Daofei

"earth"

- I shall swear these oaths. I swear to defend my brothers and sisters, and obey the commands of my elders. Their kin will be my kin, their blood my blood. Should I fail to uphold this vow, may I be hacked to death by many knives.

Daofei is a term referring to organized groups of outlaws in the Earth Kingdom who have sophisticated codes of honor and conduct and traditions. In some cases, daofei may gain control over territory and overshadow the power of Earth Kingdom officials.

History
The term daofei was specific to the Earth Kingdom, with petty outlaws and criminals not being able to reach the level of power and influence of daofei in the other nations. It was believed that this was due to the limited power of the Earth monarch and the strong cultural differences between different groups of people within the Earth Kingdom.

After the famously carefree Avatar Kuruk's untimely death, daofei in the Earth Kingdom grew bolder and more power-hungry as the inner provinces descended into chaos. The Yellow Necks launched a full-fledged uprising, devastating large swaths of land in the name of fanatical spiritual beliefs. Their leader, Xu Ping An, styled himself as the "General of Pandimu", and they became infamous for killing women and children. The Earth Kingdom Army refused to defend some of the nation's more remote hinterlands from the rebels, who continued to pillage the Earth Kingdom until their brutal defeat at the Battle of Zhulu Pass at the hands of Jianzhu.

After Xu was imprisoned so the Fire Nation could study his capacity for lightning generation, Jianzhu tortured the Yellow Necks' earthbenders to death, and buried the nonbenders alive in trenches that they had been forced to dig. Although this mass murder suppressed the Yellow Necks, Xu's surviving followers Mok and Wai renamed themselves as the Autumn Bloom Society of Hujiang and prepared for a resurgence by building a new criminal network in secret.

The Flying Opera Company was a daofei society founded by the renegade Air Nomad nun Jesa and her earthbender husband Hark. Jesa's access to her sky bison Longyan was crucial to the company's success at being able to swiftly travel around the Earth Kingdom, while Hark's training at the Royal Theater schools in Ba Sing Se provided the group with performing skills to act as a cover. One noteworthy member of the society was Lao Ge, who was in fact the notorious assassin Tieguai the Immortal. Jesa would grow increasingly suspicious of the man over time, but would lack the courage to confront him.

The society's activity slowed down for some time after the birth of Jesa and Hark's daughter, Kyoshi. After she was left in Yokoya, the Flying Opera Company resumed activity, with Jesa and Hark recruiting Kirima, Wong, and Lek. The society was noteworthy for being primarily comprised of benders, unlike most others. However, the Flying Opera Company fell on hard times after Jesa and Hark died of a fever in 311 BG, with Longyan abandoning them shortly after. With their influence reduced to Chameleon Bay, they ended up in debt to some of the more unscrupulous figures in the region, and accepted the Autumn Bloom Society as their elders in order to protect themselves.

Three years after Jesa and Hark's deaths, Kyoshi and Rangi became affiliated with the Flying Opera Company, turning to them while they fled from Jianzhu's pursuit of the newly discovered Avatar. Shortly after, Governor Deng's police raided the Flying Opera Company's headquarters at Madam Qiji's teahouse, and the outlaws fled on the sky bison Pengpeng, arriving in their elders' outpost of Hujiang shortly after. In order to pay off their debts, the Flying Opera Company became involved in the Autumn Bloom Society's plan for an attack on Governor Te's palace.

After the successful assault on the palace, Xu Ping An was freed, and planned to restore the Yellow Necks to their former glory. However, following the announcement of his plans, Kyoshi challenged him to a duel on the lei tai. Xu accepted the challenge, and managed to stun the Avatar with lightningbending, but she entered the Avatar State and killed him, putting an end to the attempted restoration of the Yellow Necks.

Known daofei societies

 * Autumn Bloom Society
 * Flying Opera Company
 * Yellow Necks