History Literature / TheRiseOfKyoshi

* BattleBallgown: Kyoshi's fancy servant dress has chainmail to stop assassins. They aren't taking any chances when it comes to the vicious pirate Takaga.

** After seeing the Kang Shen sect of the Autumn Blossom and learning that they believe that they can become immune to the elements by practicing purification rituals Lek says that they are nonbenders who were traumatized after seeing a loved one die by bending and mentions that people will sometimes go to any lengths to never feel that powerless around benders. This is clearly meant to invoke [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra the Equalists ideology against benders.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Jianzhu forces Yun to try firebending on [[SpikesOfDoom spikes]]. Later, he tries hiding his foot bandages from Kyoshi and gets very agitated when she almost finds out. This is played very similarly to an abused child trying to hide their injuries.

* {{Foreshadowing}}:When Kyoshi wakes up after the battle with the Fifth Nation, Jianzhu is sitting beside her bed. She wonders if he's going to bring the house down on her before she remembers that he's surrounded by wood and can't bend. Their final confrontation [[spoiler: has them fighting in a restaurant with him trying to bend the stone building down on everyone while she tries to keep it up]].

* WorfHadTheFlu: Part of the reason why [[spoiler: Keslang]] goes down so easily is that he’s not fully healed from the fight against the Fifth Nation. Jianzhu, Kyoshi, and Yun had [[spoiler: borrowed his bison and so he had to come the whole way on his glider]], further exacerbating his injuries. Kyoshi notes that it would have been a tough trip for someone at full health.

* CallForward: Quite a few. Among the more subtle ones, Avatar Kuruk's one serious decree was "that his closest companions find the next Avatar and do right by them," evoking [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Aang's request]] that the White Lotus (including his wife and best friend) protect the next Avatar.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: Subverted. Kyoshi ''expects'' this to be the case when she finds out that [[spoiler: her assassination target, Governor Te, is only a teenager]], but [[spoiler: Lao Ge really ''did'' want him dead because of his evil actions, and thinks Kyoshi sparing his life was the wrong move. Rather than punish her, however, he simply warns her that any further crimes The Governor commits are now on her head too]].

* PowerIncontinence: Most of the nations are content to allow benders to discover their powers on their own. The Fire Nation, on the other hand, makes sure to test children for potential as soon as possible (often before they can walk) because they can't have random kids suddenly spewing fire everywhere.

** Jianzhu uses shirshu-spit darts to incapacitate powerful foes, like [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAppasLostDays beetle-headed merchants subduing Appa]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra the Red Lotus kidnapping Korra.]] Unlike these examples, however, [[spoiler: one of Jianzhu's victims suffers from an allergic reaction and dies before the toxin wears off.]]]

* BullyingADragon: The Earth sages try to claim that Kyoshi is a usurper. This is after she went into the Avatar state several times. Fortunately, she opts for heading to the Air Temple rather than smashing them up.

** Jianzhu uses shirshu-spit darts to incapacitate powerful foes, like [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAppasLostDays beetle-headed merchants subduing Appa]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra the Red Lotus kidnapping Korra.]] Unlike these examples, however, [[spoiler: one of Jianzhu's victims suffers from an allergic reaction and dies before the toxin wears off.]] ]]

** Jianzhu uses shirshu-spit darts to incapacitate powerful foes, like [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAppasLostDays beetle-headed merchants subduing Appa]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra the Red Lotus kidnapping Korra.]] Unlike these examples, however, [[spoiler: [[DarkerAndEdgier one of Jianzhu's victims suffers from an allergic reaction and dies before the toxin wears off.]] ]]

** It turns out that Kyoshi was an enforcer of order during her time after a life of being on the run as a bandit and uncontrolled Avatar. She founded the Dai Li to establish this order, who would later prove as formidable foes to later Avatar. Several hundred years later, Toph would follow in her footsteps unwittingly with the Metalbending police obstructing Korra and her friends.

* ParentalAbandonment: Kyoshi's parents did this to her when Kyoshi was about six or seven. Kyoshi remembers and is bitter about it. [[spoiler:Finding out later that they took in Lek and raised himto be a fine bandit serves to infuriate Kyoshi further.]]

