- This article is about the location. For the episode, see "The Western Air Temple".
The Western Air Temple is one of the four original temples of the Air Nomads and one of the two, the other being the Eastern Air Temple, that traditionally housed female airbenders.[1][2] It is located in the mountains north of the Fire Nation. The temple is notable in that, unlike the other temples, it is situated underneath the edge of a cliff instead of atop a mountain. The spires give the appearance of having been built upside-down, and because of that, the temple is hidden to the passerby.[3] Its design allows wind to flow into even the deepest chambers, which made the Air Nomads feel at home. Avatar Yangchen was born and raised at the Western Air Temple.[1]
History[]
Early history[]
The spirit Tien has frequented the Western Air Temple for nearly as long as it has existed. The spirit befriended many Air Nuns throughout the ages, and enjoyed participating in various activities at the temples. It meditated alongside the nuns, played airball, and tried the sky bison obstacle course. The spirit's visits to the temple were documented in the Great Library, with records giving the impression that the nuns had more fun whenever they were joined by Tien.[4]
Era of Yangchen onwards[]
Abbess Dagmola was in charge of the Western Air Temple shortly after the death of Avatar Szeto. Dagmola and the other senior nuns learned that a girl under their care named Yangchen was the next Avatar. Before Yangchen was eight, the nuns witnessed her incoherently babbling to people who did not exist, and learned that she was having strong visions of past Avatar companions that could sometimes turn into "waking nightmares" if she recalled traumatic experiences. Librarian Tsering and Sister Jetsun helped soothe Yangchen by researching who she was talking to and reading aloud historical excerpts.[5] Yangchen's visions meant that she had discovered that she was the Avatar by the age of eleven. Jetsun, who she viewed as an elder sister, helped guide her into the Spirit World for the first time in a meditation circle in a meadow above the cliffs.[6] While Yangchen was able to return to her physical body, Jetsun was not, and the older nun soon passed away, as her body had been separated from its spirit. Jetsun was honored as an elder and an Avatar companion who had given her life to protect the bridge between humans and spirits at her funeral.[7][8]
Yangchen later left the temple to master the four elements, with Master Boma making an oath to the elders to keep her safe.[9] During the Unanimity crisis, Yangchen and her companions offered a nonbender girl called Hsien a new life at the Western Air Temple. Hsien was from the Natsuo Island chain, and had been a victim of Zongdu Chaisee's inhumane experiments to produce a human weapon. The girl had developed a rudimentary form of chi-blocking as a result of the experiments. The Order of the White Lotus was not informed about Hsien or her abilities, with Kavik believing her hand-to-hand combat would never sway the balance of the four nations.[10] However, in later eras, the Western Air Temple was home to other master chi-blockers.[11]
During the adolescence of Avatar Kyoshi, the Western Air Temple, along with its counterparts, pursued a highly isolationist policy as the Air Nomads sought to ignore worldly concerns to focus on preserving spiritual knowledge for generations to come.[12] Over two centuries later, by the life of Avatar Roku, the West and the other temples sought to forge close ties with the leaders of the other nations in hopes of helping more people. All four air temples eventually agreed to the construction of the Fire & Air Center of Learning in the Fire Nation with the support of the nation's nobility so that their teachings could be promoted elsewhere. When the renegade order known as the Guiding Wind sought to break the relationship between the Air Nomads and the wealthy elites of other nations and criticized the temples for undermining the spiritual growth of all peoples, the West began to officially view them as too opposed to tradition.[13]
Genocide and aftermath[]
At the start of the Hundred Year War, the Western Air Temple's population was killed by the Fire Nation during the Air Nomad Genocide and its aftermath, though the temple itself remained mostly intact. Many of the temple's relics were looted by the Fire Nation, who constructed an elevator between the temple and plateau above in order to conveniently access the buildings below.[14] Other looters also tried to seize the temple's treasure, tying ropes to the Meditation Circle so they could lower themselves below.[15]
After the plundering was finished, the Fire Nation largely abandoned the temple. One group of refugees tried to make a home for themselves at the sanctuary, and set up a makeshift bridge to allow for access in and out of the temple. However, the refugees soon realized it was incredibly difficult for non-airbenders to live by themselves in an Air Nomad sanctuary, and they abandoned the buildings.[15]
In 97 AG, Zuko traveled to the temple to begin his search for Avatar Aang after being banished from the Fire Nation around this time.[3] The temple was also visited by Haoran's group of Earth Kingdom rebels and Weili's group of refugees, chased there by General Uyanga of the Fire Nation. During the group's stay, a passage leading to the Fire Nation elevator collapsed when the spy Jianjun detonated a charge, collapsing a support column. Several statues of Air Nuns were damaged in the process.[16]
In the summer of 100 AG, Aang and his friends headed to the Western Air Temple for a safe place to stay after the unsuccessful invasion. After following the remnants of the invasion force here, Zuko decided to join Aang, pledging to teach him firebending.[3]
Combustion Man attacked this temple in hopes of eliminating the Avatar and his gang. Thanks in part to Zuko's intervention on their behalf and Sokka's expertise in using a boomerang, Combustion Man was defeated and killed when his own firebending caused a massive and lethal explosion, which also caused half of the building he was standing on to break off and fall into the canyon below, taking whatever may have been left of the body with it. The temple suffered extensive damage besides this from the attack, but was still largely intact. The group spent several nights there.[3]
The massive metal doors shielded Team Avatar from Azula's bombardment.
