| By King Bumis Heir | Genre | Rating | Reviews | Updates |
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Avatar: The Legacy of Rong Yan
AIR ... WATER ... EARTH ... FIRE ...
Mother Superior Aloi had gathered me and the other girls up and used to tell us stories about the time she befriended the Avatar before me Rong Yan, and how she and his friends helped him stop an insurrection with the sole purpose of re-sparking the Thirty Year War and throwing the Qiangda and Oma Kingdoms into disarray. Avatar Rong Yan was famous for heroically ending the insurrection led by General Senlin and the Northern Rebellion.
Avatar Rong Yan accomplished many remarkable things in his life, eventually spending the rest of his days as the Grand Vizier of Fire Lord Shukun in Caldera City. But sadly, his time in our world has come to an end. His legacy continues to ring true, and the echos of war have been silenced. The world was at peace while the Earth Kingdoms returned back into a cold civil war.
Overview[]
Avatar Ku Tei, the Earth Kingdom Avatar has passed away, the world is in sorrow but somewhere in the Fire Nation his reincarnation is born.
Chapter 1 : New Beginnings[]
Ba Sing Se, Northern Earth Kingdom
The morning was beginning to heat up, the sun rising from the east, birds chirping, the sound of citizens communing and living their daily lives in the streets of the upper ring. Within the palace, the security has been extra tight. A major event has occurred and the citizens will be notified. In the palace room where the Earth King's throne sits is a quite aged older man, sort of hunched now in his old age, with light brown skin, a scraggly goatee, green eyes, wrinkled and long white hair. He wore the finest of Earth Kingdom nobility attire fashioned from the rarest of materials. Atop his head, he wore a green hat indicating he was the sitting Earth King of the eastern Earth Kingdom. His name was Ta Po.
To his left was a smaller throne, designed similar to the first one with a badger mole carved behind it. A younger man much younger not even a man more like a boy sat on this smaller throne. His robes were of a golden hue with a yellow exterior lining. He wore a hairpiece instead of a crown. In eastern culture, this hairpiece holds significance the importance of it being the crown of the crowned prince of Ba Sing Se. The grandson of Ta Po, his name was Qiang Zhen. To the right of the Earth King, standing tall was his advisor who also wore greenish robes although a lighter shade of green, arms crossed behind his back and ears always listening to the ongoings and politics of the Earth King, a young man named Guwen, light skin, brown eyes, long brown hair, skinny stature. In front of them was a table bent from the earthen floor of the palace by several of the palace guards with chairs surrounding it.
In those chairs sat several different important figures from around the world, in order sat Chief Cupun of the Northern Water Tribe, Naartok, ambassador from the North, Earth King Gao Zu of the Western Earth Kingdom, Naoren De, advisor to the western Earth King, Chief Unirak of the Southern Water Tribe, Suluk, ambassador from the South, Fire Lord Yeh Lu of the Fire Nation, Fire Sage Xiao of the Fire Sages, Hegumen Geetsan of the Southern Air Temple, and Mother Superior Halmeoni of the Eastern Air Temple.
Earth King Ta Po placed his hands on the armrests of his throne and used them to support him and rise to his feet. With an expression of woe on his face, he spoke to the world leaders, "Thank you for coming, on such short notice...I regret to inform you that our great Avatar, has passed during his slumber. Ku Tei, has prepared some things to be given to the next Avatar in the cycle which will be given to Yeh Lu and kept until the Avatar becomes of age. Trainers have been appointed by the Avatar and will await further instructions when the time comes. The Avatar will have been born last night or this morning to a family in the Fire Nation, I'm sure Fire Sage Xiao will no doubt have his sages ready to begin the search soon." Ta Po announced.
"I ask you all, to please share this moment in silence with me while we mourn the loss of Avatar Ku Tei." Ta Po spoke, bowing his head low and closing his eyes in silence as do the leaders of the world and the ambassadors follow. A minute of peaceful silence ends, Guwen, snaps his fingers and a guard walks forward, bowing before the Earth King and the Earth Prince.
"Orders, sir?" the guard asks.
"Tell the town criers to assemble and spread the news to the city of the passing of Ku Tei, the city and the world must know." Guwen answers. The guard bows to Guwen before turning around and walking out.
