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Based on the following evidence, I believe there should be people capable of airbending at the present time, but not direct descendants of the Air Nomads. (b/c they were all killed, or so we're led to believe)

1. in 'The Blind Bandit' we see an earthbender from the firenation. now that could mean he was born of earthbending paretns and moved to the fire nation, but that doesnt support his love of the fire nation

2. in 'The Fortuneteller' we see a set of twins, but only one of which is an earthbender. so we know that bending is not derived directly from heredity, but more as a common mutation found more in some families than others

So that brings me to the question: Shouldnt a woman be able to give birth to a child capable of bending any of the four elements? Or do you believe that if a child is born on say, fire nation soil, that that child can firebend?

I'd really like to know what everyone thinks, and providing evidence would be great.

well i personally believe that bending is something recieved by special traits from heredity, but yes. I believe that somewhere out there, there were some air benders who were able to escape from the firenation. I mean, hello? they can fly on their gliders, so im sure that SOME got away. *who know i could be wrong though* But, im thinking that maybe some where down the road we'llk encounter another airbender, or something like that. whee

Yes at least one other....because the fire nation would want to make sure that the air kingdom would still have some futur left and possible to trick Aang......Plus Aang would feel alot Better!

yeah while roku was teaching him about the avatar state.

The Female Airbender was another Avatar who lived a few 100 years ago.

And I don't think that the fire nation will kill a whole nation.Maybe they are just taken prisoner. ninja

Well there has to atleast be the potential for the airbenders to return or the Balance of the world would allready be completely destroyed instead of just teetering ont he brink of it.

After all if the Airbenders were truely and completely gone for good then we'd only have three more Avatars left in the Cycle. The next Water, Earth, and Fire Avatar and then that's it.

My personal theroy is that sometime in book three we will meet an isolated group with the potential to airbend. I think introducing the Redneck Water benders was meant to lay the ground work for the idea of isolated packets of people. After all unless the Swamp Benders were insanely Inbred they had to get fresh blood from somewhere even if it's just the women seducing travelling Earth Kingdom people and raising the kids in the swamp.

And although we know form the Cinemanga that all Air Nomads were Airbenders but that doens't mean all thier offspring would be. It's entirely possible that to hide what little of them surived they stopped training all offspring and the result is a group with the potential to produce airbenders but no longer the enlightened everyone's an air bender lifestyle of the original Air Nomads.

I just have a feeling that we'll get some hints at the return of the Airbenders either in the form of Decendants of Survivors or a flash forward at the end of the Series showing Aang Training his children to be Airbenders.

Each nation seems to be made up of a genetic race. For instance, Firebenders have brown or golden eyes, where waterbenders have blue. Bending is probably similar.