This week sees the release ofThe Rise of Kyoshi, theAvataruniverse’s very first canonical prose novel.

Front and Center, Finally

True to its title, the new novel focuses on Avatar Kyoshi.

Kyoshi’s unique look made her a visual stand-out whenever Aang was greeted by visions of his past lives.

AsThe Last Airbenderunfolded, it occasionally granted additional pieces of information about Kyoshi.

Unlike the peace-loving Aang, Kyoshi possessed an iron will to see justice done at all costs.

This attitude clearly produced both good and bad results.

The character we meet inThe Rise of Kyoshiis a long way from all that, though.

“That got me into thinking about what could be filled in.

She must have seen some pretty intense stuff to give her that edge.”

An orphan since childhood, Kyoshi is used to being reviled by ordinary townspeople.

The combination of her potentially earth-shattering powers and her xenophobic reception among average people may remind some readers ofN.K.

Though when we first meet Kyoshi, her self-esteem is so low she can barely earthbend at all.

“Since the earliest days ofAvatar,we’ve always been pitched ideas of a fake Avatar.

It seems like a natural thing for writers to glom onto,” DiMartino tells EW.

But the way F.C.

did it, it makes sense in this volatile period between Avatars.

He came up with a plausible reason they could’ve been misidentified.

This is where Aang’s waterbending daughter Kya came in.

One of the most interesting tidbits was the revelation of Kyoshi’s bisexuality.

“In the back of our minds we always thought Kyoshi was probably bisexual,” DiMartino says.

took that idea and came up with an awesome character Rangi and it’s great.

It’s really the heart of the story, which I really like."

The sight made Kyoshi’s breath come to a standstill at the very time she needed it flowing.

Rangi was so beautiful, illuminated by moon and fire, that it hurt.

She was strength and skill and determination wrapped around an unshakable heart."

All About the Words

Until now,Avatarhas primarily been a visual story.

So I actually drew on a concept from back when I practiced capoeira.

Rather than doing lots and lots of motions, you’re posing a question to the other person.

Then they’re answering and posing one of their own, and you’re interacting that way.

The good news is, there’s more where this came from.

What’s Next

That’s not even all that the future holds for theAvataruniverse.

“It’s pretty crazy,” DiMartino says.

“It’s just wild that we created it in 2002, and we’re still working on it.

It’s always been part of my life.

But this does feel new.

That was one of our goals originally: To tell a timeless story that could last generations.”