Tonraq

"water"

- I was protecting you from the shame I brought on the family.

Tonraq is a powerful waterbending master who originated from the Northern Water Tribe. After he destroyed a sacred spirit forest, he was banished, and he moved to the Southern Water Tribe. There, he became the tribe's unofficial leader, and met Senna, with whom he has one daughter, Korra.

Early life
Tonraq was born in the Northern Water Tribe to the tribal chief of the north, and he later became the older brother of Unalaq. As the chief's firstborn, Tonraq was next in line to become chief of the tribe. He grew up to be a powerful waterbending master, and became the general of the northern troops.



In 151 ASC, Tonraq was alerted by his younger brother that the tribe was under attack, and he immediately led his warriors into battle, chasing the invaders out of the city and into an isolated forest. Attempting to crush the barbarians, Tonraq used the barbarians' belief that they would not attack on what many perceived to be holy ground, and ordered his troops to attack anyway. They managed to capture the barbarians, though had destroyed the forest in the process, which unknowingly set loose angry spirits. That night, Tonraq awoke to the sounds of the capital city being attacked by vengeful spirits. He immediately sprung to action, though his waterbending proved to be futile against the entities. Although Unalaq managed to calm the spirits down and send them on their way, Tonraq was banished from the North by the chief, his father, as he was the cause of much destruction, and his position as first in line to become chief was given to Unalaq. Tonraq traveled to the Southern Water Tribe in order to start a new life. There, he met his eventual wife, Senna, and two years later, they would welcome their only daughter, Korra, into the world.

After his daughter was born in 153 ASC, Unalaq came to see Tonraq, asking for his permission to train Korra in the spiritual ways of the Water Tribe. However, Tonraq refused and continued to refuse his brother's proposition for many years.

Fathering the Avatar
Four years later, Tonraq called out to the Order of the White Lotus, alerting them that his daughter was the new Avatar. On a stormy night, he welcomed a delegation of three White Lotus members into his home, and he watched proudly how his daughter displayed her waterbending, earthbending, and firebending abilities. With his daughter's identity as the Avatar established, Tonraq, together with Korra's eventual airbending master, Tenzin, decided to keep her locked away from the rest of the world for her own safety, so she could focus completely on mastering the bending arts.



When Korra was seventeen years old, Tonraq and Senna bade their daughter farewell as she left the Southern Tribe to travel to Republic City in order to find her own path as the Avatar.

Several months later, Tonraq, together with his wife and several of Korra's friends and allies, was present at the Southern Water Tribe compound when Katara attempted to remove Amon's bloodbending block from Korra and reconnect her to the elements. Katara's failure to do so left both him distraught, though after the spirit of Avatar Aang restored her connection to her bending abilities, he watched proudly as Korra restored Lin Beifong's earthbending at the Avatar Temple.

The Glacier Spirits Festival
Six months later, Tonraq saw his daughter again when she and her friends returned to the South Pole for the Glacier Spirits Festival. When introduced to her new boyfriend Mako, Tonraq sternly asked if he was keeping his daughter out of trouble before changing his mood at the behest of Korra. Much to Tonraq's chagrin, Unalaq and his twin children had also arrived for the festival. Despite his wife's assurances that his brother would soon be gone again, Tonraq maintained a tense attitude toward the Chief of the North.

Immediately afterward, Tonraq took a walk with Korra, his brother, and Tenzin throughout the festival grounds, growing more and more annoyed with his brother commenting all the while that the spirituality the South once had was dissolving. Tonraq dismissed him, stating it was some traditions changed and that it was not the end of the world. When Unalaq offered to become Korra's spiritual mentor, Tonraq swiftly and curtly cut him off, stating that Tenzin was all that Korra needed to complete her training.



Unalaq began criticizing the lack of spirituality during the festival. Tonraq stated that though traditions change, it's not the end of the world. His brother reminded that sailors have been attacked by angry spirits. Korra became interested in the thought of fighting spirits when Unalaq offered to mentor her, but Tonraq reminded that Tenzin is her teacher.

