"Hundreds of years ago, the Northern Water Tribe flourished as one of the crucial staples that made up the world; water, earth, fire and air. It was once an economic powerhouse, boasting it's glistening palace of ice behind it's stunning capital city, Agna Qel'a. Tourists from around the globe were free to enter the city's frosty streets at ease, and explore the snowy continent. The canals and pathways that made up the city central were constantly bustling with both locals and visitors alike, and an atmosphere of joy lay over the North Pole. The water tribes, both North and South, were united, and life was fun and enjoyable for all.
But then, of course, the fire nation attacked.
On a day in which an unforeseen comet boosted the power of all firebenders, Fire Lord Sozin unleashed simultaneous attacks on both Agna Qel'a and the air nomads. In the attack, the Northern Water Tribe's navy was demolished and hundreds of lives were lost, yet they were not defeated. Battered and bruised, they would go down in history as the lucky ones that day.
The brunt of the fire nation's offensive was launched at the unexpecting air nomads. Outnumbered and overpowered, almost all of the population is believed to have been wiped out within one day. The world hasn't been the same since.
After the comet, the Avatar disappeared overnight. Believed to be an air nomad, many assumed that they had died during the attack, and would be reborn into the water tribe. But decades passed, and there was still no sign of the Avatar. Some people believe that the cycle was broken altogether, and that the Avatar would never be reborn.
The water tribes have never been the same since the day of the fire nation's onslaught. Diminished and terrified, the Northern Water Tribe surrounded Agna Qel'a with a thick wall of ice. They cut off all contact with the outer wall, even their sister tribe in the South Pole. Nobody leaves the walls of Agna Qel'a now except for the tribe's fisherman. The defensive strategy of locking themselves away from the outside world has been a controversial one, though it has kept the tribe safe from any attacks.
One hundred years have now passed since the air nomads became extinct, and little has changed in the North Pole. The tribe still has its customs and rules, and they are still a recluse from the outside world. It appears as if the Northern Water Tribe has completely disconnected from the other nations, and a majority of the globe believes that it's inevitable that one day the fire nation will turn up at Agna Qel'a to finally crush the North. Some, however, still cling onto hope that this will not be the case, though. The Prodigy of the North injects this optimism into the people of the water tribe.
Roughly a decade and a half ago, something extremely rare and unexpected happened. A newborn baby boy was bathed in the spirit oasis of the Northern Water Tribe; a breathtaking pond in which the water spirits Tui and La inhabited. That wasn't the rarity, though. Many have previously placed children and babies into the depths of the oasis with no results. The miracle was that, against all odds, Tui and La blessed the baby with their power. Immediately it was claimed that the baby boy, although born to fire nation parents, would grow to be a waterbending prodigy. Dubbed 'the Prodigy of the North', it was believed that he would protect the Northern Water Tribe from any fire nation attacks. So, while the prospect of a fire nation offensive at Agna Qel'a still scares many, the people of the North sleep easy knowing that they have protection.
Still, though, the fire nation looms over the rest of the world, and still the Northern Water Tribe keeps to itself as they watch Fire Lord Ozai begin to unleash tyranny on the earth kingdom. And although the Prodigy of the North inspires many, it was only the Avatar that could inevitably defeat the evil fire lord. Only the Avatar could free the world from the fire nation's clutches.
But then one day, the impossible happened. Out of nowhere, the Avatar returned."
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It was a surprisingly sunny at Agna Qel'a, the Northern Water Tribe capital city. The little cloud cover in the sky allowed the city to be warm, at least by their standards. In a small cabin, made of a combination of ice and wood, located at the outskirts of the tribe, I calmy woke up due to the sun that shone through the window. As soon as I threw the duvet off of myself I felt the unfamiliar warmth. The weather was never normally this nice, let alone in the winter.
