Hello Internet! Tis I, Jack, here with the promised and long awaited prequel to Ageless. It's taken time, and a lot of planning, replanning, and scraping before I finally got the story line straightened out like I wanted. So, without further delay, I give you Timeless:

I do not in any way own Avatar, The Last Airbender.

The midday sun bore down upon the village with an unrelenting intensity. Everyone with a pulse had sought out some kind of shade in an effort to escape it's wrath. Even the stray cats and dogs had found refuge of some sort. Sure there were some people coming and going about their business, but there weren't enough to consider the village bustling.

Despite the overall lack of foot traffic, the shopkeeper still had his place wide open. With the heat, being kept inside was almost as stifling as standing in direct sunlight. So he'd opened the place up a little, opting to use the shade of an outdoor stand along the side of his shop rather then bake to death in a building with no breeze.

So far, he'd only had a single customer all day. A young man from out of town, a stranger. He wore a battered old conical rice hat, a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, a pair of gray trousers, and black boots. On his hip rested a black katana, which was stuck through a sash that served as a belt.

Currently, the stranger was slurping on a bowl of noodles at the end of the small counter, seemingly lost in his own little world. Overall, the shopkeeper wasn't quite sure what to make of the stranger. He appeared to be in his early twenties, and his skin tone suggested a possible Water Tribe origin. His hair, which was pulled back into a loose fitting pony tail, was dark as well. The sense that the shopkeeper got from him was one of a man who simply wanted to be left alone to eat his meal in peace.

Which was more then could be said for the soldiers that were across the street. There were four of them, each one wearing a green Earth Kingdom uniform. Currently, they were playing craps in the shade of one of the buildings. Although it may not have looked it at the moment, the soldiers were a burden on the village.

Although apart of the local garrison, they were little more then board thugs with nothing to do. Officially, their job was to protect the town and the surrounding areas from the Fire Nation. The strategic value of the area, however, made that threat unlikely. There were no major trade routes in the area, and the only resources to plunder were the local farms and ranches. Even the bandit gangs that had sprung up thanks to the chaos of the war didn't consider this place worth their time.

The locals knew it too, made evident by the single watch tower in the village square being the only sort of defensive structure. So, with no Fire Nation and no bandits to protect from, the soldiers had started taking advantage of their position. The law stated that all Earth Kingdom citizens were required to provide garrisoned military personal with whatever they needed. These soldiers had started abusing that law, making the villagers hand over whatever they wanted under the guise of 'donations to the military'.

The villagers were left with very little that they could do. Fighting back against the soldiers, or even objecting to their seizing of goods was against the law. Actively fighting back against them was considered an attempt to undermine the war effort, and therefore treason. No one was willing to risk execution just to punch a few bullies.

Going above the soldiers' heads wouldn't work either. It was almost a full day's ride via ostrich horse just to get to the next town, much less the next garrison. Given how desperate the Earth Kingdom's position in the war had gotten over the past few years, it was unlikely that anything would be done to replace the soldiers. The army was taking anyone they could get their hands on these days, and chances were they didn't have the manpower to replace the men that were here now. In the end, it was easier for everyone to just give the soldiers the rations they demanded and then keep their heads low so as to not draw attention to themselves.

"Come on, spider snake eyes," one of the soldiers said before rolling the dice. The two cubes bounced across the dirt before come up with two fives. The man who had rolled smiled and cheered his success, until two of his comrades gut punched him. While this was going on, a young man came riding up to the stand on an ostrich horse.

Like the first stranger, this newcomer was wearing a conical hat, although in much better condition. He had on a bland mixture of browns and olive greens, as well as a dao broadsword sheathed on his hip. His skin was a light color, and what made him stand out the most was the burn scar which dominated his left eye, cheek, and majority of his face back to his ear.

Pulling on the reigns, the young man swung down from the saddle and tied off his mount before standing directly before the shopkeeper. He was younger then the shopkeeper had originally assumed, appearing to be in his mid to late teens or so. His eyes were a golden amber color, another sign that he was not from around here.

