Lord of Fire

CHAPTER 8: KYOSHI ISLAND

A little ways south of the mainland of the Earth Kingdom was a small island. The island located near the South Pole was quite cold but around this time of year it was at its sunniest. With warm breezes oozing down from the center of the peninsula. The island had a tumultuous past. Not least it’s founding over 200 years ago.

A ruthless tyrant named Chin the Conqueror expanded his empire across all corners of the Earth Kingdom. When he came to the southern edge of the kingdom. He was met with resistance led by Avatar Kyoshi. The Avatar used her incredible bending to liberate her people by literary separating it from the mainland.

This day if you looked at the island you would meet descendants of her followers. The island, fittingly named Kyoshi Island, is a homage to one of the most successful Avatars of all time. Located deep within the island is the village that carry on her legacy. Protected by the Kyoshi warriors it was a small yet powerful village.

Among the buzzling activities of the island was one special visitor to the island, and his friends. The visitor was himself an Avatar. A young boy raised and taught by monks of the Air Nomads. Like each of them he was bold. He had the Airbender tattoos to show his status as an airbending master.

His friends were the ever beautiful Katara and the sarcastic Native Warrior of the Southern Water Tribe named Sokka.

After a brief exchange of blows between the teams, they were captured by the Kyoshi Warriors. Upon hearing the name of the island; Aang, the young monk, revealed his status as the Avatar. The only person capable of bending all four elements. Rejoiced by the return of the Avatar, the villagers threw a banquet in honour of the returning Avatar. The artifacts and tributes left in honour of Avatar Kyoshi were refurbished. Sokka started training with the ‘all female’ Kyoshi Warriors and did not have any alterior motives as to a certain Sukki who was quite attractive given her amble bosom and curvy figure.

Avatar Aang was also smitten with girls, to be specific he was smitten with Katara. Unfortunately for him, he had too many suitors due to his status as the Avatar. This circumstance gave the young and naïve boy the idea of provoking Katara to grow jealous of the attention he received from the girls of the village, young girls to be exact.

His plan proofed unsuccessful as Katara could not give a damn of how many girls threw themselves at him. She was more focused on gathering supplies for the long trip across the continent to the North Pole on the other side of the planet. She also started to practice her water bending in small amounts. She wasn't a prodigy like a certain bald monk or a certain Fire Nation Princess.

Supplies and practice were simply a tool that were helping her distract herself. It all started on the day her village was attacked and Aang was captured. When Aang and herself arrived at the scene of the fight between Sokka and the Fire Nation soldier, she met eyes with the soldier. For but a moment they both stared at each other and time slowed down. That single moment felt like an eternity of just the two of them. A rush of emotion suddenly overwhelmed her. Like she was floating on air. Next thing she knew, Aang was taken and walking up the ramp and into the ship.

The incident played in her mind over and over again. She did not understand the feelings that were sprouting up inside of her. She herself was just a 14 year old girl. How could she know what the feelings meant? All she knew was that the Fire Nation was bad and whoever that young man was as well. It simply meant he too was bad. She was quite mature for her age and certainly intelligent. She just had to squash those feelings just starting to sprout.

It meant distracting herself with what she knew as important tasks and activities. If she did not think of it, perhaps those feelings will just vanish before they matured into anything significant. The chance of running into that young man were slim. As long as they did not meet, she was fine. Saving the world was more important.

For the rest of her time on the island, Katara succesfully managed to distract herself. It helped that Aang called her over for whatever stupid and wreckless activity he was doing to impress her and the girls. She only worried for his safety and not the girls flaunting themselves at him.

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It was the third day since Aang and his team arrived on Kyoshi Island. The sun was just barely rising on the horizon. The sea air cooled the morning temperatures to near freezing. The village was ghostly quiet as not a soul was awake. The only presence in the village was a certain cloaked figure standing in the middle of the village. Covered in a dark old almost wrinkly cloak the person stood motionless.

As the morning sun rose, the temperature started to increase. The villagers got started on their daily activities. A few passersby noticed the cloaked figure but they paid them no mind. As the minutes ticked by, the dawn turned into early morning. The main road of the village started to get more busy as more villagers awakened. The morning temperature started to rise with the sun but the cool breeze blowing from the sea still made it feel chilly.

The mysterious stranger continued to stand motionless in the middle of the road. A few more people started to notice more significantly. As the minutes turned into hours and the sun rose higher, those who noticed the unmoving figure significantly increased. Even the Kyoshi warriors were eventually called by the village Chief along with the Avatar and his team.

Sokka, trying to show off his bravado infront of the girls, walked up to the mysterious stranger. Sukki and the rest of her fellow warriors surrounded the figure in ready positions.

“Becareful Sokka!” Katara warned from the crowd of villagers. Aang stood slightly ahead of her. Admittedly looking at the stranger calmly. Trying to asses if it was a threat or not.

“I'm fine, something like this I can easily handle!” Sokka boasted.

