Avatar:Om
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"It's a message, a philosophical puzzle. An offer to reconsider my way of thinking, or else malleable wood may find itself becoming something hard and set in its way. Should our mindset shift to stone, or shall we be worn down to dust?"
— Om about the Silver Fangs' secret message.[1]
Om was a professor at the medicine department at Ba Sing Se University by the late Hundred Year War. He also had covert connections to an opposition movement which was seeking to undermine the Conspiracy of Ba Sing Se.[1]
History
Om worked as a medicine professor at Ba Sing Se University by the late Hundred Year War, focusing his activity on research in the Library of Medical Studies. Over time, he made connections to Doctor Jan who ostensibly ran a simple apothecary,[1][2] but in reality was a leading member of the Silver Fangs. Om requested illegal and smuggled goods from Jan and the Silver Fangs, but the group gradually revealed its secret revolutionary motives to the old academic, including the opposition to Long Feng's dictatorship.[1][3] For some time, the contact person between Om and Jan was one of Jan's daughters.[1][2]
One day in spring 100 AG, Om's work at the Library of Medical Studies was interrupted by one of his fellow researchers who informed him about the arrival of Jan's contact person. Upon venturing to the library's ground level, Om was surprised to discover that it was not the "usual one" but a stranger, namely "Huajin" (an alias of Jin). The girl explained that the usual contact person had gotten ill and she acted as replacement, bowing deeply and presenting a delivery box. Taking the object inside –a piece of fossilized wood–, Om began to absentmindedly study it. He explained to Jin what he had received, commenting that it was "earth but [...] not quite earth".[1]
When the delivery girl asked whether the object had healing properties, Om replied that it was actually meant to be a secret message, hinting that the Silver Fangs were inquiring about his stance on future opposition actions. Commenting that young earthbenders like Jin would shape the future, he asked her to deliver his response to her employers: They would have his "vote" when it became necessary. Jin was puzzled by his determination of her earthbending ability despite her giving no such indication. At the nudging of another scholar, Om also paid the girl and sent her on her way.[1]
Appearance
By his elder years, Om had silver-gray hair which he wore long, partially tied in a top-knot held by a gold ring. He also had a long beard. Overall, Jin mused that the professor looked more like an ancient Earth Sage than a modern faculty member. He had a coarse voice.[1]
Personality
Om was an intelligent and analytical man, albeit somewhat scatter-brained. He easily lost himself in his subjects of interest and was quick to involve others in scientific and philosophical conversations, even a delivery girl like Jin. Unlike several others at the university, Om also displayed no classicist views, instead viewing the youth in general as those who would determine the future.[1]
When confronted by the Silver Fangs' urging to involve himself in the opposition against Long Feng, lest his mind became hardened like stone, Om agreed to support their movement despite the risks.[1]