The Traders Union

Ba Sing Sa's modern water bending guild. The Trader's Union use their bending only for profit and self gain. Though they claim to be a legitimate guild who run the water ways and the shipping district. They are actually nothing more then gangs of thieves, thugs and smugglers. They utilize the various sewers and aqueducts that run through out the city to move quickly and unseen. By using their water bending for transportation they can easily move contraband from one part of the city to another. This also allows them to quickly hide evidence whenever the police try to catch them red handed. Like most modern guilds the spiritual side of bending is completely ignored by the Trader's Union who only see it as a tool to use for profit.

=Membership and Daily Life= This guild when it was first founded had few members and even fewer water benders. However when all of the water bending refuges, who had been forced to flee their home due to Enoh's campaign. Tried to join the Central Water Tribe, many were shocked to learn that they would not be allowed to join simply because they or their parents weren't born in either the north or south pole. Alone in an enormous city with no job and home these water bender's were taken in by Captain Jokaro the founder of the Trader's Union. He taught them how to smuggle and steal and to use their water bending to protect themselves and soon the guild became one of the most powerful in the city. The Trader's Union will allow any water bender no matter were they hail from or their past. Other benders and non benders are technically allowed in but rarely do so as most of the jobs they undertake can only be completed by water benders. Non benders who were denied access to the Central Water Tribe do join from time to time and earn their keep by being look outs, pick pockets and brokers. The style of water bending used by the Union is not the traditional defensive style but the "street" style of water bending that was developed in Republic City. Unlike other water bending styles it is very aggressive usually seeking to end a fight in one quick blow and failing that will utilize dirty fighting tactics like blinding an opponent until an opening is given to go in for the kill. This style was invented to compensate for the fact that in most parts of the city their are no large bodies of water to fight with so a water bender must rely on the water they bring with them which can be easily depleted in a fight. The guild is split into several gangs which act independently of one another rarely do they act together to do anything. The two largest gangs are the ones that follow the guild master Jokaro and the guild champion Jin. Recently Jin has started to amass more members to his faction and it is rumored that he is planning a mutiny.

=Guild Hall: The Smiling Serpent Shark= A large cargo submarine that belongs to the guild master Captain Jokaro. It is usually docked in the various ports that the Union controls. It is the only vessel of its size in Ba Sing Sa and possibly the world. Rumor has it that it was designed and built by the United Forces to fight against Enoh but Jokaro stole it along with the blue prints so that his ship may never know an equal. Its front is painted with the mouth and fangs of a serpent shark. Sometimes Jokaro will take his vessel out side of the city to smuggle in goods. While it is the official guild hall of the Trader's Union only Jokaro and his personal crew are aloud aboard. So most other gangs create their own personal guild halls which are usually hidden in basements or are taverns. The Trader's Union controls all of the docks in Ba Sing Sa except the fishing wharf which is run by the Central Water Tribe. They also own the "sunken district" an impoverished neighborhood that is literally sinking into the sea. Most of the streets have water up to your ankles and many of the houses are flooded. The closer you go to the ocean the deeper the water gets with one part being completely submerged. This is were Jin's personal base of operations supposedly is located.

=Guild Master: Captain, Jokaro= An ex pirate who founded the guild in Ba Sing Sa before Rei's rebellion. Using the refugees that weren't allowed into the Central Water Tribe he was able to build up his organization and is now the leader of one of the most profitable guilds in Ba Sing Se. Jokaro is as cunning as he is greedy he turned the cities disenfranchised and desperate water benders into his own personal crew of expert criminals. He also keeps the guild legitimate enough so that the police can't shut them down and they can make open deals with the rest of the city. Jokaro is a tad eccentric and has developed a surly bravado due to the success of his guild. This has made him overconfident and somewhat blind to the machinations of his guild champion Jin. Though he likes to put on the facade that he cares for all his members and is a fair man Jokaro is notorious for his short temper and cruelty. Those who cross him rarely do so twice. He has contacts to the Triads and the Qian Conglomerate and the three organizations tend to watch each others backs making them even more dangerous and difficult to deal with. The Captain is a skilled water bender and has been in many fights and battles throughout his life. While a deadly foe on land on the sea or in any large body of water he is almost unbeatable. Underwater he can move faster then an air bender and can dive almost as deeply as his submarine. The amount of time he can spend underwater is also ridiculous, with out using his bending he can stay submerged for seven minutes (almost four times the amount of a normal person) and while using his bending he can stay submerged for at least an hour with out having to re surface for air. This is due to his life time spent as a diver and his abnormally large lung capacity. As water bending is powered by the breath this makes his bending strength abnormally strong as well.

=Guild Champion: Jin the Drowned= No one knows where Jin is from whether he is a refugee or a native of Ba Sing S all they know is that he just literally washed up on the docks one day unconscious and pale. Everyone thought he was just another drowned corpse that used to be an enemy of Jokaro. But to their surprise he coughed up water and came back to life. Then he just silently walked off with everyone around him too shocked to say anything. Jin returned to the sunken district a week later still looking pall and soggy as if he just washed up on shore again. He walked right to the Smiling Serpent Shark ignoring the various warnings and threats given to him by the guild members and stepped right into Jokaro's private quarters. No one knows what they discussed in that room but Jin left and immediately went to work, stealing, smuggling and eliminating all of Jokaro's problems. Jokaro was so impressed by the efficiency of his new member he made him guild champion after he had a falling out with the old guild champion and had Jin bury his body at the bottom of a canal. Jokaro believes Jin to be his loyal agent but while Jokaro is ordering him around Jin has slowly been consolidating power in an effort to dethrone the Captain. Many members like Jin's stable purely business approach to jobs as apposed to Jokaro's eccentric and wanton leadership. They see him as the reliable leader the Traders Union needs to actually unify the guild. It is no secret that Jin hates Jokaro almost as much as he hates the Central Water Tribe. And this sentiment is shared by even Jokaro's personal crew. Jin is a powerful and cunning water bender and a master of the modern street style of water bending. His attacks are lightning quick and unpredictable and he is so precise with his water tendrils that he can actually use them to pick peoples pockets. His underwater speed and duration rival Jokaro's and so does his fighting ability. Most consider Jokaro to be stronger but Jin doesn't spend all his time drinking rum on a submarine and instead is constantly completing jobs so Jokaro's title as being the strongest in the guild might not last much longer. Jin's trademark style of killing is to drown his opponents either by submersion or by using his water bending. This has led to some calling him Jin the Drowner instead of Jin the Drowned.