A/N: This was originally a companion piece for another story I wrote two years ago. If you were a previous reader of mine, it might look familiar. I'm actually going to expand on it a bit as I re-upload Tales of Yukio to FF.N. There are a lot of interactions that take place in Lyn-Chen's visions that I'd like to write about. Hopefully you all like this newer version of the story. This was a fun piece to redo. Enjoy. Or not. But I'm always optimistic!
18 Years Ago; Before the Life of Yukio[]
Most people's first memories are about their first stuffed animal or a smile, maybe even a statement. My first memory wasn't anything of the sort,
My first memory was a vision. A vision of my passing. I was five years old when I received it. I was meditating in the Southern Air Temple's sanctuary, and all of a sudden, a bright light seemed to flash from outside of my eyelids. I determined, even at such a young age, that this brightness wasn't normal. It was blinding. I wanted to squint or close my eyes; something to get away from the unnatural light, but I couldn't move. I felt detached from my body. Then, I was sucked into a vision of vivid color.
"Ani! Don't push me into the lagoon!" I heard myself speak, "I can't swim!"
"Waterbend, Lyn-Chen! I know you can do it!" a womanly voice – Ani? – encouraged.
I saw myself fall into the deep water. I saw myself struggling, trying to move my arms. I was thrashing and gasping for air. I could see myself choking. My hair was tangled around my face, shielding my eyes. Then, all of a sudden, my body went limp. I smiled, like I was pleased with myself and I sunk deeper and deeper until my body faded from my view. The last thing I saw was the older woman's terrified face before she dove in the water to retrieve my body.
That was merely the beginning of my thirteen year battle with my identity. I saw thousands of visions over my brief life. Some were simple: The weather, a conversation, or what I'd wear the next day. But others were more complex: Like my Airbending tattoos or becoming a nun. The most significant one, of course, was learning that I was the Avatar.
I was trained in Air Nomad history first. I knew about the past Air Nomadic Avatars before me: Aang and Yang-Chen. Then, the other Avatars directly behind me: the Fire Avatar, Akari; the Earth Avatar, Hyun-Ki. Finally the Water Avatar, Korra. Little did my teachers know, I could see visions of my successors, the Water Avatar, Yukio; and the Earth Avatar, Kyla.
On the day of my death, I wrote letters to my people. The most important one was to my older sister, the only one I knew of, since it was rare to know of your family. I wrote her a letter about the location of my diary. It was a book which held the only secret worth staying a secret: The identity of the new Avatar, and the woman who would give birth to him.
But what I didn't know, even with all my visions, was that I chose to die.