Author's Note: Hello and welcome to ''A Flame in the Dark'', my first fanfiction for ''Avatar - The Last Airbender''.

Some information regarding this story: I have also written this story in German. If you want to read it, check the German fanfiction website, you should find it pretty easy.

Since the German version was quite successful, I decided to translate the story into English. I'm pretty sure all you English speakers/readers out there will like it just as much as my German audience did.

The story has 50 chapters, this first chapter can be seen as an introduction for my OC and his background, but there are also some parts that will be relevant to the plot later on in the story.

Well then, I hope you'll enjoy the story. Leave a review with your opinion and/or questions if you want/feel like it.

With that said: Have fun reading.

''You can kill us, but you will never win!'' A whirr. A scream. A thud on wood.

The memory of the worst day of my life has manifested itself in my head for all time.

I see the horrifying pictures in my mind over and over again, they come at me, attack me, try to devour me, try to break me!

But my soul is strong! I will not let them break me! Every time I drive the dark thoughts away, I grow stronger!

I need the strength! It is my biggest support for the task destiny has imposed upon me, a task I have committed myself to fulfill until my death. It is the will of the Spirits. They chose me to fulfill this duty and their decisions are to be followed.

Now almost four years have passed since that fateful black day and I am not what I was back then anymore. I've recreated myself, my strength, my wisdom, my determination, I have reached complete control over all these things with the help of my master.

My past does not actually imply what I have become.

My birth didn't indicate anything special, 82 years had passed since the appearance of the Great Comet when I arrived in this ruthless, broken world.

For already 82 years, my country had been in this pointless war which it had started itself. The world was slowly falling apart, almost nobody believed that the war was ever going to end.

Despite this misery that had struck the entire world, I never actually noticed anything of it for the time being. My parents did their best to grant me, my two sisters and my brother a carefree childhood.

This should work for many years, I lived a happy and comfortable life. But in the tenth year of my life, I experienced for the first time that change is a big part of life and will always play a part in it.

I was playing in the woods right outside my hometown when I discovered something underneath a tree. It was roundish, jet-black and smooth like the pillars of a temple.

At first, I thought it was just a special stone, but when I held it into the sunlight, I discovered that something was inside, a little animal to be precise.

I was not able to tell what kind of animal it was, but I definitely realized that I was holding an egg.

Since I didn't know if it was dangerous, I eventually decided to not take it home with me, but instead to hide it in a cave I had discovered a short time before.

After that, I searched for a scroll about animals in the library of our house and consequently found out that I had found an actual dragon egg, even though dragons were considered as extinct for a very long time already.

I decided not to tell anyone about my find and to watch over the egg until the dragon would hatch.

Some people would surely call me crazy, considering I was staying this close to such an unfamiliar and possibly dangerous creature voluntarily, but I had read that young dragons were actually tamable, even by humans.

From this day on, I visited the cave every day, until the dragon finally hatched after three weeks. It was pitch-black, had little grey horns and bilious green eyes.

I had informed myself extensively about a dragon's eating habits in its different periods of growth, so I fed the little dragon, who ate directly from my hand.

This was routine for quite some time, the dragon grew steadily and eventually started to grow too big for the cave.

Over time, I had informed myself about the species of my dragon and discovered that he apparently possessed two special powers: Adaption to the environment to camouflage itself on the one hand and the ability to communicate with his tamer on both a vocal and a mental level on the other hand.

The latter eventually turned out to be true, as my dragon started talking to me and asked for permission to leave the cave, he wanted to fly. I granted him the wish under the condition that he would only fly while camouflaged, I didn't want anybody from the town to see him.

Thus, from now on, the dragon began to fly in circles over the forest for most of the day, only returning to his cave for the night. By that time, I had also decided to give my dragon the name Pagan.

One day, Pagan encouraged me to try and ride him while he was flying. I gave it a go and after some initial difficulties to stay on his scaly neck, I eventually became a genuine dragon rider.

Despite this new experience, my life remained pretty comfortable. That however changed four years later.

I had spent some time in town, meeting with one of my friends, but when I returned home, both my parents and my siblings were not there.

Just as I wanted to start looking for them, I saw many people exiting their houses and walking towards the market place. I melted into the crowd and eventually reached the market place as well.

But what I had to witness there froze the blood in my veins to solid ice: The crowd stood right in front of a big wooden pedestal. And on this structure, my father, my mother, my sisters and my brother knelt, their hands and feet bound.

I tried to scream, but didn't manage to utter even a single word when I saw who was standing in the back on the pedestal: It was Fire Lord Ozai himself, a sword in his hand.