Azula led an attack on the temple thereafter, battling her brother and forcing the rest of the group to flee. After one of her blasts clashed with an equally powerful blast from Zuko, both of them were thrown off the airship. Zuko was saved by Team Avatar, who was flying on Appa, and Azula used her firebending to propel herself toward the cliffside, using her hair piece as a hook to slow the fall. The invasion force members, including Chit Sang, fled using an airship stolen from Azula at the Boiling Rock prison. The attack resulted in a large amount of damage, including the complete destruction of the fountain's remnants.[17]
After the Hundred Year War, the Western Air Temple, along with the other three air temples, was restored to its former glory by Avatar Aang and the Air Acolytes.[18] Following Harmonic Convergence, some of the Air Nation's new airbenders came to the Western Air Temple to help care for it.[19]
Description[]
A wall of statues adorns the temple's exterior.
The temple was built on the underside of a cliff, causing all of the buildings to appear to hang upside down. There are steps built into the side of the cliff to allow for movement between tiers of the temple and different buildings. There is a three thousand foot drop between the temple and the ground below.[5]
The temple features some interesting recreational spots, such as a giant Pai Sho table, an all-day echo chamber, a flying bison obstacle course, a racetrack,[3] and an airball court. There are several spaces for writing and making colorful sand paintings. There is an infirmary dedicated to sick nuns or children under the care of the temple.[6]
Another notable feature is a series of metal doors located within the fountain area, which can be converted to shields to protect inhabitants from outside attackers.[17]
Air ducts[]
While much of the Western Air Temple was open to the air, the sanctuary's tunnels have poor airflow. A series of ducts were constructed to ensure that there was always fresh air without a nun helping to maintain the circulation. The extensive ducts lead to the cliffside, providing a way in and out of the temple.[15]
Fire Nation elevator[]
Not long after the genocide, the Fire Nation blasted a hole into the temple and lowered down an elevator to confiscate artefacts. The elevator above is sheltered by an overgrown path in the woods near the temple. It was forgotten about after the plundering was done, and fell into disrepair. The passage between the elevator and rest of the temple became blocked in the 90s AG, after Jianjun detonated a charge in the Hall of Statues.[15]
Great Library[]
The Great Library catalogs centuries of Air Nomad teachings and meditation, as well as some records from other nations. Some texts are so old that they predate the invention of paper, and are either carved into clay or inked on bamboo.[4]
Hall of Statues[]
There are a number of statue halls across the temple, with the main one being located close to the tunnels to the cliffside, as well as the Fire Nation elevator. Several Air Nomad figures are memorialized in stone. The statues mostly honor Air Nuns who lived at the temple, although some Air Monks and Air Nomad Avatars are also honored. Each statue is around 15 feet tall. Each stands on a raised dais around five feet tall.[4]
Meditation Circle[]
The Meditation Circle sits in a meadow at the edge of the cliffs. Its stone slab floor is laid level in the earth outside the grass. Five columns of rock that look like fingers and a thumb jut out around the circle, unevenly spaced, with the Air Nomad symbol at their tips.[6] It allows for peaceful contemplation of the winds flowing through the plain and along the cliff.
After the Air Nomad Genocide, looters secured a series of ropes to the rock columns. Traversing these ropes was still often difficult for many, and required either impressive athletic skills or suitable use of bending.[15]
Mushroom Bridge[]
A makeshift bridge was constructed by a group of refugees who tried to live at the temple after the genocide, before they abandoned the sanctuary. It is located near a gray basalt rock with a dome at its top, which looks like a large mushroom from a distance. It provides a way in and out of the temple for non-airbenders. It is not large enough for more than one person to pass at a time.[15]
Zephyr Yard[]
The Zephyr Yard sits under the cliffside, and is exposed to the air currents that run through the pagodas. The courtyard has an assortment of contraptions used for airbending training. There is always a droning, low-pitched hum in the yard from the way the wind blows along their surfaces. In turn, the hum makes the yard an easy place to meditate. Zephyr Yard is one of Tien's favorite places in the Western Air Temple.[15]
Notable figures[]
- Abbess Dagmola[20]
- Avatar Yangchen
- Hsien
- Librarian Tsering[20]
- Sister Jetsun[20]
- Sister Norri
- Sister Rioshon
- Tien
Trivia[]
- Until Combustion Man destroyed part of the fountain structure and blew up one of the temple's inverted towers, this seemed to be the only temple untouched by other parties; the Southern Air Temple had Fire Nation corpses from the battle with Fire Lord Sozin's forces, the Northern Air Temple was modified and damaged by Earth Kingdom colonials, and the Eastern Air Temple was cleaned up by Guru Pathik. The Western Air Temple is only known to have been visited by Iroh and Zuko a week after the latter's banishment, being the closest to the Fire Nation.[3]
- According to Iroh, Pakku, and Bumi's retelling of Team Avatar's adventures during the Hundred Year War, the Western Air Temple had two yards, called "Breeze Yard" and "Zephyr Yard".[21]
- The design of the Western Air Temple was inspired by the roofs of Bhutanese monasteries, like Paro Taktsang, and Tibetan architecture.[22][23][24]
- This is the only original air temple not to be located on the top of a mountain.
- Aang's airbending was enhanced due to the windy environment of the Western Air Temple.[25]
- The Western Air Temple is the largest of the five temples.
- The temple contained a large Pai Sho table.[3]
- The Western Air Temple was the only air temple not to be shown in The Legend of Korra.
- The nuns of the Western Air Temple were usually vegetarian, like all Air Nomads, though they believed that it was acceptable to eat meat if that was the only option in a meal being served by someone from another nation.[26] They also allowed eating meat in order to save oneself from extreme hunger.[27] However, this provision was optional, and some nuns still chose to abstain from meat in all circumstances.[26]
- The Western Air Temple was included as a playable map in the fighting game Brawlhalla following the November 16, 2022 update as part of a crossover event with Avatar.
- The Western Air Temple was included as a playable stage in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl and its sequel, featuring Appa flying around the stage.