Avatar Sura walked up the marble steps toward the meeting place. She was seventy-three years old, and age was catching up to her. Her bright blue eyes had lost their shine. Years of trying to keep the world in balance had been long and tiring.
"Oh well," she muttered to herself. "If today goes well, it will all be worth it."
At the top of the stairs, two groups of soldiers stood in formation, facing each other. One side wore armor marked with a raven emblem. The other side had the image of a bear.
A round table sat between them. Two people were already seated there, each with two retainers standing behind them.
The man on the left was Ruo Li, in his mid-forties. He was a powerful earthbender and a strong leader. He had taken control of almost all the eastern Earth Kingdom. Behind him stood his two retainers. As he saw Sura approach, he nodded to one of them, the woman named Mei, to pull out a chair for her. Mei bowed low before doing so.
The man on the right was younger, in his mid-twenties. He had a strong build and a sharp face, full of youth. This was Lord Gao, leader of the western lands. He had resisted Ruo Li's armies and matched him in power. He had built his own domain, but the war was still raging. The eastern and western forces clashed often, and many lives had been lost.
Avatar Sura had tried her best to keep the peace. Now, she was here to bring both leaders together and find a way to end the war once and for all.
Both men stood and bowed to her as she approached.
Sura took her seat between the two men. She looked at them both, then at the soldiers lined up on each side. The room felt tense.
"Thank you for coming," she said. "I know it was not easy for either of you to be here."
Ruo Li nodded. "If it will end this war, I will listen."
Lord Gao crossed his arms but kept his eyes on her. "The West will listen too. But I will not bow to the East."
"This is not about bowing," Sura said. "It is about saving lives."
Neither man spoke for a moment. The sound of the wind outside filled the silence.
Sura leaned forward. "You are both strong leaders. You have both built something worth protecting. But if you keep fighting, there will be nothing left for your people. The world needs stability."
Ruo Li's gaze hardened. "The East will not be told how to rule by the West."
Gao's jaw tightened. "And the West will not live under the East's shadow."
Sura let out a slow breath. "Then we must find a path that gives both of you what you need without more bloodshed. That is why I am here."
The two men looked at each other. After a long pause, Gao spoke first. "Perhaps there is a way."
Ruo Li gave a small nod. "Perhaps..."
Just as they were about to speak again, a soldier from the western side broke ranks and walked toward the table. No one moved to stop him. Before anyone could react, he pulled out a knife and threw it. The blade hit Ruo Li in the neck.
Blood poured out as Ruo Li fell to the ground. Soldiers from the eastern side shouted "Treachery!" and chaos exploded. Boulders and slabs of stone flew through the air as earthbenders on both sides attacked.
Mei dropped to her knees beside Ruo Li. She pulled his head into her lap, tears streaming down her face. "Father!" she cried. But his body went still.
A shadow fell over her. A massive rock was flying straight toward her. Mei could not bend. She braced for death, but an invisible wall of air stopped the rock in mid-flight.
"Enough!" Sura's voice boomed over the noise. She slammed her staff down, creating a wall of fire between the two sides.
She opened her mouth to speak again, but her words caught in her throat as a sword blade pushed through her chest from behind.
Blood spilled from her mouth. She turned to see an eastern soldier holding the hilt.
"Die," he said. "The world doesn't need you. It never has."
Sura collapsed to the ground. The last thing she saw was the little girl crying over her father's body. The sound of battle filled her ears as her vision faded to black.
At the same time, somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, the cry of a newborn filled a small village house.
The midwife smiled down at the baby boy. "It's a boy," she said.
Far from the battlefield, in a dimly lit room, a hooded figure knelt before another man hidden in the shadows.
"It is done," the hooded figure said. "The Avatar is dead."
From the darkness came a low chuckle. "Good. Our biggest problem is out of the way."
He leaned forward slightly, his face still hidden. "It is a shame the Avatar cannot be killed forever, but I expected that. Still, I have bought us time before the next one appears. By then, we will be ready for them."
The man stood and walked toward the window, looking out at the night sky. "For now, let us enjoy the show the East and West are about to give us."