Avatar: The First Bloodbender

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Hama discovered probably the most overpowered, deadly form of bending in the series. And then she proceeded to do absolutely nothing productive with it for over fifty years. No using it in the war effort, no attacking people who actually mattered. Nothing but randomly imprisoning Fire Nation civilians who don't have much to do with the war at all. Let's hope SV isn't that stupid.
Finally...
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Finally.

Finally, the last waterbender of the South Pole was free. Hama stepped out of the cage that had trapped her for the past eight years, sneering down at her former jailer, now a mere puppet on her strings, used to unlock the door. She cast her eyes around the prison, kept so cold and dry that no water, not even sweat, could be used to escape. It was empty. The other prisoners were dead, of dehydration, of apathy, of the careless violence of the warden.

Hama took the knife from the warden's belt and placed it at his throat. There was a moment of hesitation, one Hama could not, for the life of her, remember the reason for later. But then....

"M-monster..." The warden gasped out from under her power. Hama could hardly believe the audacity. It left her speechless, this pathetic little worm's presumption. But then again...

"Perhaps," Hama rasped, her voice nearly gone from dehydration and disuse. "War makes monsters. But you ashmakers were monsters without a war. We of all the three nations left, all monsters, but you were monsters first." With that, she slit his throat and watched the light fade from his eyes, staring into them as he tried desperately to breathe through a severed windpipe.

When the warden was dead, Hama simply walked out. The prison was seemingly a low priority for the ashmakers, with only Hama left. They thought the one warden would be enough to contain her. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't be wrong. But Hama was different. She had gone further, pushed further than any waterbender before her.

Finally outside the prison, Hama could see Tui's soft, ivory glow for the first time in eight years. The moon was full, obviously. Otherwise bloodbending would be impossible at this stage.

Four nights in every month, I am unstoppable, Hama thought.

That is not enough. I need more.

But first, to disappear. The dead warden will eventually attract attention when he no longer reports back. Hopefully, Hama has at least three days.

Where will Hama flee?

[] North, to her estranged brethren. (Teach bloodbending to Northern waterbenders. That is, if they accept both bloodbending and a woman as a waterbending master. Kanna's warnings were quite descriptive.)(They also have no interest in fighting for the world.)

[] East, to the Earth Kingdom. (Ancient secrets and wise gurus. Compare notes on biological bending with earthbenders, such as King Bumi, who is right now only 62 of a future 112 years old. Or seek out Guru Pathik for knowledge on chakras.)(Hama could use some time to heal. And discover the upper limits of her new technique.)

[] South, to home. (It isn't safe. The Fire Nation would expect this. There are no other waterbenders there. The South Pole is spent, and not even Hama can protect them alone. Only bone-deep, foolhardy homesickness could send Hama here, if only for a little while.)(But you readers, you know who sleeps here beneath the ice.)

AN: Here is not the story the Fire Nation needs, but the one it deserves. Not much to this opening scene, unfortunately, but what can you do?
 
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Journey from the West
[X] East, to the Earth Kingdom.


Hama could return home, but that would put the South Pole in danger again. Her morality may be eroded by eight years of imprisonment, but Hama doesn't want that. She didn't consider going north for even a moment. She knows very well from Kanna their disinterest in fighting for the world. The Earth Kingdom, on the other hand, characteristic of their element, has held the Fire Nation back for decades, even despite the technological gap. If the Fire Nation is an unstoppable force, the Earth Kingdom is an immovable object.

If anywhere in the world is truly safe for a female waterbending master ready to push past her limits, it is the the domain of the Earth King.

However, this journey will not be easy. An ocean lies between Hama and even the Fire Nation colonies on the coast of the continent. Hama would ethnically fit in that area more easily, but they still follow the command of the ashmakers at the top.

Hama nearly tripped over her own running feet as it hit her like a thunderbolt. Of course. Kyoshi Island. Self-enforced neutrality. Stop there first, then move further inland. Omashu, Ba Sing Se, Gaoling, it matters not. Except that Hama must avoid the Si Wong Desert. No matter how many sailors have sworn up and down about rumors of the ultimate library, stay out of the Si Wong Desert.

It took nearly all the time Hama had left, nearly three days, to make it to the shoreline of the island of the Fire Nation archipelago she had been imprisoned on, gathering food all the way. Thankfully, it was a small one.

Hama could bend water well enough to separate it from salt, so she didn't need to bother with fresh water. Instead, she gathered (stole) fruits and meats for her journey to cross the ocean alone.

