| "The other children had cried on Bonding Day when most of the bison calves flocked to Yangchen instead of distributing themselves equitably. She had to flee with Nujian before she ended up with a whole herd of companions instead of just one." |
| — Yangchen reminiscing.[1] |
Nujian was a flying bison loyal to Avatar Yangchen, sharing a strong bond with her. Nujian was a fast and efficient means of transportation for Yangchen and her allies, though her diplomatic duties meant that she sometimes had to travel at a slower pace due to standards of etiquette.[3]
History
On Bonding Day, Nujian immediately went to Yangchen along with most of the bison calves. The other children cried to see that Yangchen's strong bond with animals led to them all trying to go to her, but Yangchen fled with Nujian before she was overwhelmed by the other bison.[1] She chose the name Nujian for the natural arrow on his fur, though she would somewhat joke about the somewhat childish choice of name later on.[4]
After becoming a fully-realized Avatar, Yangchen rode Nujian to Tienhaishi accompanied by Pik, Pak, and Boma. The party flew through a heavy storm, with General Old Iron preparing to attack the city.[5] After Yangchen and General Old Iron agreed that the city would be abandoned, Nujian was by her side for a time as Yangchen tried to find new homes for the displaced citizens of Tienhaishi. However, she eventually sent him away in fear that he would eat too much of the locally foraged food.[4]
As Yangchen began to settle into her diplomatic duties as the Avatar, she was advised by Sidao that plummeting from the sky on Nujian would not project the correct aura of dignity. In compliance, Yangchen taught Nujian how to perform an exaggerated trot whenever they had to satisfy Sidao's definition of procedure, and got him to mimic the high-stepping bounce of beasts with fewer legs. The trot looked ridiculous and made children laugh. Yangchen made Nujian ride on the ground through the streets of Bin-Er when she planned to meet the shang merchants for the first time at the city's gathering hall. Despite Sidao's request for Yangchen to speed up, she expressed doubts about the damage a bison would cause by going any faster on the ground. When a disgruntled citizen threw a clay jug at Boma, Yangchen was furious, and Nujian responded to her heightened emotions by slamming his giant tail down, causing a gust of wind to reach outward and flatten the crowd.[3] She left Nujian outside the gathering hall, and Boma later left on him alone when Yangchen got him to impersonate her in order to spy on the shangs.[6][7]
When she reached the Northern Air Temple after leaving Bin-Er for the first time, Yangchen whistled for Nujian, slamming to the ground. Nujian was introduced to Kavik for the first time, and the Avatar permitted the waterbender to pet his fur, with the bison approving of Yangchen's new companion. The Avatar took this as a sign that Kavik was trustworthy. Knowing that Nujian would be their primary mode of transportation, Yangchen said she would allow him to take the reins later on, and watched Kavik gawk from above when she let Kavik sit alongside her on a practice flight.[4] When they left for Jonduri, she did let Kavik fly Nujian for a short amount of time, but only in a straight path, low to the water, and for a short time. She then helped lift Kavik off Nujian and into the water where he would wait for her contacts in Jonduri, as planned.[8]
Yangchen had to make use of Nujian once more when she took a detour from Jonduri to Ma'inka Island in order to deal with the urgent problems with dark spirits.[9] Not wanting to take Nujian to the cenotes, where he would get jittery, Yangchen left him by the Saowon manor and went to deal with the situation on her glider.[1]
After returning to Jonduri on her flying bison, Yangchen took Nujian on another long trip when they went to Port Tuugaq in search of the Unanimity project. Not wanting to be spotted, she got her bison to land further away from the city. After meeting up with Ayunerak, Yangchen whistled for him so that they could scout the strange disturbances on the rest of the island.[10][11] On their return to Jonduri, Nujian heard someone whistling for him, and both he and his rider were surprised to find Jujinta, Kavik's new contact from Jonduri. They then made their way back to Bin-Er as soon as possible.[12]
