| "You're a part of us. We'd never abandon you. Remember what I said when we escaped the institution?" "We take care of each other, I know." |
| — Zirin and Chiyou about being Fire Warriors.[1] |
The Fire Warriors were an order of female warriors based in the Fire Nation.[2][3][4] Shortly after the end of the Hundred Year War, Azula formed the order after freeing several young women from an oppressive institution, which the princess had herself once been housed in.
Azula promised the group that they would work towards helping the Fire Nation's downtrodden.[1] However, Azula mostly directed her new acolytes to a series of plots intended to undermine her brother, Fire Lord Zuko, and hoping to mold him into an autocrat whose policies were consistent with her own beliefs. Most notably, the Fire Warriors impersonated the Kemurikage and began abducting children in the Fire Nation Capital in the hopes of provoking such a crisis.[5] Following a series of conspiracies and small-scale raids, the Fire Warriors abandoned Azula after she refused to rescue one of their own, Chiyou. The group started to forge a new future for themselves without the influence of the Fire Princess.[1]
History[]
Conspiracy against Zuko[]
After evading capture by escaping into the Forgetful Valley in 102 AG, Azula began to formulate plans to shape Zuko into the type of Fire Lord she once aspired to become.[5] To this end, she liberated Zirin, Ningka, Chiyou, and several others from an oppressive institution for young women. The facility housed several patients who were considered mentally ill, but also housed many rebellious daughters of traditional Fire Nation families, who had been sent there by their parents in the hopes of being taught humility and respect.[1]
After freeing these young women, Azula organized them into a group known as the Fire Warriors.[5] She viewed these women as mere followers to control, and expected the gratitude and subordination of the other warriors for having given them a new life. However, she promised her acolytes that they would do work to help the Fire Nation's downtrodden. A sense of camaraderie and sisterhood developed among the Fire Warriors, with several members had promised to stand by one another at the institution. In spite of this purported goal, Azula soon had the group focus on plots against the Fire Lord.[1]
The Fire Warriors threatened Ukano and his family.
Having remembered the seclusion and relative obscurity of the Garden of Tranquil Souls, Azula used the burial grounds as the organization's headquarters. She convinced Ukano to comply with the group's plans and used his funds to create a base of operations and a makeshift prison in one of the unoccupied crypts.
In order to propagate fear among Fire Nation citizens, the Fire Warriors impersonated the Kemurikage and began to abduct children from the Fire Nation Capital. They also forced Ukano to assassinate Fire Lord Zuko using the help of the New Ozai Society, threatening to hurt his family if he did not accomplish this task.[2]
The Fire Warriors kidnapped many children, including Guri.
After the New Ozai Society failed to kill Fire Lord Zuko upon his return to the Fire Nation Capital, Azula decided to abduct Tom-Tom as a way of personally involving Zuko in the investigation, given that it would also involve Mai.[6] Shortly thereafter, the Fire Warriors broke into Constable Sung's home and abducted Guri, managing to subdue both parents after a short altercation. Subsequent abductions caused increasing unrest among the citizens and forced Zuko to adopt stricter policies to handle the situation.
One night, a small group of Fire Warriors led by Azula attempted to enter the Fire Nation Royal Palace undetected in order to abduct Kiyi, but they were discovered by Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang, and the Kyoshi Warriors. During the altercation that ensued, one of the Fire Warriors generated lightning, prompting Zuko to conclude that it was Azula. The Fire Warriors eventually subdued the group and fled the scene.[5]
Failure of the Kemurikage plot and splintering[]
The Fire Warriors were defeated by Team Avatar.
