Qian Yu

 

This article is about the archaeologist. For the opera star, see Quin Yu.

Qian Yu
Biographical information
Nationality	Earth Kingdom
Ethnicity	Earth Kingdom
Personal information
Pronouns	She/her
Allies	Taiki, Lan, Kiku, Yuxuan, Chesa
Enemies	Sparrowkeet Air, Yuzhen Sr.
Weapon of choice	Earth, metal
Fightingstyles	Earthbending, metalbending
Political information
Profession	Archaeologist
Position	Artifact thief Metalbending student (formerly)
Affiliation	Beifong Metalbending Academy (formerly)
Chronological information
First appearance	Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind (only appearance)

Qian Yu was an intrepid archaeologist, earthbender, and metalbender. She was labeled a thief after fleeing Sparrowkeet Air's site with a precious Air Nomad artifact after learning that the company wanted to sell it to the highest bidder.

History

Qian Yu showed a potential for metalbending, and studied for a time under Toph Beifong, but declined further studies, as the time it took to learned metalbending took too much time away from her archaeological pursuits. After so much knowledge was lost during the Hundred Year War, Qian Yu believed that knowledge should be shared freely with everyone.

The Sparrowkeet Air corporation asked Qian Yu and her team to excavate ruins on their site after a small, abandoned shrine with Air Nomad iconography was found buried under their factory. The CEO of Sparrowkeet, Yuzhen Sr., assured Qian Yu and her team that any artifacts would be preserved and returned to Avatar Aang. Qian Yu and her team discovered a lost Air Nomad artifact from the Eastern Air Temple which dated back to right before the Hundred Year War. Having expected the team to find nothing, Yuzhen Sr. wished to sell the artifact to the highest bidder, and Qian Yu fled with the relic, traversing most of the Earth Kingdom in a stolen Sparrowkeet dirigible.

Sparrowkeet Air considered Qian Yu a thief for taking the artifact, and many wanted posters of her were plastered around the town of Boat Bottom, without clarifying what she had actually done. A large bounty was offered for the first person to find Qian Yu and bring her to the company, but this was only a fraction of the profit they planned to make by selling the artifact. The Snow Rats and the Yu Dao Bounty Hunter's Guild were deeply interested in Sparrowkeet Air's offer, and it also intrigued the inventor and architect named Ume.

Hiding or selling an Air Nomad artifact was opposed to everything she believed in, and the only person she believed had any right to private use of the artifact was the only Air Nomad left alive, the Avatar himself. She was found in Boat Bottom by Taiki, Lan, Kiku, Yuxuan, and Chesa, who were hunting the bounty on her head. However, after she explained the situation to them, they realized that they needed to help Qian Yu rather than hinder her, and agreed to escort her and the artifact Beifong Metalbending Academy, where it could subsequently be given to Aang or the Air Acolytes.

Personality

Qian Yu was strong-willed yet soft-spoken, and was characterized by her strong whisper of a voice, which she raised only in excitement when describing her archaeological studies and discoveries.

Abilities

Qian Yu was a skilled earthbender, and was one of the earliest individuals to learn metalbending after it was discovered, though her dedication to archaeology prevented her from spending more time learning advanced techniques. She had a good sense of how to use her surrounding environment to her advantage whenever she got into a fight.

Appearances

Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game

• Adventure Booklet 4: Air & Wind