, Gyatso would consider cursing his own empathy. He fought valiantly against the soldiers and firebenders of the Fire Nation empowered by the comet looming above. He fought to protect Aang, to give the boy a chance to escape. It was their bond that guaranteed his failure. Aang's hesitation to leave his teacher behind. And in that hesitation, by the time the boy fled it was too late.

In the twelfth year of the Ri Wu Era, the young Avatar Aang fell alongside all inhabitants of the Southern Air Temple. The Northern, Western and Eastern Air Temples likewise slaughtered. The Air Nomads as a people and as a culture were removed from the world.

And so ended the Ri Wu Era.

-(-)-

35th Year of Chong Shun Era

Uki often struggled with her duties as the Avatar. Having been born to the Northern Water Tribe, there was debate regarding how she should be trained. It was tradition in the north that women were not to be trained for combat. Only support and healing elements of waterbending were considered appropriate for a woman. A difficult stricture to advocate for during times of war. Even more difficult when one of those women who would not be trained in the entirety of the waterbending arts was also the Avatar. Exceptions had been made for exactly this circumstance far in the past when there was last an Avatar born as a Northern Water Tribe woman. But arguments were maintained for several years that it was improper until evidence of that exception was found.

Understandably protective of the Avatar, and hoping to keep her status a secret for as long as possible, she was restricted to her home for her first twenty-three years of life. And was only given the full teachings of waterbending by her twentieth.

When it was first discovered she was the Avatar, the tribe's chief was quietly joyous. He had told her she was a blessing on the world. Someone who could finally bring peace to the world. Finally put an end to the war, the bloodshed, caused by the Fire Nation. But only when she was ready, he had said. And internal politics had gotten in the way of getting her ready while each year, more and more the Fire Nation gained control of the oceans between it and the Earth Kingdom. More and more the Water Tribe were pushed into neutrality for the sake of survival.

More and more, loved ones did not return home.

As time passed, as the Fire Nation's victories were written in the blood of the Water Tribe, the calls for her to stay passive were diminishing. The chief no longer taught her in the ways of diplomacy, of making peace. Instead, he began to teach her the ways of war. Of strategy, of tactics, of combat. She was taught the most deadly techniques known to the waterbending masters no matter their misgivings. Beholden to tradition as they might have been, they had lost loved ones to the Fire Nation as well.

Gone were the calls for her to bring peace. To bring balance. Instead, her people called for her to deliver them revenge.

At twenty-three years old, she was sent to the Earth Kingdoms. There to find an Earthbending Master to learn under. She found one. Trained under and then alongside the man who would one day be King of Omashu. Bumi was a good man. He too spoke of bringing peace to the world. He hadn't given up hope that balance could be restored, even if his people were far less forgiving. There was no feeling of desperation in the Earth Kingdom. They fought, and seemed to be prepared to fight for however long it took. The nature of Earth, to endure. Solid and unyielding.

Once her earthbending training was complete... What then? What would she do? The next element she was expected to learn was fire. A difficult proposition at best. What firebending teacher could be trusted? None, was the conclusion of those who sought to guide her path. And so, she was given to the role that everyone expected her to fulfil by now. To war.

It had been six years of battles. And she found she had no taste for warfare. She was quite good at it, despite her dislike. Each battle she fought, it ended with a significant victory for the Earth Kingdom. But every battle left her with a bitter taste. She had been raised on the idea of bringing balance to the world. Of being a symbol of peace, of finding common ground. But her victories in war were significant enough that the Fire Nation took notice. She had become known. The secret so well kept was out. The Avatar following the last of the airbenders was fighting against the Fire Nation. She would force the Fire Nation to surrender. She would bring peace. She would bring justice. She would bring vengeance.

And the Fire Nation believed it.

Her hopes of finding peace were dashed. She had allowed herself to flow like water, submitted herself to the push and pull of the waves and had not noticed when she was swept away by the tides of war. Adrift on an ocean of blood.

