Lightning generation



Lightning generation is a technique within Firebending, with which Firebenders are able to produce and direct a bolt of lightning from their fingertips. The generation of lightning was first shown by Princess Azula, during Book 2: Earth season premiere "The Avatar State", while she was being overseen by Lo and Li.

History


Generating lightning involves a circular motion with the arms. Mentally, it involves a complete absence of emotion and peace of mind, and physically it requires separating the energies of yin and yang (also an interpretation of positive and negative electric charge). When the forces collide, the bender only guides, rather than controls, the lightning's direction. Because of this complexity, a lightning attack usually takes much longer to initiate than standard fire attacks. However, Fire Lord Ozai, being an extremely powerful Firebender, was able to generate the most powerful lightning seen in the series so far with great speed, proving not only that lightning can be generated very quickly, but also that it can be sustained.



Lightning, also known as the "cold-blooded fire", is very dangerous, even among Firebenders, and only a few powerful Firebenders are capable of generating it; so far the only Firebenders in the series who have demonstrated the ability to actively generate lightning are Azula, Iroh and Fire Lord Ozai. Zuko has expressed a desire to learn these abilities, but his emotional turmoil is preventing him from successfully creating lightning.

Creating lightning was first demonstrated by Azula in "The Avatar State", although a similar technique (lightning redirection) had been previously used by Iroh in "The Storm".