MidReal Story
Elemental Kingdoms: African Avatar's Quest
Scenario: an avatar movie based on the last airbender but based in Africa using african mythology and culture
Create my version of this story
Kofi Adeyemi, a young man from the Mbundu tribe, finds himself in the bustling village of M'Banza Kongo at a pivotal moment.
He is surrounded by the vibrant colors of the market and the sounds of daily life as he grapples with his identity and destiny.
Guided by a mysterious old woman, he navigates through the market until he reaches a quieter spot near the riverbank, where his journey begins.
As he looks out at the rushing waters, he realizes that he is the Avatar, the spiritual bridge between the physical and spirit worlds.
The elemental spirits arrive to confirm his fate, and as he speaks with them, they tell him that he will bring balance to the world in a time of chaos.
I stared down at the palm of my hand.
It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t my hand that I was staring at—it was my tribe’s.
The dark skin, the black tribal markings that I had always taken for granted were not mine at all.
I was just borrowing them.
I was wearing this skin.
I felt like a child trying on his father’s robe—clumsy and too small.
I was the Avatar.
The protector of all four elemental kingdoms.
The balance of these kingdoms is my responsibility and mine alone.
It will be up to me to restore harmony in a world torn apart by war.
A war that I had been told before I could remember who I was.
A war that had taken my parents from me before I even had the chance to get to know them.
Now it was up to me to restore peace—up to me to set things right so that no other child would ever have to go through what I went through again so many years ago.
I don’t know how long I stood there, staring at my hand, trying to convince myself that this skin was mine—because it wasn’t mine, not really.
But it was mine for now.
The old woman stepped up beside me and took my hand in hers.
And I realized then that she had been right all along.
I was not alone.
Not as long as I had her by my side.
“Come,” she said, “we have work to do.”
I let her lead me back into the village and through the marketplace once again.
We made our way down a narrow alley, finally emerging upon the riverbank once again—only this time, we were standing on the opposite side of where we had been before.
The river was much larger here and the waters moved much faster as they ran off into the distance, eventually disappearing into the dense jungle that surrounded the village on all sides.
“Do you see it?”
the old woman asked me, pointing a crooked finger out at the river as it rushed past us.
And for the first time, I did see it: the connection between myself and the river—the connection between myself and all the elements of this world—the connection between myself and the spirits themselves.
I knelt down on one knee as tears welled up in my eyes, spilling down my cheeks as I continued to stare out at the river—the river that was now so much more than just a river to me.
was terrified of this new world that had been opened up to me—I was terrified of what I knew was expected of me—and most of all, I was terrified of failing.
I don’t know how long I knelt there, paralyzed by fear, but suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder—a strangely comforting hand—and a warm voice speaking softly to me, “It’s okay, Kofi Adeyemi.It will be okay.”
I opened my eyes and looked up to see the mysterious old woman standing there beside me, a gentle smile on her face as she held out a cup of tea for me to drink from.
I took the cup in both hands and drank down the tea, feeling its warmth spread throughout my body and calm my nerves—albeit only slightly.
“Take a deep breath,” she said, “and clear your mind.”
I did as she said, feeling a strange sense of peace come over me as I breathed in deeply and then slowly exhaled—my fear and anxiety melting away.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to help you meditate,” she said with a knowing smile, “in order for you to do what needs to be done, you must first learn how to connect with your past lives.”
“You mean with the other Avatars?”
“Yes.” She nodded, “And you must also learn how to communicate with the spirits.”
“How long will it take?”
“Time is a difficult thing to measure in this place,” she said, “but we must start now—before it’s too late.”
I nodded my head and then slowly lowered myself down onto the ground into a cross-legged position.
The old woman sat down beside me, mimicking my posture—and then, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “Focus on your breathing and clear your mind.”
I did as she said, taking a deep breath and then slowly exhaling, feeling all other thoughts melt away, until there was nothing left but me and my breathing, in and out, in and out…
As I continued to meditate, I felt all my fears and anxieties slip away—the world around me fading into darkness—my mind growing clearer and clearer with each breath I took.
