Ba Sing Se

The largest city in the world Ba Sing Se was once the capitol of the mighty Earth Kingdom. Now it is the only place on the planet not controlled by Enoh the Conqueror. It still is the largest city in the world and has now become an isolated urban nation. Its enormous metal walls have repelled the forces of the Conqueror for now but the citizens inside live in constant fear of the day when Enoh will come and invade their city. Despite once being an Earth Kingdom city Ba Sing Se has roughly the same amount of citizens from all five nations. The city resembles the United Republic more then any other nation. Their is no one unified governing body running the city instead the ten bending guilds rule over their own districts in whatever way they see fit. Though their are parts of the city that no one controls, these are called lawless zones. The guilds of Ba Sing Se have always had a strong influence on the economy and culture of the city and due to the formation of the ten great guilds they are more prominent then ever.

=The Ten Great Guilds= Almost all jobs in the city are controlled by one of the ten guilds. So to not be a member of one is to face the challenges and dangers of Ba Sing Se completely alone. Though some prefer this as it means that they answer to no one. In the past their were numerous guilds that were dedicated to ordinary occupations. Their were carpenters guilds and acting guilds, some powerful others just a small group of friends supporting each other. The Earth Bender's Guild stood out as the most prestigious and respected of all guilds in Ba Sing Se. Before Rei's rebellion a group of citizens hailing from the Fire Nation formed the Fire Bender's Guild to represent their culture's bending art in the city. A water bending guild soon followed and eventually even an air bending guild was formed. The four guilds all had vastly different amounts of influence in the city but they were all respected for being paragons of the four nations culture. Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe realizing that though having guilds for benders was great it really left non benders out of the loop. So he decided to found his own guild for non benders. Initially he called it the League for people who can't bend any element. After taking advice from his wife he decided to shorten the name to the Elementless League.

After Rei's rebellion and Enoh's campaign beginning to overwhelm the five nations thousands of refuges flocked to Ba Sing Se to escape the war. Members from the four original nations began joining the bending guilds in the city. Desperate for anything that reminded them of home and kept their culture alive. The four bending guilds began not just teaching the bending arts but began to govern their districts and promote the culture of their nation. All the minor guilds in the districts of the five bending guilds began assimilating them selves to stay afloat. The five became so powerful that even the Earth King aligned him self with the Earth Bender's Guild and formed the Earth Regency. Other guilds followed suit and soon the four bending guilds were run by the leaders of the various nations. Other great guilds were formed first was the Qian Conglomerate, then the Mechanist Combine, the Trader's Union was able to capitalize on the Central Water Tribes inner turmoil and become a major guild. The Saya Heating and Water Company was formed and stayed active despite their niche already being filled by the Mechanist combine. Lastly the Way of the Heavenly Voice was established though no one knew of its existence for some time until Tsuchigumo the head of the Dai Li demanded that they become a sanctioned guild.

All of the guilds have four things in common in order to be recognized as a real guild. Each guild must have a clear purpose it can be anything and can be vague but the purpose has to be the driving force behind the guild. All guilds must have a sanctioned guild hall that is the center of the guilds operations a guild hall can be any kind of structure but tends to be the most impressive or popular building in the guild,s district. Guild halls come in many sizes and shapes from temples to palaces from schools to factories and their is even a guild with a submarine for a guild hall. Every guild must have a guild master to lead and guide the guild. A guild master is usually the most powerful or respected member of the guild. They are chosen very carefully for they represent the will of the entire guild and all of its members. Some guild masters have a council of experienced members to advise them though most have complete authority in their guild and answer to no one. Finally each guild must have a champion some one to represent their guild in conflicts and to be a paragon of the ideals of their guild. Arguably this is the most important position of the guild for while the guild master runs the guild from a pedestal it is the champion's duty to support the common members and represent them in guild decisions. When two guilds have a dispute with each other and an agreement cannot be met with mere words it is customary for the conflict to be resolved by the guild's champions through honor combat. And whichever champion emerges victorious that guild wins the dispute. This law was made so that guilds will not go to war with each other and that weaker guilds have a chance to defeat stronger guilds. Because this is the most important duty of the guild champion, they are almost always young fighters in prime fighting condition or the most powerful bender in their guild.