In Bin-Er, Yangchen put an end to the Unanimity project by apprehending Zongdu Henshe and the combustionbenders involved in the plot. Afterward, she flew Nujian to Ba Sing Se in order to meet with Earth King Feishan and discuss the situation.[13] They then flew back to the Northern Air Temple to meet up with Abbot Sonam, and the Avatar used her bison to go to the otherwise inaccessible hamlets around the temple where Yingsu, Xiaoyun, and Thapa were confined to.[14]
Afterward, Yangchen used Nujian to help sneak Kavik out of the North Pole by request of Mama Ayunerak. Yangchen first needed to stop at the Northern Air Temple to drop off gifts from Oyaluk. There, Kavik bonded with Nujian as he apologized for his betrayal, to which Nujian showed small affection back.[15] Upon arriving to the village, residents recognized Yangchen in part because of the pattern underneath Nujian's underbelly.[16] When they landed, Fengbao started chomping on his ear to show affection to Nujian, as both were born from the same parents, but later separated by different litters a couple years apart.[17]
Shortly after, a harsh rumbling in the mountains could be heard. Despite the alarming situation, Nujian remained calm and resolute, turning his head to face his companion. Yangchen admired the bond they shared, as Nujian never needed words or reins to understand her intentions. He immediately sprung into action diving toward the streets of the village, expecting Yangchen to hop onto his saddle. After picking up Jujinta, Kavik, Akuudan, and Tayagum, Nujian headed to the Northern Air Temple as Yangchen explained her plans to control the situation to her team.[17]
Yangchen flew on Nujian to the site of each of the three captive combustionbenders. While the Avatar explored the area, Nujian remained behind until Yangchen whistled for him to pick her up, as she knew the bison would be the only way to escape. When Yingsu and six Air Nomads from the temple were trapped by a barrage of attacks, Yangchen guided out the group to Nujian, who took the Air Nomads back to the temple.[18]
After Yangchen's banishment from the Northern Air Temple, Nujian flew her and Kavik to Taku.[19] Once Yangchen and her team discovered a secret island where Chaisee may hold secrets about the powers of combustionbending and Unanimity, Yangchen called on Nujian to fly herself, Jujinta, and Kavik to find the island. Nujian refreshed himself after a day spent on the Taku outskirts in the wilds. Kavik also admired the bond Yangchen and Nujian had while greeting one another, a relationship where both trust one another completely and one where Yangchen spoke to him as if he were a sibling. Nuijan also interacted with Jujinta upon being fed an apple, Jujinta wanting to show Kavik he too could get along with Nujian. With the tension between Kavik and Jujinta still strong, Yangchen noted how one word could make Nujian turn against them, to encourage both to get along with one another. Upon arriving close to the island, Nujian grunted to alert them to certain seabirds indicating they were close.[20]
Once they landed, Yangchen warned Nujian that he could not come flying in straight to rescue them even if he heard explosions on the island.[21] While on the island, Yangchen, Kavik, and Jujinta met Hsien and Raitei, two subjects of the Unanimity Project.[22] Upon seeing Nujian, Hsein immediately admired the bison while Raitei was more suspicious. Once they landed for the evening after leaving the island, Kavik realized Raitei overheard their conversations about how valuable of an asset he is due to his combustionbending. Once Raitei had the chance, he took a deep exhale preparing to attack Yangchen so he could separate himself from them and claim a reward. Both Kavik's and Jujinta's reactions were too late, Nujian however witnessing the situation stood between Raitei and Yangchen sacrificing himself to protect her. Yangchen attempted to heal Nuijan, but could find no exterior wound, as Raitei's attack misfired. Despite the misfire, Nujian still died of the damage sustained.[23]
Appearances
Graphic novels
Chronicles of the AvatarThe Dawn of Yangchen
The Legacy of Yangchen
|
| Preceded by Szeto's dragon |
Avatar's animal guide Year 7 of era of Yangchen - Year 17 of era of Yangchen |
Succeeded by Unknown, eventually Kyoshi's fox |
References
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