Agni Kai


 * This article is about the firebending duel. For the gang in Republic City, see Agni Kai Triad.



Agni Kai is a traditional firebender duel that is centuries old. It is a fight for one's honor and is won only when one opponent burns the other. Zuko got his scar as the result of an Agni Kai, although he actually did not fight once realizing that his opponent was his father. The outcome affects the honor of both opponents. These duels are a popular method of resolving conflicts and are a source of entertainment for all spectators. The Royal Palace even houses a special Agni Kai chamber.

Any firebender may participate; male or female can be challenged. Fire Lords can also be challenged, but that rarely happens, because most Fire Lords are among the most powerful firebenders in the world.

Process
If one person has a dispute with another person, he or she may challenge the other person to an Agni Kai. If the challenge is accepted, the two combatants move to either an official dueling area or whatever open area is available, such as a parade ground or plaza. The ceremonial opening begins with the two combatants opposite each other with their backs turned. The combatants stand, face each other, shed their shoulder garment, which was used only in formal Agni Kai, such as Zuko's against Zhao, or Azula's against her brother, and begin the duel as soon as the gong sounds. In a proper fire duel, both combatants (if male) fight with a bare torso. The Agni Kai is over when one participant burns the other.

Philosophy and culture
The Agni Kai is an ancient Fire Nation tradition. Fire duels have been fought for hundreds of years. However, such a duel is a grave matter, meant to be a last resort when all else fails or is insufficient to settle a dispute. When it comes to an Agni Kai, the duel apparently has some legal or at least "semi-legal" power, as the feud ends with the duel and the victor automatically also wins the feud, regardless of whether his opponent is still alive or not. Before Sozin's ascent to power, Agni Kai were rarely fought to the death, but under the new regime, sparing an opponent had become viewed as an act of weakness rather than generosity.

Known duels
During the time of Avatar Kuruk, the world was at peace, so he filled his days looking for opponents to duel, both in the physical as well as the Spirit World. In his quest to find benders to test their strength, he even ended up challenging a bewildered Fire Nation civilian as he was going to the store.

Centuries later, two and a half years before Avatar Aang awoke from the iceberg, a thirteen-year-old Prince Zuko attended a war meeting along with his father, Ozai, and his uncle, Iroh. When one of the generals present suggested sacrificing a division of novice soldiers to lure Earth Kingdom soldiers into a trap, Zuko protested, prompting Ozai to challenge him to an Agni Kai as a means to settle the matter. Zuko wrongly assumed he would face the general whom he had spoken out against, when in reality he was facing his father. Zuko had spoken against the general, but had dishonored his father in doing so. Zuko fell to his hands and knees pleading forgiveness from his father without striking a single blow. Ozai took this as an insult, a sign of unforgivable weakness, and burned his son's face and banished him. This Agni Kai left Zuko dishonored in the eyes of the Fire Nation, and his father.

Three years later, Zuko and Zhao fought an Agni Kai at the Earth Kingdom harbor. Zuko had improved since his last match and successfully defeated Zhao, but refused to deliver the final blow. Zhao refused to concede and prepared to fight back, but he was prevented by Iroh.

After Prince Zuko and Lieutenant Jee had words about Zuko's lack of respect for the crew of his ship, the two intended to duel, but the fight was broken up by Iroh before it could start.



The most notable Agni Kai was that between Prince Zuko and his sister, Princess Azula, during the passing of Sozin's Comet in 100 ASC. During Azula's coronation as the new Fire Lord, Zuko showed up to claim his birthright to become Fire Lord, prompting Azula to challenge him to an Agni Kai for the crown. Due to Sozin's Comet increasing their firebending to incredible levels, the two were stuck in stalemate for a while. However, Azula was on the verge of a mental breakdown at this point, enabling Zuko to eventually gain a lead over her. The pair caused major damage to many nearby buildings. However, Azula technically lost the duel when she cheated by shooting lightning at a bystander, Katara.

Trivia

 * The term "Agni Kai" was created by using two already existing words.
 * Agni is a Sanskrit word meaning 'fire', related to the Latin word for fire ignis, from which English derives the words ignite, ignition etc. Agni is also the god of fire in Hinduism, and may be represented as fire, lightning or the Sun.
 * Kai is the Japanese word for 'meeting'. It is most commonly used in the sense of a business meeting, but it can also mean a general meeting of two or more people.
 * In the Bengali language, Agni (অগ্নি) means fire and the word Kaio (কাই) means "too close", "glued" or "quarrel", thus the meaning of অগ্নি কাই (Agni Kai) would be "fire quarrel". This could also be referred to the Bangladeshi village sport of Agunali (আগুনালি), which is played on top of hills or mountains, where two people compete against each other by breathing fire (by using kerosine) as high as posssible.
 * Agni Kai is also the name of the track that was used when Zuko and Zhao dueled each other.
 * In , the boy whom Zuko spoke with used the term "Agni kī Duel" instead of "Agni Kai". This can be written in Hindi as अग्नि की डूएल् (Agni kī Dū'ēl) which literally translates to "Duel of Fire". Note that the Hindi word डूएल् (dū'ēl) may have been adopted from the English language. For all words in Hindi, अग्नि की लड़ाई (Agni kī LaDDai) may be appropriate, which literally translates to "Fight of Fire".
 * There is a theory that Mike and Bryan considered using the Hindi term for "Duel of Fire" for the animated series but "Agni kī Dū'ēl" has more syllables than its English term. As such, "dū'ēl" or "duel" was dropped leaving only "Agni kī", similar to referring a cigar as a "Cuban" instead of "Cuban cigar", or a rifle as a "Winchester" instead of "Winchester rifle". The script for "The Southern Air Temple" was written with the term "AGNI KI", but Dante Basco, the voice actor for Zuko, pronounced the last syllable as "KAI" instead of "KEY".
 * Three Agni Kai duels have been depicted in Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Zuko was a participant in each one. He has dueled his father, Fire Lord Ozai; Admiral Zhao; and Princess Azula.
 * The traditional attire for male firebenders during an Agni Kai is bare-chested. It is unknown what a female firebender would wear if challenged to a formal Agni Kai, as Azula, the only woman shown fighting an Agni Kai during the series, fought in the clothes she was already wearing when challenged.
 * Combustion Man earned his fearsome reputation from a number of very quick Agni Kai.