Generations ago, the four nations were locked in a hundred year war. The Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes, and Fire Nation survived to see it through. The Air Nomads did not. A long-lived era of peace followed the year that marked the end of the war; a time of rebuilding and recovery for all the nations. Petty arguments were resolved, and the nations thrived. Airbenders, even though there were more being born each year, were still a rare sight.

The Earth Kingdom grew by far the most prosperous throughout the era. Metal bending allowed for new schooling and industry, although it was still in the works. Due to the need in metal benders, a new college was funded to give young earth benders something to strive to achieve. The best of the masters were recruited to teach at the prestigious school, and only the best of the best were allowed to learn under them. After funding and making a deal with the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes and Fire Nation schools were soon added to the campus. The Air Nation was also added, funded for by the Fire Nation.

Only the best students are permitted to study under the great masters at the Earth Kingdom's College of Bending. Very few are accepted, and enrollment happens once every two years on the first of the new year. Those who do get in, however, are accepted for life. For the college is not just a college, but a lifestyle. Those who peruse an education under the college thrive to be the very best they can be, and most often, those students do not quit. Many of the students who once studied there in their youth are now masters or advisers of the college, and many are masters elsewhere. The Earth Kingdom College of Bending is not for the weak of heart nor brain; these students are here for one reason, and one reason only: to become the best they can be.