| Well, that's not its name ... but ...
The term "Lambak Island conflict" has not been confirmed by official sources.
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In 66 BG, a violent conflict broke out over the control of Lambak Island, a remote and usually fog-covered Fire Island. The island's people had traditionally remained independent, but their homeland's mysterious spirit powers and resources were coveted by Crown Prince Sozin of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom-based Western Kingdom Trading Company. As a result of Sozin's schemes, Avatar Roku and his comrades became involved in the conflict as well, ultimately shattering the source of Lambak Island's spirit powers as they were considered too dangerous to be kept around. The island and its people subsequently became an autonomous polity within the Fire Nation.
The dispute played a major role in shaping Roku's trajectory as an Avatar, and also contributed to the Fire Nation's growing military-industrial might.
Background[]
Lambak Island and its native population, the Lambak Clan, had remained independent of the four nations for thousands of years, killing any intruders due to long-held stories of outside threats. The clan heads traditionally claimed that other native groups had also lived on the island in the past, only to be wiped out by invaders from the four nations, with their own group surviving thanks to discovering a bending-enhancing cave in the island's interior. The Lambak Clan realized that the cave was infused by spirit energy, and dubbed the assumed local spirit "Yungib".[1][2] Conversely, this tale had no concrete proof, and some have argued that the claims about aggressive outsiders could have been forged: In this case, the different groups on the island killed each other in a series of internecine conflicts, with the Lambak Clan being the ultimate winner.[3][2][4] Either way, the remaining natives were a mix of nonbenders, firbenders, waterbenders, earthbenders, and airbenders who fiercely protected their independence. They used the spirit cave and enhanced waterbending to permanently shroud their island in fog to discourage outsiders,[3] and established a group of "scouts" who were tasked with killing any intruders who made landfall.[2]
In the 1st century BG, however, the world became increasingly connected and even the most remote regions were explored. In 66 BG, Crown Prince Sozin of the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom-based Western Kingdom Trading Company rediscovered the island independently from each other in ancient documents, coveting its resources and mysterious powers.[5][6] The company requested permission to explore the island, but this was denied by Queen Guo Xun of Omashu out of concerns over international tensions. However, company researchers Yuming and Qixia disobeyed the monarch and launched a tiny mission.[6] Sozin had read apocryphal stories of Ashō, and thus believed that the bending-enhancing powers of the island could be used elsewhere. However, his father Fire Lord Taiso forbade the prince from searching for the island, regarding Ashō's tales as nonsense. Thus, Sozin organized a covert expedition consisting of himself and his subordinates Dalisay and Kozaru.[5]
Conflict[]
Foreigners land on Lambak Island[]
The Western Kingdom Trading Company expedition arrived first at the island, consisting of Yuming and Qixia and six earthbender mercenaries. The group set up camp at the coast, and began to explore the local flora, fauna, and minerals. Not long after, Sozin's team also arrived, and soon chanced upon two company mercenaries whom they killed after a short fight. Mistaking the dead men for Earth Kingdom soldiers, Sozin hurriedly retreated from the island to avoid an international incident.[5] Regardless, he still wanted to possess the island, and thus decided to enlist his old friend Roku to remove the Earth Kingdom presence from the area. He sent a letter, lying about his true intentions and portraying the situation as a case of Earth Kingdom aggression. When Roku initially declined to act on the request,[7] Sozin sent a fake Earth Kingdom assassin to further deceive the Avatar about Earth King Jialun's ambitions and thus motivate him to aid him.[8][9]
Feeling obligated to his friend and outraged that the Earth Kingdom had possibly tried to murder him to steal the island, Roku secretly left his airbending training at the Southern Air Temple to venture to Lambak Island and solve the dispute.[8][10] He was accompanied by Gyatso, a young Air Nomad monk.[10] Meanwhile, the Western Kingdom Trading Company expedition continued its research, and was discovered by the Lambak Clan.[4] The clan leader Ulo ordered two of his scouts, Malaya (a nonbender) and Amihan (an airbender), to murder the intruders.[2][11] However, Malaya had grown increasingly doubtful about Ulo's tales of the evil outsiders as she secretly observed Yuming and Qixia's wonder as well as appreciation for her homeland.[2] Thus, she decided to talk to the Company members to peacefully convince them to leave to avoid death. Obsessed with the island, Yuming and Qixia refused to follow Malaya's advice, and were later captured by the Lambak Clan.[11]
