Harmonic Convergence

"spirit"

- Harmonic Convergence. That is when Vaatu and I must battle for the fate of the world.



Harmonic Convergence is a phenomenon that happens once every ten thousand years, when the planets align and the two spirit portals in the North and South Poles overlap. During this, Raava, and now the Avatar, must battle Vaatu in the Spirit World near the two portals that connect the two poles. The victor in this battle determines the fate of the world until the next Harmonic Convergence.

History


Around 19,830 BSC, Vaatu, the spirit of darkness and chaos, began to battle Raava, the spirit of light and peace. Although Raava was able to keep Vaatu restrained, the latter managed to break through the barriers that separated humans and spirits, allowing both entities to travel from one world to the next.

Prior to the Harmonic Convergence that occurred in 9829 BSC, the link that kept Raava and Vaatu connected was severed by Wan, who unknowingly set loose chaos into the world under the belief that releasing Vaatu would aid in maintaining spiritual balance. As a result, Vaatu was able to harness negative energy and turn several spirits dark, allowing him to gather strength while Raava weakened.

To atone for his mistakes, Wan resolved to master all four bending arts to aid Raava in the next battle, providing his body to the spirit as a host. Though Wan initially struggled in fighting Vaatu, he was able to trap the spirit in an elemental sphere after allowing his spirit to permanently merge with Raava, in the process creating the Avatar Spirit. To prevent humans from freeing Vaatu, Wan led the spirits from the physical world into the Spirit World and closed the two spirit portals.

Ten millennia later, Avatar Korra learned about the origins of the Avatar and the Harmonic Convergence from Wan while recovering from a dark spirit attack that had left her amnesiac. Upon regaining her memory, Korra spoke with the shaman that had aided her, and discovered that the next Harmonic Convergence was only weeks away. Determined to close the Southern spirit portal, Korra set out on a flying bison from a herd that the shaman maintained during the Hundred Year War.

Known Harmonic Convergences

 * 19,830 BSC – result: Raava was victorious
 * 9830 BSC – result: Raava permanently merged with Wan, imprisoning Vaatu in the Spirit World
 * 171 ASC

Trivia

 * Raava has been victorious in two of the three known Harmonic Convergences.
 * Raava and Vaatu cannot permanently destroy each other, as the defeated spirit is eventually regenerated from the other.
 * In the real world, Harmonic Convergence refers to the first globally synchronized meditation, which coincided with a rare alignment of the planets.
 * This event purportedly corresponded with a great shift in the planet's energy from warlike to peaceful, similar to how Raava's victories in both historic Harmonic Convergences resulted in the maintenance of balance in the Avatar World.
 * During the observances, Mount Shasta and Mount Fuji were regarded as "power centers" where spiritual energy was held to be particularly strong, similar to the two spirit portals in the North and South Poles.