Zuko, Aang, Mai, and Kei Lo eventually found the hidden passageway leading to the Garden of Tranquil Souls with help from Ty Lee and promptly subdued several Fire Warriors who were guarding the grounds. Zuko subsequently pursued Azula, while the rest of the group freed the children and incapacitated the Fire Warriors who were guarding the crypt. Azula and several Fire Warriors managed to escape the graveyard during the altercation.[5] They left a number of their comrades behind who were consequently arrested.[4] Another member, Ningka, deserted the group during the clash and eventually rose to leader of the Crimson Sails Armada.[7]
Sometime after, the remaining Fire Warriors listened to Zuko's proclamation to his citizens from a nearby rooftop, before vanishing.[5] Though Azula was able to remain the group's leader,[8] the battle with Zuko's allies left the Fire Warriors weakened in numbers and divided. Some members began to act on their own, and Azula neither constrained nor supported their autonomous actions.[4]
At some point after the failure of the Kemurikage plot, the Fire Warriors tried to exploit an assassination plot aimed at Iso, a high-ranking Fire Nation military official, for their own goals. They hoped to incite another riot in the capital to undermine Zuko's reign.[9]
The Fire Warriors fled after being ambushed at a granary by Ty Lee and Domestic Forces officers.
Azula continued to focus on several small-scale plots with the wider goal of disrupting Zuko's reign and molding him into an autocratic Fire Lord. One raid was planned against a grain distribution center, with the aim of disrupting the Fire Nation's food supply. However, Ty Lee and the Domestic Forces had prepared for the Fire Warrior attack, and had replaced all the grain with empty crates, while hiding several guards from the warriors. Once the granary was set alight by Azula, the hidden guards ambushed many of the Fire Warriors, with Ty Lee and her allies defeating and capturing Chiyou. However, Azula managed to hold off her opponents with lightningbending and firebending and allowing them to flee into the forest.
Zirin and Azula argued over the Fire Warriors' purpose and future.
As the group made camp, Zirin started to propose a plan to rescue Chiyou, worrying if she had been sent back to the institution. Zirin asked Azula why she was not responding, and was subsequently appalled when her leader stated that they were not going back, expecting Chiyou to accept that she was a casualty of war. Zirin snapped at Azula, stating that their "pathetic" acts of sabotaging warehouses hardly amounted to any sort of war, and bemoaned the fact that they continued to skulk around like criminals instead of helping the less fortunate as the princess had promised. She stated that the Fire Warriors had not agreed to putting themselves in danger for Azula's plots against Zuko, and that they wanted to move on from undermining the Fire Lord in order to focus on other things.
In response, Azula reminded them of the fact that she had freed all of the other women from the institution, and asked how they could expect her to throw away what they had built together after she gave them a new purpose. Azula told Zirin that it was not her responsibility to say what the Fire Warriors needed, and demanded that they continue their reign of terror against the Fire Lord. After intimidatingly asking Zirin if she understood her message, Azula received a dejected response in the affirmative, and bade the others good night, promising that the next day would be a fine occasion to cause chaos.
Zirin realized that Azula was never going to let them go, with the others also noting that Azula did not care at all what happened to them. They promised to go save Chiyou, as they all knew that their fellow Fire Warrior would have done the same for all them. The rest of the Fire Warriors embraced one another, and Azula woke the next morning to find that they had all left. Enraged, she burned one of their masks, promising to hunt down the "traitors" and make them pay. Instead, she came across a mysterious temple, where she had encountered a shapeshifter spirit who forced her to confront her past. During these visions, Azula stated that she wanted her acolytes, among others in her life, to return and ask for her forgiveness.
Zirin and another Fire Warrior freed Chiyou, reuniting the group.
At the end of this spiritual experience, Azula found the Fire Warriors sitting around a camp, witnessing Zirin and and another Fire Warrior returning with Chiyou. The others were overjoyed to see that their fellow warrior had returned, with Zirin reminding Chiyou of their promise at the institution to look after one another. As the other Fire Warriors happily shared a meal together, Azula looked on from the distance. She declared that the "silly girls" were unworthy of her leadership, and stated that she would find new followers, as well as a new place to rule.[1]
Known members[]
Trivia[]
- The Fire Warriors were designed to serve as the Fire Nation's version of the Kyoshi Warriors.[3]
- The Fire Warriors were initially meant to play a role within The Promise trilogy, but the storyline did not allow for their inclusion. As a result, they were repurposed to serve as the main antagonists for the Smoke and Shadow trilogy.[10]