With his chest pumped out and standing tall. He slowly creeped ever closer. The cloaked stranger seemed oblivious of the commotion happening around him. *GNNHGHNGH!* A loud slightly irritating sound came from the stranger hidden under the hood of the cloak. The irritating sound continued to repeat almost randomly as Sokka got closer. Feeling confident after not being noticed after all this time, Sokka walked up face to face with the stranger. There was still no reaction so he hunched down and looked under the hood. Immediately he recognised the stranger and a rush of fear overtook his whole body.

Instinctively he jumped away fearing for his life. The watching eyes of the girls suddenly felt meaningless. He stood beside Aang, heavy breathing with cold sweat running down his face. His entire body was shivering from fear. The rest of the villagers each shifted further away from the stranger. Even the Kyoshi Warriors had to take a step back by the prominent reaction shown by Sokka. Even the naive and immature Aang took a fighting pose as he too felt a terror. A terror that he felt before for some reason. He turned to Sokka.

“Who is it?” He asked.

Sokka looked to Aang. He took a deep breath and calmed his mind. Panic would only lead to mistakes. He could not afford to panic in such a dire situation, not with so much at stake.

“Its him, the guy I fought back in our village!” He spoke calmly and clearly. His trusted boomerang was already out and ready for battle.

“The one with the burn mark by his eyes?” Aang made sure. The Ki he felt eminating from the stranger felt familiar. Sokka nodding simply confirmed what he was feeling. “Why is he just standing there motionless?” Aang added.

“When I got closer I could have sworn that I heard him snore! When I looked I under hood I saw that he was actually sleeping while standing up.” Sokka explained.

“He's sleeping?” Aang asked in disbelief.

“Who sleeps while standing upright!?” Suki asked. She overheard the conversation between the pair.

Suddenly, as if startled by her exasperated voice, the stranger awoke. His hands rose high into the sky as he stretched out. His bones cracking as they moved for the first time in hours. After the stretch his hands reached for the hood and he pulled it back to reveal his face to the village. The top knot typical of the Fire Nation and a vicious looking burn scar on his left eye. He suddenly looked up into the sky and took a deep breath in. Opening his mouth he let out a roar of flames that shot up high into the sky from his mouth. More villagers backed off seeing the might of a fire nation soldier. Suki and the rest of the warriors stood firm along with Aang and Sokka. Katara was standing just a little ways behind them.

The stranger looked down after his breath of fire. He smiled noticing Aang and Sokka standing infront of him. He looked around and noticed the painted faces of the Kyoshi Warriors. Given his knowledge he assumed Suki was one of them. After scanning the entire village he turned his attention back to Aang and Zuko.

“My name is Zuko,” he introduced himself properly. “I am the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne. I am here today because I need you to come with me Avatar.” The village was suddenly filled with fear and despair by his words. “I need your help to end this war and the only way to do that is to take the Avatar back to the Fire National. The only way I can return is with the Avatar in my hands. I just need you to follow me in returning to the Fire Nation and after that you can continue on your journey.”

“What kind of bullshit is that!?” Sokka demanded. “We would be idiots to fall for such an obvious trap!”

“My name is Aang, not Avatar!” Aang introduced himself as if to deny his status.

“Right, my bad. I am Sokka but this still doesn't change my stance. We don't want you here!”

“All I need is your help in getting through the FireNation blockade to end the war!” Zuko persisted.

“We refuse!” Sokka denied strongly.

“Sokka, you are smart enough to realise that what I say is true.” Victor warned him.

“Yes, as you say I am smart,” Sokka answered. “Smart enough to realise the absurdity of what you are proposing. Not to mention what you did to Aang.”

“The avatar is simply a means for my greater plan. I cannot enter the fire nation without his capture.” Victor explained in a calm and clear voice.

“Why do you need me to enter your own kingdom!?” Aang suddenly jumped in from beside Sokka.

Katara was standing behind the two of them. As expected she looked troubled by his presence here.

The rest of the Kyoshi warriors stood a ways off to protect the villagers.

“Avatar Aang, you are but a small child. In your current state you have no chance of defeating me.” He readied his bo staff by Victor’s words.

“Remember what happened at the South Pole.” He warned him. His resolve however stood firm amidst the threat.

“How can you say you come in peace while still threatening to destroy the village and Aang if we don’t comply with your demands?” Katara jumped in.

Victor turned to her for a moment. Taking her into his vision. Taking her beauty in real detail. A few seconds passed until he realised he was staring at her.

“I came alone didn't I?” He answered her. “As you can see, I only came in a small little boat, the rest of my crew are a ways away.”

“What exactly do you want Prince Zuko, heir to throne of the Fire Nation?” Sokka asked.

Judging by the tone, Victor knew Sokka emphasized he knew of his status. His real question was why should we trust the Prince of the Fire Nation. It was indeed a valid question. Why would anyone willingly trust the son of the guy trying to take over the world? Zuko at the moment could not think a reason he ought to be trusted.