Chapter Text
Water. Earth. Fire. Air.
It had long been an Avatar’s duty to master them all. With that mastery came a challenge all its own— bringing balance to an ever changing world.
Yangchen successfully brought peace and prosperity to the human world. Kuruk did his due diligence in keeping the evils of the spirit world at bay. Kyoshi sought balance through the mighty hand of justice. Roku ruled with mercy to those he kept close.
But Aang? He had to take a very different path on his journey to take up the Avatar mantle.
Born an Air Nomad, Aang learned his role in this world at the young age of twelve. At a time when he should have been worried about how much time was left in the day to play with his friends, he was instead tasked with the daunting task of setting the world back into balance. Of course, he’d have to go through multitudes of training before taking on the Fire Nation— the true reason the world was so imbalanced, and the reason he was told his destiny so early on in life. However, that detail didn’t change the way it affected young Aang.
Monk Gyatso, Aang’s mentor, was the only one who seemed to realize the toll that the news took on the young Avatar. Gyatso was like Aang’s father— and he would do anything to protect the boy. So, when the monk caught the boy trying to sneak away from the Southern Air Temple on his sky bison one night, he didn’t stop him.
He joined him.
His plan to leave had long been in the works. The truth was, Gyatso didn’t believe in the Council of Elders’ decision to alienate Aang from the others once they discovered he was the Avatar. He was the only member of the council that believed in the feelings of Aang over his duty as the Avatar. Gyatso, however, had support from outside the circle of elders. Many younger masters thought Aang should be treated as a child just like Gyatso did. The Monk planned to take the child to a new location to train, then his friends would follow. There, they would set Aang on his course to be a fully realized Avatar that could defeat the power-drunken Fire Nation.
However, that moment never came. A few days after Gyatso and Aang made their escape, a great comet streaked across the sky. Generations after them would know this as Sozin’s Comet, but to the Air Nomads, the destruction needed no formality like that. The Fire Nation, led by Firelord Sozin, took the enhanced power the comet gave them and used it to wipe the airbenders off the face of the map. Every single temple was attacked— no airbender was left alive.
At the same time, the Fire Nation mounted attacks on the Southern Water Tribe, and pieces of the Earth Kingdom. The south did their best to stave off their offensive, taking many casualties in the process. In the Earth Kingdom, not much progress was made— with the vast territory, not many troops were sent there. They took some islands, making them into colonies for their nation. One place that remained untouched was the Northern Water Tribe. The Fire Nation had long believed that the north was a barren tundra with few benders— a conquest not worth their power or time.
Gyatso didn’t find out what had happened very quickly. Both he and Aang had taken refuge outside Omashu, donning disguises and staying by themselves. The monk thought it was strange why word was never sent on why his friends were so late to join him. One night, when he was going to find food for both them and Aang’s sky bison in a nearby settlement, he heard the terrible news. Gyatso was consumed by grief, but he knew this was no time to let up. He tried his best to help Aang settle in his new life on the run, and the both grew out their hair and stopped donning anything that identified them as airbenders.
Meanwhile, Firelord Sozin’s attack ground to a strange halt. He was baffled— he’d killed every single Air Nomad, yet he wasn’t sure if he’d killed the Avatar. For months after the genocide, Sozin searched, but to no avail. Surely he’d killed the Avatar… right? He sent soldiers down to terrorize the Southern Water Tribe, finding nothing there. More went up to the North, but there, they were repelled easily. Storms constantly whipped there, and if the storms didn’t stop the soldiers, waterbenders bending the sea under a cover of fog usually did the trick. Sozin made his troops give up looking for the Avatar, but he never let his great blunder slip from his mind. The search consumed him until his death.
After a few months, Gyatso set to find masters to teach Aang. He employed help from his longtime friend, Sud. The stubborn earthbender had long ago taught Avatar Roku, just as Monk Gyatso had. They had met through their shared job, and stayed friends since. Sud happily agreed to help, knowing the Avatar would have a large task taking on the Fire Nation. Their first task would be to find Aang a waterbending teacher, and both had a good idea of where to go.
