Winding Legacies: A 'The Legend of Korra' Rewrite

Prologue

Bottles clinked together in pairs and groups as the soft hum of a local radio station's late-night music flowed quietly underneath the many voices of the tavern. A burly man flagged down the bartender, tipping his empty drink towards him and setting it harshly down on the table. "Another, please." The bartender nodded, pulling the cup towards him as his other hand reached for a bottle behind the counter. The bartender perked his ears as he heard the radio channel change its broadcasting, and he swiftly turned up the volume before he began mixing the man's drink.

The other people in the tavern turned their heads to the radio, motioning for the bartender to turn it up even more as the nightly news broadcast fell into full swing.

"Good evening residents of the United Republic, and other parts of the world, today I, Shiro Shinobi, bring you the results of the United Republic's first presidential election. With a gigantic sweep due to the large non-bender population of the republic, non-bender Mr. Shan Raiko has been elected as the president of the United Republic. Congratulations to President Raiko and all of his supporters, and, to end our broadcast, we have a message from Avatar Korra on her first radio appearance weeks after her thrilling defeat of the terrifying Amon." The tavern simultaneously groaned, downing their drinks as a brief intermission graced the radio.

The crackle of the radio stopped as a soft cough sounded. "Congratulations to President Raiko and, uh, hello peoples of the United Republic. I hope you guys are doing well, haha." Korra coughed awkwardly on her end of the radio, looking over at her friend Lemaya for reassurance. Lemaya smiled and wrapped her arms around Korra's neck, hugging her tightly and ushering Korra to continue. "And special hope for the non-benders effected by Amon and his Equalists."

"Yeah, right," someone mumbled. "She'd be here making things right for us if she actually cared."

The burly man ran a hand over his bald head and turned as someone else piped up. "Yeah, the president thing wasn't even her idea. What use is she?" The man grinned into his drink as the tavern chuckled in agreement. Korra's radio call droned on, or at least in the man's eyes, as he thumbed over a twisted string wrapped tightly around his palm. Figuring that there wouldn't be any harm in reading the mysterious letter in his pocket, the man reached for it after finishing his drink and forcing his eyes open as he tried to stay awake.

Dear Zaheer,

I heard of Amon's exploitation of the wisdom of the spirits in order to manipulate those around him. I offer my condolences for the blatant disregard for their power and offer a solution to your most understandable annoyance with his betrayal. As someone who actually cares about the spirits and is personally aware of their mistreatment, I wish to include you and any other like-minded individuals on my journey to enhance not only my own but everyone's connection to the spirits. It is my belief that this will only serve to strengthen our world, and I hope it is yours too. I realize that this might not sound the most enticing o one who was freshly hurt by Amon's lies, so I wish to offer you a promise that will show itself as things unfold to be in good faith. That promise is to help you achieve the equality that Amon wanted. Whereas he was focused on removing bending, I wish to help you guys return to what bending was like when the spirits and humans co-existed. Bending, then, was held by everyone and it can be again. I have studied this extensively, but, for fear of someone untrustworthy reading this, I will not share any details of what I exactly mean. I will be gaining the wisdom of the spirits personally by interacting with them, and I hope that you will come and join me. While I have much to share, I also have much to learn from you and your honest campaign for respect. Thank you for your time.

If you consider, do meet me in the Southern Water Tribe in time for the festival with anyone you think would be interested. I would love for you all to grace me with your kindness and patience.