Great Gates of Azulon

The Great Gates of Azulon guard the sea entrance to the Fire Nation Capital. Built early in Fire Lord Azulon's reign, the gates are notable for having a large net guard the main entrance, which is ignited when used, as well as for the statues of Azulon and two dragons that carry the net.

History
The gates were named after the former Fire Lord, supposedly to remember Azulon's genius foresight in having them constructed.

During the Invasion of the Fire Nation, the invasion force approached the gates with the help of a fog cover, made by Katara and the Foggy Swamp waterbenders. However, their arrival did not remain unnoticed, and the Fire Nation closed the gates before they could get past. Upon invading the oncoming invasion ships, the Fire Nation military was unable to find anyone on board due to the invasion force using the ships as a cover-up for their submarines, effectively bypassing the gates.

Description


A large statue of Azulon stands in the middle of the sea entrance, flanked on either side by two statues of dragons. When enemy ships are spotted, a net rises between the statues and ignites, closing the gate in a wall of fire. It is an extremely effective defense against a over-sea navy, however, its weakness is that the net does not extend over Azulon's shoulders or under his feet, allowing someone to bypass it by simply swimming under it or flying over it.

There is a naval base next to the gates, and during the Day of Black Sun, it was able to launch a fleet of jet skis to intercept ships that attempted to pass it.

Trivia

 * The Great Gates of Azulon may have some historical inspiration from the large chain link that guarded the Golden Horn of Constantinople (Present-Day Istanbul) prior to its fall in 1453.