This part would be the hardest, even though the moon was still more full than not. It took the better part of two hours into the night, and an exorbitant amount of focus, but Hama managed to bend together a small boat of ice and clamber in with her ill-gotten supplies.

Ocean-crossing in an ice boat was best done with at least two waterbenders, and never at this distance. The focus required to both keep the boat from melting and keep it moving in the right direction was impossible while asleep.

The next several weeks would be torturous. But Hama had no choice. She had to get out of Fire Nation waters.

-

Two weeks later, the middle of the open ocean...

Hama forced her eyes open as salt water coated her tongue, shook her head, and forced herself to her feet and into a waterbending stance. She proceeded to bend the melting ice boat back to perfection. She could accept no less. Even out here, far from the Fire Nation volcanoes, the sun beat down on the top of the ocean.

Hama had managed to keep the ice boat together over two weeks by only snatching naps at most an hour long. By placing her head at the side of the boat, the salt water would reach her face and awaken her before the ice boat truly began taking on seawater.

Such merciless efforts to keep herself awake were taking their toll.

Hame tore into her dwindling supply of salted hog-monkey. She was running out of supplies, and therefore time. The complete isolation was not doing her any favors, either.

Her meal finished, Hama swung her arms around her, commanding the water to propel her ice boat across the sea in a wave, east, east, east, as fast as she could force the water to push her.

Not fast enough.

-

Four days later, too far from Kyoshi Island…

There were no more supplies. Hama had run out of food yesterday, and even though she was still fairly hydrated thanks to her waterbending, it felt like a defeat.

Even so, Hama dauntlessly pushed forward, relentlessly, inexorably moving east.

-

Seven days later, Hama's unconscious, half-dead body washes ashore at-

[X] A saltwater swamp with mangrove trees that scrape the sky.

[X] A southern island curiously shaped like the tail of a whale.

AN: Apologies for two-month delay. IRL has been kicking me like Perry the Platypusbear. Probably not very good, but here we go. Anyway, the ocean between the Fire Archipelago and the Earth Continent is too vast for Hama to safely cross in her condition, let alone to Kyoshi Island. So, she washes up at one of two places.
 
Hama


Hama, the Last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe

Traits:

Master Waterbender- A true prodigy in the art, Hama is extremely capable at waterbending. Her closest counterpart would be a young Dragon of the West. She is to waterbending what Iroh is to firebending.

Sufficient Healer- Hama is no true master in water-healing, but she knows enough to heal herself, and any minor to moderate wounds, such as broken bones. She will not be healing any serious or fatal injuries, though.

Blood-Soaked Avenger- Hama has suffered more than any other waterbender alive at the hands of the Fire Nation, and will stop at nothing to see it punished. Nothing.

The First Bloodbender- At the night of a full moon, Hama's talents become unstoppable, and she can turn the very blood in your veins against you. With a full moon visible in the sky, she is invincible.
 
Kin New
[X] A saltwater swamp with mangrove trees that scrape the sky.

Hama drifted in and out of consciousness for... well, she couldn't tell how long. The trip across the ocean had taken all of her strength away. She felt dead. Was this what being in the spirit world felt like?

...

Hama did not know. She could not force herself awake; she was too dehydrated and starved. What she could tell- she may have felt dead, but she was alive. As long as that she remained that way, there was hope.

-

Hama felt better than she had during her last bout of tortured clarity, though that hardly said much. Regardless, was she strong enough to force herself to consciousness? Time to find out.

-

Hama's eyes felt, oddly, unclogged with grime as she woke up. That was an oddity. She must have been washed extremely well as she recovered from her traveling ordeal. Hama's eyes opened to behold... the leaf roof of a hut. Huh.

"You're awake, stranger! Welcome!"

If Hama had the strength, she would have lashed out with whatever water she could reach. As it was, she still nearly jumped out of her skin, and did manage bump her back on the wall of the hut. A leaf in the roof gave way, and the top of Hama's head was introduced to a splash of water.

Considerately, the unfamiliar barefoot woman in a green dress managed to stifle her laughter. "Ah, sorry about that, stranger. Here, I can-"

Hama wordlessly flicked a finger and rendered herself dry. Though, given how humid this place was, dry was a strong word.

"Now that that's out of the way, where am I?"

