#feel free to make it any duel spirit you want and let the chaos unfold lmao

[angelus-tenebrae]

Yami set out a Duel Monsters card on the ground. He had chosen a secluded location outside. Just in case the magic might destroy something in his apartment. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Yami gathered the Orichalcos magic into his palms. Holding them above the card.

"Rise Spirit! Heed my call!"

The creature sparked to life. Green energy pulsing around it's body. A mark appearing on its forehead. Yes! He had done it! Unfortunately, the monster ran off before Yami could give any orders.

Shit... Now he had to go and catch the thing before someone got eaten.

[carnistcervine]

AU Thoughts

So, in my AU where Raava adopts Zuko, I mentioned that there is still an Avatar, just not Raava’s Avatar. So I started thinking up some ideas for what the Avatar would be like if Raava and Vaatu were swapped.

I’m not 100% on these ideas, I might tweak them or use them for their own AU and come up with something else for Raava Adopts Zuko, but this is what I got.

If anyone likes these ideas or the concept, feel free to use them. :D

~~~

*There is an old myth concerning the origin of the Avatar, it varies from nation to nation, and even some nations have multiple variants depending on where the tale is told. But the basic rundown is this: Thousands of years ago, in an era before bending, when the greater spirits still roamed the lands and mighty beasts guarded the tribes of man, a human was banished from his home, forced to roam the wilds alone. Tales vary on why he was banished and whether he deserved it, some stories claiming that he was a dirty thief who got finally got caught, others say he was falsely accused of murder, there's even one tale of the man as an almost robin hood style figure who stole food from the rich to help the poor. The man survives in the wilds for a while, seemingly bent by the spirits to turn against his fellow man. He eventually goes on, traveling the world, encountering the eternal spirits. The tales are split on whether the spirits were lovers(cast in an eternal dance) or foes(cast in an eternal struggle), but all tales agree that there were two, a pale one who embodied the light and order of the world, and a dark one who embodied the darkness and chaos. The man attacked the spirits, reasons vary on why, some say he was tricked by the dark one, some say he simply misinterpreted their dance to be a struggle, some say he was just trying to protect someone else. Either way, the spirits are separated and one is wounded. Stories once again diverge on whether it was the pale one or the dark one who was injured, but the result is the same. The balance of the world is egregiously damaged by his actions, and as penance he is forced to absorb the dark spirit and suffer it for ten thousand years. For each mistake he makes, another hundred years are added to his sentence. He spends the rest of his life trying to atone for his mistakes, dying on the battlefield when he's old and grey. Being that his sentence is not yet up, he reincarnates into his next life, and the cycle of the Avatar begins.

*Most dismiss these stories as, well, stories. But they remain the only record of any kind of origin for the mysterious being known as the Avatar.

*As for the Avatar themself, they tend to do whatever the hell they feel like doing. Despite being possessed by a dark spirit, they rarely do anything that could be considered genuinely malicious. The Avatar's presence is often marked before a great disaster or tragedy. Leading some to call them an omen.

*There have been stories of Avatars who gave warnings that were ignored. Then stood by and watched the chaos unfold, smiling and mockingly saying: “I told you so.”

*Being as powerful as they are, there are measures in place to immediately locate the newest Avatar as soon as the previous one perishes.

*One consequence of finding out when the Avatar is so young is that new Avatars are often either snuffed in their cribs or abandoned as small children by parents unable to deal with the dark spirit haunting them.

*Should the Avatar be allowed to live and grow, they will eventually seek aid in learning to control their abilities. Whether they seek the aid in disguise or openly depends mostly on society's view of the Avatar at that time.

*Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom parents are the most likely to snuff out a baby Avatar. In the Fire Nation, having the Avatar for a child is said to mean that Agni himself is angry with you or your family and is punishing you. In the Earth Kingdom it is usually said to mean that a tragedy will soon befall one. Usually the means of avoiding said tragedy is by ridding yourself of the dark spirit and passing it along the elemental chain. In the Water Tribes, the arrival of the Avatar is said to be a sign of change. While it's not uncommon for the Avatar to be killed in it's crib, the usual tradition in the southern tribe is that the head chief raises the Avatar, and in the north, the head healer is set to raise the child. As for the Air Nomads, since it is in their teachings that all life is sacred, and children aren't raised by their parents anyway, Air Nomad Avatars are pretty much never killed young. Instead the Avatar is sent to be cared for and taught by the strongest and most spiritual master. Rather than try and snuff them out, Air Nomads try as much they can to be a guiding force. Leading the Avatar down a good path and hopefully curbing any vicious tendencies.

