Age of Prophecy and Fire

The world is full of countless stories. Some will make you laugh; others will make you cry. Some have happy endings others will end in tragic ways. There are stories about grand adventures full of heroes saving the day and other stories with epic romances.

And yet there are other types of stories. Some are born out of misery, ash, blood, and terror. Tell one of those stories, and it will make your mouth blister, and your dreams will turn inside-out.

Still, those stories need to be told as well. For regardless of how they may make your mouth burn and blisters, all accounts have one thing in common. They all ring with truths of lessons that must be learned.

That's what you take away from any storytelling. Regardless of anything else, no matter what type of story or its ending, it's the message it tells that is most important. What you take from it is the lesson learned.

So now we shall tell the story of When Gold Met Jade; A Love Story that Saved the World.

This story starts twenty years before it mixes with the stories of some others. It's the reign of Fire Lord Azulon, and the war against the other nations still rages hard, and it's taking a deadly toll on the world.

Every night the land, sea, and air become more drenched in the blood of innocent, and it stains not just the land, sea, and air but the souls of the world from all the senselessness of it.

Mothers around the world don't sing their sweet babes to sleep with a lullaby. All they hear at night is a symphony of death, as blue skies become more painted each day with crimson paint, as more death and the lose of hearts, souls and humanity sweep the world.

Fun is slowly vanishing from people's vocabulary, and all anyone can speak is of terror, war, death, and hopeless.

The light of hope is dying each day as this endless war wages across the nation, and people keep wondering where is the Avatar when you need him? Why wasn't he reincarnated? Why did this war have to come to be? Why?

For nearly 100 years now, the people of the world cry every night is praying and hoping for the Avatar to return and deliver them from this evil.

The people of the Earth Kingdom cry out. "Ash! Soot! Fire! It's burning our lands faster! Every day we tried to lift and pull ourselves up. But the flames only rise more quickly!

We feel the sting of fire on our bodies and sweat of battle on our brows. Oh, dear Avatar, can you not hear our cries? Help us now! In this world darkest our deliver us! Please deliver us! Remember us! Here before, our Kingdom becomes a wasteland!

Deliver us as you promised the world!"

The Water Tribes sang out with their hearts. "Dear Avatar, we've nothing we can give. But for a chance for us to live and pray, our children will see us again. Please, will you come back and deliver us?

Hear our prayers for our despair from these years of raids grow too cruel for us to stand! So come back to this world to deliver it. return to the world as your promised and save the land."

And then both the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe would always sing together. "Please come back and deliver us from this evil. Just as you've always kept your promise of keeping balance and save this land!"

But things are about to change. And take a turn as the course of many destinies are about to change. Just as stone makes ripples, and a butterfly can change the weather that was about to happen as well.

On the Crescent Island where Avatar Roku's statue was kept, and the Fire Sages called home, there was a second essential Fire Nation culture item held at the temple. The First Fire.

The First Fire was a sacred fire said to be the first fire ever bent by humans after the dragons taught them firebending. It was kept in a holy chamber directly below the house where Avatar Roku's statue was kept.

The First Fire was said to be both sentient and have mystical properties. It was also said it could predict times called the Age of Prophecy and Fire. The Fire Sages kept a vigilant watch over the divine flame and knew how to tell when such a time had arrived.

When such time arrived, the current Fire Lord was immediately informed, and then it was the Sages' job to figure out what sort of Prophecy the First Fire was trying to tell them.

Exactly 20 years before Avatar Aang would make his dramatic return to the world, the First Fire announced an Age of Prophecy and Fire had come. This was determined by the fire bending itself in fantastical configurations as well as flashing colors that no-one had ever seen the fire do before.

A messenger hawk was sent at once to Fire Lord Azulon. Subsequently, once the message had been dispatched. The Sages commencement to cleanse themselves for what was to come for them. To cleanse their minds, body, and spirits to be pure and correctly interpret the divine First Fire came with rules.

They'd to fast for a week, mediated during hours of sunrise, noon and sunset, and also say prayers to all sacred spirits of the Fire Nation. It was a week-long process and must all be done correctly by all the Fire Sages. Because if even one member didn't execute the cleanse to a T successfully, then they'd never been able to understand the First Fire.

Once the cleanse had been completed, the five Fire Sages then all headed to the golden orientated doors to face the sacred First Fire and see what message it had for them.

The golden doors went from floor to ceiling, with two intertwined dragons engraved on them. Opening the doors, you entered a sizeable pentagon-shaped room. The walls had painted on them in great detail the story of how the dragons taught the people of the Fire Nation to become firebenders.

The ceiling itself had a mosaic of colorful dragons dancing around the very first fire ever to exist the sun itself. And in the center of the room itself kept in a golden fire pit with beautiful dragons with crimson and blood-red gemstones adorning it was the First Fire itself.

"Let us begin my brothers of the flame. We have got a sacred and honorable duty to our country and our Fire Lord. Let us see what the First Fire is about to prophesy this time. And by dragons themselves may it bless the Fire Lord and his mighty nation in many ways!" the Head Fire Sage spoke to the other four.

Three of them seemed to be enthusiastic and eager to please and serve the Fire Lord. Only one did not. He kept is disgust and revulsion for their degradation of the sacred and holy flame to himself.

