The Nensho Clan
A Kyoten Foundation
Introduction
The Nensho Clan, fueled with the determination to revitalize the culture of the combustion benders. They seek justice for their forefathers and the freedom to celebrate their culture. They are the reigning dynasty of Kyoten and were a noble family of the Fire Nation, established by Natsuko Nensho.
Table of Contents
History
Prior to the Hundred Year War, a group of unique fire benders thrived in a community filled with celebration. They all shared one thing in common, they possessed the specialized telekinetic fire bending technique known as, combustion.
The people resided on a volcanic island just north of the Fire Nation capital. It was there that they cultivated their gift and undertook years of tedious training and studying in order to master this ability to its fullest potential. The civilization of the combustion benders was tight knit, they lived on the eastern side of the island, but remnants of their existence is scattered throughout the island.
Once the war for prosperity broke out, many of the combustion benders were forced into slavery or used as weapons. If they chose not to comply, they were killed. Out of the entire community, only four combustion benders were able to end up unscathed. They made a vow to preserve their unique abilities and went into hiding, living on the edge of all civilization.
One combustion bender in particular, was a man named Shozak, a distant ancestor of the Nensho Clan. The name Nenshō can be closely translated to the word combustion, which is why he adopted the name for himself. Shozak lived amongst the rest of the Fire Nationals, forced to hide his combustion ability and leave behind the only life he’d ever known. He made the westernmost island of the Fire Nation a place to call home, a place where he started new, but with the few things he was able to retain from his old life he kept buried in the ground of his new home.
Background
The Nensho Clan was founded in the Fire Nation. Natsuko Nensho discovered his gift for combustion early on in his life, and he didn't know anybody else that shared his ability. Having been adopted, there was little that he knew about his true bloodline. Despite that, he trained hard and soon joined the military, quickly rising the ranks and rising above his station. Natsuko met his late wife, Sapphire, many years ago during the Summer Solstice Festival. The two fell in love, and soon enough their love flourished into a strong and formidable family. Natsuko and Sapphire had six children together, and eventually their children went off and got married and had children of their own, in time they thrived into a powerful clan.
Discovery
The members of the Nensho Family are known to possess and be skilled with the technique of combustion. Combustion is seen to be a hereditary trait in their family, as all the children possess and can perform combustion to a certain extent, this is a gene passed on through Natsuko’s direct bloodline. Like their father, the children discovered their gift for combustion at a very young age. The children of the Nensho Family received formal training in order to cultivate their bending skill, and they all excelled to the point where they each pursued a dedication to the Fire Nation Military. It is undeniable that they are powerful benders, but due to their combustion abilities it is important that their emotions and chi were kept in balance, as they couldn't control it at their young age. In order to guide her young children, Sapphire came up with many tactics to keep them balanced, through herbal remedies, meditation, and calming hot spring baths.
Family Relations
The Nensho Family consists of those related biologically and those that have been taken in and adopted. Natsuko’s birth parents are deceased, but he was adopted by Fire Lord Kaneko and Hong, and was soon named Fire Prince. Soon after Natsuko and Sapphire married they had their first child, Konzu, a little over a year later came Ezon, then Kaeru, until they opened their home and their hearts to adopt Sazu, they then had Zander and finally, years later they had their youngest son, Natsu. Over the years Natsuko did have one scandalous relation with a certain Akane Xiao, and the two bore a son named Rai. These nine make up the primary Nensho family, who branched off to create the clan. The children of Natsuko and Sapphire were raised with lots of love in their hearts, and were taught kindness in taking in those and creating a found family.
The children of the Nensho Family grew up in seclusion. A lot of them felt trapped resentment having grown up so isolated yet having a strained relationship with their career driven father. The children of the Nensho family all seem to have the common trait of dedication, as their father before them. They were close growing up but were pushed to the limits of their bending and were forced onto different paths through their competitive nature. Most notably was the downfall of Ezon, she lacked the skills her brothers possessed and began to distance herself. They tried to encourage and teach her but it was no use, one day during their intensive training Ezon failed to redirect the lightning which resulted in a slash across her face forever scarring her. With that she became even more detached, spending more time alone inside the house and unsociabl. Her brothers however, were driven through their competitive nature to excel in the military. They surpassed everyone and rose in the ranks as their father before them had. They constantly challenged the possibilities of bending and made a name for themselves.
