The Legend of Loooooooooooooooooooooooo Skagnetty (Kouzai, Deej, Sara, Kura and Loola)

Raijin sat in the cold Water Tribe bar, somewhere out in the freezing snowy wastes.  It was snowstorm season, meaning endless torrents of wind, snow and freezing stuff flying from the sky, with all the rage of the gods and all the speed of a man who got caught by his lover's husband.  Raijin smirked as he downed what might be his fifth whiskey of the hour.  He'd been in here since morning, and there wasn't much else to do.

Raijin's travels had brought him here, mostly because of his lover Mai.  She was here, killing some tyrant village elder.  Raijin had spent a few short days with her but...they weren't enough and he missed her already.  So he decided to drown his loneliness with alcohol, as always.  Because when a woman wasn't around to keep you warm at night, at least a bottle of whiskey sitting in your stomach could.  Raijin smirked, the world spinning slightly as the music in the tavern stopped and an old man got on stage.

He was a respected member of the village, at least eighty.  Though Raijin was sure he was closer eighty thousand.  He apparently came from a long line of story tellers, who told the ancestral cultural stories of the Water Tribes.  Stories that ranged from the Creation, to when ancestor Eagle-Raven created the first Water Benders from a snowflake and some sea shells.  Then he begged the moon to bless them, and the water to guide them, before disappearing off into the frozen wastes when he grew bored of his new creations.  Eagle-Raven was a noble ancestor at times, yet also a trickster and troublemaker at others.  He was the duality of man embodied in one of the most prominent creatures of the north--next to the Polar Bear Dog of course.

Some ancestral stories told of how ancestor Orca-Shark brought the fish to the north, by swallowing islands where these fish lived in lakes, and then regurgitating them into the sea once he reached the North Pole.  Or how in the beginning times, flesh was more fluid, less solid.  Animals could talk the tongues of man, and could remove their skins to become human-like beings.  The humans and the animals could intermarry, and many of their descendants became spirit-beings that guided the lineage of the Water Benders.

Today, the story teller had two stories.  One was the legend of the Eagle-Raven, of course.  The other was the story of some Water Bending boogie man whose name made Raiijin smirk when he was sober; being drunk did not improve that.

Kara found work on a merchant's caravan as a bodyguard. The destination was to some Northern Water Tribe village from Ba Sing Se, her home. Once the caravan was there, she would leave them to find work elsewhere. The seas were dangerous this far up during this time of the year. Pirates could use the cloak of the blizzard to ambush their unknowing victims, giant icebergs could loom into existence without notice, and worst of all; hypothermia. Kara's heavy winter jacket rustled in the frigid wind. The ship was finally docking after three days of sailing.

The merchant paid Kara the big bucks she worked for. "'Bout time I had some good money in my pocket." Kara murmured merrily. She walked through the snow covered streets in search for somewhere to buy a nice hot beverage. She had several options. One, a tea stand that looked quite busy. Two, an inn where she could rest. Or three, a cozy bar that illuminated a certain warmth through its windows. Kara chose the bar over the stand and inn.

The freezing wind pushed against Kara as she made her way to the bar. The Water Tribes were no place for an earthbender. Kara reached her shivering hand to open the large wooden door. A plume of heat washed over her as the door swung open. She stepped inside quickly and shut the door behind her. There were many people hanging about in the bar. A cheery old woman whose nose was redder than a tomato, several men and women around a circular table, and a depressed dude drinking. How sad. Kara approached the bartender and ordered coffee. Not her usual drink, but she was wiped from the boat ride up here and very cold.

Once Kara got her coffee, she made her way over to an open table. She sat down and began to sip on the bitter liquid. An old man was on the stage. As soon as he started talking everyone turned around and listened in on what he was saying. Not having anything else to do, Kara listened in as well. The man spoke of two legends, one about the Eagle-Raven and the other was about some Loo Skan-something. Kara was more than interested in where that legend was going.

