Story The Last Spring Equinox [Avatar: The Last Airbender Haru Oneshot for Spring Bingo Challenge]

Title: The Last Spring Equinox

Author: devilinthedetails

Fandom: Avatar-The Last Airbender

Characters: Haru; Tyro; Haru’s Mother.

Genres: General; Family; Drama.

Summary: Haru and his parents celebrate the last spring equinox before the Fire Nation invades their village.

Author’s Note: Written for @Chyntuck's marvelous Spring Bingo Challenge using the column Awakening+Migration+Red and White Yarn+Breeze+Hymn. Thanks to Chyn for inspiring a story that otherwise would never have been created!

The Last Spring Equinox

The Spring Equinox was a time of awakening in the Earth Kingdom. Buds burst green from the ground. Farmers started their planting. Backs bent in the fields. The cycle of seasons began anew.

The swallows had arrived on their journey north a few days ago. As Haru witnessed this yearly migration, he had asked his father as they took a break from their hard work in the fields, replacing their sweat with sips from their waterskins, why they couldn’t travel to safer territory the way the sparrows roamed with the changing seasons.

Father had replied, “Because we are creatures of the earth, not the sky, Haru. We are meant to toil in its fields and harvest the rich mines of its dark depths.”

“The people of the Fire Nation do not hesitate to travel far from their homes,” Haru had pointed out bitterly. Smelling smoke and ashes on the wind instead of inhaling the refreshing, clean scent of a spring breeze. Destruction hung thick in the air rather than the light hope of regeneration.

The invading armies of the Fire Nation were now only a few lis from their small mining village according to reports and to sickening scents on the wind. Haru could taste on his tongue which way the breeze and the war was blowing. Against his people. Against his home.

“Because they are beings of fire, not earth.” Father had sighed. “Beings of fire consume and burn everything in their path. Beings of the earth cultivate and dig deep into the ground. They root themselves in the earth that sustains them so that when they die, their bodies might become one with the soil and the stone in which they are buried.”

“Another earthbending lesson?” Haru had cracked a wry grin. Little in life brought him more pleasure than earthbending lessons with his father. Made him feel more connected to the father he loved and respected.

“If you will listen.” Father had chuckled. Ruffling Haru’s hair with a palm stained with sweat and dirt.

“I always listen to your earthbending lessons, Father.” Haru’s grin had blossomed into a wide, cheerful smile.

That had been a few days ago. Laboring in the fields. Now it was the Spring Equinox. A holiday when no one worked. A special occasion marked for celebration even when the invading troops of the Fire Nation were mere miles from their village. The Fire Nation, Haru understood from conversations with his father and other men of the village, would want to capture the village mines. To use the mines to fuel their war effort. To power their steamships through the oceans.

It would have been tradition for Mother to fling open the windows of their house. To invite the spring air into their abode. To freshen it and cleanse it of winter’s stuffiness. They didn’t honor that tradition this year. Knowing that any breeze that came in would carry the stench of cinders and death. Of the scorched earth that was Fire Nation policy and conquest.

They did follow the tradition of kneeling before their family altar. Lighting candles and burning incense in honor of their ancestors. Chanting hymns in solemn, sacred memory of their ancestors and of those people the village had lost since the last Spring Equinox. This year there were many names–mostly of those who had volunteered or been conscripted to take up arms against the Fire Nation–to be sung. To be remembered.

In the distant past that was fading into myth and legend by the time of Haru’s birth, it had been the custom in the Earth Kingdom to include in such rites a hymn to the reigning monarch in Ba Sing Se and to the Avatar. Over ninety years into the war against the Fire Nation, this custom had abated. Had almost been forgotten.

The king in Ba Sing Se, feeble and unable to protect them, was more a figure of contempt than reverence. As to the Avatar, the one who was supposed to maintain balance between the elements and maintain peace between the nations had been missing in action since the Air Nomad Genocide. Had somehow failed to be reborn when the world most needed a savior.

Once their hymns to the ancestors and to their lost neighbors had been recited, Haru’s mother wrapped a band of braided red-and-white yarn around his wrist.

Haru couldn’t muster any words of gratitude for the traditional gift with which his mother had presented him. Fortunately, she did not appear to notice this lapse in manners. Focusing on preparing a hearty breakfast of egg custard tarts, jook, and dumplings stuffed with crab and leeks to delight their tastebuds.

As she whipped the custard and pounded the dough, Haru picked at the yarn bracelet his mother had tied about his wrist.

Father realized what he was doing. Arched an eyebrow. Demanded, “What are you doing, Haru?”

“Removing this bracelet.” Haru continued to peck at the red-and-white yarn band. Spat on the floorboards though he knew his mother would call it a vile habit. A rude gesture when she had swept the house only yesterday, and here he was dirtying it again without the slightest trace of shame. “Red is the color of the Fire Nation, and I’m no traitor.”

