Ran and Shaw

Ran and Shaw are two ancient dragons revered by the Sun Warriors as the original masters of firebending. At the end of the Hundred Year War, they were the last known surviving dragons, a species nearly hunted to extinction by firebenders after Fire Lord Sozin began the tradition of killing them for glory. Visited by many people throughout history, the dragons only deemed a few people outside the Sun Warrior tribe to be worthy; those deemed unworthy were customarily destroyed.
== History ==
Ran and Shaw were once visited by Iroh, who was deemed worthy of learning the true essence of firebending. The two dragons taught Iroh temperance in all things as they used their bodies to form the taijitu before him, the universal form of yin and yang. After he returned to the Fire Nation, Iroh claimed that he had fought and slain the last surviving dragon, so as to preserve the secret of Ran and Shaw's existence from the rest of the world, so that they would be left in peace.Avatar: The Last Airbender: Legacy of the Fire Nation, page 17.
The dragons were later visited by Prince Zuko and Avatar Aang after the former's firebending became weak. Setting out to learn the original form of firebending from Ran and Shaw, they journeyed to the cave of the masters, each carrying a piece of the Eternal Flame, which they would present to the masters as an offering. However, both their flames were extinguished before they could be presented. Summoned by the Sun Warriors, the dragons flew out of their caves and began circling Aang and Zuko. After observing their movements for a while, Aang deduced that the dragons wanted them to perform the "Dancing Dragon", an ancient firebending form, with them. Ran and Shaw performed the technique in unison with the young firebenders and, after deeming them worthy, showed them the "true" meaning of firebending by surrounding the duo with a colorful spiral of fire. Having passed on their knowledge, the dragons retreated back into their respective lairs.
After the Hundred Year War, Ran and Shaw had at least one descendant, Druk.DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan & Dos Santos, Joaquim (December 2, 2014). "Rebirth" commentary. Book Three: Change Blu-ray.
== Abilities ==
=== Firebending ===
Unlike the aggressive and hatred-fueled methods employed by most benders native to the Fire Nation during the Hundred Year War, Ran and Shaw practice a form of firebending that emphasizes the life-giving qualities of fire. They are able to communicate the true meaning of firebending through their multi-colored flames.
== Known apprentices ==
* Aang
* Iroh
* The Sun Warriors
* Zuko
== Appearances ==
=== Avatar: The Last Airbender ===
==== Book Three: Fire (火) ====
== Trivia ==
* Ran and Shaw are two of the only three known dragons left in the world, the other one being Druk.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 89.
* Ran () means "burn" or "ignite" in Chinese. Shaw, more correctly shāo (燒), means "burn" or "blaze". The characters can also be used together to mean "combustion", "flaming", or "kindle".Avatar Extras for "The Firebending Masters" on Nicktoons Network.
* Ran and Shaw are much larger in size than other known dragons, such as Roku's animal guide, Fang, Sozin's dragon, and the green dragon.
* Ran and Shaw circling around each other resemble the Taegeuk symbol, where the red half represents positive cosmic forces and the blue half represents the opposing negative cosmic forces, similar to how the spirits Tui and La symbolize Yin and Yang.
* Two similar dragons appeared in Zuko's nightmare while he suffered from illness. The blue dragon representing Azula was on Zuko's right, while the red dragon representing Iroh was on his left. Red and blue dragons also accompanied Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin, respectively.
* It is currently unknown which of the two dragons are Ran and Shaw respectively. Storyboards from "The Firebending Masters" released by series director Giancarlo Volpe would indicate, when referencing the dragons' positions in the episode's final animation, that Ran is the red dragon, and Shaw the blue. However, as the identifiers are on a storyboard sheet from an unspecified point in development, it is uncertain if these are canonically the dragons' names. Creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino noted in supplementary material that during the storyboarding process of creating episodes, similarly paired characters, such as Due and Tho or Lu and Gang, have had their names mistakenly mixed up by crew members in their drawings.DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan; Hedrick, Tim & Hamilton, Joshua (July 1, 2014). "Peacekeepers" commentary. Book Two: Spirits Blu-ray.
== References ==
== See also ==
* Dragon
* Fauna in the World of Avatar
de:Ran und Shao
es:Ran y Shaw
fr:Ran et Shaw
nl:Ran en Shao
pl:Ran i Shaw
ru:Ран и Шао
Category:A to Z
Category:Animal characters
Category:Characters
Category:Dragons
Category:Fauna
Category:Fire Nation characters
Category:Firebenders
Category:Firebending
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Category:Non-hybrid creatures
Category:Sun Warriors
Category:Teachers and instructors