He stepped forward and began to speak, about how the crimes my family had committed had been revealed at last and how there was only one penalty for high-treason: Death!

My father shouted at the Fire Lord, but he showed no emotion, save for a diabolical and sadistic grin, and decapitated my father with a single strong blow. My mother screamed loudly when my father's head hit the wooden ground. Only a few moments later, my mother's head followed, then my sisters'.

I tried to reach the pedestal as fast as I could, but too late: With that diabolical grin still on his face, the Fire Lord also decapitated my brother.

The moment my brother's headless body dropped onto the wooden floor, I reached the pedestal. The Fire Lord looked down, right into my eyes. An incredible rage began to fill my body when I saw the infinite evil in the monarch's eyes.

I screamed as loud as I could: ''You will pay for this! One day, I will find you and then slice your throat!''

The Fire Lord began to realize that I was also a member of the family he had just executed and ordered his soldiers to kill me. But thanks to the massive crowd and with large amounts of luck, I managed to successfully evade the soldier's spears and disappear into a small alley.

I eventually reached my home without any pursuers, went into my room and started to cry, and I cried for a very long time. I had just lost my entire family in the span of a few minutes, they were dead, would never return, I was completely alone now.

At this moment, I swore to myself: One day, I would kill the Fire Lord and avenge my family!

That's when I remembered my father's last words. What exactly had he meant by that? I went into his study and found a scroll that was conspicuously placed on the table and bore an unknown seal.

I unrolled the scroll and started reading, but what I read was more than impressive: In the scroll, my father revealed his membership in a mysterious order which pursued a special goal: Ending the war and restoring peace in the world! Apparently, this order already existed for several thousand years and had always operated in the shadows, directly affecting and shaping the history of the entire world many times in the process.

My father addressed all of his children in the scroll, whoever of us would read this should take his place in the order and continue our family's task. On the back of the scroll was a map depicting the route to an old monastery in the mountains, the order's headquarters.

I took the scroll's content in and eventually realized: I had to follow my father's last wish and join this order, it was my destiny!

Some time later, I packed the few things I still possessed and then headed to Pagan's cave in the forest.

I told him what had happened to my family and how things would continue for us now. He replied that no matter what would happen, he would stay by my side, since a dragon never leaves his master!

I described the location of the monastery to him and we began our journey.

A few days later, we eventually had found the monastery. It was an ancient complex with multiple buildings that looked like they had been carved right into the mountain itself.

I stepped in front of the large gate, but before I could knock, it opened on its own. I stepped inside and walked across the big courtyard, right towards the apparent main building.

When I entered it, several old monks wearing long white robes welcomed me. They said they knew who I was and the reason I was here. They explained many things to me and accepted me into the order as a novice.

They said that I had many things to learn and assigned a master called Kyzel the Old to teach me. He was an old man with a long white beard, but apparently was one of the best teachers in the order's ranks.

And so my training began. During the following months and years, I learned everything I know today. One day, the grand masters tested me and finally appointed me the rank of master.

With this rank, I also had earned the privilege of knowing the order's codex that every master had to follow: The main goal of the order was, as I already knew, the preservation of peace in the world. But there was a second big goal I hadn't learned about so far: Since its founding, the order also had the mission to protect the Avatar, who was seen as the greatest peace keeper. Whenever a new Avatar appeared in the world, the order elected one member which then became the Protector of the Avatar.

In one of their visions, the grand masters had seen that the war was about to experience some drastic turns, which appeared to be connected with the appearance of the new Avatar. They had waited for the word of the Spirits and then finally elected the Protector.

Their election fell on me! I of course was surprised, but accepted the honor without questioning, since one simply does not question the word of the Spirits.

I now had a mission which would define my entire life from now on. From this day on, I waited for the day on which my mission would truly begin.

The wait is finally over! The big day is here! The Avatar has returned! My task is now to find the Avatar and protect him or her during his or her mission to restore peace in the world!

But despite this honor that destiny has imposed on me, I will never forget my main goal in life: I will find and kill the Fire Lord and all his subordinates, it's the only way for me and my family to find the peace we deserve!

The revenge fills me, it's everywhere in my body, it shapes my actions, it won't calm down until I have achieved my goal!

The honor, it surrounds me, it controls me and keeps the revenge in rein. I have to carry out what is quite possibly the most important mission in the history of this world, I will succeed or die!

Even through the darkest days and the blackest nights, my flame burns, always!

I walk in the shadows to bring light into the world!

My name is Yulizan Huyan!

I am an Assassin!

Next chapter: The adventure begins