Their journey up to the North was a treacherous one. Much of it was done by flying over the Earth Kingdom, Gyatso whipping up the clouds so they were virtually invisible. Along the way, the group picked up some of Sud’s friends— a young earthbending fighter whom he’d trained, a descendant of the fire sages who trained Roku, and a grizzled sea captain who’d travelled to the north many times. Aang formed strong bonds with each of them, and each adult helped keep Aang happy as they travelled. Through attention to their surroundings, and a fair amount of luck, they were never spotted across the whole of the Earth Kingdom.
Once they started to fly towards the north, the ship captain took over their navigation. She’d warned them of how the Northern tribe had long stayed safe— any visitor was checked at the door. If the waterbenders deemed that visitor a threat, they’d sleep at the bottom of the sea. Of course, she assured them, if they made it through, Aang would get to train with the finest waterbenders in the world.
The dense fog was a ominous hallmark that they were approaching the Northern Water Tribe’s lands. For the first time, Aang felt a true fear for his life— it was almost as though the fog was going to swallow them up whole. He cowered beside Gyatso, but truthfully, the monk was just as scared as Aang. At last, when they were nearly surrounded, the captain called out into the fog, her voice filling the chasm of nothingness in a piercing tone.
“We are seeking refuge from the Fire Nation! There are five of us; four adults and a child. And the child is the Avatar!”
Instantly, the fog fell into the ocean below. Now that they could see, they quickly took in their surroundings. Out in front was an ice metropolis, the heart of the north. Building after building sat glistening like glass, protected by a series of high walls. To their sides, perched on the sheer cliffs, stood guards wearing strange glasses (ones Aang later learned protected them from the snow blindness). They must have been the ones that controlled the fog, and who came into their home.
The north was like a circus for Aang. Here, he met so many others his age, ones who wanted to play! The local children taught him their games and traditions, ones Aang quickly picked up on. In turn, he showed them his sky bison, Appa. The animal was so excited to meet new friends, as was his owner. For the first time in a long time, the Avatar felt at home.
However, he had larger tasks at hand. After the initial shocking words, Monk Gyatso and Sud took up the task of meeting with the chief. He was at first reluctant to let them stay— his biggest fear was that the Fire Nation was following the Avatar, and their forces would wreck the utopia he’d long kept safe. Thinking quickly, Sud made an agreement that would change the course of the world.
In exchange for the safety and training of the Avatar, they would make sure the Northern Water Tribe would never be attacked by the Fire Nation. Aang would be raised to keep them safe, and in turn, the tribe would strengthen their military forces to stand behind the Avatar if needed. Together, both sides would grow into a force that could help right the world. The chief readily agreed to these terms, seeing the benefit that it could provide both the world and his people.
Soon after their agreement, Aang began to learn waterbending. The elders who taught him were amazed by how quickly he could pick up on their teachings. Aang excelled at waterbending, even though it was not his native element. After a year of training, they deemed him a waterbending master.
That brought him next to earthbending and firebending. This was one part of the plan that wasn’t expressly thought through. There wasn’t much earth to bend in the tundra, and the firebender that had come with them feared firebending would be very difficult in the cold. His training in this respect took much longer, and required many trips back to desolate parts of the Earth Kingdom. These two elements were difficult for the Avatar, but through time and careful teaching, he became a master.
By the time Aang was twenty-two years old, he was a fully realized Avatar. He had grown into a strong yet thoughtful young man who had big dreams of saving the world. In the meantime, he’d found a wife and made plans to start a family. He had no urgency to go fighting the Fire Nation— he wanted to make sure he had a bit of a legacy set out before him before he did that.
