The Lost Scrolls: Earth (Avatar: The Last Airbender) (Chapter Books - Fixed)

by Nickelodeon

  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

  to one, but they fought

  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

  his plan was to wait out the war until they could go

  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.