Ziio walked through the town, her wolf pack prowling behind her.  It was cold and snowy, and her hunting was done for the day.  She had a bit of coin she could spend on a warm meal.  Ziio didn't often eat in the towns.  She preferred her camp in the frozen waists.  An igloo, some hide huts for food storage and smoking and drying meat.  A hide tent for spiritual practices, and a cave nearby to refuge in times of emergency.  No one every found her camp because she had hid it so well, and it helped that it was in a part of the tundra that everyone agreed was haunted, and thus avoided.

Haunted, maybe, but Ziio had never had a problem with the spirits that walked the Earth there.  Besides, all the best game wintered in that "cursed place" so in winter, Ziio was the only person in the whole North Pole with fresh meat--fish didn't count.  She made money for it too in the winter, as the price of meat always soared.  It was rarer, scarcer.  People made fortunes for winter meat sales.  There was always the traveller, the restaurant owner, the hunter, the family, who hadn't hunted or stocked enough before the White Squalls set in for five months, and required meat to continue their lives.  People died trying to do winter hunts; Ziio must have been blessed.

Ziio and her wolves entered a nearby tavern, where a local story teller and elder was preparing to tell the story of the Creation of Man by Ancestor Eagle-Raven, the two sided trickster.  Both noble and wicked; Eagle-Raven is what all men are inside.  Ziio had heard it before.  Everyone Water Bender and member of the Water Tribe knew this story since the day they were born.  Like breathing, or walking, it was innate; everyone could recite it from birth without coaching.

The smaller towns usually didn't mind Ziio's presence; or that of her wolves.  They knew her better than the bigger settlements did.  They were more accustomed to the wild, to traditional ways, to nature.  They did not fear her, or her wolf pack.  Ziio, silent as always, pointed towards a bottle of alcohol on the wall.  A bottle of rum this time, Hellfire Rum imported from the Imperial Mainland, the bartender called it a good choice; Ziio didn't care.  Alcohol was all the same to her, a rare treat that burned your throat and blurred your mind.  But on a day like today it also kept you from freezing to your core.  Pulling off her gloves, Ziio pried off the cork, poured some into the mouths of each of her wolves.

They drank in pecking orders, Alphas first, then the pack, and finally the Omegas.  Once they had finished, there was half a bottle left for Ziio, and she enjoyed it to the last drop.  While she lulled her drink, sipping it carefully, the bartender brought her some food.  Fresh Seal Jerky, Pemmican, and stewed Sea Prunes.  Beautiful.  A traditional Water Tribe meal.  All that was missing was the fish, but a village this far from a body of water, it was understandable why fish wasn't so readily available.  Ziio attempted to pay for everything she had taken with a handful of silver coins, but the bartender refused, telling her she had done more than enough.

Ziio brought him extras from her catch usually, at no cost.  Helped him out during some tough times, and had even saved the village from a rampaging Polar Bear Dog, which Ziio now wore as a coat.  The bear's head was her hood, and her head usually poked out of its perpetually gaping maw.  Ziio smirked as she remembered downing with nothing but a knife and a spear.  It was glorious.  14 years old and the pride of this little village.  It was then Ziio became a hunter; then she knew she would be okay alone.  It was then Ziio knew she could survive.

You know, the easiest way out is up. Yami shifted around desperately, melting snow all around her, still finding herself trapped underneath it. And wherever she melted the snow, more seemed to take its place. That's what it felt like, anyway. It was rather hard to see, being buried in ice and snow. And everything had started out so well...

And by that I mean she fell asleep while taking a peaceful walk through the tundra. She laid down to rest, and before she knew it, she was asleep. She woke up to find herself buried in snow and hardly able to breathe. To make things worse, Kokuo was sassing her again. Could you at least tell me which way is up?? Now, what fun would that be? It's more fun to see you struggle. Yami sighed in exasperation. If Kokuo wasn't going to help her, she would help herself. She blasted fire all around her, creating an ever expanding sphere of space. She seemed to find the pull of gravity as the melted snow collected in one place. Directly over her head. She stopped the flow of fire to fall headfirst into more snow. At least she knew which way was down, and would thus find up. Fire blasted from her feet, and although progress was slow, finally light shone into the gap.

