Fire<br/>Air<br/>Water<br/>Earth<br/><br/>It has been fifteen hundred years since Wan, the first person to control all four elements, became the Avatar. After his death some years later, the Avatar spirit was reborn, and has continued throughout the years as humanity began shaping the physical world for themselves, without the interference of spirits. The world is large however, and though the avatar continued to travel the world to speak with each culture over the years, few people knew of the other nations as little more than rumors or legends.<br/><br/>Though still far from the peace that Avatar wan had hoped to accomplish, the world is much closer than ever before. The Earth Kingdom is finally united and has been for a full generation. The current Avatar, Ro Pan, himself was from this prosperous nation. Born to a well off family in the great city of Di Yi Se, He and his twin sister Xiaofan lead a lavish life amongst the upper class. Although looking upon them you wouldn't think it, as they happily played with all the children in the city. Among those children rose a close friend, Yu Shang. The three of them lead their little pack of friends and cause many hair pulling scandals for their older guardians.<br/><br/>It was when Ro Pan was 13 that he had first noticed his dormant abilities. Already very skilled with earth like his sister, Ro Pan began having effects on the other elements as well. Most notably fire bursting from his fingertips during a family dinner, much to his sisters chagrin. The elder's of the city knew then what Ro Pan truly was. They trained him in earnest, and with him his sister for they could not separate the two. They of course in turn, taught these skills to Yu Shang and their bond grew with it. However, as they aged further, Ro Pan knew that his destiny was not to remain in this city. The world needed him, and as the avatar he could not selfishly remain to aid one group. His sister, of course, stayed by his side with little hassle. In fact she seemed to relish the thought of travel. However, their friend Yu Shang knew his own destiny was to remain in Di Yi Se. His family remained on the council under the King and he had a responsibility. They all did now. So after saying heartfelt goodbyes, he, his sister Xiaofan, his badger-mole Pip and her Saber-tooth Moose Lion set off on their journey.<br/><br/>The Fire lands were their first destination. The hardships of these people were obvious, and the various tribes were in a constant state of either turmoil, or tense ceasefire. His and his sister's arrival to the land was both welcome, and needed. With the focus on fighting, little could be done for food and many of the lands people were beginning to starve. From village to village, Ro Pan and Xiaofan either solved the problems or forced the fighting to stop. It took many years, but they were mostly successful without bloodshed and Ro Pan mastered the art of fire. Of the people in the villages, Ro Pan aided a child caught in a rock-slide. His life saved, the boy's sister Hi You joined them on their travels out of gratitude. She was only twelve when she left her family, but her curious nature outweighed her desire to stay, and her family trusted the Avatar to keep her safe in their future travels. Whether or not Hi You saw the avatar and Xiaofan as parental figures is hard to say, but it is clear they grew close threw the years of traveling together.<br/><br/>Their travels next took them, to Hi You's discomfort, into the Water tribe of the North pole. Bundled up from what furs they could acquire from the villages on the coast, They continued into the heart of the tribe and were greeted warmly. None in the Northern tribe had heard of outsiders since the previous avatar had visited, and all were eager to hear more stories. Ro Pan quickly mastered the art of water whilst Xiaofan explored with Hi You. Their stay complete, the group graciously accepted a ship to journey towards their sister tribe in the south.<br/><br/>Friendly spirits guiding them through the waters, they arrived quicker than expected and found the Southern tribe vastly different from their sister to the North. It had seemed there was quite a lot of hostility as a search party was being made to look for a traitor. Interested, Ro Pan and his two companions stepped in and offered their assistance. Not knowing the face, but recognizing the authority of an avatar, the man who turned out to be the chief's son-in-law accepted their help. With their animal friends, it did not take them long to find the man, Pakak, heading away from the tribe looking lost and broken. Instead of bringing him back to the tribe, the mentioned nothing of their original intent and brought the man with them on the next part of their journey.<br/><br/>With the tribes of water out of the way, The group of now four made their way into the mountain ranges of the air nomads. Thanks to Pip, their journey was made much easier through the mountainous region and they spent much time amongst the friendly air bending monks of the various temples, meeting quite a few people as well. Talya of the Eastern air temple, fifteen at the time,  was one of those people and was quite instrumental in her teaching the avatar how to bend the element of air. It took little convincing for her to join them and their group grew to five.