| "This is the world as my father saw it, and his father before him, and his father before him, but it is a charade. Size does not make something great [...]." |
| — Iroh speaking about the Fire Nation Royal Family's obsession with power, starting with Taiso.[1] |
Taiso[2] was the former ruler of the Fire Nation until his death in 58 BG. Married to Fire Lady Hazei, he was the father of Sozin, who succeeded him as Fire Lord, and Zeisan.
History[]
Early reign[]
Taiso ruled in an era of international peace,[5] during which the Fire Nation experienced a period of industrialization and great prosperity.[6] However, Taiso was not considered a particularly "strong" leader.[7] Instead, the Fire Lord relied on a number of loyal advisors and ministers such as Zianda,[8][9] and his reign saw the rise of a number of social upstarts who earned a position in the court through politicking instead of a noble background.[2] Trade flourished, and the country's society was enamored with progressive thinking, spreading new ideas to the other nations.[6] Based on the Fire Nation's material wealth and his country's size, Taiso believed the Fire Nation to be a supremely mighty nation.[1]
When his son Sozin was born soon after Avatar Kyoshi's death, Taiso harbored the hope that his own offspring might be the next Avatar.[2] He subsequently pitted Sozin against his younger daughter, Zeisan, who showed no signs of firebending.[3] The Fire Lord and his advisors believed that this contest would both increase Sozin's potential as well as draw out Zeisan's firebending. The project failed, as Zeisan proved to be a nonbender, and also caused a rivalry between the Fire Lord's children.[9] Despite this, Sozin maintained a comparatively decent relationship with Taiso,[2][4] whereas Zeisan would come to regard her family as morally corrupt.[3] On his part, Taiso was disappointed by the contest's outcome; he believed that Zeisan would have been the more capable ruler, yet could never become Fire Lord due to being a nonbender. Thus, he put great pressure on Sozin to prove himself somewhat worthy as the heir, but also rejected his son's often unusual projects and ideas to improve their nation as "childish fantas[ies]".[10] Taiso thus tried to impart his own thinking, according to which worldly power and a country's landmass corresponded to greatness, to his son.[1]
Outer Islands Rebellions and Sozin's projects[]
Taiso was generally a "staunch traditionalist" who spent his reign mainly focused on internal matters,[3] and was known to cooperate with the Fire Sages.[4] Though his reign was relatively stable, he faced violent opposition in the form of the Outer Islands Rebellions by his later years.[10] After the Fire Sages revealed Roku as the Avatar in 66 BG, Taiso was originally disappointed that his firebender son was not the Avatar, but instead suggested Sozin manipulate and become close to Roku to gain influence over him. As one part of this plan, Taiso suggested that his son should gift Roku the Crown Prince headpiece as a kind of "leash" to constantly remind the Fire Avatar of his "true loyalties".[2]
A few months later, Sozin approached his father for a request. At first, the Fire Lord asked whether the prince had finally received a letter by Roku, and was displeased when his son responded in the negative. Taiso became even more disappointed when Sozin asked for a Fire Nation Navy ship so that he could search for a mysterious island with hidden powers which had once been described by Ashō, an ancient travel writer. Instead of entertaining the idea that Ashō's story might be rooted in truth and thus potentially benefit the Fire Nation, Taiso dismissed Sozin's request as yet another proof that his son was a "fool". Furthermore, the navy could not spare ship due to the ongoing rebellions. He then negatively compared his son with Zeisan, before ordering him to invest his time into "proper subjects for a future Fire Lord" and only ask for another audience when he had gotten a letter by Roku.[10]
When the Fire Lord next heard of his son, the prince had disobeyed him and ventured into the Si Wong Desert on yet another quest. Taiso sent Sozin several angry letters, demanding that he return to the Fire Nation and stop "wasting [his] time" with the search for Wan Shi Tong's Library. The prince ignored the messages.[11] Sozin eventually did return home, but this time as a public hero for having allegedly saved the life of Avatar Roku in the Lambak Island conflict. Even the Fire Lord was impressed by his son's actions. Using his new status as leverage, the prince convinced Taiso to grant Lambak Island autonomy as a "special region" of the Fire Nation. Unbeknownst to Taiso, however, Sozin also began to covertly grow his power by turning Lambak Island into his private fiefdom and withholding crucial information from his father.[12]
Taiso died in 58 BG, passing the throne to Sozin.[13]
Legacy[]
A portrait of Taiso was included in the Fire Nation Royal Palace's Royal Gallery, depicting him firebending and with astronomy-related imagery in front of clouds, a fire, and a darkened sun.[4]
Sozin would build upon his father's ideas,[1] but also intended to become a stronger leader.[7] Accordingly, he decided to "spread" the Fire Nation's prosperity through a war of conquest, starting the Hundred Year War.[4] Meanwhile, Taiso's daughter Zeisan opposed her father and brother's ideals, and intended to dismantle her family's increasing corruption by embracing the teachings of the Air Nomads.[3]
Around 170 years after his death, Taiso's great-grandson Iroh wrote of his ancestor in a book, musing how the Fire Lords starting with Taiso had been fundamentally wrong in regard to their world view, as true greatness stemmed from the quality of one's character and spirit instead of worldly power.[1]
Personality[]
Though a traditionalist in many ways,[3] Taiso deeply valued power to the degree that he sought to manipulate his children to increase his and his nation's might.[1][2] In this regard, he believed that there were certain "proper subjects" which a successful Fire Lord had to know, including science, economics, history, and philosophy. Accordingly, Taiso viewed any other interests, including Sozin's unusual passion projects, as useless for a Fire Nation ruler.[10] At the same time, his traditionalist viewpoint caused him to also dismiss Zeisan's potential as a monarch despite her skill in "proper" subjects, as she was not a firebender. Taiso's narrow-mindedness often frustrated Sozin[10] and Zeisan.[9]
He was also wrathful and petty, favoring sycophants and executing servants who displeased him.[2]
Abilities[]
Taiso was skilled in intrigue and manipulation, but was not considered an outstanding or innovative ruler.[2][3][7] According to Sozin, he was a poor orator known for his "long-winded speeches".[2]
Relatives[]
- Main article: Fire Nation Royal Family
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| Chaeryu |
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| Chaejin |
| Zoryu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Taiso |
| Hazei | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sozin |
| Zeisan |
| Yasu |
| Roku |
| Ta Min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Azulon |
| Ilah |
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| Rina |
| Jinzuk |
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| Iroh |
| Ozai |
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| Ursa |
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| Lu Ten |
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| Zuko |
| Azula |
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| Izumi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Iroh |
| Izumi's daughter[14] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Trivia[]
- Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko stated that they never "figured out names" for Sozin's father and his predecessor as both were not "prominently featured" in Avatar: The Last Airbender.[15] His name was ultimately revealed in the novel The Reckoning of Roku, written by Randy Ribay.[2]
| Preceded by His father, eventually Zoryu |
Fire Lord Unknown - 58 BG |
Succeeded by Sozin |
Notes[]
- ↑ His favoritism towards his bender child[3] and his portrait in the Royal Gallery[4] indicate that he was a firebender.