| "No one's dead, but I had to get information the old-fashioned way from some mercenaries dressed in guards' clothing. I may have gone a little overboard. I don't regret it. The Gravedigger took one of ours. I wasn't going to let him take another." |
| — Wong about his effort to save Rangi, a fellow Flying Opera Company member.[1] |
Wong was a criminal and one of Avatar Kyoshi's earthbending teachers. A long-time member of the Flying Opera Company, a daofei outlaw gang operating in the Earth Kingdom, Wong was a highly experienced fighter and performer.
When the Flying Opera Company began to decline, Wong wound up as one of its few loyal members, and along with his remaining comrades came into contact with Avatar Kyoshi, daughter of their former bosses Jesa and Hark. Wong agreed to teach Kyoshi earthbending as well as the proper use of her mother's fans.
History
At some point after 307/306 BG, Wong joined the Flying Opera Company, the crime group of Jesa and Hark, and experienced the organization's highest and lowest points.[2] In accordance of the Flying Opera Company's disguise as a theater troupe, Wong learned to perform as a skilled stage performer.[4]
After Jesa and Hark's death he and the rest of the group fell on hard times, especially after Jesa's flying bison Longyan's abandonment of the group. They reduced to a handful of members in a single village and ended up in debt to more unscrupulous figures in Chameleon Bay, and to protect themselves chose to be affiliated with the Autumn Bloom Society of Hujiang as their elders.
In 296 BG, while they were stationed in Madam Qiji's Teahouse, they got visited by Kyoshi and Rangi, who were on the run and looking for allies. Soon after the two sides started talking and the group deciding to accept the duo among themselves Governor Deng's men busted the teahouse and a chase began. Wong used the duststepping technique to get on higher ground and ran outside the town to Kyoshi's flying bison Pengpeng, to get away. The group decided to go to the secluded daofei hub of Hujiang in the Taihua Mountains, and Kyoshi took the shortened version of their oath on the way.
When they arrived, Wong and the others were summoned and called in on a job by the Autumn Bloom, to whom the Flying Opera Company were indebted after they saved Lek's life. The job was to free a prisoner from the house of an Earth Kingdom governor named Te. Mok, the leader of the Autumn Bloom, told the Flying Opera Company they would be free of their debt to his group once the job was complete.
The next day when a shirshu sent by Jianzhu, Kyoshi's pursuer who's a well known political figure in the Earth Kingdom, tracked them down, the group escaped and quickly deduced that she must be important, which she revealed herself as the Avatar in return. After they tried to disconnect themselves from her, as they believed the Avatar should not associate with criminals like them, Kyoshi surprised them by deciding to stay with them. The members then took it upon themselves to train her to bend the four elements and Wong became her earthbending instructor with Lek, while also teaching her how to use her war fans.
Later Wong and the rest of the group successfully rescued the prisoner, apart from Kyoshi and Lao Ge who split up to assassinate Governor Te. They returned him to Mok and the Autumn Blooms, only to find out that the prisoner was Xu Ping An, the presumed-dead leader of the Yellow Necks. The Autumn Blooms promptly revealed that they had been the remnants of the Yellow Necks the entire time, functioning under a false name to avoid detection. With their leader free, the group declared themselves restored.
Wong and the rest of the group were shocked about this revelation as Xu and his Yellow Neck rebels were infamous because of their fanaticism and the atrocities they had committed during their past rebellion. Though him and the other Flying Opera Company members were treated cordially by Xu, who appeared thankful for their help, the Avatar immediately recognized that Xu's friendly demeanor thinly veiled an underlying madness. Having absolved themselves of their debt to the Autumn Bloom Society, the group thus excused themselves and retreated from the Yellow Necks' camp. Afterwards, however, discussions erupted about what to do next: On the one side, they did not want an insane mass murderer like Xu to go free, but at the same time they could not defeat him and the rest of his small army in an open battle. Eventually, Kyoshi decided that they should monitor the Yellow Necks before intervening. However, just as they had feared, Xu immediately ordered his followers to resume their rampage, attacking a nearby civilian family. Fearing for the family's safety, Kyoshi decided on a whim to challenge Xu to a duel per the daofei code of conduct, to halt his reign of terror before it could truly begin anew.
Wong watched as Kyoshi dueled Xu, who turned out to be a firebender with lightning generation abilities. Xu struck Kyoshi with lightning at the start of their fight, incapacitating her in seconds and continued to fire several more blasts of lightning at her seemingly lifeless body while accusing her of ungratefulness. Wong watched in shock as his friend, who he thought to be dead, entered the Avatar State and lifted Xu up in a tornado of air and fire with glowing eyes and let him fall to his death. He and the rest of the group, who were very anxious at this point, got greeted by Kyoshi afterwards, assuring them that she was still the same before falling unconscious for three days.