Later at the festival banquet thrown in Unalaq's honor, Tonraq listened intently to Unalaq's reminiscing about how the current feast paled by far in comparison to how things used to be. When his brother once again offered to teach Korra the spiritual ways of her people, Tonraq interrupted by emphasizing that Tenzin was his daughter's teacher. However, he was slightly embarrassed when Unalaq revealed that it had been his and Tenzin's decision to keep Korra secluded at the Southern Water Tribe, as opposed to it being Aang's decision like she had been told. To soothe his annoyed daughter, Tonraq informed her that he had done what he thought was best for her, though Korra was not happy with his defense. As Unalaq went on a few moments later with a speech about the festival, Tonraq glared in annoyance at his brother upon hearing that the Chief of the North thought nothing more of the festival as it being a cheap carnival in celebration of greedy and trivial humans. He became altered, however, when his brother mentioned that the north would become more involved in the south in order to protect it from slipping into total spiritual decay.



That night, Tonraq was roused from his sleep by Naga's howling and the sounds of people battling. He rushed out of his house to find a dark spirit assaulting Korra. He immediately came to her assistance, encasing the spirit in ice. However, the icy prison proved to be insufficient to hold the entity, as the spirit broke though and flailed its tendrils, sweeping Tonraq aside; he landed roughly against the side of a house. After Unalaq had used his special technique to help the spirit depart in peace, Tonraq rushed to his daughter's side. However, when he got into another argument with his brother about who would teach Korra, he was promptly silenced by his daughter, who was fed up with him telling her what to do and whom to train with.

Journey to the center of the South Pole


Some time later, Tonraq caught wind of Unalaq's plan to take Korra to the center of the South Pole, and he insisted on accompanying them. Unalaq tried refusing him, stating him to be a distraction to Korra and a hindrance to what needed to be done, though Tonraq roughly argued that since their destination meant traversing the Everstorm, he would accompany them in order to protect Korra. He was chided by his brother to be misguided, as it were men like him who had put the Spirit World out of balance. He dismissed Unalaq again, and reaffirmed that he was joining the expedition, challenging Unalaq to try and stop him. However, before the argument could get completely out of hand, the tense staredown between the brothers was interrupted by Bolin. He received permission from Korra to accompany them, under the condition that he did not interfere at all with her training.



As the party ventured further into the frozen tundra of the south, they noticed that they were being followed by dark spirits. In order to avoid a conflict, Tonraq instructed everyone to keep moving, so that they could find a safe place to set up camp for the night. While sitting by the campfire before a cave that would shelter them from the harsh weather, Unalaq told everyone that the spirits were angry because Tonraq was with them, and as such, Tonraq was forced to reveal his past to his daughter, something he had kept hidden from her all that time. The revelation angered Korra, and Tonraq's pleas for understanding, that he only did so in order to protect her from the shame he had brought to the family, fell into deaf ears.

As they moved on to their destination, Tonraq tried to make amends with his daughter. He emphasized that she had every right to be angry with him, but also that he was only trying to protect her from making the same mistakes as him, admitting that he never should have entered the sacred forest twenty years prior. He stated that they thus should not go to South Pole now, as it was his belief that the spirits and the physical world should remain separate. When Korra reminded him that, as the Avatar, she was the bridge between both worlds, Tonraq insisted that she did not even know Unalaq was telling the truth. The argument was interrupted when Unalaq backed up his story by pointing out the absence of the southern lights.



When they arrived to the Everstorm, the party was ambushed by dark spirits. Noticing a spirit charging at Korra, Tonraq used his bending to move his daughter to safety and attack the charging entity, though he was easily brushed aside. After Unalaq had driven off the spirits, it became apparent that the team's supplies and equipment had been destroyed. Tonraq insisted they turned back, stating it had become too dangerous to keep pressing forward. However, when he firmly said that they were leaving, Korra coldly interjected, telling that he was the only one who would be leaving. After Mako ensured him that he would keep an eye on Korra, Tonraq reluctantly complied to his daughter's wish. As he was riding back home, the sky suddenly lit up with the southern lights, and he stopped to gaze at the spectacle, smiling proudly at the success of his daughter.