<br/><br/>Next at the Northern air temple they met a young boy by the name of An Ming. Barely an adult, he was quite shy, but more knowledgeable than any Ro Pan had met yet. It seemed as if the texts of the various scrolls he and his companions perused over at the temple, the boy knew by heart and his aid was most welcome in their studies of the past. His father wished for him to join the party, and Ro Pan was more than happy to include him in their travels. They still had two more temples to go at the very least, and his knowledge would be very valuable.<br/><br/>At the Western Air Temple The group stayed with the monks for a full month. The life amongst these monks were the epitome of peace, and Ro Pan knew he could learn much from their ways. It was here however, that there time was cut short. You see the monks of the Western Temple made it their duty to include themselves in the happenings of the outside world, and being the closest temple to the earth kingdom, they had direct contact. Ill tidings came from the avatar's homeland, as the reigning king lie on his deathbed, threat of civil war rings throughout the kingdom. It seems in the king's comatose state, the council has divided thrice amongst the most powerful families, and they threaten war upon each other for the seat of the kingdom. He brought his companions together fully, and spoke to them privately. They had all been through much through the past years. Ro Pan thanked them all for their help, and asked them for one final favor. They did not even hesitate in their answer.<br/><br/>The group all traveled back to the Earth Kingdom, passing through city after city announcing his return through them. On their way however a curious site stopped their small caravan. A small group from the fire nation made their way down the very same road they took. Ro Pan reached out to them and saw that his work in their nation inspired them to reach out and make contact with his own. Among the travelers was a young woman, Kai Than. Her spiritual energy was immense, and he felt in her a sort of kinship of the mind. They spoke shortly, Ro Pan leaving an impression on the girl as much as she had him, but both groups had places to be. They left the next morning in separate directions.<br/><br/>Finally, after two decades of travel Ro Pan and Xiaofan were finally coming home. Their city had changed much since their departure, expanding twice it's original size outward. A large wall protected the innermost sanctum as buildings continued outward in a sea of stone. To all but the Earth children, the site was breathtaking. Ro Pan and his sister, the slight shock of seeing such a large change vanishing quickly, made their way to the site of their home. As their transportation was his sister's own sabre-tooth moose lion, they all followed without much protest.<br/><br/>Sadly they arrived to find their parents had both perished in the last couple of years to old age, but it was not something they weren't prepared for. Twenty years was a long time. What shocked them was to find Yu Shang, their old friend, living in their home. With both siblings gone, their family name was for the taking, and Yu graciously saved it for them, opening up the doors and his arms to his two oldest friends. Many introductions were in order and all given, and a great feast in the avatar's honor was held in their old dining hall. It was their they learned the Yu Shang was one of the three leading councilmen heading this possible civil war, and he had quite a lot of support. This of course troubled Ro Pan. Such a shift in power threw off balance in the land, and worse yet, this side of Yu Shang was something neither Ro Pan or Xiaofan expected. It was as if he lusted for the power like he would a wealthy bride. It troubled the avatar greatly, and his fears were set in stone upon the man's next request.<br/><br/>"Ro Pan my friend, your sudden return is most welcomed. I was beginning to fear this war might come true, but with you at my side, who would dare to oppose us?"<br/><br/>"What? Yu I am sorry, but I cannot choose sides. I came here to stop such a war, not frighten your opponents to step down. We need to find an alternate path."<br/><br/>"And let those senile oafs continue to create a greater rift in the casts? Have you seen the city old friend? That wall sets apart the wealthy and the poor greater than anything. The rich stay protected in the walls whilst the poor remain outdoors in danger of the bandits and dust storms. You would let them continue to have a say?"<br/><br/>Ro Pan scowled, not liking the way this discussion was going one bit. "And what would you do in turn? Force your way into power and demand for equality? People don't work that way Yu Shang."<br/><br/>A fist slammed on the table and the cutlery clattered loudly. "That is exactly what I will do if it means our people have freedom! Politics do nothing Ro Pan. The council is mired in tradition. With you at our side we can change all that and make our city, no our country a better place! Why do you question that?" His words were honeyed with hopes they all shared.<br/><br/>"Yu, I want that more than you can imagine, but threats and war is not how you will accomplish that. Temporary maybe, but an iron grip will only strangle. We cannot live in peace if we force that peace onto them."