A.N. And here it finally is, the 100th chapter! As you can tell from the title, it's kind of ironic that this chapter in particular is the 100th chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy it! And also mega shout out to everyone for getting this story to 10k votes! I can't believe how much attention this little story (which isn't that little, whoops) got! Thank you so much to everyone for reading, voting, and commenting, and I hope you like the 100th chapter!

Azara slowly woke up, her sight completely overtaken by a blinding, white light. Groaning, Azara rolled over, and stumbled to her feet. She stood up to her full height, before whirling around. She looked for any sign of . . . well, anything. But there was nothing. Just white. Not even white walls. Just white. Miles and miles of white, blinding light.

"Hello?" Azara called, taking a step forward. "Hello, can anyone hear me?"

As she walked forward, Azara sighed when only the echo of her own voice seemed to greet her. Taking a few more steps, Azara froze when she heard scuffling behind her. She spun around with her eyes narrowed, trying to identify the cause of the noise. She reached down to grab the knife that Sokka had given her, only to find that it was not there.

"What the?" she gasped, looking down.

The sound of something scurrying behind her had Azara spinning around again. "Hello? Who's there?" She tried walking towards the sound, before realizing that she was not entirely sure which direction it had come from in the first place. Problems of being stuck in a white room of utter nothingness, she supposed. "Hello?" she called again, turning around.

She took another step before she was suddenly roughly knocked to the ground. "Hey! What the—" she exclaimed as her arms were suddenly bound behind her back by an invisible force. "Let me go!" The scuffling noise returned. Azara tried to turn around, but the invisible force holding her refused to budge. "Hey! Whoever you are, let me go!"

A loud screech echoed through the space, causing Azara to recoil, tucking her head to her chest. Opening her eyes slowly, Azara started to panic as she spotted a huge golden dragon flying towards her. "Hey! Let me go!" she yelled, trying to wiggle out of the way of the dragon, who screeched loudly again. Curling up into herself, Azara gasped as she felt something fly through her.

She opened her eyes in time to see the dragon fly through her stomach. That's right—through her stomach. The dragon didn't hit her, bowling her over once again. The dragon didn't even touch her. No. The dragon flew through her stomach. Azara glanced up as the dragon swung around, a bright white orb of energy resting on its snout.

"What the . . ." Azara started to say before she suddenly felt incredibly dizzy.

Gasping for air, Azara fell back, struggling in the bonds that she found herself wrapped in. Pain radiated all over her body as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She hadn't felt this way, this powerless, this weak, since the Spirit Oasis, when she felt her life dripping away breath by breath.

Withering on the ground, Azara watched as the dragon flew over to a figure shrouded in a veil of darkness in the distance. The dragon dropped the orb of white energy into the figure's waiting hand. Azara choked on air as she fought to stay awake. The figure appeared to be studying the orb in their hand for a moment, their head tilted to the side curiously.

"Please . . ." Azara gasped, trying to suck at the air and keep her eyes open.

Without a sound, the figure held the orb high in the air. The dragon flew down once more, picking up the orb and flying back towards Azara. Right when she thought that she was going to finally succumb, the dragon flew through Azara once more. Within a second, Azara felt instantly better, though her heart was still beating rapidly in her chest. The hidden bonds fell away, allowing her to catch her breath on her hands and knees.

"So, I guess it is true then," the voice from her head called from above her. Azara gasped, looking up immediately to see the source of the voice for once and for all.

The figure had removed their veil of darkness, revealing a beautiful woman. She was radiant. Literally. She was radiating some kind of energy that instantly had Azara perking up. The woman stood tall over Azara, her long dark hair floating around her. She wore a golden silk robe, which flittered around her as if the morning breeze was flowing through it.

"Excuse me?" Azara gasped out, still trying to gather her bearings.

"The rumors were true. A daughter of the sun saved the moon," the woman replied, circling around Azara, before stopping in front of her again. "I had to be sure."

"You couldn't have just asked?" Azara sighed, struggling to her feet. "I've almost died one too many times already in my life."

