Council of Five

"earth"

- ...the Council of Five, my highest ranking generals.

The Council of Five is a group consisting of the five highest-ranking generals in the Earth Kingdom Army. As such, it is the highest authority in the Earth Kingdom military and oversaw the country's entire war effort against the Fire Nation. The council was led by General How, the commanding officer of the military. Among the council members were General Sung, who defended Ba Sing Se's Outer Wall from attack, as well as three other briefly seen but unnamed generals.

History
The Council of Five was together for as long as there had been a king in Ba Sing Se, and they always worked hand in hand with the king to protect the city. However, since the Grand Secretariat, Long Feng, held the true power over the country through his use of the elite Dai Li forces, they were forced to answer to him. They worked in secrecy and hid the fact that there was a war from the Earth King. The council showed Long Feng all of their war plans and attacks for approval before carrying them out on the battlefield. However, after Avatar Aang and his friends exposed Long Feng's conspiracy to the Earth King, the council resumed their regular duties to the Earth King. They raided Long Feng's office and found several valuable documents that Aang's group needed, such as Aang's message from Guru Pathik, who hoped to teach him about the Avatar State. After the group revealed to the council the chance to invade the Fire Nation by attacking on the Day of Black Sun, the council immediately drew up plans to launch an invasion on that date. They decided to launch the attack from General Fong's mountain fortress in the western Earth Kingdom, and began to assemble their troops.

The council never was able to launch the attack. Princess Azula of the Fire Nation infiltrated Ba Sing Se along with her friends Mai and Ty Lee, disguised as Kyoshi Warriors. Through some careful manipulation, she gained control of the Dai Li and they all proceeded to capture the Earth King and the Council of Five. The whole council was placed under house arrest, and without the proper leadership for the invasion, the Earth Kingdom attack never reached fulfillment.

Notable members

 * General How (leader)
 * General Sung