The Western Air Temple was an Air Nation monastic complex located north of the Fire Nation. It is the second oldest of the Cardinal Air Temples, having been established in 1802 BG as a remote monastery that focused on the spiritual and educational needs of Air Nomads who wanted to leave the Southern Air Temple's lands because they felt they were too overpopulated. At the time, the so-called Chalcedony Archipelago was not inhabited by humans, except for a few seasonal fishing camps on the Northern coast. Notably, the interior had significant uninhabited grazing lands suitable for Sky Bison. The monastery came to be a spiritual hub, and as the air Nomad population grew (very slowly) at expanded. A lineage of reincarnated lamas, the Lungspre Great Sages (翼猴大聖), came to be established at the monastery (with the founder of the lineage being Rolha, a skilled airbending nun known for her clever koans and practical jokes). In recognition of its growing importance, it was established as the Western Air Temple in 1246 BG. It was made a female-only monastery at the time of the Great Monastic Division in 1166 (prior to that, it had hosted both monks and nuns, although they did have separate residential quarters and meditation halls.)
The Earth Kingdom began colonizing the West of the archipelago on which the Western Air Temple is situated around 1380 BG, though the colonies did not thrive and remained small. The Fire Nation began a rival colonization effort around 1290, on the South of the archipelago. The Earth Kingdom ramped up its colonial ambitions in response.
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