** The BloodierAndGorier aspect of getting hit by bending attacks is essentially what would realistically happen when you get hit by them. People getting hit by pillars of stone as big as them at high speeds warrants shattered bones, not AmusingInjuries[=/=]BloodlessCarnage unlike the animated shows. This would be carried over to the sequel.

* SecretArt: [[spoiler: Xu Ping An's lightning bending. In Kyoshi's time, lightning bending was akin to unaided Flight of Korra's time: An art that was thought to be lost to time, if not simply a myth. Before the events of the book, the Fire Nation requested that Jianzhu spare his life so that they could try to pry the secret out of him]].

* ForWantOfANail: When Jianzhu and Kelsang are searching for the new Avatar by using an Airbender ritual, Kyoshi takes one of the toys being offered. If she'd selected another one when Kelsang invited her to, instead of running away in fear, she likely would have been discovered as the Avatar.

''The Rise of Kyoshi'' is the first novel in a two-part series written by F. C. Yee chronicling the life of Avatar Kyoshi, taking place 412 years prior to the events of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. The series largely follows Kyoshi through her teenage and young adult years, mapping her journey from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice still feared and admired centuries after her death, as well as touching upon her romantic interest in both genders.

* ChekhovsBoomerang: A brutal one. [[spoiler: The reason the Flying Opera Company incurred a debt to the Autumn Bloom and accepted them as their elders was because Lek needed medical treatment after being stung by a buzzard wasp and nearly dying. This same sensitivity comes back when Jianzhu kidnaps Rangi and darts her, Kyoshi, and Lek with shirshu venom. Rangi and Kyoshi are merely paralyzed, while Lek has an allergic reaction and dies]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Kyoshi wakes up after the battle with the Fifth Nation, Jianzhu is sitting beside her bed. She wonders if he's going to bring the house down on her before she remembers that he's surrounded by wood and can't bend. Their final confrontation [[spoiler: has them fighting in a restaurant with him trying to bend the stone building down on everyone while she tries to keep it up]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Kyoshi wakes up after the battle with the Fifth Nation, Jianzhu is sitting beside her bed. She wonders if he’s going to bring the house down on her before she remembers that he’s surrounded by wood and can’t bend. Their final confrontation [[spoiler: has them fighting in a restaurant with him trying to bend the stone building down on everyone while she tries to keep it up]].

* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Yun and Kelsang become this when Jianzhu leaves the former to die and murders the other for trying to rescue Kyoshi. Their deaths cement Kyoshi's resentment for corrupt dictators and her refusal to adhere to typical Avatar training. It especially sinks home when Yun returns as a lich and kills Jianzhu as well as innocent people]].

* ForWantOfANail:
** When Jianzhu and Kelsang are searching for the new Avatar by using an Airbender ritual, Kyoshi takes one of the toys being offered. If she'd selected another one when Kelsang invited her to, instead of running away in fear, she likely would have been discovered as the Avatar.
** Similarly, in the [[Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi sequel]], Kyoshi herself confesses to Hei-Ran that she thinks everything would have gone better if she'd simply been able to ignite the ball of tinder that Hei-Ran tried to test her with. If she'd been able to prove that she could firebend when everyone already knew she was an Earthbender, that would have conclusively proved she was the Avatar ''before'' Jianzhu resorted asking Father Glowworm and subsequently [[spoiler: writing off Yun and Kelsang]].

* ForWantOfANail: When Jianzhu and Kelsang are searching for the new Avatar by using an Airbender ritual, Kyoshi takes one of the toys being offered. If she'd selected another one when Kelsang invited her to, instead of running away in fear, she likely would have been discovered as the Avatar.

A sequel entitled ''Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi' was released on July 21, 2020. It jumps ahead two years in time to a more confident Kyoshi getting dragged into an internal conflict in the Fire Nation.

A sequel entitled ''The Shadow of Kyoshi'' is set to be released on July 21, 2020. It will jump ahead two years in time to a more confident Kyoshi dealing with a mysterious new foe from the Spirit World.