Escape from the Spirit World

Escape from the Spirit World is a canonical online game meant to explain the events between the end of Book Two: Earth – "The Crossroads of Destiny" and the start of Book Three: Fire – "The Awakening".

After being shot by Azula's lethal lightning attack, Aang falls into a deep slumber. Escape from the Spirit World explains that while Aang's mind and body were immobile, his soul was trapped in the Spirit World. He encounters Princess Yue, the Moon Spirit, who informs him that if he does not reconnect with his past four lives, the Avatar Cycle will end.

Each chapter follows the same pattern. The completion of a small task will trigger the appearance of a spirit. The spirit will provide information about the whereabouts of the Avatar currently being sought out. Afterwards, the player will encounter Koh, the Face Stealer. He will ask a question. If the user provides the wrong answer, Aang will be unable to restrain his fear, and Koh will manage to steal his face. However, if the question is answered correctly, the player can proceed and is given directions to the location of the next Avatar. A code is then needed to progress. Although the codes were originally meant to be collected while watching the Nickelodeon Saturday programs, they are listed below. Once the correct code is entered, the player can either download the podcast or watch the online comic book of Aang encountering one of his four past lives.

Chapter 1: Avatar Roku
To start off, the first small task is to collect fireflies. To complete the task, the player must simply click and drag the fireflies into the nearby torch. This causes Fang, Roku's faithful animal guide, to appear. Fang will offer to guide Aang to Avatar Roku, through means of a challenge: the game Aang On!. Koh will then appear. He will allow safe passage only if the following question is answered correctly.

"Where did Aang, along with his friends Katara and Sokka, first learn about the past Avatars?"

A) Southern Air Temple

B) Northern Air Temple

C) Western water Fortress

D) Northeastern earth Mound

The correct answer is the Southern Air Temple. Koh will then allow Aang to pass, and instructs him to follow the fire geysers. The code needed to pass is PATHIK. Once it is entered, the player may download the podcast or watch the online comic book of Aang encountering Avatar Roku.

Avatar Roku Online Comic Book


Aang explains his extreme shame at failing to master the Avatar State. However, Avatar Roku consoles him, explaining that he too had problems with mastering the Avatar State. He tells of how he unsuccessfully attempted to master the state by learning from Fire Sage Kaja, grandfather of Fire sage Shyu. His impatience urged him to seek other ways to master the Avatar State, and his plan involved harnessing energy from the sun during the winter solstice. On the day of the solstice, he aligned his eyes with a beam of light coming from the sun; the method initially proved to be a success, but Roku was stuck in the Avatar State as a result of the overwhelming power he received. He ended up destroying the top half of the Avatar Temple on Crescent Island. Fortunately, Kaja was wise and knew how to remove Roku from the Avatar State. Roku uses this story to explain to Aang that mastering the Avatar State is very difficult, and he should not feel so ashamed. He then tells Aang to meet with Avatar Kyoshi, whom he will find at the lair of Hei Bai.

Fun facts

 * Fire Sage Kaja is Fire Sage Shyu's grandfather.

Chapter 2: Avatar Kyoshi
The second task begins with several small holes in the sides of trees and rocks. Every so often, a pair of yellow glowing eyes will appear, and the player must click them before they vanish. An efficient technique is to keep the mouse hovering over one of the holes until the yellow eyes appear. The completion of this task will trigger the appearance of a strange bear-like spirit, who will direct the player to Avatar Kyoshi. The game on this level is Four Nations Tournament. Koh will then appear once again, with the following question.

"What is the name of the spirit that looks like a panda?"

A) Hei Bai

B) Bai Bai

C) Flai Bai

D) Wai Bai

The correct answer is Hei Bai. Once again, Koh will grant passage after the question is answered. The code for this chapter is BOSCO. Once it is entered, the player may download the podcast or watch the online comic book of Aang encountering Avatar Kyoshi.