"Can I get some water, a bag of feed, and something hot to eat?" he asked as he laid down a pair of copper pieces onto the counter. The shopkeeper looked down at the coins before back up at the young man.

"Not enough here for a hot meal. I can get you two bags of feed though," he counter offered. The young man looked down in disappointment before gently clutching his stomach, a sign that he had gone a while without eating. A few more coins suddenly appeared alongside the ones he had already sat down, causing both the newcomer and the shopkeeper to look at where they had come from.

"Get him his food," the stranger at the end of the bar said without really looking at the two of them.

"That's not..." the newcomer started, but was silenced when the stranger raised his hand.

"Save it, kid. Take this act of kindness, it's probably the last one you'll get for a while," he said. Reluctantly, the newcomer nodded his head in agreement, and the shopkeeper scooped up the coins before hurrying off to fulfill the order.

"Thank you," the newcomer said out of the corner of his mouth. The stranger simply waved him off.

"Don't mention it, kid." They went back to waiting in silence, neither one really noticing or acknowledging the boys that were peaking around the counter at the soldiers across the street. One of them stood and lobbed an egg with all his might before ducking down for cover. The egg sailed true, shattering all over the back of one of the soldier's heads.

"Hey! You throwin' eggs at us, stranger?" the leader of the soldiers said. He was a large man with a beard and a pair of war hammers hanging on his belt.

"No," the newcomer answered, his voice sounding disinterested.

"You see who threw it?" the man pressed on.

"No," the newcomer said again as he turned to face the soldiers. This time he sounded a little annoyed at the fact that they were talking to him.

"That your favorite word?" one of the other soldiers asked.

"Egg had to come from somewhere," the leader said, ignoring his subordinate.

"Maybe a chicken flew over," the newcomer said as he turned back to the counter. The shopkeeper had returned with a bag of grain over his shoulder and a steaming bowl of soup in his hands. He sat the bowl down first before laying the bag beside it. As the newcomer went to pick up the bag of feed, the leader of the soldiers stepped forward and took it for himself.

"Thank you for your donation, the army appreciates your support," he said before tossing it to one of his men. The newcomer glared at him, but otherwise kept his mouth shut. One of the soldiers slunk forward and knocked the bowl on the counter into the dirt.

"Oops, how clumsy of me," he said, earning a laugh from the others. That is, until his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed face first into the street. Standing directly behind him was the stranger at the end of the bar. The soldiers all looked at him first with shock, and then with murder in their eyes. He didn't seem to notice or care as he bent down and took the pouch of coins the soldier had on his belt. After counting out some copper pieces, he tied off the bag and dropped it back onto the man's knocked out form.

"He owned me for a meal," the stranger said, as if that explained everything.

"You two had better leave town. Penalty for staying is a lot steeper then either of you can afford, trust me," the leader said as he patted one of his hammers before heading off with the others in tow.

"Those soldiers are suppose to protect us from the Fire Nation, but they're just a bunch of thugs," the shopkeeper said as he folded his arms. The newcomer stared to go for his horse, but was stopped when the stranger placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Finish your meal," he said. They both looked at the bowl laying in the dust before returning their attention to the shopkeeper. He started to protest, but was silenced by a glare from the stranger before heading off to get another bowl.

"What's your name, kid?" the stranger asked.

"I'm..um..." he trailed off, suddenly realizing that he didn't have a name to travel under.

"Relax. I ain't after bounties. But if you're going for an alias, try avoiding Lee. There are a million of those. I'd suggest something a touch more rare, like Khan for example," the stranger said. The newcomer mused that one over a little.

"Alright...Khan. My name is Khan."

"Name's Ryou, it's a pleasure, Khan," the stranger said as they shook hands. With that, they went to waiting on the food. A boy of about ten or so popped his head up from behind the counter. He had wild hair and a rather large gap in his teeth.

"Thanks for not ratting me out!" he said. He didn't get very far as Ryou snatched him up by the back of the collar and held him aloft.