Yami clamored out of the hole, gasping for fresh air. It was cold. Very cold. All she wanted was someplace warm. Judging by the smoke rising up from somewhere to the...east? South? Yami had always been directionally challenged-there was some kind of settlement nearby. And where there was a settlement, there had to be an inn, or at least a tavern. Yami trudged her way through the snow, her teeth chattering.

After struggling to find a grip on the door handle, Yami pushed the door open and walked into a wave of warmth. The tavern was alive with activity. A few people sat at tables here and there, but the most intriguing was a young girl surrounded by wolves. A fire crackled in one corner, and Yami immediately made her way toward it. She had done her best to use her own fire to keep herself warm, but eventually the fire wasn't enough. It wasn't permanent. The wind just blew it out, and Yami would be cold again. But this fire stayed. It almost instantly warmed Yami up, melting the snow off of her body.

A man at a nearby table chuckled. "You new to the north, sweetheart? You look like the worst tourist ever." Yami turned around, pulling the now damp cowl of her cloak back. Her loose brown hair tumbled down her shoulders. The man's grin broadened. "You could come stay with me tonight. The inn's no good here." Yami scowled and turned back to the fire. The man chuckled again before going back to whatever he was paying attention to before, which appeared to be a preacher or something of the sort on stage telling about legends Yami had never heard of before. Something about an Eagle-Raven or something along those lines. Whatever. Preachers were preachers, no matter where in the world you were.

Raijin continued to chug down his whiskey, taking big, healthy heavy gulps alongside his new drinking partner.  It was all in good fun after all.  Raijin heard the story teller play his traditional instruments, bang his drum lightly in the ancient, heart-beat rhythm, and so Raijin turned his blurred attention as best he could to the old elder.  Raijin listened, half drunk, to the tale of the Eagle-Raven.  How the Eagle-Raven had created man.  The story started out like any Water Tribe story, with a bit of a background, but not too much to make it boring.

Long ago, after the world was made, they say.
After the Eagle-Raven had brought light to the Earth, they say.
After he had brought fish to the North Pole, they say.
When the ice flow still extended deep into the sea, they say.
When creatures could talk and their flesh was more fluid, they say.

It was then that this story takes place.
Back then, the Eagle-Raven, bored with his lonely life,
Decided to take a walk on the sandy shores of the Earth Kingdom.
Back then it was not the Earth Kingdom though,
It was just a long, land of green expanse.

Back in the Long Ago Time, the Eagle-Raven,
Having existed before Creation, and who will continue to exist long after everything else,
Flew wherever pleased him, they say.
Today it pleased the Eagle-Raven to be in the Earth Kingdom.

As he walked upon the rocky shoreline, pebbles forming the beach,
The Eagle-Raven came across a sound.
It was a low, soft sound, as if calling for help, they say.
He did not know where this sound came from, they say,
but he tracked it down as best he could, they say.

Dipping his head deep into the waters of the shoreline,
The Eagle-Raven was able to listen for the source of the sound.
Finally, with a moment of great clarity, they say,
The Eagle-Raven dived into the great depths of the blue waters,
And returned triumphant with a giant clam shell in his talons.

Eagle-Raven placed the clam shell atop the rocky beach, they say.
As he examined the shell, he licked his beaky lips and smiled.
For the Eagle-Raven believed he was hearing the voice of the clam within the shell.
And so the Eagle-Raven believed he had found himself dinner.

Gathering all of his strength, they say,
Ancestor Eagle-Raven landed atop the great clam shell, they say,
And pulled with all his might, they say.
He pulled and pulled until he could see beings crawl from the clam shell.
Eagle-Raven was surprised to see these men crawl from the shell.