Meanwhile, Roku and Gyatso arrived at Lambak Island and found one company mercenary, Oh Wen, who had been separated from his group during a clash with the natives. A duel erupted as the soldier thought that Gyatso and Roku were locals, but they subdued and interrogated him.[12][13] Thus, they learned about the fact that the Western Kingdom Trading Company was seeking something valuable. Gyatso subsequently voiced doubts about the truthfulness of Sozin's letter, but Roku angrily defended his old friend. The comrades got into a heated disagreement and parted ways, with Gyatso bringing the mercenary to safety while Roku ventured deeper inland.[13]
New contacts[]
When a heavy storm struck the island soon after, Roku lost his footing as he was climbing the island's heights and fell into a chasm which led into subterranean tunnels.[14] Following them, he discovered the spirit cave where the Lambak waterbenders were summoning the island's perpetual fog. The Avatar tried to make peaceful contact, but the startled natives attacked, causing a fight which ultimately resulted in all of them being injured and unconscious.[15] Roku was subsequently recovered by Ulo who feigned respect for the Avatar and told him of the island's history as well as his desire to protect the Lambak clan. Weakened by the fight, Roku agreed to stay at the clan village for a few days. Furthermore, the clan waterbenders' injuries meant that the ritual at the cave was no longer conducted, causing the local fog to dissipate.[16][3]
On his part, Gyatso returned to the island after bringing Oh Wen to safety, as he worried about Roku. Without the fog to cloud his vision, the Air Nomad discovered and greeted Malaya who was still trying to find a way to remove the outsiders without killing them. Though initially distrustful, Malaya soon warmed up to Gyatso due to the latter's open and friendly attitude. As the two bonded and learned from each other, they concluded that both Sozin as well as the Western Kingdom Trading Company had ulterior motives and could not be trusted.[17][18]
After realizing that Roku was staying at the Lambak village, Malaya also suspected that Ulo was planning to use the Avatar in some kind of ritual to increase the clan's power. Thus, Gyatso and Malaya secretly made contact with Roku who hesitantly started to agree with their arguments, including Sozin's deceit. The three ultimately decided on a plan: Roku would go along with Ulo's moves as he wanted to meet Yungib and better understand the role of the local spirit, while Gyatso and Malaya would try to free the company members whom the natives had imprisoned near the village.[19]
Freeing of the prisoners and destruction of the village[]
The company members were imprisoned in cages suspended in the trees near the village, and seemingly guarded by two clan members, Mamamaril and Kamao. Malaya opted to use her bow to shoot down the cages, while Gyatso used airbending to cushion their fall.[20] The plan worked, but the earthbenders immediately fled, while Mamamaril and Kamao attacked the Air Nomad. Before Malaya could stop the company members or aid her comrade, however, she was attacked by Amihan. As it turned out, the clan had not executed the company members because they were bait to lure out Roku's allies, as Ulo had realized that Malaya had gone rogue and abandoned her people's ways. Amihan and Malaya fought a fierce duel just as their pet gorilla-tarsier also did, but the clan airbender was eventually too injured to keep going. She was saved and carried away by her gorilla-tarsier. Meanwhile, Gyatso defeated Mamamaril and Kamao.[21]
Afterward, Roku's friends followed the fleeing company members, only to discover the Lambak village largely destroyed. Even though Yuming and Qixia had urged restraint, the remaining earthbending mercenaries had wanted revenge for the actions of the natives and used their bending to devastate the settlement before continuing their flight. Though Malaya wanted to immediately follow the eartbenders, Gyatso urged her to instead help him to try aid the surviving clan members. She agreed, and the two indeed managed to save many people who had been trapped under rubble or hurt.[22]
While Roku's comrades were aiding the people at the destroyed village, they were surprised by the arrival of Sozin, Dalisay, and Kozaru on eel hounds. The prince had come to save Roku, having finally realized that the enhanced bending did not truly work, and he had thus put his friend into harm's way for no good reason. Sozin haughtily demanded that Gyatso and Malaya bring him to the Avatar, and they agreed, as both realized that refusal would be met with violence. However, Malaya quickly understood that Sozin's personality hid a deep evil, and thus resolved to murder him to eliminate his influence on the Avatar.[22][23]