Tang Village, Fire Nation
There are a few girls rushing around a small home, one carrying a bucket of water while the other carries some cloth. In a room, there is an elderly woman delivering the child of a woman in labor. A pale man with brown hair tied up in a bun is sitting in a chair next to the woman in labor holding her hand while she digs her nails into his skin. Trying to cry out in pain he continues to hold it in. His hand was obviously being crushed by the sudden immense strength of the woman. The elderly woman turns around to see the girls arriving with the cloth and bucket of water. "Keani, soak the cloth that Loli brought into the bucket of warm water please." the older woman requested. "Yes, mother..." Keani nodded.
Loli, one of Rong Yan's aunts, rushes to the small room with a bucket of water.
Keani a girl around her late teens with beautiful flowing brown hair and auburn eyes, grabs the cloth from her sister and dips it into the bucket. Twisting the cloth from its ends and squeezing all the excess water out from the cloth making it damp.
Hands it to her mother, the elderly woman grabs the cloth and walks over to the head of the woman and places the cloth folded on her forehead, "You're doing great, Ming. Remember, just breathe and push." the old woman smiled.
Keani, one of Rong Yan's aunts. Soaks the wet cloth that her mother demanded.
Minutes of agonizing pain later, a baby is heard crying, the older woman sticks her hand out and shouts, "Loli, dagger please!" Dagger being handed to her, she carefully cuts the umbilical cord connecting mother and child and hands it back to her daughter.
"It's a boy!" She grabs a red cloth her son bought a week ago and wraps the newborn in this soft wool cloth. Kissing the newborn on the cheek she hands the baby to his new mother.
The child's head resting on the chest of the mother, she sheds a tear and smiles. "I'm so very happy for us on this day, Kahn. Our firstborn son, what should we name him?" looking up and over at her husband Kahn. He thinks about it for a moment then snaps his fingers, "His name will be Rong Yan."
Nila, Rong Yan's grandmother helps deliver him when Ming is in labor.
They look in each other's eyes and Kahn's lips meet with Ming's lips as he kisses her gently. Ming hands the elderly woman, the child.
"Rest now Ming, you need it," Nila says.
"Welcome to the world, little Rong Yan, I am your loving grandmother Nila." she introduces herself to the baby. Caressing the child, she looks over at her son Kahn and the sleeping Ming. "Oh son, you make me so proud and happy now that you have a child of your own. I feel like a proud mother and grandmother right now!" she smiled.
"You know Kahn, Rong Yan, looks a lot like you when you were a baby, I just imagined myself as a younger woman holding you in my arms as you slept." Nila reminiscing her younger years when Kahn was a babe as well. She walks out of the room to put the baby to sleep elsewhere.
Overview[]
The reincarnation of Ku Tei has been found in a mining village, known only to the Fire Nation the boy is kept hidden until the coming of age.
Chapter 2: The Identity of the Avatar[]
Four Years Later
The once newborn babe was now a small child, sitting atop of a red rug with the Fire Nation insignia designed on it. Playing and laughing with his new toy and the world around him. A woman with long black flowing hair, wearing pink robes with a trim of red walks into the room and picks up the small child to take him over to the dressing room to dress him, his medium long hair being placed in a top knot and then putting a ornament in his hair to keep it in place. She dressed him very nice and formal for his appointment with the Fire Sages.
Four years ago, Avatar Ku Tei, had passed away and the Avatar was reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle. The Fire Nation, tests children at the age of four to six in the Trial of Fire, as it is known to be called. Usually, it was known to be a test of skill in firebending, most children at those ages wouldn't have so easily mastered the basic sets of firebending. But they usually hope if they find the prodigy firebender that the child has the best chance of being the Fire Nation Avatar. The parents are then held in another room with their child where a brazier is present, and the Sage present during the appointment will light smoke in a specific color. Black meant the child wasn't the Avatar, and white meant the child was indeed the Avatar. The Black smoke was kept in private, and the white smoke was shown in public.
They left their home, only to find families walking east of their home to the temple where one of the Fire Sages was present doing the Trial of Fire. The temple which rested on the eastern side of the village, stood tall and was pretty antique. It was built around two hundred years ago when the village was founded. Inside dozens of families with their young children between the ages of four to six sat inside waiting to be called on. A few families were being prideful about the situation, but it was too early to call on their predictions.