The group then took her to a nearby village where Kirima and an Earth Kingdom healer attended to her. When Kyoshi eventually awakened they once again got attacked by Jianzhu, who this time used shirshu-spit darts, and kidnapped Rangi while Lek allergically reacted and died. After burying Lek, the group hatched a plan according to which the Avatar would confront Jianzhu while her friends saved Rangi.
Wong, Kirima, and Lao Ge raided the Avatar estate in Yokoya to free Rangi, while Kyoshi confronted Jianzhu at nearby Qianchao. Though the three refrained from killing anyone at Kyoshi's request, the outlaws had to overpower and forcefully question several guards inside the mansion. Wong took some enjoyment in beating up Jianzhu's mercenaries, as he wanted to save Rangi at all cost and desired to avenge Lek's death. They succeeded in saving Rangi, as well as her mother Hei-Ran, and Wong and Kirima also looted the estate as much as possible. They regrouped with Kyoshi,[1] after which everyone decided to part ways, as the Avatar wanted her friends out of harm's way when she revealed her identity to the world. Wong and Karima opted to lay low and use the loot from Jianzhu's mansion to make a living. They promised Kyoshi that they would return, however, as they still regarded themselves as her companions and added that they were sure the Avatar could pardon them for any crimes they might have committed in the meantime.[5]
A year later, Wong and Kirima came to Yokoya for Kyoshi's final confrontation with Yun after Jinpa contacted them to let them know of their obligation to defend their sworn sister, and gifted them with a lot of money to make sure they showed.
After Yun liquified the stone floor and used it to encase Kyoshi, Kirima surprised Yun by lashing down a water whip, only just missing Yun and allowing enough time for Wong to earthbend Kyoshi free. After Yun angrily asked if the "daofei scum" were truly Kyoshi's companions, Wong shot Kyoshi a somewhat hurt look for not being in touch more.
As Kirima sent a fresh torrent at Yun, Wong used his own stone to push away the shield that Yun had made for himself. Wong sent a giant pile of stone tiles crashing down on Yun, but the younger earthbender simply shattered the flooring with a flick of his shoulders, surprising Wong. He was also shocked at the sheer ferocity of Rangi's subsequent firebending attacks. When Yun began to liquify the foundations of the mansion, Wong was forced from the roof, attempting to use dust-stepping but crashing to the earth instead.
Wong and Kirima got up and made their way to Yun's blindspot, but he created great pitfalls, and their legs were broken by their own momentum. Kyoshi eventually managed to kill Yun with an advanced healing technique, and brought Wong, Kirima, Rangi, and Jinpa to the infirmary where they could recuperate. The older members of the Flying Opera Company were not given anything for their pain, as Jinpa more urgently needed the medicine, but were informed that Atuat was on her way to heal their injuries.[6]
After the battle, Wong and Kirima worked on pruning and building the Flying Opera Company's criminal network and hoped to expand it far past Chameleon Bay in the next years.[3]
Physical description
Wong was described as a large, bulky man in his thirties,[2] whose size belied his agility and grace. He had a smooth, clean-shaven face, scarred knuckles, and protruding gut. He was quite tall, had a deep voice, and wore expensive robes that did not quite fit him.
Personality
Wong was a brave criminal who was not afraid to put himself in harm's way in service to his friends, and sought revenge when those friends were hurt. He had no qualms with stealing from those he felt undeserving, as he and Kirima gladly looted Jianzhu's mansion and lived off the profits for a time.[3] Wong was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it was likely true and to the point.[2] When it came to fighting with the fan and training Kyoshi, he transformed into a "tyrannical stage director", with the ego and perfectionism of one.[7] Despite this, Wong was also the most sensitive member of the company, accusing Kyoshi for not keeping in touch when they parted ways.[6]
Appearances
Chronicles of the AvatarThe Rise of Kyoshi
The Shadow of Kyoshi
Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game |
Trivia
| Preceded by Jianzhu |
Avatar's earthbending master (jointly with Lek) 296 - unknown BG |
Succeeded by Sud |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Thirty-One, "The Return". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Fourteen, "The Introduction". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 36.
- ↑ Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Sixteen, "The Agreement". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Thirty-Two, "Hauntings". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 21, 2020). Chapter Twenty-Six, "Home Again". The Shadow of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Twenty-One, "Preparations". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ Yee, F. C. (author), DiMartino, Michael Dante (author). (July 16, 2019). Chapter Five, "Revelations". The Rise of Kyoshi. Amulet Books.
- ↑ Virtual Event with F.C. Yee and E.K. Johnston. Old Firehouse Books (October 31, 2020). Retrieved on October 31, 2020.