5 things I learned about the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender after reading The Reckoning of Roku
I love the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender (although I love The Legend of Korra more). So much so that I would hate for the story to end with the TV series.
Fortunately, this is not the case, as there are plenty of side stories that enrich the knowledge already available.
I have already talked extensively about the comicsas well as the four novels that Chronicles of the Avatar series with Kyoshi and Yangchenand now, with the relatively recent publication of the latest novel, The reckoning with Rokuby Randy Ribay, I learned even more about the world of Avatar. Come and listen.
Oh, and there are some major spoilers for the latest novel ahead.
Roku had a twin brother
I’ll be honest with you. When I found out there was going to be a book about Avatar Roku, I was a little upset. That’s because I never really cared about his character, despite his importance in this universe (he was the Avatar before Aang, after all).
Kyoshi was of course a great first choice to start a book seriesand Yangchen was an interesting second choice. Still, I was hoping we would learn more about Kuruk next. We learned a lot about him in the Kyoshi novels, and he turned out to be a tragic figure, but I was keen to know even more about him.
Instead, we got Roku, and I thought it would be a boring read. But I was wrong, because one of the most interesting new pieces of information we learn in this novel is that Roku had a twin brother named Yasu, who was born just seconds after him. This is fascinating because Sozin was also born on the same day as Roku (albeit a year earlier), which simply means that he was also born on the same day as Yasu.
Just imagine: Any of them could have been the Avatar, and we learn that Roku thinks about this often, unsure if he was the right choice when it came to breathing his spirit into the Avatar.
We also learn that something tragic happened to Yasu, which greatly affects Roku’s outlook on life and also ties him closer to Gyatso, which I’ll discuss next.
Roku and Gyatso had a difficult relationship at first
I honestly didn’t like it all in the cast the live action Avatar series on Netflix, but I really liked Lim Kay Siu, who plays Gyatso, one of Aang’s oldest and best friends and also his mentor.
Gyatso is an interesting character because Aang remembers him before he ran away from his role as the Avatar, and he took on many firebenders during the invasion of the Air Temple. Aang believes he is the greatest airbender he has ever known.
So it was great to learn more about his backstory in this book, as we learn that the relationship between him and Roku, who later became good friends, was very difficult at first.
One thing that Gyatso and Roku have in common is that they both lost someone important. Roku lost his brother, while Gyatso lost his sister Yama.
This sense of loss brings the two characters together over the course of the novel, but at first Gyatso doesn’t particularly like Roku because he thinks he is arrogant, and Roku doesn’t like Gyatso because he tells the truth about Sozin and Roku doesn’t want to hear it.
It is only because of events that bring the two together that they ultimately become the kind of friends we see in the series’ flashbacks.
Gyatso initially had problems with airbending
The way Aang talks about Gyatso, you’d think he’d always been a master of airbending, but as the novel progresses (which is now canon, mind you), we learn that he had so much trouble with airbending that he couldn’t even ride a flying bison comfortably.
This is especially fascinating when we learn that this is because he has not yet fully grieved over his sister’s death. It is because he was carrying so much inside of him and not sharing his grief that he had all but forgotten about airbending. And that is what I love about these novels. Sure, the Avatar Comics often expand the world by offering side storiesbut I believe that novels are the material that really expands knowledge.
I know that certain bending techniques require special concentration, but I didn’t know that loss and grief can actually rob you of your bending ability if you haven’t processed them properly.
This story doesn’t directly address the five stages of grief, but it does touch on them, which is something we never really see in the series. At least not to that extent.
Thanks to Sozin, the Fire Nation has (re)learned firebending techniques such as lightning bending
Until the end Avatar: The Last Airbenderwe saw all sorts of unique and fascinating bending abilities. Some of the coolest ones that came out of firebending were fire breathing and lightning bending. These were obviously some of the most advanced forms and it was cool to see them throughout the show.
What I never knew, however (because it wasn’t revealed until this novel), was that one reason these techniques were made available to the characters in the series was because Sozin learned them on a trip to an ancient library.
He made it his mission to research ancient knowledge in order to prepare himself for his position as the next Fire Lord, but we see his quest for these new abilities come to an abrupt end when he learns that his friend Roku may be in danger.
He only learns a fraction of what there is to know about the ancient techniques of firebending, and it’s the skills he learned that we actually see in the show, and that’s so cool!
Sozin also emotionally ended his friendship with Roku long before his betrayal
Finally, one of the most tragic stories in Avatar: The Last Airbenderis the way Sozin betrays his “friend” Roku at a volcano and lets him die in his quest for world domination.
The way the story is presented in the series, we learn that Roku had doubts about Sozin when he realized his friend was encroaching on another’s territory. But Sozin’s true betrayal by simply letting Roku die was especially disappointing because we felt that Sozin really was his friend.
At the end of the novel, however, we learn that Sozin had already betrayed Roku, at least in his heart. It is not that he thought, “One day I will leave his ass at a volcano and see how He think about it.” Nevertheless, in the end, Sozin believes that Roku, unlike Avatar Szeto, has already stopped putting the Fire Nation first and is instead becoming an Avatar of all nations, something that the extreme nationalist Sozin simply cannot stand.
So he decides to keep up appearances as Roku’s best buddy, but ultimately he is not his true friend. He had given up on that long before his ultimate betrayal.
That’s all I learned. But what do you think? Do you also want to delve deeper into the story of Avatar? More news on all topics Avatar (How what we know about season 2 the Netflix series), be sure to check back here often.
