Yungib was the Lambak clan's name for two spirits who were constantly opposing one another in the Spirit World. Their position in the Spirit World mirrored that of a large cavern in the physical world. The spirits released such great spiritual energy that the clan was able to greatly enhance their bending and spiritual powers, as long as a ritual was performed on the autumn equinox. Even though the spirits never communicated with the people of the Lambak clan, the supposed protection that emanated from the spirit led to a culture of great reverence for Yungib developing on Lambak Island.
History[]
Charcoal drawings that depicted the Lambak history showed the clan's village being attacked by an invading army of earthbenders in ancient times. A small band of survivors fled the village, and sought sanctuary underground, reaching a place that had once been a lake of lava.
According to legend, the people called out to the spirits just as the sun reached the highest point in the sky during the autumnal equinox. The people then began to feel spiritual energy filling the space. Later histories showed the clan then being able to wipe out the invaders using all the elements.
A myth then said that the spirit agreed to keep part of its energy in the cave beneath the island if the humans would perform a ritual every equinox. While no human was able to contact the spirit, the people developed a deep reverence for it, and began giving "Yungib" offerings and blood sacrifices so that its protection would not fade.[1] Benders from the island would train themselves within the cavern to handle their enhanced potential, with the subterranean area becoming known as the "Sacred Cave".[3] The clan's waterbenders would easily cast a fog over the island and the earthbenders shift coastlines, all in the name of keeping the island isolated from all outsiders.[4]
Chiefs believed that a spiritual ritual at the equinox was truly necessary to siphon enough spiritual power to fill the Sacred Cave for the rest of the year before Yungib departed. However, they knew that it was impossible to speak with Yungib through offerings and sacrifices.[5] They supposedly stopped the offerings and sacrifices,[6] but told their people otherwise. They pretended that Yungib had listened to their prayer requests,[5] and that he had made major decisions for the clan, such as what role people would have in the village.[3] The chiefs came to believe that their words provided comfort to the people, and would make them less likely to question the actions of leaders, who would thus have a free hand to do what was needed to protect the people.[5] A hierarchical culture thus developed among the Lambak, centered around Yungib. It was commonly understood that to question anything the chief said was to question the chief, to question the chief was to question Yungib, and to question Yungib was to invite the destruction of the Lambak.[3] The clan was taught that they should be ready to protect the spirit at any cost.[7]
However, others would eventually arrive at the island. Ashō was apparently one of the rare interlopers who escaped with his life, and wrote an account of the island in The Long Road.[8] Centuries later, the Western Kingdom Trading Company and Prince Sozin developed an interest in the island, leading Avatar Roku to eventually journey there himself when he heard news that Earth King Jialun was planning to claim it as his own territory, arriving just before the autumnal equinox.[9][10]
On the day of the equinox, Chief Elder Ulo took Roku to the Sacred Cave, promising the Avatar the kind of power that would keep him in the Avatar State forever. Roku found the prospect terrifying, but pretended to accept the offer as he tried to stop Ulo's actions.[5] As "Yungib" started to appear, Roku tried to contact the spirit himself, but to no avail.[11] He also was able to read Ulo's aura, and knew the chief was planning to attack. Ulo admitted that he was trying to sacrifice Roku to Yungib in the hopes that the ritual would allow him to access the full power of Yungib from anywhere.[12] Amid his duel with Ulo, Roku reached out to the spirit once more with meditation, and realized its true nature, realizing it would be impossible to persuade the spirit to simply leave the cave.[2] Ultimately, Ulo would die at Roku's hand, while the Avatar's firebending would become so strong it would collapse the ceiling, cutting off the spirits' power from the physical world.[13][14]
Nature[]
While meditating, Roku saw that "Yungib" was in fact not one spirit, but two. They appeared as if they were two great waves of spirit energy crashing into one another. However, there was no intent to conquer or subdue one another. There was a sense of balance to the spirits among the toil. Roku believed the confluence of energies was raw and pure like a tidal wave, typhoon, earthquake, or wildfire: an event that could be destructive, but which also relieved pressure and restored balance.[2]
The equinox, acting as a "fulcrum" between day and night,[15] always drew the spirits to the same location, generating a supernatural phenomenon so intense that it resonated across the veil and into the physical world.[2] A ritual on the equinox then allowed the chiefs of the island to keep part of Yungib's energy in the cave for the rest of the year.[5] Even this fragment of energy allowed benders' strength to be multiplied many times over, enough that just a few waterbenders could keep an entire island shrouded in fog.[4] When the spirits' presence could be felt on the equinox, the effect was even greater, enough so that Roku believed he could easily breathe dragon fire from his mouth or generate lightning at will.[11] The spirits' energy could also lead to people temporarily developing spiritual powers, such as the ability to read auras.[11]
The spirit energy generated by "Yungib" was also likely the cause of unique properties found in a black-rock ore on Lambak Island. These "local elements" acted as a flux for steel production, allowing blacksmiths to easily produce a special type of steel that was both strong and light.[16]
Appearances[]
Chronicles of the Avatar[]
The Reckoning of Roku[]
- 144. "A Spirit of All Nations" (vision)
Trivia[]
- Yungib is Tagalog for "cave".[17]
References[]
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