by Michael Teitelbaum
illustrated by Shane L. Johnson
Based on screenplays by
Matt Hubbard and John O’Bryan
© 2013 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nickelodeon,
Nickelodeon Avatar: The Last Airbender and all related titles, logos and
characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
Based on the TV series Nickelodeon Avatar: The Last Airbender ™
IF YOU ARE READING THIS,
you have uncovered one of the four hidden scrolls I
have compiled about the world of A
contains sacred stories, legends, and facts that I have
gathered so far about the proud nation of the Earth
Kingdom—its history, its culture, and the great tales
of its past and present. I hope that this information
will be as useful and intriguing to you as it is to me.
As a great friend of the Earth Kingdom, I ask that
you keep this scroll safe, and share it only with those
you trust. Beware, for there are many who wish to
expose its secrets. . . .
Long ago there was balance between the four
nations of the world—the Water Tribes, the Earth
Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads.
Within these nations, there are people who have the
ability to manipulate their culture’s native element.
They call themselves Waterbenders, Earthbenders,
Firebenders, and Airbenders. But only the Avatar
can bend all four elements. When the Avatar dies,
his or her spirit is reborn into a bender of the next
nation, following the cycle of Water, Earth, Fire, and
Air. This cycle provides a natural balance and keeps
any one nation from growing more powerful than
another.
The four nations lived together in harmony until
the most recent Avatar, Avatar Roku, died. Seizing
the opportunity before the next Avatar, an Airbender,
could be found and trained, the Fire Nation—led by
Fire Lord Sozin—launched a global war designed
to eliminate the other three nations. Harnessing the
energy of a passing comet to give him incredible
power, Sozin attacked the Water, Air, and Earth
nations at the same time.
Only the Avatar had the skill to stop the ruthless
Fire Nation. But when the world needed him most,
he disappeared. The war raged on for a hundred years,
and hope began to fade from the world. . . .
And then the Avatar returned. The Avatar’s spirit
was reborn into a twelve-year-old Airbender named
Aang, who had been frozen in an iceberg for a hundred
years. The new Avatar was discovered by a young
Waterbender from the South Pole, Katara, and her
brother, Sokka. Now, together, they journey around
the world to help Aang complete his Avatar training
so he can save the world from the Fire Nation.
My name is Katara. I’m a
Waterbender from the Southern
Water Tribe. My brother Sokka
and I are journeying with
Aang, the Avatar. We always
wind up experiencing
some pretty amazing and
sometimes frightening
things. But this story
is by far my favorite
because it’s all
about the power
of courage.
I first heard this legend while visiting the Southern
Water Tribe. It recounts how a courageous young
Waterbender, Katara, empowered an oppressed group
of Earthbenders to stand up to the Fire Nation.
We were on our way to the North Pole in search
of a Waterbending master. One day at our campsite,
we heard a loud booming sound nearby and decided
to find out what it was. In a clearing, we saw a
teenage boy lifting rocks and then slamming them to
bits on the ground without touching them. He was
Earthbending!
I had never seen a real Earthbender use his skills. I
got the same thrill I always get watching a true bender
at work. But when I yelled a friendly hello, he turned
and ran away!
We followed the road the boy had gone down and
soon came to a village. We were getting supplies in
the village store when the boy came in.
“Where have you been, Haru?” the woman behind
the counter asked. “You’re late. Get started on your
chores.”
The boy seemed
shocked
and
disappointed to see
us again. When we
asked him about his
Earthbending, both he
and his mother froze.
Haru’s mother turned
to him, looking very upset.
“You know how dangerous that is!” Haru’s mother
said. “You know what would happen if they caught
you Earthbending!”
I was trying to figure out who this “they” she
mentioned was and what was wrong with someone
Earthbending in an Earth Kingdom village when I
was startled by a loud banging on the front door.
Then three Fire Nation soldiers bullied their way in
and demanded money from Haru’s mother.
She said that she had already paid them for the week,
but they began threatening to burn the place down.
Defeated, she gave them what few coins she had left
and they exited the store.
I was outraged.
“They’re thugs!” Haru cried out. “They steal from
us. And everyone here is too much of a coward to do
anything about it!”
“Quiet, Haru,” she said. “Don’t talk like that.”
I pointed out that Haru was an Earthbender.
He could certainly help, even organize an uprising
of Earthbenders to chase the Fire Nation from
their village, but she just looked at me and said that
Earthbending was forbidden, and that Haru must
never do it again.
I was stunned. I thought about what it would be
like if I wasn’t allowed to Waterbend—it would be
like asking someone to stop breathing or thinking.
Bending is a part of who we are.
So I asked her what the Fire Nation s
oldiers would
do to them for Earthbending that they hadn’t already
done.
“They could take Haru away,” she answered, “like
they took away his father.”
I was shocked. The Fire Nation had taken his
father and imprisoned him. I knew exactly how it felt
to lose a parent, as I had lost my own mother. And
my father had left to fight in the war. I felt my anger
growing. There had to be something I could do!
After that, Haru showed us where we could spend
the night, but said we would have to leave immediately
when the sun came up. Haru and I went for a walk
and shared our thoughts.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your father,”
I explained.
“It’s funny,” he said. “The way you were talking
back in the store reminded me of my father. He was
very courageous.”
I was flattered that Haru would compare me to
the man he admired so
much. Did he sense a
courage within me, too?
