⸺  Biography

Kanaaq was born in the North Pole, somewhere outside the Northern Water Tribe. His mother passed away at birth and his father took his own life on the same day. He was found in the biting cold by a waterbending Master, Tulugaak, who took him in after discovering the remains of Kanaaq's parents.When Tulugaak took in baby Kanaaq, everyone thought the newborn had made a life for himself and would grow up with two golden spoons. However, that wasn't the truth at all. Tulugaak was a very strict, very traditional and very demanding man. He began training Kanaaq, when the latter was only five years old. He was certainly talented in waterbending, even though his healing abilities were lacking. Instead of being proud of his adoptive son, Tulugaak who was already old in age, pushed Kanaaq even further. He wanted him to take his place as the tribe's best waterbending Master, when Tulugaak finally passed away. that created a lot of strain in their father - son relationship.Kanaaq didn't have many friends. He was always reserved and aloof, which made others wary of him. He was also an " outsider " in the eyes of many, having been born outside the Northern Water Tribe. But Kanaaq wasn't interested in being popular. In fact, he enjoyed his solitude and would rather spend his free time in a corner with a good book. At the same time Tulugaak, while not having ever raised a hand on Kanaaq, was verbally and emotionally abusive to his adoptive son. Something that other people were entirely oblivious to. In public, Tulugaak would pretend he was proud of his prodigious son, but in the privacy of their home, he would push Kanaaq to his very limits, tolerating nothing more than perfection. His forms were excellent and his healing abilities had improved dramatically, but that was still not enough for Tulugaak. Whenever Kanaaq made a mistake, Tulugaak would find a way to punish him. Making him practice forms until his body gave out, or forcing him to study ancient scrolls until Kanaaq could no longer keep his eyes open, or focus. Around that time, Kanaaq became acquainted with Yakone, who received permission from Tulugaak to also train Kanaaq in advanced waterbending. What nobody knew was that Yakone, who had already lost his prodigious older soon, was that he was teaching Kanaaq bloodbending in secret. He never quite learned how to bloodbend without a full moon, but he had honed the skill enough to be able to use it, if necessary. Yakone seemed pleased with how easily Kanaaq obliged and he was able to bloodbend without showing any kind of emotion. In Yakone's mind, Kanaaq could be his successor. Kanaaq also became acquainted with a young Tarrlok around that time.It was always known that Kanaaq hated the social gatherings Tulugaak forced him to attend. He got easily overwhelmed by the crowd and noise and often found a way to retreat somewhere quiet and recharge, so to speak.It was during one of those gatherings, that Kanaaq met a young man named Tulok. Tulok was the son of a rich General and a very promising youth with the skills of a Master waterbender. He took interest in Kanaaq, when the latter defeated him in a spar and soon after that, the two became good friends. Unlike everyone else, Tulok wasn't bothered by Kanaaq's withdrawn nature and he even found it a little endearing, compared to how pompous his other friends were. By the time they were in their twenties, Tulok and Kanaaq began dating, which horrified Tulok's parents and Tulugaak, as well as other locals who didn't approve of two men being together. Despite everyone's reservations, Tulok proposed to Kanaaq with a betrothal necklace on a cold winter night. The announcement of their engagement infuriated many people, including Tulok's parents, who tried to forbid their son from meeting Kanaaq. Tulugaak also tried to prevent his adoptive son from meeting his betrothed, but grounding him and punishing him with practising forms didn't seem to be able to stop Kanaaq, who would sneak out when Tulugaak was asleep.It was only a few months before the wedding, when Tuluk suddenly fell ill. The best healers in the tribe came to examine him, but couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong with him and his condition deteriorated rapidly, until he tragically passed away at the age of twenty - seven. Kanaaq was twenty - five at the time and was utterly heartbroken by the loss of the one person he had ever been close to. Despite Tulugaak's protests, Kanaaq never removed the betrothal necklace from his person and he would guard it like it was the most precious of treasures, which led to more tension between father and son.Eventually, he could no longer take the verbal abuse from his father and the looks of disdain from the rest of the tribe. He hopped on the first ship in sight and set off for Republic City to start a new life. He left a short letter behind, letting Tulugaak know that he was done pretending to be his perfect replacement and that he wanted a life of his own. He arrived in Republic City with nothing but a bag full of personal belongings and whatever money he had taken from Tulugaak's savings. It wasn't nearly enough to keep him sustained forever, but it would last until he found a job. After a couple of weeks of wandering the city and sleeping outside, he was finally hired at a bending Academy as a waterbending teacher. His students found him odd, but admired his skills and were always respectful towards him, even if some of them were around Kanaaq's age.

  THE NORTHERN WATER TRIBE    : pre-republic city eraPrior to moving to Republic City for a fresh start, Kanaaq resides in the Northern Water Tribe. He's in his mid twenties and has just lost the most important person of his life. He's visibly grieving and snaps a lot more easily, when people push him too hard.  WELCOME TO REPUBLIC CITY    : post arrival to republic city   ( default : book 1 of the series )He's already around 25-26 when he arrives to Republic City, with nothing but a bag full of personal belongings and very little money. He must learn to fend for himself now and look after his needs for food and rest. He's withdrawn and avoids excessive interaction with other people, with the exception of others who hail from the Northern or Southern Water Tribe.