I got out of bed, showered and dressed until I was ready for the day ahead of me. I entered the kitchen of the small cabin, where my mother and father were sat at the table reading a newspaper. My family, consisting of just my mother, father and myself, had originated in the fire nation. My parents had both grown up there, but had managed to migrate to the Northern Water Tribe a few years before I was born in order to escape the tyranny that the nation was under. Though the fiery amber colour in my eyes reflected my origins, the Northern Water Tribe was my home. I was just as water tribe as anyone else here.
I glanced over at the newspaper my parents were huddled around. The front page was, unsurprisingly, another article about the return of the Avatar. After a hundred years of inactivity, the Avatar had finally returned to bring peace the world. Just like everyone else here, I had been buzzing with excitement ever since I heard the news. When I was a young kid, I had always dreamt that one day the Avatar would return and I could help them take down the fire lord. That was wishful thinking, of course, but a kid can dream!
When my parents noticed my presence they greeted me, and I greeted them back as I quickly tried to prepare myself some breakfast.
"Busy day today?" my father asked when he noticed my haste.
"When do I not have a busy day?" I asked rhetorically and with a sigh. For years I had been training daily. Despite being from the fire nation, I'm a powerful waterbender. A prodigy, in fact. The Prodigy of the North. It was a title that had been placed on me from the day I was born; ever since I was blessed by the water spirits. Many children likely dream of being a prodigy, but I despised it. While all the other kids played outside in the snow in their youth, I was forced to train endlessly with waterbending masters. It made me the powerful waterbender I am today, but I also missed out on having a proper childhood.
I sat down at the kitchen table as I ate my breakfast, looking over my parent's shoulders to read the newspaper that they held. As I did so, my mother noticed that I was still present in the room.
"Shouldn't you be training with Master Pakku?" she eyed me suspiciously, likely thinking that I was trying to skip my waterbending training.
"He has a meeting with the chief this morning," I informed her truthfully. "So training doesn't start for another two hour today,"
"Well, we'll have to make sure that you make up for those two lost hour of training some other time," my father chimed in, causing me to release a small grunt of frustration. My parents had always supported me, but my upbringing lacked one crucial aspect; freedom. As soon as the title of 'prodigy' had been placed over my head, my parents had latched onto the idea. So, ever since I was four or five years old, they signed me up to constant, daily waterbending lessons, meaning that I rarely ever had any free time.
Now annoyed, I quickly left the house. I left behind my thick, blue water tribe coat, deciding I wouldn't need it on such a beautiful day. As I walked past the icy canals of the city, towards the ice palace in the distance, many people who passed by greeted me with a smile. As The prodigy of the North, I was a minor celebrity within the Northern Water Tribe, so I was well-known with its population. Although I hated the attention people gave me, it was good to see people have hope.
Halfway into my journey, I saw a familiar face standing on one of the many ice bridges that were dotted around the city. Her deep blue eyes and plaited brown hair were instantly recognisable to me- it was Kyana, my best friend since I could remember. Both of our parents were best friends, and so we hit it off from a very early age. However, she was also my fiancé. When my parents moved to the Northern Water Tribe, they dedicated themselves to its culture and traditions. Therefore, both mine and Kyana's parents had agreed early on that, once we were of marrying age, we would be forced into an arranged marriage. The problem was that, while Kyana and myself did love each other dearly, it had always been purely plutonic, and we had no romantic feelings towards each other at all. Nonetheless, rules were rules, and we were soon to be married. The blue necklace that hung around Kyana's neck, which I had been forced to craft myself, was a constant reminder of this fact.
I greeted Kyana with a quick hug. We met on this bridge every day in the morning to say our hellos. After our greetings, we both made our way towards the ice temple, talking as we did.
"So do you think the Avatar will be able to defeat the Fire Lord?" Kyana asked me suddenly, taking me by surprise. Ever since the Avatar had returned about two months ago, it had felt like it was the only thing that people talked about.
"I would hope so, he's had a hundred years to train," I joked, and we both chuckled.
"Just because he disappeared for a hundred years, it doesn't mean that he's been alive all that time. He could be from the earth kingdom for all we know!" she exclaimed.
