User blog comment:ZeroPath/An interesting idea I came up with/@comment-4883076-20130709193009/@comment-4463099-20130710181836

I was actually thinking about that, and I came up with something else entirely: A sort of post-apocalyptic version of the Avatar world where some cataclysmic event brought the world back to the way it was a little before Aang's time. And because of the Avatar Cycle, the element you choose to start with would determine just how far in the future you are.

I was also thinking that choosing which settlement you start in could affect whether or not you start off with one of the sub-elements. For example, choosing to start in a desert village as an Earth-Bender would start you off with some Sand-Bending skills, and starting in a swamp village as a Water-Bender would start you off as a Plant-Bender.