| "Kyoshi didn't know what to make of the cruel, unusual man. He seemed to constantly need a powerful figure to tell him what to do." |
| — Kyoshi musing about Wai.[1] |
Wai was Mok's lieutenant and a leading figure in the Yellow Necks. A charismatic as well as brutal fanatic who was deeply spiritual, Wai strove to serve those he deemed exalted. At first, this meant following the Yellow Neck leader Xu Ping An, who Wai helped to free from imprisonment in 296 BG. Following Xu's death at the hands of Avatar Kyoshi, however, he began revering her.
History[]
Preparing the rescue of Xu Ping An[]
After the Yellow Necks were defeated at Zhulu Pass and massacred by Jianzhu, Wai worked with Mok to rebuild the order, as they were reorganized as the "Autumn Bloom Society". In 296 BG BG, Mok and Wai finally located Xu Ping An in the prisons of Governor Te Sihung.[3][4] The two consequently began to prepare a rescue mission, with Mok planning the venture and Wai rallying other daofei to their cause.
One day, Wai held a rally on the bazaar of Hujiang, preaching to an enraptured crowd. The following evening, he accompanied Mok to the lei tai duels, standing by his side in a barn's hayloft. Mok introduced his subordinate to the Flying Opera Company, who had newly arrived from Port Chameleon Bay, but Wai regarded the entire group with contempt. When Mok singled out Kyoshi for seeming blood-shy during the lei tai duel, Lek raised that the earthbender was tough when it mattered. In response, Mok made a signal with his finger, and Wai pulled out a knife, grabbing Lek by the hand and slashing him across the palm for his insolence. After Rangi climbed onto the fighting platform below, Wai eagerly waited on the firebender's moves as she defeated the reigning champion of the tournament.[3]
The following day, a shirshu attacked Hujiang. Mok's forces had to kill it, though suffered several losses. The Autumn Bloom Society's leader quickly discovered that the creature had been tracking the Flying Opera Company, and ordered Wai as well as several swordsmen to apprehend and question to group, though they managed to escape.[5] The Autumn Bloom Society subsequently abandoned Hujiang and moved toward Zigan Village, where Governor Te's palace was located.[6]
Restoration and collapse of the Yellow Necks[]
Several weeks later, the Autumn Bloom Society set up camp near Zigan. When Mok questioned Kyoshi and Rangi about the shirshu attack, Wai drew his knife, as Lek deflected the blame. As the young Si Wong tribesman spoke out of turn once more, Wai lunged at him, but Kyoshi caught his knife, pinned it to Mok's desk by Wai's wrist, and drew her fan, breaking the man's fingers in a single blow as she smashed it like a hammer on them. Wai was as shocked as the Flying Opera Company, and appeared to be numbed from pain by his sheer disbelief. Kyoshi bluffed that she had seen a poisonous insect, as Wai clutched his hand and bared his teeth at the young woman. When she offered to be taught a lesson of discipline on the lei tai after the mission was over, Mok laughed, declaring that she had made much progress since their last meeting.[6]
The attack on Governor Te's palace succeeded, as Kyoshi and her comrades rescued Xu Ping An. Nevertheless, Mok's troops suffered heavy losses and were prevented by the Flying Opera Company from actually capturing the mansion. Mok grew furious about the group changing their plans when they returned to the camp, though Wai was less eager to draw his knife, staring at Kyoshi warily and rubbing his bandaged hand. When Xu reprimanded Mok for having needed eight years to rescue him, Wai did not make a single move.[4]
Shortly afterward, the Yellow Necks stormed a nearby farm so that Xu could vent his pent-up anger at the local civilians. While the common fighters prepared to boil the male farmer alive, Mok and Wai took his wife and son hostage, waiting for Xu's further commands as he was starting to read a book that had been found at the farm. As Wai shoved the farmer's wife onto her hands and knees and exposed her throat, Kyoshi ordered them to stop, and Wai hesitated, remembering the woman breaking his hand. She insulted Xu and challenged him to a lei tai to the astonishment of those present. During the duel, Mok and Wai initially stood at Xu's corner of the makeshift fighting platform, the elevation hiding them from the chest down.[7] When Kyoshi unleashed the Avatar State, Wai and the other daofei were thrown back by an airbending tornado. After the Avatar killed the Yellow Neck leader, most daofei fled. In contrast, Wai stared at Kyoshi, his jaw agape, and completely reverent. With the voices of the other Avatars still in her throat, Kyoshi commanded Wai to leave as she returned to the ground. He promptly made the fist-over-hand gesture and bowed deeply. Wai then retreated into the fields with a few other reverent daofei, mostly the survivors of the Kang Shen sect.[1]
He subsequently reunited with Mok. In the course of the next year, the two migrated to Ba Sing Se's Lower Ring, where they set up a new crime group, the Triad of the Golden Wing. Having occupied the building block of Loongkau, Mok was eventually informed that someone was preparing to attack them. Wai consequently hid in a room next to Mok's office. When the assailant actually overcame the triad's defenses and cornered Mok, the crime boss called for Wai to strike. He then sprang from a door and would have killed the attacker, but recognized at the last moment that he was ambushing Avatar Kyoshi. Wai immediately stopped, bowed before her, and peacefully surrendered his weapons, much to Mok's consternation. All triad members were then arrested by the peace officers, Ba Sing Se's police,[8] and sent to prison along with Mok. The two criminals later intended to escape and form yet another version of the Yellow Necks after the failure of the Autumn Bloom Society.[2]
Physical description[]
Wai's face was deeply scarred and his nose had been severed, which he often covered up by putting a leather strap across his face.[3][8] Overall, he was described as "ugly"[3] and "wild-eyed man".[3]
Personality[]
Wai had no trouble resorting to violence as a form of punishment for insubordination, but his reverence for the Avatar sometimes trumped his loyalty to the Yellow Necks.[2] His passion for his "brotherhood", however, was carved into his spirit with deep grooves, and displayed a great passion while talking about his companions.[3]
Appearances[]
Chronicles of the AvatarThe Rise of Kyoshi
The Shadow of Kyoshi
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game |
References[]
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