Prison Rig
From Avatar Wiki, the Avatar: The Last Airbender database
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Fire Nation Prison, Fire Navy Shipyard |
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The Prison Rig or Mining Rig was an offshore rig where Earthbenders were imprisoned and were forced to work with coal if they were caught Earthbending in Fire Nation-occupied territory. It was run by The Warden. Built by the Fire Nation, this giant, stationary shipyard sits in the middle of the ocean. An enormous wall bisects the structure. On one side is a shipyard where the Fire Nation repairs and refuels its ships. The other side is a prison for the captive Earthbenders. The prisoners cannot bend because the metal rig is surrounded by water, and they are miles away from land. In addition to this, few Earthbenders have ever learned to bend metal, further hindering their bending prowess. However, the Warden doesn't let the muscular Earthbenders go to waste. He forces them to work in the shipyard, building new ships for the Fire Navy.
[edit] History
The Fire Nation Prison Rig was presumably built during the War off the shores of the Western Earth Kingdom, which has been thoroughly conquered by the Fire Nation. It has built many ships for the expansive Fire Navy, and imprisons hundreds of Earthbenders. Those Earth Kingdom citizens who are caught Earthbending against Fire Nation law are considered a threat to the occupation and subsequently sent to the prison rig to silence their bending.
Many prominent Earthbenders from the Mining Village were sent to this rig, including Tyro, the father of Haru, a friend of Team Avatar.
When Haru, an Earthbender, was imprisoned and taken to the prison rig, Katara tricked the local authorities into arresting her by faking an Earthbending move, in an attempt to save Haru. In the prison, she tried to encourage the Earthbenders to fight back and regain their freedom, but they had lost hope and decided not to fight the guards. Team Avatar came to rescue Katara, but she refused to leave until the other prisoners left too. Katara and Sokka blocked up all the air vents while Aang went into the boiler room and pushed the coal up, releasing it to the air vent the Earthbenders were at. Katara then urged them to fight. At first, the Earthbenders declined again, their spirits still broken. Suddenly, Haru threw some coal at the Warden, who tried to attacked Haru with fire, but it was blocked by Tyro and three other Earthbenders. The rest of the prisoners soon attacked the guards, pushing them back. Finally, the Earthbenders threw the Firebenders into the ocean. After the victory, the Earthbenders used the stolen ships to return to their homeland, swearing to retake their nation from the Fire Nation invaders.
During the battle on the rig, Katara lost her necklace and could not return to retrieve it. It was later found by Prince Zuko, who used the necklace to track down Katara and subsequently, Aang.
Since the Fire Nation ultimately lost the war with the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai, it is unknown what will become of the massive prison rig. It may have been dismantled, surrendered to the Earth Kingdom, or refitted for peacetime duties.
[edit] Trivia
- It is possible the Earthbender rebellions mentioned later on in the series (in Zuko's flashback of Ozai's war meeting in "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King") were precipitated by the escape of the reinvigorated Earthbenders from this rig, as Tyro says "we're going to take back all our villages".
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