| "How would you like a taste of true freedom? To go where you want and take what you're owed? Trust me, it's a better life than whatever dirt-scratch existence you have on land." |
| ā Tagaka offers Kyoshi to join her.[1] |
Tagaka, the self-appointed "Marquess of the Eastern Sea", "Pirate Queen of the Southern Ocean", and "Waterborne Guardian of the South Pole", was a pirate queen, slaver, and waterbender who led an ethnically mixed people of pirates known as the Fifth Nation that ravaged the Earth Kingdom's coast during the early life of Avatar Kyoshi.
History
Rise to power
Tagaka was born to Tulok, the leader of the Fifth Nation, a people of pirates.[2] Her family partially descended from Southern Water Tribesmen, but when her ancestors became pirates, the tribe disowned her entire family tree.[1] Tagaka's ancestors served as leaders of the Fifth Nation for generations. Growing up, she became her father's lieutenant,[2] though intentionally feigned to be a weak bender. At the time, she was not in the direct line of succession for leadership of the Fifth Nation, as her father had several older brothers.[1] Tagaka was present when Jianzhu, a former companion of Avatar Kuruk, met Tulok and asked him to honor a treaty his grandfather had forged generations ago with Avatar Yangchen.[2]
Soon after the meeting with Jianzhu, Tagaka's grandfather decided to launch a large-scale raid into the western seas. Tagaka and most of her family took part in this operation, leading a Fifth Nation splinter fleet. After rounding the Earth Kingdom's southern tip, however, the pirates encountered the Air Nomad Kelsang, who summoned a storm to stop their raid. The storm turned into a catastrophic typhoon which destroyed the splinter fleet, drowning most of Tagaka's clan including her grandfather and all her uncles. As the storm raged on, Tagaka's ship was destroyed and a sword-seized piece of timber was rammed into her thigh; she was then thrown into the sea, barely surviving as thirty-foot waves crashed onto her. Despite all this, she managed to get to safety.[1]
After the storm, with most of their clan dead, Tulok became the uncontested leader of the Fifth Nation, with Tagaka as the acknowledged heir. Although the memory of Kelsang's deed was a traumatic one, Tagaka still refused to budge in terror as her father did, staying in the Eastern Sea for the rest of his life out fear of the Air Nomad.[1]
Expanding the Fifth Nation and hatching a plan
After her father's death, Tagaka took over control of the Fifth Nation. Determined to lead the Fifth Nation to new greatness and build a lasting future for the pirate nation, she greatly diverged from her father's passive course. Tagaka began to hunt down rival pirate groups such as the Fade-Red Devils, factually bringing all of the Eastern Sea's criminals under her rule. Afterward, she began to raid more aggressively, and became notorious for her activities, including practicing slavery. The Earth Kingdom attempted to stop her rise by sending its navy to hunt down the Fifth Nation. Instead, Tagaka defeated and almost completely destroyed the Earth Kingdom Navy in battle; in the midst of the clash, she killed the the last admiral of Ba Sing Se in a duel which made her a legend. Tagaka subsequently took the admiral's jian sword for herself. As an exceptionally successful pirate, Tagaka became infamous as the "Bloody Flail of the Eastern Sea", though she styled herself the "Marquess of the Eastern Sea".[1]
Despite her growth in power, one major problem remained for Tagaka: A severe lack of woods and experienced workers to repair and expand the Fifth Nation fleets. In an attempt to solve this issue, Tagaka organized a massive raid on the Earth Kingdom's Zeizhou Province, depopulating its southern coastline and taking all the prisoners as slaves.[1] To her disappointment, none of the captives were capable carpenters, making the entire raid mostly useless. However, the raid caused considerable disquiet in the Earth Kingdom and caught the attention of Jianzhu and Yun, believed to be the current Avatar.[1][3] The pirate queen decided to exploit this to her advantage, and devised a plan to lure Yun as well as his comrades into a trap which would allow her to not just capture the Avatar, but also open up the Earth Kingdom's southern woodlands for her attacks. Ultimately, she aimed at capturing Yun's base at Yokoya as new center for the Fifth Nation, as she had recognized its strategic location as a potential naval base.[1]
To achieve her goals, Tagaka contacted Jianzhu's emissaries in 296 BG after spurning them for several years. She told them that she was willing to sign a new treaty, based on the one of her great-grandfather. Tagaka hinted at being willing to stop raiding in several areas for mostly minor concessions. To make this turn of events believeable, she falsely claimed that she had only now been informed that Yun had been proven to be the Avatar and that he was very powerful.[3] The deception worked, and a meeting to sign the treaty was agreed upon.[3][1]
Downfall
The pirate queen managed to lure Yun's party, including a servant girl named Kyoshi, into a trap on the sea and captured him while scattering his companions. As she attempted to escape with her fleet and Yun, whom she had frozen in ice as hostage, Tagaka was confronted by Kyoshi.
Impressed by Kyoshi's resolve and believing that she had potential as a fighter, Tagaka offered her the opportunity to join her pirate fleet, but Kyoshi angrily rebuffed her. She then unleashed her Avatar-powered bending, lifting parts of the seafloor to destroy much of Tagaka's fleet. As chaos erupted and the pirate forces were decimated, Yun's other companions also rallied and counter-attacked. Though utterly confused by Kyoshi's bending power, the pirate queen quickly reacted to the surprising turn of events by attacking Kyoshi in order to kill her. Luckily, two firebending companions of Yun, Rangi and Hei-Ran, intervened and started dueling Tagaka. At the same time, her elite waterbender guards were rushing to aid the pirate queen.[1] However, the two firebenders managed to free Yun and, between the three of them, managed to subdue Tagaka. She was subsequently sent to the prisons beneath Lake Laogai.[4]
Personality
Tagaka was intelligent, ruthless, and devious. She relished the freedom and power the life as a pirate granted her, and despised those who preferred a more meek and honest lifestyle. In contrast, she respected strength and determination. Indifferent to the suffering she caused,[1] Tagaka was described as unnerving by Jianzhu who noted that she had a "soulless gaze" like some kind of predator.[2]
Abilities
For much of her life, Tagaka pretended to be a weak waterbender, though she was in fact extremely powerful. She was also a capable swordswoman.[1]
Relatives
| Tulok |
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| Tagaka |
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Appearances
Kyoshi novels
The Rise of Kyoshi
- 101. "The Test" (flashback)
- 107. "The Iceberg"
| Preceded by Tulok |
Leader of the Fifth Nation Unknown ā 296 BG |
Succeeded by Unclear |
References
- ā 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Seven, "The Iceberg". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ā 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter One, "The Test". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ā 3.0 3.1 3.2 Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Three, "The Boy From Makapu". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ā Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Eight, "The Fracture". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.