#the dawn of yangchen

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thinking about the structure of the yangchen novels as a prequel to a prequel
atla established the legacy of kyoshi as a decisive avatar who harnessed awe inspiring feats of bending and yangchen’s legacy as a wise peace keeper able to put her role as an avatar above the values she was raised with.
but then the kyoshi novels showed the cracks in yangchen’s legacy. yangchen kept peace during her lifetime at the expense of the generations after her, at the expense of her own next life.
with the rise of kyoshi the reader goes in with only the lens of history seen in the show - but with the dawn of yangchen, we understand the legacy the world sees and the legacy that was buried.
“people shouldn’t have everything they want. no one is entitled to their every desire” yangchen tells kyoshi at the end of sok. yangche’s greatest mistake was trusting people to uphold their deals with the spirits - trusting that people would be as wise and understanding as she was. yangchen didn’t see that some weren’t until it was too late.
where the kyoshi novels has an under current of humorous dramatic irony– the young unsure kyoshi doesn’t know that she will become one of the most respected avatars in history– the yangchen novels will have a tinge of tragic irony to them. peace had a price paid by the generations after her.