Avatar Kyoshi Online Comic Book


Aang finds Hei Bai, the spirit of Senlin Forest, who takes Aang to Avatar Kyoshi. She apologizes for the events in the village of Chin, and explains how after she defeated Chin the Conqueror, balance was restored. However, she informs Aang that she also made some mistakes, and that one of her greatest challenges was dealing with the Peasant Uprising in Ba Sing Se. The peasants felt that the 46th Earth King's rule was outdated, and that he no longer represented the people's desires and wishes. The 46th Earth King summoned Avatar Kyoshi to the Royal Palace, and ordered her to deal with the problem by any means necessary. When she refused, he ordered her immediate arrest. With little difficulty, Kyoshi resisted the Earth King's forces, and admonished the king for defying the Avatar. He agreed to make a compromise: he would listen to the peasants' wishes, and in return, Kyoshi would assemble a group to uphold and protect the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se. Immediately, she went on to train a group of elite earthbenders, who later became known as the Dai Li. Aang is shocked by the revelation that an Avatar trained the Dai Li, stating that they are "the worst, most corrupt earthbenders in the world". Avatar Kyoshi explains how she thought it was a wise decision at the time, but adds that all actions have an effect, whether positive or negative, for many lifetimes. She then instructs Aang to find the Water Tribe Avatar who came before her, Kuruk.

Fun facts

 * Kyoshi lived for 230 years, making her the oldest Avatar in history.
 * The 46th Earth King is the current Earth King's great-great-great-great grandfather.

Chapter 3: Avatar Kuruk
In this chapter, the small task requires the player to locate all the faceless monkeys. Successfully doing so will trigger the appearance of the monkey spirit from "The Siege of the North, Part 2". The game in this level is Treetop Trouble. Koh will appear once again, with another question.

"What are the fox-like spirits in the Desert Library called?"

A) Truthseekers

B) Learned Ones

C) Knowledgeseekers

D) Booksniffers

The spirits are Knowledge Seekers, knowledge-seeking foxes from Wan Shi Tong's Library in the Si Wong Desert. Koh will allow the player to pass once again. The code for this chapter is KURUK. Once it is entered, the player may download the podcast or watch the online comic book of Aang encountering Avatar Kuruk.

Avatar Kuruk Online Comic Book


Aang and Hei Bai traverse a murky swamp in the Realm of Koh, when they bump into a mysterious man, who introduces himself as Avatar Kuruk. He asks Aang if he has seen a beautiful woman with long, brown hair. Aang responds by inquiring about Kuruk's dilemma, and Kuruk proceeds to tell him his history as the Avatar. When Kuruk was a young Avatar, he was very proud, boastful and arrogant. He traveled the world, demonstrating his bending prowess everywhere, especially to women. However, at the New Moon Celebration, when the two sister Water Tribes reunited, he met the love of his life, Ummi. It was love at first sight, and the two were soon betrothed. They were to be married in the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. However, on the day of their wedding, Ummi was pulled into the water by an unseen force. In truth, she had been pulled into the Spirit World by Koh, who had taken her to punish Kuruk for his past mistakes and his failure to realize the importance of being the Avatar. Kuruk continues by stating that each year, on the anniversary of their wedding, he would travel to the Spirit World to try and find Ummi, but to no avail. Suddenly, Aang recalls his encounter with Koh while in the Northern Water Tribe, and how one of Koh's faces was that of the woman Kuruk had described. Heartened by the knowledge of where his wife was, Kuruk sets off to track down Koh once again, and tells Aang to look for the nomadic Avatar who came before him, Yangchen.

Chapter 4: Avatar Yangchen
The last chapter's task may be the hardest puzzle in the game. In the background, the player will hear one, continuous note. The player must successfully mimic the background note by tapping two correct bamboo reeds to combine their sounds. Each player has a different note, so it is entirely up to the individual to solve the puzzle. The two reeds you must click are the ones closest to you, and the one closest to Aang. After clicking one, you must click the other as fast as you can. Once the note is successfully repeated, a light will appear at the top of the mountain. Aang concludes that the light must be Avatar Yangchen signaling him. The game for this level is Ashes in the Air. The following question is then asked.

"What are the names of the Ocean and Moon Spirits in the Northern Water Tribe Sanctuary?"

A) Lui and Ta

B) Mooi and Gooi

C) Huey and Duey

D) Tui and La

The answer is Tui and La. Koh will again allow passage after the question is correctly answered. The code needed to pass is YANGCHEN. Once it is entered, the player may download the podcast or watch the online comic book of Aang encountering Avatar Yangchen.

