Ran and Shaw

Ran and Shao are two ancient dragons, revered by the Sun Warriors as the original masters of Firebending. One of them is red and the other is blue, although it is not clear which is which. They appeared together in "The Firebending Masters".

They are apparently the last surviving dragons. The rest of the species was hunted almost to extinction by Firebenders after Fire Lord Sozin advocated killing dragons for glory.

Ran and Shao practice a form of Firebending that emphasizes the life-giving qualities of fire, unlike the aggression and hatred-fueled methods employed by most benders from the Fire Nation. They are able to communicate the meaning of Firebending, apparently through their breath, which appears multi-coloured. Zuko described the experience as feeling as though there was a Sun inside him, a feeling which is shared by the Sun Warriors themselves. Ran and Shao reveal this secret knowledge to Firebenders that prove themselves worthy - it is known that Iroh, Aang and Zuko have all witnessed this.

After Iroh encountered Ran and Shao, he claimed that he had fought and slain the last surviving dragon, in order to preserve the secret of Ran and Shao's existence from the rest of the world.

Translation

 * rán means 'burn' or 'combustion' in Chinese. shāo means 'to burn' or 'to cook', as well as 'fever'. The characters can also be used together to mean 'combustion', 'flaming' or 'kindle'.