"Didn't you read the newspaper this morning?" I asked with a knowing grin. "It claimed that he's an airbender,". Kyana let out a loud laugh, and I couldn't help but do the same. The air nomads had been extinct for a hundred years now, and it was laughable that the newspaper had managed to get it so wrong. By now, we were getting near to the end of our journey. The large ice palace, which is a famous landmark of Agna Qel'a, stood in front of us
"Thanks for walking with me, meet at the usual place tonight?" I asked Kyana, whispering the last part.
"You know it," she smiled.
"And remember-," I started, before she cut me off.
"Don't tell anyone, yeah I've got it," she said nonchalantly. We said our goodbyes before I headed into the ice palace. Kyana turned away from it to go to her regular healing lessons, which she loathed. Like me, Kyana was a waterbebnder. However, the customs and rules of the Northern Water Tribe were sexist, and so female waterbenders could only use their powers for healing, not combat.
Once I was inside the giant, aesthetic palace, I saw the familiar white hair and caring eyes of the princess. As my parents were friends with the chief of the tribe, the princess' father, I knew her quite well.
"Good morning, Princess Yue," I beamed at her.
"Oh hello there, (Y/N)!" she smiled at me in surprise. "But you know not to call me Princess! Just Yue is fine,"
"Sorry, Princess," I grinned, causing her to roll her eyes.
"Anyway, where are you heading this early in the morning?" she asked me.
"Just going to the spirit oasis for an hour, if that's okay?" I asked. She gave me a soft smile.
"Of course, I should have known," she chuckled. "Well, I won't keep you any longer!" she said before walking off to wherever she was initially going.
I continued my brisk walk to the oasis, arriving a few minutes later. It was dark, tranquil, and completely void of people just as it always is. The oasis consisted of a small body of grassy land, surrounded by a lake of water. In the surrounding ice perimeter, a waterfall tumbles into the depths of the lake. Two wooden bridges connect the entrance to the main body of the oasis. In the middle of the grassy land that made up the main body, there is a small, circular pond of water.
I silently walked across one of the wooden bridges so as to not disturb the peace. Now standing at the oasis, I peered into the small pool in the middle of the grassy island. Inside the pool were two spirits- a white koi fish with a black dot on its head, and a black fish with a white dot on its head- that circled each other endlessly. Though they appear to just be regular animals, the two fish are vital for wellbeing of the world. Tui and La are the physical carnation of the moon and ocean spirits respectively. They are two of the most powerful beings I know.
I dropped into a meditative stance at the edge of the pond, my legs crossed and my eyes closed. I spent the next hour communicated with the two spirits, as I did every day. I owed a lot to them; after all, they gave me my waterbending.
When I was born, my parents bathed me in the spirit oasis. At the time, they were desperate to be incorporated into the culture of the tribe, so my parents desperately wanted their child to be a waterbender. As the only two fire nation people in the tribe, it makes sense why they wanted to fit in. So in a desperate attempt to give me waterbending powers, with the chief's permission, I was bathed in the waters of the spirit oasis soon after I was born. Against all odds, it worked. Tui and La manifested part of their spirit inside of me, and now I was a strong water bender. Of course, I still had much work to do, but I was making staggering progress. Master Pakku, my master and the best waterbender that I knew, said that he had never seen someone with so much potential.
After an hour of uneventful meditation, I thanked the spirits before leaving the oasis. Realising I was already late for my water bending training, I sprinted across the ice palace to get to the training grounds. Somehow I never lost my footing on the slippery paths, and I quickly made it to the grounds. I saw Master Pakku stood, waiting for our private session. I made sure to bow to him as a greeting.
"Well, if it isn't the Prodigy of the North," Pakku teased with a grin, knowing that I hated the nickname. "How are you supposed to protect the Northern Water Tribe if you can't even turn up to training on time?"
"Apologies, Master Pakku," I said regretfully to him. "I lost track of time when I was visiting the spirits,"
For the rest of the morning, Master Pakku and I trained. We practiced my favourite waterbending trick: the generation of a huge wave of water. While my wave didn't stand as large as master Pakku's, it was nothing to laugh at, and I was very pleased with it. At the end of training, we had a spar. We sparred for over forty five minutes before he eventually defeated me. Though a loss, Master Pakku explained that my progress was amazing, causing me to smile widely.