Social Status
The members of the Nensho family have all held notable and influential positions within the Fire Nation, during his time in the military, Natsuko eventually became the General, and while his wife did start her journey as a Private in the military she ultimately found her passion in the government branch and she retired as a High Sage. Since their parents were High Ranking Officials, the children were held to a much higher standard than most and they were successful in living up to their legacy, Konzu and Kaeru became Generals of the military, Rai and Sazu became Senseis in their craft as their father before them, and the only Nensho daughter, Ezon, followed in her mother’s footsteps and even became Grand Sage. Due to their world renowned father, the members of the Nensho Family became well known around the world through their achievements and their relations.
Family Estate
Natsphire IslandThe Nenshos were founded and continue to reside in the Fire Nation. As a Lieutenant Natsuko would often go on rounds, and as part of Sapphire’s training as a Fire Sage she would be tasked in surveying the nation, they would often do these things together, and on one of their excursions they discovered an uninhabited island with a lone sakura tree presiding over it, a little ways west of Caldera. Sapphire fell in love with the island, and as a gift to her Natsuko asked the Fire Lord if he could claim the island as his own. He named it, Natsphire Island.
The members of the Nensho Family have long since called this island their home. After their eldest son Konzu was born, conflict with vicious rogues attacking the cities of the Fire Nation arose, Natsuko and Sapphire decided to seek refuge on their island in order to provide their children with a better future. Thus the construction of the Nensho Family’s Sakurai House began and it was there on that beautiful yet secluded island that they raised their seven children together.
During the construction of their house they uncovered boxes buried deep in the sand of the island’s beaches, it turns out the island was never completely uninhabited after all. They were able to uncover years worth of journals and information detailing the life of Shozak Nenshō, and that of the combustion bender’s past. Natsuko would spend days on end reading, researching, and cross referencing information, he even met with elders and history specialists in order to learn all he could about the culture of the combustion benders.
Nensho Island
Before the 100 years war the landmass of the volcanic island north of the Fire Nation was home to the combustion benders, but they were almost completely wiped out. Years later, the White Lotus used the uninhabited volcanic island as a means to detain the Red Lotus fugitive, Ming Hua. The landmass was untouched once again, until Natsuko’s adopted brother, the former Fire Lord Kano Sentō, had gifted him with the land, as a place to rebuild the culture of the combustion benders.
With that, the Nenshos were also named the guardians of the prison, sworn to protect it with their lives. On Natsuko’s first trip out to the island he fell in love with the endless possibilities it posed, he named it Nensho Island, after his family, in hopes to one day make it their legacy. It was intended to be a place where his children could embrace their gift. It was here that they began construction on their family estate on Nensho Island.
He quickly began construction on his family’s Asukara Mansion, enlisting the help of his children and wife in order to make this new home more of an intimate experience. During his survey of the island, finding the right place to build his family home, he discovered what looked like the head of a dragon carved into the volcano, although upon closer inspection Natsuko was able to recognize it as Funshutsu Rokkugādian, a watchful dragon that once helped guide the lifestyle of the former combustion benders. He decided that was where he wanted to build his home, at the pillar of reconstruction of combustion bending culture.
Customs
Initiation ProcessNatsuko scoured the world to find those worthy of living amongst combustion benders, anyone that possessed but couldn’t control the rare gene or that wanted to embrace the culture of the combustion benders. He invited them to join him and his family on Nensho Island to undertake the knowledge of the combustion benders.
Funshutsu Rokkugādian, was a dragon derived from the dragons of the Sun Warriors. One of the original dragons migrated a little ways away from the land Sun Warriors and found themselves a home on the volcanic island. When the first combustion benders of the world wanted to find a place to create a sanctuary, they uncovered the island, and the dragon seemed to welcome them. He would assist in their building of civilization, homes, farms, and most importantly protection. The dragon would protect the combustion people, bringing them gifts of purified water, preventing the eruption of the volcano, and even defending the people from attacks. Alas, when the Fire Nation came to attack, the dragon was overwhelmed by their forces and was unable to protect the combustion people. The Fire Nation military disrupted the volcano through their violence and the dragon, Funshutsu Rokkugādian, was met with doom being suffocated and encased in molten lava cascading from the volcano. Despite this his likeness was preserved as hardened rock on the side of the volcano, and it is said that the spirit of Funshutsu Rokkugādian still roams the island now protecting those of the Nensho Clan, as would the spirit of any family’s ancestors.