"You stupid or just got a death wish?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was just having a little fun."

"Pissing off the local garrison is what counts as fun around here?" Ryou asked.

"Look around you, mister, there's nothing to do in this town," the kid defended.

"Oh yes, and that totally justifies throwing things at people who have the legal right to kill you at even the slightest provocation. Brilliant planning there on your part, squirt."

"It's not like they'll do anything, anyway. They may talk all tough but I've never actually seen them in action. The only thing they seem to do is get fat off the rest of us," the kid said. Ryou sighed before he released his grip, allowing the kid to drop back to the ground.

"Go on, get home, before I change my mind and let those troopers ring your scrawny neck," he said. The kid took off just as the shopkeeper came back with another steaming bowl.

"That's Lee. He can be a little rowdy, but he's a good kid," he said.

"His stupidity will get him killed," Ryou muttered.

Rather than heed the soldier's warning, I made the choice to stay in town, paying the guy who ran the stables to sleep there as the place lacked anything resembling an inn. The teenager who called himself Khan had ridden off, probably putting as many miles between himself and the village as possible. I couldn't blame him for not wanting to start trouble, but at the same time I was a little disappointed that he didn't. Soldiers like the ones garrisoned here gave the Earth Kingdom military a bad name.

As for the kid named Lee, I hadn't seen him since either. I did double check my belt for my coin purse, not wanting to take any chances on him being a pickpocket or not. Kids like him are a major source of trouble. Not that they're always bad or looking to do bad things, it's just that things tend to happen when they get board.

Speaking of getting board, this town truly had nothing to offer other then the little shop I had met Khan at. I sat in the shade at this place for the remainder of the day and into the night, occasionally chatting with people who passed by. Secretly I was baiting the soldiers into a fight, tempting them to come back so I could wipe the street with them. But as the sun sank behind the horizon, no such fight came to be. In fact, I never saw a single sign of them.

By the time the sun had set, I had struck up a Pai Sho game with an older man while the shopkeeper leaned on a broom and watched. The game, with the help of some drink, managed to loosen the tensions between the locals and myself. It wasn't long before we were joking and laughing while playing.

"So what brings you to our little road bump?" my opponent asked as he slid a piece across the board.

"Passing through, mainly. I'm on business at the moment," I answered as I met his piece with one of my own.

"Mm, and what business is that?" the shopkeeper asked. He was partially sitting on another table while holding his drink in his hand and having his broom lean against his frame.

"Whatever job happens to pay well enough," I replied before taking a sip of my own drink. This was true in a sense. I had discharged from the army about a year ago and was drifting at this point, looking for a way to keep food in my belly, coin in my purse, while at the same time retain some excitement. Be it treasure hunting or bounty hunting, whichever paid more was more then likely where I was going to wind up.

"So you're unemployed," the old man said as he made his own move.

"Not exactly. The job is long term," I replied before sliding a lotus tile across the board. My employer was a wealthy nobleman from Gaoling who wanted a family heirloom found and returned to him. Apparently a thief had made off with it and was now fleeing east along this road. My job was to find the thief and returned the object that was stolen. Problem was, I had very few details to go on.

I knew that the thief was female, she had left a hair tie behind when she had fled after her theft, and that was about it. Other then the general direction she was heading I didn't really have anything else. Truth be told it was pretty damn frustrating. The trail tends to go cold really fast when you don't even have a description of the person you're chasing.

"If you're looking for some quick cash, I heard the army is looking for dispatch riders and scouts," the shopkeeper said.

"I just got out of the army not that long ago. I'm not desperate enough to go crawling back just yet. Besides, the war's almost over as it is," I said. It was true. There were very few places in the north and west the Fire Nation didn't control. Their imperialist onslaught had claimed all of the major strongholds. Not even mountaintop city of Omashu had escaped, having fallen this past winter. Now, only the capital, Ba Sing Se, was left.

"That's not true. Didn't you hear? The Avatar has returned. He's gonna turn this war around, I'm telling you," the shopkeeper said. My smile faded from my face as memories, long ago buried by drink and other means were dredged up to the surface.