"Well, now where would the fun be in simply asking?" the woman asked, tilting her head to the side with a playful smile on her red lips.

"Who are you?" Azara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've been called many names by many different people," the woman spoke elusively with a teasing smirk. Azara withheld an eyeroll as she dusted herself off.

"Well, what would you like me to call you?"

"Uzume. Spirit of the Dawn." She beamed, quite literally again, at Azara's confused expression.

"Spirit of the Dawn?"

"Well, why do you think you had to wait around for me? I am the Spirit of the Dawn not the Middle-of-the-Day," Uzume replied with a giggle. Azara sighed, lowering her head for a moment.

"So . . . you're really the Spirit of the Dawn then?" Azara asked, studying Uzume once more. "I was kind of expecting . . . something different honestly."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you have an inanimate voice in the back of your head for a while . . . I was expecting something a little . . . darker? More sinister? And the only spirits I've ever run into were giant pandas or fish, so . . . something more . . . you know," Azara trailed off, not wanting to offend the spirit.

"Oh, yes, well, this isn't my 'true' form if you will. I just picked this one so that I wouldn't fry your brain out of your skull," Uzume spoke in such an upbeat attitude and innocent enthusiasm that Azara almost missed the threat against her life. Almost.

"Well . . . I appreciate you not frying my brain."

Uzume chuckled before swirling around Azara again, studying the human. "So, you've never heard of me then?"

"No, not really."

"Right. I forgot how your ancestors completely desecrated the spiritual nature of the sun," Uzume sighed, turning away, and looking rather put out. "You people only worship Agni without remembering where Agni even came from."

"Sorry," Azara offered with an apologetic shrug, not sure what else to say to a spirit. At this point, she should have just started making a list of people, spirits, and other creatures that the Fire Nation owed an apology.

"Thank you," Uzume nodded, seeming satisfied for now if the smile on her lips were any indication.

"So, uh, why am I—" Azara's question was cut off as the dragon from before landed right beside Uzume, startling Azara. She jumped back with her eyes wide. "What the!?" Azara got into a defensive position as Uzume tilted her head to the side, a confused look on her face. Glancing between the dragon and Azara, a look of realization came over her.

"Oh, he doesn't bite."

"No, he just manages to kill you from the inside out by stealing your . . . energy, life, thing, whatever that was," Azara sighed, standing up straighter.

"This is Okami. My loyal companion," Uzume introduced, gesturing to the dragon.

"Hello . . . Okami," Azara replied, waving awkwardly at the dragon, who coiled around Uzume.

"You were saying?" the spirit asked, her tone still rather bright and cheery.

"Uh . . . why am I here?" Azara inquired again taking a few steps closer to the spirit.

"You've been chosen," Uzume replied dramatically, holding her hands in the air, before laughing at herself.

"Great," Azara drawled sarcastically. "For what again?"

"You humans are so funny," Uzume giggled as Azara narrowed her eyes at the spirit.

"Right . . ."

As Uzume giggled again, Okami nudged the spirit, causing her to quiet down. Sharing a look with Okami, Uzume turned back to Azara. She gasped dramatically, placing her hands on her cheeks. "Oh, you really don't know!"

"No, I don't."

"Oh, well, in that case."

Uzume shrugged before waving her hand. The room suddenly shifted. Gone were the endless white halls of light. Instead, Azara found herself on a rock cliff facing the ocean. Turning around, Azara spotted Uzume and Okami sitting patiently in front of a mountain.

"I suppose I should start from the beginning then."

Uzume waved her hand around gain, causing the landscape to darken until it was completely pitch black. Azara froze where she stood, afraid that if she took a step, she'd fall down the now hidden cliff. She looked around, trying to find any source of light, when Uzume's voice broke through the darkness.

"In the beginning, there was . . . well, actually I don't know what was there. Never really asked. But then came the Big Three!"

"The 'Big Three'? What 'Big Three'?"

"The Sun, Moon, and Ocean," Uzume answered as the moon suddenly appeared overhead. The sun rose over the mountains in the distance while the ocean lapped at the side of the cliff that Azara was standing on. "Amaterasu, Tui, and La."