The men resisted, and many crawl back into their shell, they say.
Eagle-Raven, curious and noble as he was, flew high up with the shell in his claws.
Using the strength he had left, he dropped the shell from great heights, they say.
The shell plummeted back to Earth, breaking open upon the rocks.

The humans cawed and cried and yelled and roared as they met the world for the first time.
Ancestor Eagle-Raven was intrigued, and watched the humans meet their new world.
He laughed as they laughed, chuckled as they cried.
Often they would fight one another over some new object they found on the beach.

Other times, they say, the humans would help each other.
Other times, they would try to harm each other.
Humans were fickle that way, they say, and that is, they say,
Perhaps what attracted Ancestor Eagle-Raven to them.
He watched them longer before approaching.

As he watched, he noticed these men were naked, they say,
And they were just that, they say, all men.
No variety, no differences.  They were the same.
Long dark hair to their shoulders, normal round faces, they say,
Pale skin, with green and amber/yellow eyes, some still with grey.

With a wicked grin, Ancestor Eagle-Raven had an idea.
Tucking a few of the men under his feathers, he took off, they say.
Those who remained behind shrugged and wandered off into the bush.
It is unknown what became of them, though many believe they became the other benders, they say.
Eagle-Raven flew off to his homeland in the North Pole.

Once he arrived, he plucked the men from his feathers, they say.
Ancestor Eagle-Raven then gathered several chiton.
If any have seen the underside of a chiton before, you may know where this is going.
And so Ancestor Eagle-Raven tossed the chiton at the men, they say.
He tossed them at the men's groins, and they affixed themselves there.

Eagle-Raven waited patiently, they say, till the chiton finished.
Once they had, they detached from the human groins, they say,
And the humans dropped dead, used up and spent, they say.
A few more months of waiting, and the chiton burst open.
They had birthed the first mondern Water Benders, they say.

Dark hair, dark skin, white/silver eyes, they say.
These are the people who stand here around us.
Pleased with his creation, the Ancestor Eagle-Raven taught us how to survive here, they say.
He taught us hunting, fishing, trapping and all the other things we know today, they say.
That is, of course, until he grew bored of humans, as Eagle-Raven was prone to, and flew back off into the world.

We have not seen Eagle-Raven since, but his kin can be seen every once and a while, flying over the tundra.

They watch over us in the name of our shared ancestor, Eagle-Raven.

It was a good story. Even better because Raijin was drunk, he was sure. Smiling, still buzzed out of his mind, Raijin shouted encore. He had forgotten there was still one more story to go, but the elder wanted a few minutes to relax and reset the mood before he told his next story.

Kara enjoyed the story of the old man. She always liked old folktales of how the world came to be the way that it is. She finished her coffee. She needed something else if she wanted to stay awake for the next part of the story. The part of Loo-something. Kara saw several people enter the store and cut her off as she was making her way up to the bar to order a drink. Kara didn’t like that. She shoved the guy back. For some reason, the guy didn’t care. Strange. Usually people would get into a fight if someone shoved someone else.

"I'll have the strongest liquor you got." Kara slammed her hand on the bar counter. She hoped that it made her look more intimidating, or at least stronger. She put a few yuans while the bartender poured her drink. As she waited, she observed the people in the bar. Mostly drunk and highly rowdy. She finally got her drink and made her way back to her seat, just in time for the start of the next story.

Ziio listened silently, as usual, to the story of the Eagle-Raven, ancestor and progenitor of the Water Benders.  Before the ancestors of the Southern Tribe left the Northern Tribe to form their own tribe, and before more left to found the Foggy Swamp Tribe, when the tribes were one.  It was a story Ziio had heard many time before.

Stories were the centre of Water Bender culture.  They were oral, they were historical, they were interpretive.  People gained meaning and knowledge and learning from the story.  Anyone who was Water Bender or from the North Pole were familiar with this story.  They were the ones who only half paid attention to the story.

