| By The Ultimate Waterbender | Part of the When Air Nomads Walked the Earth continuity. |
| "Learning is fun and all, but Airbending is what I love best." |
| — Syra to Sister Min in As the Sun Rises |
Syra is the top student in her Airbending class taught by Master Yangsu and the best friend of Tyla. She is idolized by many other students in her class except for Jia and Mika, two cliques who consistently look for ways to humiliate Syra. She is determined, kind and keen on everything that goes on at her home, the Eastern Air Temple. She is a major character in the story, When Air Nomads Walked the Earth.
History
Syra was born to two unnamed Air Nomads who, like all other Air Nomad parents, were forced to give their child to the nuns of the Eastern Air Temple. She was put under the care of Sister Min, a tender middle-aged woman who shared a history with the superior of the temple, Sister Iio, and was a famous baker of Fruit Pies. Min described Syra as a young child as "rambunctious, enthusiastic and sharp witted, a little hot-tempered, but always sensible".
Syra wasn't always the patient and relaxed girl she grew up to be; she was somewhat restless and often lost her temper. Although Sister Min struggled quite a bit to discipline Syra, she does admit, however, that Syra's passion for learning Airbending was due to her fiery attitude. She was four years-old when she discovered her Airbending abilities. Sister Min had refused one day to give her a slice of Fruit Pie, telling Syra that it would spoil her appetite for dinner. Syra grew frustrated at this and, in her anger, pushed a bowl of rice off the table accidentally using Airbending. She was amazed at this newfound skill and, from then on, was marked by fierce determination to master her ability.
Syra and the other children pick apples out of a bowl, later to be used to lure the Sky Bison.
At the age of five years-old, Syra was enrolled in an Air Nomad school where she learned both Airbending and the history of the four nations. Like any child, Syra frequently became fed up as she struggled to learn Airbending, but her previously childish behavior was gradually weeded out and instead replaced by patience. It was obvious from a very early point in her training that Syra was the most determined and most skillful Airbender in her class. At six years-old, Syra and several other young children were led by Sister Iio to the Sky Bison stables. Sister Iio handed out apples to all the children and instructed them to choose their Sky Bison well. Syra was a bit uninterested in the whole process of having to choose a bison.
Syra's flying bison, Pala.
Instead of approaching any bison like the other kids, she simply sat down on a nearby bench, placed her apple beside her and watched the others pick their companions. Suddenly, she heard a crunching sound and turned to see that a young bison had come over to her and eaten the apple. She took an immediate liking to the bison, cuddling it and decided to name him Pala.
At the age of ten, Syra was eligible to compete in the annual Airbending matches held during the summer. However, she grew sick just days before they were to be held and had to forfeit the competition much to her disappointment. She finally got her chance to compete the year after at eleven years-old. She had spectacularly won her way through the basic and quarter finals. At the semi-finals, she defeated her opponent, Pang, in the last match for the day and has, thus, moved onto the championship levels.
Personality
Syra is a sweet, gentle and optimistic girl who takes joy in trying to master Airbending. She is strong-headed, oftentimes stubborn and willful which has driven her greatly towards her dream of becoming an Airbending Master and the first in her class. She has mostly grown out of the fiery and quick tempered traits she possessed as a younger child, but is still energetic and lively. Syra is also marked by a strong sense of loyalty to her friends.
Like all Air Nomads, Syra is a vegetarian and strongly believes in all life being sacred. When she was younger, she wasn't particularly interested in flora and fauna and was not too fond of having to choose a Sky Bison. However, after her encounter with here future bison, Pala, that side of her quickly changed and she took more of a liking to nature.
Syra is also very sharp and quick witted. She is smart when choosing her friends and knows all too well to steer clear of the two cliques, Jia and Mika, whenever possible.
Abilities
Syra Airbending.
As aforementioned, Syra had always been and still remains the most prominent Airbender in her class, despite not being a true master. She does maintain high hopes, however, of becoming the first Airbending Master in her class.
Trivia
- Syra's name was originally going to be Tyla. Midway through writing the first chapter, however, it was changed to Syra. The name Tyla was given to her best friend.
- Syra is also the name of a slave in the author's Latin textbook.
See more
For the collective works of the author, go here.
| v - e - dWhen Air Nomads Walked the Earth Characters | |
|---|---|
| Air Nomads | |
| Syra - Pala - Min - Sister Iio - Tyla - Master Yangsu - Jia - Mika | |
| Fire Nation | |
| Siro - Zorin - Lee Wang - Zala - Jengso - Master Shyo | |