When Natsuko’s parents were still alive they would tell him of Funshutsu Rokkugādian, how the dragon would guide those of the Nensho Family to prosperity and success. When Natsuko started a family of his own he thought it was important to not only uphold the memory of his late parents but also the origins of his family. He continued the tradition of honoring the spirit of Funshutsu Rokkugādian and even taught his children the tales, when he began to spread the culture of the combustion benders he made sure that Funshutsu Rokkugādian was a well upheld figure.
Sakura Trees
Sapphire Nensho, like the rest of her family, possesses the power of combustion, and controlling her gift was what her husband taught her when they first met. She learned that one way she could center her chi was through herbal teas, meditation, and above all gardening. She used these techniques to calm herself and find her balance, and when her children would have outbursts she would instill these tactics into her parenting.
Sapphire set up many gardens at the Sakurai House, and she even had a greenhouse. She prided herself in caring for and up keeping the sakura tree that lived on the island, and when they built their Asukara Mansion on Nensho Island, she took the cuttings of the original tree and brought it over to their mansion. When her family relocated she tried to continue her gardening, except she quickly realized that no plant life could survive the harsh conditions of the volcanic island, except for one. Although it started small, with enough tender care she was able to use the cuttings of the sakura tree on Natsphire to grow a beautiful sister tree on Nensho Island.
Ash to Sakura Celebration
Typically, sakura trees stay in full bloom for a week, although the tree on Nensho Island is in bloom for 24 hours, starting at the peak of the moon at midnight. This is due to the harsh conditions of the island. Just before the period of full bloom, the tree is in its most beautiful stage, in which the beautiful pink and white blossoms begin to bloom at sunset as volcanic ash begins to sprinkle creating a swirl of nature and fire in the air. The Nenshos view these sakura trees a symbol of hope, renewal, and new beginnings; this is because the homes of the Nensho family have been christened with the growth or discovery of one of these trees.
During this event the Nensho Family invite not only the people of the combustion clan but also the entire world to join them at their estate for food, drinks and festivities to watch the wonder of the Nensho Island sakura tree. The event lasts all night, from watching the full bloom of the tree at suset to the final stage at sunrise, when the tree sheds its life and withers once again. When nearing sunset families usually join together with the picnic of the Ash to Sakura, sipping the tea of the cherry blossoms and watching the morning sun glow over the volcano, with the statue of Funshutsu Rokkugādian behind, and the slow fall of flowers and ash.
Family Legacy
KyotenThe city state of Kyoten was established during the reign of Fire Lord Kuzoku, a relative of the Nensho family. Kaeru had long fought to have Kyoten identified as an official state, but it was denied by Fire Lord Kano. People have long since lived on the land mass following the fall of Fort Qam in the war between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. The land of Kyoten, prior to it being identified as so, is located just across from Nensho Island, the private residence of the Nensho Clan, Natsuko and his son Kareu were the first to discover the settlement and its citizens. As the settlements grew and the Nenshos continued to rise in the ranks, the moment Fire Lord Kano’s son, Kuzoku became Fire Lord, Kaeru made it his mission to once again propose the status of Kyoten as a city state. Fire Lord Kyoku officially approved the island as a state and gave Kaeru, with his new position as Colonel, the permission to access Fire Nation resources in order to expand the city. The Nensho Clan then took charge of a majority of the construction, and Fire Lord Kyoku had the honor of officially naming the island, Kyoten. The Nensho’s took their place as the governing family of Kyoten, and helped it and its people prosper. Natsuko took the place as Emperor of Kyoten, after he stepped down as General of the Fire Nation Military, and his son Kaeru was quick in taking his place just as he did with the position of General. After Kaeru had fulfilled his duty as Fire Nation General, he joined his father, alongside his two brothers, Sazu and Rai, and his two cousins, Kyoku and Liko, to help form the Council of Shogunate and truly get Kyoten to the place it is today. Kyoten will forever be known as the legacy of the Nensho Clan.
Nensho Clan
Nation of Residence:
Kyoten Nation of Origin:
Fire Nation Element:
Fire (Combustion) Social Status:
Royalty Location:
Nensho Island, Kyoten
Members
Clan Head: Natsuko Nensho