Hama returned her attention to the stranger in the room, only to find that her eyes were wide. Hama tensed. That was sloppy. She blamed her own weakness, frustration, and relief at theoretically being able to freely bend again for that. But then-

"Oh, goodness! You can waterbend, too!" The woman looked positively overjoyed, but then concern tempered her expression. "Oh, but don't you go doing that again, sweetie!" She moved her hands, and the water coalesced around her hands. She continued her dressing-down, ignoring Hama's jaw-dropped shock. "You're still not well. No bending until you're better, you hear me!"

Hama was so shocked at meeting another waterbender at... wherever this was that she remained silent as the woman, who somewhere along the line had introduced herself as Uma, moved the water around Hama's body and used water healing to ease the pains of Hama's battered form.

When Hama finally got her voice back, she choked out, "There are waterbenders here?"

Uma smiled gently. "Where else would they be? Aside from wherever you come from, of course." She seemed tor realize her mistake at Hama's tortured expression. "Ah, this is the Foggy Swamp. You'll not find a better place for waterbenders anywhere in the Earth Kingdom!"

Hama sighed in relief. Earth Kingdom. She had made it across the sea. Uma noticed, however.

"You all right, cousin?"

That one word cut Hama deeper than any sword. Eight years of no positive human interactions, especially from those who could be family, had worn her down to almost nothing. Hama was sobbing her heart out on Uma's shoulder before she could even realize it, the older woman holding her tight, rubbing her back, and whispering meaningless comforts into Hama's ears. But meaningless they were not. And appreciated they were.

-

Hama's story, and her new technique, turned out to be less controversial than she had initially feared. The Foggy Swamp tribe was kind, gentle, and understanding; more in-tune with their natural environment than Hama had imagined possible. After Uma mentioned that the waterbenders of the Foggy Swamp could direct and control plants with their bending, Hama shared what she had tapped into in order to escape her captors. Somehow, the Swamp waterbenders had been completely isolated from the war until Hama washed up at their shore, and were appropriately horrified at the thought of a waterbender being so horribly isolated from their element.

Hama was more than happy to exchange knowledge and techniques with them. Uma and the rest taught her "plantbending." It was very interesting, but it was only combat-capable in the Swamp itself. Only swampy, water-filled plants could be pushed and pulled enough to be moved. Vines and algea were mainstays, but rooted plants were inclined to stay where they were. The mangroves themselves were too massive anyway, let alone the titanic banyan tree at the center of the Swamp.

"The trees are rooted where they are for a reason," confided one of the plantbenders, a young man by the name of Choo. "To move them is not our calling."

It was a surprisingly, and fittingly, Earth Kingdom way of thinking about it for a waterbender.

It was perhaps that very Earthly, rooted stubbornness Hama learned from them that let Hama make a breakthrough in bloodbending. At least, she thought so. Hama categorically refused to practice it on anyone from the Foggy Swamp Tribe. They had saved Hama's life, housed her, fed her (even if it was giant flies), and gave her what almost felt like a home again over the course of the year she spent in their Swamp.

She owed them that much. They were not quite a new family, but they were a new tribe. Their ancestors had come from the South Pole, after all. They were kin.

-

Even after all that, all the knowledge and healing Hama had been freely given by the Foggy Swamp Tribe, there remained an ember of wrath, deep in Hama's heart. Hama was no longer broken by it, but she was still deeply, deeply angry. She felt she could not stay in the Swamp forever when she could be making a difference against the ashmakers. She could have. It would, perhaps, have been a wiser move. Hama was not the Avatar. It was not her destiny to save the world from Sozin's Hell.

Hama's destiny was to die, alone and unmourned, be it in the barbaric Fire Nation prison, or after being sent home, having failed to accomplish anything.

But Hama never was one to care much for destiny.

[X] Omashu awaits.

[X] Kyoshi Island awaits.

AN: An apology for taking so long. Sorry. Another apology for making the choice so barebones. Sorry. It's just that I don't think you guys will pick anything but Omashu. The Spirit Library is off the table. Obviously. Gaoling's biggest claim to fame is being Toph's hometown- in about fifty years. Ba Sing Se is too far from the action and would take quite the traveling montage, even if we do have an Earth King who isn't completely incompetent, which would be interesting, I admit. Kuei's predecessor was probably a lot more competent than he was, given the fact that his kingdom was still completely intact by the time of Ozai the Insecure's reign, minus the initial colonies- founded by Sozin at the start of all this. Huh. Maybe the reason Long Feng managed to essentially raise Kuei to be his puppet was because Long Feng got rid of his much more impressive father. Something to think about for later. But Omashu... has Bumi.
 
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