I don't own Avatar The Last Airbender

prologue

Water, Earth, Fire, Air. For centuries the nations stagnated in their so-called harmony. Only the Avatar, master of all elements, was allowed to act as they see fit in the cycle they enforced. So fixed were the people on what is, that they never wanted to hear about what can be. The Avatar, pillar of virtue that they are, seemingly so benevolent in their duty to keep peace and help all. But it's a double-edged sword at best. While indeed The Avatar seemingly helps the world, it in turn grows dependent on the Avatar, empowering them.

Generation after generation the people worshipped their false god. When someone tried to change the status quo, for better or worse, they met a brutal end in the hands of the Avatar, forever dammed the villain by the masses.

And then my time came. A nameless person from a nameless village in the outskirts of the fire nation. Seeing the world around me as the prison it was, and I began my ascending to greatness. With wit and will, I was able to create instruments to better the world around me. With more instruments, people began to surround me.

And so, the more followers I had, the more influence I got. The more influence I got, the more people followed me. It became a self-feedings cycle. It came to the point where even the Avatar couldn't ignore me.

Obviously not all was smooth sailing, the old fools condemned me. Saying that I would bring ruin to the world. They called my inventions a perversion of creation. They called me mad!

When time came, our inevitable clash was brutal. Oh, how surprised our dear Avatar was when the very elements they claimed dominion over, turned against them. It was ironic really; the master of the elements was brought low by a person with no official training and using only his perverse creation to bend.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Unable to face me in a fair fight, the Avatar entered the so called "Avatar state" in which the past lives of the Avatar possess the body of the current one, boosting its power a hundred-fold and abandoning their humanity in the process.

Against that I unfortunately stood little chance of winning. Ho I put up a fight to be sure, but I was soundly defeated. In a final act of defiance, knowing that all my work is to be undone, I detonated my armor with a glorious blast killing us both. My hated foe, perhaps sensing it's unavoidable demise, left the Avatar state, robbing me of the chance to end the Avatar cycle once and for all.

For any lesser being that would have been the end, but I am no lesser being. Taking inspiration from the Avatar, I thought why should only the Avatar be exempted from death? Why can't I do the same? Consulting higher forces that took interest in my work I devised a fail-safe of sorts in my helmet. The helmet will act as a container to a part of my soul after my untimely passing, anchoring me forever to the mortal plane.

After the battle, the Avatar's dogs dismantled my work forever to be forgotten. And without me there was no one to stop them from doing so. And so, with my work undone the world once again returned to stagnation.

Curiously rumors about my helmet started to surface, promising forbidden knowledge and power which were only partially exaggerated. The fact that the helmet could not be destroyed by whatever means the Avatar and it's proxies devised.

And so, it was decided that my helmet will be stuck in some forgotten room in one of the air temples. For those old nomads were lacking any kind of ambition to wield the helmet and the temple itself was neigh impossible to reach for anyone not an air bender. Making it a perfect prison.

I had some hopes when the fire nation attacked the temple, but ultimately a lone helmet was disregarded in light of the genocide. A wasteful thing really, I didn't have any particular grudge against the nomads and their pacifistic ways had their uses.

A century passed and to the temple came a boy. Banished by his father to hunt the Avatar, the young prince found my helmet and donned it.

The boy is still young, but I believe that he can change the world in my image.

AN

Hi, this is my first story.

After a few years of reading stories on this site I decided to try my luck at writing.

I hope you like the prologue, so far there isn't any schedule for updates.

English isn't my first language, so I sincerely apologize for ant mistakes.