Talk:Air Nomad Genocide/@comment-216.209.111.85-20101223172917

@ previous comment:

It would buy Sozin and the Fire Nation 16 years with no avatar. It's also possible that the Fire Nation knew that if they killed the avatar while in the avatar state it would end the cycle forever. Note in the episode "The Crossroads of Destiny," Azula waited snuck around behind Aang when he was inside his crystal sheild, waiting for him to emerge before striking.

This would seem to suggest that she knew killing him in the avatar state would break the cycle, as it would have been just as easy to attack him while he was in the crystal cave meditating.