Roku's friends and Sozin's team thus ventured together toward the entrance of the cave, encountering the company mercenaries on the way. Despite Gyatso's attempts at de-escalation, a battle quickly erupted, and after hard fighting the earthbenders were defeated.[24] This allowed the group to enter the cave, but Sozin declared that only he and Malaya would go inside over Dalisay's protests and Gyatso's concerns. The native agreed to the demand, as she wanted to have a chance to kill the prince without the peaceful Air Nomad's interference.[25]
Duel in the Sacred Cave and Malaya's death[]
While the various factions fought on the surface, Ulo had led Roku deep into the underground caverns of the island. The clan elder claimed that they would conduct a ritual to channel the spirit's energy into the Avatar to safeguard it for the future, though Roku correctly assumed that Ulo actually intended to use the Avatar as a medium to channel the energy into himself instead.[26][27] Once inside the correct cavern, Ulo initiated the ritual, while Roku meditated and tried to contact the spirit. However, the Avatar's attempts at communication failed, and the clan elder soon tried to strike him down. Using his knowledge of airbending, Roku managed to win their duel even though Ulo proved to be a mighty waterbender.[27][28][29]
Once the clan leader was unconscious, Roku returned to meditation and soon realized that "Yungib" had never existed. The Lambak Clan had always believed that they were using the energy gifted by a protective spirit, but in reality the local spirit energy was the result of a battle of two entities in the Spirit World. Talking to "Yungib" was futile, as one was talking to a battlefield, not an individual.[29]
Meanwhile, Sozin and Malaya neared the cavern where Roku and Ulo were located, whereupon the native decided to strike. However, the prince had already realized her intent and murdered her before she could achieve her goal.[30] Sozin then entered the cavern, discovering Roku still in trance, while Ulo had awakened and prepared to kill the Avatar. To save his friend, Sozin tried to unleash new firebending powers which he had recently learned,[31] but instead caused an explosion that rendered him unconscious. Startled by the explosion, Roku returned to the present moment and quickly intervened to prevent his friend from being killed by Ulo. Fearing for Sozin's life and reminded of his powerlessness when his brother Yasu had died years prior, Roku then angrily unleashed the full might of his firebending against Ulo. The attack killed the clan elder, but also disrupted the cave and caused a collapse,[32] though Roku used earthbending and thus protected them from the worst.[33] As the cave ceiling's collapsed, this allowed Gyatso and Sister Disha, who had arrived shortly before at the island, to swoop in and save the Avatar and the prince.[34]
Aftermath[]
After the collapse of the cave, an aid mission of Air Nomads led by Sister Disha provided aid to the Lambak Clan. Sozin claimed that Malaya had been killed by falling rocks during the cave's collapse, a claim which was believed by Roku.[6] Regardless, the Avatar decided to confront his friend about the lies he had told to bring him to the island; Sozin skillfully used the opportunity to admit to some falsehoods and ask for forgiveness, thereby preventing the Avatar to grow doubtful over the even darker truths. Regardless, Roku demanded that the prince showcase his regret by allowing the Air Nomads to build an air temple in the Fire Nation, as he had come to like their beliefs and wished them to be widely shared, and to allow the Lambak Clan to keep its independence in at least some way. The prince agreed to both demands.[35][36] Over the following time, Roku returned to his airbending training, now with greater success and Gyatso as his first true Avatar companion.[37]
With his reputation as a forceful and competent heir growing among the Fire Nation's people, Sozin was able to push Fire Lord Taiso to both open the Fire & Air Center of Learning and make Lambak Island a "special region", allowing the locals continued self-rule. However, the prince soon started to exploit Lambak Island's special status to effectively turn it into his private fiefdom: Dalisay had discovered that the spirit-infused ore around the destroyed sacred cave could be used to make high-quality steel, and Sozin thus set up a mining operation with the Lambak Clan's aid to conduct secret research and grow the Fire Nation's industrial as well as military might. Meanwhile, the Western Kingdom Trading Company's expedition had been sent back to the Earth Kingdom to stand trial. When the company members informed Queen Guo Xun of Lambak Island's value as source of special ore, however, they were pardoned. Upon learning of Guo Xun's interest in the matter, Sozin decided to actively seek for more source of special ore around the world.[36]
References[]
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