Besides, Firelord Azulon had different plans than Firelord Sozin did. He made a point to bolster their military, not taking land hungrily like his father did. If he was to take something, it would be strategic. However, his reign was shaping up to be like that of the chief of the north’s was— a way to set up their successor so that their domination of the world would be swift and successful. Both rulers were wise, and knew that long after they were gone, there would be a predetermined moment to strike. For the Fire Nation, it was the recurrence of Sozin’s Comet; for the Northern Water Tribe, it was the Day of Black Sun.
Once Aang’s training ended, those who had brought him to the north decided it was their time to leave. Both the earthbender Sud had trained and the descendant of the fire sage longed for their homes, hoping to start families there. The ship captain felt she would be better suited back at the job she had served before. Gyatso and Sud were growing old, but they still had plans to do all they could to keep their promise. They were the only ones who didn’t settle down after their service to the Avatar. The two old friends’ end isn’t known, but it was believed that they died trying to assassinate a decorated Fire Nation general.
Change soon began to come in the Northern Water Tribe. The aging chief who’d first met Aang died, replaced by his son. This man was different from his father, but still shared many of his ideals. While the first chief had agreed to help the Avatar achieve world peace, his son saw the prosperity his tribe had achieved and didn’t want to squander it. His goals became more narrow minded— he would only help the Avatar if it kept his nation safe.
That was where Aang clashed with the chief. He was ready to start mounting attacks against the Fire Nation, but needed the support of the North’s great armies. Aang saw this as prime time to stop the Fire Nation before they could take any more territory. But the chief wouldn’t agree. He said he didn’t build up his forces just to squander them in the Fire Nation with no benefit. The two stayed at bitter ends until the tribe’s leader died— but by then, Aang was long gone.
After repeated disagreements, Aang left the North Pole for good. His family settled in the ruins of the Northern Air Temple, taking in refugees and helping them keep the culture of the Air Nomads. His wife raised their children in his tradition, while he trained them in airbending. They brought back some resemblance of the culture that had been wiped out during Sozin’s Comet long ago, an achievement he took great pride in.
Any other hope he had for the world, however, was dashed. Aang had the support of no nation, so he did the best he could. The Avatar helped sow seeds of rebellion within the Earth Kingdom, revealing his identity to only a few. This worked by some accounts— he helped free imprisoned earthbenders in Fire Nation work camps and push back colonizing efforts. In terms of tangible change, however, Aang did little. The air Avatar died in relative obscurity, having failed at what he’d always dreamed of doing.
Back in the Northern Water Tribe, the new chief welcomed his first child. Stoic and imposing Chief Arnook’s daughter was born under a great full moon, the brightest one he’d ever seen. The baby was healthy, with dark hair, eyes as blue as the sea, and a wailing cry that could be heard all throughout the royal palace. From the moment she was delivered, all around them felt that she was special. They weren’t sure why yet, but they knew she would do great things in this world. Arnook and his wife named her Yue, for the great moon that watched over her when she was born.
Yue quickly proved why so many had thought she was special. The girl quickly picked up waterbending, becoming a formidable bender at a young age. The elders marveled at her skill, and those she sparred against cursed her for her mastery. Yue trained in the path of the warrior, an exception hesitantly made by her father. By the time she was sixteen, she was the best fighter anyone had ever seen. That was when she learned a new trick.
She firebent.
Everyone in the north had known that the next Avatar would be a waterbender, but they’d never imagined the Yue would be the one. She was just as surprised as the others, but she was ready to take on the challenge.
Yue quickly entered intense waterbending training as Arnook started to make plans. He knew they needed to keep the information about the identity of the Avatar quiet, lest he wanted the Fire Nation making a trip to the north. With his most trusted generals, the process of making a battle plan around Yue began.
The new Avatar gradually grew into her identity. Within a year, she was decreed a master by her waterbending teachers. She then took another year to train with the seasoned warriors, learning to fight with her waterbending and traditional weapons. Yue became a muscled warrior who had the mind of a strategist. On her eighteenth birthday, she attended her first war meeting alongside her father. She knew her duty.
Yue had a lot to learn, that was for sure. But there was no doubt in her mind—
She was prepared to bring balance back to the world.