Serpent's Pass


 * This article is about the location. For the episode, see "The Serpent's Pass".

The Serpent's Pass is a narrow strip of land between the East and West Lakes that links the western and eastern halves of the Earth Kingdom, and is one of the very few direct paths to the capital, Ba Sing Se. It is named after the serpent which guards it, making the pass feared in the Earth Kingdom. Most refugees refuse to use the pass, and instead cross the lake by boat.

History
Avatar Aang, Sokka, Katara and Toph decided to travel to Ba Sing Se in order to tell the Earth King their plan to defeat the Fire Nation. However, they ran into an Earth Kingdom refugee named Tahn, who, along with his sister and pregnant wife Ying, were traveling to Ba Sing Se after losing their home to the Hundred Year War. The group agreed to escort the family to Full Moon Bay so they could get a boat, but their passes and luggage were stolen by thieves and they were all forced to cross the Serpent's Pass. The group was joined by Sokka's friend Suki, a member of the Kyoshi Warriors who was overseeing the bay's security. After several nights of close calls along the pass, the group came face-to-face with the serpent itself at the only water passage through the pass. Katara and Aang succeeded in driving off the serpent, and the group finally made it to the mainland. Ying gave birth to her baby Hope mere minutes after the trek along the pass ended, and everybody went to Ba Sing Se while Suki went back to the bay.



It was revealed that the Fire Nation had constructed massive gates to seal off the pass to unauthorized ships and travelers.

Aang's friends and fighters from both the Earth Kingdom and the Southern Water Tribe traveled via boat through the Serpent's Pass during their journey to the Fire Nation after the fall of Ba Sing Se. The group was later attacked by a Fire Nation ship and ironically, the same serpent who had attacked them last time came back and saved them from their Fire Nation assailants after firebenders harassed the serpent. This is the most recent sighting of either the pass or its native serpent.

Description


The Serpent's Pass is one of the few direct paths to the Earth Kingdom's massive capital, Ba Sing Se. It is very rocky and is covered in dangerous cliffs. Although called the Serpent's Pass, it is not as twisted as a serpent like most people assume. It is in fact, named after the gigantic serpent that guards it. The serpent attacks everything and everyone that trespasses into its territory, and few have ever survived an encounter with it. This makes the Serpent's Pass one of the most feared locations in the Earth Kingdom. Although many refugees from the Hundred Year War pass this area, few have the courage to cross it, instead choosing the well-protected harbor at Full Moon Bay, as it provides undisturbed passage to Ba Sing Se via boat. To further warn refugees of the dangers at the Serpent's Pass, a large sign at the pass entrance reads "abandon hope", adding to the strong fear felt at the location.

Trivia

 * The entrance to the Serpent's Pass, which reads "絕望" which is translated here as "Abandon Hope", may be a reference to Dante's Divine Comedy; in the story, the inscription above the gates of hell reads 'All hope abandon ye who enter here.'