The sacred crystal orb was a relic important to the Gan Jin tribe. The Gan Jin and Zhang tribes allegedly began their long-standing feud over this orb as both tribes believed their respective patriarch was wronged by the other.[1]
Several different legends surrounded the sacred orb, and neither the Ganjinese nor the Zhang telling of events may have been true. As different as these two stories were, the whereabouts of the orb were unknown by 100 AG,[1] and the orb may not even have existed at all.[2]
History
Gan Jin's version
The Gan Jin tribe believed that, one hundred years prior to their meeting with Team Avatar at the Great Divide, one of their best warriors, Jin Wei, had carried out a yearly ritual in which he transported a sacred crystal orb from the Eastern Gate post of their tribe to the Western Gate to symbolize the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. The goal of the journey had been to purify the tribe's connection to the spirits.[3] The Gan Jin said that during the process of this ritual, when Jin Wei was approaching the West post, a man from the Zhang tribe, Wei Jin, knocked him down and stole the sacred orb.
Zhang's version
The Zhang tribe, on the other hand, believed that Wei Jin was traveling the country when he stumbled upon a fallen man from the Gan Jin tribe, Jin Wei. He tried to tend the man's wounds, but Jin Wei insisted that the Zhang member finish the ritual, carrying the orb to the West post, instead of caring for him. Wei Jin did what he was asked, but as he approached the West post, he was arrested by other Gan Jin warriors who suspected him of stealing the orb and sentenced to twenty years in prison without being thanked for his selfless deed.[4]
Aang's version
As it is the Avatar's duty to bring peace, Aang attempted to solve the feud between the Gan Jin and Zhang tribes by bringing to their attention that they must have misconstrued the real tale; he claimed that Jin Wei and Wei Jin were really just young twin brothers at the age of eight, and not two adult-aged members of opposing tribes. The "sacred crystal orb" was nothing more than a ball being used in a game the two boys were playing called "Redemption". Jin Wei had the ball and was running toward one of the goals when he fumbled it. Wei Jin grabbed the loose ball and started toward the other goal when he stepped out of bounds; for that, he was put in a penalty box for two short minutes. Aang described Wei Jin as a bit of a slob and Jin Wei as stuffy, referring to the personalities of the two tribes, but concluded that the two maintained respect for one another.
However, after the two tribes left together peacefully, Aang admitted to Katara and Sokka that he had fabricated the entire story.[4]
Trivia
- The sacred orb contains the symbol of the Air Nomads and also resembles the swirl that is found in every elemental symbol for the bending arts.
- The sacred crystal orb is a usable relic in Avatar: Generations.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com. Encyclopedia now broken, archived at The Lost Lore of Avatar Aang - Gear: The Sacred Crystal Orb.
- ↑ The Lost Scrolls: Earth, page 131 of The Lost Scrolls Collection.
- ↑ The Lost Scrolls: Earth, page 130 of The Lost Scrolls Collection.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 O'Bryan, John (writer) & Volpe, Giancarlo (director). (May 20, 2005). "The Great Divide". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 1. Episode 11. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ Descriptions, Avatar: Generations. Navigator Games & Square Enix Mobile London (August 11, 2022). Square Enix.