abstract
| - Prior to the establishment of the Fire Nation, the disaggregated Fire Islands were subject to territorial warfare and controlled by a series of warlords, who were known to be cruel and ruthless. The most notorious was Toz, a warlord who had control over several villages and demanded annual tributes from each village. One year, a village refused to provide him with offerings, which prompted the warlord and his men to raid the settlement and abduct the village's children as punishment. The children were never seen again and their mothers died of sadness. Shortly thereafter, the Kemurikage began to haunt Toz and his men. They drifted into the warlord's encampment in the middle of the night and abducted children, causing Toz's men to abandon him out of fear. The dark spirits continued to haunt other warlords for centuries until the Fire Islands were united by the first Fire Lord. The Kemurikage became part of Fire Nation legend and were immortalized in a mural depicting the history of the nation located within the Dragonbone Catacombs. The story of their origin was written on a scroll outside of the crypt of the first Fire Lord, with whom they remained closely associated. Although the scroll suggested that the Kemurikage continue to haunt the Fire Nation due to their "insatiable sadness", they returned to the Spirit World after the unification of the islands. The legend evolved over time as a way to build character and deter misconduct among children. To this end, parents from the Fire Nation Capital told the story of how the Kemurikage were a group of spirits residing in the mountains who come in the night to abduct children that misbehaved. Michi and Ukano were told of this fable as children, and the two familiarized Mai and Tom-Tom with the legend many years later.
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