I've started this story after revistiting a concept I've sketched out years ago but never wrote after all, since I had other things to write at the time. When I picked this up again, I thought to give it a try and write it up, especially after seeing to comics nd the Korra series, which finally gave me the needed ideas.

If you see the format you can by now see by my other works, that I've specialised in letting the canon story go in interesting directions by changing on factor, which ripples through the story. I found this gave me more freedom in my writing than other ways of doing so.

For now this and the first chapter are a test. If feedback is positive, I'll write further chapters for this story.

Chapter-specific notes are always at the end of the chapter to prevent spoilers.

Avatar

Atonement

"Things have changed. In the past, the sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came. They lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the War, my grandfather and the other sages were forced to follow him. I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord. When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other sages."

-Shyu

Prologue

Night had settled over Crescent Island, location of the main temple of the Fire Sages. For many generations, said sages had faithfully served the Avatar, but these times were long past by now. Fire Lord Sozin had seen them as untrustworthy, so after he'd wiped out the Air Nomads, he'd started to change to order to his liking. His predecessor Azulon had perfected it. Now, the sages were only loyal to the Fire Lord.

Not that the current Fire Lord Azulon had much interest in them. After all... it was not they were needed for much anymore.

While in the past many of their duties had been connected to the Avatar and be a presence in the Fire Nation in order to give its people spiritual guidance, this was no longer the case. The government had declared that the people of the Fire Nation no longer had need for spiritual things, that they'd outgrown it. Nowadays, the order was mostly there for ceremonial purposes.

The most excitement they'd experienced recently had been the birth of the first son of Prince Ozai and Lady Ursa. Even though he'd only be the fourth in the line of ascension - his uncle Prince Iroh, his father Ozai and his cousin Lu Ten being set before him - and thus would probably never be close to the throne, the people of the Fire Nation still had celebrated the birth of their new prince Zuko, even though Ozai seemed less than enthusiastic.

How the mighty have fallen... thought Shyu about the state of the order, while kneeling in front of the big statue of Avatar Roku, surrounded by clouds of incense in the air.

Shyu was a very young man, having not even reached the age of twenty, and yet he was already rising in the ranks of the sages. While most of his age were still mere novices, he was already appointed to take the place of a sage who would soon retire. It ha helped that his family had strong a connection to the order and thus it came easy to them.

He'd been unable to sleep. Recently, his dreams had been plagued by horrible visions of a world in flames - complete destruction. Everything else was a confusing mess of faces, lights and screams he'd been unable to decypher. He only knew one thing: it was disturbing him greatly. However, tonight something new had been added to the nightmare. Horrible darkness had engulfed the world, erasing all kind of life in its lethal embrace.

He knew he was one of the few sages that still remained loyal to the Avatar, but it still didn't explain his restlessness. Taking some deep breaths, he looked into the eyes of Roku's statue, and gasped when he saw a faint shimmer in the eyes.

"Could it be? After all these years?" Looking closer, he was mesmerized by them and he found himself in a place that clearly wasn't not the temple's inner sanctum. "What is this?"

"Be at peace."

Shyu now saw her. A young woman who clearly was from the Water Tribes, her skin darkened and her eyes a crystal blue, her hair put into a long ponytail. Yet she was translucent, like a spirit. She also looked very sad, as if the weight of the world lasted on her shoulders. He then remembered that the next Avatar was to be born to the Water Tribes. Could she be the Avatar?

"Are you...?"

The woman seemed to have anticipated his question. "I'm the Avatar that will be. Your world's Avatar will come to you in due time, though it will be years. I don't have much time. I have come to tell you, that what could have been will now never be."

Shyu was taken aback. "Meddling with the wheels of fate is very dangerous and can have unpredictable results. Why are you taking this risk?"

She now looked even more sad than before. "My world has been torn asunder. Many mistakes have been made. It looked good... and ended in disaster. Everything is fading away as if it had never existed. My friends are all gone and I have no idea if I will even exist in the first place after what I am about to do."

Shyu saw how she seemed resigned to her fate. "There is no hope for you?"

"Only your Avatar can save me now... I pray you find him before I vanish as well..." She tried to compose herself, yet a single tear of despair escaped her.

Everything vanished, leaving Shyu in the inner sanctum. Roku's eyes had stopped glowing.

Dazed, he walked out of the sanctum and to an outside area, where he looked to the sky to see the crescent moon in the sky. He tried to make sense of what he'd been told. That the next Avatar, who clearly was of the Water Tribes had pretty much told him the Avatar from the Air Nomads was still alive had been a surprise. Yet, the other things she'd told him were disturbing.

She'd told him her world was dissolving, fading away.

He had no idea what kind of power could cause the world to simply... vanish, as if it had never existed in the first place. In a way he understood her desperation and willingness to meddle with fate itself, even if she'd vanish as a result. She'd already lost everyone close to her heart and had nothing to lose anymore. He could only hope her meddling wouldn't lead to things actually turning for the worse.

He again looked to the moon, which seemed brighter than it had been some moments ago. Avatar, wherever you are right now, the world needs you.

to be continued...

Notes:

I think it is very easy to guess who this girl is. While I never got really warm with the series, Korra herself is a favourite of mine.

Now, if you've seen season 2 of Korra, you can have a very good guess which situation has made Korra desperate enough to do this.