Erchtei

Erchtei was a pirate and Fifth Nation commander of Fire Nation origin. After the Fall of the Fifth Nation, he rose to lead one of the pirate nation's splinter fleets and eventually became Tagaka's second-in-command after the latter's escape from prison. Erchtei co-commanded Tagaka's raid on Jasmine Island, planning to use the opportunity to become the location's ruler in the name of the Fifth Nation. After the raid's failure, he fell into disgrace, fleeing to the Fire Nation and spending the rest of his life in obscurity and shame.

History

Early life

Erchtei was born into a highly respected family on the outer Fire Islands. Dissatisfied with a lawful life in the Fire Nation, however, he opted to become a pirate and join the Fifth Nation. This decision not only disgraced his entire family, but also greatly hurt their finances as he stole his relatives' money to kickstart a corsair career.^[3] As a powerful firebender, Erchtei rose in the ranks of the pirate nation and became a commander. He took part in the battle against Yun's forces, including Kyoshi, in 296 BG. This clash shattered the Fifth Nation and ended in Tagaka's capture, though Erchtei was able to escape with a remnant faction of corsairs.^[2]

Organizing the Jasmine Island raid

After a period of time, Erchtei and other Fifth Nation loyalists were contacted by Tagaka who had broken out of prison and tried to restore their grand fleet. Though her previous defeat had destroyed Erchtei's faith in the pirate queen, he joined her forces as he lacked the charisma to convince his followers to stay independent. Thus, he became the new second-in-command of Tagaka's fleet, though harbored the hope of eventually getting the chance to seize power himself.^[2] This opportunity seemed to present itself when Erchtei encountered Mirlon, a member of Jasmine Island's "protectors". The young man was dissatisfied with his position and craved wealth. Erchtei exploited Mirlon's greed, bribing the protector into defecting and revealing information on the island and its defenses, thereby paving the way for a major raid.^[2][4]

Seeking ways to loot resources and money to rebuild the Fifth Nation, Tagaka agreed to Erchtei's plan to attack Jasmine Island. Unlike his superior, Erchtei had bigger ambitions for the location: He wanted to not just plunder, but to rule the island. Erchtei envisioned himself as a governor on behalf of the Fifth Nation. Accordingly, he hoped to reach some kind of accord with the locals to ease the takeover.^[2][4] As the pirates approached Jasmine Island, they chanced upon a Fire Nation warship and captured it. In the process, they kidnapped inventor Tei Eesoni; neither Tagaka nor Erchtei recognized Tei's true value, instead forcibly conscripting her as an "engineer" to aid with the captured warship's engines.^[4]

Downfall

Upon arriving at Jasmine Island, the pirate fleet was attacked by a small Fire Nation ship commanded by famous firebender Hei-Ran. As this clash was still ongoing, Erchtei opted to already launch an initial small attack on Jasmine Island to exploit the element of surprise. Despite Mirlon's intel, Erchtei's knowledge of the locals was quite limited. Thus, his initial attack was more of scouting mission; the pirate commander also used the opportunity to talk with a group of protectors,^[5][6] including Ara, Joh, Fu Karaq, Revik, and Yarru,^[7] trying to convince them to surrender. Instead, the natives fought off the first landing.^[5]

After their initial failure, the pirates retreated and reorganized before launching another, larger attack. Seeing this invasion as his best opportunity to usurp control of Jasmine Island, Erchtei became increasingly obsessed and ruthless to achieve his ambition. As his followers rampaged across the island, he gradually became convinced that his triumph was inevitable. Ultimately, he again encountered Ara, Joh, Fu Karaq, Revik, and Yarru. However, he actually tried to convince them to attack Tagaka's troops instead of his own, having grown so sure of himself as to see his superior as a potential rival for power. Regardless, Erchtei's attempted powergrab failed and he was defeated by the natives. The other pirate contingents were also driven back by the Jasmine Islanders and Hei-Ran's forces, with Tei Eesoni being rescued.^[1][5][8] Several pirates were captured,^[5] though Tagaka and Erchtei escaped.^[9]

The defeat was generally attributed to Erchtei's self-serving actions, destroying his reputation among the remaining Fifth Nation pirates.^[9] Regarded as little more than a "bloodthirsty power-hungry fool", he was no longer accepted among the corsairs and thus fled back to his family holdings in the outer Fire Nation, intending to lay low until his actions were forgotten. Instead, the stories of his criminal and humiliating failures also spread in the Fire Nation, further dishonoring him. For the rest of his days, Erchtei lived a quiet life in shame. He had at least one child.^[3][9]

Legacy

In historical retellings of the Fifth Nation's raid on Jasmine Island, Erchtei was recorded as an arrogant, brutal, "ineffectual, and stupid" criminal. His family remained in general disgrace for centuries, with its members nurturing both a deep self-hatred as well as a fierce grudge against Jasmine Island. As the Fire Nation became increasingly nationalistic and imperialistic, Erchtei's failures were even framed as a "national shame".^[3][9] In the late Hundred Year War, his distant descendant Yueya, an admiral in the Fire Navy, exploited her position to take bloody revenge on the Jasmine Islanders in a campaign subsequently dubbed "The Devastation".^[10]

Relatives

• Yueya (distant descendant)^[10]

Appearances

Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game

• Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide

Trivia

• On page 90 of Uncle Iroh's Adventure Guide, Yueya is termed Erchtei's "great-grandchild".^[8] However, this relation makes no chronological sense and is probably a mistake, as Yueya is usually described as his distant descendant.^[3][9][10]

References