[Fanfic] Earth Remembers
Jan. 29th, 2010 04:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
giefuTitle: Earth Remembers
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Earth Kingdom
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: These are the things that the Earth Kingdom remembers.
The earth has a memory like no other. It holds that which belongs to it tightly- so tight that sometimes it can be crushed. But ruins and fossils always remain, tangible ghosts of the past left behind for those that come after to dig up and marvel at. Statues, pots, the skeletons of great beasts. The footprint of a conqueror on a cliff. A library that once held all the world's knowledge. The tomb of two lovers who buried themselves inside a mountain.
Here are the things that the Earth Kingdom remembers.
He is the only Nation that can recall clearly what it was like learning to bend; he is, after all, the oldest. All other nations, he suspects, came originally from his wide and varied land, although it is not something that he talks about often, if at all. Jin-Ho can remember Oma guiding his feet into the now-familiar stance, and the sudden power and strength that lashed out from his fist, so shocking that he reeled backwards and fell down, the earth thudding under him like a drum. She laughed, although there was sorrow in her eyes, and told him that it was common for beginners to be overwhelmed at first. He watched her lay the last stones of the city that bore her name; he sealed her tomb with the power that she had given him. Jin-Ho will often think of Oma when the world once again falls into war (as it inevitably does, a cycle repeating itself almost to match each Avatar) but he will never return to her grave. That is a place for lovers, and she has returned to her first (perhaps her only) true love.
Besides, war brings others out from his people to lead them when they go astray. More than he thinks of Oma, he remembers a tall, strong, beautiful woman with painted white skin and blood-red lips, who stood against a conqueror with nothing but two fans and her own strength of will. She is the only Avatar to have an island named in her honour. It only seemed fair, however, as she had created that island herself, leaving her mark on the Earth Kingdom, body and soul, as boldly as she painted her own face. Death is long in coming to her, and Jin-Ho jokes that this is because Death is not looking forward to the fight. However, Kyoshi is not immortal, and is eventually laid to rest on the island that bears her name. Her legacy lives on for over twice her long, long lifetime in a band of warriors in green and gold, and in other, less heroic ways; in shadows flitting over the rooftops of Ba Sing Se, in ears listening in the dark for seditious words. In a force that watches not just the Earth King but his whole kingdom, and a poison that devours Jin-Ho from within.
All in all, there have been seventy-six men and women who have borne the title of Earth King. Seventy-six souls that have watched Jin-Ho grow from boy to man, instructing, ordering, or learning from him as they see fit. Jin-Ho fights alongside Kuei's father (number seventy-five) at the siege of Ba Sing Se. He is there to see the generals surrender the outer ring to a Fire Nation prince. But warriors of the Earth Kingdom are patient, and they remember. Jin-Ho observes that General Iroh is very fond of Lu Ten indeed. He is there when, in a hail of stone and rock so ferocious that it blots out the sun, the Dragon of the West is crippled once and for all with the demise of his only heir. The Earth King (himself advanced in years) dies soon after. But the transition from king to king is well in place by now, and the Dai Li ensure that Kuei replaces his father with minimum fuss. Many citizens don't even notice. But Earth remembers.
The light spins around Jin-Ho, a miniature sun orbiting in the void of his cell. The nation sits patiently. He has long since ceased to strain against his bonds; it would do no good. Besides, he can wait.
In front of him, the Dai Li agent repeats his statement.
"There is no war in Ba Sing Se."
The Earth Kingdom keeps his secrets safe, entombed deep inside him. He will remember forever. He can wait forever.
"There is no war."
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Earth Kingdom
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: These are the things that the Earth Kingdom remembers.
The earth has a memory like no other. It holds that which belongs to it tightly- so tight that sometimes it can be crushed. But ruins and fossils always remain, tangible ghosts of the past left behind for those that come after to dig up and marvel at. Statues, pots, the skeletons of great beasts. The footprint of a conqueror on a cliff. A library that once held all the world's knowledge. The tomb of two lovers who buried themselves inside a mountain.
Here are the things that the Earth Kingdom remembers.
He is the only Nation that can recall clearly what it was like learning to bend; he is, after all, the oldest. All other nations, he suspects, came originally from his wide and varied land, although it is not something that he talks about often, if at all. Jin-Ho can remember Oma guiding his feet into the now-familiar stance, and the sudden power and strength that lashed out from his fist, so shocking that he reeled backwards and fell down, the earth thudding under him like a drum. She laughed, although there was sorrow in her eyes, and told him that it was common for beginners to be overwhelmed at first. He watched her lay the last stones of the city that bore her name; he sealed her tomb with the power that she had given him. Jin-Ho will often think of Oma when the world once again falls into war (as it inevitably does, a cycle repeating itself almost to match each Avatar) but he will never return to her grave. That is a place for lovers, and she has returned to her first (perhaps her only) true love.
Besides, war brings others out from his people to lead them when they go astray. More than he thinks of Oma, he remembers a tall, strong, beautiful woman with painted white skin and blood-red lips, who stood against a conqueror with nothing but two fans and her own strength of will. She is the only Avatar to have an island named in her honour. It only seemed fair, however, as she had created that island herself, leaving her mark on the Earth Kingdom, body and soul, as boldly as she painted her own face. Death is long in coming to her, and Jin-Ho jokes that this is because Death is not looking forward to the fight. However, Kyoshi is not immortal, and is eventually laid to rest on the island that bears her name. Her legacy lives on for over twice her long, long lifetime in a band of warriors in green and gold, and in other, less heroic ways; in shadows flitting over the rooftops of Ba Sing Se, in ears listening in the dark for seditious words. In a force that watches not just the Earth King but his whole kingdom, and a poison that devours Jin-Ho from within.
All in all, there have been seventy-six men and women who have borne the title of Earth King. Seventy-six souls that have watched Jin-Ho grow from boy to man, instructing, ordering, or learning from him as they see fit. Jin-Ho fights alongside Kuei's father (number seventy-five) at the siege of Ba Sing Se. He is there to see the generals surrender the outer ring to a Fire Nation prince. But warriors of the Earth Kingdom are patient, and they remember. Jin-Ho observes that General Iroh is very fond of Lu Ten indeed. He is there when, in a hail of stone and rock so ferocious that it blots out the sun, the Dragon of the West is crippled once and for all with the demise of his only heir. The Earth King (himself advanced in years) dies soon after. But the transition from king to king is well in place by now, and the Dai Li ensure that Kuei replaces his father with minimum fuss. Many citizens don't even notice. But Earth remembers.
The light spins around Jin-Ho, a miniature sun orbiting in the void of his cell. The nation sits patiently. He has long since ceased to strain against his bonds; it would do no good. Besides, he can wait.
In front of him, the Dai Li agent repeats his statement.
"There is no war in Ba Sing Se."
The Earth Kingdom keeps his secrets safe, entombed deep inside him. He will remember forever. He can wait forever.
"There is no war."
