Natsuo Island

Natsuo IslandAvatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 18. is one of the eastern islands of the Fire Islands archipelago, and the namesake of the Natsuo Island chain. It is situated in the United Republic of Nations, close to Crescent Island in the Fire Nation and Chaisee's island.
== History ==
=== Early history ===
Though part of the outer Fire Islands, the Natsuo Island chain had few connections to the Fire Nation. Its native population had no known links to the Fire Nation ancient clans. National boundaries were traditionally considered blurry on the Natsuo Island chain with neither Fire Nation nor Earth Kingdom interested in ruling the area.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 55. Accordingly, the islands' population was also ethnically mixed and consisted of firebenders, earthbenders, and nonbenders alike.
=== Unanimity project ===
In the early era of Yangchen, work was hard to come by on the Natsuo Island chain. Accordingly, many locals were attracted to a visiting unmarked ship which offered good income. The ship came to recruit people across the archipelago, with benders standing to earn more.
Many of these Natsuo Islanders were taken to an unknown, uninhabited island near the archipelago to work on a secret project, "Unanimity", to produce a new technique that could place powers in the hands of the shang merchants. These efforts were primarily directed by Zongdu Chaisee, who wished to attain her own true fiefdom with the power such a weapon would bring her. After failed projects involving herbalism and earthbenders, the shangs' teams eventually managed to produce the world's first known combustionbenders by chaining firebenders underwater and have them fight against the surrounding pressure. These combustionbenders would be subjected to mental conditioning to ensure that Chaisee would have complete control of them. Those who survived were enlisted in the Unanimity project, with the plot for the shangs to gain control soon underway. The shangs' experiments also produced chi-blockers, though they were ignored in favor of the combustionbenders.
In year 17 of the era of Yangchen, the local overseers suddenly departed from the secret island. New recruits stopped coming and supply ships also ceased to arrive, meaning that the abandoned trainees quickly faced starvation. Many trainees attempted to escape using rotting longboats, but were probably killed in a storm. The remainder starved to death. The only survivors were Raitei, a firebender boy in the combustionbender project, and Hsien, a nonbender girl in the chi-blocker project. The two children survived by living on breadnuts. Avatar Yangchen, Kavik, and Jujinta would eventually encounter the children in their investigation of Unanimity. Raitei and Nujian were killed in a scuffle with one another when the firebender realized he could become a powerful asset of the shangs, while Hsien was put in the custody of the Western Air Temple.
=== Gaining importance and integration into the United Republic ===
After the Unanimity project, neither the Earth Kingdom nor Fire Nation laid claim to Natsuo Island for centuries, until a discovery of a large cache of ore on the island was made during the era of Roku. With this discovery, Fire Lord Sozin claimed the island as territory of the Fire Nation, as his citizens needed it after the Crescent Island disaster.
Earth King Jialun knew Sozin's posturing only served his nation's growing industry rather than his people, and thus was not willing to let the Fire Nation take the island without opposition. In order to goad Sozin into making the first move toward aggression, he sent military vessels on training exercise to around the island's coast, waiting for the Fire Lord's move.
After the Hundred Year War, Natsuo Island became part of the United Republic of Nations. The island became home to a spacious United Forces naval facility, where most recruits were trained.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Republic City, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 29.
== Notable figures ==
* Hsien
* Raitei
== See also ==
* Fire Islands
== Notes ==
== References ==
de:Natsuo-Insel
Category:A to Z
Category:Fire Nation
Category:Islands
Category:Locations
Category:United Republic