Avatar: Rise of a Legend

An Avatar: The Last Air Bender prequel by J.W. Appel

Disclaimer: Bryke and Nickelodeon own Avatar, I only own this story and my own characters.

Author's Note: Well, Here I am again! I was gonna do my Korra Finale rewrite first but plans changed and I planned of referencing this story's events in the finale rewrite anyway. I know this probably won't mean much next year since the Avatar's origins will apparently be revealed in Korra Book 2 but I just had to write this so enjoy regardless.

Air…Water…Earth…Fire.

For centuries, the Avatar has kept balance in the world, serving as the master of the four elements and a bridge between man and spirit in over a thousand incarnations. From the legendary Avatar Aang who ended a century long war to the mighty Avatar Korra who defeated the anti-bending Equalists, each member of the Avatar line has saved the world more times than either man or Spirit can remember. But where did it all begin? This is the story of how the Avatar Cycle came to be…

Book 1: Bending

Chapter 1: The Beginning

In the beginning, there was only a void. Darkness was all that existed and had ever existed in this age where time had not yet begun. But one day, a sentient being of mystical energy came into existence by means unknown. His name was Brykus and he was the first Spirit.

Brykus saw the void around him and wished to give it life such as he possessed. He made a gesture and flooded the darkness with light. With another gesture, he spun time itself into existence. Lastly, he formed children from his own essence to populate and build this new realm with him. Thus was born the Spirit World.

For the first few centuries, the Spirits were content with their existence but something felt incomplete. Brykus was wise however and knew that his children were too alike, creating an imbalance. He moded them anew to reflect different aspects of life and even made a portion of them evil but was always watchful of the later's malevolence.

More centuries passed and the Spirits became restless once more. They approached their father and asked to create a world of their own just as He had. After much deliberation, He agree and sent his four eldest children to the far side of the void which was left untouched.

First there was the bold and stubborn Terra, who formed the foundation the new world and named it Earth. Then there was the passonite Agni, who created a blazing ball to light to fill the new world with heat and warmth. He named it the sun. Finally,there was the ever adaptable Mara and the light hearted Venshu who created water and air respectively to give the new world substance. Tui and La, a pair of younger spirits who had danced together since birth, were the first to enter the new world and continue their dance in a new way. La became the ocean, an aspect of the water Sedna had made while Tui became the moon to balance Agni's sun. The two agreed to give up immortality to stay in the new world and began a dance that would last ages, pushing and pulling against one another.

Lastly,the Spirits gave life to the new world by creating animals and humans. Thus, the physical word was born. Brykus was pleased with what his children has made and felt they had matured enough to handle themselves. He faded into the deepest depths of the Spirit World to enter an eternal sleep but had forgotten to remind his children of the one thing that their new world lacked: balance.