The Legend of Ba Sing Se ○ ATLA

Prologue ○ Water

Water.

Earth.

Fire.

Air.

There used to be stories about the old days, a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads. But that all 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.

Nearly 100 years had passed, and thousands of brave souls left their families and homes to fight against the vile Fire Nation.

Not one person in the entire world could have lived their life without being affected by the war. Whether they were from the Earth Kingdom or Northern Water Tribe, whether they were rich or poor, whether they were young or old. Lives were put on hold, torn apart-- or simply cut short.

The war spread to the four corners of the world, not leaving a single village or town untouched by its impending devastation.

The Air Nomads were the first to be attacked, and within mere weeks, every single airbender had been wiped clean from existence by the remorseless Fire Nation.

The Northern Water Tribe was besieged many times, yet the Fire Nation's grand navy was never able to penetrate their shimmering walls, nor puncture their people's unwavering spirits.

The Earth Kingdom fell victim to most of the Fire Nation's attacks, and a vast division of the Kingdom was procured under the Fire Nation's rule, becoming colonies. Simple villages were mercilessly burned to the ground, the Fire Nation's foot soldiers leaving nothing but smoldering ash behind them as they marched on. The only stronghold of the entire kingdom was the prestigious capital city of Ba Sing Se, impenetrable to any provoked attack.

And so, as fate would have it... the war came to the Southern Water Tribe.

The small settlements in the South Pole were peaceful ones, placid and tranquil. Undisturbed by the war for a long time, the people of the Southern Water Tribe took the period of unusual silence as preparation for the inevitable horrors that were to come.

Young boys and girls trained in combat, learning how to fight for themselves and how to defend others. They were taught survival tactics, defensive combat, and learned how to create weapons using the resources around them. Each and every person in the tribe, bender or non-bender, were highly educated in these skills from their adolescence to adulthood.

Prepared as ever, the time finally came for the Southern Water Tribe to face the infamous Fire Nation army.

Battalions were formed, stealth parties were sent out in the dead of night, and the elders prayed with the children to the Spirits under the moon. The Southern Water Tribe pleaded for mercy at the hands of the bloody Fire Nation-- and received none of it.

For years, the indigenous tribes were plundered, sieged, and completely decimated by the Fire Nation. Being so far away from the rest of the world, the Southern Water Tribe could only defend themselves with what little underdeveloped technology and weaponry they had, and with very little success.

What they thought would be more than enough to save their culture, was far too little, too late.

Decades passed, and the Southern Water Tribe became insubordinate to the dominating Fire Nation. No one dared rise up and rebel, for fear that the past would repeat itself again and again. Those who would even think to try would be labeled as suicidal fools.