She didn't remember how she met her death. It could have been a thousand different things, but at the end of the day, knowing what did it wouldn't change anything. She was dead either way, so she decided that she wouldn't dwell on it. She had always assumed that death and the afterlife would be peaceful. Maybe endless bliss, maybe watching over her family from the other side. She wasn't quite sure exactly how it would have looked like, but she certainly never imagined meeting a being made of endless galaxies of stars. They called themself the world spirit.
"Do you know why you are here, child?" It didn't have a mouth. It didn't have a face. It didn't even have a distinguishable voice. The sound was neither male nor female, young nor old, single nor many. It was simply all. But it was comforting and it was powerful. It had a way of making her feel small, but despite this, she never lost confidence in herself and stood tall.
"No. No, I don't. I don't even know where here is." she tried not to sound accusatory. With a being this powerful, it was best not to tick it off, even unintentionally. Nothing could be left to chance.
"You are at the beginning. The place at the very precipice of all of creation. Everything you know and all that you do not has all come from this very spot." She took it all in. The beginning looked a lot like chaotic star soup. It was a whirling, riling, broiling mass of galaxies and colors and light. It looked like it was constantly growing and collapsing in on itself. Within it, she could see planets and suns and heartbeats and life.
"It is beautiful. But why bring me here? Who are you?"
"I, my dear child, am the world spirit. It is I who creates all. Some call me God. Some see me as many. But at the end of the day, I am all that people believe that I am and more. I have brought you here because I have need of your passionate spirit once more. In life on Earth, you were fearless. You were fierce against your enemies and a loyal and powerful fighter to protect the ones that you loved. I am very proud of you, my dearest one, and, perhaps selfishly, I ask that you come to life once more to help mend one of my other favorite creations. I believe they are most in need of one of your skills and desires." She blinked, dumbfounded. She was the favored creation of the creator themself?
"How may I assist you, great spirit? If you say that you have need of me once more, then I will trust in your capabilities and do my best to achieve your goals." If the great creator asks you to do something, you do not say no. Who would she be to do such a thing?
"If you consent, I wish to send you to the world that my mortal avatar maintains. They are supposed to keep that balance between the elemental benders and the spirits, but my most recent chosen has been gone for too many years and the balance is far too overturned to right it by himself. He needs help and while he will have some of his own reality, I believe that I can tip the odds in his favor with your help. He may be able to achieve victory without you, but I have seen the destiny of the world if that comes to pass and the sacrifice is too great. You may save the fates of many others including many of my other favored ones and those of my children. For this, I offer you a boon. Should you choose to accept this task and the hardships that come with it, I shall give you your own elemental bending abilities and sway some odds into your favor. I cannot do too much or there will be consequences, thus why I cannot save the world fate on my own. I can however give you the gift of luck. And if you should succeed, I can guarantee that you will finally be happy and at peace. Will you accept?"
"Yes" And it all faded to white
Somewhere in the inbetween, white had faded darker and darker until she was surrounded by near blackness, cocooned in warmth from all around. She could not feel anything outside herself other than the sensation of warmth. She could not see either, nor smell. But she could hear. And all around her was the beating of a constant drum. Sometimes it would speed up, and sometimes it would slow down. There was a rhythm to it and its changes, but that rhythm was often interrupted. And yet, it was comforting all the same. The drums and the warmth were all that she knew for a very long time. She was ok with that. She could feel no danger, no sense of urgency. In fact, she had no sense of time at all. She was perpetually content.
But eventually, her perpetuity was interrupted and she became aware once more. She could feel herself once again. Maybe not to the extent that she once was, but she could feel her limbs and the ability to move made itself known to her instincts. She wiggled slightly, trying to stretch her limbs with minimal success. She could move, but she was confined. Somehow, this did not alarm her. She was still safe in her darkness and warmth and she could feel no hunger or thirst. She had no indications that she was in danger. What she could glean was the fact that there, faintly amongst the constant of her drum companion, was another sound. It was more of the feeling of vibrations than a sound, but somewhere in the thrumming of sound waves, a soothing, deep tone of voice could be heard. In her mind, halfway unaware as it was, she was able to discern that it was the voice of a woman. It was as comforting as the drum.
The voice joined her drum and her warmth as her constant companions. Over time, or at least to what she thought was time passing, the voice became clearer to her. She could hear changes in its tones and purposes, sometimes singing, sometimes happy, sometimes stern. She wondered about the woman who the voice belonged to. Why did the voice sound so close? Why was her tone stern? What was she singing? Eventually, her mind and awareness awakened completely and she was able to figure it out: that voice was her mother. She was warm and cocooned in the dark because she had yet to be born, the drumming was her mother's heart, and she could hear her mother's voice. It was comforting to finally be able to think. She felt more like herself.