*While not the first, Yang Chen is quite notable for the peaceful era that her long rein achieved. As for how she achieved such a peace, well, let's just say there's a reason no one dares invoke her name.

*People became much more open and accepting of the Avatar after Yang Chen, however. When Kuruk's time came, he was treated very well by those around him. Times were peaceful, and Kuruk himself was mostly pretty laid back. Well, except for his competitive streak. He'd challenge anyone and everyone to bending competition, or harmless duels. He was also quite the ladies man, only eventually settling down with a woman from his tribe. When she died, he became cold and withdrawn, wandering the world alone and eventually vanishing. His fate unknown.

*Well, he obviously died, as a new Avatar was born, but his body was never found.

*With Kuruk MIA, there was a bit of a power vacuum. Criminals took full advantage of this and terrible gangs roved the lands, killing and pillaging as they pleased.

*At least until Kyoshi showed up.

*Kyoshi was legendary for her ruthlessness. She slaughtered her enemies without so much as a second of hesitation. Some sources say she bathed in their blood and wore their entrails as fashion. While exact details of Kyoshi's apparent brutality are hotly debated among historians, one thing remains clear. Her enemies died quickly, and the world feared her. She was the longest lived Avatar, and the world remained at peace for her reign.

*With the Avatar having a mostly positive reputation, the Fire Sages opted to let the newest Avatar, Roku enjoy his early years as a normal person. And to their surprise, he was very normal. He didn't have any apparent violent impulses, wasn't withdrawn(even if he did seem a little shy), and overall was very happy and healthy. Like in canon, he grew quite close to Prince Sozin and they enjoyed a good friendship. Roku's status as Avatar was very publicly announced at his and Sozin's birthday. While Sozin was happy to have such a being as his friend, Roku had mixed feelings on harboring a dark spirit within him. He saw how the people around him reacted, they feared him. So he tried his best to show restraint. He'd prove to the world that the Avatar isn't one meant to be feared. His training went mostly smoothly, with only the spiritual training having some... unfortunate mishaps. Eventually he fell in love with a woman that didn't fear him, they got married and at the wedding Sozin told Roku vaguely about his plans of world domination. Roku, uh, didn't approve. But didn't want to make a show, because it was his wedding. So he simply growled at Sozin that he didn't want to hear about it. Then, he found a colony in the Earth Kingdom. He and Fang nearly trashed it in a fit of rage, but he decided to show restraint and told the people to fuck off back to the Fire Nation. Terrified of the Avatar, they did. Roku went to go confront Sozin, they got into an argument, Sozin attacked Roku and a royally pissed off Roku leveled the palace, only barely spared Sozin. In full avatar state, with red glowing eyes and smoky darkness billowing around him, Roku roared at Sozin that if he so much as breathed at the Earth Kingdom wrong he'd string him up by his entrails. Terrified of Roku's threat, Sozin abandoned his ambitions. He and Roku didn't speak again until many years later, when Roku's home erupted. Sozin didn't abandon Roku, but Roku being old and having inhaled too much poisonous gas died not too long after the incident. Sozin stayed by Roku on his deathbed. Roku had grown to regret his harsh treatment of Sozin, feeling he may have judged his old friend wrongly. His last words to him were an apology. Then he passed on, the Avatar Spirit moving to the Air Nomads once again.

*Sozin misinterpreted Roku's apology and subsequent death as the spirits being on his side and thusly went back to trying to achieve his ambitions.

*With Roku's last breath, Aang is born into the Air Nomads. He's left under Monk Gyatso's care. For the most part, Gyatso finds that Aang is a very gentle soul. He enjoys having fun and playing around. They decide not to tell him his true identity until he's older. Aang gets along quite well with his peers and gains many friends very quickly. Despite Gyatso's protests that Aang must be properly nurtured to sooth the dark spirit within him, the Elders decide to reveal the boy's true identity at twelve. Aang, doesn't take it well. The thought of a dark spirit living within him is well, scary. To make matters worse, his friends abandon him, utterly terrified of him. Gyatso tries to help Aang, treating him the same and remaining his last support. Then, because Gyatso insists on letting Aang be a kid, the elders try and separate them. Heartbroken, Aang runs away.

*Sozin still attacks the Air Temples, but not in an attempt to kill them all or rid the Avatar. No, Sozin thinks that the Avatar could be used for his war, so the soldiers are ordered to steal away as many children as possible, while killing anyone and everyone that stands in their way. Aang is frozen, so obviously all of the captured youths are just airbenders. Sozin doesn't have them killed though. No, he has use for them in his war machine...

*The search for the Avatar continues for a fair few decades before they figure that the being may have simply served his sentence and vanished from the world.

*When Katara and Sokka find Aang in the ice, let's just say they have more than a few reasons to be suspicious of him.

*As for Aang, he opts to keep his true nature under wraps for as long as he can.

*Not like anyone is actually looking for him anyway. :p