Brief History
For thousands of years, the Air Nomads were peaceful wanderers in search of spiritual enlightenment. Four Air Temples served as homes for monks, nuns, and young airbenders where they lived simply. That changed, however, when the Air Nomads were almost completely wiped out after Fire Lord Sozin ordered his armies to destroy the airbenders and their temples. Avatar Aang survived the genocide, and after the end of the Hundred Year War, he slowly rebuilt the Air Nation. Following the Harmonic Convergence, the airbending population grew significantly, and Master Tenzin and the Air Acolytes passed on the culture, teachings, and traditions of the original Air Nomads to the new generation of airbenders.
The Air Nation quickly became a force of good and peace in the world, and their people’s spirituality helps them mitigate human-spirit conflict. The leader of the United Republic, President Zhu Li, granted the Air Nation control over the land surrounding the new Republic City Spirit Portal.
Despite being the smallest nation, the Air Nation is influential in modern times. They play a major role in humanitarian efforts and strongly support global cooperation and peace.
In Genji’s Time
Following the Harmonic Convergence, the Air Nation welcomed new airbenders from around the world. The new airbenders brought their own customs and culture, diversifying the Air Nomad way of life. Most new airbenders adopted Air Nomad traditions, choosing to not eat meat, wear traditional attire, and shave their heads. However, these customs are not required or enforced. While modern airbenders use new technologies like radio and television, the nation still strives to honor the non-materialistic ideals of their ancestors and balance their use of technology with periods of detachment from the outside world.
The Air Nation receives wartime reparations from the Fire Nation after the Hundred Year War. The Air Nation was also given back control over traditional Air Nomad territory by Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lord Izumi. Under United Republic and Fire Nation laws, the Air Nomads are a protected people. After control of the Spirit Portal and its surrounding land was given to the Air Nation, resentment began to rise over the “special treatment” of airbenders. In particular, the new generation of Fire Nation politicians debates about continuing to pay for wartime crimes.
With many issues threatening their lifestyle, the airbenders debate how they can protect themselves. Despite these difficulties, the Air Nation continues to grow and do good around the world.
(Written by Macky)
Air Nomad FAQ
How do the Air Nomads feel about LGBTQ+ people?
“The Air Nomads were very accepting of differences and embraced everyone, no matter their orientation.” –Kya, Turf Wars
Like the Air Nomads before them, the modern Air Nation universally accepts all LGBTQ+ identities and serves as a powerful advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
Who leads each temple?
Jinora leads the Eastern Air Temple, Ikki leads the Southern Air Temple, Meelo leads the Western Air Temple, and Rohan leads Air Temple Island. The Northern Air Temple suffered severe damage after the Red Lotus attack and it was decided to not rebuild it.
Why aren’t the temples separated by gender?
While Tenzin strives to preserve many of the traditions of the Air Nomads before the genocide, the new modern Air Nation chooses to not have the temples gender-segregated like before.
The Legend of Genji is a volunteer fan-project focused on creating a new Avatar webcomic. This is an unofficial project and we are not affiliated with the original creators, Nickelodeon, or Viacom. Original content from Avatar The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra belong to the original creators. Any and all creations from the show belong to the creators.
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