Azara watched with wide eyes as the sun and moon rotated in the sky, days and nights passing in a matter of seconds while the ocean roared beneath her. "These Big Three established balance in our universe. Amaterasu and Tui shared the sky, each rising and falling when it was their time. And Tui and La maintained balance on Earth with their push and pull. Amaterasu provided the light needed for life to grow, but Tui and La kept life in the balance and flowing as it should."

The days and nights suddenly stopped as the sun rose over the mountains before hovering permanently in the rising dawn position. Azara frowned for a moment before turning back to Uzume, who floated towards her again.

"Towards the beginning, Tui and La chose to leave the Spirit World, our world, for your world. Amaterasu did not follow." Uzume looked around, as if someone was going to jump out and scare her, before motioning for Azara to come closer. "Between you and me, I think Amaterasu just didn't want to be a permanent third wheel, you know? All that push and pull stuff gets too much after a couple thousand years."

Azara nodded slowly. "I can . . . see how that would be . . . annoying?"

"Oh, you and me both," Uzume agreed, before becoming more serious again. "Instead of teaching her children directly, as Tui and La chose to do, Amaterasu entrusted the dragons to bring the gift of fire to the humans. We spirits trained the dragons, who passed on their knowledge to you humans, your ancestors, and started the tradition of firebending. A sacred and time-honored tradition."

"That's an amazing story and all . . . but that doesn't really answer my question about why I'm here," Azara replied softly, staring up at Uzume.

"You're here because you're a very special human," Uzume stated, booping Azara on the nose. Azara wrinkled her nose at the action before raising an eyebrow.

"Which means . . .?"

"You're a Dragon!"

Azara blinked for a few moments as Uzume stared at her expectantly, waiting for her reaction. But Azara was only confused by the spirit's suggestion. "Um, I'm pretty sure I'm not a dragon," Azara replied before pointing over at Okami. "That's a dragon."

Uzume glanced back at Okami before shaking her head quickly. "No, no, a Dragon! It's not just an honorary title among humans. Even with spirits, Dragon is a great honorary title!"

"Oh . . . okay . . ." Azara trailed off, still clearly confused. "What's a Dragon then?"

"A Dragon is a chosen child of Amaterasu—a firebender—that sacrificed themselves for a spirit in the interest of preserving balance in the universe," Uzume explained, her hands clasped together. "They have many roles, depending on the Dragon, but you've already fulfilled one of them!"

"I have?"

"Yes, as a safeguard for balance," Uzume spoke serenely, holding her hands out to the sides.

"What does that mean?" Azara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, Spirits don't just hand out gifts and services to humans for nothing," Uzume shrugged, her chipper tone confusing Azara given the subject at hand. "You already met another of your kind too! Oh, that must have been so exciting!"

"Of my kind?"

"Princess Yue. You don't really think the Moon Spirit saved her life as a baby out of the kindness of their heart, did you?"

"Excuse me?" Azara scoffed, taking a step back. "What are you talking about?"

"Princess Yue was saved as a baby in the event that the Moon Spirit was killed. Fish are awfully vulnerable, as you know. She's far from the first child who was spared by the spirits in exchange for a safeguard for an emergency."

"So, I'm just a 'safeguard' for Amaterasu in case she dies or something?" Azara asked, her eyes narrowing as her expression hardened.

"No, no, Amaterasu is safe in the Spirit World. From humans, at least," Uzume added as an afterthought, which concerned Azara. "But . . . do you remember what happened in the Catacombs under Ba Sing Se?"

"My sister claims I went a little . . . crazy with . . . white fire and everything."

"Your sister wasn't lying," Uzume stated, causing Azara's eyes to widen in surprise. "When Avatar Aang was killed briefly, the balance was destroyed. The Avatar is the bridge between your world and our world. When Aang was killed in the Avatar State, the balance died with him. Which activated the energy that the Moon Spirit left in you."

"So . . . I was being controlled by the Moon Spirit?"

