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High in the upper reaches of the Earth Kingdom resides the Northern Air Temple. It was home to the Flying Bison polo championships in the days when the monks lived in it. After the extermination of the monks, the temple was rediscovered by The Mechanist and his group of refugees. During the years the refugees lived in it, some where eventually seen by other Earth Kingdom villagers, who came to call those they saw gliding as "Air Walkers". The Mechanist used the gliders within to give his paraplegic son Teo a new life in the air. However, he was extorted for weapons manufacture by the Fire Nation, who threatened to attack if he did not comply. He hid the machines in what was formerly the Sanctuary of the temple, unknown to the temple's other residents. Aang and the others discover the weapons cache, and convince him to revolt against the Fire nation, with the promise of protecting the temple from attack.

The Northern Temple was modified by the Mechanist to house more people than before, and many of the original structures were destroyed or expanded to help accommodate the new residents. The temple also underwent many technological "upgrades", as the Mechanist added new inventions to help make the lives of the residents easier. The new changes anger Aang at first, who sees it as a violation of the temple's original sanctity, but in the end he decides that the refugees are like the hermit crabs that inhabit the temple's corridors, and is happy that they have found this empty shell and made it their home, and helps to defend them against the Fire Nation.