Avatar:History of Roku (66 BG)
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| Roku's main article |
| History |
| Early life (82 BG - 67 AG) First mission as Avatar (66 BG) Avatar journey (66 BG - c. 55 BG) Later life (c. 55 BG - 12 BG) |
| Relationships |
| Roku's relationships |
| Other media |
| Roku in the Netflix live-action series |
The year 66 BG marked the official beginning of Roku's Avatar journey and his first involvement in major conflicts of importance. Upon to this point, Roku had lived in ignorance of being the Avatar, growing up as a Fire Nation noble and best friend of Crown Prince Sozin. Thus, he felt conflicted regarding his loyalties as well as his competence as the Avatar, and greatly struggled with the start of his airbending training. Furthermore, his powers and self-perception were tested as he was drawn into a struggle for a mysterious island alongside a new companion, Gyatso.
Sixteenth birthday and identification as the Avatar
Just as in previous years, Roku celebrated his sixteenth birthday in 66 BG alongside Sozin - whose birthday was on the same date - with a great party thrown for the pair at the Fire Nation Royal Palace. As they descended a stairway before the guests, Roku became distracted when he noticed Ta Min in the crowd. Embarrassed and insecure due to his crush on her, he stumbled, only for Sozin to grab him and restore his balance.[1]
Before the festivities could proceed, a group of Fire Sages unexpectedly arrived. To Roku's complete shock, the older men declared that they had come to announce his identity as the new Avatar. As everyone around him quickly bowed to him,[1] Roku initially assumed the sages had made a mistake.[2][3] He voiced his concerns later on, citing previous cases of falsely declared Avatars, but the Fire Sages scoffed that their identification methods were flawless.[3]
Following Roku's identification as the Avatar, great celebrations were held for him in the Fire Nation Capital. Having previously been a high-ranking but relatively unremarkable noble, the young man was quickly overwhelmed by the implications of his new status, with people approaching him to seek aid and favors. On one such occasion, Roku was cornered by a clan head in the Royal Palace gardens, the man wanting to couple Roku with his much younger daughter, much to the displeasure of both the girl as well the Avatar. Roku was too nice to openly reject the man's offers, but was "saved" by the arrival of Sozin, who claimed that Fire Lord Taiso wanted to talk to the Avatar. Thus, the two friends managed to excuse themselves.[2]
Roku and Sozin retreated from the party to the rooftop of a nearby building to watch the upcoming fireworks. There, the friends started some friendly bickering before engaging in a mock duel. Once again, Roku lost his footing, whereupon Sozin grabbed him and saved him from falling. Afterward, Roku voiced his great doubts about being the Avatar, disbelieving his ability to master the role's responsibilities. Sozin tried to cheer him up, and eventually recommended that Roku should do the same as he did: Put up a confident façade, even when feeling afraid and insecure. The two then rejoined the party.[2]
Not long after, Roku was told by the Fire Sages to begin preparing for his official departure from the Fire Nation and the start of his Avatar training. However, the sages also informed him that he was not allowed to bring any personal possessions, as the Avatar did not need material goods. The young Avatar retreated into a room, and dejectedly pondered his situation until Sozin arrived. After Roku told his friend about the Fire Sages's claim, Sozin gave him a gift: the headpiece worn by the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, hoping that he was at least allowed to have that. Roku would treasure and wear the artifact for the rest of his life.[1] Unbeknownst to Roku, Sozin had been secretly ordered by Taiso to gift the headpiece, as this would constantly remind Roku that he was bound to the Fire Nation, and, by extension, the throne.[2]
Afterward, Roku attended the official ceremony where the Fire Nation elite said goodbye to him. Heeding Sozin's advice, the young Avatar put on a brave face and managed the proceedings well despite feeling miserable.[2] He subsequently left the Fire Nation for the Southern Air Temple, where he began his airbending training under Sister Disha.[4]
Early training under Sister Disha
Roku initially struggled to adjust to life at the Southern Air Temple, since it lacked many of the luxuries and comforts he had taken for granted as a member of the Fire Nation's nobility. Notably, he was assigned a small, plain room indistinguishable from the other parts of the temple, rather than the more lavish quarters that were traditionally reserved for the Avatar. He later learned that Disha had insisted on such, and interpreted it as her attempting to teach him humility.[4] He also encountered a young Air Nomad monk named Gyatso at the air temple, as the boy was also mentored by Disha. The Avatar learned that Gyatso suffered from a block in his airbending, though did not try to actually get to know him.[3]
To Roku's surprise, Disha did not immediately begin instructing him in airbending following his arrival at the temple, instead having him accompany her on various relief missions undertaken by the Air Nomads, where he learned more practical skills such as mending clothes, cooking food, treating wounds, and repairing buildings.[4] On one such trip, Roku badly botched a speech which he was supposed to hold at a Water Tribe village, embarrassing himself by not correctly pronouncing the settlement's name.[3]
On another trip, taking place three months after he had left the Fire Nation, Roku assisted in helping a village in the southwest Earth Kingdom that had been destroyed by a typhoon. As he and Disha arrived and took in the scale of the devastation, he asked her why the villagers did not simply move elsewhere, to which Disha explained that many of the younger villagers had already left for the nearby cities, while those who remained did not have the means to do the same, and would likely not want to leave their home even if they could have done so. Roku asked what would happen once the village's older generation passed on, with Disha suggesting that the village would cease to exist when that time came, before claiming that everything in the world was temporary when she noticed Roku was unsatisfied with her answer.[4]
During the mission, Roku had his work on building a new house complimented by Disha. Roku replied that he could have done more if she had taught him airbending, but Disha responded that one who wished to fly had to learn to leave the ground first. Roku asked if these lessons would commence after they had returned to the Southern Air Temple, Disha replied that they had already begun, causing Roku to laugh. He claimed they had been doing nothing besides partaking in relief missions, and stated with frustration that he was not here to train to be a servant, much to Disha's disappointment.[4]
