Chosen by the Spirits | A male reader x Avatar the Last Airbender story

Chapter 6- Siege of the North (part 1)

Only a few minutes after the realisation that the fire nation was attacking the Northern Water Tribe, the entire population of the tribe sat huddled on the floor of the ice palace interior. I sat with Aang, Katara, Sokka and Kyana. There was an aura of terror in the room, and despite the many people, nobody said a word. At the front of the spacious room sat Princess Yue and master Pakku, and standing in front of them was chief Arnook. The chief stood in front of us and addressed us all.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The fire nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe," he announced glumly. "But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the ocean, spirit of the moon, be with us!

"I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission," the chief boomed, and almost instantly I saw Sokka stand straight up and announce determinedly that he wanted in. I stood up soon after; as a member of the Northern Water Tribe army, I knew it was my duty to volunteer. The chief continued describing what we were signing up for. "Be warned: many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task,". All the volunteers who had stood up began shuffling towards the chief. I gave a quick glance at those around me: Aang and Katara looked sad, and Kyana looked extremely worried. I gave them a quick nod of reassurance that we would be okay, though truthfully I didn't know if I would see any of them ever again. Finally, I made my way up to chief Arnook to receive my mark. He drew three vertical wavered lines on my forehead, and I quickly followed the rest of the volunteers out of the ice palace and towards the barracks.

A few hours later all the volunteers stood nervously in the barracks. There were a few whispers and murmurs, but they all halted when the chief walked into the room. "Men, you'll be infiltrating the fire nation navy. That means you'll all need one of these uniforms," he announced as he gestured to a young man who wore a spiky crimson uniform. Sokka, who I had been stood next to, let out a laugh at this reveal.

"What's your problem?" the young man who was clad in the armour questioned, evidently annoyed.

"Fire navy uniforms don't look like that," he explained, and the young boy in uniform scoffed.

"Of course they do. These are real uniforms captured from actual fire navy soldiers,"

"When, like a hundred years ago?" Sokka joked, though the chief had a deadly serious look on his face.

"Eighty five," he admitted. Sokka detailed the differences in the modern uniforms, and everyone took notes. Well, everyone except for the annoyed guy in armour.

"How do we know we can trust this guy? Such bold talk for a new recruit," he stated in a frustrated tone.

"Sokka is from our sister tribe, Hahn. He is a capable warrior and I value his input," Arnook explained, and I saw Sokka grinning mockingly at Hahn.

"Any friend of the Avatar's is a friend of ours," I added, and Sokka's teasing grin grew even wider.

"Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officer," the chief announced, and Sokka was quick to jump in.

"His name is Zhao," he casually stated, and once more a strange feeling of hatred and sickness passed over me when I heard the name. Zhao was behind this? "Middle aged, big sideburns, bigger temper," Sokka continued to detail.

"Sokka, I want you to tell everything you know to (Y/N) and Hahn. They're leading this mission. Hahn show Sokka your respect," the chief told the angsty young man. "I expect nothing less from my future son-in law,". Sokka's jaw practically dropped to the floor at this reveal, and quickly expressed his distaste for this news. Hahn responded to him rudely, and I could tell that there were bad tensions between these two already.