Tougher Than Stone

Prologue

-village mother's pov-

Just south of the mountain ranges circling the Earth Kingdom's major cities stands the small village of Shoa. Home to residents for over 300 years, the town has stood as a reminder of the Earth people's strength and resilience. It wasn't until almost a century ago that things began changing. The Fire Nation attacked, wanting Fire to become the dominant element. They were upsetting the balance that had been in place since the beginning of the world, but the firebenders cared little for balance.

The small village of Shoa stood strong for a few decades more, before finally falling under red and black banners. Many of the inhabitants were killed in the battle, or taken away to Fire Nation work camps. In this new Fire Nation colony, Earthbending was immensely frowned upon, eventually coming to the point where any bending was punished with immediate deployment to a work camp. People began living in fear, scared that their loved ones wouldn't be careful enough, worried that their children would reveal their bending in front of the ever present Fire Nation soldiers.

That was fifteen years ago. Now, people don't laugh or smile. We just pay our taxes and farm our lands, make clothes, design jewelry, whatever we can do to earn a profit without the help of bending.

Cases of people caught bending have become rare, but they still happen. About ten years ago, a boy named Guozhi was showing his baby sister a trick, moving her little ball around the yard with the Earth, and some soldiers were quietly watching from afar. They came later that day and marched him away. He was nine. His family was devastated, the little girl confused and yearning for her big brother. I'm certain, if they had any hope, they would have found a way to get their son back. There's just no hope anymore.

Morale is low, people are either scared or they don't care anymore, likely a mixture of both. A piece of our culture was taken from us, and now we don't know how to fight back. It's with hope that we look to our next generation. Their world could get better. The Avatar will show themself and save them from this hell. There's little hope for us, so we instill everything we have in our kids. It's with yearning for a better life that we teach them to plant seedlings and thread a needle. The future resides in them, and we want only the best. Some day, the Fire nation will pay.

a/n(Kate) credit: this chapter was a result of the two of us working out details together, hope you're excited for the rest of the story! Stay inside and stay safe, little butterflies :3