She also became aware of another warmth. This one was different to her outside warmth, the warmth provided to her from her mother. This warmth came from her own body, from inside. As the time went by, the stronger her inner warmth became. She had read enough in her life to know that this was as good as time as any to become adept at mental concentration, self awareness, and self control. So she spent her time organizing her conscience and her mind, reviewing her memories, taking the time to reflect on past mistakes and lessons learned. It was during these self-explorations that she found the source of the inner warmth: her flame. It was small now, but it had obviously been growing and would continue to do so. It was such a wee thing, but she was determined to make it big and strong. She tried to will it to be stronger, but it had no effect. She couldn't blow on it because it was inside her and her consciousness was just awareness, not a functioning human body inside her own. But... oxygen. Fires needed oxygen. She could work with that. As soon as she was born, she would feed her flames with all the air she could muster.
Finally, after much time had passed although it was hard to tell, it was time. She could feel her body move and reposition itself upside down and lower in her mother's stomach. She could feel a small pressure around her that was growing stronger with each ripple as her mother's muscles contracted together in an effort to push her out. Lower and lower she descended, tighter and tighter the pressure got, and just when it became unbearable and she started to panic, her head slipped free, her body following her with one last contraction of her mother's muscles. The cold air gripped at her wet body and she cried out in shock. She was caught in hands covered in a blanket and a soft but wet cloth was used to wipe her clean as someone else's hands cut away the cord tethering her to her mother. She was finally free, and with that, she inhaled as much air as her body was capable of. Her fire flared for the first time in her tiny existence and she cooed with delight. Fawning noises from several female voices echoed around her as she did so and she forced her eyes open in time to see the large face of an older woman hover in front of her own.
The woman was beautiful, with gray hairs mixed in with midnight black, eyes the color of ambars, and gentle laugh lines slightly creasing her face. She wrapped me up in the blanket that held me as she spoke.
"Hello there little firefly. Welcome to the world. I'm your grandmother. Let's bring you to your mother, shall we? She's been so very eager to meet you!" With that, she gently passed me over to another woman, this one much younger yet still an adult. She was also quite beautiful and had the same eyes as her mother did, but her skin lacked the same aging wrinkles. She glowed with exhaustion from the birth, but her face was kind and her eyes shone with a mother's love.
"Hello my darling. Oh look at you! You are the best of all of us." She raised her hand towards my face to touch my cheek, but I grabbed her finger instead, holding it with what little strength I could muster in my tiny hand. I squinted my eyes in concentration. This was going to be a longer process back to my full strength than I thought. My mother chuckled in delight.
"A fierce one are you? Good. We come from a long line of warriors, and you, my little lioness, will be no exception." I did my best to grin at her. A lioness? Yes. I could work with that just fine.
"What will you call her, Rina?" My mother's name is Rina. A beautiful name, if a little unique. Although it may not be quite so unique here, wherever that is. So much to learn.
"Isa. Her name will be Isa. She will be strong and stubborn and passionate. She will fight for what she believes in and she will protect the ones that she loves." Rina's eyes held a determined glint in them, as if what she said was not just hopeful wishings of a name but a goal to achieve, a challenge accepted. Isa regarded her new mother and decided that she admired her ambitions and agreed with her proclamation. She may not be all of those things yet, but she would be, and nothing was going to stand in her way.
Time passed quickly as she grew. Isa decided that that was because she had lived a life of many years already, so comparatively, a few years went by much faster. During that time, she learned a great deal of things as she strove to be the best she could in all aspects.
She learned that her father, Torai, was a navy man and often posted away from home for long periods of time. That was ok though, because her mother had her grandmother to support her in the household and Torai sent almost all of his salary home to support them and afford them a comfortable life. He wasn't always gone either. He came home every few months for a couple weeks before he was called back again, but they made due. Torai was a kind man, stern in features but with an easy smile. When he was home, he was as devoted a father and husband as anyone could have asked him to be. Over the years, he would encourage her survival skills, teach her to build fires and how to rely on her own ingenuity and creativity to get out of problems. When she was old enough, he taught her how to fight, to be tough, and to use her opponents' own strength against them. He taught her to be cunning and to use any advantage she had. But he also taught her to fight with honor when she could. Only get scrappy if she really needed to and only as a last resort.
Surprisingly, her mother and grandmother encouraged these lessons as well. They were of the mind that the world was harsh and that she should always be prepared to fight for what she loved. But to balance these lessons from her father, they were sure to give her lessons of their own, those of the more acceptable sort for a young lady. She was taught how to sew and how to mend clothing. Eventually, she was taught how to make her own as well. She was taught how to maintain the household, how to cook meals for her family, how to take care of the elders and smaller children in their community. They taught her to read and write, and how to sing and dance. She was even taught how to budget money and not to be wasteful. Over the next 8 years, she was the most formidable young lady their small village had ever seen. It helped that while her body was young, her mind was fully developed and so able to comprehend and take in way more than the average child. Some of the lessons that she was taught were relatable to skills that she had in her previous life, like respecting elders, caring for children, and how to cook. Other skills took time, but she enjoyed them nonetheless. She was voracious in her learning, always hungry for more.
