Ujurak

Ujurak was the husband of Tapeesa and father of Kalyaan and Kavik. He was a Northern Water Tribe man who migrated to the shang city of Bin-Er with his family in the hope of a better life.^[1]

History

Ujurak married Tapeesa and had two sons, Kalyaan and Kavik, both of whom were waterbenders. His younger son was named after his wife's grandfather.^[2] The family lived in the Long Stretch region of the Northern Water Tribe, west of Agna Qel'a.^[3] When Kavik was eight, he and Kalyaan were lost in a storm during a hunt, and returned only after a month, nearly having been mourned for dead. Kalyaan carried his brother to Ujurak and Tapeesa, having lost two fingers to frostbite after he fed Kavik pieces of his own mitten.^[4]

Shortly after Kalyaan and Kavik returned, hunts started souring across the region, season after season. Four years after the hunt, the family crossed the straits to settle in the shang city of Bin-Er to ride out the hard times, encouraged by distant relations who had already moved there. The family settled in the Water Tribe Quarter, where their neighbors were former hunting partners, and went to work with Nuqingaq and Partners, an all-Water Tribe shop, with Ujurak and his wife working as accountants.^[3][5] However, less than six moons later, Kalyaan quit his job, and the family became pariahs inside their own place of employment. Kalyaan came home less and less, and there were rumors that he had become a spy. Kalyaan gifted the family a new house, but Kalyaan never came home again one day after someone poached their most critical customers. Kavik also quit after feeling himself shunned by the Water Tribe community of Bin-Er for his brother's actions.^[6]

Five years after they had arrived in the city, Ujurak and Tapeesa were both worried about Kavik's actions, and were becoming skeptical about the string of odd jobs he claimed to have had.^[7] One day, Tapeesa welcomed Kavik back home, with Ujurak barely looking up from the ledgers he had brought back from the counting house, only grunting at his son.^[1] After finishing his tabulations, Ujurak asked about what he had been doing, pointing out that Kavik's supposed boss Chan had not seen him in weeks, after he'd stopped by with the man earlier. Ujurak and Tapeesa knew he was likely a spy and errand runner, and asked to at least know who his boss was. When he said he was working to get Kalyaan back, his parents were heartbroken, as they did not want to lose their younger son, too. At that same moment, the family heard a knock on the door, and were shocked to see that Avatar Yangchen had come to see them.^[7] Ujurak and his wife both showered Yangchen with respect, and he told her to come in, as his home was also her home. The airbender asked them not to be so formal and treat it as a regular Air Nomad visit of alms. When Tapeesa was ready to serve dinner, Ujurak leapt to stop her, realizing that they were about to serve meat, worried about having nearly 'corrupted' the Air Nomad Avatar, and Tapeesa almost cried due to the mistake. Yangchen said that the Western Air Temple would permit her to eat it, as it was being shared by someone from another nation. When the couple was still skeptical, she offered to eat around the meat. Ujurak retrieved Yangchen's plate and quickly rearranged their settings at the table.

When they were done welcoming the Avatar, Ujurak inquired why Yangchen had come to their home. Yangchen told them that she was there to talk to people in Bin-Er directly and learn from them first-hand, and inquired about their lives. Ujurak and Tapeesa told them about why they had come to Bin-Er, and that they desired to return to the North, but the corrupt control office would not issue exit passes to anyone. Yangchen then asked them if they were aware what Kavik did for her earlier, and husband and wife became very anxious, with Ujurak croaking as he asked what his son had done. The Avatar elaborated that he had stopped a thief for her, recovering a vital piece of political information. She asked to speak with Kavik alone, and Ujurak and Tapeesa agreed, almost dismissing themselves from the main chamber, though their son and the Avatar went to Kavik's room alone instead.^[3] When Yangchen and Kavik re-entered the main chamber, the Avatar declared that she had offered Ujurak and Tapeesa's son the chance to become one of her official companions in recognition of his bravery. Ujurak and Tapeesa almost bawled in each other's shoulders from happiness.^[8]

When the Unanimity project's display began in Bin-Er, Ujurak and Tapeesa huddled as far as they could from the walls, dust raining down from the explosions of combustionbenders. They were relieved to see that Kavik had arrived, and he promised that the Avatar would be coming soon. Kavik kept his parents away from the door when Jujinta arrived looking for him.^[9]

After the combustionbender demonstration, Ujurak and Tapeesa were given passes to return home to Long Stretch, where they remained safe and oblivious to the real business of either of their sons.^[10] The Order of the White Lotus protected both of them when they arrived back, though they were unaware of it.^[11]

Relatives

				Kavik
				Unknown
Ujurak				Tapeesa
Kavik				Kalyaan				Chaisee
						Son

Appearances

Chronicles of the Avatar

The Dawn of Yangchen

• 104. "Forgiveness"
• 105. "Unwinding"
• 106. "The Visitor"
• 107. "The Proposition"
• 134. "Clarity"

The Legacy of Yangchen

• 205. "Previously"
• 206. "Coming to the Table"

Trivia

• Kavik could recognize Ujurak coming down the stairs by the slow "thud-thud-thud" noise he made, as he was always catching and fully settling his weight before he made the next step.^[12]

References