The Protector || An ATLA Fanfiction

7

Air whips around me, shoving me into a field of grass. I squint, barely able to see and unable to speak due to the winds restricting grip on me. I try to move my hand to bend the ground beneath me, but my hand is bound tightly at my side. The air suddenly shifts, forcing me to my knees.

"Euna" a voice calls, echoing around me.

A hand rests on my shoulder, the wind settled. I turn, my eyes widening at the person before me.

"Avatar Durjaya" I say, instantly bowing my head. "Why have you called me?"

The past Avatar smiles, helping me to my feet. He definitely had a warmer personality than Kyoshi. "You are a long way from home" he states plainly.

"Surely you know the current Avatar has returned" I explain. "He arrived at Kyoshi Island and brought the Fire Nation with him. I thought I could defend, but I failed my people."

"I know how much Kyoshi wishes for you to return" he sighs, rolling his eyes. Who knows what Kyoshi has been saying. "But I agree with you, Euna."

"You do?"

"You are very special, very few people who are not the Avatar are tied so closely to the Spirit World" he smiles, waving his hand out. Water pulls from the air, forming into the shape of a young girl with white hair. "In fact, there's a girl in the Northern Water Tribe who was given back her life by the Spirits."

"Why are you telling me this?" I ask.

"If you wish to become better as you tell me, it will not come easy. You have only been on Kyoshi island, and Kyoshi has been careful in what she tells you about the outside world" he frowns, and the bright landscape shifts.

A much younger Durjaya stands before us, unaware we are there. "You must work hard, Euna, even when you believe all hope is lost." The young Durjaya enters the Avatar State, my eyes wide with curiosity. He digs his feet into the ground, bringing up giant pieces of earth.

"When I created the walls of Ba Sing Se so long ago, I wanted to protect my people." Durjaya falls to the ground, but he gets back up, continuing to bring the walls up. "If you want to protect your people, it does not mean going back home."

He was a powerful Avatar, doing years of work within a few minutes. His portrait still hung in the palace of Ba Sing Se. Kyoshi told me about him, and I met him for the first time when I was a little girl.

"Then where do I go? Do I stay with the Beifongs and master earthbending?"

"You were on the right path weeks ago, alongside the Avatar" Durjaya says, Ba Sing Se fading. "Find Avatar Aang, for without him, your home will crumble." He turns, walking behind me.

My brows furrow. "How do I even find the Avatar?"

I turn around, desperate for answers but instead am met with Toph's milky eyes. I gasp, no longer in a field, but in my bedroom.

"I think you were having a nightmare. You woke me up" she scoffs. "Since we're up let's go train."

Sitting up, I wipe my brow. How in the spirits was I going to find the Avatar?