The great Fire Nation ships of dark steel and belching smoke loomed large. An armada organised to ambush and kill or capture the Avatar. Greatly outnumbered, the Earth Kingdom forces would fall swiftly. She knew enough of war to know this situation was hopeless. She was afraid to die, but a part of her welcomed it. An Avatar who failed to fulfil her duties utterly and completely. An Avatar who dreamed of peace, but only found war. Perhaps the next would achieve what she couldn't.

Even if she knew it would end this day, she wouldn't accept that end readily. After all, she had been trained for war. For battle. And so it was a battle she would give them.

In the thirty-fifth year of Chong Shun, Avatar Uki was ambushed by a Fire Nation armada commanded by Commodore Cho. Six of eight ships were lost. Avatar Uki was slain. The mission was considered a resounding success.

And so ended the Chong Shun Era.

-(-)-

45th Year of Bao Bi Era

His name was Fen. He was a good man. He was a proud servant of the Earth Kingdom. He had grown up in Ba Sing Se. When they found he was the new Avatar, it was considered best to keep it quiet. He had been given the best earthbending teacher in the city. He was a very good man. He was a commander of the Dai Li. His teacher was a proud servant of the Earth Kingdom. The Dai Li were proud servants of the Earth Kingdom. They also taught Fen special meditation techniques. They were very useful for clearing his mind. They helped him ensure he stayed a proud servant of the Earth Kingdom.

As a proud servant of the Earth Kingdom, he decided to enlist with the Dai Li. They were also proud servants of the Earth Kingdom. That was best as he was like them. Therefore he should be part of them. That was for the best for everyone. Being the Avatar was not as important. It helped him be a better servant of the Earth Kingdom. That was the only thing that mattered. He was given tutors in waterbending.

His earthbending teacher became commander of the Dai Li. Fen considered this a very good thing. Fen was proud to serve a proud servant of the Earth Kingdom. The commander gave Fen a mission. The commander instructed him to travel west. He was to kill those wearing Fire Nation armour. He was proud to follow this order. It was in service to the Earth Kingdom. He would go on many missions like this. He became very good at them. He was happy to see them die. They were enemies of the Earth Kingdom. They were threats to Ba Sing Se. They needed to be eliminated. Fen was proud to serve this role. he was a proud servant of the Earth Kingdom.

Fen was sent on one such mission. He completed it as ordered. He returned to the rendezvous point. Fen's fellow Dai Li agents were not there. They seemed to be running late. Were they delayed in completing orders? The Dai Li were very efficient. A delay would be strange.

Strangers attacked him. They wore flexible clothing. They moved with grace. They showed no bending ability. They danced around him. They struck him with pointed fingers. He could not perform bending. They had a strange ability. Fen's arms fell limp. His legs couldn't support him. The hat fell from his head. He couldn't lose that. It showed he was a proud servant of the Earth Kingdom.

But he couldn't move.

"Is this the one?" one of his attackers asked.

"Not like we'd know. The whole point is no one knows who they are."

"He's the one." Fen remembered this man. He was dressed in simple clothes. He watched Fen kill the Fire Nation. "Waterbending and earthbending. He has to be the one."

"Thank you for your service, you'll receive payment shortly." The woman leaned down, smiling as she looked Fen in the eye. "Hello Avatar. And goodbye. Maybe I'll see you again in your next life, when you're a proud servant of the Fire Nation."

That didn't make sense. Fen was a proud servant of the Earth Kingd–

In the forty-fifth year of Bao Bi, the Fire Nation received intelligence that an agent of the Dai Li was in fact the newest Avatar. Provocative attacks were staged to cause chaos and draw the Avatar out. Assassins eliminated the rest of the squad before attacking the Avatar himself, incapacitating him before delivering a killing blow.

This Avatar's name was never discovered and is now lost to history.

And so ended the Bao Bi Era.

-(-)-

"We are running out of time."

"Oh yes, and who's fault is that? 'The Avatar must be protected. Let us ensure he is in the most secure city in the world'."

