The Festival

"The Festival" is the first episode of Book One: Fire for the first group, The Lotus Blossoms, and the first of the series. The majority of the Lotus Blossoms make their debut appearance here.

Next episode: "The Man with the Fire Tattoo, Part 1"

Summary
''After everyone arrives at The Festival, an event that is celebrated by all four nations, things begin to take an ominous turn. It is revealed to Sülo, Ailis, and Tara that the fire nation attacked the Air Nomad Temples four years ago, Fu Zen and Xian spot the golden eyes of the Fire Nation in the crowds, and Ayahsk tries to intervene with a man doing something odd at the base of the main hall. What occurs next is anarchy, a series of explosions turns The Festival into disarray, while some of the party try to stop the men from the fire nation, the adults try to hurry them away. The children escape on the back of Tiichi, Ailis' bison, and Rulu, Xian's bison, most likely the last survivors of the attack.''

Synopsis
The festival is usually quite a joyous affair celebrating all nations with all sending envoys from their nation. Activities include: eating foods that have arrived from all the nations; children play variations on their own ball game: air-, earth-, fire- and water-ball; while the adults tend to enjoy themselves playing Pai Sho and drinking tea. Meetings are often held in the main hall which also houses the village’s elder. However, for any who care to look this year is quieter and there are no fire nation people to be seen. Ayahsk arrived in town with little fanfare; he has been travelling alone since he ran away from home. After some brief looks he makes his way to the main hall, creates himself some ice picks and climbs to the top of the building and falls asleep. Inanna arrived at the festival as her aunt and uncle lived there, she despises her immediate family (in particular her younger sister), and family friends, exclude perhaps only Bumi. However, unlike previous years Bumi is not taking part in the ball games and is standing rather sadly but with not some small part of determination beside his father at the Pai sho tables. As Inanna walks over Bumi greets her and they engage in a discussion about the lack of skill the adults are playing Pai sho as they are favouring the white lotus. This discussion further involves into veiled allusions to the lack of fire nation people and Bumi remarks that Inanna should stay safe. After which Bumi withdraws with his father into the main hall, leaving Inanna outside where she espies a boy climbing to the roof of the main hall. Sülo arrives looking for his father, Sülo himself is a waterbender, but was lost as a child and was raised by his air bending father. However he has yet to be seen. However, he can hear the arrival of a couple of sky bison that he recognizes. Tichi’s gotten big! Ailis arrives on her own sky bison, Tichi, this is the first time she has flown and her control is perhaps not the best. Alongside her is her mother on her own sky bison. As they touch down to land Ailis appears to be out of control and seems to be heading straight for an old friend, Sülo. Sülo ducks out of the way just in time for Tichi to stop before where Sülo was standing. After pleasantries are made, Ailis’ mother, Yuke, departs for the main hall and Tichi and Yuke ’s sky bison are both stabled, while the two teenagers are left to discuss the absence of Sülo’s father, Xirrou, and other rumours.

