Omashu

Omashu is the second largest city in the Earth Kingdom and the capital of one of its provinces, second largest only to Ba Sing Se, the titanic capital of the Earth Kingdom, which is much bigger than Omashu. It is located in the Kolau Mountain Range in the southwestern Earth Kingdom. Previously ruled by King Bumi, Omashu was taken over by the Fire Nation and renamed New Ozai. During the Day of Black Sun, King Bumi single handedly liberated Omashu and all the powerless firebenders abandoned the city.

History


Legends hold that two people from feuding towns met at the top of a mountain, and fell in love. Although it was dangerous for them to meet, the loving couple found a way to continue their relationship in secret; After learning Earthbending by observing the natural skills of Badgermoles, massive animals that inhabit the mountains separating their two villages, they created a labyrinth which only they could navigate as a place to be together, and others who would try to follow them would be lost forever in the tunnels. However, one day the man did not come - he had been killed in the war between their two peoples. While the woman's fury was initially expressed in a display of her terrible Earthbending powers, which could have destroyed both of the warring towns, she instead declared the conflict at an end.

The two villages later created a city to honor the couple's love, which eventually grew into the city of Omashu (the names of the lovers are revealed to be Oma and Shu, whose names were joined together). The final line in the script states "love is brightest in the dark".

It currently is ruled by King Bumi and holds the place of being the Earth Kingdom's second largest city. Omashu's main industry was producing weapons and supplies for the war effort, and had developed a complex and efficient mail system used to transport goods throughout the city that employed Earthbending and gravity using extensive ramps and chutes. Bumi and Aang used the ramps as slides in their past.

New Ozai


Since Aang, Katara, and Sokka's last visit, Omashu had surrendered to the Fire Nation, who had developed metal, extending bridges to bypass the gorge, and was renamed "New Ozai" by Princess Azula around that time. 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). Most notably altered is the palace, the original of which was completely leveled and replaced with the metal pagoda architecture favored by the Fire Nation. This may have been in part to the fact that doors between the chambers of the old palace were created as needed by Earthbending, making entrance and egress impossible for non-earthbenders. Also many of the the ordinary buildings have been comandeered by the Fire Nation, most likely forcefully, and turned into Factories, with chimneys coming out of the top, which are probably being used to build weapons. Mai's father is now Governor of New Ozai, in place of King Bumi. The normal citizens, however, flee the city under the guise of an epidemic shortly after Aang arrives.

Liberation
During the Day of Black Sun Bumi saw that his time had come and released himself from imprisonment. Following that he proceeded to defeat the powerless Firebenders and single-handedly reclaimed his city from the Fire Nation, even going as far as to destroy the now complete statue of Ozai. This was vital to the eventual liberation of what the Fire Nation had of the Earth Kingdom.

After the War, Omashu has presumably begun to repair the damage the Fire Nation inflicted on the city.

Layout and Description


The city of Omashu sits within the Kolau Mountain Range, surrounded on all sides by steep canyons and an enormous gorge. The cities' three gates are composed from massive stone, each five feet thick and towering over thirty feet high. As a result are accessible only by skilled Earthbenders who guard its only entrance. The city itself is built on a number of hills. The Palace sits on the tallest hill, which is in the center behind some of the other hills. The city has thousands of houses for ordinary citizens and nobles. There are hundreds of shops, restaurants and pottery workshops. Most types of businesses in Ba Sing Se would be present in Omashu as well. It also has a complex mail system.

Buildings in Omashu are generally built from stone, unlike most buildings in the Earth Kingdom, and have green tiled roofs.

Cave Of Two Lovers


Located near Omashu in the Earth Kingdom, The Cave of Two Lovers is a secret tunnel that passes through a section of the Kolau mountain range. The tunnel is actually a giant underground labyrinth full of dangerous animals including Wolfbats and Badgermoles. In the center of the labyrinth is the Tomb of Two Lovers. The tomb is a large room with two sarcophagi in the middle. In the sarcophagi are the bodies of the two lovers; this is their final resting place. The walls of the tomb are decorated with pictures and pictographs telling the story of the two lovers. The cave is illuminated by crystals (similar to those of Old Ba Sing Se) when any form of light is put out. Omashu is named after the first two Earthbenders.





Mail System
The Omashu mail system is just a linking slide that goes on for miles in the city. Earthbenders move the packages around to a different slide. Though Aang and Bumi used it as a giant slide and slid down it 100 years ago. 100 years later Aang did it again with Katara and Sokka but this time he was a bit wild. They also used it again when they were trying to recover the captured King Bumi from Azula.

Trivia

 * Based on the ancient writing in "The Cave of Two Lovers," the Traditional Chinese way to write Omashu is 奥瑪舒. "Ào mǎ" (奥瑪) mean "mysterious carnelian," while "Shū" (舒) is a Chinese surname meaning "relax". In Simplified Chinese Omashu is 奥玛舒.

Notable Figures

 * Oma
 * Shu
 * King Bumi
 * New Ozai Governor
 * Governor's Wife
 * Mai
 * Tom-Tom
 * Yung