War of Chin the Conqueror

"earth"

- In my day, Chin the Conqueror threatened to throw the world out of balance.

The War of Chin the Conqueror was a major hostile takeover of the Earth Kingdom by the tyrannical Chin. Almost the entirety of the Earth Kingdom was invaded in an epic campaign. The only territories to remain in the last stages of the war were Ba Sing Se and a peninsula that was the home of Avatar Kyoshi. The war was ended when Chin was killed by Avatar Kyoshi as she separated her home from the mainland, creating Kyoshi Island.

History
Chin the Conqueror, a tyrannical warlord, had raised a large army in order to gain power over the Earth Kingdom. The 46th Earth King was very unpopular; Chin, seizing this advantage, began to send his army to all reaches of the continent.

War
Chin's campaign was a success. His armies steadily conquered every city, and after an unknown period of time, only Ba Sing Se and Kyoshi's home peninsula remained free.

Avatar Kyoshi had attempted to keep Chin from reaching her land, but she failed in this endeavor, as Chin was able to lead an army there. In a standoff, Chin confronted Kyoshi. Kyoshi demanded that he left immediately, but Chin refused. Kyoshi unleashed a display of the Avatar State, making a large crack between the two.



Bending lava, she deepened the crack, and utilized Airbending to completely separate the peninsula from the mainland. Chin, standing on an unstable cliff, refused to move. As a result, he fell to his death, ending the war.

Aftermath
The Earth Kingdom seemed to recover quickly. Around 200 years later, very few remembered the war, and the details of Chin's death became unclear.

The war led to the creation of Avatar Day by the citizens of Chin Village. However, the accuracy of the grounds for the event were biased at best; the citizens who celebrated it thought that the meaning of it was to remember the death of "Chin the Great," who they believed to be great and loved. This left out several important details.

The village would celebrate this holiday until the appearance of Team Avatar, when Avatar Aang was jailed for Chin's "murder". Katara and Sokka investigated the matter, and eventually Aang was freed. Avatar Day then became a day to commemorate Aang saving them from the Rough Rhinos.



Before the Battle at Wulong Forest, Aang summoned Kyoshi for guidance. Kyoshi reminded him that her forceful ending of Chin the Conqueror's war for dominance brought a great era of peace. Aang points out that she did not actually kill him, and that Chin's own arrogance had led to his death. Kyoshi replied that she sees no difference in this, and told him that she would have done anything necessary to stop Chin. Aang regretted consulting Kyoshi on this complex matter after hearing this.

Appearances and References
War of Chin the Conqueror
 * Avatar Day