Fire Sages

"fire"

- We are the Fire Sages, guardians of the temple of the Avatar.

The Fire Sages are the religious authority of the Fire Nation and are responsible for identifying the Avatar's incarnation when he or she is born in the Fire Nation. They are also entrusted with guarding the temple and for conducting weddings and funerals for the Royal Family and for those who seek their help.

The primary headquarters of the Fire Sages is the Capital Temple, located in the Fire Nation Capital. Below this building are the Dragonbone Catacombs, which store the history of the Fire Nation and its Fire Lords. There was formerly a remote outpost of the Fire Sages on Crescent Island, but this was destroyed a year before the end of the Hundred Year War.

History
In the distant past, the Fire Nation was ruled by a council of sages who led the nation with a strong sense of spirituality, similarly to the Air Nomads. However, over time the political situation shifted, with the imperial system, led by the Fire Lord, taking precedence as the Sages gradually lost their political power. Currently, they mainly direct their energy toward their religious duties and serve merely as counsel to their ruler. Over time, their loyalties came to be more and more to the Fire Lord and less to their original purpose.



At Roku and Sozin's birthday party, they announced the identity of the then next Avatar, Roku. After Avatar Roku died, Fire Lord Sozin started the Hundred Year War. The Fire Lord set forth a decree that anyone who helped the Avatar would be considered a traitor to the Fire Nation and dealt with appropriately. The Fire Sages were ordered to switch their allegiance to the Fire Lord. Some, such as Shyu's father, resisted, and were killed for continuing to profess loyalty to the Avatar. Over time, as the Avatar failed to reappear, the Sages lost faith in him and gradually fell completely under the control of the imperial government. Now the last of their kind, the modern day sages are little more than aging remnants of a time where spirituality was placed before military might. Nonetheless, they continued to perform their religious services, such as officiating the funeral Fire Lord Azulon.

By the time of Aang's reemergence from the iceberg, the Fire Sages had turned completely away from their original purpose. When they learned of the Avatar's return when Aang's triggering of his Avatar State in the Southern Air Temple caused various statues and murals within Avatar Temples around the world to become supernaturally illuminated, they immediately relayed the news to Fire Lord Ozai. Later, when Aang and his friends tried to enter the shrine on Crescent Island, the five Sages there confronted Aang and attempted to prevent him from speaking with Avatar Roku, chasing the three around the entire temple. However, one Sage, Shyu, had remained loyal to the Avatar. He betrayed his associates and helped the three trick the four other Sages into opening the doors of the sanctuary that held Roku's statue. Once inside, Aang met with Avatar Roku and together, they destroyed the temple for their betrayal of the previous Avatar. Afterwards, all five sages were blamed by Commander Zhao for the upsetting failure and all were arrested.

The capital Fire Sages were not purged, however, and continued to serve their functions for the royal family. They were about to coronate Azula as the next Fire Lord, when Zuko and Katara arrived. Instead of finishing the coronation, they watched as Azula and Zuko fought an Agni Kai for the crown. They were last seen conducting Zuko's coronation as Fire Lord.

Notable members

 * Fire Sage Kaja
 * Fire Sage Shyu
 * Great Sage
 * High Sage

Trivia

 * At least of the sages on Crescent Island, some of their jobs are to watch over the sanctuary, protect it from invaders, and gather what knowledge they can about the Avatar.