Though Ziio had heard it many times, she was too blurry to not pay attention. Besides, she loved this story. It reminded her of her mother and father and grandmother. The family she had lost. The reason she was alone now. She missed them. Hearing this story Ziio was reminded of her life before the Wolf Pack, before the hunting, before she was left alone, before she killed the Polar Bear Dog.

Ziio sighed and knocked back more alcohol, blurring her memory and reality further. She needed to forget. That was not her anymore. She was not some lonely, crying child. She was a warrior, a hunter, she was strong. She was Ziio. Leader of a Wolf Pack. Slayer of Uruq, the Polar Bear Dog, Terror of the North, Demon of the Tundra. Ziio was pleasantly tipsy by the time the second story had started.

Yami's attention was grabbed by the story, despite her lack of respect towards elders and people who preached of a past that may or may not even be true. Stories like that dated to long before the written word. Anything like that was told orally through the generations. And as many people know, oral stories are often changed as the teller sees fit. Still, it was interesting to hear what the water tribes believed to be their origins. Though Yami was a water bender, she was a fire bender by birth and an Air Nomad by blood. The story didn't pertain to her. While many of the people there might of seen it as a way to look back on their ancestry, Yami only saw it as a nice little story.

There was another story coming, something about Loo's Spaghetti. The same old guy was going to be the teller. Yami figured she would stay in the tavern and listen, as she didn't really have anywhere to be, and the tavern was warm, warmer to those who were practically bathing in alcohol. Yami had never been much of a drinker herself. She figured she might be one of the only sober people in the whole tavern. She shrugged. If anything kept a person warm, it was a strong drink. She only drank on special occasions. A story counted as special.

Yami watched a woman ask for the strongest drink they had. It took a good deal of fortitude for someone to down something that strong. Yami simply asked for the most popular drink. She figured it wouldn't be a good idea to be sitting near the fire and be drunk at the same time. If the alcohol were to somehow go to her head, she wanted to be as far away from the flames as possible. Otherwise, the tavern would end up as a pile of ash.

Yami looked for an empty table. Great, they were all taken. She scanned the people seated around the room, spying the girl with the wolves. She didn't seem very talkative. She was rather secluded, separated from the rest of the people. Yami shrugged. If she wasn't a social person, that was completely fine by her. Yami walked over to the table, sipping from her mug as she did so. The taste took her a moment to get used to, but once she did, she found it satisfying. Yami sat down before asking for permission. She wondered if the wolves would mind. She knew that animals were very protective of their masters, especially canines. It didn't help that Yami likely smelled like dragon. Still, this was Yami's best option for a place to sit. She continued sipping her drink, alert to all that was transpiring around her.

((OOC: Raijin's song, Ozai's Privateers, is a bit of a remix and nod to this song Barret's Privateers.  Helps if you wanna know how it sounds.))

Raijin drunkenly slopped over to a table with wolf girl and that weirdo in the hood.  He laughed in their face, slammed his mug on the table after draining it, and demanded another round for everyone in the bar.  It's not like he couldn't afford it.  His father was the Spirit King his uncle was the Emperor and his brother was the Crown Prince.  Raijin could buy every patron in every bar in the whole Water Tribe a round of drinks and not go broke.  Though he might have to dip into Imperial funds but, details at this point.

With a gaudy laugh, Raijin pointed to Kara.  "You!  Get over here and join us!  We're all gonna be friendsssss!" Raijin laughed again, hiccuped, then went back to his beer.  As he did the story teller started again, and everyone silenced as they prepared for the next story.  The Legend of Looooooooooooooooo Skagnetty.

"Many years ago, when my grandparents grandparents were children, lived a man, named Looooooooooooo Skagnetty," began the story teller, his bearded, old face twisted in some sort of wicked smile, meant to scare his watchers, "And Looooooo Skagnetty was a large man! Some say a giant! Over nine feet tall! Dressed in the fur of seven polar bear dogs, with the strength of a hundred men, and with a long beard down to his feet and hair to match! His eyes are dark like coal, and his beard as white as the snow! He lived, way atop Sulfur Mountain in the Tundra Wastes of the Northern Water Tribe."

