Hua

:This article is about the ex-slave. For the Paper Lantern Gang member, see Hua (criminal).
Hua was an Earth Kingdom citizen who was enslaved by the Fifth Nation in the early 3rd century BG. She was ultimately rescued by adventurers and Jianzhu's guardsmen after the Fall of the Fifth Nation.
== History ==
Hua and her younger brother Yong originally lived in Zeizhou Province, at the coast of the Eastern Sea. The two were among the many Earth Kingdom natives who were kidnapped and enslaved by Fifth Nation pirates during Tagaka's grand raid of Zeizhou. She and her brother were separated during their captivity, and Hua suffered repeated abuse at the hands of the corsairs, becoming especially terrified of Tagaka.
In 296 BG, the Fifth Nation organized a meeting with "Avatar" Yun on an iceberg near the South Pole, officially to sign a new treaty which would limit its raiding in return for minor concessions. When the time for the signing arrived, Hua was part of Tagaka's small entourage, carrying a bag and moving with downcast eyes. After Tagaka had raised a small ice table, Hua placed cloth on it and prepared cushions as seats. She then carefully prepared the signing itself by setting brushes, a pincher with water, and a slab inkstone in accordance to the very demanding Pianhai method. After finishing, she silently stepped back and waited nearby as Tagaka and Yun sat down, checked, and discussed the treaty.
After some discussions, Yun ultimately made the verbal demand that the Fifth Nation had to free all slaves from Zeizhou Province. He would only sign the treaty under this condition. To everyone's surprise, Tagaka casually agreed. Upon hearing this, Hua's stoic demeanor broke and she collapsed, joyfully sobbing as she realized this would mean the end of her enslavement. The Fifth Nation pirates let her weep, while Tagaka outlined that she was willing to agree to the slaves' liberation as the entire meeting was just a trap anyway. She then killed one of Yun's followers, Amak, whereupon the meeting erupted into chaos. Fifth Nation pirates emerged from the ground and dragged Yun's followers into the ice using waterbending, while the pirate queen and Yun began to duel. Meanwhile, two of Tagaka's guards grabbed Hua and dragged her away. In the anarchy, Hua eventually escaped and ran for her life, ultimately hiding for the rest of the battle in one of the iceberg's caves.
She stayed in her hideout even after the fighting had mostly ceased and she increasingly suffered from hypothermia, terrified at possibly being recaptured by the Fifth Nation pirates. After some time, however, she noticed someone moving into her cave. Believing the intruders to be pirates, she initially started to apologize for running before realizing that the newcomers were followers of Yun. Noticing that she was dangerously close to dying of the cold, the group provided Hua with blankets and provided some first aid. Weakened, she did not talk much, but smiled in gratitude at her saviors. The group informed Hua that the Fifth Nation had been defeated in the battle and Tagaka had been captured; they were part of the rescue operations that were seeking to save the pirates' captives.
Eventually, Hua became strong enough to move again. However, as the group were trying to bring her to their boat, they were intercepted by some Fifth Nation stragglers. The corsairs, having mentally suffered from their defeat and the cold, were overjoyed to see Hua, with one declaring that they had found "our missing servant... and some entertainment". Yun's followers defeated the pirates, whereupon Hua expressed mixed feelings; she was grateful that they had saved her, but also worried that Tagaka would punish her for resisting recapture. She had to reassure herself that the pirate queen was gone before the party continued the remaining way to the ship.
Once the group arrived at the boat, Hua encountered another rescued survivor. The latter told Hua that she had befriended her brother during their captivity. Though the other survivor was not sure where Yong was by this point, she stated that he given her a message for Hua should they ever meet. Before the girl could reveal Yong's words, however, another group of pirate holdouts led by Taliriktug attacked the group to capture the rescue mission's ship. One of Jianzhu's guardsmen and the rest of the party repelled the attack, yet Taliriktug initially refused to retreat, seemingly willing to die with all of his followers in battle. Seeing this, Hua reluctantly addressed her former captors, telling them that "Tagaka is g-gone. You're all hungry, t-tired, and injured, b-but you're all s-still alive... D-don't... Don't throw that away". Somehow, the ex-slave's words moved Taliriktug, and he ordered a retreat.
Finally safe, Hua and the other surviving captive resumed their conversation. The girl told Hua that Yong would meet her "under the fruiting tree" if they had regained their freedom. With a bit of hope at finding her lost brother restored, Hua walked onto the rescue mission's ship to be brought to safety.
== Relatives ==
* Yong (younger brother)
== Appearances ==
=== Chronicles of the Avatar ===
==== The Rise of Kyoshi ====
=== Avatar games ===
* Avatar: Generations
== Trivia ==
* Kyoshi thought that Hua had the "sunburned mien of a fisherwife"; accordingly, she was unsure whether Hua had learned the high-class Pianhai method in a literature school (which would suggest a urban, upper-class origin) or whether Tagaka had "beat[en] the proccess into her".
* It is unclear whether Hua's brother Yong is the same person as Captain Yong, a man who rose to command the Anti-Corruption Task Force a few years after the Fall of the Fifth Nation.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Wan Shi Tong's Adventure Guide, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 79.
== References ==
Category:A to Z
Category:Avatar: Generations characters
Category:Characters
Category:Earth Kingdom characters
Category:Kyoshi novels characters
Category:Minor characters (Kyoshi novels)