| "Every heart seeks peace, but to find it one must prise it from the cold chains of a corrupt and unjust world." |
| — Khandro.[1] |
Khandro was an Air Monk, and one of the most popular philosophers of his age.[2] After growing frustrated with the Air Nomads' lack of willingness to intervene in the world when it could upset the political order, Khandro founded the Guiding Wind, a renegade order that advocated for radical change across the four nations.[1]
Quick Answers
Why did Khandro found the Guiding Wind?
What was Khandro's relationship with Zeisan?
Where did Khandro receive his training in airbending?
What sort of personality did Khandro have?
History
Early life
From an early age, Khandro showed savant-level aptitude with airbending. He was sent to the Southern Air Temple to cultivate his talents, and he took to his training with gusto.[1]
Once he was old enough to go travel the world, Khandro witnessed just how terrible some circumstances could be. He was frustrated that the Air Nomads around him mostly stayed out of the politics of the places where they helped, even while they provided aid to others. He grew frustrated that his people could not help remove corrupt officials in the Earth Kingdom as long as they were in good standing with the Earth King, or that they could not cross certain borders to help others. Every attempt he made to get the elders to intervene led to him being ignored or chastised.[1]
Khandro came to believe that the Air Nomads were refusing to take the steps needed to ensure a lasting peace across the world. The excuses he heard sounded like cowardice to him,[1] and he began to criticize his elders.[2] At one point in his youth, Khandro met Tsenten, a Jasmine Islander who had come to the air temples as a foreign student. The two became friends, and Tsenten would continue to maintain contacts with the monk after returning to his home.[3]
Founding the Guiding Wind
Khandro founded the Guiding Wind as a youth movement within the Air Nomads. His plans were very ambitious, and he hoped he would be able to destabilize the relationship between the Air Nomads and the elites of other nations,[1][2] arguing that ties between the Air Nomads and the rich elite of the world had impeded the spiritual growth of all peoples.[2] The anti-monarchist group would also seek to overthrow the nobles of the world. In doing so, Khandro hoped to bring balance back to the four nations and allow people to focus on their spiritual lives by freeing them from concerns of wealth.[1][4] The Guiding Wind was soon condemned by the same Air Nomad elders who had stood in Khandro's way all his life. They were deemed to be a rogue group, with no official standing among the Air Nomads.[1]
Khandro eventually received a marriage proposal from Princess Zeisan of the Fire Nation, who truly intended to give up her wealth and titles and embrace a life of austerity. Both knew that the marriage would only be political, with Zeisan having dynasty-toppling ambitions, and Khandro believing that the marriage would help him destabilize the nobility structures in the Fire Nation and reorient its cultures and norms to achieve balance.[2][4] Though neither bore love for one another,[5] Khandro had an abiding respect for Zeisan and what she was willing to do to unravel the corruption in her country. Against the advice of his most loyal acolytes, he planned to marry the princess, even if it risked incurring the wrath of Fire Lord Sozin.[2] Zeisan's mission to dismantle the Fire Nation soon became a primary concern for Khandro.[6]
When Zeisan's intentions of renouncing her wealth and titles inspired elites of the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribes to do the same, Khandro gladly accepted them, as they were the ultimate fist to the ideal of nobility, with these youths giving up their wealth and power for enlightenment, whereas the nobles supporting the Fire & Air Center of Learning did not. He continued to recruit members of the Air Nomad temples to his cause, looking for those feeling that the Air Nomads had spread too thin or were worried about the influence of the nobility of other nations.[2] A true nomad, he spent more time on his flying bison, Zimu, than he did in any one location.[6]
Aiding Jasmine Island