For the next year and a half, the Fire Sages were hard at work through intense work and much prayer fever to under what the mystical flame was telling them with its prophesying powers.

At last, after 18 long months, they finally knew what the flame had been foreseeing. It had been prophesying the union of several couples who'd have children. And these children would make the final difference in the war the Fire Nation had waged against the other nations.

They did spend the remainder of the year double check all the names and identities of all the First Fire had offered them. They couldn't afford to make a mistake with something this important.

Finally, at the end of two years, they'd completed their world and sent all the information back to Fire Lord Azulon. They knew he'd send his men to locate the people the First Fire had foreseen and seen to it they're married at once, and these prophesied children were born as soon as possible.

That would correctly that up the next two years as the one Fire Sage who hadn't been pleased with the last two years of what he'd been forced to do knew some wouldn't come quietly.

Fire Lord's orders or not most people aren't accepting of arranged marriages. Not when it gets in the way of true love. Or doing anything against your will most people don't like it when they're right to decide for themselves is taken away.

That night the young Fire Sage whose name was Shyu waited till everyone else went to bed. They're exhausted and tired from the last two years of work. Not him. He only had two years of revulsion and disgust.

He downright hated how the Sages had been made to serve the Fire Lord — turned around from their proper duty of serving the Avatar that they'd brought shame and dishonor on themselves and those who'd come before them.

He thought of his family and all he believed in. How he was being forced to go against everything he believed in and how now he was only hurting more people who didn't deserve what was going to happen to them.

And now this? Are they using the sacred First Fire to bring children into a world of war? That they are only tools of destruction to bring pain and suffering and not even understand that other children just like them would suffer?

He wished with all his heart; there was something he could do to change the fate of those to come. The future of the world and somehow even redeem himself. But how?

He then realized he was outside Avatar Roku's room. How he wished he could go inside and ask the powerful Avatar for his forgiveness for their failure and dishonor. So much he wanted to say and ask for.

But to open the door, you needed five firebenders. Then something nothing short of a miracle happened.

The doors creaked open on their own, and an unearthly glow beckoned him inside. His feet moved without him even thinking, and once he was inside, the doors closed. It was night, and no, there were no torches to lit up the room, and yet it was bright as day in the room.

Everything was glowing with power and life in this room. Shyu couldn't think of anything else to do but throw himself at the feet of the powerful Avatar and beg for his forgiveness and guidance.

"Avatar Roku! I'm genuinely sorry for what I've done to dishonor you and all the Avatars. What transgressions the Fire Nation has made and so much more! I sincerely apologize for our degradation of the First Fire!

Tell me, please? Is there hope for ourselves? This world? Please? Many nights I've prayed for the proof your successor lives. Not that many think he did. But many of us still cling to a hopeful song in our hearts that we barely understand.

But you and every Avatar before you and hopefully the one still out there. The Last Airbender has shown us time, and again that need not be afraid. Though there much to fear.

Because with your help we all can move the largest of mountains without knowing we could. So please, Avatar Roku. Show me if you can that there still can be miracles. That there is a reason that this world should always hold to hope. Even when it is frail that they shouldn't let it be killed.

That we can make the miracle we all seek to achieve happen. That there is a reason to believe? Please show me!"

The statute of the last Avatar did nothing at first, then its eyes glowed, and suddenly everything around Shyu changed, and he found himself what had to be a spiritual vision.

He was standing in a barren wasteland of nothing but ash. The only thing living were two strange and unusual colored pink trees in front of him.

The trees didn't have leaves they'd glowing seeds hanging from them. One tree had seeds of gold and the other of jade green. Shyu watched as two seeds fell from each tree and become one and then landed.

From where the seeds landed, a small flower began to sprout. He watched as so much tried to kill the flower, which continued to grow, flourish, and bloomed into the most beautiful fire lily he'd ever seen despite all the adversity that wanted to kill it.

When it fully bloomed, the land around it became green and alive again.

He was then brought back to the room with Avatar Roku's statue, whose eyes had stopped glowing, and Shyu asked. "Is this the answer to prayers? Has that been made in such a long time of fear? That seemed to have been in vain?

That what you just showed me is real hope that's not going to fly away like birds that fly so swiftly away? I'm not sure what it means this vision you just showed me. Yet I'm standing here with my heart so full I can't explain.

I'm ready to speak words I never thought I say. I've faith and hope for the first time in years. All I know for sure is this vision you just showed me is a miracle, and I believe in it.

I know a real miracle doesn't happen, especially when you ask for one, which is why its so easy to give into fear. But I can feel this in my bones the world soon won't be blinded by this senseless pain much longer, and we will quickly get out of the rain as well.

Help will be arriving very soon. That's what you are trying to say. I know you sent me this vision for a reason, and I'll know what it means at the right time and if I'm involved in sharing it with someone too.

But thank you for answering my prayers tonight, Avatar Roku. I'll make sure to look for the signs of what this vision means. Two seeds of gold and jade, a fire lily and always remember to hope."

The statue of the old Avatar said no more but opened the door, and the Fire Sage left and knew he must keep this to himself if hope was to stay alive. But again, it was just the start of this story.

More would come soon, and very soon, things would get a lot more complicated. But for now, a real and true prophecy had been made. For now, the prologue for the story had been told. Next to be the first chapter.