The Air Nomad asked Roku to walk with her through the rebuilt village. As they did so, Roku questioned why the Air Nomads did not do more to help others, before proposing the establishment of a multinational fund that could be used for both disaster relief and developing struggling communities throughout the world. Disha showed interest in the proposition at first, but when she pressed Roku on important details, such as who would manage the funds, who would chose which projects would be approved and how, Roku realized the scale and complexity of his proposal. Disha explained that he still thought like a Fire National, and thus he was not yet ready to airbend. Roku replied that he was a Fire National, but Disha corrected him with the fact that he was the Avatar, while showing disappointment that he had failed to grasp her intended lesson.[4]
Disha's criticism caused Roku to feel ashamed, with the Avatar starting to wonder if she regretted becoming his airbending master. The nun then spoke to him in a softened tone, explaining that he had to see himself as a spirit of no nation if he was to be a good Avatar, while also assuring him that Fire Avatars like Szeto had traditionally struggled to do such. Afterward, she joined a group of children for a swim at the nearby beach, inviting Roku to join them as another kind of lesson. The young Avatar, still committed to Fire Nation rules of propriety, could not bring himself to also go swimming in his undergarments. Regardless, he envied Disha and the children for their ability to act so freely.[4]
Roku subsequently retreated to a palm tree near the village, spending the rest of the evening to allegedly mediate alone. In truth, he spent his time reading Jinpa's The Lives of the Avatar, often pondering the tale of Yun the "False Avatar" as he feared that he too might be a misidentified fraud. Dejected over these thoughts, he again tried to airbend a small leaf to no avail. His attempt was spotted by Gyatso who mocked Roku over the pathetic display. Knowing of Gyatso's own issues with airbending, Roku responded by cruelly asking the boy to demonstrate "how it's done". The two continued their bickering, with Gyatso eventually revealing that Disha had requested the young Fire Nation noble to hold another speech at the nearby village before the relief group departed.[3]
When Roku returned to the village, Disha unsuccessfully attempted to reassure him before he held a badly prepared, uninspiring, and extremely short speech. Receiving some polite applause, the young Avatar subsequently asked his master again to begin regular airbending training as his skill in public speaking was poor, suggesting he could be an Avatar who did more with his actions. In response, Disha told him that both actions and words were enabled by breath, and that both should be considered important.[3]
Ta Min's visit at the Southern Air Temple
Disha's group subsequently returned to the Southern Air Temple, where Roku politely if not entirely earnestly answered the common quests of the locals monks regarding his airbending training. Afterward, he retreated to his quarters to rest where he received his recent mail, including a great amount of news and requests from friends, family, officials and needy people. The mail was delivered alongside a note by Disha who asked Roku not to read any of the letters in order to learn detachment, an important element in his training. After musing Disha's request, he opted to discard it and read his mail.[3]
A few days later, Roku was sweeping the air temple's crematorium when he was visited by Abbot Rabten. They engaged in a bit of smalltalk, with the Avatar revealing his unease to be in a place so strongly related to death, whereupon the abbot outlined the Air Nomads' view on the nature of death and the continuity of existence beyond life. Rabten eventually revealed that he had actually come to tell Roku about a visitor to the temple, namely Ta Min. Stunned that his crush had come to the remote temple to speak to him, the Avatar immediately brushed aside Rabten's comment that Disha had asked Roku to politely refuse to talk to the noblewoman. Instead, Roku told Rabten that Ta Min could meet him at the temple's Floating Garden.[5]
When the noblewoman arrived at the meeting place, Roku was overjoyed to have an actual conversation with her, and the two initially started to talk about the Avatar's new Air Nomad attire, family situation and airbending training. Finding the latter topic problematic, Roku gently redirected by asking about Ta Min's life after she had recently graduated from university. She shared her frustrations about how her father was refusing to allow her to contribute to their clan's business dealings, and was instead trying to marry her off to the royal family. Initially frightened that he might have lost his crush to an arranged marriage - and that such a marriage could see her paired with Sozin - the Avatar was calmed when Ta Min outlined her strong opposition to such a thing. This also allowed her to transition the conversation to the actual reason for her presence: She wanted to work as a diplomat, and Sozin had offered to support her career choice despite her father's opposition if she agreed to deliver a message to Roku.[5]
Roku asked about the message, and Ta Min explained that Sozin had learned of a remote Fire Island that had allegedly been occupied by an Earth Kingdom force, and that he wanted Roku to convince the Earth Kingdom to leave peacefully. As Roku pondered the request, he asked Ta Min's opinion on the matter. Despite being Sozin's agent, the noblewoman earnestly outlined her own assessment of the situation, expressing the belief that the Avatar should only intervene if no threat of violence existed to avoid an international incident. The Avatar continued to think about the request, weighing Ta Min's arguments, his own national pride, and Sister Disha's probable viewpoints; he eventually concluded that he had to turn down Sozin, feeling doubtful he could do as his old friend asked without making the situation worse. Regardless, Roku decided to invite the noblewoman to spend a few more days at the temple for sightseeing and to explore its great library, and she happily accepted before retreating.[5]
Having partially overheard the conversation due to meditating nearby, Disha subsequently approached Roku and expressed her approval of his decision. Initially excited about this praise, Roku was disheartened when Disha pointed out that he had used the words "our people" and "our nation" when referring to the Fire Nation during the conversation with Ta Min, indicating that he was still not ready to begin his proper airbending training.[5]