Khandro and Zeisan came to Jasmine Island after they heard that two of their followers, Fengying and Sakuru, had been imprisoned by Earth Kingdom magistrate Emerald. Almost immediately, they met with the Jasmine Island Council in order to negotiate the release of their allies.[7] While the monk implored the island's ruling council to intervene, only Khandro's old friend Tsenten – by then an elected councilmember – seemed to be interested in his claim that Emerald had overstepped his authority.[8] Emerald claimed that the Guiding Wind's members had committed criminal acts, but he actually tried to take control of Jasmine Island in a creeping coup which had been threatened by the activities of Fengying and Sakuru. Distrusting the magistrate, Khandro and Zeisan both believed that neither Fengying or Sakuru would receive real justice if they were to be tried by the Emerald.[9]
Whereas the monk continued his attempts to secure his allies' release through diplomacy, Zeisan covertly engaged in more direct actions by allying with the local Jasmine Island protectors.[10] Together with the protectors, Khandro, Zeisan, and the Guiding Wind eventually foiled Emerald's conspiracy. They thus helped Jasmine Island secure its independence and freedom from the Earth Kingdom.[11]
Wedding preparations
Eventually, the Fire Nation Capital began to plan for Zeisan and Khandro's wedding, with feasts and festivities being held in the city.[12] Zeisan scheduled a pre-wedding symposium in Hari Bulkan Square where she could address prominent nobles, military officers, and the royal court with the Guiding Wind's teachings and deliver a refutation of Sozin's xenophobic propaganda campaigns.[13] Aware of his sister's plans, Sozin tasked Minister Zianda with a plot to disrupt the event, and the minister worked with Mio to have Fire Nation soldiers pose as radical Air Nomads using devices that could create false airbending. They planned to attack nobles at the event, while espousing their own xenophobic anti-Fire Nation propaganda.[13][14] Zeisan and Khandro were unaware of the plot, though Zeisan's romantic interest, Sister Rioshon, was able to uncover it, tasking Nyanchi, Ezra, Boin, and Zeebee with warning the princess.[15] Khandro was at the symposium area before the event began, and acted as an intermediary between the princess and her allies.[4]
Legacy
A Monument to Peace centering Khandro was erected on Jasmine Island, honoring the Guiding Wind's role in the community securing its independence. The monument was badly damaged during a battle of the Hundred Year War, and Air Acolytes would later arrive to help restore it.[16]
Personality
Khandro was a charismatic man, able to convince many Air Nomads to join his cause. He had a shrewd political mind, and knew what sort of questions could provoke the type of conversation that could change someone's mind. He was also adept at knowing when not to raise his voice in anger, and he generally was adept at navigating any kind of situation.[6] He knew when to listen and wait, finding that his cause was served best to let others talk, while he quietly collected more information.[6] Despite being committed to radical change, Khandro was also aware that allowing certain events to escalate could lead to a serious international incident, and as such, he could grow wary if a specific incident seemed like it was getting out of hand.[17]
He was exceedingly ambitious in his desire to break the Air Nomads from the elites of the other nations in order to seek true enlightenment,[2] and to help cultivate equality.[1] He was also driven to help Zeisan disrupt her family's dark ambitions.[4] Despite his commitment to radical change, Khandro was still nonviolent, and wanted all his students and followers to be as strongly devoted to pacifism as much as they were to dismantling hierarchical power structures.[6] Within the Guiding Wind, he thus represented a moderate approach compared to Zeisan's more militant activism.[10][17] In general, Khandro approved of institutions such as the Jasmine Island Council, where local communities organized elections and governed themselves.[17]
Khandro believed in leaving behind more than what he had taken under any circumstance. He never asked his followers to do something that he was not personally willing to undertake. He believed it was one of his primary lessons to pass on lessons and knowledge to airbender followers. As a teacher, he was patient, understanding that it would take time and patience for his students to learn certain techniques. The one thing he could never abide was a lack of character in his students, owing to his strong moral principles.[6]
Abilities
Khandro was a savant airbender.[1] He was able to create cyclones around himself, a very rare technique.[6] He could rushing forth with the might of the wind behind him to crash into foes and disorient them, and racing at high speeds to dodge attacks and seek escape.[4]
Appearances
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game
Trivia
- All his life, Khandro was too focused on the search for enlightenment to experience romantic feelings for anyone.[1]