"Do not provoke one another. The events that came to pass were impossible to predict. The capricious nature of man is beyond our understanding."

"Beyond yours, perhaps. I propose we allow events to run their course. What need have we for a bridge between the spirit realm and the mortal realm?"

"Of course you believe that. You may only say such things for us lacking such a bridge for so long. Three Avatars that failed to fulfil their duty to the spirit world. And now we are on the brink of losing them forever. If the fire-natured Avatar falls, there is no potential for an airbender to follow. The Avatar will cease to exist. The cycle must not be broken."

"Why?"

"Precious few would benefit from the chaos that would ensue. And those who would suffer would ensure those few will not be permitted to enjoy it."

"That sounded like a threat."

"Because it was one."

"Enough! The cycle must not be broken. The airbenders must be restored. That is the most important matter."

"What do you propose?"

"... The Avatar must be one who restores the airbenders. They alone will have the potential to do so, and this life will be the last opportunity to do so."

"You propose the next and potentially final Avatar also abandon their duties as the bridge between realms? That they continue to not interfere? ... I have no objections to this proposal."

"Naturally."

"A firebender though. Do we allow the balance to be upended even further? Is there a way to prevent it? Even if our goal is to see the revival of airbenders more than to achieve balance–"

"There is... A way. There are firebenders who do not care for the land of fire or its supremacy. A simple choice. Those who do not concern themselves with balance. We may trust their natures to produce the outcome we desire."

"That did not prove wise last time."

"Are there better choices?"

"..."

"I thought not."

-(-)-

20th Year of Ju Re Era

Fusa stared out over the rail of the ship. His dark hair hanging loose over his shoulders left to flutter in the sea breeze. It was a pleasant feeling. A familiar feeling. He never felt more at home than on the open ocean. That was probably strange for a firebender. He remembered talking to one of the crew about it when he was young, just how incomprehensible the man had found that opinion. Firebenders weren't naturally comfortable on the water most of the time. It was their direct opposite. Tolerating the swaying and bobbing of a ship on the water was a learned skill.

That was the first of many oddities he exhibited. It wouldn't be the last. And as Fusa learned exactly why he was so odd to most, he learned to keep those oddities secret. He trusted the crew, even when he was so young, but he understood who he was dealing with even from that young age.

After all, pirates were a greedy, self-serving lot. And having the Avatar among them would be a payday impossible to ignore.

Hearing a growling groan, Fusa smiled as he looked down to the waters beside the ship to see a rotund, striped creature looking up at him with its feline face. Almost seeming to smile at him. "Hey, Bisho. You doing okay down there, buddy?" The tiger seal gave another low groan, his hefty body appearing to attempt a jump even as he swam alongside the ship. "You wanna ride?" Fusa looked around, seeing no one was looking his way. And Taira was on watch so he was probably passed out drunk.

"Okay, real quick." With one last surreptitious look, Fusa swayed his arms, his legs joining the flowing movement before he dipped and then rose again. Bisho groaned happily as he found himself rising on a water spout. "Ready... Go!" The tiger seal leapt off the top of the spout, howling as the water collapsed down over him to rush him forward like a tidal wave. Easily outpacing the ship for a time.

Fusa had a talent for firebending. More than a talent. People called him a genius. They might not have been so quick to give him that label if they knew what he really was, but it was true he had an incredible aptitude for his natural element. However, he knew that even for an Avatar, a firebender taking so easily to waterbending was strange. The young man had to put it down to how and where he was raised. He had been born on a ship. He had spent more of his life on the water than he had on land. He didn't know if he could stand to live his life ashore if he cared to try, which he very much didn't.

Not just the literal, but the metaphorical and spiritual. He couldn't imagine living a life of rigid diligence like the Earth Kingdom, of aloof contemplation like the Air Nomads of old, or passionate pursuits like the Fire Nation. Even the Water Tribes' way of life didn't appeal. More like the Ice Tribes if you asked him. Living in harsh climates like that, why even stay there? What was water about staying locked in one place. Water was the border of the whole world. Every land surrounded by it and every coast connected by it. The people on this ship, and other ships like it, they were the true Water Tribe. Beholden to no one, seeking their futures wherever the waves would carry them.