"For hundreds of years, Looooooooo Skagnetty, neither man nor spirit, came to the Water Tribe. For years, the Chiefs of the Northern Tribe were able to appease the mighty creature by leaving him a heard of ox-goats to devour whole.  But one year, back when my grandparents grandparents were children., Looooooo Skagnetty decided ox-goats were no longer enough....he demanded the flesh of a human maiden....the flesh of a beautiful maiden. For fifty years, the Chiefs agreed, once a year leaving Looooooo Skagnetty a pretty girl selected from the villages!"

Everyone in the crowd gasped, some looked horrified, but Raijin remained drunkenly unaware of it all.  The story-teller continued.  "But one day, a young maiden, the last of twelve daughters who had previously been sacrificed to Loooooooo Skagnetty, went out into the tundra, to Sulfur Mountain, to seek out Looooooooo Skagnetty! Despite the entire village warning her not to go, she went anyway, armed with nothing but a bag full of seal jerky and a wooden spear."

"And there, after weeks of trekking and climbing she reached the top, to the mountain home of Looooooooo Skagnetty! And there, high atop Sulfur Mountain in his lonely stone cabin, Looooooooooo Skagnetty heard a knock at the door. Boom, boom boom. So he opened it. Creeeak. And there on his stoop stood the beautiful villager from the Northern Tribe. And the wind whipped about her hair and the snow swirled about her. And Loooooo Skagnetty froze. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know whether to kill her and eat her, or whether to bake her some of those tarts he was so fond of, the ones that feature choke cherries and brown lichen and little bits of dust."

"What happened then?" wondered a young child in the front, his nose running and his finger deep into the left nostril. And the story teller froze, looking intently at everyone. "The girl ate dinner with Loooooo Skagnetty. You see, Looooo Skagnetty.....he had fallen in love with the pretty girl. He wanted to make her his wife, and live happily ever after with her, and they ate and drank and talked long into the night, till the moon shone full over the tundra" he said in a whisper, "The girl finally asked of Looooooo Skagnetty to stop attacking the village, and eating the girls and asking for payment. Looooo Skagnetty....so smitten with this girl agreed, on the condition that she would marry him. But the girl was smart...and after drugging his tea to make him sleep.....she crept to the back of the stone hut.....pulled the key stone from the fire place......and the entire stone hut collapsed on the sleeping monster! BOOM!" A few kids screamed and some adults jumped back.

"And the girl ran back to the village as fast as she could, gathered up her things, and left for the Northern Tribe and she was gone by morning. And Looooooooo Skagnetty, was never, heard from again. Or so they say.....some who walk by Sulfur Mountain say they still see Looooo Skagnetty's cabin....lights on and smoke coming from the rebuilt chimney.....and sometimes....when the moon is full.....he releases a terrible howl towards the sky....mourning the loss of his love....vowing to one day seek her out and bring her back home....forevermore keeping the promise he made to her."

People applauded as the story teller finished.  Raijin was too drunk for formalities.  He laughed, clapped like a madman, then scrambled over to the live band and asked if they knew Ozai's Privateers, he was in luck!  They did!  Raijin cleared his drunken throat, and began to surprisingly belt out a decent version of the old sea shanty.

"Oh, the year was 1032
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
A letter of marque came from the King,
To the scummiest vessel I'd ever seen,

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for enemy gold
We'd fire no guns--Shed no tears!
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers.

Oh, Elcid Barrett cried the town,
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
For twenty brave men, all fishermen who
Would make for him the Antelope's crew

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--Shed no tears!
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers.