"The Avatar is dead," I said in a voice that was as cold and stoic as I could muster. This was a fact I had accepted long ago. To say otherwise was to give people false hope.

"No, no, it's true. I've heard it myself. He annihilated an entire Fire Navy fleet this past winter by himself. I'm telling you with power like that on our side there's no way we can lose," the shopkeeper pressed.

"Tall tales and whispers, friend. You're probably the fifth person to be hearing it," I said as I started to take another drink.

"I heard that myself, actually. Turned an entire fleet to scrap metal with his Avatar powers. What was his name? Agni? Arrow? Aang?" the old man asked. I froze, using the cup to hide my sudden surprise. Tall tales were one thing, but that name, I had heard that name before, so very long ago.

"If that's true, then where is this Aang character now?" I asked. Both of the other men shrugged. It's not like I expected them to actually know his location, stories like this tend to leave out that part. More then likely this was a tale that had spread about some bending hero people had started to mistaken for the Avatar.

'Hero Stories' as I like to call them, tended to pop up every generation or so. Some great and powerful bender accomplishes some task, and people think they're the Avatar as a result. It varied from person to person on how they reacted to this. Some were humble and stated that they were not, in fact, a god incarnate. Others tried to use it to their advantage and ride the wave of fame and fortune that came with it. This lasted until someone else, usually the actual Avatar, arrived and knocked the crap out of them.

Being a non bender, I didn't really care about such tales. I was making my way in the world with just myself, my blade, and what I could accomplish on my own. It's not what a man can do that makes him a man, it's what he actually does.

"I thought I told you to leave town." We all turned to the sound of the new voice. It was the leader of the soldiers from earlier, along with a pair of his men on either side of him. I was...mildly disinterested, to say the least. These guys were board and looking for something to do. If they started a fight, it'd be one of them who threw the first punch, not me.

"No. You suggested that I leave town. I took your advice, and decided that I'll leave when I'm good and ready," I replied, leaning back lazily in my chair. The man's eyebrow twitched. It was obvious he wasn't use to people talking back to him.

"I also warned that the penalty for staying was too much for you to afford," he warned, his hands slipping toward his hammers. I glanced down at them and then back up to him before picking up my cup again.

"You really think a couple of low ranked piss ants like you scare me?" I asked before taking a sip. Now the man was furious. He looked to the guy standing on his right, who was holding a spear.

"Are you just gonna stand there and let this guy insult you?" he hissed.

"He's got a sword," the man on the other side of him pointed out.

"So what? There's two of you and one of him. It's probably meant for show anyway."

"Do you really want to put that theory to the test?" I warned, eying both of the soldiers standing on either flank with a steely gaze. They both took a half step backwards out of instinct. The leader through, he stood his ground and drew his hammers. Based on his stance, I figured he was also probably an earthbender. I'd have to hit him high, hard, and fast if I wanted a chance to make it out in one piece.

"Fine, I'll do it myself," he said as he went to raise his hammers. I reacted before he did, kicking the chair I had been resting my feet on into his kneecaps. He bent over from the force of the blow, at which point I grabbed the small bowl with a candle in it off the table and threw the molten wax into his face.

The leader jerked his head back, dropping one of his hammers and screaming in pain as the wax seared his eyes. I was on my feet in a flash, my stance widening as I pulled the my sword from it's scabbard. My momentum drove the pommel right into his face, forcing him backwards. He took a few stumbling steps back before losing his balance and falling, using his back to shatter another table.

Neither one of his companions dared move as they regarded me in shock. I just simply stood there in a ready stance, my sword partially drawn as I waited for someone else to make a move. When they did finally move, it was to quickly pick up their fallen leader and carry him off into the night. It was only after they were gone did I fully resheath my blade and relax my stance.

"Sorry about the table," I said, hoping to break the awkward silence. My two companions for the evening seemed at a loss, like they didn't know whether to cheer for me or morn me cause I had just signed my own death warrant.