Fu Zen is the first fire nation person to set foot in town. His arm is bandaged due to a wound and he has left the fire nation and his family in disgrace. Upon reaching the village’s front gates he is guided to some water tribe tents with the assurance they will look after his wounds. He is greeted by several teenage girls who are learning how to heal and with the help of the old water bending lady who brought him in they begin healing. Though it is a little worse than she first thought and it will take a while. Tara arrives with her mother, Lien, on her mother’s sky bison, Chuu, while the sky bison is being stabled and her mother leaves for the main hall. Tara runs off to find her friend Ailis, who, after she spots Ailis, Tara runs headlong into and gives her a hug. Xian arrives with her mentor Metti on their respective sky bison, Something and Rulu, Xian was part of the air nation but she has no aptitude to air bending and has since taken up chi bending under Metti’s tutelage. Metti makes some enquiries and they are led to some water tribe tents, where inside they find an old waterbender and several young girls surrounding a young fire nation boy who has glowing blue water over his shoulder. While Metti departs with the old waterbender, Xian is encouraged to show the young fire nation man around. As the two, Xian and Fu Zen, wander around the markets, Fu Zen notices someone, a man in a hat, with fire tattoos on his neck and golden eyes. He is from the fire nation too. Pointing the man out to Xian they attempt to follow him as he is the only other fire nation person Fu Zen has seen at the Festival. However, they lose him in the crowds. Meanwhile, after some further discussion, Sülo, Ailis, and Tara are approached by an earthbender spouting, “You’re alive?” to Sülo. The confusion on the three young faces is fairly evident and the earthbender realizes he needs to explain and motions for the three youths to sit at a tea shop. “Four years ago,” he begins, “the fire nation attacked all the air temples. Everyone who was there is dead. We hoped that your father had gotten out alive,” he indicates Sülo, “but he hasn’t returned. We thought you had died too.” At this revelation both girls are shocked into silence both having families at the temples. Little Tara begins running towards her mother in the main hall. Up on the roof Ayahsk realises that the meeting is now finishing and begins to make his way down. When he lands on the ground he realizes that there is a man right in front of him, with a fire tattoo and golden eyes. Ayahsk attemptsto distract him with a flail of water to the face and starts running away. He can hear the man begin to start a fire, but, Ayahsk realises, it sounds quite small. Across the road Inanna can see the boy who had climbed onto the roof has come down again and is rapidly running away from a man. She steps in to help him trying to trip his pursuer with her earthbending. Ayahsk turns around at the end of the alleyway to see the golden eyed man his lit a small rope. The man then attempts to attack the boy with fire, which reinvigorates Ayahsk to keep running away. However, Ayahsk is already too far away and when the man realizes this he uses the fire to set alight the roofs of the main hall and three of the surrounding buildings. When this is done the golden-eyed man glances back at the boy before jetting away from the building. Among the people running away in panic is Yuke and she is just coming out of the building since the meeting ended and as the golden-eyed man jets away the main hall explodes behind her. However, through some premonition of her own she sends out a gust to the people who are heading towards or around the building that pushes them all back, including Tara, while tongues of flame reach out from behind her. Fu Zen and Xian have recognized the man with the golden-eyes and the two begin to take chase, but Fu Zen soon realizes that with the heavy armour he is wearing he won’t be able to catch up. However, Xian proceeds to successfully jab at the man with her chi bending. In defence, the man brings his hands up, as if to send fire at them, and instead, blinds them and allowing himself time to escape. Left in the furore both Fu Zen and Xian realize amongst the chaos there are several men in hats and golden-eyes who are just standing still, this odd reaction to the chaos makes them stand out from the crowd. At this point, they reveal themselves and begin to unleash more fiery mayhem. Then a large blast occurs from the main hall and it reveals both Inanna’s uncle and Lien who, through the use of their combined abilities have cleared a path out of the wreckage. It is then that Inanna's uncle sees a fiery blast directed at the two of them and with his final move raises an earthen wall to protect Lien. He perishes in the flame. Tara who looks for the person trying to kill her mother spots the man with the fire tattoo directing the blast and attempts to distract him with a blast of air, which fails miserably at the man is much more focused on burning a hole through the wall. Seeing that the wind has failed the girl proceeds to try and bite the man who simple shoves the girl down into the ground. He continues to blast a hole through the wall. Tara sees the wall dissolve and her mother crumple underneath the fire. And then, the fire bender turns to her, brings his hands up and blinds her. Luckily for Tara, Sülo and Ailis grab her and they run toward the stables and Ailis’ bison. Meanwhile, Xian is using her sky bison whistle to bring her bison to her and is helping to save as many people as she can, Inanna finds herself climbing up on her Xian’s bison. Just before Xian gets on she sees her mentor, Metti, fighting the fire benders between destroying one man and the next, she catches the eyes of her apprentice. Xian can see the steel and determination in them, but as they pass over her apprentice Xian can feel them relax and Metti silently says good luck before turning to another fire bender who she breaks the neck of. Over where Ayahsk is, he tries to see how he can help and finds a waterbender controlling a long arm of water from a well which he is using to stamp out the fire and fire benders. He attempts to help the waterbender with the water, to take the load off, but when the fire bender discerns that someone is helping him he tells the boy to run away. Ayahsk not moving quick enough has water flicked in his eyes and more water put in his pouch. Ayahsk hurries away and claws his way up on to the back of a sky bison alongside another water/airbender boy and two airbender girls. As the sky bison lift off into the air they appear to naturally glide together while the occupants look back at the burning village. From their they can see a waterbender controlling a tongue of water, but falling as three jets of fire are shot at his back from different directions. And an airbender, Yuke, desperately trying to stop the fire bender trying to kill her as she pushes away a blast of fire meant for her the fire bender reveals a knife and smoke covers the two as they dissappear from sight.