Royal Earthbender Guards
General information
Leader(s) Earth King Kuei (formal command) Council of Five (chief command)
Headquarters Ba Sing Se
Affiliation Ba Sing Se, Earth Kingdom
Purpose To protect the Earth King.
Chronological information
First appearance "The Drill"
Last appearance The Promise Part 3

The Royal Earthbender Guards of Ba Sing Se, commonly known as the King's Guards, were earthbending warriors within the Earth Kingdom affiliated with neither the Dai Li nor the army. They instead served as personal protectors of the Earth King.^[1] As elite troops of Ba Sing Se, they were tasked with guarding the Royal Palace, serving as gatekeepers of the Outer and Inner Walls of Ba Sing Se,^[2] and acting as sub-commanders for the Ba Sing Se army troops.^[3] They also served numerous roles in important events, such as the Fire Nation's attempt to demolish Ba Sing Se's walls with a drill^[4] and royal celebrations.^[5]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Reign of the 46th Earth King 1.2 Defending Ba Sing Se 1.3 The Yu Dao crisis 2 Uniform 3 Trivia 4 References 5 See also 6 Comments

History Edit

Reign of the 46th Earth King Edit

Even though the reign of the 46th Earth King plunged the kingdom in a civil war and an ensuing peasant uprising, the Royal Earthbender Guards remained loyal to the government.^[6]

When the peasants of Ba Sing Se rebelled and gained control over the whole city excluding the Royal Palace, the King's guards barricaded themselves in the palace, determined to protect him until the bitter end. However, unable to handle the revolt and fearing for his life, the Earth King summoned Avatar Kyoshi to the capital to aid him and bring the revolt to an end, but she refused. The tyrant was furious about the fact that Kyoshi, an Earth Kingdom citizen, dared to defy her king, and promptly ordered her arrest. The Royal Earthbender Guards obeyed without hesitation, but proved to be no match for the Avatar, as she easily brushed them aside with airbending.^[6]

Defending Ba Sing Se Edit

Around 270 years later, in 0 ASC, the Fire Nation instigated a war that would last a century. The Earth Kingdom was invaded and the Royal Earthbender Guards soon became the first line of defense for Ba Sing Se: protecting the capital to protect the Earth King.

In the spring of 100 ASC, the Royal Earthbender Guards, under the command of General Sung, tried to fight off the Fire Nation drill that assaulted Ba Sing Se. However, Sung ordered the guards to throw boulders on the heavily armored drill which proved ineffective. The aid of Team Avatar eventually secured the victory for the guards.^[4]

Later on, the Royal Earthbender Guards attempted to prevent Avatar Aang and his team from reaching the 52nd Earth King, Kuei. They used specialized surface-to-surface rocks against the invaders, re-purposing the projectiles as surface-to-air rocks against the airborne bison of the Avatar. Nevertheless, they were quickly defeated by the elite force who then broke into the palace complex.

When the Avatar tried to convince the Earth King about a conspiracy that prevented Kuei to be informed about the war, the King's Guards escorted Earth King Kuei while he toured around the city with Team Avatar.^[7]

The Yu Dao crisis Edit

After the Hundred Year War, the King's Guards continued their duty, and when the Harmony Restoration Movement failed and the crisis regarding Yu Dao escalated, they served as sub-commanders of the Earth King's army in the ensuing battle against the reformed Fire Nation Army. When the battle eventually ended with a ceasefire and a temporary agreement, they, along with Earth King Kuei and General How, returned to Ba Sing Se peacefully.^[3]

Uniform Edit

They sported a uniform different from that of a normal Earth Kingdom soldier, wearing heavier, dark green armor with a green plume on top of the helmet.^[7] Their clothing seems to be heavily inspired by the Qing Dynasty brigandine armor.

Trivia Edit

• Since the King's Guards were already active around 270 BSC, they are the oldest known military special unit of the Avatar world.
• Fire Lord Ozai is also known to use dummies of these guards for practice.

References Edit

↑ From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com (link). No longer updated. ↑ "Tales of Ba Sing Se". Joann Estoesta, Lisa Wahlander, Andrew Huebner, Gary Scheppke, Lauren MacMullan, Katie Mattila, Justin Ridge, Giancarlo Volpe (writers) & Ethan Spaulding (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. September 29, 2006. No. 15, Book Two: Earth ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gene Yang (w), Gurihiru (a). The Promise Part 3 (September 26, 2012), Dark Horse Comics ↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Drill". Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko (writers) & Giancarlo Volpe (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. September 15, 2006. No. 13, Book Two: Earth ↑ "City of Walls and Secrets". Tim Hedrick (writer) & Lauren MacMullan (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. September 22, 2006. No. 14, Book Two: Earth ↑ 6.0 6.1 Escape from the Spirit World: Avatar Kyoshi Online Comic Book. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Earth King". John O'Bryan (writer) & Ethan Spaulding (director). Avatar: The Last Airbender. Nickelodeon. November 17, 2006. No. 18, Book Two: Earth

See also Edit

• Earth Kingdom
• Organizations in the World of Avatar
• Royal Procession

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