"You just stood up to those guys, and your legs aren't broken," the shopkeeper said in awe. I shrugged as I sat back down in my chair and reclaimed my drink.

"Only tomorrow will see if I acted accordingly."

Late morning brought with it a whole host of new trouble. The soldiers, back up to full strength in numbers, had gathered around the base of the watch tower in the center of town. They also had Lee with them, tied to one of the bamboo support beams. It didn't make much sense why they'd be doing this. For some reason their leader kept looking toward the road, not like he was going to make a run for it, but like he was watching for something. Or someone.

From out of the dusty plains came Khan, alone atop his mount like a wanderer from fables told to children. He came to a halt about halfway up the street before dismounting and taking off his hat. The way he stood made it clear he opposed the soldiers. To top it all off, he stood alone.

I watched with only a mild interest. If the soldiers were smart, they'd use their numerical advantage and rush him all at once. Of course, they didn't choosing instead to attack him one at a time. Khan easily took them down one by one with little effort, showing both skill and training. There was one thing in particular that caught my eye. It was his stance with his sword when he finally drew it to face the earthbender with the hammers.

There was only one other person I had seen with a stance like that, which meant that Khan had trained under him, which meant that Khan was Fire Nation. This was proven a few moments later when he lept to his feet, unleashing a torrent of fire in the process. The tables were suddenly turned. While he had been on the back foot, now he was on the offensive and dominating his opponent.

"Who are you?" the earthbender asked after he had been knocked off his feet and was at the other man's mercy.

"My name is Zuko!" he declared, "Son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai! Prince of the Fire Nation, and heir to the throne!"

"Liar!" It was the old man I had played Pai Sho with the night before. "I heard of you! You're not a Prince, you're an outcast, his own father burned and disowned him!" And just like that, I had seen enough. By revealing his identity, Khan, or Zuko to be more accurate, had turned the townspeople against him. The scars of the war ran deep. Heroic actions or not, they'd hang him from the guard tower by the time the sun set.

This was part of the reason why I left quickly, riding out of town while the crowd was still focused on the young prince. They would be even more paranoid of strangers now, and probably tear me apart like rabid dogs to fresh meat simply on speculation alone.

Still, I found the situation to be somewhat puzzling. Here was someone who was suppose to be an enemy of mine, a member of the royal family of a nation at war with my own, and yet I felt a strange sense of kinship with him. Maybe it was the way of the sword, or maybe it was being an outcast without a home. Whatever the reason, I found myself waiting in the shade of a tree a short distance from the town. I didn't have to wait long before he came by.

"Your stance reflects that of your master," I said. He brought his mount to a halt, his hand falling to his sword.

"You saw what happened?" he asked, clearly expecting trouble.

"I did. You put quite the passion into announcing who you were," I said before nudging my own mount forward.

"That was probably a mistake," he admitted.

"Probably. But one you'll know not to repeat in the future."

"Is there a reason why you waited for me?" Zuko asked.

"I figured I'd ride along with you for a while, Prince. You're still new to this kind of life, and you probably won't get another chance for someone to show you the ropes," I answered.

"I'm not helpless!" he snapped.

"I didn't say you were. But trust me, out here on the road, you need all the friends you can get," I countered. He looked like he was debating something in his head and was quiet for a long time. Finally he removed his hand from his sword and made a motion for us to get moving. I turned my own mount and fell in along side him.

"You said you recognized my fighting stance as that of my master," he said after a while, breaking the silence. I nodded.

"Piandao was an old rival of mine. I crossed blades with him many times," I said. A look of confusion came over the prince's face.

"But, master Piandao retired from service several decades ago," he said in confusion. I simply gave him a small, secret held smile.

"One thing you will learn on the road, Prince, is that things are often not as they appear."

And cut. That's it for the first chapter. For those of you wondering, yes, Ryou does resemble Nanashi from Sword of the Stranger. But beyond physical looks, that's where the similarities end. Please, feel free to read, review, send PMs, ask questions, and I'll see you all next time around.