Avatar:Chaeryu

"My father was an unintelligent boor, but during his rule the rains fell, the fields were green, and the fish were so plentiful you could pluck them from the seas by hand."

— Zoryu about Chaeryu's reign.

Chaeryu

Nationality	Fire Nation Capital, Fire Nation
Ethnicity	Fire Nation
Pronouns	He/him
Love interest	* Huazo (former mistress) Sulan (wife; deceased) Several other lovers
Nickname	"Chaeryu of the green fields"
Position	Fire Lord
Affiliation	* Fire Nation Fire Nation Royal Family
Allies	Fire Nation
Predecessor	Unknown, eventually Gonryu (as Fire Lord)
Successor	Zoryu (as Fire Lord)
First appearance	"Cultural Diplomacy" (mentioned only)
Last appearance	Epilogue (mentioned only)

Chaeryu was the ruler of the Fire Nation preceding Fire Lord Zoryu. Although he was physically strong and his reign was marked by bountiful harvests, Chaeryu was guided by his passions, easily influenced, and often acted impulsively. Though his wife was Sulan, he had numerous mistresses, most importantly Huazo. Chaeryu had two sons by two women belonging to two noble clans, eventually resulting in a succession conflict upon his death called the Camellia-Peony War.

History

As a teenager, Chaeryu fell in love with Lady Huazo of the Saowon clan, taking her as his mistress. They would often retreat from the pressures of the royal court, venturing to the countryside. Chaeryu greatly enjoyed these trips, as they distanced him from the weight and boredom of politics. However, he and Huazo would often bicker due to the trips, as Chaeryu took little interest in preparing them and thought that they would do fine without equipment. In contrast, his mistress believed it foolish to venture into the wilds without anything and often had to handle all of the preparations on her own.

Huazo was not well-received as a royal mistress, and Chaeryu became convinced that he could do better than her. During a royal garden party, he was introduced to Lady Sulan of the Keohso clan and was immediately smitten with her. Although this provided a great opportunity to end his relationship with Huazo, it turned into a great embarrassment for him when Huazo revealed she was pregnant with his first child, Chaejin.

Chaeryu later married Lady Sulan, who fell pregnant with Chaeryu's second son, Zoryu. Although she was considered a wonderful person by many, others believed her to be hopelessly naive. She convinced Chaeryu to name their son Zoryu, whose name used a character that was traditional to the Saowon clan. This caused great offense to the Saowon, but Sulan had not intended any slight, merely believing the name sounded nice. Sulan died giving birth to Zoryu. After Sulan's death, Chaeryu took several more mistresses, and Zoryu later suspected that he had many more illegitimate siblings. Unlike Huazo, however, none of these later mistresses had a high rank, and their children were not officially acknowledged as his.

Chaeryu's two known sons were playmates to each other in their youth. After ascending the throne, Chaeryu decided to exclude his illegitimate son from the royal family and the line of succession. Chaejin was sent away from court to live with the Fire Sages and Chaeryu forbade anyone to speak on the matter as long as he lived.

Despite being considered an unintelligent boor by his family, Chaeryu was remembered for the plentiful harvests during his reign, which came to an end after his death. People began referring to him as "Chaeryu of the green fields". Due to Chaejin's exclusion from the royal family, Chaeryu was succeeded by his second born son, Zoryu.

Physical description

Chaeryu's physical appearance was nearly matched by those of his sons, Chaejin and Zoryu.

Personality

Chaeryu possessed exceptional strength and was known for his "prodigious appetites" for women. He loved to travel, wanting to be as close to nature as possible, without the comforts of royal life. He let himself be carried away by his passions and gave in to his whims regardless of the political consequences. Despite his reputation for personal indulgence, Chaeryu was primarily associated with abundant harvests and resulting prosperity. Although Chaeryu himself did not play an important role in making it occur, he was nevertheless associated with this flourishing.

Relatives

Main article: Fire Nation Royal Family

First Fire Lord

Descendants

Yosor

Descendants

Gonryu

Descendants

Huazo

Chaeryu

Sulan

Chaejin

Zoryu

Descendants

Taiso

Hazei

Sozin

Zeisan

Yasu

Roku

Ta Min

Azulon

Ilah

Rina

Jinzuk

Iroh

Ozai

Ursa

Noren

Lu Ten

Zuko

Azula

Kiyi

Izumi

Iroh

Izumi's daughter

Preceded by Unknown

Heir to the Fire Lord c. 4th century BG

Succeeded by Zoryu

Preceded by Unknown; eventually Gonryu

Fire Lord c. 4th century BG

Succeeded by Zoryu