An elderly man in long lush red and crimson robes, a red mitre hat with a flame design at the very point of the hat, short whiteish hair and a long white beard walked out from another room with a family, who all had expressions of disappointment on their faces. He showed sympathy with them and pushed them out. Most of the villagers if not all of them didn't have surnames unless they gave themselves one. Children were being called by order of homes starting from the western edge of town where Rong Yan currently lived in. "Rong Yan." the Fire Sage called out while looking at a list of parchment he carried on him, Ming held Rong Yan's hand and walked with him over to the room where the Fire Sage wanted them to join him in. They had walked in, the Fire Sage, had walked over to his station and Ming had sat down on a floor pillow. Rong Yan had stood in the middle waiting on the Sage to get himself together.
Fire Sage Xiao, tests Rong Yan, to see if he's the Avatar.
"Rong Yan, son of Kahn and Ming, correct?" the sage asked.
Ming nodded, "Yes."
"And what occupation does your husband currently have?" the sage inquired.
"My husband works in the coal mines of Tang village," Ming replies.
"A good job indeed." the sage adds, he grabs a small leaf in between his fingers and lights up a small part of it before handing it to the small child. "Do not burn yourself, boy. Slowly maintain the heat, as the leaf slowly burns in your hand and hold a small fireball in your hands. Do not do anything until further instructed." the sage instructed.
Holding the leaf side by side with both thumbs Rong Yan stares at the small leaf in his fingers and focuses on the leaf. Except instead of letting the fire consume the leaf in a minute it bursts in his hands and remains small and in a controlled manner, he cups his hands around the fireball. The sage turns around ready to turn off the flames when a look of astonishment hits his face and sees the small child control a fireball adeptly. The sage then places his hand under Rong Yan's fireball and carries it with him extinguishing the flame before his very eyes. Little Rong Yan, a little sad that has fireball is now gone looks up at the Fire Sage, the sage turns around and opens a scroll containing basic firebending moves.
"Shifa stance!" the sage shouts. The little boy, extending his left leg backward and his right leg frontwards, bending his at the knees in a still yet agile stand ready to pounce at the enemy if need be. His left hand was balled in a fist close to his belly and his right extended out in front of him palm facing the Fire Sage.
"Lianhuan stance!" the sage commands, Rong Yan switches stances putting his right foot forward at an angle, and his left foot backward at an angle, his palms are open and closer to his abdomen. One arm closer to his chest and the other closer to his lower ribs. The Fire Sage nods in approval.
"Meihua stance!" the sage shouts again, the little boy spreads his legs wide apart from each other and puts his arms out in front of him, palms open with four fingers wrapped on each hand and his indexes being the only fingers opened up.
"Shifa stance again, boy! Then right foot up, stomp down, breath in and then punch your fist out." the Fire Sage ordered. Rong Yan quickly returned to the Shifa stance, maintaining balance, aiming at the wall he rose his right foot up and inhaled air, as the foot went down he exhaled and punched fire out of his hand. A small burst of fire hit the wall before dispersing. "Shifa stance! Then kick with your right, stomp down face me, and then kick with your left, breathe in, breathe out!" the Fire Sage again shouted orders. Rong Yan returned to his stance and did as he was told kicking fire with his right leg and then his left leg. The Fire Sage was impressed, he saw that the boy was taught well but it wasn't enough evidence to prove that he was the Avatar.
"Ming, is your husband Kahn a firebender?" The Fire Sage asked, looking up in amazement at her son's skills in firebending. She shook her head, "No, not a soul in my family is a firebender except my son and my mother in law. She was the one who began training him as of last year. She's not a master but has taught him basic sets."
"So far he was one of the few children who actually practiced or remembered their stances. I'm impressed by his skills at such a young age." the sage adds. "Let's see if we can trigger a spiritual connection." he wondered.
Grabbing the palette where he carries incense sticks he lights each stick between two fingers and places them before the boy. Sitting in front of him, he smiled at the child, "I need you to close your eyes and clear your mind." signaling with his fingers to the boy to close his eyes. It might be too much to ask a child since Rong Yan hasn't made any spiritual connections with any of his past lives yet. If there's a chance he has it might have been in a dream. Past Avatars are known to reach living Avatars in their dreams as well.
After several minutes of meditation, it was proven to be a waste of time. The boy made no such connection with his spiritual side, the sage sighed. Ming also showing disappointment in her face she slightly frowned, the Fire Sage was preparing the brazier to light a black smoke to indicate the boy failed the tests.