The Antelope sloop was a sickening sight
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
She'd a list to the port and and her sails in rags
And the cook in scuppers with the staggers and the jags

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--Shed no tears!
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers

On the King's birthday we put to sea,
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
We were 91 days to Chameleon Bay
Pumping like madmen all the way

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--Shed no tears!
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers

On the 96th day we sailed again
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
When a bloody great Earth ship hove in sight
With our cracked four pounders we made to fight

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--Shed no tears!
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers

The Earth ship lay low down with gold
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
She was broad and fat and loose in stays
But to catch her took the Antelope two whole days

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--Shed no tears!
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers

Then at length we stood two cables away
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
Our cracked four-pounders made an awful din
But with one fat ball the Earth stole the win

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--Shed no tears!
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers

The Antelope shook and pitched on her side
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
Barrett was smashed like a bowl of eggs
And the Main trunk carried off both me legs

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateers

So here I lay in my 23rd year
How I wish I was in the Capital now!
It's been 6 years since we sailed away
And I just made Yu Dao yesterday

God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns--shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Yu Dao pier
The last of Ozai's Privateeeeeeeeeers"

The bar clapped and Raijin sat down at the table again.  He felt the world spin, but he kept his vomit down and his head as straight as possible.  His energy was spent, as was the booze, he was starting to sober up a bit.  Damn.  Too bad.  Raijin loved that song though.  The story of a sailor, a young man, enlisted by the Edict of Fire Lord Ozai.  Ozai enlisted privateers, pirates sanctioned by the Fire Lord.  They were to attack enemy supply ships and convoys stealing gold, money, precious cargo and trading goods.

The best part was that they were allowed to keep it all!  Save for a 10% tax fee for the State.  Sounded good right?  Except these poor fishermen and treasure hunters were not equipped to fight armed battle-ready naval convoys.  Sure the ploy of Ozai's worked at first, but after the other nations heard about it they started arming merchant ships as well.  It was a disaster.

Hundreds died, many more went broken or wounded for life; both in mind and in body.  It was sad.  It was horrible.  It was one of the realities of the Hundred Year War that few ever spoke of.  God damn them all.  Raijin turned to the bar tender, and called for more whiskey.  He needed a drink.

The Legend of Loo Skagnetty. Or as most people put it, "Loooooooooooooooooo Skagnetty." Ziio had heard this story many times before. In her childhood it was her grandmother's favourite story to tell. There was not a single member of either Water Tribe who did not know this story well, if not off by heart. It was told so often; meant to keep children in line and make sure they behave, lest they be dragged off to be devoured by the smelly, fur-clad giant with antlers.

Ziio smirked. What a crock of shit. It wasn't real; just a story. One made for scaring people, that was all. Ziio had encountered worse when she was out in the Tundra hunting Polar Bear Dogs with nothing but a bow, some arrows and her wooden spear. That was scary. Her wolves had gone over to sleep by the fire, but Tei and Amaterasu, the alphas, remained by Ziio's side. They always did. They would not leave their master; their friend, their pack-mate. Ziio the Wolf Queen she was known here in the north. The Wolf Queen of the Frozen Wastes.

Ziio revelled in the title, taking another deep swig of alcohol. It burned her throat but she held off a grimace. She was stronger than that. Ziio then grimaced as she saw a drunken Fire Bender shamble over and start belting out some old sea shanty. She could guess as much from his red and black attire, the colour of his skin, and his yellow eyes. Typical look of the Fire Benders. Ziio heard mention of Ozai; and though Ziio was not particularly well versed in history, she knew who Ozai was, and his impact on the world.

Ziio was about to ram her knife into the table to scare off the drunken, shambling, sloppy-looking Fire Bender when her bought the whole house a round of drinks. Ziio eyed her bottle of Hellfire Whiskey. It was dangerously close to empty. She put her knife away; so long as he was buying, she could tolerate his presence. More money she could use on supplies and save up later. Ziio extended a hand to the Fire Bender; he looked to be about her age, and though she was never around people much, she recognized a good looking man when she saw one. Somewhere, in the back of the bar, the girl, Aklia, passed out from her alcohol consumption.