Avatar Yangchen Online Comic Book


Avatar Yangchen appears atop the mountain in the clouds. She asks Aang what he has learned from meeting his past lives. Aang realizes that the past Avatars all struggled and made mistakes, like him. After realizing this, he ponders why the Avatar is born human, and thus allowed to make mistakes, rather than being an all-knowing immortal spirit. Avatar Yangchen explains that the Avatar must experience human emotions to understand how precious human life is. She also explains that Aang's ability to enter the Avatar State has been disrupted, so he will now have to rely on his friends rather than his past lives, though he will still be able to contact them. She bids him farewell, and informs Aang that when he awakens, his trip to the Spirit World will be like a forgotten dream.

With all the chapters unlocked, the player can either reset all the chapters and play the game again, or try out a new exclusive game.

Series continuity

 * Aang meets with Yue for the first time in spirit form since her sacrifice to save the Moon Spirit in "The Siege of the North, Part 2"; he later meets her again during "The Awakening".
 * The temple Roku practiced the Avatar State in was the same one Aang first met his spirit in "Winter Solstice, Part 2: Avatar Roku", the Fire Temple. Roku used the winter solstice to trigger the Avatar State much like how Aang used it in the same temple room to contact him.
 * Fire Sage Kaja is the grandfather of Fire Sage Shyu, the same Fire Sage who betrayed his colleagues to help Team Avatar in "Winter Solstice, Part 2".
 * Aang first met Hei Bai in "Winter Solstice, Part 1: The Spirit World" when the latter was angry over the destruction of his forest.
 * Kyoshi alludes to the events of "Avatar Day" in which her guilty plea to the killing of Chin the Conqueror nearly led to Chin Village boiling Aang in oil.
 * Kyoshi also reveals she had been the one to found the Dai Li, whom the gang discovered running a conspiracy within Ba Sing Se during "City of Walls and Secrets". They would later help Azula assure Fire Nation victory in the city during "Crossroads of Destiny", the events of which led to this online game.
 * The 46th Earth King is the fourth great grandfather of Kuei, the Earth King introduced in the episode by the same name.
 * Koh the Face-Stealer spoke briefly of Kuruk's attempts to hunt him down for stealing his fiancé Ummi's face when Aang first met him in "The Siege of the North, Part 2", even showing him her face. Aang recalled this during his meeting with Kuruk and passed the information onto him.
 * Kuruk would later recall his past failures as an Avatar that Koh and been punishing him for when Aang called on him for his advice regarding killing Fire Lord Ozai in "Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters"; his closing advice was simply that he must "actively shape [his] own destiny".
 * When Yangchen is explaining why the Avatar must experience human emotions, an appropriate flashback appears for each emotion:
 * Sadness: Appa's kidnapping in "The Library".
 * Anger: The background appears to be the Crystal Catacombs, making the flashback to Aang's attempt at mastering the Avatar State in "The Crossroads of Destiny".
 * Joy: Aang and Katara penguin sledding in "The Boy in the Iceberg".
 * Happiness: Team Avatar reuniting with Appa at the end of "Lake Laogai".
 * Yangchen tells Aang that his ability to enter the Avatar State had been disrupted by Azula's lightning attack. The connection would finally be fixed during his fight with Ozai in "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang".

Goofs

 * When Aang sees the sandbenders kidnap Appa, only one sand-sailer pulls the sky bison instead of three as seen in "Appa's Lost Days".

Trivia

 * Escape from the Spirit World is an animated graphic novel in The Complete Book 2 Collection, where the canonical information is available for viewing without completing the tasks and games in between each chapter.
 * Notably, Escape from the Spirit World is the only Avatar: The Last Airbender game still hosted on Nickelodeon's website. While most of the original series games were moved to Nick's sub-site Nicktoons.com, this one's URL still reads "www.nick.com/avatarescape/".
 * This game originally ran with a sweepstakes tie-in titled "Avatar Global Game Sweepstakes" that advertised the giveaway of a "'Four Nations' Prize Pack", which contained a video game, books, toys, and more. This prize pack would be given to fifty winners who emailed Nick.com with their email address and gave their parent's email as well as their own ages.