Rong Yan stood up, the Fire Sage ignoring the boy at this point and focusing on lighting the brazier. There might have been something that sparked in the child after the attempted session of meditation.
He stood on one leg sorta like a Flamingo Swan, the stance is known as Babu or 'uprooting step', left arm hanging firm in the back, right arm forward open palm, then stomps his right foot forward, and he pulls his arms back, fists at waist side. Lifting his left ready to stomp again lifting his arms into the air in front of him, flings his arms to the left and twirls one 180 degrees with his left leg still suspended in the air. Ming sees Rong Yan doing an advanced stance that she knows her mother in law never taught him.
"Fire Sage." she called, "Look at him go, sage." she coaxed.
The Fire Sage looked up as the boy continued through the Babu stance. He brings his leg around puts it back down legs spread wide apart facing away from the Fire Sage and his mother. He exerts himself to the left both arms out in front of him in an upward angle, right leg again extended out in front of him and left behind him. He moves his arms down towards his waist bending his left leg slightly and raising his right leg and does a twirling kick with his right while maintaining his ground.
"The Babu stance is an advanced stance that I would have not expected a four-year-old child to even perform knowing how difficult the stance and its movements are. I thought you said your mother in law only taught him basic stances and sets?" the sage mentioned.
"She did, I've never seen him do this before. I am just as taken aback by this surprised as you are, sage." Ming marveled at the sight of the boy.
The Fire Sage nodded in approval of Rong Yan, instead of adding the ingredient necessary to produce black smoke, he instead threw in the ingredient that made the smoke white. Opening a window he bent the smoke out of the room. So that all who were in the area could see that the Avatar has been found.
Cheers had been heard from outside from multiple people, they could hear shouts "The Avatar has been found!"
"The Avatar?" another bubbled.
12 Years Later
Walking down the dirt road heading into the merchant square of the village, Rong Yan is whistling going off on his business to run errands for his mother. Picking up groceries for tonight's dinner. He didn't remember much about his status of being the Avatar or what happened at the Trial of Fire was but a blur to him. He entered the merchant square and saw a few stands on the sides of the road, a tavern, a few clothing shops, and a few restaurants.
He then notices a man behind a stand wearing small glasses and wearing a light red tunic with red pants, and white boots, with several fruits, vegetables, meat, and grains.
"Please young sir, browse my goods they're the best in town at the lowest prices!" he advertised.
He points at the dried rice and noodles and the merchant puts the grains into two separate bags, he then points at a small pocket size sack of leechi nuts, some onions, lettuce, tomatoes, tomato-carrots, ash bananas, apples, pink berries, and lemons into a large bag. He then points at three large komodo chicken legs, a few loaves of bread, and finally, he points at some ginseng tea. The merchant fills two other large bags full of the groceries, and the man brings several small pouches of ginseng herb and puts them in another small bag, and places it into his cart. Rong Yan hands over a small sack of ten silver coins and the merchant takes the sack and dumps all of the silver coins into a chest and hands Rong Yan 13 copper pieces. "Xin come over and give this young man a ride back up to his household!" the merchant shouts behind him.
A short, stocky Fire Nation boy runs out and jumps onto the merchant's ostrich horse, as Rong Yan climbs into the cart, Xin stops for a second, and the Fire Sages walking down the road. A few onlookers dropped their things and watched as the Fire Sages came up to Rong Yan. Crowd now nearly formed around the area they were, Rong Yan had bent down to pick up the two copper pieces he accidentally dropped.
The head Fire Sage announced, as he and the other four sages went on their knees and bowed to Rong Yan. "It is truly an honor to be in your presence, Avatar Rong Yan."
He stood there in disbelief at what was happening in front of him, all the villagers knelt on the ground and bowed to honor the new Avatar. They stood up as did everyone else, Xin offered the sages a ride in the cart along with Rong Yan so they could discuss him being the Avatar.
Xin looked back inside the cart. "Sorry to interrupt, but which direction am I heading?"
Xin the Delivery Boy, carries the Avatar and his groceries to his residence on a cart, being pulled by an ostrich horse.
"Up the western road and to the left." Rong Yan answered.
