Kaiyan's silky black tresses poked at his sight of vision as he cast a glance in the direction of the Council; he was leaning on one knee, hand tucked in between the latter and his torso, upper body toppling on top of it, as he bowed in respect to the seniors that stood before him.

Each one of them was dressed in traditional clothing, although no one was a replica of the other. The man in the centre of the row of five men suddenly spoke.

"Yes enforcer, what may be the matter?" His beady, mink coloured eyes rested onto the man that had dragged Kaiyan to the Council in the first place, the man that stood beside him, bowing, suddenly rose his head.

"Council, I have, a small theory." He took in a short gasp of air, and began, rising to a standing position as he spoke to the Council head on.

"Eighteen years ago, a boy was born. This boy, was no ordinary being; he possessed an ability, and a responsibility, that no other boy could even imagine to hold. Unfortunately, eight years after the birth of this child, a phenomenon occurred that no one had been able to see coming. He disappeared. Yes, this mystical boy with powers far more superior than a full grown man, was suddenly gone, as if wiped off of the face of the planet. No clues were found as to what could have caused this lapse in time; and for the past ten years, the world had thought the boy to be dead. The boy with such a great responsibility, such ability, and following the lapse, the balance, and harmony between each of the nations began to diminish. Today, the nations are at war with one another, in an endless search to find the ultimate element, and because of disappearance of that one, particular boy, the war has grown to a point that it is much too out of control to be stopped." The enforcer held a small pause, before continuing "That is, by anyone but the Essence."

"Yes, the Essence, the same boy that had suddenly vanished all those years ago, the prophecies declare that he is the only one capable of restoring balance and harmony between the nations, the only one that can stop the war that is to come."

A sudden buzz suddenly erupted from the elders, who began to murmur against themselves; the man in the centre suddenly asked.

"Were you not the one to have just said that the Essence was said to have disappeared? How is he going to help us when no one knows of his whereabouts?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed. The enforcer's lips curved into a small, half grin.

"Yes. It is true, no one knows of where he is, or what had ever happened to him; but as I said, I have a small theory, that I insist must be heard."

"Go on" a man from the farther end of the group pushed.

"The Essence was said to have vanished ten years ago, and at the time he had been at the mere age of eight. When summed up, it would not be wrong to assume that the Essence in present day, would be eighteen years of age. Also, it was said that his parents had long left him, years before he'd been found to be the Essence; in fact, the boy had been found in an orphanage, thus, he is an orphan. Now the most excruciatingly important detail of all, this boy."

The Council turned their attention to Kaiyan, who peered at the ground with piercing, clear icy blue eyes with a hint of grey, that encompassed light golden specks of dust the colour of molten gold, scattered across each of his eyes. His thoughts racing as he connected the words that came of out the enforcers mouth, to the thoughts that circled his mind.

"Only a few moments ago, I caught this boy, and a taller man fighting one another, and amidst the battle, he shot a glowing sphere of ice at his opponent-may I add that he was not the one to have started the fight-, but the ball, at first, seemed to have some sort of reaction inside of it, it appeared to be crackling. Along with the strange reaction, another bizarre occurrence was going on outside of it as well; the sphere of ice held zigzags of jagged, golden lines criss-crossing around it. Which I believe to be crackling bolts of lightning."

A few of the elders peered at the top of Kaiyan's jet-black head. The elder in the centre, once again, spoke.

"What is your name?" Kaiyan's head rose up to face the elder.

"Kaiyan" he replied.

"Last name?"

"I don't have one" slowly, he added "I don't know…I was…orphaned as a kid." The Council erupted in a series of murmurs, and the man in the centre asked another question. Or rather, gave the enforcer a command.

"Show me his arm."

