Wan Shi Tong's Legends

The Lost Legend of the 17th Avatar, Maui: The Spirit of the Volcano

Some Avatars have become little more than footnotes in history, such as Kuruk, Hou, or Yama. Some Avatars have been immortalized for their heroic deeds, like Korra, Aang, Kyoshi, or Guan Yu. But there are Avatars whose very existence is so shrouded in myth that it is hard to believe what was real about them and what was hearsay, or exagerations, or "creative truths". One such Avatar was Maui, the seventeenth Avatar.

Of all the details pertaining to Maui, only a handful are known for certain to be fact: he was born on Ember Island to the Red Fire tribe, a nation of firebenders from before there was a Fire Nation. He lived to be 56 years old, quite young but not nearly as young as the youngest Avatar to have died. Maui was also quite popular with children, and to this day there are still some games named after him, and books about his legends still sell. He was also a trickster, even in his adulthood, and rode an Unagi across the oceans of the world.

But everything else about Maui is questionable, and even his spirit refuses to dispel any of the rumors or myths about him, often exagerating details for the sake of it. An example would be the legend of him being born with four heads, one for each Element; Maui himself had told Aang that the number of heads was eighteen, while he then told Korra he was born with five heads. Another example would be the legend of how he tamed his Unagi: some say he slew its parents with Waterbending and forced the beast into servitude, while others say he saved it from being eaten when it was a baby. Maui never really cleared up what actually happened.

Perhaps the most famous of Maui's legends is the tale of how he tamed the Volcano Spirit in what is today the capital of the Fire Nation. Back in Maui's days, the volcano was in fact not only active, it was home to a wicked volcano spirit. This spirit not only enjoyed tormenting the villagers that lived near his volcano, he also demanded tribute quite often, and during the worst times too. This volcano spirit would demand water in times of drought, food in times of hunger, and child sacrifices in times of war, lest he destroyed the entire island in a chain of volcanic erruptions.

When Maui had heard about the spirit, he came up with a plan. He went to the spirit's volcano lair, and told him "Spirit, I am the Avatar, and I am here to offer you my servitude."

The spirit laughed. "Ah! For Rava to recognize my greatness! What honor has come to befall me!"

"Oh yes, a great honor." Said Maui. "I wonder, oh Spirit, if you'd join me for a drink?"

"What kind of drink?"

"One from my native land. It's called poi." Said Maui as he handed the spirit a cup with a yellow liquid in it.

Poi is a drink from Ember Island that is still served to this day. The traditional ingredients are mashed ash bananas mixed with papaya juice, pineapple slices, and no less than three cups of alcohol, mixed in a bowl for ten minutes, and served on cups made of coconut shells. A popular drink for tourists, but not for those that can't handle their alcohol.

And so Maui served the spirit a cup of poi, and he himself drank a cup as well. "Care for another, oh Spirit?"

"Of course! This drink is delicious!" Said the spirit. Maui reached for another cup of poi. Unknow to the spirit, Maui was Waterbending the alcohol to go through his body and unto the palm of his hand, where he'd subtly allow the alcohol to drip unto the spirit's cup. He served the spirit a second cup, and he himself drank another. And this process continued for six more cups, until the spirit passed out drunk.

Maui encased the Spirit into magma using his Earthbending, carried him to the North Pole, and tossed him right through the Spirit Portal, where Koh the Face Stealer awaited him. And thus, the people of what would become the Fire Nation were freed from the wicked spirit of the volcano.

Is this story true, or not? We can never know for sure, because aside the fact no one would dare ask Koh to verify, Maui himself has never given a straight answer. Nor would he ever.