"No, no," Uzume cut her off, waving her hand side to side. "Well, not completely. Tui and Amaterasu worked together, using your body as their conduit. Your increased fire capabilities came from Amaterasu, as you are one of her daughters. The white nature to your flames came from Tui. Combined, they made a lethal team."

"I see . . ." Azara trailed off, clearly flabbergasted by all the had occurred.

"And when Avatar Aang was brought back to life, Amaterasu and Tui released you, since balance was restored again. Though, I suppose memory loss can happen a bit when dealing with powerful spirits like them."

Azara nodded slowly. Her eyes were still as wide as dinner plates as she tried to process all of the information she had been given in the last five minutes. "So . . . guess I'm a . . . Dragon after all then?"

"Yup!" Uzume exclaimed, popping the 'p'. "But every Dragon is different, you know, to avoid some confusion. So, I suppose we could call you the Dragon Princess." Azara froze at the mention of her mother's childhood nickname for her.

"What did you just call me?" she asked, her tone slightly rough.

"Dragon Princess . . . since you're, you know, a princess," Uzume replied, her tone still light and airy despite the dark look on Azara's face.

"Oh . . . right."

"You know I can tell you're lying," Uzume spoke, her hands clasped in front of her. "You have a . . . complicated relationship with your mother, yes?"

"I don't see how's that's any of your business."

"So that's a yes."

Azara sighed, rubbing her face tiredly. "Yeah, okay, fine. What of it?"

"How are you supposed to heal anything else when you cannot even find inner peace within yourself?" Uzume pointed out, floating around Azara.

"Woah, back up. I'm supposed to heal things?" Azara questioned, frowning slightly.

"Yes. Every Dragon's role is based around their sacrifice. When you sacrificed yourself for the Moon Spirit, you unintentionally chose your path." Uzume paused, grabbing Azara by the shoulders. "Azara, by sacrificing your life for the Moon Spirit, you showed Amaterasu that you value universal balance over your own life. And for that, she has chosen you for this position."

"What position? I thought bringing balance was the Avatar's thing."

"There is more than one role in the process," Uzume replied, releasing her hold on Azara. "And since your sacrifice was for the Moon Spirit, your role is naturally to heal."

"But . . . I'm a firebender. Was a firebender. I don't even know! And what am I even healing?"

"You think water is the only element that can bring healing? That can bring life?" Uzume scoffed, giggling at the absurd assertion.

She waved her hand around, changing the scene once more. They were transported to the middle of a forest. Before Azara could say anything, a fire rushed through the forest. Azara yelped, trying to dodge the fire, but Uzume held her in place.

"It's just an illusion, silly. It won't hurt you."

Azara managed to relax long enough to watch as the fire died down, leaving an ash-covered forest floor and dilapidated-looking forest behind. "The fire wiped everything out," Azara pointed out, turning to Uzume, who shook her head with a wide smile.

"Many ecosystems rely on fire to function. And even those that don't . . ." Uzume waved her hand once more. Azara stepped back as buds burst through the fertile ashes, flowers and trees blooming right in front of her. ". . . can find a new start from the fertile ashes of the past." Uzume floated forward, a giggle escaping her lips. "And life wouldn't even exist here without the sun in the first place! Fire is just as essential to life as air or water or earth."

After Uzume returned them to the cliffside once more, Azara blinked a few times, trying to process everything. "So, what you're telling me . . . is that because I saved the Moon Spirit, I'm supposed to heal things?"

"Not things. Fire," Uzume spoke, emphasizing the last word.

"I'm supposed to heal fire? How exactly am I supposed to heal fire?" Azara didn't want to get exasperated with the spirit and piss her off, but she was far too confused about the whole situation to keep herself completely in check.

"The element of fire," Uzume clarified, raising a finger in the air. "Your ancestors completely desecrated the spiritual nature and honor of the element of fire. Your role is to restore the spirituality and honor of your people, of your nation, and of your element."

Azara swore her eye was twitching at the indication that her job was to 'restore honor' to anything. She got flashbacks to Zuko screaming about 'restoring his honor' from a year ago but managed to stomp them down for now.