After my waterbending training, I had a quick lunch before I spent my afternoon training with the rest of the young waterbenders of the tribe. Master Pakku had us all spar, but the other waterbenders were no match for me, and I ended up going undefeated. By the time dinner came around in the evening I was exhausted and ready to sleep, but my day wasn't over yet. Later in the evening, once it was pitch black outside and my parents were asleep, I snuck out of the house like I did every day. In a light jog, I made my way to the very outskirts of the city, near the huge, thick ice walls that hid the entrance to Agna Quel'a. Near here, there was a large sheet of thick ice where nobody ever went. Every evening I met Kyana here in order to train her waterbending. In Northern Water Tribe culture, it was forbidden for women to learn how to use waterbending as a weapon; instead they learn to heal. However Kyana loathed this, and wanted to learn waterbending so she could fend for herself. Therefore, over the last few years, I had been teaching her all that I knew. While her bending wasn't close to my standard, which is to be expected since I train with a master for hours a day, she is a formidable waterbender, and has made great progress since she first began.
This evening I tried to teach Kyana some more advanced moves. She made a good start with some, especially a move where she threw water as she turned it into ice, pelting sharp blades of ice at the opponent, but she struggled when it came to my favourite: generating a wave. After her tenth unsuccessful try, she was evidently annoyed and frustrated.
"This is so stupid!" she exclaimed with anger. "They should be getting a master to teach me this stuff," she spat with annoyance.
"I'm no master just yet, but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing," I told her. "You need a more stable and strong stance for this move. Almost like an earthbending stance," I explained as I positioned myself in the correct form. Concentrating at the river of water in front of me, I gradually raised my palms from my waist up into the air. As my arms extended into the air, so did a wave of water in front of me. When I felt satisfied, I released the wave and looked back at Kyana, who had determination in her eyes. "Now try it again," I prompted her.
Kyana looked out towards the water and got into the stance that I showed her. She glanced at me to get confirmation. I checked her form and kicked her feet with my shoes so that they were pointing straight ahead in the correct form, and then I gave her a reassuring nod. She copied the same motion that I had shown her, and I watched as a moderately sized wave began to rise from the water. I saw the glee in her eyes as she watched the wave rise in front of her. "Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly as she threw her arms in the air in celebration. As a result, the wave of water was thrown on top of both of us, knocking us to the floor. We both burst out laughing.
"Okay, maybe tomorrow I'll teach you how to throw the wave at your opponent rather than yourself," I told her, still laughing. She embraced me in a hug as a show of her gratitude.
"Thanks for teaching me!" she happily smiled.
After the eventful training session, we both home to catch some sleep. Exhausted from the long day, I fell asleep very soon after my head hit the pillow. When I awoke many hours later it was due to a commotion outside of my house. After swiftly getting dressed and searching for my parents, who were nowhere to be seen, I left the house. There was an unusual amount of people walking in the streets of the city, all gossiping amongst each other. Confused as to what was going on, I ran to the bridge, where I saw Kyana waiting for me. She seemed full of energy, and so I asked what was going on.
"The Avatar is here!" she loudly yelled at me, shaking my shoulders. Delirious from having only woken up a few minutes ago, I groggily asked her to repeat herself, assuming I must have misheard her. However my eyes went wide when her words sank in.
"The Avatar is in the Northern Water Tribe!"
Word count:3448
(A/N: Thanks for reading! I've had this story planned out for years now, I've just never had the time to actually write it. But now I have a lot of time I'll be trying to add a new chapter every week. I have the entire story all planned out, and already have 5 more chapters ready to release, so be sure to look out for those. If you have any questions about where the story is going to go, or any feedback in general, I'll be happy to answer any questions! Thanks again! -JetDragon09)
Edited on the 8th March 2024. Original word count: 2289