Earth Kingdom: Difference between revisions
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* [[Secondary Characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender#The Mechanist| The Mechanist]] |
* [[Secondary Characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender#The Mechanist| The Mechanist]] |
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* [[Secondary Characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender#Aunt Wu| Aunt Wu]] |
* [[Secondary Characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender#Aunt Wu| Aunt Wu]] |
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* [[Secondary Characters of Avater: The Last Airbender#Tho, Due, and Hugh| Hugh]] |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 00:34, 3 May 2006
The Earth Kingdom is a collective term for a nation of people in the fictional universe of the 2005 animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. One of the series' "Four Nations," The Earth Kingdom is a massive continent taking up most of the planet's Eastern Hemisphere. The Earth Kingdom is home to an order of men and women who practice Earthbending, the mystical art of psychokinetic manipulation of earth.
The Earth Kingdom has long withstood encroachments on their borders in the Fire Nation's century-long imperialist war. Though the Water Tribes aid the Earth Kingdom in the war, the conflict continues to progress poorly. Other than the Avatar and the Northern Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom is the only real obstacle between the Fire Nation and complete planetary dominance. Template:Spoilers
Appearance
The people of the Earth Nation have brown hair in different shades but usually dark brown, fair skin complexion, and green or brown, but usually green, eyes. They always wear green, yellow green, and sometimes brown clothing. Some Earth Nation members sometimes wear other Nation outfits, like Song and her mother.
National Emblem
The national emblem of the Earth Kingdom is a square inscribed with a circle, at the center of which is a much smaller square (like a Chinese coin). This emblem can be seen on the helmets of Earth Kingdom troops.
Cities and locations
Citizens of the Earth Kingdom inhabit grand cities made of rock.
Ba Sing Se
Ba Sing Se is the capital of the Earth Kingdom. It withstood a six-hundred day siege led by the Fire Nation's General Iroh. He battled until he thought that the battle was yielding nothing. Judging from Admiral Zhao's speech in The Blue Spirit, it is under attack by the Fire Nation again. After King Bumi surrendered Omashu, Ba Sing Se is the last great Earth Kingdom stronghold against the Fire Nation.
Omashu
The City of Omashu sits within a mountain range, surrounded by canyons. It is ruled by King Bumi, an interesting fact considering that it is not the capital. Omashu has developed a complex and efficient mail system that employs Earthbending and uses extensive ramps and chutes. Bumi and Aang use the ramps as slides.
At the beginning of Book Two, Aang and his friends begin to travel to Omashu again to learn Earthbending; "The Cave of Two Lovers" reveals that the city was founded centuries before, named for Oma and Shu, a Romeo and Juliet pair from two warring villages, and the first Earthbenders. Since Aang, Katara, and Sokka's last visit, Omashu has fallen to the Fire Nation and renamed "New Ozai" by Princess Azula. The entire city is seen going under massive reconstruction to better suit the Fire Nation, and a HUGE statue of Ozai is seen under construction at the top of Omashu (though his face remains obscured).
Kyoshi Island
One of the islands off the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom, Kyoshi Island is the island where Avatar Kyoshi was born. The island is known for its female warriors, styled after Kyoshi herself, who fight with metal fans and the same techniques as the island's namesake avatar, where the opponent's strength is used against them. The leader is a young woman named Suki; the warriors rarely train outsiders much less males.
Kyoshi Island has managed to stay out of the Fire Nation's war for long period of time and has no intention of inviting unwanted attention. As a result, the chief and the warriors of the island are fiercely hostile towards any outsiders. Only recently have the Kyoshi Island warriors decided to leave and join the war.
Not surprisingly, the island has a shrine (formerly a temple) dedicated to Kyoshi containing relics belonging the Avatar; they include her kimono, metal fans and metal headress, and her boots. Supposedly, these relics still embody some of the Avatar's spirit. In the nearby sea, there are elephant koi and a water breathing serpent known as Unagi.
During the time of Avatar Kyoshi, a conqueror known as Chin tried to rule the entire Earth Kingdom. Kyoshi managed to keep her people safe by using a combination of different bending techniques to separate their peninsula from the mainland and form an island. This caused a cliff to form where Chin was standing and he fell to his death after the outcrop of rock beneath him collapsed when he cried out in frustration as Kyoshi's bending pushed the newly-formed island out of his reach. The village of Chin was founded near the cliff and has been known to be very antagonistic to Kyoshi and the succeeding Avatars until recently when Aang, the current Avatar, saves the village from rhino-riding Fire Nation soldiers.
The Great Divide
The largest canyon in the world, found in the Earth Kingdom, which can be crossed in about a day if one has an expert guide. The canyon is home to various insect and arachnid-like creatures, mostly known as Crawlers. The creatures will usually leave travellers alone, but they possess a superior sense of smell and will attack if travellers are carrying food.
Aunt Wu's Village
Home to Aunt Wu, a fortuneteller whose fortunes are taken as gospel, it is situated at the foot of an active volcano. When Aang, Katara, and Sokka visit, the volcano is about to erupt, though the villagers refuse to believe them because Aunt Wu says otherwise until the trio manipulate the clouds and use Aunt Wu to tell the villagers the volcano will erupt.
Growing on the volcano's rim are panda lilies, black and white striped flowers young men give to their sweethearts, and wandering in nearby forests are platypus-bears.