| "As if Yangchen needed another reason to worship her older sister. Jetsun wasn't related to her by blood, or maybe she was in the manner of fourth or fifth cousins, but it definitely didn't matter. The girl who cut up fruit in a stupid way but at least gave you the symmetrical pieces was your sister. The girl who showed you no mercy on the airball court and laughed in your face as she kept you scoreless was your sister. Jetsun was either the person who would listen to Yangchen cry with utmost patience, or the one who'd upset her in the first place." |
| — Yangchen's thoughts on Jetsun.[1] |
Jetsun was an Air Nun and spiritual guide from the Western Air Temple who was seen as an older sister by Avatar Yangchen.[1]
Quick Answers
What is Jetsun's relationship with Avatar Yangchen?
What are Jetsun's spiritual abilities?
How does Jetsun interact with the Spirit World?
What is Jetsun's role in the Western Air Temple?
How does Jetsun's personality reflect in her interactions with Avatar Yangchen?
History[]
Mortal life[]
While Jetsun and Yangchen were not related by blood (at least any closer than fourth or fifth cousins), Jetsun was like an older sister to her, cutting up fruit in a stupid way and giving her the symmetrical pieces, and showing her no mercy on the airball court. Jetsun had strong spiritual abilities, and had been able to cross over into the Spirit World.[1] Jetsun bore witness to Yangchen's strong connection to her past lives as she grew up, and how she would start having visions of people that past Avatars had met. She also saw Yangchen's "waking nightmares" when recalling a particularly painful experience of a past Avatar.
Once, Jetsun witnessed her having an episode where she recalled Mesose from her past lives. Not being able to stand the screams, she sped through the temple to help out, and navigated her way around without using her glider. Jetsun helped Librarian Tsering to search the Great Library for the name, even though they were not fully sure who or what Mesose was. She found the book she was looking for and took it to Yangchen in the infirmary, and began to read aloud the scholarly works of Mesose, a companion to Avatar Gun.[2]
Jetsun eventually guided Yangchen into the Spirit World for the first time, and went to a meditation circle in the meadows above the temple cliffs for their attempt. Abbess Dagmola and Librarian Tsering came along, but deferred to Jetsun as a guide. As soon as they began meditating, Yangchen quickly crossed over into the Spirit World with Jetsun, the latter of whom praised Yangchen for being able to pull it off on her first try. While Jetsun at first explained that mere existence was the "great lesson" of the Spirit World, she enthusiastically agreed to explore her surroundings with Yangchen.[1] Jetsun explained that the Spirit World was safe as long as visitors kept respect in their heart, and that it is always better to ask, listen, and give thanks to their surroundings. She also explained that they could not bend, as their bodies were still in the physical world.[3]
Jetsun and Yangchen walked together into a lonesome forest, and came upon a group of shishi. Yangchen had frozen in place, which puzzled Jetsun, as her sister had always loved animals. However, the shishi were actually sensing the fear of another past Avatar, and began to turn dark. Jetsun told Yangchen that she could wake up, as the shishi began to gather in a hunting formation. Jetsun grabbed Yangchen, tossed her over her shoulder, and ran, as her sister regressed to a younger version of herself. She ran to a brook which soon turned to a raging river. She told Yangchen that she would not wake up before the Avatar, and ripped her orange shawl and wrapped it around Yangchen, throwing her into the air and shouting at her to wake up. While Yangchen was able to make it back to the physical world, Jetsun could not.[3] Her body was empty of its spirit, and even with the best of healing she could not survive for long. Yangchen was by her side in the physical world the moment her heart stopped. When she passed away, Jetsun was honored as a temple elder and a companion of the Avatar who had laid down her life to protect the bridge between humans and spirits. However, many years later, Yangchen was sent a vision by the phoenix-eel spirits of Jetsun's soul imprisoned in a howling mist.[4][5]
The Fog of Lost Souls[]
In truth, Jetsun's spirit had ended up within the Fog of Lost Souls, where the nun would prove herself immune to its madness-inducing effects. She became a source of comfort to her fellow victims, using her spirit to ease their pain and feelings of regret. However, she was only able to do this for the small percentage of the fog's victims she could reach, and the effects were never permanent. Later on, she remarked that it was like people had a small part of them which sought out punishment and suffering.