“It’s a tradition dating back to before the Fire Nation invaded the Earth Kingdom for an Earth Kingdom mother to present her child with a red-and-white yarn band.” Father clamped a firm hand on Haru’s shoulder. Stilling Haru. “The red-and-white is believed to protect the child from sunburn and all other forms of fire if the child lets the band fall off naturally and doesn’t rip it off.”

“Oh.” Haru was quiet for a moment. Considering this. “Surely you and Mother don’t set any store by such silly superstition.”

This proved to be quite the wrong thing to say. Haru, it turned out, could not have put his foot in his mouth more effectively if he had offered an incredible feat of gymnastics.

“Our sacred traditions aren’t silly superstitions,” Father snapped. His temper finally flaring. “You’ll let that band fall off naturally or I’ll box your ears, son.”

Father was not a violent or hot-tempered man, but he was a strong one, and, over the years, Haru had learned to take such rarely issued threats seriously unless he wanted to be left ruefully rubbing ears that were ringing like temple bells.

“Yes, Father.” Haru bowed his head. Subdued. Dropped his fingers from the bracelet. So that his father could not harbor any suspicions about him persisting in pecking at it that might lead to boxed ears.

He let the band fall off naturally but that didn’t protect him from the Fire Nation. Didn’t stop the Fire Nation from attacking their village a week later.

Father and the other earthbenders who were old enough not to have their mothers forbid it fought against the invaders even though they were outnumbered ten to one. They lost, predictably, and were dragged in chains to an iron ship adrift in the ocean. Trapped on water. Imprisoned far from the ground that was their strength.

Five Spring Equinoxes would pass before Haru had a chance to rescue his father and the other earthbenders. A chance given to him by a waterbender named Katara and the long lost Avatar returning to the world at last. Finally worthy of a hymn. Of being called a savior.

 

@Chyntuck Thank you so much for reading and commenting and for the Spring Bingo Challenge that inspired this story Congrats on your first foray into the wonderful world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I am flattered beyond words that my fic was your first foray into one of my absolute favorite fandoms. I must add my own praise of Avatar: The Last Airbender as a show with deep themes, complex and diverse characters, and vibrant, detailed world building that can be appreciated by both children and adults for its fun and serious qualities. I hope that you and your daughter (when she is old enough) will love Avatar: The Last Airbender as much as I do! Because to me it is a truly magnificent show!

I am so happy to hear that you felt you could enjoy every single word of this story even though it was your first time venturing into the fandom and that you felt I had amazing world building that set the stage perfectly. Especially with the Spring Bingo prompts, I wanted the world building to feel vivid and well-fleshed out and for the culture of the Earth Kingdom to feel well-developed and real. So world building to me was definitely a high priority when I composed this story.

I loved the notes you provided for your Bingo prompts since they taught me new things about other cultures (things I probably would never have learned otherwise) and got beautiful ideas for stories whirling in my head. So it was a true pleasure for me to be able to integrate your notes into my use of the prompts in this story. It felt like a wonderful way to celebrate spring, different cultures from our own world, and your excellent challenge!

My heart truly broke for Haru having to smell the ominous burning before the war and the Fire Nation arrived on his doorstep (which darkened even moments of love shared with his father) and the notes you provided for the yarn bracelet were so great that I just couldn't resist making them an integral part of this story!

I am so glad that line was a highlight for you! I definitely think Haru was one of those whose mothers held him back out of concern for his survival and that he spent the next five years being haunted by those what-ifs about the outcome of the battle that you mentioned

@WarmNyota_SweetAyesha As always, thank you so much for being a loyal and kind reader and commenter on my stories I'm so glad that you felt the characters and interactions in this piece were so compelling because I definitely felt like I could understand what was going on in the mind and heart of each character as I wrote this story, and it is wonderful to know you felt the same way as a reader!

Life can so often be filled with those sort of strange juxtapositions between a happy moment and an impending bit of ominousness that I wanted to showcase that in this story while also providing room for the eventual happy ending.

The egg custard tarts and the dumplings made my mouth water as I wrote about them, and they definitely sounded scrumptious to me as well! I really made myself so hungry writing about the delicious food Haru's mother cooked for the Spring Equinox!

Like you, I could totally understand Haru's emotions about not wanting to wear anything that could seem connected to the Fire Nation (because of course he is going to associate red with the danger and destruction of the Fire Nation rather than any sort of protection) and I was glad to give him that happy ending at the end of being part of rescue of his father from the Fire Nation! It was very hard for him to wait all those years as you mentioned, but in the end he was rewarded for his patience and courage as it should be

 

@Vek Talis Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I agree that these spring words seem perfectly suited to the Avatar: The Last Airbender world. I especially seem to associate the spring words with the Earth Kingdom. Possibly because the Earth Kingdom is green and makes me think of farming and growing things. So I just couldn't resist setting this Spring Bingo inspired story in the Earth Kingdom, and I'm so happy to hear that you thought it was well done because it was truly a pleasure writing it

 

@earlybird-obi-wan As always, thank you so much for reading and commenting! I'm so glad that you felt this story was a marvelous way of using these Spring Bingo words