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, I can't tell you everything," Uzume giggled, floating around Azara. "You humans have to figure some things out for yourselves."

"Oh . . . great," Azara muttered, looking down.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Uzume continued in a calming tone. "But I'm afraid that the spirits cannot help you too much."

"Why not? If the spirits are entrusting me with this mission, isn't it in their best interest to help me?" Azara asked, staring up at Uzume.

"Balance and inner peace are not things that are given, these are things that are earned," Uzume replied poetically. "You must find inner peace within you first, Azara, before you can truly heal the element of fire."

"Inner peace?"

"Solve your inner conflict. That which surrounds your family, your shame. Use your inner fire to cleanse yourself of the darkness that has, for so long, clung to you. Only then, can you bring inner peace to yourself and to the element of fire."

"Alright, work through my childhood trauma," Azara sighed, rubbing her face tiredly, not looking forward to that task. "But you seriously can't teach me anything?"

"Nope," Uzume replied, popping the 'p' again. "I can't teach anyone how to control their inner fire." Uzume giggled, swirling around Azara again before pausing in front of her. "Don't worry, everything will fall into place once you heal yourself. And of course, your service does not come without some benefits."

Azara pursed her lips together at the mention of benefits. "You let me live?" she guessed dryly.

"Well, that was the Moon Spirit's gift. You'll notice you don't have a scar from the attack. And that your mind was healed," Uzume pointed out, gesturing to Azara's head.

"My mind was healed?"

"You didn't notice that the nightmares disappeared?" Uzume asked, tilting her head to the side.

"That was you guys!?" Azara gasped, taking a step back as Uzume beamed again.

"Yeah, wasn't that great!?"

"I mean, yeah," Azara nodded in agreement, still shocked. "But then . . . why do I have to work on my inner peace if you guys already healed my mind?"

"A mind is not like a hand," Uzume replied with a small smile. "A cut on your hand can be healed, might not even leave a scar. A cut, a wound on your mind, however, is not such an easy thing to heal. The Moon Spirit merely healed it enough to protect you. Those memories, those fears are still there. They just aren't harming you when you're vulnerable as before."

"Okay . . ." Azara trailed off, still trying to process everything.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just . . . this is a lot to take in."

"Understandably," Uzume assured Azara before continuing. "And from Amaterasu, you'll receive the first step to finding your inner peace." Uzume floated forward, placing one thumb on Azara's forehead, and the other on her chest.

Azara frowned before she felt an incredible amount of energy flow through her. A bright light surrounded her suddenly before fading away. Azara stumbled, catching herself before she could fall all the way.

"What . . . happened?"

"Your firebending abilities are restored. But you must do the rest if you ever want to fulfill your true role and bring balance back to the element of fire." Uzume began to float away before she turned back to Azara. "Oh, and you won't have to worry about that brainwashing nonsense again. That got cleared away too."

"Oh, uh . . . thank you," Azara nodded as Uzume smiled, floating over to Okami.

"Good luck, Azara, Dragon Princess. We're rooting for you," Uzume spoke before raising her hand. "But now it's time for you to go back."

"Wait, what—"

*|*|*|*|*

Zuko glared at Aang, who was glancing nervously between Zuko and the Chief of the Sun Warriors. The Avatar was trying to play mediator, naturally, but that was easier said than done when dealing with two of the most stubborn people he had ever met.

"What are you waiting for!? Open the door with your earthbending!" Zuko demanded, gesturing to the rock wall.

"The spirits will let us in once they are ready," the chief replied stoically, shooting Zuko a look.

"We don't have time for this! My sister could be—"

Zuko was cut off as the mountain shook, throwing everyone off balance. The earthen door in front of them snapped open as the rumbling died down. Zuko and Aang were the first through the door, but the sight in front of them forced them to pause, their mouths dropped open in shock.

Azara, surrounded by a glow of bright white light, was floating. That's right—floating—in the middle of the air as if she was held up by an invisible string. Her hair flowed around her, mimicking a gently breeze. But her eyes . . . they were glowing bright white, just as they had in the Catacombs.

"Azara?" Zuko called, about to step forward, when Aang grabbed his arm.

