In a traditional oriental world of great nations and elemental magic, there exist four main nations, each taking their culture from the four dominant elements of the land: air, earth, water, and fire. Each nation draws much of their background and culture from their respective element. The groups are the Air Nomads, the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation.

In addition, some members of the elemental nations have the gift of "bending" their tribe's element, or manipulating it to assist the bender. There are four types of benders- Airbenders, Earthbenders, Waterbenders, and Firebenders.

The four cultures were able to live in peace and harmony for many years. This peace was shattered when the Fire Nation declared war on all the other nations, and embarked on a rampage, conquering the other nations. The other nations fought back, but the Fire Nation had become by far the most powerful of the four, and one by one cities began to fall. As the nations were pushed back, they began to call for their last hope- the Avatar.

The Avatar is the one human with the ability to master not one, but all four of the elements. Only one Avatar lives at a time, and this bender is charged with helping to maintain world peace. When one Avatar dies, he or she is reincarnated into the next cycle. The three collapsing nations were expecting the Avatar to step in and save them. However, the Avatar vanished, and never reappeared in a new body.

100 years later the long war is coming to an end, with the Fire Nation closing in on the last of the nations. The Air Nomads have been completely wiped out, their temples unvisited for a century. The Water Tribe, already split into northern and southern, has retreated to the furthest edges of the globes, the North and South Poles. Only the staunch Earth Kingdom remains, although they are fighting a losing battle, with most of their cities captured. The Avatar has not been sighted in over 100 years, and many people believe that the cycle was broken somehow. The future looks bleak for everyone except the conquering Fire Nation.

Then one day, two young members of the Southern Water Tribe named Katara and Sokka discover a young 12-year old Airbender named Aang, along with his giant flying bison, Appa, who have been frozen in stasis within an iceberg for 100 years. It's surprising enough that Aang is a member of the Air Nomads, a supposedly extinct people, but after some poking they discover he is also the missing Avatar!

Now that he has returned, Aang must evade capture and master all four elements. Then, it will be possible for the Avatar to confront Fire Lord Ozai, defeat the Fire Nation, bring peace, and finally end the long 100-year war.

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The Four Nations in Avatar: The Last Airbender:

The known Air Nomads are peaceful, spiritual, reclusive monks who choose to live high up in the sky in places called "Air Temples". The Air Nomads seem to have been weak in numbers and do not appear to have had many relations with the other three tribes, but each monk had considerable wisdom and power. It's possible that there were Air Nomads and Airbenders outside the temples. They are supposedly extinct except for Aang.
The Airbenders use the martial arts style Bagua

The Water Tribes are a group with control over the water. Members of the Water Tribe generally gravitate toward colder places, seemingly, or areas near bodies of water, where their bending skills are of greater use. The two main Water Tribe groups are located at the North and South Poles, with the Northern more intact. They are great healers. The Water Tribe benders become very potent at night, due to their connection with the moon.
The waterbenders use the Martial art style Tai-Chi

The Earth Kingdom is a strong, advanced group with powers over earth and rock. The Earth Kingdom appears to have the greatest population of the four tribes, though this is not confirmed. they also had the largest territory. Many Earth Kingdom cities dot the world, as they are capable of settling down almost anywhere, because, of course, earth exists almost everywhere. The Earth Kingdom is a powerful nation, not to be underestimated.
The earthbenders use the martial arts style Hung Gar

The Fire Nation is an extremely powerful and aggressive culture with control over fire. With their numbers, skill, rough attitude, and awe-inspiring element, the Fire Nation is probably the most fearsome nation of the four. Like the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation covers the world and also appears to have a heavy population. Their power comes from their violent natures and legions of benders. The Fire Nation puts an emphasis on honor.
Firebenders use the martial arts style Northern Shaolin
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In a traditional oriental world of great nations and elemental magic, there exist four main nations, each taking their culture from the four dominant elements of the land: air, earth, water, and fire. Each nation draws much of their background and culture from their respective element. The groups are the Air Nomads, the Water Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation.

In addition, some members of the elemental nations have the gift of "bending" their tribe's element, or manipulating it to assist the bender. There are four types of benders- Airbenders, Earthbenders, Waterbenders, and Firebenders.

The four cultures were able to live in peace and harmony for many years. This peace was shattered when the Fire Nation declared war on all the other nations, and embarked on a rampage, conquering the other nations. The other nations fought back, but the Fire Nation had become by far the most powerful of the four, and one by one cities began to fall. As the nations were pushed back, they began to call for their last hope- the Avatar.

The Avatar is the one human with the ability to master not one, but all four of
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