Prologue

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and my brother, Sokka and I discovered the new Avatar, an air bender named Aang. Although his air bending skills were great, he had a lot to learn before he was ready to save anyone. But from the first day I met him, I believed Aang would save the world. And you know what? I was right. With the help of his friends, Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai and ended the hundred year war. Zuko, Ozai’s son and our ally, became the new Fire Lord. Together with Earth King Kuei, Aang and Zuko promised to return the nations to harmony.

Aang and I courted for several years after the war. The team split up. Toph was chief of police in the new republic city and travelled round the Earth kingdom teaching poorer communities Earth and metal bending. Sokka returned home to the Southern water tribe and would later become Chief. Zuko was now Fire lord and as for me and Aang we mostly travelled round the world. We first heard about the troubled town while we were staying at a small inn a few miles from Ba Sing Se’s outer wall. That is where this tale will begin.