But what else could she do to prepare? She knew the world she was in. She had figured it out when she was about a year old and had witnessed her father manipulate fire to start the stove. She was in the world of the avatar. And she was born to the fire nation. It was an intimidating fate. She remembered what the world spirit had told her. She could make changes here. Real changes. But she had also learned, through bedtime stories and the many scrolls that her grandmother provided to her, that she was several years before the plot. The avatar hadn't been found yet. Zuko hadn't been banished yet. Hell, even Lu Ten hadn't died yet, which meant that Iroh was still crown prince and Azulon was still fire lord. Ursa was still at the palace too. But Isa knew that there was very little that she could do yet. She had no power or influence to stand on and if she messed with things now, she would have no idea where to go or what to do in the future because all of the events would be screwed up. As awful as it was, she had to save her advantage for when she could do the most good. And so she trained and she learned and she prepared.
The largest change in her life came when the twins were born. When her mother was pregnant and her father away for the navy again, Isa practically ran the household herself under the dutiful supervision of her grandmother Nani. She did the majority of the house chores, made meals for the family, and did the grocery shopping. She didn't mind though. She was glad to be treated as a capable adult even if her grandmother was watching her constantly in case she needed guidance. And it wasn't as if they left everything to her. Her mother would usually help where she could, but the pregnancy made it very hard on her, and her grandmother was well beyond her prime even if she was still healthy. It was only because of her years older mind that she did not break into a panic when her mother's water broke and she went into labor. Isa went to fetch her grandmother who was drinking tea out in the garden and then went to fetch the healer who worked at a small hut a few streets from where they lived.
Her little brother came into the world with eyes large with wonder and curiosity at the world around him, and their little sister came only minutes after him with a giggle already on her lips. Isa could feel her heart grow, filling with more love than she could have ever imagined as she locked eyes on the twins. Her twins, because despite them being her mother and father's children, she could feel it in the very being of her soul that they were hers. And she would protect them from anything and everything or she would die trying. It was startling to her, to feel such strong emotions as an 8 year old. But then, it didn't feel strange at all. It felt natural. It felt right. As her grandma Nani tended to her mother and helped her recover, Isa set her sights on the twins. She gently took them from healer Reja and wiped them clean herself. They were beautiful.
"Bring them here Isa." Her grandmother beckoned her. Although reluctant to let them go, Isa dutifully brought the twins to her mother and grandmother and handed them over. Her mother chuckled at her hesitance.
"Peace, Isa. You may have claimed them as pride, but they still need their mother. Besides, we still have to name them!" Isa was confused for a moment. Although her family often referred to her as a lioness and the family as a pride, they had never actually spoken about it like it was a physical thing or anything other than a running family joke before. But her confusion was filed away for a later time at her excitement to name her little siblings.
"Do you have any names in mind, mother?" She asked. Isa had names in mind if her mother did not. They just appeared in her head as she stared at her twins.
"What do you think they should be called my love? You have that look in your eye. They already have their names in your head. What are they?" Her mother didn't even sound annoyed, only vaguely amused at the possessive gleam that appeared in her daughter's eyes as she eyed the twins. To Rina, it made sense and was even comforting that her daughter had so easily claimed her siblings. After all, family was everything to a lioness, and cubs were precious no matter who's in the pride they were. They would be cared for by all. Isa turned to her little sister and stared at her but her eyes looked far away as if she were in a trance.
"She is Aza. She will be a brave little fighter for what she believes to be right. But she is also kind and comforting to those who need it. She will be grounded to the earth and she will take care of those around her with her warmth and optimism. She will be the little healer of our wounds." Then Isa turned to her brother.
"And he is Aizu. He will always be curious for more knowledge and will find the most creative ways to use it. His advantage will always be his bright mind and he will use it to know of every threat and danger that the outsiders pose to us. He will be very friendly and social and through his connections and friendships, he will hear everything that goes on."
Isa broke from her trance and smiled at the twins even as her mother and grandmother exchanged worried looks over the heads of the children. It was no secret that Isa was wise beyond her years and she always seemed to just know things that she shouldn't have any knowledge of. It was concerning that she thought these things and imagined a world where her siblings would need to have these abilities and use them to keep their family out of danger. What was the world coming to? But they brushed off their concern for now. Come what may, they would get by, just as they always had.
Over the next 3 years, Isa's predictions would start to come true. While maybe not quite a tactical mastermind or a healer quite yet, Aizu was definitely the curious and social type and Aza was most definitely a kind hearted and passionate girl with an affinity for making booboos better. The bond between the 3 siblings was unbreakable. The twins followed their older sister around everywhere and Isa took to it like a turtle duck to water, constantly teaching the twins new things and keeping an eye on them as she continued her own studies and training.