Jetsun was eventually be reunited with her sister when Yangchen entered the Fog of Lost Souls to search for her following the resolution of events in Taku. As the Avatar started to apologize for what had happened to her, Jetsun assured her that she had nothing to be sorry about, before demonstrating her ability to calm the other prisoners, allowing Yangchen to realize that her sister was not suffering as she had feared. The older nun compared what she had done to Yangchen's role in the physical world, but a distraught Yangchen claimed that she was failing as the Avatar, that she was losing parts of herself like Jetsun and Nujian - her flying bison having been killed not long ago - all while the world refused to learn from its mistakes.
Allowing Yangchen to rest her head on her lap, Jetsun admitted that she had once hated her sister due to the stress of the work necessary to manage her spiritual outbursts, but she also loved her far more than she ever hated her. She then had Yangchen stand up, and encouraged her to not fear the consequences of every possible failure; when Yangchen started to protest, Jetsun pointed out that she herself could not help everyone trapped in the Fog of Lost Souls, but she would nevertheless aid those she could. Expressing her belief that she and her sister were both where they needed to be, she then urged Yangchen to wake up, as the fog had ensnared her ally Kavik within the physical world.[6]
Personality[]
Jetsun was wise, cool-headed and incredibly spiritual. According to Yangchen, she could be both incredibly blunt and cryptic, would often react to things with her "classic understatements",[1] and never appeared confused or surprised by Yangchen and instead understood her completely.[6] She cared for Yangchen like she was her little sister and worried about her condition that caused the past Avatars' memories to surface through her. She enjoyed to mercilessly beat her in the airball court, and was either the person who would listen to Yangchen cry with utmost patience or the one who'd upset her in the first place. She could become more stern while standing up for the younger girl.
She disliked the way Avatar Gun's inability to stop a tsunami was recorded as a failure, considering how difficult of a task it was and the fact that the harbor city of Ha'an still existed in her time. She realized that Gun may have wanted the label themself because they failed to save their friend,[2] and she understood that more than anything Yangchen was afraid of failure, as well.
Her spirit was immune to the effects of the Fog of Lost Souls and she was at peace taking care of the trapped spirits, believing she was where she was meant to be. She bluntly admitted that taking care of Yangchen during her life had been very difficult and exhausting, and that she felt she could not become her own complete self when she only focused on being her sister's guardian. She hated Yangchen for it, but ultimately loved her even more and considered her always worth it.[6]
Relatives[]
Appearances[]
Chronicles of the Avatar[]
The Dawn of Yangchen[]
- 100. "Voices of the Past"
- 101. "The First Step"
- 122. "The Dispute" (vision)
- 129. "Dreams Within Dreams" (flashback)
- 130. "Basic Tradecraft" (flashback)
The Legacy of Yangchen[]
- 237. "Respite"
| Preceded by Unknown |
Avatar's spiritual mentor Unknown (BG) |
Succeeded by Nyahitha |
Trivia[]
- Jetsun (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན།, Wylie: rje btsun, THL: Jetsün) or feminine Jetsunma (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མ།, Wylie: rje btsun ma) is a Tibetan title meaning "venerable" or "reverend".
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Yee, F. C. (author). (July 19, 2022). Chapter One, "The First Step". The Dawn of Yangchen. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Yee, F. C. (author). (July 19, 2022). Prologue, "Voices of the Past". The Dawn of Yangchen. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yee, F. C. (author). (July 19, 2022). Chapter Twenty-Nine, "Dreams Within Dreams". The Dawn of Yangchen. Amulet Books.
- ↑ Yee, F. C. (author). (July 19, 2022). Chapter Thirty, "Basic Tradecraft". The Dawn of Yangchen. Amulet Books.
- ↑ Yee, F. C. (author). (July 19, 2022). Chapter Twenty-Two, "The Dispute". The Dawn of Yangchen. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Yee, F. C. (author). (July 18, 2023). Chapter Thirty-Seven, "Respite". The Legacy of Yangchen. Amulet Books.