| "I promised the nuns that I'd watch over you until you were ready to be on your own. It's never a good idea to break a promise to a nun!" |
| — Boma to Yangchen while on route for her first Avatar mission.[1] |
Boma was Avatar Yangchen's guardian, who accompanied her on her official duties as the Avatar after being instructed to look after her by the nuns of the Western Air Temple.[1]
History
Becoming Yangchen's guardian
Before Yangchen left the Western Air Temple, Boma made an oath to the Western elders to keep her safe.[2] Boma looked after her until and after she became a fully-realized Avatar.[2][1]
Mission to Tienhaishi
When Yangchen was summoned toward Tienhaishi a week after she mastered all four elements, Boma accompanied her there, despite Yangchen's protests that she would be fine on her own. He had refuted those claims, stating that he had promised the Air Nomad nuns that he would look after her until she was ready to be on her own and that it was never a good idea to break a promise to a nun. During the Avatar's audience with the king, Boma was present as well, taking care of Yangchen's two winged lemurs, Pik and Pak, whom he comforted after they were scared by the local fortunetellers.[1]
Believing the prophecy that something bad was to befall the city from the sea, Boma accompanied Yangchen on her stakeout on a cliff overlooking the water. When General Old Iron appeared and knocked Yangchen down, he helped her up and urged her to stop the rampaging spirit while he evacuated all the citizens to a nearby clearing.[1] Boma later stood alongside Yangchen as she finished a memorial to Lady Tienhai, fulfilling her deal with General Old Iron to keep the townspeople safe.[3]
Official visit to Bin-Er
As Yangchen began to settle into her official, diplomatic responsibilities, he occupied a strange and undefined role in her retinue. He did not look the part of a dignitary with his weathered face and plain way of speaking, and nobles sometimes rankled at his presence, while Boma had no problem rankling back.[4] Some time after the evacuation of Tienhaishi, Boma and Yangchen went to Bin-Er together for the Avatar's first official visit to one of the shang cities. When Yangchen stayed at the Blue Manse at the edge of the shang district, Boma handled Yangchen's security team, and who was being hired and fired.[5]
After Kavik broke into the Blue Manse, Boma and Sidao both insisted that Yangchen relocate, though she trusted none of Sidao's suggestions. When the Avatar chose a small, ancient inn, Boma woke her up and told her breakfast was ready. When Yangchen prepared for her meeting with the shangs, Boma sat behind her on Nujian's saddle as the bison paraded through the streets of Bin-Er. Boma was worried about the crowd was getting too close for his liking, and suggested that Yangchen speed up. Just a moment later, a bitter old man in the crowd threw a clay jug at Boma, and he started to bleed. Yangchen was furious at the crowd for hurting her friend, and hurled the fruit that someone had thrown at her into the crowd.[6] Yangchen used fresh water as soon as she could to heal Boma of his injuries.[4]
Boma took Yangchen's cloak when they arrived at the gathering hall to meet with the shangs, though Sidao led the formalities. However, Boma would not tolerate the shangs' disrespect to Yangchen when only a disjointed number of them got up, telling them that people rose in the presence of the Avatar in the four nations. Yangchen knew that Boma must have been furious during the meeting, such as when Sidao compared the role of a shang zongdu to that of the Avatar.[4] When the shangs had no answer for Yangchen when she asked for them to implement charitable reforms, Boma could not meet her eyes, knowing they were both out of their depth. However, he regained his footing after Yangchen revealed she knew about the shangs violating the terms of their charters through undocumented trade, announcing to the shangs that the Avatar would be meeting with Earth King Feishan in three months.[7] After the meeting was concluded, Boma trailed behind Yangchen as she talked to Zongdu Henshe. After they were done, Yangchen had Boma help her out so that she could spy on the shangs by draping her cloak over his shoulders, and having him impersonate her and make others think she had already left.[2]
When Yangchen returned to her room at the inn, Boma was waiting for her, and yelped in fright when he saw her covered in soot with her robes torn, but knew that Yangchen needed space and left her alone. Yangchen then saw an injured woman being carried away on a stretcher and told Boma to find a woman matching her description and pay for her treatment with the rest of the Bin-Er budget.[8] Shortly before leaving the city for the Northern Air Temple and then Jonduri, Yangchen properly introduced Boma to Kavik.[9]
When Kavik returned to Bin-Er, he met Boma in the inn. Kavik told him that Yangchen was following the wrong leads in Port Tuugaq, but withheld information about his own betrayal. He believed the Avatar's runner had done a good job under the circumstances, and said he had send a hawk to Port Tuugaq at once. Boma was uncertain that Yangchen would find the message if she had gone back to Jonduri, but Kavik assured her she would not wait long there. Boma went to arrange the hawk, as Kavik wrote to Yangchen, confessing his betrayal; Boma did not even check the message.[9] As Kavik stayed at the inn for the next few days, Boma checked up on Ujurak and Tapeesa and assured Kavik that his parents were okay.[9] Later, Yangchen conferred at the inn with Kavik, Tayagum, Akuudan, and Jujinta, as they prepared to take down the Unanimity project.[10]
Appearances
Graphic novelsChronicles of the AvatarThe Dawn of Yangchen
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| Preceded by Unknown |
Avatar's guardian c. early era of Yangchen |
Succeeded by Unknown, eventually Jianzhu |
References
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