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Ran and Shaw are two ancient dragons revered by the Sun Warriors as the original masters of firebending. At the end of the Hundred Year War, they were the last known surviving dragons, a species nearly hunted to extinction by firebenders after Fire Lord Sozin began the tradition of killing them for glory.[1] Visited by many people throughout history, the dragons only deemed a few people outside the Sun Warrior tribe to be worthy; those deemed unworthy were customarily destroyed.[3]


Ran and Shaw were once visited by Iroh, who was deemed worthy of learning the true essence of firebending. After he returned to the Fire Nation, Iroh claimed that he had fought and slain the last surviving dragon, so as to preserve the secret of Ran and Shaw's existence from the rest of the world, who would hunt them otherwise.

Dragons firebending

Ran and Shaw created massive streams of fire after deeming Aang and Zuko worthy of learning the art's origins.

The dragons were later visited by Prince Zuko and Avatar Aang after the former lost access to his firebending. Setting out to learn the original form of firebending from Ran and Shaw, they journeyed to the cave of the masters, each carrying a piece of the Eternal Flame, which they would present to the masters as an offering. However, both their flames were extinguished before they could be presented. Summoned by the Sun Warriors, the dragons flew out of their caves and began circling Aang and Zuko. After observing their movements for a while, Aang deduced that the dragons wanted them to perform the "Dancing Dragon", an ancient firebending form, with them. Ran and Shaw performed the technique in unison with the young firebenders and, after deeming them worthy, showed them the "true" meaning of firebending by surrounding the duo with a colorful spiral of fire. Having passed on their knowledge, the dragons retreated back into their respective lairs.[1]

After the Hundred Year War, Ran and Shaw had at least one descendant, Druk.[2]


Colorful fire



Unlike the aggressive and hatred-fueled methods employed by most benders native to the Fire Nation during the Hundred Year War, Ran and Shaw practice a form of firebending that emphasizes the life-giving qualities of fire. They are able to communicate the true meaning of firebending through their multi-colored flames.[1]

Known apprentices


Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book Three: Fire (火)


  • Ran () means "burn" or "ignite" in Chinese. Shaw, more correctly shāo (燒), means "burn" or "blaze". The characters can also be used together to mean "combustion", "flaming", or "kindle".[4]
  • Ran and Shaw are much larger in size than other known dragons, such as Roku's animal guide, Fang, Sozin's dragon, and the green dragon.
  • Two similar dragons appeared in Zuko's visions while he suffered from illness.[5] The blue dragon representing Azula was on Zuko's left, and the red dragon representing Iroh was on his right. Red and blue dragons also accompanied Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin, respectively.


See also

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