And then I felt myself slipping away, leaving my body behind as I traveled beyond the physical world—my consciousness soaring higher and higher into the heavens above, until I could go no further…
I was floating in space now, surrounded by stars, planets, and galaxies—and suddenly, I felt a presence beside me—a warm and comforting presence that wrapped itself around me like a blanket.
“I am Avatar Shaka,” the spirit said to me, “and I am here to help guide you on your journey.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want to give you what you need.”
“To restore balance to the world.”
“In time,” he said, “but first you must understand what balance truly is.”
“What do you mean?”
“You will face many challenges ahead,” he said, “from those who fear your power to those who seek to exploit it.”
“What can I do?”
“In order to maintain balance,” Shaka said, “you must learn to control your power.”
I looked at the fan in front of me, feeling the blood rush to my head as I tried to summon a breeze with it.
“Not a fan?”
I heard the voice of the Air Avatar laughing from behind me.
I gritted my teeth, feeling the sweat pour down my face as I continued to struggle—until finally, with one last desperate gasp, I felt a gust of wind fill the room, knocking over the table beside me—and sending my scrolls flying every which way.
“Oops,” Shaka said, “guess I overdid it.”
I glared at him as he walked over to help me pick everything up, “You think?”
He laughed as he handed me back my scrolls, “Don’t worry about it—you’ll get the hang of it eventually.”
I sighed and shook my head, “I don’t understand why you’re making me do this.”
“Because you need to learn how to control your power.”
“I’m doing the best I can!”
He ignored me, “You’re the Avatar—you have the potential to master all four elements.”
“But you won’t be able to do that if you don’t get your power under control.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him, but then I thought better of it—if he wanted to play games with me, I could do the same.
So I took a deep breath and closed my eyes—summoning all the anger and frustration I had inside me—and then, with one final push, I felt a burst of wind fill the room, tearing the fan out of Shaka’s hand.
He looked at me, his eyes wide with surprise, “You did it!”
I smirked at him, “Of course I did.”
He shook his head, “Your arrogance will be your downfall.”
I felt the anger rise up inside me again, but this time I knew better than to let it control me.
So I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling the anger slip away—and then I smiled at him sweetly.
Shaka glared at me, not buying it for a second—before finally rolling his eyes and walking away.
“Now that you’ve learned how to control your power,” the old woman said, “it’s time for you to learn some humility.”
“I am not an arrogant person,” I said.
She looked at me skeptically, “We’ll see about that.”
She stood up and walked over to the door before opening it and stepping outside.
I followed her outside and then stopped in my tracks when I saw what was waiting for me on the other side—a large jug, a wooden bucket, and a towel… Do you want me to take a bath?”
“Not exactly,” she said.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Fetch some water from the river.”
She smiled at me.
I stared at her in disbelief, “You want me to carry all that water all the way back here?But that’s miles away!”
“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” she said.
She looked at me for a moment before her expression softened, “The Avatar is not a person—it is a spirit, reincarnated in human form.”
I looked at her, “What does that mean?”
She smiled at me, “It means that you are not alone.”
She gestured to the jug on the ground, “Go ahead.”
I looked at the jug and then at her.
She nodded to me, “Trust me.”
I sighed, but did as I was told—picking up the jug and walking to the river.
As I walked, the old woman’s words echoed in my mind,
I knelt down next to the river and dipped the jug into the water, filling it to the brim.
I stood up and walked back to the old woman, but when I got there, she just shook her head and pointed to the wooden bucket on the ground.
I groaned and set down the jug before picking up the bucket and heading back to the river.
When I reached the river, I filled the bucket with water and started back to the old woman—only to have her stop me halfway there.
“You’re spilling it,” she said.
She held out her hand, “Give it to me.”
I handed her the bucket and she took it from me before walking back to the old man, leaving me alone by the river.
