View source for Avatar:Saiful

{{Imported Content
|source=Avatar Wiki
|url=https://avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Saiful
|date=2025-12-22
|license=CC-BY-SA
}}

{{Icons|Earth Kingdom}}

{{Quote|earth|He was a capable warrior, unafraid to kill for pay. A mercenary who swore loyalty as long as the wages were good. When you got right down to it, there was really no difference between him and a ''daofei''. But lying was something he needed more practice at.|[[Jianzhu]] thinking about Saiful's character as he realizes he works for [[Hui]].<ref name="TRoK22">{{Cite Kyoshi|122}}</ref>}}

{{Character infobox
| name           = Saiful
| nation         = earth
| nationality    = Eastern Peninsula, [[Earth Kingdom]]
| ethnicity      = Earth Kingdom
| age            = 
| birth          = 
| death          = 296 [[History of the World of Avatar#Dates|BG]] <small>(according to [[Jianzhu]])</small>
| eyes           = "Bright"<ref name="TRoK22" />
| gender         = Man
| pronouns       = He/him<ref name="TRoK22" />
| allies         = [[Hui]]
| enemies        = [[Jianzhu]] and [[Jianzhu's guardsmen|his guardsmen]], ''[[daofei]]''
| weapon         = Dao <small>(single-edged sword)</small>
| fightingstyle  = [[Swordsmanship training|Swordsmanship]]
| profession     = * Guard
* Mercenary
| position       = 
| affiliation    = [[Avatar mansion]] <small>(formerly)</small>
| appearance     = "[[Conclusions]]" {{oa}}
| lastappearance = 
}}'''Saiful''' was a [[Jianzhu's guardsmen|guard]] at [[Jianzhu]]'s [[Avatar mansion|estate]] and a double-agent working for [[Hui]].<ref name="TRoK22" />

== History ==
Saiful stemmed from the [[Earth Kingdom]]'s Eastern Peninsula. He was eventually recruited by Hui and sent to infiltrate [[Jianzhu]]'s household and find out what happened to the [[Avatar]]. He was appointed as one of the two guards who would accompany Jianzhu north on a herd of [[eel hound]]s. When his counterpart was killed in an ambush, he proved his talent to the [[Earth Sages]] by holding his own in the attack. The earthbender complimented the guard on his skill, before the pair discovered a hidden passage to [[Hujiang]] through the mountains.

Once the guard and sage reached the abandoned ''[[daofei]]'' outpost, Saiful pointed out the dead [[shirshu]] in the street. Saiful warned Jianzhu as he approached an inhabited building, but the other man ignored his advice, ordering him to patrol the street. In the interim, Saiful sent a [[dragon hawk]] to Hui.

After a short amount of time, Saiful approached his master, asking him if he found anything inside, but was told that there was "just a corpse". Jianzhu reminded Saiful that he had not asked him to send a messenger hawk. Although the mercenary lied that he was relaying ahead for supplies, Jianzhu made an educated guess that Saiful had written to Hui due to the chamberlain's business in the Eastern Peninsula. The mention of Hui's name let loose a flood of tells in Saiful's body language, and while Jianzhu continued to voice his suspicions about Saiful's true motives, Saiful began to raise his ''dao'' to attack Jianzhu, but he was defeated by the sage,<ref name="TRoK22" /><ref name="TRoK29">{{Cite Kyoshi|129}}</ref> who would later claim that Saiful had been killed in a ''daofei'' ambush. However, the young swordsman managed to cut Jianzhu on the underside of his chin, causing him a minor injury.<ref name="TRoK29" />

== Personality ==
Saiful was a skilled warrior and did not shy away from killing for [[Currency|money]]. He was a mercenary who swore loyalty to anyone as long as the money was right, and was willing to follow his orders without arguing. Saiful radiated a youthful optimism, which could also be mistaken for naivety. It meant a lot to him to receive praise and recognition from someone, but he was more reserved and polite than arrogant. Saiful was an enthusiastic young man who lacked the skill of persuasion and was prone to becoming nervous when asked. When there was a sign of danger, he tended to reach for his dao to arm himself.<ref name="TRoK29" />

== Abilities ==
Saiful was a swordsman who fought with a single-edged Dao sword and could defeat three opponents single-handedly and dodge various weapons. Saiful refused to give up in defeat and relied on his youthful reflexes and martial arts to get him through. He was also a skilled eel hound rider.<ref name="TRoK22" />

== Appearances ==
=== ''Chronicles of the Avatar'' ===
==== ''The Rise of Kyoshi'' ====
{{AppearKyoshi|122}}

== Trivia ==
* Saiful had the strong brow of Eastern Peninsula ancestry.<ref name="TRoK22" />
* Saiful's name stems from the word "sword" in Arabic,<ref name="Behind The Name">{{Cite web |url=https://www.behindthename.com/name/saiful|title=Saiful |date=December 8, 2017 |accessdate=October 6, 2020 |publisher=Behind The Name}}</ref> befitting his profession as hired guard.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[de:Saiful]]
[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Earth Kingdom characters]]
[[Category:Kyoshi novels characters]]
[[Category:Mercenaries and bounty hunters]]
[[Category:Minor characters (Kyoshi novels)]]
[[Category:Soldiers]]