Water Tribe Civil War

"water"

- Opening the spirit portal was only the first step in getting the Southern Water Tribe back on its righteous path. There's more difficult work to be done before our two tribes are truly united.

The Water Tribe Civil War, known alternatively as the War of the Water Tribes, was a conflict between the two polar Water Tribes that occurred six months after the Anti-bending Revolution.

Prelude
Eras before the Hundred Year War, the Water Tribe solely existed in the North Pole. Due to civil unrest, some of its citizens headed to the South Pole and engendered a new tribe. Despite the separation, the tribes maintained a mutually healthy relationship. They temporarily convened in events such as the New Moon Celebration and the Glacier Spirits Festival.

The events of the Hundred Year War severed the connection between the Water Tribes. The North continued to flourish as the war raged on, while the South lost all of its waterbenders because of the constant Southern Water Tribe raids, along with most of its culture and spirituality.

After the Siege of the North in 100 ASC, members from the North headed to the South to help them rebuild. Since then, the tribes reconnected, with the South subjugated under the North's leadership. However, The North gave the South autonomous leadership, and they do not meddle with Southern issues unless necessary. This subjugation aroused tensions between the South and the North.



In 151 ASC, in the Northern Water Tribe, Unalaq, the second son of the then-tribal chief, wanted to usurp the throne from the heir-apparent, his older brother, General Tonraq. Exploiting his brother's lack of spirituality and tenacity in times of war, Unalaq framed Tonraq by hiring a band of barbarians to attack the Northern Water Tribe, then flee to a sacred forest. Unalaq did this knowing Tonraq would follow and continue to attack, destroying the forest and unleashing dark spirits onto the tribe. This resulted in the tribe's near destruction, Tonraq's banishment, and Unalaq becoming the ruler of the Water Tribes.

Unalaq's agenda
Unalaq had such a great connection with the spirits, that he wanted to have a world where humans and spirits could coexist. He believed that the Avatar created a divide that separated humans and spirits. To this end, his main goal was not only to reunite both Water Tribes, but to free Vaatu and become the Dark Avatar, enabling him to unite the people of all nations and the spirits under his banner.

Occupation of the South


In 171 ASC, Unalaq brought his troops to occupy the South, claiming this was to prevent the South from falling into any further spiritual decay. He proceeded to expel the Council of local tribal chieftains that traditionally govern the South from power and commandeered the royal palace in the capital for his exclusive use. Feeling as if the North was invading, the South held a meeting at the house belonging to Tonraq and his wife, Senna. Tonraq tried to dissuade the members of his tribe from doing anything particularly violent, but Varrick managed to persuade the men otherwise, despite Tonraq's protests.

A first battle almost began as children waterbent snowballs at soldiers, and the soldiers attacked the children back. Angered that adults would attack children, several Southern waterbenders threatened the soldiers to try and pick on somebody their own size. The fight was interrupted by Avatar Korra, who attempted to create peace between the two groups. When Korra appeared to be failing, Tonraq arrived and dissuaded the Southern people from attacking as he felt it would not be worth their time.

Escalation
Later, rebels attempted to assassinate Unalaq at night, and were stopped by Korra. She later discovered that they had been acting on directions from Varrick, and conveyed the information to Unalaq, who arrested them, as well as his brother and Senna, while ordering Varrick be hunted down. A trial was held for these people, and all were found guilty except Senna. All of the rebels and Tonraq were forced to serve their lives in prison, excluding Varrick, who had gone into hiding.



Korra attempted to rescue her father from prison, and in the process discovered that it had been her uncle who had orchestrated Tonraq's banishment. She relayed this information to her friends and Varrick, and they decided to break Tonraq and the rebels out of prison. Upon breaking them out, Korra told her father about the truth behind his banishment. Upset that his brother would do such a thing, Tonraq agreed that war was inevitable and he instructed Korra, Varrick, and the rest of Team Avatar to go to the United Republic of Nations to attempt to persuade President Raiko to get the United Forces on their side, so they may have a chance of winning the war.

Tonraq and the rebels went into hiding in the hills outside the city, though Unalaq chose not to deal with them, ordering his forces to protect the spirit portal. He subsequently sent his twin children Desna and Eska to capture Korra, as he required her to open the Northern spirit portal.

Civil unrest in Republic City


By the time Team Avatar arrived in Republic City, news of the civil war had already spread, causing tensions between the Northern and Southern residents of the city. Later that night, a peace march was held by Southerners, supported by the Avatar, while the event was being deplored by the Northerners. During that time, the Agni Kai Triad bombed the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, though Korra assumed the Northerners to be responsible.

The next morning, Varrick had arranged a meeting with Raiko to discuss military aid to the south. This meeting did not go in Korra's favor, as Raiko refused to deploy the United Forces to aid the Southern Water Tribe. He instead preferred a more diplomatic approach in resolving the conflict. Therefore, Varrick suggested that Korra go behind Raiko's back and appeal directly to General Iroh. In the meantime, Varrick would focus on trying to profit from the civil war and gaining United Republic support his own way, by filming highly-doctored propaganda directed against the Northern Water Tribe. Initially, the general was more than willing to help the Avatar, and even planned on using a routine training session in the South as an excuse to engage the Northern forces with his fleet. The plan quickly fell apart, as Bolin told Mako, who was forced to confess Korra's intentions to Raiko at his order. Raiko warned the general that if he were to leave with his fleet or the country itself he would be court-martialed. With his hands tied, Iroh suggested Korra go to the Fire Nation and appeal to his mother, the current Fire Lord, for aid. Korra departed Republic City on a speedboat, and headed toward the Fire Nation, only to be intercepted by her cousins and a battle ensued. After a brief battle, Korra was attacked and consumed by a massive dark spirit.

Battle for the South
When it became clear that Korra would not come with reinforcement, the Southern rebels attacked the Southern Water Tribe Harbor City in an attempt to expel the Northern invaders. Although they initially knew victory and were able to push the Northern soldiers back, they succumbed under the pressure put on them by the intervention of the dark spirits, who were led by Desna and Eska and Unalaq himself. The Southern rebels were defeated, resulting in many wounded, and Tonraq, as their leader, was imprisoned by Unalaq, after having lost a battle against him.

Conclusion
During Harmonic Convergence, Unalaq freed Vaatu and merged with him to become the Dark Avatar, intending on unifying the mortal and Spirit World. Korra defeated him and used Unalaq's purification technique to dissipate the Dark Avatar Spirit. However, due to being fused with the spirit, Unalaq lost his life in this process. With Unalaq dead, Korra declared the civil war over and the Southern Water Tribe independent with Tonraq as their chief. She emphasized, however, that the Water Tribes would always be allies.