The Fire & Air Center of Learning was an institution that was built in the lifetime of Avatar Roku to teach Air Nomad culture in the Fire Nation. It celebrated the growing friendship between the air temples and the Fire Nation nobility, but was deeply controversial to certain Air Nomads, as well as to the government of Fire Lord Sozin.[3] The center also functioned as a small air temple and hosted a group of Air Nomads as residents.[2]
History[]
Foundation and early activities[]
In the early years of the Era of Roku, the Air Nomads had left behind their previous isolationist stance, and had begun to work closely with the other nations in order to provide charity and aid. After the resolution of the Lambak Island conflict, Avatar Roku, himself influenced by Air Nomad philosophies during his time training at the Southern Air Temple, as well as by Gyatso, requested Crown Prince Sozin to create a new air temple to spread Air Nomad teachings within the Fire Nation to make up for his lies to Roku.[1] Sozin, fulfilling his friend's wishes, convinced his father, Fire Lord Taiso, to allow a center of learning in the capital, though the prince himself was cynical in regards to Air Nomad beliefs and how popular they would be with the broader Fire Nation populace.[2]
While the Air Nomads hesitated at first, all four temples eventually supported the idea as a way to forge peace and cooperation between nations.[3] Anada, an Air Nun born in the Fire Nation and adopted by the Air Nomads, was a great engineer whose innovative designs helped create the Fire & Air Center of Learning, with construction beginning around 65 BG.[4][2] Even though it was still under construction, a number of Air Nomads already settled on the center's premises and started to forge connections with the locals.[2] Gyatso was chosen to be the first leader to establish the Center at the conclusion of Roku's airbending training.[5] At first, progress was slow and the center only attracted a small number of interested Fire Nationals, with some skeptics predicting the institution would completely close down within a year.[2] Over time, however, it became increasingly popular.[3][6]
Guiding Wind protests and shutdown[]
From an early point, the center was opposed by the Guiding Wind, a renegade order of Air Nomads who believed that the "corrupt" nobles were leading the Air Nomads away from spiritual enlightenment. They sabotaged the construction on numerous occasions in protest. After his ascension to the throne in 58 BG, Fire Lord Sozin seized control of the building site from the nobility, and entrenched his loyal military guard to protect the local population. Sozin refused to move his guard until the Guiding Wind left, and the Guiding Wind had no plans of halting their sabotage until the construction ended completely.[3]
Seizing the Fire & Air Center of Learning eroded the Fire Lord's political support, and Sozin began the Dragon Hunts in show of his power, wanting to appear more fearsome than his father. The nobility embraced the new sport with a voracious appetite, and earned Sozin loyalty among the nobility.[6]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ribay, Randy (author). (July 23, 2024). Chapter Fifty-One, "Leverage". The Reckoning of Roku. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Ribay, Randy (author). (July 23, 2024). Epilogue. The Reckoning of Roku. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Quickstart, Version 1.0, 2021, p. 46.
- ↑ Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Quickstart, Version 1.0, 2021, p. 51.
- ↑ Ribay, Randy (author). (December 30, 2025). Chapter One, "The Sharpest Scythe". The Awakening of Roku. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Quickstart, Version 1.0, 2021, p. 47.