The Rebellion


After seeing the fleet of Northern Water Tribe vessels, Tonraq called a meeting at his home to discuss what was happening and what the Southern Water Tribe should do. After seeing his daughter angered by Varrick's idea to go to war, he told her that Unalaq was the one who started the tensions, though he asked Korra nonetheless to go talk to her uncle and mediate at their behalf. After she left, Tonraq was approached by Varrick, who stated that the South should prepare for war.

Later that day, Tonraq broke up a fight between Northern and Southern waterbenders, coming to his daughter's aid as she had been unable to do so. He sternly told the Southerners to return to their houses, as the Northern Water Tribe soldiers were not worth their trouble. Since the tensions were still high between him and his daughter, Tonraq attempted to strike a conversation with her, though she left, despite him calling after her.

At some point during the day, Tonraq was approached by angered Southerners who wanted to start a rebellion to expel the Northern troops and their chief. However, Tonraq decided against joining their cause as he would not rise against his brother.



The following day, when Tonraq was enjoying a meal with his wife, his daughter came by their house. She threw herself in Tonraq's arms, who lovingly held his daughter. As she expressed her relief over his absence among the rebel force, he made it clear that he was unaware of the lengths Varrick was willing to go, and continued with an apology for having held Korra back all those years, as he was very proud of the Avatar she had become. After he reconciled with Korra, the little family shared a tender moment, though it was interrupted when Unalaq came in. He curtly stated that they were not expecting him, though much to his surprise, Unalaq ordered him and Senna be arrested and tried for conspiring an assassination of the chief.

Tonraq was placed on trial with his wife and the other captive rebels before Judge Hotah. Though Hotah ruled Senna innocent and had her released, he sentenced Tonraq and the others to death. Korra became outraged at the ruling and threatened to kill Hotah, forcing Unalaq to convince Hotah to remand the sentence to life imprisonment.

Tonraq was later visited in prison by his wife and daughter. Though Korra wanted to break him out, Tonraq advised against it, as she would be starting a war, in which the North would crush the South.

Much later, Tonraq and the other prisoners were transferred onto a prison ship bound for the North, only to be busted out by Team Avatar. Once safely on Varrick's yacht, Korra revealed that she had found out from Hotah that it was Unalaq who orchestrated the barbarians attack on the North which led to Tonraq's banishment, as well as staged the trial to get his brother out of the way. Shocked to learn of his brother's betrayal, Tonraq resolved to remain in the south to organize resistance against Unalaq while Korra goes to the United Forces for aid.

Personality
As a warrior, Tonraq was brash and hotheaded, relying on his physical strength to protect the tribe, and was never particularly connected to the spiritual world, much like his daughter in her performance of her Avatar duties. However, he was denied his right to become chief due to his banishment and his brother, Unalaq, later took control of the Northern Water Tribe. Following his banishment, he moved to the Southern Water Tribe in order to live a simpler life. He has an unstable relationship with his brother, which is based on their mutual disdain for the other's attitude and beliefs toward the Spirit World. Despite this, however, attacking his brother is a line he would never cross. Tonraq was even willing to respect his brother's decisions until he realized that Unalaq has been plotting against him from the start.

Trivia

 * Tonraq and Senna are the first parents of an Avatar seen or mentioned in either Avatar: The Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra.
 * Tonraq is the first character to speak in The Legend of Korra, outside of the opening sequence.
 * Korra seems to greatly resemble her mother in looks, while her personality and character is much more like her father's.
 * Tonraq is the second known individual of regal status to lose his birthright and be subsequently banished from his homeland, next to Zuko.  Unlike Zuko, his banishment was the result of the actions of his younger sibling, as opposed to his father contrary to what happened, and he never received his birthright back.