| By Samdasti and Janboi1 | Part of the Avatar: Chronology continuity. |
| "Salai was loyal to his nation first, unlike the traitor Kyoshi!" |
| — 46th Earth King |
Salai was the 193rd Avatar and the 49th Earth Avatar, remembered as the greatest Avatar of all time, the polar opposite of his direct predecessor, Gun, who was deemed the absolute worst Avatar of all time.
However, during Szeto’s time, Salai was considered almost as bad as his predecessor, Gun, from the perspective of those in the Fire Nation.
History[]
Early Life[]
He was born to an ordinary family in Omashu. His father was a member of the Council of Five and a descendant of Avatar Yao (an Earth Avatar long before Salai’s time, the 177th Avatar and the 45th Earth Avatar). His mother was a refugee from the port city of Ha’an, who lost her home when the same tsunami that killed Mesose hit the city. Salai was born into a dark age for the world, where common people from all over the Four Nations struggled for survival, with outlaws and warlords threatening to tear the Four Nations apart. Violent clashes between the Earth Kingdom (Oma Clan and Beifong Clan) and Fire Nation (Sei’naka Clan, Saowon Clan, Keohso Clan) noble clans threatened to tear both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation apart, while daofei caused chaos and destruction across the Earth Kingdom, Salai’s home nation.
Salai lost his mother in 590 BG at age 6 when she died due to pentapox. He was told of his identity as the Avatar at age 12 in 584 BG, unlike most Avatars who were identified at age 16, similar to Avatar Aang (the 199th Avatar and the 51st Air Avatar). Due to the total dystopia the Four Nations were living in at the time, Salai began mastering the elements. After mastering fire and air in 582 BG at age 14, he started learning waterbending when he met Arnik, his waterbending master and eventual girlfriend and future wife. Arnik was also Salai’s healing master.
Eventually in 580 BG, Salai married Arnik, and they had one child, a son named Toku, a waterbender, who would eventually be an ancestor to Kanna, the grandmother of Sokka and Katara, who also helped his father, Avatar Salai, resolve the issues in the northern and southern water tribes.
Life as a military commander, general, and restorer of balance.[]
After becoming a fully realized Avatar in 581 BG, Salai chose to join the Earth Kingdom army, training under his father, who was a member of the Council of Five. He became the youngest soldier in Earth Kingdom history to join the army and eventually rose to the rank of military commander and general. He restored balance to the Earth Kingdom in service of Earth King Yanshi, similar to how his successor, Avatar Szeto (the 194th Avatar and the 50th Fire Avatar), served as Grand Advisor to Fire Lord Yosor. Salai had contacted Avatar Gun, his direct predecessor, earlier to learn how this era of immense crisis and strife began so that he could end it. He then set up programs to uplift and aid the poorest in his nation as a general in the Earth Kingdom.
After solving the crisis in the Earth Kingdom, he addressed the issues in both the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. He then led the Earth Kingdom, Air Nomads, and Water Tribes into a period of great peace and prosperity. However, when he tried to resolve the crisis in the Fire Nation, he failed. He could only weaken it, and by the time of Fire Lord Yosor’s coronation, the Fire Nation had descended into complete chaos and destruction. Salai’s failure to resolve the Fire Nation Crisis under Fire Lords Chuyu, Zhanyu, and Yosor was eventually rectified by his direct successor, Szeto.
Salai died in 522 BG at his home in Omashu and was reincarnated as Avatar Szeto of the Fire Nation.
Legacy of Greatness[]
Avatar Salai was remembered as a holy figure across the Water Tribes, Air Nomads, and especially the Earth Kingdom after his death. Although he was hated in the Fire Nation, in the Earth Kingdom, he was especially revered as a holy figure, even more so than Yangchen.
Extras[]
Salai was also a skilled healer, similar to Yangchen.
Appearance in the animated series[]
Avatar Salai only appeared in Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra when Aang or Korra saw visions of all the Avatars.
Succession[]
| Preceded by Gun |
Avatar 596 BG - 522 BG (74 years) |
Succeeded by Szeto |
| Preceded by Jian |
Most Recent Earth Avatar 596 BG - 312 BG (284 years) |
Succeeded by Kyoshi |
Family Tree[]
As Ancestor to Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and Rohan[]
| Salai and Arnik |
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| Bumi (aang and katara's son) |
| Kya (katara and aang's daughter) |
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As Family in Omashu[]
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| Salai |
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See Also[]
See more
For the collective works of the author, go here.