"Don't," Aang warned as Azara slowly floated down to the surface of the water. Zuko was about to argue when his shoulder was grabbed by the Sun Warrior Chief.

"Bow."

"What?"

"You must bow," the chief huffed, pushing Zuko down to his knees. Aang moved to do the same, but the chief hurried to pull him up. "No. Go, she seeks to speak with you." The chief pushed Aang forward, before bowing deeply next to Zuko, who looked rather peeved at the turn of events.

Aang took a single step forward as Azara finally reached the surface of the water. Her feet landed against it as if she were standing on solid rock. Only the gentle ripples of water across the pool informed Aang that she had indeed touched the water.

"Avatar Aang, you must bring balance back to the world," Azara spoke, though it was not her own voice. "The world has fallen out of balance for the last hundred years without the guidance of the Avatar. For which, Amaterasu offers her guidance through her chosen daughter. May you bring peace and harmony back to the world, Avatar Aang."

"Thank you, great spirit," Aang bowed, though he felt a little awkward talking to someone who was possessing one of his best friends.

The bright white light slowly left Azara's eyes, fading with the light beam back up into the sunstone in the center of the ceiling. Once her eyes returned to their normal gold, Azara blinked once, before she cried out as she fell through the surface of the water.

Zuko was up on his feet in an instant, diving into the water to get to his sister. Azara kicked back up to the surface, coughing out the water that she had swallowed as Zuko swam out to her. "What happened!? Are you alright!?" Zuko demanded as he finally reached her, helping hold her up as she regained control over her own body.

"It's a long story," Azara sighed as she held onto her brother.

"Hang on guys!" Aang called before waterbending a wave, pulling Zuko and Azara into shore. Zuko helped Azara onto the shore as she stared up at the sunstone again.

"How were you floating?"

"I, uh . . . talked to some spirits," Azara mumbled out, still in relative shock over what had just happened.

"It is a great honor to meet a chosen daughter of Amaterasu," the Sun Warrior Chief stated, bowing deeply to Azara, whose eyes widened at the gesture.

"You really don't have to do that," she spoke rapidly, urging him and the other sun warriors to stand up. "For me. Really, it's not a big deal."

"Amaterasu?" Zuko asked as Aang stepped beside him.

"The Sun Spirit."

"There's a sun spirit?" Zuko questioned, looking rather surprised.

"What? You thought that there was only a moon spirit?" the Sun Warrior Chief scoffed, standing up straighter.

"I guess I never thought about it."

"So, you really talked to Amaterasu?" Aang asked Azara, who shook her head.

"No, I talked with Uzume, the Spirit of the Dawn. She . . . she told me about my path. My duty," Azara explained as the Sun Warrior Chief stepped forward.

"The element of fire has been out of balance for too long. Your job will not be easy. But we look forward to you finding the balance again."

"Yeah, me too," Azara murmured, looking concerned at her new path. "So, did you guys figure out how to firebend again?" she asked Zuko and Aang, turning to face them.

"Yeah, we did." Zuko smiled before holding up his hand and creating a flame in his palm. Aang followed suit, demonstrating his newfound ability to Azara.

"What about you?" Aang asked as Azara stared down at her hands.

"Supposedly." Lowering herself down into a stance, Azara punched her hand out. A fire blast shot forward, quickly bathing the room in light. Azara stared, open mouthed, at her flame, which had turned a pure white color in the center with twinges of more golden tones along the edges of the flame.

"That's amazing!" Aang praised as Azara shared a surprised look with Zuko.

"Well, this field trip has certainly been interesting."

The ride back on Appa was filled mostly with Azara explaining what Uzume had told her to Aang and Zuko. The Avatar looked rather encouraged that the spirits were helping, even if it was only through the work of humans, to return balance to the world. Zuko, on the other hand, was clearly disgruntled. Why did ancient and all-powerful beings need to rely on his sister for anything?

Their friends had been in the middle of preparing for lunch when the trio finally returned to the Western Air Temple. Azara sat in between Sokka and Katara as Aang and Zuko decided to explain their part of the field trip first.

