Cave of Two Lovers


 * ''This article is about the location. For the episode, see The Cave of Two Lovers. "earth"

- Oh, it's a real legend, and it's as old as Earthbending itself. ''

Located near the city of Omashu in the Earth Kingdom, the Cave of Two Lovers, also known as the Secret Tunnel, is a series of caverns which passes under a section of the Kolau mountain range. The place has become the place of legend revered by bards. It was seen in the episode The Cave of Two Lovers, as the Avatar and his friends were unable to cross the mountains, which were controlled by Fire Nation forces.

The "tunnel" is actually a giant underground labyrinth full of dangerous animals including wolfbats and the gigantic badgermoles. It was also shown to be impossible to map the maze because the badgermoles Earthbend regularly. This prevents any sort of normal navigation. Legends say that the tunnels were created by Oma and Shu, who fell in love despite being from enemy villages. They are believed to have been the first Earthbenders, and created the passage between their villages to meet secretly. To find one's way out of the tunnels, one must "trust in love" and relinquish one's dependence on torches and any sort of natural lighting; if one does so, then glowing crystals will guide the way. These crystals may be the same type found in the Crystal Catacombs.



In the center of the labyrinth is the Tomb of the Two Lovers, believed to contain the remains of the two encased side-by-side in two massive stone sarcophagi. The walls of the tomb are decorated with carvings telling the story of the two lovers.

The cave is no longer passable, as the Fire Nation destroyed the north entrance early in the episode, while the central passage was blocked by a cave-in later on. The badgermoles may have repaired these damages since then.

Name



 * It should be noted that the cave seems to have a more specific name to it. When Aang and his group first arrived at the entrance of the tunnels, there are carvings in stone above the archway which suggest the cave's true name. The Chinese characters roughly resembles these: 情刀洞, which translates literally into: "Affection," "Knife," and "Cave," respectively. Thus the the words imply in a sense the story between Oma and Shu. Affection obviously characterizes the love between the two, knife represents their respective villages' conflict, and cave is self-explanatory.

Connection

 * The Cave of Two Lovers seems to be based on the Labryinth in Greek mythology. It is said that the minotaur dwelled within the labyrinth, and anyone who entered as a sacrifice would never come out.

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