Dark spirits

The dark spirits are entities that grew restless by 171 ASC, and managed to cross from the Spirit World to the mortal world. The spirits reside in the icy tundra deep beneath the South Pole, and have encountered Avatar Korra.

History


In 151 ASC, these spirits were angered after Tonraq destroyed their forest in the Northern Water Tribe's tundra while he tried to defeat barbarians whom attacked the tribe.

By 171 ASC, the dark spirits began scourging the icy regions of the South Pole, where they were known to attack ships in the Southern Water Tribe.

It was only six months after the conclusion of the Anti-bending Revolution that Avatar Korra got wind of these attacks, when she visited the Glacial Spirits Festival at the Southern Water Tribe. Her uncle, Unalaq, theorized that the displeasure of the spirits was caused due to the spiritual deterioration and the decay of traditions of the Southern Tribe.

During Korra's visit, one of these spirits visited the festival at night. The entity charged at the Avatar and managed to pin her down, although it was distracted when Mako and Bolin came to her rescue. The brothers proved to be no match for the spirit, and it quickly defeated them. However, by that time, Tonraq and Tenzin had joined the scene and were battling the spirit each in their own way; Tonraq assisted his daughter in attacking the being with waterbending, though he was batted away, while Tenzin attempted to reason with the entity, though he suffered the same fate. The spirit was eventually faced by Korra, who entered the Avatar State, but even harnessing the powers of her past lives proved to be ineffective against the spirit's prowess. It used one of its tendrils to bring Korra to the ground and was about to deliver the final blow, when Unalaq intervened, encircling the being with water. The spirit changed color and started to glow, eventually dissipating in a flash of gold light.

More dark spirits stalked Korra, her family, and her friends as they journeyed to the Everstorm, where Unalaq intended for the Avatar to unlock a spirit portal to restore the southern lights. When the party reached the Everstorm, the dark spirits ambushed them, stealing their supplies. Though this compelled Tonraq to turn around, the others continued on. As Korra ventured into the frozen spirit forest alone, the dark spirits attacked her, merging together into a single entity in an attempt to restrain her. However, Korra went into the Avatar State and managed to unlock the portal. The dark spirits disappeared as the southern lights were restored.

Abilities
They are nearly invincible, as physical attacks do not harm them, only slow them down at best. They also have the ability to combine into a larger being.

Trivia

 * Grey DeLisle, Azula's voice actress, will voice one of these dark spirits.
 * There is a special relationship between light and dark spirits, as one cannot exist without the other.
 * At least one of these dark spirits possesses the ability to manipulate fire.
 * Dark spirits are stated by Unalaq to not be inherently malevolent, instead merely reacting to nature's destruction. This, combined with their supposedly intricate relationship with light spirits, reflects traditional Asian ideas of yin and yang, that neither darkness nor light have moral attributes, and that evil comes from imbalance.
 * According to Unalaq, they are primarily focused on taking revenge on Tonraq.