Northern Air Temple


 * This article is about the location, for the episode, see The Northern Air Temple

The Northern Air Temple is thousands of years old. It was one of the four temples of the Air Nomads, and one of the two (the other being the Southern Air Temple) which exclusively housed male Airbenders. It is located in the mountains along the Northern coast of the Earth Kingdom continent. However, its population was wiped out at the beginning of The War during the Air Nomad Genocide. The temple is notable in that a population of Earth Kingdom refugees, led by The Mechanist, has settled and created a large amount of technology there.

History


The Northern Air Temple was home to the Flying Bison polo championships. After the extermination of the monks, the temple was rediscovered by The Mechanist and his group of refugees. The temple was modified by the Mechanist to house more people than before, and many of the original structures were destroyed or expanded to help accommodate the new residents. The temple also underwent many technological "upgrades", as the Mechanist added new inventions to help make the lives of the residents easier. The Mechanist used the gliders within to give his paraplegic son Teo a new life in the air. During the years the refugees lived in it, some were eventually seen by other Earth Kingdom villagers, who came to call those they saw gliding as "Air Walkers". However, he was extorted for weapons manufacture by the Fire Nation, who threatened to attack if he did not comply. He hid the machines in what was formerly the Sanctuary of the temple, unknown to the temple's other residents.

Aang and the others discovered the weapons cache and convince him to revolt against the Fire Nation, with the promise of protecting the temple from attack. The new changes angered Aang at first, who saw it as a violation of the temple's original sanctity, but in the end he decided that the refugees are like the hermit crabs that inhabit the temple's corridors, and was happy that they have found this empty shell and made it their home, and helped to defend them against the Fire Nation. When The Mechanist and Sokka ignited a natural gas pocket to repel the Fire Nation, the resulting explosion seemed to destroy the only path to the temple, thereby protecting it from future attacks by the Fire Nation. It is unknown if the explosion damaged the actual temple in any way.

Description
The temple was designed to be a part of its natural surroundings and to fit harmoniously with nature - large hallways harness wind and allow air to naturally flow within. It was home to the Airbender monks and their students and was used primarily as a training ground for Airbenders.

It was large and peaceful until the Fire Nation attacked the temple hundred years ago during the passing by of Sozin's Comet. It remained abandoned until the Earth Kingdom refugees under the leadership of the Mechanist and his son arrived ten years ago and retro-fitted it for non Airbender living. Everything in the temple is powered by hot air: elevator-type contraptions carry people from level to level, and the gliders use the hot air currents outside the temple to help them fly.

Like the Southern Air Temple, it also has an Air Temple Sanctuary, but the Mechanist turned it into a workshop. As a result of being built for and by the Airbenders, several of the temples' doors and mechanisms are operable only through means of Airbending. It looks similar to the Southern Air Temple, but the Southern Air Temple has more colorful walls, and seems to be more elaborately decorated.



Mechanist's Workshop
Located on a quiet wing of the Air Temple, the Mechanist's workshop is a place where he experiments with his newest inventions. The room is filled with all sorts of secret inventions, including a prototype for a hot air balloon and blueprints for various vehicles. The Mechanist's workshop is specifically located away from the main temple so that he can work in secret. This is especially important when War Minister Qin comes to visit. The War Minister always enters through a secret door that the mechanist designed. The Mechanist's workshop also has an alarm that is triggered if anyone enters the temple's inner sanctuary.

Air Temple Sanctuary
Located inside the Air Temple, this great hall was originally built as a spiritual place where only the elder monks and the Avatar were allowed. Only a master Airbender can open the door to the sanctum. Because of this, Aang thought it was the only part of the temple that was untouched. But as it turns out, the Mechanist ingeniously used physics and clever mechanics to open it. Since then, the Mechanist has been using the sanctuary as his secret weapons laboratory. Although after the arrival of Aang and his friends, the Mechanist stopped using it for this purpose.

Customs
The original inhabitants of the Temple were Air Nomads. After the Fire nation's genocide of the Airbenders, a group of Earth Kingdom refugees came and now reside in the temple. The Customs of the Air Nomads have disappeared.

Natural resources and foods
As could be determined, air is the main and most significant power source and natural resource of the Nomads, as without it they would be rendered powerless. With the power of air channeled under their control, the Airbenders were enabled to defend and protect their homes and way of life and travel across the globe.

The Air Nomads were a tranquil and environmentally friendly race of people and did their best not to leave a mark on the land. Any industry that they engendered, such as farming and gardening, were powered naturally. They also produced their own food.

Air Nomads are also vegetarians, as are the modern monks of Tibet. This is suggested by Aang's words when he said he didn't eat meat in "The King of Omashu", as well as other various episodes.

Among the changes made by The Mechanist, there is a hot air system which powers many of the "upgrades" made in the temple. It is also shown that the mountain range of the temple contains natural gas.

Notable Figures

 * The Mechanist
 * Teo

Fauna
A less-known animal species that inhabits the Air Temples is small, land-dwelling hermit crab. They look quite similar to their aquatic cousins, with a similar shell-switching lifestyle, but are covered in a thick coat of black and white hair. They seem to prefer damp, dark places and are apparently very adaptable, as specimens in the Northern Air Temple survived a complete refurbishment of the entire complex, spearheaded by the The Mechanist. It seems fitting and is perhaps not coincidental that a nomadic animal by nature would live among the Air Nomads.