At some point when Isa was 11 and the twins were 3, Rina made the difficult decision to move the family. They had lived in the small fishing village on the edge of the continent for longer than Isa had been alive. She had no idea what life was like outside of it besides what she could remember from watching Avatar as a show. And even then, that wasn't entirely accurate as Ozai had been the Firelord in charge and there was no avatar to change the perspectives and hopes of many of the fighting nations and villages. Suffice it to say, Isa was very worried when her mother announced the news. It was also mentioned that they would be leaving grandmother Nani behind as she was far too old to cross the ocean by boat and start life entirely anew. There were far too many unpredictable factors in that scenario and she was just not young enough to roll with the punches as much as the rest of her family were. So it was decided that she would stay behind and be watched over and joined by the neighbors when she could.
Isa was very nervous. The boat that they had boarded to take them to the colonies was fairly large but much too overcrowded with passengers. There was hardly any space to walk and it made her feel anxious and she likened it to being caged like the lioness everyone told her she was. On top of that, they had to leave so much of their things behind as there was hardly any room for luggage. All they had was what they could carry in the packs that Isa and Rina carried. Isa didn't care what reasonings Rina had at this point; no opportunities in the colonies could possibly be worth all of this, leaving behind everything for some unknown future. Isa didn't like not having control of her life. That was supposed to be the deal with the world spirit. She was supposed to know what was happening and be able to change it. The ability to change things implied the ability to be in control. Isa liked control. This was not control.
Sea life wasn't all that bad though. Coming from a fishing village as they did, at least Isa knew how to sail small boats and how to catch her own food. There was a small learning curve that she had no idea how to operate a vessel as large as this one, but it was no matter. It wouldn't be up to her anyways and she learned by observing and asking the crew many questions. At least she had her sea legs, unlike some passengers who spent a large amount of their time emptying out their stomachs overboard. It made Isa gag just thinking about it. But of course things couldn't go this well without something bad happening. It was bound to happen, Isa had had too many ups and now it was time for the downs.
This down manifested itself in the form of a raging storm that came out of nowhere. There was no warning, no opportunity to get away. One moment it was clear, and the next, lightning cracked and thunder boomed. Rina made sure to tuck Isa and the twins into the closest corner that she could find and fasten their packs to them. Looking back, Isa wondered if Rina had a feeling about her own fate that night. Rina had screamed at them that she was going to try and help some of the others on the deck get to safety because there were still women and children up there and then she was gone. The boat rocked furiously side to side and water would splash down the metal hatch every time it opened to let someone new down into their little sanctuary. There were a surprising amount of children that came down the hatch that night. Isa wondered what they were all doing up there, but it hardly mattered now. What mattered was that hours later, when the boat finally smoothed to the gentle rocking of normal everyday waves, there was no sign of Rina anywhere. Isa had scoured the ship head to toe, but nothing. Her mother had vanished into the storm that night and left Isa and the twins alone.
This was the second time in Isa's life where, had she been anyone else, she would have broken down into a panic, not knowing what to do and stuck between confusion, panic, and grief. Instead, she took a deep breath, let loose a single tear, and buckled down to get to work. They had no way of contacting their grandmother, especially being out to sea right now. She had no clue how they contacted their father. She knew that her mother and grandmother received letters from him but she had no idea how to send them herself or where she would even address them too. No, that wasn't an option either. They were on their own now. One 11 year old with the mind of an adult and two 3 year old toddlers who were smart beyond their years, yes, but still incredibly young.
Isa made her way to Aizu and Aza and explained the best way she could to toddlers that their mother was never coming back. Although Isa wasn't sure they grasped the full gravity of the situation, their little eyes looked back at her with sadness too. They at least understood that something was wrong and mommy was gone. Isa's resolve sharpened. This was her pride. They were hers to protect and hers to provide for, especially as her own mother and pride leader had just disappeared. That made Isa the next up. They were going to survive this. She would make sure of it.
Author's Note:
Wow. So, that actually turned out a lot different than I was anticipating but I'm loving the flow on this. Isa is really becoming her own character and is practically writing herself at this point. I'm also emotionally attaching myself to characters already which is really dangerous this early on in the game. I have a general idea of where I want everything to go from here, so hopefully I shouldn't get much writer's block any time soon. This story is also posted on AO3 under the username Queen_Regent_Ezran_Solaris. If you see it anywhere else without a note from me about it, please report it and bring it to my attention. Any comments or feedback or suggestions are always welcome! As stated in the summary, all of the characters and plot from the show belong to the amazing original creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino. Any plot deviations or new characters belong to me. Happy reading!
With love,
Queen Regent