<br/><br/>"That is your wish then?" Yu asked, looking downtrodden.<br/><br/>"It is."<br/><br/>With a great sigh, Yu rose from his seat, food half finished. "Then I will respect the avatar's wishes. I will call a council meeting and bring the other two factions into a peace meet. I hope you will be there by my side for at least that, old friend?" A small smile tinged back into his lips.<br/><br/>He and Xiaofan exchanged relieved looks and Ro Pan smiled back. "Of course. If that is the action to be taken I will be pleased to support you.” Yu bowed gently, and took his leave of their home. with dinner over, the group turned in for the night, enjoying a rest before the meet.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Late that night, in a distant village a young woman beheld a terrible dream. Spirits raged around her as a man tried to calm them, but to no avail. Dark spirits lunged for her and she ran, but the man stepped in to save her. A great light flashed and shot into the clouds suddenly, and all was quiet. Her eyes opened and the girl rushed to get ready to depart, grabbing the nearest cat-dear in stable. Anyone who saw only heard her mutter one thing. “I need to tell him.”</span><br/><br/>Morning came, and a messenger with it. It seems the meet would be just outside the city to neutral ground at noon. Eating quickly they all donned their gear and left to aid Yu at the peace meet. Once there Both Ro Pan and Xiaofan recognized the other two men. Friends of their parents, and still alive and well despite their age. They were greeted with a bow and small smiles from the two. It seems word got out of the intentions of Yu Shang.<br/><br/>“Thank you for joining me here councilmen. I have come heeding the avatar’s wisdom in seeking a peaceful resolution to our differences.” The words were polite enough, but it wasn’t hard to tell they were forced. The elders paid no mind however.<br/><br/>“We are glad to hear you have come to your senses Yu. I see old friendships are good for something after all.” They chuckled amongst themselves.<br/><br/>“Yes, I suppose they are…” Ro Pan raised an eyebrow but thought nothing of it as they all gathered together to speak of their terms. Staying at Yu’s side, he listened intently to the proceedings to make sure everything would remain fair.<br/><br/>The proceedings were going as planned when a noise perked everyones attention away from the papers that previously held their eyes. A loud galloping and a girl atop an animal crying out towards them. Though she was too far away to hear clearly, they looked onward waiting for her intent to be known. All except one.<br/><br/>Their gazes on the girl, Yu Shang’s eyes darted from the council-members to Ro Pan. He knew what he had to do, had prepared for it since last night before he had even sent word to the council members. His hand dug into his pocket and once removed, stone covered it, sharpened to a needle point. “Forgive me Ro, but I will not let them dictate our future.”<br/><br/>Silence permeated the air suddenly, eyes were wide everywhere as crimson liquid rained to the ground from the deep puncture wound protruding from the stomach. Yu stomped his foot as hard as he could onto the ground and Pakak, Hi You, Talya, and An Ming were flung back into the ground ten feet away. Xiaofan stood her ground for a moment as she screamed, but the force was too much and she too fell back with her companions, and the council-members remained frozen in shock.<br/><br/>Ro Pan fell to his knees, blood pouring from the wound as he stared into Yu’s eyes, unblinking. “Why?”<br/><br/>“I will not sit back as these fools continue their leisurely rule over our people. And I will not let you stand in my way old friend. You, your friends, or your next life.” Ro Pan’s eyes widened further at the threat. Yu then looked at the councilmen and glared coldly through them. “Prepare yourselves. My armies and allies will be upon you in full force come weeks end. I hope you have come to your senses and surrendered by then.” Without waiting for any answer he quickly shifted the earth beneath his feet and ‘skated’ away. Xiaofan finally regained her footing and attempted to chase, but a desperate hand reached out and grabbed her ankle, halting her.<br/><br/>With teary eyes she knelt down to her brother as he spoke. “Sister, please. You alone cannot catch him, he was always the fastest. Nor can you fight an army alone.” His breath grew weaker with each word, but he pushed himself on. “You must find the next incarnation. I will be reborn. Air, Water, Earth and Fire. You must go to the fire nation and seek him out and protect him.” A coughing fit halts him for a moment. “Please, protect him and gather strength, defend our home. I love you Xiaofan. Never forget what I stood for, what we stood for. Never… forget.” And his last breath was taken, his life covering the hands of his own twin sister, and she wept and cursed.<br/><br/>Kai had arrived too late. Her given warning unable to reach Ro Pan in time. The avatar was dead, destined to be reborn. Yu Shang would be looking for them, but would the late avatar’s companions have the will to go through with his final wish?