eclipsehowls
Five Thousand Club
Air Nomads
"The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom."
-Iroh to Zuko on the Air Nomads
During the era of Raava, the power of airbending was temporarily bestowed on the inhabitants who lived on a giant lion turtle while they left the village to stock up on food. After the inhabitants permanently left the care of the lion turtle, airbenders learned to reconnect and refine their bending from the flying bison, a sacred creature in the Air Nomad culture. It is also said that the airbenders borrowed the arrow mark from the flying bison for the design of their traditional tattoos. These markings symbolize one's mastery of the airbending art and are given to a practitioner once their training is complete. Unlike other nations, all Air Nomads are born airbenders, due to the high amount of spirituality infused within the culture.
The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly problems and concerns; finding peace and freedom was the key to solving their difficulties in life. The key to airbending is flexibility and finding and following the path of least resistance. Learned from Flying Bison. Alternate Styles: Flight and Spiritual Projection.
Fire Nation:
"The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want."
— Iroh to Zuko on the nature of the Fire Nation.
During the era of Raava, people received the element of fire from the fire lion turtle that was the guardian of their city, who would grant them the power with energybending. They could request it whenever they ventured into the Spirit Wilds and were to return it when they came back. Wan stole this power to better his life and for that was banished to the Spirit Wilds where he learned to hone this skill by copying the dragons in the Spirit Wilds. He developed his style in such a manner that his fire became an extension of his body, rather than a mere tool for protection as the others perceived it. Others learned of his survival and also set out into the Spirit Wilds with the power of fire, no longer wanting to live under the poor conditions they had in the city.
In the years following, firebending was learned from the dragons that had once populated the firebenders' land. The first people during the era of the Avatar to learn from the dragons were the Sun Warriors, who understood the connection between the fire of their souls, the fire of the dragons, and the sun. Firebending represents energy and life. Firebenders draw their power from the sun and other solar objects, such as comets. A solar eclipse has the potential to completely negate a firebender's power, which is the result of a direct connection between the sun and firebending. Learned from: Dragons. Alternative Styles: Combustion, Lightning generation and redirection.
Water Nation:
"The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things. They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together through anything."
— Iroh to Zuko on the nature of the Water Tribe
The Water Tribes are the only people who did not learn bending from an animal, though the Moon and Ocean Spirits took the form of koi fish in the mortal world near the beginning of the Avatar World. The fighting style of waterbending is mostly fluid and graceful, acting in concert with the environment. Foggy Swamp style waterbending, however, is more rigid and straight. Waterbenders deal with the flow of energy; they let their defense become their offense, turning their opponents' own forces against them. Even when waterbenders do take an attack stance, their moves always appear to flow from one to the other.
During the era of Raava, the power of waterbending was first granted by the water lion turtle, who would temporarily provide it as protection to those venturing into the Spirit Wilds. However, after the lion turtles renounced their roles as protectors of mankind during the era of the Avatar, the turtles refused to give people bending anymore. The descendants of the people living atop the water lion turtle eventually learned to waterbend again by observing how the moon pushed and pulled the tides of the ocean; they learned how to simulate the effect themselves. Learned from: The Moon. Alternative Styles: Bloodbending and Healing
Earth Nation:
"The people of the Earth Kingdom are diverse and strong. They are persistent and enduring."
— Iroh to Zuko on the nature of the Earth Kingdom
The key to earthbending is utilizing neutral jing, which involves waiting and listening for the right moment to strike and, when that moment comes, acting decisively. Learned from: Badger Moles. Alternative Styles: Lavabending, Metalbending, Sandbending.
During the era of Raava, the power of earthbending was temporarily bestowed on the inhabitants of a city atop a giant lion turtle while they left the village to hunt for food. After the inhabitants permanently left the care of the lion turtle, humans first learned to reconnect with and refine their earthbending by observing and imitating the geokinetic abilities of badgermoles living in the mountains in what is now Earth Kingdom territory. According to a legend, known widely as "The Legend of the Two Lovers", two star-crossed lovers named Oma and Shu, who hailed from separate warring villages, were the first people who learned the art from these creatures so that they could meet within the mountain that divided them. To make sure no one could ever find them, they used their new abilities to create a labyrinth of tunnels inside the mountain, which only they could navigate. One day, after many meetings in the series of passageways, the man did not come to see his lover, as he had died, a casualty of the villages' quarrel. His lover showcased a devastating display of her earthbending abilities and ultimately proclaimed the feud over. The villages subsequently collaborated to construct a city, Omashu, in their honor. The pathways they made by earthbending became known as the Cave of Two Lovers.
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