They make it up the road and to the left, Rong Yan opens the door to his home where his mother is preparing the table. Xin the delivery boy is helping Rong Yan with the groceries and putting them inside the house. The Fire Sages stood up from the cart and have gotten off. Waiting for the Avatar to finish putting away the groceries. Rong Yan tips Xin a few copper coins before heading back inside with the Fire Sages in tow. Ming walks over to the table and picks up the vegetables and begins to chop them up for a komodo chicken stew.
"We have guests, mother. They just announced publicly about my true identity." Rong Yan commented without a second thought.
Fire Sages behind him, the head interrupted, "Sorry for the sudden drop in, but we did tell you that we will come back for him on his sixteenth birthday."
Ming, Rong Yan's mother begins to make dinner from the groceries, brought to her.
Kahn walks in opening the door, stunned by the guests present, he shies away forgets his manners. He bows to the Fire Sages, "Fire Sage Xiao, what a surprise to find you in my home. You're welcome to join us for dinner!" Kahn offered.
"Thank you, Kahn," Xiao spoke for himself and the other four sages. They all sat around the table as Ming came around gave a cup of stew to each person sitting at the temple. They all bowed their heads in prayer to the spirits thanking them for the meal that was placed before them.
"Happy birthday, son. Your mother and I love you." Kahn smiles.
Ignoring his father's birthday wishes, he turns over to Xiao, "How do you know I'm the Avatar? Why me? What am I supposed to do now?"
"I arrived at Tang village, twelve years ago, and began to test children ages four to six years old, in the Trial of Fire a series of tests that determines the child to be the next Avatar. First the test of controlling fire, second the test of basic firebending stances and a few basic sets, and then third is a test of spiritual meditation. I started on one side of the village and then went to the western side which is where you currently reside in. You initially failed to control the fire from spreading on the leaf but you seemed to be able to handle the fireball in your hands." Xiao began.
"You passed the second test with ease, your grandmother has taught you well. She must be proud of you. You failed to connect with your spiritual side, which led me to believe that you weren't the Avatar. But the session we had might have sparked something inside of you because you moved like an advanced firebender would despite what your mother had shared with me that your grandmother taught you the basics. The shock of sudden surprise that I felt, gave me goosebumps that was enough evidence to prove you were indeed the Avatar." Xiao continued.
"So what does that have to do with me?" Rong Yan questioned.
"You had unlocked a tiny fraction of your universal knowledge and experience from your previous lives, that allowed you to remember the Babu stance and perform it without a single mistake. Have you tried bending the other elements?" Xiao implied.
"No, I was not aware I was the Avatar until now. I mostly blocked out those memories with different ones. My parents never stopped me from living the childhood I deserved." Rong Yan answered.
Minutes had gone by and they had finished their meals and answered any remaining questions Rong Yan had about being the Avatar. "Who was I in my past life?" he wondered.
"You were an eastern Earth Kingdom general, named Ku Tei. You have accomplished so much in your past life that a mere mention of that name brings fear to your enemies and a feeling of protection from those who need your aid. Your past life has arranged your trainers from the other three nations before his passing. We have appointed you a firebending trainer who awaits your arrival at the temple on Crescent Island. The other trainers aren't important at the moment our main goal is to help you master firebending with the aid of your trainer." Xiao responded.
"Say your goodbyes, and pack your belongings. We're coming for you in the early hours of the day and flying you off to Crescent Island. We're departing back to our beds off on the southern part of your village." Xiao concluded.
He ran upstairs and quickly began to pack his things, and jumped onto his bed and laid there wide awake all night thinking of what it must feel like to be the Avatar. The day soon came and there was a knock on the door. He grabbed all his bags, and walked to the door, his parents were talking to the Fire Sage. Rong Yan quickly gave a bow of respect to the sage and hugged both of his parents.
"We'll miss you, son," Kahn said.
"Be on your best behavior for the Fire Sages, honey." his mother Ming advised.
Kahn hugged Ming ever so tightly as they watched Rong Yan get on Xiao's dragon along with Xiao and the other four sages. "I love you guys too, I guess this is goodbye for now." Rong Yan shouted.
The dragon ascended into the air and began flying in the direction of Crescent Island, three hours pass and they finally reach the temple on the island. Xiao opens the door and leads the Avatar inside.
"Come Rong Yan let me give you a tour of the temple," Xiao said, Rong Yan walked right behind the Fire Sage, as the Fire Sage led the way around the large temple.
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