Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a great Fire Lord lived in a shining palace. Although he had everything he could have ever wanted, the Lord was greedy, selfish, and unkind. He ruled a prosperous nation, but it was not enough, and he wanted more; he wanted to rule the world.

He knew that none of the nations would simply allow his dominion over them, but he also knew that none could stop him, so powerful were his armies. However, there was one who could end his dreams: the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeper of balance, and the bridge between the worlds of the living and of the Spirits. On the day of a fateful comet, when the strength of his people was increased tenfold, he sent his troops to destroy the Air Nomads, for the next in the line of Avatars was said to be among them, still a child and not yet powerful enough to stop him.

His success was legendary, but he had corrupted the balance of the world. The Spirits sent a single messenger, the Painted Lady, to confront him. He accepted her into his Great Hall, and she told him of his gravest error, offering him a single white rose if only he would acknowledge his wrongdoing. With laughter, he turned her away, claiming the Spirits held no sway over him, but they proved him wrong. They combined all of their power into the single greatest act ever inflicted upon the mortal world: the Fire Lord and all of his loyal subjects were transformed into hideous creatures, the royal line the most horrifying of all.

The Fire Lord tried to apologize, but it was too late. The balance had been destroyed, and the Spirits had seen that he held no love in his heart for anyone or anything other than himself and his own power. If he could learn to love another and to be loved in return, the curse would be broken, and he and his people would return to their human appearance.

The Fire Lord had other ideas in mind. Using their newly inflicted, monstrous forms, he led forces against the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom, striking great fear into the hearts of all who beheld them. The Fire Nation conquered great chunks of land in the Earth Kingdom and slowly brought the Southern Water Tribe to its knees, but he did not have anyone to carry on his legacy.

In the hopes that a successor would not bear the same curse, he forced a marriage between an Earth Kingdom princess and himself, creating a son who was as beautiful and as human as he had once been. Unfortunately, as soon as the young Prince reached puberty, the malediction rapidly took hold of him. However, hope was not lost to the people of the Fire Nation, for if the curse could take hold of newer generations, then it was believed that it could also be broken by them.