Aang and Zuko demonstrated the Dancing Dragon, circling around the courtyard. "With this technique the dragons showed us, Zuko and I will be unstoppable," Aang explained before Zuko and Aang touched fists at the end of the form. Their friends clapped for them as the two boys straightened up again.

"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned there," Sokka joked, clapping sarcastically.

"It's not a dance! It's a firebending form."

"We'll just tap-dance our way to victory over the Fire Lord," Sokka continued, moving his fingers back and forth to mimic Aang and Zuko.

"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!"

"Oh, yeah? What's your little form called?" Katara taunted the firebender. Zuko paused for a moment before lowering his head slightly.

"The Dancing Dragon," Zuko admitted sheepishly, causing the others to laugh.

"What about you, Azara? You learn any fancy foot skills?" Toph joked as Azara shook her head.

"No, I just chatted with some spirits for a bit," she replied nonchalantly, causing the group to go silent for a moment.

"You what!?"

A.N. So, a lot happened this chapter. If you're looking for further insights/explanations, please read the text below. If not, please ignore this ridiculously long author's note and proceed to the next chapter. Thank you for reading, voting, and commenting as always!

Just a little insight to the Spirits referenced in the chapter:

Since the Fire Nation is mostly based on Japanese culture, I decided to go with some references to the Japanese Shinto religion (I am by no means an expert so please correct me in the comments if you know better):

· Amaterasu is the sun goddess. I equated her with the same level as Tui and La (meaning she doesn't have the time to talk with humans) to further establish that whole sun-moon balance theme.

· Uzume is the goddess of the dawn, and happiness and mirth, which is why I tried to make her super bubbly. I picked her to talk to Azara because she represents the lighter side to fire

· Okami (the dragon) means "great god" and is reference to Uzume's partner, Sarutahiko Okami. He's a dragon in this cause dragons are cool, and the episode is about dragons.

· Also, the reason why I didn't pick Agni (as in Agni Kai) to be the focus is because I wanted to imply that the Fire Nation messed up their spiritual connections. Agni (in Hinduism) is the god of fire (which may include the sun, but I made it separate here). But since the sun is the ultimate source of fire, Amaterasu would outrank Agni in this world. However, because Agni is much more focused on fire instead of the other healing or life-based aspects of the fire (like the sun), the Fire Nation picked him as their principal spirit.

So, we have finally found the source of the voice and learned more about why weird things happened to Azara after the Spirit Oasis debacle. Just a few clarifying points to emphasize:

· Azara is a Dragon (capitalized because it's special). Dragons are not born, they're chosen, and they reflect their sacrificial choice—the Moon Spirit is all about healing (see Yue), so Azara's role/mission would therefore be to heal. And because the Fire Nation is so bad at respecting spirits and spirituality, the spirits want her to start there

· Also, her job as Dragon isn't to heal the political structure of the Fire Nation per say, but more to heal the spirituality of firebenders and the element of fire, which extends beyond the government structures of the Fire Nation. Think of her as more of a spiritual leader than a political leader.

· And even though her job is to 'heal' she's still a firebender. Got the idea because water and fire are opposites yet share a lot in common with their bending techniques (highly transferable, see lightning redirection). And also, because fire/heat can have 'healing' roles (though not in the same sense as waterbending)—ex: fevers burn off infections, cauterize wounds to prevent infections. And, as stated before, the sun allows life to flourish on Earth, but because it's perfectly in balance. If it's too strong or too weak, life is affected negatively as a result. It's all about balance.

· We've just scratched the surface with her job/role, but now she's got a cool flame color now. I know a lot of people wanted her to have blue flames, but I wanted to give her a unique flame color with its own significance to her character arc.

Anyways, that's enough of my rambling. Azara and her new abilities are explained further in the next chapter and then in another one later on down the line. I decided to break it up to try and flesh it out more naturally, but you'll find an excessively long rambling author's note where I feel that an extra explanation/clarification could help.

I hope this note helped to clarify some stuff for you guys, and more information is on the way in the next chapter, so please read on!