Long ago, a woman named Oma and a man named Shu were lovers who couldn’t be together because their two villages were at war with each other.  The pair built the Cave of Two Lovers so they could meet secretly with no one knowing.  They made the tunnels so that anyone who came looking for them would be lost forever in the labyrinth.

Their tombs now rest in the cave, as does the legend.  The key to getting through the cave is to “trust in love.”

Oma and Shu were the first human Earthbenders, as they learned how to Earthbend from the badger-moles.  That is how they built the cave.  One day, when Shu did not meet Oma on the top of the mountain (which they had been doing for a long while), she became upset.  She then learned Shu had been killed in the war.  Angered, Oma unleashed a massive Earthbending attack.  She possessed the ability to do away with everyone from both tribes.

Instead, though, she ended the war, and members of both the villages helped her form a new city where both villages could live together as one.  The city was named “Omashu” as a monument to their love.

It is unknown how long Oma lived for, but it is expected she lived a very healthy and long life, and taught many the art of Earthbending.