“When the Fire Nation
attacked, my father and
the other Earthbenders
were outnumbered ten
back anyway. After the
attack, they rounded up
my father and every other
Earthbender and took
them away,” Haru said.
“We haven’t seen them since.”
I told Haru that his father sounded like a great
man. He smiled, but seemed to grow even sadder.
He told me the only way he feels close to his father
is when he’s Earthbending, because his father taught
him everything he knows. Then I understood why
Haru had to Earthbend even though it was forbidden.
I told him about my mother and showed him the
necklace that my mom gave me. I told him that it was
all I had left of her.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “But it’s not enough, is
it?”
I shook my head and stared down at the necklace,
longing to see her again. “No, it’s not.”
Then, out of nowhere, came a cry for help. We
dashed toward the sound, down to a mine, where we
discovered an old man buried under a pile of rocks.
We tried to pull the man free but couldn’t. I looked
around and saw no one. Then I pleaded with Haru
to use his Earthbending skills to help the old man.
After some reluctance, he finally agreed, and with a
swift and powerful Earthbending move, he pushed
the rocks back into the mine, freeing the man.
We went back to the village and said good night.
We needed a good night’s sleep for our journey the
following day. The next morning, Haru’s mother told
us that Fire Nation troops came and dragged Haru
away in the middle of the night. We were horrified!
The old man Haru had saved had turned him in for
Earthbending.
It was all my fault! I had forced him to Earthbend.
I was the reason he became a prisoner of the Fire
Nation! Well, I was not about to accept that—I was
going to rescue him! The only way to do that was
to get captured by the Fire Nation and become a
prisoner myself.
I came up with a plan to make it look like I was
Earthbending—and it
worked! With a little
help from Aang and
Sokka, the Fire Nation
troops thought they
caught me in mid-
Earthbending
move
and hauled me away.
But at that moment
I was scared. Where
were they taking me,
and how would I ever
get out? What made me
think I could do this on
my own?
The Fire Nation
troops shipped me to a
metal prison rig out in
the middle of the ocean.
There were hundreds of imprisoned Earthbenders
being held captive, forced to build ships for the Fire
Nation, unable to use their bending abilities. It was a
dreary and depressing place, and the second I arrived
I remembered what had brought me there. I had to
let go of my fears and help get these people out of
here.
When I found Haru he was surprised to see me.
I told him I felt responsible for getting him caught,
that I had come to rescue him and everyone else as
well.
At dinner that evening, Haru took me to meet
his father, Tyro. When I asked Tyro what his escape
plan was, he looked at me like I was crazy, and said
home. It seemed like Tyro and the others had already
given up. I knew that the Earthbenders were a proud,
strong people. I couldn’t believe they would just lie
down and accept this horrible treatment as their fate.
“I admire your courage, Katara,” Tyro said. His
voice sounded tired. He spoke like a defeated man.
“But people’s lives are at stake here. The warden is
a ruthless man and he won’t stand for any rebellion.
I’m sorry, but we’re powerless.”
I was not going to accept this. I jumped up onto
a table and banged my spoon and bowl together to
get everyone’s attention. Then I spoke, loudly and
forcefully. I told the Earthbenders that every child
in my Water Tribe village was rocked to sleep with
stories of the brave Earth Kingdom and the courageous
Earthbenders who guarded its borders. I urged them,
saying that although the Fire Nation has made them
powerless, no one had the power to take away their
courage. I could feel my own courage build as I spoke.
I said it was the strength of their hearts that made
them who they were,
and that the time to
fight back was now!
I thought I was
getting through to
them, but when I had
finished, this sea of
blank faces stared up
at me as if I hadn’t
said a word. After a
moment, they turned
back to their dinners
and
their
quiet
conversation.
After dinner we all returned to our quarters. But I
couldn’t fall asleep. What was wrong with these people?
Had their spirit truly been crushed? Downhearted, I
slip
ped into my bedroll and cried myself to sleep.
I was awakened in the middle of the night by
Sokka, who had flown with Aang on his flying bison,
Appa, to rescue me. But I told them that I wasn’t
leaving without the others. We tried to come up with
some way for them to fight back, but the whole rig
was made of metal. Then Sokka pointed to smoke
pouring from a smokestack. “I’ll bet they’re burning
coal here. In other words . . . Earth!”
Sometimes Sokka can be so smart! I really had to
hand it to my brother. He explained that there must
be a huge pile of coal in the silo and that the system
that fueled the rig was ventilated. He said he’d close
off all the vents but one, and told Aang to go down
and Airbend the coal up to the surface. The force
would cause it all to shoot out of the only open vent,
giving the Earthbenders a ton of coal to fight with.
Just after Aang had gone down to do his part, the
horrible warden and his guards stepped up to Sokka
and me. Just as their verbal threats started to turn
into action, we felt a low rumbling underneath our
feet. Suddenly a mountain of coal shot from the air
vent. Aang had done his job.
“Here’s your chance, Earthbenders!” I shouted.
“Take it! Your fate is in your own hands,” I said,
hoping they’d find some courage inside themselves.
The silence was broken by a sickening laugh from
the warden. “Foolish girl,” he cackled. “You thought
a few inspirational words and some coal would change
these people? Look at their blank, hopeless faces. Their
spirits were broken a long time ago. You’ve failed!”
There was nothing more I could do. They would
spend the rest of their lives there. And so would I. But
at that moment I really didn’t care.