A man with thick hair as white as snow stalked over to Kaiyan, lifting him from his crouch. He yanked the boy's sleeve, up to his shoulder, and a few gasped as Kaiyan's marks were revealed. For as long as he could remember, Kaiyan had had an intricate design marked onto the area in between the shoulder, and the elbow of his arm. After years of unanswered questions, and unspoken answers, he would finally find what he'd been searching for.

The elderly men of the council gasped as the marking was revealed, and the guard that had hoisted his sleeve up staggered back, his face dominated by bewilderment.

"…The mark" he choked out. The leader of the council was the first to regain his composure. With a face creased with age, he held a stoic, but respectful expression as he ducked his head down, and bowed to Kaiyan.

"Welcome back, Essence. We have awaited your arrival for over ten years."

Kaiyan awoke with a start, his eyes wide and his breathing shallow. He forced himself to quiet, his ears peering for sound. There! He heard it, again. The soft reverberating of footsteps. An extremely uneasy feeling took over his entire body, and Kaiyan rapidly sat up, shoving off the covers as he dashed for the window. He snapped the window open, and the footsteps froze for the smallest second, before rushing closer and closer until his bedroom door burst open.

The black-haired teen's chest felt extremely tight, for his eyes scanned the blanket of snow that was the outside world as his eyes focused on several overshadowed figures roaming around his house. The crisp wind that washed in pulled in a sharp gasp, and it was then that Kaiyan realized that he'd been holding his breath.

As one of the masked men let out a shout, Kaiyan snapped his eyes shut and leaped out the window.

The cold wind burned his lungs and pinched his skin, his bare feet slapped against the snow, and his blood stained the calm blanket of white as he almost screamed in frustration at the sound of footsteps trailing him. It had been a total of three days since he'd discovered that he was the Essence, and the Council had warned him of surprise attacks. But they'd also assured him that they would do everything in their power to not let word of his return spread.

By now he'd reached the city, and was racing down the sidewalks. Finally, he could take it no longer, and his legs began to slow, he'd zig-zagged in between several alleys and pathways, thus the men were no longer right behind him, although they were still on his trail. As he tripped over himself, shutting his eyes as he awaited face against asphalt. Suddenly, someone grabbed him and hoisted him behind the wall of a dark alley. A hand clamped itself over his mouth, and Kaiyan, too exhausted, complied.

"Looks like you've had some night" Kaiyan snapped his head in the direction of the familiar voice, eyes wide.

Aniceto, the enforcer that had first taken Kaiyan to the Council retrieved his hand, and bowed to Kaiyan.

"I apologize, Essence. I'm afraid news has already spread, and the men following you are either assassins, recruiters, or kidnappers from a rivalling nation."

"Now come, it's time you went on your journey." Kaiyan stared at Aniceto, but kept his mouth shut as he followed his one ally in the dead of the night.

"Essence, for eighteen years this land has been growing more and more out of control. Now that you have returned, it is up to you, to bring peace and harmony as is your duty. Master the eight elements, separate your allies from your foes, and live your life despite the burden that rests upon your shoulders." Aniceto gazed at Kaiyan with an unidentifiable expression in his eyes, something like, pain?

"That there is the border between the Ice Nation, and the Fire Nation. Once you cross the border, you are no longer safe. Not that you really were here in the Ice Nation either. Learn from every single element, and remember not to trust just anyone. Your disappearance ten years ago wasn't didn't just happen, and neither did the attack tonight."

"Now, go." Aniceto gave Kaiyan a final, parting smile, before shoving the boy ahead. Kaiyan staggered forward, and turned back to find Aniceto ice-bending the snow around them. The powder blanket flew as he flung his arms out by his side. The sound seemed to deafen him, and it was all he could hear as he ran for the border, the sound of alerted guards lost in the waterfall of violent waves of snow rushing as far and wide as the border; stretching for miles and miles.

The last thing he heard as he dashed past the border, refusing to slow even long after the voice of the avalanche died down, were words in the old tongue of the people of the Ice Nation.

"Long live the Essence."

Author's Note

What'd you guys think? :)