As I walked back, I looked around for a place where I could sit down and rest—but as soon as I saw the old woman’s disapproving glare, I thought better of it and kept walking.
After what seemed like an eternity, I finally made it back to them—and when I did, the old man just looked at me and shook his head.
I turned bright red as he said that—before finally sitting down next to them and waiting for whatever was supposed to happen next.
“The Avatar is a spirit,” he said, “but not just any spirit—it is the spirit of light and peace, with the potential to master all four elements.”
“He is also the bridge between humanity and the spirit world,” the old woman added.
“Long ago,” he said, “the world was divided into four elemental kingdoms—earth, air, fire, and water—each one protected by a powerful spirit.”
“But the humans were not content with their place in the world,” she said.
“They waged war on each other for centuries—destroying everything in their path.”
“The spirits were powerless to stop them,” he said.
“So they created a new being,” she said.
“A being capable of mastering all four elements,” he said.
“And bringing peace to the world,” she said.
“They called him Wanadi,” he said, “the first Avatar.”
“Wanadi was a powerful bender,” she said, “but he knew that in order to master all four elements, he would need help from the spirits.”
“So he built a sacred space,” he said.
“A place where he could go to commune with them,” she said.
“And learn their ways,” he said.
“He mastered earthbending first,” she said.
“And then firebending,” he said.
“Before finally moving on to waterbending,” she said.
“But it wasn’t easy for him,” he said.
“Each time he tried to learn a new element, he had to prove himself to the spirits.”
“And show that he was worthy of their help,” she said.
“He did whatever they asked of him,” he said.
“And in return, they taught him how to bend their element,” she said.
“And so, after years of hard work and dedication, Wanadi finally mastered all four elements.”
I sat there in silence for a moment, processing everything they had just told me—but before I could say anything, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Are you ready?”
my sister Nala asked.
I turned around and saw her standing there with Aisha at her side—and for some reason, I felt a sudden surge of confidence wash over me.
“Yeah,” I said, “I’m ready.”
For my next lesson, I worked on healing—which turned out to be a lot harder than it looked.
Not only did I have to move my arms in a specific pattern, but I also had to channel my spiritual energy into the water in order for it to work.
At first, I struggled with it—I couldn’t seem to find my spiritual center, no matter how hard I tried.
But after a few minutes of practice, I finally started to get the hang of it—and by the time I was done, I was actually pretty good at it.
I know it probably sounds crazy, but I swear I could feel the spirits guiding me as I went through the motions—almost as if they were speaking directly to my soul.
When I was finished, I stood up and wiped the sweat from my brow.
“Not bad,” Aisha said, smirking at me.
“I guess you’re not a complete failure after all.”.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head before turning back to Nala.
“What’s next?”
I asked, trying not to let Aisha get to me.
But before she could answer, something caught my eye.
I looked out over the river and saw that it had started raining—which in and of itself wasn’t all that strange, since it rained almost every day around here.
What was strange, however, was that there wasn’t a cloud in sight.
How could it be raining when there wasn’t a cloud in sight?
And then I remembered something else that was strange—the storm I had seen earlier, right before I discovered I was the Avatar.
It happened so fast that I barely had time to react.
I looked around for a moment—trying to figure out where it was coming from—before finally deciding to investigate.
I walked towards the village, searching for any sign of what might be causing this storm—and as I did, I saw my sister standing there with a group of elders from the palace, including Chief Ekwensi himself.
They all had worried expressions on their faces as they looked up at the sky—and for a moment, I wondered if they had seen it too.
“Kofi,” Chief Ekwensi said, stepping forward, “what do you think is happening?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, “but I’m going to find out.”
And with that, I took off towards the village, using my airbending abilities to propel myself into the air as I went.
It didn’t take long for me to reach it—and when I did, I was shocked by what I saw.
The storm was even bigger than before—much bigger—and it was swirling around like a tornado, with lightning bolts shooting out in every direction.
But that wasn’t even the strangest part.
At the center of it all was a dark figure—a figure so dark that it looked like a shadow come to life.