Such as... "LAND HO!" he bellowed. "Taira! Wake the hell up you drunk idiot!"

One of the men gambling on the deck looked up, snickering to himself. "Idiot's gonna get his ass kicked by the captain."

"Probably," a woman's voice agreed with him.

"Ah! Captain!" the gambler yelped, the three others standing to pay attention on realising she was there. "Land! We're approaching land. Ma'am."

"I heard," she said as she strode past them all to approach the young man at the front of the ship. "Ready to lead your first big raid, Fusa?" she asked as she leaned unnecessarily close to him. So close she near pressed his face into her chest.

It was a big target. A valuable target. One left dangerously exposed as part of the war effort. The Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation were busy focusing on each other. The Fire Nation would never think some lowly pirates would be so bold as to attack one of their shipyards.

A Fire Nation ship. It was a big prize. And also proof that he was ready to take charge. To become a leader in his own right instead of just Captain Meriwa's second. "I'm ready."

He might have been the Avatar. But he didn't care about that. He would be a Captain, with all the wealth and pleasure that position would grant him. Duty and destiny could go hang. A pirate's life was all he needed.

"Get the boats ready!" Captain Meriwa hollered, "And someone wake up Taira and dunk him to sober him up!"

A couple of hours later, a group of ten were rowing toward the shipyard. The rowboats creeping along in the shadow of the cape. Far in the distance waited the ship they came from. If there were trouble, if the raiding party couldn't handle what came next, there wasn't much chance of their comrades coming to rescue them.

"Hurrrrn!" Bisho groaned softly.

"Hush, Bisho," Fusa shushed him.

"Hurrn…"

"Taira, you sure you still know how these Fire Nation ships work?" Fusa asked the sobered up lookout. "Because if not… This won't end well."

"Yes I know!" the top-knotted Taira hissed back. "Secure the ship and I can get it moving!"

"Alright." Quietly, he hopped on the tiger seal's back, his naginata in one hand, the animal letting out a happy trill as Fusa readied himself. "Bisho, you know what to do."

"Hurrrn!"

The polearm twirled in the pirate's hand. "Give me five minutes, then follow!"

"Got it."

Bisho cut through the water faster than a sea creature of his size and shape should have been able to. Fusa's stance on his back not incidental, but a waterbending stance he had figured out from watching Meriwa. A technique to create a current for Bisho to follow, all without showing his ability to waterbend.

He saw the lone Fire Nation ship waiting on guard duty for the base. He saw the shipyard. And as expected for a lone invader with no ship attacking a facility no one expected would be attacked, they didn't see him until it was far too late. "You ready to jump, Bisho?!" Fusa asked as they approached the ship.

"Hurn! Hurn!"

A windmill movement of his arms, a lowering of his stance, before he rose to full height again in a smooth upward motion, his limbs flowing together to make an upward current. Once again Bisho joyfully rose up on a spout of water. "Go!" he ordered as he leapt off his friend's back, up over the railing of the ship. A quick glance around at the half dozen Fire Nation soldiers on the deck.

The blade of his weapon flashed, and one of the soldiers was cut down before they even realised they were under attack.

"Intruder!" one shouted. "Sound the alarm!"

"How did he–?! There are no ships! How did he get here?!"

"Don't you worry about that," Fusa answered, grinning as he ran toward the group of soldiers, his weapon once again twirling, the tip leaving a trail of blue light in the air. With a powerful slash, a wave of cerulean flames lashed out to remove two more from the battle.

"Firebender!" The ship's alarm rang, alerting the rest of the ship to the intruder.

"Sure am," Fusa agreed, tossing his weapon into the air to quickly fire blasts of flame at the soldiers. Catching the polearm, he rushed toward the last man standing and cut him down more directly.

Only for a dozen more to have emerged onto the deck. Several taking firebending stances.

"Let's have some fun!"